Since the invention of the humble keyboard, we’ve seen it go through a lot of transformations. From the simple keyboard of the not so distant past, we now have multimedia keyboards, ergonomic keyboards, gaming keyboards and even wireless keyboards but every once in a while, a new product comes out that catches our attention. In this case, it is the DAS Keyboard Ultimate.

A first look at this keyboard will make you realize one very obvious feature: there are no inscriptions on the keys. It is a totally blank keyboard. Now why would someone make a blank keyboard? To some, this keyboard would be impossible to use but if you’re used to touch typing, it’s not going to be a problem. In fact, it only takes a short while to get used to it.

Weighing in at about three pounds, you won’t have to worry about the keyboard moving around while you’re typing. It will stay in place. This is also true for the keys. Have you ever experienced a key popping off the keyboard or buttons refusing to go back to its original position after being pressed? I have. It also has a sturdy feel to it. Obviously, a lot of considerations were made to make it durable but only time will tell. It has a beautiful glossy finish which is quite unique to keyboards. It also has these blue LED lights which serve as indicators for the caps lock, num lock and scroll lock. Overall, it is a very attractive keyboard.

One of the key features of this keyboard is the mechanical gold-plated key switch located under the keys which produce this unique clicking sound when you press the buttons. Membrane based keyboards don’t produce a sound as solid as the one produced by the DAS keyboard.

The keyboard also offers bonus features such as 2 USB ports which is a welcome addition. With this, I don’t have to bend down to attach a USB device to my computer. It also uses an extra-long cable which will enable the user to run the cable along the edges of the table to keep it out of sight.

The last feature worth mentioning is its ability to handle six keys being pressed simultaneously. This is called the N-Key rollover. This may not mean much to the average computer user but gamers can truly benefit from this feature. When you’re playing an FPS game, you’re constantly moving your character with the WASD keys while jumping (usually spacebar) and throwing grenades. This feature would come in handy since average keyboards only allow up to three simultaneous key presses.

The Conclusion

At $130.00, the keyboard is a little expensive for the average computer user but for the features it carries, it is worth it. I cannot deny that using it truly is satisfying but I wouldn’t recommend it for gaming because even though you’ve memorized the keyboard mapping, it is a little bit confusing to use when you’re in the middle of the game and your character is about to be blown to pieces. That extra time it takes to realize what button you’re about to press might also be the only time it will take for your opponent to blow you away. In my opinion, this keyboard is designed for the serious typist such as writers for example who don’t have to look at the keyboard all the time. The sound feedback to me is a matter of preference. I for one prefer a silent keyboard. I usually work late at night when all the ideas are flowing in and I wouldn’t want to wake up my wife while I’m busy pounding on the keyboard.

Setting my personal preferences aside, I think it is a great keyboard overall. If you have the money, then I suggest you buy one for yourself. You won’t regret it.

This card core speed is increased to be 775 MHz (standard : 750 MHz) and the memory speed too (now 3800 Mhz, standard : 3600 Mhz). You can’t see it from the appearance that this card is overclocked because it use the standard cooler and it has usual design.

After you read this, this doesn’t mean that you can’t overclok this card again. This card still has the empty space to be overclocked. You can overclock it until 850 MHz for the core speed and 4100 MHz for memory speed. Price estimation $307.

Pros :
- Overclock version
- Good performance

Cons :
- A little bit expensive
- Hot

XFX used to produce nVidia base graphic card, but now, they try to produce ATI base graphic card. One of them is this HD4830. For the design, XFX is still use the standard graphic card from ATI, furious cool black matte color.

XFX doesn’t use the standard cooler for this card, they use special cooler same like nVidia cooler standard. For the overclock, you can reach 775MHz in core speed and 2200MHz in memory speed ( it is high status for HD4830 VGA class). Price estimation $145

XFX HD4830 Specifications :

Core Speed - 575 MHz

Memory Speed - 1800 MHz

Memory type and capacity - 512MB GDDR3

Pros :

- Good performance

- Good cooler

- Good overclock performance

cons :

-

Inside this card, you can find nVidia GT200 chipset with 240 pieces of shader processor. The appearance is still use the standard design of a nVidia graphic card. With 648MHz core speed and 2484 MHz memory speed, it does have good performance. Support by 1GB GDDR3.

Pros :
- Good performance
- Big memory

Cons :
- Pretty big shape
- Hot

Fuji Xerox give you the new laser printer, DocuPrint series C2200. This series is a renewal from the previous series DocuPrint C2100. DocuPrint C2200 offers security and administration features. There are several security features, SNMP V3, IPv6 + IPSec and 802.1x authentification. Don’t forget the “Secure Print”, with this feature, you have to enter the password to print from a computer. With this feature, important and secret documents can be printed securely.

Auditron feature can limit certain user to use the printer and you can get the minimum print expenses. DocuPrint also use the latest toner, EA-HG (Emulation Aggregation High Grade) with 2 capacity that you can choose. There are 6K (K) / 4K (CMY) in built-in cartridge (default toner) and 9K (K) / 9K (CMY).

DocuPrint uses ‘direct printing’ function that enable the picture or text that is printed go from the drum to the paper directly! This can make the best quality result. Price estimation $749

Fuji Xerox DocuPrint C2200 Specifications :
Print Method – laser ink
Resolution – 600×600 dpi (multi-level)
Memory – 256MB(default) , 768MB(Max)
Connection – USB 2.0 , network support
Printer Language – Adobe PS3, PCL6, PCL5e, FX-PDF, HBPL
Durability – 60,000 – 70,000 pages / month
System Operation Support – Windows 2000/XP/Server 2008/ Vista, Mac, Linux

Pros :
- Good print result
- Security facilities and administration
- Auditron and Secure Print facilities.

Cons :
- Very big power usage
- Front panel is difficult to use
- “Cancel” button is very slow to respond

Basically, MicroPack MW709D is used for laptop computers users, but PC users also can use this wireless mouse. This mouse has ergonomic shape and it is very comfortable if you grasp it. MicroPack place 5 function buttons and scrolls. Zoom button is placed below the scroll.

This mouse needs 2 rechargeable batteries so can it function normally. You can charge the batteries via the mouse’s dock. The dock get the power from computer’s USB.

To activate this 2,4GHz frequency mouse, you must pair it first with your computer. After pairing process, now you can use your mouse up to 10 meters away from the mouse’s dock. The standard censor resolution is 800 dpi and it can increase until 1600 dpi for video editing.

Price estimation : US$ 22

Cons :

- Comfort design

- Works well on any surfaces

- Rachargeable batteries

- For right or left handed users

This mid-end ATI Radeon HD4670 works is very amazing. With the cheap price this card’s abilities can surpass the nVidia card (1 class above compare with this HD4670). It surpass GeForce 9600GSO or 9600GT!

Although this card is in the good performance already, it still have room for modifications. That’s what Sapphire do, they give 1GB DDR4 type memory. Because of this memory, it has good performance and can surpass the nVidia card 1 level above it. The OverClock performance can reach 850MHz in core-frequency ( standard is 750MHz), and the memory speed can reach 1150MHz (standard is 1100MHz). Guess the price! It’s only US$95

Usually office activities involve printer, copier, scanner and fax (4 in 1). Nowadays, we will search the less expensive devices that can handle all that situations. Samsung now shows us that they can make multifunction printer, SF-565PR.

As a multifunction printer, SF-565PR has a lot of button to divide the works into groups. Don’t worry the buttons are so informative and easy to understand.

Beside all the stuffs, you can also find resolution shortcut to choose the quality of the object that you want to print/fax (standard fine, super fine, and photo). User can save phone numbers so you can do “mass broadcasting” to send fax to a few numbers at once. Super G3 modem enable user to send fax with 33,6Kbps speed.

Although the tray’s shape is very common, it can hold until 250 A4 sheets. This printer weights 9,7Kg and only consumes 300watt. Last but not least, it has “green” side too! With the “Toner Saver” button you can minimize the toner powder. See the full specifications below.

SAMSUNG SF-565PR

As a printer

Printer Technology - Laser Monochrome

Resolution (Black/Color) - 600×600 dpi (effective)

Memory - 8MB

Paper Capacity -  1 shett for multipurpose – 250 sheets for tray

Paper’s Type – A4 paper, label, envelope, and transparent paper

As a scanner

Technology - CIS

Resolution (optic/interpolation) - 200×200 dpi (optical) , 300×300 (interpolated)

Color Depth - ..

As a copier

Zoom (-/+) - 50-200%

Resolution - 300×300 dpi

Facilities - 2-Up, 4-Up, 16-Up, Autofit, Clone, Poster, Copy, ID cardcopy

As a fax

Modem Speed - 33,6Kbps or 3 seconds/page

Resolution - 203×392 dpi (enhanced)

Facilities - fax, manual, auto-answer mode, automatic fax, Tel SW

General Specifications

Print Endurance - 10.000 pages / month

Connection - USB 1.1

Operation System - Windows 98/ME/2000/XP/ Mac

Weight - 9,7Kg

Dimension - 36,3 x 39,9 x 30, cm

Power Consumption (active/standby/sleep) – 300/85/10 watt

Price Estimation - US$ 199

Pros :

- Print facility, fax, telephone, copy , and scan

- LCD status

- Low power consumption

Cons :

- No network connection

- Gradation is not so smooth

- USB connection is still 1.1

In the last February, CISCO has launched their first simultaneous band wireless router. WRT610N is specially launched for Indonesia market only. This wireless can operate in 2 band frequencies, 5GHz and 2.4GHz. To handle the internet connection, WRT610N supports DSL connection and internet cable.

You will get profits from this dual band feature. First, using 5GHz frequency is very suitable to play streaming videos, because it prepare bigger canal. The 2.4GHz is for peripheral connection, printer, camera, and laptop computers.

WRT610N also has CISCO Media Optimized Networking facility. This technology enables user to set the priority of specific media content (high definition video) in easy way without doing a manual
configuration.

CISCO also give this router a WPS(Wi-Fi Protected Setup) feature using only from buttons. This button later can be used to add another device to the network. Not to forget LELA(Linksys Easy Link Advisor) feature, it prepare the installation manual in flash video format for PC and Mac user. Price estimation US$175.

Nowadays, the key for a computer technology is ‘portable’. It’s not surprising if all big devices have a mini type. You can find here Pico Projector PK 101. It has 10×5x1.5 cm dimension so you can put in your pocket. This 114gr device (with the batteries attached) has a 0.5W loudspeaker. It’s batteries can last for 1.5hours. Rechargeable batteries of course.

This tiny projector can display until 40inch with 1.5 meter maximal distance. With this big display, you can display any formats from any devices such as : digital camera, iPod video, hand phone, or handycam. Temporarily, this LED’s projector can reach 20,000 hours , compare with another projector that can only reach 2,000 hours.

With DLP (Digital Light Processing) technology, this projector has the best quality and very impressive, especially with black or white background. It will be launched for US$455 with 2 years warranty.