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Alan A.

Alan A.

Joined on 05/01/02

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Product Reviews
product reviews
  • 11
Most Favorable Review

Great set of phones

Panasonic KX-TG6645B 1.9 GHz Digital DECT 6.0 5X Handsets Cordless Phones Integrated Answering Machine
Panasonic KX-TG6645B 1.9 GHz Digital DECT 6.0 5X Handsets Cordless Phones Integrated Answering Machine

Pros: The first thing to know is that this set makes a great actual telephone. Forget all the features that phones tend to come with these days for a second and consider how many "feature laden" wireless phone systems lack the ability to perform the primary design function -- making and receiving calls -- in a reliable way with low noise, good voice quality and acceptable range. These phones perform the primary design function exactly as you would hope. Sad to say that in this day, that alone merits high praise. Second, one of the best features here is the ability to function even when the power is off. Panasonic's "Power Back-up Operation" uses the battery power of one of the handsets in the base station to supply power for the basic function of making and receiving calls. That means that when the power is out, you can actually call the power company to report that the power is out. Finally, everything else works as it should. Well pleased with these phones.

Cons: Hard to think of any real cons. If I had to get nitpicky, I'd say that a case could be made that the base station has a "busy look" to it and that at first glance it seems as if it may be hard to learn to use the features. But that's just the way it looks. Actual set-up and use is quite easy to learn, especially if you download the PDF manual (to go with the included printed manual) so that you can use your PDF reader's search function to speed to relevant information about what you're trying to do.

Overall Review: I've been putting off replacing an old wireless phone/answering system precisely because it did have a power back up operation feature and the vast majority of newer systems did not. This Panasonic has that feature. Also should point out that the LCD on this thing is bright, offers plenty of contrast and displays things in a large enough font that it makes it very easy to read. Well pleased.

11/23/2011

Loving it!

ADATA Ultimate SU800 512GB 3D NAND 2.5 Inch SATA-III Internal Solid State Drive (ASU800SS-512GT-C)
ADATA Ultimate SU800 512GB 3D NAND 2.5 Inch SATA-III Internal Solid State Drive (ASU800SS-512GT-C)

Pros: Fast to boot. Fast to do everything. Great improvement over the old (fast for what it is) WD Black 500 GB drive it replaced. I've had this drive running 24/7 in a Dell Latitude E6530 with an i7-3720QM, NVidia graphics and 8GB of RAM and everything has worked great without skipping a beat. Couldn't be happier considering the price. Are there faster drives out there? Well, benchmarks say that there are some that are faster, but I don't use my PC's to run benchmarks. In real world use, this thing flies!

Cons: None so far

Overall Review: I would recommend and would definitely buy again.

Nice router.

D-Link Xtreme N Dual-Band Gigabit Router (DIR-825) Wireless N600
D-Link Xtreme N Dual-Band Gigabit Router (DIR-825) Wireless N600

Pros: With the current 2.07NA firmware on the B1 version of this hardware, this little router works very well. Absolutely rock solid. The "guest mode" channel is great for making a WiFi connection available to visitors with no password required while keeping the rest of the network separated and secure.

Cons: The GUI interface for this router is geared towards advanced users. Some people are going to be confused a bit.

Overall Review: Bought this intended to install DD-WRT firmware. Did that and found DD-WRT to be problematic, so I re-flashed the stock (current 2.07NA) firmware from the recovery interface and haven't looked back. I can't speak to issues with early (A) versions of this hardware, but the B1 revision is good stuff. I don't hesitate to recommend it for anyone looking for a good wireless N solution for home or small office use.

Inexpensive, easy and excellent

Rosewill RNX-N180UBEv3 - Wireless High Gain N300 Wi-Fi Adapter - IEEE 802.11b/g/n, (2T2R), Up to 300 Mbps Data Rates, USB 2.0 Cradle, 5 dBi High Power Antenna
Rosewill RNX-N180UBEv3 - Wireless High Gain N300 Wi-Fi Adapter - IEEE 802.11b/g/n, (2T2R), Up to 300 Mbps Data Rates, USB 2.0 Cradle, 5 dBi High Power Antenna

Pros: The number one pro? It works exactly as hoped for. Pulls in wi-fi networks previously invisible and makes them usable. (Zero bars to three for the wireless G access point 100 yards away, through one wall of metal, two of wood and one of brick. Five bars and 130Mbps for wireless N router separated by two room/40ft.) Works perfectly with Win 7 x64 using included driver disc. Very happy, especially for the price.

Cons: None

Overall Review: Some of the other reviews talking about issues with driver support under Win 7 x64 mystify me. There *is* driver support, and no, you don't need an already established internet connection to get it. Use the included driver disc. The USB to Wi-Fi LAN driver for XP, Vista and Win 7 is there. Need an inexpensive wardriving antenna? Grab this thing. With the 5dbi antenna it works and works well for pulling in previously too weak to be usable (or even previously invisible with your laptop WiFi) signals.

Buy these

Yamaha - In-Ear Headphones (EPH-20) BLACK
Yamaha - In-Ear Headphones (EPH-20) BLACK

Pros: May be the best sounding and most comfortable ear-bud style headphones under 150 dollars that I have ever tried. Seriously. They aren't flawless, but they are pretty darn good. For the price, they're a steal.

Cons: On the con side, these ear-bud 'phones (like all ear-bud style 'phones) are going to have a different response profile for every user owing to anatomical differences in the shape of the ear canal. That means that some EQ will be called for in order to get the kind of frequency response that suits you. In my case (and with the ravages of age diminishing my high frequency hearing), that means boosting the highs. Also a con (at least for me with my ear canal anatomy): The bass response of these ear-buds is if anything a bit too robust. Not boomy in the least, and perfectly capable of reproducing deep bass fundamentals in a way that makes you almost "feel" them inside your head, but very robust. Also easily tamed with EQ.

Overall Review: The included ear gels come in three sizes (small, medium and large) with the medium size installed out of the box. Extremely comfortable and suitable for wearing in extended listening. Can't say that most ear buds I have used have been near as comfortable

11/29/2011

Whaddya know! It's RAM and it works.

Patriot Signature 4GB 200-Pin DDR2 SO-DIMM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Laptop Memory Model PSD24G8002S
Patriot Signature 4GB 200-Pin DDR2 SO-DIMM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Laptop Memory Model PSD24G8002S

Pros: On the pro side, it works exactly as it's supposed to work. No complaints.

Cons: On the con side...well...there aren't any.

Overall Review: Wish that DDR2 was as cheap as DDR3 is now.

11/11/2011