Ramblings from another nerd on the grid
Yesterday the Windows development team posted a lengthy blog post on the history of the Windows UI, and the thinking behind the decisions they are making for Windows 8. Here’s an excerpt from that article:
“At the D: All Things Digital conference in June 2011, we demonstrated for the first time the new user interface that we developed for Windows 8. This new UI is fast and fluid to use, and optimized for mobile form factors such as laptops, tablets, and convertibles, where people spend the vast majority of their time today. Windows 8 works equally well with mouse, keyboard, or your fingers, and has the best pen support of any OS. It supports multiple displays and the widest array of configurations and form factors of any OS. On top of all that, Windows 8 introduces a new kind of app, which we codenamed “Metro style” following the design language that has evolved going back to Windows Media Center and the new Windows Phone. These apps are immersive, full-screen, beautiful, and optimized for the ways that people commonly use devices today. I thought it would be useful to take a step back and describe a little bit of the background of how the Windows 8 user interface was designed, and discuss some of the decisions we’ve made and the goals of this new experience in more detail.” - by Jensen Harris, Director of Program Management for the User Experience.
“At the D: All Things Digital conference in June 2011, we demonstrated for the first time the new user interface that we developed for Windows 8. This new UI is fast and fluid to use, and optimized for mobile form factors such as laptops, tablets, and convertibles, where people spend the vast majority of their time today. Windows 8 works equally well with mouse, keyboard, or your fingers, and has the best pen support of any OS. It supports multiple displays and the widest array of configurations and form factors of any OS. On top of all that, Windows 8 introduces a new kind of app, which we codenamed “Metro style” following the design language that has evolved going back to Windows Media Center and the new Windows Phone. These apps are immersive, full-screen, beautiful, and optimized for the ways that people commonly use devices today.
I thought it would be useful to take a step back and describe a little bit of the background of how the Windows 8 user interface was designed, and discuss some of the decisions we’ve made and the goals of this new experience in more detail.” - by Jensen Harris, Director of Program Management for the User Experience.
See the full article @ http://blogs.msdn.com/b/b8/archive/2012/05/18/creating-the-windows-8-user-experience.aspx.
For Sale !!!
[UPDATE for 5/19/2012] Apparently this specimen and auction is of dubious origin. Maybe I don’t want it for my home office after all. See the article on this possible illegally obtained critter at http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2012/05/stop-the-tarbosaurus-auction/
[Update for 5/20/2012] “The Honorable Carlos Cortez, a Dallas, Texas district court judge, granted a “Temporary Restraining Order” (TRO), after an application by Houston attorney Robert Painter, legal counsel for His Excellency Elbegdorj Tsakhia, President of Mongolia.” See the rest of the press release at the bottom of the Wired article. I wonder how Indiana Jones would feel about this.
Lenovo is currently having their partner conference in Las Vegas and decided to use this evening for some announcements. One of the machines I evaluated last year was the ThinkPad X1. The new Ivy Bridge chipset based X1 includes a new thinner and lighter carbon shell and chassis along with an improved 1600x900 display.
The picture above makes it look like the screen is a non glossy matte screen but some of the pics from the conference have a lot of shine on the screen so it’s hard to tell. The 14” screen should be a hit if it has good brightness, color, etc. We’ll have to wait and see if Lenovo revived the Flexview IPS screen. Hopefully they did but don’t count on it.
At 3 pounds, this is sure to be a hit with the travel crowd. One of the cool features of the previous X1 that made it to the X1 Carbon is the rapid charge technology. I really liked that. Charge the battery to at least 80% in 30 minutes. Nice.
The previous X1 had a backlit chiclet leyboard and so does the X1 Carbon. I’m sure Lenovo will release the full specifications very soon. Until then, save your pennies.
Someone apparently didn’t get all of the embargo information quite right today because I noticed several false starts on the HP announcements for some notebook models. Oh well, nobody is perfect.
Pictured at right is the coming HP Folio Ultrabook. It isn’t scheduled to start shipping until October so don’t start jumping up and down with joy.
There are several things I like in the pictures of the machine. DisplayPort, VGA and a RJ-45 Ethernet jack are on the edges for you corporate computing presenters. I also like the built-in smartcard reader. This could be my next corporate travel machine.
Then there’s the new HP Spectre XT. Unfortunately this machine will be a non-starter for me due to the 1366x768 screen and HDMI thus limiting the maximum video output to my desktop monitors.
The Spectre XT looks very nice so it will be interesting to see how it fairs in the reviews. It looks like the third week in June is the target for availability. If you can’t wait until then, there were some other Sleekbooks, Ultrabooks and Pavillions announced today as well. Look for all of the gory specification details on hp.com very soon. Some of it is already lit up at http://www.shopping.hp.com/go/intel_ultrabooks.
See the HP press release at http://www8.hp.com/us/en/hp-news/press-release.html?id=1232179 for more information. The Envy lineup is at http://www.hp.com/united-states/campaigns/envy/index.html.
Eventually the marketing folks will discover the link to http://www.hp.com/united-states/campaigns/envy14-spectre/xt-overview.html is broken.
[UPDATE for 5/9/2012] I just read the Folio 9470m screen is going to be 1366x768. That automatically removes the machine from my personal consideration. I need 1600x900 or greater native resolution. IPS or PLS screen preferred.
I have been a Windows Media Center fan for nearly a decade now so I was certainly interested to see what the product group had in store for Windows 8. Yesterday afternoon they disclosed the plan in more detail. Here’s an excerpt from the beginning:
“In this post we wanted to update you on Media Center and Windows 8, specifically how we will make sure Windows 8 fully supports the capabilities of Media Center as it is in Windows 7. We took the feedback about maintaining the functionality very seriously, and we clearly understood what we’ve heard many of you saying around the value of Media Center for movies, Internet TV, broadcast TV, optical media, music, photos, and all the other scenarios it covers today. Many said in comments and email to us, that so long as the feature is available somehow it is fine. This post is how we will deliver on that and continue to support Media Center for another product lifecycle.”
See the full details at http://blogs.msdn.com/b/b8/archive/2012/05/03/making-windows-media-center-available-in-windows-8.aspx.
Here’s a follow-up post on the discussion of DVD playback - http://blogs.msdn.com/b/b8/archive/2012/05/04/q-amp-a-dvd-playback-and-windows-media-center-in-windows-8.aspx.
Join us at the Microsoft Private Cloud Summit with the “Best of Microsoft Management Summit”! Learn about how the new System Center 2012 can help you manage nearly everything in your infrastructure – from the desktop, to devices, to datacenter and the cloud. At this one-day event, you will hear directly from our Redmond-based product team and Microsoft technology evangelists who will share what is new in System Center 2012, and give you a sneak peak of Windows Server “8”.
You will have the opportunity to engage with a panel of experts and get hands-on with the technology to see how you can simplify the management of your infrastructure, monitor and remediate application issues, and automate routine tasks.
Agenda and Details - see http://www.microsoft.com/business/events/en-us/microsoftprivatecloudsummit for the full agenda, details and times. Please note there is information for the hands on IT Camp as well.
Registration
“Despite the stupendous performance of the GeForce GTX 690, some gamers are destined to clamor for more. That's where Quad SLI comes in. When two GeForce GTX 690s are connected via an SLI motherboard, four GPUs work in unison in Quad SLI mode. Each GPU works on a distinct frame for a total of four frames in flight at a given time. The resulting performance is simply otherworldly.
In Battlefield 3, at 2560 x 1600 with all settings maxed out, the framerate exceeds 120 FPS. Crysis 2 runs just shy of 100 FPS. And in the most demanding game, Metro 2033, the performance scales almost linearly to reach 56 FPS.”
Lots of information in the article at http://www.geforce.com/whats-new/articles/article-keynote/.
See the press release at http://nvidianews.nvidia.com/Releases/NVIDIA-Unveils-GeForce-GTX-690-Dual-Graphics-Card-Combines-World-s-Fastest-Gaming-Performance-With-Sleek-Sexy-Design-7c1.aspx.
Breaking pocketbooks everywhere in May.
We just released a boatload of hands on labs (HOLs) based on the Windows Server 2012 beta. More are on the way but I thought you would be interested in the first crop. Enjoy!
The Microsoft Camera Codec Pack enables the viewing of a variety of device-specific file formats. Note: Clicking Download means you agree to the Microsoft service agreement and privacy statement. Additional details below.
See the supported devices, legal notices, and get the bits @ http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?id=26829.
Deploy Windows 7, Office 2010 and 365, and Windows Server 2008 R2 with the newly released Microsoft Deployment Toolkit 2012. MDT is the recommended process and toolset for automating desktop and server deployment. MDT provides you with the following benefits:
Some of the key changes in MDT 2012 are:
Got get it @ http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?id=25175
Presenting the new Translator App for Windows Phone. Powered by the same technology behind Bing Translator, the new Translator app takes advantage of Windows Phone platform's unique features to deliver a great translation experience, enabling you to go to new places with confidence. The app features video, audio and text translation, as well as a new offline mode that allows you to translate without a data connection.
Go get it @ http://www.windowsphone.com/en-US/apps/2cb7cda1-17d8-df11-a844-00237de2db9e.
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Background
In a global society, with the proliferation of digital content on the web, mobile devices and applications, there is a growing need for people to be able to read and communicate in their native language. Enabling communication and business across languages is a significant value that Microsoft delivers to consumers, customers and partners.
Microsoft Translator provides a set of powerful but simple-to-use technologies that can help companies accomplish cross-language communication and language translation goals, and consumers experience high quality language translation. Whether seeking solutions for language detection, speech synthesis, product localization or empowering communities to protect native languages, Microsoft Translator provides the services to accomplish a variety of translation goals across web, desktop and mobile devices.
Microsoft Translator provides a set of powerful but simple-to-use APIs that can help customers accomplish cross-language communication and language translation goals, and consumers experience high quality language translation. It is a state-of-the-art statistical machine translation system translating between any of the supported languages, and powering millions of translations every day across Microsoft products like Bing, Office, Internet Explorer and external products like Facebook, Trip Advisor, eBay etc. For more technical information about Microsoft Translator, please visit http://api.microsofttranslator.com.
LAS VEGAS — April 16, 2012 — At the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) 2012 conference today, Microsoft Corp. announced new media services and guidance to enable content providers and customers to realize the power of cloud computing. The new cloud-based Windows Azure Media Services is designed to make creating, managing and delivering media to any device easier than ever by offering a comprehensive set of ready-to-use first- and third-party media technologies. Microsoft also published a new Broadcast Reference Architecture that offers prescriptive guidance on how media companies can architect their solutions to improve systems performance management as they move toward the cloud.
See the full press release at http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/news/Press/2012/Apr12/04-16NABPR.aspx. After that, head on over to the Azure site at http://www.windowsazure.com/en-us/home/features/media-services/.
Windows 8, Windows 8 Pro, and Windows 8 RT were announced today. Here’s an excerpt from the Windows Team blog:
“Today I would like to share information with you on the editions that will be available for "Windows 8" when it is released to market. We have talked about Windows 8 as Windows reimagined, from the chipset to the user experience. This also applies to the editions available – we have worked to make it easier for customers to know what edition will work best for them when they purchase a new Windows 8 PC or upgrade their existing PC. Windows 8 has the flexibility you need - whether you’re on an x86/64 or a WOA PC. You can use a touch screen or a keyboard and mouse – and switch anytime. It’s beautiful, fast, and fluid design is perfect for a wide range of hardware. And you’ll love browsing through the Windows Store and downloading all the apps you want. And those apps can work together too so you can share photos, maps, contacts, links and whatever else you want faster and easier. All editions of Windows 8 offer a no-compromise experience.”
“Today I would like to share information with you on the editions that will be available for "Windows 8" when it is released to market. We have talked about Windows 8 as Windows reimagined, from the chipset to the user experience. This also applies to the editions available – we have worked to make it easier for customers to know what edition will work best for them when they purchase a new Windows 8 PC or upgrade their existing PC.
Windows 8 has the flexibility you need - whether you’re on an x86/64 or a WOA PC. You can use a touch screen or a keyboard and mouse – and switch anytime. It’s beautiful, fast, and fluid design is perfect for a wide range of hardware. And you’ll love browsing through the Windows Store and downloading all the apps you want. And those apps can work together too so you can share photos, maps, contacts, links and whatever else you want faster and easier. All editions of Windows 8 offer a no-compromise experience.”
See the full announcement at http://windowsteamblog.com/windows/b/bloggingwindows/archive/2012/04/16/announcing-the-windows-8-editions.aspx. Be sure and take a look at the feature chart comparison in the bottom of that blog post.
Learn firsthand how Microsoft management solutions can empower you in your cloud computing journey and help you manage a wide range of different devices in your organization. Brad Anderson, Corporate Vice President of the Management and Security Division at Microsoft, returns to keynote both days at this year’s Microsoft Management Summit.
While keynotes begin at 8:30am PST, it is recommended that you log in at 8:15am PST.
Day One Keynote
Microsoft Private Cloud. Built for the Future. Ready Now. Tuesday, April 17, 8:30-9:45AM Cloud computing and the delivery of true IT as a Service is one of the most profound industry shifts in decades. Join Brad Anderson, Corporate Vice President of Microsoft’s Management and Security Division, as he shares Microsoft’s vision for cloud computing and shows how System Center 2012, as part of the Microsoft private cloud, will enable you to deliver the promise of cloud computing in your organization today.
Day Two Keynote
A World of Connected Devices Wednesday, April 18, 8:30-9:45AM Clouds and cloud-connected devices are changing the world of work and our daily interactions. Tech-savvy and always-connected, people want faster, more intuitive technology, uninterrupted services, and the freedom to work anywhere, anytime, on a variety of devices. Join Brad Anderson, Corporate Vice President of the Management and Security Division at Microsoft to learn how System Center 2012 and Windows Intune can help IT embrace this new reality today, and in the future, by making the right intelligent infrastructure investments.
Snicker. Better listen to your women boyz.
I don’t know if the image at http://www.lenovo.com/images/products/nps/laptops/W530.png is a prototype or of the coming Ivy Bridge based ThinkPad W530, but it’s causing quite a stir in the ThinkPad community. Gone is the traditional keyboard. From the picture it appears Lenovo has gone with a keyboard similar to the one you find on the ThinkPad X1. Hope it is backlit.
I heard about this storm dropping 2-4’ of hail, but dismissed it until I started checking the Tornado forecast for the weekend. I stumbled across this photo taken Wednesday by the National Weather Service in Amarillo, Texas. Yikes!!! I hope I never see that kind of hail.
The SQL Server 2012 product guide download contains the latest datasheets, white papers and technical presentations to help you evaluate the SQL Server 2012. The product guide organizes the content for easier viewing. This version of the includes the top content from the prior versions of the product guide plus 24 new presentations covering level 200 and 300 content for 2012. The overview page includes a link to the hosted SQL Server Virtual labs so that you can try out SQL Server 2012 without having to download the product.
Go get it @ http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?id=29418.
Microsoft has released an update for Microsoft Office for Mac 2011. This update provides the latest fixes to Office for Mac 2011. Additionally, this update contains stability and reliability improvements.
See the list of fixes @ http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2685940.
Go get the download @ http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?id=29419.
BOISE, Idaho, April 10, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Micron Technology, Inc. (Nasdaq:MU), one of the world's leading providers of advanced semiconductor solutions, today announced a new solid-state drive (SSD) that broadens Micron's client product portfolio to serve the rapidly emerging Ultrabook™ category. The newly announced drive is based on the proven architecture of Micron's popular RealSSD™ C400 drives, providing the same high performance and reliability.
The RealSSD C400 mSATA SSD ships in capacities ranging from 32 gigabytes (GB) to 256GB with a SATA 6 gigabits per second (Gb/s) interface for the high data throughput that is ideal for the "instant on" responsiveness demanded by Ultrabook systems. The drive's focused high performance[1], low power consumption and caseless design enable better computing experiences in ultrathin form factors. Additionally, the established design leverages Micron's proven 25 nanometer (nm) MLC NAND Flash and manufacturing and testing capabilities.
See the full press release at http://investors.micron.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=662933. See an initial review at http://www.storagereview.com/micron_realssd_c400_msata_ssd_review. There’s another review that popped up at AnandTech. See http://www.anandtech.com/show/5735/micron-c400-msata-128gb-ssd-review.
Cool Video. Order your Lumia 900 now at http://att.com/lumia
In defining Infrastructure as a Service we need to drill into specific characteristics that a cloud platform provider must provide to be considered Infrastructure as a Service. This has been no easy task as nearly every cloud platform provider has recently promoted features and services designed to address the infrastructure as a service and cloud computing market. Fortunately, as the technology has evolved over time, a definition of cloud computing has emerged from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) that is composed of five essential characteristics, three service models, and four deployment models.
Want more information? Check out the full article at http://blogs.technet.com/b/privatecloud/archive/2012/04/04/what-is-infrastructure-as-a-service-iaas.aspx. Enjoy!
Register now @ http://www.mecisback.com/register.aspx.
The astute TechNet Subscriber might have noticed some new downloads on the download center. Yep, the RTM binaries are available for download ahead of the coming out party at the Microsoft Management Summit.
If you have a subscription, go get em.
The Microsoft iSCSI Software Target 3.3 provides storage (disks) over a TCP/IP network. It turns a computer running Windows Server into a storage device which provides shared block storage. You can use Microsoft iSCSI Software Target 3.3 to perform a variety of storage-related tasks, including the following:
Go get it @ http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?id=19867
The second generation Samsung Series 9 machines have landed on US shores. I’ve been taking an opportunity to try one out and I must say, this is one fantastic machine. It isn’t flawless but it’s probably the most competitive machine on the market to the Apple MacBook Air at this time. As a result, the machine is already in high demand and the supply is rather low so finding one isn’t easy. If you are looking for a sleek travel companion, this should be high on your list.
Hey Good Looking
Like the first generation of the Samsung Series 9 (SS9) machines, Samsung has created a couple of sexy machines in different sizes. There’s the 13” and a 15”. I am currently testing the 13” which is slightly smaller than the MacBook Air (MBA).
The MBA is 12.8” wide. The SS9 is 12.4” wide. The MBA is 8.94 deep and the SS9 is close at 8.6. The MBA is .61” high at it’s thickest point. The SS9 measures .51” and it really feels much thinner. The MBA is 2.96 pounds and the SS9 is 2.56.
One thing you notice about the MBA is the rigid chassis and frame of the unibody construction. ASUS also gets good marks for the rigid UX31. The SS9 is extremely rigid as well. The SS9 feels very solid in your hands as a result.
It’s hard to describe the color Titan Silver. It’s not really silver at all. The exterior color is more of a blue slate gray. The interior is the same color but they both have interesting property of changing some depending on the lighting conditions and angles of the light. For instance, the interior looks almost black right now in the medium incandescent light of my den. Out by the pool it looks more blue. The machine is awesome looking. The edge is polished and adds to the premium look and feel of the machine. See the picture down below in this article for a close up of the polished edge.
At CES, there were a number of machines that had a different interior finish. The interior I like is silver and I would definitely take that over the dark interior color. I’ve been using ThinkPad's for years so I could do without another dark machine.
The picture at left is the 15” in the silver finish I am referring to. I really like that look because it doesn’t show dust and fingerprints as readily as the dark finish on the 13”. I know it looks more like a MacBook Air but choice is the spice of life. Hopefully there will be some choices on this when the 15” finally lands on US shores.
The last thing I’d like to cover on looks is the backlit keyboard. It is backlit, but barely. You really can’t tell much unless you are in a really dark setting. The first generation Samsung Series 9 machines certainly had a much brighter backlit keyboard than the second generation. Most of the owners are referring to the color and brightness of the keyboard as glow-in-the-dark green. That’s a pretty good way to describe it. A faint light green glow. I’m actually pretty cool with the implementation. The only time I really need backlighting is when the room or flight is extremely dark.
The Screen
Oh my god. Someone finally made a screen that competes and beats the MacBook Air. The 13” screen on the 2012 Samsung Series 9 notebook is nothing short of stellar. The colors and contrast are really good. Blacks are nice and deep. It’s a matte screen so there is absolutely no glossy glare from objects around you. Think of it like the exact opposite of the HP Envy 14 Spectre. The Spectre is covered in glossy Gorilla Glass. No thanks. I’ll take the matte screen and non glossy finish of the Sammy every time.
And the 400 nit bright screen won’t disappoint you if you decide to take a diversion to a poolside umbrella. Ah yes, Spring time in Texas is a wonderful thing and you might as well take advantage of the cool days while you can. It was 83 today and it’s supposed to be 82-85 each day this week. Perfect 400 nit screen testing weather.
The screen native resolution is 1600x900. By comparison, the MacBook Air is 1440x900. I was worried 1600x900 was going to be a little too small font wise but that quality of the screen is so good, I am not seeing any eye strain with the native resolution. When I introduced the SS9 to my wife, I bumped the DPI to 125% because I know she would have said something if I didn’t. I heard no complaints from her about it.
So there you have it, the next best thing about the SS9 after it’s uncanny good looks is the fantastic screen. Great viewing angles, color and brightness. If only the rest of the notebook makers would get a clue about screen quality.
The Keyboard
I’ve used quite a few keyboards in my career so I was a little apprehensive about the SS9. I still prefer a great ThinkPad keyboard like the NMB’s I’ve used, but I knew after using a Mac for a little bit I could get used to just about anything. This keyboard isn’t great, but it doesn’t suck either. I type pretty hard so pounding this article out on the second gen keyboard has been fine. I am not making many mistakes on the board. I am not the best typist so I am probably looking at the keys more than I should right now, but that will change and improve with time.
As thin as the machine is, it isn’t like there’s a whole lot of room for key travel anyway. You are going to deal with that on all of the thin and light machines coming out so be sure and look at them carefully when making a choice. I like this keyboard well enough. It’s never going to be a favorite in my collection, but it gets the job done.
I did note one oddity I need to investigate further. Last night I closed the lid and my wife and I noticed there were a series or dings and sounds coming from the machine. The lid close setting was “do nothing” so the machine didn’t go to sleep. Apparently while it was closed last night, some of the keys were getting pressed. When I opened it back up, there were a bunch of applications opened up. There was a source code window for HTML on a page. Really freaked the machine out. A key press party. Needless to say I changed the lid close property to sleep until I have time to investigate and reproduce the issue.
The Touchpad
The touchpad on my 13” Samsung Series 9 (SS9) is fantastic. My wife would say otherwise so I’ll get into more detail on that in a minute. For now you should know that the pad is nice and big and has good palm detection. I have yet to see the cursor freak and jump to some other spot on the screen.
Clicking using the touchpad seems normal to me. It isn’t quite a fluid as the touchpad on the MacBook Air but it’s fine if you ask me. I noticed some other reviewers mentioned they would prefer some sort of line to demark where left and right mouse clicks can be performed. I didn’t feel that was necessary. I’m mostly using two finger taps for right mouse clicks anyway.
The ELAN driver allows you to set properties for a variety of behaviors in the Control Panel | Mouse area. There’s an ELAN property page that allows you to get to the settings you see pictured at right.
Oddly, two finger scroll wasn’t set for me by default. This is something that will be new to a lot of Windows users but very familiar to Mac users. I highly recommend getting used to this feature right away. I felt scrolling with two fingers in a web browser was every bit as fluid as using the MBA. That’s a big accomplishment for ELAN and the PC makers. This has been a sore point for quite some time and finally I feel someone is quite close to the Apple hardware and software implementation.
As for the all important WAF, the Mrs. didn’t like the touchpad because there was no left and right mouse button present. She never uses a mouse even though she carries one in her laptop brief. She has been using the Lenovo ThinkPad T400 for several years now and the touchpad on that machine is very good. ThinkPads typically have four buttons, too. Two up close to the red TrackPoint, and two below the TrackPad. She uses them a lot so using the SS9 was very awkward for her. She’ll get the hang of it but it definitely put her off.
As for me, I am a mouser. I love using a mouse and I really don’t care if it’s left or right handed. I am mousedextrous. So when I am at my desk, there’s going to be a mouse plugged into the USB port via a nano transceiver. When I am in one of the den chairs or on the couch, it really depends on my mood. The SS9 touchpad may have me using the mouse less.
Heat and Noise
This thing is silent. I mean really, you can barely hear the darn thing even when the fans are blowing seemingly hard. Sorry I can’t be more definitive about the fan RPM at the moment. HWiNFO64 isn’t reading the dual fans and displaying them so I don’t have a good idea of their normal thresholds.
I can tell that the machine normally run at about 45-48C on temp with an easy workload. Therefore the dual fans are doing their job keeping the components cool. Now keep in mind I have been using the SS9 on a strong flat surface. When used at my desk, well, it’s an oak desk surface. The rubber feet on the bottom give the intake holes plenty of room to breathe. When I am in the den, I use the Logitech Lapdesk N500. This also allows the machine to breathe properly and thus everything stays cool.
I did notice after my wife used the machine for a couple of hours it was noticeably warmer on the bottom. My surmise is that because she wasn’t using her lapdesk, her legs were blocking the intakes and stressing the cooling of the system. That brings me to the first design point I don’t like. The intake holes/slots on the bottom are right where someone is going to naturally put their knees or legs. I guess there aren’t many choices in thin machine design so keep this in mind when you are looking at other machines. It’s a really minor issue to me right now, but I do wonder how you go about cleaning dust bunnies on this system.
Storage and Ports
Most of the ultra thin and light machines on the market had to make some sort of concession to get there. Users are going to lose optical drive bays, ports, and other features they have taken for granted for years. In return, they get awesome thin machines like the second generation Samsung Series 9 notebook.
I am going to pick a couple of bones with Samsung on their choices. First, they launched the NP900X3B with only one storage option. At present you can only get a 128GB mSATA disk in their machine. This is fine for my information worker purposes, but it’s completely inadequate for my wife. She needs at least 160GB and frankly, I would prefer more headroom than that.
I fully expect Samsung will have a 256GB mSATA model on the market in a few weeks or months, but they really need to get a clue and launch those models at the same time as the 128GB model. Many people are going to be utterly shocked when they get the machine and start looking at the free space from the Samsung factory config.
Second, I’m really wondering how Samsung arrived at the final port configuration for the NP900X3B-A01US. I get the micro HDMI for consumer connections to television sets. What I don’t get is the proprietary micro VGA port you see pictured above. This should be a mini DisplayPort instead and it’s really the biggest beef I have with the system.
I don’t know enough about DisplayPort and HDMI licensing to know the cost implications for each unit, but an analog VGA connection is not a good solution. Basically the way the machine ships means I cannot connect to my Dell UltraSharp U2711 LCD panel and drive it at it’s native 2560x1440 resolution. I can’t get there from HDMI and there’s no way to do it via VGA. Combine that with the fact nobody other than Samsung produces a dongle for this port and you can see quickly this was wasted space on the port configuration.
On the bright side, the machine does ship with the micro Ethernet dongle so you can connect to a wired Ethernet network. It uses the Realtek Ethernet chipset for wired connectivity. I have not confirmed it’s throughput and speed.
WIFI Improvements
The first generation Samsung Series 9 machines were fatally flawed. At least they were initially until Samsung added some models that included the Intel 3 antenna implementation. For the second generation 2012 machines, this is also fixed. In fact, I just tested the Intel(R) Centrino(R) Advanced-N 6230 chipset and it delivered the highest throughput score I have ever seen across WIFI here at my house. Using speedtest.net. it managed to squeak out a 43MB download speed. That rocks nicely.
And just in case you were wondering, I haven’t seen any network drops in the house or outside around the pool. That’s a really good sign and I am glad Samsung heard the cries for help in this area and fixed the WIFI issues.
One last thing on WIFI. If your Intel 6230 chipset is only seeing 2.4Ghz networks, make sure you update the WIFI driver via Easy Software Manager. After the update I am able to see both N radio frequencies.
More information
I’ll continue testing this bad boy over the next few weeks. In the meantime, see the specs at http://www.samsung.com/us/computer/laptops/NP900X3B-A01US-specs. See amazon.com for their listing of the 128GB second generation Samsung Series 9. That’s where I bought mine. Another favorite web retailer is jr.com so be sure and check their listing if you want to buy a machine. Keep in mind these machines sell fast so you might need to setup a notify. BestBuy will probably have them on the floor before too long. If you want to go see one, you might be able to get your local CompUSA to show you one. I had to get the manager to approve the opening of a box. Those guys are something else.
Summary
Should you buy one? Well, that really depends on a lot of stuff. Do you need a machine right now? Do you want the sexiest machine on the market? Do you have $1399 USD and change for one? Yes? Then go for it!!! Just keep in mind the few limitations I mentioned above.
If you are the type that likes to buy at the beginning of a chipset cycle, then I would advise waiting. The Intel Ivy Bridge based machines will be out in a few months, and it’s also quite possible Samsung will introduce some 256GB SSD models. I will likely wait on the 15” until I see that happen. Let me know if you have any questions.
[UPDATE for 5/3/2012] I ended up returning this machine. I usually use a “Three Strikes” rule for a lot of things in my life. So I applied that to the NP900X3B as well. There were a couple of issues I just couldn’t get past. The first is the lack of DisplayPort support and the ability to drive my Dell U2711 LCD panel at its native resolution or 2560x1440. Second, for the price this machine needs a three year warranty, not a single year. And third, I really want better support of the machine, in my local geography. I looked and apparently there is only one place to get warranty support for the machine in the entire Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex area. Really?
The other reason I returned the machine is Ivy Bridge. I just decided if I am going to cave on some of the item above, I might as well return the Sandy Bridge machine and get the Ivy Bridge latest in June or July, or whenever they ship.
I love the form factor and screen on the 13.3”. I will buy it again.
The cat is finally out of the bag and official. The NOKIA Lumia 900 is coming to the USA on Easter Sunday. Here’s a paragraph from the AT&T blog.
“Nokia Lumia 900 won the Best of CES award for smartphones and is more than just a killer phone at a killer pricepoint. Priced at $99.99, consider Lumia 900 as Nokia’s triumphant return to the U.S. smartphone market. And it looks great, sexy even. Where one could argue most phones today all look the same, this one has its own style. Its camera rivals stand-alone digital cameras on the market today and the 4.3-inch AMOLED ClearBlack Display gives rich, bright images both indoors and out. We’re working together with Nokia to make this phone a success and I know you’ll like it as much as we, and others, do too. Consumers who can’t wait to get their hands on this new smartphone can pre-order it in cyan or black beginning March 30 by visiting http://www.att.com/lumia or any AT&T company-owned retail store. Qualified business customers who receive wireless service discounts can pre-order the Lumia 900 online, beginning the afternoon of March 30, at http://www.att.com/nokialumia900.To learn more visit http://www.att.com/lumia.”
See the full article at http://blogs.att.net/consumerblog/story/a7782077. You can also check out the article on the Windows Phone Team Blog but I’ll warn you, the site is having issues at the moment. Maybe it’s the crush of people trying to get information. Grin.
NOKIA updated their USA site. Ready to order? Good. You can in 48 hours or so. Happy Easter!!!
The Windows 8 Consumer Preview Product Guide for Business provides a detailed look at the many new and improved features in Windows 8. The guide is designed as an accurate source of information that can help businesses understand how Windows 8 enables users to be ready and productive practically anywhere, allows for a personalized user experience, and provides IT with more secure, easy-to-manage intelligent infrastructure.
Looks like there is an update at http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?id=28970.
The Microsoft Assessment and Planning (MAP) Toolkit is an agentless, automated, multi-product planning and assessment tool for quicker and easier desktop and server migrations. MAP provides detailed readiness assessment reports and executive proposals with extensive hardware and software information, and actionable recommendations to help organizations accelerate their IT infrastructure planning process, and gather more detail on assets that reside within their current environment. MAP also provides private and public cloud planning assessments, and server utilization data for Hyper-V server virtualization planning; identifying server placements, and performing virtualization candidate assessments, including ROI analysis for server consolidation with Hyper-V. Other significant new features in MAP 6.5 include the discovery of active Windows devices, Software Usage Tracking for Forefront Endpoint Protection (FEP), and the discovery of Oracle instances on Itanium-based servers with HP-UX to assist in the planning of migration to SQL Server. Learn more.
MAP is one of the tools provided by the Microsoft Solution Accelerators team. The Microsoft Assessment and Planning Toolkit, Microsoft Deployment Toolkit, and Security Compliance Manager provide tested guidance and automated tools to help organizations plan, securely deploy, and manage new Microsoft technologies—easier, faster, and at less cost. All are freely available, and fully-supported by Microsoft. Learn more.
For home users and users with a few computers to migrate, use the Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor to understand the readiness of your computer for Windows 7.
The MAP Toolkit includes the following components:
Go get the latest version @ http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?id=7826.
http://www.rossreels.com/reels/ross-f1.html
Microsoft DirectAccess Connectivity Assistant (DCA) 2.0 Beta can be used by computers running Windows 7 when connecting to internal corporate networks with DirectAccess in Windows 8 Server Beta. It improves the DirectAccess connection experience, supports one-time password (OTP) authentication for DirectAccess users and helps organizations reduce the cost of supporting DirectAccess users.
http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?id=29039
Head to the App-V resources download page at http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?id=27760. And of course the App-V Tech Center at http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/appvirtualization/bb508934.
Microsoft PowerPivot for Microsoft Excel 2010 provides ground-breaking technology, such as fast manipulation of large data sets (often millions of rows), streamlined integration of data, and the ability to effortlessly share your analysis through Microsoft SharePoint 2010.
Microsoft PowerPivot for Microsoft Excel 2010 is a data analysis tool that delivers unmatched computational power directly within the software users already know and love — Microsoft Excel. You can transform mass quantities of data with incredible speed into meaningful information to get the answers you need in seconds. You can effortlessly share your findings with others. You can:
Go get it @ http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?id=29074
Report Builder provides a productive report-authoring environment for IT professionals and power users. The download provides a stand-alone installer for Report Builder.
Report Builder provides data visualizations that include charts, maps, sparklines, and data bars that can help produce new insights well beyond what can be achieved with standard tables and charts. Use Report Builder to create reports and shared datasets. Publish report parts, and then browse the Report Part Gallery to reuse existing report parts as building blocks for creating new reports quickly with a “grab and go” experience.
Go get it @ http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?id=29072
The Windows® Assessment and Deployment Kit (Windows ADK) is a collection of tools that you can use to customize, assess, and deploy Windows operating systems to new computers.
Windows Deployment is for OEMs and IT professionals who customize and automate the large-scale installation of Windows, such as on a factory floor or across an organization. The Windows ADK supports this work with the deployment tools that were previously released as part of the OEM Preinstallation Kit (OPK) and the Windows Automated Installation Kit (AIK).
Assessments are for OEMs, IHVs, and IT professionals who measure the operational characteristics of a computer, including its performance, reliability, and functionality. Windows assessments are tools that help you make these measurements, diagnose problems, and determine how to make improvements. Windows assessments can help reduce costs by identifying potential issues as you create your hardware and software experiences. By using these tools, you can help ensure that the hardware and software that you develop are responsive and high-quality.
Tools available in the Windows ADK include: • Application Compatibility Toolkit (ACT) • Deployment Tools • Windows Preinstallation Environment (Windows PE) • User State Migration Tool (USMT) • Volume Activation Management Tool (VAMT) • Windows Performance Toolkit (WPT) • Windows Assessment Toolkit • Windows Assessment Services
Go get it @ http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?displaylang=en&id=28997
For those of you that have a TechNet or MSDN subscription, you might not be aware the RTM bits are on the download center. Here’s a peek at the downloads. It’s an incomplete list but you get the idea. Enjoy 2012.
https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/subscriptions/securedownloads/#ProductFamilyId=461
GENEVA — It isn’t often that a car literally makes you say WTF aloud. But it isn’t often that you see a V12-powered SUV. A Bentley SUV, no less.
Pictures cannot convey the obnoxious scale of the Bentley EXP 9F concept here at the Geneva auto show, so we’ll tell you it rides on 23-inch wheels and leave it at that. It’s hard to make sense of the 9F and its unashamed bling at a time when so many automakers are stuffing small engines into small cars, or eschewing engines and petrol for motors and batteries.
See the rest of the Wired article at http://www.wired.com/autopia/2012/03/bentley-exp-95-suv/. Photo: Peter Orosz/Wired.com.
Are you a fan of heavy metal? Where are you on the evolutionary scale of metal? I’m slightly disappointed this site doesn’t give some credit to Jimi and a few of the rockers right before the timeline starts, but it’s still an interesting site. Credit: Pete Brown for sending me the link. Rock on!
Yesterday I got around to adding a few Lenovo ThinkVantage technologies to my ThinkPad W510. One I always like to add is the power management driver, and Power Manager. Unfortunately Power Manager wouldn’t completely install because one of it’s prerequisites wasn’t on my machine and could not be found.
I am referring to the .Net Frameworks v3.5. Normally the update client would grab the bits from your WSUS or our WU servers but they aren’t present there. Or if they are, they were not found and the install failed.
I first saw the following screenshot. Like most anyone, I clicked the first option fully expecting the sources to be found.
Nope. I received Error code: 0x800F0906 on that attempt (and a couple of retries). How rude!
Here’s the thing, I am connected to the Internet. At the time of the error I was in my home office using my fiber connection. So connectivity and bandwidth weren’t the issues. I wondered if the Hyper-V switch might be causing a problem. So I removed it and retried. Nope, still no dice.
I discovered a workaround. You can use DISM to install the frameworks from the Windows 8 install DVD, stick or location you used. In my case, I popped the DVD into the external Sony DVD burner and issued the following command:
Dism /online /enable-feature /featurename:NetFx3 /All /Source:x:\sources\sxs /LimitAccess
Replace x: with the location of your sources (mine was e:). This should install what you need and get you rolling. I am still checking to see if this was introduced because I was not VPN’d or using DirectAcccess. The machine is domain joined and was likely looking for the internal WSUS server.
Thought this might be helpful if you hit this speed bump.
While many of you have undoubtedly studying Windows 8 Server Beta, our SQL Product Group RTM’d SQL Server 2012. Tomorrow we have a virtual launch event with a ton of information coming. Head on over and register now!
http://www.sqlserverlaunch.com/