Apples and Oranges; or Mac versus Microsoft

This Christmas, the family audio players were upgraded. The home Music Library has grown larger with monthly downloads from eMusic subscription and converting my old analog files to digital media. So what was I waiting for?

I bought two solid-state SanDisk Players that were refurbished and sold online from Buy.com. Both of the units work with Windows Media Player (WMP) 10 and later in a manner similar to iTunes for the iPod devices.

· The first was a Sansa e250 player that is comparable in size and features to the iPod Nano, and allows a MicroSD expansion slot to add music in addition to the device built-in 2GB flash memory. The battery is replaceable and it allows with Windows Media Player (WMP) 10 and later to synch files onto the player in “MSC” mode with Windows explorer (“MTP” mode selection does not work the same as “MSC”). The method was not described in the user manual, but after reading the Sansa player forum and some trial and error effort, I figured that the music tags and album art could not be transferred onto the device any other way. SanDisk provides separate downloads for the media converter software for transferring photo and video items to the player. This player was under $30.

· The second player was a similar Sansa c240 player with 1GB of flash memory, that has a smaller display than the e250 and some mechanical differences in the controls based on a less expensive Sansa product line. It seemed to work out of the box, but I discovered that some issue kept interrupting the playback and I had to return the item for replacement. This one has a MTP mode that works very nicely. SanDisk provides separate downloads for the media converter software for transferring photo and video items to the player. This player was under $20.

I bought my daughter a purple Apple iPod Nano 16GB solid state player and I bought a refurbished iPod Classic 160GB hard-drive based player for myself.

The new 4th generation iPod Nano comes in vibrant colors and a new curved aluminum and glass design. With just a few clicks, the new Genius feature finds the songs on your iPod Nano that go great together and makes a Genius Playlist for you. Thanks to the built-in accelerometer, you can rotate iPod Nano to flip through album art with Cover Flow. Watch movies and TV shows in widescreen. And view photos in either portrait or landscape. Shake to shuffle. Just give iPod Nano a shake and it shuffles to a different song in your music library. The crisp, bright picture makes watching movies and TV shows amazing. For those about to rock, the nine colors and the curved, all-aluminum and glass design are high fashion; so don’t put the iPod nano down. It’s beauty is not just skin deep; the new Genius feature turns the iPod Nano into a highly intelligent, personal DJ. It creates a playlists by finding songs in your library that go great together. You can also shake, shuffle, and roll; just shake and it shuffles to another song in your library, thanks to the built-in accelerometer. Turn it sideways and view album art in Cover Flow. I had to upgrade the home computer to iTunes 8.01 from version 7.5 and was impressed with the ease that it all came together. It was almost $200 with an added leather case.

The sixth generation iPod was coined with the suffix "Classic" by Steve Jobs. The sixth generation Classic dramatically improves battery life, claiming up to 40 hours of music playback and 7 hours of video playback. So I bought a refurbished iPod Classic 160GB hard-drive based player at a substantial discount from the Apple Store on Black Friday (day after Thanksgiving) to replace my 4-year old iPod photo 60GB player, that was near capacity (the additional capacity was a planned upgrade for viewing Photos and Videos in addition to music playback). During the Let's Rock Apple Event on September 9, 2008, the thicker 160 GB models were discontinued in favor of a thin 120GB version. The remaining Classic 160 GB models were sold at heavy discounts over the holidays. I noticed the front plate of the iPod is now made of anodized aluminum instead of polycarbonate plastic, and the "Signature iPod White" has been replaced by black or silver. This means that white is not a color option for any iPod in the iPod family. The sixth generation Classic also introduces a completely overhauled user interface, incorporating more graphics and Cover Flow. Apple released a firmware update, 1.1.1 for the iPod Classic, to among other things, improve the sound quality. Another update, 1.1.2, corrects bug fixes, another minor update. It was $250 with an added leather case. The Outlook calendar synch didn’t work, so I resorted to manually adding the calendar items in “disc mode” by saving them to the iPod calendar folder as “.ics” files as an external drive. I needed to upgrade my laptop iTunes software to support the iPod Classic, but chose to use the iTunes 7.6.2.9 from iTunes 6.4 based on the player requirements and features that the classic supports. In searching for this version, I discovered that iTunes does not allow deprecated software to be downloaded from Apple.com, so I searched and found a copy of the deprecated software on a different server not affiliated with Apple. The install went without a hitch. A security issue with QuickTime required a separate download to update this version.

I converted my recorded TV shows from Windows XP Media Center and Pocket DVD Studio Video saved as Windows Media Video format by using the Roxio Easy CD/DVD Creator Suite version 9 to convert the video formats to something only an iPod or iTunes can play. Usually, it’s a format of H.264 video, up to 768 kbps, 320 x 240, 30 frames per sec., Baseline Profile up to Level 1.3 with AAC-LC audio up to 160 kbps, 48 KHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats as automatically selected during conversion.

I had converted my Audio Compact Discs some time ago, but the metadata tagging software that is part of both iTunes 7 and WMP 10 are significant improvements over the older RealPlayer One and MusicMatch 7 versions. I was pleasantly surprised to find that latest RealPlayer 11 contains a flash video converter that allows downloading YouTube videos to the hard drive so they can be played while offline or using the a playlist library in RealPlayer. I still use my old MusicMatch Plus version 8 to rename media files and tag music on the home network drives; and it remains an agile software product that can quickly execute batch processes across the network and build remote music library files with compatibility that the newer players don’t seem to have. Yahoo has purchased MusicMatch and wants me to shell out another $20-30 to “upgrade” a product that I have paid for three times already. It’s hard to justify the expense, when the features are provided as standard in the other software media players I already own.

The Windows Media files created from some cassette tape analog media recordings I digitized in the Windows XP Microsoft Plus! Digital Media Edition (DME) of the Analog Recorder were initially saved as Windows media Audio (WMA) files. I had converted these using the Windows Audio Converter, now bundled free with WMP 10 and later. I chose the mp3 format and ripped them at 192kbps. I was unpleasantly annoyed when I discovered that the folders were protected so I could not properly share the music files across the home network. I had to delete and recopy every music folder that contained the converted files, because some copy protection on the folder prevents you from just using the Windows File Manager to reset of the folder permissions, as one would normally expect. Despite the delay, I finished the file conversion project in time for a successful Christmas day, with both players fully charged and playing away Christmas tunes.

Linking to Online files and Web Content

Google Mail and Google Docs are excellent Services. I set my e-mail to auto forward to GMail and backup those really important docs on Google Docs. You can have an online calendar using Google Calendar and then set it to remind you via a text message to your cell phone.

I set up Windows live SkyDrive to store and share documents, photos and possibly organize events. This is easily access by those hotmail accounts

I even set up a web portal on Office Small Business just to see how that could be used.

Some other file sharing services are offered with the Western Digital My Book World Edition-a hard drive that has on line back-up to an ethernet connected Hard drive using a service via MioNet. Dell has a reasonably priced Online back up too. I got 10GB free for a year with a Vostro Laptop purchase.

Windows Live FolderShare beta

a free service that you can use to keep your files synchronized (The process of uploading and downloading information between two or more computers so that the information on each computer is identical.) between your computers, share files with friends or colleagues, and download your files from any computer that's connected to the Internet.


Cruzer® Titanium Plus

Buy one of these and you get the Cruzer® online backup service.

6 months FREE online backup service
For the next six months our free automatic online backup service will allow you to enjoy a complete piece of mind when you store files on your Cruzer® Titanium Plus flash drive.

Automatic and Secure
The service will automatically back up any file on your Cruzer® Titanium Plus to a secure online storage location.

Easy and Accessible
Your data can be restored in a snap. Access and restore your files any time from the web by Cruzer® online backup service

Taxes and rebates again...

Before the end of 2007, I had my tax software and all of the usual free stuff (after rebate). Noticed that the "deals are fewer" and the tax software offered less add-ons. Many of the items that H&R Block Tax Cut gave rebates on (Will Power, it's Deductible) are in the box are not offered.

The new offer is to have them give you a "second look" by a tax professional. I usually buy the one that has the e-file fees already in the bargain, so the free after rebate e-file is also not required. This year was just rebates for Norton AntiVirus and Microsoft Money. Staples had a nice "easy rebate" worth $10 off, that was nice and paperless.

Hopefully no one is waiting for a deal to do their taxes for last year!

Is U3 4U?

The computer in your hand may be smaller than it appears! Just a quick note that your next computing platform could be smaller than you expected. Software is readily available to use on the little "flash memory" drives that rivals the functionality of the bloated applications on your computer. You may be surprised to find out that many of these are free or at a much lower cost than the desktop products they could replace.

U3 is a mobile computing platform that allows you to carry your applications on a USB drive and launch them on any PC. So wherever you go –your office or home, an internet café or business center – you can take your favorite software as well as your data files. With U3 technology, a USB drive is more than a storage device – its’ a smart drive.

SanDisk has a new Cruzer Titanium Plus USB flash drive offers an automatic and seamless online back up option with device password protection and hardware AES encryption so you can easily access your files on the device or online.

You'll still need some desktop computing platform, and not every Operating System is supported, but for a decent Office Suite, Antivirus, Password Manager, or Utility application, it's hard to beat the price!

Still not using Vista!

I have my express upgrade DVD from HP and can load it onto that new computer at anytime. So what am I waiting for?

• I still have too many programs that can't use the Vista programs as intended. Losing these or forcing me to upgrade is not an enhancement.
• Upgrading does involve risk, and I don't have a way to manage a back-up plan afterwards, with my existing back-up software. I have heard that Symantec will support Ghost 10 and later to save back up images of Vista.
• Scanners, printers, flashdrives, mice...I don't have a plan yet of what to do with the stuff that won't run Vista

So what do you do? I just bought my graduating senior a business laptop for college. He made a choice that he would rather have Windows XP Pro than Vista Business for his school work chores. I read on the Microsoft Site that Vista Business and Ultimate can "downgrade" to Windows XP pro, so I could have bought the Vista Business OS and downgraded it myself. Something is upside down with that plan, since getting the warranty service on a different OS may be an issue.

So for now, I am dealing with Infomation Technology in the simplest of all strategies-if it ain't broke, don't fix it!

Did you get a new Computer for Christmas?

We can all enjoy the holidays. It can be frustrating to try and configure that new PC on Christmas Day, but here are some tips that can make the whole experience more efficient and less time consuming.

Start by planning to upgrade/replace. As odd as this sounds, everything will wear-out sooner or later, and a few minutes you spend to catalog what you need to configure that new PC along with deliberately saving packing materials may make it easier for you to re-cycle that system or dispose of it in a manner that allows easy reuse.

Hard drives will need to be formatted to remove your personal information and the re-installed with the old OEM data and software. Make sure you look into a “full system restore in the back of the manual and be prepared from day one to do this.

Some applications that can perform recovery can also be used to save an image of that system when it was new.

Locate the registration information and the original product manuals. Keep them in a safe place.

Use the files and settings Transfer Wizard if you have a Windows PC.

The Files and Settings Transfer Wizard helps you move your data files and personal settings from your old computer to your new one, without having to go through much of the same configuration you did with your old computer. For example, you can take your personal display properties, folder and taskbar options, and Internet browser and e-mail settings from your old computer and place them on the new one. The wizard will also move specific files or entire folders, such as My Documents, My Pictures, and Favorites. Passwords are not moved with program settings when you use the Files and Settings Transfer Wizard. This is a feature of the Files and Settings Transfer Wizard that helps to keep your passwords confidential.

Keep a setup script or list of programs that were installed.

• If you need to perform a recovery, it provides an abbreviated step by step process to complete the recovery. You can include notes about patches or help files used to fix problems you found when installing the computer.
• An inventory of links inside of a word document can make finding the same files used a breeze.
  I use Google to search for reported error messages during setup. From the results, only use the solutions stated as being effective at solving the problem in the reply.

Some Thoughts on Networking with Other devices

As a natural extension of my desire to share information, like this blog site with others, there is also a desire to share information with my other devices. You have some options that can be easily implemented, and others may require a more deliberate and coordinated method. CNET has some good weekend projects, and setting up a wireless network is by far one of my all time Favorites on their site.

So you have a network, now what?

Sharing photos and other digital media like documents and music is easy. Microsoft provides some excellent articles, a key one for any beginner is Windows XP Networking: Sharing in the Home Office. Just a word of caution, that sharing on unprotected home networks is not a good idea. Protect those files using the firewall or router security features in addition to the protection offered by the Windows file sharing features.

If you have any media files that contain music, video or recorded TV, software like iTunes and Windows Media Player also allow these to be shared once they are added to the library and the sharing features have been enabled. Digital Books in the Microsoft Reader or Palm Digital Media format can also be shared.

What about sharing with devices that are not PC’s?

The Pocket PC handheld using the Windows Mobile software makes an excellent portable player for your digital media library.

Pocket PCs use the Microsoft Activesync software usually provided on the support CD with the handheld to transfer those files to your handheld, and then playback if they are formatted in the correct media format. Other great software products can be purchased for reasonable prices on sites like PocketGear.com and PalmGear.com.

Music files in WMA or MP3 format can be played without conversion.

JPEG photos can be viewed using either the Pocket Internet Explorer feature of the Image Zone software that can be downloaded from HP.

Movies and recorded TV, once converted and formatted to fit on the smaller device displays, can be quite enjoyable during a cross-country flight.


Wired and Bluetooth networking is similarly completed for these devices, but features vary widely between devices.

Make sure that you use the help and tutorial materials packaged with the device and update the software or firmware if you have problems establishing a connection.
Usually forums that support these devices like Dave’s iPaq Forum on Mobility Today (also a podcast!) and the HP Business Support Forum for iPaq and Aero devices are also good sources for any specific questions.

Bluetooth networking using a cell phone for dial-up networking in a manner similar to a PC modem is an excellent way to stay connected on the go. The fees are generally higher than wireless access charges. I have successfully networked three computers at home and regularly connect all of my handheld devices with complete success. I’m use Bluetooth networking for Printing and a wireless headphone connection.