Every laptop comes with some method for hooking up to a computer monitor. On PC laptops, it’s a VGA connector. On Macs, it’s whatever version of DisplayPort Apple is using these days. Some might have HDMI ports–heck, phones and tablets certainly do. 
 
Getting a computer hooked up to a modern TV is not nearly the ordeal it used to be. My Visio has a VGA plug on it, making it really easy to hook up to any computer. So one wonder why you might need a device like the UltraAV USB 2.0 to HDMI Adapter from Accell? 
 
The problem with VGA: it’s an analog connection which means you can’t play back any videos with DRM. Also the video may not be as crisp and clear as you might get with a digital connection. You also would need a separate connection for audio. You might also not have a TV with VGA. Or, if you have one of those really thin laptops, no video output ports at all! 
This USB 2.0 adapter solves that problem. Every modern computer has at least one USB port (whether it’s free or not is, admittedly, another matter). The device will work with any PC or Mac and includes a driver disc. Unfortunately, my PC laptop has no optical drive, so I opted for downloading them from the provided URL–interestingly not Accell’s site.
 
I tested the adapter, which was provided to me as part of this review, using a Lenovo X201 laptop and my 40″ Visio TV. Once I loaded the drivers and plugged in the adapter into my laptop, my big screen was now a monitor that Windows could mirror or extend my desktop to. I played a few videos to test the adapter and everything worked as expected.
 
You can get a UltraAV USB 2.0 to HDMI Adapter from Amazon or other places for $99.99. 

Comments

• 10 December 2011, Accell UltraAV USB 2.0 to HDMI Video and Audio Adapter | Vga Port writes: [...] more: Accell UltraAV USB 2.0 to HDMI Video and Audio Adapter Uncategorizedapple, computer-hooked, display, hdmi, laptop-comes, vga, whatever-version [...]
• 10 December 2011, You've been Stumbled! writes: [...] You've been Stumbled! [...]

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Keyboards are a rather personal thing. You either like them or you don’t and there is plenty of wiggle room depending on what is important to you.

Adesso’s PR firm sent me a Wireless Media Center Keyboard with Optical Trackball to review. It is geared for people with media center PCs, though it works ok with my Mac as well.

The unit comes with a USB dongle that blinks blue whenever you push keys on your keyboard. It communicates with the keyboard over 2.4 Ghz, which is also used by Bluetooth and WiFi. I haven’t noticed any interference problems as of yet, but the keyboard and mouse are less than 1 foot apart in my normal usage. Supposedly it works up to 100 feet away, but unless you had Frank’s 2000 inch TV hooked up to your computer, I doubt you could actually see what you were typing on the computer from that far away.

The keyboard has some media keys to control audio, the TV channel, and the volume. Surprisingly, most of these keys actually work on iTunes on the Mac just fine. The channel buttons seem to function as a sort of page-up/page-down kind of thing. There are also a row of 8 buttons along the top that don’t appear to do anything on the Mac, but are supposedly for Windows Media Center .

The other important feature this keyboard has is a track bar, scroll wheel, and mouse. They work well enough, but I would have preferred the buttons to be to either side of the trackball (e.g. for left and right clicks) instead of being on the opposite side of the keyboard from the trackball!

I find that certain keys on this keyboard tend to require a bit more force to ensure they register properly, like the right shift key and the spacebar. This is not a unique problem to this keyboard as I find that many modern keyboards suffer from this “mushmellow” syndrome. I also find some keys are put in somewhat odd spots, which often happens when keyboards are made smaller.

What’s the verdict for $74.99 US? I like the wire-free operation, but it’s not necessary as I’m usually sitting at a desk anyway. I’m also not as big on controlling media from my keyboard. It would be great for that, of course, but its not something I do with my computer on a regular basis. It’s not a great fit for me, but if I needed a keyboard for a media center PC, I’d consider getting this one.

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The thought of dropping $200 or more on a handheld gadget is not something I like to do. It also seemed quite wasteful when much of the functionality I want can be had with a device I already own: the Nokia N800 tablet.

What you see here is the home screen of my Nokia N800, which has all the information on it I need 98% of the time: the current time and the weather. The clock is a program called cairoclock, which is an applet that appears on the home screen. It’s resizable and movable.

The weather is an applet called omweather, which I configured to pull the 3-day forecast for Gig Harbor (and those temperatures are in Fahrenheit, also configurable).

The IP information is courtesy of the HomeIP applet. Good for “just in case” I need to SSH into the tablet (I have Dropbear SSH installed).

The only other thing I configured on it is a bookmark for the one site I’m likely to need to look at while in bed: the website for the local school district. They post school closure/delay information on the front page.

Granted, the tablet can do a lot more. However, for a nightstand device, that’s really all I want. If I need to do anything more serious, there’s always my office just down the hall

Comments

• 10 March 2009, Texrat writes: I need to do the same thing. Thanks for the motivation!
• 10 March 2009, Dave Michels writes: This is really what I want in my IP phone which is on my night stand. The sad part is I have a much better chance of getting it on cell phone than a wired IP phone. But shouldn't a wired IP phone be much more chumby like? I have a Polycom IP550 on my bedstand. More expensive than your device and a whole heck of a lot dumber. Though if I give up on the wired always on, always powered, large format, interactive with large buttons and speaker device to do this - functionality - and resort to a wireless device from Nokia (or Apple, etc.) - then I would assume I would travel with it. If that's true, then the local weather and time should be based on location automatically.
• 10 March 2009, PhoneBoy writes: Actually, omweather will update location automatically with GPS, though the N800 does not have it. The Nokia N810 does. The Nokia N800 can run Skype and/or Gizmo Project, so it can be a phone, too :)
• 10 March 2009, Texrat writes: Both N800 and N810 have made invaluable travel companions for me on business trips. I can't wait to see the next iteration.
• 10 March 2009, Dave Michels writes: I hadn't thought of Nokia before, but they should consider making IP/SIP phones. They understand phones, and their Maemo OS apps (like clock, weather, and more) would be instant hits.
• 11 March 2009, PhoneBoy writes: Nokia's higher-end mobile phones ARE SIP capable, but the configuration of said stack is not exactly friendly, though I've done it.
• 11 March 2009, eViLrAcEr writes: try Fennec on it :D

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I recently went through the trouble of installing a Nokia IP260 as a firewall at home. It was one of the only machines I felt I could keep running in my office for any length of time and not cringe at the fan noise being thrown off. Clearly, our security appliances are not designed for home installation

Unfortunately, the IP260 I had been using decided to die. Again. The unit had been sent to our repair facility on two separate occasions for repair for the same problem: won’t even get to the boot manager. As a software guy, there’s not a whole lot I can do about hardware problems

The method they make employees follow is the “Return and Repair” method. We ship the box to the repair facility, they fix it and send it back to us. The only time a customer would ever follow this process is if their box is not covered by a support agreement. Otherwise, most direct customers get Advanced Replacement or on-site replacement, depending on your purchased support agreement.

The good news is that this unit should be scrapped and I’ll get a (like) new unit to replace it. I also can run R65 now instead of R62. The bad news? I have to listen to the whine of the fans of an IP390 for a while.

Update: Our Service Parts guy told me they are going to overnight me a unit. I can scrap the unit myself. Spare parts FTW!

Comments

• 12 March 2009, Joel writes: so, there are such things as quiet airflow systems. You ought to be able to retrofit some slower, larger diameter (slower=quieter, larger diameter will restore the desired flow rate) fans and an appropriate cowl* that would let you unplug the loud fans that bother you. *Making the cowl to adapt the bigger fans might be the hard part, but event if you're not good with shears and sheet metal screws you can go with duct tape. Can you scavenge the quiet fans out of the to-be-scrapped unit?

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It’s a nice idea, but I find the real problem isn’t the number of outlets in the wall. That’s why power strips were invented. It’s the damn power bricks or wall worts. Still, it’s a nice idea if you need to add an extra power outlet somewhere.

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Enter the Photo Safe II from Digital Foci. It’s got a hard drive and an all-in-one card reader. Plug your media in, push a button, and within a couple of minutes, you’re all backed up.

This battery-powered device comes in two models, an 80GB and a 160GB model. Both will take CF Type I (including Extreme III, IV, UDMA), MMC, SD/HC, miniSD, MS, MS PRO, MS Duo, MS PRO Duo, and xD cards and will take the data off those cards at speeds of up to 5mb per second. Both models will also allow you to get the data off the drive with a USB 2.0 connection to a computer.

Via The Red Ferret Journal

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