Sony VAIO VGC-LSBrand: Sony
Binding: Personal Computers
How Hard Can It Be? [Posted on 2007-09-09]
This is a very pretty machine. The picture quality is five-star. It comfortably fills that niche between desktop and laptop -- small footprint that I wouldn't take on a plane, but I would take into another room on a whim.
I lost several wires and power connections by switching from an ordinary desktop tower to this piece. Naturally, losing the mouse, keyboard and modem connections tidied things up, but losing the monitor and speaker power and connection cords, too, really untangled a frightening web under my desk.
In spite of remarks from others about the lack of documentation, the included power cord only connects in one place and the Start Up diagram makes it obvious. That Start Up sheet is also clear about the order to proceed during first-time set-up. If you've ever used a computer or NEVER used a computer, this will NOT feel like a rocket science degree will be necessary. Once connected, the Help file will fill in any gap you're suffering.
I was already familiar with Vista Home Premium, so the learning curve was negligible and the authorization was completely painless. And to counter another reviewer's experience, ALL of my Adobe software works just fine.
My mistake and not the fault of the machine -- I uninstalled all of the pre-loaded trial software before installing my own software discs and that created issues -- I shouldn't have unloaded the trial Quicken and tried to install my old Quicken version. Didn't happen. And I screwed up something by unloading the RealPlayer. If you run into trouble, just browse Yahoo or Google and you'll find the answer on someone's forum.
Nice machine. I might get annoyed about the wireless, potentially battery hungry keyboard and mouse at some point, but after hours and hours of use, not so far. And the keyboard is shockingly comfortable -- I didn't believe it would be. (UPDATE: It is months since I made this purchase. I use this computer often, daily. The keyboard has not needed new batteries yet, and I've replaced the mouse batteries only twice. I would say that this is not a battery hungry system after all.)
I enjoy it. This computer costs less than any system I have ever bought (I'm not a gamer) since the 1980s, yet runs better and looks better than any of them. If I run into anything ugly, I'll report back.
Good for you Sony [Posted on 2007-09-15]
Installation was a breeze. I just pulled out the big "Start Here Diagram" that was in the box and started connecting the different parts. It did take me a second to figure out how to pull off the back panel. I didn't want break my new Vaio. But it came off easy. Like the previous reviewer said, the "Star Here" Diagram is pretty easy to follow with big pictures explaining what's what.
Being wireless is nice. Love the wireless keyboard and mouse. Once the Vaio started up, it found my wireless network and my wireless HP C5180 All in One Printer. I did have to add a wire to the back, because I think the Sony side speakers were kind of weak sounding. So I added my Acoustic Authority Speakers with bass to it via the headphone jack on the side.
This is my first Media Center Edition computer, so hooking up my Time Warner Cable wire and hooking up the included HDTV tuner with antenna was pretty easy. I live on the second floor, so receive most of the available local over the air HDTV stations. The video looks great on this beautiful 19 inch screen. I was a little bummed that Sony is going to offer a larger screen 22 inch screen this October, but this one is big enough for me.
It runs Vista Home Premium pretty much flawless. I had an old Vaio desktop (RB30) with Vista Home on it, but it could not handle multitasking. On this Vaio I can watch TV, work with Adobe Photoshop element 5.0 and be on the internet all at the same time. I did disable some of the startup items (via msconfig) that I didn't need like QuickBooks, Adobe Reader quick launch, Vaio camera utility server & QuickTime. My Vaio starts up 50% faster. Oh and I deleted Norton right away which has been known to slow down a computer. I already had a subscription with Kasperskey. Microsoft announced that Vista Service Pack 1 will be available the first part of 2008 so that should really speed things up.
Overall, I've had my Vaio for a month now and have been very happy with it. It's very quiet also.
My VAIO [Posted on 2007-10-27]
I love it, getting used to wireless mouse and keyboard, forget to turn them off sometimes, they drink batteries.
So far so good. [Posted on 2008-01-12]
I have only had the computer for a month and so far I am pleasantly surprised. No issues except for the lack of instructions for pairing up the remote keyboard and mouse to the computer. Yes, they do have these instructions online but how can you get online without a keyboard and mouse! It was no big deal though, I just called customer service, (fairly quick), and was told there was a switch on the back of the computer that had to be reset and then you had to immediately reset the switch on the keyboard and mouse. Still, it wouldn't kill them to include a booklet. I have already had to replace the batteries in the mouse but the keyboard is still fully charged. It may have been because they come with cheap batteries.
Great unit [Posted on 2008-01-14]
Was a lenghty decision between the iMac and Sony desktop! Though, I'm incredibly happy I decided on the Sony. Amazon was the best price and free shipping. It arrived only a few days after I ordered. Very, very and very satisfied with the product and Amazon.
Click here for more details and discount information...
|
