DreamColor LP2480zx On June 10, 2008 in Berlin, Germany, HP publicly announced the DreamColor display – blogged about here . A technological tour de force, the DreamColor LP2480ZX set new standards of visual clarity and stunning visuals, all for a suggested...(read more)
The Interlocutor
HP innovates with new Mobile Workstations
The EliteBook 8730w, 8530w, & 8530p Mobile Workstations For the past several weeks, I have been enjoying the use – for my reviews –of HP’s latest and greatest in the personal workstation space. I started with The incredibly affordable HP xw4600 personal...(read more)
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HP TouchSmart IQ506
Yesterday, I received one of the new HP TouchSmart IQ506 systems to review.
A second generation of systems using HP’s TouchSmart Technology, this beautiful system is well-configured: fast Core 2 Duo processor, 4GB RAM, 500GB hard drive, TV tuner, touch functionality, etc.
Right now, I’m filling it up with content.
More soon….
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The AbsoluteVista.com HP 2133 Mini-Note Review
I have been reviewing the HP 2133 Mini-Note
This is a full-featured, small form-factor notebook PC is HP’s entry in the nascent sub-$500 ultra mobile PC category.
My review unit came with 2GB of RAM, a 160GB 7,200 RPM drive, Windows Vista Business, and Microsoft Office 2007.
Why an ultra mobile PC?
The latest sub format in the ultra mobile PC category, the sub-$500 laptop is meant to be ultra portable and inexpensive, targeting the education and ultra-mobile professionals segments.
In fact, the lamented OLPC and the Eee PC so far have been at the vanguard here.
However, there is no way those toys could be mistaken for either business–ready systems, or taken seriously in the enterprise*.
*In actuality though, I am wrong. David Strom, in an issue of Baseline, actually advocated the use of the Eee PC as a replacement unit for road warriors, leading me to wonder when, just when, this formerly respected (by me) industry figure totally lost it!
The HP 2133 Mini-Note
With their usual focused approach to market segments, HP came up with the Model 2133 Mini-Note. It is a nice-sized, mini laptop encased entirely in an attractive aluminum case with a near-full sized QWERTY keyboard.
My review system came with Microsoft Windows Vista™ Business Edition, and Microsoft Office 2007 installed. With 2GB of RAM, shared with the VIA Chrome 9 GPU, this unit was configured for the ultra mobile worker.
The tests
I reviewed the Mini-Note using the following scenarios:
-
Mobile worker – a salesman
-
Ultra mobile executive – making presentations, etc.
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A physician’s mobile unit
Mobile worker
The general ultra mobile worker needs a system that is extremely portable, but able to make him or her very productive.
In this scenario, the user’s primary concern is (ultra)portability, connectivity, and battery life.
The Mini-Note fulfils this need easily.
Running on Windows Vista, it allowed our test subjects to create and edit Microsoft Office documents easily. Access to the Internet was brisk, and viewing of downloaded content was sharp.
With the plentiful number of connectivity options, our scenario also involved using my favorite Realtor as a guinea pig. I followed her around for a day as she went along her tasks.
She was able to pull down information from her office from Starbucks using her Wi-Fi option, and connect at homes she was showing using a USB cellular modem from Verizon Wireless.
At all times, she just closed the lid to send the unit to sleep. Resuming from sleep was also effortless.
Mobile executive
Right now, most mobile executives carry around their primary desktop-replacement systems. While a good idea, it is almost always mostly overkill, as the horsepower required for their presentations does not require that much CPU power.
The Mini-Note allows such an executive to create the content required on the desktop or desktop-replacement unit, transfer it to the Mini-Note, and then use this extremely portable system to consume the content in the presence of the desired audience.
For this scenario, the Mini-Note’s output options allows sending information to projectors through the VGA output, or using the Bluetooth or Wi-Fi options.
In this scenario, the Mini-Note really shines.
Physician’s laptop
I decided to up the ante in my test of the Mini-Note to include a task possibly outside the design parameters of this device to test for durability. What better way to test this than by giving it to a physician to use?
I went over to our friendly Physician Test Labs, installed Infor-Med’s Praxis EMR, their EMR/EHR program on the Mini-Note, and decided to watch the doctor do her thing.
He first comment was, “This is not a Tablet PC!” I proceeded to tell her that this was a new, low-cost offering by HP, and I wanted to get her feedback on it.
The size of the unit meant that it could fit into a lab coat, it was light enough to not weigh that side of the coat down, and the battery life was long enough that she only needed to charge it during her lunch. (Then again, hers is a 2-hr lunch!)
The Praxis EMR electronic medical records program worked flawlessly, connecting to the clinic’s network via Wi-Fi without any issues.
She used the .Mini-Note for a few days, liking it more each day, and at the end, asked me, wearing the day job hat, to spec the unit for the secondary medical staff in her office, the physicians having been supplied the HP tx2000 as their work laptops. I complied.
Personal views
In my daily business life, I have tended to carry the HP tx2015 backed up by a Toshiba Tecra M7 Tablet PC.
No longer.
This system is a difference maker.
Why?
Display. The system comes with a scratch-resistant 8.9” display with 1280x768 pixel resolution.
Keyboard. The Mini-Note has a comfortable keyboard for a system of its size, no doubt a result of the keys being 92% the size of a normal keyboard. I am able to type as fast on this device as I do on a regular keyboard. The keyboard is also spill-resistant.
Touchpad. One of the innovative improvements I have seen in the notebook space recently has been in touchpads, first with the tx1000/2000 series of notebooks from HP, and continuing on to the system installed on this unit. It is functional and big thumb-proof. I like it.
Hard Drive. Mindful of the intended use, HP has the system shipping with (relatively fast) 7200 rpm, 2.5” hard disk drives. In tests, HP was able to see a marked improvement in performance from this ULV system when tested against mainstream laptops, where those laptops used the more common 5400-rpm hard disks.
Battery life. The Energizer Bunny has nothing on this system! With the included six-cell battery, the system is designed to give users about 4 hours of system life. I was able to consistently get nearly three hours and forty minutes of battery life on a full charge. Consistently!
Reliability. As an added benefit, again looking to the intended audiences, HP’s innovative 3D DriveGuard technology is included. This is a 3-axis hard disk protection system, helping, no doubt, to reduce the effects of bumps and jarring on the hard drive.
Windows Vista. While the Mini-Note can be configured with your choice of four operating systems, this is probably the only device in this category that can run Windows Vista. Not just the plain vanilla version of Windows Vista, but Windows Vista Business Edition.
Conclusion: Business Ready
This is one beautifully engineered and constructed machine.
From the looks and feel of the brushed aluminum case to the sleek, nicely-sloping keyboard, the bright screen, the numerous connectivity options, and the expansion ports, including a powered USB port, a very unusual but welcome addition to any notebook computer.
It has an extremely solid feel to it that most business users like, and appreciate.
It was engineered to be reliable, and durable, with magnesium alloy support around critical structures in the casing. Add the scratch-resistant display and the 25,000 open-and-close lifetime cycles on the hinges, and you have a ultraportable user’s dream unit right here.
I find myself using the Mini-Note in conjunction with the tx2015. I am able to mostly avoid using any of the desktops at the Orbiting O’Odua and at Logikworx, to create the necessary content required for visits to clients for presentations.
As a result, the HP 2133 Mini-Note has been given the AbsoluteVista.com Business Ready Award without any reservation whatsoever.
This award was a surprise, as I did not think this device could keep up, let alone make it in the business world – unlike its competitors.
HP 2133 Mini-Note Specs
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VIA C7-M ULV Processor, 1.6 GHz, 128K L2 cache
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2 GB DDR2 667MHz SDRAM
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160 GB 7,200 rpm SATA drive with HP 3D DriveGuard hard disk protection
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8.9” WXGA (1280x768) LCD
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VIA Chrome 9 graphics
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HD Audio
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802.11 a/b/g Wi-Fi
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Bluetooth
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GigE Ethernet
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SD slot
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ExpressCard 64 slot
This system is available now.
My immense thanks to Jeremy Prody and Jesus Garcia for this opportunity.
HP xw8600 Personal Workstation
For the past couple of days, I have been speeding around the ‘Internet tubes’ using a honkin’, wicked-fast HP xw8600.
This is a dual quad-core system with gobs of RAM, dual high-end video cards, fast hard drives, etc, etc. The specs below speak for themselves.
Top-of-the-line HP Workstation for Review
I have just received from HP what I would call the Rolls-Royce of personal workstations, in a top-of-the-line configuration as well!
The Empire Strikes Back?
Sometimes, you just have to really wonder when supposedly smart folks hopelessly fall asleep at the wheel.
Case in point is the new series of ads showing real humans, not the drones at Gartner or Forrester, actually experiencing the ‘WOW!’ for the first time.
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xw4600 Giveaway Specs
Here is the updated configuration we will be giving away:
- HP xw4600 Workstation
- HP xw4600 80+ Energy Efficient Chassis
- Genuine Windows® Vista™ Business (64-bit)
- Intel® Core™ 2 Quad Q9300 2.50 6M/1333 CPU
- NVIDIA Quadro FX1700 512 MB PCIe Graphics
- HP 2GB (2x1GB) DDR2-800 ECC RAM
- HP 250GB SATA 3Gb/s NCQ 7200 HDD
- HP 16X DVD+-RW SuperMulti SATA Drive
- HP USB Standard Keyboard
- HP USB Optical Scroll Mouse
- HP FireWire IEEE 1394a 3-Port PCI Card
- HP 16-In-1 Media Card Reader
I plan on adding the following to this already great goodie package:
- Increase RAM to 8GB
I am also thinking of possibly adding a (consumer-class) 20” LCD monitor to this package, with several games thrown in.
Let me thank HP for increasing the computing power of this system from a Core 2 Dual to a Core 2 Quad.
Let’s go!
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10 Steps to a successful Windows 7
If rumors are correct, Windows 7, the next iteration of the flagship Microsoft client operating system will be publicly introduced at the Microsoft Professional Developers Conference (PDC) in November of this year.
In order to avoid the public relations fiasco Windows Vista is today, Windows 7 must adhere to the following ten steps:
- Eliminate Scope Creep. This is the most insidious of problems to beset a promising OS. Instead of trying to make Windows 7 be all things to everyone, Windows 7 must remain within the box, and not try to be a everything to everyone.
- Stop SKU Creep. While having several SKUs is nothing new to Microsoft, the current number of SKUs are, at a minimum, confusing. At worst, they allow shameless OEMs to create barely functional system configurations and pass them off to consumers as standard, foisting the subsequent buyers’ angst at Microsoft.
- Declare atomic war on the failure perception FUD associated with Microsoft client OSs. Hopefully, Microsoft is ready to begin battle, and help us (partners) in the battle against the false failure perceptions regarding Windows Vista that we are engaged in. if the same amount of indifference is exhibited by Microsoft at the release of Windows 7, I fear that that OS would be Microsoft's last.
- Maintain a total news blackout. Really, can everyone at Microsoft shut up? For once? And in the process, ensure success for the OS, instead of leaking like a sieve?
- Stay away from the current love of Hollywood’s blockbuster-style marketing. Leading up to Windows Vista, there was innovative marketing, especially that engaging Vanishing Point Game, and the grand prize, a trip into near space. However, after the release of Windows Vista……nothing! Think that is a knee jerk? Try to register right now for any TechNet or MSDN event. None available. Isn’t that the way movies are marketed in Hollywood? While that might work for them, but not in IT. We have to bang the drum loudly and constantly. These guys need to wake up and realize that the competition is loud, and keeps advertising. We’ve all seen iPod ads recently When was the last time any of you saw a Zune™ ad?
- Under-promise and then over-deliver. So self explanatory it is not funny.
- Banish vague hardware requirements. The current Vista Capable lawsuit speaks to this, Microsoft needs to establish and maintain a very rigid hardware baseline for a rich Windows 7 experience. Furthermore, the dev teams should only use average, Vista Capable-class units for development, thereby forcing them to optimize the system.
- Announce sensible retail pricing. The current retail pricing scheme for Windows Vista could only have been created by a bean counter, not PMs. Coupled with user experience optimization on basic hardware, Windows 7 retail pricing needs to be normalized to real world prices in order to encourage a vast retail upgrade by users.
- Solve the issue of a lack of a multi-license SKU. Strangely, this no-brainer is beyond the comprehension of the top brass at 1, Microsoft Way, in Redmond! The ubiquity of multi-PC homes on Planet Earth positively cries out for this. Apple gets it. Why doesn’t Microsoft?
- Grow some Social media smarts. In my interactions with Microsoft, only a handful of Microserfs get Social Media. How crazy is this? This squandering of a golden opportunity to not only participate, but ultimately shape the perception of Microsoft products is tantamount to a crime!
(This is a reprint from the July 2008 issue of The Interlocutor)
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Microsoft Online Hosted Services
On Tuesday, July 8, 2008, Microsoft dropped a helluva bombshell: it would offer a complete set of SaaS offerings for $15 per user per month, with the Exchange Online product for $3.00 per user per month.
It was a jaw-dropper!
Microsoft walked the talk.
(This is a reprint from the July 2008 issue of The Interlocutor)
Previous posts:
AMD Tech Day 2008: Mobile Discrete & ATI XGP Technology
Ognjen Brkic; Product Marketing Manager
One of the more intriguing presentations was delivered by Ognjen, detailing AMD’s new, and extremely innovative external PCIe slot‡, dubbed ATI XGP. Folks, this (the external PCIe product) is the jam!
(This is a reprint from the July 2008 issue of The Interlocutor)
AMD Tech Day 2008: Conclusion
This very informative opening of the kimono by AMD shows the strength of their pipeline, and the confidence they feel in whatever innovations and products they are working on.
All that is left is for them to execute! Hopefully, without any hobbling by their rival, Intel.
(This is a reprint from the July 2008 issue of The Interlocutor)
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AbsoluteVista.com to give away HP xw4600 Workstation
While I work out the details of how I want this to go, I would like to announce that I have been able to secure a sponsorship tat will allow me to give away one HP xw4600 Personal Workstation after a 30-day contest period.
I am completely stoked at this opportunity, and I wish all potential contestants success.
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How we review products
I was just asked a couple of questions on the backchannel by a longtime acquaintance: how come you only have positive reviews, and no benchmark numbers.
2008 International CES
January 4, 2008
Las Vegas, Nevada
Weird trip here
Las Vegas, Nevada
Weird trip here
Meetup with Mike Reyes (HardwareGeeks) and Terri Stratton (TheTabletPC.net).
Had dinner with Terri and Mike at Cravings at the Mirage Hotel & Casino (sponsored by SmallBizVista.com).
Psyching myself into getting ready for the zoo at CES tomorrow.
Memo to self: look into electric mobility scooter rentals tomorrow if this broken leg does not hold up.
(Chris Aarons (of BuzzCorps), Terri, and Michael had asked me to look into a scooter rental right about the time I broke my leg.)
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HP iPAQ 310 Travel Companion
I am in receipt of this device which marries a touchscreen GPS, contact manager, and a portable media player.
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HP announces tx2000z Tablet PC
Just ahead of the 2008 International Consumer Electronics Show, or CES, in Las Vegas, Nevada, HP announced a space of new products including a update to my favorite lapper, the HP tx2000z Tablet PC.
OpenVMS
OpenVMS?
Are you freakin' kiddin'?
In this Computerworld.com article, Dave Harrold, a lead systems administrator for a health care provider that he asked not be named is fretting about the end-of-(vendor) life of the OpenVMS operating system.
The company has four AlphaServers with 32 processors each that support Cerner Corp.’s Millennium medical applications.
Harrold said Cerner would like his company to move to HP-UX, Hewlett-Packard’s version of Unix, running on Itanium-based servers.
But he noted that he and other IT staffers aren’t familiar with HP-UX and that moving to it would require a database upgrade from Oracle 9i to Oracle 10g.
For any migration to a different platform, “there isn’t a seamless path,” Harrold said.
Just how many things are wrong with this dolt's statement. Not to mention his company's position on preserving a dead system architecture.
Harry, AlphaServers and Alpha processors are D-I-D, DEAD, you moron!
You and IT staffers are not familiar with HP-UX? That is what schools are for, you freak!
I cannot imagine why everyone at his company starting from old Harry above shouldn't be summarily fired for dereliction of duty, and drawing a paycheck.
The CEO head monkey in that zoo should also be banned from heading a company with a payroll greater than one!
DEC's VMS was ported to Alpha back in 1991, for goodness sakes, dum-dum!
Also hasn't it been like ten years since Compaq purchased DEC?
This idiot and his crew have been feeding at the iron rice bowl of VMS for quite a while.
And you wonder why healthcare costs are so high?
© 2007, John Obeto II for SmallBizVista.com®
SharePoint powers HawaiianAir.com
Boy, I wish this info had been out last week, it would have saved me an hour's work persuading a client's board.
Just last week I spent some time with a client discussing Microsoft Office SharePoint Services, hereinafter called SharePoint or MOSS, and the discussion quickly turned to scalability.
Now, this post in the Sharepoint Products and Technologies blog, tells of how HawaiianAir.com is powered by MOSS.
BTW, I closed the deal!
Technorati tags: John Obeto, AbsoluteVista.com, SmallBizVista.com, The Interlocutor, Logikworx, Microsoft, SharePoint
The Linux Desktop
Again?
You've just got to pity those poor folks who got together and anointed Linux as the Second Coming!
Again and again, those clowns have, "Waited like those who watch for the morning,"* longer than those waiting for Godot.
Unfortunately, a lot of glossies in the IT space seem to have forgotten that it is not about their personal tastes, but about what
- What the customer wants, and
- What is best for the customer.
As a result, they are finding a hard time remaining relevant in this Internet age, where information is really, truly is at your fingertips**. In fact the landscape is littered with the debris of formerly-relevant tomes, most recently the late, lamented InfoWorld.
Yet editors, and writers, totally bereft of new ideas to help their readership, continue to spew forth crap about the advent of Linux, now in its umpteenth year.
The latest idiocy is at CRN, and CRN.com, where an inordinate and totally disproportionate amount of ink is devoted to Linux, the latest of which is an article I read last weekend asking, "Linux Desktop: Boom or Bust? "
Hope springs eternal?
Are you freakin' kiddin' me?
What a bunch of yum-yums!
Actually egging VARs to schneider clients into drinking the (poisoned, IMO) Linux Kool-Aid!!!
A reader of CRN for nearly two decades, I would be definitely saddened by the demise of such a glossy, since this is leading VARs down the proverbial primrose path.
Incidentally, CRN has just undergone a restructuring, slimming down from the tabloid-sized huge read of days ago to a quarto-sized half-pint.
You think they would have learned a lesson.
*Psalm 130, The Holy Bible, KJV.
** Bill Gates.
© 2007, John Obeto II for SmallBizVista.com®