Seagate Barracuda ST31000528AS 7200.12 SATA 3Gb/s 1TB Hard Drive Review

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Link: http://www.dragonsteelmods.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=17053&Itemid=1

 

Quote: I think most people don’t think much about hard drives really; at least the average person doesn’t anyway. Most average people have a pre-built box computer and they just accept what’s in it and that’s that. People like me though build our own computers and we seek out the best performing hard drive we can find as we want the fastest and the best. Seagate is known for their Barracuda line of drives, they offer decent performance and that’s what I’ve got for review today.

Hornettek Viper U3 USB 3.0 External Hard Drive Enclosure Review

 

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Link:  http://www.dragonsteelmods.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=17052&Itemid=1

Quote: USB 3.0 is the future and it’s here now, there’s no doubt it’s fast but there isn’t much yet in the way of  pre-built hard drives on the market just yet that can take advantage of its speed. The solution of course is to get an aftermarket enclosure like the one I have today from Hornettek called the Viper. This enclosure is small and well made; I put it up against another USB 3.0 enclosure and found that it actually performs a bit better.

Why I don’t like Apple.

One reason I don’t like Apple is that most everyone I’ve ever met who has an Apple product acts like they are better than everyone else. They act like because they have this device with a fruit on it they’re better than someone who doesn’t, like myself. Don’t get me wrong, I have two iPod nanos actually, the 4th and 5th generations of them, so it’s not like I don’t own any. I’ve actually known people who own Apple products who actually thought less of me when they found out I own and use PCs. Those are the kinds of people I don’t need in my life obviously. To each his own though, use whatever makes you happy.

The next reason I don’t care for Apple is the closed ecosystem they run, which seems to have gotten better actually with jail breaking etc. So that’s not too bad I guess, things can get better I hope.

The main reason I don’t care for them is that I can’t get their products for review. I’ve been doing this for years. The ones I have reviewed were purchased myself. I’ve emailed them over and over again, and not once have I ever gotten an email response from them. I did get a call from them, twice actually. Two responses over how many years isn’t that great in my book.

The first call I got they promised they’d send me something to review, this was when the 3rd gen iPod Touch came out, I was on the list and it was on the way. Never got it, never heard anything more about it. Never heard anything from them at all when the iPad 1 came out.

The next call I got was about the iPad 2, I was surprised they called, but of course they couldn’t provide me with one for review. Reviews were everywhere, and they were still appearing after the call, but they didn’t have any for review for me. The kicker is that I didn’t even want one for free, I wanted to ask about seeing if there might have been some ‘reviewer’ discount on one as some companies do that if you want to keep the product, but the call ended before I could even ask.

I’ve got three kids, it’s not like I’ve got an extra $500+ floating around to play with at the moment so buying one to review myself isn’t something I can do right now, or most times actually. Having one would open up quite a bit of other review options as well of course like apps and accessories.

Oh well… maybe I’ll hit the lottery.. but then I’d have to actually play it to win right?!

ADOBE PHOTOSHOP ELEMENTS 9 & ADOBE PREMIERE ELEMENTS 9 Review

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It’s shopped! We’ve all heard that expressions it means something has been altered. It’s usually a photograph that’s been doctored trying to make something funny, but it can be a professional job like a magazine cover. We’ve seen good and bad shops, so are so bad they’re funny, and some are so good you can’t even tell. I’ve been using a computer for many years and I’ve ever used Photoshop, believe it or not. I’ve used many other programs for editing photos and for what I do they work fine for my needs, but there are times when I wish I could do more. Adobe Photoshop is the premiere choice for photo editing of course, it’s where the term ‘shop’ came from. Today I have a quick review of the new version of Adobe Photoshop Elements 9 & Premiere Elements 9. Photoshop Elements is basically Photoshop while Premiere Elements is a video editing and creation suite of software.

http://www.testfreaks.com/blog/review/review-of-adobe-photoshop-elements-9-adobe-premiere-elements-9/

Review: Dance Paradise

 

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Link: http://www.xbox360digest.com/2011/04/19/review-dance-paradise/

Quote: Dance Paradise is a game certainly made for young people to enjoy, or older people who drink a lot. It’s a fun game with cartoony graphics as you use your avatar to play it. The game includes 40 original songs and videos from today’s popular artists like Lady Gaga, Snoop Dogg, and many more that I’m sure you’ll recognize. Some of them I’ve never heard of, but dancing and hip-hop aren’t really my thing at all. The game is played with the Kinect so you’ll be dancing the night away in front of your TV by yourself or with friends in the multiplayer modes.

Genius Kids Designer 5” x 8” Graphic Tablet for Kids Review

 

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When it comes to kids there’s a lot of games for them but not much in the way of peripherals really. Genius recently sent over the Kids Designer graphic tablet for kids for me to review. I let my 5yr old son play with it and he likes it a lot. I then had to use it myself and I have to say for a kids tablet it’s not bad at all.

http://www.testfreaks.com/blog/review/review-of-genius-kids-designer-5-x-8-graphic-tablet-for-kids/

Hornettek Showcase Media Player Review

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Today for review I’ve got another media player, this time it’s the Showcase from Hornettek that can use either a 2.5” or 3.5” hard drive for the storage of your stuff. The Showcase can support many different types of media formats, and it has outputs for HDMI, composite and component so you’ve got choices in how you want to hook it up. This media player works well, but it’s rather basic, so let’s just jump right into it.

http://www.testfreaks.com/blog/review/review-of-hornettek-showcase-media-player/