2.1 Software Version

2.2 Software Version

I am going to try and cover the changes in the 2.2 software. I probably won’t be able to cover everything, so ask if there is something you don’t see and I will try and add it.

So the first thing I noticed when the phone started up is the new splash screen. The old splash screen was static but the new one is says the word “Droid” while words and numbers float around the screen.

Next is the setup screens. The install wiped out all my apps and setting so I had to save all my settings again. I don’t remember setup screens like this when I originally setup my Incredible, but I could be wrong. What surprised me the most is that in one of the first screens it gives you the option to turn off data. As many of you know I don’t have a data plan so this was nice to have taken care of at the beginning.

2.2 Setup Data

Once the setup screens were complete I was finally given full access to the Incredible. Now I had the opportunity to look at specific applications. The first one I went to was the video camera. The camera was suppose to get an upgrade and I wanted to confirm that the upgrade happened. As you can see from this screen shot the camera is now capable of recording in full 720p. This is exciting for the video quality, but if you read my previous review of the Incredible you will know that I had problems with the audio quality. The camera upgrade unfortunately does not address the audio problems.

2.2 Video Resolution

Another big upgrade for this software is the inclusion of Flash support. As you can see in the following screen shot flash is installed and it was installed by default so I did not have to go to the market and download it separately.

2.2 Flash

The last big upgrade that everyone was looking forward to is the 3G Mobile Hotspot. This feature will allow the phone to be used as a wireless access point for computers and other devices. This is a nice feature but, as you can see here Verizon has modified it to not work unless you have previously bought the feature from them.

2.2 3G Hotspot

2.2 3G Hotspot

Gmail also got a small visual upgrade. Here is a before and after screenshot.

2.1 Gmail Message

2.2 Gmail Message

The calendar also got a small upgrade.

2.1 Calendar

2.2 Calendar

Now on to the applications screen. If you read my last review you know that this screen gave me a big headache whenever I had to use it to uninstall an app. The main reason was that the apps were not alphabetized so it was incredibly difficult to find anything. In 2.2 the apps not only got alphabetized, but it also has a much better layout. I think you will agree when you take a look at the following screen shots.

2.1 Manage Apps

2.2 Manage Apps

I also noticed that there were several new apps. For the most part they are useless to me. As you can see from this screen shot the new apps include, 3G Mobile Hotspot, Flashlight, My Verizon Mobile, News, News and Weather, Skype, and VZ Navigator. There were also 3 new widgets, Data Usage, News, News and Weather. These apps are started automatically and cannot be uninstalled. So if you don’t like the apps you just have to live with them. I downloaded a task manager and I use it to kill the apps every time the screen is turned off. I have to do this because they often turn back on automatically.

2.2 New Apps

As I already discussed 3G Mobile Hotspot is a pay app, and so is the VZ Navigator. The VZ Navigator costs $9.99 a month. This is quite bold of Verizon since the phone already includes Google Navigation for free. I would be surprised if anyone actually uses it.

2.2 VZ Navigator

I was a little excited to try out the Skype app, but when I started it up I got a message that says Skype does not work with WiFi. So this is another useless app for me.

2.2 Skype

Next is the My Verizon Mobile app. For Verizon customers this my be useful for accessing their account info, but since I am not a Verizon customer it is useless. The same goes for the Data Usage widget. It would not show my data usage since I am not a Verizon customer.

2.2 My Verizon Mobile

Next are the News, News and Weather apps and widgets. I didn’t have any trouble getting them to work, but I didn’t find them very useful for me. I just don’t stare at my phone all day waiting for new news, and when I want to read news I use my computer.

Last is the Flashlight app. This is the only new app that I found useful. This app when started shows a flashlight on the screen and when you press the power button it turns on the camera LEDs. There are 3 brightness settings and repeatedly pressing the power button cycles through them.

2.2 Flashlight off

2.2 Flashlight on

2.2 Flashlight LEDs

Like I said at the beginning there are a lot of new stuff that I will not cover. Verizon has been nice enough to provide a PDF that covers more of the new features. If you didn’t find something in my review that excites you then perhaps the PDF will have something for you.

If you have a Droid Incredible you are in for a treat when you get the update. Just remember if you do it manually like I did, then make note of all your apps so you can re-download them. If you are impatient like me go ahead and manually install the update. I didn’t have any problems (no rooting, or hacking required) and I don’t think you will either.

Update 8/28/2010 12:30: Another screen that got updated is the security screen. As you can see from these images we now have the ability to set different kind of passwords.

2.1 Security

2.2 Security

The location screen was updated, but I think it is more confusing now. I don’t know if checking a box means I am sharing my location, or getting my location from Verizon, or Google. I don’t know about you, but having Verizon and Google know where I am at all times is not high on my priority list.

2.1 Location

2.2 Location

Lastly, HTC updated their Settings Widget. As you can see there are a lot more options now. I just wish there was a way to include these all in the same widget (like the power control widget) and not have a separate one for each, this would save on screen space.

2.1 Settings Widget

2.2 Settings Widget

I will continue to look for more updated screen and post them when I find them.

Verizon Wireless is pleased to announce the new Android 2.2 (Froyo) software update for the Droid Incredible by HTC. ENJOY!

Since I don’t have a data plan I am hoping I can download this via WiFi. Let me know if you get the update.

If you want more information about the update you can visit Verizons new Droind incredible update site. They also have a PDF that outlines all the new features and updates that will come with 2.2 (Froyo).

Update 8/27/2010 3:12pm:I just ran across this site, XDA-Developers, and they seem to have the official ROM that you can download and install manually. I will try it when I get home and let you know how it turns out.

Update 8/27/2010 9:30pm:The update worked. I now have a fully working Droid Incredible 2.2 without any rooting or other hacking. The only negative is that I had to re-download and install all my apps. There are some new apps included in this release and I am excited to try them out.

2.2 Software Version

Three new models offer diverse options for optimal system cooling

Fremont, CA – August 5, 2010 – Antec, Inc., the global leader in high-performance computer components and accessories for the gaming, PC upgrade and Do-It-Yourself markets, today announced the full availability of its brand new line of CPU coolers: the KÜHLER series. Three models, the KÜHLER Box, KÜHLER Shelf and KÜHLER Flow, make up the series, providing users with an assortment of options when selecting an optimal CPU cooling solution.

The KÜHLER Box CPU cooler is symmetrical and rotatable 90°, 180° and 270° in order to coordinate seamlessly with interior airflow, and offers a powerful choice for cooling high-powered builds. Equipped with a whisper-quiet 120 mm Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) fan positioned between two massive aluminum heat sinks, the KÜHLER Box is capable of blowing as much as 68.2 CFM or operating as quiet as 11.35 dBA, all while achieving maximum heat conduction and airflow. To offer unmatched heat transference, the KÜHLER Box boasts eight embedded copper heat pipes and is suitable for chassis heights up to 7”, offering versatile, powerful cooling performance for high-power gaming and overclocking applications.

The KÜHLER Shelf features a 120 mm PWM fan with a downward airflow design to blow cool air over an aluminum heat sink positioned parallel to the plane of the motherboard, resulting in 10 to 20 mm more clearance than similarly built competing heat sinks. Since the fan is positioned on top of the heat sink, the KÜHLER Shelf also provides airflow to near-CPU components, improving overall thermal dissipation and component reliability ideal for multi-core CPU builds suffering from high motherboard temperatures. This cooler also comes with seven copper heat pipes arranged in a space-saving configuration featuring with a narrow base that fits easily into tight spaces with tall chipsets and heat sinks by the CPU socket – great for replacements and upgrades onto densely packed motherboards for optimal heat transference.

Rounding out the series is the KÜHLER Flow CPU cooler, which features a vertical heat sink that can be re-positioned to cooperate with the case’s existing intake and exhaust fans. This cooler is built with a 120 mm PWM fan that works with the enclosure’s natural airflow capabilities and sets up a dynamic airflow pattern that sweeps through the entire case, without the turbulence or counter currents typically associated with other CPU coolers. At 122 mm wide and 157 mm high, it fits easily into standard cases without the need for unnecessary drilling and cutting. Additionally, the cooler comes with seven copper heat pipes for excellent heat transference, and includes rubber fan grommets to reduce vibration.

Kuhler Flow

All three KÜHLER CPU cooler models can be mounted easily on the leading desktop processor sockets, including LGA 1366, 1156, 775 and AMD® sockets AM3, AM2+, and are compatible with Intel® Core™ i7, Core™ i5 and AMD® Phenom™ II processors. Additionally, all come with an easy-installation kit, featuring an included mini-wrench for simple, fast and frustration-free set-up. Antec’s KÜHLER line of high-performance CPU coolers is the first to offer this kit as an included component.

“Most innovations in CPU cooling were designed to fit bulky and unmanageable heatpipe-based air coolers into a chassis,” said Scott Richards, senior vice president of Antec. “The new KÜHLER line of CPU coolers alter this thought process and offer users diverse cooling solutions to handle each individual user’s needs, helping to ensure better performance and improved system cooling.”

The KÜHLER Box, KÜHLER Shelf and KÜHLER Flow are all available for $59.95 through major retailers, e-tailers and distributors. Each model is backed by Antec’s Quality 2-Year (AQ2) Limited Warranty on parts and labor.

Artisan 835 and Artisan 725 Deliver Unbeatable Features and Fit the Décor of any Room

LONG BEACH, Calif. — Aug. 4, 2010 /PRNewswire/ — Epson America, Inc., a leading provider of superior performing desktop printing solutions, today introduced its new line of Artisan® all-in-ones – the Artisan 835 and Artisan 725. With image quality preferred by consumers 3-to-1 over the competition1 and a host of unique features, the new Artisan all-in-ones are a perfect match for today’s active, digital families that require one solution for various printing needs.

835

725

“These latest Artisan all-in-ones continue to redefine the standard for image quality, print speed and unique creative capabilities,” said Julie Ernest, product manager, Consumer Ink Jet Printers, Epson America, Inc. “From family photos and creative projects to school work and household documents, these versatile all-in-ones deliver the quality, reliability and performance consumers have come to expect from the Artisan line.”

The flagship Artisan 835 boasts a 7.8-inch smart touch panel, a 3.5-inch color LCD, built-in fax, and a 30-page Automatic Document Feeder to quickly copy and fax documents. The Artisan 725 features an enhanced touch panel for easier navigation. Both feature 2.5 times faster wireless connectivity with Wi-Fi n2, wireless printing from an Apple® iPhone3 and the world’s fastest 4”x6” photo print speeds4. In addition, the Artisan 725 and Artisan 835 deliver vibrant colors and crisp, clear text with Epson’s six-color Ultra Hi-Definition Claria® ink.

Additional Features of the Artisan Series:

• Delivers fast ISO print speeds of 9.5 ISO ppm black and 9 ISO ppm color5
• Offers built-in wireless and Ethernet networking
• Saves up to 50 percent of paper supply with automatic two-sided printing
• Creates personalized greeting cards, coloring book pages, elegant stationery, and note paper
• Creates professional-looking discs by printing images and text directly onto ink jet printable CDs/DVDs with easy-to-use Epson Print CD software
• Features built-in Auto Photo Correction to automatically evaluate and correct images and red eye
• Prints applications wirelessly from an iPhone, including PDF files, photos, photo calendars, business documents, and more, through applications available on the iTunes App Store
• Prints images directly from digital cameras, mobile phones and USB Flash drives with PictBridge®
• Accommodates various printing needs with individual ink cartridges at affordable prices (standard and high-capacity sizes)6
• Delivers vivid, true-to-life photos with Epson’s exclusive MicroPiezo® print head with DX5™ technology
• Offers a range of eco features and environmental qualifications including, ENERGY STAR® and RoHS compliance, and is designed to be recycled7

Pricing and Availability

The Artisan 725 ($199.99*) and Artisan 835 ($299.99*) will be available in mid-August through major computer, office and electronic superstores, a variety of retail stores nationwide and Epson’s retail site, www.epsonstore.com. An all-white “Arctic Edition” Artisan 725 ($199.99*) will also be available in mid-September exclusively through Best Buy to allow consumers more options to match the décor of their home and computer equipment. All models come with a one-year limited warranty and free lifetime phone support8 with quick and convenient product exchange. For more information, please see the Artisan 725, Artisan 835 and Artisan 725 Arctic Edition fact sheets.

725 White

About Epson America Inc.

Epson America, Inc. is a leading provider of an extensive range of printers, 3LCD projectors, scanners and point-of-service printers that are renowned for their high quality, functionality, innovation and energy efficiency. Epson America is a U.S. affiliate of Seiko Epson Corporation, which employs more than 70,000 people in 106 countries around the world. Seiko Epson is committed to its ongoing contributions to the global environment and for the second year in a row has been named to the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index, an indicator for leading companies in economic, environmental and social criteria. To learn more about Epson America, please visit: www.Epson.com. You may also connect with Epson America on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/EpsonAmerica), Twitter (http://twitter.com/EpsonAmerica) and YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/EpsonTV).

# # #

_{Specifications are subject to change without notice. Epson and Claria are registered trademarks, and Epson Exceed Your Vision is a registered logomark. Artisan is a registered trademark of Epson America, Inc. All other product and brand names are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of their respective companies. Epson disclaims any and all rights in these marks.}

1. _{Compared to photo all-in-ones priced at $300 or less as of 11/1/08 in testing by Newman-Stein, Inc.}
2. _{Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n certified; level of performance subject to the range of the router being used. Visit www.wi-fi.org/files/11nbasics_glossary.pdf for more information.}
3. _{See www.epson.com/mobileprinting for more information on optional phone applications.}
4. _{Compared to ink jet, photo all-in-ones priced at $299 or less as of April 1, 2010, based on independent testing.}
5. _{ISO ppm is based on the new international standard for measuring print speed. Black and color print speeds are determined in default, single-side mode, in accordance with ISO/IEC 24734. Actual print tiems will vary based on system configuration, software, and page complexity. See www.epson.com/printspeed for details, including complete ISO reports.}
6. _{Cartridge yields are based on continuous printing of a suite of five black and color pages as required by ISO/ IEC 24711 and 24712. Actual yields will vary considerably for reasons including images printed, print settings, temperature and humidity. Yields may be lower when printing infrequently or predominantly with one ink color. A variable amount of ink remains in the cartridges after the “replace cartridge” signal. Part of the ink from the first cartridges is used for priming the all-in-one. Ink is used for both printing and print head maintenance. All inks are used for both black and color printing. For more information about yields for this all-in-one, see www.epson.com/cartridgeinfo.}
7. _{See our website for convenient and reasonable recycling options at www.epson.com/recycle.}
8. _{Epson provides phone support, without charge, for the life of the product. Telephone toll charges may apply}

_{*Estimated street price}

Features

• 1GHz Snapdragon CPU
• 8GB of internal storage
• 748MB of internal ROM
• A microSD slot (up to 32GB)
• 8 megapixel camera with dual LED flash and autofocus
• 480 x 800 AMOLED capacitive touchscreen
• Android 2.1 with HTC’s Sense UI on-board

Much of the hype around this new smartphone is that it includes a lot of internal storage and a fast processor. With 8GB of internal storage, 748MB of internal ROM, and a 1GHz processor this is all set to be a powerful phone. In addition to all that there is also a microSD card slot which supports capacities of up to 32GB.

On the back of the Incredible is a digital camera. The camera boasts a high 8 megapixel resolution, which makes it one of the highest resolution cameras in a smartphone. In addition, the camera includes a dual LED flash. The flash will be helpful when taking pictures in the dark. Hopefully, the actual performance is as good as the specs indicate.

The screen on the Incredible also has some great specs. The screen is a 3.7-inch capacitive touchscreen AMOLED with a resolution of 480 x 800. Hopefully, the screen will also live up to my expectations.

Last but not least in this list of features is the Android OS with HTC Sense. While young in terms of development time, the android OS is feature rich and has a lot of support behind it. There are several phone makers and a lot of developers that are all developing for the OS and helping to make it better.

Design

As far as design goes the HTC Droid Incredible is very simple to look at. The front is dominated by the WVGA display. Below the display are four touch-sensitive buttons (home, menu, back, and search), and an optical trackpad. Above the display is the earpiece.

Front

The top only has two items of interest, the power button and the headphone jack. I am glad that the headphone jack is the standard size so adapters are not needed.

The left side also has two items on interest. They are the volume up and down button, and the micro USB port. The micro USB port is used for charging the battery and also for plugging into a computer for transferring files.

Left

The bottom of the phone has the microphone and a hole for a lanyard loop.

The back is mostly plain except for the camera with flash, and a speaker. The back does have a tiered look to it, it almost look like it was designed after a topographical map. The tiered look is not without its purpose. The raised parts are for the battery and other components that stick out a bit more.

Back

That’s it for the outside. The rest of the interesting stuff is on the inside. To get to the inside the entire back has to come off. Fortunately it is very easy to remove the back. Inside are the battery and the SD card slot. Having a battery that is easy to replace is very important if you are a heavy user and you need to change it because you run out. HTC also offers an optional larger battery in case you don’t want to change one out.

Inside

All of this packed into a package with dimensions of 4.63 x 2.30 x 0.47 inches, and a weight of 4.6 ounces.

Performance

So now we get down to the nitty gritty. Just how well does the HTC Droid Incredible perform with all these features?

First, lets start with the most obvious feature and the one you will use the most, the screen. For the most part the screen fills it purpose with flying colors, but there are times when it falls far short of my expectations. For example, when using the screen indoors it looks beautiful and vibrant; however, when taken outside on a sunny day, the screen is almost impossible to see. This is extremely frustrating because you have to find a shady spot every time you need to make a call (because you cannot see the numbers). Most of the time I am not in direct sunlight, so I don’t find this too distracting.

Direct Sunlight

Shade

Next lets look at the camera. The camera is like many other cellphone cameras, it has a small lens, and a small flash. Despite these limitations the camera does do a good job. The 8 megapixels really help the pictures to be large, and the built-in features like auto-focus and spot metering help keep the images sharp and in focus. Videos also looked great on the camera in both 800 X 480 and 640 X 480, but the sound is not so good. I can only assume that the video uses the same microphone as the phone, and it is way too small to pick up anything but the closest/loudest sounds, especially when outside, or in a big room. I think a larger microphone on the back next to the lens would be much better for videos. The last part of the camera I want to talk about is the lens. As you can see from the pictures it sticks out from the back rather than flush like other phone cameras. This fact makes it very easy for the lens to get dirty. I find myself having to constantly clean it whenever I want to take a picture. Their really needs to be some kind of automatically retracting lens cover put in place to protect the lens.

Next is the sound. For the most important stuff the sound was great, I never had any trouble using the earpiece when talking on the phone. However, I ran into trouble when watching movies and playing games. These activities use the speaker on the back of the phone. Not only is this speaker small, but it is facing the wrong direction. This is especially evident when outside, but having the speaker facing away from the user made the sound soft and hard to hear. I ended up having to cup my hand around the speaker to try and redirect the sound back to the front. For movie watching and game playing it would have been very helpful to have a front facing speaker.

Finally lets look at the software. The software is the source of some of my greatest enjoyment and also my greatest frustrations with this phone. I am not going to cover the Android OS extensively because it goes beyond the scope of this review, but I am going to talk about a few of the stand out features that I either really like, or really dislike.

First off is HTC Sense. Sense is a bunch of features that HTC added to the Android OS. This features include Apps, Skins, Backgrounds and more. For the most part they did a great job with the look and feel, and also with the apps. Sense integrates very well with the rest of the OS and for the most part, you cannot tell where Sense ends and the OS begins. The Apps that HTC includes are an improvement over the Google only apps, but they are not without problems. For example syncing to Facebook, Gmail, and Twitter will often cause an error message to popup saying that it has stopped working, and the time and weather apps will sometimes show the wrong location, time, and subsequently the wrong weather forecast. In fact, I have had to turn off the automatic time syncing because, for whatever reason, it sometimes thinks I am in Texas, when in fact I am in Utah. This causes the time to be off by an hour and mess up my schedule. I have tried turning on GPS to fix the problem, but I don’t think those apps use GPS, they must get their location info from somewhere else.

HTC Sense

Next is the app list. The app list is where you have to go if you want to kill a running app, uninstall, or just clear the cache to free up memory. This section is also the source of some of my biggest frustrations because whoever designed this screen forgot to include the ability to sort alphabetically. So in order to find an app you have to slowly scroll through the entire list because your app could be anywhere. Since it is quite feasible that you could have a lot of apps on the device, not including the ones that are built-in, this process could take quite a while. Fortunately, if you are just looking to kill a running app there is a filter that only shows running apps, but they are still not sorted alphabetically.

App List

App List Filter

As far are the processor goes it is nice and snappy, but if you have too many apps running it can really slow things down. There needs to be an easy access task list and kill functionality. Also when switching apps, rather than letting the old one stay running it would be nice if it gave an option to kill the other app.

Battery life on this phone is good, I am able to go all day with the wireless turned on and I still have a good amount of power left when I get home. I am not a really heavy user, but even if I was I could turn off wireless, get a bigger battery, or even carry a second battery with me. Even if the options are not ideal, the fact that I have options is better than not having them.

My next test would be with the data, but if you have been reading my other posts you will know that I don’t have a data plan. I bought this phone on my own and I use Page Plus for my service. Page Plus not only uses the Verizon network, but they are also much cheaper.

Warranty and Support

Unfortunately, the warranty that comes with this phone is through Verizon. Since I did not buy my phone through Verizon I don’t get a warranty. Even those that do get a warranty don’t get much because it is only 12 months.

Fortunately, I have found many forums which provide support for the phone so if you do have a problem there are other options.

Conclusion

Overall I am happy with the phone, I understand there will be things I don’t like, and software is never bug free. I have managed to tweak the setting in such a way that I am satisfied with what I have. I am especially happy with the fact that I found a way to skip the required data fee. That alone makes all the short comings of the phone easier to swallow. If you are looking for a new phone (especially if you don’t want to pay data fees) I recommend you look at the Droid Incredible and read my other post about skipping the data fee.

Features

• Bluetooth (V2.0, HID V1.0) interface can let you enjoy freedom of wireless with other media devices.
• Backlighting makes live easy when in the dark.
• Max. distance of 10M (around 33 feet).
• Plug and play: no need to install software.

One of the key features of any mini keyboard is that it is easy to setup and use. The EFO Keyboard meets that requirement by only requiring a single USB dongle and no software or drivers.

Because the EFO Bluetooth Keyboard does not need any software or drivers, it is compatible with most Operating Systems. It is even compatible with most gaming systems.

There are a whole bunch of different uses for a wireless keyboard. Everything from remote controlling an HTPC, laptop during a presentation, or even writing emails from afar.

Instead of the normal IR interface for most remotes, the EFO keyboard uses Bluetooth technology. Bluetooth has the benefit of not needing line-of-sight and having a range of about 30 feet. This means you can control a computer even if you are not in the same room.

Design

The design of the keyboard is very simple. The front is where you find the keyboard, touchpad, and activity lights. There are actually 5 lights at the top of the EFO keyboard and they consist of charging, external power, Bluetooth status, battery power, and caps lock/input switch.

Front

The touchpad is quite large when compared to other devices like this, but this gives you lots of room to move around in. Below the touchpad are two buttons which are the left and right mouse buttons.

The keyboard is very small, but it does have a standard QWERTY layout. The buttons are also slightly raised, and very smooth. Most of the buttons have dual functions, the second function is indicated with a small number or character above the regular one. However, not everything is perfect. Normally, the F and J keys have a raised spot so that you can orient your fingers without looking at the keyboard. This keyboard does not have these, and some of the keys are not in their normal location, so looking at your fingers while typing is a necessity. The keyboard is also missing multimedia keys. For use with an HTPC the multimedia keys would have been very helpful.

The keyboard also has a backlight function, but it needs to be turned on manually. To turn on the backlight the RF key must be pressed twice. The only way to turn off the backlight is to let the keyboard go to sleep or use the power switch to turn off the keyboard.

Backlight

The bottom has a USB port for charging, a power switch, and a Bluetooth reset switch. If you find that you cannot get the keyboard to connect to your computer then pressing the reset switch may help. I often found myself forgetting to turn off the keyboard. Fortunately, the EFO keyboard also has a sleep mode. This means that if you are like me and you forget to turn off the keyboard, you don’t need to worry about wasted batteries. The sleep mode automatically activates after 30 seconds of inactivity.

Performance

So now it is time to hook it up to my HTPC and try it out.

Because there is no software to install, setting up the EFO keyboard is relatively easy. The first thing you must do is plug the Bluetooth dongle into one of the USB ports on your computer. After that is done the next step is to turn on the keyboard. When the keyboard is turned on it should enter discovery mode. While in this mode the middle status light should blink. If this does not happen, like with mine, then the reset button will need to be pressed. Once the reset button is pressed the light should start blinking.

The next step is to pair the keyboard to the computer and there are several steps to this. the screenshots below show the steps I had to take.

Connect 1	Connect 2
Connect 3	Connect 4

Once the process is complete the keyboard will start working with the computer. The keyboard and touchpad worked very well. The only problem I had using the keyboard was that the letter O would stick. This wasn’t a huge problem because I could eventually get it to work.

As I stated above the keys have a QWERTY layout, so it is easy to find the keys you are looking for. The buttons have a solid feel and give a solid click when pressed. I did not have any trouble getting it to work or using it.

Another problem I encountered is that when I turned the keyboard off and then on again it would not reconnect. I actually had to delete the current device connection and then pair it to the computer all over again.

Warranty and Support

The EFO Keyboard comes with a 1 year warranty, and you get support through the EFO website.

Conclusion

The keyboard certainly does its job, and it does it without breaking the bank. The low price of $60 makes up for a lot of the missing features. This is the most expensive of all the EFO keyboards, but it also has the best keyboard layout and the benefit of Bluetooth technology.

If your looking for a wireless mini keyboard and you are on a tight budget then the EFO keyboard is a great option.

Features

• Powerful performance by design
  Get massive, whole-system computational power from a workstation that optimizes the way the processor, memory, graphics, OS, and software technology work together.
• Sleek new look
  The revolutionary industrial design features brushed aluminum side panels, integrated handles, visually cable-less engineering that maximizes airflow, modular component removal and reconnect, and optional liquid cooling.
• Expandability without comparison
  Tackle the most data-intensive applications with massive data capacity and the ultimate in computing power and system expandability.
• Cluster power in a workstation
  Get cluster-level performance and enable energy efficiency with up to two NVIDIA Tesla C1060 compute processors boasting 240 processor cores per GPU and a standard C compiler to help solve your most important computing challenges more quickly and accurately.
• Parallels Workstation 4.0 Extreme
  Do the work of several workstations – like those that run resource-intensive, Linux 3D design programs – alongside a Windows visualization program, on one workstation
• Designed with the environment in mind
  Minimize power costs with ENERGY STAR qualified configurations, 85% or 89% efficient power supplies, and HP WattSaver, an energy-saving feature that, when activated, helps lower energy consumption in off mode.
• Do more every minute
  Process more tasks—in less time—with the massive computational horsepower of the new Quad-Core Intel Xeon processors and Intel QuickPath Technology featuring an integrated memory controller.

The Z800 can be equipped with up to two Quad-Core processors with clock speeds between 2.00 GHz and 3.46 GHz or up to two Six-Core processors with clock speeds between 2.66 GHz and 3.33 GHz. With these processors the Z800 workstation is all setup to provide exceptional performance.

One of the things that impressed me the most about the Z800 was the design. To come up with the design HP employed the services of BMW DesignWorks.

The Z800 workstation offers a new level of expandability, if you are willing to pay for it. The system supports up to 192 GB of RAM, but it does not come cheap. According to the HP website to add 192 GB (12x16GB) of RAM it would cost an additional $59,920.

The Z800 workstation is also built to be green. No, I am not talking about the color, I am talking about how energy efficient it is. I know that a workstation with two Six-Core CPU’s and a 192 GB of RAM is not going to be a low power machine, but the Z800 does have an 89% energy efficient power supply.

One of my favorite things about the Z800 workstation is how easy it is to take apart. There are lots of easily removable parts, but the one I liked the most is the power supply. This power supply does not have any cables, so it is easy to pull out and replace if needed. I will talk more about the power supply below.

Design

The whole case, inside and out, was designed by BMW DesignWorks. BMW spent quite a bit of effort making the case very easy to get into, easy to take apart, quiet, and cool. There are no tools required to open the Z800 case, or to access any of the parts. When you look inside the case you will notice lots of green touch points. Each of these touch points indicate a part that can be moved or removed.

The front of the Z800 case has a simple design without a lot of frills. At the top is a single slot loading DVD, with an eject button just below the slot. Below that and on the right side of the case is the power button, 3 USB ports, a headphone and microphone jack, and a Firewire port. If you are going to add more drives it is best to order them from HP so they will match the look of the front.

Front

The back of the Z800 case is fairly standard, it has 2 80mm fans on the right which are part of the water cooler radiator. On the left are a bunch of I/O ports and they consist of a Serial port at the top, 2 PS/2 ports, 6 USB ports, a Firewire port, 2 Network ports, a microphone, audio in, and audio out jack. Below all that are the PCI card slots, in the machine I have there is a single video card with 2 Display ports and a DVI plug.

Liquid Cooler Radiator

Back

Now we get to the interesting part, the left side of the case. The left side of the Z800 case is mostly bare except for a small handle and a lock. When you lift the handle the side comes off very easily and we get our first view of the inside.

Left

Inside

At the top is the power supply. As I mentioned before, I really like this part of the Z800 case. The power supply in the Z800 is very unique and it has several innovative design features. As you can see from the picture, the power supply spans the entire length of the case. This was done so that the power supply can get its own fresh air from the front of the case and expel it out of the back. The second innovative feature is that this is a cable-less power supply. This means there are no cables directly attached to the power supply. This simple thing allows the power supply to be easily removed and replaced without having to unplug all the cables. Instead of the cables being attached to the power supply they are attached to the case. There are three plugs in the case that the cables are attached to and there are three plugs on the power supply that connect to the plugs in the case. The reason I like this feature so much is because I have had to replace the power supply in my personal computer, so I know how much of a pain it is to remove all the cables.

Top Panel

Power Supply

Below the power supply is a removable panel that covers the memory slots. The panel has two fans that help to keep the memory cool. When the panel is removed you will see all 12 of the memory slots, you will also see that in the machine I have only 6 of them are filled. Below the memory slots are the two water blocks that cover the CPUs.

Memory Fans

Memory

Below the CPUs is another removable panel. This panel covers the PCI slots. In my configuration there is only one video card, but there is room for another video card and anything else you may need. One upgrade I would probably recommend is a sound card. As you may have noticed, the motherboard does not have enough audio ports to support anything more than a 2.0 speaker system. If you are doing audio or video editing you are going to want more and so a sound card would be required.

Graphics Card

To the right of the PCI card slots are 4 hot swappable hard drive bays. With my Z800 workstation HP filled two of the drive bays with a 150GB 15000 RPM drive, and a 1TB 7200 RPM drive for my testing. The bays slide out fairly easily, but getting them back in can be a challenge. There is a lever on each drawer that needs to be lowered for removal and raised to lock it into place. If you happen to not get the drive pushed in all the way before locking the lever the hard drive will not be fully connected.

Above the hard drives are the 5.25″ drive bays. These bays are quite a bit harder to get to when compared to the hard drives, but the tool-less design helps to keep thing as easy as possible.

Overall the design is fantastic, as I said before it is very easy to get into and access all the various parts.

Performance

With a workstation like this, one would also expect that the performance would be exceptional. So I was very interested in finding out just what the Z800 could do.

The system I was provided came with two 3.33 GHz 6-core processors, 12 GB of RAM, all running on Windows 7 Professional 64-bit. The graphics card inside the Z800 is the NVIDA Quatro FX 4800. The hard drives consist of one 150GB 15000 RPM drive, and a standard 1TB 7200 RPM drive.

I started the performance testing by first running 3DMark Vantage. This test puts all the components through different scenarios. Because the processors support hyper-threading I ran the tests once with it on and once with it off. The first image is the score with hyper-threading turned off, the second image is with hyper-threading turned on. The scores are decent, as you can see, but the most interesting thing is that 3DMark reported a higher score with hyper-threading off. I don’t personally but a lot of weight in 3DMark scores, especially with a workstation like this. 3DMark is a gaming benchmark, and the Z800 is not a gaming machine. However, it is still good to see the numbers so the Z800 can be compared to other machines.

3DMark

3DMark Hyper

The next test I ran was PCMark Vantage. This test does not stress the components as much as 3DMark, but it does give an idea of how the Z800 would handle productivity related tasks. The image below is of PCMark with hyper-threading turned off. When I tried to run this program with hyper-threading turned on I was completely surprised when the program failed to run. In my opinion this shows that PCMark is clearly not setup to handle this many threads at the same time.

PCMark

My third test is with a program called Cinebench. This program performs two tests. The first test is a real-time rendering of an animated car chase video, and the second is the rendering of a large graphic. The first test is mostly graphic related, so it mostly uses the graphics card. The  graphic in the second test is rendered by splitting it up into many pieces and then assigning one piece to each thread. So when hyper-threading is turned on, 24 pieces of the image can be processed at the same time. I ran these test with both hyper-threading turned on and off. The images below show the test running in both situations. As you can see the CPUs threads were maxed out. Even with the CPUs maxed out the fans did not get really loud. I was very happy about this because it made things much more pleasant while working with resource heavy programs.

Cinebench CPU max

Cinebench CPU max Hyper

The next two images show the results of the Cinebench test. The first one is with hyper-threading turned off, and the second one is with it turned on. As you can see the CPU portion of the score increased significantly with hyper-threading tuned on. Since the rendering of the image is very CPU intensive it is good to see that hyper-threading is beneficial.

Cinebench CPU

Cinebench CPU Hyper

The fourth test is with Adobe Premier. For this test I encoded a short, but complicated video to see how long it would take. I encoded the video into 720p h.264 and ran this test once with hyper-threading turned on, and once with it off. With hyper-threading turned on it took 54 minutes and 40 seconds to encode the video. I was surprised that neither test maxed out the CPUs. Adobe must not have their software setup to use this many threads. So back to the results, with hyper-threading turned off it took 53 minutes and one second. I was very surprised by these results because I thought Adobe Premiere would do better with hyper-threading turned on. Since there is a high probability that a workstation like this will be used for video production, I think this test is a good indication of how hyper-threading effects video encoding. Hopefully, in the future Adobe will optimize to use all 12 cores and 24 threads.

During all these tests, the hard drives and the fans stayed very quiet. I was very happy with this part because I know the computer can get very hot and normally it requires the fans to spin up to handle the extra heat. With the water cooling system it was more than capable of removing the heat without making the fans very loud.

The power usage also went up considerably while running the tests. At idle the Z800 used up about 167 Watts of power, and when up to 410 Watts while under a heavy load from my tests.

Idle Power

High Power

Support and Warranty

The warranty that comes with the Z800 is 3 years parts, labor, and on-site service. There is an option to add onto that with additional coverage. The maximum warranty that I could find was for 24×7 4-hour on-site response – 5 yrs, workstation + monitor. The is a great warranty and it even has a great price, just $499. That may seem like a lot, but considering how much hardware you can jam into this machine and how much it costs, it is a really great price.

Support can be found with a quick visit to the HP website for drivers and other downloads. HP also has forums where you can ask questions that can be answered by HP staff or other customers. If you would rather talk to someone in person a call to their support reps can give you the answers you are looking for. Last but not least, you could send HP an E-mail.

Conclusion

The Z800 has outperformed all the other workstations and desktops that I have reviewed. This is truly a fantastic machine with not only a really slick design, but also a fantastic level of performance and the potential for so much more. I am very confident in recommending this workstation for any person or company that needs the best performance possible and they want a good looking machine to go with it.

This whole adventure started about a month ago when I started getting really serious about wanting a Droid Incredible. I started out my research by posting on a couple forums and asking if anyone else had accomplished the task and if they had any ideas on how it could be done. I was repeatedly told that it could not happen and that no matter how I approached it, Verizon would always require a $30 data fee.

Finding a provider

Then I ran across someone that suggested I try using one of Verizon’s Prepaid plans. Since I would be buying the phone for full price they thought I would not be required to pay the data fee. However, when I asked Verizon about this they said the Droid Incredible was not eligible for their prepaid plans, bummer.

However, during my research into prepaid plans I ran across a post that mentioned a company called Page Plus Cellular. They are a Verizon partner and they claimed that they can activate any Verizon phone. So I struck up an email conversation with their customer support. They were very happy to help and they said yes they could activate the Droid Incredible, but there were two conditions: 1. They phone must have been previously activated by Verizon and 2. They cannot activate a phone that has already been a Verizon prepaid phone. Since the Droid Incredible was not eligible for Verizon’s prepaid plans this was not a concern for me. However, in order to activate the phone I either needed to buy the phone from Verizon or buy it somewhere else and pay full price. I talked to a Verizon rep to make sure that I could activate a phone for just one month and they said yes, but I would have to pay an activation fee, service fee, and the data fee for that month, big bummer.

Buying the Phone

I know I didn’t want to buy it through Verizon because they would require a 2 year contract and the dreaded data fee. So I had to look around for another retailer, my first stop was Amazon. They offer a good deal on the Droid Incredible and they sell it without a plan; unfortunately, they were back ordered for several weeks and I didn’t want to wait. So I had the crazy idea to look on eBay. I started by looking at just new phones, I didn’t want someone else’s broken or damaged phone, but then I ran across one phone that was marked as new, but in the description they said “phone was only used for a day.” After confirming with the seller that this phone was actually activated I got excited and quickly entered a winning bid. The fact that it was activated, if only for one day, means that I can skip the Verizon activation and fees and go immediately to Page Plus. Not to mention that I got the phone for about $100 less than retail and it came with a 8GB SD card, invisibleSHIELD screen protector, Verizon silicon back cover, and Verizon leather belt case.

Choosing a Plan

During my research I considered 3 different options. First, I thought about signing up on my own with Verizon. Second, I thought about a family plan, because my wife is a customer of Verizon I would only have to pay the difference between her single plan and the family plan. My third consideration was with Page Plus’ 1200 plan. As a side note, I was able to estimate the taxes and fees that Verizon charges based on my wife’s bill, she gets charged an extra $6 every month.

The reason I put N/A in the taxes slot for Page Plus is because I did not have to pay taxes when I bought the phone on eBay, and prepaid plans are also not taxed or subject to state and federal fees.

I figure I am saving about $500 over a 2 year period despite paying more than double for the phone.

Activating the Phone

Once I had the phone in hand, about a week later, I called up Page Plus and started the activation process. Normally this is a very quick process, but it took me about a week because I was transferring a number and that alone took 4-10 days. While I was waiting I was able to use the Incredible like a PDA. I downloaded a bunch of Apps, Games, and other stuff, and just used WiFi for everything. Even if there was a problem and the phone didn’t activate the Droid Incredible would make a great PDA. I would probably sell this one and buy another with a bad ESN (they are less expensive) and just use it without phone service. When someone figured out how to root it, then I could flash it and use it with some other CDMA phone service.

However, today (June 15th) the transfer of my number finished and I was finally able to activate the phone. After dialing *22890 on the phone the phone was activated without any errors. Just to make sure I made a call and everything worked just fine. I went over to the Page Plus website, signed up for an account and bought some minutes. For now I am using Page Plus’ 1200 plan with gives me 1200 minutes, 1200 texts, and 50MB of data for just $29.99 a month.

I know what you are thinking, 50MB what can you possibly do with 50MB? The answer is nothing, the 50MB of data is so pitifully low that I just keep my phone data turned off and I only use WiFi. Since I have access to WiFi 98% of the time I am completely happy. Sure I won’t be able to twitter while driving, or check my Facebook while shopping, but I wasn’t doing that before I got the phone, so I won’t miss anything (and I’ll be a safer driver). Even the 1200 minutes and texts seems like a lot to me, but I can evaluate and change my plan at anytime.

So far I am very happy with the phone and also the plan that I have. If for some reason I do find myself going over the 1200 minutes or texts then I can always upgrade to the Page Plus unlimited plan for only $44 a month (I would actually switch to Boost Mobile and for $50 I could get unlimited everything, including data). I can also switch to another carrier at any time because I am not under any contract or other obligations, oh the joys of freedom.

I know there are others out there that also want to have this phone without a data plan because during my research I found many that had the same question. I hope my experience will be helpful.

Update (7/7/2010): Boost Mobile uses the Sprint network so it is not compatible with the Droid Incredible

Update (7/15/2010 7:00am): So my first month of service expired last night and my auto renew was suppose to kick in so I didn’t have any downtime. When I woke up this morning I was sent a text message by Page Plus telling me that I didn’t have enough money in my account to renew my 1200 plan. When I checked my account the auto renew had not processed. So I called Page Plus to see what was going on. They confirmed that my previous 1200 plan expired last night, but for some unknown reason the auto renew had not processed yet. Their suggestion was to wait for the auto renew to process, then cancel it and start a new auto renew that would process on the same day my plan expires, rather than the day after). This means that it will renew before it expires and I won’t have any downtime. So I am without service until auto renew process, who knows how long that will take.

Update (7/15/2010 8:40am): Auto renew just kicked in. I am going to cancel it and start a new one that renews on the 14th instead of the 15th. I think this is a bug in the Page Plus software. The auto renew should happen at the same time that the plan expires.

Update (8/4/2010 8:30am): I just ran across a cool app that may help keep me from going over my 50 MB of data. It is called 3G Watchdog and it keeps track of my data usage and will send up warnings if I get close to my limit.

Features

• 8″ screen size, 4:3 aspect ratio, 800 x 600 resolution
• 2 x 1 W speakers
• 1 GB internal memory
• Supports Memory Stick Pro (MS Pro), Secure Digital (SD 2.0), xD Photo Card, Multi Media Card (MMC), and Compact Flash (Type 1 only)
• Sheetfed Scanner from 1.5″ x 2″ ~ 4″ x 6″ with resolutions up to 1200 x 1800 pixels, 300 dpi

To display the pictures and movies the iConvert Digital picture frame has an 8″ screen with a resolution of 800 x 600.

To get pictures onto the frame there are several options. First, the pictures can be transferred directly from a computer onto the frame via a USB cable. Second, the pictures can be transferred to the frame from a memory stick. The frame supports the following types: Memory Stick Pro (MS Pro), Secure Digital (SD 2.0), xD Photo Card, Multi Media Card (MMC), and Compact Flash (Type 1 only). Third, pictures can be scanned directly into the frame using the built-in scanner.

The sheetfed scanner that is built-in can scan photos that range in size from 1.5″ x 2″ to 4″ x 6″. The resolution of the scanner is up to 1200 x 1800 pixels at 300 dpi. When an image is scanned it is automatically converted to JPEG format.

In order to print pictures you normally need to put them back on a computer, but the iConvert Digital picture frame also supports printing pictures directly via a PictBridge connection.

The frame is also capable of playing movies and music. The frame supports MPEG-1 and MPEG-4 (AVI) Video and MP3 audio.

Design

When it comes to picture frame design there isn’t much to talk about. However, with the iConvert Digital picture frame there is something that you won’t find on other digital picture frames. That extra something just happens to be the aforementioned built-in scanner. The scanner is located at the bottom of the picture frame and consists of a small slot that you feed pictures into.

Above the scanner is the 8″ LCD screen and its controls. The screen has a 4:3 aspect ration and a resolution of 800×600. This isn’t horrible, but it also isn’t the best I have seen.

To the right of the screen are 6 touch buttons. The top one looks like a wrench and it opens the settings menu. The next three are for navigating and selecting the menus. The next one is the exit button and it is used to exit the menu, and the last one is for starting the scanning process.

Controls

On the left side are two memory card slots. With these two slots the frame supports 5 different formats. The top slot supports Memory Stick Pro, Secure Digital, xD Photo Card, and Multi Media Card. The bottom slow is for Compact Flash.

Memory Slots

On the back is a power button at the top, two USB ports (one mini, and one regular), and a power plug at the bottom.

Power Button

Connectors

Performance

The first thing I did was turn on the picture frame and turn it on. I was immediately greeted by a screen that allowed me to choose where to display images from, but because I didn’t have anything plugged in so I only had one option. After selecting ‘Internal’ I was taken to the main screen.

Memory Screen

The main screen has options for viewing photos, listening to music, watching videos, viewing scanned images, the calendar, and the setup menu.

Menu

Since I don’t have any images, music, or movies loaded in the frame, I decided to checkout the setup menu. This screen is accessed easily by pressing the wrench button. Once pressed the screen displays a menu that has sections for language, sleep timer, USB link, scanner quality, playback volume, and factory default. The only setting I changed was to set the scanner quality to 300 DPI, which is the maximum.

Setup

The only other screen that can be accessed without images, or pictures is the calendar. Since I have not set the date or time, the calendar displays January 1st. To access the setting menu for the calendar you just press the settings button while on the calendar screen. The calendar setup menu has options for setting the clock, alarm, alarm ringtone, date, slideshow photo, and also the system setup. While setting up the calendar I ran into my first frustration. In order to set the time and date you have to click the up and down arrows, unfortunately the buttons cannot be held down so you have to press them multiple times to get to the correct month, date, and time. To make things worse, the buttons require a slight pause in between presses. Needless to say, setting up the date and time is a test of ones patience.

Calendar

So now that I have covered the setup I want to move onto scanning. To start the scanner all you need to do is press the scan button. As soon as this button is pressed the screen changes and the scanner starts up. The only thing left is to adjust the scanner guide and insert a picture.

Scanning

Scanner

After the image is scanned there is a short pause while the image is processed. After the processing the image is displayed along with a menu that will allow you to rotate, save, or cancel the image , or exit the scan mode . My image showed up with the wrong orientation so I had to rotate it before I saved it. This whole process was very easy and I didn’t have any trouble. I did however find it interesting that images that are scanned into the picture frame do not show up under “Photos” instead you have to look for them in “Scanned Images”.

Rotate Photo

Rotate Photo

Scanned Images

Next I wanted to load up some images from my camera. So I put some images on a CF card and stuck it into the frame. At first I could not find a way to see them or transfer them to the frame, that is until I remembered that I selected internal memory when I first turned on the frame. Since there isn’t an easy way to switch to a different memory I had to turn the frame off and then on again before I could tell the frame to look at the pictures on the card. Once I had selected the card I was shown the same main screen, but this time I selected “Photos” and was shown all the images on my card. If I then pressed the settings button it gave me the option to transfer the current image to the frames internal memory. This process was easy and fairly quick, but I have hundreds of images and it would take forever to transfer them all one at a time. A mass copy feature is something that would be very useful. In addition, I think it is silly to make people switch between the different memory types. It should be like a computer and just show them all.

During all this testing the only thing I wished for was a bigger scanner. If Brookstone had made the scanner go across the bottom I would have been able to scan more of my larger images. Instead I had to rely on my flatbed scanner for that.

Support and Warranty

The iConvert Digital Frame comes with a one year limited warranty. The warranty only covers defects in material or workmanship, so if you drop it or you kid spills juice on it, you are out of luck.

If there is a problem Brookstone either repair, replace, or provide you with store credit.

While I can’t complain about the coverage, I really did hope for a longer time-frame. Normally a picture frame sits on a shelf, so there shouldn’t be much wear and tear. However, with the built-in scanner there is a whole new level of wear. The more the scanner is used the quicker it will wear out. It would make me a lot more comfortable to know that if the scanner breaks down it is covered and one year just doesn’t seem like that much time.

Conclusion

Having a scanner built into a digital picture frame is a great idea if you don’t already have an external scanner. The means this digital picture frame doesn’t need a computer or a digital camera to get pictures on it. If this is where you see yourself then this picture frame may be what you are looking for. The iConvert 8″ Digital Frame can be purchased for $199 direct from Brookstone. This is about double what other 8″ picture frames cost, but when you throw in the scanner the price seems to fit.

Features

• Supports All 2.5” & 3.5” SATA HDDs up to 2 TB !
• Hot-Swap Capability for Rapid Multi HDDs Access & Exchange
• Supports eSATA Transfer Speed up to 3Gbps
• Supports USB 2.0 Transfer Speed up to 480Mbps
• Windows & Mac OS Compatible

The BlacX supports both the 2.5″ and 3.5″ SATA hard drives. This covers most hard drives that you will run into while repairing computers. If you have an older computer that does not use SATA then this will not work.

2.5" hard drive

3.5" hard drive

The ability to hot-swap the hard drives is extremely useful. This makes it possible to transfer files from multiple hard drives without having to shut down the computer.

Connecting the Thermaltake BlacX to a computer is very easy. It supports both eSTAT and USB 2.0 and that should cover any computer.

Design

The design is very simple, the Thermaltake BlacX is square shaped with very few controls.

Front

The back of the box is where all the connector and the power button are found. As you can see there are connectors for power, USB, and eSATA.

Back

The only other interesting parts are on the top. On top is the hard drive slot, an eject button, and an activity light. The eject button does not do anything special expect physically lift the hard drive away from the connectors so that it is no longer connected. The hard drive slot is where you find the connectors. If you push down the lid that covers the hard drive slot you will simply see a SATA and power connector. The connectors require that the hard drive is inserted with the correct orientation. So I like to push open the lid with my finger just to make sure I am going the correct direction.

Top	Activity light

Performance

The performance of the Thermaltake BlacX is great I didn’t have any trouble using the dock at all. I did however discover one quirk with the eSATA connection that disabled the hot-swapping.

The hot-swap functionality worked really well with USB, but my eSATA does not like it. In order for my computer to recognize the eSATA connection the hard drive has to be in the dock and turned on and plugged in when I turn on my computer. I cannot necessarily blame this on the Thermaltake BlacX because it could very well be a limitation in my computer. For this reason I mainly used the USB connector.

Since USB is slower than eSATA I did have to wait longer for my files to transfer. I mainly used this dock to get access to the files on hard drives that were removed from dead computers. Since these files consisted mainly of personal documents and not large files like moves, I did not really notice the speed difference.

Support and Warranty

The warranty on the Thermaltake BlacX is only 3 years. This is a decent warranty, but having a longer warranty is certainly preferred.

Conclusion

The Thermaltake BlacX ST0005U External Hard Drive Dock is very useful for accessing files from hard drives. It has made my life easier because I no longer have to take my computer apart every time I need to get access to files on another computers hard drive. The price of the Thermaltake BlacX is also really great, it can be found on Newegg or Amazon for only $33.99. If you fix computers and need to get data off their hard drives, or if you have a bunch of old hard drives laying around, the Thermaltake BlacX is a great, inexpensive option for accomplishing your task.

Features

• Easily and automatically backup and protect the content on your home PCs and Macs.
• Access your media from anywhere you use the Internet – across your home or across the world. You can even give your family and friends access.
• Enjoy an exceptionally small footprint with large capacity. It’s only 5.5″ (w) x 9.8″ (h) x 9.2″(d), but it’s designed to grow with you. Built-in hard disk drive bays and expansion ports increase storage capacity.
• The HP MediaSmart Server easily fits in your network supporting both wired and wireless PCs (via a wireless router) and requires a wired connection with broadband Internet for remote access.

The MediaSmart servers use Windows Home Server (WHS) to handle backups, and WHS does backups really well. In its original form, WHS could only be used with Windows Machines; however, that was not good enough for HP, so they worked with Apple to make it compatible with Macs and Time Machine.

An alternate use for the Home Server is to store all your media in one place. Having your media in one place has many benefits, one of those is being able to access that media from anywhere, including the internet.

The MediaSmart servers are extremely small. With dimensions of 5.5″ W x 9.8″ H x 9.2″ D they are about half the size of a desktop computer. They are small enough that they can be kept right on a desk or hid away on a shelf, either way they are not going to take up a lot of space. Despite their small size they are extremely easy to expand. There are 4 internal drive bays, 4 USB ports, and an eSATA port. Using these ports the expansion possibilities are nearly unlimited.

The MediaSmart servers can connect to a network with either an Ethernet cable or Wireless connection. Having built-in wireless gives you the most flexibility when deciding where to place it, you literally only need a power plug and a wireless connection and you can store the actual machine anywhere. However, for performance and reliability I recommend you use a wired connection. In fact, when restoring a computer the Windows Home Server software recommends that all the computers be connected with Ethernet cables.

Design

I have written reviews of both the Windows Home Server software and the HP Media Smart server, you can read about them if you are new to this topic and you want to get up to speed. HP sent me the EX495 so in this review I will only be covering the stuff that is new or improved. If you find something that is missing from this review you might find it in one of the other two reviews.

One of the biggest changes to the MediaSmart Server EX495 is a hardware upgrade. Below are hardware specs for both the EX490 and EX495.

The software has also undergone an upgrade as well. With the upgraded hardware HP has been able to add several new features to the MediaSmart server. Some of the new features in this version (3.0) of the software include a brand new look, updated video conversion, media collection, and better OS X support.

The improvements to OS X support include Mac Media Collection, Server Administration via Mac, and faster Mac image level backup and recovery.

The most notable software change is with the MediaSmart Dashboard. The MediaSmart Dashboard is now organized into categories that offer quick access to many important features. At the top of the menu are a series of overview pages. These pages include Tour, System Status, and Mac Overview.

Overview

The most impressive of these pages is the System Status. This page shows a wide variety of information about the system. Starting at the top left of the page there is a notification area for home server issues, below that are boxes with information about add-ins, software updates, remote access, and power management. On the right side of the page there is a large box with storage information, and below that is another box with information about Network, Memory, and CPU usage.

System Status

The next group of options in under the title of Media. These options all relate to gathering, converting, and sharing all the media on your network. These options include In-Home and Web streaming, an iTunes server, Media Collector, Video Converter, Photo Publisher, and Media Server.

Media

There is also a change to the web interface. As you know from reading my past reviews Windows Home Server is capable of sharing your media online through its built-in web page. This is great for when you are on the road and you want to access your favorite TV recordings, music, or ripped DVDs. With the HP MediaSmart EX495 this is even easier than before.

Web interface

Performance

So with all the new hardware and software covered, it is time to see how well they work together. One of my biggest concerns is that the new functionality will bog down the server and it will become unresponsive. So I set out to test some of the new functionality to see how it performs.

Before I could do anything I had to setup the server and install the software on my computer. The process was quick and painless and once it was done I was ready to go.

Install 1

The first test is to see how well the media collection works. Setting up the media collector is fairly straight forward and easy. There are individual settings for each of the different media types, and each type allows you to choose which computers to search.  I setup the media collector to start gathering all the media on my network. In the screen shot below you can see how the settings page allows users to select which computers to search.

Media Collector Settings

Once the media collector got started it didn’t take long for it to start copying files, but it didn’t complete for several days. Below is a screen shot of the media collector as it was finding media on my network. As you can see it lists all the computers on the network, the status of each, all the media found, copied, and ignored. Clicking on either of the last three will open a new box that will show the exact files. Seeing the files is great if you want to diagnose a problem, or just see what has been copied so far.

Media Collector 1

Media Collector files

Media Collector files

Next I wanted to see how well the media converter worked. I have a whole bunch of ripped DVDs and I wanted to see if the server could handle converting them into a different format. So I copied about 10 DVDs onto the MediaSmart server, went through the setup screens, and then enabled it. The process of converting DVDs is time consuming, and luckily the MediaSmart server runs this process in the background. I noticed that converting my DVDs takes a couple hours per movie, this is probably because I wanted them converted to both a single file at the highest quality and a mobile version. Also, as the media collector collected movies from my computers, they were automatically added to the queue and converted.

Converter Settings 2

Converter Settings 1

Converting 2

Here is a screenshot of the system status screen while the media converter was running. As you can see, both CPUs were very busy.

System Status

The only problem I had was getting the converted files off the MediaSmart server. When the converter is done with a video it puts the files to a special folder that users don’t normally have access to. I suppose this is because HP wants you to access them through the streaming feature. This was not good enough for me and fortunately it didn’t take long to figure out how to give myself access to this folder. I also found that .dvr-ms and .wtv files created by Vista and Win 7 Media Center were not converted. I’m not sure why, but hopefully this is something that HP will fix in the future.

Since HP intended the converted movies to be streamed, that would be my next test. Movies, music, and photos can all be streamed through either a networked PC or via the built-in web page. If you are going through the web page I highly recommend that you have the media converter create a mobile version of your movies. A mobile version will be smaller and easier to stream over the web. Either way I tried it, I didn’t have any trouble viewing movies, pictures, or listening to music. The only negative that I experienced was that the audio on the movies was a bit quiet and I had to turn up my speakers. This was probably a side effect of the conversion and since there aren’t any audio conversion settings, I could not do anything on my own. This is clearly something that will have to be addressed by HP.

Media Streaming

As I mentioned earlier, the web interface also got a huge overhaul. As you can see, through the web a user has full access to all the features on the MediaSmart server. In my opinion, the most useful features are the media players, but if you need to make changes to the server or do just about anything else, it is all available.

Last but not least is the power usage. With the new hardware comes a higher power footprint. Since this server is meant to be kept on 24/7 it will have an impact on your power bill. As you can see, when the server is idle the power usage is about 363 watts. However, when the media collector and converter are running the power usage goes up to about 420. If your power rates are high you will need to take this into consideration.

Power Low

Power High

If the power usage is a concern then there is an option to have the server sleep during a block of time. This is great if nobody will be home for several hours every day. Unfortunately, there isn’t an option to sleep at different times on different days, so because I don’t work on the weekends I would have to remember to turn off the sleep option so it is available if I want to watch a movie or listen to music.

Power Management

Support and Warranty

The HP MediaSmart EX495 comes with a one-year limited warranty, with dedicated technical support from date of purchase via self-help, on-line documentation or phone. As far as I could tell the warranty cannot be upgraded. This is a rather short warranty and since it cannot be upgraded this is a big negative.

However, if something does go wrong with the software, there is a really big Windows Home Server community that is great for help. HP also included a software restore disk if the Home Server software fails. If however, it is the hardware that fails you will be required to do your own support to find out what is wrong and then replace it. Hopefully it is not the motherboard, because it is custom from HP and I doubt you could find a replacement.

Conclusion

The improvement that HP has made are substantial and worthwhile. Fortunately for those that have older MediaSmart Servers, HP has made the new software available to all. Unfortunately, on the older hardware the new functionality probably won’t be as smooth.

If you don’t already have a Windows Home Server, then the MediaSmart server is something you should seriously consider. It has a lot of functionality that really makes it attractive to computer users of all kinds. The retail price of $649 price ($631 at Amazon) might seem a bit steep if all you are doing is comparing it to a NAS, but when you consider everything else it does, the price is quite reasonable. Aside from the short warranty, the HP MediaSmart EX495 is the best implementation of Windows Home Server that I have seen.

High tracking precision, light-weight and sharp looking mouse now available

MIAMI (April 21, 2010)– Genius (www.geniusnetusa.com), a brand division of KYE Systems Corp., today announced a new addition to the company’s extensive line of mice, the Traveler 900 with high tracking precision for gamers and professionals alike.

The Traveler 900’s 2.4GHz digital cordless technology works up to 10 meters away and delivers interference-free operation, as well as 1600 dpi optical engine for enhanced tracking performance. The power saving switch is designed for an extended battery life for up to eight months. The Traveler 900 mouse has a super small Pico dongle that can be stored inside the mouse for traveling. Now available in diamond ruby, champagne gold, blue gem or silver, the Traveler 900 is attractively priced at MSRP USD $36.90.

The Traveler 900 mouse begins shipping in April. Interested shoppers can go to New Egg.com, Amazon.com, Tiger Direct, Buy.com or for more information on the entire line of Genius speaker systems and other retailers and distributors please visit: http://www.geniusnetusa.com/.

ABOUT KYE SYSTEMS CORP.

Genius is an international leading company in computer peripherals. Genius was established in 1985, product portfolio includes computer mice, keyboards, web and security cameras, speakers, gaming peripherals, remote controls, headphones, digital cameras, digital camcorders and digital photo frames. It also holds the U.S. patent for mouse scroll-wheel technology. Genius expanded from computer peripherals into consumer electronic products that include mobile phone accessories, Bluetooth headsets, digital cameras, digital photo frames, iPod speakers and EeePC mice.

Epson Kicks-Off Great American Movie Night

Host a Movie Night Under the Stars to Win $2,500 Towards a Backyard Theater Makeover

LONG BEACH, Calif. – April 19, 2010 – Epson America today announced the Great American Movie Night, a campaign to bring friends and family together to watch their favorite movies projected on a large screen or wall space under a starry sky. Inspired by the Epson MovieMate™, a portable projector featuring excellent image quality up to eight times larger than a widescreen 40-inch TV, high brightness, CD/DVD player and speakers all built-in, the Great American Movie Night program kicks off on April 19 and runs through June 13.

During the campaign, people can visit the Great American Movie Night Web site for lots of fun tips needed to host an outdoor movie party, including equipment checklists, pointers for setting-up outdoor viewing areas, ideas for fun movie party themes and kits complete with film suggestions, snack recipes, party music playlists, and even downloadable invitation templates. After hosting fun-filled movie night, creative backyard movie-goers are encouraged to return to the Web site to share their stories and photos.

“With Memorial Day weekend right around the corner, the Great American Movie Night program is designed to help people across the country jump start the season of backyard barbecues and family movie nights,” said Marge Ang, senior product manager, Epson America. “Sharing movies on the big screen under the stars is easy and affordable with Epson’s unique MovieMate all-in-one projector.”

As part of Great American Movie Night, Epson is offering a Projector-A-Day Giveaway from May 17–23 where consumers can win an Epson MovieMate 60 just in time to host their own movie night over Memorial Day weekend. Consumers can register until May 23, 2010 at 9 a.m. PT to be eligible. For anyone that hosts their own movie night with family or friends, Epson invites them to share a photo of the event to enter the Makeover Your Backyard Sweepstakes. Consumers who upload a photo of their movie night on the Great American Movie Night Web site can enter for a chance to win $2,500 towards a backyard theater makeover. Photos need to be uploaded by June 1, 2010 at 11:59 p.m. PT to enter.

To learn more about Great American Movie Night and hosting your own event, please visit: www.Epson.com/GreatAmericanMovieNight or connect with Epson on Facebook and Twitter.

More About Epson MovieMate 60

The Epson MovieMate 60 combines a high-quality projector, CD/DVD player, microphone input, and stereo speakers in one portable unit for an affordable, easy-to-use and versatile solution for home entertainment. With MovieMate 60, family and friends can enjoy their favorite movies up to eight times larger than a 40-inch widescreen TV. MovieMate 60 features a bright, energy efficient lamp that delivers 2,000 lumens of color and white light output[i] and Dolby® Digital audio and big-screen image quality in a portable and convenient home theater solution. Featuring a sleek, compact design with a built-in handle and cushioned carrying case for portable convenience, MovieMate 60 makes it big screen home entertainment easy, whether inside or out.

About Epson America, Inc.

Epson America, Inc. is a leading provider of an extensive range of printers, 3LCD projectors, scanners and point-of-service printers that are renowned for their high quality, functionality, innovation and energy efficiency. Epson America is a U.S. affiliate of Seiko Epson Corporation, which employs more than 70,000 people in 106 companies around the world. Seiko Epson is committed to its ongoing contributions to the global environment and for the second year in a row has been named to the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index, an indicator for leading companies in economic, environmental and social criteria.

# # #

Note: Epson is a registered trademark and Epson Exceed Your Vision is a registered logomark of Seiko Epson Corporation. Epson MovieMate is a trademark of Epson America, Inc. All other product brand names are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of their respective companies. Epson disclaims any and all rights in these trademarks.

Features

Up to 200X performance speed
Durable water and shock resistant housing
Compatible with Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP, Windows 2000, Windows ME, Linux 2.4 and later, Mac OS9, X and later
Certified for Microsoft Vista Readyboost
Lifetime Warranty

The performance of the Xporter XT is what drew me in. With reported speeds of 200X (compared to what? Patriot does not specify) I was curious to see what it could do.

For those that need it, the Xporter XT Boost is covered in a thick rubber coating. This offers great protection against drops and the shock that inevitably follows a drop.

Compatibility with various operating systems is not a problem for the Xporter XT Boost. This drive complies with the USB 2.0 standard and is therefore compatible with all operating systems that also comply, which happens to be almost all of them.

The fact that this drive is certified for Vista Readyboost means that it has already met Microsofts standards for performance and reliability, lets just hope it is fast enough for the Xbox 360.

Design

When it comes to design, flash drives are probably the most boring items on the market. Most of them are small and rectangular, and the Xporter XT is no different. With dimensions of .43″ (D) x 2.9″ (W) x .75″ (H) it is actually quite large for a flash drive. I think a lot of this is because the entire device is wrapped in a thick rubber coating.

Patriot has decided to go with a bit of a rugged design for their Xporter XT drives and they say it helps prevent damage from drops and some have even had it survive accidental washings. Since this drive will be living in my Xbox 360 I really don’t need the rugged design.

Drive

Performance

Performance is the real reason that I chose this flash drive. With Patriots claim of a 200X performance boost I was hoping that it would boost the load times of the games I install on the drive.

To test the performance of the USB drive I used a small program called Disk Throughput Tester. This program tests both sequential read and write, and random read. I ran these tests multiple times to make sure the numbers I got were not anomalies. In addition to the Xporter XT I also tested a 16GB Sandisk Cruiser so I would have something to compare it to.

Sandisk Cruiser

So lets take a look at the numbers, I will start with the Xporter XT. The Xporter XT has a read speed of 31.4MB/s and a write speed of 5.4MB/s. Next is the SanDisk Cruiser, it has a read speed of 25MB/s and a write speed of 9.3MB/s. The last image is a comparison of the two. The performance looks good for both drives. The Xporter XT is slightly faster with read speeds and in the Xbox 360 I think reads will be more important than writes.ore important.

Xporter XT Benchmark

SanDisk Crusier Benchmark

Benchmark

When I finally got around to plugging the Xporter XT into my Xbox 360 I actually discovered that it was too big to fit in the rear USB slot (I didn’t want it sticking out the front). I ended up having to remove the rubber coating so that it would fit. Fortunately, the rubber cover is a solid piece and with a little effort it slides on and off.

Cover removed

Once it was plugged in the Xbox 360 ran a performance test and then formatted the drive. After it was done I noticed the drive only showed up as having 14.4GB of free space. I did a little research and found out that the Xbox 360 reserves 512MB of storage for system use.

Support

Patriot offers a lifetime warranty with the Xporter XT Boost. Now this is the kind of warranty I can really get behind, and it makes a lot of sense, with no moving parts it should last a lifetime.

Patriot also has lot of support options for those that need it. On their website you can get help via their forms, FAQs, or by contacting the company directly.

Conclusion

I am very happy with the performance of the Xporter XT Boost. The price is also good. I was able to pick up this drive from Newegg for only $43 with a $10 mail in rebate. It can also be found on Amazon for slightly more, $50, but it also has the same $10 mail in rebate. If you are looking for a great flash drive I highly recommend the Patriot Xporter XT Boost 16GB USB Flash drive.

Features

• Battery board – solar battery board
• Light Source – super bright LED (7 LED)
• Battery – rechargeable Ni-MH

The biggest feature of this flashlight is the solar panel which charges the internal battery. This is a great ability and very useful if you need a flashlight and you don’t want to search for batteries.

The light for the flashlight comes from 7 LEDs. LEDs are very efficient and should help the battery to last longer, however they are not known for being very bright.

7 LEDs

Design

The flashlight’s design is nothing special except for the solar panel. The solar panel sits on the handle so it is important to make sure it is not blocked when charging. This will help the flashlight to keep its battery fully charged.

Solar Panel

The power button is located at the bottom of the flashlight.

On/Off Button

Performance

Performance for a flashlight comes down to how bright the light is and how long the battery lasts. It is very difficult to tell how bright a flashlight is without comparing it to something else. So I got out two other flashlights and compared them to see which is better.

The first flashlight I am comparing to the solar torch is one of the really cheap kind that comes free when you buy D sized batteries, the flashlight actually uses 2 D batteries. As you can see from this image both flashlights put out similar amounts of light, but the solar torch has a much bluer light.

Free vs Solar Torch

Free vs Solar Torch

The second flashlight is a very small UltraFire Cree Q5 light that runs off 2 AA batteries. This is one I picked up for camping because I had read that Cree Q5 lights are really bright. I was surprised by how dim the solar torch looks when compared to the Cree Q5, you can hardly see it. You may have noticed that the Solar torch looks dimmer than the picture above, no it is not running out of power, this is just my camera adjusting for the extra brightness of the Cree Q5 flashlight.

Cree 5 vs Solar Torch

Cree 5 vs Solar Torch

Testing the battery life is a bit tougher. EFO claims that the battery will last 8 hours on a fully charged battery, and it only takes 6 hours of sunlight to fully charge the battery. Since there isn’t a battery level indicator, I could never tell how full the battery is, so I have to put some trust in their numbers. I also don’t have 8 hours to sit around in the dark and check to see when the battery runs out (I assume that if I use it during the day it would continue to charge off the light). However, I can say that I have been using this flashlight for a couple weeks and it has never been out of power. I do keep it out on my desk so it is always charging, and that is the beauty of a solar flashlight.

Support and Warranty

The EFO solar torch comes with a 1 year warranty and to get support you have to go through their website.

Conclusion

If you take into account the low cost of only $17 and the convenience of not having to look for or buy batteries, I can say that the Solar Torch is a good flashlight. It is certainly not the brightest, but in an emergency you don’t need a super bright light, you just need something that will help you keep safe. So if you want a flashlight that is ready at a moments notice and you don’t have to worry about batteries, the I recommend you take a look at the EFO solar torch.

Features

• Reduces environmental noise up to 85%
• Detachable cable for cordless noise cancellation
• Includes durable hard-shell travel case, ¼-inch plug adapter, airline adapter and AAA battery

The active noise-canceling technology that the ATH-ANC27 headphones use is capable of cutting out 85% of environmental noise.

If you don’t want to listen to music, but you still want the noise canceling, you can remove the cord and just wear the headphones by themselves.

Included with the headphones are an assortment of accessories. These accessories include a hard-shell travel case, ¼-inch plug adapter, airline adapter and a AAA battery.

Design

The headphones are fairly standard in design. These headphones are over-ear so the headphones are designed to wrap around your ear. Each headphone is enclosed in a very soft cushion.

Headphone Cup

On the outside of the left headphone is the on, off switch. This switch turns the noise-canceling on and off. There is also a small 3.5mm plug for the cord.

Power Switch

The right side headphone has a cover that hides the battery compartment. This battery compartment takes a single AAA battery, which as I mentioned above is included.

Battery

The band that goes around your head is also cushioned. This makes the headphones more comfortable to wear.

The headphones also come with a travel case. It is large enough for not only the headphones, but also all the accessories.

Headphone Case

Performance

Testing headphones and the ability to cancel out noises comes down to just trying them out.

As far as noise canceling and quality of sound I don’t have any complaints. Both the noise canceling and the quality of audio are good in their respective areas. However, those alone do not make a good set of headphones.

The biggest complaint I have about these headphones is that the actual headphones are extremely small. They are possibly the smallest I have ever seen on an over-the-ear headset. This is a problem for me because when I put them on they do not fit all the way over my ears. After about 5 minutes the constant pressure starts to cause pain. Here is a picture of these headphones next to my AblePlanet headphones (AblePlanet on the left), as you can see the Audio-Technica ATH-ANC27 headphones are quite a bit smaller.

IMG_6756.JPG

Another complaint is that the cushion that goes around the ear is not very soft. Combined with how small the headphones are this increased the discomfort that I felt while wearing them.

Last but not least is that they don’t have an inline volume on the cord. Nowadays this is a fairly standard feature on higher end headphones. Fortunately, since the cord is removable it would not be hard to add one.

Support and Warranty
From what I found it looks like the ATH-ANC27 comes with a meager one year warranty. With practically no moving parts I would like to see this much longer (like lifetime). Obviously, this would not cover things like normal wear and tear and blowing the speakers by having the volume too loud.

Since headphones don’t have any user serviceable parts, the support you can get comes in the form of returns. As long as your headphones are still covered by warranty Audio-Technica will replace them.

Conclusion
So this is a really tough call for me. The performance of the audio and noise-canceling is good, but they are very uncomfortable to wear. I have a hard time recommending them because no matter how good the sound is, if I can’t wear them then it doesn’t matter.

If you have small ears then you may be a better match for these headphones. As for me and my ears we will be going somewhere else.

Features

• Multi-event timer
• 7 Day 24 Hour timer with backlit graphic LCD clock
• Measures Voltage, Amperage, KWH and more
• Soft power-up eliminates harmful voltage spikes
• Over Voltage, Under Voltage and Under Current protection provide clean safe power to your expensive appliances

One of the new features in the Kill A Watt GT is the timer. This timer is capable of storing 96 different programs and 7 different combinations for different days of the week. Measurements and programming are stored in memory and retained during power outages, but only if you have installed batteries.

The Kill A Watt GT can measure and display power usage based on Voltage, Amperage, or even KWH (Kilowatt Hour).

P3 International has even included some power protection for any device that is plugged into the Kill A Watt GT. The surge protector doesn’t just guard your devices from voltage spikes. It also provides protection against over current, over voltage, and under voltage, delivering clean safe power to your equipment. It does this by shutting of the power to the outlet when ever the voltage or current is out of the normal range. The Kill A Watt GT also helps prolong the lifespan of your appliances by gently applying start-up power via its Zero power crossing spike-free switch.

Design

The Kill A Watt GT P4480 is not a large device. With overall dimensions of 5.1″ x 3″ x 1.9″ and a weight of only 9.15 oz. it is rather small and light.

The front of the P4480 is dominated by the LCD display. Under the display are a set of 4 buttons. At the very bottom is the plug for your appliance or electronic device. The buttons are used for navigating the Kill A Watt, setting the timer, and changing the display settings.

Front

On the back is a battery compartment and the prongs for plugging it into a wall. The batteries allow you to set the timer, or review the results of a test while sitting on a couch. The batteries also allow the Kill A Watt to save settings in the event of a power outage.

Back

Battery

On top are three buttons On, Off, and Auto. The On and Off buttons will override the timer and the Auto buttons turns the timer back on. While it is on auto the On and Off buttons will light up according the the set schedule.

Top

Auto

Performance

Using the Kill A Watt GT is a bit more complicated than the Kill A Watt EZ. This is primarily because of the added timer functionality. The timer is not difficult to use, but it does add a lot more functionality to the Kill A Watt and with that come some complexity.

If you just want to monitor power usage than all you need to do is plug the Kill A Watt into the wall, plug your device into the Kill A Watt, and then push the ON button. The screen will turn on as soon as it is plugged in and start showing the power usage. The default measurement is Volts, but if you prefer something else it is easy to switch to Watts just by pushing a button.

To use the timer functionality you merely have to select a day, and the set the on and off times. As you can see from the picture below each day can have more than one on and off time. The Kill A Watt GT is capable of storing 96 programs, and if you were to spread the programming out evenly, each day could have roughly 13 different programs.

Timer

The only negative I could find would have to be the backlight. I can’t say I am a fan of the orange backlight, but it is certainly better than nothing. I had to shine a flashlight on my old Kill A Watt EZ in order to see the display. If the backlight were a blue or green color I would be a lot happier.

Backllight

Support and Warranty

The warranty for the Kill A Watt GT is only 6 months. This is probably the shortest warranty  I have seen in a long time. I understand that the cost of the Kill A Watt does not suggest that it will include a lifetime warranty, but I would expect something more like 5 years. I have had my Kill A Watt EZ for a couple years and it still works fine. If the Kill A Watt GT is built with the same quality it should last just as long.

Conclusion

I am very happy with how easy it is to use the Kill A Watt GT. The features and functionality make it great for many purposes. The price is also great, the Kill A Watt GT can be purchased for only $39 from Amazon or $49 from Newegg. If you are interested in getting a better handle on your power usage you need a power monitor just like the Kill A Watt. If you are also interested in a timer then I highly recommend the P4480 from P3 International.

Raleigh Studios

Raleigh Studios is the longest continuously operating studio in the country and is famous for filming movies like “In the Heat of the Night” and “The Best Years of Our Lives”, the studio is currently the home of several TV shows including Castle.

While I was at the studio I got to see a lot of HP technology. We started out the day by getting a lengthy introduction to what HP is bringing out in 2010. The first announcements is that the Z line of Workstations is being upgraded to the New six-core, 32nm Intel Xeon 5600 series processors.

Z Workstations

Xeon 5600

Second, HP introduced a new Z200 SFF (Small Form Factor) Workstation. This new Workstation is very small and very light, yet still very powerful. This workstation will be great for those that are concerned about deskspace.

Water Cooled

Z200

Z200

We then listened to several of HP partners. These partners included Best Practices Lab, Indy, Cannon Design, and CSU Northridge. The one I was most interested in is the Best Practices Lab. This group is working on new technology for motion capture. Their technology uses only two Z800 workstations to render real time motion capture. The process is very interesting and we got to watch a 5 minute commercial being made in real time. This was really great and I had fun watching. They also had a virtual camera that was just a HP tm2 laptop with some special software. We each took turns walking around the set with the laptop looking at the scene. It was cool to see how things changed in real time as we walked around and as the actors moved.

Motion Capture

Motion Capture

Motion Capture

The second day we spent at DreamWorks Studios. Here we got to listen to how DreamWorks uses HP technology exclusively and how it helps them create great movies. We got to see some of the process for creating their newest movie.

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After that we were treated to a screening of “How to train your Dragon.” It was a fun movie and great to see in 3D.

I certainly excited about a lot of the innovations that HP and their partners are bringing to the market.

PALO ALTO, Calif., March 24, 2010 – HP today unveiled workstation offerings that include the first small form factor workstation to be available in every region of the world, multicore processor updates to its Z Workstation series and a mobile workstation with DreamColor display technology.

• Adding to the award-winning HP Z Workstation series, the HP Z200 SFF Workstation delivers workstation performance and reliability in a sleek, ultracompact and affordable package, and is a great choice for space constrained environments including the health care, engineering, education, financial and original equipment manufacturer markets.
• New six-core, 32nm Intel® Xeon® 5600 series processors are now available on HP Z800, Z600 and Z400 workstations, which deliver greater parallel processing performance.
• Dressed in a gunmetal anodized-aluminum finish, the HP EliteBook 8740w Mobile Workstation is HP‘s most powerful mobile workstation to date. It delivers advanced graphics and performance capabilities, along with the ability to produce accurate, predictable and consistent color through its HP DreamColor display.

“HP has invested in research and development through the economic downturn, innovating on top of our industry-leading workstations to provide an undeniably differentiated experience in our new products,‖ said Jim Zafarana, vice president and general manager, Workstations Global Business Unit, HP. ―HP customers are famous for pushing the limits of innovation, and as their industries undergo digital transformations, their next generation of breakthroughs is being powered by HP technology.”

Workstation performance in an ultracompact package

With a starting price rivaling those of traditional desktop computers, the HP Z200 SFF breaks new ground with a space-saving design that is almost two-thirds smaller than the Z200 minitower workstation. Tapping the power of Intel‘s newest technologies, the HP Z200 SFF offers dual-core processor options based on the new Intel CoreTM i3 and i5 series, as well as quad-core processor options based on the enterprise-class Intel Xeon 3400 series.

The HP Z200 SFF supports up to 16 gigabytes (GB) of ECC memory and up to 2 terabytes (TB) of high-speed storage. It also includes professional 2-D and 3-D graphics options. In addition, the HP Z200 SFF is designed for ease of use and serviceability – with a tool-less chassis, convenient USB ports located on the front of the system and a FireWire® 1394a card option.

The HP Z200 SFF Workstation includes an 89 percent efficient power supply, has ENERGY STAR® 5.0 qualified configurations and is registered as Electronics Products Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT®) Gold, the highest rating available.

Greater parallelism for “megatasking”

Ideal for multithreaded workstation applications such as engineering, 3-D digital content creation, oil and gas, and science, HP Z Workstations with the new Intel Xeon Processor 5600 series offer up to 12 cores with integrated memory controllers, Intel Turbo Boost Technology and Intel Hyper-Threading Technology. Available on the HP Z800, Z600 and Z400 workstations, the new processors allow for up to 24 threads to run at one time when using two 6-core processors with Hyper-Threading turned on.

The HP Z Workstations offer a variety of options for every need:

• The HP Z800 offers the latest Intel Xeon 5500 and 5600 series processors, providing up to 12 processing cores, up to 192 GB of ECC memory, up to 10 TB of high-speed storage and up to dual NVIDIA Quadro FX 5800 graphics.
• The HP Z600 also offers Intel Xeon 5500 and 5600 series processors with up to 12 processing cores. It additionally provides up to 48 GB of ECC memory, up to 6 TB of high-speed storage, and professional 2-D and 3-D graphics up to NVIDIA Quadro FX 4800 or dual NVIDIA Quadro FX 1800 graphics.
• The HP Z400 offers up to six processing cores using the latest Intel Xeon 3500 series processors, providing up to 24 GB of ECC memory, up to 8 TB of highspeed storage and up to NVIDIA Quadro FX 4800 or dual NVIDIA Quadro FX 1800 graphics.

“The new Intel Xeon Processor 5600 series runs multithreaded workstation applications up to 45 percent faster than its predecessor, the Intel Xeon Processor 5500 series” said Anthony Neal-Graves, general manager, Workstations, Intel. “Workstations powered by the new Intel Xeon Processor 5600 series give application developers the reliability, capacity and performance to help them bring innovative ideas to life faster than ever before.”

HP workstations are used by the world‘s most demanding power users in industries such as graphic arts, broadcast, computer-aided design (CAD), engineering, medical imaging, finance, and oil and gas exploration. Companies use HP workstations to design everything from running shoes to race cars, animated characters to deep-sea submersibles, and to manage everything from billions of dollars of tradable securities to mission-critical IT environments.

HP is a leader in reducing the environmental impact of its products, often acting first to adopt new solutions designed with the environment in mind. For example, only the HP Z Workstation line includes the exclusive HP WattSaver feature that manages power in the “off” state at less than one watt.

In addition, HP Z Workstations include at least 85 percent efficient power supplies – 89 percent efficient power supply on the HP Z200 and HP Z200 SFF and as an option on the HP Z800 – reducing both overall energy usage and the amount of waste heat released. The HP Z line offers ENERGY STAR 5.0 qualified configurations.

All HP Z Workstations are more than 90 percent recyclable by weight and are registered as EPEAT Gold.

On-the-go performance

The HP EliteBook 8740w Mobile Workstation offers ISV-certified workstation-class performance in a mobile package. Featuring a 17-inch diagonal display, a range of Intel processors including Core i7 Extreme Edition, and support for up to 16 GB of memory, the 8740w can meet the needs of the most demanding applications.

The inclusion of USB 3.0 provides increased bandwidth and performance, while an optional backlit keyboard is offered for the first time on an HP EliteBook.

The DreamColor display option enables professionals to work with deep, accurate colors for precise results every time. Able to display more than 1 billion active colors – 64 times the capabilities of a traditional display – the 8740w utilizes a 30- bit notebook LCD panel to provide a level of color control previously found only on the deskbound HP DreamColor LP2480 Professional Display.

The HP mobile display assistant and optional HP color calibration kit further allow control, adjustment and alignment of the DreamColor notebook display to ensure predictable color.

Workstation-class graphics solutions maximize onscreen performance. The 8740w offers a choice of the ATI FirePro M7820 with 1 GB of GDDR5 video memory or the NVIDIA Quadro FX 2800M or NVIDIA Quadro FX 3800M – both with 1 GB GDDR3 video memory.

Users selecting the ATI FirePro configuration benefit from Direct X 11 and multidisplay support. Through a single GPU, the mobile workstation can simultaneously support up to four independent display outputs, plus the native notebook panel, for a total of five displays.

The recently announced HP EliteBook 8540w Mobile Workstation also is now available with optional DreamColor display or with the new of ATI FirePro M7820 graphics adapter.

Like other members of the HP EliteBook family, the 8540w and 8740w are engineered to meet the tough MIL-STD 810G military-standard tests for vibration, dust, humidity, altitude, and high and low temperatures, and also are free of brominated flame retardants (BFRs) and polyvinyl chloride (PVC). HP EliteBook innovations include: HP QuickWeb and HP QuickLook3 to quickly access programs without boot up and HP Power Assistant tools for energy savings. Integrated

HP Mobile Broadband powered by Gobi allows users to conveniently access the internet, corporate intranet, email and mission-critical information globally.

The HP advantage

HP Performance Advisor software – preinstalled on HP workstations – automatically tunes the workstation, finding and installing the proper drivers and configuring the system to optimal settings based on a user‘s workflow. This type of tuning can result in significantly improved performance along with system and software stability that adds up to an improved return on investment.

Additionally, HP SkyRoom software comes preloaded on new HP workstations. HP SkyRoom is an affordable, high-definition (HD) videoconferencing software that offers live, real-time collaboration for instant face-to-face meetings. Built on HP Video and Image processing engines and four times faster than the blink of an eye, SkyRoom provides seamless hi-fi audio, HD video and high-performance 3-D application sharing.

HP also offers an expanding line of HP Designjet large-format printers and multifunction devices to easily turn digital designs into printed documents and then digitize documents back into the design-and-make process, helping to shorten project cycles. Together, HP Workstations and HP Designjet printers can quickly produce professional large-format drawings, maps, presentations, renders and posters to aid in both the pitch process and ongoing project design needs.

Pricing and availability

• The HP Z200 SFF Workstation is expected to be available worldwide starting April 5. U.S. pricing starts at $739.
• The HP Z400, Z600 and Z800 are available today worldwide. U.S. pricing starts at $929 for the HP Z400 Workstation, $1,579 for the HP Z600 Workstation and $1,799 for the HP Z800 Workstation.
• The HP EliteBook 8740w is expected to be available worldwide starting in April. U.S. pricing starts at $1,999.

More information about the products, including product specifications and images, is available at www.hp.com/personal.

About HP

HP creates new possibilities for technology to have a meaningful impact on people, businesses, governments and society. The world‘s largest technology company, HP brings together a portfolio that spans printing, personal computing, software, services and IT infrastructure to solve customer problems. More information about HP (NYSE: HPQ) is available at http://www.hp.com.

Features

• D-Link Green Technology
• 48Gbps Switching Capacity
• Desktop or Rack Mountable Design
• Non-blocking Architecture

D-Link has implemented several new technologies that help to keep the power usage of their switches down. The first way they save power is by turning off ports that are not in use. This means that if you don’t have a cable plugged into the port, or if the computer that is attached is turned off, then the switch turns off the port.

The second way they save power is by analyzing the length of each cable that is connected, and then adjusting the amount of power to each port. Since shorter cables require less power the switch can lower the power to those ports that have short cables and increase the power to the ports that have longer cables.

The DGS-1024D is also designed for Plug-and-Play and hassle-free installation. Auto-MDI/MDX-X crossover on all ports eliminates the need for crossover cables when connecting to another switch or hub. Auto-negotiation on each port senses the link speed of a network device (either 10, 100, or 1000Mbps) and intelligently adjusts for compatibility and optimal performance. It also features diagnostic LEDs that display status and activity, allowing you to quickly detect and correct problems on the network. Every port also supports a cable diagnostic feature that helps to detect cable-related problems.

Another way that the DGS-1024D helps to insure quality transmissions is through the support of 802.1p Quality of Service (QoS). When the switch receives a frame tagged with an 802.1p priority, it automatically places it into one of four priority queues. Priority queuing is especially beneficial when streaming voice and video on your network.

In order to make this a friendly device for enterprises and data center by making it rack mountable. They do this by including brackets so it can be mounted in a 19-inch rack. The ability to mount this in a rack means that it can replace much more expensive switches.

Accessories

The DGS-1024D is no slouch when it comes to speed either. Featuring non-blocking switching architecture, the DGS-1024D filters and forwards packets at wirespeed for maximum throughput. An 8K MAC address table provides scalability for even the largest networks, while address learning, 802.3x flow control for full-duplex mode, and back pressure flow control for half-duplex mode alleviate traffic congestion and ensure reliable data transmission. Designed using industry standards, the DGS-1024D is compatible with virtually all 10, 100, and 1000Mbps Ethernet devices. It protects your existing network investments while providing you with a straightforward migration path for faster Gigabit speeds.

Design

The DGS-1024D has a very simple design. With dimensions of 11.0in x 7.1in x 1.7in, it is quite large for a desktop switch. It also weighs 4.2 lbs, which makes it fairly heavy.

The front of the DGS-1024D is where all the magic happens. The front houses all 24 ports, and status lights.

Front

Status Lights

There isn’t anything else really exciting to talk about, but on the left side of the switch is a cooling fan, and on the back is the power cable.

Performance

Performance testing for me consists of purely subjective tests. I don’t have any fancy tools for testing actual throughput of a switch like this, but I have been using it for several months now and it is working great. I have not had a single problem since I turned it on.

I really haven’t found any negatives except that the fan is a bit on the noisy side. I solved this by keeping mine locked up in a structured media cabinet in another room. I would consider this much too noisy to be kept in an office. This leads me to the one feature I would like to see added, and that is to have the fan adjust its speed according to how much heat is generated. I would think that the amount of power it uses is related to how much power is being used. Since the DGS-1024D regulates the amount of power it uses based on port usage, I imagine that the less ports you use the less heat it would generate which means the fan speed could be lowered.

Support and Warranty

This switch comes with a 5-Year Limited, but it is only valid in the USA and Canada. This is a fairly good warranty for an electronic device and I have to give kudos to D-Link for having a good warranty. With a fan as the only moving part I would have liked it to be longer.

Conclusion

As you could probably tell I am happy with this switch and that isn’t even taking into account the price. The price of the D-Link DGS-1024D is very reasonable and it can be found on both Newegg and Amazon for only $179.99.

If you are in the market for a new switch and you need lots of ports, the D-Link DGS-1024D is a great option.