Posted by Amazon Customer Reviews
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All Powerful Wizard Of Oz reviewed:
Ta-Dah
| 3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:  Instant Classic., September 29, 2006 Sure many bands use influence as a means of honing their sound but the Scissor Sisters have really paid attention to their influences and made the kind of music that makes you smile on first listen. It's a shame that this band is so huge in Europe and only has a fraction of success in the United States for obvious reasons. It shows our cultural divide and lack there of. Hopefully this album will allow them to break through and they will grow because of their music regardless of what the corp payola machine has to say about it. Do yourself a favor if you are a fan, tell someone else about this band. Get the word out. I have not been this excited about a band since I first heard The Cure or Janes Addiction. Ta-Dah is truly an instant classic and may the band continue to have the success they deserve. |
| September 29, 2006 |
Posted by CNET Reviews - Most Recent PDAs
http://reviews.cnet.com/Handhelds/2001-3127_7-0.html?subj=fdba&part=rss&tag=MR_PDAs
| September 27, 2006 |
Posted by Amazon Customer Reviews
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/themoneysit08-20
C. W. Fitch reviewed:
iRiver H10 20 GB MP3 Player/Recorder (Blue)
| 4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:  iPod PWNED...film at eleven!, September 27, 2006 If you've been searching for an affordable, compact player with a decent-size hard drive and features you wouldn't normally find on a standard player, may I recommend that this is the one for you. It may not be the newest model on the lot, but it's nice, reliable, slim and trim, and seats up to about 8,000 songs comfortably (depending on what format they're in). I've owned mine for about a year and a half now, and so far it's performed beautifully overall. Not only that, it was about a hundred bucks cheaper than the 20GB iPod at time of purchase. So if you'd care to hop in, let's break this thing down a little further to give you a better idea of what this beauty can do: THE GOOD: --First off, the size of the hard drive. She'll hold about 5,000 tracks in .mp3 format, which is the standard format for most music files. Some music files, depending on where you get them, can be in different formats (like .wma) which are smaller and have slightly less sound quality. If you want a conversion, 5,000 MP3s = about 8,000 WMA files. As you can see, this model has quite a bit of trunk space, and unless you've got a monster music collection, you'll have plenty of room to spare. --That's all fine and good, but what about the sound quality? As MP3 players go, it's great! The sound quality (depending on the file, of course) is top-notch, and with 31 different equalizer settings, you can pick the right one to match pretty much whatever type of music you're listening to. (And if you don't like any of the default equalizer settings, you can tweak your own and save them as a custom setting.) --Want to talk about some more features? How about a 2" LCD screen that lets you look at pictures saved on the device? There's also an FM radio, text document reader, built-in recorder with mic (you can record either sound or the FM radio signal), a browser to look through the files on the device, an alarm clock (you probably won't use that too much, but it's there if you need it), plus the standard repeat and shuffle features for music playback. It's got a pretty decent battery life on it as well; about 12 hours of continuous play on a new player. The battery's internal, though, and can't be removed without completely disassembling the player. --User friendliness...this is always a big issue when you're looking for electronics of any kind. Usually, if you can't work it at all in the store (without the manual), chances are you won't take it home. You can pretty much take the iriver out of the box, and after a few minutes of playing with it, will get the basics down. The menu is quite uncomplicated and self-explanatory. As far as transferring files, there are a couple of ways to do that, and they're both painfully easy. The fastest way is to just drag and drop from your PC's hard drive into the device (after all, the iriver's basically a portable external hard drive) using Windows Explorer. The iriver works brilliantly with Windows Media Player as well, though (version 10 and up; version 10 comes with the installation CD in case your PC has an earlier version). With Media Player, you just connect the device to your PC (standard USB connection), open Media Player, hit "Sync", and forget about it. Media Player will transfer all the music files in your hard drive to the iriver automatically (although it does take longer overall), and if it comes across a file that's already on your device, it will be skipped over. (You can pick and choose songs to transfer as well, but that of course takes more time.) As far as text files and pictures, they can be easily dragged and dropped using Windows Explorer. The touch-sensitive up/down arrow "clicker" is very smooth and responsive, scrolling through your music is ultra-quick (handy if you have a lot of music to peruse through), and there aren't a lot of other confusing buttons on the thing (power, forward, back, pause, and player lock; that's it). The lock feature is easy to turn on and off, and will help conserve your player's battery by keeping it from turning on accidentally. If the player ever locks up (like I said, it's a hard drive; it's gonna happen eventually), the embedded reset switch is easy enough to get to. THE BAD: --Not that there's a lot of "bad" to speak of, but one aspect that can be irritating is the power/USB cable that comes with it. The wonky design hassles things up a bit; the connector is unique to this device (in other words, you can't hook up any old AC adapter to it), and it's designed in such a way that the USB cable is grafted onto the AC connection. I'm sure someone thought it was a good idea, but for traveling it just makes things awkward. --As said before, even though the internal lithium battery is rechargeable, it's not removable without complete disassembly (and that's next to impossible). As you may know, a rechargeable battery can only be charged a few hundred times before it dies. After a year and a half, my iriver still charges up pretty quickly, but the battery only lasts maybe 8 hours (a brand-new one lasts about 12-13 hours). I'm noticing the battery's "memory" is filling up, and will maybe last another year or so before it only runs on AC power. Be warned; it's best to let the battery run out completely before charging it each time. --Virtually no accessories exist for this device. We all know about all the cool toys you can hook an iPod up to...where're the boom boxes and carrying cases for the iriver? The company kind of dropped the ball here. As far as carrying cases go, it does come with a soft plastic skin-type thing with a sturdy belt clip (which is actually pretty durable, but a veritable magnet for dust and dirt and difficult to clean). It is compatible with standard FM modulators and portable speakers through the headphone jack (in fact, I'm listening through my PC speakers now), so it's at least easy to share your tunes with the world. (By the way, iPod accessories will not work with this device; although the connector is similar, it's not the same.) THE UGLY: --Nothing ugly about it. Definitely a keeper! I'm a very "latest and greatest" type of guy when it comes to electronic toys and the like, but I've been very satisfied with this player for as long as I've owned it. While it won't hold my entire music collection, it will hold a big chunk of it and will keep me in tunes wherever I go. It's light and compact (about the size of a deck of cards, and just a skosh heavier), it's very simple to use, and it's pretty durable for the most part (I wouldn't go jogging with it or anything, but I have dropped it once or twice without a problem). A "search" feature would make the interface perfect, but scrolling through files goes fast enough without testing my patience. Yeah, there's pretty much nothing in the way of accessories (at least a leather or even metal carrying case would be nice; I've ripped the soft plastic case a little just taking it off and on my belt), but that's not even a showstopper. Overall, if you're looking for a good player that won't break the bank and don't care if it's an iPod, this is the one to go with. No, it's not the latest and greatest, but it's good workmanship for a very good price (especially now), and you'll get a lot of use out of it. And isn't that the bottom line? Click the shopping cart and prepare to enjoy! |
| September 27, 2006 |
Posted by TheTechLounge - Recent Articles: Storage: Internal Hard Drives
http://www.thetechlounge.com
| September 26, 2006 |
Posted by Amazon Customer Reviews
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/themoneysit08-20
Busy Bee reviewed:
Ten Things Every Child with Autism Wishes You Knew
| 9 of 10 people found the following review helpful: Our kids' voice..., September 24, 2006 This book is wonderful !! It tells you in 10 points what are the biggest challenges for our autistic children. I got one for myself and then got 2 more for my parents and for my in-laws. I think it is really great for people who are dealing with your autistic child but don't know anything about it. It's explained in a clear manner that makes perfect sense, so it's easy to read for anyone. There's even a quick review of the ten things in question at the beginning. As you read this book you find yourself nodding, or fighting back tears, because it is so true. I feel it's a book I am going to go back to, just for inspiration sometimes ! It's positive and hopeful ! I just LOVE it !.... |
| September 24, 2006 |
Posted by Amazon Customer Reviews
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/themoneysit08-20
Busy Bee reviewed:
The Dawnseeker
| 2 of 2 people found the following review helpful: Blissfull discovery...., September 24, 2006 Well, I stumbled upon the Dawnseeker by mistake.... I was watching video-clips of supposeddly new-age songs on internet, not at all inspired, when I came across Eurydice.... After 5 seconds I was hooked and wanted to know more about Sleepthief ! Now let me tell you, I know nothing about electronica or the groups Sleepthief has been compared to (Conjure one, Balligomingo, Delerium...) but I really enjoy this album ! This is a work of art, and in several ways. For starters, when you get your hands on this little gem you'll notice beautiful pictures, I like the ones on sleepthief's website even better (www.sleepthiefmusic.com) and the videos are great too. Then you listen to the cd and the emotional journey begins. Even though it features 11 different artists, there is a richness in this diversity but at the same time there is a striking familiarity, a "smoothness" that leads you throughout this album and every track just leaves you wanting to hear more. 11 beautiful female voices supported by catchy melodies. It is this album's strenght that it sounds like a tribute to those wonderful artists, each song showcasing that special interpret... It allowed me to discover Jodi Quine who is really a wonderful singer. It opened musical doors for me. To top it all, I was actually surprised to read comments by Justin himself on the website, it is the 1st time I've actually seen someone interacting directly with his fans in this way. He is fun, genuine and kind hearted, and so not the "yeah-baby-I'm-a-star" type !!! It is refreshing and uplifting, just like his music. If you were looking for something new to take you away, you've found it. Sleepthief is a feast for the senses and the blissfull feeling that lingers on is well worth this buy !... LOVE it ! Can't wait for the next album ! :D |
| September 24, 2006 |
Posted by Amazon Customer Reviews
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/themoneysit08-20
Rubin Carver reviewed:
Believe
| 1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:  metal-lite, September 24, 2006 That's all still evident on Believe. It's just that that's all it is: more of the same. Only this time it lacks the memorable choruses and anthemic (if somewhat cheesey) lyrics of The Sickness. The petulant middle school aggression is even toned down, and without it the bluff falls apart. Disturbed at its core is really just another industry standard radio rock band. Draiman's psuedo-intellectual posturing appears to have been a manufactured image in what I fear was probably literally a manufactured band. Nothing on this album could be fairly called a highlight. Occasionally a riff will catch my ear as being relatively interesting, but most of it runs together in the same formless metal-lite stew. It's the sort of music you pump at a party and ignore. A pretty yawn-inspiring album even by Disturbed's standards. |
| September 24, 2006 |
Posted by Amazon Customer Reviews
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/themoneysit08-20
Rubin Carver reviewed:
Orphan
 ho-hum, September 24, 2006 "Realize" has a nice chorus. The rest of the song is unbearably tacky though for many of the same reasons as the rest of the record. "Innosense" is an offensively inoffensive mushy blend of Incubus and Sublime and is more forgettable than even their most forgettable tracks. Another faceless aggro album. Ho-hum. |
| September 24, 2006 |
Posted by TheTechLounge - Recent Articles: Multimedia: Computer Display
http://www.thetechlounge.com
| September 21, 2006 |
Posted by Amazon Customer Reviews
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/themoneysit08-20
Rubin Carver reviewed:
Dark Days
| 2 of 4 people found the following review helpful: Drop-tune, off-beat, REPEAT., September 21, 2006 The truth is this is the exact same record they debuted with but on a bigger recording budget. Why they would want to repeat that sonic abortion we may never know. Most everything here is either a rip on one of their superior forebears or a rip on themselves. The former is more common than the latter as Coal Chamber rarely produces any original ideas of their own. Mercifully this was to be their last record. "Rowboat" is actually an acceptable track (mostly for its comedic effect,) but outside of that Dark Days is an absurd waste of time. The grooves are recycled and mundane. The riffs are all identical. The lyrics vary from awful to 'banging my head against the wall in an attempt to disable auditory function.' In summation, just avoid it. You'll be saving yourself one heck of a drop-tuning-induced headache. |
| September 21, 2006 |
