Bren's stats
- Review count233
- Helpfulness votes1,741
- First reviewDecember 27, 2016
- Last reviewAugust 5, 2025
- Featured reviews0
- Average rating4.8
Reviews comments
- Review comment count0
- Helpfulness votes0
- First review commentNone
- Last review commentNone
- Featured review comments0
Questions
- Question count0
- Helpfulness votes0
- First questionNone
- Last questionNone
- Featured questions0
- Answer count11
- Helpfulness votes1
- First answerDecember 27, 2016
- Last answerNovember 4, 2021
- Featured answers0
- Best answers1
Meet the Ninja ProChef Wireless Thermometer, a durable, app-connected thermometer that can withstand up to 700~F. Whether cooking indoors or outdoors, in direct flame or low and slow, the Ninja ProConnect App provides a guided cook system and uses an advanced algorithm to give you updates and even more accurate finish times, so you always end up with an expert-level meal~no guesswork required.
Customer Rating
5
A very handy tool for the kitchen and the porch!
on October 16, 2024
Posted by: Bren
I am glad that Ninja has joined the wireless thermometer game and put out this thermometer that pairs so well with their outstanding app. I have wanted to add one of these to my cooking and grilling arsenal for a while now and I am glad that I finally get to!
The build quality of the thermometer and charge case is awesome. It is more of an industrial kitchen look than the wood cases of the main competition wireless thermometers, but I think it looks good and is built to last. I wish that the wireless case was USB rechargeable and that it had a built-in hook for hanging the case from the grill, my crockpot, etc. since the case (as with other wireless thermometers) has to be within 5 feet of the actual thermometer to get the readings that can then transmit via Bluetooth to your phone app.
The thermometer itself is great to use and what I would hope for at this price. It went inserted perfectly into my chuck pot roast and allowed me to get the temperature up to and sustained in the range of what I wanted to get the perfect, melt-in-your mouth pot roast. I have a really unreliable crockpot at this time, and it was great to be able to keep track of when the ambient temperature was getting too hot inside the crockpot and to adjust the crockpot accordingly.
The only downside I am noticing with the thermometer and case combination is that it seems like the thermometer and case have a hard time staying connected when the thermometer is inside my crockpot. I was about to go nuts with the amount of disconnection alerts I was getting on my phone from the thermometer. I ended up having to balance the case on the class lid just to maintain a reliable connection that didn’t drop out every two minutes. Gratefully, I know that Ninja stands behind their products and I am certain they are going to release a firmware update eventually that will probably help address finicky issues like this.
Altogether, I will give this thermometer 5 out of 5 stars. It helps to safely and accurately cook my food and is altogether built into a great package made and sold by a most excellent company. Thanks for reading and I hope that my review helps encourage your purchasing decision!
I would recommend this to a friend!
Share this review:
+1point
1of 1voted this as helpful.
Designed for easy hands-on espresso exploration, take your espresso based drinks to the next level - create wherever your curiosity takes you - from Espresso, Americano, Latte, to Cappucino and much more.
Customer Rating
5
No-brainer option in this price range!
on October 12, 2024
Posted by: Bren
This KitchenAid Semi-Automatic Espresso Machine is an easy pick at this price when looking at the competitions offerings, especially when this veast is on sale! We are so pleased with how great this machine is performing in making us all the espresso we need to sate the caffeine addictions of two adults and our friends when they come over.
The build quality of this espresso maker is amazing and leaves no room for disappointment. It is packed with clever features that you will enjoy, including a handy little storage bin in the drip tray for stashing away all of your portafilter adapters in a quick and convenient location! This espresso maker provides all of the fun aspects of the manual part of making great espresso, including hand tamping your grind in the convenient flat bottomed portafilter and making your own preferred dairy-based toppings and foam with the wand. What this machine automates and has built in are exactly the features I want like a grinder with fifteen of its settings and other bits and pieces that nice and convenient to have included. A few of the aspects of this espresso maker that I like better than my well-loved and used De'Longhi Specialista Arte are that grinder and portafilter require no adapter to hook up and that there is no need for a special “tamping pad” since the portafilter body is flat on the bottom with recessed spouts as I mentioned earlier. These features are highly convenient, plus the handy storage is very welcome too!
Overall, I give this espresso make 5 out of 5 stars. I think that this segment of the espresso maker competition is getting pretty dialed in with manufactures seeming to have finally figured out what we want in our home espresso makes.
I would recommend this to a friend!
Share this review:
0points
0of 0voted this as helpful.
Oura Ring 4 sizes are slightly different from standard ring sizes, so it is important to size yourself using our tools and to follow our sizing instructions. The Oura Ring 4 Sizing Kit allows for you, and those around you, to find the ideal fit before purchasing. You can also size yourself in stores where there is an Oura Ring 4 display. A properly fitting Oura Ring will result in the highest possible data accuracy, comfort, and overall experience.
Customer Rating
5
Exactly what I needed to be sure of my ring size!
on October 9, 2024
Posted by: Bren
There is no replacement for using one of these kits to ensure you know the exact size of Oura ring you need for your application. The rings are molded and designed to match perfectly in width and internal structure to the Oura Ring 4 so you are certain how it fits and feels. I used mine for over 24 hours and found that my ring size was a match in size to my wedding band (size 9) now that this new generation of Oura ring does not have the annoying bump sensors internally as the old ones did.
The ring and the kit size availability are far more comprehensive now. Sizes 4 through 15 are available now; a far broader range than the older models and this provides much more flexibility for potential users seeking to find exactly the right ring size for their needs. The only thing I would say is that I perhaps would have preferred a darker color than bright white so that the test ring wasn't as conspicuous while I was doing my 24-hour size and comfort trial. Otherwise, this kit is an easy 5 out of 5 star recommendation!
I would recommend this to a friend!
Share this review:
0points
0of 0voted this as helpful.
You deserve the absolute highest quality HDMI has to offer, and Rocketfish is prepared to deliver. This Ultra High Speed HDMI Certified cable boasts an incredible 4K @ 120 Hz, 8K @ 60 Hz and even up to 10k video experience. It features a blistering fast bandwidth speed of 48 Gbps for flawless picture quality and is certified for in-wall use. It supports must-needed performance enhancers such as Quick Frame Transport, Dynamic HDR and Variable Refresh Rate for an overall unbeatable video experience. Sound quality is equally important, with support for DTSMaster, DTS-X and Dolby TrueHD/Atmos formats. It's also backwards compatible to work with all HDMI components..
Customer Rating
5
A professional and future proof HDMI Cable!
on September 21, 2024
Posted by: Bren
I have been on a journey recently trying to get the right HDMI cable for my home entertainment setup that actually suits my needs. I have a 4K OLED TV and a 4K Apple TV unit that I could just not seem to get the proper cable combination for in order to get the benefits of both HDMI Arc and a full 4K Dolby Vision picture. 3 cables later, I am pleased finally be using this cable and to know that what I have is a cable that is essentially future proof for the next 5-10 years. It is an 8K 48gbps cable, which means that this in-wall certified cable will be up to the task of providing in-wall certified connection as 8K televisions start to proliferate in the next years, and I eventually acquire one. This cable is pricey, but trust me, it is far cheaper compared to some out there. There are legitimately HDMI cables that run in the hundreds and THOUSANDS of dollar ranges. I would say this cable is an excellent balance of price to performance and is far and above any flimsy HDMI cable you are going to get included with a Blu-ray player or gaming console. 5 out of 5 stars for sure for finally being the cable to solve my connection issues and that will keep me supplied in gorgeous pixels and device control for years to come!
I would recommend this to a friend!
Share this review:
-1point
1of 3voted this as helpful.
Discover the GMMK 3 PRO, the world~s most customizable gaming keyboard, capable of over 1 billion possible configurations. It offers gamers complete control over every aspect of their experience, enhancing gaming performance, typing feel, and aesthetics like never before. Crafted with a full aluminum body, the GMMK 3 PRO premium quality material. The CNC-machined top and bottom cases provide a robust weight and durability, while the sleek anodized finish ensures an enduring, sophisticated aesthetic that stands out in any setup. Customization reaches new heights with the GMMK 3 PRO~s 9 points of modularity. This highly modular design allows you to easily swap out parts, tailoring the keyboard~s look, sound, and feel to your exact preferences. The innovative Modular Gasket System (MGS) further enhances this flexibility, enabling you to adjust the internal gaskets for a firmer or more flexible typing experience. Whatever your preference is, you are in the driver~s seat. Take your typing experience to the next level with 5-pin MX hotswap support. Easily plug and play with a wide range of Glorious MX switch styles to define your GMMK 3 PRO~s typing sound and feel, all without the need for soldering. The keyboard also features sound-dampening foam, with two layers of dense foam within the case that absorb unwanted resonance, providing a satisfyingly clean acoustic profile. The GMMK 3 PRO is equipped with GPBT double-shot Keycaps, designed for durability and clarity. These keycaps are built to last, resisting fade and shine over time, and allowing your RGB lighting to shine through brightly, adding a vibrant and clear touch to your setup. Elevate your gaming and typing experience with the GMMK 3 PRO, where every detail is designed to provide unparalleled customization and performance.
Customer Rating
5
A factory pro level keyboard ready to customize!
on September 21, 2024
Posted by: Bren
I am incredibly impressed with this keyboard. It feels so good to leave the expensive but often underfeatured mainstream gaming PC peripheral companies behind to try out a keyboard from a company trying to do things differently for the price. The marketing for this device says that Glorious makes the world’s most customizable gaming keyboards, and I am pretty inclined to endorse this claim judging from what I am seeing.
This keyboard is fully equipped for users to try things out and get the experience they want from this device. It comes equipped in this model with Glorious Fox red linear switches, and they are absolutely some of the nicest red switches I have ever tried. The accuracy, smoothness, and repeatability of these keys are astonishing and refreshing in standard typing and gaming scenarios with frenetic and rapid key tapping. As if it wasn’t enough to have the factory switches ready to go out of the box, Glorious includes a sample pack of switches for you to sample, complete with puller tools and instructions. I found that the included sample of the Raptor (crisp and clicky) switch felt really good and that may be where I go in the future with my keyboard. Customizability features such as RGB and macros programming are excellent in the Glorious Core software. They are easy to navigate and far more intuitive than other competing gaming peripheral software I have tried, like iCUE. Good on you, Glorious!
A cool and unique feature of this keyboard is the true support it offers for MacOS users. Rather than just being a plug-and-play keyboard that misses out on some of the shortcuts and features of a proper MacOS keyboard, Glorious gives you the means to make that a reality! They included two option keycaps and two command keycaps (crucial for those great shortcuts in productivity work), and there is even a switch built into the keyboard on the back that switches it from Windows OS features to MacOS! That is super awesome and supports that this as a highly flexible and dynamic keyboard for all users.
The build quality of this keyboard is amazing and judging from what I can tell, is on par with some of the higher-end customizable keyboards out there. The all metal construction results in this being a solid and heavy keyboard which speaks highly to its pro status. I chose this specific wired model because, as a streamer and a gamer, I have realized that wireless devices often introduce reliability and connectivity issues into the mix that can mess up a stream or my gaming performance. Furthermore, battery life anxiety is something I don't particularly appreciate having to tolerate for multiple devices. My headsets are always wireless, but I do not mind my keyboard and mouse being wired, plain and simple.
Altogether, relative to the crap household brand companies are trying to stuff down our throats as a good value when they aren’t in this price range, I am going to give this keyboard a solid and well-earned 5 stars out of 5. I will be recommending this keyboard to all of my friends. Thanks for reading and hope this review has helped you out!
I would recommend this to a friend!
Share this review:
0points
0of 0voted this as helpful.
Hercules Stream 100 is a an easy-to-use and effective audio controller that lets you stop worrying about audio settings during your livestreams, and react quickly. Thanks to this audio controller with a built-in LCD screen, you can manage all your audio sources in real time: games, chat software, music, USB microphone, and more. Hercules Stream 100 lets you individually view and control the sound level of each audio track directly onscreen. Instantly enable, turn down the volume, turn up the volume, mute or unmute the sound! More than an audio controller, Hercules Stream 100 is also a command center: you~ll love using the 4 handy assignable action buttons to customize your controls (multiple mute, URL launcher, scene change). Stop worrying about audio settings and focus on your viewers. See your sound..
Customer Rating
5
Better value than big-name competitors!
on September 6, 2024
Posted by: Bren
This stream deck and audio mixer is honestly one of the better accessories I have added to my streaming gear arsenal. It is highly versatile, customizable for my purposes, and comes in at an excellent price that is perfect for an aspiring streamer who doesn’t want to spend too much money out the gate on something they aren’t sure they need. It is due for some optimization in the firmware, but I am confident that will come with time.
This Hercules Stream 100 is perfect for non-XLR, USB mic users like me who need a simple, physical interface for controlling the mix of audio in their computer and the ability to have some handy quick launch buttons for things like specific websites or actions like “push to mute” for their microphone. This audio mixer is really simple to set up with just one single USB-C to USB-A cable included to plug into your computer. From there, you download the software from the Hercules website. I will fully admit that I am not a fully optimized streamer with my audio. I use a simple Wireless Headset/Mic combo, and I usually only have a few things running in my streams like my game, Spotify, and Discord for communication. Thus, when I saw how intuitive the Hercules Stream Control software was to drag and drop my different programs into custom control slots, I was absolutely thrilled! Being able to have control over my most important audio sources in a stream without having to individually control them via their separate software interfaces or other digital means is amazing. I can turn them up and down with ease on this mixer. Furthermore, I have my three most commonly used websites set for quick launch: My Twitch page, Twitch Stream Manager, and Nightbot. Each can now launch with just the press of a button on my second page of controls on this mixer.
There is a small area for improvement. I believe it is related to the current firmware iteration 1.40 at the time of this review. I am having issues with the device going to sleep with my Windows 11 equipped computer but not waking up and being able to be interacted with from time to time. I have to physically unplug the back of the device and then plug it back in for it to work. It's not a huge deal to me, but it’s definitely rather irritating.
Overall, I will give this mixer a 5 out of 5 stars. Any trouble I am having is purely software/firmware related and has nothing to do that I can tell with this excellently built and eminently handy audio mixer/streaming device. Thanks for reading and I hope this review has helped you out!
I would recommend this to a friend!
Share this review:
0points
0of 0voted this as helpful.
Introducing a 27~ QHD IPS gaming monitors that checks all the boxes with impeccable visuals, lightning-quick speed and optimized ergonomics. The UltraGear is a compact 27-inch QHD IPS display, delivering crisp vivid visuals with a resolution of 2560 x 1440 pixels that makes games look great from virtually any viewing angle. And with an ultra-fast 180Hz refresh rate and a 1ms GtG (Gray-to-Gray) response time, every frame renders silky smooth, and offers virtually blur-free gameplay even in the most action-packed moments. The display shows off vivid color and contrast with HDR10 and up to 99% sRGB color gamut coverage. From vast gaming landscapes to intense battles, details are brought to life with astonishing clarity. And screen tearing and stuttering are virtually eliminated thanks to NVIDIA G-SYNC Compatible~ and AMD FreeSync technologies, which synchronize the monitor's refresh rate with your graphics card, delivering tear-free, smooth gameplay. On your desktop, immerse yourself in the action with the 3-side virtually borderless design, which minimizes distractions from your field of view. And optimize the display to your specs with tilt, height, and pivot adjustable stand, allowing you to find the perfect viewing angle for maximum comfort. Whether you're gaming for hours on end or tackling productivity tasks, UltraGear ensures you stay comfortable and focused as you ascend your game.
Customer Rating
5
A great purchase for PC and Modern Console users!
on August 29, 2024
Posted by: Bren
I am super pleased with this gaming monitor. This monitor is what I would describe as “up to date” for what gamers should be looking for in this price range in terms of performance and connectivity options. First, the HDMI ports on this monitor are HDMI 2.1. This means that PS5 and Xbox Series X users can get the maximum 120FPS frame rate out of their consoles when hooked up to this monitor, if they game and graphic settings support that high of frames, of course. For PC gamers running newer GPUs, you can take advantage of the single display port on this monitor (wish there were two) or the HDMI 2.1 ports to connect up to your GPU and get buttery smooth frames as high as 180FPS thanks to the 180hz screen on this monitor. I ran this monitor off of a display port connection on my 4070 Super GPU and enjoyed high-refresh gaming at my favorite resolution of 1440p. I feel like 1440p gaming is still the sweet spot resolution-wise for gamers. It is not as demanding as 4K, nor as expensive a panel as a 4K monitor would have, but it still offers crisp images at this 27” inch size. Many professional gamers, esports players, and streamers prefer 24” to 27” monitors to this day for highest performance capability.
LG is always a go-to display device brand for me, from its TVs to its monitors. Many other companies use LG panels in their monitors, and there are good reasons for this.
I would recommend this to a friend!
Share this review:
0points
0of 0voted this as helpful.
Connect BRAVIA CAM for an even more dynamic viewing experience and enjoy video chat on the big screen along with Ambient Optimization Pro for great picture and sound wherever you are in the room. Compatible with select 2022 Sony TVs ~ Z9K, X95K, A95K, A90K, A80K, X90K, X85K, X80K, 2023 Sony TVs - A95L, A80L, X95L, X93L, X90L, select 2024 Sony TVs ~ BRAVIA 9, BRAVIA 8, BRAVIA 7
Customer Rating
3
An exciting but niche offering for Sony TV users
on July 17, 2024
Posted by: Bren
Unboxing: When I took it out of the box, it came with a USB C adapter, some paperwork and the camera itself in a eco-friendly box.
Setting it up was super easy, I plugged it in, and the Sony TV immediately brought up the message “Set up Bravia Cam.” I went through the process. It Was super easy, like 5 total clicks as I navigated through the set up.
The build quality of this camera is outstanding, which you would hope it would be given the premium price you are going to pay. The camera has a little slide on top to physically cover the camera lens, which is good for people who are privacy-minded when they are not using the TV.
Using the camera was a cool experience. It walks you through a tutorial how to turn off the tv with your hand and media controls/volumes. The clarity on the webcam is pretty good, but it definitely has a premium tax since it is Sony.; it is not top-of-the-line quality in the world of webcams but good enough for its purpose. When you get more than 5 feet away, it will really struggle to track your hand gestures, so it is best used in a small viewing area unless you get up to go in front of the TV to do it, but at that point, using your remote makes a whole lot more sense.
Features as of July 16, when this camera was initially reviewed: Hand Gesture: Hand gestures let you control media play by showing your palm, and it brings a little UI pop up where to move your hand, to power off the TV show palm, and then close hand. The second feature is keep distance; in case you have like a kid or something, it will give a little pop-up on the bottom saying keep distance if you continue to ignore it, it covers your screen, saying once again Keep distance, and then will talk to you saying it, and your screen eventually goes black. This is great if you have any wild toddlers around who may threaten to walk the TV with their Tonka truck, hah! The third feature is Eco Save Sensing, which uses the camera to see if there is any movement or anybody in the area to keep the TV on, if not at a set time you choose, it will dim the TV after an amount of time and turn off sooner if no one is around.
Overall, I would give this camera a 3/5 for most average users and a 4/5 for Sony fans, since this does fit seamlessly into the Sony TV ecosystem experience and offers some cool tricks and features that, if nothing else, serve as great parlor tricks to show you friends when they come over for movie night. Thanks for reading this review and I hope it has helped with you purchase decision!
I would recommend this to a friend!
Share this review:
+1point
1of 1voted this as helpful.
Unprecedented efficiency on a premium 14-inch CoPilot+ PC featuring touch, text, and voice control for intuitive, smartphone-like ease of use so you can streamline your daily tasks and workflows.
Customer Rating
4
A mediocre but serviceable Snapdragon laptop
on July 13, 2024
Posted by: Bren
The Dell Inspiron line of laptops is not one in my mind that has ever stood out in terms of high quality or excellence. Still, this model is certainly attractive given the exciting and innovative new chip it contains that is brand new in the CPU market. For the price, Dell has put a lot of good features into this laptop. One of the top features compared to Apple competitors is that this laptop has a fingerprint scanner AND Windows Hello face recognition for biometric security. Another feature that is a win over current MacBook competitors is that this laptop has a touchscreen. I personally don’t bother with touchscreens on laptops, but there are plenty of prospective buyers for whom this might be a make-or-break feature. Now to discuss more about the build quality and use of this machine.
The build quality of the laptop is reasonable but not up to the standard of its price, nor does it stand up to the competition. It has an all-metal chassis with a strong keyboard deck, but it has a bendy lid, and the screen’s good looks are marred by the plastic bezel surrounding it. The laptop lid is not one-finger open capable, with a poorly tuned and very tight hinge that does not go flat or flip entirely over. The keyboard has a standard layout with a surprisingly excellent quiet and gentle typing feel. People with achy fingers or arthritis will love typing on this keyboard. The keycaps are a soft touch plastic and do not appear to hold on to finger oils the way my MacBook keys do. I am currently typing the review on this keyboard, and I would have zero problems using this for a full day of work or college-level essay typing. The touchpad on this laptop is disappointingly average. It is a traditional springboard-style trackpad with easier mechanical clicks at the bottom and impossible to click at the top. When compared to the Microsoft Surface laptops and MacBooks with their haptic/force touch trackpads, this does not compare. Also, this touchpad seems to have poor palm rejection when typing, and sometimes, my mouse cursor will bounce around the screen while I am typing if my palm touches the trackpad.
The speakers on this laptop are slightly above average in the world of Windows laptops in terms of loudness and sound quality. I am picking up on four speakers, two top-firing tweeters, and two bottom-firing that sound like force-canceling woofers. This makes for a surprisingly good sound stage but lacks the clarity or brightness of other competing laptop models mentioned above. The webcam… looks like absolute hot garbage. I do not even understand how this is a 1080p webcam in 2024. I would be embarrassed to attend a Zoom meeting with this webcam; my coworkers would think I am borrowing grandma’s old 2008 dinosaur laptop when this is a 2024 machine. Come on, Dell! I attempted to use the Windows Studio AI enhancement features like portrait mode etc. to adjust it and no luck. It just looks like crud, and no amount of AI will fix what is evidently just a mechanically poor webcam design. The screen is a “good enough” 400 nits’ brightness capable QHD screen that looks great and performs as expected at this price. It has a 60hz refresh and does not support a variable refresh rate that can drop lower or higher based on your needs, which is a bummer as this can contribute to improved battery life, like in the Microsoft Surface line. The screen looks at least as good as a MacBook Air and has the added utility of the touchscreen, but it does not get as bright.
Regarding some of the key specs, here is what you have on this particular laptop. It is equipped with the Snapdragon X Plus which is a 10 core (instead of 12 core in the Elite chip) processor with a ‘neural processing unit’ or NPU that is capable of handling modern AI tasks. This is not the fastest Snapdragon chip currently available, but I think it is going to be perfectly serviceable for most users. It has 16 GB of blazing-fast RAM built into the laptop, no upgradable RAM here after it leaves the factory. However, 16 GB is precisely the minimum of RAM I would recommend to most users these days, so I am glad Dell didn’t cheap out here with 8 GB of RAM as some manufacturers are still doing (cough cough, Apple). The 512 GB SSD in this laptop is large enough to be serviceable for most. It is not a blazing-fast SSD, but it is good enough, with a 4972mb/s read speed and 4344mb/s write speed.
Benchmarks: Speedometer 3.0, which measures the performance of a machine for webapp performance (a crucial metric in today’s school and work environments that happen so much over webpages) returned a 23.5 score which is quite excellent. My 2021 MacBook Pro M1 Pro scored a 20.9 on this test, which means that this Snapdragon Plus chip is returning more Webapp performance than a previously nearly top-of-the-line 14” laptop. All these tests were conducted unplugged in balanced mode to imitate how I think most users will prefer to run this laptop in real-world use. The Geekbench 6 cores I got from this Snapdragon Plus chip on balanced power plan were highly respectable. I got a single core score of 2285 and a multicore score of 12790. This is actually a faster multicore score than my 2021 MacBook Pro M1 Pro and almost as fast single core performance. It's really not bad for a machine that costs $900 less than that MBP did in 2021. In translation, even as the more budget option in the currently available Snapdragon processors, this one is still a beast and is positively up to the multitasking and computationally intensive standards of 2024. What this chip does NOT have, though, is good integrated graphics performance. It is very underpowered in terms of GPU performance. This Snapdragon Plus chip is not the one you want to get if you want to experiment with low framerate AAA gaming and/or do GPU-intensive computing tasks.
Now, to clear up a few expectations on this laptop. This Inspiron model is NOT one of these proclaimed 20-hour battery-life laptops. Based on my real-world mixed power use and screen brightness on balanced battery life, this is shaping up to be a 10–12-hour battery to me, tops. This is still excellent and vastly better than what higher-end mobile Intel processors have managed to return in recent times, so I know Windows lovers are going to be stoked to have a powerful and efficient laptop. Another expectation to clear up is that this is not a silent machine like a MacBook Air. This has fans built in, and I was surprised to find that they span up a lot to cool the laptop, even when doing low-intensity tasks like web browsing and Word processing. I will say that according to HWmonitor, my temperatures stayed nice and cool even during intensive benchmarking. Regardless, hearing fans is never my favorite thing on a professional on-the-go laptop.
Another clarification is that the CoPilot features, while incredibly cool for their long-term potential, have not yet been fully realized. I had a lot of fun playing with CoCreator in MS Paint, taking my zany drawing ideas and generating them into some cool AI art! Although the physical webcam on this laptop is poor, Windows Studio will be convenient for enhancing user’s webcam experiences. I absolutely LOVE the CoPilot+ features and the handy button right on the keyboard. I know I sound like a Microsoft Simp, but I mean it. I have long been a ChatGPT fan and love challenging it with hard questions and specific requests. I like to make new workout routines for myself. Having that built into the hardware with the NPU of the chip and the software of Windows 11 is epically cool. CoPilot+ is a super clean interface, too, and you can even adjust the conversation style to be more precise, creative, or balanced between the two. One of my biggest surprises in implementing this laptop in my daily use is how natural it became to click the copilot button when I have a question or something to look up rather than my typical routine of hopping on Google! I can see from using this that there is a future where AI search engines and software like this will dominate the space that typical web browser search engines currently hold.
Should you pick up this laptop for professional or business use? Well, app developers and programmers are going to be in a long and bumpy process of developing and optimizing apps and programs for these new ARM-based chips since they are essentially different from previous architectures used in the past. As such, if you are considering this for a professional work environment, like a medical clinic, where you will be using application-based electronic health records and things like that, I would WAIT to jump on this bandwagon until the whole of the new ARM processors and CoPilot features mature. Programs like Epic, Allscripts, PCC, etc. can be picky even on standard Intel CPU equipped Windows machines and you may not want to be a beta tester for compatibility with these new Snapdragon ARM based devices. Suppose you are a standard user or college student who is just going to be using Web apps and Microsoft programs like Word, PowerPoint, Excel, etc.. In that case, I think you are just fine with picking one of these up, especially if you are incurably a fan of Windows as an operating system and don’t want to mess with Apple notebooks.
Altogether, I give this specific Dell Inspiron four stars out of five. A star has been removed for the terrible webcam, slightly poor build quality, and poorer-than-expected battery life, given the advertised efficiency. I think early adopters and people who are intractable fans of Dell machines should give this a try! But businesses and entrepreneurs should wait a little longer to go for ARM-based laptops until broader legacy program support is available and the AI features Windows and these chips promised come to fruition. Thanks for reading my review. I hope it has been helpful!
I would recommend this to a friend!
Share this review:
+8points
8of 8voted this as helpful.
Heat food quickly and efficiently with this Insignia 1.1 Cu. Ft. Countertop Microwave. Nine preset functions take the guesswork out of cooking common foods like popcorn and baked potatoes, and a 1.1 cu. ft. interior provides room for meals without taking up too much space. A 12.4-in glass turntable works to evenly distribute heat while 1000 watts and 11 power levels let you cook or reheat meat, vegetables and more. This microwave has an integrated child lock for safety and a bright LED display that lets you operate the device in low-light conditions.
Customer Rating
5
Perfect countertop microwave for our needs.
on July 7, 2024
Posted by: Bren
I was looking for a microwave I could use out in our garage that wouldn’t break the bank, and that also would be somewhat more subdued color wise. This microwave looks great and performs well! It has all the convenience features you would hope for, including express times, +30-second quick add, and built-in defrost and popcorn functions. Very convenient. One thing that is going to take some getting used to is the handle design. The release latch at the top of the handle is different than most straight-pull handle designs these days. It is a nice chuckle to watch one of my family members try to open it for the first time and tug the whole microwave without the door budging. This may be exactly what you need if you have curious toddlers around who may try to microwave their hot wheel car.
I would give this microwave a try! At this price, it works incredibly well and heats my food consistently and conveniently. Thanks for reading this review and I hope it has helped you out! Happy microwaving!
I would recommend this to a friend!
Share this review:
0points
0of 0voted this as helpful.
Bren's Review Comments
Bren has not submitted comments on any reviews.
Bren's Questions
Bren has not submitted any questions.
Only at Best BuyPlay your way to the top with this HP OMEN notebook. The Intel Core i7 processor provides lightning-fast response times, and the 1TB hard drive is enough for all your favorite games and apps with room to spare for music and video files. This HP OMEN notebook has a full-size backlit keyboard for fast, easy typing.
What is the RPM of the 1 terabyte hard drive?
7200rpm, much better than the 5400rpm hard drive found in my $1600.00 MSI Stealth Pro :(
8 years, 8 months ago
by
Bren