My Name is Kate

My Adventures in Home Networking - Me and the HP MediaSmart Server

Like a lot of geek girls (and guys), I have a lot of media repositories in my home.  And between Rose and I, we also have a lot of digital content.  I've been looking for some way to share that content across devices.  Also, we're a mixed household: I'm on a Mac, she's on a PC plus we have another PC with some legacy content as well.

We also have a Playstation 3.  I got it mainly so I could play around in the new Sony HOME virtual world (ahem .. where is it, Sony?) and to have DVD player b/c our old one died.  It's wifi-enabled, so the ideal situation would be that it's part of the media network as well since it's the device that's actually hooked up to the TV.

Now, in theory, this should have been enough to have a functioning network. I was able to download a piece of software (EyeConnect) that SHOULD have let me stream content from my Mac via the PS3 to the TV.  And it worked fine for photos, mostly OK for music and not at all for movies.  Fail.

So my home network dream died as wedding, honeymoon and real-life took over.

But then, recently, I got a call from HP.  They were offering to let me try out their new HP MediaSmart Server - it was about to make it's debut into Canada.   I clapped my hands with glee - dreams of my home media empire network were revived!

OK.  So, the HP MediaSmart Server arrived!  I had cleared a space for it next to the new router (the dog knocked the old one off the shelf - bad dog).  The HP MediaSmart Server is super-cute, sleek and shiny with a relatively small footprint.  Tasty!  I unpacked it, plugged it in and followed the start-up directions.  Hmm, I didn't get the final set of lights that were supposed to flash. Hmm.  No matter, I thought, surely the software will fix the problem.  (Right.)

So I totally went ahead and installed the HP MediaSmart Server and the Windows Home Server software on Rose's machine (yes, it requires the MSFT Windows Home Server software).  After trying to install the software it hung a few times saying it couldn't "see the server on the network".  Sigh.  I don't like making support calls.

So, just for fun, I tried to look for it on my Mac.  And hey, my Mac saw it!  And could play music from it in iTunes.  And see photos and watch video (the person who had it before me didn't take all their content off - it is WEIRD flipping through someone else's pics; however, he had pretty good taste in music).  I also booted up the PS3.  It found the MediaSmart server and could pull pics and music, no problem.  But couldn't see video.

The PC couldn't see it at all.  But hey, this was my project (Rose just wanted her computer back), so I went along merrily for a few weeks with a partially realised dream.

After returning from a conference, I had about a week left of my time with the MediaSmart Server.  I was determined to get Rose's PC networked as well.  So I got on the horn with HP support (very nice helpful folks!) and essentially ended up wiping the server and doing a full reinstall of its software plus a reinstall of the HP and Windows Home software.  That took a lot of time (note - if you're trying to set up a home network; plan for about three times as much time as you think it will take).

So, we got that all worked out and I was able to access and configure the MediaSmart server via the PC - just like it was intended.  I set up user accounts, copied assets over.  The PC and the HP were getting along like gangbusters.

Then I tried to check in via my Mac.  No more server in my iTunes.  No more friendly access.  Sure, I could get to it as a network drive, but it wasn't as seamless as it was before the reinstall.  On the PS3, access was pretty much the same - but it still couldn't play movies (and before you ask, yes, I did check compatibility of formats on the PS3 and made sure the digital versions were in a format the PS3 can read).

After the big reinstall, I didn't get to spend a lot of time with the server, so this review is a bit incomplete.  The stuff I got to play with: different user accounts with protected levels of access and regular backups worked pretty well on the PC.  The interface to the software was pretty easy to use.  Some of the configuration options were a little fussy (particularly when I was setting up the backups).

 

When you get an HP MediaSmart Server, you also can get a personal URL (via TZO) which lets you have the server (protected) on the Internet available for sharing assets (for both upload and download).  I didn't get this working on mine, but I did use it on another HP MediaSmart Server and it worked fine.  This functionality is one of the main things that attracted me to the MediaSmart server - privately sharing photos (or other assets) with dispersed (extended) family members in one central location that isn't someone else's service.  Sure, there are a number of photo-sharing sites out there, but they are all under someone else's control.  By using something like the HP MediaSmart server, you retain the control of your pictures (with any of the digital assets you choose to share within your family network).

So, I had a pretty good experience with the HP MediaSmart Server, but I don't think it's the best solution for us.  I'm thinking I need to try a network device from the Apple side of things - to see if it works better with my Mac and then brings the PC and the PS3 along for the ride.  Is Apple TV what I need to be playing with next?  Any thoughts?

I would like to say thanks to HP and to the folks at their PR agency, H&K.  I had the opportunity to meet with reps from both organizations, received an excellent briefing and wonderful tech support.  I was really delighted with how they wanted to reach out to different bloggers and make their products available for trial - not just to traditional journalists, but to regular folks like me. 

And HP, if you EVER want someone to review your sexy MediaSmart HDTV (TV with WiFi built in, people!), call me!

An Easy-to-Use, Fast Powerhorse Printer for Small Business - the Brother HL-4070CDW Printer

One of the reasons I like blogging (aside from the nano-celebrity) is that I get the opportunity to review cool stuff (hardware, websites, books), sometimes even before said stuff hits the market.  As a marketer, I am also a firm believer in blogger outreach programs; by participating, in addition to playing with new products, I also get to learn how other companies handle these programs.

Brother started a blogger outreach program late last year - to have select small businesses folks test out a new line of printers designed just  for small and medium size businesses.  I was one of the lucky folks who got to participate, and my test model was the HL-4070CDW (why can't we name printer models cool names like cars?).  I was very excited about this model because it offers printing via WiFi!  Yay - no more cords!

I arrived home from my honeymoon to find this waiting for me (I included the coffee cup for scale).  I wasn't expecting something quite so ... big.  We have been using a relatively small printer from a competitor - this one's footprint is at least twice the size.  So we had to scramble a bit to find an appropriate place for it.

Now I'm a documentation gal.  I loves me some good documentation.  And Brother delivered!  Right in the top of the box was a big friendly manual with lots of illustrations, numbered steps and friendly arrows.  So, I read through the steps for unpacking the printer.  My fav was the diagram showing TWO people setting it up.  So, I recruited Rosemary and we managed to get the thing out of the box without too many tears.

Now, Brother wants to help you protect your investment.  So they have a really big section on how to unpack, including info on how to remove all the various bits of plastic and tape that they have stuck in nooks and crannies in your printer that will melt if you use your printer while they are still attached.  Some of them are easy to find because they look like this:

Others take a little longer to dig out.  All in all, it took me 24 minutes to get the printer from being sealed in the box to being unpacked and ready to turn on.

OK, now to hook up the Wifi.  We're a mixed office - we have both Mac and PC users.  I decided to try to configure it using my Mac.  Again, the documentation was really easy to use.  And my favourite part: when I had to do some networking trick that wasn't part of Brother's software config, they STILL included directions on how to do it, including screenshots of what should appear on my Mac. Now that is thinking ahead!  I'll bet a lot of folks get frustrated at points like that - where they need to mess with something in their operating system and don't know how and there is no one to ask (because most small businesses don't have dedicated IT guys).  Way to go, Brother!

It took me 19 minutes to configure the WIFI interface and get this:

TIFF Film Review: Mistress of Spices

Mistress of Spices: B+

I am deeply torn about this film.  Mistress of Spices had the potential to be a great food movie like "Chocolat" or "Like Water for Chocolate".  It is visually rich and gorgeous to look at, from the spices, the sets, the scenery and the people.  This is an absolutely beautiful film.  And I like the idea of the plot: a secret order of women, dispatched across the globe, using the power of spices to help and heal (physically and spiritually) others. 

But the writing was really poor .. the dialogue was stilted and unbelievable.  It really gave the actors nothing to work with ... so there was a lot of meaningful LOOKING at each other, but not a lot of great interaction.  Which is really too bad.  Also, Mistress of Spices had some really weird editing.  I was TENSE through this whole movie .. there were lots of jarring sounds and fast cuts.  Was it a gun shot or a bus backfiring?  The store bell rang -- friend or foe?  This edginess seemed out of place in a romantic feel-good movie. 

So .. am deeply ambivalent.  It's so visually compelling, but it just doesn't deliver beyond the look of it.

TIFF Film Review: Beowulf and Grendel

Beowulf & Grendel: A

Exceptional film.  A true epic.  The setting is gorgeous.  Andrew Rai Berzins, the screenwriter, took the core of the Beowulf legend and built a believable (and more importantly, incredibly watchable) story around it.  The main cast all did a super job (though I question the casting of Sarah Polley.  She seemed really out of place, was the only one who didn't have some kind of accent or voice stylings.  I found her a bit too modern in this piece.)  They really got into the souls of the characters. 

Through the script, Rai Berzins raised issues about the nature of violence and vengeance.  Notably, Sturla Gunnarsson, the directorr, kept the blood, gore and violence to a minimum which is pleasantly surprising in such an epic film that centres around a series of violent events.  The one exception I have is the rape of the witch Selma (Polley) by Grendel.  I feel this one addition to the story showed a lack of imagination ... the rape resulted in a child which was a convenient narrative foil for a poignant end.  The same issue could have been handled with more panache like the philosophical and psychological narrative of the rest of the film.   

But the Iceland landscape is a wonder to behold.  Go see it on the big screen, just for the cinematic sense of it all. 

Website: http://www.beowulf-movie.com/

TIFF Film Review: U-Carmen eKhayelitsha

U-Carmen eKhayelitsha: B+

An updated version of Bizet's Carmen.  Great setting: South Africa.  Great twist on the original story: characters are cigarette factory workers and drug smugglers.  Phenomenal singing!  Worth it just for that.  The rework of the story and the language are all outstanding. 

But herein lies my issue: with the update to the setting and to clearly street-savvy modern people, I had a hard time buying the typic opera modus operandi.  The one where they repeat everything eight times.  For example: Lovesick Cop chasing after Carmen in bar.  Rural Bethrothed of Lovesick Cop follows him into bar, singing "Your mother is dying."  Lovesick Cop, "I love Carmen and cannot leave."  RBoLC sings "Your mother is dying."  LC, "I love Carmen and cannot leave."  RBoLC, "Your mother is dying." LC, "What, my mother is dying?  I must leave."   

Also, I have very little patience where these characters just can't get over themselves.  DUDE, Carmen is a no good criminal who does not love you.  Do yourself a favour and go back to Hometown with your brother's widow who is cute and *does* love you.  Yeah, Carmen is a sexy woman.  But get over it.  There is no future here.  Seriously.  No, don't stalk her at the big concert.  Listen to your mother.  Go home.  Dude. DUDE!  Great.  Now you've killed Carmen.  And you'll go to  prison.  And you've killed the person you "love".  Where's the win/win here?  No where.  *That's* where.

But the singing is exceptional.  And Pauline Malefane is HOT!  She is one sexy lady.  Wow. 

Website http://www.u-carmen.com/

TIFF Film Review: The Piano Tuner of Earthquakes

The Piano Tuner of Earthquakes: C

Every year I pick an "artsy" film to go to because a). I believe that that's one of the reasons to go to a film festival and b) I'm a perennial optimist and hold out hope that one year I will actually "get it".  Not this year. 

TPTOE is deeply and unabashedly visually interesting to look at.  The Quay brothers made a visually delightful film.  But the plot was lost on me.  Mad Scientist plots to kidnap Opera Singer so she can star in Mad Scientist Opera on Mad Scientist Island.  Opera Singer kidnapped and whisked away to Mad Scientist Island.  Mad Scientist hires Piano Tuner who a) tunes automatons that show vignettes of progressing film and b) plays role in Mad Scientist Opera.  Turns out Mad Scientist Opera is an operatic re-enactment of initial kidnapping scene of Opera Singer.  Piano Tuner and Opera Singer end up trapped in an automaton. 

I admit it .. I'm a hick and didn't get it.  Also, I feel there was one layer of the sound track missing.  People in the film kept referring to "haunting music" and "beautiful singing".  I never heard it.  But the best thing about TPTOE is the "Is this the real forest" line!

TIFF Film Review: Dreaming of Space

Dreaming of Space: C+

I really wanted this film to be better.  Or at least more consistent.  The film description says

When the Soviet Union launched its first satellite into space in 1957, the Soviet people were filled with an immense feeling of optimism. Space represented freedom, an enormous realm of potential outside their own experience, one unburdened by paranoia or deception. Dreaming of Space is about the hope for the future that gripped a nation corroded by cynicism.

And I think "Yeah, kinda.  But only for about three minutes.  What I really think happened is that the writer saw some footage of Yuri Gagarin with his shoelace untied and then worked backward from that. 

Which is really unfortunate because when it wasn't about "Horsie" being clueless, it was actually quite interesting.  The fascination with the West, with getting into space, the nuances of soviet life in the late 50's.  That was all really nifty.  The narrative just didn't really hang together.  Acting was mixed.  The two women who played Lara and Lara's sister, Irina Pegova and Elena Lyadova, were great, but the two lead male actors, Yevgeny Mironov and Yevgeny Tsiganov were stilted and came off as bad soviet stereotypes.

TIFF Film Review: Souvenir of Canada

Souvenir of Canada: A-

OK, this was a very North American film: it has *my* sense of humour, was in *my* language, features one of *my* favourite authors. It was not a stretch for me to *get* this film. Douglas Coupland is much funnier and genuine than I expected. See, I have this made-up construct of how jerky Coupland is in my head: he cancelled an appearance at the University of Waterloo back in 1992 or 1993. I had purchased a hard-cover first edition of Microserfs (a book I love dearly) for him to sign and skipped a class to see him. When I got to the bookstore, there was a big sign saying he'd cancelled. I've been bitter for 12 years. But after seeing Souvenir of Canada, I've been able to get over it.

This film is fun to watch. Though it's another one of those films that seems to end a couple of times. The whole film is an exploration of "what it means to be Canadian" mostly told through commentary on various Canadian pop-culture fads. At the end, there is a tacked on bit about how what it really means to be Canadian is our connection with the wilderness. The transition from pop-culture to wilderness was kinda weak and didn't really fit. But overall the film was snappy and funny and self-effacing and filled with those "inside" jokes Canadians love about themselves. Oh, and some really kickin' title design.

A more detailed summary as well as highlights of the director's Q&A following the screening I saw have been posted on the IMDB (fyi .. the comment about the Hinterland Who's Who spots was made by my friend, Daniel).

And, I totally stole this pic from Kurt's Film Blog.

TIFF Film Review: Perpetual Motion

Perpetual Motion: A

Someone asked me, when I initially described this film, "So, was it like the Joy Luck Club?" I was happy to answer a resounding NO! It is so GREAT to see movies direct from the source. In this case, China. Now I liked Joy Luck Club, but it's a movie about Chinese women in North America. This is about Chinese women in China. Really really interesting, but still very accessible -- even to a hick like me. I enjoyed the story as well as seeing the cinematic sensibilities of Chinese filmmaking.

Roro has a great summary of the film and gives a bit of context about the unique mix of these women in this particular film. Me, I just wish I spoke Mandarin because the older Chinese couple next to me in the theatre were *killing* themselves laughing. I laughed a lot from what they translated into the subtitles, but I sure there were several layers I totally missed. Great film.

TIFF Film Review: Eve and the Fire Horse

Eve and the Fire Horse: A-

A really great offering from up and coming writer/director Julia Kwan. All the acting was excellent .. the two young girls, Phoebe Kut and Hollie Lo, were super. Telling the story of two sisters trying to reconcile their Confucian upbringing with their new-found Catholicism and their mother's recent adoption of Buddhism makes for some charming scenes.

Kwan complements the main narrative with some fantastical scenes where Eve (the younger sister) converses with household goddesses, Buddha and Jesus. Really fun. I didn't like the ending .. it felt like the movie ended twice; however, a minor issue. A fun feel-good Canadian movie.