Computer Weblog

It was probably almost a year ago when I purchased this player, but until now I haven’t written a post on it. It’s difficult to remember what I actually paid for this, but I think it was somewhere between $13 and $20, which is also based on my estimate of what the exchange rates may have been at the time.

Overall, I’ve been very satisfied with the Playbox Quadro 415. The only function that I generally use it for is playing audio, so that is what I’ll focus on in terms of potential uses, but for the record it also has other features such as movies, recording audio, FM radio, picture display, games, a phone book, etc.

The quality of the audio seems just fine to me. I had the original set of earphones until recently when they were broken (by my own fault), and I purchased a new pair which also works just fine with the device. Those earphones came with an adapter that made the end of the cord slightly larger, which is nice, since as it turns out that is actually the size that was required to fit!

I like the button setup with most of them on the sides, other than the play/stop button which is on the front of the player. On the left there is rewind/backward, forward, and “mode” — which generally works like an enter/select button. On the right, there are buttons to turn the volume up and down, as well as a switch for the device’s power. I don’t have any problems with buttons getting stuck or jammed.

The earphones stick out the top of the device, while the USB cable to connect it to the computer (or to a charger that plugs into the wall) is on the left, above the buttons on that side. Also above the buttons on the right side is another slot, which I think may be for a microphone, although I’ve never tried putting one in it. When no earphones are plugged in, the audio will play through a small speaker in the back of Quadro.

Startup seems to be reasonably fast, although I don’t have experience with many other MP3 players with which to compare it. I don’t think I’ve ever had the 2GB disk space filled, although it would certainly be possible. At that point, unless the audio were simply higher quality (taking up more space for the same listening time), the battery would probably need to be recharged numerous times. I haven’t tested exactly how long it can go, but my rough guess is that about 3 hours of listening can be squeezed out of the battery each time around. It would be nice if it lasted longer, but I have no idea how this compares with other ones. At least it can be recharged via USB, rather than running on AA/AAA batteries. I’m not sure how much energy it uses when recharging, but it seems that it would cost significantly less than stocking it with fresh batteries every time, plus it is personally more convenient this way.

Aside from the battery’s somewhat short usage time, the only real negative that I have with this is that the system time doesn’t work properly, as when the player is completely turned off, it resets back to 01/01/2005. That’s only a minor qualm, although it would be nice to use for tracking the time once in a while, since I don’t wear a watch. When something on that level is the only “complaint” then you’re dealing with a device, that at least for me, is essentially what is needed.

In case you’re wondering what I usually listen to, you can check it out at Olympia Bible Presbyterian Church’s sermons. The archive has over 5 years worth of sermons, and it is well worth the time to have a listen.

Josh MP3 players mp3 player, quadro 415, sermons

Recently, I picked up a Siemens Gigaset SE361 wireless router to use in the apartment. It allows for sharing of the cable connection between different computers, even in different rooms, without having the hassle of wires running here and there.

The kit came with a USB wireless adapter (802.11b/g compatible), so a desktop that doesn’t already have wireless capabilities can be set up to tap into the network. Many laptops (including the Amilo Li 2727 purchased earlier) already come with wireless potential.

An installation CD came with the router in order to assist the setup of the device and its network, as well as the USB adapter. The install process went smoothly, and soon I had a network with both a password and passkey, and WPA encryption.

The wireless by means of USB adapter worked right away on the first computer. Trying out a cable in one of the router’s four LAN ports, since the router was right next to the PC, the wired access worked as well.

Testing out a second PC, while only installing the software for the USB adapter, it didn’t immediately access the network. After tweaking some settings, however, the connection was up and running. The next task was testing the connection on the wireless-ready laptop. After supplying the security details for the network, I was in. Both PCs ran Windows XP, and the laptop was using Vista.

At first, there were frequent disconnection issues, but that was my fault as I had not set up the proper PPPoE connection with the cable account’s username and password. After fixing this, the connection has run well. Occasionally, the router needs to be restarted - it seems that this sometimes happens after putting the computer on standby.

The data transfer potential is officially 54Mbps. I haven’t noticed any issues with speed, as it seems the same as it had previously been with a direct connection from the Internet cable to the PC’s ethernet port. It doesn’t seem that the router is the weakest link in this case. Perhaps that would be otherwise in different usages.

For the equivalent price of under $70, this set has come in fairly handy. If you have computers in separate rooms, it may be worth the investment to not need to use a standard router to reach them with Internet access. Having cables can cause several issues, such as danger (tripping and breaking something, spilling something, etc.), damage to the house (needing to drill holes through the walls), along with the inconveniences posed.

Josh Routers siemens gigaset se361, wireless router, wireless usb adapter

Recently, I wanted to start backing up and transferring information more quickly, conveniently, and securely than with DVDs or CDs. I decided to give a try to USB flash memory sticks, the so called “thumb drives” that are very lightweight and portable.

At first I picked up an 8GB Kingston DataTraveler 100 for a little over $20 (at exchange rates). Soon afterward I picked up a 2GB model as well, which can be used more for repeated data transfers, so I won’t have to worry as much about the extra write erase cycles or general use/abuse of sticking it in the USB port all the time.

So far, they have worked well. As with most USB devices, the data transfer rate is a bit slow, but it’s fine if you have something else to take care of while larger files or collections are being copied.

These versions do not have caps, rather, the interface that enters the USB port simply pops in and out of the flash drive, with a switch. The 8GB DataTraveler moves very smoothly. On the other hand, the 2GB one seems to be a bit “stuck” and requires more effort to push out or withdraw the interface.

In the future, I may want to try a USB flash drive with a cap, particularly if the drive has a place on the opposite end to hold the cap while the device is in use, similar to sticking a pen’s cap on its other end. Still, that’s a minor thought, unless I were to be constantly using the drive so that the constant pushing of the switch could cause a problem.

One other aspect is the security, should the drive be taken by someone or simply lost. These do not come with built in encryption or password protection. Such types of USB flash drives seem to be relatively quite expensive. Still, there are other security options available, such as TrueCrypt.

The drives haven’t had too much use yet, so things like wear leveling have not come into play. I don’t know how many write/erase cycles these two drives are intended to have, but since the common amount seems to be between 100,000 and 1 million, it doesn’t appear that it will be a factor in this case. Still, I try not to go overboard and use them when it isn’t really worth it. As a substitute for constantly re-using DVD-RW discs, I’m quite satisfied with how these work.

Josh USB flash drives data traveler 100, flash memory, kingston, usb flash drive

Recently I purchased a new laptop, after the last one had essentially been out of commission for over two years after the orange juice incident. After looking around some, I went with the Fujitsu-Siemens Amilo Li 2727. Overall, it’s a budget machine, but not exactly on the level of dumpster-diving. Basically, it’s exactly what I need for doing a little work, web browsing, and things like that. The specs are below:
 
15.4″ WXGA BrilliantView (1280 x 800)
Intel Pentium Dual Core T2390 (1.86GHz)
2GB (2 x 1GB) DDR2-667 (PC2-5300)
160GB SATA HD, 5400RPM
SuperMulti-format DVD burner
Intel Graphics Media Accelerator X3100
Windows Vista Home Basic
…and miscellanous other things like LAN, WLAN, 4x USB, etc.
 
So far, it’s worked well in limited use. My only disappointment has been burning through about 8 DVDs in order to get a working copy of the recovery disks. From the Fujitsu-Siemens forum, it seems like I’m not the only one who had to deal with it. DVD+R is recommended over DVD-R, although my first try with DVD+R failed as well. At least it worked on the second take.
 
I tweaked Vista by removing the Aero theme and several processes. It runs well, and start up and shut down times are very quick so far. I would not recommend less than 2GB of memory for a Vista system, as even after the tweaks it idles in the upper 600MB range, and when the browser is open it quickly reaches 900MB. This is after antivirus (AVG) and antispyware (SpyBot) have been installed.
 
Overall, it was nice value at under $600 (equivalent, as I’m staying overseas right now). I’m pleased with what the laptop has to offer. It’s normally very quiet, has not had any overheating issues, and has been stable in use. I would have no problems suggesting it to someone looking for a laptop to use for similar purposes, as long as the individual had a little technical knowledge for making his own backups, and the patience that may be necessary to get through that process!

Josh Laptops amilo li 2727, fujitsu-siemens, laptop, t2390