Archive for May, 2010
I will start out by saying that I loved my Kindle for a long time. The main selling point for me was the book avalibility. I never in a million years dreamed that I would have the issues I have now, with not being able to purchase books by my favorite authors because of a dispute between Amazon and the Publisher. Yes, there are still thousands of books avalible, but personally, those don’t do any good for me. If the book I want to read on the Kindle isn’t avalible, then its not avalible. I’m not going to stop reading my authors because of this, I stop using my Kindle because of this. Nor am I going to just randomly purchase a book because it is avalible. I have a limited amount of “downtime” for reading, I want to read the books I have been waiting on. Before I take on a new author, I go by recommendations from those favorite authors, or on those author’s websites.
As a result, my iphone now holds all the books that I wanted to read on my Kindle, but couldn’t get, and Amazon has lost my business. Barnes and Noble or the hated Apple store got the business.
Before you purchase the Kindle, you should be very careful, and realize that you are “locking” yourself into Amazon. If Amazon doesn’t carry the book, then you can’t read it on this e-reader — I’m talking new releases, not the hundreds of sites that have versions that don’t have any DRM on them.
Munchkin Sea Myself Crib
Although I did not buy this book as a collectors item, it was in like new condition. You could not readily notice any wear on it. Again, I am not a collector and there may be things a collector may observe differently, but as a gift for my wife it was excellent. The book arrived in a very timely manner.
HQRP Universal Air Vent
I purchased this product after taking a few classes in Word and Excel,and am SO impressed at the changes between 03 and 07!! MUCH easier to navigate.
Buffalo Technology TeraStation ES
Attracted by the low price ($20) I bought this set mainly for the wide angle converter. Unfortunately, it provides no benefit with my recently purchased Panasonic VDR-D210 camcorder.
The wide-angle converter itself intrudes into the picture beginning in the corners when the camcorder is set at the widest setting. By the time I get rid of the darkened corners, I have zoomed in to 2x which leaves me back where I started.
With a 32x zoom, the 2x tele converter is not really necessary but does it help? I found that the sharpness is degraded to the point that the camcorder occasionally has trouble focusing. I tried both automatic and manual focus in one test of zooming in on fine print. The loss of clarity made fine print hard to read. It was more readable without the tele-converter and using the digital zoom instead to get to the same 64x zoom level.
Maybe these would provide $20 of value with some other camcorder but I wish I hadn’t spent the money. I don’t know what price point below $200 would give satisfactory results. I would want to try anything else before I spent any more money on this type of product.
Digital Concepts 37mm Tele
So I may be an oddity but I actually appreciate the Kindle for the community it brings as well as the books themselves. I’d been wanting one forever and, as luck would have it, I received one as a gift about a month ago. One of my favorite things to do is to read new and/or indie authors. I find it so intriguing to think I could be reading the next great author. PK (Pre-Kindle) I really had a heck of a time finding out about new authors in genre’s I loved without extensive searching and joining specific types of communities. Now, AK (I’ll leave you to figure that one out!) the world I love is at my fingertips — and for a good price I might add.
Here’s another oddity: I actually play video games more than I read. Or, I did PK. Nowadays you can find me as often as not with the Kindle as with my DSi XL. I love me some “grazing” at brick and mortar stores but with a busy life and a teenager (not to mention an Autistic 10 year old son) I just wasn’t getting the time I needed to do some serious discovery. Now I can still keep an eye on my teen and my little guy and browse to my hearts content. It’s a beautiful thing. The thing was PK I could browse but then I’d have to add to cart and wait for things to show up. It’s 2010 — I’m not big on patience (sorry mom!)
Look many others have come before and given amazing reviews. I think I won’t be able to do it better but wanted to be sure my 5 stars was counted. Fabo device that gives newfound again reading pleasure to this 40 something mom. Thank you amazon!
The Collection 3 Pak
The product was delivered almost the next day after I ordered and I was able to make use of it right away… It was fairly easy to assemble and I did not need any extra tools. It works great… I like the bigger tubs so I do not have to stop to empty and refill as often… very satisfied.
The Sky Pilot 1921
For individuals who are used to older Windows versions, Windows 7 takes some time to get used to. Many of the previous drop-down menus are now grouped in different places, and are initially difficult to locate. I had a lot of trouble until I learned to use the “help” option whenever I can’t find something. (Click on the Question Mark icon wherever you see it.) After a few times, you’ll start to remember how to perform the same command when you need it.
American Baby Company Organic
I have owned many pedometers but this is by far the best one I have owned. I have only one small complaint which is not necessarily the fault of the pedometer but something that should be included in future models. I typically walk a treadmill with a high incline but fairly low pace. The Pedometer records steps but does not give any KCAL credit for the fact I am walking at a 6.2 incline. Anyways, that is my only complaint. Other than that it records steps very accurately. I LOVE EVERYTHING ELSE!! I would just like a little more credit for the workout intensity.
Body Strokes VHS
Upon the notice of the authors death, realized I had never read it. Interesting book……..
Power Rangers Stylized Ranger
On the whole it is a good package. I still find Word to be sometimes an infuriating piece of S/W when you are imbedding photos into text the insertion is often anything but graceful. If you insert a photo before clicking the enter key some 20 times or so it will just overlay the photo and cover up some previously placed images — drives me nuts as it is such a stupid mistake to have made when they wrote the S/W. Yeah, I know it takes MS about ten tries before it gets things right (e.g., Vista).
3 button pin printed