More Computer Furniture

This is a cabinet I designed for my department to allow students to store and secure their computers in. There are two front wheels, actually scooter wheels, that allow the cabinet to be tipped forward and wheeled around easily. Rooms get re-assigned each semester, so the cabinets often have to be re-assigned as well. The top shelf was designed for up to 19" CRT monitors. Since this cabinet was designed LCD monitors have become the norm and students have found they can fit up to 22" wide screen LCDs . The second shelf slides out as a keyboard/mouse tray. Lower shelves are used for printers/scanners/whatever at the student's discretion. Made primarily from 5' square sheets of 3/4" thick Baltic Birch plywood, the top and bottom are the exception and are 1.125" Tru-pan, a light weight fiber board. the shelves have assorted hardwood strips in the front edge.

There were around 50 of these desks made and as far as I know they are still in use and surviving well. The students have made the occasional modification, usually in an attempt to create better ventilation for their over-clocked over-heating monster PCs.

Would I change anything? I might make the interior more flexible. Right now the keyboard shelf has more than enough rooms, so making the monitor shelf adjustable might allow for the larger 24" and 30" monitors coming out.

I've got complete plans, a cut list, and production steps. If you are interested leave a comment here with a way to get in touch with you. I'll email the documents for free, or mail prints of them for a small fee.

4D

Another Computer Desk

This desk was designed for a specific corner in my father's house. Located under the basement stairs, the space was limited in width and depth. The nicest feature is the gate-leg, which allows the broad top to fold down flat against the body of the desk.

The original PC was a horizontal case that fit perfectly on the upper shelf you can see that was accessed from the side of the desk. The whole thing could be easily wheeled about on casters, and thanks to that fold-down top would roll though any door opening with ease. I used the gate leg idea on two later desks with the same success.

My father eventually got a new computer, and of course it wouldn't fit horizontally. Fortunately there was enough height on the lower shelf. My father also didn't like the position of the monitor. Too far away, and up too high. He eventually moved it down just behind the keyboard and was very happy.

What would I change? I would make the shelf area more configurable. The desk has good cable management, but would complicate the modern need to plug your latest USB gadget into the CPU. I would probably install a USB hub where it could be easily accessed from the top. Lastly, modern LCD monitors eliminate the need for such depth in a computer desk. The whole thing could be a foot less deep or more.

Tell me what you think.

Belkin Case for iPod Touch

I just picked up this brown leather slip case for my Touch. I've been using an Incase beltclip/armband/wristband case and find it great for carrying but not great for holding and using. This Belkin is a simple cover. Leather, nice stitching, access for power, cables, etc., and it comes with a screen protector you stick on your touch's glass to protect it.

Belkin-iPod-Touch-Leather-Sleeve

I like it very much. Well made. Good fit. Velcro closure. Reasonable price. Allows me to hold onto the Touch without slipping or putting fingerprints all over it. The clear screen protector also doesn't show fingerprints as bad as the glass screen itself does. My single complaint is the tag they have sewn onto the side wth "belkin" on it. I'll be snipping it off once I'm confident I won't ruin the case.

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Computer Desk

I've been playing with PCs since 1981, and as a furniture designer have created several desks to hold them over the years. The one on the left was a quickie for my college department to provide a common access PC in a freshman studio. I had a 2x12 shelf I'd ripped out of my basement storeroom that I used for the vertical sides. 2x4s with a little taper for the feet. Baltic Birch plywood for the shelves, with black laminate. The CPU has a dedicated shelf on the left. Printer can use the lower shelf. Shelves dado into the sides and are held with screws. Largest flaw is that when I made it DOS was the operating system and no one needed a mouse. The students still use this stand, and simply made room for the mouse on the top next to the monitor. It's a tall stand. The students all have drafting stools to sit so it seems like a good height. They also use it standing. Some day I'll remake the keyboard shelf and add mouse space on the right. New LCD monitors don't need so much space, so a modern version for this application might look considerably different.

Some day you'll be able to buy a desk that IS the computer. I've already put a motherboard and drives in an end table. Microsoft is threatening to release their Surface , a pretty cool coffee table. To get real work done you need some desk space, so my vision of a practical desk PC would not tie up the entire surface with the screen. Would you buy a PC that was simply a nice contemporary desk with ports to plug in a monitor/keyboard/mouse, and hidden access to drive slots and USB connections?

More Kindle Thoughts

It is very interesting to read the assorted reviews of the Kindle you can find scattered around the web. There are a few written by people who have one. There are thousands written by people who have only seen it on the web. Not surprisingly the "I don't have one" reviews almost all judge the Kindle as too expensive (not a bargain) and/or too ugly. Those who have one to evaluate have almost all been very impressed with the Kindle.

Is it too expensive? If you don't buy books, then yes. My wife is an avid reader and spends $500 or so a year on real books. Those books average $30 each, and add up to 17 books or so. I've already spent $400 for a Kindle. Kindle e-books will be $10 on average. If in the first year of owning it my wife buys 17 e-books she will have spent $170 but SAVED $340. First year: $570 spent - $340 saved = $230 relative cost. Next year (and each following year) my wife will buy another 17 books, saving $20 over the hard cover cost for a net savings of $340. There are other possible savings, and they all depend on how much one actually uses the Kindle instead of traditional methods of aquiring reading materials. If you really use it then it may in fact be a BARGAIN at $400. Yes, it would be a better bargain if it were even a little cheaper. So would everything.

Is it ugly? Apparently it looks better in person than in any photo of it on the web. I can believe that. For all we know those early photos of it were of early prototypes. I'll have my own to evaluate next Monday.

Will it succeed? Amazon has already sold out of their first shipment.
From Amazon's Kindle page: "Due to heavy customer demand, Kindle is temporarily sold out. ".

My prediction? The Kindle will catch on. Those who get one will show them to their friends. The price will come down a bit as Amazon starts recovering development costs with e-book sales. E-book AND traditional book reading will increase. E-book versions of hot sellers might be made available one day before the hard cover book is released, inspiring Harry Potter fans and such to buy an e-reader just so they can read the latest release first.

Conclusion? Don't trust any review (including this one) by anyone who has not actually held and tested the device they are reviewing. Want to know how really good (or bad) the Kindle is? Stay tuned to this blog.

4D

Amazon Kindle and iPod Touch DVDs

http://www.amazon.com/gp/mpd/permalink/m2S5YCKCJJ64W8:m1KUZNR4TVZSMM

Today it is out, and I've ordered one for my wife. I read everything posted online about it, including what Amazon itself has to say, and I like what I see, mostly. I'll post a thorough review once I've got one in my hands. Still more ugly than cute. I'll have a better perspective once I can hold one.

It is not yet clear how much web connectivity it will have. I know it will take you to Wikipedia and Amazon itself. I don't know, for example, if I'll be able to read this blog from it though. If it is a generic web browser that can access any web page then it'll be a hit. I suspect they have fixed links and don't let you browse the internet mainly because it is using a cell phone data service that is paid for in part by the cost of the e-books you buy. Spend time browsing the web and not buying anything and the data access bill will climb past the subscription Amazon pays.

I found some cheap software at my local Staples store to allow copying DVDs to my iPod Touch. Not quite ready to recommend it, as it took more than 5 hours to transcode one 2-hour DVD movie. I can't help but think this software is poorly coded if it takes longer to transcode than it actually takes to watch a movie. I'll try it on a faster PC tonight, and if I can get better performance from it I'll review it here. It DID succeed in converting a DVD to a video file I could sync to my iPod Touch. Slowly.

4D

Amazon's Book Reader

Amazon threatens to introduce a new digital book reader on Monday 11/19/2007. There are a few photos on the web of what it might look like.

I can't believe they'll introduce anything so ugly as this photo on engadget: http://www.engadget.com/2006/09/11/amazon-kindle-meet-amazons-e-book-reader/.
I've seen and held Sony's new e-reader: http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/CategoryDisplay?catalogId=10551&storeId=10151&langId=-1&categoryId=16184&XID=O:sony%20ebook:corp_read_gglsrch, and if it had web access for downloading books I would get one for my wife, an avid book reader. I see the potential market when I scan the airport while waiting to catch a plane. The smart ones have brought a book to read. Of course these things will have to be allowed on planes.

The device would also need to have a "look" perhaps like a high quality book. Maybe a stiff leather cover you can break in, that folds back behind the "book". Less buttons and more page. Facing pages, perhaps dual screens. A touch interface that interprets finger swipes/gestures that book readers intuitively use to work their way through a book. I'd buy one if it was that cool, and even more so if it fit in a suit pocket.

I'll even go farther to predict that once we get the device right those brick and mortar book stores will fade away. The CD stores have certainly disappeared from the malls since the original ipod came out. Once we can buy our book media like we can buy our music, and even find free public domain books to read, we will. Of course the generations that grew up with real books won't give them up easily. Our children's children may never hold a real book.

My last prediction? E-reader and e-book both suck as names. No young person uses the terms LP or Record or cassette or 8-track when talking about their music. We mention MP3s and downloads, iPods and (generic) MP3 players, and some still speak of CDs. I'm not sure what it will be called, but stories you carry with you on your digital book need a cooler name. No, not iBook. ;-)

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Media Access with iPod Touch

I've been struggling for a few days to figure out how to access my own music collection wirelessly from my iPod Touch. Today I figured it out, thanks to help from the IpodTouchFans forum.

It took Tversity, a free download I installed on the PC that has all my music stored on it. Find out more by visiting www.tversity.com/home. I then had to tell VISTA's firewall to allow the mediashare application to get through it. I added the folders I wanted to share into the Tversity application, and told it I'd be sharing my media with an iPod/iPhone.

From my Touch's Safari Browser I go to that media PC's IP address and the media port. Once connected I have access to all the media (music, pictures, and videos) that I have told Tversity to share. Tveristy also has an option to allow me to access my media from ANYWHERE I might find internet access, but I haven't tested that yet. It is incredible to be able to access and sort though my entire music collection and listen to any file I find without needing to sync or download anything to my Touch. Take that, Zune!

Tversity isn't perfect. So far I haven't gotten any software to let me watch DVDs from my collection on my Touch. I REALLY want to figure that one out. Music can't be queued up to play. Safari isn't smart enough to play each song in an album sequentially or randomly the same way the iPod's music player can.

My prediction this time is that I WILL find a way to stream DVD movies from my collection to my iPod Touch. I know my home router is fast enough to stream DVDs wirelessly. I'm not sure if the iPod can handle such large files. Others have figured out how to compress DVD files to me synced onto the Touch, but that obviously fills up the 8Gig memory in a hurry.

That's it. Bye!

HDTV

I tend to be an early adopter, and when my classic 27" Sony TV bit the dust a few years ago I took the opportunity to upgrade to an HDTV. At that time the ONLY HDTV I could find in town was a Sanyo 32" CRT from WalMart. I've still got that heavy (150 lb) Sanyo, but it has been demoted to the guest bedroom in my basement. When I got it there were only two channels broadcasting in digital (ATSC) , and they only had a few shows in full high definition during prime time. Cable and Satellite services had no HD offerings.

Things have changed considerably and now I'm up to 3 HDTVs, with 70 or so DirecTV HD and 9 digital over-the-air local HD channels available on all of them. I've got a 46" Sharp LCD and a 40" Samsung LCD, and all of the HDTVs display the full 1920 x 1080 pixel resolution of the best digital programming. The Sharp is wall mounted in the master bedroom and easy to see from the bed. The Samsung is where that original Sony lived in the main living room of the house.

I'll never go back. HDTV is simply superior in every way to older NTSC standard definition television. Much HD programming also has surround sound audio along with it, and so I've added Sony Surround Sound receivers along with at least 5 speakers and a subwoofer to each room.

I can see some room for improvement, though. The added speakers and nightmare of connection cables that come with HDTV create a mess that is hard to manage and needs to "go away". There is Powerline phone and networking technology available now. I'll predict that at some point your new HDTV will only have a power cord. All audio and video, photos and networking will travel through that power cord. There will be ONE box nearby, that also only has one power cable coming from it. That one box will be your satellite or cable receiver, your HD disk player, your PC, audio decoder and amplifier. Even speakers will come with only a simple power cord, and the sound signals will get to them through the power lines.

That power plug might change a little. I suspect we'll get a new AC/Digital wall plate standard which will identify any wall jack as a data port. It will be backward-compatible with all older power applicances, but provide a whole-house data network to connect every digital device you own.

What do you think?

Things to do when TV Writers are on Strike

There may be something orginal to watch on TV despite the strike. Whatever it is I don't care. I'm using the writer's strike as my excuse to clear off my "honey do" list. The house is falling apart, and most of the failing things that affected me were taken care of instantly. Because I can, I guess. There are a few things that don't affect me directly, or at least don't make it impossible to continue on with my day. The bedroom light switch, for example, has failed. It's an X10 (remote control) switch, and the remote controlling part still works. It just can't be used to turn on or off the overhead light by itself. I've got a better switch somewhere, and tomorrow I'll find it (or go buy another one) and get that switch replaced.

We also have a two-car garage, with two seperate garage doors and two seperate openers. The house is 27 years old, and we've owned it since 2000. Within a year of owning it the garage door opener on "my" side of the garage failed. Yes, I could open the door manually, but I did that a total of one time, and took a day off of work to buy and install a replacement opener as quick as possible. I'm guessing the opener I replaced was the original installed when the house was built. My wife's side of the garage has had a reliable opener, almost. About two years ago her opener started acting up. You could always eventually get it to open or close the door, but sometimes it might take several presses of the button. The problems would come and go, and might actually have been seasonal. Perhaps they were related to some variable of the changing seasons. Humidity, temperature? I couldn't identify the cause but I would always gladly open the door manually for my wife. It was far easer than replacing the opener.

No more. It's taken two days, but my wife now has a new reliable opener on her garage door. Installing a garage door opener is not a quick thing. It will always require at least two additional trips to the hardware store. In my case I had to go back to get springs. I didn't know I needed new springs until I read the instructions that came with the new opener. I've got the opener installed and working, but now realize it takes two light bulbs limited to 60 watts each. My home inventory is well stocked with 75 watt and 100 watt bulbs, with no 60 watt or smaller bulb to be found. Another trip to the hardware store.

I'll put in a plug for garage door technology. The last time I bought an opener there were two choices, and the difference was chain drive or screw drive. This time I had a hard time deciding from nearly a dozen options. I ended up with a "Genie Powerlift Excelerator". It uses a screw drive. It has a variable speed motor that will start slow and then accelerate the door. No sudden jerk or sudden stop. I suspect the door will last longer using this technology. The main switch is also smarter, with seperate buttons for light and lift, as well as a lock position that locks the lift to any wireless remote control. It still only uses two wires from the switch to the motor though. Great things since I have wires in the wall from the old opener, and running a new wire would have been problematic. It came with the standard two remotes, and also a wireless keypad opener that can be installed outside and will allow opening the door after entering a pass code up to 8 digits long. Lastly it is incredible quiet. 5 out of 5 stars for the Genie Powerlift Excelerator from me.

Rare Wood

OK, perhaps it is not so rare. I did come across a very nice board of Purple Heart that averages 19 inches wide, perfectly flat with no flaws whatsoever along the whole 16 feet of length. We ordered it for a student needing some Purple Heart for their small furniture project. The board is so unusually nice that we (three furniture design professors) decided not to let the student use it, and instead ordered some more Purple Heart for her. Her project would have ripped the board down to narrow frame pieces, and wasn't (in our opinions) a good project to exploit the rare width and beauty of this particular board.

So now I've got to design and build a piece of furniture that DOES show off and take advantage of a section of this beautiful piece of wood.

I've started with a 45" length, and intend to make a small desk or window table with this board as the top. My first inspection reveals that both sides are remarkable. It challenges me to engineer a way to show off both sides in the design. I'm working on a simple strategy to allow "turning inside out" the table, effectively bringing opposite sides of each part into view.

I'd like to know your opinion on the ethical or environment responsiblity or specific utilization of unusually rare boards. Mind you this board is not rare as in nearly extinct. It is rare in that we do not often come across boards of any species of wood so wide and high quality as this Purple Heart.

HDTV and the Writer's Strike

So the writers have gone on strike for the first time in 30 odd years I've heard. The last time led to the move to and growth of cable TV. Seems about right.

What will it mean this time? Personally I know I'll be watching more of my DVDs that I've got backed up to a media server. The discount stores often have DVD movies on clearance tables for $5, which considering I can sell the movie back to a used DVD store for $3 or so means buying new DVDs (at $5) is cheaper than renting them.

Some predict it will mean more folks will discover web media. I'd think that might be true for those who have a PC hooked up to an HDTV, but watching internet TV on my 19" PC monitor from an office chair isn't my idea of a relaxing evening of entertainment.

I predict the biggest outcome will be that people spend less time watching TV. My DVR has nothing but reruns on it from the first two days of the strike. No new content means I'll find something else to do. I've got a small list of honey-do projects that I'll surely get around to now.

I've got to replace a garage door opener. There is at least one defective light switch in the house. The sprinkler system needs to be shut down and drained for the season, and the deck furniture needs to be put up for the winter.

I'm having a great time figuring out my iPod Touch. As a problem solver I'm happy that it didn't come perfect from the store. I found a good case for it, although the case needed a hole punched in it for the headphone plug. A standard paper single hole punch will punch a hole in leather that is the perfect size for the iPod's plug. It's the Incase Sport from Target, and the Touch can be controlled through the clear plastic front. I'm also beta testing webot.com as a path to accessing my own music and photos from the safari web application on the Touch. Not perfect, as although it finds my shared music it won't let me play it directly from within my home network. I've got to go out to the web which then comes back to my PC for the music, and uses my slow internet upload speed instead of my fast home network speed.

As fast as things are developing I predict I'll have a solution to accessing my locally shared music within a week.

BlueTooth and Other Wireless Musings

I've got more than 30 devices using wireless radio frequencies in my house. The first thought I had when I realized how large the number had gotten was "Since Microwave ovens use RF to cook, perhaps all the other radio frequencies around us are heating up the world. Maybe THAT'S what's causing global warming!" Every one of those devices uses electrical power, and all generate some heat. Tripple whammy since in the summer that means my air conditioner has to work harder to keep the house cool, drawing even more electricity from the coal burning power plant that feeds my town.

The latest technology I've purchased uses BlueTooth. I've got bluetooth dongles on three PCS and a bluetooth adapter for my iPod. They all allow me to listen to music off themselves via bluetooth with my bluetooth headphones: http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8480413&st=insignia+bluetooth+headphones&lp=1&type=product&cp=1&id=1185267960408

I'm still looking for a bluetooth receiver I can plug into the rear of my home theater amplifier so my iPod can send it's music there. Any minute now. I love being able to walk about untethered while still listening to music, podcasts, or audio books. As such I will not give up my bluetooth devices for the sake of global warming. ;-)

Almost everything else that is wireless in my house could be wired. I may in fact go about running wires to those things that don't really benefit from their wireless ability. The garage door remote will have to remain, but it is only a momentary wireless signal. The wireless phones can go, and good riddance! I've worn out four different wireless phones in the last 5 years, and none of them worked well when they did work. The wireless router will stay, but mainly because it links my music collection to my iPod and a couple of laptops that don't always stay near a hard cable.

Clearly wireless technologies are becoming more and more prevelant in out homes. Cell phones are more boon than bane. They can stay. I imagine that all those RF signals are doing us some harm. Some day the medical society will get back to us on that one with "Oops! We didn't realize...".

My bluetooth headphones are what I call a "killer application" of the technology. Every technology needs a killer application, but not all RF applications are that useful.

I'll predict that the next version of the iPod Touch will have bluetooth. It would be even sweeter if it had a set of bluetooth earplugs with it. ;-) The only awkward thing about all the iPods is that danged cable you have to drape from your ears to the device. They already have bluetooth in the iPhone so it's not like the technology is beyond them.

One more thing the iPod Touch needs is a way to access shared music on the owner's home network. There is no reason why my personal music collection has to travel down a cable and is limited to the 8 or 16gigs of space on my iTouch. I can already listen to MP3s posted on the web without downloading them. If you're listening, Steve Jobs, get this done!