For a long time I had resisted converting my DVD and Blu-Ray disks into any other format because I didn’t want to lose any quality. I had lived by this rule for a long time, and thankfully companies like QNAP and Thecus came to my storage rescue. However, the day has come where the cost of storing all the extra garbage that comes along with these movies has opened my eyes to benefits conversions. With that, I have began converting my movie collection to a format that allows me to lose all the excess fat, but keep my movie loss-less. Read More…

Spire Coolers PacificBreeze II – SP302AP-B
Date: August 17th, 2010
Author: Joe DiFiglia
Category: CPU Cooling
Tags: CPU Cooling, Laptop, Misc Cooling, Spire
Article URL: http://computingondemand.com/?p=4259
Until recently, I have never really been a huge fan of laptops. I am given one for my company, but until I decided to get married I had no reason to be in the living room. Now that my time can't be dedicated to being in my office on my desktop PC, a laptop has become a necessity. Although they are named laptops, few of us actually put them on our laps. The reasons for this vary as much as the reasons for purchasing one in the first place. My reason is simple... THAT THING GETS HOT! Spire has suggested that getting a laptop cooling product to keep my precious little laptop cool. Enter the Spire PacificBreeze II - SP302AP-B.
The idea behind the PacificBreeze II is simple, it provides cooling for your laptop beyond the shotty little 40mm fans used for heat dissipation on most of these laptops. The PacificBreeze II is actually practical and simple. The cooler can accommodate laptops that range from 10 inches to 17 inches in width and because it is adjustable, you can handle all the in sizes in-between. The cooling is done by an aluminum plate and 2 absolutely silent 80 mm fans which spin at 1500 RPMs.
One of the better features of the cooler is that it doesn't require a power adapter (optional and included with III), everything is done through USB. A 2 port USB 2.0 hub is included so you aren't at a loss of ports and there is a gentle tilt to help give you a natural angle for typing. The construction is sturdy, however, placing this on your lap during use is not practical. The PacificBreeze II 's design lends itself to a desktop replacement instead of a portable system. The adjustable design leaves an uncomfortable gap in the middle when trying to sit with it on your lap.




