Dennis is owner and operator of Active Computers and he wanted the perfect model to be used on his website and business identity kit. Introducing Dennis Jr who seems to know his way around the shop quite well. Active Computers is located in Chesapeake, Va
I broke one of my cardinal rules of radio advertising and purchased one a few weeks ago. The radio station produced a spiffy ad for me, it a little urban but hey, it might be effective. I am disappoint with return of investment on this ad. The station is not professional have experienced technical difficulites. It may be some time before I do this again. You can listen to the ad here: Radio ad
I have been kicking myself for years to break down and write a review for this well appreciated coffee maker. Is it the best coffee maker in the world? Is it the most reliable? Well I seem to think so because this maker has been through several phases of abuse by me, the daily coffee drinker who is in search for the perfect cup of coffee. I received as gift way back as far as I can remember costing the full price of near $200! I was attracted to the design of course which I had not seen during the time of purchase.
Style and Design: What can I say? The build quality is top notch. I have seen other folks with the same coffee maker at the work place under extreme conditions and it still looked like new! This is the first product that has come along with a timeless design, every time I am out at a store I look for a better coffee maker, I even look in the Sunday sales papers for something with a better design and I can’t find any. Another point I want to make is if this coffee maker were to break down, instead of looking for a replacement I would look for repair parts first! If I could not find parts I would purchase the exact same model instead of taking a chance on another make or model. I found a good thing why try something else, is how I feel about this coffee maker.
Performance and Features: One of the reasons I bought this coffee maker was because it had a built in blade grinder which is only good for novice coffee drinkers or emergency use only. The built in grinder has no controls for grind settings or the grind control. The grinder is inferior compared to a burr grinder but can be used as an emergency back-up to a suitable burr grinder. The DGB-600 makes coffee quickly. I haven’t had any overspill problems or filter basket malfunctions(clogs) I have seen with other coffee makers. There is a built in clock and can be set up the night before to make coffee in the morning. Over all I find the Cuisinart easy to use.
Reliability & Everyday Use: Every day I make coffee and sometimes twice a day. After years of tweaking with different coffees, grinders, waters, and filters I have mastered making good coffee that meets my specifications. I usually brag to my family and friends that my coffee is the best that they have ever had, and after a cup, they tend to agree. It is all due to the consistency of the coffee maker which is the most dependable and trouble free units I have ever had. Other models in my opinion don’t seem to match up. I will continue to proudly use this coffee maker until I stop drinking coffee.
I never thought the day would come where I would have to replace my old Sony 32in WEGA but after much conceding and procrastination it was time for a new television. I set out to the big box electronics store with all of their sales persons who are constantly trying to sell you things you don’t need, especially if you are a techie like me. Before venturing out to get a new TV, it is wise to make a list of what it most important to you. Mine were:
Staring at a wall of flat panels can be daunting and intimidating. Stick to your guns, ignore the salesperson for now and study the picture quality of the panels. What I look for is good contrast and color accuracy. In these large stores they always have a very high quality input signal but you will be able to discern the best picture quality for the size you are looking for. For me, the Sony and the Samsung were almost identical but best in my opinion. This review is not about plasma vs. LCD but I went with the LCD and I do not want to get into reasons why.
So I am stuck between the Sony Bravia line and the Samsung. Stylish wise the Sony Bravias are more attractive but you pay a premium for that. In one sense I am leaning towards the Sony because of the more stylish exterior panel and the remote was so much better. Then I saw this unit. Right up my ally and it very easy on the eyes to look at. The price was a couple hundred less than the Sony, now this is where you could use the services of a good sales person.
After playing around with both units, it seemed like the Samsung was the better buy plus it came with loads of bells and whistles:
Legacy component hookups This is just a list of important ones and with a 1080i resolution I was signed up with my cable company for high def in no time. Installing the set is not to difficult for techies but non-techies will need some help and a lot of patience. This was my first HD experience so I ensured I had all of my HDMI cables, HD cable box from my provider and I was in business for a HD experience.
One disappointment with the set was the inability to adjust the height. It swivels but the height is not adjustable.
Turn on experience: I was amazed and astonished at the picture quality of this unit. After a little preferential tweaking of the color and contrast, I had beautiful motion images on my set. The high resolution will have you desiring that all channels were HI DEF. Watching non-HD channels will look inferior as now your input source can be a discernable issue if had a lower resolution set. Also you will have to decide if you want to view 16:9 wide-screen stretch, 4:3 aspect ratio; 16:9 aspect ratio; and then the broadcast is not always the same aspect ratio as you have your panel set on. This will cause a small native picture 4:3 aspect, and some with black bars on the side of the picture. Then commercials will transmit in different ratios too, very annoying and will have you wondering why I have to look at different aspect ratios from the provider of that content. I could never get use to this but as content providers upgrade their equipment we will all have 16:9 aspect ratio hopefully.
I have very mixed feelings about the remote. It is large and triangular shaped. It is not easy to hold and does not compare to the Sony remote. Maybe I should buy a better remote and that is my next review, the Logitech 550 model.
A resort called the Gaylord Palms anchored my recent visit to Disney World; initially I was skeptical after talking with friends who told me about all the horror stories of hotels located in the Kissimmee area near Disney. We accidentally found this new resort after getting a sweet deal as part of a Delta flight package, the price we paid was too good to pass up on a 5-star resort so we went for it, as unpredictable as it seemed. When we arrived, I could not believe that we had reservations here!!! It looks like a isolated modern castle, towering high above from the interstate. When I walked in to find the front desk, the backdrop had stunning views… A hug colossal atrium with waterfalls everywhere!! Check-in was pleasant and a breeze, we had a room on the 9th floor! The building can be compared to the size of a slightly smaller Pentagon in Washington. There are numerous water themes in the atrium along with a few caves, and other “exploration-type” themes. You can walk around to one of the numerous fine dining restaurants and they are secluded with caves, flowered paths, ponds, and waterfalls. There is a wedding Gazebo in the center.
Our room was splendidly decorated, with the finest of quality furnishings. Free high speed Internet and business quality desk is available. Hook up to the hotel’s LAN wasn’t too challenging. The most attractive feature of the room is the patio that opens to the atrium; you have a stunning view of the whole interior complex. And there is soothing music; sort of hypnotic that instantly relaxes you. You can sit on the 2-chair patio and enjoy the light activity of other guest or you may find yourself exploring all the other amenities like the Les Petite childcare center, Canyon Ranch Spa, state of the art gym, arcade or just explore around the atrium. It will blow your mind.
If you’ve read a lot of my reviews, rarely have I praised anything, I have never given a five star to anything because I am an extreme stickler. However, PERFECTION IS NEARLY ACHIEVED AT THIS RESORT! I wish it were more affordable. As I report on the negative, I would have to say that this is the most expensive place ever!! I am no cheap skate, I don’t mind paying a premium price for a product but this place is so expensive, it becomes insulting to purchase a 15-dollar hamburger! At one place I had a specialty sandwich called the “Hot-Cuban” and it was terrible, very conservative with portions. My recommendation is to find the business area that is less than a few miles away; you will find good food there at an affordable price. Also I would like to see another table in the room beside the executive workstation. My family had difficulty eating food we bought in from local restaurants because of the lack of surface space to eat. Perhaps this was intended to discourage people from bringing in their own food, maybe they want us to eat at the fine dining restaurants with the terrible food and exuberant prices.
Well I have to say that it was a pleasant experience at the Gaylord Palms. VISUALLY, it has to be the finest, biggest and nicest place in close proximity to Disney to stay. I have not been to the Disney resorts but it’s clear to say that high-end travelers that are at the Floridian, Contemporary, and Polynesian will feel left out.
Bottom-line, if your desire to stay in a Presidential Palace consider the Gaylord Palms Resort near Disney!
After much research, pain and agony I broke down and bought this AP hoping to do away with tethered cat5 cable to my laptop. I wanted freedom to roam around the house, work at my kitchen table when I didn’t want to be in the office. I settled for D-Link’s DWL-5000AP because it seemed to provide the best bang for the buck performance wise. I didn’t want to settle for 802.11b due to the limited band with. Being the power user that I am I had to go with 802.11a.
I purchased this unit along with D-Link’s A650 pc card for my laptop from Comp-U-Plus for a decent price at the time. Initial setup was a breeze. Plugged the AP into my wired network and plugged the pc card into the laptop and I was surfing the Internet in a few minutes. After configuring the local settings on the laptop for the pc card I could share files with other computers on my network. Wow!; I thought this is too easy, I can’t believe something works right out the box!! My celebration soon ended when I attempted to use the advanced features.
Trying to configure the Access point can be a challenge, if you read the documentation that came with the unit. I needed assistance from D-link’s tech support twice! In order to configure the advanced settings you are provided with a serial cable. A serial cable??!! And there is no documentation that will help you!! Not even D-link’s tech support!! You will be persuaded to purchase a cross-over cable, and this should have been provided instead of the serial cable.
Another painful area is the turbo mode and security is turned off by default. You must use D-link’s pc card to get turbo speed and turbo on the card must be turned on too! If somebody come over with a 802.11a “non-D-link” card and try to connect, it won’t happen, a little limited I think. I turned on the 152 bit encryption and no longer could I get a connection after several attempts. Also tech support recommended not using the security settings at all!!! D-Link lost a lot of points here!!
I’ve located the AP to a central upstairs location and it’s hard to tell what range I am getting. One thing you better understand is that D-link’s claim are way overstated. In everyday normal use you will get about 30-50ft tops with obstructions and maybe a little more without. For some reason when I have a connection and I move my laptop, I lose it and will not get it back until I reboot both the AP and the laptop. I’ve also noticed that if you leave the AP “on” all the time it gets unusually hot. Hot to the point where I think damage may occur over time. Active cooling could be a solution or do what I do, unplug the unit after use.
As you can see there is not a whole lot I like about D-Link’s Access Point. Yes it does work after much pain and agony when you try to use the advanced features. Reasonably I am satisfied, but I cannot recommend this AP to due to the bundled serial cable and incompetent tech support. Also the documentation is a little mis-leading and loses a lot of points. Power-users will be able to figure out how to make a serial connection but what about novices? And the premium that is paid to have the AP doesn’t help either.
Usually I make my own coffee. Why, because of my personally distorted claim “the world’s greatest coffee” made by me. I think I know a thing or two about making that perfect cup. I use a very good burr grinder; I use good beans from a decent supplier. Also I use a popular coffee machine when compared to other coffee makers, it consistently performs better than coffee makers I have used in the past. This morning I wanted to go to Starbucks for some reason, I don’t know why. I just wanted to go. Usually I feel this way when I want to see where I stand in my distorted claim, “the best coffee in the world!”
Pike Place is a new signature roast that Star Bucks claim to “bring the masses back” and I think they are on the right track. It is a surprisingly smooth, medium roast. I like my coffee bold, bright, strong, and on the biter side. Of note, when I make my own coffee I drink it black because it is that good, honestly. When I went to Starbucks I ordered a venti with cream and two sugars, in the drive through of course. This coffee is very smooth and I drink it fast, instead of sipping it. It is that good. Still the coffee did taste a little burnt which is the biggest complaint about Star Bucks but it was still good. I could discern that they probable use less strength when brewing and then as it sit for a while it stiffens up to a mello flavor which is just my observation. One day I just might purchase a bag of Pike Place to evaluate.
Yeah I know the title can be a little mundane but hey, in my field I use writing instruments every day. A writing instrument is just a fancy way of saying pen or pencil but this instrument can be extremely powerful. Check out the Declaration of Independence for example. In DC this document is on display for tourist to see. Prominently you see the words and signatures of the founding fathers of the U.S. I would also think about the writing instrument used to display the words, the feeling behind the document.
Now let fast forward to a couple of writing instruments I have been using lately, Pilot Dr. Grip and the cheapo Zebra.
The Bad: I’ve used the Pilot Dr Grip extensively and have been unsatisfied with the results. The Pilot Dr. Grip is impressive to look at and feels great, however if you are a demanding user you will not like this writing instrument. The problem is with reliability. Under certain circumstances it will not write at all. I have noticed when writing on hard surfaces, it tends to fade out which leaves me frustrated. I really wanted to like this pen, but it boils down to one thing when it is time to use it, just write on the paper please. So I don’t recommend this pen and the manufacturers should work to improve its performance.
The Good: Aww the Zebra model F-301, can be found in great numbers at discount stores. The little pen feels well balanced; the grip is smooth and does not dominate. The design is simple but I don’t care for the fine flow rate too much. I highly recommend purchasing the Zebra.