Two words that should not be used together:

Root.

Canal.

That’s what I did yesterday afternoon instead of sitting in on a conference call with Microsoft as originally scheduled.

Feeling much better today. In fact, this is the first time in a week that I have not been in excruciating pain.

The one cool part of the whole process is that my endodontist was using a Windows-based digital X-ray system. Instead of placing a small piece of film in my mouth, he positioned a plastic paddle about the size of a small spatula so that the sensor on its end was in the right place, had me hold it steady, and pressed the X-ray button (“Bzzzztttt!”). Almost instantly (literally under a second), there was a response from the Dell notebook on the countertop behind him (“Ding!”) and the image was displayed in a window on the screen.

As a result he was able to snap images repeatedly throughout the procedure (“Bzzzztttt!” “Ding!”), see the results of his work nearly in real time, and make any necessary course corrections. (“Oh, look. There’s a fourth nerve in there. Hmmm, we’ll need to get to that.”)

He’s been using this system since 1997 (it’s been updated many times, of course, as has his hardware) and says he can’t imagine how he would work without it. His use of digital technology fundamentally altered my experience as the patient. I’m used to that 5- or 10-minute downtime after the dental tech snaps the X-ray and before it’s processed. With those analog imaging systems the image is tiny (the size of the original piece of film) and without training it’s hard to understand exactly what you’re looking at.

By contrast, using the digital X-ray system my doctor was able to show me what he had just done, highlight portions of the image using the mouse, apply different algorithms to the stored bits to alter the digital image and highlight different aspects of it, and blow it up to a size where I could see it well from several feet away and understand what he was explaining.

All in all, it was not too terribly painful and even kind of fascinating. But I’ll be happy if I never see that particular piece of Windows software again.

I found this Slashdot comment (a response to this original post) amusing:

Now I know he’s a Microsoft robot but on the other side of this issue is Ed Bott [zdnet.com] who cites adoption rates.

If it turns out I really am a Microsoft robot, I’ll have to see if I can get a guest shot on the new Terminator show. (As Long Zheng has already documented, the first few episodes have had some in-your-face Vista placements.)

About three months ago, I set up a Dell XPS 410 with two CableCARD tuners as my primary Media Center machine. It took a few weeks to get everything working properly, with most of the issues being related to my cable signal. By November, though, everything was working perfectly, and for the past two months it has been rock-solid. How reliable?

Here’s the System Stability Chart, as snapped yesterday.

That one red X was the Media Center Extender software (Mcrmgr.exe) having to be restarted. I had a few of those errors when I was using an Xbox 360 in December, but have had no repeats since installing the Extender update package (KB938126).

I’ll be sharing a much more in-depth look at this setup shortly, and I’m also unboxing a Linksys DMA 2200 extender today (the one with built-in DVD drive). Meanwhile, if you have questions about CableCARD, Vista Media Center, Dell’s XPS line, or anything else that might fit in this review, feel free to ask in the comments here.

I’ve gotten some great comments to my first look at the Linksys DMA2100 Media Center Extender. One commenter asked whether menu options are the same when you use the Media Center interface on an extender compared with the full Media Center interface on the Vista Media Center PC to which it’s connected. The answer is no. Although virtually all the core functionality is the same, there are some differences.

Microsoft has an excellent FAQ on Troubleshooting problems with a Media Center Extender device that answers this exact question. Here’s a table listing the differences by UI area, as organized on the Media Center Start page:

Hope that’s useful information.

Note 1: As Chris Lanier points out in the comments, CGMS-A content playback has been fully supported on v1 and v2 extenders since Update Rollup 1 for Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005. Its appearance in this listing appears to be an error.

Note 2: I just downloaded an Amazon Unbox video (WMV format), and the Rewind/FF and Skip Forward/Back buttons work just fine when I watch it on the extender.

Note 3: Not sure what this is referring to, but the Skip functions work just fine when I watch recorded TV on an extender.

Jeremy Toeman says Xbox Live needs a Seniors League for all us old farts over 30.

And yet, and yet…

Even in that league I believe I would get my ass whupped on a consistent basis. As in every single time.

This morning I got an e-mail from Excaliber PC noting that the Linksys DMA2200 Media Center Extender is now available for immediate delivery for $297.24. This unit appears to be the same as the DMA2100 that I’ve been using for a few weeks now (my initial comments are here and I’ll have more to say shortly), with the addition of an upscaling DVD drive and an optical (SPDIF) audio output.

As Chris Lanier reports, other reports indicate that Dell is shipping this unit now as well, despite the notice on their website that it “usually ships” in 3-5 weeks.

Befor you decide to buy one of these, be sure to look at the specs for the upcoming D-Link extender and the HP MediaSmart Receiver. Both offer some interesting twists that might make them more attractive to some people. You’ll find descriptions and links in my CES post at ZDNet.

Interviewed by the New York Times:

Mr. Jobs chastised the recording industry for its efforts to handicap Apple and iTunes by offering digital music without digital rights management copy protection through competitors like Amazon.

[…]

“It’s been frustrating us a little,” he acknowledged. “The music industry and iTunes need to find a way to work together because we’re the best vehicle they have.”

How dare they offer music without DRM?!

My gadget-loving buddy Jake Ludington saw the MacWorld keynote today and called Steve Jobs’ announcements “lackluster.”

And then Omar Shahine, whose gadget radar is as finely tuned as anyone (and who works for Microsoft, for cryin’ out loud), admits to “drooling” over the new Apple hardware and calls them “a nice set of announcements.”

I was, frankly, underwhelmed. I wouldn’t trade my Tablet PC with its 200GB 7200RPM drive for a Macbook Air with an 80GB 4200RPM drive. And Apple TV looks like a local franchise for the Steve Jobs Video Store, where you can stuff dollar bills in it and they get pneumatically transferred straight to Cupertino. No thanks…

So what did you all think?

I received the following advisory from HP last night. It applies to anyone using a MediaSmart Home Server:

On December 21^st, Microsoft announced that in some situations, customers could experience data corruption/loss when using Windows Home Server. While this issue occurs only during specific simultaneous combinations of activities under specific circumstances, HP and Microsoft are taking this issue very seriously. MS is working hard on a fix, and HP will make sure that this fix gets pushed to all MediaSmart Server owners through the automated software update mechanism.  We will also communicate additional information updates to our user base through MediaSmart user communities and Home Sever blogs.

MS is now able to reproduce the problem, and we expect that the fix will be tested and delivered in the coming weeks.

Here are a couple key things to be aware of:

• If you are operating the HP MediaSmart Server with a single HDD, then this issue should not impact you.
• This issue does not impact the data on the server from PC backups. You can continue to be confident in your automatic PC backups.

Until the final fix is available, HP is making the following suggestions to current multi-Hard Disk Drive MediaSmart Server owners:

• You should not directly open and/or edit files that are stored on the MediaSmart Server while doing any other activity such as large data transfers or media streaming. If you are doing a large data transfer or streaming and need to edit a file on the server, you should first copy the file over to a PC and then open it for editing. 
  • There are a few key applications that Microsoft has identified that can cause this issue when files are opened and edited directly from the server. However to be safe, HP recommends that you not open/edit files directly from the server until this fix is delivered.
  • A known list of offending applications can be found on the URL below.
• HP recommends that frequently-edited and frequently-opened files be stored on both your PC drives and the server until a fix to this issue has been delivered.

More background information can be found on Microsoft’s support site on the following link: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/946676/en-us.

Just to be clear, this is not an HP-specific issue but rather is the same one that affects all installations of Windows Home Server. I’ll keep you posted if I hear news of an update.

The last time I remember feeling this bad was in May 1987. Apparently I’m not the only one. Scoble says “CES kicked my behind” and says this is “the worst cold I’ve had in decades.”

Sounds like we had the flu, at least according to this handy table of symptoms:

Colds and the Flu

Flu generally strikes 1 to 3 days after exposure to the virus. The onset of flu often seems sudden: people describe feeling like they’ve “been hit by a truck.” Common flu symptoms include sudden onset, fever and chills, cough, muscle and joint pain, headache, fatigue and weakness. Some people also get a stuffy nose and sore throat.

Hit by a truck? That pretty much nails it.

I blame this on the young woman who was sitting across from me in the bloggers lounge at the Sands Expo Center last Wednesday night hacking and coughing in my general direction for an hour or so while I tried to compose a post and get it uploaded to ZDNet. Thanks a lot, lady.