Cute little bag that fits my MacBook Air perfectly. I like that the shoulder strap is detachable and the compartments inside the bag. Definitely worth the money!Save 33% Off
Showing posts with label handheld signs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label handheld signs. Show all posts
rooCASE Laptop Carrying Bag for Apple MacBook Air 13.3-inch Laptop MC503LL/A MC504LL/A - Pink / Bla
Cute little bag that fits my MacBook Air perfectly. I like that the shoulder strap is detachable and the compartments inside the bag. Definitely worth the money!
JBL Duet Speaker System for Portable Music and PC - White (Pair)
Let me start by saying I am REALLY REALLY REALLY picky about the quality of sound. I needed a pair of speakers for my office (I have an older pair of speakers that I hook my iPod up to that I wanted to replace.) Well, I came across these and then searched for as many reviews as I could about them...most of the reviews turned out to be very good as a matter of fact! After doing a search for them, I saw they were available at Office Depot so decided to purchase them in-store...however, when I went there I did not see them and was told by a sales associate they were only available at their online store. The (very nice) gentleman then convinced me to rather go for some Logitech x-230 speakers with a sub-woofer. Very hesitantly, I decided to take a chance. Well, after plugging them in and listening to a sample of music, I unplugged them 1/2 a minute later and returned them the next day. I then decided to go ahead an purchase these JBL Duet speakers. They have just arrived, I just plugged them in...am listening to them right this very moment after sampling a variety of music (classical, heavy rock, etc.) and I must say...***WOW***...they are EXCEPTIONAL!!!!!!!!! Super crisp high notes & midtones with all the background instruments clearly coming through...listening to classical music is simply a pleasure!! On the other end of the scale, the rich, deep, full-bodied bass & undertones effortlessly carry the heavy rock & deep classical sounds giving the sound the true depth it needs to really appreciate the music for what it is. I highly highly HIGHLY recommend these!!!
The bass response is the biggest surprise. It's natural-sounding and open, not stuffy or forced, yet it has a surprising amount of punch for such small speakers, without being the slightest bit "boomy". To my ears in my listening environment, they have an amazingly smooth frequency response across the entire audible range.
In case you think I'm kidding, I usually mix on a pair of Genelec tri-amped studio monitors whose price tag was more than 100 times that of the JBL Duet speakers. On several occasions, I've opened GarageBand or Logic Pro 7 to record a musical idea and ended up doing a rough mix, forgetting that I was listening to the Duet speakers rather than the big monitors. At low levels in a near-field application (...sorry, that's audio geekspeak -for all you normal humanoids who don't have the audiogeek mutant gene, that means the speakers are close to you...like on your desktop), these little speakers are surprisingly accurate.
I've owned my Duets for almost one year. I loved them so much that I immediately bought extra sets for my kids to use with their iPods. For the money, I've never heard anything better. My thanks to the folks at JBL for creating such a terrific speaker at such a reasonable price.
Buy JBL Duet Speaker System for Portable Music and PC - White (Pair) Now
Let me preface by saying I consider myself an audiophile but not an annoying music snob or superior techie geek. I am into technology just enough to get the sound quality I want and I'm willing to pay handsomely for it. I previously had Klipsch 2.1 for my computer until my speakers blew out and have Grado SR80s and Sennheiser SR100s for listening to music in my room and a pair of closed Sennheisers for travel.Having said all that, now that I'm a student and spend most of my time in front of a laptop or else studying, my main criteria for speakers became PORTABILITY, portability, and more portability.
I wanted something light, easy to set up, easy to throw in a bag and travel with, and not nearly as expensive as my Klipsch 2.1's but with a comparable sound value for the price.
I was going to go with 'the other' pair of portable speakers that is popular on Amazon but picked the JBL's for their bass and the fact they were specifically designed to reproduce a 'bigger' sound for their size.
I am REALLY IMPRESSED and VERY HAPPY with my purchase!
Cons:
These aren't as sleek or portable as 'the other' pair. These will NOT fit comfortably into most laptop bags and while they are small and light, with their shape they will fit awkwardly in an overnight bag.
Also these are NOT usb powered so require more cords, which I hate. However, this means you don't need a computer to listesn to your MP3 player and makes these speakers truly portable speakers for any source with the typical mini plug. And they are portable sized.
Pros:
But the sound? The sound is GREAT! I listen to a lot of bass heavy electronica and these are PERFECT. The bass is NOT muddy and the sound quality overall is clean and rich for small speakers and they differentiate tones very well.
Comparing apples to apples, these are an awesome pair of small speakers and good value for the price. These will not shake your walls, but if you want that, don't be a cheapo and invest in a pair of real speakers.
I just listened to a track I had heard many times before on my laptop speakers. On the JBLs with the volume up I was able to hear a lot of new details -I didn't like the details and erased the track. Thanks JBL for helping me clean up my music library!
Perfect for you AND your housemates:
Also, I have 2 roommates who are light sleepers and this is PERFECT. The sound is just right for me sitting at my desk but the sound does not travel through the walls or door. I don't know what the technical term for this is, but someone else mentioned these are not 'loud' enough for group purposes.
For a home office, dorm room, and solo use, these are a perfect pair of portable speakers with a small footprint.
Read Best Reviews of JBL Duet Speaker System for Portable Music and PC - White (Pair) Here
If you have to run the power cable next to other power cables, which you likely will, you may find that you get a loud buzz when there is no music playing. I believe this is due to improper or inadequate shielding of the power cable.When the speakers are playing audio, the sound is great, but when they're not, the buzz is fairly nerve-wracking.
So, if your speakers can be wired away from other computer cables, these are good speakers. But if you need to run the power cable near the other cables, you may get a buzzing sound.
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For the size and power level, these speakers sound quite nice. But it seems as though they are not properly shielded. They produce a constant soft 60 Hz buzz that is rather annoying in a quiet environment. When my new speakers arrived I thought they were defective and exchanged them for another pair. But alas, the defect seems to be in design rather than manufacture since the replacement pair buzzes as well. If I were in an environment with some ambient noise, like an office, I might not be bothered. But in my quiet home study the buzz is quite irritating.
BoxWave HP iPAQ 111 Classic Handheld Desktop Cradle (With Spare Battery Charger)
I needed to exchange the product, seller was very cooperative and understanding. This was exactly what I was looking for, and couldn't find it on the web, in a "trustworthy" store. Thanks for acommodating us.Save 43% Off
Midland TH2 Tactical Series Action Boom Mic with PTT Switch
- Large Tactical PTT Button
- Sensitive Boom Mic
- MIL-SPEC Grade Cord, PTT and Headset Connector
- Tactical Action Boom Microphone
- Features Tactical Push To Talk
- New
5 stars all the way; would buy again without hesitation.
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eForCity Black Silicone Skin Case + Screen Protector + Car / Home Travel Charger + USB Data Hotsync
I bought a similar pack of items from this seller and it was such a great deal! The cases are good quality and fit the phone well, the screen protector works fine, and all the electronic items were perfect. It arrived quickly too! Definitely recommend this seller & I'll never pay retail from the cell phone company again :) Yay!
Acer Aspire V3-571-6643 15.6-Inch Laptop (Midnight Black)
So far I am very happy with this purchase. I was looking for a core I5 processor and nice big screen for under $500, and this unit does nicely. The keyboard has a good feel to me the keys are spaced out which feels a little odd at first, but makes "fat-fingering" almost impossible. The sound is good, though not loud but I can use external speakers if I need loud. It looks like it will be easy to upgrade the RAM I ordered a second 4GB stick from crucial for $24, but it has not arrived yet, so I can't verify how easy it is. Not a hard-core gaming machine, but you knew that. The built-in Intel graphics bring the "Windows Experience Index" down to 4.7. The CPU rates a solid 7 (7.9 is the maximum, for some reason). It is excellent for work, casual gaming and watching movies. It has HDMI out and a USB 3.0 port and a 500GB hard drive. Good battery life. Boots up very quickly. Webcam seems adequate. There was a lot of junk installed on the system, but I was able to easily uninstall what I did not want.For the price, I highly recommend this notebook PC. I was able to get it for under $500 from Amazon itself the price seems to vary a lot depending on who you buy it from.
Update very easy to update the RAM. One large panel on the bottom with two screws provides access to HD, RAM and wireless card. The system recognized the additional RAM immediately on restart, without my having to go into BIOS.
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I loved this product. Good value for money at this rate. Has all the latest features. The only thing why I am giving the rating 3 star is, because I received this laptop with a defect in screen. When I switched on the laptop for first time, the half screen was bright white and half was visible. There were vertical lines on the white portion of the screen. But then got the Acer support and they fixed it in time and sent me back.Read Best Reviews of Acer Aspire V3-571-6643 15.6-Inch Laptop (Midnight Black) Here
This laptop is a beast and seems to be made for Windows 8 which I immediately installed. Dual core processor core i5 just kills when it comes to performance. You could spend a hundred dollars more and not do better than this laptop. Awesome! Only problem is that I still can't seem to get the Bluetooth to work, but that's probably because I downloaded the wrong driver for it and am working on that now. I don't really need the Bluetooth though.Want Acer Aspire V3-571-6643 15.6-Inch Laptop (Midnight Black) Discount?
Bought the product this past week. First off, to the person who had one that runs hot, this one did not at all.Pros: Very very fast; runs most 32 bit applications but not 32 bit drivers; nice screen; weight is acceptable; not to much bloatware; battery life good
Cons; Del key in a funny location near F12 key. I'd much rather have it on the top right. Volume is a bit on the low side, but crystal clear with nice tone for music. Glossy outside gets a bunch of fingerprints fast. Restoring a backup to C drive killed the battery pretty quickly, around an hour or so. In shadowy area, touchpad is invisible to surface.
That's it. The cons are mostly picky. It's a really good computer for the price. My wife will use it as a desktop mostly anyway with a keyboard and mouse externally. And a monitor.
Good job Acer. This is my first experience with an Acer and for the price I think they do a really good job.
Retractable Car Charger for LG Rumor2 LX265, Xenon GR500, Versa VX9600, Wine UX280, Secret CF750, V
- Recharge on the go by harnessing power from your car with a cigarette lighter adapter
- Features an intelligent IC chip that prevents overcharging and overheating
- With its tangle-free wire it is very easy to put away
- The wire is 100% retractable
All-in-all, it does what it was intended to do, and the cable retraction is a nice touch.
Nook Color State of the Art Dual-Tip Aluminum Stylus Pen
- 3 Functions in 1 Pen: Laser Pointer, Flash Light, & Stylus!!!
- Strong and durable aluminum body!!!
- Lightweight and fits easily in pocket, purse or backpack!!!
- Soft rubber tip guaranteed not to scratch or damage your screen!!!
- White finish gives this pen an eye catching professional look!!!
Krusell Multidapt - Car Holder for Swivel Clip (58117)
I recently bought my first GPS unit, the Tom Tom One, and quickly found out that mounting it on the windshield is illegal in the state of California. So, out goes the suction cup holder, which was flimsy and mounted it too far from my reach anyway.I tried using velcro, which worked okay, but the GPS unit was wobbly and hard to use. I'd have to take it off, input the location then stick it back on.
The Krusell Carholdic Kit, in addition to the Krusell Phoneholdic Kit, was the perfect solution to mounting the Tom Tom on my dashboard. I can't stress enough how well it works.
The Krusell Carholdic Kit is the mount that goes on the dashboard. It's the female half, whereas the Krusell Phoneholdic Kit is the male half. You stick the Cardholdic mount on your dashboard, which looks like it should be there and has a sturdy feel. You just peel the backing off and stick it on.
The Phoneholdic Kit contains the mount that sticks to the back of the GPS unit. Peel and stick then use either the round Swivel knob or the MiniClip by snapping it in place (both come with the Phoneholdic Kit). I used the MiniClip because it provides the best hold.
You're done!
You've made your Tom Tom into a portable unit that can clip on your belt or onto the Carholdic mount on your dashboard. It looks and works great!
Gypsy Silicone Sleeve Set, Pink with White Crown
I've had this for almost two years now and I love it. I can't believe how clean it's kept my Gypsy.
PROS:
* The color is a cheerful bright pink with a white crown design.
* The silicone is very flexible and was no trouble to slip onto the gypsy
* The pink stylus is cute, and fits into securely into the stylus holder without wiggling around.
CONS:
* The white crown design looks like it is going to wear off quite easily
* The silicone sleeve is so thin it is not capable of protecting the gypsy against any drops, spills, or bumps.
* The enclosed screen protector is too large for the gypsy screen, and it is difficult to get it to onto the screen without air bubbles.
All in all, while I wish the sleeve was more substantial (in order to provide more protection) I am pleased with the color and look of the sleeve, as well as the ease of taking it off and on, and the pink stylus.
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I love my gypsy. with my silicone cases makes it so much better. It came with a pink stylus too. When ever I am out people are actually what is it that I'm playing with my gypsy and everyone love the pink.Read Best Reviews of Gypsy Silicone Sleeve Set, Pink with White Crown Here
I received my Gypsy sleeve today and it's pretty much what I expected. It has a soft touch to it and it fits perfectly... Very simple and super cute. The only thing I don't like is the screen protector. It does NOT cover the entire screen and it's hard to get rid of the bubbles.Want Gypsy Silicone Sleeve Set, Pink with White Crown Discount?
I love this little cover. It fits my gypsy perfectly, protects it and looks pretty! I thought the price was good and I received it quickly.Save 72% Off
Metro Vacuum MDV-1BA DataVac Pro 4.5-AMP Computer Vac/Blower
I was trying to decide between the Metro Vac ED-500 duster or this all-in-one duster / vacuum. I really wanted something that did both so I decided to give the DataVac Pro a try. I saw some great reviews, and some not-so-great reviews so I was a little worried. I have to say, I love this product! The vacuum part is what you would expect, and does as good of a job as a regular upright vacuum with a hose. The vacuum comes with a hose, regular sized brush, crevice tool, pinpoint cleaner, and a micro cleaning kit consisting of a micro bursh, crevice tool, and flexible (somewhat) straw attachment. Everything seems to be of good quality and is made in the U.S.A. the canister is metal and the vacuum comes with 5 extra bags + the one already installed. There is no set-up out of the box, just plug it in and go.This product seems to be geared towards people in the computer or electronics repair field. As a computer technician here are my thoughts: First , the kind of dust you find in a computer cannot be easily vacuumed up by any vacuum cleaner (except for dust bunnies). the dust is so fine and almost seems electro-statically charged to the surfaces. That said, I like to vacuum up as much as I can before I blow the rest out. the blower works by attaching the hose to the opposite end of the vacuum. I would say the blower is probably more powerful than a can of air but maybe not as powerful as the ED-500 although I don't know for sure because I've never tried the ED-500. What I can say is that the blower is *MORE* than powerful enough to get the job done. I saw some impressive videos with the ED-500 blowing literally "clouds" of dust from computers. This blower does the same. I blew out a computer I thought was pretty clean and I got the same "clouds" of dust out of it (don't do this indoors)
One thing I wanted to mention: I see a lot of videos where people blow out power supplies CPU fans, etc. In these videos you can always hear the fan spinning as air is blown at it. Yes, it sounds really cool, but this is very bad for the fan. What happens is the air is strong enough to over-rev the bearings in the fan and it will lead to premature failure of the fan or even immediate failure (i.e. your fan will start making strange noises right after you are done cleaning it) The proper way to clean a cpu fan, power supply fan, or anything else with a fan is to stick a plastic zip-tie, straw, or any other straight piece of plastic in the blades to block them from spinning while you blow the fan clean. Just don't forget to remove the zip-tie when you are done and don't use any metal objects, especially in the power supply. Even with the computer unplugged there are still dangerous voltages in power supplies.
As for the heat, I've had it on for extended periods of time, 5-7 minutes a stretch and while it does get warm, as long as you aren't blocking the exhaust port, you won't get any trouble. Every vacuum/blower I've ever used got as warm as this one does, so I don't see what people are complaining about. It's all online sensationalism as far as I can tell. Sorry guys.
The extra included filters are a nice touch, but I usually just empty mine out until I need to switch to another one no loss of sucking power or excess heat. It is a little unweildy though, I wish the hose was a little longer or the tube was shaped differently, but it sits in my lap just fine all the same.
Buy Metro Vacuum MDV-1BA DataVac Pro 4.5-AMP Computer Vac/Blower Now
I bought this vacuum to keep the dust out of my two computers.The vacuum gets hot quickly when using the smaller tip, but it doesn't vacuum that well without the smaller tip. Even with the smaller tip I found that it worked better as a blower than as a vacuum.
However, after using it to maintain only two computers for approximately five cleanings it is beginning to lose its power, and to heat up more quickly.
I would have chosen a different product had I known this previous to purchase, so I'm rating this to help others.
Read Best Reviews of Metro Vacuum MDV-1BA DataVac Pro 4.5-AMP Computer Vac/Blower Here
I got this vacuum cleaner for small and quick cleanups on my electric test bench, where I did not want to haul in a larger vacuum cleaner.I was surprised to see that the vacuum is 'Made in the USA'; seems like not many things are anymore. On the other hand, it might have been a nicer unit in some ways if it came from China.
The body of the vacuum is actually metal with a black painted finish. The handle, hoses and accessories are plastic. But the whole thing seems rather crudely manufactured, with some hardware going in at odd angles and the paint job spotty and with runs.
The vacuum works well and produces a goodly amount of suction, quite respectable for its size (about 16" long not counting the hose, and about 4" diameter). I would guess that its vacuum is about the same as smaller shop vacs. It is not overly noisy, certainly a lot quieter than most full sized vacuums. It would not be too disruptive in an office environment, for example.
The vacuum comes with a short hose and the usual crevas tool and dusting brush, plus an adapter for much smaller fittings for work in small spaces and on equipment such as copiers, printers, computers, and such. I also got a micro vacuum attachment kit from Amazon (which is listed as a recommended accessory, but the kit is by a different manufacturer), in order to get a hose extension and even smaller fittings and brushes. Note that this vacuum's normal hose and basic fittings are sized to be compatible with most household type vacuum cleaners (and the smaller shop vacs), so their fittings would probably be interchangable.
Some others have complained about the vacuum getting hot. I ran it for a few minutes without a load and it got just a bit warm to the touch. With the hose partly blocked, it got rather warmer to the touch, but never hot. I suppose if you ran it under load for a long time it might even get low-level hot, but not uncomfortably or dangerously hot. But then, so do my shop vacs and Hoovers.
The vacuum comes with a generously long power cord.
The bags are proprietary for this vacuum, but they seem inexpensive and easy enough to obtain online. One end cap unscrews to access the bag compartment.
Both ends of the vacuum unit have the same kind of hose fitting, so it can be used as a vacuum and as a blower, with or without a hose.
Want Metro Vacuum MDV-1BA DataVac Pro 4.5-AMP Computer Vac/Blower Discount?
I bought this vacuum to remove particles from by hearing aides and to clean up my computer and keyboard. It does an excellent job on both jobs. It is noisy and it does run hot, but for the short time that I use it this hasn't been a problem. It has excellent suction and blowing. It makes so much more sense then compressed air cans.Save 33% Off
PDair B41 Black Leather Case for Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc X12
This case fits very well to my Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc S phone. It has protected my phone from a few falls onto carpeted and linoleum surfaces. Drops were from around 3-4ft in height.The falls I mentioned kind of occurred because of the case clip. The case is very well secured on there when locked into the clip. But it's fairly awkward to hit the release button and slide the case off to get the phone. I probably should use both hands but then I have to take the clip off from my pocket and I don't want to. :) In any case, no pun intended, it could be improved or even make the clip slimmer and non-removable would be better. I don't know might just be me, the other reason I took a star off was when I purchased the item I was under the impression it was in stock at Amazon, not in stock in HongKong. I knew it was going to take approx. 30 days to get here then the company sent an e-mail that said closer to 2 months. Luckily it must have caught a speedboat from China and made it here in only 10 days. Just felt a little deceived there. So half off a star for the clip and half off for the shipping.
Overall a very nice case and I would recommend it to other people. Plus I haven't seen anybody else with this side hinged design, most out there are sleeves or silicone covers or hinged at the top like a police persons' ticket book. Anyway does the job and doesn't block any of the ports or buttons on the phone.
Buy PDair B41 Black Leather Case for Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc X12 Now
This cover looks exactly the it is advertised. It is crafted with quality leather, feels safe, has a perfect fit, protects the cellphone entirely, has holes for everything that needs them. It is, overall a great cover.Then again, it is not entirely without flaws. The magnet that closes the cover isn't very intuitive to close I find myself very often trying to close it and needing more than one or to attempts. Also, despite the perfect fit the handles that holds it in space are bigger than they should and I sometimes try to press that corner of the screen but instead I press those handles.
Although it is not a perfect cover, I now feel confident that I won't ruin my cellphone by accidentally letting him fall.
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Read Best Reviews of PDair B41 Black Leather Case for Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc X12 Here
rooCASE Netbook / iPad Carrying Bag for Samsung NC110-A02 10.1-Inch Netbook Gloss Blue - Deluxe Ser
Just opened (before wrapping) to check this out, it is very cool, has lots of pockets for storage a nice padded area for the iPad, nice size, this is going to replace an ugly heavy portfolio, I think he will love it!Save 40% Off
REALOOK Leica D-LUX 5 Screen Protector, Crystal Clear 2-PK
It's cheap and not difficult to install.You may just follow the instruction even if you are inexperienced. I tried twice and finally it works! Great item.Save 27% Off
JOINNEW@ 60W & 85W 45W AC Power Adapter DC Repair Cord " T " Connector for Apple MacBook Pro
I ordered this replacement cable because a dog decided to chew on my charger cable and destroy it, but only chewed on the side between the power brick and computer. After a small amount of research on google/youtube I found that replacing the cable wasn't very difficult since I had a soldering iron, solder, and the desire to fix something (rather than spend $80 for a new one from apple). The item I received did come from China and the seller shipped via USPS. It arrived well before the "projected" delivery window, it took 6 total days to receive the item.Now to review the actual cable. It looks and feels just like the old cable. The connector has a solid magnetic connection to the mac itself. After soldering the new cable to the old power brick, I connected it to the Macbook pro, and like before It just works. The light is green when fully charged and amber/yellow when charging, just like before.
Overall a very simple and relatively easy solution to repair a broken cable from the power brick of the original magsafe charger to the Mac itself. Looks, feels like and acts like OEM cable, I would highly recommend for repair/replacement.
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Acer Aspire V3-772G-9829 17.3-Inch Laptop (Sophisticated Black)
1st) Solid construction. Little to no keyboard flex. And snappy keyboard with the correct amount of press and spring back. Plastic to made to look like Annodized aluminum top, but there is still some screen flex if you try to flex it. But it looks very NICE. with the screen closed the laptop is very sturdy and solid feeling. Hinges have just the right amount of tension. Not a fan of the mouse pad. But I mostly use a usb mouse anyhow. And in reality the mouse pad is not that bad.2nd) Screen is very clear, sharp and colorful. The matte screen is a nice touch. The screen is not as nice as the HP's but you won't be disappointed. Viewing angles are not the best...but it is a laptop and when am I ever viewing this thing off angle?? The screen looks great. Very quick and responsive black to white and white to black times.
3rd) Boot time. This thing has a 5400 rpm 1TB HDD. After the necessary "config" boot. The next boot was 37 seconds to an open Internet Explorer. The next few boots were 24 Secs from switch on to open Internet Explorer. I am actually EXTREMELY pleased with that. I was going to dump the HDD and put in two 240gig SSD's, but now I will keep the 1TB 5400rpm drive and just put in the 240gig sandisk extreme in the other bay. Again...very impressed with the included HDD.
4th) At idle AND under heavy benchmarking loads this thing runs very cool. However at idle the fan is louder than I would like to see. But it is not distracting. Even under load the fan is not instrusive.
5th) The GT750M idles (when the Intel HD 4600 integrated graphics is in use) at 40c. When the GT750M is in use and at idle the idle temp is 45c. The CPU's idle at 38-42c.
Now for the temps under load: Running Furmark @ 1280x720 no AA, FPS were 18fps and after 10mins running the GPU temp maxed out at 79c! This thing stays extremely cool!
The CPU's running Prime95 after 10 mins highest average temp was 88c.
All temps were done with a room at 74F.
6th) There is the normal bloatware. Uninstall went smooth so if you are keeping Windows8 then you will be fine and will be able to uninstall the bloat. Me personally. Win8 will be wiped off 30mins after writing this review. I'll be putting win7 that bought with this laptop on the HDD and putting linux mint on my SDD.
7th) This thing is VERY light for a 17.3" laptop with installed googies. 7.03 lbs. The AC adapter is nicely sized with plenty of cord. The physical size of the laptop is perfect for me. The ASUS G75's and G750 have those huge cooling vents in the back which add 2 inches to the width. This doesn't need it and it still stays plenty cool.
8th) Speakers are adequate. They are plenty loud and sound decent enough. They are not going to win any awards but then again they are just fine. A little tinny. But not bad.
I haven't done a battery test yet. But are you really buying a 17.3" performance monster for the battery life?
I don't have any games installed yet for benchmarks (because about to wipe out Win8), but the 18fps in Furmark at 1280x720 is pretty good. You can google the performance of the GT750M. They are pretty much in line with the GTX660M. Once I get some games loaded I'll update.
All in all this is one GREAT laptop. Lots crammed into a perfect sized/weighted 17.3" laptop that doesn't get hot!
UPDATE: Battery UseJumped online and unplugged the cord. After 1 hr had 77% remaining. After 2 hrs had 55% remaining. If that keeps up the Battery will last OVER 4 Hours just surfing the internet, contributing to forums and writing reviews :) In fact hovering over the battery icon after 2 hours of use it says 2hrs 34 mins remaining.
I'm stunned! This is with me changing the settings in the Nvidia Control Panel to Prefer Maximum and Preferring the Dedicated Card instead of the integrated graphics.
Seems like a great machine at this price.
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Optoma EP-PK-101 Pico Pocket Projector
We purchased a few of these for work(to be used with both the iPhone and iTouch). I would probably give this projector 3 1/2 stars, but it was not an option. We have not been using this very long, but those that have used it have been very impressed (it is better than what we were expecting).Are these for everyone? I would say no. The picture quality is decent, but it does not come close to larger projectors that don't cost a lot more than this does. My guess is that a lot of people will want this because it looks cool, but I'd bet that most people will not use it much once the newness wears off.
The image is decent when viewed in a very dark room. The lighter the room, the more the image gets washed out. It does not take much light either before the image is washed out and only usable if you are fairly close to the surface you are projecting the image on. Even in dark rooms, the image is on the dark side (whites will have a bluish tint). There is a built in speaker, but it's basically worthless so plan on connecting it to some sort of external speaker.
I realize that the review seems a little negative and I don't want you to think that we are not happy with these. Like I mentioned above, we have been very happy with what these can do. The media guys will not be using these to show HD video to clients, but they will get a lot of use. We have a number of people that travel a lot for training purposes. They usually have to pack around a laptop/dvd player, projector, external speakers, and all of the wires needed to connect everything together. They are usually in smaller rooms presenting to small groups. For this purpose, the projector is going to work very well.
Here is what we have put together. Instead of packing around the equipment mentioned above, our managers now have their iPhone or iTouch, the Optoma Pico Projector, and a set of mini speakers from a company called Grandmax (Grandmax.com). The speakers are powered from the iPhone and are not much bigger than the projector (the sound is excellent for the size). They are able to show videos, pictures, and PowerPoint presentations(you need a program to convert the PowerPoint presentation to a video to do this)and not have to pack a ton of equipment to do it.
It will be exciting to see where this technology goes in the future. However, as for now, this projector does a decent job as long as you can live with the shortcomings. It's not perfect and a lot of people will not be happy with the quality, but it has the potential to be a very worthwhile tool if you have a specific need that this projector can satisfy.
We watched the boxing matches at my brother's apartment, we had the Pico on a tripod and connected to a 2.1 Logitech system. We were able to comfortably watch the fights on a 122 inch image on the wall! We actually could have gone bigger but didn't because of space restrictions. Mind you, the living room was about 90% dark, and the walls are light brown and not white. We were quite impressed!
What I've noticed though is that this thing is meant for VGA-type stuff. Yes, Gears of War 2 was playable, but it looked... like crap. This is the case when you try to play something that is meant to be played at 10801 or 1080p and view it through VGA. It's going to look bad.
I knew this before I bought the Pico. My main use for this is to watch DVD's and play Nintendo Wii off of it. So, if you are expecting high-definition off this thing, don't buy it. Only buy this if you're going to watch stuff on the go, and you understand its limitations. Yes, it is expensive, but it is the best of its kind, at least right now (until the Microvision Laser Pico come out, wow) and it doesn't feel like a 1st generation product.
Pros:
10 or 11 lumens... not that bad!
you can get a suprisingly huge image size!
I guess because of the DLP, the reds this produces are RED, like it glows red almost. You will notice this, trust me.
ultra portible, smaller than my Ipod Touch 2G and LG Voyager.
comes with 2nd battery, Ipod adapter... basically everything you need right out the box.
Cons:
EXPENSIVE (however, I got mine for $349 through Microsoft Live cashback).
You need a DARK, dark room to get the full effect
"Rainbow" effect due to the DLP, but it's not that bad really.
I have the feeling this is going to get outdated fast, since the technology is small enough to fit in cell phones.
You need to know and expect its limitations, if you can't don't waste your money.
***UPDATE: (11/27/10***
It has been quite some time since I have used this. Since the price has gone down so much, it is not even worth selling. However, there still will be many uses for this product. It is still very much fun to show movies outside in the dark. The perfect complimentary products would be the Epson Duet projection screen (fold out to 80" widescreen) and the Behringer EPA40 portable PA system. The speaker is LOUD, almost to the point of annoyance. Still, the battery lasts for 5-6 hours on a single charge (depending on how loud you crank it, less). All this on a dark night outside would give you a legit movie-theater experience.
Buy Optoma EP-PK-101 Pico Pocket Projector Now
It works exactly as describe. Actually, it will output much larger than 60" without much distortion. As long as you don't compare it to the very large tabletop projectors or much more expensive models you will not be disappointed. The brightness over-all is better than another model that I seen of equal price, but you still need a rather dark room for it to be effective, as I imagine is the case for most projectors. I'm pleased with it and would recommend it for what it's worth. It's a 4 oz device, not a 60" plasma HDTV.Other devices are always "just around the corner", but if you aren't into waiting several months in hopes of prices to start lowering and with untested durability with new devices then this is a good choice. It's already been heavily tested and no malfunctions or defects or lifespan issues mentioned as of yet. However, the speaker is weak, and they probably should have left it off like many other projectors have done. Using a separate speaker system or headphones solves that issue.
As other posters have said, it does display a better image than others which are "suppose" to be better when comparing the listed specs.
Buy a cheap adapter so you can use your laptop with it...or just plug it into your phone like I do. It will work with any phone that has TV-Out. If you can see it on your phone, then you can see it with the projector. No conversions necessary. :)
Read Best Reviews of Optoma EP-PK-101 Pico Pocket Projector Here
As a sales person who frequently does presentations to groups of 5 or smaller, I purchased this device thinking that it would be ideal for those quick PDF demo/product sheets that I often reference in my presentations and have stored on my iPhone.After receiving the device, I've since learned that all it projects is a solid blue screen unless you are in the iPod app. So it's only good for showing movies that's it.
Maybe some 3rd party apps will be written that can include this PDF projection functionality; for now, it's just a movie projector.
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If you bought this projector to work with your PC, you can still do it, with a S-video to TV out converter, connect the S-video to your computer and the TV out to the projector, you will have the image only, the audio will still go out from your speakers.Also I should mention that this is a very good projector, very decent quality for a projector of this size.
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rooCASE Super Bubble Neoprene (Orange / Black) Sleeve Case for Apple MacBook Air MC965LL/A MC966LL/
When I bought my Macbook, I wanted everything I could get that would keep it safe from me. I like the rooCASE very much. There are little cushioning bumps on the inside that act like bubble wrap but the outside is sleek and smooth as one would expect. The stretchy side pocket holds the cord just fine. I don't transport my laptop too much just yet but when I did take it on a road trip, I felt OK about the level of protection it provided. The ONLY thing I would like on this would be some sort of a handle as the neoprene is so smooth, it's a little hard to grip. That's really splitting hairs, though. Overall, I like this and would buy another.
Tascam DR07 Portable Digital Recorder
- Built-in Stereo Electret Condenser Microphone
- Records to SD or SD-HC Card Media
- 2GB SD Card Included
- USB 2.0 Jack for Transferring Files
- 3.5mm Stereo Mic Input
pros:
great price ($175 guitar center)
small
light weight
records any combination of 16/24bit 44.1k/48k sample rate
has built in mics
very easy to use
takes SD cards to expand recording time.
records either mp3 or wave files.
sound is directional, and records the best from directly in front.
Comes with a wind screen.
Takes AA batteries, easy to find and use.
cons:
Mic pre-amps are VERY noisy: when recording an interview or acoustic guitar, you can hear the hiss through it... lots of hiss on low volume recordings like that.
Lots of handling noise (more on that below),
NO Speaker! So you have to bring headphones to check your recordings.
The windscreen looks and feels cheap, its just a piece of shipping foam cut out to fit on top.
Buttons feel cheap,
memory card and USB access door feels cheap, I'm sure after a short while of use, it will break off.
Handling noise: any slight touch of the unit make a loud sound when using on-board mics, Poor quality limiter: the limiter cuts back so hard that when you just touch the unit, or get a loud pop from your voice, it cuts all the way down to zero, and then back up, so you get this very dramatic but short cut out of sound. Its very annoying. I had to turn off the limiter to use it, because every time i touched the unit to move it, it would cut out for a second. This was during an interview where I had the recording level up.
I was doing an interview and had to set the internal mic sensitivity to high and the gain to 8 or 9 (out of 10) just to get a good level on my subject sitting about 6 feet across from me. There was a lot of noise (hiss) too. Too much for someone picky, and looking for clean sound. Maybe an external mic would have been better, but you're still using the internal pre-amps which are very noisy.
I have to say that for the price, if you are looking for something to record band rehearsal, practice, or song ideas, its perfect! Maybe if you had a pair of mics you would get good results from a live rock concert (rock, not jazz or classical, because of the hiss in the background.... the rock music would drown that out)
So 5 out of 5 because it is perfect for what it is, but its not a solid feeling professional piece of gear with high quality preamps, its just a portable recorder for every day recording... professional sound guys would be disappointed. I would recommend this to my musician friends who want something to record scratch song ideas while away from a real studio, or someone looking to get into recording as a hobby, and play around with recordings.
Hope that helps people out there.
*** UPDATE ***
okay, i just found the Sony PCM-M10 Portable Digital Recorder. I would suggest that anyone on the fence about the Sony PCM-D50 should consider this one, its half the price. If its ANYTHING like the D50, it will be something to consider if you're looking for a bit more from the DR07, mainly a bit more in quality of the mics.
PCM-M10 Portable Digital Recorder
Buy Tascam DR07 Portable Digital Recorder Now
I finally have this fine little solid state recorder in my hands, and I must say it does nearly anything I could want from it.Sound quality, especially using the 44.1KHz/48KHz and WAV16bit/WAV24bit settings, is as good as you can get without having to fork over considerably more for something more professional grade, such as the Sony PCMD50 (~$500) or a far more expensive device (sorry, forgot the name) that costs $1,500USD.
As expected, the integral microphones are decent for recording up close, but I would definitely recommend using an external for recording bands, lecture halls, or other roomy areas where the sound source may be some distance from the unit.
That is also where this little gadget really shows its stuff, as it is configurable for condenser microphones that require a powered (think "phantom" power) jack, dynamic microphones that have their own power source (I have an Audio Technica stereo mike that uses a single AA battery to operate), and even a line in jack for recording from a mixing desk or other device with a line out jack.
You can even slow down or speed up the recordings after they are made, with no pitch change, although I did notice that the slowed recordings exhibited noticeable artifacting at the slower settings, but that is no real problem, as that feature is mainly a musician's tool for learning how to play a fast or complicated part, NOT for listening enjoyment.
The 2GB SD card that it comes with almost has the full capability of file size that this unit can handle, which is 2GB, or ~3hours and 24minutes when recording 44.1KHz/16-bit.
The 2GB card holds just over 3 hours, so anyone wanting to max out the recording file size limit will need a 4GB card.
In fact, that 2GB file size limit is the only possible area of concern for anyone using this, at least if you want to capture a lengthy performance in lossless WAV format.
I did not experiment with the on-the-fly MP3 recording it does, but if you set it to 128KBPS, you can expect over 10 times as much recording time, due to the compression ratio.
Of course, the batteries would likely give out before that ~30 hours of nonstop recording, so anyone wanting to do that would be advised to buy the Tascam AC adapter also sold here.
Oh, I also LOVE the ease with which Tascam made it to set the levels, where you simply hit the record button once, which turns on the microphones without starting recording, allowing you to listen on headphones to adjust those levels, then hit record again to start the recording.
So simple, even a young kid could do it.
As a suggestion, I would advise anyone wanting to use this for recording from a distance to purchase a decent condenser omnidirectional "lapel" style stereo microphone, with the little Griffon unit being a particularly nice one, especially for the money.
I can't wait to really put this through its paces.
***EDIT***
Update: It turns out that this handy little recorder neatly circumvents the above mentioned 2GB file size limit by simply automatically starting a new audio file once it reaches that 2GB limit on the first file, continuing on until the SD card is full, or if you press stop.
This means that you will be able to record approximately 53hours 20minutes onto a 32GB SD card!
Naturally, the way to handle the multiple files created on the fly by this recorder is to append all of them in order on your hard drive, naturally using an operating system whose file system has no such 2GB limit, which includes XP and Linux, among some others.
I have also been able to test this little gadget, and I am quite happy with the performance and quality of the recordings.
The interface is intuitive, and the controls are quite easy to use, even those for dividing files directly on the unit, which makes it quite handy for slicing off removing trailing garbage on recordings, which can then be deleted before downloading the saved portion of audio onto your computer.
Slick, great sound quality, small, and yes updateable.
Yes, there IS a small firmware update out there already for this that addresses some minor issues, and the update process is quite easy as well.
I definitely appreciate a manufacturer making their hardware updateable for future-proofing their products.
I feel perfectly comfortable in giving this five stars, and I would have given it six, if Amazon had that rating available.
GREAT solid state recorder!
Read Best Reviews of Tascam DR07 Portable Digital Recorder Here
The DR-07 does everything Tascam claims and more. It's easy to use and the recordings sound great. Used it the day it arrived to record an entire 5-hour band rehearsal. Setting it up was simply a matter of putting it on a music stand across the room and pressing REC. I never had to touch it again for 5 hours. The stereo 128K MP3 audio quality was fine and the resulting 5-hour file used only about 300MB of the 2GB (2,000MB) SD card that came with the DR-07. Took it home after rehearsal and quickly transferred the MP3 to my laptop where I sliced and diced the recording into individual song files with CoolEdit 2000. At last there is an easy way to remember how we played it at rehearsal and do a quick review before the gig. This thing is a must for an aging rocker.Other great musician features include:
adjust tempo without affecting pitch
adjust pitch (in half steps) without affecting tempo
fine tune pitch (cents) without affecting tempo
quickly mark a phrase (short or long) and loop playback infinitely
use line-in for quick and easy board tapes
camera style tripod mount
It lived up to Tascam's claim of 7.5 hours on two AA's. That may seem like a long time but I'm probably going to do the planet a favor and buy the AC adapter. I'd also like to find a reasonably priced carrying case to keep the display from getting scratched up in my gig bag.
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I shoot documentaries in HDV widescreen and with surround sound. For surround, I use the tape to record the front two audio channels from a Sony stereo microphone. For the rear two channels, for the past few years I've used a Sharp Minidisc recorder mounted on the rear of the camera, fed from an identical Sony stereo microphone facing rearward. The rig has worked great.But the Sharp Minidisc recorders, reliable as they have been, are mechanical, with spinning disks and moving heads. It was time to move up to solid-state.
I looked at a variety of compact flash-memory recorders. Prices ranged from $175 to $500. I decided to get my feet wet with a unit at the lower end of the range, and narrowed my search down to the Zoom H2 and the Tascam DR-07.
The Zoom unit looked and felt delicate, though reviews on this site and elsewhere were positive. Still, when I got my hands on the Tascam it was "Game Over" for me. The unit looks classy and well-built, the menus are expansive, the audio quality is first-rate, and even the external mic preamps are just as quiet as the ones in the Sharp Minidisc units (and the noise level when driven by an Audio-Technica AT-822 for serious choral recording is plenty low enough to be masked by hall ambiance).
Two AA cells run the thing for many hours, and Enerloop rechargeables will no doubt increase that by 50%. No proprietary flat rechargeables for me, thanks. Pushbuttons are first-rate, and are not the Zoom's membrane type.
Connect the thing to your PC with a standard USB cable, and it shows up as just another hard drive. Drag and drop your files to or from the unit. And they transfer fast--a one hour wav (~700MB) took about 2 minutes. You can also just take out the SD chip and transfer with a conventional reader, if you want. Note to Apple and others: this is how things should be done--generic cabling, generic file formats, maximum flexibility.
Chip can be any size, including 32GB. Wow; 50 hours of continuous 44.1 wav recording. 500+ hours of mp3 recording.
All in all I'm a very satisfied buyer. Imagine, for under $200 you can buy a recording device with specs that would have been considered state-of-the-art 20 years ago.
UPDATE 8 Jun 09:
CAUTION CAUTION CAUTION CAUTION
The Tascam shares a fault with the Zoom H2 (and perhaps all other solid-state inexpensive recorders)--when you are recording from an external source, the incoming signal apparently goes through a stage or two before the level is adjusted by the level control dial on the side of the unit. In other words, if you bring in a hot signal and expect to control it by just turning down the recording level dial, the signal will nonetheless overload the first stage(s) it passed through and will clip.
I spent some time trying different setting and arrived at this empirical observation: if using the mic in port, the sensitivity (high-med-low) setting MUST be set so that the level adjust on the side is at least "5" (the dial is calibrated from 0 to 10). Any less and you're guaranteed a signal that will be clipped. At a "5" or greater the full range of the scale on the display can be filled before clipping. At a "4" setting, the signal will clip if greater than about -12db.
I still love the device, but this is in my view a design error. A signal that doesn't hit the end of the display scale shouldn't be clipping, regardless of the setting of the recording level dial. As mentioned, this is apparently a common issue across different products, but still should be fixed.
I don't know if this issue affects the line-in port. I assume it does, but have not been able to find a line-level signal strong enough to require a "4" setting.
The unit has a handy "lock" knob , that prevents unintentionally pushed buttons... There is no built-in speaker. This is maybe a drawback for reporters that use it as a microphone recording device.
As a pure mp3 player , for which I initially bought this unit, it is an incredible performer... and you can change the SD-cards, so I have an unlimited number of possible tracks in my reach.
The overall audio quality of this small unit is simply stunning !
Price/performance ratio is very high. Thank you Tascam.
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