Wait! If I do that, you won’t read the review. You’ll find that your choice was validated or not and then go your merry way, assured that I, Tyler Regas, Blogger of Extraordinary Talent, told you so. Well, I’m not going to do that. I’m going to write a god’s honest review of a very, very… device-y device. Yeah. So Click on through after this very large image of the Nokia N900 and enjoy.

If you are familiar with Nokia’s efforts at their web tablet line, you likely are aware, or have even had, the original 770, and the n800, and n810, each of which were markedly better than the previous model (hint: I didn’t have an n800). Those devices were all web tablet, specifically meaning that they did not have phone hardware, but were dependent on wi-fi and bluetooth for their connections. Nokia also ran the gamut of hardware configuration tests to see what would stick. The n810 was the best received, mostly because it was the first internet tablet, or IT, to have a hardware keyboard.

In addition to the hardware, Nokia decided to tap the open source community and produce and sponsor its own flavor of Linux called Maemo. This proved to be an intelligent choice, as over recent years, Maemo has grown in capability and robustness, and as is the case with all open source projects, all of the open source code is turned back to the public good. Nokia has proven to be a good public citizen and friend to open source, and as a result there are a great many open source projects developed for Maemo. Of course, Nokia has also sported its own internal code shop which works on the core, and this is the group who produced the base for Maemo 5, the software behind the Nokia N900.

HARDWARE

Now, I don’t have a slick segue to start up the review, so I’ll just jump in. The hardware is impressive (no, I did not receive one of those insane smoking boxes, and I’m rather thankful to be honest) and smaller, primarily because it is the first IT to be a real phone. That’s right. The N900 contains not only Bluetooth and wi-fi hardware, but also a SIM card slot for service from carriers in the US like AT&T and T-Mobile. As for the rest of the specs, we’re talking a 600MHz TI OMAP 3430 Cortex-A8 CPU, a PowerVR SGX GPU, 1GB of RAM, a 3.5″ 800×480 touchscreen display, inbuilt stereo speakers, and the usual iPhone-type gadgets, all powered by a 1350mAh battery pack. Nokia calls it a mobile computer. Duh.

The N900 is smaller and than the n810 it replaces-ish, but it is by no means less impressive. The n810 would have been awkward to put up to your ear, and Maemo 5 still takes extensive advantage of the 800×480 display for web browsing. The N900 is thicker than the n810, but it works a lot better as a phone. The big change with the N900, however, is that you hold it in widescreen fashion, not tall like an iPhone or Google Android handset. All of the menus and controls are arranged in this fashion except the Phone program, which will change to a vertical orientation when the handset it turned and the slider is closed. This is convenient for the phone, but nothing else works that way.

As with the n810, the N900 has stereo speakers, one on each end of the phone, which sound surprisingly good and clear. The slide lock has been moved to the right end of the phone next to the 3.5mm headphone jack and microphone hole, and there is a micro USB jack on the left side. On the top of the device is the zoom rocker which now also doubles as the volume controller. The power button remains in the middle, and there is a camera button over on the right. Oddly, Nokia included an Infrared window, though I can’t imagine why anyone wouldn’t use the much faster Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR or attach the supplied USB cable for tethering. On the front of the glossy black face plate is the display, an earphone hole, the front-facing camera, and light and proximity sensors. On the back is the 5MP camera with a slider cover and an integrated prop stand.

Overall, this arrangement works well, but for longtime Maemo/Internet Tablet users, the loss of the dedicated hardware menu, back, and switcher keys will take a bit to get used to. I’d say, however, that the Maemo team did a pretty good job, but I’ll get to that in the Software section of my review. The keyboard itself is vastly improved over the N810 version, which was inconsistent and mushy. Nokia also wisely or stupidly (depending on what you need) ditched the D-pad for a traditional set of cursor keys. I know its a space issue and I like having them, but when it comes to gaming, there’s nothing like a d-pad. Of course, this is an issue which has always plagued mobile handsets which are not dedicated gaming platforms, and the N900 suffers alongside its lesser brethren.

That’s the hardware part. I was going to run this review all at once, but its taking too long to finish, so I’ll put up the software review later. Enjoy!

Yeah. Blazing speed, to be sure. Even back then, my rig was not the hottest game in town, but it was more than good enough to stay in the game. Web pages were statically produced pages of text and tables were generally hated. The best browser for the Mac was Microsoft’s Internet Explorer, though Netscape wasn’t bad and later iCab was quite good (don’t even talk about CyberDog to me). But this isn’t a memoir. This is a review of Twitterrific version 3.2.1 for Mac OS X, but I believe the scale and scope of this little retrospective is helpful. It reminds us of simpler days when less was the norm and we really didn’t expect much to blossom from the internet. That’s kind of where Twitterrific sits for me. It feels like an old tool which has continued to hang on and thrive, despite the fact that there’s really nothing to it.

Twitter may be a very simple concept (partyline SMS on the web, anyone?) but it does what it does and it does have applications. Twitterrific, in its simplicity, completely and utterly avoids features, which makes it odd to me that it is offered for a fee (I received my copy free via a MacHeist promotion). Oh, sure, you can get a free one which is ad supported, but I’d rather use Twhirl which is free, supports, multiple accounts, and is loaded with easy-to-use features. I’m having a really hard time figuring out why I’d want to continue using Twitterrific.

It has the basics any simplistic Twitter client should have. It can sign into an account, it can fetch updates (sometimes), and you can work with Tweets, but that’s it. It sits in the menu bar and pops in and out as you click on the little birdie icon, but if you pop it open, then click on something else it doesn’t go away automatically. Whats more, you have to click on the little birdie twice to get it to disappear again. It doesn’t feel very polished of feature rich for a 3.x version release. It makes me wonder how bad the 1.x and 2.x versions were.

I think its rather clear that I do not recommend Twitterrific for much of anything, though I imagine this would be a no-brainer for any groups of individuals who have a fetish for small, blue birdie icons which fit on Mac OS X’s menu bar. You may also find it compelling if you prefer to pay for software and then require it to be overly simple and provide less functionality than free and/or open source projects. I’ll make it your call.

I’d like to make one last observation. I’m a Mac guy, but I also use Windows and Linux. When on Windows, I’ve recently returned to using Trillian, the new Astra version, and I chose to pay for it. This is the first time I paid for it, and the reason is because they started work on a Mac version (no. I will NEVER give up using Adium.) and I like their new feature set. One feature they have added is Twitter support. Do NOT pay for Trillian is all you want is Twitter support. Get Twhirl. Really. I just wanted to mention this in case you thought that Twitterrific was the only Twitter client I hated.

MacDrive 8 is much like MacDrive 7 in that it adds HFS and HFS+ drive support to Windows machines. MacDrive 8, however, adds support for Windows 7, which I have tested and can report that it works very well. If that wasn’t enough, MacDrive 8 also automatically adds Mac folders to Windows 7 Library aggregation folders. That means that when you mount a Mac drive in Windows 7 and there is a Pictures folder, it will be added to the list of folders which are displayed in the Windows Pictures Library.

In addition to the Windows 7 enhancements, there’s plenty new for Windows XP and Vista. For one, MacDrive 8 adds support for 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Vista as well as Windows 7 (sorry 64-bit XP). There is also improved support for burning CD-R, DVD-/+R, and even Dual Layer DVD-/+Rs. I found the disc burning interface to be overly simple and lacking in functionality, but it worked every time, even when burning CD-Rs for my PowerBook 3400c running Mac OS 9.0.4.

Likely the biggest set of additions for MacDrive 8 are larger disc compatibility and the ability to browse Time Machine archives. MacDrive 8 is now capable of reading discs larger than 2TB which are formatted in HFS+, a very nice addition for shops who use Windows and Mac OS X in their video or audio production process. Adding the ability to look into and copy files from Time Machine archives is just icing on the cake. I haven’t had the chance to test this yet, but if there’s anything interesting about it, I’ll report on it.

All in all, MacDrive 8 is a polished, capable, easy to use software package which fills a gap in the cross-platform market. MacDrive 8 is available now from MediaFour as a download or on CD for US$49.95 or both for US$59.95. Just add US$10 for two copies, which is a fantastic deal. Just note that the CDs will start shipping on July 31st.

Regarding the MozyHome software itself, its pretty easy. Its a little odd in that it offers pre-configured sets which you just check or not (i.e., preferences, application settings, Microsoft Office files, etc…), but you can also just tell it to backup your entire user directory. It appears that you can select both, which seems redundant, but there it is. Nicely, though, the system runs in the background and has options for controlling when it will perform backups and for throttling bandwidth usage. My issue with the bandwidth controls is that at the low end you can pick 32Kbps or 668Kbps but nothing in between. You can pick a lot faster (up to 5.2Mbps) but nothing in between the lowest two. Weird.

Anyways, it will take some time before its all done so when something interesting happens I’ll let you know.

The HBM-770 is just like every other Bluetooth headset, as I’ve said before. It has a power button, a charging port, volume controls, and you can plug it in the charge. It sits on your ear using a large loop (See image left). which starts behind the microphone and causes it to gently rest on your ear. Its the in-ear piece which defines how it sits on the side of your head, which really seems to work for me.

The speaker horn (that’s what I’m calling it… deal) sticks out a ways and rests very lightly in your ear canal. Its so light overall that there are times when I forget I’m wearing it and put my hand to my head to check. To switch the side of your head you want to headset on, you just flip the ear hoop. You don’t have to pull it out or swap it with another one. Its also nice that this one doesn’t need to invade your ear canal in order to work. I don’t think it has significant noise cancellation, but a good, loud handset makes up for that. 

I’m actually rather amazed its so light. They actually crammed the standard LG handset charger port onto this thing, which is real overkill to me, and had they not, it could have been a few grams lighter. It might have even floated. That’s fantastic since I have managed to alienate every headset I’ve ever received. It hurts the back of my ear. It hurts the front of my ear. It has too many pieces. It goes in too far. It doesn’t go in far enough. Mostly, though, they’ve never been loud enough. 

This is loud and clear, which means I can actually hear conversations instead of guessing what someone is saying to me. Even the operational tones the headset makes are useful. I can easily identify each noise that its making without the need to consult a manual or query the phone. Its simple, clean, and without drama of any kind. I like it. Hell, it even turns on and off smartly. When its off, touch the power button for a second and it comes on. When its on, hold it for 3 seconds and it turns off. There are no incantations, certifications, or teams of professionals required to operate it. 

I can’t help it, but if you need a simple, plain Bluetooth headset, there is no other choice but the LG HBM-770. It beats the pants off of anything else out there for me. Even the Jawbone. Sure, the Jawbone looks fantastic and has that wicked noise cancellation technology which can delete lawnmowers from a conversation, but it doesn’t work for me. So, for US$80 list, I cannot and will not beat this thing with a stick of any kind. I’ve found my headset soul mate. Feel free to pry it from my cold, dead hands.

The key to the functionality of the Pulse is manifold, but it can be counted down to the infrared camera perched under the nib (I’m old, so look it up), the voice recording capabilities, and the special paper the pens use in order to work their magic. Now don’t go groaning over the fact that you have to buy special paper. Have you seen what a simple notepad costs at Barnes & Noble these days? Shocking to the point where you’ll think that paying $20 for a 200 sheet notebook which enables the power of the Pulse is a steal and a half. Combine that with the fact that the most recent Windows version of the software can print blank pages, and you’re on easy street.

So, how do the camera, recorder, and paper work to together to make this powerful combo I speak of? That’s a more complicated question, but there are answers. I am, however, going to quickly describe the Pulse and what the package comes with. First, there’s the pen, of course. Its a large pen, but not much larger than the big, thick, expensive pens which you can buy that don’t do anything the Pulse does. In the box there is a 200 page starter notebook (8.5″ x 11″, college ruled), a nicely small and portable USB magnetic dock, a pair of stereo headphones with a microphone in each earpiece, a lanyard for the headphones, a set of replacement ink cartridges and a stylus tip (nice touch!), and a crappy faux leather case (What happened!?). Take a gander at the image below:

The pen has a display embedded in the side of it. Nicely, there are several options for how you can use the pen, and one of them is to change the orientation of the screen depending on what hand you use (I’m a lefty… deal). That grill you can see under the screen is a speaker and on the top end of the pen is the headphone/microphone jack. I’ll get to the headphones later. They’re super neat. 

Now, whenever the pen is on and you write on the special paper (check out the image), the pen stores everything you write in its memory. I have the 1GB version, though there’s also a 2GB model. So, as long as the pen is on it records what you write. Now for the voice recording. If you tap on the Record button which are conveniently located on the bottom edge of every page then the Pulse starts to record, just like a standard voice recorder. Here’s where the neat trick comes into play though: as you write, the Pulse keeps track of what you are writing and tags the audio recorded to that writing. 

When you’re done taking notes, you click the Stop button. Here’s the next neato trick: While the Pulse is not recording, you can tap on any of your notes and it will play back the audio recorded for that segment. Pretty slick, eh! The trick I’ve learned already is to just write a keyword as I’m recording instead of trying to keep up and missing stuff. If I have a question, I’ll write down a snippet to remind me of the question and then carry on with my conversation. Fraking brilliant! The other controls on the pages allow you to control volume, speed, jumping forward and backward to tracks, and making bookmarks. 

Using the headphones also sports a neat trick. The jack right into the end of the Pulse so you can listen to the recorded audio in stereo. Why? Sure, the built-in mic only records in mono, but when you jack in those wicked headphones, the Pulse records in stereo. That’s why there is a microphone in each earbud. Trust me when I tell you that this is remarkably helpful. Say, for instance, you’re sitting at a table talking with 4 or 5 people. Wearing the headphones (or wearing them down on your neck using the lanyard) lets the Pulse record your environment the same way you hear. When you play this stereo sound back later, you hear the direction people are speaking from. I find it a fantastic way to recall how the conversation was going since I can visualize the meeting. 

Once you’ve collected stuff on your new pen, its time to get that data onto your desktop. LiveScribe nicely offers both Windows and Mac OS X versions of the desktop client, though the Mac version has some catching up to do. For one thing, with the Windows version you can print your own paper. Not so on the Mac. Shame! Interestingly, the box doesn’t come with a CD in it, but when you do download the client for your operating system at least you’re getting the latest version. Once its installed, all you need to do is plug in the dock and place the pen into it. It connects and moves everything from the pen to the desktop client. Once there, everything which has a voice recording attached to it is highlighted in green. 

Now, if that wasn’t enough, there’s more. Say, for example, that you’ve been taking notes for a few months now and you’ve been asked by a colleague or classmate for a note you made back in some project meeting or lecture. All you need to do is load up LiveScribeDesktop and search for the keywords. The software is so smart that it can actually parse your handwriting and show you which pages any hits are on. No kidding! This thing is so smart that it can tell which notebook you are in and which page you’re turned to. Very, very cool indeed. 

There are some other gee willikers things the Pulse can do, but they really don’t add to the functionality except for the calculator. The nice thing that the developers have allowed for is adding new features through software updates. In fact, for the first month I had this thing I received no less that 10 updates to the pen software. Its pretty amazing that the Pulse sports a 150MHz ARM9 processor and a 300mAh LiIon rechargeable battery and crams ups to 2GB of storage space into such a cool pen. 

Simply put, if you pair the Pulse up with an iPhone, BlackBerry, or one of the new Palm Pre devices, you are set to go laptop free. I’m not kidding. The only thing that LiveScribe is missing is some more options in paper products. They have the big college-ruled notebooks and some largish bound notebooks with lines or no lines, but there are no notebooks or calendar books. I’d love to see a notebook which is as long as the Pulse, 3-4″ wide, unlined, with a barrel on the spine into which you can slide the Pulse while you’re not working with it. That and I’d really like to see an integrated calendar management tool. Maybe even synching it up to Windows or Mac OS X. Now that would rock. 

Now that I’ve turned you all on to the Pulse, I would like to inform you that you can have your own right now. You can head on over to LiveScribe’s web site and order one there or you can swing over to your local Target and get it there. The 1GB model runs for US$150 while the 2GB model runs for US$200. The reality is that this is just one of the single coolest gadgets available on the planet and I can only see it getting better and better.

The ethic behind the Defender Series is to provide the best possible protection without limiting access to or diminishing the value of the device which the case protects. After ensconcing my black Centro in the case, it becomes protected from the elements (aside from full emersion) and yet is remarkably easy to use. It is certainly chunkier, and somewhat heavier, but if you are prepared to protect your phone against almost all damage, then you’re ready to use this case.

The case is very smartly designed. It comes in three components which work very closely together to provide several layers of protection to your Centro. In the box, the case comes mostly assembled in that the hard shell and the soft cover are already joined. Taking apart the case involves removing the rubber soft cover, then splitting the seams to split the hard shell into front and rear shells. Inside the case was a thin, rubbery sheet which had the impression of the frontside of a Centro on one leaf. I soon figured out that this is the internal protection. The internal sheet also acts as a screen protector, using static to neatly attach to the display. The cover is perfectly clear, as well, making it very easy to see through. You can see the parts in the image below.

Once you’ve neatly placed the internal cover where it goes, you slip the front of the Centro into the front hard shell which has the added benefit of stopping the internal cover from moving around any more. Then you pull down the back cover, position it, then slip on the back shell. The two halves snap together easily enough to hold them firmly, but when I took it apart again to take the image you see to the left it wasn’t difficult to get them separated again. Once the whole kit ‘n kaboodle is together, you pull the rubber cover on and fit it to the cutouts and pins which hold it to the shell. Now its all one unit and ready to rock. 

The Defender case isn’t water proof, but it is somewhat resistant to dust and moisture. The case is very nicely designed to offer access to all of the ports and controls on the Centro. There is a clear port on the back for the camera and a grill for the speaker which has a dust cover preventing dust from getting into the case. There is another filter protecting the earpiece on the top front of the handset, as well. To the left of that there is a passthrough which lets you see the power/alert light. There are rubber actuator buttons on the left side which let you control the buttons for volume, ringer, and the option button right through the case. At the bottom of the front of the case there is an internal horn which directs speech into the microphone which is located at the bottom of the phone.

To get to the stylus and the Silent switch there is a peel-out rubber cover. Its very easy to open, and once you’ve practiced with it a bit, a snap to close again. There is another such cover on the bottom of the case which allows access to the sync/power port and 1/8th inch headphone jack. That one is a tad more difficult to close, but it shouldn’t be very often that you have to open it. Overall, the fit of the case is nearly perfect and doens’t creak a lot or limit your access to anything. Sound quality even seems to be improved, especially through the microphone which the case smartly redirects to the front, therefore pointing right at your mouth. 

The feel of the case is wonderful. It sits well in the hand and greatly increases the grip without making it too much heavier than the handset itself. Pushing controls and using the touchscreen through the protective cover is easy. Even using the Centro’s dinky QWERTY keyboard works just fine. In fact, the case may be improving my big-fingered accuracy, which is a feat but can’t be confirmed. The case itself comes with a belt pack which the case firmly snaps into. It takes a good tug to pull the handset out, but if you want this case, then you’re likely looking for protection, which includes not dropping it from your belt. 

I’m quite pleased with the case and the design, fully knowing what the case was designed for. Otterbox has created yet another unquestionably capable, mission-specific case, adding another notch to its already notched up case belt. The Otterbox Defender Series case for Palm Centro is available now and can be had for US$49.95.

Just so you know right off the bat, we’re not talking US$69 special at Walmart here. This is a US$229 MSRP piece of crafted espresso machine. Well, mostly crafted. The key to the perfect cup of cappuccino is the concerted effort of a selection of tools and the skill and/or practice of the barista. Each and every part of a well oiled machine must work in harmony for the result to be palatable. So, before I can review the espresso machine, I must first talk of the coffee beans and the grinder. In my opinion, there are only two coffee beans in the entire world. One is Jose’s, a low-cost brand you can buy at CostCo, the likes of which cannot be found elsewhere, with exception to one, 8 O’clock. 8 O’clock’s peerless bean selection, blending, and roasting produces the perfectly rounded selection of coffees from a single bean. (I should note that Green Mountain Coffee is likely the single best coffee bean on the planet, but only within spitting distance of Vermont. I’m convinced that they have roasteries around the country, and not all are equal. We used to shop at the original store in Waitsfield. -TCR.)

Its all in how you grind it and how you prepare it for use. I will not detail coffee grinding here, but suffice it to say that the correct grind is required of the correct bean. You want a mostly fine grind for espresso machines. Once the grind is ready, allowing the greshly ground beans to offer their most flavorful potential, you place it into the filter (that thing with a handle on it), tamp it down just right (it takes practice with your machine to find the right amount), and then secure it to the base of the pressure head. Now, you don’t just turn on the water. You need to heat up the system first. I suggest, for the Café Roma at least, that you let it warm up for about 10 minutes (check the on-board water level first) before firing up the pump.

The Café Roma is a simplified espresso machine designed to be used by people not accustomed to brewing their own coffees outside of a Mr. Coffee or Krups drip machine. Turn the knob left to make coffee, then turn it right to make steam. This means that the Café Roma is a single pump machine. Most machines above US$200 sport dual pumps, but this one seems to work well. I also had an issue with not being able to moderate the steam pressure for preparing the froth, but Breville has managed to figure out a new tip which makes frothing as simple as peeling a pouring the milk into the mug. (I personally steam in the mug I drink from as it warms the mug and makes less to clean. -TCR.)

The Café Roma comes with two double-walled espresso shots, the filter handle and inserts for single, double, and pod, a frothing jug, a tamper and scoop, and a small cleaning tool. One thing I noticed right off is that when the pump is working the deck vibrates and the shot cups start moving around. At my wife’s suggestion, is placed a slightly damp towel under them and no more moving about. Second, when I moved over to frothing it didn’t seem like it was doing anything at first, but it certainly was. Before long my mug was warm, the milk was hot, and the froth was creamy and thick. Extended use has revealed some best practices, but I’m sure its different with everyone. Its also easy to clean and keep together. It has a heated top, like its larger brethren, and the water canister is sizable without being obtrusive. Everything about it and its accessories speaks of pretty good quality, except the tamper/scoop.

It took a few weeks, but now the coffee is coming out nearly perfect. Yeah. Nearly. I don’t know what it is about the Café Roma, but its just won’t make strong coffee. I’ve adjusted the grind, modified the tamping, tried darker roasted beans, even tried several Italian incantations to no avail. I don’t know if its the pressure or the way that Breville creates its pressure head, or how the holes are made in the filter cup or what, but the higher pressure system seems to work fine, it just won’t make stronger, Turkish-style coffee. Feh. Do I like the machine? Yes, I do, and it would be perfect for anyone who doesn’t have the same extreme needs I do when it comes to variance in coffee. I’m not a fan of burnt beans. I like a well rounded, robust, complex flavor, and the Café Roma just doesn’t seem to be able to bring out the more finessed ranges.

I’m pleased to have it on my countertop, though.

* I made up this number. Sue me.

Technically, the Insignia NS-2BRDVD is a very capable deck. Aside from the obvious Blu-Ray disc playback functions, it is also capable of playing standard DVDs. Its also capable of handling DVD-R/RW, DVD+R/RW, CD and CD-R/RW discs and can read MP3, WMA and JPEG formats. It is also able to upconvert standard DVDs and outputs digital video in 720p, 1080i, and 1080p via the HDMI output port. Sadly, it does not come with an HDMI cable, but it does ship with a Composite set in the box.

The real business comes when you disconnect your old DVD player and plug in the BR deck using an HDMI cable. I connected the deck to my Westinghouse 32″ 1080i LCD TV. I was initially concerned that not having a 1080p capable set would limit my experience with Blu-Ray, but I was very, very wrong. I did not have to see the output of my old HDMI-capable Sony DVD deck next to the Insignia deck’s output to see the difference. It was immediately obvious to my wife and daughter and myself when I pushed in Over The Hedge.

The upconversion quality itself is astonishingly good. The colors are cleaner and sharper. The blacks are deeper. Even the surround sound is better (or that could have been in my mind). The overall clarity of the picture is just plain better without question. My PR rep had assured me that it would improve picture quality on 1080i, but now I knew for sure. What I was not prepared for, though, was an actual Blu-Ray disc. I’ll say it this way: I now feel bad that I don’t have a 1080p set of at least 42″ in size.

The picture is so good and clean and clear that I want to fill up my living room wall with it. This is the kind of good that makes you want a home theater very badly. I’m not heading in that direction any time soon, but I will definitely focus some of my energies on getting that upgrade in place as soon as I can. In the meantime, I can now marvel at the fact that I talked crap about Blu-Ray for no clear reason.

Okay, it was mostly because I’m sick of Sony constantly trying to take over existing markets with proprietary technologies which are incompatible. They couldn’t do VHS. They had to create BetaMax. They couldn’t get in CDs. They had to do the MiniDisc. They couldn’t jump on board with SD cards. They had to create the Memory Stick. It appears, however, that it was just time which would tell in the case of HD-DVD vs. Blu-Ray… but I digress.

It turns out that there is something about Blu-Ray which I didn’t know; there are versions. There are versions 1.0, 1.1, and 2.0 and not all Blu-Ray players are capable of all of them. One purchaser/reviewer on Best Buy’s website stated that, while this Insignia deck has Ethernet and USB ports specifically for software updates and BDLive, the hardware is currently using Revision 1.1. If it is, I can’t tell. Of course, when I get more Blu-Ray discs I’ll likely be able to test this.

In the meantime, I’m going to deeply enjoy what I already have and see where it takes me. The one thing I would ask Best Buy and/or Insignia to do is to add about 5 oz. of weight to the remote. Either that or change from AAA batteries to the slightly heavier AA batteries. Retail price for the Insignia Blu-Ray deck is US$250, but Best Buy is offering a US$50 discount so you can the deck for US$200. Not too shabby.

This is not your standard desktop PC. It is, in reality, a netbook’s guts stuffed into a creative and attractive desktop display stand. Here, then, are the specs: Intel Atom 1.6GHz CPU, 1GB of RAM (upgradeable to 2GB in one slot), Intel GMA video with shared memory, 160GB hard drive, dual-layer CD/DVD-R/RW drive, integrated B/G wireless, 10/100 Ethernet, 5 USB 2.0 ports, an MS/MSPRO/MMC/SD card slot, a 1.3MP webcam in the display frame, and it all runs on Windows XP Home Edition.

So, if you haven’t figured out this systems place in the world yet, I’ll make it clear. This is not a gaming machine or one designed for use by graphics professionals, or anyone who needs a beefy machine. This is a webtop. This is a tight, clean, efficient, low-cost DVD player, email checker, webpage reader, and word processor. Its the perfect desktop for the luddite parents, the college or boarding school student, or as a second computer. Its compact, tidy and wireless.

The screen is clearly the largest and most visible component of the AIO. The strut behind the display allows you to position the screen as you like. The built-in microphone is oddly placed on the base of the unit instead of on the display frame. Another odd choice for Averatec was to not include a recovery partition on the large disk. They do include a USB mouse and keyboard. The keyboard is a love/hate kind of thing. If you like the new style flat keyboards, you might like this one. One thing I flat out did not like was the crappy in-built speakers. There was no reason to skimp there and decent in-case speakers don’t cost all that much.

Speed wise, the AIO is rather quick. Using the pre-installed Windows XP Home, I ran all Windows Update installs and then started using it. I installed FireFox and the complete iTunes/QuickTime/Safari package. The downloads were quick, but the installations took a while to process. Once installed, though, loading and using applications were reasonably quick. General use is nearly indistinguishable from faster machines. I did not, however, try to install anything which I knew would tax the system beyond its capabilities… Well…

After I’d had enough of Windows XP, I tried installing Windows Vista on it. As you may know from having read The Dojo for a while, I’m no fan of Vista. Despite Microsoft’s propaganda-like Mojave Project adverts trying to show people that they don’t really know how cool Vista really is, Vista is a landmine of difficulties, driver incompatibilities, and broken applications. Knowing this full well, I ventured there anyway. I’ll sum it up by saying that its on there, but I can’t install any drivers.

I’m going to try working on it some more and see what I can get out of it. The way it is now, with no network access and only being able to display 1024×768 its actually working pretty fast. I suspect, however, that its fast like the surprise we get when putting XP back on an old 750MHz lappy. It works and it goes but it just doesn’t have the headroom much faster systems do. My guess is that the next generation dual-core Atom processors from Intel will prove to be the real turning point for low cost, low power, compact desktop systems.

In the end, the AIO is quite a nice machine. Its very attractive. Its has 100mm VESA-spec screw holes on the back so it can mounted like a display. It weighs in a slight 9 pounds. Contrary to what detractors might say, the AIO is a quality machine which delivers exactly what it promises to deliver; modestly priced performance. Its not a kick ass gaming machine or a powerful video or film editing workstation. If you think you’re going to get a hi-end workstations for under six Benjamins you either don’t value your talent as an artist or you’re smoking something.

As such, I roundly endorse the Averatec 18.4″ AIO as long as you’re comfortable with its limitations.