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John M.

John M.

Joined on 08/26/06

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Product Reviews
product reviews
  • 22
Most Favorable Review

Replacing GE Digital 28223EE3

Panasonic KX-TG7433B 1.9 GHz Digital DECT 6.0 3X Handsets Cordless Phone Integrated Answering Machine
Panasonic KX-TG7433B 1.9 GHz Digital DECT 6.0 3X Handsets Cordless Phone Integrated Answering Machine

Pros: The pros so far really outweigh the few small cons. Let's start with my girlfriend's favorite and requested feature, the Caller ID list will let you erase either one name at a time or all of them. Yeah I don't get it either but there you go. The number buttons are big and responsive and seem to be made pretty well. The menu stick in the middle of the phone works really well and it's used almost like a mouse instead of another ripped off round directional key. As I said there is no speed dial but the phone book works pretty well, hit the phone book button then the key that begins a name, say 4 for G H or I and you'll get the first name in your book that starts with a G. Continue to hit it and you'll skip to the next name in line within that set of letters or number. The voice mail is very easy to access through the handsets. I've read some complaints about the sound level but we actually turned these down so no trouble there. The signal has also always been very strong, unlike the GEs.

Cons: First, there is no speed dial, which my girlfriend does like to use but I don't so again nothing terrible yet. The size of the Talk and Off buttons could be a bit bigger, I did occasionally hit Mute before I hung up on someone, but I'm probably just used to the huge toggle buttons on the GE. There are a total of seven ring tones (three tones and 4 melodies) and all of them are pretty annoying. I stuck with tone 1 as it's the closest you'll come to a standard ring tone. The talking Caller ID is nice but it takes two rings to answer and pronounces many names wrong, no big deal there and kind of funny at first, especially when a name runs off the screen and my doctor is called Willi instead William. Over time though if you use these at a home office this feature will start to wear on you.

Overall Review: I'd buy these phones again. I'd recommend them to anyone as long as they don't have any joint problems as the small Talk and Off buttons could be a problem. If I could improve anything it would have to be the included ring tones, tone 1 is not bad enough that it bothers me but some more choices so we could tell when it's either of our families calling during dinner instead of a telemarketer without the Talking Caller ID on would be nice. I'm lobbying my girlfriend to get that turned off, I work online at home and constantly get calls and faxes coming in so the uniqueness of this feature is wearing thin. One thing I didn't touch on, the build quality is very good all around and the designers really seem to have taken their time here. One last thing for anyone wondering if the NiMH AAA batteries you already have at home will work in these phones, the included batteries are HHR-65AAABU 1.2V Min 630 mAh.

11/13/2009
Most Critical Review

Good case with a BIG flaw

Cooler Master Stacker RC-832-KKN1-GP Black Aluminum ATX Full Tower Computer Case
Cooler Master Stacker RC-832-KKN1-GP Black Aluminum ATX Full Tower Computer Case

Pros: Reversible door. Power and reset buttons on top, no need to open a door. Plenty of ventilation. Blowhole fan doesn't get in the way, aka Kandalf and Armor cases. Removable motherboard tray. Toolless design.

Cons: The big flaw, side panels rattle and are more difficult to remove and replace than they need to be, simply a bad design. Fan filter inserts are very picky, may have to trim them to get them back in the frame, could easily be fixed by adding a frame to the inserts that fits into the fan frame. The fish, although it hides scratches well, shows every speck of dust and cannot be cleaned by a paper towel or wipe because they will leave lint, must be cleaned by a vacuum.

Overall Review: Most of the cons are somewhat minor but the rattling side panels are a very noticeable and annoying noise, if you are looking for a quiet case look elsewhere. I wish I had seen the Lian Li PC-201B, better style, in my opinion, and Lian Li's quality build.

10/20/2007

Great Product

BELKIN BV106050-CW 6 Outlets 900 Joule USB Charging Surge Protector
BELKIN BV106050-CW 6 Outlets 900 Joule USB Charging Surge Protector

Pros: Solid Build Quality Outlets are well, if not perfectly spaced

Cons: Need to have a standard outlet, as in screw in the middle for the wall plate. I had to replace me newer outlets. Not exactly sturdy, not terrible but onme screw isn't much to hold it in place, a modern two hole wall plate set up would be better

Overall Review: Very happy with this, especially since I got it on sale. Currently using it for TV cable box and HTPX

Nice but not perfect

Irwin 207040711 6,10,12-Inch Quick Adjusting Metric Wrench Set 3-Piece
Irwin 207040711 6,10,12-Inch Quick Adjusting Metric Wrench Set 3-Piece

Pros: Solid, lifetime warranty, good grip on the handles

Cons: The smallest of the set slips a little bit after it's set

Overall Review: I got these on sale, and for the price, I'd buy them again.

Couldn't Ask for More

Ergotron 33-310-060 Black/Silver Neo-Flex LCD Stand for 15-20" LCD Monitors
Ergotron 33-310-060 Black/Silver Neo-Flex LCD Stand for 15-20" LCD Monitors

Pros: Very Sturdy. Easy Setup. Thumbscrews!

Cons: Possibly the Color of the Base.

Overall Review: I checked out several different options to replace my pathetic excuse for a monitor stand I had been using, my Civ III collectors tin plus the factory stand that came with my Samsung 915N 19" 4 by 3 monitor. I was intent on going with an arm setup until I ran into this stand for much less and, what I hoped, was much less of a hassle. I couldn't be happier. The assembly was very easy, the inclusion of thumb screws to attach the monitor was a brilliant idea and the hardest part was getting my old stand off. I didn't have to adjust the tension screw at all and after about 2 min. of adjusting it just right and then readjusting it, which was extremely simple, after a couple hours of use I really could not ask for more. I even got lucky enough that my center speaker sits snuggly inside the ring that makes up the base of the stand. I can't comment on larger displays, yet, but for an older 19" 4 by 3 monitor, this is perfect and a much better solution than my previous one.

Run Away from EVGA

EVGA 896-P3-1257-AR GeForce GTX 260 Core 216 Superclocked Edition 896MB 448-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card
EVGA 896-P3-1257-AR GeForce GTX 260 Core 216 Superclocked Edition 896MB 448-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card

Pros: This was a solid card when I bought it. In fact one of the best I've owned but, unfortunately, like my EVGA 8800 GTS I had to replace due to over heating, no not an airflow issue the problem was with the card, I cannot recommend this card if you want it o last more than a year.

Cons: I'm currently running into the same overheating issue I eventually had with an 8800 GTS, one of two I bought for my old computer and then passed one onto my girlfriend to play WoW with and the other onto my uncle to watch TV on his computer with, yeah I know. His is still running fine so it may just be my luck. This is not an airflow issue, I've been using the card because my girlfriend wanted one with an HDMI output so we could plug her computer into the TV easier. The 260 GTX is currently in a HAF 932 case with all fans working properly and I even added a couple extra. No other components are having issues but the card gets hot enough that when I touch the air ouput of the card on the back of my case it almost burns me. It's shut down once already, which is when I noticed the issue, and now I listen for the fan to kick up and shut down before the card does it for me. My last two motherboard purchases and last four GPU purchases have been from EVGA.

Overall Review: Because my girlfriend didn't know she had to, and this is at least partially my fault, she didn't send in the registration card so we are S.O.L., it happens, not EVGA's fault but the continuing trend of obviously bad design is. Granted it took 3 years for one of my 8800's to go out for the same reason but two generations later we're down to less than a year. Take my advice, go Gigabyte, MSI, BFG, at this point I'll even support Asus although it hurts, over EVGA. I've been a loyal supporter of their products for years and I am not asking for special treatment as far as the warranty issue goes, our fault, our problem, but if their products are going downhill this fast jump off while you still can, I am.