Desktop Reviews

Worst thing Ive done to my computer yet (Windows Xp). In fact after 5 hours of trying to get it to work right. I threw it away and put my old modem back in.
when I finally did get the new usr pro in, the drivers were old, nothing would recognize the modem including usr software that came with the modem, Ctl, alt, delete, quit working so when it froze up and, it did a lot (thats never happened before or since putting the old modem back in),I had to unplug the computer. Then when I did get it started again nothing but a blank monitor. Once again with the power cord. took out the USR modem, got the system up and running restored to the day before, shut off the computer the right way, installed my old modem and everything is now working correctly and normal.
I will never buy another USR product.

I also had trouble with the call-waiting feature. Sometimes it would alert me to a call, sometimes it wouldn't. When it did, it did not let me "drop" my internet.
Support from USR was very poor. First, there is no toll-free phone number, so you have to call long-distance. In today's age of customer service, this is very poor. Less than emphathetic reps are on the line, and use the script. "Try this and call back if it doesn't work."
Plus their web-site does not have an updated driver for this modem. The one on the installation disk is from 8/2001. Then they say to update the v.92 software, but an update is not available either. Support is non-existent.
Very disappointed. Will try a competitor.

It seems this modem needs some encouragement from a satisifed user; and that would be me. I've used this modem for over a year now, and am very satisifed. When I first installed, it always wanted to connect at 52-52kpbs. However, that speed almost always ended in a dropped connection due to a line error. I configured the modem settings (in XP) to only connect at 48kbps. At this speed, I never, ever get dropped calls, and the stability is wonderful on V.92.

Download the latest drivers and software, and make sure you get the latest firmware. the CD installs a program that will update the firmware for you automatically. The modem-on-hold was a pain to get working, but the firmware update seem to ease this problem. MOH works perfectly.

If you are looking for a stable, reliable modem that works with Windows (and Linus and DOS), this is one to get. The more technically inclined folks will be able to tweak the modem for the best performance.

After following the installation directions, the mouse would not respond and I could not override it with the keyboard, so my computer was frozen and completely down. The product is not identified on the box or manual but there is a support e-mail number listed on the box which I immediately wrote to from another computer, but I never received a reply. I was finally able to re-install my original mouse (you had to uninstall the mouse to install the wireless one) and get my computer going again. If I
hadn't been able to do this, I would have had to use my recovery CD and entirely re-install all the original programs and lose new programs and data. This was very scary time for me. I'm staying with my conventional mouse and keyboard!!!

The mouse really is way too heavy. Regardless of whether it weighs 5 oz. or 15, it's by far the heaviest mouse I've ever had to use. My hand and arm are worn out after an hour of use.

I kind of like the keyboard, though. It seems to work pretty well and haslots of features for a lower-cost keyboard, including the "special function" keys such as email, home page, etc. (I didn't understand how great these can be until you get used to them). My only problme is that the function key functions for Outlook are switched around (and hard-labeled), and the "Send"/Receive key doesn't seem to work.

Overall, though, I'd pass on this combo. Find one with a mouse that only uses 1 AAA battery instead.

With some apprehension given the concerns about the weight of the mouse, I ordered this package (... after rebate, what's the risk). It installed easily and worked the first time - five minutes.

The whining about the mouse is overblown. With batteries in it weighs 5 oz, and because it's a ball mouse, it moves much more easily than the optical I had been using. The freedom from wires is well worth the weight. I have hung the receiver from the bottom of my desk and have no problems whatsoever with reception. I would give it five stars but I haven't yet seen how long the batteries last and the pair didn't come in the color I wanted.

I just purchased your firewire iBOT webcam, and I'm very unhappy that I have to pay more for OSX support.
OSX is no longer new. How do you get away with selling a product and then charging more to make it usable with current system software???
OS9 is OLD!!!! Wake up!!! Not only that, i can't even download the required drivers....I have to have them shipped at my time and expense. WEAK!!!
WAKE UP!
I am also a PC user...this is the last Orange Micro product I will buy.

I do not recommed this product to anyone looking for a web cam. Not only was the product bad, but the customer service was non existent.

Purchased the iBot firewire webcam for my Macinbtosh QS 733, OS 10.3.2. Easy 5 minute setup. Great clairity. Works good. What I was wanting.

Do you know that feeling? You buy some new hardware and look forward to using it. The first few steps of the installation work but then something else happens that is not described in the manual. In my case the computer doesn't see any new hardware. Things go rapidly downhill from there; you try doing things in a different order - nothing. You try finding it with the Windows hardware wizard - doesn't appear. On the next iteration the whole computer shuts down and you think you've lost it. By then you know that you are going to waste a lot of time. This is what happened to me after buying the Belkin Wireless Desktop Network Card

Manual doesn't help; the Belkin website is next to useless. I am not going to make international phonecalls to the States. Several hours on, adrenalin coursing through your veins you just manage to not throw the stuff out of the window. I lost an afternoon, Belkin lost their reputation. This is the last Belkin product that I buy...

Just read some other reviews of this piece of "kit" and see that I'm not the only one with this problem. I'm going to try and return it to the shop.

Purchased the F5D7000 because of the price. First attempt, windows XP never found the card. Got replacement card from Belkin. Second attempt, computer would not power up. I would push the power button, the fans would come on, the second I released the power button, the computer would shutdown. Would not boot. Took first card back to Office Max. They would only issue me a replacement. Third attempt, computer would not boot. Took card back to Office Max and demanded a different card. Picked up a D-Link DWL G520 (Extreme G). I was up and running in 5 minutes. Very easy install and setup. I need to go to the D-link site to download the latest firmware but I am very pleased with the D-Link. Save yourself some pain and suffering, don't gamble on this card.

Having relied for ages on a wired link from my PC upstairs to my Router/Firewall downstairs, I decided to take the plunge and go wireless. I bought a Linksys router and the Belkin wireless card. Plugged the card in first, booted up, installed the software and was quickly able to communicate with my linksys router. The performance of the card can be a bit funny now an again, but it is generally very stable and I have no problems accessing the Internet at much the same speed as I did with a wired network. I paid £30.00 for the card, so was impressed with the overall quality considering the low cost. For anyone looking to take the plunge into the wireless market, I can certainly recommend this card and for £30.00 you can't go too far wrong!

I made the mistake of purchasing 2 of these since I believed US Robotics to be a quality brand. Both stopped working after about 7 days, wouldn't work on WinME, WinXP or Win2kPro. Couldn't find anyone to contact and gave up.

This item is NOT compatible with windows xp pro!!!
After 3 hours of long distance charges calling tech support, the modem still does not work and thanks to their expert instructions, my registry is now damaged. Buy anything else, but do not buy this modem. The only reason I gave it one star was because it would not accept my comment without me selecting something.

This was not a conclusive test but the modem only worked on my onboard USB 1.0 VIA 82C596B controller and not my NEC USB 2.0 PCI adapter.

If you're having problems, try a USB 1.0 port.

You will enjoy it, but not for long. I know at least a dozen of stories (mine included of course) of users who had problems either with black lines or lots of dead pixels on the monitor and also with their hard drives.
If you want to draw digital style, you better get a professional pen tablet for a quarter of the cost of this computer that Sony just pretends never existed and ignores buyers complains.

This computer was obviously meant to appeal to those who are completely clueless about computers. My mom bought this computer i think because it looked nice. The parts are of poor quality, especially the video card, and you could buy a system with similar specifications without the LCD for about one third of the price. I have found no way to upgrade most of the parts, because they are non-standard, and I have not been able to get through to tech support. When i phone the line goes dead and when I e-mail i get an error. It's obvious Sony doesn't put much care or attention into their tech support.

I would echo the words to the wise from another reviewer here. I too bought a Slimtop. After 10 months the CDRW started acting up. I rang the Sony helpline, and from the voice prompt entered the model id, whereupon the voice system told me that it was out of warranty. Note - not just my machine, about which this voice system knew nothing (unless Sony are cleverer than their consumer products of course ;-), but the *entire model* was deemed out of warranty. And there was no way I could get through the system to a human being to discuss my problem. So I wrote them an e-mail describing this voice system weirdness, and my actual hardware problem. That was six months agho. Of course, I am still waiting for a response. So, my word to the wise is : if reliability or service are criteria in your purchasing decision, avoid Sony like the plague, because you will be on your own.

Here is what you had HOPED to get
and is what you WON'T get:
make
Sierra Wireless
model
AirCard 750 Enterprise Edition
description and features (NONE of which you can get here):

The AirCard 750 Enterprise Edition provides a convenient way to connect your laptop or Pocket PC to the Internet or corporate networks anywhere within the AT&T Wireless GPRS 1900 coverage area or internationally on the 900/1800 GSM/GPRS frequencies. AirCard 750 fits into a standard Type II PC and functions as a wide-area wireless network card. Stay on top of e-mail, find directions fast, or simply browse the Web wherever you are. It's the best card you'll ever get.

Wireless network modem for your laptop or Pocket PC
Fits into any standard Type II card slot
Includes AT&T Wireless Communication Manager V1.0 CD

Great For:
Wireless connectivity to the internet
Wireless connectivity to your corporate or personal email
Mobility and connectivity where you are (you don't have to spend your time searching for a "Hotspot.")

"CAVEAT EMPTOR"

This is a completely deceptive listing. What is being sold is an antenna, not a working PCMCIA cellular card.

Do not Buy this if you are looking for the PC Card this is only the Antenna for the Aircard. What you see in the picture is what you get. The guy above is smoking something if he thinks you can buy this and get a $300 pccard

This thing just doesn't work. It's supposed to make a first, initial backup then in subsequent backups it's supposed to back up only those items that have changed (updating the items on it's disk). Instead what it tries to do is to back up the changed items as "new" objects on it's disk (instead of replacing the old objects). So it doesn't take long before it's disk fills up and it gives you the error "not enough room on disk". I have called their helpdesk many times on this and they are absolutely CLUELESS. I've never dealt with a helpdesk that had so little knowledge about the products it supports. Their only answer was "update the software" which I did (didn't help...). It even went to second level support. They recomended the same thing. Second level won't even talk to you. They talk to you through the first level support guy so you never get anywhere with them.

My windows system (98SE) froze on reboot after I installed this drive. Called support number twice and no answer after 15 minutes on hold each time. Sent an email, CMS responded by email after 3 days. Response was not helpful. Eventually realized that the automatic formatting of the drive done in setup was faulty. Reformatted in windows and ran scandisk and now the drive works great. The software is the best automatic back up software I have ever used. Backs up different back up sets on any schedule in the background. The write time is extremely fast. The drive is quite noisy with an audible whine.

NOTE: Most of you will not have this problem, but if your location requires that you have a decent tuner, choose a different brand.

I searched the web for reviews on this unit and couldn't find any. I figured since the dimensions of the unit and the style and features fit the bill, that this unit was worth taking a chance on. WRONG! The local radio station broadcasts at 107.1. The tuner of this Scott system receives this station on all frequencies from 106.5 - 107.9. This does not allow reception of other stations in that frequency range. I've seen this before in only the cheapest tuners made in the 1970's and before. There is no excuse in this day and age to have an FM tuner this bad. I'm very disappointed and am returning the unit without even trying the cassette or CD. If you live within 2 miles of a radio station, you are probably better off stepping up to a higher quality brand.

I live 30 miles south of NY City and 9 out of 10 radios that I've owned will get all NY City Radio stations clearly all the time. NY City radio uses the Empire State Building to broadcast, so the stations are quite strong. I was unable to get 2 very powerful NY stations with this unit. Since that is very important to me, I didn't bother to test the CD or tape so I can't comment on that. I'm returning it ASAP. If you live closer to the city than I do, give it a shot. I scoured the web for reviews on this unit, and I could not find any. If you have this unit and found it to work fine, please submit a review. Thanks

This unit just died on me within three months. The charger works (I bought it separately) but I cannot hotsync anymore - what's the point of having a iPAQ that does not sync? It's either the connector to the cradle or the connector to the base of the handheld that's not connecting. For the high $$$ that I had to pay for this flimsy product, it's really a pity that HP will not provide a good product. It's poor design makes the iPAQ rock back and forth without a firm connection.

I gave this one star bcs it does NOT charge your unit, as one would expect. This cradle is just a display holder.

To charge your unit, there are four ways:

1. Buy a charging cradle, which is an extra cost (no universal one to fit several PDAs, just one for the 1910, according to hp tech support; I couldn't get an answer as to whether an other hp PDA would also fit the 1910 but I think I read this somewhere on a customer review site). This is the most expensive option.

2. Use the sync cable. Run it btw the USB port on your desktop and the USB port on the unit, hooking tog. as tho you are going to sync. This is the easiest option.
3. Get your cell phone A/C adaptor. Plug into the wall. Plug the male part of the A/C adaptor into hp's 1910 adaptor and plug the other end of hp's 1910 adaptor into the USB of your desktop. This requires purchase of the 1910 adaptor. Amazon has it for $.... $... elsewhere.
4. Buy a 2nd battery.

Some people buy two charging cradles (one for home, one for work) and others just carry around the sync cable.

mb

The cradle is a good buy, it holds the iPaq upright while charging and synch'ing it. It is true that the plug is not included but me advice is to get a travel plug from eBay and use the original with this unit. It works great, no problems. By the way, the cradle on eBay is going for [$$]so this is actually cheaper.