Archive for October, 2009

Toshiba Satellite A505 S6997 Right now

October 31, 2009 – 9:23 am

Buying Toshiba Satellite A505-S6997 TruBrite 16.0-Inch Black/Silver Laptop – 4 Hours 40 Minutes Of Battery Life (Windows 7 Home Premium)

My wife and I got this Toshiba laptop to replace an aging laptop at home, where the extent of our mobility requirement is that we occasionally move it from room to room. (If we simply wanted a computer for a fixed location, we probably would have purchased a desktop model for somewhat less money and/or better performance.) Beyond normal uses such as spreadsheets and publishing programs, the 2.2 GHz Intel Core Duo 2 T6600 processor is plenty powerful enough for typical household needs, including photography work and most games. If you are a serious gamer, however, you will want more processing power and a discrete graphics card, which this laptop doesn’t have. Unlike most netbooks or “ultra-thin” laptops (which slot between netbooks and traditional laptops), this unit comes with 4GB of memory, which should remain sufficient for several years, and a solid 400GB hard drive. That, along with Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit, should last you years.

The large (16 inch) display is bright, crisp and a joy to behold. I’ve read some complaints about the keyboard, but we like it. There is a numeric keypad, which really saves time if you frequently work with numbers. The touchpad is not located in the middle of the unit, which troubles some people (although it is easy to get used to). If you look carefully at an image of the keyboard, you will see that the touchpad is located roughly in the middle of what I would call the traditional keyboard area (from the left shift key to the right shift key), which is where you will normally find your hands when typing. The two internal speakers are simply great for a laptop, but don’t expect miracles from 1.5 inch speakers. The “fusion” finish looks sharp, but it attracts fingerprints like honey attracts bees.

This Toshiba Satellite A505 S6997 comes with a six-cell battery and an advertised 3 hours and 20 minute battery life, although we got closer to 2 hours and 30 minutes of battery use with normal settings. Regardless, we don’t run this on battery power that often, and if what you want is really long battery life, you should look at a netbook or ultra-thin. The Windows 7 software is 64-bit, which is where personal computing is headed, so that’s an advantage. However, you may find some compatibility problems with older software or hardware such as printers (many printer manufacturers will have compatible drivers available shortly).

Before you rule this laptop in for your situation, however, you should first rule out various alternatives. If mobility is a key concern for you, this isn’t the right choice. Yes, you can pick it up and carry it around, but at 15 inches in width and over seven pounds, I wouldn’t want to lug it around for long. For, say, a college student who wants to take notes in class every day (and who can accept the limited processing power of less capable machines), a smaller, lighter computer with much better battery life is a better choice. Get a netbook, or maybe an ultra-thin. If you are a serious gamer or video editor, then you need a high-end machine with a discrete graphics card and a more powerful processor. Just be prepared to pay up for it. And if you have no mobility requirement, consider a desktop.

However, if what you want is a desktop replacement laptop with plenty of memory, good processing power, speed, a large screen, a roomy hard drive, lots of ports, etc., then this laptop features an attractive combination of these features in a relatively economical package. It will be the right computer for many people.

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ASUS UL30A-X5 Lowest Price

October 30, 2009 – 2:54 am

ASUS UL30A-X5 Lowest Price

ASUS UL30A-X5

Order  ASUS UL30A-X5 @ Amazon.com

The traditional laptop manufactures better watch out. ASUS has taken over the Netbook market with their slim, sleek, ever-lasting line of Netbooks and now they are gunning for control of the laptop market with the ASUS UL30A-X5 which has just been released. It has one characteristic which sets it apart from all of the other laptops available.

Last week I had to take a flight from California to New York. On this flight, which I do far too often, I like to get some work done, watch a movie or two, and maybe play some games on my laptop. This flight takes approximately 5 hours.

Normally, I carry my Dell Latitude Laptop computer with me because this is where all of my work is stored. About half way through the flight, the battery sends me signals of death and I am forced to put in the extra battery that I carry with me. On my particular Dell Laptop, they boasted that the battery would last for 5 hours. In reality, after one year of use, I am lucky to get 2.5 hours of battery life. Thus, I have to carry a spare battery which also becomes drained on the 5 hour flight.

I looked at this as simply the necessary pains of doing business on a long flight.

However, this flight would be different and much more pleasurable. I recently heard about a new line of laptops by ASUS and offered to give one a test drive for this trip. The model number on this was the ASUS UL30A-X5, which had just been released and promises to be on the best laptop computer list very soon.

I have test-driven the leading ASUS Netbook and loved it. In fact, I often carry their Netbook model, voted the top rated Netbook, with me for the long battery life. However, for this trip, I needed a full-fledged laptop so I was delighted to test-drive their new model.

It boasts 12.5 hours of battery life, which simply blows away the competition! 12 hours on one battery–amazing. But is it true?

With laptops, I always want to know three things: battery life, aesthetics, and support. The reason that these three things stand out is because all else is equal. All of the inside parts on most laptops are exactly the same.

So, my three questions are as follows: Is the battery life as good as they say? Do I like to type on it and work on this machine? And, if it blows up, is there someone on the other end to help me?

The ASUS UL30A-X5 wins in all of these categories. The battery lasted the duration of my flight and for 3 hours when I got home. I used resource intensive applications for 8 hours and the battery was still humming–best I have ever seen. Second, I like the Chiclet style keyboard even though I am not accustomed to it. It was easy to type on and the overall look and feel of the machine was great. On the support question, I never had anything go wrong so I never had to call ASUS, but they do have a 24/7 hotline available if needed.

In summary, the “big boys” of laptops (Dell, HP, etc.) need to watch out. ASUS overtook them in the Netbook market and now they may just do the same in the laptop market with the ASUS UL30A-X5. It is a laptop with a great look and feel, it’s extremely price competitive, and it has battery life that blows away the competition.

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Cheapest HP 110-1050NR

October 27, 2009 – 10:16 pm

HP Mini 110-1050NR 10.1-Inch Netbook

HP Mini 110-1050NR 10.1-Inch Netbook
Product By Hewlett Packard
Lowest Price : Visit store to see price
Available From 6 Sellers

Technical Details

  • Intel Atom Processor N270, Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 950
  • 1 GB DDR2 RAM (1 Dimm) (1 GB Maximum)
  • 160GB (5400RPM) Hard Drive (SATA)
  • Genuine Windows XP Home edition (SP3), 6-Cell Lithium-Ion battery
  • 10.1 inch Diagonal SD LED Anti-glare Widescreen Display (1024×576)

Product Description

TRAVEL LIGHT, STAY CONNECTED: Whether computing within your home, around town and campus, or across the country, the ultra-portable HP Mini 110-1050NR can keep you connected with built-in Wi-Fi. It has the performance you need to surf the web and use your standard productivity software apps — but is light enough to carry everywhere at just 2.57 lbs. It syncs files, photos and videos easily with your primary notebook or desktop PC whenever connected to the same network with the integrated SyncablesTM app. After initial SyncablesTM setup, the file updates will occur in the background for a truly seamless experience. The HP Mini 110: The perfect mobile companion. ULTRA MOBILE PERFORMANCE: Based on an architecture that optimizes internet access and basic communication, Intel Atom processors power the HP Mini’s reliable, energy-efficient performance. The LED anti-glare widescreen display reduces both system weight and reflections that can distract from the visual experience. The 92% of full-size keyboard also improves weight without sacrificing comfort. Integrated 802.11b/g wireless LAN enables wireless access within range of a hotspot. HP Mobile Broadband provides internet access anywhere cell phone service is available. The HP Mini 110 series: Designed to optimize ultra mobile performance. What’s in the box: Mini 110-1020nr, 30W AC Adapter, 6-Cell Lithium-Ion battery, Symantec Norton Internet Security 2009 with 60 days complimentary live update, Syncables Mobile Desktop 5, Microsoft Works, Adobe Acrobat Reader and HP Games Powered by Wild Tangent

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Gateway EC1430U 11.6-Inch Black Laptop

October 26, 2009 – 9:07 pm

Gateway EC1430U 11.6-Inch Black Laptop – Up To 7 Hours Of Battery Life (Windows 7 Home Premium)

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It took me 2 months to decide on which laptop or netbook would replace my Toshiba 17 inches Widescreen laptop which I own for more than 3 years now. I travel a lot, my Toshiba has been great and continue to work perfectly but I needed an ultra portable laptop/netbook, easy to carry, something that would fit easily in a suitcase, backpack, or even carry it with me. Battery power came to be a major factor, since I travel a lot, sometimes to find a plug at the airports, or just every where else like a coffee shop can be a challenge; so I wanted at least a battery that could last 3 hours or so.
After careful consideration and research, and based on how much I wanted to spend, Gateway beats all other brands. The quality, the specifications and beauty, Gateway is unmatched. I’m a Toshiba or Sony lover when it comes to electronics, but this time around, Gateway proved me wrong for sure.

So, this Gateway Ec1430u is brand new as of Oct 23, 2009. I ordered mine yesterday Oct 22, 2009 when it was released with Windows 7 release. I’m very happy about my choice, the battery doesn’t stick out as I saw on other netbooks with 6-cell battery and it lasts up to 8 hours. I just tested it with a movie, unplugged it, showed it could run 5 hours and 25 mins on battery alone, that’s amazing. And I should add that once unplugged the default brightness is 50%, but I changed it to 80%.
It’s very light, I can barely feel anything in my hand when I lift it, it’s been running for 3 hours now and I can’t feel any heat at all, how is that possible? my Toshiba laptop heats up tremendously, the fans run on high most of the time therefore noisy. This Gateway is quiet as a turtle. Not to mention how sleek it looks, the chrome Gateway label is pretty on the outside cover.
The keyboard is full, keys are soft to touch and I have plenty of room when typing.
The most dramatic change to come with this EC series is that previous netbooks couldn’t play HD movies easily, this Gateway EC1430u is HD friendly and has an HDMI port. It doesn’t have a DVD/DC optical drive which I don’t really miss, with the Internet today, I can watch movies online, download TV shows, etc…for other purposes I would get an external drive just in case I need it. But I barely use my DVD/CD optical drive on my Toshiba laptop.
The Touchpad is mutli-gesture, you find some features of the iphone, it is smart enough to recognize 2 fingers command, expand/contract a picture etc…
Did I also mention it comes with Windows 7? incredible improvement from Microsoft from Windows Vista. It shuts down quickly, so far it takes less than 5 seconds to shut down. Start up is quick as well. Windows 7 is easy to navigate.
So my overall opinion is extremely good. I would give this laptop a 5 star-rating.

I strongly recommend you buy it as soon as possible while it is in stock, because once more and more people find about it, it would evaporate from any store. Too bad Gateway doesn’t advertise.

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Discount Nesco FD-75PR 700-Watt Food Dehydrator

October 24, 2009 – 9:10 am

Discount Nesco FD-75PR 700-Watt Food Dehydrator

I love this product; my 1st attempt at dehydrating; it is time consuming but I cannot buy sugar-free dried apple slices that I like. The home-dried ones with splenda & cinnamon are out of this world. For best results I cut a circle of parchment to fit tray (as recommended by one reviewer)-works better than the fruit leather sheet- and you can reuse them a few times before tossing. I slice apples thin, dip both sides in cinnamon/splenda, it takes 3-4 hrs to dry (you need all 12 trays)to do 4 apples, gala is my fav, grannys are too bitter, & skip the ascorbic acid or fruit fresh (gives it a whang I don’t like) and each apple makes 35 slices if you get the borner swiss v slicer (careful it’s sharp). I made the apple slices for my weight watcher class, they all had a fit over them. One lady said they tasted like the cinnamon twists at a fast food Mexican restaurant, another said kind of like cotton candy. They come out crispy & sweet!They will lose their crisp unless you vacuum pack them. I purchased the food saver brand based on its reviews & have been happy with my choice.

I didn’t have a lot of luck with the applesause leather,didn’t like the taste; have to try other fruit; I tried yogurt with peach all fruit jam swirled in it- tasted good but so rich it was difficult to eat; the jerky made with hamburger is out of this world,my men (hubby, brothers, son & boss) could not tell it was made from hamburger (you need the extruder tool by Nesco if you are serious about the jerky making); we liked a little worchestershire sause & red pepper seeds with the enclosed mixes. Try banana chips with splenda & cinnamon on parchment; I was impressed with the flavor & chewy texture (some people don’t like the banana flavor as compared to commercial banana chips, but I vote for the homemade one). I am having lots of fun! I would like to try to make a potato chip from mashed potatoes, but that is for another day.Texas had a bumper crop of pecans this year & I put them through the dehydrator on the nut setting a few hours to crisp them up, delicious!Also tried a great snack-rinse the nuts with water, sprinkle with popcorn salt then dry for a few hours. You have a high end toasted snack that makes a great Christmas gift along with the jerky & apple crisps. Also tried cinnamon & splenda on the pecans, which was fantastic (reminded me of a $5 cone of pecans/cinn/sugar we bought in Branson at a show, but much healthier). You can use other spices that you like. I made meringue cookies , tossed in a few mini choc chips, made little dollops & set machine on 160 degrees; I couldn’t resist eating them warm-they tasted like somemore’s.

One reviewer said the machine was somewhat loud, I don’t think it is that loud, unless you run it at night and are a light sleeper. I put a timer on the cord but it would be nice if this was on the machine in the future. It’s true the trays are a bit difficult to hand wash,however I prefer hand washing rather than to put through the dishwasher & take a chance on warping. Now my only regret is that I did not buy the higher watt machine; this being my first dehydrator, I wasn’t sure I would use it enough to warrant the higher cost. I did find that if I use 12 trays and parchment, I have to switch the bottom couple of trays up to the top after a couple of hours or the bottom 2 to 3 will be lagging behind quite a bit. It will take up some room on your cabinet, and the addition of trays will add height if that is a consideration under upper kitchen cabinets.

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Breville BJE510XL

October 20, 2009 – 11:23 pm
Breville BJE510XL Ikon 900-Watt Variable-Speed Juice Extractor
ProductImage  
900-watt stainless-steel juice extractor with 5 speeds, Speeds range from 6500 rpm to 12500 rpm for maximum extraction, 3-inch circular feed tube; backlit control panel; dishwasher-safe parts, Juice jug and froth separator, detachable spout, and cleaning brush included, Measures 16-4/5 by 15-1/2 by 10-1/4 inches; 1-year limited warranty

Acer X223WbD 22″ Wide 1680 X 1050 Resolution LCD-blk

October 17, 2009 – 1:59 am

Acer X223WbD 22″ Wide 1680 X 1050 Resolution LCD-blk

I purchased this monitor yesterday and had it setup and using it in less than an hour. The display is incredible. I was a little concerned about my older video card (NVIDIA GeForce FX 5200 w/dual monitor support) being able to handle the native resolution of 1680 x 1050. The max LCD resolution is supposed to be 1600 x 1200 for this video card. After I connected the Acer and powered up the computer (Compaq Presario) the first time the max resolution I could get was 1600 x 1200. It was ok but there was a little distortion. I knew this was because the ‘native’ resolution is 1680 x 1050. After I used it for a little while I decided to see if I could lower the resolution just a tad. To my surprise, when I went back into the NVIDIA control panel I had the 1680 x 1050 setting available. It is incredible! What’s even better is that I am able to still use my old Envision 17″ LCD I’ve had for years. I did have to clean the screen though (LOL). It looked absolutely dingy compared to the new Acer 22″. I work from home and need multiple windows opened all the time. This setup will definitely take care of that.

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Gateway MX6440 Notebook Computer

October 12, 2009 – 1:12 am

Gateway MX6440 Notebook Computer

I bought this Computer about 4 years ago and have had excellent luck with it. If it broke tomorrow I would still think I got a great deal. Usually with stuff I buy, things go wrong within a year of buying it. Not this baby. She is still going strong. And I didn’t have to get a loan to get it either.lol. I really don’t do anything buisness like on this thing so I can’t comment on it’s ability. I just use it for studying, Internet, Photos. etc. Just a really nice computer.

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HP Pavilion DV2910US

October 10, 2009 – 9:31 pm

HP Pavilion DV2910US 14.1-inch Laptop (1.83 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T5550 Processor, 3 GB RAM, 250 GB Hard Drive, DVD Drive, Vista Premium) Black


I have this laptop and I must say for an hp it has been relatively problem free. In the 3 years working retail computer repair I have seen many hp’s come into our store with bizarre problems. This laptop has only had 2 in the 5 months I have been using it. First is the issue that you will see all over google known as the “fan problem” or “fan pulse”. The laptop, seemingly for no reason, will start to pulse the cooling fan from high to low for an extended period of time. This happens at random even when the laptop is sitting with no open programs and not being used. HP has issued bios updates but the only thing that this seems to do is turn the fan on constantly, it does not stop the pulsing. The second problem, which has seemed to stop since I am no longer using an hp ac adapter, was a very jumpy non-sensitive mouse. While using the hp ac adapter the mouse would become very jumpy, non-responsive, and lose almost all sensitivity. I have switched to a kensington universal charger and have not had the problem since. Just as a little fyi, the hp ac adapter developed a crack from the intense amount of heat it would generate and partially melted itself, that is why I have stopped using that charger. I have seen my fair share of hp ac adapters melt the wires or melt off inside the laptop.


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MSI Wind U123-002US

October 8, 2009 – 10:51 pm

MSI Wind U123-002US 10.2-Inch Red Netbook – 6 Cell Battery

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This particular netbook, although not well know in this area, is an excellent value. Internet access speed is excellent. Keyboard is large enough for people with large hands. It is very lighweight. I would highly recommend the MSI Wind. The 6 cell battery hold a charge for a long time.

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