Robert’s Ramblings

I have not written about Windows 7 Phone because I have been contemplating its implication to the advancement of computing, telephony and gadgetry in general. Microsoft wiped the slate clean with Windows Phone 7 and acknowledged that its previous offerings were less than stellar. I never thought that the Windows Mobile platform was undesirable, it had just become very dated compared to offerings from Apple, Sony, Nokia and Google. Windows Phone 7 may just be Microsoft’s lucky seven that wins back some of the phone users that have moved on. It may also lure in a new set of consumers. I can easily see it as very appealing to two sets of customers—the very young, hip social crowd and the serious business user. You may not think that this is possible, but it is because of the magnificent user interface that Microsoft has designed (and is still improving).

The user interface is no longer an underpowered version of the Windows desktop with a “Start” button and menu system. Instead, it is a series of large colorful tiles that expand into spaces. Each of these spaces is a window into a large pane that is full of information. Some of these spaces are dedicated to People, Music & Videos, and Pictures. Others are more business oriented like e-mail, search and office connectivity. The People space includes information gleaned from Facebook and presents a constantly updated view of your friend’s updates and profile pictures. This will attract the socially voracious younger crowd. The Xbox Live platform that is integrated into the device will also appeal to the younger user. Everyone loves Music, Videos and Pictures so these spaces will have broad appeal and are so well designed and tightly integrated with the phone that they surpass the iPhone. The business oriented space contains sophisticated Outlook-like e-mail that is constantly synchronized with Exchange server. It also synchronizes with Microsoft Office OneNote and SharePoint Server. These business functions put it ahead of all other phones and makes the Microsoft server offerings even more appealing.

The hardware that is planned for the Windows Phone 7 must adhere to a hardware specification that Microsoft has created. All the phones must have multi-touch screens, a powerful processor and three buttons for navigation. This is a departure from Microsoft’s laissez faire attitude from the past. Fortunately, it should help create a Windows Phone 7 experience that rivals Apple’s iPhone experience. The viewing spaces are all larger than the viewing area of the screen and are navigated by dragging them across the viewing area with your finger. Responsive hardware is critical to making the Windows Phone 7 navigation work well and feel like a quality product.

I am excited about Windows Phone 7, but not because it is a new generation device that integrates personal and business information seamlessly. I am excited about it because it is a new software platform that demonstrates Microsoft can still be creative when challenged. It has the potential to be much more than a phone platform. I believe that Microsoft could use it as a new tablet operating system. I can see it being more useful on a tablet form factor than the iPhone (or iPod Touch) operating system. It is more intuitive, more beautiful and encompasses everything that the vast majority of people would want to do on a tablet. I also think it is better than having Windows 7 on a tablet. It is perfectly geared for touch computing. I give Microsoft an A+ for Windows Phone 7 and for the potential that it has on other form factors.

To see demos of the user interface: http://www.windowsphone7series.com/

Robert Alonso
Alonso Consulting

I purchased a CardScan 800c based on a recommendation from a colleague. I saw him scanning a stack of business cards effortlessly and asked him what he was using. He told me that he was using a scanner called “CardScan Executive.” He stressed the “Executive” part because he said that he had purchased a lower end unit from the company that he did not like. The “Executive” version is also known as the CardScan 800c. The scanner is extremely easy to use. You connect it to your computer, load the software and start placing your business cards into it one by one. The unit will scan the card, save the image of the card and then recognize the relevant company, address, phone, fax, web site and e-mail fields. The data is automatically entered into the included organizer software. You can then verify that it has obtained the correct data by looking at it and the image of the card on the screen. From experience, I can say that it is over 90% accurate. It sometimes gets confused with elaborate logos that are placed on cards in lieu of the spelled out company name. Once the data is in the organizer software you can have it synchronize with Outlook manually or automatically. This is a great feature and a time saver. I have it set up to automatically sync with

Outlook. Since I have my iPhone automatically synchronizing with my Outlook contacts, all it takes a simple and quick scan of a card to get all its data into my iPhone. This is how gadgets should work.

I am very happy with the scanner and with the results. I am even happier with the customer service that the company provides. Dymo is the company that sells the CardScan. My unit would not work after an upgrade to Windows 7 on my machine. I am not sure what happened to it, but after suggesting I try a new driver, reinstalling the USB cable and other things that I had already tried (I am a computer consultant.), the customer service representative thought that it might be a hardware failure. He sent me an RMA number so that I could return it to the company. Being without the unit for a few days and having to pack it up and send it were not an exciting prospect for me. However, the next day I was pleasantly surprised to receive a box from the company with a replacement unit and a prepaid Fedex slip to use for sending the defective one back. I unpacked the new unit, plugged it in and it has been working perfectly. I sent the other one back in the new unit’s box. That is what I call excellent service. I will buy products from Dymo before I ever buy from a competitor based on this excellent experience. Kudos to Dymo!

I wholeheartedly recommend this product.

Robert Alonso
Alonso Consulting

After waiting more than a year for Apple’s entry into tablet computing, I was not disappointed or surprised by the device. It is simply a larger form factor iPod Touch or iPhone without the phone functionality. Apple took existing technology and made it bigger and in many cases better. The only aspect of the device that is puzzling is the name. I understand the connection between iPad and iPod, but why did Apple executives not realize that the first thing that came to mind to three women that I spoke to is a feminine hygiene product. I’m sure that this is not exactly the association that Apple wanted for this product.

Despite the strange name, the device is desirable. It comes with a 9.7 inch screen, runs all existing iPhone applications and comes with direct iTunes and App Store access. Even more exciting is the iBook application that allows the reading of books in ePub format and that integrates into a new on-line book store. The application looks very polished and easy to use. It even has animated page flipping and a book shelve for the books that you have already purchased. You control it using the multi-touch technology. Slide your finger across the screen and you are on the next page. Take that Kindle and Sony Reader.

The iPad is half an inch think and weighs 1.5 pounds. It runs up to 10 hours on a charge and can be purchased with a case that doubles as a stand. Also available as an option is a stand that includes a keyboard. The hardware and software looks very slick and will probably draw a lot of attention from gadget lovers as well as productivity seeking executives. Apple will also release $9.99 versions of the applications in iWork. You will be able to create documents with the word processor, spreadsheet or presentation application without having to take a laptop on your trip or without using a desktop computer. It also has a slick version of the Safari web browser that is a larger version of the one in the iPhone. Unfortunately, it still does not have support for Flash.

During the introduction, Steve Jobs showed off mapping, video playback and a new slick iLife-inspired photography application. You can now see albums easily and group them according to people, events or even locations. You can show the photos off in slideshow mode and can even use the iPad as a photo frame when it is not being used for some other productive task. Since I am an amateur photographer, I loved this functionality. I also have to admit that I saw great promise in the e-mail, calendar and contact applications. I can see this becoming my primary computing device around the house and on trips.

The iPad will be available in 60 to 90 days. The Wi-Fi only version will come out first with a price of $499 for the 16GB version, $599 for the 32GB version and $699 for the 64GB one. The Wi-Fi and 3G (unlocked) version arrives thirty days later and costs $130 more for any of the memory configurations. The plans are through AT&T and require no contract. They are $14.99 for 250MB or $29.99 for unlimited data. Plans include free AT&T Wi-Fi and are activated directly from the iPad.

That’s it for now. I’ll tell you more once I buy one in 60 days…

Robert Alonso
Alonso Consulting

After several technical glitches and power outages, Steve Ballmer finally gave the opening speech at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) yesterday. Perhaps it was appropriate that the new Microsoft/HP Tablet was introduced in the middle of a desert (Mojave Desert – Las Vegas, NV), it was more mirage than real product. The demo only showed a diminutive screen with a small metallic border running Amazon’s Kindle reader application. Watch this video:

There was no amazing technology or flashy e-mail or project management software like the vaporware shown in the Courier video demo. Perhaps this was Microsoft attempt at beating Apple to the punch and then delivering a real product after Apple announces what its new tablet can do. I guess we will all have to wait and see if that is the case.

Apple will be introducing its product near the end of this month. It is speculated that it will not be available until late March.

There are many reports that Microsoft and HP will introduce a tablet PC way ahead of Apple’s rumored iSlate. If the reports are correct, then Steve Ballmer, CEO of Microsoft, will use his keynote address at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) tonight to make the announcement. The current thinking is that the device will be much like the Courier prototype that was leaked to the press a few months ago. You can see a video of it in a previous entry to this blog.

Once the announcement is made tonight, I will report the details here.

Google is a very successful company that is very worrisome to me. It has a corporate culture instilled from the very top of the company that is disdainful of religion and of any conservative view points. One obvious example of this behavior is their logo designs. They change the “Google” graphic logo to represent various holidays and remarkable events throughout the year. They typically do a good job with scientific or historical dates. Whenever the date is related to religion they tend to ignore it. The following image is what they chose to put on their home page on Christmas. I find it it offensive that they refuse to put anything religious or any image that is remotely associated with the spirit of Christmas. Over a billion Christians celebrate the birth of Christ on the 25th of December. One would think that Google could provide something a little less secular than a space ship and peace symbol along with some other stupid little images. (Yes, this gets me very angry.)

Bing, chose to place some Christmas imagery on their home page, but chose to minimize the religious aspect of Christmas as well. By comparison, I must commend them on not ignoring a billion plus believers worldwide. They also included several linked areas of he images that include references to interesting facts about the decorations seen in Rockefeller Center. What I found the most heartwarming is that one of them uses the word Christmas. Bravo Microsoft! I think that I will advertise with your search engine and not Google’s.

The only way to stop large companies like Google from ignoring the beliefs, hopes and feelings of a large majority of the world is to vote with our pocketbooks. I, for one, do not intend on supporting Google. I will also limit any future positive blog entries about them. (If you look through the older entries here, you will see quite a few positive entries on various Google products or services.) Google ads have been removed from this blog and I will be removing them from my other web sites as time permits. It is only fair that their lack of respect be met with my indifference and total lack of support for their corporate empire building.

Merry Christmas world. Much love to every one on earth.

It was reported today that the Taliban in Afghanistan are using inexpensive software to view video from United States drone airplanes. The software is called “SkyGrabber.” It can capture picture, video and audio streams that are downloaded from satellite Internet connections. You do not even need an Internet connection to have this work for you. All you need a satellite dish. The software can then let you select what you want to capture. You can do it by by file type, IP address, by the hardware MAC address of the source, or by send or receive port. You can download the software from http://www.skygrabber.com.

You would think that the United States military would be smarter than sending live video streams from multi-million dollar aircraft without encryption. Unfortunately, they are not. You can see the unencrypted, live feeds using this inexpensive software.

Robert Alonso
Alonso Consulting

The scandal surrounding Tiger Woods is unfortunate. His name, however, is an easy target for jokes. Some are more tasteless than others. My favorite is that he is changing his name to Cheetah Woods.  Since this is a mostly a technology blog, you are probably wondering why Tiger is relevant here. Strictly speaking, he isn’t, but getting news about him is.

I was recently asked by a friend what would be the best way to get notified of news stories surrounding Tiger Woods. Since I have been taking advantage of Google News Alerts for over a year, I knew that the easiest way to track any item of interest is to set a Google Alert on it. I have alerts on “health care reform,” my customer’s company names, my name, my wife’s name and many other topics and people of interest. Google dutifully sends me a daily e-mail with a recap of all the web, news and blog mentions of each subject. I told my friend about the alerts and you could immediately see that he grasped how useful Google Alerts could be for business.

If you want to set an alert on news about Tiger Woods go here. You can also use the page to set alerts on any other topic that might interest you.

The Apple Mac Mini comes in a variety of configurations and price points. If you buy the base model, it typically does not have enough memory to handle the Adobe Creative Suite. You will definitely want to upgrade it. Although it It is relatively easy to upgrade the memory, it looks daunting when you look at the Mac Mini case. The case looks like a solid piece of plastic with no screws or openings. The trick is to pry the upper portion of the case off the body. The upper portion is the section of the Mac Mini that has the Apple logo on it.

I am providing 26 easy steps to upgrading your Mac Mini. I hope this helps you. Please remember to be careful and gentle. The case is delicate and it is better to spend a little extra time to get it right than to damage your case.

Step 1. Buy Memory and get a spatula, small flat head screwdriver screwdriver and kitchen knife. One of the technicians her at Alonso Consulting was able to forgo using a spatula. However, I think it is easier with a small, sturdy spatula. Before you proceed, unplug all cords from the Mac Mini and place everything on a padded surface. You can use cloth for this purpose.

Step 2. Start opening case by prying it open with spatula or kitchen knife. Be careful and take your time. You do not want to break any of the plastic tabs that grip into the sides of the Mac Mini case.

Step 3. Use hands to pry the case off once you have popped off the sides.

Step 4. You can also use the small screwdriver to hold a side up so that it does not clip back into place as you work around the case.

Step 5. You will start to see the bottom separating from the top of the unit.

 
Step 6. Continue to move around the case until you pry it apart completely. Apply pressure away from the upper section with your fingers. Be gentle.

Step 7. Once this is done, you can  lift the bottom section off the top and see the insides of the Mac Mini.

Step 8. You can place the bottom of the unit which contains the electronics on a flat padded surface.

Step 9.  Locate the wireless antenna. It is in one of the corners. Remove it gently without separating the cable from the rest of the unit.

Step 10.  Remove screws that are found on each corner. Be careful about placing these somewhere in the order that they were removed. They are not all the same length.

Step 11.  Now lift the electronics off the bottom plastic very gently.

Step 12. You can lift from the side using your thumbs.

Step 13. As you lift, you will see the memory sockets. There are two SODIMM sockets.

Step 14. Here is a better look at the memory.

Step 15. Remove the installed memory and replace it with your two SODIMMS.

Step 16. You should buy memory that will max out your Mac Mini so that you will not have to do this again. I installed two 2 GB memory modules for a total of 4 GB on my Mac Mini. Please note in the picture that the modules were inserted sideways under the electronics with a lot of gentle care.

Step 17. Here is a closer look at the memory modules in their slots.

 
Step 18. In this step, the technician is putting firm pressure on the two memory chips so that they snap in place. You will hear a slight click.

Step 19. Set the electronics back into place in the plastic case.

Step 20. Replace the screws that you removed earlier.

 
Step 21. Replace the wireless card that you removed. Make sure that it clips into place and is not sticking out. If it is, then you will have problems putting on the cover or getting wireless networking to work.

 
Step 22. Here is a picture of the Mac Mini electronics ready to be put back together with the upper portion of the plastic Apple cover.

Step 23. Start by placing the electronics into the case as pictured. Make sure you line up the back potion with the cable ports correctly. You will not be able to close the case any other way, so this should be intuitive.

Step 24. Apply gentle, but firm pressure all around the case. Please note that a padded surface was used to avoid scratches on the case.

Step 25. For the final steps, squeeze the upper portion of the case down around the back with the connectors. For some reason, this section required more pressure.

Step 26. You are done. Relax, plug in your Mac and watch a nice movie on it from iTunes.

The same steps can be used to replace the hard drive. It is located behind the memory in the electronic core. I hope this has been helpful.

Robert Alonso
Alonso Consulting

Microsoft’s Windows 7 was released today and the consensus is that it is a great new operating system for PCs. It is fast, elegant, stable and even visually appealing. Windows 7 has plenty of features, but features are not its claim to fame. Microsoft is stressing the fact that it is a streamlined piece of software that works well. After its Vista debacle and the bad publicity that it garnered for the company, I am very heartened by this new release and can recommend it unequivocally. Unlike its predecessor, Windows 7 works well with almost all hardware and even has functionality built in that will enable you to see a picture or drawing of new hardware that you connect to it. Next time you buy a printer or digital camera and plug it in via a USB port, you may be surprised when you see a picture of the device on your screen confirming that it is recognized and working. I am very fond of the BitLocker technology that is included with the Windows 7 Ultimate Edition. With it, you can encrypt and password protect your computer’s hard drive. This protects your data in case your machine is stolen or lost. It is particularly useful for laptop and netbook owners since these are often stolen from hotel rooms. The BitLocker To Go technology makes it possible to also encrypt removable hard drives and USB thumb drives.

The Libraries feature allows you to group related folders together under a category like documents, music or video. This simplifies the task of backing up groups of documents or creating music playlist from music that is stored in multiple locations. You can use the new Windows Backup utility to create those backups and even schedule complete backups of your PC. I love this new backup tool because it will also create a system repair disk for you that you can use to restore your machine after a catastrophe.

It is important to note, that some older versions of software do not work with Windows 7. Two that I know won’t work are Norton Ghost and the various versions of Microsoft Fingerprint Reader software. Symantec is working on an upgrade for Norton Ghost that will be compatible and Microsoft is offering rebates to owners of the Microsoft Fingerprint devices and software.

Perhaps the only real issue I have with the new release is that it comes in too many versions. Microsoft is selling a Starter, Home Premium, Professional, Ultimate and Enterprise version. It is also selling versions that are for 32 bit and 64 bit computers. It is confusing as to which version is good for office, home and notebook use. It is also unclear whether a machine can handle the 64 bit version. It is so confusing that Microsoft has put up a web page that compares the versions.

Alonso Consulting can help you decide if upgrading is the right move for you. If you decide to upgrade your existing machines, we can guide you through the planning process, back up your existing data and then upgrade you to the correct version. Users of Windows XP do not have a direct upgrade path with Windows 7, so all data and applications have to be backed up and reinstalled.

If you prefer to buy new machines, we can provide you with a great deal* on Dell computers preloaded with Windows 7 Professional. Once we install the new machine and port your data over, we’ll erase your old PC’s hard drive, remove it and give you a $100 credit for it that you can use towards additional support from us. We will also provide you with a pass-along gift certificate worth $250. It is our way of saying thank you.

Call us at (973) 575-1414 to start upgrading to this excellent new version of Windows.

Thanks,

Robert Alonso
Alonso Consulting

 

* Here’s the deal:

You get a Dell PC with Windows 7 Professional worth $765. You also receive up to two hours of service to install your old applications and data. We will remove your old PC and give you a $100 credit for future support plus a pass-along gift certificate worth $250 so you can share our services with a business associate. The total value is $1,365. If you decide to upgrade and pay on our web site by October 27th, you will receive the PC, our service, a $100 credit, and the gift certificate which is a total value of $1,365 for only $899 per PC. Here are the specs on the PC:

 

Processor	Intel® Core™ 2 Duo E7500 (2.93GHz, 3M, L2Cache, 1066FSB)
Operating system	Genuine Windows ® 7 Professional 32 bit
Monitor	18.5 inch E1910H Flat Panel Monitor
Memory	3GB DDR2 SDRAM 800MHZ – 1×2GB 1×1GB
Optical drive	Single Drive: 16X DVD-ROM Drive
Hard drive	250GB Serial ATA Hard Drive (7200RPM) w/DataBurst Cache™
Video card	Integrated Video, Intel® GMA X4500HD
Security software	Norton Internet Security™ 2009 30 Day Trial
Sound	Integrated 5.1 Channel Audio
Keyboard & mouse	USB Keyboard and USB Optical Mouse
Adobe software	Adobe Acrobat Reader
Resource DVD	Resource CD and DVD
Setup guide	System Quick Reference Guide
Network interface	Integrated PCIE 10/100/1000
Warranty & service	1 Year Manufacturer’s Basic Limited Warranty and 1 Year NBD On-Site Service