Matt’s Desk: Editor’s Blog

Irfan Skiljan’s Irfanview is my favorite general, all-purpose image viewer and editor.  The program is small (about 1.3MB), simple to use, has a range of useful features and makes solving many everyday image problems a worry free affair.  Oh, yeah – and it’s totally free.

I use Irfanview for many things.  If a family member or friend sends a photo that’s 4000 pixels wide, I can resize it with a couple of mouse clicks.  If I have a PNG or TIF image that I want to convert to a JPG or a GIF, Irfanview does that, too.  It also works with TWAIN scanners, including my Canon LiDE 200, making scanning in and editing new photos a snap. Advanced features include batch renaming and format conversion, icon file support, and tons of add-ons for specific uses.

I could go on and on – and I’ve only scratched the surface – but suffice it to say Irfanview is one of those applications I would hate to live without.  Even If you only dabble with images on your PC (Irfanview, sadly, is Windows only), download the software and free yourself from image headaches. 

I usually give advice or suggestions here, but today I come to you with a question myself: what’s the best nettop or small form-factor computer for watching web video on an HD TV? 

Until now, I’ve used my Macbook along with a Mini DisplayPort to HDMI converter to watch Hulu, YouTube and other online video in my living room, but now I’m looking for a small computer to connect to my home theater setup full time.

Three viable options present themselves. 

First, an Intel Atom and nVIDIA ION powered nettop like the ASUS Eee Box (for example, model EB1012).  Second, a small form-factor PC like the AMD-powered Dell Zino HD.  Third, an Apple Mac mini.  Although this third option is appealing to me for a few reasons, it is my least favored because of the Mac mini’s lack of a built-in HDMI port and its higher price.

I want something that will handle HD web video handily, and don’t want to put up with any lag or poor video quality. 

So, what say you?  What solutions are you using for web video in your home theater?  What’s worked best for you, and what’s failed to meet your expectations?  Please add your comments below. 

I hope we can all learn from each other and find the solution for our needs.

-M

My Logitech MX Revolution (the best mouse I’d ever owned)died recently after a year and a half of heavy use. While I was disappointed to see the device fail, I was thankful when Logitech honored their three-year warranty and sent  a replacement free of charge.

The MX Revolution had been discontinued by the time my unit was kaput. In its place, Logitech sent the Revolution’s successor, the Performance Mouse MX.  Similar to the MX Revolution, the Performance Mouse MX might well have been called the MX Evolution, as it primarily builds on the strengths of its predecessor while correcting some of its flaws.

The Logitech Performance Mouse MX looks almost exactly like the MX Revolution, with slightly different angles, a tweaked button arrangement and metal trim. The functionality has been improved, with Logitech putting a lot of thought into the model’s wireless usability.

Gone is the thumb scroll-toggle-wheel found on the Revolution; in its place is a fully-rubberized thumb rest, which can be depressed to activate a Logitech task-switching utility similar to Expos? on the Mac. The same hyper-fast scroll wheel has been ported over to  the Performance Mouse MX, but there’s now a hardware button on the device body that toggles between click-to-click and smooth scrolling (on the MX Revolution, this change was made by pressing the scroll wheel).  This scroll wheel is the best available on a mouse, hands down.

The Performance Mouse MX also employs a new laser, which Logitech calls Darkfield.  This is supposed to make the mouse work better on traditionally difficult surfaces like glass.  I don’t use a glass desk, so I can’t tell the difference, though the mouse’s reaction does seem generally snappier; whether or not this is due to the laser, I can’t say.

What I like best about the Performance Mouse MX are the changes made to address some general wireless mice headaches.  First, the USB receiver has been made much, much smaller than that of the Revolution; in fact, it barely protrudes from the USB port at all, making it great for laptops.  This “Unifying Receiver” also works with a handful of other Logitech wireless products, making multiple receivers obsolete (sadly, there are only four other compatible devices as of this writing).  Despite its size, the smaller receiver seems to keep a connection to the Performance Mouse MX better than the much larger receiver found on the Revolution. 

I also like the new charging system; rather than a cradle, the Performance Mouse MX has a microUSB port in its snout.  When you’re running low on juice, just plug in the mouse to charge (to either a USB port or a wall outlet with the included charging adapter) and continue to use the mouse like a corded model. Logitech also includes a USB extender cable just in case your USB port or wall socket is too far away for the standard charging cable.

As painful as it is for me not to be able to bash something about this excellent mouse, I can direct at least one criticism at the Performance Mouse MX; it’s too expensive.  At $99 (the same price as the Revolution MX), it’s one of the most expensive mice on the market.  One Hundred Dollars is a pretty penny in today’s economy, but I do feel it’s justified for power users (those at a computer all day).  Perhaps they’ll shave a bit off the price in the coming months.

As much as I liked the MX Revolution, I must say that the Performance Mouse MX is a better device.  It seems to work more smoothly, it has much better wireless performance, and I love that if I forget to charge it, I can just plug it in and continue to work.

If you spend a lot of time at your desk – with a desktop or laptop – you’ll appreciate the Logitech Performance Mouse MX more than you know. 

It’s just the best mouse out there.

Available at:

Amazon     Logitech

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I’m including a CNET video review of the Performance Mouse MX so you can see it in action.

I’ve been using and reviewing technology (hardware, software, services, and everything between) for years, and – quite frankly – it takes more and more to impress me with each passing year. Sure, there are things I like, things I use, things  I recommend, but it’s rare when something comes along that makes me want to tell everyone I know to start using it yesterday (if not sooner).

But this, dear reader, is exactly the way I feel about Dropbox.

Dropbox is a free, cloud-based file syncing and file backup service. Install a small application on your Mac or PC (or Linux box) and it creates a folder on your hard drive – your Dropbox.  Anything you place in this on-system Dropbox is automatically synced with your account folder in the cloud, which you can access from any computer with an Internet connection simply by logging in.

Now for the really useful part:  You can install Dropbox on other machines, too, and once installed and linked with your account, files you place in your Dropbox on one computer is not only synced with your folder in the cloud, but is also synced with every other computer linked to your account.

Say I’m working on a product review on my MacBook, and want to pick up where I left off back at the office.  No problem – I just save it to my MacBook’s Dropbox.  Once I’m in the office, the file is already waiting in my office PC’s Dropbox folder, just as I left it on the notebook.  I do a little work on my PC, and those changes are immediately mirrored to my MacBook, my home PC and the cloud – all without a single command or button or click. 

It’s just that simple.  It’s fast.  It’s behind the scenes.  It’s amazing.  And I love it.

Now for the best and worst news about Dropbox. 

First, the best news:

Dropbox offers a 2GB account – meaning you can sync and store up to 2 gigabytes of data between computers and to your cloud storage – free.  This is enough for most users.

The worst news is that if you need more than 2GB, you’ll have to pay for the extra space, a service called Dropbox Pro.  The fact that they charge for this additional storage isn’t what’s bad –  it’s that what they charge is too high.

The next step up from the free 2 gigs of storage is 50GB, and for this you’ll pay $10 per month.  The next (and only other) option is 100GB of storage, which is $20 per month.

I think Dropbox Pro would be attractive to more users at half the price, but if you really need the space, I suppose it’s worth it.  I just wish they offered either more tiers at lower prices (say 25GB for $3 per month), or lower prices for their two existing tiers.

Chances are, the included 2GB of free space is enough, though.  But if you need more, there’s a free 14 day trial of Dropbox Pro.

I have a lot of files – a LOT of files – on my office PC, and they’re spread over four drives (two internal, two external).  With nearly 3 terabytes of graphics files, photos, archived documents, video downloads, DVD backups, and drive images, finding what I want when I want it can be a headache.

Vista’s built-in Windows Search offers indexed search, which is great if you don’t have many files, or if you have a single drive – but for a setup like mine, the index becomes so bloated that searching is either too slow or too buggy, and I don’t like waiting for the index to be updated when I add a large amount of new data.

Over the past year, I’ve spent a considerable amount of time looking for the perfect desktop search solution for my needs. Google Desktop is one of the better options available, but it’s another indexer, and not really what I’m looking for.

The best option I’ve found is a free solution called Super Finder XT.

Super Finder XT offers traditional search without indexing for Windows XP, Vista and 7, and it’s very fast.  You can search one or multiple drives, search file names and/or contents, specify size and/or date parameters, wildcards, and more. and all of these options are presented with an Office 2007-ish ribbon UI.

If you like the program as much as I do, consider donating to the developers or posting a link on your blog to spread the word.  It’s now one of the most used programs on my office PC, and if you do a lot of searches, it’ll be one of yours, too.

My main office computer is a dedicated Windows machine of my own making.  I know building your own PC is so 2002, but I like having complete control to include, add and upgrade exactly as I see fit – and if you want a high-end machine, you can save a load of cash doin’ it yourself.

Chances are your PC is a big box purchase (Dell, HP, etc.), so your overall hardware options are more limited than a do-it-yourselfer’s, but you still have complete control over at least one component in your machine: the hard drive.  This being the case, I wanted to share a drive setup that works very well for me and hopefully will for you, too.

Western Digital makes a family of high speed 10000RPM drives called VelociRaptor; these drives are very fast, and make quick work of booting Windows and running large, slow-loading software (such as games).  But the Raptor is only available in 74GB, 150GB and 300GB capacities, and they’re considerably more expensive than slower 7200RPM drives with comparable storage.

What I wanted for my office PC was the speed the Raptor provides (for booting Windows and running large applications), but with lots of extra storage.  The solution was simple: use a Raptor as my boot and program drive (C:), and a larger, slower, cheaper drive for storage (D:, E:, etc.).

I call this the Two Drive Solution.  Creative, right?

Moving to the Two Drive Solution is fairly straightforward.  If your PC came with a large hard drive, you only need to buy one  drive, a VelociRaptor, since you can use the existing drive for storage.  If you want a larger drive than the one you already have, you can also purchase a new large-capacity hard drive for storage and sell the old disk (after you’ve wiped it, of course).

Once you have the Raptor in hand, you have two choices: (A) Clone & Keep or (B) Start Fresh.

Clone & Keep: Since your OS and existing files are already installed on the older, slower drive, you can copy its contents to the new Raptor (retaining all of programs, settings, files, etc.), then wipe the old drive for storage.  Once you’ve booted back into Windows from the new Raptor, you can copy your files (photos, music, documents, etc.) to the now-blank storage drive.

My favorite disk cloning tool is Acronis True Image, but there are many other solutions. Acronis allows you to connect a new drive to your PC, run the software, and have the entire contents of the old drive copied to the new one, which is then swappable and bootable.

Start Fresh: Alternatively, you can backup your existing files to an external drive or DVDs, install the OS from your System Restore disc(s) onto the clean Raptor and format your old drive for use as a storage drive. You can then restore your backed-up files to the storage drive.

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The Two Drive Solution has a fantastic side benefit; since the OS and programs are installed on one drive and all files are stored on a second, if the OS fails, you re-install Windows, or you want to upgrade the OS drive, all of your data remains intact on the second storage drive.  You can even change default locations for folders like My Documents to the storage drive so files are automatically stored there.

There are esoteric concerns and/or tweaks one might have or wish to make, which are far too numerous to list here.  What is presented above is a basic concept.  If you think the Two Drive Solution might work for you, but still have questions, email me.

Sorry I haven’t posted for a while.  I’ve been busy with the iPhone 3GS, working on a Bluetooth headset roundup review… and deleting duplicate files.

If you’re like me, your hard drive is littered with thousands of files, many of which – for one reason or another – are duplicates.  I’ve spent hours manually removing duplicate files, largely because I’m a bit fearful of automatic duplicate file utilities that sometimes delete things you don’t want piled on the digital ash heap just yet.  But I’ve found a better solution: DoubleKiller.

DoubleKiller is a small, runs-without-installing Windows utility that locates duplicate files with ease.  Not only can DoubleKiller locate multiple files with the same name (which can be useless in many cases) it can also compare the size and CRC32-checksum of files to nail down duplicates even if the names are different.  You can scan entire drives or limit your search and destroy mission to specific folders.

Following the scan, you’re presented with a detailed list of files from which you can make deletion selections.  Ahh… full control, and no automatic deletion nightmares.

It would be difficult to calculate how much time this little gem has saved me.  And it’s totally free.

I recently wiped and restored my main office PC; I do this a couple of times a year to keep everything running quickly. One indispensable tool in the reformat-and-restore toolbox is the external hard drive.

But they’re not only fantastic for backup and restore; they’re great for adding portable storage to any desktop or laptop, providing extra storage for video, music, documents, and project files.

I’m looking for a bigger USB external hard drive to replace my WD MyBook 500GB model.  What I’ve chosen in the Iomega Prestige 34275 1TB drive, which is not only damn sexy (yes, I’m describing a hard drive as sexy) with its brushed aluminum case, but it’s also one of the least expensive 1TB models available.  Add to that its glowing user rating on Amazon and the Iomega Prestige is a real winner.

In case you’re new to the TB acronym, a terabyte is 1000 gigabytes or or 10^12 (1,000,000,000,000) bytes.  If you need a little more space, there’s also a 1.5TB version of the Iomega Prestige.

Now the only question is, do I order two?

One of the first things I did after I received my new MacBook 13.3″ Unibody notebook was upgrade the RAM and hard drive.  The 2.4GHz unit that is $1599 (MSRP) comes with 2GB of DDR3 RAM and a 250GB hard drive.  I wanted to double each of these.

Upgrading your MacBook does not void the warranty; this is a myth. Apple provides, quite openly, instructions on how to perform each of these upgrades.  Just know that if you make some horrible mistake while upgrading, this will make Apple less willing to help you!

I doubled the capacity of both the hard drive and the RAM: 250gb -> 500GB hard drive and 2GB -> 4GB DDR3 memory.  These two upgrades cost $157 – from Apple the memory upgrade alone would have been $100 (I paid about $65 for mine), and Apple doesn’t yet offer a 500GB drive option. With the extra 2GB of memory and a doubling of the storage space, my MacBook is really rockin’. 

The upgrade components I used were:

• Western Digital Scorpio Blue 500GB 2.5″ SATA Hard Drive
• Crucial CT2KIT25664BC1067 2×2GB DDR3 SODIMM

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I upgrade laptops every 18 months or so; I do this for two reasons: (1) so I can get the most money for my old laptop since it’s not too behind the times, and (2) so I always have a laptop that’s zippy and up-to-date. 

This year I chose the MacBook 13.3″ 2.4GHz Unibody. 

This isn’t my first Mac; I’ve had a 12″ PowerBook, one of the first Intel MacBooks and an iMac or two over the years.  But I chose the MacBook over the Dell XPS Studio 13 this year for several reasons.

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