Acer Aspire AS5741Z-5539 15.6-Inch HD Wi-Fi Laptop (Black) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I've been using this laptop for about a week and overall I am very happy with this purchase. The machine is fast, the screen is looks amazing (glossy, FYI), very bright and no dead pixels. Another plus is that there was not excessive bloatware on this unit, and I only had to remove a handful of trial software, un-needed apps and desktop shortcuts to clean it up. The speakers sound good, and HDMI out is a nice option (though we're unlikely to use it). I like, too, that the outside of the case is matte, so it does not attract fingerprints.
I removed one star for two key reasons:
- The keyboard is "soft"; we're clicky-keyboard family. It's layout is fine, comfortable, etc, but it will take some time to adjust to the softness of this keyboard.
- I was unable to connect to my 5GHz wireless N network, but a few comments about this:
I have a dual-band router (Linksys WRT600N), sending both G and N speeds separately. This Acer was unable to connect to the N, but the G connection was fine. Note that my work laptop connects to the N network without issue. I think it may have to do with a newer wireless chipset in this unit because, although it only connects to G, it's reporting speeds of 130mbs (over the 54mbs 802.11G standard). Regardless, we're happy with the wireless performance and speed so far, but disappointing and frustrating it didn't "just work".
I tried contacting Acer support and though I only had the unit less that week, they stated that they did not have resources to assist me with this problem and directed me to fee-based support. Frankly, I find that a bit appalling. I happen to be fairly technical, but if you need basic support from a company, it's best to look elsewhere. This was the main reason for the star coming off.
In summary, if you need an affordable, full-featured laptop, this is a great option, but only if you're comfortable digging out of your own support holes -- Acer is not your friend post-sale. Extra props to Amazon (as always) for crediting me when the price dropped prior to my receiving the computer.

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Enjoy multimedia brilliance, power and performance with the Acer Aspire AS5741Z-5539 Notebook, showcasing a vivid 15.6-inch HD widescreen CineCrystal LCD display, Intel Pentium performance and a 1.3 megapixel HD Webcam. Add to that a stylish yet functional case design, cutting-edge digital media features and unprecedented connectivity, and you've got a perfect machine for multitasking, getting creative, or just enjoying your favorite entertainment at home or on the road.

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iHome 8 Button Programmable Wireless Laser Mouse Pro (Blue) Review

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(More customer reviews)If you are a CAD operator or use Photo-shop and Multimedia Editing programs or Power Web Surfing and most especially if you use a Multi-Monitor system, you will be EXCEEDINGLY PLEASED and HAPPY with the mouse.
This mouse is NOT for Gaming, it will not make a serious gamer happy at all.. All serious gamers know you want a tethered mouse, even more especially for online gaming, (Do the research, I speak the truth), but if you do want a wireless mouse for gaming, the sampling rate for wireless gaming specific mice are way above normal.
Some, including myself have noticed a motion and tracking issue. This is not the mouse but an Operating System setting issue. It is fixed in less than 5 minutes with the following below from another feedback on this mouse that I wrote. Also, this is a multimedia mouse...so learn your manual and USE and Practice with the additional functions until they become normal for you. You will then start pushing the mouse to its capabilities and will enjoy the large variety of features and precision tracking, but once last time... This is not a gaming mouse, buy a mouse specifically designed for gaming if that is the application you are looking for.
"I use this mouse for Professionally CAD and a variety of multimedia programs. I love this mouse, absolutely love it. But.... yes, later on in use it started to get very herky jerky in its motion and tracking. The problem is not the mouse but a conflict in program priorities of the process executions in the operating systems. The fix for this temporarily is to set the "Itype" Process in the task manager to HIGH. To make this elevation of the process priority permanent you need to install a free little utility app called prio_win32_199_2091.exe, (32bit). This will add a 'save priority change' to your task manager priority drop down menu, so that when you reboot your computer or log on or off the operating system, XP thru Win7, (64bit available on program homepage) will remember the priority change. Once changed to HIGH, not 'Above Normal', the mouse will perform motion and tracking flawlessly once again."
The little utility installs in just a few seconds and requires a reboot. It is free and works flawlessly and is handy with fixing other apps that get herky jerky too, like playback on video programs...very handy, if you know what you are doing. YOU SHOULD NOT just arbitrarily reset or elevate program priorities. It will not increase system speed. but like the mouse program you can fix most CD/DVD burning programs, even big one's like Nero, that fail on disk burns, if you elevate their priority a little.
But in summation, if you use this mouse as was intended for multimedia, you will be very satisfied with your purchase. The quick zooming and dpi fast change is Extremely useful for graphics editing and the buttons are located perfectly for this type of work activity.
One reviewer mentioned that the construction was poor. This must have been a one off weird thing, the Ihome products are known for good construction. I use this in a professional capacity so it gets used about 10hrs a day, everyday.
Power Web Surfing - it is great for that with the zoom in and out and fwd and back buttons all right there quick for use. But the real shot in the arm is when you use this on a muli-monitor systems like I do. Now my laptop is wide screen at a very high resolution, the second monitor is a standard 15 inch with a 4:3 aspect ratio and not the 16:9 of the laptop. Also the resolution capabilities of the secondary monitor are different.
When you are pulling web pages/CAD drawings/Photo images up and down rapidly and pulling back and forth between the monitors the displayed images CHANGE! Here the mouse's quick access buttons really come into the fight and do the job so sweetly and quickly do the job samurai style, super quick.
Audio Editing and Mixing.... If you are an audio or video - phile, you will be again EXTREMELY PLEASED with the multi-media functions. When levelizing or modifing audio tracks and mixing tracks... this is the mouse...
The crazy thing that so many people overlook is the price...the price people.... to get a mouse that performs as well as this one, when setup properly, will cost you 5x as much...

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Insert the mini USB receiver into your computer's USB port and you're ready to go without synching the mouse and the receiver. 2.4 GHz frequency provides an instant and secure connection without interference from other electronic devices up to 30ft (10m).5 quick launch buttons allow you to switch between media mode (launch media player, play/pause, volume up/down, change track) and computer mode (zoom in/out, page forward/back) with one click. Horizontal and vertical scrolling allows you to navigate through web pages and documents top to bottom or side to side fast and easily.Never run out of battery, the LED low battery indicator will warn you when it's time to replace them.

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Hello Kitty Wireless Mouse - KT4092 Review

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(More customer reviews)Hi.
I purchased this mouse because I thought it was just the cutest thing. Setup on my Windows XP laptop was a snap. I just plugged in the USB dongle and the computer recognized it right away and loaded the software for it.
Setting up the mouse was easy too. I inserted two AA batteries and pressed the On/Off button on the bottom of the mouse and the synchronization button on the USB dongle and I was up and running in a matter of seconds.
It seems to me that the folks writing bad reviews of this mouse simply didn't read the instructions. I read the instructions first, which helped a lot.
The Hello Kitty wireless mouse does not function like other wireless mice that I've used (namely Microsoft wireless mice). For one thing, you have to manually synchronize the Hello Kitty wireless mouse to the USB dongle, which I've never had to do with Microsoft wireless mice. The other thing different about the Hello Kitty wireless mouse is that it goes to sleep after ten minutes of inactivity. To wake it up, you have to press the left mouse button. On my Microsoft wireless mice, I only need to move the mouse. So, it's easy to see why some folks would have trouble if they didn't take the time to familiarize themselves with the Hello Kitty wireless mouse.
The reason I gave the Hello Kitty wireless mouse four stars instead of five is because it doesn't function like other wireless mice that I've used. If it weren't for the manual synchronization and having to press the left mouse button to wake it up, it would have received five stars.
I do like the Hello Kitty wireless mouse though. It's just too cute.
Thank you for reading my review.
Lisa A. Compton
Exton, Pennsylvania
United States of America

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* Ergonomic Design * Plug-and-Play Connectivity * High Resolution 800cpi * Latest RF (27Mhz) Wireless Technology * Standby Mode for Power Saving * 3Control Buttons * Rubberized Scroll Wheel * USB RF Receiver * Power: 2 AA Batteries" "

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Targus PAUH217U 4 Port Ultra Mini USB 2.0 Hub Review

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(More customer reviews)This is a great product at a great price. I bought one of these for my laptop to add to the number of USB ports available. I liked it so much, I bought another for my desktop to simply make the ports more accessible. The supplied cord is plenty long to reach the desktop on the floor and then I simply Velcro'ed the Targus to my desk to make plugging and unplugging USB devices much more convenient. The Targus works right out of the box, no install required and it works on every computer I've tried -- no problems. I must confess, the blue LED's look pretty cool too!

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Targus PAUH217U Ultra Mini 4-Port USB 2.0 Hub

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Logitech G15 Gaming Keyboard (Black) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)There seems to be some reviews by users who do not actually own the G15.
I do.
As a gamer, I only need about 6 macro buttons, and they work just fine for that. The orange glow may not be quite as bright as I would like, but looks nice and does help gaming in the dark when you get the fingers on the wrong keys. The LCD is handy just in telling me the time if I'm playing some game that doesn't support the G15 (no more playing till 1AM accidentally) and in the games it does support, it's actually very handy - especially so in Lord Of The Rings Online or WoW, laying out stats in an easy to see way.
The downside to this kind of keyboard is you do miss some things. No volume knob, though you do get buttons. Been using a knob/wheel for years, so I'm really missing it. No calculator button, though I suppose I could make a macro for it. None of your usual Home or Web or buttons of that nature, though you do have a nice big satisfying mute button, and another to kill the Windows Button. Typing is fairly smooth, though since Logitech kept the New G15 the same size as a standard keyboard, certain buttons are smaller, like Tab, and it does take a second to get used to it. But it's not clicky at all, and is in fact one the quietest keyboards I've ever typed on.
Overall, I am very pleased with this keyboard after about a month of use. I could wish for a volume knob or calculator key. It took me a week before I realized when I was turning down the volume, it was actually showing on the little LCD display. It's a little quirky. But it's very handy for the gamer, without taking up the space of the older model.

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Good intel and the proper gear are the keys to victory, even in gaming. The Logitech G15 keyboard keeps you informed and outfitted to win. With the Logitech-exclusive GamePanel LCD, you can easily find out what server your friends are using to play Battlefield 2142, or receive notification when your World of Warcraft battleground becomes available. You can even identify who s speaking in Ventrilo. Create useful macros on the fly and play them back with a single press of a G-key. Illuminated characters allow you to play late into the night.

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Kensington PilotBoard Laser Wireless Desktop Set 64390 Review

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(More customer reviews)A lot of reviewers are confusing this model (64390) with the older model (64385) and it's not a fair comparison! The newer model addresses all the problems of the previous version and is actually an excellent product. Yes, the 64385 did drop signals and act erratically, but the new one repaired that problem. The "missed keystrokes" have also been dealt with in this new version of the Laser Wireless Desktop.
It's unfortunate that the two models are cosmetically identical, but believe me: As an owner of both versions, I found a HUGE improvement going from the old model to this 64390 version of the set.
Anybody who has the older one and a receipt to prove it should call Kensington and get it replaced with this one under their excellent 5-year warranty. That's how I got the new model, and it was worth the effort.
High praise to Kensington for hearing the customer complaints and dealing with the issues with the original model of this keyboard.
UPDATE 01/04/10 ~ I have to lower the rating on this device because of a troubling policy choice at Kensington. It seems they have no intention of supporting Windows Vista or Windows 7, and have no plans to release updated software to take advantage of the advanced features on this desktop set. What that means is that you can't assign any of the multimedia keys, alter what the additional mouse buttons do, or set any macros. Windows 7 does support some of the extra keys natively, but you have no control over what they do. You're stuck with the default Windows functions. That means the media player button will ONLY launch Windows Media Player. The left-side mouse buttons will ONLY work for web browser Back/Forward. Some of the media keys don't work at all, and the ones that do only launch native Windows OS applications.
Frankly, I have to withdraw my former statement of high praise for Kensington customer support. This desktop set is still on the market, still being sold, and yet they do not support the current or last-generation Windows operating system? That's irresponsible, and especially unfair to those who purchased the keyboard & mouse, and then later upgraded their operating system. It's as if Kensington thinks that we're going to just stop using a perfectly good device set, and rush out to buy their newest product because they've decided to cease supporting this one.
Well, that ain't happening.
I have since dropped the keyboard in favor of a Microsoft model. At least with MS I know the software support for a new operating system will be there. I still use the mouse from this set on occasion, but I'm quite unhappy with Kensington's choice to make it difficult to map the mouse buttons by failing to support Windows Vista or Windows 7.
Kensington made a save for a while, but now they've completely dropped the ball and managed to insult and belittle their customers with this ill-thought plan. You can't tell me that Windows Vista/Windows 7 software couldn't be written for this desktop set; They just don't want to allocate the resources toward doing it because they want people to buy their latest offering. It's a bad marketing decision, and because of the lack of support such a short while after the product hit the market, I'm not buying another Kensington product. Who knows when they'll decide to stop supporting their next toy?
Way to lose a customer, Kensington.

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Wireless - Laser - Mouse - USB Receiver

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