Compex PS2216

A few weeks ago, my dad asked me to get a new switch in order to expand our small office network. For that reason, I went to Lowyat to find some good bargains. Luckily, not long after the search, I 'd managed to find one at the lowest price for a 16-port switch. At first I thought the Compex PS2216 to be my last resort since the brand is not even popular(I'm more used to D-link, Level One and several others). Later on, after surfing the net for a while, I found my self quite suprised by the features as well as the quality of it. Here are some of the features.

• Small compared to other 16-port switch(10/100Mbps Fast Ethernet Switch)
  
• Lightweight, 0.26kg
• Did I forgot to mention that its cheap, 60USD$(I got it for RM150)
• Virtual LAN(VLAN)
  
• Full/Half Duplex (up to 200Mbps per port with full duplex)
  
• 3.2Gbps Backplane Capacity
• Port Trunking(up to 800Mbps)
• Auto Negotiation, which is industry standard
  

I find it amusing to find so many features cramped into this one small device(at least smaller than most)

The PS2216 supports up to 15-port based VLAN which eliminates the need for another network gear in case you want to seperate a group of computers from another group.
To make it simple, Full Duplex simply means that the data flows in two ways while half duplex means data flows in only one way. In this case the Full Duplex feature would increase speed and is more efficient. However the Hald Duplex mode is there for several advance reasons(e.g network requirements, software, security, and bal bla bla). Normal user shouldn't bother about it.



The 3.2Gbps Backplane Capacity should be enough for a small office use. The industry standard Auto Negotiation feature however should comes in handy, especially if you made some wiring mistakes. It would auto detect cross-link cable or straight link cable and re-adjust it self to ensure that the network works(especially when you made a small mistake which I found to be very often).

In a nut shell, the Compex PS2216 is good news for small office network or home network that wish to cut the cost but still wants to get a good result. Its ease of use, profound Auto Negotiation feature as well as its decent performance should make it one of the best 16-port switch availabe in the market today.

OQO model 01+







Not until yesterday I thought the Sony VAIO VGN-UX50 was the only uPC available in the market. This OQO model 01+ is smaller and look much better than the SONY UX50(at least for me). It fits in your pocket(most of them) and are a little bit lighter than the UX50. Not like the UX50, this OQO has a lesser graphic accelerator. However, the graphic power would be enough for people without much concern for entertainment on the run. The specs are as below.

specifications

• 1GHz Transmeta Crusoe
• 30GB hard drive (shock-mounted)
• 512MB DDR RAM
• Dimensions: 4.9" x 3.4" x 0.9"
• Weight: 14 ounces
• 800 x 480 W-VGA 5" transflective display (indoor/outdoor readable)
• 3D accelerated graphics with 8MB of video RAM
• QWERTY thumb keyboard with mouse buttons and TrackStik
• 802.11b wireless
• Bluetooth wireless
• 4-pin FireWire (1394)
• USB 2.0
• 3.5mm stereo headphone jack
• Microphone
• Speaker
• Digital pen
• Removable lithium polymer battery
• Battery life up to three hours, depending on usage
• OQO docking cable includes:
• 3D accelerated 1280 x 1024 VGA video output
• Additional USB
• Additional FireWire (1394)
• Ethernet
• DC power
• Audio out

additional features

• Active hard drive protection that safely parks hard drive heads upon detecting freefall
• Screen that slides on rack and pinion mechanism to reveal thumb keyboard
• Shift, control, function and alt keys that have smart-lock with LED indicators
• Thumbwheel allows for traditional scrolling as well as enhanced features
• Ambient light sensor that automatically adjusts backlight to appropriate level

included accessories

• Universal power supply (air/auto adapters included)
• Docking cable
• Desktop stand
• Digital pen
• Carrying sleeve

optional accessories

• Stronghold metal case
• Belt-clip case
• VGA Adapter
• Battery charging adapter
• Boxwave screen protecto

The Sony VAIO VGN-UX50





































Wants a laptop in your pocket. Wait no more, the new Sony VAIO unveils itself in Japan. Its still unavailable in other markets in the near future. But here are some of the specs for the latest Sony's UX50.

• Intel Core Solo processor 1.06Ghz U1300
• 512MB RAM
• 30GB hard drive
• 3xUSB port
• Ethernet connection
• QWERTY keyboard
• Windows XP

The first time I bought my PDA, the HP iPaq rx3417, a lot of people ask me why I would spend so much on the device. I always thought that having a computer stored in your pocket would be very useful, either if its for entertainment, management, or gathering information.

For entertainment, a sufficiently powerful PDA can become an mp3 player, video player, multimedia streaming as well as a picture viewer. You can have your entire photo album or your music album at all times everywhere you go. Most PDA these days comes with a stanndard 1.3MP or 2.0MP camera which is sufficient when you don't have access to your standard camera.

Having a PDA would also help you whether you're a student, a businessmen, or even a teacher. Most of us, while working on an assignment often have to read and spend a lot of time in front of a PC. Instead of having to be stuck with a huge desktop computer or a heavyweight laptop, you would only have to carry your PDA with you. Simply save the Website page and transfer it to your PDA(either by synchronizing or by using an SD/mini SD card). You'd find it convenient to keep you filled while waiting for your pizzas or while waiting for your class to start. And yes, you can save your friends or business partner contact information.

Most universities in the United States or even in other countries usually provides a wireless internet access around the campus. Having a PDA equipped with a wi-fi adapter would really comes in handy. Check your email in the cafe and write something if you want to, read electronic newspapers while resting in the schools garden and for bloggers, you can write your entry alomost anywhere you want, you can even post a picture you just took.

Have Yahoo Messenger installed in your Pocket PC and chat all the way until you ran out of power. Install Skype for Pocket PC(I don't know if there's a version for Palm OS) and you'll find calling your friends and family at home is just as mobile as ever. No need for your laptop. Place your call anywhere where there's a wifi.

And that are just some of the features which comes pretty much very standard on most Pocket PC these days. Search online for extra software, there are programs which is useful whether you're a college student, businessmen, teacher, engineer or whatever profession you're in.

After I got tired of using, as well as facing a lot of difficulties with my old PDA, the HP Ipaq rx3417, I decided that I would go and get something else. Here are a couple of the latest PDA phone with promising features I'd found out there. I prefer models without keypads(honestly, I think most of them look ugly), so you'd found here that a lot of them are without it.

1. HP iPaq rw6828(Windows Mobile 5.0, 2MP camera, Triband, Intel PXA 416 MHz, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, GPRS/GSM, Infrared,140 g, 64MB RAM, 128MB ROM)
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
2. ASUS P525(Windows Mobile 5.0, 2MP camera, Quadband, Intel XScale 416 MHz, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, GPRS/GSM, Infrared, 159.5 g, 64MB RAM, 128MB ROM)
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
3. O2 XDA Atom Exec(Windows Mobile 5.0, 2MP camera, Triband, Intel PXA 27x processor 520 MHz, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, GPRS/GSM, Infrared,140 g, 64MB RAM, 192MB ROM)
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
4. Eten M600 (Windows Mobile 5.0, 2MP camera, Triband, Samsung S3C2440 400 MHz, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, GPRS/GSM, 140 g, 64MB RAM, 256MB ROM)

After using Friendster's blog for a while, I'd decided that I'm gonna try something else. Now I know how much better other blog host are out here. Hope I can do something that would benefit everyone. While my my Friendster's blog will still be the place for me to render my thoughts, this one shall be a place for me to share my knowledge especially regarding electronic devices such as PDA, Palm, Smartphone and others. Hope you'd find it useful!