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Howard M.

Howard M.

Joined on 03/09/09

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Product Reviews
product reviews
  • 6
Most Favorable Review

Works with some effort...

Rosewill RC-201 PCI SATA Silicon Image, RAID 0/1, Normal and Low Profile Host Controller Card
Rosewill RC-201 PCI SATA Silicon Image, RAID 0/1, Normal and Low Profile Host Controller Card

Pros: Adds two SATA ports to a PC that needs more SATA ports. Inexpensive add-on card with the reliability I've come to expect from a Rosewill product.

Cons: The ports are SATA I (150 Mbps), but beggars can't be choosy. Using a non-RAID capacity was a little trying to set up. There are no instructions provided in order to get it set up that way.

Overall Review: While the device is advertised as being able to be used in a non-RAID capacity, it was quite difficult to get it set up that way. Here is some info on how to get it set up that way: 1. Install the driver that comes with the card (which will be the SATARAID driver). 2. You need to download the BASE BIOS from Silicon Image for the 3512 chipset. 2. Under Device Manager, select the device and go to properties. 3. There should be a FlashBIOS tab. On that tab, select the BIOS file that you downloaded and flash it. 4. Download the newest Base Driver from Silicon Image for the 3512 chipset. 5. Update the driver for the device. Select that you Have Disk and go to the directory where you downloaded the driver. Install the driver. 6. Reboot the PC. 7. You should now have an add-on card that will see devices, such as optical drives, in a non-RAID capacity.

12/28/2011
Most Critical Review

Has Potential...

iClever 10.1" Windows 10 OS Tablet with Detachable Keyboard & Stand, Intel BayTrail T Quad Core, 2GB RAM 32GB Storage, 1280*800 HD Display, HDMI, Bluetooth 4.0, 5.0MP Rear Camera
iClever 10.1" Windows 10 OS Tablet with Detachable Keyboard & Stand, Intel BayTrail T Quad Core, 2GB RAM 32GB Storage, 1280*800 HD Display, HDMI, Bluetooth 4.0, 5.0MP Rear Camera

Pros: The tablet is a nice little device. It is pretty quick and it's nice to be able to have full Windows capabilities on such a small tablet.

Cons: The only issue I have had is that 3 days after getting it, it stopped working. Yeah, that can be a big issue. I'm currently working with the seller about getting it fixed. I'll update this review at that time. This is the reason that I only gave this 3 stars. The only other minor issue I saw was with the touchpad. I find that my left hand will routinely touch on top the touchpad when trying to type, which will cause the focus to change to wherever the mouse pointer is currently located.

Overall Review: Michael S. is spot on in his analysis of this tablet. I was quite impressed with it out of the box. The only things I changed was that I installed Office 2016 which brought me down to about 10GB free. I don't intend on keeping data on the device, so I'm not too concerned. I do like how I can get apps from the App Store that are similar to those used on my iPad. To the review that discusses it being locked down... This is a tablet. It is a not a laptop or PC. Considering I purchased this as a Shell Shocker Deal, I think I got my money's worth (well, as long as I get a replacement or a repair). Typed on my iPad Air 2 - :)

Works as expected...

StarTech.com 2 Port PCI Express eSATA Controller Adapter Card Model PEXESATA2
StarTech.com 2 Port PCI Express eSATA Controller Adapter Card Model PEXESATA2

Pros: Port multiplier feature / Plug and play

Cons: None, so far...

Overall Review: I had purchased a Rosewill eSATA add-on card that stated it had port multiplier functionality for me to use with a dual external HDD dock. I could not get it to work. I then found this one and figured I'd give it a try. I plugged it in and booted up the Vista system that its in. Vista immediately found the card and downloaded the driver from Windows Update. Once it was ready, I plugged in two drives and turned the dock on. Vista immediately pulled up both drives. That's all I needed.

Not too bad

Konica Minolta magicolor 1690MF MFC / All-In-One Up to 20 ppm 1200 x 600 dpi Color Print Quality Color Ethernet (RJ-45) / USB Laser Printer
Konica Minolta magicolor 1690MF MFC / All-In-One Up to 20 ppm 1200 x 600 dpi Color Print Quality Color Ethernet (RJ-45) / USB Laser Printer

Pros: Good quality prints, fast warm-up to print, ADF for copying and scanning

Cons: A little difficult to set up. Appears that some apps are not network compatible. Documentation is pretty limited.

Overall Review: I had owned a Konica Minolta magicolor printer prior to this one, but wanted an AIO solution. This printer is as compact as they come for an AIO. It definitely warms up quickly and the speed of printing is terrific. Copying documents is a little slower than I expected, but it still works fine. One thing that I found is that the documentation is definitely lacking. Also, the website for downloading drivers is not very user friendly and trying to determine what to download is not very clear. I also found that while the printer can be connected via the network, certain apps for the printer only seem to work when connected via USB. This includes the FAX Address Book download utility. The Scan Application, while it does work via the network connection, will continuously say that the scanner is not connected. I also found that the Scan Application is a little lacking. While it does get the job done, some settings are not very intuitive and could be improved upon. It would actually take very little to turn the application into a decent program. Overall, I would recommend this printer. Once it is set up, I have had no issues with it. For a color laser AIO unit, you can't beat this one for the price.

Great Deal!

Acer S231HLbid Black 23" 5ms HDMI  LED-Backlight LCD monitor  Slim Design  250 cd/m2 ACM 12,000,000:1 (1000:1)
Acer S231HLbid Black 23" 5ms HDMI LED-Backlight LCD monitor Slim Design 250 cd/m2 ACM 12,000,000:1 (1000:1)

Pros: LED Backlight / HDMI connection / 23" / Great price when on-sale

Cons: The stand is not adustable. The on-screen menu is a little annoying to use, but most monitors are like that.

Overall Review: Saw this monitor on-sale in one of Newegg's mailings and couldn't resist it. Considering I was going from a 19" to 23", it was a nice increase. While it is a 5ms monitor, for the cost and the features, it is well worth it. It arrived quickly from Newegg and there were no dead pixels or other damage to the monitor. As it was a monitor, it arrived shipped in the monitor box itself.

12/26/2011

Nice, but not quite...

Kensington Black Charge & Sync Docking Station for iPhone 3G/3GS and iPhone 4 (K39257US)
Kensington Black Charge & Sync Docking Station for iPhone 3G/3GS and iPhone 4 (K39257US)

Pros: Compact and easy to setup. Comes with two inserts that can be used for different size iPhones/iPods.

Cons: Even without the inserts, not all cases will work with the dock. I have an Otterbox Defender case. Due to the fact that there is the hard plastic shell around the iPhone, the connector does not seat all the way into the phone.

Overall Review: While I had high hopes for this dock, especially after reading other reviews that it would work with a case if you remove the inserts, it does not work in my particular case (pun intended). If you have a case, you should be fine if the case is of the soft variety. If the case has a hard shell, especially around the dock connector, it will most likely not work.

12/22/2011