Tag: Reviews

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Vista PC Reviewed: HP Pavilion Slimline s7700n PC

This HP Pavilion Slimline s7700n PC is actually the second PC with Windows Vista pre-installed that I worked on. The first one was Gateway® GT5404 Desktop.

UPDATE: Download and install the latest nVidia GeForce driver to enable higher resolution display. I tested it with Samsung SyncMaster 940MW at 1440×900 resolution.
http://www.nvidia.com/content/drivers/drivers.asp

HP Pavilion Slimline PC is roughly one-third the size of a mid-tower PC. Previously it was equipped with Intel Celeron, AMD Sempron, and AMD Athlon 64 Processor. HP Pavilion Slimline s7700n PC is equipped with AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+ dual-core processor.

Product specifications:

  • AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+ dual-core processor (2GHz)
  • 250GB Serial ATA hard drive
  • 1GB DDR2 PC4200 RAM (2x512MB); Supports up to 2x1GB
  • Multi-format/dual-layer LightScribe DVD drive
  • 5 USB, 1 FireWire, 1 VGA, 1 headphone, 1 microphone, 1 S/PDIF out, 2 PS/2, 9-in-1 memory card reader
  • 54g Wi-Fi LAN (802.11b/g)
  • 10/100 Ethernet
  • Integrated nVidia GeForce 6150 LE video card with 128MB dedicated memory and TurboCache
  • 1 PCI slot
  • 56K bps data/fax modem (occupying the PCI slot)
  • Windows Vista Home Premium

It is a great Windows XP machine, but it is a little sluggish running Windows Vista. I eventually upgraded the RAM to 2GB (2x1GB) and it’s been running a lot better.

Windows Vista uses around 800MB of RAM right after it finishes booting up. The computer was unusable for the first few minutes when it has only 1GB of RAM. After Windows Vista settles down it uses around 500MB of RAM; that’s before having an anti-virus software installed. It is imperative to have a minimum of 2GB of RAM on this machine if you want to run Vista comfortably.

This computer is equipped with nVidia GeForce 6150 LE video card with 128MB dedicated memory. It also takes 191MB from the sytem RAM. It has one VGA port, no DVI. It has no problem driving a 22-inch flat panel at 1680×1050 resolution. It has one PCI slot available, so theoretically a PCI graphic card can be added. Unfortunately it will only accommodate cards with shorter bracket. At this point there is no option to adjust the amount of system RAM shared by the graphic card. There is no such option in the BIOS or in nVidia control panel.
Continue reading “Vista PC Reviewed: HP Pavilion Slimline s7700n PC”

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Review: Slingbox Pro (Part 1)

Watching live TV on the computer has never been easier thanks to Slingbox. I first heard of Slingbox roughly two years ago. Such device was still new and somewhat pricey. Sony even had their own version of such device which is now called “LocationFree® TV Box”. In the eyes of many Slingbox was one of the first in this particular industry. Sling Media (the manufacturers of Slingbox) introduced its new line of Slingbox on September 28th, 2006. They introduced Slingbox Pro, Slingbox AV, and Slingbox Tuner; the succesors of the original Slingbox.

A friend asked my help to set up his new Slingbox pro. He wanted to connect the Slingbox pro to his HDTV receiver, but unfortunately the Slingbox HDTV adapter was back-ordered. We decied to connect the Slingbox Pro to a standard cable TV for the time being. The installation was easy and we watched TV on a Macbook Pro shortly after within the local area network.

So far it has been a pleasant experience

to be continued…….

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Along Came Windows Vista

After a five long years of development, Windows Vista finally ships to consumers. Many have been using various incarnations of Windows Vista, from early beta to Release Candidate to the RTM version. I had a chance to play with Windows Vista back in its “Longhorn” day. Windows Vista has gone through so much transformations since its first conception. Windows Vista was such a mess during its Beta days, but with Microsoft managed to make it into a “pretty mess”. Aero and Glass are the eye candy of Windows Vista, but users will be left wanting more. To be fair, Windows Vista is an improvement over Windows XP, especially in its security model.

Is Windows Vista Secure?
Theoretically, Windows Vista has a much improved security model compared to its predecessors. Unfortunately, we won’t be able to draw any conclusions until Windows Vista actually being used by “regular” consumers. Those who are technically proficient can protect themselves from most of exploits and vulnerabilities in Windows Vista. In a few months we all will find out if Windows Vista security model do work.

There are much to discuss about Windows Vista, and I’ll be writing a lot more about it.

Read an opinion about Windows Vista here:
http://vondiggity.wordpress.com/2007/01/29/windows-vista/

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Windows Vista Business and Ultimate Editions: The Experience Part 3

Windows Vista is set to launch tonight at midnight. Bill Gates is scheduled to appear on “The Daily Show With Jon Stewart” tonight. Windows enthusiasts are going to Windows Vista Ultimate Celebration. Windows Vista is finally released, more than five years after the release of Windows XP (10.25.2001).

In this part of an ongoing report, we are taking a look at multimedia experience on Windows Vista Business and Ultimate Editions. By comparisons Windows Vista Business to Ultimate is Windows XP Professional to Windows XP Professional with Media Center. Windows XP Professional with Media Center doesn’t really exist.

For reference:
Windows XP Media Center Edition is succeded by Windows Vista Home Premium.
Windows XP Home Edition is succeded by Windows Vista Home Basic.

Windows Vista Business lacks the Media Center functionality such as DVD playback. To add DVD playback, softwares like WinDVD and PowerDVD are needed. I installed Intervideo’s WinDVD 8 Platinum on machine running Windows Vista Business. WinDVD 8 requires DirectX 9.0c End-User Runtime and some specific version of .Net Framework. WinDVD 8 Platinum works without any problems so far. After the installations of WinDVD 8 (or any other Vista compatible DVD playback software), Windows Media Player supports DVD playback also.

I have also installed iTunes 7.0.2 and QuickTime 7.1.3 on Windows Vista Business. I have not encountered any major problems with both softwares. In addition to that, Apple Software Update works just fine.

DivX 6.5 is not officially supported under Windows Vista yet, but it is working without any major hick-ups.

As of midnight Tuesday (01.30.2007) Windows Vista goes on sale to the public. It will be available in multiple versions. Windows Vista can be purchased as a stand alone new/upgrade in retail and OEM package, and preinstalled in many PC computer.

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LogMeIn Client for Mac OS X: Problem and Solution

A few weeks ago I wrote about LogMeIn Client support on Mac OS X. It has been working for the past 3 weeks without any problems. During a chat on Leo Laporte’s Radio Show chat, someone mentioned that he was not able to use LogMeIn Client on Mac OS X using Mozilla Firefox 2. I mentioned that I had been accessing LogMeIn Client using Safari and it had been working fine. A few minutes later, he informed me that he’s still having the same problem using Safari. I then found out that I was having the same problem.

The problem:
The remote access screen turns black when connecting to the remote computer.

The solution:
Do not open the remote connection in new window.

I will post a much more comprehensive instructions with some screen captures. Please check back.

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SlingPlayer for Mac OS X Public Beta2 1.0.1.145 is Available

Previously, I downloaded SlingPlayer for Mac OS X Public Beta2 1.0.1.144 on January 1st 2007 and had a few trouble using it. It required SlingBox firmware upgrade but whenever I launched Slingbox Setup Assistant it always said that it was expired. After a little bit of fiddling around, the SlingPlayer worked without upgrading Slingbox firmware. The Slingbox Setup Assistant still unusable because it’s still expired.

Today I downloaded SlingPlayer for Mac OS X Public Beta2 and the version turned out to be 1.0.1.145. I have yet tried upgrading the Slingbox firmware.

This time I ran the SlingPlayer Uninstaller before installing the latest SlingPlayer. I then launched Slingbox Setup Assistant and it didn’t come up with expiration message. So far, so good. The next thing I need to do next is to upgrade the Slingbox firmware from within the local network.

http://www.slingmedia.com/
http://us.slingmedia.com/object/KB-005161.html
SlingBox Pro @ Amazon
SlingBox AV @ Amazon
SlingBox Tuner @ Amazon