Matt’s Desk: Editor’s Blog

After months and months of waiting for the announcement, I was thrilled this morning to learn that Netflix video streaming is coming to the PS3 in November. But the service, at first, won’t be a download-and-go solution.

Rather than an update to the PS3 OS itself (which the Netflix press release hints is coming), watching available streaming content will require PS3 users to use a special Blu-ray disc, provided by Netflix. And the disc won’t install software on the PS3 for future viewing; you’ll need to use the disc each time you access the “Watch Instantly” service, at least until an OS upgrade supporting the feature is made available. 

Bummer.

If you’re a Netflix subscriber and wish to order the disc, which is free, click here.

Scattered in with the omnidirectional praise for Windows 7 is a seemingly-big, often-discussed bugaboo: not all Windows users upgrading to the new OS can do an in-place upgrade to the Windows 7 version of their choice.  This fact has sparked some of the only complaints aimed at the new OS, and generally speaking, I agree with the main point: an in-place upgrade should be an option for more users.

But should they use it?  More on that later.

In case you’re wondering, an “In-Place” upgrade is one where you have Vista installed on your PC, pop in the Windows 7 upgrade disc, and wait while the Win7 installer copies new files over old, giving you a new OS without having to reinstall programs or backup and restore data.  In short, an In-Place upgrade is Vista one minute, Windows 7 the next (well, within the next few hours). Every file and program is right where it was before. 

The basic rules for in-place upgrades are these: (1)If you have XP, no in-place Win7 upgrade for you. (2) If you have a version of Vista installed, you can in-place upgrade to that same version of Windows 7; so, for example, with Vista Home Premium 32-bit installed, you can do an in-place upgrade to Win7 Home Premium 32-bit, but not Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit or Windows Business.  And (3) you can upgrade any version of Vista to Windows 7 Ultimate, but only to the same bit version (32-bit Vista Anything to 32-bit Ultimate, 64-bit Vista Anything to 64-bit Ultimate).  See the chart above for further clarification (click to enlarge).

Any Windows 7 installation that does not fit condition 2 or 3 must perform a “Custom Install.”  A custom install is just a clean install, and here (finally) I come to the point of this article:

Unless you have some specific reason for not doing so or are a Level 1 novice user, bite the bullet and do a clean – or custom – install of Windows 7 on PC, even if you can do an in-place upgrade.

Why?  Two reasons (mainly).

General Cleaning & Maintenance.  After years of use, PCs accumulate a lot of files, registry entries, software configuration files, update installers, performance logs, crapware, etc.  Doing a fresh install of Windows every year or two keeps things running smoothly and gets rid of junk you don’t use, and in many cases, don’t need.  A new OS release is the perfect opportunity to do a little digital cleaning.

Stability.  Upgrading from one OS to another is a major to-do.  This is one reason Microsoft offers such limited in-place upgrade options.  There’s a lot of work involved and many, many possibilities for errors, failures and mishaps.  When you do an in-place upgrade, files and configurations are jiggered.  A clean install puts everything right where it ought to be, just how it was intended by the designers, leaving you with a pristine experience (at least from a software point-of-view).

Now for the bad(ish) news: just because a clean install is better doesn’t mean it’ll be easy – it’s a lot of work.  You must backup your files, make a list of all the applications you need to re-install, deactivate software tied to user accounts (like iTunes), etc.  But the work pays off in the end because you slim down, get rid of software you installed and ran once back in 2007, and un-clutter things all around.

If you must do, or choose to do, a clean “Custom Install,” Microsoft has even created a tool called Windows Easy Transfer which can copy your files and settings to an external hard drive, then copy them back once Windows 7 has been installed.  You will still have to re-install software, though.

So if you can’t do an In-Place upgrade to Windows 7 on your PC, don’t be sad – be glad.  A clean install will be better for you anyway because your computer will run better for years to come. 

As is so often the case in life, this problem is, for many users, a lucky break.

This week has seen the announcement of two upcoming rivals to the Amazon Kindle: The Barnes & Noble nook and the lesser-known Spring Design Alex. In addition to their running a version of Google’s excellent Android OS, each of the upcoming devices also includes a color touchscreen below the requisite E-Ink display. Since this development is happening in more than one place at one time, it’s obvious the powers-that-be believe users are itching for a touchscreen interface in addition to the E-Ink display on their eBook readers. 

But are they right?

There’s no doubt that E-Ink has its limitations; no color, no backlight option, slow refresh rates, relatively low resolution. But E-Ink is meant to mimic text on the printed page, not LCD monitors or smartphones – that’s the whole point. With the exception of the slow refresh rate, these limitations are not problems E-Ink users are demanding be solved. Color might be nice, but as part of the E-Ink experience, not as a battery draining, bulk-increasing add-on.

The cramming-in of a color touchscreen on each of these new readers seems ultimately meaningless to the eBook experience.  It’s the E-Ink display that makes an eBook reader an eBook reader. This move seems like nothing more than an attempt to climb onboard the Kindle bandwagon without actually making a better reader, and perhaps even making it worse.  You can see folks sitting around a table arguing, “well, yeah, but ours’ll have a touchscreen!”  What’s next?  GPS for geotagging where you were when you read page 329?  A front-facing camera to photograph your response to the tear jerking end of chapter 21?

I’m a true-blue eBook fan.  My Kindle goes where I go.  I use it every day and the thing is just awesome.  But what would make the Kindle better has nothing to do with flipping through tiny, bright book covers or having color menu buttons. I want faster page turns, more storage for books, documents or music, and a keyboard that doesn’t feel like barely-glued-in-place Chicklets. 

If the E-Ink displays of the new readers are no better than that of the Kindle, I don’t really see them as a threat. And threatening competition is what keeps things improving for us, the consumers.  I was hoping B&N (in particular) really had something amazing up its sleeve, but it seems like the same ol’ metoo mentality wrapped in the cynical notion that as long as something has a touchscreen, people will want it more, regardless of its utility.  Maybe they’re right. 

I just hope next year’s 4th Gen iPhone doesn’t come with a 4mm high E-Ink strip below its OLED touchscreen for “reading books.”  That’ll be the last straw.

</rant>

-M

I depend on Windows for most of my office work (and am actually a Windows lover), but my personal computers are Macs – and I love them, too.  So when Apple today announced a refresh of its Mac line, I was interested to find out exactly what was what. 

Most of the changes aren’t exactly breathtaking, but they are certainly welcome.

First, Apple announced new LED-backlit iMacs with Core 2 Duo, “coming soon” Core i5 and Core i7 CPU options, and your choice of 21.5-inch and 27 inch displays.  The Core 2 Duo models are shipping now, but the Core i5 and i7 models won’t ship until November.  I have a Core i7 CPU in my office PC and man, does that kitty purr.

Apple also refreshed the oft-forgotten Mac mini with new CPU, hard drive and memory options.  On top of that, there’s a new Mac mini server without an optical drive, but with room for two hard drives.

A new plastic unibody MacBook replaces the old plastic model with a new LED-backlit display, a multi-touch track pad, and a built-in battery (boo!) for up to 7 hours of use per charge.  There isn’t much in the way of configuration options with the new MacBook; it ships with a 2.26GHz Core 2 Duo CPU, 2GB of RAM (4GB max), a 250GB hard disk and the nVIDIA 9400M GPU.  There’s also a SuperDrive.

The only revolutionary product (arguably – I’ll reserve judgment until I use one) of today’s release is the new Magic Mouse.  This one is pretty interesting. 

The top surface of the Magic Mouse is a multi-touch sensor; you can click anywhere (the entire top piece is a button), use multi-touch gestures, touch scrolling up-and-down or left-and-right, click on the left or right sides for left or right clicks, etc.  It connects via Bluetooth, so you don’t have to use a USB dongle for Bluetooth-enabled Macs. 

The downside?  The Magic Mouse sells for $70.

I’m seriously considering getting one.  What about you?

You can check out all of these new products at the Apple Store.

This summer I wrote a short blog post about DoubleKiller, a free duplicate file finder for Windows that had saved me a great deal of time in locating and erasing redundant files on my office PC.  Since that post, I’ve received a lot of email on the topic, mostly from users, but  also from a few makers of competing products.

One such product, DupeTrasher 2009, caught my attention, and I agreed to try the software for an additional posting about a duplicate file finder, but this time of a retail alternative ( DupeTrasher sells for $24.95).

Let me begin by saying that DupeTrasher is much more attractive than DoubleKiller; that may or may not make a difference to you, but I think this simple, attractive interface is more user-friendly, particularly for less-experienced Windows users.

You have several pre-defined option icons (seen above) including One-Click Search (which scans your entire PC), Master Folder Search (which locates duplicates for deletion outside a specified master location) and Custom Search.  There is also a CD/DVD Duplicate finder, which scans a CD or DVD disc’s contents, then checks your hard drive for redundant copies which can can be deleted.  There’s also an Archive feature which searches for duplicates both of archive files (ZIP, RAR, etc.) themselves and of archive contents.

I found the CD/DVD function particularly helpful since I have so many backup discs lying around.  I was able to find over 21GB of duplicate files on my external hard drives which were already backed-up to three different discs; given more time I hope to be able to find other duplicates already backed-up to disc.

Whichever search method you choose, once completed you’ll be given a results page, showing any duplicate files found based on your desired parameters.  Here you can decide how to proceed, select which file(s) you’d like to delete and so on:

(CLICK TO ENLARGE)

I found the color-coded results page made deciding which files to delete much easier than solutions with a plainer, more DOS-like appearance.

Comparing and contrasting a free and a retail duplicate file solution was interesting.  My verdict is this:

If your needs are simple, and if you’re a fairly advanced computer user, free solutions like DoubleKiller will probably suit your needs just fine.  But if you’re a  novice to intermediate user, or one who needs highly specific features like CD/DVD or Master Folder searches, DupeTrasher 2009 is probably worth its $25 price tag.  There is a free trial, so — of course — take it for a spin before you buy.

Update: From now until mid-November, use the coupon code DT2009-P32D at checkout and save 40% off the retail price of DupeTrasher 2009.

DupeTrasher 2009 Web Site

-M

Have opinions or questions about this review?  Please post in the comments section below, send me a Tweet or email me.

If you’re a Windows power user who’ll never need telephone support for Windows 7, consider an OEM version of the upcoming OS.

Since OEM versions aren’t upgrades, you can do a fresh install without any of the usual upgrade headaches. Plus, OEM versions are much cheaper than the full retail versions (for example, the Windows 7 Home Premium 32-bit OEM version is $110; $220 for the full version), and even a bit cheaper than the upgrades.  And if you build your own PC (or use Windows in Boot Camp or Parallels with your Mac), an OEM version of Windows 7 is certainly the way to go IMO. 

I have used OEM versions of Windows for years because I know I’ll never need Microsoft phone support and I build all of my desktops.  I also use an OEM version of Windows on my MacBook.

OEM versions of Windows 7 are now available for order from NewEgg.com.  Buy from NewEgg before October 10 and save a few extra bucks.

Check Prices:

Windows 7 Home Premium OEM: 32-bit   /   64-bit

Windows 7 Professional OEM: 32-bit   /   64-bit