Microsoft

Xbox 360 120GB Hard Drive Expansion Pack (Xbox 360)

Why Not, 2008-11-17
I was searching to get a new big hard drive for when the new avatars come out, and you can copy your games from the disk to the xbox 360 so that i don't have to take the disks along with me. And say this, and the bad 3 stars, i overlooked thinking that it was faulty and not a proper Microsoft product, but as i reviewed the products reviews i saw that some people (ages ago) thought it was too expensive and wrote a bad review.
Therefore i bought the product for Christmas 2008/2009 and it was great, i could install/copy all my games to the hard drive. "lets just say i was using the rental store allot that year" and no i wasn't cheating the system i bought the games afterwards as well its just a longer rental :)

Microsoft Bluetooth Notebook Mouse 5000 (OEM)

Great product!, 2008-06-30
5 star product, comes with batteries. Very ergonomically designed, perfect size, looks great, no dongles or wires. Connects to bluetooth easily.

Would highly recommend this product.

Microsoft Wireless Notebook Optical Mouse 4000 - Dark Grey

Highly recommended, 2008-09-10
I've used this now every day for about 2 weeks. It is a great little tool. It is small and might be hard to get used to if you have large hands but it's responsive, precise and well built. The USB receiver is fine. I'm not sure what people mean about it sticking out too far, what do they expect? There isn't a wire in sight which to me is a huge advantage. It fits into the mouse which avoids searching for it and the mouse looks smart and does all you would expect for less than fifteen quid.

Xbox 360 Wireless Headset (Xbox 360)

• Unleash the high definition capability of your Xbox 360 with this Xbox 360HDMI cable
• Just use an adapter to connect your home cinema system to a DolbyDigital 5
• 1-compatible amplifier
• - One HDMI cable for both high definition audio and video - 1080p resolution games and films - Optical/RCA audio adapter included for connecting an audio amplifier or ahome cinema system - Dolby Digital 5
• 1-compatible output - Official Xbox 360 accessory

very useful, 2008-08-25
this piece of equipment is essential for any xbox live fanatic.
after my 2nd wired headset broke i thought maybe it was time for a change but after reading some reviews about the wirelss headset not working with older controllers!
but with my controller which i got when i got my 360 the day it came out works fine with the wireless headset
the quality of sound is alot better and charging time takes only a small amount of time

a definate purchase

Microsoft LifeCam VX-1000 Webcam

• Applications - Multimedia and Internet applications
• Video Resolution - 640 x 480
• Motionless Picture Resolution - 640 x 480
• Microphone - Yes
• Mac/PC - PC

Good buy, 2008-11-04
One of my friend in France had it and decided to buy me one for my bday so I received this webcam as a gift (August 07) - still perfectly working of course. Then my boyfriend tried it and decided to buy the same for him and one for his mum in Australia (Feb 08). Last week, I bought one for my parents (Nov 08). So yes, definitely we are fan! Really good value for money. The image is good quality, a microphone is incorporated. Easy to use.

Microsoft LifeCam VX-6000 Webcam

• Web camera - fixed
• 5.5 cm x 5.3 cm x 7.4 cm
• 95 g
• English, German, French, Dutch / EMEA
• Colour

Cracking little thing!, 2008-10-17
This is a great little camera! The picture quality is brilliant for 1.3mp's too. I mostly use mine to communicate with my gf who is currently studying away from home. Her student accommodation is a little dark and murky but the cam automatically compensates for this and provides a good clear picture...we both use the same cam btw! Also, The built-in microphone allows for communication to be transferred flawlessly with hardly any time-delay between speech and video movement. There's also a manual focus dial which can be altered by turning the disc around the lens, very simple to use indeed!

Also provided is lots of extra software features for you to explore and liven up the relatively dull chit chat normally experienced on live messenger!

Descent clip to put it on the top of the laptop, seems quite sturdy.

I read in previous reviews that this doesn't work on Vista, to those reviewers i would like to say that it isn't the camera that doesn't work on Vista...its YOU! I've never used the camera on XP so i can't commment from that perspective, but it works like a charm on Vista!

Microsoft Comfort Curve Keyboard 2000

Solid performer, 2008-11-28
I'm not going to pretend this is going to be a fully detailed review concerning the technical details of the keyboard. It's a keyboard. You can type things on it, that's all I really care about to be honest. There are a few points relating to other reviews I've read on here that I think need clearing up, however.

If you're looking at the description and images of the keyboard and are sat there thinking the curved keys will be a problem, let me say straight off they're not. Sure, it takes a few minutes to get used to it, but it really does fit your hands well and typing is just as easy as on any other QWERTY keyboard. Secondly, the feel of the keys is just fantastic, in my opinion. Microsoft call them 'ultra-thin profile' - effectively translating as slightly thinner than standard keyboard keys. Typing on the board feels very much like you were typing on a laptop keyboard, without loosing any of the responsiveness of traditional boards.

A CD with drivers and software is included, although if you are running Vista (and I'd imagine the same could be said for XP), it's simple a case of 'plug-and-play'. Every button functions as it should without me needing to load the CD into my drive. A few reviewers have also commented the lack of buttons relating specifically to next/previous tracks - I can report however that the two forward/back browser buttons situated above the F1-F3 keys work in just the same way with iTunes, although, perhaps unsurprisingly, not with Media Player.

Overall, after 10 minutes of getting to know the new layout, the keyboard really is very easy to use, and types and feels well under your hands. And at less than £12, it really is a bargain!

Microsoft Natural Ergonomic Keyboard 4000

The best ergonomic keyboard I have used, 2008-11-16
I am a web designer and computer consultant and use a computer 7 days a week and often 10 hours a day. Not surprisingly, I suffer from RSI ;)

I have tried many weird and wonderful keyboards in an attempt to relieve the pain of typing. Manufacturers seem to have taken four different approaches:

1. The gentle: eg Logitech Wave Keyboard
2. The different: eg Microsoft Natural Ergonomic Keyboard 4000, black, USB
3. The extreme: eg Goldtouch - Keyboard - PS/2, USB - ergonomic - black - UK QWERTY
4. The bizarre and expensive: eg the Maltron keyboard @ £375 +++

I have tried each of the first three types, but could not afford to experiment with the last one (even though Maltron do offer a weekly hire service).

I found the Logitech Wave to be an impressive looking keyboard but, I did not notice any particular improvement in the level of pain I experienced from using it. I also found that, even after 6 month's usage, my typing was was far from accurate or natural.

Goldtouch have approached this problem by providing a keyboard that has been physically split in half and joined via an articulated joint that can be locked in position. This allows an infinite level of customisation. However, each half is keyboard is flat rather than curved and, whilst I found a certain level of pain relief in my wrists, my fingers continued to hurt as "normal". The keyboard is also quite expensive.

The Microsoft keyboard has been described by previous reviewers in far more detail and far more eloquently than I could! However, I found it to be the most comfortable and effective keyboard by far. I is a high quality product that lasted me two or more years before a couple of the keys died. Based on my daily usage, this is pretty durable! as a previous reviewer said, getting used to the layout took a little time, but I found it actually improved my typing skills. I can't recommend this keyboard highly enough and, after a brief diversion using the Goldtouch and (currently) the Logitech, I am looking forward to buying my second Microsoft Natural Ergonomic Keyboard 4000.

One thing I found that is worth bearing in mind is that once you get used to the different layout, typing on a normal keyboard becomes quite a clumsy affair. I often go to client's offices and I get strange looks when I fail to type even the most simple text using their flat keyboards!

Microsoft Basic Optical Mouse Black

basic optical mouse, comfortable to use, 2008-07-18
Bought this as a replacement for my scroll wheel mouse.

I like the basic uncomplicated design, the mouse is lightweight and plugs into USB bought which means you need a free USB port but reduces the reliance on batteries.

All in all I am pleased with the purchase - first proper use is today but it has worked liked I hoped.

Microsoft Wireless Optical Desktop 1000 Standard Keyboard + Optical Mouse

So far - fantastic!, 2008-10-23
I ordered this yesterday, and it's just been delivered - so, first of all, top marks to Amazon for efficiency and speedy delivery. I am impressed!
Second, it's clearly too soon to give a full review, but I just wanted to say how delighted I was with how easy it was to set up -- once the software was installed, it was literally a matter of "plug and play". Could not have been simpler.
The mouse has a wonderful feel, and is more sensitive than my wired mouse, which will take a bit of getting used to -- but not much, I suspect. The keyboard is responsive and extremely comfortable, with a place to rest your hands, which I like.
The one disappointment - I could not find any explanatory information on the array of buttons at the top of the keyboard, so I will have to find out what they do via trial and error. Maybe more technically astute users will have no problem with this, but we're not all that adept.
Will have to see, of course, how it does on battery life and general use over time, but so far, I'm very, very pleased.