This Week at Mobile Tech Manor #62 — Windows XP Installed

Mobile Tech Manor Large 2The end of the week is drawing nigh and it is time to share the past week with you once again. No new gadgetry showed up in Mobile Tech Manor this week, so I spent most of my time writing and playing around with software. I bit the big one and “downgraded” a gadget to Windows XP, even though all the hype was for Windows 7. I got tired of the Windows 7 crud I covered last week. I also got to thinking about something that’s bothered me for a long time. Come on in and visit with me a bit this fine Friday.

“Upgrading” to Windows XP

The buzz this week was definitely Windows 7, with the official launch yesterday. It was a non-event for me personally as I’ve been running it for months. I like Windows 7, even though the creeping crud I’m seeing more and more on different installations is really bothering me.

It bothered me for the last time on the Viliv S5 UMPC. I have run Windows 7 on the S5 for a few months and in the beginning I was very impressed with how well it ran. The system started out very fast and I was happier with Windows 7 than I had been with XP. Then the crud appeared, and lately the S5 has been slowing down like it was running through a mud slide.

Last weekend it hit rock bottom, getting very sluggish doing normal things. Windows Update downloaded 5 updates, nothing major, and the update procedure was the last straw. The S5 downloaded the 5 updates without problem, and the update process hit the “Installing x of 5″ part. The system sat there with “Installing 1 of 5″ on the screen for 20 minutes, so long that I thought it was stuck. I was about to give up on the update when the screen changed to “Installing 2 of 5″ so I let it go. After 30 minutes staring at this unchanging screen I was done with the whole Windows 7 thing.

The Viliv S5 has a great system restore that reimages the system back to factory condition from a hidden partition on the hard drive. I fired that up at boot and in 20 minutes I was back to a virgin Windows XP system. The difference running XP is amazing, given how sluggish the system had become under Windows 7. I am happily UMPCing once again with the S5, and I attribute that solely to Windows XP.

I like working with Windows 7 better than XP, the interface is so much better. But, I have seen performance under Windows 7 deteriorate over time on every system I have used, and this situation with the S5 is just more of the same.

Remember the Milk sync issue

I love using Remember the Milk (RTM) for my task management, it is the most versatile method I have tried. I use it on three different phones and many different notebooks with no problems. This week I did notice something about the iPhone version that gave me pause for a bit.

RTM is based in the cloud, and what has made it invaluable to my work is the instant nature of the updating. I can add a task, or mark a task complete on a notebook, and the change is instantly reflected on all of the phones and computers. That is important because I am always grabbing a gadget when I run out the door and I rely on my task information to be accurate no matter what gadget I bring.

One night I was going over my tasks on the iPhone, and I added a few new tasks. I also was able to mark three tasks as complete, one of my favorite things to do. I then went about my business but later I noticed that the tasks I marked complete were still showing as active on the Mac. I went to the RTM site and sure enough they were not marked as complete. I grabbed the iPhone to see if perhaps I hadn’t really marked them as complete but no, they were completed there.

That was strange and I’ve never had that happen before. I triggered a manual sync on the iPhone RTM app, and instantly the tasks were updated everywhere. It seems that the iPhone version of RTM, which I believe was updated not long ago, now requires manual syncs to get the server updated with tasks marked complete. I have verified this and that is not good, I have to make sure to remember to do a manual sync every time I use RTM on the iPhone. I hope they fix that soon.

Geektool

I have been experimenting a lot with the free utility Geektool on the MacBook and I am really impressed with the things that it can do. It’s hard to explain what it does, as it does so much. Basically it lets you put “things” on the desktop, with real-time updating. The first thing I did was put simple things on the desktop, system time and date. Geektool gives total control over the behavior of items put on the desktop; you can put them wherever you want and use any font and color to control the display.

You can put “files” on the desktop, meaning scripts can execute that do complex things. I have my RTM tasks displaying on the desktop, which is done by embedding a Python script that pulls the RTM feed from RSS. The system time and date are simple Linux commands. Literally anything that can be executed on the Mac in a Terminal session can be embedded on the desktop.

I have only scratched the surface of what Geektool can do and I intend to keep playing with it. I can envision great things being done that turn the desktop into another useful aspect of the system. It is simply awesome.

Things I’m wondering about

I get a lot of shipments at Mobile Tech Manor. Almost every week sees some gadget arrive, and the FedEx guy is a frequent visitor. Most of these gadgets arrive requiring no signature, as the companies that send evaluation units don’t want to cause trouble for me in case I’m not home when the shipment arrives. The FedEx guy leaves it on the front step and I get it when I return.

This works fine and is the best way for shipments to work but the FedEx guy told me this week he’s not going to leave packages on the step anymore. He’s come to realize that I am receiving all sorts of laptops and phones, as the shippers are often Lenovo, HP or some other big company. He told me that he is not comfortable leaving packages with expensive goods in them, as he believes the companies shipping such goods are screwing up by not requiring a signature.

I explained that they ship that way because it is more convenient for me in the event I am not home. He explained that that’s not a good enough reason for him, and that he has the authority with FedEx to override the shipper’s wishes on each delivery. Based on that, he will no longer leave packages on the step in the event I am not home. He intends to handle all shipments as if a signature is required, and thus protect both me and the shipper.

I appreciate his concern, it’s nice to find a company rep who is conscientious, but I find it hard to believe that he can override the shipper’s instructions. It is going to be interesting to see how this plays out in the future. Sometimes it is vital that I receive a package by a certain time due to embargoes, and this has the potential to delay my receiving a gadget by a day or two.

Another thing I have been wondering about this week is Bluetooth. This technology has been around for years, and I don’t understand why it is still wonky. The objective is you pair one Bluetooth-enabled device with another, after which both devices work together with no effort. Turn them on, they see each other and connect.

The reality is very different. I can use a Bluetooth headset with a given phone for weeks, and then one day the phone can no longer see the headset. A manual connection must be made so they will work again. Nothing has changed on either device, nor with how I am using them. They work fine together, and then the next time they don’t. I will never understand how this fails, and it’s not that unusual.

e-Books of the week

It was a Stephen King week, and I read an old King novel first. The Long Walk is a novel King wrote early in his career under the Richard Bachman pseudonym, and it is typical King. The story is bizarre, 100 teenagers enter a contest to walk non-stop until only one remains in the competition. The winner gets to choose any prize of his dreams, and the losers get shot after three warnings for not maintaining 4 mph. The story covers the entire competition, from the fresh start and through the madness that affects all competitors given the stress. It is one of the best novels that King has written, and that’s saying a lot.

I enjoyed the story so much that I decided it was time to revisit King’s On Writing. It’s been a good five years since I’ve read On Writing, and I still find it to be one of the best books for writers. King lays out what works for him, and without wasting a single word. It is a must-read for all writers, fiction or nonfiction.

Wrap-up

That’s my week and as always I enjoyed sharing it with you. I love to hear feedback about these weekly columns so if you have anything on your mind drop a comment. If there is something you’d like me to think about for future columns by all means share that too. Until next week, take care.

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