It’s gadget time!

Alright, I finally have another gadget to talk about.  I just installed a Netgear ReadyNAS Duo on the network.  This little box seems to pack a lot into its chassis.  The setup was an absolute breeze, and I’ve got some backups running to it right now.

Due to a deal I found on Dell, I’ve got this running with 2 x 500 GB drives, rather than the single drive most configurations come with.  This provides automatic mirroring, so even if one drive fails, I’ve got another copy there and ready to go.

Some other functionality it has (that I’ve not yet played with) includes a BitTorrent client and iTunes streaming.  One very nice feature we’ve already made use of is the fact it can act as a print server.  Just plug a USB printer into one of the three USB ports, and you’re off to the races!

This little box has a great set of features (click on the image to go to the product site), especially for the price.  If you’re looking into some network-attached storage, put this one on your list to check out.

One For the Road

As my birthday approaches, the first gift has shown up – a Joby GorillaPod (http://www.joby.com/products/gorillapod/).  This is one of those items that I always thought would be handy to have when travelling about with my digital camera, but could never bring myself to buy.

Should be a quite useful gadget.  We’ll see how it does once I hit the road with it!