PAU L OCKENDEN
Paul explains how to transfer a 9GB file from a Mac to an Android box, then falls in love with yet another tiny laptop
Paul explains how to transfer a 9GB file from a Mac to an Android box before falling in love with yet another tiny laptop.
How do you quickly transfer a file from one machine to another, when the network between them is slow? Usually the answer is to simply copy the file onto a USB stick, walk to the other machine, then copy it off. But for reader Kieran Wood, it wasn’t quite as easy as that.
He was trying to transfer a MKV video file, downloaded (legally, I assume!) from the internet between his MacBook and an Android TV box. The problem was that the movie file was over 9GB, and most USB sticks are formatted using the FAT32 file system, which imposes a maximum file size of 4GB. Huge files aren’t just the preserve of video files. In these days of VMs, it isn’t uncommon to come across VHD or VMDK disk image files that are real monsters – so the FAT32 file size limit has become a problem.
If you Google “large files USB stick” then you’ll find lots of websites telling you that the solution is to reformat the USB drive using either NTFS or exFAT – neither of which have this 4GB limit. Although Kieran’s Mac can read NTFS drives, it can’t write to them, so that option is off the table. So perhaps exFAT is the best choice? Recent versions of macOS fully support it.
Possibly, but I’m not keen on seeing big drives – particularly those containing big files – formatted using exFAT, despite the fact that this is what it was designed for. The reason is that exFAT is a “non-journaling” file system. In other words, when you update a file, the OS has to find that file on the drive then update the sectors directly. By contrast, a journaled file system uses a circular buffer to quickly store data written to the drive, and background processes then move this to the desired place as required – a process called committing. But even after this has happened, the buffered copy remains there for a while, so if a drive becomes corrupted then it’s quick to rebuild.
The lack of journaling also means there’s a much higher probability of data loss, especially on a device that keeps getting plugged and unplugged from a live system. The only downside is that journaling part of such file systems will thrash your USB drive to a greater extent, and so it will wear out quicker. Don’t use a journaled file system for knockabout USB drives that are used frequently; save it for when you need to copy huge files.
But if a non-journaled exFAT USB drive is the only option available, let’s go with that. Kieran formats the USB stick using exFAT on his Mac, copies the 9GB video file to it, then walks across the room and plugs the drive into his Android TV box – which promptly says “corrupt file system” and offers to reformat it. The problem is that, with the exception of a few recent smartphones, Android has no built-in support for exFAT. And if Kieran takes the option being offered by his Android box to reformat the drive, it will do so using FAT32, so he’s back where he started. Less FAT32, more catch-22.
So what’s the solution? Well, there are a couple of ways that Kieran can crack this problem. The first is to install some
software on his Mac to allow it to format the USB stick using the Ext2, Ext3 or Ext4 file system that his Android TV box will understand. The alternative is to install some software on his Android TV box to allow it to read and write an exFAT drive.
German company Paragon Software – better known for its hard disk manager and backup software –has products in both spaces. The first option is ExtFS for Mac 11. It’s neat: you install it, reboot your Mac, and then it can read and write Linux-compatible (and thus Android) drives. To format a USB drive you can use either the tool’s UI, or else the standard macOS Disk Utility, where you’ll find the new options added to the list of file systems when you use the Erase option. It’s quick, too – once the drive is formatted, reading and writing files is just as quick as using one of the native file systems.
The software isn’t cheap at $50; a better option would be to spend an extra $30 and buy the USFD Value Pack. As well as the ExtFS for Mac product, you’ll then also get NTFS drivers for the Mac, ExtFS drivers for Windows and HFS+ (the Mac file system) drivers for Windows. There’s also a copy of Paragon NTFS-HFS Converter that allows you to switch NTFS volumes to HFS+ volumes and vice versa on a Windows PC.
With this tool Kieran can format his USB stick using Ext3 format (Ext2 isn’t journaled and Ext4 isn’t quite as widely supported), copy the video file onto this, and then the drive should be picked up when he plugs it into the Android TV box, allowing the video to be played.
The other option, which is cheaper but more convoluted, is to add drivers to the Android TV box so that it can read an exFAT-formatted USB drive. Head to the Google Play Store and download the Total Commander file manager for free. Once you’ve installed it, do a second search for Paragon exFAT, and download and install that too. The Paragon software is free to download, but requires in-app purchases to actually make it work. It supports a number of different file systems: exFAT costs a fiver, or for £10 you can get a bundle that gives you NTFS, FAT32 and HFS+ as well. As with the Mac software I mentioned above, the bundle seems to make better financial sense.
These drivers don’t provide native file access that you can use from any app. Instead, they work as a plugin from within Total Commander. You can watch a video file this way – Total Commander will fire up a media player. But you’re probably better off using Total Commander to copy the file from the USB stick onto the device’s internal storage, and then playing the video file from there.
I regularly use the Mac software bundle and the Android drivers, and they’re both very good. For anyone shunting large files between different platforms, they’re a great investment.
Tiny shiny
I’m known for having a thing about ultra-small laptops. Somewhere in my junk room you’ll find a stack of miniature laptops, including several machines from Toshiba’s Libretto range, quite a few laptops made by Sony, and even a few devices that were PDA/laptop crossovers. The Sony Clié PEG-UX50 (not to be confused with the later VGN-UX50) was one of my favourites in this latter category; if ever there was a machine ahead of its time, this was it.
Sony was also responsible for my most favourite tiny laptop ever. Called the U101, I wrote about it back in issue 166. Back then, I was regularly using it on train journeys and for a while it was even my main business laptop – only practical because I have slim fingers. Unfortunately, although both the UX50 and U101 were fantastic devices, both sold in low numbers because – in typical Sony style – they were horrendously expensive. The fact that the U101 wasn’t sold outside of Japan didn’t help, either.
That was my favourite, but now there’s a new kid on the block: the GPD Pocket – and it’s lovely! There’s a good chance you’re new to Chinese manufacturer GPD. It was previously known by its full name, GamePad Digital, but now GPD is the preferred moniker.
The Pocket isn’t GPD’s first product, but as you can probably tell from the company’s full name, past products have mostly centred around handheld games consoles. The first batch of products used ARM architecture, but its more recent games consoles have switched to Windows – the GPD Win, for example. Interestingly, the firm has really mastered the art of crowdfunding, and tends to launch products using the Indiegogo platform, while simultaneously using traditional retail channels as well.
Where GPD’s previous products have all been a little plasticky, and with reduced-size keyboards because of the need to incorporate gaming controls, the new GPD Pocket is different. Several friends who have seen my device have remarked that it sports Apple-like build quality, and I’d have to agree. It’s a “premium” looking and feeling product, with a nicely machined magnesium alloy chassis. But although the build quality is outstanding, the first thing that will strike you is its size. It’s less than
“These drivers don’t provide native file access that you can use from an app; they work as a plugin from within Total Commander”
20mm thick, and at 182 x 109mm it’s smaller than a regular paperback book. It weighs in at 505g.
Now of course you’re never going to cram the latest Core i7 processor into such a small package, so the Pocket uses an Intel Atom x7-Z8750 – that’s a Cherry Trail mobile processor with four cores running at 1.6GHz and bursting to 2.56 GHz. It isn’t the fastest CPU in the world, but it’s no slouch, either – it’s the same as that featured in Microsoft’s low-end Surface 3s of last year. Most importantly, it’s a 64-bit CPU. Many products using low-power processors limit you to 32 bits, restricting your choice of operating system and software.
The 7in screen is about the same size as the biggest phone or the smallest tablet. It has a 1,920 x 1,080-pixel resolution touchscreen with Gorilla Glass. I love the fact that when the machine is folded shut, the keys don’t quite touch the screen. I’ve seen far too many laptop screens that have been ruined by finger grease from the keyboard playing havoc with the screen coating.
There’s no touchpad – there isn’t room for one – but alongside the touchscreen is a Think Pad-style nipple nestling in the middle of the spacebar. I used to be a fan back in the day, but with the GPD Pocket I find myself using the touchscreen most.
There’s no getting away from the fact that the Scrabble-tile keyboard is small, but GPD has done a great job considering the limitations of the form factor. When using the device on a table, the keyboard is fine for index finger-peck-style typing, and if you’re using it handheld then you can type with your thumbs from the sides. It took me only a couple of hours to get up to speed.
I mentioned that many people think the device looks Apple-like, but one area where it beats Apple hands-down is in the provision of ports. Down the right side there’s a USB-C port (seemingly obligatory these days), but alongside it you’ll find a mini-DVI port, a headphone socket (yes!) and a full-size USB 3 port.
The laptop is charged via USB-C – I believe the supplied charger uses USB Power Delivery 2, but I just used a socket on an Anker multi-port charger and it topped up fine.
The device comes with 8GB of RAM on board, so plenty for a simple Windows 10 installation. Interestingly, when I bought mine – via one of the EU GearBest shipping points – the Windows version was cheaper than the Ubuntu one. There’s also 128GB of onboard storage.
So far, I’m super-impressed with the Pocket. I’ll keep you updated in a future column if this changes.
Nothing’s new
Finally, I’d like to recommend a book about infographics. You know, those things that attempt to represent complex data and ideas in a pretty yet simple diagram. It’s a great book – but no, I’m not referring to ex-tech journalist David McCandless’ 2009 book Information is Beautiful or the excellent 2014 follow-up Knowledge is Beautiful, although both are highly recommended.
Neither is it Edward Tufte’s Beautiful Evidence (2006), The Visual Display of Quantitative Information (2001), Visual Explanations: Images and Quantities, Evidence and Narrative (1997) or Envisioning Information (1990). Again, all four books should be on the wish list of anyone producing infographics, as well as those designing visual interfaces. In fact, I’d go so far as to say they’re essential reading, even though the early volumes pre-date mainstream GUIs and information display.
No, the book I want to recommend is Fritz Kahn: Infographics Pioneer, by brother and sister Uta and Thilo Von Debschitz. This was first published in 2013, but it covers the life and work of an illustrator who created some of his best work in the 1920s. As you can probably determine from the names involved, both Kahn and the Von Debschitz siblings are German, as is most – although not all – of the work shown in the book. But what incredible work it is.
Kahn was a doctor as well as an illustrator, so much of his work revolved around the human body, but not exclusively. Many of his illustrations also concern nature, technology and evolution. I’m particularly fond of a 1933 image illustrating the alignment of atoms in an iron bar.
The cover illustration of the book is a small fragment of Kahn’s most famous work, 1926’s “Der Mensch als Industriepalast” (the human as an industrial palace). There’s a pull-out version of it inside the book; it’s fantastically detailed, and original copies of the poster sell for many thousands of pounds.
Indeed, the original version of the Von Debschitz siblings’ book about Fritz Kahn wasn’t cheap either, which isn’t uncommon for books published by Taschen. But the volume was re-released in June this year and, at the time of writing, you can buy this new version from Amazon, in Hardback, for just £12 ( pcpro.link/278kahn). That’s an absolute bargain considering the book stretches to more than 500 pages.
For anyone working in graphics, infographics, design or other forms of visual communication, I can’t recommend this book highly enough. And even if this weighty tomb isn’t your thing then you can still delight yourself with Henning M Lederer’s wonderful animated version of Der Mensch, which you’ll find at vimeo.com/6505158.
“Many people think the Pocket looks Apple-like; where it beats Apple handsdown is in the provision of ports”