Reviews Written By: AF9KDI9Q8ZIDQprovided by Amazon.com |
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 | T-Mobile G1 Phone with Google (T-Mobile) | |
 | "Reasonable first attempt at a phone" | 2009-04-26 |
| I've subscribed to T-mobile for a long time, suffered with the early HandSpring Treo 180 fiascos and associated class action suit over broken plastics. I wasn't expecting iPhone perfection on the first release, and I'd say it's about 80-90% of what the iPhone user experience is. Since I won't switch to AT&T, I'm content. Hits: + Open applications, lots of application choices already + GPS and photo integration + cool sensors I didn't even know I had (a compass, cool!) + call quality + mini-USB charge/connection port (easy to use Motorola RAZR accessories) + you can review what applications have access to before download (and some of them want access to a LOT) Misses: - not all T-mobile cities are up on 3G yet (as of April 2009) - browser will not allow saving files it can't render (PDF view - 'denied') - no integrated onscreen keyboard (some apps like handcent provide it, but it's not integrated) - higher than expected battery consumption w/ 3G or Wifi enabled - no vCard integration (nokia friends can't SMS their contacts to me) - Core apps needs more usability testing (the first two months I had it, I kept accidentally deleting my call log due to poor design choices.) - Stability issues from time to time (Core applications crash) - Android marketplace reviews are of low quality (needs a 'was this helpful?' link like Amazon's reviews), or the reviews need to be based on multiple dimensions, like "UI quality" and "app stability" - "Social networking" could be improved with a better choice architecture (half of my friends haven't yet bonded with Google latitude) - Still dependent on some level of carrier 'blessing' for apps. (If I pay for bandwidth, I get to use it, no fair trying to guess what I use it for) | ||
 | Apple 8GB iPod nano with Video (Silver) | |
 | "Cool device, but requires iTunes7" | 2008-06-21 |
| My son loves his, and he's been happy with it for 7 months now. Benefits: - LCD screen, compact device Drawbacks: - battery not user-replacable - REQUIRES iTunes 7 What will happen when the non-user-replaceable battery dies? It seems like these all the iPods are destined for disposal because of course, something "new and improved" will be available then. | ||
 | Fail-Safe | |
| "Good movie, average DVD" | 2006-08-12 |
| The movie is excellent, focusing on the strategy and tactices of nuclear brinksmanship. Henry Fonda wears the role of President well. How would YOU atone for the act of accidentally bombing a major city? [In an earlier review, I thought I had caught a filmography error, but this is not the case] March 3, 2002 Reviewer: "rhyre" (Cincinnati, OH) Enjoyed the movie as much as when I first saw it in the 70s. I only encountered two problems: 1) Original film quality A digital restoration of the original film print is in order, I noticed a lot of graininess and flecks in the image. 2) Larry Hagman seems to be slightly confused with Gene Hackman in the filmography under 'special features'. For example, Larry Hagman is credited with an appearance in the 1978 Superman movie. Lex Luthor was played by Gene Hackman. [This is not true, Larry Hagman AND Gene Hackman both appeared in Superman: The Movie, in different roles. Larry Hagman played the character of 'Major'] | ||
 | Fail Safe - Special Edition | |
| "Good movie, average DVD" | 2006-08-12 |
| The movie is excellent, focusing on the strategy and tactices of nuclear brinksmanship. Henry Fonda wears the role of President well. How would YOU atone for the act of accidentally bombing a major city? [In an earlier review, I thought I had caught a filmography error, but this is not the case] March 3, 2002 Reviewer: "rhyre" (Cincinnati, OH) Enjoyed the movie as much as when I first saw it in the 70s. I only encountered two problems: 1) Original film quality A digital restoration of the original film print is in order, I noticed a lot of graininess and flecks in the image. 2) Larry Hagman seems to be slightly confused with Gene Hackman in the filmography under 'special features'. For example, Larry Hagman is credited with an appearance in the 1978 Superman movie. Lex Luthor was played by Gene Hackman. [This is not true, Larry Hagman AND Gene Hackman both appeared in Superman: The Movie, in different roles. Larry Hagman played the character of 'Major'] | ||
 | Star Wars Revenge of the Sith: Call Upon Yoda! Interactive Jedi Master | |
| "It's fun to pla... er ... consult with" | 2005-04-10 |
| I was originally thinking of just getting the "Ask Yoda" version of the toy, but I found that this version has the "Ask Yoda" feature, PLUS 4 other interactions. It's too cool to NOT buy one.
I think an option to reprogram the sayings by sending new sayings to it would be even cooler. I want my Yoda to combine the wisdom of Billy Bob Thornton and throw out lines from "Sling Blade" for those 'special' occasions (maybe if I double click his hand...) Anyway, if you're getting an exective desk toy, you might consider the simpler "Ask Yoda". If you're getting a toy for someone under 20, get this one. And if you work for an executive under 20, quick shopping amazon and get back to work :-) The only drawback of the new version is that it takes C size batteries, not the more universal 'AA' battery. | ||
 | Super Size Me | |
| "Lacking production values expected in a DVD" | 2004-11-30 |
| I'm specifically reviewing the DVD against expected DVD norms.
The film is going to be inaccessible to many, because there are no English subtitles, no closed captioning. The title does offer Spanish subtitles, but why not offer English and the normal complement of languages at the same time? It doesn't make sense. The film itself sends the message it intends to say. | ||
 | Linksys WRT54GP2 Wireless-G Broadband Router with 2 Phone Ports (Works with the Vonage Service) | |
| "vonage lock not disclosed on packaging, otherwise 4 stars" | 2004-11-09 |
| The out of box experience was decent, the router's Mac address was scanned at the point of purchase, and I was able to activitate the vonage service and make calls within about an hour of plugging the unit in. There is a 39.95 deactivation fee unless you take advantage of the money-back guarantee, or return the 'device' (not likely for a router costing $100)
When you call for support, the vonage contract staff will not tell you where their support center is, geographically, due to unspecified "security reasons". Nor can they say why the service is not available in certain area codes (including 513) Software: The unit has typical Linksys firmware features, making it easy to configure firewall rules and DHCP, as well as your mechanism for configuring your internet connection. The hardware: Pretty standard D-link hardware, although I was distressed to see how hot it gets, such that it's unconfortable to put your hand near the air vents on the bottom of the unit. One bad experience where the ring voltage dropped was experienced so far, after two normal sounding rings the clapper in my Conair 2500-style phone started to clatter, rather than ring. | ||
 | Star Trek The Original Series - The Complete First Season | |
| "great content, though packaging could be improved" | 2004-10-10 |
| Great to watch the whole episodes again - the special effects are dated by today's standards, but the stories still work. I own about 3 'series' DVD sets now, and this is my favorite in terms of the content.
The DVD features require you to wait until the Paramount logo and various warnings - no skipping ahead with the Menu or chapter skip buttons on your remote. I find this irritating in the same way Spock gets irritated when Kirk points out his humanity. There's also an encoding problem on the title page for disk 6, where one of the episide titles (shown on the main viewscreen) reverts to blocky grey text due to bad MPEG encoding, apparently. The DVD also provides for selecting chapters of a series, and allows you to enable on-screen commentary or not, but there really should be audio commentary and recollections from the original cast members at this point. I was young when the original series was on - I think our family watched "Gomer Pyle USMC" or "Hondo" instead - but I remember seeing one episode during the original series run. I was a fan who 'found' the series in syndication, and even made audio casette tapes of the syndicated reruns of the original series 30 years ago. You could actually follow the storyline with just an audio recording, unlike Mission: Impossible, which was WAY too visual to understand what the team was doing. I've only seen the DVD extras for Season One, and they're OK, but not spectacular... I would have like to see more of a 'making of' short along with lines of the book "The Making of Star Trek". On to the packaging - love the outer case, hate the sharp plastic edges on the inner case - worried about scratching a disk. Given the content, I'll probably have to look for an archival backup mechanism for this series. | ||
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