Joined on 02/18/05
Good memories
Pros: These memories work perfectly, passing all diagnostics, in my ECS 865G-M Micro ATX. I had previously tried a bargain brand, which passed when used individually, but not when all four were installed. These work great with all four slots filled.
Cons: These memories came in a sealed plastic package that was impossible to open with the bare hands, and difficult to open even with tools. You have to be careful not to hurt yourself trying to get the memory out of the package.
Mostly works well, but something is odd
Pros: Good value for a high clock rate memory, if using only one or two sticks. Nice reusable package for storing any old memory that might be removed to install this one.
Cons: In my ECS 865G-M MicroATX motherboard, I could only use three of these. If I put this memory in all four slots, the Microsoft memory diagnostic would show errors. The odd thing is it didn't matter which three sticks or which three slots I used. I could use any three sticks in any three slots, and everything was fine, but with all four installed, the diagnostic would report errors. I did manually set the memory timing in the BIOS to match the slower CAS latency of 3, but that didn't help.
Overall Review: I expect the problem to be some kind of fan-out or bus loading issue. I returned these and bought a more expensive name brand DDR333 with CAS 2.5, and was able to use the full 4GB with no issues whatsoever.
Handy, Useful
Pros: Easy to open and close, easy to access drive and ensure it is properly connected. The permanently attached wire is a big win, both because it makes it hihgly portable, and because it doesn't fall out, a problem I have with other USB3 enclosures.
Cons: The plastic tabs that hold it together look fragile. The attached wire is great for laptops, but it too short to use comfortably with an iMac. I'm going to try to velcro the unit to the back of the iMac, that might be a good work around. (With an SSD in it, it weighs very little.)
Excellent general purpose cross-platform printer
Pros: Reliable, inexpensive to operate, good image quality for the price, equally at home on Mac and Windows on the network in a mixed environment. Silent when not printing. I've done nearly 18,000 pages in three years, and have yet to replace anything except toner. The status page tells you how far away you are from needed to replace other components.
Cons: Color images are good, but you can get better image quality from more expensive laser printers. Supplies are expensive, but you don't need to get them often, so still cheap in the long run. The printer obstinately refuses to print when it thinks a cartridge is empty, even when actually still half-full, but if you reset the timing gear on the cartridge (it is on the end of the cartridge under the screw-on cover), it will be good for another run. I've typically gotten two runs of the timing gear per cartridge, and part-way through the third run, it's really empty.
Overall Review: I use it with "business gloss" paper and get nice quality advertising handouts. I found it a good idea to get the memory expansion. Before I did that, I would occasionally get "out of memory" errors. I use it mostly on the Mac. I haven't found covering the cartridge windows has made any difference in cartridge lifetime.
Feature Packed Webcam Package
Pros: Great feature set with considerable flexibility for advanced users. Use as FTP or Email client without the need to get uPNP or Port Mapping to work. Lots of settings let you configure it for most any network situation.
Cons: Built-in web server performance is slow, and this exacerbates a laborious user interface for making configuration changes. It also slows down image refresh that must redraw all the UI icons and such. Many ISPs intentionally make it difficult for individuals to run servers, and in those cases remote access to the camera is difficult to get working without some advanced networking skills, such as understanding what "port mapping" is and that you need to use it. Timing options are often limited in arbitrary ways. For example, a time-bsaed trigger can be 1s, 1m, or 1h, but not 10sec or 10min.
Overall Review: Because it can FTP to a high performance server, it is excellent for use as a traffic camera, event "live from the show floor" web camera (my application), or to capture raw frames for a time-lapse movie of, say a construction site. If you get the server to work, it is great for watching the front step from work or vacation home surveillance.