ATT to buy out T-Mobile?

When I bought my first cell phone I decided that I would go with a known company at the time. This turned out to be AT&T. At that time I think they included the term “Wireless” in the name. Things went fine but I started to notice just how many services I had going on were with AT&T. I decided to trim what I could. I got out of ATT long distance. I had no choice for cable, which was also ATT for a while. But I could choose a different cell provider. I chose Cingular.

Cingular worked out just fine as long as they were in existence. They had flexible plans. They had what seemed to be better phones. And at the time, their service was better than ATT had been when I made the change. Then, I learned that Cingular was really owned by former Baby Bell Company, SBC. Well, that was OK for the time being. The service was still great for me. That was until the day that SBC bought the gutted remains of former giant ATT and decided to take on the name and logo of their former corporate owner. Yep. My cell phone now lighted up with that old familiar ATT sign on. Cingular via SBC ceased to exist.

So, is ATT really so bad that I would decide to switch carriers again just to be away from them? Maybe they are fine. But since I have been away I have been made aware I am a member of a number of class action lawsuits that deal with business practices that ATT were not up-front about in the time I was with them. I felt justified to make another switch at this point.

I chose T-Mobile at a time when ATT was fighting it out with Verizon as far as who had the better 3G coverage. The advertisements went on forever. I could not have cared less. I was happy with T-Mobile. I should have bet money thought that sooner or later, ATT would make a move on T-Mobile. Of course they would. It was as inevitable as the ATT service icon that on occasion sprung up on my Blackberry Bold. ATT and T-Mobile both use GSM, so they are roaming partners. It only makes sense that it would be a relatively simple merger of technology.

I just hope that T-Mobile subscribers do not lose anything in this merger if it goes on to be approved. I am running out of places to jump away from ATT.

Hampton Bay Antigua 56 Inch Ceiling Fan

This is a fan put out by Home Depot. Originally it was available in the brick and mortar stores in a variety of finishes. Currently it is only available at http://www.Homedepot.com in a brushed nickel or bronze finish. Both of these finishes at Homedepot.com come with matching light kit. I also found that there are still a few of the fans available in Flemish Brass through R.E. Williams Contracting (http://www.rewci.com). The Flemish Brass variety does not have a matching light as it must have been discontinued along with the fan when Home Depot stopped carrying it in the store or online.

This is a five blade fan with the individual wooden blades having a carved leaf appearance. The fan has the standard three speeds with reverse direction switch if you want to make the fan blow air against the ceiling in winter or downward to cool you in warmer months. The light kit has room for three 60 watt candelabra style bulbs and the bulbs are included in the versions that ship including the light kit. This was not the case back when the Flemish brass light kit was around. I am still looking for another one of those to match my second fan.

Here is a description of the bronze version from the website.

· 5 hand-carved featherwood blades with a medium cherry finish

· 56 in. fan blades for enhanced reach

· Hand-painted alabaster bowl light kit is included and is an optional installation

· 3-speed with reversible control for versatile use

· Oil-rubbed bronze finish complements many interior accents

· Designed for interior use

· Uses three 60-watt max Candelabra Bulbs (included)

· Ideal for large rooms up to 20 ft. x 20 ft.

· Standard mount for ease of installation

There is a limited lifetime warranty through Home Depot.

The fans themselves are fairly easy to install. Installation should be to only ceiling fan specified mounts. The included instruction book walks you through the installation process. I have seen some reviews of this fan out there that suggest the installation instructions are lacking in some way. I did not find this to be true, but if you have a problem, just read the steps again, or have someone else read them to you as you physically hold the pieces they describe in the book. It would be a help to make sure you are familiar with the terms the book uses to describe each part prior to the installation. Once you get the fan up is not the time to realize you missed a critical item.

The website suggests that this is a standard mount for ease of installation. I am not sure if that means that the version on Home Depot’s website will only work with the included short down rod or not. For the Flemish Brass version, you have a choice of using the down rod, or omitting the down rod making the fan a flush-mount to your ceiling. Either way, there is sufficient length of connection wires to drop the fan down on a longer rod of your choice. I cut off at least two feet of wire prior to mounting our fans.

All fan-internal connections were made simple by use of plastic wire connectors. Match a connector together, push it into place and the electrical connections are done, safe and secure.

One criticism may be that the light kit seems more for show than to provide actual light. If you put the light into a high ceiling room, the three 60 watt bulbs really do not provide much light. But, fan operation is smooth and noise free at any speed.

Homedics Paraspa Plus Paraffin Bath

The Homedics Paraspa Plus basically is a thermostatically controlled heated bath of melted wax. Treatments are intended for improving the skin, or for heat treatments for sore and achy hands or feet from arthritis or other common joint pain that benefit from heat. In use, once you have the paraffin melted, you do a series of dips into the wax which serves to coat your hand in multiple separate layers much as you would do in making candles. The hot wax forms a coating over your hand or foot, and seals in moist heat. After your treated extremity cools down, you simply peel the cool wax off and return it to the device to re-melt and use again later. My unit is the Paraspa Plus and it includes 4 pounds of wax, a safety grate to place over the heating element, and 30 liners. Note that the liners are not intended to place into the bath. They are an option to lengthen the treatment by slowing down the cooling of the wax once it is on your hand or foot. The bath area is also designated for elbows, but this has not been tried yet since our intended use is mainly for hands. The grate helps keep you from touching the heating element directly. You use at least three pounds but at the most four pounds of wax. One potential drawback here is the unit designed as a flat bath, so you have to place your hand or foot into a shallow tub. It can be difficult to cover the entire hand without dipping both sides. If the tub was vertically arranged, it might be easier to cover the hand all at once. The unit itself has a locking lid which helps the wax heat up more quickly, and also keeps the lid from accidently being opened by knocking it inadvertently. There is an on switch in the center of the exterior near the base. When first switched on, a light glows red to inform you that the unit is heating the wax. Heating of the wax can take up to two hours or slightly longer. Time to melting varies depending on the room temperature. Note here that I see some descriptions for this unit online that suggest that it has a variable heat selector, but the manual does not mention this, and if it does exist in the unit, I have not discovered it yet. Once the ready light shows as blue, you can push to unlock the lid and proceed to dip your hand, foot or elbow. If one of your intended uses actually is arthritis, you may need help in actually pressing the on-off switch and the lid-unlock button as they can require a bit of pressure. I do not mean to suggest that it is too much pressure, but for someone who has limited use of hands, you may need help. The unit manual suggests that it is designed to leave on all of the time. But, I would caution that you really have to set the unit up in a secure area for that to make much sense. My house is not designed for this type of device to be left on all the time I would never leave it on while away from the house. This means you have to do a bit of planning for a treatment. You need to allow it to heat for at least two hours before it is ready for use. And it needs a secure area that will not be bumped as the melted wax would be a real pain to have to clean off of countertops or rugs. It is also suggested that you wash the area to be treated prior to use. And if you have more than one person using it, to change the wax more frequently as it does get dirty over time. The unit does require periodic cleaning and I assume at that time you would want to start over with new wax.

DEWALT DWD115K 8 Amp 3/8-Inch VSR Mid-Handle Grip

For the last five years or so, I have used a 3/8 inch Black and Decker 2.2 Amp 0-1600 RPM variable speed drill with standard pistol grip and standard key chuck. This has been a pretty good drill for what it is, but it is starting to wear out a bit at this point. Hey, I am older now too. When I started to look around for a replacement I was rapidly overwhelmed by the numbers of possibilities. I decided on a corded model because I did not want to hassle recharging batteries in a project although I am sure batteries have improved since my last experience. I wanted to stick with 3/8 inch, but I wanted it to be heavy duty compared to my Black and Decker, but still easy to use. I wanted a quality name I recognized but still wanted affordability. The DeWalt DWD115K fit those needs. As luck had it, it was also the one drill my local Lowes was out of. So, at least it appears to be a popular choice. This is a 3/8" VSR mid-handle drill with keyless chuck. The weight of the drill is listed at 4 pounds. This is a bit heavier than my old drill, which was a concern of mine in my searching. But heavier duty drills I looked at felt heavy in my hand compared to my old 2.2 Amp Black and Decker. This was a concern for me because my hands are not what they were when I was younger, and the pistol grips on current day drills are hard for me to hold on to due to the heavier drill extending away from my hand grip. Although the DWD115 is heavier than my old drill, having the grip in the middle seems to help distribute the weight of the drill so I have no problem holding it in use. The DWD115 is listed at 8 Amps, so it really has a lot more potential power than my 2.2 Amp Black and Decker to do the heavier drilling I may run into in around the house jobs. And it also has higher maximum RPM at 2500 compared to the maximum 1600 for my old drill. The grip itself is comfortable enough, having a combination hard plastic and rubberized feel. The trigger is easy to use and variable speed is easy to control. In use, there are two bubble levels to help hold the drill horizontal or vertical as you drill. The keyless chuck is easy to figure out and I am sure it will be as asset once I can get to the point I stop looking for the key to change bits the old fashioned way. There is a hook of sorts on the top of the drill itself. I suppose this is to hang the drill off of a tool belt. I am not sure how handy that would be since I do not have a belt to hang it on and can see no other possible function for this hook. The one thing on this particular drill I wonder about is the forward-reverse switch. It is true it is located in an easy to access area just above the trigger. But it is a simple plastic switch that sticks out away from the trigger itself. On one side the drill goes forward. Click to the other side for reverse. But the problem I see down the road is that something could catch on this switch and break it off. The DWD115 comes in a plastic case that has a compartment that just fits one of my 4” by 5.25” box of drill bits. It also has space for my 2” by 2.5” box of driver bits. The case may seem a bit awkward to some since the hinge for the door is on the side as compared to the carry handle on top. This is a minor adjustment. The warrantee is 90 day money back guarantee, 1 year free service; 3 year limited warrantee- which seemed a bit better than most I looked at. My contractor working on my house at the time uses a similar DeWalt, so that was also a factor in my choice. Specifications Chuck Size 3/8" Keyless Chuck Yes Amps 8.0Amps No Load Speed 0-2,500rpm Max Watts Out 650W Capacity in Wood (Spade Bit) 1" Capacity in Wood (Hole Saw) 1-1/8" Capacity in Steel (Twist Bit) 3/8" Gear Reduction Single Handle Style Mid-handle grip Anti-Slip Grip Yes Anti-Lock Control No Tool Weight 4.1lbs Shipping Weight 6.4lbs

New Case Mate Leather Case Holster for BlackBerry

This review is of the Casemate Signature Combo cases. My particular application is for the Bold 9700. I have looked at least ten different case and holster combinations for my Blackberry. Each one of them had part of what I was looking for, but each one of them also had a deal breaker that lead to my returning the item for a refund. When I followed a link to Casemate my search ended. As may be said of a lot of case choices out there, this one claims to give the best of all possible worlds as far as versatility of use. It also has the comfortable feel of leather in a highly protective and snug fitting one piece case. It is important for me that my phone case offers a secure feeling when I reach for it, since I tend to be all thumbs as far as grabbing hold of my phone to use. This is true if it is in a regular case with a flap like the one included with Blackberries, or if it is simply sitting on a table. And Blackberries are not the cheapest phone out there if they are damaged in a “drop”. This is the one reason I have opted for a case for the phone with a separate holster. If a belt clip is part of the case, it is a deal breaker. If the case pops apart on impact, it is also a deal breaker. The Casemate Signature combo case consists of two main parts: a one piece wrap around case for the actual phone, and a holster to hold it via a belt clip. Both of these are covered in leather- not a cheaper leather appearing substance, as some cases I looked at on my way to Casemate, but a covering of real Napa leather. The case portion starts with a plastic wrap around cover that is then wrapped in leather so the exposed parts are leather. This is a single piece case, not a two section deal that might pop apart if dropped, or that may not fit completely snug when you snap it together or one that comes apart in everyday use. Many of the other cases I looked at were like that, and they felt as cheap as they looked. The Blackberry fits snuggly into the top of the Casemate case. It allows full function from keyboard to power/ charge cord to the camera. Note that the case would have to be removed to fit a base charger and would not fit over an adapted case back for other types of charging systems. Because the holster is totally separate, you do not have any clips directly attached to the case as I have seen in other cases I ruled out on the way to this choice. This means the case allows the phone to sit flat on a table and then easily be put into the holster for travel. Or, you can simply put it into a pocket. Clipped on and with the case/phone in, the clip allows the holster to swivel a full 360 degrees with very solid feeling “stops” so you can position the phone in a more comfortable position if seated in a car for example. Speaking of the holster, this unit does allow for the separate Blackberry “in holster” ringer options- at least in the Bold model. For the magnet controlled function to work, the phone has to be inserted into the holster with the keypad towards you. This is fine anyway because it also provides maximum protection to the phone. It is also possible to put the phone into the holster with the keyboard facing out, but in this configuration the “in holster” functions will not work. The holster, at least on my version, has the one thing about this that I dislike. Casemate recommends of course that the phone should be placed in the holster with the keyboard in. The fit into the holster in this configuration is not as good as it could be. The case/phone combination feels a bit loose, like it could be bumped out. I should qualify this with a couple of points. First, my phone has not fallen out of its case in the first couple of months of normal use so this may be a needless concern. And if my case/phone combo did fall out of the holster I would feel better about its chances with this case than others I have tried. And not all cases for Blackberries may fit their holsters the same way the Bold does. It is a bit odd though that if I turn the blackberry around so the keyboard faces out, the fit of the bottom of the case matches the bottom clip of the holster perfectly. All in all, this is the best case solution for my Blackberry that I have seen, and even with the loose feel of the case in the holster, I would recommend it. Casemate also includes a single display protector and a cleaning cloth.

Rain X Latitude Wiper Blades for my 2004 Prius

When your vehicle service guys warn you that your wipers are starting to come apart, it is always a challenge to figure out just what to replace them with. Do you go with the cheaper style that came on the car which is pretty much the older standard wiper that you can just thread into the existing mounts, or do you opt for a totally new style of blade and holder? Well, in this case I decided to go with a newer design and chose the Rain X Latitude. It remains to be seen how good these will be long term, but I have gotten a bit tired of the more standard blades and how they work in the rain. The longer one on the driver side does hop at times in lite rain. Increasing the delay helps a bit. The Rain X Latitude is a completely different appearing style of holder and blade. Here are the listed specs. They are available in many sizes. That is good for me since my car requires two different sizes; one 26 inches for the driver side, and one 18 inches for the passenger. I also have a shorter wiper on the back window, but I did not have to replace that one this time. Features Blended graphite coated rubber blade for (claimed) clean chatter free wipe Built in spoiler reduces drag, noise and wind lift Prevents buildup of ice and snow through elimination of exposed metal components Durable rubber encased substructure for increased wiper flexibility and adherence to windshield in harsh conditions Beam blade will fit all 8 wiper arm clips In use these wipers do seem to be much quieter than my previous blades. They do fit against the curves of my windshield as advertised. When you lift them away from the window, they bend down in a curve away from the center tab. Driving there is less wind noise, something you really can notice in a car that is as quiet as a Prius. I have not really used this present configuration in icy conditions yet, so I can’t say how they work in snow. But, looking at them as I have so far, I would feel better about these than the wipers they replaced. On the downside, I guess there is nothing really as perfect as some manufacturers claim. About the chatter free and clean wipe. . . In my car I can see two different size blades going at the same time. Both the 26” and the 18” can and do get things stuck under them that leave a streaky surface. Sure, it is clean but if you expect that to mean a total end to streaks, this blade is not perfect. Also, about the chatter free wipe. . . This may be a function of the length of your blades. The shorter 18” passenger side wiper appears to wipe smoothly as advertised. But the lower portion of the 26” blade tends to wiggle noticeably on its advertised "chatter free" wipe. I still do not notice any noise from this, but it is a bit of a distraction. I do recommend these, but you should be aware of the quirks as noted for the longer blades. The blade wiggle noted just be a function of the length of the blade or the type of windshield in the Prius. Your installation may differ.

HP Officejet 6500 Wireless Printer, fax, copier, scanner with photo printer-

Yikes. Doesn't anyone just make a normal printer anymore? It happens, I guess- but they are getting to be harder to find now that the all-in-one machines have gained so much popularity. Is this popularity deserved? Well, it does seem that it makes more sense than having to buy individual machines to do each function. One thing I do not like about this is that I may not really want to have or use a photo printer or scanner anymore. And I only have rare need of a fax machine. But, I do need a printer and these other features are more and more a part of that one desired thing.

One such device that includes all of the above functions is the HP Officejet 6500 wireless. It has it all, and does it all. It does so much I have not even touched the surface of discovering all of them yet. In fact, some of the features I have little need for I may never use. The all-in-one printers are like that I guess. Why did I get one then?
I wanted a duplex printer capability for one thing, and I had prior experience with HP printers. I also figured that a home copier may be in order to save me from driving across town every time I needed a small number of copies. For larger jobs, I will still use Kinko's. And, once in a blue moon, I have need of a fax machine. Having one will also take away a further need to drive across town. So, those features while not really necessary will be convenient at times.

How is the 6500 on ease of use? It seems fairly straight forward so far. You click one of the buttons for a feature, and a screen prompt helps you through the needed steps. The 6500 has an auto-feed try for convenience. In my installation, I do use that since the thing is a bit tall for my available space and it is not easy to open the scanner bed manually to place the original without pulling the unit out on my extended shelf. It has a fairly easy to load paper tray for blank paper, and a finish tray that is easy to get to on top of the feed tray. You can extend a piece on top of the feed tray that becomes a catcher for finished prints. If you do not make use of that, your prints end up shooting out onto the floor or whatever you have unit sitting on.

The scanner, copier and photo printer controls are on the left side of the control surface. In the middle you have a LCD screen that shows various menu screens like status of the printer and allows changes to settings. On the right of that, you have a key pad and other controls related to the fax machine and also the main power button. The 6500 is pretty bulky, and you should note that if you use the duplexer it will add another couple of inches to the back.

I do not plan to utilize the photo printer feature. But, if you do, it uses memory cards described here: Secure Digital; Secure Digital High Capacity (SDHC); MultimediaCard; Secure MultimediaCard; Reduced-Size MultimediaCard (RS-MMC)/MMCmobile (adapter not included, purchase separately); MMCmicro/miniSD/microSD (adapter not included, purchase separately); xD-Picture Card; Memory Stick; Memory Stick Duo; Memory Stick PRO; Memory Stick PRO Duo

Set up of the 6500 is a bit involved. Unpacking it is a chore in itself with all of the tape, paper and padding to remove prior to setting it up. You have to install the printer head and cartridges, and attach the duplexer and make sure the feeder trays are set correctly. There is an enclosed sheet to follow steps one by one. Pieces that could be installed incorrectly are color coded. Line the colors up, and you should be good to go.

Small Ink cartridges included-

The one disappointment about this part is the size of the included ink cartridges. They look pretty tiny compared to the machine. I think I had seen that there are larger cartridges available and I will tend to use those once my current ink is gone. These are the higher ink capacity cartridges, HP920XL. These are much better in use, but still run a bit on the pricey side for their size. I recommend getting them at Costco. I tried one of the ink cartridge recyling places, but at the time anyway, this particular cartridge is not one they offer in the recycled format.

Printer software included is a resource hog- And a possible fix

The other thing that I had a problem with is that when I turned on the printer, it tended to freeze my computer for a number of minutes while it went through its sign-on procedures. Something was taking a huge amount of resources from my computer. I have a lap-top. Maybe a normal faster computer would not have the issue.

I spoke to an IT guy about this and he told me it is a common problem particularly with the Officejet combo types of HP printers. He suggested a possible fix was to uninstall the software, and goto the HP website. There he said I would find a listing for my printer that had three software packages to choose from. The full package is 191 megabytes, a medium package is 57 megabytes, and an IT professional package comes in at a svelte (by comparison) 25 megabytes.

I uninstalled, and reinstalled using the smallest package. I still had a problem.

UPDATE to my main system resources problem. . .

I found that I had a file called "HPWuSchd.exe" loading to my system. This is an HP program update helper that looks for updates to printer software. It is also a known resource hog- and can be usurped by mal-ware. I closed it, and printer now runs fine with no freezes. If you have such a problem, you might try to see if this program is loaded. It is not needed for printer function. Without the freezes, this is a diecent printer, adn teh extras can be a plus for the few times you may need them.

RIM BlackBerry Bold 9700 Smartphone

The Blackberry Bold 9700 is available for AT&T and T-Mobile subscribers. It comes with a home charger and a partially leather belt clip case. It has the same basic layout of the Blackberry as you have grown used to seeing, with a couple of exceptions. Mine is for T-Mobile which means I get roaming on AT&T network. First, it is sleeker and slimmer appearing with a thickness of .56 inches. The case has a black and chrome appearance which adds to the sleek appearance. And the trackball is gone, replaced by what they refer to as a Track pad. The function of the track pad is much smoother than the trackball in my opinion. This is a major improvement over the track ball that could get dirty over time. Other functions are similar to other Blackberry devices. The right Convenience key accesses the 3.2 megapixel camera. It also has access to the video camera. The left convenience key launches the voice dialing option. This is the stock out of the box settings and you can change the two convenience keys to any listed phone option. At the top of the unit is a recessed mute/standby key on the far right and a keyboard lock button on the left. Down the left side you also have the stereo headphone jack and micro-USB port. Down the right side you have the volume controls. Many phones now may have Wi-Fi access. This is no exception. But this one also lets you make phone calls over the Wi-Fi connection. This is a particularly nice feature for me since my house tends to eat radio signals and my cell service has historically been spotty inside. Now, the Bold 9700 connects to my wireless DSL link and all calls are routed through that using the UMA access offered by T-Mobile. And when I traveling there will be times that the link from a free Wi-Fi hotspot may be the only service you would have for a call. I have even used this around town. For example there is no signal inside my local Toyota dealership. But they have WiFi, so I can use this to stay connected to phone service. One other thing that differs on this phone than some other devices is that you can be on the internet and if you get a phone call, you will be prompted that you have a call and given the opportunity to switch to that call. In the other Blackberry I have experience with, if you were connected to the internet on the network, you never knew you had a phone call until after you had closed out of that connection. The display is 2.44 inches diagonally, and very visible in most lighting conditions. It is just a bit harder to see though than the screen of the Curve 8350 series. The sound in a call is clear even on speaker phone, but being on speaker will eat your batter quickly, so keep that in mind. Email and Calendar functions can be linked to Outlook. I tend to use Gmail and Googlesynch since they are what I have experience with, but you can use others besides. You get access to Blackberry App World. Many of these are free downloads. Available Features * Track-pad navigation * Bright, hi-resolution screen * Full QWERTY keyboard * 3G technology * WiFi® and Bluetooth® enabled * 256MB flash memory * 3.2 MP digital camera with video camera * Multimedia player * Wireless email * Organizer * Browser * Phone * SMS/MMS * MicroSD card reader Battery & Battery Life * Battery: 1500 mAh * Talk Time: Up to 6 hours (GSM and UMTS) * Standby Time: Up to 21 days/504 hours (GSM), Up to 17 days/408 hours (UMTS) * Music Playback Time: Up to 38 hours Voice Input & Output * Integrated speaker and microphone * Hands-free headset capable * Bluetooth headset capable * Integrated Hands-Free Speakerphone * Rating for hearing aids (PDF): M3, T3 (in Ringtones & Notifications * Tone, vibrate, on-screen or LED indicator * Notification options are user configurable * 32 Polyphonic Ringtones – MIDI, SP-MDI, MP3, WAV Bluetooth * Bluetooth® v2.1 * Mono/Stereo Headset * Handsfree * Serial Port Profile * Bluetooth Stereo Audio (A2DP/AVCRP) * Bluetooth SIM Access Profile supported Camera & Video Recording * 3.2 MP Camera * Auto Focus, Image Stabilization * Flash * 2X digital zoom * Video camera recording: Normal Mode (480 x 352 pixel), MMS Mode (176 x 144 pixel) WiFi * 802.11 b/g * UMA support Wireless Networks * 3G (HSDPA) compatible * UMTS: 2100/1900/850/800 MHz (Bands 1,2,5/6), 2100/1700/900 MHz (Bands 1,4,8) * GSM: 1900/1800/900/850 MHz * Quad-band support: GSM 850; GSM

BlackBerry Curve 8350i

I had the Boost Mobile unlimited plan for about a year, and the one thing that bothered me about it was that the internet access was so not user friendly that I never really used it. I started looking at other plans and other companies only to find that their plans were more expensive and data plans were not unlimited. And the one that was just as cheap as Boost Mobile was not available in my area anyway. I was just about to give in when I did one last search and found this; a Blackberry phone originally for Nextel's system that had been reprogrammed to run on the Boost Mobile unlimited plan. I chose the Blackberry Curve 8350i from Boostberry.com. At the time I did this, Boost did not offer a Blackberry for their service. This Nextel/Boost version of the phone is the same in many ways as others in the 8300 line, but different in a couple of respects. The one big one that jumps out at me is Wi-Fi access. Internet speed on the Boost Nextel network is slow at best. Wi-Fi makes it useable in any hot-spot location, including your home wireless access. The other difference is in the battery life on standby. See below for more on this. You get all factory accessories and additional bonus accessories including a Bluetooth headset and an unconditional one year repair or replacement warranty. All Accessories: GPS, voice control, and 2.0 MP digital video camera, 1 GB Micro SD memory card, battery, home charger, swivel belt holster, wired-stereo headset, USB data sync cable, software CD, Blackberry User Guide, and BoostBerry User Guide. The video camera by the way is not just a typical 5-10 second capacity video camera included on smaller phones. I am not sure of the actual capacity- I can't find any spec that has it. But I ran mine for over 2.5 minutes and it was still going strong. Since then I have learned that you have a choice of using phone memory for very short video and fuzzy image, or you can select to use the memory and for longer higher quality video. Bonus extras included: custom-fitted silicone gel case, car charger, Bluetooth headset, and Boost SIM activation kit with a $5 credit. Please note that this credit is only good for new Boost Mobile customers. If you are already a customer and choose to keep your current number, this credit will not apply. You also get a plastic holster style with a belt clip. Checking the prices of these in the stores, I may have to put mine on EBay. It is nice they include this and the gel-case, but I opted for a different holder that offers a bit more protection. Boostberry sells new and refurbished Nextel Blackberry's, with un-activated Boost SIM Starter kits. They unlock, adapt, and program the phone to make full use of Boost Mobile's $50 per month Unlimited plan. (This price at time of writing. I see they are $60 now and still a good deal.) You get Unlimited Nationwide Calling, Roaming, Email, Internet, Walkie-talkie, (SMS/MMS) Text and Picture messaging, IM, Chat, Twitter, Pandora (Music) and GPS Navigation. Your BlackBerry is fully tested and pre-loaded with more than 25 software applications including: Opera and BlackBerry browsers, Google Mobile Apps, Google Mail, Google Maps , Google Synch, Google Voice Search, GPS, LifeInPocket, WorldMateLive, Nav4All, BlackBerry Maps and MyLocation and includes turn-by-turn voice instructions. But wait, you also get IM and Chat: Nimbuzz (Skype, Google, Yahoo), EQO, Ramble (AOL IM), and the Social Networking sites: TwitterBerry, FaceBook, and MySpace. Not enough? It also has News & Weather: CNN, ESPN, Weather Eye, and BlackBerry Weather. And for the more adventurous, you can search the internet for other applications to try. There are so many, I am not sure I have found everything yet. But, of all I have found and tried so far, all work as promised. When you receive your BlackBerry for Boost Mobile you have the option of selecting a new number or transferring your current cellular number to Boost Mobile. If you are already a Boost Mobile customer, you can keep your current account and telephone number. Easy-to-follow activation instructions are included. Features and Specifications Full QWERTY Keyboard and Trackball Navigation- The trackball is a bit odd at first, but I am getting used to it. The keyboard is a bit hard to see at times, but it is still easier to use than other non-qwerty entry methods on normal sized cell phones. Wi-Fi 802.11g capable for Hotspots or home usage, and once a Wi-Fi profile is set; the connection is made in the background when you are back in range of that particular hot-spot. One thing to mention here is that if you are on a Wi-Fi connection, your phone can still receive calls. If you are on the internet using the Nextel network connection, your received calls may go to voicemail. Receive emails from multiple POP3 and IMAP corporate and personal email accounts- This is remarkably easy to set up with the included Google-Sync and your free Gmail account. Once in Gmail, you simply add your main email account and it will route through Gmail (if on the supported list). Then you contacts and calendar can also be synched to the Gmail account. With the addition of a quick download, it can also synch to your Outlook Calendar appointments. Text messaging and email include a spell checker. This is good for me, especially since I at times hit the incorrect little keys. When you have your contacts entered, highlighting an entry gives the option of using any of the possible ways to contact that person as long as you have contact options entered. But, this does not seem to work for email. For that, you still have to go to your email program and enter the email address there or copy it from your contacts to paste into Gmail. Once you contacts are in email, you can send directly from your contacts in Gmail. Bluetooth - for PC and headset communications- Also, if your car has a Bluetooth hands free option, you can connect to that. Of the three phones I have tried to connect to my car system, this was by far the easiest. Also, the other phones I had tried would only transfer one contact at a time to the car system. The Blackberry has a way to transfer the entire contact book to your car. One related thing is the formatting of the numbers. My previous phone had required me to include a "1", the area code, and the number. On the Blackberry, the one seems to be sent by default. This is how I learned how to transfer the contacts. The transfer will only work if all numbers are area code, and number format. If you do not have an area code, or you have a "1", the transfer fails. Bluetooth also lets you send pictures to specially equipped photo-Kiosks to print photos from your Blackberry camera. Or you can use the included Blackberry Desktop Manager to transfer files to and from your computer. GPS capable - For geographic location, mapping, and navigational assistance (no monthly fees) - This is pretty neat as far as I can tell. The nav4all has many options that my car navigation system lacks, including one I know I will use; Find my Parking Space. And it seems it is free with the Boostberry version of the phone. I know my regular boost phone had navigation, but it was hard to see on that puny display, and it was not free. Four hour talk-time battery life- 168 hours on standby- The talk time is about the same for all the Curve 8300 series phones, but the standby time for the 8350i is the lowest of the bunch. You can tweak the initial settings somewhat to increase battery standby time. If you do not plan to use Wi-Fi that can be turned off. If you do not have Bluetooth that can be switched off. The backlight comes set for 2 minutes. That can be adjusted to suit you, and each of these little adjustments will add to battery life. Two MP digital camera features a 5x digital zoom and flash. Video recording is also included. You can access the camera from the icon, or a programmable convenience button on the side of the phone. 1GB MicroSD card is included for work files, photos, movies and music. Multimedia Player so you can play still, video and music files you've taken or downloaded- Music files or any other large transfers will have to be by Wi-Fi since the bandwidth of Nextel is limited. Wired stereo headset and Bluetooth headset are included. My stereo headset was not in the box, but within minutes of emailing Boostberry, they responded that it will be sent later. I guess they ran out. Integrated Attachment Viewing: View popular file formats such as Microsoft Word and Excel. It also has a slideshow player. Brilliant Color display - Vibrant TFT display with 65K colors and 320 x 240 display resolution. The display really is nice in a Blackberry. And the first time I went outside in direct sun, I was happy to see that I could still see it. Powerful crystal-clear speakerphone- I had seen a couple of bad reviews of the speaker phone on the Curves suggesting poor audio quality, and I can't agree. I have found my speaker phone to be one of the best I have heard- land line or cell phone. One thing though, it really saps the battery if you are in a long call. In a regular call, calls are clear, and I have not had any drops yet. Also it seems more like full duplex than other phones I have used where one or the other side drops if the other person interrupts while you are speaking. Voice Command and Voice Activated Dialing- I have not tried this yet. I have a low deep voice, and these features usually do not work for me- So I rarely try them, or I leave it until I am really out of things to do. Google-enabled Voice search function- I have not tried this yet. Voice command lets you use your voice to look up contacts, place phone calls and get key information. Walkie-talkie: Nextel Direct Connect instantly connects you to most Boost and Nextel users. I hear this is a good feature too, but I do not know anyone else on Nextel's network, so I can't try it yet. At this point I have only had it running a few days, and I still have much to learn and set up. So far, I am happy with the purchase. I did have a problem that some Boost Mobile customers seem to have with Texting. If you do a Blackberry on Boost network, Boost Mobile Customer assistance can't help you. I had this problem, and sent a quick note to Boostberry.com tech support (which is free by the way). They had sent me a response within half an hour including a step by step fix, with the needed documentation to download to the Blackberry. All together my fix took less than an hour including the time it took to type out the description of the trouble on Boostberry.com. All in all, I am sold on Blackberry. Nextel may not be the best choice as a carrier though, and with Boost Mobile, you have Nextel signal area which definitely is limited to what it is with no sign of ever increasing. And forget about roaming since no other carrier has this particular network set-up. If that is an issue for you, go with a different Blackberry on a different carrier.

La Crosse Technology Weather Pro Center - WS-2810U

This thing is almost too easy to set up. From past experience, I expected more of a challenge, but basically, you just insert the supplied batteries to each sensor, remove the protective shield from the solar cell and you are in business. Put the batteries (batteries are included) into the main unit, and it should pick up the signals automatically. If it doesn't, or if you lose a signal, you can refresh the link from the individual units to the main display by pushing and holding down the "UP" button on main display. Once you have the weather station set up, you can go to their site to download software from La Crosse that allows all weather data to be logged and tracked over time. This is optional, but could be useful to help maintain the accuracy of the clock on the main display since it is updated from your PC clock. If you use the software, when you run the program it will tell you to refresh the link from the main station to the software. This link between your computer and the main weather station unit is achieved via a wireless transmitter that inserts into a USB port on your computer. To refresh the signals between the computer and main display, push and hold the "DOWN" button and click refresh on computer program setup screen. The display unit will find the computer, and you are in business. Note, if you shut down your computer, you will have to do a "refresh" to restart the link from computer if you are in a hurry, or just open the program and wait. The program will re-synch automatically when it next sends logged data to the computer. The main display and the computer program display have the following things included: Time display in 12/24 hour time format Automatic time and date (PC time) update from USB transceiver if connected Calendar display (date, month, year) Weather forecast with 3 weather icons (sunny, cloudy, and rainy) with weather tendency indicator Temperature display in °F/°C Humidity display in RH% Dew point display in °F/°C Wind chill display in °F / °C MIN/MAX values of indoor/outdoor temperature Indoor/outdoor humidity and Dew point display Time and date of recording Relative air pressure reading in inHg/hPa, 24h/72h history graph Selectable Wind speed displayed in mph, km/h, m/s, knots, and Beaufort scale Wind speed & direction with LCD compass display MAX records for wind gust with time & date of recording Rainfall display in inch/mm and Rainfall data for total rain, last hour, last 24h, last week, and last month Weather alarm modes: temperature, humidity, wind gust, wind direction, air pressure, 24h rain and storm warning with Buzzer on/off select, LCD contrast setting, Storage of 1750 sets of weather records with user selectable recording interval from 1 minute to 24 hours On the main station display you have the following buttons. They are multi-functioning as noted: Push "Set" to toggle between outside dew point and humidity. Push and Hold "Set" to toggle manual setup and manual time adjust (if you are not using the computer program). Push the up arrow to toggle between time and date modes, or to show PC Synch status. Push and hold up arrow to do manual re-synch of station to sensors. Push down arrow to toggle rain totals for last two hours, last 24 hours, last day, last week, last month and current year. Push and hold down arrow to do manual re-synch of computer and station. There is an alarm button to set buzzer alarm for pre-set values. There is a Min-Max button to toggle through all the minimum and maximum values by date and time. All of these functions are duplicated on the computer program. There are a lot of wireless links in the use of this station. You have one from the computer to the main unit. You have one from the main unit to the sensor for outside temperature and humidity. Then there are separate links from the wind sensor and the rain sensor that go to the outside temperature and humidity unit. This is my understanding of it anyway. This may impact how you place the sensor units. In theory, it could add effective distance to the rain and wind sensors since each step can be up to 200 feet (unobstructed), but in use it still is best to have all units as close to the main indoors display as possible, since transmission can be impacted by the walls of your house and other obstacles. The one problem I encountered in my installation was due to that issue. I planned to install the wind and rain sensors in my back yard on the south exposure. The manual suggests that it is best for the temperature/humidity sensor to be installed on the north side of the house where it can be shielded from direct exposure to rain and sun. The problem I had was because this arrangement leads to too many obstructions, and I started to lose various displays due to the blockage of signals. I had to build a small enclosure for the temperature/humidity sensor on the same side of the house as the rest of the sensors. Now everything is fine. A possible problem I see down the line would be due to the inevitable breakdown of plastic with direct exposure to the sun. These things need to be exposed to the weather to work accurately, but it is also the one thing that will lead to problems. But, in the past I have had one weather station that had zero break-down on the exposed plastic due to exposure to the sun, and one that lasted for around 10 years. I am not expecting problems here. Another potential problem is that the battery life of all but the wind sensor is unknown. The wind sensor battery should recharge from its supplied solar cell. But the other sensors have standard batteries and will need periodic replacement. This will require removal of the rain sensor from whatever you have it mounted on, since the battery access is on the bottom of the unit. There is slightly easier access to the temperature/humidity sensor, but ease of the battery change will depend on how and where you have it mounted. I have contacted customer service through their website due to the minor problem I had in the set up, as mentioned above. I had a response within 24 hours, including the "fix" and other related information I had not asked for, but which I am saving in case I need it later. As it turned out, I figured out that my problem was caused by too many obstructions to the signal before they responded. But, they did respond and the response had the correct solution in it. Since the Weather History Software is described below, I have had one recurring problem related to the logging of data only. Say for example that you have the software set to log your station data once per hour. You should be seeing the data logged one time per hour and only after the current time hits the current hour. As I write the review it is 4:30 PM and the unit is displaying data as if it were 5:00 PM. It is still before 6:00 PM as I write this, and the log suggests that it has data through 6:00, and what has been logged for the last few hours appears to be two sets of duplicate values. I tried a few various changes to settings to see if I could stop the behavior, but it does it no matter what I change. I notified Customer service about this and I just received this response: "Regarding Model Number: WS-2810U-IT Yes, there have been occasional instances of "spikes" of duplicate entries. The Data tab can be edited to delete the unwanted lines. To delete highlight the line or lines you with to delete and select the delete button (red x)." I agree, it is not much of a response, and I guess it is just one of those things. Of course, I had already determined you can just delete the duplicates, but if you miss them, you are left without the real value for that hour and duplicated values for the other hour if you miss the time to delete it. It would be one thing if it wrote over the duplicated values when it really reached that time, but it does not. You are left with a duplicate value and you lose the values that should have been on that hour. I only use the software to see the data in the computer room, and to update the clock on the main unit screen, so this is not an important feature for me. If it is for you, be aware of this potential problem. Weather history PC software Notes: The software stores collected weather data, creates graphs, synchronizes time/date, updates user settings and sets weather alarms. It works with Windows XP, Vista, Windows 7 Wireless USB transceiver: USB transceiver plugs into your PC to transfer collected weather data from your weather display with your PC Wireless rain sensor: Self-emptying bucket Transmission range: over 200 feet unobstructed Wireless solar-powered wind sensor - 100% solar-powered with built-in rechargeable power cell and efficient solar panel. Transmission range: over 200 feet unobstructed Wireless thermo-hygro sensor: Transmission of temperature and humidity data with transmission range: over 200 feet unobstructed Other Specifications: Indoor temperature range: -40°F to +139.8°F Outdoor temperature range: -40°F to +139.8°F Indoor humidity range: 1% to 99% Outdoor humidity range: 1% to 99% Wind speed / gust: 0 to 111.8 mph Wind chill: -40°F to +139.8°F Rainfall: 0" to 393.7" Power requirements: (Batteries Included) Receiver: 3 "C" Alkaline Batteries Thermo-hygro sensor: 2 "C" Alkaline Batteries Rain sensor: 2 "AA" Alkaline Batteries Wind sensor: Solar powered with internal battery for sunless periods Issues of note: In use this can at times drop the display for a while. this is especially true during rainy weather and this could be related to physical barriers blocking the signal in my setting. One more issue that has popped up is that the rain gauge part drops on occasion, and tends to be less than accurate over time.

Casio WV300DA-7A Watch for Men

This rectangular face dress watch has atomic time keeping, so unless you are in a poor reception area, it will receive the up to the nano-second time updates every early morning starting around mid-night. In earlier models, this auto-receive function happens up to 4-6 times, which depending on your watch could deplete the battery over time. That is not a problem with this particular watch. It still will make the attempt up to 6 times. In prior models, the update would continue to be received numerous times whether or not it was really needed. Hey, if it gets it right the first time, why bother with all the rest of the attempts? With this model, once the watch receives a current update, it dispenses with the other attempts saving the battery for other functions. If you want, you can also do a manual receive of the time update. This can be a bit tricky since the signal is easily interfered with and could be inadvertently blocked by you, or other signals that may be around during the day or prior to midnight. I have noticed with mine that the signal is almost always received on the first try just after midnight, so a manual update should almost never be needed. You can also set it manually if you prefer, but you will probably never need to worry about that. It has other battery saving features too. There is no real reason to have the display remain functioning in low light, so this model has a power saver that allows the display to sleep at night. If you want the view the time at low light and the display is blank, simply press any button, and it will return. Or, you can always press the backlight with afterglow. One other note, while the display is inactive, the other functions of the watch continue as needed. The alarm will sound, the time receive will function. Any counters you have going will continue to count. One thing that is increasing important for me is the feature that allows watches and clocks to automatically update for daylight savings time changes. This one does that flawlessly. Aside from all of the other common digital watch functions like; World time - 29 time zones (48 cities), City code display, Daylight saving on/off, 4 daily alarms and 1 snooze alarm, Countdown timer, 1/100 second stopwatch, Hourly time signal, Auto calendar, 12/24 hour formats, and being Water resistant- I may not have mentioned a cool feature yet. This watch is among a growing line of Casio watches that is solar powered. Built into the face of the display, is a solar cell that receives energy from the sun or a really bright light and uses that to power the watch or charge the battery. On the face of the watch you also have a battery charge indicator, and because it is also an atomic watch, you have a display showing the signal strength of the last update session. As noted, this is a dress watch, so with that in mind, the display is much less intrusive than with other non-dress watches, particularly in Casio's watch line-up. The battery and reception indicators are very small and unobtrusive. The default time keeping display shows the date or day of week, the current time with seconds. The other display functions are similar to other digital watch displays. This model as reviewed comes with a standard light green background with black numbers. You do have an option of getting this with a reversed display (black background with lighter numbers). I looked at that one and frankly found the display hard to see in any reduced light conditions. (Since writing the original review, the dark display model of this watch has been discontinued) I have tried atomic watches from a few other manufacturers prior to Casio releasing their first model, and Casio has gotten it right. Of the atomic watches I have had from Casio, I have never had a watch failure in any mode of use. And this one is no exception to that statement.

Pioneer GEX-XMP3 Satellite Radio Receiver

For the last few years, I have had and enjoyed my Pioneer Inno. When I heard Pioneer had a new upgraded version with similar and also improved features as the Inno, I jumped at it. As it turned out, I should have waited until I heard the XMP3 was as bullet proof as my Inno had been. For starters, the XMP3 has the look and feel of an MP3 player more than the Inno, which also has some MP3 capabilities. With the XMP3, you can record up to 100 hours of satellite radio content with 2 Gb of storage. If you want to use it for MP3 or WMA files, you have to purchase a separate microSD card. It has a slightly larger and clearer color display screen than the Inno, if you are familiar with that. It is much easier to read the XMP3 screen than that of the Inno. The XMP3 comes with everything you need to set it up as a home receiver. A car kit is available separately. You can also use it separately to listen live with included ear-buds if you have adequate exposure to a satellite. Or you can use it separately to listen to previously recorded content. It should be noted that if you listen “live” with the battery, listening time might be cut in half compared to listening to pre-recorded music. I used mine just for XM content, and I only used it as a portable to play pre-recorded content. The units as originally shipped had a few glitches in them that are due to firmware issues. You should check for the latest firmware available from XM. See their website for details and instructions to download the newest upgrade. For XM content, you can record up to 10 hours with the touch of a button. It also will record up to 5 channels at once. You can schedule the recordings one day a week, once a day, or once a month. It also auto-records up to 5 channels at a time. This feature can be turned off, which you might want to do since it will fill your available space up quite quickly. If you do use auto-record, you can let the XMP3 choose what channels you want to record. It will do this based on “remembering” channels you have stopped and listened to previously. Or, you can limit the channels it auto-records to channels you know you want to have in case other recordings are not available. The XMP3 has an option to see the upcoming programming on each channel. You can highlight from this list and tell it to record based on that listing schedule. The XMP3 also will allow you to “pause” a live program similar to the live TV pause button on DVR recorders. These are all features I liked, and I will miss them. I think the sound quality on mine was just a bit better than the Inno, or the other XM units I have tried. This may be because it has pre-installed settings for the type of music you are listening to. Try them. If you do not like the pre-set equalizer settings, you can leave them off. If you do get an XMP3, if you have a chance to get an extended warrantee, it might be worth it. The initial units sold seemed to have operational bugs. Some were related to the firmware version, but even if the firmware is upgraded, I have heard of units that have failed for various reasons. My XMP3 only lasted for two weeks before it died. I know of people who had to go back three times to find one that would function correctly. Then there were those that had no problems at all. Even so, when I decided to try one, I thought mine would be OK. I did not have the problems I had heard others having. Then, one day, I decided to delete some recorded content. One thing I deleted went without a hitch. The next one I tried, I got an error message that would not go away. I removed the battery to try to re-set the unit. That killed it for good. It started to cycle on and off by itself, and there was no way to recover any function. As prices drop, I would reconsider getting the XMP3.

Worx 19" Cordless Lawn Mower

For the last 10 years or so we have been using electric corded mowers. This is our first cord free mower.

It comes almost ready to use out of the box. You do have to charge the battery first. Out of the box it is set as a mulching mower, and that is how we use it. In order to use as a side discharge, all you have to do is open the side door and attach the included plastic discharge hood. To use with the included rear discharge bag, all you do is open the rear door and remove a baffle. Attach the bag collector and off you go.

It comes pre-assembled. You just unfold the handle and tighten and clamp down to set the handle. Then there is an adjustment that you can do to increase or decrease the angle of the handle. I guess this is an ergonomic adjustment. It is fair. It could have been a bit more adjustment, as the angle change is very minimal. The handle itself is much more comfortable than other mowers I have used, but these have been limited to electric corded mowers.

The deck height adjustment is more than adequate. I had been afraid reading the specs prior to purchase that I would not be able to adjust the deck as low as our mowers had been before, but this was not a problems. The adjustment is quick and easy, having one lever to adjust all four wheels.

The wheels are plastic, as the ones with my other electrics have been, but these wheels roll very quietly on cement. Their looks may be deceiving. One thing I do not care for in the design of the wheels is that the wheel base is a bit too long at least in the front. In our other mowers the front wheels are pretty close to the cutting area, making it easier to maneuver and actually cut. With this one, the front wheels extended out further from the cutting area, making it a bit more difficult to get in close to things you want to cut. If nothing more, it may take getting used to.

One benefit of this mower over the other cordless ones I looked at is that you can remove the battery when not in use. This allows storage out of a too hot or too cold garage. This should increase life of the battery, and it makes the mower 30 pounds lighter when you are putting it away after mowing. You can also leave the battery in the mower between uses.

To recharge, you just open the battery cover and disconnect the main power to the mower. Insert the cable from the charger, and when the battery is charged, the light on the charger goes from red to green. The battery has a group of lights that will tell you the remaining charge so you can check against how much grass you have and how much charge there is remaining just by pressing a button.

To mow, you just insert a safety key over the power button, and press until you feel a click. Then hold the button down as you grip and hold the switch lever to the handle. As long as you keep this gripped against the handle, the motor will run. If you release, the mower will stop, and you will have to re-start by repeating the procedure. I found this easy to do.

The actual process of mowing is quite simpler than using a corded mower. Just start the electric motor, and go. Electric corded mowers generally are quieter than gas mowers, but this one is so quiet you might wonder at first if it is actually going to be able to do the job. But, it does fine mowing and mulching the occasional dried leaves and small sticks you may run across. It is not self propelled, but is easy to push, even with the 30 pound battery. For our size lot, using our corded electric mower had been taking almost an hour for each mowing session- most of that just hauling the cord around, and trying not to cut it up in the process. Switching to the cord free mower, our lot took around half an hour to do. The specs suggest a run time of one full hour and coverage area of 12,000 square feet. Our lawn area is about half that, but is very irregular in shape. The irregular shape requires a bit more time than the more typical lawn we used to have. We had plenty of battery charge left to probably mow it one more time.

It has been a couple of years since we first used the Worx 19 inch cordless mower/mulcher and it is still going strong. All we do is make sure to clean the underside after each use and store the battery inside between uses and in winter to avoid temperature extremes.

December 2014 update- The battery worked earlier this season, but suddenly it seems not quite up to the job anymore. Now the task is how to find a replacement battery?