Reviews by MsNelson

MsNelson says "A good, cheap solution" about ativa G router AWGR54

MsNelson — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 02:31:47 GMT

Although I LOVE my Apple computer, I have absolutely no desire to spend all the extra money to get the brand name on my peripheral devices when it isn't really necessary. When my previous router stopped functioning, I needed an immediate solution. The Ativa G router was the cheapest thing available at the store, so it seemed like a good temporary fix, at least.

The router did not work immediately, but I found a posting by someone on Amazon.com that gave directions for how to change the factory configurations. Following these steps made it work like a charm, and it has given me great wireless service for the past six months.

The router was cheap, and it looks and feels like it. It is made of lightweight plastic (the thing weighs almost nothing!) so it has gotten accidentally knocked over a couple of times. However, despite my fears,it has survived these incidents. Overall, I'm pretty happy with it.

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MsNelson says "It looks weird, but it keeps me healthy!" about Rhino Horn Neti pot

MsNelson — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 02:01:57 GMT

I thought this sounded like one of the most disgusting things ever, but I had a friend that swore by her neti pot. After years of suffering from allergies and colds, I figured it was finally worth a try. My friend has a lovely ceramic neti pot, but honestly I purchased the Rhino Horn simply because I couldn't resist the horrible photo on the product's box! The woman using it looked so uncomfortable that I couldn't believe they were actually using it to sell the product (but I guess it worked, didn't it?!). Anyway, it wasn't long before I was making a similar face of discomfort in my own bathroom mirror. Yes, it feels incredibly bizarre to have water running through your head at first, but...Oh, the glorious feeling afterwards! If I remember to use this and Emergen-C when I'm starting to feel just a bit worn down, I don't actually get sick.

The design of this neti pot makes it easy to use, and the plastic body (though not glamourous) makes it very lightweight so it's easily...

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MsNelson says "Delicious and Nutritious" about Alacer Emergen-C

MsNelson — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 01:43:23 GMT

A friend recommended Alergen Emergen-C to me a couple years ago, and I'm very gratefule to her. Whenever I start to feel like I'm catching a cold, I drink one or two of these for a couple days, and I do not actually get sick. I really have not had a bad cold since I started using these. I have also found that these packets make the perfect "pick-me-up" beverage if I'm facing a mid-afternoon energy slump. Mixing one of these with a glass of water gives me the energy boost I need to keep working, without the jittery feeling and dehydration caused by drinking caffeine. The drink powder comes in several flavors. I adore the raspberry! (I tried a box of the Açai berry and did not enjoy them very much at all.) This beverage also satisfies my sweet tooth.

Just be careful to not inhale the "dust cloud" when you pour the powder out of the package. (*cough cough*)

So, have a drink. To your health!

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MsNelson says "Used to love it, now I like it." about Western Digital WDC 3200BMV Passport external 250 gig USB hard drive

MsNelson — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 01:20:26 GMT

I bought the Western Digital 250 GB Passport to use as my portable hard drive. The size of it is fantastic: 3"x5"x5/8". Slipping it into a carrying case allows me to transport huge amounts of data between home and work easily, and saves my personal computer from having to make these commutes. I love that it is powered through the USB cord, so there is no other power cord necessary. These two factors have led me to use this drive much more than my Seagate.

I have had this hard drive for about a year, and absolutely loved it when I first got it. Recently, however, its performance has been slowing down a bit. Perhaps it is just because it's filling up, but it now takes a good 30 seconds to a minute to show up on the desktop of my computer, where it used to establish an almost instantaneous connection. It also takes 2-3 tries to eject the drive after I have finished using it. It currently holds about 200 GB of data.

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MsNelson says "Functions well" about Seagate FreeAgent Desktop 500 GB USB External Hard Drive

MsNelson — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 01:01:38 GMT

I have owned the Seagate Freeagent 500 GB external hard drive for 2 years. It has always worked very well. I've had no problems with backing up my data to it, and file transfers go quickly. After having my former external drive crash after less than a year's use, I have been much happier with the Seagate. It's capacity allows me to store a great deal of data on it, reserving my laptop's memory for the stuff I more frequently use. The only reason I gave the Seagate Freeagent drive 3 stars is because of its design. The base of it provides stability, but is about 3 times the width of the rest of the unit, so it takes up more desk space. Having the perpendicular base also makes it an awkward unit to pack and transport. The external powercord adds another clunky bit of weight to the whole unit. In summary, as far as performance goes, it's great. If you desire compactness and/or portability, I would look elsewhere.

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MsNelson says "It may be small, but it packs a powerful punch." about Canon - PowerShot A570 IS Digital Camera

MsNelson — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 21:43:58 GMT

I feel like I spent a year researching digital cameras before finally purchasing the Canon Powershot A570. I have been very pleased with my purchase. Although the design may look a bit clunky, I have come to like the hand grip. This camera can easily fit in a coat pocket or small purse, and yet has much to offer in the way of options. When I don't want to lug along my huge SLR camera, I know that the Powershot will still do a great job of capturing the photo opportunity as I envision it. In addition to a variety of preset options (which I don't really use, so can't comment on those), there are aperture and exposure priority options, as well as a fully manual setting. This camera is great for point-and-shoot as well as for those that want to be more creative with their shots. I have been very pleased with the quality of my photos....

MsNelson says "Not the quality I expect from Sony." about Sony - DCR-SR200

MsNelson — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 21:32:46 GMT

The Sony DCR-SR200 camcorder has 40 GB memory on its hard drive. This seems like a fantastic way to travel light, without having to lug boxes of tapes around. In reality, it can cause paranoia that one crash will delete all of your movies, so I travel with an external hard drive and back up the video often. Ok, the hard drive is still smaller than a box of tapes, so maybe this part isn't all bad.
There are 2 microphone settings to adjust audio input, however, with no audio output jack, there is no way to monitor what sound level is actually being recorded. Since I use the camera to cover a lot of dance and musical events, this is a huge "minus"!
The biggest problem with this camera is that it records the data in mpeg-2 format. As a mac user, I had to purchase extra software (Sony only includes PC software with the camera) to even be able to view the video on my computer. I have to convert all video before I can do any editing, which is time consuming.
This camera seemed like......

MsNelson says "I love this small, powerful laptop!" about Apple PowerBook G4 Mac Notebook

MsNelson — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 21:18:28 GMT

I have the 12" PowerBook G4, and absolutely love it. I hope Apple starts making this smaller size of laptops again as they are fantastic for people who move around a lot and need their computer with them. I like that this unit lightweight, but self-contained, unlike the new "Air" laptop that needs external drives for CDs/DVDs. The PowerBook is a powerful computer and I have not had any problems with it - a huge improvement over my previous PC, which froze quite often. The computer comes with iTunes, iPhoto, iMovie, and iDVD software. The only thing I am really unhappy with is the design of the power cord. Although the length is great when you use the provided extension cord, the rubber sleeve connecting the cord to the computer input plug has started to break and is exposing the wires inside.
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