Blog:: Craig Pringle

Yesterday I blogged about the revamped Display Settings in Windows 7 and how getting to this frequently accessed settings page was a bit easier in Windows 7 than it was in Vista.  Today that theme continues with something that is near and dear to mobile PC users' hearts - connecting to a network.

Like Vista, Windows 7 shows network connectivity status with a single icon in the system tray.  The star on the tray icon shows that connections are available.

Left clicking on the icon gives you a pop-up list of your dial-up and VPN connections, any manually configured wireless networks (regardless of availability) and any currently available wi-fi networks.  The list appears just above the system tray, rather than in a full window in the middle of the screen.  Next to each wireless network is an indicator of the current signal strength. Clicking on a network item in the list causes that item to expand slightly and display a Connect button (or a disconnect button if you are already connected to that network).

When you click on this connect button you get a progress dialogue until it connects. 

Once connected to a wireless network the system tray icon displays the green bars indicating signal strength. 

The connection process is just that little bit cleaner and more efficient than it was in Vista.  The process in Vista was to right click the network icon in the system tray and select "connect to a network".  This launches a new window with a list of networks.  You then select the network you want and click connect.  Not only is this more steps than in Windows 7 but it is less efficient well.  As I said in Windows 7 the list of networks appears just above the system tray.  In Vista the list of networks opens in a new window in the centre of the screen it also takes more movement of the mouse or pen to connect to a network.

Overall the process of connecting to a network is much simpler in Windows 7, making a better mobile experience.

One of the little annoyances I had with Vista was that it was a little harder to get into the Display Settings than it had been in Windows XP.  In XP, you simply right clicked the desktop and then clicked Properties and you were into a dialogue that included a settings tab.  In Vista you need to right click the desktop and select personalize.  From the resulting dialogue includes a link that will launch the display settings dialogue. 

The problem with the Vista approach is that I found that the Display Settings is the bit I want to get to far more frequently than the other items in the Personalize dialogue, but it is a layer deeper than it was in XP. 

In the Milestone 3 build of Windows 7 I was pleased to see that the display settings had been promoted.  Right clicking on the desktop launches a context menu that includes a Display Settings item as well as the Vista style Personalize option.

The next pleasant surprise came when I clicked that link and found that the Display Settings dialogue has had a bit of an overhaul.

Each monitor (when there are multiple monitors attached) has a meaningful label so that it is pretty easy to figure out which is which. 

For each monitor it also detects the native resolution of the and shows (recommended) next to that resolution.  There is also a handy tip shown to tell you about the keyboard shortcut that helps you connect a projector, which I found by accident and blogged about previously. 

There seem to be a few handy little tips like this scattered through Windows 7 and I am betting that there will be a few more in the final version.  These hints are going to make some of the "power user" features more discoverable and therefore more widely used. This can only be a good thing.

This is either a creative way to carry your geek gear or an excellent way to get shot.  I don't think I will ever try travelling through a US airport with one of these.  That said the e-Volve Nylon Gadget Shoulder Holster might be just what you are looking for.

James over at JKontheRun lists the key features.

• Comfortable to Wear – The e-Volve Nylon Gadget Shoulder Holster is designed to be highly ergonomic and is extremely comfortably around the body. The left side of the holster rests comfortably on the top of the left shoulder allowing the holster itself to hang below the left arm. This is a very natural and comfortable way to carry your gadgets. The right-side adjustable strap positions over the right shoulder and under the right arm to comfortably control how the left side of the holster sits and stays on the body.
• Highly Durable – The e-Volve Nylon Gadget Shoulder Holster is constructed with this highest quality of heavy-duty ballistic nylon materials to withstand the bumps and grinds of everyday life.
• Keep Gadgets Safe & Secure – Each of the e-Volve Gadget Shoulder Holster's quick-access pouches are strategically positioned vertically on the holster to keep your gadgets safe from others and secure as you move around doing your day-to-day chores.
• Large Gadget Quick-Access Pouch – The e-Volve Nylon Gadget Shoulder Holster is designed with a large quick-access pouch that securely fits most smartphone devices (such as a Apple iPhone, Blackberry, Palm Treo or other smartphone device), compact digital cameras (such as Canon Powershot, Panasonic Lumix, Sony Cybershot, Fuji Finepix, Olympus Stylus and others), larger digital music players (such as Apple iTouch or iPod Classic and Microsoft Zune 80 or Zune 120), Sony Playstation Portable, Nintendo DS portable, and most standard sized men's wallets.
• Small Gadget Quick-Access Pouch – The small quick-access pouch will fit most small cell phones (such as Samsung cell phones, Motorola cell phones, Nokia cell phones, LG cell phones, and others), small digital music players (such as Apple iPod Nano, Microsoft Zune 4, Zune 8 & Zune 16), digital voice recorders and other small personal electronic gadgets.
• Zippered Pouch – To help control loose items that are normally kept in your pant’s pockets, the e-Volve Nylon Gadget Shoulder Holster provides a unique zippered pouch to quickly store and control change, currency, memory cards, zip drives, sunglasses, reading glasses, and much more.
• Quick-Clip Key Ring – The e-Volve Nylon Gadget Shoulder Holster also offers a convenient key ring clip to quickly clip and unclip your keys to and from the holster.
• Elastic Pen Holder – The e-Volve Nylon Gadget Shoulder Holster includes an elastic pen holder at the bottom of the holster to easily and comfortably carry a pen.
• Fully Adjustable – The e-Volve Nylon Gadget Shoulder Holster is designed to fit all body types and sizes. Worn on your left shoulder, the top of the holster can be adjusted with Velcro straps to accomodate all shoulder sizes - from petite shoulders to large shoulders. To adjust how the holster lies on your left shoulder, the holster back strap can be easily increased or decreased to fit your body comfortably.
• Side-Release Buckle –The quick-release back strap buckle allows you to quickly unbuckle the holster back strap to remove the holster from your body. It can be reattached just as easily.
• Color - Black.

Mobile PCs have come along in leaps and bounds in the last few years.  We've seen a lot of innovation in a lot of components, but batteries have not change much at all.  Battery life has improved, but that has been largely due to improvements in the amount of power the screen, hard drive and processor is using rather than how much the battery holds.  However Warner over at GottaBeMobile points to an advance in battery technology that may change all that.

The Energizer Bunny might keep going and going and going, but mobile pc users have been waiting and waiting and waiting for an advance in battery technology that will yield a jump in battery life. If researchers at South Korea’s Hanyang University have their say, we might just see that. They different approach involves silicon instead of graphite in making lithium batteries. That core change is supposed to yield 800% more storage capacity.

This can't come soon enough for me.  There are plenty of ultra portables that can give you 2 hours of battery life, so this advance could make all day computing in a small device a reality.

The TIP in Windows 7 has had a lot of work to make it more usable.  I'm finding it to be a really good user experience so far.

This video explores some of the new features that are in the Milestone 3 build (6801) that was released at PDC. 

Windows 7 is much more pen and touch aware than Vista.  And it draws a distinction, too.  When you are using a tablet that supports both pen and touch - such as the Toshiba M750 that I am using - you sometimes get a different depending on how you are interacting with the computer.

The features I demonstrate in this video include:

• The TIP vanishing when you move you pen away from it
• The revamped text correction UI and gestures
• The changes in the On Screen Keyboard when launched with a finger rather than a pen

There may be more that I have not found yet, or that may be added into a future build - who knows!

Click the video below for a glimpse of some of what's new in Windows 7 for Tablet users.

One of the things I was very pleased to see in the Windows 7 pre-beta is that .ISO files have a file association.  Right clicking an ISO file shows you that the default action is to burn the ISO to a disc.

I burned off an Office 2007 CD using this - just to see if it works - and it did work a treat.

It is certainly good that support for ISO files has finally made it into the OS and I have to say it is about time.  Especially when you consider that Microsoft distributes a massive amount of software as .ISO files through the MSDN and TechNet subscriptions.

Unfortunately the support simply does not go far enough.  It is simply not safe to assume that everyone has a blank CD or DVD lying around.  It is not even safe to assume that they have a burner.  Many mobile devices don't have an optical drive.  What really needs to be added in to Windows is the ability to mount and ISO image.  Until Microsoft sorts this out you will need to continue to use 3rd party software like Slysoft's Virtual CloneDrive (which is great freeware) to mount ISOs. 

The fabulous folks over at Toshiba have loaned me a brand new M750 to help with my early testing of the Windows 7 pre-beta.  While certainly not the lightest tablet I have used this is a seriously fast workhorse of a tablet.  It really is the whole package.

The unit I got came with:

• Intel® Core™ 2 Duo P8600 (2.4GHz, 1066MHz FSB, 3MB L2 Cache)
• 12.1" WXGA 200NIT CSV Display(1280x800)
• 2GB DDR2 (800MHz)
• 200GB HDD (7200rpm) SATA
• DVD SuperMulti Double/Dual Layer Drive
• 1Gbit LAN + AMT 4.0
• WLAN (802.11a/g/n)

The screen is a Wacom dual mode digitizer, supporting both the active stylus and resistive touch.

Lets have a look at the outside of the device.  As we go through click the images for a larger view.

Down the left hand side we have

A - Venting.  This blows out a little air but not much and not very warm.

B - Lock port

C - A combination eSATA or powered USB port.  This particular USB port is suppose to be able to charge your USB devices while the tablet is asleep, but I've not put that to the test yet.

D - A normal USB port

E - PCMCIA slot

The front bezel has...

A - a plathora of indicator lights - including ones for optional components such as a second battery or a 3G WWAN radio.

B - Hardware switch for the radios.  This is a nice touch.  I never remember to turn my wireless off before I get on a plane :)

C - IEEE1394 port.

D,E - Headphone and mic jacks

F - hard to see in the picture but a volume control wheel.

Down the right side and we have

A - The stylus dock.

B - A multi card reader

C - A slimline DVD dual layer recorder

D - A modem port (I can't remember the last time I used a modem - seems like a waste of space to me!)

The back side is fairly sparten.

A - Another USB port.

B - VGA Output

C - Power input

D - Gigabit Ethernet port

The top of the screen sports an inbuilt web cam and microphone.

There are also a host of buttons at the bottom of the screen - or on the front bezel when in slate mode.

And a fingerprint reader on the other end of the same edge, which is also well placed for ease of access in both laptop mode and slate mode.

Speaking of slate mode the M750 has the same locking hinge that we first saw on the R400 and have since seen on the M700 as well.  This eliminates the floppy head that some other convertibles suffer from.  Basically you can only rotate the screen when it is roughly 90 degrees to the base.  The rest of the time the bottom corners lock into these latches on the corner of the base.

Another nice feature - no doubt aimed at eliminating a common cause of breakages - are the indicator arrows by the hinge that tell you which way to twist the screen.  These are located front and back of the hinge.  The former is visible when in laptop mode and the latter when in slate mode.

Another great feature the M750 shares with many of its predecessors is the emergency stylus.  I used it a couple of time when I had a M400 and wished for it many times with some of my other tablets.  Basically if you flip the unit over there is a panel by the docking station connector.

To open this you push a pen in the hole on the right end (ironically - if you have lost your main stylus) and pull the other end to slide the cover to the left.  You can then flip the cover over and - hey presto - a little mini stylus clipped into the lid!  Very cool.  Note there is even a little button on it - this is a real active digitizer stylus.

Over all I am pretty impressed so far.  The M750 is a really nice device to work with.  I have put Windows 7 on it and it runs very fast and so far pretty stable.  I'll have more to say on that as I get into it.

I've been playing with Windows 7 as time permits (which has not been a lot) over the last couple of days.  While I am not yet in a position to do a full review, but as I scratch the surface I am starting to uncover some cool features.

Here is a of a feature I found by accident.  As you drag a window to the edge of the screen it will turn into a transparent window and "snap" to a certain pre-defined position.   If you drag it up to the top it will snap to full screen view.  If you drag it the the left or right edge it will snap to that edge and take up half of the screen area. 

Very nice.

Once I had Windows 7 (the Milestone 3 build) up and running one of the things I decided to try was to hold down the Windows key and press all the letter keys to see if there were any new keyboard shortcuts exposing new features.  And guess what - there was!

Pressing Windows+P shows the dialogue below...

...which lets you quickly choose an alternate display output method.

Running left to right the options are:

• Laptop only
• Clone display to projector
• Extend desktop to projector
• Projector only

I love the Mobility Centre in Vista, but this takes the cake!  What a great feature.

I was lucky enough to be one of those invited to preview the Windows 7 Milestone 3 build that was released at PDC this week.  I downloaded it last night and installed it on an Acer Ferrari 1000 notebook I had lying around. 

The install experience was remarkable - for such an early build the install was really smooth.  I did not sit and watch it build but it had finished the bulk of the install and was waiting for me to enter my name inside of an hour.

Another interesting event during the install was being given the opportunity to enter my wireless settings during the initial setup routine. 

After the install completed I logged in.  Again it was remarkable.  For such an early build the it looks pretty good.  At this stage very Vista-like, but it actually looked fairly nice and seemed at least as responsive on Vista on the same hardware.

Next up I checked Device Manager to see what hardware had not been installed.  This was my next surprise.  A generic display driver was being used.  The inbuilt webcam and the multicard reader did not have drivers.  Everything else was detected. 

Contrasting this with my first experience with an early Vista build - that was very different.  It looked unfinished.  Driver support was awful and it ran like a dog.

There are fewer "under the hood" architecture changes in Windows 7 and as such application and driver support is pretty good even at this early stage. 

Overall I am happy and intrigued by this early build.  I've found some nice features already and there are some noticeable absentees.  That is a another story.  I've not even had a chance to check out the tablet bits yet.  I'm looking for some more hardware to test out this build on.  Stay tuned!