Basic Requirements for Raspberry Pi

Once you got your hands with a Raspberry Pi model B, the first thing you have to do is to make sure you have all the things that you want to use. In my case of making an advertisement/notice panel, the requirements are as follows

What you'll need

1. SD Card - I recommend an 8GB class 4 SD card
2. Display & connectivity cable - Any HDMI/DVI monitor and any TV should work as a display for the Pi. (You'll need a HDMI-DVI converter if you're using DVI)
3. Keyboard and mouse - Any standard USB keyboard and mouse will work with your Raspberry Pi. (Pre-paired keyboard and mouse can also be used)
4. Power supply 
• The Pi is powered by a USB Micro power supply (like most standard mobile phone chargers) 
• You'll need a good-quality power supply that can supply at least 700mA at 5V. 
• Low ampage (~700mA) power supplies will work for basic usage, but are likely to cause the Pi to reboot if it draws too much power.
5. Something for the Network
• Ethernet (network) cable - An Ethernet cable is used to connect your Pi to a local network and the internet - OR - 
• USB wireless dongle - Alternatively, you can connect to a wireless network using a USB wireless dongle, which will require configuration.
6. Speakers are needed if you're not using HDMI connection.

If you have all of the above, you can start the Operating Systems installation. 

Advertisement News Panel TV (Part 2)

... continued from previous post.

The solution for my previous problem comes in a size of a credit card. It is a small computer called Raspberry Pi (RPi or Pi). I've never played with the gadget before, however knowing that it can run a Linux, I'm pretty sure by giving some time and effort, it can run everything I desire.

Raspberry Pi model B.

So I purchased one online. Purchasing a RPi is quite tricky. If you're from an institution or company, you can buy it directly from element 14 (official international main delaer). If you're buying as an individual, you need to find a dealer. Finding a dealer is quite difficult, but I finally got one via online store. 

Once received, I immediately hook it up to my living room TV with HDMI, plug in the wired LAN, keyboard and mouse and voila, it is up and running the installer in no time. I installed several OS onto it to find the best solution for my requirements.

Tested for several days and by looking to the need, I uninstalled all other OS and just stick with Raspbian (Raspberry Pi + Debian) Linux. It works like a charm. I'll write more about the settings in the future. 

Advertisement News Panel TV (Part 1)

Several of my colleague and I were selected during a meeting to jubilate my office building. We were asked to make the office more employee friendly, and at the same time encouraging them to be happy to come to work. 

"Team Keceriaan" was formed. Like any decoration team would do, we decided to put some plants inside the building, some paintings, etc. Same ol same ol... Then I came in and suggested to buy new TV, a PS4 and many many gadgets for the faculty.

Ideas came pouring about making an advertisement LCD panel. I checked Chromecast, Apple TV and all sorts. It was not suitable because it won't be as secure as we wanted it to be. Then I started to ask around. I looked at the library and asked them about their ad TV system and all. 

Their system costed a lot. RM10000 (USD3000) for the software, and RM800 (USD270) for each computer behind the TV. I just keep their system in view.

Then we got some bad news. The budget being cut! Now the system that the library used is out of the question. So I have to find a way to cut the price. Or else, we would need to cancel the advertisement news panel TV altogether. 

I've found a solution... I'll update about it later in my next post.

My Dual Screen Setup

For quite some time I've watched a student using an external monitor together with his MacBook Pro 13 inch. I thought to myself, that looks interesting... So I hooked up my MacBook Pro with a HD TV and found out that OS X Mountain Lion is very bad at multiple display.

When Apple introducing new multiple display done right in OS X Mavericks, I was very delighted. After a long thought, I've decided to make a dual screen setup for my office. I don't think it is crucial for my work, but sometimes I do feel that it might help a little bit. 

I've decided to get two external monitors instead of one. This is because I feel a little bit awkward looking back and forth between retina and non-retina display. It will be like... beautiful - ugly - beautiful - ugly... It would also makes my eyes tired of focusing back and forth (because the MacBook Pro is near and the external display needs to be further away to look beautiful)

With two external displays setup, I could clam shell my MacBook Pro and use those two external displays. No more problem with beauty and the beast, and no more problem with focusing far and near. 

In order to use my MacBook Pro in clam shell mode, I have to get a keyboard and a mouse or a trackpad. So I bought a Logitech K750 keyboard because am attracted with its solar charging ability. I hope there is no need for me to change its battery in the future. The setback, it would use up one USB port (which I only have two at my disposal).

Then I bought Apple trackpad because I've been accustomed with the trackpad on the MacBook Pro. Another reason I don't opt for an Apple mouse is because it uses a lot of battery, and it's touch functions feel a little bit unpolished.

Finished with the trackpad and keyboard. Now I look up for the monitors. Only to find out that it is quite expensive. Errkkk... I halted my plan for a month and rethink. However, I decided to buy them after all. Bought two of the cheapest 24 inch with HDMI. They are BenQ 2460.

Finally, what I need is a simple gadget to hold my MacBook Pro in clam shell mode. Browsed the net and it would cost me another USD50. Well, I don't want to waste that kind of money just for a holder, so I bought a set of book ends, taped it together and there I got my DIY MacBook Pro stand. It saved me USD40+.

So here is my setup.

Very happy with all the purchase and setup. Although it is not a dual Apple Thunderbolt display that I secretly wanted, the setup is sufficient. Now I can fully utilise the OS X Mavericks multiple screen function and be happy with it. Setbacks? Probable setback would be it consumes a lot of space. I guess you can't have it all.

Final note. There is still room for a Mac Pro behind the dual display. 

Bump

Have you guys tried the bump app before? It is a file sharing app that lets you share files between smart phones. It started modestly as a way to exchange your own contact information between two phones, and grew until it can even share multiple files.

Among other files that can be transferred are social network pages (Facebook, Twitter & LinkedIn), photos, other people's contact (with pictures) and even files in your smartphones that is 20mb and lower.

It works like magic. All you have to do is to turn on your Internet, may it be 4G, 3G or even Wi-Fi, and turn on approximate or precise location to make the transfer. Following is the video that might help you understand how it works.

With the new updates, now bump can also work with computers. You can now transfer files from a smartphone to a computer and vice versa. No more wires, bluetooth, IR (anyone still using this?) needed to transfer files between a smartphone and a computer. Here is an instruction video about it.

It's like magic. I was pretty amazed when I first tried to bump between phones, and left with awe when the first time I used it to transfer a phone to a computer. When I demonstrated to my friend on how it works, he said "how did they do it? how? how?".

However, after reading FAQs and everything, it all makes sense. Why didn't I think of it before. The app is very original and very very useful. It diminishes the purpose to add NFC onto a phone (unless you want to use NFC for payment of course).

Google has recently bought bump and bump CEO has announced the joining on 16 September 2013. I wonder what Google can add to the table. Perhaps Google Maps, Google+? Here are the links for those who wants to try bump. Android (link) and iOS (link).

Apple Special Event 22 Oct 2013 Review

I have been busy the whole day. Just managed to watch the keynote from Apple. Almost all the things that I expected (link) to be launched on the day are there in the keynote. However some of my predictions were not quite right.

Things that happened:

• OS X 10.9 Mavericks launch.
• New 13" retina MacBook Pro with Intel Haswell chips.
• New 15" retina MacBook Pro with Intel Crystalwell chips.
• Mac Pro will launch by December 2013.
• iPad Air.
• iPad mini with Retina display.
• New iWork and iLife.

OS X 10.9 Mavericks was launched, with all the features that Apple promised. It is available for free. I just can't wait to get my hands on it. I'm still halfway downloading it. Another 2 1/2 hours before I can get to play with the new OS.

There were also announcement of iLife and iWork that I don't care so much. It is a good feature, however you'll only get it for free if you bought a new Mac or iDevice. For someone like me, I won't get the iWork for free for the time being.

I was quite surprised when Apple didn't drop the thick MacBook Pro lineup once and for all. (There is one type of 13" still available for purchase). I was more surprised to see that iPad 2 is still on the iPad lineup! That is good, but I was hoping that iPad 4 is the one that should be a cheap iPad. 

I'm quite disagree with the "iPad Air" naming. It goes out from the convention, and it is not thin enough to be called an "Air". I didn't get my hands on the device yet, but I might retract my statement once I feel the lightness of the product.  

I realised that there is no touch ID available in the iPad lineup. I can see the reasoning behind that. It's just that iPhone is a personal device (thus privacy), while iPads are usually shared with other people, therefore it would be difficult to register everybody's thumb print in it.

Now, the new Mac Pro. Some says it looks like Darth Vader's ash tray. I don't hate the design, but I'm afraid someone would try to throw a paper cup onto it because they might mistaken it with a dustbin. If I have a lot of money, that might be my target just for the sake of wanting one. However I don't think I really need that much processing power. Sour grapes? I hope not.

Well, I think that rounds up the review for today. Don't forget to rush into an Apple store as soon as possible.

Retina-like and Touchscreen Combo

With all the advancement in the technology nowadays, a high spec computer can be sold to people affordably. Lots of things can be included into a laptop, and now almost all computer maker company has one. 

The shrinking of storage, the ability to sense human touch, the portability and of course the shrinking of the pixels even a 20/20 vision people couldn't differentiate a pixel. These technology, combined with Windows 8 touch control friendly user interface has lead to the born of the Ultrabooks.

Above 3 examples are the ultrabooks with retina-like display and a touch screen ability. They are among the best Windows Ultrabooks around. Several years ago, Apple dazzles us with MacBook Air with the machine's size. Nowadays, with all these sleek choices put in front of users, one would forget about a MacBook Air altogether.

In my opinion however, there is a oxymoronic features that these Windows ultrabooks offer. They are touchscreen combined with retina-like display. For me, these two features are great on their own, but not a good idea if they're combined together. 

Imagine a crisp no weird pixel visible screen, and then you put your oily or sweaty fingers on it to touch the icons. It'll certainly leaves a mark, and might even enlarges the pixel and make it visible to the eye. Well, that's just not retina to me. 

Yes there are a lot of material available that leaves no smudge on the screen. However, that usually left to a matte display, which again doesn't fit the purpose and enlarges and distorts those fine pixels. Well, these two technology just don't mix, not without some other new technology of course. 

This is another example of companies pushing technologies into consumers without thinking properly about the user experience. It's just not right. In my opinion, for the time being people should choose either one of the technology. Unless you don't care about smudges on a retina-like screen. Then, by all means, go and buy one. 

Best Operating System For You

Which one of the operating system (OS) available is the most superior of them all? I can't answer that, because that's all depends on how do you want to use it. Each operating system has their advantages, and each has their own shortcomings. 

Currently there are several front runners in the OS race. IMO, they are, Windows from Microsoft, Chrome OS from Google, Linux from many distributions, and Apple OS X. Windows and Linux can be run from any x86 computers. While Chrome OS is basically can be run on its proprietary hardware, and same goes to Apple OS X. 

Microsoft Windows

This is currently the most used computer OS in the world! Its latest iteration of OS is the Windows 8. I have tried the OS, and it is very good for touch screens. It has been customised for the touch screens that it would be a disadvantage if you only have a mouse to navigate across the screen.

Windows 8 has the same interface as a Windows RT and Windows Phone OS. The uniformity looks nice, and it also plays nicely with each other. Microsoft should be applauded with their effort on reinventing their OS over and over again.

Basically there are a lot of good things in Windows 8. It has a nice and clean interface. I like the live tiles, It's easier to find your favourite applications. It uses less memory compared to its predecessor, Windows 7 and play a lot of games on it. Yes, the games is actually one of the main reason that the OS is still one of the favourite. 

The bad thing about it would be that it is a little bit sluggish when used for a long time (1 year +). It is expensive, and is not as smooth when run with a low end PC. Not having a touch screen makes you feel a little bit in a disadvantage. 

Google Chrome OS

The Chrome OS by Google is one of the new OS in the market. It is usually shipped together with a Google ChromeBook. These ChromeBooks usually very sleek and comparable to a Ultrabooks that many manufacturers offer. There is also a base Chrome OS that are usable on other x86 computers, and it is called Chromium OS. 

When Google first come out with the ChromeBook and Chrome OS, the price tag has been quite high. I have always thought that it won't last long in the computer industry. However, as many years has gone by, it is still here. I'm guessing  Chrome OS is here to stay.

For me there are a lot of good things about Chrome OS. It automagically connects with Google Cloud services. Just like a Chrome browser, Chrome OS also has an automatic update of the OS, so you're always using the latest version of the OS. The UI and design is very simple, sometime I think that I'm using a tablet instead of a computer.

However, just like everything man-made, there are some imperfections. From my point of view, Chrome OS is very shallow. It's just like an interface for the Google cloud services. Even the ChromeBooks comes with a high spec, you don't feel like you use all the resources to the fullest. It is like buying the best games rig, but all you play is Solitaire. 

Apple OS X

The Apple OS X was first developed to run on Apple proprietary processors, and then moved on to be run on x86 Intel chips. There are times where the OS took a lot of things from the BSD OS, but Apple has been changing a lot of it and make it their own. 

OS X came together with any Apple Macs. It can be run on other x86 computers, but you have to find or program your own drivers to use all your devices. Major upgrades are sold for around £20. Apple latest OS X is Mountain Lion (10.8), but the Mavericks (10.9) is coming soon this year (link). 

The good. Apple OS X has the best user interface, this might be because Apple has been very keen in designs and fonts right from their first Mac. It has the ease of use just like of Windows, and the programming friendly just like of a BSD and Linux. It's like the best of both worlds. 

However, there is a shortcoming, Apple OS X can only run on Macs, which is very expensive. It plays nicely with other Apple product such as iPhone, iPad, etc. but not with a non-Apple product. It is a closed source, so its a little bit late on repairing problems with the OS. 

Linux OS

There are a lot of Linux distributions. Picture above shown some of them. I have only used a handful of them. I've tried Redhat, Fedora, Mandrake, Mandriva, openSUSE, Damn Small Linux, Ubuntu and Kubuntu. There might some that I've forgotten but I have a fair share on using it.

I was a fan of Redhat, but then Redhat started to divide into two parts, consumer and pro, Fedora and Redhat respectively. So I moved on to Fedora and later to Ubuntu. Among all of them, I think the best one for consume would be Ubuntu, and I hope it will go on to be the best (for me).

The pros of the Linux is for programming. I think it is the best platform for programmers. It is open source, therefore it is quite good if you want the latest, out from the oven softwares from programmers all over the world. In Linux, you're in control of everything. By everything, I mean e-ve-ry-thing. It gives you a lot of control on what's going on, and you can monitor everything that is running in front and at the back.

The problem with a Linux OS is the installations. Not all people can install the OS on computers that have been preinstalled with other OS. Having the whole world programming for you is a double edged sword. You get a lot of programs, and that means a lot of updates too. It's like having to update almost every other day.

Another problem is, Linux distros are more focused on performance rather than energy consumption. You can run Windows / OS X longer on a laptop computer, but it won't be the case with Linux. 

Conclusion

All these 4 OSes are here to stay. They are either run by big guns of the industry or by big community throughout the world. If you want me to choose for you, I can give a little guideline.

• If you like to play games on your computer or if you have to use a Windows only software, use Windows. 
• If you have extra cash and would like to utilise the (Google) cloud services at its fullest, get a Chrome OS.
• If you have a lot of money and like to have a beautiful and capable OS, use OS X.
• If you like to play with your computer and you like programming, use a Linux (I recommend either Ubuntu or Fedora).

Having a virtual machine might also help, but we will discuss about it later in the future. 

Apple Special Event 22 October 2013 Preview

Apple is going to hold another event this year. With a kind of lukewarm acceptance of its September event, Apple surely needs to up their gameplan and show a brighter future of their products and ultimately their company.

Rumours have it that this time they have to show some things that they've introduced during their summer 2013 event. On top of it, they are expected to release new things that is approaching the end of their life cycle. 

The things that they've introduced during the summer developer's event was Mac Pro, and the new Apple OS X 10.9 Mavericks (link). Those two are most likely to show up this time. People are also expecting updates to other lineups too, such as the MacBook Pro, iPad, iPad mini, displays and even Mac Mini. Apple ditches numbering to their products, therefore it is most likely that the new iPads will be called iPad and iPad mini instead of iPad 5 and iPad mini 2 respectively.

That is quite a lot. No wonder the catchphrase they use in the invitation is "We still have a lot to cover". MacBook Pro and retina MacBook Pro are more likely to get an Intel Haswell update. There is also a possibility that Apple will ditch non-retina MacBook Pro lineup once and for all. It is plausible, but might welcome boos from the audience.

The new iPad and iPad mini might get the Touch ID sensor just like the newly launched iPhone 5s. The iPad mini might also get a retina display, even though that might slightly add to the difficulty for the developers having to program for several sizes of iDevice screens. However, if that's what people want, I think Apple would follow through. 

I'm not sure about the displays and the Mac mini update. However I'm very keen with the Mac Pro update. I've thought (day dreamt) about the similar thermal design before, but never put it onto paper. Then I totally forgot about it. I hope the Mac Pro would be successful, not like their discontinued iCube.

I think that's about it. Now I can't wait for the release of OS X 10.9 Mavericks and the Mac Pro! What about you?

DVI and It's Confusion

Technologies were made to help humanity. However, sometimes it can also brings confusion to the users. DVI is an example where the technology keeps on improving, gave birth to loads of standards and finally might give problems to end users.

There are a lot of DVI's, basically there are 5 types of them. These are the info about them.

• DVI-I (Single Link) = Digital & Analog, up to 1920x1080.
• DVI-I (Dual Link) = Digital & Analog, up to 2048x1536
• DVI-D (Single Link) = Digital, up to 1920x1080.
• DVI-D (Dual Link) = Digital, up to 2048x1536.
• DVI-A = Analog

Well, that looks a little bit simpler. Now, what you have to do is make sure the display can accept the link and the kind of signal that you wanted to send. 

Even though there are reports saying that you can have a high resolution (2048x1536) using a single link with 85Hz, that is usually using a DVI-I cable where the display uses some support from the analog signal to fill in some blank spaces. Well, that's good engineering, but the easiest way to overcome this uncertainty is to go for dual link if your computer and monitor supports one.

With all the confusion in the air, the ones that come out with DVI came out with another present to add to the lack of certainty. Here comes DVI M1-DA (Dual Link + USB). 

The new one is basically the DVI answer to the new HDMI 1.4. Where HDMI 1.4 can support network signal, the DVI can support USB. They don't put network on DVI because you won't need a network-enabled monitor, but having extra USB on the monitor might help. However, by the looks of things, the connector for DVI M1-DA couldn't be connected to a normal DVI. 

Well, the DVI is a confusing technology. People doing DVI should've made their connection future proof before trying to make it as standard. Even so, DVI is still the best for a computer monitor environment. However, do opt for HDMI if it is for connecting TV, it is more hassle free and has cheaper connectors. We'll talk about HDMI later in the future.

OSX 10.9 Mavericks

Yes, another Apple blog entry. I wanted to make entries for this blog as balanced as possible. However I've been thinking about the upcoming OS update for the Macs, and feel like I have to write about it. Please bear with me, I hope that my upcoming posts would be something far away from Apple.

Several months ago, Apple has announced two operating systems, one for its mobile platforms and one for its computers, iOS 7 and OSX 10.9 Mavericks respectively. The iOS7 have been launched last month together with its new iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C. 

There are also rumours saying that Apple was channelling its workforce to focus on the iOS 7. Thus making the launch of the new OSX is going to be a little bit late. From the looks of things, I hope that Apple does not deliver an unpolished product to us consumers.  

There aren't a lot of things have been upgraded / updated from the Mountain Lion (10.8) and Mavericks (10.9). Most of them are not essential, they only just an added bonus. New features added to the OS X 10.9 are shown in the picture above. What are these mumbo jumbo? I'll comment each and every new features from the top. 

iBooks: I never used this feature on my iDevices, and most probably won't be using it in the future. Even though I like new technologies, I do like to read non-technological things on a real paper (made from trees).

Maps: I don't think I'll use my Mac for directions. I think this feature is just a waste of time.

Calendar: They have been changing the calendars bit by bit each time they upgrade the OS. So I don't think it would change as much.

Safari: Same as the calendar, Safari have been getting upgrades. They can update it even without releasing a new OS.

iCloud Keychain: Well, this feature is suitable for those who don't like to key in their password each time being asked. However, if I were to use this feature, I would use it with caution.

Multiple Displays: This feature should've been in previous OS after all. Users have been complaining about the difficulties with Mountain Lion multiple display for quite some time.

Notifications: The new notification feature new ways to interact with latest update. You can reply on the spot. You can also receive updates while being away, and receive updates from sites that supports it.

Finder Tabs: This might be useful because it can save some screen real estate.

Tags: Macs spotlight have been terrific and all. Adding tags onto the system might make it even easier to find your files. However, I don't think I would use this feature, because tagging take a lot of time.

Advanced Technologies: It's actually saying that the new OS will use less power than its predecessor.

I don't give much attention to the above mentioned features. However, to me the "multiple displays" feature is an important one. There are a lot of problems doing multiple displays on Mountain Lion. Only now they have do it right (by copying other OS). 

So, will OS X Mavericks be a good upgrade? My short answer is "No", unless you would like to use multiple displays and/or you're using a portable Mac where preserving the battery life is crucial. For others, you can stick with your current OS, may it be a Mountain Lion, Lion or even Snow Leopard.

Mavericks is rumoured to be launched between 22nd to 28th of October 2013.

-- update --

Many websites have been reporting that Apple has released golden master version of the OS X Mavericks. The version is most likely to be the release version of 10.9.0, therefore it seems like Mavericks will be available to public very very soon (15 Oct perhaps?). I'll set aside £20 for a piece of the action.

-- update --

Here is the OS X 10.9 Mavericks WWDC keynote.

MacBook Air 13" or MacBook Pro 13"

An acquaintance of mine asked me to compare between MacBook Air 13" and MacBook Pro 13". I asked him back, what is he going to do with the computer? What he actually looks in a computer? Portability or performance?

My short answer is, if you wanted a highly portable Mac, get a MacBook Air. If you wanted a high performance MacBook, get a MacBook Pro. Apple has been making it easy for their customer to choose between their computers. 

• Performance + Portable = MacBook Pro.
• Casual + Portable = MacBook Air.
• Performance + Stationary = Mac Pro.
• Casual + Stationary = Mac mini or iMac.

Maybe I misunderstood his question. Maybe he wanted to ask me to compare between a fully revved up version of MacBook Air and a base entry level MacBook Pro. Well, that is a different question. However, my answer remains the same. Casual = MacBook Air, Performance = MacBook Pro. 

This is simply because the CPU inside the models is different. MacBook Pros usually have a higher CPU speed than the MacBook Air. Other than that, the design of the whole MacBook is different. MacBook Pro can do more processing before the fan kicks in, while MacBook Air's fan will start earlier. 

This means that it was designed to withstand and dissipate more heat than a MacBook Air. Some of you might think that fan noise is not a big matter. However, in my opinion, doing things with a loud fan sound for a long period of time is not an ideal workplace environment. 

Now I just have to wait and see what is he going to buy from the Apple store. However I won't be surprised if I found out that his next computer is going to be another Windows machine. Those ultrabooks look very nice anyways. 

Thanks for reading my rambles.

Time Capsule 2TB and 3TB

My heart have been to and fro towards the Airport Time Capsule. The idea of seamless and automatic backup is very attractive. Working with all the important data, protecting them could be seen as crucial in my line of work. However the price tag has been pushing me back couple of times. 

Apple AirPort Time Capsule

AirPort Time Capsule comes with 2 sizes of storage, 2TB and 3TB. The former is £249 and the latter is £349. There is also another device, Airport Extreme which when connected with a USB hard disk can do what AirPort Time Capsule could do. 

The AirPort Extreme is £169, still quite pricey for a wireless access point. Another problem would be that AirPort Extreme only has one USB port, therefore you have to choose whether to connect it with a printer to enable wireless printing or the hard drive.

There is another messy way to use the Time Machine, that is by connecting a portable hard drive to the Mac you're using directly. However, you have to connect the wires each time you want to backup. Therefore doesn't fit the purpose of seamless and automatic update. 

I've read somewhere that you can also connect a Mac Mini (or any other Mac) with an external hard drive and treat that as a Time Machine location. That seems quite okay if you have a Mac Mini that you want to leave turned on all the time. 

There is another way (I think) that can work. Using a network HDD and connect it with the router. It might be usable by Time Machine, but there is also a possibility that it uses a different file sharing protocol that might block the Time Machine application to connect with it. 

I also read from the Internet (I hope it's not from Apple haters) saying that usually a Time Capsule only lasts for 1.5 - 2 years. However, I hope that is not the case. Or maybe they use it extensively with a lot of Macs all at once. That might also be the case.

So there are 6 choices you can make to use the Time Machine application.

1. AirPort Time Capsule 3TB = £349
2. AirPort Time Capsule 2TB = £249
3. AirPort Extreme + External HDD combo = £169 + External HDD price
4. Wired external HDD = External HDD price
5. Mac mini + External HDD combo = £499 + Monitor + Mouse + Keyboard + External HDD price.
6. Wireless HDD = £150 +/- (don't know whether this will work)

Well, that's a lot for you to consider. For me, I won't be using a wired solution because that goes away from the point of automatic backup. Because there might be a day when you are too tired to turn on the computer and backup. 

I won't buy the top of the range £349 and the Mac mini option because of the price tag. That leaves me with option 2, 3 and 6. Since 6 is not proven and I need to do some research about it first and update this post later. I really hope that option 6 is doable because if it is doable, it will be the most cost effective of all.

From the look of things, currently I'm more prone to choose the 2nd choice because the wire mess that the 3rd option might make. Well, let's look and see. I'll sure to update about this matter in the future.

-- update --

I have a good news and a bad news. The bad news is, as far as i know there isn't any wireless hard disk that can be connected to the network and work together with Time Machine. But the good news is, there are a lot of Network Attached Storage (NAS) that can be used with Time Machine. The price is cheaper.

So what you need is an Internet router, connect the NAS device using the LAN wires and setup your time machine. A 3TB NAS is around £130 and a 2TB NAS is around £100. However, please make sure it'll work with Time Machine before buying one.

I guess that is the best choice there is to utilise Time Machine on a Mac. It might not be an Apple solution, but still is a cheap and viable solution.