I have 2 IM clients running on my Netbook – Windows Live Messenger and Google Talk. Between them they take up over 200MB of memory.

So, I’m looking for an Instant Messaging client to run on my netbook that will run Windows Messenger and Google Talk. Optionally, Gmail notification would be good too. I don’t think that’s too big a wishlist.

In all cases I installed them on my Netbook whilst on my work’s wireless network – this is relatively open but has some port restrictions. None-the-less, both the aforementioned clients work at present.

Miranda

First up was Miranda, which got installed and, not long after, uninstalled. It doesn’t appear to support Google Talk by default – if it did, it wasn’t obvious. I tried searching the site for plugins to do this but came up empty-handed.

A search on the forum seemed to show people messing around with changing server names in config. files, which I’m hoping was not the default way to get Google Talk working. Anyway, I didn’t find anything.

Digsby

When installing you are prompted to install a “Digsby Donates” browser plugin and then, later, a Babylon toolbar (you have to decline for it not to install). At the end there are a number of advertising options to untick before completing.

Digsby uses its own account system, making it easy to use elsewhere. The interface is simple and adding accounts is easy.

Unfortunately, it didn’t work, hanging for some time when attempting to connect before failing. It works fine at home, so this must be down to port limitations at work.

Pidgin

During the Pidgin install you can select whether various URI handlers are supported – all are abbreviated terms with no explanation as to what they are. Also, you can choose a language localisation from a list which appears to be in no particular order. I eventually found EN_GB, which I assume is British English. When it comes to adding in the spell checking support, the languages are listed alphabetically and in full.

After that it was relatively straight forward and I was able to add my chat accounts easily.

Unfortunately, like Digsby, nothing was able to connect.

Trillian Astra

Installation is swift, with few options to choose. However, it does try and get you to install  the Ask toolbar and make Ask the default search provider – just be wary that you have to untick TWO boxes to prevent this. Once installed, you have to sign up as a Trillian account, which provides a single sign-in solution.

The default interface is a bit over-engineered so I swapped it to the simpler alternative. My chat account were easy to add and I can also show Twitter and Facebook. If any of your logins are attached to a mail account (e.g. Google Chat) then notifications can be made. This provides a simple interface to all your social networks, but it can be a bit cramped running it all from a small chat window.

The one problem I did have was that new mail notifications are shown on the screen only for a set amount of time. After that, there’s no icon animation, etc, to show that mail has arrived.

Trillian does has a wide range of available plugins and, once set-up and minimised, uses just 22.8 MB of memory.

Meebo

Meebo is an online IM client – simply sign up for their site and you can add all your IM details onto the site for instant access. They also provide a desktop notifier tool which will inform you of any incoming IMs and emails.

You can’t send a message without signing on the Meebo website and, more crucially for me, their mail notifier is damn annoying – the mail icon remains there until you click on it to launch your email, even if the mail has been read and gone (for example, from a phone or another PC).

I know it sounds a small issue, but its a damn annoyance that ruled out Meebo for me.

Conclusion

From the above you’d think I’d chosen Trillian. But, no, the mail notification is an issue for me. So I’m left with my original Windows Messenger and Google Talk installations.

Miranda was too difficult to set-up and Pidgin and Digsby simply wouldn’t connect through my companies security settings.

If anybody has any further suggestions then, please, let me know.

A friend of mine has started using Jolicloud on her Netbook. This is a Linux distro that has been designed specifically for Netbooks. Indeed, they boast 98% compatibility across the Netbook market.

Now, it’s not the only one available, but unlike the others, this allows you to install the OS via Windows – the installation resides on the drive to what looks like Windows as a very large file. No messing with partitions, etc, and you can simply uninstall it via the standard Windows process.

Installation was easy and all my Aspire Ones hardware was recognised and configured.

The default interface is very black, although you can change this, with program categories down the left hand side. Down the right hand side are your various document folder shortcuts (including a shortcut to your Windows files, which is very welcome – although this doesn’t work until you perform your first system update). Click on any category and the main centre of the screen is filled with the programs available.

The “cloud” part of the name is a clue to how a lot of this works – many “programs” are merely shortcuts to websites, but running under a toolbar free version of the Chromium web browser so they look like a standard application. Unfortunately, without forward and back buttons some sites are not particularly easy to navigation – Gmail being an example of an exception.

And they’ve avoided a lot of the hassle of Linux installations, by making you select programs from their site. This means the choice is a lot more limited, but ensures that installs are incredibly easy.

And, Jolicloud even integrates Wine so you can, theoretically, run Windows applications (I tried one and it crashed, but that was hardly a good test!).

So, am I keeping it? No. An uninstall beckons. I have to say, it is good. But for power users it lacks badly. And I found it slow – delays occur often and at one time the main “desktop” appeared to crash (and disappear) entirely.

If you’re after an easy to use alternative and all you use your Netbook for is basic office tools and internet use, then this may be perfectly adequate. Unfortunately, it lacks a lot of the applications I need on a day-to-day basis. Yes, I can continue to dual boot with Windows, but Jolicloud doesn’t offer me anything extra. Boot times are quick, yes, but using XPs hibernate feature means that Windows is just as speedy. Now, if someone wants to offer a more powerful Linux distro but with just as easy to install applications, then I’d be interested.

Creative have another hit on their hands with the ZiiSound D5 – a speaker “bar” that works via Bluetooth and contains an iPhone dock to boot.

And, once again, Creative have gone to town with the high quality packaging of their product. A well made, embossed, external box is opened up to reveal everything nicely packaged inside in smaller boxes. Little details, even down to an embossed card with the product details on, make you think you’ve bought  a quality product.

Taking the ZiiSound out, I was immediately surprised at it’s size – just a smidgen over 42cm in length, it’s a lot more compact than other premium iPhone docs (the B&W Zeppelin, for instance, is 64cm in length). And, although, somewhat bland in its black, angled, rectangular form, it has enough aesthetic touches to make up for it. For example, the ends of the ZiiSound are finished in a dark-gun metal material  and the volume is shown via a series of white LEDs. To adjust the volume you simply move you fingers across the touch sensitive panel on the top – it responds and looks superb.

In fact, the ZiiSound has been awarded the prestigious red dot award for product design.

Connection

To get it up and working you only need to plug in a power cable (complete with in-line transformer) and press a small power button on the back. Other than the power there are no other buttons – just touch sensitive panels. Other than the aforementioned volume control there is also a touch-sensitive Bluetooth connection panel on the front.

Next to the power connection and button on the rear is an auxiliary in (with a cable supplied!), allowing you to bypass Bluetooth entirely and connect directly to a device via its headphone socket, or similar output.

Along with the ZiiSound itself you also receive a Bluetooth transmitter that plugs into the bottom of your iPod or iPhone. However, if you’re like me and don’t own one, then you’re certainly not left out. Any Bluetooth device, such as a phone or laptop, can transmit to the ZiiSound – I used my HTC Hero and it connected without any issues. The range is about 10 meters.

Available separately, there is also a Wireless USB Bluetooth audio transmitter from Creative. At the moment, if you purchase the ZiiSound from the Creative store you get it for free (worth £39.99).

Docking

Docking of an iPod or iPhone can be performed easily via a docking slot on the rear of the device (which is RF shielded so you don’t have to worry about the speakers interfering with iPhone reception, for instance).

In the product box you will find a support stand and number of different backrest adapters – you simply find the one suitable for your device and insert it into the ZiiSound. Your device will then be adequately supported whilst docked.

In Use

Other than volume, there are no sound adjustments you can make, so a lot of the quality is down to whatever device is feeding the ZiiSound. I tested it first with my HTC hero – the apt-X audio codec that they use provides excellent Bluetooth stereo audio. My Hero though, nice as it is, isn’t a good example to use, so I switched to the wired aux. connection to my Hi-fi.

And, you know, the sound is extremely good. Certainly a lot better than you’d expect from something if its diminutive size. Clear, with good range, every part of the design, from the bass port (or “flowport”) and chassis to the speakers, has been designed to give a sound as rich as possible. And all of this comes from just two 15 Watt (RMS) speakers.

I pushed the volume up high and it had no problems with the results – they would certainly work brilliantly at a party.

Conclusion

As I said at the beginning of the review, Creative have another hit on their hands. Already I can’t get enough of the Aurvana earphones (still using them regularly!) and the ZiiSound will be no different. With my HTC Hero connected to my ZyXEL NAS, I can stream my entire music collection through the ZiiSound without moving from the sofa.

It looks good and it sounds fantastic. But don’t take my word for it…

“The sound quality is very impressive given the size of the ZiiSound D5. Using the transmitter, there is bags of detail and the speakers maintain audio integrity at those higher volumes your want for your party…” – Pocket-lint
“…this is one of the most impressive iPod and iPhone audio systems we’ve seen in the past three years…” – iLounge.com

Read more reviews.

Nearly 2 years ago I wrote a comparison of Adobe Reader and Foxit Reader. Both free PDF viewers, I found that the latter was often being recommended to avoid the “bloat” of Adobe Reader.

Unfortunately, and as I noted, many people complaining about Adobe Reader were using old, slower versions.

So, I thought it was time to revisit the two applications and compare them once more.

Before, I kick off I should add that I won’t be using Adobe Reader Lite this time – Adobe has been clamping down on its distribution and, although still available, I suspect that development has ceased. And that’s a shame – Adobe Reader Lite stripped out all the least used features of Adobe Reader and made it a lot leaner as a result. Why Adobe don’t add such a feature I really don’t know. Any-hoo…

Adobe Reader 9.3

A 26.1MB download (although their site says it’s higher), it then consumes 211MB once installed. Installation is sluggish, but it’s clean, with no undue problems experienced.

Uninstalling the software is also average, with some files left behind.

In my previous review I made mention of how the PDF viewers consume more and more memory the more you scroll through a document. That hasn’t changed.

Adobe Reader, with no document open, uses 30MB of memory. When I opened a 13.3MB PDF document, it consumed 39MB of memory. Next, I scrolled to the end of the document and back up again¹ – the memory usage was now a rather large 92MB. Repeating this increased it to 104MB.

The software is slick in use, with good quality text, even when quite small, and a generally nice look and feel. Scrolling is smooth and it launches quickly. The toolbar is not cluttered and contains the basic requirements. Updates to the software are tracked and automatically downloaded, if required.

Foxit Reader 3.3.1

A sprightly 6.69MB download, it then uses just 11MB on disk space when installed.

Installation is a different matter, however. It’s quick, but desperately tries to get you to install options that are, erm, commercially advantageous to them. First up, it tries to get you to install an Ask.com toolbar², make Ask the default search engine AND set my home page to Ask.

Uninstalling is also quick and the only file left behind was the main installation folder.

Next up, if you don’t select the customer installation, it will try and install the Firefox plugin. Now, as far as I can tell, this plugin simply allows Firefox to display PDFs within the browser. Unfortunately, there is nothing which states this is the case and could easily look like they’re trying to sneak in more unwanted software.

Lastly, when the installation is complete, it automatically ticks an option that would add eBay shortcuts to your desktop, quick launch menu and start menu.

Opening up Foxit with no document it uses 10MB of memory. Loading my 13.3MB document increases this usage to 17MB. Scrolling down the document and back again and this changes to 36MB. A repeat of this and it’s 53MB.

Foxit is obviously copying the style of Adobe, as it is VERY similar, even down to the images and location of icons. However, the toolbar is cluttered (including a number of options that you can’t use properly unless you pay for the Pro version) and includes an advert. All of this can be changed, though, including the advert which can be turned off.

Scrolling is performed more traditionally. If displaying an entire page on the screen, Adobe will jump one whole page at a time, whereas Foxit will scroll from one page to the next. I prefer Adobes approach of thumbnails and whole page jumps, as it makes it a quicker experience.

Thankfully, Foxit will now open documents within your web browser (well, IE and Firefox certainly works) which was a feature much lacking before.

Conclusion

Adobe Reader is a big, bloated lump. However, it’s also quick in operation and scrolls smoothly. Fonts (particularly smaller ones) appears sharper than Foxit. Foxit, in comparison, is lithe but jerky and just that tad slower in use.

Personally, I’m sticking with Adobe, but there’s many good reasons to swap to Foxit (although I’m still annoyed at their constant pushing of commercial products during the install).

If only there was a way to keep the Adobe experience, but strip it down to be less bloated? It could be called something like Adobe Reader Lite. Oh.

1. performing this test is difficult with Adobe Reader as it tends to not actually flick through the pages when scrolling – instead it remains at the current page and only refreshes it once you stop scrolling. Whilst scrolling, a thumbnail appears [↩]
2. and tricky they are too – it installs it when you agree to terms and conditions. At first I thought these were the Foxit T&Cs and, hence, I had no choice, but they’re not – it’s T&Cs for the toolbar [↩]

Last week I became the proud owner of a set of Creative Aurvana In-Ear2 earphones which retail for £89.99. And these are the proverbial “bee’s knees” – oxygen-free copper cabling and gold plated connections. They are also really quite light and compact.

Now, I’m not the kind of person who gets excited about unboxing, but the packaging for these headphones is superb. Considering the contents the box is not overly large and a window on the front shows off the earpieces. Open up the box and slide out the plastic surround and you will come across a small, neatly folded black cardboard box – this contains an assortment of eartips (2 pair of small, 1 pair of medium and 2 pair of large – the other medium pair are already on the earphones), aircraft adapter, cleaning device and some tiny manuals. Back in the main box there is a handy case which the earphones can be wound into.

Below are 3 photos I took showing the box contents (click on them for a larger view).

My usual headphones of choice are a relatively cheap (£20-£30) pair of foam-pad earphones. The Aurvana’s, in comparison, come with rubber eartips and fit snugly in your ear canal. As a result up to 95% of sound is blocked. Like sticking fingers in your ears, though, you end up hearing your own breathing a lot louder – none-the-less it does provide a much quieter listening experience without the background noise.

There is some sound leakage from them but it’s not excessive.

I’ve tried the earphones with a selection of music from Will Young to The Prodigy and all sounded clear and detailed. I love the soundtrack to the recent Star Trek movie, so that had an airing – the chimes in the opening number, for instance, I’d never heard before. Nor had I heard the musicians making various noises in the background. I also tried them with a BBC audio Podcast and it was immediately obvious the improvement in sound as I heard every rustle of script paper and could tell where all the edit points were.

Now, I’ll admit, I’m no audiophile. But, thankfully, a friend is so I asked him to try them. He stores all his recorded music uncompressed and uses earphones that cost many hundreds of pounds (and this isn’t including the £100+ it cost to have some custom eartips made). He thought the Aurvanas were excellent for the money and particularly liked their small size. He found them comparable to Shure SE210 earphones, which have a price of £125 (and they are a lot bulkier in size).

I think these really are excellent – they look and sound brilliant and are extremely well presented. It’s such a shame that, thanks to breaking my last MP3 player, I’m reduced to using them on my mobile phone!