Going Tiny Part 1

So, the holidays are in full swing so I took a break from the column to get ready for the festive season! Since I am a geek, I truly enjoy giving the gift of tech. As such, I went on to my main mission of the holiday season, to buy a small form factor computer for my Mom.

My initial plan was to build a custom Mini-ITX system as they can be both small and affordable while remaining relatively performing. However since some parts were back ordered this plan fell through and I am kind of glad it did. It gave me a chance to sit down with my Mom and discuss her computing objectives to ensure that we got her a product she would ultimately be happy with. Her objective was to replace a five year old HP laptop. So we looked at the different options;

•           Get another laptop. This was the easy way out.

•           Get a Mac Mini or a MacBook. She said no to OS X.

•           Build the aforementioned custom system. A maybe given the time constraint.

•           Buy a mini pc from a major brand such as Lenovo or HP.

Given the fact that Mom is computer savvy, I took into consideration her main requests;

•         Windows 7 Pro as the OS

•           8 GB of Ram

•        I5 or better CPU

•        Lightweight and small enough to fit in a safe if stored.

With those specs in mind I started to browse the various Boxing Day sales and found a few options. The most interesting was however a Lenovo M93p Tiny. I have deployed these machines at work in the past and they do a good job in a production environment so I think that this will be a fine choice for someone who uses the pc a few hours a day after work for what can only be described as light usage. One thing is sure is that the i7 CPU with 8GB of Ram will provide enough punch for reading emails, managing a vast photo collection and even the occasional Photoshop edit. In the end, the sub 700 dollar price is what did it. For the price of a similar model with an i5 CPU and 4GB of Ram, we got the higher end unit. It’s like being bumped up to Business Class free of charge on an overbooked flight.

I will post more comments about the Lenovo M93p Tiny after my Mom gets to use it for a while and we fully configure it.

Happy Holidays and a Prosperous 2015

Dell P2815Q; Larger than life display on the cheap!

I did not post for the last few weeks. I was busy recovering from the chaos that was Black Friday and getting my holiday shopping done. Also, I had bought and started using a few items that I intend to review so I was deciding what to write about next. In the end, I decided to share my impression of the increasing availability of 4K screens in the PC market.

Before you ask, I did take the plunge and bought a 4K screen this Black Friday. I bought a Dell P2815Q. Why that specific one? Because of the price which was ridiculously low. At 300$ plus tax, it was by far the cheapest 4K display I have seen on the market. I initially had 3 27” Acer screens, so I decided to sell two of them to partially finance the new acquisition. Truth be told, scanning across 3 screens, which took up my entire 6 foot wide desk, was dreadful and I mostly used 2 of them.

When I was reading reviews I was weary of the fact that the new Dell P2815Q had a paltry 30 Hertz refresh rate. But due to my usage, I was not turned off by this. Since 95% of my use of the PC is work related rather than gaming heavier multimedia, I decided that picture quality and sheer pixel real estate would trump over refresh rates.

It took me a good 20 minutes to set up my new screen and un box it. Once I plugged it in, Windows 7 detected it instantaneously and set the resolution to the default 3840 by 2160 pixels. At first, my head started to hurt as I adjusted to the tiny text. Then I opened up a picture taken by a Canon t3i DSLR and I went WOW! I even went double WOW once I set the color template to Warm. The detail and quality of the image in front of me was worth the price of entry.

In the end, I still believe that 1080p screens are the norm and will remain so until their 4K counterparts become more affordable at an equal 60 Hz refresh rate. Most people don’t need to nor want to spend more than 600$ for a single 27” monitor, especially that not everyone will be able to live with the tiny text on a daily basis, if using such as screen in an office environment several hours a day. In the end, the Dell P2815Q was worth its price because it cost me 100$ to upgrade from 2 27” Acer 1080p LCD’s to a single Dell P2815Q which can host as much data as 4 1080p screens. And that’s what I call a bargain. I will post a commentary after a few months of usage that will detail more how to efficiently manage the sheer pixel real estate efficiently and without having to bleed your eyes out! More to come...

Free is good, free is bad and free can be ugly

In this world of choice, when it comes to software, we are literally bombarded by tons of options. I recently have taken interest into certain software and applications to increase the quality of my miserable commute. Since I now primarily use my Note 3 when on the go, I set out to make is as much of a portable workhorse and entertainment centre as I could. After all I spend 2 hours a day commuting to and from work so may as well use the time efficiently. And reading the Metro paper does not cut it.

First and foremost, I wanted to be able to watch videos. So I looked around and was very happy to find that VLC was available for free download from the App store as VLC has been a staple of media player apps as it opens virtually all audio and media formats. I have been using VLC on PC, Mac and Linux for the longest time.

A secondary priority was to be able to view and edit documents on the go. There is a plethora of free office apps available for the phone, but since I use Microsoft Office at home and on the office pc’s so I wanted to pursue that. Thankfully, Microsoft has released a FREE MS Office for apple and android mobile devices. The downside is that you have to store documents on the cloud. That means that if you are off the grid then you are out of luck. So I got Office Suite 8 in a free giveaway promo to create docs off the cloud.

For news content, I recently installed the Montreal Gazette and La Presse apps. I just briefly scan those while on the train to get recent headlines. For other day to day activities such as banking, I have installed apps from my banks. They are all available free of charge. Also all of the major retailers and etailers have free apps or at the very least mobile format websites. The one that I did not find was American Express Canada.

The reason why I say that the free is sometimes bad and ugly is due to the limitations of free software. As with MS Office and the access to cloud documents. Or the fact that most free apps are infested with ads or banners.

A case in product quality

As a geek and specifically as a hardware enthusiast, one has to make some tough decisions due to financial limitations. When building a new PC or when replacing a defective part, especially with all the different offerings, one has to choose carefully and judiciously.

When it comes to computer cases, this is even more important since a bad choice can negatively impact your whole build and let’s face it rebuilding a brand new PC is no fun if you realize that your cpu heats up due to bad air flow or that your pc is so noisy that a jumbo jet seems quiet in comparison.

I am usually non partial to any brand, since I do not receive products for demo or testing from vendors or manufacturers. I rather share my experiences based on products that I actually selected and paid for. I feel that this is a more objective approach.

When it comes to enclosures, for the longest time, I was a fan of Antec. They manufacture excellent quality cases and power supplies and have done so for many years. However, since the emergence and growth of the DIY movement, there have been several new players on the chassis scene. Lina Li, Silverstone, Thermaltake, Corsair and many others… However, a few years ago, while I was building a high end workstation, I came across a sale with an online vendor featuring a Fractal Design Refine ATX case. I had never heard of them before but the case was 50% off and was silent (padded) so I bought it thinking that if I did not like it I could sell it to a client in no time. However I fell in love with the product!

Over the last four years, I have bought exclusively Fractal Design cases for all of the builds that I did for myself and my friends and clients. My most recent workstation build went into the awesome Fractal Design Define R4 in gun metal.

The best part of the chassis is its sheer build of quality. The whole assembly of the case is of the highest standard. Each piece is very well fitted and the paint job would put many cases in a higher price range to shame.

As a mid tower goes, the Define R4 is on the large side, but it can take anything you can throw at it. Ultra long graphic cards, 8 hard drives, large power supplies, anything goes. Building the pc within the case is easy as there is room to move around. The air flow is also excellent and there is room for air and water cooling solutions. The drive cages are removable to accommodate even longer expansion cards.

This being a silent case, I thought to test the sound level. On a PC running an i7 processor which is water cooled and a GForce 670 video card the pc stays quiet even under load while gaming or rendering video.

Overall my experience with all of my Fractal Design products has been nothing short of stellar, making it very easy to recommend their full line of computer cases. I still need to see how well their power supplies perform but if their case offerings are an indicator of the brand’s over all level of quality I have no doubt that they will be equally good.

Black Friday Strategy

As most geeks do, I await for Black Friday with a certain degree of anticipation.

Due to my penchant for technology, and the fact that I am on a limited budget for hardware purchases, opportunities such as Black Friday and Boxing Day usually mean that I can potentially get my hands on some new tech without breaking the bank or annoying my very understanding wife too much!

However as with most events that carry so much hype, one must be prepared and alert. And, most importantly, remain highly disciplined.

Because there are many shopping guides out there, I will not attempt to start one. Instead I will give a few tips and tricks on having a great time on Black Friday.

1. Do not go to the store in person.

This may seem odd, but if you do not like to be stuck in a crowd of enraged shoppers, you will understand. Do all your shopping online from the comfort of your home or office, or from your smart phone.  If you want to buy a specific item and feel the need to see it in person to try it out, then I suggest that you go to the store before Black Friday. This way you will be ready. As for the excuse that the in store price is lower, I can guarantee that by the time you do the difference and include the cost of gas and your precious time, it will be cheaper to buy the items online and get them a few days later.

2. Make a list and stick to it.

Plan ahead of time and use online preview flyers to make a list of what you need and intend to buy and from which retailer and then on Black Friday and Cyber Monday just go ahead and stick to the list. This way you will not blow your budget, get exactly what you want and ultimately get a hand on all the good deals without going overboard. If there are items on your list that are limited availability or quantity buy them first so to make sure you at least have a chance to get one.

3. Timing is key.

Some people shop online at the minute that the sales go live, others do it in the morning or afternoon. It all depends on what you are looking to achieve. If you are shopping for a limited availability item, then you may want to be early. Be patient and keep in mind that servers of the e-tailers are working double overtime on Black Friday so being patient. Do not give up. If you are buying widely available items such as hard drives or USB keys, shop any time and preferably later in the sale as you will avoid the online traffic of the midnight dash.

Most importantly enjoy your experience and happy deal hunting. After all it’s Black Friday!

Power of Voice

For as long as I can remember using a pc and smart phone for, the keyboard and mouse have been the input methods of choice. If your keyboard and mouse were defective you would be unable to use your PC. However, this is slowly changing with the evolution and rapid improvement of voice commands and speech recognition integration into operating systems.

As I have lately discovered and started using, voice control can now perform several tasks hands free. Even better, on the computer platform it can almost all together replace a keyboard if you use a program such as Nuance’s Dragon Naturally Speaking. I was first introduced to Nuance by a doctor at the hospital where I work as an IT Technician. The doctor in question was not only dictating notes but also operating his MacBook Pro all through his headset.

So I decided to try Dragon Naturally Speaking 12.0 on my own laptop running Windows 7 to see what the hype was about. After installing the application and going through a 20 minute or so training tutorial for the speech recognition engine, I was on my way! Dragon integrates seamlessly within Microsoft Office, Windows, Firefox and even media players. I was able to dictate a word document but also to access websites and launch audio files using my voice!

On the smartphone front, Apple has been promoting Siri for quite some time and even though I personally never used it the general feedback is that it performs quite well for day to day tasks. On the other side of the spectrum, Samsung’s voice control integration with Android is quite surprising as well. Using my Note 3 I am able to perform tasks such as place calls, search for info online or on the phone itself. I can also launch applications. The main advantage is seen while driving where saying “call home” prevents me from having to distract myself from the road.

Although I cannot still control the pc from A to Z without my mouse and keyboard, the recent advances of voice and speech recognition have made it more intuitive and easy to perform some of the repetitive tasks. As for those that type a lot and suffer from carpel tunnel or other office related aliments, using voice control may be a good alternative. The only major downfall is that you need a quiet space so if you share office space with one or more colleagues this may not work optimally.

Uberstation

I generally tend to build one pc per year or so. However, when it comes to my workstation the cycle is about 3 to 4 years. So it was to my own surprise that I built not one but two workstations in less than six months.

The first build was done around the Z87 Intel chipset and an i5 CPU. The second was around the Z97 and an i7. So why two builds and why so close to one another? The initial build was planned as a replacement of my old 1^st generation i7 950 based workstation which I acquired in 2010. So I was due for an update. I changed the case, power supply, motherboard, CPU, ram and optical drive. I only kept my trusted Intel SSD.

However, a few months down the road my PDC (Primary Domain Controller) started showing signs of its age (Intel P45 lga775 system) so I decided to dismantle it and sell off the parts which were still good. It turns out that there is some demand for older ram (DDR 2) and system components, so I collected enough money to practically buy a new system all together.

At that point it was time to do some serious thinking as to my choice of components and timeframe. Since Intel and NVIDIA were about to release brand new products (X99 chipset and 9 series GPU), I wanted to benefit from the eminent discounts on previous generation hardware. So I was aiming for an i7 Haswell CPU and a Z97 based motherboard. My main concern was with which Gigabyte motherboard to chose. I knew I wanted a full featured board that cost under 200$, so I went with the GA-Z97X-UD5H-BK. This is a fantastic board that has top of the line features such a dual gigabit LAN interfaces, premium onboard audio, and a plethora of interface connections. For the CPU, I was hesitating between the 4790 and the unlocked “K” variant. I ultimately decided to go with the higher end CPU and also chose a water cooler to have good temperatures. For RAM, I chose 32 GB of 1600 MHZ DDR 3 by Kingston.

For the graphics card, I bought a second hand Asus GForce GTX 670 to replace my existing GForce 550. Since all of this hardware needs to be powered by a decent power supply and hosted in a good casing so I went with the Seasonic M12 II 850 watt PSU and the Fractal Design Refine R4 case. I kept my 2 SSD/s and my hard drive as well as my BD-RW drive from another PC.

Overall, I am very happy with the choice of components and the way the build turned out. The main idea of this workstation is to run multiple virtual machines and it does so without skipping a beat. As far as gaming is concerned, the experience is fantastic and although I rarely game, when I do this setup makes it great.

Parts list:

·                  Case: Fractal Design Refine R4
·                  Power Supply: SeaSonic M12D II 850 Watts
·                  Motherboard: Gigabyte  GA-Z97X-UD5H-BK
·                  CPU: Inteli7 4790K
·                  Memory: Kingston  KHX1600C10D3/8GB x 2
·                  Video Card: Asus  GForce GTX 670
·                  Water Cooler: Corsair H90 

Driver Hunt - Part 2.

Last week I wrote about the Acer laptop that I had downgraded to Windows 7 and the struggle to obtain compatible and functional drivers.

Since I was on a deadline I spent quite some time looking at different options to get this laptop fully up and running. The Wi-Fi and USB 3.0 drivers were nowhere to be found. However, upon looking on Google for a while and reading some forums, I stumbled upon a life saver and I actually learned something interesting about identifying hardware components.

I discovered a great website called pcidatabase. This website for me was a game changer in regards to identifying hardware components. Turns out every component has a vendor and product ID which are unique. Use those with the pcidatabase and you will find the true manufacturer of the device of which the driver cannot be found.

As far as my challenging Wi-Fi adapter goes, Acer was offering Broadcomm and Atheros drivers. However the device turned out to be manufactured by Realtek. Go figure. But the driver worked seamlessly and the Wi-Fi was up. Same went for the Intel based USB 3.0 drivers.

After my experience, I used pcidatabase to locate other hard to find drivers such as a Texas Instruments USB controller and a Syba com port!

I will never look at a yellow exclamation mark within device manager the same way again!

Downgrading to Windows 7 - Driver Hunt

Sometimes, you truly need to take a step back in order to move forward. This is especially true in the Microsoft Windows hierarchy where Windows 8 and Windows 8.1 often don't last long on devices and are soon replaced by the more intuitive and stable Windows 7. But sometimes going backwards is not so simple.

I assisted someone in the purchase of a laptop recently and also had to downgrade the operating system. The laptop in question is an Acer Aspire V3-472G. I encountered several challenges with this specific laptop and one of which is yet to be resolved.

Part 1. Bios access and configuration

The simple task of access in the BIOS was a struggle due to the fact that Acer uses "F2" as an access key as opposed to the often used "Del" or "F1". Furthermore, by default the boot menu accessed through the "F12" key is disabled. So just to be able to boot from the USB CD Rom, I needed to change the bios from UFEI to Legacy, then set the USB CD to enabled and then remove security settings in BIOS.

Part 2. OS Install

This was the easiest part. The OS (Windows 7 Professional) installed with no hiccups so this was smooth. As expected, none of the device drivers worked out of the box, other than the sound. So this brings us to the 3rd and most tedious part, the Driver Hunt...

Part 3. Driver Hunt

As mentioned above, none of the drivers came pre-installed although my ISO of Windows 7 had Service Pack 1 pre-installed. Step one was to get the network driver so that I could update and register Windows 7. So I proceeded to the product page for the Acer Aspire V3-472G to get a list of devices in order to download the ones for Windows 7. Of course Acer only supplies drivers for Windows 8.1 so it was off to the various vendor sites.

The network driver from Realtek was easy to download and install so I was online within a few minutes and ran Windows Update. I was hoping that it would auto update some of the drivers for me but no such luck. The video chipset drivers from Intel and NVIDIA were easy to get  and install as well. And that was it for the easy part...

The Intel chipset and sata drivers were a struggle to obtain and I had to resolve to an extracted inf file from another vendor. But at least I got them to work.

So this is what I had left to accomplish; set up the USB 3.0 hub to work at full capacity (the port works but not at full efficiency) and, most importantly the wifi would not work. So I downloaded the driver directly from the vendor, Atheros Broadcom which was Windows 7 certified. After spending several hours on this issue, I decided to use a Linksys USB wifi adapter as a temporary work around.

Sometimes, in order to move forward, a step back is necessary.

Phablet what Phablet?

I recently had a BIG problem that most tech inclined and dependent individuals will inevitably come across one day; my smart phone became acting stupid (read failing)!

So I was at a cross road with many offerings and had to make a quick decision. Because, as so many of us, my phone is my life (digitally speaking). I need it to email, skype, socialize, text and keep my work life organized. So the perspective of being stuck with a device that was always dying or failing to be useful was not something I was seeing enthusiastically.

I wanted to stay with my current carrier as my agreement was not up and because the service I get from them is very good (a rare feat in a world of gouging and scamming by Big Telecoms). So that already set some limitations as to which models I could choose from.

I also knew I wanted a powerful smart phone with a big screen. So the choices were again reduced. Happily for me, I was buying at a time when the iPhone 6 and Samsung Galaxy Note 4 were about to become available to consumers so the prices of their predecessors were slashed substantially. So after looking up the specs of major offerings from LG, Samsung, Apple and Sony, I had 3 choices left to decide from;

1. Apple iPhone 5s 32GB

2. Samsung Galaxy Note 3

3. LG G3

My first criteria was screen size as I wanted to stop carrying my tablet around as it became too cumbersome for a commute on which I regularly have to fight for standing space on the train. That meant that the Apple iPhonre 5s with its measly 4 inch display was quickly eliminated. It simply cannot compete against the LG G3's 5.5 inches and the Samsung Galaxy Note 3's 5.7 inches.

My second criteria was to be a net improvement in comparison to my LG Nexus 4's featurs. The second thing other than it's sheer screen size that caught my attention about the
Samsung Galaxy Note 3 was the Smart Pen and the S Note app. This feature truly turns your phablet into a portable laptop if you use it properly. You can write and edit on the fly. No more post its or shopping lists for me! Also S Health and it's integrated pedometer was a nice bonus.

So I now have a single device, my trusty Samsung Note 3 that acts as a reader, notepad, and of course as a phone. And to those that think that their hands will hurt from holding this behemoth, trust me it will not. It may require some adjustment and adaptation in the first minute or so but then it's amazing.

Simply speaking, the Note 3 is awesome and very complete. As for the Note 4, I do not feel the need to pay top dollar to have a phablet that hit the market last week. Last month's model is just as good and was FREE. I mean what else can be better then a FREE Samsung Galaxy Note 3? Not much, tech wise of course!

The comeback post

I was reading Ted Bird's column and I discovered, by pure accident, that a blog I had five years ago was still active. So I decided to do a comeback! Time has flown by and the world of technology has drastically and rapidly evolved, making sure that we as users are addicted to and fascinated by all that it has to offer.

Since I decided to write again, I also want to commit to a weekly post. I will try to either review or comment a technology related product or event on a weekly basis in order to channel my own obsession and geekiness to the outside world.

On this note, I wanted to highlight a few of the upcoming posts and their content so that you can get an idea as to what I have in store for the coming weeks;

- Making a decision as in regards to which smart phone or phablet to acquire;

- The importance of quality customer service and ensuring customer satisfaction;

- Niche products by Fractal Design (chassis review);

- Building of the "Uberstation";

- The unbiased geek's holiday wish list;

- And hopefully much more!

As a side note, I wanted to mention that as always all reviews are based on my own experience with products that I use either in my professional or personal environments. I do not receive products for review from any supplier or vendor.

Cheers,

Greg

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