Apples2Oranges – App Review

On February 10, 2009, in Uncategorized, by Gil Poulsen


Apples2Oranges
Company: Ilium Software

Price: $4.99
http://www.iliumsoft.com

Sure, the iPhone can make fart noises, via over 30 different apps, or even display Big Words on its tiny 3.5” screen. But now, thanks to Ilium Software’s Apples2Oranges, you can literally accomplish the impossible on your iPhone/iPod Touch. Yes, you can actually compare apples to oranges—without being reprimanded by your third-grade math teacher.

How did the folks at Ilium work this latter-day miracle? Basically, they created what I would classify as a unit converter on steroids. While standard converters simply allow one to determine, say, how much the U.S. dollar is worth in Euros, or how many miles one needs to run to finish a 10-kilometer race, Apples2Oranges (A2O) takes the conversion process one step further by allowing you to complete two conversions simultaneously, in order to determine calorie count, price, nutritional value, and numerous other parameters.

The best way to explain how A2O works is by way of example. Let’s say you’re in the local home center (assuming it hasn’t closed down yet) and you’re looking for some heavy-duty trash bags. Ah, here’s a box of 20 for $3.99. Sold. Oh, but wait, here’s a box of 50 on sale for $6.49. OK, so which one do I get? In those dark days prior to the iPhone and A2O, you would have had whip out the pocket calculator and determine the unit price per bag for both boxes manually in order to make a sensible choice.

But that was yesterday. By harnessing the power of A2O (while showing off your iPhone to envious shoppers in the process), you simply type 20 and 50 into the Size fields, 3.99 and 8.99 into the Price fields, touch “Compare,” and voilà—A20 reveals that the $3.99 box will run you $0.20 per bag, indicating that the $8.99 box is the better value at a mere $0.18 per.


Apples2Oranges just saved me $0.02 on each trash bag I buy. Considering how often I’m compelled to “throw my two cents in,” this could add up to big savings over time. But what’s with that Pachinko machine motif?

A2O doesn’t stop there—it also provides for more complex price comparisons based not merely on per item cost, but on per foot, meter, ounce—even units as esoteric as cubic yard or square meter—while allowing you to easily mix and match the units of measure, which is where the “apples to oranges” analogy really comes into play.

Look, here’s a box of common nails, 22 oz. for $8.99. Here’s another, this one’s 1.5 lbs. for $9.79. Now I’m forced to convert pounds to ounces (or ounces to pounds) first, so that I’m comparing apples to apples. Then I need to calculate the per oz. cost for each box, in order to determine the best value. As you might expect, A2O can handle this scenario without breaking a sweat, as it reveals that the true cost of both boxes happens to work out to exactly the same—$0.41 per ounce. So now I can buy the smaller box with a clear conscience, knowing I’m not missing out on the nail bargain of the century.

Let’s take one more example, this time to demonstrate the “Ingredients” function of A2O, which lets us determine quantities of vitamins, minerals, sodium, carbohydrates, etc. in two different foods, provided we know the serving size—even if one serving is given in ounces and the other in grams. This time, I’m in the supermarket buying some yogurt, and I notice that brand A, the American-made stuff, has 20 mg of sodium per 8 oz. serving. Hmmm…this European brand is more expensive (I already determined that using the Price function, thank you) but I wonder if it has more or less sodium? Unfortunately the serving size of this one is 250 grams, with 25 mg of sodium, and now my head hurts as I try to dope that one out.

Again, it’s A2O to the rescue—I simply enter 8 ounces/20 milligrams on the left, 250 grams/25 milligrams on the right, chant “Pins and needles, needles and pins, A happy shopper, is a shopper who grins” while touching “Compare,” and I am instantly rewarded with the knowledge that the American yogurt is slightly healthier—at least in terms of sodium content—with 2.5 mg per ounce, while its European counterpart contains 2.85 mg of sodium per ounce. Just a few hours with A2O, and I’ve suddenly become a bargain-shopping machine, while simultaneously making the healthiest choices almost effortlessly.


Dueling yogurt brands duke it out, with Brand A on the left accompanied by its 20 mg. of sodium per 8 oz serving. Meanwhile, Brand B has elected to befuddle the average shopper by offering a serving based on the inscrutable UK measurement unit of “grams,” but there’s no stopping A2O in its quest to reveal which brand is the true villain when it comes to inducing sodium-induced hypertension and bloating.

Lest you’ve gotten to thinking that all is perfect in the world of A2O, rest assured that I do have a few gripes. First off, the interface seems to be modeled after the love child of a diner jukebox and a Pachinko machine. It would be great to have 3 or 4 “skins” from which to choose in the settings, as the default and only interface leaves a bit to be desired, in my humble opinion. Next, while the strength and uniqueness of this app comes from the fact that it’s much more than a simple unit converter, why don’t the nice folks at Ilium actually include a basic converter in the mix? There are times when only a simple conversion is needed (how many fluid ounces are in a tablespoon?), but for that I need to leave A2O for another app. Seems like every type of measurement unit known to man (both English and metric) is already available, so a unit converter would make a wonderful and truly useful bonus.

In the course of doing various comparisons and conversions, I found it curious that although there is a dollar sign on the keyboard, entering one in price calculations neutralizes said calculation without any warning to the user. So typing “15.” or “15.00” as a price works as expected, but entering “$15” or “$15.00” results in “0.00” for whatever measurement unit you’ve chosen. Once I realized this I knew to steer clear of the “$”, but it might be helpful to disallow input of the “$” or provide a warning to that effect.

Finally, the unit of measurement entered on the left is considered the “primary” unit, so when the conversion results are displayed, they are displayed using that unit. Which is fine, but I’d like a button to “swap” the results so that I could see them in either unit, especially in cases where I entered “feet” on the left and “meters” on the right, realizing after the fact that I really wanted the end result displayed in feet.

All in all, I really like this little app. It does one thing, and does it well. Whether or not it actually “pays for itself with the money you’ll save,” as Ilium’s A2O product page proclaims proudly, it sure does save a lot of time on the pocket calculator—and a lot of head-scratching to boot.

MyMac.com Rating: 4 out of 5

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Mophie Hard Case Plus for iPod Touch – Review

On February 9, 2009, in Review, Video, by Rich Lefko

Rich Lefko reviews the Mophie Hard Case Plus for iPod Touch. You can download and watch a better version in MP4 format at this link. (52.mb size)

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MyMac Podcast 226 – Dom Sagolla

On February 6, 2009, in Uncategorized, by The MyMac Podcast


Listen on your Mac or iPhone here
Subscribe via iTunes here
iPhone developer Dom Sagolla joins us this week to talk about his company, Dollar App, growing up with computers and MIT, and the creation and future of Big Words. Sam Levin returns with an all-new Cool Mac Picks, and David and Tim announce the winners of the Speck Products and Joesoft – Prosoft Engineering contest!

Please take a moment to review the show on iTunes!

This show sponsored by Other World Computing

Links from the show:
Dom.net
Big Words
Speck Products
Prosoft Engineering
Western Digital 500GB My Passport for Mac
TWEETIE

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Big Book of Apple Hacks – Review

On February 5, 2009, in Uncategorized, by David Weeks


Big Book of Apple Hacks
Chris Seibold

O’Reilly Media
http://oreilly.com
640 pages
US $34.99 CAN $34.99
ISBN 978-0596529826

Are you in the market for a real, honest-to-goodness Macintosh hacks book?

Accept no imitators! Unlike some of the competition’s books (are you listening, Scott Kelby?) that are mostly a rehash of help files, Chris Seibold’s Big Book of Apple Hacks is a bona fide collection of hacks, advanced hints, and tips.

Seibold’s 640 page tome (BBoAH, for short) falls just short of boat-anchor category, so it’s still manageable for easy chair, or (my favorite) bathtub reading. I spent many happy hours perusing it.

BBoAH has twelve chapters, covering a range of topics from Networking and Security Hacks, Maximizing Your Mac with Multiple Operating Systems, to Hack Some Hardware.

Here’s a short list of some of my favorite hacks:

Scrape the Web for images
Free up Gigabytes of data on your Hard Drive (and never miss the data)
Behold the Power of plist
Fun with MacFUSE
Starting and Stopping UNIX daemons
Run Classic Mac Applications with SheepShaver and Basilisk II
Hacks for Smart Homes
Dual Drive MacBook Pro
Build a Screaming Fast Darwin Machine for $935 (or less)!
Automate Your Download Folder
Resurrecting the IPFW Firewall in Leopard
Read Wikipedia on an iPod

and who would want to miss my most favorite BBoAH hack Awesome Mac Mini in a Car hack.

Seibold’s writing style is comfortable and easy to read. While he can be humorous, he avoids the Kelby-style groaners that wear you down after 20 pages. Each hack is rated Easy, Intermediate, or Expert, with a different icon for each level of complexity.

BBoAH is great for content and style, but it’s weak on production values. The font size is too small for my 52 year old eyes. Both the photographs and screen shots are all black-and-white, and many of the photos are muddy. New hacks often start in the middle of the page, when it would be easier reading if a new hack started on a new page. Laudably, Seibold includes plenty of code snippets, but I was unable to find anywhere to download them. This means you have to re-type all the code by hand, which is a huge inconvenience.

If you can wade through these annoyances, you’ll find a trove of great information. I wish BBoAH had enjoyed a larger production budget.

Conclusion. The Big Book of Apple Hacks has great content, but suffers from so-so production quality.

MyMac.com rating 3.5 out of 5

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T-Tech Adventure Wheeled Carry-On Backpack – Review

On February 5, 2009, in Uncategorized, by John Nemerovski


Company: Tumi
http://www.tumi.com

T-Tech Adventure Wheeled Carry-On Backpack, Style 5772R (Red)
Price: $295.00
http://www.tumi.com/product/product-detail/?modelId=116911&searchTerms=t-tech

Alpha Neoprene Medium Laptop Cover, Style 26155
Price: $75
http://www.tumi.com/alpha/neoprene-medium-laptop-sleeve/

From the moment I departed home until I collapsed upon return a week later, Tumi’s exceptional Wheeled Backpack accompanied me. On every stairway, sidewalk, escalator, airplane, train, monorail, bus, and automobile, this amazing rolling rucksack was a champion.

At San Francisco’s 2009 Macworld Expo, the faithful Tumi Style 5772R was always within my grasp or sight, never more than a few inches away. Casual observation would lead people to say or think, "Oh, there goes Nemo with his little red roller, just like every year at Macworld Conference." Little did they know this wheeled case is like no other.

Tumi is an American company with a global brand. How can they have the nerve to charge nearly $300 for a basic rolling pack? What’s so special about it to make the price so expensive?

CONSTRUCTION is rugged and overbuilt. Fabric, zippers, and wheels are the best we’ve ever seen or used. The extension bar is wide and thick, with a strong but responsive press-shut/open spring, and a rubber handle that is easy on the fingers. Top deck grab handle is beefy, yet flexible and comfortable for carrying.

DESIGN is clever and straightforward, with a few surprises. Tall, vertical zippered side pockets are great for water bottles, travel food, newspapers, roll-up garments, and quite a bit more. An unusual rear flap contains the well-padded shoulder straps when in roller mode, and then Velcro’s out of the way when used in backpack mode.

STABILITY is best-of-class. Regardless of how it was loaded or positioned, 5772R remained upright and ready for action. Wheels and extension handle did their jobs over curbs and up/down steps without any complaints.

VERSATILITY is deceptive. As a weekender non-computer case, this Wheeled Carry-On Backpack can go anywhere, any time. Loaded with techie gear, I suggest you use self-contained interior pouches and sleeves, so your computer can reside flat against the back section in a padded sleeve, for easy access when needed. I was concerned this would be difficult to maneuver at the Expo, and now I’m a believer.

SIZE is just right for under an airport seat or in an airline overhead bin. The physical profile is slim, but the capacity is ample.

PORTABLE OFFICE? Nope. Only minimal slots are provided for this purpose, but clever use of individual interior smaller independent pouches and sleeves that you provide can get the job done to your specifications. My primary gadget bag was Boot by SpireUSA, which holds a vast array of cables and assorted gear.

Traveling to San Francisco from Arizona, I loaded the red Tumi case with clothing and food. During the week-long Expo and on the journey home, the pack was packed solid with techie gear. (I traveled with an additional non-rolling backpack, to be reviewed separately.) Fabric and zippers are tough enough to withstand rigorous use, and flexible enough to perform as advertised when in stress mode. I have confidence I could attend different faraway conferences every week of the year for many years without breakdowns or repairs.

- – - – - – - – - – - – - – - -

This case is part of Tumi’s new T-Tech line. A basic luggage lock is provided that is easy to program to your individual combination. Each pack has a serial number and a phone number to call if the luggage is lost and found. From the company web site:

In March 1999, Tumi introduced Tumi Tracer—an exclusive, innovative and complimentary program for our customers that helps reunite people with their lost or stolen items. Since that time, Tumi Tracer has helped thousands of our customers reclaim their luggage and business cases.

The core of the Tumi Tracer program is a unique 20-digit individual product bar code number printed on a special metal plate that is permanently affixed to Tumi luggage, business cases, casual bags and timepieces. That number, along with the owner’s name, address and phone number will be entered into our Tracer database when a bag is registered with us.

If a lost or stolen Tumi Tracer item is found, the finder can call the free, worldwide collect Tumi Tracer hotline number (732.748.8864) that is also printed on the metal plate. Once the 20-digit number is reported, Tumi will match the number with the owner’s information, notify the customer that the bag has been found and provide information on how the bag can be recovered.

All Tumi Tracer products come with a written explanation of the program and a product registration card. You may choose to register by mail, at an authorized Tumi retailer, or online.

- – - – - – - – - – - – - – - -

My Apple laptop traveled in Tumi’s gorgeous, expensive Transportation Security Administration approved black, zippered, Alpha neoprene sleeve. Like the backpack, this humble sleeve is a world apart from others we have used. It’s a one-trick pony that will win any Triple Crown derby without breaking a sweat.

We have reviewed other "premium" rollers and packs here at MyMac Magazine, all priced under $200. At nearly twice the price of previous competitors, Tumi’s 5772R Wheeled Backpack is without hesitation far superior to all of them when style, construction, and versatility are your top criteria. The price? Worth every penny!

Reminders: T-Tech Adventure Wheeled Carry-On Backpack is not dedicated laptop computer luggage. Instead, it is an all-purpose, go-anywhere rolling rucksack with a top-tier pedigree and sterling specifications. You will need a separate sleeve to travel with your precious portable computer. Clothing, tech gear, and personal effects can cohabit this compact, wondrous weekender, with its unusual side pockets being a definite bonus. Choose your interior pouches and sleeves carefully, to maximize the pack’s efficiency. This is a comfortable, well-balanced grab-case, rucksack, and roller, depending upon the situation.

Before sending their Wheeled Backpack for our MyMac evaluation, the company representative asked if it would be re-sellable after the review. I said no, due to the demanding travel and professional wear it would sustain during Macworld Expo, the most strenuous week of the year. Now that I’m back home, the red roller is not exactly in mint condition, but aside from a few modest blemishes, its appearance is surprisingly fresh and jolly. I’m planning for another trip, and I can’t wait to use Tumi’s backpack again.

MyMac rating: 4.5 out of 5. It would receive a perfect score if a few more portable office features were included, to put a bit more "tech" into the T-Tech brand.

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Teens in Tech Conference, San Francisco

On February 4, 2009, in Uncategorized, by Owen Rubin

On Saturday, January 31, 2009, I attended the Teens in Tech conference. This was a gathering of very smart, entrepreneurial young men and women, mostly in their teens, and their chance to meet with others in the tech industries. Attended by well over 100 people of what appeared to be a great mix of young and old, and hosted by Microsoft in San Francisco, this was an great chance to hear what the next generation of tech wizards had to say about the state of tech, and where they believe it is going.

Teens in Tech was founded and run by someone not unfamiliar to this sight, Daniel Brusilovsky. At age 15, he introduces himself as the CEO of the company. Someone who does not know him might be inclined to giggle at this title for such a young person, but when you are done smirking here, realize that this young man might just be your boss in the next 5 years, and I for one would be happy for the chance to work for him. He is smart, eager, and enthusiastic about tech, and he seems to know just about everyone in the industry. So much so that the Teens in Tech conference was able to give away nearly $10,000 in donated prizes from some very generous sponsors, including Microsoft, Adobe, Intel, Eye-Fi, Rickshaw Bagworks, Speck, JBL, Blue Microphones, BudFits, Radtech, PosiMotion, tatango, Ultimate Ears, Western Digital and Mighty Leaf teas. Drawings for prizes went all day, with amazing prizes like Eye-Fi cards, JBL speaker systems for iPods, and the prize of all prizes, 3 copies of Adobe Creative Suite Master Collection. Valued at over $2400 each, Adobe donated several copies won by several lucky people in the audience. In addition, Teens in Tech gave generous gifts to all the speakers, and every person attending the conference was given a Rickshaw Bagsworks Zero Messenger bag filled with a number of goodies as well.

Daniel is guided and helped by another familiar person to Mymac.com, Sam Levin. As co-chairs to last week’s conference, these two guys did an amazing job presenting some young, very interesting "entrepreneurs" under the age of 20 in talks that kept my attention from the start near 10 AM through the final session near 6 PM.

To see a list of speakers, go here. Suffice it to say, these young people knocked my socks off, especially the 18-year-old Danny Trinh, who graduated high school just 6 month ago in North Carolina, moved to the west coast, and is now a designer at Digg. This young man is an amazing speaker, has a great sense of humor, and will probably earn his first million by 25 if he has not done so already.

The young man sitting right behind me particularly impressed me as well. His name was Jake Mates, and he was sitting with his own MacBook and iPhone, paying very close attention to what people had to say. When I asked him what he did, he handed me a metal business card with his name and website address laser engraved into it. Not big deal, except Jake is only 11 years old and is already creating website for money. And his work is fairly good too, and suggest you check out his own site, or even consider using him if you need some website work done. And if his phone number is correct, Jake traveled from North Carolina to be at the conference. Just how cool is that?

There were various sessions on a variety of topics like going green and the importance (or lack of) of getting an education, and also including some great panels on Teens to Entrepreneur, Teens and Video, and my favorite, Teen Developers, which quickly broke down into a Teen Geeks and Dating Advice from the audience. To see the entire agenda, go here.

Ustream streamed much of the conference live; well, for as long as the sad Internet connection supplied my Microsoft kept them live. Sadly, Microsoft’s large room that easily held more than 100 people offered only a partial Class C address space of less than 55 IP addresses to all guests. As you can imagine, almost every participant had at least a computer and one other Internet device like an iPhone, so the available addresses were used up immediately, and the rest got nothing. (Microsoft says this will be fixed shortly!) However, it was amazing to see just how much technology these young people carried as the Internet cell cards and connections to cell phones started showing up to keep people on line. This was important, as the entire conference was also covered on Twitter, with questions and comments from the audience arriving by Twitter and displayed on the big screens rather than the more conventional raising of hands. You can see the tweets from the conference here and eventually they hope to have all the presentations up there as well. You can follow the continued action at #teensintechconf on Twitter. It should also be pointed out that about half way through the conference, the Twitter action on the conference was so busy, that the conference became the most talked about subject on Twitter, taking the number one spot away from the Super Bowl!

Hopefully this event will take place again next year, and I encourage anyone young or old to attend. It will knock your socks off to be sure! Here are some pictures of the conference, and check out their website for more info.

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Verbatim Bluetooth Wireless Notebook Laser Mouse – Review

On February 4, 2009, in Review, by Russ Walkowich

Verbatim Bluetooth Wireless Notebook Laser Mouse
Company: Verbatim

Price: $39.99
http://www.verbatim.com

I’ve been using Verbatim products, primarily their recording media, for many years. I’d always found their products to be reliable and priced well. Imagine my surprise when I found out that Verbatim also produces other items, such as the Bluetooth Wireless Notebook Laser Mouse. Most people still have had a tendency to use a USB mouse, plugging a wireless receiver into one of the USB ports. Well, when you’re using a MacBook, having only two ports can be a bit of a hindrance.

Verbatim’s Bluetooth Wireless Notebook Laser Mouse can help free up one of your USB ports and make your life a bit simpler. The mouse comes with a CD with application software (Mouse Agent) for both Mac and PC, 2x AA batteries and a Quick Start Guide. I unpacked the mouse, placed the two batteries inside, closed the lid, synced the mouse via Bluetooth with my MacBook, and I was off and running. Absolutely no problems whatsoever in using the mouse from the start. Right click usage was standard as with any other mouse, it responds quickly and did not suffer from any hiccups.

The mouse itself is approximately the same size as other notebook mice (3 5/8 L x 2 1/8 W x 1 1/4 H) and is easily held in one’s palm. Weight is negligible and it fits easily into any laptop bag when one is traveling about. The on/off button on the bottom of the mouse makes it easy to shut it off when one is done working on the computer and I noticed no unusual battery power loss issues if I left the mouse on for days while not using the computer. Scrolling left and right using the tilt wheel was a breeze, made page viewing very easy online without touching the keyboard or keypad.

I’ve found the mouse to be easy to use, smooth and does exactly what it is supposed to do. Setup is a breeze, portability is not a problem, particularly since there are no wires/cables to dangle about. System requirements under Mac OS X is version 10.4 or higher. The mouse comes with a 1-year limited warranty.

Recommended!

My Mac rating: 4 out of 5.

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RICKSHAW Bags

On February 3, 2009, in Uncategorized, by Artie Alinikoff


Our intrepid reviewer, Owen Rubin, reviewed these fine Rickshaw bags on 10-30-08:. His incisive review and great photos are a must for those needing a quality messenger-style bag.

At the MWSF ’09 show Owen introduced me to Mark Dwight, owner and designer of these pragmatic and stunning bags. At the time I was carrying my MacBook around in a smallish backpack, along with MacWorld materials, and running out of room. Owen said, “come with me. I know exactly what you need.”

I was introduced to and immediately taken by Mark’s openness and interest in my thoughts on his product. He told me that most of the designs came from customer responses to other bags he designed, and the bags just kept getting better and better.


*photo from Owen’s original review

Mark took about 20 minutes to give me the big tour of the entire bag, front to back, top to bottom, and the process that makes these bags so enduring and beautiful. I was amazed at the attention to detail. Let me give you a miniature run-through, which should be enough to further whet your appetite for this versatile product just in case Owen’s article escaped your attention. I refer you to his article again for a complete tour.

First, the handle. Many bags have their handles attached at the top of the bag. This caused undue pressure over a period of time which can cause the handle to rip away from the bag. Rickshaw designed the handle so that the weight of the bag is supported by two reinforcement straps which go past the zipper and top of the bag all the way to the bottom, putting virtually little strain on the zipper, the top of the bag, or the handle itself.

Next we have the front flap. Most bags these days are secured with velcro. Not a bad thing in itself, but when you would open one of those bags you will get the loud ripping sound we’ve all come to, well, hate. Mark’s idea was to incorporate both velcro, and magnets. The velcro portion is covered by the magnets’ housing, so when the bag is closed the magnets keep it secured. It can now be opened and closed without needless noise. Need more secure closing? Simply remove the magnetic covers, and voila, velcro. You may now rip to your heart’s content.

Another feature I like so much about Rickshaw bags is the padded quick-adjusting shoulder strap. This is ingenious. Comfort, plus ease of adjustment to almost any length. And the generous padding is covered in a no-slip material so if you wear the bag over one shoulder it won’t slip. Want to wear it cross-shouldered? Flick the adjustment tab, pull to the length you need, and lock ‘er down. That’s it. Simple. Useful.

There are many more features, and I implore you to go to Owen’s MyMac.com article mentioned above, or directly to the Rickshaw website. The crux of my article is really how the people working at Rickshaw, under Mark Dwight’s leadership, really care about the products they make, and the people who need them. They want your feedback. They will work with you to make these bags the best they can be, and they can be customized to your taste and needs. Materials and attention to detail are first class all the way.

I’ve seen a lot of bags, some really good, and some not so hot. I challenge you to find a better bag than the Rickshaw. You’ll be looking for a long long time. Maybe in vain.

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Rickshaw

 

Acer 22-inch Monitor – Review

On February 2, 2009, in Uncategorized, by Guy Serle


V223-WBD 22-inch LCD Computer Monitor
Company: Acer

Price: Varies, around $170
Amazon link
Product link
Hardware Requirements: Any Macintosh with a VGA or DVI (or mini-DVI with adapter) port

What! An Acer product sullying the MyMac.com site with its PC foulness? Yes, this is a review for an Acer product. When a product that works with a Mac is a great value, then we should not automatically dismiss it just because it doesn’t have an Apple logo or that its parentage is from a company that competes in many of the same markets that Apple does. It should be judged by its merits not by who makes it.


The Acer V223-WBD 22-inch LCD monitor from Acer is one tremendous value. First lets get the specifications out of the way for those who cherish such things:

* 1680 x 1050 resolution

* 2500:1 dynamic contrast ratio, 300 cd/m2 brightness

* 170∞/160∞ horizontal/vertical viewing angles

* VGA and DVI (HDCP) connectors

* 5ms response time

Are these the kind of specifications that will make any computer user drool? Nope, and Acer doesn’t market their V-series monitors that way. The “V” stands for value and they have hit one out of the park with the v223-WBD display.

Apple sells LCD monitors and there aren’t all that many from others that are better. We shouldn’t however kid ourselves into thinking that these kinds of displays come cheap or that everyone can afford or even have a need for monitors like this or what comes at nearly the same type of price points from other manufacturers. I myself have an Intel 24-inch iMac and the display it comes with is beautiful. Not everyone with a Mac chooses such a model and of course many people with older Macs that don’t come with a display can afford the latest Apple goodness. Fortunately Apple is no longer using proprietary connectors like the old DB-15 monitor outputs that many Macs had long ago or even more recently the ADC (Apple Display Connector) that while were very convenient (only one cable for video and power) were never accepted by many outside of Apple. So they are free to choose from many different sources for a display.

When I recently repurposed my G4 PowerMac (the same one I used to review the FastMac Processor upgrade card http://www.mymac.com/showarticle.php?id=3149) so that my son Guy would have a computer of his own to use, I needed a monitor for it. I had a Westinghouse 19-inch monitor, but frankly I was kinda sorry I had ever gotten it. The colors were washed out and uneven and it was barely useable. I wanted Guy to have at least a 20-inch monitor since I was giving my other son Peter the 17-inch iMac G5 they had been sharing. I felt bad that I was giving him the slower computer, so to make up for it I was giving him more viewable space. I started looking online for a 20 to 22 inch LCD display and the Acer model came up while searching from low to high in price. When I saw the price I was very skeptical based on previous experience with less expensive monitors and decided to do a little research to find what other people had said about this display. Almost across the board the reviews were very positive so I took a chance.

The monitor came in very minimal packaging (a plus in these environmentally-aware times). A cardboard box barely big enough to hold it and just enough Styrofoam to hold it in place. I was pleasantly surprised to find both a VGA and DVI cable inside along with (of course) the AC power cord. The monitor itself was all black with little to differentiate it in style from any other generic LCD display but who buys a monitor on what it looks like? No USB ports or much of any other added value, but I knew this going in and was not disappointed. It also comes with some Windows software that’s completely unnecessary for the Mac.


I plugged it into the G4 through its built-in VGA output and fired it up. The monitor was relatively slow in acknowledging a video signal on start-up and I found that it was much the same when waking the computer from sleep. However once it was on it just looks great. Colors were about as accurate as I have seen with any other monitor connected to this Mac (64MB graphics card) and there was no washing out or variances in color across the display. I didn’t notice any large amount of stuttering and the refresh rate, while not great in comparison to other more expensive monitors, was good enough for any game I’ve tried so far that works with this machine.

You can look around and find better, more expensive monitors. What you won’t find is a better value or more bang for your buck than this. This Acer is aces!

Pros: Low price. Clear and good color.

Lows: Slow to wake up

Functionality: 3.5 out of 5

Value: 4.5 out of 5

MyMac rating: 4 stars out of 5

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