Right now, I cannot give a complete review but I can say, so far so good – except for the part where one of my USB ports sucks but this is not the fault of Seagate and their hardware. Setup is really easy, once you plug it in, the autorun will guide you through setup and registration of your new drive. My computer recognized it without problems and the software works on Windows computers running XP or Vista. I’m not sure if Windows 7 is supported and there was a notice for Mac users that a Mac-compatible drive is available so I don’t think they can use this.

I would like to say that the included USB cord is really short. It’s 17″ from end to end which doesn’t give a lot of room. If I plug it into the back of my tower, it has to sit on the floor right next to it or on the back edge of the top of the tower. Luckily, it’s a generic connector type (Mini-A, I believe) so if you had a cord from another device like a camera or one of those swappable connector cords, it’s really a non-issue.

Installation went without a hitch and soon I was running the Seagate software to backup my computer. The software is pretty straight forward and works well, which I appreciate it. It was easy to do a full back up, which I chose to do, or a custom one. Basically, all I had to do was press a button and the software was copying my entire C drive. You can tell how dated my computer is when I say my drive is only 80gigs and you can imagine my frustration when, even that, took over 7 hours to back up. It was probably more like 8 or 9 but I cannot recall what time I started doing it.

Now, it’s important to note that while FreeAgent Go is USB 2.0 compatible, you won’t get the higher speeds on regular USB1.0 ports and, because my computer is older, most of my ports are 1.0. As it happens, the one that wasn’t initially working was 2.0 so back ups will definitely be faster on newer machines. The Seagate website states that USB 2.0 will go up to 40 times faster than USB1.0 (480 Mbits/sec as compared to 12 Mbits/sec). And this doesn’t mean it doesn’t work, just that it doesn’t work quite as efficiently. I did rerun the backup when my USB2.0 was working correctly and it only took less than an hour!

If you are experiencing slow transfer times, it may be because you are not using a USB2.0 port (Seagate has instructions on checking that) or because you failed to do things like defrag or run checkdisk before (Seagate also has something to say about that).

During the entire time, the lights on the drive itself flickered to let me know it was ‘working.’ When it finished, the lights stayed steady. If you don’t find the lights useful, they can actually be turned off with the software, too. However, the lgihts do help to indicate if the drive is connected and if you ever run into port issues, they can be a troubleshooting tool. I do find that the flickering is not quite as vibrant as I would like and I have to look at it for a few moments to determine whether the lights are steady or not.

The good news is, after the initial backup, I will only be backing up changes in certain folders, like “My Documents” which only takes a few minutes. And there were no hardware or software issues. Newer computers will probably have an even more efficient time of things but it’s good to know this drive works with older ones because my mother’s computer is also quite old.

Seagate also offers the option to encrypt files. I probably won’t use it but it’s great in the event that I leave the drive plugged in or forget it someplace (not that I would be taking it anyplace I could forget it but still).

So, assuming Seagate FreeAgent Go 320 GB USB 2.0 Portable External Hard Drive works well with my mother’s computer, I really like it. I just wish the pink one were prettier so I could have bought that!

Generally, customer service drags you through trouble shooting steps that will have no effect or that you’ve already taken. When I explained my problem, the representative quickly confirmed that there was nothing else to be done about a hardware failure and that, because the warranty was up, they wouldn’t pay for repairs.

However, she invited me to join their loyalty site where I could buy a new printer at drastically discounted prices. Although I’d still be out money either way, the prices on Epson’s loyalty site were better than any I could find retail. Silly me forgot to buy a printer before those prices expired, unfortunately.

Even though I have a giant paperweight on my desk, I felt that the experience was as positive as it could be. The customer service representative didn’t lead me around in useless circles and I felt like I was rewarded for my patronage. I have had several customer service experiences which have been more negative so it was refreshing.

Luckily, I’ve never had any problems with memory and I’ve mix matched brands but sometimes a crappy stick can cause hardware issues and the horrible Blue Screen of Death. Besides struggling to insert the actual stick – which is only because my tower has cramped – I’ve had no problems with my RAM from Centon and would buy it again or recommend it to others.

If you’re looking into any home improvement project Inviting Home has not only the materials, such as decorative hardware, you need but inspiration and ideas so that you can create the perfect abode. I like the more classic Celtic and Fleur de Lis patterns when it comes to hardware like pulls but if you want something different, you can try painted floral hardware or even animal shaped hardware. Who doesn’t want a Cockatoo adorning their cabinetry?

Although I originally was not fond of how it looked (ours is black), it really has grown on me. Ryan initially liked it because he thought it looked really nice and I now agree.

The features (like a massage spray) are really something we weren’t even looking for when we headed into Wal-mart (where we bought it). They’re definitely nice, easy to use and really add value to this shower head.

This was also easy to put on. I believe Ryan only used a wrench to replace the old shower head with this one and it didn’t take very long at all.

I was really surprise with how much this improved my shower experience, especially at such a great price. I only hope I’ll have as easy a time if I ever need bathroom faucets.

What eventually would happen is that I would stumbled across the M:Robe (short for “robe yourself in music” I believe) 100 in the Radio Shack in the mall which would prove to me that, yes indeed, this was a sexy MP3 player. At around $130, it was more than affordable compared to some alternatives and, what was most important, was it was there. So I purchased it, brought it home, and gave it googly eyes some more.

Then I decided to test it out. I plugged the dock in to the wall and connected the USB cord to my computer, put the M:Robe in its dock and ran the install software. The M:Robe comes with Olympus’ M:Trip software which is not very intuitive. Additionally, one cannot simply drag and drop music onto the MP3 player via explorer folders, as many prefer. Overall, the software would be the largest downfall of this sleek like machine.

In my excitement, I added my entire music folder which was much larger than the capacity of the M:Robe to the M:trip library. Upon adding it to the library, songs are automatically selected to sync with the player. This obviously didn’t work so well and M:Trip soon told me there was not enough room. I would have to be more level headed about this so I decided to start anew, cleared the library and went again.

Only, clearing the library does only just that. The music still stayed on the player. This was resolved by me opening the player from “My Computer” and manually deleting everything in there which I only discovered after several fruitless phone calls to Olympus. Looking back, this probably makes more sense than it did to the Cole back then who had never used an MP3 player like that before.

I imagine it’s easier to transfer music to the M:Robe, or any MP3 player, if your collection is more organized than mine or if you don’t actually have music that you don’t want to transfer. Going through thousands of songs to decide which to transfer is kind of a bummer but now that I have the majority of songs I actually want on my player, on my player, it’s not a huge deal to add new songs at the time that I download them.

After adding the songs to the library in the M:Trip software, you can sync. The M:Robe should be turned on while in the dock which will produce a message on the player’s screen indicating it’s connected and do not turn off (Docking the MP3 player while it’s off will recharge only). A little zig-zag arrow in the bottom, right corner of the software is the sync button. An alert asks what you want to sync and you’re good to go. It takes a bit to do so and once it’s done, make sure to disconnect the M:Robe (the button below the sync button) before removing it from the dock.

Of course, M:Trip software can do a bit more. It functions as a music player, as well as lets the user update information about each track. The M:Robe has lyrics capability and the user inputs lyrics for each track in the “Properties” screen via the software.

Furthermore, users can create play lists, add music to their favourites and view songs in the library by Genre, Artist, Album and Year. There’s a screen for searching the library which I find most frustrating because one actually has to use the mouse to select “Find;” key commands have no control here.

Lastly, M:Trip allows the user to create remixes of their songs. I leave this to the professionals so I don’t have an opinion. The software also has an area for editing photos even though the M:Robe 100 does not support photos. This is because the same software is used for it’s successor, the M:Robe 500i; has this feature and they use the same software.

The M:Robe – which supports MP3 and WMA tracks – has a sleek red on black digital touch screen for navigating. Unfortunately, this relies on heat sensations so this player didn’t work as well during the winter months when I was wearing gloves. Other than that, I had no issues with it.

Once you start playing with the M:Robe itself, you’ll see it’s easy to figure out quickly. If you’re looking for some advanced options, they’re there but it’s also good to use as a simple music player without fancy features, which is what I do.

The main menu – accessible from any screen by pressing and holding the Menu button for a few seconds – lists Music List, Browse, Music Settings and Device Settings.

Edit the Date/Time, Language, Backlight, Off Timer and and other settings under “Device Settings.” Change the Repeat, Random and Equalizers settings under “Music Settings.” Browse by Artist, Album, Genre, Composer or Year under the “Browse Mene.”

Finally, the “Music List” allows one to see All (in alphabetical order), Favorites (designated in the software), Recently Listened (Last 20 tracks played), My Top 20 (20 most played tracks), Tracks With Lyrics, Unplayed Tracks (all tracks show up here in the beginning) and any playlists created by the user. It’s all straight forward.

Select Play for any of these categories or go into the category to select a specific song and you’re on your way. The song screen will show the songs number out of the total number of tracks in that category, The length of the song and current location within the song, time, battery strength and settings like Repeat/Random, if they are on.

From this screen one can adjust the volume which will bring up the Volume Settings, showing the current setting. From this or any other screen, press the button on the bottom left to be taken to the current category playlist. If set on random, it will show the random playlist rather than alphabetical. Navigate through these lists by pressing the Forward or Back arrows.

Aside from use, The M:Robe 100 has an internal lithion ion battery which is rechargeable by docking it or plugging it into a computer via USB cord. The site claims charge to last between 8 and 12 hours depending on media type. I can’t say for sure that this isn’t true but I suspect it does not last quite that long. Regardless, the charge is held for long enough that it’s never been any issue for me.

There you have it; the M:Robe 100 is a very easy to use MP3 player that looks great. So what are the drawbacks?

The software is clunky and takes a lot of resources while refusing to be intuitive. I would prefer if I could simply drag and drop. I don’t feel that M:Trip really helps to see what’s on the M:Robe.

On several occasions, this player has locked up and became really warm. The first time, I didn’t know what happened so I let it sit for a few days and it was fine. After that, I used the “Reset” button on the bottom of the player and everything was back to normal, without loss of my music.

I would also prefer if the M:Robe could be charged by plugging it into an electrical outlet, for travel. The USB cord can be connected directly from the player to a computer but if one is not available, this is no help and even if there is a computer, the charge is significantly decreased from that of using the dock. I suppose the dock could be used without a computer but that’s a lot of hardware to be carrying around.

I know some people had issues with the sound (which is excellent) being very quiet but a firmware update quickly resolved this. If anything, I don’t think the lowest setting is quiet enough to listen to, say, while falling asleep.

Lastly, the wait time between tracks is significant over similar MP3 players like the Ipod.

The M:Robe has lasted me between 2 and 3 years and still seems to be going relatively strong. It has become rather scratched up as players typically do because I do not use a case or cover. Also, I recently had a small metal piece break off on the inside. After it was banging around for a while, I opened it up and took it out. Luckily it wasn’t super necessary (it make the player fit more securely on the dock) and didn’t damage anything. However, since then, the button screen does not light up like it used to, unless I apply pressure. I can live with though; my hand knows where all the buttons are for sure!

If you need a basic MP3 player and can find something used, I’d recommend the M:Robe. If you need all the bells and whistles, skip right over this one folks. However, the M:robe 100 is probably difficult to find at this point as shortly after I bought it, stores took it off the shelves. I believe it’s successor, the M:Robe 500 is still for sale, though.

My computer, as the master still had one wire connecting to the Linksys WRT54G Wireless Router which, in turn, was connected to the modem why was connected to the phone jack. The adapter plugged into my roommate’s USB port.

I recall that installation was really easy. One can either use the setup wizard software provided on the disc or go to address of the Linksys web utility. I used to software and it was easy enough for me, someone who had never used a router before, to figure out on my own. It included options like securing the network with a password, something I recommend to all. An unsecured network can lead to others leeching your connection, the least possible result is a slower connection and the worst is a hike in your internet bill!

Use is also easy. After all your cables are plugged in, the appropriate lights should turn green to indicate that the Linksys WRT54G Router is powered on, there is an internet connection and that connection is being fed correctly to each connected system.

At the master computer, I had virtually no problems and any I did have were easily solved by resetting the Linksys WRT54G Router by the button on the back of the piece. However, my roommate had more problems than I did. The network usually worked well across a space of 25 – 40 feet (I’m not a great guesser) but obsessionally she would not have any connection while mine was fine. Sometimes this situation would remedy itself and others I would reset the wireless router, reboot my computer or physically unhook the router and modem to fix the issue. Sometimes this did not help and we simply had to wait for the issue to sort itself out.

Now, I’m pretty confident that this wasn’t an issue with my connection because, at the time, it was very fast and very reliable. Furthermore, I had few issues at the master computer. It seems that Linksys wireless options are at the low end of the spectrum and while this was only mildly irritating for us, for someone who requires constant uptime or fast connections, the Linksys WRT4G Wiress-G Router may not be the way to go.

However, it is readily available and, if you find rebates, quite affordable. I think we ended up spending about $40 for the pair from Best Buy via a mail in rebate. For that price, I can’t really complain.

Now, I hear you asking. “If it works right out of the box, how is it troublesome?” Well, boys and girls, it’s like this. Periodically, out internet just craps out. Now, our internet connection is far from the best so it may not be the router’s fault but I do feel it’s worth mentioning. This issue occurs every so often and starts with the internet being a little slow then gradually receding into the “completely shitty” category where, if we’re lucky, we can refresh a page 20 times and it might load – partially – during one of those refreshes. this seems to occur more frequently when we have both computers hooked up and the typical cure is to unhook everything for a short while, connect the modem directly to the internet, sign in, and then hook up the router once more. This is kind of lame.

We have contacted our ISP and even had someone come out. At these times, the ISP couldn’t detect any issues and we were simply told that they do not “support” routers. This is probably a typical ISP response and I doubt I’m the only person to hear this line of BS.

If you go the way of setting up the LinkSys Etherfast Router, you can use the setup wizard via CD-Rom that comes with the router or go the way of the web-based utility, following the instructions provided. However, this might be easier for those of you whose husbands haven’t thrown those items away. If you’re able to connect to the internet, you can easily find the userguide and quick install, both which should be available with your router when you purchase it.

Overall, the Etherfast Router performs well. There are some gliches with my connection which may be due to my ISP rather than my router but if you have similar issues, be prepared to get the runaround from both your ISP and Linksys’ horrible technical support.

So look forward to a couple of those reviews in the future.