In 1927 Dr. Werner Heisenberg first wrote of what has become known as his "Uncertainty Principle". Though a thorough understanding of this principle involves boatloads of mathematics and quantum physics, it can be expressed, (in a very simplified form), like this:
It is not possible to know both where a particle is, and what the particle is doing at the same time.
This had profound implications for particle physics back in the 1920's when it was first stated, and it is still very much a part of atomic physics today. In fact, there are certain properties of very interesting things - superconductors, for example - that cannot be expressed or discovered without using the Uncertainty Principle.
The idea for this article came while I was thinking about writing another article. The thought path for that article lead me to "garage sales", and from there to Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle. How thinking about garage sales lead me to quantum physics is a whole 'nother story, but when I got thinking about it, it struck me as something very interesting to write about.
Now what the heck does Heisenberg and his Uncertainty Principle have to do with QA? Plenty.
In QA, especially software QA, we often forget that the observer and the observed interact, and that interaction can lead to results that may not be true in real life. A classic example of this is the "I haven't found any bugs, (yet), so it must be ready for release" concept found so often as a project deadline approaches. In this case, the seeming lack of defects has given the "observer", (the software tester), a potentially unreasonable confidence in the "observed", (the software product), setting the stage for a possible disaster come release time.
What should be happening is for the tester to seriously examine how applicable the test methodology might be to the object being tested. Are assumptions being made that may not really be valid in the real world? Are we testing deeply enough? Have we tested enough program paths to really have that level of confidence?
In a manual test scenario, there are a whole host of ways the observer and observed can interact, and I am sure you can think of ten or twenty yourself.
What about automated testing?
Automated testing is probably the best example of observer and observed interacting to their detriment that can be found in so-called "black box" testing. And it's not just the automated test software interacting that's the problem.
Of course, when you introduce an automated test tool into the program's logic flow, you have altered that flow - even if only infinitesimally. When you add up enough "infinitesimally's", you have a serious impact.
What about the speed of the test, or of the test's input? Automated tests can insert themselves into the program's messaging queue, and supply user input via trapping that queue and inserting messages into it. The result is that input is provided virtually instantly, something a normal user cannot do. In the real world, you have a user supplying a phone number for example. Instead of xxx-xxx-xxxx appearing instantly, maybe the user types in the area-code, (xxx), and then stops. Oh! I forgot! Let me go look it up. . . There may be a five or ten minute delay - or longer if he gets distracted by his wife wanting something done. What happens then? Is the test trapping output the same way? Natch'. Video? Video always works, right? Via automated testing we have no way to tell if the program's output visuals are corrupted, off-center, or unreadable.
In this case the interaction between the observer and the observed is woefully incomplete, yet the fact that "Automated Testing" passed with a clear bill of health may also lend itself to a false sense of confidence.
The canonical example of the Uncertainty Principle is White Box testing - or even "Grey Box" testing, where the "observer" has to deliberately insert instrumentation code into the product, or a similar kind of invasive testing. Oh, but valid QA requires a good "black-box" test after the white box testing is complete, right? And if I had a nickle for every software product that was released based on the results of the White Box test. . . Um, we probably shouldn't go there.
The bottom line is this: Any QA test plan should account for the interaction between the observer and the object being observed.
What say ye?
Jim (J.R.)
Sunday, July 28, 2013
Tuesday, April 23, 2013
Hot Smokin' Weapon! Award for April, 2013
GIGANEWS!
Greetings!
Today, I proudly announce yet another of my - somewhat - famous and world renowned Hot Smokin' Weapon! awards - and this award goes to my Usenet provider, Giganews.
The various criteria for my Hot Smokin' Weapon! award are somewhat subjective. However, since it's MY award, obviously I get to choose the criteria, right? (Laughing!)
Seriously, an award like this has to have rather flexible criteria, since it can encompass a wide variety of people, places, and things, depending on what strikes my fancy at a particular point in time.
However, the basics are something like this:
So, who is Giganews anyway?
In short, Giganews is my Usenet provider. And they have been my Usenet provider for a number of years.
Of course, calling Giganews "my Usenet provider" is like saying that The United States of America is "my nationality." It may not seem like much on the surface, but there's a lot more under the hood than meets the eye.
Giganews IS my Usenet provider, and at that task they do an excellent job. With article and download retention periods exceeding a thousand days, (right now, their web-site says the retention is at 1700+ days and climbing), and network speeds that make National Internet Backbones jealous, they are THE Usenet provider par excellence.
Now don't quote me on this, and I don't know this for a fact, but I would NOT be surprised to discover that Giganews provides the "National Internet Backbone" for the places they serve, their speeds are that awesome.
One thing you CAN quote me on is something a Giganews support person told me years ago: If you're having speed problems with downloads; something you can 100% take to the bank, and get CASH MONEY for, is that the problem is NOT at their end.
Another thing you can quote me on is the fact that I have seen, with my own eyes, the servers at Giganews totally saturate a 100 Mbit premium cable internet connection without seeming to break a sweat.
I have watched them go from a standing start to 100 Mbit in less time than it has taken me to write this sentence - and I am not the world's slowest typist. Depending on network congestion, I've seen them go from zero to network maximum in less than five seconds - often in one or two.
I have also seen, again with my own eyes, the network folks at Charter Internet throttle my internet speed rather dramatically! (You know, I don't think Charter likes these guys. . . . .)
As far as downloads are concerned, the only thing that would make my joy complete would be for them to start mirroring some of the more important Linux distributions, important Open Source projects, and back issues of Linux Format magazine!
Another thing they do, and do damned well, is provide highly secure VPN portals to various places all around the world.
Why is this important? Well. . . . .
First of all, at least in my case, I tend to be rather mobile. And I really don't know where I might be the next time I go on-line. And many of the places I connect at are, ah, (shall we say), somewhat less than pristine security-wise. (Can you say "Public Hot-Spot"? Ahhh! I KNEW you could!)
Being able to connect to a secure VPN connection that punches you through the wilds of that hot-spot to get you to the Internet is a Godsend.
Now, don't get me wrong. Simply punching through a hot-spot isn't the last word in Internet Security, and if that's all you've got going for you, than you're in huge trouble. However. . . It does protect you from others on that hot-spot who want to launch a sneak-attack on your system, or prevents you from falling prey to an "evil-twin" exploit. Etc. And that can be critically important, everything else being equal.
Another useful thing is that not only do they have a whole host of convenient VPN endpoints, these endpoints are located all over the world. Literally. Asia, Europe, the Americas. Even Russia! You name it, they got it. (Or will have it in two shakes of a tiger's tail.)
Why is this important? Simple. It allows you to appear to be somewhere else than where you physically are. And that can be damn handy.
Here are a couple of very simple examples:
First example:
My wife, (who came from Russia), loves to watch Russian TV and Russian movies, so she subscribes to a Russian entertainment web-site: etvnet.com. It's a subscription site, as in "for-pay", though they do have a whole host of free, (бесплатно), content as well. (Hint! Hint! If you're studying Russian. . . .)
There's only one kicker.
If you're not physically located in North America, (the United States or Canada), then No Enchilada Señor! Subscription or no, you cannot connect to their site. So, if we're traveling abroad, and she wants to catch the latest episode of an interesting mystery series, she's outta luck.
The solution? I punch through to a VPN endpoint physically located in the U.S., and I can connect to etvnet.com all day long if I want. And she can watch her Russian TV regardless of where we may be in the world.
Another example, just like the first, only going the other way:
There is a "coupon" site in Russia, Vigoda.ru, (I think), and they have periodic deals from various businesses, like resorts, who have excess product or capacity they want to fill. And the discounts can be rather dramatic. In the past we've scored all inclusive vacations at excellent lake-side resorts just north of Moscow for pennies on the dollar. Or maybe I should say kopeks on the Ruble? (grin!)
Since we periodically travel there to spoil our two delightful granddaughters absolutely rotten, and we like to take them to interesting places when we're there, if we can get massive discounts by booking before we go, so much the better.
Again, there's a location kicker. If you're not physically located there, then No Vodka and Caviar for You, Comrade! And, just like before, the solution is to punch through to the Shiny New VPN endpoint they just opened in Moscow Russia.
Which, I might add, is the particular inspiration for this Hot Smokin' Weapon! Award.
Back on the 14th of this month, (April, 2013), they announced a Shiny New VPN endpoint in Zurich Switzerland. And that's nice. I can think of all kinds of things to do with an endpoint in Zurich.
(Visiting CERN's lab comes to mind. . . . . .)
Coincidentally, (i.e. at the exact same time), we were having no end of troubles trying to book something nice for our granddaughters on said sooper-dooper deal site and I had narrowed the problem down to the fact that we were not physically there. So I sent a reply back to Giganews suggesting that, at some point in the future, if possible, they might, maybe, sorta' want to consider a VPN endpoint somewhere in Russia. If it could be located in Moscow Russia, that would be even better.
In a matter of an hour or two, my suggestion of a Russian endpoint, at some future point-in-time, if possible, maybe, had been responded to, and assigned a trouble ticket number. The very next day, I received a personal reply from a gentleman within the support team at Giganews telling me that they were always on the lookout for new VPN endpoints, and they appreciated suggestions like mine to improve their ideas.
The crowning point:
Six days later, Giganews announces a new VPN endpoint in Moscow Russia! I have the e-mail in my hot little hands, fresh in my inbox today. Not just somewhere in Russia, which would have sufficed, but exactly where I had requested! Now that's customer service with a vengeance!
I am still looking for more bandages to cover the scrapes on my jaw where it hit the concrete floor in my basement.
What else do they do?
They have a cloud storage product called, oddly enough, "Dump Truck", and everyone, even the lowest tier subscribers, get to use it - free of charge.
They have a sweetheart deal with NewsLeecher to provide you with free access to what is probably the best news-crawler software out there.
Not only do they provide all these VPN access points, they provide a cute little utility that automates the connection process for you. You click on the icon, select the endpoint you want, and away you go!
In other words, not only do they have one heck of a service, they go outta their way to make it work for you, instead of you working for it.
Since they know that not everyone needs the same things from a Usenet provider - some people read the occasional message or two on .alt.birdwatching.european.crows, while others, (like myself), use it as a major research tool - they have a variety of subscription plans.
These plans range from their more limited "Perl" level plan starting at $5/month, (for the bird-watchers), all the way to their power-user "Diamond" plan for $35/month, though they usually have a nice sign-up incentive for the Diamond plan that gives you a sweet discount for the first few months.
Of course, depending on the plan you choose, there is a greater or lesser amount of freebies included with it, though they go outta their way to make things as nice as possible for everyone - so even the bird-watchers feel right at home.
Go pay 'em a visit! (<== cleverly hidden hyperlink) And tell 'em that Jim over at QA TechTips sent 'ya!
Today, I proudly announce yet another of my - somewhat - famous and world renowned Hot Smokin' Weapon! awards - and this award goes to my Usenet provider, Giganews.
The various criteria for my Hot Smokin' Weapon! award are somewhat subjective. However, since it's MY award, obviously I get to choose the criteria, right? (Laughing!)
Seriously, an award like this has to have rather flexible criteria, since it can encompass a wide variety of people, places, and things, depending on what strikes my fancy at a particular point in time.
However, the basics are something like this:
- Do they deliver, as promised, 100% NO BULLSHIT?
- In the extremely unlikely event that "Shit DOES Happen," do they promptly step up, take ownership, and make it right, right away?
- Do they make product quality and customer satisfaction their highest priority?
- Is this something I can unashamedly recommend to whomever might be interested?
- Do they make "uncommon valor a common virtue" by going above and beyond the call of duty to meet the customer's needs?
- Do they do this at a price that mere mortals like you and I can afford? And despite that, do they make us feel like we're big-shots like Warren Buffet or Bill Gates?
So, who is Giganews anyway?
In short, Giganews is my Usenet provider. And they have been my Usenet provider for a number of years.
Of course, calling Giganews "my Usenet provider" is like saying that The United States of America is "my nationality." It may not seem like much on the surface, but there's a lot more under the hood than meets the eye.
Giganews IS my Usenet provider, and at that task they do an excellent job. With article and download retention periods exceeding a thousand days, (right now, their web-site says the retention is at 1700+ days and climbing), and network speeds that make National Internet Backbones jealous, they are THE Usenet provider par excellence.
Now don't quote me on this, and I don't know this for a fact, but I would NOT be surprised to discover that Giganews provides the "National Internet Backbone" for the places they serve, their speeds are that awesome.
One thing you CAN quote me on is something a Giganews support person told me years ago: If you're having speed problems with downloads; something you can 100% take to the bank, and get CASH MONEY for, is that the problem is NOT at their end.
Another thing you can quote me on is the fact that I have seen, with my own eyes, the servers at Giganews totally saturate a 100 Mbit premium cable internet connection without seeming to break a sweat.
I have watched them go from a standing start to 100 Mbit in less time than it has taken me to write this sentence - and I am not the world's slowest typist. Depending on network congestion, I've seen them go from zero to network maximum in less than five seconds - often in one or two.
I have also seen, again with my own eyes, the network folks at Charter Internet throttle my internet speed rather dramatically! (You know, I don't think Charter likes these guys. . . . .)
As far as downloads are concerned, the only thing that would make my joy complete would be for them to start mirroring some of the more important Linux distributions, important Open Source projects, and back issues of Linux Format magazine!
Another thing they do, and do damned well, is provide highly secure VPN portals to various places all around the world.
Why is this important? Well. . . . .
First of all, at least in my case, I tend to be rather mobile. And I really don't know where I might be the next time I go on-line. And many of the places I connect at are, ah, (shall we say), somewhat less than pristine security-wise. (Can you say "Public Hot-Spot"? Ahhh! I KNEW you could!)
Being able to connect to a secure VPN connection that punches you through the wilds of that hot-spot to get you to the Internet is a Godsend.
Now, don't get me wrong. Simply punching through a hot-spot isn't the last word in Internet Security, and if that's all you've got going for you, than you're in huge trouble. However. . . It does protect you from others on that hot-spot who want to launch a sneak-attack on your system, or prevents you from falling prey to an "evil-twin" exploit. Etc. And that can be critically important, everything else being equal.
Another useful thing is that not only do they have a whole host of convenient VPN endpoints, these endpoints are located all over the world. Literally. Asia, Europe, the Americas. Even Russia! You name it, they got it. (Or will have it in two shakes of a tiger's tail.)
Why is this important? Simple. It allows you to appear to be somewhere else than where you physically are. And that can be damn handy.
Here are a couple of very simple examples:
First example:
My wife, (who came from Russia), loves to watch Russian TV and Russian movies, so she subscribes to a Russian entertainment web-site: etvnet.com. It's a subscription site, as in "for-pay", though they do have a whole host of free, (бесплатно), content as well. (Hint! Hint! If you're studying Russian. . . .)
There's only one kicker.
If you're not physically located in North America, (the United States or Canada), then No Enchilada Señor! Subscription or no, you cannot connect to their site. So, if we're traveling abroad, and she wants to catch the latest episode of an interesting mystery series, she's outta luck.
The solution? I punch through to a VPN endpoint physically located in the U.S., and I can connect to etvnet.com all day long if I want. And she can watch her Russian TV regardless of where we may be in the world.
Another example, just like the first, only going the other way:
There is a "coupon" site in Russia, Vigoda.ru, (I think), and they have periodic deals from various businesses, like resorts, who have excess product or capacity they want to fill. And the discounts can be rather dramatic. In the past we've scored all inclusive vacations at excellent lake-side resorts just north of Moscow for pennies on the dollar. Or maybe I should say kopeks on the Ruble? (grin!)
Since we periodically travel there to spoil our two delightful granddaughters absolutely rotten, and we like to take them to interesting places when we're there, if we can get massive discounts by booking before we go, so much the better.
Again, there's a location kicker. If you're not physically located there, then No Vodka and Caviar for You, Comrade! And, just like before, the solution is to punch through to the Shiny New VPN endpoint they just opened in Moscow Russia.
Which, I might add, is the particular inspiration for this Hot Smokin' Weapon! Award.
Back on the 14th of this month, (April, 2013), they announced a Shiny New VPN endpoint in Zurich Switzerland. And that's nice. I can think of all kinds of things to do with an endpoint in Zurich.
(Visiting CERN's lab comes to mind. . . . . .)
Coincidentally, (i.e. at the exact same time), we were having no end of troubles trying to book something nice for our granddaughters on said sooper-dooper deal site and I had narrowed the problem down to the fact that we were not physically there. So I sent a reply back to Giganews suggesting that, at some point in the future, if possible, they might, maybe, sorta' want to consider a VPN endpoint somewhere in Russia. If it could be located in Moscow Russia, that would be even better.
In a matter of an hour or two, my suggestion of a Russian endpoint, at some future point-in-time, if possible, maybe, had been responded to, and assigned a trouble ticket number. The very next day, I received a personal reply from a gentleman within the support team at Giganews telling me that they were always on the lookout for new VPN endpoints, and they appreciated suggestions like mine to improve their ideas.
The crowning point:
Six days later, Giganews announces a new VPN endpoint in Moscow Russia! I have the e-mail in my hot little hands, fresh in my inbox today. Not just somewhere in Russia, which would have sufficed, but exactly where I had requested! Now that's customer service with a vengeance!
I am still looking for more bandages to cover the scrapes on my jaw where it hit the concrete floor in my basement.
What else do they do?
They have a cloud storage product called, oddly enough, "Dump Truck", and everyone, even the lowest tier subscribers, get to use it - free of charge.
They have a sweetheart deal with NewsLeecher to provide you with free access to what is probably the best news-crawler software out there.
Not only do they provide all these VPN access points, they provide a cute little utility that automates the connection process for you. You click on the icon, select the endpoint you want, and away you go!
In other words, not only do they have one heck of a service, they go outta their way to make it work for you, instead of you working for it.
Since they know that not everyone needs the same things from a Usenet provider - some people read the occasional message or two on .alt.birdwatching.european.crows, while others, (like myself), use it as a major research tool - they have a variety of subscription plans.
These plans range from their more limited "Perl" level plan starting at $5/month, (for the bird-watchers), all the way to their power-user "Diamond" plan for $35/month, though they usually have a nice sign-up incentive for the Diamond plan that gives you a sweet discount for the first few months.
Of course, depending on the plan you choose, there is a greater or lesser amount of freebies included with it, though they go outta their way to make things as nice as possible for everyone - so even the bird-watchers feel right at home.
Go pay 'em a visit! (<== cleverly hidden hyperlink) And tell 'em that Jim over at QA TechTips sent 'ya!
Tuesday, March 26, 2013
All Hail Mighty Mint!
The new King of the Linux Distro's
Back in November of 2012, I did a review of Linux Mint 13 after it had destroyed all contenders in Linux Format's Annual "War of the Distributions" - beating some of the real heavyweights like Fedora and Ubuntu.
Prior to this I really hadn't paid that much attention to Mint as it appeared to be just another Ubuntu clone among many Ubuntu clones. Of course, it was getting some good press - especially the Cinnamon desktop - but that didn't faze me since just about every distro out there has its own legions of fan-boys.
However. . . . .
After Linux Format ran just about every major distribution through the mill, compared them feature-for-feature, and crowned Mint the winner, I started to think again about playing with Mint. So I downloaded Mint 13, (the latest at that point), with the Cinnamon desktop and gave it a spin. I ran the live CD, did a couple of test installations - both on real hardware and within VMware - and I was impressed out of my socks.
It wasn't full of Canonical's posturing, arm waving, and experimenting with bizarre new layouts and desktop paradigms every release. It wasn't trying to monetize the distribution with hard-coded advertisements or forced use of Canonical's newest features. It wasn't trying to out-Mac the Mac. It just worked, and it worked very well. The interface was familiar, uncluttered, and easy to work with, and it was filled with a lot of nice little touches here and there, which indicated to me that someone at Mint was actually trying to give the user what they needed.
Now I don't want to completely re-write what I wrote before, you can go read all about it here.
Just this last week I picked up another copy of Linux Format, (Issue 167, February 2013), and splashed all over the front cover was a HUGE copy of Mint's logo, and the headline said "All Hail the new number one distro. . . MIGHTY MINT"
My interest piqued, I read the article - and it really reminded me of my own review of Mint 13. They fell all over themselves marveling at its clean interface, stability, and how it was conducive to getting real work done.
Of course, what really piqued my interest was the article titled Mint - The new Ubuntu?
And then I thought about it. . . .
Why had I jumped on the Ubuntu bandwagon in the first place? Because I was getting tired of other distributions - Fedora among them - telling me what I could and could-not do with my own system.
Ubuntu's motto (was) being "all about choices" - and that's what I wanted. If I wanted to make a system install jump and wave it's arms like a maniac, I could do it. If I wanted an install that would sit and play quietly, I could do that too.
Then Canonical and Ubuntu started getting snotty. There was a lot of moaning and griping on Ubuntu's fora about not wanting to "Dumb Down Ubuntu" - as if that was, somehow, beneath their dignity. They started making unilateral decisions - absent user feedback - that did NOT give us the choice of using it or not. Grub2, the Unity desktop, the sudden shift to a very Macintosh-like layout with stuff organized in a very Mac-centric way, and the way the decision makers at Canonical and Ubuntu were turning a deaf ear to the user's requests. It was almost as if the folks at Ubuntu had developed a "F**k 'em all!" attitude - and if you don't like it, go somewhere else.
Apparently, Ubuntu got its wish. People have been abandoning Ubuntu in droves, wanting an Ubuntu-like distribution that was willing to listen and let them get work done.
Enter Mint, stage left.
Mint's philosophy, since day one, was to provide a simple, working, usable Linux distribution that avoided all the fancy eye-candy, the bells-and-whistles that eventually destabilize a system. Most of all, Linux Mint did not have any corporate identity pulling them this way and that. Mint's loyalty, and the primary focus of the Mint leadership and developers has been the user and the user experience.
Back when I first fired-up Mint 13, it was an Epiphany, almost bordering on a religious experience. Wow! A Linux distro that did everything I wanted a distribution to do, and none of the things I didn't want it to do. Ergo: My glowing article about Linux Mint 13.
Not long after that, Mint released version 14, based on Ubuntu 12.04 LTE and I decided to give it a spin. It didn't spin very fast though being a bit wonky and weird in ways that I wasn't sure I liked. So I tossed the Mint 14 disk in the trash and went back to 13.
Apparently I wasn't the only person who tossed that distribution. Though I was not on the Mint fora and didn't hear any of the discussions, it was remarkable how quickly Mint 14.1 came out.
With 14.1, they got it right. It's just like 13, only more so. Clean, uncluttered, and easy to work with. In fact, if it weren't for the changed desktop background saying "14" instead of "Maya", you'd be hard pressed to tell the distributions apart just by looking at them. And frankly, I like that. I don't want to re-learn a distribution's interface every time they cut a release. I want everything that worked in the one distribution to work in the next, and work the same way if not better.
Like I used to say about Ubuntu way, way back: This is a distribution that I would feel comfortable loading up on my wife's computer, or even my sainted mother's.
Bottom line:
Mint is a distribution that "just works", and it has leadership and maintainers who actually want to listen to the users suggestions. With that kind of an attitude toward the distribution and their user-base, it's easy to see why people say:
What say ye?
Jim (JR)
Prior to this I really hadn't paid that much attention to Mint as it appeared to be just another Ubuntu clone among many Ubuntu clones. Of course, it was getting some good press - especially the Cinnamon desktop - but that didn't faze me since just about every distro out there has its own legions of fan-boys.
However. . . . .
After Linux Format ran just about every major distribution through the mill, compared them feature-for-feature, and crowned Mint the winner, I started to think again about playing with Mint. So I downloaded Mint 13, (the latest at that point), with the Cinnamon desktop and gave it a spin. I ran the live CD, did a couple of test installations - both on real hardware and within VMware - and I was impressed out of my socks.
It wasn't full of Canonical's posturing, arm waving, and experimenting with bizarre new layouts and desktop paradigms every release. It wasn't trying to monetize the distribution with hard-coded advertisements or forced use of Canonical's newest features. It wasn't trying to out-Mac the Mac. It just worked, and it worked very well. The interface was familiar, uncluttered, and easy to work with, and it was filled with a lot of nice little touches here and there, which indicated to me that someone at Mint was actually trying to give the user what they needed.
Now I don't want to completely re-write what I wrote before, you can go read all about it here.
Just this last week I picked up another copy of Linux Format, (Issue 167, February 2013), and splashed all over the front cover was a HUGE copy of Mint's logo, and the headline said "All Hail the new number one distro. . . MIGHTY MINT"
My interest piqued, I read the article - and it really reminded me of my own review of Mint 13. They fell all over themselves marveling at its clean interface, stability, and how it was conducive to getting real work done.
Of course, what really piqued my interest was the article titled Mint - The new Ubuntu?
And then I thought about it. . . .
Why had I jumped on the Ubuntu bandwagon in the first place? Because I was getting tired of other distributions - Fedora among them - telling me what I could and could-not do with my own system.
Ubuntu's motto (was) being "all about choices" - and that's what I wanted. If I wanted to make a system install jump and wave it's arms like a maniac, I could do it. If I wanted an install that would sit and play quietly, I could do that too.
Then Canonical and Ubuntu started getting snotty. There was a lot of moaning and griping on Ubuntu's fora about not wanting to "Dumb Down Ubuntu" - as if that was, somehow, beneath their dignity. They started making unilateral decisions - absent user feedback - that did NOT give us the choice of using it or not. Grub2, the Unity desktop, the sudden shift to a very Macintosh-like layout with stuff organized in a very Mac-centric way, and the way the decision makers at Canonical and Ubuntu were turning a deaf ear to the user's requests. It was almost as if the folks at Ubuntu had developed a "F**k 'em all!" attitude - and if you don't like it, go somewhere else.
Apparently, Ubuntu got its wish. People have been abandoning Ubuntu in droves, wanting an Ubuntu-like distribution that was willing to listen and let them get work done.
Enter Mint, stage left.
Mint's philosophy, since day one, was to provide a simple, working, usable Linux distribution that avoided all the fancy eye-candy, the bells-and-whistles that eventually destabilize a system. Most of all, Linux Mint did not have any corporate identity pulling them this way and that. Mint's loyalty, and the primary focus of the Mint leadership and developers has been the user and the user experience.
Back when I first fired-up Mint 13, it was an Epiphany, almost bordering on a religious experience. Wow! A Linux distro that did everything I wanted a distribution to do, and none of the things I didn't want it to do. Ergo: My glowing article about Linux Mint 13.
Not long after that, Mint released version 14, based on Ubuntu 12.04 LTE and I decided to give it a spin. It didn't spin very fast though being a bit wonky and weird in ways that I wasn't sure I liked. So I tossed the Mint 14 disk in the trash and went back to 13.
Apparently I wasn't the only person who tossed that distribution. Though I was not on the Mint fora and didn't hear any of the discussions, it was remarkable how quickly Mint 14.1 came out.
With 14.1, they got it right. It's just like 13, only more so. Clean, uncluttered, and easy to work with. In fact, if it weren't for the changed desktop background saying "14" instead of "Maya", you'd be hard pressed to tell the distributions apart just by looking at them. And frankly, I like that. I don't want to re-learn a distribution's interface every time they cut a release. I want everything that worked in the one distribution to work in the next, and work the same way if not better.
Like I used to say about Ubuntu way, way back: This is a distribution that I would feel comfortable loading up on my wife's computer, or even my sainted mother's.
Bottom line:
Mint is a distribution that "just works", and it has leadership and maintainers who actually want to listen to the users suggestions. With that kind of an attitude toward the distribution and their user-base, it's easy to see why people say:
All Hail the new number one distro. . . .
MIGHTY MINT!
Jim (JR)
Sunday, March 24, 2013
Review: Samsung's ATIV Smart PC 500T
Is it worth the money?
Recently I had an opportunity to take a peek at one of Samsung's newest tablets, the ATIV Smart PC, and frankly, I thought it was an interesting piece. Looking at it, you are immediately aware of how this can function as both a tablet PC and a fairly good sized netbook.
The version I messed with was the XE500T1C-HA1US model with a "64 gig" internal SSD hard drive, 2 gigs of internal system memory, 802.11 a/b/g/n Wireless connectivity. mini-HDMI, microSD, and a standard-sized headphone jack.
The nice thing about this particular tablet is that it comes with the keyboard/docking station right out of the box - whereas with many tablets, the keyboard and/or dock is an extra-cost accessory.
As tablets go, it's rather big - 11.6" x 7.2", and maybe just a tad more than a half-inch thick when it's closed on the keyboard.
I have read other reviews who complain that the 12 x 7 form-factor is too big and clumsy. Of course, that all depends on what you're looking for in a tablet. If you want something that will run Android or iOS apps, surf the web, play tunes and videos, then maybe they're right.
However, if you are looking for something a little more substantial - something with a big enough screen to let you actually see what you're doing, and actually do something useful, like word processing, e-mail, and other office-type apps, then this tablet might just be your man.
One place where I can see something like this being really handy is in the "mobile office" scenario. Say you're a Real Estate agent, or someone who takes notes or fills out forms "on the road" - a tablet like this that's almost the size of a full sheet of paper could be really handy.
The included accessories comprise the keyboard / dock, as well as a charging adapter which works with both American and European voltages. The power module has the (somewhat) standard triangular three-pin plug that allows you to find cords that will fit whatever sockets you may have to use.
(Reviewer's note: Having been overseas on a number of occasions, I find the ability to use an actual power cord designed for the sockets you are going to be using a far better choice than trying to futz around with a bunch of stupid little plug-adapters.)
They are also thoughtful enough to include several, (five!), extra pen tips for their S-Pen, and a small metal removal tool that makes changing the plastic tips reasonably simple. Even though they supply five extra tips, each of which is reversible, the tips themselves look to be quite rugged. With five extras, you will outgrow the tablet long before you use up the pen's tips. That is unless you chew them, or drag them on concrete.
Before I go on to tell you what I think about this beast, I want to make a very substantial caveat: This tablet shipped with Windows 8 installed, which, as I have already said, is an absolute PIG of an operating system.
There were performance issues that may not have had anything at all to do with the underlying hardware, such as sluggish response at times, or choppy video. I could not compare this system with Windows 8 installed to anything else as Microsoft's SecureBoot mandate makes it literally impossible to use this hardware with any other operating system, even if it's on a bootable CD.
I want to place this right out on the table, up front, since I have had similar issues with installations of Windows Vista - another ill-conceived operating system - even on hardware that was known to be rock-solid with performance to burn. I would like to suggest that you take the performance issues raised in this review with a pretty large chunk of salt. That is, until it is possible to review this with some other operating system.
The Good News:
The Bad News:
The bottom line:
It's a nice piece and I can see how it could be pretty darn useful, especially in a student or mobile-office scenario, but it's no laptop. The fact that it comes with a docking keyboard that - in essence - turns it into a "convertible" tablet / netbook system, is one of it's strongest points.
It has plenty of USB ports, and if you need more than the 32 gigs of drive space left over after Windows 8 claims the first half, you can use either external USB drives, or slip a microSD card into it to add an additional on-board drive to store stuff in. I should also note that they have other versions of this tablet that include larger amounts of SSD storage, and perhaps other interesting features built in.
Since the model I reviewed only came with wireless internet capability, it wasn't the best choice for watching streaming video, as on my local wireless network the video I streamed to it was a bit choppy at times.
Though I will qualify that statement by saying that I had similar problems with Windows Vista - even on a hard-wired network connection - so it may not be the tablet's fault. Again, there are other models that include hard-wired Gigabit LAN connectivity if that's something you want.
The fact that it has an Atom processor - even though it's dual core - it still seems a bit under-powered at times. Though - another caveat is that this will be strongly influenced by what you want to do with it, and again this may be due to Windows 8 instead of the hardware.
The list price of $750 may not endear it to many people either - especially since a bit of judicious web-sniffing brings up alternatives for much less money. Prior to writing this review, I made a quick web-search looking for other Windows 8 tablets, and it wasn't long before I found a strong contender from Acer - another brand I like - in their W510-1422 Tablet - that has virtually identical specs to the Samsung, including screen size and keyboard, for $600. And this is from Acer's own on-line store. You might be able to find it cheaper at other reputable on-line retailers like Amazon or B&H.
What say ye?
Jim (JR)
The version I messed with was the XE500T1C-HA1US model with a "64 gig" internal SSD hard drive, 2 gigs of internal system memory, 802.11 a/b/g/n Wireless connectivity. mini-HDMI, microSD, and a standard-sized headphone jack.
 |
| The Samsung XE500T1C-HA1US |
The nice thing about this particular tablet is that it comes with the keyboard/docking station right out of the box - whereas with many tablets, the keyboard and/or dock is an extra-cost accessory.
As tablets go, it's rather big - 11.6" x 7.2", and maybe just a tad more than a half-inch thick when it's closed on the keyboard.
 |
| Here are the full spec's for this system at Samsung's site |
I have read other reviews who complain that the 12 x 7 form-factor is too big and clumsy. Of course, that all depends on what you're looking for in a tablet. If you want something that will run Android or iOS apps, surf the web, play tunes and videos, then maybe they're right.
However, if you are looking for something a little more substantial - something with a big enough screen to let you actually see what you're doing, and actually do something useful, like word processing, e-mail, and other office-type apps, then this tablet might just be your man.
One place where I can see something like this being really handy is in the "mobile office" scenario. Say you're a Real Estate agent, or someone who takes notes or fills out forms "on the road" - a tablet like this that's almost the size of a full sheet of paper could be really handy.
The included accessories comprise the keyboard / dock, as well as a charging adapter which works with both American and European voltages. The power module has the (somewhat) standard triangular three-pin plug that allows you to find cords that will fit whatever sockets you may have to use.
(Reviewer's note: Having been overseas on a number of occasions, I find the ability to use an actual power cord designed for the sockets you are going to be using a far better choice than trying to futz around with a bunch of stupid little plug-adapters.)
They are also thoughtful enough to include several, (five!), extra pen tips for their S-Pen, and a small metal removal tool that makes changing the plastic tips reasonably simple. Even though they supply five extra tips, each of which is reversible, the tips themselves look to be quite rugged. With five extras, you will outgrow the tablet long before you use up the pen's tips. That is unless you chew them, or drag them on concrete.
Before I go on to tell you what I think about this beast, I want to make a very substantial caveat: This tablet shipped with Windows 8 installed, which, as I have already said, is an absolute PIG of an operating system.
There were performance issues that may not have had anything at all to do with the underlying hardware, such as sluggish response at times, or choppy video. I could not compare this system with Windows 8 installed to anything else as Microsoft's SecureBoot mandate makes it literally impossible to use this hardware with any other operating system, even if it's on a bootable CD.
I want to place this right out on the table, up front, since I have had similar issues with installations of Windows Vista - another ill-conceived operating system - even on hardware that was known to be rock-solid with performance to burn. I would like to suggest that you take the performance issues raised in this review with a pretty large chunk of salt. That is, until it is possible to review this with some other operating system.
The Good News:
- It runs the Windows operating system, which means that the majority of the apps that you will need to use, will slide right in with 'nary a squeak.
- It's big. The screen is big, bright, and easy to work with. Just as important in my opinion, the screen is large enough so that you can see what you're doing. Even if your eyes aren't exactly twenty years old anymore.
- The touch features are clever and interesting. Though you can use your fingers for many tasks, you will probably want to keep the included "S-Pen" in your pocket as well. One nice feature is that when you get the pen close to the screen, a small target-like cursor pops up showing you where the screen thinks you're pointing - damn handy if you ask me. Likewise, on the side of the pen is a small plastic hinged button of sorts that - when pressed - displays a circle around the target that's easy to see, indicating that you are about to right-click instead of left-click. Also pretty darn handy.
- The included keyboard, though a bit small by laptop standards, is still a comfortable size and even my fat fingers had no trouble using it.
- Attaching the tablet screen to the keyboard is accomplished by two hook-clips in the keyboard's track where the tablet docks. When they snap in, it's a nice solid attachment.
- Likewise, once docked, the "dock" part of the keyboard is hinged so you can close it like a laptop.
- It has one USB slot on the "top" of the tablet, along with a micro-SD card slot and - depending on model - there is also a place where you can slip in a GSM SIM card for broadband internet access.
- On the left side, there's a small (ahem!) HDMI port, though I am not sure that this little beast would be my choice as a source of HDMI video.
- There is a charging port on both the keyboard and the tablet itself, so you can either charge it as a tablet, or have it recharge when docked. (You only get one charger though, to effectively use both, you will probably want to get a second one.)
- The keyboard also adds two extra USB ports, so if you want an external hard drive, or a mouse, attached to the keyboard dock, you can set it up and just leave it that way.
The Bad News:
- It comes with Windows 8 - which as I discussed in a previous article - isn't exactly the operating system I'd want to see on a PC - though to be honest, I have no idea how you'd use Win-7 on a tablet either.
- It's big. It won't fit into a pocketbook or pocket - if you want to tote it around you will probably want some kind of a cover or netbook bag for it.
- Though the keyboard latches tightly to the tablet when docked - you have to be really careful about how well it has snapped into place. On a few occasions, after I thought I had a good solid attachment, I discovered that only one of the two hook-latches had engaged.
- There is a little button just below the center of the tablet's screen on the keyboard's dock that releases the tablet. I found it a bit clumsy to use, often struggling to get the tablet undocked, worrying if I was grabbing the tablet hard enough to damage the screen when trying to separate the two pieces.
- Though the keyboard dock is clever and useful, the combination touch-pad and button is absolutely awful - there is only one button, which you press by pushing down on the touch-pad itself. Trying to right-click with the touch-pad involves a somewhat complicated two-finger move while pressing the touch pad to engage the button.
- Recommendation: Get yourself a wireless mouse that has the teeny-tiny dongle that barely pokes out the side and use that. Also, unless you are a lot more coordinated than I am, you will probably want to turn off tapping as well. I found it way too easy to inadvertently move the mouse cursor and select things just by typing if my palm brushed the touch-pad.
- The dual-core 32 bit Atom processor is powerful enough for most every-day tasks, but I'd save the heavy lifting for something more substantial.
- In my case, I had some trouble using the pen and touch features. This may not be the fault of the tablet, as anyone that has enough of a tremor that they can rent themselves out as a paint-shaker, isn't the best candidate for something that requires a modicum of eye-hand coordination. However I was a bit disappointed; after all Microsoft's posturing about "accessibility" they didn't include some kind of anti-tremor feature. Of course, even Ubuntu Linux doesn't have that, and I'm pretty darn sure that Apple isn't paying too much attention to those of us with unsteady hands either.
- It comes with Microsoft's newest abomination - SecureBoot - which makes any kind of modification or update to the system pretty much impossible. Though I will admit that this isn't Samsung's fault, as Microsoft has mandated certain very specific requirements to tablet manufacturers before they can ship Windows 8. The Microsoft mandated features of the EFI bios makes it virtually impossible to boot using external media. I tried booting with a bootable USB thumb-drive as well as an external CD drive, and though both were detected during boot-up, (I could tell by the way the lights flashed that it obviously had mounted the device and read from it), the EFI bios refused to list them as potential boot sources and would not touch them. Maybe it only works if they are properly SecureBoot blessed? I don't know, but I do know that I could not boot anything I had externally, even with SecureBoot marked as "disabled" in the bios itself. Ergo, if you decide you want to transform this into a hot-smokin' Linux tablet - fuggeddaboutit.
The bottom line:
It's a nice piece and I can see how it could be pretty darn useful, especially in a student or mobile-office scenario, but it's no laptop. The fact that it comes with a docking keyboard that - in essence - turns it into a "convertible" tablet / netbook system, is one of it's strongest points.
It has plenty of USB ports, and if you need more than the 32 gigs of drive space left over after Windows 8 claims the first half, you can use either external USB drives, or slip a microSD card into it to add an additional on-board drive to store stuff in. I should also note that they have other versions of this tablet that include larger amounts of SSD storage, and perhaps other interesting features built in.
Since the model I reviewed only came with wireless internet capability, it wasn't the best choice for watching streaming video, as on my local wireless network the video I streamed to it was a bit choppy at times.
Though I will qualify that statement by saying that I had similar problems with Windows Vista - even on a hard-wired network connection - so it may not be the tablet's fault. Again, there are other models that include hard-wired Gigabit LAN connectivity if that's something you want.
The fact that it has an Atom processor - even though it's dual core - it still seems a bit under-powered at times. Though - another caveat is that this will be strongly influenced by what you want to do with it, and again this may be due to Windows 8 instead of the hardware.
The list price of $750 may not endear it to many people either - especially since a bit of judicious web-sniffing brings up alternatives for much less money. Prior to writing this review, I made a quick web-search looking for other Windows 8 tablets, and it wasn't long before I found a strong contender from Acer - another brand I like - in their W510-1422 Tablet - that has virtually identical specs to the Samsung, including screen size and keyboard, for $600. And this is from Acer's own on-line store. You might be able to find it cheaper at other reputable on-line retailers like Amazon or B&H.
What say ye?
Jim (JR)
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