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Douglas H.

Douglas H.

Joined on 02/09/04

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Product Reviews
product reviews
  • 64
Most Favorable Review

great value PC

TOSHIBA Laptop Satellite Intel Pentium P6200 4GB Memory 320GB HDD Intel HD Graphics 15.6" Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit C655-S5193
TOSHIBA Laptop Satellite Intel Pentium P6200 4GB Memory 320GB HDD Intel HD Graphics 15.6" Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit C655-S5193

Pros: A very good laptop PC for this price range. If you are looking for laptop PC under $450, I recommend this one.

Cons: The touchpad is a bit finicky but I find ALL toughpads to be that way (especially Macintoshes). There is a bit of bloatware preinstalled but that is how these companies are able to sell the computers at such low prices. I do not list anything as a "con" that is clearly identified in the product details.

Overall Review: I bought a couple of these through a special 1-day sale for less than three hundred and ten dollars. I wish I had bought several more. I wish the regular keys on the keyboard were larger but that is the compromise to have a number key pad which I do not use but some folks really need them. I have a computer repair business so I see a lot of different PC's.

Most Critical Review
Acronis True Image 2013
Acronis True Image 2013

Pros: Easy to follow backup menus. It worked well until I installed my new disk drive and graphics card.

Cons: Any change in hardware or operating system upgrade causes the Acronis OEM license to become deactivated. The Acronis support channels are terribly frustrating in solving this problem. If I upgrade the disk drive or graphics card on my computer, it does not become a new computer. If I upgrade Windows Vista to Windows 7, it does not suddenly become a new computer. Acronis is scamming people with these tactics. They should be thankful that I actually purchased their program rather than download a hacked torrent and use it for free.

Overall Review: If not for the recent problem with the license activation, I would have bought 4 more licenses while this 70% off promo code deal was on.

Only works if car engine is running.

Rosewill RCI-200MS - 200W DC To AC Power Inverter with Power Protection and Alarming
Rosewill RCI-200MS - 200W DC To AC Power Inverter with Power Protection and Alarming

Pros: It works if the engine is running.

Cons: It will scream an alarm and shut itself off with even the lightest load such as a cell phone charger if the engine is not running. This tells me it is designed for 14+ volts rather than 12 volts. Bad design and should be pulled from the market.

Overall Review: After buying this unit and experiencing its failures, I purchased a Cobra inverter which works great.

11/28/2013

very delicate and cheap

Mediasonic HomeWorX HW110AN ATSC Series Digital Flat Antenna
Mediasonic HomeWorX HW110AN ATSC Series Digital Flat Antenna

Pros: This antenna really did pickup more channels than several others that I have tried. I got it for $7 on sale and that is about all it is worth.

Cons: The cord is very short so I had to buy a coax extension cable. The cable should be twice as long. The suction cup mount does not stick to anything very long. The antenna is so light weight and the mount such poor quality that the little cable pulls the antenna around changing its directions and reception quality. The wire connects to the antenna via a weak plastic snap-together mount. The mount will open up and the delicate foil connection inside breaks.

Overall Review: The manufacturer could have spent another $2 making this antenna and had a great product. As it is, they made something worth less than $10.

11/28/2013

Bitdefender is good but not great

Bitdefender Total Security 2014 - Value Edition - 3 PCs / 2 Years
Bitdefender Total Security 2014 - Value Edition - 3 PCs / 2 Years

Pros: The anti-virus part of this package has performed very well in av-comparatives security tests finishing in the top 20% of its competition.

Cons: I have raised several issues/questions to Bitdefender support via e-mail ticket and support forum and not received response in over a month. I need notifications by e-mail if a computer detects malware or finishes a scheduled scan. Avast can do this but Bitdefender cannot. There is no setting for sounds for notifications. Where is the software updater to keep other programs such as Adobe Flash, JAVA, etc. up to date with the latest security patches? This is a common feature with other security programs.

Overall Review: I have a computer repair & consulting business and cannot risk my customers' computers with a security program with unresponsive support. If Bitdefender had a few more common features and MUCH better support, it would be a great security program.

11/15/2013

NOT a system backup option

Seagate 500GB Backup Plus Portable Hard Drive USB 3.0 Model STBU500100 Black
Seagate 500GB Backup Plus Portable Hard Drive USB 3.0 Model STBU500100 Black

Pros: Mine has worked quite well.

Cons: It would be good to have external power source for those people using USB 2.0. See other thoughts.

Overall Review: Do not be confused - - the software with this drive will NOT backup a computer. It only backs up user data. If the hard drive or SSD fails, you must reinstall Windows or OSX and all of your programs from another source - - if you have one. All of your settings and preferences will be lost too. In addition to this product, you need to make an image of your system.