tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32302886441348202762024-02-20T13:05:43.844-05:00Linksys Wireless Router SetupRebecca C Shaverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06779843898404828032noreply@blogger.comBlogger1862125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3230288644134820276.post-58550325863770523862012-04-26T07:49:00.000-04:002012-04-26T07:49:00.903-04:00Samsung BD-P2550 1080p Blu-ray Disc Player Review<span style="float:left; padding-right:5px; padding-bottom:5px; padding-top:5px;"><a href="http://amzn.to/hRbfiW"><img src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/21Dtec8xfrL._AA200_.jpg" alt="Samsung BD-P2550 1080p Blu-ray Disc Player" border="0"></a><br /><strong>Average Reviews:</strong><br /><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4084/4844449853_7e0ed18b9a_m.jpg" border="0" ><br />(<a href="http://amzn.to/hRbfiW">More customer reviews</a>)</span>I was sold on the LG BD300 since I first heard about it a year ago and have been waiting for it ever since. I was planning on getting it until I heard about the Samsung BD-P2500 and figured I should at least research it a little before buying the LG, and boy am I glad I did!! That's when I found out Samsung made a sister model to the 2500, the BD-P2550. The 2500 and 2550 are identical except except for one feature, the 2550 adds Pandora Internet Radio. A small difference, you might think, but Pandora takes the purchase to a whole other level of enjoyment! As you can deduce, I ended up buying the Samsung 2550 and absolutely LOVE it! But since the 2500 and 2550 are so similar, and I've encountered a lot of people trying to decide between Samsung 2500/2550 and LGBD300, I figured I'd add my 2cents. <br />The main things that turned me off LG and onto Samsung were:<br />1- Samsung BD-P2550 has Pandora. I wasn't sure if I'd use this service or not so went to the website to check it out. I have to say, I really like the service and have been making good use of it via the Samsung. Sure, you can listen to Pandora on your computer, and maybe even hook up your computer to your home stereo system. But having it there and ready to go on the Samsung has been great! I really love it and love that I can listen on my home theater setup. I also have TVersity streaming to my home theater setup via my DirecTV receiver, and its possible TVersity can pick up Pandora too, but it would be lacking the same interface available on the Samsung BD-P2550, and the menus look great on my plasma TV. The Pandora feature alone beats the LG BD300 in my opinion, and the little extra money for the Samsung is more than worth it to me.<br />2- LG has NO internal flash memory while the Samsung has 1gb flash. This is useful for BD Live features and makes the experience easier and more enjoyable.<br />3-Samsung's video upscaling of regular DVDs is SUPERB! I'm very picky about video quality and I thought the picture looked spectacular. This is due to the superior chipset inside the Samsung, which LG is lacking. And naturally, Blu Ray disks look awesome too.<br />I admit, I never tried the LG so I'm not making a true test-drive comparison here. All I can say is I was totally sold on the LG and waiting a year for its release, but in the end, I'm glad I picked Samsung BD-P2550 at the last minute.<br />A word about Firmware updates:<br />Updates are easiest if you hook up your player to the internet via the network port on the back. This is also the only way to get BD Live content, so you may want to hook it up that way if you can. The player automatically configures the network settings and connects to the internet automatically. My player did need a firmware update, but the process was very simple. Just select the upgrade from the player's setup menu and it takes care of the installation by itself. The upgrade only took about 20min, then the player rebooted and I was good to go. No issues. No hassle. No sweat.<br />I have to give the Samsung BD-P2550 Blu-Ray player top marks. It's truly awesome and I'm glad I got it. I bought a Toshiba HD player last year before the bottom fell out on HD-DVD and then returned to Amazon for a full refund. I didn't mind returning it since most the disks I tried playing locked up and wouldn't play. But I was disappointed HD-DVD died. But in the end, everything worked out for the best and I'm very happy with this Samsung. And no disk lockups as with the HD-DVD I tried last year.<br />Incidentally, Netflix streaming actually looks pretty good considering it's not HD. And soon they'll be streaming HD quality, so that'll be cool to try. Maybe I won't even need to rent disks anymore and will just stream everything. Also, the player's menus and interface are clean and easy to use and it was a breeze to setup the player with my Harmony 1000 remote. <br />So between Netflix, Pandora, superior DVD upscaling and superb Blu-Ray picture, it's hard to beat the Samsung BD-P2550. It's a giant leap into future technology and will remain cutting edge for years to come. It's awesome!! Go for it!!!!<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://amzn.to/hRbfiW"><strong>Click Here</strong></a> to see more reviews about: <a href="http://amzn.to/hRbfiW">Samsung BD-P2550 1080p Blu-ray Disc Player</a><br /><br />Experience thrilling high-definition from Blu-ray Discs and even convert your standard DVDs to high-definition with this 1080p Blu-ray disc player. Ethernet and USB 2.0 interfaces allow you to access firmware upgrades. Also this Samsung BD-2550 Blu-ray disc player is NetFlix Internet streaming service capable, so you can stay home and enjoy movies at your fingertip.<br /><br /><p><a href="http://amzn.to/hRbfiW"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4016/4719472627_e8bd8168dc_m.jpg" alt="Buy Now" border="0"></a></p><p><a href="http://amzn.to/hRbfiW"><strong>Click here for more information about Samsung BD-P2550 1080p Blu-ray Disc Player</strong></a></p>Rebecca C Shaverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06779843898404828032noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3230288644134820276.post-86777051176352804642012-04-26T05:03:00.000-04:002012-04-26T05:03:00.159-04:00Cisco-Linksys 1 TB Media Hub with LCD Review<span style="float:left; padding-right:5px; padding-bottom:5px; padding-top:5px;"><a href="http://amzn.to/h30t8j"><img src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/31re3qb3FyL._AA200_.jpg" alt="Cisco-Linksys 1 TB Media Hub with LCD" border="0"></a><br /><strong>Average Reviews:</strong><br /><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4084/4844449853_7e0ed18b9a_m.jpg" border="0" ><br />(<a href="http://amzn.to/h30t8j">More customer reviews</a>)</span>Everything you read about the features and setup of the LinkSys by Cisco NMH410 MediaHub is true: it is very easy to set up and to configure other computers and it does offer a browser-based way to access your media.<br />The problem is that most of it doesn't work. The lion's share of the software is broken, buggy, or simply incapable of doing what it is supposed to be doing. A quick glance at the support forums will confirm this, and unfortunately it appears to be endemic for many of the models of MediaHub, not just the NMH410. The problems that you will encounter are:<br />1) The Media Hub Online tool will not "see" all of your files. They will be physically visible when you use a computer to browse folders, but they will not properly share or index, even if they meet the stringent requirements (no long names, no special characters in the names, must be in one of the supported file formats, etc.).<br />2) The Hub will continually rebuild its index of your files. In other words, "now you see some files, now you don't". It regularly "forgets" what's on the hub and starts over, one by one, re-reading every file. You have no control over when it does this.<br />3) The Media Hub will not respond when it is busy. I can play an album that I manually launched from the folder, but if I try to open the File Browser, look at Configuration, or even just click a bit too fast browsing the media, the MediaHub Online will throw me "MediaHub is Disconnected or not Responding" errors and stop taking any commands. I have to randomly try again and hope to get lucky and get in.<br />4) The website for Remote Sharing (in other words, logging in to your device through the Internet from another location) regularly has Server Timeouts. You never know when it will let you in or when you will just get a dead white page. <br />5) Some features reboot the hub without warning. You choose the option, it says, "Resetting the MediaHub" and the next thing you know, the browser interface fails, the hub loses all of its indexes, and it starts all over again crawling through your files and not responding to your clicks.<br />It's very distressing to see aggressive releases of software and firmware updates, whose release notes claim to have solved these problems...only to find that all the "fixed in this version" problems are still there. If these issues really were considered fixed by the company, then Linksys/Cisco's problems are much larger--they may need to consider a recall. Thus far, the only features that truly work are the ability to view files and folders on a computer and the optional computer backup program (which should only be used for files and not as a full system backup).<br />It should tell you a lot that there are actually two pieces of software embedded in this hub: the Linksys by Cisco software, and a third party tool called "Twonky Media Server". Twonky is better, but still not what this product promises above. Both have really bizarre problems that should never have made it to the sales floor. <br />I'm reaching the point of complete surrender. I managed to get indirectly engaged with the hardware/software development team and have offered them access to my hub to try whatever it takes to solve the problem. <br />As of October 19, 2009, my unit was used for the Beta and the new Firmware was released. If you own an NMH and are having the above problems, you should give it a try. Unfortunately for me, the best I have seen with this new firmware is that the fixes are spotty: almost seems to mostly-work one day, then it's back to completely acting up the next. The cruel part is that one day I'll discover an amazing new feature or two that I'd never seen before...and the next day it's gone again. Content appears and disappears, and the system is always rebuilding itself. I have spent many, many hours on and off support calls struggling with this device and I'm sorry I bought it. It's November 19th, 2009, and my NMH410 Media Hub is now back in the original packaging waiting to go out the door back to LinkSys. I've lost over 4 months trying to get this to work and I can't recommend it to anyone.<br /><br /><a href="http://amzn.to/h30t8j"><strong>Click Here</strong></a> to see more reviews about: <a href="http://amzn.to/h30t8j">Cisco-Linksys 1 TB Media Hub with LCD</a><br /><br />Enjoy your digital music, photos, and videos throughout your home! The Linksys Media Hub stores your favorite media files, and lets you view and listen to them on any PC, laptop, or TV¹ in the house, or through the Internet anywhere in the world! The pre-installed hard drive holds thousands of photos or songs, or hundreds of hours of DVD quality video, and the empty second drive bay and two USB ports let you add even more storage as your collection grows.The Media Hub presents your music, photo, and video collections in an attractive "catalog view" from most web browsers. There are no confusing network addresses to remember; give your Media Hub a personalized "name" (i.e., "Smith-Media"), and just type it into your browser to view the catalog. Use the same name to log in to your Media Hub from a web browser anywhere, and get the same easy-to-use access to your media.³<br /><br /><p><a href="http://amzn.to/h30t8j"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4016/4719472627_e8bd8168dc_m.jpg" alt="Buy Now" border="0"></a></p><p><a href="http://amzn.to/h30t8j"><strong>Click here for more information about Cisco-Linksys 1 TB Media Hub with LCD</strong></a></p>Rebecca C Shaverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06779843898404828032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3230288644134820276.post-52369339250747743942012-04-25T11:52:00.000-04:002012-04-25T11:52:01.097-04:00Uniden DECT2085-3 DECT 6.0 Cordless Phone/Answering System with Two
Extra Handsets and Chargers Review<span style="float:left; padding-right:5px; padding-bottom:5px; padding-top:5px;"><a href="http://amzn.to/fB3F8O"><img src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/412ae+R2GeL._AA200_.jpg" alt="Uniden DECT2085-3 DECT 6.0 Cordless Phone/Answering System with Two Extra Handsets and Chargers" border="0"></a><br /><strong>Average Reviews:</strong><br /><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4084/4844449853_7e0ed18b9a_m.jpg" border="0" ><br />(<a href="http://amzn.to/fB3F8O">More customer reviews</a>)</span>I've had 2 good Unidens in the past, I was never too thrilled with my current 2.4GHz VTech system, and I have TWO different friends with 5.8GHz Panasonic's that they are ready to use for shooting practice... <br />I was therefore very careful in my new purchase and I've tested every aspect of this system in the last 2 weeks - it passes with flying colors!<br />- Most importantly, this 1.9GHz system imparts no interference with my wireless router, parked just 3 feet away... and while it doesn't penetrate a metal garage door if you're standing right in front of it, I can walk out the front door and talk clearly halfway past my THIRD neighbor's house.<br />- These NiMH batteries have given me 4 days off the charger WITH 4 hours of talktime, and the charging seems to be 'smart' because they never get very warm, and get cool when fully charged. Oh, and the the handsets have actual battery gauges instead of just beeps to tell you you're about to lose the call... <br />- The speakerphones are quite good in both the handsets and the base-station, and when you've left the handset in another room you'll wonder how you ever lived without Caller ID and dialing on the base.<br />- All the various volumes and ringers are adequately loud and I find most all the controls and menu functions intuitive. The single exception is the 'hold' function, which ought to be a single key-press, but requires pushing Intercom, then Select and then Hang-up to stop everything from ringing... I also love (maybe common nowadays) the answering machine message indicators on the handsets and the ability to both retrieve messages from the handsets and also to monitor an incoming message.<br />As you can tell, I'm VERY happy with my new system, and I hope it lasts a long time (like my previous Unidens...)<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://amzn.to/fB3F8O"><strong>Click Here</strong></a> to see more reviews about: <a href="http://amzn.to/fB3F8O">Uniden DECT2085-3 DECT 6.0 Cordless Phone/Answering System with Two Extra Handsets and Chargers</a><br /><br />Keep in touch with friends and family with the Uniden DECT2085-3 Cordless Phone and Answering System. Packed with advanced features, this easy-to-use system offers a dual keypad and includes two extra handsets and chargers. Interference Free Cordless Frequency The DECT2085-3 utilizes DECT (Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunications) technology with a frequency range of 1.9 GHz, which means the phone won't interfere with your Wi-Fi networks. In addition, you'll enjoy maximum voice security and the clearest voice reception, so there's no struggling to hear or be heard while talking on the phone. Digital Technology For Message Management The DECT2085-3 includes a digital answering machine, so you'll never miss an important message. This system also uses microchip technology for clearer recordings and longer life. And you'll never have to worry about replacing broken moving parts! User-Friendly Operation Designed to be easy to use, the DECT2085-3 offers both English and Spanish language menu prompts, and a backlit keypad for entering phone numbers or accessing features in any light setting. A large, easy-to-read LCD screen displays the date, time, extension, and other data and is also compatible with the caller-ID and call-waiting display. The DECT2085-3 even offers 70 phone book locations and 30-number Caller ID history, so it's a snap to keep track of your most frequently dialed numbers. And with its three-party conferencing capability, multiple family members can join in on conversations. Call Waiting/Caller ID Special Features Managing your calls can sometimes be difficult, especially when you receive one call while you're still dealing with another. The DECT2085-3 helps keep things simple by displaying the name and number of the caller in call waiting even while you're on the phone (note: to activate the caller ID feature, you must first subscribe through your telephone company). You can also use the base as a speaker phone, transfer calls between handsets, and intercom between the handsets and the base for easy conferencing. Finally, personalized ringers let you know who's calling before you pick up the phone. Should your family grow, this system easily expands to up to six handsets. About DECT Technology Advanced DECT 6.0 technology, or Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunications, operates on the newly released 1.9 GHz frequency band that was recently allocated to support cordless telephony. Uniden DECT 6.0 incorporates unique "listen before transmit" technology that avoids interference with many household products, such as baby monitors, microwaves and WiFi (which operate on frequencies like 2.4 GHz). As a result, DECT phones offer consumers enhanced voice clarity and crystal clear digital sound quality. DECT 6.0 technology also offers higher security and voice protection, as well as a longer battery and battery standby life than existing 2.4 GHZ or 5.8 GHz phones. The DECT2085-3 is backed by a one-year limited warranty. <br /><br /><p><a href="http://amzn.to/fB3F8O"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4016/4719472627_e8bd8168dc_m.jpg" alt="Buy Now" border="0"></a></p><p><a href="http://amzn.to/fB3F8O"><strong>Click here for more information about Uniden DECT2085-3 DECT 6.0 Cordless Phone/Answering System with Two Extra Handsets and Chargers</strong></a></p>Rebecca C Shaverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06779843898404828032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3230288644134820276.post-80451702280164622032012-04-25T10:52:00.000-04:002012-04-25T10:52:00.243-04:00Acer Aspire 5517-5086 - Athlon 64 TF-20 / 1.6 GHz - RAM 2 GB - HDD 160
GB - DVD?RW (?R DL) / DVD-RAM - Radeon X1200 - WLAN : 802.11b/g -
Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit - 15.6" Widescreen TFT 1366 x 768 (
WXGA ) Review<span style="float:left; padding-right:5px; padding-bottom:5px; padding-top:5px;"><a href="http://amzn.to/gQQjZo"><img src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41k4le75iNL._AA200_.jpg" alt="Acer Aspire 5517-5086 - Athlon 64 TF-20 / 1.6 GHz - RAM 2 GB - HDD 160 GB - DVDRW (R DL) / DVD-RAM - Radeon X1200 - WLAN : 802.11b/g - Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit - 15.6 Widescreen TFT 1366 x 768 ( WXGA )" border="0"></a><br /><strong>Average Reviews:</strong><br /><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4083/4845068202_952b887062_m.jpg" border="0" ><br />(<a href="http://amzn.to/gQQjZo">More customer reviews</a>)</span>Bought this laptop for my 14 yr old son. He's a big Runescape fan. I've heard no complains or problems. Well worth the money.<br /><br /><a href="http://amzn.to/gQQjZo"><strong>Click Here</strong></a> to see more reviews about: <a href="http://amzn.to/gQQjZo">Acer Aspire 5517-5086 - Athlon 64 TF-20 / 1.6 GHz - RAM 2 GB - HDD 160 GB - DVDRW (R DL) / DVD-RAM - Radeon X1200 - WLAN : 802.11b/g - Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit - 15.6" Widescreen TFT 1366 x 768 ( WXGA )</a><br /><br />Running an AMD Athlon 64 TF-20 1.6GHz processor and 2GB of fast DDR2 memory, the Acer Aspire AS5517-5086 Notebook PC is perfect for completing daily tasks like e-mail, web browsing, document and spreadsheet use as well as enjoying digital media like pictures, movies and more. It has a 15.6-inch widescreen LCD display, ATI Radeon HD 3200 Graphics capability, 160GB hard drive and a dual Layer DVD optical drive. Additional features include 802.11b/g wireless capability, 5-in-1 media card reader, multiple audio and USB 2.0 ports for peripheral connections, and more.<br /><br /><p><a href="http://amzn.to/gQQjZo"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4016/4719472627_e8bd8168dc_m.jpg" alt="Buy Now" border="0"></a></p><p><a href="http://amzn.to/gQQjZo"><strong>Click here for more information about Acer Aspire 5517-5086 - Athlon 64 TF-20 / 1.6 GHz - RAM 2 GB - HDD 160 GB - DVDRW (R DL) / DVD-RAM - Radeon X1200 - WLAN : 802.11b/g - Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit - 15.6" Widescreen TFT 1366 x 768 ( WXGA )</strong></a></p>Rebecca C Shaverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06779843898404828032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3230288644134820276.post-1314922568676533002012-04-25T07:46:00.000-04:002012-04-25T07:46:00.144-04:00Lenovo ThinkPad SL510 28479XU 15.6-Inch Laptop (Black) Review<span style="float:left; padding-right:5px; padding-bottom:5px; padding-top:5px;"><a href="http://amzn.to/dQ3dBJ"><img src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41HUOmjcjIL._AA200_.jpg" alt="Lenovo ThinkPad SL510 28479XU 15.6-Inch Laptop (Black)" border="0"></a><br /><strong>Average Reviews:</strong><br /><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4145/4845068120_a9384aca29_m.jpg" border="0" ><br />(<a href="http://amzn.to/dQ3dBJ">More customer reviews</a>)</span>I have a long history with ThinkPads at work. As my company's standard laptop, I have had the priveledge to use a IBM ThinkPad T20, IBM ThinkPad T42, and a Lenovo ThinkPad T61. all have been bulletproof and I have always said that ThinkPads are the only PC laptops I would buy for myself. At home, I use Macs as my primary computers, but with Windows 7, and my aging home-built PCs, I figured it was time to buy a new PC.<br />You may or may not be familiar with ThinkPads. Relatively bland design and always encased in a black enclosure, these laptops have a reputation in the business community. It is much like the reputation Macs have, in that you may pay a little more, but you also get a little more in terms of build quality.<br />So about this SL510. It is a ThinkPad at an affordable price. While that is true, the price is higher than you would pay for current laptops from other manufacturers for similar, or even more current hardware. For example, there are newer models with Core I3 and Core I5 chips for less money from other manufacturers. Knowing this, and weighing it against my history with ThinkPads, I still chose the ThinkPad.<br />My initial impressions after one hour of use:<br />This laptop is very wide. It is wider than my T61. The difference between 15.4 and 15.6 screens is very noticeable.<br />The "pencil eraser" pointer is very sensitive and sometimes registers unintentional clicks. I am finding this a little annoying and am still trying to find the settings where I can turn off using the pointer as a clicking input. I want to use it to move the mouse pointer around, but I do not want to use it to left click or selections. I prefer the pointer over the trackpad, which has changed dramatically. There is a strange texture on trackpad. It almost looks like perforations. It enables you to feel the trackpad without looking at it, but this has never really been an issue for me in the past. I'd switch back to the traditional trackpad materials if I were Lenovo.<br />There is no cd included. You must create your own restore diskfrom the Lenovo utilities installed.<br />This laptop has not discovered my 5GHz wireless-N network. The wireless card is an Intel WiFi Link 1000 BGN. After some research, a forum post indicated that this card only supports wireless-N over the 2.4GHz frequency. While I can change my 2.4 GHZ band to Mixed G/N on my D-Link Dual Band router, I may just live with this laptop's limitation for now.When you first boot up, an install wizard includes options to install Diskeeper 2009 (a nice option), Norton Security 2009 (which wait suntil after you register to tell you that you are signing up for their subscription service after 30 days of use), and several ads for Net-zero, Microsoft Office, Lenovo Online Backup, and Identity Guard (if you register with Lenovo). There was an on-screen note that said you could still register and skip the Identity Guard software. I skipped this altogether.<br />The Lenovo Central software started upon the first desktop load. It is an application that houses a lot of annoying adware, including ads for OneBiz Small Business Mgmt Software and Staples. I was not pleased with this. However, with the exception of Microsoft Office, there were no free trials for anything else installed and the Desktop was clean. This was nice.<br />Overall, my initial impressions were quite positive. I am proud to own my own ThinkPad, as I have a lot of respect for the product. This laptop is solid and fast, even with its somewhat-dated 2.1GHz Core 2 Duo. It only comes with 3GB of RAM. Generally, you can get more powerful hardware for this price from other brands, but I see it as a trade-off because I wanted a ThinkPad.<br />I may install the 64-bit Windows 7, but then I will lose all of the Lenovo customizations. Lenovo worked with Microsoft to create an "Enhanced Experience" by shortening boot times and shutdown times. Microsoft says that you cannot "upgrade" to at 64-bit version from a 32-bit version. Instead you must do a complete new installation. Perhaps a dual-boot scenario is what I need. It depends on what I end up doing with this laptop.<br />For the ThinkPad fan or for someone who wants business-level build quality, this laptop may suit your needs nicely.<br /><br /><a href="http://amzn.to/dQ3dBJ"><strong>Click Here</strong></a> to see more reviews about: <a href="http://amzn.to/dQ3dBJ">Lenovo ThinkPad SL510 28479XU 15.6-Inch Laptop (Black)</a><br /><br />THE THINKPAD EVERY BUSINESS CAN AFFORD. Running a small business is no small task. Stay competitive, productive, secure and on budget with the new ThinkPad SL510 notebook, featuring legendary ThinkPad technology.The SL510 notebook offers multimedia and presentation capabilities, reliable wireless options and industry-leading security. It's the ideal combination of features for a wide range of business professionals; sales reps, road-warrior execs, behind-the-scenes desk jockies and anyone wanting best-in-class technology.Plus, it’s engineered with Lenovo’s Enhanced Experience for Windows 7, which means faster start-up and shut down times than systems without Enhanced Experience.It's an investment you can't afford to pass on. <br />Lenovo ThinkPad SL510 Key Features <br /> LIGHT, STYLISH AND FEATURE-RICH<br /> <br />Trendy, clean design with discretely placed ports, a black matte top cover and scratch-resistant exterior <br />Intel Core 2 Duo T6570 processor <br />Genuine Windows 7 Professional (32 bit) - Work anywhere more easily and securely with Windows 7 Professional.Your PC, simplified.<br />High-performance DDR3 RAM - for high-bandwidth storage of working data <br />15.6 inch HD 16:9 LED-backlight display - The latest in display backlight technology, LED backlit displays are thinner, lighter and use less power than traditional notebook displays, but still provide the same level of brightness for easy viewing. <br />HDMI enables you to connect to external TV or monitor with high definition video and multi-channel audio. Intel High Definition Audio delivers high-end performance equivalent to an add-in audio card. <br />2.0 megapixel integrated web camera <br /> <br />BUILT-IN PROTECTION<br /> <br />ThinkPad Shock-Mounted Hard Drive - a rubber isolator and metal cage to protect the hard drive. The ThinkVantage Active Protection System uses an accelerometer to monitor movement of the system and stop the drive, and help protect against damage when a fall or similar event is detected <br />The spill-resistant keyboard helps protect your laptop and data from accidental spills <br />OneKey Rescue System restores your data at the touch of a button <br /> <br />CUTTING-EDGE TECHNOLOGIES <br /> <br />Ergonomically designed best-in-class keyboard and a new UltraNav multitouch TouchPad for easier navigation. TrackPoint Navigation gives an easy-sailing experience during exhaustive typing tasks and with mouse-free computing. <br />Convenient Access Connections software to manage your connectivity options as you move from location to location.<br />Toolbox of wireless and connectivity options including b/g/n WiFi and gigabyte Ethernet <br /> <br />ENVIRONMENTALLY RESPONSIBLE<br /> <br />Energy Star 5.0, EPEAT Gold, and Climate Savers Certified ensure this is the greenest ThinkPad SL ever <br />One of the first ThinkPads to use post consumer recycled plastics and renewable energy accessories.<br /> <br />A BETTER WINDOWS 7 EXPERIENCE<br /> <br />Lenovo Enhanced Experience for Windows 7 provides a faster, richer and easier way to use your PC <br /><br />Lenovo Enhanced Experience for Windows 7 <br />Windows 7 Professional <br />ThinkVantage Technologies <br />Additional Features<br /><br /><p><a href="http://amzn.to/dQ3dBJ"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4016/4719472627_e8bd8168dc_m.jpg" alt="Buy Now" border="0"></a></p><p><a href="http://amzn.to/dQ3dBJ"><strong>Click here for more information about Lenovo ThinkPad SL510 28479XU 15.6-Inch Laptop (Black)</strong></a></p>Rebecca C Shaverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06779843898404828032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3230288644134820276.post-81992829434312985072012-04-25T06:17:00.000-04:002012-04-25T06:17:00.249-04:00Sony VAIO VGN-CS320J/P 14.1-Inch Laptop - Pink Review<span style="float:left; padding-right:5px; padding-bottom:5px; padding-top:5px;"><a href="http://amzn.to/hiP3F1"><img src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41qkoLM-IsL._AA200_.jpg" alt="Sony VAIO VGN-CS320J/P 14.1-Inch Laptop - Pink" border="0"></a><br /><strong>Average Reviews:</strong><br /><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4084/4844449773_a8d15bdf22_m.jpg" border="0" ><br />(<a href="http://amzn.to/hiP3F1">More customer reviews</a>)</span>I have a white Vaio CS320J. I have had it for 3 months and have had issues with the loud fan noise as well as a rumbling soung in the fan. The computer has overheated and shut off. Took the computer back to the store I bought it and they tried to charge me to have it diagnosed under warranty. I bought an extended warranty on this laptop to prevent issuse like this. I have had problems with Sony products in the past and decided to give them another try. Big mistake. Sony product are poorly manufactured and fall apart within months. I would never buy another Sony product. Do not buy this laptop unless you are okay with wasting hundreds of dollars. I would buy anything else over Sony. ANYTHING.<br /><br /><a href="http://amzn.to/hiP3F1"><strong>Click Here</strong></a> to see more reviews about: <a href="http://amzn.to/hiP3F1">Sony VAIO VGN-CS320J/P 14.1-Inch Laptop - Pink</a><br /><br />Step out and be seen with the VAIO CS notebook, a gorgeous 14.1” notebook. This thin-and-light PC slips easily in and out of hand bags and features an array of entertainment extras, including light effects. Add to these, the performance and efficiency of Intel Core 2 Duo processor technology and you have an eye-catching notebook that will complement your life on all levels, from its personalized design to its ability to handle all your entertainment and computing needs.<br /><br /><p><a href="http://amzn.to/hiP3F1"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4016/4719472627_e8bd8168dc_m.jpg" alt="Buy Now" border="0"></a></p><p><a href="http://amzn.to/hiP3F1"><strong>Click here for more information about Sony VAIO VGN-CS320J/P 14.1-Inch Laptop - Pink</strong></a></p>Rebecca C Shaverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06779843898404828032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3230288644134820276.post-84686765567693380682012-04-25T04:35:00.000-04:002012-04-25T04:35:00.558-04:00Wl-500Gp V2 11B/G 2.4 Ghz Media Storage With Afterburner Tech Review<span style="float:left; padding-right:5px; padding-bottom:5px; padding-top:5px;"><a href="http://amzn.to/gGzpwA"><img src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/11YSalH9PCL._AA200_.jpg" alt="Wl-500Gp V2 11B/G 2.4 Ghz Media Storage With Afterburner Tech" border="0"></a><br /><strong>Average Reviews:</strong><br /><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4084/4844449853_7e0ed18b9a_m.jpg" border="0" ><br />(<a href="http://amzn.to/gGzpwA">More customer reviews</a>)</span>Over my life time, I must have installed five or six different types of wireless routers to be hooked up with Comcast and other ISP's. I never had as much problems with this one with the others. The OEM firmware is very unstable. All these installations were based on dynamic IP or DCHP. So, I specified dynamic IP as this is what Comcast would require. I have to try and try cycling power on the cable modem before I finally get a connection. As soon as I modify any parameter including setting up the wireless parameters, bam, the connection is lost with error message like "you specified wrong dynamic IP or static IP address." After that, the only way to get back the connection with difficulty is to reset the router to default values and cycling the cable modem again. That means, it is of no use to me since I cannot specify any other parameter especially wireless for my use. I tried the two USB for both hd and printer when I have a connection following their exact instructions but found them not working. Not letting the harddisk to be NTFS formatted was a big disappointment. My setup is rather complicated. I have 3 bridge clints (one ASUS, one LINKSYS from T-mobile and one LINKSYS with small ram storage) all running with DD-WRT, and a WII connected wirelessly and directly. I have computers, blue ray players, game console, network printers connected to the network. I do not know if any or the whole configuration caused the problem, but as soon as I hook up a LINKSYS running on LINKSYS firmware (this one could not be upgraded to DD-WRT) to the cable modem, everything back to normal.<br />Anyway, last night I uploaded DD-WRT to the unit. That was another struggle. Some claimed they could use ASUS restore software to upload DD-WRT. I tried for an hour and a half but my laptop does not seem to be talking to the router, keeping a message "wait for getting an IP address." I know I was able to make the laptop talk to ASUS by an IP address 192.168.1.1, but this connection is lost when I ran RESTORE software. Finally, I use TFTP (Windows GUI version) with four steps to successfully upload the mega version of DD-WRT to the unit. Then, the unit seemed to work fine. I tested it as a bridge clint. Tonight when I returned home, I will try it as an AP.<br />I hope DD-WRT USB supports are better than ASUS OEM firmware because that was the reason I bought this one.<br />The moral of the story is if you are looking for easy setup and do not know basic knowledge of TCP/IP communication and how to load 3rd party firmware to this unit, I would suggest that you look elsewhere, or very likely you would have a unit without any use. If you are thinking to upload 3rd party firmware like TOMATO, OPENWRT or DD-WRT, I think this unit is worthwhile as ASUS routers are always on sale. I used a ASUS WL-520GU for a couple of years under DD-WRT with complete trouble-free operation. Hardware wise, they seem to be good. It is only the OEM firmware, which are user friendly in the interface but technically useless.<br />If you are thinking of using DD-WRT, I strongly suggest to look up this for installation instruction and not to use ASUS RESTORE utility.<br />[...]<br />If you use the windows GUI TFTP program, you can still follow the command line instruction but instead of using the command line, specify the appropriate .trx file in each step, leave the password blank, the server id should be 192.168.1.1. There is a working progress bar which makes you more confident about the process. However, I followed the instruction to wait 5 minutes when each step was finished. A couple of things you may want also to know:<br />(1) Whenever you want to pull up DD-WRT from the router, change the IP address of your network adapter to 192.168.1.1XX (I always use 100, but I do not think it matters much), and subnet mask to be 255.255.255.0. After you setup, you may want to change the network adapter setting back to DHCP. Of course, this is not necessary after the network is properly setup. This is only for initial setup.<br />(2) The first time when you pull up a new version of DD-WRT, they will ask you for a userid and password, just type your preferences and click the change button._______________________________<br />An update after one week ownership - Have used this unit with DD-WRT as an AP for several days now. I was able to hook up two different types of hard disks at different times to it. (I changed the hard disk when I decided to use the one with Freeagent 250G capacity instead of 75G capacity.) It has been great. The router now is running solid, supporting three bridge client routers, a WII, and two laptops while running the hard disk with no problem at all. The hard disk can be accessed by the whole network. That was my original intention of buying this. There is a wakeup problem from spin down with Seagate drive, but I think I found the fix in DD-WRT forum. That is not the router problem at all. I am now quite happy with it after going through substantial number of hours uploading DD-WRT to it.<br /><br /><a href="http://amzn.to/gGzpwA"><strong>Click Here</strong></a> to see more reviews about: <a href="http://amzn.to/gGzpwA">Wl-500Gp V2 11B/G 2.4 Ghz Media Storage With Afterburner Tech</a><br /><br />ASUS WIRELESS WL-500GPREMIUM V2- MULTI-FUNCTIONAL WIRELESS ROUTER, EZQOS (BANDWI<br /><br /><p><a href="http://amzn.to/gGzpwA"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4016/4719472627_e8bd8168dc_m.jpg" alt="Buy Now" border="0"></a><span style="font-size:1.1em;font-weight:bold;vertical-align:bottom;padding-left:3px;color:#990000;">Get 36% OFF</span></p><p><a href="http://amzn.to/gGzpwA"><strong>Click here for more information about Wl-500Gp V2 11B/G 2.4 Ghz Media Storage With Afterburner Tech</strong></a></p>Rebecca C Shaverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06779843898404828032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3230288644134820276.post-43448040539291224162012-04-24T13:42:00.000-04:002012-04-24T13:42:00.716-04:00Acer Aspire One AOD255-2691 10.1-Inch Netbook (Diamond Black) Review<span style="float:left; padding-right:5px; padding-bottom:5px; padding-top:5px;"><a href="http://amzn.to/gU1dn4"><img src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41iwKeK5CbL._AA200_.jpg" alt="Acer Aspire One AOD255-2691 10.1-Inch Netbook (Diamond Black)" border="0"></a><br /><strong>Average Reviews:</strong><br /><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4089/4844449927_4ab1e44e38_m.jpg" border="0" ><br />(<a href="http://amzn.to/gU1dn4">More customer reviews</a>)</span>I've had this little netbook for about a week now, and it is exactly right for our purposes: email, browsing, YouTube, MiniClip games, and word processing. It comes with Office 2010 starter (just word and excel) which is all we need. I'm not a techie and have no specifics to share, but this thing just WORKS. Right out of the box, you spend 10 minutes setting up, charge it up, and go. The first time you use Office you need to install it. I followed the recommendation of some other reviewers and (1) uninstalled some bloatware it came with (Acer games, NY Times Reader) and (2) installed Chrome and made it the default browser. IE was taking forever to load anything, but Chrome is much lighter and works perfectly. And the wireless is impressive-- it works even way down the long narrow hallway in my thick-brick-walls 1850's apartment building from where the router is placed-- our old Vaio couldn't handle it. The red is a nice warm cranberry/barn red shade-- a little pizzaz but it doesn't look like a toy. It's very light. It has no disk drive, but I see here on Amazon that inexpensive external ones are easy to find.<br />Two small gripes: (1) battery life is pretty short. Three hours at the most. It does charge up quickly though. (2) The keys are that sort of 'mushroom' format, they look just made for crumbs to sneak under and get stuck, and with kids in the house I feel the need to be protective. But obviously I need to do that anyway. And for less than $300 we won't be devastated even if the worst happens. Overall I could not be more pleased with this purchase!<br />I recommend the HP Mini case to go with this, black with silver swirls. It's just the right size, well made and very cushiony and protective.<br /><br /><a href="http://amzn.to/gU1dn4"><strong>Click Here</strong></a> to see more reviews about: <a href="http://amzn.to/gU1dn4">Acer Aspire One AOD255-2691 10.1-Inch Netbook (Diamond Black)</a><br /><br /><br />Get fantastic mobile connectivity with the Acer Aspire One D255 in diamond black (model AOD255-2691), which features an ultra-thin design that travels light. Combining the power of the Intel Atom N450 processor and NM10 Express chipset with a 3-cell battery, you'll enjoy up to 4 hours of battery life on the go.<br /> The Acer Aspire One D255 in diamond black.<br /><br /><p><a href="http://amzn.to/gU1dn4"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4016/4719472627_e8bd8168dc_m.jpg" alt="Buy Now" border="0"></a></p><p><a href="http://amzn.to/gU1dn4"><strong>Click here for more information about Acer Aspire One AOD255-2691 10.1-Inch Netbook (Diamond Black)</strong></a></p>Rebecca C Shaverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06779843898404828032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3230288644134820276.post-77890588764301869592012-04-24T11:20:00.000-04:002012-04-24T11:20:01.035-04:00Samsung BD-P2500 1080p Blu-ray Disc Player Review<span style="float:left; padding-right:5px; padding-bottom:5px; padding-top:5px;"><a href="http://amzn.to/haIoIK"><img src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/21+9imxEi0L._AA200_.jpg" alt="Samsung BD-P2500 1080p Blu-ray Disc Player" border="0"></a><br /><strong>Average Reviews:</strong><br /><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4145/4845068120_a9384aca29_m.jpg" border="0" ><br />(<a href="http://amzn.to/haIoIK">More customer reviews</a>)</span>Very happy with this purchase! I'm glad to see Amazon has them back in stock. I have never had a problem with another seller - but I do prefer Amazon. I got my unit from a local retailer who I had a discount code for. With tax etc. I ended up paying what I would have paid on amazon. Unfortunately amazon now charges tax for us New York residents (not amazon's choice...)<br />I digress.<br />I was initially going to buy the BD-P1500 just for it's price point, but was drawn to this model when I found out about the Netflix feature.<br />The unit was well packed (nice to see manufacturers getting more conscious about being "green" with packing).<br />The unit is smaller than I expected and seems sturdy.<br />Box contained:<br />Player with permanently attached cord<br />Remote with batteries (aaa)<br />One AV cable (RCA red/yellow/white)<br />User guide<br />The anynet+ feature is nice if you have other Samsung components. I have a Samsung TV and because I used an HDMI cable to connect, the TV and Blu-ray player "talk" to each other. The player turns the TV on automatically and switches it to the correct input which is a nice convenience.<br />NETFLIX! This feature is so cool! The picture quality was amazing. I have the player connected to my linksys router with a cable using the net port on the back. I suppose you could do this wirelessly with some extra components. You have to log into netflix and cue movies on your PC, and then you can watch them on your TV through the player. It works really well. Note that this feature requires a firmware upgrade (see below for my complaint about this...)<br />Picture and sound quality seems wonderful!<br />Two small quirks/complaints:<br />1) Load time: It takes a good minute or so for a blu-ray disk to load initially. Once loaded response time is great, but that initial load time is long<br />2) Firmware upgrade: I connected the unit to my router and went to setup to have it check for an upgrade and was told that I already had the latest firmware, which I know I did not. If you turn the player on and don't see the Netflix logo on the home screen, you probably don't have the latest firmware. I went to the Samsung website, downloaded an update file which I then had to burn to a CD. Putting the CD in the player then sucessfully updated the firmware. I am not sure why the net upgrade option didn't work, but I have seen other users complain about this online. A mild annoyance. The CD upgrade took about 5 minutes. It is also upgradable by USB using a flash drive.<br />All in all, I am very happy with this!<br /><br /><a href="http://amzn.to/haIoIK"><strong>Click Here</strong></a> to see more reviews about: <a href="http://amzn.to/haIoIK">Samsung BD-P2500 1080p Blu-ray Disc Player</a><br /><br />Samsung's BD-P2500 is BD-Live 2.0 Ready with an ethernet port so you can enjoy special interactive features, download extra content from the internet, and more. It has 1Gb of onboard memory and a USB port for memory expansion. You\'ll enjoy bold color and crisp details with full 1080p resolution. The BD-P2500 also offers breakthrough enhancements such as Hollywood Quality Video (HQV) processing and 7.1-Channel analog audio outputs creating a powerful HD audio-visual experience. Plays Blu-ray discs, upscales standard DVDs, and is compatible with BD-ROM, DVD-ROM, DVD-R (V mode only), DVD-RW (V/VR mode), Audio CD, CD-R, CD-RW, and AVCHD discs. Movie night just got even more exciting - with the highest-quality audio and an incredible picture. <br />Key Features <br />Total BD Profile Compatibility right out of the box, lets you instantly enjoy the latest interactive features available, including BD Live (Profile 2.0) and Bonus View (Profile 1.1) <br />Lots of Memory and Easy Upgradeability: The BD-P2500 comes with a built-in, wired Ethernet connection, 1GB of internal flash memory, and a USB port for memory expansion <br />Full HD 1080p <br />HQV processing chip for the highest quality viewing of Blu-ray discs, upconversion of standard DVDs, and viewing of JPEG images <br />HDMI 1.3 output with xvYCC Deep Color support, and a 24fps film mode, exhibiting smoother, more natural playback of film-based material. <br />7.1-Channel Dolby TrueHD Sound and dts-HD Master Audio capable of decoding the latest high-resolution digital multichannel audio soundtracks<br /> HQV Video Processor <br /> In a perfect world, every disc\'s image that passed through your Blu-ray disc player into your HDTV would offer immaculate 1080p video with flawless color, impeccable detail, and nary a bit of pesky video noise. In the real world, though, pristine source material isn\'t available for every Blu-ray disc—due to age or neglect of the original elements—and there are plenty of movies and TV shows on DVD that you\'ll still want to watch on your Blu-ray player. HQV video processing is a great way of elevating those less-than-perfect video sources to a new level, and ensuring that you\'re getting the most out of your beautiful high-definition video display. <br /> To do this, the HQV video processors built into better Blu-ray players employ sophisticated algorithms to alleviate the problems that often plague less-than-perfect video sources. HQV processors analyze multiple video fields at once to determine where frames match up and where they don\'t, and even which objects are in motion within those frames. In analyzing the video signal over time, the processor also determines the proper frame rate or refresh rate of the original video signal—whether it\'s a 24 fps film source or a 30 fps video source, for example—and makes sure that it is dealt with properly. HQV video processors are also great at minimizing video noise without scrubbing the image of all its fine detail, as well as restoring some of the detail that\'s lost as a result of aggressive video filtering during the Blu-ray or DVD mastering process. And unlike some competing video processors, HQV processors boast enough processing power to keep up with the multiple video streams (picture-in-picture and split screen) found on many new Blu-ray discs.<br />Stream Netflix Movies Right Over Your Player<br /> <br /> <br />BD-Live<br /> <br />Bonus View<br />High Definition Soundtrack Support and Output<br /> <br />Providing a truly immersive HD home theater experience, Samsung's BD-P2500 is capable of decoding the latest high-resolution digital multichannel audio soundtracks available. Out of the box, the player can output Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD and dts as an uncompressed PCM signal, as a bitstream, or via the 7.1 analog outputs for cinematic sound that is comparable with the latest movie theaters. Additionally, dts-HD HR (High Resolution) decoding will become available with a firmware upgrade in the fall. The BD-P2500 will also pass these and dts-HD MA (Master Audio) as a bitstream output to a separate, external surround sound decoder. <br /><br /> <br />HDMI Features <br /> <br />x.v Color RGB Color Range<br /><br /><p><a href="http://amzn.to/haIoIK"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4016/4719472627_e8bd8168dc_m.jpg" alt="Buy Now" border="0"></a></p><p><a href="http://amzn.to/haIoIK"><strong>Click here for more information about Samsung BD-P2500 1080p Blu-ray Disc Player</strong></a></p>Rebecca C Shaverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06779843898404828032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3230288644134820276.post-65111922056996720102012-04-24T08:34:00.000-04:002012-04-24T08:34:00.494-04:00Brother MFC-8840DN Network Multifunction Laser Printer Review<span style="float:left; padding-right:5px; padding-bottom:5px; padding-top:5px;"><a href="http://amzn.to/hNvdDZ"><img src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41FJN23R3XL._AA200_.jpg" alt="Brother MFC-8840DN Network Multifunction Laser Printer" border="0"></a><br /><strong>Average Reviews:</strong><br /><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4145/4845068120_a9384aca29_m.jpg" border="0" ><br />(<a href="http://amzn.to/hNvdDZ">More customer reviews</a>)</span>After doing a lot of research for multi-function printers I selected this printer and love it! I wanted a laser since it's cheaper to maintain (no $$$ ink cartridges) and didn't really need color (since I have a very nice photo printer for the rare times I want to print in color). I love the duplex mode (double side printing) to save paper and it'll automatically print 'n' pages to one physical page which is also handy. I have it networked between my computer and my husband's so we both can use it. (DSL connection with separate Linksys router and DSL modem.)<br />All wasn't 100% rosey at first.... I connected it via my network and it worked great but due to a problem using it while connected via VPN to my employer, I decided to use the USB connection (when I was on VPN I couldn't see the printer). I got all features working fine except for the scanning (it wouldn't scan at all). After reading so many bad reviews of Brother's tech support I was leary to call them but after many reinstalls w/o luck, I finally called them. The support folks were GREAT!! I ended up calling twice; one for help uninstalling the network drivers and again for a scanning problem. The second call I was on the phone for almost an hour and they found a patch (from Scansoft) to my original VPN problem as well as a registry patch (from Microsoft) for the USB scanning problem. The fix for the uninstall problem was because I had to log in as Administrator not just be in the admin group (I'm running Win2k) so that's why I couldn't completely switch from network connection to USB (the network drivers were still partially installed). In both calls, the tech support folks were helpful, pleasant, and knowledgeable.<br />The only remaining problem is configuring the fax with an answering machine. The manual has a lot of info but their explanation of the features for the fax isn't all that clear. Right now I don't need the fax much so I'll wait a bit and call tech support back again later.<br />I love this printer, I like that it has all the features I need in one nicely packaged unit, and for a change, I have good things to say about a company's tech support. (Every company says customers are number one, but only a tiny % actually mean it.)<br />Other reviewers have complained about the included scanning software (Paperport 8.0 SE from Scansoft) but so far so good, it works ok for me. I haven't tried the OCR feature though but supposedly it'll let me scan pure-text documents for later edits (like in Word) as well as let me search for docments by providing words inside of the document (not just file name which isn't too useful).<br />I ended up purchasing this printer at PCuniverse (free shipping and no sales tax) for the same price listed here. The reviews of the MFC 8840 printers in Amazon were a great help in selecting which printer to purchase.<br /><br /><a href="http://amzn.to/hNvdDZ"><strong>Click Here</strong></a> to see more reviews about: <a href="http://amzn.to/hNvdDZ">Brother MFC-8840DN Network Multifunction Laser Printer</a><br /><br />The Brother MFC-8840DN multifunction laser printer offers fast printing, up to 21 ppm (draft); crisp resolution, up to 2,400 x 600 dpi; plus great copy, scan, and fax performance. A complete range of easy-to-use front-mounted controls facilitateseasy walk-up single-job use, while Ethernet connectivity accommodates workgroup sharing. <br />With versatile paper handling, the MFC-8840DN performs two-in-one and four-in-one copying, automatic duplexing, poster copying, and reduction/enlargement options from 25% to 400% in 1% increments. It also has a 50-sheet ADF for even greater convenience. <br />The MFC-8840DN offers your choice of Ethernet (10/100BaseTX), USB (2.0), and parallel connectivity, and is PC and Mac compatible.Fax features include a built-in 33.6 Kbps modem, 300 speed dial locations, 40 one-touch dialing locations, and more.The MFC-8840DN also allows access via PC fax interface.<br />What's in the Box MFC-8840DN, ADF, power cable, AC power adapter, Quick Reference Guide, CD (software), warranty information<br /><br /><p><a href="http://amzn.to/hNvdDZ"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4016/4719472627_e8bd8168dc_m.jpg" alt="Buy Now" border="0"></a></p><p><a href="http://amzn.to/hNvdDZ"><strong>Click here for more information about Brother MFC-8840DN Network Multifunction Laser Printer</strong></a></p>Rebecca C Shaverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06779843898404828032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3230288644134820276.post-42457038849706599932012-04-24T06:50:00.000-04:002012-04-24T06:50:00.975-04:00Panasonic KX-TG5432M 5.8 GHz Platinum Cordless Phone with Answering
System and Dual Handsets Review<span style="float:left; padding-right:5px; padding-bottom:5px; padding-top:5px;"><a href="http://amzn.to/fJOsaY"><img src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/514FV0JNNRL._AA200_.jpg" alt="Panasonic KX-TG5432M 5.8 GHz Platinum Cordless Phone with Answering System and Dual Handsets" border="0"></a><br /><strong>Average Reviews:</strong><br /><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4089/4844449927_4ab1e44e38_m.jpg" border="0" ><br />(<a href="http://amzn.to/fJOsaY">More customer reviews</a>)</span>I had to buy a new answering machine because my former, an AT& T digital model finally was biting the dust; it was almost 15 years old! I did some research on digital answering machines, and decided that it's be best to get one with a handset.<br />I love all the features on it as it suits my needs and more:<br />*The answering device is very clear; so far all messages have been recorded with time & date with clarity. The buttons on the answering machine is user friendly.<br />*The speaker phone and intercom allows me to buzz my teenage daughter in the lower level of the house instead of shouting.<br />*The handset, despite it being made of plastic, feels substantial and looks stylish. The orange backlit light is pleasant and useful when dialing in the dark. Voice clarity is great; I have set it on voice enhancer and I think its like having the person you're talking to almost be in the next room.<br />*The settings are easy to follow in the manual. There aren't so many bells and whistles as well as tech stuff that would drive me to flush the manual,and return the phone.<br />*The phone and answering device is compact and I like the silver and grey coloring; it has a rich stylish look and doesn't take up so much room. <br />I would have given this phone 5 stars. My only complaint is that the buttons on the handset are really tiny, and I find myself reaching for my reading glasses to look at what I'm doing. The hanset itself is on the smallish side but again, I think time will help me adjust to its size.<br />I think, though, that over time, I will naturally get use to the buttons . Its only been a week since I have had the phone and already I am used to the on and off buttons without having to eyeball them. <br />I purchased the phone at Best Buy for $10 more than what Amazon is offering because I had to replace my former dying machine right away. <br />I bought this phone because I only needed a certain amount of items on it. I didn't need the speaker phone but I am glad I have it because its a great feature to have. I think that when a phone has too many features on it, it gets complicated and tends to break easily. Overall, I am really happy with this phone.<br /> <br /><br /><br /><a href="http://amzn.to/fJOsaY"><strong>Click Here</strong></a> to see more reviews about: <a href="http://amzn.to/fJOsaY">Panasonic KX-TG5432M 5.8 GHz Platinum Cordless Phone with Answering System and Dual Handsets</a><br /><br />TP PA KX-TG5432M 5.8GHZ DUAL HANDSET PHONE SYSTEM WITH TAD<br /><br /><p><a href="http://amzn.to/fJOsaY"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4016/4719472627_e8bd8168dc_m.jpg" alt="Buy Now" border="0"></a></p><p><a href="http://amzn.to/fJOsaY"><strong>Click here for more information about Panasonic KX-TG5432M 5.8 GHz Platinum Cordless Phone with Answering System and Dual Handsets</strong></a></p>Rebecca C Shaverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06779843898404828032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3230288644134820276.post-75317528800122149962012-04-24T04:32:00.000-04:002012-04-24T04:32:00.164-04:00Brother DCP-7020 Laser Digital Copier/Printer Review<span style="float:left; padding-right:5px; padding-bottom:5px; padding-top:5px;"><a href="http://amzn.to/icMIAg"><img src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41ND8Z76RNL._AA200_.jpg" alt="Brother DCP-7020 Laser Digital Copier/Printer" border="0"></a><br /><strong>Average Reviews:</strong><br /><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4089/4844449927_4ab1e44e38_m.jpg" border="0" ><br />(<a href="http://amzn.to/icMIAg">More customer reviews</a>)</span>I almost never write a review, but the forest of multi-functions is so thick and I am so impressed by my Brother DCP-7020 that I figure I ought to share my personal view of this tremendous small office/home-office machine. <br />I spent weeks researching and testing multi-functions, going back and forth among Brother, HP, Sharp, Xerox, Canon, and others. What a nightmare, sorting out and comparing all the rival features! <br />My own needs were straight-forward: truly excellent, professional-looking B&W laser printing and copying capability; reliable paper-path routing with few or no jams; able to handle periodic high volume and otherwise steady daily use; large paper tray capacity; reliable Auto Document Feeder; handy and roomy output tray; acceptable color as well as B&W scanning; and reasonably priced laser supplies that have a reasonably high volume capacity. <br />While I had no need for fax or networking, I might have taken either or both if the quality of the more important features I sought warranted the extra price. I also was hoping for a stand-alone copying capability, just to give me more flexibility in office machinery since I also have a Brother HL-5150DLT (which is a tremendous stand-alone printer, by the way!) <br />Several times I almost decided on the Sharp AL-1641CS or its equivalent at Canon and Xerox. My initial misgivings about the latest Brother multifunction machines came down to three things: I was concerned about a few reports of modest paper curling; I was nervous about the paper output slot which seemed at first glance kind of puny and inconveniently located at the inside front, rather than outside to the side, of the machine; and the Brother multi-function machines somehow didn't look to me quite as robust or strong as some of their competitors, at least as they sat on the store shelf. <br />Repeated testing in multiple stores convinced me that the Brother DCP-7020 was the most likely to meet my needs at an initial price (and also a lower laser cartridge supplies price) so substantially less than the Sharp or equivalents that I decided to 'chance' it, as I thought. It turned out far, far better than I had hoped. <br />This is a GREAT workhorse machine that takes up substantially less work space and yet turns out excellent laser printing and/or copying with sharp, professional-looking text. Reliable, smooth paper handling with no paper jams to speak of (other than one deliberately caused for testing, which was very easily cleared). Superior copying capability (stand-alone or attached to a computer.) And, though not my top priority, very good scanning as well, supported by excellent, intuitive software. <br />The earlier review and product descriptions you can read at Amazon.com are accurate. This machine is awesome; the best buy for the money you will find, unless you need faxing capability or color printing in your multi-function. As for my original misgivings, here's my experience: <br />(1) Paper curling. Not a problem! The paper curling reports are true but greatly exaggerated. Very, very minor curling occurs (probably due to the extreme heat needed for any laser printing), but the paper flattens quickly as it cools and in a minute or so you won't even know it had a slight curl as it emerged from the machine. <br />(2) Output tray. Not a problem! True, the output slot at the front of the machine looks a little inconvenient or insubstantial, but that turns out to be a mirage, probably because we are so accustomed to expecting to see a bulky exterior separate output tray. The Brother DCP-7020 output tray actually is an innovation. It works perfectly and can hold up to 100 pages, no problem. Lift the lid below the copier and you will see you have access to the entire output tray in all its glory. <br />(3) The wrong-est I was in my initial misgivings was in thinking that visually the Brother DCP-7020 looked somehow more fragile, or less robust, than the Sharp or similar competitors. It may look that way, but in reality it is every bit as much a workhorse machine as its equivalent competitors. The DCP-7020 is a strong, muscular, and reliable machine. Just a much smaller footprint and at half the price.<br />Although not my own top priority, I've also been very pleasantly surprised at how good the scanning function is. A couple of reviewers here and there on the web grumble about this, but I found the Brother DCP-7020 scanning function and quality does at least well with color photos as any other $200-$400 scanner I've used, and far better than most of them. The text recognition software is far superior to what most well known competing brands use. And the scanner control panel is very intuitive with good defaults and ample opportunity to easily customize. I've wound up putting my 1 year old $400 HP scanner in the attic.) <br />I unhesitatingly recommend the Brother DCP-7020. It is everything I wanted in a B&W laser printer/copier/scanner -- and more! -- at half the price of the competition.<br />Afterword about Brother support: For those concerned about tech support, there is good, and bad, and more good news -- but REALLY good news if you pay attention to what I have to say here. <br />1. Good news: Brother's toll-free number you can call in an emergency usually leads you to a live English-speaking person who isn't in India or Sri-Lanka or some other Exploited-Labor-of-the-Month hell hole.<br />2. Bad news: Like the infamous Indian "tech support" people we all know and loath, you probably will get an American who is mostly clueless other than they've been trained to read the manuals. If you haven't read the manual yourself, they can be a kind of "aural" manual and walk you through a few quick fixes. If you know the manual and those fixes haven't worked, go to the next point below.<br />3. More good news: If you have time to e-mail or call Brother support and ask specifically for a truly knowledgeable tech person to contact you, in a day or at most two you will wind up being called by a REAL expert who will take the time to answer all of your questions patiently and in depth. These people know what they're doing. They're honest and knowledgeable. They are the way tech support used to be, once upon a time.<br /><br /><a href="http://amzn.to/icMIAg"><strong>Click Here</strong></a> to see more reviews about: <a href="http://amzn.to/icMIAg">Brother DCP-7020 Laser Digital Copier/Printer</a><br /><br />Brother DCP-7020 Monochrome Laser Printer, Copier, and Color Scanner<br /><br /><p><a href="http://amzn.to/icMIAg"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4016/4719472627_e8bd8168dc_m.jpg" alt="Buy Now" border="0"></a></p><p><a href="http://amzn.to/icMIAg"><strong>Click here for more information about Brother DCP-7020 Laser Digital Copier/Printer</strong></a></p>Rebecca C Shaverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06779843898404828032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3230288644134820276.post-83300101468694281472012-04-23T12:49:00.000-04:002012-04-23T12:49:00.380-04:00Samsung PN58B860 58-Inch 1080p Plasma HDTV Review<span style="float:left; padding-right:5px; padding-bottom:5px; padding-top:5px;"><a href="http://amzn.to/idl7pN"><img src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41ncvQdykCL._AA200_.jpg" alt="Samsung PN58B860 58-Inch 1080p Plasma HDTV" border="0"></a><br /><strong>Average Reviews:</strong><br /><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4089/4844449927_4ab1e44e38_m.jpg" border="0" ><br />(<a href="http://amzn.to/idl7pN">More customer reviews</a>)</span>From reading AVS forum I was ready to pull the trigger on a Panasonic G10. Then went to Best Buy to see them in person and this thing was just so much nicer in every way. I'm sorry Panny fanboys but the picture on the current models just looks dingy. The older ones were much nicer. Maybe they made too many compromises for the "eco" thing. And WAY reflective. Anyway, the Samsung came today, no more calibration that setting it to "movie" mode (will wait til after break-in for that). Watching a show about quasars & pulsars on DirecTV HD Channel (720p) and we are saying "whoo" and "wow" just like watching fireworks. The colors are vivid, but not harsh (like LCD's can be). No banding, jaggies. Incredibly detailed, but smooooth. It's just amazing. Flesh tones so natural it's like you're looking at a real person. This replaced a calibrated Samsung 56" DLP, which I preferred to anything I'd ever seen before (had it's caveats but LCD RPTVs were positively hazy at that time so I went with DLP since the rainbow thing was rare and didn't bother me - kind of pretty actually.) But this just blows it away. It's like the fog has lifted. Hot? Yes, it's putting off some heat; but I live in a cold climate (SF) so no big deal. Buzzing? If you put your ear right next to it (the hard drive in my DVR is way louder) but then I'm essentially at sea level, supposedly higher altitudes worsen that. Reflections? Yes, but nowhere as bad as CRT or (ahem) the current generation of MacBooks. It's glossy but subdued. For the first time I have an in-home viewing experience superior to a movie theatre. Just can't emphasize how natural the picture is. I hope Samsung & Panasonic will continue this technology. I love LCD TV for the kitchen, it's fine for watching the news, and great on the computer for static images, but this is a true videophile experience. Like MP3's (which sound great) vs full uncompressed quality digital sound. I can see how (especially sports oriented viewers) might prefer LCD - it's bright, sharp, vivid (especially if you're looking straight on - not so great off center). But if you want to see subtlety in light, shadow, cinematography - this new tech plasma is the way to go. Maybe the key is you need a technology where the pixels are producing their own light. The last time a picture was so smooth, natural, detailed to my eye were the last generation of Sony CRT Trinitron Wega sets. Perhaps OLED will be the next step up but I'm very happy with this. And Amazon's price, white-glove delivery, return policy can't be beat.The guys from Pilot unboxed it and made sure it was working before they left. Hauled it up 2 flights of stairs. I can't believe this marvel of technology was cheaper than a decent laptop.<br /><br /><a href="http://amzn.to/idl7pN"><strong>Click Here</strong></a> to see more reviews about: <a href="http://amzn.to/idl7pN">Samsung PN58B860 58-Inch 1080p Plasma HDTV</a><br /><br />Samsung's new 8 Series plasma flat panel HDTV represent our finest innovations in design and performance. Samsung's 8 Series E-Panel technology combined with our Ultra FilterBrightTM Plus technology provides a stunning high contrast picture even in brighter rooms. It's not just the images on screen that capture your attention, the Ultra Slim cabinet is only 1.2, deep and gives you added versatility with its stylish vibe. The new Medi@2.0 connectivity package offers customizable online content via user-friendly 'widgets,' networking capability via the DLNA standard, and playback of your camera and camcorder via USB 2.0. Add 4 advanced HDMI inputs that feature Samsung's Anynet+ (CEC standard) technology making system control of compatible A/V devices like a Blu-ray player or HTIB system a one-touch operation. If you're looking for the best Full 1080p performance and advanced connectivity, Samsung's new 8 series plasma HDTVs are designed with this in mind.<br /><br /><p><a href="http://amzn.to/idl7pN"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4016/4719472627_e8bd8168dc_m.jpg" alt="Buy Now" border="0"></a></p><p><a href="http://amzn.to/idl7pN"><strong>Click here for more information about Samsung PN58B860 58-Inch 1080p Plasma HDTV</strong></a></p>Rebecca C Shaverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06779843898404828032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3230288644134820276.post-40656540264720777822012-04-23T09:54:00.000-04:002012-04-23T09:54:00.435-04:00Asus Internet Radio (Air) Black Supports 10000 Worldwide Broadcast
Stations Review<span style="float:left; padding-right:5px; padding-bottom:5px; padding-top:5px;"><a href="http://amzn.to/eMl88c"><img src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41bxKUqLbIL._AA200_.jpg" alt="Asus Internet Radio (Air) Black Supports 10000 Worldwide Broadcast Stations" border="0"></a><br /><strong>Average Reviews:</strong><br /><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4126/4844449741_552b8d2481_m.jpg" border="0" ><br />(<a href="http://amzn.to/eMl88c">More customer reviews</a>)</span>A)<br />Have you ever seen a manufacturer who does not support it's own product? Go to asus and check what they offer you for this radio. Be sure, once you have problems with this radio, you get lost. I bought two of these radios and none is working well with wireless. But, wireless is ... why I bought them. Don't have cable running in every room. Manuf. product pages tell you it is working with WPA/WPA2. In fact, wireless sucks, totally. Well, if you google you will figure out I'm not the only one who has this problem. Worst of all, no information at asus regarding this problem. No information asus might offer a new firmware. If you own this radio you have to wait for asus until asus helps you out. Helps you out will work only, if asus wakes up, asus is willing to help, if they send new firmware or whatever else to these radios. (Right now ...) There's no way for you to update these radios. There is also no way to reconfigure it by a webinterface or by USB. There is no webinterface and there is no USB. Only way to configure it is by pushing buttons on the radio or the remote control. Doing this is painful. No direct way to enter letters or numbers, it's like cursor up and down until right number or letter shows up and finally pushing enter for every single digit. <br />Radio #1 : It's display shows, there are 13 networks it can see. Three of them are own cloaked networks. But, you see, of course, no information what cloaked network belongs to one of these three lines. Unfortunately, there is no way to enter the SSID which could be very helpful. You need to check all of them and ... if WPA/WPA2 does not work with these radios you really feel pi..ed off after endless trying thit'nd'that and ... and ... Guess you know what I mean.<br />Radio #2 : It's display shows - it is right next to # 1 at the table - three networks, only (not 13 as # 1). But, all three lines are empty like # 1 shows for cloaked networks. Hmmm, OK, I thought, I don't need the others. But, same problem, same trouble like # 1.<br />None of both radios can connect to the WPA/WPA2 networks. Well, it looks like they try it but with no success at all.<br />I tried to connect to an open network with # 1. After long long time of waiting, display shows connecting, it suddenly connects to an open network. But, I don't want to step down my networks from WPA2 to open. Not because of these two radios.<br />B)<br />Looks like there's no way to keep basic config once your radio does not get power. Both radios I have, don't keep information about date and time once you unplug the power cable. Guess, all you entered by hand like own information about radio stations they are not listed by asus/air and ... and ... and ... will be lost (?).<br />C)<br />My advice for you ...<br />Don't by this radio until asus as manuf. is willing to take care for it's own product.<br />Do not accept and support a manuf. who'll wind you up.<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://amzn.to/eMl88c"><strong>Click Here</strong></a> to see more reviews about: <a href="http://amzn.to/eMl88c">Asus Internet Radio (Air) Black Supports 10000 Worldwide Broadcast Stations</a><br /><br />Listen to the World with Internet Radio, Enjoy Great Choice with More than 10,000 Radio Stations, No PC Required for Environmentally Conscious Operations, Ideal for Immigrants, Language Learners and Music Lovers, Save Up to 250 of Your Favorite Stations, Built-in Buffer function for Smoother Listening, User Attentive Design, Built-in Sleep Timer and Backlight, Wooden Speaker and Line-out.<br /><br /><p><a href="http://amzn.to/eMl88c"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4016/4719472627_e8bd8168dc_m.jpg" alt="Buy Now" border="0"></a></p><p><a href="http://amzn.to/eMl88c"><strong>Click here for more information about Asus Internet Radio (Air) Black Supports 10000 Worldwide Broadcast Stations</strong></a></p>Rebecca C Shaverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06779843898404828032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3230288644134820276.post-49339628643737960852012-04-23T08:20:00.000-04:002012-04-23T08:20:00.933-04:00Western Digital My Book World Edition II - 1 TB (2 x 500 GB) Network
Attached Storage Review<span style="float:left; padding-right:5px; padding-bottom:5px; padding-top:5px;"><a href="http://amzn.to/fMcpfy"><img src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/31tZtysof+L._AA200_.jpg" alt="Western Digital My Book World Edition II - 1 TB (2 x 500 GB) Network Attached Storage" border="0"></a><br /><strong>Average Reviews:</strong><br /><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4084/4844449773_a8d15bdf22_m.jpg" border="0" ><br />(<a href="http://amzn.to/fMcpfy">More customer reviews</a>)</span>I have several other Western Digital MyBook directly attached drives and am very happy with them. This drive was purchased by a friend (at my suggestion) and sent to me for setup. <br />The installation instructions do leave a lot to be desired. I had to go to the WD Knowledge Base support website to find out how to reformat the drive into a raid 1 drive. Once I figured out that you MUST install the included software before you try and do ANYTHING everything went quite well. The drive reformatted without incident in about the five hours WD said it would take. <br />The next process was copying a 150GB drive from my directly connected MyBook drive to the World Edition. This takes about 2 hours on my directly connected drives. It takes about 8 - 9 hours with a gigabit ethernet connection from the computer through the router to the World Book. While this is a long time, it is not something that will be done more than once (especially with the raid 1 formatting.) After this the World Book functions like my other directly connected MyBook drives.<br />Because the World Book is an ethernet device attached to a router it is not necessary to have your computer running to access the drive. It is probably advantageous to not leave your computer on with no one around to deal with any problems that my arise while you are not there for an extended period.<br />What is special about the World Book is the Always Connected software it comes with. This allows anyone with a high speed internet connection to access files on the drive from anywhere. This particular drive will be accessed from Costa Rica for several weeks each year. <br />Do not discount the advantage of having all of your information in one place. No synchronization problems. No duplicates. No worry about sensitive information being moved around or more importantly, lost. <br />I would have rated the World Book higher if the instructions supplied by Western Digital were better. For someone without much computer experience, I can see twhis being a bit of a bear to install. If WD fixes the instructions, I would rate the World book 4 stars. AS IT IS, DO NOT BE AFRAID TO USE THE WD Knowledge Base for help. It is clearer than the supplied instructions.<br /><br /><a href="http://amzn.to/fMcpfy"><strong>Click Here</strong></a> to see more reviews about: <a href="http://amzn.to/fMcpfy">Western Digital My Book World Edition II - 1 TB (2 x 500 GB) Network Attached Storage</a><br /><br />Storage System for Remote Access and Sharing.Designed for home users, creative professionals, workgroups, small offices and anyone looking for shared storage, WD's My Book World Edition II offers a surprisingly simple and secure way to access and share data, pictures, and music at home, in the office and anywhere in the world - even when your local computer is turned off.The dual-drive network storage system combines 1TB of storage, versatile RAID capability, backup software, user-serviceability, and remote access software to make it the most versatile and powerful remote access storage syste in its class.<br /><br /><p><a href="http://amzn.to/fMcpfy"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4016/4719472627_e8bd8168dc_m.jpg" alt="Buy Now" border="0"></a></p><p><a href="http://amzn.to/fMcpfy"><strong>Click here for more information about Western Digital My Book World Edition II - 1 TB (2 x 500 GB) Network Attached Storage</strong></a></p>Rebecca C Shaverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06779843898404828032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3230288644134820276.post-84474399666394005222012-04-23T06:32:00.000-04:002012-04-23T06:32:00.841-04:00Brother MFC-5440CN Network Inkjet Printer, Scanner, Copier, and Fax
Review<span style="float:left; padding-right:5px; padding-bottom:5px; padding-top:5px;"><a href="http://amzn.to/eWGQJm"><img src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41078EE8Q1L._AA200_.jpg" alt="Brother MFC-5440CN Network Inkjet Printer, Scanner, Copier, and Fax" border="0"></a><br /><strong>Average Reviews:</strong><br /><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4084/4844449853_7e0ed18b9a_m.jpg" border="0" ><br />(<a href="http://amzn.to/eWGQJm">More customer reviews</a>)</span>This is an excellent printer/scanner/fax for the money. I had purchased this as a replacement to an extremely problematic HP 5110.<br />Install: Installation was extremely easy. Just follow the directions and everything works within about 30 minutes. I really can't stress enough how easy it was to setup this printer. Whether you set it up with a standard USB connection or ethernet/network, the software does everything for you and the software install only takes around 5 minutes.<br />Software: The software is really simple and easy to use. The downside to this is that it is somewhat too simple. For advanced users that want more options and customizability, they wont find it here. Also, having the preset scan buttons is a little annoying if you like to change your scan options a lot.<br />I should also note that you can scan/copy things using either your computer or the buttons on the unit. This is very very smooth and allows you do be able to scan things without having to navigate to the ControlCenter on your PC. If you set up the printer on the network it will also even allow you to pick which PC to send the files to.<br />Printer: Print quality is right on for this price range. This is not a photo printer, but nevertheless printing onto photo quality paper isnt bad. But at the prices you can get digital photos developed at Walmart or Target nowadays, it doesnt really matter.<br />Scanner: Scan quality is great, scans up to 6000x1200 DPI. Even 300x300 DPI looks great.<br />Fax: Unfortunately, I cannot comment on this as I have no reason to fax anyone. But if the scan/print quality is any indication, this would work seamlessly as well.<br />Ink: This printer uses individual C/M/Y/K cartridges. So when one color runs out, you only have to replace that color. The size of the ink cartridges is pretty big, too, so they last longer. The downside to this is that the print head is not replaceable since they are not part of the print cartridges. So you pretty much have to replace the entire printer when it goes out.<br />Networking: Another GREAT reason to buy this product is that is comes with built-in networking. This is completely unheard of in other brands in this price range and greatly adds to the value of this printer. You can set it up for wireless use or wire it directly to your router/hub. You can also scan images in and send it to any computer on your network ... directly from the printer!<br />Price: This is in the $ 100-150 price range, which is more or less the low range for AIO printers. In this range, you pretty much have to choose from Lexmark, HP and Brother. Lexmark printers in this range are really cheap and their ink cartridges are overpriced. HP is very problematic, have smaller ink cartridges and are also overpriced. Overall, Brother is the best buy.<br />Overall: I'm in love. Not only is this the best printer for the money, but this is a GREAT printer/scanner PERIOD. After this experience all my future printers will be Brother brand. I will never buy Lexmark/HP/etc ever again.<br /><br /><a href="http://amzn.to/eWGQJm"><strong>Click Here</strong></a> to see more reviews about: <a href="http://amzn.to/eWGQJm">Brother MFC-5440CN Network Inkjet Printer, Scanner, Copier, and Fax</a><br /><br />This MFC-5440CN Multi Function Center has been Factory Refurbished to perform as new. It includes manufacturer's 90-Day Warranty One for all and all for one. Here's a Home-Office machine that does it all - prints, faxes, copies, scans. It works with both PC and Mac. It includes a caller-ID capable telephone. COLOR FAX Quick-Scan - Approx. 3 sec/pageBroadcasting up to 90 locations (B&W only)Page Memory Up to 200 PagesSpeed Dial up to 40 phone numbers ECM (Error Correction Mode)Fax Forwarding B&W only COLOR PRINTER Speed Up to 20ppm (Mono)/ Up to 15ppm (Color)Resolution Up to 6,000 x 1,200 dpi Minimum Ink Droplet Size 3 picoLiterPrinting Width 8.03 inches35 TrueType Fonts COLOR COPY Speed (Multi-Copies) Up to 17cpm (Mono)/ Up to 11cpm (Color)Resolution Print -Max. 1,200 x 1,200 dpiScan -Up to 1,200 x 1,200 dpiReduction/ Enlargement 25% - 400% in 1% incrementsMulti Copy (Stacking) Up to 99; Multi Copy (Sort) Yes; Multi Copy (2 in 1, 4 in 1) Yes COLOR SCANNER Optical Resolution (dpi) 1,200 x 2,400 dpi and Interpolated Resolution (dpi) Up to 19,200 x 19,200 dpiTWAIN Compliant Gray Scale 256Color Depth (Input/ Output) 48/ 24 bit color processingViewer for Windows - including ScanSoft OmniPage OCR ScanSoft PaperPort 9.0 / Viewer for Macintosh (Including OCR) Presto! andPageManagerPC FAX Sending Yes (B&W only)Receiving Yes (Not supported for Macintosh or network users) NETWORKNetwork Connection Ethernet 10/100BASE-TX Auto NegotiationShare PrinterShare Scanner Share PC-FAX SendingInternet FAX (Firmware) Yes (Internet FAX is available on the Download page of Brother Solutions Center.)Support Protocols TCP/IP - RARP, BOOTP, DHCP, APIPA (Auto IP), NetBIOS, WINS, LPR/LPD, Port9100, SMTP/POP3, FTP, TELNET, SNMP, TFTP, mDNS, Scanner portOperating System - Windows 98(SE)/ Me/ 2000/ XP; Mac O<br /><br /><p><a href="http://amzn.to/eWGQJm"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4016/4719472627_e8bd8168dc_m.jpg" alt="Buy Now" border="0"></a></p><p><a href="http://amzn.to/eWGQJm"><strong>Click here for more information about Brother MFC-5440CN Network Inkjet Printer, Scanner, Copier, and Fax</strong></a></p>Rebecca C Shaverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06779843898404828032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3230288644134820276.post-16391031586015274472012-04-23T04:34:00.000-04:002012-04-23T04:34:00.302-04:00HP TouchSmart 300-1025 20-Inch Black Desktop PC (Windows 7 Home
Premium) Review<span style="float:left; padding-right:5px; padding-bottom:5px; padding-top:5px;"><a href="http://amzn.to/e3ir7k"><img src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41GuboZT-lL._AA200_.jpg" alt="HP TouchSmart 300-1025 20-Inch Black Desktop PC (Windows 7 Home Premium)" border="0"></a><br /><strong>Average Reviews:</strong><br /><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4145/4845068120_a9384aca29_m.jpg" border="0" ><br />(<a href="http://amzn.to/e3ir7k">More customer reviews</a>)</span>I've had the Touchsmart for over a month now and while do not regret settling for the AMD version, I sure would have liked the Intel one (pricier). The Touchsmart software doesn't run smoothly, it takes a while to load and sometimes does not work. The first days it would simply not work at all, but after I did a software update thru HP's system doctor suite, it improve, but still freezes sometimes.<br />In general, it's is not as the simulated images on TV or You Tube, it takes a while to load each program (videos, music, photos, canvas, etc) specially those media relates like music and photos (which was the whole idea of having the media computer after all). Once it's loaded it's fun to play with, to be fair.<br />My wife is satisfied with it, as her Photoshop and Illustrator run much better here than in the 6 year old computer that we had and the 21" LCD screen is beautiful and larger compared to our old CRT 15" monitor, plus the touch feature, which she really doesn't use. <br />I haven't been able to make it work with my LAN cable from the router, it is only using the wireless connection and somehow I think it could be faster if accessing the Internet through the cable, just a thought, probably wrong.<br />Windows 7 looks pretty much the same as Vista, which I have been using at the office for 2 years. But my Intel Centrino Toshiba Portege surely performs better.<br />Conclusion, I am glad I bought it, technology works great, sounds very good too, visual is a plus, much better than what I used to have at home, however, would like to confirm whether the 23" (which I don't) Intel version (Touchsmart 600) is worth the extra $500.<br />Will tell you more in a couple of months.<br /><br /><a href="http://amzn.to/e3ir7k"><strong>Click Here</strong></a> to see more reviews about: <a href="http://amzn.to/e3ir7k">HP TouchSmart 300-1025 20-Inch Black Desktop PC (Windows 7 Home Premium)</a><br /><br />From the elegant design to the advanced features to the incredibly powerful suite of built-for-touch applications, the HP TouchSmart PC redefines what touch can do for you—and what you can do with a touch.<br /><br /><p><a href="http://amzn.to/e3ir7k"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4016/4719472627_e8bd8168dc_m.jpg" alt="Buy Now" border="0"></a></p><p><a href="http://amzn.to/e3ir7k"><strong>Click here for more information about HP TouchSmart 300-1025 20-Inch Black Desktop PC (Windows 7 Home Premium)</strong></a></p>Rebecca C Shaverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06779843898404828032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3230288644134820276.post-70229693989823406212012-04-22T14:28:00.000-04:002012-04-22T14:28:00.333-04:00HP Photosmart C4250 All-in-One - Multifunction ( printer / copier /
scanner ) - color - ink-jet - copying (up to): 30 ppm (mono) / 23 ppm
(color) - printing (up to): 30 ppm (mono) / 23 ppm (color) - 100 sheets
- USB Review<span style="float:left; padding-right:5px; padding-bottom:5px; padding-top:5px;"><a href="http://amzn.to/gPdCcf"><img src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/11ytj8jAQfL._AA200_.jpg" alt="HP Photosmart C4250 All-in-One - Multifunction ( printer / copier / scanner ) - color - ink-jet - copying (up to): 30 ppm (mono) / 23 ppm (color) - printing (up to): 30 ppm (mono) / 23 ppm (color) - 100 sheets - USB" border="0"></a><br /><strong>Average Reviews:</strong><br /><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4084/4844449773_a8d15bdf22_m.jpg" border="0" ><br />(<a href="http://amzn.to/gPdCcf">More customer reviews</a>)</span>Having installed 2 of these printers, I STRONGLY encourage you to go to the HP support site and download the latest printer software from www.hp.com/support. The CD's that came with the printers I installed simply didn't work on OS 10.3.9 and was not the latest software for OS 10.4 or 10.5. Using the CD's is frustratingly long and in the end, pointless. Unfortunately, you'll need broadband Internet because the software is over 180MB. <br />Also for those connecting the printer to the USB port of their Airport, I quote from the HP Support site:<br />"In general, HP printers that support networking and/or optional JetDirect print servers should print when connected to the USB port of a wireless router, such as the Apple Airport Express and Extreme Base Stations.<br />NOTE:Connecting to the USB port of a wireless router will provide a `print-only' function, meaning additional functions of your product, such as scanning or card slots, will not be available."<br />I was disappointed that my scanner didn't work when using the Airport hub. I still think the printer is a good value for the under $90 I paid on Amazon but the software that comes with it is frustrating difficult if you start with the CD's. I give HP zero stars for software installation, 3 stars for some of the software applications they give you and 5 stars for hardware and value; so 3 stars overall.<br /><br /><a href="http://amzn.to/gPdCcf"><strong>Click Here</strong></a> to see more reviews about: <a href="http://amzn.to/gPdCcf">HP Photosmart C4250 All-in-One - Multifunction ( printer / copier / scanner ) - color - ink-jet - copying (up to): 30 ppm (mono) / 23 ppm (color) - printing (up to): 30 ppm (mono) / 23 ppm (color) - 100 sheets - USB</a><br /><br />Item #: HEWCC211A. All In One Inkjet Printer, 300 Ppm Black, 23 Ppm Color, 1.5" Display, Print Resolution (Black) (Width x Height) 600 @ 600 dpi, Print Resolution (Color) (Width x Height) 4800 @ 1200 dpi Depth 10 1/4 in, Height 7 in, Width 16 3/4 in Customers also search for: HP® PS C4250 all-in-one inkjet printer<br /><br /><p><a href="http://amzn.to/gPdCcf"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4016/4719472627_e8bd8168dc_m.jpg" alt="Buy Now" border="0"></a></p><p><a href="http://amzn.to/gPdCcf"><strong>Click here for more information about HP Photosmart C4250 All-in-One - Multifunction ( printer / copier / scanner ) - color - ink-jet - copying (up to): 30 ppm (mono) / 23 ppm (color) - printing (up to): 30 ppm (mono) / 23 ppm (color) - 100 sheets - USB</strong></a></p>Rebecca C Shaverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06779843898404828032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3230288644134820276.post-53193406509737660212012-04-22T12:33:00.000-04:002012-04-22T12:33:00.310-04:00D-Link SIP VOICE TERMINAL ADAPTER ( DVG-2001S ) Review<span style="float:left; padding-right:5px; padding-bottom:5px; padding-top:5px;"><a href="http://amzn.to/eigC7H"><img src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/11XF2Z56VZL._AA200_.jpg" alt="D-Link SIP VOICE TERMINAL ADAPTER ( DVG-2001S )" border="0"></a><br /><strong>Average Reviews:</strong><br /><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4084/4844449853_7e0ed18b9a_m.jpg" border="0" ><br />(<a href="http://amzn.to/eigC7H">More customer reviews</a>)</span>This ATA just isn't very good. The web interface is incredibly clumsy and the features are limited. For the price, you can get Linksys (Sipura) ATAs that have both FXO and FXS ports and are far more capable and convenient to use, although Amazon for some reason chooses not to sell them directly.<br /><br /><a href="http://amzn.to/eigC7H"><strong>Click Here</strong></a> to see more reviews about: <a href="http://amzn.to/eigC7H">D-Link SIP VOICE TERMINAL ADAPTER ( DVG-2001S )</a><br /><br />Item #: 63225B. D-Link, an industry leader in networking, introduces DVG-2001S VoIP Phone Adapter for the home environment. The DVG-2001S converts any existing analog (cord or cordless) telephone into an IP Phone. Also by plugging in a FAX machine, the DVG-2001S will enable users to send and receive fax the same way as a traditional analog telephone line.The DVG-2001S supports the SIP protocol, which is widely deployed by VoIP providers on the market. It also supports the most popular audio CODECs to ensure compatibility and voice quality.The DVG-2001S VoIP Phone Adapter comes with one FXS port to connect to the existing analog telephone and one Fast Ethernet port to connect to the broadband router.With a built-in secured provisioning feature, VoIP service providers can configure service settings such as a server address, CODEC and STUN settings via HTTPS/TFTP directly to the DVG-2001S.For additional security, all of the configuration settings are encrypted. Only the VoIP service providers/resellers with the authenticated password and user name can access it.The DVG-2001S features both the VAD (Voice Activity Detection) and CNG (Comfort Noise Consumption) to reduce the bandwidth consumption and to sustain voice quality.The DVG-2001S VoIP Phone Adapter has a built-in QoS setting to provide voice priority in IP networks and prevent dropped calls. By delivering a consistent quality of service, resellers will avoid having frustrated customers from switching to another VoIP service provider.The DVG-2001S is the ideal VoIP telephone adapter solution that will help VoIP service providers or resellers with all of the required attributes to grow and retain customers by delivering a robust and consistent VoIP solution. <br />Product DescriptionD-Link DVG-2001S VoIP Telephone Terminal Adapter - VoIP phone adapterDevice Type: VoIP phone adapterEnclosure Type: ExternalDimensions (WxDxH): 3.5 in x 3.2 in x 1.2 inData Link Protocol: Ethernet, Fast<br /><br /><p><a href="http://amzn.to/eigC7H"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4016/4719472627_e8bd8168dc_m.jpg" alt="Buy Now" border="0"></a><span style="font-size:1.1em;font-weight:bold;vertical-align:bottom;padding-left:3px;color:#990000;">Get 28% OFF</span></p><p><a href="http://amzn.to/eigC7H"><strong>Click here for more information about D-Link SIP VOICE TERMINAL ADAPTER ( DVG-2001S )</strong></a></p>Rebecca C Shaverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06779843898404828032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3230288644134820276.post-16152431054085134822012-04-22T09:54:00.000-04:002012-04-22T09:54:00.782-04:00Zoom ADSL Bridge Modem 5615 - DSL modem - external - Ethernet - 24 Mbps
Review<span style="float:left; padding-right:5px; padding-bottom:5px; padding-top:5px;"><a href="http://amzn.to/gl1fy3"><img src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/21RC6Ws533L._AA200_.jpg" alt="Zoom ADSL Bridge Modem 5615 - DSL modem - external - Ethernet - 24 Mbps" border="0"></a><br /><strong>Average Reviews:</strong><br /><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4089/4844449927_4ab1e44e38_m.jpg" border="0" ><br />(<a href="http://amzn.to/gl1fy3">More customer reviews</a>)</span>Fast modem. Easy setup. Works well with AT&T/BellSouth. I bought this to replace a dead Moto 2210 received from AT&T (it was the classic Moto 2210, in that it died just a few weeks after the warranty expired). This Zoom is faster than the Moto 2210, and way faster than the old Westell that BellSouth shipped me a few years ago. The Westell was averaging 616 kbs, but this Zoom averages just under 800 kbs on the same line. Zoom is right. <br />I saw several web posts that said use VPI/VCI of 8/35 for BellSouth/AT&T, so I did, but I am not sure this was necessary. The Zoom instructions suggest setting the VPI/VCI only if you are using a static IP, which I am not. In any case, it works great.<br />It does not have a built-in router, but that is by design. If you have your own router, this is actually better, because the setup is easier. But you do have to follow the instructions to access the modem from your web browser, because the modem does not support DHCP. Just manually set your ftp to use IP address of 10.0.0.4, and then you can acess the modem at IP 10.0.0.2.<br /><br /><a href="http://amzn.to/gl1fy3"><strong>Click Here</strong></a> to see more reviews about: <a href="http://amzn.to/gl1fy3">Zoom ADSL Bridge Modem 5615 - DSL modem - external - Ethernet - 24 Mbps</a><br /><br />ENET USB ADSL 2/2+ BRIDGE MODEM<br /><br /><p><a href="http://amzn.to/gl1fy3"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4016/4719472627_e8bd8168dc_m.jpg" alt="Buy Now" border="0"></a></p><p><a href="http://amzn.to/gl1fy3"><strong>Click here for more information about Zoom ADSL Bridge Modem 5615 - DSL modem - external - Ethernet - 24 Mbps</strong></a></p>Rebecca C Shaverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06779843898404828032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3230288644134820276.post-9962258155845849312012-04-22T08:52:00.000-04:002012-04-22T08:52:00.162-04:008x8 Packet8 Broadband VoIP Service with DTA-310 Phone Adapter Review<span style="float:left; padding-right:5px; padding-bottom:5px; padding-top:5px;"><a href="http://amzn.to/eRpncN"><img src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51490GEZNVL._AA200_.jpg" alt="8x8 Packet8 Broadband VoIP Service with DTA-310 Phone Adapter" border="0"></a><br /><strong>Average Reviews:</strong><br /><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4145/4845068120_a9384aca29_m.jpg" border="0" ><br />(<a href="http://amzn.to/eRpncN">More customer reviews</a>)</span>I've had Packet8 service for a year and a half now. I know many folks want to know how does this thing last over the long run. Well for me, its nearly perfect.<br />First thing you need to know is that this phone is dependant on electricity reaching this device as well as an internet connection. That means if you have a power outage, you have no phoneline. Something to consider. Also if your internet connection goes out frequently, so will your phone. If you have a power outage, you need to power cycle this device along with your modem and router in order to get back on the phone. I've learned this the hard way over time.<br />Also, if you're looking to totally dump MaBell and $30+ monthly fees for voicemail, 3 way calling, caller ID, call waiting, etc (in my area, those basic features ran me 50+ a month) I highly recommend a CABLE internet connection. Reason being is that most times if you disconnect your phone line completely from MaBell, you'll lose your DSL. Least in this area thats the way it goes. To go totally without MaBell, use a cable internet connection. And now they're offering a 2nd number or "virtual number" for 4.95 a month with no setup fee until January. Good deal for college parents or people with family in another state. Just get a packet8 virtual number in their hometown and have them enjoy calling you as a local number. Easy!<br />Another thing, this service does NOT support 411 or 311 calling AT ALL yet. They promise to have the feature in the future, but how long is unknown. This means to most people keeping a list of local non emergency direct switchboard numbers and using the internet as a phone book. Tedious, yes. But I havent found 311 and 411 access to be worth over 40 dollars a month to me just for the right to use them. <br />Unlike other broadband phones, Packet8 offers true 911 access. Your home is connected by address to the dispatch. Most other companies only offer a pseudo 911 that you have to tell the police or hospital or fire department your exact address. If its an emergency, do you really want to be hanging around your house to give and verify all of this information? <br />Another thing is system stability. MOST times their network is stable. I get one outage for about 4 hours a month. NOT the end of the world for most, but it can be annoying. Sound quality is good unless you're downloading 15 movies online and chewing up your bandwidth then you'll experience echoing and periods where you cannot hear the other person. Stop the download and you'll be fine. Just dont tear up the pipe and you'll be fine. For most this is not an issue.<br />Updates are rather simple, you go to their website, you download an application and it patches the device, simple! A manual install is also available that includes a diagnosis mode. <br />I've been nothing short of thrilled with their service and the price is definitely right!<br /><br /><a href="http://amzn.to/eRpncN"><strong>Click Here</strong></a> to see more reviews about: <a href="http://amzn.to/eRpncN">8x8 Packet8 Broadband VoIP Service with DTA-310 Phone Adapter</a><br /><br />The 8x8 Packet8 adapter is a VoIP (voice over-internet protocol) device that allows you to use your phone to place calls over the internet (requires an 8x8 VoIP service plan). All you need is a broadband internet connection, a router, and this adapter. It's easy to set up and works with any high-speed DSL or cable internet connection. Simply plug your phone into the adapter, plug in the power cable, and connect the adapter to your network with the included Ethernet cable. <br /><br /> The Packet8 service and adapter allow you to enjoy all the features that you have come to expect from traditional phones, such as call waiting, caller ID, personalized voicemail, and three-way calling, while also taking advantage of features only possible by utilizing the latest in internet technology. <br /> <br /> Anyone with broadband (high-speed) internet access can use their regular phone to make unlimited calls from anywhere to anywhere in the U.S. and Canada, for one low monthly rate. All Packet8 subscribers also get unlimited worldwide calling to other Packet8 subscribers at no extra charge. Manage you account online, forward voicemail to your email as an attachment, and more. You also have the advantage of taking your home area code with you when you travel, so your home or office can reach you without paying long distance rates. <br /> The Packet8 phone adapter has a small 5.5-by-4.0-inch footprint and weighs just 8 ounces. It also comes backed by a one-year warranty.<br /> What's in the Box Adapter, Ethernet cable, AC power adapter, user's guide, service and promotional information <br /> Terms and Conditions Buying this item signifies agreement to sign up for service with 8x8 and to pay a monthly subscription fee. For details about how the service works and for complete terms and conditions, visit www.packet8.net. For technical assistance, call 1-888-898-8733. <br /><br /><p><a href="http://amzn.to/eRpncN"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4016/4719472627_e8bd8168dc_m.jpg" alt="Buy Now" border="0"></a></p><p><a href="http://amzn.to/eRpncN"><strong>Click here for more information about 8x8 Packet8 Broadband VoIP Service with DTA-310 Phone Adapter</strong></a></p>Rebecca C Shaverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06779843898404828032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3230288644134820276.post-59897169141709554272012-04-22T06:08:00.000-04:002012-04-22T06:08:00.356-04:00Buffalo Technology 4bBi Detachable High Gain Omni Directional
Antenna-WLE-AT-NDRHB (Black) Review<span style="float:left; padding-right:5px; padding-bottom:5px; padding-top:5px;"><a href="http://amzn.to/gQc0du"><img src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/21KLU+L5JwL._AA200_.jpg" alt="Buffalo Technology 4bBi Detachable High Gain Omni Directional Antenna-WLE-AT-NDRHB (Black)" border="0"></a><br /><strong>Average Reviews:</strong><br /><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4145/4845068120_a9384aca29_m.jpg" border="0" ><br />(<a href="http://amzn.to/gQc0du">More customer reviews</a>)</span>The "Buffalo Technology WHR-HP-G54 Wireless-G<br />MIMO Performace Router and Access Point" and "Buffalo AirStation WHR-G54S" sold by Amazon<br />includes the "Buffalo Technology 4bBi Detachable High Gain Omni Directional Antenna-WLE-AT-NDRHB (Black)"<br />as its attena, not the Older European Version: 2.0 dBi Rubber Duck Antenna that is shown in some<br />of the pictures.<br />So if you order the WHR-HP-G54 or the Buffalo AirStation WHR-G54S from Amazon,<br />do NOT bother to order the "optional" High Gain ... WLE-AT-NDRHB attena because it is the exact<br />same attena (the WHR-G54S one is white instead of black but I tried the black one and the performace<br />was exactly the same).<br /><br /><a href="http://amzn.to/gQc0du"><strong>Click Here</strong></a> to see more reviews about: <a href="http://amzn.to/gQc0du">Buffalo Technology 4bBi Detachable High Gain Omni Directional Antenna-WLE-AT-NDRHB (Black)</a><br /><br />AIRSTATION HIGH-GAIN OMNI<br /><br /><p><a href="http://amzn.to/gQc0du"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4016/4719472627_e8bd8168dc_m.jpg" alt="Buy Now" border="0"></a></p><p><a href="http://amzn.to/gQc0du"><strong>Click here for more information about Buffalo Technology 4bBi Detachable High Gain Omni Directional Antenna-WLE-AT-NDRHB (Black)</strong></a></p>Rebecca C Shaverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06779843898404828032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3230288644134820276.post-15564847537168130222012-04-21T11:36:00.000-04:002012-04-21T11:36:00.588-04:00Acer Aspire 1410-2936 - C SU2300 / 1.2 GHz - RAM 2 GB - HDD 160 GB -
GMA 4500MHD - Gigabit Ethernet - WLAN : 802.11 a/b/g/n (draft) -
Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit - 11.6" Widescreen TFT 1366 x 768 (
WXGA ) CineCrystal - camera - ruby red Review<span style="float:left; padding-right:5px; padding-bottom:5px; padding-top:5px;"><a href="http://amzn.to/hmGP7X"><img src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/21r9I7j2QjL._AA200_.jpg" alt="Acer Aspire 1410-2936 - C SU2300 / 1.2 GHz - RAM 2 GB - HDD 160 GB - GMA 4500MHD - Gigabit Ethernet - WLAN : 802.11 a/b/g/n (draft) - Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit - 11.6 Widescreen TFT 1366 x 768 ( WXGA ) CineCrystal - camera - ruby red" border="0"></a><br /><strong>Average Reviews:</strong><br /><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4130/4845067922_fe937db46e_m.jpg" border="0" ><br />(<a href="http://amzn.to/hmGP7X">More customer reviews</a>)</span>This system is an excellent combination of portability and power! Check out this line if like me, you've found netbooks wanting.<br />After migrating from my full-size notebook, all 7lbs of Core 2 goodness, to an Atom based netbook, the tradeoffs for size were cramping my style. My typing slowed, my eyes hated it, and it just wasn't responsive enough. Worse, the 2GB maximum RAM limitation meant running my virtual machines were out of the question. The experience left me discouraged and I fully expected to become one of the last victims of a $1500 ultra-portable.<br />In contrast, this thing is fast, it has a full-size keyboard, much more useful screen, drives a larger external display (VGA or HDMI(!)), can have 4GB RAM, and has twice the battery life if you don't thrash it. (my previous netbook only had the 3-cell battery). It's all wrapped in a package that appears to most people the same size as the little 10" versions. I can't tell the weight difference if I'm not holding them both at the same time. And the price! The Black Friday discount was minimal but now that I've used it and can compare, I'd gladly re-buy this one at retail. This thing is the netbook for those who can't quite squeeze down to the little N270/280 boxes. Whereas the Atoms feel like a cute attempt at a notebook, running a "sort-of" mobile processor, this thing feels like a real system, but it's small and cheap.<br />Pros (vs Atom-based netbook)<br />- See above - speed, screen size, speed, keyboard, RAM, speed, etc.<br />- Dual-core headroom.<br />- Touchpad is 50% larger and buttons are separate vs. D250 rocker style.<br />- The additional indicator lights are always a good thing. Power, charge, bluetooth wifi, HD, Numlock, capslock.<br />- The integrated video can drive a huge external monitor.<br />- Windows 7 Home, 64-bit version<br />- Gb Ethernet.<br />- N draft WiFi.<br />Cons & quibbles:<br />- I prefer matte screens, but this isn't bad for glossy.<br />- Red color - others were another $50.<br />- HD mounting and connector are a kludge. HD secured by pressure between pads and external cover. No real lock. Uses ribbon cable adapter to match its 90 degree rotation to board. It isn't going anywhere, but it's a big contrast to the D250's very clean HD mount.<br />- Keys are completely flat, as is their action. I'm getting used to it.<br />- Too little space between keys makes it easy to touch-type the wrong keys. It's tough to feel the boundaries.<br />- Windows COA sticker on bottom was applied slightly off-center and the edges keep peeling.<br />- Default settings for touchpad make it very easy to accidentally "tap" when typing, sending cursor into the weeds or sometimes doing big unintended edits.<br />- Power plug (computer end) & socket seem fragile.<br />- Case material seems a bit fragile. Not a ThinkPad.<br />- Very slightly noisier than Atom systems. Most noticeable when the fan cycles on and off repeatedly while running something processor intensive.<br />- WiFi slide-switch fragile & action uncertain.<br />- No built-in Bluetooth on this model though it does have the BT slide-switch and indicator. Inside, next to the Intel 1000 WiFi card, you can see pads on circuit board where BT socket option might have gone.<br />- I know I'll wish it had a 4th USB port.<br />If you're looking for something both smnall AND functional give this thing a try.<br />(Thank you Acer!)<br /><br /><a href="http://amzn.to/hmGP7X"><strong>Click Here</strong></a> to see more reviews about: <a href="http://amzn.to/hmGP7X">Acer Aspire 1410-2936 - C SU2300 / 1.2 GHz - RAM 2 GB - HDD 160 GB - GMA 4500MHD - Gigabit Ethernet - WLAN : 802.11 a/b/g/n (draft) - Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit - 11.6" Widescreen TFT 1366 x 768 ( WXGA ) CineCrystal - camera - ruby red</a><br /><br />At just over 3 pounds, the Acer Aspire AS1410 Notebook offers great performance features in a Netbook size that lets you travel light. Enjoy music, video, photos and more on the 11.6" HD display and work comfortably on the full-size keyboard wherever you are with Draft-N wireless and long battery life. With Intel processor technology, Windows 7 Home Premium, 2GB of memory and a large hard drive you have plenty of power to do your favorite things.11.6 HD Widescreen CineCrystal LED-backlit Display (1366 x 768), 16 - 9 aspect ratio Integrated Crystal Eye Webcam Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 4500MHDHigh Definition Audio Support with Dolby Sound Room Audio Enhancement Two Built-in Stereo Speakers Intel WiFi Link 1000 802.11a/b/g/Draft-N Wireless LAN 10/100/1000 Ethernet LAN Multi-in-1 Card Reader SD, MMC, MS, MS Pro, xD Ports -3 x USB 2.0, Headphone/Speaker/Line-Out, Microphone-in, VGA, HDMI, RJ-45 (LAN) Approximate Unit Dimensions -11.22 (W) x 8.03 (D) x 0.87-1.18 (H) Approximate Unit Weight -3.08 Pounds<br /><br /><p><a href="http://amzn.to/hmGP7X"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4016/4719472627_e8bd8168dc_m.jpg" alt="Buy Now" border="0"></a></p><p><a href="http://amzn.to/hmGP7X"><strong>Click here for more information about Acer Aspire 1410-2936 - C SU2300 / 1.2 GHz - RAM 2 GB - HDD 160 GB - GMA 4500MHD - Gigabit Ethernet - WLAN : 802.11 a/b/g/n (draft) - Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit - 11.6" Widescreen TFT 1366 x 768 ( WXGA ) CineCrystal - camera - ruby red</strong></a></p>Rebecca C Shaverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06779843898404828032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3230288644134820276.post-90981547627731254082012-04-21T10:51:00.000-04:002012-04-21T10:51:01.109-04:00Netgear XE103G-100NAS Powerline Ethernet Adapter Review<span style="float:left; padding-right:5px; padding-bottom:5px; padding-top:5px;"><a href="http://amzn.to/fHXl1a"><img src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/31k3vrNQ2XL._AA200_.jpg" alt="Netgear XE103G-100NAS Powerline Ethernet Adapter" border="0"></a><br /><strong>Average Reviews:</strong><br /><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4083/4845068202_952b887062_m.jpg" border="0" ><br />(<a href="http://amzn.to/fHXl1a">More customer reviews</a>)</span>I would have rated this 5 stars but for the price. It seems a bit expensive and if wireless had been an answer probably the way I would have gone. I have been having wireless network problems and wanted something that would extend my lan in the house without lots of wiring. This is a great answer. I read the directions (made sure it was not plugged into a power strip), plugged in near my router, went upstairs, plugged it in there and it worked, no problems and as fast as when right next to the router. <br />I must admit there was also a somewhat unresearched idea that my data is safer on a wire network than wireless, even with the encryption that I used when my wireless worked.<br /><br /><a href="http://amzn.to/fHXl1a"><strong>Click Here</strong></a> to see more reviews about: <a href="http://amzn.to/fHXl1a">Netgear XE103G-100NAS Powerline Ethernet Adapter</a><br /><br />The NETGEAR XE103G 85 Mbps Powerline Network Adapter Kit lets you easily extend a home network using just the existing electric lines of your home, eliminating the need to run unsightly Ethernet wires all over your house. At 85 Mbps, you'll have more than enough speed to download music, stream videos, and make internet telephone calls without any hiccups. <br />True Plug and Play Installation The XE103G comes with two XE103 units. Simply plug one of them into a wall outlet and connect it to your router with an Ethernet cord. Plug the second one into the wall outlet where you need a network connection and connect it to any Ethernet-ready device. That's it. There's no software to install. You can create as many network connections as you need by connecting more XE103 units wherever you need them. Each device has easy-to-read icon LEDs for status information at a glance. <br /> Fast Performance Each XE103 supports speeds up to 85 Mbps which is enough for multiple video streams without interruptions. The XE103 has a 10/100 Ethernet port with which you can connect a PC, gaming console, Slingbox, DVR, NETGEAR's SC101T Storage Central Turbo or ReadyNAS NV+, or another networkable device. In order to enable encryption, you need a computer with Windows Vista, XP, or 2000. <br /> What's in the Box Two XE103 85 Mbps Powerline Network Adapters, installation guide, Ethernet cable, setup CD, and warranty/support information card. <br /><br /><p><a href="http://amzn.to/fHXl1a"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4016/4719472627_e8bd8168dc_m.jpg" alt="Buy Now" border="0"></a></p><p><a href="http://amzn.to/fHXl1a"><strong>Click here for more information about Netgear XE103G-100NAS Powerline Ethernet Adapter</strong></a></p>Rebecca C Shaverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06779843898404828032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3230288644134820276.post-24505158760269953822012-04-21T09:08:00.000-04:002012-04-21T09:08:00.416-04:00Netgear Dual Mode Cordless Phone with Skype(SPH200D) Review<span style="float:left; padding-right:5px; padding-bottom:5px; padding-top:5px;"><a href="http://amzn.to/gL1KeA"><img src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41qQJR-9eKL._AA200_.jpg" alt="Netgear Dual Mode Cordless Phone with Skype(SPH200D)" border="0"></a><br /><strong>Average Reviews:</strong><br /><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4089/4844449927_4ab1e44e38_m.jpg" border="0" ><br />(<a href="http://amzn.to/gL1KeA">More customer reviews</a>)</span>I've been using this phone for little over two months and really like it. Before, I couldn't warm up to using Skype because I didn't want to be tied to my computer. Now with this phone I'm using it now for all of my outgoing (SkypeOut) calls. My long distance bill has fallen to zero and I've reduced the number of cell minutes as well.<br />There is practically no setup. I just plugged the base unit into my router, and it connected automatically to my network. I did have to punch in my Skype name and password on the numeric keypad, but it turns out that I could have done that easily through a web browser - the base unit has a configuration page similar to other Netgear routers. Once my name and password were in, I could start calling. <br />The phone displays all of the contacts that you have previously set up with Skype. In fact, I recommend using Skype on your computer to do all of the setup - it's just easier that way. The phone even shows the amount of Skype credits that I have.<br />The voice quality is great, but there is a slight delay - similar to what you get when your overseas call is routed through a satellite. I like the fact that the phone comes with a standard 1/8-inch headset jack - I use a headset for most of my calls.<br />As far as wireless range, I've been able to range throughout my house with no discernable dropouts. It's seems to get better range than my 2.4GHz cordless phone and my WIFI.<br />So the bottom line is: I'm happy with this phone, happy that it's Skype, and I plan to keep using it.<br /><br /><a href="http://amzn.to/gL1KeA"><strong>Click Here</strong></a> to see more reviews about: <a href="http://amzn.to/gL1KeA">Netgear Dual Mode Cordless Phone with Skype(SPH200D)</a><br /><br />Your internet connection can easily become a phone line, allowing you to make free, or very cheap, calls worldwide. The Netgear SPH-200D Cordless Phone with Skype takes all the hassle out of the process. You don't need to install any software, or even turn on your PC. All you have to do is plug the Cordless Base Station into your internet router and start using Skype's worldwide internet phone service to talk to your friends and relations wherever they may roam. And if that's not enough, the SPH-200D also replaces your land line phone. Just plug the base station into any active phone jack and it becomes a traditional cordless phone as well.<br /> Three Phones in OneThere are three ways to use the SPH-200D. For no cost at all you can make Skype-to-Skype calls anywhere in the world. Skype software is pre-loaded on the phone, so you can start calling any other Skype users at their computers or at similar Skype phones right out of the box. An intuitive on-screen menu lets you see which Skype friends are online and available to call. Push a button and you're making a free domestic or international call.<br /> Your second option costs only pennies per minute and includes no monthly fees. With SkypeOut you buy phone time in advance, then use the internet to make calls to cell or land line phones all over the world. You can also get a SkypeIn account for a small fee, which gives you an internet phone number, allowing friends to call you from any phone, anywhere, anytime. With the SPH-200D you can do all of this without fooling with software or plugging headsets into your PC. It's all there in the palm of your hand.<br />And of course the SPH-200D is also a traditional cordless phone. With the latest cordless technology, DECT (Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunications), the handset delivers incredible range, clear voice quality, and a full menu of digital features. You can even add up to three additional handsets, which allows you to replace all the old-fashioned phones in your home with one that truly belongs in the 21st century.<br />What's in the BoxCordless phone with Skype, rechargeable battery, cordless base station, power adapters for the charging cradle and base station, setup guide, and warranty card.<br />For calls made through Skype and/or the SkypeOut service. Terms and conditions of the Skype services are subject to change at any time in the sole discretion of Skype Limited<br /><br /><p><a href="http://amzn.to/gL1KeA"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4016/4719472627_e8bd8168dc_m.jpg" alt="Buy Now" border="0"></a></p><p><a href="http://amzn.to/gL1KeA"><strong>Click here for more information about Netgear Dual Mode Cordless Phone with Skype(SPH200D)</strong></a></p>Rebecca C Shaverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06779843898404828032noreply@blogger.com0