The Chromebook Pixel is a laptop that brings together the best in hardware, software, and design. It has a 4.3 million pixel 12.85″ touch screen, Intel® Core™ i5 Processor (Dual Core 1.8GHz), 32 GB Solid State Drive, 4 GB DDR3 RAM and a anodized aluminum case. Google is proving that a Chromebook can be much more than a cheap toy. Read More→
Archive for Hardware
I just got my Samsung Chromebook today. I’m still getting use to it but my impressions so far are very positive. It’s very thin and light but because there is no wasted space the keyboard and screen are large enough to work on. I’m looking forward to the long battery life (6.5 hours). Read More→
I found this video on YouTube with more about the Samsung and Acer Chromebooks. Read More→
My first three rules of computing are backup, backup and backup. You may have heard this before?
I use Carbonite a cloud backup solution that works very well but I really should have a local backup as well. Read More→
You can do podcasting or multi-track recording without the need for a mixer. If you have a good quality professional microphone (Shure SM58 or better) you can connect it directly to your computer via USB using one of two devices.
The first is a USB microphone cable the SoundTech STUSBXLR10. One end is an XLR microphone connector the other a USB to connect it directly into your computer. You cannot use this cable with phantom power microphones.
If you have a phantom power mic what you need is the Shure X2u XLR-to-USB Microphone Adapter.
I have the SoundTech but I seldom use it. I would think that you would have to be very careful when handling it. If you break it it may not be repairable so don’t break it. Maybe a better idea is to buy the Shure even if you don’t need phantom power. It may last longer.
As I say constantly, “The three most important maintenance task on your computer are, backup, backup and backup.” You can always restore your software or replace your computer in a worst case scenario. What you can’t do or can’t do easily is recover your data. This is what you want to spend most of effort doing. I’ve mentioned to online backup solutions I like. What I’m now going to talk about is getting a backup locally(At your home or workplace). The advantage of this is it’s quicker to restore your data when it becomes necessary to do so. This by no means replaces the the off-site backup. It is just faster and more convenient.
You can build a home server or NAS (Network Attached Storage) with any old Pentium 4 class computer you have laying around. Read More→
The wireless on my Netgear Wireless G router went out this week and I had to replace it. I got a D-Link DIR-615 Wireless N 300 Router this week and I can’t be more pleased. With my Netgear router I never got all of my 10Mb speed from my ISP. I never worried about it because it was fast enough! Now I’m getting the full 10Mb and I’m sure if I had a computer with 802.11n I’m sure I would get much more. The best this is I always had problem using my wireless in one of my rooms. Now it just passes right through the walls as if they were not there because of something called Wireless G Maemo whatever that is. I don’t really care as long as it works!
The DIR-615 has better security with the addition of WPA2 which I was wanting to switch to for a while.
One of the best things about this gadget is the price $48 from NewEgg! Is was $39.99 until it was nominated product of the year by NewEgg customer. It still is a great deal.
Do you have a cable modem in your living room but have computers in a different room as I do. I live in an apartment so drilling holes and stringing cable is out of the question. I tried using wireless with some success but it is slow and very unreliable. I dealt with this problem for quit some time.
The other day I ordered a Linksys Powerline AV Network Kit from NewEgg.com. Nothing but ethernet could be better! No more dropped signal! No more slow speed! It is easy to setup. In a few minutes it was ready to go.
You could buy a HP MediaSmart Server or any of the other Windows Home Server PCs or any of the other home-server products (one being Drobo). These work great but they cost $525 and up. I am going to turn a pc I already have in to one using Ubuntu Server. Ubuntu Server is free and I figure it might be a fun project. It will be harder to configure than an HP but it should be relatively painless. It is a good project and I really do need a home server.
