Introduction

My favorite device that is hooked up to our main television is my HTPC.  If I were a console gamer, that choice might be an Xbox, Wii, or PS3.  But I use the HTPC to watch movies stored on my home server, browse the Internet when my wife and are searching for Vegas hotels, and peruse our digital photo album, also on my home server.

Being able to communicate with that PC from a distance of ten to fifteen feet can be somewhat cumbersome with a typical combination keyboard/trackball that have been available.  They are simply too big for use as a glorified remote.  For an HTPC, point, click, and go is far more important than sustained data entry.

Every time I have been sent a new HTPC keyboard for a review, they seem to be half the size of the last one I reviewed.  The emphasis is on the point, click, and go *plus* the ability to thumb-text on it like a cell phone.  The thumb challenged generation, like myself, have the younger generation to thank for that!

Enter the AZiO KB178RT “Mini” thumb keyboard.  This keyboard can simply be defined by the comments in the last paragraph.  Small; point, click, and go; thumb-texting.

If you’re thinking of spreading your audio around the home, Sonos and Logitech’s Squeezebox may have been your favoured options. But perhaps it’s time to give Sony’s HomeShare system a second chance – whilst the first iteration resolutely avoided support for Apple’s AirPlay, the electronics giant has now bowed to the inevitable and built in support for Cupertino’s streaming technology.

Three devices have been announced at CES this week – two network speakers and a full Blu-ray Disc Home Theater System with HomeShare. The latter, named BDV-N890W,  is a 1000W, 5.1 channel, WiFi, 3D Blu-ray disc home theater system with floor standing front speakers and wireless rear speakers. Physical connectivity is a little spartan with dual-HDMI inputs and a single HDMI output, but you do get an iPhone / iPod dock and Home Share wireless speaker included.

If it’s just speakers you need, choose from the SA-N310 Small HomeShare Network Speaker or more powerful SA-N410 Large HomeShare Network Speaker, which includes a sub-woofer. Features include:

• Stream music from Pandora, Slacker and your PC to any room
• Stream direct from iTunes® with built-in Apple® AirPlay®
• Controllable by iPad, iPhone® and Sony Android Tablet apps
• Powerful, 360-degree, room-filling sound
• Simple guided set up mobile apps for easy installation

No pricing has been announced but expect to see all three devices spinning tunes around the place in the Summer.

Things that make you go “Hmmm…” Samsung’s Optical SMART Hub SE-208BW is a study in kooky convergence, marrying an external DVD burner with optional network attached storage.

The device comprises an 8x External DVD burner with added smarts, including a LAN port for network connection, USB port for storage connection (combine the two and there’s your NAS) and DLNA-compliance, allowing you (the confused user) to stream your old-school DVD movies across the network. From disk.

(Let’s ignore the fact that anyone who can hook this lot up should be technically-able to rip their DVDs into digital files for streaming.)

If that isn’t enough convergence, let’s throw in Android and iOS apps that allow you o stream content from the device and (in the case of the Android app) back up files from your smartphone or table to DVD or USB storage. Oh, and it’ll work with your Samsung SmartTV too, just to add another device to the mix.

If your head isn’t completely spinning at this point, then look for the Samsung Optical SMART Hub SE-208BW in February for around $129.99 and expect to see a Blu-ray version appear before the year end.

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At CES, the year of the Cloud service continues, this time with Acer whose AcerCloud file-synchronisation service will ship with new PCs and Android devices in Quarter 2 2012. Just don’t mention iCloud, okay?

The company’s Cloud service allows remote users to connect and wake up their Acer PCs at any time (as long as the PC is in Standby or Hibernation mode) to retrieve files and stream media. That’s perhaps the one original feature that differentiated AcerCloud from Apple’s iCloud service.

Otherwise, AcerCloud apes Cupertino’s offering, with the automatic synchronisation of files, photos (called PicStream, not Photo Stream) and media, allowing users to purchase a movie on their PC and view it on their Acer SmartPhone. Files are available for 30 days before they’ll need to be downloaded to “long-term storage”.

Remote media streaming will be delivered courtesy of Acer’s clear.fi in the Cloud (not iTunes in the Cloud, okay?) which can push media directly to mobile devices, or allow content to be downloaded.

New Acer PCs and Android smartphones will be supported on AcerCloud from Q2 2012, whilst Windows Phones are set to join in later in the year.

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LaCie today announced two new additions to its range of Thunderbolt storage products, in the shape of the 2big Thunderbolt Series and eSATA Thunderbolt Series, the latter allowing users to connect external eSATA drives to new Macs via its Thunderbolt connection.

The 2big Thunderbolt series follows LaCie’s debut Little Big Disk Thunderbolt device, with a two-bay direct attached storage system delivering transfer speeds up to 311 MB/s – more than three times faster than Firewire 800. Up to 8TB (2 x 4TB) of storage is accessible on the device with additional storage and higher speeds available by daisy-chaining multiple devices.

Meanwhile the company’s eSATA Hub Thunderbolt series allows two legacy eSATA devices to be connected to newer Macs through the Thunderbolt connector. A second Thunderbolt connector is included on the Hub to allow users to connect additional Thunderbolt compatible devices. According to Lacie, up to 12 eSATA drives can be connected to a Mac via a single connection, with full 3Gb/s speeds.

Both devices are set to ship in the first quarter of 2012.

You’ve seen the HP ProLiant MicroServer by now. It’s taken a grip of the home and small business server market for sure this year, courtesy of the original N36L in 2010 and refreshed N40L model this year. But look carefully at HP’s Maintenance and Service Guide for the MicroServer, and you’ll see the company has apparently been testing a much more powerful version of the model.

Detailing the MicroServer’s BIOS configuration, HP unwittingly included a screenshot of a prototype model, running AMD’s Turion II Neo N54L processor – a dual-core chip, clocking in at 2.2GHz and, according to AMD, more than a match for Intel’s Core i5 processor.

The current MicroServer, the N40L, ships with a 1.5 GHz version of the same processor whilst it’s predecessor coped with AMD’s Athlon II NEO chip, running at 1.3GHz. HP’s prototype shows the same meagre 1GB RAM.

At this point, no updates to the MicroServer line have been announced, and the screenshots may well have been taken from an engineering sample that would not see the light of day. But the prospect of a more powerful MicroServer is tantalising for advanced users, providing a mid-point offer between the entry-level N40L, and HP’s ProLiant ML 115 which is most definitely a business-class device.

Does the world need a more powerful MicroServer? Would you buy one, and how much should it cost? Let us know your thoughts.

(Thanks to Arie for the tip.)

Do you remember the days of old as in CRT television sets?  I remember when my parents *finally* ditched that black and white TV and upgraded to a color console television set.

Being housed in a cabinet, it was a fine piece of furniture.  Being on casters, it could be moved easily.  It was color and we could get three channels: ABC, CBS, and NBC!

The console eventually died and gave way to the tabletop CRT televisions.

Plastic was in and the furniture look was gone.  You probably ended up paying more in the end to get that TV plus the stand or cabinet to put that TV on.  Of course, they weighed a ton and you needed a crane to get that TV in place.

We are now in the LCD/LED era and the most common method (I think) is still the TV on a stand.  Old habits die hard…

My wife made me take the stand we have and put it on casters for easy moving during furniture rearrangement time.  The upside to this progression is that these LCD televisions are weightless in comparison to a CRT TV.  The downside to this progression are the connectivity requirements for all sorts of devices that can be attached to this modern TV, which are all part of the modern Entertainment System.

Compound that progression with all those commercials that show these LCD TVs mounted on the wall

with that “look Ma, no wires!” concept, I have to wonder how one gets the signal to and from the

• TV
• Cable Box
• BD/DVD player
• A/V Receiver
• Game Console
• HTPC
• Digital Media Receiver
• Internet
• and more?

In addition, we are now being inundated with commercials from the Dish Cable companies of one source feeding more than one TV.  The progression of technology seems great, but there quite often seems to be a disconnect in translating all that technology into reality.  As in

• No wires
• Making your Home Entertainment Center part of a multi-room experience

This is where companies like IOGEAR and products like the GW3DHDKIT

Wireless 3D Digital Kit come in.  Mount your TV on a wall; put your Entertainment Components elsewhere; wirelessly transmit signals up to and including HD and 3D content to that TV *or* have the ability to transmit that signal to a second TV in some other room.

I am somewhat uncertain as to how well all this integrates as a solution for multi-room signal transmission, but I do like the concept of being able to wirelessly separate the TV from the various supporting components.

If you are lucky enough to have a dedicated entertainment room with an integrated I/O setup in the wall,

you may not need such a product.  For the rest of us, products such as the IOGEAR GW3DHDKIT may finally allow us to mount that TV on a wall and not have an unsightly tangle of HDMI cables hanging from it in plain sight!  It also includes a remote and an IR blast cable for remote operation of compatible components.

The IOGEAR GW3DHDKIT wireless kit lists for $349.95, and is available from etailers such as Amazon ($300.96) or Costco ($229.99).  How well it works is a subject I hope to provide additional information on at a later date.  In the meantime, I am curious as to what sort of features *you* would like to see in a device of this type.

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Introduction

It is time for another computer case review.  This particular case is the Bitfenix Outlaw

and is what I would classify as a mid-tower case.  As a tribute to the defunct BTX style motherboards, the Outlaw sports an inverted ATX motherboard layout.  It also sports lots of fan installation possibilities and adequate space to mount a significant number of hard drives.

The Outlaw is a steel case with a plastic front face, and it has a very nice distinctive look without being gaudy.  If you are looking for a Windows Home Server case, looks may be relatively unimportant, however, for many the case defines their “baby” and looks is a very important aspect of case selection.

Case selection is based upon features and looks.  While I can not (and will not) try to influence your taste in case selection based upon looks, I will hopefully give you adequate information on the features of this case to see if it will match your feature needs.

What’s In The Box?

Per the normal WGS process, we begin this review by taking a once-around the external packaging and then digging down to see what is inside.

The Outlaw arrived just as you see below.  Just like the case design, the packaging is understated and simply means that Bitfenix is not designing their products for retail shelves.

As can be seen below, the case comes well protected for that journey to your doorstep.

Once removed, I found this case arrived in great condition and I was quite pleased with the general aesthetics.

Also inside the package is a typical Quick Installation Guide, which can be quite useful for one who has not assembled components into a PC case previously.  Even for the experienced builder, it is always a good idea to take a quick perusal through the guide for any unique features.  For me, it came in handy for figuring out how to mount a 2.5” HD.

A once-around the case gives you a pretty good idea of the case layout.

A closer examination of the top of the case reveals the typical I/O and controls for a desktop case,

which include (from left to right)

• four USB 2.0 ports
• headphone jack
• microphone jack
• power button
• reset button
• HD and power LEDs

You may have noticed that some features seem backwards due to the inverted ATX motherboard mounting.  Whether this is good, bad, or neutral remains to be seen.

Upon removal of the side covers, you find a small box containing the case hardware.

In the following picture, you can see the single 120mm fan that comes with the Outlaw.

It seems that this case incorporates many features found in today’s designs that were not common just a few years ago.  Specifically,

• a cutout for installation of large CPU fans and water blocks which requires a support bracket on the underside of the motherboard
• entrance points for water cooling hoses
• fan mounts for 120mm, and larger, fans.  Forget those noisy 80mm and 92mm fans!

Overall, I was impressed with the general fit, finish, and feature set of the Outlaw.  Perhaps with the exception of having only one case fan being included with this product.

That takes care of the basics of what you will find in the shipping box.  Before we begin assembling components inside this case, we do need to document the full listing of

Introduction

Xeal is the Industrial Power division of iStarUSA.  From this division you will find power supplies of many different configurations ranging from Pico ITX power supplies to typical ATX power supplies to redundant Industrial Power Supplies.  Basically, you won’t find these products at your local Best Buy.  The redundant IPC models, which are designed for industrial servers, are what I am interested in today.

While designed for industrial environments, if you have a critical home or small business server that you rely on for 24/7 uptime, a redundant PSU may be on your shopping list.

Many of you may know (or guess) what a redundant power supply is.  A very short primer follows:

A redundant power supply is a power supply that actually includes two (or more) units within it, each of which is capable of powering the entire system by itself. If for some reason there is a failure in one of the units, the other one will seamlessly take over to prevent the loss of power to the PC. You can usually even replace the damaged unit without taking the machine down. This is called hot swapping, and is an essential productivity backup for use in servers and other machines used by a number of people.

All this brings us to the iStarUSA/XEAL IS-500R8P 500W PS2 Mini Redundant Power Supply,

which is the subject of today’s discussion.  Please note that I am not equipped to stress test a power supply, but hopefully I can give you idea of what you getting into with an item such as this particular type of power supply.

What’s In The Box?

Being an industrial product, you will not find fancy consumer packaging; just a plain cardboard box

with a UPC label designating this as an IS-500R8P.

Once opened, you will find the unit adequately encased for shipping protection.

First out of the box is a plastic bag containing two power cables, cable ties, hardware and brackets.

What follows are pictures from various angles of the power supply itself.

Being that this a hotswap redundant power supply, the modules are easily removable if needed.

A couple of pictures of each end of one module.

An attempted shot of the backplane.

Finally, a shot of a module with the nameplate specs.

What impresses me about this particular device and other iStarUSA equipment that I have dealt with previously is the attention to detail and general build quality.  Built like a tank with the finish of a luxury vehicle.

The singular item I am sure you have noticed are those small fans.  Small fans normally means big noise, something we will take a listen to shortly.

Introduction

At one end of the Fractal Design computer case lineup, we have the Core 1000 I reviewed recently coming in at ~$40.  This case also happens to be one of the smallest cases they produce.  At the other end of the lineup we have the largest case they produce which also happens to be their most expensive case at ~$160 (without a PSU), and the subject of today’s review, the Define XL.  In more common vernacular, I would almost have to say XXL as in extra-extra-large.

The question is what do you get for that $160? To start with, if you are looking for a non-rackmounted case with maximum expansion options that can hold a *LOT* of hard drives for a Windows Home Server, you may find a few cases that can hold more than the XL, but not many.

Next, you will find the same quality of construction and features I have seen in their other cases, which are significant in themselves.  Since the time I reviewed I the Define R3, I have even noticed one particular improvement that makes a build just a bit easier.  Before we get to specifics, however, we first need to find out

What’s In The Box?

Before we get inside, we must first get past the external packaging.  This particular computer case comes with consumer-style packaging to give you a very good idea of what you will find inside.

While the packaging may look a bit beat-up from the trip from the factory to my doorstep, once removed I found the case well protected for the journey and in pristine condition.

In addition to the case, you will find a User’s Manual,

and a box containing the motherboard hardware and a 5.25” to 3.5” conversion grill, and a fan controller.

This box includes a handy chart of what each screw is to be used with a particular item.

For the fan controller, Fractal Design has a perfect place to install it, if you choose to make use of it.

A closer examination of the external case reveals the typical I/O and controls for a desktop case,

which include (from left to right)

• headphone jack
• microphone jack
• eSATA port
• power button and  LED
• four USB ports

Please note that the USB ports above are USB 2.0 ports.  The XL case can now be purchased with USB 3.0 ports, and an upgrade kit is available to convert a USB 2.0 setup to a 3.0 setup.

That takes care of the basics of what you will find in the shipping box.  Before we open up this case to take a look at the internals, we do need to document the full listing of

Introduction

Many of the readers of We Got Served have a strong background in computers and a great many of you are in the Information Technology (IT) field.  Which means that most of you appreciate the value of an Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) for always-on equipment such as a business server.  This type of equipment cannot afford to lose power or lose power without a graceful shutdown of the computer in the event of an extended power loss.

While home servers may not be as critical in this regard as a business server, the same need to maintain power for short losses of power, and the ability to allow a graceful shutdown if the loss of power is longer is still a very desirable feature to have.

Perhaps one might consider it as much an essential feature for that home server as it is for a business server.

All of which leads us to the topic of today’s review, the Opti-UPS TS2250B UPS.

The TS2250B is part of Opti-UPS’ Thunder Shield line which they describe as a “Home and Office Emergency” product.

Per Opti-UPS:

The TS Series are the ideal solution to protect your small office and home office systems (SOHO), as well as other electronic devices, which are needed for daily use. Not only is TS a great value for your money, it also is the UPS that is extremely easy to handle. TS fulfills the requirements of many types of users.

Being that this UPS is a 2000VA/1200W device, it should satisfy even the most power-hungry home computer or small/medium server.

What’s In The Box?

As a consumer-oriented product, the TS2250B comes packaged in typical consumer-oriented packaging, which provides the potential customer a reasonable idea of what they are getting if he/she were to purchase this item.

As can be seen in the above box shots, the Thunder Shield series come in three models (in the US).  The specific model that comes inside is noted in the left picture just above.

The next three pictures indicate the protection that the TS2250B receives in the journey from the factory to your home/business.

Once removed, you will find the a typical looking UPS.  Being a 2000VA unit, it is a bit heavier then my APC BX900R.  A view of the front with has a simple on/off button and status LED.

A instruction tag indicating proper on/off operation.

The business end of the UPS is illustrated below, which has five protected power outlets, an RJ11/45 surge protection I/O and a USB communication port.  For those of you in Europe, you get an RS232 communication port.

A shot of the side indicating a well ventilated unit.

Inside the shipping box,  you will also find a USB cable, phone cable, User Manual and software installation CD.

Introduction

Most of the products that I review for WGS are centered around one of three areas.

• Windows Home Server software and hardware
• Media devices
• Networking products

Today I am taking a look at the Fractal Design Core 1000 case.

It is not exactly a WHS case, as it’s not a gargantuan chassis that holds 20 drives or more, or of a diminutive size that many use such as a Shuttle case.  It is really not an HTPC case for housing a mini-ITX motherboard,  although one could certainly make use of it for either type of build.  It can hold two 3.5” HDs or three 2.5” HDs internally, and it is capable of housing either a micro-ATX or mini-ITX motherboard.  It has the ability to mount two 5.25” external, or one 5.25” and one 3.5” external devices.

What I do see this case being used for is for your basic desktop computer.  It is small enough to be easily placed under a desk or on top of it for easy access to I/O components such as USB ports or a DVD drive.  As it costs “only” $40, you will have plenty of dough left over for a faster CPU or perhaps more/faster memory.  Your choice.

Both Terry and I are big Fractal Design fans because of the quality of construction and features we have seen in their cases – but they’re not the cheapest on offer.  So, you might ask, what did they cut out to make the Core 1000 this inexpensive?

To answer that question, read on.

What’s In The Box?

Before we get inside, we must first get past the external packaging.  There is no consumer-style packaging for this case, just the shipping box as seen below.  Saving #1 that is passed on to you, the consumer.

Once removed, you will find the case,

a User’s Manual,

and a box containing the motherboard hardware and 5.25” to 3.5” conversion grill

which includes a handy chart of what each screw is to be used with a particular item.

A closer examination of the external case reveals the typical I/O and controls for a desktop case,

which include

• a power button
• two USB ports
• headphone and mic jacks sandwiched between the USB ports
• a reset button
• power and HD LEDs

An inspection of the internals of this case

reveal a single 120mm fan in the front, with mounts for two additional fans in the rear (92 mm) and side (120 mm).

A shot of the opposite side of the case.

What you will not see in this Fractal Design case is the sound-proofing insulation in their higher-end models, or extra space/openings on the side shown above for hiding/routing cables.  With the modular power supplies available these days, wire management is a bit simpler to start with however.

Finally, you may notice that there is no front door.

What you will see and notice is the typical Fractal Design top-quality construction, and well rounded cabinetry.  No sharp edges here!  The finish on the top and sides is slightly textured to reduce/eliminate finger prints, which I greater prefer over those glossy piano-black cases.  The front bezel is plastic, with a filtered metal honeycomb insert.

Finally, to get a sense of size, I bought out a couple of cases I have for comparison purposes.  First, we have the Core 1000 vs. a very popular CoolerMaster Centurion 534

and the Core 1000 vs. the Fractal Design Define R3 case.

Both of those cases can be defined as mid tower cases, while the Core 1000 falls into the mini tower arena.