Joined on 07/15/04
Dimmable LED light bulb
Pros: - 3000K color temperature which is slightly cooler than a standard incandescent bulb (about 2700K). It looks white rather than amber. - Slightly smaller than the size of a 40W incandescent bulb - Provides more light than a standard incandescent bulb and CFL bulb at 450 lumens. - Consumes less energy than an incandescent bulb and CFL bulb at 6.5W. - Works with a standard dimmer switch, but begins to flicker at the lower end of the dimming switch. - Because this light bulb lasts longer, you'll spend less time changing light bulbs and more time with friends and family. - Doesn't radiate UV or IR light (unlike incandescent and CFL bulbs) which causes less damage to artwork and other light sensitive applications. This light will not help plants grow. - Comes with a 3 year limited warranty
Cons: - Gets hot around the metal base and can only be used in open light fixtures.
Overall Review: - I think this light bulb should be used with an LED dimmer rather than a standard dimmer, so that it won't flicker when it's dimmed low. I don't have an LED dimmer; I'm just making a good guess. - Colors appear clearer and sharper under this light bulb in comparison to an incandescent light bulb--most likely due to the higher CRI. - I'm very impressed with this light bulb. It's brighter and cooler in color than a standard light bulb, and it has a slight spotlight effect. It would work well in a modern atmosphere, or a room that has artwork to showcase it. It would also work well in a kitchen or dining room where delicious food is put on display. I would not recommend these light bulbs for a bedroom.
Great PC Gaming Headset
Pros: - 7.1 Dolby Digital audio is surround sound allows you to hear opponents that are behind or beside you in the game. The sound is loud and clear with uncompressed audio. - Large headphones that enclose your ears in the speaker which helps keep external noise out. You'll look like a real pilot wearing these things. - Comfortable tension against your head. I have a narrow and long head, and perhaps that's why audio leaked from the headphones. Someone with a round, wide head will have a better experience with these headphones. - Inline volume and mic mute control with bright blue and red LED lights. The LED light flashes between blue and red when the mic is muted. It has a small plastic clip on the back to clip it to your clothes. - The cord is about 10ft long! It feels like a shoe string or a hoodie string. It has a velcro wrapped attached to it to adjust the length of the cord. - Works out of the box with Ubuntu 13.10 (Linux)! No driver required!
Cons: - Leaks sound from the headphones, so if someone is sitting next to you, he or she can hear the sound as clear as you can. - The speakers sound more like 7 instead of 7.1 because the bass is low. - Doesn't work with gaming consoles such as the Xbox 360, or any device that needs a 3.5mm stereo jack. These headphones pass both power and audio data through USB.
Dual core ARMv7 router!
Pros: *** REVIEW UPDATE*** I've had a good and bad experience with this router. The good experience is that I finally got it working with my DSL modem from AT&T after getting around the problem. I found out that this has some pretty powerful hardware in it as well. Overall, I'm very pleased with this router.
Cons: The bad experience relates to all the bad reviews on this product here on Newegg. It took me several hours to find out why it wouldn't work with my AT&T DSL modem. The problem lies in the automatic configuration of the routing table. D-Link has assigned the 192.168.7.0 network permanently as the guest WiFi network even if it's not turned on. The router automatically adds a route for this network, enabled or not, in the routing table. Unfortunately, 192.168.7.0 is used by AT&T in their DSL modems as the internet network. As you can already see, this causes big problems. The router automatically assumes that all 192.168.7.0 is going through the LAN interface rather than the WAN (internet) interface, and this is revealed by looking at the routing table. The Destination IP 0.0.0.0 (any network request) is sent to gateway 192.168.7.254 over the LAN interface when it should be the WAN interface. Anyway, D-Link doesn't allow you to change it in the Web GUI, so you're stuck with a router that doesn't work with AT&T DSL... Unless you upgrade the firmware of the router to dd-wrt. Google it for more information. It has worked well for me, and if you have this problem, I'm sure that it will work well for you too.
Linksys RE2000
Pros: - Small size, about an inch bigger in height and an inch bigger in width than the size of a credit card. It's also about an inch to an inch and a half deep. - Comes with a modular plug in case you don't want to mount it to the electrical outlet. - Easy to configure - I used the webpage to set it up. Simply connect to your WiFi router using the webpage and you're done. You can also use WiFi Protected Setup (WPS) to connect. - Setup application comes prepackaged on a CD and is available for download online. - Connection range to the router is pretty decent. I'm able to connect about 50 ft away from my router in an open hallway with obstacles in a the middle of a 3 flat apartment (both neighbors above and below have WiFi routers) in an urban city on 2.4Ghz. - Connection to the extender is good. I'm able to connect 50 ft away from the extender at -50dB.
Cons: - Can't turn off the WiFi or LAN extender individually. Some people may want to use this device as a wireless bridge only or disable the Ethernet port for a wireless extender only. - Can't change whether it re-broadcasts on 5Ghz or 2.4Ghz. - Extends WiFi only using 20Mhz rather than 40Mhz.
Overall Review: - By the nature of the product, this device will cause a speed drop when connected to it in comparison with just connecting to the WiFi router itself. This is because the extender has to receive the signal and re-broadcast it to the WiFi router which takes additional time. You can expect the speed to be cut in half when using this device. That's a general understanding with all WiFi range extenders. The speed also depends on the distance, interference, and other factors. - I'm using this device primarily as a wireless bridge. In other words, it allows me to bring wired internet to the other side of my apartment. I have some devices that don't have built-in WiFi, so I need this extender to bring internet to those devices. I've got the WiFi extender connected to my router and the extender connected to an 8-port Ethernet switch via an Ethernet cable. Then I'm able to plug in all my wired devices to the switch and they receive internet now. - The WiFi connection doesn't automatically switch to the closest access point as you move, so you need to reconnect to the closer access point. - Always avoid using WiFi Protected Setup (WPS) if you're concerned about security. - You can use metageek's inSSIDer program to measure WiFi signal levels. I used this program to measure the signal level recorded above --My Configuration-- Linksys E1000 WiFi Router
Unique Product
Pros: - Allows you to stream HD video or audio over WiFi to any device that supports a USB flash drive - It's a USB Flash stick connected to a WiFi chip configured to be an access point. - It's able to connect to a nearby WiFi network or 3G/LTE connection to enable internet. - Has a bright blue LED to indicate activity. - The bCoda Jak app works the same on both iPhone and Android mobile devices
Cons: - The video and/or audio has to be in the format that the receiving device accepts. You'll need to pull out the manual of any device that you want to use with it to determine the video and audio codecs needed. You may have to use a video or audio transcoding tool to get your files in the right format to play out. - Due to the size of the embedded WiFi chip, the range is limited to about 12 feet. - Required to use the app to configure the Jak. You can't use a web browser or any other method. - You have to create a playlist even if you only want to play one file. You can't just play the file. - Get's pretty warm. I wouldn't want to use this hot weather. - Due to the fact that it's broadcasting a WiFi network, it may cause some interference with preexisting WiFi networks. - Can't configure any of the WiFi properties such as encryption type or broadcast channel. - Had to close and reopen the bCoda Jak app several times on the Samsung Galaxy S2 to update the firmware, change the network name, and change the password. When you close the app, the mobile device remains connected to the Jak WiFi network, so you have to manually go back to the WiFi list and click on the previous WiFi network.
Overall Review: - I was able to achieve around 1.6 to 2.2 MBps transferring a 732MB file to my computer from my phone. - It broadcasts a WiFi signal at 2.4Ghz. If you have other wireless devices such as a cordless phone, this device may cause problems. Microwaves can affect the range of this device. In summary, if you want to use this device, you need to have some understanding of video and audio codecs as well as WiFi networks. It's a great idea, but not very user friendly. This product gets four stars for being original, stable, and somewhat easy to use for those who understand the concepts. -My Configuration- Yahama HTR-3065 Samsung LED LCD TV Samsung Galaxy S2 iPhone 5 Gateway FX510XL
Doesn't work on Linux
Pros: - Manual is well written and easy to follow - Comes with both Windows 7 and Windows 8 driver discs. It appears that the Windows 8 drivers were just released when the product was packaged because the drivers come on a CD-R Memorex disc instead of a mastered CD-ROM. - Comes with a cradle to position the WiFi adapter. Most WiFi adapters do not come with cradles to position them. This is very nice because it helps you to position the WiFi adapter for a stronger signal with the built-in antennas. - Dual band WiFi adapter. Most WiFi adapters are not dual band. Dual band means it can broadcast or receive signals at 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz. 2.4Ghz is a crowded frequency as many wireless appliances use this frequency whereas 5Ghz is not utilized as heavily. Because 5Ghz isn't used as much, it can produce a cleaner signal and maximize range. 5Ghz is best for urban environments where nearby neighbors have WiFi routers as well. - WPS (WiFi Protected Setup) allows you to touch a button on your router and a button on your WiFi adapter instead of typing a WiFi password. It's great for convenience, but terrible for WiFi security. Use with caution if you're concerned about security. - Bulky for a WiFi adapter, but good for signal strength. There's vents on each side to dispense heat. Small blue LED in the front/top of the adapter close to the male USB end. - Range is outstanding. It can connect to my Linksys router over 50 feet away with a steady signal of -57dB whereas other WiFi adapters would see it at -60dB to -65dB. Signal strength is more important than speed because the signal strength determines the speed. If the signal is weak, the speed will be closer to 0 Mbps than a stronger signal. I live in an urban environment in a 3 flat apartment building, both neighbors are using 2.4Ghz for WiFi.
Cons: - USB 2.0 only allows for a maximum theoretical speed of 450 Mbps (Mega bits per second, not Mega Bytes). This WiFi adapter is USB 2.0. - Mac and Linux are not supported, nor is there an unsupported way of getting it to work on these systems. Doesn't work on the Raspberry Pi via Raspbian.
Overall Review: - Do not use the drivers provided on the discs. Always download the latest driver software from the manufacture's website: D-Link. - The product is advertised to run at a maximum theoretical speed of 867 Mbps for 11ac @ 5Ghz. The speed from the WiFi adapter to the router or other WiFi 11ac access point will run at near 867 Mbps. However, USB 2.0 only allows for 450 Mbps max, so when the data reaches the WiFi adapter it will be reduced to less than 450 Mbps back to the computer. The bottleneck of the setup is the USB 2.0 port built into the device. - Both bands (2.4Ghz and 5Ghz) do not run simultaneously on this adapter nor on any other WiFi adapter yet. This WiFi adapter runs at 2.4Ghz (11n @ 300Mbps max) OR 5Ghz (11ac @ 867Mbps max). You must have a wireless ac or 11ac router to reach near 867Mbps. - Use metageek's inSSIDer program (google it) to optimize your wireless network with this adapter. --My Configuration-- Gateway FX510XL 4GB DDR2 RAM Pentium D 3.20Ghz Dual Core Windows 7 32-bit SP1 Home Premium Linksys E1000 router