Environmental friendliness and sustainability are pervasive topic these days and “green” is a term that is being applied in countless areas. How about your computer? Recompute has developed what they call the “eco friendly computer workstation.” And it’s made of cardboard. Blasphemy! you scream? Brilliant! you squeal? Either way, it’s an interesting concept—check out this video for a run though. The case is made from multiple layers of food-grade, die-cut, C-flute corrugated cardboard, laminated together with waterproof non-toxic white glue, then treated with a non-toxic UL tested flame retardant. The intent is for the hollow spaces in the corrugated cardboard to dissipate the heat generated by the internal electronics.  Linux OS, AMD Athlon II Quad-core 3.0 GHz processor, 500Gb hard drive and 4Gb RAM, among other specs. 2011 model starts at $599.95 USD and depending on options, up to $999.95. Recompute gives a fourteen day trial with a full refund if not satisfied.  I’m a Mac guy, but I have to admit that this is intriguing—anyone else?

Filed in categories: Desktop Computer Gear, News

Tagged: Desktop, environmentally friendly, Green, PC

Is your PC made of cardboard? This one is. originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on November 8, 2011 at 1:00 pm.

DYMO PnP (Plug and Play) Label Manager. This device enables you to make and print labels using your computer interface and prints directly to the label maker tape device.

Remember the old days in label making?  They weren’t necessarily good old days either.  For those too young to remember, skip this review because I think Spongebob is on.  For those old enough to remember when The Partridge Family was cool and a job at Burger King was the bomb, stay with me.

You remember the colored tape on the name badges of yore…different colors (mostly red or blue) and a label maker (or label puncher rather) with the big dial that punched the letters through the plastic on the label tape and the white impression against the colored background formed the letters.  You could only have uppercase letters in those days and you had to punch out your name or what you were labeling letter by letter.  And the tape didn’t always stick either.

Well, we’ve come a long way, baby. Now we have the Dymo Label Manager PnP (plug and play) for your PC or Mac.  Now, sure, there are hand held label makers and if you’re a expert thumb texter and you like tiny keyboards, cool. And Dymo makes plenty of them.  But the PnP allows me to make all kinds of labels at once using a QWERTY keyboard and a screen I can actually see.  Hey…you’ll understand once you hit 40.

And for those of us who’d rather NOT continue to burden our computers with downloading the software that usually comes with label making devices, Dymo cuts us a break there too.  It’s actually quite sweet.  The software is built in to the label maker. The interface pops on to your screen and you’re off to the races.  It’s no sweat to your workspace real estate either. The actual labeling device is no taller than 5.6″, sits quietly and neatly on your desk, and all you do is plug it in to the USB port on your computer.

That.  Is. It.  I Swear.

This device showed up at 4:00 pm on April 12, 2011.  At 4:39, this not-so-techie-as-most-techies-go-reviewer had already unpacked it, taken pictures, uploaded the pictures, printed her first label, realized she misspelled “Gadgeteer” and had to reprint the label, got a Diet Coke from the kitchen and sat down to write this review.

This label printing device is so easy it’s ridiculous.  It’s almost a point of honor for tech devices to be more complicated.  The one thing I am ashamed of is that a five year old could probably have done all of this faster.  Kids, these days.

So here’s what you get:

DYMO Device, USB cable (PC and MAC friendly) lithium-ion rechargeable battery, Quick Start guide, warranty card and your first cartridge of label tape.

Slimline label maker. Seriously… fits anywhere. It’s 5.6″ high, 2.1″ wide at its widest.  If you can’t make this fit…you need a new work space.  USB cable (very important) and it should be noted that this device will work with Mac or PC, a rechargeable lithium-ion battery, your first tape cartridge (black letters on white tape), a Warranty Card thingyand your Quick Start Guide.   If the Quick Start Guide is no help (please… really?) just look at the back of the box.

And you don’t have to just label things… you can print logos, stuff from database files, pretty much anything.  You can change fonts, add graphics, it’s pure madness.

The Dymo PnP also uses three different sizes of tape so you’re not stuck with just one size.  1/4″, 3/8″ and 1/2″ Dymo D1 label cassettes are your choices and what you will want to ask for when purchasing refills.  You’re not stuck with just black letters on white tape either.  More madness ensues…DYMO features adaptable tape cassettes in various color tapes and lettering.  These tapes are also extremely adhesive (they like to stick) but they’re easily adjustable too.

Battery installation.

This is me installing the battery.  Real tough, right?

Very quick and easy tape cartridge installation.

Installing the tape cartridge.  No sweat, no mess, snap and go.

DYMO USB Plug in.

Plug into the device and then plug into your computer.

Start Labeling....

Let your labeling imagination run wild….

Plug and Print. It's that easy. After all, I managed to do it.

And that’s all she wrote….or labeled.

The Dymo PnP retails  for about $60.00 or so depending on where you purchase it.  Amazon.com is currently listing this device for $53.24 and somebody on Ebay is auctioning it for $42.99.  It’s not a bad price for nifty little handy device such as this.

In the past, my experience with Dymo label makers has been nothing but positive.  I’ve done all sizes of labels and address labels without having to go through all the rigmarole of sheets of address labels and printer queues for just one or a couple of address labels.  It’s clean, it’s neat, it sits on your desk for your use.  I know that the hand held devices are currently very popular but I like the ease and use of creating my labels on my computer screen and just zipping it out right there.

Filed in categories: Desktop Computer Gear, Laptops and Gear, Reviews

Tagged: built in software, DYMO, label, label maker, mac, PC

Dymo LabelManager PnP Review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on April 28, 2011 at 5:00 pm.

Have you ever experienced a hard drive failure, losing critical data such as pictures and music?  As I begin this review, my main desktop computer is currently on life support and my data is in (little) jeopardy.  Fortunately, I have an external hard drive that I utilized for routine backup. So it is only fitting that I have the opportunity to review the Rebit 1 TB multi-PC backup USB hard drive.  Let’s see what it has to offer.

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS:

• XP Service Pack 2 or Vista
• CD-ROM Disk Drive
• Available USB 2.0 port
• 200 MB available hard disk space

FEATURES:

• Plug and play
• Configuration free – no settings or buttons
• Backs up file versions and open files
• Use software (on supplied CD-ROM) to restore an entire PC hard drive
• Never have to worry about Rebit filling up.  Automatically deletes off oldest backup data if and when hard drive gets full.
• Recovers individual files and folders by drag-and-drop
• Ability to back up 6 different PC’s
• Can disconnect and reconnect, drive will pick up where it left off
• Dimensions:  9″ x 6.5″ x 2.25″
• Weight:  4 lbs.   7 oz.

IN THE BOX:

• Rebit 1 TB Multi-PC Backup USB Hard Drive
• PC Disk Recovery CD-ROM
• USB 2.0 Cable
• Power supply
• Quick Start Instructions
• 1 Year Limited Warranty

Opening the shipping container, I immediately notice the brightly green colored product box.  Rebit’s logo is a frog and the packaging plays nicely off that theme with the eye-catching color choice.  The product packaging provides a great amount of protection with form-fitting material in which the drive and accessories sit snug.  I would have very little concern with the Rebit drive being shipped.

At first glance, I am surprised by the size and the weight of the device.  It is much larger and heavier then the Toshiba and Western Digital portable hard drives that I utilize regularly.  Although I was initially disappointed, this drive is never described as “portable”.  In fact, Rebit markets this as a desktop backup solution and they do have a separate line of portable backup options.  All that said, the size, which is slightly smaller than a standard hardcover book, of the drive should not restrict easy transportation.

The product has a unique shape, with some rounded corners and recessed sections, and is black in color.  The recessed sections work nicely as handle when grabbing the drive.  The exterior shell of the drive provides a robust and sturdy feel, which is always nice when you are depending on the product.  The size and weight also contributes to the feel of dependability.

In terms of external features, there is not much to it.  One end has a power switch, a power adapter connector and a USB port.  That is it.

Speaking of that is it, the user manual is less like a manual and more of a pamphlet or over-sized postcard.  It nicely describes the 3 simple steps (Connect Your Rebit, Click Ok, That’s it) to use the device with easy to understand graphics.  I have honestly never encountered a more simplistic user guide.

So after my initial inspection of the contents in the product’s packaging, I am starting to believe that Rebit’s tag line of “Ridiculously Simple Backup” might actually be more then a clever way to hook potential buyers.  Could this be the backup drive that my mother could utilize?  It is time to check it out.

I connected the power adapter, the USB cable, and turn it on, my computer immediately recognized the device.  A pop-up dialog box presented me the option to “Start Rebit”.

Installation of the pre-loaded software completes and a simple welcome message pops up notifying you that you are ready to go, being protected by Rebit.  Pretty simple installation, just the way I like it.

There is no required step to set-up a backup job or select which directories you want to protect.  Rebit backs everything up.

The drive is recognized and appears under the Hard Disk Drives section of My Computer in Windows Explorer and an icon is placed on the desktop and the taskbar.

Again, notice the use of the frog icon to represent the Rebit drive.

The thing that sets this backup drive apart from others that I have utilized is the ability to use it on multiple computers.  Six being the maximum.  You just disconnect the USB cable from one and plug it into another.  Rebit recognizes the new computer and stores the information from each computer in separate locations accessible under the “My Rebit” menu.

You can also remove a PC from the drive through the “My Rebit” shortcut.

I was concerned with connecting and disconnecting the device from multiple units.  Would the device get confused?  Would I be able to find and restore files from a specific PC?  The Rebit drive’s software is  intelligent enough to know where it left off when it was last connected to a certain computer.

Another example of a benefit of this software is that you never have to worry about the Rebit drive filling up.  If you do have enough data to fill a drive, it will recognize the lack of space and remove the oldest version to make room for the newest version of the data.  No worries, just trust the Rebit drive to do it’s job.

In terms of retrieving data, users have the option to retrieve individual files or complete file folders.  Once the desired file or folder is located on the backup drive, it just a simple drag and drop from the Rebitdrive to the location on your computer.  Rebit does include a software CD that is designed to assist if a complete system restoration is required.

In conclusion, the Rebit 1 TB multi-PC backup USB hard drive is an impressive option to protect the valuable pictures, music and data on your computer.  The ability to use the single drive on multiple computers and for the built-in software to recognize the different computers and segment the data accordingly is nice.  The fact that the drive will delete off old file versions when space is necessary is another feature I have not found in other units.

The price tag is my biggest complaint against this gadget.  At $319.95, it is $150-$200 more than other units with a capacity of 1 TB.  That combined with the fact that the unit requires two connections, USB and an additional power supply, are the only things I can hold against the product.

Even though  the price would initially concern me if I was evaluating the Rebit against others in the market, after many weeks of use I am confident that device is worth the extra money.  It is far and away the easiest backup utility I have ever used.  I found the Rebit 1 TB multi-PC backup USB hard drive lived up to it’s tag line of a “Ridiculously Simple Backup”.  Yes, I even think my mom could set-up this product to use on her computer.  Although I might have to convince my dad to have faith in her and the simplicity of the product.

I now trust the Rebit hard drive to back up all five computers in my house.  Even my brand new desktop (Yes, my old desktop finally died).

Filed in categories: Desktop Computer Gear

Tagged: Backup Drive, Hard Drive, PC, USB

Rebit 1 TB Multi-PC Backup USB Hard Drive Review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on July 6, 2009 at 8:27 am.