Windows 2 Apples

Good morning, good afternoon, or evening as the case may be this is Sam Caldwell of the Windows 2 Apples podcast episode forty-two.  In this episode, I review the H2 Handy Recorder manufactured by Zoom Corp. and distributed by Samson.

I discovered the H2, when looking for an alternative to using a laptop to digitally record field interviews and on site readings of audio books by authors uncomfortable with using computer software.  I was intrigued by the many positive H2 reviews posted on the Internet and recommendations from other podcasters including my friend Allison Sheridan of the NosillaCast.

The H2 is billed by Zoom as “a nifty SD card based recorder with two operation modes for two – channel (stereo) or four – channel recording.”  Nifty works for me. The device is handheld, battery powered and lightweight.  It looks much like a traditional microphone with a few additional switches and LCD display panel tacked on.  The Samson website claims the device is perfect for anyone needing a low cost, portable, simple to operate, digital recorder capable of capturing audio in monaural, stereo, and four channel, surround sound configurations.

With two AA batteries installed, the device weighs in at just 6 ounces.  One of the reasons it is so lightweight is because it sports a rather flimsy plastic case. I suggest you look past the enclosure and consider relative cost, specifications, features, and performance when evaluating the device as a possible fit for your applications. I decided to make the purchase after listening to several on-line reviews recorded using the device.  The on-line videos demonstrate impressive  audio fidelity when recording speech and live musical events. 

Although, the four microphone surround sound recording capabilities are impressive, I was most interested in using it to record speech … in that application, it excels.  This podcast is being recorded using the H2 in the default stereo record mode.  Aside from the flimsy feel of the plastic case, the only other noteworthy negative is the small, difficult to read LCD menu and options display.  Maneuvering through menus is simple and straightforward but requires a bit of squinting and excellent lighting for these tired older eyes.  The default, out of the box setting, was stereo audio recorded at 44.1 kHz per second and stored as a 16 bit digital WAV file.    The stereo WAV sample rate can be bumped up to 48 kHz. When using the MP3 stereo mode, you may choose from bit rates between 48 and 328 kilobits per second.

Users have a surprising degree of flexibility in determining sample rate, recording format, microphone configuration, real time filtering, as well as access to optional features such as automatic gain, built in metronome, and chromatic tuner.  Although the H2 will reset to the factory default settings when installing a new flash card, previous session recording options are saved to the installed  flash card memory at the end of each session; saving considerable setup time when a new session is started.  The internal microphones are more than up to the task of recording voice and live instruments. If you wish to use your own external mic or to record from high-level sources such as external tape recorders, Zoom has thoughtfully provided both external microphone and line in jacks.  A comprehensive, well-organized manual and video tutorials found on the Samson website and YouTube greatly reduce the time it takes to become familiar with its many features.

The device can be powered using two AA batteries as well as an external power supply.  Controls are simple and straightforward.  The base of the unit is compatible with standard tripod mounting screws.  The H2 is shipped with a triangular plastic base which when screwed into the bottom of the unit provides more stability when placing it on a flat surface.  Alternately, a supplied plastic handle can be attached to the base of the recorder allowing it to be easily mounted on most microphone stands or booms.

The H2 comes with inexpensive ear buds for reviewing recordings and a USB cable for connecting to either a PC or Apple computer.  When connecting to an external computer, you are prompted to indicate whether you want the H2 accessed as a storage device or USB microphone.  When connecting to my Vista and Windows 7 machines, the first effort to install the drivers ended with an error message, but the second attempt always proved to be the charm.  When connected to my Mac the device was immediately recognized.  Accessing files on the H2 is straightforward. The manual claims a 4 GB (SDHC) memory card will store approximately 380 minutes audio when using the default setting of stereo, WAV sampled at 44.1 kHz.

The suggested retail price of the Zoom H2 is listed as $334, however, it can be purchased from many online stores for considerably less than the advertised list price.  I purchased this unit from Amazon for $146.85.  After spending almost two weeks with the device, I continue to be impressed with the recording quality as both a standalone device and external USB microphone.  I can heartily recommend the Zoom H2, but will leave it to my listeners to decide whether they have the same warm and fuzzy feelings after listening to this podcast recorded using the H2 in the default standalone stereo mode.

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Nuance Buys MacSpeech

If you have been reading my blog postings or listening to this podcast, I’m sure you are aware of my concern over the lack of availability of a solid Apple speech to text product.  For some time, I sparred back and forth with Chuck Rogers, the onetime evangelists for MacSpeech, over MacSpeech claims iListen was a truly useful and functional product.  I was particularly concerned that iListen, bundled with the Apple computer, was touted as a good or even preferred solution for consumers with disabilities or physical challenges.

Things seem to change dramatically and the performance of the products offered by MacSpeech improved when they abandoned iListen and began offering Dictate which is based on the Nuance speech engine.  I crossed my fingers, as I continued to cough up more and more money to acquire and update Dictate as it evolved.  As a longtime user of the Nuance Naturally Speaking software and the excellent free Windows speech to text applications, I have been repeatedly disappointed by the solutions offered by MacSpeech.  True, the current iteration of Dictate can be impressively accurate but it is extremely frustrating to use in real world situations.

 I was concerned that a small company, such as MacSpeech, with limited resources could produce solotions competitive with those offered by Nuance and Microsoft.  Voice recognition and indeed text to speech technologies are still at a low point on the tech evolutionary scale.  Even with the impressive advances made by Nuance and Microsoft, many potential users remain unconvinced that speech to text products truly enhance productivity and often put them aside after discovering that they’re not the devices Captain Kirk uses “as he goes where no one has gone before.”

A recent posting by Nate Anderson at ARS Technica, announcing the purchase of MacSpeech by Nuance, makes the following observations about the usability of Dictate: “Dictate worked great with long blocks of dictated text. If you needed to jump around between applications, however, or perform numerous edits and corrections, or train the custom vocabulary, Dictate was (and is) a terrific hassle. Compared to the same tools in Naturally Speaking, Dictate's superstructure was Mac-specific—but also primitive.”

It appears, Mr. Anderson believes the acquisition of MacSpeech by Nuance may be good news. The purchase of MacSpeech by Nuance will hopefully provide the expertise and resources needed to develop a native Apple solution at least equal to the Windows centric Microsoft and Nuance products.  I am optimistic that, now Nuance has taken responsibility for producing a quality Apple based speech to text product, Apple users will eventually have access to technologies on par with those available to Windows users.

Since I am using Microsoft speech recognition to dictate and not relying on my typing skills to create these posts, I can afford to cross my fingers hoping that, when a truly competitive version of Dictate or Naturally Speaking is available for the Apple platform, I will not have to shell out another painful upgrade fee to finally get access to what I feel was promised to me when I first began experimenting with iListen.

Dictated using Windows Speech Recognition, recorded using MixCraft 4.5 and M-Audio USB audio interface

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In this episode I offer feedback on Windows 7, Microsoft Media Center, Ubuntu 9.1, Windows Live and Apple Mail, Netflix and the NetGear Power Line Ethernet adapter.

Since posting episode 39, I have had time to break in and evaluate the release version of Windows 7 now running on our vintage Sony Pentium 4 liquid cooled Media Center PC. I’m impressed by the enhanced performance and improvements made to Microsoft Media Center. This Pentium 4 PC is connected to our entertainment center and is used almost exclusively to provide access to streaming media and Internet based entertainment sites.

The Sony started life with XP Media Center edition and is still equipped with its original 1 GB of ram and 3.2 GHz Pentium 4 processor. When I shifted the unit to the den and connected it to our flat screen television I installed the first public beta release of Windows 7 and was encouraged by the improved performance. Later I upgraded to the release candidate or RC distribution and was disappointed by a noticeable degradation in performance. Not only was the system considerably less snappy but also refused to acknowledge and install drivers for my Belkin USB WiFi adapter. I ended up purchasing and installing a NetGear WPN 111 wireless USB adapter which was immediately recognized.

Even with the enhanced throughput of the new WiFi adapter, Windows 7 RC Beta performance was so disappointing I considered installing Ubuntu Linux. As I waited for delivery of the commercial release, I had time to ponder the argument of at least one longtime tech pundit loudly proclaiming Microsoft was sure to screw things up by adding last minute features and accompanying overhead to the release version. Fortunately, he was dead wrong and Microsoft actually followed through with a leaner and faster commercial release. Windows 7 feels faster than the first beta I tested and much faster than the original XP OS.

I further enhanced performance by replacing the WiFi interface with a NetGear 85 Mbps Powerline  Network Adapter Kit. For those of you not familiar with this device, it consists of matched power line conditioning modules designed to allow high speed transmission of digital signals through existing house wiring. The small cigarette package size transmitter is plugged into a wall socket and hard wired to your DSL or cable modem / router and an equivalent receiver unit plugged into to a remote wall socket. The computer mated to the receiver using the included standard a standard Ethernet cable. Quite frankly, I was dubious of claims that it could actually work as well as NetGear promised but after reading a handful of positive reviews I decided to give it a try.

I was pleasantly surprised to find that it works and works exceptionally well, totally eliminating the need for WiFi. For less than $90.00 I’ve been able to essentially hardwire my remote media center PC to my high speed cable connection. So far it has worked without a single hiccup and I recommend it for those contemplating the expense and hassle of running cables from their router to remote devices.

After installing the Netgear power line adapter, I spent more time experimenting with the Windows 7 incarnation of Media Center and was intrigued when I noticed the tight integration with Netflix. In the past I had use Netflix to order DVDs and, as others have found, after the novelty wore off, weeks would go by before I would watch a freshly delivered DVD. It was as if I felt compelled to request DVDs and then schedule time to watch them. Finally, I discontinued the service choosing to rent the occasional DVD at our local Hollywood video store. Netflix now offers the option to stream much of its content eliminating the need for physical media altogether. I decided to test this option using my newly revamped Media Center PC and have been blown away by the almost seamless streaming of content.

I don’t know what differentiates the technologies used by Netflix from say YouTube but whatever they’re doing they’re doing it right. I have tested many other streaming services and none of them match the quality experience offered by Netflix.

Microsoft has greatly expanded Media Center internet TV content. You can now view advertising supported video from a handful of providers including but not limited to MSNBC, CBS, and PBS. Media center also allows you to view a collection of popular video podcasts and to listen to your Zune downloads if you’re using the Zune marketplace software.

As in the past, the Microsoft media center software is both a source of chest beating pride in Microsoft’s commitment to home entertainment PC innovation and a profound source of angst over their lack of advertising promoting Windows 7 as the premier operating system for media center computer systems. I truly don’t understand why Microsoft doesn’t make at least some token effort to highlight the media center software and access to content which it offers so seamlessly. I only hope Microsoft pushes forward and adds more content to the Media Center line up. What a shame it would be to see Microsoft drop the ball on this one.

Microsoft and Apple have been busy bees, both respectively pushing out impressive updates for Vista, Win 7 and OS 10. Our Acer Vista laptop was still processing service pack 2 for Vista long after I finished 40 minute install of the commercial release of Windows 7 on the Sony tower. I don’t know if there’s a relationship to these updates or simply my own superstitions but it seems that I am having more issues with programs crashing when running Vista on my HP tower and Leopard on my shiny white Mac. Strangely, both Microsoft Live mail and Apple mail applications give me the most grief.

I’ve also experienced more crashes when running Safari on my Apple and Microsoft Word 2007 on my HP. I see crashes more often when working with my Vista machine but I believe that’s easily explained by the fact that I spend more time now working in Windows rather than OS X. In Vista’s favor, I can always use the task manager to close and restart Live Mail without re-booting but not so when Apple Mail crashes. I can force quit and restart Apple mail till the cows come home with no effect and must always re-boot my Mac to get Apple mail up and running again.

Just in case I have the occasional Linux user listening to this podcast, I can also claim a greater frequency of crashes when running Firefox under the newly installed Ubuntu 9.10. I don’t understand why the sudden increase in application failures has appeared across all three platforms but it’s been impressive enough to catch my attention.

Since I’ve mentioned Ubuntu and Linux, I’ll also share with those who have been annoyed by the Vista User Access Control (UAC) pop ups and frequent upgrades that every time I turn on my Linux machine I am greeted with at least four hefty upgrades all of which require that I enter the complete password to my account before they install. Linux is no free ride if you’re looking for an operating system free of frequent security updates or pesky User Access Control schemes.

Dictated using free Vista Microsoft Speech to Text. Recorded using MixCraft 4 and M-Audio USB interface.  Text edited using Microsoft Word 7 running on HP Pavilion Elite Vista PC.

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In a previous podcast, I admitted to shifting most of our video projects to the Mac so that we could use iMovie 09 video cropping to produce videos with the look and feel of recordings made with two or three cameras rather than one. When I realized I was becoming dependent upon my Mac, I began anew to look for Windows based video editors with a similar feature.

I have tried many Windows based editors over the years and finally settled on using Pinnacle Studio 12. Pinnacle is far from an ideal or even truly acceptable solution. It seems to take forever to produce output once edited and regardless of output settings the final product is almost always inferior to that produced on our Macintosh. Happily, I have discovered PowerDirector version 8 published by CyberLink. A major enhancement offered by version 8 over previous releases is the ability to crop videos much as I do when using iMovie 09.

PowerDirector 8 has the added advantage of a true multi-track timeline and intuitive user interface interface. A common trait shared by most PC-based video editors are interfaces that look like they were designed by geeks with no interest in aesthetics. PowerDirector screens and Windows appear as rich, glossy black displays with large buttons and responsive controls. As Apple users know, aesthetics are important. CyberLink has produced an application demonstrating Windows applications can be gorgeous as well as utilitarian.

The reason I downloaded the software and began experimenting with it was because of the crop mode available when accessing what CyberLink refers to as Power Tools. As in iMovie 09, I can crop an area of the screen to zoom in and gradually pan from one area to another. The Apple software uses the Ken Burns effect to smoothly segue from focal point to focal point. PowerDirector uses a more flexible but less intuitive trajectory assignment and keyframe referencing scheme to shift focus from one part of the screen to another. Although offering greater flexibility it requires a considerably more involved learning curve.

An immediately noticeable advantage is how quickly finished productions are rendered. I suspect, if I had been photographed as I watched the first time it produced a video my mouth would have been noticeably open. Not only does the application render the finished video much faster than my iMovie on the Mac and my other Windows video editors but the quality and resolution is excellent.

Other features that make Director stand out from the crowd are: the ability to enhance and upscale video resolution using process they call TrueTheater, a particle effects designer application which makes it possible to modify and create custom special effects. If you feel magnanimous, you can easily share your custom special effects and menus with other users through the CyberLink on-site social network. PowerDirector allows sophisticated edits using up to nine picture in picture (PiP) tracks. Dual monitor support is built-in as is optimization for Intel Core i7 technologies which purportedly enables wickedly fast rendering. Additionally, you have access to thousands of free additional effects created by CyberLlink and other users, turnkey uploading of your finished projects to Facebook or YouTube in HD quality and with the Ultimate version, the ability to produce and burn HD videos to Blu-Ray discs.

Although the provided menu and titling templates are less impressive than those bundled with iMovie 09, PowerDirector 8 supports a more granular approach to modifying and creating custom effects. And keep in mind the almost overwhelming and growing selection of free effects and add-ons produced by other PowerDirector users.

The Deluxe version sells for $70. The Ultimate version with Blu-Ray support can be had for $100 US. You can download and test drive a free limited version. Both iMovie 09 and powerDirector ship with built-in help screens and online tutorial videos. Unfortunately, as is often the case with Windows applications, PowerDirector online video tutorials are poorly organized and not even close to the quality of those offered by Apple. Apple sets the bar for on-line multimedia documentation. I admit, it does sting a bit more when video tutorials designed to support a video editing application feel so amateurish. For once, it would be nice to see a Windows application offering tutorials at least as well designed and executed as those provided by Apple.

Even though iMovie 09 is touted as being particularly well designed for those wanting to quickly splice together videos clips, I actually found PowerDirector far better suited to completing short video projects. It was a chore to create a simple DVD compilation of one of my favorite video podcasts, Old Jews Telling Jokes, using iMovie 09 and a relative piece of cake using PowerDirector 8. If I go back to using iMovie 09, it would be to complete fairly long and complex projects. Using the clunky concept of events as opposed to traditional folders to organize and categorize assets still feels uncomfortable and then there is the inevitable re-learning if I’ve not used the application recently. The use of traditional folders and timelines by PowerDirector 8 make it so much easier to import and organize video clips, photos and music and stitch them together as a finished project.

As you might expect, all is not wine and roses. PowerDirector has a tendency to crash. The saving grace is ... I was almost always able to recover interrupted work with minimal loss. I wouldn’t say that it crashes anywhere near as much as did the record holder of crashing ... MacSpeech Dictate 1.3 but enough for me to make myself save my work every fifteen minutes or so. I hope this observation doesn’t keep listeners from trying PowerDirector 8 if they feel it meets their needs. The last project I edited was completed without a single crash and I am very pleased with the finished product. Thanks to PowerDirector 8, video edit projects have been shifted back to our Vista PC.

If you visit the MindFitnessFoundation.org website you can view examples of videos edited using both iMovie 09 and cyber link PowerDirector 8. Episodes four and five were produced using iMovie 09 and episode six using PowerDirector 8.

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The last few weeks have been jammed with news and announcements about both Apple and Microsoft. Apple released an update to its OS, began shipping new and improved iPods, pushed out release 9 of iTunes, and enjoyed an impressive jump in stock price.

Microsoft along with Amazon, voiced concerns over Google’s plan to scan and distribute books in electronic form, began an aggressive to push its revamped MSN, a.k.a., Live search engine now renamed Bing, continued with improved advertising campaigns promoting Windows based PCS as a cost effective alternative to Macs, released a hand full of advertisements hyping the new Zune HD, delivered the Zune HD on schedule, pushed out version 4 of Zune Market place software (now supporting browser streamed music) , all the while continuing to show lack luster stock gains.

Of all this news, perhaps the continued steady rise in Apple stock is the most telling. The stock price certainly reflects the continued dominance of Apple in US smart phone and portable media player markets, as well as its ability to wow consumers and produce innovative, quality products, while Microsoft struggles to find itself and lick self-inflected wounds. Perhaps, the best way to contrast Apple and Microsoft cultures is to watch presentations by Jobs and Ballmer. The difference will smack you between the eyes and you will experience a gut level appreciation of why Apple steams ahead and Microsoft seems to be slogging though a Louisiana swamp.

Microsoft appears to be stuck in a never-ending struggle to find itself. Live search has become Bing and Zune now seems to be Microsoft’s branding for all things fun and entertaining. Call me jaded if you wish, but I simply cannot believe Microsoft when they profess to have seen the light and now have a plan to “make it so.” I would not be surprised to see Microsoft re-brand Zune before the battery in my second generation Zune 80 dies nor would I be surprised to see the Zune Market place go the way of Plays 4 Sure and Encarta.

I am wondering, if my perception of Microsoft being unable to focus and simply stay the course is one of the reasons Apple is doing so damn well!

All this said, I am looking forward to the official release of Windows 7 and have been drooling over the grow crop of well executed All in One PCs. The Lenovo IdeaCentre PCs are beautifully packaged, competitively priced and getting good reviews. When I started this podcast, I confessed to a fascination with and lusting for the “All In One” form factor and I now see I am not alone. Today, the question is not when can I get my hands on an All in One equal to the Mac in performance and quality, but which one would I choose.

Snow Leopard demonstrated the charmed life Apple fan boys and girls live. As one would expect when releasing an OS with major changes in its underpinnings, some pain will follow. In the case of Snow Leopard, many applications broke or misfired. Software vendors, including Apple, were unprepared for all the compatibility issues that arose and the lost time in retooling and updating. The miseries continue, but you will see little in the press nor will many Apple fans be willing to concede any similarity between problems traceable to Apple OS releases and the issues experienced by Windows users when shifting to Vista.

Factor in the exponentially higher number of Windows applications, hardware configurations and a reasonable person should be able to credit Microsoft with a job well done and see Apple is not the always the personification of perfection foisted upon us by the Apple propaganda machine and besotted media. But for fear of losing one’s life, I don’t recommend you hold your breath for this realization to surface or be widely acknowledged by the “news media.”

Recently, I had another near death experience with my main work horse Vista machine and stroked my beard a long time as I looked at the seemingly frozen HP boot screen and pondered an office with two Macs … one running the Mac OS and the other Windows 7 in boot camp. Fortunately, the anticipation of my PCs death was greatly exaggerated and it is now running as smooth as silk. Turns out, the 5 – 6 minute delay in booting was traced to the OS’s repeated attempts to revive the USB card reader in my sleeping HP Photo Smart printer.

I spent at least 12 hours trouble shooting and running my ever-faithful SpinRite disk maintenance and recovery software before I simply unplugged the HP and released my PC from its painful struggle find the unresponsive USB port. This is the kind of frustration that leads everyone one to curse the day they allowed a computer to occupy desk space. And, this is the kind of problem most often seen in Windows machines. Apple seems to have always done a better job of implementing USB and FireWire technologies.

All was not wasted. I learned two important lessons:

Always Google or, if you prefer, Bing the symptoms before pulling hairs and second, assume the fix to be simple rather than complex. Perhaps I should add a third corollary, if possible take a break before diving into fix. Cool heads will prevail and retain more hair.

I am sure you have noticed this podcast is not hosted by Sam but rather by Alex … the voice behind the amazing Apple text to speech technology shipped with Leopard. The Apple implementation is truly a groundbreaking advance in this arena and leaves me hopeful Apple will apply the same resources to producing a quality Speech to Text product for Apple users.

I often wonder why there seems to be so little interest in developing speech to text technologies beyond those designed to provide assistance to persons with disabilities. If you price the cost of professional voice over talent, you will quickly see an opportunity to develop text to speech technologies at least on par with the many amazing visual animation products found in the consumer market. Please drop me a line addressed to hello@inetsunch.com if you have leads on this kind of software or show comments and suggestions in general.

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