Tech Dad Central

Zagg-nut

I've become power-obsessed. No, I'm not considering the overthrow of a small nation (TechDadCentralia ?!?) but rather I spend way too much time worrying about how much battery power I have left on my various hand-held devices. Growing up in the 70's, some of my fondest memories were spending time with my Great Aunt & Uncle who lived in the small mining town of California, PA -- about 30 miles due south of Pittsburgh. My Uncle Frank was the proud owner of a Lincoln Continental Mark IV and I always found it fascinating that whenever the car's gas gauge dropped below three-quarters, my uncle went on a quest to find the nearest service station in order to "top off the tank". His unwavering devotion to a full tank always made me laugh.

Fast forward thirty years and last week, while traveling, I realized that I share this genetic need to "top off the tank" of my iPod and BlackBerry. If the battery gauge shows three-quarters, then I go on my own quest for a power outlet.

The Mom Central office recently received a sample product that I just couldn't resist ... a ZaggSparq battery. Think of this as a portable gas station for your mobile phone or PDA. It's the same form factor as the AC adaptor for a Mac laptop, including the fold-out plug. Charge it up and take it with you. When your mobile phone, iPod or PDA is out of juice, connect it via the ZaggSparq's  two USB ports (one optimized, the other non-optimzed) and "fill 'er up". The ZaggSparq will give you four full power reloads for an iPhone on a single charge of its own.

If only the ZaggSparq gave out S&H Green Stamps every time I use it ... oh well ... Uncle Frank would still be proud of me.

ChargePod - Taming Charger Madness

The MC Office received a ChargePod demo unit recently. I saw it sitting on a table and couldn't immediately identify it. The unit looks like a silver air hockey puck with seven holes around its edge. You plug the puck either into an AC outlet or your car (via an adapter) to power it up. You then have six "power ports" to charge any and all of your batter operated devices. The unit ships with three included "adapter tips" to connect it to an iPhone/iPod, cell phone (mini-USB) and camera (micro-USB). Also included is a coupon redeemable for a free fourth adapter of your choice via the CallPod web site.

At first glance, I thought it was yet more cool but useless technology until I started packing up for a weekend soccer tournament road trip. I looked in my travel bag and realized that I was already carrying:

- 2 iPod chargers - one for car and one for connecting to my laptop

- 2 cell phone (BlackBerry) chargers - one for car and one for an AC outlet

- 1 digital camera charger

I put the ChargePod in its carrying case along with the three adaptor tips and I was now all set. Simple technology that works - TechDadCentral approves!

Ron vs. Ron: iPad - Tool or Toy?

This month, we begin a new feature at TechDad Central; Ron vs. Ron – I will be matching wits (and tech wizardry) with my friend Ron N from San Diego.  A bit of background on him; he earned an Electrical Engineering degree from Stanford and an MBA from Harvard – despite these qualifications, he’s actually fun to be around with plenty of opinions. Most importantly, he’s guaranteed to take the opposite point of view of anything I say. That’s why we’ve been friends for 22 years! The picture to the right is Ron vs. Ron on the golf course - in our pre-Dad days.

Since we both share a first name, in order to tell us apart we will go by BosRon (me) and SDRon (Ron N). However, once we get started, readers should be able to instantly recognize our respective styles (or lack thereof). So here we go … and the first topic is:

iPad – Tool or Toy?

Is the iPad an indispensable tool or a fun, but pricey toy? BosRon, being the host gets to go first.

BosRon: So we all know what the iPad has, but I want to focus on what it left out – and I view these missing pieces as positive. First, it’s missing a CD/DVD player. Ask yourself, when was the last time you actually used the DVD drive on your laptop? All content is now downloadable or stream-able so let’s lose the wasted space and extra weight of the CD/DVD – iPad (check).

Next, the mouse and or/trackpad. I have always disliked trackpads but thought that a mouse was indispensable until trying the touchscreen capability of the iPad. The tracking and sensitivity is excellent and the user interface becomes second nature quickly (what’s more natural than poking things with your index finger)? Lose the hassle of an external mouse and the clumsiness of a trackpad – iPad (check).

Finally, Adobe Flash. Who amongst us hasn’t had Flash repeatedly crash their browser? Sure there is plenty of Flash-based content, but more modern video decoders such as H.264 are higher performance and non-proprietary. Plus, keeping your Flash plug-in up-to-date is more effort than it’s worth. Drop the dependence on Flash – iPad (check).

So we all know what the iPad has, but what I love most is what was left behind – and what remains is a sleek, low-profile personal computing device that will let you get through your critical tasks on the go – without extra baggage. For me – indispensable tool.

SDRon: First, let me thank Ron (BosRon) for the opportunity to interact in this type of a forum (and to argue with Ron, something I never get enough of).  Let me also put my biases up front: I’m a bit of an Apple anti-fanboy. Although I love much of their technology (particular their user interfaces), I hate their business practices. Particularly their habit of developing closed systems that force customers to always go through them, rather than getting supporting hardware or software through independent third parties. It’s great for their shareholders (and business student case studies), but bad for their customers.

Anyway, on to the topic.  The iPad is a spectacular device. Its design is so sleek and luxuriant, it almost begs you to pick it up. It makes accessing content so quick (no PC boot up time!) and easy that it changes the way you relate to the computer-like device.  It has all of the value of the iPhone/iTouch, now with a wonderfully large display. And I’m going to agree with Ron, that they needed to leave out a lot of things to make the design so sexy. But the reason that it’s a fantastic toy (and not a business tool): it’s built to receive and display content, but not to create and share it.

For watching movies, listening to your iTunes library, reading e-books, or accessing information on the web, it’s great. Its recognition of swipes and gestures is a wonderful way to choose what you want to see. But a tool requires a different capability: input. Unless your business needs can get by with just a few taps or swipes of your finger, you’re going to need to type and input data and that’s not what the iPad is designed for.  Any significant e-mailing, creating or editing documents (WORD or Acrobat files), or spreadsheet work can be a pain on the iPad.  Yes, you can find ways to connect a keyboard, but that defeats the design and beauty of the product.

To be effective as a tool, the iPad either needs to be the best at doing one thing (a scalpel), or good at doing a lot of things (a swiss army knife). Unfortunately, it’s betwixt and between.  For mobile e-mail it’s not as portable and quick as a Blackberry. For reading, it’s not as light and easy on the eyes as a Kindle. For web access, it’s not as universal as a laptop.

And to really replace a laptop as a tool (business or otherwise) the iPad would need another capability: compatibility.  Most PC/laptop uses are common: e-mail, word processing, web access. But many companies and individuals have a few obscure needs or legacy applications they need to support. It may involve Flash or interacting with complex JAVA programs (neither of which are supported well on the iPad), or small custom programs written for Windows, or specialized apps like blog-posting software.  Any one of these needs isn’t very common, but there are so many of them that most of us have one or two oddball relics we need supported in a tool.  The iPad is many wonderful things, but a swiss army knife it is not.

So Ron, enjoy the iPad for the wonderful toy that it is, but don’t try to deduct it as a business expense.

At CES - The product that surprised me most!

At huge trade shows, such as CES, every once in a while you stumble across a hidden gem of a product at an inconspicuous location. I was heading to the escalators at the Las Vegas Convention Center when I stumbled across what looked to be a small living room tucked underneath the "down" escalators. There was great music coming from a crowd. I thought it might be a live artist playing guitar on the couch. When I got closer, however, I noticed that it was actually a show booth for a company called Soundolier.

The booth was a mock-up of a contemporary living room playing great music ... but where was the sound coming from ... there were no floor or wall-mounted speakers anywhere? Answer: The floor lamps and the ceiling fan overhead. Soundolier builds attractive furniture with built-in wireless speakers. Absolutely brilliant.

If you've ever set-up a surround sound system, you know how hard it is to place and install the side and rear speakers. Plus, once you start drilling holes and running cables through your walls and ceiling these placements are permanent. So take a couple of Soundolier floor lamps and place them behind your viewing sofa, add the wireless controller to your A/V receiver and you're good to go. Wireless speakers built-in to cool furniture - a stroke of genius.

At CES - Top TV Trends

3D TV was everywhere at CES but there were a number of other TV technology changes worth noting. Although much more subtle, they are poised to have some significant impact ... and they are all related as you will see via the progression below:

The Power TV - Most pundits talk of PCs becoming "more like TVs" by being able to stream video and watch live broadcasts. Now it's time to turn this around ... TVs are becoming "more like PCs"! As manufacturers start to add significant processing power and huge hard disk drives into the latest generation of TVs, all of the sudden your 55-inch flat screen has a whole new array of tricks.

The Networked TV - If you've got a big screen and loads of processing power, then you want to get connected. Most new models feature wired and wireless (802.11n) capability to hook up to your home network. Once connected, they are offering up a variety of new services. One of my favorites, however, is the ability to update their firmware over the network in order to become ...

TV as Media Center - You're now online with plenty of power and a fast network connection, so why not make the TV into the complete Home Media Center? These new TVs (via online firmware updates) allow for direct access to online video services such as Amazon, Netflix and VUDU which can then be streamed or downloaded for purchase. Now you now longer need any additional hardware (such as my beloved Roku player) to hook-up to these great services, the TV does it all. But keep going, these new sets come with big (1 TB) hard drives built-in so that you can store and view my home media (photos, music and videos) directly from my TV.

The Giant VideoPhone -  Let's add a built-in camera to the top of the screen and we then have ... an at-home video conferencing system right in your living room. Since the new models have tons of processing power, a fast network connection and a giant screen, these TVs become the perfect IP-based video conferencing system. We have now officially caught up with The Jetsons.

A Remote Control you cannot lose - Since we now have a high-resolution camera, let's use it in place of the standard remote. Known as "gesturing", these new TVs will soon feature the ability to use your own hand and arm motions to control the system in place of the remote. That's right ... you make a specific arm or hand movement while sitting on your couch and the TV screen turns into a giant remote that you control my waving and pointing.

The battle for your living room is now joined. It's the TV versus the A/V Receiver versus the Set-Top Box. Who will win? ... Stay tuned (pun intended).

At CES - More Stuff I Want!

The biggest trend at the recent Consumer Electronics Show was 3D TV. It was everywhere and the success of the movie Avatar in 3D put the technology in the forefront. So I wandered the show trying to learn about 3D TV technology. Most vendors had 3D televisions that required glasses (just like in the movies) for viewing. A few, such as RCA, are introducing 3D TVs for the naked eye. Their demo, however, didn't look that great and gave me a headache.

So I walked away thinking that the lead in 3D was anyone's game until I stumbled across an all-black booth fashioned with a brand I had never heard of, Cell TV. At the booth, there was a line behind a velvet rope where only a few lucky souls at a time were allowed entrance to an unknown demo ... of course I got in line.

Ushered inside ten at a time, we were instructed to don our 3D glasses for the demo. The first thing I learned is that Cell TV is actually a brand name for Toshiba ...  a company I don't usually associate with TV breakthroughs. Next, however, I learned that Toshiba has packed these TVs with some serious graphics processing power. They have changed the display from a simple TV screen to a powerful 3D rendering engine.

What this means is that the Cell TV renders beautiful scenes using any of the current competing 3D technology (including MPEG4-MVC and RealD) but what sets this product apart is its ability to take standard 2D content and convert it to 3D on the fly. The graphics power in the Cell TV  takes 2D images, renders them into a very realistic 3D image and then displays the scene on the screen. I watched the TV toggle between 2D and 3D modes and was blown away. One caveat: the demo did not include any live sporting events - the main thing that TechDadCentral really cares about. However, this shortcoming mercifully prevented me from watching the Pats lose by 19 points in 3D.

The Cell TV is due out later this year and when asked about price, all I got was a blank stare from the booth staff. It must be one of those, "If you have to ask ..." luxuries.

Tomorrow, I'll discuss the other new TV trends I saw ... not quite as "in your face" as 3D, but important nonetheless.

At CES - Stuff I Want!

TechDadCentral was at CES over the weekend and saw many items in the, "I want this!" category. Over the next few days, I'll post about the stuff that I want.

To get started, I want the DISH Network ViP 922 satellite receiver due out later this year. It includes:

• A DVR with 1 TB of storage space
• A pair of tuners in one receiver
• Built in Slingbox capability

The Terabyte of storage means that even my teenage son can't fill it up by saving every episode of Scrubs in HD.  The pair of tuners allows me to drive two TVs with two separate remotes - one upstairs and own downstairs - via a single receiver. Connected to my Ethernet, the ViP 922 has a built-in Slingbox so that I can watch my home service in HD on my laptop wherever I go. Big money saver as I don't need to rent a second receiver for upstairs or upgrade my Slingbox to HD.

FYI - Viewing your Slingbox in a browser (as opposed to downloading the 250 MB Slingplayer application) is also coming this year.

Taming the Digital Music Library – Solution #4

We're in between Christmas and New Years so it's time for the final "in between" solution. This one is very low cost ... but comes with some serious drawbacks.

Solution #4 is what I've had in place for over three years now, an Airport Express base station connected to my A/V receiver. The Airport Express is a hybrid device unlike anything else on the market. It can function as:

• wireless bridge
• wireless access point
• USB print server
• iTunes client

... or a combination of the above. It's the same form factor as the power supply for a Mac laptop. Given it's compact size, I've seen tech-savvy travelers use one to convert a hotel wired network connection into an in-room wireless network.  For our purposes you will need a Connection Kit ($39) for an audio hook-up to your A/V receiver. I went with a TOS-link optical cable for the best sound available.

So your Airport Express connects to your network, either wired or wireless, and then to your A/V receiver via the connection kit. You configure it via a free utility from Apple called, appropriately, the AirPort Utility and enable "AirTunes" on the device. The Airport Express then magically appears in iTunes running on any system on your home network (Mac or Windows!). Look in lower right-hand corner of the iTunes window. You now have the choice of routing the audio from iTunes to the remote speakers, namely your A/V receiver.

My set-up has all of my music stored on my Netgear ReadyNAS Duo which happens to include a built-in iTunes server. Any laptop or desktop on the network can see the server and then access stored songs from within iTunes. With the Airport Express in place, I can then route the audio to the A/V receiver.

Pluses:

• Low cost - a used AirPort Express can be had for as low as $30. Add a good quality Connection Kit for $39 and you have a solution for under $70.
• Can also double as an access point or wireless bridge to extend your wireless network.
• Includes a USB port for connecting a printer as a network print server.
• Wired and wireless network connectivity.

Minuses:

• Still requires an active computer running iTunes to select and play songs.
• Audio only.
• Set-up, via the AirPort Utility can be confusing given all of the options
• Quality issues have arisen for the newer 802.11n models.

Cost: $69 - $140

Summary:

I use this solution and it works really well ... but ... I still want to get rid of that laptop or PC running iTunes. Why doesn't my A/V receiver include this?

Taming the Digital Music Library – Solution #3

Now we start getting to the interesting stuff. A new class of "network appliance" is hitting the market from a number of vendors such as Sonus, Logitech and Roku. Known as "Network Music Players", these devices connect to your home network and then to your A/V receiver.

They become the "bridge" between your digital music library and your entertainment system. Their features vary; simple LED display vs. color touchscreen, connection to online music services (such as Pandora and Rhapsody), Internet radio and even built-in speakers. Even an iPhone app is available as a music control user interface.

Pluses:

• If you have your music library on a server, you're all set!
• User interfaces range from remote controls to iPhone apps.
• No PC or laptop required for selection playback! Although there is a web interface available if you would like to control these devices from a computer.
• Connection to Internet radio and on-line music services.
• Wireless connection available - great if you do not have an Ethernet port near your A/V receiver.

Minuses:

• Audio only. If you want to stream video as well, you need to look elsewhere.
• Yet another remote controller - unless you use an iPhone app or a browser in place of the remote

Cost: $129 - $1,100

Summary:: Here is the exact solution that I was looking for when I first started my quest. With my library in one place on my network (my NAS), these devices give me direct access along with some other excellent online music sources.

Taming the Digital Music Library – Solution #2

If you're more of a a do-it-your-selfer, or don't have the budget for Solution #1, then follow along. Solution #2 is via my son and our city's recycling policies. Back in 2001, I brought home a surplus Compaq low-profile desktop PC for my son. His gaming needs soon overwhelmed the graphics capability of this PC and it was replaced by a nice Dell desktop. The ancient Compaq was sent to the curb to be recycled but was not picked up by the city as it was placed on the wrong side of the driveway. I came home from work and saw it sitting there. The idea light bulb went on as I realized I could turn this geezer into a perfectly fine media server ... for both music and video. Here's what I needed:

- VGA video cable. I salvaged this from the recycling bin as well.

- A PC-to-stereo audio cable - it plugs in to the single speaker output of your PC and then into a red & white stereo audio input on your TV (or your A/V Receiver).

- Wireless keyboard and mouse.

- If your entertainment system has a physical network connection nearby, you're all set. If not, then you will need to add a wireless card to your surplus PC.

- A network file server for all of your music and videos - or a a really big hard disk attached to the surplus PC! I already had an NAS on the network.

- Audio software - iTunes is obvious and free.

- Video software - I highly recommend the freeware VLC player from Videolan. It's quick and runs on both Windows and Mac.

So here's the set-up; my flat screen TV has a VGA input that was just crying out for use. I placed the old Compaq into the entrainment system cabinet and connected it the to the TV using a VGA cable. I then plugged in the network cable and added the wireless mouse and keyboard adapter to the USB port. I set the source on my TV for the PC input and set the resolution in the Displays control panel on the PC to match my TV. Voila! I now have a 67" monitor displaying my Windows desktop. That alone will get you some serious geek points with your friends and family.

I then configured the wireless keyboard and mouse along with the network settings for my in-home network. Now online, I downloaded iTunes and VLC. The final step was to "mount" my Network Attached Storage file share that contained all of my music and videos. The Compaq was running Windows XP so I "Mounted the Network Drive" and selected "Reconnect at Start-up".

iTunes required me to "add" all of my music files on the NAS to my local iTunes library ... but make sure that you do not select in Advanced Settings, "Copy files to iTunes Media folder when adding to library". Otherwise, you will fill up the miniscule hard drive on your cheap PC and defeat the concept of having all of you music on a shared server! If you are using an attached large hard drive instead of an NAS, then ignore this.

For viewing videos, you simply start-up VLC, select "Open File" and navigate to the video you want to view. Streaming begins in a few seconds.

Pluses:

• Great recycled use of a surplus PC that was heading to the trash.
• Can stream both music and videos to your entertainment system.
• Gives you an additional, networked computer in your home with a HUGE display. There's nothing like surfing the web on a 67" screen.

Minuses:

• Need to keep the wireless keyboard and mouse nearby for navigating the PC.
• Your universal remote will likely not work with the PC.
• Video performance may be an issue. It all depends on the graphics power of your PC.
• You need entertainment cabinet space for the PC.
• You need to copy all of your music and videos onto the NAS (or the hard drive). You are about to become close friends with the CD/DVD drive.

Cost: $75 - $600. If you already have an NAS and a network connection behind the TV, then this is a cheap project. If you need to add an NAS (or a big external hard drive for the PC) plus a wireless card, then it's a bit more expensive. The cost of the surplus PC must be included if you don't have one as well.

Summary: A fun, inexpensive way to get your audio and video libraries streaming to your entertainment system. Plus, you get to feel good about recycling an old PC.

Notes:

• Two years after I set this up using the surplus Compaq PC, I got my hands on a used Mac Mini. The Mac Mini took up much less space with better performance and was plug-compatible with the wireless mouse & keyboard, VLC and iTunes.
• This solution, plus all of the upcoming solutions, require you to collect your media library on an NAS (or an attached hard drive in this solution). Only the Russound system in Solution #1 does the collecting for you as you feed it CDs and DVDs.