Batlacit's stats
- Review count242
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- First reviewFebruary 13, 2016
- Last reviewNovember 2, 2025
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- Average rating4.5
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- Answer count55
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- First answerSeptember 21, 2016
- Last answerJanuary 21, 2022
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Experience Tomorrow, Effortlessly: Get ready for a seismic shift in how you get things done. Seamlessly integrate AI into your everyday PC tasks, saving time, and boosting productivity. Forget sorting through endless search results. Transform how you uncover knowledge by simply asking for exactly what you need and getting tailored responses. Unlock a laptop~s full potential and experience tomorrow's innovations effortlessly today with Swift 14 AI.
Customer Rating
5
ARM on Windows Works
on September 12, 2024
Posted by: Batlacit
Most people who've followed the attempts to start offering Windows ARM based PC's will tell you that it's been a rather frustrating road so far. While on paper it makes a lot of sense to push more mobile-friendly chip architectures for laptops every time someone's actually done it the push gets done in by limited developer enthusiasm, lackluster hardware options, and less than flattering price to performance ratios. I don't know for sure if machines like the Swift 14 AI are going to be remembered as the point where that finally changed - but after spending about a week with it I've come to the conclusion that it's definitely making a good case that it can work. Right out of the box, it becomes pretty clear that the Swift 14 is aiming to provide a premium experience rather than chasing cost effectiveness above all else and it works quite well.
First, I want to talk about build quality. I've owned Acer laptops before and while I've never had many complaints, I never really considered them to be much better than "okay" in this area. The Swift 14 steps things up a fair bit. The case is sturdy, the keyboard firm, and the design has just the right mix of angles and curves. This is not something you need to worry about hauling around in a backpack or picking up fingerprints left and right. And unlike many so-called laptops, it's actually comfortable to use in your lap. The thermal management system does a great job keeping the CPU in check during normal use and it's surprisingly well balanced along the hinge - something I never really thought to look for until I realized I wasn't having to use my wrists and forearms to hold it in place when I didn't have a desk handy.
When it comes to performance... well, that does get a bit more complicated. When using apps that were optimized for the Snapdragon X Elite CPU this thing is using, it was great. They are every bit as responsive and fast as you'd expect from a premium laptop. Best of all is the fact that it didn't have to run all out to get that performance, which meant less fan noise, less heat, and better battery life. But it definitely can't match that performance when you leave the ARM sandbox. I didn't come across anything that straight up wouldn't run, but there were a lot of cases where they ran badly enough that I wouldn't want to be using them on my laptop. Gaming, obviously, was a big one - with even older titles struggling to reach 20fps. I also encountered a lot of freezing with some of my older CAD software, which I doubt is getting a native ARM version any time soon. And while it worked great with the AI features that the chip was designed for, I don't feel like there's actually much value being added in having those yet.
Now, to be clear, this isn't something that's necessarily going to be an issue forever. There's a surprisingly broad library of ARM native software all ready to go in the Windows store and it's getting larger. But it'll likely be a massive sticking point for anyone who relies heavily on legacy software that may not be getting as much support as it used to. As such even though it comes very close to being an excellent all-rounder, Right now I'd only really recommend it to people focused more on basic office productivity tasks and media consumption who need the improved portability features that come with it.
I would recommend this to a friend!
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TORRAS - MiniMag - MagSafe Portable Charger - Wireless Magnetic Power Bank - 5000mAh - Titanium Gray
Elevate your charging experience with the TORRAS MiniMag power bank. Equipped with a built-in smart NTC sensor, this innovative device meticulously regulates charging temperatures, ensuring your device charges efficiently while preserving battery health. The MiniMag is powerful and impressively compact, weighing only 4.06 ounces and packing a potent 5000mAh high-density lithium battery into a mere 0.3-inch thick profile. Experience the convenience of dual charging options with rapid 18W USB-C and 7.5W wireless capabilities, allowing you to power up your devices quickly and effectively, eliminating low battery worries. The power bank~s 13N strong magnetic power ensures a secure attachment to your device, preventing any accidental detachments even when carried in your pocket or handbag. The TORRAS MiniMag power bank is your ultimate power companion, providing a seamless, efficient, and secure charging experience wherever life takes you. Its advanced features like real-time temperature monitoring, fast charging technologies, and robust magnetic connection make it an indispensable accessory in today~s mobile world.
Customer Rating
4
Very Acceptable
on September 9, 2024
Posted by: Batlacit
As cell phones continue to get slimmer and more powerful, power banks become increasingly vital accessories. TORRAS was very much an unknown quantity for me going into this and as such I had some skepticism. After spending a few days with the MiniMag though I'm feeling pretty confident that it's well built enough for me to trust with my phone.
First up, let's discuss the pros. As the name suggests this thing is very small for how much power it has, meaning it's one of the rare designs where you can slap it onto the back of your phone without making the whole thing too thick to carry around in your pocket. Under normal circumstances I'd be a little worried this might make it too easy to bend or dent the case, which can lead to a battery fire in extreme circumstances, but there's a pretty sturdy metal frame in there which I feel confident should keep it in the right shape for most circumstances. It also holds quite firmly to the back of my case when sitting in my pocket, though I still would probably recommend avoiding depending on it if you plan to be waving the phone around as a few firm shakes are still enough to dislodge it.
There are a few downsides that might be dealbreakers I feel I should point out though. First off, the metal frame is also a halfway decent radiator. The bank gets noticeably warm after just a few minutes of charging, and can eventually get uncomfortable to hold particularly if you're using the wireless charging, which tends to kick out a lot more waste heat in general. Second, I did find that trying to charge through my phone case could be a little hit-or-miss. This didn't surprise me - it is quite thick and truthfully a lot of wireless chargers just won't work at all with the thing - but it's still far from the best wireless charging experience I've had. So if you are also a lover of chunky cases and hope that this will be the slim wireless power bank for you, you may end up disappointed. Finally it's worth noting that when they call this "slim" they really do mean it. There was no way they were fitting a USB-A plug in here, so your wired options are limited to a single USB-C port. So if you plan to use this for more than a phone, adapters will likely be required.
I would recommend this to a friend!
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Step into the world of ultimate customization with the GMMK 3, a wired gaming keyboard designed to give you complete control over your gaming performance, typing experience, and aesthetics. With over 1 billion possible configurations, this keyboard is crafted for gamers who demand precision and flexibility. The GMMK 3 features 9 points of modularity, making it incredibly easy to swap out parts and tailor the keyboard~s look, sound, and feel to your exact preferences. The innovative Modular Gasket System (MGS) allows for simple customization of the internal gaskets, offering a firmer or more flexible typing feel inspired by building blocks. A standout feature of the GMMK 3 is its programmable knob. Twist to quickly adjust your device's volume, press to play or pause media, instantly mute, or create a custom action with Glorious CORE 2.0 software, putting advanced control at your fingertips. Built to last, the GMMK 3's PBT double-shot Keycaps resist fading and shine over time, ensuring that your RGB lighting shines through with unmatched clarity. The aluminum switch plate balances firm yet flexible typing with a neutral sound profile, while also allowing for the swapping of alternative material plates to customize keystroke acoustics and haptic feedback. With 5-pin MX hotswap support, you can easily plug and play with a wide range of Glorious MX switch styles to define your GMMK 3~s typing sound and feel, all without the need for soldering. This makes it easier than ever to achieve the perfect setup for your gaming and typing needs. To top it off, the GMMK 3 is equipped with sound-dampening foam. Two layers of dense foam within the case absorb unwanted resonance, providing a satisfyingly clean acoustic profile that enhances your overall experience. Discover the world~s most customizable wired gaming keyboard with the GMMK 3, where every detail is designed to offer unparalleled flexibility and performance for gamers who settle for nothing but the best.
Customer Rating
5
A Modder's Dream
on August 24, 2024
Posted by: Batlacit
Which mechanical keyboard is the right mechanical keyboard is something that varies from person to person. Finding the right balance between ergonomics, noise level, and just general feel can take a lot of trial and error. So it's not too surprising that some have decided to build their own rather than buy something off the shelf. Glorious is one of many companies that came about trying to cater to that subset of the market. And while the GMMK 3 doesn't require you to assemble it yourself, you can still see that same mindset being applied everywhere in the product. At its core this remains a kit keyboard, with all the positives (and negatives) that come with that.
So the first question many will likely have is how good a keyboard is it. To that I have to say that it is a good keyboard. Not a great keyboard. The default lighting profile has nothing that can indicate if any of the lock keys are on or not, requiring you to go in and program one for yourself if you want that. It's got a fairly basic (if stylish) ABS case that's got some flex to it. The ABS doubleshot keycaps are very sturdy and pleasantly textured, but feel somewhat generic. And the RGB customization has some very neat preset effects showing that the hardware is capable of some very impressive light shows, but is overall fairly poorly designed and less feature rich than competing products (though it will likely end up being compatible with them, so I don't feel it's something to hold against it.) You also get a set of keycaps that can be used to quickly convert it to the Apple keyboard layout, and a toggle switch that lets you switch between Windows and MacOS modes. If the out of the box experience was all it offered, I'd say it was a solid 4 stars.
The thing is of course that what you get out of the box is not so much the full product as it is the base for whatever you want to build. The two accessory boxes contain a small toolkit, some spare parts, and some samples of different switches offered by Glorious that you can use to swap out the included lubed linear switches. If none of them fit your fancy though that's not a problem at all, as it's likely any of the various Cherry MX switches and clones will work in this chassis since they all share the same basic case design and pin layout. And actually working on the keyboard is a delight. It's held together with 8 screws hidden behind friction fit rubber feet, and comes apart very neatly. Said screws are also all threaded into metal inserts rather than plastic studs as is standard with many cheaper keyboards, meaning you should be able to disassemble it regularly without risk of breaking anything. Swapping a single switch can be accomplished in just a few minutes, with a full swap probably not requiring more than a few hours (most of which will likely be spent pulling and organizing the keycaps. Even the USB-C port is modular, and capable of being swapped out with a new one should something go wrong with the original part. It's practically begging for someone to 3D print or mill some new bespoke components for it and turn it into hands down the best keyboard that the owner has ever had.
So, in summary, it's not a keyboard for everybody but, with a little effort, can become the keyboard for anybody. If you feel like you're the kind of person to put in that effort, it's an easy recommendation.
I would recommend this to a friend!
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As the world's most customizable toolless mechanical gaming keyboard on the market, the HyperX Alloy Rise takes personalization to the next level. Not only can you hot-swap in key switches, but also magnetic top plates, badges, and more. All that customization is built onto the Alloy Rise~s solid frame and ultra-responsive 8k polling rate. Out of the box, this keyboard features pre-lubed HyperX Linear Switches rated for up to 80 million keypresses as well as pre-installed HyperX PBT Keycaps. You~ll also get an upgraded RGB experience courtesy of the ambient light sensor that auto-adjusts the brightness, 10 keyboard profiles saved directly to the keyboard, and powerful customization via HyperX NGENUITY Software. Get one step closer to your endgame with the HyperX Alloy Rise.
Customer Rating
4
Cool, stylish keyboard, but with some caveats
on July 24, 2024
Posted by: Batlacit
I'm very particular about my keyboards. I can spend ages trying to decide on one that has the right balance of weight, responsiveness, and overall feel, and oftentimes I'm forced to make compromises in at least one area to settle on one that's good enough. As such keyboards offering easily replaceable switches are quite interesting to me. And the Alloy makes a pretty good case overall for itself - but ultimately can't quite escape the compromise again.
First, I'd like to highlight the things I liked. And there are a lot. The textured keycaps, aluminum deck, and bright lighting are all a pleasure to look at and touch. The standard linear switches installed in they keyboard are very smooth and boast a light actuation pressure, making them ideal for gaming. The included key puller also makes quick work of both keycap and switch replacement, which is great for maintenance and cleaning even if you don't plan to swap out the parts.
Unfortunately, the customizability does come with some downsides too. The removable aluminum top plate in particular. Usually this part is what gives a keyboard a lot of its rigidity. Here though, it's only held onto the rest of the frame by magnets. As such it can't do anything to reinforce the frame, resulting in noticeable deck flex which can lead to it shifting around beneath your fingers if you're a fairly heavy typist (and I definitely am.) Honestly this is a baffling decision to me, as I imagine most will only change the plate once to match the rest of their rig and then never touch it again. Using screws instead of magnets would have let the plate properly reinforce the rest of the keyboard without seriously compromising on the promise of customizability.
To be clear I do think that a lot of people, particularly ones who learned not to bash on their keys like they were trying to avenge a beloved mentor who was struck down by carpal tunnel, would be just fine with the keyboard as it is. The amount of flex it displays is far from the worst I've seen. And I also think that the kind of determined DIYer who'd individually swap out keys to match their preferred typing style might be able to find some way to address it with additional reinforcement. But I don't think that's me. And as such, I can only give it a qualified recommendation.
I would recommend this to a friend!
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Jabra Elite 10 Gen 2 Bluetooth true wireless earbuds come with a Smart Case that is equipped with an advanced chip that provides seamless audio streaming from a treadmill, television, or the in-flight entertainment system on a plane. Plug case into 3.5mm or USB-C jack to stream content wirelessly to your earbuds to enjoy spatial sound powered by Dolby Audio. For the first time, revolutionary Jabra ComfortFit technology has been combined with Spatial Sound and Dolby Head Tracking, providing a more immersive Dolby Atmos experience to create the clear-sounding earbuds that you can comfortably wear all day without ear fatigue. Complete with 10mm speakers, you can immerse yourself in rich, life-like sound that puts you right inside your favorite tracks. We scanned over 62k ears to create our unique oval EarGels that sculpt to every ear shape, and a semi-open design that relieves any pressure. Tune out unwanted background noise at the gym with our Active Noise Cancellation technology, experience IP57 durability, and connect the earbuds to two devices at once for super simple switching. Don~t get caught without charge again with up to 36 hours (ANC off) of battery life that lasts throughout the day. When your buds run out of juice, simply pop them into the wireless charging case for a fast charge of 1 hour worth of battery in 5 mins. Experience Low Energy Audio and stream pristine audio to multiple pairs of earbuds for easy sharing or tune into public broadcasts.
Customer Rating
5
Another Excellent Offering From Jabra
on July 24, 2024
Posted by: Batlacit
It's easy to overlook Jabra. They don't have the same brand identity as more trendy offerings from Apple or Google. Nor do they have the long history of companies like Bose. But they've spent the last few years doing their best to make a compelling case for why that would be a mistake. Because while those big names tend to be content releasing a product and then leaving it alone for the next five or ten years, Jabra is constantly pushing the envelope with new products sporting new features. The second generation Elite 10 exemplifies this by including a feature I didn't expect to ever see in earbuds: support for Dolby Atmos.
Of course it has to be said that Dolby decoding doesn't mean much if the base package isn't capable. This decidedly is. Jabra earbuds generally do a very good job of presenting excellent and highly tunable audio while simultaneously allowing however much ambient sound in as you want. The Elite 10 continues this trend. Between the noise cancelling and the design for the earbuds they do a great job blocking out ambient noise, and the pass through audio is quite clear considering. I also didn't really notice any pressure building in my ear canals with the noise cancellation engaged - something that made a set of Bose earphones I'd previously used borderline intolerable to use for more than brief stints.
Speaking of comfort, the Elite 10 score fairly well there as well. The earbuds are a little on the large and heavy side compared to some earbuds, but once I'd adjusted the ear cushions I found it to be acceptable. There are four different sizes of cushions in the box that should cover most adult ears. Likewise the charging case/receiver is one of the larger ones I've seen for wireless earbuds in a while, but is still pocketable. Personally I found this to be an acceptable tradeoff given the added features it enables, but it may be a bit offputting for anyone looking for something small and light to use as their daily carry.
Finally, let's talk about those features. The Atmos processing here is rather interesting. Rather than trying to recreate the experience of having multiple speakers around the room, the earbuds incorporate head tracking to move the sound around you. I can't say it's entirely comparable to traditional surround sound, but it's certainly a step up from the typical earbud experience when it comes to immersion. The only downside is that support for it is a bit hit or miss. Using the case as a receiver by plugging it into an audio source seems to be the most reliable option - the software on my phone and computer is a lot more hit or miss.
Ultimately, I would recommend these earbuds to almost everyone. But probably more for all the other features, rather than the more limited Atmos support. The core tech here is what really sets them apart.
I would recommend this to a friend!
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The K30 is a fun, children's drone based featuring a bionic design that combines beauty and protection with customizable and colorful lighting. The aircraft is equipped with a 720P camera, which can record the flight from a first-person perspective. The downward vision sensor makes the flight more stable.
Customer Rating
4
Very Capable Beginner Drone
on July 16, 2024
Posted by: Batlacit
Cheap drones are a dime a dozen these days. Good drones are a bit less common, but nonetheless fairly easy to find assuming you're willing to pay the price for it. Finding a good cheap drone, however, is extremely difficult. As such the K30 stands out from the pack, even though the spec sheet for it may not immediately grab your attention. It's a great starter drone for a young (or just young at heart) pilot to learn on that won't necessarily break the bank in the event on an accident.
Flying the K30 is refreshingly straightforward, if not exactly effortless. It's not particularly powerful, meaning you absolutely do not want to fly it in heavy winds, but it's responsive and at times even nimble. One of the first things that you might notice when looking at the drone is a variety of features typically associated with higher end drones such as automatic takeoff and landings, gestures, voice control, automated flight paths, and so forth. I can confirm that these are all technically present. None of them, however, are what I'd call fully reliable. A drone this light just isn't going to be able to carry the compute and sensors needed to run a capable autopilot or AI powered image recognition. So instead you get something that's more like an assistant, lending a hand to a pilot who's still expected to do most of the work manually. For someone who's just starting out I'd actually consider this a positive. One of the issues with starting out with the kind of drones available from DJI or the like is that they assume so much of the work of flying that you won't necessarily learn the fundamentals required for manual control. The K30 more or less forces you to learn how to fly a quadcopter by being slightly fidgety, and yet still does enough work to make a serious disaster far less likely than it would be with a fully manual drone.
As far as the camera performance goes, I'd say it's passable. Images and video look fairly comparable to a webcam. There's no on board storage either, so you'll absolutely need to have a phone connected to it if you want the drone to be anything more than an aircraft. The software for this works fine - when it works at all. Unfortunately it's rather inelegantly put together. Getting it to talk to the drone at all requires you to go through a somewhat annoying process where you need to join the drone's unsecured WiFi network, turn off your mobile data, launch the Snaptain app, find the correct drone model, and then finally launch the control panel. Forgetting any of these steps or doing it out of order will stop the app from working, which was more than a little annoying. Once you're in though I have to say it's almost annoyingly capable, with plenty of advanced features enabled by the more powerful processor of your phone becoming available. If it only was a little less involved to get it running I'd actually recommend it, but as it stands it's my biggest complaint about the whole thing.
Ultimately though, I think most will still be able to live with the less than stellar app and grainy camera. I don't see this as anyone's endgame. It is a first step to bigger and better things - something you can crash into trees a dozen times as you learn to fly so that you don't crash a much more expensive device later.
I would recommend this to a friend!
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The SwannBuddy4K is a full-featured, easy-to-install wireless 4K video doorbell & chime unit. It can operate 100% wire-free with the rechargeable battery or connect to your existing doorbell wiring. See every detail with head-to-toe view and a super-wide 165~ viewing angle. True Detect senses heat & movement for reliable alerts. See in the dark up to 16ft or 5m with powerful infrared night vision & save 1000~s of clips locally. It~s security you can trust & fee free.
Customer Rating
4
Highly flexible - but best for a permanent install
on July 10, 2024
Posted by: Batlacit
The Swann Buddy 4K is clearly not designed by anyone who believes in compromise. Name any feature that one might look for in a doorbell and this thing probably has it. I'm pretty sure it could work in just about any setting and for almost any job - which ironically proved to be both its greatest strength and its greatest weakness.
As a security camera, the Buddy 4K is probably one of the best I've come across so far. The images captured are sharp in a variety of light levels. Motion/heat/object detection is remarkably comprehensive, though admittedly I did find it necessary to increase sensitivity from where it's set out of the box. And the fact that it has local storage which doesn't require you to pay a monthly access fee to view any recordings is frankly almost worth the price of admission all on its own. The intercom features are likewise quite good by intercom standards, though admittedly audio quality can leave a little to be desired at times. And it makes a very effective doorbell regardless of if you use the included wireless ringer or wire it into a more traditional chime. It also comes with a host of extras and options for mounting and deterrents, so no matter how unusual your setup may be odds are it'll still be possible to get it installed.
This, unfortunately, is a good segue into some of the downsides of the Buddy. Most of which stem from one simple fact: adding in all these features requires a lot of room and power. Smart doorbells are often a little on the bulky side, so I wasn't entirely surprised to see how big the Swann was, but it proved surprisingly tricky to get mounted compared to some of the others I've tried. In my case there were two places I needed a doorbell: the front door where a button was already wired in and the side patio where people and wildlife can often stop by for a visit. The doorbell ended up making the decision for me where it would go simply because it was too wide to mount in the place of the conventional buzzer in the front unless I was willing to cut into some siding, pull new wire, and reseal the original hole. While it's true that no video doorbell can really claim to be compact, there are many that offer more clever mounting solutions to help deal with the added bulk. Once it was mounted though and I had it paired to the smartphone app I discovered the second issue: power. Simply put, producing 4K recordings takes up quite a lot of it. I definitely have some concerns about how long it can realistically go between charging sessions, which normally I wouldn't mind much but in this case getting it on and off the bracket (which requires the doorbell be screwed in) is enough of a hassle that it gives me pause. It's also not helped by the fact that the app experience can be more than a little sluggish, which I suspect is in part due to how much processing power must be required to run everything on the doorbell side.
While these problems were somewhat annoying though, ultimately I don't view them as dealbreakers. Getting it wired into the existing transformer, for example, would immediately address my concerns over battery life (and spare me from having to keep feeding AAs into the wireless ringer.) And in the week I've spent with it I've already gotten two firmware updates which did noticeably improve the doorbell's performance, so clearly the developers are still working hard to fix it. Add in the increasingly rare ability to produce local recordings and the Swann Buddy becomes an easy recommendation for someone who's got the time and/or architecture to put it to full use.
I would recommend this to a friend!
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Dive headfirst into one of the best gaming laptop experiences on Windows 11. The ROG Zephyrus G16 packs a 10-core Intel Core i7-13620H CPU and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 GPU into a super thin gaming laptop. Enjoy a fast 165Hz refresh rate, 16GB of RAM, and 512 GB of PCIe 4.0 SSD storage all wrapped in a light 4.41 lbs chassis. The future is thin and light.
Customer Rating
5
Top Tier Ultraportable
on June 19, 2024
Posted by: Batlacit
The G16 continues the Zephyrus line's reputation for providing top tier gaming experiences in ultraportable form factors. And while this model may not be boasting the most modern hardware available at this time, it remains a stellar option for anyone looking for something that can seamlessly switch between gaming on the go or providing a powerful portable workstation.
The styling of the G16 is what I'd describe as stealthy. While there's plenty of RGB and aggressive angles to call it out as a gaming laptop, ASUS has kept most of it inside the clamshell. With the lighting disabled or set to a static color one would be hard pressed to tell it apart from any number of premium laptop designs. I find this understated look works very well for it, as it lets the excellent lighted keyboard shine without getting drowned out by the typical gamer bling. Under the hood though it's a bit less subtle. With a bright red PCB and ample space to load it up with further storage and RAM, there's plenty of room to grow with future upgrades. You also have direct access to the cooling fans, which can greatly simplify ongoing maintenance. And a generous selection of ports (most of them arrayed on the left side, which admittedly does take some getting used to) rounds things out. Apart from a few screws hidden behind rubber stoppers I found very little to complain about when it comes to overall build quality or aesthetics.
Performance is just as impressive. The combination of the Core i7 and RTX4070 makes for a spectacular gaming experience, helped in no small part by the vibrant and very responsive display. It may lack the vibrancy and extreme resolution of the latest OLED panels, but I honestly can't say that I missed either. Honestly for a 16" laptop a 4K or even 2K panel is almost wasted, as it's almost impossible to tell the difference unless doing a side by side comparison. And limited to FHD resolution as it is means that the 4070 doesn't need to stress itself too much to achieve an acceptable framerate in most games, which is definitely a good thing as it gets remarkably hot when going all out. Battery life is also significantly better than I expected. Engaging the GPU will wipe it out almost immediately, which is more or less unavoidable with laptops, but in low power mode it can easily go six hours or more doing normal productivity tasks. This is admittedly becoming a bit more common in gaming laptops, but has still yet to become the norm and as such definitely makes the G16 stand out a bit.
All in all this is an easy recommendation for anyone looking for a gaming laptop. It is a premium device to be sure - but if you can afford it you'll likely find the premium experience to be worth the price tag.
I would recommend this to a friend!
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Introducing BRAVIA Theater Quad, our flagship home theater surround sound system that brings movies to life. With a revolutionary design that compliments your space, 16 total speakers and 360 Spatial Sound Mapping, any space becomes the movie theater with pin-point surround sound from every corner of the room. And get heart pounding bass with optional wireless subwoofer.
Customer Rating
5
Immersive soundbar alternative
on June 8, 2024
Posted by: Batlacit
The BRAVIA Theater Quad almost feels like it's trying to make a statement. Possibly "more speakers are the best speakers." Rejecting the conventional design of the day where a large soundbar is paired with multiple small satellites in favor of four giant satellites, it's a striking addition to any room. But the aesthetics wouldn't matter much if it didn't work - and it certainly does. Getting it to work for you, however, will definitely require some pre-planning.
Usually, I'd start by listing things the system does particularly well. In this case, however, i feel it's more important to lead with the biggest downside. The quad speaker arrangement offers significant flexibility in terms of installation, but comes at the cost of many, many cords. Each speaker box, which is essentially a soundbar unto itself, has its own power cord, as does the controller box connected to your TV. It made getting it set up a significant challenge, particularly since the hookup for the controller box required a large wall wart rather than the slimmer two prong cables the rest of the speakers use. If the room you intend to use it in doesn't have lots of outlets located in convenient places, I don't think this is a good sound system to be considering compared to similarly performing options that can get by with just two or three cords that are likely going to be significantly easier to hide.
If that doesn't dissuade you though... man, this thing is GOOD.
With a total of sixteen discrete channels for surround sound, the level of immersion this system can achieve is second only to a modern Atmos equipped theater auditorium. My setup was basically a sound system torture test. The room it's in is irregularly shaped, giving it tons of inconvenient obstructions and places for sound to reflect off of surfaces in odd ways. I've tried surround sound systems there before and always had, at best, qualified successes. This one barely seemed bothered. After a brief round of setup and calibration in the app (almost all of which was automated) it launched into a demo that put me right into the middle of a jungle where I could close my eyes and hear birds and animals moving all around me with no distinguishable dropouts or deviations. I don't know if it's AI, good engineering, or just a ton of processing power at work, but it does its job.
I also do have to commend Sony for thinking about extras. In the box you get a full kit for wall mounting the speakers if you don't have the furniture to use the included stands, a spare HDMI cable in case you need to use the controller box as a passthrough, and a decent little remote which you'll probably never need to use once you get CEC set up. The speakers also support just about every surround sound standard out there and seem very capable of automatically detecting which one it should use. There are a lot of functions locked behind the app, which I know some people find to be annoying, but overall I found that the app was well designed and only occasionally needed to be used for fine adjustment. If you're a bass fan though you might be a little annoyed to learn that Sony declined to include a subwoofer in the set - requiring you to purchase a separate compatible unit if you want to get the full theatrical sound experience (and find yet another outlet to power it.) But there are at least multiple options to choose from, allowing the system to be a bit more flexible than most theaters in a box options. Just be aware that the flexibility doesn't extend to the satellites themselves - each one is designed for a specific part of your room, and will need to be placed properly for the calibration to work.
While the wiring issues make it hard to recommend the Quad to everyone, I do think there are a lot of good use cases for this. I can see it doing very well with a minimalist home theater setup using a projector or thin wall mounted OLED where the bulk of a soundbar wouldn't fit, a basement game room conversion where outlets could be placed in the ceilings or walls specifically for the speakers to use, or a living room where you need something that can blend in better than most of the black boxes on the market. So long as you go into it prepared to accommodate its unusual requirements, you can look forward to a very impressive soundscape.
I would recommend this to a friend!
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Designed for home use, the Canon PIXMA TS9521Ca All-in-One inkjet printer delivers high-quality printing and outstanding wireless~ connectivity in a compact size. The PIXMA TS9521Ca is easy to set up and maintain and offers great media versatility to print on a variety of media types and sizes, including photo paper, envelopes, borderless photos~, banners and more. Use Poster Artist Online~ to create professional-posters, banners and signage. Produce crisp, colorful documents and photos quickly and cost-effectively with fast print speeds. Keep printing with a plain paper capacity of up to 100 sheets in the bottom cassette, 100 sheets in the rear tray and 20 sheets in the auto document feeder. Easily connect and print through high-speed USB or wirelessly from computers or mobile devices, and also print from your compatible mobile devices using the free Canon PRINT app~, Apple AirPrint~, and Mopria Print Service~. This comes with a 1-year limited warranty~ and is backed by Canon's Service and Support network.
Customer Rating
5
A Print Shop For The Home
on May 23, 2024
Posted by: Batlacit
On the box this printer came in Canon proudly declares it to be “the crafter’s all-in-one.” After spending a few days with it I can confirm that there’s a lot here for someone into DIY crafting to love, but with some caveats potential buyers should be aware of.
At first glance the TS9521Ca could easily be mistaken for any Canon all-in-one inkjet. It takes up surprisingly little space given the size of the media it’s designed to handle, owing largely to the fact that the large rear paper tray can be slid invisibly into the main body of the printer when not in use. The design has the typical Canon hallmarks as well, with lots of gentle curves, matte finishes, and hidden mechanisms designed to keep it from looking overly industrial. Most of the setup process involved finding all the places they’d secured panels and moving parts with tape before plugging it in – once that was done going through the initial calibration process and getting it added to my home network via push-button WPS only required a few minutes and two sheets of printing paper. No special drivers or utilities were needed on my PC or phone to start using the printer, though they are of course available for anyone who wants them.
At this point the TS9521Ca was able to show it was a very capable little multifunction inkjet. I’ve always found Canons to be very precise printers that do an excellent job splitting the difference between photos and documents, and this was no exception. Photos came out crisp and colorful, while text was sharp and thanks to the two separate ink cartridges I didn’t need to worry about using up ink for photos later. Operation was reasonably silent even without turning on the noise control. And borderless prints worked just about perfectly. Even scanning from the printer, often a deeply kludgey job, was made relatively painless with the option to send the scan directly to the cloud storage account of my choice rather than one of the many devices on my home network. Once the back tray came out through, things got a bit wilder.
I do have to give Canon credit here: They’ve stuffed just about every feature I think a DIY enthusiast might think to ask for and a few they probably wouldn’t – like a specialized tray for printing directly onto printable optical media. By default though no one will likely notice until it’s needed. The rear tray, which seems to be capable of handling paper as wide as 12”, unfolds in several segments to let it be however tall it needs to be for poster prints and the CD/DVD tray is very cleverly latched into a hidden compartment beneath the main paper cassette. This does have some downsides though. There are an abundance of small panels and trays that need to be flipped into the right position for less common printer modes and I found it very quick to chastise you for getting one of them in the wrong position but less forthcoming about explaining what’s wrong. Early on in one of my prints for example I accidentally flipped down the access door where you’re meant to feed in the optical media cassette and was told that the tray was missing, which led to a few minutes of fruitlessly removing and reinserting the main cassette before I noticed my mistake. Likewise it took a little trial and error to figure out that a transparent flap in the rear paper tray needed to be dropped down after loading before the printer would begin feeding paper from it. These are definitely minor annoyances, and I suspect most people doing the kind of projects this printer was clearly made for would be able to work them out as I did, but it certainly does make it clear that the designers prioritized offering a broad range of functionality over overall user-friendliness.
As far as how it performs doing these less conventional prints – again I found it excelled. While finding somewhere that actually had 11x17 “tabloid” sized paper in stock proved a little tricky, I was eventually able to track down someone with a single very dusty box of photo paper in their inventory and printed some absolutely gorgeous poster sized maps that I’d be happy to hang on my wall. It’s certainly not something I’d want to be doing every day – by the fourth page I’d managed to completely drain one of the ink cartridges, and when I swapped it out mid-print it restarted the job from the beginning and managed to drain two more before it was finished. I feel like this would have been a great candidate for using ink tanks rather than replaceable carts, or at the very least should have shipped with the optional XXL tanks in the box because having to replace ink carts less than a week after getting a printer seems borderline absurd. But given that I’ve yet to see an ink tank printer that doesn’t have some issues with color accuracy I suppose this might be the best compromise available for the moment.
The rate at which it consumes ink does complicate my thoughts on who I’d recommend this to, though. For a long time my printers saw extremely heavy use, to the point that I was used to replacing ink carts multiple times a year. These days though, I will often go long periods without printing and then do a bunch of really big projects so replacing carts once a year is a bit more typical. And when I did need to do large format printing, I’d go to the print shop. When I add everything up here, I discovered that doing large format printing from home probably doesn’t stand to save me much money unless I plan to do enough of it to justify buying a lot more of the paper and the largest ink cartridges available. Which leads me to think that this perhaps isn’t so much the printer for the occasional crafter looking to make posters for their kids or print out battle maps for a D&D session so much as it is the printer for the person selling posters on their personally Etsy store. If that is you, though, I think you might be very pleased with the TS9521Ca.
I would recommend this to a friend!
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Extend your PC~s RGB lighting with the CORSAIR iCUE LT100 Smart Lighting Towers Starter Kit, part of the iCUE Smart Lighting Ecosystem. 92 RGB LEDs light up your room with ambient lighting that dynamically integrates with your games and media for a truly immersive experience. Cycle through 11 lighting profiles out of the box with push-button control or connect to CORSAIR iCUE software to synchronize your RGB lighting effects across all compatible CORSAIR devices in your system and all external iCUE Smart Lighting devices. The Starter Kit includes two lighting towers with 46 customizable LEDs each, housed in light-diffusing casing that softens and blends light. With an included removable headset holder, LT100 Smart Lighting Towers add convenient, versatile, and stunning RGB lighting to any setup.
how tall are they
Per the spec sheet they're 422mm tall - the headphone holder adds about two millimeters to whichever one you stick it to. In more practical terms, they're just about exactly as tall as a 32" LCD (not including the stand.)
4 years ago
by
Batlacit
Meet the Ninja Foodi 14-in-1 6.5qt. Pressure Cooker Steam Fryer with SmartLid. The pressure cooker that steams and crisps. SmartLid slider unlocks pressure cooking, air frying, and Steamcrisping - all under one SmartLid. SteamCrisp Technology steams and crisps at the same time for faster, juicier, crispier results*. 14 one-touch programs unlock even more versatility. (*Vs. Ninja Foodi OL501 in dry mode only)
Does this model have hands free pressure release when pressure cooking timer is done, or do you have to manually release steam after pressure cooking?
You do need to manually toggle the valve. That said, it's very well designed to keep your hands free of any steam that might escape in the process.
4 years ago
by
Batlacit
The new Alienware x17 is super thin, extremely light laptop . Now~s your chance to game with gear that knows no boundaries. The Alienware x17 gaming laptops with advanced Alienware Cryo-Tech~ cooling defy boundaries. Introducing Element 31 thermal interface material and a Quad-Fan Design. We are incorporating more fan blades, more copper materials, and vapor chambers to deliver ample power while dissipating the heat more efficiently and allowing the fans to run less resulting in reduced noise. The x17 features five tailored power states, and grants access to thousands of games with Windows. Alienware laptops will bring your favorite games into hyper-reality with Windows DirectX 12 Ultimate. Constructed with magnesium alloy and aluminum parts gamers can experience the evolved Legend Industrial Design that reimagines the way you game. The Alienware x17 is equipped with 11th Gen Intel processors, has more storage options with dual drives featuring SSD and includes powerful NVIDIA~ GeForce~ RTX 30-series discrete graphics.
Can you please give me an idea of what is the most recent AAA game can this laptop play?. I'd love to get an idea of what I am going to expect when purchasing this laptop! like, can it play Deathloop? or perhaps Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart for example?.
It can play Cyberpunk 2077 on Psycho (at least while plugged in.)
4 years ago
by
Batlacit
The new Alienware x17 is super thin, extremely light laptop . Now~s your chance to game with gear that knows no boundaries. The Alienware x17 gaming laptops with advanced Alienware Cryo-Tech~ cooling defy boundaries. Introducing Element 31 thermal interface material and a Quad-Fan Design. We are incorporating more fan blades, more copper materials, and vapor chambers to deliver ample power while dissipating the heat more efficiently and allowing the fans to run less resulting in reduced noise. The x17 features five tailored power states, and grants access to thousands of games with Windows. Alienware laptops will bring your favorite games into hyper-reality with Windows DirectX 12 Ultimate. Constructed with magnesium alloy and aluminum parts gamers can experience the evolved Legend Industrial Design that reimagines the way you game. The Alienware x17 is equipped with 11th Gen Intel processors, has more storage options with dual drives featuring SSD and includes powerful NVIDIA~ GeForce~ RTX 30-series discrete graphics.
Please confirm if this specific model that is available for sale comes with the standard four zone RGB keyboard or the per key RGB keyboard?
The new Alienware x17 is super thin, extremely light laptop . Now~s your chance to game with gear that knows no boundaries. The Alienware x17 gaming laptops with advanced Alienware Cryo-Tech~ cooling defy boundaries. Introducing Element 31 thermal interface material and a Quad-Fan Design. We are incorporating more fan blades, more copper materials, and vapor chambers to deliver ample power while dissipating the heat more efficiently and allowing the fans to run less resulting in reduced noise. The x17 features five tailored power states, and grants access to thousands of games with Windows. Alienware laptops will bring your favorite games into hyper-reality with Windows DirectX 12 Ultimate. Constructed with magnesium alloy and aluminum parts gamers can experience the evolved Legend Industrial Design that reimagines the way you game. The Alienware x17 is equipped with 11th Gen Intel processors, has more storage options with dual drives featuring SSD and includes powerful NVIDIA~ GeForce~ RTX 30-series discrete graphics.
Internal disc drive or is an external needed
No internal optical drive - pretty much everyone's started phasing them out at this point.
4 years ago
by
Batlacit
The new Alienware x17 is super thin, extremely light laptop . Now~s your chance to game with gear that knows no boundaries. The Alienware x17 gaming laptops with advanced Alienware Cryo-Tech~ cooling defy boundaries. Introducing Element 31 thermal interface material and a Quad-Fan Design. We are incorporating more fan blades, more copper materials, and vapor chambers to deliver ample power while dissipating the heat more efficiently and allowing the fans to run less resulting in reduced noise. The x17 features five tailored power states, and grants access to thousands of games with Windows. Alienware laptops will bring your favorite games into hyper-reality with Windows DirectX 12 Ultimate. Constructed with magnesium alloy and aluminum parts gamers can experience the evolved Legend Industrial Design that reimagines the way you game. The Alienware x17 is equipped with 11th Gen Intel processors, has more storage options with dual drives featuring SSD and includes powerful NVIDIA~ GeForce~ RTX 30-series discrete graphics.
Will the 1TB SSD be a Gen3 or a Gen4?
It uses PCIe 4.0. The drive that's included isn't the fastest I've seen, but it'll handily beat any of the last generation NVMe drives.
4 years ago
by
Batlacit
The new Alienware x17 is super thin, extremely light laptop . Now~s your chance to game with gear that knows no boundaries. The Alienware x17 gaming laptops with advanced Alienware Cryo-Tech~ cooling defy boundaries. Introducing Element 31 thermal interface material and a Quad-Fan Design. We are incorporating more fan blades, more copper materials, and vapor chambers to deliver ample power while dissipating the heat more efficiently and allowing the fans to run less resulting in reduced noise. The x17 features five tailored power states, and grants access to thousands of games with Windows. Alienware laptops will bring your favorite games into hyper-reality with Windows DirectX 12 Ultimate. Constructed with magnesium alloy and aluminum parts gamers can experience the evolved Legend Industrial Design that reimagines the way you game. The Alienware x17 is equipped with 11th Gen Intel processors, has more storage options with dual drives featuring SSD and includes powerful NVIDIA~ GeForce~ RTX 30-series discrete graphics.
I recently purchased this laptop. It came with windows 10 preinstalled. The product description tells that it has windows 11. Does that mean that I have to wait for the windows 11 update. Or is there an issue with my laptop
That'll depend on what date your laptop was manufactured. As of mid-October the factories aren't set up to load Windows 11 on new units yet, so they're shipping ones with Windows 10 with the keys needed to get the free update ASAP. Windows 11 is having something of a staggered rollout, with certain models getting the upgrade ahead of others. That said the one I received on 10/12 got the option to update within a day, so you might just need to check Windows Update to confirm that you actually want it.
4 years ago
by
Batlacit
The Shark AI Ultra Robot Vacuum combines powerful vacuuming with Matrix Clean Navigation, leaving no spots missed for an ultra whole-home clean. Features include: powerful Shark suction power, Matrix Clean Navigation for a deeper cleaning, HEPA 60-day capacity base for collecting and trapping dust and allergens, and CleanEdge Technology for better edge cleaning.
WOW Awesome Can you please help me with what is the actual run time. Confuse with below- Up to 120 minutes of runtime for whole-home cleaning. And with Recharge and Resume, the robot will return to the dock, recharge, and can pick up where it left off
120 minutes is how much you might be able to get under optimal conditions assuming a battery that's close to brand new, a wide open room with nothing for the robot to get stuck on, and a floor that's already clean enough that it doesn't need to ramp up the suction for targeted cleaning. In other words, it's probably more than you'll get in day to day use. I wouldn't be that concerned about it though. The biggest advantage to having a robot with active navigation like this is that it knows where it was when it ran out of battery. So when it gets low it stops, returns to its dock, then picks up where it left off once it's gotten enough charge to finish the job. So long as it doesn't end up cut off from its charging base by a closed door or the like, it can stick with a cleaning job more or less indefinitely.
4 years, 1 month ago
by
Batlacit
Stream Deck gives you 15 LCD keys to control your apps and tools. Trigger actions, launch social posts, adjust audio, play sound clips, activate lights, and much more. Get visual feedback to confirm your commands. Set Stream Deck to automatically switch key configurations as you jump between apps. It~s the ultimate workflow hack, and it~s fully customizable. Personalize your Stream Deck with custom icons, screensavers, and a growing range of interchangeable faceplates. Use the app to configure keys with ease, and hit the Stream Deck Store for app plugins, icon packs, thousands of royalty free tracks, effects, and more.
Elgato's website is pretty terrible. No real info and only list one model with no model number listed anywhere. What's different about this one versus the KAA model?
In terms of functionality it's pretty much identical. They've adopted a slightly different design for the stand which makes the whole thing look a bit more streamlined, added the option to remove and replace the faceplate for increased customization, and modernized the USB interface. I'd say it's more like a refresh of the original aimed at extending the product's lifespan than a wholly new device.
4 years, 3 months ago
by
Batlacit
Explore realistic 3D audio with sound precisely projected from above, in front, behind and to the side of you with the latest acoustic technologies.
What does this new 850A do that the 2020 year 950T cannot? Would this 850A be the big brother to the 950T or does the 950T provide a better sound experience since it it is a 9.1.4 system. I too am tossed which one to purchase.
The 950 is the next model up from the 850 - even with the 850A being newer it can't compete with a system that's got 6 additional channels to play with. You'll be better up with last year's 950 model.
4 years, 4 months ago
by
Batlacit