Thursday, 9 July 2009

Electronic Organizer - charging station, electronic organizer


This worked well at first, even though I had to spend a ridiculous amount of money to get one additional USB adapter (it comes with three different versions - it should ship with 6 (2 of each) to be more useful.



But after a couple of weeks, the charger on the right stopped working. I thought it was my fault since it appeared to be the fault of the mini usb connector. Then the charger on the left stopped working. Since this is for my garmin, and I never disconnect the base, I knew this was not due to anything I did. So now the thing is essentially worthless.



Save your money. don't bother with this. The Sharper Image Portable Charging Valet, Black

It was great when it worked. After a few months of pretty heavy use (every weeknight) it was difficult to get the connection to charge my Blackberry. I had to wiggle a lot of wires. It also does not feel like a quality product. Now the car charger part of it has fallen apart. Time to buy a new charging station and I am not buying this one again.

This product had great potential, but it didn't even last a week. One of the connecting tips broke, exposing the wires and becoming useless. I also agree with another review, that they needed to include at least two of each type of charger, in case one owns two items that require the same type of charger.

Received for christmas. The product is not powerful enough to charge my Blackberry Tour, as I get a USB-charger prompt on my cell phone teling me that there is not enough power. We then tried a Blackberry Curve and THAT didn't charge either.



Don't buy the Sharper Image Charging Valet if you have a blackberry. I can only imagine what other devices it isn't 'powerful' enough to charge. - Electronic Organizer - Charging Station'


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table saw blades - table saw blades


One very important piece if information that would have been helpful about this product would have been the thickness of the hub. It is almost 7/8" thick. This presents a major problem with most table saws in that the arbor is only about 1" total length, this means the maximum safe thickness of the blade is about 1/2" Vermont American 26752 7-Inch 16T Carbide Adjustable Dado

First, If you think Vermont American is American, forget it. It's made in China. The hub rubbed when I tryed to mount it. A cheap plastic spacer whasher is included for this(some table saws) but this caused the blade to hit the dado plate cutout. I threw away the spacer and trimmed .050in. off the hub. Then it fit. It cuts well except it tends to tear when exiting work as tooth is about 3/16 wide. The 3/4 groove cuts perfectly square. A good buy for convenience of quickly changing cut widths and price.

We used this blade to make a dato on a cutting board... it turned out better than expected. As long as your not going for a professional quality cut (and most of us, lets be honest, aren't pros) this thing will do the trick. It is VERY easy to set and I expect to be happy with this for all my dato cuts for a long time. - Table Saw Blades'


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Resistance Bands Set - p90x, exercise bands


First of all, these came ridiculously fast. I ordered after lunch on a Weds, and they were on my doorstep Fri morning before 8am. Amazing.

Second, I am very happy with the bands. The grip is comfortable (even when I'm sweaty), and the bands don't rip the hair off my arms when they rub against me. I am a fairly strong person, and I am able to get some use out of the lightest, more out of the next, and a lot out of the 3rd strongest. I should have have plenty left to go as I get stronger.

Also, I read some reviews on cheaper bands that had a tendency to break at the handle. These have been put through a lot of stress in the last week during my P90x workouts, and they haven't compromised at all.

The door hook is great too, as I've used it to replace the chin-up bar in my videos.

All in all, I would definitely recommend these bands! Flexcords Resistance Bands Set includes 6 Exercise Bands *On SALE*

I bought the Flexcords set so I could workout when away from home (I have a home gym setup.) They are definitely compact, sturdy, and are a good value for the money.



My biggest complaint, though, and one that truly does knock two stars off of this product, has to do with the handles.



These resistance bands have nylon straps threaded through pieces of black PVC. When attempting to do certain exercises, such as back scratchers or lawnmower pulls, the handles tend to shift in a way that makes the movement being attempted unnatural and, in some cases, downright dangerous.



If you're looking for bands in order to do the Beachbody Power 90 series, I would recommend looking for bands that have one piece handles. As stated above, the Flexcord handles prevent you from easily executing certain moves, with the two I listed above being a part of the Power 90 circuit training.

I have tried a few of the resistance bands sold at the local box stores. These are better made, and a much better buy! With the many different sizes you definitely won't run out of options. I started with the green, and have moved to the red band so far. That leaves me two more, and the thick grey one looks like it will be a killer! My wife is still at the first band, so there is something for everyone. How to use them videos can be found all over you tube, so don't bother buying a dvd. I found a good program online and I can feel the difference already. Quality construction, and the door hook thingy works great. Thanks!

These are great resistance bands for the price! I don't think you'll be able to find 6 resistance bands set for this price anywhere. There's no DVD, but I've used resistance bands before so I'm completely fine with that. Also, there's enough resources on the internet to find different exercises or there are other resistance band dvds available. The white cord is very strong and works great for bicep curls. If you're looking for to get as close to quantity, quality and afforability this is the pack you're looking for. Excellent value!

The bands arrived quickly and contained all of the contents as described. The only annoying part was needing to go to the manufacturers website to find out what the resistance was for each band.



The door handle is great for replacing pull ups when beginning P90X. I am a bit out of shape and cannot do more than a few pull ups so I begin my set on the pull up bar and switch to the bands afterward to complete my set. The heaviest band and the door loop are great for this.



The handles on each band are decent, but they tend to slide around a good bit when using them. It is not enough that I feel it bothers me too much; however, I can see how some people would find it rather annoying. Each band having it's own handles is a huge plus though. Most of the bands I looked at only contained 2 handles for multiple different bands, I would much rather pay a little to not have to switch handles each time I am changing bands.



I got the bands for starting my P90X routine. I am just winding down my second week of the program and 2 of the bands are already beginning to fray. The second and third heaviest bands (blue and red) are beginning to fray near one of the handles. I am rather tall (6'5") so I am not sure if my height is putting extra strain on the bands and taking them to the failure point or if the bands were just poorly designed. The material they are made out of feels like a rather dry rubber so the fraying is not all that surprising to me. When just touching the bands they do not feel much like a high quality elastic I was expecting.



I have contacted the manufacturer to see about getting replacements for the 2 malfunctioning bands.



If they replace the bands free of charge I would be rather pleased as long as the replacements last longer. To be honest though, given the material I do not really expect a replacement product will last much longer. Once I hear back from the company I will update the review with information about the exchange procedures. I wouldn't recommend these bands unless you don't have any other solid options. The individual handles are nice, but the durability of the bands is extremely questionable.

This was a great deal on six bands of varying resistance. They work just fine and the handles are good. I like being able to switch between them quickly. My only suggestion is that the bands should be labeled for the different levels of strength (I ended up writing 1,2,3, etc. on the handle straps so I could determine which to use). Overall, I would recommend.

I'm by no means a weightlifter or anything but at 210lbs and 5'10" I guess I'm stronger than the average bear? (even better than Yogi =P) The two heaviest cords will have their uses for me but just starting out I am able to bicep curl the "40-55lb" cord. The rest i cant even see being used individually. However, the handles are a small ~1 inch pipe so I am able to easily grab two and use them (this being where the light weights come in handy). My hands aren't ginormous, i can just barely palm a basketball so most people should be able to do this if need be.



The bands themselves are great though. Can stretch up both arms completely vertical (about 8ft each so 16 total) and they still stretch back to normal easily. The tubes are silky smooth and dont catch my hair, which is a definite plus. They dont look like they'll break (or weaken anytime soon) but if i notice something ill update. Overall, great purchase. - Home Gym - P90x - Exercise Bands - Resistance Band'


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Dewalt Nailer - nailer, brad


I bought a DeWalt nail gun near the end of last year. Since then I've driven several boxes of nails with it, mostly without any hitches. I've used it nearly every day for building cabinets and installing mouldings. This is my third brad nailer. My first one was a Senco SLP20, a fabulous gun. I never had any problems with the Senco other than the safty being on the front side of the driver... that made it difficult to shoot nails at a bit of an angle if needed. My only other complaint about the Senco was its limited capacity in length of nails, 1 5/8". After the Senco was stolen out of the back of my truck I bought a Hatachi brad nailer... the DeWalt was not yet on the market. Overall, the Hatachi was a nice quality gun and had the 2" nail depth capacity I really needed for my work. However, it would often double fire on me because the safty was so sensitive. This problem occurred so much I finally gave it to my son (a weekend warrior) after the DeWalt came on the market. I was real excited about the new DeWalt brad nailer because of the nice features, particularly the design which put the safty behind the driver. It worked flawlessly right out of the box and I almost never looked back. At the time I was looking at the DeWalt gun I was also considering the new Senco gun that shot 2" nails.Now after about six months I'm beginning to think I made a mistake buying the DeWalt. A recent problem has occurred that's quite troubling: The gun stopped firing and recycling properly. I thought maybe at first it was due to a blown O-ring or something like that. The only way I could get the cylendar to return was to uncouple the air hose. Then, I could shoot one nail before having to uncouple the hose again. Needless to say this was a pain in the rear. Another son, who is also in construction, told me he encountered the same propblem with his DeWalt brad nailer... which was even newer than mine. He was finally able to get his to work by adding oil to the driver and guide after opening up the quick release mechanism. I tried this, but used a super thin lubricant instead of the oil that came with the gun. It didn't work. Later I went back and it fired fine for about 10 shots and then stopped again. I've let it set for a couple of days now and just tried it again. It seems to work fine now, but obviously I'm concerned because I don't feel I can rely on it when doing a job on site... and that could really cost me time and money. So, I'm once again thinking hard about buying yet another brad nailer, the newly designed Senco 2" gun. I've really liked the DeWalt, but am concerned about it's relyability. I'm also put off because it may be necessary to buy a third nail gun in less than two years... this is getting expensive. DEWALT D51238K 5/8-Inch to 2-Inch 18-Gauge Brad Nailer

Boy I like this nailer. I have owned it for almost 2 years and have no complaints. I've never had a misfire. It drives 2 inch nails with ease. Best of all it's light. I used it for window and door molding and cabinet work. This gun is easy to load, and easy to change the depth of the shot.



Some nice features are:



1. As the nails run low, an indicator appears to show that you have 6 nails left. Then it moves to show a countdown to show when you are empty. It's nice not to have to open the magazine to see how many nails you have. And of course the indicator that appears is yellow.



2. You can direct the exhaust airflow anywhere you want.



3. If the nail jams, which has only happend when I hit something below, the head easily opens so you can extract the bent nail.



I also have the 15 ga. nailer and would highly recommend both of these. I've also recommended this nailer to 2 friends and they have also had excellent results. Way to go DeWALT!!



Update: add another year of use, still working strong. No problems at all.

I just bought this nailer at Home Depot several months ago for our trim crew. We specifically use 18G bradders for shoe and other small moldings. This unit is the best we've ever come in contact with. The guys tried the Porter Cab tools and they don't seem to have the power to set nails and they don't feel nearly as durable as the Dewalt. The depth setting mechanism on this tool is tops as well

I recently purchased this 18 gauge Brad Nailer and a Porter Cable Pancake Compressor for Christmas. I waited to write a review until I had time to test it properly and I am still not certain that I am giving the Nailer a proper review. To start with I thought that all of the fittings for connecting to a compressor would come with the Nail Gun but these items were not included. I purchased the necessary fittings, which were very inexpensive, set it up and started testing it. Since I have never used a Nail Gun before, I changed the trigger to the sequential trigger provided in the kit to prevent accidentially shooting too many nails in one place. I am happy with the way the Gun feels, with the depth it shoots brads, how easy it is to change the depth, eveything EXCEPT that sometimes it dry fires for no reason. I have tried doing the things the instructions suggest to prevent this but I was still able to dry fire once about every 15 shots. Other than this the gun is really nice and I hope that I can talk to someone at Dewalt to resolve this problem. As of Jan. 2 I can not get through to anyone at Dewalt for assistance. I will write again as soon as I get assistance and the problem is resolved or if the problem remains I will down grade my review.

I received this nail gun as a free gift from DeWalt for purchasing a certain amount of products from them. I had previously used only Spot Nails and Omer nail guns, available only through a supplier, but as soon as I tried the DeWalt, I could tell it was superior even to my Spot Nails gun. I've used it for two years now in the cabinet and molding industry, and as my shop has grown, I will be getting a few more of these nail gun for my guys to use. I have recommended this gun to all of my friends in the industry. I do not blindly endorse DeWalt products, but this nail gun really is a good product. - Nail Gun - Brad - Nailer - Dewalt Nailer'


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Best Fishing Line


I was a long time user of Cabelas LC line. When they stopped stelling it a year or two ago I scrambled to find a good LC line. Sufix LC was new then so there weren'ty many reviews but based on reports from a few users I decided to give it a try.

I am totally satisfied with Sufix LC as it is the same or better than the old Cavelas. Incidentallym, Cabelas stated selling their brand LC again but I've heard from users that it;s not he same thing as before and the quality is inferior.

I haven't tried every single LC line out there but I am satisfied with Sufix to the

extent that I won't be trying out other new lines for a while. Sufix Performance Lead Core 100 Yards Metered Fishing Line (12-Pounds)'


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Itouch Case - skins, itouch case


I ordered this case a few days ago, and it just came in the mail today. It definitely fits like a glove, and was easy to put on. I like the fact that it is kind of hard yet flexible. I was caught on whether or not I should buy a hard or soft case, and this is the perfect match! The zebra print is a little lighter than it looks in the picture, however it is still pretty nice. I would recommend this to anyone, especially if they can't choose from a hard or soft case. Flexi Soft Gel Skin Case for Apple iPod Touch 4th Generation - Zebra Print (Purple)

Protects my ipod well and is a really cute cover! Gel is nice because it is flexible and makes it easy to take the case on and off. However, it is a pain to have to take the cover off when I want to dock my itouch on my ihome.

Be careful if you have long hair and like to put your iPod against your head. Like a moth to a flame, my daughter was more attracted to her ipod after this case. If you like purple and you like gel, you're going to like this case. If you forget that hair sticks to this type of texture, you're in for a hurtful surprise as the hair catches in the nooks and crannies and when you pull your head away, your hair stays. Otherwise, good product at a decent price.

We initially received the wrong product, but once the seller was contacted they shipped out the correct item. Very impressive customer service. The product itself is very nice, it fits the itouch 4 nicely. My daughter loves the purple zebra print, although it is a bit lighter on the pinkish side than true purple. Snapped together fine, so far so good! - Itouch Case - Skins'


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Kids Digital Camera - preschool, kids digital camera


The first camera we bought was the fisher price kid tough camera.. and it was the biggest waste of 50 bucks. The thing would turn on and right back off again. Our son was really upset, he's three. So we found this camera as a replacement and it works great! It has really cute little games on it easy enough for a 3 year old and it takes pretty good pictures for being a toy. Not those over grainy things that the fisher price one took. I would recommend this to a friend or buy it as a gift if the need came up for something like this again! :) Vtech Kidizoom Camera

I purchased this camera for my youngest who is not quite 3 as a Christmas present. My older daughter has the Fisher Price Kidtough camera and we were not very satisfied with it so we wanted to see how this one compared.



Pros:



Durable - it has been dropped a few times already and sustained no damage.



User Friendly - good size for a preschooler, not awkward like the FP camera is in small hands. The buttons, overall shape and size, interface, and layout are all done nicely.



Doesn't drain the batteries - The FP one is AWFUL about that. Batteries were lucky to last a day in the FP one so we invested in rechargeables which can be a pain. We anticipated the same issue with this one but were pleasantly surprised! Nearly two weeks later we have not had to replace the factory batteries at all. The FP one has since been ignored and this is the only one either of daughters will play with now.



Features - They games are simple and easy to use. A bit over the 2 year old's head, but the 4 year old enjoys them. We have not dabbled much with the photo editing, but it seems fun. Probably something an older child would enjoy more.



Neutral:



Resolution - I didn't know how to rate this. The FP one is terrible, 99% I can't make out. This one is a lot better but still has much room for imnprovement. Mine don't notice this, but I think 6 or 7 year old would definitely want something better.



LCD screen - is not so small that it's ill-functioning but could stand to be a bit bigger.



~I usually go by the rule of thumb, you get what you pay for but this has definitely not been the case between the VTech Kidizoom and the Fisher-Price Kidtough. I was able to find this camera for $20 just before Christmas, and this one the best deal I have seen is $40. I only paid $20, but definitely think it's worth the $40 price tag. We will be buying a second one soon as the two kids fight over this one.

My Mom was stumping her brain on what to get my son (2.5) for Christmas. I recommended a digital camera, since he loves Mommy's camera, and always wants to take pictures. So, we did a little research and liked the reviews on this one. She bought it. Let me say that my son has LOVED this camera so much, that in 2 days he took 385 pictures! The batteries have finally worn down and we're definitely going to invest in the rechargable ones as I can tell we'll be needing them. As for quality, I didn't expect much more than what we got. He's not yet 3, what could he REALLY take a good picture of? It's fun for him though to take pictures, and he loves "his camera". It is teaching him how to create memories and capturing the fun of life. He's obviously like his Mommy, we are trigger happy!!! Totally would buy this camera again and recommend it for any child within the age group. A child much older than 7 might be disappointed in the pictures. But for mine, it's perfect!!!

I purchased this camera from Walmart for $[...]. I have not used the Fisher Price Kid Camera but decided against it after reading some of the reviews. This review is written about an hour after unboxing the camera and playing with it myself. I am breaking down the components of my review in sections below:

1. Build: feels very durable and solid. Comes with an attachable wrist strap.

2. Functionality: the camera is very well designed. After using the power switch to turn the camera on you are presented with 4 modes to choose from: Camera, Games, Image software and control settings. In the camera mode there is a flash option, a zoom in/out option, review picture and delete option. Using these basic functions a child can easily grasp the basics of photography while at the same time not worrying the parent about break and damage. Its 2 thumbs-up from me on these features.

3. Image quality: not bad for a $[...] camera (I usually shoot a digital SLR and am very passionate about image quality). The image is very clearly seen and with a flash, the definition is even better. The package insert claims an auto ISO and I do believe this works. The camera claims to store about 500 photos on a 64MB internal memory, and for a kid that should be plenty.

4. Computer connectivity: the camera comes with a connecting cord, and I had no difficulty connecting it to my Macbook and importing images to iPhoto.

5. Educational value: I think this is where this camera triumphs. Playing with the controls will allow my 5 year old to master the basics of photography while at the same time making it really fun. Small points like how the image quality changes with camera shake are immediately demonstrable, and allows the child to appreciate the idea of steady hands. Learning how to and when to use the flash is a plus.

6. Other features: there are 2 games included. Have not explored them much but the graphics seem clear.



Overall I am highly impressed with this camera. I had expected the picture quality to be grainy and messy, but its surprisingly acceptable. The learning and education potential of this camera coupled with the excitement I expect my little one to have on using a 'real camera' makes this an unbeatable purchase for the price.

This camera is inexpensive, durable, has a nice body design, and has a decent interface and button layout. Those are the good things I can say about it. As for the rest, the display is too small and dim to be useful in almost all situations, and the photos are really terrible quality, not even good enough to make prints of any size from. Mostly, they are blurry and grainy. It's hard to imagine designing and releasing a product that performs so poorly. I do realize it's for young children, but a 5 year old should be able to get a few good shots with a camera made for kids. Our son took 100 photos, 5 were somewhat FAIR in quality, 95 POOR. Our son wanted to print the photos, so we uploaded the best ones to the local Walgreens, and they called asking if we really wanted them printed, no joke. He does enjoy taking pictures with it, and a few prints will work for show-and-tell. I can't even take a decent photo with it, grainy, dark, and muddy colors. Indoor photos are especially bad. You must hold the camera very still, and the subject cannot move at all. This is not easily done in most cases.

To improve this product maybe Vtech could add a 1+ Mp ccd (it's only a .3 mega-pixel now!!), stronger flash, and a brighter and larger display. Enough to make it get a passing grade, but still be inexpensive. If that adds $10-15. to the cost, it would be worth it. - Preschool - Kids Digital Camera - Toddler Camera - Kids Camera'


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