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tony m.

tony m.

Joined on 11/29/01

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Product Reviews
product reviews
  • 11
Most Favorable Review

Quiet and fast

LITE-ON 20X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 20X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 40X CD-ROM IDE DVD Burner included extra White bezel
LITE-ON 20X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 20X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 40X CD-ROM IDE DVD Burner included extra White bezel

Pros: Quietest combo drive I've every owned or seen - truly astoundingly quiet. Firmware updates and other utilities (e.g. to set the RPC code) are readily available.

Cons: None I can think of.

Overall Review: Tray seems flimsy, but not sure yet if this will cause an issue. Hopefully won't break down mechanically after 9 months like the last Sony drive I bought.

10/13/2007
Most Critical Review

Range is terrible.

NETGEAR N300 Open-Source Gigabit WiFi Router 128MB NAND and 128MB RAM, 480 MHz MIPS 74K Processor (WNR3500Lv2)
NETGEAR N300 Open-Source Gigabit WiFi Router 128MB NAND and 128MB RAM, 480 MHz MIPS 74K Processor (WNR3500Lv2)

Pros: Runs dd-wrt, gigabit Ethernet, stable (at least with dd-wrt), reasonably easy to setup and use.

Cons: Range is pitiful - usable data rates are far below the Linksys wrt54g it was supposed to replace. Gigabit Ethernet switch can't handle jumbo frames, and so I still have to have a separate switch.

Overall Review: No idea if the USB or NAS functionality works. The fact that wi-fi range is so bad renders the rest of it immaterial. There are some posts about modding this thing for external antennas, but by the time you buy those, you can by another router.

lasted 5 weeks before it died

Crucial M4 CT256M4SSD2CCA 2.5" 256GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) with Transfer Kit
Crucial M4 CT256M4SSD2CCA 2.5" 256GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) with Transfer Kit

Pros: Drive was fast, while it lasted... The Apricorn SATAwire and imaging software worked without any issue.

Cons: Failed with I/O errors after about 5 weeks, taking the entire OS with it.

Overall Review: If you count the time and work lost (and however long it's going to take to process the RMA), it would have been cheaper to go with something better/more reliable.

Hands down the best G router out there.

Linksys WRT54GL 802.11b/g Wireless Broadband Router up to 54 Mbps/ Compatible with Open Source DD-WRT (not pre-load)
Linksys WRT54GL 802.11b/g Wireless Broadband Router up to 54 Mbps/ Compatible with Open Source DD-WRT (not pre-load)

Pros: Excellent platform for running DD-WRT.

Cons: None.

Overall Review: It would be great to have better (newer) radios on the same platform.

perfect match for Dell D630

GeIL 2GB 200-Pin DDR2 SO-DIMM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Laptop Memory Model GX2S6400-2GB
GeIL 2GB 200-Pin DDR2 SO-DIMM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Laptop Memory Model GX2S6400-2GB

Pros: Inexpensive, snap-in upgrade. Have not had any issues with this memory; used 24x7.

Cons: None

slipping quality?

Microsoft Natural Ergonomic Keyboard 4000
Microsoft Natural Ergonomic Keyboard 4000

Pros: The layout is good and very easy to adjust to, even if you're coming from a laptop keyboard. The keys are easy to reach and provide decent feedback.

Cons: The spacebar is worse than the cheapest $5 keyboard you can imagine. It is difficult to press down (and I'm used to an old IBM keyboard that was very stiff) and worst of all, it sticks - a lot. So the keyboard is nearly unusable, because I have to constantly look up to see that depressing the space key actually results in a space.

Overall Review: I have a hard time believing that the keyboard has received so many high ratings if the space bar has always been this bad. The keyboard says "Designed in Redmond, WA USA" on the bottom, next to "Made in China (S)." So I don't guess we know who really made it, or how many different manufacturers there are.