Reviews Written By: A21WDZDENJXITAprovided by Amazon.com |
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 | Ultreo Ultrasound Toothbrush | |
 | "Warning: Manufacturer bankrupt; replacement heads expensive" | 2009-10-13 |
| This is an excellent electric toothbrush, but after the manufacturer's bankruptcy the shortage of replacement brush heads has quintupled their price. If you use two brush heads a year, as I have, it's going to cost you $225 per year to operate your $72 toothbrush.
Two years ago, on my dentist's recommendation, I upgraded from a Sonicare to the Ultreo. I've visited my hygienist every few months since then, and she feels that my teeth have been cleaner since I switched to the Ultreo. It works well, is just as comfortable as the Sonicare, and is very similar in design. It has a sturdy plastic case and when I travel it typically runs for five to six days without charging. It reminds me to change brush heads about twice a year. There's a big problem: The manufacturer went bankrupt in February, 2009.* The resulting scarcity of replacement brush heads has quintupled their price, from $23 to $112. My hygienist fears that the brush-head supply will run out if no investors step in and revive the company. So, much as I love this toothbrush, I'd advise against buying it unless you can afford to stock up on brush heads at $112 each. [...]. A search on 10/13/2009 of the web sites of the two main local newspapers that cover the manufacturer's region -- The Seattle Times and the Seattle P-I -- turned up no articles suggesting that the manufacturer was back in business. | ||
 | HP L7590 OfficeJet Pro All In One Printer | |
 | "Great printer; so-so software" | 2009-10-13 |
| I've been using this machine for nearly a year and am fairly satisfied with it. It's hooked to a seven-year-old Dell desktop PC running Windows XP Professional.
Pros: It's fast and the print quality is very good. I bought the auxiliary input tray, so I can print onto either letter-size or legal-size paper without swapping out paper. Ink cartridges are easy to install. Ink levels are dispayed by default. It has many convenient whistles and bells. The onboard menus are intuitive and relatively well-organized. The copy, print, and fax functions work just fine. Cons: It guzzles ink at an alarming rate -- far more than its ratings suggest. I have been unable to get it to scan properly. The PC software is unnecessarily complicated and non-intuitive. Specifying the settings for printing is cumbersome and poorly organized. (I suspect this is due partly to the limitations of the operating system, but still could be improved substantially.) For example, it takes many keystrokes to switch from letter size to legal size. The flatbed cannot copy or scan legal-size originals. I haven't used the photo-printing features such as printing directly from the memory chip in my camera. | ||
 | Casio Wave Ceptor Tough Solar Watch #WVA430J-1 (WVA430J-1A) | |
 | "Outstanding watch; solar cell really works" | 2009-10-13 |
| The winning combination of automatic time-setting, no-hassle solar-cell power, and an analog dial makes this the best watch I've ever owned.
By day I work in an indoor office. At night, I just toss this watch on my night stand or in a dresser drawer. In other words, no special feeding of extra sunlight. Yet in five months of flawless operation, the battery has never run down. It also seems to be able to satellite-synchronize with the Denver atomic clock without being placed on a window sill. And I love the analog dial; very retro. The band is plastic, but sturdy and comfortable. Its few shortcomings are: 1. The digital screen is very tiny and its icons are cryptic. It's hard to read, and when the minute hand is between 5 and 7 it's even harder. 2. Adjusting the various features is more intuitive than some previous watches, but still not terribly user-friendly. It's hard to remember all the cryptic sequences of button-pushes needed to view and adjust the less-frequently used auxiliary features. 3. The watch lacks a count-down timer, which would be handy in the kitchen. So I'd give it 4.5 stars out of five, but that rounds to five. An excellent value. | ||
 | OXO Good Grips Salad Spinner | |
| "Excellent spinner" | 2009-10-13 |
| An excellent product. I've been using spinners like this for years and consider it one of the most useful kitchen gadgets I've ever owned. I use it typically once or twice a week, sometimes more often.
It works very well not just as a spinner to remove water, but also as a crisper. Limp lettuce becomes crisp again within hours or even minutes of refrigerator storage in the spinner. I leave a teaspoon or two of water in the bottom, which seems to help keep the lettuce crisp. Romaine stays crisp for days when washed, spun, and stored in this thing in my refrigerator. I use it to wash and spin-dry cilantro, too. | ||
 | The Nez Perce Indians and the Opening of the Northwest | |
| "Authoritative, essential, heart-rending" | 2005-11-29 |
| The appalling treatment of the Nez Perces is a sordid and shameful chapter in the modern history of the Pacific Northwest. Mr. Josephy carefully and meticulously describes the downfall of this peaceful and friendly people. His account begins slowly, but it accelerates with the momentum of a huge steam engine and thunders to a climax that left me in tears. | ||
 | T-Fal Vitesse Cordless Kettle, 7-Cup Capacity | |
| "Outstanding Product!" | 2003-03-05 |
| The Bodum Mini-Ibis I bought didn't work, so I exchanged it for this T-Fal Vitesse. The T-Fal is a superbly designed electric teakettle that does just what I want with no fuss or inconvenience. It has been performing flawlessly. It holds enough to fill a large teapot. It heats water quickly. The big windows clearly show the water level inside. You can fill it through the spout, which is not only convenient but also filters your water. The ergonomics are perfect -- the handle is very comfortable and cool and the balance is excellent. Perhaps my favorite single feature is the separate base. You can't see this in the picture, but the power cord goes to the base. It's very, very easy to lift the kettle off the base to fill or pour. I don't have to unplug the thing and drag the cord around. After using this for two or three weeks, I can think of nothing I'd change or add. | ||
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