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October 12th, 2010
I have been installing some basic Home Theatre PC (HTPC) systems for clients so decided that I needed to do my own properly. My original Home Theatre “PC” was a “play anything” Phillips DVD player. It had a USB port that served us well but it was not the easiest to use. I had to provide extra power to the hard drive plugged into the USB port which meant the drive never turned off. It ran extremely hot in a closed cupboard and failed a few times before I decided to start again.
I spent a great deal of time looking at Home Theatre PC options for home. I initially decided that a Windows 7 Media Centre PC would suit my needs. I looked into making an ultra small form factor Media Centre PC to manage my significant (and growing) media library. The system initially had to handle any video media format (as well as audio although we didnt plan to use it for music), be easy to navigate and manage High Definition TV at full HD (1920×1080) via HDMI. It also had to be either cheap or re-use as many components that I already had as possible (such as an HD TV Tuner card). However, I ran into issues with SWMBO (She who must be obeyed) who had some specific design requirements (it has to be out of sight or look good). Out of site was going to be extremely difficult.
 After failing to find anything that I considered suitable for a Home Theatre PC in parts (primarily a case and motherboard), I began to experiment with the late 2009/early 2010 Intel Mac Mini. I already had one my desk and thought it would make a suitable Home Theatre PC. A lack of TV tuner options (USB only) meant I had to drop TV as an integrated option. I had a Topfield PVR with USB out so I can copy and re-encode saved digital TV to the Mac Mini anyway. The Mac Mini is a great form factor for a Home Theatre PC, it is tiny, unobtrusive, has optical digital out, is very efficient. It also has an internal Infra Red receiver and (now) has native HDMI out. Its biggest downfall is a lack of Blu-Ray (the internal drive is DVD only).
I have my Mac Mini connected to the TV now and it is operating as a Home Theatre PC. It does not have an internal TV tuner (nor the ability to add one) and I do not have a USB or network tuner so it is not doing TV. It just plays downloaded and saved content from a 6TB QNAP NAS. I tried installing Windows 7 with Bootcamp to compare the two. Windows 7 is using Media Center, the Mac is using Plex. I tried using the built-in Mac app “Front Row” but it only really works with iTunes media and was not suitable for our needs. Plex was a little slow sometimes and had a habit of freezing up about once per week but is much nicer to use than Media Center. Windows 7 on the Mac Mini is a little sluggish (probably due to the 5400rpm HDD). The latest versions of Plex are completely stable and after a full rebuild (with faster hard drive, upgrade to 4GB RAM and no extra apps), it is now my permanent choice. The wireless connection was not reliable for HD streaming (even when connecting with 802.11n at 144mbps) so I had to install gigabit ethernet to speed it up. The full HD resolution did not display correctly on my TV until OSX 10.6.4 (a widely reported “overscan” issue). I bought a 1.8m mini-displayport male to HDMI male cable from Hong Kong to elegantly clean up the mini DVI to DVI then DVI to HDMI then HDMI cable mess. Six weeks after buying my Mac Mini, they released a new model with an HDMI port (Not happy). I have not connected the digital optical out from the Mac Mini so any downloaded content only plays in Stereo which is fine for most downloaded content.
The Mac Remote resembles an aluminium tongue depresser, it is too small and thin but is sturdy and it works, albeit in a fairly limited way. Plex has been designed for use with the Mac Remote and most functionality is fine. Plex remote for the iPad is a nice addition. It can act as a remote control for the Plex system on the TV or can stream media directly to the iPad (the latest Plex has a server and client component). Plex works best with strict file names and filing conventions as it tries to match media to an online database and download meta-data for it (images, information etc). This feature still needs some work but it is getting there. Any downloaded files usually need to be renamed (eg show\season X\show S0xE0x.avi) to give them the best chance of being properly indexed. My preferred renaming app is a Windows apps called “The Renamer” and since my downloads and NAS sorting happen on a Windows PC, I have not bothered trying to find a Mac equivalent.
There is no way I could build a similar spec PC in a case anywhere near as neat and compact for close to the price of the Mac Mini. That said, a custom PC would have an internal TV tuner card, plenty of hard drive space and native HDMI output. There are some nice and funky HTPC cases for PC’s if you want to make it a feature but if space and design are restricted, the Mac Mini is ideal and with Plex being both high quality software and free, it is my HTPC system of choice. My 5 year old daughter has no problems using it either.
June 22nd, 2010
I have nothing against my mobile company, Three mobile in Australia but I wish they would update their handsets occasionally. I have a Three branded Nokia E72-2 and even though there has been at least two major software updates from Nokia, there are none for mine (Three no longer even sell this handset but still sell the older slower E71 instead). Updates are tied to the model number found under the battery which identifies the telco and regional and language settings (Three Australia is 0591918). I do not want to have to buy a generic handset at full price so, if I want the latest software update to fix a few reliability and stability issues, I had to de-brand my phone.
A word of caution, this will not only void your warranty but, if you have a problem, may kill your beloved mobile (known as “Bricking”).
You need the following:
- The Nemesis Service Suite
- The latest Nokia Updater
- A generic E72-2 model ID (Australian Generic 0586213 does not get the latest update either, I used the generic North American Code, 0573646 as the North American handsets are the same E72-2’s supporting HSDPA 850MHz)
- A full backup of your phone.
- A USB cable
- Tissues for when you brick your phone
Plug in your phone (do not select “PC Suite”, turn off PC Suite as well) (do not unplug it or turn off your PC until everything has completed!) and run NSS. Scan for your handset.
Click “Phone Info”
Put phone “Power Mode” into “Local Mode” in NSS
Then “Scan”.
Click the “Read” button to populate the settings boxes, change the ID to what you want, tick the “Enable” box and click “Write” to write it to the device. It takes effect immediately.
Put the phone back into normal mode, close NSS and run Nokia Software Updater. The latest software is a 200MB download.
After it has applied. I recommend a hard reset to make sure you have cleaned out all the telco stuff.
Use your mobile with all its new features after putting all your settings back in.
Mine starts in 1/3 the time as it doesnt have to play the Three video and audio introduction.
May 17th, 2010
Apple make the only other mainstream desktop alternative to Windows (although Linux on the desktop is starting to make some inroads).
As an IT consultant, I have two Windows machines (Win 7 and XP), a Core 2 Duo Mac Mini with Snow Leopard and an Ubuntu Lucid machine as well as a VMWare machine with Windows, Linux and an Openfiler servers on it. I have also just picked up a 3 year old core duo macbook from a client after a hard drive failure, he didnt want it back.
For the end user, it is purely a personal preference issue. Ignoring the awesome efforts of the Apple marketing department to convince you otherwise, either Windows or Mac will do what you need. There is nothing that you can do on a Mac that cannot be done on Windows and vice-versa. If you use Windows at work and need to work from home, especially if you have some specific work requirements (an a work IT department that can offer some assistance if needed), moving to a Mac at home can make things a bit harder between locations.
You will pay anything from a little more to a lot more for the equivalent Mac system but you will get a very solid and stable desktop. It will also be prettier. Personally I really dislike the feel of the Mac keyboards, both the desktop and laptop ones but as I mentioned earlier, it is a personal preference issue, they work but I use a Microsoft keyboard and mouse with mine. You will have to spend extra to upgrade the warranty if you want a 3 year warranty on the hardware (recommended for business use) where proper business grade Windows desktops and latops should come with 3 years already (not all of them). Mac’s are, by design, more secure than Windows PC’s but (regardless of what the Apple marketing department says again), they are not immune to online threats. Failure to take similar precautions on a Mac that you need to take on a PC is not good idea, especially with the prevalence of cross platform vulnerablities such as some recent examples in Java, Javascript and PDF’s.
There tends to be more software available for the Windows platform, especially open source and free software. Mac users tend to pay for more extras more often. That said, a lot of the usual free software I use on Windows is also available for the Mac (Filezilla, Mozilla Firefox, Mozilla Thunderbird, The Gimp, VLC). The Plex media centre application is exceptional, it is clean and it works but doesnt support TV. Macs can be a bit less upgradable than the equivalent PC’s in certain configurations and they are not as easy to work on (try replacing the optical drive in a Macbook compared to a Dell Latitude and you will see what I mean. How to videos to open a Mac Mini include, credit cards, fish lifters and pizza cutters). That said, the hardware is reasonably high quality and matched to and tested with the Mac operating system (which is Unix based) so you should not have to search for drivers or run into too many compatibility issues. You can run Windows via Bootcamp or virtualisation if you need to. One big thing though, Macs and PC’s share many common components such as hard drives, RAM, CPU’s etc. Dont assume that your Mac is infallible, they die too, quite regularly I might add. Apple have made it easy to back up your Mac for a reason!
I dont yet think that Mac are fully business ready. Sure they will do most things but when I am looking for a suitable business platform, onsite support is vital. I dont want to have to take a warranty claim to a shop. Interraction with Windows domains is pretty good but still not completely smooth, Exchange email does not have full functionality on the Mac and many small to medium businesses run Windows domain based networks. Being locked into proprietary hardware configurations is also not ideal. Any business rolling out large numbers of machines will shop around for the best deal. With the hardware locked to Apple only, this is not possible with Macs compared to the myriad PC options.
One other issue you may face with Mac is the Mini Displayport. While Displayport and Mini Displayport are open standards (Apple helped fund Displayport development and have preferred the mini Displayport for their hardware), hardware support from third party vendors is still pretty weak. While this is fine if you want to spend a LOT on a decent large Mac Monitor, use of other screens is a little harder. You need to either spend an extra $45 AUD for a DVI or VGA adapter (a Mac one), or find a monitor with Displayport and use a Mini Displayport to Displayport adapter (not common yet) to use them natively. High end Dell screens support Displayport and Dell and HP business grade laptops and projectors have the full size Displayport options but unless you simply must have the (very beautiful and very expensive) Mac screens on your PC, few Windows users are going to pay the massive premium considering you can buy five 24″ 1920×1080 screens for less than the price of one 24″ 1920×1200 Mac screen.
The size of updates is significant. I recently had my Mac Mini notify me that some updates were ready. I was expecting a 100MB or so update, especially since my Mac was straight from the shop, you can imagine my surprise when 1.3GB of updates was required to bring my machine up to date. I thought the Windows Vista/Windows 2008 Server combined SP2 patch was excessive at just under 500MB. The bulk of this update was a minor version update for OSX from 10.6.2 to 10.6.3. Make sure you have decent internet speed and data available or turn off automatic updates!
November 25th, 2009
All computers require regular cleaning to maximise life and minimise problems. This is rarely done, often never in businesses.
In an ideal world, you would turn over 1/3 of your desktop and laptop fleet every year and with proper business grade hardware having a three year warranty, if it dies, it gets replaced. Some people are lucky enough to live in this technology nirvana however the rest of us are not so fortunate. Small businesses often hold on to computer hardware for at least 5-6 years before it dies and they are forced to replace it.
If you want to get the most from your IT investment, why would you not look after it? You have your car serviced, your lawns mowed, your windows cleaned but not your computers (well not the insides anyway). Regular cleaning can greatly improve the life and performance of IT equipment. Due to their nature and a high level of static electricity, computers attract dust which collects inside the cases. Fans and heat sinks are very likely to collect dust. Dust buildup reduces airflow through the case and acts as a blanket for the sensitive electronic components. Hotter equipment will use more electricity as fans will run faster to try to keep components cool and the combination of heat and dust can and will cause premature failure of PC equipment.
The biggest issue with this is successfully cleaning computers in offices. Vaccuum cleaners cannot be used due to static discharge being more risky than the dust. The only really good way to clean computers out internally is with compressed air (proper compressed air from a compressor, not a little can of aerosol “air”). This should be done every 6-12 months to keep systems cool but needs to be a dust free solution in an office. It is not practical to carry every computer outside to clean them, especially from the 21st floor of an office building so I am currently developing a portable cleaning system that can properly clean computer internals onsite without releasing the dust back into the surrounding office. If you are doing this yourself, make sure you dont spin up fans with the compressed air. The high speed air flow can destroy fans in seconds from spinning too fast. They need to be prevented from spinning while being cleaned.
If I am coming to your home to help with your home PC or home theatre systems, let me know if you would like your PC cleaned at the same time at no extra charge.
Call me if this service is of interest on (+61) 0438534016 (Melbourne CBD and metro only, A/H or weekends if required, $15/Desktop PC, minimum 6 for dedicated visit)
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