Watching HD Video in VAIO P thru VLC Multimedia Player

At first try, I was disappointed ,, because the video is not rendered properly, but when I try to update the VLC player, I realized that it is not the video driver's fault, but rather an outdated VLC player.


The video plays best, the same quality it does when I play to HD TV (using USB as direct input). The frames doesn't skip now and doesn't display pixelated video.

Development Tools on VAIO P

Since I always prefer to carry a laptop, just in case something terrible (although not wishing) happen, I started to consider VAIO P and now, I'm enjoying what it is worth, a portable machine that can switch a variety of functions I need.

Below are some videos I posted. I now develop web applications using VAIO P. Although mine have 256GB, size doesn't matter anymore, since you can just remotely access your codes thru IIS 7 Manager. Remote feature delegation is the key here, you can manage the web server as configured by the Admin, of course. Now, this saves an e-mail asking Net Admin to make re-write codes who doesn't even like to write your Regular Expression Re-route rules.




And wow, using MSSQL too is very sexy, development with an IDE is very helpful as it saves some split seconds thinking and now MS SQL too. This is really something.

Fireworks on Sony Type P

Installed Fireworks and it runs smoothly. I even tried using it without a mouse, heheh. On the screencap, you can even see that I'm running Visual Studio. I'm currently making a new library out from one I used before on my web developments. Without any lagging on refresh, I think Vaio P can handle what I used to do on normal web development. Even debugging too. I know it won't be that much, but installing SQL Server might be good too. I'm considering the EXPRESS version though. I'm also using this Vaio P for running Phyton scripts. This is really great since I don't have to carry a very big bag and bring it all the way. All I have to do is to slip it in a mini bag, I'll also carry the charger, if I'm planning to stay longer outside, but usually I don't carry it, since it can last 4-5 hours without the charger, I probably won't stay that long outside if I have somerush things to do, but my point is, if there is a sudden need to access the Net or update some of my scripts somewhere, I'll just open my P91HS, connect, get the files, update it, debug on my PC, then save and upload back.. Very convinient for someone like me who don't like to get a pile of work on my desk, and have things done if I have the opportunity. Now, Image editing is not an exception

Ubuntu boottime on VAIO P 26.7 seconds

I instlled Ubuntu on my VAIO P and it takes 26.7 seconds from LILO OS selection. I allocated 4GB in my swap. Actually, I'm just thinking of having a Linux distro on my VAIO for the purpose of learning Open Source things like Perl , Phyton, etc but after confirming this, I decided to just do it using Windows. After all, I can just download those free stuffs and start developing in Windows and the only difference from Linux is that, most probably Linux already have it installed (Perl/Phyton).


I'll add up the boot summary in the list.

Ubuntu on Vaio P

I always wanted to try Linux distro on Vaio P. I've been eyeing for Ubuntu for quite a long time since among the Linuxes, it closely resemble that of Windows OSes.

My experience installing it? One, after I checked the list of their netbooks and I didn't see Sony Vaio P, I feel somewhat discouraged but still I ended up trying. First I downloaded their NBR (Netbook remix) and this also did no help at all. The one who extract the image file to be used on USB is quite stubborn that it will be luck that you will get your own installer in USB. I kept on googling on the NBR live CD version but didn't get any so I ended up with the ISO file. They said the NBR is more suited for Netbooks for its small display, but maybe they took Sony's announcement seriously, that VAIO P is not a Netbook... yeah right, whatever...

With the optical drive, I installed Ubuntu. Even with no experience with Ubuntu or other linuxes, you can install it. Everything is working fine, sound mute, increase/decrease, but brightness key doesnt. also the two special buttons (XMB button and the one next to it) doesn't work.

There is no problem about the devices, Wireless Drivers, Bluetooth, MS and SD card readers, LAN , but the display is not optimized. It is very slow... I saw some blog that says that person successfuly installed some drivers, but maybe that person isn't willing to share the real story as you 'll always get an error, contrary to what is said, smooth upgrade.

And another thing, if you plan to dual-boot Windows OS/Ubuntu, you'll always get your MBR overwritten with LILO if you choose to install that on a partition. If your Windows OS doesn't boot up, use a recovery from your installation. But after that, your fresh install Ubuntu is gone and you need the Ubuntu CD again. And after this Windows is gone again...while (you are not tired installing) etc...

So my opinion... if wasn't for BT3/BT4, I wouldn't have installed it. Now I'm also thinking if I should just wipe it again and deal with booting XP again one last time, since I know Ubuntu LILO will cripple my VAIO again because I removed it. My option is just to use a USB for loading BT3/BT4.

I think XP is still the OS for VAIO P.

Visual Studio 2008 on Sony Vaio Type P

At first, I never had doubts that VS2k8 won't work in VAIO P, running my current specs because I have a desktop PC in our office where I use to run VS. I just wondered if ATOM processor would have any case.

My PC at the previous office that I worked was 2Ghz,2GB RAM (whose the 1GB RAM ambushed by the IT dept manager... leaving 1GB to the poor PC). The PC is not dual core, so is ATOM too. I thought it would be a bit slow, but I was glad to see things work better and even more responsive.

This would really be a great help to code extra applications, or even class libraries since I'm an ongoing person, very busy in my studies, work, money earning opportunites and also party. I would definitely enjoy my VAIO P everyday and coding in Starbucks when necessary. I also installed Fireworks for some image editing on the go. But still I would rather use a desktop for a full development, I'm just making this beautiful machine to be more useful despite it's sexy small light dimension.

I also installed VLC and tried to play some movies, but the video is quite lagging. Anyway, I don't pay much attention to the videos anymore, I don't have time to watch them anyway.

Comparing XP, Vista and Windows 7 on Vaio P

Here are the results of OS installation in VAIO P

this one is using XP - 14.6 seconds

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RmKwpx4NGcs

this one is using Windows 7 - 22.2 seconds

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k8PcHdBz_Ik

this one is using Vista -

Vista with all those junk applications - 35.5 seconds

Vista Clean Install - 28.1 seconds

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2PCD0JYXtkA

Windows XP is the best for Vaio Type P - booting at 14.6 seconds

I just installed XP to my Vaio P and I really love the result. 14.6 seconds boot time. I'll post the video later.

*UPDATE*

I installed XP in Sony Vaio Type P91HS and tried to check the time from boot to usable state. The result made me remove Vista and Windows 7 partition from my HD and plan to install some Linux distro. 14.6 seconds. Considering that this is from boot and compared to the other videos I took that started from OS selection. So maybe this will be around 9 to 10 seconds from OS selection. http://vaiotypep.blogspot.com

10 Factors That might ruin your Vaio P Experience

These are the list of things that you need to consider before getting yourself a Vista/Windows 7 Vaio P. It is indeed a lifestyle computer if it satisfy your needs (or maybe wants). After using this gadget for almost 2 weeks, the only OS I have in mind with Instant Mode functionality is XP.

Here are some of the things that ruined the image of the Vaio P that I thought it was (using 2GB,2.0Ghz,256GB SSD Vaio P 91HS)

1. Instant Mode - Locked to Installed Directory

I kept on yelling to this feature."Why do you have to lock yourself in Windows installation". I can't even change the directory and it is locked to the same directory where you installed this Instant Mode. I may install Windows, Linux(es) or Mac OS(es) and may partition a space in HD for Data. Unfortunately, I can't even set Instant Mode OS to look for other drives.

2. Slow....

That is very expected. Vista is really slow, and you'll just get sick looking at the screen that eventually freeze. Windows 7 is much faster, but by some factor. Try installing Anti-Virus software and see how things go. I even tried to set my Vaio to best performance, but still it is slow. And Windows 7 doesn't accept help from ReadyBoost since it says it won't really help a lot..(what an arrogant brat...). A speed tip would be, try to minimize your screen resolution to 800x600. But wait! Isn't this is what VAIO p is good at? The 1600x 7++ resolution?

3. Screen doesn't refresh

--black screens. Try loading after installing AV software. Your screen would look like Red Alert C and C screen that you need to unshroud. (aye Sir!).

4. Instant Mode without USB support

-although you can connect to the internet (LAN/WAN) using the instant mode, you can't use it to connect to internet if you didn't have the WAN/GPS modem. Instant mode cannot detect USB devices other than the SD card/Sony MS card. Even USB storage too.

5. The nipple stick

- it is really there and expect to hit it accidentally while typing. However you can disable the stick thru Vaio Control Center if you prefer to use mouse. But if you just forgot this mouse, you just have to navigate back to enable it using Alt + Underlined letters.

6. Keyboard marks on the screen

-ever used it for hours and shut the lid. Check again after some time. The marks will be there. Since the VAIO P can really get hot, when the lid is shut close, some of the paint can stick to this glossy monitor

7. Battery life

-The battery life using a large battery, using it thru OS can be at 4 hours maximum and 2hours minimum. I'm not sure about the ordinary battery, but I guess it would be less. So if you really plan to use it for a long time, turn off some unnecessary feature. If you would just type some document, turn off the wireless switch, lower or mute sound and make it less bright as much as you can. If you can rely on the Instant mode, to use the internet then take advantage of it, it really saves time (and annoyance if using a slow OS like vista).

8. Instant Mode can't play all of my Media files (audio, video, pictures)

- yep.. a big disappointment. But I'm hoping that they would upgrade this to be much like the PSP.

For Photos, it can only open BMP, PNG and JPEG.

For Music files, MP3, WMA and AAC. I've tried a WMA but not all file plays...

For Video, MPEG-1, MPEG-2, WMV /ASF. Too bad, no AVI.....

9. Instant Mode has this keyboard bug thing.

-this goes for those who bought the Japanese version. If they are not comfortable with the Japanese interface, they can change it to English. If they check the keyboard type of this english GUI, only 3 options are available, English(US), English (UK) and Portuguese(Brazil). If they try to type something, like browsing internet, they can suffer from those Japanese keyboard- English output bug (This is easy to fix if you're using the OS, but... instant mode cannot do it, maybe at this time). Good thing if you can remember the QWERTY arrangement or you like to play some keyboard guessing.

10. Instant Mode background is limited to 3

- How can we personalize this? We can't even set our own wallpaper. If this can have something like PSP's interface, this would really be a good gadget. Also, I hope they upgrade the firmware in such a way that playing music while on picture slideshow is possible. (If this is PSP, I would make the settings 336/ something... = fast).

I really like my VAIO. That's why I'm trying to find some way to improve it. I'm really busy would always check the internet. Checking mails, updating some javascript/serverside script or even checking youtube. I hope they can improve the Instant Mode to be much like what they have done for the PSP.

Windows Vista : Pre- Installed and Windows Vista : Clean Install Load Benchmark

After days dealing with Windows 7, I finally decided to just reinstall the Original OS in English (mine is Japanese version). Then I asked myself if Is Windows 7 really worth tweaking for Vaio Type P? I recently installed Windows 7 on my P91HS, and speed is really impressive, compared to the pre-installed Vista. But, after I installed antivirus(just it), it started to slow down, plus the screen doesn't refresh much, leaving black squares that needs to be unshrouded. (this is because the device drivers is not intentionally for Windows 7). I'm not sure on windows XP, but windows 7 gets really slow after installing something. So, I am considering to just use Vista (English one, because I have pre-installed Japanese). Having the pre-installed and clean install partition by partition .

You can see that the result nearly matches the speed of fresh installed Windows 7. That's because there are no other services to load, but the real thing can be proven when you installed all the applications that you use.

Instead of installing other OS(es), I'll just install some applications first, especially those that I frequently use. You might say installing Visual Studio on Type P is useless, but let's check on that one.

Windows 7 and Windows Vista Boot Time Comparison | Sony Vaio Type P91HS

I just installed Windows 7 on Sony Vaio Type P91HS. This test is to check the boot time from the OS selection. You can see the results by watching these videos.

Windows 7 really loads faster than Vista, but the difference is just a matter of seconds. Both of these are fresh installation OS(es). Sometimes Windows 7 are lagging, specially after hibernation, but maybe that will improve once it is released with device drivers that really belong to Windows 7.

When I installed Windows 7 and checked the crossbar mode, I noticed that some files get appended with ".files". Probably I've overwritten the crossbar mode files of the Vista, with my installation in Windows 7, but it is still functional, didn't hurt except for the duplicates with extension.

One thing to consider in Vista is that, you can use Readyboost. If you are using Vaio for quite some time like me, you can just insert a Memory Stick there, 2GB will do and let ReadyBoost use it. This will significantly make your Vista Installed Vaio more responsive. If Windows 7 can have that too, it would be great plus their new feature "Bit Locker", which seems another security feature of Windows 7. I hope they release a new service pack for Vista to have some features of Windows 7 in it.

Start to VAIO P Life | P91HS

I just pre-ordered and received my VAIO Type P. I know, it lacks processing power and if it is raw processing power I wanted, I would go for desktop computer. I took Sony Vaio Type P because all I wanted in a netbook (or maybe not, as Sony said) is in there.

First, I need a notebook to type things. This could be MS office documents, notepad things, javascripts, or even server side scripts like PHP/ASP where afterwards be uploaded in a remote server. I need this net book to be portable, without making my shoulders uneven after months of carrying it everyday. I also need to move around to gather digital materials, like pictures or videos. I'm thinking if I can install some low resources image manipulation software, but I'll save that for last.

And here it is. The Sony VAIO Type P. I have the P91HS model, 256GB SSD HD, 2.0Ghz, 2.0GB RAM. You can start normal windows and the so called instant mode, crossbar menu resembling that of PSP/PS3. I hope we can customize the environment too like in PSP. Anyway, this is the feature I've been looking for notebooks for a long time, and maybe in computer. I don't know if this case is the same for some people, but I always find myself in a hurry just to check some e-mails or website then just shutdown the computer. I think I'll find myself using the crossbar mode frequently.

And how was it? In Akihabara, they say that when you take the large battery, it can last up to 9 hours. That's why I took the large battery. It is quite bulky, but I don't mind. It doesn't weigh that much anyway. But, when I tried using this, I started sitting at Starbucks at 6pm and when I left at 9pm, the battery is drained. All I do is surf the internet, and no youtube too because I don't have the flash player yet. So I'm thinking, maybe this 9 hours campaign is that, if you just browse on the crossbar mode. And another thing to note. If you would use a data stick, like I do (e-mobile), that thing doesn't work in CrossBar mode. You can connect to LAN/WLAN but if it is a USB device that relies on a windows installer, that thing is useless in Crossbar mode.

I'm also planning to exorcise this netbook sometime. I just installed Windows 7, and I'll post all the resources I've find on the net as well as the errors that I've encountered that they don't suffered (maybe I'm cursed).

I also tried to compare the loading time of Vista and Windows 7. This is great because I just installed Vista and Windows 7, both fresh. And you know the difference? Windows 7 is just ahead by few seconds, maybe 7 or 6, but never get past 10 seconds. I also encountered some lagging and the screen in Windows 7 sometimes don't refresh, and CrossBar Instant Mode is not an exception to this. I'll post some videos too for follow up. So, I think a properly configured Vista machine can match Windows 7 machine, provided they have same hardware specs. Plus , Vista have readyboost.

How about you? Will you also buy a type P?