Paper Currency - numismatics, reference

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This book provides comprehensive and useful information. The valuations cover different seals, mints, signatures, and star notes. The book also includes some information about the history of each note. It is easy to find information and lookup valuations. The only negative is the black & white photos make it a little harder to distinguish between different seal colors when looking up info. A Guide Book Of United States Paper Money: Complete Source for History, Grading, and Prices (Official Red Book) (Official Red Books)

This is a very nice book to have in anyone's private library. When I say this book has everything I really mean it. History, grading, pictures and pricing of each and every note ever printed in the United States. I use this book everyday for one thing or another. If your looking to add another reference book to your library or looking for a reference book that has everything then this is defintiely the book for you !!! Not only do I use this book to reference notes for their values but I enjoy sitting around reading the stories in this book about the different notes.

It's been many years since I've had this book. All of my expectations were satisfied. This book has been the "Bible" for US Paper money as long as I can remember. If you want to understand grading, pricing, or just want to learn about an important piece of American history, its worth the money.

The Official Red Book of United States Paper Money is just what the collector needs. Not complicated at all, but very simple to navigate through. Denominations listed in order and not spread all through the book. Can't help but find what you want with current prices and selecting proper grading is easy to.

Excellent book for anyone that wants to collect or does collect obsolete paper money.



As with any book that list market prices it is out of date by the time it hits the shelves but it does give the reader an idea on whether they can pursue collecting a particular note or whether it is out of their budget range. I take this to the coin shows when I go. - Reference - Numismatics - Paper Currency'

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Energy Star - hdtv, 1080p

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1080p HD Picture Quality: The picture presentation of the from the 50S2 is still very bright and with the improved black levels much improved. Black levels are deep and strong with an HD signal input through HDMI. While not the best we've seen lately, they lose the dark gray haziness that the S2 can display with a 480i signal. Color is plenty saturated and dark shadow detail remains excellent.



Picture Presentation from 480i signals: We always test every TV with a 480i resolution. It is a great test of a TVs upconversion and processing chip sets. The signal may be likened to what you would see with your normal digital cable or satellite signal.The TC-P50S2 series plasma contains the new an updated version of the NEO PDP (i.e. plasma screen) from Panasonic. This is the same screen used in some of the higher end Panasonic series which should make this model a good value if picture quality is your primary objective. We find the picture quality overall improved from the prior S1 series. The drives do a little better job of eliminating motion artifacts than the S1 series did. Color rendition is still with black levels being the primary progress area of the S2 series delivering more depth and solidity. As was the case on the S1 series, brightness is a strength of the these newer Panasonic plasma models.



Calibration Notes: Overall, calibration to D6500K was very easy with this TV. Though there are no white balance adjustments available on the menu without entering the service menu, the 50S2 calibrated so close to D65 from the start that it would have improved the TV inappreciably. We started our calibration from the custom setting in the Warm 2 color temperature position. The S2 series TV does not contain the THX picture setting option. Follow the following settings to calibrate to a nearly perfect D65. These picture settings are best viewed in a controlled light environment fairly dark room:



Picture Mode: Custom

Color Temp: Warm2

Brightness: +74

Contrast: +75

Color: +45

Tint: -2

Sharpness: +15

Color Mgmt: OFF

x.v.Color: OFF

C.A.T.S.: OFF

Video NR: Weak

Block NR: Off

Misquito NR: Off

Black Level: Light

3:2 Pulldown: Off

HD Size: 2



Black Level/Contrast: Black levels were an area that the S1 series needed a makeover on. They got it with this S2 series. These are not going to be the best black levels we see this year and we dont anticipate them coming close to some of the Samsung plasma black levels. However, Panasonic has brought black levels back into welcomed focus. Final ANSI contrast measurement was 1261:1 which is a nice improvement over last year but far from what we want. One of the TVs greatest strengths lies in its white brightness which measured an average luminance of 31.50. This result nears LCD TVs in brightness and points to Panasonic's desire to compete with LCD TVs in this area.



Dark Shadow Detail: Partly due to the high brightness of this plasma dark shadow detail is excellent. Panasonic plasma TVs have long been a favorite of ours in this important area.



Color Rendition/Color Accuracy: Color rendition is much more saturated with HD content. The TV excels with HD content and is much more subdued in presentation with lower signals. Colors can seem a little weak and hazy at times with lower end signals. I will give them the thumbs up on reality however.



Features: One of the key feature differences of the S2 series with the G20 series of plasma by Panasonic is the absense of The Viera Cast feature set, which enables online content via a web interface. As a result, there is also no Ethernet port. The included Viera Link feature allows the user to control other Viera link capable outboard equipment. Viera Image viewer is the Panasonic compatible technology which enables use of SD memory card viewing via the SD card slot.The S2 has discrete picture settings for each input as well as Panasonic's new "600 Hz" specification for blur reduction.



This TV is Energy Star compliant due to an energy saver feature option. Power consumption for the S2 has been reduced from the S1. This is one of the main feature differences aside from improved black levels. Panasonic started improving efficiency in their plasma TVs in 2007 and have improved it 400% with this S2 model. They are now close enough to LCDs in energy efficiency that is should not matter.



To see the overall ratings and full review of this TV head over to Plasma TV Buying Guide Panasonic TC-P50S2 50-Inch 1080p Plasma HDTV

I bought and evaluated this TV for about two weeks before taking it back and purchasing the new Sharp 52LE810UN edge-lit LED. I have since taken back the Sharp and will be picking up the TC-P58S2 tomorrow. Here are my thoughts:



Overall Picture Quality: Overall the S2 has superior picture quality to the Sharp Edge Lit. The LED's only advantage is the Film Mode/Motion Flow, which gives the picture a very smooth video like appearance. Some people don't like this as it doesn't represent the film in the manner the Director originally intended.



Black Levels: The S2 has great inky blacks. These black levels hold whether in a completely dark or brightly lit room. The LED edge-lit black levels were no where near as good. In a dark room the Sharp's screen looked white/cloudy, even with the backlight turned all the way down. A full LED set with local dimming would likely fair more favorably against the S2.



Constrast: The S2's contrast was far better than the Edge Lit LED. Again, in this area Plasmas still dominate.



Bright Room Performance: The S2's matte screen did an excellent job of handling bright rooms and it's backlight was plenty strong to handle even direct sunlight. The glossy screen of the Sharp was very, very reflective and seriously detracted from the viewing experience, despite it's very powerful backlight.



Viewing Angle: The S2's viewing angle is phenomenal. You can sit at any angle to this TV and still have a bright and vibrant picture. While the Sharp LED had good viewing angles, it can't keep up with the Plasma and began to get washed out at about 70 degrees.



Network Connectivity: The S2 does not have internet connectivity like the LE810. The LE810 has a host of internet widgets and features. This was not an issue for me though, as I utilize my PS3 for internet connectivity and BLU-Rays, meaning the Sharp was redundant for my purposes.



Connectivity: The S2 does not have a d-sub input. This could be an issue for some, but was not for me, as I have an HDMI output on my laptop.



Design: Thin Edge-lit LEDs have great visual appeal, but they sacrifice performance for looks. The S2 is comparable in design to mid-priced LCDs, though slightly heavier. The buttons on the S2 and its remote function well and are well laid out. The buttons on the Sharp are "supposed" to be touch sensitive, but require A LOT of pressure to activate. The Sharp's remote is stylistically and functionally similar to the S2. Again, this sacrifices looks for function. The Sharp's base is solid glass, whereas the S2's is plastic.



Sound: Surprisingly, the Sharp delivers great sound (for a flat panel) despite it's thin design. The Sharp pumped out more volume at 25% than the S2 did at 50%. The Panasonic has weak sound for large rooms. I'd recommend using a HTIB or Receiver/Speakers with the Panny. The S2 now sells for $899 on Amazon. This is a great value! The $1,200+ price of the 58 inch S2 is truly compelling. With the Sharp, for $1,799 your getting the newest LED technology with internet connectivity in a slim design.



Value: I purchased the S2 for $1099. The Sharp cost $1,799. The Panny outperformed the Sharp in almost every area and does so at over $900 less.



I highly recommend the Panasonic to anyone looking for picture quality first and design second. - Hdtv - 50 Inch Plasma - 1080p - Plasma Tv'

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Valeo

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I found Valeo's sizing chart through Google, it says my palm which is 8-9 inch should fit a Medium but it was too tight, especially at the knuckles, my knuckles hurts as it was stretching the stitching when I clenched my fists. Large was better for me. Valeo Ocelot Lifting Gloves (Large)

These are the most comfortable gloves I own. Period. For anything. I own snow gloves, driving gloves, biking gloves, etc. I am used to rough, mesh gloves, and these are a total relief. They wick sweat well, they look awesome, and they are super comfortable. The padding isn't overbearing, but if you need a lot, it's there! I'll never buy another brand.

I bought 2 pair of the Valero gloves based on the sales description. I think they are a good deal for the price. They are well made and quite comfortable. I would compare them to any simiular lifting glove costing twice as much. Like many pair I have used, they are a bit snug, even the X-large!

First of all I love the gloves. Good combination and use of leather and stretchy material. On Valeo's website it says that if my palm measures 9 inches around, I would need an extra large. But it turns out that the 2XL size fits my hand snugly. Good thing I went with my gut and got the larger size instead. The extra large would never have fit my hand.

Wanted to say these are by far the best weight training gloves I've used. All my other gloves were cut at 1/2 finger length, the 3/4 finger length is really the way to go. They are also way more cushioned and much softer leather than the Harbinger 143.



My hands measure almost 8 inches in circumference and the large fits me PERFECT, snug but not too tight, and not at all loose. (This is two sizes "too big" according to the Valeo sizing chart, which says I should be a small-- trust me a small would be way too tight and cut circulation, a mistake I made with the Harbingers).



One last note- the image on these gloves is way off, here is what they really look like: [...] (with a few exceptions: there aren't any ventilation holes along the fingers, and the logo is black instead of red).



Happy lifting.

I've had these gloves for about a year; use 'em twice a week on average.



Fairly quickly, the fabric holding the velcro straps began separating. And more recently, the seam on one of the thumbs has separated the whole length of the thumb. (For the record, I've only washed them once, in cold water on gentle, precisely to keep 'em in good shape for as long as possible.) And finally, the padding [which it turns out I prefer not having in the first place] on the right glove has always been a little bunched at the base of the thumb / palm, and has always hurt a bit during press exercises.



I've still got a $10 pair of Harbinger gloves in my gym bag that I used constantly for about five years; they were always more comfortable than the Ocelots, and held up way better.

I have used these Valeo ocelot gloves for 8 or 9 years now and have always found them to be of excellent quality.They have sufficient padding in the palm and fingers and what I especially like is the 3/4 length fingers that extend beyond the middle of your fingers.When you are lifting 200-300 lbs. of weights and more,the long fingers keep the bars and levers from cutting into the knuckles on your fingers when you lift. For me,this is a great feature.One caution is that these gloves run SMALL. Normally I wear a size Large glove but even the XL size of these Valeo gloves fits me very snug.Order at least one size up.I highly recommend this product.

Very comfortable. Velcro works great. Plenty of padding on the "business" side but not too much; you can still get a good grip. Leather is very soft and comfortable but seems thick enough to last. A couple of friends of mine have used theirs for a couple of years and they are still in good condition. I like having the fingers go 1/2 out the finger to the knuckle.

I've been using Valeo gloves for years with no complaints and thankfully this is still the case! Per usual they are well made with lots of cushion and grip which makes lifting far more enjoyable and less dangerous. This is, however, the first time that I've used ocelot instead of leather but so far I'm very pleased. At first they felt a little stiffer than leather but they are softening with each use. One more thing: when ordering them, definitely choose a larger size than you would normally. I have relatively small hands and the medium size fits great. I definitely recommend these gloves and would order them again in the future!'

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Diedrich Bader - cult classic, jennifer aniston

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I'm not sure it is essential to have worked in an office to enjoy this film, but I'm certain it will hit home for those who have. The movie was a complete bust at the box office, which utterly mystifies me, because it is hysterically funny and reflects the experience of millions of people across the United States (and I assume elsewhere). In an age where companies are seeking to lay off workers at any possible opportunity, this film has perhaps even more relevance now than it did when it came out in 1999.The humor of the film works on multiple levels, but for me so much of it is funny with a twist of the knife, for much of the humor hints at a much more serious fact: modern work is genuinely dreadful and alienating. Perhaps many office workers love their job, but I hate mine, and I assume that I am merely one of millions. No one in this film has a meaningful job. Even Lumbergh, though the boss, has an absurd position. Peter Gibbons is at least able to be honest about the ridiculousness of his plight during the incredibly funny sequence in which he is hypnotized.The film is a collection of many, many wonderful moments. I started laughing from the second that Peter Gibbons gets trapped in the traffic jam and is passed by an old man on a walker, and didn't stop until the very end. The film is a parade of very funny bits, from Michael Bolton and his passion for gangsta rap to Joanna's boss urging her to wear more flair (played by director Mike Judge) to Peter's neighbor who would yell at him through the walls to Peter's bizarre fantasy in which Lumbergh is making love to Joanna holding a cup of coffee in one hand and her ankle in the other to virtually any conversation involving Lumbergh and Milton. Some of the humor is a bit too broad. For instance, although I defy anyone not to find Milton's sequences funny as heck, they don't fit in quite as neatly with the satire of the rest of the film. I wouldn't, however, want to trade them in for a tighter movie.In a way, this movie has made my life easier to live. I suspected my job was absurd before seeing this film. Now I know it is. But somehow knowing the truth makes it easier to get through the day. Office Space [VHS]

This movie made an almost "psychic" connection with me... the first time I saw it, I had just come home from my nightmare job -- many of the same things depicted in the movie had happened to me that very day, including the printer jam with that exact message "Error - PC Load Letter", while trying to print a report that was already late (what the heck does that message mean, anyway?!). I related so well to this movie's honest, astute, and technically correct observations of office culture in the 90's, that the brilliantly original bits of commedy were almost incidental to me (I must have annoyed the heck out of my wife with outbursts like "Oh my GOD, that's so TRUE!" every two minutes). I caught some of the more subtle humor in subsequent viewings. I'll admit, the movie lost its hold on me about 2/3 in, when the main character (who had by this time become an icon to me with his new found "no fear of consequences" attitude) took a strange criminal direction, and his angst began to return. This seemed to break the consistancy. I wan't too thrilled with Jenifer Aniston's performance either, although I suppose that had more to do with her script. In any case, the second time I watched the move, none of this bothered me as much.I've since purchased the DVD, and have worn this disk out playing it for friends. I'll never get tired of this movie... even the sound track makes me laugh. It's a wonder that it didn't get better reviews, although I guess one really would have had to have experienced office politics in the 90's to fully relate (I wonder when was the last time in the 90's that Ebert heard, "Don't forget to fill in your timesheets!")Some reviewers gave it low ratings claiming that it was "lightweight"... okay, so it's no Citizen Kane, but it certainly doesn't claim to be either! Give it credit for what it is -- as a lighthearted observational commedy, it's brilliant. And that's not to say that it was a total no-brainer either... on an intelligence level, I'd rate it much higher than say... any movie ever made by the Fairley Brothers (and certainly much lower on the "obnoxious bathroom humor"-scale).It's a pretty sad testiment to the intelligence of the average North American that movies like "Me, Myself, and Irene" brought in more money than Office Space. I hope Mike Judge doesn't let this stop him from creating another gem.

If you've ever worked in a tiny cubicle, pushed papers, and fought a worthless fax machine in an attempt to earn a living, you will love this movie. OFFICE SPACE is a hilarious movie that deconstructs everything that makes an office worker's life so miserable: from morning traffic, to catch phrases (it looks like somone has the Moondays), to bosses that totally ignore their workers. This movie had a low budget, but Mike Judge is a brilliant filmmaker. He takes a relatively unknown cast and is able to milk hilarious, yet totally lifelike performances from each actor and unites everything together in a coherent conceptually comedy masterpiece (e.g. the fax-beating scene with the ganster music playing is just pure brilliance). Of course, the film says a lot about the actors as well, they don't seem to be just characters or caricatures: they seem like real people. There is no sex, relative little violence (well, there is a lot of violence toward inanimate objects), and relatively little cursing words (most of the foul language comes from the film's soundtrack). A movie that's destined to become a modern comedy classic.

If you have ever worked in a cubicle farm for a technology company, or ROFL after reading Dilbert cartoons, and know what ROFL means, you will love this movie. Mike Judge (creator of Beavis and Butthead) digs into and makes fun of the things that people hate most about their jobs, with such accuracy that he must have consulted Scott Adams himself while developing the screenplay.With company names like "Penetrode", this movie takes numerous humorous stabs at the idiocy foisted upon the modern working class by the "management class", those highly-compensated stuffed-shirts with no more qualifications than an MBA hanging on their wall. These are the people who abuse you every time you make a mistake, and try to convince you that they are really your buddy in a thinly veiled attempt to keep you submissive and cooperative. Office Space tears into the very heart of the manipulative phony friendship ploy that so many managers think of as their "brilliant" management technique.So if you're tired of being shocked every time you touch a door knob, and sick of having half a dozen different "bosses" giving you conflicting work assignments, then I highly recommend that you buy this movie and blow off some steam, before it's too late!This film is a lot of fun to watch, but if you're looking for an intellectually challenging work of art, this is not the film for you. The story is quite simple; it is a single-layer story that conveys the same information on subsequent viewing as it conveyed during the first viewing. The visual and audio elements are interesting and entertaining, but not artistic. This is a fun comedy that a lot of people can identify with, not deep social commentary. However, the social commentary that IS in the film couldn't be more timely.The DVD itself is mediocre. No extras to speak of, other than cast bios and one trailer. Transitions from one menu to another are slightly animated, and the way the DVD starts up is cute, but overall the power of the DVD medium is not utilized.Movie ------- Originality: B+ Creativity: B+ Complexity/Depth: C+ Relevance/Message: A+ Artistic Merit: C Overall Entertainment Value: ADVD ------ Transfer Quality: A Extras: C- Use of Medium: C+ - Cult Classic - Diedrich Bader - Jennifer Aniston - Comedy'

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Ink Cartridge - ink cartridge, pixma

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The best of printing ink and printers for home use - Canon. Highly recommend these cartridges as replacement in your Canon printer. I, like the previous reviewer (who erroneously rated a non-OEM product (refill) in his review), have not had good luck with refilling or using non-canon products. Highly recommend this OEM genuine Canon ink. Canon PGI-225 BK/ CLI-226 C,M,Y 4 Pack Value Pack (4530B008) in Retail Packaging

I want to help offset this review below which is clearly not for this ink but for an ink refill. I just got the MG 5220 today and the photos are absolutely beautiful. I can hardly see any pixels or dots when I print photos. It seems to be doing a find job so far.

As I am using this ink one cartridge at a time when I need to replace the one that has run out, I can't comment on the whole package but so far so good. This is the first time I have owned a Canon printer but after the problems with my last HP All-In-One, I decided it was time to change brands.

The Canon ink is bright and works very well with my photos. It IS EXPENSIVE but so are most printer inks these days. Amazon prices are about the best I have found for genuine Canon ink.

I have always stuck with OEM ink, because the results and reliability are worth the extra cost to me (plus printer manufacturers are making it increasingly difficult to use non-OEM solutions).



However, it is beyond dumb to see the combos that Canon is offering for the new line of ink jet cartridges. If you want to save a few dollars by buying a combo pack, you either get this one which does not include the Black or Gray cartridges, or you get Canon CLI-226 BK,C,M,Y with PP-201 50 Sheets Combo Pack (4546B007) that doesn't include the Pigment Black or Gray cartridges, but includes 50 sheets of Canon paper that I do not need (I already have plenty on hand). It make no sense to not offer at least a 5-cartridge refill kit, since all of these Canon inkjet printers require 4 colors plus Pigment Black (not all utilize Gray). The only rationale would seem to be that Canon gets to line its pockets a bit more than it should.



I also have to knock off a star because the new cartridges are opaque, which may have been done to thwart refillers but also prevents users from checking the ink level themselves.



No wonder so many users go to such lengths to use non-OEM or refill solutions.

Set up was a cinch and it prints beautifully. After three HP printers in succession that all had carriage jams on initialization, I decided to try this Canon, my first one ever. I am so pleased!! I did not need a fax, so the scan and copy features were fine for me.

What can I say? It's Canon ink, therefore it's too dang expensive, and the cartridges are too small, but - - they work better than most refill inks.

The printers are less expensive because Canon sticks it to you on the cost of the ink to run the darn things!!!!

Don't like the new ink cartridges. They are opque black cases that domn't let you see just how much inlk is left to use. The old ones were translucent.???? Much better! Now ther is no way of telli g if you have used all the ink in the cartridge before having to spend another $50 -60 bucks on more ink. What are they hidding???? - Ink Cartridge - Printer - Pixma'

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Kcoat

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my first time that i did buy coat online and will be my last time too. this winter coat the big giant collar make this coat so very ugly. it did not look like in the picture i saw at all. make me so very upset and very angry that amazon.com have this add on their website. it's cheap and huge ugly collar coat. by the way i did send it back right away. i had to pay for returned shipping too. Phistic Women's Cashmere Blend Wing Collar Coat - Pecan 2'

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Razr Battery - razr battery, motorola

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Like the other review stated, the battery lasts only about a year. But, not to put too fine a point on it, I'd like to add the timeframe is independent on usage. In otherwords, the batteries don't seem to 'keep' well.



I just purchased a 'new' battery from Amazon, and although it was unused (as advertised), it was manufactured over a year ago. Despite this, the battery worked perfectly for the first month, but eventually it began to lose ability to hold a charge. At the end of six weeks time it was performing as poorly as the original I replaced.



In a fit of mild disgust I tromped down to the T-Mobile store where I caved in and bought an overpriced (but 'fresh') battery. So far, the new one has behaved fine. My standby and talk times are back up to what they were when I purchased the phone. (Approx 2.5 days w/ light usage, and about 4 hours straight talk time.)



Honestly, I don't think there is anything wrong with the batteries, per se, but I think you will get a better bang for the buck if you manage to find a 'fresh' one. For me, the surest way to do that was to go to a T-Mo store where I could actually inspect the manufacturing date on the battery before I purchased it.



YMMV. Motorola Lithium-Ion Battery BR50 / SNN5696 / SNN5777 / SNN5794A

I wanted to replace my 1 year old battery in my Motorola Razr. I found many batteries that were over $35. I found one battery which said it was an OEM for under $4.00. I guess you get what you pay for.



The battery holds a charge very well, except when you make a phone call. After one call the battery is saying it needs to be recharged. I'm back to using my 1 year old battery, it holds a charge longer then the new one.

This is the 3rd "OEM" battery I bought via Amazon Marketplace -- as with the others, it was terrible. I ordered form the OEM shop a BR50. They sent a BR56 which is supposed to be even better with 3 hours talk time. It did not last 30 minutes after a complete overnight charge. Nowhere as long as the battery I am trying to replace which lasts over an hour instead of the original 2 1/2 hours.



OEM sent a counterfeit fake battery --- not OEM. How can you tell? Because Motorola OEM batteries are made in Japan. These say clearly that they are made in china. I had the same problem and returned the same battery from Wireless Phone Accessories and Batteries4Less.



AMAZON_- you should be screening these sellers and addressing these issues. There are a ton of posts under every single one of the Motorola Razr battery listing that say they got bad or counterfeit batteries.



Theses companies make their money by selling junk, counting on the Amazon customer not to feel it is worth the hassle to return it. For every one I have to return I lose an hour of my time. My time is worth more than th $10 I get ripped off for. But I do it anyway b/c hopefully at some point AMAZON is going to take responsibility for the conduct of their market sellers. AMAZON's new logo is to become the most customer centric company on earth. Well AMAZON, you can start here: Bargain Cell -- which is one of the worst offenders, Wireless Phone Accessories and now the OEM Shop -- what a joke for a name for the last one since clearly they KNOW they are selling counterfeit batteries.



I paid $30 for one from batteries4less hoping to get the real deal -- I got the exact same batter I got from the OEM shop -- the exact same counterfeit. So it has nothing to do with the price paid. Just dishonest online sellers.

I bought 2 of these batteries, each from a different seller. These 2 plus the one that originally came with the phone made 3 which I rotated so that I'd get equal use from the 3. The 2 batteries worked great at first, but after 2 months, one of them would not take charge. At first I thought it was the charger, but when I proved that the other batteries took charges, I was 100% sure it was the battery. Given that I wasn't using my phone much during the 2 months, and that I was rotating among the 3 batteries and that I get 3 days use before I get a low-bat signal, I would say that I used this battery in question a total of 12 days. One reviewer says it has a one year shelf life and if one is lucky to buy a fresh one, then one might get a full year use out of it. I looked at the battery with a magnifier to see if there is any information of the date the item was manufactured, and I could not find any. So, short of going to a T-Mobile or a Cingular store, how does one get a fresh one from Amazon?

Sadly, I read the reviews after I placed my order for the Slim Li Ion Battery for the Motorola RAZR V3. I saw where BargainCell had substituted a cheaper BR 50 battery. Well, they did that on my order and now it's going back.

The BR 50 received even worse reviews and is available for $0.67 all over the internet. YES, THAT'S 67 CENTS!

Stay away from these scammers at BargainCell. - Razr - Motorola - Battery - Razr Battery'

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1 Tb External Hard Drive - firewire 800, external hard drive

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Here's a crucial detail I couldn't find in other reviews before I went ahead and bought one:



Yes, my Mac (Mac Mini, vintage 2009, running Leopard OS 10.5.8) recognizes this drive as bootable, and I confirmed that I could actually boot from this drive, after cloning my original harddrive to this Iomega drive. I did not have to prepare the Iomega drive at all. I just used the free Carbon Copy Cloner software to copy my entire Mac's hard drive to the Iomega drive. No partitioning or formatting necessary.



However, there's a trick to booting from the Iomega drive: You have to keep holding down the Option key while your Mac starts up longer than you think you ought to. Keep holding it down even after you see your Mac's boot menu appear, which at first will only offer you your built-in original hard drive as the only option to boot from. Keep holding it down a few more seconds, until your Iomega drive pops up next to your original hard drive.



Why does this matter? In my case I wanted a total copy of my Mac before I attempted upgrading to Snow Leopard. To do that, in case Snow Leopard (or whatever experiment you're about to do on your Mac) hoses your Mac, you need to be able to boot up from your backup copy on your external hard drive, and then you can clone everything right back to your hard drive to restore everything the way it was. Iomega eGo 1TB USB 2.0 FireWire 800 Desktop External Hard Drive Mac Edition - 34794

First, I'd like to start by saying I usually buy LaCie drives, and would have this time, if the one I was going to get, did not say it would ship in 1-4 months. So I looked again and found this Iomega drive.



Initial impression: It looks really nice and matches my MacBook Pro aesthetically, also worked seamlessly out of the box. I have both the LaCe Porsche drives, and the Poulton drives too, in various storage capacities. Comparison physically, this drive is thinner in height, shallower in depth, and slightly wider. The connection cables are white, which I find a refreshing change. If they really wanted to be different they could have gone w/ grey for the power supply and cord over the standard black.



Function wise: I never use USB, but it's nice that its there incase. Used the FW400 to transfer 187 GB folder in 159 minutes. Then used FW800, transferred 53 GB folder in 36 min. So far everything looks and works great. It has a 3 year warranty and thats a plus, hope I don't have to use it. Oh, and its quiet. I hear the computer over this thing.



Only knock I have about the product is minor in my opinion and for others might be a plus. The light indicator, is a tiny vertical blue sliver, which is cool and all, but its located near the back end of the drive in the middle, as you can see in the images of the product. It flashes when in use which is great, but if I decide to buy another one and stack them, how will I know its On at a glance or flashing when its toiling, if I can't see it. A minor design flaw if you ask me, it should be at the front.



Also, when positioned vertically on the stand, the power cord is near the top at the rear. I thought that it was usually positioned near the bottom on devices to reduce tension on the cord. This too, is a design flaw in my opinion as well, but not worth deducting a star for.



Got it here online for a good price, and the shipping was timely. Since I just received it, I can't address longevity or reliability. Maybe a year or two from now I will update this review, or if or when an issue arises, I will be sure to let all of you know.



Ultimately I am satisfied (usually very picky) so far and fortunate I feel to have discovered this item.



Ciao...

In my experience, Iomega drives are reliable and this one is no exception. For working with Adobe Lightroom2 I use this 2-TB external model with an iMac and a FireWire800 connection for external storage of all my original photo files. I have had it for about two months and so far it has worked exactly as it should. My single minor complaint is that the push-button power switch is quite hard to reach in its location at the very bottom rear of the drive's housing.

I bought this to run backups and Time Macine for my new iMac with a 1TB SATA drive. The 200GB drive I had been using with my old Mac Mini just wasn't going to cut it. This drive is nice and fast, comes with great connectivity options (FireWire 800, USB 2.0, and FireWire 400->800 cables), is formatted for Mac out of the box (not that Disk Utility is hard to use), and is quiet. It's even the same color as the aluminum on my new iMac and keyboard. Very pleased with this drive.

*****

IMPORTANT:

If you ARE having problems with your Mac not mounting external devices, or recognizing them via System Profiler or Disc Utilities, then try an SMC reset. Just do a search on Apple's site and you will find instructions on how to do it and/or updated the firmware. (The reset procedures are different for iMacs and Macbooks/Macbook Pro's.) Once you've reset (or updated) your system management controller (SMC) then it may resolve any issues for you. Unfortunately, the Seagate and Iomega drives were just junk straight out of the box.



After you've reset the SMC, and start to reboot your Mac, I recommend you empty your system's memory (PRAM/NVRAM). As soon as your turn on your Mac, hold down CMD + OPTIONS + P + R and HOLD that; you hear the Mac chime but keep the keys pressed until the system restarts and do not release until the Mac chime sounds on the reboot. Doing this has resolved a lot of quirky behavioral issues that Macs tend to inherit over time.

*****



I realize that most people who read a 1-Star rating generally dismiss it, thinking that the person is off his rocker... and usually that is the case. Most people who issue low ratings, it's usually because they didn't know how to operate the device, didn't read the instructions clearly, didn't look online for help or call tech support, or they rated it low simply because of some unrelated issue (i.e. FedEx didn't deliver the item on time). I would never rate an item this low unless I feel it truly warrants it and I hope this review is helpful to some of you. (Please forgive any typos.)



I have an iMac (2009, Snow Leopard) and a Macbook Pro (2010, Leopard) and I've been using a WD My Book 1TB drive for my Time Machine; however, after 3 years of moderately good use, they drive is beginning to fail. It's reached a point that it often doesn't mount and I can't find the drive using Disc Utilities. Therefore, I started researching online to find a strong, solid external drive to replace the WD. The WD drive was a little outdated anyway, because it only has Firewire 400 and USB 2.0 (which is extremely slow). I wanted to upgrade to a drive that offers Fireware 800, to take full advantage of what my Macs both offer (up to 800mb/sec instead of maxing out at 400mb/sec).



I first turned to the Seagate FreeAgent GoFlex Home 2TB - STAM2000100 (Seagate FreeAgent GoFlex Home 2 TB STAM2000100), because of its claim to be both Mac and PC compatible and it claimed to be a solid drive for network storage and backups. The idea is great, similar to what Time Capsule offers; I would be able to use this drive via my wireless FiOS router to backup my Macs. Right for PCs - WRONG for Macs! Here is why:

(1) The drive, like MOST all drives that claim they are Mac and PC compatible, was not HFS+ formatted, and my Macs would not even see it in the Disc Utilities or System Profiler, much less mount it.

(2) I had to hardwire it to a PC running Windows XP (Win 7 could not initialize the disc). Once there, I could go into Administrative Tools to initialize the drive.

(3) Finally, once everything was set up, the Macs would ONLY mount the drive if it was hardwired via Firewire 400 or 800, but it would NOT communicate well with the Macs via the network as advertised. It truly was hit or miss, and very unreliable! (I should mention that I had to order a replacement BASE for this drive, one that offers Firewire 800 connections. The standard base that comes with the unit only supports USB 2.0. Also VERY noteworthy, the base has a standard USB female input, as does most every computer manufactured in the last 20 years; therefore, to hardwire this drive using USB, you WILL need an extremely hard-to-find cable that has MALE USB connectors at both ends (one for your computer and the other for the drive's base).

(4) Tech support for Seagate is like going to Wal-Mart to find anything American made....non-existent.



At any case, the Iomega eGo 2TB drive Mac Edition (Iomega eGo 2 TB USB 2.0 FireWire 800 Desktop External Hard Drive Mac Edition - 34796) was not what I expected. Out of the box, it would not mount to either Mac; I tried to connect it via USB and Firewire800. I checked my System Profiler to ensure there were no issues and didn't see anything! I have 2 other drives that use USB 2.0 and Firewire 800, both of those drive mount just fine (using the same cables), so I was able to deduce that the problem was not my cables or either of my Macs. I plugged the device into my PC, only to discover that the same case was true for the Iomega drive as it was for the Seagate one.



I searched Iomega's site for help and tried to contact tech support for guidance but BEWARE, they charge a whopping $25 PER INCIDENT to ALL non-commercial consumers, regardless of whether the device is new and in still in warranty. I was; however, able to chat online with someone who claimed to be from tech support. I should point out, though without trying to be disrespectful, that English was not this person's first, second or third language. The conversation ended when "Michael" told me that he could replace the device at MY expense. He said that there would be a "convenience fee of ONLY $29.99 plus additional shipping." I asked why I have to pay that and his answer was posted IMMEDIATELY (there was NO time for him to have typed all this), almost as though he was ready for me to ask and he had copied and pasted it into the chat window, "Since the price of shipment has been increasing, and in an effort to keep the price our devices low in this competitive market, we are no longer able to provide free shipping both ways for our products. If shipping was included in the price of the device then price of the drive would be increased. We do still use an Advanced shipping method through UPS to send the device to you. We always use the UPS ground shipping, which is 3-5 days unless you want the express for the Next Day."



I have since returned this device to Amazon. Thank you, Amazon, for allowing speedy returns! I then purchased the "LaCie Hard Disk Quadra 2 TB eSATA/FireWire800/FireWire400/USB 2.0 Desktop External Hard Drive 301882U" (LaCie Hard Disk Quadra 2 TB eSATA/FireWire800/FireWire400/USB 2.0 Desktop External Hard Drive 301882U). It comes with ALL the cables you will ever need to connect it and after only a few issues with reformatting the drive to HFS+, it works like a CHARM! I've been able to set it up for Time Machine and was able to back up over 320GB (using Fireware 800) in just a couple hours.



The LaCie drive (LaCie Hard Disk Quadra 2 TB eSATA/FireWire800/FireWire400/USB 2.0 Desktop External Hard Drive 301882U) has worked well, right out the box, and looks great cosmetically! I also love the blue LED light that displays when the drive is powered on. You can visually tell when the drive is being accessed because the light blinks softly and best of all, the drive is SUPER quiet! I highly recommend the LaCie drive! Having worked with Macs and PC's equally for over 20 years, I recommend NOT buying the Iomega drive and instead buying the LaCie mentioned above. Lastly, if you do need help, or want to find additional downloads for your drive, LaCie's site is much easier to navigate. - Firewire 800 - 1 Tb - Firewire - External Hard Drive'

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1 tb 1 Tb External Hard Drive - firewire 800, external hard drive

Good Condition - good condition, hit-girl

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I would definately recommend getting this one to put away in its original box. Its going to be worth something someday. Chloe Moretz is an up and coming actress and will eventually be well known as an adult. She was excellent in this part and this "action figure" commemorates that fact. I would also advise to get the companion figure of Kick-Ass. KickAss Mezco Toyz 7 Inch Action Figure Hit Girl Includes Swords Butterfly Knife

This was a gift for a 9 year old girl who was dressed as Hit Girl for Halloween, although she was not allowed to view the movie itself. She loved the costume, and so she was thrilled with the action figure. It was very detailed.

the toy is not bad but not great neither, this toy is not worth more then 10 bucks, and if it is don't get it. I bought mine for 16 bucks because i loved the movie but this toy is not a must have like the dark knight movie masters toys, which are alot better then this toy. Also what i hate about this toy is hit girls stance is all bent down and she can't stand on her own. great detail on the costume though. I give this toy 5 out of 10 stars as an alright toy and should be worth

8 TO 10 DOllars. And the 12 inch hit girl should be worth double that 20 bucks.

Amazon sellers don't try to screw people over by charging them more then they have to for a toy and don't be fooled people. i paid 8 bucks to much for this toy.But i will keep it because i love kick ass and this is the only reasonalbly priced kick ass toy out there. I won't be getting the kick ass toy after seeing this toy.

when the dark knight movie came out i bought a big 12 or 13 inch dark knight batman and his wings pops out just like in the moive and the toy looks exactly like christan bale as batman for 8.99 at ross for sale and its original price is 20 bucks still can't find my toy at amazon.

ps: also would love to have the first big 12 inch iron man toy but these pricks are charging 30 bucks for this toy. when the first iron man movie came out i remember seeing this toy at target for 20 bucks.

Amazon sellers don't screw people over by charging them way to much, ok pricks!.People be warned again! - Hit-girl - Good Condition'

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Adobe Lightroom - photography, digital photography

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I am not a professional but I have alot of photos I need to keep organized. I used iPhoto, but between it and Photoshop, there were some steps that just slowed down the process. Basically Lightroom is a combination of an organizational application with basic photo editing capabilities. It integrates well with Photoshop for more advanced editing. For my family snapshots though I rarely have to edit outside of Lightroom.



Navigating:

==========

Basic key commands:

G - Grid view, thumbnails of your photos

E - Loupe, highlighted photo fullscreen

D - Single photo in Develop mode

C - Compare, see two photos side by side, nice when you are looking for the perfect shot.

Command+Option+5 - Web module, I use this frequently to upload behind my site, via Lightroom's ftp upload option.

Command [ or ] - rotates image CW and CCW





Organization:

==========

I am an organization obsessive, especially about my family photos. I have all of my photos on an external drive and LR is pointed to them. There are basically two types of "folders" in LR Folders and Collections.



-Folders

are just that, they refer to the physical folders/subfolders on your hard-drive and reflect the same structure in LR. If you have a folder named 2008>January>01 on your hard-drive, it will be so within LR. When you import into LR you can choose to 1. add photos without moving. 2. copy them to a new location. or 3. move them to a new location.



-Collections

are "virtual folders" within LR and these actually do not move the photo physically on your hard-drive. This is nice because you may have some photos you want to print, you just drag the thumbnails into a collection folder and you don't have to worry about it floating around somewhere on your computer. (when you actually delete a photo in LR it gives you the option of removing from Lightroom only or remove it from completely from your hard-drive) A new feature of LR 2 is the addition of smart collections. There are many options of smart collections, I use them to collect top rated photos. Here is how. You add a new smart collection which takes you into a little sub menu, where you can set how this folder collects photos. I have one called "top rated" which any photo from my folders rated 4 or 5 stars goes into this collection. So where you can drag and drop your favorite photos into collections you can also set these parameters and LR will do the organization for you. Love this feature. You can set smart folders my rating (0-5 stars) color label, dates... and a couple more options I haven't explored yet. As you can imagine there are countless different ways of making these...



-Importing

I basically plug my memory card into my computer and LR asks if I want to import. I have it set to create a physical folder on my hard-drive and import there. So my photos are organized on import. At this time there are options of renaming the whole set of photos with a custom name for example "las vegas 2008 vacation_etc......jpg"



Editing:

==========

This is basically the photoshop part of Lightroom, you have basic editing tools in the Loupe (E) but you need to go to Develop Mode/Module (D) for more advanced editing. You basically have control of color in LR, for example, white balance, hue, temperature, tint, brightness, saturation, curve...etc There is also allowances for Lens correction, noise reduction, sharpening, etc. You can do cropping in develop mode as well, which is very simple.



A couple of new tools in LR 2.0, I have only started to play around with are Spot Removal and Adjustment Brush. Spot removal tool comes up like the stamp tool in photoshop, where if you have a spot of dust or a pixel you want to get rid of. This is a two step tool, where you first choose the spot you want to remove, (say a dark spot on someone's cheek) next you choose the area of the photo you want to replace the spot with (a clean area of the person's cheek) and voila the spot is gone. The adjustment brush is nice to have because you can overexpose, underexpose, adjust the contrast, brightness, saturation with a brush tool. This is something I didn't expect out of LR so I will definitely be exploring this tool.



You can also edit in Photoshop pretty seamlessly out of LR. You can edit the original (100.jpg will be the one you will be editing in PS) and see the effects back in LR. Edit a copy in PS (100-edit.jpg will be created in your hard-drive and see it next to the original in LR. Also Edit in PS with LR adjustments, any edits in LR will be exported out into PS.



One thing to keep in mind is that any edit done in LR are NOT HARD EDITS. Meaning, you do not affect the original image until you export that image out of LR. The edits are stored in LR until you do an export out into PS or into a folder on your desktop. Until then all photos can be restored back to their original state.



-Presets:

This is a fun part of LR. Lightroom comes already with some basic presets, which instead of remembering all the steps you took to edit one photo, you can save these steps into "presets". So in Develop mode you adjust the, hue, curve, temperature, detail, saturation..etc. of a photo, and you can save it as a preset, call it "preset outdoor" or something and then you can apply this preset to one or dozens of photos at once. Voila. There are lots of free presets already out there. (do a google search. the flickr lightroom group is a good source for learning) You can also cut and paste the edits of a particular photo and paste in onto a group of photos as well.



Web Module:

==========

This is also fun too. Basically you enter in your web ftp info into LR and tell it to point to a subfolder on your site. (www.website.com/gallery1) and this is where you upload the galleries too. LR comes with a few prepackaged galleries and flash galleries, you select your photos, choose the web template, edit the template (background color, type etc. and upload. and it's really that simple you have uploaded a gallery behind your site. Obviously you need to learn the basics, but before I had to upload with a ftp client, create the html etc.



All in all, Lightroom really is a fantastic tool. I am still learning alot about it. And I know there are people who prefer Aperture and I will try it out to compare, but LR just felt right for me. Try out the 30 day free trial, test out as much as you can, It is not a cheap program but if you are as excited about this stuff it really is a great tool. Cheers. Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2 [OLD VERSION] - Digital Photography - Adobe Photoshop Lightroom - Photography - Lightroom'

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Bluetooth Cordless - expandable multi-handset, dect

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This phone does (almost) everything. I love the way it communicates with each of its mates. Intercom is really handy, too. Wish I had ordered the next model up with an answering machine, but that's not too important since I use the phone on VOIP. It just supplements my cell phone (used to be the other way around). Volume on voice is not great enough for my old ears and I can't adjust it higher than the three bars it offers. But I use speakerphone most of the time anyway. If you aren't hard of hearing, this will not be an issue. Panasonic KX-TGA651B DECT 6.0 PLUS Cordless Phone Additional Digital Handset for the KX-TG6500 Series

I really do not care about all the bells and whistles that they pack into a cordless phone. I want a phone that I can hear clearly and the people that I am calling can hear me. The Panasonic Dect 6.0 does this. It has eliminated all the wireless and electronic interference that other phones failed to do. You can walk around the house and not worry about good and bad spots. This phone is so good, I bought two more add ons.

I've noted some other reviews which said that the KX-TGA6581B does not pair with bluetooth convergence on KX-TG6582 or KX-TG6583 phone sets. I can confirm the add-on phone pairs the same as the base units. The answering station actually pairs with the cell phone bluetooth so that you must keep the cell phone near the answering machine. The KX-TGA6581B handset menu is automatically reconfigured to match the base phones so that you can call both over the land line or cell phone line. I keep my cell phone downstairs and the answering station in the room upstairs above. The cell phone pairs just fine. I'm able to take cell phone calls anywhere in the house. I also like that the handset announces the caller for anyone I have programmed into the address book. Otherwise it pronounces the caller number.



I'm "on call" for work and this lets me move around the house without carrying the cell phone everywhere. If I could just figure out how to alert SMS messages, the phone would be perfect.

i bought this to work with my Panasonic KX-TG6582T (bluetooth cordless system). . . the original system works great but only came with 2 phones. . . these phones work flawlessly with the system (as they are recommended by Panasonic), however, the coloring on it does not match exactly. the color of the band around the original Panasonic KX-TG6582T phone is black, while the color around the TGA651B is silver(ish). . . not ideal, but not a deal killer either. . . esp considering how much i like the phone system overall. . . since the phones are never really together, they seem to match very well. . . no one else will probably figure it out. . . but i have to give it 4 stars due to lack of color coordination. . . seems to be an oversight by Panasonic. . . but would certainly buy these phone and the whole system again!

This phone delivers as advertised.



It took me some time to set it up, but after I waded through all of the instructions and menus, it does exactly what it is advertised to do. The sound quality is clear even in cellular mode. My BlueTooth earpiece connects easily and the sound quality is great. If you plan to use a corded headset with it, don't bother. The sound quality drops to almost inaudible. Use a BlueTooth.



When looking for a new phone, I researched several different sites for pricing and Amazon's was the lowest price. Amazon also made it easiest for me to order additional handsets so that I can have one in every room.



Now I come home from the office, plug in my cell phone to recharge, and don't have to worry about missing a cell call because I can't hear it ring or I'm too far away to reach it. I can also get my landline calls on the same line. I may even drop the landline eventually.

These phones are easy to set up following the instructions. They work nice. It's convenient to be able to retrieve messages from any phone, but there's only a displayed alert that there are messages. It would be nice to have an audible indication, too. I like that they use standard batteries. A 30 person built-in phone book is large enough to store our most used numbers, but pretty limiting compared to our cell phones that link to our much larger online contacts list.

Purchased with two extra handsets. It was easy to set up and use. I enabled the Bluetooth option for two phones. The cell phones connect when we get home and come through the handsets clear and reliable. We charge our cell phones near the base unit so the phones are always ready. It works so well I am considering dropping our house line or switching to something cheap like Skype. I like them so much I recommended them to my boss.

Adequate phone system but not user friendly or intuitive and doesn't save/show information on previous callers. Be careful to hang up carefully. If slightly off balance it will ring busy until you notice there is a problem and find the phone that is not 100% perfectly in the cradle. - Cordless Phone - Dect Cordless Phone - Expandable Multi-handset - Dect'

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Kids - kids headphones, headphones

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I bought these for my children so that they can have their own earphones and not use mine. I also liked the sound limiting qualities so that their eardrums are safe. I found that they do what they are supposed to do as far as limiting volume. It is okay for when they are using our ipods but they do not work on their DSi's. The volume when plugged into the DSi is so low that you cannot hear the games at all. We tried two pairs of earphones in two different DSi'a with the volume all the way up. Ultimately I decided to keep these and let them use them on their MP3 players but will get different earphones for DSi's. Maxell 190339 Kids Safe Ear Clips (Black)

Love these headphones !

My son likes to turn up his dvd player so loud

we could hear it from the back seat of the car ..

I was worried about his hearing.. these are great !

Loud enough to hear the movie w/ out disturbing his

sister and hurting his ears !! Love them !

i got these for my daughter for her new mp3 player.. she is has really small ears to i wanted something that would sit next to her ears instead inside of them.. these were horrible sound quality .. if you can even call it that. i couldn't even hear out of them. really not worth the money..

Great price on this item, and really, can't complain too much. I was disappointed in the headphones' continually rocking off. The cords get tangled very easily. Sound quality is ok, and these are much better than in-ear buds for my kids. overall satisfied, but would have liked to see a closer fit on the ears.

ok these headphone are a great idea... unfortunately they do not stay on my daughters ears and she is one of the most careful kids i know the part that goes around your ear just flops around. the sound is OK, not quite up to my standards but good for her.

After surching high and low for a set of earbud tipe headphones that was kid safe I found these, i got them for my 4 year old son who loves music... and they was realy disapointing the sound is realy low and i understand thats the idea of these is that there to not go to high so that the child hurts there ears but it was rediculusly low!...

also the changeable covers kept falling off they didnt want to stay on... my son was verry un happy with these as was I... I ended up throwing them out and getting regulor head phones and setting the volume and just explaneing to my son he had to leave it at the level I set it, weve had no problems doing it that way.

these are a great idea and i wanted so much to love them but I didnt... - Headphones - Childrens Earphones - Kids Headphones - Childrens Headphones'

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I have been searching for a good, pocket-able travel zoom camera for a few months and have looked at a number of different models including the Fujifilm 550exr. I settled on the Sony for its specs and the reputation that Sony has for making state-of-the-art cameras. I have to say I have not been disappointed. I am most interested in the out-of-the-box image quality since I know that on most occasions my approach is to take a series of shots without too much fuss and let the camera do most of the work for me. This is certainly the case when I am traveling since I am usually trying to get the most of the experience I am having rather than focusing too much on tinkering with camera controls.



So I compared the images from the HX9V to a Sony NEX5 and to an older Panasonic. I used the IA settings on all three cameras. I have to say I was very pleased with the results. The HX9 gave consistently good images from its Intelligent Auto and Superior Auto modes that in some cases came close to the shots from the NEX5. Where it could not compete (and this makes perfect sense because of the different sizes of the image sensor) was in low light. Not that the HX9 didn't have pretty good low-light capability, but it just could not pull the shadow details of color clarity of the NEX5. What was always interesting to me in comparing the images was how sharp and crisp the images were from the HX9. Moving closer to the pixel level it was apparent that this came at the expense of overall smoothness of the image, particularly in shadows and at the edges where images elements came together. However, in many cases, the overall visual detail and contrasts in the shadow areas of pictures taken in daylight was surprisingly good and rivaled the NEX5 for clarity. Where things got a little ugly was in the shadow areas of images taken in low light. But overall, I was very impressed with the flexibility of the camera and how balanced the photos generally were.



So here is my check list of pros and cons:



Pros:

- Stunning display with beautiful color and resolution

- very crisp images with vibrant color

- great zoom, good sharpness at all levels of zoom

- nice menu system, easy to use. Great display makes menus seem even better

- good controls (except for on/off button which is a little too flat/small)

- lots of fun and useful image and shooting options

- smooth and easy image scrolling in playback

- nice feel to body, very well constructed, scroll wheel and buttons have a quality feel

- nice options for multiple/burst shots of image to increase image fidelity/clarity



Cons

- a little chunky for a true pocket/travel camera

- don't like the in-camera charging method. What's the benefit in that?

- slight lag in zoom/review of in-camera images

- Extra sharpness of images comes at some cost to smoothness Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX9V 16.2 MP Exmor R CMOS Digital Still Camera with 16x Optical Zoom G Lens, 3D Sweep Panorama and Full HD 1080/60p Video

From my personal experience in the last 2 weeks since I received Sony's HX9V camera:

Overall I am happy with my purchase and consider that Sony's camera is competitive compared with similar offerings available from other manufacturers (see below).



Pros

- Wide angle lens and optical zoom (16x) are great: 24mm to 384mm in 35mm film equivalent

- Excellent clear display (3", 921k)

- Great panoramic mode - you sweep the camera around in one motion and it makes a single photo. You can sweep up and down too if the focal length doesn't change too much.

- Generally good photo quality for a pocket megazoom camera.

- Can easily fit in a jacket pocket or squeeze in a trouser one (camera is 4.2 x 1.4 x 2.4 inches ; 8.6 ounces)

- Video stabilizer is exceptionally good and quality is decent too

- GPS records your location

- Reasonably quick start-up for photo shooting - about 1 second

- Works fine with the 16 GB SDHC Class 10 card I have (I believe Class 6 works fine too)

- Auto backlight correction helps to get details with difficult lighting

- Background defocus mode can produce some dramatic results.

- Reasonable battery life - about 240 photos and some short videos.



Cons

- Slow to change between photo modes or video/photo mode - about 7 seconds - you may miss the moment!

- Colors can appear too saturated on the display

- Colors can also be a bit saturated on the photos, but using 'P' mode and 'natural' colors helps. Also, reducing color saturation in the 'P' mode can help reduce yellow color in low light.

- Photo review zoom in is slow to get going.

- GPS can be a bit slow to find you and it only gives lat/long info, not location name as some other GPS camera systems do.

- Flash can be a bit bright leading to overexposure if objects are close with a dark background. (also happened with my last 2 point and shoot digital cameras by other manufacturers). Slow sync flash can help, but camera needs to be held very steady to avoid blurring.

- Video start button is a bit small but works ok when you get used to it.

- Pop up flash can be annoying. You have to remember to hold the camera differently to avoid having your finger on top of it. Also, whenever you ask someone else to take an indoor photo, you have to warn them about the flash and how to hold the camera.

- Video is great but eats up your memory card! High quality fills 16 GB in less than 1 hr. Might be worth getting a second 16 GB card or a larger card if you plan to do much video in the high quality setting.



From reading reviews, alternatives compact ultra-zoom cameras I considered buying were:

- Canon PowerShot SX230 HS - high photo quality, 14x optical zoom, 3" 460k display, more manual controls, but it also has a pop-up flash, is a bit slow start on start-up and has a short battery life. Wide angle lens is 28mm equivalent, so not as wide as the HX9V's 24mm.

- Ricoh CX3 - High photo quality (not over-saturated tendencies like Sony, nor grainy tendencies like Panasonic), excellent macro mode, 10.7x optical zoom, 3" 920k display, 10 megapixel, but no manual controls and cannot zoom beyond 2.8x during filming.

- Panasonic ZS10 (or TZ20) - 16x optical zoom, 24mm equivalent wide-angle, quick start-up, 3" 460k display, GPS gives name of location, flash is not pop-up (good), but photo quality is average, battery life is not so good and worse with GPS on, the touch screen only does some functions while other have to be done with buttons in a strange mixture.'

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