WEBVTT 00:00:00.320 --> 00:00:07.120 So today I'm going to be doing a quick unboxing of a Kensington notebook 00:00:04.400 --> 00:00:13.840 docking station. I actually have no idea what a notebook docking station is 00:00:09.519 --> 00:00:16.000 exactly uh in this context, but NCIX has 00:00:13.840 --> 00:00:22.480 a bunch of these. And so I thought, what the hey, let's do an unboxing and see 00:00:18.720 --> 00:00:24.640 what's going on inside the box. So the 00:00:22.480 --> 00:00:28.400 first thing we find inside is an installation guide. And that could be 00:00:26.240 --> 00:00:32.559 useful for someone like me who does Oh my goodness, look at this thing. For 00:00:30.960 --> 00:00:37.200 someone like me who doesn't know exactly what a notebook docking station is good 00:00:34.760 --> 00:00:42.800 for. Okay, it's about the size of a typical wall poster. So, uh that's in a 00:00:40.879 --> 00:00:51.239 variety of different languages including English, Fron, Deutsch, uh Italian, 00:00:47.800 --> 00:00:54.640 Spanish, as well as Dutch of all things. 00:00:51.239 --> 00:00:57.039 Okay. And uh here we go. So, you install 00:00:54.640 --> 00:01:00.559 software. Oh, it has drivers. Your life just got easier. No need to plug 00:00:58.800 --> 00:01:04.479 multiple peripherals into your notebook every time you return to the desk. 00:01:02.399 --> 00:01:07.840 Through one USB connection, the docking station connects you instantly to your 00:01:06.080 --> 00:01:11.280 USB mouse, keyboard, printer, and other peripherals. As an added benefit, 00:01:09.760 --> 00:01:16.000 placing your notebook on top of the docking station allows for better 00:01:13.360 --> 00:01:19.280 cooling of your machine. So, it has uh some drivers. It has a little 00:01:17.600 --> 00:01:24.799 instruction on how to use it with the USB 2.0 ports. So, let's have a look at 00:01:21.759 --> 00:01:27.840 the docking station itself and see what 00:01:24.799 --> 00:01:29.840 all of the fuss is about. So, first we 00:01:27.840 --> 00:01:33.600 have drivers, uh, including drivers for Windows Vista. Remember, Windows Vista 00:01:31.600 --> 00:01:37.119 drivers will work on Windows 7. And then we also have Windows XP drivers. So, 00:01:35.680 --> 00:01:42.040 those are the supporting operating systems. Here we have what appears to be 00:01:39.600 --> 00:01:46.320 a power adapter. I'm fairly certain I'm going to 00:01:44.240 --> 00:01:52.240 find a power adapter inside. Yep. So, your typical uh wall wart style power 00:01:49.600 --> 00:01:57.640 adapter. Nothing really to see here. And here is the docking station. So, we have 00:01:55.119 --> 00:02:02.159 a USB A tob cable. So, this is going to plug into 00:01:59.759 --> 00:02:06.159 your notebook. And this one is going to plug into the docking station. And then 00:02:04.240 --> 00:02:11.520 we have the docking station. So, here I'm just going to 00:02:08.160 --> 00:02:16.319 um find out how this baggie opens. Ah, 00:02:11.520 --> 00:02:16.319 on this side. So, it's just tape closed 00:02:17.720 --> 00:02:25.160 here. Okay. Okay, I'll be needing my knife for this cuz apparently that's um 00:02:23.520 --> 00:02:29.920 very strong tape. So, here we go. So, what all is 00:02:28.400 --> 00:02:35.360 going on with this guy? So, hold on. There's a warning on the front of it. Let's have a look at that first. If 00:02:32.959 --> 00:02:38.480 Windows disables your notebook speakers upon installation of the docking 00:02:36.959 --> 00:02:42.239 station, refer to the troubleshooting section of the user manual. Okay, so you 00:02:40.560 --> 00:02:46.879 can see here on the back we've got a variety of different connections. So, it 00:02:44.000 --> 00:02:53.760 looks like we have a LAN port. We have 1 2 3 4 five USB 2.0 ports. We have a 00:02:50.959 --> 00:03:00.239 microphone port as well as a headphone jack. We also have a USB input as well 00:02:57.680 --> 00:03:06.319 as our power input. Now, the bottom of the docking station uh has what appears 00:03:02.959 --> 00:03:08.480 to be uh rubberized four rubberized 00:03:06.319 --> 00:03:12.480 mounting feet. So, those are going to make it very difficult for it to slip 00:03:10.319 --> 00:03:16.080 around if you have it positioned on the desk. And then it's got a couple of what 00:03:14.400 --> 00:03:20.000 look like sort of clippy things here. So, if you have any insight into what 00:03:17.760 --> 00:03:23.640 these guys are for, please do let me know. Uh, leave a comment under the 00:03:21.760 --> 00:03:28.879 video and I'll definitely take a look at that. Cameraman is having a look at the 00:03:26.879 --> 00:03:32.480 part number for whatever reason. So, this is the SD100. Maybe he's doing that 00:03:31.040 --> 00:03:35.680 because I haven't actually mentioned it yet. On the top, you can see uh 00:03:34.799 --> 00:03:40.879 actually, you know what? Here, cameraman, stare at this for a second. I'm going to go get a laptop. Don't 00:03:39.599 --> 00:03:47.120 worry, it won't take as long as it sounds like it'll take. 00:03:43.280 --> 00:03:49.519 Got it. Got a laptop. So here the way 00:03:47.120 --> 00:03:54.440 this is positioned is so that you can put your laptop on it like this. So 00:03:52.400 --> 00:03:59.760 here, cameraman, come have a look at the back. So basically all you do is you 00:03:57.360 --> 00:04:04.159 take this USB cable and you plug it into one of the ports on your notebook. You 00:04:01.599 --> 00:04:08.239 plug this in over here and then you get all of these interfaces as well as as 00:04:06.799 --> 00:04:11.519 Kensington mentions, there's like the rubberized thing on the top here. So, 00:04:09.920 --> 00:04:15.519 your laptop's not going to slip if you put it on here. So, that means that you 00:04:13.360 --> 00:04:19.919 get a little bit of extra space under the notebook itself for more cooling. 00:04:18.160 --> 00:04:24.240 Now, I've actually found in my own personal testing with notebook coolers 00:04:21.919 --> 00:04:29.040 that it is just as effective to place the notebook on a hard surface versus 00:04:26.320 --> 00:04:32.639 the carpet as it is to put a fan under it. So, uh, something like this will 00:04:31.120 --> 00:04:36.479 probably be quite effective, and this was even on a gaming model at, uh, 00:04:34.720 --> 00:04:41.040 keeping your notebook adequately cool when you are using it. So, thank you for 00:04:38.320 --> 00:04:48.320 checking out my unboxing and first look at the Kensington, I think it was SD100, 00:04:45.120 --> 00:04:50.160 was it SD100 notebook docking station. 00:04:48.320 --> 00:04:52.880 Don't forget to subscribe to Linus Tech Tips.