Audiovox D1788PK 7-Inch Portable DVD Player with Bonus Headphones and Car Kit.

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Audiovox D1788PK portable DVD player gives you the ability to enjoy a home theater experience away from home. Make time fly on a road trip, commute to work or plane ride. Portable player has a 7-inch LCD high resolution monitor offering the ideal 16:9 aspect ratio viewing. Portable player comes with two headphone jacks allowing two people to enjoy movies in privacy. For multiple viewers, player has built in stereo speakers with stimulated surround sound. Enjoy more than DVD¿s with portable player ¿ capable of playing CD, MP3, CDR, CDRW and Picture CD. Player features top loading disc access making it easy to switch between different movies. Included is built-in high capacity rechargeable battery offering up to three hours of battery life ¿ perfect for any plane ride. Player comes with car cabling and car power adapter (used by plugging into cigarette lighter) ¿ allowing for unlimited use on car rides. Also included is ¿credit card¿ size remote giving you the ability to control player from any distance. Included in package set are car headrest bag ¿ doubling as carrying case and mount system for the car - and two folding headphones.

D-Link DUB-H7 High Speed USB 2.0 7-Port Hub.

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The D-Link DUB-H7 2.0 is a Hi-Speed USB 2.0 7-port hub that is backward compatible with USB 1.0 and 1.1. It provides an out of the box industry standard that allows connection of up to seven USB peripherals or devices to your USB ready PC or Mac. The D-Link DUB-H7 is targeted at PC and Mac users that are expanding the number of USB ports on their system.

Designed to provide quick and easy access, the D-Link DUB-H7 provides seven type "A" downstream ports for connecting USB peripherals, devices, or other USB hubs. A single type "B" upstream port connects the DUB-H7 to the host computer or another USB hub, enabling up to 127 devices to be connected by cascading multiple hubs. Configured directly by the operating system, the D-Link DUB-H7 operates seamlessly with both Microsoft Windows and Apple Macintosh Operating Systems.

As a standard USB hub, the D-Link DUB-H7 buffers USB data from any attached peripheral in compliance with USB specifications to provide an invisible extension of the USB bus. Supporting both low speed (1.5Mbps and 12Mbps) and High speed (480Mbps) devices, each port creates a bridge between the peripheral and host computer.

Diagnostic LEDs provide port status for each port and power status. The DUB-H7 includes a Quick Install Guide, a 6-foot Hi-Speed USB 2.0 certified 'A' to 'B' cable, and an AC power supply.

LaCie 301371 500GB Rugged All-Terrain FireWire 800/ FireWire 400/USB 2.0 Portable Hard Drive.

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The LaCie 250 GB Rugged Hard Disk with FireWire 800, FireWire 400, and USB2.0 is a great unit that is ideal for those with fire-wire ports built-in to their laptops and computers. Unfortunately while most Macs have fire-wire built-in, right now the majority of Windows based laptops do not. That is changing as more PCs are getting them built-in. I need drives for several computers, including Mac, Windows and Linux boxes. Suffice it to say that this drive is definitely a must own if you have a Mac and may even be worth installing a fire-wire card if you have a PC.

While it is no secret that I love my WD hard-drives, the LaCie drive definitely outperforms it in a few key areas. So depending on your needs, it may be well worth the small premium to pick up the LaCie.

Don't get me wrong, when it comes to value and best performance for your buck the Western Digital My Passport Essential 320GB USB 2.0 Portable Hard Drive (Intense Blue) is a great option. Like the LaCie, it has a variety of color options including black, red, white and blue. Of course changing colors on your LaCie is much easier than buying a different color WD drive when the mood strikes. The rugged color bands are interchangeable. The WD also doesn't have the "rugged" edges of the LaCie, and it only has USB 2.0 which makes it impractical for certain situations.

Namely, if you want to run something off your external drive, such as a program or a media library, the performance of USB alone is just not as good. Just ignore the specifications and numbers, because from first hand experience I can tell you fire-wire definitely performs faster for large backups or regular data access. It's just faster.

The LaCie is also more versatile. Even if you are planning on using it for USB only right now, having the fire-wire means that if you get another computer that is capable you already have the option built in. That may be a stretch, but if you are planning on getting a new laptop within the next year from one of the big brands you can pretty much plan on them having fire-wire.

Now there are a few slight advantages that the WD has over the LaCie. The LaCie is definitely slightly bigger and thicker, and it's also more expensive. Still, the difference is small enough that the pros will probably outweigh those small cons, especially for Mac users.

Pros
+ Great versatility with fire-wire 400, 800, and USB 2.0
+ Fire-Wire speeds give you better response times for online data access
+ Nice size with aluminum shell and "rugged" edges that hold up regular use
+ USB or FW powered, so no A/C required, which is great for portability
+ USB power sharing option allows you to hook up a USB hub, etc.
+ Works well on Windows Vista, XP and Mac OS X and older versions too
+ You can set up your own disk encryption for security and privacy
+ Nice looks, and the brushed surface scratches much less than my WD drives
+ Other color options for your rubber bumpers are sold separately
+ Turns on and off with your computer or easily ejected via system tray
+ Easy driver-less installation really works!
+ Included backup software is less buggy than WD and may be useful for some
+ 250 GB capacity is decent for most users, but I hope a larger size is coming SOON!
+ The 2 year warrantee is good, but not as good as WD's 3 and 5 year warrantees depending on model

Cons
- Priced higher than WD on a dollar per gigabyte basis
- Larger GB capacity drives not widely available from LaCie though they are offered by WD
- Form factor is slightly larger and thicker than the WD passport drive
- Warrantee is also shorter than WD
- The *rugged* thing may be oversold, and I don't recommend dropping it
- Still no standard Linux drivers or software included, but there are workarounds
- Have to spend your cash to get a case that should have been included

Conclusion

This drive is great or those who want a portable drive for backups or running a media library application like iTunes or Media Center. I only wish they sold it in larger capacities. The premium price may be worth it for those who need that extra edge in speed offered by fire-wire connectivity.

Logitech QuickCam Connect

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This is a decent webcam for the price, but it cannot be compared with higher-end cameras. Overall the installation and configuration is quite simple; load in the drivers, plug in the camera and you're all set. The camera comes with a small program that allows you to adjust certain settings on the camera, such as brightness and hue, and the software also allows for still-picture and video capture. While still pictures can be 1.3 megapixel, unfortunately the highest resolution allows for recording a movie (as distinguished from video chatting) is 640x480. I don't know the reason for this, but it seems to be exclusively to limit users of lower-priced cameras. The software also has some extras, such as the ability to use "filters" that create effects on the image for when you're chatting or recording video. These are pretty useless, but I suppose they're free so there's no sense in complaining. Advanced features like the ability to have avatars instead of your face, or to add digital accessories to your image are limited to the higher-end cameras and can not be used on this device.

The picture quality goes from good (not great) to horrible based, as near as I can tell, on the lighting. With good light, the image does not lag much or get blurry, and it is perfectly adequate for video chatting. As the lighting decreases, so does the image quality, to the point of being almost unusable. If you don't have good lighting in the room where you expect to be using this camera, you're going to have to get a light source or you'll be sorely disappointed with the quality of this camera.

As for the audio quality of the microphone, I've been pretty impressed. The software allows configuration of the microphone, which is very nice - you don't feel like you need to shout to be heard, and conversations are very natural.

Overall it's a decent cam, but it's worth spending the extra money for better equipment if you're serious about either recording anything (i.e. YouTube monologues or video mail) or making sure that your friends get the best picture of you when you cam.

MIDLAND WR300 Weather Radio.

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I purchased this unit 6 months ago with the fear of "tornado season" coming. I live in an area where a tornado is likely with almost every storm. In past years, Easter weekend has been ruined by the destruction of houses in the path of a tornado.

We hear the alarm and listen to the weather service warning BEFORE the news stations can announce the warning on t.v.

The WR-300 has been great. The alarm is clearly heard by everyone throughout the house and the display gives a read out of the alert while the alarm is sounding. You can hear the local weather service with the touch of a button or press the AM/FM button and listen to local radio stations of your choice. The use of this radio is very simple. My kids know how to turn off the siren and how to press the weather radio button to listen to the verbal warning from the National Weather Service. The alarm is a great asset to have during night time hours.

The radio can be plugged in for everyday use and then when power is out for whatever reason, the backup batteries take over so that you can hear announcements and further weather warnings.

Many people have complained about the beeping while pressing the buttons. Yes, there is a beep but it is not that annoying. We do not do very much button pushing in the middle of the night and it has not bothered us.

There is a weekly test that can be a little annoying if you are asleep during the day. My husband is military and his schedule changes regularly, sometimes causing him to work mid-shift. When he is sleeping during the daytime hours, the alarm sounding during the weekly test can be disturbing but it is a small price to pay for safety. On the other side, the weekly test is a nice option. Each week we are assured that the radio is working and the alert will come through during an emergency.

This is a great item and wonderful purchase to make for yourself or a loved one. You really can not put a price on safety.

Garmin nüvi 755T 4.3 - Inch Widescreen Portable GPS Navigator

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I'll address what was my biggest apprehension in going for an ad based, free traffic program. No issue! The ads are small and not at all intrusive. My eyes never were pulled in a way that was a distraction. I can even envision the few occasions that it might even benefit both the advertiser and the user. If you think about it ... newspaper, radio, internet, TV ... advertising is very much a part of our culture and in this case very tastefully done.

Before further review, good grief ... now I sound like a sports caster; I should say that I've owned GPS units forever. Started with laptop programs then I started buying all of my vehicles with factory GPS. Acura, Toyota's (two of em) over the years have all been GPS equipped. I travel a lot for work and it was just more convenient to own stand alone portable units when I rent auto's. Magellan and Garmin were my last two portable units. I'm not a nerd or engineer so I'll give this my best shot and hope the average Jill and Joe will get something out of this.

Next, I'll talk about routing and traffic. Garmin (in my opinion) has always been rock solid in terms of routing. With this unit they have taken the art to a new level. I looked at the new TomTom with its smart routing and almost pulled the trigger on that unit but, with what happened today I am not one bit sorry with my choice. This morning I had to make deliveries to a number of Lowe's Home Improvement stores in the Metro Phoenix, AZ market. I went to the "Points of interest" icon typed in Lowe's and after a short wait was rewarded with all of the Lowes stores in the area. I touch on each one and saved it to a sub category I made (Lowes Metro Phoenix), gave each their appropriate store number (the search came complete with address and phone) and then scheduled my day. From home to the factory first, then to four stores, then back to the factory. During the day I had to insert another unscheduled stop. Fantastic! If I could have asked for any improvement here it would have been that each way point was somehow shown as I progressed. It did announce my arrival at each location complete with what side of the street it would be on; in the long run I am so happy with the result that I couldn't bring myself to diminish the 5 star rating. Also, at each stop when I turned the car off the unit powered down. When I got back in the car I needed to go to the "custom routes" icon, where I built my route, and touch the button to activate my named route. Garmin, if that could be automatic I would love it ... and maybe down the road I'll learn something that I don't yet know and this unit is capable. Honestly, it was so quick and easy and the routing picked up right where it left off so not a big deal to me. Traffic probably should have its own paragraph except it ties into the routing. I understand that this is dependent on how your town is covered. Even here in Phoenix only the major highways are covered. I submit that if you need to travel inner belts and outer belts as well as the highways in and out of your towns you will be very pleased. I watched the traffic icon turn from green to yellow to red and back again as road conditions changed. The icon showed how long the delay would be and if you touch it, it shows where and how far away! Garmin gave me the option to bypass each delay but when I answered yes with the touch of the button it reminded me that my route had been optimized including all other options ... with the delay it still had me on the quickest route. Because I had multiple destinations it kept me posted to the delays even in the opposite directions when my routing would require back tracking.

There was slow downs along the way and one accident and I was notified well in advance. With the accident, I passed the location about 15 minutes after notification. It was minor and had already been moved to the side of the highway yet I could see the remnants of broken head-lights in the lane it happened. I was prepared to be disappointed with the traffic because not all the traffic reviews are complimentary. Again, I tend to feel where you live and the roads you travel could affect your opinion. For me, I would add extra stars here if I could. It amazed me when it routed me a different way from the factory to my house (different from the one I took in the morning) because the road conditions were different. It was right on based on years of living and driving these roads.

The Voice and the timeliness of prompts were strong. I tried all the voices and ended up with Australian Karen. She is very understandable in "text to speech" and very pleasant. Even my wife likes her ... I'd like to meet Australian Karen someday but she wouldn't give me her phone number ... like my wife would like her if she did! With my Magellan I liked the way it would ding just before the turn. This Garmin announces the turn and the timing was very comparable to the Magellan and that is a good thing. Some of the previous Garmin models had problems in this area if you read the posts. Also, loudness with the unit on external speaker was OK to Good, I'd like to see it a touch louder for times when road noise or blasting AC is an issue. I have not tried piping it with FM to my radio and probably won't.

On my wish list to Garmin (you think they read these?), I'd like to see a little more information around the edges of the screen. You can program the "arrival time" button for things like altitude, time of day, direction of travel and many more, but you can't program the "speed button" for anything. I'd like to see my altitude ... just for giggles, and my ETA. Who needs the time with clocks in the car & on every cell phone? Who needs to know how fast you are going with a speedometer in every car? I would also like to know the street I'm currently on. Sometimes you can see it depending on how you are zoomed to the map but sometimes not. I'd also like to know what direction I'm traveling in without hitting another button or giving up my ETA or 3d view. The speed limit of each street is a fantastic thing to have especially when your in areas you don't know or rural roads that go for miles without a sign. I can tell you that when the speed limit changed as I entered different zones the changes were very accurate in their timing.

The last thing for today's review is lane guidance. I went thru some pretty major interchanges today and not once did I see the Navagon style or Garmin advertised type of full screen preview. Again, I'll see if there is a setting I missed or I will just have to live with what I've got for awhile. I understand that Garmin will be adding to their data base as they go along. What I did see though was plenty good. The "distance to turn" indicator in the upper left corner of the screen listed with arrows how many lanes to the interchange and which lanes you should be in. It also listed the lanes not to be in as you transitioned from one highway ramp onto another highway. It was good to have advance notice that the right lane would not continue and you needed to move left before it got crowded.

I'd say buy this unit and help me find Karen!

I have had no reset issues and use the unit 6 to 8 hours per day. This is not to say it hasn't been an issue with others though.

10/18/08

I found the neatest thing on this unit today. I tapped the car on the screen while I was driving and noticed every few seconds the screen updated with the exact address I was located. I could see the street I was on, the numerical location, and I could see the addresses going up or down as I traveled. Also it showed the elevation changing up or down. I have used this exact screen many times when stopped to mark locations I wanted to save to favorites but never on the go. I'm not sure exactly how one would use this information but I thought it interesting.

I have had much more experience with the traffic option now. I have found it very useful during rush hour. Only once... so far, has a delay been so severe that it changed my routing automatically. But, during that occasion I felt gratified in that I was guided off the freeway before other drivers. from my detour route I ended up with a view of a bumper to bumper full stop on the highway that was backed up for miles. To be honest, after a while you take the traffic icon for granted until it turns yellow or red. Even the yellow icon doesn't change things in terms of routing, just information about how many minutes the delay will be.

I can say that sometimes the information is not exactly timely. A yellow indicator may show and when I reach the location the traffic may be moving more normal or a little slower than indicated. The minutes of delay indicated seems not too far off though and arrival times are pretty accurate.

Other that no Junction view's in the Phoenix area at this time I'm still thrilled with the 755t. Garmin support is working on a free update (I spoke with them) for the Junction view.


Additional questions have been ask and answered in the comments section if you would like to read more.

Samsung LN46A650 46 - Inch 1080p 120 Hz LCD HDTV with Red Touch of Color

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Home-theater has moved up a notch and Samsung's LN46A650 moves you up to the next levels of television performance. With full 1920x1080 resolution, this LCD TV will deliver HDTV up to 1080p resolution for the best in high definition. SAMSUNG has reinvented their traditional LCD bezel and gave it a stylish, unique new look with an exclusive Touch of Color. This truly exceptional TV also includes the new InfoLink RSS feature that lets you enjoy instant access to news, weather, sports and stock information. And action scenes have never looked so real with Auto Motion Plus 120Hz and Ultra Clear Panel technology. With too many features to list, the LN46A650, with its actual 45.9" (diagonal) widescreen, becomes a striking centerpiece to your home-theater system. InfoLink RSS feature gathers up-to-the-minute content from USA Today and displays it on your screen ATSC Digital TV tuning and QAM ENERGY STAR compliant Sound effect system produces virtual-surround sound with the left and right speakers using SRS TruSurround XT / 10 Watts x 2 channels Unit Dimensions - 44.5 x 28.1 x 3.7 without stand; 44.5 x 30.5 x 11.0 with included stand Set weight without stand - 49.2 lbs; Set weight with stand - 58.6 lbs