Tuesday, 30 August 2011

School Supplies


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.'


Detail Products
Detail Reviews
Click here for more information


School Supplies School Supplies School Supplies

Car Speakers - great value


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'


Detail Products
Detail Reviews
Click here for more information


Car Speakers - great value great value Car Speakers - great value

Vga To Hdmi


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).'


Detail Products
Detail Reviews
Click here for more information


Memory Stick - thumb drive, 4gb


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'


Detail Products
Detail Reviews
Click here for more information


Cd Mp3 Player - sony walkman, personal cd player


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'


Detail Products
Detail Reviews
Click here for more information


Natural Family Planning


The test sticks work even if you have PCOS. I know some people in the ttc and pcos forums claim these sticks don't work for PCOS women. However, speaking from someone who has PCOS and cannot alter it with diet and exercise alone, these sticks have worked for the past 10 months to predict ovulation. I even got pregnant after the first 2 months of use, but it sadly ended in a miscarriage. But don't rely on the test sticks alone for ovulation, especially if you have irregular cycles. Temping, charting cm and other methods should be tried, especially during the first few months of the monitor's use. After about 3 cycles, it won't prompt you for sticks too early, especially if you have a longer cycle like most PCOS women. One word of caution: if you're using the monitor while taking fertility drugs, especially those that contain HCG or gonadotropins, don't waste your test sticks during those cycles. It will show up false positives and might throw off your next natural cycle. Basically, this monitor is great for natural cycles in predicting ovulation. Clearblue Easy Fertility Monitor Test Sticks, 30 Count

I bought this item about 3 years ago, and my clearblue baby is going to be 3 in March. We had tried for 3 years before before purchasing this moniter, my cycles are somewhat irregular so it was hard to detect my peak fertility days. We concived on the third month of using this moniter! We are now going to use it agian to concieve another child. What a great product for helping to concieve. Very easy to use and understand, takes out all the

guessing, and helps you concive a baby natrually.

I checked ALL over online and Amazon has got the best price.. Then with "free shipping" it's a can't beat price.. BUT the "free shipping" comes at a price of it's own.. I think your order sits and waits while everyone else who paid for shipping goes first. I waited two weeks then canceled my order when I found out it was still sitting at Amazon not shipped. SO you need to order in advance so you won't be stuck without sticks when your monitor is Asking you to test!!



The advice to order on ebay is fine.. as long as you get sticks that are not expired. I have read in auctions that expired sticks DON'T matter.. It DOES matter if they are expired the readings will not be as percise. This is a serious matter not need to go cheap on the sticks and cost yourself MORE time.



You need to have enough sticks to cover testing for each month from the same pack.. it helps the monitor to give a more percise reading.. It says that in the monitor directions and Customer Service will stress that point as well.



I agree with another poster on here too. You CANNOT read these sticks on your own. I would look to see if I could see a difference after the monitor told me my fertility status.. Couldn't tell.... SO these are JUST for the monitor!!

My wife and I have used the Clear Blue as a natural, healthy way to avoid pregnancy, even though the makers did not design it for that. Of course it's not a magic spell. You need to know enough about the woman's cycle and abstain when you know she is fertile. Basically, when it says she is HIGH or PEAK, you find something to do besides sex, along with three days after PEAK. This is officially called Natural Family Planning (NFP), and it's far safer and more humane than using the pill. It takes self-control and (yes, that's right) respect for the woman.

I have lots of experience with the Clearplan sticks - every cycle for 4 years. This particular box had 17 of the 30 that were defective which meant that the most important part of the cycle the sticks didn't work and after you have peed on a stick and have no more pee you have lost the opportunity to do it again for another stick. No peak days detected last month which meant last month was a bust in the whole attempting to time a baby department. I'm sad - I did keep the box lid so I could write to the company and include the lot and production information.

I got PG (with Triplets!) during my first cycle using the CPFM. The monitor was clearly able to pinpoint my exact "peak" time of the month, and it was SO easy to use. My favorite thing about the monitor is that it takes the "guesswork" out of knowing if you're going to ovulate or not, and no need to worry or stress over not being able to read traditional ovulation tests. This monitor is definitely worth the $ and I recommend it to anyone who is TTC!

I used the monitor for a few months before it was on target with my cycle, 3 months I think. The first time the little "egg" came on the screen me and my hubby go so excited, and the evening we made our little boy. I was very happy with the product and we are buying more stick to use it again later this year.



It did take a few months for it to learn my cycle, so I would tell people to buy it in advance and not expect a result overnight. But it does work.'


Detail Products
Detail Reviews
Click here for more information


Upconverting Dvd Player


I needed a new DVD player for my bedroom since my last one stopped working just like that. To date I'm quite happy with my purchase - there's a button on the remote control that slows down the picture which for me is a first and an eject tray button which many dvd remotes don't seem to feature. For now I'll give it 5 stars but I will update review my purchase in a couple months. Panasonic DVD-S48 Progressive Scan DVD Player'


Detail Products
Detail Reviews
Click here for more information


Upconverting Dvd Player Upconverting Dvd Player Upconverting Dvd Player