Thursday, 17 February 2011
Netbook Sleeve
I have to say, I was hesitant on getting this sleeve, for that some said it would fit the 15.4 inch laptops, and some 16's. I ordered this one, got in the mail just recently, tried it out, and it fits my Dell Studio XPS 16 (w/ the 16 inch screen) like a GLOVE!!! I LOVE the fact that on one side of it is lined with suede, so removing it makes it very easy!!! I feel confident now that I don't have to worry about leaving my computer somewhere, or have it collect dust, since I'm deployed out in Afghanistan at the moment. The zipper felt good, wasn't flimsy or anything, it should last as long as I keep the computer.
Also, I had ordered an OGIO Politan Pack just recently, and wasn't sure if the Sleeve with my laptop inside of it would fit, but sure enough it did!!! Not only am I happy with the purchase, but at the fact that sleeve fits PERFECTLY within the OGIO Politan Backpack!! So if it fits my 16inch XPS without any issues, any 15.4 inch laptop SHOULD fit in here as well... Case Logic VLS-110 Sleeve for 7-Inch to 10-Inch Netbooks and iPad
My iPad is in an Apple iPad case but I need a little more protection when it is in my backpack for traveling. Most so called iPad sleeves are expensive so I bought this thing, it fits well and it is cheap. Quite happy with this.
This fits my 16 inch Toshiba perfectly. The material is high quality, and it seems to have been assembled perfectly. The zipper glides smoothly, and Amazon is offering the case at a reasonable price. I would easily make this buying decision again.
I was looking for a basic sleeve to protect my iPad and Apple wireless keyboard while stowed inside my backpack. This case fit the bill perfectly. Additionally, the quality of design, materials, and construction FAR exceeded my expectations considering what I paid (under $15).
General comments:
Basic sleeve design for a netbook or iPad, as advertised. The construction is high quality, especially for the price. The material feels sturdy in hand, but is exceptionally light. Both sides of the sleeve are padded (neither side is rigid). The interior surface is smooth nylon. The interior portion of the zipper is protected from contents by a lip of fabric which, by its design, does NOT get caught up in the zipper. The zipper itself runs from the top left corner of the sleeve all the way down the right side of the sleeve, giving you the flexibility to only open the sleeve from the top or open it up more widely. Accented patches at the bottom and front center are a nice touch, providing good grip points.
iPad specific:
Bought the sleeve to house my iPad. Was despairing because I could not find a simple case to house both my iPad and my Apple wireless keyboard. Thought I would be forced to leave the sleeve open at the top with the keyboard sticking out. To my surprise, the iPad AND keyboard fit nicely together in the sleeve. The keyboard takes up the maximum height of the case, but the zipper closes nicely without being forced or rubbing, even with the iPad inside also.
*note: edited review two weeks after purchase* This is a very comfortable and compact case and build quality is excellent. It would be my favorite case if not for two things:
1) My 10.1" Aspire One with the larger 6-cell battery pack *BARELY* fits. It's a very tight squeeze and the zipper takes some effort to get it to close around the corners.
2) No room for extras. It's a real stretch to get any extras in the case. I cannot zip it closed if I put the power cord, mouse, etc in this same case.
This is a sturdy, well padded and very protective case. If you need to carry extras with it, choose something larger.
I bought this on Amazon and promptly returned it.
Pros:
-Fit my 14.1 inch HP Pavilion laptop snugly
-Leather (or imitation) grip on the bottom is a nice touch; gives much better grip than the slick nylon
Cons:
-Thick, but in all the wrong places. The front and back of the case have thick padding, but unless you expect to be using your laptop as a shield or to hit things, this is not a useful place for padding. The edge padding is thinner to non-existent, though this is exactly where one should want padding. Light style cases are meant to protect the laptop surface from scratches, and provide some cushioning when in the a backpack or bag. This laptop sleeve does not provide any more cushioning along the edges than the standard neoprene sleeves, so adds bulk but does not provide additional protection
The bottom line for me was that this case doubled the thickness of my (already not slender) laptop, but despite this did not provide any meaningful additional protection. I've purchased a Targus Laptop Case instead, which fits and protects my laptop equally well without adding needless bulk. If you really want that extra padding, this Lowepro Notebook Sleeve looks more useful.'
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Sdhc Card Reader - usb card reader, sdhc
Not much to say here, but that I really liked that it is only slightly larger than a thumbdrive, and it feels reasonably durable.
It also works quite well with my 16GB SDHC card.
The main thing I like about it is that it handles SDHC (4GB or larger) cards perfectly, and it works great with Linux, with even the LED shutting off when the reader is given the eject command.
That last point is a bit niggling, but it really is nice to see that this manufacturer has hardware that works so well with the "red-headed stepchild" of operating systems, as almost no other makers produce readers that do that.
I would definitely buy more of these if I get more high capacity cards.
Great deal, great performance, great reliability. ELAGO USB High Speed Memory Card Reader/Writer For SD and SDHC - Black
I bought this to replace an old sd reader. It worked fine for about a week and then it slowly started to not function. I have to reinsert it into my usb port over and over and finally it gets recognized. I have tried this on three different computers all have the same problem.
I picked this up for about $3.00 for a quick download of pictures to my PC it can't be beat. My PC doesn't have a SD or SDHC slot so I need one of these to download the pictures.
Only complaint is I needed a six inch long USB extension cable to make it fit my USB slot... the shape of this card reader did not allow me to fully insert the unit.
It does what it's supposed to do, it works with SD and SDHC perfectly on any computer. One thing I don't really like is the sides, sometimes it doesn't fit because the sides are a little big and you have to unplug other usbs to make it fit.
I keep this little wonder in my camera bag so its ready to go wherever I am. Works great with my SDHC card, makes transferring pictures a snap. I am convinced I'm going to lose one or both of the little caps, which is the only reason I didn't give this product a 5/5.
Great item for cordless transfer of Data from camera pda etc to computer that doesnt have built in reader. also can use any value sd card ,unlike memory stick which is not expandable to tfer info from computer to computer
I bought this reader to transfer pictures of my newborn son from my multiple cards to the computer. The first time I plugged the card in, it wiped EVERYTHING on it, even locked pictures. All the pictures that I had of my son's first few days are gone. This reader is worse than useless - it not only failed to transfer pictures, it erased them from existence. Under no circumstances is this product worth purchasing.
This reader failed after five uses. I have a Desktop PC, a Laptop, and a Netbook. The reader did not work on all of them after after I used it for the fifth time. At first I thought it was just my SDHC memory cards (one 8GB sandisk extreme; one 8GB Patriot; and one 16GB patriot. I bought a targus card reader and all cards worked flawlessly. I don't know if I got a lemon but based on what I received, this product doesn't even deserve a one star. - Sdhc Card Reader - Sdhc - Sd Card Reader - Usb Card Reader'
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Sony Minidv Cleaning Cassette - sony, minidv
I was really angry when my Sony mini DV player stoped working after only a couple of months. It seemed unlikely that the heads could have gotten so dirty so quickly. Turns out I ran into trouble because I bought some cheap DV tapes at salvage store. Acording to the blogosphere different tape brands use different chemicals which when mixed gets you into trouble. Much to my reliefe a few runs with the cleaning tape and it was back to taping my baby girl. Sony DVC Cleaning Tape
I have two different MiniDV cameras that both came up with errors for "dew" and "head needs cleaning" respectively. I bought this tape, popped it in, ran play for 10 seconds, popped it out.
Messages gone. Cameras work perfectly.
Couldn't be simpler.
A month ago my Canon camcorder had these blocky lines going across the view finder. I use my camcorder ALOT and had this ZR500 for over two years. I thought it was malfunctioning due to my high usage and it's age. So I brought a new one but when I stuck one of my old tapes in the new one those same old lines would show up again. NOW WAIT A MINUTE! THIS IS A NEW CAMCORDER! Since the camcorder was new I was eligible for free tech support. When I called Canon they told me that the type I used was contaminated from the old one and I needed a MiniDV cassette cleaner. They had one to sell me for over $35. No thank! So I did some research on amazon.com and saw the great reviews on this Sony cassette for half the price.
I just used it last week on both camcorders and now they both record and play back fine. Here's the caution........... all tapes that were used in the dirty camcorder prior to cleaning need to be thrown away. I noticed that when I tried to transfer the date from the miniDV to my computer the thick lines were back. So after trail and error I regrettably had to throw all the contaminated MiniDVs away. Once I cleaned the old camcorder again with this Sony cassette I used new MiniDV tapes afterwards and never tried to reply any old ones. I am happy to say that it's working good as new. Now I have two camcorders when I could have just cleaned the first one. But I learned a valuable lesson and hope others will learn from my mistake.
This tape is TOP NOTCH!
I bought the Panasonic one at a local store. When you open it, the instructions say don't use this to clean your heads unless your picture quality is already suffering. Yikes!
The Sony product can be used before your images start suffering.
I recently purchased a mini DV cleaning cassette for my video camera at a local electronics store for $24.95. The first time I used it it unwound inside and jammed the camera. I found this NAME BRAND product for much less at Amazon and it worked perfectly. Did a great job of restoring the satisfactory shooting of video and a clear playback on the camera screen.
No repair shop needed.
I had tried to play some older tapes that were sitting around, not in their cases. And sure enough, the playback heads got clogged with the dust that had accumulated on the tapes. The camera wouldn't play back my tapes! They looked like they were blank! But after I used the cleaning tape, the old tapes worked fine!
Be sure to try this before sending your camera in for repair!
It's really hard to rate a cleaning tape for something like this, since you can't really see what it's doing. What I can attest to is once I cleaned my DV camera, the problems I was having with black lines through the video went away. Guess it worked!
For the first time in my Sony video camera's 4.5 year life, I get the "dirty head" notice ON MY SECOND DAY OF MY PARIS TRIP (even with annual pro-cleaning)! And alas, with no cleaning cassette with me and no time to hunt for one, I have to leave it in the hotel room. Thankfully, my digital camera takes movies too (but not quite as good as the video camera), but that's another story.
So I search the internet and the Sony cleaner had the best reviews. They're not wrong, so I don't need to add one more. But after seeing a few questions about how many times you can use this thing, I'd thought I'd try to clarify.
Instructions included say (after inserting cassette into the camera of course):
-Press PLAY or START button. Run for 10 seconds. Press STOP.
-Remove cassette cleaner without rewinding it. Put a regular cassette in to check if the heads are clean.
-If not, run the cleaner again. They suggest to run it NO MORE than five times consecutively (again, 10 seconds at a time without rewinding the tape)
My camera says there's 11 (eleven) minutes of tape in the cassette, so if that's accurate (I don't know if it is because I don't want to forward/rewind the tape), you'll get about six 10-second cleanings a minute, so 66 cleanings for one pass of the entire tape. It says you can rewind and use again ONCE, so about 132 cleanings total. Again, that's if there's actually 11 minutes of cleaning tape on the cassette and you let it run for exactly 10 seconds a shot.
Me being the skeptic, if I get five-10 cleanings before the tape ends, that's 10-20 total, that's still a good deal.
So in my estimation, you'll get between 10-132 cleanings from one cassette (lol, how's that for broad range). So far, I've gotten two with plenty of tape to spare.
Hope this helps. - Sony - Minidv - Minidv Tape - Camcorder Accessories'
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Fujitsu Scanner - fujitsu, scanner
Having used scanners from Canon, Xerox, Lanier, Visioneer and Epson, I have a good base from which to compare this scanner. It is excellent! The feed mechanism on this scanner is superior to all prior scanners I have used, including other scanners in this price range. This unit has multiple rollers located in the base and cover that spin at different speeds to pull only one sheet at a time. In other scanners, folded paper - like documents received in an envelop - will double/multi feed. I have not had a single double feed with this unit. I am using it with File Center Pro software to convert more than 1,600 legal files to paperless .pdf format. I was so impressed with this unit that I now have 4 of them in the office, each going at least 8 hours per day with virtually no jams or double feeds. It's worth the money for an office setting where you don't have time for jams and double feeds. Fujitsu fi-6130 Duplex Scanner (PA03540-B055)
This has been a frustrating experience. I have owned the Fujitsu Scansnap S510 for years and have been pleased with it except for the constant misfeeds. I found I could get an acceptable function on the S510 if I monitored it and just refed the missed sheets. I bought the Fujitsu fi-6130 because I needed a more reliable and more industrial strength model for the large volume of old and new files I needed to archive. This scanner is definitely faster than a new S1500M which I also purchased.
Now the problem is the setup. It comes with a jumbo of disjointed and overlapping software without any real guidance on what to do. The included ScanALL software is not at all like the elegant and now more appreciated proprietary fujitsu Scansnap Manager which works only on the Scansnap line of fujitsu scanners. The first batch I fed it with 1 legal size page and 6 letter size copies kept jamming on the legal page. It was not automatically recognized as a mixed size batch. I called tech support and they told me to tweak the settings to legal sz with end of page sensor on. Same issue with color and B&W copies in same batch. You have to decide to do B&W and lose the color on the one letterhead or scan the whole batch as color, needlessly ballooning your file size. I gave up and just scan in B&W. The Scansnap just did the mixed copy sizes and the mixed color/B&W and paused to allow you to name and store the file where you wanted it. The fi-6130 under Adobe Acrobat just scans in every doc as untitled1 and I have to rename it before saving it. It is either that or lose control of how you name the file.
Fujitsu tech support tells me all the former Scansnap users are disappointed with the software on the twain compliant scanners like the fi-6130. Just isn't the same thing. To sum it up, the two redemptive qualities of this scanner are faster speed and more reliable paper handling. Otherwise I like the Scansnap line better in the look and feel and operation.
This is a great scanner, but the real magic lies in the Kofax VRS capture-preparation software bundled with the product. (Kofax VRS is an image enhancement tool to improve the quality of your scans.) I bought a Fujitsu 5120c several years ago when I decided to go paperless. It has run flawlessly for three years and is still going strong, albeit on a computer running WinXP x32. When I decided to buy another scanner for use at home, I chose this model as the successor to the 5120c.
I recently bought a new laptop with Win7 x64 pre-installed. Fujitsu has kept their drivers and software up-to-date and both run under the 64-bit OS. The problem lies with Kofax. While Kofax VRS is the single best reason to buy the scanner, it does not work under Win7 x64. The Kofax website will not tell you this fact, but the installation program announces that Kofax has not been certified to run on Win7 x64 and advises that you are installing at your own risk. No amount of fiddling could get Kofax to communicate with Acrobat under Win7 x64. [I saw a post somewhere indicating that the Fujitsu ISIS driver will allow Kofax to communicate with Acrobat under Win7 x64, but was not able to make that solution work myself.]
My preferred method of operation is to scan to PDF files via Acrobat with the Kofax TWAIN driver. That method has proved simple, direct, and accurate in the past. Under Win7 x64 I get an error message that "Acrobat cannot communicate to [sic] this device [the Kofax driver]". Kofax support options are non-existent for OEM licensees. You are on your own when you buy a bundled copy of Kofax.
Things got so bad I considered downgrading the OS to either Win7 x32 or WinXP x32, but the manufacturer of my new laptop (Dell) foreclosed that option (another sorry story). I finally hit upon the idea of creating a virtual machine running WinXP x32 and installing Kofax on the virtual machine. (I used VirtualBox because it was free; VMware would also work, although it is expensive.) This solution worked quite well. I am now able to scan to PDF with the Kofax TWAIN driver. I have cloned the VM and saved it as a "virtual appliance" which can be moved to different computers, giving me the added benefit of being able to scan from the VM while running Linux as the host OS.
Kofax must account for at least half the purchase price of this scanner, if not more. The full retail version of Kofax costs over of $1,000. The steps required to get this scanner working with Kofax under anything but WinXP x32 are complex, time-consuming, and not for those of restless temperament.
Microsoft and its OEM co-conspirators have rammed a 64-bit OS down the throats of customers. Developers of niche market applications like Kofax have not been able to keep up. When Kofax is able to write native 64-bit code that will run on Win7 x64, this scanner will again become out-of-the-box friendly. I highly recommend this product used with WinXP x32. If you are running any other OS, you can still enjoy the magic of Kofax, but it will require a lot of work.
UPDATE 10/18/2010: The VM solution was neither as fast nor as stable as I had hoped. I finally gave up and purchased another computer (this time a white-box assembled locally) and installed Win7 x32. I can report that all software installed correctly and the scanner is runs great. I'm able to do everything I did with the 5120c under WinXP, only faster and with slightly better results. Final evaluation: The hardware gets five stars, the documentation gets one star (really poor translations from the Chinese, if you are understood what I mean to say by this). Kofax gets five stars for output, one star for support, and zero stars for not telling customers that their product does not work under Win7 x64. This has been an expensive education with a lot of down-time for a mission-critical application. - Scanner - Scanners - Duplex - Fujitsu'
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Dell Inspiron - dell battery, laptop battery
I bought this battery to replace the one in my Dell E1505. It arrived very, very fast. This seller actually cares about his customer and wants very much to make you happy.
The original battery that came with my Dell only lasted about 3 hours before it would go dead, then it died completely after 14 months. This battery fit my computer perfectly and I charged it exactly as the instructions that came with it said to do and I am happy to say that I am getting over 4 hours of life out it, which is even better than the original. Dell wanted almost $200 dollars for this replacement battery. I was very satisfied with the price that I paid for it with this seller. An amazingly low price and such great results.
I highly recommend this seller and this battery. I have no complaints at all.
Thanks! 11.10V,6600Mah,Li-Ion, Replacement Laptop Battery For Dell Inspiron 1501, Inspiron 6400, Inspiron E1505, Latitude 131L, Vostro 1000,
This battery arrived within 2 days of me ordering it, which is amazing. My old battery was the original that came with my Dell Inspiron 1501, and it had been pretty much shot for a while now. Even at its best, however, it only gave me 2 and half to 3 hours of power at full charge, on the Balanced power setting. With this battery on Balanced, I'm getting about 4 hours. Even on High Performance, I get 2 hours or so. I'm very satisfied with this battery, and the price can't be beat. Dell can take their ridiculous prices for replacement batteries and shove it where the sun don't shine. It is slightly heavier than the old battery, but unless you have the muscular strength of a wet noodle, it shouldn't be a problem.
I bought 2 dell replacement batteries recently. One for my own system and this battery for my wifes inspiron 6400. The one for my system gives me 1 hour of charge which is sufficient for my needs. I didn't expect this one to give any more but it performs as well or better than its original dell battery. We've only had it for a month or so but it gives 3 hours of charge reliably. We charged it up fully overnight as soon as we received it. I've since run the laptop several times for up to 3 hours without plugging it in and it works fine. It frequently runs netflix with volume on full so I've been surprised to reliably get the full 3 hours. If it works this well for 6 months and gives me a 1 hour charge for another 6 I will consider it a good purchase and would buy this one again.
It is indistinguishable from the original battery as far as the latpop is concerned. I've only given it 4 stars because we haven't had it long enough and durability is probably the most important thing.
A note re battery meter: The power meter in windows displays erratic and inaccurate results for the battery. With the battery fully charged it will show only 60% or so charged. After an hour of un-plugged in use it may show something like 27% and stay that way for the next 1 1/2 hours. I haven't looked at it recently so it may have settled down. I've yet to see the mystical art of battery charge assessment mastered by any device so I consider this irrelevant to a potential purchase.
I wanted to replace the (virtually dead) battery in my Dell Inspiron 1501, but couldn'e see paying nearly $100 for a computer I always use at home (arguably, because the battery is dead!). Anyway, I'm cheap and fairly suspicious of bargains, but positive reviews for this item conviced me to take a chance. I am really happy with it. First, it fits the computer just fine (there were some complaints that this was not the case for other Dell models), and the battery seems to work as it should. I get about 3-4 h of life from the battery, and have learned that laptops can be a little more convenient if you don't have to be tethered to the wall socket. Who knew? Anyway, I cannot speak for the durability of this battery, but I have used it for about 5 weeks with no degradation in performance. I'd recommend it to anyone looking for a replacement battery for the 1501.
Needed a new battery for my Inspiron E1505. I bought one at a local store for $80 that would charge but not power the laptop at all, and this isn't the first time I've had trouble with batteries. This one arrived quickly, charged right up and I seem to get about 3 hours of use depending on what I'm doing. I'll probably have to replace this one in a year or so, but batteries just don't last long so that's reasonable. Dell wants $180 for it's own battery that is VERY poorly reviewed on the Dell website. Dell does offer a one-year replacement warranty, but for the price I can buy four of this one. I'm going to order another one just to have on hand. You can find batteries for less money, but the price and performance on this battery makes it well worth it.
I have noticed there are a lot of 1 star reviews from people who have a Dell Inspiron 1505 laptop, explaining how this battery does not work for them. I too have a Dell Inspiron E1505, (bought in the Summer of 2006) but this battery worked for me! My computer recognized it right away, charged it immediately, and the battery continues to work well. The battery life is great, I get about 3 hours no problem. My old battery had completely failed about 2 years after I got my laptop.I was running on AC power for 2 years before I got fed up and started shopping for a cheap(er) battery than Dell sells. I'm not sure as to why this works for some 1505's and not for others.
My only suggestion is to try it out, and if it doesn't work, just return it. (There is a good return policy with this seller, and they are backed by Amazon) That's exactly what my plan was except the battery has been working wonderfully! I'm sorry it didn't work for some of you. Good luck!
I have had this battery installed for about a month now and everything seems to in good working order. The laptop recognizes the battery and it lasts for approximately 2-3 hours. The laptop is generally used tethered to a wall outlet so the battery isn't exactly getting a workout, but so far it serves my purpose just fine for the price. - Dell Inspiron - Laptop Battery - Dell Battery - E1505'
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Ipad 2 Leather - ipad 2 accessories, apple ipad 2
It's not fancy nor expensive, but it's exactly what I wanted.
It protects my iPad 2 wonderfully, and it's a great fit. Both cameras, all controls, headphone jack and speaker are accounted for in the design, and I don't think I'll ever have to take it out of this well-designed case.
If you're like me and would rather buy a sensible case without paying the premium for an Apple logo, this is a good choice. CaseCrown Apple iPad 2 Bold Standby case (Black) for the Apple iPad 2 Wifi / 3G Model 16GB, 32GB, 64GB
Just received the Casecrown Apple IPad 2 case, and it is perfect for my Ipad 2. First off it fits like a glove, and has a very solid feel. It also turns on/off the IPad when you open and close it. I've tried several cases, including the colored cases that Apple sells, but if you are looking for real protection, your better off buying this case.
Let's put this to rest...The magnets in the cover do put the iPad 2 to sleep and wake it. That is the first thing I noticed. Don't believe me? Put a passlock on the the iPad and close the cover. Immediately open the cover, and the iPad requires you to enter the password since it was brought out of sleep.
For the case itself, it is a nicely engineered and functions as expected. No harsh smells either. I haven't found a case equal to this one in the same price range.
A+ for value. Now my $600 tool/toy can be safely transported and used.
Yoobao Executive Leather...188g....leather..........kickstand
CaseCrown Bold Standby.....226g....faux leather...kickstand
BearMotion Leather:...........291g....leather .........kickstand
SwitchEasy Canvas:...........392g...."canvas".......3 grooves
I've tested the 4 cases above with an iPad2. Each is a portfolio case. You can find reviews of each online. I found good video reviews of each except Bear.
Three of these are "kickstand" cases. That is, the cover folds back and slips into a notch (the "kickstand") which holds the cover in a certain way that creates a stand. One case (SwitchEasy) doesn't use the kickstand but instead has grooves on the inside cover which the side of the case can slide into to create a stand.
All cases had magnets on the cover that turned the iPad on/off. This function worked well with all of them. Also, none of them had any problem with the magnets turning the case off if you flipped the cover around back, as some of other cases do (I had the latest version of the Yoobao, which apparently fixed that problem in an earlier version).
The Bear Motion was my favorite. The review below goes from lightest to heaviest.
YOOBAO EXECUTIVE. A glove for the iPad that was just a bit too flimsy for me.
Pros:
Very light. By far the lightest. It is basically a thin leather glove that goes around the iPad, and then a thin leather portfolio cover. You barely noticed the extra weight/bulk.
Cons:
1. Though made well, I didn't think it lived up to the vaunted reports of "Yoobao quality" that some other reviewers mentioned. A few of the holes on top were slightly off, and I wasn't really impressed with the look of the black leather and the off-white stitching.
2. The kickstand worked, but not as well as the other two kickstand cases in this review. Because the Yoobao is so light and thin, the cover would slip out of the kickstand notch sometimes if you were moving it around in your lap or in bed. No problem of course if it was static, like on a table.
3. Most annoying to me, the cover magnets were not strong enough to keep the cover closed if you turned it upside down or just grabbed it to carry it a certain way. In other words, the flap would flap open, turning the thing on and then off again when it flapped closed. It seemed to do this every time I picked it up.
4. It offers only a very thin layer between your iPad and the outside world (not a con for me but perhaps for others). It's fine for walking into a meeting or putting in your briefcase. But if you were concerned about the iPad getting banged around and wanted serious protection, it's not the case for you (particularly with the flap issue noted above).
CASECROWN BOLD STANDBY - A well made faux leather case. My runner-up. It is very close in design to the Bear
Pros:
1. least expensive of the lot
2. well made, everything works.
3. second lightest, while giving almost as much protection as the heavier models. Indeed, I would say it's got the best weight and bulk of the 4.
4. faux leather is actually quite nice. Unless closely inspected, hard to tell it's not the real thing. It looks smart.
Cons:
1. The volume buttons are just a tad difficult to reach, you have to kind of push your way in there. (The Bear has a bit of this but it's so slight as not to be an issue.)
2. After handling the Bear leather case, you can kind of tell the CaseCrown is not real leather when it's in your hands. It's just something I noticed. You might not.
3. Perhaps because of its lighter weight and bulk, or its build quality, it's just a bit looser and flimsier than the Bear. This might not sound like much, but over time it started to annoy me. For instance, when you flipped the cover behind the iPad to hold it open, or when you put it in its kickstand to create a stand, the cover had a "looseness" not found in the heavier cases. That is, it would come off its stand, or would flop around a bit, or otherwise just feel a bit loose and cheap. Another minor example is that the cover, while it always worked to turn the iPad off when you closed it, sometimes didn't line up exactly with the edges of the screen the way it did with all the other cases. These examples may seem minor, and perhaps they are, but as I say, after experiencing the feel of the Bear - the looseness of the CaseCrown started to bug me.
BEAR MOTION LEATHER. A really well made leather case. My first choice. It is very close in design to the CaseCrown.
Pros:
1. To me, had the best overall "Feel". Fine leather and acceptable weight. The Bear is 100g heavier than the Yoobao, which to my hand felt acceptable. In contrast, the SwitchEasy is 100g heavier than the Bear and, again, to my taste, was just 100g too much - see discussion of SwitchEasy below). The CaseCrown is similar to the Bear but a bit lighter and cheaper (see below)
2. The case was sturdy and offered good protection all around. It of course offered more protection than the Yoobao. It also perhaps had a bit more than CaseCrown (because it was a bit thicker, but they were more or less comparable) and a bit less than SwitchEasy. It was light enough to carry into a meeting but sturdy enough to throw in a knapsack an feel it was secure.
3. The magnets work flawlessly, closed with a "snap" and kept it closed until you wanted to open it. Best magnets of the lot.
4. The stand worked very well. The best of the kickstand cases, probably because, again, the leather was thicker than with the other two and so everything just stayed in place a bit more.
Cons: All these "cons" are very much a matter of personal taste
1. It's probably about average weight for these things but just slightly heavier than I'd like. If I had my druthers, the weight and thinness of the CaseCrown would be what I wanted, coupled with the quality and sturdiness of the Bear.
2. It's the least "cool" looking of the 4 cases. It's just a conservative black leather case, with no real "flash". SwitchEasy is by far the coolest looking. The Yoobao might also be viewed by some as cool though I personally didn't like it so much. The CaseCrown and Bear are similar, but CC probably edges out the Bear in that the Bear is a bit thicker and boxier.
3. The leather covers almost all of the black borders of the screen. The other two kickstand cases left a bit more black exposed, which I preferred aesthetically, and the SwitchEasy leaves all of it showing (which, again, looks cool). I couldn't find anything functionally wrong with this. Although one reviewer mentioned that it might get in the way of certain programs where you had to swipe to the edge of the screen, I didn't have that experience.
SWITCHEASY CANVAS - A cool, innovative case but for me, a bit too much bulk.
Pros:
1. Exceptionally well made. The strongest and sturdiest of the bunch, probably offering the most protection.
3. The grooves worked well as a stand, though because I use the iPad a lot in bed and on the couch, I think I may prefer the kickstand system, though it really is a matter of taste.
2. To my eye, a very cool looking case, the coolest of the bunch. The "canvas" isn't canvas but some high tech material. The material and design were top notch. I also loved the way the iPad was held in the plastic shell backing so that - unlike the other three - the whole of the screen was uncovered (black border and all).
Cons:
1. Too heavy. This is of course a matter of taste. I tried it for days and really wanted to prefer it, but in the end the heaviness (and the cover issue discussed below) just started to get to me. As I mentioned above, it's just 100g heavier than the Bear but that was 100g too much. I'm a strong adult male. I carry around a laptop in my briefcase all the time. But I wanted my iPad light, and this just made it a bit too heavy for me.
2. Too bulky. Related to the above and, as above, a matter of taste. To me, just a bit too much thickness when you were actually holding it and, for instance, folding the flap back around behind it to work with the screen.
3. The cover. The cover has magnets, which worked fine, but it also has a curved extension that bends over the side and kind of clicks it closed. This extension bugged me. It didn't easily close. You kind of had to push and force it over the side (if you didn't do this, the magnets wouldn't connect and turn the thing off, and the cover would not be secured. I suspect it may have worn in over time, but I used it on and off for a week and it was always a bit of a chore to actually open and close the thing. This really got to be annoying, particularly compared to the others that so effortlessly opened and closed.
4. Since it uses a "groove" rather than "kickstand" design, you had to kind of pull part of the iPad off of the back base (where it was held by Velcro) to put it in the grooves and stand it up. Not a big deal but, again, just an added bit of work that the other cases didn't have. Over time, this annoyed me a bit.
5. I loved the material, but even with the black version that I had, I felt it might start showing stains, hand sweat, etc. over time in ways the leather and faux leather cases wouldn't. However, I'm not sure of this and so it may be an unfair comment.
SUMMATION:
I ended up taking the BearMotion because of build quality, functionality, hand feel and acceptable weight. I wish it had been slightly lighter and thinner (like the CaseCrown) while keeping its build quality/feel (which was better than the CaseCrown) - and of course if it looked a bit cooler -- but I felt for me it was the best of the lot. The CaseCrown was the runner up but ultimately, the feel and quality of the Bear won me over, beating out the slightly lighter, slightly trimmer, slightly cheaper, CaseCrown. The SwitchEasy is a great case, but just too big and bulky for me, and the cover clip bugged me. I didn't like the Yoobao's because it's overall look didn't work for me and, most importantly, the cover flap came open whenever it was tilted. The lightness was a great asset though and the protection it offered would have been enough for me if other factors had been more appealing.
Hope that helps! - Ipad 2 Case - Ipad 2 Accessories - Apple Ipad 2 - Ipad 2 Leather'
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Canon Accessories - canon, camera remote
I initially bought this switch to be able to take fireworks pictures with my 30D on a tripod. It worked well for this application. Got some GREAT shots of the fireworks. Have since used it for some wildlife photos and it works well in this application also. The cord from the camera to the switch is only about two feet long. Sufficient for use on a tripod, but perhaps just a little short for any other application for the switch.
I consider it "overpriced" for what it is, but if you need a manually operated remote switch, it performs this function well. The release button has an option where you can lock-it "ON". It's useful if you what to leave your camera's shutter open for a long exposure.
I didn't research any other brands of remote switches for my Canon 30D. There may be others, but I was in a hurry to have something before the 4th of July, and just ordered it, since I knew is was suppose to work with my camera.
It performs it's intended design function. It's overpriced, in my estimation, but if you need one, this one will perform the job. Canon RS-80N3 Remote Switch for EOS-1V/1VHS, EOS-3, EOS-D2000, D30, D60, 1D, 1Ds, EOS-1D Mark II,III, EOS-1Ds Mark II,III, EOS-10D, 20D, 30D,40D, 50D, 5D
Aside form the fact that Canon charges an arm and a leg for a 1 dollar piece of plastic, the remote switch does work well. It does not feel very sturdy and does not seem nearly as well built as the Canon cameras. People with big hands may have a little trouble using this product. Overall, a "must have" addition for anyone interested in long exposures, images with excellent sharpness and depth of field.
I saw a knockoff of this remote selling for $14 on Ebay. I thought it was better to be safe than sorry - surely the extra $35 Canon sells this remote for means that you're paying for quality. Right?
Wrong. This is nothing but a cheap piece of plastic with a short wire attached to it. It feels like you could break the switch in your own hands if you press hard enough.
Despite the ridiculous price tag, the remote allows for some beautiful long exposures when used with a tripod. The shutter lock is also a nice feature.
All in all, it's nice to own this piece of equipment...although you're not getting anything extra with the Canon name.
Used the Canon RS60-E3 with my old Rebel. Now I have the Canon 5D and had to buy a new remote switch for it. The 80N3 is made a lot better than the RS60. The connection is better than the pin type on the RS60. I've use the remote for all my night shots and when I use my 100-400 lens for wild life photography. Canon did a nice job on the Remote.
This is an excellent remote shutter switch. Works on a LOT of camera bodies (I've used it on a 10D, 20D, 30D, and 40D). The cable is just right the length and the mechanism is easy to us. It fits nicely in the palm of your hand and even has half-press focus support.
My only gripe? I think it's just a wee bit expensive. I think this is more like a $25 product...not $40 or more.
I love Canon, they make a terrific camera and some of the best lenses available. But, over $50 for this bit of plastic and wire? I have bought generic versions on EBay for about $15 shipped and they work great... No frills just a half shutter, full shutter, hold shutter slider button... much like this one. There is no denying that a remote switch is very useful especially when taking long exposures on a tripod or where even the button press could change the cameras orientation too much. But for $50 it should either be wireless or offer some sort of intervalometer feature. If you're the type who always buys Monster cables instead of generic, then maybe it's worth the premium to you. And even if you can't find a generic available, you can always use the timer feature of your camera as an alternative.
I ended up buying this remote switch after having bought a cheaper offbrand which didn't work well at all. I have a 30D and the off brand gets stuck in the camera port because it's entirely made of plastic. The metal connection on the RS-80N3 makes for a more secure connection and (more importantly) a hassle-free removal.
Having said that, it is overpriced (thus 4/5 stars).
The product plugs in easily, feels solid, and works well. It eliminates camera shake on longer exposures. The only issue I've had is when I don't pay attention to the sliding lock mechanism. It's easy to slide it forward when pushing the button to take a picture, which locks the electronic shutter on and takes continual pictures until you unlock the slider. Yes, it's expensive for what it does, but if it makes the difference in sharpness between keeping a photo or tossing it, doesn't it pay for itself very quickly? - Camera Remote - Canon - Camera Accessories - Digital Camera Accessory'
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Computer Mouse - computer accessories, mouse
Traditional mice tend to need cleaning every now and then, and their ability to collect dust can make them very impratical. Optical mice are the solution to this problem. They use optical sensors to track the movement of the mouse, eliminating the need for cleaning the mouse, and for a mousepad.
Optical mice are great, and this is a great basic optical mouse. The optical technology in this mouse is good. The sensors track the movement of the mouse very well, and with good precision. I have run some demanding programs, and this mouse seems to work fine within them. The included Intellimouse software extends it capability, and makes the features customizeable. It also lights up, which is a neat feature.
Overall, it is a good place to start if you are looking for a basic, and inexpensive optical mouse. Microsoft Wheel Optical Mouse
The Microsoft Wheel Optical Mouse is an excellent replacement for a conventional ('ball') mouse. I replaced two of my old mice with these and am very pleased - no more unresponsive cursors as a sign the ball needs a bit of attention! By the way, I have one mouse running under a Microsoft Windows system and the other under a Red Hat Linux system - both without any problems. If you are fearing compatibility issues, no need to worry. Everything works out of the box.
This is a great mouse at a good price - and it looks slick in black.
Although I do like multi-functionality of Logitech MX1000, I just came back to this basic mouse. This is reliable(& durable) mouse, and has all features you need: 2 buttons, scroll wheels, and virtually maintenance-free optical sensor.
The MS Wheel mice as a family are your basic optical mouse, with two buttons and a scroll wheel that can be set as the third button. While I did not test this on a Mac, for the PC it is thoughtfully equipped with plugs for either USB or PC2 connections.
The fact that it has no special features is bad for gamers, good for 'the rest of us'. I find that the fewer options on the equipment, the less there is to stick, break, or (in the case of mine) fewer button combinations to accidentally push. Personally, I also prefer a corded mouse as there's no need to buy batteries.
It's also a classic 'middle of the road' mouse in that it's medium in size and weight, and will fit in most people's hands. What sold me on this mouse versus other comparably priced mice were two features. First, the part of the mouse on the buttons and top have a somewhat textured feel, which is pleasant to touch compared to the more common slick flat surfaces. Second, the scroll wheel turns smoothly with mild "clicks" so that you have a tactile and audible gauge for scrolling when reading a long web page or document.
Some final notes:
1) The black rubber pads on the bottom can come off over time, if it bothers you a dab of superglue will fix 'er up.
2) If you dislike the grimy look of mice after grubby hands have been on it, the black color will hide the dirt a while longer. :-)
3) Finally, be sure to actually curl your hands around the mouse in a store before you buy - I've found that people with small hands and/or wrists would rather opt for a more lightweight mouse that this one; people with larger hands or who do fine detail work would probably be better off with one of the king-size mice, perhaps one with a thumb-mounted trackball.
My personal favorite mouse to use with a laptop, or for people with smaller hands is the Logitech V450 Cordless Laser Mouse. It has the same characteristics as this mouse (nice feel, scroll button clicks) in a smaller, wireless package.
The Microsoft Wheel Optical Mouse is an excellent mouse! I have a white one that I have had for 4 years. It is just now wearing out where I need to buy a new one. It came with my computer. I love it! It is very comfortable for my hand and it never needs to be cleaned! One thing that I have noticed that you need to watch out for is the little black pads on the bottom will come off over time. Usually they can be easily put back on and it would not harm the mouse at all to put a drop of glue on one of the pads to hold it on. I love my Microsoft Wheel Optical Mouse!
This mouse is VERY affordable, and I like the fact that it is more efficient. I hardly have to clean it at all, and there is no crumby ball to get dirty!
Please note that if you have pets like I do (three cats), check the bottom every once in a while. If fur or large fuzzies get trapped, your cursor looks like it's spazzing out. Pretty funny actually!
I do wish it had a quieter scroll-wheel, but the buttons click quiety enough for my liking :)
This is a computer mouse that gets the job done. It works with Microsoft Windows Vista and Microsoft Windows XP. It fits my hand very nicely. This mouse is well made and reasonably priced. What else needs to be said?
I previously had a ball tracking mouse, and this optical one is fantastic. It was easy to install and works great. I am very pleased with this purchase. The price was good, and I have a high quality product that fulfills all my expectations.
I purchased this optical mouse and have been extremely, extremely pleased with it. I love how it performs, and I also like it's appearance as well. It is very comfortable to use, and I have not had one problem with it yet. I believe that it is an terrific optical mouse, especially for how much it costs--it is quite a good value. I highly recommend this product to anyone looking for a affordable optical mouse. - Usb Mouse - Mouse - Optical Mice - Computer Accessories'
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Accessories - blast gate, hose
The package arrived and the 50' of hose was in a 4' box. When I opened the box it turned out to be what you might describe as a heavy duty dryer hose. I pulled on the end to extend a portion of the hose and being still cold the hose broke at about 6" in. The next thing I noticed was the box was printed 12 mill vinyl in red ink, but there was a sticker added at the end of the box that said 6 mill vinyl.
The 50' was only $50 bucks so I thought I may keep it as a back up that could be made into whatever size I needed and that it may be somewhat more durable when warmed up.
Several days later I hooked it to my 110v planer then to the dust collector. Within 30 minutes holes were beginning to appear in the creases of the hose. This product might make a great dryer hose with lint passing through but don't attempt to use it for woodworking it is much to delicate for its intended use. PSI Woodworking D50C 4-Inch by 50-Feet Clear Flexible Dust Collection Hose
I thought this clear hose was like that sold a Rockler but much less expensive.
The PSI version is a much thinner PVC material and as such I have to think its going to be very prone to tears and punctures especially in a woodworking shop when it constantly pulled around.
On the + side it does have a wire embedded as the spiral forming structure. And it collapses into a very small profile (due to its more delicate design). A 16' section will compress end to end to 18".
I am using it as a vacumm hose to reach around the shop when connected to the dust collector. Again its flexibility and small storage is nice, but even a short time of use Im beginning to see the beginnings of stress tears in the folds.
If it holds after a couple months of use, Ill update my rating to 5 stars.
.
By the time I hung the tubing I had 6 holes in it. Anything that touches it puts a hole in it. I would have been better off using paper. Bad bad investment I was so mad I ripped it down and chucked in the garbage. I have had my other pipe up for about 5 years bought it from Rockler thought I would redo everything and reroute a few things wrong. I do not recommend this product.
I was very hesitant about getting this hose because of the negative reviews but I'm really glad that I got it after all. It just goes to show that some people will whine about anything and everything. I found it to be a very durable hose and it's nothing like a dryer hose. I dropped a 6' ladder on it and it didn't crush it at all. Why did the whiners buy plastic to begin with? They wanted rigid conduit at a plastic hose price. It's a very good hose and very easy to work with.
I am going to compare this hose with hose I bought from Harbor Freight Tools (HF), item #96478 $15 for a 10 foot length --[...] -- I'm not an employee of HF, just a long time customer. I bought my 2 HP Dust Collector (DC) from them and needed a lot of hose.
One reviewer mentioned that the box had more tape on the outside holding it together than hose inside. The 50' hose comes in a 4' long box and the box arrived torn in half with no tape holding the two halves together. Fortunately there was no damage to the center section of the hose.
I was shocked at how cheap and lightweight the PSI hose seemed compared to the HF hose I was already using. I buy from HF knowing their products can be of cheap quality, but for the price and quality, I highly recommend HF's hose. And the hose slices are $3.
The Facts:
The PSI hose has well defined interior peaks and valleys at each fold, adding to the air flow resistance. The HF hose is fairly smooth inside. PSI - the bare wire 'floats' loose inside a formed pocket. HF - has heavy insulation around the wire and is molded directly into the hose. PSI - I mic'd the wire at .048". This equates to about 16 1/2 a.w.g wire (lamp cord is 16 awg. HF - .059 (about 14 1/2 awg). PSI - I mic'd the plastic jacket at .006" and .012" thick. This is how it's made: half of each segment or fold is only .006" thick and where the jacket folds over onto itself to form the wire pocket, this half of the segment is .012" thick and the two halves are fused together forming a seam (and the interior ridges). This is the area where one reviewer says holes are developing, continued stretching or pulling on the hose could lead to separation at this seam. Dragging the hose on the floor should not cause a leak because a hole would first develop on the other edge of the wire pocket and the pocket is sealed from the interior. HF - the jacket mic'd at .021" uniform thickness. As a comparison, a 2 Liter soda bottle is .012 thick. PSI - 50' hose??? I measured each run I cut, stretching the hose moderately tight, and I only got about 35' of hose. I don't know how the manufacture gets its measurment (maybe during a tractor pull), but if you stretch the hose to an extreme, I think those seams will start to stress and pull apart.
I had 20' of HF hose which was enough to connect my DC from inside the garage up to the workshop wall. From there, I started running the PSI hose as the main truck line through out the workshop in the rafters. It's been about 2 months in use with no problems, but only time will tell. With the DC on, the hose wants to pull together with force with only one blast gate open and a 2 1/2" reduced fitting, so much so that hose pulled out of a support clamp screwed into a rafter. The HF hose dose not draw together like that. When released from the box, the HF hose extends to much of its lenght and stays like that. The HF hose is also pretty flexible but with a lot more weight/durability to the hose.
Bottom Line: Would I buy this PSI hose again? Yes. I will place another order after this review. Why? It is extremely flexible, great for runs between blast gate and machine. Easily collapses back to a small length if needed. I can push the machine back against the wall and the hose doesn't fight me. With 4" port connections at the machine, the hose dose not draw up. But with a 2 1/2" reducer fitting connected, the hose would draw up and pull the connector off the machine port. It can be a useful hose in your workshop if you understand its limitations. I see it as a lightduty hose. It may last many years. But in a year or so if the hose doesn't hold up then I will have made a $110 mistake, but I will move forward. - Dust Collectors - Hose - Hoses - Blast Gate'
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Seiko Automatic - automatic movement, watches
This is a nice little entry level automatic watch. Upon opening the box it came in the first thing I noticed was the size of the watch itself and the band. The watch itself is somewhat small but not too bad. its slightly larger than a quarter. The band however is much smaller than I expected. I have tiny wrists so It doesn't bother me too much but someone with a larger wrist may find it odd looking; it's really just preference and shouldn't make or break the deal as the band can easily be swapped out. The watch has a nice heavy weight to it and doesn't feel cheap like some other larger automatics I have. One strange thing I noticed right away when I picked up my watch was that the weight that spins the mainspring slides against the interior of the watch as I move it. So I can feel the weight as it moves around. This doesn't bother me but I hope its normal and doesn't mean I got a faulty watch. Everything is working fine at the moment (I've only been wearing it for a day) and I see no other problems or peeves about the watch. I'll break down the pros and cons here:
(PROS)
+ Overall nice looking watch. As most watches; the picture online just doesn't do it justice.
+ Watch has a nice weight to it.
+ It's an automatic for under $100; thats a bargain, especially for a Seiko.
+ The luminous hands are pretty good and last for a good 20 minutes. (Not as good as a Seiko Monster but what do you expect)
+ Comes with a 3 year warranty (although the retailer warranty card I received was not filled out by Amazon, not sure if this matters)
(Cons)
- Both the watch's body and strap were smaller than I expected.
- Hardlex glass is not exactly the best material, it suffices but Mineral would've been better. Sapphire is good too but thats a little too much to ask for in a watch of this caliber.
- Grindy mainspring weight.
- Malaysian movement. Although it says this watch has a Japanese movement in the specs; There is a Malaysian movement in them. I believe these are designed in Japan and built or assembled in Malaysia; either way the movement is definitely not made & assembled in Japan. If this was already common knowledge I apologize.
- Water resistance is sub-par. This watch should at least have the ability to withstand swimming and not just be resistant to minor splashes.
All in all it seems like a nice watch. As long as that weight isn't defective and its normal everything should be fine. I'll post an update eventually to let you know how its held up over time.
*** Update
I've been wearing the watch almost everyday for a few weeks now. It's kept time perfectly only gaining a couple seconds a day. It's by far the most accurate automatic I own; even more than some of my Swiss ETA movements. As far as the quality of the watch it seems almost perfect. I love the size and look of it. The Hardlex has held up and I still have no scratches on the dial or caseback (More time will tell how well it really holds up) The only problem I have with this watch is that it seems theres still some friction between the weight and the inside of the watch body. This has been causing it to sometimes keep the weight stationary at some points rather than spin around as it should. It still spins with enough force but some normal hand movements have not been enough to keep the weight moving. That being said it hasn't been a big enough problem to cause the watch to stop on me. It still keeps ticking long after ive put it down. After some research I realized this watch uses the same movement as the famous Seiko Monster & is a bit of a workhorse for seiko. Seiko 5 Men's SNK809 Automatic Black Strap Black Dial Watch
I bought the black and blue versions of this fine watch. They serve as my day-to-day watch. As noted in other reviews, a self-winding watch is more accurate than a mechanical watch but far less accurate than a quartz watch. Quartz watches are off by about 2-3 seconds/month, compared to atomic clocks. Self-winding watches are off by about 7 minutes/month. I've found the difference to be negative not positive. Sieko says about 5 minutes/month.
But, here's one advantage: you won't have to wind it, just wear it. That makes it the best watch available in the future ahead. It's getting harder to get my battery replaced on quartz watches and it will likely become impossible in future.
It only takes about 39 hours for the battery to run down so it helps to rotate it (to wind) about 2-3 minutes a day. I can usually wind it in a commercial break.
The drawbacks with the black model:
* harder to keep clean;
* the day and date diasl are harder to read because the face is black and so are the letters.
All in all, it's a great watch.
If this review was helpful, please add your vote.
____________________________________________________________
My review of the blue watch:
Xbar 107 seconds/week (runs fast) (7 min./month compared to 2-4 sec./month quart watch)
St DEV 27 sec.
N = 7
95% CI 2.447 using Student's t
m+ = 136 seconds/week
m- = 78 seconds/week
Summary:
Good points:
* Beautiful with dark blue face, white symbols, functional medium blue nylon band;
* Easy to read, even in the dark;
* Easy to use with uncomplicated settings similar to other watches;
* Compact design;
* Measurement consistency is excellent compared to quartz mechanism.
Bad points:
* Difficult to set time (see instruction below);
* Gains 10 seconds a day (consistency); and
* Does not have a manual wind stem.
Discussion
This watch looks great. Unlike other self-winding or kinetic watches, this one is compact. In the best tradition of Japanese product development they thought hard on how this watch should function and say about the wearer. The hands are easy to reading, even for those of use with failing eyesight. The second sweep hand has a red tip allowing easy setting of the time.
Unlike some Japanese product, they provided a short, simple instruction on winding the watch. Here, I am comparing them to Citizen's ecco-drive watch, which I also own. Just gently work your arm back and forth for three minutes and the self-wind watch will charge; or, you could wear it for a day.
Okay, now for the negatives. First, this is not your quartz watch. The original self-winding mechanism was invented, according to Wikipedia, by a Swiss watchmaker in 1770. Since then it has gone through several improvements but is not as accurate as the quartz mechanism popularized starting in the 1970's. Sieko warns that this watch could be off by as much as 10 seconds a day. One days use indicates that my watch runs about 10 seconds fast.
The great watchmaker Harrison, who invented the first chronometer accurate enough to track longitude, said that consistency is more important than accuracy. (A poor copy of one of Harrison's chronometers was carried by Captain Cook on his circumnavigation of the globe. He had nothing but good things to say about it.) I have another self-winding watch, an Armitron, which runs consistently 15 seconds fast on days that I wear it.
From my measurements of quartz watches, their accuracy, while dazzling when compared to old hand-wound watches, are less accurate than my old German pendulum clock. So I am told, the longer the arm, the more stable the swing and the more accurate the timepiece. I compare everything to atomic time. And, because the quartz mechanism is battery-driven, it seems to suffer from inconsistency. I carefully measured my collection of six quartz watches over a 2 year period. While the battery was new, the error was consistent. As the battery burned out, the error became difficult to predict. Sometimes a positive error (adding time) would become a negative error (losing time) as the battery died. This dying period was also hard to predict.
The accuracy of the quartz mechanism is not as good as my pendulum clock. They all lost or gained approximately 2-3 seconds, on average, per month.
Based on a week of measurements with the Armitron, I would say that it is shockingly inaccurate but consistently so. Assuming that the Sieko error continues to be consistently 10 seconds fast this will mean that I will have to reset it every week. This is a small price to pay for an otherwise beautifully crafted and honestly-priced handiwork.
Setting time
The date and day are fairly easy. I suggest turning the watch arms until the click past a day so you won't be twelve hours off.
Setting the time is another matter. What works best is to set the hour and minute hands, then gently hold the second hand. It should pulse a little as it tries to force itself forward. Once the seconds are accurate, release and the second hand should be accurate. It takes a little practice at first and don't set the time until you pump the watch 3 minutes to charge the spring.
Time to unwind
It takes about 39 hours (1 test) to unwind. - Watches - Automatic Movement - Seiko 5 - Military Watch'
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Battery Pack - rechargeable batteries, battery pack
I bought into the ryobi 18v system because they share a battery type among so many tools. Sadly, one of the batteries died after a year of light use and they want a lot of money for replacements. I have a lot of friends who have bought the same sets and ended up with a dead battery after a year, so anecdotally it seems the quality isnt that good. I have dewalt tools and batteries that are still working, with reduced output, after 4-5 years. Ryobi P100 ONE+ 18V 1.5m-Ah NiCd Battery (130224028)
i also went to ryobi after my dewalt was stolen i found they work better then dewalt but yes the ni-cad batterys only last about a year or so so when my battery went i got li-ion battery drill and impact and 3 years later they still work like brand new. i found out later that the li-ion batterys work with all the other ryobis as well that was good because i have 2 drills, a sall-zall, and a little skill saw. i would go for the li-ion before i would buy anything else they hold a charge way longer, have more power, and after 3years i get 4 times as much use out of mine then my coworkers who use dewalt ni-cad and the best part buy the new tool you want and can use the batterys for all your old tools. must stay with the same voltage but get a tool you dont have not the same thing like i did. the 2 stars is for the ni-cad battery as for ryobi and the li-ion battery 5 stars all the way. i did not get my drills from amazon i just wanted to help. good luck!
I've had the 18v Ryobi stuff for 3 - 4 years. 3 batteries, flashlight, drill/driver, reciprocating saw and circle saw. Heavy use of the drill/driver, probably 15 pounds of deck screws (built 2 decks). The batteries have served well but now need replacement. The circle saw is the one exception; not a good application because the battery drain is too heavy except in very light wood. Note that the batteries should not be left in the charger indefinitely, take them out when the green light comes on or they will deteriorate.
I bought this to replace the battery of a Ryobi drill I bought over 6 years ago. The originals were completely dead and this replacement fit perfectly. I no longer use my drill on a daily basis and only bought this because I was too cheap to go for the new lithium ion batteries and this was the best price I found. While being top of the line 6 years ago they don't hold a charge very long in-between uses but do work well if you use them more often and drain completely between charges. With that being said I probably should have gone with the lithium ion as one of those batteries (I have used many) last almost twice as long, are lighter and holds a better charge between uses. I gave it three stars because their are better replacements out there but these are as good as the original that came with the drill.
Not much to review. It's a battery. But it charged just fine in my charger, and held the charge long enough for my power-hogging to make all my bookshelf cuts, and the drill to do all the pocket holes and screws, and then a couple more cuts with the saw on the toy bin I was making before having to recharge. Cheaper than getting it at Home Depot, since it was on sale for $25...
I mostly use the Ryobi batteries for the flashlight, mini vaccuum and such, and can only say they're pretty decent. They charge quickly, last a reasonable amount of time on each charge, and work with a great many devices. The downside is that you can't own "Just one", and should have three if you're at all forgetfull, because they show fully charged if you try to put them on charge after removing them from the vaccuum cleaner as soon as they run a little flat, then after one hour they will charge up again, so that's one point down - something should be changed in either the battery or the charger to allow for that as I've often forgotten to go back and plug it in until the second one runs out as well! The biggest downside though is that they aren't waterproof, and where I live we often get deluged. Taking the pets out at night means getting wet, it also means the battery is finished a lot of the time. This is ridiculous on a $30+ battery! Dinged two stars for that one.
I have had one a year, already will not hold a charge for more than one day. Ryobi told me to show them a receipt.....of course I do not have. They said by the serial number it was 3.5 years old. Ryobi sucks. - Rechargeable Batteries - 18v Battery - Battery Pack - Ryobi 18 Volt Battery'
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Battery Pack - rechargeable batteries, battery pack battery pack Battery Pack - rechargeable batteries, battery pack
Digital Interconnects - cable, toslink
I would recommend this cable to anyone who wants to transport high quality sound more than just a few feet, at a low price...... unless you would rather pay more $ for a pretty cable. I love high quality electronics and this cable does the job just as well as my $35 6ft. optical cable. Some cables are worth the extra money, but one glass fiber transfers light the same as the next....no matter how its wrapped. RiteAV - Digital Optical Toslink Cable 25ft.
What can I say ... it's a cable and it works as advertised. I use this to run audio from my wall mounted LCD tv back to my receiver in a closet. I've had no problems with it, and I was able to spend the money I saved on more stuff I don't need, but can't live without :)
These cords are so expensive, and short. I actually received a 2 foot cord with one of the game headphones I recently purchased. Now, what can you do with a 2 foot cord? The right length at a ridiculously affordable price
The only purpose of a digital optical cable is to transport DIGITAL information (ones and zeros) to a source that can translate it to actual sound (i.e; receiver). Thus, sound quality is pretty much entirely based on your source and output device--not the type of cable you hook them up with. This cable is cheap and long with no visible construction defects. No need to spend more, get this and be completely satisfied.
The wire on this cable despite what the picture tells you is very thin... We are talking the wire (which isn't actually a copper wire its a plastic strand to send light through), Is as thin as an iPod headset wire... This wire will not bend as the aforementioned headset wire because if you bend this wire at a sharp 90° angle the signal will be heavily distorted or even die... And in the process of bending this wire you will break it... So I will recommend to you to buy the: RiteAV - ULTRA - Digital Optical Toslink Cable 25 ft. This cable has a braiding on it, so it will be a whole lot more sturdy/rugged... It is from the same manufacturer and seller/vendor... I wish I would of purchased the braided version of this product, cause I am deathly afraid that I will bend this cable too much one of these days....
I used this cable to connect my computer sound card to my surround sound system until HDMI connectors made it not needed.
My only problem with this cable is that with the sound turned down low it would randomly not play any sound at all. With the sound in a normal 'I'm watching movies and like surround sound' sound I never noticed a problem. If I weren't a nice townhouse resident I would probably never have noticed this flaw.
First it works fine. My use is to send sound from my computer to my a/v system on the other side of my room. The sound quality is of course identical to any other optical cable.
The sheathing is very thin and does not look suitable for frequent moves but fine for semi-permanent or permanent installs. Being very thin in diameter it is inconspicuous and easy to hide.
This cable arrived quickly and works as advertised. Digital Optical cables are grossly overpriced at most stores yet there is no difference in sound quality between this cable and one that costs $100. Save your money and spend it on movies to listen on your surround sound system. - Toslink - Audio - Cheap - Cable'
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Ipod Speakers - memorex, ipod speakers
I got this for my Birthday, it is a great speaker system perfect for home or office use. Easy to use and EXCELLENT SOUND!!! Out of the box and set up in just under 2 minutes!! BTW you can also use the additional input jack for your other electronics. I would recommend this speaker system to anyone who is in the market for a set of speakers for their IPod!!! New Memorex Compact Audio System With Ipod Dock Black Popular Excellent Performance High Quality - Ipod Dock - Memorex - Ipod Speakers'
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