Dashboard Mount - gps mount, garmin nuvi

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My Prius has a rough dashboard and a windshield that slopes very sharply. Thus, the suction cup mounts are not good solutions. Fortunately, the friction mount is a great solution. It works much better than I expected. Very stable, does not slide, and lets me adjust my Nuvi to a variety of different angles. I can place the GPS anywhere on the dash or even on the center console. Also works great when transferred to my wife's Ford.



Only downside to the device is that it has a rather large footprint, but not prohibitively large. I like the fact that I can easily use this in both of our family vehicles depending on where we need the GPS.



UPDATE: Now that I have used this mount regularly since May, I have to say this is the best mounting solution I've found for a GPS or any other device for my car. It hasn't slid out of place once!! Given the rise in GPS units being stolen from cars, this mount allows you to easily stash your GPS Unit and mount out of sight and then put it back into position with ease.



2009 Update: Still using this in my Prius and my wife has one too. It's held up quite well. It IS a bit bulky to store out of the way when not in use, but still a good solution. I usually remove my GPS from the mount (a simple process) and then place the mount as far under the seat as it will go. Not perfect, but the best solution I've found to date. Garmin Portable Friction Mount

This mount works great. The selection of Garmin mounts is confusing as some are two parts and some are one. If you have a Nuvi with the included windshield mount, then this is the only part you need to buy. The included mount disassembles at the ball and socket joint and attaches to this one. I can't say it will never come off the dash if I do some really high speed maneuver, but so far it's held steady for all regular driving.



I like that it's easy to move the mount and gps unit down to the floor when I park. Yeah a thief could still see it if they came right up to my car but at least it's not obvious from halfway across the parking lot like a windshield mount is. A thief that sees an empty windshield mount is probably going to assume (correctly) that I've just put the unit in the glove compartment.

I have become addicted to my Garmin Nuvi 660 and used it for six months with a successful windshield mount. But now I have bought a new car. I discovered that the windshield suction mount left an ugly black ring on the window of my old car. (I assume I can get this cleaned up when I detail the car for selling.)



So no way was I going to put one of those on my beautiful new car. I tried the Garmin dashboard mount but shied away from the "permanent" disc. I found the "temporary" disc was just not up to the job of holding this device in place -- at least on my vehicle. I found this very frustrating. I read about the Portable Friction Mount, found a Best Buy store that had it in stock and ran out to buy it.



Though it is not terribly good looking, it does the job very well. I tried whipping around a few tight turns in parking lots and the whole thing stayed put. As another reviewer said, this lets you easily remove the thing and put it on the floor so it's not obvious. That may be more valuable than you would think. I know somebody who removed his Garmin Nuvi (and took it with him) but left the window mount in place. The car was broken into and the window mount alone was stolen. (Probably that was a pretty frustrated thief.)



Also, this will be easy to transfer to a rental car. And it will make it easy for my wife to borrow my Nuvi. Hmmm!

While the friction mount on the bottom of the beanbag is pretty darn stable even with stops, starts, and turns I sometimes would find it sliding across the dash. The solution has been to use one of those little 6x4 inch mats sold at Radio Shack or Walmart for keeping cellphones on the dash. The mat is sticky on one side but leaves no marks or glue. I have not had one slide since using the mat. I even bring the mat with me in rental cars. This gives a very secure mount that is very easy to take from car to car.

The first time I tried this mount was in a rental car for a Garmin C530, and I never thought it would stay on the slightly sloping dash of the Pontiac Grand Prix but it held firm going up and down San Francisco's hilly roads. That prompted me to buy one for my car. Essentially this mount is a bean bag with a mouse pad like rubber base but its engineered to stay where you put it and not slide around unless you move it. The good thing is that it stays put even if you brake suddenly, and if you drive in bumper to bumper rush hour traffic like me every day you'll appreciate this even more!



The advantages are:

- No sticking on windshield. This is a BIG advantage as the windshield mount starts to come off easily after a year of usage, less if you leave it in your car while it's parked in the sun. There is nothing worse than your GPS sliding off while you're driving round a tricky bend, especially if you are new to the area. Sometimes it can be downright dangerous.

- The windshield mount also alerts thieves that a GPS is in the car. A friction mount can be placed down under the car seat when you leave the car without needing to disconnect anything so that you're ready to go quickly when you come back to the car.

- The other big advantage is the ability to move it around to the position you want it. If a passenger is sitting in your car you can just slide it to their side and they can input the information while you are driving. It also makes it easy to slide it closer to yourself. Since I have the Nuvi 660 I often make calls with the bluetooth feature while driving, it is easy to slide it towards me when I am speaking to someone in order to get better voice reception.



This mount works for all Nuvis as they have the "snap the ball in the joint". If you buy any model of Nuvi then this is all you need, no other adapter parts are needed. It's also easy to switch this mount between cars or move it to a rental car when you travel. It has been the best and most useful accessory I could buy for my Nuvi 660. - Gps Mount - Friction Mount - Garmin Nuvi - Garmin'

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Grundig Mini 300pe - sangean dt-400w, weather radio

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This is a fine radio with very nice improvements starting from its predecessor, the Sangean DT-200VX. It is a very light and small portable radio with very good battery life that can be taken almost everywhere for full as well as easy listening capabilities.



PROS:



1) It has quite good reception on all bands (AM/FM and Weatherband). Now it also has excellent and almost completely static-free reception on all 7 US frequency channels of the standard NOAA weather-band. In addition, this radio also has the official NOAA weather alert detection capability to signal the user of impending weather disasters as well as other problematic situations such as child abductions, flash floods, earthquakes, etc. However, this NOAA alert capability is NOT the latest S.A.M.E. technology (Specific Area Message Encoding) that is available on some other table top units that can give a county by county area warning to individual users. Like its predecessor, this radio also has a monaural/stereo switch (bandwidth control) for FM listening improvement, but there is no RF (radio frequency) DX gain switch on the DT-400W as there is on the new Sony SRF-37W for example, but see Con below.



2) It has a very big and easy to read display with a battery level indicator, a lock display indicator, a 90 minute shutoff capability (that can be disabled during each listening session if needed) with an on-screen indicator, etc. It also has a clock and a backlit display, but see Con below.



3) There is a very nice arrangement (called My Favorites) for as many as 19 presets for any band in any order with simple retrieval of all presets, but only in order from the first one designated to the 19th one in a logical progression (it won't go backwards to find the previous preset for example).



4) Its deep bass boost is a very nice feature.



5) Automatic scanning capability and seeking capability, but see Con below.



6) It also has a nice and easily removable belt clip for wearing the unit for jogging or walking.





CONS:



1) Backlight cannot be turned off even in daytime and even in bright sunshine conditions. It is apparently an LED (light emitting diode) with an extremely low power drain, but it seems very illogical to me that it can't be overridden when it isn't needed at all. Apparently, it is actually only on briefly while tuning the radio and then it shuts itself off after a short time, but to not be able to disable it entirely when it is not needed seems absolutely counterintuitive to me.



2) It is certainly well built with a fully attached battery compartment door (requiring two AA batteries), but it is not as rugged as the Sony SRF-37W for example (and the latter only requires 1 AAA battery). Of course the reception and acoustics are better overall on the DT-400W so get a good case (like the Sakar International HS-10, a small hard shell case which it fits like a glove).



3) A 90 day limited warranty from Sangean America is way too short given that even the Sony SRF-M37W has a 1 year limited warranty (see my review of the SRF-M37W and also its product manual for details).



4) During automatic scanning/seeking, the audio is muted so you can't hear any stations as they are detected. Only the strongest stations are picked up during the scanning/seeking process. Of course during manual scanning the individual stations are easily heard so that you can readily pick the station you want to listen to.



5) Sangean chose to put the speaker controls on the same slide switch along with the Stereo/Mono (bandwidth) changing capability. In my opinion the arrangement was better on the DT-200V with a simple and direct push button Stereo/Mono switch on the front of the radio and not on the side with one other commonly used function.



6) As also discussed by others, you must connect the short trailing wire (that is supplied by Sangean) or else connect a set of supplied earbuds (or a more comfortable set of headphones- see below) in order to receive any FM or Weather-band transmissions at all- including the weather alert transmissions.



7) The supplied earbuds are very uncomfortable and could also be quite dangerous given the volume output that this unit is capable of with 2 AA batteries. Sangean DT-400W AM/FM Digital Weather Alert Pocket Radio

This is a decent AM/FM (stereo) weather alert radio with two significant exceptions you should be aware of.



You will NOT be able to receive FM or Weather Radio without first attaching the supplied external antenna (a piece of wire that plugs into the earphone jack) or having the earphones plugged in. If you are counting on the radio as a weather alert radio and don't have the antenna with you or forget to plug it in, you won't get the warning. If you have the earphones plugged in, you'll have an antenna but the speaker is disconnected and you won't hear the warning unless you are wearing the headphones.



Also, don't pack this radio away in your emergency kit with batteries installed. The radio has a clock feature which continuously uses battery power - so just when you need it, it may be DOA. - Portable Radio - Sangean Dt-400w - Sangean Radio - Weather Radio'

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Video Converter - pc to tv, video converter

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Once you have this hooked up you need to reboot your computer or it won't recognize the TV as a monitor. I was about to toss this across the room after hooking it up to two TV's and switching wires 4 or 5 times. Once the laptop rebooted, worked great. Lake PC to TV Converter Box compatible with Windows and Mac (VGA To RCA / VGA To S-Video)

I bought this to be able to use my non-HD TV as a second monitor so I could watch movies on a larger screen from my couch. This works perfectly. I have a DVI-I output on my PC, which I had to convert to VGA with this DVI-I Male to VGA Female Adapter. Then I used the VGA-to-VGA cord that came with this to connect the VGA to the converter, and a cable like this Cables To Go Value Series S-Video Cable (25 feet) that I already had, from the converter to the TV. I was freaking out until I remembered to plug the converter power cord into an empty usb port. I had a flipping screen image at first, but flipped the tiny, white switches until the picture was clear. I was in business!

The product was shipped quickly and in good condition. I would recommend it for this use. The picture is close to perfect with very little interference, which the instruction booklet says can be caused by too little power or too many electronics in the vicinity, whatever that means.

I got this unit today, plugged in the necessary wires and connections, set the dip switch to NTSC and started watching my computer screen on my analog tv (Sharp 27F543 tv with Macbook 13" v. 7,5).The picture quality was VERY disappointing. Very blurry and bad contrast and color depth. I tried adjusting the controls in the converter. Some change, but still unacceptable picture quality. Some folks might actually find the picture acceptable. I found it very annoying. I packed up the converter and wires and was going to return it to Amazon and write a one or two star review.



Then I got the idea of playing with the computer's display settings and gave it one last chance. Here's what I found. My Macbook automatically set the display to 800x600 at 60hz and standard "VGA Display" color profile the moment the Apple adapter is hooked up. The instructions that came with the converter were no help in trying to tweak the computer's settings to get the best picture. Seems that anything but standard "VGA Display" worked much better, giving much better contrast and color depth, and the blurry picture became much better as well. I then used the converter's controls to fine tune the picture. Now it's VERY acceptable. Same picture quality as with my older Macbook (v. 5,5) with Apple's mini-dvi to rca/s-video adapter.

This box is intended to work with older CRT TVs. It essentially turns your TV into a CRT monitor. If you are trying to connect an HDTV to your computer do not use this box, you will not be satisfied with the picture quality. For an HDTV explore other options (HDMI or DVI), s-video and RCA should be last resorts with an HDTV.



My box came configured for PAL output, if you require NTSC (The standard in North America) the box will not work unless both of the switches are in the down position (as stated in the included instructions). Aside from needing to switch the format to NTSC this worked right out of the box. The picture quality was as expected (don't expect to get monitor quality out of your TV, the picture quality limitations are due to the limitations of TVs not this box).



Making adjustments to the picture was easy. To adjust the picture position use the up, down, left and right buttons with the menu off. Enter the menu to make further adjustments (picture size, brightness, contrast, etc.). As stated in previous reviews, my box does not seem to hold its settings when turned off. If you need to make major adjustments to the picture I recommend purchasing an adapter to plug the USB power cord into the wall.

I found this little product awesome. It was easy to install by following some steps from other previous reviewers. However, I have to add that I still couldn't get it to work properly. The connections were all intact as shown on the instruction manual. What solved my problem was pressing the Fn and then the F8 button to get to work. lol After that it works wonders. Sure the picture quality isn't the best but it's the viewing that in the comfort of my own tv that does it for me.



On a side note, I also purchased a Belkin Audio Y Cable Splitter 1-Mini Plug/2-RCA Plugs (6ft), which allowed me to hear the audio directly from the tv and not from the computer.



Love it!

This item actually works very well. The only issue I had was that the documentation with it is somewhat lacking. There are a couple switches on the side of the unit, I had no idea they were there, no mention in my "manual" as to their existence or what they even do. Frankly the "manual" is really just a piece of paper with a couple diagrams. Thankfully hooking the wires up is simple and the settings on the menu are pretty obvious. Still, I should think a 4year old could have done better on the documentation.



The item itself is also deceptively sturdy. I used this item to hook my laptop into my TV for a presentation and afterward a 200+ lb woman came over to chat and was unwittingly standing right on it (how she didn't notice is beyond me, it's almost 2 inches high). Anyway, it stood up to the pressure (no pun intended lol) and still works well.



If you can, I'd suggest getting two of these.. if 1 goes out during use.. or if it comes under attack by hefty footwear you'll have a backup.



Works great either way :) - Laptop To Tv - Pc To Tv - Pc Vga To Tv Converter - Video Converter'

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Kindle Protection - kindle 3, kindle covers

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At first, the idea of a Kindle 3G case with a built-in light sounded really great, until I realized two things:

1) our family already has an iPad, an iPhone and an iPod Touch for when we want to read in the dark, and

2) though I wanted the new Kindle 3G protected, even from rain, I didn't want it any thicker or heavier in the case than necessary, and still wanted to do my reading without it in a case.

With us already having a Belkin zippered neoprene case for our Kindle 2 US, I also knew I'd rather avoid the need for a zipper this time. (The zipper works fine, but it's one more thing to mess with when getting the Kindle out of or into its case.)



Though it looks a bit strange in the product photos, the angled sides of the BUILT sleeve case are perfect for both holding the Kindle 3G in its sleeve case, and making it easily removable from the case. The slightly-rounded top and bottom add protection, and give you an easy place to grab the case while pulling the Kindle 3G out, or putting it back inside.



I particularly like the soft slightly-furry microfiber liner, as it both protects the screen, and will help keep it clean. I also like the floral pattern of the outer case. My wife thinks it's "girly", but I'm a gardener, so it looks fine to me.



Highly recommended! BUILT Neoprene Kindle Sleeve (Fits 6" Display, Latest Generation Kindle), Scatter Dot

Exploring the variety of covers and sleeves available for Kindles kept me occupied while waiting for delivery of my first Kindle. I knew I wanted to read it "naked" so a sleeve made good sense. I wanted something that was KISS (keep it simple stupid), provided solid protection in my travel pack, bike rack and backpack as well as purse, but didn't add unnecessary weight or size. One of the delightful features of the Kindle 3 is it's small size and weight. Putting a heavy cover or sleeve on it seems to defeat that feature, t so this is a winner. The neoprene provides cushioning and protection without added bulk and weight. Don't worry about the lack of a zipper. This sleeve holds my baby snug and tight. It's not going anywhere unless I pull it out. I like that I can wash it to keep it clean. The bright colors and patterns help prevent loss and make it easy to spot inside dark bags. The blue microfleece lining is so soft. I bought the garden print which is retro fun and the Verso light in turquoise which matches the blue in that print & the fleece perfectly. Stylish, colorful, effective, practical combo with little added weight or bulk.

Was really excited that BUILT has partnered with Amazon to offer a sleeve for Kindle 3.0. I own several BUILT products (lunchboxes, laptop case) and appreciate the quality and materials. This neoprene sleeve for the Kindle is excellent: Kindle slides in tightly, and is open on the top for easy access to my Kindle, the Scatter Dot design is cool, and the inside feels like a cozy fake fur coat. Highly recommend!!

I thought I'd give this thing a shot. I was concerned about adequate protection from screen impact, but so far this thing's been great. I've dropped it off my desk in the case at least twice, it bounces!



First time I saw that, I was sold.



Things I would trust it for:



* Dropping on floor

* Looking cool while carrying it

* Keeping it dry in the rain

* Unplanned and short encounters with my toddler

* Tossing the kindle blindly into my van in the morning, hoping it lands on the passenger seat but not sweating it if I miss

* If you're a professional athlete, you could probably carry it on your person for most sports, like basketball, soccer, tennis, and obviously bowling (well, if you suck at bowling as bad as I do, you may want to keep conveniently hurled objects like kindles out of arm's reach, but it stands a good chance of surviving even a disgruntled hurl down the lane in this case)



Things I would not trust it for:



* Carrying it while playing hockey, rugby, baseball (in case it gets hit by the ball), jousting, martial arts, duels, or pretty much anything that used to be done on American Gladiators (TM)

* Deflecting bullets from people wanting to steal your kindle because it's awesome

* Dropping it into a puddle, pool, lake, pond, or ocean

* Dropping it from an aircraft, or tall building

* Letting your toddler play with it deliberately. As toddlers have a superhuman innate ability to destroy anything they choose to, this is not a good idea in any case.

* Blindly tossing your kindle down a flight of stairs, hoping it lands on the bottom steps



So that being said, you know where things stand.

For my 2nd gen Kindle, I had a hinge cover, a snap-on cover, and a zip around cover. All of them seemed bulky, which defeats the purpose of having a slim e-reader. I got this one for my new Kindle and I LOVE it! It fits like a glove, it's super lightweight, and it's machine washable! - Kindle 3 Covers - Kindle 3 - Kindle Accessory - Kindle Covers'

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Monitor Cleaner

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I bought this solution to use on my Archos 70

When I got this I was surprised at the size of the bottle, given the price I was expecting it to be much smaller.

This cleaner is the best one I have ever used so far and costs about one-tenth as much as the one I was using.

Very good for computer and LCD TVs. It even comes with a true micro-fiber cloth not a trumped up dish rag that most cleaners in this price range give you.

Cleaner really is streak free, quick drying and actually does a good job of cleaning the screen.

I haven't found anything else that even comes close to the value proposition of this product; highly recommended, suggest stocking up as word will surely spread about this one and it will become hard to find again. Vivitar Alcohol & Ammonia Free Screen Cleaning Kit for 3D TV, LCD, LED, Plasma TV and Computer Screens

This is without any qualms the best cleaner I've ever used on my equipment. It's fast, it's completely non-smeary without having to buff until your arm falls off. This is my fav product to clean my iPhone of all the fingerprints from playing Angry Birds, and for my computer screens, telephones, eye glasses, etc. I put some in a small spritzer for my purse for whatever.

My son likes to touch our new TV LED screen while watching favorite kids shows, it made me very upset until I bought this cleaning kit, it's just magic! Easy to use, cleans completely in seconds, bottle is big enough to last for a very long time.

This looked promising. However when used as the directions stated all it did was make a streaked mess of my Apple Cinema Display. Vivitar being into the optics business for many years should make a better product than this. The fix was plain distilled water wiped on the screen and wiped off with a high quality automotive microfiber cloth. I don't smoke so there was no film on the screen to start with. I don't know if the problem lies with the cleaning solution or the cloth supplied. In any event this product does not work as advertised.

The Vivatar cleaner is absolutely the best LCD screen cleaner I have ever used. As the previous reviewers have noted, the cleaner used with the included cloth wipe does an amazing job. The manufacturer should save themselves a little money by not including the the poorly made brush. Consumers will be more than happy to pay the price with only the solution and cloth wipe. I am going to research the reasons for not having these cleaning solutions in other more expensive products that don't do half as good a job. Hopefully there are no negative repercussions with this solution. As it stands now, they have "finally" manufactured a great product.

I used this onmy plasma and on my laptop it cleaned them both wonderfully. After cleaning my laptop I couldnt figure out why it looked so different then i realized it was because the screen hadnt been this clean in a long time.

MY LED AND LCD SCREENS WOULD ATTRACT DUST CONSTANTLY. IN OTHER WORDS, I COULD CLEAN MY SCREEN IN THE AM AND IT WOULD ALREADY SHOW DUST IN THE AFTERNOON. IT HAS BEEN A WEEK NOW, SINCE I CLEANED MY SCREENS AND THEY STILL DO NOT HAVE A FILM OF DUST ON THEM. I THINK THIS SOLUTION ELIMINATES STATIC AND ACTUALLY REPELS DUST. SO, CONSIDERING THE SOLUTION IS PROBABLY 5 TO 6 OZ. I WON'T NEED TO REPLACE IT FOR MANY YEARS.....UNLESS I DECIDE TO START DOING MY MIRRORS AND WINDOWS WITH IT AS WELL, ON WHICH IT WORKS VERY GOOD AS WELL. IT ALSO COMES WITH A SOFT CLOTH THAT IS OF VERY GOOD QUALITY AND A BRUSH TO GET INTO CREVACES AND SUCH WHERE YOU CANNOT USE THE CLOTH. ALL IN ALL, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS PRODUCT AT ANY PRICE...

I just got a new laptop like 2 months ago so Im still in that dont touch the screen, scrub the screen when I see even the tiniest of dust or whatever, so basically I want to keep it in the nicest condition I can since I bought it but, since having younger brothers is an issue with the "Dont touch the screen" rule my screen was driving me crazy, finger prints every where, dust, smudges, just a messy screen.

And I tried the wipes the different sprays, and seriously? Non of it worked so really this product was my last shot.

AND I LOVE IT !!! totally will buy this product again once Ive run out of the magic. Totally recommend it!!'

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Future Movie Releases - 1080p, star wars

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This is just an alert since there seems to be some confusion about a trilogy release with the original unaltered versions along with the special editions vs a trilogy set that only contains the special editions and no copies of the original unaltered versions.



The reviews for both sets are merged together... that is why you are seeing people claim that it has the original unaltered versions, and people complaining they do not. THIS set that I specifically clicked on to make this comment on is on the 2004 release which DOES NOT CONTAIN THE ORIGINAL UNALTERED VERSIONS. The box image is silver and has Darth Vader's mask on the box. This set ONLY contains the SE along with a 4th bonus disc of making of features and trailers and a sneak peak at episode III. If you want the trilogy set that contains both the SE and the unaltered versions but no bonus features, make sure when purchasing from Amazon, that the picture is a picture of Darth Vader and Luke clashing with light sabers and the box has a lot of blue coloring. It also says IV V VI along the bottom. Scroll down to DVD info and it should say release date: 2008. THAT is the version you are looking for.



If you place an order on the Trilogy with the Silver box with Darth Vaders mask on it, you are going to get the 2004 release of the trilogy and that's probably not the one you want... This review is going to appear on both sets though... So make sure before you buy, that you are on the correct trilogy page. Check the picture. Check the release date.



There are plenty of reviews of the actual product so I'm not going to go into that. Just wanted to clear up some confusion. Star Wars: The Original Trilogy (Episodes IV - VI) [Blu-ray]

It's real simple, George. The vast majority of people who will buy the Blu-Ray versions are middle-aged nostalgia hounds. These people will NOT pony up more of their hard-earned dough for CGI "enhancements." They WILL, however, whip out their credit cards for the ORIGINAL THEATRICAL RELEASES faster than Han Solo's draw-down on Greedo.



Find your best exant print each film of the original trilogy. Have the ILM lab boys scan in every frame @ 4k. Do the LEAST amount of color correction and dust/scratch removal--only in a restoration sense, not "improving color" or anything like that. Approach it like archivists.



Use your technical advancements to do the finest BR encoding of those individual frames. I want to see film grain, dude. Matte lines. Pancake makeup. Absolutely naked and unvarnished. The final result should be a monument to the format, really.



Do the same with the audio.



If your ego won't let you "let go" of your CGI meddling, then make every feature a two-BR set--your best "improved" version + the original theatrical release. You can charge more that way, have your final vision, and still satisfy the fans who want the '77, '80. and '83 prints. And line your pockets with more filthy lucre as you sell the same product to us for the umteenth time.



Call it a "Special Edition Archivist Series" or something like that.

The rumors are true about this DVD set being a "Special Special Edition". More changes have been made to the original Star Wars trilogy since 1997. Recently, many images, sounds, and even a full-length copy of Return of the Jedi have been floating around on the internet, all of which confirm the changes.



Like it or not, here are some of the major alterations:



A New Hope

1. Greedo still shoots first, but it is slightly improved.

2. Jabba the Hutt is still in the film, but has been completely redone.

3. The lightsabers have been enhanced; they are no longer white rods in certain scenes.



The Empire Strikes Back

1. Actor Ian McDiarmid now appears as The Emperor via hologram, with new dialogue and different music.

2. Actor Temuera Morrison now provides the voice of Boba Fett.



Return of the Jedi

1. Naboo has been added to the end celebration montage.

2. Actor Hayden Christensen appears as the ghost of Anakin Skywalker at the end of the film.

I am a huge fan of Star Wars. YEs, I am an 'Original Fan". And why is being an 'Original' fan percieved so negatively? If you are an original Beatles fan, the newer fans ask you with reverence what it was like seeing them in concert, etc. etc. (No, I am not fortunate enough to be an 'original' Beatles fan. I wasn't even born in 1964.) Original Star Wars fans are called oldtimers and accused of not letting go of the past and not appreciating that times change.



Mr. Rehnquist wrote in his review "I ask, who would want to see old, outdated movies in this age of advanced technology? " Well, I hope the answer is "Many People". My love of movies is not based on the level of special effects. Should we no longer watch the great old black and white films of the past because they are 'old and outdated'? No more Bogie and Bacall? No more Hepburn and Tracy? What about Gene Kelly? Jimmy Stewart?



The thing Mr. Lucas is forgetting is that more is not always better- in an interview when the movies first came out, he was quoted as saying that the problem with the Sci-Fi genre in general was that so many moviemakers forgot about the story. The movies ended up being built around the special effects.



Unfortunately, Mr. Lucas is adding all of these scenes and filming the newer movies (Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones) with nothing but the possibilities of these special effects in mind. He has lost the story; it had become secondary to the special effects.



I had no problem with the celebratory scenes added at the end of "Return of the Jedi" but I do have a problem with some of the other scenes. Han shot Greedo. Greedo did not shoot first. It is ridiculous to change this. Han's change of heart and redemption are more powerful when you know he was a mercenary! He was always looking out for himself. That's how he survived! He was in it for the money, and found himself inexplicably drawn to the people of the Rebellion. That's good story-telling.



The problem is that Mr. Lucas has taken the liberty of CHANGING much of the story with these scenes.



Mos Eisley was supposed to be a dusty, deserted town. Tatooine is on the outer rim of the galazy. It's an unimportant, dusty, underpopulated planet. What I saw in the "Special Editions" was a thriving, well-populated town.



I would happily buy the special edition versions if I knew Lucas intended on eventually releasing the original versions on DVD as well. I'd buy both.



We're not trying to erase the movies you love. If you like the "Special Editions" Great! I am glad. I would never tell any of you to shut up or that your opinions were stupid and your views outdated as we have been told by Mr. Rehnquist.



We original fans aren't telling you new fans that the version we grew up with should be the only one out there. Please have the courtesy of relizing we are only asking for the opportunity to buy these movies the way we fell in love with them. - Future Movie Releases - George Lucas - 1080p - Star Wars'

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Whiteboard - white board, markers

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These marker have worked great for my students' individual whiteboards. They can stand a prolonged uncapping without drying out beyond resurrection, a major plus in a classroom environment. Too, the tips are super sturdy and hold up to the varied abuses wreaked upon them by my student's. We've been using them almost daily for six weeks and haven't lost one. Overall another great classroom product from Expo!



If they can stand up to my fifth grader's, they'll certainly survive grown-ups! Expo Original Fine Tip Dry Erase Markers, 12 Black Markers (84001)

Didn't want to spend a arm and a leg for dry erase markers. So I searched and found these and thought the price was to good to be true. Took a chance and ordered and received them a few days later. They were wonderful and wrote perfectly. The price for 12 was the less than the price for a set of 4! Thanks for the awesome buy! - Markers - White Board - Wet Erase Markers - Dry Erase Markers'

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Tomb Raider Anniversary - lara croft, action figure

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I applaud the pose and quality of sculpting in getting back to the heart of the character. It's a modern update on the 1st Eidos design, with the funny bats and atlantis flying creature. The face is a terrible disappointment. It looks nothing like the package art, and truly, if you look at the prototype art on the packaging, this toy's head looks nothing like it. If you're playing with it, it doesn't matter but if you're displaying it (and come on, how many of you collectors plan to play with it?), it won't be the center of your toy collection. For the price I would have expected better. The 12" figure that talks is a better rendition and better investment IMHO. I don't know if it's the sculpt or the painting but I was disappointed. Tomb Raider: Anniversary Lara Croft 7-Inch Action Figure

No pictures I've seen of this product have portrayed the poor quality of the face by a long shot. This Lara looks Asian. Nothing wrong with looking Asian -- it's just that Lara is English. It's not even that it's bad work, it's just that there's no discernible similarity between the face of this figure and any of the incarnations of Lara, particularly the one from Anniversary.



Despite the rest of the figure being really good work, the face is enough for me not to recommend this. Opt instead for their 12" talking figure done for Legend.

I've been in love with her since 1997. Although she is way over my head in riches and education, she is a dream girl. Time pass on and I grew up, some, but to have a tiny image sitting on my coffee table shows my love for her duty as a video game sex symble. - Lara Croft - Tomb Raider Lara Croft - Collectibles - Action Figure'

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Notebook Computer Bags - notebook bag, notebook computer bags

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This messenger bag its huge. I have had bags before, but they felt more corporate, and this one gives me a more individual feel and look.



My one complain is the closing method, its too much of a pain to close it using the lock, so I usually end up just using the velcro, which can lead to a constant clanging noise as your walk (Which can get irritating)



Pocketing info:



There is a large pocket on the back with a Velcro close, Its large enough for papers, and can fit wider things but they will bulge.



At each end there is a Velcro pocket, fairly deep, and the one at the back is wider (good size for sunglasses)



Under the main flap is space for three pens, an ID badge, and two other pockets. The main compartment is vary large, it is divided into one space for a laptop, with a cloth strap that Velcros in to better hold the laptop, and the rest of the compartment is just as deep and I have used ti to hold upwards of 3-4 big books with out issue (Although they are still heavy :) ) Case Logic SNMB-15F 15.4-Inch Fullsize Canvas Messenger Bag with Laptop Storage (Dark Gray)

I was a little wary of buying a laptop bag without seeing it in person first, but I am really happy I went ahead and got this one. It's very well made and protects my 15.4" Dell Inspiron perfectly, plus it has a lots of little pockets on it that are perfect for holding other things - my power adapter, USB drive, pens, etc. Not to mention that it just looks really cool. I've gotten quite a few comments on it at work and whereve else I take it. I honestly couldn't be happier with this purchase.

This messenger bag is awesome. I was originally worried that there weren't going to be enough pockets, but there are more than enough. There are three pencil pockets that can hold two medium pens or pencils, there is an ID pocket on the divider between the laptop sleeve and the main pocket, there is a pocket on the back, a zipper pocket in the front, two side pockets that fit the ipod video in a thick silicone case perfectly and three small pockets for other stuff like 3x5 cards. It can carry a three inch binder, a laptop, and two or three other small text books easily. I put five good sized textbooks in it and still had enough room for my laptop in its thick carrying case. One of the most important features for me is the closer: under the pattern side is a small piece of velcro incase you don't want to use the buckle and the buckle is great because it is hard to open while being carried, so no one can pick through your bag. The down side to the buckle is that it is a little hard to get closed sometimes because the metal is just far enough off the fabric to shove the strap through. The bag overall is constructed very well, so if you want a nearly bullet proof canvas bag this is the bag to buy.

The bag is great! There's plenty of pockets and I've gotten more than a few compliments on the look of it. I just have one question... Why in the world did the designers put that stupid strap buckle on this bag? That is the absolute WORSE buckle device I've ever seen. I can get it to work okay when the bag is empt, but how useful is that. I never use buckle and thank God they put velcro on flap. Short story, it's a great bag that has a "form over function" clasp.

I want to give it 4.5 stars, only for the simple reason that only one side has the metal fixture for the strap so I don't know how long this bag will hold up. The build quality seems good, but with the strap only stitched on I have a feeling it'll fall off me like other bags I've owned in the past.



The picture doesn't quite look like the product. It is a bit lighter in the dark gray which is fine.

The bag is extremely comfortable on my shoulders. Very roomy (fits my macbook pro and some textbooks just fine), but it doesn't look much bigger than any other messenger bag I've owned. I constantly get complements on it. The bottle opener is a bit gimmicky and I tried to open something with it once with no success. There are tons of pockets that fit all kinds of things. Honestly it

I bought this bag to use at school. First impression on arrival was that the design looked like somebody drew it on with silver sharpie and spilled some paint to make random splotches. I had hoped the pattern was stitched on, but alas, that was not the case. I went over it with a black sharpie to make the design a little less obnoxious.



On the inside, the bag is nice and roomy with a padded compartment for a laptop and plenty of pockets for pens and other little things. The main compartment can hold several binders or books, a power adapter, and my lunch. Pockets on the ends are good for a water bottle, ipod, or camera. The end pockets are deep and have a flap to keep anything inside of them nice and secure. Slim pocket on the back is great for documents that you need quick access to.



The overall build is pretty good. I walked through a thunderstorm and the bag kept the contents dry, though I don't think the bag is waterproof. Brief forays into inclement weather are probably okay though.



The bad news, as mentioned in other reviews, is the flap securing strap. I traced the problem to the metal buckle. It's riveted on at all four corners, and in the middle of the top and bottom sides. The rivet catches the edge of the strap and makes it hard to insert. If they changed the strap design to fold over itself instead of having an edge, it would probably fix the problem. That or removing the middle bottom rivet. Incidentally, after about two weeks, the cloth that attached to that rivet pulled out on my bag. Strangely enough, the hole does not look torn, suggesting that the rivet missed the cloth in that section. That may just have been a defect in my bag though.



The other minor thing to note is that the shoulder strap is not padded, so if you want something cushy on your shoulders, you'll have to get that separately. I use mine as is and haven't had any problems unless I overload the bag and make it really heavy. - Laptop Bag - Notebook Computer Bags - Carrying Cases - Notebook Bag'

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Cordless Electric Lawn Mower - cordless mower, electric lawn mower

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I got tired of messing with gasoline, oil, and the mixing, pouring, and spilling of the two, so I gave all my lawn equipment away and hired a gardener - 2 years later realize what a mistake - all gardener does is mow grass every 2 weeks and charge $$$$ for everything else. So I decided to to take back my yard and went online to research electric mowers and decrease my carbon footprint.



I was all ready to purchase a corded model when I came across the Earthwise 20" 24 volt cordless rechargeable. I must admit that I was very apprehensive about cordless, I've owned many gutless cordless power tools. During my research of the Earthwise I ran across a video that showed the lawnmower in action - I was sold. I purchased immediately and have been extremely pleased.



This mower has all the power that I could ever need to take care of my yard (approx. 1/4 acre of grass, with some on a slope). The battery came fully charged and I had the mower out of the box, fully assembled (very easy), and out mowing withing 20 minutes. Used the grass catcher just to see how it worked (did a great job), then took it off and have mulched ever since (this machine turns your grass into the minutest particles).



It is very well constructed (the deck is metal - this is good), the height adjustment could not be easier (one lever adjusts all wheels - again, very good), it pushes very easily (thanks to the ball-bearing wheels), and the handle folds to make for very compact storage.



My yard and I am happy again! Earthwise 60120 20-Inch 24-Volt Cordless Electric Lawn Mower

This review is based on the same but differently branded Homelite UT13122 Cordless Mower (sold at Home Depot). My other mowers are an MTD electric and a Brill reel mower. I never own a gasoline-powered mower for the obvious reasons.



OPERATION:

- Push and turn around when necessary. Any problem is behind the mower.



PROS:

- Strong and powerful motor (it cut down 12"+ moist-grass! Haha, it's May 17 and I just did my first mowing of the season here in Virginia)

- Plenty of juice in one charge,

- 1-click removable battery makes it easy to charge the battery off-board/indoor with the included adapter cable and charger -- the same charger works for on-board and off-board charging,

- LED display for battery level is on deck at the rear, very easy to see while pushing the mower,

- Easy on and off; the safety key is secured to the control unit with a lanyard (no need to kneel down and get to the key like the Neuton),

- Dust/water cap for charging plug is included and secured with a lanyard,

- Wide cutting path,

- One-lever height adjustment,

- Maximum cut height is taller than most (haha, I like my lawn taller),

- Complete with bag, side discharger and mulch plug



CONS:

- Battery maintenance is not that simple. Per the manual, the charger is NOT a smart, trickle charger and MUST NOT CHARGE MORE THAN A MAXIMUM OF 24-HR. Yet, the manual and the yellow warning tag also warn that you MUST CHARGE THE BATTERY EVERY 30-DAYS during the off-seasons. Who's going to remember to do this religiously? The 1-click removable battery makes it possible to do charge it indoor, however, the owner must still remember to plug and unplug the the charger to heed the recommendation of no-more than 24-hour and at least once every 30 days. I have a programmable wall timer to take care of this (UPDATE: I am using a third party smart charger instead), but it would be so much nicer if the charger was a smart, trickle charger that can manage on its own. A smart charger circuitry is so easy to manufacture and it would add only a few dollars to the final price (and it would pay off in the long run given not too many owners would heed the warning, and many would end up with dead batteries, giving the product a bad rep).

- The handle is not foldable for quick storage. It's removable with the knob screws, but a foldable handle would make it much easier.



MAINTENANCE TIP:

- Get a programmable timer to help the dumb charger maintain the battery better (see cons above) -- UPDATE: I am using a 24v smart charger)

- Spray the blade and the bottom of the deck (well, all over) with Jigaloo or other similar spray lubricant. It will make it slicker and less grass will stick, keeping it cleaner and easier to blow after every use.

- UPDATE #2: store the battery at a cool place to minimize discharge, and don't let it discharge fully too often and don't leave it discharged too long. Sealed lead acid batteries are happier when they're fully charged (but they're not happy if they're overcharged with bad chargers either).



UPDATE: I opened the battery pack (8 screws) and saw two green, sealed lead acid (SLA) batteries with this printed on them:



6-DZM-20 (12V20AH)

3-Step Charge Method

Step 1: Constant Current Charge: 2.4 - 3.0A

Step 2: Constant Voltage Charge: 14.7 - 14.9V

Step 3: Floating - Constant Floating Voltage is 13.7 - 13.9V. Converting current: 550-600mA.



Note: if you are looking for an aftermarket smart charger, make sure you look for a 24v charger, because the batteries are placed in series (so double the voltage). The charging current can be lower than the spec above; it'll just take a longer to charge. I found mine from batteryspec dot com.



UPDATE #2: I'm still doing some work on perfecting the charger setup. As it is right now, I'm charging the battery pack off-board because it's more convenient and the battery stays cooler in the basement. I'm thinking of either upgrading the charger to either a: 1) 24v Soneil Charger (a reliable deep-cycle charger used for scooters/wheel chair, much more expensive though!), or 2) install a DPDT switch so that, at the flick of a switch, the battery assembly goes from series (24v) to parallel (12v), allowing me to use much cheaper 12v smart chargers (like the touted Battery Minder or Battery Tender Plus, available here at Amazon). With the DPDT switch, I'll set the pack to 12v for charging, and 24v for operation. It will only need a length of wire and a DPDT switch from Radio Shack ($3.99 plus tax, catalog #275-691).



It sounds like a lot of work, but it's a hobby to me and from the negative reviews, the battery (but actually the charger) is the achiles heel of this otherwise excellent mower. I'll post an update. - Cordless Lawn Mower - Electric Mower - Electric Lawn Mower - Cordless Mower'

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Bookshelf Stereo - microsystem, mini-stereo

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I brought a Thievery Corporation CD to Frye's and tested every system in there. This had the best sound for the money BY FAR. I like my music to have powerful base and thought about getting the same system with the sub woofer, but the highs and mids were not clear on that one. This unit had great comprehensive sound--clear mids and highs with great base. All of the other systems in this price range couldn't handle high volume and had around 150-170W, but this one maintained good sound as loud as I could turn it because of the 360W. The only drawback is that it's a little bigger than I wanted for a shelf system. Sony MHCEC709iP Mini Hi-Fi Shelf System

I wish I had known that that there is no headphone jack! (Ronnie's review came too late for me, unfortunately). I was very pleased with this system -- nice and loud so I can play drums with it with earplugs on, nice bass and overall sound quality. Then I discovered that there is no headphone jack. I didn't even think to see if it was included -- a headphone jack is a most basic feature that should be on every stereo. So, if you never ever use headphones, this is a great stereo, especially for the price.

This stereo looks and plays fine. That said, Sony really missed the mark. They didn't bother to include a headphone jack on the system. The audio input is a mini jack - not standard RCA audio jacks, it's marked "PC", and its use is not really covered in the instruction manual. The speakers connect with flimsy mini plugs similar to cordless phone battery connectors, so you have to cut and splice if you need to increase speaker separation. And finally, the factory manual is a generic document that's not specifically tailored to this unit. If not for the looks and the sound I would give this horribly awkward unit a one-star rating!

First the cons: I think the unit is ugly - too dark. Also, the display can be difficult to read. The remote has multipurpose buttons so it is not intuitive. While the unit does allow the user to hook up an iPhone or iPod, one must purchase separately (no mention of that in the product description) a piece of plastic that fits around the connection so the iPhone/iPod is held securely. Its a small item - why not include it? The speaker wires are short so forget trying to balance the sound. Also, no treble/bass buttons so you can't adjust the sound to your liking and this unit is VERY bassy. The CD player is on the top so you can't put the unit on top of an entertainment center.

Pros: The price was right, the sound is good if you don't pump up the volume too high (then the bass is very pronounced), and, if you move the antennae wire around, you can pull in a good many stations. If you don't want a huge system, but you do want something decent (good) for a low price - this is for you. It gets the job done well. Under the circumstances, I would buy it again.

It is what it is and that is: an AM/FM radio, CD player, with iPhone/iPod and PC hookup all for under $150.

Bought this stereo as my 13 year old's first stereo. The speakers detached nicely so you can perch them away from the main body. Good sound quality. I like the Ipod port. My only diss on the product, and it is my bad for not checking, there is no input for head phones. I bought a nice quality set of head phones to go with the stereo, but you have no where to input them... otherwise, it's a good little stereo that's not too big/small.

This stereo looks great and sounds great for the money yet suffers from a couple of bad design decisions.

I bought this unit for the computer room to add a little boost to my computer sounds and to allow me to play my iPod through.

Here are my thoughts on this stereo



The Good:

For sound quality: The sound on this unit is rich and deep and LOUD. It works perfectly with my iPod classic, the remote may be a little tricky at first, but you will get used to it, and with games and movies passed through it from my computer.

For Construction quality: The unit feels sturdy and well made and looks amazing.



The Bad:

For reasons I cannot fathom Sony's engineers decided to go against several decades of stereo design when they made this unit. As has been pointed out by other customers there is no headphone jack on the machine, which isn't a problem for me, but one must wonder why this classic staple of just about any other stereo ever made was left out. The second design issue is that the main stereo unit is quite long so although this is marketed as a "shelf unit" I do not know a single person with book shelves deep enough to fit this unit. To add insult to injury Sony decided to put two computer style fan exhaust ports on the backside of the unit which adds another inch to its length and means there must be a clearance of at least 15 centimeters behind the unit and the wall. So Sony has made the first "shelf unit" stereo that cannot be used as one. Oh well no matter, I'll just put the main unit out of the way somewhere and just run some longer speaker wire to the speakers which I can put where I like. Whoops. No I can't. Again it seems Sony's designers have decided to ignore the last 50 odd years of stereo history and instead of the usual "alligator clip" style connectors where you could use any length of wire you like, they have hardwired some very cheep wire to the speakers and added a special plug device at the end that connects to the unit, which are very much like the power connector of a computer fan. This means that the speakers can never be more than about 5 feet from the main stereo unit, and if a wire happens to go bad you are S.O.L.



Sony tragically missed the mark on this one. - Microsystem - Bookshelf Stereo - Mini-stereo - Mini System'

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Cassette Adapter - ipod accessories, ipod

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I have two of these devices. The sony that I have cost $20 and clicks when I play it in my one car. In my other car, it always sounds like the dolby sound filtering is on. This one works and sounds better and was half the cost. Philips USA PH-62050 CD/MP3/MD-To-Cassette Adapter

I got the Philips Cassette Converter to run my iPod Shuffle in my '96 Saab 900 with factory equiped stereo and it works beautifully. Yes, it is true that the signal is not very strong, so you have to turn the volume up a bit, but even the little Shuffle can compensate for it and by no means do you need to fear forgetting to turn the volume down when you switch to Radio or CD. The sound quality is as good as the iPod delivers and you have no disturbing background noise. I also had no problems that the deck would eject the tape. I can recommend this product and it's good value for money (I didn't try similar one)

This adapter works fine with my mp3 player, at top volume there's slight background noise that can be taken care of with noise reduction if your car stereo has it. Sound quality is excellent and very consistent. It's much better and less expensive than a radio transmitter. I'm extremely satisfied with this purchase.

There are basically 4 ways to play your iPod in your car:



1) Newer cars (typically 2006+) have an aux input which you connect your iPod to with the right cable. A direction connection like this is the simplest, lowest cost, and best sounding option - but you need a newer car.



2) On most cars without a dedicated aux input, you can hard wire a connection in the back of the head units with kits from several manufacturers (USA Spec for example). This provides sound quality as good as item #1 but can get a little messy as the hardware needs to be mounted (usually under the dash) and can be fairly expensive (approx $200 hardware, $50 to $100 install)



3) You can use a FM modulator with any car that has an FM receiver. This is low cost simple option, but the drawbacks are well known: OK sound quality at best, issues with static and noise from nearby radio channels.



4) For cars that have a cassette tape deck (remember those?!) you can use a cassette adapter like the Phillips here. My older Lexus has a cassette deck and I chose this option before I invest in adding a hard wire connection (#2) as described above. I figured I would least try it for $21 and I am very impressed with the sound quality! I would call it near CD sound quality. There is no hissing or mechanical clicking of the gears in the adapter. I also purchased the Maxell cassette adapter since they used to make the best cassettes back in the day and to my surprise it sounded much worse and had a loud humming noise. So I am keeping the Phillips and returning the Maxell and just ordered another Philips unit as a backup for long trips!

I bought this product about six months ago, and I have been generally satisfied with its performance; however, about a month ago it developed an audible squeak whenever it was operating, and recently it jammed completely so that when I tried to use it the cassette player would auto reverse a few times and finally spit it out. I took the cassette apart to clear the jam, but within a few minutes of use it had jammed again, and I finally gave up trying to repair it. I used the product practically every day in the time I owned it, so I can't really say I didn't get my $15 worth, but I'm still disappointed that it died so quickly.

...for solving a new tech problem. Cassette tapes are almost as extinct as the 8-track ...but the cassette deck lives on in many factory installed car stereos ...pretty much lying dormant as the CD player gets all the use. Wanna play that new fangled iPod or MP3 player in your car but don't have a modern, high zoot car stereo you can just plug it into? Problem solved if you're lucky enough to have a cassette player as part of your setup. Turn on your radio (volume down) and simply slip this cassette adapter into the slot. Connect the mini-plug into the headset jack on your pocket-sized player and...voi-la! ...put that puppy on "Shuffle" and enjoy a just about endless supply of tunes. It's that simple.



I have two of these Phillips units; they work great and sound great. The Phillips is also one of the least expensive of the lot. All the adapters work the same and they will all probably sound the same ...so why pay more? The audio cable can be routed in one of three ways making it adaptable to just about any cassette deck made. You can route the cable out the left or right side and out the center of the back edge of the cassette shell. There are two large screws allowing you to use a dime to open the slot and realign the audio lead.



One thing you need to be aware of as you use this cassette. Many cassette players came with some type of noise reduction system (Dolby and others). When using this adapter you want to make sure the noise reduction circuitry is turned *off* ...otherwise the music will sound dull and have a slightly weird effect to it. Some factory cassette decks, like the one in my 2000 Jeep Cherokee, default the noise reduction circuit to the "on" position so you have to turn it off each time you insert the adapter. Or you can just leave the adapter in the player with no harm.



Another point for getting good sound is to make sure the volume level of the MP3/iPod player is not greater than about 75% of max ...there's a good chance you'll get distortion if the player is at full volume.



The only downside I've experienced so far has been the top label peeling up in the hot weather. The ends will curl up and the sticky side will attach to the cassette door as you try to eject it. Simply peel off the label, problem fixed. So fire up that old tech cassette deck and enjoy your new tech using some low tech. - Mp3 Cassette Adapter - Ipod - Ipod Accessories - Mp3 Accessories'

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Power Tool Accessories - hobby, hobby tool

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I was originally going to buy a rotary tool and all of the accessories separate. But this package deal has everything I wanted. If you want all the accessories, I recommend this package. I added it all up, and it saved me around $75 compared to buying everything separate. Probably even more if I had to pay shipping on some of the accessories.



There are three things I don't exactly like about it though, but they aren't too bad if you know about them ahead of time.



First, the threads to attach the flex shaft, planer, or finger grip are plastic. I have a very strong grip, and am always twisting things very very tight. I twisted a little too hard when attaching the planer and broke some of the threads on the rotary tool itself (which cannot be replaced without replacing the whole tool by the way). So, just be careful and don't over tighten attachments, and you will be fine.



Second, the tool is surprisingly heavy and is pretty big. It makes it hard to do some of the finer projects I was wanting to do because it's weight and size makes it awkward to handle. But I recommend getting the workstation/drill press to hold the tool while you use the flex shaft attachment. You can use the flex shaft without mounting the tool, but it gets in the way and moves around on the bench while working.



Third, the toolbox it all comes in doesn't really hold everything very well. But that is pretty common with power tools these days isn't it? Anyway, just get yourself a bigger compartmental tool box (or large tackle box), and you will be fine. Just don't get the grey plastic "Dremel 9673 Deluxe Window Rotary Tool and Accessory Storage Case". I purchased it, and it is solid plastic (including hinges) and doesn't hold everything that comes in this kit. It isn't made for accessories, just the tool and a few bits.



One other recommendation is that you shouldn't use it on it's lowest speed setting often. I made the mistake of trying to plane down an edge of a shelf that was sticking out a quarter of an inch on a bookshelf a built. It jumped all over the place at the lowest setting and damaged the shelf. But at the higher speeds, it worked flawlessly, and I was even able to repair my mistake. And remember, let the speed do the work for you, not pressure. Every time I try to add more pressure to make my job go quicker, I end up getting less than perfect results. This tool does the job by its speed. Always remember that, and you will be very happy with this tool set.



(Oh, and shame on the guy who gave three stars and didn't even open the package). Dremel 4000-6/50 120-Volt Variable-Speed Rotary Kit

Handy tool to get into places larger tool are unable. The example I most recently had was the repair of a rotary spreader but couldn't get it apart because of bolts coroded and rusted by fertilizer and time. I was able to cut the bolts because of the small size of the tool and was able to get to the bolts and cut them quickly too I would add because of the speed. I have many futue uses for this small and powerful tool.

The Dremel 4000 I purchased as part of the 6-50 kit has proven to be an excellent addition to my collection of tools. Some examples of how I have used the Dremel 4000 include: removing a rusty section of exhaust pipe on my wife's car with the flex shaft attachment and a EZ-Lock metal disk, cleaning an aluminum casting with with a wire wheel to repair the compressor for an air-suspension pump, removing plastic with a ball-burr to replace a DC power jack in a laptop with a more readily available one.



I plan on purchasing the 220-01 workstation to use the Dremel as a high rpm drill press for circuit boards. The number and uses of attachments for this tool is pretty amazing.



I also like that the brushes and all of the components can be replaced using hand tools if the need arises.



Lastly, as a machinist for many years, I appreciate the importance of feeds and speeds of a cutting tool in a given material. The Dremel.com website gives easy access to base RPM for a cutting tool in a specific material.



I would strongly suggest purchasing this tool to anyone that is considering it.

I had an old model 395 which went bad after 25 years and thousands of hours of use and abuse. I needed a new one so I purchased the 400xpr model which only last 6 months and burned up. I was upset because I hadn't saved the receipt. I sent the tool back with a note explaining the problem and within 10 days I had a new 4000 which is working great for me. They realized the 400 had a problem which is why it has been discontinued. 5 year warantee!!!! Great customer service!

First of all I'd like to say that I have been using Dremel rotary tools for many years. I have enjoyed using this tool and had always found it to be reliable. Then, I bought the Dremel 4000 and the flex shaft, of which I had used the flex shaft many times in the past and always had it connected. The first day the flex shaft snapped, then the Dremel stopped working. I "burned it in" as they say by following the directions and running the Dremel 4000 at full rpms for 5 minutes. Having thought that I MUST have done something wrong, it is Dremel after all, I bought a second 4000 and another flex shaft. I burned the dremel in, and it stopped working as well. I went to the Dremel site, and low and behold NUMEROUS complaints abound on their message board about this very thing. Needless to say I see no point in buying another 4000 as they simply are not what they once were. The first dremel I ever purchased was in 1991 and it was a great tool that lasted through everything that I needed it for without fail. With the 4000 I simply feel cheated and cannot understand why Dremel hasn't addressed these problems in their rotary tool and stopped selling them. It's not like I abuse my tools, I use them for what they are intended to be used for. And even treating the second 4000 with kid gloves it still stopped working. Not once, but twice. I can even see getting a lemon occasionally but having purchased 2, and then reading the problems others are having on Dremels own message boards, I have decided to go with another product. The Dremel 4000 is a waste of money unless they address the problem of these things breaking down repeatedly.

While I love the functionality of the Dremel and all the various attachments that they provide for their customers it simpy isn't a good investment. I hope they meet the challenge of re-engineering this tool. I miss it in my shop. - Hobby Tool - Hand Tools - Corded Rotary Tools - Hobby'

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