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Keith B.

Keith B.

Joined on 11/25/05

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Product Reviews
product reviews
  • 16
Most Favorable Review

Better TV than monitor

LG 32MP58HQ-P Black 32" (Actual size 31.5") FHD IPS Widescreen LED Backlight Monitor 5ms 1920 x 1080 at 60 Hz, On Screen Control w/ Screen Split, HDMI/D-Sub 250 cd/m2 1000:1
LG 32MP58HQ-P Black 32" (Actual size 31.5") FHD IPS Widescreen LED Backlight Monitor 5ms 1920 x 1080 at 60 Hz, On Screen Control w/ Screen Split, HDMI/D-Sub 250 cd/m2 1000:1

Pros: Very large format for the sale price High brightness level Software to allow you to snap some programs to a split screen (quad, three stripe, side by side) on a single desktop

Cons: Picture quality is very, very soft. Not sure 1920x1080 is good for this size monitor. Monitor stand is very weak - I will be mounting on multimonitor stands One of five arrived cracked in sealed, undamaged package - waiting on customer service.

Overall Review: I would most likely use this for digital signage or applications where sharpness is not a primary factor. Would not use it for small text/word processing, video or picture editing. It is an incredibly beautiful looking display, especially when 3 of them are side by side, stretching 7 1/2 feet wide!

11/22/2016
Most Critical Review

Works, but less than I hoped?

MOTOROLA T505 Bluetooth In-Car Speakerphone with Digital FM Transmitter
MOTOROLA T505 Bluetooth In-Car Speakerphone with Digital FM Transmitter

Pros: Conceptually easy to use and set up. Long battery life. Clear and loud. GOOD name brand. Controls Windows Media Player on my WM6 phone. Portable/no installation. (take from car to car) Broadcasts on 88.1-91.5ish? (better than 88.1-88.9 only) Comes w/ standard miniUSB charger: also charges phone, GPS when needed. Nice looking design. I don't have a Moto phone, but I know most Moto phones won't charge with non-Moto chargers ($$) - they say "unauthorized charger" so having a Moto charger around is nice for clients.

Cons: Buttons are awkward to push because you want to "squeeze" unit and push button on opposite side of unit. Only voice prompt is "Connection Dropped" which I hear every few minutes - yet the unit stays connected? Other prompts are all tones. (It does announce the FM station I suppose when you push the FM button) Between Chicago/Milwaukee NO frequency between 88.1 and 91.5 is clear for more than a few mins! So FM is less useful. If not streaming from my phone to radio, hard to leave FM on station, but then I don't hear incoming calls if it isn't. Hard to turn FM on/off (press and hold for 5s and try not to hit play button). Needs better button layout. Windows Media files sound "flat" when streamed to FM. You get used to it, but I expected better.

Overall Review: Overall, I'm not in love with this. It's OK, but its like driving a car with unbalanced tires that shakes, bumps and won't go over 45. It gets you there. When its in call, its great - built in speaker works great so no need for FM really. But my USCell 6800 won't stay connected if I'm not in call for more than 2 mins. And it takes too long to turn on/turn off when I want to use it casually. Well priced in the $40-50 range, but I paid twice that.

It is a stand...

Vento Tall Trumpet Stand
Vento Tall Trumpet Stand

Pros: Once set up, it does seem stable, even on three legs. The extra height is nice while sitting - I could comfortably swap from a seated position without bending over. There is some merit to this free standing higher height design if you change between trumpets, a cornet and flugel like my son does while playing. Much less bending over and bothering other soloists while you take your eyes off of the action.

Cons: Packaging was terrible - box beat up, was in a loose bag inside box. Will have to repackage to wrap for Christmas. Construction feels cheap. Really cheap. The part of the bell is a hard brittle PLA type plastic. Will immediately start by putting an old black sock over this part to protect the instrument. The overall design is great for sitting in one place, but not really to be moved around. It folds up if you loosen the set screws, but I feel like I will break it just touching it. This is OK to sit in your music room, but not so OK for a gig setting where you move it around.

Overall Review: For the $20 I had expected something a bit nicer. If it holds up it will be nice to have the height for swapping while playing, but it either should be half the price, or twice the quality - and the engineering just isn't smooth. This design needs just a tad more work.. To be fair - this included free shipping - but I've seen the same stand elsewhere without free shipping, so I have to go off of the $20 list price I paid regarding value. Unlikely to return it - it will work in the music room and we could never have enough stands! But I also wouldn't order this same stand at this price again unless it was constructed just a bit better. It's more of a "meh" instead of a "yeah!"

11/25/2015

Not as pictured

On Stage DST7600 Trumpet Stand 35958
On Stage DST7600 Trumpet Stand 35958

Pros: Holds your trumpet so the bell does not get damaged.

Cons: Not necessarily as pictured

Overall Review: There are different stands, of different designs, pictured here. In one design the legs seem to fold up over the outside. The other the legs unscrew as one unit and slide inside the base. I would be concerned that I would be receiving what I thought I was purchasing with this item.

11/18/2015

Apartments good, Nintendo no

Rosewill RNX-EasyN400 Wireless-N Broadband Router (1T1R) IEEE 802.11b/g/n Up to 150Mbps Data Rates/ WPA Personal and Enterprise, WPA2, 64 & 128 bit WEP, PSK, TKIP, AES, WPS Security with 2 dBi fixed Antenna
Rosewill RNX-EasyN400 Wireless-N Broadband Router (1T1R) IEEE 802.11b/g/n Up to 150Mbps Data Rates/ WPA Personal and Enterprise, WPA2, 64 & 128 bit WEP, PSK, TKIP, AES, WPS Security with 2 dBi fixed Antenna

Pros: Easy to configure & set up. Running well at ~6 weeks. Supposedly can broadcast multiple SSIDs.

Cons: Could not connect Wii or DSi. Finds the AP, but won't connect. Created wide open SSID, first SSID stopped working right. Reset, put no security on device - no luck. Set to b/g only - nope, but broke my Droid & iPod. Reset again to plain jane w/ security, all but Nintendos work. Range on this is short - great if you live near others & many APs around. Covers my home, no more, which is ideal. (I don't want my AP across half the town like some folks.)

Overall Review: This is a good cheap AP. I've spent a lot more for others that fail in the first year anyhow. This works, even though my Wii & DS can't get online with it.

Excellent value for the money

Western Digital Black WD1001FALS 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive Bare Drive
Western Digital Black WD1001FALS 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive Bare Drive

Pros: Great workstation drives. Fast & reliable. Purchased individually, make great installs for external enclosures. Carry 5 year warranty & WD is great for follow through.

Cons: None, really.

Overall Review: We buy a LOT of these. WD Blacks are my favorite and usually outlast the computers they go in. Blue only carries a 3y warranty. Raptors tend to be loud at 10,000RPM. When I need low power (laptop) I buy Green - but WD Black is my drive of choice 95% of the time!