Tuesday, 9 February 2010

Cubic Zirconia - pendant, heart pendant


Being a constant multi-tasker and always in the hurry mode, I saw the heart necklace on line, read a few reviews, and stopped the search...all good. It arrived quickly and the first surprise was its size--quite small and petite (I did expect bigger; sometimes, size really does matter!). Next I removed the tiny link chain..it had to go. I found one of my several favorite sterling chains, paired it with my diamond earrings and voilah! Gorgeous! I had many comments, I know, thinking they were real diamonds since the sparkle is competitive with the real bling. My advice is check the size so you know (about 1/2" at the widest) what you are getting. Otherwise, it is pretty and very sparkly. We do love our shiny objects!I polish it with a jewelry cloth each time I wear it for maximum shiny...a must with silver. Sterling Silver Cubic Zirconia Pave Heart Pendant, 18"

Love this necklace. I've had several necklace's over the years, but this is by far one of the best. I purchased one for my necie's 13th birthday and decided to get one for myself. I'm so happy that I did. We both love them. The quality and craftmanship of the heart is great, but the necklace is a little thin. I can always purchase a better necklace, but overall it's great.

I bought this for my special lady friend and I plan to give it to her when I fly up to see her but upon receiving it, I realized that the chain is really small for any adult. It's more of a child's chain. But being that I don't like returning things, the chain itself is the perfect length to just wrap around a few times and make it into a bracelet.

The heart charm itself is very pretty and definitely eye catching.

For the price, there's not really any reason to complain.

This would be perfect as a random non-special event present to get someone.

I love this necklace! What you see is what you get, it's exactly like the picture. Gorgeous!! It arrived much sooner than expected - a nice surprise. I was thrilled with the purchase, and I'm sure you will be too.

I'm very pleased with my cubic zirconia pave heart pendant. I purchased a diamond pave pendant at a jewelry store last year, and it has a very dark, almost blackened background that I was unhappy with. This pendant is much prettier than my expensive diamond pendant.

I live in the UK but couldn't find this on Amazon.co.uk. I decided to buy here. I really was not disappointed. It arrived vrey quickly and in quite a big outer box so there was no way it would get damaged.

The necklace for me is just the perfect size and it looks stunning on. I did put it on my own chain but that is only because I like to wear a shorter length. If you are not sure all I say is order it, you have nothing to lose but I don't think you will return it. Very pretty, very sparkly, very real looking. - Cubic Zirconia - Heart Pendant - Heart - Pendant'


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Cubic Zirconia - pendant, heart pendant pendant Cubic Zirconia - pendant, heart pendant

Panasonic Plasma - panasonic, 50 inch


To preface this I have had 2 P50ST30s (one replacement because of the problems I will talk about below) and Amazon was awesome with the whole return and replacement. One of the best companies I have dealt with. This is a very long review as I would like you to understand what you are buying beforehand.



ALL VERSIONS OF PANASONIC 2011 TVs ARE EXHIBITING THIS PROBLEM.



I was excited when I first set up my TV and took the time to age the phosphors in the TV for 150 hours by running slides (a step that can be skipped but the phosphors degrade in the first 100 hours faster than the rest of it's life). I set up the blu-ray player and after dialing in the settings it looked awesome. Then the brightness fluctuations happened.



The best way I can explain brightness fluctuations ( Fluctuating Brightness or FBr) is will be a leap in lighting. When you have a dark scene the whole picture will darken some to give more detail to a shadowed area. It is necessary to give great picture quality in any plasma. Normally what will happen is that it will gradually fade into darker or lighter, this TV does it all in one step. A drastic comparison would be a pitch black room where you turn a light on vs turning a dimmer light on gradually. What you see on the screen is picture that will switch from dark to lighter. It is most noticeable when you have 2 scenes switching back and forth (think dialogue between 2 characters where it switches between ones face to the other) and one scene is darker than the other. You can easily see this in the movie Hereafter around minute 40.



This problem is exacerbated by a delay in the video processing of the switch between darker scenes and lighter scenes. In almost all video they will have scenes cut and pasted together. When this happens the lighting usually will change for various reasons. When the scenes cut from one to another this TV will take about 0.5-1 second to process the lighting difference to adjust to give more detail to shadowed areas. Given that it does it in one leap as mentioned above, it severely distracts you from watching the movie and enjoying it.



Darker Movies will usually bring out these symptoms to it's max. When I went to watch Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1, I came to the point where I started counting the fluctuations instead of watching the movie. I counted 56 total in one watching. My wife didn't watch HP with me but she commented on it while watching Castle a few times, then more and more on other shows.



The reviews are definitely favorable as it has a great picture quality without doubt. Most professional reviewers mention fluctuating brightness problem, but gloss over it. Why they did I am not sure. It seems that some sets show this dramatically, while others don't. My first one (the one I counted 56 fluctuations on for HP) I would say was very bad compared to a slightly less worse one that I got the second time around. I re watched HP on the second one to see if I could just enjoy the movie, got to the point I started counting again and only counter 32 which were more tame but still easy to spot without even looking for them. To make sure it just wasn't me seeing things because I knew when they were, I made (yes she wasn't to happy about it) her watch Tron with me. We first started Tron in 2d and she saw it some; then I popped in the 3d disc and she was pointing it out in every other scene.



I placed a complaint with US Panasonic as this was unacceptable, trying to explain it the best as I am now. I was walked through changing multiple settings (CATS off, trying all modes, changing contrast and all other settings, using 3 different HDMI cables along with composite and component cables) with nothing relieving the issue. Their response was that this is a feature of the TV and that it was working properly. Some of their exact words in the email I later received were " the picture dimming (fluctuating brightness) is negligible and should be considered within the TV's design specification."



In Spain a gentleman Documented this for Panasonic to prove that something was wrong. If you would like to see how bad this is; there has been a video posted by a member of a great forum for high def junkies that shows this instance (Google " VT30 hereafter " and it will show in the youtube vids) if you would like to see exactly what I am talking about. The TV here was the VT series which is Panasonic's flagship model and cost well over $1,200 of this TV.



Since the posting of the above video Spain got a firmware update to 1.520. The same person posted the exact same scene with the same setup which you can also view by clicking on his name or clicking on it on the right hand side. It eliminates this problem, since then Europe Panasonic have acknowledged that there is something that they are looking into (circumventing saying there is a problem). But US Panasonic calls this a feature that is working as intended. Unlike US Panasonic which I have opened 2 cases with them about this problem, one for both TVs, and just receive it's a feature of the TV which is working properly...



I am hoping that this is heeded as a warning to many as I feel terrible about Amazon being outstanding in it's Customer Service trying to rectify what is obviously not their fault. I am a man that researches any large purchase to the T to try to avoid these problems. I weighed my options and since the professional reviewers either made no mention of this problem or said it was a minor problem; I decided to buy this Panasonic. I post this in hopes that those that do their research won't feel gypped as I do.



If you would like to read more comments a Facebook page was created in hope that it would have an effect as it did with Sony. It is on facebook under "My 2011 Panasonic TV is Defective".





UPDATE 7/26 : Various Panasonic emails have said that there will be an announcement this Wednesday 7/27. Also a A reliable higher up in Panasonic NA has said that there is a FW that will be aimed at fixing "panel dimming" very soon (this term has a different meaning then Fluctuating Brightness, but all other FW fixes in Europe that fixed the FBr were released to fix another problem). This could or could not be a fix to the above problems, but hopefully putting 2 and 2 together means we will be getting a FW fix this Wednesday. Whether this is a fix to the above problems or not remains to be seen. Since I published this report it has been confirmed that all European models are now shipped with the Firmware that fixes FBr, while here in NA it hasn't been addressed. Here is to hoping for a statement Wednesday.



*UPDATE* 8/6/11 : First there has been no true announcement from Panasonic NA as of yet. But after getting all the data collected and sent forward to the engineers (yes many people that owned the TV put in this work), the engineers were able to replicate the problem. Since then there is now a patch. This is not a Firmware update, instead it changes other "software" in the TV like the EEPROM. Since it is not strictly a Firmware update they cannot simply have your tv download it from the internet like normal. It REQUIRES, at least as of right now, a tech to come out to install it on your TV.



Note that this fix has been confirmed to be loaded on TVs coming from the factory now. When this change occurred I cannot tell you neither can anyone that you can talk to, so please do not hound amazon, Panasonic or any other retailer. I assume the earliest we will see TVs with this update will be very late July produced TVs if not August. If you decide to buy a TV from Amazon please just allow them to come out and patch the TV instead of sending it back. If you send it back Amazon has to eat the shipping and this is one company that tries it's hardest to help the customer. So please do not make them eat the cost or else they WILL eventually have to change the policies they have. It may take a few weeks to get the rep out, butit is worth it to allow amazon to keep its very lax and customer happiness driven CS.



Now onto the results :



I have had this patch on my TVs for 2 days now. I compiled a list of FBr material that was bad during the data collection phase before we passed this on to the Panasonic Engineers so I had a list prepared to test this afterward to see if it was fixed or not. Running through 20 of the worst scenes over 6 movies (Harry Potter Deathly Hallows 1, Tron, Casino Royale, Hereafter, Battlefield LA). In these movies I saw not 1 noticeable FBr ( I say noticeable because FBr is in the driving mechanism of this TV). I noticed only 1 instance of a small FBr in the movie The Rite, but it was under extreme circumstances (dark background to near white background with a shadowed face in a scene change). Besides that I also watched some streamed video (Master Chef, True Blood, Band of Brothers etc) and got the same results of no FBr. Gaming (Fallout 3, Dragon Age Origins and Gears of War 2) was also the same, no FBr.



Overall it fixed the problem almost completely, if not completely. This patch surpassed my expectations and Panasonic owned up and fixed a glaring problem. There have been 3 forum users that have this fix and posted about it. They all report the same thing.



If you have purchased this TV or any other Panasonic NA ST30, GT30 or VT30 and have the problems mentioned above please call 1-800-973-4390. This is Panasonic Concierge and this is the number that was requested to call by the engineers. Tell them you have Fluctuating Brightness. Low end techs have been sent a memo regarding this. Many are now receiving emails to set up appointments.



Because of this fix I have amended my score of the TV. For this price this TV is amazing. I reserved 5 stars for the Pioneer Kuro (the gold standard), 4 1/2 stars for the VT series and dk8000. This TV 4 stars is an undervaluation, but it is all I can do on here. Honestly it would be 4.25 taking into account the above TVs superiority. I cannot express how happy I am with this TV now that it is fixed.





****UPDATE 8/22/11****

They have a limited amount of panasonic qualified techs that can install the update via SD card and will NOT give out the SD card for local non-panasonic techs to install as it has proprietary software on it. To alleviate the problem they send a new a-board to local techs that has the patch preloaded. The tech can then come out and install the new a-board under warranty claim (all free to you).



It is a simple procedure and only takes 15 minutes. This a-board replacement doesn't void any warranty as it is done by Panasonic under Panasonic's warranty by a qualified tech.



*WARNING* the a-board swap AND the SD patch will wipe your calibration and the ISF day/night mode (ISF day/night is only available if you have the TV calibrated and the tech turns it on in the Service menu), if you had one done. If you decide to do either of the fixes I would suggest buying a backup program (like controlcal) to save your settings. You can then reload them after the patch. It has been noted by calibrators that after either of the fixes that you will get close to the same results with the old calibration, but they say you will need a touchup to gray scale and colors to be as accurate as possible.



From good sources it has been said that any August build TVs should have the fix pre-installed. Unfortunately the build date isn't on the outside of the box in the US. There is another way to check if it has been factory installed though. The 3-6 numbers in the serial number designate whether it has been fixed or not. These 4 numbers need to be 1215 or higher for the fix to be pre-installed. It will look like : xx1215xxxxxx .



Again if you order from Amazon, or any other online type store, they have no direct control on what comes out of the warehouse and you CANNOT request that it is an August build as they have no control on what goes out. If you want to be sure of what you get, you should buy local and specifically state you will only buy it if it meets those criteria.



The fix is easy enough to get that you should feel comfortable ordering this product. Don't order this product and expect a 1215. Instead order this product expecting to have the tech come out. You may get a set pre 1215 that has no FBr as about 50% of the people report that they have no problem without the patch or you may get a 1215 build, but you should go into it expecting what you will most likely get. Then anything else is a bonus. If you don't feel good about buying the TV and possibly getting a FBr one then I suggest not buying from online stores.



To those outside of the US. Panasonic divisions are completely separate as they use different components, different firmware etc so this fix is for US only. The US division is sharing this info with EU, Canada, Australia etc to try to get this problem fixed with those TVs also. The other countries are still in the beginning stages so don't expect them to be exactly where the US is as the other countries have to test, document, confirm, create a fix (using different components/software mean they just can't copy/paste the US fix to theirs) and then test the fix. I cannot give you an update on outside of US, but I would suggest that you make your voice heard by opening tickets and speaking out about the problem.



Lastly for those that do have the TV or those that are willing to buy the TV and get the fix after. Call up Panasonic Concierge at 1-800-973-4390 . Allow them to walk you through the steps they have and try them as it is possible that it could fix your problem. If they walk you through that and you still see the FBr they should have received info on how to push it to the next level. To make sure here is the Document that they can look up regarding this issue :



Service Hint ('A' Board replacement to fix the 'brightness fluctuation" in the ST30/GT30/VT30).

SH-B34-11-03-REV



A majority of this info is me simply condensing what many others have done to get this in place. Thanks go to the great people of highdefjunkies.com especially 3 in particular, D-Nice for his initial findings and universal knowledge; AVjunkie and Gotchaa who helped consolidate/voice our problems to the techs. Panasonic VIERA TC-P50ST30 50-Inch 1080p 3D Plasma HDTV - 50 Inch - 3d - Hdtv - Panasonic'


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Kodak Camera Battery - battery, zi8


If you plan on actually shooting enough video to fill the max size SDHC card for the camera that this battery supports, then you need this battery, otherwise you'll run out of power before you're done. Kodak Li-Ion Rechargeable Battery/KLIC 7004

Was part of the deal for my Kodak Zi8. Nice knowing its the original battery specified by Kodak. Unlike some generic replacements you know it will fit and work just like the one supplied with the camera.

Firstly, only buy this battery off of Amazon because its cheap. I went to buy this battery at BestBuy and it was 36 bucks! Secondly, the battery has a short life but charges quickly (under 2 hours). The solution is to buy 3, charge them up, and you will have plenty of power. - Camera Battery - Digital Camera - Zi8 - Battery'


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Digital Outlet Timer


I've had such a hard time finding a timer that will fit my outlet because I have a gigantic transformer plug plugged into the bottom socket and it cannot be moved. I searched and searched for something that could be used on the top socket in the small amount of space available above the huge transformer plug. This fit the bill perfectly! It takes up so little space for a timer. This has got to be the smallest timer I've seen.



I love that it has it's own batteries to keep time. We lose power a lot where I live and it is a pain to have to update all my mechanical timers after going without power. I'm sure I'll have no problems with this, but if I do, I will come back to update. I'm also interested to see how long the batteries last for keeping time. They appear to be calculator-type batteries, so I'm sure they are inexpensive.



I love that it has an override "on" switch. There is no override "off" but I would never use it anyway. This only offers ONE on/off set of times, so if you need something to turn on/off more than once a day, this won't work for you. Also, this will only accommodate a 2 prong plug.



Overall, I thought this 2-pack was incredibly affordable and I'm completely happy with this product. I am buying more and switching out all my mechanical timers for these. I can't give a better recommendation than that!





***************************

UPDATE: September 22, 2009

***************************



We lose power at my home all of the time and lost power for several hours yesterday. Our power came back on only a couple of minutes before the timers were scheduled to come on. I am happy to report that the timers kept perfect time throughout the power outage and turned the devices on at the programmed times. I am completely satisfied with these timers, but will still be interested to see how long the batteries last. I will be back to report when the batteries have died or if I have any other issues.





**************************

UPDATE: October 21, 2009

**************************



I've lost power 3 more times since the last update. Once for 30 minutes, the other 2 times were less than 1 minute. Timers are still set PERFECT! Haven't missed a single second and turn on at the exact same times each day :) Yeah! I've ordered more, but got a 1-3 week delay. Everyone is buying them all up. lol Stanley 38425 TimerMax Digislim Daily Digital Indoor Lamp Timer, White, 2-Pack

PROS:

- Easy to Program

- Easy to Read Display

- User Replaceable Backup Batteries (Two L44 button cell)

- Runs Without Batteries

- Takes Only One Slot In a Vertical Two Slot Socket System

- Time and Switches can be set by as little as one minute

- Override On Switch

- No bright light emitting from the device



CONS:

- No Override Off Switch

- Limited to only turn on and off once per day

- Can take up two slots horizontally

- No temporary backlit display feature



DETAILED DESCRIPTION:

I've owned a Woods digital timer and it worked fine until the internal battery died in it. The bad part about the Woods timer is that the battery wasn't user replaceable! As soon as I opened the package and saw the battery compartment I was excited to see this feature! I first bought this because it was the cheapest digital based timer switch I could find and it didn't mention anything about a backup battery in the unit or that it was user replaceable.



My main concern about this item was if I could set it to turn off in one minute and turn back on. I have a skype phone which works fine, but every now and then it needs the unit to be reset (power turned off and on). So this device fit the bill perfectly with added features I didn't expect. Since it is digital it doesn't make any sound as a manual based timer (the ones with a circle based clock with plugs or pins you'd place to set it). Again the user replaceable battery feature is nice because obviously you can replace them yourself and it remembers your settings if the power happens to go out.



It is rather simple to program as in to set your times by just holding down either the TIME or ON or OFF button and then press the hour or minute button to set it. Since the display isn't backlit then you might want to program this in a well lit area or take your flashlight when trying to program it. This really isn't a bad thing since I'd prefer the display to be off during the night, but it would be a welcome feature to have when programming the device. the device does also offer a override on switch, but no off switch. Not a big deal for me, but if you want to forcefully turn it off then you will have to unplug it. It isn't very tall so it doesn't take up that much space in a two slot socket, but in a six based socket it might about two sockets worth of space horizontally.



It uses two button cell batteries (LR1130) 1.5 volt or more commonly known as L44 which aren't that expensive to get and used in most devices such as laser pointers, led keychains, etc... You can also extract these type of batteries from an A23 Energizer 12 volt battery which contains 8 of these button cell (1.5 volt) batteries, but just hidden inside the energizer wrapper. So it is fairly easy to obtain these batteries, but I can't comment on how long they will last in the device. The device seems to be able to run without the batteries plugged in as well and that is a plus if you don't care if it remembers your settings (especially if power outages isn't that common in your area).



Other technical details left out were that it can power supposedly a 600 watt device at 5 amps. This unit has only two prongs and only accepts two prong devices which can be a plus or minus depending what you plan to do with this device. Also lastly I can't really comment on the reliability, but so far so good and it appears to be a good solid construction.'


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Moisturizer - mary kay, facial cleanser


I had a friend get Proactive and she gave it to me. I used it but the acne never actually stopped. It just kinda covered it up but I still got breakouts frequently. So another friend (who sells Mary Kay) gave me this to try and I have been using it for now for about 3 months and I have noticed a great difference! My breakouts have slowed down alot and even when I have them they don't look all red and angery. If you have used everything you can think of and still nothing works then try this! It's worth it!!! Mary Kay Acne Treatment Gel*,1 oz. net wt.

I've been using this stuff for years ever since my best friend's mother mentioned that my face was so broken out. During my teen years, I had a lot of acne and I felt really embarrassed because of it. So my friend's mother gave me a free tube of this gel :D My face started to clear up just a little bit by the next morning and within three days, I could hardly tell that I'd had acne. Forget ProActive... Mary Kay all the way!

I have tried several products but this is far the best. I let my daughter use mine and I can't get it back. She loves it. Now I have purchased more for me and some for my nephew to try. I tried Pro Activ but it was too strong or I was allergic to it and it broke my face out. Will not buy anything else. Put it on at first signs of a pimple and it will go away fast. Try it you will be pleased.

I bought this gel a while back and every once in a while, when I am getting a big zit, I put some gel on it. I have actually been using it for the last 3 days for two pimples on my chin. Unfortunately this gel does not seem to work. Instead of making them go down, they make them hard and stick out.

Maybe it works for others... but not for me.Plus: All the reviews with 5 stars... they are fake. All have the same content, all written in the same style, just with different words.

Notice how all of them talk about how ProActive and other stuff that I haven't even heard of would not work.

If you fake reviews, you should be more creative. Cheers.

I love this acne medication. It zaps a zit before it even breaks the surface. One customer said that it dries her skin a lot, and I have found this happends once in a while t me, but I use a light layer of oil-free moisutrizer on first, then the acen gel and then it works more gently. I use some MK face products, but my friend uses the entire Mary Kay Acne System which is a cleanser, toner, oil-control lotion and this gel, and she LOVES it and it's more reasonably priced than other systems too since they don't spend much money on advertising. Mary Kay is kind of word of mouth company and have great products.

For $5, this thing will prevent an acne from becoming a zit if you apply it early enough (when you start feeling it on your face). I've used this thing in the past on myself, I also bought it for my sister and she also said it worked real well.



The only problem is Mary Kay is not a well-known brand and is not well-advertised. So these items won't sell fast enough and a lot of time, these tube will come expired (I've bought it twice from 2 different sellers in the past year, and they all came expired). Just ask for a refund if you run into such problem. - Skin Care - Facial Cleanser - Mary Kay - Blemish Control'


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Pencil Grip - handwriting, fine motor


I have a few other pencil grips and I was hoping this one would keep my son's fingers in the correct position. It does that but he prefers not to use them. They are quite small in my opinion. My son is tiny for his 5 years and his fingers just barely fit in the size small. Pencil Grip The Classics Writing Claw Small, Assorted Colors, 6 Count (TPG-21106)

Our daughter refused to hold a pencil correctly. This device, with its bright colors and comfort fit (not too loose, not too tight, perfect for little fingers) has helped her finally write her letters and draw with the proper grip! She loves it too! - Left-handed - Handwriting - Fine Motor - Pencil Grip'


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Marvel Comics - avengers, blu-ray


Thor is Marvel's best superhero movie yet. It is even better than the first Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk films. It is also the most visually stunning of any Marvel film, with gorgeous fantasy settings, great costumes, and spectacular special effects.



In the same way as Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight worked just as well as a crime drama as a superhero movie, Thor works just as well as a standalone fantasy film. Even if I had not known that I was watching a comic book movie, I would have been just as happy with the story. In fact, I would say that you don't actually need to be familiar with the characters or the comic mythology to enjoy the film.



The story is set half in Asgard, the realm of the gods, and half in our world, Earth. Thor, the son of the king of Asgard, the wise Odin, is a proud and arrogant king-in-waiting. He makes a foolish mistake that brings his world to the brink of war and his father exiles him to our world as punishment, and maybe to teach him how to be a better man. On Earth, Thor makes some new friends and even begins to fall in love with a pretty scientist. Meanwhile, in Asgard, his brother Loki begins to put into motion a plot that may threaten Thor's home.



Two things about the film really stood out to me. The first is the absolutely beautiful settings and solid world-building in the movie. Asgard looks amazing, with settings such as the Rainbow Bridge, a crystal structure with colored lights running through it, spanning a sea that flows into a massive waterfall, cascading down into the open cosmos. Also, great costuming really makes the gods stand out, and adds to the film's epic feel. The second thing was the character of Loki, the film's antagonist. Watching the trailers, I expected a greasy, honorless villain (someone like Wormtongue from the Lord of the Rings). Instead I got the story of a hero, told in reverse. Loki's story mirrors his brother Thor's, but where Thor starts out as an arrogant royal brat and through his time on Earth comes to realize what it means to be a hero, Loki begins the story as a mischievous but honorable man, and over the course of the film turns into a really bad guy. As Thor rises, he falls. And when his final plan is revealed at the end of the film, it totally fits his personality and everything you know about him. In other superhero films, we're used to seeing the bad guy go on some kind of mindless rampage at the end of the film. We saw it in The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man, the Spider Man movies, the Fantastic Four...but not here. Loki acts like a man with a purpose. Actually he has two purposes, both very personal to him. One is to do commit a terrible act of destruction, partly out of self-loathing and partly out of a twisted sense of honor toward his father. And the other is simply to beat his brother, proving himself Thor's equal. He is easily the deepest villain of any of the Marvel films so far.



The film is directed by Shakespearean actor Kenneth Branagh (Gilderoy Lockhart!), who handles the epic material perfectly. More than any Marvel film so far, this one focuses on the hero's journey. Even more than a comic book movie, this is a fantasy film about a hero. Expect father-son drama, palace intrigue in the realm of the gods, and an epic confrontation between two brothers who have been become very different people over the course of the story. There is also plenty of humor, with a few real laugh-out-loud moments. And there is a very sweet, almost cute romance woven into the story. It carries an innocent, young-love kind of feeling. It also takes the two characters, one a god more concerned with war and glory, the other a scientist more concerned with solving the mysteries of the universe, and brings them down to earth in their budding love for one another.



I would recommend Thor to any lover of fantasy films, as well as any fans of comic book movies such as Marvel's Avengers lineup. It is solid fantasy fun with a strong sense of the epic and the heroic. And when you see Thor finally wield his hammer and summon the lightning, you'll want to stand up and cheer. Thor (Three-Disc Combo: Blu-ray 3D / Blu-ray / DVD / Digital Copy)

I went to see this with our 9 year old son, honestly not expecting very much. While I have enjoyed Portman and Hopkins in a number of roles, I felt this would be just another comic book hero movie with a bad script, extremely predictable character development, and unoriginal attempts at humor.

I was wrong...

Not only did I AND our 9 year old boy enjoy THOR, our 13 year old daughter, 15 year old goddaughter, and two more of our daughter's friends enjoyed it...ALL 3 TIMES WE SAW IT!!!

That's right...I saw THOR with our kids 3 times. Granted, this is a bit over-killed, but we thoroughly enjoyed the movie every time and plan to purchase it on opening DVD release day. Here's why:

1. I felt it was age appropriate.

2. Was it violent, sure...was it gory, no.

3. It had clear lines of good and bad, treated well with a myriad of complexities that led people to their struggles...so it felt honest.

4. I thought it was a GREAT play into the Avengers movie that is on the way.

5. I felt Branagh did a wonderful job directing...they should consider allowing him to direct the Avengers.

Rent this one...buy it...whatever works for you. It's good entertainment with plenty of action, quick wit, and a sweet redemption in the end. No Oscars here, but a good film nonetheless...thumbs up!

Comic book fans get a lot of flak for being nerds, dweebs and geeks; or at least they used to. Now comics are en vogue as millions of people attend geekfests like Comic Con; although whether that's to see the movie and television stars in attendance remains to be seen. Comic book characters are our mythology, they rival the super powered beings and gods of ancient Greek, Mesopotamian, and Viking mythology. We as humans have always felt this need to look up to higher powers to sort out our lives, believing that the fate of our race is better left in the hands of someone capable of bending the rules of physics. It's only natural then that eventually the worlds of comics and ancient mythology would collide as it does in the new Marvel movie Thor.



Thor (Chris Hemsworth) is the arrogant first born son of King Odin (Anthony Hopkins) of Asgard, and the rightful heir to the throne. When Thor commits an act that could lead to war between Asgard and the Frostgiants, with whom they have a very shaky truce, Odin strips Thor of his powers and banishes him to Earth until he learns humility. On Earth Thor is found by astrophysicist Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) and her team (Stellan Skarsgard, Kat Dennings) as they study atmospheric disturbances in New Mexico.



Thor is one of Marvel's lesser known properties, despite having been created by Stan Lee back in 1962. An integral character in Marvel's super powered team The Avengers, the movie version of the comic book was announced not long after the success of Iron Man as part of Marvel Studios attempt to bring The Avengers to the big screen. While Marvel has had great success with the first Iron Man movie and to a lesser extent Iron Man 2 and The Incredible Hulk (which is the closest Marvel Studios has come to failure so far), Thor was a risky proposition with the greatest potential for failure. How does one meld the worlds of the mythical Asgard and Earth seamlessly into a movie that is part of a bigger picture with characters that are based solely in our realm?



Enter Kenneth Branagh. The success of Thor can largely be pinned on having a filmmaker with appropriate gravitas to ground the film. Branagh is a star of stage as well as film (for those of you unfamiliar with the name he played Gilderoy Lockhart in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets). The presence of Branagh alone was somewhat curious considering he's known more for directing acclaimed works like Hamlet (1996) and Henry V (1989) and even as an Irishman the English consider him one of the leaders in Shakespearean theater. It's that knowledge of film and theater that really guides Thor as he borrows as much from Shakespeare's Henry V as he does from modern action films.



Also adding to the weight of Kenneth Branagh's credentials are a list of acclaimed and award winning actors and actresses such as Anthony Hopkins, Natalie Portman, Stellan Skarsgard, Rene Russo, and Idris Elba. Not only do they have the opportunity to ground the movie, but they also look like they're having fun. Part of why we enjoy this movie is because we can see that they enjoy the movie. No one ever really feels like they're hamming it up or sleepwalking through their scenes, you get the sense that aside from the emotions they convey for their characters concerning their predicaments they all want to be on this set and that feeling is infectious. Also Tom Hiddleston's Loki is a revelation at a time when I have to admit that Marvel Studio's previous villains have been lacking a certain je ne sais que. Hiddleston plays the character with a secret, and a glimmer behind the eyes that slowly unravels like a ripe onion throughout the film holding on to his deceit with the hope of another day. He's more complex than the previous villains that have come out of Marvel Studios, and I'm looking forward to his return in The Avengers.



The real linchpin for why this all works though is Chris Hemsworth. While having been around here and there in blink and you'll miss it parts, Hemsworth got his first big break in JJ Abrams Star Trek reboot in the pivotal role of George Kirk, father of James T. Kirk. While his place in geekdom had been set in a small yet important role, the question of whether he could pull off the Norse god turned Marvel superhero. In a lot of actor's hands this would have been a one note character bereft of emotion and humor. Hemsworth is a magnetic leading man, though, exuding charisma and confidence. His poise commands respect, and he effortlessly flows from emotion to emotion, arrogance to humility, with a comedic timing that leaves the audience in stitches but still doesn't undermine his character.



As with most, if not all comic book movies, this movie tries hard to give you a lot of plot in a short two hour span (I say short because it leaves you wanting more, the way a good action movie should). Naturally, some things are a little undercooked but don't ruin the movie. In the end, as much as I fell in love with Natalie Portman's character (as I do with almost any character she plays) the romantic connection between Thor and Foster didn't ring true because for most of the film he seemed somewhat disinterested only to find his infatuation with her later in the movie. Thor's progression from arrogant strongman to humble hero also seems to be slightly haphazard as it really feels as though it could have used more time to flesh out. Hemsworth does an admirable job making the audience feel each twist and turn of the character, but each twist and turn feels a little too abrupt to be genuine.



All in all though, this was an excellent film: a piece of escapist entertainment that embraces Shakespeare as much as it embraces modern blockbuster pop-art. On the scales of Marvel I'd rate this just slightly under Iron Man and far above Iron Man 2 and The Incredible Hulk. The fact that they were able to get Thor right gives me hope for The First Avenger: Captain America and The Avengers. If you're a fan of comic book movies, Iron Man, or Marvel I highly recommend that you give this film a try. Not to mention, this is quite possibly the best use of 3D I recall since Avatar. Check it out!



4/5



For more review check out: jasoncwilkerson.blogspot.com - Blu-ray - Action - Avengers - Adventure'


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William Shakespeare - william shakespeare, hamlet


Part of the genius of Branagh's interpretation of Hamlet is in the use of the techniques of the cinema to enhance the production. Branagh has not condensed the acts like some mass market soup, as was done in Olivier's 1948 Oscar-winning production, or in, say, Zeffirelli's 1989 Hamlet lite starring Mel Gibson (both excellent, though, within their scope), but has kept every word while directing our understanding so that even those only casually familiar with the play might follow the intent and purpose with discernment. Recall that for Shakespeare--the ultimate actor's playwright who wrote with precious few stage directions--interpretation was left to the direction and the actors, an open invitation that Branagh rightly accepts.



The use of flashback scenes of things implied, such as the amorous union of Ophelia and her Lord Hamlet abed, or of a vast expanse of snow darkened with distant soldiers to represent the threat of Fortinbras' army from without, and especially the vivid remembrance in the mind's eye of the new king's dastardly deed of murder most foul, helps us all to more keenly appreciate just what it is that torments Hamlet's soul. I also liked the intense closeups. How they would have bemused and delighted an Elizabethan audience.



Branagh's ambitious Hamlet is also one of the most accessible and entertaining, yet without the faintest hint of any dumbing down or abbreviation. A play is to divert, to entertain, to allow us to identify with others whose trials and tribulations are so like our own. And so first the playwright seeks to engage his audience, and only then, by happenstance and indirection, to inspire and to inform. Shakespeare did this unconsciously, we might say. He wrote for the popular audience of his time, a broad audience, it should be noted, that included kings and queens as well as knaves and beggars, and he reached them, one and all. We are much removed from those times, and yet, this play, this singular achievement in theatre, still has the power to transcend mere entertainment, to fuse poetry and story, as well as the high and the low, and speak once again to a new audience twenty generations removed.



Branagh himself is a wonderful Hamlet, perhaps a bit of a ham at times (as I think was Shakespeare's intent), a prince who is the friend of itinerant players. He also lacks somewhat in stature (as we conceive our great heroes); nonetheless his interpretation of the great prince's torment and his singular obsession to avenge his father's murder speaks strongly to us all. Branagh, more than any other Hamlet, makes us understand the distracted, anguished and tortured prince, and guides us to not only an appreciation of his actions, wild and crazy as they sometimes are, but to an identification and an understanding of why (the eternal query) Hamlet is so long in assuming the name of action. In Branagh's production, this old quibble with Hamlet's character dissolves itself into a dew, and we realize that he was acting strongly, purposely all the while. He had to know the truth without doubt so that he might act in concert with it.



I was also very much impressed with Derek Jacobi's Claudius. One recalls that Jacobi played Hamlet in the only other full cinematic production of the play that I know of, produced in 1980 by the BBC with Claire Bloom as Gertrude; and he was an excellent Hamlet, although perhaps like Branagh something less than a massive presence. His Claudius combines second son ambition with a Machiavellian heart, whose words go up but whose thoughts remind below, as is the way of villains everywhere.



Kate Winslet is a remarkable Ophelia, lending an unusual strength to the role (strength of character is part of what Kate Winslet brings to any role), but with the poor, sweet girl's vulnerability intact. She does the mad scene with Claudius as well as I have seen it done, and of course her personal charisma and beauty embellishes the production.



Richard Briers as Polonius, proves that that officious fool is indeed that, and yet something more so that we can see why he was a counselor to the king. The famous speech he gives to Laertes as his son departs for France, is really ancient wisdom even though it comes from a fool.



Julie Christie was a delight as the besmirched and wretched queen. In the bedroom scene with Hamlet she becomes transparent to not only her son, but to us all, and we feel that the camera is reaching into her soul. She is outstanding.



The bit players had their time upon the stage and did middling well to very good. I liked Charlton Heston's player king (although I think he and John Gielgud might have switched roles to good effect) and Billy Crystal's gravedigger was finely etched. Only Jack Lemon's Marcellus really disappointed, but I think that was mainly because he was so poorly cast in such a role. Not once was he able to flash the Jack Lemon grin that we have come to know so well.



The idea of doing a Shakespearean play with nineteenth century dress in the late twentieth century worked wonderfully well, but I know not why. Perhaps the place and dress are just enough removed from our lives that they are somewhat strange but recognizable in a pleasing way. And perhaps it is just another tribute to the timeless nature of Shakespeare's play. The mirrors in the great hall added to the effect of a vast and indifferent castle environment, and in the scene with Ophelia and Laertes returned tended to magnify the focus.



There is so much more to say about this wonderful cinematic production. It is, all things considered, one of the best Hamlets ever done. Perhaps it is the best. See it, by all means, see it for yourself. Hamlet [Blu-ray Book]

There is a moment at the start of this film when Hamlet, until then holding himself rigidly erect through sheer force of will, seizes a moment of privacy and literally deflates with exhaustion and despair. In itself, this perfect gesture would mark Branagh's portrayal a masterful work. But what follows raises his performance to the sublime: He embarks on the "O that this too too sullied flesh would melt, /Thaw, and resolve itself into a dew..." soliloquy not with Burton's anger, Olivier's melancholy or Gibson's bitterness, but with an exhalation that embodies the emotion most genuine given the circumstances: overwhelming grief. This is a perfect note, and what follows shows an understanding of the play's mental and emotional landscape that puts other portrayals to shame.



I have seen many performances of Hamlet, but I have never seen one as perfectly pitched as this. Branagh's Hamlet is strong, resourceful, thoughtful and restrained. Branagh purposely rejects the psychological poses that other actors find so hard to resist. After all, Hamlet and Richard III are the two Shakespearean plays that afford actors the most range. It's hard playing the Dane on a leash when one can go wild with existential abandon and not only dodge the charge of overacting, but actually attribute such excess to the character. There are few meatier roles in the repertoire that simultaneously offer the actor such depth on the one hand and such leeway on the other.



For me, such moderation exemplifies Branagh's devotion to Shakespeare. It must have been tempting for a man of his talents to show off. But to forego such gestures, to offer in its stead restraint, is to put service before self.



For, of course, Hamlet is restrained. His very life depends on it. His whole course of action is based on it. His safety revolves around it. Hold off the will to strike, restrain the impulse for vengeance, apportion each action in only the most miserly measure. The walls have ears, conspiracies abound and death lurks around every corner. In such an environment, is it plausible that a man of Hamlet's intelligence would show his hand by indulging in excess? A restrained performance feels right because a restrained course of action is the only course possible for our hero.



This does not stop Hamlet from making bold gestures. But such gestures must always be made under cover, and here again, Branagh shows his creative mettle. The Player King scene provides a counterpoint. Branagh lets go here and shows his excitement when the occasion demands it. Likewise, his graveyard response to Ophelia's death: the cover of madness conflates with reality because Hamlet's act cannot be sustained forever. Branagh knows exactly when to allow the cracks to show.



Those used to earlier works may find Branagh's version overly long and laboured. Many directors have cut out scenes and soliloquies in a misguided attempt to "tighten up" the production. Branagh makes what I believe is the right decision: to leave them all in because every scene, every soliloquy adds texture and is indispensable to the whole.



The best Hamlet I have seen. - Kate Winslet - Blu-ray - Hamlet - William Shakespeare'


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High Capacity Scale - weighing scale, accurate


As a scale, I give this product 5 stars. It gives me accurate and consistent readings every time. I went with a high capacity scale as I've got size 14 feet that dangle over the sides of most commercial scales giving me inaccurate readings. The large surface area of this scale has made that a non-issue and I've been very please with the product in that regard.





As a body fat analyzer, this product did not live up to my expectations. I was displeased to find this product does not in fact have an Athlete setting for body fat measurements as is claimed in Amazon's description of the product. As a lifelong weightlifter I have always found body fat analyzers very inaccurate due to my increased muscle mass. I thought this product would be able to provide me with accurate body fat measurements by way of having a setting specifically for athletes. Unfortunately that has not been the case as the scale routinely advises me I have approximately 35% body fat which is in direct conflict with caliper & hydrostatic testing that has put me at around 20% body fat.



I was going to knock my review of the scale down to 3 stars over, seemingly, false advertising. I decided not to because I reviewed both the instruction manual and Escali's website and found no claims of this product featuring an athlete setting. Therefore the fault may lie with Amazon's listing of the product and not the product itself.





In summary, a good scale for large individuals. A subpar bodyfat analyzer for anyone with above average levels of muscle mass. Escali High-Capacity Bathroom Scale with Body Fat/Body Water Monitoring (440lb / 200kg)

When I took this scale out of the box I was shocked. I almost didn't purchase this scale because of how stylish the Escali TT200 looked. I did not realize this scale has a glass face, it looks awesome even sitting in my kitchen.



The display is easy to use and I was able to get this unit up and running just by reading one page of the instruction manual. I don't understand why people are complaining about the manual, right when you open it up there are ten steps to guide you through a complete setup. A youngster could do it.



The scale was very accurate and is as solid as a rock. I come from a family where we are all pretty heavy and this scale held us up with ease. You can even stand on it with one foot and it won't budge. It's nice to see the body fat and water readings and they are accurate for the average user. Any body builder would probably get this measured at the doctor or with his/her physical trainer so I wouldn't skip this purchase just because you don't think the fat/water readings will be accurate.



For such a quality product I can't believe the price. It would be foolish of you to pass up this product if you are looking to save a few bucks with something cheap.



Don't worry if you are a heavy person. I thought I weighed over 400 pounds but I ended up being much less then that and with my new workout routine I can't wait to see those numbers drop.



If you seriously think you are over 440 pounds first of all let me say I'm glad you care about your health and are taking the time to look into purchasing a scale. Your best bet would be the Siltec WS-1000L High Capacity Scale, as that will be able to handle anything under 1000 lbs.

When we bought this scale, I chose to believe the many favorable reviews and ignore the negatives (which seemed to be the minority). Having used this scale for about 3 months now, it's time for me to add to add to the negative reviews. When it works, it's great (note that we were not looking for the body fat/water analysis - only a good quality high capacity scale). However, we seen it eat through batteries as some of the other reviewers did (I think in 3 months we've had 4 or 5 sets - I lost track) - we actually have resorted to taking out the batteries when not using it. Also, we have had numerous problems where the scale continually cycles through "setup" mode when you tap it to turn it on - when this happens, you can't weigh yourself. This symptom started out happening infrequently, but now happens most of the time. Today was the last straw - I tried for about 10 minutes to get it out of this mode before I gave up - will buy a new scale today.

I bought this scale after a 10 min search and review of products available at Amazon (lots of them available and my head was spinning).I decided to pass on the big brands (Conair, etc...) products because it seem to me they are all hit am miss (some are god some are really bad...too many choices and not consistent quality and too litle time to read all the reviews and choose a good one). I decided to buy this scale because is made by a company that specializes on scales only and they offer a 5 years warranty on their product so they must be confident in their products.

Compared to my existing scale (a gift from my friends, made by Healthmeter or something like that) this scale is very fast and the measurements are very good (good accuracy both the resolution and repeatibility...yes, I am scientist). I tried many scales in various local stores here in the DFW Metroplex and this scale feels more solid than any other that I've tried in the stores.

The fat measurement are simple to set-up(even a caveman can do it:), just enter male/female, age and higth) and they were were reliable in my case. I am a large frame guy, 5'11" and 190 lbs, and get 18% fat and 60% water every single time I measured myyself for the past few weeks. Still trying to shake loose the 5-10 lbs holiday lbs :) Btw this is teh first time I decided to contribute a litle... so this is my first review ever :) - Weighing Scale - Body Fat - Body Fat Scale - Accurate'


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Cordless Drill - combo, makita


I received this product via free shipping, and like the other reviewers, mine was poorly packaged. No box in a box, just the mfr box. Corners were dented, box was torn up, looked like it had been dropped on one end a few times. Inside, I found all the tools, but some of the items had shifted and were scuffed up a bit. Some items were floating around, like the screwdriver bit, and the sawsall bit.



However, all the tools functioned properly, and I got this set for a good price. These are top quality tools. Even the radio sounds decent, with a aux input for a MP3 player. Would have been nicer if the radio played CD's, but it doesn't.



For the price, this is a great deal, so just refuse the package if it arrives beat up so you can avoid the return shipping charges and get another one.



A little unrelated, but when I first found this item it was priced at $494, but when I checked out about two hours later, the unadvertised "sale" on this item ended, and the price went up to $549. Called Amazon directly, and they wouldn't budge. A little cheesy in my opinion, but still a good deal at the new price.



Would be a five star with sturdier packaging. Makita LXT702 18-Volt LXT Lithium-Ion Cordless 7-Piece Combo Kit

Absolutely love the tools!! The shipping problems also appear to be fixed, mine was shipped placed inside of a stronger exterior box with everything intact. I would also agree with previous reviews that I'm not too keen on the duffel bag, it has pockets for two drills, the recip saw, and the charger, most everything else just lays loose in the bag. I did find that if I packed the radio in the bag as well things fit snugly and didn't get banged around too much. A solid case would have been nice but on the other hand most likely would have been extremely large. Quick review of tools -



Drill - better than awesome

Driver - Even better than the drill, already survived a drop off the ladder unscathed

Recip saw - Very strong, yet soft to operate

Angle Grinder - Like it but rpm seems slow, doesn't back down though and it has a cool overload indicator

light

Circular saw - Great for a battery powered saw

Flashlight - Bright, but would have liked to see LED and also a flexible goose neck design

Charger - maybe time to update to a more modern looking design but works well

Radio - Compact design is very nice, much smaller than other job site radios and it isn't an odd shape so it packs well. Looks very sturdy. Would be cooler if it could charge a battery.

I wanted to get a good set of cordless tools for about under a year. I figured there are so many little side project around my house, one of my biggest deterents is set up, making sure the extension cord is long enought or sometimes requireing two, finding the right plug; then there is the packing up. In all the time it would take me to set up my work station, I'd talk myself out of doing my side projects.



I had settled on the Makita combo set or the Milwakee 28V. I hear great things about Milwakee, plus my dad corded Milwakee sawzall has been going strong for over 15 years.



But, this was the kicker for me in my decision making. I got more tools from this 18V set than I would the Milwakee 28V set. If I needed more power, then I could just get the corded tools which I happen to have. i.e. this hammer drill could not drive a screw through some old wood, I could neither back out the screw or drive it in. So, I brought in my Corded Porter Cable screw gun, and it drove the screw no problem at all. I know I could have drilled a bigger pilot hole, but needless to say, by that time, the screw was stuck.



The set from what I found cannot replace your corded tools power... But, that is if you have a good set of corded tools already. If you need max power in a battery pack, you should do more research on the 28V tools.



Quick run down of tools:

1) flashlight... Tremendously bright. Will light up a room even if you have it on the ground.



2) Sawzall... Tooless blade change is great. Has quite a bit of power. You could have endless uses for this sawzall even if it isn't construction handy work. I could see situations where I can trim 5" tree limbs with the right blade, no cables to cause dangers.



3) Circualr saw, cuts 2X4's well. I was able to cut several plywoods as well. Of course I'm not contractor so I'm not going to drain the battery with my small use of it.



4) Impact drill will screw a screw in with authority - the screw will be pipping hot when you take it out. I tried using this to remove the above mention screw, but the hammering action was eating the head of the screw.



5) Grinder, I haven't worked with it, but seems to give a good kick when you push the trigger.



6) Hammer drill... I had problems with utilizing as a screw gun. But the drill works quite well. The Hammer drill option works good as well.



7) Portable radio... works well. But, I find you have to move it around in order to get optimal reception. When I put it in certain places, the static will be bad, but if I move it around, I can put it where the reception is crystal clear. The MP3 plug is a good option, but the "SOUND IS LOW" in comparison to the normal radio option. You won't have to squint your ear to hear, but you will notice the difference.



Side note, you get all or nothing power, which is good. When the battery runs out, the tool just will not work. But you will get power up until the power drains enough not to operate the tools.

In short, I love Makita, I really like their products, but I would have chosen the 5 piece combo without the radio. Also, if you are undecided on Makita, depending on your needs, you might want to choose DeWalt or Milwaukee.





Pros-

-Great battery life. I used the skill saw and drill and screw gun to cut and install 8 different shelves in my garage and did it all with one battery.

-Grinder is great. The whole reason I got the kit was because I needed a battery operated grinder, and the price of it as a singular item is almost half of the price of the kit. So I got the kit. It will last for 15 min straight with decent power on one battery.

-Circular saw is impressive for being full sized. All of the adjustments are super easy to use and as long as you don't try to rip too fast, it works flawlessly.

-Battery charger has a fan in it to cool battery while charging and before if it is too hot to charge.





Cons-

-The batteries. A couple things. 1. They have a computer chip inside which is ok, but I driped some water on my grinder and the grinder survived, but the battery is dead now. So I have a twice charged paper weight. Older battery systems could get wet, dry out and be fine. Not now, so if you work with or around water, think twice.

-Even though they charge quickly, it would still be nice to have a dual charger to charge two at once. If I'm out in the field, I don't want to have to come home and worry about switching them to charge them both. I don't care about price, but there should be that option. Also, a replacement charger is over 100 bucks. Which is a little pricy for a charger.

-Power. Although I have not desired more power. I have been happy with the tools, my father has a DeWalt set and there is surprisingly more torque when you punch the trigger of the drill and screw gun. That might not be a concern, as it is not with me. But if you really need the hammer features, you will get more "hit" with another brand. Other brands offer dual chargers.



THE RADIO..... the radio is the biggest waist of 100 dollars that I have ever seen. In theory it is good, but the speakers are so small, and its top volume distorts and isn't very loud to begin with. I really wish I had saved the 100 bucks and gone with the 5 tool set instead of the one with the radio. There are cool features, like an internal aux jack in the battery compartment so your mp3 player can be shielded and clean. It has a great antenna, but it is supposed to be a job site radio, and it is definitely not that.



Conclusion.



I am not unhappy that I got this. I `m buying two more batteries and another charger. Even on Amazon, it is cheaper to buy the two drill set (which comes with those) than to buy just the batteries and charger. So I guess I'll have a spare drill and screw gun. - Combo Packs - 18 Volt - Combo - Makita'


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Pocket Camcorder - bloggie, camcorder accessories


Several people complained on various internet review boards about how this camera does not deliver very high quality video, etc. I'm a technology enthusiast, computer specialist, amateur photographer and have about 7 or 8 different cameras - so I feel qualified to give a good review.

This is a camcorder meant for internet uploads/sharing, quick shots, etc. This is not what you want to film your wedding with. So don't expect broadcast quality.

Having said that I think the image quality is VERY good for its size. One huge advantage over Flip/etc... is the swiveling lens. This was the main attraction for me. I'm always embarassed waving a big camera in public. Just don't like when people stare at me for filming something. This is why Sony bloggie is a great product. You can turn the lens to an angle you like and hold the device like your cellphone. People will actually think you are just playing with your phone.

Let's get done with my complaints list quickly:

-CMOS sensor - means you get the rolling shutter a.k.a jello effect when panning too fast with the camera (vertical objects appear skewed)

-Smaller lens angle when using 1080p mode. (i.e. picture is too "tele")... you get a nicer wide angle if using 720p.



That's about it, image quality -especially in daylight- is very very good for such a camera. I actually prefer to record in 720p 60fps mode, the high frame rate gives it a very smooth motion.

FYI, it's compatible with Apple's iMovie. Will take some time to import your videos but once it's done, editing is super easy!



I hesitated for a long time before buying this camera but I'm glad to say I don't regret it at all! Very satisfied with my purchase. Sony MHS-PM5 bloggie HD Video Camera (Pink)

My actual rating is 3.5 stars but I've rounded up for now.

First, I read the specs of this before I ordered it so I knew what I was getting myself into. I did not buy this for great recording capabilities and did not expect that. I bought this device to have a easily portable recording device for cheap and it delivers.



The negatives for me so far has been the awful sound recording and the lighting. I did not expect a great mic but the quality of sound recording is far below my expectations. Combine this with the inability to attach an external mic (let me know if there's a way that I don't know of) makes this device subpar. The lighting recorded fluctuates quite a bit. Sometimes I would have to set the setting a couple times to get video to appear versus a dark/black screen. Let me note that I was recording in the evenings indoors without much light in the first place. Yes, this isn't ideal but if it is not able to handle that lighting, setting the device's settings a couple times should not magically "fix" the issue.



The overall design works well and the navigation is a breeze, similar to other Sony cameras. You can also easily pull this device out of your pocket and start shooting either in camera mode or camcorder mode within seconds. I do feel that they could have utilized the screen space much better; video is displayed on the top of the screen and the bottom of the screen is basically wasted IMO. There are no exposed ports so the unit is nice and sleek. The area that goes over the USB doesn't completely move out of the way so depending on the USB port you are connecting to you might not be able to plug it in. No worries though, a USB extension is included. Oh, and you can use both SD and the memory stick, yay!

I was really excited to see the next generation of pocket camcorders come out for 2010 and the Bloggie is the first I know of. It has a larger, updated optical sensor and presumably updated firmware and hardware to render better video quality. I bought it as soon as I found out it was available.



My initial impressions are less about the Bloggie and more about what an achievement the Flip cameras are. Here's why:



The Sony Bloggie seems brighter but is more sensitive to movement than the MinoHD. I go over my videos frame by frame to get screen captures and the majority of the frames the Bloggie seems lost on the action and repeats the same bad exposure for many more frames before it adjusts to get the best exposure. The MinoHD on the other hand, even though it is over a year old, is much quicker at correcting exposure, frame by frame, focus and light, to provide overall better video resolution. This is in spite of the fact that the Sony Bloggie has a bigger optical sensor and the newest hardware. Flip just seems way ahead of every pocket camcorder (haven't tested the Kodaks) in its internal intelligence in detecting focus and exposure. This is what truly gives it the edge.



The Bloggie does have a removable battery or memory card unlike the Flip. But I can't wonder if it's even necessary. I've never needed more memory or another battery in my Flip. Also it presents open compartments that will no doubt gather dirt in the electronics and buttons, unlike the Flip which is mostly sealed.



Playback mode? I'm a software developer so I'm not afraid of complicated stuff but I found the playback controls on this frustrating over and over. There are 6 or 7 different buttons you can push on playback to pause, ff, rw, etc and I kept finding myself pressing the wrong one and getting kicked out of play mode. Yes, the Flip had this right and so simple! I actually feel like I have taken the Flip's playback for granted thinking it was just without features. But for the same functions- playback, pause ff, rw, the Bloggie feels like it is many times more complex and mysterious even though it's attempting to do exactly what the Flip does so effortlessly, mindlessly. As for uploading to Youtube, etc., like it is featured to do, I guess that's like programming your VCR- possible if you really want to learn it but more like a punchline than useful.



The Bloggie has still image, movable lens, and other bells and whistles the flip doesn't have, but is an order more complicated to use than the Flip. In the end the video, even at 1080p, is still not as sharp and clean compared to the smooth 720p of the Flip MinoHD.



Other features such as an external mic input are not available on either the Bloggie or the Flip MinoHD but are available on others such as the Kodak Zi8 etc. But this wasn't a factor for me.



I will also ad that looking at the instructions made me understand why this has the stupid name of Bloggie- it is a uniquely Japanese product rushed to market without alot of careful insight into the aesthetic of the American consumer (If I may, nothing against Japanese products, usually I think them superior.) The instructions are pretty poor considering some of the dummy proof large font easy-to-read stuff I've gotten used to from places like Ikea and yes, Flip. These look like they were put together by a technical person in a tight deadline who doesn't speak English well...



Keep trying Sony, some good ideas here but mostly I think you need to improve on that smooth auto exposure algorithm! - Camcorder Accessories - Hd Video - Hd Camcorder - Bloggie'


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Office 2008 - excel, word


Office 2011 has a number of new, very useful features, and is a refinement over the previous edition of Office for Mac. The program is cleaner in appearance and much faster to load. There are two glaring issues, however, that would lead me to STRONGLY advise against purchase of the software at this time. First, there are widespread issues with product activation. Office 2011 comes with a new "activation PIN" that must be activated by the sale merchant (similar to how a giftcard will not work unless they scan it at the register). You are then required to enter the PIN on Microsoft's website, at which point (if all has gone well), you will receive your product ID (CD key) that you then use to install the software. In theory, the process should be painless---but Microsoft has been having issues nationwide with activation of the PIN (even if you pay for the software) and I had to deal with about a week's worth of hassles and e-mails/phone calls between Microsoft and my vendor before I could get my legitimately bought-and-paid-for software installable on my computer.



Second, despite its flashiness and cosmetic improvements, this software is just not ready for prime-time in terms of stability. This is an essential point for anyone that works on important (or long) documents--you do not want to risk using this product, because it has not been adequately beta-tested or debugged, and the development team and Microsoft have not provided its customers the courtesy nor respect in ensuring data loss is minimized when using their software. The previous version of Office for Mac has been out for a while and has had hundreds if not thousands of megabytes worth of updates and patches over the years, which makes it relatively reliable to work on. Prior to purchasing Office 2011, you should be aware that there are significant stability issues with MS Excel that make even window-rendering painfully (and reproducibly) difficult (this is on a well-equipped Core i7 Macbook Pro)--where the screen stutters and ghosts when you try and resize documents, for example. MS Word has a glaring bug in it that causes it to, at times, abruptly quit, or worse, convert lengthy documents into asterisks without warning (or option for recovery). Microsoft has been notified of these issues but it is unclear whether or if they are working on solutions. I would recommend sticking with the previous iteration of MS Office, wait for at least 6-8 months prior to purchasing this, or use something alternatively that has an established track record of stability, ease-of-use, and features, such as Apple's iWork. Office for Mac 2011 Home & Student -Family Pack

I like the interface, a combination of the Window's ribon I hate, but have learned to deal with and the menus I know so well. I like the ribbon on this version more than the floating tool bars in Excel 2004. This is the good.



However within moments of first opening Excel 2011 I went to see if the most annoying bug from Excel 2004 had been fixed. When you try editing a formula in a conditional format in Excel 2004, you cannot use the cursor keys for editing. All cursor keys do is to add cell references. My work around is to have a text editor handy so I can copy the formula, edit in the text editor, and past back into Excel. One would think that after 8 years, Microsoft would have had lots of opportunity to fix this. Not so. Same bug.



I need to keep an Excel 2003 for Windows format for most clients, so I set the default file format to be Excel 97-2004. I also tend to use a lot of conditional formats. But when I saved a file with those same conditional formats I created in Excel 2004 (that is I didn't add any new conditions), Excel 2011 added sheet references in the format formulas, which is not recognized by older versions. When I enabled strict backward compatibility, Excel removed those references, but changed every cell reference to the first row. I spent 2 hours fixing this in the 2004 version of Excel.



Try copying an existing worksheet to a new worksheet. Works just fine. Well, unless you have a filter in that existing worksheet, and you highlight the whole (filtered) worksheet, then copy and try pasting into a new worksheet. Excell 2011 appears to freeze, until it finally tells you it ran out of memory.



I have some fairly large worksheet with conditional formats which use formulas. No where near the limit of Excel 2004's capability, but enough that it slows a recalculation down to about one second. That same spreadsheet takes Excel 2011 nearly a minute to recalculate. Funny when Excel 2004 is running in a virtual machine emulating a PowerPC, and Excel 2011 is running in native Intel mode.



I can't speak to the other applications in the suite, I tend to use iWork for editing and presentation, but I live in Excel, and I've had to remove Excel 2011 in order to be able to get anything done.



Excel Mac for 2011 still seems to be missing some of the events in the Windows version, like Worksheet_FollowHyperlink(). Either that, or macros are really flaky, haven't really tested that aspect just yet.



I've seen Alpha software which was more reliable. I can't believe Microsoft actually released this version. Apparently they don't have any power users in their test cadre.



If Microsoft gets their act together and fixes these defects, it might be a decent upgrade. But if you do anything more than the basics (which Apple Numbers does just fine), stick to the 2004 version. Amazon still sells it.

I just purchased this as an upgrade to MS Office 2004. First thing I did was to open a spreadsheet from Excel 2004. It gave me an error of "File error: data may have been lost.", which it does every time I open up this file. I'm not sure yet why it is having this problem.



So, then I proceeded to create my very first new spreadsheet with Excel 2011. I've locked up Excel twice so far--my first hour of use and it has already crashed two times!



I have, btw, a brand new 27" iMac with the latest Snow Leopard on it--this is as good as it gets for an OS and machine platform to run it on.



I've also noticed it getting confused several times and garbling text elements on charts when I do something to the data format elsewhere on the chart. Even if it did work, the UI is convoluted and confusing. I could probably get used to it in time, but there's nothing elegant about how they've constructed their UI.



There are also some obvious bugs that (as a software developer myself) I am amazed could make it into a released version of software. When you enter a label for a data series on a chart, for instance, Excel automatically adds double quotes around it the next time you edit it. If you then edit the contents inside the double quotes again, Excel will add an additional pair of double quotes around the first pair that it added, and then proceed to display your chart with visible quotes around all of the values! This is the sort of bug that should have been found during unit testing by whatever developer was writing that feature. If one of my software developers were to miss something like that, I'd be annoyed--and if my system test team missed something like that for a release, I'd want to assemble a new team.



I had much higher hopes for this--thinking that it at least shouldn't be nearly as buggy as older versions. Yet so far, it's far less stable than Excel 2004 (I haven't tested Word and PP yet). It's just not a quality piece of software. - Word - Excel - Mac - Microsoft'


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