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Before I start with the review, I would like to say a few things about myself and my experience with Microsoft Office products. I have been using various components of Microsoft Office for almost a couple of decades, on both Windows and Macintosh computers. Right now, I have a copy of Office 2008 on my Mac Mini , as well as Office 2007 on my Windows 7 (formerly Vista) laptop. I also occasionally use iWorks on my iPad, Google docs, and have had some experience with OpenOffice. I use word processing software on a daily basis, PowerPoint more or less regularly for the lectures that I give, Excel for various laboratory exercises, and Apple Mail or Outlook for part of my e-mailing needs.



I obtained my copy of Office 2011 through Amazon Vine products a day ahead of the official release, and have spent most of my first day playing with it and figuring out all of its new and noteworthy features. It is definitely a more than worthy successor of Office 2008, and a huge improvement across the board in almost every category. However, based on my experience, MS Office for Windows is still the gold standard in the category of business productivity software. This version of Office for Mac was supposed to be the first "real" Office in over a decade, and although it comes tantalizingly close to the equivalent Windows version, it is still far from a full-fledged clone. It will, however, make Macintosh computers respectable members of the professional business environment. The biggest improvement in that regard is the final inclusion of Outlook into the Mac version of the Office. Microsoft has also reinstated Visual Basic, which is



Some General Observation



Installation was very smooth and quick. There was no need to remove the previous version of the Office. The full install took up about 1.3 GB of hard drive space.



Office 2011 feels more powerful, more feature-rich and faster than its predecessor. The increase in speed is definitely noticeable, and if you use Office a lot in your line of work, this in itself will make it well worth the upgrade.



In terms of look and feel, the greatest new addition to all Office components is the introduction of Ribbon. Ribbon is an interface where a set of toolbars is placed on tabs in a tab bar. It is highly customizable, and it is context sensitive - various tasks have different ribbon configuration. Microsoft started using Ribbon in Office 2007 in place of taskbars. However, their ribbon has caused a lot of confusion since it was a radical departure from the usual taskbars. Even though the exclusive use of Ribbon declutters the look of various Office applications, it was not too intuitive to use at first. Office 2011 uses both the Ribbon as well as the taskbars, thus making a better and smoother transition to the new functionality. In this sense Office 2011 seems a hybrid of Office 2007 for Windows and Office 2008 for Mac.





One of the major behind-the-scenes improvements of Office 2011 is the return of Visual Basic for Applications (VBA), which was missing from previous versions of Office for Mac. This will facilitate creation of event-driven templates for all of the components of Office 2011. However, the greatest impact of the reintroduction of VBA will undoubtedly be felt in Excel, especially in creation of more sophisticated spreadsheets.



In recent months Microsoft has come up with an online version of Office that is sophisticated enough for most of one's everyday needs, and is positioned to compete directly with Google Docs. Office 2011 is designed to take a full advantage of this new online environment, including online and real-time collaboration with remote colleagues, as well as ample (25 GB as of this writing) online storage in form of SkyDrive. It is possible to directly save and open SkyDrive files from any Office application, as well as drag-and-drop them using Microsoft Document Connection which comes as standard with this version of Office. Personally, I would have liked if it were possible to access SkyDrive through Finder, but overall I am fairly satisfied with its functionality.



Word



One of the great new features is the publishing layouts. They turn Word into a serious desktop publishing tool, as well as a decent website editor. It will not replace Dreamweaver any time soon, but it will be more than effective for small-scale websites.



Word comes with many new themes and styles, which make publication of any sort of new document a breeze. Obtaining new themes and styles from the net has been streamlined, and can be done directly in Word itself.



Documents can now be viewed in a full screen view, which hides all the desktop background as well as both the taskbar and the Ribbon. The latter can still be accessed by moving the cursor to the top of the screen. Full screen is useful when you just want to concentrate on the document itself, whether you are reading it or writing a new one.



My biggest disappointment with this version of Word for Mac was the failure to include the blogging support. Ever since I discovered blogging support in Word 2007 this has been my favorite way of writing and publishing my blog posts. It brought together the full force of a powerful word processor with the simplicity of publishing with a press of a button. I was hoping that this feature will be incorporated into Office 2011, in which case I could start to completely rely on my Mac for all of my authoring needs. Unfortunately, this has not been the case. I guess it would be possible to use website templates to create my blog posts and then upload all the files and the generated html into my site, but this is a rather cumbersome hack to say the least. Microsoft may release a blogging add-on in the near future, but right now I am not counting on it.



Excel



The biggest and most noticeable changes in Excel that will affect majority of users are in terms of new visual aids and presentation styles. Now you can pepper even your datasheets with visual icons, graphics and other tools that help present the information in a much more intuitively accessible ways. Excel 2011 also uses Sparklines, a tool that highlights trends in your data. As mentioned earlier, you are now able to use VBA for more advanced data analysis and table formatting features. VBA is cross-platform compatible and your work should look and feel the same whether you are using it or viewing it on a Mac or a PC.



PowerPoint



Aside from the new look and feel that it shares with other Office 2011 apps, the new PowerPoint seems to have undergone the least amount of change. There are many new templates and visual tools, but some of these (such as video recording) are very limited in their usability. PowerPoint now allows you to directly publish your presentations online, even without Windows Live account. You can share the link to the online presentations with others, and they can view them directly in their browsers. However, it doesn't seem that all browsers are supported, and some of the more media-intense PowerPoint presentations may not play accurately.



Outlook



This is by far the snazziest and most user-friendly version of the Outlook that I have ever used. This is also probably the only Office component which truly feels native in OS X, which may be the reason why it feels so user-friendly. As mentioned earlier, Microsoft did not include Outlook as a part of the Office suite since 1998, and relied instead on a much weaker Entourage for its desktop mail client. This version of Outlook works well with both regular email accounts (such as Gmail, Hotmail, etc.) although I did have some trouble figuring out the correct server/account/password syntax. The same holds for the exchange server connections: most of the trouble usually stems from the obscure documentation for the particular exchange server that you are attempting to connect with. Once you are up and running, though, it is as smooth of a mail client as they come. The bad news is that this version of Outlook is only compatible with Exchange Server 2007 or the later editions. If your company still uses Exchange Server 2003 (or an earlier version) you will not be able to use Outlook with it.



Other Apps



Some other apps that are of interest are the already mentioned Microsoft Document Connection, as well as Microsoft Messenger and Remote Desktop Connection. Microsoft Document Connection is very useful for storing various files onto SkyDrive, including non-Office files such as pdf documents. However, even though SkyDrive comes pre-configured with folders titled "Music" and "Pictures" I was unable to upload jpeg or mp3 files. This is rather odd, but hopefully it will change in the future.



I don't really get to use Microsoft Messenger all that much, but from what I can tell this is more or less the standard version of the app, with a few small tweaks here and there.



Remote Desktop Connection is a neat way of connecting with Windows machines on your local network. However, it does require that you are familiar with what sorts of computers you have connected locally, as well as that all of them are set up correctly for network-sharing.



Conclusion



This is definitely a major upgrade of the Office for Mac, and if you are a power user getting the latest version of this product is a no-brainer. This is especially true if you collaborate on documents and projects with others a lot, or need Outlook for your e-mailing needs. However, if you are more of a casual user you will perceive Office 2011 more as an evolution than a true leap forward. You will probably do just fine for now by sticking to Office 2008. Office Mac Home and Business 2011 - (1 User/2 Installs) [Download]'

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Movie Collection - movie collection

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I purchased this as a gift for my son, who is a huge fan of cinema, to put it mildly. Having purchased 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die, also by Steven Jay Schneider, it was not much of a jump to order both 501 Movie Stars: A Comprehensive Guide to the Greatest Screen Actors and 501 Movie Directors: A Comprehensive Guide to the Greatest Filmmakers, upon their recent release as soon as they became available.



501 Movie Stars is a thick book and interesting to be sure; filled with wonderful info and photos.



I would doubtless give it 5 stars if it were not for some glaring omissions. It goes without saying that any reader would come up with a list of actors that they felt should be included and this reviewer understands you cannot include every actor of merit.



However, glance at this partial list of actors omitted from this huge hardcover book and tell me they should not have been included (many of whom have been nominated several times and have won Academy Awards):



Sean Astin

Ed Harris (4 nominations)

Phillip Seymour Hoffman (1 nomination, 1 win)

Diane Lane (1 nomination)

Jude Law (2 nominations)

Ian McCellan (2 nominations)

Viggo Mortenson

Billy Bob Thornton (1 nomination, 1 win)



Most glaring to us is the omission of Joe Pesci, who was nominated twice and won an Oscar for Goodfellas and Robert Duvall, who was nominated 6 times, including for his work in The Godfather and one win for Tender Mercies.



Again, this is but a partial list. Each day my son thinks of additional notable actors he is shocked to discover have been omitted. 501 Movie Stars: A Comprehensive Guide to the Greatest Screen Actors

If you watch movies for a hobby, you may get easily disappointed by the superficial selections of both actors and the movies they played in. Just as an example, I was surprised that we have a page dedicated to Divine (I did not even know of this actor), yet David Carradine, the "Kill Bill", "North and South" and "Kung-Fu" guy is missing.

The book is titled "...Guide to the Greatest Screen Actors" and therefore commits to a lot. Unfortunately little is offered. The movie titles listed under each actor is very selective and includes low quality ones instead of better ones - at least with AMG you can select their best work. You will be much better off getting one of Roger Ebert's books or the Video Hound. They may not have all the fancy photographs of this book, yet if you're looking for substance, you'll get a lot more for your buck.

I rated this star review with only three stars for two very good reasons. The first being I think that many stars of whom belonged in this book, weren't. And the second being that there were far to many foreign stars that are totally unknown to most americans. But, the reviews were excellent, considering the fact that most had to be short. The picture choices were very good, and the content of this work generally first rate. I am glad that I purchased this item and will scan through it for years to come. - Movie Collection'

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Backpacking - ben sherman, messenger bags

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Overall, this is a nice looking bag with nice sized compartments and fits a larger laptop nicely. However, I am a heavy commuter and it didn't take long before the inner lining to start fraying and separating from the external material, this makes it look a lot cheaper than it is and basically stopped me from using it. To agree with the other, the strap is way too long and requires adjustments that leave the shoulder pad somewhere around my lower chest. I don't necessarily mind this as much if I didn't have to readjust the strap so often; it loosens fully with every trip I take. Ben Sherman Accessories Canvas Messenger Bag,Black,one size

This is a well constructed, good looking bag. I've received many compliments on it. The only issue I had with it is that the front two pockets (under the front flap) don't close in any way, so I had to add my own snap buttons to make sure that nothing could fall out whenever I put the bag down on its back. Other than that, it's a great bag that looks good.

this is exactly what i wanted in a laptop bag. i wanted something very minimal. i don't need a lot of storage, just one pocket for the power adaptor and mouse, and a couple pockets for jump drives and misc items. i don't travel with my laptop, so don't need a super protective and padded bag. i love the color and my coworkers agree that it's pretty stylish and casual looking. the only drawback is that it doesn't have a handle at the top so it's just slightly more cumbersome when you're picking it up or putting it down.

I received this bag as a gift for Christmas and as of June 1st the inside lining has ripped along the bottom, one of the metal clips to keep the bag shut is ripping off, and the front of the bag has a stitch that has come out creating a whole in the front. Like others have said the adjustment strap constantly slips so i have to tighten it every two or three days. I'm a fairly tall so the length of the strap was of no concern to me. I have used the bag maybe 2 or 3 times a week carrying nothing heavier than an ipad and kindle.



It's a nice looking bag, but priced way too high. I bought a cheap messenger bag for 30 bucks tops on the fly almost 9 years ago at a wholesale store(and used 4 years of college) that is in better condition than this bag is in after 5 months. Avoid.

I read a review before I bought this product that stated how the strap fastener continuously slips so I was already expecting that; however, the cloth part of the shoulder pad that goes over the top of the strap has already ripped from the stitching and one of the magnetic snaps has almost completely ripped free from the fabric. I like the look of the bag but the shoddy craftsmanship was an incredible disappointment. What a waste of money.

I purchased this bag for my husband sometime in the first couple of weeks of February. The buttons that close the bag in the front have already come off. After paying $45 for this bag you would expect it to last more than 3 months!

I advice you not to buy this item for the following reasons



1. It looks cheap. The picture does not do justify the item you will receive.

2. The strap becomes loose TOO EASILY and the "anchor" of the strap to the bag moves around too much.



These are just some of the intrinsic flaws to the design and construction of this bag.

I was on a hunt for a messenger bag. Something for school use and fashionable. Since I'm a college student I care about appearance and price. Found this bag and it was perfect. It is very comfortable, beautiful and it organizes everything so well. I recommend this item to anyone and everyone looking for a messenger bag. - Ben Sherman - Messenger Bags'

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Macintosh - macintosh, buggy

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First of all, I am a big fan of Apple and the iWork '09 suite of products. Furthermore, I anticipate very much the update to the iWork package, which as you might know, will be available only as a download.



Whenever possible, I use Apple products. Now consider this: I am a big fan of Office 2011 for Mac.



I do so with some tugs on my conscience, but I want to tell you that if you are using Office for PC elsewhere in your life, this suite will simplify your life a great deal while you stick to using your Mac.



My organization uses Office 2007 for PC/Windows and I have had not a single compatibility or formatting issue using documents created and/or saved between the two platforms. I didn't always have this when using iWork '09.



Now, when iWork '11 comes out, maybe it'll be a very different story. I might just buy that program then.



In the meantime, I'm enjoying the templates, ribbons and familiar features of Office 2011 and while I have this job using PCs at work, it's even sweeter.



What could be better? I'm using my Mac and easily tranferring files between home and work. Office Mac Home and Student 2011 - Family Pack (1 User/3 Installs) [Download]

Love the convenience of amazon's new software digital download store. Can download again on other computers or if my drive ever crashes (amazon stores the software license so you can always download again). Also price is a little cheaper than buying the boxed version.

Just upgraded to Mac OS X Lion, and this software DOES work flawlessly with the new OS. I had read that others have had problems, but we have intel iMacs and Mac Minis in our offices and it works great on all of them.



We were using the windows version of office 2010 with parallells on our Macs, but the dedicated Mac version of Office is much more user friendly and elegant.

Yes, the download and install from Amazon was seamless. I only use Word, so take that into consideration when reading this review. The application is a bit snappier than the previous version, but the new Find/Replace functionality in Word is an abomination. There's no telling how it's going to work from one use to the next. Overall, this is bloated software that continues to get more and more bloated. Millions of preferences and features aren't worth much if they're buried in unintuitive menus and "ribbons", and they're worth even less if they don't work. My advice: if you don't absolutely have to use this, then don't. Not recommended.

I was very nervous to buy the online download versus the actual disc but everything worked out great. Used all 3 licenses and had no problems with the install. It was very easy to do and worked great.

If you need Word for whatever reason, then this is currently the best version available for the Mac, but I'd only recommend buying it if you absolutely needed it for compatibility with the Windows world, or you have a need to do business-class spreadsheeting. If you don't fall into either of these camps, save your money and buy iWork instead. Your sanity will thank you.

I was excited to find a 2011 version of Office Mac that was downloadable. That excitement turned to frustration and more costly and time consuming than it should have been. First off in got stuck 1/2 way through the download process. After several attempts I called Amazon and went through a lengthy conversation with the end result being told that the settings on my Macbook Air were not working properly and I need to take my Macbook into Apple. After waiting a few days for an appointment to have my computer checked out i was told that my computer was fine. I went to install it again and the same process got stuck. Amazon then told me to call Microsoft. Microsoft in not so complimentary terms said that the place I purchased it from did not have very well trained techs. Hmmmmmm...........I finally got it installed and now it works at both my home and Macbook computers. I was also told that it is much less hassle to wait the few extra days and to order the actual CD. To make matters even more frustrating there are new changes and updates that I had to figure out in order to do my school work. It is so new that I can't find a manuel to the program in any libraries to check out and I haven't even bothered to look and see if one is available to buy new as I am close to broke from my educational expenses.

I had been working with office 2004 and it just couldn't keep up anymore. The apple updates made pieces of the software not even work. I had to upgrade to office 2011. I'm so glad that I did. it really gave so much more functionality and intigration with the windows counterpart. I really like how it's working so far.

Been using this software for about a month now and it works as described. The main programs used are MS Word and MS Excel. I have used powerpoint once to create a full size photo montage with no problems. Both Excel and Word have new layouts compared to Office 2k7 and 2k3 so it took some time to figure out where everything is located. Its like walking into someone else s kitchen looking for the steak knife. You know its there in the kitchen but which drawer? Amazon delivers with its download feature as I had to return my imac to the apple store for the HD recall and was able to reinstall this purchase again. Also, I have a MacBook Pro which i was able to install the night this software was purchased. Very convenient.

I upgraded from the earlier version based on all the glowing articles that appear when a new version of Office is released. My old copy of Word had some undesirable "features" and the magazine articles seemed to indicate that with this version of Office, Microsoft had finally released a version of Word that worked properly.



Boy, do I regret upgrading.



First of all, they screwed up Find and Replace, apparently by attempting to copy the fantastic Search pane in Apple's Pages word processor.



If Word's search results pane doesn't say "Matches: Searching..." and hang forever, when a list of hits actually appears, you can click on one to go to it and edit it. But when you do, the search results become invalid and you have to run the whole search again. At least, that's the behavior I remember, because after a recent update, no hits ever appear in the search pane for me anymore.



Unfortunately, Replace uses the broken Search pane, so I cannot tell you what its result would normally be: Because searching never displays any hits, the replacements don't happen for me.



To get a find-and-replace feature that actually works, you have to do a lot of clicking with the mouse to use Edit > Find > Advanced Find and Replace. That's where they hid *most* of the old functionality.



I say *most* because the old way to avoid all the clicking to do the same Find over and over again was to use the little widgets on the scrollbar to pop to the PREVIOUS and NEXT hits. Those have been entirely divorced from the working Advanced Find and Replace in this version. Now both the PREVIOUS and NEXT widgets do exactly the same thing: They seek the next occurrence of whatever word you last searched for using the new, broken search features. There is no way I have found to actually find a previous occurrence.



Find and Replace is a feature done successfully in word processors for something like three decades now, and I guarantee you have never seen such a faulty, screwed up, useless implementation of it as in this new version of Word.



Any previous version you have is sure to be superior to this one.



Why do I even use this disaster of a product? I need Word mostly for the Track Changes feature. As ever, it is loaded with bugs they never seem to fix.



I can highlight text in a comment, but pressing DELETE or attempting to type over it doesn't work. When editing comments, I have to delete character-by-character.



If there are tracked deletions in a document, you will sometimes find your insertion point "stuck" when you attempt to delete all the extra spaces Word loves to leave behind. Apparently, it has trouble deleting to the left when it runs into already deleted text.



And, seriously, Word loves to either leave behind or insert extra spaces when you delete text with Track Changes turned on. And, of course, you can't simply use Find and Replace to reduce all doubled-up spaces to one space, because the existence of the tracked, deleted text interferes with Find's ability to "see" the doubled spaces. I'm having to do a second pass through something I'm editing today, looking at every line, to spot extra spaces.



I have experienced frequent crashes when spell-checking with the grammar checker turned on. - Buggy - Os X - Macintosh - Microsoft Office'

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Yoga Mats Strap - yoga mats strap, yoga

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This carrying harness/strap makes carrying my oversized yoga mat much more comfortable. My mat is 1/4 inch thick, so I have to roll it very tight in order to be able to fasten the clasps, so you can figure that a thinner mat will go in quite easily. YogaAccessories (TM) Yoga Mat Harness Strap

When I first saw my girlfriend with her yoga mat so carefully strapped over her shoulder, I had to have mine. The yoga bags never worked for me. It takes a long time to put my mat in one, at least the one I had, and then after class I never want to put it back in after all the perspiration. The strap is great and it even fits my larger and bulky Manduka mat, it is reliable, and made of great material. I also have used it to do neck stretches and other stretching exercises so it already has been serving on multiple layers. Love it!

I bought the yoga mat strap and found that the velcro isn't long enough to accomodate a tightly rolled mat. It slips right off the end and the strap is too long to carry so I end up holding the mat anyway. I stopped using it!

This does exactly what it is designed to do, no more, no less. The fastener straps are adjustable so they accommodate a wide assortment of yoga mat thicknesses. The carry strap, while not adjustable, is long enough to carry on the shoulder or to sling over your head to carry the mat on your back (Ninja style, as I prefer to call it). I did pinch myself rather painfully on one of the fasteners once (blood blister!) but I was probably not in the moment.

I ordered this strap in conjunction with YogaAccessories' 1/4" Extra Thick Deluxe Yoga Mat. The strap holds that mat just fine and it is the right length.



Sometimes it's hard to get the shoulder strap around because it is quite short and not adjustable. - Yoga Accessories - Yoga - Yoga Accessory - Yoga Mats Strap'

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Wheel Sports Equipment - seat bag, bicycle accessories

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As good as you'll find... It holds a deceptively large amount of small items. I have a topeak alien II, a cell phone, car key, tube patch, and small pump in mine. It is not pretty on the bike, but functional and secure. The best feature though is it's water resistance. I dumped my bike in a stream (rider error) and there was several minutes during which it was fully submerged. All of my items remained perfectly dry. It was worth every penny and then some. Avenir Bigmouth Velcro Seat Bag (Large- 73/106 Cubic Inches)

Made primarily of Denier Cordura, a heavy duty nylon, the Avenir Bigmouth is a fairly well built underseat bag, with over 100 cubic inches of capacity. For protection and easy cleaning, the bottom and lower half of the sides of the bag, are coated with a layer of plastic sheeting, which repels water, and helps to keep the contents from getting wet. Applying a little silicone spray, helps to loosen up the zippers.



The bag has an adjustable strap that is used to secure it to the underside of the seat. The strap has lots of slack. The construction of bike seats varies, as some have springs below the seat, but there should be a way to make this system work. The rails and springs under the seat, will affect the angle that the bag hangs at, and this in turn affects how the bag is secured to the seat post.



From the product description and photo, at one time this bag utilized a nylon strap and Velcro to secure the bag to the seat post. This unfortunately is no longer the case. There is now a curved plastic fitting that is supposed to clamp around the post, a rubber strap is then supposed to wrap around the post, and hook back onto the fitting. This design is a freaking disaster! In order for this system to work, the fitting must have good solid contact with the seat post, and unfortunately, this can be achieved only at a limited range of angles. If you are out of this range, the rubber strap will be stretched beyond its limits and will be too short to reach. Pulling excessively on the rubber strap, can pull it out from the fitting. If you have problems with attaching using the rubber strap, try securing the fitting to the seat post using tie wraps. Even if the rubber strap does work, it is hard to imagine that this system would hold up well long term, with a fully loaded bag, and under heavy riding conditions.



Depending on the bike, finding space under the seat could be an issue, and the bag may obstruct your rear reflector. As the bag may need to be jockeyed around to fit, making the ridiculously designed seat post clip work, is even more problematic. If there was some kind of hinge, the fitting might be more usable, but as designed it lacks the flexibility to be reliably installed on every bicycle. There are no dividers inside the compartment, just a small netted pocket on the back side of the flip down back cover. The compartment of the Bigmouth is expands by unzipping the zipper running along the bottom edge of the bag.



This is well made bag, that is very reasonably priced compared to the competition, but it earns a one star deduct for the poorly designed seat post clip. Avenir is a very experienced company that should know better than to replace a proven design, with one that is an abject failure.

I'm so glad I took the time to read previous reviews about this bag. Unlike competitive bags that fall off due to ineffective velcro straps this bag is secure and well made. The straps go throught the seat rails and buckle underneath. It is the perfect size and seems extremely well made. A great value!

I love it! It looks great, well built, just the right size, easy installation.



I was thinking about getting the small one but this one is perfect, I would not recommend getting anything smaller than this.



Buy it!

We bought this for a trip where we'd be out riding around near a lake (away from the rest of our gear).

We needed a way to tote anything we could think of that we might need for our bikes, so a flat tire or something wouldn't put an end to our riding and put a start to our walking.

We considered a backpack, but that seemed too large and bulky for the amount of stuff we needed to take. Besides, I don't want to personally carry anything that I can mount to a vehicle.



We had looked at a few other bike specific bags, but chose this one because of its shape, quality of materials, and style of mounting

(we looked at them all in person).

It just straps around the under-seat bars and to the seatpost.

The rear strap is adjustable and can be tightened in order to compress the bag a little so your stuff won't rattle.



This bag is plenty large enough for all the things we needed, but it's not large enough to get in the way.

What we put in the bag:

A spare 26" mountain bike tube (still in the box), 5 full size allen wrenches, 3 tire spoons, a patch kit, a flat two-sided open-ended wrench, and an asthma inhaler.



We had some room to spare, and that's without the expansion opened up.



So far we've suffered no problems or failures with this bag.

It has been a very sound purchase, and we would recommend it to anyone that needs a bike bag.

I sm very pleased with my purchase of this bag. It is all I was looking for at an affordable price. Before ordering, I was torn between this size of the Avenir Bigmouth (Large) or the Medium. I was afraid this one would be too big. But, after seeing a customer submitted photo of the bag actually on a bicycle, it didn't appear to be as big as I feared. Turns out, I was right. It is just the size I wanted for my Trek 7300 hybrid - I did have to relocate a round reflector that was mounted on the seat post, as the bag covered it. I moved it farther down, on the vertical frame member itself that the seat post slides into, where it is just as visible as before.



This bag is very well made with high quality, durable materials. Some of the features it has that I really like include:



- The expandability of the bag. Normally, when riding, I leave it unexpanded & there is enough room for a spare inner tube, an air pressure gauge, a small vinyl zippered pouch with Allen wrenches & tire tools, cell phone & my car keys - even my wallet can be wedged in as well, but I usually just carry my ID in case of emergency. But, it is nice to know that if and when I need the extra space, I can expand the bag 45% with a quick zip. And, when unexpanded, there is not any bunched up material visible inside, getting in the way of putting in & removing items.



- Inside the bag are two handy features - a small clip on a strap for car keys, and a mesh pocket on the inside of the bag's "door" if you will. The latter is a great place for holding ID, emergency contact info, etc., as they are very visible when you open the bag. Also, when I am carrying my bike on my Jeep's bike rack, I remove my cycling computer from its handlebar mount & slip it in this pouch so I can rest assured it will not be lost.



- As mentioned before, the bag is very well made. And, it is attractive as well!



- The added support of the main strap that, after being routed through the underside of the saddle, it then surrounds the bag itself, clipping shut with sliding length adjustment. It serves to secure the bag better, helping eliminate swaying of the bag when riding.



Bottom line, this bag does all I want & need, is attractive while doing so, & I am unaware it is there while riding. At an affordable price, what more could one ask for? Highly recommended. - Bicycle Bag - Bicycle Accessories - Avenir - Seat Bag'

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Interweave Knits - socks, sock knitting

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These 25 sock patterns are taken from various issues of Interweave Press magazines such as "Interweave Knits" and "Piecework" and "Spin-Off." These magazines are foremost in the world of fibers and once in a while, one of the magazines issues features a sock project. I predict that, just like the earlier book of Spin-Off contest socks which became a best-seller in the knitting world, this book of favorite socks will take the knitting world by storm. It is definitely time for a new, pretty sock book!



There are literally socks here for everyone; classic patterns in Austrian style running stitches (rather like aran patterns), a shadow knit sock with X's and O's (which is what I plan to knit first.) There are lace socks, patterned Latvian socks, padded footlets, longer cabled stockings and an anatomically comfortable fitted sock by knitting guru Priscilla Gibson-Roberts. The socks I loved especially? A wave-stitch sock in sport weight wool, the Latvian sock with the Baltic motifs for Laima and Mara, and the undulating Rib sock, a new take on a simple pattern of broken rib in shadowy varigated yarn.



The book is spiral bound with a cover done in perfect binding (meaning, the book lies flat when you are working a pattern, but the spiral is covered by glazed paper covered boards.) Normally, a reviewer ignores the cover, right? But here, the binding is just perfect for a take-along book.



I would say most of the socks in this book require more than a beginner's skill. There is a nice glossary in the back and a set of drawings of basic stitches and techniques, but I believe if you have never knitted a sock before on double pointed needles, you will need to get a lesson or video in that technique before you essay to start on any of these pretty patterns. But they are well within the grasp of anyone who has knit at least one or two socks before.



I like this book a lot--I plan to make most of the socks in the book and it looks like for me, it will definitely be living up to its title of "Favorite Socks." Recommended, with the above reservation for beginners. Favorite Socks

This book has some good patterns, with a good variation of men and women's socks. There aren't explicitly any kids socks, but there is one pattern that shows you how to convert it into any size you need. Make sure to check the publishers errata page, as there are a few errors in the book. I had to start a sock over, and I was almost finished!

Socks have long been a popular item for knitters to make. Portable and requiring relatively small amounts of yarn, they can be as complicated or as simple as a knitter desires. For many knitters, they are the perfect way to try out a new technique while make something inherently useful, and ensure that loved ones' feet are kept warm.



From the second issue of Interweave Knits, sock patterns have been an integral part of the popular magazine. Ann Budd and Anne Merrow have combed the archives and selected seventeen of their favorite designs for inclusion in Favorite Socks: 25 Timeless Designs from Interweave. From Meida's Socks, Estonian-inspired lace socks by Nancy Bush (1997), to the Waving Lace Socks, a popular design by Evelyn A. Clark featured on the book's cover (2004), there is sure to be an old favorite for everyone.



Patterns have also been pulled from sister publications PieceWork and Spin*Off, offering patterns that many knitters have never seen before. To round out the collection, six new patterns have been included.



Many of the original issues of Interweave Knits have gone out of print and Favorite Socks ensures these patterns are accessible for a new generation of knitters. Besides providing many classic patterns, this collection also includes a helpful tutorial on knitting socks on two circular needles, instructions for making resoleable socks and both toe-up and top-down instructions.



Published with a hardcover and a spiral binding so the book opens flat, Favorite Socks is sure to win pride-of-place in many knitters' libraries. Patterns range from the basic Retro Rib Socks suitable for beginning knitters (Winter 2004 issue) to the elegant Anniversary Socks in a cashmere/silk blend (PieceWork, Sept/Oct 2003) or the Eesti Trail Hiking Socks in colorwork (Winter 1997) for knitters who seek more of a challenge.



A Knitalong (KAL) has already poppedup at www.favoritesockskal.blogspot.com for Favorite Socks and is open to anyone who wishes to join. As the organizers state: "This is the place to share your photos, suggestions for yarn substitutions or variations, or any other creative ideas related to the patterns from the book."



Armchair Interviews says: Warm feet will sound good in winter.

The twenty five sock patterns are all winners. The photos are very good as are the diagrams, and charts. I love the spiral binding...I wish more books were done this way. The "Two-Yarn Resoleable Socks" and the "Padded Footlets" were new consepts which will broaden my repertoire of sock knitting. I was, however, disappointed that some of the patterns only had directions for one size.

I absolutely loved this book. I have always been a fan of the Interweave Knits publications, but this book is amazing. there are beautiful patterns that you would actually wear and the great thing is that you don't have to knit them all on #000 size needles. I loved at least 1 thing about all of the patterns in this book and I highly recommend it to anyone who likes to knit socks.

I've only been knitting socks since the fall of 2007 and this is my second book dedicated to knitting socks. I love, LOVE, L-O-V-E almost all of the patterns (I'm not quite practiced enough to tackle the fair isle patterns). I'm now on my third pair of socks from this one book and have plans for at least 3 more pairs. The directions are very easy to follow; I've never been much of a "chart reader" but even the charts aren't that challenging. I definitely would recommend this book to others. - Knitting Books - Sock Knitting - Knitting Socks - Socks'

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