Techie Reviews

Review of HP Pavilion zd8000

This was the computer I had originally purchased with travel in mind (Mistake #1). Actually, I was talked into it by a salesperson after I found out that the one I wanted was sold out at every store I checked (Mistake #2). Don’t get me wrong, it is a great computer, but it is best described as a ‘desktop replacement’ with limited travel, by limited I mean room-to-room, primarily because of its weight - a whopping 10 pounds (give or take an ounce or two). I didn’t read through all of the features (Mistake #3), so I bought a computer that had a lot more bells and whistles than I really needed. For instance, it is a complete entertainment center and can function as a TV (external tuner and remote control included), DVD, Stereo, and is great for gamers (so says my kid).

One feature that caught my eye was the full-sized keyboard with number pad, a rarity for laptops. It has a plenty of slots and ports around the edges, so I never find myself having to switch plugs. It’s loaded with four USB ports, PC Card slot, along with connections for audio, FireWire, an external monitor, and S-Video. An additional flash card reader works for Secure Digital, Memory Stick Pro, Multi-Media Card and Smart Media. Online capabilities include Gigabit Ethernet, a built-in V.92 modem, and Bluetooth and 802.11b/g.

I have to say that my favorite feature about this computer is the 17-inch wide-screen, with fantastic color and resolution. It has a large touchpad with its own on/off button. Speaking of buttons, above the top row of keys are buttons for speaker volume, and an on/off switch for speakers, quick launch buttons for the DVD/Media applications and an on/off switch for the Wi-Fi. The Harman Kardon speakers are along the front edge and sound great, in fact they are the best I’ve heard in a laptop so far. The performance is solid and powerful, with its 3.6GHz Pentium 4 processor, 1GB of 400MHz memory, and a 5,400rpm 80GB hard drive.

So what are the negatives? Aside from the weight, which may or may not be a drawback for some, I would have to say that the fans are quite noisy and that it runs fairly hot (a good hand warmer in the winter). The AC adaptor is the size and approximate weight of a brick! In addition, the battery life is just about nil – one and a half hours, tops. I have also had battery issues and have had two replaced in just over a year. I would like to mention here that HP’s service and support have been excellent. The replacement batteries were sent in a matter of a few days and I did not have to wait on ‘eternal hold’ for a service representative. Each time I called, the HP representative was very friendly, helpful and knowledgeable, one of the reasons I have purchased so many HP products.

I haven’t even scratched the surface of what this computer is capable of, but since I’ve had this computer a just about a year and a half, I’ve tried to be brief, and knowing that most of you will be getting a newer model with updated specs.

Difference Between iPhone 3g and iPhone 3gs for the Average Cell Phone User

Let’s just preface this by saying that this was written with the average, everyday cell phone user in mind, who has been contemplating the upgrade to a smartphone. There are many iPhone comparisons with tons of technical information, but many lack the actual user feedback. So following is an opinion from a first-time owner of both the iPhone 3g and iPhone 3gs…

Well, I finally did it. I finally got so fed up with Verizon’s inferior touch screen phones – namely the Samsung Glide and the LG Voyager – that paying the contract cancellation fee (x2) would be well worth it for a
touch screen phone that actually worked consistently. Was it the right decision?

The choice now was between the iPhone 3G and the 3Gs – well it wasn’t a major choice for me, since I had been waiting for the 3GS for months – it was my better half that was trying to make the decision. What does the “S” stand for? Speed, of course. Seriously, it stands for “speed.” So, out of curiosity, we got one of each, one 32G, 3GS and one 8G, 3G.

Out of the box, they look identical – what is the difference besides the price ($299 vs. $99)?

The major differences - The 3GS has a faster processor, more capacity for storage, a better camera with video capabilities and an internal compass.

Speed, along with the improved camera was one of the primary reasons for the decision to pick the 3GS. If you take a lot of pictures with your phone, or do any amount of picture messaging (which, as of this writing
is not yet available on the iphone, but should be updated soon) you will appreciate the improvement. The ability to edit video on the phone and upload to YouTube is nice too.

Techie specs – Processor numbers have improved from 412mhz to supposedly 600mhz. The RAM is also said to have gone from 128MB to 256MD and the storage is available in either 16GB or 32GB. As for battery life, we won’t even go there because I believe it varies greatly depending on the user. The 3GS is supposed to have a longer battery life, but that has not been the case with our 3GS vs. 3G. Even adjusting the mail and Wi-Fi settings has not helped. I imagine that it would be worse if you use a lot of gaming apps. The 3GS battery is so far the only disappointment.

With the iPhone OS 3.0 update, available on both versions with features like cut, copy, and paste, stereo Bluetooth, MMS, tethering, video recording, landscape keyboard options for more applications, and an
iPhone version of Spotlight, there is hardly a difference visually between the two.

One pleasant surprise was the Voice Control feature on the 3GS. You wouldn’t think that it is a big deal, until you start to use it. All you have to do to activate it is to hold down the home button for a few seconds, then you just speak your command like, “call home” or play whatever tune. It handles basic commands very well – yes, there will be the occasional slip-up if what you say sounds similar to something else you may have on your phone, however no voice control program has managed to be absolutely perfect.

One thing we have encountered with both versions - not an iPhone issue, an AT&T issue - it is the first time we have had to deal with dropped calls!

For the budget minded customer who has been dying to get their hands on an iPhone, I think that there absolutely nothing wrong with the iPhone 3G. If pictures are not that important to you, then you might want to save a few bucks and opt for the 8G, 3G, same goes for the improved speed…. if you can wait a few seconds longer for apps to load or screens to pop up….time is money….quite literally.

Posted in Cell Phones | No Comments

DVD Maker USB 2.0

Do you have boxes and boxes of family videos on VHS tape that you would like to transfer to DVD without paying a fortune? If so, then the DVD Maker USB 2.0 may be the product you are looking for – just remember that you usually get what you pay for, so you may have to adjust your expectations. Following is my review of :

Having two college-aged kids, I though it would be nice to take all of the VHS tapes that had accumulated over the years, from infancy, preschool, dance recitals, sports, high-school events, family holidays, etc., and transfer them to DVD for the kids (and myself) to keep with their treasured mementos. After doing some online research, I found the DVD Maker USB 2.0 to be the product with the most positive reviews, the least amount of negative feedback and the most reasonably priced (between $45-$60).

The box contained:
1 capture device – USB 2.0 Plug-and-Play Interface
1 “Quick Start Guide”
1 CD-ROM with driver, utilities and basic user manual
1 CD-Rom with Cyberlink PowerDirector v5 software and PowerProducer v4 software

The Quick Start Guide amounted to about ¼ of a page in English – the rest of the sheet was translated into other languages. It all seemed simple enough, so I really wasn’t worried. I installed the software and the driver utilities CDs and proceed to plug the capture device into my computer and VCR.

On one end of the capture device are cords for your source, a yellow video (composite) connection, audio (red and white) connection and an s-video connection. On the other end are the cords to connect to your computer, a USB 2.0 plug and Audio Out (to be plugged into your line-in port for sound).

Problem – I have an old VCR which only has one audio port (white) and this device has two (red and white). I searched for a splitter without any luck, so I had to borrow a “newer” VCR from a friend in order to make the sound work.

After wasting too much time trying to solve that problem, I had it working. Note - I was able to view my small cassettes directly from the video camera without any problem, but for the really old, large VHS tapes, I needed the VCR.

The PowerProducer program contains several options, one allows you to transfer your movie “Right-to-Disc” and another option, “Produce Movie Disc,” allows you to make a more customized DVD, like breaking your movie up into snippets or chapters. There are other options for managing and editing your videos. I was never able to get the “Right-to-Disc” option to work – after about 30 minutes into the movie, the program would freeze up and I would have to reboot the computer and start over. It became very frustrating and was not happy with the lack of product support available.

I ended up using the “Produce Movie Disc” option for everything, which isn’t all bad, as the end result turns out to be a better presentation and easier deal with when viewing, since you can select “chapters’ to view individually if you don’t want to watch the entire movie. It was nice to cut out all of the dead space and lousy takes from the original tape.

I did not use the PowerDirector software much, because whenever I tried to do something with it, I was prompted to upgrade - it seems these programs are the lite version. It would have been helpful if there were manuals included with the software instead of having to hunt for one online.

As for the quality of the recorded DVDs, they turned out to be fairly decent after tweaking the sound settings on my computer and keeping in mind the quality of the original videos. The more recent tapes came out perfect, while the old, grainy tapes came out as new, grainy, DVDs. In the end, I am just grateful for the ability to copy the movies to a format that allows my family to continue to enjoy old times.

(I purchased this product and the opinion is my own. If you click on the link to the product and end up making a purchase, I may receive a small commission. You may click here for this site’s Disclosure Policy)

Posted in Computer Gadgets | No Comments

Bad Behavior has blocked 18 access attempts in the last 7 days.

Techie Reviews

Personal reviews of computers, computer accessories and other techie related stuff.

Grab our feed!

Review of HP Pavilion zd8000

Difference Between iPhone 3g and iPhone 3gs for the Average Cell Phone User

DVD Maker USB 2.0