Sony VAIO VGN-Z880G/B 13.1-Inch (Black) Review

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(More customer reviews)I purchased this laptop in late October 2009, shortly after Sony released it with Win 7 Pro, attracted by a number of feature advantages over a comparable, but older, Dell. I travel a lot and wanted a lightweight, full power laptop that could also easily dock and serve as my desktop PC. This laptop does that. I particularly like the switchable graphics card that allows me to drive my 23" LCD desktop monitor at full resolution connected to the dock via DVI. The laptop's own screen is excellent, sharp and a pleasure to use. I also use the laptops HDMI out to connect to a projector, via an HDMI->DVI adapter I bought separately for $5 on Amazon, and have had success connecting the laptop to hotel flat screens with HDMI and DVI inputs. I also use the built in Verizon 3-G and it has been rock solid. I feared built-in 3-G might not have the reach of my Verizon USB 3-G device, but it works great and its nice to not have to mess with the USB device or worry about it dangling out the side of the laptop when the laptop is on my knees waiting at airport gates, etc. I also like the built-in bluetooth which I use with a Kensington Bluetooth Presenter mouse. Again, nice not to have to mess with a USB dongle. However, the VAIO's bluetooth has been a soft spot. I get intermittent "bluetooth stack error" messages that Sony's tech support has been unable to solve. They do not impair bluetooth functionality, but are a nuisance. I've tested the GPS functionality and it seems to work fine, but I don't use it because I have a stand alone GPS. Also, and this is a big sore point for me, Sony still wasn't offering an automobile power supply adapter for this laptop line when I last checked and couldn't give me a date when one would be available or even state that they will eventually offer one. What good is a GPS if you cannot power the laptop from an automobile battery via the lighter plug-in? A full charge on the standard laptop battery, in power saver mode, gives me 2+ hours at best and I'm not going to waste that capability running it as a $2k GPS! More important to me, I don't like being limited to 2+ hours when I am traveling by auto. I sometimes ride on longer road trips and with my 3G card could be fully functional, but for lack of power. I don't want to carry a spare battery, which would defeat the benefit of a lightweight laptop. The laptop is a bit noisier than I expected, having purchased the model with the solid state disc drive. It's the fan that makes the noise. On the flip side, it runs much cooler than other laptops I've used in the past. The only other drawback is too few USB ports on the dock, forcing me to manually connect/disconnect some of my desktop devices to the laptop's own USB ports. All in all, I am happy with it and do not regret buying it. I am withholding one star because of the Sony's failure to offer an auto power adapter or resolve the bluetooth errors.

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Logitech Wireless Music System for PC Review

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(More customer reviews)This cool little gadget does what it claims and does it very well. It's very small and unobtrusive and the sound quality is very good. No hiss, noise, or other artifacts that I could detect. Sounds as good as a CD to me.
You can just plug it in and go (without the software) and it will work. But if you want to really control your setup, then you'll have to load the software. I would have given it 5 stars, but the software is a bit buggy. I got it to work but it took some playing around. On my PC the logitech took over as the default audio device. I went into the SoundMAX Control panel and set everything back to my PC's internal sound. Then I used the Logitech software to setup MusicMatch output to go to this device. After twiddling a bit and rebooting my PC, everything finally settled down and now it works like a champ. WinAmp, Windows Media Player, and the many other audio programs I have now output through my PC speakers (before they all went to the Logitech device) and now only Music Match outputs to the Logotech device which is what I wanted.
The remote is cheap and uses he plastic "bubble" keys, so you can get multiple key presses sometimes, but once I got used to it, it worked fine. But I programmed my main "learning remote" and now use that all the time, reserving the small remote Logitech remote as a backup. You have mute, play, pause, stop, previous track and next track commands available. Note there is no power off. There is no power off switch on either device (receiver or transmitter). Not a problem on the transmitter as it draws power from the USB port and so will be off when your PC is off (and vice versa). The receiver stays on all the time. I doubt that it uses very much current, but I still would have preferred an on/off switch. How much could it cost? Anyway, no switch seems to be the (stupid) trend these days.
Note also that there is no track display on the receiver - not a big deal IMHO, but if you want that look elsewhere. Note also that the receiver for this device will work with anything that has audio in (analog)- a stereo receiver, a TV w/audio inputs, a boom box, whatever! That's nice, so if you have power out on your deck, take your boom box and the recevier out there with you and you're in business! The receiver is small and there's no power "brick" just an oddly shaped plug (with the transformer in it, I assume)so it's very portable. You can buy extra receivers and the Logitech software will let you select (on your PC) which one is active. It did not appear to allow multiple receviers active, but I only have one so I can't be sure about that. Since it is a 2 way channel (remember you are controlling the Player on your PC via the remote), I guess only one 'pair' can work at a time. Still, nice that you have the option to route the output to different rooms or locations (via multiple receivers). The transmitter could easily be moved from one PC to another (or to a laptop, etc.) as well. Very versatile!
All in all, a great product for the price and I am very happy with it. I set 'shuffle' on MusicMatch and it's like having my own satellite radio station. ;)

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Includes: USB music transmitter with desktop stand, music receiver with AC adapter, remote control, stereo RCA interconnect cables, and software. Logitech Wireless Music System for PC - You're tech savvy. You've got your music ripped and tagged, organized on your PC, and downloaded to your portable player. So why are you still swapping CDs on your home stereo? Get with it, and get this wireless music system from Logitech. Attach the receiver to the stereo, attach the transmitter to the PC, run a playlist in your favorite media player software, and stream that music to any room in your house! Any room that has either a stereo system or powered multimedia speakers that is. They even give you a remote, so you don't have to run back and forth to your PC.

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Panasonic VIERA G10 Series TC-P50G10 50-Inch 1080p Plasma HDTV Review

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(More customer reviews)The P50G10 is my second HD Plasma experience, the first being a 2004 Panasonic, which still looks and works quite well. It has found another spot in our home to make room for the new G10 in our family room. When searching for and finally selecting the new Panasonic G10, I was comparing choices against this first experience considering both the manufacturer and the plasma technology. While I have a few smaller sized LCD's, mostly in the 20-32" range, I have never been overly impressed with the picture. The seem a bit cartoonish, even in HD mode, so I quickly settled on a plasma as my technology choice. Having made that decision the alternatives in terms of manufacturers narrowed quickly. Wh Pioneer exiting the Plasma business, and considering my experience with my original Panasonic plasma the brand decision was made. Selecting which model from Panasonic boiled down to scouring the 2009 product announcements and available reviews (CNET), and making the trade-offs on size, cost and availability. This all led me to the P50G10, which was a good fit on all points.
I have had the unit installed and working for 4 weeks now, and must say its been an extremely satisfying time. The G10 is a major step up, from my previous plasma, in terms of picture, inputs i.e. 3 HDMI vs 1, and ability to control each picture setting independently. I have tweaked the picture setting on the Standard and THX settings a bit to sharpen and brighten the picture a bit, but most of the other settings are very good out of the box. As the unit is stand mounted, and in a room with mostly indirect and overhead lighting there are no issues with glare or light reflection, from the main glass or its glossy black bezel.
In the process I also moved up to a Panasonic BMP-BD60 (will write a separate review on it) Blu Ray player and the 1080P picture is nothing short of amazing. As these are both Panasonic units they inter-operate with VieraLink which simplifies and automates the way the two units operate together, a nice but not essential feature. I setup a Wireless ethernet bridge (Linksys WET54G) to feed the VieraCast function on the G10, and it works flawlessly. At this time the amount of content available is limited, but one can see the potential, if Panasonic can bring more content services to this function. The G10 does employ a set of power consumption controls. There are both Input Idle and In-Activity based auto-power off modes to save on power consumption, which is good as plasma's are a bit power hungry.
To be balanced the G10 does have a few shortcomings. The sound from the onboard speakers is a bit thin. You can mitigate this some by pumping up the Bass control and turning on the Bass Boost, but its just not a rich sound experience. I think Panasonic can do better with some higher quality speakers and a small sub-woofer. I, and I suspect most others, have a surround system connected and utilize it for a better sound experience.
I also preferred when Panasonic placed the additional inputs into a trap door on the front of the plasma, the G10 has these on the left (facing) edge. To me it was more convenient and accessible to have these set of inputs up-front.
All in all, the G10 is a high quality Plasma with terrific features and future expandability. If offers a near perfect picture across multiple inputs and types of content.


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50" Plasma, 1080p, THX, Viera Cast, H.264, IP Camera Ready, PC Input, NEO PDP Panel which is brighter, Full-time 1080p TV lines of moving picture resolution, 3 HDMI, Native contrast ratio 40,000:1, Dynamic contrast infinite black 2,000,000:1, Game Mode, Anti Reflective Filter, 600 Hz Subfield Drive

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Value Pack - PTC Premium Mini DisplayPort to HDMI w/10ft WHITE HDMI 1.3 Gold Series Cable for Apple Macbook, Pro, Air, supports 1080p Review

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(More customer reviews)Perfect product for connecting my MacBook to my Samsung tv! It's everything that you need and was the lowest price for accomplishing that goal.

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Dell Inspiron 545 Piano Black Desktop PC with 22-Inch HD Monitor (Windows 7 Home Premium) Review

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(More customer reviews)This computer is a replacement for a relative's ancient Dell Dimensions system. I bought it and am setting it up for him. I personally have several Windows XP computers myself, 1 Vista, and 1 Snow Leopard (iMac), and I do know a lot about computers and networking, so this review will have those above thoughts in mind as I write it.
Positives:
* Monitor (5/5)
The supplied 22" has an exceptionally sharp screen, and I have no complaints about it at all. Perfect size, and works very well even at mid-range settings (I like 1920x1200, but lower resolutions are still sharp, unlike experiences I've had in the past with other computers & monitors).
* Windows 7 (5/5)
I can't find anything to complain about with 7. It is intuitive, and does everything I need easily and without having to jump through hoops. I was familiar with the earlier Windows releases, so there was basically no learning curve for me with 7. I am also a big Snow Leopard fan, but now with 7, in my mind they are pretty much equals.
* Box (5/5)
The piano black looks nice. I like that the DVD drive and the card reader slots are covered when not in use to keep dust at bay. It runs quiet, so that is much appreciated. I also prefer the Intel processor VS AMD, and like that it came with 6Mb RAM and a large hard drive.
* Keyboard (4/5)
The supplied keyboard is basic, and is a USB connection (not wireless). It works well, and is no frills. No complaints.
* Speakers (3/5)
The speakers are slimline, and very light. They won't get real loud, but are fine for basic needs. If you are planning on doing anything like watching movies frequently, you may consider upgrading them. Absolutely fine for everyday use though.
* Performance (5/5)
For my relative's needs (internet, email, youtube, etc), this is perfect. Video works great, and the speed of 7 is satisfactory. I did some benchmark testing, and the processor and drive score high, with the only downfall being the graphics ability. Nobody will notice that though, unless you are into hard core gaming.
* Amazon (5/5)!!!
The price is terrific, and is actually a much better deal than I could get from Dell directly (at least as of this writing, deals change all the time). Also very much appreciated the $3.99 1-day shipping! I'm a prime member so I could have had free 2-day shipping, but I wanted to make sure it was delivered when someone would be here so the 1-day worked out great.Negatives:
* Mouse (2/5)
The mouse is also a USB connection (not wireless), and is pretty cheap. It is optical and tracks fine, but just feels real cheap. I'll probably replace with a nicer wireless mouse.
* Dell supplied software (1/5)
The only real issue I'm having is the Dell supplied software crashes repeatedly. None of it is very useful, so I just disabled it and all is well. Please note that this is NOT a Windows 7 issue, but an issue with the Dell utilities software itself. I suspect they will have updates that will fix it, but for now, it liked to crash, so I just disabled it. I also uninstalled the supplied anti-virus software and installed one I like better that is free, but that is just a personal choice.Overall:
I am very pleased with this computer! The hardware (except for the mouse) is better than expected, especially the monitor. I would recommend this setup without hesitation, especially for those that are mainly going to do emails & internet. This is a stellar deal as well, and I feel you get a lot for the money.
Thanks for reading.UPDATE 11/29/09: I did purchase the Logitech Cordless Desktop Wave Pro keyboard and mouse set to replace the supplied Dell ones for this system. This was a fantastic upgrade! I highly recommend the Wave Pro setup. It integrates well with Windows 7, and has dedicated keys on the mouse and keyboard for Aero among other things. With this mouse and keyboard, I like the system even better.


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Premium Leather Sleeve for Macbook Air 13" - Brown Le Review

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(More customer reviews)The first thing you notice is the high quality brown leather. The next thing is how snuggly the MacBook Air fits into it. At first it almost seems that it might not but then with an extra push it goes all the way until the computer is safely inside. Now comes getting it back out. It took a little while to figure out the trick but the only way to extricate the computer is to hold the case upside down and let gravity gently pull the MBA out for you. As far as I am concerned this is a good thing as I don't want my computer slippIng out of the case unless I am ready for it. This case is padded and well made. I feel it is the perfect way to carry such a fine and well designed machine.

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Crucial Technology 256GB Crucial M225 Series 2.5-Inch Solid State Drive (CT256M225) Review

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(More customer reviews)I've been happy with this drive for several weeks now. It is small, energy-friendly, silent, and very fast. Of course, it is a product for early adopters, due to the cost and the small size relative to normal hard drives, but the performance alone is worth it for some. If you are comfortable enough with a computer to either burn a CD from an .iso file or create a bootable USB drive, I strongly recommend you install the latest firmware version 1916 that Crucial recently made available on their web site. This firmware includes a few bugfixes and supports background garbage collection (useful for RAID configurations) and Trim support under Windows 7, which helps the drive maintain a high speed over the life of the drive. The drive has a 5 year warranty. The drive supports other operating systems, including Mac OS X, but works a bit better under Windows 7 and recent Linux versions, due to specific support for SSD drives there. Under Windows Vista/XP, Crucial provides a manual "Wiper" tool to help restore any lost performance over time. The Crucial specifications are basically accurate - using the ATTO Disk Benchmark, I can get a little over 200 MB/sec on writes and almost 250 MB/sec on reads from the drive. This measurement is taken after using the drive heavily for several weeks. Another suggestion is to disable the automatic/background disk defrag for this drive in Windows Vista/7. This feature is enabled by default in many installations. To disable it under Windows 7, for example, right-click the hard drive in My Computer, choose Properties, select the Tools tab, click Defragment, and turn off scheduled defragmentation. SSDs do not need to be defragmented, since there is no latency in accessing different sections of the drive, and a regular defrag will actually decrease the maximum life of the drive, since the writes to each storage location on the drive are (somewhat) limited.
The downsides of a product like this are the high cost, fairly small capacity, and the fact that it is a fairly new technology for consumer PCs.

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