Review: Devolo dLAN 500 AVplus Starter Kit

Many Homeplug manufacturers are now offering devices conforming to the 500Mbps AV+ standard, and Devolo is no exception. These 'piggyback' adapters (with a passthrough mains socket) are quite chunky but do a pretty good job, as you can see in my full review over on Computeractive.

The dLAN 500 AVplus has a handy passthrough mains socket

The Cockpit software is very useful for checking link quality

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More seismic lines on Google Maps

A couple of years ago, I posted about some of the seismic lines I'd found (and created!) on Google Maps. the other day I was reminded of this when browsing the map of Libya, where I worked as Party Chief on a seismic crew from 1982 to 1984. In most places I worked, there had been lots of previous seismic surveys, so the chances of finding one the lines that I worked on are remote. My original post showed some lines in Yemen and Libya that were unique, so fairly easy to spot.

Anyway, looking at the tidal salt-pan (sabkha) area around Marsa Brega (which of course has been in the news a lot over the past few months), I spotted some dotted lines typical of dynamite survey lines. I can't be completely certain that they belong to my crew, as I have found that Shell was planning to do some more exploration in this area in 2005. They do look remarkably fresh for almost 30 years, so there is a good chance I'm wrong. But it was certainly the same area, and I bet whoever did the work hated the place as much as we did.

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How to use a router emulator for troubleshooting

If you've ever tried to help a friend, colleague or family member sort out a router problem over the phone or via email, you'll know what a hopeless task it can be. Unless you are familiar with the particular router's features and admin interface, you have little chance beyond 'turn it off and then on again', especially if the other person isn't very computer-savvy.

A great tool to help in such cases is the router emulator, which is really just a demo version of the router's admin interface that looks and operates like the real thing without being attached to a real router. Quite a few manufacturers provide these, but they rarely make it easy to find them (TP-Link is a notable exception) on their support websites.

The Trendnet emulator for one of its access points

Of course, it helps if you can find the correct product-specific emulator, but in fact as most manufacturers use a generic interface for all their products, this isn't as big a problem as you might think - the menu structure is usually identical, as are the basic settings. Product-specific settings (such as a second Wifi radio) might not be there, but there's usually enough similarity to enable you to help guide someone through using the interface.

I've been looking around for emulators for a while, and I've come up with the following list of manufacturers who provide them. It's not comprehensive, and usually the latest models are not there, but it's a start. If you know of any others, feel free to leave a comment.

No special software is needed to use these - just point your browser at the correct link and the interface should appear. And don't worry, you can't harm anything, so feel free to mess with any settings you fancy. It's also a good way to check out what a particular manufacturer's router interface looks like before you buy a new router.


DD-WRT 
D-Link
Draytek
Linksys 

Netgear 
TP-Link

Trendnet

Review: D-Link ShareCenter Pro 1100

This four-bay NAS enclosure is aimed more at businesses than consumers, with few of the add-ons such as web servers and iTunes servers seen in rival boxes (it can accept add-on extension modules, but none were  available for the multilingual version of the firmware at the time of writing). But it has all the basics needed for network file storage and is easy to setup and use. Read my full review, complete with performance results, on ZDNet UK.

It's an all-plastic enclosure with a locking door and quick-release drive bays

The interface is clear and simple to use

This graph shows Passmark file server performance results, with four separate threads

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AVM Fritz! WLAN Repeater 300E

AVM's existing Fritz! WLAN Repeater N/G has recently been joined by this new 300E model. It does away with the old model's touch-sensitive display, and adds a Gigabit Ethernet connection instead of the audio-out ports and FM transmitter. It is one of the easiest repeaters to setup (without using WPS) that I've come across, although it's not the cheapest. I've written a short preview of the device for ZDNet's First Take blog. If you're buying one for use in the UK, make sure that you get the International version - this has a 2-pin euro-plug, so will need an adapter for UK sockets, but the web interface is multilingual. There is no version with a UK plug.

The 300E loses the touch display and audio ports

It features AVM's superb web admin interface

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