RedScorpion
Top 100 Contributor
RedScorpion's Stats
- Review Count177
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- First ReviewJune 21, 2012
- Last ReviewJune 29, 2024
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- Average Rating4.5
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- Answer Count14
- Helpfulness Votes42
- First AnswerMay 13, 2016
- Last AnswerSeptember 30, 2020
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Say hello to the professional color inkjet printer for your home office from America’s most trusted printer brand, paired with the easiest-to-use print app. Enjoy easy printing designed to make you succeed at work. Fax included.
An Exercise in Frustration
Customer Rating
2.0
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The HP Office Jet Pro 9125e printer has been frustrating. I have had print difficulties, set up problems, random errors, and pixelated / wavy scans. In my experience, the printer does not play nice with Samsung phones / tablets. Fast prints and double-sided scanning are nice, but the experience has been too temperamental and unreliable to comfortably recommend this printer.
Setup: As said above, set up was … difficult. HP has you download the HP Smart application on your phone to guide you through the set-up process. It all seems very straightforward, until it randomly is not. The application gave me errors and then the printer would just be stuck with the message “the HP software is setting up your printer….” Eventually, I would either get a “a random error has occurred, if this keeps happening contact support.” I would then have to exit out of the app, turn off the printer, and start both up again. This happened two or three times during set up.
Physically inserting the cartridges is not difficult, but after getting the printer up and running, I randomly get a message that the blue “C” cartridge is not communicating properly with the printer. So, I reset the cartridge, turn the printer off, and then pray. This was a recurring issue if I turned the printer off for any period of time and then turned it back on.
These set-up difficulties may be due to my unique network and phone. That could be true, but that just helps make the setup feel needlessly complicated. I should not need to do more than plug the printer in to an outlet, turn it on, add the ink cartridges, and connect to the network. An app is just an extra complication for a device with a fairly impressive on-screen display. HP’s setup process feels more designed to help sell “Instant Ink” and “HP+” than it helps the end user. In thirty years, I have never had so much difficulty with a printer set up.
Experience: I should say up front that I used HP printer paper and HP photo paper for my tests. I got this printer because I want to use it for print jobs related to an online shop. The prints are fast and look okay. Black prints look great, but colors seem a bit faded to my eye on normal prints. I am impressed by the print speed. But that speed comes with some costs as this printer shook every desk or table I put it on. The internal print head is moving back and forth very quickly, and you can feel it.
I could never get the printer to work with my Samsung phone or tablet. I constantly got a “blocked error.” I tried troubleshooting this as some folks said it was a print spool error and I just needed a plugin. Others said to delete the HP plugin on my phone. None of it mattered for me as I could never get the printer to print from my Samsung phone or my Galaxy tablet.
I was not impressed with my photo prints. I had random dots that would appear at creases or lines where one color met another color. I do not know what caused those dots, but it was specific to this printer. Photos had more of a red tint than I am used to, but that could just be a difference between the different printer manufacturers. Granted, this printer is advertised more as an office printer than a straight up photo printer, but I am wanting photographic prints for some projects and this result was subpar. Maybe there are settings I have not found that would fix this problem, but I can only shrug my shoulders at this time. Again, the process was more difficult than it should have been. It was definitely more difficult than I anticipated or expected based on past experiences.
I went through the set-up ink quickly and decided to give HP Instant Ink a go. When I signed up, I was told it could take anywhere from 5 to 10 business days to receive the ink. I received my ink in five days. The printer is supposed to monitor your usage and reorder before your ink levels get critical. I cannot speak about that feature. If you are printing an exceptionally large print load, you could run out of ink quicker than the printer estimates. At that point, you could be stuck waiting for your next ink shipment. I could be biased, but I am not sold on another subscription service. I can see a benefit for a business that knows their output and can plan accordingly. But the idea of an overage cost if I unexpectedly have a lot of prints one month does not appeal to me. There is some rollover for unused prints. It is possible that this is financially the best option, but it does not feel right for me.
I appreciate the feeder tray to scan in documents. Double-sided scanning is a nice feature for an office printer. Again, the scanning, like the printing, is fast. But scans were wavy and pixelated even on higher DPI settings.
Conclusion:
Do I recommend the printer? It depends on the user. I could see a user who does standard paper prints in an office environment thinking that this printer works well enough. Maybe set up works better for iPhone users. The printer is fast. Black ink looks good. In that environment without errors or frustrations, I think this could be a good printer.
But my experience has not been great. I have had so many errors and problems with this model. Some of the error messages seem very random. Sometimes the printer or the computer will throw an error only for the printer to print anyways. The printer did not print from my phone. I do not know if it will ever print from Samsung devices. I had cartridge errors, poor scanning, and poor photo prints.
I have some concerns about the capacity of the included ink cartridges. I am not sold on Instant Ink. The downside of yet another monthly subscription outweighs any convenience I might see. Plus, if it takes me 5 to 10 business days from the point where the printer decides to order another batch of ink, I might be forced to go out and purchase another set of ink anyway.
The experience has been broken and frustrating. I really wanted to like this printer. But I just think this thing has been a mess.
The experience has been broken and frustrating. I really wanted to like this printer. But I just think this thing has been a mess.
I have had many printers. This has been the most difficult printer for me bar none. The set-up, the error messages, the poor scans, and the print difficulties have exceeded my tolerance.
I do not like leaving a negative review. For me, the pros of this particular printer have not outweighed the cons, and after more time and patience than I feel necessary, I cannot recommend the Office Jet Pro 9125e at this time. It may be good for someone else and there could be performance fixing firmware updates down the line, but as is, I cannot recommend this printer.
No, I would not recommend this to a friend.
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Best for homes and home offices, the Brother HL-L2405W Wireless Compact Black & White (Monochrome) Laser Printer is the sensible, time-saving choice for connected printing. Simple and affordable, this reliable printer consistently produces crisp, easy-to-read black & white prints and offers print speeds up to 30 ISO pages per minute (1) (ppm). The 250-sheet paper tray (2) reduces the frequency of paper refills, helping to save you more time in the workday. You can connect this dependable printer to multiple devices using built-in dual-band wireless or connect locally to a single device with the USB 2.0 interface. Safeguard your information and maintain secure connections while printing with advanced security features. Efficient, durable, and cost-effective, this wireless printer is a time-saving addition to any home workspace.
This Printer Delivers
Customer Rating
4.0
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I do not believe that Brother has made a device I have not “liked.” Now, I like some more than others, but Brother has to be one of the most reliable printer manufacturers out there. In my experience, their products have worked for many years and usually work very well. The HL-L2405W laser printer is no exception. When properly set up, it works very well. Prints are clean, dark, and fast. I personally had some issues with the set up of this printer, but once it was working, I really liked the print quality.
Setup: Following the printer instructions, I set the printer up with an Android phone. In theory, you can connect the printer to your wi-fi network using the thin, tiny, arrow only control display. But practically, that was a bit of a nightmare. Thankfully, phone set up was pretty simple and I was online in no time.
Experience: I originally thought set up would be easy. My Windows 11 PC detected the printer in no time and a driver was installed and running pretty quickly. However, trying to update the firmware on my Windows 11 PC resulted in timeout problems. I was only able to update the firmware after I used my smartphone to perform the procedure.
Experience: I originally thought set up would be easy. My Windows 11 PC detected the printer in no time and a driver was installed and running pretty quickly. However, trying to update the firmware on my Windows 11 PC resulted in timeout problems. I was only able to update the firmware after I used my smartphone to perform the procedure.
Also, while technically functional, the stock drivers that come with Windows 11 are not particularly good for this printer. I had random artifacts during prints. One artifact resulted in what looked like a hole punch in the top right of every other page. I never had these problems when printing with my phone or an iPad via Airprint.
Eventually, after some headaches, I installed the updated driver from Brother’s website. That improved the feature set and print quality immensely. So, if you are having problems with your prints on Windows 11, make sure you have the latest driver. Installing the driver-only installation was a bit tricky as I had to add the device and search for driver download and it was a bit finicky. Save yourself the headache, install the full printer feature package before you set the printer up.
Outside of a rocky start, the print quality has been exceptionally good. The 1200DPIHQ setting looks great. Prints on MACs look good. The printer is fast. Compared to some other laser printers, the HL-L2405W produced a much darker print on the same paper. I thought the gradient range was good, but the printer was darker than other laser printers I had used in the past. I noticed few lines or defects in the print.
After printing close to 100 pages, I found I had used ten percent of my toner. Brother advertises up to 1200pages on the non-XL toner and I am getting close to that. Brother also has a subscription service to replenish toner. I like the idea in theory, but I am not a fan of extra subscriptions at the moment. But the printer came with a few free months of the service.
I also like the fact that there is a separate tray for envelopes and smaller print jobs.
My only other con is that I wish this had automatic duplex printing. I feel like that should be a standard feature for a printer used in a small office setting, but that is just me.
Conclusion: This is a quick laser printer. Prints look dark and crisp. My only complaint is that Windows 11 driver setup seemed a bit more difficult than it should have been. I had some initial defects in prints using the stock Windows 11 drivers.
All-in-all, I like the printer. Prints are good. At this price, it is a solid machine.
4/5
All-in-all, I like the printer. Prints are good. At this price, it is a solid machine.
4/5
I would recommend this to a friend!
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Alias, designed from the ground up for gamers, elevates streams and content creation to broadcast-quality levels. With a 3x bigger capsule than other mics for accurate voice capture, express yourself to your audience. Enhance your audio with Sonar Software, which features easy-to-use drag 'n' drop app routing, AI noise cancellation, and a 10-band parametric EQ.
An Easy Pill to Swallow
Customer Rating
5.0
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This is easily the best USB microphone I have had. Vocals on the Alias have been clear. The stand is sturdy. The shock mount is both stylish and effective at minimizing vibrations. The desk stand is sturdy. The ability to mount this to a microphone arm is an excellent selling point. And, come on, it just looks amazing. The Sonar application has come with a bit of a learning curve, but all-in-all, this is an exceptionally good package. Anyone looking for a USB microphone for streaming or podcasting should check it out. I am incredibly impressed with this pill shaped microphone.
Setup: Inside the box, you get the microphone with stand, a USB-C to USB-A cable, and a boom arm adapter.
Installation is plug and play, but if you want access to streaming features, mixers, and lighting controls, you will need to install SteelSeries GG with Sonar.
Experience: I love the size of the microphone. I love having the LED level indicator, mute toggle, MIC, and volume gain dials on the microphone itself. As said previously, my recordings have sounded great. This is a great piece of hardware and I have no complaints.
Lighting is controlled through the Engine / Gear section of GG and PRISM. PRISM controls the illumination light on the bottom of the microphone while the LED Gain indicator and the mute indicator are controlled from the Gear section of GG. I am not sure why these pieces of software are not combined, but it works. By default, the gain indicator lights are green, green, green, yellow, and red, but you could change those lights to all blue for instance.
To control audio mixing, you will need the Sonar plug-in installed with GG. Sonar is where I had some difficulties. Now Sonar will work with any audio device and not just the Alias microphones. You have toggles within Sonar to select your playback device, your streaming playback device, and your microphone input. On three computers, this all worked fine, but on an ASUS computer, I had difficulties getting the microphone input working because there was a software conflict with ASUS’ Armory Crate. Should you find yourself struggling with red error messages in Sonar and you are using an ASUS computer, I found that if you revoke microphone access to ASUS’ Armory Crate from within Windows 11 Privacy controls that should fix the problem. In my case, there was a software conflict between Armory Crate and Sonar. Even though I didn't have the audio controls within Armory Crate turned on, it still created a conflict with GG and Sonar.
There is a learning curve with Sonar. Getting everything tweaked exactly right for streaming has taken me a few days of testing, and I am still figuring it out. SteelSeries have included audio mix presets for many games that sound good to me, but learning and assessing all the mixes and toggles will take a bit of time.
Conclusion: The software has taken me a bit of time to get my head around, but I am getting there. I absolutely love the Alias microphone. The engineers and designers at SteelSeries have outdone themselves once again. The Alias is a stylish microphone. It looks impressive on the desk. My recordings sound great. I am planning on getting a boom arm. This is now my go-to microphone. I highly recommend it.
5/5 Easily Recommend
I would recommend this to a friend!
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Dependable storage for your favorite devices, wherever you go - that's what the Crucial X9 Portable SSD offers. With lots of space for all yoru favorite photos, videos, games and more, the Crucial X9 gives you speedy file transfers and compatibility with PCs, Macs, tablets, gaming consoles and Android phones, making it the perfect plug-and-play storage solution
Small SSD with Solid Performance
Customer Rating
5.0
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The Crucial X9 Portable SSD is my favorite portable storage device. I had no idea it would be this small. It is a small NVME. Think of two USB-A flash drives stacked next to one another and you have a basic idea of how big this drive is. Performance has been solid; I get transfer rates near 1,050MB/S read and write. I am sold. This is an easy drive to recommend.
Unboxing: Users should know that in addition to the drive, you get a small, 9-inch USB-C to USB-C cable. If you only have USB-A ports, you will need some type of adapter. You also get a one-month trial of Adobe Acrobat Pro and links on the drive to Mylio Photo Organizer and Acronis backup software.
Experience: A lot of what I love about this drive is centered on the packaging. This thing is small and convenient. But with 2TB of storage, it can store a lot of data. I assessed the X9 on my Android devices, on my Windows 11 PCs, and on my network router. It worked well on everything.
Transfer rates are good. Transfer rates can vary from device to device, but I got close to the specs posted by Crucial. This drive hits the right balance of performance and price.
Conclusion: This is a solid drive. I really like it and it will be my portable storage of choice going forward. Highly recommended. 5/5
I would recommend this to a friend!
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Meet the Google Pixel Watch 2 (Wi-Fi), engineered by Google with the best of Fitbit.¹ Understand your health and fitness with Fitbit’s most accurate heart rate tracking.² See the best of Google at a glance, including Gmail and Calendar, and get peace of mind from personal safety features.³ And keep going with even longer battery life.⁴ Works with most phones running on Android 9.0 or newer.⁵
A Top Watch for Android Users
Customer Rating
5.0
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After a week with the Pixel Watch 2, I can say that Google has done a great deal right in making this watch. It is fast. It is responsive and snappy. I like the fishbowl look on the screen. It is easy to use. It is easy to set up with an Android phone. Battery life is nearly 24 hours, and it charges very quickly. In addition to all the WearOS goodies, this also feels like a true successor to my old Fitbit. All-in-all, a lot to like about this watch…. and just a few things that left me scratching my head. The watch face is a little small for larger wrists. Still, if the size of the watch face is not an issue, then this watch is easy to recommend and would make a great gift this holiday season.
Setup: Inside the box, you get the watch, a watch band for larger wrists, and the USB-C charging cable. Swapping out bands is pretty simple. I like the watch’s unique band attachment system much more than the tiny pins found on similar watches. The only downside is that you will not be able to attach a normal watch band without some type of adapter.
I connected the Pixel Watch 2 to a Google Pixel 6 phone. Fast pairing the watch with my phone was easy and within minutes, I had the watch up and running.
Experience: Right away, I noticed how quick and responsive the interface is. This watch feels snappy. The screen is bright and crisp. I think the WearOS 4 interface is near perfect. I found it super easy to use. From the crown to the touch screen, the user experience is exceptionally good.
Battery life is close to 24 hours. I have a lot of notifications going off, but I get close to a full day and night before I need to put the watch back on the charger. I am not sure why, but it took me a bit to get used to the charger. It has metal pins, and you have to line the phone up a certain way with the cable pointing under the crown. It felt a little complicated, but it does charge the watch quickly. I usually have a full battery within 45 minutes to an hour.
There are a lot of new features that I like. Stress tracking and auto workout management have been nice additions. I am always searching for that “must have” WearOS app, but remote camera control, Maps, Messages, and GMAIL have all worked very well.
I have expanded the amount of Google Home devices over the last few years. The ability to turn off light switches from my watch is a nice touch. Hey Google integration has also been super easy and efficient.
My only real complaints are that this watch feels too small for my wrist. I am used to bigger watch faces and this is taking me a bit of time to adjust to. I mentioned that there is a larger wrist band, but it is really just longer to accommodate a bigger wrist. I like the overall design and I still like the watch; I just wish it were a bit bigger.
As it is, this is a nice smart watch. It works very well. This is lightyears ahead of the old WearOS watches of a few years back. If you are okay with the smaller watch face and a battery that does good to get near 24 hours of life, I think you will find a lot to like here: a snappy, responsive watch with a clear display and intuitive controls. As an Android phone user, it is nice to have even more options for a good smart watch. With the Pixel Watch 2, Google has released one of the best WearOS watches to date.
4.5/5
I would recommend this to a friend!
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Protect and monitor your home from anywhere with the Tapo C125 Spot Camera. This sleek indoor home security solution has a flexible braket and magnetic base allowing for simple setup where you need it. Expereience 2K QHD Clear View up to 140° Field of View, AI Detection, Customizable Alarm Feature and much more through your smartphone via the Tapo App.
Tiny and Impressive Camera
Customer Rating
5.0
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After a week with the TP-Link Tapo C125 Wi-Fi Camera, I am impressed. The Wi-Fi 6 enabled camera performs great. The camera and stand are small and versatile. Two-way communication works great. Integration with Alexa and Google Home was super easy to set up. Image quality was good. AI detection does an excellent job of picking up people and animals. The camera also makes a good baby monitor. All-in-all, I am impressed.
Setup and Installation: Set up was simple. TP-Link includes several mounting methods. You could mount it with included screws. You could mount with the magnetic plate and adhesive. I chose to just put my camera up on a shelf. You will need to download the “TP-Link Tapo” app to your phone.
Adding a device from within the app was simple. I had the camera online and updated within minutes. Yes, there is a firmware update out of the box, but I had no difficulties getting it to install. Again, the app will walk you through that process.
The camera comes with a month of cloud storage, but I chose to add a 128GB MicroSD card. Once you have inserted the card, the camera will have a voice prompt telling you to finish formatting and setting up the card from within the Tapo app.
Experience: I really like the size of this camera. It is small enough that if you fold it up to the stand, it is the size of a hockey puck. It is easy to mount or place in a room.
I have been incredibly surprised at the amount of features that come packed into this little camera. It is the only camera I have that has AI recognition while I am watching a stream from the camera. The privacy shutter is nice and convenient. If you do not like the blue activity light, you can turn that off from within the app. If you wanted to magnetically mount the camera to a garage door opener, you could invert the camera image from within the app. I should note that I have a Wi-Fi 6 router and Access Point, but streaming the video feed has been quick with no buffering or delays.
The camera is equipped to detect glass breaks or baby cries. For those reasons, I intend to put this camera in the baby room that my wife and I are setting up.
Alexa and Google Home integration have been good. It is nice to be able to have Alexa put the camera footage up on my TV through our Amazon Fire TV Stick.
Two-way communication with the camera is easy and quick.
My only nitpicks (and these truly are nitpicks) is that I wish the camera had used USB-C instead of a dedicated power adapter. The included cable is long and the thankfully the plug isn’t a huge wall wart, but I USB-C connection would have been more convenient.
Conclusion: I really like this camera. It is extremely easy to recommend. I plan to pick a few more up. Solid performance, customizable mounting options, and an easy-to-use app make this camera a solid pickup.
5/5 Recommended
I would recommend this to a friend!
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Meet the Ninja Thirsti 18 oz. Travel Bottle engineered to keep drinks colder and fizzier for longer. This innovative drinkware is designed for carbonated drinks but is perfect for still, sparkling, hot or cold drinks too. LeakLock lid won’t leak, drip or spill. This durable 18/8 stainless steel bottle resists scratches and dents and fits in most cupholders making it ideal for life on the go.
Still Fizzy
Customer Rating
5.0
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Wow! This works! The Ninja Thirsti 18 oz is a travel mug / bottle from Ninja. I have owned Ninja appliances for years, and when I found out they were putting a spin on the travel mug / bottle, I knew I had to try it. This is my new go-to mug for travel or just around the house. This bottle works great.
Experience: I decided I would put the Ninja Thirsti up against insulated tumblers and an opened bottle of soda. After a day of waiting, the Thirsti was still cold and fizzy whereas the opened soda bottle and the insulated tumbler had long since gone warm and flat.
I like the twist close lid. I never had any leaks. Everything is constantly perfectly sealed.
Cleanup: Ninja advertises the Thirsti as dishwasher safe, but to prolong the life of the bottle, the instructions recommended hand washing the bottle. However you decide to wash the bottle, you should know there are three different rubber fittings inside the lid. Should you ever lose or need to replace those rubber gaskets, Ninja does sells replacements for the three gaskets on their website for two dollars apiece.
Conclusion: I really like this travel mug. I prefer to wash it by hand, but washing in the dishwasher works as well. Ninja already makes many of my go-to appliances, this is now my go-to bottle. If you find yourself seeking an insulated bottle to keep your drinks cold, warm, and / or fizzy, you should check out the Ninja Thirsti.
5/5
I would recommend this to a friend!
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Logitech G Yeti Orb is a premium RGB gaming microphone with LIGHTSYNC that delivers best-in-class audio performance and ease of use. With LIGHTSYNC RGB and a condenser capsule optimized for game streaming, plus Blue VO!CE presets, Yeti Orb is the easiest way to game with clear, focused audio. Just plug in via USB and you’re ready to join the voice chat, stream, and create video content with a massive jump in your vocal quality – instantly. Control your whole setup at once with G HUB. It’s that easy.
That's No Moon!
Customer Rating
4.0
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Who does not want to be the next big thing in streaming? Step 1: Play some games. Step 2: show off my less than stellar skills. Step 3: Swear and hang my head in shame. Step 4: profit, right? The Logitech G Yeti Orb is my first dedicated desktop microphone in many years. In addition to streaming, my friends and I have decided to start a movie podcast. So far, I have been impressed with the vocal quality. The G Yeti Orb makes a solid case for a place on my desktop. Streamers seeking a good entry level microphone should check it out, but be prepared, that price point comes with performance that, while good, is not great. It is a solid microphone and does better than my headset microphones and built-in laptop mics, but in my tests, it did not do much to mask mouse or keyboard clicks.
Installation is straight forward. Users should make sure they have the latest version of Logitech G Hub installed. The Yeti Orb connects to the PC via the included USB-C to USB-A cable. Once connected, Windows detects the Yeti Orb microphone and G Hub allows you to turn on various lighting and sound presets. The entire process is quite simple.
Some games have unique effects in G-Hub. Having your keyboard, mouse, headset, and Yeti Orb synchronized with the various effects is a neat touch. I like the orb shape and the size of the microphone.
In addition to the included stand, you could mount the mic on a boom stand or mic arm.
Experience: To evaluate the Yeti, I recorded numerous sessions with a USB headset microphone, a laptop built-in microphone, an analogue headset microphone, and the Yeti Orb. The Yeti Orb was the clear winner in terms of accurately recording my voice. Everything sounded clear and noise from the in-room fan / purifier was not picked up while using the Yeti Orb.
However, keyboard and mouse clicks were not hidden. You could hear the clicks of the mouse while I talked. The microphone is good, but there obviously are limits to how good it can be. I tried positioning the microphone super close while the keyboard and mouse were further back on the desk, but it did not matter. Those clicks came through very clearly. It is possible that a boom arm would help.
With my headset microphones, I can mute the microphone by either flipping a microphone up or via a physical button on the microphone. There is no mute button on the Yeti Orb. While I appreciate its minimalist design, a mute toggle on the microphone would have been helpful.
Conclusion: I like the microphone. I wish it did a better job of masking my mouse and keyboard clicks, but I do not know if I can criticize a microphone at this price point for not having that feature. For its price, it does work very well. It captured my voice better than any other PC microphone / headset I evaluated. My biggest complaint is that it lacks a mute toggle; I wish there were a mute button.
Still, this is a good microphone. If you are seeking a new microphone for streaming or gaming, give the Logitech G Yeti Orb a look. 4/5
I would recommend this to a friend!
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Jabra Elite 8 Active Bluetooth true wireless earbuds with HearThrough technology are designed to withstand your toughest workouts while allowing you to stay tuned in to your surroundings. Using military-grade testing, we put these earbuds through the test with rigorous cycles of thermal, shock, dust and water treatment, giving you excellent performance in any environment. Completely watertight even when fully submerged in water, the Bluetooth earbuds are able to withstand huge clouds of dust and survive drops from 3 feet totally intact. With ultimate grip through Jabra ShakeGrip, they stay secure in your ear all day without the need for ear wings. Experience immersive audio from all angles thanks to the richness and range of Spatial Sound powered by Dolby Audio, blasting your favorite work-out playlist and fully immerse yourself in quality sound that surrounds your head. Powerful 6mm speakers ensure the audio is clear and rich no matter what you’re listening to. Powerful Adaptive Hybrid Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) automatically adapts to the environment you’re in, filtering out unwanted interference from wind and other extremes. The wind neutralizing HearThrough technology muffles any wind interference, delivering cleaner, sharper sound wherever you are. HearThrough also provides an open ear experience so you can stay in tune with your surroundings without compromising on sound quality. Leave your phone at home but take your music with you. Download your music to your smartwatch, connect your earbuds, and head out for a phone-free run. Your connection will stay solid and stable no matter what, so you can push yourself to the limit without bringing your device along for the ride. And with Bluetooth Multipoint, you can seamlessly switch between your phone or smartwatch without needing to reconnect. 56 hours (ANC off) of battery in earbuds + case & Fast Charge to get 1 hour of battery in 5 minutes. Need to know the weather forecast or take a call on the go? Simply tap the earbud and ask your preferred Voice Assistant, without having to reach for your phone.
My New Favorite Buds
Customer Rating
5.0
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The Jabra Elite 8 Active earbuds are my new favorite buds. Their amazing fit, touch controls, great sound, excellent battery life, and wireless charging has won me over. These are my new go-to earbuds. …. But they are not perfect. Still, anyone looking for rugged earbuds with great sound should definitely give these buds a look.
Setup: Inside the box you get the buds, case, a short USB-A to USB-C charging cable, and additional tips so you can decide which works best for you. The default tips worked the best for me, but it is good to experiment, and you may find that different ears need varied sizes.
Pairing is easy. In my tests, I paired the buds with my Samsung Galaxy Watch 5, A Samsung Galaxy S22, and a Windows 11 PC. Pairing with all the devices was easy. When I pressed the buttons on both buds, a pairing option opened automatically on my Galaxy S22. Jabra says you can have up to ten devices paired with the buds, but only two devices can be in use at a time.
Jabra advertised the ability to pair the buds with a watch, and it does work. But I could not find too many apps that would stream audio from the watch. Most audio apps just allow a remote connection to the phone. For instance, if I download iHeartRadio or Amazon Music, the phone app connects to the phone. It does not appear to stream the music straight from the watch in my experience. So, that may be a feature in search of an application.
Fit: Speaking of fit, these are the best fitting earbuds I have ever owned bar none. I have had a rough go with buds. They usually want to push themselves out of my ear. These Jabra stay where I put them and, after a while, I forget they are even in there.
Sound: I think these buds sound great. From the Jabra+ app, I can customize the audio equalizer. I prefer the Bass boost setting. ANC and Pass-Through audio both works well. With simple presses of the left earbud, I can switch between the two.
Spatial Sound: This has been a bit of a disappointment to me. Turning Spatial Sound on created tinny sounding vocals. Plus, many audio apps such as Amazon Music have spatial audio presets built in. Having both the spatial audio preset on the buds and the source music created a mess. But I had better audio with the spatial audio in Jabra+ turned off. Audio was richer without the feature turned on. I know Jabra has been tweaking this with the firmware, so perhaps it will get better, but I just updated the firmware to 1.4.2(1033) and I thought the spatial audio worked better with the prior firmware release. (but that is just me)
Speaking of Firmware: I have had these buds a week and I have already had to update the firmware twice. First for a firmware update that was released before I received the buds and another that just came out. Jabra+ walks you through the process, but it can take ten or fifteen minutes to complete.
Microphone performance: I made a few phone calls with the Elite 8 Active. To date, everyone says I sound good. The software does an excellent job of isolating my voice from the Oklahoma wind. There was some distortion if I was in an area with a lot of vehicle traffic, but I am hopeful that a firmware update will improve that performance.
Google Assistant: Hey Google performance has worked well. Individuals wanting Alexa support will need to look elsewhere.
Touch Buttons: I really like the tactile push buttons. They work so much better and are more intuitive in my opinion than the touch / glide controls of other earbuds.
Software: I cannot say enough good things about Jabra+. It has a simple, clean interface that is easy to use. I appreciate the white noise options and the ability to toggle audio presets. It is also the only way to upgrade the firmware on the buds that I could find.
Battery Life: Jabra advertises 8 hours of battery life, an additional 24 hours in the case, and fast wireless charging. ANC may affect your playback time a bit. In my testing, Jabra’s estimates are on the mark. If anything, they may be a bit conservative.
Conclusion: I have mixed feelings about the spatial audio. I am not sure if microphone performance is where it should be in noisy environments. But those are my only real nitpicks. These buds work great. I have been extremely impressed with the Jabra Elite 8 Active. I have a feeling spatial audio and microphone performance will only get better with future firmware updates. As of right now, these are my go-to earbuds. They perform well, they are tough, and they travel well. I really like them, and they are easy to recommend. 4.5/5
I would recommend this to a friend!
-1point
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Meet the ultra-powerful, wet & dry MessMaster vacuum and mini Shop Vac. Powered by No Loss of Suction Technology, it handles life’s un-vacuumable messes, from DIY disasters to kid chaos. When you’re done, MessMaster can rinse itself, cleaning the dust bin with just a cup of water. You even have the option to line the dust bin with a plastic bag to keep the mess contained for easy disposal.
Shark Masters the Portable Wet / Dry Vac
Customer Rating
5.0
Images for this Review
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The Shark MessMaster is a portable wet / dry vac with a surprising amount of suction and functionality for a vac of this size. Over the last three weeks, I have vacuumed up several messes. The MessMaster even helped me clean up and sell a car. Throughout my testing, I have been impressed with its light weight, suction power, accessories, and the ease of cleaning it up. The Shark MessMaster has managed every challenge I have thrown at it, and I strongly recommend it.
I appreciate that many of the components are dishwasher safe. Shark included three or four 4-gallon trash bags. That is the ideal size. Using the bags does make cleanup a bit easier, but it is not necessary. Running water through the vacuum a few times helped me clean up any stubborn dust or debris. The crevice tool and the extension wand worked well hard to reach places.
If I had any nitpicks, I wish there were more storage for attachments and extension wands. Also, the power cord seems a bit short to me. I have had to get out the extension cords every time I have used it because many of the messes were not near an outlet.
Still, those are truly nitpicks and do not stop me from recommending the Shark MessMaster. It is a very capable, portable, and easily cleanable wet / dry vac. It is already proven its usefulness to me, and I am sure I will be using it for years to come.
I would recommend this to a friend!
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RedScorpion's Questions
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JVC - HA-ET90BT Sport True Wireless In-Ear Headphones - Black
Play cool music while performing your fitness routines with these water-resistant JVC wireless sport headphones. The Pivot Motion Fit provides a secure hold during rigorous workouts, and the JVC Headphones Manager app lets you control audio settings. These JVC wireless sport headphones come with a lightweight charging case that provides three hours of battery life on a single charge.
Hi, how is the sound quality for talking? Do the buttons hurt your ears when you push them in?
I didn't think they sounded that good and the person I called said I sounded very static-y.
6 years, 1 month ago
by
Posted by:
RedScorpion
Adobe - Photoshop Elements 2018 & Premiere Elements 2018 - Windows, Mac OS
Automatically go from hundreds of mystery folders to a visual view in the photo and video Organizer. See your best photos thanks to auto-curation. Effortlessly extract candid photos from your raw footage. Make photos and videos look amazing with automated photo editing and video creation options. And create and share beautiful printed artwork, new dynamic slideshows, photo and video collages, animated GIFs*, and full-length movies. Being creative is even easier with the Elements bundle.
Do you have to purchase a monthly or annual subscription in addition to the software?
No subscription needed.
6 years, 7 months ago
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Posted by:
RedScorpion
APC - Back-UPS 450VA Network 40 UPS - Black
Keep your home networking equipment working when the electricity goes out with this APC Back-UPS Network 40 BN4001 UPS that features 4 battery-backup and surge-protection outlets to ensure electronics remain powered during outages.
Where do I get a new Battery for this?
I'm sure my battery didn't last three years and I need a new one. What size am I looking for and where can I get one?
You can find replacement battery information on APC's website at:
http://www.apc.com/tools/upgrade_selector/
http://www.apc.com/tools/upgrade_selector/
8 years, 1 month ago
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Posted by:
RedScorpion
JBL - Flip 3 Portable Bluetooth Speaker - Blue
JBL Flip 3 Speaker: Stream your favorite songs and Internet radio stations from your compatible audio device using this speaker, which offers extensive playback with the rechargeable battery. Dual external bass radiators offer booming low tones, and you can enjoy clear phone calls with the integrated speakerphone.
can it be connected to a ipod nano
Yes.
If your iPod Nano has blue-tooth (which the newer models do), then you can connect this to your Nano that way. If your Nano does not have blue-tooth, you can always connect the Flip 3 with an auxiliary 3.5mm audio cable.
If your iPod Nano has blue-tooth (which the newer models do), then you can connect this to your Nano that way. If your Nano does not have blue-tooth, you can always connect the Flip 3 with an auxiliary 3.5mm audio cable.
8 years, 1 month ago
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Posted by:
RedScorpion