Check your connection using Kaminsky's tool here.
]]>
Check your connection using Kaminsky's tool here.
]]>However, this time around, I'm taking a design and sticking to it. Now that I've left most online communities to which I've contributed over the years and have left them for quite some time, I'd like to reestablish an online identity somewhat separate from my past. In order to do this, though, I'll have to restructure the website, with a new design and new philosophy.
It seems these days, everyone has an opinion on something, and they let their visitors know exactly how they feel about such a story. The best blogs have a theme, like "science education" or "the automobile industry"; mine will focus on technology, politics, and their intersection.
More on the new design on my development site.
]]>
The morning started off with some Windows Vista statistics from Mike Nash, showing that Windows Vista is good, even from a device driver prospective. Vista, according to Microsoft, had the largest in-box device driver ship at launch than any other operating system release. It seems they must be counting half-assed drivers (cue Creative, Lexmark, Hauppauge) too.
Nash handed off the clicker to Bill Laing, who gave us a run-through of more skeptical statistics, showing us that Windows dominates the server market and that they had the greatest marketshare by far. Specious stats aside, we continued on with Mark Russinovitch, defector general now working as a technical fellow in the Platform and Services division. who sounded really excited about changes in the NT 6.x kernels.
From there, I checked out the dance floor again, hitting up the Expo Hall booths that I missed yesterday. VMWare has shipped VMWare Workstation 6.0, IEEE 1394 (now in version b of the spec) is alive and kicking, and the Windows Vista Partner Odyssey is your ticket to adventure.
I didn't have time to talk to the VMWare guys for very long, but I got an interesting demo at the IEEE 1394 booth. I thought the spec had long since died, but now (intriguing enough), the spec has been applied to multiple connection methods, everything from CAT 5e to coaxial to powerline to glass and plastic. The specification boasts greater reliability and extensibility than Ethernet, with demo computers displaying streaming HD audio and video at low price points.
Passing by the Microsoft booth, I learned about the Windows Vista Partner Odyssey, where partners can win backpacking supplies or even a custom trip. I suggest checking that out, and I suggest that Microsoft has the program manager return for PDC 2007, which I'm planning on attending as well.
Seagate had some stuff up, demoing some hybrid hard drives and on-drive encryption technology, which they promised me had no impact on drive performance. That's definitely something to look into, especially since I don't have a TPM chip on my laptop and therefore cannot run BitLocker.
I'll put up pictures as I find them (my camera wasn't working), but the only one I have so far is from Larry Richman of Pro-Networks fame.
]]>In the memory arena, the current push now is to include L3 cache on-die (and for an increase in overall L2 cache) and to start building systems based on DDR3. Next Generation Memory will include RLDRAM (reduced-latency DRAM) and three-dimensional memory (using through-wafer interconnects).
In the storage arena, Micron predicts that solid-state storage (based on NAND flash) is going to start penetrating, closing the gap in latency between memory and hard disks. Their models of data usage show that SSD may be the smartest next-gen storage (after tape and magnetic hard disks).
]]>Microsoft has tried to make devices "just work" through technology and user interfaces to extend content throughout the home. Using Windows Media Player 11, you can share and browse shared media to and from other PlaysForSure devices. It also includes album art (if devices is validated by the WMDRM service) and metadata sharing.
This talk was geared toward device developers, and it shows that there's interest to expand the PlaysForSure device collection and get developers to create devices that are fun and usable and to comply with PFS 2.0 Requirements for Network Devices (and get certified).
]]>Ah, finally, a face to put on MSR. Craig, for inspiration, watched Bill's keynote from PDC 2005 on the future of technology and put everyone to sleep.
Since the sort of motherboard I require with my current hardware is kind of rare, and since the computer was starting to show its signs of age, I went ahead and did a full upgrade.
]]> First, I'll start by telling you what I'm holding on to:Now, on to the good stuff. This is the order that I've placed that should be coming in soon:
I will add more information later, but for the time being, I'm psyched about the new box. However, all of this couldn't happen at a worse time: it's finals week, and I shouldn't be worrying about any of this stuff.
]]>
This past week, I finally took the plunge and bought an MP3 player. But, as you'll find out from this review, this is no off-the-shelf clearance item: this fully-featured little device beats the pants off your standard iPod Nano. Between the extensive built-in features, chic design, and smart usability, SanDisk has really made a winner.
The Sansa e200 comes standard with MP3 and WMA playback, video playback, picture slideshowing, a FM Radio tuner, voice recording, and a miniSD expansion port. With 2GB, 4GB, 6GB, and 8GB models, they have anything to fit your budget... and make it beautiful enough to hang on a wall. In the portable entertainment market, there's a high standard to beat, and to exceed such a standard, you have to have an exemplary device.
Cue my new Sansa e260R.
]]> I've had an MP3 player before, a Philips + Nike number. It did as it advertised: it played MP3's. However, it was a really basic player and was nothing much to speak of.When I ordered this particular media player, I had done quite a bit of research into the field. Kids in class used to ask me, "Hey, Spencer, why don't you have an iPod?", somehow equating my tech savvy with Apple loyalism. I'd rant back some statement about poor software user interface design (never have liked iTunes), DRM lockdown by the kings that popularized the concept, and lockdown between iTunes and the iPod.
After UPS finally decided to deliver the Sansa I bought from Best Buy, I immediately knew this was different. I had seen Sansas in stores and online, but now I actually owned one. I quickly threw on some music and left off to where I had to be at that moment. This is a paradigm shift from any other combination of media players (Apple, Microsoft, et al.): this truly was the epitome of the plug-and-play concept. I plugged in my Sansa, opened Windows Media Player™ 11 (it comes preinstalled on Windows Vista™), and copied over my highest-rated music. I didn't have to bullshit around with installing extra software (yet) and didn't have to do anything special to make things just work.
It's now day two with the media player, and I am still in love with the device. I've put up close to 200 songs, a full-length movie and some smaller clips, and am still thinking of ways to fill up all 4GB of space. I especially love all of the preloaded content that comes with the Sansa: the music spans several genres and includes Rhapsody content as well as free-use content, something very intelligent to bundle in the package.
The only criticism I do have with the setup is that WMP doesn't convert video or pictures to the device's screen size, so the player rejects the new content unless you use Sansa's Media Converter software. However, the software is well-made and top-notch, with no complaints outside of a spelling error (it's "writing", not "writting"), so the detraction is ameliorated.
The actual interface itself is similar to other media players in the way the different types of content are organized (album, track, artist, etc.), but the entire interface is so beautifully laid out and the main screen is so well done, you hardly notice. The wonderful combinations of blue, white, orange, and green in the interface leave you feeling confident in the product, and the UI touches like Rhapsody channel expand-on-hover and main-screen carousel icon rotation set this media player apart.
Music playback, video playback, picture playback, radio listening, and voice recording: everything's so easy to use, so simple and straightforward, and so perfect that I really can't complain about much. I especially love the built-in radio tuner and the voice recorder, two features I had wanted in my MP3 player when I started my search.
I would not hesitate to recommend this device to anyone in search of a media player, and when caught in a sale, this device is a steal. My hat's off to SanDisk's engineers: well done, guys.
]]>Skip ahead three or four years, and now Windows Vista is out. No argument that Vista improves information accessibility, but now Microsoft is downright lying and saying that Windows Vista has fulfilled the Longhorn vision.
]]> I've watched some good demos and concepts come out of Redmond the past few years, climaxing in the presentations at the Professional Developers Conference in 2003, held by Microsoft to introduce Longhorn.At the conference, Microsoft showed off the pillars of Longhorn: Fundamentals, Avalon, Indigo, and WinFS. Each of these technologies played a key part of Longhorn, and each can be summed up below.
Now, as to that video, here's a synopsis of the detailed features that they failed to cover:
So, sorry Microsoft, but while Vista is great, until you deliver Longhorn, you're going to be criticized in every new Windows release.
]]>