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Samuel K.

Samuel K.

Joined on 04/02/06

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Product Reviews
product reviews
  • 7
Most Favorable Review

Great for the price

MSI Wind U100-843US Black Intel Atom N270(1.60 GHz) 10.0" WSVGA 1GB Memory 160GB HDD Netbook
MSI Wind U100-843US Black Intel Atom N270(1.60 GHz) 10.0" WSVGA 1GB Memory 160GB HDD Netbook

Pros: Processor is overclockable from the BIOS. Good keyboard form factor, function keys work without needing a driver. Runs Windows 7 RC perfectly.

Cons: Poor battery life (for a netbook) 3 - 4 hours of browsing on a 6-cell. Touchpad does not have scroll zones or a means of disabling tapping.

Overall Review: If you're going to install a 2GB RAM upgrade be sure to disable the onboard RAM first in the BIOS. The chassis has a Bluetooth LED and from some research I've done it's easy to find and install the module. Windows 7 runs like a dream. Overclocking is only in effect when the laptop is running on AC.

Crystal Clear

SiliconDust HDHR4-2US HDHomeRun CONNECT 2-Tuner Streaming Media Player for Cord Cutters
SiliconDust HDHR4-2US HDHomeRun CONNECT 2-Tuner Streaming Media Player for Cord Cutters

Pros: Easy setup, good reception, low power consumption

Cons: The Android app is appalling (not to mention not included).

Overall Review: I have this in my attic where the temperatures easily get over 35 (in the American West), still going strong. The device uses the MPEG2 codec so if you're like me and using a Raspberry Pi as an XBMC host, you'll need to purchase the appropriate license from them.

Wall o' Monitors

Visiontek Radeon HD 7750 2GB GDDR5 6M (6 x Mini DP), 900614
Visiontek Radeon HD 7750 2GB GDDR5 6M (6 x Mini DP), 900614

Pros: Price, and the ability to drive 6 monitors.

Cons: The card can drive two non-DisplayPort monitors using the included passive adapters, any subsequent DVI only monitors will require an active adapter. Less a con, and more of needing to do your research.

Overall Review: I wanted a way for my primary workstation to be able to drive 6 monitors. Not the greatest setup for gaming, but if you're a developer it's amazing. I have a setup that allows me to have simultaneous editing sessions for IDEs and their associated debug windows, a Hangouts window in full-screen for video conferencing, and a 42" LCD for videos. Using Debian 8 (Jessie) and XFCE, ATI's proprietary driver is quirky, but does the job. You can either create a massive virtual workspace (this does odd things to XFCE's panels), or have a seperate X session open for each and use Xinerama to allow movement of windows between them. I typically opt for the former.

Night and Day

SAMSUNG 840 EVO  SAMSUNG 840 EVO 2.5" 120GB SATA III TLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) MZ-7TE120BW
SAMSUNG 840 EVO SAMSUNG 840 EVO 2.5" 120GB SATA III TLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) MZ-7TE120BW

Pros: Ridiculous speed, great price.

Cons: It makes me want more

Overall Review: Insanely fast boot time on Debian 8 (Jessie). 3 seconds from the GRUB to the login screen, and no measurable delay from password acceptance to the desktop (XFCE). I've been using BTRFS as my daily driver for a couple of years now and it performs admirably on an SSD. I'm probably being paranoid, but to reduce the reads and writes, I do have a seperate platter drive for swap and /tmp.

Qi Wireless Charger Transmitter Charging Pad/Mat/Plate for Nokia Lumia 920 Nexus 4/5 Patented Heat Dissipation
Qi Wireless Charger Transmitter Charging Pad/Mat/Plate for Nokia Lumia 920 Nexus 4/5 Patented Heat Dissipation

Pros: Price

Cons: Alignment is important. It charges my Nexus 4 relatively quickly, so long as it's exactly where it needs to be (in this case hanging 2cm off the charger).

Overall Review: I tried covering the LEDs with electric tape (they're very bright) and it affected the charging process negatively. The lights are quite bright but I've just gotten into the habit of laying my kindle over that end of the charger when I go to sleep at night.