Notebook Reviews

I purchased this card to complement my WRT55AG, dual-band router. I've not had particularly good luck connecting in A mode; in fact, I rarely use it because it's unable to maintain a solid connection. I don't know if this is the hardware or just life with "A", but I would not recommend using it in a residential setting. Save the bucks, stick with G/B.

On the other hand, I"ve had no problems connecting to G (which I use at home) or B (on the road). The supplied software is pretty good for helping identify and select new networks, though it does take a few minutes to switch to a new network.

Summary: unless you have a compelling reason, just stick with B/G.

The WPC55AG is a dream! Plugged it into my Dell X200 notebook and in an instant I was connected! Seamlessly finds and connects to either A or G band.

This is my first attempt at a wireless network, and I am just blown away with this Linksys dual band system. I am writing this review from my HP ZE4220 Pavillion notebook a half a house away from my cable modem. I installed this card and the matching router with no problems...I was expecting to be [messing] with it for days, but I was finished in less than an hour...pretty much plug & play. I did not use the setup CD...I configured everything per the Quick Install guides. I have three wired desktops running Win98se along with this notebook running WinXP home edition on the system. The performance now is just as fast as when I had this notebook wired directly via cat5 cable. This setup was way too easy, now I have to find another project for the weekend. Rock solid so far.

I bought this type laptop two months ago, most time it works good, but I found it has a very annoyed problem. If you watch DVD or listen to music and use Internet at the same time, internet can be very often disconnected automatically, sometime, machine even crashes. Actually I changed my machine, but this second machine has the same problem.

First, the downside - the mouse can be flakey. Sometimes it acts as if the left side key is stuck. Other times, you have to tap it ten times to get it to react. Other that that, the only problem we've had has been that some DVD's latch up the WIN/DVD software.

But considering how much use our Vaio has had, we've been very happy. The CD burner has worked flawlessly. I use the Vaio to back up digital images while we're traveling. It's great to be able to burn a CD as backup before deleting the files off of the camera. The kids use it to watch movies and play games and they love the large, bright screen. The off-axis color and brightness are excellent.

This is my 4th laptop and finally, I have one that is fast enough for the applications I run. It's amazing what can be fit into such a small package. One warning: the shape and texture of the unit make it easy to drop when pulling it out of a briefcase. I haven't, but if you aren't careful, it could easily happen.

Sony has very good cosumer support.
This is my first Notebook from AMD, and I love it much faster from my old Penium 3 800Mhz.
Very long batter life too, up to 3 hours(without playing games)
Really sharp and crystal clear screen.
Runs fast cool and quiet, I will keep it for long time.
Cdr and DVD runs great, no complaind here.
Smart investment!
Highly recomand this one, I am sure you will't be sorry!

I have been used this webcam almost two years. First of all, I want to say it's much better than Creative Labs' which I had used before. Second of all, it's work perfectly either image or voice. There is a new driver for update built-in microphone. After that it has very nice quality on voice, which saves lots of international phone fee for me. The benefits of image as other people said. I have nice time chat with my family and friends via it. Then, it's very easy to install. No useless and complicated software which Creative usually does. Moreover, it's save the desk space. Just hang on top of the screen, which also good looking for laptop. Finally, I HIGHLY RECOMMAND this for people who going to buy webcam, especially for laptop using. There is already a new model in the market which is PCGA-UVC11.

I just don't understand why stores like Best Buy and CompUSA and even most stores online don't seem to carry this Sony webcam. It's like somebody woke up one day and said that anything that is not shaped like a stupid egg is not worthy of being called a webcam and we should not carry it in our stores. So now stores are are all obsessed with anything made by Logitech, Creative Labs or some brand no one has ever heard of. I am able to use my Sony webcam and I bought one for my dad and mom who live overseas and it is INCREDIBLE! We use it for Netmeeting and Yahoo! and it's great. Especially when we can use Supermode. Anyone who uses any other camera is wasting good money and is not truly experiencing what today's web conferencing technology has to offer. I am also very disappointed in Sony for not promoting their own product more effectively and actually writing on the front of the box "For Sony Vaio Computers Only". I mean how stupid is that? Do you not want more customers to purchase your product?

I just bought a SONY Visual Communication Camera after trying several more expensive webcams. It works perfectly in low light and daylight conditions thanks to True Color Technology and Flicker Canceling Function.

The lens are very good. If you compare this Sony webcam with other Sony Digital HandyCam camcorders used as webcams, this small webcam does the job better with larger capturing angle and flicker control. Of cause, I do not want you to compare this Sony webcam with other webcams at its price in the market, because this Webcam does far more better. The picture is clear with vivid colors. Its focus system is realy powerful thanks to SONY professional quality lens. Very good Laptop mounting mechanism is a big plus for this webcam.

I do not know why other reviewer gave it such a bad review. May be, he/she used this webcam with slow Pentium II laptops or so. I have a SONY NV190 Pentium IV 1.7Ghz, it works with the webcam perfectly.

Overall, This webcam can give you more than what you ask for.

Purchased this bag for use with a Toshiba Satellite 15" screen laptop. The laptop barely fits into the bag, and it is obvious the bag was designed for use with no larger than a 14" screen laptop. The bag does however have a quality look and feel to it. I would recommend this bag for laptops with a screen smaller than 15".

I bought this for my thin and light Averatec, which has a 12.1" screen and weighs just over 4 lbs. This case could certainly fit a larger notebook but suits my laptop admirably. It also leaves plenty of room for the charger and mouse. I put work related stuff in the case, for example professional journals, with plenty of room left over. The material has a nice feel to it, the zippers zip smoothly, and overall the case has a well-crafted, sturdy but light feel.

My only complaint is that one of the large outer pockets has a hole built into the bottom, just large enough to let papers or magazines fall out! This built-in gap makes no sense whatsoever. I am thinking about stitching it closed, but then why should I have to do such a thing to a new product from a name brand manufacturer? I can put reading material in the other pockets, but again, that simply begs to question as to the purpose of this cut-out. Were it not for this silly design error, the case would earn 5/5 stars.

I have an Emachines M6805 with a 15.4" screen and it fits this case. It is snug but not tight. The case is well designed and made. There are plenty of padded pockets and lots of velcro. A nice (and unexpected) feature is that the outer pocket has a hole at the bottom and is designed to fit over the extended handle of wheeled luggage. A real plus since this laptop is fairly heavy. A good case for the price.

Using this reader with XP worked great.

Using this on my Mac was another story. I have USB 2.0 and 1.1 on my G4 (10.3.4).
USB 1.1 worked as expected, slow but sure.
USB 2.0 would lock-up when copying large amounts of data. Small files would copy ok.

I replaced this reader with a SanDisk 8-in-1 Reader (SDDR-88-A15) and it works great with my Mac and PC.

Compact Flash Cards used: SanDisk Ultra II 512MB, Kingston 128MB, Simpletech 128MB.

I used this to replace an older USB card reader on my Dell 4550 PC (running Windows XP) which has USB 2.0 ports. It works great.

Please note that the comment above, that says that you probably won't see an improvement in speed if you don't use high speed compact flash cards is untrue. I see a significant improvement in speed when reading my Lexar 4x compactflash in this USB 2.0 reader compared to my old USB reader.

I bought this reader after having some problems with other readers on my win98se op system. The install was seamless, and everything works perfectly.

SimpleTech is the best across the board, for all types of memory cards. This 1 gigabyte CF card is excellent. I use it for my Olympus C8080 digital camera. At the highest quality setting, this CF card will get me 254 color shots. Not bad. It's dependable, well-built, and has a fairly fast write time.

Clearly the person giving this one star is doing so because apparently they are upset that the card could not be used in a product not designed for it! Normally I write very few reviews but it's quite irritating when people post negatives simply because they don't understand what they are purchasing.

This is a CF II card...that means it's for cameras and devices with a CF II slot...

In any event, this is an excellent card. Very fast with my Cannon 300D (Rebel). Uses minimal power, with no moving parts. I've never had a problem with any read / write operation. I'm getting 287 6 MegaPixel images...hopefully enough for most people! Overall very happy with this card.

It's a type II card, so it's thicker and won't fit in a type I slot, but if your device has a type II slot, as most PDAs do, it's a fine card. I have one in my Dell Axim.

The notebook surge arrest protector is obviously useful because it protects your expensive laptop from electrical damage. This protector allows for one laptop plug and also one phone connection for the modem. It is also very light weight which is important in laptop devices. My only complaint is that it is a little bulkier in size than I would like. The prongs that connect into the wall socket is on the backside of what you see in the picture and stick out straight which adds to its bulkiness. I feel like I have to make more space than I would like in my laptop case for this. I wish they would have made the prongs like the way Kodak does for their battery chargers where the prongs fold in when unused.

Bought one few months back...n i guess it is a gud investment for costly equipments...as other reviewers pointed out...it is quite bulky....the prongs always stick out,i am not able to carry it around in my laptop bag.....moreover for those of u, who travel a lot....NOTE: this things works only at 120V that means it will simply blow out when u will use it in countries which have higher voltage ratings.....APC do have other products which work at higher ratings too

This is perfect for anyone who travels with a laptop. It's small and fits nicely next to the ac adapter in my laptop case. It protects my laptop from surges through the AC outlet and phone jacks. I have been pleased with APC products for about six years. They provide excellent customer support. I highly recommend their products.

Hey cd holder fans, i was so excited to get this awesome looking carry case to put my portable cd player and headphones in! But, to my major disappointment, there simply isn't enough room to put hardly anything in it!! You easily store your portable player, but the headphones and any one cd would be impossible to fit in that tiny zippered space. Just realize that your supposed to hook your headphones on the outside of the case- which i don't like becuz i can easily loose them. There are way better and bigger cases out there that are reasonably priced, i'd look else where in my opinion.

I don't own this case but I found some stuff on Camera Annex about it. Here goes!

.Rugged nylon and thick foam padding

.Inner elastic strap to secure cd player

.Zippered compartment for storing cd's or cd wallets

.Removable, adjustable shoulder strap

Thats all I know! I hope i've been a help.

This is a great durable item! The neon blue is my favorite color and very easy to maintain. VERY RECOMMENDED!

I replaced my previous MSI 5600 FX with this card cuz
I thought "PNY 5900 128 MB" gonna give my games some "Magic"
but I just seen a little improvement and of course this not enough for a Crazy Gamer like me !!

I suggest to choose one of "ATi Radeon 9800 Pro" Series
cuz current nVidia FX Series not as good as ATi.

Finally, I gonna switch to ATi Products and my choice this time is "ATi 9800 Pro 128 MB" cuz this card like M*O*N*S*T*O*R moreover, its price so fair !!

Trust me dude !!
I'll not let you down :)

Attention! I don't have the exact same card as the one that I'm supposed to be reviewing right now but I have a pretty similar one. I have GeForce FX 5900 Ultra 256mb 8x AGP card and it's pretty much the same only that Ultra versions run a bit faster and it is 256mb card. This is one of the newer cards that I own and it's great. Even though it is slower than the rival card, Radeon 9800 Pro, but this card is now a bit cheaper on eBAY and it runs almost the same as Radeon 9800 Pro. So you can buy a cheaper video card that performs almost equally as well as the new Radeon 9800 Pro. Also run games like Painkiller, Unreal Tournament 2003, or Quake 3 and this card will beat the Radeon 9800 Pro in frames per second. Not only that, look forward to the upcoming Doom 3 which is supproted by Nvidia Geforce chipsets unless you want to play Half Life 2, then get Radeon 9800 Pro. Those aren't the only reason why I chose this card over Radeon 9800 Pro though. I am also a big fan of the Nvidia and GeForce chipsets so I decided to get this over the Radeon 9800 Pro. Sadly, there are new video cards like GeForce FX 5950 Ultra, GeForce 6800 Ultra, Radeon 9800XT, and Radeon X800XT so both cards won't match up to the 4 extreme new cards if you want the most out of Half Life 2 or Doom 3 but both cards are still recommended depending on what games you play. And you don't even need those next generation cards yet because many games can be still even played on GeForce 2s or Radeon 8000s. But look forward to more upcoming cards from both Nvidia and ATI. This card is a must have but you should wait until it drops its' price even more.

This product is awesome!

I upgraded from an nVidia GeForce 5200 to this card and the gains were amazing! In Star Wars Galaxies the fps gain was very substantial. I went from averaging a shakey, stop-start 10-20fps to almost always getting what most people have said is the max: a smooth 29fps. Even on the offline games I own I have seen a drastic increase in the quality of the 3d images that are splashed in front of me especially in higher resolutions. I can't wait until I get that shiny new LCD screen to watch them pop even more!

That being said, perhaps this may not be the case if you are already running a 5600, but if you have a 5600 then you can afford to make the leap up to a 5950 or wait until the next generation of cards come out. My personal opinion is to wait to jump at least two generations ahead when it comes to video card technology. That way you notice a sizeable difference in the quality of your picture and don't have to degrade a product because you don't have as good a perspective as you might. It helps keep the prices low too.

I bought this laptop, mainly because it was Sony had a fantastic screen, amazing processer and plenty of RAM. It worked perfectly for a couple of months but now it is a living nightmare. It has SERIOUS problems with overheating, I cannot run the CD/DVD for more than 30 minutes without the computer just turning itself off. For normal processes I can get a maximum of 2 hours before it once again turns itself off because it is too hot. I've seen a few other people on the net who have posted a similar problem so its defintely not a one off. Look elsewhere. If you have the same problem with one you have already purchased, report it to SONY, I have contacted them and they say they haven't had any other complaints. It needs to be sorted.

In more ways than one. FOR THE PRICE this is a really good notebook. I love it. The keyboard is great, the CPU is FAST MORE THAN ENOUGH ram. A nice big screen to watch those DVDs.

Now for the negative. WHY would they make the power supply SO BIG it makes it so hard to make this ...portable, its as big as a brick. Not enough video ram, 16 megs is just not enough. Its rather noisy, I put a cd in there and its sounds like its going to take off. The battery life is TERRIBLE 1hour 30 minutes, if time is important to you get another battery (it takes two if you wish) The terrible battery life is to be expected though considering the power and screen size you are carrying around.

Despite my negative comments, I recommend this system it has a whole lot of band for the buck.

I bought an HP Pavillion zt1230, and had so many performance and hardware issues that I bought this Sony just 4 months later! I use it mostly at home, and take it with me on vacation: I'm not someone who travels constantly with it for work. I surf the Web with it, do graphics and web design, play video games, and edit home photos. Even while running several large graphics programs at once, the memory is never a problem, and it handles my husband's fastest video games like Warcraft III. With the HP, his game is jerky, and there wasn't enough memory for me to use Front Page and Photo Shop at the same time.

It's extremely sturdy, whereas the HP was not. I have three children, ages 11, 2 and 5 months, and a husband who thinks that banging on the buttons will make it work faster! My HP had three different keys pop off, and the mouse USB port busted the first week. This Sony has been dropped, banged on and spit up in (my baby actually spit up all over the keys without hurting it).

The battery life isn't what it claims to be, but then none of them are, are they?! Mine lasts about 1.5 hours, and charges back up quickly.

The large screen on this is a dream! I will say that this is a large laptop, and might not be the best choice if you travel constantly with it strapped to your back. It's large, much heavier than my HP, and the power supply for it is huge! However, I think that part of the reason it weighs more than the HP is because it's built much more solidly. It still fits into my backpack-style laptop bag easily, and the size and weight aren't a problem in the least for my needs.

The processor on this thing is a screamer! I've never had a computer boot up and shut down as fast as this one in my life! And for once I finally have a computer that can actually let me see the benefits of having Broadband Internet-my other 3 computers didn't let me see much improvement in speed.

The keyboard is nicely laid out, with nice, clicky buttons.The touchpad is nice, because it's not as freakishly sensitive as my other one was; the HP, if you even brushed against it in the slightest, it would register as a mouse left-click. I also like the fact that this has an ACTUAL scroll bar at the bottom, instead of a "touchpad scrollbar". It's much easier to use when my husband steals my laptop mouse than the other one was.

My favorite feature about this laptop has been the Memory Stick drive! I have both a Sony digital still camera and a Sony digital video camera, and when I want to load photos and mpegs onto my computer, I just pop the stick into the side of it: No cords, nothing! The fact that it's that convenient now motivates me to do it more often than I was before.

If I had to find a drawback to this computer, I'd say it's the fan. There's an intake vent underneath,in the middle, and it's flush with the bottom of the computer, so it occassionally overheats. Using the two little elevating pegs on the underside in the back raises it up a smidge and keeps this from happening.

Overall, if you want quality, power, and versatility, I just don't see how you can beat this without going into the [$] range. I paid dearly for straying from Sony with that last laptop, and it won't happen again!