Not Doctors Orders

[Roger Maytum]

Sorry to say this - but surely the articles by Dr Solomon can't have a very wide interest? The Network and the Polaroid Scanner articles in the September issue took up 4 pages! Surely there are more interesting writers around? How about some articles from film makers telling the story of their film - how they shot it, edited it - equipment used etc?

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Roger Maytum

[Charles]

Couldn't agree more Roger infact the network
article took 6 pages i find it quite enough to cope with one computer. The increase in price seems to have gone on paper cost alone,
now if i could find a way to get all the print of the pages it would save me buying Photo Quality Paper for printing
Charles

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[Dmac]

I'm in full agreement about this ...

... and whilst on the subject of the price increase ...

I fully understand the reasons for a hike in price, and I'm happy http://www.safety-online-internet.com/host/computervideo/ubb/frown.gif to pay it ...

... But, please, Bob ... don't insult us by telling us we should be pleased we aren't paying even MORE!

[drsolly]

First let me declare a bias, I'm the author :)

The relevance of the article, is that with
a 100 mbps network, you can do video capture
across the network to a server. This opens
up all sorts of possibilities, some of which I give in the article. My article was a detailed how-to, for upgrading an existing 10 mbps network, to a speed suitable for video work.

The cost of a suitable server, can be under £1000, including hard disk. The cost of the network bits and bobs, is under £200. The
cost of a consultant who would tell you how
to upgrade your network to 100 mbps, is
several thousand pounds (cheaper consultants
exist, they'll tell you it isn't possible and
you have to buy all new kit).

Remember - this magazine is COMPUTER Video,
and although I might be doing things that most other people aren't doing, that was
true of NLE until just a couple of years
ago.


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[Gavin Gration]

Sorry Doc, I`m not convinced. Both of the articles in question left me uninspired.
As for finding other contributors, I think that anyone who is willing to stick up for himself is worthy of another chance, anyway we could end up with a lot worse than the Doc.

[SteveBagley]

I must admit to enjoying the Network article immensley, but thats probably more to do with the fact that I'm studying for a degree in Computer Science than anything else.

However, I do agree with Dr Solomon's reasons for it being in the magazine, as although for perhaps the majority of users it (networking) isn't necessary, there are cases where it is not only necessary but vital. Let me give an example:

A few months back I went to visit my old secondary school, and was chating about my NLE setup to both my old Media Studies teacher and the IT teacher. They both said how it'd be useful for them to have something like that for the pupils to edit their video's with.

Now with school budgets being tight at the moment buying several NLE setups is probably out of the capability of most schools but they could probably afford to buy a few machines, network them with 100baseT cable, stick a Linux/Samba server with all the HDD space in and use that to capture edit from. And then gain the advantages that the students wouldn't have to go back to the same computer each time, which if more than one group is using them could be problematic (and also offers some protection against accidental/malacious deletion of people's projects)

You could also use software MJPEG/DV codecs to cut down the cost of hardware.

So although the article may not have much appeal, it certainly is valid in a magazine about Computer Video - after all if it refused to cover DV when that was first introduced as it isn't of interest to people with analogue stuff then people would have moaned.

Perhaps I should point out that its not unheard of for broadcast production to make use of networked NLE systems, I remember an article about how Babylon 5 was edited stating that they used a networked system. See http://macuser.zdnet.com/onlinecol/b5/intro.html

So while the article may not of have had mass appeal, doesn't mean it shouldn't go in otherwise the mag would be boring, because in the same way as the network article may be boring to some, so would the article on the XL1 to owners of other DV camcorders, or personally I find the reviews of pre made system dull and boring and rather they reviewed the cards away from the system, but I accept that for many building their own NLE system is out of the question and would lead to lots of problems. And similarly my own desire for indepth articles on how the capture cards work and the maths behind the MJPEG compression for example isn't going to happen, because to most readers it'd be a) over their heads and b) of no use what so ever.

To conclude, I found Dr Solomon's article a great read - in fact, I've reread it several times in fact, and can see a use for it (I'm tempted to go and offer my old school help in setting up an NLE network), but I can also see why some people may find it a waste of space.

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[Nigel Longman]

I find Dr Solomon's articles informative, instructional and entertaining. I feel great empathy with him as he struggles valiantly to get products working. He tells it like it is.

Those who don't currently see the benefit of his articles may appreciate them as their systems grow. Those who do currently benefit are, I'm sure, grateful for the advice. I know I am.

Nigel

(Incidentally, I wonder who else is lurking out there under a pseudonym?)

[This message has been edited by Nigel Longman (edited 07 September 1999).]

[bcrabtree]

Drsolly a pseudonym?

Well, I think that's stretching a point!

Bob C

[Roger Maytum]

Some very good points made fellas! May I make a few humble suggestions to Drsolly?Perhaps we need to get into your mines? Whereas I do recognise that a scientific approach has interest to those studying computers, most of us use as computers as a means to an end. (I would love to have got into dv without all the sweat and tears I've endured along the way).

Could the lanquage you use be simplified and more 'user friendly?' Could you show at the top of your article what the MAJOR benefit of reading on would be? Could you then explain in easy-to-follow steps? The tail of the article could then re-state the benefits of your concept. Forgive me for saying so, but your article was heavy going. If it could be lighter and the language written in an attractive way - I'm sure you would get more people to read your articles and what's more important - benefit from them. Clearly you are a very gifted man. Anyone who can help beat the virus problem has to be highly commended. (I hope you made a lot of money with the sale). Don't make it dull and difficult to read - make it exciting - then we can all join in. Best wishes.

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Roger Maytum

[SteveBagley]

Roger, I think you may have hit upon something with the comment about computers being a means to an end.

Whilst I personally found the networking article to be light going and relaxing to read, I can understand that if your computer is used for video editing or similar then talk of Windows 3.11, Netware, NT Server, NT 3.51, hubs, switches, 10baseT, 100baseTX, IRQ's, Plug and play, could be hard going.

Perhaps what is needed is a set of basic introduction to the computer articles to explain some of the terms that are common in computing and what they mean simply (from a video editing point of view) - as this could lead to lots of people not having problems solving their own problems with software/hardware.

Where as for people with a background in computing solving Computer problems (and to a certain extent avoiding them) is relatively easier. But without basic knowledge of how a computer works then its going to be nigh on impossible.

Maybe if someone was to right a series of articles about the computer, people might find it useful.

And I certainly think you're right about the objectives of the article - to me and any other computer 'geek', the advantages of networking are obvious. But if not then they may not be so apparant. For example, if you have more than one PC in the house, sticking a couple of network cards in them can mean you can share you internet access with all of them (which might be useful if you need an update for some software and say your kid is happily researching his school project.) Or you could share printers, or that font you want to use is on the other computer you can just grab it out of the folder on the other machine.

See you earlier,

Steve

[Roger Maytum]

Nice response Steve. Thanks. Much of my day-to-day work is taken up writing copy, designing ads, posters and marketing campaigns. I use PhotoShop, Illustrator, Corel Draw, and many other graphic programmes. I just want the computer to work properly so that I can do my job. It's the same with video. Incidentally I have my work machine networked to my Video setup so that I can swap files. Great point too about articles on computers.

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Roger Maytum

[LynxDV]

It's nice to read something different every so often..... and learn something from other people's headaches!

[drsolly]

I feel sure that I'm not the only one to
suffer these problems. Here's a lovely
example.

I just bought an HP 6250. I won't bore you with my three week struggle against Watford Electronics, whien it turned out that
"in stock" meant "in stock somewhere in
the galaxy, and we'll bill your card, and
maybe deliver it one day". Eventually,
after three weeks with no delivery, I cancelled Watford and bought from Dabs.

It arrived the nec#xt day, well done Dabs (but I could also give you an example of a very naughty thing that Dabs did to me, on another order). Today, I installed it.

Everything went smoothly, except, I was supposed to plug the sheet feeder (ADF) into the scanner. Since they ship the two as one
unit, I don't see why I have to do that. But OK, I will.

But there was no plug. I could see the cable, inside the unit. But the plug? Nope. I could see the socket. But no plug.

Eventually, I worked out how to separate he
ADF from the scanner, and the plug had been
put inside, crushed between them.

A small thing, yes. But I've never seen
a 6250 before, and I was willing to believe that they'd changed the design but not the manual, and the plug was already plugged in, deep in the bowels of the thing. But it didn't work, and I already explained why.
It took me an hour and five minutes to install that thing, and the hour was spent
playing hunt-the-plug.

Now this isn't anything to do with Computer Video, so it won't appear in the mag. But it's symptomatic of the whole PC culture.

"Sod the punter"

And I don't like that.


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[drsolly]

<<Could the lanquage you use be simplified and more 'user friendly?>>

There's a tricky line to tread here. Make it too simple, and the article isn't really much use. If you want a simple way to upgrade a 10 mbps network to 100 mbps - there isn't one, apart from "pay someone loads of dosh".

<<Could you show at the top of your article what the MAJOR benefit of reading on would be? >>

Difficult, because I usually don't know what the benefit to you will be.

Maybe when you set up your first network, you'll go straight to 100 mbps, even though it's maybe 10% more expensive. Maybe you'll get something out of my discussion about IDE vs SCSI. Maybe you didn't know about Samba and the fact that you can get a powerful file server software, for free. And it works. Maybe you'll find a use for my tip about blutack and cardboard. Maybe the explanation about the HOSTS and LMHOSTS files will save your bacon one day.

<<Could you then explain in easy-to-follow
steps?>>

No. Definitely not possible.

This is something I get asked very often. "Explain, in simple steps one by one, how to ..."

The reason I can't, is I don't know what your situation is. Imagine trying to tell someone in simple steps, how to make a cup of coffee.

"Go to the cupboard and get the jar of coffee"

But some coffee comes in tins, and some people don't keep it in the cupboard, some people use beans, others use freeze-dried, some use liquid stuff called "Camp" ... and some people don't have any coffee, so they'd have to go to Tesco, and to go to Tesco, you go out of your front door, turn left ...

You see why I can't actually give a step by step recipe?

All I can hope to do, it try to explain the principles, in such a way that you can apply it to your situation.

I do try very strongly to avoid using jargon unless I explain it first. I didn't explain "Windows" and "Netware", because some things you have to assume people know. I did explain what a 10 mbps network means (1.25 megabytes per second) and that 100 mbps is 12.5 mb per second. And I think I explained all the other things that I judged would be new concepts or
new jargon. I'm highly annoyed that someone at Computer Video changed all my mentions of 10 mbps (10 megabits per second) to 10 Mb/sec
(which looks to me like 10 megabytes per second); presumably whoever did it, thought they were correcting a mistake I'd made, whereas actually they were introducing a major confusion wherever they did that. So you see statements like

"10Mb/sec is 1.25 MB/sec" which reads like the writer is a complete idiot.

This is one of the dangers of writing for magazines. You never know what some chap with a degree in English Literature and a belief that geeks can't write English, is going to do to your article.

I used the word "hub", yes, But I did explain what a hub does, third column of the article.

I used the word "switch", but that's also explained in column 3.

I don't believe I used the terms 10baseT or
100base TX.

Anyone who doesn't know what an IRQ is, will have a painful education sooner or later when he adds a card to a computer. Probably sooner. And there's been lots of articles in CV that discuss IRQs, so I judged that I didn't need to explain it. Likewise "plug and play"

<<Forgive me for saying so, but your article was heavy going. If it could be lighter and the language written in an attractive way - I'm sure you would get more people to read your articles and what's more important - benefit from them. >>

Well, it's a heavy subject. What I was tackling, in upgrading a network so comprehensively, is possibly the most difficult thing one can do with computers.
Harder than installing a network, because the existing stuff has to continue to work.

But lighter? Bob told me he laughed out loud at a few places.

<<Clearly you are a very gifted man. Anyone who can help beat the virus problem has to be highly commended. (I hope you made a lot of
money with the sale). >>

I need a wheelbarrow just to carry my wallet around.


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[Roger Maytum]

Dear Doctor - get on your wheelbarrow complete with bulging wallet and visit the LISTENING bank.

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Roger Maytum

[SteveBagley]

Okay so maybe you didn't use 10baseT and 100baseTX in your article, I think they slipped off the box of my network card that arrived the same day.

Its not so much the terms, but the mysticism that surrounds them. Its not just lay people though last year I had to fight to convince my colleagues at uni that our group project would probably be best if done on Linux (it was a www based search engine for a collection of pdf documents) and even after the project with done they were still convinced (without ever having used it) that they could have done it easier under NT with Microsoft SQL Server and IIS (there www server). And as for the look of horror on people's faces when pointers get mentioned...

My point was (and probably very badly made) that the mere presence of such terms is enough to scare people off, as shown by the reaction to the article here and by my friends at uni. And I had as much trouble with all the terms used by universitys when I started.

As for Dr Solomon's article, I agree that it was light hearted and I had every intention of posting here how much I enjoyed it when I got back off holiday after reading it last week, and yes I also had a good laugh - mainly at recognising how familar it all sounded. In fact, I wrote a similar style of article for Atari Computing magazine about my joys (!) of fitting a Hard Drive (all 365Mb of it - and it never got filled) to my old Atari ST - which resulted in every single possible thing that could go wrong, going wrong!

I still think there is a call for a series of basic articles - exposing the computer for what it is and to demystify all the terms involved in computing.

See you earlier,

Steve

[Gladders]

I must say that I read the article and enjoyed its style without necessarily understanding every nuance of technical necromancy. But that is usually the case with technical stuff, I'd prefer to let some boffin sort things out for me and just use the technology. Unfortunately financial constraints usually surpass preferances.
Which doesn't seem to be case with our good Dr Solomon, he would appear to have the financial resources to `pay someone loads of dosh' but enjoys doing it himself. Which is only to be expected from a man with his technical ability.

Not only would I like to be able to run a network in my house, I'd like to have a house big enough to contain one. http://www.safety-online-internet.com/host/computervideo/ubb/frown.gif

[drsolly]

<<I must say that I read the article and enjoyed its style without necessarily understanding every nuance of technical
necromancy. But that is usually the case with technical stuff, I'd prefer to let some boffin sort things out for me and just use
the technology. Unfortunately financial constraints usually surpass preferances>>

The trouble with "let some boffin sort it out for you" is that unless you have a pretty good idea of what's possible, he'll palm you off with whatever is easiest for him. Many "boffins" know how to set up a network in a certain style. For example, they might tell you that for a little network like yours, 10 mbps is all you need. But when you're slinging huge files around, the difference between ten minutes to copy a file and one minute, is woth having. And he might tell you "100 mbps is expensive", and it isn't; the cards cost about £15 and the hub is under £100, and the cables are the same. Or he might tell you "You need a SCSI drive, costing £1000" when actually a pair of striped EISEs costing £600 is faster, gives you more space, and costs a lot less.

It's to reduce your dependence on some
half-baked boffin (and there's more of those
than the fully baked ones) that you need to
understand this stuff.

Yes, I do enjoy doing it myself. A) I learn
a lot by doing it, and B) I discover stuff that isn't in the books, including sometimes
that the "received wisdom" that was true last year, isn't true any more.

Computers are the best toy ever invented.


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[tim]

I do like the thought of the wheelbarrow and the "Listening Bank"!
I'm sure I could find a boffin who could design a live-in wheelbarrow for the Doctor so he would be able to steer well clear of all the banks, both listening and otherwise.
Good luck,
Tim

[RichardB]

I read the article and it took me back to the days when I first started with computers, reading an article on RAM speed. I remember thinking 'I don't need this now, or even understand it 100%, but one day I WILL need this and on that day nothing else will do.'

I've filed the CV article away, and I just know that at some time in the future, at two in the morning, surrounded by bits of cable and boards, I'll be reading it again.

Is it relevant to a Computer Video magazine...well, this is a fine line. Stay in the mainstream and the magazine tells you nothing you can't get anywhere else. I would say yes, it's on the extreme of the subject but fine: all the more reason to publish.

Rich.

[Unicorn]

Personally I found the article interesting and amusing; I've had similar experiences with my PCs and hardware suppliers.

Relevant? Yes borderline, but before reading this article I'd never even considered using a network server for video editing, now I'm wondering whether to buy a cheap server rather than keep throwing more and more hardware into my editing machine (probably depends on whether Plug'n'Pray works when I stick a Fasttrak into the single remaining PCI slot).

BTW, I'm sure the promise web site mentioned that they are working on a Linux driver for the Fasttrak, but their site is so convoluted that I can no longer find the page which mentioned it.

[Unicorn]

Ah, there it is:

http://www.promise.com/techsupport/Notes/linux_device_driver_information.htm

Promising drivers late this month or early next; as my PC is dual-boot Win98 and Linux -- and I'm hoping to dump Windows completely in a couple of years as Linux video and game support improves -- this is a nice surprise.

[drsolly]

First, on Promise and Linux. I've been
using the Promise card for a long time
in a Linux box. It works fine.

But I'm not so sure about the Fasttrak, and I haven't tried it in Linux.
But my recent article on upgrading
your network, explains why I think that the
Fasttrak will work under Linux, but that
it won't Raid for you. In particular, you
won't get striping, which increases drive performance by writing alternately to the two drives. Of course, that might change when
Promise release drivers.

However, Linux has Raiding in software, using Raid Tools (but not, I think, striping).

Secondly - everyone has met the compatibility
problem. Put enough things into a computer,
and sooner or later, you're wrestling with
IRQs, with two card that both need to be in the last slot, or an MPG capture thing that goes on your parallel port, but which doesn't work until you put it on another computer (as per another recent article of mine). Or with other compatibility issues.

At that time, I'd hope you'll remember that
what I do, is put different stuff in different computers, and network the whole thing at 100 mbps. And you can dig out your
copy of CV, and get some useful tips on
how to do it.



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