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Or this one. 45 Seconds.

Your 90 seconds in the microwave isn't looking so good now, is it?

Less space devoted to stock (the items can be high and low and stacked front/back on the spartan shelves and not arranged for "presentation")
Less lossage due to products not getting shopworn or damaged by customers

In the UK, this is just a re-invention of Argos. Before the internet you'd pick up a new printed catalogue (which they still offer). I spent many a Saturday morning browsing the toys in that catalogue. Writing Christmas / birthday wish-lists was easy, you just wrote down the catalogue numbers. The differentiator here has to be products available on offer, not the speed, surely? I can order more diverse things from Amazon from their massive out of town warehouses than I could from Argos, which has smaller, edge-of-town (or town centre) stores.

I like my method of "instant pickup" better for a bunch of reasons:
1. Doesn't require giving 2% of my purchase to Visa/Mastercard
2. Doesn't require giving all of my personal information, including my web browsing history, my social media accounts, my Google accounts, and the history of where I physically go, to Amazon.
3. Some of my money stays in my local community.

Add in that AFAIK, Argos pay all their taxes in the UK.

Admittedly it has a UK bias, but this phone is entirely suitable for a 4yo.

A REAL one? You want to fry the poor little sprogs brain? Leave them open to predators?

It seems that your priorities are completely wrong. Time to rethnk your work/life balance.

These tablets are being offered for sale at £549 (US $834.32) and £634 (US $963) respectively. The Kindle Fire HD costs from £159, the Google Nexus 10 costs from £319, while the Apple iPad costs from £399. Even if there were nothing else wrong with Windows RT, trying to sell tablets for between 150% and 350% of the price of the comparable market leaders was never going to work.

As it is, if you actually want a Windows RT tablet for some reason, you've got to know that there's going to be a huge fire-sale of these things, and soon. Why would anyone pay those prices?

...you can fit a hell of a lot more junk in a 50 litre, internally framed rucksack (sorry, had to be done. This thing is great, and at the expense of 15 litres capacity (the top and bottom will collapse somewhat and with the help of the many straps, maintain its shape) it qualifies as hand luggage!).

You need to look a bit harder, like for all of five seconds: non-portable for £20, portable for £30. Of course, that's still pretty expensive compared to FM.

I didn't look too hard, but Argos sells a portable DAB receiver for £20. As I said below, the problem is not regulation or standards, but simply that there is no well defined use case for DAB. Other than 'woo, digital!' it isn't actually better than the alternatives in any way. Without that, economies of scale don't push the price down at all because hardly anyone is buying the devices.

My eight year old wants a laptop. I've seriously thought about getting something like this for her. Now she mainly place flash web games or watches you tube. So I'm not interested in a cheap laptop that doesn't do those two things.

Eight years old? EIGHT YEARS OLD and she wants a lah-di-dah laptop? Pah! People tell me that "kids are so sophisticated these days", but too bad. Tell her she's getting one of these, and tell her she can like it or lump it! Speak and Spell were good enough when I were a lad (*), so that's practically luxury :)

If she whines and you want to be really horrible- or just silly- get her this one and before you show it to her tell her you're not *quite* sure if it runs Flash.

(*) Strictly speaking, this isn't true. I didn't have a bloody Speak and Spell when I grew up... and that *is* true :'-( Though I realise now that if I had I would have been bored of it within the first day and only used it out of guilt :/

My eight year old wants a laptop. I've seriously thought about getting something like this for her. Now she mainly place flash web games or watches you tube. So I'm not interested in a cheap laptop that doesn't do those two things.

Eight years old? EIGHT YEARS OLD and she wants a lah-di-dah laptop? Pah! People tell me that "kids are so sophisticated these days", but too bad. Tell her she's getting one of these, and tell her she can like it or lump it! Speak and Spell were good enough when I were a lad (*), so that's practically luxury :)

If she whines and you want to be really horrible- or just silly- get her this one and before you show it to her tell her you're not *quite* sure if it runs Flash.

(*) Strictly speaking, this isn't true. I didn't have a bloody Speak and Spell when I grew up... and that *is* true :'-( Though I realise now that if I had I would have been bored of it within the first day and only used it out of guilt :/

Purchasing an overpriced, DRMed version of a movie (that will most likely be playable only on a Windows box)

Just to be pedantic:

Compatible with Windows ME, 2008, XP, Mac OS, 8.6 and Higher, Linux, Kernal 2.4X and any operating system with a USB port.

Ah, so that's where Argos got their business model...

I couldn't care less how many PS3s Sony sells. All I know is that when you can buy a Wii and an XBox 360 together for only a little more than a PS3, they're too expensive for me. Everyone else I've spoken to* likewise thinks the PS3 is too expensive. On the other hand, if Wiis were easier to get hold of, I may well have bought one by now and my ex almost certainly would have, and several of my friends already have. The bastards.

(* a massive sample size of "a couple of blokes at work", so hardly statistically significant I'll grant you)

I couldn't care less how many PS3s Sony sells. All I know is that when you can buy a Wii and an XBox 360 together for only a little more than a PS3, they're too expensive for me. Everyone else I've spoken to* likewise thinks the PS3 is too expensive. On the other hand, if Wiis were easier to get hold of, I may well have bought one by now and my ex almost certainly would have, and several of my friends already have. The bastards.

(* a massive sample size of "a couple of blokes at work", so hardly statistically significant I'll grant you)

I couldn't care less how many PS3s Sony sells. All I know is that when you can buy a Wii and an XBox 360 together for only a little more than a PS3, they're too expensive for me. Everyone else I've spoken to* likewise thinks the PS3 is too expensive. On the other hand, if Wiis were easier to get hold of, I may well have bought one by now and my ex almost certainly would have, and several of my friends already have. The bastards.

(* a massive sample size of "a couple of blokes at work", so hardly statistically significant I'll grant you)

http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/5 361971/Trail/C%24cip%3D36693.Sound%2Band%2Bvision% 3EC%24cip%3D36785.Televisions%3EC%24Screen+Size+(i nches)%3D27.27.htm

That's in a sale and "HD ready" which means its only 720p IIRC. HDTVs may be cheap as chips in the US but over here they cost a bit more.

I was in a similar situation to yours a while ago - wanted an SD card player, not in iPod price range. I settled a lot higher than your proposed price though.

I hope this link works...

That's what I ended up buying. I don't know what £80 is equivalent to in dollars, but it'll be triple figures on your side of the pond I suppose, which sounds a lot more expensive, now I think about it... anyway, this thing fulfilled my oddball criteria - flash memory not hdd, normal batteries not shitty proprietaries, and SD card slot.

The reason I mention this despite it being miles out of your price range is that I searched for quite a while for SD compatibility and this was all I could find.

Well, assuming you still have the same TV in 3 years, and you do all your tv watching on Over-The-Air stations (no cable or sat) then you will have to get what they are calling a 'digital converter box', which is essentially what we now refer to as an HD Tuner, but alot cheaper since it doesn't need the high quality output for your standard definition television.

Current AVerMedia already sells a nice HD Tuner for $90, with digital audio and component video, so I am MORE than confident that in the next few years, as the demand increases dramatically, that you will be able to get your digital converter box for a price within the $40 the government is offering you as a tradeoff for discontinuing your current service.


Indeed. In the UK digital terrestrial set-top boxes are piled high in supermarkets and are getting cheaper all the time. (£29.99 example). They're also getting smaller and better (e.g. more responsive menus and EPG; built in DVR etc.)

If you can receive it, it's basically pretty stupid /not/ to buy a digital set top box in the UK, if you get a signal. The basic service is free. The one downside is that some people need their ariels improved, which can cost a bit.

This isn't HD (that's yet to come), but the receiver electronics aren't much different in any important ways (whereas the display equipment to show HD without downsampling is different in expensive ways).

What, doesn't the US have an equivalent to this then?

You can buy in-car stereo's that have USB connectors, then you could put them into any car. My car stereo has a line in, so I can plug any audio device into it.

The following are examples of what you can get in the UK, (USB in-car stereo wise):
Goodmans GCE7205USB2 CD/Radio - £89.99
Acoustic Solution CD/MP3 with USB Tuner - £99.99

They're both from Argos, you could probably get them cheaper from an internet only store. There were some more expensive though better brand name stereos at halfords, but I can't find any details on their website.

You can buy in-car stereo's that have USB connectors, then you could put them into any car. My car stereo has a line in, so I can plug any audio device into it.

The following are examples of what you can get in the UK, (USB in-car stereo wise):
Goodmans GCE7205USB2 CD/Radio - £89.99
Acoustic Solution CD/MP3 with USB Tuner - £99.99

They're both from Argos, you could probably get them cheaper from an internet only store. There were some more expensive though better brand name stereos at halfords, but I can't find any details on their website.

"I buy groceries once a week...I fill up the front seat and floorboard of my car easily..."

Groceries:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&it em=6783518401
http://www.argos.co.uk/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/S earch?storeId=10001&referredURL=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.a rgos.co.uk%2Fwebapp%2Fwcs%2Fstores%2Fservlet%2FSea rch%3FstoreId%3D10001&referrer=FG13P&searchTerms=2 852706&params=P6813
http://www.kayslifestyle.co.uk/psnlnet/product.asp x?sid=FMNJA95VFXLQBRN080FB0RF3561EW9J8&brand=KaysL S&prod_id=211251

You'll notice these are all UK sites, we already have an extensive rail network. It's common for people to shop with these.

"cold snowy climate like MN would have problems with a system like this..."

The Taxi2000 system shouldn't be affected much, the running surfaces are enclosed in the track. The UK ATS Ultra system would be affected by heavy snow. Depends on the implementation.

"Would be VERY difficult to evacuate with this system in such small cars."

You say that, but people use automobiles which aren't much bigger. A single Taxi2000 track is designed to take 7,200 vehicles per hour, 21,000 people/hour. It's the equivalent of a 3 lane highway. The performance limiting step with PRT systems is actually the stations, it takes 20-30 seconds to chose a destination and get into the vehicle (180 vehicles/hour/bay).

"All your records you need...family pictures."

You're kidding right. You're the one holding up traffic on the highway with the sofa strapped to the roof of your car?

"Elderly people and their walker/wheelchairs..."

The taxi2000 system is designed to accomodate wheelchairs.

"How would one of these function as an ambulance with all the equipment they need? Firetrucks? Police?"

It wouldn't but I'd expect police stations and hospitals to have stations built in.

"and if you have all these roads and vehicles still...what do you need the new 'transit' system for"

http://www.dot.wisconsin.gov/projects/d1/verona/im ages/congestion.jpg
http://www.portcult.com/DRIVING-emfhell26.jpg
http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/whoweare/img/traffic.jpg
http://www.dorsetcc.gov.uk/media/images/8/j/Ridgew ay2large.jpg
http://www.metrokc.gov/kcdot/news/photos/2002-2/09 3002corridor.jpg

Google has lots more.

Only thing left are the clocks with a single AA battery on the wall, and at some point they are going to use the pervasive

Dude, that's so 5 years ago. I just bought a wall clock for my kitchen that takes an AA battery, and it syncs to the UK nuclear clock signal. It's great.

Cost? 8 pounds.

A similar clock in my living room does the same thing. The futar is here!

Well, this one and this one at least claim to be 2000W, and I've definitely used 2kW electric heaters running off a normal ring mains socket.

Of course, here in the UK, mains voltage is 230V, so with a normal maximum of 13A we could go up to about 2760W.

Well, this one and this one at least claim to be 2000W, and I've definitely used 2kW electric heaters running off a normal ring mains socket.

Of course, here in the UK, mains voltage is 230V, so with a normal maximum of 13A we could go up to about 2760W.

Go to the site's gamecube listing. "Offer ends 21st January 2005. " Last thing you do is trust anything from GameCube Europe. They're just as bad as Nintendo Now.

Firstly you have to take into account that the pound is very strong against the dollar at the moment and secondly they haven't gone back up, at least they haven't here as was mentioned in the article

Goddmans make a DivX Player model: DVD161DIVX 5.1 DVD Player.

If you are in the UK you can pick one up for £60 from Argos. I have one, and find that it works very well whilst also looking good. All my videos play fine except for Real Player ones.

Don't forget, Konqueror can send anything as the user agent string. It's likely that people are setting it to masquerade as IE5 on W98, because any other configuration is likely to break with poorly-designed web sites such as this one.

If your javascript function returns a specific value (possibly 0, but I don't remember for sure), the browser won't follow the link after opening the popup.

You need to return false:

Some sites look at your user-agent string and tell you to fuck off if they don't recognize that browser

For instance, argos.co.uk will refuse to handle gecko-based browsers. Idiocy.

Although their web pages seem to render perfectly in Lynx/w3m/elinks/Mozilla/Konquerer/Opera, you can only log into the site with a user-agent of IE/Netscape.

...and of course, their logs show that people only use ie/netscape when visiting their site (because people using other browsers lie in their ua string, or just can't access the site at all). It's a vicious circle.

I don't mind so much if there are a few bugs on a website because the designer hasn't tested it in Netscape/Mozilla/Opera etc - what annoys me is when a website will probably work fine but just blocks you out anyway.

Argos is a case in point. If you fake the UserAgent string, you can access the website fine. But why should I have do do that?! They're just losing customers...

1.- The "infrared watch" thath claims will send a virus to another infrared watch

The virus is described as non-harmful, but the watch is infrared.

@