Need a gigabit switch? Make sure you take a look at the Netgear GS608 8-Port Gigabit Desktop Switch. We tested one of these at our labs on a mixed network and were very impressed and unlike most network switches, it has a sleek design, so it blends in with any surrounding easily.

In our tests we set up the switch with four gigabit PC's, two 100 full, and a DNS-321 NAS box running gigabit speed. The performance was superb when transferring files. We recorded a 23.4GB file copy transfer from the NAS box to one of the PC's running on the gigabit side at a little over one hour.The gigabit speed is noticeable, giving you up to ten time faster speeds when transferring large files from one computer or device to another. The GS608 features 8 Ethernet Gigabit auto-sensing ports so it reduces the amount of work you need to do. The switch requires no software installation, so it is easy to set up. You basically plug in the UTP cables and play.

It is also easy to see which devices are running at gigabit speeds by the lights in the front. If the numbers are solid green you know you are running gigabit if it is orange you are running at 100MB.

We loved the Netgear GS608's simplicity and more than anything its price. You can find the switch for about $49.00 on Amazon - more than fair price for the work it does.

IN THE BOX
GS608 8-port Ethernet switch
Vertical stand
Power adapter
Installation guide
2 year warranty/support information card

THE GOOD
- Ease of set up
- Fast
- Aesthetically pleasing

THE BAD
- Can't think of any

WHERE TO BUY
Amazon

Tikoli's Cirius Kitchen Towel is a prime example of the company's niche - textiles for the modern kitchen. The 100% cotton, machine washable towel screams modern.

Found at Tikoli.

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The leafy green bottom teeny-tiny ceramic measures only 3.5" in height and has a diameter of only 2.25", but packs a ton of character. The white porcelain has black button prints and a rich green color with a nice glaze to lock it all in. Good for paper clips and other small items around the office, or even a nice decorative touch.

Found at Circa Ceramic's Etsy Shop.

Measuring spoons have a tendency to go all over the place in the kitchen cabinets, so its no surprise the simple idea of magnetic measuring spoons works. The set of plastic spoons have magnets embedded in them so they are easy to snap off and more importantly, snap back into place. You could also attach them to your metal pans for easy access during cooking.

Found at Crate and Barrel.

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Looking for that extra boost of performance from your compact flash card? Make sure you are using the appropriate flash card reader. Although the Extreme III flash cards will work with virtually any compact flash card reader, this SanDisk SDDRX3-CF-A31 Extreme USB 2.0 Reader will give you the ultimate performance since it is designed for the Extreme III compact flash cards. You will get a whopping 30 MB/s.This reader takes advantage of the ESP (Enhanced Super-Parallel Processing Technology). The reader also comes with some handy Rescue Pro software in case you find yourself in a jam with lost files. Our Product Review staff just purchased this very unit you are seeing above for use with their extreme cards. This is also good equipment to have because downloading pictures from the camera directly not only doesn't let you use the camera in parallel but also drains your battery quickly. For 20 beans you cant go wrong with this little guy. Oh we almost forgot this little sucker measures roughly 2.5" L X 2.5" W X 3/4" H, Not too shabby.

Get yours on Amazon

Need the Fire wire Extreme IV version? We got you covered.

On February 19, 2009, TV broadcasters will stop transmitting an analog signal in the US. All analog antenna or rabbit eared TV's will require an ATSC digital-to-analog converter in order to properly receive network programming.

To avoid the need for a digital to analog signal converter, the tv viewer will need to pay for some sort of monthly cable or satellite service in order to watch tv.

The RCA DTA-800B1 Digital To Analog Pass-through TV Converter Box could get you out of that hole if you don't have cable or satellite service for an average price of about $59.00. There is some good news though, Since the government is the one mandating the analog signals to be stopped they are offering a nice $40.00 rebate. You can see if you are elligible for $40 rebates at www.dtv2009.gov and of course the DTA800 is one of the approved devices.

We don't like that all the cables are not included with this unit, but it does function well at what it does. Most users that have written to us seem to like the box.

Purchase your RCA DTA-800B1 Digital To Analog Pass-through TV Converter Box on Amazon

This 100% cotton screen printed cushion cover features a "snotty" little forest crowded bird high-up in the sky with pink-colored side piping. The cushion is available in a multitude of colors, but I'm a big fan of the chocolate/pink combination. This 16"x16" cushion cover retails for SGD $19.20 (approximately $13.15 USD).

Found at littledddforest

I've hated myself countless times when I bought a photo album without CD/DVD storage because of the way it was designed. I always end up being frustrated when I couldn't archive my DVD of pictures within the photo album itself. While browsing 5inch to see if they had any new CD/DVD prints, I found their clear gel disc hubs. The transparent crushproof disc hubs are self-adhesive and can be applied to almost any surface (ahem, photo albums) to store your data (or pictures in our case). Nice.

Found at 5inch