The Smorgasbord

Affordable Home Security can be yours with an IP Camera. It’s cheap peace of mind, a cool gadget, and easy to install diy home tech!

This post of part of The Smorgasbord Tech Reviews series!

Every now and then I see something and get a thought like – “Why don’t I have one of those…” or “that is so worth the money…”. It’s funny because as a kid I used to thumb through the cool new techie gadgets in popular science that were still years away and only in reach of those with a 6-figure salary. Now I see stuff online, or in a gadget magazine or tech catalog and I say “it’s about time they made that…” – and the prices aren’ t bad either!

Today my realization was that you can get an affordable IP camera! What is an IP camera you ask? It’s a camera that you can hookup to your network at your home or business and get live motion video. This would mainly used for surveillance as a security cam, but the “IP” in “IP camera” means you can access it via the Internet. You connect it to your network either wired or wireless (depending on the camera).

Intellinet Network Ip Camera, 550710

First I want to talk to you about the Intellinet IP Camera. It cost about $300 which is a bit high for an IP Camera, but it’s because of what it can do. This particular IP Camera has an embedded Linux operating system, flash memory, will email you “on-event”, and can stream (or upload via ftp) live motion video to a web site or PC. Once you set this up with a static IP – you can watch live motion video just by typing in the IP address in a web browser – no software of any kind required! Read the specs on that to find out the video quality, size of the flash memory, etc. I didn’t get much out of that page itself, so I moved on to other models…

Wireless G Network Security IP Camera Webcam AIC250W

This model of IP Security Webcam is Wireless! It’s VGA quality and you can view it over the web too, but the cool thing about this one is the fact that you can view up to 16 of these suckers at once (on one screen). Now that’s what I call affordable in-home security since each one is under $100!

Sony SNC-M3W Pan/Tilt IP Wireless Network Camera w/Audio

Sony has a nice Wireless Network IP Camera that looks pretty durable. You’ll pay a bit more for this one, but #1 it’s “Sony” and #2 it’s the first IP camera I’ve seen that captures audio. In addition to that – this Sony IP camera does pan and tilt (the first one’s don’t do that either). To use all of the features (like pan and zoom) you’ll need to install the Sony software to get everything to work.

SMC 802.11G Wireless IP Camera Pan

The SMC Wireless IP Camera does all the Sony model does, including record video and audio in MPEG 4. You can of course control the camera from a remote location (which does pan and zoom) and it also has motion detection. This Wireless IP Cam seems to be a good bet since it’s priced about $160 less than the Sony (currently).
Pan & Tilt IP Network Camera IR Night Vision, Video, Audio, Color, digital Zoom

This IP Network Camera is unique because in addition to the pan and tilt features, it has a color pictures, digital zoom, audio capture – but wait…..(drum roll) – it has NIGHT VISION!

Honestly – IP Camera’s have so many features that you have to figure out what you want to get out of it, and how much you want to spend. You might not need Pan and Tilt, so you might be able to get away with as $100 bargain IP camera. Then again, one that can be chained with many others in a multi-view display or the night vision could be what you need. In any event – do you homework before you buy. I should probably remind you that you can find a ton of great IP camera deals in auctions, check some ending soonest below!

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The average home has multiple computers and all kinds of digital photos, mp3′s, and documents that are about as organized as a bucket of slop. If you don’t get a central location to store and protect it – you are stones throw away from pissing away money and memories.

This post of part of The Smorgasbord Tech Reviews series!

Yesterday I talked about getting a wireless USB hub so you could setup some network storage away from your computer or laptop. Seemed like a pretty good idea – right? I have learned that can be both good and bad. Let’s say that your house has a mixed network of Windows and Linux – maybe even Mac? Now what? If you formatted your external drives yourself you have to figure out what common format all the external hard drives need to be for all computers to be able to seamlessly access them. Will you go NTFS? That’s kinda buggy in Linux. What about Fat32? Kind of wastes a bit of space there and not the most efficient for modern Windows machines. And since I don’t own a mac – I have no idea what format is best for that. Linux format?

That was problem #1. Problem #2 is that external drives are SINGLE drives. What does that mean? Well if you have 4 drives, and one fails – then you have three! The data on the failed drive is GONE! You are screwed (unless you were backing it up to yet another external drive). Oh – did I mention problem #3? With external drives they have to be connected to at least one computer on the network, and all the the other systems access the data THROUGH that computer. If that PC is turned off, or down, or being repaired, or out of the house (laptop) – you can’t access any of the data unless you hook the drives up to another system.

Ok – enter Network Storage. What is “network storage”? It’s a piece of hardware that you can stick on your network “standalone” – either wired or wireless, and all computers on the network can access it WITHOUT it being attached to any of the systems (it’s independant). The (better) network storage drives are platform independant, meaning that they can be accessed by Windows, Linux, or Mac computers without worrying about format at all. The better ones have their own internal processor and memory as well. In addition (the better ones) also are redundant and hot-swappable. Meaning they have multiple drives in the box, but if one goes bad you don’t lose any data and can replace the bad drive (without even turning it off). If you purchased a network storage for your home you would be purchasing a professional piece of hardware designed to store AND protect your data. Tens, possibly hundreds of thousands of files that are not only memories, but possibly important documents and hard earned money spent (multimedia files).

So now you know why it’s so important that you have network storage in your home – let me introduce you to some different options that might be right for you, whether you’re looking for a “network hard drive”, or “network external hard drive” there are many options. Imagine having network attached storage in your home or small business for a reasonable price!

The first thing I have to show you is the Buffalo Linkstation series of network storage devices. These drives let you access files remotely using DNS. They also support RAID-1 so you can mirror drives and prevent data loss (like I said earlier). You also get automated backup software with this type of device. It’s listed as being able to be used with both Mac and PC- Linux isn’t listed, but that doesn’t mean it can’t. Check with the company. These drives have some pretty good reviews. I’ll list 3 different options in this line below.

Buffalo LS250GL LinkStation Pro 250 GB Shared Network Storage

1TB Linkstation Pro Duo Nas Gbe 2X 500GB Raid 0 1 Web Access

Linkstation 500 Gb

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The HP MediaSmart server line kind of goes against what I said earlier (accessible from multiple platforms), but that’s because it’s designed fo the new Windows Home Server operating system. Connect it to your router and install the software and you’re ready to go. All Windows PC’s on the network have to install the software. Then every can backup their pc, store files, etc. You can also create a web site where people can access your files remotely and you can share you iTunes library.

HP EX470 MediaSmart Home Server (AMD Live/ 64 Bit Sempron Processor, 500 GB Hard Drive)

HP EX475 MediaSmart Home Server (AMD Live/ 64 Bit Sempron Processor, 1 TB Hard Drive)

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The Netgear ReadyNAS is some serious business with 4 drive bays and four very fast drives. It’s plug and play ready baby, and it even has a nice digital screen on front of the unit telling you how much space is available. You’re going to pay some serious bucks for this one, as much as an entire computer maybe for the most expensive one, but it will probably outlast all the computers in your house. It’s a serious piece of hardware for people that are serious about preserving their digital data. You can get versions with 2 disks – 4 disks, or no disks (add your own).
Netgear RND4250 ReadyNAS NV+ 1 TB Desktop Network Storage (2x500GB)

Netgear RND4425 ReadyNAS NV+ 1 TB Desktop Network Storage (4x250GB)

Netgear RND4000-100NAS ReadyNAS NV+ 4-Bay Desktop Network Storage (No Disk)

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The ZyXel NSA-220 is a cool option because basically it’s just a box that you can add your own drives to. It has two drive bays and can take up to 2TB of data. It takes SATA drives and has support for RAID-1. It has a gigabit ethernet port, and you can access files remotely with a built-in FTP server. That’s a cool feature.

ZyXel NSA-220 Network Storage ApplianceUniversal Plug and Play DLNA Server streams Multimedia Easily ZyXEL s DLNA certified Media Storage Server model NSA-220 provides easy connection to other DLNA certified digital home devices. Just plug both the Media Storage Server and a DLNA compliant digital media theater on the home network, you are ready to watch all the photos and videos stored in the Server on your TV or DLNA mobile phone. The Media Storage Server brings Digital Home living into reality. Terabytes Capacity for All Your Storage Need ZyXEL Media Storage Server is a dual-bay Network Storage Appliance with capacity for all your storage need. Supports RAID 0.1 and JBOD, you can have maximum storage space up to 2 Terabytes. Enough for all the pictures you have taken. The built-in Gigabit Ethernet port and the SATA (serial ATA) supported drive bay allow high speed access to the vast data stored in the Media Storage server. It just not only benefits users from home, the built-in FTP server also allows remote access to the server with simple set up on the browser GUI. Multi-tier Data Protection Insure Your Digital Treasure The ZyXEL Media Storage Server NSA-220 gives you the best insurance policy you can find for all your digital treasure by provides multi-tier data protection: By supporting RAID 1, the server mirroring data from one hard drive to the other. Second, the innovative auto-copy one-button action helps users to backup data from thumb drive or external hard drive that plugged into the two available USB 2.0 ports. Thirdly, the included software back up all files in a designated directory from computer to the Media Storage Server automatically. The multi-tier data protection prevents the loss of thousands digital photographs with your precious memory and important documentation.

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If you have a question or experience with your own network storage drive pros or cons – comment now!

I’ve been on the lookout lately for some out of the ordinary gadgets and the wireless USB hub really caught my eye. Why? Well, USB gadgets and hardware are great, but sometimes you don’t have enough ports and there’s a zillion wires – but the thing that really is hard is when you have lots of devices and a laptop. We have a laptop in the living room, and it’s kind of the “community” lap top. Granted I use it most of the time, but everyone uses it every day. We have like four PC’s in the house, but there’s something about being able to get online when you’re watching TV that’s just so convenient. Anyway – I’ve been thinking about getting some external hard drives and setting up both a backup system and some mass storage for the laptop. Storage is cheap – a terabyte or two would be nice. But the laptop is in the living room, and the last thing we need is to have 3 or 4 hard drives in the corner or on a shelf or endtable.

This post of part of The Smorgasbord Tech Reviews series!

I saw a picture of this wireless usb hub and it hit me like a light bulb – that’s it! That’s exactly what I need! I could hook up 3 or 4 external drives in the closet, hook them up to this thing and then just put one usb stick in my laptop and be connected to all the drives! I just love cool gadgets and devices that solve quirky problems – and this is one of them. This would also be really cool for a scenario where you had a regular tower PC, and a USB printer and some external drives where you had a need to have them across the room (or in the next room) and you just couldn’t get cables long enough. Maybe all you really wanted to do was put a printer in a common area or room so everyone could use it. Problem fixed again!

Looks like both Iogear and Belkin make wireless USB hubs that have both the hub and the wireless usb dongle to connect. They mostly sell for around $150. But D-link makes one that you might like better – and it’s around $100. What makes the D-link different is that you can connect to it through the wireless card of your computer without needing the usb dongle. You can buy an additional usb dongle if you need one – but the distinct advantage I really see about the D-link is that you can connect from multiple computers! With the USB dongle version you can only connect from the computer with the dongle. Either way – you can get a good deal on one new, but you might be able to find a good deal on one used on eBay as well. I’m going to give you all the options I can find, and hopefully you get a great deal!

D-Link Wireless USB 4-Port HubThe new D-Link Wireless USB 4-Port Hub (DUB-2240) enables you to attach USB devices* and wirelessly connect them to a Certified Wireless USB-enabled notebook or desktop PC. You can also enable Wireless USB connectivity to your PC using a Certified Wireless USB Adapter (DUB-1210, sold separately). Wireless USB technology provides the convenience of Plug-and-Play USB connectivity with the benefits of wireless. You can stay connected to USB devices* such as printers, scanners, digital cameras, external hard drives, and other USB devices without cable clutter around your PC. NO CABLES, NO CLUTTER The Wireless USB 4-Port Hub delivers fast wireless communication between attached USB devices and your Certified Wireless USB-enabled PC. It is designed for wirelessly connecting USB peripherals within a 30-foot** range of your PC. It unties you from USB cables, enabling wireless connection of multiple devices* for transmission of video, audio, and other high-bandwidth data. Additionally, a wireless frequency range of 3.1GHz to 4.8GHz is used to help avoid interference with Wi-Fi networks and wireless devices such as mobile phones and cordless home phones. CONVENIENT & EXPANDABLE The 4-Port Hub includes a Quick Setup Wizard so you can easily connect to your USB peripherals*. The DUB-2240 is also expandable. If you need to connect more than four USB devices*, you can attach a wired USB hub to the DUB-2240. If you have other USB devices* tucked away in another part of your room, you can simply add another Wireless USB 4-Port Hub (up to three Wireless USB Hubs to one Wireless USB Adapter), which can be purchased separately. The D-Link Wireless USB 4-Port Hub (DUB-2240) is ideal for both home and office users alike. Attach multiple USB devices* and print, transfer files, and stream audio or video content from across the room without the burden of USB cables attached to your PC.

IOGEAR Wireless USB Hub and AdapterIntroducing the one of the first USB-IF Certified Wireless USB solution, the IOGEAR Wireless USB Hub & Adapter kit (GUWH104Kit). The IOGEAR Wireless USB Hub & Adapter kit allows your desktop or laptop to wirelessly communicate with USB printers, scanners, cameras, game controllers, flash drives, external hard drives, and other USB devices. It complies with the Multi-band OFDM Ultra Wide Band (UWB) 1.0 specification, and provides users with transmission speeds of up to 480Mbps. At 480 Mbps the IOGEAR Wireless USB Hub is faster than all wireless technologies including 802.11n. Because it is Plug-and-Play, the IOGEAR Certified Wireless USB Hub takes almost no time to set up and get running. It is the perfect combination of convenient Plug-and-Play USB connectivity, blazing fast data transfers and the benefits of going wireless.

Belkin Wireless USB HubPrinters, cameras, MP3 players, hard drives-as the number of USB devices that connect to your computer continues to increase, so does cable clutter. Belkin’s Wireless USB Hub eliminates the hassle of searching, untangling, and plugging in the right cables each time you want to print, back up files, or listen to music. Now, you can easily connect up to four USB devices and access them wirelessly at any time.

Do you have experience with a wireless USB hub you own, or were you thinking about getting one? Comment now!

With all of the portable hard drives, flash memory cards and sticks, and cell phones with internal memory it’s possible to carry all kinds of digital files anywhere you want. You may use a flash memory stick to carry documents to and from the office or school. Hard drives are so darn cheap, and they are not only getting smaller, but flash drives are increasing to 16GB and 32GB sizes at very affordable prices.

Have you ever thought about what would happen if you lost one of your portable storage devices? What if it was stolen? It could be as bad or worse than if you lost your laptop! I saw an ad in a gadget magazine for a secure digital hard drive by Aegis with a biometric fingerprint reader in the top of the drive. The have a cheaper version with 128 bit encryption only, and another version with 128 bit encryption and biometric fingerprint reader. If you value your data – both are a pittance compared to what you could lose if you data were in the wrong hands.

APRICORN Aegis Bio 160GB 2.5″ Biometrically secure/128-bit AES Hardware encrypted External Hard Drive

APRICORN Aegis Bio 80GB 2.5″ 128-bit AES Hardware encrypted External HDD – Retail

I saw an ad from Newegg yesterday and came accross something I hadn’t seen before – it’s a USB Vinyl turntable under $100! Of course there are some of us (geeks) that still have turntables, and you can just take the line out and run it in a decent sound card to capture your songs and turn them into mp3′s. Or – you can buy this affordable solution to archive your old vinyl record collection quickly and efficiently.

This post of part of The Smorgasbord Tech Reviews series!

The reviews say that the software that comes with it isn’t the greatest – but if you buy Spin it Again by Acoustica it creates mp3′s flawlessly from your vinyl. Spin it again can also be used to create mp3′s from your old cassette tapes. The portable version below can even be battery powered or run from the wall adapter. I thought this was pretty cool anyway. Have you run accross some cool geekery that combines old school hardware with new technology? Comment now!

ION iPTUSB Vinyl Archiver USB turntable

ION TTUSB05 USB Turntable / Vinyl Archiver With Line Input

This All-in-one Car Adapter is an FM Transmitter that plugs into your car’s cigarette lighter, and it has a usb port and or sd slot in the back. Just plug in your flash drive, and voila – you’re listening to your mp3′s in the car! Some even have an input jack for mp3 player’s or cell phones! Pure Genius! Some of these come with play controls on the top and even include a wireless remote. The average cost is about $29.99 or less. Can you beat that? Every geek has a spare USB stick or SD card lying around. That’s the price you pay for a good car charger, and for about the same price you can get an car 12 volt adaptor that allows you to connect any device with an output jack, any sd flash memory card, or any usb stick or key – AND transmit them through your FM car stereo.

This post of part of The Smorgasbord Tech Reviews series!

For me, I always thought this thing was the coolest device because I carry my music and files to work on a USB key. Who needs an iPod when I have this thing? I keep some music on my phones SD card as well, and now I can connect either my phone (or the card) right in my car. If my son is in the car – we can connect his iPod to it, and if we’re on a long trip, we can connect the laptop if we want. You have all the options you want with one of these little devices. If you have trouble finding a good gift for that geek in your life – this would make an awesome gift idea for any geek, or for any gadget or music lover for that matter. Do you have a gadget that you love like this? Please share with us and add a comment below now!

I want to talk to you about the HDD Player. For about $30 or less, you can buy a HDD or Hard Disk Drive Multimedia Player Encolsure that will blow your mind! These external enclosures can be either Sata, eSata, or IDE – and they even have wireless and wired LAN versions. You won’t find these in a brick and mortar store anywhere – usually only on eBay or an online gadget shop? Why? Well, the big electronics giants would never want to see you have something this cool – EVER!

This post of part of The Smorgasbord Tech Reviews series!

Because it’s keeps you buying their clunky, proprietary garbage. They want to tie you into DVD burners that won’t backup your legal store bought DVD’s, that don’t support ripped and burned DVD’s, and devices that use HDCP and DRM to limit what you can to with your own electronics! Your dvd player might only play DVD’s coded for North America – and you want a region free player that will play DVD’s from anywhere in the world!

What if you could have a device that would allow you to store all of your ripped DVD’s and movies, YouTube, MySpace and online video, your entire mp3 collection, in addition to the thousands and thousands of digital pictures you have accumulated!? You need a storage device – and entertainment storage device at the center of your house! With 500GB hard drives at an all time low – the time is right for a device like this! I’m telling you – it works great for me because I am so tired of plugging in my laptop to our 42″ flat screen just to watch some video I edited or something from our digital camera or camcorder.

The HDD or Hard Disk Drive Enclosure Multimedia Player

Most of these hard drive enclosure boxes will do the following:

• Play mp3′s
• Play mp4′s
• Play Divx movies
• Play AVI videos
• Play DVD’s
• Play Audio CD’s
• Play VCD’s
• Play SVCD’s
• Play JPG pictures (slideshow)

Most come with a remote, some even play AVI and Windows Media WMV and WMF formats. I’ve even seen quite a few new ones that EVEN have a memory card reader slot. Also, many have optional connectors for either a TV (AV cable or s-video) or PC (VGA connector). You can usually use up to a 80GB+ hard drive, and depending on which case you get, it can be either 3.5″ PC form factor, or a notebook HDD. The one I mentioned with the memory card reader, it even has a one-touch button to copy everything from a memory card to the hard drive without having to hook it up to a PC at all. Most also have 5.1 channel digital audio output support as well. These things work with Windows PC’s from 95, to 98, 2000, Windows XP and Vista, in addition to Mac and Linux, and NTSC or PAL formats. They even have handheld ones with an LCD screen – so you don’t need to hook it up to anything!

You can get an AWESOME deal on one of these on eBay. As always, but from reputable sellers with lots of positive feedback, know how much shipping is in advance (usually $10-$30 depending on there it’s being shipped from and it’s weight), and read all the details to make sure that your HDD player does exactly what you want when you get it. Ask the seller questions in advance so you know what you’re getting.

Also, if it’s still not clear – let me point out why this is one of the coolest things out there. You can put your pictures on it. Put your music on it. Convert and rip movies and dvd’s to it. Watch them on any PC you take it to, or any TV you hook it up to. Copy pictures from your digital camera flash card with the touch of one button, and watch them on your television in seconds. No more figuring out how to burn downloaded movies to DVD, VCD, or SVCD. Imagine all the money you’ll save on blank DVD’s and CD’s alone. Just copy to this drive and watch on your TV, then delete when you’re done. If the hard drive dies or is too small, just replace it with another one. These are cool, you will use yours all the time ( I know I do ).

I’m going to show you some HDD player auctions ending on eBay soonest below. If you want to see everything, just…

Click to view all HDD Player auctions on eBay right now

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here’s even more hdd players on eBay now:

also – if you’re looking for region free dvd player for your home entertainment center, or a region free portable dvd player – here are bunches of options new and used on eBay right now:

I’ve seen a lot of case mods, but this is a very unique one. It’s a smaller scale version of a drum (you know, like a rock star’s drum from a drum kit) modded out to accomodate a motherboard, fans, hard drive, optical drives, and it even has a header with usb/firewire jacks including audio with headphone and microphone. As a custom case mod the things that make this really cool are:

1. it’s not a one off (you can buy one)
2. the design is high quality long lasting materials
3. the components are VERY well cooled
4. the display is awesome from all angles!

If you’re a drummer – you have to get one of these…right now! If you’re a musician, get one too. I mean what are the chances of getting a guitar or bass case mod anyway? If you’re a music wannabe – even more perfect! The design is well thought out, and this could be your last PC case for many years. Visit Spotswood Custom Computers for more info. Oh – and here’s a video to give you a complete picture of what it looks like and how it goes together:

Gizmodo has a post about a Lenovo Solar Powered PC. On the one hand, it’s got a pretty high geek factor – a solar powered PC! But then I got to thinking, who has sunlight where their PC is (on the office or at home)? So now I have to move my desk by the window or something? In addition, if there is enough sunlight to power the PC, doesn’t that mean it will also be harder to see my monitor? The post says it can come with an “optional solar panel”, so maybe you can mount it outside or by your window or something – and then run the cord back to the PC. Well – it’s a step in the right direction anyway!

[tags]solar powered, computer, geek, lenovo[/tags]

I’ve build hundreds of PC’s and probably repaired even more computers over the last 10 years. For the most part – it’s always been cheaper to build a PC for someone that acually buy one outright. I often wonder – is that still the case? I’ve upgraded a thing or two here or there, but I haven’t done an entire “case build” computer in a couple years now. When I read the ExtremeTech article “Building Mom a $400 PC” – it pretty much answered my questions. Joel’s goal was to build a new computer for his mother (case and internals only), that would basically be a simple workstation for surfing the web, email, and printing out some greeting cards. Sounds like what most of the friends and family I built and repaired computers for do as well. And it really made me wonder, since you can get a complete computer with LCD monitor, laser mouse, keyword, and case for under $500-$600 brand new from Dell is it still worth building one?More…
The second page of the article lists the parts Joel bought, and he got out for just $379. Not bad considering he bought an $89 case and power supply. He got an Asus MB, a nice AMD Athlon 64 CPU, 2GB of DDR2, 256MB Sapphire graphics card, 80GB hard drive, and 18x DVD+/-RW for that same price as well. So far – I’m pretty impressed! As I read on in the article he describes how he put the old system hard drive in an empty external usb enclosure to get the data from when the new system was up and running, and the new build went pretty smoothly. The new PC went together, and everything seemed fine, for a few days. Then there was all kinds of crashing and issues, which he figured out through testing were both the graphics card and the ‘cheap’ memory he bought. One he returned the memory and graphics card – and went with a slightly better brand (of memory) and the motherboard onboard GPU, everything was rock solid stable and fine. His end cost was $348.

So I guess the answer is YES, you can still buy a very reasonable and stable custom computer and build it yourself. You MAY have to search for the best deals on some parts, BUT stick with better brands – cheaper is NOT always better. If you’re looking for parts to upgrade, or want to build a new one from the ground up – here are the some of the most reputable places I know of with good prices, quality service, and a decent return policy. Please, comment now to add your two cents in the mix!!

Tiger Direct

The TechGeek

Computer Parts on eBay