Posted by Amazon Customer Reviews
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/themoneysit08-20
Sean Varano reviewed:
Unhooked
| 16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:  Excellent reading for parents, policymakers, students, and scholars, March 30, 2007 Control over their sexuality and sexual behavior is intimately linked to their conceptual notions of liberation. These young successful women are committed to using their sexuality in highly instrumental ways, most directly to derive personal and immediate pleasure alone. Their sexuality, along with that of the young men (and occasional female partner). Their personal relationships are imbedded in a lifestyle of excessively dangerous alcohol abuse and risky sexual behavior. Stepp considers in detail the individual and cultural consequences of these shifts. The most alarming part of Stepp's story relates to these girls perceptions of empowerment and liberation. To be "empowered," these girls passionately reject traditional feminine qualities of love and emotional attachment. To fall in love is to act like "silly girls." In their world, girls who become attached to sexual partners deserve to be emotionally victimized because they should have known to avoid emotions. In the end, the reader gets a picture of girls who are working hard to adopt the most extreme and veiled characterized of the very men that the women's movement seemingly rejects. Many critics have argued this book amounts to conservative propaganda - nothing could be futher from the truth. Readers interesting in understanding the unintended consequences of the women's movement, the social relationships of young people, and the impact of their own parenting skills should read this. It is an incredibly important story. |
| March 30, 2007 |
Posted by TheTechLounge - Recent Articles: Cases: Full-Tower
http://www.thetechlounge.com
| March 29, 2007 |
Posted by Al W
http://www.techreviews.tv/
The propaganda
The LG U830 is one of the more recent additions to the monstrously successful Chocolate and Black Label range, and it is the clamshell answer to the KG800’s (aka Chocolate) sliding action. It also happens to be one of the first HSPDA enabled handsets in the UK and 3 customers will be able to enjoy the full advantage of the high speed data transfer that it enables. That means better, faster web browsing, mobile email options and mobile TV.
Other features are a bit more standard: there’s a 2.0 megapixel camera, 185MB onboard memory, battery life offering 200 hours of standby time, A2DP Bluetooth and a 2.2” 262k colour screen. Adorning the outer edge are touch sensitive multimedia controls, glowing red on black, which makes it immediately recognisable as coming from Chocolate camp.
The good
HSDPA connectivity is undoubtedly going to be a big lure but arguably one more suited to PDAs which have better options for web browsing, etc. Actually, the U830 turns out to have a fairly decent array of internet applications, including 3’s MSN messenger, that can take advantage of the service once it rolls out across the UK.
Call quality is one of the U830’s strongest features and I can honestly say I haven’t used a handset that has offered such a decent call quality as this. During our tests we found that incoming calls enjoyed a wide range of crisp sound, with no evidence of popping or hiss in the background. Outgoing calls were reported to be of good quality too.
The bad
The U830 has a really stylish design, as you’d expect from LG, and there is no arguing that it makes for a more than adequate fashion accessory. The problem with the design though, isn’t so much to do with the looks, but the sheer number of buttons on the keypad.
This reminds me very much of LG’s older phone designs and perhaps the fact that the U830 is basically a revamped KG810 is to blame.The U830 not only has media controls on the outside, it also has a full numeric keypad (12 buttons), soft keys (two buttons), a direction pad (five buttons), call control keys (2 buttons), a menu key (1 button), a music key AND a video call key. Phew. Couple that with the volume keys, camera shortcut and music controls and I think it is safe to say we’re on a bit of a key overload here.
There was only one glaring omission that threatens to let the phone down. We have: media control buttons, MP3, AAC, AAC+, AAC++ and WMA format support, and a 3.5mm headphone adaptor. But wait a minute, where’s the memory card slot?! Unfortunately there isn’t one, which is a bit useless if you want to use you handset as a serious alternative to standalone MP3 player.
Geek Sheet
Dimensions: 98x49x14.8mm
Connectivity: 3G, HSDPA, Bluetooth (with A2DP), USB, Infrared
Internal memory: 185 MB
Displays: External 1.3”, 128x160 pixels, internal 2.2”, 320x240 pixels
Cameras: External 2.0 megapixel, internal VGA.
POP3 email client
Battery: 200 hours standby
Overview
Although there are complaints to be made, these are not so great as to tarnish the overall experience of the handset. It is definitely a bit more ‘blokey’ than the Chocolate, but still looks stylish enough, and where it counts – call quality, mobile internet functionality, etc – its performance is well up to the task and is an worthy improvement over its predecessor, the KG810.
Related stories: Jajah mobile application to feature on LG Prada handset | LG Chocolate Phone Review| LG's KE850 Prada phone gets official unveiling - and imminent European launch | More Mobile Phones...
Related sites: LG
| March 28, 2007 |
Posted by Amazon Customer Reviews
http://www.amazon.com/
Joshua Robert Matrone reviewed:
Godfather: Mob Wars
| 0 of 2 people found the following review helpful: One of the better PSP games out there., March 28, 2007 Fun: I gotta say that I really enjoyed this game. I played it non-stop for 10 hours and completed both modes of the game! The story mode was great as it puts you right in the middle of one of the best movies ever made. However, the real surprise in this game is the Mob Wars mode. Mob Wars is basically a very light strategy card game mixed with some third-person shooter action. During the first phase of Mob Wars action you are dealt cards that have many effects. Some cards lower your heat with the cops, some raise your fortification to other families, and some allow you to steal money from other families as well as many other things as well. Once you get your cards you play them based on your play style and then take your beef to the streets where the real business is carried out. Once you defeat the rival families your become the Don of New York! At first the Mob Wars side of the game was a little weird, but once I firgured it out I dominated the city in no time! It also if you play the Mob Wars side of things while your playing Story Mode to unlock weapons, weapon upgrades and character skill points. This game is a must buy in, but definitely rent it if you don't. Happy gaming!! |
| March 28, 2007 |
Posted by Amazon Customer Reviews
http://www.amazon.com/
Joshua Robert Matrone reviewed:
Scarface Money Power Respect
 Pretty good STRATEGY game., March 28, 2007 Fun: First of all, potential buyers/renters need to understand that this is NOT a shooting game by any means. It's entirely strategy with a Scarface spin to it. It has all the grit of the film, but you don't get to pull the trigger in this version. I actually thought that was a good thing because I've grown quite tired of the mindless shooting games that flood the market these days. I purchased this game right after I completed The Godfather: Mob Wars since I loved the strategy aspect of that game. When I purchased Scarface I was hoping that the strategy aspect of the game would be as addicting as the one I experienced while playing The Godfather: Mob Wars, and it was!! If you like strategy games please give this game a shot. It's been ripped to shreds in so many reviews by those who did not do their research and bought it thinking that it was another GTA spin off. This game is NOTHING like GTA and is mostly strategy with a little bit of turned-based action, but it is a very addicting game once you get into it. The game is pretty easy to understand thanks to a well executed tutorial mission and is pretty straight forward from there. If you're a fan of the film and you enjoy light strategy games you should enjoy this game a lot. Happy gaming! |
| March 28, 2007 |
Posted by TheTechLounge - Recent Articles: Hardware: Video Cards
http://www.thetechlounge.com
| March 27, 2007 |
Posted by Amazon Customer Reviews
http://www.amazon.com/
Joshua Robert Matrone reviewed:
Godfather: Mob Wars by Electronic Arts
| 1 of 3 people found the following review helpful: One of the better PSP games out there., March 27, 2007 Fun: I gotta say that I really enjoyed this game. I played it non-stop for 10 hours and completed both modes of the game! The story mode was great as it puts you right in the middle of one of the best movies ever made. However, the real surprise in this game is the Mob Wars mode. Mob Wars is basically a very light strategy card game mixed with some third-person shooter action. During the first phase of Mob Wars action you are dealt cards that have many effects. Some cards lower your heat with the cops, some raise your fortification to other families, and some allow you to steal money from other families as well as many other things as well. Once you get your cards you play them based on your play style and then take your beef to the streets where the real business is carried out. Once you defeat the rival families your become the Don of New York! At first the Mob Wars side of the game was a little weird, but once I firgured it out I dominated the city in no time! It also if you play the Mob Wars side of things while your playing Story Mode to unlock weapons, weapon upgrades and character skill points. This game is a must buy in, but definitely rent it if you don't. Happy gaming!! |
| March 27, 2007 |
Posted by TheTechLounge - Recent Articles: Networking: Wireless
http://www.thetechlounge.com
| March 22, 2007 |
Posted by Al W
http://www.techreviews.tv/
The propaganda
The AA is best known for its breakdown and repair services, so it isn’t an enormous surprise that it has used this reputation to hop on the GPS bandwagon. The result is the AA Navigator Vive! – a budget sat nav that manages to pack in a hefty number of features even despite the low price tag.
It has a full touch-screen interface, MP3 player, Photo viewer, full maps of the UK with full postcode search and subscription to the AA’s speed camera software free for 6 months. You also have access to the AA’s extensive database of Points of Interest which includes everything from golf courses to B&Bs, petrol stations to cinemas.
If you’re unfamiliar with the intricacies of in-car GPS devices, the AA has made efforts to make programming the device even more straightforward with an ‘Easy’ mode – but there’s still a more advanced version for more seasoned users. Hit the turn to find out what we think.
The good
True to its word, the AA navigator Vive! is easy to program and follow guidance from; using the Easy Navigation mode will have you on your journey after about four extremely basic actions. The Full Navigation mode isn’t exactly going to blind you with science either – it just gives you more a wider range of programming options, but anyone who has used a GPS before should have little trouble getting to grips with it, even without ever once glancing at the manual.
In our tests we found that the quality of guidance and map accuracy to be perfectly adequate to the task and we never had any problems with unclear or incorrect directions. If you decide to defy the unit’s instructions then it is able to recalculate its route very quickly so you aren’t in any danger of getting lost.
The AA’s extensive knowledge of entertainment and motoring facilities is put to good use in the POI database and the result is a vast wealth of stored locations that out does many other POI databases I have seen. One niggle is that when you’re driving, you only get to see a symbol indication what type of POI it is, not any further information, but it really isn’t hard to go in and find what might be.
The bad
The mapping software isn’t the nicest we’ve ever looked at. Colours tend to be a little on the bland side and the wild colour coding of different road types can make it hard to follow and the problem gets a little worse in night mode. When travelling, the map refreshes quite slowly, which gives it a jerky, juddering effect that isn’t very pleasing on the eye.
The MP3 player and photo viewer, which now seem to be mandatory additions to anything and everything that has a screen, aren’t really all that exciting and you can’t operate them whilst the mapping software is in use. It is unlikely you’ll ever actually bother to use them anyway as the battery life isn’t so wonderful that the Vive! would be much of a substitute to a decent MP3 player with photo viewing capabilities. Worse, the Vive!’s out-of-car navigation functions aren’t up to much either, so despite the integrated Li-ion battery (which provides around 3 hours of juice from a full charge), this is one GPS that is probably destined to stray from the dashboard only as far as the glove compartment.
Geek Sheet
PND with built-in GPS receiver
Directions in a choice of male or female voices
Routes displayed via 2D or 3D maps
Fast, automatic route calculation and re-routing for missed turns
Full UK & ROI mapping from NAVTEQ
Full UK 7 digit postcode search & routing
Over 50,000 points of interest inc. AA hotels & Restaurants
24V power adapter
12-24V Car Charger
USB Sync Cable
Overview
The AA Navigator Vive! isn’t going to win style awards but what it lacks up for in aesthetics it does make up for in a reliable, straightforward interface. It doesn’t quite reach the high standards set by the likes of Garmin or TomTom, but given that you can pick up a Vive! for less than £150, it is very good value for money.
You can pick one up for £149, but if you’re an AA member you get a further 10% off. That includes full maps of the UK and, at the time of writing, free maps of major roads in Europe. If you want to go for the full-blown European coverage then you’re looking at £249 – still a good deal. As previously stated, you get 6 months subscription to the speed camera database for free and it will only set you back a further £29.99 per year after that.
In the end, the Vive! offers little that sets it apart from the many higher priced rivals on the market, but as it stands it offers a superb value for money and an easy interface that is well suited to first-time GPS users.
Related stories: Interview: Navman's Colin Holloway on the future for GPS satnav devices | Navman send a couple to the centre of Europe with NavPix| Review: Garmin nüvi 310 Deluxe | More GPS devices...
Related sites: AA Navigator
| March 15, 2007 |
Posted by Amazon Customer Reviews
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/themoneysit08-20
Sally A. Zaher reviewed:
Apple MA365LL/B Nike + iPod Sport Kit
| 1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:  Great until the battery dies!, March 14, 2007 I enjoyed the tracking features on Nike web site, it gave me new motivation to see all the nice graphs etc. BUT THEN one day a flashing icon on my ipod said the sensors battery was low. You can not replace the battery in the Sensor so I wrote to Nike since I only had about 50 hours of use on it. They said not our problem call Apple!. Took a long time to find out how to get a hold of Apple and in doing so found several formums with people experiencing the same prob. Finally got a hold of Apple, they said wither dens it in and we'll try to fix it and you should get it back with in about 2 weeks or go to an apple store (closest is about 1 1/2 hrs away!). Not what I had hoped as a resolution, but I intend to get it replaced and see if the next one works for longer. |
| March 14, 2007 |
