Scanning Documents to Box (in the cloud) with a Fujitsu ScanSnap N1800

Several months ago a friend at Fujitsu gave me a brief demo of the new Fujitsu ScanSnap N1800 network-attached color document scanner.  As a gadget nut, I was completely drawn to the sleek design and "iPad-like" touchscreen interface. The N1800 is a network-attached device, meaning it does not need a desktop PC to drive the device.  It connects directly to your network with an Ethernet connection.  The scanner has the scanning software baked right into the device and uses a touchscreen for user interaction.  Think of it more as a more powerful, miniaturized Multi-Function Peripheral (or MFP). The general intention of a scanner like this is to be able to scan directly to a network drive or a Microsoft SharePoint site.  The scanner also can be configured to, scan-to-email, scan-to-fax service, and scan-to-FTP, all with the software bundled with the scanner out-of-the-box.  

BOXEE BOX by D-Link Video Review

Welcome, to my video review of D-Link's BOXEE BOX.  BOXEE BOX is a content and media streaming solution that leverages the Internet and your local network to find and play video, music, photos, and apps.  The intent is to unleash the vast array of content available on the Internet and make it usable on your TV.    I use BOXEE BOX to support my cordcutting strategy.  If you want to read more about cordcutting, take a look at my post titled "Introduction to Cordcutting."

BOXEE is the type of product that is hard to describe to people with words.  I believe the best way to understand what BOXEE can do is to show you.  For this blog post I produced a number of videos that demonstrate some (not all) of the key functions of BOXEE BOX.

Logitech Squeezebox Duet - Video Walkthrough

The iPod revolutionized the personal music experience, but the Squeezebox Duet will revolutionize how you listen to music in your home!!!

I am really blown away by this product. Last spring I took some time to wire my den and back porch with in-ceiling speakers. I had an old Onkyo A/V receiver that I installed in a closet to power the 2 rooms. My grand plan was to get this all setup for the Logitech Squeezebox Duet. I looked at the Sonos Music system but it was way out of my budget. The Logitech Squeezebox Duet was more than worth the money.

The install was a snap. It really only took a few minutes to setup. I did a little homework before I got the device and went ahead and installed the SqueezeCenter software on my computer first. So when I plugged in the hardware everything worked right away. No issues.

The interface is so slick and intuitive. Simple, efficient, and familiar to anyone that has used an iPod or any other portable MP3 player. I was amazed at how responsive the system is to the controls on the WiFi remote. Going from track to track, or album to album was instant, no lag. Really, I have used other music streaming systems before and some of them had a distinct lag in the controls. I am very happy to report that Slim Devices and Logitech got this right with the Squeezebox Duet. This is one of the few products that exceeded my expectations.

Check out the Logitech Squeezebox Duet on Amazon.com