By Michael Santo
Editor-in-Chief, RealTechNews

Waitasecond! I’m pretty selfish with my bandwidth. Why would I want to turn my wi-fi enabled smartphone into a hotspot? Well, maybe I would - because it’s generally easier to set up wi-fi than to set up a smartphone as a laptop modem.

Wednesday TapRoot Systems announced (.PDF), for “immediate implementation into carrier networks,” WalkingHotSpot (WHS) client and server. The client will only work on WM and Symbian devices for now.

Of course, you won’t be able to buy it yourself. Nope. The idea is for TapRoot to sell this to carriers, and then the carriers will incorporate it into their devices. In conjunction with the WHS server, which

provides carriers with the ability to manage and control subscriber accounts, authenticate WalkingHotSpot devices and clients, as well as collect subscriber usage information. This service allows carriers to offer a secure, controlled and scalable solution to their subscribers.

AKA: carriers can / will use the server to charge for this. As if we don’t pay enough for our wireless plans already, right?

Want voice / data? That’s only available on HSDPA / UMTS devices. EVDO, though fast, will drop the data connection when a call comes in.

We Say: BTW, there’s a (currently) free WM client called WMWifiRouter. It’s on WM, though, and it’s clear it’s not going to be free once it ships. You can get a €5 discount on the final product if you try it and let them know (via a web form) if it worked on your device.

By Michael Santo
Editor-in-Chief, RealTechNews

Rumor was that Microsoft was set to release Windows XP Service Pack 3 (SP3) this week, but that’s obviously not going to happen. Tuesday Microsoft announced another refresh of the software, a Release Candidate 2 (RC2) refresh (what, not RC3?).

As before, you have to use an application to enable Windows Update to “see” your PC as a valid machine to install SP3 on.

While SP3 isn’t ready yet, it has to be very close, as the post on Technet announcing the refresh said:

Beyond fixes for common Windows Update issues and the inclusion of support for HD Audio, there are no substantial differences between this beta release (build 5508) and XP SP3 RC2 (build 3311).

Plenty of users will be happy about the HDA support, as that wasn’t working before, but the release of a refresh means a new test cycle will start. Microsoft still says SP3 will release in the first half of this year, however.

By Michael Santo
Editor-in-Chief, RealTechNews

You may recall that Jimmy earlier wrote about Sony’s $50 charge for its “no bloatware” Fresh Start Option. They’ve since, after an explosion of bad publicity, rescinded that fee. I personally felt that since, in order to get the “Fresh Start” option and no bloatware, you had to select Windows Vista Business, a $100 option, it was really a $150 option. And since they haven’t removed that requirement, the price is still a ridiculous $100 for garbage most people don’t want.

Sony is only offering this option on the VGN-TZ2000 and VGN-TX2500 laptops, and as you can see in the configuration screenshot above, you still have to choose that OS upgrade. Most sites and blogs however, are cheering over this so-called consumer victory, but why should anyone have to upgrade their OS at all? This should be a no-charge option for all systems.

It also makes me wonder if this was planned all along. I mean, Sony is getting a lot of good PR over this move of theirs, while in reality they still require you to up your configuration by $100. While it’s true that some would probably opt for Vista Biz anyway, quite a few would probably opt to stick with Home Premium, which is a fine option for many.

Of course, that would require me to imagine that a corporation might have a somewhat shady reason for doing things - to possibly increase their bottom line. Nah, right?

I also understand that OEMs make $$$ off all the bloatware they install, and that by removing it they lose that money, but since corporations make tons off consumers, I really don’t feel much sympathy for them.

We Say: I’ll admit, it’s nice to see a “no bloatware” option, but it should really be an option on all systems and all OSes, not limited to those who upgrade their OS. For now, I still give Sony a failing grade.

By Michael Santo
Editor-in-Chief, RealTechNews

You may recall that Chris Avenir, a first-year chemical engineering student at Ryerson University in Toronto, Canada, faced expulsion after it came to light that he had created a Facebook-based chemistry study group.

The study group, called “Dungeons/Mastering Chemistry Solutions,” after a campus-based engineering study group called “The Dungeon,” attracted the attention of school administrators over the winter break.

As there were 146 members in the group, Avenir was charged with 147 counts of academic misconduct and recommended for expulsion. At the same time, his class grade was changed from A to F.

However, Avenir stated that the group was no different than any other study group, providing tutoring and tri-mentoring, not cheating as administrators claimed. Other students expressed outrage as well.

The university had somewhat of a change of heart last week, telling him that he wouldn’t be expelled. However, he will still receive a zero on the assignment section of the chemistry course. That is worth 10% of the grade, but since, as previously indicated, he had an A originally, he still passed the course easily.

It’s possible that Avenir could still appeal through the Ryerson Students’ Union, but as he had been facing expulsion, this is already a victory of sorts. He still faces mandatory attendance in a academic misconduct workshop.

By Michael Santo
Editor-in-Chief, RealTechNews

Windows Vista SP1 is now available, but not everyone can get it. That includes me, at least on my Dell Inspiron M1710. You’ll recall that Microsoft isn’t going to offer SP1 via Windows Update to anyone who has a “problematic driver.”

But I couldn’t figure out why my M1710 was excluded. A cursory glance at the drivers made me think I shouldn’t be blocked, and I already had all the prerequisite updates. So, I had to look at KB948343 to figure out why. And I had to do it the hard way: searching for each file in the list of problematic drivers.

I found it: I have SigmaTel driver file Stwrt.sys (version 6.10.5343.1). Since version 6.10.5511.0 or earlier is excluded, that’s what’s blocking me. The problem is that Dell has not updated that driver, so I’m stuck.

Here’s my question: why did I have to search for the driver? Microsoft obviously knew I had an issue; why doesn’t Windows Update just tell me?
More

By Jimmy Daniels of Windows Tips
Contributing Writer, RealTechNews

I couldn’t believe this when I read it this morning, but apparently Sony Computers has a new Fresh Start option, where they remove all the free trial software they install, Sony Vaio applications and games from your new computer, to free up valuable hard drive space, conserve memory and processing power to maximize system performance right form the start.

Sony has quite the history of crippling excellent, beautiful hardware with horrible, useless software. The company’s UX UMPC blue screened on us the first time we turned it on, and crashed the first time we tried to shut it down thanks to all the bloatware on it, while a Laptop Mag review says their Vaio TZ ran “as if it were broken” before they managed to wipe it clean. Lucky for us, it appears Sony is finally seeing the error of its ways, but instead of removing the crapware altogether, Sony has the nerve to offer a $50 “Fresh Start” option, which “scrubs” the machine clean before shipping it your way. At the moment you can only configure the TZ2000 crapware-free, but hopefully Sony will be rolling out the choice to the rest of its laptops soon. Source: Engadget

We Say: Hey Sony, take your fresh start, turn it sideways and shove it straight up your ass. How about you make us some computers that actually work good out of the box, you know, like you are supposed to. What is this world coming to when you have to pay $50 bucks to optimize your brand new computer. Wonder why Sony isn’t the number one computer manufacturer?

Added: From the Crave blog at Cnet: Sony’s Jon Piazza tells us, “Sony has decided to remove the $50 charge. Fresh Start will be free of charge.”

By Michael Santo
Editor-in-Chief, RealTechNews

BD-Live (AKA Blu-ray Disc Profile 2.0) titles were released earlier this year, despite the fact that there were no players yet capable of supporting BD-Live.

Once again, the PS3 shows why it should be the Blu-ray player of choice for even non-gamers, as Firmware v2.20, which Sony says is “coming up in the next few days,” will add support for BD-Live, making the PS3 the first BD-Live capable player available.

BD-Live requires two secondary decoders, 1GB of local storage for updates and content, and an Internet connection. It will allow you to connect to the internet and receive downloadable content to add to the title.

You’ll recall that there is more than one Blu-ray support profile defined:

• 1.0 - the launch profile, and secondary audio and video decoders are optional, as is local storage and network connectivity. The majority of standalone players fit into this category.

• 1.1 - newer profile; players need a secondary audio and video decoder to handle picture-in-picture, as well as at least 256MB of local storage for content.

• 2.0 - latest, requiring the two secondary decoders, 1GB of local storage for updates and content, and an Internet connection.

Obviously the additional hardware requirements mean that not every Blu-ray player can be upgraded with a firmware change. In fact, the first standalone BD-Live player will not arrive until April (the Panasonic DMP-BD50). The only other announced BD-Live player is the and the Sony BDP-S550 (coming this autumn). Both of these are expected to cost at least $100 more than an entry-level PS3.

Additional changes in FW v2.20, according to Sony:

• The ability to copy PS3 Music and Photo playlists to a PSP system. We introduced the ability to create Music and Photo playlists on the PS3 in firmware update v2.0. Now you can easily export your playlists to your PSP.

• You can now play DivX and WMV format files that are over 2 GB. In addition, you can now display subtitles when viewing DivX files.

• Resume Play - begin playing a DVD or BD disc from the point where you previously stopped it, even if you eject the disc and insert a different movie or game.

• Use your PSP as a remote control to play back your music files on your PS3 without turning on your TV.

• The Internet browser now displays some web pages faster. In addition [Save Target] has been added as an option under file. This option lets you save a file that is linked to a web page to your PS3 hard drive or storage media.

We Say: Having a PS3 next to your TV may not be as “home decor-friendly” as a standalone player, and thus harder to get past your wife or partner, but it sure seems to be the best way to stay at the bleeding-edge of Blu-ray. And of course, the console gaming portion of it is more than an after-thought …

By Michael Santo
Editor-in-Chief, RealTechNews

I have never won an NCAA Basketball Tournament Pool. Face it, I simply don’t follow college basketball, and the few days I get to work on it once the brackets are decided - simply not good enough. I may just have a chance this year … though probably not.

Coke Zero launched this app last year, but this year things have been much improved. Bracket-O-Matic ‘08 enables you to use sliders to weight various categories and comes up with your bracket for you:

• Dynasty vs. Cinderella
• Offense vs. Defense
• Wild Mascot vs. Tame Mascot - Subjective ranking where a value of 9 was maximum wildness, 1 was the most tame, and 5 was neither wild nor tame.
• Senior vs. Frosh
• Star Power vs. Deep Bench
• Hi Seed vs. Lo Seed
• East Coast vs. West Coast
• New Coach vs. Vet Coach

Except for the mascot category, they all seem pretty self-explanatory. Interested in more details on the logic? Check out this PDF file they sent me.

As Coke Zero says:

Take the guesswork out of your tournament bracket. Crack open a Zero, dial in your preferences, and this handy dandy bracket filler outer thing will do the rest.

This’ll be really handy for those of you who enter multiple pools. Of course, you can override any of the program’s picks. And, if you’re participating in the CBS Bracket Challenge, you can submit your picks with a click of the mouse.

We Say: Just for fun, I built a bracket with all the default (centered) settings, and ended up with a Final Four of St. Joseph, Marquette, Kent State, BYU, with BYU meeting St. Joseph in the finals and BYU winning.

Somehow this doesn’t seem right to me.

Still confused? Watch this video: