I’ve said in the past that I’ve been unexcited by the iPad, and remember I said that before I joined Microsoft so it’s not a case of “oh, he would say that”. Would I have spent my own money on a Windows tablet? Before getting the W500 I would have said no… now I’m not so sure because it’s been incredibly useful since hitting the power-on button a couple of weeks before Christmas.

The W500 boasts Windows 7 Home Premium (which I could upgrade to Enterprise, but I haven’t yet), a dual-core processor, 2gb of RAM, a 32gb solid-state drive, a crystal-clear 1280 x 800 display and front and rear-facing cameras. Probably the one statistic in this list that stands out as a bit measly is the storage – after Windows and Office are installed there’s significantly less storage available – but there is an SD card slot and to be honest I won’t be storing loads of documents and content on the tablet. It also features a USB port (just the one) and an HDMI output.

The battery, according to Acer’s site, should last 6 hours – I’ve not tracked the battery time but it seems to last very well. The W500 is a little bit bigger than an iPad and just over 1.5 times the weight, but still light enough to travel with and not notice much difference.

Of course, if we’re comparing to an iPad the big difference is that this tablet runs Windows 7 (bit of an obvious statement). Running Windows is a big plus – I can run Outlook, Lync, Office, Skype and any choice of browser, play movies copied from the Archos 605 (yes, my beloved media player is alive and well and recording from Sky Plus) and print to our wireless HP Photosmart 5510. And I can access photos and files from other computers (e.g. my work ThinkPad and the iMac). Okay, I’m sure someone will point out that many of those things can be achieved with an iPad.

However, let’s be honest – Windows 7 was not designed with tablets in mind (come back later in the year and we’ll talk about Windows 8). The W500 uses some Acer modifications to Windows 7, including tweaks for finger-tip navigation and control, and an on-screen keyboard. Although some aspects of the finger-tip control take a bit of getting used to, the screen is extremely responsive and accurate. Using the tablet became much easier once I worked out that I could simply add an icon to the task bar to instantly open and hide the on-screen keyboard, and in most places where text entry is required the keyboard ‘prompter’ appears when you place your cursor (i.e. your finger) on the screen. Over the last couple of weeks my typing on the keyboard has improved considerably – the only real challenge is having to occasionally move the keyboard so that it’s not obscuring the part of the screen I’m typing into (that’s something the iPad has in its favour and is a major design consideration for Windows 8).

I’ve found the tablet very useful around the house – with the iMac and ThinkPad upstairs in my office it’s perfect for checking e-mail and browsing the web while downstairs. I also took it to New York before Christmas – its size is for perfect for hand luggage, and using Starbucks wi-fi I answered a few urgent e-mails and consulted our list of places to visit, and used it to offload some photos when my camera’s SD card filled up. On Christmas day the family were treated to the New York photos (all 316 of them) using the HDMI output, and I used the tablet to speak to the Florida branch of the Adams family via Skype.

I’ll let you know when I’ve upgraded the W500 to Windows 8…

When the iPad was released the number of requests went through the roof, to the point where I created a pre-formatted reply to send to excited iPad owners. By this time Traveler was coming to IBM UK, but was still nothing to do with me. The was another surge after Christmas, and a few Android owners started to ask the question.

What this shows is that there certainly is a trend for people wanting to incorporate their personal devices into their working life, just as business-provided devices sometimes incorporate some aspects of personal life. Bringing in personal devices can of course create issues for an organisation, but it allows users to satisfy their demand for the latest and greatest. I know people who have purchased a new iPhone with the release of every new model – a business would never support that level of technology adoption purely for cost reasons, but if employees want to fritter away their hard-earned disposable income on new toys, so be it.

Forbes’ article recognises that sacrifices and compromises have to be made on both sides. For IT there may be extra complexity for the support of a myriad of devices rather than ‘the company standard’ – although there is a good argument saying that users will know better how to use their own devices. The compromise for the users is that they will have to comply with their employer’s security policies, often meaning a time-out period and complex password (as I well know with Traveler on my iPod touch).

The conclusion is that, while there are pitfalls, the advantages of consumerisation can be substantial. And I’ll leave you with my favourite thought from the article:

End users don’t bristle at every restriction, just at unreasonable ones.

Recognising that end-users are now more technology-savy than they were five years, I think it would be unreasonable for organisations to ignore the demands of users and they should balance up the pros and cons.

Anyway, here’s the problem… I’m a contented soul who doesn’t want for much or expect much. I have a few gadgets… I actually have four iPods (and use them all) and an Archos 605 media player. The 605 looks a bit long-in-the-tooth – it’s three years old which is almost pre-historic – but it serves one extremely important use case for me… I can record from Sky Plus and then watch stuff wherever I find myself with my trusty 605. I’d have you all believe that I’m furiously working during long journeys on the Camberley Express, but the reality is that being sardined into a position where you can’t move your elbows is not a good work environment. So out comes the 605, and I can catch up on movies that I don’t get a chance to watch back home at Adams Towers. Generally a good thing, but occasionally I end up watching something like Will Ferrell’s Land Of The Lost, which made me wish I’d spent the time snoozing, looking out of the window or counting the hairs on my arms instead.

After three years of use, the 605′s battery life isn’t what it used to be. The original life of more than six hours has dwindled to under three hours – the battery isn’t easily replaceable without risky screwdriver surgery. Given the advancements of technology in the last three years, and the fact that once again Mrs A has no idea what to get this contented want-for-nothing soul for Christmas, I started looking at the options for a new device (remembering my primary use but considering other potential uses around the house and at work).

Firstly, the Apple iPad. Apparently they’re quite popular. I had an iPad in my possession a few times (the shared Lotus team one) – it sat on my desk at home for two weeks gathering dust and quite frankly it was in the way. When someone told me they needed it for a demo I felt no angst in parting with it, and when they said they’d get it back to me I replied that it wasn’t mine and they could hang onto it until someone else needed it. Okay, whoever said that I would have felt more of an attachment to it if it had been my own was probably right. But I can’t deny that I’m just unexcited about the iPad. And there’s two other things to consider. Does it allow me to record from Sky Plus? Not as far as I know (correct me if I’m wrong). And there will be a new iPad next year, and it’ll have one or possibly two cameras. Christmas comes at just the right time for Apple – they can clear the shelves ready for the new stock next year. I don’t want to be one of the people investing in the outgoing model.

What about Archos? Since the 605 Archos have released two versions of the Archos 5, the newer one based on Android and sold as an ‘internet tablet’. I looked at this a while back and was tempted, but then realised that the DVR station (which connects the device to the Sky Plus box and television) was different to the 605′s DVR station. Quite frankly this p!ssed me off – good for Apple for staying with the same dock connector – I’d have to buy a new one. The Archos 5 is now an outgoing model, and it’s natural replacement is the Archos 43 Internet Tablet. However, there’s a couple of problems with the 43 – one is the storage, 16 gb compared to my 605′s 30. But the bigger problem is the apparent lack of a recording function or DVR station – Archos seemed to have dropped this from their new offerings. I put this point up on an Archos discussion forum, and one of the replies stated an opinion that Archos’ direction for video would be more about live streaming. But I ask you – is live streaming any use on a train? It’s difficult enough holding a ten minute phone conversation on a train without it dropping. Why would I want to stream video when I could have it sitting on the device?

RIM’s BlackBerry PlayBook… looks nice. But it won’t be a Christmas present in 2010.

Finally, Samsung’s Galaxy Tab… if I had to put anything at the top of my Christmas wish-list this would be it. It doesn’t have a record function or Sky Plus connectivity, but I’d be willing to forgive it – I could turn the 605 into a recording slave and transfer the movies to the Galaxy Tab. The default storage is 16 gb but that can be hiked up to 32 gb with an SD card. I like the size – smaller than an iPad, it would fit nicely into my bag for trips on the Camberley Express. But it’s big enough to provide a decent web browser, e-mail, calendar and social networking experience.

So, what’s the drawbacks? Firstly, mixed reviews – reports of a sluggish browsing experience, Android applications which don’t scale up, and the opinion that Android is not designed with tablets in mind (yet). Secondly, the price – the cheapest I’ve seen it is £450, which I personally think is a lot of money for what it is.

So, the big question is not “which one do I get?” – rather “do I actually need one?”. On reflection it seems that the Adams fortune won’t be depleted by £450 and the Archos 605 will have to remain my faithful travel companion for another year. Mind you, it’s my birthday in January.

Next up is the Voyager Pro… this baby uses Bluetooth to communicate between the USB adapter (some people call it a dongle, the documentation says it’s an adapter) and the headset. My previous Plantronics headset used this same USB adapter approach, and it’s a good way of getting round the possibility that your computer operating system’s support for Bluetooth may be a bit, errr, unreliable and difficult to set up. This, on the other hand, is dead easy… insert the USB adapter, switch on the headset, press the call control button, and they’re paired. Being Bluetooth-based it can also operate with your mobile phone.

The Voyager Pro is incredibly light, sits very comfortably on the ear and comes with a selection of ear buds to suit your own lug-hole. If you’re left-eared like me (seriously, I’m no good with phone calls in my right ear) the ear-piece and microphone can be reversed. In the box there’s all the right bits for charging and, a nice little touch, a carrying pouch. One more important thing… the sound quality. It’s fabulous, and considering it’s Bluetooth the range is excellent.

The other device in the box of goodies was the Savi W430. It looks similar to the Voyager Pro – the over-ear piece is larger but still very light, and the microphone arm is longer. Again the box contains spare ear buds, a USB charging cable and a pouch, but it also includes a charging dock. The key difference is that the W430 doesn’t use Bluetooth – instead it uses DECT wireless technology routed through a USB adapter. This results in even greater range and should provide better sound quality with less interference… although I found that the sound quality of the Voyager Pro was so good that it was difficult to tell the difference. Using the W430 I could move from my home office upstairs and down into the kitchen with no sound break-up – Bluetooth doesn’t reach that far.

In general, both of these Plantronics headsets offer excellent sound quality and easy set-up, and are well-constructed – you can tell these are top-quality devices. The Voyager Pro is reasonably-priced – you can pick one up for around £50 – but the Savi W430 will cost you around £189.

I’ll close by explaining why I’m spending time writing about headsets and speaker phones. We spend a lot of time talking to customers about telephony infrastructure and cost-reduction capabilities, but there’s one part of the solution that’s often not discussed… it’s the last three feet, the gap between the telephony client (Sametime Unified Telephony is the best choice) and your ears. If companies don’t think about this and don’t provide the right equipment, their users will end up shouting into their laptop’s in-built microphone and listening to the speakers. That’s a poor experience with no noise cancellation, no echo reduction, it picks up keyboard noise and is totally unsuitable for open-plan offices. That situation is going to stop people using their telephony solution and they won’t use the capabilities that will ultimately reduce communication costs. And that’s why good quality headsets are a worthwhile investment.

The speakerphone is also, I’ve found, great for SUT demos – the audience can hear the voice on the other end. However, in using the CX100 people have said my voice has been distant and echoey, even when right up close to the device. Polycom said that there’s an echo cancellation driver available, but it doesn’t seem to be available for Windows 7 (or Mac or Ubuntu).

While discussing SUT with a customer they told me they’d acquired several ClearOne Chat 50 USB speakerphones and said that they were very impressed by the quality. With this in mind, I contacted Andrew at ClearOne to see if they had any knowledge of the Chat 50 working with SUT – the answer was ‘no’ but I was promised a device to test and we agreed to speak further.

Around the same time my good friend Declan at Plantronics called me and we had a chat about how SUT was doing (very well thanks). I told him about the rapidly-expanding IBM roll-out, and Declan said that he’d send me a couple of up-to-date devices.

On the same day both boxes turned up in Staines (and some extra memory for my ThinkPad, it was like Christmas without the stress of finding a perfect Christmas tree). The Plantronics box contained three headsets and an MCD100 USB speakerphone (thanks Declan – these will be used for SUT demos in front of customers). The package from ClearOne contained the Chat 50, which comes in a carry-case with the extras (see later). Both speakerphones offer echo cancellation and full duplex (basically that’s sound data sent in both directions simultaneously), but which is the better device? Time to test, methinks.

Firstly, what’s in the box? The Plantronics device came with just a USB cable… no drivers required. It plugged in and worked. Ten out of ten for simplicity. The ClearOne device, as I said, came in a carry-case with a USB cable, a power adapter and some international plugs, a CD, two other audio cables and a booklet. The power adapter wasn’t required, nor was the CD or the other cables. It plugged straight into a USB port and worked. Another ten out of ten. So what’s with the power adapter and the other cables? Well, you can also use the Chat 50 as a speaker for other devices such as mobile phones and portable media players.

Features – three buttons on both… volume up and down, and mute. When testing the buttons my research associate (Matt Newton, on an SUT call) said that pressing the buttons on the Chat 50 was quieter and could hear when the buttons on the MCD100 were pressed. Neither device has a hang-up button, so I had to use the button on the SUT call dialog box (no big deal).

But the really important thing is the sound quality. Both were far clearer than the CX100 at Matt’s end – he said I was crystal-clear with no echo. The only difference was that the MCD100 was more ‘bass-ey’ and the Chat 50 had more treble. At my end, Matt’s voice was full and clear on both, and the volume was greater than on the CX100.

In terms of voice quality on a simple one-to-one call, the MCD100 and Chat 50 seem to be equals, but additional tests were required. When Mrs A returned from having her hair cut, I got her to partake in the experiment. It is risky having her near computer equipment, but I instructed her to not touch anything and just talk (after all, that’s one of her main skills). Using SUT she called my mobile, and then moved around the room while talking. The MCD100 and Chat 50 were pretty much the same, and picked up the voice perfectly (quieter, obviously). The CX100 was less clear. In close-up tests I agreed with Matt, the MCD100 had more bass, but it does have a bigger speaker. The CX100 was nearly as good close-up, but when sitting back in the chair it was more echoey. However, I didn’t hear the ‘sitting in the fridge’ effect that some people described.

The MCD100 is slightly chunkier, but I like the design. The CX100 has the advantage of being the slimmest and with it’s pouch is ideal for popping into my computer bag.

Now, I guess you’ll be interested in Mrs A’s verdict. She was receiving the call through all three speakerphones and said there was no discernible difference, but if she had to pick one the MCD100 was ever-so-slightly better sound. She also said it was the best-looking device, although she liked the CX100 because the carrying pouch was nice (I appreciate that this would not be the main decision point for people more interested in the technology and sound performance).

So there you have it, both the MCD100 and Chat 50 are extremely fine devices. The Chat 50 has the advantage of having additional uses and the buttons are less clicky, but as a speakerphone for VoIP or SUT there’s nothing between them. One thing that is worthy of note is that ClearOne provide a number of other devices, and I can see that the ability to daisy-chain some of their other speakerphones along a meeting room table is a winning idea… I’m sure we’ve all been in a meeting where the single speakerphone in the middle of the table is a challenge for the remote and local people.

Come back soon for a brief overview of the headsets.

FIFA 10 has ‘manager mode’ – you pick a team and manage them for fifteen seasons, during which you buy and sell players and (if you choose to) play the matches. If you win you earn money, which allows you to improve your squad, your staff and your stadium. Starting off with a Premier League team isn’t much of a challenge… so I started off with the local team of my childhood, Brentford. If you don’t know, Brentford are in the third tier of English football, otherwise known as League One (yes, I know that doesn’t really make any sense). I inherited a fairly average squad, and after four seasons they’d conquered the Premier League, won the F A Cup, the League Cup and the Champions League. And despite having a pretty awesome squad I was looking forward to bringing in some even bigger names when the transfer window opened. However…

To cut a long story short, the game started locking up after the matches had been played. In fact the whole console locked up so I’d have to power it down and then turn it on again. The game hadn’t saved the progress, so I’d have to play it again… it would lock up again, so I’d have to play the match again… and again… and again. Sometimes I could play three matches without a problem (and progress a bit) and then it would lock up continually and I’d play the same match six or seven times over. Fed up with this, I searched on the FIFA 10 forums – several people had reported this, but there was no resolution (remember that, several people had reported this problem). I’d turned auto-save off just in case it was having an issue at the point of a game-save, but to no avail. So I contacted the support team at Electronic Arts…

During a live chat their support specialist told me to delete the saved games… but that means I’ll lose all my progress, right? No, because I should back them up onto a USB drive, and then copy them back over. So, back-up the files, delete them, and then re-instate them? Yes. Hmmm. He also told me to clear the Xbox’s cache. I did all of this and it made absolutely no difference.

Maybe my Brentford career had some sort of corruption – I saved the career as a new saved game… that didn’t work. I bit the bullet and started a new career, this time with nearby team Reading. Season one went smoothly, I won the Championship, the F A Cup and the League Cup. At the start of season two the problems started again. I contacted EA support again, not as a live chat but as a discussion-style support incident. I explained the problem, and received exactly the same copy-and-paste answer as last time (even though I’d explained that I’d already tried their original suggestions which they had a record of). I explained that I’d already been through these suggestions, and asked for them to be honest… was there a fault in FIFA 10? Remember, it’s not just me seeing this.

A few hours later I received an update, and it was another copy-and-paste answer, this time suggesting that there was either a problem with my game disk or my Xbox. First the game disk – it’s in pristine condition, there’s no smudges or scratches. Oh, and the game itself is installed to the hard disk which means that during game play the game disk isn’t used. Problem with the Xbox? Let’s look at the evidence – no other game has a problem, it’s just FIFA 10 and the problem always occurs at a precise moment (after a match has been played, just before the man-of-the-match screen is displayed). If there was a problem with the console wouldn’t game problems be more random? I put these thoughts into my next reply, and this time added fifteen links to pages and forums where other people are having the same problem. It’s now twenty-four hours since EA’s last response – maybe they’re looking into it, or maybe they’re just hoping I’ll go away.

Electronic Arts… there’s clearly a problem with FIFA 10, so have the guts to admit it. Even if in admitting it you tell you that it’s not going to be fixed, then at least I’ll know not to waste any more time on the game. Maybe the problem will be fixed in FIFA 11, but if they think I’m going to cough up £40 for another FIFA game they are seriously misguided.

Update:

Here’s some news… I’ve isolated what causes the lock-up problem after a match. FIFA 10 has a bug, and I can now reproduce it… and avoid it.

It’s caused by the man-of-the-match. If the player who is man-of-the-match is one of the eleven on-field players when the match ends, the game doesn’t lock up. If the player who is highest-rated (and destined to be man-of-the-match) is substituted, then the game freezes just before the man-of-the-match is shown. You can check the player ratings during the course of the game so it’s fairly easy to isolate two or three players likely to be man-of-the-match.

I’ve tested this theory in eight matches played this evening, and correctly predicted whether the game would progress or lock each time.

So, it’s not corrupted saved games, nor is it a game disk or Xbox problem… FIFA 10 has a bug which is reproducible.

Update to the update:

EA support told me (eventually) that they’ve escalated the issue to a higher level and “hopefully a patch to fix this will be out soon”. Hopefully. I been saying “hopefully I’ll win the lottery soon” for a few years, but it hasn’t happened yet.

The hard disk failure has now forced the issue, even if it might be possible to retrieve some of the data (most importantly the contents of Mrs A’s Thunderbird e-mail account which apparently contains items of incredible importance). Thus I started to think about a suitable replacement. Mrs A’s computer usage doesn’t demand a high-spec laptop – it’s mainly e-mail and Internet shopping – so a Macbook would seem to be an expensive option. Something around the £350 mark, with a dual-core processor and 2 gb of RAM is more than enough. I’m not being a skin-flint, Mrs A will testify to my Christmas generosity, but the cheapest option is a netbook. Would it be too small though? Would the portability be a worthless factor given that it would rarely, if ever, leave the house? So here I am considering the technical and logistical issues of a laptop versus a netbook.

Mrs A’s response… “hey, I could buy a Juicy Couture bag for it to fit in”. I rest my case.

But here’s the bigger issue… why would I want to use the Xbox for Facebook or Twitter? I have a 24 inch iMac sitting here permanently on, and it has a keyboard. I rarely get time to sit in front of the Xbox, and when I do I want to shoot people, play football (proper football, not that game involving carrying an egg-shaped ball while wearing body armour) or drive around recklessly in a car. So if I’m honest, my first Twitter from the Xbox will probably be my last. And that’s a shame because it was hopelessly unoriginal…

Twitter on the Xbox – can’t see me using it much.

Then I had a quick go on Facebook. My initial reaction was the same, that I’d rather be playing Grand Theft Auto IV than checking up on where Lewis Turek is going on holiday next or in which pub Wild Bill left his laptop after one pint too many (just two random examples). But actually, Facebook on the Xbox has one major appeal… photos. There’s my photo albums, and I could browse through them on the big plasma screen. It has a very nice user interface (as does Twitter), I don’t think I’ll use it much, but photos is probably the killer application (and doesn’t require the keyboard attachment). Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to wipe out a bunch of rival gangsters with a bazooka.

In Mark’s words, in the business world you hand someone a business card – in effect, a token. In the world of Facebook you can ‘poke’ people (personally I never have). So put the two together and you have a Poken. Need more of an explanation? I thought so…

Your Poken is a small character which hides a USB input. Attaching the Poken to you computer allows you to access a web page where you enter your contact details and the social networking sites that you are a member of (like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Bebo, etc). Then you carry your Poken in your pocket and when you meet someone else with a Poken and want to swap details you press their palms together until they glow green (it’s called a high-four, look at the picture and you’ll understand why).

Back at the computer you re-attach your Poken and somehow (I haven’t actually done it yet) it manages the linking up of you and your new friends on the social networks you have in common.

Mark bestowed a wonderful gift upon me… a Poken Piggy. To me it looks like a baby because it’s sucking a dummy and wearing a nappy, but it is actually called a Piggy. You can also buy Fox, Panda, Geisha, Monkey, Bee, Alien and Voodoo, and searching the web also reveals designs for Ninja, Dracula, Elvis (Presley, not Costello), Frankenstein and Munch’s Scream.

If you’re at LCTY and interested in obtaining a Poken, have a word with Mark. If you already have a Poken, my Piggy is ready and waiting to high-four you.

• They make my 605 look like something Noah might have used as he waited for the floods to subside
• Archos had a quick look at an iPhone during their latest design process
• The Opera web browser is included for free, putting paid to one of the major whines about the 605
• The 60gb model is about the same size as a 30gb 605 but a bit slimmer… however, it weighs 60 grams more
• A 4.8 inch screen (as opposed to 4.3) making full use of the device’s dimensions
• It has an e-mail client
• The battery life states 4 hours of video playback… 1.5 hours less than the 605
• No removable battery (oh dear)
• No navigation buttons, it’s all touch-screen (cleaning cloth provided)
• It doesn’t appear that the 605′s DVR station will fit (oh dear, again)
• The Archos 5 will be available ‘early September’ and a 60gb device will be £279 (ouch)

So, there’s some negatives there. Firstly, I like the 605′s navigation buttons and don’t like having a mucky screen, so I’m not convinced that I’ll like a touch-screen only device. Less battery life? That surprises me, usually battery life gets better with newer devices – and without a removable battery that’s a double bummer. Weighs more? 60 grams is no big deal.

I think it’s a poor show that (as far as I can tell) the Archos 5 will need a new DVR station. Having invested in a DVR station and battery dock for the 605 if I move up to the new device I’ll have to buy completely new accessories. Archos, take note of what Apple have done… that connection slot on the iPods has remained consistent for years – the JBL ‘donut’ speaker I bought for the wife’s iPod Mini several years ago is still working with her iPod touch. That factor is not only good for consumers, but it’s also good for the third party accessory market, and ultimately good for Apple. Archos will suffer if manufacturers don’t have faith in them sticking to a connection format.

In summary… do I want one? Yes. Do I need one? No. Will I buy one? Undecided. We’ll see how generous Father Christmas is feeling.