Almost mature technology
592513
The Nikon Coolpix 990 represents the point-and-shoot digital technology ALMOST mature. The shutter delay is hardly noticeable, and most images get written to the drive fairly quickly. Batteries almost last a reasonable amount of time. However, the Quicktime movie capability is a little awkward -- no sound -- and the color of the images seems to always be a problem.
However, if you're looking to buy a digital point-and-shoot today, this is the camera to buy. The independent, rotational-lens design is brilliant. You can point the thing at yourself and view your self-portrait as you take it, which by itself makes this camera  a standout in my book. Add to that the top-quality optics and dazzling array of features, and this model is the one to beat.
Given all that, for the time being I'll stick to my (film-based) Olympus Stylus Epic for most of my shooting on-the-go. The Nikon is too big, too slow, too energy-hungry, and waaay too expensive to go everywhere the way the Olympus does.
8504
It really works well.  Good old fashioned technology.
3832626
Seems to be a big improvement over previous generations
1251892
Being my first entry into the world of "night vision" I did not know what to expect. It seem amazing this technology was state of the art at one time.
I find it more of a fun toy rather than a piece of High Tech, even old High Tech equipment. I presume that inherent to Gen One you must put up with limited field of view in close quarters and lots of fish eye presentation. It definitely will require some illuminating of the area to be effective. The built in IR Illuminator is OK for room type illuminating but if you plan to use it outside a good IR flashlight will be necessary. If it was not for the fish eye I would have been more pleased and rated with it more stars. For the price point it is a great introduction into what most of us likely cannot afford. But, it is fun to play with.
1351214
This is my first smartwatch, so I can't compare it to other models. I like the G Watch R overall, definitely a neat toy although I am not sure that at this stage of its development the smartwatch technology adds much to the typical (or even advanced) smartphone user experience. The unobtrusive call/message notification is useful during meetings, but that's pretty much it.
The watch itself is thick, but not too large, a bit plasticky but not cheap-looking. Some features and menus are not very user-friendly, but I am not exceedingly tech-savvy, so others may feel differently. Note that the version sold by HeavyDuty Electronics is almost certainly  a grey-market product, as mine came with French instructions only.
Unless you are an early adopter by nature, or have cash to spare, I'd suggest waiting a year or two.
409254
More and more computers come without disk readers these days, and that is a problem.  While the use of physical media is on the decline, it is not obsolete -- the line at the local Redbox each night proves that.  Installing software without physical media is also a challenge out here in rural America where broadband is often at Third-World levels.

This device solves that for my daughter's Mac Mini.  She is able to install software, burn her pictures to backup CDs,  (typically endless selfies) and play DVDs.  The device was recognized by her Mac and my Windows 10 computers after plugging in.

As both these computers are USB 2.0 units, I can't vouch for the USB speed, but it was able to write DVD+ at 16x, which is probably about the limit for disks anyway.

The unit consists of the type of drive you would find in a laptop, and the enclosure is not much bigger than the actual drive itself.  The integrated cord is a nice touch, and is the right length to sit on top of my daughter's Mac Mini.  All in all, a decent solution to briging the gap between the older, but-still-viable, technology and the diskless future.

I purchased this device at a discount provided by the vendor in exchange for an unbiased review.
1997557
Technology is constantly evolving. Every year the next big thing hits shelves. This phone is almost a year but, and the latest models of all the competitors is finally chatching up. Even being last years model, this device is outrageous as far as specs are concerned. At 5.5 inches the screen holds more realestate than anything ive seen. The phone itself isn't massive, but it boasts a ton of hardware and software that are. I made the switch from Samsung and couldn't be happier about it.
4436131
You Will Find Specific Brand Schematics.....  Quite Advanced
1772958
A little old school for the technology of today! I am surprised they didn't update this bulky, drive to a simple USB stick.
2922578
The technology is there.  I guess it works reliably.  Can't tell that it doesn't.
2948175
The new Acer Iconia Tab 8 is a handsome piece of technology.  It has a white bevel around the brilliantly clear 8" 1920 x 1200 HD LCD display.  The rear panel is made of an aluminum matte gray metal.  There is a front facing camera is 2MP and the rear facing is 5MP. Both are HD capable of stills and video.  The processor is an Intel based quad core processor.  I have use dual core processors in other tablets, as this is my first four core tablet.  It does seem to be very fast, whether loading web pages or apps. There is a micro SD slot for expansion, as well as a Micro USB 2.0 port and a Micro HDMI port.  An on/off  button, headphone jack, and toggle volume control complete the controls.

My impressions:  I have used Android O/S back to Gingerbread and this latest Kit-Kat 4.4 certainly seems to operate faster.  The voice recognition for web navigation or apps seems to work a little better than the later versions.  I played a few videos and the sound was ample and the video clear with no buffering at all.  I did find that the finger gestures on the screen responded well, but sometimes the keyboard froze or didn't accept entries.  I hope this is my fault and not the tablet or operating system, as I have never had those issues on other tablets.

I would suggest having your Google account or Gmail account passwords handy, as well as your Amazon login info. I logged into Amazon and there is a pre-installed copy of Kindle which I tested the readability of one of my books and the adjustments and page turning were fine.  It is backlit so reading in bed at night without a light is easily accomplished.  The screen has some glare, so reading in direct sunlight would have some issues, like almost any tablet not specifically designed for reading like a Kindle Paperwhite, which by the way, is hands down the best way to read electronic material and books.

The Iconia at 8" and a little narrower than a standard 8" tablet makes it very easy to hold with one hand, even my small hands.  This is just a bit bigger than the new IPhone 6 plus. As for bloatware, there is plenty and without rooting the tablet, they will be impossible to remove.  If they become annoying, I may have to go that route.

All in all, at this price point, just under $200, the Acer Iconia Tab 8 offers very good bang for your buck.  If you like Android, as opposed to IPad, this is a nice compact, fast, up to date tablet with the capabilities to do just about anything any tablet can do in a small, convenient package. Highly recommended.
2037097
Although my profession is technology, I'm still surprised how my simple home network has morphed. Only a few years back, a simple cable modem/router was all I needed to hook up all there was.  Now it seems every device in the house has a web interface.  Every little cluster of technology needs its own switch to get all the toys online.  Over that time, network switches have gone from chunky forbidding boxes to simple plug-and-play devices.  In general, this WD switch meets that profile: plug in the power supply, connect one port to the home network and connect the other ports to a stack of local devices.

But WD adds a nice little twist--prioritization. While most routers targeted toward the home offer some prioritization, it's often too coarse to set up ideally.  Western Digital has helped out by prioritizing the ports on this switch.  Two are high-priority (your media devices should go there), a few are medium-priority (computers), and the rest are low-priority (printers, security cams, refrigerators).  In most instances there will be no effect at all on your network performance.  But at busy times, proper priority will keep the video from stuttering while Aunt Edna is busily updating her Facebook page.

It seems that Western Digital has strongly committed to the sophisticated home network.  They have media players, flexible NAS devices, routers, and now this little switch.  I own a lot of their stuff and have found it to give a real bang for the buck.  While there are certainly technology companies with more familiar names, WD is doing a great job at putting it all together.
3226921
Forget the rest of these reviews. Many of them are old and outdated anyway. The Orange Pi Lite is a fresh board to the market, not like yesterday fresh. These things take time to develop. Finally they have come to a very stable place. There are a few needs for this board. A quality SD card(samsung 32GB Class 10 seems to be the defacto go to). A good power supply. Your cellphone usb wall wart won't cut it, neither will your pc usb port. No you can't use the usb OTG as a power input. Get a 5V wall plug with a 4.0 mm barrel plug. Capable of at least and I stress this at least 2A. The one I use is a 5v 4A. If you have the cash get a heatsink as well, like the ones for the RPI. The bigger and more copper the better, just make sure you can mount it. There are three components that stick up off the board higher than the cpu around it, keep that in mind when getting a heatsink. The cpu/ram real estate is small, just like RPI. The wifi pigtail is ipx, just like your router. Get a better antenna for this, the stock one is a little weak. Yes, the everything on the board gets hot. Do not stick this in a sealed enclosure if you want it to live. A small fan would be great in addition to the heatsink. The orange pi lite h3 vents its heat through the board and the plugs, if it gets too hot it can kill your sd card. The software has been fix to deal with thermal throttling. There were some complaints about fex files, cpu settings and cpu voltages. All fixed in the newest software. Speaking of software, forget the orange pi lite website. Go to armbianDOTcom and get your software from there. Download> h3>orangepilite>desktop>Ubuntu Xenial 16. XX. This thing is great.

Cons:Has a hard time streaming highquality video, if that is what your getting this for then you need to set your sights a little higher in hardware.  Gets hot. Needs a regluar plug recommend 5v 4A. Antenna is weak. Needs quality sd card. Doesn't make toast.
1734988
This computer is very fast, mainly due to the 4-core processor and oodles of memory. Everything it claims is done very well.

The same cannot be said for the operating system. Windows 8.1 is not a finished product. It has a habit of going off and talking to itself for lengthy periods. This is evidenced by the fact that it will ignore all user inputs, internet communication will slow to a crawl,  apps will not launch, and it will not shut down except by pressing the power on/off button. From what I can read, the OS is updating itself (but not making it public knowledge). From a functionality view point I like Windows 8.1 - it is mostly intuitive. Office 2013 is similar and I do not miss the interminable pull-down menus of XP.

So a mixed review - the HP hardware is fantastic, the OS needs work.
2253042
Works well for it's intended purpose - much more advanced than my older OBDII reader.
2291779
This book had me on page eight. That's where Mike Kuniavsky compares the 486 chip with what is available nowadays.

I had a 486 computer in the early 1990s. I remember that on the first day I had it, I was astounded at the performance. "I'll never get tired of how fast this computer is!" And then I thought, "You felt this way about your previous computer. The day will come when the 486 will seem like an anachronism."

And in 2011, I can tell you how much of an anachronism it is. To get the power of the 486 chip, which cost over $1,500 in today's terms, you need a tiny chip that will cost you all of fifty cents.

Most people are unaware of the rampant spread of what we used to call "embedded" computing. There are more embedded processors in use than there are people in the world - some ten billion processors, already on track to be twice as many as the seven billion people alive. If you buy something today that takes batteries or plugs into the wall, the chances are that it has a microprocessor in there somewhere. In fact, I'm having trouble thinking of anything that doesn't use one - maybe a hair dryer or flashlight? Each item in the chain requires its own microprocessor, so there will be one in your remote control and probably several in your TV.

Nowadays the market has moved on from traditional devices that are basically the same but have microprocessors as "helpers." Instead of having smart products, the move is to products that had no equivalent in previous times. It's a world of "ubiquitous" computing, where the device jumps out at you (in terms of what you'd expect). It's a question of understanding human wants and needs, even if a computer seems the last thing anyone would expect.

Steelcase, the maker of office furniture, wanted a way of allocating meeting rooms - with a view to making an application it could sell. The book shows how you could book a room at the door, or even see who had reserved it, or get the administration assistant to book rooms from her desk. Disney had a device that affected a display in the toy store, in the form of a bracelet for pre-teen girls. Both examples of not expecting to find a computer, and probably not even considering that there was a computer involved.

Kuniavsky deals with what's available now, but you don't need a guide to how things will go. Google "SixthSense TED" and see a wearable computer demonstrated by Patti Maes - one that uses today's technology, just waiting for someone to put it into production. Perhaps we might see it in the next couple of years. And if that's too close for you, read&nbsp;<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/The-Singularity-Is-Near-When-Humans-Transcend-Biology/dp/0143037889/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">The Singularity Is Near: When Humans Transcend Biology</a>&nbsp;for Ray Kurzweil's predictions on how the computer will have the power of a human brain around 2020, and the power of every human brain in the world by 2050.

But if you want to know what will happen now, Kuniavsky has a great introduction to the subject and it should be read by anyone interested in computers and where they will lead us. His book is clear and understandable, and it worth it for anyone interested in ubiquitous computing. So read it before the future catches up with you.
4363237
This is my second Yuneec.. The technology has come so far in the past year.  Not a stable as the Q500+ but faster and much more technology.