Dell Venue 8 Pro Review

Over the summer I purchased a Dell Venue 8 Pro tablet. This is a $200-$220 8-inch tablet that runs full Windows. It is small, thin, and lightweight. I carried it with me on my travels, including campouts, my family vacation and ultimately to the Oregon Star Party, where I used Powerpoint and ran a SkyTools demo on it. It runs SkyTools 3 quite well and, with ASCOM, it will control most any telescope. In fact, there was a gentleman at the OSP using one to drive his 40-inch Dob. He had it attached to the base of the telescope itself, and it was working quite well for him.

It is possible to connect to the telescope via a USB connection, but using a Bluetooth-to-serial adapter may be an even better option, assuming it works (I have not tried this personally).

As others have reported, the Windows touch interface allows SkyTools to work mostly as it would using a mouse (with a few exceptions, such as mousing-over objects on the screen). I must say it's pretty cool to have such easy access to SkyTools in the field.

On the downside, the screen is very small and the video driver does not currently allow you to enlarge the fonts by more than 25%. You need to look pretty closely at it in order to see what is going on, and those with failing vision may find it difficult. In that case, one may wish to go to the larger 11" version. It also can't handle a very heavy load, so it is best to keep your observing lists short, particularly with Real Time, which will keep things rolling along nicely.

It seems clear to me now that this is the future for SkyTools in the field. When it comes to supporting many different mounts, and advanced features, telescope control via ASCOM is difficult to beat, and it runs on Windows. Windows will continue to improve in terms of integrating the touch interface, and there are new processors on the horizon that will be smaller, more powerful, and run longer on a small battery. We may even see some of these things emerge in the coming months. For my part, I am working to make ST4 more compatible with the touch interface, without sacrificing any of the unique capabilities of the mouse.

The Imaging Project and the Oregon Star Party

I was recently invited to be a speaker at the 2014 Oregon Star Party. The story of how this came about began last April. I was thinking about the new astro-imaging features that I was adding to SkyTools 4; things like support of image mosaics, generating scripts for automated telescopes, and some sort of image logging. I had in mind about a half-dozen separate features and I wasn't sure how to put them all together.

So there I was, idly pondering the differences between visual observing and imaging. Visual observing is relatively simple to plan: figure out when the best view is going to be and go look. Unless you are doing a detailed sketch, looking doesn't take all that long. But imaging can entail long exposures in multiple filters and even include different positions in the sky for a mosaic. Imaging an object is less like a casual rendezvous, and more like a project. That's when it occurred to me: visually we simply observe celestial objects, but when doing imaging, we should be observing projects.

This idea of an imaging project was like a revelation. I could see how all the imaging features that I wanted to add to SkyTools 4 could all come together. In fact, I could use this idea to create an observing system for imaging rather than simply present a set of disparate tools.

I was excited to say the least. Ideas that bring everything together don't come along every day. On that same day, I was contacted by Mark Martin of the Rose City Astronomers, asking if I would be interested in speaking at the Oregon Star Party. My first answer was that I didn't have anything to talk about, but when he persisted, my excitement about the imaging project idea got the better of me and I accepted his invitation to talk about it. After all, it was April and the OSP wasn't until late August. I had plenty of time to figure it all out.

First I had things I needed to finish that I didn't want to leave half done. Then summer came along and I found myself spending a week in Texas at a scout camp with my boys, and soon after there was a family vacation. Before I knew it, the OSP was only a month away and I had nothing. Absolutely nothing! Not only was there no code to demo, but I hadn't even figured out the details.

After the panic wore off a bit, I got down to work. I went at it for long hours, seven days a week. I also had to prepare a talk, so I combined my work on the overall software design with developing the notes for my presentation. Doing so was odd, but in fact it worked quite well. I chose one part of the new code to focus all my efforts on so I could demo it, redesigning and coming up with new ideas as I went along. In concert, I worked the ongoing story into my presentation. In the end the talk was probably a bit too ambitious, but overall it seemed to go ok.

I really enjoyed being at the Star Party and meeting lots of new people, although it was rather painful to be there under such beautiful dark skies without my telescope. Fortunately I did mooch some great views, including an unforgettable view of M51 in a 40-inch Dob.

SkyTools and Windows 8

I haven't posted here much recently, but that is likely to change in the coming months. So to start things off...

With the release of Windows 8 it is time to say a few things about the impact Windows 8 will have on SkyTools users, now and in the future.

First and foremost: SkyTools 3 will continue to work on the Windows 8 desktop just as it has with Windows 7. We have found no compatibility issues. If you are still running ASCOM 5, I do recommend upgrading to ASCOM 6 prior to upgrading to Windows 8.

Windows 8 and the Future
Windows 8 brings some major changes. A lot of confusing things have been written and said about them. The difficult thing to grasp about Windows 8 is that it is at once a bold new operating system, and at the same time the old Windows 7 we are familiar with. This is important to keep in mind when you hear or read broad sweeping statements about it.

Imagine if Microsoft released a whole new version of Windows with only one change: a redesign of the Start button. For most current desktop/laptop users this is all the upgrade to Windows 8 will initially represent. The Win 7 Start button opens a menu that lists all of your programs and is used to start them. In Windows 8 the Start menu has been turned into a full-screen with icons that you use to start programs. Once a traditional Windows program is started you go right back to the desktop. What startles people is that they are greeted by this new Start screen when the computer is booted rather than the familiar desktop. By doing this it literally throws the new Windows features "in your face." But rest assured, the Windows desktop is still there.

In addition to replacing the Start menu, the new screen also launches a new kind of Windows program. These programs are optimized for the touch screen, although a mouse will still work fine, and are meant to be used full screen, like a game, the SkyTools Interactive Atlas, or the "apps" that we have become used to on phones and tablets. The point of all this? It enables tablets and other touch devices to run Windows 8.

Microsoft has made new versions of most of their software, such as Office, Mail, etc, that work with the new interface. Many other developers are in the process of creating similar programs. This leaves developers such as myself with a quandary. Some say that this new "Modern UI" interface is the future and the old Windows desktop will ultimately be replaced, in the same way that DOS was replaced by Windows itself. But I'm a little skeptical about that. It may be that the new interface will not be powerful enough for certain types of applications--those driven by the precision that only a mouse can provide.

An example of what I'm talking about is the way that SkyTools identifies objects as the cursor passes over them. This obviously isn't possible without a mouse. On the other hand, a touch-based Nightly Planner would provide a natural jumping off point for opening charts, logs, and other SkyTools functions. It would also provide a great way to control a telescope in the field.

At the moment the way forward for SkyTools is not yet completely clear. Will it continue to be a desktop program or be ported to the new interface? I can say this for the near term: there will be "companion apps" for SkyTools that use the new interface for use in the field on tablets and other touch devices. But only time will tell if the entire program will eventually be ported to the new interface.

New Windows 8 Hardware and SkyTools
If you are purchasing a new Windows 8 tablet, it is important to be aware that there are two "flavors" and what the differences are. The less expensive "Windows RT" tablets only run programs written for the new interface. They will not run SkyTools 3! These tablets will eventually run the SkyTools "companion apps" which will be available for the next full version of SkyTools.

The more expensive tablets/convertibles will offer the full version of Windows that desktop users have. These will run SkyTools 3 on the traditional desktop.

Should You Upgrade?
Some people are going to hate Windows 8. There is no question about that. I think it comes down to how you approach change. An example of something that is bound to drive old timers like me nuts is the way the Esc key doesn't back out of the new-style programs as we might expect it to. Instead, we are going to have to accept that the "Start/Windows" key (which I personally have ignored for years) is going to become our new friend. Still, I did eventually get used to it (after a few hours spent cursing). There are also times when using the new interface that you will think, "I could have done that with a lot fewer movements and clicks!" But I have found that in most of these cases there are ultimately better ways to do the task, such as a keyboard shortcut. It is often my natural desire to do things the way I'm used to doing them that is the cause of most of the trouble.

Some have claimed that Windows 8 will have big problems like Vista did, and it is popular to claim that they won't have things ironed out until Windows 9. The reality is a bit more subtle than that. On the desktop things are pretty solid, although there are some weird issues that crop up. One of my computers didn't shut down properly using the Windows 8 preview version (there was an easy work around) and sometimes system error messages appear on the desktop where you can't see them. But in general I don't believe that upgrading a desktop/laptop to Windows 8 will cause people anywhere near the problems they had with Vista. This is primarily due to the fact that for most users it's really still Windows 7 under the hood. When Vista appeared I counseled people not to upgrade their existing XP machines, but I see little reason not to upgrade to Windows 8, particularly when it can be easily done as a download for $40.

On the other hand, the picture may not be so rosy for the new Windows RT tablets. This is where most of the new aspects of Windows are concentrated and it has had the least testing on this hardware, so this is where people will likely see the most trouble. At the moment there aren't enough quality apps available to make these tablets as useful as they should be. As an example, Microsoft's Mail app doesn't have many of the features people expect, crashes constantly, and I was not successful in getting it to send mail to my outgoing mail server. On a desktop/laptop many other options are available, but I feel a bit sorry for the early adopters of Windows RT tablets. I'm looking forward to owning one of these myself, but I'll wait until things are sorted out.

Although I've been testing the new OS for months, the first computer that I officially upgraded was my laptop. It does boot a bit more quickly and runs a bit faster. Overall I'm happy with it. Multi-monitor support has been improved and I like the new Task Manager. But for many there may not be any compelling reason to upgrade right away. This is the future of the PC, and only Windows 8 will give us access to the new software designed for the new interface. It's sort of like having a new toy added to the old OS. But some will see it as a useless appendage that only gets in their way. There are also the inevitable problems and annoyances that come with any major change to your computer. In the end, the most compelling reason to upgrade an existing desktop/laptop in the next few months is that the $40 upgrade may only be available until the end of January.

Personally, I would certainly go ahead and purchase any new computer with Windows 8 pre-installed.

Regardless, I urge even the most tech savvy to review the basics of the Windows 8 interface before trying to use it. This will make the transition go a lot more smoothly.

Going to NEAF

It's been a while since my last post here. Despite the slow economy SkyTools 3 is still going very strong and I couldn't be more pleased. I am in the final stages of the release of a major update to version 3.1, which adds some minor new features, fixes some annoyances, and makes the program even more stable than it already was.

Yesterday I received my copy of the April 2010 Sky & Telescope, which (finally!) has a review. It was well worth the wait because they did a very nice job on it. In the past they sent a copy out for review to someone who was not familiar with the program and they didn't always get it. Their review for SkyTools 2 was titled, "A 20th Century Log Book." No-seriously! I didn't know about the review before hand and happened to pick up a copy of the magazine. I read past the first paragraph before it slowly dawned on me--with a sick feeling in my stomach--that it was a review of my software. That, and they didn't give it much space. To add insult to injury, the very next issue had a comprehensive review of Megastar (a competitor) written by someone who uses the software regularly--someone who got it. To make matters worse it was a relatively minor upgrade to Megastar whereas I had pushed forward with all these cutting-edge features for SkyTools. Let's just say my blood pressure got a little up over the whole thing. Thankfully this time the review did a wonderful job of describing what SkyTools is.

Mrs. Skyhound and I are going to attend NEAF this year. We only made it out once before, I think in 2001, so it has been a long time. We are really looking forward to seeing everyone. If you attend, please come by and chat.

The Personal Computer Revolution

I was recently asked what my programming philosophy was and it got me thinking. In a nutshell, my philosophy is that, when at its best, the personal computer represents a revolution in how we do things rather than a mere evolution.

A lot of programmers of my generation fell into a trap. They adapted existing paradigms to the personal computer rather than rethink the idea to fit the new paradigm that the computer represented. For me the classic example is Monopoly. Monopoly is a simulation of the world of high finance created for the board game paradigm. Programmers set out to adapt the board game for play on the computer, but to me that was missing the whole point. Why have the computer simulate a simulation designed for another technology? It seemed to me that what you really wanted to do was to rethink a simulation of the world of high finance in terms of the computer paradigm.

My favorite example of this is TiVo. When it became clear that the VCR could be replaced by a basic computer and hard drive, someone needed to create a software interface. Most programmers set out to recreate the familiar VCR, only on a computer. But the programmers who created TiVo took a different approach. They started over from scratch, re-imagining TV as if the VCR had never existed. They asked themselves, "In my wildest dreams what would I want a computer/TV to be able to do?" And in so doing they fundamentally changed the way we watch TV.

I really admire what they did with TiVo. My philosophy has always included a willingness to start over from scratch--to think big--to re-imagine how an existing task can be done on a personal computer. For me this is what makes computers exciting.

This is why SkyTools can't be easily pigeon-holed as a "planner" or "planetarium" or "star charting" program. It's for the same reason TiVo isn't a mere "VCR" program. The "planner" has its roots in the early days of computing when you logged into a large mainframe on a remote terminal and printed out your data on wide sheets of paper that you picked up at the computer center. The Planetarium is a projector that recreates the sky on the ceiling. It is used primarily to educate people about the sky and its motions. And of course a paper star chart is like a road map of the sky.

While there are similarities, SkyTools is more than a representation of these things on a computer. No, it's a suite of software tools designed to help people observe at the telescope. That's why I call it Observing Software.

Success

Nightmare number 1: large numbers of SkyTools 3 CD/DVD packages are ordered costing big bucks. But I made a huge mistake in the installer or I forgot to include some important data file. I am deluged by upset customers.

Nightmare number 2: nobody likes it and large numbers of people want to return it for a refund.

I am happy to report that neither of these scenarios came to pass. I did come across some relatively minor problems, but I had an update ready before the first copies were even shipped, and with our new automatic update system the updates went very smoothly. As with any large complex program suddenly having hundreds of people using it is bound to uncover bugs that had been missed by the much smaller test team. To the enormous credit of the test team only a relatively few issues have been reported and none of them were major. I expect to release another update this weekend.

Perhaps the most complex task in SkyTools 3 was the new Synchronization feature. This feature is among the first things people who are upgrading from SkyTools 2 are going to use, as it allows them to transfer their SkyTools 2 telescopes, observing lists, etc. for use with SkyTools 3. We first tested this with the beta team over a year ago and it broke in about a dozen different ways, seemingly in a unique way for each team member. I had them send me their SkyTools 2 data, one by one, and for each I tracked the problem down.

When we started the Real Time testing in February we added more testers. Again, many of the new testers had an issue importing their SkyTools 2 data. Again, I had them send me their SkyTools 2 data, one by one, and for each I tracked the problem down.

When we started the Pro Edition testing in September we added 20 more testers. Once again, many of them had an issue importing their SkyTools 2 data. I had them send me their SkyTools 2 data, one by one, and for each I tracked the problem down. This time there was a new twist: SkyTools 3 started having trouble syncing to itself. In all this testing only one function worked flawlessly almost from the start: the import of SkyTools 2 observing logs. So guess what broke in the release version?

Several people reported that none of their log entries for planets imported properly. I tried it myself (for the 300th time) and sure enough my planet logs were missing. They were working before... solving this mystery is my project for later today. Fortunately, once the problem is resolved people will merely have to perform the import again. There should be little inconvenience.

The reception to SkyTools 3 has been overwhelmingly positive, which is very satisfying. The following comment in particular regarding the new imaging features brought a big smile to my face:

I'm sending you a copy of the Rosette Nebula (NGC 2237) image I captured on 1-1-2009. It has a SNL of 15 and I used your Exposure Calculator to determine the proper exposure settings needed to capture it. The image came out far better than if I used my stock exposure settings of 4xLRGB @ 600s. So far all the images I've taken that use the SkyTools3 recommended exposure settings have come out very nicely. I know it took as a lot of hard work to model everything needed to make your exposure calculator work so well. The calculator alone is worth the price of the software and as far as I know no other commercial software package has one.

Whew!

The Hurry up and Wait

SkyTools 3 is done. Both editions were completed last week.

It's a bizarre experience. There I am working toward something that has taken four or five years to accomplish, depending on how you count it. As the final months come the days-off get fewer and fewer. As the final weeks come the days-off disappear completely and the work days grow longer. Constant coding turns into creating artwork for the packaging. The last few days become a blur. Code that was prepared months ago that is only used in the final product is at last integrated. The bugs continue to flow in from the test team and must be squashed immediately, even if it means a late night. Plans that were made years ago are put into motion. The website must be updated. Difficult but critical questions have to be answered, such as, "How many of each edition should I have made?" And above all there is that constant, ever present question: "Did I forget something?"

It all builds to that that final day when the final CD master is burned, somehow always only ten minutes before the UPS overnight pickup deadline. The package is sealed and raced to the drop. And then its over.

It will be two weeks of waiting before the packages are returned and we can start shipping.

People keep asking me, "Is it done yet?" and I just stare at them, dumbstruck. Saturday morning comes and I feel guilty for not getting up early to go to work. My desk is a mess. I guess I should clean it off now. The "to do" lists that ran pages every day now only run a page for the week. It is peaceful. Serene. But that constant, ever present question remains: "Did I forget something?"

It's like a Shuttle launch but sort of backward. There is a slow ramp up of thrust that builds to the great deafening explosion of launch, followed immediately by an equally deafening quiet and a feeling of weightlessness... of drifting.

And of course, "Did I forget something?"