Mylos

One of the holy grails of networking is “always-on” connectivity, whether wired broadband or wireless (some telcos even thought there was a market for ultra-narrowband always-on at below 16kbps using ISDN signaling D channels). With the quiet but inexorable progression of broadband, this is coming closer to reality. All sorts of interesting applications become possible when you have such connectivity:

• Home automation: remote monitoring of alarms and thermostats, programming your ReplayTV/TiVo remotely

• Automated unattended network backup

• Self-hosted weblogs

• IP telephony and videoconferencing

One key enabler remains unaddressed: quiet PCs. Most PCs make too much noise (usually around 60-70 dB) to be left running all day (and all night).

Some vendors like Dell hide this information deep inside their websites, when they even bother to measure it. Some, like HP/Compaq list unrealistic figures (I have a Compaq Evo D315 rated at 26 dB (point of measurement unspecified but probably from an “operator position”), which I measured at 55 dB using a Radio Shack sound meter). Apple is the only mainstream vendor that has paid some attention to this problem, but even they have backtracked: the iMac G4, while relatively quiet, is still significantly noisier than the PowerMac G4 Cube it replaced.

Always-on connectivity will not realize its potential until computer makers seriously tackle this issue and make computers that are quiet enough to be left running all night in a bedroom.

This would require a change of emphasis from bleeding-edge processors, that are highly profitable, but also power-hungry (and thus require big noisy fans to cool down) when their power is almost always untapped. Just as many more ultra-thin laptops are sold in Japan than in the US because US consumers are not clamoring for them, the situation won’t change until users demand quiet PCs.

Most of the work on quiet PCs is done in more environmentally conscious Northern Europe and Japan. Some resources:

• A Swedish page on Silent PCs

• The Silent PC Review has some interesting articles.

• A number of quiet PCs using the mini-ITX form factor and the low-power VIA EPIA-M chipset can be found at www.mini-itx.com.

USB enabled flash memory drives have become popular as a floppy replacement (Dell actually offers them as such). They come in all sizes and capacities, most often 64 or 128MB, are usually shaped like keychain fobs. One model, the Intelligent Stick from PQI is particularly compact as they got rid of the USB connector metal shield to make it merely as thick as two stacked quarters. I keep mine in my wallet, with a basic toolkit of Windows debugging utilities and important scanned documents (passport, e.g.).

There’s not much to say about it – these gizmos are pretty much commodities nowadays. The remarkably thin design is very convenient, of course, although it also means the intelligent stick can’t be used on a keychain. The ferrule-free connector design mostly works, but in some rare cases it can lack traction and have problems staying put in a USB socket. In spite of the compact size, PQI managed to put a tiny write-protect switch (you can see it at the right of the stick on the picture) and an activity indicator LED, both nice touches.

Update (2003-11-07):

They are now also available in 256MB and reportedly 512MB sizes, and now ship with a USB adapter that has a complete metal ferrule for those rare situations where the simplified connector does not stay put.

Update (2004-12-07):

The Intelligent Stick is now available in 1GB capacity, and supports USB 2.0.

I received my QR plate from Kirk Enterprises yesterday. It is very well made, with a U-shaped ridge the cradles the bottom left of the camera for optimum stability, and cutouts that leave the battery compartments accessible. This is a fairly long plate.

rear view, bottom left view (showing the U-shaped ridge), bottom view

Click here for the photo gallery

Actually, photos of the police deployment I took when I went out for lunch at Boudin’s bakery at Market and Montgomery, and then later from my office’s balcony at Kearny and Sutter. The demonstrators themselves were careful to be constantly on the move so as to maximize disruption without being arrested.

I received my Canon EOS 10D digital SLR yesterday, as an upgrade to my D30.

Some observations that I haven’t found on the Internet yet, and that may be useful to other new 10D owners or owners to be:

1. The camera feels solid, but not appreciably better built than the D30. The much-hyped magnesium shell does not make much difference.

2. As usual, the Canon software sucks. The USB TWAIN driver for the 10D does not work, breaks TWAIN and you need to restart apps such as Photoshop to be able to use other TWAIN drivers again. I use a Firewire CompactFlash card reader instead.

3. The camera supports the PIMA (now I3A) Picture Transfer Protocol (PTP), a standardized protocol to transfer images and control a camera over a USB connection. I wish they had also implemented the USB Mass Storage Class the way Nikon did. This would allow the camera to be recognized as a hard drive by all modern operating systems.

4. Even though the 10D is compatible with the BG-ED3 portrait grip/battery pack, the base plate is slightly different from the D30/D60, and dedicated Arca-Swiss style quick release tripod plates like the PZ-52 or BL-D60 from Kirk fit loosely and twist. In the meantime, my older, non-dedicated B24E plate from RRS will fit, but as it is held only by friction, it is a less than ideal solution.

5. As usual with the introduction of new cameras, third-party (i.e. usable) RAW workflow software struggles to catch up. IMatch will generate thumbnails correctly, but not display the images. BreezeBrowser displays the images in quick preview mode but will not do RAW conversion yet.

6. The eyepiece cover is now integral to the strap and is less likely to fall off.

7. The 10D uses the same batteries as the D30/D60, but unfortunately not the same USB cable.

8. 10x magnification is better than the D30, but I wish they could resolve down to individual pixels to check for critical focus.

9. The camera feels quieter (muted shutter and mirror sound) and snappier than my D30, except for image review, which is still too slow for any but the most leisurely review.

10. Adobe Photoshop Elements 2.0 is supplied, a nice touch as this version is far more capable than the Photoshop 5.0 LE supplied with the D30.

11. The viewfinder is similar to the Elan 7E. It does not have eye control focus, unfortunately. The only other major missing feature is spot metering.

I also posted some sample images I took during my lunch break, with the Canon EF 20mm f/2.8 USM. The images were converted with Canon’s File Viewer Utility V.1.2.1

Update (2003-03-27):

Kirk Photo now has an Arca-Swiss style quick-release plate for the 10D, the PZ-80. They are expecting to have a L bracket as well in about three weeks’ time.

Update (2003-08-05):

The current version of BreezeBrowser is fully functional with 10D RAW images, and has been so for a few months now.