Blast from the past: originally published September 27th 2002.

The concept is so simple it makes you wonder why it wasn’t thought of before. Take flash memory and put it into a compact size, small enough to fit on a keychain. The entire unit is comprised of the cover and the DiskonKey memory module; a hard oblong plastic unit with a USB connector on one end. The picture says it all; simple, effective, easy.

Operation takes simplicity to another level. For Windows ME users forward to XP, plug the device into a USB port and it’s recognized as a removable drive. Windows 98 users require a driver to be loaded, as do Windows NT 4.0 users. That’s right, a USB driver for Windows NT is available. With sizes available from 8 MB to 512 MB, there’s one to fit your requirements and budget. Copy files to and fro; USB 1.1 and 2.0 are supported with the DiskonKey line, with speeds what you’d expect from removable media. Rated at 1 MB / second, that’s not too shabby. A small light in the unit illuminates when it’s plugged in and flashes when data is transferring. Don’t unplug it when it’s flashing and you’re safe.

I wish there was more to say about the product. M-Systems DiskonKey was the first for this media type, and offers lots of niceties on their web site, such as KeySafe password protection, NT 4.0 drivers, MyKey customization. Most will think they don’t really need this; I thought the same until a friend bought one for transferring files between work and home. Once I saw how small the unit was and realized the possibilities, I knew a purchase was looming in my future.

My main remote has been the Harmony 880: a nice colour model with eight buttons on the display and a rechargeable battery with charging base.  It was great until the volume up button stopped working, then the pause button.  Trolling online found many, many people with the same issue: the rubber pad under the button that sits between the button and the logic board wears out.  You can open the remote up and try fixing it but I didn’t want to do that until I had a replacement.  I have a Harmony 670 on my upstairs television but didn’t want to move it so I’ve been watching for a decent replacement.  Wandering the aisles of Costco I came across the Logitech Harmony 600 for $49.99 on sale.

I have to admit that price was the big incentive on this purchase, along with my trust and familiarity with the Harmony brand.  When I got home I checked to compare pricing but this remote appears to have been discontinued already by Logitech, less than a year after release.  It’s readily available in Great Britain so I’m using their product page as reference.

Main features are three defined activity buttons: watch TV, watch a movie, listen to music, plus more activities.  The remote has buttons for most features but the screen allows you to add whatever commands you want, as long as they’re supported by your equipment.  When I connected the Harmony 600 to my PC and loaded the software that was already installed from my previous remote I was asked if I wanted to replace my current remote.  I said yes and everything was migrated over.  I checked my setup and all was well.  When I clicked the devices tab in the software it said I was exceeding the number of supported devices for this model (the 600 is limited to five or so it says) but the eight I had listed all seemed to work.  This appears to be a good way to circumvent the limit if you have another remote handy or can borrow one.

The buttons are the main difference I pick up from my other Harmony remotes: the 670 and 880 have hard buttons and the 600 buttons are rubbery and soft like most remotes.  The buttons are backlit and easy to see in the dark.  I hope the problems of the 880 have been resolved.

The Logitech Harmony universal remotes are the easiest I’ve set up and used.  Pricing has really come down for the simpler and less featured models but for most home uses the Harmony 600 is an inexpensive fit.  For the record my setup is a television, receiver, PVR, DVD, PS3, Wii, X-Box 360, VCR (for my wife) and a HTPC in the works.

Luckily Microsoft knows how to boil things down to the lowest common denominator and so this utility was born and offered through the Microsoft Store, a first time for me.  It has also been released as open source after some shenanigans on launch last October.

I’ve used it successfully for Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 and Windows Storage Server 2008: basically any current Microsoft operating system.  Four steps: pick the ISO, pick the drive, confirm and let it go.  You’ll lose anything on the USB stick as it’s reformatted as a bootable drive when the ISO is written to it.

Blast from the past: originally published July 26th 2002.

Now that I’m getting some use out of my HP Jornada 547 Pocket PC, I’m hot on the trail of useful accessories. Since my model came with a serial cable connection I purchased the USB cradle, so I can drop it in and sync up while recharging the battery. This was nice for home, but I wanted something that would travel. The AC adapter that comes with the Jornada is compact and handles power from 110 to 240, so with an AC outlet adapter that’s good for most anywhere.

It was while looking for most anything interesting that I came across the Belkin USB Sync Charger. It’s a USB sync cable for communication between a PDA and a PC. As well it will charge your PDA from a USB port by plugging in the power input. And it has a car power adapter that takes the USB end. This slices, dices and gets the job done.

I put the Sync Charger into use almost immediately, as PDAs with rechargeable batteries can always use a little more juice. Syncing the Jornada over USB works just like my cradle, no muss or fuss. Recharging the battery was slow, to put it mildly. I do see it coming in handy for overnight charging or when overseas without an 220 plug adapter. The car power adapter worked great and had the Jornada fully charged within a few hours.

The is an elegant and simple solution for PDA users on the move. Belkin makes these for Palms and iPaqs as well, so do check them out.

Update: May 5th 2009.

This is working flawlessly for any and all USB charging, including my iPhone.

The important item here is that the 3.5″ units are designed to remain stationary while the 2.5″ units are designed to be mobile.  It’s this alone that should be the biggest determining factor when purchasing: is the external drive to be moved ever.  If it will never move then get the cheaper, larger capacity unit that utilizes a 3.5″ desktop hard drive.  If at any point the drive is to be moved (weekly backups, extending laptop storage, what have you) then get the portable unit that utilizes a laptop 2.5″ hard drive.

Mobile or laptop hard drives are designed to move the write heads off the platter if it detects a sudden drop or rapid movement.  They’re designed to be moved and tussled about so it can handle being in your briefcase for the week.

Contrast that to the desktop hard drive, which is designed to be stationary and only work that way.  If you’re feeling scientific and dangerously carefree start copying a file to your external 3.5″ unit and then push it over: you’ll end up with most likely a dead drive.  I remember using the PARK command in DOS when powering off a PC but it’s not available in XP…

I picked this up at my local Costco for $28 Canadian ( APC part USB-KIT ).  I needed a USB 2.0 hub and a USB extension cable.  This kit includes a four port USB 2.0 hub, three, six and ten foot A-B cables, and a ten foot extension cable.  Great value, expecially considering the lifetime warranty after registration.

The hub is smoked black and silver, and has a power LED.  It’s small and gets the job done.  The cables are a thick grey and feel solid, with double shielded braid and foil.  There’s not a lot to say: it’s a good kit and it works.

Oddly this can’t be found on the APC website, yet I was able to register without issue.