My Notes to Myself and Others... : Hardware

Lenovo Thinkpad W700ds

Erik Rozman — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 09:05:34 GMT

Now what does the ‘ds’ stand for?

You might have guessed it: Dual Screen.

Looks like a monster, with a 17” screen you actually get an extension in the form of
a dual screen…

The Vault from Lenovo

Erik Rozman — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 16:30:32 GMT

Ever wanted to feel like Bond, James Bond that is?

Well Lenovo think that you do so they are coming out with a small device that is actually a
secure hard drive which can only be accessed once a code is entered (using the built-in
keypad).

Now BitLocker can do this, but no doubt this looks cooler,or geekier…depends on you're angle I
guess…

Unboxing the Arc

Erik Rozman — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 09:53:27 GMT

I saw quite a few unboxings on the web,some where serious, while others
appealed to humor but there was always one common thing: I wanted to do one!!

Microsoft has released a new cool looking mouse which they simply call the Arc. The
mouse is intended for mobile users thus it is relatively small, allowing it to be portable, yet
due to it’s “cool” factor the small size is achieved by folding it, so in reality it is actually
a full sized mouse that is very comfortable for a portable mouse.

Enough babble,lets get to the unboxing:

The mouse comes in a relatively clean package that emphasize the name and the structure of the
mouse (note the “reflection” of the mouse beneath the real one).

When examining the side of the box you are provided with a photograph of the mouse when it’s folded
which gives you a general idea of it’s size. The back of the box is somewhat disappointing
(personally), the marketing-babble on the back(in several languages) clashes with the fact that this
mouse oozes of style. In my opinion this mouse’s selling point shouldn’t be it’s technical abilities but
it’s looks…so going on about how “cool” it is simply hurts it’s cool factor…

In contrast to the plastic boxes I am used to, this one opens relatively simply (I have no cuts on my hands),
and you remain with a piece of cardboard. Inside that cardboard you will find several booklets,a carrying
case(has a magnetic seal), a couple of batteries and the mouse (that is lodged into it by a piece of plastic-the
easy removal surprised me yet again).

The mouse itself feels very sleek, comfortable and sturdy for a small mouse. It has three buttons (two on
top and one near the right thumb) and a scrolling wheel. It uses wireless technology to connect to your system,
which means that you have to attach a dongle. The dongle isn’t the smallest I have encountered yet it is small
enough not to be obtrusive:

The dongle itself can be found on the underside of the mouse. It isn’t lodged into the mouse but it is drawn to it
by a small magnet that holds it in place (I guess violently shaking the mouse will release the dongle,but then again
a very cool feature):

And now to the moment we have been all waiting for, lets fold it:

An additional interesting thing I noticed about folding it is that once folded the mouse is turned off to conserve
battery power (something I usually forget to do…).

Arc and friends:

In summary, the mouse is very stylish and portable. It comes in black and red (I am waiting for the red one!)
and it provides the basic needs of a user on the move. For additional details, visit the official website.

Tegra from NVIDIA

Erik Rozman — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 14:33:45 GMT

It looks like that these days everything is going towards the ultra-portable, NVIDIA
announced a "mobile computer on a chip" architecture called "Tegra".

The Tegra line will be all-in-one, integrated systems on a chip, containing an 800MHz
ARM CPU, GeForce GPU, image processor, HD video processor, and controllers for all
other aspects of core operations (memory, USB ports, communication) -- in a package
about the size of a dime.

1TB Optical Disc

Erik Rozman — Thu, 23 Aug 2007 15:02:08 GMT

1000GB to fit on a disc, wow!
That's a lot of data.

In addition to that the company that has developed it is an Israeli company (which
makes me proud...). Hi-Tech is still strong over here.

The link at Engadget:
http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/23/mempiles-teradisc-fits-1tb-on-a-single-optical-disc/

The companies web site:
http://mempile.com/index.html

Happy 25th birthday to the Compact Disc!!

Erik Rozman — Fri, 17 Aug 2007 10:02:15 GMT

Hard to believe, 25 years have passed. My first music CD was from Queen...

http://blog.wired.com/gadgets/2007/08/compact-disk-is.html

Smart Card operated KVM from Raritan

Erik Rozman — Fri, 17 Aug 2007 09:58:00 GMT

Physical security of a system is one of the most important parts of a layered security plan.
You can invest a lot of money in protecting a system from being attacked through the network
but if you neglect physical security- a perpetrator just needs to walk up to a system (or a device)
that provides access to a system and access it...

According to Engadget, Raritan provides a KVM to be accessed by a smart card owner only:
http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/16/raritan-intros-smart-card-reading-kvm-switch-system/