Book Reviews and Money Saving Tips

This little inflator does the job.    It quickly pumped up my wheelbarrow tire.   The design could use work though.    Even though I purchased it due to it’s ability to be run from AC or DC, I’m not happy with their implementation.    It works fine but the cigarette lighter adapter gets in the way of the AC power cord.   The AC power cord is so short that it necessitates using an extension cord to be able to get close to anything you hope to inflate.    Lastly it should have a molded handle on the top.   They could have just extruded a little more plastic and given you a handy handle.   There are two snap on attachments in a nook on the bottom of the unit.   That was smart design, they are handy but not in the way.    I guess it looks like something designed by a committee, some good ideas and some not so good.    I don’t like the plastic inflator valve.    That should be ...

Approximately 7.5" h,5.5" w and 1.75" thick. This is a nice, compact light that would work well in many scenarios.   I can see this being used along side the road while changing a tire in the rain.   It would more than adequately light a campsite for general use.   In the even of another hurricane Sandy, it would be ideal for emergency lighting.   It has a strong but defused light that gives good visibility.   My only complaint was that the instructions they included were practically illegible due to the miniscule font they used.   Their font made the 6 point font in the phone book look like it was 24 point.    I used a magnifying glass to read the instructions.    Other than that it is a nice light that will have many uses.    They include four batteries so it is read for use but it will take eight AA batteries for extended service.   That, too, is a nice feature. From the manufacturer: LED ligh...

  Hopefully this won't be too critical but this drive came absolutely naked.   Not one word of documentation.  Now from what I've read Seagate is proposing this drive is a consumer packaged drive.    I have voice my criticism in the past about manufactures that sell components and package them as consumer products without providing adequate documentation or instruction on how to use them.  There was not one wit of documentation for this drive it arrived as a bare drive in a static envelope. A simple bit of documentation on how to install and format the drive would have been enormously helpful. While I know how to do that but I'm not sure the average consumer wouldn't have to do a bit of research to be able to use the drive at all.  Once the drive was formatted it was recognized by my computer and I was able to access it and test it.  In a totally unscientific manner, I transferred a 62.1mb file from my D drive t...

I’m on a run.   This Dlink Cloud Router installed quickly and easily.   If you follow my product Note the included USB port for sharing data. evaluations, I am highly critical of products that claim to be consumer products and truly demand a technician to install.    The detriment to these mis-labeled products is that the consumer ends up feeling like an idiot because they can’t get the product installed.   If a product is technical, label it as so.    Happily this product was simplicity in itself as far as installation is concerned. It comes with a short multi-fold easy installation guide that surprisingly enough was truly an easy installation guide.    I hooked it directly to my laptop and configured it using Firefox.    Configuration was basically hitting the next button and agreeing to terms.   After it said it was configured I walked around with my phone and used the Wifi Analyzer AP to check the sig...

I recently opened an eight pack of Gillette Fusion razor blades. My first shave was miserable.   Changing blades I got the same result.   This led me to believe that I may have had a defective batch of blades.   I called the 800 number on the packaging.   No hold time, I got someone almost immediately.   He apologized for my problem and asked me a fair number of questions.   He then told me he would send me coupons to replace the blades at no charge to me.    He asked me to hold on to the blades and he would forward the information to his quality control people.    He said they might want the blades back and if so they would send me a prepaid envelope for return shipping.    I hung up the phone and was impressed with the ease in which my problem was handled.   Kudos to Gillette! Samsung on the other hand needs to take a little direction from Gillette.   The business model is similar. ...

If you are like me, you are totally appalled at your monthly cable bill.   Owning your own cable modem can reduce your monthly expenditure.     I got this modem at no charge for the purposes of review which even makes it better.    Amazon has it at $72.53 at the time I am writing this review.    I replaced the Motorola cable modem that I was using with this NETGEAR.    If recollection serves me, Comcast wanted $8.00 a month for cable modem rental.    Estimating that I have used the Motorola cable modem for at least six years, I have saved approximately $500.00 by purchasing a cable modem rather than renting one from Comcast.   The installation of the modem was simplicity personified.   It could not have been easier.    It took more time to untangle the power cord of the Motorola from the cable snarl that characterizes my computer setup. NETGEAR cautions that it takes at least 1...

  FREE at Amazon -- Amazon only   this Wed-Fri ( July 10 -12 )  See my Review This book may have been received free of charge from a publisher or a publicist. That will NEVER have a bearing on my recommendations.

My initial assessment of this unit was 3 stars but then the unit stopped working after three days.  I called Panasonic and they had me unplug the unit and replug it in and it started working again.  The tech told me it is a firmware issue that they are working on.  He had no time frame for the fix.  The current solution is to unplug and plug in each time it fails.  I frankly don't find that much of a solution and thus have downgraded the product to one star.   This sound bar has more heft than the Phillips that I replaced.   The Phillips had a stand alone sub-woofer which did not produce any better base tones than this Panasonic.    The setup was not difficult but that isn’t due to the documentation provided by Panasonic.   Their little “manual” jumped helter skelter from topic to topic.    I did not like the fact that all commands beyond the obvious involve “hold this key for 4 seconds whil...

This little fellow was only $109.00 at Walmart.   It is a very nice TV with plenty of ports.   It has surprisingly good sound for a LED/LCD/Plasma TV.   Overall I have found most of the true flat screens to have abysmal sound.   This is surprisingly good.   It was easy to set up and has a nice picture.   I would recommend it to my friends. This shiny black 19" Class Sceptre E195BV-SHD 720p LED HDTV doubles as a computer monitor and features a superior LED display quality with a fast response time and emits brighter and more robust colors, all while saving energy. Featuring a versatile slim and lightweight design perfect for entertainment anywhere in the home and on the go, this compact 60Hz Class 19" HDTV can easily be transferred from the kitchen to the bathroom, the office and back again. Energy Star certified and RoHS complied makes this HDTV very eco-friendly. This 1.93" ultra-slim Sceptre LED HDTV even provides dual HDMI ports and US...

VideoSecu Articulating Arm TV Wall Mount, Full Motion Tilt Swivel and Rotate for Most 15" 17" 19" 20" 22" 23" 24" 26" 27" LCD LED TV Monitor Flat Panel Screen with VESA 100, 75 ML12B CB5   $12.99 at Amazon. First I am a trifle annoyed since the price dropped $2.00 this week.   I paid $14.99 which I thought was a good price.    The wall mount is quite sturdy.   They do insist you find a stud to mount it which frankly for a 19” is probably not necessary but for larger or heavier TVs or monitors may be necessary.   The quality is good.   The hinge nut actually gets in the way of using a socket set to drive the included lag screws into the stud.    The little wrench they give you is next useless due to the small size and thin grip.   Drill your pilot hole deep enough and you won’t have as much trouble as I did driving the lag screws.   The included screws were too deep for the VESA mount on my TV but a couple...