Da-Lite 92" Diagonal HDTV Format Home Theater Fixed Frame Screen with High Contrast Cinema Vision Fabric and Pro-Trim Review

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(More customer reviews)I recently finished setting up my home theater in my basement. InFocus ScreenPlay X2 DLP Projector, Genelec sound system and the Da-Lite 92" HDTV fixed frame screen with their new high contrast fabric. I had been showing my images on the wall but the Da-Lite screen made the picture really pop! My family and I just love the way the pictures look so real. I'd highly recommend the high contrast fabric to everyone. Every projector should be sold with a screen. You cannot imagine what a huge difference it makes when watching your favorite movies.

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ASUS UL80Ag-A1 Thin and Light 14-Inch Black Laptop - 12 Hours of Battery Life (Windows 7 Home Premium) Review

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(More customer reviews)This is the second Asus in my my family, and i have to recognized this brand rocks, great prices, great battery life, not as at advertised, but using wifi, for email purposes, around 9 hours.
No hassles with the keyboard, mouse or anyuthing, even so i can give you the advice that after you remove the sticker in the mouse, you must clean it with a moistured pad.So it will run more smoodly.
Dont think it twice this is a Best-Buy.
Pros:Really Slim, Amazing battery life, Nice Display, ultrafast booting, 8 sec system to browse, music, skype,etc..!
The only Cons: Its hard to keep it without fingerprints because of their finish.

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Free yourself from power cords and start exploring with up to an amazing 12 hours of all-day battery life with the ASUS UL80AG-A1, thanks to its Ultra Low Voltage (ULV) Intel Core 2 Duo SU7300 processor and 15.6-inch LED-backlit display, which combines vibrant visuals with advanced energy efficiency. This stylish, ultra-portable notebook features a brushed aluminum lid that not only looks magnificent, but also helps in maintaining its stylish exterior day after day. The UL80AG also features a multi-gesture touchpad, which enables you to intuitively zoom in or out of pictures via pinching, or navigate up and down pages by sliding your finger.
Pre-installed with the Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium operating system (64-bit version), you'll be able to easily create a home network and share all of your favorite photos, videos, and music. Windows 7 is the easiest, fastest, and most engaging version of Windows yet. Better ways to find and manage files, like Jump Lists and improved taskbar previews, help you speed through everyday tasks. Windows 7 is designed for faster and more reliable performance, so your PC just works the way you want it to. (Learn more about Windows 7 Home Premium below.)

Experience FastBoot, the unique performance boost for Windows 7 made possible by ASUS's close partnership with Microsoft. With ASUS exclusive FastBoot technology, this Windows 7-enabled ASUS notebook starts up in a staggering 30 seconds.

Compact and just over an 1-inch thin, you can fit the UL80AG virtually anywhere--freeing space for books, files, or whatever else you need to enjoy a spacious workspace. The UL80AG includes Altec Lansing speakers plus SRS surround for a virtual home theater experience on the go, as well as an HDMI port for connecting to an HDTV at home. You'll be able to store all of your favorite applications, most important documents, and large video and audio libraries with the generous 320 GB hard drive. Other features include 4 GB of DDR2 RAM (maximum capacity), integrated webcam, Draft-N Wi-Fi networking (802.11b/g/n), Intel GMA 4500MHD integrated video graphics, and multi-format memory card reader.

And where some PC manufacturers only offer 1 year of warranty service, the ASUS UL50AG comes standard with a 2-year global ASUS 360 warranty as well as 1 year of Accidental Damage Warranty (ADW).



Key Features
High-gloss 14-inch LED-backlit HD high definition display with 1366 x 768 resolution (16:9 aspect ratio) that uses less energy and still gives you an immersive cinematic experience (Learn more)
Up to 12 hours of battery life from 8-cell battery
Windows 7 Home Premium makes it easy to create a home network and share all of your favorite photos, videos, and music. And you can watch shows for free when and where you want with Internet TV on Windows Media Center. Get the best entertainment experience with Windows 7 Home Premium. (Learn more)
Get more features with Windows Anytime Upgrade. It's the best way to add features to Windows 7, takes as few as ten minutes, requires no software or downloads, and you'll keep your existing programs, files, and settings. Windows will walk you through the simple upgrade process.
Chiclet style keyboard and multi-touch trackpad for comfortable and intuitive use (Learn more)
ASUS IceCool Technology for cool-to-the-touch palm rest
Exclusive Express Gate feature enables ultra-fast boot so you can connect to the web in just 10 seconds
Energy efficient, dual core 1.3 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo SU7300 processor with ultra-low voltage for extended battery life (Learn more)
320 GB SATA hard drive (5400 RPM)
4 GB of installed DDR2 RAM (800 MHz; 2 x SODIMM slots; 4 GB maximum capacity)
Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 4500MHD integrated video processing
0.3-megapixel webcam for connecting with friends and family over video chats
ASUS SmartLogon facial recognition system detects your face and logs on automatically
Draft-N Wi-Fi networking (802.11b/g/n)
HDMI high-definition audio/video output allows a single cable to transmit uncompressed high-definition video to your digital TV or LCD
Altec Lansing speakers enhanced with SRS Premium Sound for home theatre quality acoustics (Learn more)
ASUS Super Hybrid Engine for extended battery life
Dimensions: 13.5 x 9.6 x 1.1 inches (WxDxH)
Weight: 4.8 pounds (with battery
Warranty: 2 year global warranty and 1 year accidental damage warranty (Learn more)

Networking, Connectivity & Expansion With its integrated Draft-N Wi-Fi networking capabilities, this laptop provides up to five times the performance and twice the wireless range using 802.11n-compatible routers as you would with 802.11g networks. It's also backward compatible with 802.11b/g networks (commonly found at Wi-Fi hotspots and in older home routers). This notebook also provides Fast (10/100) Ethernet networking.

3 USB 2.0 ports for connecting a wide range of peripherals--from digital cameras to MP3 players
1 HDMI output for connecting to a compatible HDTV or home theater receiver for uncompressed digital audio and video via a single cable
Analog video output: 1 VGA
5-in-1 memory card reader compatible with Secure Digital (SD), MultiMedia Card (MMC), Memory Stick, Memory Stick Pro, and xD Picture Card
1 headphone jack (S/PDIF digital audio output), 1 microphone jack
10/100 Fast Ethernet

What's in the box This package contains the ASUS UL80AG-A1 notebook PC, AC adapter, rechargeable 8-cell battery, and user manual

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High Definition That Doesn't Break the Bank The 14-inch LED-backlit display offers bright, vibrant visuals and advanced energy efficiency, and it has a high-definition resolution (1366 x 768) and 16:9 ratio display for watching movies and HDTV programming without annoying black bars. It's supported by an integrated Intel GMA 4500MHD integrated graphics processor for cinematic visual quality. Equipped with HDMI connectivity, you can easily stream media whether you're on the move or through an external display at home or in the office.
The UL80AG is complemented with Altec Lansing speakers--30 percent more powerful compared to those found on conventional notebooks--and SRS premium surround sound, providing high-quality audio playback without the need to connect to external speakers. The angle of the speakers also allows audio to be "bounced" upwards from any surface to provide better amplification, delivering a wider frequency range, which in turn produces lower pitches that allow users to hear every reverberation of the drums, as well as every note in pitch perfect quality.



Windows 7 Home Premium makes it easy to create a home network and share all of your favorite photos, videos, and music. You can even watch, pause, rewind, and record TV. Get the best entertainment experience with Windows 7 Home Premium.



Jump Lists New in Windows 7, Jump Lists take you right to the documents, pictures, songs, or websites you turn to each day. To open a Jump List, just right-click a program icon on the Windows 7 taskbar. (You'll also find them on the Start menu.) What you see in a Jump List depends entirely on the program. The Jump List for Internet Explorer 8 shows frequently-viewed websites. Windows Media Player 12 lists commonly-played tunes. Your Jump List missing a favorite? You can "pin" whatever files you like there. Jump Lists don't just show shortcuts to files. Sometimes they also provide quick access to commands for things like composing new e‑mail messages or playing music.

Improved Windows Taskbar In Windows 7 you can "pin" favorite programs anywhere on the taskbar for easy access. Not crazy about the icon lineup? Now you can rearrange them any way you like by clicking and dragging. Finally, there are new ways to preview windows. Point to a taskbar icon to see a thumbnail preview of open files or programs. Then, move your mouse over a thumbnail to preview the window full-screen. You can even close windows from the thumbnail previews--a big time saver.

Snap Ever need to cut through a cluttered desktop and quickly focus on a single window? Just click a pane and give your mouse a shake. Every open window except that one instantly disappears. Jiggle again--and your windows are back.



Energy Efficient Intel Core 2 Duo ULV Processor Offering the latest in ultra-low voltage processing power, the dual-core Intel Core 2 Duo SU7300 has a has a power consumption rating of just 10 watts and a 1.3 GHz speed that's paired with a fast 800 MHz front-side bus (FSB) and 3 MB L2 cache. (An L2, or secondary, cache temporarily stores data; and a larger L2 cache can help speed up your system's performance. The FSB carries data between the CPU and RAM, and a faster front-side bus will deliver better overall performance.)




Eye-Catching Sophistication Impress onlookers or complement any setting with the UL80AG's brushed aluminum finish and high-class appeal. Simply opening the notebook you notice the interior casing around the display that brings the color to life so that time-after-time the UL80AG shines with a brilliant, high-gloss finish. Plus, the chiclet style keyboard and spacious keys not only allow for a comfortable typing experience but also prevents dust buildup keeping it nice and clean every time you use it. Inspired by the light grace of a butterfly, the UL80AG carries the hallmark contours and slim elegance that separate it from the typical cookie-cutter notebook with a true style of its own.
With ASUS IceCool Technology, you're ensured extended battery life and a cool-to-touch surface, so even after the longest computer sessions there's limited heat for optimized comfort. The palm rest area also makes your experience more enjoyable so you have plenty of space to place your hands while typing on the keyboard.



Industry Leading Customer Warranty Accidents Happen You have extra protection when they happen to your ASUS notebook purchased in the US or Canada. ASUS will fix it or replace it for you at no charge during the first year after purchase in the event of damage from accidental spills, drops, electrical surges, or fire.
Warranty covering accidental drops, spills, power surges, and fire damage
Target 3-business-day turnaround time for repair / replacement; not including receiving and shipping time
One-way shipping (from ASUS to the user) at no additional cost
24-hour toll-free phone support
One incident covered per notebook

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TP-Link 300Mbps 802.11N Wireless PCI Adapter, 2T2R, with Detachable Antenna, Model: TL-WN851N Review

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(More customer reviews)i get decent reception all over my one story house, installs easily. if you are using vista and get a blue screen of death, as i did, download the beta drivers from their website and it should work just fine. works flawlessly on xp. will be ordering another one for my older desktop.

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Panasonic HDC-HS250-K Hard Drive High Definition Camcorder (Black) Review

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(More customer reviews)I got this camcorder for about two weeks already. It's very easy to start operating it even without reading the manual. The touch screen feature is great! You can basically play on the touch screen and see the difference of the picture quality right on the screen. Here's some of the Pro & Con that I think after playing with this camcorder.
Pro:
-Easy to use
-Great video quality (I hook on my Sony 48 inches 1080p LCD screen, the picture looks great!)
-Picture quality is great too if you got enough light when using indoor (outdoor, no problem)
-Indoor video recording is pretty good using backlight function if indoor light is not enough.
-Outdoor video quality is excellent
-Digital zooming is great (I can basically zoom in and get so detail that I can see the pore of the person's face right across of the street with 3 traffic lane in between it.)
-LCD touch screen is great (you can flip the screen too! You can also use fingernail to touch the screen if your fingertip is too big, the screen don't have any problem recognizing your command.)
Con:
-Not enough battery life (got around 90minutes of recording, good thing is that you can see how much time you got left on the LCD screen for recording so you'll know when you need to charge the battery or switch to power cord or new battery.)
-You cannot charge the battery while using power cord!
-The power cord plug on the camcorder is hidden underneath where you put the battery at, so you cannot use both battery and power cord at the same time (very bad when you try to record using power cord, once you accidentally pull the power cord plug, all of the recording stops, and it takes long time for camcorder to get back to recording and it also causes temporary hard drive malfunction while the camcorder trying to recover what you just record.)
-You cannot turn on the light that came with the camcorder to do the recording (it's use mostly as flash function when taking picture)
So far that's what I thought playing for two weeks (without reading the manual.)


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12x optical zoom 30x-700x digital zoom3MOS produces extremely accurate images with superb rendition of light and rich color expressionsiA (Intelligent Auto) for smart control automatically chooses the optimal camera settings and activates correct functionsAdvanced O.I.S. suppresses hand-shake by adjusting the optical axis at 4000k per second2.7" wide LCD monitor1920 x 1080 full HD recording resolution5.1-channel DolbyDigital audio recording with zoom and focus microphoneStill image resolution up to 3984 x 2656 (10.6MP)Mini HDMI video component and 2.0 hi-speed USB outputs2 3/4'' W x 2 7/8'' H x 5 1/16'' DIncludes Li-Ion rechargeable battery AC adapter video component/AV/USB cables IR remote control and software

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Dino-Eye Digital Microscope Eyepiece Camera USB 2.0 Review

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(More customer reviews)This is the "X" version of the DinoEye AM423 line of microscope eyepiece USB cameras offered by AnMo Electronics and distributed in the USA by BigC--which means it has a longer tube than the generic AM423 and a coupler that allows it to fit both 23 and 30mm oculars. My review is for the AM423 line in general as tested on the Mac OS X platform.
Dedicated microscope eyepiece USB cameras have always trailed far behind both their webcam and digicam counterparts, and the AM423 is no exception. While digicams, for example, have gone from 3 megapixels to 6, and then from 6 to 8, and then from 8 to 10 and beyond, all while reducing their price-points, consumer microscope cameras during the same time period have barely managed to bump their resolution from .3 to 1.3 megapixel, and the prices haven't budged. This is what I call the "medical markup"; anything remotely connected to the health sciences costs about an order of magnitude more than it should. What really accounts for this discrepancy is anyone's guess--but probably a lack of competition combined with a significantly smaller market and an inability to take advantage of economies of scale. One thing is certain: you can indeed compare pixels to pixels, since there's nothing special about a microscope camera or the parts therein; indeed, Instructables has entries on how to turn cheap consumer webcams into microscope cams at a fraction of the cost. So on the one hand we can wrap up any review of any dedicated microscope eyepiece USB camera by simply stating that none of them are worth the price. On the other hand, if you want such a camera and are willing to pay the price, it helps to know what to expect.
In the case of the AM423, you can expect an all-aluminum-chassis camera and, depending on the specific model, various couplers to facilitate a connection to your microscope. In my case no coupler was needed; the 23mm tube slipped right in where the ocular lens used to be. But while the hardware may be the business end of any digital camera system, and will place certain absolute limits on what you can achieve, it's the software and drivers that ultimately determine the value of the camera. The AM423 is not a UVC device and uses a "Sonix" QuickTime driver. I tested a few apps just to see. Worked: MiXcope, Skype, Bear's Hand. Didn't work: QuickTime, Photo Booth, macam, iChat. Of course you can also use the officially supported app: DinoXcope.
I tested the Mac OS X version of DinoXcope on Snow Leopard. You can download DinoXcope for free and check it out prior to buying the hardware. Kudos to BigC for allowing customers to evaluate DinoXcope prior to purchasing, even if such evaluations are limited without the AM423 itself. The software is, in general, very Mac-like and stable, with all the image and video recording features you'd expect from such a product. Where the software falls short is in the details. If all you want is to record any video then you won't be disappointed. But what if you want to use a WMV codec that you just purchased for QuickTime? Unfortunately, DinoXcope offers only 3 video saving options: animation, Photo-JPEG, and H.264. Since all are compressed lossy formats, converting from one of them to something else at a later date is not desirable, since that will involve even more compression and a further degradation in video quality. DinoXcope should at least offer one lossless codec, and ideally make use of QuickTime, which would allow a huge variety of saving options and the ability to add more from third party vendors.
Just like webcams, the AM423 is advertised as being able to capture real-time video at "up to 30 fps". And just like webcams, you'll be hard-pressed to achieve this frame-rate at the higher resolutions offered. In the case of the AM423, 15 fps is the best you will do at max resolution. The culprit is neither the hardware nor software but USB 2.0 bandwidth constraints. That is why even the best USB webcams are only 2 megapixels, while point-and-shoot digicams are typically 10 megapixels or more. In theory, you could compress the video signal prior to sending it over USB, or use two USB channels in parallel and double the bandwidth, but manufacturers are apparently content with the status quo--blaming USB 2.0--and waiting for the advent of USB 3.0.
Many DinoXcope UI elements don't do anything at all, or have no relevance to the AM423. For example, there are references to LED lights, yet the camera has no LEDs. The reason for this is that AnMo Electronics produces other microscope camera products that do have LEDs, and the same software is clearly being used to control a variety of products.
The PDF manual for DinoXcope is little more than a set of installation instructions, and doesn't explain any of the more advanced settings like gamma and exposure time or how to minimize image noise. I laughed out loud when I read the section on "Calibration Fun", by which I assume they meant "Calibration Function". BigC would do well to hire a professional technical writer and really put some effort into the docs. And the reason for this is because their support is equally disappointing. You can expect lengthy week-long delays in receiving responses if indeed you ever get a response at all.
One significant issue is that, regardless of what software you end up using, automatic exposure is always on and cannot be turned off. BigC claims this feature is in the driver and cannot be changed. For those who can't control how much light they supply to their microscopes, this feature is useful. But for those who can, automatic exposure is crippling and results in additional and unnecessary image noise. Increasing the sensitivity also results in a corresponding drop in frame-rate, so it's best to have plenty of light available for your microscope.
Another significant issue is that the max resolution with all the software I've tested appears to be 1280 x 960, despite the fact that the AM423 hardware advertises 1280 x 1024. What happened to those missing 81,920 pixels? I have yet to determine if the problem is the hardware or the driver, but BigC needs to address this issue ASAP--for legal reasons if nothing else.
To summarize, if you own a Mac and you're running OS X and you want a dedicated microscope eyepiece USB digital camera, the AM423 is not a bad choice--providing you can live with less resolution than promised, auto exposure that can't be turned off, and a general lack of support. The fact that this camera works with other software packages is perhaps its saving grace, since it allows you to circumvent the aforementioned DinoXcope issues and even use software intended for webcams.

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more. Touchlite Metallic Case (Royal Blue) for iPod Touch 2G/3G + Mirror Screen Protector Review

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(More customer reviews)I love this blue case for my iPod touch. It fits perfectly and has protected my iPod through a few tumbles. I receive alot of compliments on the stylish look of the case. My order for this product was received in a timely manner. The only problem i had was with the mirrored screen protector. The edges curled up from the moment i put it on the iPod, and completely peeled off a few days later. Other than that, I'm happy with this purchase.

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JVC GZ-HM1 High Definition Camcorder Review

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(More customer reviews)After very careful study and consideration over the last several months, I decided to go ahead and go with this JVC GZ-HM1 rather than the Canon HF S21 or Sony HDR-CX550V.
One of my main concerns was low light shooting. Although I believe that both the Canon and JVC to be similar in their great quality picture during normal lighting conditions, unfortunately, the Canon does not have a backlit CMOS sensor introduced this year by JVC, and last year by Sony.
In the end, I was left debating between this JVC and the Sony. The Sony has a larger and much more beautiful 3.5" touch display, opposed to the 2.8" display on the JVC (the JVC uses nice touch sensitive buttons, which keep the screen clean and smudge free, which is also a good feature). Also, the Sony offers more automated features for novice users.
I went to a local camera store, and tested both units using a very high quality HD display and connected both camcorders via HDMI. The quality and clarity of the image on the JVC unit was far, far, superior, and text/minute details at a far distance that weren't legible on the Sony, were clearly legible on the JVC. The manual controls, and physical button layout, as well as the awesome zoom rocker, really set the JVC apart from the Sony. The general sensation is that the Sony model was packed with gimmicks, and designed to be "idiot proof", while the JVC was designed to be controlled by the user, and is fantastic for someone who isn't scared of manual controls (not to say that the automatic mode isn't good).
The more I use it, the more I love it...

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