Category Archives: What’s New

What’s new on the Sysguy site!

Can’t find Wii Fit? Go to Europe!

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I just lucked out and followed up on a gut feeling and got the last copy of Wii Fit from my local EB Games. I didn’t bother pre ordering because I figured it was a game and would be fairly easy to get. Boy was I wrong!

I heard an interesting story yesterday regarding the availabilty of the Wii and Wii Fit. Apparently Nintendo has allotted more units to Europe due to the weakness of the US dollar and the strength of the Euro. While it may not seem fair, if I were a Nintendo shareholder that is exactly what I would want. Sell more units were the profit margins are higher.

If you want a Wii Fit about all you can do right now is go to the store when they expect their shipments and hope that they come in while your there! Good Luck.

 

Microsoft Response Point Coming to Canada in June 08

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I attended a Small Business IT conference in Toronto a few weeks ago and we were fortunate to see get first Canadian Partner look at Microsoft’s Response Point system. Response Point has been available in the US for about a year now and with the service pack 1 release it will now be available in Canada.

So what is Response Point? To put it simply, Response Point is a hardware and software phone system designed for small businesses (1 to 50 phones). The software is developed by Microsoft and embedded into the hardware phone system. There are three approved hardware manufacturers making the handsets and base units Syspine, D-Link and Aastra.

The system works with your existing telephone lines and with the release of service pack 1, also with VOIP providers.

The handset plug into the Ethernet port in your office and then your computer can plug into the handset. With this configuration, you can make calls using the client software on your PC by clicking on your contact list. The client software also shows you the status of other users using the system on your network.

The strong point of the system though is it’s voice recognition features. You can pick up parked calls, transfer calls or dial calls using voice commands.

Other features that come included in the system;
Automated Receptionist
No answer call transfer
Voicemail to Email
Forwarding to Mobile devices
Ability to pick up parked calls from anywhere
Easy setup and changes
Built in Voicemail
Music on Hold
Power over Ethernet handsets
Integrated Caller ID that works when call is transferred to another user.
Three way calling

The price of the system is affordable for most small businesses. For example a base unit and 4 handsets can be purchased for approximately 2500.00. Additional handsets (can be mixed and matched between vendors) can be purchased for as little as 139.00 each.

Because it is a complete hardware and software system, many new features can be added via software updates.

While there are some limitations in version 1 and in SP 1 (lack of fax handling, no Active Directory integration, no direct Outlook integration), for most businesses these will not be deal breakers.

We here at Sysguy Consulting are currently trying to get one of the Syspine Demo kits to test and demonstrate the system. We will write a more detailed review once we play with it for a bit and again after the SP 1 release. If you are interested in learning more about Response Point please feel free to contact us.

Zune Coming to Canada, New Firmware and Software!

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It’s official. The Microsoft Zune Music players will go on sale in Canada on June 13th, 2008. Yesterday MS launched www.zune.ca where you can actually download the Zune software today. Unfortunately the Zune Music store (Zune Marketplace) will lag behind the launch of the player. You will still be able to add music to your player from ripped CDs, Itunes Plus purchases or Puretrack DRM free MP3 purchases.

As some people will know I have been using a Zune 80 since it’s launch in November. I also have a Zune 8GB player and the Altec Lansing Zune dock. I really like the Zune player and have been impressed with it’s capabilities.

In a related note, a new version of the software and firmware (2.5) for the Zune devices also was just released. The new release adds some user requested features such as gapless music playback, autoplaylists and for Marketplace users the ability to now buy TV shows. There appears to be a large assortment of NBC shows available for purchase, most notably "The Office" which is absent from the iTunes store. Also included in the update are the ability to browse and preview video by genre and additional community and social features such as the ability to share music plays with friends.

For my machine the software update went very smoothly and seemed to be much faster than previous updates. The software also seems to be much more responsive in navigation now. Switching between podcasts and music is very quick. Once the software is installed (it does require a reboot), you plug your Zune in and the firmware upgrade is presented. Again no problems upgrading both my 80 GB Zune and the 8 GB Zune. Both seem to sync faster as well.

In other reported news about the Zune. Paul Thurrott’s Supersite for Windows www.winsupersite.com has confirmed that Audible support for the Zune is coming soon! This is the news that I have been waiting for as I currently have an iPod Touch to use for listening to my Audible audio books. HE indicates that he recieved an email from a reader that came from Audible indicating that is was true. After which Thurott himself received the same response as follows.

"I understand that you have contacted us today in regards to whether or not the Microsoft Zune is compatible with our service. We have great news! After much anticipation, Audible and Microsoft have completed negotiations on making the Zune AudibleReady! While we do not have an exact date as to when the device will be officially AudibleReady, we expect to make the Zune compatible before years end. Our Device Centre on our website will be updated upon the Zune becoming compatible, so please be sure to check there periodically."

Finally!

 

My Latest Lust!

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I have been reading and hearing a lot of great things about the Canon Powershot G9 digital Camera. This little camera, while being compact is one of the best cameras on the market today. Pro’s serious Amateurs are all using this little camera. Why it takes incredible pictures. It features several shooting modes and manual controls, 12 MP images and the ability to shoot raw.

While I love my two camera bodies, A Canon 30D and a Digital Rebel XT, these are both fairly large Digital SLR cameras. I have been playing with the idea of getting a small camera I could carry everywhere for some time now. Unfortunately I wanted the power to shoot raw and most of the previous generations could not do that.

There are many instances when I want to snap pictures and the camera in my Blackberry is just too poor.

This camera has also been very popular as it is sold out almost everywhere in Calgary. I am on a couple of waiting lists so I am hoping for a call soon.

This purchase if and when I get it, will the delay my other planned purchase of a Canon 40D body. I got my 30D a week before Canon announced the 40D and normally would not have been too concerned. The 40D however has some features that I really could use, mainly live view focusing on the viewfinder. This could come in very useful for my astrophotography as trying to focus something via the tiny viewfinder when connected to a telescope is very difficult.

I had thought of selling the 30D body but my daughter has announced that she is taking my Rebel XT when I get a new body. I like having two bodies because when we travel I like having different lenses mounted and I don’t miss shots trying to change lenses.

This was so evident when we were in Hawaii last year on a snorkeling trip. I had my camera set up with a very long zoom lens (Canon F4 70-200 L and a 1.4 Tamron Tele Extender) in order to shoot the whales that were all around the boat. On the way to our second dive site, we cruised into a pod of about 100 Hawaiian Spinner Dolphins. They stayed and played with the boat for a while. As these animals come and go as they please, I didn’t want to risk going in and changing lenses and missing the show. With two cameras I could have used a shorter lens for the dolphins that were close to the boat. Even having the smaller point and shoot would have been ideal.

The plan is if I get the new G9 is that it will come everywhere with me so that I am always ready to shoot.

My Internet Connection has held up

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Since Thursday I have really been hammering my Shaw ExtremeI Internet service. All of the following has been done with no noticeable slow downs.
Backing up 21 GB of Data to an online backup service, Downloading a couple of Linux Distros using a Bit Torrent Client, downloading Podcasts for my Zune players, updating a new PS3 system and downloading game demos, remote controlling servers via Remote Desktop, installing, downloading drivers, downloading applications and running Windows Update on 2 client computers as well as standard web surfing and email. You can also throw in there the occasional VOIP Vonage call either coming in or going out on my business line as well as receiving one fax the same way.

So far no no noticeable slowdown on the speed of my network. This is one of the reasons I continue to promote Shaw’s excellent service.

iPhone SDK release could mean it is actually usable!

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Just catching up on a little Tech News today. Apple released the SDK for the iPhone yesterday and it now looks like that the iPhone actually may be usuable for business people! Still no Canadian release date yet but based on what I have heard means that the device may actually give Blackberry some competition.

The roadmap for the SDK indicates that the iPhone will natively support Microsoft Exchange using Activesync, including push email, calendar and contacts as well as remote locking and wiping! Timeframe indicates that applications will be available sometime in June of 2008 (But will the iPhone be available in Canada around then). No word yet on the ability to edit MS Office attachments, but applications that could do this could be developed. Currently you can view Word and Excel documents. I wonder if you could use Google Docs and Spreadsheets for editing currently.

If this information is correct, and based on the pricing of data plans in Canada I may actually get one. Prior to the announcement Thursday there is no way I would have given up my Blackberry Curve for an iPhone. Now as I indicate it may actually be usable.

Other announcements indicate that VOIP applications will be allowed (only via 802.11) but this would also be a great addition. Think about having the ability to use Skype to make calls while at home or on the road and connected to a wireless network.

Now if the iPhone would support HSPDA (the new high speed cellular standard) then it would be truly an awesome device.

The release of the SDK should also give the iPod Touch new abilities as applications could be developed for these devices as well.

But a word of caution to Canadians, don’t hold your breath waiting. Rogers (the most likely Canadian carrier) will not move quickly to bring the iPhone to Canada as I have said in other posts, cellular data plans in Canada are ridiculous with the carriers seeming to work in collusion at keeping data rates extremely high! With the plans that Apple negotiated with AT&T in the US, I doubt that Canadian carriers would even consider that deal.

I will publish more if I hear anything!

Sync Google Calendar with Outlook

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Like a lot of people if there is one application that I use an awful lot it is Microsoft Outlook. Not only is it my email program, but I use it as my calendar application as well as my contacts and my to do list. With 2 Windows laptops and a desktop that I use trying to keep all the information up to date on my machines can be tough. What makes it even tougher is that I have two different email services (other than web mail) that I use. I have my main domain email that is set up with my hosting provider and my MS Small Business Server Exchange email which is the primary email address for my Blackberry.

Email has never been much of an issue to keep synced up. If access my primary email account from one of the laptops, it downloads the messages but leaves a copy on the server. When I download the messages on my main desktop it actually removes all of the messages from the server. In addition each laptop or PC has it’s own email address (including my MacBook Pro and Mac Mini) that I can use to forward important emails too, as well as a few distribution lists that send to all machines if needed. I usually just forward contact information via email (vCards) too if I need it on my other machines.

Using the calendar features are a little trickier. If I forward a meeting request to my Blackberry from my primary email, the request shows up sent on a behalf of the original person by myself. This creates a few confusing items. This past fall I started using Google Calendar as well for a home calendar as well as a personal calendar and one for my soccer team. Using Google Calendar was easy as I could copy events between calendars easily, since it was online it was very accessible by all machines. In addition I could overlay the calendars over my calendar in Outlook 2007.

Shortly after that I found a program that would allow for syncing of the Google Calendar with my Outlook Calendar SyncMyCal, available at http://www.syncmycal.com, brought things together because I could sync two ways between my Outlook Calendar and my Google calendar in both of my Outlook profiles (pop and Exchange), although I had to open each profile to do so. The software was a reasonably priced 25.00 although it is not the easiest software I have ever tried to install as I needed to install several components and it was not always successful on the first install.

Fast forward to last December when Google added a sync tool for Blackberry that allowed syncing of the Google calendar with your Blackberry calendar over the air. This meant that if I added a calendar event to my primary Outlook Calendar, syncmycal would sync it to Google Calendar and then the Google Sync tool would sync it to my Blackberry and then to my exchange server and vice versa. All of my calendars were synced up.

Just yesterday Google announced their own sync tool that allows you to Sync your Google Calendar with Outlook. As usual the Google tool is free. If you are a Google Calendar user, sign into your account and you will see the link to get the software in the upper right portion of the screen.

The download is very small (667KB) and the install is a piece of cake. When it starts it asks for the Outlook profile that you want to use, whether you want full two way sync or just one way, Google to Outlook or Outlook to Google, and the interval of the sync (every 10 minutes is the shortest). The program resides in your task bar and you can toggle it to sync anytime. It does not start automatically with Outlook but it the icon is in the PCs startup folder so it will start with a reboot or login. It can create a shortcut on your desktop to your Google Calendar if you want.

So far limitations I have found are that it will only sync your primary Google Calendar, so if you use more than one calendar it won’t sync those. There are no options for the amount of events (2 weeks worth etc) you want to sync, and no indication of conflict handling. But it is a first generation product and I am sure will get better. Also the only program it supports is Outlook which means Windows only. It works fine with Vista and Outlook 2007.

Syncmycal has two versions, the lite which is free but limited use and the Pro version which can sync multiple calendars and allows for more control may be a better solution for some people now. The software is not expensive and allows for installation on 2 PCs. Installation though can be difficult although it is much better in the latest version and online support isn’t too helpful. Once you get it installed and working it works very, very well.

If you are a Google Calendar and Outlook user and want to keep things in sync, then the new Google Calendar Sync tool is what you need. The price is also right!

Access your PC from your Blackberry or Windows Mobile Phone

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I received an email from Rove Mobile inc today on my Blackberry introducing their latest product. Rove Mobile has been creating remote access software for enterprises for some time and they have now released a product for consumers.

The product is called PCMobilizr (http://www.pcmobilizr.com) and consists of two pieces of software. A client that you install on your handheld and a piece of software that you install on your desktop. The software allows you to connect and remote control your home PC from your device over the cell phone network.

The program is sold as a monthly subscription service. I believe I heard that the pricing will be 9.95 USD per month on the demo video from there site.

The way the software works is that the piece of software on your desktop establishes a consistent connection to their servers. When you connect form your handheld it connects to Rove’s servers and your PC connection. Currently only Windows PCs are supported although they indicate that Macs will soon be supported. I am not sure how quick this will be over the Rogers Edge network but the demo video looked like it was pretty quick. I am also not sure what this will eat up in terms of your data plan but it really shouldn’t be that high as only screen refreshes and mouse and keyboard inputs should be transported across the network. Colour Blackberries are supported (8XXX series) and all flavours of Windows Smart phones.

They are offering a free 30 day free trial but I will be giving it a try. I will do a more indepth review when I get a chance to try it out.

Amazon MP3 Download Store to go International in 2008!

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A little late on the news here, as this was actually announced at the end of January. In case you are not aware, amazon.com sells unprotected high quality 256KB MP3 files as either individual songs or in complete albums. They offer variable pricing so some of their songs go for as little as .89. and Albums start at around 7.99. Currently the service is only available to US users (there are ways around this though), but Amazon has announced that they are going to be taking the store International in 2008.

This is a really big deal for most people that have an MP3 player. You are no longer tied to your music store if you have an iPod or a Zune, as the MP3s play on any player. I have searched for several albums that are available on Amazon as well as on iTunes. There are several albums that are available as unprotected MP3s on Amazon that are not available as iTunes Plus files. Usually the pricing is slightly cheaper but I have seen some albums that are a little more expensive.

The download program is a small, easy program to install (Mac or Windows) in your browser. It works well, downloading 1 file at time, but it will go through the entire album. It does have a resume function so if you lose your connection you can restart the downloads. The software does not manage your music but can import your purchased music into iTunes or Windows Media Player.

You can read the news release here.

I am really looking forward to this being introduced in Canada as since I use 2 Zunes and an iPod I like the ability to put music any any device without having to convert it to another format.

I have purchased a few albums from Amazon and do like the service.

No date has been announced yet but keep checking Amazon.ca or Amazon.com for info. If I hear of the release dates you will also be able to read it here!

Zune 8GB and Altec Lansing iM414 Speakers for Zune are here!

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Got my new Zune 8GB flash player yesterday as well as the Altec Lansing iM414 speaker dock for the Zune. I have started loading some music on the new Zune player and have tried out the speakers! Really cool. I will be writing a review of each device soon. So keep checking back.

Also ran into some weird problems with my 8GB iPod Touch lat night… Hopefully not a sign of bigger problems!