Joined on 12/23/08
I am a technology guru. I eat, sleep and breathe technology and its upcoming trends. I have been working in Information Technology for many years and it has been a lifestyle. I look forward to real live reviews and not paid reviews on large websites.
Amazing product, EZ Setup
Pros: Computers build and network info- I7-980x CPU, Asus P6x58D-Premium, 12GBs DDR3 Comcast Internet- 35MBs Down and 5MBs upload ASUS Router- ASUS RT-N66U – with 12 connected devices. The location of the PC is 83ft away from the router and has multiple walls to penetrate. From the time I had used other Network adapters in the past, I thought this was going to be a pain from the install and setup process. I had planned 45 minutes for the install from the time the package was ready to be opened to completion. When I had opened the case of the computer and set the card in, booted the computer in Windows 7, and ran the drivers and software from the box, I was done in 15 minutes. Faster in Windows 8, - 9 min. The mini cd is a great idea for the drivers and software. I like how they cut costs and didn’t need to waste a full cd and sleeve for something so small, yet powerful, for the install process. I have to admit, the software was installed in no time, and I was up and running faster than expected. The software has a great interface, yet remains simple to navigate. I have had issues with Netgear, Linksys and TrendNet having an interface that supersedes the Windows Zero Wireless configuration that is not user friendly. Using this software provided, allowed for a simple and complete experience of the User Interface without having to refer to the user manual. The Wi-Fi card has 2 antennas that are able to enhance the signal from the surrounding area to connect to a signal at a great distance away. I live in a townhome in a very populated area and have my desktop located in the garage. When I do a search for available Wi-Fi signals, I can find over 45 SSID’s were being broadcast in my area. With all the different SSIDs and other signal disruptions, i.e. Microwaves, cell phones, cordless phones, baby monitors and anything else, I had no problem connecting to the router. I was able to connect to the router and maintain a decent connection. For me a decent connection was being able to transfer at 275mbs for file transfer from one computer to the other. The lowest connection I seen for a transfer from one computer to the other on the network was 90MBs. When you are considering the situation and the environment, for the location of the Wi-Fi card, I was very impressed with the ability to maintain a consistent and steady connection. I ran this card through a serious of test to maximize the failure rate. I had software recording the signal strength and data connection rate. With the tests running I had removed one external antenna at a time. When the antenna was removed, I was able to see a slight drop of connection speed and strength. For the one antenna being on, I was able to do a speed test and only lose 10mbs on the download and 1.75mbs on the upload at Speedtest.net. Doing a ping test for packet loss and clarity of the connection to do Voice Over IP, I had received a low rating of B- with just one antenna.
Cons: I wish the software for the card had a utility to do a benchmark for the speed and connection strength that could be logged. But not really a con since most users can care less about reading a logged list of results if the device works.
Overall Review: Over all this is given a solid 5 Eggs. This peice of hardware deserves the credit when credit is due. Being so far away I was skeptical of the devices ability to perform. This device has blown away my expectations and amazed me from the simplicity of the device and the user interface software.
Mediocre & lacks quality in design and functionality.
Pros: The camera was easy to setup using the cd that was included. Setup of the camera to my home wireless network was a breeze with the WPS button- worked flawlessly on the first try. The WIFI range is amazing because the 2dbm antenna inside. The camera itself has great quality feel to it. The design and camera stand make the camera appear more functional than it is once setup. For starters, the camera, physically lacks the ability to show you at home when someone is currently viewing the camera feed from the mobile app. Yes it has am LED in the front but this is always flashing because it's connected to the wireless network. The camera feed quality is terrible on the laptop or desktop because of the resolution but wonderful on the mobile App. The app works great on 3G. The Mic on the camera always has a horrible noise being played even when there is no noise in the room- lots of static and white noise. The camera lens is easy to focus. Just simply turn the camera lens left or right to fine tune the image for the area being viewed.
Cons: Upgrading the firmware was a pain. It prompts you to go online and download the firmware. The settings should make this a single one click download within the settings page. When the firmware downloads you are not told to unzip the file and select the correct file to use in the browse section within the settings of the camera. The app mentions that you can pinch to zoom. This feature does not exist.
Overall Review: With TRENDnet being such a high caliber in electronics and networking, I expected better from them. This was a let down to me. The app says you can talk but the camera does not have a speaker included so this was a useless function. The app does not specify the different version of cameras. Not a con, since the camera does not have a microphone. The auto email feature worked great and was not easy to setup because there was no preset configuration for the SMTP of Gmail, yahoo etc. I had to go online and find this on my own. Not a big deal but would be great if the camera setting had a drop down box with the defaults for the major email services and Ports assigned to limit user error and simplify the setup.
Great drone for beginners
Pros: This drone was an addition to my collection of drones to fly. This drone is perfect for beginners and for average drone fliers. The drone is easy to control and the setup is simple. The drone is small and portable so it does fit in my cargo shorts so it is easy to carry when you are walking and want to leave the bag in the car. I have flown over 1,000 hours on the original batteries with no issues.
Overall Review: In perfect conditions, you will get 31 minutes of flight time, but realistically you will not get that with any wind and the time it has for the auto return home as the battery will be lower, but you can expect a solid 25 minutes of flight time.
Worked great for the latest X-Plane simulator
Pros: This was used as a good lower-end video card to play the latest X-Plane simulator. The graphics card was able to handle the simulation and I was even able to increase the games graphics performance and this video card was able to handle this with no issues. I used an HDMI to a TV and there were no issues or any lag in the refresh rate. The edges were not rigid and were smooth while moving.
Overall Review: Not as large as the high-end cards, so this will save some space in the case if you are limited on space and the airflow will keep the card cool under stressful use.
Quiet but moves the air as needed
Pros: This was for a case fan to be put on a Corsair liquid cool system and this was perfect. The size was exact and lined up as needed. The air flow on this fan is par for the course and what I was looking for when I purchased this fan.
Overall Review: Overall, this fan is about the same, but it does have a better noise damper compared to cheap fans. I noticed the fan was very quiet but also was moving air as needed and the temperature showed that in the BIOS
These bands work and are easy to attach
Pros: The bands are a great replacement to the ones that came with the Fitbit. I like the color options and the price point for 3. That you will not be able to beat.
Overall Review: The one band started to lose a bit of shine on this as it was worn in the sun and every day. Other than that, nothing else I can complain about.
Fast delivery and accurate description
Seller shipped fast and the item arrived on time. Reasonable prices for the item I selected as well.
Great experience, Will add to my favorite seller list
Notified me when the order shipped, provided a tracking number of the package and most of all packaged the item securely. I would recommend the seller SoCal Trade for your next purchase.