Windows 8.1 launches in UK on 17th October, 2013

Just received the news from Microsoft's PR that Windows 8.1 will launch in New Zealand at 12.00am on the 18th October (so midday on the 17th in the UK) and roll out worldwide via a free update in the Windows Store. So yes, you will need a Microsoft Account to get this. Having tried the preview, I reckon it will definitely be worth the upgrade, as it fixes many broken features and improves usability, particularly for non-touchscreen devices.

D-Link launches new AC1750 802.11ac router

At an event in London yesterday, networking company D-Link showcased its range of 11ac routers for the consumer market. There are now five models covering several flavours of the 11ac standard, with single-stream (1x1, AC750), dual-stream (2x2, AC1200) and triple-stream (3x3, AC1750) products. All products have Gigabit Ethernet WAN connections apart from the AC1200 DSL-3580L ADSL model which will appear at a later date.

The DIR-810L (£62) is a single-stream AC750 model, aimed at the budget end of the market and lacking extras such as a USB port. The next model up is the AC1200 DIR-850L, which adds a USB port and uses a cylindrical design.

The DIR-860L has one of the first implementations of the 11ac beamforming technology, called Smartbeam by D-Link. Beamforming helps improve performance and reduce interference with neighbouring networks by phasing the antennas to give a directional signal pointing at the client. To get the full benefit it needs beamforming support in the client, though. The 860L also gains a USB port.

The newly-announced DIR-868L (£133) is an AC1750 product, with similar features to the 860L. Also shown at the launch was the miniature AC580 single-stream DWA-171 USB adapter, which joins the existing DWA-182 dual-stream adapter.

D-Link now has one of the most diverse 11ac offerings of any vendor, enabling it to hit multiple price points. I'm hoping to get samples of one or more of the models over the coming weeks, so keep an eye out for my reviews.

The DIR-868L is an AC1750 router with Smartbeam beamforming capability

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WD My Net AC1300 router and My Net AC Bridge

Western Digital launched its first routers about a year ago, and now it's entered into the 802.11ac market with the My Net AC1300. It has also launched the My Net AC Bridge, which will be needed to get the best performance as few devices have 11ac capability yet.

It's by far the fastest 11ac router I've tested to date, achieving 170Mbps throughput at close range and 70Mbps at 25m. 11n performance was a bit patchy, though. It's not too expensive, however, at £135 for the router and £69 for the bridge. You can read my full news article over on ZDNet UK.

The WD AC1300 has a nice graphic menu system

At close range, performance is impressive

Even at 25m, throughput still topped 70Mbps

Design is compact but plain

The matching AC bridge has 4 Gigabit Ethernet ports

Synology DSM 4.3 Beta launch event

If you like NAS and football, you might be interested in going to Synology's launch event for the next version of its DSM software. It willl be held at Manchester United's Old Trafford football ground on 27th June 2013. It's open to all, including end users, and it just requires registration at http://www.synology.com/events/2013_dsm4.3_beta_uk.php?lang=uk

Guests will get a goodie bag, and there will also be a chance to win a DiskStation.

Netgear's new ReadyNAS range uses BTRFS filesystem

Netgear has announced a major revamp of its ReadNAS range. The new models feature a brand new operating system, ReadyNAS OS 6, that uses the BTRFS filesystem, the first NAS OS to do so. BTRFS is an unusual filesystem with copy-on-write capabilities - this makes it easy to create data snapshots and recover any file, even if it's been deleted. You can read more about the new range in my article for ZDNet UK's First Take blog. Prices have not yet been announced.

Table of specifications for the new ReadyNAS rang (source: Netgear)

New Fritz!OS firmware launched for Fritz!Box

I noticed a few weeks ago that a new version of Fritz!OS5 had appeared on the German AVM site, and have been eagerly awaiting the International version. It appeared today (version 84.05.51), so I installed it on my Fritz!Box 7390 to give it a spin. I haven't had time to check out exactly what's new, but the look and feel is unchanged, with a few minor tweaks - such as links to Fritz!Box, Fritz!NAS and MyFritz at the top right of the interface.

One thing that has gone is the dreaded 'Green' LAN port power management feature that drove many users to distraction. There seem to be quite a lot of new features, and it's going to take me a while to sort through them. I have noticed that the FritzFON now has a built-in network media player, so you can stream music from any DLNA media server. Not world-shattering, but certainly novel.

There's also a new Smart Home section, apparently for the upcoming FritzDECT 200 home controller, which sounds quite interesting. You can also now assign user accounts for web access to the Fritz!NAS, and Google Contacts (and some other online services) can be imported to a new address book, which is very neat and works well. There's also a new FritzAPP, and (finally) a single sign-on for the MyFritz remote management service.

It looks like a very worthwhile release, and you can get it by going to the Firmware Update section of the System menu and clicking Find New Firmware. I hope to go into more detail later as I explore the new features.

The overview screen is largely unchanged

You can now import Google Contacts into an address book

Netgear unveils low-cost 10-Gigabit Ethernet switches

10-Gigabit Ethernet (10GbE) might sound a bit over the top, but it's big business in big businesses. Those companies needing large amounts of bandwidth on their corporate networks are rapidly moving to this standard.

The main problem is that the cost of 10GbE technology is still way out of the range of smaller businesses, so it's interesting to see Netgear launch a £675 8-port 10GbE switch, one of the first at this price level. Netgear has achieved this by using the copper-cabled standard (called 10GBase-T) rather than the more expensive fiber-based standard. A bonus is that the ports and cables are backwards-compatible with existing 10/100/1000Base-T gear. Netgear has also lowered the power consumption of the 10GBase-T ports to around the same as fiber kit, removing yet another barrier to entry.


You can read more about the new switches in my piece over on ZDNet UK.

The £675 8-port XS708E is aimed at SMEs

XS712T - 12-port Smart switch

Top-of-the-range 24-port XSM7224 fully-managed switch

AVM to launch 1,300Mbps Fritzbox at CeBIT

Yes, it's that time of year again when my inbox overfloweth with CeBIT press releases (I've only just managed to clear out the CES ones..). One that caught my eye was from AVM, makers of the Fritzbox routers. In it the company says it will be demonstrating several new products, including routers with 200Mbps DSL capabilities (thanks to 'vectoring and bonding', apparently).

But what's more interesting (to me at least) is that it will be launching a 1,300Mbps 802.11ac Fritzbox model - the attached image shows the German prototype. The company also says it will be announcing new mobile apps.

CeBIT runs from 5th-9th March, 2013. If you're planning on going, AVM will be in hall 13, stand 48. I imagine we won't see shipping products here in the UK until well into the summer.

UPDATE 15/3/2013: The new top-of-the-range model (pictured) was named as the Fritz!Box 7490. 

Well, it certainly looks like a Fritzbox

AVM Fritz!Box 3370

AVM has launched quite a few new models this year, trying to please everyone with assorted combinations of features. The latest 3370 model drops all the VoIP and telephony features has VoIP support for AVM's free FritzApp FON, with the full range of VoIP settings found in other models, but dispenses completely with analogue phone ports and DECT. The FritzApp FON can be used over Wifi or LAN on iOS and Android smartphones and tablets. [Thanks to reader Philippe for the tip - the VoIP features are hidden unless you tick a box for FritzApp support on the WLAN settings page].

The 3370 is AVM's first 3-stream (450Mbps) 11n model. It only has a single radio, though, so can only work on one frequency at once. At around £150, it's quite expensive for what you get, but Fritz!Box aficionados are quite used to that.

Performance is pretty mundane (see graphs below), although better than the previous 2-stream models at long distance. You can read more on my post for ZDNet UK's First Take blog.

No, it's not my house

The inside is pretty bare now the hardware telephony stuff has gone. There are 3 antennas - one is at the bottom right, soldered vertically to the motherboard. the other two are under the usual 'fins' at the top.

2.4GHz @ 1m

2.4GHz @ 25m

5GHz @ 1m

5GHz @ 25m

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Synology DiskStation DS213air

Synology's NAS enclosures have supported add-on USB Wifi dongles for a while, but the 2-bay DS213air is the company's first model with integrated wireless. It's aimed mainly at consumers, and has a couple of novel features, such as the ability to work as a wireless access point or wireless router. It's not a particularly powerful unit, as you can see from my results below, but it does have the convenience factor and Synology's excellent DSM software.
For more details, see my article over on ZDNet UK's First Take blog or my review on Computeractive.

It uses a mini-PCIe card on the motherboard for Wifi

DiskMark score over Wifi at 1m is not particularly impressive

DiskMark score over Ethernet is a bit better

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Windows 8 OEM/System Builder UK launch prices

[UPDATE 25/10 - added revised prices]

UK specialist hardware site QuietPC.com has just published the discounted UK launch prices for Windows 8 boxed versions on its website. Although upgrade prices have been known for a while, this is the first time I've seen prices for the System Builder (OEM) versions. It states that the prices are valid from October 26, 2012 to 31 January, 2013. The prices seem to be much lower than the Amazon pre-order prices, so presumably the Amazon prices are the prices we'll see after the launch discounts expire.

Note that there is now no full retail version  - this has been replaced by the System Builder (OEM) version, and the new Personal Use license for this allows anyone to buy these versions for installation on a self-built PC. There are now no restrictions on transferring OEM versions to another PC - with previous OEM licences, the OS was locked to the hardware, making upgrading the motherboard a nightmare). So this version of Windows 8 looks like a bargain for DIY builders.

These prices compare very favourably to the $69.99 and $139.99 prices for the US standard and Pro versions. It will be interesting to see if there's any additional discount for online (ESP) download versions from Microsoft's online store.

Missing from QuietPC's price lists are the prices of the Media Center Pack and Windows Pro Pack. The former adds Media Center and DVD (MPEG2) playback capability to Windows 8 Pro, and the latter does the same for Windows 8 and simultaneously upgrades it to Windows 8 Pro. Amazon is showing the Windows 8 Pro Pack as costing £49.98.

(All prices include VAT and are for boxed DVD media)

UPDATE 25/10/12 - These prices have now changed as indicated:

Windows 8 Professional (OEM/System Builder) £49.99  £108.98

Windows 8 (OEM/System Builder) £39.98 £71.34

Windows 8 Pro Upgrade (DVD boxed version)  £29.99  £49.98

Scan has also posted some Windows 8 prices, but these are higher, and are perhaps the non-discounted prices.

Windows 8 £76.90
Windows 8 Pro £109.30


To read more about Windows 8's features, grab a copy of the latest issue of Computeractive magazine, where you'll find my in-depth guide to the new OS.

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Synology Diskstation DS-413

Synology's new DS-413 is a 4-bay NAS enclosure based on the existing DS-412+, but using a PowerPC processor (with a hardware encryption engine) rather than an Intel Atom. It supports the latest 4.1 release of the DSM software, and also showcases the new Web Assistant tool for deployment. I've written a short piece over on ZDNet with more details, but below I've included the Passmark Performance Test results - for these, I installed three WD Red 3TB hard disks. As you can see, it does pretty well, nudging just under 100MB/sec in the Web Server workload.

DiskMark result

Database workload

File Server workload

Workstation workload

Web Server workload

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LogMeIn Central adds anti-virus management

LogMeIn Central is a remote control and management service for business users, which works with clients running the Pro version of LogMeIn. It now has a free extra service, the ability to monitor and manage anti-virus software installed on client PCs. It works quite well, as long as the anti-virus software is supported - LogMeIn has published a large list of compatible vendors. Read more about this in my article on ZDNet's First Take blog.

3M MP220 and MP410 portable projectors

The portable projector market refuses to die, despite some disappointing products over the last few years. But with the new MP220 and MP410, 3M may inject even more life into the sector. These use the latest ultra-bright LEDs to give impressive brightness levels of 65 ANSI lumens for the rechargeable MP220 (which is an Android-powered device) and 300 ANSI lumens for the mains-powered MP410. I was impressed with both of them, and you can read more in my article over on ZDNet's First Take section.

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Plustek MobileOffice D412 portable scanner

Plustek has just launched a USB-powered portable scanner, the £259 MobileOffice D412. I've written a short piece about it for ZDNet's First Take section. It is a similar idea to Kodak's new Scanmate i940, but is smaller and cheaper, although it lacks the cloud integration of the Kodak product. My one beef with it is that the Plustek software looks quite dated and is in serious need of a makeover, but it does the job.

Red alert: Western Digital launches NAS-optimised hard disks

Choosing suitable hard disks for a NAS enclosure can be a nightmare, with all kinds of issues surrounding compatibility, reliability and power consumption - there's little wonder the average consumer prefers the simplicity of pre-populated models. Western Digital is trying to alleviate that problem with the launch of its new Red range of 3.5in. disks. These are the latest addition to WD's colour-coded drives - Blue are standard desktop models, Green are power-efficient, and Black designates enthusiast models.

The Red disks have a 6Gb/sec SATA interface and come in three capacities, 1, 2 and 3TB. They are specifically designed for RAID duties in consumer and small-business NAS boxes. WD says they are based on some technologies used in its RE range of enterprise-class drives, and command a price premium of around 10% over standard desktop drives. They feature WD's NASWare firmware, 3D Active Balance Plus balance control technology, and come with a dedicated 24/7 support line and a 3-year warranty. There is 64MB of DDR2 cache on each drive.

Interestingly, WD is pushing the reliability, compatibility and power consumption aspects more than outright performance, which makes a lot of sense in this market. Drive pricing (MSRP) is £69.99 for 1TB, £89.99 for 2TB and £129.99 for 3TB. WD hinted that 4TB models will also eventually appear at a later date. The company is working on getting certification with enclosure manufacturers, including Synology, Qnap and Thecus. WD's own My Book Live NAS appliances will also get Red drives at a later date.

I hope to see some samples soon, and if so will see how they stack up against the standard disks I use for my NAS testing - these are rather ancient Hitachi CinemaStar 250GB drives, which are not particularly fast but have worked without fuss in almost every NAS enclosure I've reviewed to date.

You can find more info about the Red range, including a compatibility list, on WD's site.

Buffalo TeraStation TS5400 4TB NAS

Buffalo has added a couple of new NAS appliances to its portfolio. The TeraStation TS5400D (4-bay) and TS5200D (2-bay) are aimed mainly at small business users, and feature dual-core Atom processors and lots of fast DDR3 RAM. They also boast a completely new user interface.

Buffalo is unusual in that it ships its NAS boxes pre-populated, which makes them expensive, but at least it removes the headache of drive compatibility. I've written a short piece for ZDNet UK about the 4TB version of the TS5400D, but below are three of the performance charts from Passmark Performance Test 7.

The TS5400D costs £850 for the 4TB version.

The TS5400 has a locking front door and a bright status panel

Four hot-swap drive bays are pre-populated and configured in a RAID-5 array

Passmark Performance Test's overall Disk Mark shows good random read/write performance

The 2GB of memory and dual-core/4-thread CPU help give good  performance in the  Web Server workload test

A surprisingly good result in the workstation workload test

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Cisco Connect Cloud - apps come to your router

I went to a Cisco product launch in London the other day, where the company unveiled its new Cisco Connect Cloud router remote access and configuration interface (I've embedded my video of the live demo below, along with a promo video from Cisco). Perhaps most interestingly, it's also a application platform that developers are being encouraged to sign up for. The idea is that developers can create apps that hook into the router from afar and help users control devices connected to the network.

Inevitably, that Flying Dutchman of the tech world, the internet fridge, made an appearance, with Cisco demoing a Whirlpool app that can monitor the temperature, water filter status and so on via a smartphone (but no, you still can't buy the fridge).

Six apps are bundled with the new range of app-enabled routers (one of these is the dual-band, 3-stream EA4500, which I am currently reviewing), providing device management, parental controls, guest wireless access, USB storage, media prioritisation (QoS), and a speed test. There are also six third-party apps available to download, including the Hipplay media player, Twonky Video, an IP camera viewer, plus a device monitoring app and two net filtering/application blocking tools.

I'll reserve judgement until I've finished my review, but it looks like an interesting project. Anything that simplifies router interfaces is very welcome, however.

Cisco also announced its first 802.11ac router, the EA6500, which will go on sale in September 2012.

Update 29/6: I've just seen the post on Slashdot discussing user complaints about Connect Cloud in the US. I haven't got the EA4500 set up yet, but when I do I'll try and see what's going on. There seem to be two main issues being complained about - possible internet history tracking, and inability to configure some settings when bypassing Connect Cloud by unplugging the internet connection.


Update 1/7: According to Bloomberg, Cisco says it 'made a mistake' with the wording of Connect Cloud T&Cs, and has now changed the wording. Sadly, the horse has already bolted.

AVM Fritz!Box 7330 and 7360

Not content with adding the budget 3270 model recently, AVM has just launched two single-band VoIP routers, the Fritz!Box 7330 (£125) and 7360 (£148). These are based on the flagship 7390 model, and unlike the 3270 they feature an analogue phone connection and a DECT base station. I've written a news piece about them for ZDNet UK, and below I have included the high-res versions of the internal photos I took of them. They use slightly different Wifi chips from Atheros, but there's no functional difference, and their wireless performance is fairly similar. They look like an interesting alternative to the eye-wateringly expensive Fritz!Box 7390 for SIP aficionados.

Update: My review of the 7330 for Computeractive is now available online.

The Fritz!Box 7330 uses the Atheros AR9227 Wifi chip

Both models use the same case

No antenna cables - the Wifi and DECT antennas are bent metal on the motherboard

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