Author Archives: Lee

Computers

I No Longer Use the Power Button

I’ve written several times about how the long boot time on a normal operating system needed to be trimmed (I was looking at Windows, but it could have applied to any), especially with the rise of instant-on devices like tablets and smartphones.  I even installed a solid-state drive to speed up the process on one of my machines.

I’ve since built a lower-power computer, one that draws almost nothing when sleeping and now I only power down my PC when I’m away for a few days, otherwise it’s either on or asleep, never more than a mouse wiggle or random key-press away.

The reason for the change is simple: speed. Even with the developments in boot times, turning on a computer is still a long process.  Several minutes at least. I could have checked my email, news feeds and a ton of other stuff in that time on a tablet.

Using sleep mode means my machine is completely usable in a few seconds (almost as fast as a tablet but not quite) and I can put it to sleep in about the same time. It’s an area Windows 8 has brought improvements to (as it has to boot times). By the time I’ve entered my password on the lock screen the system has already checked my email and begun grabbing updates where it can so I don’t have to wait. Continue reading →

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Business, Motoring

The Lack of Small Vehicle Options

Considering the ever-rising price of fuel, the ridiculous cost of parking and the clogged state of our roads, I’m surprised we haven’t seen an increase in smaller forms of transport.  How often do you drive your car with more than just you in it?

So why haven’t we seen a rise in motorcycle ownership (technically we have, of more economic models, but I don’t know of anyone who has bought one)?  One answer is that motorbikes aren’t much cheaper to run than a car (most bikes won’t beat a diesel on MPG, require more frequent servicing and require buying safety equipment), plus they have drawbacks such as requiring another licence, they’re not great in inclement weather, you can’t just get in and go like a car, there’s safety issues too (they account for 1% of traffic but make up 20% of deaths and serious injuries).

There’s the scooter option, no licence required, just pass a CBT and you’re away, but you still face many of the same issues as motorbikes (they may be cheaper than a car to buy but they don’t get good MPG).

Several attempts have been made to crack personal transport, we can all remember some of those that failed: the Sinclair C5, the Segway, etc.

So what is it we’re looking for? Continue reading →

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Motoring, Steal this Idea

Steal this Idea: Economy Cruise Control

I don’t do too many long car journeys, but I recently undertook a 300+ mile round trip so got a chance to try out the cruise control function on my car. It’s not the first long run I’ve done in my car but for whatever reason I’ve never bothered before.

Each system is different and it took a bit of time to figure out what I was doing but I soon got the hang of it. On the return part of the journey I didn’t bother with it, instead focusing on getting better MPG (the old game of trying to get the figure on the car computer as high as possible). This meant going slower when heading uphill and picking up speed when heading down. I was amazed at the difference.

Cruise control is a fairly blunt instrument, you set the speed and system will try and maintain it no matter what. You head uphill and it applies more power to overcome the incline, you go downhill and it won’t coast, it’ll brake to get you back down to the set speed. If you have to disengage it for any reason and then re-apply it’ll usually floor it to get back up to speed.

Manufacturers already offer adaptive/autonomous cruise control systems to monitor traffic in front and slow down before speeding up again once in the clear. How about an economy mode for cruise control?

It’s not as simple as just maintaining a constant speed, but it’d be easy enough to detect an incline and not apply additional power, or to let the car cruise down a hill with a degree of leniency for going over the required speed (this is probably the most contentious part, especially if speeding tickets are involved). Add it to the systems that can monitor traffic in front and slowly drop the speed as they approach a slower vehicle and you should see an improvement in MPG compared to traditional cruise control.

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Entertainment, Technology

The End of Games Consoles

Rumours are growing that we’ll see a new version of the Xbox by the end of the year, the current model has been with us since 2005 so it’s probably due an overhaul, although some of the update may relate to what Microsoft plans to do with it as a platform, rather than simply to improve the hardware (I’ve written before about how Microsoft could own the living room).

An interesting developing the arena of games consoles is the emergence of Android-powered gaming devices, the likes of the OUYA and the GameStick. One argument for them seems to be about opening up gaming, which is often a closed platform controlled by the device’s manufacturer. The rise of gaming on phones and tablets certainly shows a relatively low-powered device can happily do the job (just look at the video showing the prototype of the GameStick in action) and app stores democratize distribution, allowing tiny developers to compete with the biggest, Android’s open nature also guarantees there is no lock-down.

The GameStick is hoping to retail at $79 (£50) while the OUYA, which has better specs, is available for pre-order at $99 (£62). The days of a single-function games machine retailing at several hundred pounds appear over. (To be fair, the PS3 and Xbox 360 do more than just play games and are now available for under £200.) In fact, as broadband speeds improve (and more importantly latency decreases) will the next generation of consoles be the last? Continue reading →

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Entertainment, Technology

Do We Need Smart TVs and Set-Top Boxes?

There’s been more news of the smart TVs ahead of CES but I’ve never really seen the point of them and have been dubious about their uptake. A recent survey found that only 15% of smart TV owners actually use them for anything other than watching TV. Mat Honan argues the reason is the terrible interfaces on the devices themselves, and while I agree with his comments I’m not sure that’s the whole story.

Having used Airplay a few times in the lead up to Christmas, I think I know what the industry should be doing: enabling wireless streaming support. I think Google have already figured this out, which is why they’ve sold the set-top box side of Motorola that they acquired last year and appear to be working on an open standard to compete against Apple’s Airplay. By streaming support, I mean support for as many wireless sharing protocols as possible.

Samsung already has a system for sharing (AllShare, based on Miracast, but proprietary), so too does HTC (Media Link) and LG have announced NFC and Miracast functionality for wireless streaming in their latest range, due to be launched at CES later this year. So manufacturers seem to know they need it, but a series of different protocols is as useless as not having anything, we need a standard (or at least a limited set, I’m thinking probably Airplay and one other). Continue reading →

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