Some Very Nice Capabilities, Some Significant Weaknesses
931163
I used MasterCook to build a family favorites cookbook about 10 years ago.  Had a good time doing it, but was looking for a software program that would simplify inputting ingredients and directions.  I've used Living Cookbook for about 6 months.  Here's my impression.
1. Ingredients variety is very broad, for example permitting differentiating between 85% and 70% lean ground beef.  But it either misses ingredients or has them classified in a counter-intuitive fashion.  For example, it doesn't know what oxtails are.
2. It's nutritional analysis tool is excellent, even assigning weight-watchers points to recipes.  And because the ingredients selection is so granular it's easy to see the impact of 85% lean ground beef vs. 70% lean to the calories of a recipe.
3. It accommodates cut&paste of ingredients and directions from other documents.  However its error rate is higher than  acceptable, particularly on PDF documents.
4. The screen font for inputting ingredients and directions is TINY!!!  (I have not found a way to enlarge the type.)  Proofreading while in the inputting mode is very difficult (aka maddening!).
5. Finally, the ability to export a cookbook to a Word document or PDF makes it easy to share them with others or transfer them to a tablet.
Overall, it's a decent product.  But, its idiosyncrasies keep it from being a real pleasure to use.
2303037
NICE FEATURE, SEXY, NICE LADIES, PERFECT BODIES, NICE ACTION,BUT...WITH WEAKNESSES.  NEVERTHELESS, IT IS A HOT VIDEO WORTHBUYING...
4259152
It really is a nice, solid unit with a good heavy feel to it (I don't believe they padded it!), a responsive, light-touch screen and a tolerable battery life (6-8 hours of solid use). Well done Viewsonic - this is an iPad amongst aPads!

The stock software though is disappointing. It is natural with an Android pad to want the official Android market and full synchronisation with everything on Google such as contacts and calendars. None of this was possible- the user was locked out.

Heart in my mouth I flashed the ROM (I had "bricked" an earlier pad). The ROM I picked was the Vegan ROM. All went well and I have a completely new machine. The support for the gTablet is excellent on the XDA Developers site.

With the new ROM all seems possible including tethering, through Bluetooth, to my mobile phone. I have Internet on my tablet wherever I have 3G on my phone.

Really it's a 5 star but 4 given all this hassle.
2649888
This watch has a great feature set and performs as advertised in nearly every respect, but the poor implementation of two key functions hampers its overall performance.

First the good: Great "tactical"-style looks; plenty of useful GPS, timekeeping and other data at hand -- including sunrises; sunsets; moonrises and moonsets -- and tide data. The main timekeeping screen is very well designed with large numbers and other information. A cycling outer ring of notches enables you to track the passage of seconds at a glance, the way you would with an analogue sweep hand. Wears comfortably but it is a very large watch, the kind that can make it difficult to get in and out of your winter coat. I also like that it has a vibrate alarm, which means no need for an electronic chirp if you don't want one.

Now the bad: I wanted a GPS watch to track the routes, times, paces and other data for walks and bike rides. The Tactix does so fine when it finds its satellite signal, but it can take 10 minutes, 15 minutes or longer to actually lock on. This means that if you start the GPS when you walk out the door, the time it spends hunting for a signal means it may not be recording that early portion of your walk or ride. If you want accurate data about your route and pace, which is the whole purpose of spending the money for this kind of watch, that delay in finding a GPS signal undercuts the whole point, and you wind up guesstimating instead of measuring.

Compounding this problem is that the watch's software automatically resumes your last track when you start the GPS. Let's say you went for a walk on Monday, came home, stopped the GPS and recorded your distance and pace, etc. When you start the GPS for your walk on Tuesday, it begins adding your distance and pace to the previous track. You can stop and clear tracks between the times you use the watch, but not everyone will think of that every time. The default mode should clear track data when a user opts to stop the GPS.

The GPS signal lag might not be a big deal if you plan to take this watch on multi-day hikes or you're most interested in its navigation features, which include a compass and the ability to find waypoints or track back to your starting point. But if you're considering using it as an everyday companion for running, for example, another dedicated fitness watch or device would probably work better.
1616210
Overall, I was impressed with this unit.  In a compact rugged form, it has many of the features I would have expected from a much more expensive enterprise unit.  And, these features can be easily configured via the included admin web interface or using the command line.  I am going to focus upon the web interface.

NOTE: Included in the box are a quickstart manual, 3 international power cables, a rack mount bracket. No ethernet cables or console port cable were included. You need to go to the startech website to download the manual.

To admin the unit, connect an Ethernet cable to any port (not the console port) and setup your PC to be 192.168.2.x with a net mask of 255.255.255.0 where x is not equal to 1.  The default login is admin with a blank password.  This can be changed once you access the unit the first time.

Once you are logged in, the first thing to change is to disable the ability to use telnet for admin activities.  To alter this, open menus underneath Configuration until you locate Authentication Method Configuration.  Then, select None from the telnet dropdown and click the Save button.

One thing that impressed me was that this unit has context sensitive help.  The help button is on the right-most top.

The only thing I did not appreciate about the unit was that the menu kept jumping back to the top of the webpage every time you open an item.  This was a little aggravating when you were down in the Monitor section which is towards the bottom of the menus.  Not a deal breaker, but just a little clunky.

The true advantages were the enterprise features:

1. Ability to setup jumbo frames, on a per port basis.
2. Ability to setup LACP, so that you can aggregate the bandwidth of ports together.
3. Ability to enable loop protection.
4. Ability to IPv4 or IPv6 ping without having to drop to the command line.
5. Ability to mirror port traffic (inbound, outbound, or both) to a mirror port.  Great for debugging!
6. Ability to enable MAC port security, on a per port basis.
7. Ability to define VLANs and VLAN tagging, on a per port basis.

We have some fiber channel cards I pulled out of some old servers.  So, Im excited to test the SFP ports later in the week, once I get the card in the server and configured.  The managed switch also had some other nice features such as the ability to dim the LED brightness and the ability to define multiple admin accounts (and also limit their admin access to only certain functions or monitoring).
3813674
Pros:  *Does what it does exceptionally well.  *Attractive  *Solid keyboard and mouse  *Runs at 1920x1080 (1080P) without breaking a sweat.  *i3 + 4 GB RAM  *Lite, no-nonsense OS and upgradeable RAM ensures hardware will remain usable and relevant for years to come.

Cons: *Asus tech support is terrible.  *Power save features need work (more below).  *Power button itself is bit difficult to actuate.

Other Thoughts:  I wanted to surf and e-mail on my tv like Bruce Wayne without getting out of bed.  Unfortunately none of the "smart" sets I saw were much smarter than my circa-2011 Roku.

...Thus began a search for brains.  At first the Win 8 boxes looked enticing but a full OS on that paltry hardware almost certainly wouldn't have lasted long, and I knew right out the door I'd have to upgrade to an SSD.

Enter Chromebox.  Found this and said goodbye to the rest.  SSD already, 4GB upgradeable RAM and the #1 selling point, a real Intel i3.  The celerons and mobile units in the lesser Chromeboxes might be okay for a bare bones PC with a low res monitor but for anyone connecting this to an HD TV or monitor get the i3 for its GPU alone.

So how does it perform?  Great, in a word.  You'd be hard pressed to tell the difference between this and a full desktop browsing experience.  You also have access to useful apps, Netflix, HBO GO, etc, nearly all of which function in browser.  Very little is saved locally aside from settings, bookmarks and similar so there's not much chance of winding up with a slow and cluttered system a la Windows.

General greatness aside I'm a little confused with the power saving options.  With my Mac, for example, I've become accustomed to putting the computer to sleep, then returning at some point in the future (whether three minutes or three days) clicking the mouse and having the machine power on.  With the ChromeBox as it's setup from the factory, the display (or TV) will sleep after a certain amount of time, then the entire device will power off.  I believe the delay to poweroff is only about 30 minutes.  So you physically have to walk to the device and press the button to power it back on.  Why not a button on the keyboard to power it back on?

Either way, that's the only real shortcoming and it can be mitigated.  There's an app called "Keep Awake" you can run so the device doesn't shut itself off (you can still have your display sleep after a certain amount of time).  This solves the problem of constantly turning it back on, but I don't necessarily like the idea of it being active 24/7.  I solve this by turning it on in the morning, letting Keep Awake handle it during the day, then powering it down at night.  Kind of a backwards round-about solution, but it does work for now.  Here's hoping they get more advanced power management features in future versions.

There's room for improvement and its definitely not a flawless experience but if Google sticks with it I think a mature Chromebox/Chrome OS would be pretty sweet indeed, in particular for the HTPC crowd.  For now its a really great web browser/media player you can plug into anything with HDMI, plus the advantage of useful (if occasionally buggy) apps and games.  Perfect for those who don't want a "smart" TV, or crippled Roku or similar device, yet don't need a full OS box like a Mac Mini or the Windows equivalent.

Good product that could be great with future refinement.
1273302
Has more capabilities than I need, but what do need is great.
4450333
Good but crashes sometimes, even when using it for basic features
1618884
It has many desirable features, like being able to connect to a smart phone for warnings, etc. It appears to be sensitive to radar devices, and to commercial alarm systems.  The biggest drawback is that I receive too many meanless warnings.
1150876
While the operation of the unit as a Blu-Ray/DVD player is very good and the menu system for navigation is straighforward and simple, there are serious limitations in the ability to use a SD Card (memory). One of the main reasons I opted for this unit was its advertised capability of playing MPG2 video files.  The machine simply will not play them.  After spending several hours on the phone with different support agents and getting various explanations and instructions to try (all of which I had already tried on my own), it was finally concluded that the machine is not able to read these files as produced by video software used to process digital images into slide shows, despite being in a MP2 format.

The users' manual and the promotional literature both describe playing MP2s as a machine capability. The support people have NO hands on experience with this (or any?) unit for which they are answering owner questions. Their guidance is hit or miss or scripted.

Even an answer that the machine will only recognize files written to the SD Card directly buy a camera proved to be incorrect (though it's possible it might read the proprietary format written by Panaconic cameras - that I don't own). In any case, if you're counting on being able to watch mp2 videos created on your computer and written by your software directly to the SD CARD - FAGETTABOUTIT.

In other respects, the machine performs well.  It reads Blu-Ray discs written by the same software I referenced above - and plays them flawlessly with HD resolution and no jitters. It also plays DVDs very well. The internet interface ( I use Pandora )plays well via my wireless router that is about 20 feet away ( separated by one wall). The machine reads and plays jpgs very well from both the USB port and SD slot.

Nothwithstanding my need for a SD Card that can be read with mp2 files, I decided to keep the machine in hopes that firmware updates will be released that will provide the capability that does not now exist.
3021672
The V2 is a very powerful camera. The 1080p recording is quite good; it has 4k bursts at 30fps or 60fps that can be in JPG or RAW.
The form factor feels great in my hands, and it takes nice photos.

The problems arise in Nikon's firmware.  Unless you use a nikon-confirm lens, you will lose lots of menu options that are important, such as focus zooming.

Video recording is completely automated with regards to exposure.  The viewfinder presents an automatically adjusted exposure as well, and I can't find a way to change the setting.

Nikon needs to throw us amateur photographers and videographers a bone, and stop locking their products down so much. The V2 has stellar hardware, but the software aspect hampers it
3462677
Good Stuff:
 - Fast
 - Renders games at full settings on full HD surprisingly well
 - Keyboard

Bad stuff:
 - Frequent wi-fi disconnections with any router/card configuration. Deal breaker.
 - Video playback is disappointing
 - Cranky trackpad
 - Actual battery life is around 2 hours

In summary - a good high performance laptop for the price, if mobility is not a requirement and LAN is acceptable.
842127
This is a useful, one of a kind product. However, it is hampered by poor design, documentation and limited accessories.

PROS: This product allows you to select between--and control the volume of--two sets of speakers by IR remote control, which is very handy in home theater setups. The case display has very bright stepped LED indicator lights to show output volume. In addition, there is an indicator light to show power in on as well as lights to tell you when you are controlling the left or right speakers. As far as I can tell, this is the only consumer product that offers independent IR control of speaker selection and volume. This is very handy since, unfortunately, many consumer electronics makers have been eliminating remote controlled A+B speaker selection from stereo receivers.

CONS: Unfortunately, the speaker binding posts on the DLA are tiny--16 gauge wire is about the largest you will be able to fit in the connectors. I recommend using 16-gauge solid wire and then connecting it to your stranded speaker wire because if you use stranded to the connectors, the connectors are so close together you risk shorting out the speakers with a stray strand. The DLA does not include an IR receiver and its instructions for connecting one are not very good. Similarly the basic IR remote, unlike many remotes, has no feedback led to indicate any IR signal sent by the remote was received by the DLA, which would be good for troubleshooting. These CONS should not exist on a product priced this high
1596237
a multi function device that does what it promises at an incredible price
2805708
The Sony STR DA5200ES is a big, powerful and versatile receiver with a lot of features.  There are plenty of input jacks and an almost-adequate system for mapping them to the various inputs.  The on-screen user interface is pretty good and reasonably easy to use.  The automatic speaker calibration is very easy to use and seems to work well.  The sound is excellent.  The "picture-in-picture" (PIP) capability is limited, because it doesn't apply to HDMI inputs.  The remote is huge and has a bewildering array of buttons, but I was able to set it up to control most of my system with one or two keystrokes.  (If you have several components in your system, you probably should get a programmable remote, like one of the Logitech Harmony models.)

But one principle feature, which is much touted in the advertising hype, turns out to be a huge disappointment: The analog-to-HDMI video up-conversion by Faroudja.  First, it won't up-convert digital video on HDMI inputs, only analog signals.  Second, supposedly, the receiver can output a very high quality 1080P HDMI up-converted version of an analog video input, for example: the 480i signal from a standard-definition satellite receiver or DVD player.  When you try this, you will indeed get a 1080P signal on the HDMI output, but the image is DISTORTED because it is stretched horizontally to fill the 16:9 screen (instead of remaining in the original 4:3 shape).  I expected to have some ordinary choices here, like "side bars" vs. filling the screen horizontally by cutting off the top and bottom.  Instead, the distorted stretched image apparently is the only possibility.  After thoroughly searching the manual and the on-screen settings, I finally tried e-mailing and calling Sony's technical support system.  After much time-wasting, they confirmed that there are no settings other than the distorted stretched-out one.

Any 1080p TV can undoubtedly do the necessary up-conversion, probably with several different modes.  But the Sony advertising hype seems to be saying that the Faroudja chipset would do a much better job, which isn't true.  This means single-cable hookup to a TV via HDMI (another stated advantage) isn't real either.  My Oppo DVD player also has the Faroudja chipset and it does do a beautiful job of up-converting, significantly better than my Sharp LCD TV.  Meanwhile, the Sony is a JOKE.

If you were thinking of buying this receiver for the Faroudja up-conversion of standard-definition video, you will be disappointed and should probably buy something else.
2537784
I purchased this model for my parents who have relatively basic needs and who previously were using All-in-one by different brand, running Win7. After setting it up and running for few days, here are my general observations, both good and bad:

Good:
- Has Nvidia's GT740m GPU (in an addition to Intel's own GPU which is built into the CPU and is used for 2D tasks), good for basic 3D gaming and does not consume much power when idling (it is not being used when you are not running 3D stuff). The drivers are easily updateable at Nvidia's site.
- Good quality IPS monitor with "flicker-free" LED backlighting, which is extremely rare for All-in-one's (MSI claims it's "world's first", not sure how accurate it is) and which is actually very good for your eyes (less eyestrain, less chance for headache). Pretty good color reproduction even with stock calibration, no "dead pixels", no backlight leakage anywhere.
- Plenty of storage space with stock 1TB HDD. It's kinda slow, though, but not too annoying for most of the tasks and pretty tolerable once Windows finishes up indexing all the stuff and installing all of the updates, including the upgrade to 8.1.
- Sound quality is subjectively good, although it's not because of speakers themselves but mostly because of Creative's software and its EQ presets, so you should not uninstall or completely disable this software.
- It is wall mountable (has necessary mounting holes and a removable kickstand), which was a "must" for my particular task.
- It comes with plenty of RAM for just about every task.
- It still has an optical drive, which is STILL very useful despite what Apple (and some other companies) tries to force other people to believe.

Bad:
- Like 99% of similar retail systems it comes with some crapware pre-installed, particularly the awful Symantec's antimalware trial (good for only 60 days) and which was hard to remove. Luckily Symantec provides removal utilities for their own crapware, so I finally cleaned it up and installed a less annoying and better performing antimalware by other brand. Really disappointing that MSI still forces this stuff onto people (because Symantec paid them to do so) considering the price of this system.
- Like some of the similar Win8-based AIO systems it has a built-in touchscreen functionality, which is not a positive thing considering not many people want to leave their fingerprints and food smudges on their monitors and clean them up daily and considering the FACT that this feature increases the price of the product. Yes, you don't have to use it (I never do, neither do my parents - touchscreen has no place on desktop PC's) but it is still there and you won't get a refund from MSI for not using it and MSI does not currently sell the version WITHOUT the touchscreen.
- The included keyboard is pretty "basic" (no dedicated media keys or proper "scroll wheel"-type of volume control) and kind of flimsy, plus it uses AAA batteries instead of AA (even though there's plenty of space for them). MSI should either make it as an option or provide better keyboard.

Neither good nor bad:
- The built-in Nvidia's GPU, GT740m, is decent, but I'd like to see more choices/options (more powerful ones) in same form factor and with same display size. MSI also makes more "gamer"-oriented All-in-one system BUT that system has significantly larger size due to larger display size and only uses AMD GPU's for 3D tasks.

Overall I was satisfied with this system, so were my parents but there are some things MSI could improve/change, such as giving people more choices of display type (including non-touch option) and GPU choices and I hope they will do that for next model.
1682203
Has a lot of good features, but certain aspects could have been designed better for usability. For example, the menu select, cell, off/clear, line 1, and line 2 buttons are all clustered together and are too easy to get mixed up unless you are looking at it closely in a well-lighted room.  The charging base for the remote handset is lightweight and unstable, so that if bumped only slightly the phone tips over, and when not weighted down by the handset the base station is easily pulled away by the weight of the cord. The base station can't be wall mounted, and the wireless signal does not reach to a handset in the farthest areas of my house (this was not a problem with my previous Panasonic cordless phone).

The phone has several advantages. The Bluetooth link with my cellular phone is very useful, allowing me to make long distance calls using my cell phone service, and also letting me answer an incoming cell phone call from any phone extension, as long as the extension is within Bluetooth range of the cell phone. The sound is clear (unlike my previous Panasonic 2-line cordless phone with which the other party was always complaining that they couldn't hear me), and there is a button for adjusting the bass or treble audio to suit the user's hearing; speaker phone is good. The handsets are comfortable to hold, and the cordless handsets have a belt clip.