Category: Wireless

July 14, 2008

Sprint Customer Service: Awful and Wonderful

I opened up my Sprint PCS bill to find an $18 charge described as "Handset upgrade fee." Wha?

Sure, last month, a few weeks after our 2-year indentured servitude contract with the carrier ended (we're now month-to-month), my wife needed a new phone. We got her a new Centro and paid full price for it because I didn't want to go back under contract. But nobody said anything about a fee just for buying a new phone.

So I called up Sprint customer service this morning and, after discussing it with both the rep and her manager, they basically told me there was nothing they could do about it (at which point I asked why they were called "customer service") and that I'd have to go back to the store to argue about the charge.

Who in their right minds would insult a customer who isn't under an active contract (i.e., who is free to leave for a competitor at the drop of a hat) by asking for an extra $18 on top of the $300 he just spent in your store, especially given that he's already paying you nearly $100 a month? And why, oh why, would you trust some random clerk in some random store to salvage what is a very profitable, long-term relationship when the customer has already taken the time to call your service department and talk to you?

It all clearly reminded me why Sprint is nearly universally loathed by its customers and former customers alike.

I then dragged myself into the local Sprint store, girding for yet another fruitless battle over $18. At this point, it wasn't so much the money as it was the principle. Surprisingly, after a 30-second explanation, the store rep said, "Oh, no, that's a mistake...I'll take it right off." And that was that. Awesome.

So, while all's well that ends well, this little experience reminded me quite clearly why I didn't renew my contract with Sprint. Any company who makes such poor decisions about how it manages its customer relationships does not adequately desire, or deserve, my patronage. When the new Android devices, or whatever else that satisfies my requirements, come out, I'll be ready, and eager, to switch carriers as needed.

Posted by Craig in Industry and Phones and Wireless
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June 30, 2008

My Apple Airport Extreme Base Station Woes

I apologize for the recent 3 days of GearBits.com outage. The cause was my shift from an old Netgear 802.11g router/access point to a shiny new Apple Airport Extreme 802.11n router.

The problems were several, but suffice to say that the main unresolved issue lays in the AE's inability to suck down DHCP information from my ISP. Is it the AE's fault or my ISP's fault? I don't know...it just doesn't work. So, after figuring that out and entering in all the data manually, I now have to reset the broadband modem each time I update the router's configuration.

Sure it's a pain-in-the-ass, but now we have 802.11n (my laptop says it's connected at 144mbps) and I'll soon be adding an external drive to the AE for some inexpensive NAS action.

Anyway, things are back up and they should pretty much stay that way until I switch out the webserver sometime in the next week or so (the 5+-year-old WinXP machine, which is powered by a 1.2GHz AMD Athlon with 512 megs of RAM will soon be replaced by a new dual-core Mac Mini, so the site should be a bit more responsive).

So, sorry again...I'll now return you to your arguments over how much Time Warner Cable sucks, griping about FedEx Smartpost, and reminiscing about TV shows from your childhood.

Posted by Craig in Computing and Wireless
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June 5, 2008

Mitch's Hot/Not List

Mitch, seeing my Hot/Not list from yesterday, compiled his own, so here it is:

HOT

• iPod Touch - I tried the Archos 605 Wi-Fi first and its mediocrity makes the Touch that much more delightful. I really love well done user interfaces and this one is first rate. My only complaint is its picky eating habits when it comes to video formats.
  
• iMac - I waited longer than any other tech purchase to finally go with Apple's all-in-one desktop PC. I opted for the top of the line 3.06 GHz 24" model and have been completely blown away by it. So far I have found no flaws. It is stunning.
  
• High Gas Prices - Innovation rocks and if it takes $5/gallon gasoline to get us out of this oil addiction then I'm more than willing to pay my dues. Fewer SUVs and pickups, electric cars, solar energy, alternative fuels, more big butts on bicycles, less traffic congestion; I'm all for it. Let's drop our consumption by half and let OPEC drink their devalued crude.
  
• Synology - A NAS will soon be as ubiquitous on a home network as the router is today. The clever, feature-filled offerings from Synology are the best of the breed. I'll have a DS508 please!
  
• Subaru - Totally agree with Craig here. I've been
  in Imprezas now going on six years and I still feel like I'm cheating when I share the road with normal cars. Scoobys are fabulous.
  
• Ken Follett's Historical Novels - "The Pillars of the Earth" and "World Without End" are two of my favorite books of all time and I just took them in this Spring. I listened to both on my iPod (over 40 hours each) after downloading them from Audible and they made a month of 1000 mile weekly commutes totally enjoyable. Masterful stuff.
  
• CrossFit - I was in good shape 20 years ago and at 44 I can wipe the floor with my 24 year old self (if that was possible). I've been CrossFitting for almost a year now and some of the things I can do now would have seemed outlandish back then.

NOT

• General Motors - If you Google dinosaur, out of touch, lethargic, and unimaginative you should pull up GM's home page. I used to be a fan, but they have been disappointing me for 25 years now and don't seem to be planning any big changes. The sooner they finish themselves off, the better off we'll be.
  
• Labor Unions - Working in the industrial world I cross paths with unions
  of all sorts way more than I would like. I completely understand why our manufacturing sector is fleeing to other countries. I have never seen such a lazy, selfish, destructive, regressive bunch of people in my life. They can't all be like that, but the ones I've met surely are.
  
• Sheeple-Filled Corporate IT Departments - My 26,000 strong corporation is going to switch to Vista because they don't want to be left with no anti-virus support for their XP platform. Goodbye nice warm frying pan and hello fire.
  
• Cable/Satellite TV - I'm SO tired of paying $80 a month for a bunch of
  garbage that I would never watch even if I had the time. It won't be long until I cut that cord and start rolling my own TV. If I could just decide which way I want to do it!
  
• Global Markets - I realize that even the lowliest trader in/on most investment banks/trading floors/commodities exchanges is smarter than I am, but I would really love to see them use those brains rather than run with every emotion that riffles through the world markets. Do investors even pay attention to P/E ratios or supply and demand or is it all about what the hot analyst is saying or the sheeple are doing?

Posted by Craig in Cars and Computing and Health & Medicine and Home A/V and Industry and Internet and Mobile & PDAs and Movies & Books and Music & Audio and Popular Media and Science & Nature and Society / Politics and Technology and Wireless
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June 4, 2008

GearBits' First Hot/Not List

I've been remiss on posting, so I thought I'd assemble a whole mess of opinions in one place. Over the past several weeks or so, I've come to appreciate some things/companies and have come to be disappointed in others. So, here's a quick run-down:

HOT

• Shutterfly - always gets me great-looking prints/books in a timely manner at low prices.
  
• Google - just keeps rolling out the innovative, useful, and well-designed web apps
  
• Subaru - they just make terrific cars...durable, high-performing, and affordable
  
• Amazon.com - with reasonably good, if not great, prices, excellent customer service, and a stellar website, what's not to like?
  
• Subnotes - The sudden rash of low-power, low-weight, cheap laptops coming out (which I predicted would happen back at the beginning of the year) is a joy to behold...portable computing for everyone!
  
• NPR - Always informative, enjoyable, and worth supporting.
  
• Logitech Cordless Presenter - Have had it for two years now, am still on the first set of AAA batteries, it has taken tons of abuse, and it still works perfectly. Amazing!
  
• Private Electric Car Companies - It's as if we're on the cusp of another time like the 1920's, when every town seemed to have a local car manufacturer, except now they're all electric, hybrid, or alterna-fuel vehicles (a very good thing).

NOT

• Archos - if my 605 Wi-Fi completely hangs on me one more time, I swear I'm going to chuck it off an overpass (I'll post more about this later)
  
• Palm - if my Treo 700p resets on me one more time, I swear I'm going to chuck...aw, who am I kidding? It'll probably reset before I finish this post. C'mon Android...fill this void in my gadget-hoarding soul, will you?
  
• Megalomaniacal Corporate IT Departments - I hope the day comes soon when we can definitively show that the TCO actually improves when you let corporate tech users select their own personal devices.
  
• Flash memory format proliferation - I mean, seriously, do we really need SD, MiniSD, and MicroSD? It's getting as bad as the dang Memory Stick (and that's saying something).
  
• Download-only music stores - I may be in the minority, but I just don't like the DRM associated with most online music stores. And even without the DRM, the cost seems too much if I'm not getting permanent physical media, liner notes/art, etc. Call me old school if you like...go ahead, it only hurts a little.
  
• Intel's Marketing department - Seriously, guys, could you make keeping track of your product lines any more difficult and confusing?
  
• Getting older - I am no longer the kid I still think of myself as being.
  

So what are your Hot and Not?

Posted by Craig in Cars and Computing and Home A/V and Industry and Internet and Mobile & PDAs and Phones and Popular Media and Technology and Wireless
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April 1, 2008

Fighting T-Mobile with Its Own Color

T-Mobile is being a collective asshat. It's threatening to sue Engadget by claiming, ridiculously enough, that the website is infringing on T-Mobile's use of the color magenta.

So, GearBits is painting itself magenta for the day in an act of solidarity against such stupid abuse of intellectual property laws.

Posted by Craig in Industry and Wireless
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March 31, 2008

Gadget catharsis

My employer consolidated the management of cell phones and plans, forcing me to abandon my Treo 650 for a Blackberry 8830. Yeah, I know. The Blackberry vs random other brand mobile phone here comparison post is way too overdone. You don't need me to tell you the differences.

This isn't one of those posts.

At first I got ticked. It's not just the money down the tubes or the time invested. It was a bit like being dumped. It's been a few months, and I still miss using my Treo.

Some of my remaining Treo co-workers haven't been forced to move yet. But as some make the move, most seem to be expressing similar concerns and reach out to the Treo group to vent and support.

It may be obvious to you, but I'm still not sure why I (and other folks) get so attached to some of these devices.

Posted by Bob in PalmCorner and Wireless
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March 13, 2008

Logitech Squeezebox Duet Wireless Music System: The Unboxening

We just got a Logitech Squeezebox Duet, the new low(er)-cost competitor to the rather amazing Sonos wireless music streaming system, and I thought I'd post some shots of its debut at our house.

We got the Squeezebox primarily to replace the SMC Networks EZ-Stream SMCWAA-G that no longer seems to want to work properly (I constantly have to unplug it and plug it back in repeatedly when starting it up before it will recognize the network and respond to remote control signals). But then sometimes even a bargain is worth less than what you pay for it.

At $399, the Squeezebox Duet certainly isn't cheap, but it's still $200 less than a comparable Sonos setup. Plus, unlike the Sonos, the Squeezebox benefits from Slim Devices' (which Logitech acquired in late 2006) rabid developer community, so there's tons of nifty extensions and add-ons.

Click on the "continue reading" link for more pics and some initial reactions in lieu of a full review.

The black-on-black musical notes is a nice touch (I wonder if they were inspired by the "Smell the Glove" album cover). All told, the packaging is very Apple-esque, but not of the same high-quality materials; fit-and-finish is a tad lower as well. Good, not great, but better than the packaging that most of Logitech's lower-end stuff comes in. One thing that surprised me was that there was no CD included. I figured they'd at least include the PDF manual and some other stuff on a piece of media, but nope. And in retrospect, I'm glad they didn't...saves on material and weight...both good things. The box's entire contents are as follows (roughly left to right): the Squeezebox Receiver, Squeezebox Controller, power cord and North American plug adapter for Receiver, Controller recharching cradle and power cord (attached), Controller battery, stereo RCA cables, and Controller power plug adapter. The finish on the Controller is the same velvety pseudo-rubber you get on high-end SLR cameras...mmmm...smoooth.... The Receiver is very compact and very neat and tidy. If it weren't for the color, I'd have sworn it came from Cupertino. The status LED (glows red, green, blue, and white at various stages of setup) is also the only button on the Receiver. To give you a sense of scale, here's the Receiver next to a Mac Mini, a Series 2 TiVo, and a compact center channel speaker. Please ignore the hideous wiring...it's temporary...really...

After a few hours of use, I'm very, very impressed. The Duet is a really powerful way to control your music. It is amazingly flexible in its ability to handle a variety of music sources (iTunes, raw files, etc.) and to be customized per your preferences (it took me 20 minutes just to explore all the options in the Settings menu on the Controller).

Beyond the wide variety of online music services it supports (e.g., Rhapsody, Pandora, Slacker, etc.), the Squeezebox also has some nifty tricks up its sleeves. You can set the Controller to download and display photos from Flickr (yours, someone else's or random pics) when it's not being handled. It also has an accelerometer inside so it comes back to life when you pick it up (a nice touch). And, if that weren't enough, you can add both Controllers and Receivers to your wireless network and operate any Receiver from any Controller, or sync up all the Receivers to play the same content. At just $150 for each added Receiver, you can outfit a large house for far less than you could using Sonos' products.

So far, I'd have to say I like what I see. If you want to check out the Squeezebox's complete specs, along with a demo movie, head over to Slim Devices' website. More as I know it...

Posted by Craig in Home A/V and Music & Audio and Wireless
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February 17, 2008

Archos 605 WiFi Portable Media Player

The 605 WiFi, a fifth-generation portable media player from the French electronics firm Archos, is an impressive device. It boasts a vivid, high-res 4.3" touchscreen, 802.11g Wi-Fi (more on that later), and the ability to handle a reasonably broad array of media formats (although the larger, more expensive Cowon A3 handles far more). Plus, the 605 WiFi is available with hard drives of 30, 80, and 160 gigabytes or with 4GB of flash storage (the flash model also sports an SDHC slot for unlimited expansion). This review focuses on the 4GB flash version, which can be had for under $200 online and at a few brick-and-mortar electronics retailers.

After using the 605 WiFi for about two weeks now, I've come to appreciate it quite a bit. It's certainly not perfect, but it offers good value and some of its attributes that seem like weaknesses at first blush actually turn out to be strengths.

The Physical Unit
The 605 is 4.8'' x 3.2'' x 0.6'', about the same overall dimensions as an old PalmPilot, which is fairly compact for having such a large screen. The 4GB flash model weighs in at 5.3 ounces (the hard drive units weigh more, up to 9.2 oz. for the 160GB). The buttons to the right of the screen are two-way toggles (one function on each side, left and right), which take some getting used to. Thankfully, the touchscreen makes using the buttons unnecessary (although they're preferable in a few situations, such as changing volume). Two hardware buttons on the top of the unit include On/Off and a button to send video out via the docking station (when attached). The SDHC card slot is also on the top (nicely recessed so as to avoid any chance of accidental card eject). On the left is the headphone jack, and on the right is the pull-out kickstand (a very nice touch). The bottom of the unit has Archos' proprietary connector (which, of course, requires Archos' proprietary USB cable or dock to attach to it). The unit charges and syncs data through these connectors. The front also includes a very loud, clear mono speaker. The back is completely plain. In a departure from the 4th generation units, the 605 does not offer a user-swappable battery. But none of that really matters, for the 605's pièce de résistance is its screen. This 800x480 resolution beauty is simply stunning. It has an amazing angle of view and, at over 200 pixels per inch, gives every bit of clarity and detail you could hope for. Colors are well-saturated and there's no hint of screendoor or other effects that low-quality LCDs can have. Everyone I've showed this to has remarked almost immediately how good the display is. In the box, the 605 comes with headphones, a USB cable, a rudimentary slip-case, and some documentation.

The User Interface
You may have read somewhere (OK, everywhere) that the Archos user interface is terrible. It's not quite terrible...just very bad. But, I'm happy to say that (a) the touchscreen makes it a LOT easier to navigate, and (b) once you get used to certain conventions, it really isn't that bad (certainly no worse than Office 2007's new menu structure!). For example, the [X] button always takes you backwards (or back up a level) from wherever you are. Some have contrasted the 605 with the iPod Touch and come away saying the Touch is easier to use. I agree...for one main reason: the 605 has way, way more options, settings, and customizability than does the Touch, and all that requires a bit more complexity in the menus. For example, you can separately set the gamma, contrast, brightness, and backlight level of the 605's screen. The Touch, by comparison, doesn't even know what gamma is. So, if customizability is a desirable thing for you, the 605 will have you covered. But, if you're afraid of menus, then it may be a bit daunting until you read through the manual (a few times).

Media Performance
Overall, media playback is superb. Audio quality is high and videos look and sound awesome (even ones where the 605 has to up- or down-res to match the screen's resolution). The audio interface provides all the tag-based organization you'd expect -- Artist, Album, Genre, etc. -- with full album art support. The video interface even has nifty full-motion thumbnails, which is nice. Out of the box, the unit supports a variety of common formats (such as MP3, WMA, MPEG-4, WMV, and others; see the product webpage for complete info). Additional media formats (e.g., h.264 and MPEG-2) are supported through extra-cost plug-ins. One comment about the plug-ins: Archos takes the controversial approach of charging a fairly rock-bottom price for the hardware, but then charged non-trivial sums for plug-ins that provide additional functionality, such as the web browser ($30). If you don't need these plug-ins, then you'll likely feel like your 605 is a true bargain out of the box. However, if you do need several of the plug-ins, your sense of value will be diminished significantly. In the end, my feeling is that the 605 with all the plug-ins is competitively priced, just not the huge bargain it is bare-bones.

A couple of nifty things about media playback include the use of bookmarks (locations within individual files to go back to from the main screen) and playback at 1/8, 1/4, 1/2, 1X, 2X, and 4X normal speed. Plus, when playing back video, you get several options on how you want the video to be fit to the dimensions of the 650's 1.67:1 aspect screen (which is nice if you're picky about that like I am). Also, when viewing photos, you can use touchscreen actions to manipulate the images: a single swipe left-to-right (or right-to-left) advances to the next (previous) image; a swipe up (down) rotates the image counter-clockwise (clockwise); and holding your finger on a point on the image causes the 605 to zoom into the image until it reaches 100% resolution. A quick double-tap of the screen or a tap of the [X] button returns you to normal view.

Other Functions
Nobody buys a PMP mainly for web-browsing capabilities; that's always an afterthought. Thankfully, the 605's Opera-based browser is quite good. It provides Flash compatibility (for playing streaming video, such as from YouTube) and tabbed browsing (an Opera trademark). Rendering performance is so-so, but the screen's resolution means that typical pages are readable without a lot of side-scrolling. You cannot rotate the screen, so as long as you're OK with viewing webpages in landscape, you won't be disappointed.

The built-in 802.11g Wi-Fi is quite handy. The 605 not only includes a standard file management utility, it also lets you move and copy files from one location to another on your 605 and between your 605 and a computer elsewhere on the network you're on. Plus, it will stream media from locations on the network to the 605. I was able to watch an entire movie streamed wirelessly from a PC to the 605 without a single hitch...and it looked great! Fast-forward and rewind don't work when streaming, but pause does. Also, the 605 will talk to any UPnP media server active on the network, so if you're running Orb or TwonkyVision or something like that, the 605 will happily stream from it. You can also buy or rent content online through CinemaNow directly via the 605, which might be handy if you're stuck in an airport without a laptop and absolutely gotta have something to watch to pass the time.

Finally, the 605 offers a set of other functions that are nice touches. An Acrobat PDF viewer is included. Firmware updates can be done either via USB (after downloading to the PC from the Archos website) or directly to the 605 itself via Wi-Fi. If you purchase the additional DVR (digital video recording) dock and hook it up to a cable or antenna feed (via something else, though, as the dock only has S-Video and RCA inputs), you can schedule your 605 to record TV shows straight to MPEG-4. Of course, you can also record line-in audio and video as well, but that's not quite as trick as having your 605 emulate a mini-TiVo.

Conclusions
Overall, I like the 605 enough that I elected to keep it. It does what it does very well and tosses in some extra tricks in a fairly well-polished package. Sure, it has some rough spots -- the menu system and buttons are still a bit nutty and the codec support could be more extensive -- but it has met my rather modest needs 100%. Battery life is fair; I get about 4-4.5 hours of video playback on a charge (without Wi-Fi). I wish the unit had a regular USB port and that some of the codecs were included rather than handled via plug-ins, but these are all nitpicky details. The main thing that really matters, and the primary reason I'm happy with it, is the gorgeous screen. One look, and it was a done deal.

I'm sure I haven't covered everything here, so if you have questions about the 605, please ask.

Update: Mitch wrote in with a few comments and clarifications (thanks, mate!):

Very in-depth. A few things I would add:

Existence of the mini dock and battery dock. These will allow direct interface to USB disk drives and industry standard cables. They also give you the ability to keep the unit playing indefinitely as they allow more charging current from external battery packs.

The Archos file manager will also allow you to move files between two other computers on your network. Nice if you're already in bed and remember that you need to put something on your laptop for the next day.

The MPEG-2 plug-in activates the digital audio out for 5.1 AC-3 surround sound.

Also includes 2 styli (yay!)

The DVR dock turns it into an Apple TV with a screen allowing you to wirelessly play content to your big screen as well as browse the web, rent or buy videos, etc.

Update #2: A few other things that occurred to me after I finished up the review:

• SD card reading/writing via the 605 is much slower than it is via a card reader, so only use it for that in an emergency.
  
• The unit is mostly stable except when updating the firmware. Both times I've updated it, it's reset itself and/or behaved weirdly until after I did a full shutdown (complete "off" versus the "standby" mode it typically resorts to when you hit the Power button).
  
• The browser is quite good, actually. If you've used Opera on one of the Nokia Internet Tablets, you'll know what I mean (same res screen).
  
• Charging the 605 via the USB cable is sloooow; it takes 5-6 hours to go from empty to a full charge. Charging it via A/C using one of the docks Archos sells, however, takes about half that time. So, getting a dock has benefits beyond just a bigger variety of outputs and inputs.
  
• Accessing the bookmarking feature from the main screen only works on the most recently played file, so you can't easily jump between videos or songs without manually selecting each and entering into the menus to go to where you left off before.
  

  Posted by Craig in Home A/V and Mobile & PDAs and Movies & Books and Music & Audio and Technology and Travel and Wireless
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  February 13, 2008

  Google's gPhone Up Close and Personal

  Over two years ago, I initiated a general plea for a gPhone. Apparently, PalmSolo has witnessed the answer to my request at MWC08.

  

  Check out his photos and video of HTC's gPhone, an Android test mule, in action (via ZD Net)

  I'm fairly certain that my 700p will be my last Treo and that something running Android will be my next smartphone. Now if I can just go another 8-9 months...

  Posted by Craig in Industry and Phones and Wireless
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  January 4, 2008

  GearBits' Predictions for 2008

  As has become customary around the changing of the calendar, here are GearBits' official predictions for 2008.

  1) Blu-Ray Wins the Format War
  Yep, I'm going to pick a winner and it's going to be Blu-Ray. The one-two punch of Warner Brothers's move to Blu-Ray exclusivity (from its Switzerland-like neutrality of supporting both formats) later in 2008 and Apple's announcement that BD will be the only HD format available in its products will cement HD DVD's demise. And none too soon. I don't really care which wins...just make it snappy so that prices on players and media can plummet, thanks.

  2) Google's Android Shakes Up Phone Industry
  For a while now, the cellphone industry has been fairly static. A few smartphone and mobile OS makers have generally tussled for market share, but the overall industry has been pretty evolutionary. Google's entry will prove to be a watershed moment, with open source finally making a big impact in the handheld space (and no, I don't consider the Zaurus to be a big deal...sorry). Actual handsets running Android will be announced, if not available, before the end of 2008.

  3) Palm Supports Android
  This is more of a hope than an actual prediction, as I just don't know whether the egos at Palm will let the company do the right thing and admit that their next-generation OS (which has been under development since 2004!) will be a viable contender against Android (which has essentially the same technical details but scads more developer support). But, if cooler, more rational heads prevail at Palm, they'll announce that they're plans will be to produce at least one Android-based product (probably to come out sometime in 2012 :-/ ).

  4) Microsoft's HD Photo Replacement for JPEG Image Standard Goes Nowhere
  I'm not saying it's a bad idea technically; I'm just saying that JPEG is so entrenched now that replacing it would be about as reasonable a thing to try as would be replacing MP3 with any of the multitudes of better formats. JPEG, like MP3, isn't great, but it's adequate (at least for consumers) and ubiquitous. We'll still be saving all our photos in JPG (and maybe RAW) at the end of 2008...and likely long after that.

  5) Subnotes Will Explode in Availability (and Maybe Popularity)
  I've always been a fan of tiny, sub-3-pound laptops, but I think 2008 will see a huge number of these clamshell devices come out of every corner of the consumer electronics space. The Asus EeePC and the OLPC XO Laptop are two examples. While Microsoft had a good idea in its UMPC (Ultra-Mobile PC) concept, the hardware was just never executed all that well. Frankly, I think a 7" touchscreen for Windows is just too difficult. But, going with the traditional clamshell design and using cheaper and/or smaller technologies (e.g., flash memory instead of a HDD) will bring us a raft of interesting (and some good) designs at <$500 price points. Bring 'em on! And I think we'll start to see a lot more people toting these things along that traditionally avoided laptops for whatever reason (cost, weight, etc.).

  6) The GPS War Heats Up
  TomTom, Nokia, and Garmin will exchange hostile fire over the GPS market due to convuluted agreements regarding mapping data as well as market-share for hardware. Products will continue to decline in price and improve in functionality, and >50% of cellphones will have some form of GPS functionality available on them. I guess that's two predictions in one...oh well.

  7) DRM Hits Choppy Water
  2007 saw some movement away from DRM (digital rights management), especially in the music industry, but I expect we'll see similar initiatives in all areas of media. DRM has been proven again and again to be little more than an expensive technological boondoggle, and the leading innovators at the consumer media interface (e.g., Apple, Amazon, and Google) will make some headway into reversing the trend of more encumbrance for our media. The RIAA and MPAA will continue to fight it...they know how to do nothing else...but economic results will start to demonstrate that DRM actually hurts profitability.

  8) Major Tech Stocks End 2008 Up Significantly
  These are bound to be wrong, but what the heck...nobody pays me for stock tips. I think Apple will end 2008 at 235, Google will be at 960, and Microsoft will finish the year at 50. As for other stocks, iRobot will end up at either 46 or 12 (can you tell I'm a cynical shareholder?), IBM will show tepid growth to 112, and RIM, hurt by the continued weak US dollar and facing increasing competition, will struggle to match its 1-year high of 127.

  9) I Buy a New Laptop and Am Disappointed
  My Panasonic CF-W2 is now three-and-a-half-years-old and I'm starting to cringe every time I turn it on (my luck with hard drives makes me skeptical of many living past their 4th birthday). I've been looking at possible replacements (e.g., Toshiba R500, Panasonic W7, maybe the Lenovo IdeaPad U110 or the rumored Apple subnote) and so far every single one has some significant trade-offs. So, I expect I'll get one and it will turn out to be not significantly better than my aging Toughbook. You'd think in nearly four years that two grand would buy something markedly superior. We'll see...

  10) Major Changes in Automotive Industry Announced
  While the car business makes actual change only very slowly, we'll see some huge announcements in 2008 that will fundamentally change the future of that industry. Things like record oil prices, an increasing attention to sustainable/green technology, and significant ownership changes will substantially change the competitive landscape. Make no mistake; Toyota will continue its ascent and eclipse GM as #1 car-maker in the world. But, we will see several major announcements that will start affecting actual consumers in 2009 and beyond.

  So, I'll check back in about 12 months to see how I fared. In the meantime, what do you think will happen?

  Posted by Craig in Computing and Gaming and Home A/V and Industry and Internet and Other and Phones and Photography and Popular Media and Science & Nature and Society / Politics and Technology and Wireless
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  July 5, 2007

  Sick of Messing with Wi-Fi at Home? Consider a Wired Network

  For the past four years, I've relied on 802.11g Wi-Fi to get our router's Internet connection up to the second floor office where this web-server and our main PC both live. When we first moved into this house, I had come to the conclusion that there was no way I could route Ethernet cable from the first to the second floor (and across the width of the house) without doing something that She-Who-Must-Be-Obeyed would find objectionable.

  So, after trying out three routers and countless Wi-Fi adapters looking for adequate range, reliability, and speed, I sunk into the belief that I was destined to put up with wildly fluctuating network speeds (often bouncing between 1 and 8 mbps realized throughput), intermittent connectivity loss (e.g., temporary wireless interference), and a generally unsatisfactory level of network performance.

  Then, for no good reason, last week I revisited the idea of having an electrician run Cat-6 from where our router is to the upstairs office. I had always assumed it was prohibitively expensive, but figured getting an estimate couldn't hurt.

  Wow! I was simply amazed when the job was done and I was no poorer than had I bought a new 802.11n router and PCI adapter for one computer. For a couple hundred dollars, we now have Gigabit Ethernet connecting our entire network. Granted, the Internet connection still trundles along at 3 mbps, but file transfers within the network (e.g., LAN backups and media copying) are blindingly fast.

  So, if you're sick of mucking around with Wi-Fi for networking desktop PCs and other devices that don't move around a lot within your home, consider having an electrician give you an estimate on running some Ethernet cable. You may be surprised at how cheap it actually is (might be less expensive than buying some faster Wi-Fi gear and it's a LOT faster, reliable, and more secure). Make sure to get Cat-6 cable installed so you can be sure to take advantage of the new networking standards coming down the pike in a few years. You don't want to have to go about replacing wire inside your walls, and the better cable is only a few cents a foot more expensive (ours was 30 cents a foot).

  Posted by Craig in Computing and Internet and Technology and Wireless
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  May 30, 2007

  What Palm Should Have Announced Instead of the Foleo

  Today, Palm announced its new Foleo smartphone companion (shown, next to the Treo). You can learn about it at the Palm website and read some first impressions here, here, and here.

  I'm going to reserve judgment on the Foleo until I get some hands-on time with it (you hear that, Palm? Bump me up a few spots on the review unit list, will ya?). It has some interesting points, but I'll admit to being skeptical that the market for this device exceeds a few thousand people.

  But it did get me thinking just what would have been a better product (or products) to announce today that would have served a similar purpose (i.e., extending the usefulness of a smartphone like the Treo...or the iPhone)? Here are some ideas that I've seen proposed various places today:

  1) Linux-Powered Tablet Treo -- Combine the radio and multimedia functions of a Treo with all the open-source goodness of a Linux kernel and a big touchscreen display.

  2) Bluetooth Virtual Display -- Giving the user a better bigscreen view of her Treo's data while only adding a few ounces to her bag seems like an interesting idea. Just one question, though: How do you interact with the Treo if your eyes are blocked by the display?

  3) Clamshell Treo -- Proposed by the many who wish the Treo's 2.5" square display was a shade larger yet still pocketable, a clamshell Treo could even have two displays (a la Nintendo's DS) for double the productivity.

  4) A Universal Treo-Laptop Interface -- Some have suggested that what Palm really needs to offer is a piece of hardware that would connect a Treo to any PC's USB port and automatically broker data and Internet sharing between the two devices. Imagine a continuous "smart" syncing between the two devices so that the PC could be used as an interface to the Treo's contents, or vice versa.

  What's your suggestion? What should Palm have released instead of the Foleo? Or do you think it really is a viable new product category?

  Posted by Craig in Computing and Mobile & PDAs and Phones and Technology and Travel and Wireless
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  May 29, 2007

  Managing Home Technology: Incremental vs. Wholesale Improvement

  Like you, probably, I'm constantly facing "yet another technology decision" at home. This time, it's storage; my main external USB backup drive is running out of space and I need to figure out a solution. But, it just as easily could have been another episode of "there has to be a better media streamer" or the umpteenth round of "my, my, LCD monitors are getting cheap...maybe it makes sense to finally replace my CRT."

  But this backup issue haunts me. It seems I am never able to get enough storage in the right place to last for very long. As if I were a gas, merrily following my Brownian ways, I tend to fill up whatever volume (pun intended) I'm given. And that line of thinking made me realize that my home technology infrastructure is the result of countless incremental changes, most being opportunistic or cost-driven and very few (if any) made with a larger, long-term strategy in mind.

  So what would I do if I could scrap everything I have and start fresh? Would I go with a Drobo attached to an Apple Airport Extreme to create a massively upgradable NAS, or would I go with a Microsoft Windows Home Server? Would I change everything on my wireless network over to 802.11n? Would I even have a desktop anywhere in the house (other than a Mac Mini to use as a media center PC)?

  All those are entertaining issues to mull over, but the reality is that few of us have the money or time to toss out everything and start fresh. I mean, financial implications aside, how freaking long would it take to get all that new kit functioning correctly? My head reels at the thought.

  So, I'm back to my issue of a 500GB USB HDD being inadequate as my main backup unit. Should I just go get a 750GB and buy some time, or should I invest in a longer-term solution at a considerably higher price? Decisions, decisions...
  

  Posted by Craig in Computing and Home A/V and Technology and Wireless
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  May 9, 2007

  Calling 'Shenanigans' on Sprint Wireless

  Over the weekend on a work trip, the headset jack on my 700p started acting up and the unit was going to have to be replaced.

  When I went to my local Sprint store Tuesday evening, they told me, sorry...I would have to go to a special Sprint store that had a technician in it. The nearest one was several miles away.

  So, today, at 11:30am, I show up at the Sprint store. I wait 20 minutes just to talk to someone. I give him my phone to hand to the tech to verify that it was, indeed, a bad headset jack. 15 minutes later, the tech verifies that as the problem and says he can't fix it. No sweat, I say, since (a) it's still under Palm's 1-year warranty, and (b) I have the phone repair/replacement warranty on top of that. So, I expect them to hand me a replacement 700p.

  Nope. Sales dude Jeff tells me that they have no Treo 700p's in stock and they have to get it from the warehouse, which takes 3-5 days. In the meantime, I will just have to use the wired headset whenever I want to make or receive a call or check my voicemail (which is the only way they'll alert me that my replacement phone is available).

  However, I get back to my office today and call the store. I talk to sales dude Mike and ask if they have any 700p's in stock. He cheerily tells me that they have several 700p's in the store and to come on in and pick one up (they're open until 9pm!).

  So, what's up, Sprint? I'm paying you nearly $100 a month plus a $6 per month replacement service fee just so you can make me wait an extra 3-5 days while you'll give a new customer my phone today? Sprint sucks.

  It's really no wonder that a recent MSN-Zogby poll ranked Sprint as having the worst customer service across all industries. It's times like this that I really miss T-Mobile.

  Update: I called Sprint's telephone support and they said they weren't sure why the store said what it did, but that I could go back to the store and ask to speak to the manager. Rather than driving clear up there again tonight, I called and was told that the phones in stock in the store were new phones and that they couldn't give out new phones for replacements (only refurbished models are available for existing customers). I asked the girl if she thought that giving better service to a potential Sprint customer (e.g., someone wanting to sign up for service and buy a 700p outright, who would be handed a new phone immediately) than a current Sprint customer (e.g., me) was the right thing to do. She said, "I'm not going to answer that." Yes, welcome to Sprint...ethics optional.
  

  Posted by Craig in Industry and Mobile & PDAs and Phones and Wireless
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  May 1, 2007

  Ziova Clearstream CS510 HD Network Media Player

  

  This is a review of the new Ziova Clearstream CS510 High-Definition Network Media Player. Ziova (nee Zensonic), a small Australian consumer electronics firm, announced this puppy at CES 2007, but just recently (i.e., last week) started shipping units out for review. After I submitted a review request to the company a few months ago, one landed on my doorstep on Friday and I put it through its paces over the past few days. Here are some initial thoughts.

  First, what it is. The CS510 is a home A/V appliance that streams/plays content located on your home network (via Ethernet or 802.11b/g) or attached storage (USB 2.0) to your home theater (TV and/or stereo system). The CS510 differentiates itself from the unwashed masses of network media streamers by virtue of a few unique (or uncommon) features:
  • It serves up HD-quality video output (720p and 1080i) and 5.1 surround sound
  • It has the ability to play content directly from an attached mass storage device (i.e., no PC is needed to decode the content)
  • It offers up Windows network browsing via SMB

  I will not enumerate the unit's specs here because that information is available from the Ziova website: overview, features, and reasonably complete technical specs

  Below are some photos of the CS510 hardware and screen shots of its on-screen interface and output (if some of the screen shots look a little off-kilter or skewed, realize that I simply took handheld snapshots of the TV...the CS510's output was always completely orthogonal ;-):

  
  The box. Sturdy enough for a 21-lb toddler to stand on.

  
  Inside the box. This is definitely not Apple-style packaging here.

  
  Contents. From upper left is: power cable, CS510, composite audio/video cable (wha?), installation CD (UPnP software, manual, etc.), Ethernet cable, remote control and batteries (woot!), and very decent printed user manual. A single USB 2.0 port is located on the front of the unit (why not one on the back, too?) along with the display and power button.

  
  Rear ports. Most everything you might need.

  
  The unit's serial number and both MACs are pre-printed on the user manual, a nice touch.

  
  The remote is decent: big, squishy buttons, mostly in the right place, and a grippy texture.

  
  Startup splash screen. Re-booting takes about 1 minute.

  
  Main menu.

  
  Main music menu. This allows you to select the source of the content you want to play (similar screen is used in Photos and Video). You cannot pull content from multiple sources (e.g., USB drive and a network share) during a single playback session.

  
  List of folders (in this case, artists) containing music on a network share. And before you critique my taste in music, some of that is my wife's (all the non-cool stuff...yeah...that's it).

  
  Video setup. Extensive options available for playback and output depending on what is hooked up to the unit's A/V ports.

  
  Screen-shot of 720p output (this is shown on a 43" Samsung 720p DLP set) of an upconverted near-VGA-resolution (624x352, 132 kbps) Xvid file. I know it's impossible to get much information from this because it's a 600-pixel image down-rezzed from a 5MP digital camera image of a 720p TV's output of an upconverted stream of a compressed, resized video file transcoded from a recording of an OTA HDTV source. Suffice to say that the on-screen image quality was very, very good given the limitations of the file it was playing.

  
  Another shot of different source material (640x352, 215kbps Xvid).

  
  Yet another source material (640x288, 192kbps Xvid). The reason I didn't bother testing HD content as an input is that (a) I didn't have anything on hand better than 480p that was DRM-free (this unit doesn't handle DRM-laden HD video content), and (b) I assumed it would look better anyway (less upconversion going on). For me, the true test was how well it displayed the same content I play on my Treo and laptop when out and about.

  
  Fast-forward 8X (see upper left of screen). FFWD goes up to 32X (way better than 11).

  
  The dreaded hourglass...get used to this as you'll be seeing it a lot (more on that below).

  
  Wha?! But...you were playing it perfectly well just a moment ago...

  
  Yes, a weather channel (just in case you can't get the weather on your TV, your phone, your game console, your PDA, your laptop, or your AM/FM radio).

  THE GOOD:
  The unit has many desirable qualities, including:

  • Upconverted video quality is excellent. Even VGA-resolution MPEG-4 looks quite good at 720p (what I tested). Sound quality seems good, although I will be the first to admit that I do not have an audiophile's ear (all our MP3 music is encoded at 160kbps or 192kbps anyway).

  • Hardware offers good connectivity and lots of flexibility. Network connection can be wired (although not Gigabit Ethernet) or wireless (802.11g/b). The A/V outputs provided represent what most people would need/want. There are multiple ways of getting content into the unit, including UPnP media server, direct network share browsing, connected mass storage, and (in the case of music) Internet streams. Lots of options should satisfy nearly everyone.

  • Massively compatible with DRM-free content. The device decodes and/or streams nearly every common audio and video format. I know of no device short of a full PC that can handle such a wide variety of formats.

  • Menu system easy to navigate and understand.

  • Direct network content navigation via Windows SMB means that you can play content on the network without running TwonkyVision or any other media server software. That's a very handy feature and sets the standard for other network media players in terms of accessibility.

  • The remote feels good. It has a rubbery coating very similar to that on good D-SLR cameras.

  • Future promise. The unit seems capable of doing a lot of interesting and useful things. The weather channel seems like a preview of that. Plus, firmware upgrades could resolve a lot of the things that weren't so appealing about this unit...

  THE BAD:
  In my opinion, there are several ways the unit fails to live up to my expectations or could stand improvement, such as:

  • For all but the most basic use, you need to use the TV to interact with your music collection. There are no navigation buttons on the CS510 itself and the unit's front display, which only shows a single line of 12 characters, is quite irritating to use as the only means of navigation. Scrolling through options is much slower when you can't see a few items ahead. This makes it a relatively poor audio player (at least compared to the reasonable 4-line display on the SMC EZ-Stream) since there's really little reason to have the TV on when you're just listening to music (and many reasons to want it off). Some may find a 1-line display adequate; I did not.

  • Sloooooow, especially when managing large media collections like ours. Our music collection includes some 16,000+ tracks, and bringing up a menu of all artist folders via the network took roughly 5 minutes. Doing the same task via USB took almost 3 minutes. That's unusable in my opinion. Plus, there are lots of little delays, like the 5-6 seconds between pushing the remote's "Menu" button and the main menu actually appearing on screen, which further impair the user experience.

  • Can be flaky when interacting with UPnP servers other than TwonkyVision (e.g., likes to lock up when trying to get content via Orb). To be fair, Ziova doesn't claim that the CS510 will work with Orb, so that's probably an unfair and inappropriate complaint. I only mention it because many people have their favorite UPnP server software and don't want to have to switch to something else if they don't have to.

  • Fast-foward and Rewind on streaming video takes FOREVER to actually engage. Hitting FFWD twice on the remote to go to 4X forward resulted in the video pausing for 57 seconds before it actually started fast-fowarding. I asked the Ziova rep about this and he basically pointed to the limitations of the Sigma EM8620L chipset that handles most heavy lifting done by the CS510. That chipset contains a rather meager 166MHz processor (!), only 64MB of RAM, and is neither upgradeable nor can it address any additional external memory. So, the unit is less responsive than ideal and you get situations like this. Ziova did engineer in both a "seek" feature and a "skip ahead X seconds" feature to help overcome this FFWD/RWD malaise, but they aren't exact substitutes.

  • Exiting from 16X and 32X FFWD (by hitting Play) often results in the player locking up. The only recourse I found in that situation is to cycle the power.

  • Inconsistent 802.11 connectivity. The CS510 often lost connection to our router despite the router sitting just 3 feet away from the unit (it was the only device in network to exhibit that issue). The Ziova rep said this was an issue they were currently working on and should be resolved in a future firmware update.

  • No detailed media information shown in lists. For example, no ID3 tag info (e.g., year, artist, genre, album, etc.) is displayed for MP3 tracks when scanning through lists of songs.

  • Currently no way to concoct a playlist of music on the device itself. Moreover, content can't be streamed from multiple sources in the same session (e.g., you cannot tell the CS510 to intersperse music from a USB directory and a network share during the same continuous play session; instead, you must play content from one source, switch sources, and then play content from the other source). This seems like a very silly limitation.

  • Interface is utilitarian and generally not very inspired. Compared to more innovative interfaces like Apple's Front Row, the CS510's interface is very me-too in the same vein as Windows Media Center and Myth TV (functional but unexciting). A minor quibble for someone who favors function over form most of the time.

  • Lots of setting changes require rebooting the unit. Want to enable UPnP support? OK...reboot. Want to change your LAN connection mode? OK...reboot. That gets old pretty quickly, especially when the unit I tested seemed to occasionally lose its ability to find UPnP servers on network and the only way to re-enable that was to go into Settings, turn UPnP support off, reboot, turn it back on, reboot, and then scan for UPnP servers. Not the most fun way to spend 5-6 minutes.

  SUMMARY
  I was pretty excited about this device when I heard about it. Now that I've had some hands-on time, I'm optimistic that the next version of the CS510 may be something I would be willing to purchase for home use. At a $249 MSRP, I can't say I heartily recommend this unit -- it just has too many niggling deficiencies for me to say it's a good choice. But, it's close. If you're desperate to play back digitized content on your home theater, want lots of flexibility, willing to put up with some strange behavior and waiting time, and don't already have an HTPC set up, the CS510 might be just what you're looking for.

  Posted by Craig in Home A/V and Movies & Books and Music & Audio and Technology and Wireless
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  March 11, 2007

  Virtual Reality Sound Labs VRFM9 Quite the Multi-Talented FM Transmitter

  While at Target earlier today looking for something else entirely, I stumbled upon the VRFM3 FM Transmitter by Virtual Reality Sound Labs. What caught my eye about this FM transmitter is the fact that it will play MP3 and WMA files directly from either a flash drive inserted into its USB port or an Secure Digital (SD) card inserted into its SD slot (see below). Of course, there's also a line-in jack for transmitting audio from another source (e.g., an iPod or Treo), but this is the first unit I've seen to offer both USB and SD interfaces. So, excited by the prospect of easy, cheap, portable, and completely wire-free tunage for any car I happen to be in, I plunked down my $49.99 and headed home to put the VRFM9 through its paces.

  After an initial test, I'm very impressed by how well this device works. It does exactly what you would expect, if not hope, it to do, which, unfortunately, seems to be a rarity in consumer electronics. Plus, even more a rarity are the extensive written instructions (including color diagrams) that came with the device.

  First, I tried the typical external input mode with my Treo 700p as source. The VRFM9 automatically detects which source is hooked up (if music is available by more than one source, priority goes first to the external line-in, then to the USB port, then last to the SD card slot; the unit will only play music from one source) and transmits that via one of its 15 preset FM channels (8 in the low range and 7 in the high range...enough to satisfy nearly everyone nearly all the time). The two-line LCD (at right) offers some information about the FM channel being used, play mode (normal v. shuffle), source, etc. If the unit is playing an MP3 or WMA file straight off USB or SD card, it will display the artist and song title as well (assuming these tags are present in the audio file). It's a bit cryptic and not a lot of characters appear at once, but given that you likely won't be interacting a lot with this device, it's certainly adequate, if not surprisingly nice. One nice UI touch is that when you switch tracks or change the volume, the display changes to show extra-large characters (e.g., "011/045" to let you know you're on track 11 of 45 total tracks on that source) for enhanced readability.

  Second, I tried a couple different SD cards. Both my 2GB and 4GB SD (not SDHC) cards worked fine. The VRFM9 will scan the card when inserted and start playing the first one it comes across. It appears to play in this order: (1) anything in the root directory, in alphabetical order by file name, (2) anything in sub-directories in alphabetical order by sub-directory, then by file name within each sub-directory. Of course, putting the unit in Shuffle mode randomizes play across all files in all directories. One odd thing I noticed was that the unit would attempt to play the two WMV files I had in one sub-directory, but it was unsuccessful as no sound was transmitted.

  I then attempted to use the VRFM9 with a USB flash drive (specifically, the 4GB Patriot Xporter XT that I reviewed previously), but no joy. The unit displayed "No Source" with that USB drive. I'll hunt around for another one and give it a go when I get a chance. Another note regarding use with flash drives; not all will fit. Particularly fat flash drives may be too girthy to fit into the VRFM9's port. If there's an SD card inserted, this further reduces the space around the USB port. Most normal extension cables will work fine.

  One interesting tidbit is that a USB flash card reader that mounts like an external drive will let the user effectively play music through the VRFM9 via any of the flash media formats the reader supports. But as above, music will be played from only one card at a time. I tried plugging in an external USB hard drive (full 120VAC 3.5" drive), but no dice...the unit didn't recognize that anything was plugged in to the USB port.

  Controls on the unit are spartan but adequate. They all click nicely and the dual-function (click vs. hold) is reasonably intuitive.

  Now, two minor complaints. First, even though the unit ratchets through about a 120-degree sweep, the LCD isn't particularly readable except at very direct angles. So, if your car's cigarette lighter/power socket is way off to the side of the center console, you may not have much luck reading the display while driving. Second, as with all FM transmitters, sound quality is not particularly good. After all, you're limited to the sound quality of FM radio, which isn't going to impress anyone. Audiophiles will want to look to other (and likely much more expensive) hardwired solutions for getting their portable audio broadcast through their cars' stereos.

  Overall, I am quite impressed by this device. Not only does it do exactly what you think it should, it seems reasonably well made and is not terribly expensive. And, given that many people have at least one lower-capacity SD card or USB flash drive sitting in a drawer not doing anything, this makes for a very easy way to put it to work as a music sherpa for your car.

  There are also some nice reviews of the VRFM9 over at Audioholics and Gizmos for Geeks if you're still on the fence or want more opinions.

  Posted by Craig in Cars and Home A/V and Mobile & PDAs and Music & Audio and Travel and Wireless
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  May 6, 2006

  SMC Networks EZ-Stream SMCWAA-G Wireless Audio Adapter

  Ever on the lookout for a more reliable replacement for our Omnifi DMS1, I nearly jumped out of my seat when I saw an ad for the SMCWAA-G Wireless Audio Adapter from SMC Networks (pictured to the right).

  At first blush, the specs looked just about perfect based on the requirements I laid out nearly two years ago:
  

  • Has a display -- CHECK!
    
  • Has 802.11g wireless networking -- CHECK!
    
  • Serves up Internet MP3 streams -- CHECK!
    
  And all that for under $100 (after rebate)? I just had to try it.

  So, here's a brief review after using this thing for about a day now (Googling turned up no actual reviews of this unit, so I felt it was my technerd duty to post one). Granted, I did not try out every feature yet, and I didn't even install the MusicMatch UPnP audio server software that came with it (I already had the TwonkyVision UPnP app running on our HTPC for use with the Omnifi). So, consider this a "first blush" review only.

  Hardware

  

  Inside the box is what you'd pretty much expect.

  

  In the photo below, from upper left, going clockwise is: the SMCWAA-G itself, a CD-ROM and some sparse paper documentation, the wall-wart power adapter, a 6' CAT-5 cable, the remote control (with 2 'AAA' batteries), and some bargain audio cables.

  

  Looking at the back of the unit (below), you see the following (left to right): antenna, Left and Right analog audio jacks, RJ-45 jack, reset button, and power jack.

  

  The size of the unit is surprising -- it is MUCH smaller than I expected. It's roughly half the size of an external 3.5" HDD, in case that helps. Here's a photo comparing the SMC (top right) with the Omnifi (top left) and our Series 2 TiVo (bottom).

  

  Notice that the front of the unit has no buttons or any means at all of interacting with the SMCWAA-G (that round thing on the left of the front panel is the infrared sensor). All control is done with the remote (shown to the right). The remote is rather generic-looking (nearly identical to the Omnifi remote), but seems to have all the necessary buttons and is fairly easy to read (although it's not lighted, so managing the SMCWAA-G in the dark might be a PITA).

  Setup

  Plugging in the unit asks the user to select a language (Note: all screen shots are actual photographs of the screen, and my camera wasn't 100% focused every single time...my apologies for any fuzziness).

  

  Notice that the display fits six lines of information -- four lines of menu choices and a top and bottom line of labels and button prompts. Not too terrible a user interface for such a small screen.

  Once the language is chosen, the SMCWAA-G launches into a "Configuration Wizard", which actually does a decent job.

  

  The wizard takes you through the few steps of selecting and setting up the unit's wireless connection. Once I had added the unit's MAC address to my router's authentication list, it worked like a charm. The unit reportedly supports 128-bit WEP and WPA, but I didn't test that.

  Menus

  Once setup is complete, the unit offers a "home" menu. This menu lists all available UPnP servers on your network (I have just one) as well as "Favorites" (tracks that have been tagged as such) and "Internet Radio" (SMC provides a proprietary Internet radio service via Radio678.com, which I have not yet tried).

  

  The menus within a particular UPnP audio source depend on how that UPnP server structures its menus, so the following screen shots show how TwonkyVision shows up on the SMCWAA-G (as mentioned, I did not attempt to use the unit with the MusicMatch software it came with).

  
  

  

  

  

  All in all, you get quite a bit of information on the screen when a track is playing: Artist, Title, Album, and play time are shown inside the center box, and the date, time, signal strength (left), volume (right), and playback options (e.g., shuffle, repeat, etc.) around the periphery.

  The SMCWAA-G works just fine with streaming MP3 sources from the Internet. I added links to an .m3u playlist and TwonkyVision served them up via the EZ-Stream just perfectly. So no complaints there.

  Surprising Features

  The EZ-Stream SMCWAA-G has some really nifty features that you won't find well-documented online or on SMC's website. For one, the audio out is variable (volume on the remote is controlled by the + and - buttons), so you don't need to grab a second remote (or walk up to your stereo) to change the volume or mute the sound.

  Another cool feature will be appreciated by anyone who has a sizable music collection. Scrolling through hundreds of artists can get pretty tedious. The SMCWAA-G has a "Jump To" button on the remote to solve this problem. Hitting "Jump To" lets you enter in letters and numbers using the remote's phone-like number pad (i.e., for a "U", hit the "8" button three times). Spelling out the first one or more letters of a track name, artist, or album will jump you right to it without scrolling. This is similar to the "Power Scroll" function on the Sonos wireless audio system (but the SMCWAA-G is about 1/10th the price ;-). Note that the , . - and "space" marks are available by hitting the "1" key multiple times.

  A third thing that's interesting is that the SMCWAA-G actually offers some audio-based help items in its menu. Selecting one of these help topics causes the unit to broadcast (I assume from some internal memory) a pleasant-sounding woman's voice describing various features and options the unit has. As I've never seen this done before, this innovation surprised me.

  There are some other functions and features listed in the manual, but I've not tried them out, so I won't list them here.

  Final Thoughts

  So far, we've had no complaints about sound quality, but most of our stuff isn't encoded at any fidelity likely to satisfy a true audiophile. The unit claims to play MP3, WMA, protected WMA, and WAV, but I've only so far tried it on MP3. The networking setup was truly painless -- that was especially impressive. The display is as clear and bright as I could hope. The text is too small to be easily read from more than, say, 12 feet away (give or take), but that should be adequate for most uses. Given that the screen pivots, most users should be able to position it for maximum readability, which helps some.

  Some nice-to-haves on the unit would have been some form of digital audio out (everything's digital until it gets to this unit, so why not just pass it on?) and some font options (maybe to cram more lines in on the display or make the text bigger to be read from across a larger room). But those are really quite minor detractions (to me, at least) from what's a fairly solid piece of kit.

  All in all, I'm happily surprised. I have a hunch that if Lori also gives this a thumbs-up (and I see no reason she wouldn't), the EZ-Stream SMCWAA-G will become the new king of the family room and our twitchy Omnifi will be relegated to some lesser-used part of the house. Well done, SMC!

  Posted by Craig in Home A/V and Wireless
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  April 10, 2006

  Mobility: The Great Challenge for Streaming Media

  Streaming media is on the rise -- YouTube, Google Video, et al. are testimony to that fact. Yet there's a huge gap between those who can enjoy streaming media on the go (in your car, on the commute, etc.) and those who use the original streaming medium: broadcast radio.

  Despite the growth of Wi-Fi and cellular Internet connections, good old-fashioned "radio" is still unmatched in its ease of use, cost-effectiveness, and reliability for broadcasting audio to multiple listeners.

  Here's an example: When I'm out in the yard mowing, I can pick up a $10 portable FM radio (actually, you can get them free as tradeshow swag) and listen to about 30 channels for free simply by turning it on and hitting a preset button. There is no solution as simple, easy-to-use, and cheap for streaming sources, like WOXY.com or other Internet-only radio stations.

  But why not? My Wi-Fi network covers my yard, so why isn't there a nice, little (maybe even cheap) Wi-Fi radio I can stick in my pocket and "tune in" to streamed sources?

  Granted, I can use my Treo 650 to stream in MP3-based sources at a whopping 48k mono (thanks, T-Mobile EDGE :-/), but that means I can't receive calls and a full charge only lasts about 2 hours doing that.

  So what's the solution? Is terrestrial station going to be around forever because we can't beat its delivery economics with packet-based technologies? Or will mass storage continue to get smaller and cheaper at such a rate that we'll never feel a need for stuff stored "out there"? Or is there a solution on the way I just haven't heard of yet?
  

  Posted by Craig in Mobile & PDAs and Music & Audio and Wireless
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  April 3, 2006

  New Poll Yields Insights into US Cell Phone Attitudes

  A new poll out confirms some things that US technophiles have long believed, such as the fact that most people in the US are still slow to grasp the amazing range of capabilities that phones can offer and that older (i.e., wealthier) customers don't generate demand for the advanced features that younger, poorer customers want to use.

  Poll: Cell Phones Irritating, Invaluable

  By WILL LESTER - Associated Press Writer

  WASHINGTON - Even cell phone users get irritated at others who yak on their portables about their personal business in public. An AP-AOL-Pew poll found the offended don't think they are among the callers who get on other people's nerves.

  Most cell users find their phones very useful, with half keeping them on all the time.

  But almost nine in 10 say they encounter others using those phones in an annoying way. Only 8 percent of cell users acknowledge their own use of cell phones is sometimes rude.

  "People tend to talk louder on the phone. That's quite irritating," said Pamela Sorenson, a 57-year-old resident of Bellingham, Wash. "I often hear young people, mostly college age, talking about dating and personal things I don't want to know about."

  More than two-thirds of cell phone users say it would be hard to give up their portable, according to the poll, one of the most extensive news surveys of cell phone users yet.

  About a fourth of the cell phone users polled, 26 percent, said they can't imagine life without their cell phone. Three-fourths of cell users say they have used it in an emergency.

  "My cell phone is pretty much a necessity _ sometimes a pain but a necessity," said Sandra Moore of Colorado Springs, Colo. "I have children and the cell phone gives me the freedom to be places I need to be. It's easier to communicate with people, you can reach them almost any time.

  "But that means people can reach me anytime," she grumbled. "Sometimes, I just turn the ringer off."

  Almost one-fourth of those polled say too many people try to get in touch with them on their cell phones _ just one of many headaches balanced against the devices' advantages.

  The poll also found:

  • More than a fourth, 28 percent, said they sometimes don't drive as safely as they should because they are using a cell phone.

  • More than a third, 36 percent, said they are sometimes shocked at the size of their service bill.

  The bulk of cell users use it traditionally _ as a portable phone. But cell phones increasingly include built-in cameras, MP3 players, games and computers with the Internet and e-mail.

  Young adults and minorities are drawn to the multiple uses of a cell phone. They are more likely than older adults and whites to send text messages, take pictures, use the Internet and play music with their cell phones.

  If those trends continue, the cell phones' role will change dramatically.

  "We've got everything on my phone," said Mark Madsen, a 24-year-old college student from Chattanooga, Tenn. "I use it mostly for the phone, but I also play video games and use the MP3 player. I pretty much use it all the time."

  Only one-third of U.S. cell phone owners use text messages _ a practice immensely popular in Europe and Asia. Two-thirds of cell phone owners between ages 18 and 29 send text messages _ one of many areas where young adults have a more versatile approach to the devices.

  More than half, 55 percent, of young adults take still pictures with their phones; 47 percent play games and 28 percent use the Internet, according to the poll of more than 1,200 cell phone users.

  "We think of them as mobile phones, but the personal computer, mobile phone and the Internet are merging into some new medium like the personal computer in the 1980s or the Internet in the 1990s," said Howard Rheingold, an author who has taught at Stanford University and written extensively about the effects of technology.

  Cell phones have changed the way people organize their time. Nearly half freed said they make most of their cell calls in off-hours when the minutes are free. Almost as many say they make cell phone calls to occupy time when traveling or waiting for someone.

  "When I'm driving to my appointments, everybody calls me on my cell phone, said 26-year-old Abel Yanez of San Jose, Calif, who works in a landscaping business. "When I'm in my office, I use my cell phone because if I need to leave, I just leave. I have the office phone so I can dial up on the Internet."

  The AP-AOL-Pew poll of 1,503 adults included 1,286 cell phone users and was conducted March 8-26. It has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points. About half of the interviews, 752, were conducted by dialing landlines and 751 were conducted by dialing cell phones.

  (c) Associated Press

  More information, including the entire survey and a breakdown, question by question, of respondents' answers, can be found here at the Washington Post.
  

  Posted by Craig in Industry and Mobile & PDAs and Wireless
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  September 8, 2005

  NYTimes on Wireless Network Cameras

  The New York Times has a decent, if not short, piece on wireless network cameras. They review the Linksys WVC54G, Panasonic BB-HCM371A, and D-Link DCS-6620G. They did not mention the Hawking Technology HNC230G I reviewed last month.

  Posted by Craig in Computing and Home A/V and Photography and Wireless
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  September 7, 2005

  My Reaction to the Motorola ROKR iTunes Phone

  One word: Whaaa??

  That's what I said when I read over at Gizmodo that this device would cost $249 with a 2-year contract at Cingular.

  OK, more words. Let me get this straight. You want me to pay $249 for an otherwise generic featurephone (camera, quad-band) with the only notable feature being that it holds fewer songs than a $30 512MB SD card? For the same price ($249 with contract), you can get a real smartphone (such as the Treo 650) that will hold 2GB worth of music (~500 songs), play movies, surf the web, get email, take pictures, etc. etc. etc.

  Sure, some Apple fanatics will get this just because, but IMNSHO this device is overpriced by $100, if not more.

  Handsets were supposed to be the razors so that wireless carriers (and now apparently online music providers) could sell them new and fresh content and services (i.e., razor blades). So now that Apple and Cingular are making it easier to get this content you bought from themn onto the device, they want you to pay $200 more than you would for a similarly equipped piece of hardware just for that convenience. I hope most people are smart enough to say "no thanks" (but then I'm usually disappointed when I rely on the general populace's cognitive ability).

  Follow-up: Apparently, I'm not the only one to pooh-pooh the ROKR

  Posted by Craig in Music & Audio and Phones and Wireless
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  September 6, 2005

  T-Mobile Now Does EDGE

  T-Mobile has saved me some hassle by finally providing EDGE service to 90% of its coverage area. I had been considering switching to Cingular to make use of the higher-speed data connection (GPRS usually gets me 10-20 kbps on my Treo 650 while I see 80-120 kbps with EDGE), but now I don't have to.

  Thanks, T-Mobile. Now about that North American HSDPA roll-out...

  Posted by Craig in Phones and Wireless
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