July 18, 2008 -- Aten, have you ever heard of them? If you haven't, it's not because they are a newcomer to the market place, as they actually have been around for nearly 30 years, but they focus all of their efforts on manufacturing KVM switch solutions. These KVM switches just aren't limited to simple multi-port analog switching, but they have a variety of enterprise-grade switches, IP-based switching, embedded solutions, HDMI switches, and many other products. One of Aten's newest products is the CS1782 DVI KVM Switch, which is designed for homes and small offices and has support for not only handling two systems with keyboard, mouse, and DVI monitor switching, but it goes beyond that to offer surround-sound audio and USB switching as well. In this review we are looking at the Aten CS1782 KVM DVI Switch.

May 26, 2008 -- Back in 2005 we were introduced to Hiper Group, a company that started out in the United Kingdom with dedication towards delivering the best quality, design, technology, and price for every Hiper product. We had reviewed the Clavier Aluminum Keyboard and Type-R Modular PSU from Hiper, but since then they have turned to offering an impressive variety of power supplies, case fans, cases, and other computer peripherals. While a simple product, one of their newer creations is a DVI to HDMI cable. This cable is made of 24 gauge wire with EMI shielding and gold-plated connectors, but at an affordable price.

April 30, 2008 -- Last month we had looked at the Gigabyte AirCruiser N300 GN-WI30N-RH 802.11n WiFi adapter. The wireless adapter uses the Ralink RT2860 chipset, which doesn't have a Linux driver in the kernel, but we were able to easily get this 802.11n wireless adapter working with Ubuntu when using ndiswrapper and the Windows driver. Today we have our hands on the Gigabyte AirCruiser N300 Dual GN-WI06N-RH, which is a PCI Express Mini-Card with dual-band 802.11a/b/gn support. How well does this Atheros-based WiFi card work on Linux? We'll tell you in this review.

April 04, 2008 -- We haven't looked at a new Razer product since February of 2007 when reviewing the DeathAdder, but with products from the Copperhead to the Mantis, we have been impressed with their exceptional quality. The Razer Barracuda AC-1 did initially have some problems with Linux, but those have since been worked out with the ALSA Snd-Oxygen driver. Today up on the review block is a new Razer audio product and that is the Piranha Gaming Communicator, which is a headset designed for gamers with true-to-life audio quality and a noise-filtering microphone.

March 26, 2008 -- We have looked at many Gigabyte motherboards and graphics cards at Phoronix, but this computing company also maintains products in the mobile and communication sectors with such products as Bluetooth adapters, VoIP devices, Ultra Mobile PCs, wireless routers, and 802.11b/g/n wireless modules. Today we are checking out our first Gigabyte wireless product as we review the AirCruiser N300, which is a MiniPCI 802.11n (draft) wireless adapter. This wireless adapter uses the Ralink RT2860 chipset, and in this review we'll tell you how to setup this wireless card using ndiswrapper on Ubuntu 8.04.

March 20, 2008 -- In the market for a simple notebook stand but aren't interested in the various notebook cooling contraptions like the Thermaltake iXoft or Prime Cooler CoolPad? If so, you may be interested in the Logitech Alto Express. The Alto Express is a notebook stand that raises the notebook display for increased viewing comfort and convenience.

February 19, 2008 -- Leading up to the Consumer Electronic Show (CES) last month in Las Vegas, we received many invitations to check out various booths, receptions, other displays, and even a Gulfstream G5 flight out to the San Fernando Valley. One of the booth invitations we received was from a company known as OtterBox. Their booth had consisted of various protective cases for PDAs, iPods, phones, and GPS devices. We had initially written off Otterbox as a company of little interest to our Linux readers seeing as they just manufactured cases for consumer electronic devices. However, that was before we had noticed the OtterBox 7030. The OtterBox 7030 is a notebook case that is not only waterproof but also crushproof, can even be dropped up to a meter with your notebook inside, and of course is engineered to prevent any damage to the laptop itself. Keeping in mind we are the ones that boil USB flash drives and use motherboards to open beer bottles, we have our hands today on the OtterBox 7030. Is this polypropylene chassis able to protect a notebook inside when it's being used as a winter sled?

January 01, 2008 -- Normally at Phoronix we don't look at any digital photography products, but the DXG-110 from DXG USA had caught our attention as being the first 10 megapixel digital camera available for under $200 USD (it retails for $170 to be exact). Higher megapixel cameras are often misinterpreted by consumers as meaning a higher quality product, while that is not always the case and with the DXG-110 you shouldn't set out looking to take professional-grade photographs. In this article we are also looking at some of the photo management programs available to Linux users.

December 02, 2007 -- With most motherboards these days, you are provided with a more than adequate number of Serial ATA cables and for most users that is good enough. However, if you are in need of additional SATA cables or are just looking for something different, SilverStone has their CP03 and CP04 cables. The CP04 has a SATA 2.0 connector rotated 90 degrees, while both the SilverStone CP03 and CP04 have a metallic EMI guard layer and a sturdy locking mechanism.

November 11, 2007 -- Whether you are using Windows or Linux, you are never free of running into hardware problems. It could be a bad power supply or a faulty motherboard, but an incorrect diagnosis can be costly and timely in production environments. PC-Doctor Inc, a company serving the computing community since 1993, recently sent out their PC Doctor Service Center 6 for review. This PC diagnostic test kit includes a variety of hardware and software for helping to diagnose computer problems. While this kit can help in solving computer problems, is it worth $400 USD?