Sony VAIO VGC-JS230J/S 20.1-Inch All-in-One Desktop PC (2.5 GHz Intel Pentium Dual-Core E5200 Processor, 4 GB RAM, 500 GB Hard Drive, Vista Premium) Silver Review

Aside from the difficulties in the online SonyStyle ordering/delivery process, the Sony VGC-JS230J machine itself is pretty awesome so far.I do have some complaints, but considering that I paid less than $[...] for the specs that I got, it's still well worth it.

The whining:
The screen is BRIGHT, like turn the brightness down a little bit BRIGHT.The brightness is nice for the most part, but my eyes were accustomed to my lesser bright monitor, so it'll take some time to get used to it, and it can light up a small room pretty well, so forget trying to work in a room where someone is trying to sleep.Along the same lines, there is some fan noise, not a lot, but you know there's a computer on nearby.My biggest complaint in this regard - when the CD drive is loading a disc, it is insanely loud.I'm not sure if maybe my machine in particular has something wrong with it, but it can drown out a conversation until the drive stops spinning, then it quiets down while completing the load process of whatever software or media you happen to be uploading.Next minor whine:the keyboard cord is too short.I have a sliding keyboard tray under my desk where a keyboard is meant to be housed, but the USB cable connecting the keyboard to the machine itself is a whopping 30" (I just busted out the tape measure), this makes it impossible to use a keyboard tray for a desk any deeper than 20-24" without tugging on the cable.I would try my old keyboard with the longer cable, but hey, this Vaio keyboard that came with it is pretty cool and the keys are very shallow, which makes for quieter, gentler key clicks.I wanted to use my existing Explorer mouse as the one that came with the Vaio is small and plain without side navigation buttons, but alas, the side navigation buttons on my Explorer mouse do not work with the JS230, only the top right/left/wheel buttons work.I gave up and plugged in the small Vaio mouse that came with the package and must re-learn how to click forward and backward without navigation assistance, will look into available resolutions for this irritant more later.Next:it came with Vista.I could've tried to downgrade back to XP, but eh.. figured I'd give Vista a try.Vista is growing on me very slowly, but software is separate issue.The amazing amount of preinstalled crapware took me a good 45 minutes to unload on first boot-up, it probably would've taken less time had I been able to find it in the suspect locations (remember, it came with Vista).Next:I still haven't quite figured out what the best viewing resolution should be for this wide-screen formatted display.I'm nearsighted, so need things displayed a bit bigger, but forget about a standard 1024x768 display, anything less than the default superfine 1680x1050 doesn't display correctly, so one must tweak the DPI & manual properties a bit to get it to look more friendly.Okay, so everything is finally set up and we can cruise with the settled machine now, and it is FAST!Pages load as fast as Vista will let them with amazing clarity and resolution.Huge HD storage capacity (500GB) makes it easy to manage media libraries without having to maintain an external HD, and abundant memory makes it easy to run multiple applications simultaneously without freezing.It's nice to have all the free space under my desk on the floor now where once stood a desktop tower, as everything now rests inclusively in approximately the same amount of desk space as my old LCD monitor in a very sleek package, complete with built-in webcam and okay-sounding speakers.Not much bass, but I don't imagine it will be too difficult to plug in some external speakers if needed, I haven't tried this yet.It's kinda nice having USB ports in the back for the external usuals (keyboard, mouse, printer), plus an extra 2 USB ports on the left side for other items, such as USB phone charger or iPod sync.There is much more to explore with my new toy, but so far, I'm happy with it and will likely find even more to be happy with as I tinker with it a bit more.Besides, it's a Sony, which is makes it awesome by nature.

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Product Description:
Curb clutter in your workspace and do it in style with the VAIO JS all-in-one desktop PC, a powerful computer that's built into the back of a stunning 20.1-Inch LCD display with XBRITE-ECO technology. Powered by an Intel processor. The JS is the perfect desktop companion surfing the web or listening to music. Easy to setup and even easier to use, the JS features a built-in camera and microphone and an elegantly designed keyboard with storage space.

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