Denon AK-DL1 Network Cable
Posted by Pavan Chander | Filed under Hardware, Review
I believe I’m a little behind the times when it comes to this particular product, but nevertheless I felt I had to post something about it.
The Denon AK-DL1 is a 1.5 metre network cable, designed for the “audio enthusiast”. Thus it is expected to have the “Monster Cable-esque” description:
“Made from high purity copper wire and high performance connection parts, the AK-DL1 will bring out all the nuances in digital audio reproduction from any of our Denon DVD players with the Denon Link feature. Attention to detail when building this cable was used by employing high quality insulation, tin-bearing alloy shielding and woven jacketing to reduce vibration and to add durability. Additionally, signal directional markings are provided for optimum signal transfer. Rounded plug levers help prevent breakage.”
But what really stands this particular cable out is the price, a whopping $499.00 for a 1.5 metre cable. There is something seriously wrong with the industry if they think they can get away with marketing these types of “premium” cables.
A review of Mojo, an iTunes library sharing software
Posted by Pavan Chander | Filed under Media, Review, Software
A little over a year ago, I bought a Linksys NSLU2 NAS, or the “Slug” as it was called, in order to hook up an external hard drive and share my MP3 collection off of it using Apple’s DAAP. It went well, but as I rarely needed my MP3 collection when I was out of the house it ended up being one of those “because I can” things and I returned the Slug.
In a nutshell the procedure went like this:
- Local machine:
- Install DAAP server
- Install SSH server
- Setup SSH key files (as opposed to passwords)
- Setup port tunneling using SSH
- Remote Machine:
- Install iTunes (unfortunately the best DAAP client at the time)
- Install SSH client
- Setup port tunneling through the the SSH client
- Attach the SSH key file to make it auto login (or not, depending on security)
- SSH into the server, and Voila!
So, if you’re still with me you can tell that is requires a bit of work, and is definitely not easy and intuitive to setup.
Fast forward to the year 2008 and “Mojo is here“.
Mojo accomplishes everything outlined above with one small intuitive little client, it actually goes above and beyond as its list of features include; zero configuration, instant download capability, and playlist synchronization.
It still relies on iTunes though unfortunately.
As of release 2.5.1, Mojo is offered as free software, with its only limitation on the number of peers in your friends list. Alternatively, for the small price of $10.95, you can upgrade to Mojo Pro, which currently gives you three licenses, and lifetime upgrade membership.
The only thing really souring the deal for me is its mac only status and iTunes dependency, but I believe there is a windows version in the works. And as for the iTunes/DAAP dependency, well I’ll have to wait till Mojo starts supporting WMP/UPNP.
Tags: apple, daap, itunes, Media, mojo, network, p2p, Review, Software, ssh
Lincoln Navigator vs Toyota Sequoia
Posted by Pavan Chander | Filed under Review
Man what a bad time not to have my camera on me. I think I need to carry it around with me everywhere so I can always be able to snap lots of images, although I don’t know how much people who visit my Flickr would appreciate that.
Me and my dad went to the Toyota dealership to pay the lease on our Toyota Sienna today, and while we were there we noticed that they had the Sequoia in stock finally. So we took a good look at it, opened all the doors, sat in all the seats - the usual.
We’ve been thinking of a new SUV and as my dad is a Toyota fan I told him they have something big enough to compete with the huge Ford’s, like the Expedition or the recently discontinued Excursion. But I had been debating on whether to get the Sequioa or to get something like the Lincoln Navigator as that is more of a “name brand” in luxury SUV’s.
We couldn’t go for a test drive in the Sequioa but on the way home we decided to check out the Lincoln dealership to really understand the differences firsthand. Upon first glances the Navigator looked nice, well of course it did otherwise it wouldn’t be as famous as it is. What surprised us was the lack of a step/rail to help you get into the SUV, but much to our surprise and delight the moment you open a door, the rail actually comes sliding out from underneath in time for you to step on it. That seemed a little fishy to me, so I stepped on and jumped a little, needless to say it survived.
Tags: car, lincoln, navigator, photos, Review, sequioa, suv, toyota
ASUS Eee PC
Posted by Pavan Chander | Filed under Hardware, Review
This amazing little laptop houses:
- Solid-State disk of 4GB
- 512MB DDR2 of memory
- 7″ WVGA (800X480)
- Built-in webcamera
- Linux OS (Windows XP drivers included)
All bundled together for only $400 from ASUS.
Now that may seem like a pitiful display of specs in comparison to the laptops of today, but what you don’t realize is that having a 7″ screen with no internal moving parts can be a huge benefit and give a whole new look to the term “portable computing”.
I would think it to be a fair assumption that anyone serious about portable computing, is serious about computing in general. The example being, the laptop would only be used in conjunction with an existing home desktop. Thereby allowing the user to work on projects away from home and quickly and easily transfer the new data onto the main computer at home.
Sony VAIO VGP-XL1B3 Media Changer/Jukebox
Posted by Pavan Chander | Filed under Hardware, Media, Review
This awsome device from Sony is a definite must have for the geek in you.
At $100 from B&H, its a steal!
So on to the specs:
- 200 CD/DVD capacity
- CD/DVD writer
- DVD-R: 16x
- DVD-RW: 6x
- DVD+R: 16x
- DVD+RW: 8x
- DVD+R DL: 4x
- CD-R: 40x
- CD-RW: 24x
- FireWire interface, with daisychain support (up to 5 devices - 1000 discs)
- LinuxMCE support
Oh and it weighs 44lbs..
I would have expected a device like this to cost well above $300, and I believe when it came out it was ~$400. I think its going to be discontinued shortly so I’m eager to see what Sony will replace it with. Maybe something along the lines of this. A 400 disc changer, with audio/video output support.
Can’t wait!
For anyone thinking about buying it, and have family in NYC area, I would recomend planning a trip to visit them. As UPS to Oakville, ON costs $90. And customs fees brings the total shipping cost to just over $110, making shipping cost more then product.
Tags: linuxmce, Review, sony, Technology
