OzCableguy

i-LAN 7″ Tablet PC

April 16th, 2013

ITP70A-SP – 7″ Tablet, Keyboard & Stylus Pen Bundle
ITP70A – 7″ Tablet PC (Just the Tablet, nothing else)
IKP070 – 7″ Keyboard (Just the keyboard, nothing else)
IPB003BK – Power Bank – Black (take more power with you with a portable battery pack)
IPB003W – Power Bank – White (take more power with you with a portable battery pack)

Manufacturer’s Description

For the first time in PCs’ history, a device costing less than $149 AUD comes with so much functionality. The ARM Cortex-A8 1.2 GHz processor, together with 512 MB DDR3 SDRAM delivers a lot of power for you to enjoy non-stop multimedia entertainment, e-book reading, game playing, etc.

The 5-point multi-point touch-screen enhances your interactivity with the device. The 0.3MP Front camera can be used for video conferencing class using apps such as Skype.

In addition to the 8 GB of Internal Memory, you can expand your storage capacity by using an external microSD card. This will give you additional 32 GB of external storage which is sufficient to save your important data files.

The 3000mAH Li-Ion battery is sufficient to keep the tablet working for hours.

Specifications

OS	Android 4.1 Jelly Bean
Display	7 inch (800 x 480 resolution) / IPS Capacitive
	5-Point multi-touch screen
CPU	Rockchip RK2906 ARM Cortex-A8
	1.2 GHz Processor
System Memory	512 MB DDR3 SDRAM
Internal Storage	8 GB NAND Flash memory
External Storage	TF (microSD) card up to 32 GB
Wireless Data Network	WLAN IEEE 802.11 b/g/n @ 2.4 GHz
Interface	1 x 3.5 mm audio phone jack for headphone
	1 x 08. W speakers
	1 x internal microphone
	1 x mini-USB 2.0
	1 x mini-HDMI 1.3
3G	Support external 3G dongle
Image	JPEG, BMP, PNG, GIF, TIFF
Audio	WMA, MP3, AAC, APE, WAV, FLAC, AC3
Video	H.264, RMVB, MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, AVI, FLV, MKV
HDMI	Mini-HDMI 1.3 for 1080P Full High Definition TV screen
Camera	0.3 Mp front webcam for video conferencing
Packaging Contents	1 x TP70A Tablet PC
	1 x AC adpator
	1 x USB OTG cable
	1 x HDMI cable
	1 x carry pouch
Battery	3.7V / 3000 mAH
Power	Input voltage 5V 2A DC
Warranty	1-Year Back to Base Warranty

Posted in new stuff | No Comments »

i-LAN 9.7″ Tablet PC

April 16th, 2013

Now available at shop.ozcableguy.com :

ITP97A-SP – 9.7″ Tablet, Keyboard & Stylus Pen Bundle
ITP97A – 9.7″ Tablet PC (Just the Tablet, nothing else)
IKP097 – 9.7″ Keyboard (Just the keyboard, nothing else)
IPB003BK – Power Bank – Black (take more power with you with a portable battery pack)
IPB003W – Power Bank – White (take more power with you with a portable battery pack)

My Comments: This was my first experience with a Tablet PC and I was quite impressed. So impressed I immediately had to put them on shop.ozcableguy.com.

The Android Jelly Bean interface was very simple to understand even though I’d never seen it before and I was connected to my wifi network and surfing the web within minutes. Apps & games from Google Play were simple to install.

Knowing the prices of the more common Tablets in the market place I wasn’t expecting too much from something at this price level but to my surprise I found it quite responsive with more than enough power to cope with anything I tried to do with it. I’ve also since learned it has many features not found on the more expensive ones like 2 USB ports, a HDMI port, SD card slot supporting cards up to 64 GB and a handy Escape button. There’s also an optional Keyboard/Wallet available for under $50.00 which can also be had even cheaper as a bundle with the Tablet. To get that option with many of the more expensive tablets requires the purchase of a docking station at quite a bit more money in most cases.

Another neato optional extra is a portable power pack which can double the power time. Great for long car journeys or camping.

Now I just have to wrestle it off my kids when I want it…

Manufacturer’s Description

The i-LAN 9.7” tablet PC comes with ARMCortex A.9 Dual Core 1.5 GHz processor and 1 GB DDR3 SDRAM, allowing it to fly through multiple of tasks with ease, whatever you use it for: work, study or enjoyment of digital content.

With Android 4.1 Jelly Beam OS, the most popular OS for tablet PCs and smart-phones, you will have access to millions of apps that cover unlimited applications and fun for the old and the young.

The 10-point capacitive multi-point touch-screen enhances your interactivity with the device. The 2 MP rear camera and the 0.3 MP front webcam allow you to take photos and to have video conferencing calls using apps such as Skype.

In addition to the 16 GB of Internal Memory, you can expand your storage capacity by using an external microSD card. This will give you additional 64 GB of external storage which is sufficient to save your important data files..

The 8000mAH Li-Ion battery keeps the device running for hours.

i-LAN 9.7” Detachable Keyboard complements your i-LAN 9.7” tablet PC, and allows you to easily type text, control apps (with Esc, Shift, Ctrl, Arrow keys). Together they become an ideal tool for working on text / spreadsheet files, browsing the Internet, playing games, watching videos, e-mailing, facebooking, twittering, etc.

The strong pouch allows you to stand your tablet PC up to a viewing angle like a laptop, and to protect it when you need to move around.

Specifications

OS	Android 4.1 Jelly Bean
Display	9.7 inch (1024 x 768 resolution) / IPS Capacitive
	10-Point multi-touch screen
CPU	Rockchip RK3066 ARM Cortex-A9
	Dual Core 1.5 GHz Processor
System Memory	1 GB DDR3 SDRAM
Internal Storage	16 GB NAND Flash memory
External Storage	TF (microSD) card up to 64 GB
Wireless Data Network	WLAN IEEE 802.11 b/g/n @ 2.4 GHz
Interface	1 x 3.5 mm audio phone jack for headphone
	2 x 08. W speakers
	1 x internal microphone
	2 x micro-USB 2.0
	1 x mini-HDMI 1.3
3G	Support external 3G dongle
Image	JPEG, BMP, PNG, GIF, TIFF
Audio	WMA, MP3, AAC, APE, WAV, FLAC, AC3
Video	H.264, RMVB, MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, AVI, FLV, MKV
HDMI	Mini-HDMI 1.3 for 1080P Full High Deinition TV screen
Camera	0.3 Mp front webcam for video conferencing
	2.0 Mp rear camera for capturing photo and video
Packaging Contents	1 x TP97A Tablet PC
	1 x AC adpator
	1 x USB OTG cable
	1 x HDMI cable
	1 x carry pouch
Battery	3.7V / 8000 mAH
Power	Input voltage 5 v 2.5A DC
Warranty	1-Year Back to Base Warranty

Posted in Uncategorized, new stuff | No Comments »

The Saga of Version Nos

November 28th, 2012

Manufacturers sometimes change versions (chipsets) of various products without changing the product names. Sometimes people want a particular version to work with Linux or open source firmwares and so on. Here is what typically happens if we try to get a particular version:

Email to suppliers:

***************************************************
Hi guys,

Do you have any of the old D-Link DUB-E100 adapters that look like this? –

NOT this model –

***************************************************

Normally I’d just get a standard response like “we are shipping the latest version available in Australia” (with no indication which version that might be) but in this case supplier 1 says:

***************************************************
Thanks for your query. This are the only old models that we stock , Please see details below:
D-LINK USB 2.0 10/100Mbps Fast Ethernet Adapter
VPN: DUB-E100
2 In Stock in Sydney
***************************************************

Ok, so I interpret that as meaning they have two. I later look on their website and see they list two of the new model in stock. That’s too much of a coincidence so I suspect they’ve mis-read my email even though I sent pictures and couldn’t have been clearer. By this stage we’ve taken the customer’s money and placed the order along with the pictures of the products with a note re-stating that these must be the old version and NOT the new version, as discussed with the sales rep’s name and CC’d to them as well. We cancel it to be on the safe side but find out not only have they ignored our instructions and shipped it already but someone else ordered one before us and they’ve part-shipped the order even though their policy is not to part ship without our express request to do so (because it means extra shipping costs).

Supplier 2:

***************************************************
I have 3 units in stock
***************************************************

So we order these (again with the pictures of the products with a note re-stating that these must be the old version and NOT the new version, as discussed with the sales rep’s name and CC’d to them as well). The following day we get an email from the customer, and you guessed it, they’ve sent the new version…

facepalm

If you think this is bad, you should try dealing with the red tape and shenanigans over the next few weeks to get this mess sorted out…

Posted in banter, humour | 2 Comments »

Draytek 2820 Series Discontinued

October 17th, 2012

The Draytek 2820 series is now end of life and the last of the stock should be pretty much gone by the time this goes live.

Replacement is the 2830 series which has a few enhancements including gigabit WAN and LAN ports and models with selectable dual band wireless.

There are 5 models all up in the 2830 series (Click the model names for more detailed info):

Vigor2830 (non-wireless)
Vigor2830nS (single band 2.4GHz wireless)
Vigor2830n+ (selectable dual band 2.4 or 5GHz wireless)
Vigor2830VnS (single band wireless with VoIP)
Vigor2830Vn+ (selectable dual band wireless with VoIP)

Note: The single band wireless 2830nS and 2830VnS are often missing the “S” on the end on other websites including Draytek Australia. I felt it was important to include the “S” because the first 2830 series release did not include the single band versions and the dual band models were just known as the 2830n & 2830Vn without the “+” on the end. Later when the single band models came out they added the “+” for the dual band models while the new single band versions took over the old names. I felt this was a bad idea and would lead people to buying the 2830n & 2830Vn models assuming they were dual band when that was no longer the case.

Don’t forget, all models have combos and upgrades available too including rack mount brackets, Vigor120 modem combo, antenna upgrades and subscription offers. To find these just type the router model No into the search box at shop.ozcableguy.com. (Tick the “Hide ISPs” box if you don’t want to see the ISP offers).

To check out all current Draytek models see my review page at http://www.ozcableguy.com/brandlist.asp?Brand=Draytek or search “Draytek” at the shop website at http://shop.ozcableguy.com/search.asp?Brand=Draytek&Words=&isp=false or select the Draytek category at http://shop.ozcableguy.com/brand.asp?isp=false&Brand=Draytek

Also discontinued (or just about to be) are the 2930 & 3300 series and all of the VigorPro products. The 3200 series are the best option for people seeking routers at that level at the moment but there should be a new model called the 3900 out early 2013 featuring 4 x gigabit WAN, IPv6, 500 x VPNs and 200 x SSL VPNs.

Posted in marketing, news | No Comments »

Facebook Notifications crashing Email Clients

August 31st, 2012

For as long as I can remember, whenever I receive a Facebook notification email in either my Outlook 2003 or Windows Live Mail, when I click on it to preview the message, the program hangs for a minute or two and sometimes crashes completely.

Extensive googling turns up plenty of people suffering the same problem but no solution is ever given short of reading all emails in plain text (which isn’t really a solution at all). Finally I stumbled onto this forum post from Incredimail blaming a background sound attached to Facebook Notification emails. Still no solution is given but it did give me something to look into.

Checking the message source of a few Facebook emails did indeed show a “.mid” file embedded into html code. Aha! My PC is set to open all midi music files using Windows Media Player, and so playing on a hunch that could be the problem this is what I did:

If you don’t already have it installed, get VLC Media Player.
Next, open My Computer and select Tools > Folder Options (this is for Windows XP. Other Windows versions may vary).
Go to the “File Types” tab and find “MID” in the list. (Click on the first thing in the list then type “MID” to get to it quickly if you like).
Click the “Change” button (beside “Opens with”) and find VLC Media Player in the list. If you can’t find it click the “Browse” button and find your way to C:\Program Files\VideoLAN\VLC, then double click on vlc.exe
Make sure “Always use the selected program to open this type of file” is ticked. Then click ok.
The Files Types tab should now show “Opens with: VLC Media Player”.
Do the same as above with MIDI File.

That’s it. Ever since I did this a week ago I haven’t had any troubles at all with Facebook Notification emails causing hanging or crashes.

Note: VLC Media Player is a very groovy piece of kit that will often play media files better than other programs. For example, if you’ve ever had a movie with the sound slightly out of sync you can delay or advance the audio to the video track so that it plays properly. I also find it does a much better job with MP4s and MKVs that are often jerky in Windows Media Player or Quicktime.

Posted in tips | No Comments »

Tethering Fritz!Box with Smartphone

August 31st, 2012

Quentin from Fritz kindly sent me these intructions explaining how to tether a Smartphone to a Fritz 7390 to share a 3G/4G internet connection on a network.

For more information about the Fritz routers check out my reviews here.

Posted in technologies, tips | 2 Comments »

Fritz MT-F phones and German Language firmware notice

April 26th, 2012

The Fritz MT-F phones are shipped with German language as default, firmware version 1.02.27. It will come up with German message to register alternating with the English message:

If left for a few minutes it will show “not registered” in English and alternate to German

When the MT-F is registered to a fritzbox with internet access it will switch to English and update to the latest firmware. From then on it will be in English even if reset to factory defaults.

Posted in new stuff, tips | 3 Comments »

Not Enough Bandwidth for your VPN Tunnel?

April 23rd, 2012

A DrayTek multi-WAN router with VPN load balance may be the answer.

Click here for more info at DrayTek Australia’s blog
Click here to check out the DrayTek range.
Click here for DrayTek’s model comparison table.

Posted in marketing, technologies | No Comments »

Children grow up addicted to online porn sites: Third of 10-year-olds have seen explicit images

April 19th, 2012

I just read this disturbing article at the dailymail.co.uk about a report submitted to British MPs stating that 4 out of 5 16 year old boys and girls regularly access online porn while one in three 10 year olds have seen explicit online material, and no one’s really sure how this will affect the sexual development of the next generation. Already there are warning signs of girls feeling pressured to look and act in more sexually explicit ways in order to attract a boyfriend, and boys having unrealistic expectations of sex along with increasing evidence of “porn addiction” where guys actually prefer spending time with their computers than with a real person.

Obviously, solutions are needed and there are “opt out” options and filtering services available with many ISPs. However, not everyone wants a blanket ban on all content and would prefer to just shield this stuff from the younger eyes in the household. In that case the only solution is to stay opted in and take personal responsibility for filtering out the bad stuff.

While there are plenty of software “NetNanny” type solutions that can be installed on PCs, this means also being smarter than your kids to properly lock down their PCs so they don’t just circumvent the restrictions, and let’s face it, most kids know more about this stuff than we Gen Xers do, and if not they certainly know how to find out.

This leaves handling the restrictions at some point after the ISP but before it reaches the PCs – the router.

Now, most routers will allow some degree of keyword or URL filtering which helps but it doesn’t go anywhere near far enough. A Google image search for example will still get past most keyword filters. The other problem is there’s usually only space for 20 or so keywords which isn’t anywhere near enough to even filter out accidental porn coming back from innocent searches let alone a deliberate effort.

The next step up is Netgear’s Live Parental Control system available on many Netgear Wireless-N router and
gateway products. This is basically a free open source web filtering subscription service which appears to do the job quite well.

Then you have paid subscription services like DrayTek’s Globalview Web Content Filtering service starting from around $30 per year on their base models. Without the subscription, DrayTek still have their CSM (Content Security Management) system which allows quite an impressive degree of manual control. DrayTek have a policy based system where a “group” of PCs can be created to be filtered while all other PCs remain unfiltered. Other routers usually have a similar option where a particular PC or several PCs can stay out of the filtered category.

Another good one is the Cyberoam NetGenie NG11EH Wireless Router with Family Protection. Click here for more about the NetGenie Parental control system.

Posted in technologies, tips | 1 Comment »