cover
Brian S.

Brian S.

Joined on 05/08/06

0
0

Product Reviews
product reviews
  • 4
Most Favorable Review

Hardware mode is the answer!

Corsair Vengeance M90 Black 15 Buttons 1 x Wheel USB Wired Laser 5700 dpi Performance, MMO/RTS Gaming Mouse
Corsair Vengeance M90 Black 15 Buttons 1 x Wheel USB Wired Laser 5700 dpi Performance, MMO/RTS Gaming Mouse

Pros: -Good construction -Lots of buttons with out being OVERLY hard to learn -works as a mouse!!! I have had a razor Naga for a while. My self, and my brother have had nothing but hardware issues with them. I have currently only had this mouse for about a week, but at least it seems to WORK. Rebooting my computer doesn't make it get stuck in a powered off state until I unplug it and plug it back in. You know... it works like a mouse should work, which is more than I could say about the Naga products I have seen.

Cons: -Software is rather confusing In hardware playback mode it can't detect which games are running and switch profiles. I don't want to sacrifice 2 keys on the mouse just to toggle up and down profiles when I am gaming. I therefore set my gaming profile to the very first profile (bottom), and gave it only one button (the one in the top middle of the mouse that isn't very gaming friendly anyway) to toggle up a profile. When I am done gaming I press this and it goes up one profile back to my desktop profile which has the standard "forward, back" for web browsing and the standard 2 keys for going up and down profiles. This was my preference. If you want to use 2 keys to control profiles then by all means you can do that and keep them consistent across all your profiles allowing you to toggle between them in a more clear way. There is to much functionally that requires hardware mode to even consider using the software mode for me.

Overall Review: I am a very technical user, and read the forums and all the complaints about this software before buying. I still got it, and happy to report it DOES work. You might have to read and understand HOW to make it do what you need. For the most part the "hardware playback" mode fixes just about everything for me. The below all assumes hardware playback Bind a keyboard button to a mouse button: -Make a macro and save it to that button. Using hardware playback mode you can bind anything and it works Press and hold button: -Follow their directions.... make a macro for the button. Delete the pause and the release from the macro. Set the macro to repeat when pressed. My Vent key can now be any button the mouse Modifier keys: Using the hardware playback mode I can make a macro for say "[" and bind that in game to one action. Then Press shift and the mouse button and the game sees the modifier + the "[" key allowing modifiers to the mouse keys to work just fine.

Most Critical Review

not very reliable boot process

SUPERMICRO MBD-X10SAE-O ATX Server Motherboard LGA 1150 Intel C226 DDR3 1600
SUPERMICRO MBD-X10SAE-O ATX Server Motherboard LGA 1150 Intel C226 DDR3 1600

Pros: Everything I was looking for.

Cons: I have had issues with this bios since day one. It has even gotten completely stuck such that I had to download a recovery from their website and use a USB drive to get back up and running. Every time I have to make even a minor change I fear the whole thing could stop working again. Amazingly bad. I have also had issues with the ethernet ports coming up in a different order as I add hard drives to the machine. I have always heard that adding hardware COULD affect the order devices power on, but I have never actually seen it in action. While assembling this server, I had to swap my ethernet ports multiple times. Now that I have all my drives in, it has been consistent. Still I have never seen this ACTUALLY happen in a machine until this board.

I would buy again

LINKSYS PLK300 Powerline AV Network Kit Up to 200Mbps
LINKSYS PLK300 Powerline AV Network Kit Up to 200Mbps

Pros: Very quick and easy setup, with no worries about neighbors or microwaves causing interference. Multiple ports on the receiver allows more than one machine at the receiving end with out an additional switch.

Cons: Does not come close to the rated speed.

Overall Review: I use these with my mythtv setup, the basement has the main backend with recordings, while the 2nd and 3rd levels have frontends. Wireless was already a pain and could not provide HD streaming to all locations. Using this and an additional receiver, I am now able to stream HD to all front ends with out any need to worry about re-wiring my house with Ethernet cable. For my intended use (HD streaming) these devices work wonderful. I should probably see if both frontends connected to these can stream HD at the same time (different rooms) but it isn't a standard use case for me. I had to go with 4 eggs due to the vastly reduced speed over the advertised 200Mbps. I used iperf and was only able to reach between 20 and 30 Mbps to either of the receivers at any given time. It works for me, but I question if 200Mbps is going to ever be possible for any real users. So, if 20-30Mbps works for you, I suggest these highly.

Great device

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

Pros: Very neatly clips to your visor and provides STEREO songs from your phone, and integrates hand free calling. I first considered getting a professionally installed bluetooth setup for my car. This little device is fraction of the cost and accomplishes my main goals. I live in a highly populated city and still have not had any problems getting a station to transmit on. My music sounds as if I had a CD in the car. It seems people hear me with the same quality of any other hands free device I have tried. Sure it isn't me holding the phone directly to my head, but most people understand this while driving. I would buy this for anyone I know as a gift, it is certainly a very impressive little device.

Cons: You do have to turn it on and off every time you get in the car, including activating the radio station transmitter. I only mention this because it is a difference from using a built in car bluetooth system. I find this to be completely acceptable for the great performance and small cost. This is the only reason I put 4 stars here, but don't take my 4 stars to mean I don't love it.

Overall Review: A2DP (stereo bluetooth) should be on all devices these days. Sorry iPhone but I juts can't have an all in once device, that is mono while in my car with bluetooth. I paired this with my motorola cell phone and haven't regretted a minute of it.