Category: Uncategorized (Page 2 of 4)

So we have been dealing with a horrible mattress for about a year now. Well I finally got tired of it so I went online and bought a new mattress. The mattress is from DreamCloud. Yes, I bought into one of those Best Mattress articles. Well actually I read like 10 or so and selected a mattress that appeared on most of them. So I ordered a DreamCloud Primer. It is their middle of the road mattress that is good for side sleepers. As an FYI I paid for this mattress myself and am no

If you’re in search of an easy to setup and econmical 10Gb switch that supports 2.5Gb and 5Gb then you should definitely check out the QSW-1208-8C Switch.
QNAP is not a name we normally think about when we are looking for switches. They are know for the Network Attached Storage (NAS) devises. But I recently needed to add an office to the house, which required opening walls. This gave me the opportunity to run CAT 6e cable throughout the house. I wanted to keep the setup simple which ruled out managed switches. I really just wanted to be able to plug everything in and it is all visible.
I also new I wanted to do some future proffing so I wanted to be able to support 10Gb. 10Gb has been out a long time but the implementation is expenses. This is due to a lot of reasons but the biggest is that CAT 5 cables do not support it. As a result manufacturers are pushing 2.5Gb and 5Gb standards. These run on CAT 5 cable that most individuals and companies have installed in their homes or business.
Which bring us to the device specification that started the hunt:

1. It must be simple to install, therefore unmanaged switch
2. It needs at least eight ports
3. It has to be able to transfer at 2.5Gb, 5Gb, and 10Gb.
4. Must be affordable.
   That doesn’t sound like a lot but it is surprising how few switches can meet these requirement. Ok to tell the truth it was the affordable option that was the problem. You can go out and buy a switch for a enterprise that will do this all day but you will need to bring a lot of cash.
   So after conducting hours of internet searching and research I stumbled on the QNAP QSW-1209-8C. It is a 12 SPF+ port switch that has 8 combo ports that accept RJ45 or SPF+. RJ45 and SPF+ are just the type of plugs at the end of the cables. For my purpose I have 8 ports.
   To make sure that evaluation was free of bias and to allow me to evaluate the SPF+ connections, I purchased two switches from different vendors. This help ensure that I didn’t just get lucky and to let everyone know that this review is not sponsored by anyone.

What did we get in the box.
The QSW-1208-8C switch arrived in a plan cardboard box. Which right away indicated that this was not your typical retail item. There were no fancy pictures of jet plans or spaceships trying to demonstrate how fast the switch is. But after thinking about it the plan cardboard makes sense. The average consumer is not going to be grabbing this switch. Someone who is buying the QNAP is buying from spec not pictures so why waste money on packaging.

When the box is opened it revealse a well thought out minimalistic design that protects the content while keeping the packaging small.
Included in the box are a power cable, two brackets, rubberized feet, a manual and warranty information. The included brackets are used to add the QNAP to a sever rack. Needless to say I will not be using those.

Overview
As mentioned earlier the switch has 12 10Gb-port that are unmanaged. This allows you to upgrade or build a network without having to worry about a lot of technical settings. Also by being unmanaged it keeps the cost lower.
The switch supports 10G BASE-T, and N BASE-T standards. The N BASE-T is the industry term for saying it supports both 2.5Gb and 5Gb. There are 12 SFP+ ports of which 8 are combo ports that accept RJ45. The RJ45 are the typical ports you think about when thinking of ethernet cables.

How Does It Work
First let’s start with setup. It was a breeze. Just plug in the power cord, plug in the ethernet cable and your done. You have flashing lights that tell you the status of the connection. But in truth that was the extent of setup. It couldn’t have been easier.
Some other things to not about the switch is that it is very quite and doesn’t get hot. This can be improtat if you put the switch in a living or work space area. From my research a lot of 10Gb swithches get hot and therefore they have many fans running to keep them cool. This equates to a lot of noise. Not a problem here.

Initial Conclusion
The QSW-1208-8C is something unique and special at the time of this writing. It will work for a large section of the market due to it’s affordability, number of ports, and technology supported. If you have a NAS you should really check this switch out. I would say that if you are building out or upgrading any home network you should check this switch out. Now as we do with all review items on DFYT we will be keeping these units for an extended period to see how they perform over time. So stay tuned for future updates.

Review of AfterShokz OpenComm headset

The first big thing about this headset is that it does not have a speaker to transmit sound. Instead it uses a bone conduction pad in front of your ear that transmits sound via vibrations. This leaves your ear free, which helps you keep your situational awareness.

To start off what comes in the box:

• AfterShokz OpenComm headset
• Hard-shell case
• Proprietary magnetic charging cable
• Some paper handouts

The first think I did was to charge the OpenComm so that I could really put it through it’s paces. I would normally start complaining at this point about having to use a proprietary charging cable but the magnetic connection the charging cable uses is fantastic. The charger is literally pulled to the port with little effort making it easy to charge.

The first hurdle I had to get through was to wait for the headphones to charge. I think this is the first product that I have received in a long time that was not charged before I got it.

While the OpenComm is charging let’s talk a little bit about the setup. It’s a one size fit all type of arrangement. Which is not as bad as it sounds. The band that connects the two ear units is flexible and pretty light weight.

On the right side you have most of the controls and the charging port. The controls consist of the  volume up, volume down and the multifunction button.  the multifunction button on the conduction pad, and the volume controls are on the underside

The left side only houses the boom mic.  The mic can swivel back and out of the way if you are listening to music or just want it out of the way. Unfortunately moving the mic does not cause the mic to be muted. I think this was a real misstep by AfterShokz which I hope they fix in future models.

Once the OpenComm was charged I immediately pared it to my computer following the short instructions that came in the box. To par the OpenComm and in fact to turn them on you have to use the volume up buttons. Not the big orange multifunction button on the side. Again a misstep but one that can be overlooked.

One the OpenComm was pared, I was ready to give it a try. I have to admit I was really excited to see how this headphones worked. I have been keeping an eye on the bone connective technology for years. I wanted to try bone connecting headphones but it never worked out.

Which was probably a shame if any of the ones I looked at in the past were actually as good as the OpenComm. The sound is clear and the noise canceling mic worked great.

I have been using a number of different headphones and ear buds over the past year to try to find what worked best in my Zoom and Teams meetings. I would forever have problems with dropped sounded or the mic picking up background noise. None of that was a problem with the OpenComm. I could hear the conversations clearly and the mic effectively eliminated background noise.

The other important thing is comfort. I have using the OpenComm for a little over two weeks. I have been initially wearing them eight hours a day. I do not get the fatigue like I get from wearing other headphones. So these are definitely good for all day usage.

The good think is that the battery can take it. At a listed 16 hours, the battery last way longer than the average work day. I have not ran a batter test, but with my habit of charging after work and I have never ran out of charge during the day.

I would also like to point out that after a week of using the OpenComm, I was searching the AfterShokz website when I say this headset supports multipoint connection. I was shocked and tried it out immediately. I am happy to say it works fine. I can connect to two different devices simultaneously. Of course you can only hear one device at a time it is still a very nice feature to have and one that should be documented better. I should not have had to accidently found the convoluted process of paring on the company’s website.

As with all things there are some short falls. Luckily or unluckily the OpenComm’s short fall is it’s software. The on board software can not be updated and it is just enough to get by. It reminds me of the type of connection you would find on a headset four to five years ago.

Even with the bad software the hardware more than makes up for it and I would not hesitate to recommend them to anyone.

For those of you who have tried AfterShokz OpenComm put your comments below. I look forward to hearing other people’s opinions.

After a long hiatus of having nothing to talk about. I am happy to say that is changing. We are roaring back with several a review on a great headset.

We also have a number of other items that are currently being tested that we will be rolling out reviews for over the coming weeks. We have to get experience with the item before we can give our honest opinion. So keep an eye out for new stuff coming soon.