Windows 2 Apples

We start this posting with an update to my issues with Microsoft Windows Media Center. After considerable time trouble shooting I decided make adjustments in Windows Media Center performance settings. Unfortunately, Windows Media Center software doesn’t have setting options allowing the user to correct for differences in Internet access and streaming media performance. Changes must be made in the Windows Media Player which apparently provides the engine used by Media Center to access Internet content and render streaming video.

I am using Media Player 11 in which Microsoft has decided to hide performance options in a drop down list under the Now-Playing button. After many years of training customers to look for these kinds of settings under the file or help menu options, the Windows Media Center team decided to change the rules as well as well as eliminating the traditional help menu option. Eventually, I found the and performance options panel where I changed the default setting for connection speed from “detect connection speed” to “choose connection speed” and selected DSL/cable at 768 Kbps even though my DSL connection typically logs in at a download speed of at least 4 MB. I also checked the “drop frames to keep audio and video synchronized option” box.

After making these changes I was able to log on and access MSN streaming media including music concerts without the frequent appearance of the dreaded blue circle of frustration appearing in the center of my screen. I’m still confused as to why these changes were needed given performance benchmarks for my DSL Service showed no change between the earlier posting when I was so impressed with Windows Media Center and my later posting lamenting the loss of usable access to MSN video content. Obviously, the auto detect code is unable to automatically make the necessary adjustments in real world internet through put.

Since making these adjustments I have added Comcast cable and have been able to reset media center settings to automatic detection and remove the check next to the drop frames option. I wonder how many casual users would be willing to dig this deep to get Media Center to work as promised. I suspect that most would simply give up on the software.

As usual, I am dictating the notes for this podcast using the free Vista speech to text software rather than Nuance Dragon Naturally Speaking. As mentioned in the past, all though the Nuance product is more accurate but Vista speech to text technology is much more intuitive to use and far superior when modifying or correcting text. Recently, Nuance introduced an upgrade from 9.5 to Version 10. Anxious to see how far speech to text technology has moved I ordered the upgrade.

Unfortunately, all attempted installs failed displaying a warning message suggesting “applications have a reboot waiting” and then prompting you to close the install and re-boot. I did this perhaps three times before checking the Nuance site where I found a tech note suggesting this was a fairly common problem and that users should disable automatic Windows updates and re-boot! Disabling automatic Windows updates is not recommended by Microsoft. I have to wonder how many frustrated Nuance customers are now running systems with automatic update disabled.

The Nuance tech note advises that if this fails, which of course it did for me and I suspect many others, that you should also run msconfig and disable all start up programs. If this step fails Nuance goes on to recommend you download a zipped file from which you must extract an executable that will supposedly disable the Nuance installs insistence on “checking for a required restart”. This was too much sugar for the nickel and I wasn’t willing to continue to jump through any more hoops in order to install an upgrade.

To top off my frustration the Plantronic headset shipped with my order could not be used to produce accurate speech to text translations running either Dragon 9.5 or Vista speech. I have shipped both the install disk and headset back to Nuance with a request for refund. Until Nuance is able to ship the upgrade with a working and relatively painless install, I recommend that those using nuance 9.5 skip version 10.

Produced using M-Audio interface, MixCraft 4, Vista Speech Technology, HP Media Smart Server, iTunes and Pages.

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Is it possible Microsoft finds it intolerable when someone actually claims to have found the WOW in Windows?

Shortly after proclaiming Windows Media Center offered a superlative viewing experience when accessing free video content on the Internet, I’ve lost the ability to use Windows Media Center to view any of the MSN Control Room Music Concerts without continuously having them paused every 5 to 10 seconds. Ironically, the only way I can actually view the videos without frequent pop ups of the dreaded blue circle of frustration is to log on to Soapbox (a.k.a. Video MSN, a.k.a. MSN video) and view using Firefox running in either Vista or OS X. When using IE7 my viewing experience is not any better than when using Media Center.

I feel as if I’ve been punched in the stomach! I’m happy I didn’t rush out and buy a Media Center Extender or the HP Media Center television I had been lusting after. Given the current degradation in performance, it’s impossible to recommend Windows Media Center as a preferred means of accessing MSN beta TV content reliably.

I don’t know whether the problem is with Microsoft’s implementation of its high resolution streaming display technology, Microsoft Servers or a temporary clogging of the pipes by Internet video coverage of the Olympics. Whatever the cause, for me Windows Media Center has now become a source of angst as opposed to a proof Microsoft can actually follow through on a winning strategy to garner customer enthusiasm for its products. The only positive from my experience is the realization that apparently all of the Beta Internet content produced by Microsoft can be accessed by anyone with a flash enabled Firefox browser and does not require the Windows operating system or any proprietary Microsoft technologies.

Even though the viewing experience is less than that I experienced when using the Windows Media Center several weeks ago, Microsoft offers an impressive catalog. Perhaps the easiest way to access MSN content is to do a Google search for Soapbox. You will be taken to the video.MSN web site where not only can you view MSN beta television content but iNetSynch videos.

I have my fingers crossed that the issue is not with the Media Center technology but rather with a heavier than expected demand on servers as a result of internet coverage of the Olympics. Whatever the cause, the wind has been abruptly taken from my sails. I have to wonder why Microsoft can’t get its act together … why they seem intent on offering up a more and more fodder for Apple to fuel its continued successful strategy of ridiculing Microsoft.

Produced using MixCraft 4, HP Media Smart Home Server, M-Audio Interface, and iTunes tags editor.

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I’m going to jump on the Microsoft bashing bandwagon today.

My beef with Microsoft is not that it has not delivered excellent products, but rather it has delivered excellent products that would in fact give Windows much of the “WOW” promised when Vista was introduced. Sadly Microsoft hasn’t taken the initiative to promote them. Many of these applications and services are hiding in plain sight. Microsoft offers an exceptional collection of free tools and services under the Windows Live Moniker. Included are Live Writer, Live Photo Gallery, and Live Mail. Live writer is an exceptionally intuitive and easy to use blog editor. Live writer makes it easy to setup, edit and maintain blogs hosted by Google, Microsoft and other hosting services using popular blogging software such as WordPress. To my knowledge Apple provides no equivalent application. If you are using Windows and maintaining or creating blogs Live Writer is a must-have application and free as a down load from Microsoft.

There are of course many photo management applications shipped with both the Apple and Microsoft operating systems as well as a dizzying selection offered by third party vendors. After considerable experimentation with Apple iPhoto and Windows photo gallery I have no problem in recommending Windows Live Gallery.

Not only is the program attractive and intuitive it is also noticeably more efficient in organizing and displaying photographs. The Apple iPhoto application has always been a great frustration to me. All of the other Microsoft and third party applications I’ve tried simply seem to consume time and drive space. Windows Live Gallery is surprisingly fast and nimble. After using Live Gallery I can’t imagine using any other Windows application to manage my photos. Live Gallery is free for the asking from Microsoft.

I have used many e-mail clients over the years including Outlook, Thunderbird, and Apple Mail. Apple mail is nice in that it is intuitive, easy to configure and provides for spell checking as you type. Spell checking is missing in the e-mail client shipped with Windows Vista but is happily imbedded in the Live Mail client. The Live Mail interface is intuitive, easy to configure and uncluttered … something that Mac users would appreciate and it is now my e-mail client of choice when working in Windows.

To top things off, one of the crown jewels hidden and un-activated on I suspect a majority of Vista Home Premium and Ultimate installations is Windows Media Center. We have three systems running Media Center, a Sony Media XP tower, a low end Acer Aspire Home Premium Vista Laptop and an HP 9040 Quad Core Tower running Vista Home Premium. For years now I have been using the Windows Media Center software to access cable television via the built-in tuners on both my Sony and HP computers. Occasionally, I would record videos and export them to various external players such as my Creative Labs Zen but had never really experimented with the many other available features. Approximately six months ago, I tested the beta Internet television and I was disappointed in the limited media offered.

Recently, I decided to take another look and was absolutely amazed at the amount of streaming media content available free from the Internet via Windows Media Center software. I had opted not to activate the Windows Media Center on my laptop because it didn’t have a tuner and I couldn’t imagine using the software to simply play MP3s and watch the occasional DVD.

Once the software was activated, I was pleasantly surprised to see the beta Internet television worked as well or better on my inexpensive Acer laptop as it does on my quad core HP tower. Because the content is streamed from the Internet there’s no need for cable or satellite television services to access it. I believe I even uncontrollably uttered “WOW” as I watched concerts by John Mayer, Jack Johnson and Cheryl Crow. As of today there are 23 music concerts available as streamed videos. It doesn’t stop with music concerts.

There are 10 programs from the Food Network, 10 programs from House And Garden TV, as well as programs from other sources such as Fine Living, travel channel, sports, news, geek and tech oriented programs, viral videos, as well as programming from the Biography, History, and Arts &Entertainment channels. I’ve only begun to scratch the surface. Not only is the amount and selection of content impressive the user interface is superb … equal or superior to anything produced by Apple. If your computer is so equipped you can also use an external remote control to interact with the software. I have controls for both my tower computers but no control is available for the Acer laptop. However, I have been viewing much of the content using the a wirelessly tethered Acer laptop connected to our 50 inch Hitachi rear screen projection TV as well as a smaller LCD television and I am very impressed by the quality of the picture on both sets.

I’m using the S-Video output of my laptop configuring it to display the image on the external television rather than both the laptop display and external device. When I use this configuration there are a few small hiccups in the beginning as the stream begins to synchronize but after that I’m able to view without any interruption. The Windows Home Media center software is truly a WOW experience! Apple simply does not provide any equivalent free service for off the shelf Macintosh computers. Apple iTunes allows for the purchase of content which can be streamed to an Apple TV or free audio and video podcasts but there is no equivalent for the kind of viewing experience available to Windows users having access to high speed Internet and the Windows Media Center software.

If Microsoft truly wants improve its image they simply need to promote the many exceptional tools and free services available to only Windows users. It is ironic that many of the free Microsoft applications and services focus on converting your computer into an entertainment center and encouraging creativity. This of course is contrary to the claim Apple is so fond of making in its advertisements. The reality is Apple is far from providing the exceptional integration of both business and entertainment that Microsoft has been able to achieve.

Get with that Microsoft. You already have the services and killer applications to put the WOW into Windows just let your customer know there are there!

Created using M-Audio Interface and Microphone, Vista Speech to Text Software and MixCraft 4.

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This episode we will take a peek at another Apple only Web site creation tool, the Windows only iClone as well as the built-in archive option shipped with Tiger and Leopard.

iWeb, RapidWeaver and SandVox, popup when Googling for simple Mac website creation and management tools. iWeb is flexible, intuitive and fun. In a nut shell, iWeb is all things Apple but a royal pain if used to install and maintain Webs on a hosting service other than .mac. I am surprised no one has offered up a simple application that takes the mess and fuss out of using iWeb to manage sites on non-Apple hosting services.

I have previously reviewed RapidWeaver 3.6 and continue to use it in creating and managing several of our Webs. The more I use it, the more I like it. The growing list of 3rd party add-ons and plug-ins is reminiscent of the early days of PageMaker. RapidWeaver unfortunately is not a What You See Is What You Get environment, requiring instead the developer switch between edit and proof modes. This is a pain but I have become skilled at layout in edit mode and find myself having to shift modes less often.

I loved PageMaker and lament it was not upgraded to meet WEB standards. Given PageMaker non-standard code and issues with current browser technologies, I would never use PageMaker to create and manage new content. In an effort to get a user friendly What You See Is What You Get editor, I down loaded the trial version of SandVox. I was disappointed the advanced features such as adding and editing html code were not available in the trial version requiring I purchased the Pro version to take a more complete look see.

I had hoped that SandVox would allow more control and customization than the theme based RapidWeaver. Instead, I immediately felt a profound sense of loss of control and wanted to retreat to Rapid Weaver post haste. I could drag and drop content and see the site evolve without having to flip between edit and display modes but the product felt cumbersome and unfinished.

We always test our Webs using a wide mix of machines, displays and browsers and are accustomed to variance in colors and overall visual impact across systems but SandVox seemed to generate sites with greater variance than we have seen using another low end web content creation applications. Configuring SandVox to access and upload files to our web hosting service was a nightmare. My memory of the hours spent trying to make it happen have become clouded with a soft covering of protective fog but the pain of metaphorically pulling the remaining hairs from my aching head is still vivid.

Less than three days after purchasing SandVox Pro I requested a refund which was promptly processed. I occasionally  revisit the  SandVox web site and look for new 3rd party support but always come away happy to have RapidWeaver and the impressive community of developers and users that keep it on top of the limited list of  easy to use Web design applications available for the Apple OS. At this time, I can’t recommend SandVox but perhaps it will pull ahead of the pack over time and offer up some worthy competition to iWeb and RapidWeaver.

I continue to be impressed by iClone and by the often very clever projects produced by iClone enthusiasts.  For a healthy sampling of iClone creativity log on to YouTube and use iClone as your search criteria. You may be surprised at the volume of videos uploaded by amateurs, professional animators and Reallusion.

As stated in our last podcast, iClone 2.5 is a work in progress blessed by a relatively intuitive interface, time saving movement and facial animation templates, automatic synchronization of lip movements voice tracks as well as a reasonably complete online manual and extensive series of video tutorials. The lack of an undo option continues to be a major impediment to experimenting with lighting, movement and other features without having to frequently cycle through saving and starting new projects.

Unfortunately, iClone usability also suffers from inconsistencies in the way changes are made in character movement, lighting and camera angles.  Creating animations with multiple talking characters still requires that you save a separate project per character and use an external video editor to create a finished animation.  The simple option of assigning which character responds to imported speech files on a frame by frame basis would make the creation of multiple character scenes possible and bypass the current need to jump through hoops.

Although Reallusion and third party vendors provide additional content which may be purchased and downloaded at the Reallusion site, the selection of additional avatars (clones) and add-ons such as clothing, accessories, scenes and props is noticeably impoverished compared to competing animation programs such as Poser 7.0.  In an effort to enhance access to third-party support, Reallusion offers an application called 3D Exchange which allows users to download 3D models stored on the Google 3D Warehouse site and created using Google SketchUp. Although this option goes a long way in increasing access to additional content, evidence of more support by commercial third party vendors would give at least a superficial feeling of confidence iClone will continue to evolve and capture a larger share of the animation market.

In spite of the above issues and limitations iClone and its sister product CrazyTalk are impressive applications and have been adopted by iNetSynch to produce an animated video podcast entitled Windows2Apples Video News.  Windows2Apples Video News focuses on topical Internet Microsoft and Apple specific news and tech tips.  Postings from blogs such as Half Byte produced by George and hosted by Microsoft Spaces Live, supplement iNetSynch content.  IClone 2.5 was used to create the introductory animation and background for our news announcer who is animated using CrazyTalk 5.  Please visit the Windows2Apples.Com website to view video news episode hosted by Viddler or subscribe to our podcast. The podcast is listed in the iTunes directory and the feed URL posted to enable subscription using all popular pod-catchers.

One of the things that impressed me most about my new Mac was the ease with which I could format an external firewire hard drive and then basically copy the entire operating system along with all installed program files to an external bootable partition.  I’ve always been perplexed as to why many of the Mac podcasters recommend programs such as Carbon Copy to create a cloned backup of the Mac operating system. The only advantage I can see to these kinds of applications is the ability to schedule regular backups without user intervention.  I was very surprised to find one of my Macite friends with many years of experience with Macintosh computers had never used the Mac disk utility application to backup her system and applications to an external drive.

Once the clone or restore file of your hard drive has been created you can simply use system preferences to reset the boot drive to the external fire wire drive and bypass the internal hard drive. If your hard drive is corrupted the image stored on the external drive can be restored to the internal drive or its replacement. This feature is well documented but apparently not often used by even long time Mac users. I have yet to understand constant references to third party applications to clone a Mac drive when the built-in utility works so seamlessly. For me it was and remains a main attraction of the Apple OS.

Created using Vista Speech to Text, M-Audio Interface, MixCraft 4, HP MediaSmart Home Server, iWork 08 Pages as well as Microsoft Word 2007. Podcast hosted by PodBean.

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The clones have descended.

It seems the Macintosh community is buzzing over the apparent reintroduction of Mac clones by Psystar a company listing Florida as home for its offices. The well executed Psystar web site promotes a low cost Open PC System supposedly capable of running the Leopard OS as well as XP, Vista and various flavors of Linux. Unlike Microsoft and Windows, Apple specifically prohibits the installation of its operating system on anything other than approved hardware … apparently the Psystar system has no such authorization from Apple Inc. Historically, Apple has maintained its stranglehold over hardware by squashing such efforts; however, Psystar appears to be alive and well and continuing to ship product while Apple remains sheathed in a shroud of uncharacteristic silence.

Authors of blogs and podcasts pundits are more than a bit surprised that Apple is taking so long in responding to this obvious infringement of its user license. Reportedly, one employee at Psystar has gone on record suggesting the Apple user agreement constitutes an illegal monopoly and goes on to say Psystar intends to use this as their argument to install the apple OS on non Apple approved hardware. If challenged on this point, most observers seem to agree Psystar would need a sizable War chest to fend off the legion of attorneys Apple has at its disposal. If I were Psystar management I would find it a bit difficult to get a good night’s sleep give Apple has never been particularly squeamish about unleashing its litigious storm troopers upon perceived adversaries.

I have wondered if Apple isn’t simply using this as an opportunity to gauge the public’s willingness to purchase systems running the Apple operating system independently of Apple hardware. Then again perhaps Apple simply doesn’t feel threatened and intends to watch the company self destruct as it attempts to maintain compatibility with the constant flow of Apple software patches and updates. Of course a Machiavellian hypothesis would include a scenario in which Apple releases updates and patches specifically designed to disable Leopard running on non approved hardware. Apple could simply sit back and watch the company smolder after the firestorm fueled by disgruntled customers and greedy attorneys demanding class action law suits spreads throughout the blogosphere and ezine rumor columns.

Whatever your fantasy, this new twist in Apple options provides us all an opportunity to speculate and try to envision a world in which Apple is primarily a software as opposed to hardware company. Could Apple and more importantly could developers dependent upon Apple’s autocratic control over hardware, support the staggering array of system configurations long taken for granted by Windows users.

I recently listen to a podcast produced by Apple developers who seem to shake in their boots at the thought of trying to support their products in the chaotic environment that embraces Windows developers. I suspect that if Apple were a software provider first and foremost we would be able to purchase systems running the Apple OS and applications on machines ½ to 2/3 of the cost of current Apple systems … but we would be forced to deal the same kinds of support and security issues that have defined Microsoft since day one and which continue to provide the punch lines for the clever and ever so entertaining Apple vs. Microsoft commercials.

A trip to BestBuy and the emergence of Apple clones inspired me to reassess my fondness for my Macintosh. I recently had an opportunity to lay hands on the new aluminum Macintosh computers as well as the Air Notebook and admit it was difficult not to drool as I my eyes feasted upon the delightfully refreshing masterpieces before me. The Apple Air notebook is exquisite in design and even though it is missing an internal CD / DVD drive and Ethernet connection I had to admire the design and its execution. In the past Jobs has been prophetic in his vision and his decisions to shift design focus has often given consumers their first glimpse of the next generation of products. In my memory is burned his mold breaking abolition of floppy disk drives in Macs.

At the time I thought this was heresy but of course his vision of a future sans floppy proved spot on. I find myself wondering if my DVD drive will become an antique long before I had assumed it would. As I look back over the last year all of my new software purchases have been made as downloads over the Internet. All of my music is purchased or stored as MP3s and I can’t remember the last time I purchased a CD. Perhaps the mechanical disk drive is in it death throws.

In my eyes, the Apple operating system lags far behind Apple hardware as the inspiration for any desire I may have for purchasing new Apple products. In fact, the only native software applications I would miss if my Macintosh proofed are Keynote and Pages. Perhaps I am odd man out in this regard and perhaps … just perhaps the Mac clones will give us all an opportunity to assess the contribution of hardware versus software to the continuing success of Steve and company.

Since we opened with this podcast with an introduction to Mac clones we will end our podcast by introducing you to my recent efforts to create full body animations using iClone 2.5 from Reallusion, the same folks responsible for Crazy Talk 5. Both IClone and CrazyTalk are only available for the Windows platform. Reallusion it is one of the few companies to produce innovative three dimensional animation tools only available to Windows users. Most other products such as Poser are available in both Apple and Window incarnations.

Reallusion has done an excellent job of implementing a relatively intuitive and easy-to-use animation product capable of producing startlingly realistic first productions with an impressively short learning curve. Most users are able to create relatively impressive animations within a few hours of experimentation and because of the many various video export options; projects can be saved as high resolution files on DVD or uploaded quickly to YouTube.

Although, I am impressed with the bang for buck I get using iClone, I’m equally disappointed with the lack of features that would make it much more productive and intuitive. One feature than is needed posthaste is an undue option. I could work in my word processor for extended periods of time without missing the undue function but it is almost a necessity when you are creating animations and experimenting with movement, poses and camera angles. The other feature that is missing in both CrazyTalk and iClone is the ability to have more than one speaking character in a scene. This can be accomplished with some tedious trickery and by using video editors with chroma key options, however, exporting multiple recordings and importing them into a video editor for further processing is a convoluted and unnecessarily complex series of hoops to jump through in order to achieve this affect.

We have posted an experimental iClone 2.5 animation on our Viddler account. To view our first efforts simply login to viddler.com and search for iNetSynch videos. Our next podcasts will provide more extensive coverage of iClone 2.5 as well as our recent experiences with the Apple only SandVox web design application.

Link to Blues On Top iClone video.

Link to Jazz Dancer iClone video.

Produced using Vista Speech to Text, M-Audio USB Audio Interface, MixCraft 4 and COWAN JetAudio.

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