A Little Raspberry Pi for the New Year
At a time when the trend in computers continues to accentuate more speed, more memory, larger hard drives, and more power, the little Raspberry Pi is going the other way: Smaller, less powerful, no hard drive. Wimpy, in other words. But these tiny computers (the basic model costs less than $50 but you'll have to add a few components if you want it to do anything) can fill a specialized niche.
The idea has been percolating for a while. Eben Upton at the University of Cambridge Computer Laboratory envisioned a small and inexpensive computer for children in 2006. What Upton had noticed was a drop in the number of university students in computer science programs. This was the result, he thought, of too few opportunities to tinker with hardware and with programming languages that are close to the hardware. In the 1990s, most computer science students had a background that involved hobby programming but by 2006, most students had done no programming and might only have dabbled a bit in setting up websites.
Computers were expensive and parents were understandably reluctant to allow their children to experiment on computers that might also hold the family's financial records. For the next 2 years, Eben designed several versions of what would eventually become the Raspberry Pi.
Eben now works as a chip architect at Broadcom and the Raspberry Pi is now available, using chips made by Broadcom. He says that the project doesn't claim to have all the answers and the Raspberry Pi won't fix all of the world's computing problems but that it can serve as a catalyst. According to the project's website: "We want to see cheap, accessible, programmable computers everywhere; we actively encourage other companies to clone what we’re doing. We want to break the paradigm where without spending hundreds of pounds on a PC, families can’t use the Internet. We want owning a truly personal computer to be normal for children. We think that 2012 is going to be a very exciting year."
Batteries Not Included
To keep the price low, not much is included. You can run the computer on 4 AA batteries but you'll probably want a power supply; either way, you'll have to buy it. Buy the computer and you'll get the Raspberry Pi Board itself. No power supply or SD card. The Raspberry Pi even omits something that's been a part of computers since the 1980s: A real-time clock. That means that you'll need to tell the computer the date and time every time you start it. Or, if you connect your Raspberry Pi to the Internet, use a time service to set the time.
The expectation is that non-network connected units will have their clocks updated manually at startup. Adding an RTC is surprisingly expensive, both in terms of dollars and in terms of space. "You can add one yourself," the Raspberry Pi website notes, "using the GPIO pins if you’re after an interesting electronics project."
Two models exist, A and B. Model A has 256MB RAM and one USB port but no network connection. Model B has 512MB RAM, 2 USB ports, and an Ethernet port for the network. Nothing can be expanded, enhanced, or added to.
There's not even an on-off switch. When you want to turn it on, just plug it in. Turn it off? Reverse the process. The Raspberry Pi boots from a secure digital (SD) card, which is required, but a USB hard drive can also be installed and it can be used after the boot process is complete.
It doesn't run Windows but you probably already suspected that. Fedora, Debian, and ArchLinux are supported now but others will be added. The most popular Linux distribution, Ubuntu, currently doesn't run well with the ARM processor used by the Raspberry Pi.
So if you're looking for an interesting project for 2013, you might want to consider buying a Raspberry Pi. Although it's a British product, there are now distributors in the US, Canada, and elsewhere throughout the world. Some offer cases and other handy components. You can even buy SD cards that have been loaded with the operating system. Sellers are easy to find using Google or Bing.
So Really ... What's to Like About Windows 8?
Although some of the pundits are finally beginning to realize that Windows 8 makes considerable improvements in the user experience, far too many still see nothing but inconvenience for users. The gloom-and-doom brigade will continue to chant their dirges, I suppose, but I can find little to agree with.
That's not to say that Windows 8 is perfect. In fact, I've found some things that I don't like but surprisingly most of those involve Windows 8 on a tablet. Where Windows 8 is supposed to be such a disaster, I've found nothing to complain about and several features that I like.
Probably just about everyone has had a Windows update fail and the recovery process, while not particularly complicated, can be time consuming. Shortly before Christmas, 3 updates failed to install. Windows 8 is smart enough to retry a couple of times and then stop, so the configuration that occurs during shutdown would get to 15%, stall, retry, stall, and reboot. The startup configuration process would get to 15%, stall, retry, and then reboot without trying again.
The usual process, when an update fails, is to download the installer application from Microsoft's website and perform the installation manually. I tried that but the process still failed on reboot. Then I noticed this text in the Update History pane of the Control Panel: Troubleshoot problems with installing updates. That led to a standard question-and-answer session but a new feature was offered: Click to open the Windows Update troubleshooter it said. I clicked.
Less than a minute later, the troubleshooter claimed to have fixed the problem. I ran the update process again, and the updates installed without a problem.
Other Improvements
DELETE: When you delete files, you'll no longer be asked if you really want to delete them. After selecting one or more files and pressing Delete, you would be prompted in earlier versions of Windows to confirm the deletion. Why? You could always recover accidentally deleted files from the Recycle Bin and the additional question was little more than an annoyance.
You will have to retrain a bit of muscle memory, though. And if you accidentally delete a file that you want, you can still just restore it from the Recycle Bin.
SEARCH: This is the feature that makes the old Start Menu irrelevant. I still pin a lot of applications to the Task Bar on the Desktop but, if I didn't, the search function would make it possible for me to start programs faster than I could with the Start Menu. Instead of click, click, click, click, click with a mouse, starting an application requires no more than pressing the Windows key, typing the first few letters of the application's name, and pressing Enter. Anytime you can do something without using the mouse, you'll be able to do it faster. I like faster.
EASY LOG IN: Tablet computers have on-screen keyboards but these are none too easy to use if you have a complex password. For example, to log in with the soft keyboard, I would have to do this: (Shift) (Key) (Shift) (Key) (Shift) (Key) (Key) (Key) (Key) (Num Shift) (Key) (Key) (Key) (Key) (Key) (Enter). Instead, I set up the picture login. When Windows starts, it shows me a picture. I draw 3 shapes (lines, circles, arcs, rectangles) in specific locations on the screen and the system unlocks. For computers with true keyboards, typing the password is faster but for tablets, the picture passwords are quick and easy.
INK and CHARACTER RECOGNITION: Although technically not new with Windows 8, the ability to draw on ink-enabled applications is better and the keyboard function has a built-in character recognition capability that's surprisingly fast and accurate.
DEVICES and DRIVERS: At installation time, Windows 8 either already has or can find device drivers for just about any hardware you have. For example, I needed to purchase a new printer when the old printer gave up in mid December. The printer can be installed wirelessly, as a wired network printer, or as a USB printer. I selected the wired network option.
When Windows noticed the new printer on the network, it offered to install any needed device drivers and to make the printer the default. I was surprised that I didn't even need to specify the IP address for the printer. But then I installed the printer on a Windows 7 computer and, as expected, it did need to know the printer's IP address. The printer manufacturer's software reached out to the printer and set a static IP address. This made the printer unavailable to the Windows 8 machines but all I needed to do was delete the printer and then allow Windows to find it again and set things up using the IP address instead of the MAC address.
SPEED: I've mentioned boot times before. Windows 8 rival's Linux in start times. On tablets, netbooks, and PCs that have solid-state boot drives, Windows goes from a power-off state to ready in less than a minute; depending on the computer, it could be far less than a minute. If the computer is just sleeping, it will be ready to go in about 10 seconds.
LIVE TILES: At first, I thought the constantly changing live tiles that you'll see on the Modern (Metro) interface were silly but they're beginning to grow on me. I often have a notebook computer running beside the desktop system. If I'm not actively using the notebook for work, I display the Start Screen and the live tiles provide quick updates for various services. I wouldn't miss them if they weren't there but their presence isn't as silly as I once thought.
REFRESH and RESET: I haven't needed to use either of these features yet, but they represent a new way to fix a computer when it begins to slow down because "something" has happened. Refresh reverts all settings to their defaults and dumps any apps that you haven't synchronized via your Outlook.com account. Note that I said "apps", the programs that run in the Modern interface. Applications (such as Word or Excel) will remain. Reset is what you'll use when you're ready to sell, trade, or hand down your computer and you want to make sure that all of your personally identifiable information has been removed.
SYNC: Speaking of synchronizing settings across computers, this is something new from Microsoft and I really like the ability to specify which settings that I'd like to have replicated on other machines. When settings are synchronized, I have to set them only once on a single computer and they automatically show up on other computers that I use.
IMPROVED SYSTEM FUNCTIONS: From copying files to using the Task Manager, nearly every system function has been improved in some way. Even the Performance Monitor has been improved to include additional information such as Bluetooth and Wi-Fi.
In short (and despite what some of the short-sighted pundits would have you believe) the Windows 8 interface really is an improvement over Windows 7 and Windows 7 was a pretty tough act to follow because it took a seriously broken operating system (Windows Vista) and made it work well. Windows 8 starts with the reliability of Windows 7 and creates an interface that, if given just a few hours and an unbiased mind, will probably convince you that it's a winner.
Windows 8 Is Perfect, Then?
Not exactly, no. Desktop applications on a tablet are challenging because on a high-resolution screen menus are tiny. I constantly click (tap, actually) on the wrong menu item when using applications such as Firefox. What's needed is a way for legacy applications to display larger menus so that tapping is unambiguous.
Although the on-screen keyboard is a good idea, the implementation isn't particularly good. One on-screen keyboard lives in the Tray, where it can be opened with a single tap (and it opens automatically when Modern apps need text input). But this keyboard has no Alt key and the Alt key is important. Microsoft provides another on-screen keyboard, but that must be called up from the Start Screen or pinned to the Task Bar. This keyboard includes the Alt key but the keyboard is tiny. In other words, the faux keyboards need more work.
And, as I've said for a year, a tablet will not replace a desktop or a notebook. I'm delighted that I can run Word and Excel on a tablet so that I can view documents created in these programs and make small changes to them. Even with the keyboard that my tablet has, I certainly wouldn't want to spend all day editing a document in Word or writing messages in Outlook or writing formulas in Excel. Tablets are all about flexibility and portability and not at all about power computing.
What Windows 8 gives me is the ability to take a small (or, in the event of a smart phone, very small) device with me and use an interface that's familiar. It's as close as anyone has come so far to a one-size-fits-all interface and even though it's not perfect, it's a step in the right direction.
Well, anyway, the good news is this: That's the last you'll hear from me about Windows 8 this year.
Short Circuits
Big Trouble for Marvell Technologies
Chip manufacturer Marvell Technologies has a problem. The company manufactures high-performance processors, broadband & wireless transceivers, storage controllers, and LED processors. It has also just been found guilty of patent infringement and ordered to pay $1 billion 170 million dollars. And it could get worse.
A jury in Pittsburgh reached a unanimous verdict this week on the case brought by Carnegie Mellon University. Additionally, the jury found that the infringement was "willful" and that would allow the judge to triple the jury's verdict. That would be more than $3 billion $500 million.
The patents at the center of the case are for chips that are used in hard-disk drives. Their designs make it possible for data to be read more accurately, particularly on high-speed, high-performance drives. The company has manufactured millions of these chips.
The company says it will appeal to US District Court in Pittsburgh and, if it fails to have the verdict nullified there, Marvell attorneys will take the case to the US Federal Circuit Court of Appeals in Washington.
The university says the technologies were developed and patented by José Moura, a professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, and Aleksandar Kavcic, at the time a Ph.D. student. Kavcic is currently a professor at the University of Hawaii.
Marvell denies patent infringement and also claims that the patents were worthless because similar systems had been developed previously. Post-trial hearings are scheduled for May but the company's stock price has been damaged with share prices dropping 10% overnight.
Does Instagram Employ Either an Attorney or a Public Relations Professional?
That was my question as the on-line photo sharing operation announced that it intended to sell users' photos without their knowledge or consent and also that they would not compensate users in any way. A large amount of fecal matter came into contact with the rotary air-distribution device almost immediately. If Instagram employs either an attorney or a PR professional, I would hope that both of them raised serious concerns about this idiotic plan.
Instagram started backpedaling almost immediately, saying that they really didn't mean that they would sell your photographs. Co-founder Kevin Systrom even posted a message that said "Instagram has no intention of selling your photos." Some users remain unconvinced.
The photo sharing service is free. Currently it has no way to monetize the service and that's something that Systrom needs to address. Systrom's statement and later comments by Instagram's Meredith Chin both seem to indicate that the plan has not really been canceled but only delayed. Put on hold. Temporarily suspended.
In other words, it appears that this plan (would "scheme" be too extreme a term) will simply be repackaged later. Spun? And apparently Systrom thinks that he can find some words that will make palatable the fact that the operation will require users to sign over permission for Instagram to use their photos in any way the company deems acceptable and without any compensation whatsoever.
After apologizing for riling users, Systrom wrote about plans to provide content sharing of some sort with their advertisers. In other words, We're sorry that we frightened you and the next time we do this we'll be more cautious about the words we use.
OPINION: At this time I don't have an Instagram account and I have no plans to create one. If you're concerned about retaining all of the rights to your own photographs, you might want to review WikiHow's description of how to delete your Instagram account.
One Highlight of 2012: George Takei
If you're a fan of (the original) Star Trek, you'll recognize the name George Takei. In 2012 this 75-year-old actor became a sensation on the Internet because of his regular posts (multiple posts daily) to Facebook. Best known for his role as Hikaru Sulu, helmsman of the USS Enterprise in the television series Star Trek, he also portrayed the character in 6 Star Trek feature films and in an episode of Star Trek: Voyager. His posts to Facebook are ones that I often share.
Takei is a proponent of gay rights and human rights, active in state and local politics as well as continuing his acting career. He has won several awards and accolades in his work on human rights. In other words, he's the kind of guy I admire.
According to Wikipedia, "In October 2005, Takei revealed in an issue of Frontiers magazine that he is gay and had been in a committed relationship with his partner, Brad Altman, for 18 years. He said, 'It's not really coming out, which suggests opening a door and stepping through. It's more like a long, long walk through what began as a narrow corridor that starts to widen.' Takei explained, '[LGBT people] are masculine, we are feminine, we are caring, we are abusive. We are just like straight people, in terms of our outward appearance and our behavior. The only difference is that we are oriented to people of our own gender.' Takei also described Altman as 'a saint' for helping to take care of Takei's terminally ill mother."
Takei was born in Los Angeles and, during one of the most shameful periods of American history, the Takei family was forced to live in the horse stables of Santa Anita Park before being sent to the Rohwer War Relocation Center for internment in Arkansas. They were later transferred to the Tule Lake War Relocation Center in California, where they remained until the end of World War II.
Late in 2012, Takei released an e-book called Oh Myyy! (There Goes the Internet) and Amazon describes it this way: "Read about George Takei’s meteoric rise and dominance of the Internet in Oh Myyy (There Goes the Internet), published of course in electronic format. In this groundbreaking, hilarious and informative book, Takei recounts his experiences on platforms such as Twitter, YouTube and Facebook, where fans and pundits alike have crowned him King. He muses about everything from the nature of viral sharing, to the taming of Internet trolls, to why Yoda, bacon and cats are such popular memes. Takei isn’t afraid to tell it likes he sees it, and to engage the reader just as he does his legions of fans."
That may be a bit of hyperbole. Quite a bit, in fact, but I'm enjoying the book. I downloaded it on Christmas eve and will finish it before New Year's Day. So, if you're seeking something to read on a new Kindle or tablet, this would be a good choice. If you have a Facebook account and you haven't liked George Takei, maybe you should.
The author's image: It's that photo over at the right. This explains why TechByter Worldwide was never on television, doesn't it?
