Apple Reviews

The D-PAD (the directional pad) needs to be calibrated constantly just to keep working. I was using it for about an hour for a game after I bought it, then the next day I went to use it and when playing a game it was pulling to the right constantly, so I had to recalibrate it. On the calibration screen in windows, you can see the little calibration cursor vibrating almost and on another calibration screen it literally jumps around. It never returns to 'center' when you move it, it's always off-center, even after calibration.
There is definately something wrong with the analog DPAD they use in this Gravis Eliminator gamepad - go buy something else instead and STAY AWAY from this gamepad. This is the same problem a lot of other people are complaining about it, and they haven't fixed it (and probably wont). I bought this gamepad around April 15, 2004 brand new.

The gamepad is average, I suppose. I've never used the PSX controller style, and I've always found that I could press forward more easily with a setup like the n64. This however, is irrelevant to this review.

The gamepad is awesome. It has all the features of the dual shock controllers, except for rumble, which I don't usually prefer. The analog sticks aren't cheapie, like I've found elsewhere... and they even have rubber coating so your thumbs don't slip. The D-pad and the triggers are the weak point, because of too much "play" (i.e. too much distance between "on" and "off," if that makes sense... not because I played on the pad too much), but once they are broken in a little, they feel more friendly.

The gamepad is sturdy. The "action stabilizer bar" which really doesn't stabilize a thing, keeps the controller more sturdy by adding an extra reinforcement. It also makes a nice handle when picking it up. And no, it doesn't get in the way at all.

The software is the best part. Don't think that just because this is the cheapest dual shock clone available that it is automatically a second rate product. You can have it controll the mouse and the keyboard for full controll of ALL games... even ones that don't support joysticks! The installation was a bit sketchy, but that's probably my fault for unplugging it and replugging it in.

I picked one of these up so I could play Madden 2004, NHL 2004 and NBA Live 2004 online with a friend of mine. I gotta say, this controller just owns. It feels very sturdy and well constructed. It feels so tough that I can't help but imagine the quality control guys at Belkin saying, "These things get stepped on. Can this thing survive being stepped on? Hang on, let's see." Even the analog sticks - usually the weakest link in a pad like this - feel very, very tough.

Sensitivity is high and, used as a default pad, it works awesome for so far for EA Sports games. I had to make a custom "axis" for the right analog "Playmaker" feature in Madden 2004 to work right. I dunno why. But with it up and running, my game has been great.

The pad is customizable to do all kinds of nutty stuff. You can map out keyboard keys onto the D pad or the analog sticks, creating a controller for games otherwise not designed for gamepads. You can even do "zones" on the analog sticks. For example you could have a slight press on the stick activate one key (walk forward), and a hard press activate another key (run forward). Or you could even have a slight press hit the "W" key, and a hard press activate "SHIFT + W."

The n45 has 13 buttons, not counting the D pad. 13 basic buttons is still more than most gamepads - I think more typical is 10. Having 13 buttons is a *very* nice feature. In addition you can set a button to be a "shift" key - so all your buttons have a second function when you press shift.

This means that in Madden 2004, I can have every single button in the game mapped, including a timeout button and a button for the pause menu. (If you play Madden, having a timeout button is very sweet.) Even with everything mapped I had 3 buttons left. I used one as a "shift" key - so now I have to press my shift key and a second button to call a timeout. (This is nice because you can't hit the button on accident and waste a timeout.)

With my other two buttons I made two macros. The macroing feature is the other miracle of the n45. You can use it to program sequences of button presses. My two macros were simple - one hits button 1, then button 8 to reverse my play. The other hits 1 then 7 to revert my play to it's original form. Of course I can activate these with single button presses.

Macros are not limited to button presses - they can include analog stick motions, D pad motions, mouse buttons, the "throttle" function from a joystick, and keystrokes. (Basically, you can put anything in a macro except mouse movements.) Another Madden example: another macro that I could easily make would be one that hits button 4, then hits the left stick down for "Bump and Run" coverage. All these examples have been short sequences - however there's seemingly no limit on the number of actions a macro can execute.

If I gave a warning, I'd say the contoller seemed big as hell at first - and I have big hands. After a lot of use, it seems fine - I think it's not really that big, but it's shaped in a way that I was really not ready for. Still, if you have little hands this may not be the controller for you - you might want to look at something petite, like the Logitech Wingman.

I'd also point out that when setting this game up to play Madden 2004, I found that the right analog stick had it's "X" and "Y" functions reversed. Meaning hitting "right" made the game think I was hitting "down." None of the default stick setups worked and I had to program my own custom set of X-Y axes to make it work right. This has not been a problem with NHL 2004 or NBA Live 2004 - only Madden.

Finally, if you get one of these and you have a Belkin n52 or n50, make sure you totally forget about the enclosed n45 install disk, and just download the latest drivers / profile software from the Belkin site. I re-installed from the enclosed CD, and suddenly my n52 just disappeared from the profiler. (Because the enclosed CD was made before the n52 was released. :) Doh.)

Regardless I'm happy to give this thing 5 stars. Between the avalanche of buttons and it's programmability, I'm sure I'll never wish for another gamepad.

This device is not worth the $30+ since the amplifier function is so hit and miss. With my car stereo & iPod mini the signal produced from the "amped" line-out on the charger is about 1/50th of the volume produced just by hooking the tape adapter into the normal audio-out on the iPod. I didn't even think the charger's line out was working at first until I cranked the stereo all the way up with the "amped" line out volume on max. Basically, I paid an extra $10 for a non-feature. In hindsight I should have ordered the DLO charger only for $20 from somewhere else because all I have is a charger.

I think that the folks that gave this product low ratings have electrical systems in their vehicles that are not compatible or are hooking it up wrong (somehow?). This charger should not have any effect on the hissing sound through a cassette adapter. There are many ways to use the line output with this product: If you have an aftermarket cd player that has a line input on the front of the head unit, you can use a 3$ mini stero jack cable and hook it up that way (from the ipod headphones or the Charger). Better yet, in my case my cd player has RCA line inputs on the back, so I just bought a Mini Stero Jack that splits to two RCA's and plugged them in...AWESOME SOUND!! I recommend the charger, and for me it works great!!

From my Car Stereo Head Unit, I bought a 15 dollar rca adapter to convert the CD changer port to a standard RCA Input. Go out and buy a 5 dollar RCA to Mini cable and connect that from the RCA adapter to the Auto Kit. Connect your IPOD to the Auto Kit, and away you go. The best sound you can get from your IPOD. No static Cassette, no low sound FM transmitter. Just straight RCA input into your Car Stereo.<br /> Total cost approx. 55 dollars to get the best out of your ipod while charging. After buying two cables and the Auto Kit. 1.5 years and still going...<br /> Worth the buy.

Just like Joe, I read the box and thought this card would work with my Mac G3 All-In-One because the only requirement was OS X. It did work fine, with my printer and keyboard.

Then I tried to use an external USB2 hard drive, and it was really slow (USB 1 speeds). Then IOGear told me my hardware isn't supported.

I even have a G3! But they don't support Beige, only Blue & White. (All-in-one is like Beige.)

Read carefully!

... we're supposed to check the website before buying any of their products? Well, no big deal, I probably won't buy any more of their products.

...

I run an amd k-6 500mhz with win98se and I could not get the card to install at all. It caused my system to lock up and even restarted itself during installation (that wasn't supposed to happen). I called iogear's tech support and was told it was a bad card. So, I sent it back and got another (Amazon.com's customer service was great!) and the second card did the same thing. I guess it was my computer, but I put my old usb card back in (2 port 1.1) and now I run a 4 port hub off that and it works ok. Maybe my system is just too old to run a 2.0 card so I'll just have to wait till I upgrade.

I Checked the Dell site and printed out Safety and Installation instructions (after checking the card's compatibility with my computer and XP system)

The IOGEAR PCI card installed easily and was recognized right away. Noticed a definite increase in speed with the new USB 2 port. I'm ordering another one for my other PC.

Another review writer mentioned overlapping IRQs - which suggests they were out of the loop when the entire computer world changed to Level Triggered IRQs. In a nutshell, current systems are designed to share IRQs, this is a critical function for any system. If you have older PCI based cards or a computer older than 4 years this is when you can see problems, as they use what are called Edge Triggered IRQs and are not shareable.

Still, installing add-in cards to your PC is not for the faint of heart or the uninformed, even with the advances in Plug and Play technologies. Get your friendly neighborhood computer genius to help if you don't feel you're savvy enough.

That being said, this card from Adaptec works flawlessly, and has some nice features designed into it. The bus mastering PCI functions work reasonably well, unlike some lower priced cards that seem to cause more lock-ups and pauses. The addition of an internal Firewire and USB connections are a great help to case modders and others who build their own systems yet still want ports on the front side of their machine so they don't have to reach around the back. Having USB and Firewire on the same card is handy, since most older systems using USB 1.1 use a riser card that can be replaced easily with the Adaptec.

A good value for a complete high-speed hot pluggable I/O solution.

Let me try to make a long story short.

I bought a Dazzle Firewire card with Ulead software so that I could capture video. I didn't work when I got it and I never got it to work in spite of multiple attempts. Dazzle Techs said it was Ulead's fault and Ulead said it was Dazzle's. Neither company tried to help me out.

I bought the adaptec combo card, hoping that it would work.
I installed it and the accompanying software. It didn't work.
I called Canon. They helped me by sending me to Microsoft for
a plug-in. The card still didn't work. I just about gave up but decided to call Adaptec for help.

It was a toll call but the Adaptec Tech walked me through the
entire process of getting the card working. I'd guess that he spend a good 45 mintues with me as we checked my system out and straightened out all the problems that the Dazzle card and drivers left in my system. I am a business owner so I know exactly how important good customer care is. You can have the best product in the world but if you don't care about your customers, you're business is going to eventually fail.

Adaptec makes a great product AND they have one of the very best Tech Support teams that I have ever dealt with to back the product.

Buy This One !

I installed this into a Windows 2000 machine and it works flawlessly. It didn't require the installation of any extra drivers--Windows already had all that was required. The card has everything I need for my high-bandwidth requiring devices. It even has internal ports so I can plug the Firewire port on the front of my computer into it. Highly recommended!

True video conferencing - the type that has been promised for years now really exists and is affordable for the common man (and woman). All you need is a firewire Mac (all new Macs for the past 4 years have shipped w/ firewire, but you can always install an after-market firewire PCI card if needed) running OS 10.2 or better, iChat/AV (Apple's software that comes free with OS 10.3 - "Panther"), and a broadband connection.

There are many iChat related Web sites that contain databases of other iSight owners, so you can always find someone to chat with, even if none of your friends have Macs or broadband connections.

The camera can also be used for Yahoo Chat, but Yahoo's software limits your video to snapshot slide shows. iChat/AV allows you to to have live streaming video and audio with full duplexing, so it's like you're on the phone.

If you have a bad hair day, you can use the microphone only so you don't have to share the video. The lens cap is built-in, and with a simple twist of the lens, your camera is turned off.

The camera is an elegant addition to your Mac goodies, although the mounting has much to be desired. Some third-party companies have come out with some excellent alternatives for mounting the iSight, however, if you don't have a laptop to clip it to and you don't want to "stick" it on your monitor.

The camera is in full color and will automatically focus from about 1" to infinity. My less than perfect rating is for two reasons - 1 being the aforementioned mounting options - tacky "stick-on" mounting isn't the choice for most and the laptop clip can be broken easily during transport. My biggest gripe is the white balancing of the camera. This might be eventually corrected w/ a new version of the iChat software, but for now, the color you see is not necessarily reflecting reality. I have my computer next to a window, so in the middle of a sunny day with my overhead light on, the color looks great. At night (no ambient sunlight) with an overhead light, the colors are grainy and flat.

If you hold a white piece of paper next to your face while you look at yourself on the camera, the color suddenly corrects, but goes back to awful the minute you put the paper down.

Traditional cameras with built-in light meters have an ability to "spot meter" and lock a light meter reading - Apple needs to put this option in with their next incarnation of iChat/AV. For now, I have 2 halogen desk lamps on either side of my monitor. When I chat w/ someone in the evening, I will turn on the hot white lights to illuminate my face so the other person doesn't think they're talking to Darth Vader or the Grim Reaper.

I used it a couple of times for audio-only chats - the microphone quality is superb. I have chatted to people in Canada, Israel and Australia without a noticable delay or degredation in quality. If the other user is using a built-in microphone in lieu of an iSight, however, they will probably hear you well, but you may have a hard time hearing them.

I have also used the camera for some video/audio chats with people from around the globe. There is a noticable 1 second time difference delay, but it is acceptable all things considered.

As with all things Apple, this camera is quite an innovation. Beforehand, there was only one other firewire camera on the market and it did not allow for live streaming video. Thanks to Apple's iChat software, however, you can use some other cameras, but I would not recommend it. With the few failings of iSight, it is still the best there is - and considering what it does, it's well worth the price.

What a terrific web cam! Talk about easy to set up. First make sure you've downloaded Apple's chat software, iChat AV. After that all you do is pulg the included FireWire cable into the iSight, mount it on your mac and plug the other end into a FireWire port and you're ready to start audio and/or video chats with your AIM buddies. The one caveat being that you need a high speed connection for video.

I love the simplicity and elegance of the iSight. When I don't want to use the web cam, I don't have to disconnect it, only close the shutter. But honestly the image and sound quality is such that I never close it down. I've used several web cams in the past and this one offers by far the best image quality I've seen. Another small but welcome feature is the iSight's ability to tilt and swivel while mounted to your mac. Now you can position your web cam just right without a lot of fuss.

My only complaint is the need to stick the iSIght mount on you mac. The mount for notebooks is much better as it just slips over the edge of the screen and doesn't require you to stick anything to your beautiful mac.

I've had mine for a few weeks a now and haven't had a single glitch to deal with. Simple, elegant and high quality. What more can you ask for? Did I hear you say a lower price? Well, you can't have everything right? : )

I don't know if the review from EL was wrote by a Anti-Mac Nazi but, most of the information stated in his review was incorrect. First iMovie is easily used with the iSight. Second iSight is made for mac, If you have a mac that supports iSight, you should not have to instal any software, iChat AV Comes with the OS. Third iChat AV does now work with the latest PC version of AOL instant messenger, not the old ones. Fourth not only can you take still amazingly good quality still pictures, you can download programs off the internet that lets you add effects to the pictures you take. iSight self adjusted the brightness and contrast, so manual adjustment is unnecessary. EL has made it sound you cannot use iSight unless you are computer illiterate, it is very easy to use I have never had any problem with mine, and I've saved money on long distance calls. Plus it's a lot of fun I rated this excellent product with 5 stars. Online Video Conferencing is the future and apples firewire technology makes video Conferencing amazing with no skipping or lag the quality is superb. Hats off to Apple with the great product

This printer has printhead problems. My first S530D couldn't even pass the first print test page diagnostic procedure. The black text printed fine at the beginning but faded to nothing by the end of the page. Doing a printhead cleaning solved the problem but only for that session. After a few hours of inactivity, the problem appeared again. This printer was brand new and right out of the box. Exchanging the printer for another brand new one did not solve the problem completely. The new printer passed the print test but the faded black ink problem resurfaced after several weeks of inactivity. Again, a printhead cleaning solved the problem but a user shouldn't have to do this before each print job. Inks shouldn't dry out and clog the printheads in that short a time (if that's what the problem is). When it works, it works great but it's a pain the do a printhead cleaning almost all the time in order to get good text output. The problem seems to be only with the black ink. Canon support is useless BTW.

I bought my sister a Kodak Easyshare CX4230 digital camera for the holidays, so mom thought a good photo printer to accompany it was a good idea. Since my mom isn't that computer literate, she relied on my judgement over which to buy. After LOTS of research, I decided to recommend this printer for several reasons:

Being on a budget, the price of this printer was very attractive. I had planned to recommend the more advanced S830, but it was out of range. Also, this printer, like the 830, has the ability to accept mutiple memory card types with the included Dazzle! 4 in 1 card adapter, giving you the ability to print photos straight from through the printer on the LCD screen, without having to even touch the PC. Another thing I liked was the multiple ink tanks. Since this printer would also function as a replacement to an older inkjet, I felt that was a key feature since the old printer had just one cartridge for the colors, while this printer has 3 separate color cartridges. Did I also mention this printer is FAST? It managed to print 2 full color 4x6 photos on 8.5x11 paper in less than 2 minutes, and can print web pages and full color charts in less than 15 seconds.

As for the photo printing, the pictures came out looking absolutely beautiful, as far as I was concerned. The qaulity may not be up to par if you're a serious photo enthusiast, but for as far as my family's needs are concerned, they looked just great.

Setup was a bit more complicated than any other printer I've had to install, but was problem free. Be warned, though. There's no USB cable included to connect it to the PC. Overall, this is a fabulous printer and I highly recommend it to anyone who's just plunged into digital photography.

I purchased this printer with the intent to use it for both photo printing and regular text printing. Photos look great and print relatively quickly, but I had a problem with white streaks when printing text. I ended up calling Canon support and they sent me a new printer head for free since the printer is still under warranty. I've had no problems since. I give the printer a high rating mainly because I was very satisified with their tech support.

I have to say that this mouse is very well designed for laptop users. It was a great mouse, and, you can read the other reviews to find out how.

I bought this mouse when I bought my Toshiba Laptop for use in school. The mouse worked great:
*Instantly recognized when plugged in.
*Small size perfect for portable use.
*Etc Etc.

The problems started after about 8 months of constant use, being carried from class to class, being unplugged and plugged several times everyday. It worked great untill the cord got a short in it. The mouse started to stop working if you moved the cord close to the USB connector. I fixed this by cutting off about a foot of the cord and the USB connector, and connecting another one. This seemed to solve the problem, but now, after exactly a year of using the mouse, the laser light on it is turning on and off for no apparent reason, and I am afraid I am now shopping for a new mouse.

Therefore I conclude that while this mouse is great for laptops, in is not durabble enough to be called truelly portable. It cannot stand up to the use that a mobile laptop user would give it. However, I have to be fair and mention that the plug on my power supply eventually came off after being plugged and unplugged so often, so this mouse is not the only non-durable laptop item.

I purchased this mouse because of its attractive price being it is optical. It was very easy to setup on my Windows 98 desktop, although I guess it is used for laptops. But at any rate, I loved the simplicity of this mouse.

The draw back was the wheel for me. When ever I would want to scroll down a page and it would run over a drop-down list, it would change the setting of the web page and take me places I didn't want. This happens EVEN if the selected option in the drop-down list is NOT HIGHLIGHTED. But if you switch its mode to Default, then the mouse only allows you to scroll 1 line per scroll unit! That is too slow for me! Even if you change the Scroll Speed, it doesn't work if you remain in Default. It is not a major problem, but an annoying one. Other than that, this mouse is small and durable, which I prefer. I would rate it a 3.5 if I could, but 3 would sound too low. So I rated it 4 stars, especially considering its sticker price.

This mouse is PERFECT for people like me who, with their laptops, are fine with the touchpad/eraser head for short periods of time, but like to unwind with a normal mouse for longer periods of time...Or if you flat out can't stand your touchpad/eraser head for any period of time.

The size of this mouse is excellent for mobility. It fits into very small spaces, i.e. into a compartment of your notebook carrying case. It's shortened cord (5-ft) is brilliantly employedto accommodate people using it with their laptops. It's never too short, or too long.

It's an optical mouse, so you can expect the same razor-sharp accuracy you would with any full-sized optical mice.

My notebook is running Windows XP, and interfaces flawlessly with the mouse. I just plugged it in and it worked! No set-up required. Such is not the case with older operating systems, but the mouse comes with an installation disk to guide you through it.

mac users, please don't bother. on the box it clearly states it's for any OS higher than 8.1, but apparently 9.0 is too much for it to handle. the software hasn't been updated since 1998, and on logitech's website the section for this particular camera is so old and neglected it's coated with dust. the FAQ for the pc version of this camera is ten miles long, but of course the mac FAQ is only two questions. but not like that's anything new for mac users. why is this webcam still being sold?

For those simply looking for a low-end Webcam and not intending to do anything requiring serious quality, this is a good choice. The software is easy to install (on an iMac, which I use) and includes plenty of options... including the ability to use this device as a "security camera." The image quality is rather grainy, so diehard multimedia creators should definitely steer away from this item, but the average home user is likely to be quite satisfied with this small camera.

I use this connected to a seven-port hub, and the camera still works quite well despite having many other devices also attached to the hub. However, whenever I activate the software for the camera, the Zip drive and floopy drive - both connected to the USB hub - shut down. This may be a potential drawback, especially for those for whom directly-connecting the camera is not an option due to the need for other peripherals.

Interestingly, I also have MyVideo (USB video capture/outout device) connected to my iMac. Whenever I open the MyVideo software for video capturing, the image from the QuickCam VC shows up in the MyVideo window! This almost certainly means that both devices are using the same set of system calls or video drivers. Therefore, if using the QuickCam VC in conjunction with other video-related equipment on the same computer, a few "surprises" may appear. (In my case, this simply means switching the video source within the MyVideo program.)

This camera was great! it is easy to use- just open the program, aim right acording to the picture that appears on the screen, and click the button- it is that simple! The only downfall I found was that the pictures it took were a little dull, as in the color was not very bright- but this is expected from this type of camera.

My monitor worked great until it got about 18 months old. It then started flicker and distort just like some other people have stated in other reviews. I'm going to buy a different brand to replace it.

I'm shocked to read all the reviews complaining of the flicker problem. I absolutely loved this monitor until, after 15 months or so, I started getting awfull flickering/distortion. I guess I understand why the warranty ends after one year. I will not buy another NEC monitor.

I bought this monitor from Dell in Nov or Dec last year (can't remember) as they had it on sale and with free shipping. The monitor certainly is bright, thought it's not a bad thing. The biggest problem with this monitor is that it's a 19" monitor but can't display 1280x1024@85Hz legibly. Text is horribly blurry at that resolution. It looks great at 1024x768 but that is WAY too low for a 19"; everything looks SO huge. My fault for not researching it enough as 1024 is the recommended resolution for this model.

Recieved mine last year for Christmas, and at first was completely turned off by the interface of the software that came with it. The software also stopped working somewhere in the middle of the year. I could not place songs on my irock, nor could I remove songs, but the software would connect and let me see the songs. Baffeling really!

However, with a little tinkering I got it working again, and truthfully I don't know what the problem was or how it was fixed in the end. All I know is that the player itself is a handy little gadget, it's affordable, isn't too hard to figure out and works very well. I am happy with the player! I should also note that my niece has the same exact player and has had the same exact problems with the software, but hers works now too.

The software on the other hand... well I'm still TRYING to get along with it. It seems to get buggy everynow and again and can be a pain, but like everything, you have to learn it and learn what works and what doesn't work.

So, in the end, I would recommend this product to anyone looking for an affordable mp3 player that gets the job done.

:)

Not sure the issue some folks have with this unit. I have two of the 128mb internal memory versions along with 128mb viking smc and they work fine. If you want to use a smc card from another gizmo you may have to use the irock wipe utility (different than the format utility) and vice versa. Only drawback is the battery life - definitely get a rechargeable setup.

The software it comes with is amazing, and the best part about the IROCK is that you are able to use Windows Media Player to manage what goes on it. The IROCK software formats the card, and is able to search through your computer for tracks. It is really your choice which you will use to get on your way to listening pleasure. The quailty of sound is shocking, even on lower kps levels.