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Johnathon C.

Johnathon C.

Joined on 03/04/11

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Product Reviews
product reviews
  • 8
Most Favorable Review

Flash Drives

Verbatim Clip-it 12GB (4GB x 3) USB 2.0 Flash Drive (Orange, Blue, Green) Model 97563
Verbatim Clip-it 12GB (4GB x 3) USB 2.0 Flash Drive (Orange, Blue, Green) Model 97563

Pros: - They're 4 GB flash drives. - There are 3 of them. - They're brightly coloured. - They're TINY! - They can firmly grip a piece of paper like a paperclip and/or a shirt pocket, so they're easy to keep in one place. - They have decent read speeds.

Cons: - They don't glow in the dark. - Not the fastest write speeds in the world. - A little loose when plugged into the USB slot. - Small means easy to misplace - this is meted with the notion that they're easier to spot due to their vibrant colours

Overall Review: Since these guys are going for 10 bucks a piece, buying them in quantity isn't going to save you any big money, so the only reason to buy this is to simply stock up on flash drives for the siblings who can never seem to find their flash drives when they need them. This drive, as previously mentioned writes with a tolerable speed, but it's worth noting that I've plugged it into a USB 1.1 hub which is connected to my LG Blu-Ray player which easily plays HD video content off of the drive without any delay or lag. So without talking specific numbers here, this drive definitely does alright concerning read speeds. Check the reviews for the single 4 GB Clip-It Verbatim Flash Drives for additional insight into this product.

iffy

Rosewill 4-Port USB 3.0 Hub with Anti-Dust Rubber Caps and LED indicator on each Port, 480Mbps Data Transfer Speed for Windows & macOS - RHB-210
Rosewill 4-Port USB 3.0 Hub with Anti-Dust Rubber Caps and LED indicator on each Port, 480Mbps Data Transfer Speed for Windows & macOS - RHB-210

Pros: well, two slots work (1 and 1). i tested the power supply, it's giving out 5.6 V, which i guess is safe enough...

Cons: slots 3 and 4 refuse to work unless i plug in the power supply after hooking up the hub to the machine i'm using it with. a rather weird quirk. powering off the machine means i'd have to disconnect the power supply again before all slots work. a rather weird quirk indeed.

Overall Review: seems like some people have success with this unit, meanwhile some have failure, to varying degrees. i considered returning it, but i figured the return postage's not worth the effort, coupled with the fact that i don't forsee myself needing more than 2 slots to work with given my current set up, so i'll live with it i guess. i don't think i'll be buying any additional rosewill products in the future however.

Savoury Seduction

Test 033
Test 033

Pros: - Flexible application - suitable for serving at LAN parties as well as bar mitzvahs. - A dream to compile - cooks of all caliber can successfully prepare these for fast installation, and they'll sure flush out of your system immediately upon request.

Cons: - The price - at $41.11 a crack, make sure whoever yoked you into purchasing them are worth your while. - The packaging was poorly implemented - two out of the seven Newegg Eggs that I ordered were exposed upon delivery, as their casing had come apart during transport. - The whites of your eyes may take on a subtle bluish hue, as a minor side-effect, if you don't use a valid CD-Key upon installation. - Results may vary - I found that system performance was augmented substantiallly if executed prior to 11:30 am on any given day; at any point after that however, bugs sometimes showed up in PicnicBasket 2.0, and even my dear friend Norton had trouble quarantining and/or eradicating them. - Legacy hardware may need to be upgraded to Non-Stick if you you're running StoveTop. - Experience with Flipper (Slotted 5 was recently released) is encouraged but not mandatory.

Overall Review: - Attempting to install Newegg Eggs on FemaleSystems (all releases prior to 25.9) resulted in good executions and satisfactory feedback. - For a 3gg release, you think by now they'd have ironed out all the kinks, but I suspect their refusal to upgrade to the more eco-friendly OliveOil 1.4 has something to do with the delayed progress. All the same, Newegg Eggs are in no way unusable, and I definitely have to recommend them, even in it's current half-cooked stage. - If you encounter any issues with your initial install, such as improper hardware recognition, open your terminal and try "sudo apt-get install cookbook". Note: this only works if you've previously installed "StoveTop". - The two cracked shells resulted in less than average installs, however I haven't lost faith in Newegg, and will definitely be ordering more in the near future. - The rewards far outnumber the price and the noted cons, so click that "Auto Notify" button and get them as soon as newegg.com restock

Does The Job

StarTech.com USB2HAB2RA3 3 ft / 91cm A Right Angle to B Right Angle USB Cable - 0.91m Right Angle USB 2.0 - 1x USB A 1x USB B - Black
StarTech.com USB2HAB2RA3 3 ft / 91cm A Right Angle to B Right Angle USB Cable - 0.91m Right Angle USB 2.0 - 1x USB A 1x USB B - Black

Pros: - It's a right angled cable. - Serves for a neat install if looks are important in your application.

Cons: - 3 feet turn out to be a lot less than anticipated, but you work with what you get.

Overall Review: I'm using it to attach a USB hub to the front of my LG Blu-Ray Player that accepts media from USB flash drives. Just make sure that you check out the screen-shot very closely in the item description, so that you're certain before ordering that the plug angles at the angle that you intend it to, otherwise it may interfere with any cords beside it.

USB Card Reader - Beauty & Speed

Vantec Portable Hi-Speed USB 2.0 58-In-1 External Card Reader/Writer - Model UGT-CR920-BK
Vantec Portable Hi-Speed USB 2.0 58-In-1 External Card Reader/Writer - Model UGT-CR920-BK

Pros: - This device is sleek, thin, and shiny. - It looks a whole lot more expensive than it really is. - The USB plug is angled so it allows for a more discrete addition to your desk. - The Vantec logo glows bright white to tell you it's alive. - Each device has a dedicated LED light to indicate whether a card is inserted, and it also blinks (constant blink rate is unaffected by speed of data transfer) to indicate activity. - You can have more than one card inserted simultaneously. - Has a good weight and feels sturdy. - Acceptable Read and Write Speeds: 800 MB file transferred from computer to old Lexar 1GB Memory Stick Pro Duo in 130 seconds (6.15 MB/s) Same file transferred back to computer in 30 seconds (26.67 MB/s) 9.5 GB (a crapload of picture files) transferred from Patriot 16 GB SDHC to computer in 542 seconds (17.53 MB/s) 800 MB file from computer to same SDHC in 53 seconds (15.09 MB/s) Same file, same card, back to computer in 45 seconds (17.78 MB/s)

Cons: - The device is a fingerprint magnet. - It's so small you need to physically pick the unit up to insert a card. - To insert a card into the SD slot, it must be inserted upside down; this isn't so much a con but rather an odd quirk.

Overall Review: This device does the job and looks good while doing it. It does not get warm when transferring data and it's easy to use. Upon plugging it in to a USB slot, Windows detects it and 4 new removable disk drives show up in "My Computer". It's a seemingly idiot-proof item that can be used by people of all ages and experiences. I've only used the MS and SD slots, so I can't speak of the usability of the additional slots. A few other reviewers stated the unit didn't feel all that sturdy. My question to them is: exactly how much abuse does one typically put a device like this through? A sensitive card coming out of one's camera should be treated with a certain level of respect, and thus this device's rigidity should more than suffice.

Looks Good, Works Good

Koutech IO-EESU220 2.5" Black SATA USB 2.0 & eSATA External Enclosure
Koutech IO-EESU220 2.5" Black SATA USB 2.0 & eSATA External Enclosure

Pros: - Enclosure has a tight and secure feeling seal when closed properly. - Looks like a much higher end product. - It just feels right in your hand, when your hard drive is installed. - A Y-USB cable is included so ample power is met. - If your USB slot(s) aren't providing sufficient power, the device will use what little power it is getting to beep at you, thus indicating that yes it acknowledges a potential active connection (ex: your laptop's USB slot), however it cannot fully turn on because there isn't adequate power. - There's a little light that lights up to indicate power, and blinks to indicate activity. It's not bright so it's never a distraction. - A small piece of adhesive padding is included, along with a few little screws. I had no need for the screws, as nothing lined up in the enclosure that could possibly merit the use of them, however i stuck the adhesive padding on the inside of the sliding cover towards the center, in hopes that it would reduce any drive moveme

Cons: - There's no external power supply (this isn't officially a con, since there's no indication of there being one included in the description or images). - The cover's a little difficult to get off at first, but patience was the way. - There's a touch of play in the enclosure, so there's this sickening feeling that without additional padding that the drive's inclined to move and even possibly become disconnected from the SATA connector inside; I remedied this with a piece of scour-pad sponge. - There are no paper instructions in the box, but if you pop the included CD-ROM into your computer, lo and behold, instructions are to be found! - The power/activity light is towards the end where the connections are, so if you're so inclined to tuck the drive in somewhere so as to hide the cable work, you're inadvertently hiding the indicator light as well. - The enclosure doesn't entirely feel cheap, but the low price makes you question how much use you'll be able to milk out of this device.

Overall Review: I am using this drive mainly as a media storage device, which plugs into a brand new LG Blu-Ray player with USB playback capabilities. I'm running a Seagate 250GB 2.5" drive I pulled from a 2-year old SONY VAIO. The drive gets a little warm when writing files, and you can feel some of the heat that's transferred to the case, but when it's being read by the Blu-Ray Player, it remains cool. Using both USB plugs connected to my laptop, I copied just over 100 GB of data (predominantly large files, ranging from 500MB to 3 GB each) to the drive today, and the drive seemed to average about 27 to 29 MB/s, which I'd say is decent for any USB device. I did notice a 15 MB/s transfer rate with smaller files (2 to 10 MB), however this was also taking into account that I only had one of the two USB plugs plugged into my laptop at the time, so I don't know if a reduced power source could have been a factor. Looks nice. Does the job decently. Longevity...?