Guy Low Price Electronic: 30 Aug 2011

Tuesday 30 August 2011

7 Port Usb Hub - hub, usb hub

This was a cheap USB hub that I was using to connect a hard drive, printer, and keyboard to a laptop. It worked great for about a month, then I noticed the hard drive started disconnecting randomly (A terrible thing when backups are running). Well this morning, about a month after I bought it, it just died completely.

I have it velcro'd to the desk, so it doesn't move. Wear and tear is definitely not the reason for this, It just died. USB Highspeed 7 Port Hub w/ AC Adapter (Silver)

I keep getting emails asking me to review this item. I do a review and it gets removed. I get another email, I do a review, it gets removed. What is this...groundhogdayazon?

I bought two of these and neither one has more than 2-3 ports that work.

They were really inexpensive, so it's really not worth my time to return them.

Will all 7 ports work on the ones you buy? Maybe. Maybe not.

The 7 port hubs at my local retailer are WAY more expensive than these and I'm guessing you get what you pay for.

I sure did.

This was an inexpensive hub. The pictures make it look much sturdier than it is, it's really lightweight and tips over if you plug things into the back 2 ports. Also, I plugged in 2 external self-powered hard drives, a digital camera, an iPod, a memory stick and a PSP, and when I connect the hub to my laptop, at least 1 of the items is not recognized. I don't know why. What I do know is that I stopped using the hub the day after I got it, so if I were you I would just not bother with this hub, as all it really does is take up a space on my power strip.

I LOVE this USB hub.

I do not know if I just got a good product, or I ordered from a different company, but this product is AMAZING! Unlike some other reviews, ALL of my USB ports work and I can run a flash drive perfectly. It seems faster than the ports on my computer. I simply love this product.

It is also very small. I did expect it to be as small as it was. It fits right in the palm of my hand.

Whether it makes a difference or not, I bought from HDE.

My ONLY complaint is that the USB and power cords could have been a little longer. I am going to purchase a cheap USB extender from my local computer stores.

In conclusion, if you willing enough to shell out a few bucks on a USB hub, this hub is PERFECT!

Looks like I bought this about 8 months ago or so... it was a good price, and I have too many external USB optical and hard drives that I always want to share on the network. Right off, if this was connected, the computer wouldn't complete the boot process; the system kind of seemed to get "trapped" looking for Operating Systems, and would hang. No big deal, I restart the computer about 3 times a week, so it was a minor annoyance to plug it back in once the boot process started.

2 nights ago, I went in to my office and saw the on-screen message of a lost connection to the drives that were connected to this while I was off at work. I was simply going to reboot, so I went to disconnect this and found a nice molten pile of plastic that was so hot it had burrowed through the better part of the external DVD drive it was sitting on, and it looked like it was getting hotter.

Good price or not, this is definitely the last product I buy of this brand - I don't know what would have happened in another 10 hours, but am glad I saw it when I did.

1. Within hours of plugging it in, 4 of the ports burned out, leaving me with only 3 left working. These 4 receive power, but no longer connect to the computer.

2. Powered is an overstatement. Depending on the port choice, it can have problems supporting one external hard drive (usb powered) and a USB fan. If the bottom 3 ports on the front (the only ones that still conduct data for me) are used, then more then two hard drives can work... barely. In addition, the included power supply has about 2.5 feet of cord. Not enough to stretch from a desk to a power strip on the ground, meaning I had to rearrange power cords to even get this installed.

3. It's slow. Speed decreases are of course to be expected with a hub, but I think the low power it provides means drives have to spin down more often, meaning seek times are increased.

For 7.50 I probably won't send it back, since it's too much trouble. But I wouldn't buy it again. Here's some I may get when I decide I need all the ports working:

7-Port USB 2.0 Hub, Black

Nu USB 2.0 10 Port Hub (with Power Adapter)

Belkin F5U706 2 in 1 USB 2.0 7-PORT HUB

Yes, all these cost between 20 and 30 dollars, but if you think of this hub as an unpowered 3 port hub, then you begin to understand the price difference.

I bought this "powered" USB Hub to charge an Ipod and a GPS unit. For some reason the power cycled on and off which caused the GPS unit to continually beep and power on & off. Figuring the first unit was defective, I was send a second unit which acted the same. - Powered Usb Hub - Usb Hub - Compact - Hub'

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Strong Pinner That Beats The Rest - nail gun, 23 gauge

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I've used this pinner on a few projects and overall I'm pleased with it. So far it's not jammed or malfunctioned and seems to set the pins to a uniform depth.

I have noted one thing I dislike. If you look closely at the picture of the tool, you'll see a small triangular piece of metal above the trigger. This is the safety. To operate it, you must poke your finger into the little space above the trigger and pivot the safety out of the way, allowing the trigger to move. Be aware that this is the only safety. Unlike most larger gauge air nailers, there is no device the prevents the tool from firing until it's depressed against the workpiece. Once the safety is moved aside, the tool's hot and will shoot pins whenever the trigger's depressed.

Aside from the safety system, I've been pleasantly surprised with the performance of this inexpensive little tool. If you're like me and have need for a pinner for occasional projects, I think you too will like this one. Just use it with caution! NuMax SP123 23 Gauge 1-Inch Pinner

The NuMax SP123 appears to be well made and so far it works well. The safty is near the trigger and once deactivated tool will fire so use good safty practices. Shoots 1/2" to 1" pins and for the money it is a great find.

I have used this nailer for just a few projects so far but it seems to work well. Only complaint is that I wish the nose of the nailer had some kind of rubberized tip to help with accuracy but there is so little kick back and the trigger is pretty sensitive so its not that big of a deal. Overall I would say this is a good value and does the job for me. - 23 Gauge - Pin Nailer - Pinner - Nail Gun'

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Hdtv Antenna - clearstream, hd antenna

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Absolutely the best antenna for DTV reception on the market! I upgraded from a DB4 in hopes of getting reception out of market and it easily locked in all the local stations at a distance of 40 miles, But I was blown away at how well it captured many stations from a town over 100 miles away. I live on a hill so that obviously helps and your mileage may vary, but I never had as much consistent long range reception with any other antenna. Another plus, it's no larger than a DB4.

One tip: The position of the binding posts used to attach the buss bars do not leave much room to tighten the wing nuts, so connect both sets of tapered loops with the buss bars, first, before assembling the rest of the antenna. That should make things easier.

FWIW, the negative review below is obviously a troll and should be disregarded; he has posted the exact same comments about the DB2 and the DB4. Hmmmm.. Antennas Direct ClearStream4 HDTV Antenna

I've been using a DB4 antenna for about a year and a half, and it was OK. It was connected to a 4-port amp, which outputs to a pair of HDHomeRuns. Out of the ~15 HD stations in my area, I could get a good signal on ~4 of them at a time (depending on how the antenna was pointed), marginal on 3-4, and the rest were totally unusable. I finally got tired of this, and was about to purchase a DB8, when I noticed this little beauty. I figured I couldn't go too far wrong, and ordered it. After 5 minutes for assembly and 5 minutes to mount it in the attic (just guessed which direction to point it -- the wide beam on this antenna is wonderful), 13 of the 15 stations get near-perfect reception (>90% signal, >90% SNR); the other two are good (>70% on both). WOW - what an improvement, especially for an antenna that is only slightly larger than the DB4!

Highly recommend this over the previous generations of Antenna Direct antennas. And with Amazon's Prime shipping, you can't go wrong on this!

I have an antenna in the attic which has pulled in analog signals for us just fine over the years. Got one of those digital to analog boxes so I would be able to continue getting off-air after February '09. Even though the box was attached to the same old antenna I was surprised that I could receive no digital stations.

Looking at the reviews I decided to get the Clearstream 4. I placed it in the attic, although the material recommended not to. It pulled in the 4 local digital stations but two of them were badly pixilated. I moved it up to the roof and am now receiving good signals. We live 25 miles from the TV towers, in a low valley with large trees between us and the towers. This antenna works! I also appreciate that it is light and thus was easy to move around to the different placements. If you are in a difficult location, be sure to point it at least roughly in the direction of the digital tower(s).

I have been very pleased with this antenna. I am ~43 miles from the TV towers in LA. I did have to mount this antenna on my roof, above the roof line of neighboring houses, but the signal I receive is great. I simply used the previously installed cable coax from the cable company, and hooked it up to the C4, and am able to get a perfect signal on three TVs in my home. So that's three 2-way splitters, ~100' of coax cable, and no pre-amp is necessary. Compared to the large traditional outdoor tv antennas that for my location would need to have a 5-10' boom length, the C4 is quite small. I was able to get 58 digital channels after doing the auto channel search on my digital converter box. And I can now enjoy FREE HD quality TV. I ordered and received the C4 from Amazon, but some of the metal parts arrived bent out of the box. I was able to assemble it anyway, and luckily they didn't seem to be critical to its function. With the advent of free digital TV, this is absolutely the way to go. There is no more of the fuzzy analog signal with digital. Ditch your cable TV provider and get rid of expensive monthly cable fees, get free HD TV with an antenna, and then you can always watch shows that aren't broadcast for free on the internet (Hulu.com, etc.)

The C4 antenna is excellent when you consider its size. I placed it in my attic (as a backup antenna during hurricanes threats) and it works very well. I am 18 miles from the Miami TV stations to the south and 25 miles from the West Palm Beach stations to the north and I am able to receive all of the UHF digital transmissions. I placed C4 and C2 antennas in my attic, back to back, on the same 4 foot mast.

I gave it 3 stars because it has no reception capability on the VHF-Hi channels (7-13). I tried it outdoors and there was no reception on Miami's channel 7 (transmitting on channel 8 until June 12) and channel 10 (transmitting on channel 9). The same was true for the Palm Beach station, channel 12 (transmitting on channel 13). Antennas Direct/Terrestial Digital claims "consistent gain throughout the ENTIRE DTV channel spectrum", but this is totally false. The DTV channel spectrum includes channels 7-52 (both VHF-High & UHF), not only channels 14-52 (UHF). Channels 2-6 (VHF-low) are rare exceptions when they are used to transmit DTV, so I have no qualms about no reception for these.

Since I also got a C2 antenna (C4's little brother), I was able to compare them and there is practically no difference as to their reception capability. For the size, I think that the C2 is better.

One surprising result is that it works great to receive FM radio (something that their product literature does not claim).

At first I thought that the C4 had poorer reception than the C2. I had a little problem with a rattle inside the C4's 75-ohm connection box which required me to disassemble it (a nut was loose inside). I finally figured out how to put it back together on my own, but I had contacted Antennas Direct (twice) through their website, and they failed to respond. It seems that they respond only if it is going to lead to a sale. Once a sale has been made, they are not interested in helping their customers. Shame on you Antennas Direct/Terrestial Digital!

If you want an outdoor antenna for channels 7 to 52, I recommend the ChannelMaster 4228 (unfortunately discontinued) and the Winegard HD76xxP series (i.e., HD7696P). - Hd Antenna - Outdoor Antenna - Antenna - Clearstream'

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Bluetooth Receiver Transmitter - a2dp, bluetooth adapter

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This is a very cool gadget, that adds a Bluetooth interface to anything with either audio-in or audio-out jacks.

For example, receiver side of this device will connect your home/car/boat stereo to your Bluetooth-enabled MP3 player (like the one built into the RAZR V3xx and V3i mobile phones) allowing you to play your MP3s through the stereo's amp and speakers.

The transmitter side makes it possible to listen to the TV over Bluetooth headphones, just plug this thing in to the audio output jacks (found on most cable converters, DVD players, etc.)

In short, it makes your older audio devices available via Bluetooth, in just about every way you can imagine.

A couple of quick usage notes:

1.) To put it into pairing mode you must hold it's ID button for 7 seconds while it is powered *off*. You can hold it all day long after it's powered on, without changing a thing.

2.) The female audio jacks built into it are pretty stiff, you have to push it in until it clicks, and it takes a little more force than usual. (btw, its package does not RCA jack adapters, as is suggested in some of the product's literature, but those adapters are both cheap and readily available.)

3.) It's documentation states it can store 8 pairings with other devices, but does not indicate whether its transmitter is capable of connecting to more than one device at a time (which would be most functional, for sure.) At the moment I only have one device that supports A2DP (as a receiver, so until I get another, it's wait-and-see, I suppose... (I'll be pleasanty surprised if it does support more than one concurrent receiver, but what the heck: dare to dream.) Sony Two-Way Bluetooth Adapter for iPod and MP3 Players

I've read through some of the other reviews and find a few of them shouldn't really be targeted at this particular unit. If you are a potential buyer, then there is a good chance you are familiar with Bluetooth, yet may not know much about the A2DP profile.

Bluetooth, is by far, not a flawless means of communication; for that matter, neither wired or wireless formats are flawless. This must be kept in mind when choosing which is right for you.

Bluetooth has quite a few limitations: range, compatibility between versions, and profile support, to name a few. A2DP is a fairly new profile, so there are hiccups and bumps along the path.

A2DP stands for Advanced Audio Distribution Profile. It is able to stream stereo sound from one device to another. In order for it to work properly (or at all), both devices you are attempting to pair together (ie: you want this unit to work with your music phone or laptop) must support A2DP. The Sony HWSBTA2W supports A2DP and no other profile! It does not support HSP or HFP! Which means it will not work with a headset or hands free Bluetooth device; you cannot answer your phone with it. It will, however work with Bluetooth headphones that support A2DP.

Again, this is streaming music from one device to another. If you have it connected to a computer, your Bluetooth Stack (program that manages your computer's resources to communicate to and from other Bluetooth devices) will be running in the background continuously. If another program you are running prioritizes higher than your Bluetooth Stack, you may hear stutters, distortion or speed changes to your music. There is also a delay, for the music is being encoded at one end and decoded back to analog signal at the other end. If you ask me, I wouldn't use it to watch a movie.

Believe it or not, all this information and more is in the instruction manual. I'm sure if you search on Sony's support page, you will be able to download a .pdf of the manual.

Personally, I used this in conjunction with a Sony XA-300 auxiliary selector connected to my car stereo to stream music from my phone. If attempting to power this unit with a car adapter, I highly recommend the Sony DCC-E345 or Sony equivalent. I couldn't find my power adapter as fast as I would have liked and ran out to a local Radio Shack and bought one of theirs. It powered the HWSBTA2W but with a substantial amount of Bluetooth radio noise. Luckily, I was later able to find my DCC-E345 after a few hours of searching. I then powered it off that and the noise was gone! I guess you get what you pay for (then again, I paid $12.99 for the Sony one and $25.00 for the Radio Shack one!).

All in all, a great unit and will continue to buy Sony products because of it!

Because I hate the static-ridden 900MHz technology, I purchased an expensive set of cordless infrared headphones. Everything was okay until I purchased a 50" plasma television. Everytime a white or yellow screen appeared, I either lost the sound signal or it became annoyingly intermittent. Unfortunately, the plasma screen seriously interferes with infrared transmission.

My answer was to buy a quality pair of Bluetooth headphones with a stereo transmitter, and I could not be happier. The SONY DR-BT50 headphones and the SONY HWS-BTA2W transmitter/receiver combination are an excellent solution. I highly recommend these products.

I bought this to use with an iPod sitting in an Apple dock. Unfortunately there was very noticeable distortion when hooked up to the line level output of the dock. Although this is documented in the operating instructions, I thought I would pass it on here so others can be informed before purchasing. From the manual:

"Be sure to connect this unit to the headphone jack of the stereo audio source device to be connected. If this unit is connected to the LINE OUT jack of the device to be connected, the sound may be distorted."

I can vouch that this does cause distortion in the case of the Apple iPod dock. The sound quality is actually quite good when plugged into the headphone jack (you may need to lower the volume of the iPod). Whether this is good choice for you really depends on how you intend to use it . - Bluetooth Receiver - Bluetooth Adapter - A2dp - Bluetooth'

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Notebook Cooling Pad - notebook cooler, laptop cooler

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My computer would get so hot while I watching movies or television shows on my computer that it would literally burn my leg. I didn't even want to think about what it was doing to my computer! I'd been looking around for laptop coolers for some time, but the reviews on most were not exactly promising. For a while I almost bought the Belkin cooling pad, but there were several complaints about the location of the fan making it prone to being blocked (which is the problem I have with my computer's fan already!). Then I came across the Logitech N100 cooling pad, and based on the positive reviews and rear air intake designed, I finally decided on this one, and man am I glad!

The first thing I noticed about the pad was how light it was. You won't believe it until you lift it yourself. It weighs next to nothing. It looks nice, too, and will complement any computer. It's plenty big enough to fit my 15.4 inch widescreen computer, and would probably easily fit a computer a couple inches wider. My computer didn't slide on the surface, and it's easy to move the computer while on the pad. They both lift easily together. The curved design leaves a nice area for air to come in under the laptop (one of the main reasons my computer got so hot while on my lap was because there was no space for air to get to the bottom) and it leaves a way for heat to escape. The genius part, however, is the rear air intake. It draws air in from the back, not from underneath the cooler. This is especially effective when I'm laying in bed. I can set the cooler on my plush comforter and air can still get in!

Immediately, I was pleased with the USB cable. There's a place on the bottom of the cooling pad where you can sort of thread the cord through so that it stays tight and isn't all over the place and in the way. So I threaded it through in the direction I wanted it and plugged it in. Then I waited...And waited...And waited. Nothing. Or so I thought. It was so quiet that I thought it wasn't working, and I had to lift my computer to check to see if the fan was moving! It was.

Now, some people have made a comment about the power of the fan, and I will agree with them that it is fairly low-powered. However, that's not really a problem. Because of the design of the cooling pad, only minimal air is needed. My computer fan has not kicked on since I've had the cooling pad. At the most, my computer will get slightly warm, but even then it's nothing compared to the burns I used to get from it. And it's probably a bit unreasonable to think that a machine doing as much processing as the standard laptop does is never going to get the least bit warm.

Overall, I'm immensely pleased with my purchase. It was worth the wait and the price to end up with a light, aesthetically appealing, nearly silent, and highly effective cooler. If you're looking around and haven't made up your mind yet, I'd recommend you give this one more than just a passing glance. Logitech Notebook Cooling Pad N100 (Gray)

I wish I could give this thing two separate ratings but since I can't I went with 3 stars. I'd give it 5 for design alone. The placement of the fan and its intake are great. I never have to worry about the intake being cut off by my clothing when it's on my lap, a problem I had with my previous laptop cooling pad was a Belkin F5L001 Laptop Cooling Stand. I have also written a review for the Belkin pad.

I'd give it 1 star for the fan. The fan is extremely quiet but that is because it does not move a great deal of air. Since the air flow is very low, it is not adequately cooling my own laptop. While the 2 star reviewer states that the fan is overkill, I'd like anyone reading this to note that laptops vary between manufacturers and models. How hot your laptop gets will vary depending on make/model and even how you're using it. This pad may be good for you if your laptop only gets uncomfortably warm.

Unfortunately, this is not the case with my laptop, an older Macbook pro (that I suspect may be on its way out) that gets skin searingly hot to the point that it interferes with the functioning of the laptop. An efficient and working cooling pad is actually a necessity for me. If I could put the fan from the Belkin mentioned above, into this pad it would be perfect.

I had low expectations for this, since I haven't had great experience with cooling pads. They only sort-of work in terms of heat dissipation, and tend to be noisy (or become noisy as the parts wear in).

This one has so far been a very surprising change from the past. It's very quiet, I'm not sure if what I hear is just my notebook, or the pad as well. So I was even more sceptical about the cooling, but it fooled me. So far, my hot-running Dell XPS has been running much cooler, even when I'm doing something cpu-intensive like playing chess.

So try it, you might really like it! (The price is a bit steep, in my view, but I guess you get what you pay for.)

Note on size: this is about 14.25 x 11 inches, large enough for a 17-inch laptop perhaps. - Laptop Cooler - Laptop Fan - Notebook Cooler - Cooling'

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Headphone Splitter - audio splitter, belkin

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So to recap:

Dirt cheap

Flexible

extremely easy to use

Diminishes volume? Not too badly.

DOES preserve stereo separation! I'm mixing a song right now through these splitters and while panning back and forth, my headphones respond as if the splitter weren't in at all. It doesn't turn stereo to mono despite what that one guy said. And yes, I've got two pairs of headphones plugged in.

I discovered that if both sets of headphones plugged into the splitter aren't firmly plugged in, it will do the stereo to mono thing, but if you click them in properly, you're fine. Belkin F8V234-WHT Speaker and Headphone Splitter

does the job and no complaints. These type of splitters are ideal because you don't have to worry about it breaking from bending. I purchased a splitter before that wasn't wired, just a solid unit, and it broke from bending too much.

As other reviewers have noted (and I've taken this into account for purchasing), the volume drops across both outputs since the signal is split -- not a big concern for me, but on some setups this may result in an unhappy amount of line noise when you have to crank source volumes to compensate.

I use this because I have a stereo deck (with high-quality Sony MDR-V900s attached) and a Plantronics headset I use for recording video tutorials and such on my computer. I didn't want to actively have to toggle back-and-forth, since that'd impede my workflow: my use case is swapping between headsets quickly, and this Belkin splitter is a tidy little solution!

This is a fantastic piece of audio equipment. Not only is it great for sharing audio with two headphones, but it's also great giving sound to both my computer speakers and the TV I have connected to my computer. I get a full, rich sound on both sets of speakers and in headphones.

Definitely a must buy for people looking to share sound between 2 speakers or headsets.

I got these as my secondary splitters, but since my other ones haven't come in yet, I decided to use these. While sitting on the bus with my friend, we were both able to listen to my ipod comfortably, and were able to sing together. These work great, and turning up the volume is only needed if one person like the volume higher than the other person sets it.

I got this to split off the headphones/ear buds for a portable DVD player on flights. It works great and is easy to pack. Just make sure the headphones/ear buds are of the same sensitivity (i.e. 90dB). If not, one set will be louder than the other. For example, I have a cheap pair that came with my Sansa and my wife just prefers the ones that came with her iPod (which are terrible by the way) and she can barely hear anything while I'm laughing away at the movie. So, the Sansa ones are a lot louder than the iPod ones. Therefore, they have different sensitivity ratings and really are not compatible when used this way. If you buy this splitter I would suggest testing both sets of headphones/ear buds first.

This is just a quick review to say the stereo system is absolutely working and the sound quality is almost the same I had with my not-so-pricey ear-buds. I was almost thinking of not buying this because of that false 1-star review which apparently was most helpful. I don't know what kind of problem he/she had but I just tested it with Sony test video and it works.

My problem was that I could not record streaming audio on my PC because Dell does not present the stereo mix as one of the recording device options. There are lots of free apps available for downloading streaming audio(to record internet radio for example - only where legal of course), but with many Dell PCs these apps dont work. So... I bought this belkin splitter for less than $4. I plugged the main splitter lead into the sound card out and the speaker cable into one of the splitters, and I plugged an audio cable from the other end of the splitter to the mic jack on the front of my pc. Bingo - now I can listen and record at the same time. Then I move the mp3 files to my kindle. There are many problems with playing said files on the kindle but still, it works. - Audio Cables - Y Cable - Belkin - Audio Splitter'

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Canon - canon

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This is the calculator for the person who wants to know what the payment will be on their car loan or what the value of their CD will be in two years, without knowing any of the details of time value of money (TVM). TVM can be complex unless you use it every day; on most financial calculators, some amounts have to be entered as negative numbers and you have to know whether payments are applied at the beginning or ending of the interest period. This calculator relieves you from having to know those details. Want to know what your car payment will be? Just enter the amount of the loan, number of months financed, APR, and you've got it. Want to know how much your CD will be worth in 24 months? Just enter the initial value of it, the APR, the term, and you've got it (you specify compounding period, like quarterly, when you first setup the calculator, then you don't have to worry about it anymore).

The form factor of the calculator is great. It is a clamshell design, and when folded measures 4" by 3" by .5". It fits in your shirt pocket with much room to spare. The display is second to none; huge LCD readout. And it steps you through each calculation via easy to understand prompts.

The battery is one CR-2032 and should last 2 years if you use it one hour per day, according to the manual. The manual is easy to follow and complete, although I wish the font was a bit bigger.

See the Canon web site for a complete description and specification; it does several types of loans and savings plans. It calculates days between any two dates also. And it has a large 12-digit display, which is very easy on the eyes.

All in all, a neat gadget. Canon FN-600 Financial Calculator

This is a basic financial calculator, it calculated mortage payments and compound

interest very well. It does not show mark up and few other functions. The calendar and time clock is a nice feature. Good handy little calculator.

It is an attractive size, light weight, and useable with a small repair and user manual download. If it had been expensive I would drop the rating to 2 stars but for under $8.00 not bad.

I removed the battery activation tab and entered a number, then a function, and when I started to enter the second number the first one flickered and returned to zero. The cause was a tiny flexing of the case and the reason it matters is that the battery compartment lid does not put quite enough pressure on the battery. I inserted a sliver of foam between the case top and the battery and all is well now. The English manual starts the first few pages in English and then switches to Spanish. Thinking I had this under control I went back home a grabbed the Spanish manual. OOps the middle of the Spanish manual was still Spanish! If yours has this short coming here is the link: [...]

Otherwise it is an OK and very inexpensive calculator that looks clean and is a quick way to calculate payments, CD and savings values (compounded) and TTS (Telegraphic Transfer Selling / buying rates). I'm sure I will never use the TTS functions. - Canon'

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Rachael Ray Cookware - grill pan, hard-anodized

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I bought the pan because I was in the market for a griddle type pan, and I was really interested in the new oval shapes in cookware. I enjoy Rachael Ray's show and follow quite a few of her recipes, and that orange trim really caught my eye, so I bought it.

Other than the fact that I wish the handle were on the shorter end rather than centered at the widest point, (because maneuvering can be tricky unless you have a huge rangetop), I'm pleased with the way it cooks. I'm lucky enough with a large enough kitchen that I can leave it out, because it's rather eye-catching, (I bought the saute' pan too, with the lid) and I find myself using it more and more often. It's great for searing. I made wonderful porkchops last night. I recommend it if you don't want to spend a fortune, but still want those nice grill marks in a pan.

I actually bought this pan on extreme impulse...to make a flank steak philly cheesesteak something-or-other that I caught on the Rachel Ray show (demonstrated on this very pan,of course). The size is unique and very useful for long cuts of meat or to set things off to the side like a real grill. It is truly non-stick and cleans up very easily. It's heavy gauge, even-cooking, and decently priced. I find Rachel a little annoying to listen to generally...but I'm glad I listened to her this time!

Rachael Ray's recent cookbook has "orange" in the title, because, as she puts it, it's her favorite color. This grill pan, as one might guess, has a characteristic orange handle.

But the key point is simple: this works pretty well. Once the weather gets colder, I begin to use grill pans a lot more. For small jobs, I have a nice 10 inch circular grill pan. But when I have to grill chicken or pork chops or fish for several people, that pan just doesn't do the trick. And there is where Ray's grill pan comes into play.

My recipes for grilled chicken and fish for three (or sometimes four) people calls for a larger grill pan. The oval pan here is just the ticket. I put it over two burners (maybe I'm sinning in doing this) and grill the food. The end result is pretty good. The nonstick surface seldom leads to what's being grilled sticking (some nonstick surfaces aren't nonstick!).

All in all, then, I really appreciate this grill pan. If my experience is typical, then this is something that those wanting a good grill pan might think of acquiring.

I was very disappointed in this grill pan and would never buy any other Rachel Ray cookware. First of all there was a flaw in the non-stick coating which chipped the first time I washed it, by hand with a soft non abrasive sponge. I exchanged it and didn't have that problem with the second one but if I still had the package I would just get a refund.

There is a really strong chemical smell when it's heating up. Kind of smells like fresh paint or something which isn't real appetizing when you're trying to cook a meal. This does seem to be getting better the more it's used, or maybe I'm getting used to it. With the oval shape it obviously hangs over the stove's burner some, which would be fine but it doesn't conduct heat evenly. I usually put either 4 chicken breasts or 4 pork chops in it and I have to rotate them because the ones in the middle will burn while the outer ones are raw. For a family of 4 this is a good size, just poor quality. Another thing that could have been better is the ease of cleaning. Where the grill ridges meet the bottom of the pan should have been more rounded, mine gets build up in the creases which has to be scraped out with something like a toothpick. I do love the idea of a grill pan and would use it all the time if I had a decent one. Very disappointing!

I bought the pan because I was in the market for a griddle type pan,The size is unique and very useful for long cuts of meat or to set things off to the side like a real grill. It is truly non-stick and cleans up very easily. I put it over two burners and grill the food. The end result is pretty good.This pan is great for chicken, fish, steaks, and chops. I recommend it if you don't want to spend a fortune, but still want those nice grill marks in a pan.

This is my first rachel ray pan, and I am in love. If the rest of my pans weren't in such good shape, I'd buy the whole set! I love how easy it is to clean. I love how you can easily fit 3 reasonably sized steaks/chicken cutlets. A must have for any cook!

This nonstick oval grill pan is absolutely the best thing I have ever bought for my kitchen. It's big enough so that I can place it over two burners if I want to. And, I could not believe how easy it was to clean; most of the food residue comes off under running water. I highly recommend this grill. If I had to get rid of every pot in my kitchen and just keep one, this would be it. Rachel Ray's nonstick oval grill pan is the BEST. - Grill Pans - Grill Pan - Hard-anodized - Rachael Ray Cookware - Hard Anodized - Rachael Ray'

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School Supplies

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The school books that my child uses are of a large size, for example one of them is 10.9 x 8.4 x 1.3 inches and this example may not be the largest one. I think that adding at least a half inch of the 'stretchable' material on each direction would have made them a better fit for my child schoolbooks. Kittrich Jumbo Sized Stretchable Bookcovers-Solids and Prints, 6 Pieces (BSJ-ASST6-06AM)

The covers are OK but two comments:

1) I expected and would prefer more substance in the material, even texture, rather than thin slippery material.

2)Would suggest also that the items sent be true to the picture. I purchased the items specifically for the purple book color to match a bathroom; however there was no purple cover included.

To end on a positive note, the stretch is great! Also, being a book lover, the covers can be used at home and are very practical.'

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Car Speakers - great value

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If I could give zero stars I would these speakers work for about 3 day before the first one blew a couple days later the other one blew and before that they where really low i could barely hear them not worth the money P.O.S. Boss CH4620 Chaos Series 4" x 6" 2-Way Speakers (Pair)

i put these speakers in a 92 chevy s-10 extended cab. they are powered by a cheep Dual stereo from walmart. i have 4 x 10 in the rear (same type) and surprisingly they sound pretty good. i would recommend this product for anyone looking for a cheep but decent sounding speaker.

Came on time,and they worked great, till one went out. Found out that where you connect them was faulty, i swaped them out for a set i had lieing around.While i had these they were good just wasnt made correctly other wise its a good buy.

I put these as replacements for dash speakers in a buick century powered by pioneer supertuner man they crank and sound great and the treble is super clear I mean you get your bass power by your 6x9s in the back anyway so these really round it out.

the speakers did not fit properly holes drilled too small, one blew after a week of normal use, will not buy any more from boss. 250 watts it says on speaker, blew one with 50 watts. need I say more? JUNK!!!

The wire from the woofer to the tweeter broke after about 1 day of playing music. It's connected to the head unit and not through any amp's so it's not like I overpowered it. The wire seems stiff / brittle so that's maybe why it broke. I fixed it by rewiring it with my own wire and solder It's been fine since then.

Other than that problem. It's a average speaker. Fits the front with some minor modification in a 92 GMC Jimmmy. - Great Value'

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Vga To Hdmi

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People seem to be buying this item expecting it to be VGA to HDMI, or bi-directional. This was made to send the video from your HDMI source, to your VGA display. If you're trying to convert a VGA signal to an HDMI signal, you need to convert and get a proper cable.. much more expensive. ..but stop marking this thing poorly because you don't know what you're buying. It's not a bad product, it's just getting bad reviews from people who can't do research or for that matter, read. HDMI to VGA HD15 (Male) Cable

The product description states, "This HDMI to VGA HD15 (Male) connects your HDMI-equipped device, HDTV (NOT FROM COMPUTER OR LAPTOP) to your monitor. The HDMI-equipped devices include...Playstation system"

Well, I connected this cable from my PS3 (in the above list) to my VGA input projection monitor (ACER XD1150) and the projector does not recongnize the signal. Based on the description I can think of no reason why this wouldn't work. The ACER takes the same exact input and works the same way as a computer monitor. The PS3 is an approved device. Yet, the signal is not recognized. My only conclusion is that the cord fails to convert the signal from HDMI to VGA making it useless.

The top rated review for this says it allows hdmi to vga but not vga to hdmi. After purchasing this to go from my hdmi output cable box to a vga flat screen monitor, it does not work. This product does not do what the top rated reviewer says it does.

An HDMI cable is purely digital (1's and 0's) while VGA is completely analog (waves). You will most likely be wasting your time purchasing this product unless your device has some magical way of outputting analog signals through its HDMI port. The product still gets 2 starts for being honest and saying don't try to connect your VGA port on your desktop or laptop computer to an HDMI port on your display, but I seriously doubt that it will work in any situation.

The idea solution to someone looking for a way to do this is if they had a an HDMI cable attached to your device and a signal converter (these are currently north of $100 as of the time of this review, closer to $170) and then a VGA cable going out from that to your monitor, similarly this is how you could go from your computer to converter box to HDMI to TV.

If you're wondering "Well, DVI is a digital interface and there are cables that go from VGA to DVI and it works perfectly fine!" its because the DVI interface actually has half analog pins (DVI-A) and the other half is digital, which is how it is capable of taking VGA signals. HDMI cables do not have any compensation for this conversion at all.

I was also looking around and this cable seemed to be exactly what I was looking for, it went from an HDMI input to a VGA output... Surprisingly, it even looks like a well-made cable, but unfortunately, doesn't work at all...

I purchased this to connect HDMI equipment to an EPSON projector that I have, which unfortunately doesn't have an HDMI input on it, only a VGA. According to the description of this cable, that is exactly what it is supposed to be used for, but it DOES NOT WORK!

What everyone needs to understand here is that you need to research before you buy. This product is not meant to take a digitanl signal and allow you to connect to an analog display, or vica versa. This cable does not do a digital to analog, or analog to digital, converion. Most HDMI devices are going to be digital, while most VGA devices are going to be analog. You cannot connect the two with a cable. You have to actually convert the signal. This cable is meant for the very few devices that can actually output analog from the HDMI connector. This is very rare and you should pretty much always assume your HDMI connection cannot support analog, and your VGA connection cannot support digital.

Do some research on your devices. The manual should tell you what is supported on each connector.

If you are trying to use this to connect your laptop or pc to your tv, and your only output is a VGA port, this will not work! VGA is an analog signal, and HDMI is digital. You cannot convert analog to digital with a cable- you need to purchase a converter to do this. There are several on here for about $40, and some that range up to $300 or more. I do not know if the $40 ones work, but I can tell you the $6 cable certainly does not! I don't know if this can be used to connect an HDMI out to a VGA in, so certainly do your research before buying this. It doesn't cost enough to worry about sending it back, but if we had spent much more on this, I would be returning it today.

I bought this cable to connect my new Dell Mini 1010, which only has HDMI out, to older projectors with only RGB/VGA/component/S-video in. It does not work. I attempted to get a signal through my RBG/VGA-in on both my Sony Bravia HDTV and older projector but found no success. (Note: the Mini did display on the HDTV when going HDMI out to HDMI in, using a different cable).'

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Memory Stick - thumb drive, 4gb

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I was apprehensive when I read all the reviews about U3. I simply wanted a reliable storage device and nothing else. As soon as I connected the usb drive, I removed the U3 launchpad and technology. It took a total of 1 minute and it was done. No more U3 and I have an excellent 4 GB drive for 23 bucks. Same drive sells at retail for over 40. I run windows xp and it was no problem at all to remove the U3. I can see how it may look overwhelming with all the programs/apps, but one or two clicks of a button and it was gone. I highly recommend this drive to anyone looking for a place to store music, docs, pictures, etc.... SanDisk Cruzer Micro 4 GB USB 2.0 Flash Drive SDCZ6-4096-A11

...don't listen to the negative reviews for this product. SanDisk makes a great product, every time. I use nothing but SanDisk for my flash drive/memory card needs because quite frankly, other companies don't make reliable products. The software issues with this device are not even a problem if you simply UNINSTALL the U3 software. Once you do that, it's treated as a mass storage device just like anything else. There is no law written down that you need to use software on a device just because it came with it. Using the Windows explorer to manage your files is easier and more effective anyway.

I have a SanDisk Cruzer U3 drive and it works great. I purchased another with 4 GB to use solely as for ReadyBoost on my Vista computer. Installation was a no-brainer and it immediately offered me an option to use it for ReadyBoost and to apportion the 4 GB between the normal Cruzer US functions and ReadyBoost. I chose to used the majority for ReadyBoost and have been rewarded with better performance. I keep it installed permanently. I'd recommend it highly.

I've been using this drive for about a month now. I carry it in my pocket every day, it's survived well so far. The case is a bit scuffed, but that's it. The retractable USB connector still slides smoothly and locks into place. I've used it with PCs, Macs, and Linux - no problems with any of these. Speed is acceptable, I've played video files off it with no problem. The drive itself is excellent.

Now, for the downside - the U3 software. It's a good idea - gives you a way to carry your own apps with you. Unfortunately, it's a less than good implementation. It autostarts *every* time you insert the drive into a windows computer. On a mac it shows up as a useless CD-Rom drive. I used it for a while - it was nice to have my own browser with my own bookmarks, but it was randomly causing issues with the security profiles on some computers. So I uninstalled it and installed Portable Apps instead - free software that does the same thing, but better.

I recommend this drive, but I also recommend you remove the U3 software first thing. It wil require a PC, clicking through a few "are you sure" screens, and downloading a program, but its worth it.

Warning: Don't install the "update" because it will erase all of your data! I have been using the Cruzer thumb drive for some time. I have never liked it because it installs software on my computer without my permission (is that legal?). I usually have other copies of the data on my thumb drive, but recently a hard drive failed at work so I used my SanDisk thumb drive to back up some important data. Then today when I plugged the thumb drive into my desktop at home, I was prompted to update the software (called LaunchPad I think). I clicked OK. I was looking for some kind of warning to back up data or close all programs or whatever (as is standard). I didn't see any warnings -- just a license agreement. I clicked OK on the license agreement. It immediately started the "update," but the status said "formatting drive." I tried to not freak out. Surely they would not be deleting all of my data with no warning? Surely they could not be reformatting the drive? There is software on there! But when the "update" was complete, I checked and sure enough, the drive was entirely wiped clean! All my files, folders, programs -- everything. GONE! WITH NO WARNING! I couldn't believe it! Is it legal to do this? If it is, it shouldn't be! This is outrageous! I didn't have any other copy of a lot of that data! I called SanDisk, they immediately knew what I was talking about (I'm sure this is happening to lots of other people). They refused to take financial or legal responsibility for their actions. They didn't care about my lost data. No apology. All they would do is refer me to a company, LC Technologies, for data recovery. And get this, they are "partnering" with LC Technologies to offer a "discount" on data recovery. They even have a big link with a special discount code on the Support page for this thumb drive (but no warning about having your data hosed if you install the update). I'll bet you that they are getting a kickback from LC Technologies for sending so much business their way. How evil is that!?!? Not only is SanDisk deliberately deleting data, and not taking responsibility, they are benefitting from it financially at well! This is truly wrong, truly outrageous. I'm going to try to find a class action lawsuit to join.

PLEASE, do yourself a favor, DO NOT BUY THIS PRODUCT!!! - Sandisk - Flash Drive - Thumb Drive - 4gb'

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Cd Mp3 Player - sony walkman, personal cd player

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This Walkman by Sony offers music lovers the opportunity to listen to music files stored on a CD-R, a regular CD (of course), a CD-RW--AND there's even a digital AM and FM radio tuner! While this lacks certain features that a music aficionado might want (like the ATRAC system that some CD players have), this Walkman is really a very good choice for most people including myself. I have more than one Walkman but this is the one I use most often for when I am "on the go;" it's the one I don't mind if it accidentally gets a little bit banged up over time.

You can preset up to twenty FM stations and you can preset up to 10 AM stations--but this won't pick up AM stations very well unless they're located relatively close to where you are. However, that's still good for this price range. This Walkman uses two AA batteries and you get a good amount of play time out of the batteries if you pick good ones. It weighs barely more than seven ounces--great!

At first glance the controls on the Walkman itself appear slightly confusing but after about five minutes tops you learn all the important and most commonly used functions. The controls also make it easy to do basic things such as adjusting the sound, starting a CD and stopping it. The instruction manual is fairly clear as well. The Walkman does have "playback modes" but I rarely use them so I can't comment on that.

Unfortunately, I noticed some disappointments. The controls are rather small so you need to be careful of how you touch them with your fingers. Finally, this type of ear phone set hurts my ears almost from the very start of listening to a CD on this Walkman. I strongly suggest you purchase a better quality headset or earphones that will be more comfortable. (I have to take off one star for that--sorry!)

Overall, music lovers will be very pleased with this affordable Walkman. The features work reliably. The quality of the sound is excellent; and it can handle quite a few presets for different radio stations. Sony D-FJ041 CD Walkman Portable CD Player with AM/FM Tuner

i have had alot of walkmans over the years and i am happy with this one, it does'nt do anything over the top well but mainly i like the sound quality , it sounds alot better than my panasonic and my last sony as well, the fm section on it is really good and that is the main reason i bought it , i wanted a fm and cd walkman for under 50 bucks that had good sound, teh headphones are ok , i actually use earbuds instead so i upgraded that feature , but this walkman is a good choice , good bang for the buck

If you're going to use this with an a/c adaptor as a cheap home cd player, go for it. However, battery life I got with new energizer batteries was two hours on FM radio plus 1.5 hours playing CDs. This is not enough for portable use.

I bought the Sony DFJ041CD Walkman to use when I go for a walk or do chores around the house. I usually listen to books-on-CD, sometimes music CD's, hardly ever radio but I like to have the option. So far, the performance is great: ear buds are comfortable, CD player works well, controls are easy enough to navigate--but you can't do it by touch alone. My only criticism is the battery compartment. It's positioned so close to the hinge that, when you have to change the batteries, it's hard to get them out. Maybe Sony will fix that...

I was surprised at the quality of the audio from this "old fashioned" CD player. With a set of $20 Koss Pro KTX-1 earphones it produced better sound than the sound card in my PC. Doesn't skip at all when I stuff it into my jacket pockets and walk my dog. Purchased it at Sears for $35. As I expected, the earbuds that came with the player produced tinney, thin sound. So did the much more expensive Sony earbuds that cost me as much as the CD player. Go with the inconspicuous earbuds for the street, and the Koss KTX-1 for the house.

This is a very nice unit except it uses batteries real fast. I don't use the ear buds. I listen to books on cd and I have found this player to be very nice with the sound choices. Music sounds wonderful and I like having an am/fm radio.

Previously I had a no-name cheapo player from a department store. Even though it had issues with the headphone jack and pooped out a bit too easily I still prefer it to this. After all, for the same price as this Sony I could have bought 3 more of those.

On this model all of the buttons and the info screen are on the side. Seems that would make it convenient to just look down and press. However, the text and the buttons are the same color as the case, making them hard to see, and the buttons are tiny with little variation in shape. Additionally, some buttons are multi functional, so you have to press quickly or hold a button to get it to do what you want. Then strain your eyes to see if the appropriate tiny indicator is on the tiny screen.

Take for example the 'repeat' function. On my previous player I simply pushed a button clearly labeled 'repeat'. EZ. On this thing I have to find the tiny 'P-mode' button, cycle through normal, single, shuffle and bookmark icons until the arrow is displayed and finally, if I dont miss the tiny picture in the screen and have to do it all over, I get to repeat the song. Ridiculous!

Rather than being able to program in a few tracks and hit play, I must cycle that

P-mode again until the 'bookmark' icon shows up. Then one at a time bookmark the tracks I want, cycle through the P-mode button again until a tiny icon flashes in the tiny screen, then press 'play'. Of course, it doesnt save what you programmed so you have to do it again everytime you put in that CD. Ridiculous!

But wait there's more stupidity. The battery compartment is not on the back it is under the lid! So you have to remove the CD to get to a tiny door underneath. Naturally, this tiny door is not in the most open part of the player but in the tightest part just under the hinges! This is such a tight squeeze I am fighting the urge to rip the player lid off just to give my knuckles room to grab the batteries. Meanwhile, I am fighting with the tiny battery door because, of course, it wont stay open.

On the plus side, it doesnt eat batteries too quickly, it doesnt skip from movement while I'm shoveling in the yard. I avoid those tiny earbud things and use my own Koss over the ear headphones so the sound is descent, and there is a tiny button labeled AVLS- automatic volume something - this is their fancy term for bass boost which works quite well.

Overall, I miss my cheapo player with its big screen on top of the lid, and large clearly labeled buttons. This Sony is frustrating and I wish Amazon offered more choices for CD Walkmans. I'm glad I have it, because I want music on the go, but I wish I had something else. - Portable Cd Player - Sony Walkman - Personal Cd Player - Sony Walkman Dfj041cd'

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