To Media Or Not To Media...

Just got finished installing Windows 7 on my "media center" PC that has previously run Ubuntu or Windows XP but I must say, Windows 7, despite all of the hype is quite a revelation...

Forgive the sub-par picture quality, but frankly my digital camera sucks. The above picture is a shot of my media PC's internal components. This project has come together over the course of a few years during which time I've managed to assemble a pretty respectable machine complete with Blu-ray player, 500GB Seagate HDD and wireless network card. Unfortunately, the most expensive component in my media center PC was the Blu-Ray disc drive and the primary reason why this project was born in the first place. The most frustrating aspect of integrating a Blu-Ray drive on your PC is the lack of a decent, yet affordable, Blu-Ray software-based decoder (hardware decoders died in the days of the DVD). The software bundled with an OEM Blu-Ray drive may or may not work with Windows 7. I learned this hard way after attempting to install PowerDVD 8 HD and receiving error messages warning me of it's incompatibility with Windows 7. PowerDVD 10 Ultra is compatible with my build, but the software costs $99.00USD, which is what I paid for my OEM copy of Windows 7...

This build also used an Antec Minuet case ($89.99USD) which I've lovingly managed to scratch up over the better part of 2 years. I can't recommend this case enough to people looking for a HTPC case with a decent power supply (350watt Antec model) and enough room for a micro ATX motherboard. Not only is the Antec Minuet 350 a good looking case for your media center, it is highly functional, roomy and as you can see above it can accommodate a large Zalmann flower 92mm fan/heatsink. One of the nice features of this case are the front mounted USB, eSATA and audio inputs (Microphone/Speaker/Headphone).

My media PC is powered by the humble, yet very affordable (I got it at a major electronics retailer for $35.00USD) Athlon II X2 dual-core processor clocked at 3.0Ghz. While it is certainty the case that this processor won't be winning any benchmarks, this little beast is a heck of a chip in its own right running very, very cool with the addition of the afore mentioned Zalmann cooling solution. The motherboard is an unremarkable, yet very budget oriented Biostar model utilizing AMD's 785GE chipset and 4GB of DDR2 memory. This combination of motherboard (chipset), processor and memory provides fairly decent performance, but be warned, Windows 7 is a memory hog and any amount of RAM under 4GB shouldn't be considered "ideal"...

Unsurprisingly, the install of Windows 7 Home Premium went pretty well. I picked up a copy of Home Premium for $99.00USD. I can't say enough about the relative painlessness of the install process. Windows 7 is definitely slick and recognized every device on my motherboard. In fact, it was so painless that I didn't even need to break out the driver disc supplied with my motherboard. I did, however, install the latest Radeon Catalyst drivers. I recommend that anybody using an integrated or stand-alone graphics adapter, install the aftermarket graphics drivers provided by the respective hardware manufacturer.

The next couple shots are of my media center in "action". After installing Windows, I immediately set about the task of installing several programs including iTunes, Google Chrome, Adobe Flash, etc. etc. I also made sure I set up a separate user account for everyday use. Speaking of "security, establishing a standard user account that is separate from the normal "administrator" account and installing antivirus/malware can go a long way towards securing your machine. I agree with those of you out there that consider any version of Windows as being a highly insecure platform. However, one could argue that all operating systems have their respective vulnerabilities and that taking steps to improve security on your system is better than taking no steps at all...

Another dark picture of Windows 7's media center sotware in action (this time streaming a video podcast). Thankfully many of the frustrations and issues I experienced with Ubuntu and, to a lesser extent, Windows XP disappeared with Windows 7. However, it's early in this adventure, but the short time I've worked with Windows 7, as a HTPC platform, seems promising.

That is not to say that Ubuntu is bad. No, I love open source computing and I am a hugely enthusiastic supporter of Ubuntu and Linux. Ubuntu one of those forces in the computing world that seems to be keeping their competition (MS, Apple and anybody else who charges for decent software) honest, but I must nonetheless concede the fact that Windows 7 makes a great O/S for those with a little know-how and some relatively "modern", budget-friendly hardware...

Where Have All The Android Tablets Gone?

I have a problem. Well, actually, its more like an addiction...

My addiction is technology, more specifically gadgets. I love gadgets!

Now that CES is a couple of weeks old and I've had a good, long look at the plethora of next generation Android tablets I have to ask myself

"What happened to the FIRST GENERATION tablets?!"

I'm not talking about the plethora of low-quality (i.e. "cheap") Chinese products currently flooding the market in the form of brands like Coby, Augen, iCan, etc. etc. These devices are generally described as being fairly underpowered with resistive touch displays and limited or no Android Market access.

No, I'm talking about quality products like the Samsung Galaxy Tab.

The Galaxy Tab strikes me as being the only real attempt at a first-generation product that is high-quality, fully functional with a beautiful (forgive me) "Apple-like" capacitive display. I guess the Galaxy Tab's only drawback is that it is not running the most current iteration of Android. It also doesn't appear that the Galaxy Tab will have the horsepower to run Android 3.0 when it is released and, if as rumored, it needs a dual core processor for the "optimal experience". Again, this last point is a sore spot for many Android fans, but that is for another blog post...

During Apple's most recent quarterly report Tim Cook, the acting CEO, offered his thoughts on Android:

"Then you have Android tablets, and the varieties that are out shipping today, their operating system wasn't designed for tablets. Google has said this, this isn't just Apple saying this."

I think Mr. Cook has a point. There is a conspicious lack of Android powered tablets on the market that provide the kinds of experiences, compelling experiences, compelling computer-like experiences that Apple's iPad delivers. Its as simple as that... Sure Android has thousands and thousands of apps and so does Apple, but the iPad provides an experience that the current iterations of Android simply cannot provide.

That being said, I would love, love, LOVE to purchase an Android tablet and I've looked long and hard at several devices currently on the market. As I've mentioned before, the Galaxy Tab is a very compelling platform, but at $599.00USD (Unsubsidized. That is $100.00USD MORE expensive than the wi-fi enabled iPad) one could bemoan the seeming existence of an "Android Luxury Tax"...

[It gets worse!]

On the software side of things the fragmentation of the Android platform is disturbing to those of us who have come to expect operating systems that offer the latest and greatest "updates" and security fixes using fixed hardware. Can you imagine the rancor and furor caused by Microsoft if they demanded a hardware upgrade for every patch, security update or hotfix? Hell, Microsoft plans on supporting Windows XP until 2014! A policy like that would be the French Revolution times a thousand and possibly the end of that software's market adoption, but that is the current state of the Android platform.

Mr. Cook made the following comments regarding the fragmentation of the Android platform:

"We firmly believe that our integrated approach is better than the fragmented approach. You can see this in a number of ways -- from the number of fragmented app stores with a variety of ways to pay, people will pull their hair out. Who's on the latest OS -- Android always lags ... In net we think our integrated approach is better, rather than making the end user a systems integrator. I don't know a lot of people who want to be systems integrators. And I think the same thing about iPad. It's the same set of issues, at the end of the day."

I agree with his assesment 100%! I also feel that it is not environmentally conscious or responsible to demand arbitrary "upgrades" in order to run the latest version of Android. Think of the millions of tons of e-waste generated by that kind of policy?

Not good...

Another worrying issue, or rather obstacle in my quest for the perfect Android tablet (or at least a tablet that provides me with an experience equivalent to my iPad) is Android barring wi-fi only enabled tablets from the Google Market place. I've noticed this strange phenomena affecting the various devices that utilize Android 2.1. Ironically, the latest and greatest from the guys at Archos (Arcos 32, 43, 70 and 101) that include Android 2.2 still lack the Android Market and instead use a proprietary piece of software called "Appslib". This scaled down version of the Android Market, by all accounts, (pardon my French... get it!? Haha) sucks.  

This is, in my humble opinion, completely unacceptable and counter-productive to Android's growith as a platform. How do they expect to grow and innovate if they starve a large part of their user base?

All hope is not lost though, because this year's CES demonstrated the looming tablet revolution. Devices of all shapes and sizes are currently in the late stages of development or pre-production. RIM's Playbook looked very interesting. Some of the Tegra II devices looked interesting as well, but I've lost a lot of faith in Nvidia over the last decade (again, another blog post).

For 5 days, a mind-boggling host of Android powered devices were paraded across the pages of Engadget and that gave me hope.Yes, there is hope for the Android platform; a platform with a lot of potential!

And yet there are still these nagging questions. Also, it is my belief that Apple will not wait for Android to catch up...

Only time will tell, but I hope to review my future Android powered tablet sometime soon...

The Ubuntu Project. Part II.

The last seven hours have been an interesting and informative experience.

A person can learn much about himself or herself, other people and our fundamental interactions with technology.

For example, I learned today that social engineering isn't all that difficult. In fact, social engineering is quite easy. Hackers, crackers, coders or an especially attentive, adroit home user can gain a staggering amount of information with a cleverly worded email, conversation or phone call.

It isn't that the victims of computer crimes are stupid "newbies", although, I would agree that that naivety plays a large part of the problem. No, I think the problems with computer security and privacy stem from a fundamental assumption in the minds of a more inexperienced, less savvy computer user.

As I write this blog post I find myself wondering. I wonder if people from generations past had the same problems with their interactions vis-a-vis technology. Or, as I postulate, their interactions with technology were more basic, more immediate, more visceral and grounded in survival. They were members of generations that depended on face to face interactions and the trustworthiness of those interactions. Alas, I digress and wax winsome thoughts about an age long since over...

The point is the very real difference between my mother's expectation of technology and the nature of those interactions.  I think the majority of older users out there in cyberspace not only expect, but take it for granted that every single exchange of data on the internet, whether it be Facebook, Hotmail or some other site, will be an open, honest affair. I had to work really, really hard to convince my mother that clicking every link that mentions her being in a video or making her financial dreams come true is not a wise decision.

"If it sounds too good to be true Mom, then it probably is..."

That line elicited the most miserable, confused look I have seen on a human face in a long, long time. I couldn't help but feel a twinge of sadness at the thought of two worlds colliding and virtually ensuring that one or both would be irreparably damaged in the process. My mom, ever the guileless user, seemed resigned to this new aspect of her digital lifestyle.

"Mom" I continued "would you open a letter from just anybody?"

Perhaps this last analogy wasn't quite accurate. Many of the junk emails that filled her inbox (427 separate emails to be exact) included her name in their subject line. I went on to explain to her that her recently exploited computer and Facebook account in all probability gave these malicious spam messages all the data they needed to tailor a personalized message of destruction.

Finally I resorted to threats...

"Mom, I'm not going to do this again! I'm not going to fix this damned computer again!" I insisted, but I knew it was one of those rhetorical threats people make when emphasizing a point. Of course I would fix her machine again. However, I know this time I will have to take a more drastic approach.

Enter Ubuntu!

My mom was watching me work while running a live instance of Ubuntu 10.10. "WOW!?" she enthusiastically exclaimed after briefly glancing at the GNOME desktop. I am happy to report that my earlier fears of rejection were allayed when I heard her visibly coo at Ubuntu's clean desktop and generally sleek looking interface.

However, by the end of my visit I had restored her computer to its factory condition; with Windows 7 and all. I instituted all of the changes I planned on instituting and set her up under a somewhat restrictive "standard" user account. I hope my measures will prevent her system from being compromised in the future, but again, I feel a gnawing trepidation. I just don't believe that Windows is the answer for our parents and grandparents. I think its pretty needless to say, that at this point, I believe that her machines chances of reinfection remain exceedingly high.

I think the next three months will be very interesting saga indeed and I believe that there will be far more to come.

I see visions of Ubuntu in my mother's future. It will be a bumpy ride, but she and I are game if you're game...

The Ubuntu Project. Part I.

From a security standpoint, the better part of the decade has proven disastrous for Microsoft . A multitude of viruses, exploits, back-doors, trojans, worms and malware have not only marred Microsoft's image as a creator and innovator, but Microsoft's apparent lack of regard and innovation vis-a-vis security and privacy is responsible for introducing a whole host of headaches for the home user.

"IT Guys" around the world have bemoaned Microsoft's woeful attitude towards security. Thousands upon thousands of websites exist for the sole purpose of introducing, infecting and propagating malware under the Windows software environment. Being a geek in the world of Windows is not an easy job, especially when you're not getting paid for it...

Don't get me wrong, I am not saying that I eschew the use of Windows. Just the opposite, I use Windows on a daily basis. Besides, no operating system, no software company is beyond reproach. No, my short introduction illustrates, in very broad strokes, a problem of mine as of late. I'd like to offer you, the non-existent reader (my blog hasn't been doing too well lately), my thoughts on going rogue on Windows. This sad tale has a banal enough beginning.

A few weeks ago I decided to boot my mother's Windows 7 based machine during a visit. I typically boot her machine, check out the software environment and see whats lurking around in her memory and hard drive. Usually, without fail, her machine is infected with malware. I've accepted the fact that she will probably never be able to implement a security conscious computer lifestyle. During my most recent visit though, I was shocked at the sheer number of malicious programs, posing as legitimate software, plaguing her computer. So much so, in fact, that her machine refused to operate for more than five minutes before BSOD'ing. It was bad; very, very bad...

I decided right then and there that I was going to introduce my mother to the virtues of open source. I was going to convert my mother to Ubuntu!

I've fallen in love with Ubuntu over the years and I have watched, with great interest, Ubuntu's maturation into an honest-to-goodness alternative to the ubiquitous Windows operating system. I will freely admit, that in the beginning, Ubuntu was not a very good operating system. Bugs and lack of support really plagued Ubuntu's early distros and to be perfectly honest, they were fun to experiment with (i.e. load on one of your crappy computers and listen to it groan back into un-life like a zombie), but certainly not ready for "prime-time" in any and every conceivable sense of the word.

Fast forward roughly six years to Ubuntu's 10.10 release. I can't say enough about this distro. It's a joy to use. It's fast, smooth, polished and efficient. It is, most of all, exactly what you want in an operating system: secure! Ubuntu takes advantage of clearly defined administrator/user dynamics of the Unix based operating system. It also capitalizes off a large community of highly knowledgable users and developers. The Ubuntu community might be the most hyper-vigilant bunch on earth; actively debugging source code, culling Ubuntu's apps for problems and distributing patches via the built-in GUI based update utility.

The biggest knock on Ubuntu is it's steep learning curve. Many users accustomed to a Windows environment might find Ubuntu's stark GNOME visual interface intimidating. Ubuntu is still Linux and Linux is still, in a very vague sense, Unix. It is what it is and the whole idea of a GUI (Graphical User Interface) is an after thought in the Unix world of yore. I tried to visualize the system shock that would, perhaps, come to define my mom's first interaction with an Ubuntu/Linux based system.

Could she adjust? Would she adjust? Was the learning curve just too damned steep? Were the potential hours spent helping her around he new O/S going to be worth the investment? Could she interact with Ubuntu in a meaningful way; a way that wouldn't frustrate or discourage her from using her machine? All of these questions came up in the course of my contemplation.

Since then I've decided on a course of action. My plan still involves Windows and a small, controlled step into the world of Ubuntu. The first phase of my plan involves using a live instance of Ubuntu to scan her current FUBAR'd install of Windows for viruses. Once that scan is complete and hopefully, after all of the offending malware has been removed I plan on a basic introduction to the Ubuntu platform. In other words, I plan on giving her a very short, very focused tour of her future Ubuntu operating system.

I'll give her three months to change her attitude towards Windows. I will make this gesture knowing full well that she will not change, not blossom into the type of user that is cognizant of something as ephemeral as "computer security". I will arm her with the knowledge to alt+f4 her way out of trouble. I will arm her with Microsoft Security Essentials. I will attempt to lockdown her system and I will fail.

However my approach isn't as defeatist as it sounds. No, my stratagem is two-fold in that I will severely restrict her interactions with her machine by restricting her user rights and removing her ability to install/uninstall devices and software on her Windows system. Its my belief that Windows, despite it's best intentions, does not adequately address the idea of user rights and thus puts its users at unnecessary risk.. It's approach seems very casual when compared to the very strict enforcement of user rights under an Linux/Unix based system.

Hopefully my approach proves successful, but something tells me that my mission to convert a hardcore Windows junkie has just begun...

The Death Of Christmas Trees.

Every year, around this time, I notice dozens of discarded Christmas trees tagged, bagged and haphazardly heaped on curb sides all over my neighborhood

Now you may be thinking, “What does this have to do with technology?” to which I would reply “A great deal actually!”

Please bear with me as I explain:

Christmas, it is theorized, had its beginnings in the ceremonies and rituals of the Celts and Romans. These hardy men and women symbolically supplicated the fierce gods of Winter by bringing the branches of evergreens into their homes and decorating them. “Christmas”, Saturnalia or Jul (Yule) as it was called in those yesterdays represented Man’s attempt to control and influence the forces of the natural world, now fast forward two thousand years or so to our modern age. 

Modern man no longer needs the intercession of the gods to survive the long, cold winters of yore. Hence Christmas has been transformed into a purely commercial holiday. Man has developed technology. Man has built a world that is not entirely dependent on the disposition of Nature. Yes, men are still subject to the forces of natural world and to disasters of a natural sort, but surviving any given winter isn’t the life and death struggle that it once was. Again, you can thank technology for all of that glorious heat it brings us in the wintertime.

Getting back on topic though: would our ancestors, no, COULD our ancestors ever conceive of a time when the bright, green centerpieces of their winter "celebrations" would be created from completely artificial materials that have absolutely nothing to do with the natural world? Could they possibly fathom the irony of a Christmas/Saturnalia/Jul celebration that did not need to placate the gods of heat, winter, life and growth? Furthermore, do the artificial monstrosities, commonly referred to as a family’s “fake” Christmas tree somehow reflect our attitude towards ritual and not only ritual, but technology as well?

Far in the past is the time when men thought of technology as “magical” and yet, technology, for all of it's pragmatism, is often described as "magical". Many devices have come along and “revolutionized” the way we, as humans, interact with each other and our world. It is easy to overlook these devices, these daily exchanges with the technology that we manipulate. It is easy to discount the profound effect these devices make on and in our lives.  The point of my rant today, if it is anything, is our unconscious, take-it-for-granted relationship with technology. My point might be our lack of historical perspective vis-a-vis technology.  

The point of my rant is the shrinking number of browning Christmas trees I notice on the curbside.

Yeah, it’s a good thing (environmentally speaking) we have going with our “fake” Chrismtas trees

And perhaps it's a horrible thing, or, perhaps, the truly awful thing is our tendency to take a wondrous technological innovation like the fake Christmas tree for granted...

Dreams Of A Digital Future.

The man in front of me has his head tilted downward. His neck looks stiff and awkward while his whole attention is firmly fixed on the object he holds in his hand. As I glance up and down the line, I notice several people holding similar devices.

A woman standing behind me attracts my interest. She has her head similarly positioned in a downward orientation. Her eyes are fixed on a familiar, rectangular object. She uses her delicate fingers to poke, prod, and swipe at the device she cradles in her hand.

She smiles while interacting with the object and, at other times, she furrows her brow as if wrapped in thought. She casually interacts with device and seems heedless to the goings-on around her. Amazingly, as the line shuffles forward, the individuals standing in line hardly notice their own zombie-like movement.

Its like they are not even here...

I perceive a sense of recognition in the woman's eyes as she glances up for a moment, suddenly aware of the line's movement and her surroundings.

“Oh shit, I’m here, at the coffee shop, getting coffee!” her quizzical, dazed look suggests and then she retreats, back into the world of her mobile electronic device. I watch as her eyes glaze, fascinated by the light of her phone's tiny, three inch screen and I watch as the reality of our collective human experience recedes into a soft, white glow...


I just wanted to make an observation about technology and make a few bold predictions about our future. I think “tech” has fundamentally changed human interaction, sometimes for the better and sometimes for the worse. I think people, myself included, interact with technology in ways that we don’t really comprehend on a conscious level and I think that it's easy to lose track of the role that technology plays in our lives.

You might be thinking: “Pat, are you saying this is a bad thing?”

No, I am not saying it is a bad thing, nor am I saying that it’s a good thing. What I am saying is that our current interaction with technology foreshadows a more profound future. I’m saying that the future is now, has always been now and will always be now! Put that in your hard drive my friends!

Remember the show “Buck Rogers”? Remember Buck’s robot “friend” Twiggy (or Twikkie)?

That’s what our portable electronic devices have become to us; they are our buddies. Imagine a future where we will be able to interact with a sentient electronic device. Will you be lonely? Will you be bored? Will you ever need the companionship of others in that not-so-distant future?

It is my firm belief, as an amateur “futurist” and “techie”, that the digital frontier isn’t “technology” or “devices”. The digital frontier, the digital future, is human intelligence in the kinds of devices that we will, that we currently, carry around on a daily basis.

The future is an iPhone that can and will talk back to its user: a mobile device that can carry on a sparkling conversation or plumb the depths of your thoughts/Facebook status for “problems” in your personal life. Imagine this device being part friend, part confidant, part personal assistant, part doctor and part your very own HAL 9000 inspired Sigmund Freud!

I predict a future in which personal computers will commiserate and laugh with their users. Systems that will monitor, in real-time, your home’s security, structural integrity, environment, you and your families vital statistics, etc. etc. A device that will be able to intelligently interface with human beings in cases of emergency or crisis...

I predict a “smart” phone that will listen, empathize, console, aid, assist and ultimately save. Our phones will one day be our guardian angels; no longer confined to the realms of the spiritual and invisible. Angels that will no longer be the subjects of conjecture. No, our "angels" will be devices that are with us in a very literal sense, on stand-by mode, in our pockets…

One day, perhaps in a future that my little buddy Evan Luce inhabits (he's twwwwoooooooooooo), people will blithely carry around the sum total of all human knowledge in their pockets. These devices will have instantaneous access to this data and most importantly, the intelligence (or processing power) to make the kinds of experiential connections and decisions that only a truly conscious, truly alive, human being can currently make.

These devices will have access to massive, planet-wide networks filled with the knowledge and the accumulated experience of many billions of human beings (imagine "life-blogging" on steroids).  These experiences and our collective wisdom will not be locked inside the cold, mindless dynamic of a "dumb" system. No, I predict these future devices, will profoundly influence our daily interactions. They will be our quiet, fully sentient, conscious, kinetically powered, electronic guardian angels ready to protect, guide and serve us when we most need them... or until their batteries run out!

So today, while you are out and about, think about the little gadget you hold in your hands when you are bored. Think about how readily that device fulfills its purpose and how it is always waiting to serve, entertain and (one day, in the not-so-distant future literally) save you from your doldrums.

Most of all, dream, yes my friends, dream. Dream of our glorious digital future! Dream of our soon-to-be created digital overlords and reboot your brain!