Archive for: October, 2008
October 28th, 2008
Network storage wars: MvixUSA ups the ante with 3TB MvixBox
Another day, another network-attached-storage (NAS) device. This time, it’s MvixUSA joining the fray, offering the new MvixBox unit with two bays that each handle up to a 1.5TB drive. You can get the base unit without drives for $299; a 1.5TB bundled with the MvixBox adds another $299. The device comes with a rash of features, including RAID Level 0 and 1 support, a USB port, Torrent Client functionality, iTunes and UPnP Server features, and pre-installed versions of Apache, MySQL, PHP, SQlife, and for Web server capabilities. It also enables easy sharing of files online via its RapidBox feature. While MvixUSA isn’t a major brand, it’s high-definition media streamers are well-regarded, so maybe it can carve out a niche with the MvixBox, particularly among those who want Web server functionality with their network storage.
October 27th, 2008
Elan brings home $3,350 Wi-Fi touchscreen control panel
For those with the resources to install an elaborate home theater and/or automation system in their homes, an 8.4-inch control panel that costs more than most HDTVs may not seem excessive. Those deep-pocketed smart-home mavens will find a lot to like in the XP-8.4—for $3,350, they better—including built-in 802.11g Wi-Fi that lets the panel double as an Internet browsing and media streaming device.
To complete the panel’s PC-like functionality, the docking cradle features a USB port to let you connect a mouse or keyboard. The XP-8.4’s browser even supports Flash so you can check out YouTube videos and the like on the device. Of course, it also handles the usual array of automation duties, letting you check the status of all of your linked-in controllers for multi-room A/V, lighting, security, and so on. Elan promises that the panel can last six hours away from the cradle before needing recharging.
Since it costs as much as a swanky piece of furniture, the XP-8.4 at least tries to fit in with your design aesthetic, offering a number of screen savers that can match your decor. A screenful of Benjamins probably isn’t among the choices, but it might as well be. If the price isn’t a deterrent, you can find the XP-8.4 at authorized dealers in your local area, who should be receiving them any time now.
October 23rd, 2008
Lexmark releases new laser printers with built-in Draft N Wi-Fi
The days when printers with network connectivity were intended just for the corporate world are quickly coming to a close as more and more manufacturers not only add an Ethernet port to their offerings, but are placing Wi-Fi chips in units as well. Among the rash of new laser printers it’s announced this week, Lexmark is introducing the first that support the Draft N spec.
I’m not quite sure how much using the draft version of 802.11n will help your printing instead of 802.11g (except aiding in situations when PCs are too far away to be reached by a G network). And it won’t come cheap. Nonetheless, you can find it on the color C544dw for $599 and the monochrome E460dw (pictured), priced at $699. If you’re looking for a multifunction unit instead, there’s the $899 color laser X544dw, which includes faxing with its scanning and copying capabilities.
The rest of the new Lexmark consumer and small-biz lasers come with Ethernet ports, but cop out on wireless by making it an option—in the form of a $149 802.11g print server add-on. If you’re buying a $300 printer, you’re probably not dropping half the price on an accessory, especially when Brother has three with 802.11g included for under $500.
October 21st, 2008
Linksys flips the switch on new powerline networking gear
Powerline networking is a clever technology that hasn’t really taken off against Wi-Fi equipment, but Linksys hopes to put a charge in it with its new line of Linksys by Cisco Powerline products.
For the uninitiated, powerline technology uses electrical outlets rather than wireless radios to transmit data. The obvious advantage to that approach is that signal interference isn’t a problem as it is with Wi-Fi networks. Still, powerline equipment hasn’t gained much traction, at least initially because the throughput couldn’t compare to that delivered by wireless networks. That problem has been solved with the HomePlug Turbo standard, which provides for throughputs of up to 85Mbps—faster than 802.11g though still well below the Draft N spec’s maximum speeds. There’s also the Powerline AV standard, which is designed to optimize bandwidth for high-definition video transmission; Powerline AV devices could be useful as an alternative to drilling a hole in your wall for an Ethernet port near your home theater setup.
Linksys’ new HomePlug Turbo gear includes the $69.99 PLTE300 Ethernet bridge, the $89.99 PLTS300 four-port Ethernet bridge $89.99, and a $149.99 PLTK300 kit that bundles the two bridges. The company has a similar Powerline AV lineup, with the $89.99
PLE300 Ethernet bridge, the $99.99 PLS300 four-port Ethernet bridge, and the $179.99 PLK300 kit. All will be available in November.
Do you have a powerline network? Would you ever consider using the technology? Let us know in the Talkback section.
October 19th, 2008
Ecobee programs energy savings with Wi-Fi Smart Thermostat
A Canadian company has just announced a new thermostat with built-in Wi-Fi, with the hopes that more homeowners will program their thermostats and reduce energy costs. Ecobee says it created its Smart Thermostat because too many homeowners can’t figure out how to properly use their programmable thermostats, which keeps them from extracting more savings from optimizing temperatures.
Ecobee also makes the Smart Thermostat easier to use by giving it a colorful, more PC-like interface (in the form of a 3.5-inch touch screen display) that should encourage creating custom programs. It also features a Quick Save button that will automatically set your settings to conserve energy.
The wireless connection allows you to access your thermostat controls over the Internet via a Web browser. As with other home automation devices, that means you can monitor and adjust the Smart Thermostat from anywhere in the world. The built-in Wi-Fi also lets the unit receive weather forecasts, which homeowners can use to change climate settings accordingly. For those who’ve already set up home automation systems using Zigbee, Ecobee will offer optional Zigbee expansion slots.
The Smart Thermostat will be available in early 2009 for $385 either through Ecobee’s Web site or from select heating and air specialists. Note that even though you can order it directly from Ecobee, the company says it’s not a product that should be self-installed.
October 15th, 2008
Iomega StorCenter ix2 NAS device features Bluetooth, EMC software
The battle to be the top network hard drive solution for home networks continues with Iomega’s latest salvo. The new StorCenter ix2 NAS device adds a new wrinkle with its Bluetooth support—allowing you to transfer files from a cell phone—and implements more software from parent company EMC.
The ix2 resembles previous StorCenter units, which means it won’t be winning any design competitions. Iomega touts a four-step setup process and offers EMC Retrospect Express for backup duties. Iomega promises to update its Linux-based LifeLine operating software with new functionality including remote file access, something many NAS drives offer out of the box these days. That aside, the ix2 offers a nice bundle of features, including a pair of USB ports, printer server capability, UPnP and DNLA support, integrated iTunes server, RAID Level 1 support, and top-grade security from EMC’s RSA division to protect the device during firmware upgrades.
The ix2 comes in two flavors: a 1TB version for $299.99, and a 2TB model for $479.99. Though Iomega says the ix2 is available now, its online store states that it will start shipping on October 30.
October 14th, 2008
New Wi-Fi chipsets promise up to 2x throughput of current 802.11n devices
A couple of weeks ago I did a post on the Home Theater blog about Celeno Communications’ wireless chip that the company claims can support four different HD streams simultaneously. Now another company has announced its own Wi-Fi technology that promises significant performance improvement over the 802.11n spec. Quantenna’s QHS chipsets promise up to 600Mbps data throughput, far greater than the maximum 300Mbps promised by conventional 802.11n devices.
In addition to that throughput—which theoretically would be sufficient for smooth HD-video streaming—Quantenna claims superior range thanks to such buzzword-worthy technology as 4×4 MIMO (as opposed to the 2×2 flavor), transmit (Tx) beamforming (which makes an array from separate antennas to create high-gain beams), and vector mesh networking. The result, according to the company, is simultaneous dual-band transmission with video streaming over the 5GHz band and data over the 2.4GHz one, as well as network coverage for “any size home, anywhere” (though no specific ranges are cited). There are three flavors of wireless chipsets: the QHS1000 delivers that maximum throughput of 600Mbps, while the QHS600 offers a maximum throughput of 400Mbps and the QHS has a maximum throughput of 200Mbps. The company is also offering QHS Plug (including the QHS1000 chip) for wireless networking devices that utilize electrical outlets for transmitting data.
While Celeno Communications’ announcement did not mention any specific product development using its new chipset, Quantenna has stated that manufacturers will be sampling the chips in devices by the end of the year. Neither specific manufacturers nor specific devices were disclosed, however.
October 13th, 2008
LaCie's 5big Network offers five drive bays, up to 7.5TB storage
LaCie is bringing its distinctive aesthetic sense to small business networked storage with its new 5big Network device, which offers—surprise—five drive bays and up to a whopping 7.5 terabytes of capacity. If that’s still not sufficient (or you want to back up what’s on the 5big Network), the included USB port and three eSATA ports let you connect external storage drives.
Drives are hot swappable, and the unit supports pretty much every RAID mode under the sun, including RAID 5 and RAID 6, which can provide striped disks plus parity for three or more drives (RAID 5) or can protect data from the loss of two drives (RAID 6). It also comes with three licenses for backup solutions for either PC (Genie Backup Manager Pro) or Mac (Intego Backup Manager Pro). LaCie claims that 5big Network uses 25 percent less energy and is 37 percent quieter than four-drive RAID towers on the marketplace.
The device was designed by Neil Poulton to look like a plain white box from the front, save for the big blue light in the front that, as Gizmodo points out, brings to mind a certain demented computer to anyone who’s ever seen 2001: A Space Odyssey. While the 5big is priced for business customers, I wouldn’t be surprised if some hardcore personal users with tons of media files spring for the $899.99 2.5TB config. After that you’re looking at a significant price bump, as the 5TB version is priced at $1,399 and the 7.5TB model costs $1,899.
October 7th, 2008
Future wireless networks could be powered by "smart lighting"
A light bulb went off in the head of researchers at Boston University about a new wireless networking technology, which was very appropriate considering that it involves, well, light bulbs. The Smart Lighting Engineering Research Center has been created to develop technology that would allow low-powered LED lights to transmit data to other devices.
Such a network could be a boon for home automation, since you could just replace existing lighting with new LED bulbs instead of having to outfit your house with new communications equipment. There are a couple of caveats, though, that mean this network won’t be replacing your radio-based Wi-Fi one for many duties. For one thing, because light can’t travel through walls and other obstacles, its range is extremely limited. Its throughput is also limited by today’s standards, offering data rates between 1Mbps and 10Mbps, or what roughly what 802.11b networks can pump out.
And don’t go tossing out your light bulbs just yet. According to the center, this new networking technology probably won’t be available for another 10 years.
[Via TrendRadar UK]
October 4th, 2008
Hands-on review of the Logitech Squeezebox Boom
After seeing my mildly skeptical post about the release of its Squeezebox Boom Internet radio device, Logitech offered to send me a sample unit to review, promising me I’d be pleasantly surprised with the audio output from the compact unit. I’ve been testing it out over the last few weeks, and here’s what I’ve found in my everyday use of it.
The Boom is the size of a traditional tabletop radio, and while not exactly featherweight, is portable enough to be carried from room to room. Unfortunately, you’ll also need to carry its wall-wart AC adapter, because the unit doesn’t include a battery option. Worse, the adapter is big enough that it covers two outlets unless you get a little creative in how you plug it in.
Setup was very easy, as the Boom both detected our wireless network and assigned itself an IP address in a matter of seconds. (It also includes an Ethernet port for wired networking.) You’ll need to sign up for a SqueezeNetwork account at www.squeezenetwork.com; it’s Logitech’s gateway to the various streaming sources the Boom can access. (More on these below.) If you want to listen to music files from your PC(s), you’ll need to install the SqueezeCenter software to your computer. This was the only part of the setup process where I experienced a couple of hiccups. Though I was able to install SqueezeCenter on my Mac successfully (at least according to the installer), I was unable to find the app without doing a search for it. I needed to do this because Mac users need to create manually an exception for SqueezeCenter for OS X’s built-in firewall. Considering this is a mandatory step for the Boom to access a Mac’s files, I’m not sure why Logitech didn’t just make this the final step of the SqueezeCenter install process instead of requiring the user to muck around with firewall settings.
The Boom’s controls are dominated by a large jog wheel smack dab in the middle of the unit. You click it to select menu items and turn it to scroll through options. You also get a standard array of buttons, including power, play, back, pause, fast forward, rewind, a “+” to add a station to your favorites, and a volume slider. A remote replicates many of those controls, but adds a home button as well. It’s magnetized, which could come in handy because the tiny unit is otherwise easy to misplace.
When you turn the Boom on after setup, you are given a menu of several options, though I primarily used only Music Library, Internet Radio, Music Services, and Favorites. There’s an alarm clock setting (useful if this becomes your bedside radio), plus some info-related extras, like the ability to display news tickers and RSS feeds, and some oddball options like a Tetris-like game and a library of sound effects. (The natural ones I get, but why would you want to listen voluntarily to the blaring of an ambulance?) You’ll find your computer’s music files under Music Library. With a large collection of music files on my drive, I was happy to have the jog wheel to zip through artists whenever I wanted to hear something from a band that started with “S.” Playback of my iTunes library was flawless. As with many of these devices, the Boom doesn’t handle audio tracks secured with Digital Rights Management, so tracks purchased from the iTunes Store in AAC format won’t be accessible.
Under Internet Radio, Logitech offers staff picks to help you find a suitable station, and these run the gamut of genre and locations. Unfortunately, there were some stations (like BBC4) that I was never able to connect to successfully, though other stations didn’t present a problem. One nice touch for those who still listen to AM/FM is the Boom’s inclusion of local stations through RadioTime—AM stations usually come in with plenty of static at my house, so it was actually an upgrade to listen to the same stations on this device instead. You can also add any stations not already punched into the Boom by adding them online at the SqueezeNetwork Web site. The site additionally lets you streamline your menus, allowing you to delete services and other items that you don’t use.
Music Services is where you find subscription-based services like Sirius Satellite Radio or Rhapsody or sites that require login info like Last.fm and Pandora. You need to enter your account info on the SqueezeNetwork site in order for the Boom to access a service’s stream. A big thumbs down goes to the Sirius service, which requires the premium upgrade for an extra $2.99 per month. Presumably that’s so the audio quality is better, but it will bum out regular subscribers hoping to ditch their antenna-based radios and who really don’t need to listen to Howard Stern at CD-quality bit rates. Pandora worked without a hitch, and the jog wheel handily functions as the thumbs up/thumbs down buttons that you use on the Web version to tell the service which tracks you like and dislike. It even lets you select to stop playback of a song on your station for 30 days, something I find invaluable when I’m listening online.
Logitech has hyped the audio quality of the Boom, which it says stems from the included preamp and premium speakers. And given its compact size, the Boom really doesn’t disappoint compared to other similar-sized devices. Sure, it doesn’t provide the low-end depth that puts the “boom” (pun intended) into hip-hop, for instance, but it provides enough bass that you won’t be calling it “tinny-sounding.” You can add your own subwoofer via the headphone jack if you need as much bass as possible, and there’s also a line-in jack if you want to hook up your iPod or a CD player.
Overall, I was very impressed with the Boom, from the good sound quality to its versatility. I’ve encountered a few streaming hiccups, but it certainly wasn’t flaky at all in the way some wireless network devices can be. The primary disappointment I had with the Boom (other than the bait-and-switch that promised Sirius support, but required the premium upgrade) is the lack of a rechargeable battery. Even if the battery could only provide a couple of hours of juice, it would be worth it to bring it out on a deck without needing an extension cord.
At $299.99, the Boom isn’t going to find a place on everyone’s nightstand, especially in this economy. If you can afford the price, however, it’s certainly a worthwhile purchase for those who are Internet radio or Pandora (or Rhapsody or Last.fm) addicts or who want to play the music on their computer in another spot in the house and demand decent audio quality.
Sean Portnoy spent several years as an editor at Computer Shopper magazine, most recently serving as online executive editor. See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations.
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