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Media centre PC’s and standalone PC’s to serve music are all well and good. Unfortunately, their use generally depends on a bit of technical know-how and a fair bit of fiddling with extra kit. It’s just never a seamless experience. With a wireless network already blanketing 90% of the house, I decided to try out a gadget that I’ve been eyeing for some time: a Squeezebox. Now owned by Logitech and probably one of the few worthy Sonos competitors, I favour the Squeezebox primarily for its Logitech branding and a more reasonable price point.

Availability of the Squeezebox products is somewhat limited – with little to choose from, I selected the Squeezebox Boom.

In simple terms, the Boom is an attractive, black box featuring speakers on either end and a control panel midsection. In contrast to the Squeezebox Radio, there is no colour screen – no album art can be displayed. Whilst that initially may seem like a disadvantage, the Boom’s green, text-only display is very functional. There’s no need to view album art the size of a matchbox from 10m away – it’s the sound that matters.

The box contains the Squeezebox Boom, a remote control with a battery included, power adapter and 3.5mm connector cable. If you have any thoughts of taking the Boom with you, a handy protective pouch is provided, though the unit is on the heavy side and you’ll need to remember the power adapter. Without a network and Internet connection, the Squeezebox is of little use. In this mode, it functions as an amplifier for a music source connected by the 3.5mm cable. When connected to a wired or wireless network, however, the functionality of this music device comes to the fore.

It starts with the setup, which is seamless and absolutely first-rate. Prior to starting up the device, I downloaded and installed the SqueezeCenter software on the iMac. This service collates music from iTunes and interacts with Logitech’s SqueezeNetwork. Signing up is free – I entered my user name and password into the SqueezeCenter, then allowed the service to run through my 300GB iTunes music library. SqueezeCenter also runs on Linux and Windows and is able to serve music files from a variety of sources.

The Boom will live in the kitchen. There’s no wired network connection there, so I decided to try out the wireless connection. After plugging the unit into the power adapter, I watched the Squeezebox Boom go through its setup routine. It’s all automated and the process of entering values using only the dial or remote control unit a no-brainer. By way of DHCP, the unit obtains an IP address. The only other requirement is to enter the IP address of the iMac serving the music and running the SqueezeCenter. A reboot after updating its firmware meant the Boom was ready for service in an area with a wireless signal strength of less than 30%.

First off, I selected an MP3 from the iTunes library. Good sound quality and immediate response. The same when selecting a playlist. The Boom provides a number of onboard features, the creation of ad-hoc playlists being one. Searching for artists and titles is intuitive and easy: scroll through possible entries and enter text one letter at a time by turning the dial or the buttons on the remote. One feature I miss is the ability to play Audible books. That playlist doesn’t show up on the player. I guess issues with the DRM preclude this, but it would be a great addition to the Squeezebox. What amazed me most was the instant access and clear reproduction of Internet radio stations. A host of presets featuring radio stations across the world is provided, selectable from the menu. In all cases, I experienced no lag and no buffering – all radio stations played clearly and without a hitch.

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The Canon MP990 is finally available in South Africa. A multi-feature printer, including a scanner, this is one device I have been waiting to get to use for some time. Let’s talk about the features the MP 990 provides: it’s a compact three in one device, containing a photo printer and a scanner. That’s just a part of it, of course. The MP990 is a photo printer and high-definition scanner, an all-in-one unit that will fulfil all needs a fairly demanding user will want to have access to. Not only does the MP990 print photographs in high definition, but it provides decent scanning with support for slides and duplex printing on demand. It may be worthwhile to provide some additional detail on this device in the future.

But, as a Macintosh user, I am becoming rather aware of the support provided to that platform by hardware vendors. Canon is usually quite excellent when it comes to camera support on the Mac. On the installation procedure for the MP990, I found their offering quite lacking. After having unpacked the printer and having followed the rather deliberate unpacking cues provided by orange magic tape, I loaded the provided Mac CD ROM and proceeded to install the software to get the printer to function. That’s an error, of course. The release of Snow Leopard has made many hardware installation procedures invalid. Whereas systems without Snow Leopard can safely load the provided CD ROM software, more modern systems will have little success in getting the multi-function MP990 to work. Here’s the lowdown: Snow Leopard has significantly altered the way hardware support is provided. To install a modern Canon peripheral, the first step is to download the Apple-supported Canon drivers. Get the 250MB download here.

Once the Apple drivers have been installed, set up a printer in the system preferences and point the printer to the correct device. I found that the printer would work only once the Apple drivers had been installed and the latest drivers for the MP990 had been installed from Canon’s support site. It is important that the MP990 is identified in the Apple configuration indicating the Canon IJ network connection:

This is possible only once the latest Apple drivers have been loaded, followed by the installation of the latest drivers available from Canon. Get the Canon drivers here.

Scanning seems to work without an issue, even over a network connection. Printing requires an extra effort… It’s not out-of-the-box…

One year ago, I bought a LED LENSER P7 whilst vacationing in Australia. At that time, the German brand was not well-known in South Africa and I hadn’t been exposed to any of their products. That has changed. Since then, most LED LENSER torches are available at selected stores.

For a while, I relied on Captain SearchEye, a high-power halogen-bulb torch. It required a fairly lengthy charge cycle, couldn’t be operated whilst plugged into a lighter socket and would provide necessary lighting for less than a quarter of an hour. The torch is heavy, but is very effective. The biggest issue with rechargeables is that most have an overload protector built-in. Hence, they can generally not be operated whilst plugged into a power source. Eventually, Captain SearchEye passed away – the battery could no longer be charged and even though there seemed no obvious damage to the halogen bulb, battery and internal circuitry a fix for the unit was not an option. I bought a smaller, rechargeable halogen torch only to find that it too wouldn’t operate whilst plugged into the car’s cigarette lighter socket. Runtime? A paltry ten minutes or so, making it absolutely useless for occasional patrols taking about an hour. Clearly it was time to ditch cheap and nasty Asian technology and go back to quality, performance and good workmanship!

My new solution is certainly nowhere as cheap as the halogen torches I’ve selected in the past. But with the P7 as an excellent reference, the selection of the pricey LED LENSER X21 was a no-brainer.

The X21 is roughly 40cm in length, weighs about 1.5kg and boasts 7 LED’s that can pump out a whopping 950 lumens light beam to a distance of almost 400m. Best of all, the X21 relies on four ordinary D batteries and can run on those for quite some time – no more recharging or worrying about battery life.

The torch is supplied in a carry case and includes four batteries and a carrying strap that can be attached to the torch to make it more convenient to lug around.

Operating the torch is very simple: the first press of the button provides a full power beam and a subsequent press switches to a lower output beam. Another press of the button switches the torch off. It’s not necessary to press the button in: a light press provides light for as long as the button is held down halfway. To focus the beam, the 9cm front section is simply pushed or pulled. As with the P7, weather sealing is excellent, as is the build quality. Check out the Zweibrueder Optoelectronics website for more details.

Though there’s no replacement for actually being there, it’s unlikely many fans will have the opportunity of attending as many matches as they would like to come June 2010. In a rather interesting technological twist, Sony and FIFA have just announced an initiative that will bring 25 matches from the 2010 World Cup to the small screen in 3D. The small screen is the next generation of flat panel displays and a huge drive is underway to develop 3D content and transmission technologies by all companies involved in the production of these units.

Whether or not the matches will actually be broadcast live for viewing in 3D is not yet clear: negotiations and various other considerations will have to be sifted through first. At the very least, the games will be available for purchase on DVD or BluRay for later viewing.

Sony may also host booths to showcase the technology during the period of the World Cup and possibly some games will be shown live.

The FIFA press release is available here.

I’ve had the pleasure of using an International Edition Amazon Kindle for a bit over a week now. Yes, there’s a writeup coming soon, but in the meantime the obvious gadget envy that occurs immediately after the packaging of a purchased device has been torn open has already begun: Barnes & Noble is selling the Nook. Everyone is waiting for the Apple Slate or Tablet or whatever that’ll be called. And now, some pictures of a very attractive Android device have surfaced. This Android is named Alex and is described in more detail on the MaximumPC site.

The images on that site show a slim device with an e-ink top screen and full colour bottom screen.

The controls in the bottom part of the screen are for easy navigation through content displayed in the larger top screen. Otherwise, the colour display shows photos, videos and is able to run applications in a touch-screen environment. There’s a 3G modem and wireless LAN adapter to grab content, whilst the screen is able to display 3fps animation. That’s certainly a cut above the Kindle which takes about 2 seconds to refresh its screen. Web browsing will be possible on this device. The good news is that Alex could be on sale within the next two months and will add to the frenzy that has become the electronic reader market.

The MiFi has been available in South Africa for some weeks. If you haven’t heard of this rather remarkable device, here’s a quick rundown: the MiFi is a credit-card sized network device. It accepts an ordinary SIM card and connects automatically to any available data network, from GPRS to HSDPA speeds to enable Internet access. But Internet access is of little use if it cannot be shared. For this reason, the MiFi creates a wireless hotspot, capable of supporting five devices simultaneously.

Devices that connect to the MiFi are able to share the Internet connection and are also able to access a shared network resource for file sharing. The file sharing resource exists in the form of a Micro SD card slot – insert a suitable Micro SD card and start transferring files. The real benefit of the MiFi is that it contains a rechargable battery. That means the device is capable of providing Internet sharing for almost four hours, though that time is heavily dependent on network conditions, file transfer activity and the number of connected systems.

The MiFi device sold locally is the model 2352. AutoPage Cellular is the distributor and sells the device as part of a contract or as an outright purchase. The approximate cost when buying the device outright is ZAR 2000.

I had an immediate disappointment when my MiFi arrived about two weeks ago: after eagerly unpacking the tiny device, I inserted a SIM card and the battery, then plugged the charger in to start the initial four hour charge. The solid, red light indicated something was amiss, but I considered leaving the device for a while in the hope that the ominous red indicator would change to some other colour. Four hours later, there was still no change. In fact, the device was unresponsive and only a removal of the battery was able to reset it. I switched it on and tried it out – all working, except that any attempt at providing power either by wall socket or USB resulted in the solid red indicator showing up, fixed only by battery removal.

I returned the device the next day and was happy to receive an immediate replacement, no questions asked.

The MiFi is a very useful device, making the portable wireless hotspot a reality. Suddenly, it becomes feasible to use an iPod Touch to place a Skype call whilst on the move, or even Internet providing access to devices in a car. The battery life may be a limiting factor. In my experience, four hours is an absolute maximum, and it’s likely that the battery won’t make it that long under most circumstances.

The single power button lights up in a different colour depending on the status of the device and the type of connection it has achieved. It’s rather colourful…

Management of all settings is provided through a web interface that can be displayed in a browser. From that interface, various settings are adjusted, including those that relate to the firewall and file sharing.

File sharing occurs via the web interface – users upload and download files from and to the Micro SD card using the routers default IP address.

If required, the access level to the files on the Micro SD card can be changed.

The MiFi is supplied with a charger and USB cable. When connected to a Mac or PC by USB, the MiFi is unable to provide a wireless hotspot – in this mode, it functions as a standard USB data modem, similar to the Huawei E220. A control panel is provided that display connection status and statistics. When connected to the wall charger, the MiFi charges and functions as a wireless hotspot as it does when it’s running on battery.

The MiFi is incredibly useful. The device is tiny and light, allowing it to easily fit in any pocket. I found the overall performance excellent using both an MTN and Vodacom SIM. Similarly, connected devices have fast access and can be managed rather easily from within the web interface of the MiFi. The ability to provide a file share is a huge advantage and increases the usefulness of the MiFi tremendously. The only downside, as with any battery-powered device, is the time the battery lasts. Thankfully, the battery is removable and it may be possible to purchase extra batteries to provide longer usage times whilst away from an AC power source.

I’d highly recommend the MiFi. If you’re currently looking to buy a standard USB data card, consider the MiFi as a slightly more expensive, yet far more flexible, alternative.

There are some toys that are just too expensive to justify, no matter how cool they are or how useful they could be. A great example is the latest night vision scope by Minox. That German company is renowned for its exquisite optical equipment, specifically its binoculars and cameras.

Their latest night vision scope is the NV400, a tiny piece of optical equipment powered by a single CR123 battery. The NV400 provides 2x magnification and infrared assistance to make the viewfinder brighter. At a minute 17cm in length and a mere 560g, this is a fantastic toy. Focus can be achieved at a distance of 5m all the way to infinity (and beyond). Both a teleconverter and 37mm filter adapter are available to further enhance the use of the scope.

The box contains the NV400, teleconverter, battery and protective cover. The kicker is the price: in South Africa, the price is above ZAR 21000. Certainly not an impulse buy… Pity!

In a move that must be prompted by an imminent 2010 release of an Apple tablet device, Amazon has announced an international version of the popular Kindle. The Kindle Wireless Reading Device in its international guise will be released on October 19. Currently, the item is available for pre-order from Amazon.

South Africa is in the list of countries the Kindle will be officially supported in, which is really good news. The Kindle provides a 3G data connection to download content purchased in the Amazon Kindle store.

The Kindle is  rather compelling device, in my opinion. A large selection of content makes it quite attractive and the ability to share that content amongst devices with synchronization of bookmarks and annotations is very handy. I currently use the Kindle Reader on the iPhone and would love to have a somewhat larger screen.

To choose a Kindle or wait for Apple’s upcoming e-reader killer? A good question

I’ve resisted the urge to buy a digital photo frame in the past because most earlier models simply didn’t live up to my aesthetic expectations of what a photo frame should look like. Shiny black or white borders look too much like electronic gadgetry, and whilst there’s nothing much wrong with that, I wanted something a bit more traditional.

I found something more in line with what I wanted in the Samsung SPF-105P, an attractive digital photo frame with a 10″ screen.

The frame is dark with a circular pattern, giving the digital photo frame an appearance of an older, non-digital photo frame. There’s no overt logo on the device (though the image above shows one) and, best of all, the touch-sensitive buttons running along the right-hand side of the display are invisible until touched. They light up for a brief period, permitting various adjustments and settings to be made. The unit is almost 30cm wide, 20cm and 5cm thick. Not really suitable for wall mounting and best supported by the included stand that snaps onto the back of the frame.

The 10″ screen is remarkable: bright and clear, providing an excellent range of viewing angles. Only when viewed from above or below do images appear washed out and colourless. When viewed from either side, there is no loss of fidelity.

The unit contains 1GB of storage, sufficient for a number of photographs. To download images, the SPF-105P is connected to a PC or Mac as a mass-storage device – for Windows systems, Samsung’s FrameManager is also able to assist with image selection and transfer but I was unable to get that to work on Windows 7. Instead, I opted for one of two other options of providing content for the frame – I inserted an SD card containing images. That slot resides on the left-hand side of the unit, and a CF slot is conveniently placed along the bottom of the unit, providing a third option for image storage. Selecting which images are to be displayed is a rather simple selection using the efficient menu on-screen menu system.

A handy side-effect of connecting the photo frame by USB to a computer is the ability to utilize it as a smaller, auxilliary display. Whilst that may not be a feature used too often, it’s a nice feature to be included. LCD screens are rather power hungry – this one requires an AC adapter to be connected. The plug connects to the back of the unit where the stand is connected and where a small round power button can be found. After being connected to the mains for a while, the SPF-105P shows off another trick: it has an internal, rechargeable battery that is capable of powering the unit for about one hour.

Other features include a built-in speaker for playing music and landscape and portrait orientation. The one feature I’m not wild about is the display for the time and date which can be turned on or off – it’s rather garish and is plastered all over the photograph in a boring font, obscuring most of the image. A more muted, analog display along a side of the image would have been more attractive. That’s the only fault I can find with the SPF-105P. It’s one of the better digital photo frames I’ve come across and is highly recommended for its feature set and excellent display.

I’m very happy with my Logitech Comfort Lapdesk, and I use it a great deal. The new model has just been announced and it boasts some nice features. For starters, the N315 Lapdesk is ultra thin. In contrast to the Comfort edition, that slimline design makes it easy to shove the N315 into a notebook bag and carry it around. The unit is designed to wick away heat created by a notebook up to 15″ in size – a number of holes provide ventilation. Last, but not least, a slide-out mouse pad is a very handy addition to the Lapdesk and one I could easily use on the Comfort.

No pricing information is available yet and I’m assuming the product will hit local shores sometime in the next month or two.