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Michael D.

Michael D.

Joined on 06/14/04

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Product Reviews
product reviews
  • 21
Most Favorable Review

Wicked fast

Seagate 500GB eSATA 3.5" External Hard Drive ST3500601XS-RK
Seagate 500GB eSATA 3.5" External Hard Drive ST3500601XS-RK

Pros: We're using this as our backup drive. It is the first external drive that I've seen that is as fast as my internal drives (which are SATA as well). Runs quiet and cool.

Cons: None.

Overall Review: Nice touch is that Seagate includes a Promise eSata PCI card -- my server is a few years old, and doesn't have an eSata port, so this was appreciated.

12/10/2006

Does the job

StarTech.com 2.5 Inch SATA Hard Drive to 3.5 Inch Drive Bay Mounting Kit (BRACKET25SAT)
StarTech.com 2.5 Inch SATA Hard Drive to 3.5 Inch Drive Bay Mounting Kit (BRACKET25SAT)

Pros: Does what it needs to do. Allows you to mount a 2.5 drive, like an SSD, into a 3.5 space.

Cons: none.

Overall Review: The included cable is a nice touch. There are some other reviews that say the screws are non-standard and that the holes are not in the right position. I didn't seem to have this problem. I didn't use the included screws, and the holes lined up for me just fine.

10/21/2009

Wow -- FAST!

Crucial 2.5" 64GB SATA II MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) CT64M225
Crucial 2.5" 64GB SATA II MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) CT64M225

Pros: Fast Fast Fast! I replaced my boot drive, which was a WD 7200 RPM SATA2 drive, with this one. Windows XP used to take about 10-15 minutes to boot once the desktop appeared (I have a lot of background apps and services running that have to be loaded). Now, maybe 2 minutes. I'm a happy camper. Also runs quiet.

Cons: The obvious ones: cost and capacity. The latter is not that big of a deal to me. My c drive is just to store programs. All data is stored on a RAID1 eSata box. Even with all my apps on the drive, I still have 30 gig free.

Overall Review: Installation was pretty easy. I mirrored my existing drive to this drive using a program called Paragon Drive Backup. It didn't assign a drive letter to the new drive, which was good. I shut down, disconnected power from the old drive, booted up, told the BIOS that the boot drive was this drive, and everything just worked!!!

10/21/2009

Great and FAST printer

HP LaserJet P4014N CB507A Personal Up to 45 ppm Monochrome Ethernet (RJ-45) / USB Laser Printer
HP LaserJet P4014N CB507A Personal Up to 45 ppm Monochrome Ethernet (RJ-45) / USB Laser Printer

Pros: This is a really good black-and-white laser printer, with a ton of options/accessories that you can buy -- duplexers, large-capacity sheet feeders, eveloper feeders, stackers, staplers, etc. I currently have it upgraded to maximum memory (hint: use third party memory -- HP memory is very pricey), a duplexer, and a stapler. I'd like to add the 1,500 sheet feeder, and the printer stand (although the cost of the printer is pretty low, unfortunately the cost of accessories like these are relatively high). I use this printer primarily to print legal documents that are automatically duplexed and stapled. Works great for this purpose. The printer starts up fast, and completes jobs fast.

Cons: Only three minor ones. First, it's a little noisy -- noisier than our Color LaserJet 3800dtn, although perhaps it's more than I wasn't used to the noise at first (it seems quieter now than when I first got it -- I sit about eight feet away from the printer). Second, I'm a little bummed that the p4014 series cannot accept the higher-capacity "X" toner cartridges (which the p4015 can) -- which reduce per-page cost even more -- and only accepts the lower-capacity"A" cartridges. Third, I wish it could staple more than 15 sheets at one time.

Overall Review: It's amazing how much printer speeds have increased over the years. 15 years ago, I used a 4 or 5 ppm printer! Other thoughts about this printer. First, the print quality is a tad lower than our Color LaserJet 3800dtn. However, second, the price per page on black-and-white pages is something like 40% less on this printer than with the 3800dtn -- with our usage, I actually expect this printer to pay for itself in three or so years. Third, there was one reviewer that was talking about jams. I haven't experienced any. I use really cheap copy paper, although it is 100% post-consumer waste recycled (the greenie in me). Overall, this is the lowest-cost high-speed black-and-white printer that I could find that permits one to upgrade it in so many ways . . . . ! Finally, it is GREAT FUN watching the stapler in action -- after each page is ejected, it pushes all the printed pages together to align them, and at the very end, staples them and drops the finished job onto the output tray.

Good camera!

Panasonic BB-HCM331A 320,000 pixel MAX Resolution RJ45 Outdoor Network Camera with 2-Way Audio
Panasonic BB-HCM331A 320,000 pixel MAX Resolution RJ45 Outdoor Network Camera with 2-Way Audio

Pros: Picture quality in the day is very good, and at night it's not so bad, even with minimal amounts of light. Easily connects to the Internet. Can send snapshots via email or FTP. Has a neat "motion detector" feature as well. You can view up to four camera pictures on the web page at a given time. Very good weatherproofing -- has survived 2 inch/hour rainstorms, as well as 115 degree heat.

Cons: Zoom is a digital zoom, so it's not that useful. The built-in microphone does cancel noise very well. It seems to take a while to call up the camera web page from a browser (even over the LAN).

Overall Review: Overall, a very nice camera. We have four of these around our house, for security when we travel. I have the frontyard camera upload an ftp image to our public web page every minute. We had a problem with kids in the neighborhood ringing the doorbell and immediately running away, so I set up the front door cam so that it emails me five photos when it detects motion -- very handy! I think that this is the best camera of its kind.

Good basic speakers

Genius SP-i200U 2 Watts Black USB Portable Digital Speaker
Genius SP-i200U 2 Watts Black USB Portable Digital Speaker

Pros: I set up a new system for my parents, and the monitor didn't have speakers. They just needed good, basic sound, and these speakers fit the bill perfectly. Very clear sound.

Cons: Obviously not a lot of bass, but that's to be expected with the small size.

Overall Review: They're USB powered, which is nice, and the USB cord tucks nicely into the unit. Comes with a cute little carrying case, too.

12/10/2007