Tuesday, February 24, 2009

offsite file storage/access

Just saw a new device that is not even out yet but it looks promising.
PogoPlug
The idea is a small unit (L x W x D): 4" x 2.5" x 2" , that plugs into an outlet and has two ports on it.
One ethernet to plug into your router, and one usb to plug into a usb hard drive.
They claim that simply plugging it in makes it live and you can login via a web interface to access your files from anywhere in the world.
If this thing works like they say it does I am seeing some good ways to save money.
Many businesses pay for offsite backup of their data, a quick and dirty approach is to backup data from your office to your home nightly using this device.
Total cost under, $200 for the pogoplug and a 500gb hard drive.
If anyone has used this thing yet I would love to hear from you.

Monday, February 23, 2009

Best desktop and laptop deal for the week

The queston I get asked the most is what is the best desktop or laptop for my money right now.
90% of the time this is for average office/home use, office apps , internet, e-mail , etc.
If you need a system for high-end graphics , video editing or gaming then you might need something with a little more horsepower.
Please remember that the best system for your money changes at a minimum weekly if not more often than that.

Desktop - Dell ( online )
Dell Vostro 220 with 19in LCD $399 plus tax.
Genuine Windows Vista® Home Basic, Service Pack 1
Intel® Core™ 2 Duo E7400 (2.8GHz, 3M, L2Cache, 1066FSB)
1 Year Basic Limited Warranty and 1 Year NBD On-Site Service
3GB DDR2 SDRAM 800MHZ - 1x2GB 1x1GB
Dell 19 inch E198FP Analog Flat Panel Display
Single Drive: 16X (DVD+/-RW) Burner Drive
250GB Serial ATA Hard Drive (7200RPM)
Integrated Video, Intel® GMA X4500HD
Integrated 5.1 Channel Audio
Dell USB Keyboard
Dell Optical USB Mouse
Vostro 220 Mini-Tower
Intergrated PCIE 10/100/1000

Laptop Dell ( online )
Vostro A860 $449 plus tax.
Genuine Windows Vista® Home Basic, Service Pack 1, English
1 Year Basic Limited Warranty plus 1 Year Mail-in Service
Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T5470 (1.6GHz, 2MB L2 Cache, 800MHz FSB)
2GB,DDR2,800MHZ
8X DVD+/-RW
Intel Graphics Media Accelerator X3100 Blue
250GB SATA Hard Drive (5400RPM)
Wireless Networking 802.11b/g
Modem, 3-1 Reader, 1394 Firewire, PCMCIA Included
Wireless Bluetooth Internal (2.0 + Enhanced Data Rate)
15.6 inch Wide Screen HD LCD Display
6 cell Lithium Ion Battery
Windows Vista® Basic

Friday, February 20, 2009

Best internet for the money

Many businesses feel they must go with a t-1 for their internet connection. Although this has been the industry standard for years it is not always the best option and it is almost never the cheapest option. Unless you are in a rural area you should have internet available from your local cable company , dsl from your local phone company or if you are lucky FIOS broadband internet.
Just for comparison with average monthly cost and speeds.

t-1 1500 kbps down / 1500 kbps up cost $350
Cable 10000 kbps down / 5000 kbps up cost $ 60
DSL 6000 kbps down / 1500 kbps up cost $50

Let's take the conventional wisdom that a t-1 connection is more reliable than a cable connection ( although in my experience that is not true ) is it worth 6 times the cost for way less speed just to pick up a very little amount of uptime ?
In fact if you just have to have 100% uptime get cable and dsl , have higher speeds, a backup connection and still spend way less money.