eMachines ET1831-07 Desktop (Black)

I loved almost everything about this computer (especially the price)....the speed is fantastic and there's lots of memory, etc. It was a huge improvement over my previous computer. But the only two drawbacks are that it doesn't come with a recovery disk (you have to create your own using your own CDs). And when I went to do so, I discovered that there are some problems with the CD/DVD drive. When I went to remove the CD, it would not come out (I got some error message). So I don't know if the CD drive was not installed properly at the factory or what. I'm not very techy, so I have to do a little homework to figure out how resolve that. I'm not going to spend money to take it somewhere to fix a new computer. Other than that everything works well and again the price was unbeatable for what I needed.

eMachines ET1831-07 Desktop (Black)

ASUS Eee Top ETP1602C-BK-X0163 Touch Screen All-In-One Desktop PC - Black

I purchased this computer for my son for Christmas. I was a bit apprehensive to buy a touch screen for him, but I went for it. I don't regret my decision. This computer is very compact, but powerful. I considered buying the MSI computer but was not available. The only thing I miss is the CD/DVD drive that MSI does has. I was able to calibrate the touch screen without any problems. Its comes with Windows XP and ASUS quick reference program, that is worth it.I am going to upgrade this computer buying the external CD/DVD drive that is offer here at Amazon. I don't have any complains yet, I am very happy with my purchase and my son loves it.
Eee Top ETP1602C-BK-X0163 Touch Screen All-In-One Desktop PC - Black

Acer AX3300-U1322 Desktop PC (Black)

I was looking for a multi-tasking computer, not for gaming but for everything else. I have only had this Acer running for a few days, but so far so good. It comes pre-installed with the software specified but does include any CD's or DVDs of the software as backup. No Windows 7 operating system on disc, which could be a problem if you had to re-install to fix a problem. It is recommended you make a backup of the system which requires at least two DVDs (CD-ROM too small). I am not sure how this backup would work if needed. My only other complaints are that the shape of the mouse is not as comfortable to me as my old Microsoft mouse, which I decided to keep using. The Acer mouse angles in toward the bottom on the sides as opposed to the smooth domed MS shape. The other thing is I wish Acer did not load it up promotional software.

Acer AX3300-U1322 Desktop PC (Black)

HP Pavilion MS225 18.5-Inch All-in-One Desktop PC (Black)

Let us keep expectations realistic - the MS225 is a low-end desktop system and is priced accordingly. Given that constraint, it is a very nice system, and I would recommend it to others.

What sold me on this system was: a) the AMD CPU, which, while not a screamer, is dual-core and performs much better than the Intel Atom, the other CPU being shoved into low-end systems; b) the pedastal mount, which is much more elegant than other all-in-ones that rest the display on the desktop with a couple of stand-off spacers.

Oh yes, the pre-installed MS Windows OS was immediately dumped for Ubuntu 9.10, which works like a champ. Even the funky Atheros wireless chipset works out of the box.

The only thing I would change would be to increase the DPI of the display to have more pixels without changing the physical dimensions.
HP Pavilion MS225 18.5-Inch All-in-One Desktop PC (Black)

Zotac MAG Intel Atom N330, NVIDIA ION, 2 GB DDR2, 160 GB HD, eSATA, HDMI HD-ND01-U Mini PC - No OS

The only reason I don't give this five stars is that it doesn't come with Windows 7 like the Acer Revo 3610 does for $29 more.

With that being said, if you have your own OS to put on this little gem, then consider it worthy of 5 stars and save yourself the $29. I don't consider the lack of the wireless keyboard/mouse combo a factor because the set included with the Acer isn't really useful for a HTPC.

The Pros:
* Small form factor - sleek look, packed with capabilities.
* Atom 330 + nVidia ION - a match made in Heaven.
* HDMI out.
* Built in N Wifi.
* 2GB RAM, 160 GB HD included
* Windows 7 Pro 64bit installs without a hitch - driver support is superb.
* Shows 4 CPU's in Task Manager.
* VESA mounting + vertical stand included
* Plenty of ports - USB, digital audio out, HDMI, VGA, card slot, eSATA, audio

The Cons:
* Has small fan on chipset heatsink - makes some noise when in use.
* Gets a little hot.
* Silver plastic is really coated black plastic - can scratch.
* Vertical mounting stand attachment is a little difficult.
* 5400 rpm drive may be a little slow for intensive tasking.

I purchased this unit to act as a HTPC running Windows 7 Media Center to replace the cr*ppy WD HD TV Live and Asus O!Play units that I bought and returned because they don't work.

Within two hours I was watching streaming media on this device. I created a bootable USB key using diskpart, copied the Win7 DVD to the key, and installed from it. I then updated to all the drivers available from the Zotac website, and was in business.

I added a generic Windows MCE remote USB IR key and was streaming recorded HD TV content from one PC to this one, watching flawless 1080p HD with multi-channel audio through HDMI.

Miscellaneous Notes:
* It moves in and out of sleep pretty quickly, and draws little power in any mode.
* The NVidia display drivers as well as Media Center also have the capability for compensating for any HDMI overscan your TV might experience.
* Has a cool orange ring on the side for power status, but also has a lighted power button that indicates power/sleep states.

Is this a desktop replacement? No. Is it the perfect HTPC? Just about. If it were silent and included a wireless keyboard/trackball combo, it would be indeed perfect.
Zotac MAG Intel Atom N330, NVIDIA ION, 2 GB DDR2, 160 GB HD, eSATA, HDMI HD-ND01-U Mini PC - No OS

Asus EeeBox EBXB202-BLK-X0081 Desktop PC (1.6 GHz Intel Atom Processor, 1 GB RAM, 160 GB Hard Drive, XP Home) Black

I purchased this Asus Eee PC as an experiment, replacing my bulky Media Center PC (aka Home Theater PC or HTPC), and I have been extremely satisfied so far. The unit is small (1/10th the footprint of my HTPC), quiet, very responsive, and makes an attractive (if only diminutive) addition to my entertainment center.

I use the unit for web browsing with a wireless keyboard and mouse/remote (with accelerometer), watching online video, Amazon UnBox videos, music playback (multiple formats), video playback (multiple formats), and playing DVDs. So far I have no complaints, from me (the household geek) or my family (internet junkies one-and-all).

Pros: Affordable, small, quick boot, attractive design, high quality graphics, low power consumption, very quiet (nearly silent), and it can be mounted to the back of a display (using the VESA mount).

Cons: None noted

Summary: This very well design unit is not suited for all applications, but when you need a small PC, with diminished demands, this is an excellent solution at a very affordable price. I added a USB DVD/CD RW to my tools, using only when needed, and it works flawlessly.
Asus EeeBox EBXB202-BLK-X0081 Desktop PC (1.6 GHz Intel Atom Processor, 1 GB RAM, 160 GB Hard Drive, XP Home) Black

HP TouchSmart 600-1050 23-Inch Black Desktop PC (Windows 7 Home Premium)

First Touchscreen - occasionally it takes a couple tries to get touch response. buy screen wipes , you have finger oil and this is one big black mirror

we got this to replace a cluttered noisy desktop, it has no fans = no noise and is very compact, and at 1920x1080 true HD for the 23" screen, its very productive workspace, very fast.

Problem... It makes such a good media center that there is family competition to use it. It seems to work wireless "n" speeds so Netflix and hulu are stutter-free prefect, its bigger than the kitchen TV. Someone is always using it.

at 1200 bucks it was 2/3 the cost of the system it replaced.

my advice: buy 2 of them.

edit update - we just ordered #2 since the first one never left the Kitchen & Livingroom area, where it will likely live out its useful days so Dads that buy it, set your expectations - Recipies, Netflix, Hulu, Email and facebook, and skype 2 way video ( hi mom! ) youteube, ABC full length shows and Vevo ( Vevo looks amazing ) will rule along with the touch screen magazine catalogs and lookbooks at ctndigital. youtube of this touchsmart doing amazing things in flash [...] it wont be much used for real computing - its all family entertainment.
HP TouchSmart 600-1050 23-Inch Black Desktop PC (Windows 7 Home Premium)

AMD Phenom II X6 1055T Thuban 2.8 GHz 6x512 KB L2 Cache Socket AM3 125W Six-Core Processor

For what I ended up paying, about $200, it was worth going for the six-core AMD. I've always been comfortable with the AMD processor and this one is no exception. I had an old AMD Phenom quad-core and it was time for an upgrade. I looked at the Intel chips and the icores but the prices was just too much. Then I heard about the new six core AMD chips and that one had just come out so I looked into it. I ended up getting a new motherboard to, the Asus M4N98TD EVO and was excited about the core unlock feature.

While it is true that you won't need a six core processor for a while to do software not being utilized by it (this is because software is typically required to be programmed to use the extra cores) I figured it was worth the price and the performance with the core unlocker on my board helps. I do like Intel but generally avoid them because of the price and because AMD performance is always at least satisfactory.

What's the best part? Most of you may not even need to upgrade to a new motherboard if you have an older ASUS board or another manufacture. Many AMD board makers are releasing bios updates that will allow you to use the new x6 AMD chips. Just check out your board's website.
L2 Cache Socket AM3 125W Six-Core Processor - Retail HDT55TFBGRBOX

Acer AspireRevo AR1600-U910H Black/White Desktop PC (Windows XP Home)

I've now had my Revo for 1 month and there are lots of things I like about it and several things I don't like.


Revo is small, quite, low powered and simple. No fan noises nor excessive heat at all. I notice the "thumping" of my external hard drive during seeks more than anything coming out of the Revo.

The ION Graphics and HD 5.1/7.1 sound over HDMI work great (when they work). When running video of any kind, you absolutely need to latest codec's which supports ION. For Flash video, only 10.1 pre-release works. WMP 11; Unbox as well. You can tell it is working by 2 things: no hope of HD video output without it; CPU constantly peaks at 100% without it as seen on the Task Manager on the performance tab. Playing MKV/MP4 on H.264 is generally smooth with some streaming play "pausing" (testing on Amazon On Demand in HD ). Streaming supports up to your 100T speeds through a wired network cable. Anything Hulu runs fine.

I added an external Bluray player which works with my PowerDVD 8 Deluxe [OLD VERSION]8 . Flawless and as good as any Bluray with DTS True HD. Getting 5.1/7.1 sound needs an upgrade though.

Advice: Don't try to upgrade ANY nVidia drivers without planning for a long outage as you most likely will lose your HD Sound. Just google "acer revo no hdmi sound" and you will see others struggling with this. I made the mistake of updated my ION video driver directly from nVidia and lost my sound until I did a "Restore to Factory Settings" operation packaged on a hidden partition on my Revo in order to get HD sound back. The nVidia HD sound device is not selected by default, so you always need to go into the Control Panel -> Sound ... and select it. What happens after I updated my video driver is that no matter what sound drivers I installed (even driver roll back), the nVidia HD device never shows up anymore. A friend told me that I would have needed to uninstall every nVidea driver; do a driver cleanup; then reinstall all of the latest drivers in order to get that to work again. Frankly, I haven't tried this yet as it already sounds really painful.

Haven't tried Linux yet, but tempted to see if that flips me over to loving this device. Otherwise, I can't complain about the price. It brings a PC onto my home theater which is nice for doing email etc. I often debate if I should have gone the other way - bluray plus streaming video support. But then you get locked in to what your bluray will (or will not) support.
Acer AspireRevo AR1600-U910H Black/White Desktop PC (Windows XP Home)

HP EX495 1.5TB Mediasmart Home Server ( Black)

This little guy got delivered by Amazon a few days before it's original release. I am not much of a directions guy, but was extremely pleased with how easy this was to set up and how intuitive it was when it came to setting it up. I've got 1 workstation, 2 netbooks, and 2 laptops that backup wirelessly to this guy. If they are already on the same wireless network, it's simply a matter of clicking the 'add computer' button. There's no need to fuss with any of the backup settings unless you are particular, as it will do the work automatically for you. You can then either access your files via the console or remotely at your convenience.

I can't stress enough how nice and convenient it is to be able to centrally access all my files without having to shuffle files back and forth between the local hard drives and having piece of mind knowing it's being backed up automatically. I previously did this with Time Capsule which while it worked at times, was tempermental and slow. I'm not sure how well this will work on Mac, but I am running various flavors of XP and Vista in 32bit and 64bit configs.

I even decided to add another storage drive (Seagate Barracude 1.5tb 7200rpm)for redundancy. Adding storage was a simple as pulling out an open drive bay, popping in the new drive, then going into the management console to click through the add storage wizard which took less than a minute. Now I've got 2.6tb's of storage, more than I'll probably ever need and 2 open bays to expand down the road.

Apple iMac MB950LL/A 21.5-Inch Desktop

The trouble began when the aluminum-bodied 20" iMac replaced the white polycarbonate 20" iMac. Not only does it have a highly-reflective (albeit high-quality, very plane) glass, it has a TN screen that is 6-bit per channel. The TN screen found in the 20" iMac was inferior to the IPS panel found in the 24". Those who demand image quality had two choices: buy the 24" iMac or buy the 20", turn it toward the wall and make the wallpaper white so it lights up the user environment, and buy a quality IPS screen. This back-to-back solution may seem funny, but it does work. The TN screen displays different colors at different viewing angles (Unless the user moves his/her eyes directly over the pixel, the viewing angle variation relative to the pixel position causes the color to vary greatly.


The 21.5" is a major leap forward, because the entry-level iMac has the same GHz rating as the old top-of-the-line model, has a new two-AA bluetooth keyboard, and a wireless mouse. These are the added value that used to be extra before, and the Magic Mouse wasn't even available.

With the new 21.5", the users no longer have to choose a larger screen simply for better image/color quality. The glass, however, continues to be highly reflective and uncoated (no anti-reflective coating, as you may find on camera lenses, MacBook Air, and even Audi TT's speedometer/Tachometer).

Those who do not use the numeric keypad would definitely welcome the small-footprint wireless keyboard. It allows the user to bring the mouse closer to the keyboard and reduce wrist, forearm, and shoulder stress.

The Magic Mouse has finally done away with the problem-prone scroll ball found in the Mighty Mouse. I wish the top surface of this mouse were more matte/velvety than the glossy surface it is. The glossy surface is nothing more than cosmetic. Imagine if the trackpad on all the Mac portables turn glossy. I am sure there would be plenty of complaints. The glossy surface on the predecessor was OK because the fingers didn't have to glide over the glossy surface. Although the glossy surface is not a problem for me, because I don't use a mouse at all (Kensington Expert Mouse and WACOM, please), those with sweaty fingers would find it problematic.

Those familiar with the round iMac mouse will find this familiar: Its symmetrical shape lets the user easily lose orientation, because there is not a cord attached to it. As a result, the user must look at the logo first to identify which direction is supposed to be pointing up.

The integrated nVidia 9400M is more than good enough for casual users. Those who may need 3D or gaming capabilities should choose the other models with independent video cards.

NOW, THE $500 QUESTION. How does this screen compare to the 24" in physical dimension? This screen has 1920 pixels across, which is the same as the 24". The 21.5" is 18.7" wide, which is slightly narrower than the 20.25" width found on the 24". This means the 21.5" has higher pixel density. What about the height? 12.75" for the 24" iMac and 10.5" for the 21.5" iMac.

I forgot to mention that in the past, the power switch has a different shiny surface (while the entire back is matte) and has a concave surface. However, this one is perfectly flush to the back and is very difficult to detect. It takes some poking around. Another thing: they new wireless keyboard is noticeably noisier than the USB or previous three-AA aluminum wireless keyboard. Apparently the mechanism is not the same as the other aluminum keyboards.
Apple iMac MB950LL/A 21.5-Inch Desktop

Apple Mac Mini MC270LL/A Desktop

We've already put these new minis thru the paces here at Macminicolo and they're great. A few things to know:

-The RAM on these minis is VERY easy to upgrade. This machine comes with 2GB but can be upgraded to 8GB. Just twist off the bottom with your fingers and replace the RAM. (Literally, no tools required.)

- If you're looking to use the Mac mini connected to your TV, you'll be glad to hear that it now comes with HDMI. Nearly every current HDTV should have HDMI and it's a great fit.

- Speaking of TV watching, the new GPU (video card) is great. A wonderful upgrade.

- This Mac mini was reduced in power consumption AND the power brick is now internal instead of the big external one from before. That makes for a cleaner looking hookup.

- We use all our Mac minis as servers here and they're great. They run 24 hours a day and have no problems.

- This machine still has the IR capability so it can be controlled with the Apple Remote or one of the Harmony remotes with no problems.

All in all, a good upgrade.
Apple Mac Mini MC270LL/A Desktop

HP G60-630US 15.6-Inch Laptop (Black)

I purchased this laptop yesterday and have contacted HP 5 times already in attempt to fix the mic issue to no avail. After 6 attempts to reinstall the drivers they asked me to perform a system or factory restore. How is a system or factory restore suppose to fix the mic issue when the computer is only 1 day old? I am extremely frustrated that the representatives don't have better knowledge of this issue and a fix! Moreover, I only purchased this laptop out of a desperate measures (my regular laptop is being repaired and I needed something in the interim to make some important deadlines) and really can't afford it. If I return it due to this stupid mic issue, I'm going to be subjected to a 15% restocking fee - grr! Although it may not be important to some I donot want to spend money on a laptop that has issues out of the box... if it was refurbished perhaps I could live with it. I can only imagine the technical problems I'm going to experience in the future.

HP G60-630US 15.6-Inch Laptop (Black)

HP Pavilion dv4-2173nr 14.1-Inch Laptop - Black

I have been in the market for a laptop for about a year. I have spent a great deal of time researching specs and reviewing on line reviews from many sources. HP laptops were never very high on my list until I came across the DV4-2173nr. I checked multiple sources and this model had mostly good reviews. Spec wise it more than met my minimal requirements. Price wise it was well within what I expected to pay and Amazon included a $75 gift card which really made the deal sweet.

I received the shipment within 48 hours of placing the order (isn't Amazon great). I opened the package and the DV4 was really pleasing to the eye; a sleek looking machine, with lots of features and extremely well packaged. I couldn't wait to fire it up, but alas, no display. Only 2" on the top of the screen were displayed. I spent an hour on the phone with HP tech support. The poor girl tried really hard, but bless her heart, she couldn't speak or understand enough English to discern that only the top 2" were displayed on the screen.

The DV4-2173nr is a beautiful machine with great spec and priced very competitively. Unfortunately, I can only give it 1 star since it arrived DOA. Thank goodness I purchased it from Amazon. They have a fair and reasonable return policy so at least I can receive a refund and start shopping all over again. For now, HP has moved to the lower end of my list, again! I really think you could buy this machine and be very happy with it. At least in my mind, dependability and quality is somewhat suspect.

HP Pavilion dv4-2173nr 14.1-Inch Laptop - Black

Apple MacBook MC516LL/A 13.3-Inch Laptop

The white Macbook was updated on May 18 2010. There are minor differences between the 2009 model and the 2010 model, detailed below.

The UPGRADES are

1) Geforce Nvidia 320M integrated graphics processor with 48 processing cores. This is better than the Geforce 9400M in last years model. Useful for content creation.

2)Longer lasting battery - up to 9 / 10 hours as advertised by apple. Real world usability will be closer to 6 hours depending on what tasks you use your computer for.

3)Mini display port now supports video AND audio with a compatible Mini-DP to HDMI adapter. (Last years model only supported video)

Thats it.

STANDARD FEATURES - from last years model (minor changes noted in brackets)
Polycarbonate unibody

Core 2 Duo processor (2.4ghz - up from 2.26 ghz)

1280 x 800 resolution Glossy LED backlit screen,

iSight camera,
250gb hard drive
8x slot-loading SuperDrive dvd burner

Large multi-touch trackpad ( Intertial scrolling is now enabled ),
2 USB 2.0 ports ,
Wi-Fi - 802.11n specification; 802.11a/b/g compatible, Bluetooth 2.1 and Gigabit Ethernet -10/100/1000.

Software included is OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard and the iLife 09 suite of content creation tools. A 1 year warranty on parts and 90 day telephone technical support is standard.

The Macbook as it is - is good for basic computing activities - such as browsing the web, typing articles or watching movies. However, if you're planning to buy a Macbook for multimedia work, such as editing high resolution photos or HD videos and plan to use multiple applications at the same time, please ensure that you upgrade the ram from 2gb to 4gb.

Why?

Because using a macbook with 2 gb of ram (such as this one) to multitask is a GREAT way to drive yourself crazy as the computer struggles to keep up. Try editing 10 megapixel RAW images while playing music in iTunes with Safari open. 2gb of ram is not at all adequate for multitasking / using processor intensive applications on a Macbook. I understand that Apple has to differentiate between the Macbook and MBPro to justify the price differences but skimping on the ram and putting 2gb inside a $999 product and thus, affecting the user experience is not the way to do it.

Upgrading the ram yourself from 2gb to 4gb is a great idea - EXCEPT - the the prices of DDR3 1066 mhz ram (compatible with Macbook and MB Pro) is still high. Currently, Crucial CT2KIT25664BC1067 4GB 204-PIN PC3-8500 SODIMM DDR3 Memory KIT (2GBx2) costs $111. So that brings your total to $1080 ($969 MB + $111 Ram) if you upgrade your Macbook's ram

So for only $80 more than your Macbook, (if you take into account the cost of the ram upgrade) a viable alternative is The standard Apple MacBook Pro MC374LL/A 13.3-Inch Laptop which costs $1160 on Amazon. The MBP 13 comes with the added benefits of a more durable aluminum unibody, a backlit keyboard, an SD card slot, a firewire 800 port and most importantly, 4gb of ram. Which allows you to multitask effortlessly.

If you're going to use the Macbook for any computationally demanding activities such as content creation, editing large RAW images or HD videos you should upgrade the ram to 4gb or just buy the standard MBPro 13 inch. The processor and hard drive are the same in both the MB and MBPro 13 ( 2.4 ghz Core 2 duo and 250gb hard drives ) But the 4gb ram will make a big difference in the daily usage experience.

However, if you only want to use the Macbook for general tasks like writing articles, browsing websites or watching movies, it will handle those duties effectively and easily. And the strong battery life ensures that you can be mobile for 3 to 6 hours.

Toshiba Satellite A505-S6004 TruBrite 16.0-Inch Laptop (Black/Silver)

Great things about the Satelite:

+ 16" wide screen display - it's beautiful

+ Fast, starts up in a couple of seconds and no waiting on your apps

+ Huge 500GB hard drive.

+ Windows 7, I wasn't expecting much, but no problems, runs without issues

+ Microsoft Office, installed, free for 60 days
+ Huge high quality speakers, this machine is music and movie ready.
+ Attractive
+ A little heavy but not bad for its size.
+ Toshiba is very reliable
+ Motion detector locks the hard drive in place when it detects the laptop is being jostled around.

Could be better:
> Light above track pad too bright
> Keys are LOUD
> Norton installed and bugs you about paying every time you log on

Overall, this is a great laptop. SOme of the display lights are a little bright and the keypad is noisy. I can forgive that though because this laptop is so fast. I'm never waiting anymore. Windows 7 is proving to be very reliable and easy to use.

Initially, the touch pad was "helping" me and this was really annoying. To turn off some of the trackpad features that do things for you: Go to Control Panel > Hardware and Sound, under the Devices and Printers section click on Mouse. Another dialog pops up, CLick on the Device Settings tab, then on the Settings button. From there you can set up the touch pad the way you want it.

I upgraded my laptop to a 12 cell battery and that battery lasts about 7 or 8 hours. If you can afford the extra battery, it's worth it. THe 12 cell does take about 2 hours to charge though.

My friends who work in computer repair say they get less Toshibas in the shop than any other brand and highly recommend them.

Buy a large laptop case to carry it in. It will not fit in a standard size case.

Norton is slow and a pain, I uninstalled it and installed Vipre.
Toshiba Satellite A505-S6004 TruBrite 16.0-Inch Laptop (Black/Silver)

HP Pavilion DV6-2162NR 15.6-Inch Black Laptop--Up to 4.25 Hours of Battery Life

I bought this HP for my wife to replace her 3 year old Toshiba. It's 100% her computer but she places everything technical in our lives on me and then holds me accountable for its performance. My wife is brutal on electronics and her laptop is no exception. The Toshiba had a VERY hard life and ticked along perfectly until the past few months. After wasting $200 on a failed repair (hard drive) I decided it was cheaper to replace it than to nurse it along. I initially went shopping for another Toshiba and frankly, I feel like I would be writing a 5 star review for a Toshiba if it hadn't come down to a $150 price difference. I was able to use the competing Toshiba at a retailer, but when I went to Amazon I found this HP. Nearly identical in performance and appearance; aside from a couple of keyboard control features they were the same.

I bought the HP, Amazon shipped it FedEX and it arrived to Fairbanks Alaska in less than 48 hours (used standard shipping, nothing special). She loves it, charged it up and it performs flawlessly and much better than my 8 month old Dell XPS (Argh, never again...long story). I have not attempted to load Office 2007 yet, but suspect from my research on 64 bit systems, it will work fine. Neither one of us cares for the bubble scheme and thinks it detracts from the professional look of the rest of the finish (petty, I know).

The mouse pad works perfectly and I particularly like the keyboard layout and feel of the keys. I REALLY like the number pad without having to buy a 17+ inch system which is of course standard now.

4 USB ports, 1 HDMI output, a great LCD screen and Graphics card...zero to complain about. Oh, and Windows 7 works very well.

I'll report back if it doesn't hold up to the flagrant neglect my wife typically inflicts on her electronics, but as of for now she is rightfully treating like a shiny new sports car!
HP Pavilion DV6-2162NR 15.6-Inch Black Laptop--Up to 4.25 Hours of Battery Life

ASUS UL30Vt-A1 Thin and Light 13.3-Inch Silver Laptop (12 Hours of Battery Life)

I had been excited about the ULxxVT series from Asus since they were first announced a couple months ago. I originally purchased the UL80VT back when it was released in October but ultimately returned it due to a very noticeable dead pixel right in the middle of the screen. This was probably for the best as a week with the UL80VT made me realize it was bigger then I needed and I didn't really have much use for the optical drive.


Due to my brief ownership of the UL80VT I knew certain things to expect with the UL30VT but I have to say the UL30VT has exceeded my expectations. While I never felt the build quality was bad on the UL80VT it's much better on the smaller UL30VT. Clearly due to the smaller frame everything is quite a bit more solid as there is almost no chasis flex at all. The keyboard is okay. Everything is well spaced although the small right shift key is a bit annoying. Honestly the only thing about the keyboard that isn't great is that it's a bit on the noisy side as its very clackity when you type. I know a lot of people don't like the dimpled ASUS touchpads but honestly I don't think it's that bad and it has tons of multi-functions that really make it a joy to use. The single button touchpad button isn't as firm as on the UL80VT so its a bit easier to press for those who don't just use tapping. The screen is also in my opinion much better then the UL80VT in regards to contrast which I felt was subpar on the the larger model. Viewing angles still aren't great but they aren't on most laptops these days. The hard drive is a bit noisy but it's not really that noticeable.

I know a lot will be made of battery life on these UL models and it should be pointed out that this comes with the 10 hour battery, not the 12 hour one Amazon lists. Even still its a 63whr, 4400mah 8 cell battery that I have easily been able to get 7 hours of wifi web surfing and there still being life left (sorry, I haven't had it long enough to do a full battery test yet). So while it would have been nice to get the larger 84whr battery I don't think I will have had too many instances where I will even need it. Also just to correct another incorrect part of the Amazon listing, the UL30VT weighs 3.92lbs according to my precision scale with the battery installed. Still plenty light for me but I don't know how they got 3.7lbs that is listed here. The UL80VT also has the wrong weight listed in it's listing as it weighed 4.8lbs when I weighed that back in October.

Overall I am very happy I waited for the UL30VT, the idea of creating an overclocked low voltage system is a genius concept that ASUS has executed very well here. The end result gives the user performance equivalent to a regular full voltage Core 2 Duo while still providing great battery life. There is truly nothing else on the market like the VT series laptops and for $799 you get a lot. Sure the larger battery or longer warranty of the A series UL models (this is an X model) would be nice but it would then cost more and lets be honest, it still has better battery life then most systems on the market and almost all consumer laptops only come with a one year warranty to begin with! Given the price I can't recommend this system enough, sure there are a few things that could be improved but for me it's exactly what I needed in a laptop at hundreds less then I was originally expecting to pay.
ASUS UL30Vt-A1 Thin and Light 13.3-Inch Silver Laptop (12 Hours of Battery Life)

Toshiba Satellite T135-S1305 TruBrite 13.3" Ultrathin Laptop (Black)

I have been using this computer for about two weeks now, and so far I am very satisfied with my purchase. I previously had an HP dv6000 series laptop which lasted nearly 3 years, yet had its share of hardware problems along the way. Eventually, its motherboard completely fried, and I wanted to replace it with a lighter, more portable laptop with better battery life, and I didn't want to break the bank. After doing some research, I settled on the Toshiba T135 series, with the s1305 being (in my opinion) the best combination of price, processor speed, and memory.

This computer has the Intel-based SU4100 processor, which IS dual core, and is faster than the AMD Neo processors that some of the other T135s have. Battery life has been surprisingly good, as I can get about 6-7 hours of web surfing and email in on the normal battery settings, with slightly longer times if you select ECO mode. Windows 7 has been a joy to use, as my HP had Vista, which was pretty miserable. I also like the ability to output video AND audio to my hdtv through the hdmi port; it makes watching hulu and other video sites really enjoyable. One thing I also noticed is that this computer is nearly SILENT, and it generates very little heat, so it is very easy to sit with it on your lap for long periods of time. By comparison, the HP's fan only got louder, and got very very hot.

There are only two things about this computer that have mildly irritated me. The first is the finish, which is piano black with an almost carbon fiber look. It makes the comp look really cool, but gathers fingerprints very easily, which tends to annoy me as I am always trying to wipe them off. The second thing is the touchpad and click buttons. The pad is somewhat temperamental at times, and the buttons are a rocker-style, and not their own individual buttons. This just makes it kind of frustrating to use sometimes, but its fairly rare and isn't that big of a deal. If you're going to try to do some serious work with this computer, you would really want to have a wireless mouse to use. That's what I've been doing and it works out fine.

In conclusion, I would strongly recommend this product. Amazon had the best price among online retailers (and brick-and-mortar stores), and the shipping was fast. If you're still on the fence, I would recommend going to Best Buy and looking at this computer first(they sell different models of the T135) and making sure you like the aesthetics and such. Otherwise, I hope you like it as much as I have.
Toshiba Satellite T135-S1305 TruBrite 13.3" Ultrathin Laptop (Black)

HP Pavilion DV4-2161NR 14.1-Inch Laptop (Digital Plaid)

I had have this computer for a month now, so here goes nothing:


Pros:
- Excellent design
- 4GB Ram, enough for most tasks
- 500GB hard drive, for me that's enough for now
- Small size and little weight (even lighter when DVD is removed, which is an excellent feature in itself)
- Windows 7 (better than Vista, we'll see about XP)
- EXCELLENT PRICE

Cons:
- Battery life is about 2 hours, bound to decrease within 6 months, not on par with most other laptops this size.
- Touchpad really has a mind of its own on ocassion.
- Glossy design is beautiful, but it's also a fingerprint magnet
- Opening it is a cumbersome task, not really bad, but a little.
- Windows 7 "64bit" - Some old programs I use refuse to work in such environment.

All in all a solid laptop, with excellent features (and minor inconveniences), but please, HP, this is my third HP laptop and the batteries have never been your forte. (yet I keep buying HP) DO SOMETHING!

UPDATE: The battery won't last for more than an hour and a half, so I took two stars off my review for this major inconvenience. Sorry to say this, but I no longer recommend this purchase.

Toshiba Satellite L505-GS5037 TruBrite 15.6-Inch Laptop (Black)

I did about 2 weeks worth of research before buying this laptop and I found the Toshiba L505-GS5037 for $579.99 at Amazon the best deal around. I'm a first time international buyer and had this shipped to my country through a relative and I must mention the excellent guidance and service given to me by Amazon. I felt safe and secure and had all my questions answered fully - so good job Amazon, I'll definitely be buying more from your website!


As for the laptop, my previous laptop was 15" and I was surprised by how big the ".6" difference in this 15.6-inch laptop is. But I love the big screen and very much happy that I did not go for the other 13.3-inch bestseller here on Amazon. It's also not heavy at all and 6 pounds is really nothing to carry around. It's a lot sleeker, slimmer and more beautiful in person and the reviewer here who said that the pictures don't do this laptop justice is right.

I bought this laptop for its great everyday use specs - Intel Core i3, 500GB hard drive, and 4GB upgradeable memory. I love how much faster I can edit pictures, make short videos and create documents - definitely a huge upgrade from my old Pentium 4, 60 GB, 512 MB RAM laptop (it was 5 years old okay!). I have no problems using the keyboard (I type very fast - 75WPM) and at first I thought the number keypad would be too much but I found myself using it very often and love that this laptop has this feature.

Lastly for the pros: the trackpad is great (though I use a mouse more often), it doesn't come with a ton of bloatware, the 3-hour battery life is good enough for me, I love the old school volume wheel, and best of all is that Toshiba has INTERNATIONAL WARRANTY.

The downsides to this laptop for me are:
(1) the speakers aren't very good (even with the volume boost tip here in one of the reviews)
(2) I had to buy a USB port because it only has 2 USB ports
(3) I find the screen oddly lacking in color even with the brightness at its highest level (mine looks like there's a sheet of grey plastic over it), and
(4) Although this isn't Toshiba's fault, the Windows 7 64-bit OS and the new 1366 x 768 resolution aren't compatible with some of my favorite games and programs. This kind of makes the other great specs of this laptop useless. Others who have older laptops can play games seamlessly while mine is choppy and lags a lot. But I blame Microsoft and the game developers for that, not Toshiba. Just want to mention it here in case there are others who want to play games on this laptop too.

Overall, the Toshiba L505-GS5937 is a great buy for those looking for an everyday use laptop. And the price here on Amazon is just unbeatable! I see myself using this laptop for the next 3 years or so - hopefully by that time, software would've caught up with Windows 7 and the new widescreen resolution!

Apple MacBook Pro MC374LL/A 13.3-Inch Laptop

The Macbook Pro has just been updated on April 13th 2010. There are some upgrades and a few changes between this year and last years model, detailed below.


UPGRADES
1) The MBP 13 now has 4 gb of ram standard. This allows you to multi-task easily without any issues ( last years model had only 2gb of ram which was inadequate) Now there's no need to spend more money upgrading your ram UNLESS you're really into heavy duty multimedia work

2) It also features the Nvidia GeForce 320M integrated graphics processor with 48 processing cores. This is an improvement compared to the Geforce 9400M graphics chip in last years model and will help in graphics and content creation.

3) The battery lasts longer - now for 9 to 10 hours of use as advertised by Apple (compared to 7 to 8 hours on last years model) Your mileage may vary but it allows you to be mobile for up to 6 hours - depending on what task you're using the computer for. It's an inbuilt battery so once it's exhausted, it's back to the Apple store or an Apple Authorized Service Provider for replacement. However, Apple states that the battery will hold 80% of it's charge for up to a 1000 charges which means approximately 3 to 4 years of daily use. So it should be a while before you have to go in for that battery replacement.

4) The included hard drive is 250 gb (160gb in last years model).

5) Mini display port now supports video AND sound with a compatible Mini-DP to HDMI adapter (last years model only supported video)

STANDARD FEATURES - from last years 13 inch model (minor changes noted in brackets) are
An Aluminum unibody,
Core 2 Duo Processor (2.4 ghz - up from 2.26ghz ),
1280 x 800 resolution Glossy LED backlit screen,
iSight camera,

8x slot-loading SuperDrive dvd burner
Large glass multi-touch trackpad ( Intertial scrolling is now enabled ),
Backlit keyboard with comfortable chiclet keys
Magsafe power adapter (with redesigned tip to reduce stress on the cable)

1 Firewire 800 port,
2 USB 2.0 ports ,
SD Card slot,
Wi-Fi - 802.11n specification; 802.11a/b/g compatible, Bluetooth 2.1 and Gigabit Ethernet -10/100/1000.

Software included is OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard and the iLife 09 suite of content creation tools. A 1 year warranty on parts and 90 day telephone technical support is standard.

The lack of the latest Intel Core i5 or i3 processors processors in this machine is disappointing to some extent ( Anybody paying a premium price for a product, would expect new rather than "old" processors to be part of the configuration ) but I'd still recommended the MBP 13 to people looking to buy the lightest and most portable Macbook Pro as well as a capable machine in it's own right. Demanding applications like Skype, Photoshop, Lightroom, iMovie run smoothly.

I would also consider purchasing applecare - AppleCare Protection Plan MC258LL/A - For Portable Apple Computers 13.3 Inches and Below along with the notebook. What most consumers don't know is that is that if you don't have Applecare and a product malfunction occurs after the first year, Apple's prices for repair/ replacement parts are extremely high. Another warranty extension option is Squaretrade (which also includes damage protection). It's better to pay once for Applecare or Squaretrade (whatever you prefer) and be covered for 2 more years after the first year is up than pay exorbitant repair/replacement fees if a part malfunctions.

For those who are confused about whether they should purchase the $1199 MBP 13 or the $1499 MBP 13 - the only difference between this model and the higher priced model is processor speed and hard drive space - the $1199 MBP 13 has a 2.4 ghz processor and 250 gb hard drive and the $1499 MBP 13 has a 2.66ghz processor and 320 gb hard drive. Whether a 266 mhz (10% difference) and 70 gb more of hard drive space is worth 300 dollars more is your call. (Although you can purchase a 500 gb notebook hard drive for approximately $80 and install it yourself. Instructions are in the MBP 13 manual and you'll need a Philips #00 screwdriver. Installation videos are also available online)
Apple MacBook Pro MC374LL/A 13.3-Inch Laptop

Kaspersky Internet Security 2010 3-User

I've used just about every security system in the world over the years and a year ago settled on Kaspersky 2009, which is easy to use, runs well, and does everything perfectly.


Then, in September, it came time to renew my annual license. I paid my money, and, instead of just renewing me, Kaspersky sent me their new program, 2010. I installed it with no problem. The interface is more complicated but not *really* hard to figure out. After a while, however, I started noticing that there were various sites that I couldn't get to on the Internet (I use Chrome as my browser). Then I discovered that some programs, such as Eudora and Agent were taking longer and longer and longer to shut down when I clicked the X in the corner. And that almost *all* programs I opened or *all* websites that I went to were *much* slower in starting up than they had been before. I tried getting help for various issues at the online Forum where various people send in their problems and other people, including, I guess, some types hired by Kaspersky, try to help them. I got various answers but not very good ones.

I finally discovered by reading a number of anguished threads in the Forum that *lots* of people were having terrible slow-down problems with Kaspersky 2010, even though 2009 had run smoothly. A few people said that the only way they fixed their problems was to uninstall 2010 completely and to reinstall 2009. Finally, after 2010 suddenly vanished from my screen and disappeared *entirely*, I used "Revo Uninstaller" (a *great, free* program, by the way, that everyone should have) to uninstall 2010 and then, using my CD that I had bought a year earlier, finally managed to reinstall 2009. It was hard, though, and took me several hours, countless reboots, and various clean-ups that hadn't been necessary when I first installed it a year ago. Now my system is once again humming along with 2009 and all the problems that I experienced with 2010 are gone.

Buying 2010 is like buying Microsoft Vista and installing it if you had previously been running XP -- a big mistake, and don't do it! It's nothing but a piece of over-priced bloatware that is full of bugs and should never have been released. Users of Internet Explorer 8, particularly: take warning! According to the Forum threads, it's *really* a problem with that browser!

PS -- For the Teckies: My computer is a Compaq Presario, with XP Home Edition, Service Pack 3, Pentium 4 CPU, 2.80 GHz, 1.00 GB of RAM, running Google Chrome as the *only* browser on the system.

Dragon NaturallySpeaking 10 Standard

Here are some pointers for those who have not used Dragon, but are thinking of purchasing.

1. Don't skimp on a headset. Visit Nuance.com. Click on Support > Hardware Compatibility List > Dragon NaturallySpeaking > Headset Microphones Current. While it is possible to use a wireless microphone, if you are just starting out, go with a wired, such as a Plantronics DSP-400 (Amazon has this headset for $[...]. It seems cheap, but it is a very good headset). If you can hook the headset up via USB instead of mic in, you will get better recognition accuracy. Additionally, you don't need an internal sound card if you are connecting via USB as the headset comes with its own external sound card.

A good wireless headset will be expensive, and they do not have as good of recognition accuracy as a wired headset.

2. Once you have your headset, connect it to the PC, and install Dragon. It is a straightforward install.

3. You will have to go through an audio and quality check, and then go into General Training. I recommend doing one of the easier readings. You can always go back through and do additional general training. My BIGGEST piece of advice here is speak with your normal voice. Some of my students seem to want to over enunciate, or speak with a different voice during general training. That is only going to set you up for a difficult time when you begin dictating.

4. After your general training, I highly recommend going through the Tutorials. You should be given an option to do this after your general training. If not, you can get to them through the Help Menu on the Dragon bar.

Note: At some point, you will be given the option of having Dragon scan your email and documents. Nuance recommends this, but I don't. You can always have it scan your documents later via the accuracy center. Additionally, I never recommend letting Dragon scan your email. What it is going to do with these actions, is to learn your writing style. Rather than letting DNS do this at setup, move a bunch of documents you have written to one folder, go to the Accuracy Center, and let DNS scan the entire folder.

4. Dragon has some shortcut keys. The number keypad + key is used to turn your mic on and off. The number keypad / key is used to put your mic to sleep, and wake it up. You can go to Tools > Options to change shortcut keys.

5. Remember that while you can do a lot with Dragon, you will find that your best usage comes with using Dragon, the keyboard and the mouse.

6. Set up some Custom Commands. Visit [...] to learn how to set up Custom Commands. There is a book by Larry V. Allen called Scripting for Dragon NaturallySpeaking that will help you out with Advanced Scripts.

7. When you begin dictating, Dragon WILL make some mistakes. It does not help if you yell at your microphone. You will have to continue to train your profile as time goes. If Dragon makes a mistake, resist the urge to delete the mistake and start over. I use this analogy with my students. Think of it as a new puppy. If a puppy makes a mistake, you don't get rid of it (at least you shouldn't), you should correct its mistake. The same goes for Dragon NaturallySpeaking. Use the command "Select That" to have DNS highlight the word, and bring up a menu of possible alternate choices. If the correct word is not there, use the command "Spell That" and then spell the word such as: a m a z o n

8. My last tip concerns the Acoustic and Language Model Optimizer. You can get to it through the Accuracy Center, or the Start Menu. Run that after about two weeks of use, and again on a monthly basis. This will fine tune your profile with all corrections and training.

Enjoy Dragon NaturallySpeaking. It is a great piece of software.

Mac OS X version 10.6 Snow Leopard

I upgraded my Leopard-equipped late 2006 Black MacBook to Snow Leopard. I had it on pre-order all week and delivered on release date. It doesn't boast a whole lot of new stuff to it, but I like the new features it does have, and I love the fact that it takes up so much less hard drive space on my MacBook (I gained an amazing 29 gigabytes of space). I also noticed a pretty good speed boost after upgrading.


I really love the new Dock Expose, and how I can look at just one particular application in Expose instead of all the open windows in any given space. It makes finding things a lot easier. I also like the fact that you can now resize your icons in the finder. Dock scrolling (with magnification) and cover flow have been smoothed out greatly which makes it that much more attractive. Quicktime X is a pretty good movie recorder and the interface looks a lot better than previous version of Quicktime. Some other refinements are pretty nice as well.

64-bit support is amazing and I can see a difference in the apps that are now running in 64-bit (see the Activity Monitor for the apps that are running in 64-bit). Things just run smoother and faster.

Now, as far as some drawbacks of the system, this first one is a major one: when redesigning Safari, they made Safari and its plugins and completely separate processes, supposedly to improve the stability of Safari. Perhaps it did this, but as a result, it eats up far more CPU power than the previous iteration. This can result in your system slowing down, and I'm running into serious issues with heating (when using Flash for example, it eats up almost 70% of the CPU and I'm running around 150F, which is somewhat dangerous). Also, there has been some lost backward compatibility with Snow Leopard, and for me, most notable with VMWare Fusion. I hope this is addressed soon.

So would I consider this a necessary upgrade? Not really. If an upgrade is considered, it should be more for the speed boost than for new features, as most users won't take advantage of many (if any) of the enhancements in the interface itself. However, the speed boost and freeing up of hard drive space are nice. Also, if you have programs that might have compatibility issues I'd probably recommend holding off and waiting for these to be resolved before upgrading. If you don't have these issues, go ahead and upgrade, however, I believe you should do so with caution, and keep a copy of your Leopard install disk handy in case you need to revert should you run into any of the issues mentioned.
Mac OS X version 10.6 Snow Leopard

Norton Internet Security 2010 1 User/3 PC

I have used Norton as my virus protection for quite a few years and prefer Norton over McAfee. As a matter of fact my new laptop that came with a 30 day trial of McAfee just got replaced with this Norton download. This virus scan easily found and deleted 3 viruses I had on my PC and I was pleasantly pleased with the speed in which it performed this total task. Norton offers free backup online with this software too. Buying this from Amazon saved close to half off verses buying direct from Norton's website. Gotta love Amazon! Download time is minimal if you aren't using dialup. Only took about 10 minutes for my PC which is on DSL. Laptop took a little longer due to wireless connection, but still only about 15 minutes. This is well worth the money. Norton Internet Security 2010 1 User/3 PC

Microsoft Office 2010 Home & Business (Disc Version)

The user interface is a little more elegant than in the 2007 version. The programs feel otherwise the same. Outlook starts by default in conversation view, which might be a little disconcerting at first when viewing and deleting emails vs conversations (more than once I've inadvertently deleted a conversation instead of an email that was part of the conversation), but it gains the unified ribbon look. Word feels the same as the 2007 version. Excel gains sparkline charts and a couple of other features; it's, however, still plagued by the same flaws as its predecessor, especially the buggy page view, which sometimes forget your pagination settings (switches from letter size to legal or 11x17), selects 4 or 5 rows at a time instead of one, and so on. It works otherwise quite well. Powerpoint is the usual pig with lipstick. It's competent, but lags behind Apple Keynote when it comes to creating classy presentations.


For all of the apps, I like the new print dialog window a lot: it's big, clear, with a nice preview feature.
In general, $240+ for this suite seems a little too much. It still feels like an office suite from the '90s with some lipstick on. I was hoping that the 2010 version of Excel would take some clues from Apple Numbers, the spreadsheet application in iWork '09, which sports some cool tricks like multiple tables instead of one giant grid, alignment guidelines, and more tricks in the graphics department. I design lots of spreadsheets for reporting purposes, some of them for big clients that want slick-looking reports. It's still much easier and faster to create gorgeous reports using Apple Pages, Numbers, and Keynote in the iWork suite than it is in Microsoft Office at 4 or 5 times the price.
Microsoft Office 2010 Home & Business (Disc Version)

Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac Home & Student Edition

I just bought a MacBook Pro 15". I love it. I was concerned about making sure everything I produce on this machine is compatible with microsoft documents and programs. I bought the Macbook Pro because I didn't want to deal with Vista and because I am over microsoft in general --hot fixes, service packs, all sorts of SLOP work...and then this most recent and astounding inability to produce a stable product. Anyway, it was a big deal for me to buy a Macbook Pro rather than a Toshiba with Vista preloaded..I digress.

THE PROBLEM: I loaded microsoft Office for Mac, 2008 Home and Student Edition with hopes of using it. I shortly found that COMMON fonts do not transfer in Word, Excel does not work as smoothly and then I received a "Welcome to Entourage" email from microsoft that literally overwrote a weeks worth of emails. Poof! all gone! (gratefully I only had a weeks worth before my welcome email) I called microsoft to ask if there was a way to unwrite the overwritten and was promptly told that I need to establish a "case number" before they could process my inquiry. A Case number? good grief---A CASE NUMBER. Is it that bad? Yes, I could see how many companies may want to sue microsoft for all kinds of things right now. Anyway, I promptly uninstalled Office for Mac 2008 and I will return it. Maybe microsoft will decide to fix this BETA, surely we can expect microsoft to service pack/ hot fix this product to death and then MAYBE in six months at least something as minor as the default settings will coincide with the real world.

THE SOLUTION: I partitioned the hard drive on my macbook, installed WINDOWS XP and loaded my copy of 2003 Office Suite. Everything is perfect now. I get to have the very best laptop in the world and all this great functioning apple software (If you haven't made the switch---you will love Apple --it's so clean). I can create documents (because I must) THAT DON'T CRASH on the other side of my mac HD (the dark side). It's like having two computers in one; the preferred being the Apple. Why can't Apple make microsoft Office? (yes I really do know why).

THE FUTURE: Will I ever install a microsoft product onto the mac side of my HD again? --Not until mircosoft decides to come clean and deliver a product that isn't messed up. Who do these people think they are? How long do they think we'll just take it? Well, this time I didn't take it, instead---- I took it back.
Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac Home & Student Edition