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Archive for the ‘Reviews’ Category

The Acer is no longer with us…

June 14th, 2008 by Connor McBrine-Ellis | 13 Comments | Filed in Offline, Reviews

UPDATE: I bought the computer- it really lives up to the expectations!

I returned my Acer Extensa yesterday. I’m sure you’ve read about my share of issues with it, and I returned it, because the chance to return it to costco (I had 6 months to return it there) was drawing to a close. 

We did have many issues with it – even though the hardware inside of it was great quality – an ATI Radeon 2400 XT video card which is quite high-end, there was a good hard drive and lots of ram. The problem was, the cooling was awful, and the screen and body of the computer were cheaply made. I tried to hold onto it for as long as I could and considered sending it in for repairs but then I had to scratch that because, if I sent it there, what would happen would be that it would probably say “there’s nothing wrong with the computer” and then there would be a huge waste of gas and fuel and money spent on buying sufficient postage, anyways.

So now I’m searching for a new laptop. I’m looking into HP – perhaps an HP Pavilion dv6753ca “entertainment PC”. It has similar stats, and is at a similar price-point. A bonus is that it has a LightScribe drive which is great for all you people who like being creative – me included. It’ll be great for the Kunadiuns’ next movie.

Click here for an extremely high resolution photo of my laptop.

Here are some other “Plusses” over the Acer:

  1. Some sort of Remote Control is included – it sounds good, because I use my computer to download TV shows off of BitTorrent and then I hook the computer up to the TV to play them. I think that the Remote will have a pause and play button on it, hopefully, which will save me from getting up and off of the couch and running over to the Laptop to pause the show.
  2. The awesome volume controls on the top of the keyboard – I love these!!! They are great, and you need just bearly to tap them lightly to make the sound go up and down – not push down hard – thinking about that though, you could accidentally brush against them and lose your spot in a movie.
  3. HP webcams are Great – end of story
  4. Good reliable Intel® PRO/Wireless 4965AGN Network Connection & Bluetooth™. The Acer didn’t have bluetooth, which is pretty essential to most people, so this is a definite plus.
  5. Mouse buttons are more soft and aesthetic-feel to click and don’t make such a loud annoying noise. The ones on the extensa made a huge noise when clicking.
  6. Two headphone ports – great if you and a friend are listening – much better than sharing a pair of earphones.
  7. HDMI output – this kind of video output it commonly only seen in $1000+ laptops, so this is a huge improvement over the DVI-D output that was in the Acer.
  8. HP QuickPlay media player software and its dedicated menu controls, music and DVD buttons – the only problem is, I hear, is that the “Direct” option of QuickPlay that allows you to watch DVDs without actually even starting up the computer.
  9. Apparently, it has Altec Lansing speakers – a great improvment over the awful ones in that Extensa.
  10. There is more room to expand the memory to 4 GB

Overall, this is a great laptop. I think I might get it. Tell me what you think, readers.

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MXR Phase 90 – My New Guitar Pedal

June 4th, 2008 by Connor McBrine-Ellis | 6 Comments | Filed in Non-Tech, Older Posts, Reviews

Hey everybody!!! I am really excited because I just got a brand new guitar pedal!!!

It is an MXR Phase 90 by Dunlop. (Or MXR, Dunlop makes MXR). MXR is a very nice and reliable brand, and the sound is AMAZING!!! This pedal retains all of the tone of your guitar and amp, and just adds this watery, warbley, crisp sounding effect. Plus I mix this pedal with my Palomino V16 Class A Tube Amp (With Groove Tubes) and the sound is like you hear off of some Van Halen and Pink Floyd recordings!

This pedal has only one knob, to adjust for speed, but seriously, this is all it needs! It is a very simple set up, in a very sturdy metal box. It is a very impressive stomp-box, and when you adjust the settings on your amp, and your guitar, you can make this thing really sing.

I seriously would recommend to any who play guitar (or bass, or vocals, because this pedal sounds amazing with those too!) to check it out and buy it! Its usual price is around $80, but I got it for a sweet deal for only $68! MXR is an awesome brand with pedals that retain the sound of your amp, and not make it sound like something it’s not. I will be getting many more MXR pedals in the future. IT ROCKS!!!

(Also, this pedal is great for solos, especially when you turn on distortion and reverb, and you can sound like “Aint Talkin’ Bout Love” and “Eruption” and even great tones like “Speak to Me/Breathe” and “Wish You Were Here”) (Turn down the speed on this pedal and it makes chords awesome! Perfect for rhythm guitar as well!)

Check this pedal out at these websites!

http://www.jimdunlop.com/index.php?page=products/pip&id=243&pmh=products/p_and_e_detail

http://www.music123.com/MXR-M-101-Phase-90-Pedal-Refurb-151100-i1124431.Music123 (I did not get the refurbished pedal off of this website for $69.99, I got my pedal in Guitar Center for a great deal of $68, and it wasn’t refurbished. It was brand new.)

Rock on!

(Credit to Craig McBrine)

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