Product Central
Dispatches from the Reviews Editor's desk
Wednesday 22 April 2009, 10:36 AM
Low Power Computing: African results
Our friends at Computer Aid, the charity that supplies refurbished PCs to developing countries, have published their follow-up to the low-power computer testing that ZDNet UK carried out last year.
A year ago, ZDNet produced a five-strong shortlist (ASUS Eee, OLPC XO, Intel Classmate, Inveneo Computing Station and NComputing X300) based on performance and power consumption measurements. Our testing was done in the cossetted surroundings of a London office, with a reliable power supply and high-speed broadband on tap. Computer Aid's brief was to take the same kit and see how it shaped up in Africa, where power and connectivity cannot always be taken for granted. Three African universities signed up for the second round of tests: Kenyatta University in Kenya, Jos University in Nigeria and the National University of Science and Technology (NUST) in Zimbabwe.
As well as quantitative power consumption and performance tests, the African universites looked at usability issues surrounding software installation and evaluation, compatibility with multiple operating systems and connectivity via wired and wireless networks.
Read the report for the details, but the headline is that, among the notebooks, the ASUS Eee PC emerged as the preferred solution — beating the ostensibly custom-designed OLPC XO and Intel Classmate. The XO was deemed too slow and lacking in key bundled software (a spreadsheet and a video player), while the 9in. Classmate was too power-hungry and therefore short on battery life. NComputing's X300 desktop virtualisation solution was a surprise package for the African testers, and seems likely to find favour in organisations where portability isn't required.
A year ago, ZDNet produced a five-strong shortlist (ASUS Eee, OLPC XO, Intel Classmate, Inveneo Computing Station and NComputing X300) based on performance and power consumption measurements. Our testing was done in the cossetted surroundings of a London office, with a reliable power supply and high-speed broadband on tap. Computer Aid's brief was to take the same kit and see how it shaped up in Africa, where power and connectivity cannot always be taken for granted. Three African universities signed up for the second round of tests: Kenyatta University in Kenya, Jos University in Nigeria and the National University of Science and Technology (NUST) in Zimbabwe.
As well as quantitative power consumption and performance tests, the African universites looked at usability issues surrounding software installation and evaluation, compatibility with multiple operating systems and connectivity via wired and wireless networks.
Read the report for the details, but the headline is that, among the notebooks, the ASUS Eee PC emerged as the preferred solution — beating the ostensibly custom-designed OLPC XO and Intel Classmate. The XO was deemed too slow and lacking in key bundled software (a spreadsheet and a video player), while the 9in. Classmate was too power-hungry and therefore short on battery life. NComputing's X300 desktop virtualisation solution was a surprise package for the African testers, and seems likely to find favour in organisations where portability isn't required.
Tuesday 7 April 2009, 3:34 PM
Drobo Pro: a 'data robot' for SMEs
Drobo's original USB 'data robot' combined an attractive chassis with the company's BeyondRAID technology to deliver a well-received and user-friendly storage device, mainly aimed at creative professionals requiring large amounts of direct-attached storage. Subsequently the company has added a second-generation device with FireWire support and a networking module (DroboShare) to broaden its appeal. When Drobo's CEO Dr Geoff Barrall dropped into ZDNet UK a couple of weeks ago to show off the new Drobo Pro (below), he revealed that the company had sold a lot more Drobos into large enterprises than had at first been envisaged.
A combination of usability and a competitive price point is always likely to do well, especially in a recession, and these are the buttons that Drobo is pressing with the SME-focussed Drobo Pro. The new product is an 8-slot device, in either standalone or 3U rack-mount format, that can accommodate up to 16TB of flexible storage capacity. To USB 2.0 and FireWire 800, Drobo Pro adds iSCSI (over Gigabit Ethernet) — and claims performance at "full iSCSI line speed". As well as allowing you to mix and match disk capacities, brand and speeds (something that conventional RAID technology does not), Drobo's BeyondRAID technology also makes it simple to enable or disable dual disk redundancy — the ability to cope with two simultaneous hard disk failures. Drobo's storage virtualisation technology also allows Smart Volumes (up to 16 x 16TB) to be created and managed that pull storage from the common pool of disks without the need for time-consuming resizing and migrating.
The Drobo Pro will sell for £1,099 (inc. VAT) — without disks — in the UK. We will be reviewing the device in the coming weeks, so stay tuned.
A combination of usability and a competitive price point is always likely to do well, especially in a recession, and these are the buttons that Drobo is pressing with the SME-focussed Drobo Pro. The new product is an 8-slot device, in either standalone or 3U rack-mount format, that can accommodate up to 16TB of flexible storage capacity. To USB 2.0 and FireWire 800, Drobo Pro adds iSCSI (over Gigabit Ethernet) — and claims performance at "full iSCSI line speed". As well as allowing you to mix and match disk capacities, brand and speeds (something that conventional RAID technology does not), Drobo's BeyondRAID technology also makes it simple to enable or disable dual disk redundancy — the ability to cope with two simultaneous hard disk failures. Drobo's storage virtualisation technology also allows Smart Volumes (up to 16 x 16TB) to be created and managed that pull storage from the common pool of disks without the need for time-consuming resizing and migrating.
The Drobo Pro will sell for £1,099 (inc. VAT) — without disks — in the UK. We will be reviewing the device in the coming weeks, so stay tuned.
Monday 23 March 2009, 4:23 PM
Samsung's stylish N310 netbook
Samsung recently caught the attention of notebook users with the 12.1in. NC20, thanks to its use of VIA's Nano processor. Although the Nano performed well in our tests against Intel's Atom, Samsung hasn't abandoned the latter CPU. Today the company has announced another N-series netbook — the N310, which is a stylish-looking 10.1in. Atom-based system weighing 1.23kg.
Much is made in the press release of the N310's styling, which is by leading designer Naoto Fukasawa. As you can see above, it's pleasingly curvy, fashionably black, with a frameless screen and 'chiclet'-style keyboard. In fact, not only does it have "an outstanding look and feel", but also, apparently, "exceptional haptics".
The 10.1in. display is LED backlit, which contributes to the N310's promising-sounding battery life of 5 hours (from a 4-cell battery). No word yet of an extended-life battery to break through the all-important 8-hour barrier though. The keyboard has 17.6mm key spacing and looks to continue the recent trend for better typing experiences on netbooks. Other specs mentioned are: 3 USB ports, a 1.3 megapixel camera, Bluetooth 2.0+EDR (and, we assume Wi-Fi but there's nothing on that in the release), a 3-in-1 flash card reader and Windows XP (nothing about Linux so far). Oh, and if you're a bacterium, you won't find a home on the N310's keyboard — it's coated with Samsung's special anti-bacterial finish.
Samsung is keeping mum about pricing for the moment, but European availability is slated for May.
Much is made in the press release of the N310's styling, which is by leading designer Naoto Fukasawa. As you can see above, it's pleasingly curvy, fashionably black, with a frameless screen and 'chiclet'-style keyboard. In fact, not only does it have "an outstanding look and feel", but also, apparently, "exceptional haptics".
The 10.1in. display is LED backlit, which contributes to the N310's promising-sounding battery life of 5 hours (from a 4-cell battery). No word yet of an extended-life battery to break through the all-important 8-hour barrier though. The keyboard has 17.6mm key spacing and looks to continue the recent trend for better typing experiences on netbooks. Other specs mentioned are: 3 USB ports, a 1.3 megapixel camera, Bluetooth 2.0+EDR (and, we assume Wi-Fi but there's nothing on that in the release), a 3-in-1 flash card reader and Windows XP (nothing about Linux so far). Oh, and if you're a bacterium, you won't find a home on the N310's keyboard — it's coated with Samsung's special anti-bacterial finish.
Samsung is keeping mum about pricing for the moment, but European availability is slated for May.
Tuesday 10 March 2009, 10:23 AM
Dell gets tough with Latitude E6400 XFR
Dell has made rugged Latitude notebooks for a while, but the latest Latitude E6400 XFR model looks to be the toughest yet. Aimed at "the military, first responders, oil & gas environments, manufacturing floors, field technicians and homeland security" (phew), this 14.1in. Core 2 Duo/vPro system is 5.6cm thick and weighs 3.86kg — so it could probably be used as an effective offensive weapon in its own right.
All rugged notebooks come with a list of tough-guy standards that have been passed, and hard-sounding technologies that lurk within, and the E6400 XFR is an excellent example of the genre. Its Ballistic Armor Protection System gives 25 percent better impact strength than magnesium alloy, according to Dell, allowing it to handle drop tests from four feet rather than MIL-STD-810F's customary three. PrimoSeal technology does roughly what it says on the tin, providing protection against dust and liquid (to IP65 level). There's also the QuadCool Thermal Management System and a DirectVue display that's sunlight-visible and impact-resistant.
If you need a square-jawed notebook such as this, be prepared to pay £2,679 and upwards. We'll try and get our hands on one as soon as possible and put it through an assault course. Here it is getting a bit sandy (tin hat optional):
All rugged notebooks come with a list of tough-guy standards that have been passed, and hard-sounding technologies that lurk within, and the E6400 XFR is an excellent example of the genre. Its Ballistic Armor Protection System gives 25 percent better impact strength than magnesium alloy, according to Dell, allowing it to handle drop tests from four feet rather than MIL-STD-810F's customary three. PrimoSeal technology does roughly what it says on the tin, providing protection against dust and liquid (to IP65 level). There's also the QuadCool Thermal Management System and a DirectVue display that's sunlight-visible and impact-resistant.
If you need a square-jawed notebook such as this, be prepared to pay £2,679 and upwards. We'll try and get our hands on one as soon as possible and put it through an assault course. Here it is getting a bit sandy (tin hat optional):
Tuesday 10 February 2009, 11:47 AM
Lucky Jim
We were diverted yesterday by Gizmodo's report (via TechFlash) on ex-Vista-honcho Jim Allchin's solo album, Enigma.
Of course it's all too easy to scoff at the former Microsoftie's AOR noodlings. Actually, as something of an ageing muso myself, my first reaction to the story was more along the lines of 'lucky b*****d', for having the time and money to pursue his dream.
So in a spirit of encouragement, let's offer up some song titles for Jim's 'difficult' second album. As usual, feel free to pitch in...
Still Got The Blues (Screen Of Death)
Please Vista Postman
Please Release Me
The Li-on Sleeps Tonight
The Ugly Bug Ball
Leader Of The (Service) Pack
Of course it's all too easy to scoff at the former Microsoftie's AOR noodlings. Actually, as something of an ageing muso myself, my first reaction to the story was more along the lines of 'lucky b*****d', for having the time and money to pursue his dream.
So in a spirit of encouragement, let's offer up some song titles for Jim's 'difficult' second album. As usual, feel free to pitch in...
Still Got The Blues (Screen Of Death)
Please Vista Postman
Please Release Me
The Li-on Sleeps Tonight
The Ugly Bug Ball
Leader Of The (Service) Pack
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