Computer Reviews

I recently upgraded from Dynax 5 to Dynax 7 (Or what you folks over sea call it - Maxxum:), and I really found all the features I missed in my Dynax 5. It's auto focus is very responsive and fast, metering really performs well in most situations, controls are intuitive and easy to use, big LCD provides a lot of things to tweak with, exposure memory for 7 rolls is really useful too.
I do not use Minolta lenses however, Sigma EX series are the ones to use if you want quality for affordable price.
Ah, and my favourite Sigma lens is the 24-70/2.8 EX DG, it really is awesome, and has 'D' mount for Minolta too :)
Theres only one thing about Maxxum 7 I do not enjoy...the weight...it really should have been heavier!

This is by far the best camera I have ever owned in my life, be it point and shoot, film or digital. I'm in the Marine Corps and took this camera with me in Afghanistan and Iraq and it went through some of the most extreme weather imaginable and kept on working. The camera is not labeled as splash-proof, but it should be -- I dropped this camera in a dirty puddle and I pulled it out and it was still working. I never had it fail on my one time. The autofocus is also amazingly fast and accurate. It's a professional quality camera with beginner level accessibility.

Considering this is the body that Minolta is using for their new Maxxum Digital SLR, I know I'll be buying that camera as well.

This is an excellent contemporary high-tech camera. I tend to shoot in aperature controlled mode, and it is very easy to change aperatures, to bracket exposures so you get three to seven shots in rapid fire with slightly different settings, and to see differing depths of field. Depending on the lens, it can also be relatively easy to modify the auto focus (so, for example, you move the center of the focus in front of or behind your subject to get the right part of the scene in focus), but note that some lenses will clutch and not be able to be hand-manipulated, leading to a need to switch to manual focus with those lenses in some cases.

What really sells this camera, though, is the wireless flash. Do not underestimate how much this can improve your flash pictures. It is very easy to use -- I literally have shown my 3 year old, who was very curious, how to do, and got some good shots of him in the process. If you buy this camera, you should buy at least one of the Minolta "D" flashes.

As you take bracketed shots in continuous focus mode, the camera does a good job of remaining in focus. For those of us with glasses, there is a diopter adjustment in the viewfinder that adjusts the viewfinder to our own current prescription. On manual focus, this has a real impact on my photos, where my focus was previously a bit soft much of the time.

I end up with a couple of minor complaints -- the selector button that lets you choose which sensor to use in focusing is placed right where my nose can hit it, and I've had to learn to take care not to accidentally change the setting with my nose. Also, I'd like to see the new anti-shake technology that is being incorporated in Minolta's new digital 7 incorporated into the 7. I suspect it is just time until this happens.

All in all, an extraordinary camera.

This printer replaces an older HP color ink jet for me. Installation was quick and easy using my USB 2.0, the printer is backwards compatable with the slower USB 1.1 ports. The USB 2.0 is about 20 times faster than the older USB version 1.1 ports.

The printer includes six ink cartridges, software, and two different cables to connect directly to Canon cameras but not the needed USB cable to connect the printer to the computer. A nice feature is the included media adapters that will take your camera memory and plug them into the printer's PCMCIA port. My package included a Canon adapter for CompactFlash and another by Dazzle that works for four different types including SmartMedia.

The prints are simply beautiful using the sample of five sheets of included glossy paper. The colors are accurate and sharp. The 4x6 frameless prints take less than a minute to print out, 30 minutes to completely dry and they recommend 24 hours before putting them under glass or in an album.

The printer can be used without a computer connected to it using the LCD screen on the righthand side of the machine and a camera's memory card. The image adapter available for [X] connects to a port on the top of the printer to allow you to preview pictures when used to print without the computer.

It took a lot of searching before I decided to purchase a good printer and this one is a great one. The pictures are clear and they print fast. I showed them to friends and didn't tell them that I printed them at home and they were very surprised when I told them. Spend the extra money and get a good printer. This printer also include photo ink, which is really needed for a clean print. Make sure you also get the right paper.

I acquired an S830D recently.

You don't need the auxiliary screen to print directly from the memory card slot.

To access the cropping capabilities, yes, you need a screen or a compatible camera, but not to print from a memory card. Inserting a memory card (and I've used both CompactFlash and SmartMedia from both Canon and Olympus cameras) causes the S830D to go into a mode that activates automatic print functions on the printer control board. You can print an index sheet of thumbnail images, print all images in a wide variety of multi-print-per-page formats, selected prints using the index and vary the print media and quality from plain paper to Photo Paper Pro.

I have been very happy with both the color and the contrast produced by the printer with no computer intervention.

As for the rest of the printer's features, photo lab quality, good ink economy, fast and quiet operation.

This is the best printer I have ever owned.

I got the Creative Labs MUVO 64 MB a few years ago and twas great. Never had a problem with it, not once. Only that it could carry 1 hour of mp3's or 2 hrs. of wma's. But that was a lot then, for a flash memory mp3 player. Now, with the MuVo TX FM 256MB it's what was great before but with more memory, FM radio, Voice Recorder, and an LCD screen to let me know what I am listening to. In my opinion, more reliable then the ipods because who the hell needs 100 hours of continuous music play. Although I do have to admit that the ipod is good to backup your files, if you have a whole lotta files to backup.

I decided to go with a Creative device because a few years back I bought a sound card for my PC and was very happy with it<br /> <br /> The MuVo TX FM is a great little device that burns all other MP3 Players in it's price catagory. I am able to store my files from work, record meetings, and hook it up to personal speakers in my office. The only problem is that the headphones that come with it are a bit too big for the avarege adult ear.<br /> <br /> I love the 5 band equalizer that lets me change the sound settings for diffrent kinds of music. It even has a custom setting where you can adjust it to your liking. The AAA battery last about 5 to 6 days if you use it regularly, so rechargeable batteries are a good idea. Overall, this is a great device for the music lover/computer guy.

Super pleased with purchase- best value, small, sturdy, super easy to navigate- and drag and drop...sound wual is awesome- perfect for gym, comfortable arm band.

Would be cool if they made it with the M port, but it's still cool. Creative labs by far the best brand out there for players.

These and all other brand cables from MC are all overpriced including these. I have a 20" JVC I'Art television and I have my DVD connected through component. I have used Monster Cable component cables and they put out pretty much the exact same picture as my newer PHILIPS brand component cables that I only had to pay about [$$$] or so for. The PHILIPS are also shielded and gold plated and all that good stuff. So buy these MC component cables if you dont care about price, but otherwise buy PHILIPS brand that are way cheaper and put out the same quality picture.

It may sound somewhat surprising, at first glance, that a short piece of cable between your TV and DVD player can make a noticeable difference in the picture quality, but once you compare a cheap cable with a good one, you'll see that there is a difference! My DVD player came with a very cheap-looking cable with three RCA connectors on each side, and I used this cable to hook up the DVD player to the component (RGB) input of my TV before doing anything else. I dismissed this cable immediately as the picture was much noisier than I expected. A $15 S-Video cable performed better. However, I had to adjust the settings in video equalizer of my DVD player to increase color saturation, and also had to decrease sharpness of the picture to make noise unnoticeable. Finally, I bought the Monster cable (don't tell my wife about it!). This cable resulted in a perfectly sharp and clean picture without any adjustments in the CD player. Due to double-shielding of this cable, there was no sign of the noise that I saw with the S-Video cable either.

I do not know if there is a noticeable difference between this cable and a less sophisticated one that may cost half of its price. I guess, everything depends on the kind of TV and DVD player you are using. But I can say for sure that my experience convinced me that there is a tremendous difference between this high-end cable and those from the very low end.

The last thing: I do not think that it makes any sense to use such an expensive cable for a connection other than component video (Y + two color difference channels), also called "color stream" by Toshiba. If you do not have a component video input, use either S-video, or composite video (Video+2 audio connector). In the latter case (or if you need a cable to connect your VCR) a cheaper cable would do. This one is worth the money only if you do not want to settle for anything less than perfect.

Recently bought a Analog Big Screen TV. Switched from S-Video to Component cables. There is a big difference. The picture looks more film like with Component cables. Do not hesitate to upgrade. Stay away from cheap Wally World brands. You get what you pay for. The S-Video cable I used was Monster Cable M1000 sv.

These and all other brand cables from MC are all overpriced including these. I have a 20" JVC I'Art television and I have my DVD connected through component. I have used Monster Cable component cables and they put out pretty much the exact same picture as my newer PHILIPS brand component cables that I only had to pay about [$$$] or so for. The PHILIPS are also shielded and gold plated and all that good stuff. So buy these MC component cables if you dont care about price, but otherwise buy PHILIPS brand that are way cheaper and put out the same quality picture.

It may sound somewhat surprising, at first glance, that a short piece of cable between your TV and DVD player can make a noticeable difference in the picture quality, but once you compare a cheap cable with a good one, you'll see that there is a difference! My DVD player came with a very cheap-looking cable with three RCA connectors on each side, and I used this cable to hook up the DVD player to the component (RGB) input of my TV before doing anything else. I dismissed this cable immediately as the picture was much noisier than I expected. A $15 S-Video cable performed better. However, I had to adjust the settings in video equalizer of my DVD player to increase color saturation, and also had to decrease sharpness of the picture to make noise unnoticeable. Finally, I bought the Monster cable (don't tell my wife about it!). This cable resulted in a perfectly sharp and clean picture without any adjustments in the CD player. Due to double-shielding of this cable, there was no sign of the noise that I saw with the S-Video cable either.

I do not know if there is a noticeable difference between this cable and a less sophisticated one that may cost half of its price. I guess, everything depends on the kind of TV and DVD player you are using. But I can say for sure that my experience convinced me that there is a tremendous difference between this high-end cable and those from the very low end.

The last thing: I do not think that it makes any sense to use such an expensive cable for a connection other than component video (Y + two color difference channels), also called "color stream" by Toshiba. If you do not have a component video input, use either S-video, or composite video (Video+2 audio connector). In the latter case (or if you need a cable to connect your VCR) a cheaper cable would do. This one is worth the money only if you do not want to settle for anything less than perfect.

Recently bought a Analog Big Screen TV. Switched from S-Video to Component cables. There is a big difference. The picture looks more film like with Component cables. Do not hesitate to upgrade. Stay away from cheap Wally World brands. You get what you pay for. The S-Video cable I used was Monster Cable M1000 sv.

Spend a lot, get a lot more. Although it was a tough choice to spend the money when I purchased my TRV70, I have no regrets. My camera is DA BEST!. After I figured out the Still Picture recording is best taken when not recording video simultaneously, I never looked back. There are so many features to mention but I don't use. The key things to consider:
- Bigger lens, means better image
- Good size CCD is a treasure; otherwise 3 CCD is next option
- Manual focus override; in photography, this is VERY important
- Backlight control; it's a great override in low light conditions like opening up your camera aperature
- Manual disable of on-board flash; continue taking pictures when flash is not allowed
- Touch screen LCD is sweet, don't listen to button fanatics
- Steady Shot works.... when camera is light, more chances of jarring movements, so here its really important.
- Memory stick convenience ... buy larger capacity, more over time.
- Battery Status; Info-lithium means no guessing game. By several small batteries, charge them, and carry them a-l-a Rambo.
- Don't install Imagemixer software. Instead, use Sony's Screenblast Movie Studio 3.0. You'll be happier.
- Don't skimp on footage. Take lots of footage. It's easier to edit, than to say... I don't have enough!

It's unfortunate, Sony is discontinuing the product in 2004. It's a great product! I'm ready to buy a second one so I can get the same footage from another vantage point. Silly, two people using different cameras. :-)

this is a power packed camcorder!
pros:
- other than the sony trv80, this is the only sony miniDV camcorder that has a 2 megapixel still camera built in.
- miniDV media is widely supported.
- great connectivity options: firewire, USB, S-video, headphone, bluetooth, mic input, etc.
- has a built in pop-up flash for taking stills.
- carl zeiss lens.
- steady shot and night shot.
- ability to record mpeg videos directly to memory stick.
- progressive shutter system.

cons:
- this camcorder is bigger than i would like. you can get smaller camcorders like the trv33 or the pc105. granted, those have less features, mainly still camera capability (2.0 megapixel vs 1.0 megapixel).
- bright 2.5" LCD screen: but i definitely prefer the 3.5" in the trv80.
- as with most sony products, you pay a premium, pushing up the price.
- the included 8MB memory stick (for a 2 megapixel still camera!) is unacceptable. you'll need at least a 64MB memory stick with if you want to take full advantage of the higher resolution pics you'll be taking.
- although bundling the camcorder and still camera together means you only have to carry one piece of equipment, it also means that if one breaks, you have to replace both.
- as an alternate to this bundling strategy, you can get a trv33 or pc105 and get a 3 megapixel still camera for about the same price.
- no built in video light but you can get one less than a hundred bucks.

all in all, a very nice camcorder. nice work sony.

This is my fourth camcorder, and first digital camcorder. I bought it to record my child's soccer games to make a DVD to send to college coaches. It recorded steady sharp video in all lighting conditions, including heavy overcast, light fog, and night games under stadium lights. I also bought the remote controll tripod, which makes it much easier to start/stop recording and adjust the zoom (the remote control zoom buttons have the correct sensitivity, as opposed to the camera zoom control as noted in a review below). The only problem I had that caused the loss of a few minutes of video was that the camcorder started displaying "Cleaning Tape". I packed the tape (fast forward to the end and rewound) and recorded over the bad section. I now pack the tape again whenever I insert a new one in the camcorder

The fair market value of ~$75.00 for these speakers is quite attractive, never-the-less, I returned my set a week after purchase and I will tell you why.

1) Sound quality is marginal at best. The highs are only apparent & clear if you turn the bass down to about 15-20% and the treble to about 55-60%. Without this adjustment, the sound is quite muddy and highs are lost to the droning lows. If you listen to these speakers next to Klipsch 2.1's ($140) or Creative's 250D's ($125) you will be amazed at the difference in accuracy and clarity. Now, admittedly, the VS4121's are half the price (roughly) but the difference is well worth the increase in QUALITY sound considering more and more of our entertainment is computer based (for instance - my entire audio collection is on my drive).

* Sidenote for your understanding: I listen to a great deal of Electronic which has a wide frequency range. Highs are extremely important. These speakers couldn't keep up. I also had a problem with 1 single track where low's were cutting out all together.

2) The manufacturer warns of a detectable buz or hum from the sub if the a/c current in your home operates @ 60 cycles. This is picked up and transmitted through the sub whether your speakers are connected to an audio source or not. This problem is WITHOUT REMEDY. My house was built in 1998 (relatively new) yet this became an enormous problem, regardless of where I plugged them in. The manual says that it's only detectable at low levels or with no audio source. A track would end and I would hear bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz until the next track began or I shut the speakers off completely. I don't experience this problem with any other speakers (multimedia or otherwise) in my home.

3) For the price (MSRP of $129.00), a remote (wired or wireless) would be a wonderful upgrade. You may not realize but reaching for the satellite to adjust EQ and volume is troublesome especially considering they need adjustment quite frequently.

Other than these gripes, the finish of the sub and satellites is quite nice and the audio cables are longer than they were on the old ATP3's which helps with configuration options.

I went into Best Buy to look at expensive receivers to replace my old broken down one, and decided to take a look at some computer speakers as I listen to all my music and watch all my movies through my PC. It took me all of 30 seconds to decide to buy these speakers instead. I couldn't believe the sound that was I was hearing. The Bose speakers positioned right next to them (that were the same price) didn't sound nearly as good. Both low and high sounds come off crystal clear. These speakers, combined with a Sound Blaster Audigy provide an incredible sound experience rivaling high end audio systems costing hundreds more. In other words, I would recommend these speakers.

I purchased these speakers for my dad as a Father's Day gift. After I gave him the gift, I then had to put everything together: The quick connect guide included with the set made the installation easy! I had everything connected w/i 5 minutes.

My Dad wanted to play one of his favorite CDs to break in the speakers. After we popped in the CD and pressed play, the sound was eye-popping! My jaw dropped and I listened with excitement. The bass had the whole room shaking wall to wall. The highs are crystal clear too.

I'm sure there are other speakers that you could buy that cost over $100 and could do the job better. But for the $99 I spent for this set, I believe that I purchased the best buy.

What D-Link does not tell you is that this device will not work if your ISP is AOL, because AOL constantly changes your IP, and the I2eye does not address this. Also, as you know if you're on AOL, when you connect, you also sign-in to AOL, and again, the I2eye does not have "sign-in" software on board. We spent three hours on the phone with D-Link, AOL and Verizon, and there is NO work-around. Also, if you call D-Link, they will claim that they support "all ISPs" but when you tell them how AOL constantly reassigns IPs, they admit that they don't address this. Bottom line: you can't use this with AOL broadband.

I bought a pair of this vidoe phone and fall in love with it.

I am relocating to another city. Really missing my sons since we could not have the whole family moved until summer. So I decided to buy a pair of i2eye.

We ended up with turn them on whenever we have a chance. My 6 year old also loves it. Most time I call, he will shut down his cartoon TV and jump up and down for a few minutes. Compare to a regular phone, he would just talk with me one sentence.

Something nice to have (not in the set yet): autofocusing or remote focusing. S-Video output to TV set (so higher resolution).

We are in the process of buying more for my parents and my wife's parents...

I have this product at my home and one at the office and it works both with my earthlink ADSL at home and the SDSL we have at work. The video quality is great, although not totally awesome, it is better than you expect. The audio is perfect with a phone plug into the back of this device. And amazon is wrong when it says; "Microphone required for sending audio." The i2eye comes with a built in mic, but it isn't the best of quality, that's why we use phones connected to them (cordless is preferred).

As far as AOL Broadband goes, yes this probably doesn't work with it. But either does XBox Live, some PS2 online games, and other devices like these. This is because AOL Broadband doesn't let you go online like everyone else. They keep you on their network so they can control advertisements, parental controls, and pop ups, etc. This is fine for regular web browsing, if being restricted on the Internet is fine with you, but for devices like that are gaining popularity, this is going to be a problem with AOL Broadband.
Technical Babble: AOL Broadband is basically software they make you use that "signs-in" to their internal network (VPN like) and you get a private IP like 10.x.x.x and everything you do goes through them and they can block any port or domain they want. Almost like they are a proxy you can't get rid of.

So the bottom line is that this product is great, but it isn't D-Link's fault AOL Broadband decided to go this route. So you can't blame this VideoPhone from D-Link for AOL's choices. If you really want to be able to do what you want on the Internet, get a real ISP, that gives you a real IP address, and doesn't make is mandatory you install their software.

I like this product and will recommend it to anyone, even if they have AOL Broadband, because this alone is a reason to switch ISPs. That's what AIM is for.

I use this film just normally for everyday stuff. It isn't grainy when you enlarge the photos, and the colors are just outstanding. I use the 800 for the really important stuff though because I think the colors are more vibrant. But, for just vacations, stuff around the house, the 400 will do a great job. Anything less it basically a waste of money. I shoot at least a roll a week just of everyday life and this is the one that I choose all the time. I have a basket full!

This film has great color production and performance. The price is also just right. You can't go wrong with the Fujifilm Superia X-TRA 400.

Modern 400 speed films are better in every way than the slow 100 speed films when I first started shooting 35mm. Because of this I see no reason to shoot anything slower than ISO 400 these days. Of all the color films I like Fuji Superia the best; the colors are rich and saturated without looking unatural. Grain and sharpness are very good for a fast film. This is now my standard film. I buy bricks of Fuji Superia X-TRA and onsies and twosies of everything else and my pictures have never looked better.

Let's face it! If you are going to do a complex calculation, you are going to break out your PC and use MATLAB (insert your own favorite mathware here) where you can A) do the calculation right and B) not have a take a coffee break while your graphical calculator thinks.

But so many times a day there is that quick calculation you need to run. What you need is a basic scientific calculator that can handle any of those run of the mill number crunches.

I got my first HP20S as a science fair award when I was in High School and I used it for this purpose all the way to finishing my Masters in Engineering. I left my calculator behind in the lab when I graduated because I stupidly had used it for months wearing epoxy sticky latex gloves (the calculator worked fine, but who wants to use a sticky calculator). I have small hands and I was able to hold this calculator in one hand and make all necessary computation using only a thumb. This is a feature I sorely miss! Also, the keys would go "klick-it" when you depressed them so that you had very nice tactile feedback.

One caveat, I can only speak to the calculator in the image above, and not to any changes that may have been made. Mine was originally purchased in the early 1990's! But boy I miss it!

I have simply fallen in love with this one. There are just very few things that one can say are wrong with this calculator. In fact, i am really having to stretch my memory to find some faults in it.

Someone dropped a cup a boiling tea over it just before one of my major exams. It worked then, and is still working just fine. I love the feel of the keys, since they arent as feeble and non existent as the ones in some of the other ones. It gives you a solid rugged look.

Once you get used to this one, it is going to be very hard for you to switch to anything else. Trust me on this!

This calculator is a cousin of the 10B finacial calculator (now discontinued). It's a good calculator with good button feel and a lot of preprogrammed functions including stats. However, the newer models have the keys and faceplate markings written in new colors that are hard to see. The picture on this page is of the old version of the calculator. The colors on the new ones make the calculator much harder to use in my opinion. They seem to get lost on the brown background.