Desktop Reviews

I bought two of this clock because I'm sick of adjusting the time after a power outage.
The clocks sets the time automatically within 5 minutes of powering up. The only weakness is that even with the brightness (dimmer) sets to high, it is still kind of dim, and each LED segment has slightly different brightness. If you put it near the window, I think you may have difficulty reading the clock. However, I put them in shaded areas, so I can read the clock just fine. Still, I wish they can be brighter.
You can pick one of the four US time zones (PST, MST, CST, EST) via a switch. I did not test the alarm or battery backup.
AC cord has a small power brick attached at the end.
Imported from China.

I've had the 30731 for about a week and am, thus far, very pleased.

When I began shopping for a new alarm clock, my primary selection criterion was that it have an LED display. Many new clocks have multifunction LCD displays which are nice except that you can't see them in the dark without pressing a button to illuminate them like an LCD wristwatch. Alternatively, some of these LCD clocks have projector attachments that shine a time display on the wall or ceiling, but you can't see them in a well-lit room! An LED display is visible under all ambient lighting conditions and seemed to me the most logical and straightforward solution.

Once the universe of clocks is narrowed to LED models, the next consideration is the size of the LED digits. They run anywhere from approximately 1/2 inch to 1 inch. I'm very nearsighted, so to be able to see the time in the middle of the night without my glasses, is purely a case of "the bigger the better". The 30731 has digits that are .9 inches high - bigger than most other LED clocks and easily readable sans glasses at 4AM. Obviously, the larger the display, the larger the clock, but I have lots of room on my nightstand and was not concerned with the 30731's somewhat larger than usual size (about 8.5"W, 3"D, 4"H).

At this point, additional useful features are the only other necessary evaluation. The 30731 has the ability to set itself by receiving a radio signal from the US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) located in Colorado (Do a Google search for WWVB and you'll find them - lots of useful info). You set your timezone and whether you use Daylight Savings Time and the clock does the rest.

I can report that from my location in NY, this works perfectly but you should know 2 things. First, I have found that the clock must be facing East-West (i.e. facing Colorado from NY) for the auto-setting to work. If your bedroom is laid out such that your clock will not be facing in the general direction of Colorado, you might have a problem. (Actually, I think if it faces directly *away* from Colorado, that's OK too. As long as its not "end-on" to Colorado.) Furthermore, as the instructions point out, time signal reception is best in the wee hours of the morning, and that is the only time that, for my location anyway, the clock is able to sucessfully set itself (but it has sucessfully reset itself every night).

My only complaint, and it is a minor one, is that the snooze alarm bar, though large and easy to find, doesn't really depress like a button but sort of pivots front-to-back on a stiff spring and can cause a little fumbling when you're in a semi-conscious state.

The alarm is an electronic "chirp". Loud enough to wake me but not so loud as to cause coronary arrest.

The clock has battery backup for power failures if you put a 9V battery in it (not included).

It does not have dual alarms or weekend settings. It does not display date, day of the week or seconds.

You can see a better picture of the clock and get more info on it at the equitytime.com website.

I have not experienced the dim or irregularly illuminated display reported by the reviewer from Redmond. I find it amply bright with all LED segments uniformly lit.

I am quite happy with this alarm clock and can recommend it without reservation.

I love this drive! I feel that I really got my money's worth. There are alot of other options available from other companies with more name recognition (I'd never heard of Lacie). This drive has been reliable, fast, and the part that makes me happiest of all - CHEAP in comparison to similiar devices by other companies. Overall I'm very happy with this hardware, so much that I just recommended it to one of my friends who was in the market for an external drive. I've been working in IT for 10+ years and having equipment that is reliable and inexpensive is always a pleasure.

I bought this a few months ago and am very happy with it. It is quiet, it works well, it is fast, and after 6 months so far it is still working great. It was really easy to set up (XP just recognizes it automatically), and it just showed up as Drive G in my Windows Explorer.

I recommend this with no hesitations.

I'm a graphic artist who works with many applications open meanwhile listening to streaming music over a cable modem and this desktop doesn't even blink handling all that. The Hyperthreading technology is incredible while the Pentium 2.6 GHz just shoots everything at lightning speed. The only thing I'd change though is getting another video card because the one installed is a shared AGP and the graphics can get chunky and choppy when it's stretched thin.

Otherwise solid, solid performance by Sony.

This Computer Is A Fast one with a Intel Pentium 4 with Hyper Threading, 512mb RAM. You Can Perform Many things at one time.
GET THIS COMPUTER!

Reasonable priced machine for DVD writer, 120 GB hard disk, fireware ports and USB 2.0 ports which are all very useful to use a digital camcorder with.

Small things I wish could change about the machine:
1) The C drive is partitioned to be 14 Gb only, too small if you want to install lots of software or having lots of stuff under My Document folder.
2) 256 MB is not enough for Movie Maker, lots of page faults.
3) No system CDs, you have to make your own from hard disk image.

A very good mid-range computer. Sony puts a lot into quality and stability. It's a great entertainment computer, with a nice big HDD and a fast CPU. If you want to play 3D games you might want something with more graphics memory (or throw in a new graphics card for fifty bucks and you are set).

Well I have had this computer for about 10 days and everyone in the house loves the speed we are enjoying here. It's a Pentium 4 with the 512MB of RAM which I thought was overkill but it certainly zips through webforms fast and performs MS Office like a dream.

Sony loads you up with some nice software like Wordperfect and stuff to help you get the best use out of the CD-RW and DVD drives they installed. The front access to USB and memory stick ports are very convienent too!

When I opened the box and put it on my desk I was really puzzled on how you oopen this computer up. So rather than be totally confused I went to Circuit City and the salesmen show me how the top pops off after you push 2 tabs and they the sides come off after you push another tab inside. Easy as pie! I haven't messed with that. My only problem was my top cover had to be replaced by Sony because of a sharp egde. But other than that it's a great choice for a family PC.

This is another excellent entry from Sony CE, again gaining high marks for its value. It features an my favorite processor, an Intel Pentium 4 running at 2.0 GHz and offers 512 megs of very fast DDRAM. It also has 4 2.0-ready USB ports, a large 80 gig hard drive and a very good CD-R/W + DVD player. My only complaint is the lack of a true game-ready, 64 megs (or higher!) of video RAM. The included 32 meg Sony in-house, on-chip setup here just won't cut the mustard. There is, however, an open 4x AGP slot, so an upgrade can be bought and slid into place in 10 minutes without any fuss. In addition, there is no monitor included here, so that's another important expense to add. Nonetheless, it's a quality machine with lots of great features and it's one you'll probably be happy with for years to come.

Sony's newest style is visually stunning with lots of cool features, but..... the speakers suck. They are way too quiet and they don't have any bass or treble control. Since they market it as a computer/tv, you would think that they would put a decent sound system in it. Luckily, I have been able to hook up an external set of speakers to it, but it takes away from the sleekness and versatility of the computer. It also comes preinstalled with way to much junk software, and no operating system cd's for reformatting.

Given that, I would still buy it because it's fresh new style. The computer itself is really thin and the screen is really nice. It is cool to look at web pages in widescreen format. I would suggest to buy it, but only if you are ok with adding external speakers.

This is such a wicked computer, I own one of these. It is so fast, and that CD-RW is just great!! I owuld definelty reccomend this computer to anyone. The ONLY bad part is the quiet speakers. Whenever I want to listen to music, I have to sit right in front of the PC.

I bought the product based on one of the reviews on amazon. I liked the product because of the following reason:
a) easy installation
b) I have t616 sony ericsson and it was able to synchronize with it without any extra software needed from sonyericsson site.
c)very lightweight and sleek.
d) great price
I did not verify the speed it's synchronizing with t616 but it seems fine.
some useful tips:
1) After installing bluetooth in your machine, it's going to show you a bluetooth icon. when you are not using your bluetooth connection, right click on the icon and stop the blutooth device to save power.
2) Right click on the icon will show you bluethooth configuration link, go and setup to communicate with your intended device only to protect your computer from unauthorized use.

Even though the price is cheap, this bluetooth adapter delivers. I bought it from Amazon.com (with free shipping, it took merely two days to be delivered!).

It comes with a free USB extension cable in case it won't fit into your hub/computer with wires next to it (it is rather wide, but the extension cable more than makes up for it). The range is good: about the standard 10 meters (it has full range over the room that it's in).

Integration with Mac OS X is superb; it's merely plug and play for Macs, though I assume it is a lot less easy/reliable with Windows computers.

The one down point of Bluetooth is its low transfer rates: with it interfacing with my Sony Ericsson T616, it has an average bandwidth of 4KB/s. I suspect that it is the phone's fault (as it's not necessary to have very high bandwidth for such small files). Bluetooth's official rate is about 90 KB/s, so this is vastly underperforming.

However, due to the cheap price, free cable, and reliability of the TRENDware Bluetooth USB adapter, I give it 5 stars and recommend it to anyone with a Mac looking for a decent, cheap way to become Bluetooth-enabled.

Wokrs great with my Nokia phone and version 6.2 of the Nokia PCSync software. Automatically detects my phone, even if it's in the other room, 25 ft. away.

I have purchased many, memory upgrades. There is nothing worse than buying memory, getting it, installing it only to boot up your computer and get that annoying beep that tells you that you have incompatible memory. You might also boot up and not even find the new memory size. Well put all that aside with this memory from "PNY". Line up the notches, slide it in, clip in the locking clips, boot up and presto, you now upgraded your system. Excellent!

I went from 128 megs to 512 megs on my Dimension 4300 (the max) and I noticed an 100% speed increase, and I dare say even faster than that. The improvement prob wouldn't be as great going from 128 to 256 or 256 to 512. Instead of taking around 6.5 minutes to boot XP, now it takes 2.5. Good show!

The hardest part was taking it out of the packaging! After taking it out just put it into your mainboard and secure it. then boot up the computer. Mine instantly recognized it. My computer is able to handle processes a lot better with all the programs I try to run at once. Great product!

Because of brief experiences with Microsoft ergonomic keyboards, I intended to order the cordless ITouch (nonergonomic) instead of this; however this was the only one in stock and I ended up getting this one... The keyboard is really nice. As another reviewer mentioned, the slope of the keys feel much more natural than the microsoft. However, I have to disagree with the previous reviewer about the layout of the home/end/etc keys. If the keys have to be in a vertical layout, this layout makes much more sense than the microsoft's - microsoft arranged the keys in a seemingly random order, while logitech left most of the keys in their standard place.. (insert/delete and page up/down are where you'd expect) The cordless mouse is also far superior to microsoft's - the movement is much smoother and more responsive. I had to take off one star for 1) the "logitech" key seems to randomly think it's pressed once in awhile and pops up an annoying help page; 2) when i play some games, in order to get a decent response time from the keyboard i always have to press the "connnect" button after every reboot both of these problems are probably driver/software problems, but they're annoying

I tested over 20 keyboards before purchasing this one, and fell hopelessly in love with the way the keys felt. Forget about the cool radio technology, or the fact that this is an "ergonomic" keyboard, or even that it comes with its own mouse. It's just a pleasure to type on.

I was skeptical of the radio technology which makes the keyboard portable. I thought it would work, but with occasional glitches. Yet I honestly can't tell a performance difference between this technology and having a plug-in keyboard. If anything, I've noticed that the included mouse is more accurate than my old Logitech First Mouse Plus. And, as with the keyboard, it just *feels* better.

As an ergonomic keyboard, this board's chief competitor is the Microsoft Natural Keyboard Pro. I really wanted to like that keyboard. It was a good deal cheaper, had more function keys and even a couple of USB ports. But there's something about the curve of the board that's just awkward. The slope is not as subtle as this one, and those severe angles make typing harder somehow. Worse, the keys are very much noisier.

And the MS Pro's apparent advantages largely disappear on closer examination. The MS Pro seems to have more special function keys than the Logitech. In particular there are a number of web exploration keys that the Logitech seems not to have. But Logitech has put additional web surfing help into the mouse. Press down on the mouse wheel, and a convenient palate of web surfing tools sprouts up. Also, the MS Pro's USB ports aren't that much of an advantage. Because you have to plug the keyboard into an existing USB port, you expand your total ports only by one. That leaves only price and a single USB port as the net advantage of the MS Pro.

To me, that means Logitech wins hands down.

Once you let yourself get used to the ergonomic design, you wont go back to typing on a standard board again. It's akward at first, but keep at it. Your hands will never tire, you wont get carpal tunnel and you feel more relaxed at the end of a long day of typing. I love the freedom from cords, both with the board and especially the mouse. Again, give the mouse a fair try, and you wont go back to a standard design. I love the center scroll and thumb back button.....( that's how I have mine programed)
I started with their wireless mouse, then onto the "Cordless Trackman Wheel ( I dont care for that one) then onto the Cordless Desktop Pro. One interesting thing, I can use the cordless trackman wheel at the same time I use the cordless mouse. No separate programing, or hookups. Both work off the same remote receiver.
Anyway, I'm on my computer an average of 10 hours a day, 7 days a week. I've only had to replace batteries in my units TWICE in the last 2 years!!! No, I dont do much gaming, but I do lots of photo editing.....anyway, I use Duracell's and have had good luck with them in these units.
Again, once you finally get used to the board and mouse, you literally cant, and wont want to type on a standard lay out as Your hands will feel akward and uncomfortable....
I love this unit and hope others will give it a try. They wont regret it.

I agree with most everything everyone else said, so.. here is my .02 :)

1) I do not like the new placement of the Home/Insert/End...keys. I want Shift-Insert to work like it has on just about every other keyboard.

2) I wish the Wireless Optical Mouse has the 2 side buttons like the Intellimouse Optical. Yeah, I actually am used to those for going back/forward on web pages without having to move the mouse.

3) I wish the F-Lock could be set as a default. I am more interested in F-keys then yet another Open key.

4) All of the multimedia keys (non-standard keys across the top) should be programmable.

5) Why did they have to get rid of the RIGHT Windows Key? It was so easy to Press the windows key and L to lock my system before I walk away. (I fixed this by changing the Logoff button on the upper right to be a Lock Workstation button.)

It is a great wireless keyboard... just hope MS addresses the above in the future.

[In regards to the other comment about Caps Lock and Num Lock, the lights for these are on the receiver unit. Also the F-Lock light is on the receiver. Supposedly, the lights are not on the keyboard itself as they would dramtically decrease the battery life. The receiver looks like a squished mouse.]

Awesome set!!! I have had a Microsoft Natural keyboard for years, and loved it. When I saw they came out with a wireless desk top version I was delighted. And in colors that match todays computers. It was extremely easy to install and set up. I love the fact that the receiver doesn't have to even be on my desk. I also love the fact that there are no wires getting in the way of my work space. The ergonomic design is terrific. If you have had microsofts previous natural keyboards you're gonna love this set. The features are basically the same. A few minor changes have been made to the keyboard, but nothing big. It's compatible with both PC and Mac. The keyboard and mouse function wonderfully within a six foot range. Which is more than adaquate. Microsoft warrants the set for five years too. That is a fabulous warranty. (Be sure and save your receipts, make an extra copy so you don't lose it should you need to obtain service.) The set takes 2 AA batteries for the Keyboard, and 2 for the mouse. The batteries are said to last up to six months, but for those of us that are always on the computer we'll have to change them more frequently. If you find your set isn't fuctioning properly follow their reconnecting instructions first, try a different channel(all this is described in the manual), if none of those work, it's most likely your batteries. They take regular AA batteries like Energizer or Duracell Ultra. So they are fairly cheap. If your looking for a great wireless keyboard & mouse set this is it! It's so simple to use, try it. I sure enjoy mine.

I absolutely love this keyboard and mouse. The keyboard keys have a nice soft sound, not loud or harsh clicks, while offering a pleasant level of resistance. The 12-foot wireless range is one of the longest I've seen (especially at this price). I don't have ANY need whatsoever for all of the F-stop buttons and shift-lock thingies and whatever else people have been yapping about in other reviews; I use my keyboard for typing, and that's it. The mouse is ideal: the size is perfect for my average-sized hand, and the scroll wheel is easy to handle and rolls crisply. I'm actually quite pleased that it's only a two-button plus wheel; I bought it specifically because of that. I'd been previously using a Fellowes wireless optical mouse with something like 6 or 7 buttons, and I had to turn the button functionality off via the software interface because I kept clumsily hitting the side buttons and making my browser pages go places I didn't want them to. This mouse is so much more convenient for me!

The bottom line: If you have huge needs for interactive functionality with your devices, maybe keep looking. But, if you're looking for a nice, attractive, and easy-to-use wireless keyboard and mouse combo, this is the one to get.