I’ve been dealing with a cartoonist lately for one of my jobs. He’s got a nice style — loose and simple. But he works in hard copy. As in, ink and paper. And since he’s in one state and I’m in another, this has posed some challenges for shuttling work, particularly since he doesn’t seem to own his own scanning device. (These days, I thought scanning devices were so common as to be handed out in cereal boxes.)

I’ve mildly suggested that he consider getting a software application to handle his work so that the digital copy of his art could be emailed to me, but there’s something about pen on paper that appeals to this guy.

But I’m thinking that maybe I need to present him with cool toy to spark his “inner geek.” Specifically, I have my eyes on the little Wacom Bamboo Digitizing Tablet. Priced comparable to the nicest Etch-a-Sketch you could ever buy, this device lets the user touch a pen tip to the tablet to write notes, mark up digital documents, create a digital signature and best of all, make quick sketches.

It works with Microsoft Windows Vista and Office 2007 or the OS X-built-in Mac Ink and connects to the computer via USB cable, which is detachable.

PriceGrabber reviewers love it. “My favorite aspect of this tablet is its texture,” writes anvilfactory. “When you press the tip of the pen onto its active area, it resembles the feeling of a pen against paper!”

“Compared to what my conventional method used to be, instead of having to scan my sketches and then redrawing solid lines with the mouse, I can now draw directly on the computer, as if I was drawing on paper,” writes shmps.

“This is the best for the bang tablet that made by a well known vendor and the only tablet that doesn’t use batteries!,” writes pcdoctor01 from GA. (The power draws through the USB connection from the PC — standard operating procedure, apparently, for Wacom products.)

Hmm. Maybe it’s time for me to put aside my keyboard and find my inner artist…

In my previous blog posting (see “Vista, yes, but not yet“) I referred to the term “Windows Vista Premium Ready” without giving a definition for it. According to Microsoft, in the article “Windows Vista Capable and Premium Ready PCs” on Microsoft.com, “Windows Vista Premium Ready” refers to a PC that:
“..will provide an even better Windows Vista experience, including the Windows Aero user experience. “

Then they give the minimum requirements for a Windows Vista Premium Ready PC:
“1 GHz 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) processor).
1 GB of system memory.
Support for DirectX 9 graphics with a WDDM driver, 128 MB of graphics memory (minimum), Pixel Shader 2.0 and 32 bits per pixel.
40 GB of hard drive capacity with 15 GB free space.
DVD-ROM Drive.
Audio output capability.
Internet access capability.”

Most of the requirements don’t sound like much, except for the graphics requirements. This is where a major problem emerges. The graphics power is required to run the heavily advertised Aero Glass interface of Windows Vista. Unfortunately the Aero Glass “user experience” is not available in the Windows Vista Home Basic Edition. That brings me to the other, more familiar term “Windows Vista Capable” which is currently in the center of a class action suit. It appears that all “Windows Vista Capable” means is that a Notebook or Desktop PC is only capable of running the bare minimum of Vista features. Even if you install Vista Home Premium on the Windows Vista Capable PC you still won’t be able to run the Aero Glass interface.

Microsoft says “some features - such as the new Windows Aero user interface - available in certain editions of Windows Vista require advanced or additional hardware.” In other words, these features require a Vista Premium Ready PC, not a Vista Capable PC.

I’ve been spending a few entries covering the hardware that is going into PC World’s dream machine, but I’m going to wrap up my never-ending coverage of it by looking at the software the editors are including. That consists of the following:

Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate 64
Microsoft Windows XP SP2
Microsoft Office Ultimate 2007
Adobe Master Collection Creative Suite 3
Electronic Arts Crysis
Microsoft Flight Simulator X Deluxe
Call of Duty 4
Half Life 2: Orange Box
Battlefield 2142 Deluxe Edition
Kaspersky Internet Security 7.0
System Commander 9
Acronis True Image Home

Note that the winner of this box will receive two operating systems: Vista and XP. How do you run two OSs? They’re throwing in Systems Commander 9, which lets you install and run multiple OSs on a single computer. When you boot up, you select which one you want to use. VMware would have been the safer bet here, so I applaud the judges on this one. (See “Virtualization, what can it do?“)

Now, let’s talk about the applications. First, of course, there’s Office Ultimate. This new version includes  Word, Excel and PowerPoint, Outlook with Business Contact Manager, Accounting Express, Publisher, Access, InfoPath, Groove and OneNote. So, of course, that leads me to think this is truly a serious business machine.

And they’re throwing in Adobe Master Collection Creative Suite 3, which includes every product Adobe ever made or bought, and a few it downloaded from freeware sites on the web. I exaggerate, of course, but how many suites do you know for a single-user system that consumes 22 gigabytes? (Office only takes up 3GB.)

For security and disaster recovery, the machine includes Kaspersky Internet Security 7.0 and Acronis True Image, both reliable protectors of all that you hold precious, digitally-speaking.

This software says professional, professional, professional. Ah, but then you get to the games…

First, there’s Crysis. The year is 2019 in Earth and the spelling practices of typical Americans have reached an all-time low… Wait, that’s not right. OK, so a team of scientists makes a frightening discovery. Then a massive alien ship reveals itself in the middle of somewhere… You get the idea.

Next is Microsoft Flight Simulator, which was probably added by the editorial crew in a pique of conscience, because why else would you choose to ferry relief material to the Congo when you can fight off alien creatures?

Then Call of Duty. Let me read the description to you: “Armed with an arsenal of advanced and powerful modern day firepower, players are transported to treacherous hotspots around the globe to take on a rogue enemy group threatening the world…” Hmm. I’m getting the idea that this dream box is intended for a typical male reader rather than a typical female reader of PC World.

So what’s missing? Communications products don’t show up on the list. Guess they figure we do all of that online nowadays. And what about programming tools? Or a copy of SQL Server. It seems for $30,000 a person ought to get a copy of a big honkin’ database management system.

What else would you add to the roster if you were designing this computing monster?

There are probably a number of people out there wondering why on earth I’m making such a big deal about choosing Windows XP instead of the newer Windows Vista (see “Buying a PC with XP“). On user forums they say “But I have had a laptop running Windows Vista for almost a year now, and haven’t had any problems”. Admittedly, a large percentage of people who buy Notebook or Desktop PCs pre-installed with Vista are sticking with the new Operating System. Yet there are some major driver issues with Vista, not the least of them being a “New Hardware Wizard” which seems to have some serious bugs, like forgetting that it has drivers for previously installed hardware.

Some websites say only a small minority of rather vocal users are still choosing Windows XP instead of Vista, being resistant to change. Others say Vista is broken and suggest an Apple iMac with the Leopard OS or a compter running Desktop Linux. Personally I remember running Windows 98 a couple of years after Windows XP had been released. The main problem then was the hardware requirements for Windows XP. In retrospect it seems like a small jump in comparison with Windows Vista’s requirements, and I’m not referring to “Vista Capable” but “Windows Vista Premium Ready”, a term I only began hearing recently.

Inevitably Vista should reach a point where it is the primary Windows desktop Operating System. I would be surprised if Microsoft were to bring out a successor before this, as too much time and money was spent developing Vista.

With this in mind, I was intending to buy a new Desktop PC with Windows Vista Ultimate edition. That was until a work colleague mentioned that he was having major problems HotSyncing his Palm handheld with Vista. Since I need to HotSync my Palm handheld with my primary desktop PC, I found a “Windows Vista Premium Ready” desktop PC and chose to have it pre-installed with Windows XP Professional. Should Palm bring out an improved Vista compatible Palm Desktop, then I would make the switch to Vista.

Today, in my quest to understand just what could make a computer cost $30,000, I’m going to drill down on the processor that PC World editors have chosen for their dream machine.

That would be the Intel Core 2 Extreme Quad Processor QX9975. The plan is to put two of these into the system.

This processor has four processing cores (whatever they are) and a 45 nanometer lithography, which is small. (I know what that means.) The processor speed is a blazing 3.2 gigahertz. If that were typing performance, I’m pretty sure your fingertips would catch fire.

Although descriptions of this chip say that it’s great for multi-threaded games and multimedia applications, it’s probably best suited for server operations — where a whole bunch of processes are hitting the computer for data access or processing power all at the same time. How could a lone human being sitting at a keyboard be that needy? OK, so I’m not a gamer and I don’t do high-end GPS mapping work. Maybe you could be that needy.

Of course, even as PC World was putting in its quad-core order, Intel was announcing that it expects to ship a six-core processor later this year, according to Computerworld.

The story quotes a senior VP and general manager of Intel’s Digital Enterprise Group as saying, “The big cache and six cores will give customers a nice bump in performance.” Plus, it keeps Intel ahead of the speed game compared to AMD, which just announced it is shipping a triple-core processor as part of its Phenom series.

I suppose that if you’re spending $1,500 to get a custom paint job for the box that holds the computer components as PC World is, you don’t want to be putting in a little $300 processor — or even two of them. You want to go with what’s newest, fastest, and priciest. In that regard, the magazine has done it again!

Since I’ve mentioned that Windows XP is still a better operating system than Windows Vista, how do you go about buying a computer pre-installed with Windows XP?

If you can find a PC pre-installed with Windows XP at a retail store it is more likely to be an older model PC. Most of the newer models come with Vista. So why not buy a newer model, blow away Vista and install Windows XP? There are a few problems there. First you would have to find the Windows XP compatible drivers for all of the hardware on the computer, which could be a daunting task. Then, if you do manage to get Windows XP installed, you have just voided your warranty!

One possible option is to buy a PC with Vista Business and Vista Ultimate Edition installed and downgrade, but that is not guaranteed:
According to Ina Fried in an article “The XP alternative for Vista PCs” on CNET News.com:
“Under Microsoft’s licensing terms for Vista, buyers of Vista Business and Vista Ultimate Edition have always had the right to downgrade to XP, but in practice this could be challenging.” and “Microsoft noted in a statement that neither it nor the PC makers are obligated to supply earlier versions to end users under the end user licensing terms.”

There is hope though. PC makers like Dell and Lenovo still offer PCs with Windows XP installed. On Dell.com I was able to configure a Dell Inspiron 530 with Windows XP Professional (of course it costs a little extra!), and on Lenovo’s website I configured a Lenovo ThinkCentre A55 with Windows XP Professional. There was also a mention that Lenovo would also supply buyers of PCs with Vista Business and Vista Ultimate Edition a Windows XP restore disc at an extra cost.

Over the past few days I’ve been slobbering about the PC World editors’ dream PC — a machine that is valued at about $30,000. (See “Watching TV While You Compute” and “The Magic of the Solid State Disk.”)

Those of you out there who are my groupies (Thanks, Mom!) know that I consider this the era of the display. (See “Era of the Display.”) That means I was especially interested to see how the experts at PC World would want to view their computing activities. That would require three NEC MultiSync LCD2490WUXiSV Black 24.1 Widescreen LCD Monitors at a quoted price of $3,866.97 (which is just about the best quoted price on PriceGrabber.com too) and a three-monitor X-Top Scalable Multi-Screen Display System from 9xmedia for another $1,000.

About that brand of monitor, to accommodate three 24-inch displays, you’d think you’d need a desk wide enough to accommodate about 66 inches of screen, since these are just under 21.8 inches in width. But that wouldn’t be true. If you’re working on a troll table, like I do, you could set up that 9xmedia display stand to show the monitors, one on top of the other (in which case you’d want to work near your chiropractor, since your neck will, no doubt, go out on you on a regular basis).

Of course, my troll table probably couldn’t handle the 26 pounds x three displays weight, which tallies to 78 pounds, not counting the display stand.

But, oh, the pleasure of working at a bank of monitors that can show up to 16.7 million colors (from a palette of 69 billion). And they include clocks that lets the user schedule power management schemes in order to reduce energy usage.

So I’d say PC World got it right with this one — even though it would force me to upgrade to, oh, a real desk. Imagine! With the power of these monitors, I could view The Complete Series of The Andy Griffith Show in a third of the time — one episode per screen. Yes, I could get into blowing nearly five grand on displays.

Goodbye my electronic friend. The Tungsten T3 had been my Organizer, calculator, offline web browser and notepad for some time. I performed the final backup to my PC before letting it fade away as the battery grew flat. Although I had not used it much for eight months, apart from keeping the battery charged and doing the occasional HotSync, I still felt a bit sad. In August last year I had switched to a Tungsten C when the graffiti writing area of the T3 became totally flaky.

Until then I was of the opinion that the T3 was one of the best handhelds which Palm had ever made. It was the third in the series of “slider” handhelds, with a 320 by 320 pixel screen showing with the slider closed, and when the slider was opened, the Virtual Graffiti area was revealed. This could be switched to a virtual keyboard, or collapsed so that the display became a 320 by 480 pixel screen, which could be rotated from portrait mode to landscape mode. Among its many features were a voice recorder, built-in Bluetooth, MP3 Player and video player. Of course you could also edit Word and Excel documents.

The next Tungsten, the Tungsten T5, did not have the appeal of the T3. The T5 dropped the slider and looked more like a descendant of the Tungsten E. The T5 replaced a year later by the Palm TX (no Tungsten in the name), which had Bluetooth and Wi-Fi.

Today, I continue with my exploration of the PC World editors’ dream PC, worth $30,000 when you add up all the components it includes. This is a machine that includes a $29.99 Ultra internal 3.5″ floppy drive next to a $1,999.98 LG Super Multi GGW-H10NI BD burner HD DVD reader. Go figure.

I’m rather curious about this item: the Hauppauge WinTV-HVR-1800 Media Center Kit TV Tuner, which PC World has priced at $149, but which you can find online at PriceGrabber.com for under a hundred bucks, shipping included.

What’s a TV tuner? Apparently, it lets you watch and record high definition digital TV or analog cable TV on your PC — in a window or full screen. You can even hook up cable TV and ATSC digital TV at the same time. You can use it to record digital TV streams to your PCs hard disk using MPEG-2. And it allows you to run applications on your PC at the same time you’re watching or recording analog TV.

The reviewers have reported in on this model. Several complain about the remote that is included. Gnub says the buttons are too small and it’s overly complex. TechieC from New Jersey says it feels “somewhat cheap.”

jhuang0 wonders why it came with only one digital tuner and why the company bothered with an analog tuner, since all broadcasting will be converted to digital in 2009.

One reviewer had numerous problems running the tuner with Windows Vista. The Media Center in Vista never recognized the board. TechieC says it worked fine with Vista Media Center, but would prefer that the software included with the device be updated: “The interfaces are ancient and probably haven’t been updated in ten years. WinTV crashes on and off and the bundled IR program does not work with more than one tuner.”

All that said, the reviewers’ ratings currently tally up to 3.5 stars out of a possible five.

Based on the evidence, I can see why the editors would want to include the ability on their dream PC to catch Smallville while they’re doing the mundane work of putting a magazine together. But as for me, I’m no fan of most TV. I don’t need another display for that in my life. However, one additional feature would really win me over on this. To LG Electronics: Can you add the ability to call in my usual order to Papa Murphy’s, pick it up, and bake it so I can eat while I’m viewing?

Wal-Mart decided this week to stop selling Linux PCs in their stores due to “lack of interest” from consumers. They will continue to sell them online. With this news it seems that the future for desktop Linux may be uncertain again.

Personally I think desktop Linux has come a long way. I’ve tried multiple distributions of Linux over the years, and there has been a huge improvement. In early Linux distributions you had to know the details of your hardware just to install Linux and the X Window system. However, in modern distributions like Ubuntu which have what are called “Live CDs”, which let you boot Linux from a CD and play with it without installing it.

As for computers pre-loaded with Linux, the Asus EeePC Notebook is selling very well. This may have more to do with it being an almost UMPC-sized notebook at a very reasonable price. Although it ships pre-loaded with Linux, it also comes with drivers and instructions installing for Windows XP, so users have the option of installing their own copy of Windows XP. From what I’ve read, a number of users have done just that. Personally I think it has one of the friendliest Linux distributions which is tweaked for the hardware and boots really fast. Other than that, I only have one PC which dual boots Windows XP and Kubuntu 6.06, which needs to be upgraded.