Newt's Flyblog

What I’ve been up to: Pre-Ordered the HTC Evo

Newt — Sat, 29 May 2010 21:05:48 +0000

Ok, kind of off-topic, but not entirely…

My latest dip into geekdom is pre-ordering the new HTC Evo (launch date 2010-06-04). It has two types of tethering: USB tethering (FREE) and “Wifi Hotspot” (creates a hotspot for up to 8 connections) for $30/month as a Sprint contract add-on. I was planning on trying out the USB tethering prior to cancelling my AT&T $70/month data plan for the V5. Now Sprint has announced that the Wifi Hotspot will be free for the first 30 days of the launch so I can test that out as well. I’ll be bummed if the tethering isn’t good enough for my needs (obviously, it will be a speed hit as Indy is NOT 4G and probably won’t be for quite some time - it just remains to be seen how much of a hit it will be).

Speed tests to come.

Flybook has terminated its distributorship with Dialogue Technology USA Corp.

Newt — Tue, 25 May 2010 12:43:41 +0000

Watchful Flybook Owner Ernst found this Notification on the Flybook.com website (you have to click the “Notification” link in the site’s toolbar):

A Friendly Notice:

Please note that, effective from May-17-2010, Flybook had terminated its distributorship withDialogue Technology USA Corp., the company who was previously assigned as the soledistributor for Flybook’s distribution Business for the territory of North America.Flybook apologizes for any inconvenience that may be caused by this change, if there is.For any future inquiry about flybook, please kindly contact nasals@flybook.com.Flybook would like to provide the best assistance to your inquiry in the way that it can figureout the best. Thank you truly for your concern and continued support with Flybook.

Ernst also points out that the website Flybook.com has the following copyright notice at the bottom:

Copyright 2009 By Dialogue Technology USA, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Which makes it a little odd that the contact email in the Notification is a flybook.com email.

More on V5 as HTPC (and the Logitech DiNovo Mini keyboard)

Newt — Sun, 18 Apr 2010 03:31:12 +0000

Ok, so Hulu is choppy when displayed on the TV. It is fine on the V5 screen (or, sure seems to be anyway) but on the large TV it is choppy. I assume this is a factor of the video card somehow (??)

But… other than that, this is working quite well.

And I just got a DiNovo Mini keyboard (I purchased it from Dell for $119). These things are LITTLE (typing is more akin to texting) but it seems to be working rather well. The manual that comes with it is pretty non-informative and I’m having a few issues… the skip forward button actually pauses a show in Media Center (regardless of what “mode” I have the unit in) and Fast Skip forward and back don’t appear to do anything. However, just dinking around I discovered that I could press a number button (say… 5) and then the Fast Skip Forward and it skips forward some arcane amount (more than if you do 2-fast skip but less than if you do 8-fast skip – and no, it isn’t minutes). I’m having a lot of luck with 5-fast skip – it seems to take me very close to the end of the commercials. Also, I can use the sleep button (well, actually it is a “Function” combination) to put the laptop to sleep (which is better than my media center remote which only has a button to shut down the laptop) but I can’t figure out how to wake it back up without pressing the button on the V5.

Sorry if this is sketchy… it’s late and I’m sleepy…

Flybook M2? A netbook?

Newt — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 04:14:20 +0000

Hey, I was just surfing around the web and found an “M2″ listed on Flybook.com. Appears to be an 11″ netbook (no swivel, no touchscreen but GPS?). You can click the [Buy] button, but it doesn’t list a price and says “out of stock.” Curious!

New use for my V5… HTPC?

Newt — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 07:21:58 +0000

So it suddenly occurred to me that if I hook my V5 (which now has Windows 7 on it) up to my TV I can watch shows that I have recorded on my desktop (which has a TV capture card). Cool! I just switched the usb dongle and remote that came with the card (and which I never use ’cause I just watch the shows on my monitor with my keyboard and mouse sitting in front of me) over to the V5 and voila. Now, of course, I want a fancy schmancy wireless keyboard to use from my viewing location… like… the Logitech diNovo Mini ($120 from Amazon). Oh, and there is a bit of a hack to get Hulu desktop to run from Media Center.

Jury Duty

Newt — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 15:17:29 +0000

Just checking in… nothing new to report. Public WiFi in our City\County building. Flybook saving me from boredom as I brought a book but forgot reading glasses typically I would be ok, but the light is dim.

V6???

Newt — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 18:47:35 +0000

Observant web-reader Stefen posted the following link from Tablet-Profi.com: Flybook again promises V6, and a new VM model with HDMI

Anyone have more news???

Windows 7 – Microsoft Update of Authentec driver… don’t

Newt — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 00:46:57 +0000

So… a new Authentec (fingerprint) driver came across on Microsoft Update and I installed it. Fingerprint reader didn’t work… rolled back using System Restore Point and all is better. Don’t have time to fiddle with it just now… just sayin’

Issues with getting Flybooks Serviced?

Newt — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 16:31:37 +0000

James Wilson left a comment on the Flyblog that he sent his V5 in for repair here in the U.S. back in October and hasn’t been able to get a status update on it. That’s a LONG TIME (I would be hyperventilating at this point). Anyone else having repair issues? I’ve always had really good service from them in the past.

Vitakey working on Windows 7

Newt — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 02:22:24 +0000

Hey, a comment left by Hugo Leonardo and an email from Egistec themselves pointed me to a version of Vitakey that works with Windows 7. I still couldn’t get it to work until I uninstalled the Authentec driver (Control Panel > System). On reboot, the biometric was found and reinstalled automatically. I then installed the Vitakey “5″ update from here, rebooted and voila! It’s working!

As Hugo points out, it is actually Vitakey v6.1.46. The Authentec driver that I’m using is: v7.10.1.2.

Refurbished V5 for sale…

Newt — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 17:58:05 +0000

Hey, I was contacted by someone who has a refurb V5 for sale. Here are the particulars:

“If anyone is interested, I have a newly factory refurbished black V5 for sale. It has 4GB RAM, and 60GB HDD. It comes with a new slipcover and a brand new Flybook briefcase ($300.00 value). I am asking $1500.00 plus shipping.

If you are interested, please contact me at 1-877-248-3627 (W), 1-416-457-7777 (C) or email at patrick@itmedicalsolutions.com.

Thanks Brenda for all of your help!”

It’s back.. and I have Windows 7 on it…

Newt — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 17:17:15 +0000

My V5 has returned from service (again, a rapid turn-around) and I’m very pleased.

I installed Windows 7 (off the MSDN website) on it last night (new install, not an upgrade) and everything is working except… Vitakey (the fingerprint software). Hmm.. seems like someone warned me about this… The Authentec (fingerprint) driver came through as a Windows update (but just to be sure I tried the beta driver from their site as well), and shows up as working properly in Device Manager, but Vitakey doesn’t find a fingerprint reader. I’ll contact Egistec and see what gives.

By the way, Windows 7 wasn’t aware of the touchscreen. I installed the latest Vista driver from Flybook and that did the trick.

I downloaded the latest Generic 3G Watcher from Sierra Wireless (it’s all black and deadly looking) and that worked fine right off the bat.

But oh dear… should have seen this one coming… with the new motherboard, I got the “no wireless in tablet mode” issue and none of the Vista hacks appear appropropriate for the Windows 7 Registry.

Anyone? Anyone?

Anyone have Windows 7 on their V5 yet?

Newt — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 16:25:35 +0000

When my V5 gets back from service, I plan on rebuilding it with the Windows 7 RTM. Anyone done this already and have any words of wisdom (cautionary tales) for me?

New things from Flybook?

Newt — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 12:02:24 +0000

I don’t know about anyone else, but even though that one article in my last post was all I could find on the net, I did find it encouraging to know that Flybook is working on new products. I tried getting more info out of them but they are playing it pretty close to the chest. It does sound like they’ve been putting a lot of effort into R&D and that there are some neat and innovative things coming.

Innovative. I like that. I wish there were more companies out there willing to float new ideas in products. When I first went looking for the V5, I knew I wanted small form factor, tablet, real processing, and broadband. It was the only unit I could find matching those specs (Fujitsu had something close, but it wasn’t there yet). I realize I might be a niche market, but I appreciate that someone else in the world was thinking along the same lines and actually produced it. Even two years later, they don’t have much direct competition (the Lifebook P1630 comes close once you upgrade the memory and pay to add the Broadband).

Of course, to stay in the game, Dialogue/Flybook can’t be only about a niche market. Or… at least… not just the one niche market. Netbooks do seem to be the answer for a lot of people. If anyone can create the iPhone of netbooks (what we used to refer to as the Holy Grail), I would think this company could. But here is me hoping they have a V6 up their sleeves…

By the way, I’ve also been told I’ll be on their press-release list when they are ready to announce; I’ll post as soon as I hear anything official.

(and if you missed it… my V5 is winging its way back from being serviced… yeah! Kudos to Flybook service for the rapid turn-around!)

New Flybook (netbook?) Model coming?

Newt — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 02:41:19 +0000

FWS (Found While Surfing):

DTC shows off 11.6-inch Flybook at Computex

Seems Dialogue was showing off a new unit back in June. I assuming from the brief specs that it is some kind of netbook(?) The article suggests an asking price of $400.

I’m not sure I get the bigger netbooks. If I’m going to haul something that large around, I would want it to be a fully functioning laptop (and no, I don’t want to haul something that large around).

My Flybook is Headed to Sunnyvale

Newt — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 22:17:13 +0000

That’s Sunnyvale, California (not Sunnydale of Buffy fame). Recieved a UPS label and insurance document today from Paul at Flybook.com. You can believe I rushed right down to UPS and sent that puppy off. I feel naked without my Flybook.

I’ve spent 20 of the last 30 days in Seattle keeping company with my folks as one of them has been having health isues. (Yes, I was there when Seattle hit 103 degrees… UGH). Towards the end of my second trip out there my Flybook encountered a disaster and now it freezes within a minute or so of booting up. Boy, you don’t realize how much you miss it until it isn’t there!

I told Flybook not to worry about anything on the hard drive as I’ve been planning to wipe it and install the Windows 7 RTM when I get half a chance. Anyone playing with 7 yet? Hmm… maybe that’s a different post. I also asked if I could get a V5 keyboard installed (the last time it was repaired they stuck a different keyboard on it which was *supposed* to be compatible but ended up with some misguided Function keys).

Oh No! I killed it!

Newt — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 17:21:56 +0000

My flybook was in its neoprene casing sitting on a low table and I bumped the corner and down it went.

It comes up and I can even do about a minute of tasks (like getting mission critical data off of it) and then it locks up – the keys, the lights, the screen, everything locks.

I *think* what is happening is that the fan isn’t coming on and it is overheating. As an experiment, I held it up to a household fan and was able to run it for several minutes before the locking up occurred. The fan remained “stopped” during the entire experiment.

So now to find out… since Memphis closed… where to send the little bugger? I’m going to submit a trouble ticket on the Taiwan website (but if anyone has info to give me, please chime in!).

Lesson One: Don’t post using a bogus email

Newt — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 16:12:54 +0000

Due to flamers, I changed the settings on this blog over a year ago so that posts by others are not automatically published. I will use my own discretion in what to publish and what not to (hey, it’s my blog) but I certainly won’t post if the email given is invalid. Please note: your email address does not show up on your post – that is something that only shows up to the blog owner. I am also not in the habit of giving out email addresses to a third party without written permission from the owner of the address.

Vitakey Upgrade – now works with IE8!

Newt — Tue, 19 May 2009 16:02:02 +0000

Thank you so much to Egistec Customer Support who posted comments on the Flyblog today to let us know about the upgrade to Vitakey (which just came out today, so kudos for the timely information). The good news is, it now works with IE8. The bad news, for those of you who used the “protected files” feature – that’s been abandoned and you’ll need to extract your files from the protection before installing and using the new version or you won’t have access to those files.

I have installed the upgrade and it appears to be working well.

You can find the update here. (http://www.egistec.com/download/update-vitakey5.html) (note: this is a 52MB file)

Per the instructions:

Please follow these steps to install the Patch:
1. Unprotect all your protected files
2. Uninstall previous VITAKEY from control panel and reboot PC
3. Install this Patch and follow the steps on screen
4. Reboot PC

I would add to that being sure to check the box to backup you user data file during the uninstall process.

Unlike in the past, you do*not* need to enter your serial number again.

This updated build is only for VITAKEY 5 users which carried the AuthenTec branded fingerprint sensor.

How to check the sensor brand?
1. Go to ‘Control Panel\System and Maintenance\System’
2. Click on ‘Device Manager’
3. Right Click ‘fingerprint coprocessor’ under ‘Biometric’ and select ‘Properties’
4. Find the Manufacturer brand name in the ‘General’ tab

Beautiful Day… glad I have my Flybook

Newt — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 14:45:11 +0000

So it is a gorgeous day in Indianapolis and I have a day packed with meetings… sigh. However, I did toss (gently) my V5 in my backpack and cycled to my 8a meeting. Nine people in the room (my client and *their* client) and the room’s PC (connected to a projector) wasn’t connecting to the internet. Flybook to the rescue… whipped it out, connected up via AT&T, switched the projector cord from their PC to mine, plugged in their Logitech USB dongle for the keyboard and mouse and we were good to go. Few people even blinked, but hey, *I* felt good about it; these meetings are hard to schedule and the billing rate of the people in the room was sky-high.

Right now I’m sitting in the Starbucks on Mass Ave. taking a break between meetings to do some general web surfing (Flyblog / Facebook / Email / LEED Credentials).

Have I mentioned recently how much I love this little unit? Seriously… best business purchase I’ve ever made. The only con right now is that I would be outside in the sun if had a unit with an indoor/outdoor screen. Ah well…