The Pipeline

Is it preshrunk?

Most of us don’t need to worry about whether our printer matches our slacks, but a small wearable printer designed for the mobile workforce might leave some folks considering the question.

Officials at Extech Data Systems recently upgraded the company’s S3750THS thermal printer to include a new 2.2 ampere lithium battery that lets you print more documents on one charge — about nine rolls of paper measuring a total of 430 feet — and optional 802.11b wireless connectivity with Wi-Fi Protected Access security.

The printer, which measures 6 inches x 4.75 inches x 2.25 inches, comes with a lightweight belt loop system and protection against several environmental hazards. The case prevents entry of dust, water spray and solid objects.

The printer also has an International Electrotechnical Commission 68 rating for operating temperature, storage temperature, humidity, shock, vibration and drops onto concrete. Features include automatic thermal print contrast control for high-speed, high-resolution printouts and a Fujitsu print mechanism that produces faster print times — as much as 1.41 inches per second — than those of previous models. Built-in detectors monitor the paper supply.

The printer is compatible with Microsoft MS-DOS and Windows, and print drivers are available for Windows 95, 98, 2000 and XP. Extech also offers print utilities for all Windows CE, Pocket PC and Palm-based operating systems.

The product’s microprocessor includes flash-based integrated CPU memory that lets you print logos, bar codes and other graphic elements. An integrated circuit board manages all of the printer’s features.

Everybody was kung-fu fighting

It used to be that antivirus, anti-spam and anti-phishing products were all sold separately, and agencies would have to make sure they all worked together.

Lately, though, the trend has moved toward integrating those products for one-stop shopping. One such product that recently hit the market is Sunbelt Messaging Ninja from Sunbelt Software. Built for the Microsoft Exchange messaging system, it combines antivirus, anti-spam, anti-phishing and attachment filtering.

In addition, Sunbelt offers an extendable plug-in architecture that allows organizations to add security features as necessary. This architecture lets administrators create custom policies for Active Directory users or groups.