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James B.

James B.

Joined on 08/23/02

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Product Reviews
product reviews
  • 6
Most Favorable Review

Works well, feels good

Kensington K72356US Black 3 Buttons 1 x Wheel USB Wired Optical Mouse
Kensington K72356US Black 3 Buttons 1 x Wheel USB Wired Optical Mouse

Pros: Fits hand well Glides easy (on rubberized mouse pad)

Cons: Scroll wheel clicks a little (but much less than the Dell mouse it replaced!), but is not objectionable (about the same as the Microsoft mouse the Dell mouse temporarily replaced).

Most Critical Review

Problem w/ Win7-64bit

Rosewill RCW-618 USB to IDE / SATA Adapter - Supports Windows 7
Rosewill RCW-618 USB to IDE / SATA Adapter - Supports Windows 7

Pros: Can't tell . . . devices does NOT yet function AT ALL.

Cons: This should have been plug-and-play and be up-and-running without any fuss . . . but . . . This devices does seems to NOT be compatible with Windows 7 (64-bit Home Premium. Drivers CD that came with device is only for Win98, so, I presume it should auto-install without a problem on a modern PC like mine. Windows 7-64bit recognized the device as soon as I powered-on the drive with the slide-switch on the power cord, attempted to find a driver, then complained that there was a problem installing the "USB to ATA/ATAPI Bridge" driver . . . followed all the Windows-provided suggestions to a dead-end. Looked at the Rosewill web-site for a driver . . . nada. Just left a message on their "Contact Us" page . . . will see how quick they respond and if they provide a useful solution.

Works OK, but locks-up sometimes

Rosewill RNX-N360RT - N300 Wi-Fi Router - IEEE 802.11b / g / n, Up to 300Mbps Data Rates, Three Fixed Antennas
Rosewill RNX-N360RT - N300 Wi-Fi Router - IEEE 802.11b / g / n, Up to 300Mbps Data Rates, Three Fixed Antennas

Pros: Inexpensive Good range

Cons: Occasionally locks-up (no WiFi connections).

Overall Review: In about 4 months of ownership I've had it 'lock-up' (devices couldn't connect via WiFi) about 4 or 5 times, requiring power disconnect (re-boot) to get back on-the-air. Have now added a 6-outlet power strip to make easier to cycle-power, since unit is mounted up-high and out-of-sight. I'm also pondering putting it on a light timer, so that it has 30mins of "off time" every night (i.e. daily re-boot) as a pre-emptive strike against lock-ups.

Works as advertised

IOGEAR GKM681R Black USB RF Wireless Mini Keyboard with Optical Trackball and Scroll Wheel
IOGEAR GKM681R Black USB RF Wireless Mini Keyboard with Optical Trackball and Scroll Wheel

Pros: Inexpensive. Works well with my Samsung 'smart' BlueRay player. Small (takes-up little space on the coffee table). Light weight.

Cons: Hard to pick-up without accidently bumping side-mounted keys (until you get used to it). Wish the keys were underlit, so I could see them better in the darkened room.

Overall Review: Bought this to use with the WebBrowser built-into my new BlueRay DVD player, so that I didn't have to screw-around with the on-screen pseudo-keyboard (using remote's arrow keys) . . . yuk! This little keyboard makes it MUCH easier to fill-in text fields (and to fly-around the screen clicking links) than using the remote.

Not bad for $10

Logitech S120 2.0 Stereo Speakers, Black
Logitech S120 2.0 Stereo Speakers, Black

Pros: Small (easily transported in suitcase). Inexpensive.

Cons: Not much bass (but better than smartphone speaker!). Cord between speakers is too short (4'), wish I could spread-out the speakers farther apart. If they had made the wires with a "plug" that I could buy an extension-cord for, I would have been much happier.

Overall Review: Bought this to take on business trips, so that smartphone can play "white noise" to drown-out traffic noise (thru windows) and hallway noise (thru door) so I could sleep better. Works very well for this purpose . . . didn't need (nor expect) thundering bass.

Nice Little Wine Frig

EdgeStar 21-Bottle Dual Zone Wine Cooler
EdgeStar 21-Bottle Dual Zone Wine Cooler

Pros: Compact form factor Quiet (only hear small PC-like muffin fans) Low cost Good looking

Cons: Loses temperature settings during even a brief power outage (temps should be stored in FLASH memory or other non-volatile memory)...now need to get a UPS to maintain temp settings. Can not close the door if a bottle has been re-corked and cork is sticking-out more than about 1/2" from bottle.