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Yeah, I'm just trying to be a smartass, but isn't Epinions the place for this sort of topic? :-P Lots of reviews for consumer goods and no, a portable CD-R Player works the same for fashion models as it does for geeks.

I find epinions.com to be pretty handy for getting reviews of consumer electronics.

Try www.epinions.com for user reviews of products like this, with links to pricing scans on the net. I've gotten lots of information on things like TVs and video camcorders on this site, and you get to hear what people think who usually own the item.

I mentioned the Focus in a thread a little farther down. We had a 2001, and it was nothing but trouble. We just traded it in, and ate the remaining year's lease payments so we could get rid of that little death trap.

I wrote a review of it on epinions.com.
http://www.epinions.com/content_120641719940

We've had nothing but trouble with the one we had. There was something like 9 recalls on the model we had, and countless other problems that Ford claims is "normal for a Focus". One of the service reps at the dealer even had the balls to sit there and laugh at how bad the Focus' brake system is, then try to charge me a few hundred bucks to repair it.

Read my full review of it at http://www.epinions.com/content_120641719940

And more horror stories at http://www.fordfocusbrakeproblems.com

....Not to mention forcing their customers to listen to Fox News Lies in their stores and censoring music (but not movies or violent video games.

I worked one summer at the City's Department of Recreation. Turned down a job working maintenance at a water park (late high school/early college female lifeguards) because the Dept. of Rec. paid more. What a horrible tradeoff.

The city manager's assistant who hired me was excited - not because I was in college, but because I still had a valid driver's license. All of our equipment was handed down from other city departments who no longer wanted/needed it. The truck I drove had been used to clear snow off of ice-covered ponds, until it fell partly through the ice. That stopped the 4WD from working, so they simply disconnected it. The Special Deluxe topped out a 30 mph, but I did have a yellow light on the top that alerted motorists to my presence on the city streets.

The death threats: Not only did we have the worst crew (Supervisor demoted to Dept. of Rec. due to pending child pornography charges; the two other employees excepting me were permanent-part time, alcoholics who would pick up their first 6 packs on the 6 am ride into work - couldn't drive b/c no licenses) but the Dept. of Rec. also had work release convicts that did much of the work.

The first death threat was from a convicted crack dealer from Bay City, Michigan. After I conveyed our supervisor's orders, he strode up to me, poked me in the nose, and told me that he would "kill me" and that if his brother wasn't in prison, his brother would also "come and kill me as well." I didn't point out the logical fallacy within his argument at the time. The second was a B&E (he stole guns and some money) convict from Alpena, Michigan. I wasn't as worried this time; he only wanted to use the truck, and it's not as if he had the guns he had originally stolen to fulfill his death threat this time.

All in all, it was still better than selling Kirby Vacuums door-to-door.

I'm still using an Iiyama VM Pro 450 (19") here at work from around 1997. I had a VM 450 at home (closest match not the same as the VM Pro 450), but it stopped working almost 2 years ago.

I've always been very pleased by Iiyama's monitors, but the replacement I bought 2 years ago was an NEC monitor, which is the best aperture grill screen I've ever seen (though I haven't seen Iiyama's newer monitors, since the 450 line is up to 455 for the AG screens, I bought the non-pro 450 for home use specifically because it was not an AG screen, because the AG usually makes games and images very dark). Unfortunately most people don't seem to carry Iiyama monitors, which means ordering online and hoping their new models are worth the money (as other manufacturers have gotten much better over the years) or going elsewhere.

I'm still using an Iiyama VM Pro 450 (19") here at work from around 1997. I had a VM 450 at home (closest match not the same as the VM Pro 450), but it stopped working almost 2 years ago.

I've always been very pleased by Iiyama's monitors, but the replacement I bought 2 years ago was an NEC monitor, which is the best aperture grill screen I've ever seen (though I haven't seen Iiyama's newer monitors, since the 450 line is up to 455 for the AG screens, I bought the non-pro 450 for home use specifically because it was not an AG screen, because the AG usually makes games and images very dark). Unfortunately most people don't seem to carry Iiyama monitors, which means ordering online and hoping their new models are worth the money (as other manufacturers have gotten much better over the years) or going elsewhere.

This superb 21" CRT monitor is "only" 6 years old... But with an average of 10-hours/day of use, the display is still as bright & crisp today as it was back on the first day I got it. These were surely the best 2500 German Marks I have ever spent on computer hardware. I cannot praise Iiyma enough for the monitors they are manufacturing !!@

What you're looking for is a 'twistup corkscrew,' or the 'ah-so cork puller.' See here for a good picture. It doesn't damage the cork at all, and it's a very good idea for wines with older corks. It takes a bit of practice to do right, but I only screwed up one cork (pushed it in rather than pulling it out) before getting it. The other advantages include the fact it's one of the smallest corkscrews (if we redefine corkscrew to be "things you can open wine with") you could carry and the fact it's cheap. They sell for $3-$4 around here, and everything here (SF Bay) is expensive.

The reason why you see the specialized kits more is because Lego makes more money on them, and the licensed names (Harry Potter, Star Wars, etc.) sell more kits to people who might not otherwise buy them. They sell these kits for somewhere around 10-15 cents (US) per brick, and many of the pieces are very small.

On the other hand, there are still big tubs, like this one which may be what you were remembering.
These kits sell for more like 2 cents a brick. However they replaced this a couple years ago with the "creator" 1000 piece tub, which apparently has a far inferior selection of pieces (see review).
And still, there are only a few tubs like this but dozens of those specialized sets, so you need to look in a store with a good selection of Lego and hunt for it! Or do like other responders already suggest and buy in bulk on ebay.

I have a remote control for my DSC S75 with power on/off, zoom, and shutter controls. The cable on it is only about a metre, so you'll have to try splicing it with a longer one. There's a little more information here

I think yes.

You probably want to buy the dvdr80 as it is more feature rich than the 70.

I got one of these about 4 months ago for my new laptop with a 15" screen (the old one was a Sony PictureBook, slightly smaller). And I have found it's pretty much buller-proof. There's also one decent review of it on Epinions (not by me). One thing to note, it's small but not tiny: my laptop, clie, cell phone, several file folders, a newspaper, a hardcover notepad (the paper kind), a mini mag-lite, a swiss army knife, ear buds, a leatherman, a wallet's worth of cards, several pens, power brick, sundry cables, a small mouse, some floppies, some cd-r's, and business cards all fit in it.

I don't know much about this camera, but when I was comparing my options a few years ago (1999?) in preparation for my first photography class, I chose the Nikon FM10. The price was decent, and the quality was fantastic. Here are some reviews on epinions. I am by no means an expert, but I can say that as a first-time photography student, I was very happy with this camera, and various experienced photographers with whom I spoke about it said I'd made a fine choice. I've since moved on to digital, but I am still very fond of my FM10. And definitely, the price is a lot better now, if you can get a used one in good condition from ebay. I do agree that you must go for quality over price when shopping for the lenses. They make all the difference! Good luck!

What other favorites from the past could be contributed to a UserLinux distribution, making it irresistable? How about Clipper, isn't that dead yet? Couldn't its corpse (implementation) be examined for clues in how to improve ReKall? I like the idea of integrating Coda into UserLinux, a product from 1987. I wonder, has IBM bothered contributed portions of OS/2's object-oriented GUI to either GNOME or KDE? Also, let's not forget the hundreds (thousands?) of games cast aside by their developers. I for one, would love to see an Open Sourced version of a game like Elite.

= 9J =

Perhaps not, but the Crusoe 5800 series wasn't really meant for that. It was meant for low power PC applications, where battery life is more important than performance. Last spring, I treated myself to a new Fujitsu Lifebook P1120, a very small and thin notebook with an 800 MHz Crusoe and an 8.9" touchscreen. It's a sweet machine, for what it's for. Yes, it's godawful slow when bringing up OpenOffice.org, but so is my main PC. See my review.

I haven't loaded Linux on it yet, but these people have. This page is worth a read, just for the travel-related stuff that they've crammed into their laptop. Anyone know where one can get a "Don't panic!" decal?

Ask any cook worth his/her pinch of salt and they'll tell you that non-stick pans are not good for a lot of things. Specifically, any time you want to cook a meat to a nice brown color and then make a sauce, you specifically don't want a non-stick pan. You actually want little bits of the meat to stick to your pan as you cook.

Why, you ask? Because, those little bits that stick to the pan undergo something called the Maillard reaction (similar to sugars caramelizing) which results in deliciously complex flavors you can't get otherwise. Plus, when you're done cooking the meat, you can deglaze those little stuck bits with some water, alcohol, vegetable or fruit juice and the deglazed bits will form the basis of your sauce.

That's one of the reasons why chefs will pay $200 and up for a clad saute pan that appears to be stainless steel (definitely not non-stick).

Stanford is such an awesome university! Look at where all of these Cooligy guys got their undergraduate degrees:

Founders:
Ken Goodson - BS in Mech Eng from MIT
Tom Kenny - BS in Physics from University of Minnestoa
Juan Satiago - BS Mech Eng from University of Florida

Management:
Dave Corbin (President) - BS EE from University of Kansas
Dan Lenehan (VP Bus Dev) - BS EE from New Jersey Institute of Technology
Mark Much (VP Engineering)- BS Chem Engr. University of Colorado
Andy Keane - BS Physics Rensselaer Polytechnic

Board of Directors:
Dave Corbin (see above)
Todd Brooks - BS Chem Engineering from Texas A&M
Rob Chaplinsky - BS University of Waterloo
Carl Everett - BA Business New Mexico State University
Len Rand - BS in Building Sciences, Rensselaer Polytechnic
Dr. Albert Yu - BS EE CalTech

Stanford is really an awesome school, check out this review

I'm currently averaging 4.5L/100km (about 52mpg). My most efficient run was a 360km return trip from Ottawa to Kingston where I averaged 4.0L/100km (about 58mpg) for the trip.

If you're driving in colder climates, have a look at a review that I wrote that covers some of the cold-weather quirks I've encountered.

If you read the Details about the Archos unit, you'll notice that the weight is listed as "10.23 lb."

I think I'll pay the extra $80 for the iPod - probably pay for itself in fewer trips to the chiropractor.

Funny, there are a ton of other 40GB MP3 players that have been on the market for a little while.

This one is a bit cheaper than the iPod:
Archos

So, you might argue that the iPod is the smallest 40GB player out? Wrong again. Check this one out:
Rio Karma

Not that it's a BAD player- it's just not as Revolutionary as the Mac fanboys claim. :-)

Those iMacs don't look so bad... even if they're next to impossible to upgrade. :-)

Stewey

yeah, i did. it's pretty cool. check out my review here. if that link doesn't work click go to this url: http://www.epinions.com/content_108070014596

Did you look at epinions.com?

I realize that lots of people like Ask Slashdot because they feel that they're pretty similar to the average Slashdot reader, but there is a wider audience out there. Epinions is a site where you can search for many parameters, like brand or price, or features, and see what fellow consumers have recommended.

I wrote a little description of the TV I bought a while ago here.

As with anything where you ask for people's opinions, I find it helpful to find the harshest critics and decide if you side with them or discount their ideas. Many times, in epinions and in real life, the people with the worst criticism complain about features something doesn't have as if they didn't read the product description, or how unreliable it is when it's treated abnormally ("Sony VCRs suck because one broke when my son dropped it off my roof" kind of things). If, however, you find people complaining about how the product doesn't perform as advertised, or how it fails in normal circumstances, you know it really is bad.

Did you look at epinions.com?

I realize that lots of people like Ask Slashdot because they feel that they're pretty similar to the average Slashdot reader, but there is a wider audience out there. Epinions is a site where you can search for many parameters, like brand or price, or features, and see what fellow consumers have recommended.

I wrote a little description of the TV I bought a while ago here.

As with anything where you ask for people's opinions, I find it helpful to find the harshest critics and decide if you side with them or discount their ideas. Many times, in epinions and in real life, the people with the worst criticism complain about features something doesn't have as if they didn't read the product description, or how unreliable it is when it's treated abnormally ("Sony VCRs suck because one broke when my son dropped it off my roof" kind of things). If, however, you find people complaining about how the product doesn't perform as advertised, or how it fails in normal circumstances, you know it really is bad.

Nomad Zen reviews

iPod reviews

Of course, Epinions are not too helpful when the product is brand new. I usually go through a couple of five-star reviews and several one-stars (if such exist) to see what people are generally complaining about.

Nomad Zen reviews

iPod reviews

Of course, Epinions are not too helpful when the product is brand new. I usually go through a couple of five-star reviews and several one-stars (if such exist) to see what people are generally complaining about.

That's all I know about L.A. cell service. In finding out which provider to switch to from AT&T, I ran into this ePinions page. Unlike this awful and non-informative article, the ePinions page divides ratings by territory or metro area. Use something like this when choosing a cell service provider, as providers DO vary in service depending on the location.

How bout this baby: Microsoft Cordless Phone System (700-00006) Cordless Phone.

What a disappointment.
Never could get the darn thing to work integrated with Windows... which was, um, the point I thought.
Support was non-existent.

Didn't have the heart to submit someone else to my pain and suffering by selling it on eBay.

go here http://www.epinions.com/content_61126119044

FYI, spamd is installed by default on pair.com accounts; you can call spamc from procmail. I spent most of yesterday afternoon setting it up, along with Spam Assassin and a nifty server side IMAP filtering... It's nothing revolutionary, but it's satisfying to have it setup ;)

Spam Assassin has bayes, but I've been getting 99% so far without it; expert rules work amazingly well, no need for learning. Methodology is the best way to foil spam. Have at least two/three email addresses: one public address (minimizing public exposure), one email as default reply-to (except for mailing lists) and optionally one address for close friends only. You can keep a low spam threshold then without much to worry about...

The idea of sorting the spam folder by score by injecting the rating into the subject (from this article on Reverse Spam Filtering) works wonders and it's easy to setup with procmail. If things get worse, I'll most likely be setting up temporary addresses that expire within weeks (for website contact & feedback), or a password system with password and explanation posted with contact details on my homepage)... it's almost as good as GPG/PGP for this purpose without the inconveniences for the other party.

I actually look forward to getting spam now!! hehe

Plenty of bad ratings at epinions.com as well

Oh, and by the way I bought Pulp Fiction Special(collectors?) edition from Wal-Mart--completley undedited. Some people need to chill.

Seems like this has been going on since the beginning

David Brashears's book High Exposure is partly about that year, and partly about his experiences as a climber in general. He led the IMAX film-making expedition that was on Everest that year.

Find your grade school teachers and shoot them. He says it's the most beautiful, but probably not the most practical. Or, even though it's not the most practical, it's the most beautiful. Etc...

Is English a second language for you? Perhaps it is a US idiom, but the construct "if not the most" is pretty commonly used to mean that the object is *possibly* a superlative, but if it is not, it is pretty close, eg (with thanks to google):

Duck and goose hunting has to be one if not the most expensive sport.

The Bottom Line Sauvignon Blanc is one of, if not the most, affordable, enjoyable and food-friendly white wine grapes around today, enjoying wide appeal and wide distribution.

'In England the main object seems to be what is after all one of the most, if not the most, important gastronomic principle..'.

That last link goes into the subject at some length. I could go on, but I think you get the picture.

To be fair, the poster's original comment is unclear because they do not include the "one of the..." construct in their sentence. So it is possible they said what you think they said, only badly, or what others thought they said. Perhaps the original poster should clarify his/her statement.

Drug dealing is harmful to families.

Children of drug-addicted parents are often under nourished, under educated and abused.

Drugs affect your ability to make reasoned choices. Dependancy is not good and any child of a drug-dependant would tell you (if they could). It makes for a crazy perspective and the result is that healthy behaviors are rejected because they are not familiar.

Babies born from crack-addicted mothers can be crack-addicted at birth and have a higher rate of birth defects due to the impact of the drug use and blood flow.

* USB-enabled fishing pole

Come on, fishing and anything probably already exists. Those are for Dreamcast and PS2, but not sure if they're USB.

* Insulin pump/rodent defogger

Rodent defogger? Que? Como?

* Universal language translator/pulsating showerhead

I can think of some uses for that...I'm attracted to foreign women.

Sony DCM M1 MD Data 2 (MD View Disc) Camcorder - This camera is what, 3 years old now? And it's still a neat toy....includes an ethernet connection and on-board JAVA for web access.

"World's first MiniDisc camcorder! Record up to 4,500 still images on a single disc. Or in motion video mode, record 20 minutes of digital quality video on a single MiniDisc. Direct disk access eliminates fast forward and rewind. The DCM-M1 records digital video with MPEG2 (real time) encoding similar to DVD, and ATRAC audio together!" (see the link review)

Steve's Digicams

Epinions

Digital Camera Resource Page

Digital Photography Review

CNet User Reviews

Google Search

IBM 3 button no wheel optical mousehere are the specs for it. You can also find out where to buy it from the same site.

Shamless self plug Though i do still think my mouse mod would work also and of course you could make the button any size by using a different wear media I just love finding uses for McD's straws since they saved my butt on teh road one time .. well straws and some gum anways.

Back in the day you could get Handheld scanner things that you just drag across a documnent. They probably still exist. You could just put a linear optical image sensor along the edge of a PDA, an optical mouse-type sensor at each end to see how fast it's moving, and drag it across a document. Probably hell on your batter life, but assumably you're not doing this all day. Or you could build it into an ipaq sleeve with extra battery.
Still, neat idea.

I intend to research on epinions.com and on fixyourownprinter.com. I appreciate any insight.

ObPrinterStory

I like the nostalgia happening here. Amen to the Apple printers. I worked with the gentlemen who were lead engineers for Apple's printing and imaging technologies until the return of Jobs, which smote them summarily and mightily. Bob Ogrey had one of each Apple printer ever made, in his garage and knew them each as if they had their own personality :) Wicked talented industrial designers. Bob was present on the famous tech support call where some dude called Apple tech support to ask how to remove his cat's tail from the Laserwriter. Everyone was drunk by the time that call ended. I believe that story was covered by Steven Levy either in Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution or in Insanely Great: The Life and Times of the Macintosh, the Computer That Changed Everything. Here is a similar true story.

I'm a new father of a now 3-month old baby girl. She's adorable, and alot of fun...

Here's my advice; read some good books on the subject and be prepared. I would suggest (these are commonly suggested, and there's a reason for that):

"What to expect when you're expecting" - Arlene Eisenberg, Sandee E. Hathaway, Heidi E. Murkoff
http://www.epinions.com/book_mu-2807804

"What to expect the first year" http://www.epinions.com/book_mu-2807473

My wife loves both of these books, and they have an excellent amount of info...

Also, heres a very important, and technically worthy GIFT IDEA!!!

Tympanic/Aural Thermometer - This will make your life about 100 times easier when your little baby gets a fever. It is a digital thermometer that takes a temperature reading within the baby's ear canal- it can measure your baby's temp (or yours) in about 1 second. And the baby doesn't mind it at all (not the case with the old fashioned methods). We got ours at Costco, but I believe you can find them all over.... Note that they are not recommended for diagnosis purposes for babies under 2 months- though they are still a very helpful parent reassurance tool...

I'm a new father of a now 3-month old baby girl. She's adorable, and alot of fun...

Here's my advice; read some good books on the subject and be prepared. I would suggest (these are commonly suggested, and there's a reason for that):

"What to expect when you're expecting" - Arlene Eisenberg, Sandee E. Hathaway, Heidi E. Murkoff
http://www.epinions.com/book_mu-2807804

"What to expect the first year" http://www.epinions.com/book_mu-2807473

My wife loves both of these books, and they have an excellent amount of info...

Also, heres a very important, and technically worthy GIFT IDEA!!!

Tympanic/Aural Thermometer - This will make your life about 100 times easier when your little baby gets a fever. It is a digital thermometer that takes a temperature reading within the baby's ear canal- it can measure your baby's temp (or yours) in about 1 second. And the baby doesn't mind it at all (not the case with the old fashioned methods). We got ours at Costco, but I believe you can find them all over.... Note that they are not recommended for diagnosis purposes for babies under 2 months- though they are still a very helpful parent reassurance tool...

Also, read these books , NOW!

Also, read these books , NOW!

Also, read these books , NOW!

What's wrong with Sharp Zaurus - mainly battery life, applications crashing when dealing with lartge documents, inconvenient thumb keyboard.

What's good and bad about Dell Axim - mainly problems with battery reporting, problems with ActiveSync and infamous battery reporting bug.

What's wrong with Sharp Zaurus - mainly battery life, applications crashing when dealing with lartge documents, inconvenient thumb keyboard.

What's good and bad about Dell Axim - mainly problems with battery reporting, problems with ActiveSync and infamous battery reporting bug.