Tech Gear Guy

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Some time in recent past, All in One computers started to be popular with public.  One can’t ignore venerable sector leader, iMac, in this group.

Whether the Vaio All in One was Sony’s intent to compete against Apple isn’t something I know for sure to comment.  When it comes to design, Sony falls far below the standard setting iMac.  The TV like design wreaks design from Sony’s designs from the ’80’s.  The unit does have most of necessities in SD card slot, HDMI port, a vibrant display, a fast CPU and plenty of RAM.

But this computer is crippled by Vista along with its horrible old school design.  The benchmark result isn’t anything to write home about either.  Other than its stunning LCD display, nothing is worthwhile on this PC unfortunately.  While iMac has its own list of flaws, one can’t ignore how sexy and functionally fast it is compared to this offering by Sony.

I would imagine it would be a fine PC to have in a kitchen where you can quickly check for weather and recipes while kids can look up something quickly in between some fragging sessions of PS3 gaming using its HDMI port.  Other than that, look elsewhere for an all-in-one PC option.

YouTube video review of this computer - Sony Vaio All in One

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Popularity: 5% [?]

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When a small business just needs a bare bone server handling basic tasks, one doesn’t need to go spend on ton of money.  This particular HP server is an excellent example.  Purchased for a small 3 people network, this server has a powerful CPU in a Xeon CPU, 4Gb of RAM, and 2 160Gb SATA drives for RAID.  An on-board Gigabit Ethernet also is a nice touch pushing maximum throughput of this server.

The included driver CD has all the drivers including Linux!

As always, HP bundles a SmartStart CD that makes installation a breeze.  The server is well engineered and a perfect for a small office looking for a performance server at a low cost.

Popularity: 9% [?]

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When I first saw this laptop out of its box, I felt the laptop was on a thick side.  I then compared its height against previously reviewed, T400, and was only thicker by 0.1 inch.  Very weird indeed.

This laptop was geared towards Small Business users and it shows Lenovo’s accommodations.  14.1 inch LCD is bright yet reflective, and inclusion of things like HDMI and eSATA is very nice at this price range.

Plastic used for its lid feel cheap compared to that of T400 but it is what’s expected at this price range.  Not only that, it is a fingerprint magnet.  The keyboard feels great just as in other ThinkPads.

At around $600 for a ThinkPad boasting a Core 2 Duo CPU & 3Gb of RAM, this is not a bad option for some Windows 7 computing at cheap entry price.

Full YouTube review can be found here.  ThinkPad SL410 Review.mov

Popularity: 14% [?]

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Many IT managers over the years have deployed ThinkPad line of notebooks for end-users at a company he or she works for.  Reason?  Quite simple.  ThinkPads are built like bricks and they are well engineered yielding solid usability and performance.

The old venerable T61 has now been replaced with T400 and it is a solid replacement.  Armed with an Intel Core 2 Duo CPU and 4Gb of RAM, this is a solid workhorse that keeps working even after you retire to sleep.  The familiar ThinkPad keyboard renders comfort when you are finishing up that report or a story you have been working on.  The screen is bright and crisp.  The Anti-Glare matte LCD reduces glare which is welcome to those who prefer against glossy LCD.

It is superbly built and performance is legendary.  A 65w power adapter it comes with is smaller than many found in today’s laptops and easy to carry.  Along with Type 2504 port replicator, this is a desktop replacement for anyone looking for portable computing with power.

A video review can be found here on YouTube.  Lenovo ThinkPad T400 Review

Popularity: 13% [?]