The Smorgasbord

Here’s something you may not have seen – it’s the “Eye-Fi Wireless SD Card”. Most of us have SD cards lying around because that’s what we store all our precious pictures on in our digital cameras. How many times have you taken pictures, and then waited days (or weeks, or months) before uploading them to your PC or laptop? I can’t count the number of times that I have gotten out the camera and realized that it was full of pictures from a month back. Even worse, that meant fewer pictures I could take – because I couldn’t delete anything off the card yet.

This post of part of The Smorgasbord Tech Reviews series!

Enter the “Eye-Fi”. Inside this flash memory card are some tiny electronics that will astound you. This SD memory card can connect to your WiFi network, without cables, or cradles – or anything! It can automatically upload all your pics to any PC on your network OR even upload them to Flickr, Fotki, Shutterfly, Webshots, Photobucket, Kodak Gallery, Sharpcast, Wal-mart, Snapfish, Phanfare, Picase Web Albums, TypePad, VOX, Smugmug, or Facebook! It can even resize photos before submission if you wish! What an unbelievably handy gadget to have!

This could possibly be one of the coolest gift ideas for just about anyone! Imagine giving this to Mom or Grandma – or anyone that hates having to get the cable or usb adapter out just to transfer the pictures every time!

Eye-Fi Wireless 2GB Secure Digital Memory Card SD
Price: $99.99
Photos should not be trapped in your camera. Set them free effortlessly and wirelessly. The Eye-Fi Card is a wireless SD memory card for your digital camera. It stores pictures like a standard SD memory card, but also uses your home Wi-Fi network to automatically transfer images from inside your camera to your PC or Mac and to your favorite photo or social networking website for sharing or printing. No cables, no cradles, no fuss.

You might be able to find a really good new or used eye-fi in one of these auctions as well:

Eye-Fi 2GB SD Share Wireless Memory Card

US $62.94 End Date: Friday Jul-30-2010 0:40:49 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $62.94 Buy it now | Add to watch list

Eye-Fi EYEFI8PC 8GB Eye-Fi Pro X2 Card EYE-FI-8PC

US $151.00 End Date: Friday Jul-30-2010 9:10:18 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $151.00 Buy it now | Add to watch list

Eye-Fi explore 2gb wi-fi sd card 2gig wireless

US $50.99 End Date: Friday Jul-30-2010 14:01:41 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $50.99 Buy it now | Add to watch list

Eye-Fi 2GB SD Wireless Memory Card Wi-Fi Share 2 GB NEW

US $29.98 (0 Bid) End Date: Friday Jul-30-2010 15:34:38 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $34.98 Bid now | Buy it now | Add to watch list

*NR* Eye-fi 4GB SDHC with built in wi-fi

US $29.50 (8 Bids) End Date: Saturday Jul-31-2010 16:00:57 PDT Bid now | Add to watch list

The Socket Sense Expandable Surge Protector Strip is something I wish I had a long time ago! It always seems like I have some kind of big bulky adapter to plug in that spans more than one outlet. This nifty little gadget just slides out at any outlet to expand and give enough room for big adapters where needed. I think all surge protectors should do this. I can use one of these in my living room entertainment center, and also at just about every computer in the house, in addition to carrying one in my musicians gig bag for the stage (where I have all kinds of adapters for effects)! Where could you use an expandable socket surge strip? click here to check prices for the “Socket Surge”.

A short while ago I reviewed the Asus Eee PC, which is an incredible sub-compact laptop that runs on Linux and you can buy brand new for only $300-$500. Some say it was inspired by the OLPC or One Laptop Per Child initiative. In a way the things that have derailed and plagued the OLPC front are now starting to creep into the computer industry as a whole – and it’s not really surprising.

This post of part of The Smorgasbord Tech Reviews series!

Let me explain…in my basement I have a 6 or 7 year old Gateway box. When I got it (used) it had 128MB of RAM and a 20GB HDD. The processor I think is Pentium III, maybe 500-600Mhz?? I upgraded the Ram to 256MB and installed Redhat Linux. Over the years it has had many different versions of Linux, but for the last 3 years or so it’s been Ubuntu. Now that box has 512MB of Ram, a 100GB and 120GB hard drive, and a 128MB graphics card and an LCD dispay. It’s funny, the only thing I never upgraded was the USB 1.1 to 2.0. This box works great as an Internet / email workhorse. I can get any web work done on it, edit graphics, manage digital pics, or mp3′s. I converted video on this box for many years (and still can). My whole point here is that you don’t need a lot of horsepower or the latest hardware to have a solid affordable working home computer for many years (anymore). I know tons of geeks that recycle hardware and do the exact same thing.

Now that technology has evolved a bit, the same “sect” of geeks that recycle hardware wouldn’t mind using that same tech on a portable device they could take with them. There are lots of linux laptops now available, but many geeks have been installing linux on their windows laptops for years. It was inevitable that the Asus Eee Linux PC would be a hit in the geek community. Asus got a taste of success and predicted 2 million Asus Eee PC’s sold this year, and you can just hear somebody in marketing say “if we sold that many Linux Eee’s, just imagine how many we could sell if it had Windows on it!”.

Well, that time has come, and now Asus has come forward to release versions (4G and 12G) Windows XP Home installed. A lot of geeks are pissed off and screaming “sellout”, but Asus isn’t exactly a non-profit company. If the oil companies can make windfall profits the year of the largest hurricane in U.S. history – is it any surprise Asus released a windows version of the Eee PC? I think not.

So now that anyone can enjoy the sub-compact genius of the Eee PC – how well does Windows run on it? It comes with Windows XP, 12GB of storage, 900Mhz Celeron CPU, and 1GB of DDR memory. It has a new 8.9 inch display which can run at 1,024 x 600 pixels, which makes it much closer to a standard (non-wide) desktop. It even supports multi-gesture inputs, like the iPod touch and iPhone, something (that currently) no other PC made today can claim. You don’t get Skype and Open Office installed, but you certainly can install them yourself easily.

Some reviews say the Windows version of the Asus Eee PC aren’t as good as Linux, mainly because the storage is only 12GB instead of 20. The storage had to be sacrificed to pay for the Windows license. The speakers may suck, but they do on the Linux version too. At least the screen is increased to a decent (and still compact) size, and the camera is now a respectable 1.3 megapixels. It’s all give and take I guess.

I had read a lot of reviews on Amazon and eBay where some had purchased the Linux version of the Eee PC and just couldn’t do it. They had all kinds of problems, and probably no “geek” to turn to for help. So they either tried to return them or sell them on eBay. The Windows version is for the masses, and will make it much easier to just “plug and play” devices. Although “most things” work in Linux, there are still of lot of printers, cameras, and other devices that either don’t work, or take a bit of “tweaking” to get running. Let’s face it, none of us may ever drop anything off to the “Geek Squad” to be fixed, but there’s a reason they have customers.

My original Asus Eee (Linux) PC Review.

Laptop Battery for Asus EEE PC 900 12G XP BLACK 6 CELL

US $45.99 End Date: Thursday Aug-19-2010 16:51:54 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $45.99 Buy it now | Add to watch list

Laptop Battery for Asus EEE PC 900 12G XP BLACK 6 CELL

US $43.99 End Date: Thursday Aug-19-2010 16:51:56 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $43.99 Buy it now | Add to watch list

Laptop Battery for Asus EEE PC 900 12G XP BLACK 4 CELL

US $40.99 End Date: Thursday Aug-19-2010 16:51:59 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $40.99 Buy it now | Add to watch list

Laptop Battery for Asus EEE PC 900 12G XP BLACK 4 CELL

US $40.99 End Date: Thursday Aug-19-2010 16:52:01 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $40.99 Buy it now | Add to watch list

Battery f. Asus Eee PC 4G XP 8G (1G RAM) 20G 701C 801

US $35.72 End Date: Friday Jul-30-2010 18:56:16 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $35.72 Buy it now | Add to watch list

BATTERY FOR ASUS EEE PC 700 701 900 4G Linux Surf XP

US $29.88 End Date: Friday Aug-13-2010 4:05:48 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $29.88 Buy it now | Add to watch list

Battery f. Asus Eee PC 4G XP 8G (1G RAM) 20G 701C 801

US $35.72 End Date: Friday Aug-13-2010 19:24:17 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $35.72 Buy it now | Add to watch list

Battery f. Asus Eee PC 4G XP 8G (1G RAM) 20G 701C 801

US $35.72 End Date: Saturday Aug-14-2010 18:29:08 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $35.72 Buy it now | Add to watch list

Laptop Battery for Asus EEE PC 900 12G XP BLACK 6 CELL

US $45.99 End Date: Thursday Aug-19-2010 16:51:54 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $45.99 Buy it now | Add to watch list

Laptop Battery for Asus EEE PC 900 12G XP BLACK 6 CELL

US $43.99 End Date: Thursday Aug-19-2010 16:51:56 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $43.99 Buy it now | Add to watch list

Laptop Battery for Asus EEE PC 900 12G XP BLACK 4 CELL

US $40.99 End Date: Thursday Aug-19-2010 16:51:59 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $40.99 Buy it now | Add to watch list

Laptop Battery for Asus EEE PC 900 12G XP BLACK 4 CELL

US $40.99 End Date: Thursday Aug-19-2010 16:52:01 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $40.99 Buy it now | Add to watch list

Don’t lost valuable documents, mp3′s, and digital photos use a “Buffalo Drivestation” to backup your valuable data.

This post of part of The Smorgasbord Tech Reviews series!

When I wrote my “Network Storage Review“, one of the first things in that article was the “Buffalo Drivestation”. I was thinking about the Drivestation this week because I had a family member who had a hard drive crash and lost all of her family photos and mp3′s she’d purchased, in addition to saved tax returns, and many other valuable documents.

I think sometimes people forget what kinds of “digital treasures” are stored on your PC or laptop, and what kind of chaos could ensue if it suddenly disappeared tomorrow. The Drivestation came to mind because it comes in so many different sizes (from 320GB to many Terabytes), and because it’s so easy to use. Just plug it in, push the button, and you’re backed up! They make models big enough for most small to medium sized businesses, and the versions with “RAID” have 2 hard drives inside for dual mirroring. That means if one hard drive fails, there’s another as a backup. The disks are even encrypted, so if anyone takes the unit, they can’t access any of your data.

It’s like insurance for your computer in a way. You have insurance for your car and home don’t you? If you have an accident or a fire your insurance company will replace what you have lost. Not only is there no insurance for your computer, but the personal documents and data you lose there likely can’t be replaced at all. If you have pics of your daughter’s wedding on your computer’s hard drive, for example, if they were lost no amount of money could compensate you for that.

I recommended the Buffalo Drivestation to my family member that lost her data, and I recommend it to you because of it’s ease of use, multiple connections (firewire and USB), and because it works with both Macs and PC’s. The price is reasonable for the value you get, and even your Grandma or the most tech-clueless office manager or secretary could set one up.

You can nearly always find Drivestations on eBay, or Amazon (below).

Buffalo Technology 2TB 2X500GB DRIVESTATION DUO EXT 7

US $281.94 End Date: Friday Jul-30-2010 0:44:07 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $281.94 Buy it now | Add to watch list

HDRQS2TSU2R5 2.0TB DriveStation Quatro Buffalo Technolo

US $569.00 End Date: Friday Jul-30-2010 7:43:51 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $569.00 Buy it now | Add to watch list

Buffalo Technology HDHX10TU3 1TB DriveStation USB 3.0

US $138.00 End Date: Friday Jul-30-2010 8:44:07 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $138.00 Buy it now | Add to watch list

Buffalo Technology HDHX20TU3 2TB DriveStation USB 3.0

US $216.00 End Date: Friday Jul-30-2010 8:45:37 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $216.00 Buy it now | Add to watch list

HDCXT20TU2 2TB DriveStation USB DataVault Buffalo Techn

US $163.00 End Date: Friday Jul-30-2010 9:16:45 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $163.00 Buy it now | Add to watch list

Buffalo DriveStation TurboUSB HD-CX1.0TU2 HDD 7200rpm

US $109.99 End Date: Saturday Jul-31-2010 1:22:13 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $109.99 Buy it now | Add to watch list

Buffalo DriveStation TurboUSB HD-CX1.0TU2 HDD 7200rpm ~

US $119.99 End Date: Saturday Jul-31-2010 1:22:16 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $119.99 Buy it now | Add to watch list

NEW BUFFALO HD-HS500Q Buffalo DriveStation Combo 4 Hard

US $126.58 End Date: Saturday Jul-31-2010 5:35:14 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $126.58 Buy it now | Add to watch list

Can Holographic Storage, a technology 20 years in the making, be the future BluRay killer?

Robin Harris wrote an article on his blog the other day about holographic storage shipping next month. The technology was in the works for decades before becoming a reality. Every now and then I read about something and go “wow – that’s the future!”. I remember when I was a kid in the 80′s and my day telling me about computer storage and memory doubling nearly every six months. He also told me “someday you’ll be able to carry your 30 albums or your entire record collection on a small postage stamp sized chip in your pocket.” It seemed like something out of the movies back then, and yet my 4GB SD Flash card for my digital camera can hold about 1,000 songs which I guess is about 75-80 CD’s (and it’s about the size of a postage stamp).

We’ve all seen a holograph in a sci-fi movie. A holograph is a projected image that, if you moved around it, would actually have perspective form different angles. A holograph is a true “3D image”. So, how do you turn a holograph into storage? Technically a holograph IS storage, because it stores information about the image to be projected. A hologram uses 2 laser beams. A reference and illumination beam create an interference pattern on photo sensitive media. Shine a laser on that reference pattern and get an image in 3D – simple as that. Robin Harris brings up to good points in that article, the first being that a small fraction of the reference data can reconstruct the entire 3D images (you just can’t move as far around it). This means that unlike a CD or DVD, if the photo sensitive media is scratched it doesn’t (completely) destroy the data. Imagine data that can “reconstruct itself” from the remaining bits. His other point was that the amount of storage is just about limitless. By changing the reference point and illumination of the beams different holographs can be produced – so hundreds (or more) could be stored in the exact same space on the media.

Oh – did I mention the fact that photographic media has a lifespan of over 100 years, so holographic storage has the longest lifespan of any media to date. The company that created this holographic storage technology is “InPhase” and the first units will be shipped for $18,000 next month. One disk costs $180 and stores 300GB.

Why do we care? For the same reason that both CD and DVD players were thousands when they first came out. This is the future of technology. Movie studios with long term storage needs will gladly pay $18,000 for this device, but as the prices drop I think that this kind of technology will be something that consumers need. You can buy a half-terabyte drive at your local Wal-Mart now for $100. I think it’s great to be able to back up all of our digital pictures and music on an external drive for our home network. But as time goes on I will need multiple ones, and eventually some will fail – and eventually I’ll lose some really cherished memories. I think that’s why a lot of people I know print out so many digital pictures on photo paper – they know that if somehow the digital copy is lost, the printed version should last a lifetime. If InPhase eventually created a consumer version holographic storage drive, wouldn’t you buy one? I mean come on, you could store you family digital photos knowing that the media would be good up to 100 years. I know of no other storage technology other than printed photos themselves that could give you that kind of piece of mind.

Think about the industry uses this could bring. Movie theaters could ship out their blockbusters to the theaters on these disks knowing the quality wouldn’t diminish no matter how many times they were rented out. Web hosts could practically offer “uncorruptable backups”. You may not know this, but your local cable company usually has movies “downloaded” on their local server for the video “on demand” services you can watch. With holographic storage they could store tens of thousands of movies for you to watch, and not just hundreds. Unbelievable amounts of data could be stored in black boxes of planes, trains, and automobiles. You could possibly take your entire entertainment system from your living room to your car on one disk. Entire textbooks could begin to be stored on disk cartridges to be read in standard readers and books in schools and universities would not only be cheaper, but the quality of the content would never diminish (just the hardware readers to view them).

So that’s why I think holographic storage is a future BluRay killer. How many years will that be? I don’t know. It took 20 years for holographic storage to become a real piece of hardware you could buy. I don’t think that it will be 20 more years before what I envision comes true, but it’s certainly possible within the next 5-10. But you never know, something might just come along that’s even better than this!

I’ve found a secret cache of cool computer gadgets I’ll be posting over the next few months. For the first installment I want to highlight something really cool that I wish I had about a thousand times. This is an “IDE to USB Converter Cable”, and you can take an internal hard drive, hook it up, and plug it in your USB port just like it was a flash drive. This isn’t a SATA converter cable (but they have those too), but I have to say I still have a half dozen old ATA IDE hard drives lying around from 6GB to 200GB. If I have to transfer buku files from my laptop to my pc – this is exactly what I need! External hard drive full? Flash drive too small? This converter cable will save your butt! If you get fired from your job and need to get some files off your PC at work, just slip this cable and an old hard drive in your briefcase or bag and you’re good to go!

This post of part of The Smorgasbord Tech Reviews series!

Now you can access or test an internal ATA/ATAPI (IDE) drive without the hassle of connecting it to a motherboard. Just attach the Easy IDE converter and you’ll have fast USB 2.0 access to hard drives, CD burners, DVD drives and more. Great for technicians. Includes 3-foot USB cable, AC adapter and 40- to 44-pin adapter for 2.5 drives. The IDE to USB converter would make a great gift for any geek on Father’s day, Christmas, birthday, or any time! You don’t have to be a computer tech to get use out of this thing, I think that we all have some used hard drives sitting around somewhere that we could easily temporarily use for data transfers with this cable.
Click to check prices.

You might even find a great deal on a “IDE to USB converter Cable” on eBay right now:

USB to IDE SATA 2.5 3.5 Hard Drive Converter Cable new

US $7.83 End Date: Thursday Jul-29-2010 19:25:19 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $7.83 Buy it now | Add to watch list

SATA/IDE to USB 2.0 Adapter Converter w/ Touch Backup

US $17.63 (0 Bid) End Date: Thursday Jul-29-2010 19:34:42 PDT Bid now | Add to watch list

USB 2.0 to IDE SATA 2.5 3.5 Hard Drive Converter Cable

US $9.79 End Date: Thursday Jul-29-2010 19:57:39 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $9.79 Buy it now | Add to watch list

USB 2.0 to SATA IDE 2.5 3.5 Hard Drive Converter Cable

US $9.89 End Date: Thursday Jul-29-2010 19:58:52 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $9.89 Buy it now | Add to watch list

USB 2.0 to IDE SATA 2.5/3.5 HDD Converter Cable Adapter

US $9.89 End Date: Thursday Jul-29-2010 20:08:19 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $9.89 Buy it now | Add to watch list

USB 2.0 to IDE Converter Cable CD/DVD/CD-RW/DVD-RW/HDD

US $10.99 End Date: Thursday Jul-29-2010 20:24:28 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $10.99 Buy it now | Add to watch list

USB 2.0 to SATA IDE Hard Drive Adapter Cable Converter

US $11.99 End Date: Thursday Jul-29-2010 20:29:10 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $11.99 Buy it now | Add to watch list

USB 2.0 to SATA IDE Hard Drive Cable Adapter Converter

US $18.47 End Date: Thursday Jul-29-2010 20:32:09 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $18.47 Buy it now | Add to watch list

Asus Eee – Linux Finally Beating the Piss out of Windows?

The sale of new PC’s with windows is declining! The average person watching TV would think that Mac is winning this war, with all the “Mac vs PC” and the new Mac Airbook. Just read Windows caught between Mac and Linux. It reveals that Mac’s operating system share went from 9% to 14% from 2007 to 2008. That’s only 5% – but it’s significant. PC’s grew 9 percent in shipped units, but Mac’s saw 60% growth. In 2007 Wal-Mart sold out of their Everex Green PC’s (gPC) with Linux installed – but they sold out online. The retail versions were pulled from store shelves. I guess this only shows that geeks purchase online, but the popularity of the $199 Wal-Mart Linux PC’s should have been a great indicator to how well these Eee PC’s would do for Asus.

This post of part of The Smorgasbord Tech Reviews series!

Although no one is really tracking Linux PC sales (linux sold on a brand new PC) – the Asus Eee PC 4G Surf is all over the Amazon top selling “Computers and Hardware” list taking 8 out of the top 25 spots, including #4 and #4 beating ALL the apple models. The “Asus Eee PC” takes up 9 of the top 25 spots for Amazon’s Best Selling Notebooks category, here taking #2 and #3 spots beaten only by the Sony VAIO – and again beating all Mac’s. Maybe that’s why Asustek’s chairman predicts they will be selling 2 million Linux PC’s in 2008.

Why is the Asus Eee PC so popular?

So why is the “Asus Eee PC” a sleeping giant? Let see what Wikipedia has to say about the Asus Eee PC. It’s a “subnotebook” (or “minibook” in the UK) and the three EEE’s stand for “Easy to Learn, Easy to Work, Easy to Play”. They came out and sold 300,000 units in 2007. Some say it’s a response to the OLPC or One Laptop Per Child initiative. You get a lot of bang for the buck with the EEE PC models ranging in price from $300-$500. The 7″ display (800×480) doesn’t take up all the space within the lid because the remaining room is left for optional speakers, microphone, and camera (0.3 megapixel 30fps) in the top. The Eee PC’s use solid state drives or “SSD” instead of traditional spinning disk, which means it’s less prone to damage from shock if it’s dropped. The SSD drive’s are soldered to the motherboard to reduce costs, so you won’t be upgrading that. You also get an MMC / SD memory card slot, 3 USB 2.0 ports, headphone jack, VGA out, and Kensington lock slot. You get Wireless b/g and 10/100 wired ethernet connections. The wireless connection is supplied by the installed card in the PCIe mini-card slot, a second PCIe slot is empty. Some models have DDR2 So-Dimm ram that can be expanded, it’s one socket expandable up to 2GB. I did read that currently the Xandros kernel supplied only uses up to 1GB of RAM anyway. I read that earlier models were “slotted” RAM, but there was no access door to reach it so buyer beware on that too.

The Eee PC’s reported boot in about 20-22 seconds, and Xandros Linux is preinstalled (which of course is a version of Debian). Most versions come with Firefox, Open Office, Skype, Tux Paint, E-mail and Internet radio apps, google Docs, and a Wikipedia lookup tool. The 4 cell Lithium-Ion batter has about 2 hrs 45 minutes of life, and the entire unit (Eee PC) weighs about 2 lbs. Processor in most of these models is 900 Mhz Intel Celeron. The measurements are 8.9 x 6.5 x 1.4 inches and you get a one year warranty on parts and labor.

The bottom line is, these things are sleek, fast-booting, open source gadgets that are cool looking (available in 9-odd pastel colors), purportedly long lasting (SSD drives), and cheaper (and a helluva lot more functional) than both an iPod Touch or iPhone. And – they’re only 2 lbs! I think every geek should have one.

I think the proof is the reviews of actual users. In Amazon reviews of the Eee 4G Surf (the 800 Mhz, 512MB Ram, 4GB HD black version) the score is 4.5 out of 5 stars and 167 reviews. I think that’s pretty damn respectable. The reviews I read said “the Eee PC made a great media player” and another guy said “make a great little Windows computer”. Apparantely the Eee PC ships with very simple instructions to replace Xandros Linux with a licensed copy of Windows XP. Some people use a 4GB SD card for additional storage. One guy writes “very user friendly” despite the fact that he was “never a huge Linux fan”. Also “highly recommended for adults and kids, recommended for all ages”. That’s probably because with this small form factor the keyboard and touchpad are noticably smaller. One reviewer said “beware for people with large hands”. I would imagine that means this small device is a boon for kids with small fingers and hands.

Other reviewers write “perfect traveling laptop”, “cheaper than iphone”, “outstanding”, and “great for personal use”. There are of course comments from not so happy people compaining about the lack of software choices, small keyboard, small amount of storage, and connecting to certain digital devices (cell phones and PDA’s). Many of these reviewers admit they were not familiar enough with Linux – to the Eee PC’s may remain a bit slanted to the “geek” crowd for now. But selling 2 million of these in 2008 means that there are a lot more geeks nowadays!

Here are 2 video reviews on YouTube, one is for the Linux version of the Eee PC, and the second is for Windows XP installed on the Eee PC:

Where can I get the best deal on a “Asus Eee PC“?

The Asus Eee’s are best sellers on Amazon (17 different models currently listed in various colors), but you can also find lots of them on eBay now as well (500+). I’m going to give you links below to the various models available and you can look for the best deal. The little Linux powerhouses are definitely worth the money!

ASUS EEE PC 901 12GB SSD 2GB RAM Upgrade USED

US $132.50 (10 Bids) End Date: Thursday Jul-29-2010 19:26:43 PDT Bid now | Add to watch list

DC Power Jack for 7" Asus EEE PC 701SD 8G Motherboard

US $2.99 End Date: Thursday Jul-29-2010 19:36:38 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $2.99 Buy it now | Add to watch list

Asus Eee PC 1005HAB With Ubuntu Netbook Remix

US $152.50 (14 Bids) End Date: Thursday Jul-29-2010 19:47:54 PDT Bid now | Add to watch list

Asus Eee PC 10.1" White Notebook 1000-WHI001X Laptop

US $14.95 (1 Bid) End Date: Thursday Jul-29-2010 20:00:46 PDT Bid now | Add to watch list

Asus Eee PC T91

US $158.50 (3 Bids) End Date: Thursday Jul-29-2010 20:00:52 PDT Bid now | Add to watch list

**EXCELLENT CONDITION** Asus Eee PC 900HA

US $229.00 End Date: Thursday Jul-29-2010 20:06:33 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $229.00 Buy it now | Add to watch list

9.5V 2.5A AC Adapter for ASUS Eee PC 701 2G 4G Surf 8G

US $8.99 End Date: Thursday Jul-29-2010 20:24:37 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $8.99 Buy it now | Add to watch list

ASUS Eee PC 900hd

US $91.00 (12 Bids) End Date: Thursday Jul-29-2010 20:53:35 PDT Bid now | Add to watch list

A “digital notepad” is portable to write notes on the go, and transfer them to your computer later. It’s about the same size as a regular notepad, but you use it the same way. Just write on the screen with the stylus like you’re writing on a piece of paper. You don’t have to be attached to a computer or anything. Most of these devices have internal storage so you can save lots of notes, but they also have an SD card slot so you can add even more storage.

This post of part of The Smorgasbord Tech Reviews series!

How many times have you wanted to transfer something you’ve written down to your computer? With the “digital notepad” once you’ve written your notes, you can connect to your PC with a USB cable and transfer them. The better ones also convert to a full functional PC table for drawing! It could then be used with Photoshop, other graphics editors, CAD/CAM applications, and more.

The other day my wife and I were in the emergency room and when we were ready to check out and leave the nurse brought in a laptop. She flipped the screen around and set it flat and it had our discharge papers on the LCD screen for us to sign. As we were leaving my wife asked me why I didn’t want one of those. I’ve looked at “tablet PC’s” the last few years, and they’re really “cool” and all, but I told her I couldn’t think of a direct reason (other than the ‘cool’ factor) for me to own one. In fact, mostly I see them used by people that have to deal with lots of paperwork, like UPS or Fedex drivers, warehouse workers, healthcare, etc.

A college student even asked me if I thought that the Panasonic “Toughbook” tablet PC was good for him – and at $2,300 I didn’t think it was. I told him that he could get a kick-ass laptop for about $1,200, and this for aroun $150-$200. The digital notepad may not have the full functionality that an entire laptop does, but it will surely get the job done for note taking in class. I think it would be better because you wouldn’t have all the normal distractions of a computer (email, IM, the web) when you were in class. Just think of all the things you could use this for from a guestbook at a graduation or birthday party, grocery list at the store, notes at the library, you could even have people write specials notes to a bride and groom at a wedding reception!

I think for the money, when compared with other gadgets like digital cameras, that digital notepads are not only a good bargain – but very handy!
Here’s a few for you to look at:

Adesso CyberPad 8.5″ x 11″ USB Digital Notepad Imagine having a notepad with the ability to transfer what you’ve written on paper, directly onto your computer? What a remarkable convenience that would be! Adesso makes it all possible with this revolutionary CyberPad! The CyberPad is a stand-alone device with internal storage capability that digitally captures and stores everything you write or draw with ink on ordinary paper, such as letter size or A4 size without the use of computer and special paper. An optional SD slot makes it perfect for additional storage. Then you can easily view, edit, organize and share your handwritten notes on your computer screen.The Adesso CyberPad digitally stores exact reproductions of notes or graphics in real time. It includes a clip which accommodates all standard letter-sized paper pads. The CyberPad includes 32MB of internal memory which provides 26 directories (A-Z) with 99 pages available in each – and is further expandable with the integrated SD slot – which can also act as an SD card reader. It then connects to a PC via USB to instantly transfer and manage notes and images. Once connected to a PC, Adesso’s CyberPad can also convert into a fully-functional PC tablet, which is an ideal input solution for computer artists, graphic designers, photo editors and office and CAD/CAM applications. Other emerging applications include Internet whiteboard graphics, signature verification for e-commerce as well as handwriting/text conversion.

8.5 X11INCH DIGITAL NOTEPAD WITH ELECTRIC INKING PEN, BULIT-IN 32MB MEMORY ,OVER The CyberPad integrates the familiarity of pen-on-paper feel. It’s a digital notepad with an electronic inking pen that feels and works as well as a regular pen. It lets you to naturally write as you usually do with a regular pen on paper. No special papers needed! Utilizing the electromagnetic technology, it lets you put any ordinary letter size or A4 size paper on the pad and use the inking pen to write directly on the paper. Even if the thickness of papers laid on the pad are 0.75 thick; your handwritten notes can still be captured and stored in the built-in or optional SD card memory slot of your CyberPad.

Wireless Digital Note Notepad Writing Capture Pen PC

US $99.99 End Date: Friday Jul-30-2010 14:59:31 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $99.99 Buy it now | Add to watch list

iNote Digital Mobile Memo Notepad Note Taker Wireless

US $99.99 End Date: Friday Jul-30-2010 14:59:58 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $99.99 Buy it now | Add to watch list

iNote Digital Pen Notepad Mobile Note Digimemo Crosspad

US $99.99 End Date: Friday Jul-30-2010 15:00:28 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $99.99 Buy it now | Add to watch list

iNote Digital Pen Notepad Mobile Note Digimemo Crosspad

US $99.99 End Date: Friday Jul-30-2010 17:58:32 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $99.99 Buy it now | Add to watch list

Wireless Digital Note Notepad Writing Capture Pen PC

US $99.99 End Date: Friday Jul-30-2010 17:58:35 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $99.99 Buy it now | Add to watch list

iNote Digital Mobile Memo Notepad Note Taker Wireless

US $99.99 End Date: Friday Jul-30-2010 17:58:51 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $99.99 Buy it now | Add to watch list

Connect your cell phone or PDA to your PC via wireless usb bluetooth transceiver adapter dongle and transfer ringtones, mp3′s, and 3gp videos!

This is a pretty quick tip, a neat little “bluetooth usb adaptor gadget” I came across the other day. I’ve still not come across many computers with built-in bluetooth connectivity, but nearly every cell phone has it. In our house people always want to get ringtones, mp3 songs, and cell phone mobile formatted 3gp videos from the laptop or one of our PC’s to their cell phone or PDA. Seems like we have a bunch of USB connection cords for these cell phones lying around – and we can never find the right one at the right time.

As I said – every cell phone we own has bluetooth built in, so the best solution would be to connect all the mobile devies via bluetooth. I found that you can get a “USB Bluetooth Tranceiver” dongle for a reasonable price, and the fact that it’s USB is great for us because we can move it to any system in the house. With gadgets, quicker, faster, and more efficient is the name of the game, and one of these is going to work great for us! Now I can throw all those USB connection cables away for good! You don’t have to buy a Belkin – there are many different brands that are affordable and work well with all cell phones (including Motorola, Nokia, etc.). I recommend the “MSI bluetooth dongle”. Most of them look just like a flash drive, in fact you may as well just call it a “bluetooth USB stick”! You shouldn’t need a bluetooth usb driver either, for most systems it should be plug and play.

The best prices I’ve seen for these are on eBay, and there are gobs of them <$10 including shipping.

USB MINI Bluetooth Wireless Adapter for Windows 7 Vista

US $0.81 (4 Bids) End Date: Thursday Jul-29-2010 19:23:39 PDT Bid now | Add to watch list

Rocketfish Mobile RF-BCDM4 USB Bluetooth Micro Adapter

US $7.75 End Date: Thursday Jul-29-2010 19:24:18 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $7.75 Buy it now | Add to watch list

Mini USB Bluetooth Dongle EDR Adapter f Printer Headset

US $2.88 End Date: Thursday Jul-29-2010 19:27:17 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $2.88 Buy it now | Add to watch list

Tiny USB 2.0 Bluetooth EDR Dongle Wireless Adapter 2081

US $0.01 (0 Bid) End Date: Thursday Jul-29-2010 19:30:50 PDT Bid now | Add to watch list

Mini Bluetooth 2.0 USB 2.0 Dongle Adapter (Black)

US $3.30 (0 Bid) End Date: Thursday Jul-29-2010 19:31:42 PDT Bid now | Add to watch list

Mini USB BLUETOOTH V2.0 WIRELESS DONGLE ADAPTER

US $0.99 End Date: Thursday Jul-29-2010 19:32:20 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $0.99 Buy it now | Add to watch list

Need external storage that’s extremely portable? I’ve wished for an external hard drive enclosure that’s wireless, and my wireless hdd guide will show you the in’s and out’s of what’s currently available!

This post of part of The Smorgasbord Tech Reviews series!

I’ve blogged a lot off an on about making your home entertainment network more user friend, and the gadgets that can help you get it done. Yesterday we were talking at home about the value of maybe getting a big external hard drive and hooking it up (wired) to one PC so the entire household could store their media on it. We’d maybe start it off with one big USB 2.0 external 500GB disk. You can get one new for around $120. I’ve written about the wireless USB hub and how you could connect multiple external hard drives or enclosures that way, and I’ve also posted about the value of a good network storage drive. But now they’re coming out with wireless hard drives that may start to change all of that…

What is a Wireless Hard Drive?

You have to be very careful when you’re shopping for a wireless hard drive, because devices that may appear to do the same thing may not. There are many, many flavors that may do many many different things – pay attention to what your needs are, the price, and value for the money. I’m going to show you some different kinds of wireless hard drives and enclosures:

The Iomega 33349 StorCenter has 1 Terabyte (1,000 GB) of storage and is a “Network Storage Device” – meaning you can plug it into your router or switch on your home or business network for everyone to share (without having it hooked to one dedicated computer). The StorCenter is “wireless” as well as wired, so all laptops and mobile devices can access it. Imagine having one device that could be accessed by PC’s, laptops, cell phones, PDA, iPhone, iTouch, or even your PSP or other mobile devices. There’s a price to be paid for all this technology, and it’s a little under $500 (as of this writing). You can get the latest price by following these links.

Iomega 33349 StorCenter 1 TB Wireless Gigabit Ethernet Network Storage

Iomega® StorCenter Wireless Network Storage 1TB 33349

US $299.99 End Date: Saturday Aug-21-2010 9:50:07 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $299.99 Buy it now | Add to watch list

You have some products that proclaim to be a “Wireless Media Player” like the MG-350HD HD Wireless 802.11G Media Player by Mediagate. This is just fancy hard drive enclosure – since the device comes sans hard drive. It does proclaim so pretty boasty features, like the ability to stream HD video via wireless up to 1920 x 1080p. It’s got all kinds of fancy connections, like L/R stereo out, and composite, component, and S-video out. This particular unit can stream video from an internal hard drive or a PC on the network and even has a remote control. So you can see that this unit (as a wireless hard drive) is very different in that it can be a set-top box OR a media gateway to access (from networked PC’s). Follow these links to find more out about this device.

MG-350HD HD Wireless 802.11G Media Player. By Mediagate

You might be interested in an Asus Wireless Storage Router which has an internal 250GB hard drive. It has a USB connector so you can connect other (wired) storage devices to it for sharing, and it even has the ability to download files from the Internet when your PC is turned off. The specs say you can download up to 7 bitTorrent files or 10 FTP/HTTP files simultaneously. For what it does, this wireless hard drive is a pretty good at half the price (and storage) as the StorCenter. You can get the wireless storage router through these links:

Wireless Storage Router

ASUS WL-700GE WIRELESS STORAGE ROUTER 160GB

US $278.65 End Date: Thursday Jul-29-2010 23:17:49 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $278.65 Buy it now | Add to watch list

Asus RT-N16 Gigabit Wireless Router w/ USB Storage &

US $91.51 End Date: Thursday Aug-05-2010 17:20:55 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $91.51 Buy it now | Add to watch list

Asus RT-N16 Gigabit Wireless Router w/ Storage & Server

US $85.50 End Date: Friday Aug-06-2010 0:32:12 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $85.50 Buy it now | Add to watch list

ASUS, WL-500GPV2 Wireless Router/Media Storage

US $82.32 End Date: Tuesday Aug-10-2010 10:44:45 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $82.32 Buy it now | Add to watch list

Asus US WL500GPREMV2 Wireless Router/Media Storage

US $75.00 End Date: Thursday Aug-12-2010 7:17:39 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $75.00 Buy it now | Add to watch list

Asus RT-N16 Gigabit Wireless Router w/ USB Storage &

US $91.51 End Date: Wednesday Aug-18-2010 19:56:58 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $91.51 Buy it now | Add to watch list

If you a have a hard drive lying around, you might be able to stick in a wireless hard drive enclosure box and put it on your network (wirelessly) that way. You can get one pretty reasonably, but the two I found were only for 2.5″ drives. I hope we see more (and a 3.5″ version) on eBay soon:

You can actually make any external hard drive enclosure wireless by using the Linksys Storage Link for USB Disk Drives. Just like many other devices Linksys makes to connect computer hardware to your home or business network, they make a Storage Link that will connect any 2 USB storage devices to your wireless local network. The thing that’s always sucked about external hard drives is that they have to be attached to a physical computer via USB to work, and then you have to access them through that computer on the network. If that computer is turned off or locked up – you can’t access those drives. With a Linksys Storage Link, you can put up to 2 USB storage devices on your network independant of all your PC’s. Just plug it into your router or hub (or switch) to work. Oh – you can even stick a flash memory stick or drive into one of the USB slots to share it on the network as well. This is not only great for file sharing, but an easy way to connect with many mobile devices!

Linksys Storage Link for USB 2.0 Disk Drives NSLU2

Linksys WRT160NL Wireless-NRouterWith Storage Link

US $105.99 End Date: Thursday Jul-29-2010 21:34:54 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $105.99 Buy it now | Add to watch list

Cisco Linksys NSLU2 Network Storage Link for USB 2

US $21.50 (9 Bids) End Date: Friday Jul-30-2010 8:56:23 PDT Bid now | Add to watch list

Linksys Wireless N Router w/Storage Link WRT350N

US $42.26 (5 Bids) End Date: Friday Jul-30-2010 19:00:47 PDT Bid now | Add to watch list

Linksys WRT160NL Wireless N Router with Storage Link

US $94.99 (0 Bid) End Date: Friday Jul-30-2010 20:43:57 PDT Bid now | Add to watch list

AC Power Adapter For Linksys Network Storage Link NSLU2

US $7.99 End Date: Friday Jul-30-2010 23:05:41 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $7.99 Buy it now | Add to watch list

Cisco NSLU2 Linksys Storage Link For Usb 2.0 Disk Drive

US $195.75 End Date: Sunday Aug-01-2010 0:06:14 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $195.75 Buy it now | Add to watch list

Wireless Hard Drive Auctions

Products and listings change on eBay all the time, so here’s the lastest auctions for “wireless hard drive” on eBay right now!

BELKIN F5L049 HOME BASE WIRELESS PRINTER HARD DRIVE HUB

US $26.88 (0 Bid) End Date: Friday Jul-30-2010 18:54:53 PDT Bid now | Add to watch list

Apple Time Capsule 500GB Wireless Network Hard Drive

US $175.00 End Date: Saturday Jul-31-2010 12:46:33 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $175.00 Buy it now | Add to watch list

HP DV9000 Hard Drive Cover Memory Door Screw Wireless

US $6.95 End Date: Saturday Jul-31-2010 13:20:32 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $6.95 Buy it now | Add to watch list

Apple 500 gig Time Capsule Wireless Hard Drive

US $22.05 (3 Bids) End Date: Saturday Jul-31-2010 16:42:22 PDT Bid now | Add to watch list

New Sealed Apple Time Capsule 2TB Wireless Hard Drive

US $102.50 (11 Bids) End Date: Saturday Jul-31-2010 18:21:47 PDT Bid now | Add to watch list

New Sealed Apple Time Capsule 2TB Wireless Hard Drive

US $222.50 (11 Bids) End Date: Saturday Jul-31-2010 18:26:10 PDT Bid now | Add to watch list