Is your office equipment letting you down?

[tec0]

Now is the chance to write about it!

Being in the technology “contracting business” I had a look at some new and old products and found that nothing is changing it is just getting smaller. Fact is your data is probably backed up on a DVD or CD that can last only a few years to about a maximum of 40 years. Then its material will breakdown and the DVD or CD may lose its valuable data.

Then there are the computers you are using every day. I want your opinion on hardware. Do you feel it is expensive or inexpensive? So basically I am asking you; What is the thing you are not seeing in technology right now?

I want to see faster more secure wireless networking and reliable storage devices among other things. Above all I want to see simplicity when it comes to security on your networks.

Please anything that is bothering you about your systems just type it out and let us identify it and see how far technology really evolved from the 1990s till now.

[Dave A]

I want your opinion on hardware. Do you feel it is expensive or inexpensive?

Considering a pretty good PC costs the same nowadays as I paid for a PC in 1986, and the difference between the two is so vast it defies description, I don't think hardware is expensive.

I do have an issue with the cost of laser printer toner, though. I can't help think design direction is more aimed at milking our pockets rather than trying to improve cost efficiency.

[daveob]

I do have an issue with the cost of laser printer toner, though.

Hi Dave_A

We have passed your details on to Haltrex Systems - we believe they have some great products you may be interested in.

[Dave A]

[Marq]

I too, would like to see better faster wireless and networks stuff on all fronts.

I dislike wires/cables and all those spaghetti things that clog up the back (and sometimes front) of a machine, create limits to where you want to put stuff and just generally get in the way - So if they can be removed it would be good in my life.

Laptop design - why are the jacks for speakers and headphones always in front of the machine? Well.. they have been on all the machines I have had - and I forget every time when buying a new one to look at this. Its a laptop - so when its on your lap you get a jack shoved into your stomach and being the fickle things that they are, (the jacks not my stomach parts) (jacks = another hardware failure) they bomb out.

Desktops - Why are the usb ports and other input things that have holes and cables attached to them always at the back of the box? I seem to always be groveling on the floor, in a dark hole behind a desk or usually impossible place trying to plug in a drive or cable for a cellphone or ipod. Surly a nice section on the front of the box would be a better idea.

Wiring - If it is here to stay - maybe different coloured cables would help to identify them when you are trying to sort out nests.

Toners and inks, while not specifically computer hardware has a price problem. When its cheaper to buy a new printer with a smaller ink pot than buy the ink only then there has to be a problem in this area.

I need a computer that I can pick up and throw at the wall and kick it till I feel better and then put it back in its place and carry on with life as if nothing happened.....now thats what I'm talking about

[twinscythe12332]

I'm afraid that's with the lappys you buy... perhaps you stick to a particular name?
depending on who is supplying your desktops, the majority of suppliers have 2 or 4 USB ports on the front. both the dell machine sitting next to me and my PC at home have USB ports on the front and back.
The reason why they're on the back is so they're out of the way, as you have said. if you're struggling with wires everywhere now, imagine what it would be like connecting keyboards and mice to the front 0_0

as for wireless, may I suggest going with this =P netgear rangemax. with the Wireless-N protocol, it goes to about 500mbit/s wan to lan (350 mbit/s more realistic).

Logitech also has a nice wireless peripherals range(I'm using a wireless mouse that is using the 2.4GHz band rather than infrared, so there isn't the typical "wireless" mouse lag).

wireless power is being used to charge small appliances. hopefully it'll get a greater application soon.

as for the kickable PC... maybe give the DoD a call

[tec0]

Yes I agree with the notebooks. I know for a fact that HP loves to do that but you do get a USB sound card that you can plug into your USB port thus your sound jacks is on the side. Not the best solution but it is a possibility.

Secondly I cannot agree more with your standard desktop computer more USBs in the front please! As you say it is accessible then. However if everything sits in the front there is space in the back for the important stuff like cooling! Still, I will recommend that power cable stays where it is, yanking it out every time you get angry can be too much of a temptation!

Printers and stuff is expensive, I think it is because of cartridge design itself. When you look at manufacturing you will find that most of the printer cartridges have everything it needs built into it thus the heavy costs. It doesn’t really matter if its inkjet or toner both has similar functions and you have to look at the technology inside the cartridges. It is actually amazing stuff. However yes it is still too expensive!

Networking cables is really a mess... Yes I hate network installations because you need to drill holes in everything! Still I have to say wireless is not that slow with day to day operations. It is when you work with big files of 100MB and up it starts to show its limitations. I have to say Linksys products are really not bad!

My biggest wireless network at the moment has over 50 computers and it doing ok... I will not lie to you it is slow from time to time but that’s because there was only 1 network printer a second printer really helped a lot. Also the internet can be SLOW! But again when I started to limit internet access that problem was a thing of the past.

In all honesty PLAN your wireless networks! The hardware is limited but for normal office use I don’t see a problem with it “IF IT IS PLANNED” I never had a comeback on this network after the internet limitations and an extra printer I just want to mention it. It is a stable network...

If you don’t mind me asking what do you use for backup?

[Marq]

For my backup, I have set up a separate machine running windows server 2003 linked through a linksys wireless g ap. To that I have attached a few external hard drives of various sizes and makes. Then at the moment I am trying Avanquest Autosave software to run the backup in the background. Seems to be ok except its slow and with the drives gets fiddly in terms of what is going where and the software is not very user friendly. I am thinking of one big drive to make sure I have all my stuff in one place and saving once a month say and then storing that drive somewhere else.

For laptops I have tried hp, compac, toshiba and now on a second acer. I think I enjoyed the toshiba the most.

That wireless n rangemax looks sharp 15X speed and 5X range compared to G (according to the netgear site) - methinks its a present coming up.

[tec0]

Marq -> I find you backup to be scary! Having everything one place, yes I can see why you would want it that way but I recommend you keep a second copy of your big drive on another big drive in nice safe place like under you bed next to your slipper “not a professional suggestion!”

I find it strange that you have such difficulties. Have you thought about “Active Directory” and setup an external SATA drive to help with the speed thing “a bit” also do your backup at night when the network is not populated? Also make sure that your externals are running COOL. They seem to be more stable then.

[Dave A]

I'm going to stick to my toner cost bleat for now.

Printers and stuff is expensive, I think it is because of cartridge design itself. When you look at manufacturing you will find that most of the printer cartridges have everything it needs built into it thus the heavy costs. It doesn’t really matter if its inkjet or toner both has similar functions and you have to look at the technology inside the cartridges.

You're right about the problem being design, but not for the reasons you suggest. What we are seeing is printers coming out with cartridges that do fewer copies. If you look at the "top end of cheap desktop" printers, HP has gone from printers that did 7500 copies per cartridge, to printers that did 4000 copies per cartridge, to printers that do 2500 copies per cartridge. And if we take inflation into account, those different cartridges are all about the same price each!

For a while it looked like Canon wasn't following HP's lead, but now it seems they are too.

We're being gouged - plain and simple. My supplier calls printer toner the "new heroine."

[twinscythe12332]

For my backup, I have set up a separate machine running windows server 2003 linked through a linksys wireless g ap. To that I have attached a few external hard drives of various sizes and makes. Then at the moment I am trying Avanquest Autosave software to run the backup in the background. Seems to be ok except its slow and with the drives gets fiddly in terms of what is going where and the software is not very user friendly. I am thinking of one big drive to make sure I have all my stuff in one place and saving once a month say and then storing that drive somewhere else.

For laptops I have tried hp, compac, toshiba and now on a second acer. I think I enjoyed the toshiba the most.

That wireless n rangemax looks sharp 15X speed and 5X range compared to G (according to the netgear site) - methinks its a present coming up.

I like your idea of using a machine as a backup. the only thing I can really suggest is that you consider putting 2 hard drives in the machine in a raid 1 (mirrored). It helps when hard drives give in. other than that, as tec suggests, there should be an offsite backup in the event of fires.


how much are you paying for toner?

[Dave A]

how much are you paying for toner?

Around the R700.00 + VAT mark per cartridge, although it's affected by the exchange rate and does fluctuate some.

And to extend the drug analogy - Every time I take on a new supplier, they start at about R500.00 + Vat and with each successive order the discount gets reduced.

[tec0]

Knowing you probably have been playing with your quality setting to try and get more out of your printer I can understand how that can be a frustration. One of my clients pay round about R6000 for her printing needs. Mostly colour printing but she needs her presentation to look as good as it possibly can be. I do not supply ink at all so I don’t know the cost prices of ink. However I think a consumer strike is in order when it comes to ink prices.

Raid is always a good thing until you have problems with your raid controller and the onboard stuff likes give way after 16 months of use. I recommend you get PCI based SATA controller expansion card and keep a second card as backup. Also number your drives and keep them in the same order. “some computers are unforgiving if you mix up the order of your drives.” I also recommend a domain controller thus all your stuff can sit on the server and people just log into it with their username and passwords.

It is old school yes but your administrative powers and backup becomes less of a nightmare. I find that domain controllers with active-directory once properly implemented is really a robust setup. “Also a bit of old school but try and have BDC running with it. “Backup- Domain Controller” You don’t have to hardwire it into the system. Keep it offline and up to date. If the PDC “Primary-Domain-Controller” goes you bring the BDC online and it will resume the role of Domain-Controller. It will also provide you with the time you need to get your server fixed and you have no down time.

The stuff is easy to setup just Google it and play with a small “workshop network” before you implement it. The reason I say this is you can Identify problems beforehand and deal with them before you implement the system.

I am enjoying this!

And I am still working on a “kickable” computer for you

[twinscythe12332]

check here I don't know if the prices are better or not, but they sure have a wide range. R55 to ship anywhere else in the country, R35 for Gauteng. so it could be an idea to buy a few extra to save on the costs.

[Marq]

Your are right - one can never have too many backups in different places.

I think my main problem is with software to guide the process. I need to have it centralised at my machine where I can go into the other machines on the network and suck out the data and send to the backup server - or run it from the backup server where it does not affect the other machines.

The speed is relative to the amount of data you need to back up - sort of like the pigeon story. So I would like to image all drives on the system - say a once off on big drive and take off site. Then during the month do an incremental story on other drive/s. End of month image the drives that are handling user data on big drive and so on.

We have discussed backup software before here where Nortons, MS backup and Second Copy were mentioned. I tried MS for a while, still not sure about Nortons. Is Second copy still an option or is there other stuff out there?