Computer Hardware reviews


GigaFast Ethernet WF711-APR Wireless router

I had no problems at all with newegg. They were great. GigaFast is not.

Mine worked fine for about the first two weeks. Then I had a few problems with it. Now it is awful. I will never buy another GigaFast product again (I will buy others from Newegg though).

First, mine now gets really hot after 30 minutes. It doesn't help that there is practically nowhere for air to flow through it. (The majority of the air vents are on the bottom of the unit and it has no feet to hold it up off a flat surface). Second, the silly thing won't let me access its controls anymore (not through browser or command line interface). I can ping the address of the interface and get a response, but I can't actually access the interface. Third, it changed its IP address on me, from 192.168.8.1 to 192.168.0.1 (and it won't reset to default, even using the reset button). I cannot access the device's settings from either. Fourth, when I finally get it to work after a few days, it works for about 30 minutes, then shuts down the WLAN and proceeds to restart itself every three minutes and won't connect the WLAN again (and I'm using the GigaFast Wireless card on my laptop, the one that GigaFast says to use ). Fifth, the Tech Support at GigaFast doesn't help, partially because their phone system is so bad that the voices are almsot unintelligible and cut in and out. They had the nerve to suggest I get a better telephone. I have never had any problems speaking to anyone else on the phone. I had my volume all the way up when I called them, and every other time I do that the voices are so loud it hurts my ears, but theirs were so soft I couldn't hear them. Sixth, the device (breaking FCC regulations) DOES cause interference (says it doesn't on the label), I can't use telephones in the same room as they produce a squealing feedback from the router. (they didn't before I got it) and I'm almost positive they're on different frequencies (supposedly).

Need I go on?

By the way, it is completely dead now. Won't work at all (other than to make a high shrilling noise itself).

Jo Allen


Epson Perfection 1200 Scanner

This scanner itself has been fairly reliable. After years, it has been starting to wear, but has had a reasonably good life. I prefer using the manual scanner controls (not the automatic ones), and that was my biggest problems with this scanner, as it was very hard to switch it to the manual panel. Also, the add-on film scanner has a sort of problem: the scanner door has to be propped open or it shoves the film scanner backwards, preventing it from scanning correctly.

Jo Allen




maintained & operated by Jo Allen.
updated on 05/05/2007 16:54 CST