My Review of the Western Digital My Book Studio 1 TB FireWire 400/800 Drive
February 23, 2010 by admin · Comments
I am a member of the Amazon Vine program. Each month Amazon.com sends me products to review for their site. This month I received the Western Digital My Book Studio 1 TB FireWire 800/400, USB 2.0 External Hard Drive
Let me echo the thoughts of some of the other Amazon reviewers: The addition of the ’smartware’ in such an intrusive way is not Mac-like and completely unnecessary. I did see the mandatory virtual CD disappear after I installed the smartware software on my Mac, but having to install anything to use an external hard drive is completely inexcusable. Western Digital loses two stars on this ‘feature’ alone.
Once installed, the included smartware software adds an equally unnecessary menu bar icon that does nothing but take up system resources. I was able to remove it from loading by going into user settings under system preferences and removing it from my startup items.
Features & Operation
Beyond the major software flaw, this is a good external storage device. There are few first party firewire 800 drives directed at Mac users, so this drive might be attractive for those looking for an easy solution to adding a high-speed time machine backup drive to their system. It is also compatible with Firewire 400 and USB 2.0… Read the rest of my review at Amazon.com (affiliate link).
Jay Leno Offers the Best Chevy Volt Preview So far
December 29, 2009 by admin · Comments
I can’t wait for GM to finally get this car rolling off the assembly line. From watching the above video, it looks like they are getting very close to production. Jay Leno had the opportunity to test drive an advanced prototype that looks to be what next year’s mass produced version will look like.
The big takeaway? GM has produced an electric car that’s practical and won’t leave its users stranded at the side of the road. It’s sellable.
Some new things I learned from the video:
Hat tip to GM-Volt.com for the link.
Review of the Western Digital My Book Studio 1 Terabyte Drive
December 28, 2009 by admin · Comments
I am a member of the Amazon Vine program. Each month Amazon sends me items to review on their site. This month I received the Western Digital My Book Studio 1 TB External Hard Drive.
Western Digital’s My Book Studio is a Mac formatted external hard disk that includes a high speed firewire 800 interface. While the product is good, Western Digital’s foolish decision to make their ‘Smartware’ an intrusive part of this product is not Mac-like and completely unnecessary. The Smartware software will present itself as a ‘virtual CD-ROM’ that will not go away unless it is installed.
Once installed, the included smartware software adds an equally unnecessary menu bar icon that does nothing but take up system resources. I was able to remove it from loading by going into user settings under system preferences and removing it from my startup items.
Read more of my review at Amazon.com.
My Review of the Western Digital My Passport Essential External Hard Drive
December 27, 2009 by admin · Comments
I am a member of the Amazon Vine program. Each month Amazon sends me items to review on their site. This month I received the Western Digital My Passport Essential 320 GB USB 2.0 Portable External Hard Drive
I have long been a fan of Western Digital’s bus powered external drives and own a bunch of them for my online video news startup. Their drives are workhorses and have withstood a ton of abuse my reporters have inflicted upon them. What I liked most was the drives’ simplicity – plug it in, format, and get to work.
Unfortunately Western Digital has made a mess of their newest generation of bus powered hard drives by forcing users to install unnecessary drivers and the addition of a persistent `virtual cd` that can only be removed through a lengthy process hidden on their support site.
Read my full review at Amazon.com to hear my experiences using this drive on both Windows and Mac.
Lowepro Magnum DV 6500 AW Shoulder Bag Review
December 9, 2009 by admin · Comments
I am a member of the Amazon Vine Program. Each month Amazon sends me products to review on their site. This month I received the Lowepro Magnum DV 6500 AW Shoulder Bag.
The Magnum DV 6500 AW is a very serious bag for serious content creators. It makes efficient use of space while offering adequate protection for expensive gear. Lowepro makes every inch of the main compartment configurable with a number of extra padded “walls” included to provide extra protection as needed.
This bag is perfect for a pro with multiple cameras and lenses. I was able to fit my SLR, two lenses, and a small “angel” tripod in the bag with some room to spare for additional accessories.
My only disappointment was that I couldn’t quite fit my unibody 15″ Macbook Pro in the bag comfortably. I could zipper the bag closed, but the computer was just too close to the zipper for my taste, leaving a portion without padded protection. A smaller 13″ plastic Macbook fit perfectly.
Beyond that gripe this is a great bag that can carry a lot of expensive stuff safely and comfortably.
See my video review, which includes the Macbook Pro difficulty, on Amazon’s site.
My Review of the Philips SWW1800/27 Wireless HDTV Link
November 30, 2009 by admin · Comments
I am a member of the Amazon Vine program. Each month Amazon sends me products to review on their site free of charge. This month I received Philips SWW1800/27 Wireless HDTV Link
The Philips SWW1800/27 Wireless HDTV Link actually works as advertised, transmitting the output of up to four high definition devices across a room without wires. It is simple to install and requires absolutely zero configuration. Plug it in and it works.
/>Philips gets bonus points for including an HDMI cable. This the first high definition device I’ve used that actually comes with one. I hope other manufacturers follow their lead.
I tested the device in my home, transmitting the output of a high definition camcorder and a few other devices approximately thirty feet across my living room to a plasma television.
See my full review at Amazon.com.
Best Buy Doesn’t Get Twitter.. Even Though They Think They Do.
November 29, 2009 by admin · Comments
The New York Times ran an article on Best Buy’s new Twitter strategy the other day, talking about how the company is embracing customer engagement after ignoring us for so long. Unfortunately they still don’t get it.
Let me start by saying that I have never been a fan of Best Buy. Whether it was their practice of not honoring their own website pricing or how they swindle unassuming people with ridiculously overpriced cables, they’ve never been very reputable in my book. Nevertheless I am a customer. They beat me up and I keep coming back. So I guess it’s partly my fault. But I have continued shopping there mainly because I like their in-store pickup service. It’s convenient and nice to know the inventory is reserved before I make the 20-30 minute trek up to the nearest Best Buy retail store.
For a few months now Melissa and I were thinking about picking up a new television for downstairs. This weekend Best Buy had a great price on a mid-range TV that was even showing up in stock at the store closest to us. I happily ordered it and was all set to run up there this afternoon and avoid the hassle of delivery appointments and logistics. But unfortunately I was notified this morning that the unit was out of stock at my store and that I should call customer service.
Screenshot from Best Buy's customer service page
No problem. Another nearby store had stock, so I was planning to have them re-direct the order there. After all, their website says customer service is “staffed up and ready to assist” so it shouldn’t take long. Right? Wrong.
After sitting on hold for over ten minutes, I decided I wasn’t going to waste time on this holiday weekend begging Best Buy to take my money. So Twitter to the rescue. I shoot off a Tweet to @twelpforce – the Best Buy presence in the Twitterverse – right before I got disconnected from the customer service center:
LonSeidman: @twelpforce Annoyed. why no cancel button for in-store pickup orders that end up not in stock? Twenty minute hold time is unacceptable
And a few minutes later I get a reply from a member of their Twitter team:
ApplExpert50: @lonseidman #twelpforce An in-store pickup may be canceled at anytime by calling 1-888-BESTBUY. Sorry for the hold time. ‘Tis the holidays!
Huh? Did I not already do that and complain about the fact I couldn’t get through to anyone? But it gets better, as this message came over ten seconds later:
ApplExpert50: @lonseidman #twelpforce If you’d like to see a different process for canceling orders adopted, suggest it at our IdeaX: http://is.gd/56Y8u
Yeah thanks. Submit your idea to our customer suggestion box black hole. Like that’s going to solve my problem. But Best Buy isn’t done yet. Their official Twelpforce account retweets the exchange to give the impression that they’re actually helping me. I’m livid, especially given that I was hung up on twice in the intervening minutes. So I then tweet:
LonSeidman: @ApplExpert50 Forget it, third time I got hung up on. The order will sit. If it charges my card you can work it out with American Express.
And that’s what finally prompts the response I was hoping for all along:
ApplExpert50: @lonseidman #twelpforce I apologize for the poor phone experience. Email details and Ord # to twelpforce@bestbuy.com so we can look into it.
See what’s wrong with this picture? If a customer is upset enough that they’re tweeting about it, why not have a process in place to help keep the business? I surely don’t expect the website to get re-engineered in ten minutes, but finding a solution to a customer problem should have been their first instinct. If they’re paying people to monitor Twitter why not empower them to solve problems?
Comcast, believe it or not, is the shining light in the Twitterverse. They have a very active presence that combs through millions of tweets a day looking for those having issues with their services. When there is a problem, they respond immediately and begin offering customers options to get things fixed. What’s more, they direct those company resources to the customer as opposed to asking the customer to make phone calls. In my experience they solve service issues faster on Twitter than they do over the phone. Very impressive.
The lesson? Just being on Twitter isn’t enough. Business in the 21st century is about engagement and fixing problems, and doing whatever it takes to keep the business. Small businesses have known this forever: an angry customer in a small community can easily escalate into a bad reputation. Big business knows that now even the smallest customer might have 75 Facebook friends. I have nearly 1,300 who will be reading this shortly.
This blog post would have been considerably different had somebody worked to solve the problem. Instead Amazon got the business.
UPDATE: Apparently the head of social media at Best Buy finds the above post insulting. Can these guys be any more out of touch?
UPDATE: I received an email from a ‘twelpforce’ representative today. This confirms my assertation that “Twelpforce” really is not a vehicle for customer service but more for driving sales. Here’s an excerpt:
..in general Twelpforce is meant to resolve product inquiries. In reality, most of our Twelpforce representatives are sales associates who are working in stores, or departments that may not have access to the proper systems to assist with changing your BestBuy.com order. In this case, the options they have is to either direct you to call in or email us directly.
Comcast resolves issues directly through Twitter, directing company resources to help the customer get the problem resolved. Best Buy clearly doesn’t, and will continue to funnel customers into overloaded customer service centers.
What they need is to have a staff of “twelpers” who are equipped to solve these customer issues. In the meantime I took my business elsewhere.
Apple Finally “Gets it” With New Magic Mouse
November 5, 2009 by admin · Comments
The Bottom Line:
If you’re a Mac owner and are looking to upgrade the lousy mouse that came with your system you will be very satisfied with the Apple Magic Mouse Those looking for more buttons and macro functionality should look at similarly priced products from Logitech and others.
Review:
Apple is known for elegantly designed products, but unfortunately its input devices have fallen short over the last decade or so. That all changes today. The Magic Mouse is the first Apple mouse in probably twenty years that lives up to the elegance of the products it will be connected to.
The entire mouse is touch sensitive, and surprisingly it actually works without many ‘false’ reads. The Magic Mouse is smart enough to detect finger movement for scrolling even when my palm is resting on the device.
A ‘momentum’ setting in the software driver gives your Mac the same type of scrolling behavior as the iPhone. Fast flicks of the finger scroll faster, while slower movements give finer control. It gets a little flaky when a scrollable form is embedded on a webpage, but these are things that can get worked out with future driver releases. Best of all most of the mouse behavior works in virtual environments like VMWare and Parallels.
Magic Mouse also has a very satisfying mechanical clicking system. Like the trackpad on the new Macbooks, it just feels right. Right clicking is available, but it must be configured first in the control panel.
I am puzzled that while Apple prides itself on designing non-replaceable rechargeable batteries into its products, the Magic Mouse runs on AA’s. Batteries are included, but they are not rechargeable. You’ll need to get your own charger and batteries if you wish to use rechargeables. Battery life is decent, and after three full work days I’m still at 90%.
PROs
Beautiful design with an innovative touch sensitive surface
Satisfying clicking mechanism
Seamless bluetooth connectivity
CONs
Only has two possible button combinations (click and right click)
Apple software update required before the mouse is fully functional (as of 11-3-09)
Right clicking needs to be configured in the control panel first
You’ll need a seperate battery charger if you wish to use rechargeables
Windows users won’t get the same functionality as Mac owners at this time
Review of the Epson Workforce 1100 Wide Format Printer
October 20, 2009 by admin · Comments
I am a member of the Amazon Vine Program. Each month Amazon.com sends me products to review on their site. This month I received the Epson Workforce 1100 Color Inkjet Wide Format Printer
I am a very happy owner of an Epson Workforce 600, so I was excited to receive this wide format printer for review. Like other Epson Workforce series printers, the 1100 has a fast printing mechanism and quality that rivals laser output (depending on the paper stock).
Read my full review at Amazon.com.
“Rolling Shutter” Plagues Nikon’s D300s Video
August 31, 2009 by admin · Comments
Nikon’s brand new D300s is hitting store shelves this week. It’s an incremental upgrade on the legendary D300. It adds a few new features but the big one for me was video.
Unfortunately, a problem that plagued Nikon’s first SLR video feature in the D90 continues with the D300s – rolling shutter. Basically fast moving objects or camera pans can result in some distortion due to how the camera’s sensor reads and outputs data. While not a deal breaker for me, it is disappointing that a problem that existed in a Nikon product from last year is still going unfixed on their latest mid-level flagship product.
You can see the problem first hand in the video above.
Read more about the problem (and a fix) at Chase Jarvis’ excellent blog.
Here’s some footage I shot during a recent vacation to Hawaii. It works much better when the camera is locked down:
Here are some additional videos I shot with the D300s earlier, mostly handheld:
Stuff I find interesting- Apple approaches $200 billion March 7, 2010
- Obama Gives Cheney a Call February 26, 2010
- Plants vs. Zombies breaks records on the iPhone February 26, 2010
- ‘Find My iPhone’ Rescues Two Stolen Phones at Busch Gardens February 25, 2010
- Poll: Republicans more partisan February 24, 2010
