nickcal's stats
- Review count323
- Helpfulness votes1,307
- First reviewFebruary 22, 2014
- Last reviewJuly 11, 2025
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- Average rating4.7
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- Answer count4
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- First answerMay 23, 2016
- Last answerSeptember 7, 2020
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Hear them first. With 360 Spatial Sound for Gaming and our proven hardware technology, you can detect where your opponents are and how far away. Even players hiding in shadows or behind walls and obstacles, can’t stay hidden for long.
Customer Rating
5
Exceptional gaming headphones
on August 18, 2022
Posted by: nickcal
Finding the perfect gaming headphones seems to be a never-ending saga for me. I’ve tried everything from wired earbuds to wireless state-of-the-art over-ear headphones. But no matter what I try, they all seems to fall flat. Nothing seems to fit the exact mold of what I’m looking for. This is what led me to these headphones by Sony.
I’ve always like Sony headphones and these really caught my eye because they have a wireless connection. I’ve recently found a passion for mobile gaming in addition to console and PC gaming. One of the aspects of mobile gaming that I enjoy is socialization. I used to be drawn to socializing with my Xbox friends about 10 years ago, but most of those friends moved onto different gaming platforms or we just want to play the same games anymore. I picked up my phone and started playing COD Mobile one day and I found a community again. The unfortunate thing was that I found that I really needed a solid set of headphones in order to communicate with my new friends.
I used what I had but they were designed for gaming and so there were a lot of features that I felt were lacking. So, what I started looking for was headphones that are:
• Lightweight
• Comfortable for long periods of time
• Had good battery life
• Had a great microphone
• High-quality sound
• Worked on multiple platforms
• Wireless
• Comfortable for long periods of time
• Had good battery life
• Had a great microphone
• High-quality sound
• Worked on multiple platforms
• Wireless
The Inzone H7 wireless headphones check off everything on this list. First of all, they are extremely lightweight. I have another set of headphones (not Sony) that are much heavier so it was a shock when I held the Inzone headphones for the first time. I slid them on my head and found them to be very comfortable. The foam is soft and to be honest, I don’t even notice that there is a headband because it’s so comfortable. I noticed that the ear cups breathe really well. Even after hours of gaming, my ears aren’t hot at all. This is actually an issue I’ve fought quite a bit with other headphones. I even ruined two sets of a different brand of headphones due to condensation build-up from heat/sweat. So, the heat control of these headphones was really important to me and it hasn’t been an issue at all.
The battery life has been really awesome, too. I have had a couple of 12+ hour gaming sessions where I was actively using game audio as well as the microphone and the Inzone headphones stayed with me the entire time. I am glad that they charge via USB-C. They seem to charge efficiently as I’ve been able to plug them in before bed and have them ready to go when I get up the next day.
The microphone is above average. My gaming companions have never complained about how I sound or commented on not being able to hear me. They have with other gaming headphones. I wouldn’t say it’s the best microphone I’ve used for gaming, but it’s definitely not the worst. I would rank it 7/10 for the microphone alone. The only complaint that I have about the microphone’s function is that the lift-to-mute feature doesn’t work for mobile gaming.
The sound quality is above average, too. All the ambient gaming sounds come through loud and clear and I don’t have any issues communicating with my gaming crew. Because of the shape of the ear cups and how they fit, you do find yourself isolated pretty well from ambient noises in your surroundings. The sound effect isn’t a ‘transparency’ mode style, which would be preferable to me, but it is better than being completely shut off from the outside world. I like being able to hear myself talk into the microphone just a little. Transparency mode on headphones allows for this. Some gaming headphones are so sound isolating that all sound is gone and you feel like you are in a black hole. The Inzone do not have that effect and the sound isolation is just right. It’s probably the next best thing to a true transparency mode.
As far as setup goes - I had no issues pairing the headphones with my iPhone or iPad. I simply put them into Bluetooth pairing mode and selected them from the Bluetooth menu on either device. The PS5 also had a simple setup. I just plugged the USB receiver (provided) into the USB port on the PS5. They were recognized right away (mark sure the switch is flipped to PS5) and I didn’t have any issue with their connectivity with the gaming system. Setup with a PC is similar to the PS5. You utilize the USB receiver with the switch flipped to PC. Plug it into a USB port on your computer and they should auto pair.
The 360 spatial audio setup is done through the combination of the Inzone Hub app on the PC and the 360 Spatial Sound Personalizer app on your mobile phone. You will need to use the same account for both apps so that the images you capture (yes, you need to take pictures of your ears) on your phone can connect to the PC Hub. This step helps to personalize the spatial audio profiles to your ear shape. I really like the Spatial Audio feature as I feel as though it enhances the experience quite a bit AND it sets the Inzone headphones apart from other gaming headsets. Users also have the option to adjust audio levels with the Inzone hub.
Overall, the Inzone H7 headphones are a great option for gaming. I found them to be exceptional any way I was using them.
I would recommend this to a friend!
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Introducing the latest Inspiron 24 All-in-One Desktop with a TV-inspired design and a display which features ComfortView Plus to help reduce harmful blue light and a flicker free panel optimizing eye comfort. Redesigning the front screen experience with a narrow 4-sided border with touch option for a clean look and feel. Stay up to date with the latest AMD 15W processors.
Customer Rating
5
A very nice system; great for smaller workspaces
on July 11, 2022
Posted by: nickcal
I’ve always been a fan of Dell computers. Even though I primarily use Apple products, I’ve always really appreciated PC workstations - especially for standard productivity tasks. This Dell All-in-One was designed to provide a comfortable workstation with some moderate power behind it. Based on its specs, I wouldn’t be expecting this system to be able to handle graphic-intensive video games, but it can work really well with most other tasks.
I became a quick fan of this system after I had a smooth startup/installation/update process. I will always hope that somehow Windows machines can reduce their load times, but so far, the update process when I start up a new system is always the thorn in my side. I will say that this Dell All-in-One seemed to move through that process quicker than other systems I’ve tried. It took 20-25 minutes to get through all the updates and installations before I could start using the system.
I found that it’s a very practical option for people who need a strong option for watching videos, completing productivity-based tasks, or even schoolwork. I did not attempt to do any design-type work on it, but depending on the task, this system would probably handle it fine. I don’t see it being able to edit multiple video streams or working with a multi-layer image, but simple video edits or photo edits should work fine.
Display
The display is a full touchscreen. This has been an interesting transition for me because I frequently switch back and forth between my laptop and tablet. It’s nice to be able to enter commands on the Dell by tapping the screen rather than using the mouse sometimes. I haven’t used that function much, but when I have it’s typically been when I’ve been navigating through webpages. I have found the screen responsive and I haven’t noticed it stuttering.
As far as the resolution goes, the screen does full 1080p HD and looks really good. It would be great if it were 4K, but based on what this computer is designed for, I think 1080p resolution is more than adequate. I played the trailer for Avatar 2 on YouTube and thought it looked great.
Keyboard and Mouse
The keyboard and mouse feel like standard the standard Dell keyboard and mouse combo kit. I love that they are wireless, but would have really liked to see them be rechargeable rather than require batteries. That said, I’m glad that Dell included high-quality batteries for both peripherals so that they could be used out of the box. I like the basic feel of both of them, but do wish the keys on the keyboard were a little looser. I’m used to a mechanical keyboard and the included keyboard is just a little softer with keystrokes than I’m used to.
Speakers
The Dell All-in-One actually has pretty great built-in speakers. They aren’t studio quality, but they push out a pretty high volume and they are better than most laptop speakers. I tested them out with some YouTube videos and by listening to some streaming music. The lacked a little bit of depth, but overall, I was really impressed with them. I never had to turn the volume up past around 25%. I did crank it up to about 50% at one point, but didn’t really feel comfortable turning it up past that. It was just too loud.
WiFi/Network Speed Test
Because this system boasts WiFi6 dual-band connectivity, I decided to run a network speed test (using Speedtest by Ookla) to see what kind of connection I was getting. I compared the results to my MacBook Air, which is also compatible with WiFi6. I made sure each computer was running the test from the closest possible server and then ran the speed test 4 times. The average for the Dell was 502.25 download/12.80 Upload which was faster than the MacBook Air.
Speed/Performance
Geekbench
This is a cross-platform benchmark test that measures a system’s performance and compares it to other similar systems. This test provided a score of 1189 (Single-Core) and 3904 (Multi-Core) for the Dell All-in-One. In comparison to the most recent Benchmark tests completed with a similar processor, the Dell had the fourth lowest score in the single-core test and the third lowest score in the multi-core test.
Novabench
This test provides users with a comparison score (a percentile ranking) of where your system falls in comparison to other computers. The Dell’s overall score was 2558 and it ranked in the 89th all-time percentile.
When I reviewed the baseline comparison, the Dell had a higher CPU score (88%+) than Mid-Level Gaming PCs (Intel Core i5-9600K or AMD Ryzen 5 3500), but was lower (20%-) than High-end Gaming PCs’ scores. Because of its processor, I would place the Dell into the Mid-level Gaming PC category even though it’s not really designed for gaming purposes.
CrystalDiskMark
This test is a good option for testing the read/write speed of the hard drive. I ran this test as a single pass with a 32GB load. The results I got were 3419.76 MB/s READ x 2615.47 MB WRITE. The Dell All-in-One has an SSD as its main storage option (NVMe KBG50ZNS512G) and according to benchmark tests done with that particular SSD, the Dell’s read/write score is much stronger.
In summary, I think this Dell All-in-One machine is capable of most work tasks and probably even some gaming. For individuals or families who are looking for an above-average computer that can handle a variety of tasks, this is a good option.
Pros
Unit is compact and doesn’t take up much desk space.
Speakers are very loud.
Touchscreen is responsive.
Display has a clear, HD resolution.
Speakers are very loud.
Touchscreen is responsive.
Display has a clear, HD resolution.
Cons
Keyboard and mouse are not rechargeable.
Takes a long time to update. It took me around 30 minutes to complete the updates.
Display isn’t 4K.
The CPU performance is on the lower end of similar systems’ benchmark tests.
Takes a long time to update. It took me around 30 minutes to complete the updates.
Display isn’t 4K.
The CPU performance is on the lower end of similar systems’ benchmark tests.
I would recommend this to a friend!
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+6points
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Discover the power of X! The new Philips Sonicare Power Flosser creates an X-shaped stream of water that reaches deep between teeth for a gentle, thorough clean. This X-shaped water stream, known as Quad-Stream technology, covers more surface area for a faster, deeper clean versus manual floss. Because of Quad-Steam technology, Philips Sonicare Power Flosser enables you to improve your gum health by 50% in just 1 minute per day!
Customer Rating
5
Great for good dental hygiene
on July 2, 2022
Posted by: nickcal
Flossing is an important part of good oral hygiene. It helps to remove plaque and bacteria from between your teeth. Flossing can also help to keep your gums healthy. Unfortunately, I've always been terrible about this dental hygiene task. Brushing has never been a problem. I just can't get in the habit of adding in flossing. My dentist recommended that I try to use a water flosser so this cordless power flosser from Sonicare seemed like a good option for me.
The assembly of the flosser was minimal. The main body was already put together and all I had to do was add the nozzle that I wanted to use, charge it, and fill the reservoir with water. The flosser had some charge out of the box, but I did plug it in for a little while before using it for the first time. The flosser comes with an illustrated quick start guide which was really helpful to me as I tried to figure out the best placement for the nozzles on my teeth.
I filled the reservoir with water and hit on the button. Water shot out and I felt that it cleaned between my teeth pretty well. I'm not sure if it did as good of a job as standard floss, but it was definitely better than not doing anything at all. The flosser is easy to use but I wish it had a little more power behind it.
I would recommend this to a friend!
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The versatile and powerful ASUS Zenbook Pro 15 Flip OLEDis an Intel® Evo™-certified convertible laptop that’s designed for those who want to do more. Its 12th Gen Intel® Core™ processor and all-new Intel® Arc™ discrete GPU deliver outstanding multitasking and creative power, with ASUS IceCool Plus thermal technology for maximum performance. The world-leading 2.8K 120 Hz OLED NanoEdge Dolby Vision touchscreen has a cinema-grade 100% DCI-P3 gamut, and is PANTONE® Validated with DisplayHDR™ True Black 500 certification. It’s also TÜV Rheinland-certified for eye care. The Harman Kardon-certified quad-speaker Dolby Atmos audio system adds to the cinematic experience with ultra-realistic multi-dimensional sound. For fast face login there’s an HD IR camera, and a color sensor allows automatic control of screen brightness and color temperature. You’ll love the modern new design with its classy stepped diamond-cut edges, and you’ll enjoy the productivity-boosting 360° ErgoLift hinge and the latest ASUS Pen 2.0.
Customer Rating
4
Great for productivity; comes with excessive add-o
on June 15, 2022
Posted by: nickcal
Even though I’m primarily a Mac user, I enjoy working with Windows-based machines on occasion. It’s always great to be able to switch between platforms. This ASUS Zenbook was intriguing to me because it’s a 2-in-1 laptop and the touchscreen functionality can come in very handy if you are a content creator. This laptop is intended to be a good all-around machine and work for all types of users. I typically use laptops for productivity, but I will also use them for watching videos and listening to music.
The ASUS Zenbook is a fine laptop that can be used for many different purposes. Here are some of the high points of the device.
Display
The display is gorgeous. I watched several videos in various resolutions. 4K looked outstanding, but 1080P also looked good. The display has a resolution of 2880 x 1620, which is QHD and is considered by some as “3K” resolution. It’s between 2K and 4K quality.
This display is also a touchscreen. I am usually hesitant to use touchscreens on laptops because of how dirty the screen can get, but the Zenbook has done a good job of staying clean and surprisingly enough, the screen has remained relatively smudge-free.
Keyboard
The keys have a great soft feel to them. I’m used to a mechanical keyboard, but do prefer softer switches. Therefore, I really liked the feel of the keyboard. I did discover that my typing speed did suffer a little bit. I’m guessing that it’s because of the spacing of the keys on the keyboard. I would reach out with the pinky on my right hand for the Backspace key and hit the Number Lock key instead.
Speakers
The speakers are one of the best features of the hardware on this computer. They support Dolby Atmos. I ran the Dolby Atmos test on YouTube and it was very similar to the experiences I’ve gotten in a movie theater in terms of surround sound. The sound experience from the ASUS Zenbook is very impressive.
Speed/Performance
Geekbench is a cross-platform benchmark test that measures a system’s performance and compares it to other similar systems. This test provided a score of 1250 (Single-Core) and 9067 (Multi-Core) for the ASUS laptop. When I used the Geekbench Browser to look for similar processors, I found that the Zenbook’s score was quite a bit lower than other similar systems.
NovaBench provides users with a comparison score (a percentile ranking) of where your system falls in comparison to other computers. The overall score with the Zenbook was 2963 and it ranks in the 94th all time percentile. When I reviewed the baseline comparison, the Zenbook had a much higher score than a budget laptop (Intel Core i3-1005G1 or AMD Ryzen 3 4300U), but didn’t rank quite as high as a high-end laptop (Intel Core i9-10885H or AMD Ryzen 9 4900HS). Because this laptop is priced over one thousand dollars, I would place it into the high-end laptop category based on its price alone.
CrystalDiskMark is a good option for testing the read/write speed of the hard drive. I ran this test as a single pass with a 32GB load. The results I got were 3560.17 MB/s READ x 2637.59 MB WRITE. The ASUS Zenbook has an SSD as its main storage (NVMe HFM001TD3JX013N). The benchmarks for this particular SSD stat that a user should see around 2282 MB/s READ x 1935 MB/s WRITE. Given that data, I’m very happy with the results I got.
I think this Zenbook is capable of most work tasks and probably even some gaming. I don’t think heavy gamers would get the most out of it, but occasional gaming probably plays quite well on it. For everyday work, this laptop is an excellent choice.
I would recommend this to a friend!
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+12points
18of 24voted this as helpful.
Ideal for espresso-based drinks such as cappuccinos, cortados, and flat whites, the new Ember Cup, 6 oz, offers a premium coffee experience that does more than keep your coffee hot. Our smart mug allows you to set your preferred drinking temperature, so you can enjoy your expertly crafted hot drink —just the way you like it— from the first sip to the last drop. Ember Cup’s built-in battery maintains your precise drinking temperature for up to 1.5 hours or all day with the included charging coaster.
Customer Rating
5
Ideal for coffee and tea drinkers
on June 12, 2022
Posted by: nickcal
As a coffee drinker, I have done just about everything to keep my favorite morning beverage at a comfortable drinking temperature while I enjoy it. I was thrilled when I heard about Ember products and couldn’t wait to try them. This smaller mug is perfect for stronger beverages or when you just want a ‘touch’ of something. For example, I like having a cup of coffee in the morning, but in the afternoon, I prefer to have some hot tea. That said, I don’t like to have a large cup of tea. So, this 6oz mug is perfect for that afternoon tea time.
Set up of the mug is easy. There is no assembly required and aside from plugging the charging dock into power, the user only needs to connect the mug to the app. The user manual is included as a printed booklet with the mug, but all the languages are not separated. Each step has every language option included with that step. For me, that makes it harder to read. The English instructions are highlighted in orange, but I think it would be easier if each language was separated.
I have an iPhone and so the connection to the app was pretty much flawless. I used the original Ember mug a few years back and at the time, the app connection wasn’t very good. It worked, but not as smoothly as it does now. There is also an Apple Watch app that allows you to monitor and change your preferred temperature.
To pair the mug to the app, you press/hold the button on the bottom of the mug until you see a blinking LED below the Ember logo. The app should recognize the connection via Bluetooth very quickly. One thing I want to mention is that the app is non-specific about device pairing. It will ask you what product you have and give you three options - the mug, travel mug, or travel mug 2.
For a moment I wondered if I had selected the correct app and then I selected mug to see what would happen. It was the right selection, but it would be nice if either the specific products were listed or a dialogue box appeared letting the user know that it isn’t product-specific. This isn’t a dealbreaker for me, but it would make the user experience better.
From here, you just set up your Ember account and make sure the firmware is updated. Then you have the option to set your preferences for the device. You can change the color of the LED and your preferred drink temperature as well as if you want the temperature reported in Fahrenheit or Celsius. I think it only took me about 5 minutes to get everything set up - from box to drinking.
The mug did have a charge out of the box (about 30%) but I would recommend charging it before use. You can leave the mug on its charging dock while you are enjoying your beverage but you don’t have to for it do its work.
As I mentioned I planned on using this smaller mug for my afternoon tea. So, to test how well the mug works to regulate the temperature, I made myself a cup of tea. I have a hot pot to heat water for coffee and tea so I set that to make some hot water and got my tea leaves set in my steeper.
I poured the water into the mug and by the time I walked back to my desk, the app had already registered that there was liquid in the mug and that it was 191º. My preferred temperature is set at 135º, which is the default for the mug out of the box. The app had already started to reduce the temperature of the tea and after about 10 minutes, the drink had been reduced to the 135º setting. I took a drink at that temp and decided it was a good average warm temperature for tea.
Next, I grabbed an ice cube and dropped it into the mug. The ice cube reduced the temperature to 106º. Once the temperature had stopped dropping, the Ember mug began working to bring the temperature back up to 135º. It only took about 5 minutes for it to raise the temp to 135º. This was very impressive to me.
After about 30 minutes of working with the mug, I got a notification that the battery was low (3%), so I set it on its charging dock. I enjoy using this mug and think that if you drink warm drinks regularly, it’s a great investment.
Pros:
Packaging is subtle, but easily identified
App-enabled
Works when not on the charger
Quick connection to the app
cools and warms drink to set temp efficiently
Watch app
Cons:
Manual is not separated by language (English is highlighted in orange). This makes it harder to read.
The specific device is not available in the app.
I would recommend this to a friend!
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Make cleaning your hard floors simple with Tineco’s iFloor 3 Plus. This floor washer packs an incredible amount of power into a compact size. When space is a concern, the iFloor 3 Plus is the perfect tool to have on hand. Not only will it fit into a small space, but it will replace your bulky mops and brooms. Lightweight and cordless, you can clean up any mess with little effort and scrub away sticky messes and built-up grime simply using tap water. The carefully designed brushes safely scrub hard floors, including linoleum, vinyl, marble, laminate, tile, and hardwood. Paired with a powerful suction force, the only thing left behind is a sparkling, dry floor. With 25 minutes of uninterrupted runtime, simply grab this handy wet/dry vac and get to work in any room in your home. If grimy mop water leaves you unnerved, the iFloor 3 Plus is your solution. With a dual-tank system, you’ll never push dirty water across your floors again. Instead, the cleaning tool delivers fresh water for every sweep of the floor. Powerful suction quickly removes dirty water and leaves behind a streak-free dry floor. The perfect cleaning partner for small spaces, you can tackle kitchen spills, bathroom grime, and dirty walkways in a matter of minutes. Store in a small space and grab and go anytime.
Customer Rating
4
Good total cleaning option
on June 12, 2022
Posted by: nickcal
A few years ago, we got a cordless stick vacuum for our house. We love using it in-between our robot vacuum sweeps but we still end up having to mop the kitchen floor which is linoleum. Since we’re always looking for ways to make tasks more efficient, this wet/dry vacuum seemed like a good option for our family.
When you pull the vacuum out of its box, make sure to look through all the packaging because there are additional parts included and I almost threw out the extra dry filter because it was tucked away inside some cardboard. Even though assembly is required, it’s very minimal. You have to attach the handle to the main body of the vacuum, plug the base into power, and then set the unit on the stand. Once the battery is charged, you can start using it.
According to the manual, these are the steps you have to take for operation.
Prepare for use - includes charging the vacuum for about four hours
Press the power button to start the vacuum. It’s in ECO mode by default. There is a “MAXIECO” button that switches between the MAX and ECO modes.
Before using the WET function of the vacuum, fill the clean water tank and add one bottle cap of the solution.
The vacuum does come with a lot of parts, but some of them are duplicates so that you have your first replacement roller and filter with the original purchase. I always like it when companies provide that first part replacement.
Press the power button to start the vacuum. It’s in ECO mode by default. There is a “MAXIECO” button that switches between the MAX and ECO modes.
Before using the WET function of the vacuum, fill the clean water tank and add one bottle cap of the solution.
The vacuum does come with a lot of parts, but some of them are duplicates so that you have your first replacement roller and filter with the original purchase. I always like it when companies provide that first part replacement.
As far as operation goes, the vacuum is fairly simple. You press the power button and it turns on. If there the cleaning solution is in the clean water tank, the vacuum will both mop and vacuum simultaneously. If the water tank is empty, the vacuum will still run, but obviously will not provide the mopping function. The roller will still spin, however, so you do get a bit of a deeper dry cleaning than without it.
There are two functions that I want to point out - one that I like and one that I don’t. The first is the fact that you don’t have the option to select wet or dry. You have to use both. The only way that I’ve found to vacuum only is to leave the clean water tank empty. The problem there is that you end up with blinking lights on the display, which can get annoying.
The function I LOVE is that the vacuum is self-propelled. I was shocked when I turned it on for the first time and the vacuum nearly zoomed out of my grip. I just wasn’t expecting that much power from a cordless vacuum.
I haven’t run into a battery problem yet. The manual states that on ECO mode the vacuum should run for 25 minutes. I haven’t had a single cleaning session last that long yet so I don’t know the ‘real’ life of the battery. The battery did have some charge out of the box. I did charge it some before using it the first time, but not the full 4-hours.
I have been happy with the suction power of the vacuum and the cleaning ability of the mop, however, I did notice that any sticky spots or heavy stains will not be picked up by this vacuum. I ran the vacuum in our kitchen - moving it back and forth several times on each section of the floor. I noticed that the floor did appear shiny and wet so I know the mopping function was cycling the cleaning solution onto the floor. The floor did dry quickly I did think that it felt a lot cleaner than before I used the vacuum. I did have a couple of spots where something had been spilled and left to dry that the vacuum did not clean up. That said, a couple of lighter stains were removed if I left the vacuum sitting on top of it so that the roller brush could concentrate on that spot.
I like the features of this vacuum and its ease of use, but I do wish there were a couple of things added on (a dry/wet option, a heavy stain cleaning option, etc.). I love that a base plate is included because that gives the vacuum a spot to ‘live’ in as well as keeps the roller off the floor as it dries. All in all, I think this is a nice device.
Pros:
Easy set-up/assembly
Cordless
Powerful self-propelling function
Cons:
Only picks up surface dirt; harder stains or things ‘stuck’ to the ground will require heavier cleaning
Doesn’t have a ‘dry only’ setting unless you remove the water from the tank
I would recommend this to a friend!
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+2points
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QuietComfort® 35 wireless noise cancelling headphones are engineered with world-class noise cancellation that makes quiet sound quieter and music sound better. Free yourself from wires and connect easily to your devices with Bluetooth® and NFC pairing. And enjoy up to 20 hours of wireless listening per battery charge.
Customer Rating
3
I used to love bose then I found
on April 15, 2022
Posted by: nickcal
from Evansville, IN
How Often Used:Less than once a week
I used to love bose but after my last pair, I had a hard time deciding to try these. I picked up a pair to give them a shot and found that they are nice but not as good as my AirPods Max. The noise cancellation is just not as strong and the comfort is not where it needs to be for me. My first pair of these was back in 2017 and they were great. I used them on a flight instead of my Sony's to drown out the noise of the plane. They did not do as well so I went back to my Sony I tried that next year's release hoping they had gotten better. The sound was much clearer but the noise cancellation was still not as good. This lead me to pick up the AirPods Max and I fell in love. They have been wonderful. Anyways after almost a year with the Max, I saw that Bose put out a new pair. As someone who loves Bose and has their surround sound in my home, I wanted to give them a third try. They are wonderful sounding headphones the crisp clear sounds are fantastic but the noise cancellation still is not here for me. This is saying something because I am hard of hearing as my high-end hearing is almost gone. I had a friend return these for me after trying them. I can say if you are a user of headphones and just want crisp clean clear sound then these are for you.
I would recommend this to a friend!
Sound Quality
5
Comfort
4
Durability
4
Quality
4
Value
4
Ease of Use
5
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Introducing the industry's first Quad-band mesh Wi-Fi 6E system. Orbi Quad-band, with dedicated Wi-Fi connections, new Wi-Fi 6E, and a 10 gig wired Internet port, delivers ultra-fast speeds and massive device capacity. With combined Wi-Fi speeds of up to 10.8Gbps across up to 9,000 square feet for up to 200 connected devices, you'll enjoy the amazing Wi-Fi experience.
Customer Rating
5
Simple setup and solid network connection
on February 16, 2022
Posted by: nickcal
from Evansville, Indiana
About five years ago, I installed my first Orbi system in my home. Since the technology behind WiFi networks has changed pretty dramatically since then, we’ve ended upgraded our wireless routers a couple of times in the meantime. The newest Orbi AXE11000 is the latest addition to our network.
Orbi does a great job of making the installation of this router system extremely user-friendly. To get started, you download the Orbi app and make sure you have an account with Netgear setup. Once that’s in place, you can proceed with the rest of the setup. You will want to place your router near your modem because it connects directly to it. The main router unit as well as the two satellites have Ethernet ports so that you can hardwire devices into them. The WiFi speed can be up to 10,800 MB/s while the Wired connections around only around 10,000 Mb/s.
Even though the app provides on-screen directions, I’ve found that it goes much smoother if you go ahead and place the satellites where you want them in your home or office. They have a range of 9,000 square feet (with the 3-pack), which is 4,000 square feet more than our original Orbi system. Each additional satellite covers 3,000 additional square feet In our home, which is also our offices, we have the main router in the main office located in the front of the house.
The first satellite is placed in the second office space, which is down the hall from the main office and it's on the north wall of the house. The second satellite is installed in our living room, which is located at the back of the house. When it’s all said and done, the three units sort of form an obtuse triangle. We structured them this way because it hits all the places that we typically need our Internet signal to reach clearly.
Now, I do want to point out that our home is only 1,500 square feet in size. So, this system seems as though it is overkill for the space. But, we’ve found that having an advanced, dedicated mesh WiFi router is the way to go - even if you don't have 9,000 square feet to cover. We never find ourselves with a dead zone in our house and because the Orbi reaches so far, our network even extends into our yard.
I'm excited that this system supports WiFi 6 even though a lot of devices haven’t caught up to that technology. We actually have two laptops - the MacBook Air M1 and the MacBook Pro M1 Max - in our home that can take advantage of WiFi 6 speeds. I was able to verify that the network is actually compatible with the technology, by looking up my laptop’s current network information in the System Profiler. The PHY Mode shows 802.11ax, which is WiFi 6.
One of the big benefits of using a stable WiFi system like this is its ability to handle smart devices. Years ago, we started adding smart devices to our house. We started small with just a few lightbulbs, but suddenly, we were swapping out ALL our bulbs for the smart ones. We now have 67 different devices on our network. This includes devices on the WiFi network and those hardwired into our switcher. This also includes many different smart home products including light bulbs, hubs, speakers, controllers, and other sensors. This Orbi system supports up to 200 devices on the network.
We have not had any issues with how the system handles all these devices. Better than that, the setup couldn’t have been easier. Aside from the initial Orbi system setup, if you have an existing WiFi network as we did, you can simply rename your new Orbi network with your old network name and password. All your old devices should reconnect within a few minutes. Since we had so many different items, it did take about 30 minutes for everything to reappear, but most of the major devices popped up right away.
Even though there is a considerable monetary investment for a system like this, I think, based on my experiences with this and other Orbi (and non-Orbi) systems, that it is extremely worth it. Our house will never end up going back to a non-mesh network.
Orbi does a great job of making the installation of this router system extremely user-friendly. To get started, you download the Orbi app and make sure you have an account with Netgear setup. Once that’s in place, you can proceed with the rest of the setup. You will want to place your router near your modem because it connects directly to it. The main router unit as well as the two satellites have Ethernet ports so that you can hardwire devices into them. The WiFi speed can be up to 10,800 MB/s while the Wired connections around only around 10,000 Mb/s.
Even though the app provides on-screen directions, I’ve found that it goes much smoother if you go ahead and place the satellites where you want them in your home or office. They have a range of 9,000 square feet (with the 3-pack), which is 4,000 square feet more than our original Orbi system. Each additional satellite covers 3,000 additional square feet In our home, which is also our offices, we have the main router in the main office located in the front of the house.
The first satellite is placed in the second office space, which is down the hall from the main office and it's on the north wall of the house. The second satellite is installed in our living room, which is located at the back of the house. When it’s all said and done, the three units sort of form an obtuse triangle. We structured them this way because it hits all the places that we typically need our Internet signal to reach clearly.
Now, I do want to point out that our home is only 1,500 square feet in size. So, this system seems as though it is overkill for the space. But, we’ve found that having an advanced, dedicated mesh WiFi router is the way to go - even if you don't have 9,000 square feet to cover. We never find ourselves with a dead zone in our house and because the Orbi reaches so far, our network even extends into our yard.
I'm excited that this system supports WiFi 6 even though a lot of devices haven’t caught up to that technology. We actually have two laptops - the MacBook Air M1 and the MacBook Pro M1 Max - in our home that can take advantage of WiFi 6 speeds. I was able to verify that the network is actually compatible with the technology, by looking up my laptop’s current network information in the System Profiler. The PHY Mode shows 802.11ax, which is WiFi 6.
One of the big benefits of using a stable WiFi system like this is its ability to handle smart devices. Years ago, we started adding smart devices to our house. We started small with just a few lightbulbs, but suddenly, we were swapping out ALL our bulbs for the smart ones. We now have 67 different devices on our network. This includes devices on the WiFi network and those hardwired into our switcher. This also includes many different smart home products including light bulbs, hubs, speakers, controllers, and other sensors. This Orbi system supports up to 200 devices on the network.
We have not had any issues with how the system handles all these devices. Better than that, the setup couldn’t have been easier. Aside from the initial Orbi system setup, if you have an existing WiFi network as we did, you can simply rename your new Orbi network with your old network name and password. All your old devices should reconnect within a few minutes. Since we had so many different items, it did take about 30 minutes for everything to reappear, but most of the major devices popped up right away.
Even though there is a considerable monetary investment for a system like this, I think, based on my experiences with this and other Orbi (and non-Orbi) systems, that it is extremely worth it. Our house will never end up going back to a non-mesh network.
I would recommend this to a friend!
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Featuring a 10th Gen Intel® Core™ i3 processor, 8GB of Memory, and a 1TB hard drive, this desktop has the power to zip through tasks quickly and easily. Comes with a Gigabit Ethernet port, built-in WiFi, and a wired keyboard/mouse. An expandable, space-saving design makes the Dell Inspiron 3891 a great option for the office or home.
Customer Rating
2
Decent hardware, but poor user experience
on February 13, 2022
Posted by: nickcal
from Evansville,IN
Blogger Network Member:blog
So, I want to start by saying I’m not typically a desktop user. In fact, it’s been years since I’ve had a standard desktop tower. In addition to that, I don’t use Windows-based machines on a daily basis. That said, I do have quite a bit of experience with PCs and have owned Dell towers in the past. I thought it might be interesting to try this entry-level Dell compact tower out and see how it compares to machines I use on a daily basis.
I’ve always found Dell PCs to be solid machines. They are built well and stand up to standard daily use productivity tasks. They aren’t necessarily built for high-performance gaming or creative studio tasks, but they run email, word processing and spreadsheet applications, and internet browsers well. They are typically great for people who just need a computer for students or practical home use. Unfortunately, this Dell did not live up to that expectation.
First of all, the specs on the PC state the processor, memory, and graphics card should be able to handle entry-level processing, basic gaming, and mid-heavy applications. I did not have that experience - at all. I got the tower plugged in appropriately (a display cable is not included, but the machine has a VGA and HDMI port on it for the monitor interface) and pressed the power button. It took approximately 20 minutes to get to the initial setup screen. At that point, Windows walks the user through a few basic start-up steps including entering your Windows user ID, setting your region, and allowing certain permissions. That part of the process only took about 5 minutes to get through.
Then, I had to wait. And, wait. And, wait some more.
After what seemed like forever, the PC finally showed the home desktop, and even though I could still hear the HD being written to I decided to start by opening the web browser. By default, the internet browser on a Windows 11 machine is Edge. I’ve noticed that Edge can be a little slower than other browsers because it also loads news stories on the front page, but I’ve never experienced anything as I did with this Dell. I couldn’t even type words into the search bar.
I would type and then literally about 10 seconds later the letters would start to appear. NOTE: I was using the provided wired Dell keyboard and mouse. I was connected to the internet using our wireless network. We average download speeds of 450 Mbps and upload speeds of 25 Mbps. None of our other computers or devices were having issues so I knew it wasn’t an internet speed issue.
I tried to do a few simple navigation tasks but got very frustrated at the computer’s response time so about an hour later, I finally gave up on working with the PC and decided to go to bed.
The next morning, I had a little bit clearer head and decided to check the task manager. I thought that maybe there was a large amount of background tasks running. Keep in mind, I was not running any other applications except Task Manager when I looked at the system performance specs. The first time I captured the performance information, the memory usage was showing 4.7/7.7 GB or 61% of the total memory of the machine. CPU usage was at about 10%. I looked at the processes being performed and there were 81 background tasks being performed.
I started trying to look through the massive list of background tasks to try and eliminate some of the more intensive ones and that just became too cumbersome. Even though it’s not good to leave your system vulnerable to outside sources, I removed the McAfee applications to see if that would help with some of the system performance. I found that reduced the memory usage from 4.7GB to 3.9GB. It made a difference, but that was still 50% usage with NO APPLICATIONS RUNNING.
Next, I ran the Dell SupportAssist diagnostic utility. This app helps to troubleshoot your PC and optimize certain parts of your system. The tests showed that several updates need to be made so I installed those. After that was completed the SupportAssist app was showing that 0.10GB of drive space was reclaimed, 8 updates were installed, and 66 files were optimized. I thought that maybe I would start seeing a change in the performance, but I did not.
Before I completed gave up on the machine, I downloaded a few benchmarking apps (Geekbench, NovaBench, and CrystalDiskMark) to run some additional tests, but I used Google Chrome to do it. I still had some lag with Chrome, but it was nowhere near as bad as it was with Edge. I was at least able to type into the search bar.
Geekbench: The single-core score was 808 and the multi-core score was 2946. This is about 27% lower than the top 5 average of single-core scores for the Intel Core i3-10105, 4-core processor on Geekbench (average 1098 for single-core score), and the multi-core scores (average was 4066).
NovaBench: The average CPU score for the Intel Core i3-10105 with 8GB of RAM on NovaBench is 1016. The score for my Dell after running the NovaBench utility was 1394.
CrystalDiskMark had a read/write speed of 179 MB/s and 178.85 MB/s respectively.
It’s important to note that these benchmarks really only test the hardware functionality and where it should be operating. I don’t think there is anything wrong with the hardware of the computer. After seeing how many background tasks are running on the machine out of the box, I’m led to believe that it’s more than likely bloatware creeping its ugly head in.
As an entry-level machine, I would expect that out of the box the computer would be easy to set up and be running the internet browser at the bare minimum. Unfortunately, this Dell was not capable of doing that. Since this is an ‘entry-level’ machine, you can’t really expect that the average user of this type of computer would go to the trouble I did - or even think to take the steps I did - to try and cure the computer of its slow down issues. The only thing that I think might help is to do a clean install of the operating system and ensure that no unnecessary software packages are included with the setup. At one point, the background tasks did show over 80 tasks. I know that some basic operations of the computer are being completed, but it seems like a lot to be running when no applications (other than Task Manager) are open.
I wanted to love this compact PC tower, but the user experience was just awful for me.
No, I would not recommend this to a friend.
Features
4
Performance
2
Quality
2
Value
2
Ease of Use
5
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MagGo Magetic Portable 5K Battery with Bracket is both a charger and a stand, specifically for your MagSafe compatible iPhone 12 & 13. Using new technology, this can magnetically attach to the back of your phone, providing it a wireless charge along with a strong attachment. The battery also has a bracket that folds out, so that you can stand your phone up wherever you want.
Customer Rating
5
A convenient way to charge
on November 26, 2021
Posted by: nickcal
from Evansville, IN
The battery comes in an Anker-branded box. The front of the box is white with some blue accents including the Anker logo and the back has the model information on it. When you pull the battery out of the box, you will find it in a plastic tray that also houses the multilingual user manual and USB-C charging cable. The battery pack itself is very compact. It’s about half the size of my phone. One of the features I really love about this battery is its fold-out, magnetic kickstand. It gives you the option to be able to have a charging stand without having it be a permanent fixture on your desk. The stand is sturdy, but when the phone is connected to the battery, the entire assembly can become top-heavy and get knocked over quite easily. The battery did have a charge out of the box. There are five LED indicator lights on the bottom that show the different levels of charge on the battery as well as the charging status of the battery.
As a test, I connected my phone wirelessly to the MagGo battery and let it charge for 40 minutes. Every ten minutes, I did a status check on it to check the progress of the charge and noted the progress of the phone’s charging. After the 40 minutes had elapsed, I calculated the total percentage gained and divided that by the total number of minutes the phone was charging to get the charging rate. In this case, the overall charging rate was 0.575% per minute. The battery did warm up quite a bit after charging for that long, but it cooled down quickly.
The battery is a very convenient charging companion for the iPhone. It’s powerful, efficient and compact. It is also cost competitive with other magnetic batteries. I was definitely impressed with its performance and love how well it works with my smartphone.
Mobile Submission: False
I would recommend this to a friend!
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Life’s extraordinary moments deserve to be captured with smooth video. DJI OM 4 is a magnetic gimbal designed to complement your smartphone, allowing you to start recording right away. Ultra-compact, easy to use, and bursting with intelligent features, OM 4 is the ultimate solution for capturing and sharing your world.
Does the magnetic sticker phone attachment interfere with wireless phone charging?
Ensure meals are cooked evenly with this Breville the Combi Wave 3-in-1e microwave. The grill, convection oven and microwave functions provide a variety of cooking options, while the Element IQ technology precisely delivers the right cooking temperature for optimal results. This Breville the Combi Wave 3-in-1 microwave features a Power Smoothing inverter for automatic adjustment of power to enable even heat distribution.
Is this an air fryer, microwave and convection oven
Simplify your everyday life with the Google Home, a voice-activated speaker powered by the Google Assistant. Use voice commands to enjoy music, get answers from Google and manage everyday tasks. Google Home is compatible with Android and iOS operating systems, and can control compatible smart devices such as Chromecast or Nest."
Will Google Home work with ECOBEE Thermostat?
No. Unfortunately, Google has limited functionality to only the Nest thermostat. At this time, I don't see them opening up support for third parties as they are probably trying to push it with their own hardware, but that could always change.
8 years, 8 months ago
by
nickcal
Enjoy a compact tablet that fits neatly in your pocket with this Acer Iconia One 8-inch tablet. It includes a quad-core processor and 1GB of RAM that deliver powerful processing to play all your games and apps, and the 16GB of flash memory ensure this Acer Iconia One 8-inch tablet and store your files.
can i download skype
Depends on the Google Play store. If Microsoft has a version of Skype for Android then yes.
9 years, 1 month ago
by
nickcal