Archive for January 5, 2017

SABRE Announces SABRE Smart Home Security System

Posted in Commentary with tags on January 5, 2017 by itnerd

SABRE unveiled some of their newest products in personal safety and home security at CES this week. One thing that caught my eye was the SABRE Smart Home Security System. 

The SABRE Smart Home Security System contains a wireless camera, touch-control keypad, internal siren, 120° arc motion sensor, two window/door sensors and a key fob controller; along with access to an iOS/Android downloadable app which allows user to remotely monitor and control the entire system. Like all SABRE Home Series systems, the Smart Home Security System is easily expandable and requires no wiring or professional installation.

The SABRE Smart Home Security System will be shipping soon. I have requested one to review so stay tuned!

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ViewSonic Unveils New Professional & Premium Entertainment Monitors

Posted in Commentary with tags on January 5, 2017 by itnerd

ViewSonic has introduced three new monitors designed to deliver the ultimate performance for the most demanding professionals and prosumers. Packed with the latest display technologies, the new VP3881, VP3268-4K and VX2781-UC come with ultra-high resolutions ranging from Quad HD to 4K UHD, sleek frameless ID designs, a full array of advanced digital connectivity options and sophisticated, functional ergonomic stands to maximize usability and productivity.

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The latest addition to the award-winning professional line of VP monitors is the VP3881, a 37.5-inch curved screen display that features stunning 3840×1600 resolution with an ultra-wide 24:10 aspect ratio for an immersive viewing experience. With a frameless SuperClear® IPS panel, and paired with professional pre-calibration achieving Delta E<2, the VP3881 delivers amazing color accuracy and consistency. To ensure that color accuracy is at its highest level, the VP3881 comes with hardware calibration that works with the ViewSonic Color Calibration Kit. Connectivity options include: HDMI, DisplayPort, USB 3.1 Type C and a USB hub.

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Another new monitor in ViewSonic’s professional display line is the VP3268-4K monitor. A 31.5-inch, four-sided frameless display, the VP3268-4K comes with 3840×2160 4K UHD resolution. This monitor strikes a balance between ultra-high resolution and large screen size, allowing the VP3268-4K to deliver the ultimate detail, clarity and screen real estate for professional applications. It comes pre-calibrated to achieve professional grade Delta E<2 and uniformity for color-critical applications. The VP3268-4K monitor offers a definitive front-of-screen experience when it comes to color reproduction and fine detail rendering for visual communication. It comes with HDMI, DisplayPort, Mini-DisplayPort and USB hubs for flexible connectivity.

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With an ultra-thin and minimalistic design, the ViewSonic VX2781-UC is a 27-inch frameless monitor with a SuperClear IPS type panel. Part of the VX-series of multimedia/entertainment monitors, the VX2781-UC features 2560×1440 QHD resolution, and offers a great combination of color and resolution detail. Its fully ergonomic design maximizes comfort and productivity, delivering a large format screen and features for multimedia applications. The VX2781-UC comes with a USB 3.1 Type C input that provides a single cable solution for audio, video, power and data.

The ViewSonic VP3881, VP3268-4K and VX2781-UC will be available in June 2017 with the following estimated MRSPs:

Model

Estimated MSRP

VP3881

$1,999.00 (USD)

VP3268-4K

$1,359.00 (USD)

VX2781-UC

$749.00 (USD)

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TP-Link Showcases New Products At CES

Posted in Commentary with tags on January 5, 2017 by itnerd

TP-Link has announced it will be introducing Deco, a new line of Whole-Home Wi-Fi Systems that address the need for faster and more reliable Internet connections, due to the growing number of connected devices throughout the home.

  • The Deco M5 Router uses the latest Wi-Fi mesh technology to provide seamless wireless connectivity throughout every room in your home.
  • The Deco M5 Plus Router with Powerline is the most advanced version that features built-in Powerline technology. This router is the first Whole-Home Wi-Fi System that incorporates both Wi-Fi and powerline technologies into one small form factor, providing an even stronger connection for wireless devices across the home.

TP-Link will also be introducing two new networking products; the AC2300 Wireless MU-MIMO Gigabit Router and the RE650 AC2600 Wi- Fi Range Extender with MU-MIMO.

  • The AC2300 Wireless MU-MIMO Gigabit Router allows you to watch 4K movies and enjoy high-speed gaming with fast Wave 2 Wi-Fi. This powerful router can talk to many devices at once, placing each on the best Wi-Fi band to maximize performance. It even allows users to prioritize games, movies and other content or assign bandwidth to the devices you use most.
  • The RE650 AC2600 Wi-Fi Range Extender expands powerful Wi-Fi across your home, eliminating dead zones, drop outs and spotty signals. The RE650 works with any Wi-Fi router, access point or modem router to boost extended Wi-Fi coverage and performance to devices at all corners of your home.

All of TP-Link’s home networking and smart home solutions will be on display at the TP-Link booth #30526 in South Hall 3 throughout CES, from Jan. 5-8 in Las Vegas.

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netTALK Does Things A Bit Better, But Still Serves Up A #Fail

Posted in Commentary with tags on January 5, 2017 by itnerd

You might recall that just before New Years, I was helping a customer with a defective netTALK unit, and the interaction with their customer service was….. less than optimal. Well, I knew that I would have to go back and finish the job once the customer’s replacement unit arrived. And I will give netTALK credit for this: They shipped it on the 29th of December which was the next day. It arrived on January 4th via post. That’s pretty good. While overnight is better, I can find little fault in how it was shipped.

However, they promptly went back into the bad category by having a note like this inside the box:

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So that to me means that I should be able to plug this in, have it connect to the customer’s network and it should work. Well, it did connect to the network, but you couldn’t call the netTALK unit using the customer’s phone number. Not only that, the customer’s voice mail was gone as well.

#Fail

So seeing as they didn’t deliver on that front, I had to contact them via their chat window. The one that was infuriating to deal with the last time I had to use it. But this time, when I reached out to them, they responded within a minute and their responses were timely. Since I was dealing with the same person from whatever contact center in the Philippines that netTALK uses, I can only assume that he had been spoken to because it is highly likely that netTALK read my last post. He asked for my phone number and the MAC addresses of the old and new devices. Within 5 minutes, the customer was up and running. The voice mail had to be re-recorded, but other than that it was working.

Not that’s the interaction that should have happened in the first place.

But let’s circle back to the note in the box. It’s quite frankly stupid to put a note in the box saying that the account transfer had been done when it clearly hadn’t been done. Which then forces a customer to hop through an additional hoop to get things working. This didn’t go unnoticed by the customer, who is now leaning towards Ooma when they switch their VoIP phone service away from netTALK. That will likely happen in the next few months as they get closer to the renewal date of their netTALK service.

Net result: While netTALK did improve in some areas. They failed in one important one. And as a result they are still going to lose a customer.

Too bad netTALK.

 

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