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Author Archive for Warner Crocker
Warner Crocker is a professional theatre director, producer and playwright and also a Tablet PC enthusiast. He is also a Microsoft MVP for Tablet PCs. Send email to Warner.
2009: The Calm Before the Storm at CtrStg
Rob and I have headed over to CtrStg, the place to be at this CES 2009. CtrStg is sponsored by HP, AMD, OtterBox, Boston Power, Eye-Fi, Big Skinny, skooba design, ProClip, American Airlines, Windows Mobile, Buzz Corps, and probably one or two companies I’ve missed. It is laid out for folks to do some serious blogging and also hear and participate in presentations. Right now Rob, Sierra (who just popped in) and I are sitting on the veranda enjoying a cool breeze and getting ready for the night’s events. There are about 10 folks here so far but I’m sure within a short period of time it will begin to get crowded. (See more pictures after the jump.)
Hitting Vegas a Bit Behind
I’m finally in Vegas and have hooked up with Rob, Sierra, and Truc. We headed out for a quick bite and some planning.
Note Truc is the only one using a Window Mobile device.
Report Says PC Makers Will Offer Free Vista to Win 7 Upgrades Starting July 1
Mary Jo Foley is linking to information on the Tech ARP site that purports to lay out an upgrade policy for users who purchase Windows machines after July 1. According to the report a customer purchasing a Windows machine after July 1, 2009 through a date to be determined later) will be eligible for a free upgrade to Windows 7 when it is released.
Vista Home Premium customers can upgrade to Win 7 Home Premium, Vista Business to Win 7 Professional, and of course all of those Vista Ultimate customers can jump to Win 7 Ultimate.
Mary Jo’s post includes an update with a statement from Microsoft, but it is typical PR speak that neither confirms or denies anything, so we’ll see where this goes.
Phoenix Technologies Announces HyperSpace
Launching into Hyperspace, Phoenix Technology has announced its new fast-booting environment that allows you to access WiFi and the Internet before booting into Windows on your chosen computer. There will be two different flavors of the downloadable technology for your device, if it is supported.
One version allows you to switch back and forth between they Hyperspace environment and Windows, the other restricts you to one environment or the other. It looks like the cost of this will be $39.95 or $59.95 depending on your choice of the Dual or Hybrid modes you choose. It looks like we’ll be seeing more of this at CES 2009.
UPDATE: Kevin Tofel at jkOnTheRun got his hands on a pre-release version of Hyperspace and has produced a video of it in action.
Press release after the jump.
What’s Apple Doing Today?
While Rob, Truc, and Sierra are on planes to CES 2009 and I prepare to leave tomorrow, focus in the geek world today is on MacWorld and what Apple will or will not offer.
Some of the big news seems to be centered around the fact that Apple will be easing or losing its Digital Rights Management (DRM) on its music, in exchange for letting the studios use variable pricing for new releases and hot songs. We’ll have to see how that occurs and in what form.
MSI To Unveil X-Slim 320 Air Contender
MSI wants to get all Air-like, prepping to release the X-Slim 320. Nope, it isn’t a Netbook, or whatever we are going to call them, but it is light and thin, and according to Engadget will fit into a manila envelope. (Don’t you find it ironic and entertaining that this has become somewhat of a benchmark measurement for light and then notebooks?)
Engadget Chinese has dug up some specs and it looks like we’ll see your now familiar 1.6GHz Intel Atom Z530 processor, a 1366x 768 resolution on a 13.4 inch screen, and up to 2GB of RAM (DDR2). Some are suggesting this will run NVidia’s Ion platform as well.
I’m guessing we’ll see this in Las Vegas soon, although I didn’t pack any manila envelopes to test it out with.
Here’s a link to the press release. Crave also has some reporting on this as well (and that’s where we got the pic.)
So, Let’s Decide This Netbook Naming Thing
OK, we’ve got a rare opportunity coming up here to solve one of the deepest, most profound, most critical, most divisive, most contentious, (and if you can’t read the previous list of as hyperbole and irony then move on) issues facing the mobile computing world today.
First the issue: What are we going to call Netbooks? We’ve chronicled the legal kookiness brought about by Psion Teklogix’s attempts to protect their trademark (some cash attempts to cash in). Some see this as a big deal, some as just a kerfluffle. James Kendrick says we should all just start using another name and I largely agree. Although I think this cat is well out of the bag, the horse has left the barn, the dog has long since ceased barking, or pick whatever animal metaphor you want to use to describe the fact that the term Netbook is already well entrenched.
Netbook Fever: Should There Be A Cure?
I’ve largely stayed away from Netbooks, outside of reviewing them and checking them out. My wife is still running an original Asus Eee PC and seems quite content with it for the way she uses it. But there is no doubt that Netbooks, or whatever the heck we are going to call them, are attractive devices for quite a few folks. Don’t get me wrong, I have nothing against the form factor or the concept, they just don’t fit how I work.
Loren Heiny looks to be one of those here lately. He’s using an HP Mini 1000 and has blogged up a nice post about his likes and dislikes. He says he’s got Netbook fever. Given that Rob is toting an HP Mini 1000 along with him to CES 2009 as well, I sure hope this Netbook fever thing isn’t catching. I’m juggling too many devices these days as it is. And besides, if I did get one, I’m sure my wife would quickly call it her own.
On The Road 2009: The Connecting Challenges at CES 2009
I’ve been on a wonderful extended family vacation since December 29, visiting friends and family in Chicago. Truly, a great time. But now it is time to hunker down and get ready for CES 2009. I leave before the sun comes up Wednesday morning (a lot of my colleagues will be heading to Vegas on Tuesday) as I have one more important family obligation to take care of, and while I’m looking forward to seeing Rob and the rest of the GBM Gang, I’m going to miss the fun times in Chicago.
But, hey that’s not the point of this post, as I need to start shifting gears. Obviously before I headed out to Chicago I packed what I thought I’d need for the CES trip and this will be my lightest trip yet. I’ve already posted about the gear I’m taking (read it here), and later today I’ll be getting a post up about some of the software that I’ll be relying on as well.
Why are Movie Apps Moving to the Cloud?
First Microsoft decided to move Windows Movie Maker to its Live suite of apps. If you haven’t tried out the cloud version, save yourself the trouble. It is a painful experience, and one I’m not looking forward to when the desktop client is dropped in Windows 7. (To be fair, I think it is still in beta.)
Now comes word that Apple wants to transition iMovie to an on-line app as well. Why?
Android Netbook on the Way?
I’m sure we are going to see this sooner or later, and I’d vote for sooner rather than putting it off. Netbooks, or whatever we are going to end up calling them, seem to be tailor made for something like Google’s Android. After all they started out as a Linux alternative to Windows.
What’s Your New Years Wish?
2008 is already history for some of our readers and fading fast for others. As I’m spending some much needed down with family and friends back in Chicago, I’m both looking back and looking ahead. The looking ahead part is tougher this year as there is a lot of uncertainity in my theatre life.
The wife and I just finished our annual looking ahead list (we don’t call them resolutions) and the underlying theme is for a return to simplicity. I can see that playing a part in the ongoing search for better mobile tech solutions in a big way.
So, if you to care to share, what are your wishes/resolutions/thoughts for 2009?
On The Road 2009: Connecting on Vacation
The family that connects together…
We’re safely in Chicago after a great but long driving day. Of course the first thing we do this morning is hop on-line to catch up.
We must be nuts.
On the Road and Mobile Again 2009: Part I
Here we go again. The next four months feature most of my yearly travel adventures. Tomorrow morning my wife and I head out for the annual pilgrimage to her home town, Chicago. We do this each and every year and visit family and friends. But that’s just the beginning. From Chicago, I head out to Las Vegas for CES 2009 and then we return back home to Virginia.
Beginning the first week of February I’m off for the first of several audition conferences where I see actors and technicians who might be hired for our 2009/10 season at Wayside Theatre. I’ll be visiting Washington DC, Memphis, and Birmingham, Alabama on this year’s trip, as well as a possible trip to New York City, if needed. I think in April I’ll be heading out to a possible MVP Summit in Seattle, Washington in April, but I’ll have to wait and see how that goes.
Psion Responds about Netbook Trademark
Back in the day (yeah, it was so long ago, like not even a year) when the machines everyone now calls Netbooks began rolling out like ants out of a mound smelling sugar, many of my posts about these devices contained what I thought at the time was a humorous jab at the confusion over naming conventions. I would start a post with “such and such a company has released their ultra-mini-low-cost-netbook, or whatever you call them.” Turns out there was some irony to be had in all of that.
Last week we got word through jkOnTheRun that Psion Teglogix, the company that owned the trademark on the term Netbook and Netbook Pro was issuing cease and desist letters to some fan sites that were using the now familiar moniker. Tonight, Kendrick reports that he’s gotten a response from Psion and he’s published it on jkOnTheRun.