Lexmark T640 Monochrome Laser Printer Review

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(More customer reviews)I installed this printer a year ago at a non-profit I work for. It has a couple of gotchas, which caused us massive grief for a few months.
If you print via the Internet Printing Protocol (IPP), the printer will crash periodically on seemingly random jobs. When it crashes, it doesn't automatically reboot. Reconfiguring your print server or desktops to use the LPD (or other protocols) will fix the problem. Lexmark has all but forgotten about this printer, and hasn't offered a software update since May of '07, and the frequent crashes are not addressed on their support site, but *are* mentioned all over the internet. :-)
We are a PostScript based shop (but really just print Word and Excel documents), and this printer's emulation software is adequate, but unbelievably slow. I wrote some simple PostScript test pages which fly out of our other printers, but not the T640. When warmed up, time to first page varies from 5 to 60 seconds.
The printer is *very* eager to print. The moment a print job starts downloading, the fans, rollers and drum fire up in anticipation. Then they shut off twenty seconds later because the PostScript interpreter hasn't finished rasterizing the page. It makes you get up from your chair ("It's printing!") only to fake you out. :-)
Generally, PostScript benefits from having more available memory, so I added 512MB to the thing, and it really didn't make much difference.
So yeah, the printer does what it's supposed to. Just slowly.

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JVC GZ-MS110 Everio S Flash Memory Camcorder Review

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(More customer reviews)I found this one for an excellent price, and I had to give it a shot. I have been looking for one that records to flash media, so I don't have to worry about DVD formats etc.
THE GOOD
This little camcorder has OUTSTANDING image stabilization. I used the 45x optical zoom to focus on something more than 200 yards away, and it was rock solid in the frame, simply hand held. There are limits to everything, however. If you get goofy and want to use the 800x digital zoom you will definitely need a tripod. But to have 45x zoom without a needing a tripod was pretty darn good, in my book.
The sound quality was also VERY GOOD. The mic is on the front, which is always best, and the audio quality was crystal clear, recorded with plenty of volume.
As far as the digital video file goes, Windows Movie Maker live (which is free) was able to open the files without any trouble at all. From there, I'd imagine you could produce whatever kind of home movie you wish.
THE BAD
Unfortunately (or maybe not) we now live in an HD (high definition) world, and this camera does not produce HD quality picture. The picture on my 32" 720p television was quite disappointing. Even on my small laptop computer screen, the quality did not seem much better. This was on the "ultra fine" video quality setting of the camera.
Ultimately, this was the deal breaker for me, and led to its return.
THE UGLY
Not a big deal, but I haven't had a camcorder for years, and maybe this is just me. But this unit felt very light and "plastic-y". The battery, in particular was so light, it amazed me that it even worked. I have no basis, however, for saying that this affects quality in any way. It just felt a little weird to me, that's all.
THE CONCLUSION
If you like the price, and you aren't particular about crisp, clear picture quality, this could be a good purchase for you. It's hard not to love the image stabilizer, zoom and sound. If only it had HD quality picture, this camcorder would be terrific. As it is, I have to leave it with three stars.

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Olympus Stylus 600 6MP Digital Camera with 3x Optical Zoom Review

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(More customer reviews)I bought this Olympus after my Canon S400 died (yet another victim of the "memory card error" problem). In addition to its compact size, I started to really enjoy its continuous shooting mode to take action shots of my kids in their various sports events like swimming and running. The old Canon used to be able to shoot about 6 or 7 shots in burst mode before it would pause for several seconds while it stored the pictures on the memory card. When I went looking for a replacement (I ruled out all Canons), I found this Olympus. In terms of size, it closely matched the S400, but I was mostly interested in its continuous shooting function.
The Olympus web site claimed the Stylus 600 could shoot continuously until the memory card filled up. I was skeptical, but I ordered it along with an xD memory card. When I got it, I put the camera in continous shooting mode, and held the shutter down to see how many shots I could get before the camera paused. It kept going and after collecting 50 shots, I quit. The Olympus demonstrated to me that it can shoot several seconds' worth of action shots without having to pause. AMAZING! I can't wait to start shooting my kids' next sporting events!
I have had wonderful experiences with previous Olympus Stylus film cameras and I'm hoping this digital camera will hold up as well as the film cameras. So far, I'm loving this one!

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This all-weather Olympus Stylus 600 Digital Camera is perfected in the great outdoors and is designed and sealed to withstand all the elements - water, dust and snow.
Features:
2.5" LCD - This bright, premium-size LCD helps you view and share images during shooting and playback.
6.0 Megapixel CCD - Capture subtle detail in surprisingly high resolution and increase the size of printed images without loss of clarity.3x Optical, 15x Total Zoom - Together with Olympus precision-crafted lenses, the seamless zoom lets you get close to the action.
26 Selectable Shooting Modes including QuickTime Movie - Get the best result in any situation with advanced options - landscape, portrait, indoor, night scene and underwater.
TruPic Turbo Image Processor -Enjoy truer color and smoother, more accurate images - with faster startup and shutter release items.
Built-in Help Guide - A brief in-camera description helps you quickly choose the ideal setting for each situation and purpose - no stopping to consult the manual.
One-Touch Easy Print - Connect to any PictBridge-enabled printer and one simple touch gives you photo lab quality (no computer necessary).
See It Before You Shoot It - See what you're shooting even in the dark. When you're ready, just frame it and take the picture.
Capture Bright Images: Capture a bright and clear image even in dim light.

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Mygica LDA-9000 Standalone Digital ATSC HDTV Box, 1080P With Hybrid QAM/NTSC TV Tuner, Watch TV, Game and Video on Your PC Monitor - IR Remote control is Included Review

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(More customer reviews)I got this so I could have a TV in my dorm room (I already had a nice computer monitor and didn't want to fully replace it). Works fairly well as a TV tuner, but it doesnt pick up some of the higher numbered digital channels clearly. I have a VCR plugged into it as well and it makes the movies from the VHS have a really terrible quality (I tested it and know its not the VCR's fault because I plugged the VCR directly into another TV and it looked as good as VHS can look). Those are my only two complains, other than I don't think it's 80 dollars. It's also nice because it doesn't take up much room and is easy to connect. It also comes with any adapters that you might need to use it, so that's nice because you don't have to figure out what adapters to buy.

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HP W1707 17-inch LCD Monitor Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)the flat, glass-like surface is highly reflective. i think it's best to have a subdued light area to work in; daylight from windows behind particularly bad.
image quality is beautiful

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Logitech X-540 5.1 Surround Sound Speaker System with Subwoofer Review

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(More customer reviews)I am very happy with these speakers.
I replaced a cheap 2.1 set of speakers, and this sub-woofer is much better sounding than what I had before. Of course you could get even better sound by spending a lot more money, but I believe these are a very good value.
Remember you might need to reconfigure Windows and/or your BIOS and/or your Sound Card for a 5.1 speaker setup. When you are properly setup, you do NOT need to turn on the "Matrix" feature. That is only needed when you connect it to a simple stereo source like a video game console. Your computer will "upgrade" your stereo music to a 5.1 signal when configured correctly, so like I said, you can leave the Matrix button turned off when connected to your computer.
The only negative, as others have shared, is the CABLES ARE SHORT. Add $15 to the price to include a trip to Radio Shack for some RCA extension cables.
I am stilling giving this a 5-start rating, since I knew about the cable length issue before I bought it.

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Intensify your gaming with a uniform soundfield that surrounds you. Get full, rich audio even from 2-channel sources for a 5.1 surround sound experience.

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Sony VAIO VGN-CS215J/Q 14.1-Inch Laptop - Black Review

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(More customer reviews)What I really did like:
- Touchpad & Keyboard are phenomenal; On par with even Apple's offerings.
- Extremely good looking build & casing. Feels sturdy.
- Bright LCD screen
- Feels lighter than usual for a 14.1' laptop
- Decent specs for work & home (2.0GHz 2xCore, 4GB PC2-6400 DDR2, GMA 45000 HD, 1280 x 800, 800MHz bus, 250GB harddrive)
- Built in MemoryStick reader
What i really didn't like:
- Touch Pad buttons are "clacky" - By this, I mean the click sound is a bit loud.
- Battery life good, but not great.
- Media Key touch sensitivity a bit off at times.
- Sub-par gaming performance; Non-discrete video.
- Ridiculous amount of bloatware that you'll have to remove. Besides the 30 SW packages that Sony provided, there was the Google Toolbar, QuickenBooks, Live OneSupport, MS Works, a trial of MS Office, Roxio, Adobe Air/Flash/Reader, ArcSoft Camera software, WinDVD and about a dozen other things (Java, VC++ Redistributable, MSXML, etc...)
BTW: My purchase was the White version of the same model.

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