From TNPC issue #3.23...

Featured Product - FrontX

by T.J. Lee
November 9, 2000

FrontX is one of things that the second you see it you slap your forehead and exclaim, "Why didn't I think of that!" It's a very simple idea but once you use it, it's very hard to do without.

What FrontX does is bring those annoyingly pesky ports on the back of your computer to the front of your computer. Those connections that you can never find when you need them without practically uninstalling your PC and dragging it into a good light: the speaker jack, the microphone jack, the joystick port, etc.

Changing out a monitor is doable, as is a printer, since you can usually discern the right connector by touch. But the sound card ports are not so easy because even if you find them the microphone and the speaker jack are indistinguishable by touch. Even if you pull the chassis out where you can see the back of the system you're lucky if you can figure out the faintly etched hieroglyphics that are supposedly the international symbols for things like line out, audio in, and such. If you're on the same side of 40 as I am you're lucky if you can even see them.

The FrontX is a simple concept that's executed very well. You install a front plate into a vacant 5 1/2 inch drive bay. A series of cables run from this plate to the back of the computer, slip out through a vacant slot plate then are plugged into the appropriate ports on the back of the system. The cables have female receptacles on modular plastic mounts that slide into the front plate. The design is modular in that the basic kit comes with four ports but the plate can accept a total of eight cables.

So why do you want to move the ports to the front of the computer? If you've been reading TNPC for a while you'll know I use DialPad to avoid long distance toll charges on my phone bill. To work well this requires a multimedia headset that plugs into the speaker and microphone jacks on my sound card. I also like to listen to music and movies on my computer, which requires I have my speakers hooked up to my computer. Switching back and forth was no fun at all and invariably the wrong equipment was always attached to the system for what I needed to do. I also have two systems I use regularly and only one nice joystick. This also gets swapped back and forth. Having the ports easily accessible on the front of the system is quickly addicting.

The only downside that I can see is that a full size drive bay has to be available to accommodate the front panel piece (which has a nifty plastic cover that snaps up, covering the ports when they're not in use). You also have to have an available slot in the computer that you snake the cables out through the slot cover. Fortunately my motherboard had an old ISA slot I never use. FrontX comes with a replacement slot cover that leaves only enough room for the cables to exit the chassis.

Given that the eyesight of my youth is fast fading, I did not relish trying to figure out which jack on the sound card was the line out but luckily for me the sound card jacks were color coded and matched exactly the color coding of the cables that came with the FrontX kit. I was able to switch speakers, microphone, and joystick to the front panel in just a few minutes. There's also a female receptacle that mounts on the replacement slot cover that forced me to study the documentation that came with the unit. It was well worth the read because you plug your speakers into this port on the back of the machine. Then, if you plug a headset into the port on the front panel it cuts out the speakers and channels the sound to the headset. Unplug the headset and the speakers kick in automatically. Very slick.

To see pictures of the FrontX product and how it installs go here:
http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/323/tr.cgi?fprod1

The FrontX is made by Frontx CPX Sdn. Bhd., a Malaysian company and retails for $25.50 US. Their Web site was not the easiest to figure out and it looks like they're planning on a host of ancillary products that are not yet available.
http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/323/tr.cgi?fprod

You can reach T.J. Lee at:
mailto:tj_lee@TheNakedPC.com

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