I have gotten a several emails about Windows 7 recently (and even a couple about Vista). Since I am in the middle of a large Win7 architectural and deployment project, I thought I would take time and jot down some thoughts and try to answer the emails in the progress. 

I don’t want to do a feature by feature comparison of Vista and Win 7, because there are hundreds of those available. I could spend the next three months writing about XP Mode(virtualization), multi-core performance improvements, TRIM support for solid state drives, the new task bar, and on and on.   Within Microsoft the company, they changed the way they managed code internally during Windows 7 development. While this won’t necessarily lead to better code, it did speed development time and allowed more time for quality assurance testing.  These are all great features and topics, but I want to take a consumer’s view of what happened between Vista and Win 7.

Windows 7 has been available for less than a year and it has already surpassed the market shares held by Apple’s OSX and Windows Vista.  There will always be those who follow OSX in a cult-like fashion, but it seems that Vista has become a distant memory to even the most ardent Microsoft supporters.  How is it that Microsoft can release an operating system that infuriated people then turn around and release a successor a couple of years later and have people claiming it is the best operating system ever?

What was so wrong with Vista?

From a consumer point of view, Vista was a train wreck when it was released  in 2006.  Specifically:

1. Bugs: Microsoft and their legion of followers cannot deny it, there were bugs. Vista was a re-write of the Windows client.  During the development process, there were numerous delays and feature cuts.  At one point early in the development process, Microsoft even stopped development completely to push XP SP2 out the door. Microsoft was feeling pressure to release this much anticipated operating system. With any re-write, especially on the magnitude of Windows, there will be bugs.  It is obvious this pressure forced Microsoft to release the bits before Vista was ready.  As a result, there were many more bugs than there should have been on release day.  I’m sure Microsoft was taking the “we’ll fix it later” approach just to say they shipped by a certain date.  Within weeks Microsoft began to publish reliability and performance patches.
2. Drivers: Like many things, the driver model changed from XP to Vista. As a result, all hardware drivers had to be rewritten. (This is the reason that some legacy devices won’t work with Vista/Win7) Even though there were several preview versions of Vista, hardware makers were not ready.  I saw a stat that claimed Nvidia video drivers were the number one cause of all Vista crashes — but I have no way to verify this.  This wasn’t just an Nvidia problem, they were just the most visible.
3. Hardware: The hardware requirements in Vista were dramatically higher than in XP. No longer would 512 MB of RAM be sufficient to run Windows.  Vista would require a minimum of 1 GB to operate, and 2 GB to operate proficiently.  The same leap in performance was also required for the processor.  Many early adopters were the first to buy Vista, but also the first to realize their XP-era computers could not handle the load.
4. Crapware = bloat:The scourge of crapware started in the XP days and reached a peak with Vista.  Mainstream computer manufacturers were adding their own utilities on top of the core operating system. Plus, they were offsetting the cost by allowing other vendors to place their apps and utilities on the system.  True, most of the craplets could be removed, but the problem was that if you ever needed to restore your computer to factory state, the DVD that shipped with your computer included all this junk.  Take for example my sister-in-laws Vista laptop.  This Dell laptop had decent specs with 3 GB of RAM and a solid CPU.  However, it took nearly five minutes for the laptop to boot to a usable state!  I got a hold of it and found media players, photo editors, printer monitors, wireless managers, and all kinds of unneeded garbage that she didn’t install.  Why would she need Dell’s wireless manager when the one built into Windows is clean and works very well?  After I removed the junk, it went from a five minute boot to under one minute!
5. Core Apps: Why did Vista include Windows Mail, Windows Photo Gallery, and Windows Movie Maker if they were also developing a new set of the same utilties called Windows Live Mail, Windows Live Photo Gallery, and Windows Live Movie Maker.  It wouldn’t have been so confusing had the new Live apps actually replaced the bundled apps.  Instead, when you installed the new apps, it left the old ones behind too. If you has JPG files set to open in Photo Gallery and PNG files set to open in LIVE Photo Gallery, it would get really confusing very quickly.

As a side note, there is a free utility called The Decrappifer which claims it will scan your system and remove all this junk.

Why didn’t Windows 7 suffer the same growing pains?

Fast forward to 2009 to the Windows 7 release.  Why didn’t the problems listed above impact 7 in the same way they did with Vista?

1. Bugs: Windows 7 was not a re-write.  In fact, you could even consider it Vista Version 2 — really.  Yes, MS made many improvements on the surface and under the hood, but the fact remains that most of Win 7 is, in fact, Vista. As a result, the opportunity to introduce new bugs went way down.
2. Drivers: Since Win 7 was not a complete re-write, the driver model did not change.  Even though most hardware makers updated drivers for Win 7, the Vista era drivers were sufficient in most cases.
3. Hardware: Once again, since Win 7 is really Vista Version 2, the hardware requirements did not go up.  So any Vista capable machine could run 7.  In fact, due to lots of work optimizing the operating system, you could actually run Win 7 on fewer hardware resources than Vista required!
4. Crapware: Yes, crapware still exists, but Microsoft has put limits on what can be installed.  In fact, they even limit the number of icons which can be “pinned” to the Windows 7 start menu.  With any new store-bought system, you should still examine what is installed and remove what you can. Dell or HP will try to sneak their wireless manager onto some systems. The Decrappifier works on Win 7 also!
5. Core Apps: Windows 7 did not include a photo library, movie maker, or mail client.  Instead, they directed you to a download of the new Live Essentials site.  This is much cleaner and allows the Live apps to be developed and released independently of the Windows Client. No longer will you have to wait for a Windows Service Pack to add functionality to the mail client.

The Truth About Vista.

It seems that the industry in general ignores this, but the truth is that Microsoft eventually fixed Vista and it became a good operating system.  Take this note I got from Robert R:

“Why are people telling me to upgrade to Windows 7 when Vista works perfectly for me? To me, Vista seems just as good as Windows  7.”

I wouldn’t say that Vista as good as Windows 7, but it definitelybecame good enough to run on a daily basis and to operate your business on. It took a few years to get to this point and many of the improvements were actually a result of the Win 7 development.

Even th0ugh there are many people using Vista (some liking it, some not) it has become the forgotten operating system and it is time to move on to Windows 7. In fact, there are already talks about what is going to be included in Windows 8! The damage is done.  Even those who have never used Vista, claim it is a horrid operating system.  Did you ever see those Microsoft Mojave commercials? The producers sat typical consumers down and asked them rate Vista.  Then, they unveil Mojave, Microsoft’s newest OS.  They then ask the same consumers to rate it.  The commercials show user rating Vista a 2 to 3, then Mojave anywhere from an 8 to 10.  Of course they drop the boom and inform them they are actually using Vista.  A little dramatic, but they were trying to overcome the stigma which the bad release caused.

Time to Move On

The point is, the damage is done and no clever marketing can undo it (well, maybe Apple’s marketing could). This is why Microsoft saw Windows 7 as such a ciritical release.  Even though this was really Vista Version 2, people saw it as much more and the results have been much much better for Microsoft, consumers and corporate users.

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1. Assuming you’re running Windows 7, can you complete your system with free applications?

2. Building on question #1, can you run your computer — including the operating system — on 100% free software?

3. Now that Windows 7 has shot past Vista market share (in just six months), I’ll post a high-level review of what made this forgotten operating system such a sore subject for many people. (Update 9-8-10:  Here is that blog entry: http://www.bowlesonline.com/from-vista-to-windows-7-how-did-microsoft-fix-windows/)

3. I got an Apple ipad for work (yes, for work).  What are my thoughts?

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Rugged Laptops

One of the great things about my job is that I get to test new gear from time to time. Most of the time this usually consists of new computers that are just new iterations of existing models. On occasion, something interesting comes along. Dell has half-heartedly been in the specialty market of ruggedized computers for some time, but has recently gotten more serious with a new line of laptops. Although the market is small, it is primarily dominated by the Panasonic Toughbook line. Dell has expanded their Latitude line by releasing a semi-rugged model (Latitude ATG), a fully ruggedized model (XFR), and a rugged convertible multi-touch tablet (XT2 XFR).

While the tablet is the most interesting to me, I have my hands on the Latitude E6400 XFR. All these models fall within the Latitude line and have the same internal specs as the mainstream Latitudes. As was explained to me by my sales rep, these are Latitudes which have had the cases removed and new cases applied by hand. The ruggedization work is actually performed by a third party company called Augmentix. Building, tearing apart, and rebuilding seems inefficient to me, but what do I know? Building a rugged line on the existing Latitude platform is good news if your business already has an investment in the Latitude line. All of your images, peripherals, and docking stations should work without modification.

What is a Rugged Laptop?

The term “fully ruggedized” is confusing to some. The term does not imply 100% waterproof. The computer is meant to withstand dirty conditions, moisture and rain, salty fog, and some abuse but cannot be fully submerged.  Update:  My Dell rep told me today that the XFR can be fully submerged in the case of a drop but should be immediately retrieved. There are no exposed ports, the speakers are enclosed, even the heat vents, speakers, and webcam are covered. The XFR achieves an ingress rating against blowing dust and moisture of IP65 (if you know what that is).  To further clarify what rugged means, there is a battery of military spec tests. The results are impressive.

To further increase the durability, my eval arrived with a solid state diskdrive(SSD) to reduce the chance of mechanical failure. Dell utilizes an alloy casing called Ballistic Armor Protection System featuring PR481 which they claim has twice the impact resistance of traditional magnesium alloy. (I’m assuming this Ballistic Armor is a marketing term made up by Augmentix.) I have performed some minor drop tests but can’t bring myself to really test the durability. Dell claims the XFR is first in class to achieve the military’s MIL-STD-810F specification for a four foot drop on plywood over concrete. My test was a two foot drop on carpet over padding as I prayed.

You would think with all the covered ports, that heat would be a concern. According to Dell, the XFR meets military standard MIL-STD for temperature extremes. Heat dissipation is managed by their QuadCool thermal management system (See photos below for the QuadCool vent).

XFR Performance

The computer does not lack horsepower. This is one of the most responsive computers I have used in the business laptop class. I am running Windows 7 Ultimate 32-bit and it takes about 20 seconds from power-on to being in a usable state. Impressive. There does seem to be a refresh glitch with the Intel video driver from the Intel site.  I find myself having to minimize/restore various windows to force a refresh. There is also an Nvidia video option which probably does not suffer the same issues. (Update: I used Intel’s Auto Detect utility on http://www.intel.com/support/detect.htm and installed the latest video drivers. Refresh problem solved. This proves you should always update your drivers.)

I should note that this is not a Dell image with the typical bloat/crapware.  I installed Win 7 fresh from the installation DVD and added drivers from the Dell support site.  To further increase responsiveness, I am using Microsoft’s Security Essentials anti malware program and not a resource hogging program like Norton or McAfee.

Other XFR Observations

As I mentioned before all the ports are covered to prevent dust and moisture from entering the system. The port covers are opened by a two step motion by pressing and sliding the release.  These doors feel a bit awkward compared to the Panasonic Toughbook doors. The SD card slot is the most inaccessible. It is located behind the handle on the front of the unit.  Open the cover and inserting the SD card involves some phalange gymnastics. Even getting a good photo (see the gallery below) of the SD slot was difficult. Other than that, the design seems well thought out. This model includes a VGA, Display port, modem, Ethernet, three USB, one USB/eSATA combo, PCMCIA, SD slot, fingerprint sensor, and one 1394 Firewire port. Like all other manufacturers, there is a swift move from serial interfaces. This laptop is no exception. The serial port is following the steps of the parallel port and the diskette drive.

The battery is small and based on the body design, I don’t think an extended capacity battery will fit. (Although there is a “battery slice” option available for extended power.) With Windows 7’s power management features, and the SSD, battery life has been very impressive so far.

An important note is that Dell will not release an 6410 XFR.  They are sticking with the 6400 and will most likely release an update with the 6420 product refresh.  Interestingly, there is a 6410 ATG.

Dell XFR Accessories & Serial Port Adapter

There are NUMEROUS accessories available for the XFR.  There is a shoulder strap that screws in brass screws near the built-in handle.  There is a “battery slice” which is a flat extra large capacity battery that screws onto the bottom of the laptop.  To solve the lack legacy ports, there are two legacy port extenders which attach onto the bottom of the unit with metal screws. There is an adapter with one serial (RS-232) and one parallel port, and the other comes with two serials. These serial adapters are big and rugged, but they secure to the bottom of the unit very tightly.

UL Certification

The Latitude E6400 XFR is UL1604 Class 1 / Div 2 certified, but the ATG is not.  I believe you can get the Panasonic certified also, but only in a touchscreen unit. Keep in mind that these devices are only certified when all port enclosures are closed and locked. The Latitude ATG is not certified at all and no device that I have found is Class 1 / Div 1.

Dell XFR vs Panasonic Toughbook

This note is not a Dell vs Panasonic comparison. However, it’s hard to not make some cursory observations. Compared to the Panasonic Toughbook (CF-30 & CF-31) the XFR is a modern device.  While Panasonic invented this niche, the Toughbooks have stuck to their original design and compared to today’s standards seem bulky and ugly. For example, even though the CF-31 is new, it still has a 4:3 aspect ration, while the Dell has a modern 16:9 screen.  Panasonic claims they are sticking with the original form so that existing users can leverage their docks and truck mounts.

Furthermore, Panasonic’s driver update model is odd. First of all, you need to register to download updates. Then, since they don’t update model numbers often, you need to know what “mark” your Toughbook is (roughly equivalent to the date it was produced).  Then, once you get logged in, you download driver updates in packages.  On the other hand, Dell treats driver updates like they would any other Latitude. You simply browse to support.dell.com, select your model, and download the driver you need.  Much simpler.

Dell Latitude XFR Photos

Here are some photos of the XFR. Sorry for the lack of professionalism, my wife sold her studio a few years ago so all I have now is my dining table.

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• AdSense Manager – This plugin allows you place Google AdSense ads on your blog.  Using this plugin, I place one banner ad at the bottom of the page and as a widget on the right side.
• Akismet – REQUIRED plugin to kill spam.  Keep it updated and it will do an excellent job for you.
• Bookmarkify – This plugin places a footer on each article which allows you to share the post through email, Facebook, MySpace, Digg, StumbleUpon, and many many many other services.   There are other plugins which accomplish the same thing, but this is the one I started with and am familiar with.
• Enhanced WP-ContactForm – Allows you to create a CONTACT page with enhanced features referrers, spam protection, and allows the commenter to cc himself.
• Google XML Sitemaps– REQUIRED if you want search engines like Google, Bing, & Yahoo to index your site.  The sitemap is created automatically and is updated each time you create a new post. When the  sitemap is updated, the major search engines are notified automatically.  Very useful and efficient.
• IE6 No More – This is for the IT geek in me.  I’ve noticed on my blog and my wife’s photo site that there are still many people using Internet Explorer 6.  Do you realize IE6 was released in 2001?!? Many of the malicious attacks which are around today were not even conceivable when IE6 was developed. As a result IE6 is considered security Swiss cheese. Microsoft finally took the browser seriously in subsequent releases.This plugin places a banner at the top of each page for all IE6 users suggesting they upgrade to IE8 or another modern browser. I modified the plugin slightly for my use.
• Kontera ContentLink– The purpose of my blog is not to make money. However, I do have this plugin enabled to create paid links based on certain content.  I haven’t gotten a check yet.
• NextGEN Gallery– A REQUIRED plugin if you want to included photo galleries in your WordPress blogs.  Once you figure out the basics, this is extremely useful. This plugin is updated often.
• Official StatCounter Plugin– I use statcounter.com to track usage on all my sites.  This plugin automates the task of placing the invisible StatCounter code in your blog entries.
• Subscribe to Comments - This handy plugin allows your readers to subscribe to comments on your various posts.  I just added this one this week – I wish I would have thought to add it before.
• Random Image- While not a plugin, I use this script to rotate my header image.  With each new page load, this script displays a random image.

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By the way, does anyone know what kind of tree this is?

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By the way, if you like the Autumn theme in the screen shots below, you can download for free in this post.

The following screen shots show the Windows Phone 6.5 menu before and after editing. You can clearly see the “Getting Started” item is present in one shot and missing in the next (ignore the time stamps).

Below is the interface of the Home Screen Customizer tool. It’s simple and does its intended job well. To remove an item simply tap the “X” – don’t worry you can add it back if needed. The red heart denotes which menu item is highlighted at load time.

After you customize the menu you can remove the app, or it is small enough to leave in-place. Thanks to these guys for creating this great free app. It is something I was looking for.

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• The Tilt 2 is a little larger than the pure.
• The Pure has a 5MB camera and the T2 has a 3.2.
•  The T2 has a very nice speaker phone, I’m not sure what the Pure has but it wasn’t obvious.
• The T2 has a physical keyboard, the Pure does not. This contributes somewhat to the larger size of the device, but they did a good job keeping the keyboard as thin as possible. This obviously makes the Tilt 2 thicker than the iPhone.
• The T2 seems to have a nicer screen than the Pure.

Although I don’t use the physical keyboard much anymore on the original Tilt, I went with the Tilt 2 over the other devices I considered. It felt good in my hands, the screen was one of the best I have seen, and believe it or not, I use the speaker phone.

So how does the new Tilt 2 compare to the original Tilt? It’s night and day:

• The old Tilt had Windows Mobile 6.0 or 6.1, the new one has Windows Phone 6.5 which is basically the same OS but with a much needed face lift.
• Included in 6.5 is a vastly improved mobile Internet Explorer.  I can’t even begin to describe the improvement here. 
• The Tilt now feels like a brick in my hands compared to this sleek ergo device.
• The new Tilt has a radio. Haven’t tried it yet.
• The screen, as I mentioned before, is amazing on the T2. At the time, the Tilt screen was nice but we’ve come a long way.
•  The Tilt had no accelerometer so the only way to change the orientation was to slide the keyboard out or hit an onscreen button. The T2 does have an accelerometer but it is very underused with the bundled software. The bundled game Teeter does an excellent job demonstrating the capabilities.

I wasn’t sure I would like this phone at first, but after I removed some proprietary HTC/AT&T stuff I am thrilled with my decision. Namely, I removed the TouchFlo 3D and enabled the default 6.5 UI. The TouchFlo interface is nice looking and great programming but it’s not that efficient or useful. You can flick photos and emails all around, but it seems more for show and selling phones in the store than it does for actual use. The TouchFlo interface quickly becomes a nuisance and gets in the way. On the other hand, the native 6.5 UI is efficient and very natural to use.

Note: Even though Windows Phone 6.5 was officially released just last week (as of this writing on 10/21/09), there are already rumors and leaked builds of 6.5.1 (or 6.51).  I’m sure there will be an HTC upgrade in flash ROM format when this is officially released. HTC did this with the original Tilt providing a ROM upgrade from Windows Mobile 6.0 to 6.1.

Here are a couple of screen shots of the TouchFlo and the native Windows Phone 6.5 interfaces.  Both have a nice look in these screen shots, but you can’t get a sense of their usefulness until you get your hands on the device.

How to disable the HTC TouchFlo 3D interface:

Start > Settings > Today > Items. Now uncheck TouchFlo and check “Windows Default” – This will give you the new 6.5 UI. I really like this interface, it is very Zune and/or Windows Media Center like. (Don’t get me wrong, there is room for improvement in 6.5.1 and the complete rewrite of Windows Phone 7.) Alternatively, if you prefer the WindowsMobile 6.1 look, you can select your own items for the Today screen. However, I find the 6.5 interface very useful and efficient.

How do I remove my Microsoft Live or Hotmail account?

This isn’t exactly obvious, but if you set up a Live or Hotmailaccount and want to remove it, follow these steps: Start > Windows Live > Switch LiveAccounts This will remove all emails and account settings which you previously entered.

How to create your own Windows Phone 6.5 Theme:

I haven’t done this yet, but it looks simple. Simply go the site, select your phone, select your preferences, and if desired supply a background image. You’ll then get a link sent to your phone to install the theme: http://www.microsoft.com/windowsmobile/en-us/downloads/theme-generator.mspx

Remaining questions I am working on. Can you help?

• The phone came bundled with some software I can’t remove. Specifically, how do I remove Opera Mobile 9.5? I like Opera but I prefer to use 9.7. Skyfire is also a very good browser that supports Flash. 
• How do I remove the “Getting Started” menu item? This problem is solved HERE!
• How do I add/remove any item in the Windows Phone 6.5 menu?
• Why is there a preinstalled YouTube app but no shortcut?  Most users will never find this app buried in the folder structure.

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Additionally, the guest OS (XP in this case) runs on a virtual hard disk (VHD).  The VHD is actually a large, single file on your physical disk.  To the host system this is a single file, but to the guest OS, this looks like a physical disk.  From the host you can move this file around, back it up, delete it, etc… Keep in mind that if you delete this file, you are essentially deleting your guest operating system.

To get started, you need a virtualization engine such as Microsoft Virtual PC (also free).  Once VPC is installed, you need to download XP Mode (this is a large download since it is a full copy of XP SP3).  The setup is painless. The only info you will need to provide is an admin password for your XP instance. Obviously, you can customize all kinds of settings but the defaults are acceptable for running XP. If needed, you can go back later and adjust memory, disk size, etc.

Once the setup is complete you can do anything within the virtual instance of XP as you would do in any other OS. You can install applications, surf the web, change the wallpaper, etc…

In this image you can clearly see XP with IE6 running within Windows 7

So why would you want to run Windows within Windows? I can think of several scenarios in which you would need to run XP within Win7.

1. Keep in mind that Microsoft’s biggest competition for Windows 7 isn’t Linux or Mac OSX, it is XP itself.  Windows XP is everywhere in corporate America. Applications have been written to run on XP since 2001. Many of these apps will indeed run in Windows 7 but there are many that will not.  In a perfect world, the developers would go back and update the apps and provide free upgrades, but Microsoft realizes this isn’t going to happen. So, in order to hurdle the compatibility barrier, they decided to basically give corporations the ability to run the apps in XP within Windows 7.  Not exactly efficient, but a solution exists.
2. No matter how successful Windows 7 is, there will still be people running XP for years to come. Unfortunately, many of these people still run Internet Explorer 6. Web and app developers need a method to test their sites on this older technology. Instead of keeping an old PC around just to test their site on IE6, they can simply fire up XP Mode with IE6.
3. Since the guest OS is installed on its own virtual disk, you can use the virtual instance as a security sandbox for anything you wouldn’t want to do in your host system.  If something gets hosed, just delete the virtual disk and reinstall XP Mode.

Running XP in a virtualized environment is not new or groundbreaking. So what makes XP Mode different?  For one, you actually get a free licensed copy of XP (most virtualized copies of XP are boot-legged).  Secondly, unlike some virtualization engines, the experience is seamless. You can easily copy/paste between the host and guest systems and there is a single mouse which traverses all instances without synchronization. Next, and really cool, is the ability to add a shortcut to a virtualized application within XP to your Windows 7 start menu.  This is significant because it hides the XP OS and only exposes the application to the user.  This is referred to as publishing an application in XP Mode and is enabled by putting the application in the ”All Users” group in the virtualized XP start menu.

In this screenshot, you can see a link to Google Chrome which is installed in the XP virtual instance. Chrome is not installed on Windows 7 in this example.

..and here is Chrome running in XP Mode without XP being visible.  Keep in mind Chrome is really running in a virtualized instance of XP.

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We haven’t had land-line service in our house for six years.  It just seemed like an unnecessary expense month after month when we both carried around cell phones.  Yes, I’m aware of the 911 argument but it has been a risk we were willing to take.  Things change, we had kids, and moved out of a dense neighborhood onto some land. Gentry, my wife, was concerned that 911 service would have a difficult time finding us via cell phone. Plus, our primary babysitter doesn’t have a mobile phone.  So, to ease all concerns, we bought the Magic Jack. I can honestly say… The Magic Jack works.
 

What is the MagicJack?

There are two components to the Magic Jack: 1. The device itself and 2. A yearly service component.  As far as I can determine the device has several purposes:

1. It is a USB storage device which, once plugged into your PC for the first time, automatically installs the MagicJack software.  (Updates are automatically applied as needed.)
2. It is a phone to USB converter. You can use any old touchtone phone.
3. It also serves as a licensing device.  The installed software won’t successfully start on your PC unless this is plugged in.  You can take the device form PC to PC with ease without breaking any license agreement.

There are a couple of service plans available. We signed up for a three year plan for just a few bucks per year.

How does the MagicJack work?

Just in case you didn’t know, it’s not relly magic. Once plugged into your computer, a program known as a softphone launches and connects to a remote PBX somewhere on the Internet. The cool thing is that all the magic is transparent to the user — all you see is an onscreen phone app.  This is no different than other softphones which are common in corporations.  One of the great things about a softphone is that you are not bound by your home.  You can take your laptop with you to a hotel or Starbucks and make/receive calls as if you were sitting at your desk. Unlike other softphone solutions, the MJ must be plugged directly into your computer so the software can validate your license.

A phone is NOT required – yes, that is correct.  You can plug the MagicJack in and use your built in speakers/mic as a speakerphone.  Alternatively, you can plug in a headset to another USB port or even a Bluetooth headset.  Again, a phone is not required as a long as the MJ is plugged in to a USB port.

Can I pick my own phone number with a MagicJack?

Yes, well, kinda… You select an area code and prefix and you are offered several number options to select from.  We picked an area code for an area in which we actually live, but I would assume you can pick any area code that is available.

Does MagicJack offer 911 serivce?

Yes, when you run through the initial setup you are required to supply a physical address where the MJ will be used.  In the event you make a 911 call, the emergency service will be dispatched to this address.  Keep in mind that if you make a 911 call from Starbucks or a hotel room, the dispatcher will still get your home address.  Oops!

Does MagicJack offer voice mail and other enhanced services?

Yes, these are all included.  In fact, when you get a voice mail it will send it via an attachment to your email address on file. Caller ID, Call Waiting, and 411 are also included.

Can you fax with a MagicJack?

Yes, you can send and receive faxes with an external fax machine.  What’s not as obvious is that you can also send/receive faxes using the same Windows PC that your MagicJack is plugged into.  It sounds hokey, but you need to run a phone cable from your fax/modem port to the MagicJack — yes you have a phone cable in two ports on the same computer.  From here, you would fax like you normally would from within Windows — just set up your fax as a new printer and “print” to it. So, you should be able to fax anything you can print including Microsoft Word docs, email, photos, drawings, whatever…

Will MagicJack run on Windows 7?

I have used our MagicJack on Windows XP, Vista, and Win 7 without any difficulty.  I did notice in XP, that while the jack was plugged in, there was an IP Telephony update listed in WindowsUpdate.  I installed this update and didn’t notice any difference good or bad. This was an “optional” update so those of you who have updates set to automatic might not get this one.

What are the drawbacks or disadvantages of using MagicJack?

This is a best effort service designed to run over residential broadband.  As a result, the voice quality is not equal to traditional phone service.  Additionally, MJ requires an active Internet connection and will not work if you lose access for any reason (including power loss).  Compare this to traditional phone service which gets its power from the TelCo central office and gives you a constant dial tone even if you lose power.

What’s the result?

I highly recommend MJ for personal use. Considering the price, it is very low risk. It is a great way to shave some money off your monthly utility bills. However, MJ does not offer any service level agreements (SLA) so it may not be a wise solution if you are running a business and require consistent voice quality.

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Obviously you will need a series of photos from a single vantage point. You can have two photos up to as many as you like.
Here are some tips to remember when taking your photos:

• Make sure each photo in your series has a bit of overlap so the software will know where the stitching points are.  It is safer to have too much overlap than none at all.
• When taking the photos, try to keep your camera in the same position and at the same angle as you rotate. A tripod or monopod will help for larger shoots.
• If you have the know-how and a capable camera, set the exposure manually. Doing this will prevent different exposures on the various photos. If you don’t know what this means, then don’t worry about it – just shoot!

Let’s get started.
Open WLPG and find the photos you want to stitch together. Select these photos. As you can see in the screen shot below, I am using a series of seven photos from the interior of Boone Pickens Stadium. The photos were taken with a camera placed on my knee and span 180 degrees from end-zone to end-zone. (These are old photos from April, 2008 before construction was complete.)

 

From the menu, select MAKE > CREATE PANORAMIC PHOTO

This process could take a few seconds to a few minutes depending on how many photos you are trying to stitch together. After this process completes, you will be prompted to give your panorama a file type and name. This is the ONLY OPTION you have in the process.  The default file type is JPG which is sufficient for emailing, posting to Facebook, etc… However, if you wish to do serious editing or print this professionally you will need to save the image as a TIFF.  TIFF files are not compressed and are much larger than compressed JPG files. Typically, photo editing software gives you the option of how much compression to apply but for some reason it is a fixed level in this software. Remember, more compression equals more degradation of the original image.

That’s it!  Your image may have some strange edges as a result of the stiching processing compensating for the placement and angle of your camera. If you don’t like these edges then simply use WLPG or any other photo editor to crop it square.

What started as seven individual images from a camera balanced on my knee is now an end-zone to end-zone view of Boone Pickens Stadium.

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Click here to see the panorama.

Tips:

• You can zoom in and out very quickly using the scroll wheel on your mouse.
• Use your arrow keys or mouse to navigate around.
• Since this is a 360, you can pan one direction continusoly as if you are spinning in a circle.

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When Vista was released, this functionality was not included in the box, and Microsoft didn’t produce new PowerToys. Now, there is an open source clone of the Image Resizer PowerToy that works on Vista and Windows 7. It is identical in nearly every way. If you run Vista or Win7 and need a simple way to resize images check it out.  It doesn’t get easier or simpler than this:

http://www.codeplex.com/PhotoToysClone

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1. Highly Recommended: The most dramatic single UI change you can make is implementing the Royale Noir theme.  I don’t know the full story on this theme, but it was developed at Microsoft as an alternative to the default blue/olive Luna theme. For some reason it was not included with the original XP release or any subsequent edition or service pack. It is obviously the basis for the default look in Vista. I am using it now on my work laptop. You can download Royale Noir here – I’ve included a read me.txt file on where to copy the files. Here is more info on Royale Noir at Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royale_Noir

2. Highly Recommended: Most people know about PowerToys. These are XP add-ins that have been around since 2001. These are free useful utilities developed at Microsoft that weren’t included in the base XP code.  http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/downloads/powertoys/xppowertoys.mspx

a. You will want the alt-tab replacement. Although this is not as cool as Vista’s “Flip 3D” it is a definite improvement over XP’s out of the box alt-tab look. This PowerToy gives you a screenshot of the Window (verses a boring icon) as you alt-tab through your open windows.

b. Also consider Virtual Desktop Manager. This may not be a Vista specific tool, but it is useful if you have a need for multiple desktops. This utility allows you to switch among different desktops without having to login as a different user. You may have one desktop for work, for home, etc. Or you may have a specific desktop config for working on photos, one for gaming, etc…

3. Highly Recommended: Turn on Clear Type. This is a font smoothing technique that has been built into XP forever. I’m not sure why Microsoft didn’t turn it on by default. It dramatically improves the way fonts look on your screen. (This same option is also available and disabled by default in Windows Mobile.)  Display Properties > Appearance > Effects. 

4. Replace the old yellow XP balloons with new glass notifications. This guy has created a free simple balloon replacement meant to look more Vista like. The source code is also available if that interestes you. http://mpj.tomaatnet.nl/vista/glasstoasts.html

5. Convert the XP start menu to a Vista-like start menu with this free utility. This is a nice utility for freeware but it is a little sluggish on my system. http://www.vistastartmenu.com/index.html 

6. One really cool Vista feature is the live previews you get when you hover over a minimized item in the taskbar. Visual Task Tips is a free XP implementation of this. http://visualtasktips.com/  Again, it’s good for freeware but has room for improvement. For example, previews are not available for all minimized windows.

7. IE7 and QuickTabs. Don’t forget the QuickTabs (Ctrl-Q) feature that is built into IE7. If you have IE7 then you already have QuikTabs and didn’t know it. This allows you to quickly see all your IE tabs in a simple thumbnail layout. You can rearrange the thumbnails by dragging them around.

8. If all the above still doesn’t do what you are needing, there is a highly rated utility call Vista Inspirat which should do all the above (except for the PowerToys) in one install.  I have not used it myself, but it does look cool.  http://www.crystalxp.net/news/en181-vista-inspirat-ultimate-2-brico-pack.html

Obviously this does not turn XP into Vista and you don’t get all the new Vista features like window transparency, enhanced security, media center, a new graphics model, etc. These tools will give you a fresh look to an aging Windows XP.

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These codes can only be used once, so if you are the first to read this then you are the lucky one. Check back every couple of days to see if I’ve posted more codes.  Don’t be a hog, if you don’t like the artists, then don’t use the code. Also, if there are multiple codes for the same song, then please only take one.

To use the codes, simply open iTunes, go to the store and click redeem. You should see the field to paste the code in.

Enjoy.

• Adele – “Chasing Pavements” Song: MAMAMPFJEMF7, XNWKHEAAYYX9, E4YYF3PME4EL, M3P7Y7JHF3W4, YXXTX9MH6E4L, TFYFXYA39NY9, 74WM9N99Y47K
• Duffy – “Mercy” Music Video: A4R4TR9E734P, 4EPYJ437W6MM, M39MAN4EHFNA, MPM6RRAHWFNT, 7RPFALFE9MKJ, EYN97JJEMX77, 774AYFAFMJ6F, RMMKLHKY6PE4
• Carly Simon – “So Many People To Love” Song: RMFJP4MK649H, A3KMNRYW9KEL, LA7FY3JX6M49, 9TR7HW949XL7, MRXET4THLY9T, TMN9LWJJWXWN, 44EHT3LT3JTH
• Hilary McRae – “Every Day” Music Video: THEWENKFP4JP, 9MW7F3NX3KKA
• Counting Crows – “Washington Square” Song: JE9WK7F6MEWT, W7R43R7HPMLX, WM6EFR3FFWWP, MLRFKL9FAP79, XFM6A64JL4X4, XKKRKFEJM7HH, XLLW7KMK9MFP, J3774667TRXT, N9J9P6WMRY7K, 9KX34KMPYYML

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I was reluctant to advertise on these pages, but I thought I would give it a try and see what happened. Please note that I would never consider placing an ad on her main web site.

Anyway, check it out and let me know what you think. Do you think the ads are too obtrusive? While you’re there, feel free to click on an ad and put $.07 cents in my pocket. Or, if you’re feeling nice, click on the large footer ad and Google will generously give me $.12 or maybe even $.13! By the way, I tried the Google competitor “WidgetBucks” and got $.01 for my first click. I went back to Google — $.07 sounded like a fortune!

Here’s the first wedding to use the new ad-infested proof viewer.

Thoughts? Comments? Do you know of a better ad provider?

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Should I backup my computer?
I’m surprised how often someone asks me if they should backup their PC. The answer is always YES! Think about this… Of the gazillion parts that comprise your PC, only two are mechanical: 1. The cooling fan, and 2. The harddrive. You can recover from a fan failure, but losing your hard drive is like being robbed. You may be able to recover all of your documents/photos/MP3 files, but chances are they are gone forever. As co-owner of Gentry Photography, we have a responsibility to our clients to make sure their images are protected. You can reshoot seniors, but since we specialize in weddings we have a policy that states wedding images cannot “live” on a single disk. After all, you cannot reshoot a wedding.

There are many free tools and methods for backups. In the old days, people would simply copy files to a backup disk. On the other extreme are large systems which copy data from servers, then use robotic arms to shuffle tapes around. We’ll shoot somewhere in the middle for home and SOHO users.

Get an external disk.
The easiest way to get started is to simply plug an external USB (or Firewire) drive into your PC. As I stated in an earlier post, I connect multiple drives to my home server, but the concept is the same. Don’t simply buy an external disk the same size as your internal drive thinking you will just keep an exact replica. Shoot for 3x-4x of your current drive capacity. Why so large? Regular backups are not simply for mirroring your disk, but you can use backups to offload data from your internal disk to keep it clean. You may also want to use your backup program to keep multiple copies of your data.

Keep this in mind. If you off-load data from your PC to an external disk, you are still at risk of the external disk crashing. For the photo biz, I actually have two scheduled jobs: 1. Backup the PC to external disk once per week. 2. Synchronize the backup disk with another disk once per week. This ensures that someone’s wedding images never exist on one disk at a time.

Select backup software.
Microsoft Windows includes a basic tool for performing backups and restores. In 2000/XP, Start > All Programs > Accessories > System Tools > Backup. With this tool, you can use the simple wizard interface to schedule backups of your PC or even selected folders. You can select your external drive as the backup drive if you have it mapped to a drive letter. Microsoft Backup places all files in a compressed BKF file. The BKF files make good use of compression if most of your files are documents, spreadsheets, etc… However, since many video and photo formats are already compressed, you won’t see much benefit from the BKF compression. I have not used the backup tool in Vista yet, so I’m not sure how it has changed – if at all. This is a good tool. As RonCo says, set it and forget it!

If you need more flexibility than what Microsoft Backup can give you, then check out 2BrightSparks SyncBack. This is the tool I use for personal and photo backups. This tool allows very flexible configurations. You can select whether to backup a folder, synchronize two drives, include/exclude files or folders, and practically any other option you can imagine Unlike Microsoft Backup, SyncBack does not compress files or group them into larger collections. Based on your settings, SyncBack simply copies the file structure from your PC to the backup drive. Be careful, in the rare event that you create a new file in a folder with the same name as an existing file on your backup drive, then you will have a file conflict and could lose data.

I like SyncBack because it allows me to access backed up files directly from the backup disk. (Remember, files are not grouped together based on backup job). However, this same feature is also one of its drawback for some enterprise users. The tools works great for me, but for larger installations, SyncBack needs the option to copy individual files as it does now, or as compressed groups like Microsoft Backup. Furthermore, SyncBack needs the ability to keep X versions of a file on the backup disk. In the corporate world, we use our large backup system to retain three versions of every file backed up. When a file is changed, the oldest version is simply deleted. There will always be three versions of this file. SyncBack could use this functionality

There is a new class of “cloud” type services that host your backups securely on the Internet. There are kinds of new features and pricing models available. One such serivce is Microsoft’s SkyDrive. Currently, they are giving users 5GB of free online storage. One benefit of hosted services is the ability to access your files from any Internet accessible computer, including your mobile devices. SkyDrive doesn’t have any automation tools that I am aware of.

There are several other tools for making backups and they all have similar features. The most important thing is not what tool you are using, but that you are performing scheduled backups. Let me know what tool/techniques you use to protect your data.

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I’m not going to go into a deep dive, but below are the high-level ideas on setting up your own home server.  Without writing a book, these steps should get you started.

Why would you need a home server?

• To centralize a printer/scanner
• To run scheduled backups from your workstation computers
• Share common files between multiple PCs
• Free-up space on your laptop or desktop PC
• Create a media-server
• A place to put unsightly wireless gear

We use our home server for several reasons:

• Our house doesn’t have a dedicated office, so we de-cluttered our living area by placing the server in a closet. As mentioned above, it’s an ideal place to hook our printer and scanner.
• For our photography business,we owe it to our customers to make sure their wedding images are safe. Thus, we connect external drives to the server and run scheduled backups. On top of that, we syncronize two backup drives so that the images always exists in multiple locations.
• Out closet is a central location for all coax and ethernet (Cat-5) cable.  This is a great place to put our cable modem and wireless router. Out of sight!

Select a Location:

There are several factors to consider when selecting a server closet:

• Location: If your house or apartment is small, then location is not critical.  However, if you have a LARGE house then consider a central location.  Of course this only applies if your wireless router is in the closet.
• Keep it cool!  The more equipment you stuff into a room or closet, the hotter it is going to get.  The last thing you want is your server to overheat. A small fan may be required to exchange outside air with hot closet air.
• Power:  You will need power and most closets don’t come wired.  I was somewhat fortunate that my closet is in the utility room which is off the garage. I was able to easily run an extension cord and surge protector without setting off the wife’s ugly alarm.
• Shelving: It’s not a good idea to keep your equipment on the floor if you have carpet.  This impedes heat dissipation and could cause extra static. It’s also not a good idea to stack equipment on top of each other.  Put in shelves for your server, monitor, disk drives, and whatever you decide to cram in.
• Wiring: As I mentioned before, I picked my closet because that’s where I had ran all my Coax and Cat-5. This made it very simple to get my cable modem and wireless router out of sight.  If you use something else like DSL, you should look for a nearby phone jack.

Selecting Hardware:

This may seem counter-intuitive, but you do not need to use your best hardware as a server. You want to save your best hardware for the machines you use everyday as your workstations. Use what’s left-over for your server since you will possibly go days without even seeing this machine. For my server, I used my dad’s OLD Compaq desktop. I had to add a USB 2 card to support our external drives, but other than that, it’s straight from the factory.

Selecting the Server Operating System:

Don’t get hung up on the term “server.” You can use any operating system (even a desktop OS) that you are comfortable with which allows file and printer sharing.  You would think with my old hardware that I opted for a slimmed-down, GUI-less Linux distribution. However, I had an unused copy of Windows Server 2003 that I wanted to try. The install went very smoothly, but took about an hour. Believe it or not, the machine is very usable (this is probably due to the componentized nature of Windows Server).  I’m using Windows Server 2003, but you can use XP/Vista/Win7, Linux, whatever. There is also a new product from Microsoft called Microsoft Home Server. I haven’t had a chance to use it yet, but the idea is that it is loaded with tons of automated tasks for backups, file recovery, etc… For now, I’ll stick with my poor-man’s version.

Once you’ve got the server installed (see the next section on network settings), you will want to make sure it is fully patched. For Windows, Visit Microsoft Update and apply the latest patches/drivers before you begin using the server.

Networking:

In my “server closet” I have my server, a scanner, a printer, four external backup drives, a cable modem, and my wireless router. (Like I said, I am using the server to consolidate clutter to one out of sight area.)  You will need to make sure you have connectivity between the server and your client machines before you attempt any file sharing or transfers. For simple home installations connect the server to one of the Ethernet ports in your wireless router. During the server install process, the simplest option is to allow an IP address to be assigned to your server automatically through DHCP. In corporate environments, servers typically have a hard-coded IP address but you won’t need this since you will be accessing your server via its name most of the time. So, be sure to assign the server a simple name which you can remember. In my house, mine it is called “server.”

Once everything is connected, all the software is installed and patched, you need to test basic IP connectivity:

1. From the client machine, click on Start > Run
2. Type “CMD” in the run box and hit enter. You will be presented with a command prompt.
3. Type “PING YourServerNameHere” and hit Enter.

If your PC responds with a series of successful pings, then you have established proper connectivity. If you get a message like “Host not found” then there is a networking problem. IP troubleshooting is a topic to itself that I won’t go into here. However, make sure the server and the client have the same Subnet mask and Default Gateway by typing “IPCONFIG /ALL” in the command prompt of each machine.  Sometimes home routers get confused when new machines are added and IP addresses change. You may want to shut down all computers, unplug your router, wait a few minutes, then start the router, then all the machines connected to it.

Since you’ll now be sharing files across a wireless network, security is a must. Follow your router instructions and make sure you secure your network with a “Network Key.”

Sharing Printers:

Note:  This got incredibly simple with the Windows 7 Homegroup feature. However, the following instructions still work with all versions of Windows:

If you are not using a Win 7 server and Win 7 clients, then these are the basic steps for sharing a printer:

1. Plug the printer into your server. In Windows, you’ll hear the “bing-bong” confirming a USB device has been detected.
2. If Windows (or your preferred OS) doesn’t have a built-in driver, then it will prompt you for one. Supply the driver. (You do not need to install all the junk that comes with printers. You simply need the driver.)
3. Print a test page from the Printer section of the control panel to confirm it is working.
4. In the printers section of Control Panel, right-click on the printer you just installed, and select “Sharing.”
5. Select “Share this Printer” and assign a name that makes sense. (For example, “HPLaserJetColor”)
6. Click “OK” and you’re done sharing.

You must install the driver on your client machines now:

1. From the client: Start > Run
2. In the command prompt type \\YourServerName  (you must include the backslashes)
3. A list of shared printers and folders will appear. Double-click on your new printer.
4. The driver will install automatically and you’re done!

Sharing a file folder is a similar exercise. Right-click on the folder you wish to share, assign a name, and assign appropriate read vs write permissions.

Other activities you can do with a server:

• Use a backup tool to schedule backups. I use SyncBack which will be documented in a later post.
• Install a scanner. All scanned documents can be saved to a shared folder on the server and accessible via your client machines.
• Off-load all those large photos, videos, and music files from your laptop. Your media can live in multiple places, and cool new products like Windows Live Photo Gallery can keep track for you. (See my list of free software for info on Windows Live Photo Gallery). When you want to access a photo from two years ago, you may not know which machine the photo is on, you simply click on the thumbnail and it appears from your network.
• You could even use a DVR on your server to record TV shows for playback on your laptop later. (You’ll need a TV tuner and DVR software for this. I use Windows Media Center as one of my DVR.)
• Run an internal web or mail server. Not sure, why most home users would do this, but you can easily do it. Most operating systems have built in web servers.

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Let’s start with a software category I know very well. As co-owner of Gentry Photography, I spend a lot of time using different photo editing packages. Photoshop is the commercial standard, but is loaded with obscure features that I don’t even use. There are several free alternatives to Photoshop for an average home user:

• Not my favorite, but one of the most popular is The Gimp. Originally available only on Unix/Linux, and eventually ported to Windows, this open source project started as a student project at Berkley. This is a very popular tool among the open source crowd. It has evolved over the years but takes some time to figure your way around. The interface is a different than what you may be used to. It is worth looking into.
• Paint.Net started as a student project at Washington State University. It is a Windows only program written on the .Net platform. Paint.Net is extensible (meaning anyone can write plug-ins) and is very easy to use for hobbyist. This program is updated frequently and I recommend it to anyone wanting to get started with photo editing. Here’s a quick article I wrote on the new beta.

Just for fun, I restarted the three browsers listed here and loaded my homepage. This page has a good dose of JavaScript & PHP. IE7 is using 58.2MB of memory, last night’s build of FF3 is occupying 58.6 MB, and Safari is the heaviest at nearly 61MB. I figured Safari would be the lightest.

• Backup Software
  • SyncBack is a free backup/synchronization tool. I use this utility to schedule backups of my wife’s photo work. This is very easy to use and can handle about any type of backup job you can conceive.
  • There is a new class of “cloud” type services that host your backups securely on the Internet. There are all kinds of new features and pricing models available. One such serivce is Microsoft’s SkyDrive. Currently, they are giving users 5GB of free online storage. One benefit of hosted services is the ability to access your files from any Internet accessible computer, including your mobile devices.
• Everyone seems to be looking for good DVD rippers. I’m sure you guys only use this software to make backups of your personal DVDs, right?
  • DVD DeCrypter is the defacto standard. Lots of options, but lots of people have published pages on how to use it.
  • DVDFab is also a nice tool to use when Decrypter won’t rip those dual layer discs. There is a free version and a premium. The premium has presets to rip to IPod, Zune, PSP, etc..

There’s a lot more coming including blog tools, audio/video editing, backup software, etc. If I left off your favorite tool let me know and I’ll add it.

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Along with the normal bug fixes and enhancements, is a noticeable UI clean-up. If you’ve ever used Paint.Net in the past you undoubtedly noticed the large dialog boxes that sometimes extend beyond your screen. The author has done a good job cleaning up these boxes. Check out this example comparison below. In the top image, is the old UI. You can can see all the ugly “Reset” buttons eating up space.  In the bottom image, the buttons have been replaced and moved to gie the UI a much cleaner look. The are screen-shots running on XP. Paint.net has a much”fresher” look running on Vista.

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However… I never imagined I would buy a Zune. According to the Apple commercials, Apple is the only cool company around. To buy MS would make me look like “PC Guy.” I like my iPod. Aside from some battery issues, it’s been a good device and is very easy to use. My problem with ipod has been with itunes. I don’t like itunes. It looks like a software relic and has been patched and glued together more times than a downtown Tulsa road. So, I bucked the trend and purchased a 2nd gen Zune for my wife for Valentine’s day. It’s an 8 GB flash model, and of course, pink. She loves this device and the Zune software. I have to admit I am very pleased with this purchase. I tried the original Zunes and was not impressed. It’s amazing how much progress they made from Gen 1 to Gen 2. (If you read the tech magazines, it’s not even the same device. Gen 1 was a rebranded Toshiba.) What is it that I like so much?

• The screen is very bright and clear. Even on the small flash-based device.
• Video playback is cool. If the video is widescreen, it will rotate the screen and the controls. So, if you need to increase the volume, then you don’t need to think about which way is really “up.”
• Sound quality is much better than my ipod with the same headphones. I don’t have the newest ipod, so sound quality may have improved with a newer codec.
• It plays all my WMA and WMV files without converting!! This is a huge pain in itunes.
• The Zune has an FM radio with a RDS. The radio is as clear as my car radio.
• Wireless sync. We were able to sync media content over our wireless network. (we may turn this off, I bet it kills the battery)
• The Zune software is a pleasure. Setup took a long time on her old PC, but it is very simple to use. Just drag the videos/songs/photos/etc… to the Zune icon and it syncs. There is no “undocking” or “ejecting” the device. You simply unplug it. All content is very organized. The photo content is especially attractive.
• The onscreen menu of the device is easy to use and intuitive. For example, it is simple to set a photo as your background because the control is where you think it would be and not buried under 24 layers of sub menus.

• The features are all controlled via flash updates. The device had Zune 2.0 software, but on the first sync it upgraded to 2.3 automatically. A Zune software upgrade is due soon which will include games. Check out this video of a game on a Zune: http://www.istartedsomething.com/20080221/video-xna-game-running-zune/
• If I ever upgrade my Media Center to Vista, then all my Media Center content will auto sync. This is really cool since I use Media Center as my only DVR. I’ll be able to watch recorded TV on the Zune.

What don’t I like about the Zune?? Not much – it works like you think it should.

• One thing that stood out was that the control wheel is different. With my ipod, you scroll in a circle. With Zune, you scroll up and down.
• Also, the included earbuds do not have great bass response and are too big for my wife’s ears.
• I don’t understand the integration between WMP11 and Zune.  Do my tag edits in WMP11 effect the Zune library?  WMP12 and Zune need to merge for simplicity 
• Since the laptop that runs the Zune software is old, we don’t get all the flashy animation.

Does this now make me a Microsoft homer? Not even close. I have yet to drop the cash to upgrade my Media Center to Vista. (Not that I think Vista is bad, but I don’t see a reason to upgrade.) However, I am no longer convinced that a single manufacturer makes the best media player now.

BTW, I also considered Sansa and Creative Zens. I liked these, but I liked the little Zune better and honestly I am concerned about the future of Creative.

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