Philip Stephens - Page 4 of 7 - Technology user, lover, simplifier, explainer.

March 9, 2015December 28, 2016

Charging the HP Chromebook 11 Without the Factory Micro-USB Charger.

Hint: Its all about the cables!

The HP Chromebook 11 broke new ground by using a fast 3 Amp Micro-USB charger. It also generated a lot of bad publicity early on when the US chargers had to be recalled due to overheating. The USB charging is effective because the computer has a relatively small battery, and thus achieves a fairly rapid charge. To get reasonable battery life despite a very bright 300 nit screen, it uses a relatively low powered processor, limiting it’s performance. At a weight less than a Mac Book Air, it is a joy to carry, and on short business trips, the ability for the single, light charger to charge every device I carry is seductive.

But there are reports that the chargers are difficult to replace if they fail. Any Micro USB charger can charge the Chromebook overnight, but they lack the power to charge the machine while it is running. A 1 Amp phone charger will raise an alert that it is a low powered charger, and the running device will still bleed down slowly.

My experience with a variety of chargers and cables shows that while many chargers will deliver the required 3 Amps, the Cable used is the big leveler. The original HP charger is rated at 3 amps and works fast. I have not dismantled it, but I am sure it uses heavy gauge wire.

Most USB cables use thin #28 or #24 AWG wire. Non-intuitively, lower numbers are thicker and therefore better conductors of current. The USB charger supplies 5 V (volts) and the thicker the wires the better. Thin wires provide resistance, and power coming from the charger is lost as heat in the cable. So as a rule of thumb, shorter is better, and thicker is better. Over the last 12 months I have tested about 30 different cables. Some were quite expensive, many were not. The shortest ones worked best, but at 200 mm (8 inch) cable is not very convenient.

The single best charging cable I have found comes from PortaPow in England. It is the PortaPow Fast Charge Micro USB Cable (Length: 100cm (3.3ft)) Most cables of this length would only deliver 0.6 – 0.7 A. That translates to about 3.5 W, not enough to charge and run a Chromebook. The PortaPow cable delivers 1.75 A or about 8.75 W. from the same power supply. I believe my cable is #22 AWG, but they have since increased the size of the conductors to #20 AWG and I have two more on order.

Lets look at three chargers that work well with this cable. In each case the Chromebook is running with multiple tabs open, multiple docs, Gmail, Drive and some web pages. WiFi is on, and I am using a Bluetooth mouse. Brightness is at about 80%. In all cases they are reported as low power chargers.

My favourite charger is the Anker 40 watt, 5 port IQ+ charger. It has been superseded by a 60 watt version, but mine is working fine and does not need an upgrade. With the PortaPow cable, it delivers 1.75 A and the Chromebook is working and charging steadily. If I close the lid and hibernate for 30 minutes, it will charge up by 12%. Basic arithmetic suggests about 4 hours to go from 20% to 100%. With the computer working, of course, it will be MUCH longer, but will get there.

I also have a Kensington 2 amp, 4 port charger that can be plugged into the power socket or be used with a figure 8 cable instead of the adapter. It charges the Chromebook at 1.45 A and has enough power in reserve to also charge my smartphone without reducing power to the Chromebook.

Finally, the ASUS 2 A wall-mount charger that came with my Nexus 7. This small charger is rated at 2 A and pushed about 1.35 A through the PortaPow cable. This is enough to run the Chromebook with a little left in reserve for charging. With my current settings it is charging at about 3% per hour. I would suggest playing video at full brightness will cause the battery to drop.

There is an endless parade of USB Chargers, and the cheaper ones are not worth the time. Ask yourself if you really want a $5 charger between mains voltage and your expensive device, and then move on to a name brand charger.

My summary of the best options:

If you already have a 2 amp charger lying around ( I am sure you do) simply buy the PortaPow fast charging cable, and you are in business. The Nexus 7 charger weighs 62 grams (2.2 oz) with an Australian plug.

If you want flexibility and low weight, the Kensington 2 amp charger (112 grams ( 4 oz)) comes with a range of international plugs, and can be used with a figure 8 cable if the power outlet is inaccessible and can charge four devices (up to 2 amps) simultaneously.

For speed and power, there is no substitute for the Anker 5 port IQ+ charger. It weighs in at a hefty 250 grams (8.8 oz) with a cable but I have been on vacation with four people, a chromebook, three tablets, four smartphones, a USB powered WiFi hotspot and assorted keyboards mice and Bluetooth headsets and the Anker handled the lot perfectly.

My Review of the Anker Charger is here, you might enjoy it.

I also reviewed the HP Chromebook 11, and decided It is my favorite Chromebook despite it’s limitations!

March 6, 2015March 17, 2015

My Office for Today

The Royal Exchange Hotel, opposite Southern Cross Station in Melbourne.

This is a quiet bistro and bar below street level and just across the road from the railway station. I arrived for a very late breakfast and ordered the Big Breakfast for $15 with coffee.

The Big Breakfast was indeed big, and came with coffee. Quite a meal.

I set up here and worked for some time. It is quiet, dimly lit and was a battery saver, allowing me to dim the brightness of my HP Chromebook 11 way down. After working for some 30 minutes, the Chromebook was showing 8.5 hrs of battery life remaining.

January 16, 2015December 28, 2016

“He’s Dead, Jim!” – Upgrading the Memory in My ASUS Chromebox

My ASUS Chromebox has been working well for more than four months, but I am beginning to see the dreaded “He’s dead, Jim!” screen.

I have begun to use more Chrome Apps, and I keep a lot of tabs open. I will often scroll through 30 blog posts in Feedly, and open interesting posts in tabs in for later reading. So 20 tabs and 3 or 4 apps is not unusual. And the result is the “He’s dead, Jim!” screen appearing regularly. Basically, Chrome OS is running out of memory. It does it gracefully, stopping the pages I am NOT viewing, bit it is annoying. When I switch to a previously opened tab, I see the message, and have to re-load.

I have never had a current tab die, but having to refresh each page is a pain. So today, I upgraded my ASUS Chromebox with another 4Gb of RAM.

I have been running continuously for five hours, and deliberately opening more apps and tabs than I normally open.

Cog - Lots of RAM left — Cog – Lots of RAM left

I have not lost a single tab or app, and Cog is telling me I am using about 60% of available RAM.

The Chromebox is running well. I cannot say faster, because speed has rarely been an issue. I have rebooted and run the Octane benchmark, and it is slightly faster, but that could be random noise. But importantly, I have not once been bothered by issues relating to running out of memory.

I really believe it it time for Chromebook manufacturers to crawl out of the crib, and start building Chromebooks and Chrome Boxes with real performance. The Chromebook Pixel was an outlier, but one loved by a fanatical and vocal, if small fan base.

We may not need another Pixel, but we definitely need a few high end Chromebooks. From my experience here, I think a Chromebook with a good quality 1080p screen, 13” or above, minimum 4Gb ram, expandable, 32 or 64Gb drive and a good backlit keyboard is sorely needed!

The Australia tax will make it 50% more expensive here, for no reason other than the fact the the manufacturers can get away with it, but I will still pay for a premium Chromebook.

You may like to read my original review of the ASUS Chromebox or why I think Google Drive / Docs users would not have suffered the same fate as Sony in the Sony Hack.

Enjoy! – Phil Stephens
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January 1, 2015December 28, 2016

Arlec 3.1 Amp 2 port Fast USB Charger + GPO

A good USB Charger is essential for the Small/Mobile Office user. Australian users will be impressed by the Arlec DA30 High Powered USB Charger. These are advertised on the These are advertised on the Bunnings web site.

The DA30 has has 2 USB ports, charging at 3.1Amps plus a GPO (Power outlet). That makes it a pass-through power outlet. This allows two USB devices to be charged, while still providing a power point for another device. This is a Get Out Of Jail Free card for someone in a place where they can only access a single power point.

The label says USB 1 is 1 amp and USB 2 is 2.1 amps. Unfortunately, the outlets are not labeled, so I used a current meter, and found the left hand port is the 2.1A and the right hand port is 1A.

My research has shown that USB charging ports are not all equal. This device is advertised as being for an iPad and iPhone. I do not own Apple devices, only Android. I am testing charging rates on other devices to see how well it performs there, and it seems to perform quite well.

It has matched the best charging rate for each cable and device across all the chargers I have tested. In reality, most devices will not allow charging at much above 1.5A, so the DA30 is a good, quick charger.

I TRUST Arlec, an Australian company based in Sydney. The products may be manufactured overseas, but an Aussie brand used heavily in building and in industry will maintain it’s quality and protect it’s brand. Arlec, and Australian manufacturer, will maintain standards that many importers will not. I am using two of these chargers, and recommend that Australian based nomads, both Gray and Digital, support Arlec and buy this product.

I have purchased two, and will soon buy two more. One thing I cannot get enough of is USB charging ports.

This device is a fixed 240 volt Australian pin layout. International travellers need chargers that work form 110 to 240 volts and fit multiple power sockets. This WILL NOT work safely overseas, but here in Australia, this looks good.

My only complaint is the Blue LED is a little bright in a dark bedroom.

For use inside Australia, I recommend this charger for daily use. Beside the bed, in the office or in the suitcase, car or caravan while travelling, this is a great device.

For international travellers or those flying with severe weight restrictions, you should look further.

December 29, 2014October 22, 2015

Three Steps to Securing Your Online Documents

You want your documents and data to be secure, accessible everywhere and easy to access. As the saying goes, You can have any two of those requirements you want, but never all three at once. It is simply impossible to have all three. Unfortunately, most people choose easy over secure, and then complain bitterly when their documents are stolen and made public. Or simply deleted.

The dream of instant access to all of you documents is now a reality with cloud based services such as Google Docs and Drive, Dropbox and a host of other services.

You can sit down at any computer or tablet and access almost all your documents immediately.

But there is a downside to that. Others can also access documents from the cloud if they have your login details. They can access your documents if they can access your computer.

So how do you ensure the security of cloud hosted documents? Let’s look at the ups and downs of adequate security.

1. Choose a Good Password

Number one on the list is the level of security we have on our cloud account. The most obvious question is, how good is your password? If your password is 123456 or monkey, secret, letmein or similar, you have a major problem. Security breaches over the last few years have resulted in millions of passwords being leaked. These passwords have been analysed by both good guys and bad guys, and now everyone knows the million or so most used passwords.

For the curious, I have listed the 12 most common passwords of 2013. If you are using one of these, bow your head is shame, and know that any time a hacker wants your data, he will have it in minutes…

password
123456
12345678
abc123
qwerty
monkey
letmein
dragon
111111
baseball
iloveyou
trustno1

Clever passwords are not so clever. If you think s3cret is more secure that secret, think again m0nkey and monkey are pretty much the same when someone decides to use a password list of a million common passwords to crack your account. Use a long, random, different password for every site you visit. If you cannot remember passwords, use a password manager app or plugin for your computer or browser. I use Lastpass, and have had no problems with it. I let Lastpass generate passwords for me. Lastpass is highly respected, well designed and a Trust No One (TNO) app. Lastpass cannot give your passwords to anyone, because they do not have them. they are encrypted for everyone but you.

Don’t Save The Password on Your Computer. Do NOT write your passwords down in a file named Passwords and save it on your desktop. Just read about the Sony hack to find the down side of that approach.

Add Two Factor Authentication

Then, for better security add two-factor authentication.

For Google, Dropbox and Lastpass, and many more online services, an authenticator app like Google Authenticator or Authy work perfectly. I prefer Authy because I can make it require a PIN when it starts up. There is a little effort involved in getting an Authenticator working, but they are well documented. Just be prepared to spend 10 or 15 minutes setting it up on your devices

You need the app running on your phone or tablet, preferably both, and when you log into your cloud service from a new computer, or every few weeks, you must authenticate by providing a six-digit code that changes every 30 seconds. This means you need the password and the mobile phone with the authenticator to log into your cloud account.

Print out a few “Get out of jail” keys so you can log in without your device in an emergency. But secure these printed keys well. See the documentation for your cloud provider.

Secure Your Computer, Phone and Tablet

This makes it very difficult to get into your cloud accounts from another computer. However is someone steals your laptop, phone or tablet while they are unlocked, they will have access.

So make sure you have a password or PIN that is strong enough to keep a thief out. Ensure that a PIN or password is required to access your computer whenever it starts or comes out of standby.

Remember, if someone steals your phone and can access your cloud accounts and your Authenticator, they can change the password. So keep that phone or tablet secure.

I always close the lid of my laptop or HP Chromebook 11 when I walk away from it is a shared space. In fact I rarely get more than a couple of meters away in public or shared space.

I have made a habit of putting everything into a pocket or bag when I put it down in a public or shared space. Basically I treat a laptop, phone or tablet the way I treat cash. I NEVER leave it lying around unattended.

Here is an example of why…

If you work in an office or have a desktop computer, make sure you lock it when you get up and walk away. Having a screensaver that locks it after a few minutes is probably enough in an office environment. I work largely alone in my home office, so I simply set

Chromebook Lock Button

the screensaver to come on after five minutes. If I was is a co-working space or an office with a lot of people, I would (and have) activated the screensaver manually when I walk away. This is easy to do on computers running Linux. I think it also an option on later versions of Windows. On Chromebooks and Chromeboxes, it is in the bottom right corner of the status window.

Remember the simple security rule. If someone can access your unsecured hardware, they can do pretty much anything. A running, logged in PC is the crown jewels for a thief. Don’t assume everyone in your office is trustworthy.

Follow these three steps, and you will be well on the way to having secure and safe access to your cloud based files and documents.

There is a price. It takes a little longer to log into your account, there is a bit more friction. But after a few days it becomes second nature.

Enjoy! – Phil Stephens

December 24, 2014December 24, 2014

Would the SONY Hack Work on a Google Drive Based Business?

Your Information IS your business, Keep It Safe

A modern business of ANY size is largely the sum of it’s data and documents. Keeping them safe and private is crucial for the survival of your business. Are you safe if you use Google services?

Security in the Post Sony Hack World

The Sony Pictures hack has shone the spotlight on the security issues posed by Internet connected systems, particularly those using Windows desktops. Sony, it will probably be revealed, got hacked via a spearfishing attack. Spearfishing is aiming a carefully crafted attack at an individual using personal information to make the attack seem like an email or document they expect, know, or want. Once they have allowed it into the network, lax security procedures and poor passwords gave them access to everything. However they got in, poor security procedures will ultimately be revealed to be the main culprit.

Passwords were stored in unencrypted files named “passwords”. Thousands of email messages stored in Microsoft Outlook .PST data files were copied. massive numbers of documents were just copied off the Sony servers and out to the web. It is obvious that security was lax, but the reason all this was copied is basically that it was all sitting on Sony servers, and the passwords were weak or available to the hackers.

This was a failure of the classic server-client network on a huge scale.

Security in the Google Cloud World

Google Drive Logo

On the other hand, a business that keeps it’s workers on Chromebooks and stores data in the cloud is going to be in a better position to defend it’s data.

The documents, spreadsheets and mail are all stored on Google’s secure and backed up servers. Access is via individual user passwords. Documents can be private, shared with individuals, shared with domains (everyone in the business) or publicly.

There is one huge security advantage to this. Instead of documents being emailed around the company, they can be shared via email. This means that all that is sent is a link. A document in an email can be forwarded, copied and stolen. The document link will only work for someone logged into Google Drive as the recipient of the document. Anyone else that gets the link will not be able to access the document. This is a huge step up from emailing documents.

An Example of the Dangers of Sending Documents

Some time ago, I worked for a very large organization that used Microsoft Office. Everyone used Outlook for email. People inside the company sent contracts, proposals, memos and other documents as Word documents attached to emails.

In one large department, Instead of saving documents on the corporate servers, they began to go back to Outlook to find the last version of the document and worked on that. Then they sent it or saved it back to Outlook. Corporate data was not being saved on the file servers. Outlook .PST files grew to huge sizes.

Then, one Sunday night, the mail server for that department ran out of disk space. It tried to alert the Sysadmin, but there was no space on the server to process the email. The whole system collapsed at 2:35 AM and no-one knew anything was wrong until they arrived for work on Monday.

The lack of disk space had also prevented backups from running properly. Tape backups had failed weeks before, but no-one had checked the logs. It took two weeks to get the mail system running, and many users had lost hundreds of documents and revisions of documents. Some lost their entire email history, address book and calendar. For weeks, email flew around the organization begging for recent versions of contracts, proposals and other documents to be sent back to the originators. The fallout went on for a year or more.

As the Sysadmin for my department, I began monitoring the size of Outlook data files, and began delivering scathing warnings if they began to grow to large.

It was a lesson I never forgot.

And the Winner Is…

If Sony had been using Google cloud storage, how may this have played out?

E-mail would have been protected by storage in Google’s cloud. Google mail is accessible by web browser. The connection to Gmail is by a secure HTTPS connection. This would have made intercepting e-mail difficult to impossible. Attachments would have been replaced by links, and not accessible to the hackers without the relevant passwords. Email would have remained secure as long as passwords remained secure.

I have mentioned secure passwords a few times. A cloud based solution needs good password security. Sony obviously were using bad passwords and poor password procedures.

For Google Docs (the business version of Drive) User policy is controlled centrally by the Administrator and allows policy like good passwords and two factor authentication to be enforced.

A corporate account with Lastpass would have saved a lot of grief. Lastpass creates and stores secure passwords. Instead of using “Monkey” or “123456” everywhere, Lastpass will generate a real, unique and secure password for every site and then store it for you. Every time you visit that site while logged into lastpass, it will paste the password and username into the browser for you.

And even better, it is really secure, really cheap, and uses two factor authentication.

Singing the Praises of Two Factor Authentication

Two factor authentication simply means you need something other that the password. The password is easily stolen, but a second form of identification means the password is not enough

The second factor or token can be one of those key-ring devices that shows a number every thirty seconds, a fingerprint, a retinal scan, or a usb dongle that has to be plugged into your computer before you can log in.

Every teller at my bank has to swipe a card and type a password before they can use a terminal. That card is their second factor.

The simplest one for most of us is an app for our phone or tablet. I use Google Authenticator. I have registered my Google Mail account, and when I login, I have 30 seconds to type in the six digit number displayed on my phone or tablet. I also have a sheet of six emergency codes. I keep that paper very safe, and have never had to use it. I always have a phone or tablet in range when I sit down at the computer.

The Cloud IS Secure

As we can see from this, using a cloud service like Google Docs is no less secure than storing everything on a local server.

Is it absolute security? No. No-one is even sure such a thing exists. It is all relative.

If the FBI, NSA, ASIO or GCHQ want your data, they will get it. But Google is working hard to make this process more difficult for them, and is making great strides.

This is a low friction, low cost option to provide secure storage and sharing of your data with high reliability, and no cost for a big IT team to keep it working.

REALLY Secure Information in the Cloud

Some things really are secrets, rather that just private. There are ways to put the absolutely most secret things in the cloud to. They just require a little work to get them there.

More on that later – Enjoy!

December 18, 2014December 28, 2016

Anker IQ 40W 5-port Smart USB Charger Reviewed

The best USB power supply I have seen is the Anker 5 port, 8 amp smart charger. It uses a so-called PowerIQ charging system to provide the best power possible for each device. It is a small brick shaped device that connects to the wall via a figure-eight cable.

A USB based charger can charge most portable devices, from Android phones and tablets, iPhones, iPads, Bluetooth headsets, Cameras, to a wealth of other devices.

Most of these devices come with a “wall wart” plug pack and a USB to micro or mini USB plug, or the Apple Lightning connector. Carrying the original charger for every device we own, and finding a power outlet for each is impossible.

The Anker charger is a small brick, smaller than a cigarette packet, (58 x 91 x 25mm) with 5 USB ports on one end and the small two-pin figure eight socket on the back. The advantage of this (and the wide power supply range) is that the charger can be used in any country with the addition of the correct cable. It can be found on Amazon here and eBay here.

Every USB device makes it’s power requirements known by talking to the charging port via serial communications through the two inside pins, or, for dumb charging devices, by being wired with certain resistors in the power lines. This allows a smart charger to supply just the right amount of power to each device. The Anker charger is very well regulated, and assuming the cables are of suitable quality, maximum charging speeds will result. Overcharging is impossible as long as decent cables are used. I label the cables that come with my devices and try to keep the correct cable with each device. I have only once seen a different cable to cause a problem. It was supposed to have a “Fast Charge” switch on the plug. switching to “Fast Charge” caused charging to stop completely! More about cables another time.

I found the results to be impressive, though I could never get my HP Chromebook 11 to charge at anything like the 3 amps that it’s dedicated charger is supposed to deliver. But I torture tested the Anker charger on a one week stay in Melbourne recently. I was sharing accommodation with three other device users. Each night four smartphones, three tablets, a USB charged HP Chromebook 11, a power bank, Bluetooth headsets, two keyboards and a USB powered Seagate WiFi hotspot and media server all had to be kept topped up by the Anker IQ 40W 5-port smart USB charger. It worked flawlessly for the week, charging everything, in some cases with split two headed charging cables connected.

The Anker IQ 40W 5-port charger comes with an 18 month warranty, and this is backed by an impressively fast and helpful customer support operation. My first charger had one port die within a week. Anker asked for the serial number of the device, and had a replacement in the mail within 24 hours. Since they are in the US and I am in Australia the replacement arrived with great speed. A tribute to a real belief in quality and customer support.

Anker now has a 60W version, but I seriously doubt it will result in faster charging except with the most extreme combination of devices. But if you believe more is better, here is a link to the 60W charger on Amazon.

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November 3, 2014December 28, 2016

Logitech T630 Ultrathin Touch Mouse

For many users of touch devices such as phones and tablets, mice are a thing of the past. For me, the mouse still has a huge place in my toolkit. It is essential for laptop and desktop computing, and even editing text on a tablet works better with a mouse.

I use a number of tablets and computers on a daily basis, and wireless mice have three drawbacks. They require a spare USB port for the dongle, they require AA or AAA batteries, and they are mostly fairly large.

I spend a lot of time using Laptops, Chromebooks and Tablets. None of these have a lot of spare USB ports, and some have none at all. So Bluetooth is the only option to get full functionality on all devices. If I am doing serious typing on my Nexus 7 Tablet, I connect a Bluetooth keyboard, and at times, having a mouse is handy.

If I am travelling, I will have a Chromebook or an Ultrabook. Long hours working on one of these devices on a table or on my lap is a sure invitation for a stiff neck, and back pain. So I carry a stand that tilts the laptop up to a level where the screen is comfortable. This may require a Bluetooth keyboard, but always makes the trackpad difficult to use, so I always use a mouse if I have the room.

I have been using a Microsoft Sculpt Touch mouse, simply because it was the only Bluetooth mouse I could find here in Tasmania, Australia that was reliable. The Sculpt Touch is a good size, but has a tactile bar that replaces the wheel that drives me absolutely crazy. It is impossible to control on non Windows computers, and just plain bad on Windows. Scrolling becomes an exercise in frustration that has on one occasion literally driven me to throw the mouse across the room (onto a lounge chair, I was frustrated, not stupid) and resort to the touch pad. It also uses 2 AA batteries, and therefore is quite heavy.

I do not like mice that require batteries. When I travel I must take spare batteries, and/or a charger. I like everything I use to charge from a USB port. This makes it possible to travel for an extended period with only one charger. I have a USB powered AA/AAA charger, but it is another device, and unless I carry spares, I have to stop work and wait for my mouse batteries to be charged, or do without the mouse

So I went shopping for ANY mouse that was Bluetooth enabled and has USB charging. I took a few deep breaths before I paid out $90 for a mouse, and kept the receipt in case I could not use it, but I have found THE perfect mouse for me.

The Logitech T630 Ultrathin Touch Mouse

The Logitech T630 Ultrathin Touch Mouse. I confess, if I had seen one, I may have gone for the T631 white mouse, but other than that, this is mouse is ideal for me. It is very small, 59 x 85 x 19mm and weighing only 70 grams. The tiny size had me worried that it might be difficult to control, but it invites you to place two or three fingertips on top and control it that way. There is no wheel, the entire top surface is touch sensitive, and stroking the top surface up and down or sideways provides a scroll effect. The provided software works on Windows & Mac, and adds multi-touch functionality, but since I use Chrome OS, Linux and Android as well as Windows I have kept my use to the basic functions that work on every device.

Scrolling is smooth and effortless, and can be done almost anywhere on the top of the mouse. The Bluetooth setup is a function of the operating system, but the mouse seems to reconnect on wake-up very fast. It has been faultlessly reliable.

An added feature that a number of Logitech keyboards have is the ability to pair to two or more devices, and switch between them with the flick of a switch. The Logitech mouse has a switch on the bottom of the mouse that allows two connections. I would love the ability to connect to three devices, like my Logitech K810 Keyboard, but two is enough for most situations.

To keep the mouse clean and small, the micro-usb charging port is on the bottom, so the mouse cannot be used and charged at the same time. This is not really a problem. One minute of charging will run the mouse for an hour. I have only had the mouse go flat once, I plugged it in for a minute to get it working, continued worked until I wanted a break, and re-charged it the few minutes I was away from the computer. Basically I charge the mouse & keyboard up once a week, and just forget about it after that. I do not bother to switch it off unless I am travelling.

I am far more concerned with function than looks, but it is still a pretty mouse. it is small, works on everything (better if you have the Windows or Mac software, but I am happy without the extras) and has a simply beautiful scroll surface.

Watch out for the Click!

I have seen criticism of the buttons sticking down. The do NOT stick. The buttons are under the chassis of the mouse. There are no buttons on top of the mouse. It is a single, unbroken touch surface. The entire mouse moves down when you click a button. If (like me) your fingers hang over the sides of the mouse, and touch the desktop it is possible that when you click (press down) your fingers, resting on the desktop, will grip the mouse tightly enough to stop it coming back up. This is a user error, based on the very light, small and short travel of the mouse. As you become aware of this, you learn to be a little gentler in handling the mouse, and it then moves perfectly.

I became comfortable with the tiny, light and sensitive nature of the mouse quickly. the button held down issue took a few days. but now, when I have to use a normal mouse it feels monstrously big, and awkward. Having to deal with a shrunken tendon in my right hand makes this mouse even more friendly.

Overall, this is my choice for the best ever portable mouse, and in my case, the best mouse ever.

The quick and simple connection with Chrome and Android devices as well as the usual Windows and OS x devices makes it very versatile. Frankly, the best ever! It is small, light and a little different in use due to the tactile to surface, but once you use the mouse for a few days, you will not want to go backwards to an old, traditional mouse.

I am writing this on an ASUS Chromebox, with a Logitech K810 Keyboard and a Logitech T630 Ultrathin Touch Mouse in Google Docs. Despite the high price, I am trying to convince my wife that a second T630 Ultrathin makes sense for my office, where I use multiple devices on a daily basis.

The jury is still out on that second mouse… But I am hopeful…

September 19, 2014December 28, 2016

ASUS Chromebox Review – The ASUS Chromebox Is A Winner!

The last step in my conversion from “Full” PCs running Windows or Linux has occured. I pre-ordered the ASUS Chromebox with the Intel Celeron 2955U Processor and it arrived two days ago. I have been using it constantly, and I am very impressed.

It took me a long time to decide to try a Chromebook. The “It’s just a laptop with a browser” crowd kept me away for quite a while. Once I bought a Samsung Chromebook, I was hooked. I Took the 31 day Chromebook challenge, using nothing but the Chromebook for a month (well, I did give in a couple of times) and I was hooked. I love ChromeOS! I have gradually moved further and further away from Windows and Linux.

The ASUS Chromebox is a not very exciting looking black square, about 120mm square and 35mm high. It is surprisingly heavy, with the ASUS logo and Chrome logo on top, and an Intel inside hologram sticker on the front. The back is an array of connectors, including the ability to connect two monitors, one by HDMI and one by Displayport. I have connected mine to the HDMI port. It has Ethernet, 2 x USB3, Audio out, and power in. On the left side is an SD reader, and on the front two more USB3 ports. It has vents on the bottom and back, and in use is just a little warm on top. It seems to be fanless.

There is also Bluetooth 4.0 and 802.11 a/b/g/n wireless. It ships with the VESA mount that allows mounting it on the back of a monitor, but my monitor does not have the mounting point, to my dissapointment.

Having the power switch in the corner creates a psychological urge to mount the box at a 45 degree angle with the button facing forward. This makes sense in many cases given that then the right and left sides would have the connectors for SD card on the left and 2 x USB on the right at 45 degrees to the front, and quite reachable. In my case it does not work because of the direction cables must be laid to reach desktop openings.

It boots to a logon in five seconds or less. I am using a 1080p monitor, and the screen scrolls smoothly. I am impressed by the speed. I can play video, edit, and browse with multiple windows open. Scrolling is limited by load time not CPU. I have not yet seen the checkering that is common while scrolling on my HP Chromebook 11. I bought the HP for its light weight and USB charging, not the speed, and I am happy to compromise when I am mobile. But the flicker free, fast performance is a great on a desktop computer.

I am not a big fan of benchmarks, but I ran the Octane test and it runs at about 11,000. That is similar to the speeds I am getting using Chrome on a high end Core i5 Ultrabook running windows, and considerably faster than the HP Chromebook 11.

The (small) manual said I can sleep the Chromebox by pressing the power button, I am not seeing that happening though, it just seems to lock the screen.

It came with a Microsoft wireless keyboard and mouse. I do not like the keyboard, and have replaced it with the Bluetooth keyboard and mouse I have been using for my Chromebook when it is up on its desk stand.

I am currently spending a lot of time in the office, so I have been using it constantly and It has performed flawlessly.

For a Chromebox of this performance, costing $250 (in Australia) delivered, with wireless keyboard and mouse, I consider it an excellent buy.

You might like to read my assessment of ChromeOS at the end of the 31 day challenge here:
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September 17, 2014December 28, 2016

Microsoft Universal Mobile Keyboard – A Bluetooth Keyboard Contender?

I am always trying to find a better, lightweight, Bluetooth keyboard, and Microsoft has just entered the fray with the “Universal Mobile Keyboard” at $79.95 US.

I tend to be a keyboard junkie. Surprising, since I am not a touch typist. I do use keyboards daily, and type on a tablet, phone, and often on a Chromebook or Laptop that I put up on a stand to save neck pain. So I use a Bluetooth Keyboard for all these devices.

Logitech has been my hero in this area. They make a number of keyboards, some of the expensive, but excellent.

One that I like, but tend not to travel with is the awkwardly named “Logitech Tablet Keyboard for Windows and Android” that works beautifully, and comes with a very solid case but is unfortunately heavy. It weighs in at a deal-breaking 676 g or 1.5 lb. It also comes in at $99 AU. We do not have an Australian price for the Microsoft keyboard, but with the “Australia Tax” it will probably cost more.

The big selling point of the Microsoft Universal Mobile Keyboard is a flip back, detachable cover that serves as a universal tablet stand, taking any tablet or phone thinner than 10mm.

It also has the ability to switch between multiple devices instantly, like the Logitech K810, my favorite keyboard. It weighs in at 339 g or 0.74 lb, but has no stand or case. That means I have to carry a separate stand and find a way to protect it in the road.

If this new keyboard from Microsoft comes in at a respectable weight, I will be standing in line for one in August.