If you purchase a new LG Stylo 2 smartphone from Virgin Mobile and you don’t want to activate it immediately, there is a way to do so, and bypass the seemingly mandatory activation process. There is no direct option to cancel the activation process during the initial boot of the phone, unlike some of the Verizon prepaid phones (you can pull down the Notifications and escape with some Verizon models). This doesn’t work here. Thankfully there is a way to setup and use the phone without activating it. Here is what happens, step by step…
Mediasonic HW-150PVR OTA DVR review: if you are comfortable programming VCRs, and watch only a few hours of OTA TV per week…
This is the review of the Mediasonic HW-150PVR OTA DVR, a companion post to our text and pictures unboxing. This is not a “how to”, but if you have this device, and you would find step by step how-to posts useful, then please let me know and I can post those.
TL;DR: To cut a long story short, this is a useful device if you only watch a few hours of Over the Air TV every week, and you don’t need to record more than one show in the same time slot. If you are fan of a lot of Prime Time shows, one tuner is not enough. The other potential deal killer is that its user interface reminds of VCRs. It has a learning curve, it is clumsy and not well thought-out, especially if you are used to the workflow of iOS and Android apps or TiVos. The remote control (needs direct line of sight) is about the same level as cable company DVRs considering that it is smaller and with fewer buttons.
Unboxing the Mediasonic HW-150PVR
And now something for the cordcutters. I picked up the $30-something Mediasonic HW-150PVR over-the-air converter and poor man’s DVR and I am already using it for real world watching and recording. This is the first post in a series, covering what’s included and how it looks. More posts are coming on this. Based on my initial usage, this has exceeded expectations (granted, I was expecting a disaster). If you have any questions or want me to test anything specific, please leave a comment and I’ll try it if I can. I purchased this with my own money in mid-January 2016 at Amazon.
WHAT’S INCLUDED
Considering the price, the included items are about as good as it is gonna get. You get the following:
ASUS M32CD Desktop PC Review Part #5: CPU-Z results
All apologies for the delay between updates (two months!), partially because of the Holidays, partially because I am un-optimized and inefficient at multi-tasking 🙂 This was requested by multiple people, so here it is, screenshots after running the CPU-Z software, version 1.74.0 x64. The following are screenshots of various sub-tabs from CPU-Z.
We start with the CPU, as expected, this is a Skylake i5-6400, with 4 cores and 4 threads. Right after that is a screenshot of the “Caches” tab.
ASUS M32CD Desktop PC Review Part #4: Findings After Three Weeks
I have now been using it for about three weeks and completed the transfer of most of the files and functionality from my previous desktop, so these are my findings, by using the PC for on-going tasks. Measureables and benchmarks will come in separate posts (there’s already a request for CPU-Z, so that’s coming later). I will also have a future post where I try many different things for testing purposes.
In This Post
* performance
* Firefox
* Keyboard and Mouse
* Problems/Issues: Intel Driver, HDD/VGA, Bluetooth
FAST: my previous desktop was a dual-core 4GB RAM Windows 7. This is definitely a performance improvement, to the point where I am now lagging behind the computer, while with the previous PC, I had to wait for the PC to catch up with me. Firefox starts near instantly, countless open windows and tabs do not phase it. The only time I had a slowdown was when the annoying Windows 10 Update process decided to start a major update (I turned it on, but hadn’t used the PC for 20+ minutes, so probably Windows thought this was a good time to start upgrading).
ASUS M32CD Desktop PC Review Part #3: The Specs
In Part #1. we unboxed the PC. In Part #2, we described what happens when you turn it on for the first time. In this post, we take a look at the specs and some technical details.
If you are looking for something specific, please leave a comment and I’ll add it. There’s a lot of info available to fill many pages…
NOTE: this post was written on this brand new PC, the first piece of “productive work” it has been used for. The included keyboard is driving me crazy, it’s messing up my touch-typing hand alignment, especially on the middle-right and right of the main typing area (not the arrow/keypad area). I’ll give it more time to see if my hands-brain combo adjusts to it.
UPDATE: Part #4 should be coming sometime before 11/3/15 10/30/15, so stay tuned…
ASUS M32CD Desktop PC Review Part #2: Turning it ON for the First Time
In Part #1, we unboxed the ASUS M32CD. In this post, we have a brief description of what happens when you turn it on for the first time. To keep things moving fast, I did not take many screenshots or pictures (otherwise it would have taken 3X longer to get it up and running).
We start with some TL;DR type of info first, and then have a recount of the near step-by-step process of getting it up and running.
NOTE:To keep the various apps and processes under control, I did not connect the PC to the internet during the first boot. I did that later on, after I finished set-up and making settings adjustments (Metro Settings and Control Panel).
SURPRISE: there were no crapware apps installed at all! The biggest pestery apps were Microsoft’s own, Cortana, OneDrive, etc. That’s right, the Windows Desktop had only one icon, the Trashcan. The Windows button menu had a handful of live tiles but again, no trialware.
The taskbar too was modestly decorated with only these: the Search box with Cortana activated, Task View, Edge browser, File Manager, and the Windows Store. You can use the Windows Store without logging in to a Windows account, but obviously you need one if you want to $pay$ for apps or start subscriptions.
Despite the McAfee mentions in the licensing terms, there’s no McAfee installed on the PC. The Windows Defender is turned on and the default firewall and anti-virus and anti-malware software for this device.
You don’t even get any of the ASUS apps you find on ASUS laptops!
ASUS M32CD Desktop PC Review Part #1: Unboxing
Welcome to the first part of a developing multi-part review of the Windows 10 ASUS M32CD Desktop PC. In this post, we take a look at what’s inside the box, and highlight some of the things that may not be obvious from the product description at Amazon.com and other places. The pictures here were taken in a hurry (I hadn’t turned it on yet!), so please excuse them (these are not intended to be product marketing pictures after all).
WHAT’S INSIDE THE BOX?
- the Desktop, wrapped in a thin wrapper, taped (annoyingly) at the bottom – remove the thin wrapper carefully if you don’t want to tear it (if you are a perfectionist)
- a cardboard pizza-style box that includes
- the USB optical mouse
- the AC adapter (sealed in bag)
- paperwork
- warranty
- very basic Starter Guide
- paper begging not to return it at first sign of trouble
- the wired keyboard in its own cardboard case
- rust protection paper on the side of the PC
- protective tape on the face of the PC and bottom front edge
- video cable is NOT included (you have to use your own VGA or HDMI cable)
Welcome to the DealGeekery Blog
Welcome to the DealGeekery Blog! This Blog is a companion to our Deals website. Here we will cover anything and everything, from product reviews to tech tips to deal tips to buying guides and more. This will develop over time. If there things you would like to see, please let us know!
- « Previous Page
- 1
- …
- 4
- 5
- 6