Living Abroad - guidebooks, living abroad

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Up to date and really helpful info that will make your transition to New Zealand easier. It's not a book that you have to read cover to cover. Just read the sections that pertain to you and skip what you don't need. Very detailed information about each major city along with neighborhood info. Good for those who are relocating without visiting the country first (I would not advise that). Overall a very useful book to read before and refer back to again and again. Moon Living Abroad in New Zealand

I can honestly say that it does answer all of the questions I had. It answers those questions that I was poking around on the internet trying to find. I really enjoy the in-depth regional information and people/cultural info. As well as the property/real estate information (I'm in real estate, appraiser/valuer). Very much enjoyed the North American perspective, too. Living Abroad in New Zealand is a must read for those interested in living, or even just traveling to the country.

The author left her life in Canada to make her home in New Zealand, and others can follow in her footsteps with this fine key on how to rent or buy a home, move there, and handle employment, education and health care. From the best places to live to navigating the culture and understanding New Zealand laws, Living Abroad in New Zealand is a winning title.

I ordered this book after doing research online for several days. I learned a lot online but the information was scattered around various websites and difficult to manage. This book is perfect and it relieved a lot of my planning stress.



Best of all, I passed the book onto my husband and after a little bit of nagging, he started flipping through the book and found things interesting to him. Then, he started "teaching" me about moving to New Zealand and we can now have discussions about the best way to do certain things. Finally! Thank you!



This book is a great resource for anyone planning to move to New Zealand (or visit long-term). It's clear that the author did a lot of research and every aspect of the move is explained in detail, complete with advice and tips. I would suggest buying this book, then searching online for more specific information if you need it. Although I did lots of online research before I got the book, I was still able to learn new things.



I'll be reading it again when I'm on the plane!

The book, "Living Abroad in New Zealand" is especially important to me, and I gladly give it a raving review, not just because some of my pictures are featured in the book, or because I lived for two wonderful years in New Zealand, but because Michelle gives so much detail and information about living, working, and enjoying the country, that I really wished I would have read this book three years ago before I made the trip. It was quite fun for me to be reading a travel and information guide after already having lived and worked in New Zealand for two years.



I enjoyed reading a number of interesting facts about the country that I did not already know, and the technical process of obtaining visas, permits, and residency is very important for people planning to make the move to such a beautiful country. This book is packed with relevant information and gives background on subjects that most travel guides do not cover, making it the ideal companion piece to any New Zealand travle guide.

I enjoyed "living Abroad In New Zealand" very informative as accurate, having family and friends

that live in New Zealand I wanted to prepare my self for whats to come.



Thank you I look forward to my adventure and reading more books by Michelle Waitzman! - Living Abroad - Residency - Travel - Guidebooks'

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Yoga Mats - yoga, manduka mat

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I've been practicing yoga (ashtanga) for a year and a half with one of these mats. This is what I think of them:

PROS:

-Durability: It just doesn't wear out. If you are worried about the environment, this one is great because it will be one for a lifetime. And Manduka claims that is made out of materials that doesn't harm the planet.

-Size: Its larger than what I need (I'm 5ft 3 in)--but that doesn't bother me or changes my practice in any way.

-Thickness: Is enough that my knees never feel uncomfortable (this used to be a problem with other mats I have tried). I do all the poses on it and never feel that it needs more cushion.

-Stability: Once you put it on the floor, it will never roll, stick to your feet/hands or change its shape in any form even if you're jumping. When new it is slippery, but just wash it with soap. Washing it will also help to eliminate the "rubbery" odor it has. If the smell doesn't completely disappear--believe me, it will eventually fade away (this was a complaint I read when I bought my Mat).



CONS:

-It's heavy. But after using it, you'll find that this is a small price to pay for all of the above. Though heavy, I still walk to my classes with it (30 min in total). The Manduka bag for this mat is good to carry it around. It's large enough--so even if your mat is not tightly rolled, it will fit inside. And it has an additional large pocket.

-Price: Its well above the average for a mat. But if it's the only mat you'll ever have, its a great investment. Manduka Black Mat Pro Yoga Package

This mat is the best I've used by far. Inexpensive PVC mats were breaking down in less than six months when regularly used for asanas where the feet, or feet and hands, are pushing in opposite directions. I truly believe this mat will out last me. I did wash it down with some household cleaners as recommended before use and it seemed to really help me stick poses. I have not used it in hot, humid conditions. I cleaned it last week with a commercial mat cleaner and while my mat is now clean and fresh smelling it became a bit less tacky. I am thinking a semi-regular wipe down with a damp towel may be a better choice. Namaste. - Manduka - Manduka Yoga Mat - Manduka Mat - Yoga'

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Cassette Digital Tape Convert - cassette digital tape convert, tape2pc

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surprisingly works straight out of the box. the dvd-like case comes with a 3.5mm to 6.35mm adapter, a 3.5mm stereo minijack cable, a stereo phono to 3.5mm minijack, and a software disc. So 3 of the 4 included items you could probably buy on your own. the instruction booklet is minimal, but it's easy enough to understand what to do. the software disc loads in a matter of minutes.



the only thing you would need to provide is a tape/record player that has a headphone socket or audio out/inputs to use with the included cords, and a pc with a microphone socket. oh, and the cassettes and records you want to record of course. you hook these items up and you're ready to go. it even has a usb cable option, but i haven't tried that. i dont have a record player so i cant say how well that works either.



i bought this mainly to convert certain songs on my old tapes that i haven't been able to find on mp3 yet and for the most part it works. mp3 quality depends on devices used, quality of tape sound, and volume level you set it at(too high or low and it will tell you on-screen). actual recordings are silent, but the on-screen instructions say there is a way to hear the sound while you're recording but i haven't figured that out yet. otherwise it's just trial and error regarding the volume you set with the visual equalizer on hand(make sure it's moving but not too much or crazy-like). the software gives you numerous options like noise reduction, separating tracks, naming them, pausing at certain times during recordings, setting recording lengths, etc.



honestly though, i haven't used some of those options let alone perfected them for great recordings...yet. im pleased it works out of the box, but you will have to put some time & effort to make your mp3s sound great. at least the options are there and experimenting can be fun. btw, it allows you to make your mp3s and add them to windows media player, itunes, or a cd. i chose to go with windows, too much trial and error experimenting straight to cds. so far i have made a couple of cd compilations with these mp3s so i'm glad i bought it. definitely recommended. Cassette to CD and MP3

I have a 1973 Cassette Tape of the children's song companion to the book "Seven Little Rabbits" by John Becker. Seven Little Rabbits My kids, & my friends kids all loved it when they were little. Now, THEY are having children. I looked on Itunes for the CD or download and searched the Internet to no avail. I bought the Digitope to convert the cassette tape to MP3 format. I'm not so computer savy and I figured out how to do this without too much difficulty. The catchy Seven Little Rabbits tune is now on my PC, in Itunes. I bought a few copies of John Becker's book, burned some CD's and I am all set with the new "grandparent's gifts. This product works GREAT!

I think this is great. Installed easily, easy to work. I can now listen to my cassettes and records on my mp3. Haven't tried the records yet but I'm sure it will work just as easy. Takes some time since it has to play through to record it but thats ok.

bought this to download and make cd copies of cassette tapes. looked at more expensive options but decided to try this first since it was far less expensive. works great and no problems so far. had a little trouble installing at first but it has it's own troubleshooting program and it found the problem and corrected it. would recommend it to anyone who wants to convert their audio cassettes to cd.

Software was easy to load and works fine. I was looking for a product which did not cost too much and was easy to use. This fits the bill. You must have a cassette player to use cables which are included with software. Instructions are clear and easy to follow. I am very pleased with product. I highly recommend it.

I bought this based on the other reviews and had high hopes that I would be able to "save" my favorite music cassettes to my computer without having to buy the particular CD or that I would be able to even find the CD album version. I even bought a higher-end cassette player to do the conversion. I tried two different cassettes and they both had the same problem, horrible quality sound such as fluctuations in volume and sounding like it was playing from inside a barrel. What a waste. I am back to zero.

Simple, affordable software to use that includes the necessary cables to plug in to your various players. I have only used it with a tape player so far(I do not own a record player)and it has worked out very well. Perfect for your old music that is out of print or the music you do not want to buy the cd version.

The shipping / gift wrapping on this item was very quick. I have received the product, and am very happy with it. I was surprised to see that the package was very thin, has all the cables, hook ups, directions inside the cassette box. The product does work as explained in the directional information. - Cassette Digital Tape Convert - Tape2pc'

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Outlook - word

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Even with the negative reviews I decided to purchase this product because I had to have it like Yesterday. One of the bad reviews had mentioned getting an error message about the 32 Bit Version error coming up when installing. Well the same thing happened to me and the problem was that with my new computer there was already a trial version of this product on the computer so I uninstalled the version that came with the computer then when I went to install this product I had no problem so hopefully this will help anyone else that comes across that same problem. The product installed perfectly and works great. Hope this is helpful. Microsoft Office Home & Business 2010 - 1 User-2 PC [Download]

This is the 64-bit downloadable edition of the venerable Microsoft Office suite of programs. It makes some improvements on the "2007" version of the suite, though the changes from "2007" to "2010" are considerably more minor than the changes from the "2003" edition to "2007." The Office suite now uses a large top-of-the-screen "ribbon" interface, which for some is a blessing and for some a curse. The available menus within each of the programs (Outlook, Word, Excel, etc.) are supposed to be at least somewhat context sensitive, but I have found myself customizing the menus so that the functions I use most often are more or less universally available. In Word, the "comment" features are a bit improved, and the Outlook calendar functions are, while similar to the 2007 edition, much improved from the 2003 version. One final note: the 64-bit edition allows users to open very large spreadsheets and other files, but has some interaction issues with certain other programs (e.g., my X-1 Desktop Search program).

After researching Office 2010, Amazon had the best price and with free delivery, I had it within a week. I downloaded it on two of three computers that can be done and it was seamless and easy to do without tech. help needed. Haven't tried all the new stuff that comes with it but it is pretty easy to learn. Just keep pointing and clicking and you'll find whatever you need. I highly recommend 2010 as a very good upgrade over 2003 and 2007 that I had on two PC's.

Upgraded from Office 2007 to Office 2010. Needed the new video production features in PowerPoint. My upgrade from Office 2003 to 2007 was not pretty. Total new interfaces took a long time to learn--but finally worth it. This time not much at all new to learn. Also, my fear of loosing saved emails in Outlook was needless--very smooth transition to Outlook 2010 with NO loss of data. Word, Excel, and Powerpoint 2010 all SEEM to be a bit faster and more stable. Only major problem with the upgrade was that the Amazon.com downloader did NOT work--and Amazon was of no help in fixing their problem. But with the product key I bought from Amazon.com I was able to down load the new Office from a Microsoft site.

based on a few negative reviews from other sites and on Amazon.com, I put off purchasing Office 2010, waiting for the kinks to be worked out. But, having bought it I think they were wrong, and the users did not to cause the problems than they realized, as I downloaded the 64 bit version, installed it and have worked very well in all the applications with no errors happening.

Microsoft Office Home & Business 2010 - 1 User-2 PC [Download] I downloaded the software. When I attempted to get into Word; Excel; & Other Items, I received a message that the download could not be completed because the item was 32-bit and there were 64-bit items online. Spoke w/a Tech Rep who worked with me to correct the situation unsuccessfully. She has given me information on how to contact Microsoft Customer Service which I have yet to do. The problem appears to be Microsoft's. I was completely satisfied with the response and help of the Amazon.com Tech. Rep.

I had Home and Student 2007 but I decided to upgrade because of Outlook. The Outlook part of this suite is an excellent email provider. You have everything you need to stay organized daily. This software is marketed as a Home Office/Business software but if you like organization this is the product for Home Use as well. I highly recommend it! The Office suite update from 2007 t0 2010 was minor.

This product downloaded well with no kinks. Although I was used to Office 2007, Office 2010 has quite a few changes to it and is taking a while to pick up on all the different changes. I would not recommend this to a novice user. It is not user friendly.

Product works just fine once you actually get it installed. My problems was the amazon downloader kept malfunctioning to the point it took over half a day before I had the software installed. I bet it downloaded the 900MB item 5-6 times and failed to launch the installer all but the last time. I was truly at my wits end; regretting I had even tried this method. I am not sure why everyone insist on having their own downloader these days; it's like windows users do not know how to download anything. If you need a special key to install the software then whats up with the extra downloader. Why not keep it simple and provide an iso image or executable? You know an executable is the same way Microsoft handles it on their website. I should have just purchased it directly from Microsoft and yes I would have paid more for the software but it would have took less of my time and time is money. I am not sure I'll do try to download windows based software anymore until I have an option to bypass the super downloader. Amazingly enough I have downloaded mac software from amazon several times and not once had a problem. There was no special downloader needed just a simple file downloaded via a browser, like the good old days. - Word'

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Manila - office supplies, manila

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I've used a variety of hanging folders and regular tab folders over the years. When I read David Allen's Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity book, he recommended 1/3 cut manila folders (rather than 1/5 cut or hanging). Previously, I was using hanging folders in my file cabinets. Now that I've got 300+ folders in my cabinet, I agree with Mr. Allen's reasoning. The larger label makes it easier to put a good, descriptive label on the folder. I use a Brother P-Touch labeller with 3/4" inch tape to make easy-to-read 2-line labels. The folders have sufficient thickness to feel like quality folders, unlike some of the no-name cheapies out there. Smead SuperTab File Folders, Letter Size, 11 Point, 1/3 Cut Tab, Manila, 100 Per Box (10301) - Office Supplies - Manila'

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Power Tools

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This is an outstanding book. It is well written, well organized, has excellent graphics and pictures, and serves a much needed role in most woodshops. White would have been a great engineer. His jigs and measurement techniques are clever, well documented, and easy to make and use. I found myself smiling several times at the ingenuity of his low-cost (and effective!) solutions to high-cost measurement tools. I have a middle-of-the-road chinese knock off table saw that wasn't cutting well (burns and lots of resistance). I made the jigs and went through the tune up procedure in an evening, and the saw performs much better afterwards. I would like have heard White's recommendations for storage, cleaning, and top protection (e.g., waxing vs. oiling ground surfaces), as well as his tips and comments for shop safety, but they are justifiably outside the scope of this book. Overall an excellent book that I am very glad to have stumbled upon. Care and Repair of Shop Machines: A Complete Guide to Setup, Troubleshooting, and Maintenance

I've been having some problems getting my jointer tables aligned properly, and happened upon this book by accident. What luck! This book is full of great info on tune-ups and alignment. John White goes in depth into the set up and alignment of primary power tools (jointer, planer, table saw, bandsaw, router table, drill press and miter saw). His writing is clear, easy to understand and follow, with plenty of very descriptive pictures. The book is very complete on each of the tools covered. I truly appreciated that he used many shop-built jigs and common tools to get things done.

What can I say, the chapter on setting up your jointer is worth the price of the book by itself. The pictures and the diagrams are great, easy to understand, and the text is informative and easy to read. This book makes you a better woodworker, because your tools will be correctly set up, which also makes them more fun to use and much safer.

I would recommend this book to you, even if you do not own the tool, but are looking at getting into woodworking, with this book you will be better able to understand how the various tools work, and you can buy decent used tools and tune them up, saving you a bundle!



Great book!!

John White does a great job with nice illustrations. I recommend this to anyone with a woodworking machine. It's amazing how far off your tools are until you set them up correctly. You'll save time and money by making better cuts the first time when the tool is setup correctly. It's amazing we take the time to measure an angle for moulding and when we cut it and it doesn't fit you think you measured incorrectly when it could have been your tool off by one degree.

The reason woodworkers want this book is to save money and time. Understanding and applying the knowledge herein might save your fingers and maybe even your life! I am not joking...



John White was the shop manager for Fine Woodworking for about a decade and is still a contributing editor. He has a wealth of practical knowledge and presents it clearly. I particularly like Mr. White's style in some of his videos. He "cuts to the chase" by demonstrating you how things work, THEN explains them concisely. He also invented (or re-engineered) a very clever workbench and numerous practical shop-jigs. Now, not all of those ( or even very many ) are in this volume. I only mention that to illustrate the breadth and scope of the author's knowledge. John White is certainly qualified to write about this subject.



The MOST IMPORTANT REASON that every newcomer should buy (or at least read) this book is to prevent hassles, mistakes, accidents, and bad buying-decisions.



For instance, if you do not understand how to adjust a tablesaw or bandsaw, how can you possibly choose a machine with the right features?



If you don't know how to tell if a blade is square to the miter-slot (or fence,) and how to adjust it, you WILL experience kickback. (...not "IF" but "WHEN.") Unlike that funny TV commercial, kickback is deadly serious.



There are over THIRTY THOUSAND wood-shop accidents every year, many of which are related to these main machines discussed in this book. I have seen a piece of plywood shoot from a table-saw and go careening across the shop at sixty-miles an hour like a demonic frisbee, then stick itself into a wall. That particular incident was caused by a novice who ignored basic rules of machine set-up and use. No one was killed or blinded that day, but he was lucky. Would you rather depend on luck or knowledge? If that guy would have followed the advice in this book, it would have never happened.



Those "bargain" tools we see in home-centers are often more trouble than they are worth. If you know what features to look for, then you can avoid buying junk. You can also spot a real bargain when you see one.



John's set-up tricks can save money on wood too. When you gaff and destroy some lumber because a machine wasn't set-up well or you used it improperly, you throw money down the drain. The small investment in this reference will definitely pay a beginner backs MANY TIMES over!



BTW... If your primary interest is table-saws, you really should online-search "Ed Bennett" and the "tsaligner." (Table-Saw Align-er). Ed developed a tool and methods (plural) for really dialing in any decent table-saw. He has taken the subject of table-saw adjustment to a degree of accuracy that approaches and meets machine-shop standards. He has a good web-site with so much information I can't possibly delineate much of it here. Once you understand Mr. Bennett's approach, the same methods can be applied to numerous machines.



I agree with another reviewer that Taunton's use of the word "complete" in the tittle is wrong. This is nowhere near complete. But the information is crucial to choosing the right equipment, using it well, and keeping it in top shape for best results.



This book covers crucial adjustments for the main machines. Not only that, but the concepts are universal. Simple tools, jigs and geometry will measure and verify every shop-tool operation for safety and accuracy. How much is THAT knowledge worth?



No finite tome can possibly cover every possible machine or set-up scenario.

This does show beginners how to choose and safely use the most common shop machines.



Heck, even and old-fart like me learns a new trick now and then, and I have learned a few from John White. I have had to train dozens of people in various work environments over the decades. If I could have had this volume thirty years ago, it would have saved a whole lot of time. I'd just say to every new guy that walked in looking for a job, "Here... read this."



John's advice will save you money, and possibly a trip to the hospital too. That alone is worth the price of admission. If you run a woodworking shop with employees, this should be mandatory reading. If you can't buy it, go to the library and check it out.'

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Plasma Tv - 50 inch, plasma

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Samsung PN50C450

I picked up my PN50C450 on Friday March 19th from BestBuy after months of research. In general I don't make purchases from BestBuy. I did the "purchase online / pick up in store" option and was very satisfied (I avoid sales people whenever possible :>). Sorry for the long review but it took me 4-5 months of research to pull the trigger on this TV. Here are my impressions.



Setup

Instructions on the box for removing the TV were clear. After a quick look at the assembly instructions (and sending my kids upstairs to play for 20 minutes) I screwed on the mounting bracket to the base. Just as I read on other reviews these screws did NOT go in easy. Samsung needs to address this as it doesn't instill confidence in the product when the first step in assembly has a minor glitch. Had a bit of a time getting the TV to lineup with the bracket (my issue not the TV). Put in the last 4 screws in the back and those went in much easier. Took a step back and looked at it, "dude that thing is huge" (large smile on my face)



Power On

Now the moment of truth......IS IT GOING TO BUZZ? I powered it on and........not a sound to be heard... totally silent! For a second I thought maybe I didn't power it on but the little "musical tone" went off indicating that it was on. This was my #1 concern with all the things I read about buzzing. Maybe I got lucky, maybe I just can't hear a buzz or maybe it's not as much as an issue as everyone keeps saying? Sure, I stuck my head behind the TV over the next few days and really tried to listen for a buzzing sound. I found if I got on a stool and put my ear really close to the top of the TV (careful it gets hot) I could hear the sound of "electricity" same as my old CRT TV. IN SHORT NO BUZZING.



Connecting Stuff

HDMI: After some research about the whole HDMI controversy (Monster vs cheap cable) Cnet put everything in perspective for me, "it's digital, just get the cheapest cable you can find". Believe it or not BigLots had a gold plated 6' HDMI cable for $12.00 (BestBuy's least expensive was $29.99). So I picked up one HDMI cable, 4 cans of diced tomatoes, yellow mustard and a 6 pack of root beer (God Bless America).



I connected the HDMI to my U-verse box and immediately went to the first HD channel I could find. I then switch to the corresponding SD channel and flipped back and forth several times. It's a big difference between SD and HD (although my kids and my wife didn't seem to care, but they have not yet given into HD madness).



I then connected my Wii with the standard cables it came with. The picture was obviously not HD but that was to be expected with the Wii. PQ was fine for gaming. The new Super Mario Brothers is way more fun (4 player mode) when you have so much digital real-estate to play on. I'm going to pick up a set of component cables just as a few people at AVS forum recommended . Overall the PQ was fine for gaming.



I don't have a Blu-Ray player yet so I did a test with my DVD player. Movies looked good after fussing with the screen size settings. I know Blu-ray DVD up scaling will be a significant improvement.

I also need to pick up an antenna so I can get OTA HD channels. From what I've read the OTA signal is not compressed (like my U-verse signal) so I'm excited to see what kind of results I can get.



TV Viewing and Settings

Right out of the box in "Standard Mode" the picture looked kind of dark and the colors were kind of flat. I then scrolled through to "Movie" mode. That was much better but still the colors were not super impressive. Then I switch to "Dynamic".....who the heck came up with this setting? Very bright and colors looked like a carnival. Unfortunately "dynamic" is the mode for choice for my kids when they play the Wii. I guess that would be the only time you would need this setting?



In order to get the best picture I took the advice of many of you and tweaked the movie mode settings. Thank you [...] users for posting the custom settings. They worked great!! I think I still need to bump down the skin tone setting one more notch but I'm very happy with the way it looks.



There is a lot of talk about Black Lines, Screen Doors, Dither etc..... I don't seem to have any of these issues (maybe ignorance is bliss?). I do get a little pixilation on HD channels sometimes but I think that has more to do with my HD signal being compressed (thanks AT&T).



Glare: I have the TV in a corner of our room that has a window flanking the left of the TV and a sliding glass door facing from the other room. Sure you get some glare in the middle of the day but if you just draw the curtains (and I'm not talking about black-out shades, just normal curtains) its fine. At certain angles at night I can see a lamp or kitchen light reflecting on the screen. I've found that most lights have these things called switches which allow you to turn them on/off. That seems to solve the problem :>)



Image Burn/retention: This was another major concern I had prior to purchasing plasma in general. I've come to the conclusion that as long as you don't spend 5 hours straight playing COD4 with the brightness up to 100, image burn is not an issue. I'd say our family is average when it comes to TV use. We've played the Wii and watched movies/TV and over the last week I have never seen any indication of image burn (and trust me I've been looking for it). And NO I didn't run any break in DVD's either.



Sound: With the way people complain about the sound I thought it was going to be like listening to the TV via a tin can and string. Do the speakers compare to a separate surround sound system running from a receiver....NO. Are you going to hear chest thumping bass when you watch a movie...NO. Relax people, the sound on the TV is just fine. All of my u-verse TV viewing is done exclusively via the TV speakers right now. I watched a concert the other night and I thought it sounded great. The Wii and DVD are currently running through my receiver and 5 speakers and yes it sounds better through that. But that is to be expected.



General PQ: The real test was last Sunday night when Discovery showed their LIFE series. The whole family sat down to watch our new Plasma. It was ideal viewing with a pitch black room (it felt just like a movie theater) I actually heard one of my kids gasp because it looked so real. My youngest wasn't too happy with all the HD close ups of bugs and kept his hands over his eyes because it looked too real. I personally couldn't believe how clear the picture was. I'm finding out that not all HD channels are the same. Some have great HD and some are so/so. That's more of the fault of u-verse and the compression they use on their HD channels. But after watching that I was sold!!!! I know that Blu-ray is going to be even better than this experience. 720P: When I was in BestBuy this TV was right next to a 1080P TV and you could see a little bit more details when you were 2-3' away. But at 8-9' (my TV viewing) I couldn't see the difference. NON ISSUE FOR ME. But how are the Blacks you ask?: wouldn't you know that the blacks look......well.....black (not grey). Very happy.



Gripes: I use my u-verse remote to watch TV. I only use the Samsung remote to switch inputs or change the screen setting. The Samsung remote is about as responsive as molasses in January. I'm not sure where they put the stupid sensor for the TV but it must be under the base. Switching from SD to HD shows and visa/versa and dealing with the different screen formats is a pain. HD looks great in 16:9 but then the SD shows are not full screen so you have to flip "fit to screen" to fix that. All of this screen gymnastics is getting old. I wish there was a setting to say, "hello TV...just fill the screen for me to give me the best possible picture". Swivel would be nice as it takes 2 people to "swivel" the TV manually. Since I don't have the component cables for my Wii I have to swap the DVD and Wii between the 1 in-put that supports them. I wish it had 1 more set of composite connections on the side. For now that's about it.



Conclusion: So far I love this TV. The only issue now is competing for screen time between the Kids/wife. I'm glad I got the 50" as I know I would not have been happy with the 42". For the price I don't think you can go wrong with this TV.



Update 6/10/10: I've had the TV for almost 3 months now and I am still enjoying it very much. For the most part I think it's "broken in" now. I did have to tweak some of my initial setting from when I got it. I did purchase a component cable for my Wii and it looks much better with the new cable. I really didn't have any issues with IR. Once in a while when my kids would go on a Wii binge you could see some IR but running the scrolling feature for a few min took care of that quick. I don't have a blu-ray player yet but the HD quality for AT&T U-verse is pretty good. Still no buzzing (never had an issue with mine). I did hook up a usb flash drive to it to view some pictures I put on it. Wow! it does a great job displaying pictures.



I'll report back when I get a Blu-ray player (maybe fathers day???). Samsung PN50C450 50-Inch 720p Plasma HDTV (Black) - Hdtv - Samsung - Plasma - 50 Inch'

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Caviar Black - wd, sata

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First, this is a state of the art, newly introduced drive from WDC. In my opinion it is the best general-use drive you can get at this price point.



Prior to my purchase, I read several negative reviews from prior customers who voiced dissatisfaction with Amazon's packaging of OEM drives. Any chance of damage in shipping would indeed be reason to shop elsewhere for such a sensitive item, but on one such page of ranting and frustration I saw a note from Amazon that they had recently addressed these concerns, so I proceeded to order the drive.



Here's the latest and I hope final word on this issue: Problem solved. The drive arrives sealed in an anti-static bag, secured by two end-mounted shock absorbing plastic caddies, then double-boxed with the usual sealed air padding. The redundant packing system appears to be well-designed and the drive has been working like a champ.



So buy with confidence and kudos to Amazon for responding to customer reviews and ensuring appropriate, safe packaging for this product. Western Digital WD Caviar Black 1 TB SATA 6 GB/S 7200 RPM 64 MB Cache Internal Bulk/OEM 3.5-Inch Desktop Hard Drive

I've been using Western Digital hard drives since getting into computers in 1998. In fact I've never owned anything but WD hard drives (from 4.3gig to 1TB). In all my years of using them I've only had 2 go bad, though they never "completely" failed. This speaks of Western Digital's consistency in reliability.



With that said I love the Caviar Blacks and have 3 of them in my system - 500, 750, and now the new 1TB SATA 3 (64Meg cache).



While there is a noticeable speed gain over my previous 1TB Caviar Black (32Meg), the previous version was/is extremely quiet! This new SATA 3 drive is LOUD! It sounds like a percolating coffee pot at its highest boiling point, especially during boot-up or accessing files. Very annoying, especially if it's the noisiest part of your system!



I just put an i7 system in a Cooler Master HAF X case which has 4 fans - 1 Front bottom 230mm 700RPM 19dBA (Red LED), 1 Top 200mm 7000RPM 19dBA, 1 Rear 140mm 1200RPM 19dBA. My Noctua CPU cooler fan tops out at 1200RPM load at 19dBA as well. At idle my ATI 4890 video card fan runs around 27 percent, making it in-audible above the other fans.



My point.... My case is extremely quiet.... Save for WD's new Caviar Black SATA 3 HD!!! Because of this I'm seriously considering going back to my previous 1TB 32meg cache Caviar Black HD.



BTW this is a replacement drive as I thought the first drive was faulty due to the same noise. With that I called Western Digital about this issue.... and to make a long story short, they say this is normal and that drive wasn't designed with noise in mind, that if you want a "quieter" drive, get the Caviar Blue.



Make of that what you will....



All I know is that the older 32mge cache Caviar Black drives ARE quieter than their 64meg cache cousins.



Those looking for quieter WD drives might consider looking elsewhere (Blue or Green series) if noise is a factor over speed.



4 stars.



Edit. Went back to my previous drive because of the noise. If you want a caviar black that's quiet, go with the 1FALS (32meg) vs the 2FAEX (64meg)

Amazon's product review of this product is incorrect. This is not an Advanced Format drive as stated. "WD Advanced Format technology increases media format efficiency, thus enabling larger drive capacities. WD Advanced Format drives are specifically optimized for Mac and the latest Windows operating systems such as Windows Vista and Windows 7"

The advanced format is only available currently on the "Caviar GREEN drives" All "BLACK" drives are 512kb sector drives not 4k. Check description on Western Digitals web site using product WD1002FAEX or under Caviar Black drive description. I confirmed this via WD tech support.

In the future, WD and other manufactures will be going to 4k sector drives.

Having said that, this appears to be a nice drive. You might see some speed increase due to 64mb cache but not from SATA 6Gb transfer, no drive can read/write that speed. 5 year warranty, 1tb capacity, makes a nice boot drive. I will purchase a "Green" drive as a data and back-up drive for less heat, noise, and power consumption.

I purchased this from Amazon and I ordered the factory packaged drive, not the bare, less packaging drive, and I'm glad I did. The package shipped via UPS arrived smashed in on one end on the outer box. Had this been the minimal packaging I think the drive would have been damaged. Amazon needs to fully wrap shipments in better protective packages to survive transport.

I erased, zeroed and reformatted this drive to use in a MacPro. For Mac boot drives, do not use as it comes, reformat to Apple Partition Map(APM) journaled for PowerPC (G3,G4,G5) and as GUID journaled for all Intel Macs. Time Machine likes GUID, but you do not need to journal if using only for back-up or data storage. Western Digitals web-site gets this wrong as well, and says to use APM for Intel Macs. Intel macs will not boot from APM drives, but can read/write to them.

Hope Amazon corrects the product description.

Hope WD corrects knowledge base on partition/format for Macs. - Wd - Sata - Hard Drive - 1 Tb'

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High Quality - point and shoot, high quality

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OK, I was really wanting the RED Nikon S8100 but apparently only black is available unless you buy it directly from Nikon. I decided to go black because I live in Oregon where there is no sales tax, and Nikon was going to tax me and add $10 to the shipping. Black isn't all that bad looking anyway and it matches my Cooler Master HAF-X PC case.



I'm upgrading from a Sony DSC-V1. The size of the Nikon is a hair wider, a hair shorter and about half as thick. The DSC-V1 had a po-pup flash in the same area as the S8100 so I was used to holding the camera the correct way already. For those of you that can't think outside the box, the proper way to hold this camera is to make a gun with your left hand, thumb pointing up, then bend your wrist so the gun is pointing to your right, then place the camera in the gun. RTFM. This tip is printed (and pictured) in the quick start booklet that came with the camera. Once you get used to it, you won't mind pop-up flashes at all. The only issue you will have is when your dense friends take pictures of you with it and hold the flash down, not knowing any better.



The downgrade from the S8000's 14 megapixel CCD to the S8100's 12 megapixel CMOS sensor is no downgrade whatsoever. Megapixels are nearly irrelevant to point and shoot cameras above 12 anyway, and the image quality increase, and low light shooting improvements you get with the CMOS sensor EASILY trump a 2 megapixel increase. I am continuing to be surprised how good my pictures keep turning out, in all light levels.



The 10x optical zoom is great, but what is amazing is how clean the digital zoom is beyond that. I am used to fuzzy or blurry shots when using the digital zoom, but this camera somehow gets around that. The placement of the zoom lever forces you to use your right forefinger instead of your thumb which I'm used to. It felt kind of odd at first, but makes complete logical sense from an ergonomic point of view when you are holding the camera properly. On the opposite side, the macro function floored me. For a point and shoot camera, I never expected a macro this good. It macro shoots better than my Cannon DSLR. I can rest the lens up against the object I'm shooting and the image will still focus good.



The LCD screen on the back is a typical 3" screen, but a very untypically high quality resolution. It has the highest resolution screen of any point and shoot I could find. You can really see the detail of what you are about to shoot with it. It's bright and the colors are accurate.



The 1080p video this camera produces is better than I expected. Far better. You can use the zoom feature while rolling AND take stills simultaneously. It also records in stereo sound. Great stuff.



Some people complained that this camera is still a bit too large for their liking. If it was any smaller that it is now, you would not be able to hold it without accidentally pressing a button or something, and it fits in my pocket just fine. Those people must have toothpick fingers or don't realize that size much smaller than the S8100 really isn't much of an advantage unless you are some kind of top secret spy or something.



The camera has all the basic features you would want, and several that are kind of neat. Manual on the fly brightness, hue, and vividness adjustments can be handy, the skin softening feature turns your subjects into super models, and the ISO sensitivity range is above average. It has a wind noise reduction option while taking video, and all the features you would use the most are easily and quickly accessible.



I know I'm sounding like a Nikon fanboy now but I'm just so happy with this camera. The only thing I can think of I don't care for is the rubber stop that plugs the USB port on the bottom of the camera. I prefer a flip door, but this is just my preference.



It comes with surprisingly good full version photo editing software, and even a panoramic stitching program that I've yet to try. The full manual is on a CD that comes with it though I prefer a book to look at. The start-up speed (power on to photo ready) is just under 2 seconds. Holy cow batman!



One feature that I haven't taken advantage of yet but look really useful in action shooting is the high-speed shooting at five full resolution frames at up to 10 frames'per'second, and a pre'shooting cache that records up to two shots before the shutter'release is fully pressed. This will really make it easy to get the action shot you really want. The other feature that I'm very impressed by is the advanced Night Landscape mode which combines a series of five consecutive shots taken at a fast shutter speed into a single image with reduced noise when taking hand held shots. Dark backgrounds turn out very visible without over lighting the subject. Very cool technology idea.



In summery, I feel like the $299 I paid for the Nikon S8100 is very justified. DSLRs should be nervous that these point and shooters will start stealing their market considering the lower price, quality and technology improvements. Nikon has a winner! Nikon Coolpix S8100 12.1 MP CMOS Digital Camera with 10x Zoom-Nikkor ED Lens and 3.0-Inch LCD (Black) - Nikon - Point And Shoot - High Quality - Digital Camera'

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Staples

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Thousands and Thousands shot through a Porter Cable and Milwaukee with no problem. Previously we used Senco staples (made in USA) but the cost got out of hand. We reluctantly switched to the B & C and glad we did. Top quality. B & C Eagle 9018 3/4-Inch by 18 Gauge Narrow Crown Galvanized Finish Staple (5,000 per box)

cant really say ive done a comparison test with these staples against any other brand,im sure their are a few contractors out there that have their own preferance for different applications,and thats fine.i ordered these when i ordered my stapler,and they have been working just fine.saved me a trip to the supply house.and i like that. hope this review helps'

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Keyboard Protection - keyboard protection

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I like this. It does the job. My only complaint is that I do get some glare on it from my desk lamp. That's a bit annoying. It's also kind of wrinkled but I'm hopeing that will go away over time. I have cats that love to hang out with me at the 'puter' and this sure eliminates the cat hair problem. If anyone were to ask what the texture of the plastic is, I would have to say it's like a 'condom'....seriously!! You can't beat the price for the job that it does. Green Onions Supply RT-SC01 15 3/4-Inchx19 11/16-Inch Universal Keyboard Protector -1 Piece (Transparent)

I got this because I thought a thinner and more transparent protector might be nice, but it lasted less than half a year before developing little tears over several of the keys. I'm going back to the other brand I used previously which is a little harder to see through but practically indestructible, which I had to replace for other reasons not related to the quality of the product.

Honestly, this reminds me of a ladies shower cap that you used to get free in hotels. It is simply a large rectangular piece of plastic with elastic edges. You place if over your keyboard, tucking in the edges underneath it; don't expect it to be for fitted, or fit tightly in any way. The one I received for my Dell keyboard is quite large and covers it very loosely, leaving the plastic baggy over the keys themselves. I guess this is supposed to make it possible for you to type with it on without poking a hole in it. Not quite sure.



It will serve its purpose in keeping my cat's hair off and out of my keyboard, but it is going to take some getting used to typing with it on; something I need to do as my cat is always next to me as I work.



But if astronauts and surgeons can get used to wearing oversized gloves to perform intricate tasks via computer images, I imagine I'll get used to this cover.



I can't say it's bad, it's just not quite what I had expected, even after reading the item description before purchasing it.

When I bought this, I was expecting a keyboard cover, not a plastic bag. They have a coarse, slimy texture and a horrible smell, and are distinctly thin -- I don't imagine they would hold up well at all under any sort of meaningful use. I had bought two of these things, one for home and one for the office, and threw them both away -- not a waste of too much money, but still a waste. - Keyboard Protection'

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Deskjet Printers - printer ink, ink cartridge

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Buying the combo pack was less expensive that buying them separately. What else is there to say? It comes with the same free return envelopes (that let you return the empty cartridges for recycling) as the single Ink Cartridge. HP 56/57 Black, Tri-Color Ink Cartridge, Combo Pack (C9321FN#140)

The Inkjet Combo Pack is what I needed for my printer. There is nothing stellar about it. It gets the job done, and well. The quality of the prints are crisp and clean. I have not had any problems with the cartridges on my printer. Also, the combo pack is a better deal than if purchasing the individual cartridges. So I recommend it.

Please read the following, and then use any seller other than Image

Warehouse!



I love my HP printer, but I thought I'd try a more economical option than buying the name brand print cartridge. Knowing nothing about any of the sellers of "generic" print cartridges, I thought I would play it safe and use a reseller for Amazon. Big Mistake!



After nearly two months, I have no print cartidges that work, and no money back. This infuriating process has consisted of

1. My electronic order. That part was fine.

2. Print cartidges which arrived unhurt. Good so far.

3. Color cartridges, which when installed in their port, were totally undetectible by my HP2100 printer. I tried everything imaginable - swapping ports, turning on and off the printer, more, and nothing worked. End of week one.

4. Sent off an email to Image Warehouse carefully detailing my printer's inability to recognize the cartridge. One week passes.

5. I recieve an email telling me to visit their trouble-shooting site for that item, and when I visit, it tells me how to clean the ink jets with my printer. Not the problem I wrote them about!

6. Sent them an email stating that if they could not help me with the problem, I would send the cartridges back, and would like a refund for the entire price, including my shipping expenses - both directions.

7. They email me where to return the two unusable catridges, and I mail them USPO, with all communications, to the address provided.

8. 20 days pass and I send an email asking if they have recieved the return.

9. Silence.

10. I am now almost two months into this process, and I have no cartridges, no refund of the original charges, no return shipping, and no news.



I have ALWAYS had great luck with Amazon. They are my go to default for much of my internet purchases. I have never had this bad an internet transaction. The fact that Image Warehouse is an Amazon reseller has done squat for the process. Save your money and try another seller!

"HP 56/57 Inkjet Print Combo Pack." Sooooo, what's not to like?



HP--a reliable name in product quality!



56/57--black ink cartridge, tri-color ink cartridge, a two-in-one deal!

Convenient!



Take that mouse, move it around. Click. Move it some more. Click again. I've just ordered the "HP 56/57 Inkjet Print Combo Pack" without leaving my house. Heck--without leaving my chair! Convenient!



Price--Several dollars less than the local national chain store, plus time and gasoline to get there. Not only that but the postal service will deliver the combo pack right to my door! Convenient and cost- and time-effective! Great service!



So there you are! Quality, convenience, service. What's not to like?

Let's face it, THIS is the best ink you can buy for the manufacturers printer, being that the product was explicitly designed for their printer. Of course, it's ridiculously expensive, like most manufacturer's printer ink. One must wonder WHAT exactly it is they put in this ink. Is it from the rare endangered Printorical Squid painstakingly caught in the deepest depths of the Mariana trench?



Anyhow, 3 stars - 5 for great ink quality, 1 for price, averaged together for 3. - Printer Ink - Hp Ink Cartridge - Ink Cartridge - Hp Ink'

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Canon Multifunction - pgi-220, ink

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I have a Canon MP 620 printer which I think is a great device but it does tend to use a lot of ink (or maybe I just print a lot) so having the 3 pack makes it easy to be ready for when I need to.



What I've found works for me is to get the 3 pack of the PGI-220 and then the color ink (Canon 2946B004 CLI-221 4 Color Value Pack (Black/Cyan/Magenta/Yellow)) in the 4 pack and finally deal with any intermediate outages through an individual purchases.



This means I have replacements for all the ink as needed and never have to urgently get some. Canon PGI-220 Combo Pack - Triple Pack (Black)

When my old, faithful Epson printer died, I did research and upgraded to the Canon Pixma MX 860. I needed a color printer, and wanted something better for my job (I teach part time at a community college, and hand out a fair volume of paper work.) The prints from this printer are fanastic, well beyond anything I've ever printed at home.

However, the printer consumes ink like oxygen. The puny cartridges that come with this printer are tiny and rather expensive. I ran out of black within 3 weeks-with very conservative printer use during those 3 weeks! I had difficulty finding the correct replacements-due to bad serial # marketing from Canon. Turns out Amazon has clones as well as the brand name, but I had to go to Canon's website to find out that the same cartdrige size is used for the Pixma mx 980, mx 860, mp 620, and several other models. Amazon carries the clones, which are not a lot cheaper. Frys and Costco also carry the genuine brand.

I love the printer, but have purchashed a Brother HL-2140 monocolor laser printer to make test copies, black and white prints, and general documentation of bill-pay, etc. The quality of these prints is not anywhere near as nice, but the cost per copy is fantastic.

I keep the Canon printer, and ink-use, for more important print outs, or color. I would rate the ink cartridges higher if they made more copies, the copies they do make are great.

What can I say? Canon ink for a Canon printer? Of course this is a good idea. Some of the generic inks with this newest generation of printers measuring picoliters can clog up the print heads. This ink and the printers it's used in are some of the best Canon has produced. This cartridge seems to last longer than the previous printer I had that uses the CLI-8 ink. I am very pleased with the output quality of this ink.



And this is one of the best prices available for original Canon ink.

I didn't want to take any chances buying another brand (or refilled non-brand). These ink cartridges are expensive, though, and just a few changes in your print settings can double the lifespan.



When on regular print settings, I noticed the paper was saturated in ink & the cartridge used up in no time. So, I changed the printing preferences to "grayscale" and "fast printing". This uses about half the ink and looks just fine to me. In fact, I prefer it because the printed copy comes out dry instead of wet with ink (that then needs to dry and could actually smudge).



Printing in grayscale also saves the other colored inks -- especially when printing coupons or anything else that doesn't require high-quality printing. To further save on ink & avoid printing unnecessary stuff (like logos and advertising on various websites), you can change your print options to "print only the selected frame".



Lastly, when the printer tells you the ink cartridge is empty and needs to be replaced -- just press the "ok" button on the printer and keep doing so it until your ink truly does run out. I was able to print out an additional 25 pages last time.



Happy printing :-)

I was surprised at how soon the black print cartridge that came with my new Canon Pixma MP 620 ran out of ink, but was pleasantly surprised to fine the 3 pack at what appears to be a reasonable price. I must confess that when these empty, I will check on having them refilled.

JH

Basic, simple fact. In this case, buying a three pack from Amazon with free shipping offered savings. Instead of struggling to remember to bid on Ebay, or seeing $20 per single cartridge as the only option,it's easier to committ $34 for a three pack.

Canon's printer will use a cartridge up quickly. Save time and money in this case by going through Amazon. Check prices--you'll see what I mean.

Was a great deal for ink. The ink works superbly well. The only thing of notice was that when I took off the plastic that protects the ink opening, there was quite a bit of excess ink in there that needs draining off. Now that I know to look for it, I can do that without getting it on my fingers. +++

I have a Canon MX860 printer/copier/scanner. It is a great machine. It prints fast and beautifully. But, it is very generous in its use of ink. The Canon black combo pack is one way I can control my costs and avoid buying remanufactured cartridges or brand "X" ink. - Pgi-220 - Canon Multifunction - Ink Cartridge - Ink'

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