Bad out of the box, but great potential
582499
Out of the box, this machine is CRIMINALLY slow. I have never seen such a slothful machine on delivery. HOWEVER, this being the form factor I was looking for and having otherwise appealing features, I ordered it and immediately installed a Crucial 250GB SSD and 8GB Crucial RAM. I also immediately uninstalled the Norton Internet Services bloatware. The computer was completely transformed and something I think that will work well for several years. While I'm still shocked that ASUS let this out the door, I love the concept and I'm very happy with the end result. (Paired with a ASUS 24" VS24AH-P LED monitor. Great screen at an excellent value!)
3980056
The concept is great, but the execution (at least at my house) is weak. I bought a WeMo switch to also go with this starter set to expand the capabilities of it. I'm fairly adept technically and yet I'm struggling to get both the bulbs and a switch recognized by the iOS app. Therefore I can't use it as advertised.
It could be my WiFi, but I have over two dozen other items successfully connected to it with no problems. I've spent a bit of time on the forums and have yet to call Belkin for tech support but I can just tell this is not a fully baked product. I'm still excited by the possibilities and will continue to work on it as a 'tech challenge' but I can't rely on it to do what I set out for it to do.
If it wasn't for the fact that it was on sale I would be forced to return it and wait until they make it a more polished product.
4411077
Bad unit out of the box, was so disgusted after troubleshooting I didn't want the hassle of returning it. Waste of money.
4683458
There is a lacking in tech manuals that really mystifies me.  Someone designed this device with an approach that made sense to them; but that approach was not translated well.  Describing "feature-feature-feature" without an overview is frustrating.  It took many hours and angst before I got it running.  There are so many different signal flow options, it was simply trial-and-error, but how about an EXAMPLE?  One important point for future buyers with a Macbook Pro.  You have to UNPLUG IT from your power source otherwise there is a horrible hum.  Now...you would think that such an important detail would be mentioned in the manual.  In the meantime, I tried for hours to figure what might be causing it, including the possibility the unit was defective.  I contacted tech support who wrote back apologizing for the delay.  By that time, I figured it out.  Now, having said that, it does operate quietly.  The overall sound quality is OK, but not as good as I expected.  I did much research before choosing this model.  Being able to utilize the firewire connection leaves 2 USB ports free for other inevitable devices, etc.
2337377
My initial impression taking this laptop out of the box was positive.  I've only owned one other ThinkPad before (a T60) which I was very happy with.  Despite some concern among reviewers with design changes on this new model (W540) I decided to try it anyway as I try to take reviews with a grain of salt and see for myself.  One main concern I kept hearing about was the new off center keyboard and trackpad.  Being a programmer this was concerning for me but knowing that I'd likely be using external monitors, keyboard, and mouse with a docking station most of the time I figured I could live with it.

However, as soon as I powered it on and started to type on the keyboard I noticed a crunching feeling and sound on the keyboard as well as an almost hollow sound (I'm sorry, it is hard to describe).  The problem was with random keys and not all of them but the majority seemed situated on the left side of the keyboard.  All of the keys worked, but this issue was causing the keys to sometimes bind when you press on them and would fail to register a press or make for an unpleasant typing experience to say the least.  Granted my plan was to use an external keyboard most of the time, but not all of the time.  I would not be able to stand having to type with an issue like this.

I have to believe that I was just unlucky and that it was a defect in the keyboard because for a high end workstation class laptop I can't imagine that this is that way it is supposed to be.

I won't comment on other aspects of the laptop yet as I really did not play with it once I discovered this problem.  I will say that if not for the keyboard problem which I wasn't willing to live with I believe I would have really liked it.

I am returning this one and thinking of reordering a new one to try it again.  I'm still on the fence at this point though.
3407226
I want the last 4 hours of my life back.  I finally found the drivers on the website.  I followed the directions, watched a tutorial, screwed up my boot sequence with a nice 0xc000000d error (that was especially fun), tried 4 different USB cables.  Install, uninstall, install, uninstall...  Finally realized the USB port on the unit is bad.  The light on the DAC would only stay red.  It was red whether it was on or off.  If it doesn't turn on, then you can't finalize the drivers.  I was really excited about this DAC because on paper this gives me some options I just can't find on other units.  I'm willing to give it another go though.  I'll return it and try again.  I'll edit this review as soon as I get it back and give it another shot.

9/13 edit - I returned and replaced the DAC.  It's working really well now.  The first unit just had a faulty USB connector.  The new unit turned right on.  I installed the drivers no problem.  Everything went smooth.  I really like running i through my headphones and then with a switch, I can also run it to my receiver that powers my bookshelf speakers.  It's a really nice unit and delivers plenty of power.  Sound quality is nice.  The better the source, the better it sounds.  It's a great bang for the buck.
4370430
I have to say that I really wanted to like this camera. It takes good pictures and the ultra-wide lens is a nice feature. It is quite compact and has a nice screen. The software is reasonably good and has a nice presentation to the user interface.

Why 2 stars? Ok here's the bad stuff:

1) In the first shipment I got, the normal mode (non-ultra-wide angle) didn't work. The images were garbled and almost unrecognizable. The ultra-wide images were fine. I attributed it to getting a random lemon and returned it for an even exchange. The second V570 I got from Amazon worked fine until about 5 months later and then the normal mode crapped out on me. So, I don't think it is just a random problem. There appears to be a reliability issue with the non-wide angle part of this camera since it seems statistically unlikely that I would randomly get two cameras with the exact same problem. My V570 is now a nice-looking paperweight and I use a Casio Exilim EX-Z70.

2) The stand seemed nice at first until it came time to travel. You have to unhook the whole thing and lug it around with you if you want to charge your camera or download pictures and movies without a card reader dongle. Also, since you have to charge the battery in the camera, you can't charge a spare battery while you are taking pictures with the other. For comparison, my new Casio EX-Z70 has a USB cable that is easy to stick in the pocket of my bag and has an external battery charger. So, if one battery is dead I can leave it behind in the charger while I take pictures with the spare.

3) The movies that you take with this camera are stored in MOV format instead of AVI or MPEG. While it does play in most PCs if you have installed Quicktime, it is not supported by my streaming media player (D-Link DSM-320RD) and is difficult to work with in the video editor/DVD creator SW I use (Sonic MyDVD). I can't say how widely MOV is supported compared to AVI and MPEG, but that format created problems for me.

So, I applaud Kodak for not clinging to the sinking boat anchor of the photographic film business and going digital. But I think a few more usability studies and more attention to reliability would help make this a winner in future iterations.
4940518
If only there was negative stars. Did not work out of box.
1934948
While I wanted to like it--quiet operation, easy set-up, minimal packaging--I would say that, by definition, any computer that freezes up on a regular basis is a 1-star failure.  Keep in mind, this is a brand-new computer, barely used, with practically zero chance of malware or viruses causing the problem.

Yet once a day, I can count on coming back to my computer, turning on the monitor, and finding it frozen up.  Keyboard will not work, mouse will not move cursor.  Task Manager will not open.  No recourse other than a "hard power off."  Then turn it back on, cross fingers, and hope that my work is restored.

While not a deal-breaker, I also found it annoying that it is not possible to purchase the desktop (tower) part without the keyboard and mouse.  Even though I already have several mice and keyboards laying around, this ASUS came with one of each--more extraneous stuff.
4432735
This thing has the potential to be really cool. It has nice features and a nice screen but, the internal lens where the camera is is dirty with 8 specs of dirt that are very visible and that I have no way of removing without taking the whole machine apart... This seems like a huge failure, and if there isn't a easy fix, I may be looking into another brand... I am so bummed because this could be a good product if it didn't have un-cleanable dirty screen, and there is no forward, backward, sideways knobs to maneuver the slide around so you have to do it by hand... This probably isn't that bad for most people, but I have huge fingers and it makes it kind of difficult...
I would give this product a much higher score if it weren't for that dirty lens I can't clean that is driving me crazy... I will update as I try to get it fixed...
4648938
I so wanted to love this drone, BUT...
I unpacked the P4 to find a dead battery right out of the box. Found out online that this was not an isolated issue. Exchanged the entire drone for a new one. Took the second one home and began prepping for my first flight. First, the DJI Go app wouldn't recognize the drone. After an hour of troubleshooting, I finally just deleted the app and reloaded it. Success!

I updated the firmware and tried to complete the calibration in the DJI Go app, but I kept receiving an incompatible device message (using an iPad Mini 2). I just continued trying with the update. Next, I received IMU calibration errors and compass calibration errors. I was able to calibrate IMU but the struggled to calibrate the compass. Finally everything seemed ready to go but then more problems: I could not access or view camera mode at all. Again, much troubleshooting and numerous suggested "fixes" for this issue listed online, but no resolution found.

After 6 hours of an attempt to set up the P4, I gave up. Instructions, written online were extremely poor. Lots of guidance from Phantom 4 users and groups (thank you!), but it was shocking that something so expensive did not come with adequate guidance or support, save for dedicated users. I'm a pretty tech-savvy guy, but WOW, my head was spinning. This never flew and I'm returning it.
I'm sure the Phantom is an amazing machine, but given all the headaches just trying to update and calibrate everything, it's not worth it.
1106165
I bought the 6240 because at the price ($[...] at Costco) it seemed quite feature-laden and I've had a good experience with an earlier similar model in another surround system in the house.  After about five minutes of use it began behaving erratically, failing to recognize a signal on the BluRay's HDMI port unless the player was shut down and restarted, and then refusing to find the signal at all.  I powered the receiver down and back on about 15 seconds later and from that point on, all it would do was produce strobe-like bright green screen flashes on the two inputs that had HDMI signal connected (the BluRay and the Cox DVR). The friendly CSR at Yamaha (in California, even)concluded (as I had) that the receiver was defective and should be returned/exchanged.
While I had him on the line, I asked him if he could explain the quite-indecipherable instructions about how to change the input assigned to each of five "screen" presets (their term, not mine) and he couldn't do any better than I had.
Notwithstanding all of the above, I'll probably swap it for a new one and try again. Everyone builds a bad one now and then. The rest of the instructions seemed reasonably clear.  Here's hoping ~
3834113
I bought this device with high expectations as it surely shows great potential. However, I found out that most of the keyboard keys were not responding when I received the unit as I went through the start screen. I didn't return the device because I was intending to use it mainly in tablet mode with the on-screen keyboard as a work-around. Now the Chromebook won't boot and shows the "Chrome OS is missing or damaged" screen when powered on. I tried to restore the OS with no luck, probably because the recovery process requires me to press some keyboard buttons that are not functioning. Now I'm left with a useless piece of hardware and a life lesson to read negative reviews and look for common problems before purchasing.
3871206
Defective on first time out of the box, Dont Bother, never refunded my money either
2282776
Pros:
+ Great iPhone app
+ Excellent power
+ Solid build quality
+ Able to send ALL outputs to POWERED zone 2 and 3
+ Flexible speaker configuration

Cons:
- Extremely complex setup
- Primitive GUI
- On screen display is limited to major functions
- Cannot handle an input with combined HDMI and Optical (no audio priority mode)
- No HDMI "pass through"
- Cheap, crammed, confusing remote control

I really wanted to love this receiver.  However, after 2 solid days of pouring over the manuals, I came to the conclusion that this unit is literally user-hostile.  I'm an early-adopter technology/gadget freak and a 35-year IT professional.  I just threw up my hands after hours of frustration.

The major deal-breakers were:
1) Can't combine a video-only HDMI signal + an optical audio signal on the same input.  I have a Mac Mini, connected this way, and when the HDMI cable is plugged it, the receiver tries to grab audio from the HDMI cable, and ignores the optical audio signal.  There's a feature that Onkyo offers called the Audio Selector where you can select where the audio comes from when there's multiple connections to the same input.

2) No HDMI Through capability.  There are times when I just want to flip on the TV and DVR, and not have to deal with the receiver.  This unit won't do that.  The Onkyo's do.

3) Not all functions are handled via the on-screen GUI.  For some deeper functions, there's no way except the front panel to make changes & adjustments.  EVERYTHING should be handled on-screen.

On the plus side, the Pioneer iControlAV2 iPhone app is absolutely brilliant.  You will end up tossing the remote control and using this instead.

For me, there are too many negatives.  I'm returning mine and purchasing the Onkyo TX-NR1009.

3/20/12 EDIT:  I actually decided on the Yamaha RX-A3010 instead of the Onkyo.  After checking out the features that matter to me (comprehensive on screen GUI, HDMI pass through, bi-amp, multi-zone, decent remote, great power) it made sense to go with the Yamaha.
4199891
I hate leaving reviews claiming something's "broken", but in this case there were some serious problems. So my problems:

1. The device does not handle run-on MIDI commands properly. I doubt that many modern MIDI devices use run-on commands, as they were a somewhat confusing bit-saving mechanism from the 20th century. The keyboard I used was a Kurzweil SP-88. I suspect this is a design-defect in the product. More on this below.

2. The device would not enumerate on my main PC. That box is a custom-built machine using a P5B Deluxe motherboard which has never had any problems with any other USB devices. I even tried clocking the box down to normal speeds; Vista gives me a vague error about the device malfunctioning, and Ubuntu gives me a read error during enumeration in dmesg (which, to be fair, wasn't any more useful in this context.)

3. For all the reviewers who said the cable was labeled backwards: MIDI cables are always connected so that the "OUT" of one device goes to the "IN" of another device. MIDI supports a ring-shaped daisy-chain of devices that way. This cable was not labeled backwards.

Elaborating on point 1:

On the wrong equipment, when you do this:
1. Press-and-hold key1.
2. Press-and-hold key2.
3. Release key1.
4. Release key2.

You get this:
1. Press-and-hold key1.
2. Press-and-hold key2.
3. Release key1.
4. Press-and-hold key2 again.

For those technically inclined, here's the data stream from my SP-88 using the old serial cable I was replacing (I had to resurrect a dead machine to get this; I'm forging note velocities for easier comparison):
90 40 45 3c 48 80 40 62 3c 61

Here's what this product read:
90 40 45 90 3c 48 80 40 62 90 3c 61

Here's the nearest valid sequence it could have provided:
90 40 45 90 3c 48 80 40 62 80 3c 61

Note the 80 instead of 90 in the third-to-last byte - "80" means "note off", "90" means "note on". This was a deal-killer for me; your mileage may vary.

I replaced the cable with an M-Audio cable from a local shop for 3x the price; that cable also reprocesses run-on commands, but does it appropriately (the third sequence above is what I would get.)

The seller was courteous and provided a full refund, including shipping, so all I lost to them was time. I'd buy from these guys again, just not this product.
3130203
Want to pay $180 to beta test buggy software? Then Boxee Box is for you!

Had I slapped Boxee onto a spare PC at home, I'd be a lot more tolerant of the many (yes, MANY) bugs in the software.  But I didn't do that, I bought a rather pricey retail-ready box, aimed at the non-tech-savvy everyday consumer.  Because I wanted easy.  I wanted to just plug it in and have it work.  Oh, how that wasn't the case.

I will spare you the looooooooooooong version, but I ended up returning two of these boxes to Amazon as defective because Boxee's support (aka a message board) told me that I must have received two defective boxes because of the signal drops, system freezes, crashes, etc. I was experiencing.  I scoured the internet for answers.  I posed questions on the Boxee forums.  I uploaded debug logs.  I tried two different HDMI cables, two different tvs, etc., and in the end, two different Boxee Boxes.  It was the box.  But it wasn't the hardware (my two boxes came with firmwares that were many, many generations apart, so they weren't from the same batch).  The software is just a glitchy mess right now.

Boxee has enormous potential and when it's working, it's awesome.  But getting it working, and KEEPING it working seem to be where this product can't get it together.  I wanted to love my Boxee, but it just didn't love me back.