Not everyone likes the Ipod, but in an article at Tomshardware the author outlines the reasons why he doesn’t really support the Ipod thing.

Amongst the complaints are that it gets really scratched up really easily. Although they are not expected to last forever, they don’t even last for a few days really. They may be usable, but are not as cool as when you first got it. There is also little support for third party casings for them.

Issues with the Digital Rights of the media come into play too. It is certainly not the easiest and definitely not the best when it comes to ease of use as it places a lot of restrictions on use.

The cuteness of the name with a lower case “i” is also made fun of.

One of the other complaints it that unlike many other consumer products like printers, where the real profit is in the inks and the printers themselves are really cheap, Ipods are still quite expensive in comparisson.

Discussions are fast and furious at the site. Looks like he’s not the only one with an opinion on the matter.

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A transmitter sends the signal from the computer to a receiver that is plugged into your stereo via audio cables. The whole idea is pretty cool for those who have a ton of songs on their computer, but do not want to be at their computer or at least want some easier way to listen to the music in another location.

According to the report at techgage it works fine, but still has a few bugs to be sorted out. The one major feature that doesn’t work is the remote control. If you are listening in another room, it’s the equivalent of listening to the radio, as the remote does not work, unless you are in the same room, which kind of defeats the point anyway.

Installation seemed alright, although not completely intuitive.

In its current setup it reminds me of car products that allow a non CD shuttle supporting system to get sound via its inputs from a CD shuttle that sends the music over radio waves.

If this could be made to work well, for example, getting the remote to work, or as the ultimate feature, to have a screen so you know what track you are listening to, it would be the ultimate solution for home audio.

Check out the full review at Techgage.

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With a whopping big 10 inch sub-woofer to handle bass and 5 satellite speakers to do the work of the higher range stuff it produces sound that is very impressive, especially if it is used with a computer system.

The main features…

• 505W RMS power (317W for satellites and 188W for subwoofer
• Multiple input sources (Digital optical, digital coaxial, 6 channel, analog)
• Hardware encoding for Dolby Digital and DTS
• Central control panel

The satellite speakers of the system are designed to give the maximum effect ot both the mid and high range sounds. The design of the casing is such that you can mount the speakers on a wall of just sit them on a surface. Speaker wire is attached to the speaker itself, so there is no customization available there, unless you like to splice RCA cables (not much fun). 25 feet of cable should be enough for most uses though.

The subwoofer on the Logitech Z-5500 is a large affair. If it is to be installed in a tight space situation you might have trouble finding a spot for it. Or perhaps you can turn it into a little table? The size of the speaker itself is 10 inch, but the size of the cage to the screws is 12 inches.

The speaker itself uses a large case because of Logitech choice of speaker design. The Logitech Z-5500 utilises a port to enhance the sound it produces. Although ported designs can be a little harder to implement, they do it well and the overall boost in performance is well liked.

The central control panel which sits upright by itself performs all the main functions of the system. There is a large knob in the center to change the volume. There are multiple choices for input sources so it should support everything you have. If you need to listen from a portable mp3 player there is a spot for a jack on the side of the panel.

Although very large for a computer speaker system, these guys blow away anything else out there. Of course you could shovel out more money, but hey, why do that? The functioning and looks are good and you just need to make sure you have the space and the two hundred and a bit bucks, then the Logitech Z-5500 becomes a great choice for watching movies, listening to music, or adding kick to you favorite games.

Although onboard built-in sound cards that come as part of your computer’s motherboard have become extremely common nowadays, they still leave something to be desired in terms of sound quality. Sure, they are fine for mp3s played over your small PC speakers. But what if you are really into watching movies or playing games with immersive sound?

The creative audigy sound card will do just that, take the sound to a new level. The sound quality far outdoes that of onboard sound. Considering that this card costs more than some motherboards, that is not too surprising.

Creative has been in the audio game for quite a while and have a good reputation for quality products.

This sound card is easy to install and takes less than half an hour for the entire setup.

In the end the best reason to upgrade to a seperate sound card is simply the quality. Onboard sound is OK, but not if you want great, high quality surround sound, or if you are a lover of good quality sound.