Articles

QNAP Launches the Rugged & Fanless NAS IS-400 Pro for Industrial and Surveillance Applications | Hardware Heaven

QNAP ships ruggedized IS-400 Pro Turbo NAS for industrial environments | Electronista

From the horse’s mouth

QNAP

Press Release

IS-400 Pro NAS Product Page

My Comments

QNAP have released their first network-attached-storage appliance that is specifically designed for rugged environments like factories or warehouses. But this unit has a certain appeal for the direction towards the up-and-coming in-vehicle network trend.

The IS-400 Pro four-bay NAS is designed as a fanless unit that makes use of its steel housing as a heatsink for its components. This made me think of the unit looking like one of those aftermarket car-stereo amplifiers that young males install in their cars to make their car stereo sound louder and boomier to impress their mates. As well, the way the components are mounted inside the unit to resist vibration and impact, making it suitable for in-vehicle use like those amplifiers. Even the provision of a secondary power connection block allows for failover power-supply setups or in-vehicle setups where ignition-switch following is important.

It can house up to 4 of the 2.5” hard-disk or solid-state drives used in portable computing applications, running them in varying RAID or JBOD configurations and works under the QTS 4.1 operating environment. This ties in with a plethora of apps that make it work well as a server for your home or business needs, whether as a network video-surveillance server, backing up computer data, being a file or data server or even working as a mobile DLNA media server.

Personally, I could see the QNAP IS-400 Pro validating the concept of a NAS design that is pitched for industrial, mobile and similar installations. Here, it would play its part with the trend where your vehicle or boat will have its own small network that is effectively the extension of your home or small-business network for both work and pleasure.

Hi all!

You may have come in to this site either via a Web search, an email or from the URL that you may have copied from posters, cards and other offline advertising that I may have put up around town; and have found the site of interest. But you don’t have the time to keep checking on it for newer articles.

There are three ways to follow this site so you don’t miss the latest articles:

1. RSS feed (Webfeed) – You can subscribe to an RSS feed using your feed reader or online news-aggregator service. The feed reader can be presented as a function of an existing program such as your operating system, Web browser or office software; or available as a standalone desktop or mobile app. On the other hand, you may visit your news-aggregator service via its Web page or a dedicated app.

Your browser or other app may highlight the orange RSS icon to indicate that there is the Webfeed to subscribe to. Click on this to start subscribing with your browser’s feed-reading function.

For other applications, the URL is:

http://feeds.feedburner.com/HomeNetworkingAndItInformationAndDiscussion

This feed is updated as and when new articles are published.

Those of you who used to use Google Feed Reader may find it useful to use Feedly and I have provided a “one-click” subscribe option for you to follow this site on Feedly. Here, you can view the feeds on your regular or mobile computing devices using Feedly apps that provide an optimised view for your mobile devices or using the www.feedly.com Website on your regular computer.

2. Your email inbox. There is an option to subscribe to this site so you have new articles appear in your email inbox. This will be provided in the form of a “Subscribe” form located in the sidebar on the right hand side of your page in the standard view and you fill in your email address, with a CAPTCHA-protected “opt-in” form popping up when you click the “Subscribe” button. Another way will be to visit this URL:

http://feedburner.google.com/fb/a/mailverify?uri=HomeNetworkingAndItInformationAndDiscussion

The confirmation message

When you fill in your email in either of these forms, you will get a confirmation email from Feedburner Email Subscriptions which has a link that you must click on in order to start receiving the latest articles in your email inbox.

Check both your inbox and your “junk-mail” or “bulk-mail” folder for this confirmation message because some junk-mail filters may treat this message as a “junk-mail” or “bulk-mail” message.

Sharing your email subscription or having the latest articles available in your organisation or workgroup

Some of you may want to share the subscription with other people, making sure it comes in their email inbox. Or you may want to have the articles come through your “catch-all” corporate or workgroup email address which will appear in everyone’s email inbox in your workgroup or organisation. Here, you fill in that other person’s email or the “catch-all” email address in the “Subscribe” form.

But remember to let this other recipient that you want to invite know that you are signing them up. Tell them to expect the confirmation email that is mentioned above in their Inbox and to click on the link in that email to get the ball rolling.

The recipient of that email will receive the above-mentioned confirmation message and they can click the confirmation link in that message to start receiving the articles in their Inbox. If the address in question is a “catch-all” address, the first recipient of that confirmation message who clicks the link in that message will cause the articles available in all email accounts able to receive email from that address.

The emails come on days where there are new articles posted and if two or more articles are posted on the one day, you will receive one email with all the articles.

3: Facebook Feed: If you are a member of Facebook, you can follow this site by either scrolling down to the “Visit this on Facebook” box and clicking the “Like” button in that box or visiting this Facebook page.If you haven’t logged in to Facebook at that point, you will be required to log in.

Subsequent articles will appear in your Recent Items Facebook list under “HomeNetworking01.info” and you will have the introductory text of the article as the copy so you can follow through and continue reading it at the site. This may not be feasible if you are checking your Facebook account from a device that doesn’t start a Web-browsing session when you click on a link.

These articles will appear as and when new articles are published.

At the moment, there isn’t the ability to start email or Facebook subscriptions from the simplified mobile user interface unless you click on the links in this article. You may have to click this link or click the “Go to Desktop View” option at the bottom of the page to open the regular view for creating an email or Facebook subscription. This will be a problem if you are viewing this from an Android or other tablet which shows the mobile view by default.

I hope this is of use to you as you keep following this site and reading the articles written within.

With regards,

Simon Mackay

Article – From the horse’s mouth

Barclays Bank

Special offer for Barclays Bank online customers

My Comments

In 2009, I had reviewed a copy of Kaspersky Internet security and had found that it was the start of things to come for a capable desktop-security program. Then I had read some comparisons of various desktop security programs and found that this same program was doing its job without trading off performance unlike the Norton software where I have heard complaints about sluggish performance. Lately, I have even recommended this program as a desktop-security solution for people who have asked me about their home-computer security needs.

Barclays, a well-known UK bank who had been the victim of a “distraction-burglary” hacking scam, has now offered a partnership deal with their online-banking customers by offering free copies of this software. This also applies to those of us who have continued a subscription with Kaspersky for the software and the subscription is up for renewal.

What I like of this is that Barclays have led the field by a partnership with a desktop security software vendor to protect their customers from the varying forms of malware that can compromise the sanctity of their customer’s banking and personal data.

Article

S is for SMACKDOWN: Samsung takes Galaxy Tab slab war fruit-side | The Register

Samsung sticks more colorful screens in its new Galaxy Tab S | Engadget

From the horse’s mouth

Samsung Mobile US

Press Release

Product Site

My Comments

Samsung Galaxy Tab S 10″ tablet

Apple is having to face some serious competition from the Android front when it comes to high-quality mobile-platform tablet devices courtesy of Samsung’s Galaxy Tab S range of tablets. These units work with enough processor power to put Apple on notice courtesy of the latest Exynos or Snapdragon quad-core chipsets.

But they implement 8.4” or 10.5” Super AMOLED displays similar to what you see on the Galaxy S series or Note Series smartphones, but have the same resolution as the latest iPad tablets i.e. 2560×1600 for both models, leading towards a similar pixel density to the “Retina-class” Apple devices. From my experience with my Galaxy Note II smartphone, the Galaxy S smartphone and the Nokia N85 feature phone which are equipped with the AMOLED display technology, these displays yield a bright sharp well-saturated image that can be viewed at wider angles. These tablets also implement automatic-display-optimisation logic to provide the best view for the environment.

They can “take” to the latest Wi-Fi networks using both bands and supporting 802.11ac technology, as well as working with Wi-Fi Direct and Bluetooth 4.0 Smart Ready setups. They are available with onboard 16Gb or 32Gb storage and have a microSD slot for up to 128Gb of extra storage.

As for the operating system, they come with Android 4.4 KitKat but also have apps for magazine subscriptions which make hay while the sun shines with the display technology. Even for that matter, the Google Play store is fronting up with apps and games of the same calibre as what is offered on the iTunes App Store, thus making able to compete with the iPad as a high-quality mobile-platform tablet.  They also reckon that these tablets will run for 11 hours of video play on their own batteries.

At the time of publication, the “ask” for these tablets is US$399 for a Wi-Fi-only 8.4” model or US$499 for the Wi-Fi-only 10.5” model.

I would personally recommend that if you do purchase any of these tablets, I would recommend that you buy a USB “On The Go” cable and SD card reader so you can review your digital camera’s pictures on these tablets. This is more to take advantage of the high resolution images that your camera puts up when you take pictures with it.

Articles

The Honeywell Lyric: This Is the Thermostat the Jetsons Would Own | Gizmodo

Honeywell’s Lyric thermostat has the looks and smarts to take on Nest | Engadget

Honeywell Finally Has a Thermostat That Can Compete With Nest | Mashable

From the horse’s mouth

Honeywell

Press Release

Product Page

Lyric microsite

My Comments

The success of the Nest Wi-Fi-connected home thermostat which has the “learning” abilities and the distinctive round shape was bound to bring on an imitator.

Honeywell came up with the Lyric Wi-Fi thermostat which works in a similar manner to the Nest but also capitalises on their round-shaped room thermostat that was popular during the 1950s suburban housing boom.

This unit can work with most central heating and cooling systems offered in most countries where the furnace, heat pump or other equipment is managed via a low-voltage thermostat. It can link to most Wi-Fi-based small networks with a single passphrase for Wi-Fi segment security.

The network connectivity is to allow your iOS or Android smartphone to become a remote control for your heating or air-conditioning as with the Nest.

There is the ability to support GPS-driven “geo-fencing” to have the heating go to the “AWAY” temperature when you are away from your home or start “coming to” your comfort temperature as you get nearer to home, and can also work with multiple smartphone apps to allow all of the hosuehold to benefit from the “geo-fence” functionality. This may also have a limitation with households where there is that risk of one leaving their phone behind as they rush out quickly and could throw the “geo-fencing” functionality a bit. 

It works with the AccuWeather weather-forecast service to optimise the HVAC system to assure consistent humidity no matter which part of the US you are in

The Lyric system supports the ability to set up preset comfort settings for particular situations such as to have stronger heat or cooling and a high fan speed when you host a party for example. There is even a reminder function with the app where you are let known when to change the system filter or to book a service call to keep that furnace behaving properly and safely.

But most of these devices work on their own “app-cessory” island where they only work with a smartphone app developed by the manufacturer. As well, not many of these smart thermostats are optimised to permit advanced control of the more sophisticiated HVAC setups which implement energy-saving behaviours like modulating burners or variable-speed heat pumps.

This will be the way these devices will work until there are application-level “device classes” that permit other member of the smart home ecosystem or “Internet Of Things” to exchange status data with each other.

Article (German language / Deutsch Sprache)

Automatische Updates für Fritzbox-Router | PC Welt

From the horse’s mouth

AVM

Software update page

My Comments

AVM Fritzbox 3490 to be able to update itself like your Windows or Mac computer

One of the big holes in data security that has been recently identified is the typical Internet gateway device sold to most households and small businesses as the “edge” between their home network and Internet connection.

This hole has been identified because most of the devices, especially those sold through most retail, value-added reseller and most service-provider channels, work simply on the firmware installed in them when they left the factory. As we all know, a lot of this firmware can be full of bugs and software exploits that place the home network and the computer equipment on it at risk of security breaches.

Most regular and mobile computer equipment and some set-top boxes benefit from a continual update process with the ability to have the critical updates delivered by the software vendor automatically without any user intervention. But this doesn’t hold true for the typical consumer router, which requires the customer to install updated firmware manually. In a lot of cases, the user may either have to run a firmware-installation tool on their regular computer or download a special firmware-package file from the manufacturer’s Website and subsequently upload the firmware to the device via its Web-based management interface.

A few devices may allow you to deploy updated firmware by causing the device to download and install the latest firmware from the manufacturer’s Web site by clicking on an “Update” button. These devices make the job easier but you have to regularly visit that user interface to check for new updates and start the update process.

These tasks can be considered very difficult for anyone to do unless they have had a lot of computer experience and expertise and is something commonly performed by the computer expert in the family or community.

AVM, a German company who makes premium-grade routers and networking gear for consumers and small business, have answered this need with the latest firmware for the Fritzbox 7490 Internet gateway device. This firmware offers automatic updating for firmware patches to enhance the device’s security.and reliability.

You would have to visit the AVM site to download and install the latest firmware in to the Fritzbox 7490 but this would be the last time you would need to do this because the Fritzbox could simply “look after itself” when it comes to the updates. There is a question remaining about whether AVM will roll this feature out to other Fritzbox routers and network devices so as to keep them secure.

At least AVM are setting a good example for all Internet-gateway-device manufacturers and resellers to follow by putting up the idea of self-updating equipment in to the consciousness. This could even extend to other devices like smart TV and devices that constitute the “Internet Of Everything” as we think of the smart home.

Article

All New Berkeley UK Homes to be Fibre Optic Broadband Compatible | ISPReview.co.uk

From the horse’s mouth

Berkeley Group

Press Release

My Comments

House developers could offer broadband readiness as a selling point

Especially in the UK, accessibility to next-generation broadband is being considered a key feature for a property. This has been underscored with Rightmove using this as something to assess a property or neighbourhood with when it comes to its saleability and could easily put a positive impression on its value.

Now Berkeley Group, a developer of premium residential properties in the UK, have released their business plan with the supply of fibre broadband to be part of the feature set for these developments. It is in response to a European Union directive that is requiring new buildings to be ready for high-speed broadband by 2016. In Europe, people are seeing broadband Internet service on the same level as water, electricity, fixed telephoy service and other utilities.

The big question I would have about these developments is whether they would be “wired for Ethernet” and whether this would reach most rooms in these homes? Similarly, would there be the ability for an average home-network wireless router to cover all of the premises with Wi-Fi signal using its own antennas (aerials)?

It is also in addition to a Britain-first strategy for marketing policy, a significant increase in apprenticeships, improved on-site safety as well as a desire to have customer satisfaction that beats Apple’s standards.

Personally, I would see residential building developers implement next-generation broadband and the connected home as a key differentiator with customers and property investors.