Tag Archives: Ciao
Product Review – HP Scroll Mouse
Below is another product review written for the consumer opinion websites Ciao UK and DooYoo, this time detailing the HP PS/2 Scroll Mouse. The tone is lighter than a more professional review as is in keeping with the “community” feel of both websites. You can read the full review in place here.
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Overview & Appearance
The HP PS2 optical scroll mouse is about as basic as mice come these days. Featuring left and right click buttons and a scroll wheel, this mouse seems to be the basic model shipped with all of their HP Compaq desktop PCs. Manufactured on the sneak by Logitech, the main body of the mouse is housed in black plastic with a small, tastefully subtle HP logo printed on it in silver, whilst each click button is finished in a metallic silver. The fabulous scroll wheel is a rather boring matte grey, but has a satisfying “click” to let you know that it is registering input.
The underside of the mouse is constructed of translucent plastic with a bright red LED mounted in the centre to capture the movements of the device across your desk.
Use
Being fitted with a green PS/2 connector, installing the mouse is a piece of cake as your computer will also have a matching green port into which the connector plugs. Being a basic mouse, Windows (for this is a PC-only peripheral) automatically detects and installs the requisite driver software so you should be able to go as soon as your PC has finished booting.
I have found the mouse to be comfortable and easy to use, the domed back of the mouse fitting nicely into the palm of my hand. The generous cable attached is thick and strong and also allows for free movement of the mouse across the desk and also free placement on either side of your keyboard dependent on your dexterity.
Being a Logitech contruction, the build quality is pretty good, the device feels sturdy and despite it’s relative lightness it seems quite strong.
Observations
The ease of use of this unit is also its greatest strength. Despite using older PS/2 technology for connection to your PC, this mouse excels at most basic tasks. Being an entry-level device, gamers may want something a little more responsive but for Home-Office use this is an excellent peripheral.
Both right and left buttons have a satisfying “click” sound coupled with a good level of resistance so that you instinctively know that the motion of your fingers have successfully transferred into the button. The grey scroll wheel is well designed with clicks to let you move the screen up or down by varying gradations for accuracy.
I have noticed that on occasion, the tracking LED fitted to detect motion and thus move the pointer on screen seems to run into difficulties and sometimes the mouse pointer drifts across the screen unbidden. However as this problem only occurs when the mouse is not being used, I do not think this is a major flaw. On the plus side, the LED does seem to be quite responsive on any surface (white paper, wooden table top and even a shiny black book) where many optical mice I have tested in the past would struggle to detect motion correctly.
Conclusion
In this day and age of wireless mice, this device may be unfashionable but it does the basic tasks of computer operation admirably. Despite having a wire and, worse still a PS/2 connector, the fact that this mouse often comes free with a PC is a credit to HP as they have resisted the usual corporate choice to bundle cheap and nasty peripherals with their machines to cut costs.
Being PS/2 and full-size, it is unlikely that this device will be compatible with modern laptops (they tend to only have USB connections, not PS/2). As more and more PCs ship without PS/2 connectors onboard, this mouse will have a more limited market, but if you are looking for a suitable workhorse to do basic computational tasks, this mouse from HP is hard to beat.
Consumer Review – Hotel Atelys, Strasbourg, France
What follows is the first few paragraphs of a review of the Hotel Atelys in Lingolsheim, just outside Strasbourg which was written for the consumer opinion websites Ciao.co.uk and DooYoo.co.uk. As always, a product review must be informative and entertaining hence the informal tone of the text. The full article can be read here
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Overview & Appearance
I first came across the two-star related Hotel Atelys whilst organising a three day break for my wife and I to celebrate our anniversary in August 2006 since which time we have had a second stay in July 2007. I chose the Atelys because I had planned a visit to the excellent Europa Park situated just across the River Rhine in Germany and had found all of the hotels in the Germany / Black Forest region to be far too expensive.
Situated in the Lingolsheim suburb of Strasbourg, the Atelys is situated in a semi-industrial area two minutes walk from the Lingolsheim train station and within a short taxi ride from Strasbourg international airport. The hotel is also conveniently located near to major roads leading to Germany or elswhere within the Alsace region of France and beyond.
The hotel has 78 rooms spread across three floors and two wings and a breakfast room-cum-meeting area just off reception. There is a lift in the hotel which will facilitate access to most areas of the hotel, although I would recommend that wheelchair users make this clear when making bookings as there are rooms located on the ground floor. Also of note is that the corridors are all very dim and gloomy thanks to the dark carpeting and timed-lighting which must be triggered by the guest; a virtually impossible task when one cannot see the light switch in the first place!
Our room, situated on the first floor, had a double bed as well as two nightstands, a cupboard, a desk and a wall-mounted 14″ television which has access to both German and French channels (no English-speaking channels however). The bathroom was a fairly standard affair with a bath and shower, a toilet and a large sink. The shower was powerful and hot, and Mrs Ben was equally pleased with the bath.
As you would hope, you get two decent-sized bath towels, two hand towels and a bath mat. No tea or coffee making facilities are provided.
Our second stay was in a triple room which was effectively the same as the double but had a third bed, a third towel, a broken TV and was located on the third floor.
The breakfast room is nothing special; two rooms separated by a divider (open at breakfast time) with a large table in each laden with half-baguettes, cereal, croissants and a fridge containing milk, juice, cheese,butter, cold meats and yoghurt. Hot water is provided to make tea (including several fruit teas) and a large water heater containing coffee.
The staff were very helpful and spoke excellent English. I had to ring in advance on our second stay as we were running very late to check-in but the receptionist was very patient with my pidgin French-English cross-over!
Consumer Review – Hauppauge WinTV USB
What follows is a sample of a technical product review of the Hauppauge WinTV USB mobile television tuner device. Written for the Ciao UK consumer review website, this article is designed to be relatively light-hearted yet informative with a view to giving a potential buyer enough information to make an informed decision. Again, 25% of Ciao UK users believe this review to be of an “Exceptional” standard. The full review is available here: Hauppauge WinTV USB
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As with all technology, the WinTV USB has it’s limitations and quirks which I have already discussed. The WinTV USB is however a very good option for people who are not keen on opening their PC cases to fit an internal TV card. The external option also makes it ideal for people who are travelling with their laptops; we have taken our device and a laptop away a few times in the caravan so my wife did not miss Casualty and it worked very well with the caravan’s aerial.
The WinTV USB is also a cheap way to add TV functionality to your PC – mine cost around £25 secondhand and does everything I want. There are alternative options available from the same manufacturer (Hauppauge) which allow for additional radio functionality or digital TV reception, but with the additional features comes additional price. Newer TV cards allow for the reception of Freeview digital broadcasts and as such the WinTV USB is perhaps showing its age.
Consumer Review – Pension Miami Hotel, Barcelona
Another consumer review, this time of the Pension Miami Hotel, a budget establishment in Barcelona, Spain. This article is posted on the consumer review website Ciao.co.uk and is currently rated by 24% of Ciao users as “Exceptional”. The first paragraph of the review follows, click “Read more” to see the whole review.
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I have just returned from another of my legendary “shoe-string” budget tours during which I stayed at the Pension Miami hotel with Mrs Ben. We stayed two nights at said establishment for the princely sum of £68.29 via HotelClub.com. Admittedly the hotel was booked before finding out certain details which may have led me to choose another establishment such as the lack of breakfast and the “ladies of the night” who alledgedly ply their trade in the immediate vicinity (we did not see any of this however).
Consumer Review – Hotel Pyramid Rome, Italy
Some time back I wrote a product review of the mid-range Hotel Pyramid in Rome, Italy, for the consumer review website Ciao.co.uk.
The aim of such product reviews is to both inform and entertain the reader, giving a genuine opinion on the quality of the item being reviewed and additional information that would help a consumer considering a purchase, or in this instance, a stay. This particular review covers location and appearance of the hotel, the pros and cons of staying there and some additional information about attractions in the local area, including where to eat.
The full review of Hotel Pyramid can be read on the Ciao.co.uk website
