So after reading a bit about the iPad I was very tempted to pre-order one. Then I watched Steve Jobs show off Apple's latest creation and I was surprised at what happened next. He actually told me that I shouldn't purchase an iPad. Steve Jobs would like us to believe this device fits into a gap that no other device covers.
He lists a load of tasks like email, sharing photos, among other tasks that can all be done on an iPhone let alone a laptop. So Steve tells us that this new 3rd category device has to do these things better than a laptop or smartphone. He then says that some people say that the half way house between a phone and a laptop is a Netbook. He then starts a rant on why Netbooks are rubbish. My favourite quote from Steve is 'The problem is netbooks are not better at anything.'
As I am now writing this blog on my netbook I am a fan of them but I am also a big fan of the iPhone. In a sales role I am of the opinion that you should never 'slag off' the competitors product it just shows you can't say anything good about your product just that the competitors product is worse. He mentions that Netbook screens are low quality. I assume he means that their 10" screens at 1024x600 are not very good at displaying websites. Well I admit scrolling down on websites is a nuisance but it is only is an issue on a few websites. I personally do not think the iPad's 10" 1024x768 screen is actually going to make that much difference. Especially when it comes to doing work as on a Netbook you have a keyboard where on the iPad you lose half the screen. He then tell us that Netboks are slow, not an issue I have with mine. So let me stop you there Steve... As the iPad uses the same operating system as the iPhone it means there's no multitasking at all. This is a real disappointment. I stream an Internet radio station as I write an email on my Netbook with no lag what so ever - I would have expected to be able to do that on the iPad.
So if I ignore the rubbish salesman do I still want an iPad?
Well it isn't as new and exciting as I had hopped? I actually saw this a few years ago, though it was made out of cardboard and was in the Apple Shop and the Carphone Warehouse. It is simply the actual model of those cardboard window displays. Well now I have made the obvious link that the iPad looks like a larger iPhone, well the comparison doesn't just end there. The iPad in fact actually runs the iPhone OS 3.2 so it really is a big iPhone. I was expecting OS 4 as some of the rumours stated. To be honest I was hoping for more, perhaps a take on the Windows tablet devices.
The price point is good. I am currently considering purchasing a Kindle Ereader but at the £300 mark for the iPad it works out cheaper than a Kindle and can do a great deal more.
From the videos the speed of the CPU is something to be marveled at. It is fast and will be quicker to use than my Netbook.
Apple now have implemented an ebook system in itunes so it will do what a Kindle does but in colour.
No camera though. I suppose they don't want it to be too similar to an iPhone but I can do msn video chat on my Netbook.
The keyboard will be a bigger version of the iPhone and that's good, but you do lose space on the screen.
I would want to use it for meetings as I use Microsoft OneNote on my Netbook now. I would need the ability to record a meetting (you can do this on an iPhone) and some good note taking software. I'm not sure what will be available for this. I have the full Microsoft Office suite on my Netbook so i can work on it just like my laptop.
To answer the question, would I buy one still? I don't know now, I love a gadget, its cheaper than I thought so I am still tempted, problem is I was expecting more. Steve Jobs claims it's more useful than a netboook... i don't believe him.
Wednesday, 27 January 2010
Tuesday, 26 January 2010
First Free Anti Virus for Windows Home Server
The first Free Anti Virus solution for Windows Home Server has just entered it's beta programme. WHSClamAV is an implementation of the open-source ClamAV anti-virus solution.
The developer states that there are still a number of outstanding features of ClamAV which need to be built into the add-in. A release is due out in February that supports automatic updates and scheduled scans.
For more information and to download WHSClamAV follow this link http://whsclamav.sourceforge.net/
WHSClamAV installs just like any other Add-in. Once the ClamAV tab is visible in your WHS Console go into the WHS Console Setting and select the ClamAV tab. Click download, once finished click install. You should now be able to do scans of your system using the ClamAV tab.
Remember this is a beta.
The developer states that there are still a number of outstanding features of ClamAV which need to be built into the add-in. A release is due out in February that supports automatic updates and scheduled scans.
For more information and to download WHSClamAV follow this link http://whsclamav.sourceforge.net/
WHSClamAV installs just like any other Add-in. Once the ClamAV tab is visible in your WHS Console go into the WHS Console Setting and select the ClamAV tab. Click download, once finished click install. You should now be able to do scans of your system using the ClamAV tab.
Remember this is a beta.
Manage your Media Centre's TV Guide remotely
With the demise of the WebGuide (http://www.asciiexpress.com/webguide) due to the Vista (with TV pack) and Windows 7 support there has been no easy way to remotely manage your Windows Media Center when you’re not home. But even then it was more of a work around. Firstly you would connect to your Windows Home Server, then using the AutoExit Add-in (http://www.asoft.be/) run the wake-on-lan command on your Windows 7 Media Centre. Once AutoExit or the Windows Home Server console shows it's up, you can then connect to the webguide site.Not exactly out of the box functionality.
However, this is hopefully about to change.
Remote Wizard for Windows Home Server gives you full control of all your Windows Media Centre systems from one convenient web interface. Running on Windows Home Server, it provides the same convenient, secure remote access as WHS itself. And it works just fine with Vista, Vista with TV Pack, or Windows 7 – 32-bit or 64-bit.
The product consists of a client that you install on your Windows Media Centre and an Add-in for Windows Home Server that connects the two. For more details follow this link http://remotewizard.net/RemoteWizardBeta.aspx
This all sounds great but there must be a catch? Well there are a few...
1). At the moment the site doesn't mention if the Windows Home Server caches and updates the Media Centre when it is offline or whether it will be a case of using a wake-on-lan as with the old Webguide.
2). When the product goes live it won't be free. Prices have not been confirmed but I believe it will be reasonable and well worth a purchase.
3). At the moment the beta programme appears to be U.S. only and there is no mention of a product for the U.K.
4). Because of Microsoft's policy on use of their Electronic Programming Guide data, the current beta schedules recordings by date, channel and time only. They are currently have their our own EPG in development (U.S. customers only; SchedulesDirect subscription required), should be available soon.
However I recommend keeping an eye on this site as it looks an interesting proposition and I urge you all to email them and request a U.K. version.
However, this is hopefully about to change.
Remote Wizard for Windows Home Server gives you full control of all your Windows Media Centre systems from one convenient web interface. Running on Windows Home Server, it provides the same convenient, secure remote access as WHS itself. And it works just fine with Vista, Vista with TV Pack, or Windows 7 – 32-bit or 64-bit.
The product consists of a client that you install on your Windows Media Centre and an Add-in for Windows Home Server that connects the two. For more details follow this link http://remotewizard.net/RemoteWizardBeta.aspx
This all sounds great but there must be a catch? Well there are a few...
1). At the moment the site doesn't mention if the Windows Home Server caches and updates the Media Centre when it is offline or whether it will be a case of using a wake-on-lan as with the old Webguide.
2). When the product goes live it won't be free. Prices have not been confirmed but I believe it will be reasonable and well worth a purchase.
3). At the moment the beta programme appears to be U.S. only and there is no mention of a product for the U.K.
4). Because of Microsoft's policy on use of their Electronic Programming Guide data, the current beta schedules recordings by date, channel and time only. They are currently have their our own EPG in development (U.S. customers only; SchedulesDirect subscription required), should be available soon.
However I recommend keeping an eye on this site as it looks an interesting proposition and I urge you all to email them and request a U.K. version.
Monday, 11 January 2010
Watch Live UK TV on your iPhone or Computer
Have you ever wanted to watch live TV on your iPhone when your out and about? Well now you can with TVCatchup. This web service allows you to watch Over 50 channels including BBC One, ITV2, Channel 4, Five, Dave, CBeebies, 4Music, Virgin 1, Sky Sports News and Film4. So basically all the Freeview channels.You can also listen to a large number of radio stations.
Now as the name suggests you might imagine that this would be like all the TV on-demand sites where you can watch previous shows like the BBC iPlayer and Channel 4's 4OD. Well you would be wrong, the service actually streams live TV over the Internet, so you can't select specific shows just what is being aired at that point in time. So it does seem an odd title for it.
On a PC or MAC the service simply runs through the browser of your choice as long as you have Adobe's Flash player installed.
The site not only gives you a channel list to make your selection but a full TV Guide with the next 6 days listings. As for the quality of the video and audio feed, well that depends on your Internet connection. Their service checks your speed and attempts to stream the show according to your bandwidth. I found both the picture and audio to be acceptable, not iplayer quality I have to add but not bad at all. A couple of Nice features to note when watching a feed is that you can change the aspect ratio on the fly to match that of your TV. An impressive feature is that when you check the guide or go to change channel it is overlayed over the channel you are watching.
As for the iPhone. TVCatchup provide a tailor made site specifically for the iPhone which is clear easy to use. However the TV Guide is missing which is a shame. As for the quality, Well because of the lower resolution screen the quality seemed better than on my PC and I was amazed at how quickly I was watching a live feed from selecting the channel. It appears to be nearly instantaneous. I had a play using both wireless and 3G and was extremely impressed on both accounts of the quality, lack of lag and speed I could hop through channels. Obviously 3G was a tad slower and dependent on signal strength. For some reason that I don't know the iPhone app does not list as many channels as accessing the site on a PC or MAC. You only get 15 of the 50, however they are the main ones and hopefully more will follow. The iPhone however does appear to some features that the PC and MAC version doesn't get. These include the ability to pause live TV and resume from where you are and the introduction of a step back 30 seconds button. I have not fully tested how long you can leave the pause function on for but it certainly allows you to do it for a couple of minutes.
TVCatchup also have a good forum on their site covering support, news and suggestions for additional features. TV Guide on the iPhone would be mine.
And how much does this service cost? Absolutely nothing, it's free. No subscription or app to purchase. So what are catches? Well none that I could find, the service checks that the ISP you are connected to is based in the UK as they legally cannot stream Freeview channels outside the UK, which is fair enough.
This is probably one of the best apps I have accidentally stumbled across. Well to be honest it's not even app just a bookmark to a website tailored for the iPhone but if you add it to your home screen it looks like an app.
For more information and too sign up follow these links:
For PC or MAC http://www.tvcatchup.com/
For iPhone http://iphone.tvcatchup.com/
Now as the name suggests you might imagine that this would be like all the TV on-demand sites where you can watch previous shows like the BBC iPlayer and Channel 4's 4OD. Well you would be wrong, the service actually streams live TV over the Internet, so you can't select specific shows just what is being aired at that point in time. So it does seem an odd title for it.
On a PC or MAC the service simply runs through the browser of your choice as long as you have Adobe's Flash player installed.
The site not only gives you a channel list to make your selection but a full TV Guide with the next 6 days listings. As for the quality of the video and audio feed, well that depends on your Internet connection. Their service checks your speed and attempts to stream the show according to your bandwidth. I found both the picture and audio to be acceptable, not iplayer quality I have to add but not bad at all. A couple of Nice features to note when watching a feed is that you can change the aspect ratio on the fly to match that of your TV. An impressive feature is that when you check the guide or go to change channel it is overlayed over the channel you are watching.
As for the iPhone. TVCatchup provide a tailor made site specifically for the iPhone which is clear easy to use. However the TV Guide is missing which is a shame. As for the quality, Well because of the lower resolution screen the quality seemed better than on my PC and I was amazed at how quickly I was watching a live feed from selecting the channel. It appears to be nearly instantaneous. I had a play using both wireless and 3G and was extremely impressed on both accounts of the quality, lack of lag and speed I could hop through channels. Obviously 3G was a tad slower and dependent on signal strength. For some reason that I don't know the iPhone app does not list as many channels as accessing the site on a PC or MAC. You only get 15 of the 50, however they are the main ones and hopefully more will follow. The iPhone however does appear to some features that the PC and MAC version doesn't get. These include the ability to pause live TV and resume from where you are and the introduction of a step back 30 seconds button. I have not fully tested how long you can leave the pause function on for but it certainly allows you to do it for a couple of minutes.
TVCatchup also have a good forum on their site covering support, news and suggestions for additional features. TV Guide on the iPhone would be mine.
And how much does this service cost? Absolutely nothing, it's free. No subscription or app to purchase. So what are catches? Well none that I could find, the service checks that the ISP you are connected to is based in the UK as they legally cannot stream Freeview channels outside the UK, which is fair enough.
This is probably one of the best apps I have accidentally stumbled across. Well to be honest it's not even app just a bookmark to a website tailored for the iPhone but if you add it to your home screen it looks like an app.
For more information and too sign up follow these links:
For PC or MAC http://www.tvcatchup.com/
For iPhone http://iphone.tvcatchup.com/
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