We all know that SSDs are super fast, especially from the mountains of benchmarks performed by reviewers. What about after a several months of actual use?

I installed the OCZ Technology 120 GB Agility Series SATA II 2.5 Inch Solid State Drive (OCZSSD2-1AGT120G) in my main system about 5 months ago. Everything else in the system is speedy (quad core Intel CPU, 6GB RAM, etc), but as we all know the real enemy of speed is a bogged down install of Windows. Runnings Windows XP x64 and after many months of installing, uninstalling, updating software I have to the conclusion: this SSD is still fast.

Boot time, application load time, etc, are all still zippy (even with anti-virus running!). I recommend the OCZ Agility.

Buy: 30 GB, 60 GB, 120 GB, 250 GB

Labels: review

A few years ago it seemed like there was never a need to have a microphone on your computer. Now there are dozen things you can use the microphone for and have the bandwidth to support it.

The Logitech ClearChat is a set of headphones that sound great and are easy to use. They are connected by USB so you don't have to crawl around to the back of your pc and try to match up the speaker and microphone plug. Its much easier to plug them into the front of the pc or the side of the laptop when they are needed.

The microphone is noise canceling so everyone on the other end won't hear your dog chasing the cat throughout the house. The microphone swings up out of the way when you don't need it.

Priced around $30.

Buy: Logitech ClearChat Comfort USB Headset (Black)

The Linksys router has been around forever and is one of the most widely known. The WRT54GL broadband router is a popular router to control their home network. Now owned by Cisco, the router is quick to setup, simple to use, and easy to maintain and administer.

The router is a combination of an access point to provide wireless G connectivity, a four port switch to provide wired connections, and a router to provide security to your network.

This isn't the cheapest at $60, but you'll appreciate spending the extra money after seeing how easy it was to set up and start using.

Buy: Linksys by Cisco WRT54GL Wireless-G Broadband Router (Compatible with Linux)

Do you ever worry about losing all of those pictures you have stored on your computer. Or your music collection you (legally?) downloaded? If not, then this isn't for you. For everyone else, check out this simple to use affordable external drive.

There are really just two steps for using the drive. 1, plug in the power and the USB port to your computer. 2, start using it. You can manually copy things to the drive for set up automatic backups with software available with the drive.

Priced around $95, it's a pretty affordable backup solution.

Buy: Iomega Prestige 1 TB USB 2.0 Desktop External Hard Drive 34275
Iomega Prestige 1.5 TB USB 2.0 Desktop External Hard Drive 34474

While it seems like everything coming on the market this year is going to have Netflix access, the Roku player was the first to have it. It has since refined itself into a great little player.

The player has a nice simple interface and you can set it up and be watching movies in minutes. Many people have claimed to save money with this by being able to downgrade their Netflix subscription and cable service.

The player is also able to play Amazon On Demand movies. This is a pay per movie / TV show service with over 40,000 titles available.

Wired and wireless connections are available to connect to broadband. You can connect to any TV, new or old, that accepts inputs.

Price at $100

Buy: Roku HD Player

After using the Flip for a couple weeks now, I am hooked. This is a great little camcorder and the video quality is awesome. From the operation of the camera, to recording a video, to uploading it to the computer or online, everything is just nice and simple.

While some people people like the complicated camcorders that allow you to adjust every setting, most people want something simple and easy to use. This is it. It powers on in a couple seconds and is ready to use. It's very convenient to carry in your pocket to capture video on the fly.

With 8GB of internal storage, it captures 120 minutes of 720p HD video. Is the battery getting low? All you have to do is find a USB port and it will charge the battery.

The included FlipShare software is simple to use and makes it very easy to edit and share the video clips.

While there is a growing list of accessories for the camera, the two that I will be getting are the silicon protective case and the sealed case for underwater filming.

Priced at an affordable $149 for a HD camcorder.

Buy:Flip UltraHD Camcorder, 120 Minutes (Black)
Black Soft Silicone Skin Case for Flip Ultra HD Camcorder
Flip Video AWC2T Underwater Case for UltraHD and Ultra 2nd Generation camcorders (Clear)

Doing any video editing with your netbooks and need a DVD burner? Here is your solution. Actually, this a great drive to add to your optical driveless netbook , laptop, or desktop without a dvd drive.

The drive burns DVD's at 8x which is the standard. Burn any faster, and you start getting errors. It's less than an inch thick and weighs less than a pound so it won't be a burden in your laptop bag. The drive is USB powered so you don't have to keep up with a power adapter. Just plug it in and you're ready to go. Nero is included if you need any DVD burning software.

Compatible with PC's and Macs. Priced at $49.99 Protective sleeves are available for the drives for around $13.



Buy: Samsung USB 2.0 8x DVD Writer External Optical Drive for Mac and PC SE-S084C/RSBN (Gloss Black)
CaseCrown Faux Suede Sleeve Case (Black) to Protect the Samsung USB 2.0 8x DVD Writer External Optical Drive for Mac and PC SE-S084C/RSBN (Gloss Black)

I am hearing about more and more people getting these for light desktop duty but more important as a Home Theater PC. While the processor is small and not suited for gaming for video editing, the video processor is awesome and can easily handle displaying HD video on your big screen.

The unit is the size of a dinner plate, and not a whole lot thicker either. With some heavy duty velcro, you could mount this almost anywhere. With the small size also comes small power consumption so it won't be sucking the electricity like the 500 Watt power supply on your gaming machine.

As I said before, this will work well as a light duty desktop machine. It will take up very little physical space on your desk. For surfing, checking email, or playing Farmville, this will work fine. If you want to edit video, music, or play the latest games, you will need something with a more powerful processor. The Aspire used a Nvidia Ion graphics processor and can play HD video through the HDMI port all day. From reading a lot of personal reviews, everyone is backing up the manufacturers claims that this does a great job of playing high def video.

There are the standard USB ports, but more important, a eSATA port. You can attach an external SATA drive and get fast throughput to your stored movies.

The machine comes with XP and 1GB of RAM. You will probably want to upgrade the memory with an additional 1GB (around $20). If you can't figure it out, there are many sites online with pictures showing how to do it. Many people have upgraded the OS to Vista and Windows 7 with no issues. From there, they are using Windows Media Center or Xbox Media Center ( XBMC ) to play their media.

Priced at $199, this machine is cheap for a pc and very cheap for a HTPC.

Buy: Acer AspireRevo AR1600-U910H Black/White Desktop PC (Windows XP Home)