Do you have a website using Joomla, Drupal, Wordpress, Blogger, DotNetNuke, ASP.Net, or HTML?
Do you want a unique custom design template for your website but don’t know how to code or have no skills in graphic design?
If you answered yes to both of the above questions, you want to look at Artisteer.
What is Artisteer?
Artisteer is an excellent tool to make professional looking website templates in Joomla, Blogger, Wordpress and Drupal without having to write a single line of code. You do not even have to be a good graphic designer as Artisteer can automatically generate unique theme designs that you can further customise if you want.
So say goodbye to learning HTML, CSS, PHP, Photoshop and say hello to Artisteer.
How Easy It Is To Create A Theme
Just watch the below video on how easy it is to create a Wordpress template. The video only goes for 5 minutes and that is the time it took me to create a unique custom designed Wordpress template. Artisteer is truly a great piece of software.
It is not shown in the video, but you can also export a Wordpress design to a Joomla template. There are many websites that use both Joomla and Wordpress as part of their site, so Artisteer makes it easy for those sites to have a consistent theme across Joomla and Wordpress.
The Downside
The only downside is that the software is not free. It costs $49.95 to export Wordpress and Blogger Themes, or $129.95 for the standard edition which allows exports to Wordpress, Blogger, Joomla 1.5, 1.6, 1.7, Drupal 5/6/7, DotNetNuke 4.9, ASP.Net Applications and CodeCharge. Artisteer offers a free trial version, which allows you to export templates with the word trial on all images, and it also does not let you save your themes to edit them later.
However, when you actually think of the costs to buy a unique custom design template, it will be more than $129.95, and Artisteer allows you to create unlimited amounts of templates, so it is a necessary tool for those in the industry.
The Upside
You can use the templates you create however you like (with a small limitation on certain images). You can resell them or redescribe them as well, so if you will find yourself making many websites for yourself, friends, or family.
Download My Theme
If you would like to download and use the theme I created in this video, you can download the template files here. The Zip-File contains the templates for ASP.Net, Blogger, CodeCharge, DotNetNuke6, Drupal 7, HTML, Joomla, and Wordpress.
Have you ever found yourself sitting on the couch with your computer connected to your TV watching videos, only to find you have to get off your comfortable couch, to skip the boring parts or go to the next video? Alternatively, you may find it awkward to use a full size wireless laser mouse and keyboard on your lap.
Well, I find that scenario very annoying. I have my laptop connected to my TV, and I find it frustrating to get up to select the next video I want.
Kogan’s Wireless Keyboard and Trackpad is bigger than my mobile phone, but smaller than most TV remotes, and is a device I can no longer live without.
Last night I demonstrated the device to some friends. Sitting around the dinner table, we were surfing YouTube on our TV through my laptop without having to leave our chairs. We had complete control of the laptop. It was an experience like no other. Usually I would be the one sitting on the floor controlling my laptop, while they tell me what to do; but now, we’re all at the table passing the remote around trying. The hardest part was to think of something to watch on YouTube. We settled to watch Arab Drifting, and then the crashes.
Specification
Operating Systems
The Android Wireless Keyboard and Trackpad works with almost anything: Android, Linux, Windows, OSX. According to Kogan’s overview, it also works with Smart TV’s, Xbox, PlayStation, and How Theatre systems – almost anything with a USB port, (but I have only tested it on Windows). The USB receiver automatically installs the relevant drivers.
Distance
I’m quite impressed with the distance the device works in. It claims 20 meters unobstructed and I could control my computer that was up stairs in my bedroom while I was downstairs in the living room; but wouldn’t work in the bathroom. However, there is no point of controlling a computer from so far away as you cannot see the screen. Unless of course your speakers up and want to control your volume.
Battery
It runs off a Built in Li-Ion Battery. I’m not sure whether you can replace it, but you can unscrew the back cover (but doing so probably voids your 1-year warranty). According to the specifications, it only takes two hours to charge via USB, and lasts about 1 week with moderate use. Since I only got it yesterday, I haven’t yet charged it, so I’ll see how long it lasts.
Buttons and Features
If you look at the pictures above you can see the keys. If you are used to texting with your thumbs, then you’ll have no issue using this device. If you are left-handed, you may have issues using the trackpad that is on the right-side, but for me, it’s very easy to use. The USB dongle fits snugly in the top of the device so you’ll never lose it, and on the right-side you have a light, which I think is pretty cool to have. There is nothing worse watching a movie in the dark and not being able to see where you are going when you finally head to bed at 2am in the morning. It’s not overly bright, but it still does the job. The keyboard is also backlit with a button to turn the backlight on and off.
My Thoughts
I actually quite like it. I thought it was bigger when I ordered it – it’s actually quite small. The images on the Kogan’s website are actually bigger than the device itself.
Typing with your thumbs can be a bit awkward, especially with your right thumb because of the trackpad get’s in the way – you really have to stretch your thumb to type – but I wouldn’t think people would do a lot of typing on it anyway. In addition, you need to make sure you press the spacebar in the centre, as it does not register the click when pressing it on the side.
Finding the special character keys are a bit hard on first go, especially the + and – keys to be able to zoom in and out when you are far away from your TV. But after using it for a while, you’ll know your way around. The other issue while typing, it’s hard to write a capital letter that’s on the left-side of the keyboard as there isn’t a shift key on the right-side, so you can either use the caps lock key, or move your right thumb and hand to press the key.
The last problem I can think of is that the volume, next, previous, and pause/play buttons don’t match up on Windows. Volume down is volume up, volume up is some sort of cancel button, play/pause is mute, and the next button is volume down. Therefore, it’s very confusing, but on Koga’s Agora TV range, this probably matches. It would be good if you can reprogram those keys to match, and the other hotkeys to something else.
Other Brands
Though this isn’t the first of its kind. Logitech has the Wireless Touch Keyboard K400 that you can pick up from JB Hi Fi for $55, or OfficeWorks for $69.75.
Overall
This was the first item I have purchased off Kogan. I ordered it on Tuesday, and received it Friday. My friend, on that day was also looking at a digital radio, and he ordered it the same day and he loves the sound.
Update: Kogan had this order listed as "Will usually dispatch within 24 hours", however, I placed the order on Tuesday and it didn't get dispatched until Thursday. I just received an email from Ruslan Kogan saying they've had a 408% increase in last quarter of 2011 from last quarter of 2010, in which they couldn't handle the demands - so they gave affected customers a $25 giftcard. Kogan is really setting a high standard for online retailers. In February 2012, they also plan to have a maximum of 1 business hour response time for sales, support, and helpdesk enquiries, 2 minute hold time on the phone and 100% live chat all during business hours.
For $39 Kogan’s Android Wireless Keyboard and Trackpad for the Agora range is a cool little device. I only wish I had it when I was doing presentations, it would have come in handy then as well.
If you have any questions about it, please ask in the comments. If you would like to buy one, you can do so at Kogan.com.au.
I got pretty excited when I got my BoB2 after enjoying my BoB1 for almost two years. It’s a great little device, and you can read my full review of BoB2 here. However, after using BoB2 for quite some time now, there are a few improvements that would make BoB2 an even better modem/router, which I hope iiNet would read and consider implementing it in the next BoB2 firmware upgrade, or the next BoB device.
BoB2 Enhancements
Make the time on the login page (home page) of BoB2 display like 15d, 8h, 39m rather than just 15:8:39 – without context, this doesn’t mean much
When you click on the “Diagnostics”, “Security Log”, or “ADSL Status” buttons, the password entry box needs to become active so you can type your password straight in without having to click on it
When you change default password of “admin” to something else, the text that says “The default password is admin” should be removed
When viewing your call logs, provide the ability to erase, delete all, and backup the logs. Also, increase the amount of calls it logs, or possibly synchronise it with iiNet Toolbox. Other improvements could be sorting through calls (like in Toolbox), and splitting up the logs for each VOIP account
The call logs section should also expand for those who have larger screens
A link to the call logs on the home/login screen
A way to erase call history (apart from restarting the modem)
Improved access and parental controls. Condense the configuration options, but keep the features. It needs to be redesigned to be a little more user friendly. For example, it says “Computer Filter Rule”, which once clicked; it goes to a “MAC Filtering Table”. The wording on this section is pretty bad and confusing
Provide the ability to set bandwidth limits and speed throttling on individual devices at certain times
Record a list of URL’s that have been accessed through devices – make sure you can turn this feature on and off though
Implement something like the Tomizone Hotspot so you can sell Wi-Fi access to other people. The payment gateway can be through iiNet, which iiNet can take a small cut for the processing of payment, and revenue generated can be added to the customer’s bill as credits.
A quick links section to certain things like call logs, ADSL logs, Security logs, DHCP lists. Trying to find ADSL logs after logging in can be hard. But before logging in, it’s easy to find.
Dropdown menus for the main navigation links to speed up access to things, rather than having to wait for the next page to load
USB support for a print server
USB support for a USB Hub
Provide more handy tools such as DNS Lookup, and WhoIs Lookups
The DHCP logs should tell when the computer was last online and the total time online. But having Online/Offline is still useful
BoB2 Handset and Answering Machine Enhancements
Allow the handset (or other DECT handsets if possible) to synchronise with the phonebook in iiNet Toolbox. There isn’t a global address book that all DECT phones can access.
Allow the built in answering machine to synchronise with iiNet’s Message bank
Someone how messages sent to BoB2’s answering machine and to email – currently, you can only have one or the other
The default idle setting of the handset is incredibly bright, especially at night. I wouldn’t want to sleep next to it – maybe have white text on dark background, not black text on white background
Play messages through your computer, instead of through BoB2 when you play them back through the BoB2 Administration screen
Problems with BoB2
Some of the wording and capitalisation. There doesn’t seem to be any consistencies for words in titles to be capitalised. E.g, “Set up my wireless”, “Set up my Voip”, “Handy Tools”, and “VoIPSettings”, “ADSL status”
On the homepage, there are 4 icons, but only three tickets. Where’s the forth tick?
Voicemails are still emailed to me, even though the Toolbox settings say forward to email after 45 seconds, and BoB2 has forward to answering machine in 30 seconds. If the internet is down, I would still like to get an email voicemail just in case, but use BoB2 Answering machine for when it’s up. (Note: I have got the Answering machine working by setting the Answering machine time to 29 seconds, instead of 30 – after 30 seconds (even though it’s set to 45 seconds in Toolbox), seems to not work properly)
Cables should be plugged into the back, not the side as it can look a little untidy
Pulling out some of the cables, like the LAN cables or even a USB can be somewhat difficult in confined spaces
The time on the BoB1 handset does not sync with the time with BoB2, and there is no way to set the time manually with the BoB1 handset
Problems with the BoB2 Handset
I can’t find the “last called list” on the handset
It’s actually quite hard to pick up the handset from the cradle. You cannot just “grab” it like the BoB1 handset in its cradle. It takes some skill picking up the BoB2 handset
Have the time automatically set on the BoB2 handset, like with BoB1 – it doesn’t appear to sync
Although the room monitoring feature is really good, it would be nice if it could email you recordings as well (or simply record the sound) – and if the next BoB has a camera… image capturing as well. It would be handy if it didn’t say “Calling” and the phone number when it detects sound – a little more stealth would be nice.
That’s It
That’s all the things I can think of to improve BoB2 in the future. Most of them are little things that can be easily fixed, but I do hope to see them in a later firmware release. Although, there are quite a lot of improvements, overall, it’s a great modem/router.
iiNet’s Wireless Bridge is a handy little device that removes the need of having an Ethernet (or network cable) from one end of your house to the other; specifically from your modem (hopefully you have a BoB2) to your TV where you have internet enabled devices such as Fetch TV, your Xbox or PS3.
I am sure many people have tried connecting their Xbox or PS3 to the internet only to find a 20+ metre Ethernet cable lying around on the floor to be such an inconvenience, or to face the costs of having a cable professionally installed. iiNet’s Wireless Bridge solves this problem by replacing the cable with a high-speed wireless connection between two devices.
The iiNet Wireless Bridge is targeted to those who have iiNet Fetch TV and to those who have the problem of connecting Fetch TV to their Modem as it could be in another room or it can’t be physically connected via an Ethernet cable due to the location of the Modem or Fetch TV. The Wireless Bridge solves this issue to easily connect Fetch TV to the internet without the need of having a cable.
iiNet also has a very easy to read description about the Wireless Bridge:
The Specs
The Wireless Bridge comes with two Wireless Bridge units (one to have near your Modem, and one to have near your TV; two CAT5e Ethernet cables; and two AC adapters. It supports Wireless LAN 802.11n and runs on the 5GHz band that can deliver speeds of up to 300Mbps, with support of the latest encryption standards. More information about the specification can be found here.
The back view of iiNet’s Wireless Bridges with my armature camera work with my Nokia 5800 phone.
My Thoughts
Although I don’t have Fetch TV (or one of the latest gaming consoles for that matter), I do see a use for the Wireless Bridge as there are a number of different scenarios you can use it for such as:
Connecting your desktop computer in a far away room that doesn’t have a Wireless Adapter
Connecting the Wireless Bridge to a switch to allow multiple computers in a room such as a backyard garage/room (that’s away from the Router/Modem) to access the internet instead of using a cable
Share an Internet connection with your neighbour
Connect Fetch TV, Xbox, PS3 to the internet easily
Extend the range of your Wireless in your house my connecting the Wireless Bridge to another access point
When I unboxed it, I was shocked to find that there wasn’t any documentation with the Wireless Bridge at all, no instruction manuals or anything, which was a bit weird for a tech gadget. However, you don’t really need any unless you brick it, as I’ve seemed to have done! Simply plug the “Host” Wireless Bridge into your Modem, and the “client” Wireless Bridge unit into your device you want to connect, press the WPS button and you’re good to go in a about 30 seconds after everything connects. However, if your network uses static IP addresses, you may have to log into the Wireless Bridge Administration page to configure it. The default username and password for iiNet’s Wireless Bridge is admin/admin, which I had to ask for on Whirlpool. However, you don’t need to use the Administration page as it simply works out of the box.
The labelling of “Host” and “Client” is just an ordinary sticker on the back which makes it look a little unprofessional in my opinion. It would have been better underneath, or use a different style label (like the ones on the bottom) as it retracts from the overall design of it. Then again, you don’t really look at the back of it.
In terms of performance, it’s quite good. I have my laptop upstairs, and the Wireless Signal I get from BoB2 isn’t that strong, so transferring files from Desktop computer (connected by cable) to my laptop, I was only getting about 300-350kbps which is pretty slow. I then connected my laptop to the Wireless Bridge, and that speed went up to 7-10Mb/s for receiving files on my laptop from my Desktop, and about 5Mb/s for sending data from my laptop to my Desktop which is a huge increase compared to using the Wireless connection provided by BoB2.
This goes for downloading files off the Internet. Through BoB2’s Wireless Connection using my laptop, my transfer rate was less than 1Mb/s, but being connected through the Wireless Bridge, I got the same download speed that my Desktop computer receives when it’s connected via LAN which is 2.1Mb/s from downloading the same file (with BoB1, I could never get higher than 1.9Mb/s downloading from the internet, so there is an improve with BoB2 over BoB1).
In terms of range, I haven’t really tested it out as I don’t have PowerPoint's far away enough from my router, but inside my house, I got pretty much maximum speeds everywhere which is a great sign.
Problems…
There aren’t many problems with it when it comes straight out of the box. Plugged it in and BoB2 gave both Wireless Bridges an IP Address and I was good to go. However, it took me a while to realise that the Wireless Bridges have a configuration page, inwhich I couldn’t seem to access when I did my first tests. Testing it a few weeks later, I could access it. However, there isn’t really much you need to configure there. I did have a play around with a few settings, and I changed the two devices from Client to Host, and Host to Client, but I seemed to have lost access to the configuration page on both Wireless Bridges, but I can still connect and send data to my laptop, which is still connected through the Wireless Bridge.
Update: I would have published this post ages ago, because I wanted to include screenshots of the configuration page, however, I’ve seemed to brick the Wireless Bridges, which BoB2 won’t give it an IP address, and I can’t access the configuration pages to revert them back. I believe they are both still stuck in client mode, and I can’t change them back, even after trying numerous factory resets. A device that I would appreciate documentation for, iiNet doesn’t seem to provide any.
Apart from that, there aren’t really any other problems I’ve had with it.
Should You Get One?
If you are planning to run a long Ethernet cable through your house, or across the floor where everyone walks, then yeah, I would seriously consider getting one. If your wireless signal lacks in a particular area of your house where you have a computer, and need a bit of a speed boost, then I would think about getting one. The other alternative to the Wireless Bridge is to get one of these Ethernet over Power devices as an alternative, or look around for other Bridge type devices.
Further Reading: Make sure you check out my other iiNet reviews
After being a proud owner of a BoB1, BoB Lite, and a BoB2, I decided to use a program called HeatMapper to test out the Wireless range and signal strength of all three BoB routers.
Unbelievably, HeatMapper was my first article I have written on web blog MakeUseOf.com. Heatmapper is software that you install on your laptop to measure the strength of Wi-Fi signals. All you have to do is upload a map, or use just a simple grid and start walking and clicking to record the strength of the wireless signal in that particular location. To be able to accurately record the signal strength, I quickly made up a floor plan of my house using Gliffy.com.
The house is split-level house on three levels. The area on the right hand side is on the middle level, and the area on the left is upstairs. I didn’t measure the strength of downstairs, as this would have skewered the results slightly.
BoB1 Wireless Coverage Map
As you can see, the BoB1 map covered most of the house weakening in the upstairs bedrooms, with outside also losing some signal strength. During the survey, a number of neighbouring wireless routers were also discovered. One good thing I like about HeatMapper, if you’re in a place like a University, or a workplace with full Wireless Coverage, HeatMapper will almost pickup the location of that router 100%, as you can accurately see in this drawing.
BoB Lite Wireless Coverage Map
The BoB Lite wireless signal was also very close to BoB1. Although, I didn’t measure outside the house (see right of image), so this may have skewered the results slightly. Coverage also seemed weaker in the room adjacent to the pool, and I am not entirely sure why in that area, there is a green circle indicating a stronger signal.
BoB2 Wireless Coverage Maps
According to the BoB2 map, the wireless strength isn’t that great compared to the BoB1 and BoB Lite. However, I think this survey result is not entirely accurate as it only picked up four neighbouring routers, not seven like the BoB1 and BoB Lite did during the surveying. Nevertheless, I did the test again just to double check.
Second BoB2 Wireless Map
This image seemed to have slightly better results in some areas compared with the first test, although it mostly appears the same especially when inside the house. This time, I did not go into the room adjacent to the pool, so that is probably why you are seeing more orange inside that room compared to other tests.
My Old NetGear DI-524 Router
On the same session that I did the second BoB2 map, I also recorded the signal strength of one of my old NetGear DI-524 Router.
It does appear that the old DI-524 Router has better coverage than the BoB2, but you have to take into consideration that you would only get a maximum 54Mbps with the NetGear, while you can peak with 300Mbps with the BoB2.
Conclusion
To put it all together in a nice animated GIF…
It’s up to you to form your own conclusion whether or not these routers are for you. I do have to say that these tests aren't perfect, as there is a range of other variables and factors involved. You can see this with the two different results of the BoB2 tests. It does however, give you a brief insight to the general coverage, but not the speeds you can get in those areas. This house is quite large and I seem to have coverage throughout the entire property.
If you do find you lack coverage in your house, you can use another old wireless router in bridge mode to boost your wireless coverage.
Disclaimer: iiNet gave me a BoB Lite to review after I wrote a review about the BoB2 which I won.
BoB Lite is iiNet’s second BoB modem/router and first router built in iiNet Labs. Currently, the iiNet BoB family consists of BoB1, BoB Lite, and BoB2, with the BoB Lite currently being the (somewhat neglected) middle child. For $69 on an iinet 24-month contract, or $129 without a contract, BoB Lite is a pretty decent all in one modem, router and VOIP system. In addition, if you’re lucky, you can get it free if you re-sign up on a 24-month contract after yours has expired. BoB Lite is essentially the same as BoB2 in regards to look and useability, but lacks the DECT handsets, the answering machine, and a few other tiny features you probably won’t use. So if you can live without those few things, save some money, and simply purchase a BoB Lite if you need a new modem and router, instead of a BoB2.
If you’re into the “tech specs”, iiNet has a pretty good comparison between the BoB2 and BoB Lite that you can see the full list here. As you can see, they’re pretty much the exact same.
Setting Up BoB Lite
The setting up of BoB Lite was easy. Simply attach the stand, and plug in your cables (exactly the same experience with setting up BoB2, but easier). However, I had the same issue that I had configuring BoB2, and that is that the configuration page didn’t like my username and password on setup, so I had to manually log into the router at http://10.0.0.1 and enter my iiNet username and password and VOIP details.
Wireless on BoB Lite
One thing to note out is that BoB Lite wireless settings, by default, it is open to the world, unlike BoB2 that has a pre-set SSID and WPA key on the back label. So this is one of the downsides for BoB Lite for the not-so-savvy tech users. However, it’s good to see that iiNet as solved that problem with BoB2. I also have done a comparison of the wireless range for BoB1, BoB Lite, and BoB2, and when I publish it, I will post it here.
The GUI User Interface
I won’t go into much details here about the administration interface, as it’s pretty much the exact same as BoB2, so check out the article for a review of the administration interface. There are a few minor changes in the VOIP and Wireless settings pages, but they would be hardly noticeable - i'm just being picky.
So, what’s wrong with BoB Lite?
In my personal opinion, there is nothing wrong with BoB Lite generally. It’s a good little (affordable) box that get’s you connected to the internet, just like any modem and router. However, here is a list of problems I found with it, although I would not use these as a reason not to get a BoB Lite.
BoB Lite does not have a “Set Up My Wireless” button like BoB2 does – that means you have to manually configure BoB Lite Wireless Settings, and by default, your Wireless connection is open to the public
Therefore, BoB Lite does not encourage users to change their Wireless Settings and, setup security their security. It’s also a bit difficult as you have to first, change the wireless Name, save it, then go back to change your security settings. Having it all under one save button would be nice
You only have one VOIP account, there’s no DECT Cordless Phones, Phone Mapping option, or Answering Machine. However, you can still plug an answering machine and cordless base station in to get that functionality, and BoB Lite also shows your call history too
The On/Off switch feels like you are detonating a bomb – it’s a weird feeling I’ve never encountered before turning a tech gadget on
When I clicked on “Enable ‘Allow Wireless Access Point’” and clicked saved, it just went to a blank page
When I went to try and delete a WAN configuration, I couldn’t work out how to – note, no one would probably need to use this configuration anyway
So, there you go, you’ve met BoB Lite
Overall, as I have said before, BoB Lite is a pretty decent modem, almost exactly the same as BoB2, only cheaper. If you want the added features such as the answering machine, and inbuilt DECT handsets, go for a BoB2 - but if you want an affordable router, that does pretty much the same thing apart from the answering machine, and DECT handsets, go for a BoB Lite. If cordless handsets are a requirement for you, there is nothing stopping you for attaching your own DECT Base stations and your own handsets to the phone output port - and if it includes an inbuilt answering machine, you're BoB Lite is a BoB2!
I would sum up BoB Lite as a router that gives the job done, it works, it's easy, and once set up, you don't have to touch it ever again, (mostly).
Update: Since receiving BoB Lite, I have been using it with another ISP for quite some time, and have only had one problem, which a simple reboot fixed it.
Disclaimer: iiNet gave me a BoB Lite to review and one to giveaway. These views are my own.
One of the most common questions I have been getting from readers after writing my BoB2 review is “What is BoB2? Why do I need a BoB2? What does BoB2 do?” Being IT Savvy, I know what it does, but I was amazed that many people don’t actually know what it is. I think iiNet’s marketing department needs to answer this question in their future promotions. So let's look at what these devices are and how they will help you.
So what actually is BoB2?
Basically, BoB2 is a modem, router and phone (VOIP) system all in one shiny (not so minty) device – unless iiNet gives you a packet of Minties. If you don’t know what these terms are, a modem is the device that you plug into your phone line and into your computer to be able to access the internet.
With most homes now having multiple computers and internet-enabled devices such as TV’s, you tend to want to share your internet connection to these devices. To allow all these devices to share one internet connection, you use a (wireless) router to connect to your modem. This enables multiple computers to be connected to each other to share files and printers and to access the internet all at the same time. VOIP stands for Voice Over Internet Protocol (IP) which allows you to call other phones (usually at a cheaper cost) using your internet connection, rather than a PSTN line (Public Switched Telephone Network) – your normal telephone line. VOIP sends your data using packets, while your normal telephone uses circuit switching.
A typical network setup connecting multiple computers to the internet using a modem and router (excludes phone that would be connected between the modem and the internet)
What BoB2 allows you do to is to have all these things (the Modem, Router and phone system) all in one device.
A typical network setup with iiNet’s BoB2 Modem/Router all in one
So, do I need a BoB2?
This really depends on your current setup, what you already have, what you want in the future, and who your current ISP is; so I can’t tell you if you should get one or not. (If you tell me those three points in the comments below, I can advise you).
Since BoB2 isn’t locked with iiNet, you can use it with all ISP’s and VOIP providers. If you currently got old hardware and you think it is time to update, you don’t want something too complicated, and you want an answering machine; then yeah, BoB2 would be great. If you have just purchased a brand new router and/or modem, than why waste your money on a new device…
If you want to save money making VOIP calls instead of using your PSTN line and (usually) paying Telstra large amounts of money, and your router/modem doesn’t support VOIP, then yes, getting BoB2 will help. For cheap standalone VOIP plans, I recommend MyNetFone or iiNet if you decide you want to get Naked DSL and sacrifice your landline, or pay extra and move your broadband service to iiNet and get NetPhone1)
So what actually is BoB Lite?
BoB Lite is a slimmed down version of BoB2 – actually pretty much the same but doesn’t include the DECT Phone and Answering Machine. I will be posting a review up of BoB Lite soon.
So, do I need a BoB Lite?
My response is the same as BoB2 – although you don’t get the cordless phones and answering machine. If you need a new router/modem with a bonus ability to plug a phone into (or another cordless phone system), then yeah, get a BoB Lite. The good thing as well with BoB Lite, you can also use – you can use VOIP as well as well as your traditional landline.
BoB Lite will be most useful if you are with another ISP or need or would like a new router/modem at an affordable price. BoB Lite is good for as a simple modem/router device.
What about BoB1?
BoB1 was iiNet's first modem/router built by Belkin and not iiNet like the BoB2, BoB Lite and Wireless Bridges are. You can think of BoB1 as a mix between the BoB2 and BoB Lite. For more information about the BoB1, you can read my post: "Review of iiNet's BoB1 Modem/Router". Also note, that you can no longer buy BoB1 from iiNet.
If you are still not sure, let me explain a problem many people have and how the Wireless Bridge will help.
Let’s say purchased one of those brand new, fancy, internet ready Smart TV’s (or you have an Xbox and you want to connect it to the internet. So how do you plug your TV or Xbox into your router (or a BoB Lite / BoB2) when your TV/Xbox isn’t wireless and your modem/router isn’t near your TV because you don’t have another phone socket to plug into. Your options are:
Run a cable along the floor or around the walls or under carpet which will be untidy or a safety hazard
Spend money to get a network cable professionally installed in your house which is very expensive
Buy one of those power point network cable thingymabobs and use your power cabling as your network cable which may be suitable
Somehow send a Wireless Single to a device near your TV and plug your TV/xBox into it
Point 4 is what the Wireless Bridge does. It sends a wireless signal from your modem/router to your device that’s closer to your TV to connect to it. These means, no clutter and no high installation costs. From my initial testing from download off the internet, I got the exact same speeds as I would using the Wireless Bridge then having a cable connected to my computer. Therefore it’s a great Ethernet cable replacement.
Are you clear now?
I hope this post has answered your questions about what is a BoB2, BoB Lite, and a Wireless Bridge. If you are still not sure, or have a question about one of these, let me know in the comments.
Further Reading: Make sure you check out my other iiNet reviews
You can check out my BoB2 review here, or my BoB Lite review here.
I got iiNet’s BoB1 Modem/Router when I first signed up with iiNet almost two years ago, and it surprises me, that I never actually posted up a review of BoB1. Although it is not for sale any more, I have posted a reviews for people to compare the BoB1 to the BoB2 and the BoB Lite.
Getting Online
I do have to say, getting connected with a Naked internet connection was very hard. I first signed up with Optus, but they could not find my address and required me to pay another $300 to get a line to my house, even though there is already one there, so I went to iiNet, and they faced the same issue. I only realised why they could not find my address was because Telstra did not update their database to the new suburb name that changed many years ago. Nevertheless, it took a few months to be connected, but iiNet were happy to give me one month’s free internet access (considering my first month’s bill was around $400 – BoB1, Setup Costs, and first month in advance.
Once I was connected (we were renovating at the time), I used an old modem that I got from Telstra while I waited for BoB to come. It arrived, but only the modem – the handset didn’t – so to have a phone, I installed a softphone on my computer (I think it was this) and used that temporally, but it wasn’t that reliable.
I think getting connected was reasonably easy as BoB downloaded all the information and setup itself up without me having to do anything, which was really great. A few weeks later, the handset came (which I am using with BoB2 now).
BoB Handset
For a few months when I was first using BoB, I had to say it was quite buggy, and wasn’t really worth the $300 I paid for it. I, as well as a number of other people where having issues of the handset not ringing when they received a call – which makes having a phone pretty much pointless. It was very frustrating for some. However, I found if I plugged a traditional phone into BoB, that would always ring, so at least there was a phone that was answerable, but the Cordless BoB handset never really worked. My parents didn’t like the cordless either phone because in low light, they couldn’t determine which was the hang-up or answer key, and the phone that they were using for the past few years (and still using with BoB), the keys are the other way around.
People were also complaining about the handset overheating as well when it was in the BoB unit – but I always had mine in the cradle, so it wasn’t an issue. To respond to this, iiNet sent out two AAA batteries for everyone to replace the batteries in their handsets.
So for the majority, there VOIP experience wasn’t that great – but it was still better than having a $50 home phone bill with Telstra since iiNet had free landline calls.
BoB Interface
I also found the BoB interface very orange, very slow so it took a while to load, however, it had some pretty good features. I often ran into troubles as when I changed a wireless setting as BoB would sometimes freeze and I would have to switch it off and back on. For some reason, with my main computer, I couldn’t use the Wireless with it, as my computer would just drop the signal and not find it again (but that wasn’t an issue with my other laptops). The only way I could fix this was disable the wireless adapter on my computer, and re-enable it, only for it to drop out 15 minutes later. I was fed up with it, so I installed a LAN cable underneath the house – which was good as I received faster and a more reliable connection as well.
Factory Reset
There was a few times I had to do a factory reset, but when I did that, I couldn’t re-download my account details from iiNet, so I had to manually enter them, which were a pain (still happened with BoB2). So what I ended up doing was just to make a backup of the settings, and re-apply them when I had to do a factory reset – so it wasn’t much of an issue.
But these issues where fixed
A couple of months in, iiNet sent a firmware upgrade to BoB modems, but for whatever reason, it never got applied to my modem, so I rang them up to get firmware information. After applying the firmware, the reliability of the handset increased, the orange user interfaced turned grey, and I believe BoB than got 3G-modem support as well.
Overall Experience
The first few months, it wasn’t a great modem, but after the firmware upgrade, I rarely touched the unit and it worked like a dream. However, others have faced numerous issues with their BoB’s, so was I just a lucky one? I won’t be putting it into retirement just yet after I won a BoB2 from iiNet, it will be used in another house I am trying to get online but keep failing with ISP’s (I would sign up with iiNet, but it doesn’t offer a plan at a price I am looking for unfortunately).
Oh I do have to say, after not touching BoB1 for a while, after sitting in a kitchen that was being renovated, and pretty close to a stove, it’s actually quite gross to touch, and my hands where covered in this slim, which will probably happen with my BoB2 as well.
Further Reading: Make sure you check out my other iinet reviews
While I was just about to type “Waiting for by BoB2 – it should be coming soon” on Google+, I looked out my window, and guess who was walking up my driveway? A delivery man holding my brand new BoB2 Modem from iiNet that I won through iiNet’s Win A BoB2 in May Competition.
After being a proud owner of a BoB1 for almost two years (check out my review of BoB1), I could not wait to see what the new and improved BoB2 would be like. With no further ado, here is my iinet BoB2 review.
The Unboxing
One of the main reasons I wanted a BoB2 was for its fresh minty smell. However, I was quite disappointed when it smelt like any other computer component. (Confused? Watch the TV Ad). So to answer that question, no, BoB2 does not have a minty smell (unless of course staff put mints in your package).
In the BoB2 package (which is your BoB2 Modem and your handset), you get the standard things such as your power supply, line filter, Ethernet cable and two phone cables, and your stands. You also get four manuals, which are your quick installation guide, your BoB2 user manual, your handset manual, and your wireless setup guide that you can download here. They also send you a friendly fridge magnet (or I should say a freezer magnet).
Setting It All Up
You can see that iiNet tries hard in making the installation on BoB1 and BoB2 pretty easy, but I have to say, it was a little troublesome getting online as the standard automatic setup procedure did not really work for me. It was pretty easy physically installing BoB2, because all I had to do was pull out the cables from BoB1 and put them into BoB2. I did not have to use the supplied Ethernet cable, phone cables or line filter because that was already there, so I can add those into my spare parts collection.
Since the automatic setup did not work for me, I had to manually configure the modem, which was that difficult. Once your computer is connected, (I connected via LAN), the first time you visit a webpage, you will be redirected to an iiNet page asking for your iiNet UserName and Password. Therefore, I entered my details in, and it says that my details were incorrect for some reason – even though they were correct as I got them straight out of FireFox’s password manager for iiNet Toolbox. So I clicked on the forgot password link to get a copy of my password just to make sure, however, that took a good 30 minutes to receive, and by then, I already configured BoB2 manually.
Therefore, when I went to BoB’s IP address that is http://10.1.1.1, I entered in my account details and was I connected straight away. VOIP was a little trickier because that time I did enter my VOIP password incorrectly (could not read my own handwriting).
So What About Wireless Setup?
A while ago, I believe iiNet got some slack for having the default wireless settings open to all, so non-tech-savvy people would be vulnerable from their neighbours. However by default, the BoB2 Wi-Fi is protected. On the back of BoB2, there is a sticker informing you of your default SSID and WPA Key so you can connect to your wireless network. It is pretty much self-explanatory, but the Wireless Setup Guide (PDF) explains it all.
BoB2 also offers WPS (Wi-Fi Protected Setup) which can also be used to setup BoB2. On the back of BoB2, there is a button that you can press to get you started. There are three buttons on the back, the WPS, DECT Register, and DECT page.
Playing Around Inside BoB2
When you visit BoB2’s URL at http://10.1.1.1, you are presented with a nice splash screen of key information regarding the status of your ADSL connection and VOIP.
The layout of BoB2 is almost identical to the iiNet website, and looks much neater than the BoB1 configuration page. Here are screenshots of each of the seven areas and their sub-menus.
1. BoB2 Wizard Screen
2. Wireless Setup Page
3. VOIP Setup Page
3a Phone Mapping
4. USB Port Setup
5. Advance Setup Page
6. Handy Tools
7. Setup and Diagnostics
The Answering Machine
Although I am yet to receive a call through BoB2, it does have an inbuilt answering machine that can be activated by touching BoB2. It’s quite loud too by default, and it sent my Golden Retriever Puppy crazy and running towards me when I started playing with it. I am not 100% sure though, but BoB2 makes a buzzing sound while on, but I assume that it is the inbuilt speaker.
The default ring timer is set to 10 seconds by default, but I find that is too short especially when you have to get out of bed, so I set it to 30 seconds. However, make sure you do not set it too long otherwise the settings you set in toolbox may contradict with your settings.
One thing I am not too sure about is configuring VOIP in the iiNet’s ToolBox and on your BoB2 modem. I assume that the settings in the ToolBox take priority before BoB2. So if your internet is down, the ToolBox settings will take action, if BoB2 is connected, BoB2 will take action, as long as the Toolbox settings do not activate first. I have provided my settings in the above two screenshots which should work.
Call History
Another improvement BoB2 has over BoB1 is the call history. BoB1 used to only provide statistics of how many calls you have made, missed or received. With BoB2, it now actually tell you the times and numbers of these calls which is really handy and useful feature.
The Handset
When you look at the handset for the first time, it is quite big and bulky. Not sure what the reason for this is, but for those who cannot see well or who have trouble pressing buttons, it would be a perfect phone for them. Nevertheless, it’s really light and easy to use.
Update: One thing I don't quite like about the handset is that it is quite difficult to pick the phone up since it fits nicely in the cradle. I had my BoB1 handset in the cradle in another room, and to pick it up, you can actually grab the entire phone. Having BoB2 in somewhat of a corner, the only way to pick it up is if you put your thumb on the earpiece, and use your fingers at the back of the phone to left it up - only then you can grab it. So you only have one way to pick up the phone and that is to pick it up from the top. If you try picking it up from the sides, the phone seems to get stuck or it will end up on the floor.
The phone features a nice big clock, or you can have it display picture. As you can also tell, the BoB2 is very reflective. One feature on the handset that I noticed is a feature called “Room Monitoring”. I could not find any information about it in the instruction manuals, but it allows you to enter a phone number. Therefore I assume that you can put the phone in a room, activate the feature, and if it detects noise (such as an intruder), it automatically calls you and you can listen to what is happening in the room. I will try to test this feature out soon.
USB Settings
With BoB1, you could connect your 3G USB modem, have a FTP, Web, WebDav, and file server, and this is no different to BoB2. However, the web server was a bit dodgy in BoB1 so I didn’t tend to use it. For a static webpage, it was perfect, but anything more, it wasn’t good. With BoB2, I can see a slight improvement on speed, but I would not host a site using BoB2 as your web server. First of all, if you load http://bob2/websitedirectory it will show the files in that directory, then automatically display the index.html page. The speed of displaying static pages is reasonable, so the only reason why I would see anyone using this is if they made a page that links to all their files to download.
The File Server in BoB2 is something that I might consider using now, which I didn’t in BoB1. The speed of accessing the files seem much faster than BoB1. Storing files on a pretty slow 32GB flash drive, and accessing it over 100MB Ethernet, I got a 1.5MB/sec average writing, and around 4MB/sec reading. So sharing small files around the home or simply sharing a portable HDD to multiple computers is pretty easy. I did copy over a 700MB video to stream it and it played reasonably well without any jitter.
The FTP server works, but I didn’t get anything faster than my current internet downloads speed. However, it’s a great way to access your files remotely. For example, I may connect my backup HD to BoB2 when I’m away to be able to access my files without having my computer on. Even though I have a dynamic IP address, I use DYNDNS.org so when my IP address changes, I can easily access my router on the web through a subdomain – which I have been doing all the time on BoB1.
Overall…
I think the BoB2 is a pretty good modem & all in one package, and better than the BoB1. I never got the BoB lite, so I can’t compare it to that, but I am pretty happy with the BoB2. If I didn’t win a BoB2, I probably would not buy one because I don’t see the justification of upgrading. However my BoB1 will still go to good use in another home.
When I first plugged it in, I did notice that the speed of downloading files was almost cut in half, but after trying a number of services, I did reach a my best download speed record ever of 2.1MB/s. With the BoB1, I never reached 2.0MB/s and my Sync speed was never over 20000kbps as it is with BoB2 – so I’d say the download performance is much faster.
Playing around in the UI, it was also much quicker and more responsive than BoB1. I used to run into troubles with BoB1 while adjusting my Wireless settings. The wireless would just drop out and never return until I power-cycled BoB1. But I don’t think I will have that problem with BoB2.
One thing I do like is that BoB2 supports two VOIP accounts from two different providers, where as BoB1 would support two, but only from the same provider. So I am thinking of getting a DID from MyNetFone for $5 per year and use it as a secondary line (in case someone rings while someone is on the phone).
One other slight bug I noticed, when I plugged my BoB1 back in, I picked up the landline phone that was still connected to BoB2 and it still had a dial tone, even though it wasn’t connected to the internet. If this happened on BoB1, you would get a message saying it’s going through a PSTN line. So I am not sure if this is a slight bug.
Never the less, I am quite happy of BoB2. If you want to ask my any specific question (if you are looking at getting one) or for any other reason, please do so in the comments below and I will try my best to answer them in detail.
That’s all from me, and look below for more low quality photos of BoB2 on my awesome Nokia 5800 mobile phone.
More information about BoB2, including purchasing BoB2 can be found on iiNet's BoB Homepage.
Update: iiNet just sent an email out saying you can also receive a free 3 month trial Fetch TV. Don't want it after the three month free trial, simply put it back in the box and send it back. More information about the Fetch TV 3 month trial can be found here.
Further Reading: Make sure you check out my other iinet reviews
For the past two months, I have been using a program called Chrometa. It is essentially a program that you install on your computer that tracks how much time you spend using applications, the internet, or playing games.
I haven’t used other programs that do this sort of thing, so I can’t compare Chrometa to them, but I do find this software quite useful and helpful in situations.
The above screenshot shows the main application window of Chrometa, and all the applications you use throughout the day. As you can see, I have looked at a few PDF documents, used the Windows Calculator for 5 seconds, did some web browsing on Google Chrome, opened a few spread sheets, and Word documents. This program records pretty much every application window you have open and the title of that window. So if you have FireFox open, and a number of tabs such as Facebook, Hotmail, and Google, when ever you change tabs, it would record a new entry, or increase the time of an existing entry under the FireFox application. I can collapse all the applications to see what applications I use more, or I can expand them to see what sections of the application I am using.
Because items are logged based on the Title of the application, when using applications where it will always change, such as Google Reader (or even Facebook), you will get multiple entries that only last a few seconds.
You can apply a filter so you can hide activities for less than a certain amount of time, but you may find your usage of that application will be considerably less than what it actually is.
The other great feature of Chrometa, not only does it sort by application use, it also sorts by time use, so you can find out what you where doing at a particular time.
If you are away from your computer for a set amount of time, on your return, a popup will be displayed asking you if you want to record your time away as working on something that requires time tracking, or you were actually away taking a break – which can be very handy if you perform a lot of offline activities.
One final feature of Chrometa is that you can categorise your applications and group them together. By this I mean, if you are working on a project that requires multiple applications, you can drag those entries into a category to easily manage and view your time. For example, if you are researching on the web and writing a report at the same time, you have to consider both those programs to determine your total time working on the project.
So why do I like Chrometa?
Since I am working on a few projects, keeping a record of the amount of time I work on it can be quite difficult. I could always have a stopwatch handy starting it and stopping it when I work on something, but what happens if I forget? Chrometa is good as it runs in the background, and if you want to find out how long you’ve spent on something, you can easily find out. While I am writing this post, so far it has taken me about 12 minutes.
But to me, it feels like it has only been half that time. So it’s a great way to find out how much time you actually spend working on something. In other situations, it has felt like I have spent hours working on a project, only to find out it’s been 30 minutes.
Not only is Chrometa a great time tracking tool, it can also be used as a spying device. For example, if you share a computer with a few people (or for example you have some kids), you can use this program to see what they get up to, the websites they browse, and how long they are on it for. It also goes around web browsers “Private Mode”, so you can see what they get up to…
However, there is nothing stopping them from closing down the application - but you can set a password.
Chrometa also has a pause (and delete) function – just in case you don’t want what you do record.
So Where Can I Buy Chrometa? (Or get it for free…)
Chrometa actually costs $19/month which records up to 3 months of data on three devices; or you can spend $100/month and use it on 10 devices and store an unlimited amount of data.
Personally, I wouldn’t pay $19/month for what I require it for. However, a while ago, a few mainstream blogs provided a URL where you can get a free licence key. At the moment, I am not sure if it’s still works, but it’s worth a try. If it doesn’t work, and you are a full time student, you can fill out this form to receive it for free.
Final Say
I think Chrometa is a great program for tracking your online computer usage and it is quite accurate, however, each hour you may only find that it records around 55 minutes of usage (due to rounding's and quickly switching programs, but overall it is a useful tool. It is also a great way to analyse your computer usage to determine how much time you actually spend on Facebook compared to working (or studying). You may be surprised by your results. I was!
So do you use other time tracking programs? How do you compare them to Chrometa?
Reviews
