Windows Phone 7 First Impressions

I'm not a usual candidate to be the first kid on the block with the new toys - I usually like to let things settle down first - but this time I took a punt.. Not 100% sure why, but I've been telling myself that this time I could write some code to run on the phone, so that would make it worth the trouble. Since Windows Phone 7 is silverlight based, and developed in C#, I couldn't resist.

I've been developing in .NET and C# so it was a natural fit - my first thoughts though have nothing to do with the developer experience however, since I soon discovered that even 'sideloading' and app on to the phone from my local Visual Studio wouldn't be possible without purchasing a developer unlock for $100. Although something I'll consider if/when I get an app worth depolying, I was still a little surprised. I had expected to deploy locally for free - naively I realise now, in retrospect, given that MS has decided to control deployment ostensibly to maintain standards via the marketplace..

As for the phone itself, I was an early buyer - early on the 22nd of October. Telstra, the most prominent Australian telco shipped the phone the day before and I received a text late that afternoon telling me to hurry to avoid disappointment. As it turns out, I have heard that others did get disappointed with limited stock, but at least from the Rundle Mall Testra Store, there was at least a few left when I arrive 9am Friday morning (so much for going to work!)

Price

At the end of the day, I care about the price, it's not purely about function, it has to meet the features/dollar ratio in my mind - and in this case, I actually thought Telstra had this one totally sorted in my favour. $49 cap, with $400 worth of calls and 500MB data on the NextG network? Rediculous. I was expecting to pay $79 for this at least, and thought I would thus need some convincing. My old Nokia plan was the same price and was on Vodafone, slow data and old (N95) handset.. In the end tt was a simple swap actually, for no real outlay.. Awesome! now you know why I was an early adopter!

Physical Appearance

I bought the HTC Mozart and my initial response was very good - I like the weight, size, shape and overall appearance - granted it's not quite as single chassis iPhone style, but it feels well built and comfortable to hold - it fits well in my pocket without feeling either bulky or heavy. The screen repsonsive to touch too. The soft buttons do have to be avoided though, but this was sorted out after a few hours of use.

UI

The interface is different, and overall I don't mind it. The tile concept is well put together especially the live data within each tile - even the simple colour scheme is ok to me, I'm not really sure why so many iFreaks are hating on in, I'm yet to see why a standard icon is that much more effective.., and I don't mind the hubs concept either.

The graphics looks great - smooth hardware based transitions looks slick, the way you move around the page feels very natural. The metaphor of panorama or pivot style pages works well. I didn't see too many apps that got this too wrong.. a few did, but that's not surprising!

As for the secondary app list, I don't know.. Can't say I'm convinced. I will wait to see how many apps I settle on before passing judgement. Although I'm not a huge fan of the iPhone app array as a great UI metaphor (kind or reminds me of Windows Explorer View Lists), on the other the idea has some merit, since it doesn't take long for the app list of WP7 to get a bit long. I wouldn't mind if this is swappable with a 3rd party but at this stage I haven't seen anything like this - I suspect this will change in a latter OS upgrade (at least, I *hope* it will!) though, as the volume of apps goes up.

Apps

I was pleasant'y surprised at the number of apps in the market place on day 2 - There was something in every problem space I enquired about. Not bad for such early days. Obviously the quality varies, but I only had to download an try a few apps for various things to get a good 'base' collection. I did have to remove the Yellow Pages app after a while when I realised it was based on old data, and wasn't Australian enough to be useful. It is listed as a beta product though, so I hope to try it again later once the issues are ironed out. I actually bought a few apps too, a few games and some baby pleasers too - my toddler loves to press the screen, so why not touch the animal to hear some noises. Just a little fun at a $1.30!!

Facebook, Twitter, YouTube are all there and provide some decent 'basic' coverage of those sites capabilities. Not bad for free.

Quibbles

I had some initial difficulty getting some games to load in the app store (err. marketplace), but in the end I discovered that the games were installing, but don't appear in the app list itself - *only* in the game hub.. obviously it makes sense but since I didn't read the manual (dude RTFM..) I had to discover it myself.

There have been a few other quibbles too - It's hard to apportion blame at this stage so I'll just detail what I discovered. Hopefully others have more insight.

• Outlook Integration - fails when the company certificate is self signed. Usually apps just ask for you to accept it anyway - but there is no setting for this that I could see. Obviously the company needs to get there exchange server act together, but I am told iPhone and Android phones within the office all accept the certificate as is.
• Google Calendar Sync - my wife and I run our whole 'eLife' via google apps, and have a calendar for each of us as well as our daughter. 90% of my app events exist on my wife's calendar, so having them all sync into the phone is critical, but alas, no. Not only does my calendar not sync correctly (it does allow me to write from phone to gCal, ) my 'other' shared calendars don't appear at all. I read somewhere that others have claimed the same problem, and that WP7 only syncs to gCal when there is only one calendar and this is a known issue. Wish I had read that one earlier!
• IE7 - not the most polished app I've ever used. sometimes the zoom rendering is a little laggy catching up with the resizing. overall though, I expected it to be much worse. Didn't try using a site with some modern CSS or HTML though so no doubt things go a bit funky on that end - I hope this changes soon though.. Perhaps an IE9 Mobile version is pending?
• Predicitive texting - is actually awesome, but is a quibble because not all text entry uses it. Don't know why not.. surely this is a device level function?? strange, such an excellent feature, wish it was everywhere.
  
• Copy/Paste - I know I know, you know and I know it's coming. I don't really need it much anyway (so far) but I would have thought it wasn't too hard to include up front

Overall

I don't think I want to speculate about the success of WP7 too much, but suffice to say I like it, and will definitely consider writing an app for this OS soon. I think once the quibbles are ironed out it will be a good platform. I only hope that the anti-MS types don't get too much mindshare.. I really don't see a problem with more competition in the mobile space, and hope that MS can push the envelop and then the entire industry (including general software development) will benefit.

Lastly, I was showing the phone of to my father-n-law yesterday, and I learnt he bought the same one on the same plan this morning.. Nice!

DIY - Home Theatre PC (HTPC)

Introduction


I recently built, configured and installed a PC into the lounge, to function as my entertainment hub. So many people have asked me what is involved in doing it themselves so I thought I'd write down what I learnt.


Hopefully this article will not be too technical, but it may be a difficult goal given the subject matter.

What is a HTPC?

If you've seen mine, then you already know - if not, the HTPC is a PC designed for the lounge, acting as the media hub of the house. It can record scheduled TV (Free-To-Air) whilst playing movies (or other recordings), listening to music or even while you're out. All interaction is via a remote control, much like using a DVD player. Other features include photo album viewing, checking the weather and watching downloaded movies (eg Torrents)

Get Your Facts Right

There is so much information on the web about the HTPC that you can't possibly start without reading as much as you possibly can about what to expect. Even with my 10 years within the IT industry (as a programmer, so not a techie) I still read article after article for 3 months in order to fully understand what would be required - and I still missed some things!

It was important for me to find good reliable reading material from an Australian perspective, so my first stop was to join (and remain) a member of xpmediacenter which has been extremely beneficial in every way. Before buying anything, get online, read and ask what others have used for various hardware concerns. Not doing this early enough cost me quite a bit!

Define Your Requirements

The most import requirement is budget. This will define the entire project and will ensure you are satisfied with the outcome. The other important requirements have to do with functionality, capacity, and aesthetics.

Personally, my requirement was to limit myself to AU$2500, able to display HD video and playback HD audio to provide total 'front end' capability to the 42" HD plasma TV and 5.1/DTS Sound System, and with the capacity to record and play TV concurrently.

If I'd known then what I know now, I'd say it's extremely important to consider heat (i.e. noise and ventilation) as well as the above 'features'. The sound of an overworked CPU fan will ruin the quiet scenes in any movie!

Be Prepared for Problems

You may never encounter any, but it is possible - If you are building the box, or even just configuring the software, you will inevitably have issues - mostly they will be simple, such as installing a driver or a codec, or they might be more complex and require some experimentation or even outside help. The best thing you can do is ensure that everything has been configured, and tested, prior to demonstrating to family and friends! I actually had mine in the study for over a month as I ironed out all the problems (it turned out that the original DVICo TV card was a dud!)

What You Will Need

The core hardware components that your HTPC will need are:

• TV Tuner card (Analog or Digital) - more likely you will want at least 2 - so you can record and watch two stations concurrently - the current version of MCE only allows 2 cards to be installed without resorting to registry hacks
  
  
• Quality Audio card (on board will do) - If you intent to play music, or watch DVDs via your AV Receiver system, you will want a coax / spdif capable sound card
  
  
• Graphics card with digital (or HD digital) output, or analogue output, depending on your TV - personally, I wouldn't touch analogue, since it is being phased out within the next few years. Also, 3D Gaming features are not required, and will probably cause problems due to heat so these types of cards should be avoided if possible. If you wish to route the video to yuor TV via the receiver, you will need to ensure that the AV catoers for the cable type that the TV supports - for this reason, I have implemented my solution using Component Video, even though the TV does support HDMI.
  
  
• Hard drive - get the largest, fastest, quietest one you can afford (get two!). This will be used a lot so don't skimp here. Recording HD TV will 'cost' 4Gb/hr, so you will need plenty if you plan on keeping all your favourite shows on the machine. I bought a 320Gb drive and have almost filled it up, only 3 months into operation.. If you have a lot of music, a second drive for music and AVIs might be a good idea, since MCE only allows one HDD to be indicated for storing TV recordings.
  
  
• Internet via Network card / Wireless card - Although not essential, not having the Internet on hand will severely handicap your system.. (Dial up is probably not going to cut it). If you wish to stream HD over wireless then you must get the latest 802.11g or 802.11n standard which supports high data transfer rates.
  

And, optional features include:

• AV Receiver style case - with LCD or VFD display (VFD is what Receivers generally use, as it is brighter but uses less power), and front USB, Firewire, etc ports for convenient access
  
  
• Remote Control device - the MS one comes with a keyboard as well..
  
  
• Wireless keyboard / mouse - you probably won't use them that much, but can be handy for surfing the net, or searching for a stored track or video! (You will need to consider where they will reside - mine is on the bottom shelf of the coffee table
  
  
• Silent / Quiet operation - generally, this will require either silent pipe technology, or passive cooling - this approach can be a bit risky if the air flow within and around the case is hampered, but you will thank yourself when this is all working right.

Putting the Bits in the Box

Although I have considerable experience with building PCs, I chose to use a hardware supplier to build and deliver the final product - I didn't have the time, nor did I want the issues that often arise due to hardware installation problems - still, this can be a rewarding part of the project, so it's a matter of choice.

Depending on who you use, they might even setup and configure Media Center for you.

Its Nothing Without Software

Although MS has just released Vista, I implemented my solution of Windows Media Center Edition (MCE), which is a hybrid of XP Home and Pro, with the Media Center functionality bundled in. The best feature of MCE is that all hardware you buy will be designed to 'Just Work' with it. It should be a breeze to get MCE to find and configure all the necessary bits and pieces. This was the case for me and others I've spoken to so far..

There are several alternatives to using Windows and MCE, which might be considered. You could choose a Windows based commercial package, or use the open source Media Portal, or you could go MS-free completely by choosing a Linux implemenation, such as MythTV. Although these solutions have lots going for them, I chose MS MCE since it is the most well known, and as such, most if not all hardware simply 'Just Works' with it.

There are a few things that you will need manual configure after MCE is installed:

• Electronic Program Guide - Although in the US this 'Just Works', in Australia, it's a different story. Apparently, due to legal problems with the TV stations here, the guide is not published.. You will need to install Blade Runnner Pro (BRP) and every week will need to run it (from MCE) and manually import the listings into MCE (from the TV Settings menu) - slightly annoying, but not the end of the world. BRP requires an account with a homebrew TV listings website called OzTivo (maintained by users!) to work, but this is easily configured.. You can even add to it if you like
  
  
• AnyDVD - Necessary to overcome the region restrictions technology that Media Center enforces. Not free, but I'm sure you can afford it!
  
  
• Codecs - every media format requires one, and unfortunately they don't all come with Windows, or MCE. Codecs are required for both encoding (burning, converting) and decoding (viewing) so they are essential. Different codecs provide different quality and performance, and so in general, shop around!
  
  There are a few collections of decent codecs called K-Lite, or ffdshow (don't know about much about this one) to name a few that include most of the usual decoders you will require. In theory, if a file you wish to watch or listen to doesn't work, try it in Media Player (MP) since MCE uses this as it's display engine (if it works in MP, it should work in MCE). MP will notify you what the missing codec is or perhaps, if it's well known, it may even download it for you.
  
  Video codecs for decoding the stream coming from the TV tuner will require a decoder that will probably come with your new DVD player (if not, you'll have to buy it) such as CyberDVD or PowerDVD or one supplied with your graphics card (ie from NVidia).
  
  
• Some DVD Burning software - not sure which one is best.. This is still on my to do list. Such a feature should have come 'out of the box' with MCE, such that you can burn recorded TV to a DVD.. It appears that you require an MPEG-2 encoder such as one from Sonic (publisher: Roxio?) to do this.
  
  

Outstanding Issues

• Noise - I still need to replace my fan that makes too much noise. It is not the constant whirling noise that one would expect however, I could probably get used to that - Instead, it is a constantly changing high (not piercing though) pitch that sounds like the fan is off-balanced. I am looking at a cooling tower (like the Noctua NH-U12F CPU Heatsink with 120mm fan)
  
  
• TV Recording archival - Burning to DVD and converting to MPEG4 (DivX, Xvid). I'm sure that it is quite possible to convert the TV recordings, however these features are not a part of the basic MCE install. I have looked at several alternatives, however at this stage nothing has stood out as being the perfect solution. A solution I will explore when time permits is MyTV ToGo, however I don't have any good information on it at this stage
  
  
• Scheduled recordings from Standby - I have nto yet worked out how to reliably start MCE from standby automatically (ie when a show that I want to see is on) without doing it myself. This solution would involve reliably starting and returning to standby in time to record any shows I would like.. I have found a free tool called MCE Standby Tool which might do the trick though.
  
  From what I've read, it appears that MCE will start from standby correctly to start recording from the schedule, however in my case, it appears that either Windows or some drivers don't like restarting MCE after standby - I generally have to reboot after doing it as I have find that I have no valid TV tuner cards afterwards. Apparently MCE will fix this but I don't know yet..
  
  
• Finding out more about the Registry Hacks required in order to have more tuner cards. 2 more should do the trick!
  
  
• Vista - There are several early adopters of Vista (Premium and Ultimate include MCE) however I am yet to attempt it myself - when time permits I will create a new partition and have a play..
  

Some Further Reading

• Microsoft MCE page
  
• XPMediaCenter.com.au (AUS oriented)
• TheGreenButton.com (US oriented)
  
• www.dvbowners.com (Digital TV)
• www.avsforum.com (Audio Video related)
• Microsoft codecs FAQ
• General FAQ from AVSforum MCE2005 FAQ (very handy info here!)
• Setting up Blade Runner Pro with OzTivo
  

I wish I knew about these ones before I built!

• www.quietpc.com
• www.silentpcreview.com
• www.buildsilentpc.com

Products I recommend and use

• Silverstone LC16 case, with VFD
  
• iMon RF Remote (mine came bundled with the case)
  
• Gigabyte S775, GA-965P-DQ6 (on board 5.1DD/DTS)
  
• DNTV Live! Dual Hybrid PCI-E S2 TV Tuner card (I'll probably buy another soon)
• NVidia GeForce 6800GS (passively cooled)
  

Good Luck!

If you're still reading this, you can see now that building and running a HTPC is not a casual affair - like most things to do with computers, and in particular with cutting edge technology, there is a lot to consider, and a lot to learn. Luckily there are a lot of knowledgeable people at the various forums who are willing and able to help out.

As you can see, I still have an outstanding list myself, but these features are not essential for my needs at this point. Hopefully I will solve these issue soon and will provide an update.

If you are still willing to undertake this project then I think you will be very happy with the final result. I know I am, and even my once-sceptical girlfriend is now a convert.

All the best.