CURRENTS

Well it has arrived, my new Paperwhite Kindle. It is small, light, and the text is clear. It is very easy to use with sensible touch areas. The built-in light is great for darker reading areas and the battery technology will allow me to keep it on the whole time and still get a long reading life from the unit. I bought the Wi-Fi version because that is all I need to access my Amazon account. This model does not have any extras like the ability to play music or audio books, so if you need this stick with the earlier models for the time being. For the person who wants to replace their book reading with an electronic device that can be used in the dark then this is perfect and exactly what I want.

Why is it that Microsoft Windows is so bad at disk management? I recently wanted to copy everything from a 1.5TB drive to a new 3TB one. First of all when you plug the drive in you will need to specify a GPT partition as the older partition managers don't work beyond 2TB. I did that then made the mistake under Windows 7, 64 bit of using Acronics to clone the disk as a faster option than a copy. I ended up with a 2TB partition and unallocated partition at the end of the disk with no tools on Windows 7 to fix this.

Here's what you need to do, go to www.easeus.com and download the free Partition Master for Home use. Right click on the drive, wipe out the partition and create a new GPT drive partition to use. A hat tip to the people over at Ease US for providing this free utility, they do have of course pro and business versions for sale that provide extra features. Under Windows 7 you can't even format the unallocated partition and use it as an extended one, hopeless.

Of course then there is Windows 8. Microsoft claims that W8 will be third time lucky when it comes to Windows security. If you have lost count Vista was supposed to and of course before that there was XP SP2. It is also perhaps third time lucky as far as a tablet OPC is concerned with again XP SP2 and then the 2006 mobile PC if that even counts. Windows 8 is supposed to be truly sandboxed by copying Apple's iTunes store and providing certified applications. There are apparently about 6,000 apps ready to go for RT with 100,000 promised by next February. The Start button is gone replaced by a Start tag on the screen _ 17 years we have had a Start button.

So Windows 8 should probably be called windowless 8 because the whole window look and feel has been replaced by, well no window and some square buttons. The focus is well and truly the tablet and touch markets with the OS shoehorned into a PC skin to keep the updates alive for us regular users. In some recent user forums there were some concerns expressed over the different versions. If you have a PC then don't buy anything with RT in the title if you want to run any of your existing software. The big question is have they made too many changes? The next question, and from what I have been reading this is a real issue, will organisations adopt such a radical change?

As expected the new iPad mini has been announced in white and black, Wi-Fi and cellular models. They have a 5.3-inch screen weigh just over 300g and come in 16, 32 and 64GB versions. There is also Bluetooth connectivity with a 1024 by 768 display resolution. Dual core CPU, 5MP main and 1.2MP screen camera. There is 1080p video capture and the claim is between 9-10 hours of heavy use. No GPS, no USB port, no battery access, and no memory cards, or in other words a typical Apple device.

There are conflicting reports about Apple dropping Samsung LCD displays, but the truth may be somewhat more mundane. Apple is starting to squeeze their suppliers in prices and Samsung can no longer deliver for what Apple is prepared to pay. The questions are then who will supply Apple in the future and will they be cheaper screens, i.e. will quality be sacrificed in any way?

I'm still working my way through Torchlight 2. When you get to the end you can buy new maps and hence new places to explore by talking to the little guy downstairs. I'm going through playing the Berserker at the moment, not an easy way to play solo.

Finally for this week, 3D printers are becoming much more main stream with models now available for under $1,000 (31,000 baht). My first black and white laser printer cost more than that, I love new technology.

James Hein is an IT professional of over 30 years' standing. You can contact him at jclhein@gmail.com.