Computer Reviews

Intel Home PC Camera / Model #CS331 / Original Retail was $79.99
I have two of these. Intel definitely got it right when they designed this cam, and it's a shame they've discontinued it. This is by far the best USB driven camera I have ever seen. The CCD based (instead of the standard CMOS) optics on this camera are phenomenal, and the video rivals that of my Sony camcorder! Sensitivity & color balance are very good. This cam performs well above average in low light conditions. The video is clear, with no distortion, and does not granulize or pixelate. If you're looking for a top-end USB web cam, try to track one of these down. It will be well worth the effort.

This is the best webcam I've ever had, it has excellent image quality due to its very best optics and CCD sensor. It performed beautifully under all light conditions, and extremely well in low light condition. After I used this webcam, I just dumped my two Logitech webcams ( which have very poor image quality and are junks compared to this Intel webcam)

Inevitably, all computer purchases are dictated by compatibility. This camera /does/ work with Windows 2000. A word from the wise: Do not use the software disc that comes with the camera unless you actually want to do the things that are advertised on the box.

Instead, go directly to the Intel website and download the camera drivers alone. After unpacking the driver file, run the hardware setup as administrator. Now, you can use whatever webcam/pc cam software you want.

Following the above, I had this camera working inside 5 minutes. The Intel drivers increase the camera resolution and refresh rate over those of the default Windows drivers.

The default color balance is a tiny bit off and the USB cord is a bit short. But, overall, it's a fine camera and well worth the money spent over cheaper cameras.

It's a mystery to me why some are satisfied with realistic dialog from a center channel speaker. As much as 60% of the total audio energy goes to the center channel. It should be capable of accurately reproducing the entire audible range of frequencies. This speaker does just that and does it very well, (except the very lowest - about 80 Hz or below) better than some far more expensive speakers that we auditioned at a retailer. If this speaker does not return to Amazon.com it is worth looking for elsewhere.

I can't even remember where i bought this center channel, but for the price i paid it is great. Great sound, great voices, and sure makes my dvd expereince "movie'like" aLl i need now is a sub.

When I first saw this speaker on Amazon, I thought that it was gonna be a cheap plastic speaker. But, wow was I wrong. This JBL center Channel is great. It has great reproduction of voices and music...

I owned a Kenwood 2 way basic Center Speaker and I thought it was good enough for my Home Teather needs but how wrong I was. I hesitated to buy it 'cause "it's just a speaker" I though but once you heard it, you can't never go back. The low and High sounds are perfectly translated, even in night times I don't have to turn the sub-woofer on because it's jus unnecesary, the bass of this center channel rocks the bedroom by itself.

My wife was asleep when I assembled our new home theater system. At the time, the only speakers I had was the S-Center and a subwoofer; the others were being shipped. When she woke up, she said it sounded like an orchestra was in the room.

This thing sounds wonderful.

A 3-way center channel speaker?! At last, sensibility returns to speaker design - and with a stirring aesthetic as well. The JBL S-Center delivers lower pitched material with a clarity that you won't find in most 2-way speakers, and owing to the superior quality materials used in the tweeter (and seamless blending on either side of the midrange) the higher pitched material is never shrill. I've noticed a dramatic difference in DVD movies: In the past, lower pitched material coming from my subwoofer off in a corner would distract me from the screen, but this speaker's better bass response locks the sound back onto the screen where it should be. But where this speaker truly proved itself for me was in playing a DTS music disc. In DTS music, sometimes a lead vocalist's voice is sent directly to the center channel, and there is nothing like a human singing voice to test the range and natural-ness of a speaker. This speaker passed the live-or-die test with flying colors, sounding as natural as the original recording. Depending on the recording, you could swear the singer was standing in front of you in the flesh. The only negative for me was minor: the curved cabinet design precludes one from putting books (or in my case action figures) on top of the speaker. But the curves definately help decrease the amount of room the speaker used, so I can accept this. I've heard that the copper colored cones may be a limited feature (later editions perhaps changing to silver), but mine had them. They look fantastic and tempt one to remove the dust screen.

I bought this at the store and thought I was going to have problems with this company but i didn't. I first burned a music cd using Nero 6 and played it on my cd player and it worked with no problems. I also burned an ISO onto another CD-R and was able to use it with a label. Still no problems. I finally put some pictures on another cd and have looked at them from the cd and it has never failed me. This product is very good. I also did some other tests. Cd drives will not be able to read the cd if it is dusty but after it is wiped (even in a circular motion which is bad for the cd) it will work. I don't know if thats any different for any other company... Some one said that putting labels on the CDR will mess it up. It doesn't. At least not for me. I have put around 10 labels on different KHypermedia CDRs and they all work.

Usually I need many cds to burn my files, but black cds usually are pretty expensive..
Finally I found cheap and high quality black cds..
At firt, I didn't feel sure about this cd because I had never heard about the brand khypermedia before.. ya~ that was ture...
but you know what.. it's just great!!! ^_^b

These discs are flat-out-hands-down The Real Thing.
I bought a 50 disc spindle of these last year in a local store because the price was too good to pass up. They burned fine at top speed and down to 2x. Since, I recieved a 100 disc spindle for Christmas (I have a large 600+ CD collection to backup) and bought 2 more 50s and the only "coasters" I've made were my own durned fault. I bought a 30 and a 50 of Memorex and four of those refused to burn. I should have known better from my experiences with their tape products.
I've made audio, data and SVCDs. I even used a few to back up some old freeware that is no longer extant anywhere but private archives and freed up hard disc space in the bargain. That's high praise indeed! I've successfully overburned a couple to 82 minutes(equiv.) packing on audio books ripped to mp3 for trips.
Never have I had a problem with a CD-ROM or DVD or CD audio player reading these. Anecdote? I have a CD that my 12 year old Discman refuses to play anymore. I ripped it with Exact Audio Copy, burned it with Nero and that 12 year old Discman happily plays that new disc all the way through without a glitch. That saved me the cost of the spindle right there.
The busiest discs are still in fine condition through many, many trips in and out of the CD sleeve. (Maxells seem to have a surface made of gelatin, they scratch so easily.)
Complaints? Well... The K-Hypermedia logo takes up all of the top half of the disc so if you want to write comments, you'd better be brief or be willing to put in the time (and money) to make your own labels. That's it.
Conclusion: I use TDK mainly because they are easier to find, but I don't hesitate to buy these because they are no-name and neither should you.

Everytime I am tempted to go to a higher film speed, I look back at the slides this film has given me over the decades and stick with this film. And, that is part of it. The film is archival and holds up over the decades. The film has exceedingly fine grain (and as I am archiving my slides by scanning them at 4000 dpi, it enlarges perfectly.) As more and more switch to digital, it is getting harder and harder to find this film, but seeking it out is worth it for those of us who know that film still currently outperforms digital with the proper camera. Waiting for the film to return from processing is worth the wait and I utilize Kodak processing. I utilize a heavy camera which lends stability to hand held shots and I plan to continue to use this film far into the future. It still is the standard against which to compare all other films. I have Kodachrome slides taken over 30 years ago, and the color is still sharp and crisp.

With the cancellation in 2001 of KODACHROME 25, KODAK now offers KODACHROME slide film in only two speeds: 64 and 200. KODACHROME 64 is, in my opinion the one slide film by which all others should be judged.

Unlike other slide films that are developed using E-6 processing and which contain all the color dyes within the film, KODACHROME film stock is actually a black and white film to which the colors are added during developing. This is a much more time consuming, tedious and expensive process, but one that delivers much more natural colors, finer grain and deeper contrast. Using the K-14 process also means that you will have to send all KODACHROME slide film to a national lab. Consequently, it will take about a week or slightly more to get your slides back. But rest assured, the wait is more than worth it!

One of the other intangible benefits of using KODACHROME slide film is that retains archival storage abilities. There are slides available for viewing that were taken in the early 1930s, when KODAK first released this emulsion that look as if they were shot yesterday. There is no noticeable color shifting, bleeding or loss of color or contrast.

KODACHROME slide film has long been known for its natural nd lifelike colors. Unlike slide film from FUJI, which is known for super-saturated and eye-popping bright colors, KODACHROME delivers faithful images of what the photographer saw through their viewfinder at the moment they clicked the shutter.

In addition, lesser slide films, but especially those from FUJI have been known to color shift while in storage. This takes place even when the photographer made every effort to properly store his/her slides.

Because this is a moderately slow speed film, it is best suited for bright daylight. Many professional photographers use this film for landscape and scenic photos and for shots that will be enlarged, such as in full page photos for books and magazines. This is a very fine grain film and that is why pros use it so frequently - they need to be able to ensure that the colors transition crisply and faithfully from the slide to the page of the book or magazine. And the fine grain is also helpful should you want to enlarge the image to poster size and beyond.

Unfortunately for the average consumer who shoots slide film, KODACHROME is not readily available through major retail outlets. A truly professional film, it is generally only available at camera stores and stores that support and cater to professional photographers. At the store in Parsippany, NJ where I have most of my lab work done and where I have bought almost all of my Nikon cameras and lenses, even they don't sell KODACHROME. The reason? They don't get enough customers asking for it.

Instead, they sell some of the EKTACHROME line of Kodak slide films as well as Fuji's Provia, Velvia and Sensia films. They also offer Agfa professional slide films. Consequently, I have to hunt aroun d for this film or order it online from such places as B&H Photo and Video in NYC.

As inconvenient as finding it and having it developed can be, I still LOVE THIS FILM!!! It is my belief that KOPDACHROME 64 offers the finest grained and sharpest images available anywhere today in the photographic world.

Friends and strangers wwho have watched me work with my NIKON F100 often ask me when I'll switch to digital and give up on film. I look at them and smile and tell them that I'll switch to digital when that medium offers me the sharpness, contrast, depth and overall pleasing color saturation of KODACHROME 25. Since KODAK discontinued that film in 2001 and its resolving characteristics were in the 30-35 megapixel range and there isn't a digital camera available anywhere with that degree of resolution, I'll be shooting film for a long time to come.

Shooting slides isn't for everybody. Slide film is much less forgiving of exposure errors than equivalent speed print films. But slides are more realistic and they are sharper and clearer. That is why KODACHROME 64 appeals to purists who like to receive exact duplicates of what they saw when they composed their pictures.

Competing slide films don't really come close to matching this wonderful long-lived KODAK product. Kodak has stumbled with other films, most noticeably with KODAK MAX 400 and 800, but with KODACHROME 64, they have created an enduring masterpiece.

An incredible film for nature and scenic photos. Color reproduction is extremely accurate and images are pin-sharp. The color dyes are not in the emulsion of the film as with other slide films but are added during developing and as a result are much more permanent. Have viewed Kodachromes from 50 years ago that look like they just came back from the lab. The colors just don't fade nearly as fast as other slide and negative films. They have to be sent away to a national lab for developing which takes a week or so but is very much worth it. Most large photofinishing companies and professional labs are set up to send this film out for you. Highest recommendation!

I've had a few thumb/keychain hard drives. The most frequent annoyance? The cap always comes off. Many of them actually connect to your keychain (or whatever) by the cap, which means that when the cap comes off, you've lost your data and your drive, too. Not with this one. The cap really will stay on, because it's connected by a giant rubber band which has it's own groove within the entire perimeter of the device.

The other main thing that I really like about this device is that it's tiny. It looks small when you just have it hanging around, but when you take off the cap, it is both thinner and shorter.

I really do like this device, but I wish that it and other devices like it would come with a short USB extension cable, because it's not quite small enough to fit into a USB port on the back of a desktop when there's another USB device plugged in right next to it. No biggie, but it would be nice.

USB drives are all about the same anymore, so the rubber cap that wraps around the key is definately a cool feature. I've had no problems with this drive. The wraparound is durable and snug inside a groove and I've never noticed the drive coming out of the cap unless I pulled it out. The activity light is helpful.

I'm saving to get another.

You're wondering why you'd want a durable rubber cap? It's not just a cap. It's a rubber loop that secures your precious flashdrive from getting lost. The little thingy on the bottom? It's so you can peel the rubber off so you can release the drive. As for the drive, it's Lexar! Lexar has everyone else in the flash memory industry under their thumbs. I've had this turkey for a month and it's had ZERO hiccups.

And, for those that still use Win98, you can get drivers at Lexar's website.

I just purchased this switch and it works great. Here's some of the reasons why I recommend it.

Works great and it's relatively cheap. 5 minutes out of the box and it was up and running. I own several Linksys equipment and have not had any problems.

It stacks well with other linksys equipment. I also have a cable/DSL router and this switch has the same footprint so they stack together. Beware of the linksys 5 port or 8 port switches, they are much smaller and will not stack on top of a Linksys Cable/DSL router or Wireless router. The pictures make them look the same but make sure you look at the dimensions of the item.

The ethernet cables run into the back of the unit. I think this is plus for home use since it keeps the desk less cluttered. You can tell the status of the connection on the front without the cables everywhere like the Netgear switches.

Highly recommend this switch.

Speaking to reliability, our company (one of the DOW companies) bought several of these for a testing group over network products that our own company makes! We have used them for over a year now and have had absolutely no problems with any of them. I highly recommend them for cost and reliability.

After an unfortunate power spike that fried 3 of the 8 ports on my old switch, I felt that as long as I need to replace, I may as well upgrade at the same time.

With the expansion of the wireless market, switches like these are coming down in price. Life is good. If you can accomodate the wiring it's tough to beat the Mbps/cost ratio that wired networking provides.

This switch is just as easy as its little brother. Plug it in, plug in the CAT5 and you are up and running. The LEDs let you know at a glance if there are any collision or speed issues.

This switch provides enough performance to share the DSL connection, play skipless music and video over the network and make the transfer of large files quick and easy.

With 16 ports, I doubt I will be filling out the switch anytime soon and I will probably upgrade to Gigabit networking before then anyways.

I had to buy a second adaptor to keep at home or for traveling when I'm away from the office. It's worth the expense for the convenience.

I was pleasantly surprised with the service. I placed an order and it seemed like it was just about 3-4 days I had my adapter.
I am also pleased with the product it gives me more versatility, since I have now one for my office and one for home.
Thanks again for the quick response.

There isn't much to talk about with this item. If you use your Jornada in more than one place, you need one of these, no question about it. Sure, the Jornada is designed to be a hand-held item, but you'll find yourself sitting somewhere near an outlet as often as not, and if you use the Jornada for various power-draining activities, like listening to MP3s or using a PocketFlash modem to connect to the Internet, you might as well use AC power. I keep mine at work and my docking cradle (with its own AC adapter) at home, so my Jornada is charged 95% of the time. It might cost a little more than you'd like to pay - what Jornada accessory doesn't? - but as with other accessories I have, it's more than worth the money, especially if you've ever run your battery down because you weren't keeping it charged. Even if you aren't using it, you can lend it to a friend to charge his or her Jornada. I've had mine for months and not had any problems with it.

This receiver met my specific needs perfectly. My criteria were as follows:

1. Plentiful S-Video Connections
2. Excellent Home Theatre Sound
3. Multi-Room Capability with the ability to drive a different Source into other rooms.
4. Ability to vary amplifier power into Sub-rooms.
5. RF Remote capability
6. Relatively inexpensive

I have a large den with a DISH satellite receiver and a five speaker home theatre set up. Off the den is a patio with outdoor speakers and next door is the kitchen with ceiling mounted speakers. The kitchen and patio are connected to the receiver through a Niles Speaker/Volume box.

Experience with my previous receiver showed that I needed the ability to drive considerably more power to the patio than to the kitchen; if speaker volume was OK in the kitchen, you couldn't hear the patio speakers. Also, if I was in the kitchen or patio, I could not control the receiver because I needed to be in the "Line of Sight" of the IF remote. With these factors in mind, I sought a new receiver.

This JVC fits the bill perfectly. Extremely versatile Home Theatre that has everything I need. Tremendous power to the Surrounds. The Multi-Room capabilities are tremendous and you can drive more than enough power to your Sub-rooms for any application. I LOVE the RF remote. You can sit on the Patio and when the phone rings, you can turn down the volume or change to a different Source. The remote is able to power up and change channels on my DISH receiver and power up my Toshiba TV. Does it all...

I have become a JVC fan and have purchased a JVC SVHS VCR and a JVC DVD player. They are all wired together with COMPLINK. This is an excellent feature that automatically switches from component to component as you hit the Play Button on the front of the respective units (among other things). Sold on it.

My only gripe is with the User Manual which leaves quite a bit to be desired in explaining how to Configure the Initial Settings. JVC makes up for this with an excellent phone support group.

Once you figure it all out, this is a great sounding receiver.

The surround sound is precise, especially in Dolby DTS 6.1. I love the ability to fine-tune the levels on each of the groups of speakers individually with ease, using either the on screen display or the remote. There are more than enough DSP modes to satisfy anyone.

The remote is a bit clunky. And it's LCD is pretty useless unless you are using it in another room to control a second set of speakers. I found the RF to work really well.

I did have a lot of trouble setting up the receiver. The biggest was getting a digital audio signal from my DVD player. This was actually very easy to overcome by changing the output setting on the DVD player.

More importantly figuring out how control all of my equipment through the receiver and how to manipulate the sound output was a bit challenging. After about a day of fooling around it all began to make sense. Now I can get the sound I want from the source I want easily.

The bottom line is be patient and you will be rewarded.

I am a former user of an Onkyo Pro-Logic receiver, where everything is straightforward and volume level is predictable. I got this unit to take advantage of digital dolby on my satellite system. I have been totally baffled by the instructions, and the basic concept of how this receiver works for the last three weeks, two of which have been waiting for it to return from JVC repair where I sent it when I could not get the fiber optic hook ups to work (instructions take careful and deliberate reading on this and everything else), and the volume seemed to go only so high (Not very). This is an important point-volume is asymmetrical-goes up to a high number without much gain-then rockets over the next five-say 70-75.

I got it back dented yesterday with a one liner explaining that "software was re-installed , it was tested and released." Up until this morning, I was despairing that I had blown a wad, and was ready to send it back to the service center. You have to pay the sending postage.

I was finally able to get the fiber-optic hookups to work, (changed the tv hookup from tv to dvd-go figure), and finally located a help number via the service center. This number might be in the book, but I was so spooked by this experience that I didn't think to look. Find this number first before you panic, unless you are a techie which I certainly am not. Anyhow, the ecstasy after the agony is a dramatic improvement in sound and dolby-just like the theater. Bottom line, get it, don't panic, and call for help before you get embroiled.

This cartridge works great with my Z31 (unfortunately not for my Z11, according to the Lexmark website). Yields great color for my photo prints!

If you like to print pictures you better have this cartridge. I printed some pictures with the regular cartridges that came with my Lexmark Z52 and they came out alright but skin tones didn't come out all that great. When I got this cartridge my pictures came out so good you couldn't tell the difference between them and a real print. The cartridge is kind of expensive when printing pictures it sometimes will be gone with 20 prints. But its no doubt worth it compared to actually paying for developing pictures.

I have a Lexmark Z22. I use the photo cartridge, along with the HP Premuim Plus paper (not the premium -- the premium PLUS), and I get fantastic results. Mind you, I'm not doing digital photography for sale; I'm printing baby pictures for framing and making memory books, but I'm really surprised. The quality is as good as what you get from WebShots, and I have the added advantage of being able to crop and edit at-will with Photoshop. Plus, you don't have the nonsense of trying to load all of the pages up onto the Web. I'm very satisfied, and I admit, really pleasantly surprised.