Since 2007, I’ve been using the Buffalo NAS RAID but it finally broke down on me again, but this time for good. Frankly, I was more than ready to upgrade because I was starting to run out of space on it. For a couple of years, I’ve been eyeing the Drobo FS, shown below. So when my Buffalo died, I rushed out to by local Fry’s to get the Drobo.

Before getting to the juicy stuff, let me explain why I selected the Drobo instead of another NAS (Network Attached Storage) RAID. One of the biggest problems with traditional RAID is that you cannot mix and match different sized drives. So when I wanted to upgrade my Buffalo, I would have had to replace all the drives simultaneously. Drobo has a new system called BeyondRAID which allows the user to mix and match different sized drives, as well as add or replace drives on the fly without having to re-format all the drives like in traditional RAIDs. These features alone makes this RAID the best on the market, in my opinion.

The MSRP for the Drobo FS is $699 but Fry’s had it for $499. Luckily for me, they also happened to have a sale on Seagate 2TB drives for $149. These drives are fast and very quiet. The only problem was that it was limited to one per customer.

This is where I used my real world hacking talents to find a guy that let me buy 2 at a time. So I bought 2, then put them in my car, then came back and got 2 more from the same guy. That’s 8TB for $600. Nice.

It doesn’t hurt that the Drobo also looks cool compared to my old Buffalo, which looked like it was from the 80′s. As you can see in the back of the Drobo, it has the power switch (which is a toggle), the Ethernet port and even a slot for a laptop locking cable.

Setup was as ridiculously easy. Install the Drobo Dashboard software (more on that later), insert the drives into the front of the unit, then plug in the unit and toggle the power switch to turn it on. The Drobo accepts any 3.5″ SATA drive, even mix and match different sizes, and manufacturers. The drives slips into the slots bareback and without any screws.

The LED lights start to flash and after a little while, it’s ready for use. The big lights next to the drive give the current status of each drive. The green (or red if there’s a problem) LED on the left bottom is the status of the entire Drobo unit. The green LED on the right bottom is the network access indicator, and the blue lights at the bottom show how full the drives are. It’s a nice touch that you can see how much space you have without having to use your computer.

One thing that was a little strange is the front panel comes off completely and sticks back on with magnets. The first time I took it off, I thought I broke the door. It’s also a little hard to remove since the magnets are pretty strong.

The Drobo Dashboard software that comes with the unit allows you to setup and change the settings of the Drobo, as well as look at the current status. You can also have it email you when something goes wrong.

Drobo also includes a backup utility called Drobo PC Backup that will automatically backup your files to the Drobo in the background. It has the usual features to select the folders for backup and restoring from your backup. It also allows for a second backup drive to be setup so that you can backup your data on multiple drives. You can only install this software on 3 computers for free so if you have more, you may have to buy a license.

There were a couple of minor annoyances that I’ll mention. When you use the Windows file system to see the size of the Drobo FS drive, you will get some large size that doesn’t correlate to anything. In the list below, you can see that the total size shown for the drive is 16TB. I have 4 x 2TB drives + a 250GB = 8.25TB, and certainly not 16TB.

To see the actual size of the drive, you have to go into the Drobo Dashboard as shown below. As you can see, out of the 8.25TB, only 5.63TB is actually available for my data, with 1.04TB being used currently. It’s not a big deal since the blue LED lights on the unit tells you how full the drive is at all times, but it’s a little annoying.

The other problem is once in a while, the drive will disconnect from the network and will have to be re-booted. I had this same problem with my Buffalo NAS drive so this might be a problem with Windows, or even my router.

Drobo’s website also has some apps you can load onto your Drobo unit. Since the Drobo is a Linux-based box, you can run Linus programs on it to make it a local home server or media server. However, Drobo does not support these 3rd party applications so unless you know what you are doing, it’s better to let the professionals play with these toys.

So far, everything has worked as advertised and I’m very happy with my purchase. I’ve backed up my desktop and 2 laptops, and copied a bunch of files onto the NAS without any problems. To test it further, I added a small 250GB drive into the 5th and last slot to see how easily I can add drives. Just plug in the drive and the Drobo takes care of the rest. It can’t be any easier. I love it.

Drobo’s BeyondRAID technology is clearly the way of the future. I’m completely sold on it. If you’re looking for a NAS RAID, the only decision is what model Drobo to choose. It’s a no-brainer.

Have you ever had an errand to run or task to do, but you knew that you didn’t have enough time to do it? If you don’t have a spouse or friend to do it for you, you end up not being able to fulfill your duties.

That’s where TaskRabbit comes to the rescue. They have fully vetted “taskers” that will bid on your task or errand and you can pick the lowest bidder or whichever one you prefer. I haven’t used the service yet but I love this idea. They have people that will do delivery, house chores, shopping, moving, and even skilled labor like construction and auto work.

On the flip side of the coin, if you have some free time, you can sign up to be a TaskRabbit and bid on tasks and errands that are posted on the service. Might be a good way to make some quick cash. Payment is done through the website so you know you will get paid for your service.

As gas prices keep going up, it reminded me how I felt cheated back in 2004 because I was not able to buy the brand new Prius because of a long waiting list. So this time around, I got smart and contacted my guy Eric Howard at Toyota Santa Monica and had him email me the second the waiting list for the Prius c was available. It still took me about 24 hours to get back to him to be put on that list and there were already 6 people ahead of me.

When the shipment of the new Prius came in, Eric contacted me and I got down to the lot the next day to pick the one I wanted. After checking out the different models, I decided on the “Three” because it has keyless entry, Navigation, Entune (more on that next time) and some other goodies. MSRP for the Three is about $22.7k and with everything, it’s about $25k out the door. After signing the usual room full of paperwork, I was out of there in about 3 hours (including test drive, and trade-in evaluation) and was ready to pick-up my car in 2 days after having LoJack and tinting installed.

Depending on what car you’re coming from, you’ll have different impressions of the size of this car. If you’re coming from a subcompact, this car actually will feel large. If you’re coming from an SUV, or anything else large, this car will feel like a… subcompact. Since I’m coming from a compact car, it feels a little narrower but I like the smaller turning radius (31.4′), which I noticed the first time I parked. My left leg definitely feels like it’s up against the door a little more. If you’re a big guy, riding with a big guy, your shoulders will probably touch.

For a subcompact, there’s actually some leg room in the back seats for an adult to sit in the back without feeling like a child. The room under the hatchback is very small and would probably barely be enough space for a one suitcase and a small carry-on to barely fit. You can bring down the back seats to get more space but this is certainly not the car if you’re going to be hauling things around.

The keyless entry also takes a little getting used to. With the remote in your pocket (or purse), you just walk up to the car and open the door. It will turn off the alarm and unlock the door simultaneously as you touch the door handle. When leaving, you touch the left side of the door handle to lock and arm the alarm. If you leave your remote inside the car and exit, when you try to lock the door, it will make a noise to let you know that you left your remote inside. Nice feature. I’m so used to taking out my remote out of my pocket, I keep reaching in, then realizing I don’t need it.

The biggest change for me was the Hybrid engine, which does not shift down like regular engines when you need a power boost quickly. That doesn’t mean you can’t accelerate enough to get on the freeway. It’s just not that down-shifting “turbo” boost that you get with regular engines. But if you want a sports car, you shouldn’t be getting a Hybrid. The manual does warn you about weird noises it makes, even when the car is supposed to be “off” and it does happen. What’s even harder to get used to is the gas engine turning off while you’re driving. Normally, when that happens, it’s time to panic but not with a Hybrid car.

The exterior design is aerodynamic (although the drag coefficient is more than the regular Prius) and looks low to the ground considering it’s a hatchback. Some people don’t seem to like the tail lights but I think it looks good along with the fat bumper and wider rear. I think it would look even better if it was even wider.

All in all, I’m very happy with my experience with Eric at Toyota, and my purchase of the Prius c.

Next time: Interior and gadgets inside.

Paypal has announced a new service called “Paypal Here” which is basically the same as the Square Up service. It’s not available yet but soon, small business owners will be able to accept credit cards for payment to their Paypal account simply by swiping the customers credit card.

Paypal will provide a free encrypted card reader that will allow the credit card information to be read by your iPhone or Android device. Notice that the card reader is encrypted. Since there was a lot of talk about the problem with the unencrypted reader from Square Up, I’m sure Paypal will make a big deal about it when it comes out.

Other than the transaction free being very slightly less for Paypal, they also have a feature in their app that will allow the user to take a picture of the credit card. The app will also allow the user to create a menu of choices to choose items from, like shopping on a website and paying the shopping cart at the end.

Since Paypal is owned by the powerful eBay.com, Square Up will be looking at some very serious competition. As a matter of fact, it’s hard to justify why somebody would use Square Up when they could use the Paypal Here.

Last Wednesday, Apple announced the “new” iPad. In case you’re living under a rock, this one has a better camera, higher resolution (2048 x 1536), and most importantly, a retina display. I was impressed with the retina display on the iPhone 4, so this large screen should be fabulous.

After years of pretending the tablet market was a fad, and seeing the new features on the iPad, I’ve decided to get one like everyone else. I’ve justified the purchase by creating an excuse of needing an iPad to test the compatibility of my websites. On top of it, just like the eBay commercial, I’m getting sick of being the only person at work that doesn’t have one. Do I really need one? I’m not sure. I’ll find out after I get one. There are a few iOS apps that I used to like on my old iPhone that would be nice to have again. Don’t ask which ones. It’s just another excuse I’m using to get one.

This new iPad also comes with the option of 4G LTE from AT&T or Verison. There’s a rumor that one is coming later to Sprint, but that’s down the line. Do I really want yet another carrier to send me a monthly bill? I decided I’ll re-activate my Sprint hotspot on my phone and use the WiFi on the iPad to connect to the Internet via my phone. I’ll keep you posted on how well this works.

The Wi-Fi models come in 3 sizes: 16G ($499), 32G ($599) and 64G ($699). Since I don’t plan on carrying around all my music and videos, and will be mostly using my iPad to access websites, I decided to get the 16G model.

After pre-ordering from the Apple website, I got an email with my UPS tracking number. According to the UPS website, my iPad should arrive on Friday, March 16 (the official release date of the new iPad) from EPZ, China. Where is EPZ? Apparently, EPS stands for Export Processing Zone. And how do they time the delivery down to the day? I guess they know what they’re doing.

There are some news reports that if you try to pre-order your iPad at this point, you will not get it by the March 16th date. Glad I got on the bandwagon early on this one.

Next time: First Impressions.

While playing in the LAPC at Commerce, I lost my Blue Shark sunglasses so I ordered a new one from their website. This time, I ordered the bifocal version ($169) since I’m getting old and I need reading glasses. The website allows you to select the bifocal strength. You can just make out the bifocal area near the bottom in the picture above.

Although the bifocal section works very well, I noticed that the new version of the Blue Shark reflective lens does not work as well as my old version that I lost. There is a glare that is caused by lighting from above and you  need to be wearing a baseball cap to prevent this from happening. I did not have this problem with my old version. One other thing that I noticed while using it in a tournament is when you remove the glasses, the world looks yellow for a few minutes while your eyes re-adjust.

As more people use their smartphones to video everything that’s going on, the next level of POV (point of view) video recording is almost here from Pivothead. According to their website, they will start shipping their HD recording eyewear in April 2012 for about $350 each. The user can have both hands free while recording video, and could be used by extreme sports athletes, law enforcement, and of course for making pron. Checkout their demo video below:

The 1080p @ 30fps mode seems to be high enough in resolution but some of the video looks a little washed out. Although the unit comes with anti-shake technology, the lens seems to be not wide-angle enough to keep from having the Blair Witch effect. It’s hard to evaluate from just the demo video since it’s probably being recorded using a prototype unit. Reading some Internet buzz seems to indicate the battery will last about 1 hour. Settings can be changed via an USB connection and software on your laptop.

Whatever the quality, this will just make it that much easier to record video at concerts and other venues that frown on recordings.

According to Reuters, a hacker named YamaTough that is part of a group called Lords of Dharmaraja and affiliated with Anonymous, has published the pcAnywhere source code.  Authorities, pretending to be a Symantec employee, were in negotiations with the hacker to pay him $50,000 to destroy his copy of the source code.

According to authorities, they were never going to pay anything and was communicating with the hacker in order to buy time for Symantec to send out patches and to capture him. However, the hacker has announced that he was never going to take the money and it was just another way to humiliate Symantec. In the released email, the hacker claims to be located in Mumbai, India, but this could be to throw off law enforcement and the location of the hacker has not been confirmed by authorities.

What is known is that the source code has been published and Symantec has released patches to fix known vulnerabilities on January 23rd and 27th. Whether these patches fixes all vulnerabilities is not known and some companies have decided to stop using the product. Symantec states that they have contacted their customers and do not anticipate losing a lot of their customers. If they are using the latest patched version, it is safe to use pcAnywhere.

However, having the source code published allows other hackers to examine the code to find new vulnerabilities. In fact, this is the way open source code is debugged. Perhaps, in a strange turn, this will help make the product better.

Autoguide.com video review

Toyota has released their MSRP structure and models for the Prius c slated to be released in the U.S. sometime in March 2012. The 4 models are as follows:

Prius c One – $18,950
Automatic climate control, tilt-telescopic steering wheel with audio, climate, multi-information display and Bluetooth® hands free phone controls; and remote keyless entry with illuminated entry.

Prius c Two – $19,900
6-speaker audio system, variable intermittent windshield wipers, a 60/40 split fold-down rear seat with adjustable headrests, cruise control, engine immobilizer, center console with armrest and storage compartment, and a cargo area tonneau cover.

Prius c Three – $21,635
Display Audio system with Navigation and Entune™ that adds a 6.1-inch touchscreen, Sirius XM Satellite Radio capability, HD Radio™ with iTunes® Tagging, USB port with iPod® connectivity and control, vehicle information with customizable settings, and advanced voice recognition. Toyota Entune™ includes Bing™ and Pandora®; real-time info including traffic, weather, fuel prices, sports, and stocks. Additionally, color-keyed outside door handles with touch- sensor lock/unlock feature, a tilt/telescopic steering wheel with audio, climate, Multi-information Display, Bluetooth® hands free phone and voice command controls, a Touch Tracer Display, and a Smart Key System on the front doors and liftgate with Push Button Start and remote illuminated entry.

Prius c Four – $23,230
5-inch, 8-spoke alloy wheels, Softex-trimmed heated front seats, color-keyed heated power outside mirrors with turn signal indicators, and integrated fog lamps.

The guy from my Toyota dealer contacted me to let me know they were starting a waiting list. I managed to get to the dealer about 2 days later and they already had 6 people on the list. They are expecting their first shipment in March 2012.