Drew’s Daily Deliberations

I have yet found a valid reason why Alberta caps the amount of wind power produced. In any event, a step in the right direction is being taken by our government, as they are set to just about double the limit for allowable wind-power generation.

I was recently on a road trip that included driving through some of Alberta’s wind farms. To say they were impressive would be an understatement. I suppose other areas may have something much more spectacular, but I was happy enough. Seeing all that potential for clean power was amazing.

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Take a look at the following video. It is done to the soundtrack of Daft Punks Harder Better Faster Stronger song. It takes a minute to get to the impressive stuff, bear with it and you will be amazed.

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 Let me begin by saying this is not your typical PC. It is not meant to be used in typical PC fashion. If you plan on doing primarily office type work (letters, emails, finances), this is not the PC for you.

To fully appreciate the TouchSmart IQ770, it must be used for what it is. A touch screen enabled kiosk, rather than a desktop PC. The appeal of this type of device is that it lowers the barriers people have with computers. HP envisions the TouchSmart finding a home for itself in your kitchen or entertaining room. There is a reason people why shy away from computers in these areas (other than home theater PCs (HTPCs)), and that is partly because using a computer is typically an individual and involved experience. With the TouchSmart and its SmartCenter software, everyone is able to interact with the PC easily, to do the sorts of things people want to do in kitchens and entertaining rooms. Tasks such as playing music or television while cooking, enabling guests to view pictures during a dinner party, or quickly checking a few web sites are where the TouchSmart excels.

The TouchSmart IQ770 is essentially a laptop in a fancy case, with a great touch screen. As such, it is not a particularly fast system. During use, it actually seems a tad under powered. Actually, it may not be the hardware’s fault, but the software. There are essentially three user interfaces found on the system. The primary one is SmartCenter, an HP tool that really takes advantage of what the computer has to offer. Secondly, there is Windows Media Center, and lastly the normal Windows Vista desktop.

Using any of the three UI’s in isolation is a pleasant enough experience. Switching between them, on the other hand, is where the trouble starts. It just takes too long. Not only that, but when switching, numerous bugs surface, from weird screen flashing, to crashing of Media Center. Whether this is common, or just a result of a defective system is hard to tell.

The SmartCenter software essentially is just a launching point to other programs. It has a very pleasing design to it, including little ripple effects when you touch the screen. SmartCenter also includes the ability to leave hand written or voice notes for family members, and some basic photo editing and printing abilities. The novelty of these tools wears thin quickly, and this is one of the downfalls of this device. The touch screen works brilliantly, it just needs good software to make the most of it. HP has just touched the surface of touch enabled software design. Hopefully they build from this point for future products.

SmartCenter is really a touch focused plug in for Media Center. And it is in Media Center where you will find features like TV recording, video viewing, photo slide shows and music. Media Center is well designed by Microsoft for ease of use… with a remote. However, when using it via touch, it falls short of the high bar HP set with SmartCenter. The buttons are just a touch too small to ensure accurate presses, and the little water ripple effect signifying a touch is missing. It is certainly still usable, but you may find yourself reaching for the remote for most tasks.

Using the Windows Vista desktop and general applications via touch is a disappointing experience actually quite decent, but only if you take the time in SmartCenter to modify Vista to be more touch friendly. This will then enlarge scroll bars and the application title bar. While it is certainly possible, and a relatively pleasing experience, it again suffers from not being as touch friendly as SmartCenter is. As stated earlier, TouchSmart is not meant to be where you edit Excel documents. It is better suited to tasks like web browsing. In fact, using shortcuts you can define in SmartCenter, web browsing is an ideal use for this computer. It would be made a fantastic experience if only there was touch enabled web browsing software. By default, web browsing is done in Internet Explorer 7, which does not support actions like scrolling by dragging the page up or down. Instead, you need to use the scroll bar, which can be hard to do via touch which is alright if the system is running under the touch optimized settings. Of course, using the included mouse and keyboard is possible, but that starts to defeat the reason for the TouchSmart’s existence.

There are some obvious signs that this is a first generation product. By default, SmartCenter is not running when the PC starts, and it should be. Also, while there is an on screen touch keyboard in parts of SmartCenter, it does not follow the QWERTY layout, and there are a few spots in SmartCenter where text editing is needed, but the keyboard is not available. Moving outside of SmartCenter means no more readily available on screen keyboard at all. And this is just a glaring oversight on HP’s part, given that Vista comes with such a feature for use on Tablet PC’s. While you can manually open it, or set it to launch on startup, it should have been something HP included from the start. Even with the Tablet on screen keyboard, there are deficiencies. The touch screen does not actually require touch to activate, mearly having your finger/stylus very close to the screen is enough. And this ability causes some unintended selections with the Tablet on screen keyboard. All of this leads users towards using the keyboard, which itself is a problem. The keyboard suffers from an issue that causes it to miss letters or repeat letters if typed on quickly. This is been reported by other uses, and is a significantly annoying issue. HP has an updated keyboard driver, but at this time, it is unknown whether it addresses this specific issue.

The HP TouchSmart IQ770 is definitely a unique computing experience.  It is bound to appeal to a wide cross section of the population, but its cost may limit it from many budgets, especially given its niche use. Then again, some households may find it a great buy even as their sole PC. When put on a desk in a kitchen, it can do its kiosk role when applicable, but still be used for homework and finances at other times.

Permalink: http://www.touchsmarter.com/review-of-hp-touchsmart-iq770/8/

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Everyone uses Google. Well, not everyone, I am pretty sure my Grandma has never Googled anything. But she knows of Google. But do you know about the extra search tools you can use to do all sorts of neat searches? Here are some examples.

Text in italics are examples, substitute your text.

iPhone $200…500
Does a search and shows results of an iPhone that costs between $200 and $500

drew’s * deliberations
Performs a search with drew’s and deliberations separated by one other word.

cache:daily.drewandmerissa.com
Display Google’s cached results of daily.drewandmerissa.com

link:daily.drewandmerissa.com
Lists websites that link to the address you enter. Sadly, nothing links to this site. Thats a shame. Maybe next time I check, someone will have linked here.

related:daily.drewandmerissa.com
Lists webpages similar to daily.drewandmerissa.com.

info:daily.drewandmerissa.com
Displays information Google has about the site. Provides some tools to further your search.

site:daily.drewandmerissa.com
Displays all the web pages contained in the site.

allintitle:query
Only shows the results that have all of the searched words in the title.

intitle:query
Only shows resulting documents that have all of the searched words in the title.

allinurl:query
Only shows search results with all of the query words in the URL.

inurl:query
Only shows resulting documents that contain the word in the URL.

define:deliberation
Show a list of definitions. Here is what Google defines as Deliberation: “(usually plural) discussion of all sides of a question.”

iPhone $200…500
Does a search and shows results of an iPhone that costs between $200 and $500

safesearch: raccoon
Searches for raccoon without returning adult content like this:

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I suddenly respect the owner of this car…

“rm” is the UNIX command to remove files and directories (like del and rmdir in MS-DOS/Windows). “-rf” are command line options. “r” means to remove recursively and “f” means to force removal. “rm -rf /” will, essentially, wipe your disk clean of those pesky files and directories.

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On a whim, the wife and I picked up a Kodak picture frame on the weekend. We have a fair amount of photos that we want to display, and thought this might be a neat way to avoid printing off our newest photos and putting them in picture frames.

I originally wanted to buy the Mustek Ality PF–T80R 8” frame, given the good things I heard about it. However, with that not in stock, we bought the Kodak frame for the same price, but with wireless!

Setting the frame up was… fairly straightforward, although for those of you less technically inclined, it may prove challenging. Using just as a frame is easy. Put in a SD/CF/etc card with pictures, and it plays them automatically. The part that is a bit more involved is getting the wireless setup and the frame talking to a PC. One caveat I noticed immediately, is that the frame, with latest firmware, only supports WEP encryption.

The frame has the ability to see pictures/music/video that you have on a computer (shared via Windows Media Player). And this is nice, but what the frame can not do, is remember where it was when powered off. It takes numerous steps to get it displaying images from a computer, and I was hoping after pointing it, I could turn it off and have it display those pictures when turned back on automatically. No such luck.

Another issue with the wireless is that it is SLOW. It had issues playing back video, and images were slow in the sense that a 3 second interval was more like 8 seconds before the next image would display. I suppose if you were going to have pictures on the screen for a longer period of time, this slowness issue would not be such an issue.

The other big pet peeve I have with how the frame operates is that it does not have a random feature. Again, I was planning on having the frame off when not needed (it even has a scheduler to turn itself on/off), but I do not want to always see the same images when the frame turns on.

Since the wireless function was not to my liking, I put some images on a memory card, and used the frame that way. Aside from not displaying images in random order, it worked as well as could be expected. Images displayed quickly, and video played in a smooth fashion.

The controls on the frame and included remote are temperamental. Sometimes it would need multiple button presses to activate a function, and then sometimes it would queue the multiple presses up and issue them when not expected.

The quality of the images pleased my wife and our guests, however I was left wanting more. We normally display images on a 48” HD TV in the family room, and compared to that, the frame left much to be desired. It seems like the resolution (800×600) is not quite high enough perhaps. Dark areas of photos display a noticeable blocky/bandy effect (similar to some DVDs). Colourful photos are the most pleasing, as the display does give off vibrant colours, not overly accurate, but vibrant.

If the frame was $100 and not $300, we may have considered keeping it, but as it is, it will be getting returned to the store.

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A couple friends of mine travelled to Cuba recently. Upon returning home, they both had items stolen out of their checked baggage. One had a camera stolen, and the other had rechargable batteries removed from his suitcase. They departed Varadaro, Cuba and landed in Calgary on a Westjet flight July 28^th. Now, the items may have been stolen in Cuba, granted. However, an airline official did say that there has been recent trouble at the Calgary Airport with items being taken from passangers bags.

My friends both contacted police, filed the paperwork, and contacted Westjet. Thankfully the items were not of high value, and there were no pictures on the camera that would have been lost. However, it begs the question, if it is that easy to remove items from luggage, is it that easy to put items into luggage, items of a dangerous type???

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More and more families are living a significant portion of their lives online. I am not specifically talking about online games and chat by kids. In a more broad sense, people’s lives are partly digital these days. You bank electronically, you open and manage various accounts online, email accounts for more and more of our communication, and even direct phone calls often end up in voicemail. And this all works very well.

Until the unthinkable happens. With so much information about ourselves occurring in the digital world, protected by various passwords and secret phrases, do you have a plan to ensure your loved ones will be able to gain access to the information they might need if you suffered a tragic accident? Would they even know where to begin?

In the age before computers, you know, up until the late 80s/early 90s, much of this information would likely be stuffed in a drawer or shoe box. It may not have been pretty or organized, but at least it was available. In an emergency, people could search your house and likely come up with much of this information. Of course, people with ill-intentions could as well, but that is another topic entirely.

I for one scan all of my paperwork and file things on the computer. My reasoning is that I can easily duplicate the data to another location, protecting my information from fire or other disaster. And because of “evil doers”, this information is thoroughly protected. All of my utilities are handled online, as is my banking.

With my first wedding anniversary coming up, I realized that my wife, if needed, would not know where to begin. And since I happen to handle _her_ paperwork as well, it would be especially difficult. It got me thinking about how to plan now to avoid issues down the road. This is by no means a complete list, but it helps me sleep better at night.

First, identifying information that needs to be readily available:

• A current will
• Power of attorney information
• Medical/life insurance information
• A list of utility accounts in case others need access to them (to pay them or close them, or what have you)
• A list of online services, and the associated login information. This includes things like bank login, email accounts, online storage accounts, and whatever else is remotely important. Take your time and think about this. Earlier I mentioned voicemail. Someone could need to access your voice mail messages, did you remember to include that password?

Now this information is no good to me if I am incapacitated, so deciding upon two or three people that I can trust completely is needed. Obviously, my wife makes the list. And I figure two others, who are connected to me in different circles, and who can mostly trust each other, should be included. The reason I mention being part of a different circle, is that if I had two close friends, whom I always go skiing with, and something happened to all of us on a trip, my information would again not be readily available. Picking a family member and a friend should suffice for most of us. Since these people will have the keys to my life in their possession, I believe that they need to know each other and trust each other to a large degree.

Once the people are decided upon, all the compiled information should be documented. This could be done on paper, or in electronic format on a USB key or similar. I personally favor the USB method, as it gives me a means to secure the data in a manner appropriate for the recipient. With all this information compiled together, it would be a disaster if it fell into the wrong hands unprotected. Ensure the recipients fully understand the directions you have left, how to access the USB key, and who else has this information and why.

Most importantly, do this today! Tomorrow could be too late. And update this periodically, ensuring new accounts and changed passwords are all accounted for.

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Thats right, your dream of owning your own island can finally be realized. Hurry before it is too late. Rabbit Island, situated near Vancouver Island, British Columbia, has been put up for sale by Orange Coast College. For the reasonable sum of $2.50 million, this island, with its solar panel array, wireless internet, and no pesky neighbors, could be yours.

The isolated island was donated to the College by a wealthy benefactor, Henry Wheeler, in 2003. Students have enjoyed the courses put on at the island, but the annual maintenance of $75,000 per year forced the College to sell.

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There is an incompatibility between Vista and Microsoft Money 2007. The issue centers around difficulty being able to sign into a Live account in Money. In the past, I had just worked around it by working offline. However, a recent search turned up a fix that has worked for me. It appears some of Vista’s security settings are too tight for Money to connect to its servers. The fix is documented in MS KB 891338, with the portion that worked for me copied below. It looks like a lot, but it is really only a couple of changes that are required.

Method 9: Turn off Extended Protect Mode and the Phishing filter in Internet Explorer 7 on Windows Vista

Warning: This workaround may make a computer or a network more vulnerable to attack by malicious users or by malicious software such as viruses. We do not recommend this workaround but are providing this information so that you can implement this workaround at your own discretion. Use this workaround at your own risk.

Step 1: Change Internet Explorer 7 security settings

1. Start Internet Explorer 7.
2. On the Tools menu, click Internet Options.
3. Click the Security tab, and then click to clear the Enable Protected Mode check box.
4. Click the Advanced tab, and then click Disable Phishing Filter under Phishing Filter.
5. On the Advance tab, click to select the Use SSL 2.0 check box.
6. Click to select the Use SSL 3.0 check box, and then click to select the Use TLS 1.0 check box.
7. Exit Internet Explorer 7.

Step 2: Add Money to local firewall settings

If you are using a third-party firewall program, see the documentation that is provided for this firewall program to add Money to the exception list.

For Windows Firewall, follow these steps:

1. Click Start, type Windows Firewall in the Start Search box, and then click Windows Firewall in the Programs list.
2. In the navigation pane in Windows Firewall, click Allow a program through Windows Firewall. If you are prompted for an administrator password or for a confirmation, type the password, or click Continue.
3. In the Windows Firewall Settings dialog box, in the Exception list, in the Program or port column, select Microsoft Money.
4. Click OK.
5. Close Windows Firewall.
6. Restart the computer.

Step 3: Verify that you can log on by using Windows Live ID credentials in Money

If you can log on in to Windows Live ID by using your credentials in Money, you can add msn.com, live.com, passport.net, passport.com and money:// to the Trusted Sites list in Internet Explorer 7, and then follow the steps in the “Step 4: Restore Internet Explorer 7 security settings” section to restore Internet security settings.

To start Internet Explorer 7 and open Internet Options, follow these steps:

1. Start Internet Explorer 7.
2. On the Tools menu, click Internet Options, and then click the Security tab.
3. In the Select a zone or change security settings box, click Trusted sites.
4. Under Trusted sites, click Sites.

To add sites to the Trusted Sites list, follow these steps:

1. Click to clear the Require server verification (https:) for all sites in this zone check box.
2. In the Add this website to the zone box, type live.com, and then click Add.
3. In the Add this website to the zone box, type msn.com, and then click Add.
4. In the Add this website to the zone box, type passport.com, and then click Add.
5. In the Add this website to the zone box, type passport.net, and then click Add.
6. In the Add this website to the zone box, type money://, and then click Add.
7. Click Close, and then click OK.

If you cannot resolve the issue, follow Step 4 to restore Internet security settings, and then try other method suggested by Microsoft.

Step 4: Restore Internet Explorer 7 security settings

1. Start Internet Explorer 7.
2. On the Tools menu, click Internet Options.
3. Click the Security tab, and then click to select the Enable Protected Mode check box.
4. Click the Advanced tab, and then Turn on automatic website checking under Phishing Filter.
5. Exit Internet Explorer 7.

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