Review
Belkin N1 Vision F5D8232-4
Mar 8th
Full credit to Belkin for coming up with a router that stands out from the crowd. Based on the N1 model this N1 Vision stands vertically, so that you can clearly see the LCD display.
Belkin has ditched the usual array of flashing activity lights and instead has used a monochrome LCD display to keep you up to speed with the doings of your router, starting with the initial configuration. It’s much easier to check the power is on and the cables are plugged in when you have a message that spells out the situation.
Bigfoot Killer M1 Network Card
Mar 8th
PCs often find themselves the playground for over-hyped tech – it’s almost as if manufacturers believe gamers will buy anything if you force enough marketing down their throats. Almost.
Cue the latest in a long line of interesting ideas rendered flesh in the hope of making a pretty penny: Bigfoot Networks Killer NIC.
Icy Box Docking Station SATA HDD
Feb 17th
One of my recent purchases was this Icy Box Docking Station for 2.3” + 3.5” HDD which features a SATA + USB Interface. I bought this one from Aria UK for £18. I already own a 3.5” SATA Drive bay which features USB & eSATA but did not have the eSATA Lead and there is no way I was going to spend loads on postage just for a cheap lead. Having a handful of loose 2.5” SATA Drives hanging about as well as some 3.5” Models plus the Dell I own having eSATA built in as standard – I was good to go.
Dell Optiplex 160 – Overview
Jan 19th
Came across one of these the other day and found it quite an interesting idea for business needing a very small form factor computer which can be fitted behind a monitor / TV to drive a simple application. The goal of this machine is not power due to it been driven by an Atom CPU but its very small indeed and has the power supply fitted inside (no power brick).
Dell SP2309W Monitor Review
Jan 6th
This is an initial overview and brief review of the Dell SP2309W Monitor, I made a brief video which shows what it looks like on the desk as well as direct capture from the in-built webcam. This monitor was bought to replace 2×20” TFT Widesceen (1680×1050) which were attached direct to the wall via a wall mount.
Autoruns for Windows
Jan 2nd
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Ever wondered what was running but found it hard to locate all the entries to get rid of items and MSConfig is not quite up to the task? What you need is Autoruns for Windows by SysInternals.
This utility, which has the most comprehensive knowledge of auto-starting locations of any startup monitor, shows you what programs are configured to run during system bootup or login, and shows you the entries in the order Windows processes them. These programs include ones in your startup folder, Run, RunOnce, and other Registry keys. You can configure Autoruns to show other locations, including Explorer shell extensions, toolbars, browser helper objects, Winlogon notifications, auto-start services, and much more. Autoruns goes way beyond the MSConfig utility bundled with Windows Me and XP.
Dell SP2309W 23inch Monitor
Dec 29th
I have been looking at getting some real estate in the monitor front for a while now and looked at various models. My Current biggest monitor is the 21″ which comes in at 1680×1050 and remember the issue her is resolution not how big the monitor is because after all if that was the case I might as well stick a 42″ TV on the wall and run it at 1920×1080 – yes it will be big but silly when you can get the same resolution from a cheap 22″.
Pirform Speccy – System Info Tool
Dec 4th
Pirform (the creators of CCleaner, Defraggler and Recuva) are currently offering a Beta product called Speccy and what this program does is nothing more then tell you everything about the hardware inside your machine. Now you may ask “Why would I need this?” and to answer that question would be if you had a problem and needed to get across the required information to a support person – then this will tell them everything they need to know.