Guy Low Price Electronic: 6 Dec 2008

Saturday 6 December 2008

Noise Canceling Headphones - battery testers, battery

Just got this battery tester, which looks and feels very cheap. It's very losy almost like its gonna fall apart. I tested it with AA, AAA and 9 volt and the results are terrible.

It will test AA just fine, but AAA + head is too small would not reach the top part properly therefore cant be tested.

9 volt test holes are also off and therefore wont test any of my 9 volt batteries.

I don't have the time to return it to seller, but I made sure I leave some time to write this review.

You welcome. IIT 26440 Battery Charge Indicator Tester - Electronics And Gadgets - Easy To Use - Battery - Battery Testers'

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Chain

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Quite literally, this thin necklace shimmers in the light. It looks very delicate, but seems quite sturdy. I bought this as part of a gift for my little sister, and she thinks it is the best necklace she's ever gotten. Clasp is easy to deal with, chain is flawless and smooth, and it was exactly as advertised. A great buy. Sterling Silver 0.9mm Box Nickel Free Chain Necklace Italy 20 Inch

Very pleased with the quality of the chain, didn't come in time for Christmas as promised (yes, it was part of a gift) but considering it was the Christmas season and shipping was heavy, I'll give them a break......

This necklace looks alot nicer in person than in the picture! I bought the 16" for my 11 yr old daughter; seems to be appropriate length for a child. She and I both love it on her!!! It looks very feminine and sweet, even delicate yet seems quite sturdy. Shiny and bright in no matter what light. I highly recommend this for a child, tweeny and young adult, approximately 16" for a tweeny and 18" for an older child or young adult. You will not be disappointed in the appearance and quality!!!'

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Electrical Terminal - irwin, automatic stripper

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The wire stripper included with this item is the worst one I have ever seen. Cheap construction. The hinge was so tight you can barely open it. Impossible to open and close with one hand. The assortment of connectors is not bad. The connectors are mediocre quality and probably OK for the "not-so-serious-hobbyist". Bottom line - you get what you paid for. Neiko Solderless Wire Terminal & Connection Kit with Crimping/Wire-Stripping Tool - 175 Pieces

I first thought it too spendy for what you get but you get a good wire cutter and crimper plus various wire ends, the kind that are always in demand. The perfect project supplies all together in a handy display case. I'm glad I puchased this. P.O.Thompson - Stripper Crimper - Automatic Stripper - Irwin - Hardware'

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Healthy Lifestyle - fitness, great books

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If you haven't picked this book up yet, do yourself a favor and get it. There are a lot of simple facts that will help you make the proper nutritional choices throughout your day. This book is not a cure-all, but it will definitely get you on the track to eating well and feeling great. This book debunks many of the 'I heard...'-type facts about food. The food list in the middle of the book is great. Definitely pick up this book! The Men's Health Big Book of Food & Nutrition: Your completely delicious guide to eating well, looking great, and staying lean for life!

Great book with a lot of helpful info. But as the other reviewer noted there is no specific nutrition plan, although there are some general nutrition recommendations, which are easy to follow. I started to follow some of them and joined the gym (I used Big book of exercises to create workout plan) and as far as I can tell it works. Not feeling deprived I lost 8-10 pounds in a month although I did not have much of extra weigh (Before that I had been doing some exercises at home and had eaten what I thought right but apparently I had been overlooking several things.)

The only drawback for me is that recipes section could contain more of less sophisticated recipes for the a guy like me who does not really have much of cooking experience.

This book is full of good information about the foods we eat, and the eating habits we practice. It offers practical advise to those looking to become more conscious about their food choices. Learn why certain food are healthy, why most diets fail, and how to overcome this and eat a healthy diet.

Seriously I can't get enough of this book. I bought it on a whim as a reference for my new foray into healthful eating. I kept looking up food nutritional facts and liked the idea of them all being in one easy-to-find place. This book is so much more than that.

It starts off with a huge section of frequently asked questions. You can literally read through these, learning fact after fact after fact. It covers all ranges of topics from food choices, water consumption, healthful benefits in food, etc. This book also includes tons of information about food labels, starting a diet, etc. The bulk of this book is a list of the Healthiest Foods. Each one has a big colorful picture and their nutritional facts. Tons of food is listed, including fruits and vegetables, breads and grains, spices and herbs, and meats and cheeses. The back is full of recipes - a large amount of them look delicious and I can't wait to start trying them.

My chief worry was that it would be predominately geared toward men. This wasn't a problem. Only a handful of times did I even notice something geared toward men, usually in the questions section in the beginning. It was never an issue.

I am definitely more interested in the Men's Health/Women's Health books and will look into the others.

I was looking for a good book to provide basic nutrition information for my teenage son, who is an athelete, but eats a diet of junk food. This book is just what I needed - basic information in a simple straight-forward format. Now if I can only get him to read it!

This book is great for those people who are trying to get healthy, but not into those "Fad" diets. this book breaks down each food group, and tells you what kind of food is good for you, and which foods (you may be supprised) is not good for you. great read, perfect for any Fitness Hobbyists Library. - Food - Fitness - Feel Good - Great Books'

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Pocket Camcorder - 1080p, toshiba

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this is a full hd camcorder with a 5x optical zoom for $180 so be too critical on it would not be fair! it is better than the standard def jvc everio i just got rid of. it strong point that it take 10 megapixel still photos that look quite good, if you can hold the camera completely still! if not they get blurry quickly. and one thing i do not understand is that if i take hd video and put it on my computer it looks really good, but if i hook the camcorder to my 42" hdtv to veiw it looks really hideous i mean really grainy and pixelated for some reason? i have not tried to convert and burn on a dvd yet to see how they will look, but that will be my next project. the software that comes with it is ok at best! but hey it is free and is usable! so my verdict is! for youtubing this would be an excellent choice. for a videophile or someone who make their own blu ray disc's look else where because this camcorder will probably dissapoint you? and like i said the photo's and video's look really horrible on an hdtv through the hdmi port. :o) Toshiba Camileo H30 Full HD Camcorder (Silver/Black)

To contribute to the the review stating the video looked horrible when hooked up to his HDTV, when hooked up to mine it looks great. No distortion or pixelation at all.

If your looking for a budget HD camcorder, this is a great buy with some great features at this price. The zoom is adequate but requires a very steady hand even with image stabilization on 720P mode. Red and blues look a little over saturated but not too bad. Stills look just as good as the video but also requires a steady hand.

I gave it 4 stars based on performance for the money. I'm very happy with my purchase and would recommend to anyone looking for a sub $300 HD camcorder.

Also, here is a good review as well. [...]

I bought this cam and I must say it is an excellent little cam the only thing I don't care for is the 5x zoom and yes it can take any kind of HD TV but some of older ones need an adapter.

Now what you may not know about this cam is it has the new Digital Video Format AVI, H.264 in it... here is the full story check it out [...]

If you want to see more test videos on this cam type in on You Tube Toshiba Camileo H30 and see for yourself how good this little cam really is or click on [...] for a test run and on the same page there are many other test runs on this cam

Now what I like is that the touch screen can also be used with the toggle switch as well so fingerprints don't cover the screen I like that also there is no battery sticking out the back I like that the best

Love the Macro mode motion detection mode for surveillance, slow motion, and time elapse all work well.

As soon as you take this camcorder out of the box, you are going to be scurrying around trying to find random things to film with it to test it out. When you consider this camera is quite a few years old and the incredible price for the feature it offers, surely the quality must be terrible. After taking the time walk around my house with it and test it on random things for the past few weeks I must say, I am really impressed. The camera is not going to shoot the same quality you would see in a professional movie which is to be expected. The image stabilization only works in the 720P mode and not the 1080P modes, however 720P looks just as good in almost all scenarios so this does not bother me very much. The fact that the camera comes with a mini hdmi to hdmi cable is pretty awesome. You could easily spend 20 bucks on one. I am using an 8GB sd card with the camera and it is working very well. The camera does struggle in dark lighting. It works in dark lighting but things like details on something that is painted black or brown are going to be lost. When using the camera in the middle of the day it really excells. The slow motion feature is pretty cool to play around with. If you have never owned a camcorder before and you are considering one, look no further.

This camcorder is the perfect size, its not big and bulky and is easy to carry around.

Pros:

-I love that it came with all of the HDMI cords which could easily run another $50

-Easy to carry

-10 megapixel camera

_ touch screen

-stabilizer

-zoom

-Easy to upload to you tube

Cons:

-No led light and you can't film in low light, like at my daughter's recital

- Not MAC compatible

So I recently purchased this product to do some video projects. I was a little hesitant at first to purchase this because I always seem to buy camcorders with too much audio noise or some other annoying flaw. It has been a couple weeks since I've been using this. I am "very" pleased with this product. No annoying buzz in my recordings and the video quality is excellent.

This certainly isn't going to produce the same results as those $3,000.00 USD camcorders will. But grading this compared to one of those is just silly. I've noticed this with a lot of other reviews I've read on camcorders. People tend to call the product garbage because it doesn't compare with those super high end models.

I'm currently using mine for producing 1080p videos and I'll admit I haven't bothered with the still image photos of this product yet. But the video quality for the price range of these camcorders are top notch! I also read the image stabilization is bad but I really haven't Encountered much of that. But I have a very steady hand and use a tripod most of the time.

The only problem I've encountered is that sometimes the auto-adjustment will take a moment to regain focus on objects that get too close to the camera.

Anyways, I'm not a professional Cameraman so take what I say with a grain of salt. However, from my "average Joe" point of view I'm really pleased with this product. - Toshiba - Camcorder - 1080p - High Definition'

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Maroon 5

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"Wake Up Call" is a catchy song. The melody alone is worth the price of the song. It's got a good beat. Adam Levine sings from the perspective of a man finding his girlfriend in bed with another man ("six foot tall" according to the lyrics-is Levine pint-sized?) It's almost reggae,almost ska... and it works. It's also one of those old-school (VERY old school) "murder ballads." It hits on an ancient theme,like the story of Paolo&Francesca in Dante's "Inferno",in which Francesca's hunchbacked husband slays the adulterous lovers.

"Wake Up Call" isn't the best of Maroon 5's tunes but they've got the beat,beat,beat,they've got the beat. Wake Up Call

When it comes to making great pop/rock music, no group has been able to feel as a great guilty pleasure like Maroon 5. Although it has been so long since they've made a great song, they still know what it really takes. Wake Up Call, the secong single from their sophmore album It Won't Be Soon Before Long is a very upbeat driven song that remains as deep of a staple to what Adam and the band had captured to fans alike for the past several years. It really is a great track from the album, while the lyrics showcase a man who is scorned from a cheating so-called significant other. I hope Maroon 5 can make another great single like this.

Song: B 1/2-'

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Propane Tee

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knowing how they will Not settle on making things universal and always changing things, I was worried this was Not the mainstream size that fits the mainstream 20 and 40 and 100 pound cylinders, that Is what fits, though Its almost cheaper to buy another cylinder. I bought It to run 2 Infrared heaters at the same time this Winter but I Am still waiting for cold weather to come to Oklahoma to get rid of ticks and mold and flies and other biting pest, probably too much hot Air from them politicians. Century Y Female POL Propane Adapter, Brass'

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Stephen E Ambrose - stephen e ambrose, childrens books

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Chances are that most teenagers today have or had grandfathers who served in World War II and grandmothers who helped with the war effort at home. Yet those experiences seem like ancient history to many young people. This superb volume should help bring home the message of why the American war effort was so important, and the magnitude of the sacrifices that were made on their behalf. Hopefully, these materials will then encourage these young people to ask their grandparents about their World War II experiences, and help create more connections to and understanding of those worthy elders.This book is a brief pictoral history of the war from the American perspective. The book's format is to take about 30 themes and develop them briefly. The tools used are brief essays, moving quotes from participants, photographs, and battle maps. Most subjects are handled in two pages (including photographs), but some go on to become four pages (such as the Holocaust). My only complaint about the book is that some photographs are reproduced in one color that makes the detail hard to see. Black would have been less appealing, but the photographs would have been easier to examine. Those who know Professor Ambrose's work will recognize the quotes. Sergeant Mike Ranney of Easy Company in the 101st tells this story about speaking with his grandson. "'Grandpa, were you a hero in the war?' 'No,' I answered, 'but I served in a company of heroes.'"Quotes like that are worth the price of the book for conveying the World War II experience to this generation of Americans.The book is good for pointing out problems and injustice. You see black Americans training with World War I guns. You see Japanese-Americans being interned in concentration camps. The concentration camp at Belsen is displayed. The devastation at Nagasaki as well as the radiation burn scars on a boy are portrayed. Many of the famous World War II photographs are here, such as the flag-raising on Iwo Jima, V-J Day in Times Square (the sailor and the nurse), soldiers wading ashore on D-Day into the surf on Omaha Beach, and the Navy battleships aflame at Pearl Harbor. Professor Ambrose certainly knows this history better than I do, but I wondered about his description of the Japanese emperor's involvement in the decision to launch the attack on Pearl Harbor. The version here seemed closer to the original story favored by General MacArthur that the emperor was manipulated by the military leaders than what I have been reading other historians say, which is that the emperor was right in the middle of wanting to go to war. Some of my other favorite photographs in the book include Hitler at a Nuremberg party rally (showing the propaganda machine in all of its might), Guadalcanal after a tropical storm (with tents underwater), an Army corpsman tending a wounded soldier, St. Lo after the liberation, an American soldier rescuing a shell-shocked girl in Manila, and Stalin, Truman and Churchill at Potsdam. Lesser known parts of the war are covered here, such as Rosie the Riveter (including a photograph of women learning to weld). After you read this book, I suggest that you also take time to tell your teenagers how you feel about America's involvement in World War II. Many of the participants are naturally reluctant to say very much. Your own sense of this incredible struggle can help fill the gap in understanding as well. If you feel comfortable, you may also want to talk about the cold war. Be glad that D-Day was a success! The Good Fight : How World War II Was Won

This is an important presentation of WWII from the invasion of Europe to the holocaust. The tone is appropriate for young students and the design is impressive for older students. If there is a single title to acquire on the war as a whole for middle grade, this is the book to get.

This is an extraordinary book! I was amazed at how Stephen Ambrose could write the story of World War II for a young audience. My daughter asked me a lot of questions--she was really interested in Rosie the Riveter! And my son wanted me to explain more. The photos and illustrations did a wonderful job adding to Ambrose's words. I have to say that I learned some things that I didn't know, too! Thank you, Mr. Ambrose for taking such a complicated subject and telling it in a way that kids can understand.

I am really not that amazed that my nine-year-old nephew loved this book, after all Stephen Ambrose wrote it, the pictures are great and the topic is timely (what with that new WWII movie out). What I'm surprised with is how much I enjoyed reading it. Most of us know a smattering of WWII; Pearl Harbor, D-Day, Battle of the Bulge, but again and again I found myself saying "Wow, I didn't know that!" Ambrose has a knack for telling a great story through the eyes of individuals, and what story from the previous century could be greater? The more I think about this book, the more I am convinced it is a great way of introducing children to the courage and greatness of our G.I.s, as well as impressing upon them the destructiveness of war.

This book has nice pictures but book makes some major errors. I would not recommend it to any youth for this reason. For example, there is a photo on page 41 with a caption saying that the men in the photo are marines in Tarawa. First off, they are not marines - they are army men (you can tell by the uniform) & secondly, the photo was taken in Makin which is part of the same atol as Tarawa but is technically not Tarawa. Ok, fine... I can normally let something like that slip by. But what is worse is when you turn to the map on page 9, it indicates the Pearl Harbor attack as Dec. 7, 1943. I had to close the book and toss it into the nearest wastebasket after reading this. If editors were sleepy enough to let this slip by, it seriously brings to question the veracity of what is said in other points of the book. I am not talking about them getting the date wrong in some obscure minor battle, but they got the date wrong with PEARL HARBOR - come on now! - Childrens Books - Stephen E Ambrose - History - American History'

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Foam Mat For Children

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I was really excited about this product but it is a total disappointment. I read all the other negative reviews but didn't want to believe them b/c it's just so cute! Well it came today and after about 10 minutes of having it out I knew it had to go back.

*The smell is VERY strong, smells like paint fumes. Granted, I only had it out for a few minutes, maybe after a few days of airing it out it would go away, but I didn't want this smell around my son for any amount of time at all. I've heard this complaint with other foam mats, though, so maybe this is not avoidable. It is a STRONG smell, though.

*In the photos this mat looks so much cuter than all the other available foam mats for kids. But in person the colors just aren't as cute - for the blue/gold at least. Hard to describe, but the colors are a little less bold, not as rich. (Still much better looking compared to the ABC mats, though.)

*The texture - In the photos, this mat looks smooth and soft, sort of shiny, whereas the product photos of other foam mats make them look textured and sort of rough, not smooth at all. And they call themselves textured. This product calls itself smooth but when you get it it's just as textured (or seem to be just as textured) as all the other mats on the market, and doesn't have a "smooth" quality about it the way I expected. It does not have a "shiny" side.

*I thought this mat would be thicker and/or softer than other mats, but it is not. It is about 1/2" thick, which isn't necessarily bad, but to me it's not thick enough or soft enough for my almost 6-month-old to play on without any additional blankets or etc. It is very thin and very firm.

*Too many pieces - This is the complaint most people who had negative reviews wrote about it, and I figured we'd just deal with that, and maybe our son would have fun with it. This isn't a major reason we're going to return it but I did notice right away how easily they come apart. When you take a square out of the package, the circle immediately falls out, just to give you an idea of how not-that-snug they are. But on the floor it does seem to stay in place, but I can't comment too much on that since again, we didn't really use it.

Overall the quality is just not enough. Or, really, the quality paired with the physical appearance of it, is just not enough. I thought the cute blue/gold (brown) modern colors made it worth it for us to spend like double the price on this mat vs. some other ones, but the colors aren't as cute in person (maybe the other color sets are), it's too thin and firm for us, and the fumes were too strong.

Now, if you really like the colors (hopefully you can find them in person at a store to check it out first), then this might be worth it. Just be prepared to air it out, and know that it will be as much of a toy as it is a mat when your child is old enough to get the pieces out, and while your baby is very young be prepared to use some additional padding for his/her comfort. The padding might be fine for an older toddler. Also, though I don't know for sure, I can't imagine it being that much harder to keep clean than any other mat - it looks like all the other ones, similar texture - why would it attract more dust (like others have talked about)?

***Edit: I've had this product for several months now after deciding not to return it after all. We use just the blue/brown pieces and it looks great and we've had no issues. Yes our son likes to take the pieces apart but not that often and it's fun for him when he does. It does not attract dust or dirt and is easy to clean. I take back a lot of what I wrote here b/c I was being too picky. I was expecting the padding to be so thick but I was expecting an unreasonable amount of padding. It is pretty nice cushioning underfoot and when baby falls back or etc. Skip Hop 20 Piece 70"x56" PlaySpot Floor Mat, Blue/Gold

Nice colors, but this mat gets DIRTY and scratched very easily. Not very good quality, either...the pieces don't always fit nice and snug so leaves spaces between them, which collect lots of dust, baby snack crumbs and etc...(Can't believe it was designed for babies/kids!) Very very disappointed...I want to send it back to the product design dept. at Skip Hop. DON'T BUY!!

I am very happy with my play spot. I bought it for the following reasons: 1. I wanted to set aside a safe, clean area for my baby to play and explore where there would be no foot traffic 2. I wanted to protect my baby from hitting the floor and 3. I wanted something that would look nice in our loft apartment (most of the baby stuff out there is garish, ugly and in awful colors). Unlike other reviewers, I don't have any issues keeping it clean. Yes, it gets dusty, but no more than the rest of our wood floors (and we live near Ground Zero where there is a ton of construction/dust all over the place) and in fact, it is cleaner than the rest of the floors because we don't walk over it. In terms of the gaps, I don't have any issues because I'm not trying to protect the floor from the baby; rather, I'm trying to protect the baby from the floor. For this purpose, it works extremely well, especially during the transition period when the baby is still perfecting the art of sitting up. The design and colors are great; they don't cheapen the look of our loft unlike most of the baby things out there.

Since this product meets all of my needs, I give it 5 stars.

The mat we received had foam pieces of varying thickness and density with numerous other defects including holes, pits, fingerprints (moulded into the foam) and so on. The foam pieces do not all fit together well. Pet hair and dirt stick to it almost as if it were a lint roller. The tiles are not textured the same on both sides, so you can't flip one over if it gets damaged--the product sheet says to install them shiny side up.'

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Outdoor Furniture

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I spent a long time shopping online for inexpensive outdoor furniture that's also stylish, so I was pleased to find this 4-piece set with clean lines. It was easy to put together, and it's sturdy enough to meet our needs. The cushions are a little thinner than you might find on the more expensive furniture, but the chairs and love seat are still comfortable. Overall, I think it's a good product for the price. Strathwood Brentwood 4-Piece Outdoor Furniture Set

the strathwood Brentwood set looked great on the web and to be honest the framing is good. The problem is with the padding in the cushions. We received the furniture on a Monday and put it together and sat on one chair for about an hour on Monday. I notied the seat pad had depressed and I thought its new and should pop back up. Well two weeks have passed and it never did. I sat in other seats and within no time the seats are flat.

I have never had patio furniture where the seat padding was so cheap. There are no zippers for the cushions to change out the padding so i am gonna just replace all the pads and mark this one up to a learning experience. I will learn not to purchase from this manufacturer again. I would have been better off buying from WalMart or Target,

We received this in a state of disrepair. Frames were bent, screws were stripped and after spending 10 hours putting it together could only get the love seat and coffee table set up. The two chairs were so broken they could not be put together. I contacted the company who said to contact Amazon. Amazon was helpful but could not replace the chairs as they had none in stock. They ended up refunding me half my money but now we have a love seat and coffee table on our deck and no chairs. Very disappointing experience.

Outside coating/covering "bubbled" up and has peeled off within first few months of ownership. Made it unsafe to use, people actually could get cut severely. Just has gotten worse over time and there is no way to contact seller. Very disappointing for the amount of money I spent.

I received free shipping with an order to my daughter for Christmas. There was no mention of anyone needing to be home at delivery time and she has not been contacted by anyone for delivery scheduling. I received letter from freight company applying charges for over $200 for storage due to them not being able to deliver. Amazon needs to make their delivery guidelines clearer to customers. If they need to be home for delivery it should be stated. I am being charged for something I do not feel I should be liable to pay. I will not use Amazon again for ordering after this experience. It's been a nightmare and we still do not have the merchandise.

The frame is assembled my threading screws in one part to a nut welded to another. on 3 of the 4 pieces, there was at least 1 nut that was welded into place crooked. I was able to assemble all pieces but had difficulty with cross-threading and binding.

All in all, the quality of the furniture was so-so and may not be a good choice for a novice.

I had a more significant problem with delivery. The courier service, Home Direct, received the product in our city 2 days prior to the expected delivery date. A representative for Home Direct or their local affiliate called and told us that they wouldn't come to our area until the following week and that there was nothing they could do. The courier then reported to Amazon that the customer requested rescheduled delivery (presumably to hide the fact that they couldn't/wouldn't deliver as scheduled). I was told multiple times over several days that Homes Direct would call me to reschedule delivery, and multiple times they did not call.

The delivery service was lack-luster at best or fraudulent at worst. The incident was reported to Amazon customer service who said that they would investigate

First of all, let me say that I've only just now finished assembling this furniture. I haven't used them yet.

My first impression of the set is that it's about what I expected. For $500, you're getting an aluminum frame and fairly cheap cushions. You're not getting a lot of style or incredible comfort, but I've looked all over and, for the price, I don't think this set can be beaten. It looks nice, provides a great outdoor space and is more comfortable than sitting on a simple lawn chair. The only reason I've rated this a 4 instead of a 5 is because the finish on the frames is pretty spotty and suspect. I believe it will hold up well, but I wouldn't expect it to last more than 5 years or so out in the elements. I plan on covering mine when not in use to minimize the wear-and-tear.

Please follow the meager assembly instructions that come with it. The screws and the screw-mounts are not the best quality. I consider myself a fairly skilled handyman and it wasn't until the 3rd try that I managed to figure out the best way to assemble this set.

First of all, if at all possible, assemble this inside on a carpet. This will allow you to do it more comfortably and will also keep the pieces from getting scratched.

Attach one side of a chair to the seat as specified, however only tighten the screws two revolutions, no more. Attach the other side in the same manner. Then attach the back to the other 3 pieces. Only AFTER you have gotten every screw started correctly in each hole should you start to tighten the screws down. Take your time and work around the chair, tightening each screw about 5-6 revolutions at a time, NO MORE! If you have an electric screwdriver, ratcheting screwdriver or ratchet set with the proper Allen/star bits, it will help a great deal.

Once you have all the pieces snug against each other, continue moving around the chair and tighten each screw with your ratchet or whatever fits the screw best. Do everything very deliberately and carefully to make sure you don't strip a screw. TAKE YOUR TIME. On one chair I tightened a side before I got all the screws properly mounted. It took me almost 2 hours to correct my mistake! However, on the loveseat, I followed the above procedure and the entire assembly took me about 20 minutes.

SUMMARY: Great set for the price. Take your time and assemble slowly and carefully.'

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Keyless Deadbolt

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For years we have been using a key pad activated deadbolt for front doors in our various homes - no keys to lose or give to various family members - only four digit codes. Up until now, all of the key pad units we have installed, extend and retract the deadbolt using a small battery powered electric motor.

This issue we've encountered is when the batteries become weak, the motor (in some cases) does not have enough power to retract the bolt and we must revert to another entrance to get into our home. Although these unit allow one to use a key to override the electronics, we never seem to have the key "on us" when it's needed. Fortunately we have a keypad on our garage door and that serves as an alternative entrance when this occurs. These deadbolt retraction failures have been occurring more and more often even with fresh batteries. I suspect the motor is or has worn out.

With this in mind, I shopped the market for an electronically activated dead bolt with manual bolt action. In other words, instead of a motor extending and retracting the deadbolt, one would use a lever or knob to perform this function. The keypad (electronic segment of the unit) would serve to activate the manual knob or lever. I found the Schlage BE365VCAM619 Camelot Deadbolt Keypad, Satin Nickel on Amazon at an extremely reasonable price and it has all of the features I wanted - electronic key pad activation, manual extension and retraction of the deadbolt upon activation.

The unit arrived yesterday and after a few problems with the unit being confused as to whether the bolt was retracted or extended (my fault), the unit works perfectly. Note, I already had a deadbolt lockset on the door, so it was a simple process of removing the old, and installing the new.

It's an extremely high quality unit without the cheap plastic casing my prior unit had on the inside casing. It's all metal. Changing or adding key pad codes (combinations) is relatively easy. One must enter the units six digit master code (don't lose this code, keep it in a place that you can go to each time you wish to change the codes - Using a permanent marker, I wrote it on the inside of the lock), and then enter your personal four digit code. We use two codes however the unit can store many codes. You may want to add a temporary code to let a service technician into your home, then delete that code when the work is completed.

One feature I like is the lighted key pad which our old unit did not have. If we forget to turn on the porch light, by simply pressing the "schlage" button at the top of the keypad, the keys light up.

Here's the basic operation.

When you're leaving the house, close the door, press the "schlage" button, wait for the click, then extend the deadbolt. You'll hear a confirmation click confirming that the locking knob/lever has been disengaged from the deadbolt after the deadbolt has been extended.

When you arrive home, simply enter your four digit code, you'll hear a click, then manually retract the deadbolt and enter the home. I you wish to use the keypad light; simply press the "schlage" button to light it up. Obviously this is not needed during daylight hours.

Basically the nine volt battery is operating the keypad, a knob/level engagement solenoid and the keypad back light and should last for hundreds and hundreds cycles.

Bottom Line - I highly recommend this high quality unit. Schlage BE365VCAM716 Camelot Keypad Deadbolt, Aged Bronze

I have had the brass version of this deadbolt for bout a year and I love it. It is th best one that I have come across (and yes - the most expensive - but you get what you pay for). It is eye-catching rather than an eye-sore. Be careful, some of the cheaper competitor's models have a plastic back that is very unappealing for a main door. The unit is smaller than many by requiring only a 9 volt battery because it does not lock/unlock the deadbolt for you. You do it manually.

Pros:

1) Appealing design (front and back - no plastic)

2) Smaller than most (due to use of 9v battery)

3) Keypad lights up when you touch it for nighttime entry

4) Never get locked out. Give the neighbor a temporary code to get in.

Cons:

1) Pricey ut you get what you pay for

I installed one of these for a client and it seems to be a good product as all the reviewers say. What no one has talked about however is the standard Shlage key that can also be used to open the lock. It seems to me that this would allow the possibility of using a "bump key" to open it. One of the benefits of digital locks is their immunity to bumping. If you want the keypad just for convenience, that is fine. Just remember that any lock that can be "bumped" provides zero security.

We were consistently running into problems with the number of house keys we had given out to: contractors, landscapers and house cleaners. At some point there's no way to track who's coming and going into your house and whether or not they left the keys.

This little gadget eliminates the issue. I can now program the lock with one-time or multiple use codes unique to each individual coming to my house. It installs as easy as any other deadbolt and programming new codes takes about 10 seconds. This has quickly become my favorite new gadget.

I purchased the Schlage electronic deadbolt to allow entry into our house in case I didn't have a key with me. It works very well. Only drawback that I see is that it needs to be placed on a solid door without a glass panel as the lock has a lever on the inside that operates the deadbolt. There is no option for key locking from the inside, only the lever. Locks only keep honest people out, so it's better to have a deadbolt that is key lockable from both sides if you have an exterior door with glass panels. No need making it easier for a thief to get in than is necessary.'

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Photography Equipment - camera grip, wrist strap

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This device is an absolute must-have for any photographer--amateur or professional. I've been shooting professionally for over 30 years and I never take it off my camera except for in-studio tripod work. The strap attaches to the right shoulder strap loop on your camera, and has an attachment plate that screws into the tripod mount on the underside of the camera. Even with the wrist strap connected, there is an additional loop provided on the plate so that you can also attach a shoulder strap if desired. Your hand slides between the padded area of the grip and the camera, and you can adjust the tightness to fit your hand size. Your fingers will naturally curl around the grip of your camera and the Opteka grip holds your hand in place. Even with your hand completely relaxed, your camera will fall out of your hand. I use it on my Canon 5D Mark II with the large 24-105 L lens and it's comfortable enough to carry the camera without a shoulder strap all day without tiring. This is not an exaggeration. When I travel I carry my heavy camera for 6-8 hours this way and I barely notice it. I would never use a professional camera without one of these wrist straps. It's very secure and prevents accidentally dropping the camera while at the same time easing the amount of force necessary to hold or steady the camera while shooting.

Opteka also provides a threaded tripod mount to the bottom of the plate so you don't even have to take it off for tripod work, although I use this feature sparingly because it's not all that robust. If I'm shooting with a tripod a lot, I simply unscrew the bottom plate and let the Opteka grip hang at the side of the camera, then re-screw it when I remove the tripod. Easy, fast and secure.

Speaking of security, if I have my camera in my hand with the grip connected, it's impossible for a thief to snatch it away from me. The physics of my hand and the grip won't allow it. When touring a new city or potentially dangerous urban area, it's much more secure than a shoulder strap that can be cut or grabbed off your shoulder.

Unlike Canon's wrist strap, this unit can be used without the battery pack. A friend recently dropped her camera and did severe damage to it as she wasn't using one of these wrist straps. It's a very inexpensive bit of comfort and insurance that you'll come to love.

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June 2011 update: I've been using this same Opteka wrist grip for over 3 years. It's worked beautifully and is as durable and good looking today as it was when I bought it. I am absolutely delighted with it and have nothing but raves for this product from Opteka. Please note that this product is designed for normal-sized digital and film cameras with interchangeable lenses and should work properly with most brands including Canon, Nikon, Olympus, Pentax, Sigma, etc. It may not fit comfortably on some of the more compact or smaller cameras such as Nikon's D40 unless you have tiny hands. It's also not recommended for point and shoot cameras. Use the manufacturer's included wrist strap for these tiny cameras instead. Opteka Professional Wrist Grip Strap for Digital & Film SLR Cameras

As a pro with more than 30 years in the business, I have never used this type of camera strap - I always wiped it away as a "Micey Mouse Thing".

Now, after all these years I finally purchased one and I can't believe the difference...

Okay, much safer than hand carrying - but this is the secondary part - the important difference is the feel, and the sensitivity in the trigger-finger. While normally the fingers merely occupied holding the camera, you have now the weight different distributed and your fingers free for the actual important and sensitive task to push buttons, turn the wheel etc. A must-feel-experience!

I can't believe the difference! I just ordered the second one for another camera....

To go more in detail - my cameras are quite heavy and most of them have a battery grip. This makes the distance between tripod mount and upper strap attachment perfect for this hand strap. On most of my cameras I have about 4+ inches, adequate to have the strap snug around my hand - firm and comfortable at the right length. If I try the strap on a smaller camera with only about 2+ inches height, or without battery grip, the handling appears rather odd.

Therefore, if you have a larger camera, or use a battery grip, the opteka strap does amazing things for you. If your camera does not have a battery grip, you might not absolutely share my exhitement for it.

Either way, it is definitelly worth trying, considering the relative low price.

The quality appears okay and the looks is good. The leather part is actually some type of nylon or artificial leather - let's see how long this is holding up under heavy pro use.

Highly recommendable! Great price!

It takes a lot of hand shaking out of shooting and will definitelly help to get sharper pictures.

All you have to do is adjust it to fit your hand size and bam, it becomes part of your camera. You will never take it off once you put it on. Very comfortable and secure. Holding my slr for hours used to take its toll on me but not anymore.

I'm not an expert w/handstraps, but this one seems to do the trick. There we no instructions on how to install this handstrap (seemed easy enough to me until I actually started to install it). I recommend referencing the additional pictures when installing. They show the correct front/back of the strap (for comfort purposes, the "Opteka" label should face towards the back). When I pulled mine out of the package, it was backwards, so I had to pull the strap out from the comfort pad and reinstall it.

All in all, a solid product well worth the money. Honestly, it even looks better (and more comfortable) than the other handstraps that are 3x as much. I use mine with my Nikon D80, and it works greak (and no additional "vertical" grip required to fit/feel great). - Photography - Wrist Strap - Camera Strap - Camera Grip'

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