12.12.12
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
Sunday, April 8, 2012
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Monday, March 29, 2010
Quicken 2010, a Buggy and Slow, Unworthy “Upgrade”
I “upgraded” Quicken 2010 from the 2008 version for a few months now. I very sorry I did not the “upgrade” as the 2010 version not only offers VERY LITTLE improvement over the 2008 version, in many respect it probably is going backwards as it seems being not only slower but also more buggy.
I have been using Quicken since the good old DOS days. At the time it was relatively fast. When Windows comes along the early Windows Quicken seems improves with each version. But things start to change around the 2007 version as it did not offer much improvement and 2008 was even worse as it has become VERY SLOW.
I have decided to skip the 2009 version as it did not appear to add any improvements. When the 2010 comes along, again from the list of “features”, I don’t see any improvements either. But I was growing inpatient with the speed of bugs of the 2008 and thought if those greedy Intuit people can not add features from year to year, at least they should improve the speed and get rid of some bugs. Well, I was very very wrong!
While it seems fixed the UTF bug for none ASCII characters, this version seems has more bugs than ever! I have already encountered the update bug that auto update failed. Recently, I even found out this supposedly money management program can not even count correctly! I have noticed the supposedly same net worth chart on two different panels is different! When I go in and check out the report it was even worst as I have no idea how it got some of the numbers. I first thought it was some how I change the setting on one panel but after exam every settings and make sure they are at default, I still got the same result. In fact, when I added a new net worth chart to the same panel, I got two different charts on the same panel and both of them disagree with the net worth report to boot!
Bugs aside, this version also getting slower and doing certain things on its own. Take download account transactions for example, in the past, if I want to update one bank account and one bank account only, I can go the bank web site and down load the info to the Quicken and that is it. But now after the down load from the bank is completed, the Quicken 2010 will go off on its own to connect, down load “financial institutions” information that I did not initiate and do not know what exactly were down loaded! Manually update stock price is also getting worse as it takes long time for it to bring up the screen and then again take a long time to update after the new prices were entered.
Beyond been buggy and slow, the Quicken 2010 also retain all the greedy trademark of Intuit that it will without asking for consent install whole bunch self-serving advertising icons on your desktop trying to sell more Intuit junks. I would have not problem for the advertisement if Quicken is a freeware or even shareware. But when I paid for a buggy and slow software that have close to zero improvement over previous versions, unwanted ads without consent just to show how bad and greedy this company is.
Many people don’t like Microsoft. But I think Intuit is even worse. Too bad Microsoft decided to abandon Money as I really want to abandon Quicken.
The bottom line is if you have Quicken 2008 or even Quick 2007, don’t bother to upgrade. I wish I did not.
I have been using Quicken since the good old DOS days. At the time it was relatively fast. When Windows comes along the early Windows Quicken seems improves with each version. But things start to change around the 2007 version as it did not offer much improvement and 2008 was even worse as it has become VERY SLOW.
I have decided to skip the 2009 version as it did not appear to add any improvements. When the 2010 comes along, again from the list of “features”, I don’t see any improvements either. But I was growing inpatient with the speed of bugs of the 2008 and thought if those greedy Intuit people can not add features from year to year, at least they should improve the speed and get rid of some bugs. Well, I was very very wrong!
While it seems fixed the UTF bug for none ASCII characters, this version seems has more bugs than ever! I have already encountered the update bug that auto update failed. Recently, I even found out this supposedly money management program can not even count correctly! I have noticed the supposedly same net worth chart on two different panels is different! When I go in and check out the report it was even worst as I have no idea how it got some of the numbers. I first thought it was some how I change the setting on one panel but after exam every settings and make sure they are at default, I still got the same result. In fact, when I added a new net worth chart to the same panel, I got two different charts on the same panel and both of them disagree with the net worth report to boot!
Bugs aside, this version also getting slower and doing certain things on its own. Take download account transactions for example, in the past, if I want to update one bank account and one bank account only, I can go the bank web site and down load the info to the Quicken and that is it. But now after the down load from the bank is completed, the Quicken 2010 will go off on its own to connect, down load “financial institutions” information that I did not initiate and do not know what exactly were down loaded! Manually update stock price is also getting worse as it takes long time for it to bring up the screen and then again take a long time to update after the new prices were entered.
Beyond been buggy and slow, the Quicken 2010 also retain all the greedy trademark of Intuit that it will without asking for consent install whole bunch self-serving advertising icons on your desktop trying to sell more Intuit junks. I would have not problem for the advertisement if Quicken is a freeware or even shareware. But when I paid for a buggy and slow software that have close to zero improvement over previous versions, unwanted ads without consent just to show how bad and greedy this company is.
Many people don’t like Microsoft. But I think Intuit is even worse. Too bad Microsoft decided to abandon Money as I really want to abandon Quicken.
The bottom line is if you have Quicken 2008 or even Quick 2007, don’t bother to upgrade. I wish I did not.
Friday, March 26, 2010
Mitsubishi VS-60111, HD Fury and HTPC
The good old Mitsubishi VS-60111 is a 1080i RPTV that predated HDMI or even DVI. HD video sources came from component and RGB inputs. In order to update to old TV to the modern age, I used a gizmo called HD Fury.
There are two main problems with HD Fury. First, it has a left shift problem that shifts video images to the left a little. While the maker of the HD Fury has a later version claimed to have solve this left shift problem, they cost too much and most of time I don’t miss the “missing” left side so I just live with the problem.
The second problem has to deal with something called EDID. EDID is a data stream format used by HDMI devices to report its capabilities to sources so that the source will only send material such as 1080i video that the device is capable to handle. The problem is since the old TV predates HDMI, it has no EDID to pass on. HD Fury instead passes 1080p as its capabilities and therefore the problem as the TV can only handle 1080i. A source like Blu-Ray player will think the TV can handle 1080p and therefore sending 1080p to the TV. It is very easy to see things will fall apart quickly. Again, the maker of the HD Fury has a later generation that suppose let user select the right resolution to report instead of fixed on 1080p. Luckily, most, if not all the Blu-Ray players have a manual resolution override to send 1080i instead so this has not being a big problem to me up until now.
Connecting a HDMI based HTPC to HD Fury on the other hand, is problem as there is no easy resolution through remote or front panel on the PC. If HD Fury reports the TV can do 1080p, at initial startup, Windows will read the EDID from HD Fury and set the resolution to 1080p and the TV screen will be all scrambled. One solution of course is attach another monitor via DVI or VGA to the PC and change the resolution but this is not very practical if needs to be done every time to turn on or reboot the PC.
The maker of the HD Fury offers a solution to re-program the HD Fury’s to report 1080i instead of 1080p. To do this, one needs to download the new EDID data and use software called PowerStrip to program the HD Fury. While PowerStrip is available as trial shareware, only the paid registered version is capable to program the HD Fury as an “unofficial” function and there is not guarantee it will work. If it doesn’t the software is none refundable.
Luckily, there is an alternative free solution to the HD Fury EDID problem if the reason to re-program the HD Fury is to connect a HDMI HTPC. The PowerStrip’s maker also makes a free utility called MonInfo. I used the MonInfo to read the 1080i limited EDID file from HD Fury’s people and output it Windows INF file. On the first time the HTPC is to connect to the HD Fury, a second monitor will help to ensure the right INF file is pickup by Windows when it sees the HD Fury as new device and trying to install drive for it. It is important to get Windows to install the INF file we just made as the driver for HD Fury. Once the right driver is loaded, we are all set. Removed the second monitor, that it.
It needs to be mentioned that HD Fury’s left shift problem now is more of an issue with the Windows than previous with HD DVD or BD movies. It also need to mention that a 1080i display is not suitable for anything other than media file play back as regular Windows fonts become too small and too blurry. Windows’ MCE on the other hand works quite well as it uses much bigger fonts.
Download
Buy HD Fury from Amazon
There are two main problems with HD Fury. First, it has a left shift problem that shifts video images to the left a little. While the maker of the HD Fury has a later version claimed to have solve this left shift problem, they cost too much and most of time I don’t miss the “missing” left side so I just live with the problem.
The second problem has to deal with something called EDID. EDID is a data stream format used by HDMI devices to report its capabilities to sources so that the source will only send material such as 1080i video that the device is capable to handle. The problem is since the old TV predates HDMI, it has no EDID to pass on. HD Fury instead passes 1080p as its capabilities and therefore the problem as the TV can only handle 1080i. A source like Blu-Ray player will think the TV can handle 1080p and therefore sending 1080p to the TV. It is very easy to see things will fall apart quickly. Again, the maker of the HD Fury has a later generation that suppose let user select the right resolution to report instead of fixed on 1080p. Luckily, most, if not all the Blu-Ray players have a manual resolution override to send 1080i instead so this has not being a big problem to me up until now.
Connecting a HDMI based HTPC to HD Fury on the other hand, is problem as there is no easy resolution through remote or front panel on the PC. If HD Fury reports the TV can do 1080p, at initial startup, Windows will read the EDID from HD Fury and set the resolution to 1080p and the TV screen will be all scrambled. One solution of course is attach another monitor via DVI or VGA to the PC and change the resolution but this is not very practical if needs to be done every time to turn on or reboot the PC.
The maker of the HD Fury offers a solution to re-program the HD Fury’s to report 1080i instead of 1080p. To do this, one needs to download the new EDID data and use software called PowerStrip to program the HD Fury. While PowerStrip is available as trial shareware, only the paid registered version is capable to program the HD Fury as an “unofficial” function and there is not guarantee it will work. If it doesn’t the software is none refundable.
Luckily, there is an alternative free solution to the HD Fury EDID problem if the reason to re-program the HD Fury is to connect a HDMI HTPC. The PowerStrip’s maker also makes a free utility called MonInfo. I used the MonInfo to read the 1080i limited EDID file from HD Fury’s people and output it Windows INF file. On the first time the HTPC is to connect to the HD Fury, a second monitor will help to ensure the right INF file is pickup by Windows when it sees the HD Fury as new device and trying to install drive for it. It is important to get Windows to install the INF file we just made as the driver for HD Fury. Once the right driver is loaded, we are all set. Removed the second monitor, that it.
It needs to be mentioned that HD Fury’s left shift problem now is more of an issue with the Windows than previous with HD DVD or BD movies. It also need to mention that a 1080i display is not suitable for anything other than media file play back as regular Windows fonts become too small and too blurry. Windows’ MCE on the other hand works quite well as it uses much bigger fonts.
Download
Buy HD Fury from Amazon
HTPC or Media Player
I have been using PC with a USB tuner to record HDTV for some time. But my old RPTV Mitsubishi VS-60111 only has component or RGB video inputs for 1080i signal; it is tough to connect it to the PC. I have tried various Nvidia’s solutions in the past; they all failed because the way they support component 1080i resolution is through scaling and re-encode whatever the resolution settings to 1080i. The result was very blur images on this old TV. The other problem is that at in the past not many motherboard has digital audio output for decent audio.
After I updated the TV with the HD Fury to accept HDMI signal and the Yamaha RX-V665 for the new HD audio formats such as DTS-HD MA and DD TrueHD, it is time to revisit the HTPC setup. Before jump into a new HTPC setup however, media players has gaining popularity in recent years and it certainly has its advantages being more like consumer electronics than PC and possible easier for day to day use in a home theater environment.
After looking into the many available media players on the market such as WD TV Live, I was disappointed to found out none of the sub $200 players are capable to act as DVR. In other words, if I get one of these players, I still need the PC to record TV program. Another problem these media player is most of them are not capable to handle HD audio formats. Take TVIX 6620N for example, I have considered it because it can function as DVR. The problem is the TVIX is not only very expensive but also not able to pass through DTS-HD MA and DD TrueHD. For something cost close to $400, I expect more. In addition, TVIX’s local dealer has a rather unfriendly return policy and all the unhappy user feedback on the web make me to give up even give it a try. Then, there are the equally expensive Dune players that seem to be able to handle the DTS-HD HA and DD TrueHD but there is DVR option available. For the price those TVIX and Dune guys ask for, I can build a HTPC and be able to handle both DVR and HD audio.
While it is true, the HTPC can have a lot of issues, lacking proper remote friendly UI is just the most obvious. On the other hand, all those media players seem have their own set of problems too. One just has to search the web to see for example so many unhappy users about them too.
So, at the end I went back to the HTPC option. After the failed trial with XFX GeForce 9300, I have settled with MSI 785GTM-E45 motherboard but only to find out it cannot do HD audio either. The great thing about HTPC is it is expandable and I am not depends on the media player companies to make good on their product. In this case, I added an ATI 5450 graphics and now my HTPC can do both DVR and handle HD audio. To me, this is a better choice by far than any media player on the market today.
After I updated the TV with the HD Fury to accept HDMI signal and the Yamaha RX-V665 for the new HD audio formats such as DTS-HD MA and DD TrueHD, it is time to revisit the HTPC setup. Before jump into a new HTPC setup however, media players has gaining popularity in recent years and it certainly has its advantages being more like consumer electronics than PC and possible easier for day to day use in a home theater environment.
After looking into the many available media players on the market such as WD TV Live, I was disappointed to found out none of the sub $200 players are capable to act as DVR. In other words, if I get one of these players, I still need the PC to record TV program. Another problem these media player is most of them are not capable to handle HD audio formats. Take TVIX 6620N for example, I have considered it because it can function as DVR. The problem is the TVIX is not only very expensive but also not able to pass through DTS-HD MA and DD TrueHD. For something cost close to $400, I expect more. In addition, TVIX’s local dealer has a rather unfriendly return policy and all the unhappy user feedback on the web make me to give up even give it a try. Then, there are the equally expensive Dune players that seem to be able to handle the DTS-HD HA and DD TrueHD but there is DVR option available. For the price those TVIX and Dune guys ask for, I can build a HTPC and be able to handle both DVR and HD audio.
While it is true, the HTPC can have a lot of issues, lacking proper remote friendly UI is just the most obvious. On the other hand, all those media players seem have their own set of problems too. One just has to search the web to see for example so many unhappy users about them too.
So, at the end I went back to the HTPC option. After the failed trial with XFX GeForce 9300, I have settled with MSI 785GTM-E45 motherboard but only to find out it cannot do HD audio either. The great thing about HTPC is it is expandable and I am not depends on the media player companies to make good on their product. In this case, I added an ATI 5450 graphics and now my HTPC can do both DVR and handle HD audio. To me, this is a better choice by far than any media player on the market today.
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