I am installing Windows XP SP-3 for the first time tonight. I am putting it on a Virtual Machine running on Fusion on my new iMac. Up until now I haven’t had the chance to give SP-3 a try, and since I have some free time on my hands I am going to tinker. Hopefully it wont blow anything up, but if it does who cares! It is a VM after all. If it does work, I should update the Sysprep image I have of a clean install of XP. You never know when you might need it.
OS
My Link Of The Day
I spend more time than I care to admit on the Microsoft Life Cycle Support site today. I was doing research on when all of our Microsoft software goes end of support. As much as this is a pain in the ass, I do have to give Microsoft credit for actually having a searchable site for this stuff.
Can I Find The Right Phone? Part 2, The Nokia E61i
I have been using the Nokia E61i for a few months now and I like allot of features of the phone, but its shortcomings are starting to bother me allot. Where the Treo 680 would freeze for a few seconds every once in a while, the E61i’s biggest problem is just slow all the time. Launching applications or moving through screens is noticeably slower than on the Palm OS, Windows Mobile, or Blackberry. The E61i is very stable. I almost never have to restart the phone. In fact it was almost 2 months after I got it when the phone froze on me. I think the problem was related to something I installed that was a Beta. I removed it and have been fine since then. The other issues I have with the E61i is it’s PIM functionality. More specifically its tasks program is horrible. The phone doesn’t support categories, the search functions are all but useless, and it takes me around 5 times longer to enter a task on the E61i than it did on my Treo 680. Because there is no category support for the PIM (Personal Information Manager) Software, I cannot easily filter calls with calling groups out of the Address Book. I also have to edit every single calendar entry I make on the phone to put it in the correct calendar on my computer. The lack of a touch screen bothers me, but is a minor issue compared with all my other issues. I haven’t found a good email program, but I limp by with what comes pre-installed. What is good about the E61i is it has no issues syncing with my Mac, especially over bluetooth. It works flawlessly with Bluephone Elite, the phone control software I use on my Mac. It also has great internet functionality especially since it has built in Wifi. Bluetooth also works flawlessly. I paired my Motorola Bluetooth Headset to the phone with no problems. I am able to turn on the headset and it always finds the phone and works. I stopped using Bluetooth headsets on my Treo because it wouldn’t work all the time and I would lose calls because I tried picking them up with the headset.
To sum it up the E61i is a nice reliable phone with a decent selection of software, but its basic functionality is lacking and the phone is just slow. If I could fix most of my issues with the tasks program I might be able to overlook the other issues I have with the Nokia’s Symbian S60 software.
Can I Find The Right Phone? Part 1
Since October I have had a minor problem left unresolved. I have been unsuccessfully searching for a wireless phone I could use every day. I have written previously about how my Treo 680 had been causing me too many problems so I was on the outs as my day to day mobile. The issue is I haven’t been able to find a suitable replacement. As much as I jump from phone to phone (I do about 1 a year and maybe toy with an alternative one during that time but never switch over to it) over the years, I have been sticking to Palm based Treo’s relatively consistently. I did go from a Treo 270 on T-Mobile to a Treo 600, then to a Treo 650. From there I went to the Treo 700 on Verizon. When I left my last company I switched my number to a Treo 680 on AT&T. It has been several years using the Palm OS on Treo phones. As I have said in the past it has been a love / hate relationship.
So even though it sounds kind of silly I am stuck on what phone to use day to day. I guess it is such a big deal because I use it for allot more than making calls. In fact I use it for other stuff more than I use it as a phone. I check my mail on it. Read the news on the way to work. I keep track of my expenses on it. I use it as a calendar, and more importantly I track all the tasks I need to accomplish on it. I use it to track notes, and I take notes with it more than I use pen and paper. If I am in a meeting playing with my phone, it is because I am actually taking notes or updating tasks related to what we are talking about on it. There is tons more things I use it for, but that is enough for you to get the point. Because of all my requirements I am a bit picky.
The Palm OS on my Treo 680 did everything I needed it to. It just would freeze up for no reason I could identify (maybe due to loss of cell signal but if it was that it is a retarded problem) and would crash or reboot at least once a day. Recently I also had huge issues syncing my Treo to my Macbook. The Missing Sync is a great product, and I have used it for years but since they updated the Palm version it has been buggy. I have had to reset the data on the phone dozens of times due to corrupt data or the software simply crashing on syncing some conduits, especially my task lists. So I can have everything I want, but deal with problems all the time. It kind of feels like WIndows, but I solved that problem by getting a Mac.
A Phone That is Not a Smartphone?
I have been having a love hate relationship with my Treo 680 (well several Treo’s over the years) but I haven’t found a suitable replacement so I have been stuck with a great phone that crashes all the time. It has been driving me crazy. I know I shouldn’t get emotional about technology but I work with technology all day long and I live off my phone(s). So when I am expecting a call it would be nice for the phone to ring, and if I don’t hear the ring the voice mail chime should go off. Instead I have on more than one occasion had the phone do nothing until I think to reboot it and then get 5 voice mails.
Needless to say I am very frustrated. I need the functions of a PDA, but all stand alone PDA’s don’t have built in Keyboards, so until very recently it has been a smart phone that does everything but does everything not so great or a PDA and a phone that doesn’t do everything I want. That was until I found out that Nokia was making the N810. It is an internet tablet that has a slide out keyboard. I have been eying the N800 (didn’t have a keyboard) for a while, but no keyboard means I didn’t get it. The N810 isn’t a PDA so when I first saw it I was still stuck with my Treo (and still may be), but then I read that Access the makers of the current version of the Palm OS released a VM of their OS for both the N800 and N810. That means I can install and run all my Palm applications on the N810 and get all my PDA functions that the device was missing. In theory this sounds great. Now all I need to do is get an N810 when it comes out and see if it works the way I think it will.
In anticipation of the new Internet Tablet, I needed to get a good regular mobile phone. My current “regular” phone is a now aging Motorola Razr V3. I always liked the form factor of the Razr but the functions sucked. I can’t stand the Motorola UI. Why does each phone number for a contact have to be its own address book entry? Nokia and Sony Ericsson both have multiple numbers per contact, it just makes sense. That issue and the fact that the Razr doesn’t support high speed data I needed something new. Unfortunately finding something new wasn’t as easy as I thought it would be.
After some research I ended buying a Nokia 6120 Classic. It wasn’t my first choice, but every other phone I wanted first didn’t cover some basic function that I wanted. To be clear I wasn’t asking for things like video calling, or Wifi, etc. I wanted BASIC stuff like a quad band phone, aka a phone that will work in the USA on both GSM frequencies here. Apparently most of the really good phones I liked are sold as Tri band phones, and don’t have the new 850mhz frequency on them. Eventually I found the 6120. It is actually a cool phone. The initial things that I didn’t like about the phone I found ways to work around. The only thing that I don’t like so far is the fact that the keypad is so small, but that is why I have an address book!
So for now I am happy with my change. I am the first to admit that i am fickle, so since it is less than a day since I switched the jury is still out on if I keep this setup, but the real test will be when the N810 comes out and I use it and the 6120 together. Until then I will keep my Treo 680 in my bag and use it as a simple PDA. Oh and to be completely accurate about what I am writting, I know the 6120 Classic actually a Smartphone. It does have the Symbian Series 60 OS, but any smartphone without a keyboard isn’t really a smartphone to me.
10.5 Compatible Applications
Since I was upgrading to Leapord I knew there might be issues with the new OS and applications I typically use. So when I was upgrading this week I also got a small portable hard drive that I replicated my existing Tiger install onto using Carbon Copy Cloner in case I need to use applications that don’t work with the new OS. I am glad I did that since there are several key applications that I use that don’t work just yet. So far out of everything I use the following don’t work or have trouble working with 10.5:
ecto: 2.x doesn’t work so thankfully I am writing this with a trial beta of 3.0.
Missing Sync for Palm: It doesn’t work, and Mark/Space recommends waiting until a working version comes out. They claim this will happen in the next 90 days.
PGP Destop 9.x: Pieces of it might work according to the forums I read, but it was recomended not to try to use it since it might cause issues with encrypted disks I have. A beta of the latest version that will support 10.5 is supposed to come out in November, so that means in 30 days or so.
Daylite 3.5: The awsome support guys at Marketcircle have a beta (3.6) that will work with Leapord but hasn’t publicly released it. They said if you ask nice they will give it to you. Since I was dealing with someone regarding a problem with syncing in 3.5.x I asked for and got a copy of 3.6. Unfortunately all the problems they were able to fix for me in 3.5.2 are back in 3.6 (or what appears to be the same issue). I can use the application but I can’t sync with Apple sync services. Another separate post on this is pending since using this program is changing how I am productive. The breakthrough was when they released version 3.5 with access to sync services, but as I said more on this later.
Mactheripper: I am not even sure if this application is supported anymore but I love it. Unfortunately it crashes allot now. Not sure what to do with it just yet.
VMware Fusion
I haven’t written about it for a while, but I am still heavily relying on virtualization on my Macbook to do almost everything. There are several work programs that must run in Windows, plus Quicken for my personal stuff, etc. I am sorry to admit that I upgraded to Parallels 3.0 right before VMware announced the pricing and pre-ordering of Fusion back in June. When VMware announced pre-order of Fusion I also got that. Lets face it i haven’t settled on either product just yet.
I have been using Parallels since they announced their product, and upgraded since I couldn’t wait for the final version of Fusion. Parallels 3.0 has some nice features, like multiple snapshots (like VMware Workstation, but not Fusion), and the ability to open windows files from the Mac OS. That is the dilemma. Now that Fusion is out, I am running it. I will admit it is noticeably faster (to me) than Parallels. That and the fact that i can use all the existing VM’s i have (and i have allot) is very compelling. I just wish Fusion could do some of the things Parallels can do (multiple snapshots and launching programs from the Mac OS). If it had those two functions it would be the perfect product (for now). Even with those shortcomings, i will say that Fusion is the only virtualization software currently running on my Macbook. Parallels has a new beta out that addresses some of their performance issues and other features so i may switch back, who knows.
With all my existing VM’s, my use of VMware Workstation on windows, and ESX server at work I am firmly wanting the decision to use Fusion over Parallels to be good a no brainer! Right now that isn’t the case, but the performance difference (to me) keeps it running on my Mac.
Technorati Tags: Apple, Mac, Macbook, Parallels Desktop, virtualization, VMware, VMware Fusion
Time For Vista?
This week I decided to install Windows Vista. Now hold on I know what you are thinking. Yes I still use a Mac as my primary machine. That is why I decided to put Vista on a computer or two. My work laptop has been sitting in my office barely used day in and day out for weeks and I figured I would play around with it. According to Microsoft Vista will run on it just fine. WIth nothing to lose since I do use my Macbook as my main computer for home and work I figured what the heck. As I am writting this post it is running windows update. So the jury is still out on this one.
At home I decided to put the Mac Mini I had doing pretty much nothing to better use and I setup a dual boot of OS X and Vista now that Boot Camp 1.2 is out and it supports Vista. I figured I might as well put my copy of the OS to use. I am replacing my current machine I have running my Beyond TV DVR and put the Mini in its place. I even read an article from the folks at Snapstream that showed how they tested the Intel Mini with their software. I also read and verified that the 4 products I use (Beyond TV 4.6, Firefly Remote Control Drivers, USB-UIRT IR Blaster, & the Hauppauge USB2 Video Capture device) on that machine to run the DVR are in fact compatible with Vista now, so I said why not. I have been having issues since day one with the MCE 2005 install I had been using on my old machine so I was up for a change. I have been using that machine less anyway now that I got an HD DVR box from my cable provider, but since I already own all the gear and it is free to use I am not getting rid of it just yet.
The install and setup of the DVR box was relatively painless. I put Vista on it earlier this week, and took some time today to swap the old machine I was using for the Mini, and then setup the software and all the drivers. The DVR setup is slightly better than the ld system, but it is a bit cluttered since I need to use an external Hard Drive for video capture. The Snapstream article explains why. Initial tests are showing me that the problems I had with MCE 2005 are resolved (for now) with Vista. Until There is an equivalent DVR for the Mac (EyeTV in my opinion is not anyway near as good as Beyond TV) I guess I will be using this setup. More information as I discover them.
Technorati Tags: Beyond TV, DVR, Mac, Mac Mini, Media Center, snapstream, windows vista
Vista on VMWare Update
Apparently the newly released version of VMware Workstation 5.5.3 provides experimental support for Windows Vista. I already downloaded both 5.5.3 of workstation and my MSDN copy of Vista. Now I need to find time to try it out and see if it works. This hopefully solves some of the issues I brought up with last post.
Technorati Tags: VMware Workstation, virtual machines, vmware, windows vista
Windows Vista on MSDN
It looks like Microsoft finally got the Windows Vista RTM ISO on MSDN. I kicked off a download of the DVD iso. Even on my cable modem it says it will take another 11 hours for the 2.5 gig iso to complete. I want to say that is huge for an OS, but Red Hat, Suse and Apple all ship now on DVD.
I am not sure what test box I will put Vista on at work. I want to first try and get it into a VM, but from what I have read it is not fully supported with VMware Workstation 5.5.3. I might have to wait for a Workstation 6.0 beta. There is a hack for getting it to work on VMware Server, but if I get it working I want to get it working correctly. My main focus is getting it in a VM and testing how much resources it needs to see if it can be used as a Virtual Desktop. My gut is saying we will need to stick with XP for the foreseeable future, but I want to at least try.
My next task is to see how the final RTM version performs on our new HP desktops we just deployed. RC1 performed ok, but I want to see how the final version handles. In reality I don’t see using vista at all anytime soon. That is a major departure from my opinion of XP as it was coming out, when I couldn’t get the ISO fast enough.
Further thoughts on the final release once I have it installed somewhere.
Technorati Tags: Virtual Desktop Infrastructure, VDI, vmware, windows vista