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I have been suffering from plantar fascitis for the past couple of years and things got even worse when I started playing tennis. Feet were really sore through the day and stepping out of bed was a nightmare. Visited a podiatrist and he recommended custom orthotics which I have been using for the past year and a half. I started looking for alternate options when they began to wear out and I did not want to shell out hundreds for the custom ones.



From my research on the internet, I shortlisted rigid orthotics from two brands - Moszkito and Spenco



I use both of them currently and have had good results, same as what I have got from my custom orthotics. I use the Moszkito on my dress shoes and Spenco on my sports shoes.



Spenco feels extremely comfortable and it fit in the shoes rightaway without any modifications. They feel less rigid than the Moszkito ones which hardly bend. The cost factor is defintely in favor of Spenco since they are way more affordable. For about $15.00, this is a gamble you defintely would not avoid to get rid of your foot/heel pain and if it works, you could fit all your shoes with a pair so that you do not have to move them around shoes.



Final take - If you are in pain, do not hesitate to give this a try. They work well for me. They may work well for you too! Spenco Rx Orthotic (3/4 Length), Women's 9-10 / Men's 8-9

Having worn custom orthotics, I was interested in trying the Spenco orthotic because it had a rigid base and was adjustable. The instructions for adjustment were very sparse, stating to place them in boiling water for 2 minutes and to then adjust as desired. This did not work for me, as I would have hoped that the plastic base would have been more malleable, and it was difficult to hold in position while waiting for it to cool. Customer service said to place it in a shallow pan of boiling water, turn the heat off and wait for 2 minutes and then adjust. This did not work for me either. Finally, I placed the orthotic in my bench vise to hold it in the adjustment that I wanted and used a heat gun to heat the plastic bottom of the orthotic. After leaving it in the vise for a few minutes to cool, it held the shape the I desired and they are very satisfactory to me.



I love the WARRANTY--one year UNCONDITIONAL warranty--if they do not help you or you are dissatisfied, return them to the manufacturer for a full refund--now that is confidence in their product!



The orthotics seem of good quality and their adjustability is a big selling point for me, though it is a little bit of a hassle to do the adjustment. If there is another brand that is adjustable, I would like to know it. I am considering buying a couple of more of these orthotics to have for each pair of shoes.'

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Panasonic Plasma - 50 inch, 3d

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To preface this I have had 2 P50ST30s (one replacement because of the problems I will talk about below) and Amazon was awesome with the whole return and replacement. One of the best companies I have dealt with. This is a very long review as I would like you to understand what you are buying beforehand.



ALL VERSIONS OF PANASONIC 2011 TVs ARE EXHIBITING THIS PROBLEM.



I was excited when I first set up my TV and took the time to age the phosphors in the TV for 150 hours by running slides (a step that can be skipped but the phosphors degrade in the first 100 hours faster than the rest of it's life). I set up the blu-ray player and after dialing in the settings it looked awesome. Then the brightness fluctuations happened.



The best way I can explain brightness fluctuations ( Fluctuating Brightness or FBr) is will be a leap in lighting. When you have a dark scene the whole picture will darken some to give more detail to a shadowed area. It is necessary to give great picture quality in any plasma. Normally what will happen is that it will gradually fade into darker or lighter, this TV does it all in one step. A drastic comparison would be a pitch black room where you turn a light on vs turning a dimmer light on gradually. What you see on the screen is picture that will switch from dark to lighter. It is most noticeable when you have 2 scenes switching back and forth (think dialogue between 2 characters where it switches between ones face to the other) and one scene is darker than the other. You can easily see this in the movie Hereafter around minute 40.



This problem is exacerbated by a delay in the video processing of the switch between darker scenes and lighter scenes. In almost all video they will have scenes cut and pasted together. When this happens the lighting usually will change for various reasons. When the scenes cut from one to another this TV will take about 0.5-1 second to process the lighting difference to adjust to give more detail to shadowed areas. Given that it does it in one leap as mentioned above, it severely distracts you from watching the movie and enjoying it.



Darker Movies will usually bring out these symptoms to it's max. When I went to watch Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1, I came to the point where I started counting the fluctuations instead of watching the movie. I counted 56 total in one watching. My wife didn't watch HP with me but she commented on it while watching Castle a few times, then more and more on other shows.



The reviews are definitely favorable as it has a great picture quality without doubt. Most professional reviewers mention fluctuating brightness problem, but gloss over it. Why they did I am not sure. It seems that some sets show this dramatically, while others don't. My first one (the one I counted 56 fluctuations on for HP) I would say was very bad compared to a slightly less worse one that I got the second time around. I re watched HP on the second one to see if I could just enjoy the movie, got to the point I started counting again and only counter 32 which were more tame but still easy to spot without even looking for them. To make sure it just wasn't me seeing things because I knew when they were, I made (yes she wasn't to happy about it) her watch Tron with me. We first started Tron in 2d and she saw it some; then I popped in the 3d disc and she was pointing it out in every other scene.



I placed a complaint with US Panasonic as this was unacceptable, trying to explain it the best as I am now. I was walked through changing multiple settings (CATS off, trying all modes, changing contrast and all other settings, using 3 different HDMI cables along with composite and component cables) with nothing relieving the issue. Their response was that this is a feature of the TV and that it was working properly. Some of their exact words in the email I later received were " the picture dimming (fluctuating brightness) is negligible and should be considered within the TV's design specification."



In Spain a gentleman Documented this for Panasonic to prove that something was wrong. If you would like to see how bad this is; there has been a video posted by a member of a great forum for high def junkies that shows this instance (Google " VT30 hereafter " and it will show in the youtube vids) if you would like to see exactly what I am talking about. The TV here was the VT series which is Panasonic's flagship model and cost well over $1,200 of this TV.



Since the posting of the above video Spain got a firmware update to 1.520. The same person posted the exact same scene with the same setup which you can also view by clicking on his name or clicking on it on the right hand side. It eliminates this problem, since then Europe Panasonic have acknowledged that there is something that they are looking into (circumventing saying there is a problem). But US Panasonic calls this a feature that is working as intended. Unlike US Panasonic which I have opened 2 cases with them about this problem, one for both TVs, and just receive it's a feature of the TV which is working properly...



I am hoping that this is heeded as a warning to many as I feel terrible about Amazon being outstanding in it's Customer Service trying to rectify what is obviously not their fault. I am a man that researches any large purchase to the T to try to avoid these problems. I weighed my options and since the professional reviewers either made no mention of this problem or said it was a minor problem; I decided to buy this Panasonic. I post this in hopes that those that do their research won't feel gypped as I do.



If you would like to read more comments a Facebook page was created in hope that it would have an effect as it did with Sony. It is on facebook under "My 2011 Panasonic TV is Defective".





UPDATE 7/26 : Various Panasonic emails have said that there will be an announcement this Wednesday 7/27. Also a A reliable higher up in Panasonic NA has said that there is a FW that will be aimed at fixing "panel dimming" very soon (this term has a different meaning then Fluctuating Brightness, but all other FW fixes in Europe that fixed the FBr were released to fix another problem). This could or could not be a fix to the above problems, but hopefully putting 2 and 2 together means we will be getting a FW fix this Wednesday. Whether this is a fix to the above problems or not remains to be seen. Since I published this report it has been confirmed that all European models are now shipped with the Firmware that fixes FBr, while here in NA it hasn't been addressed. Here is to hoping for a statement Wednesday.



*UPDATE* 8/6/11 : First there has been no true announcement from Panasonic NA as of yet. But after getting all the data collected and sent forward to the engineers (yes many people that owned the TV put in this work), the engineers were able to replicate the problem. Since then there is now a patch. This is not a Firmware update, instead it changes other "software" in the TV like the EEPROM. Since it is not strictly a Firmware update they cannot simply have your tv download it from the internet like normal. It REQUIRES, at least as of right now, a tech to come out to install it on your TV.



Note that this fix has been confirmed to be loaded on TVs coming from the factory now. When this change occurred I cannot tell you neither can anyone that you can talk to, so please do not hound amazon, Panasonic or any other retailer. I assume the earliest we will see TVs with this update will be very late July produced TVs if not August. If you decide to buy a TV from Amazon please just allow them to come out and patch the TV instead of sending it back. If you send it back Amazon has to eat the shipping and this is one company that tries it's hardest to help the customer. So please do not make them eat the cost or else they WILL eventually have to change the policies they have. It may take a few weeks to get the rep out, butit is worth it to allow amazon to keep its very lax and customer happiness driven CS.



Now onto the results :



I have had this patch on my TVs for 2 days now. I compiled a list of FBr material that was bad during the data collection phase before we passed this on to the Panasonic Engineers so I had a list prepared to test this afterward to see if it was fixed or not. Running through 20 of the worst scenes over 6 movies (Harry Potter Deathly Hallows 1, Tron, Casino Royale, Hereafter, Battlefield LA). In these movies I saw not 1 noticeable FBr ( I say noticeable because FBr is in the driving mechanism of this TV). I noticed only 1 instance of a small FBr in the movie The Rite, but it was under extreme circumstances (dark background to near white background with a shadowed face in a scene change). Besides that I also watched some streamed video (Master Chef, True Blood, Band of Brothers etc) and got the same results of no FBr. Gaming (Fallout 3, Dragon Age Origins and Gears of War 2) was also the same, no FBr.



Overall it fixed the problem almost completely, if not completely. This patch surpassed my expectations and Panasonic owned up and fixed a glaring problem. There have been 3 forum users that have this fix and posted about it. They all report the same thing.



If you have purchased this TV or any other Panasonic NA ST30, GT30 or VT30 and have the problems mentioned above please call 1-800-973-4390. This is Panasonic Concierge and this is the number that was requested to call by the engineers. Tell them you have Fluctuating Brightness. Low end techs have been sent a memo regarding this. Many are now receiving emails to set up appointments.



Because of this fix I have amended my score of the TV. For this price this TV is amazing. I reserved 5 stars for the Pioneer Kuro (the gold standard), 4 1/2 stars for the VT series and dk8000. This TV 4 stars is an undervaluation, but it is all I can do on here. Honestly it would be 4.25 taking into account the above TVs superiority. I cannot express how happy I am with this TV now that it is fixed.





****UPDATE 8/22/11****

They have a limited amount of panasonic qualified techs that can install the update via SD card and will NOT give out the SD card for local non-panasonic techs to install as it has proprietary software on it. To alleviate the problem they send a new a-board to local techs that has the patch preloaded. The tech can then come out and install the new a-board under warranty claim (all free to you).



It is a simple procedure and only takes 15 minutes. This a-board replacement doesn't void any warranty as it is done by Panasonic under Panasonic's warranty by a qualified tech.



*WARNING* the a-board swap AND the SD patch will wipe your calibration and the ISF day/night mode (ISF day/night is only available if you have the TV calibrated and the tech turns it on in the Service menu), if you had one done. If you decide to do either of the fixes I would suggest buying a backup program (like controlcal) to save your settings. You can then reload them after the patch. It has been noted by calibrators that after either of the fixes that you will get close to the same results with the old calibration, but they say you will need a touchup to gray scale and colors to be as accurate as possible.



From good sources it has been said that any August build TVs should have the fix pre-installed. Unfortunately the build date isn't on the outside of the box in the US. There is another way to check if it has been factory installed though. The 3-6 numbers in the serial number designate whether it has been fixed or not. These 4 numbers need to be 1215 or higher for the fix to be pre-installed. It will look like : xx1215xxxxxx .



Again if you order from Amazon, or any other online type store, they have no direct control on what comes out of the warehouse and you CANNOT request that it is an August build as they have no control on what goes out. If you want to be sure of what you get, you should buy local and specifically state you will only buy it if it meets those criteria.



The fix is easy enough to get that you should feel comfortable ordering this product. Don't order this product and expect a 1215. Instead order this product expecting to have the tech come out. You may get a set pre 1215 that has no FBr as about 50% of the people report that they have no problem without the patch or you may get a 1215 build, but you should go into it expecting what you will most likely get. Then anything else is a bonus. If you don't feel good about buying the TV and possibly getting a FBr one then I suggest not buying from online stores.



To those outside of the US. Panasonic divisions are completely separate as they use different components, different firmware etc so this fix is for US only. The US division is sharing this info with EU, Canada, Australia etc to try to get this problem fixed with those TVs also. The other countries are still in the beginning stages so don't expect them to be exactly where the US is as the other countries have to test, document, confirm, create a fix (using different components/software mean they just can't copy/paste the US fix to theirs) and then test the fix. I cannot give you an update on outside of US, but I would suggest that you make your voice heard by opening tickets and speaking out about the problem.



Lastly for those that do have the TV or those that are willing to buy the TV and get the fix after. Call up Panasonic Concierge at 1-800-973-4390 . Allow them to walk you through the steps they have and try them as it is possible that it could fix your problem. If they walk you through that and you still see the FBr they should have received info on how to push it to the next level. To make sure here is the Document that they can look up regarding this issue :



Service Hint ('A' Board replacement to fix the 'brightness fluctuation" in the ST30/GT30/VT30).

SH-B34-11-03-REV



A majority of this info is me simply condensing what many others have done to get this in place. Thanks go to the great people of highdefjunkies.com especially 3 in particular, D-Nice for his initial findings and universal knowledge; AVjunkie and Gotchaa who helped consolidate/voice our problems to the techs. Panasonic VIERA TC-P50ST30 50-Inch 1080p 3D Plasma HDTV - 3d - Panasonic - 50 Inch - Hdtv'

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Humanitarian - king of pop, boxed set

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No one can dispute Michael Jackson's dominance over pop music and his far reaching influence; music, dance, fashion, video, humanitarianism, generosity -- he was at the forefront of it all and remains unmatched. Like any true legend, even in death, MJ continues to be a force of creativity and inspiration to millions. And now, finally, his revolutionary short films are available for all to own and enjoy on DVD, and I for one, am thrilled!



I've been looking forward to this DVD box set ever since Michael died. It doesn't take a genius or clairvoyant to know we're in store for many wonderful projects to come, headlining the King of Pop. Some call this opportunistic; bleeding MJ fans for money. But I don't see it that way -- the estates and legacies of Elvis, Marilyn Monroe, James Dean, etc. continue to live on with various merchandising deals, and so too, will MJ. He has MORE than earned his place in history, and I for one, look forward to all that's yet to come. In the meantime, I scoured the internet for rare gems like "Ghosts" and the controversial prison version of the video "They Don't Care About Us." But the quality of the unofficial footage out there is pretty terrible, so I'm really excited to finally own all these great masterpieces, fully restored and re-mastered to look and sound better than ever before! With over 40 videos totaling 4.5 hours of wall to wall MJ, and 10 previously unreleased short films, this is the one and only, truly definitive MJ collection on DVD to date.



I only hope that someday, they also release this on a USB flash drive, like they did for THIS IS IT (USB). I have that one on both Blu-Ray and USB (which I transferred to my hard drive) and I really enjoy having the video file on my computer for fast and easy access. If I want to sit and watch the whole movie, I pop in the Blu-Ray; if I just want to watch a particular moment or song on impulse, then I simply click on the video file on my computer and instantly go to the song I want. It's really awesome to be able to do that, so I hope they release something similar for Michael Jackson's Vision on USB. I would love to have the same instant access to all MJ's videos just sitting there on my computer hard drive! Who needs DVDs; they're so yesterday! But they are ideal for archiving, which is exactly what makes this DVD so special. I consider owning this treasured collection to be the same as possessing personal mementos and photos of my own life; both are part of my past and conjure fond memories, yet remain as real and alive today as when I first experienced them.



Speaking of archives, it's worth mentioning that Michael's "Thriller" short film is the one and only music video to ever be inducted into the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress; an honor bestowed on only a handful of films to date, and MJ is the only musician to receive such an honor.



Along with all the great videos, both classic and unreleased, this box set comes with a 60 page glossy collector's book featuring the King of Pop; adding yet another treasure to enjoy along with the DVDs themselves. This is truly, a one of a kind box set that any fan will be proud to own. And it's a fitting tribute to such a rare and special man.



Here's the complete track list of these awesome DVD's and their short film masterpieces:





DISC 1



1 - Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough (4:12)

Director: Nick Saxton



2 - Rock With You (3:22)

Director: Bruce Gowers



3 - She's Out of My Life (3:35)

Director: Bruce Gowers



4 - Billie Jean (4:54)

Director: Steve Barron



5 - Beat It (4:57)

Director: Bob Giraldi



6 - Thriller (13:42)

Director: John Landis (little more need be said about this one, but it co-starred Ola Ray, and was famously voiced over by Vincent Price.)



7 - Bad (18:05)

Director: Martin Scorsese (co-starring Wesley Snipes)



8 - The Way You Make Me Feel (9:24)

Director: Joe Pytka (with a cameo by La Toya Jackson)



9 - Man In the Mirror (5:03)

Director: Don Wilson



10 - Dirty Diana (5:05)

Director: Joe Pytka



11 - Smooth Criminal (9:27)

Director: Colin Chilvers



12 - Another Part of Me (4:45)

Director: Patrick T. Kelly



13 - Speed Demon (10:08)

Director: Will Vinton



14 - Come Together (5:40)

Director: Jerry Kramer & Colin Chilvers



15 - Leave Me Alone (4:36)

Director: Jim Blashfield and Paul Diener



16 - Liberian Girl (5:34)

Director: Jim Yukich(featuring VIRTUALLY EVERYONE important, hip and happening in Hollywood at the time: dedicated to Elizabeth Taylor and featuring Steven Spielberg, John Travolta, Paula Abdul and waaaaaaay too many others to mention. There's even a cute moment with Weird Al Yankovic who used to spoof MJ! Fun! And shows what clout MJ had to get all those big names.)



Total Disc 1: 1hr 52min





DISC 2



1 - Black or White (11:01)

Director: John Landis (with Macaulay Culkin, George Wendt and a small bit featuring Tyra Banks)



2 - Remember The Time (9:16)

Director: John Singleton (co-starring Eddie Murphy, Iman and Magic Johnson)



3 - In the Closet (6:05)

Director: Herb Ritts (co-starring Naomi Campbell)



4 - Jam (7:59)

Director: David Nelson (co-starring Michael Jordan)



5 - Heal The World (7:32)

Director: Joe Pytka



6 - Give In To Me (5:29)

Director: Andy Morahan



7 - Who Is It (6:34)

Director: David Fincher



8 - Will You Be There (5:55)

Director: Vincent Paterson (Theme from the movie Free Willy)



9 - Gone Too Soon (3:38)

Director: Bill DiCicco (Dedicated to Ryan White, who, before he died, spoke about how much it meant to him that MJ would get in a hot tub with him back when people wouldn't even touch a person with HIV/AIDS.)



10 - Scream (4:47)

Director: Mark Romanek (co-starring the impeccable Janet Jackson!)



11 - Childhood (4:29)

Director: Nicholas Brandt (Theme from the movie Free Willy 2)



12 - You Are Not Alone (5:34)

Director: Wayne Isham (with Lisa Marie Presley)



13 - Earth Song (6:44)

Director: Nicholas Brandt (WOW!! This is the one Joe Jackson proudly called his all time favorite MJ song!)



14 - They Don't Care About Us (7:08)

Director: Spike Lee



15 - Stranger In Moscow (5:33)

Director: Nicholas Brandt



16 - Blood On The Dance Floor (5:27)

Director: Michael Jackson & Vincent Patterson



17 - Ghosts (3:58)

Director: Stan Winston (featuring MJ in a great disguise!! Allegedly spoofing the Santa Barbara DA)



18 - You Rock My World (13:30)

Director: Paul Hunter (co-starring Chris Tucker from Rush Hour! AND none other than Academy Award Winner, Marlon Brando!)



19 - Cry (4:57)

Director: Nick Brandt (a really nice lost gem of a song and video)



Total Disc 2: 2hrs 5min





DISC 3 (Bonus Features)



1 - Blame It On the Boogie - The Jacksons (3:32)



2 - Enjoy Yourself - The Jacksons (3:31)



3 - Can You Feel It - The Jacksons (9:37)



4 - Say Say Say - Paul McCartney & Michael Jackson (4:57)

Director: Bob Giraldi



5 - They Don't Care About Us - Prison version (4:52)

Director: Spike Lee



6 - Why? - 3T (Tito's kids' band) featuring Michael Jackson (4:33)



7 - One More Chance - previously unreleased (4:03)



Total Disc 3: 35min





That's quite a collection of short films! The only one really missing is Disney's Captain EO! Which BTW, had the help of none other than George Lucas. No other artist in history has worked with so many top A-List people in their videos. Only Michael could reach such a wide spectrum, break down all barriers and make something like that happen. The man remains a rare and special anomaly. Bravo Michael!





Bottom Line -- if you're a fan of Michael Jackson, then you can't go wrong with this beautiful DVD box set. And it's even reasonably priced, considering who it is and all that's on here! I know this is something I'll treasure forever. The words "special" and "genius" are bandied about far too freely, but in this instance, the man truly lives up to the meaning of those words, and then some! Thank you Michael, for all you have given, and continue to give us all.



MJ Forever! Michael Jackson's Vision - Legend - Dvd - King Of Pop - Boxed Set'

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Dragon Naturally Spe - voice recognition, voice recognition software

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I upgraded from Dragon NaturallySpeaking version 9.5 to version 10.1. I was motivated by the fact that I was upgrading my operating system to Windows 7. There are no versions of Dragon NaturallySpeaking below version 10.1 that will work either on Windows 7, or on a 64-bit operating system. So if you are getting a new computer, and you want to use Dragon, you will definitely have to buy version 10.1.



I was pleasantly surprised to find that the upgraded version is more accurate than the older version. It is also extremely easy to train. I dictated several paragraphs to the program, taking less than one half hour, and that was all it took for the program to start recognizing my speech accurately. I do back up my user files to use when I reinstall my operating system, but there is really not that much need to do that since the program is so easy to train. Another feature related to training that may interest prospective buyers is that when you set the program up you can specify a number of English dialects, including Southern, Great Lakes region, Spanish accented, Indian accented, British, etc.



I found that installing this program was only moderately aggravating. I believe that you need to close certain applications before the installation will complete, and sometimes doing this involves invoking the task manager. The last time I installed it, it offered to close the offending applications itself, and the installation process went fairly smoothly.



I like to joke that Dragon NaturallySpeaking always spells everything correctly, but it doesn't necessarily get all the words just right, so a spellchecker is useless in picking up the glitches of the program. And there are glitches. I find that in general I have to make a correction or two every paragraph. For example, in the previous paragraph, Dragon interpreted the word my as being may. The glitches may be corrected verbally very easily, though occasionally you may want to type in the correct word. I find in general that I am able to produce text much more quickly using Dragon then by typing, and my hands appreciate not having to actually type. Since I got acclimatized to using Dragon NaturallySpeaking, I will reach for my headset out of habit before tackling my e-mail or dictating text such as what I am creating now.



Dragon NaturallySpeaking it is natively compatible with Microsoft programs, though it is hit and miss with other programs. For example, I use Thunderbird as my e-mail client, and I have to make allowances for the fact that Dragon does not dictate well into the e-mail pane. The workaround is very easy: establish a cursor where you want to start dictating, then click tools> dictation box, and then you're able to dictate whatever you want into the dictation box. When you want to transfer your text into the text pane, click or say "Transfer", and your text appears where you want it to be. Sometimes you can be surprised as to what Dragon will work with. My instant messenger is AIM, and Dragon NaturallySpeaking works perfectly well with it so I can talk rather than typing the text messages.



Another issue with Dragon NaturallySpeaking is microphones. It ships with a cheap headset microphone that you can use to get started with. You'll find, however, that upgrading to a noise canceling headset microphone increases your dictation accuracy rather sharply. I would advise looking for a USB microphone in the $30 and up range if shopping for an upgrade. One lesson that I found out the hard way is that if you start dictating with one microphone, and then you acquire another microphone and want to start dictating with that, the user profile for the previous microphone will not recognize your speech. What you need to do if you upgrade your microphone is to start a new user profile. This is how you do it: click "naturally speaking", then go to "manage users", and then click "new". This will get you started creating a new user profile. You will need to go through training again, but I do not consider this to be a real big deal, personally.



I REALLY like this program, and I would not consider going without it. I recommend it to anybody who either has trouble typing or does a lot of typing, in fact I recommend it to anybody who might be interested!



*********************************************************



This is an amendment to my previous review. I recently found out that Windows 7 has speech recognition built into it for free! At least the Home Premium and up versions. A friend clued me in to this fact. She is quite happy with the Windows 7 version of Speech recognition. I just gave the Windows version of speech recognition a try, and if I had to choose, with price not being an issue, I think I would still choose Dragon NaturallySpeaking. I did not try the Windows version very thoroughly, but I find that when I try to dictate an e-mail with the Windows version, it creates a very small text box to dictate into. I find that this box is excessively small, and really you can only dictate a sentence at a time into it. In the Dragon version, the text box that I use to dictate my e-mails into is quite large, and if I have a lot to say, it will create a scroll bar so that I can go back and reread my dictation before inserting it. Like Dragon, I believe that the Windows speech recognition program really works best with Microsoft applications. (My e-mail program is not a Microsoft application). But I sure wish that I had known about the Windows version when I upgraded my Dragon version. How do you find the Windows 7 Speech Recognition program? Just click on the "Start" button of Window 7, and type "speech recognition". In the upper left corner of the window, the name of the program appears. If it is highlighted, then you can launch it by pressing "Enter". If it is not highlighted, click on the name. If you intend to use the program often, you can right-click on the name, and choose "Pin to Taskbar", "Pin to Start Menu", or "Send To > Desktop". Dragon Naturally Speaking 10.1 Preferred with Headset - complete package - Speech Recognition - Voice To Text - Voice Recognition - Voice Recognition Software'

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Micro Sd Card - cell phone memory, micro sd

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The Kingston 8 GB microSDHC Card works flawlessly with all my memory card readers: Kingston Mobilite, Kingston microSD Card Reader, and SD Card Reader. Windows (XP) has no trouble recognizing it as a removable drive.



- Device Compatibility

Using a microSDHC to MS PRO Duo Adapter, I am able to use the Kingston 8GB microSD in my Sony Cybershot DSC-W170 Camera -- it works like a charm; the camera has no trouble capturing pictures and videos (at a frame frate of 30 fps and a resolution of 640 x 480 pixels). All of my devices, such as my Garmin nüvi 360 and my HP iPAQ 111, are able to recognize the full capacity of the SD card.



- microSDHC Format

microSD cards of 4GB or larger are known more specifically as microSDHC cards. This 8GB Kingston card is therefore a microSDHC card. Beware that some older devices are NOT compatible with the microSDHC format. Such devices will only work with microSD cards with capacities of 2GB (such as this Kingston 2GB microSD card) or less.



(The technical specification for the SDHC/microSDHC format supports capacities ranging from 4GB - 32 GB. microSDHC cards of 16GB, such as this Kingston 16GB microSDHC card, is the largest capacity available as of this writing.)



- Class 4 Speed

This SD card is rated class 4 (data transfer rate: 4 MByte/sec, or 32 mbps) - sufficiently fast for the majority of electronics. A decidedly small number of electronics, most notably some camcorders and high-end cameras, require a class 6 SD card (the fastest transfer rate as of this writing). Transcend makes one that's rated class 6.



- Frustration-Free Packaging

Kudos to Amazon for their Frustration-Free Packaging efforts in using only recyclable packaging materials and in keeping the amount of packaging used to a bare minimum. As a giant in the e-tailing industry, Amazon's move will no doubt serve as an impetus for getting the rest of the e-tailers to follow suit!



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The Kingston memory card is compatible with devices that support the microSDHC format. It is a fast (class 4) memory card with plenty of storage. Definitely recommended if the specs meet your needs! Kingston 8 GB microSDHC Class 4 Flash Memory Card SDC4/8GB

I didn't see any reviews for this product, so I wanted to let you know that the 8GB (7.4GB usable) works on my BlackBerry 8310.



Interestingly, although the BB showed 8GB with the new card, I only saw 4GB (3.2 or 3.4GB usable) when I first connected to my laptop and the computer asked to format the card when I enabled Mass Storage Mode (I used this mode to drag and drop into the BB). I could only see 4GB on my work computer as well.



However, after standalone reformatting the card (to FAT32) on my friends Compaq both of my computers (and phone) now properly see it as an 8GB card. My computer and phone information is below.



laptop: Win XP Pro w/ 4.2.2.12 BB Desktop Manager

work computer: BB desktop manager 4.6.0.12 with win2k pro

phone: curve 8310 with firmware: v4.2.2.170 and AT&T as provider



I'm looking forward to using the expanded storage!

I bought the Kingston 4gb micro SDHC card for my Blackberry 8830. At the current time, my particular Blackberry cannot accommodate a card larger than 4 gb, due to OS software that is not yet up to speed. The Kingston card is every bit as good as the more popular brands, with the exception of having a lower price. Be aware that using the included SD adapter is great...HOWEVER, if your laptop or desktop SD reader is not rated to read HC (high capacity) cards, then you may not be able to view the contents of the card or make changes using your computer(s). This happened to me, so I purchased a $10 USB SDHC card reader, and now I can use these higher-capacity cards in both my older laptop and desktop SD drives. Of course you can transfer data via a direct connection with your cell phone, for example, but it usually takes longer to do it that way.

Yes folks, unless you are absolutely sure about the vendor's reputation, I would say that most of the flash memory cards sold on line are fakes. This really is a huge problem since most of the buyers are unaware of this. So, what exactly is a fake? These are usually inferior graded flash memory that has been used to "upgrade" to an apparent higher capacity card with a name brand manufacturer's sticker on it. This type of counterfeiting is no different than selling bogus Rolex watches at greatly discounted prices. But the bigger and more insidious problem with bogus flash cards is that the customer is not aware of it, unlike the phony Rolex's where the buyer usually knows that they are knockoffs. The card may fail right away, or as more typically happens, they will work for a while and then fail...leaving the owner not a clue as to what went wrong. I purchased a Kingston flash card before our trip to Asia. Everything was going fine until we had snapped just over 100 photos. We were in Shanghai, right after our run through of Japan. The camera would not snap any more pictures indicating that there was a problem (I don't remember the actual message). In addition, we couldn't view any of the photos we had already taken. We thought at that moment that disaster had struck and we had lost all of our precious photos. A savvier member of our traveling group suggested that I might bring the card to photo/electronics shop, as they might still be able to retrieve the photos from the defective card. So here I am running around Shanghai trying to find the proper place to have surgery done on our flash memory card. We finally found a place, but it wasn't cheap. We paid $145 to retrieve the photos, and except for a few, we were able to salvage most. Considering what we spent for the trip overall, it was worth it. But it was also an expensive lesson. Before entrusting your photos to a flash memory card, make sure that you have purchased it from a reputable dealer. And regardless of where you might have purchased it, test the card before using it. There a number of software applications you can run from your pc to do this. I now use "h2testw" to test my flash cards after purchase and before using. It's a free download, just google to find it. You can also get more info on this problem by googleing "fake flash memory cards". I'm posting this on Amazon, because of a previous poster reviewing and reporting his discovery of the fake card he received from this vendor. This vendor is still here, and apparently still selling this memory card even after the buyer reported it to Amazon. So, let the buyer beware, and do his due diligence when buying these items. - Micro Sd - Cell Phone Memory - 8gb Sdhc - Memory Card'

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Milwaukee M18 - drill, lithium-ion

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I recently owned a Makita set so I will compare the two. I use the tools every day in remodel and new construction work.

* The Milwaukee is slightly heavier, but still easy to use.

* The belt clip on tool base is very useful. Makita doesn't have same feature.

* Battery life seems to be the same. I love the charge level indicator on the battery, but when it is dead, it stops immediately, no gradual loss.

* The hard plastic carry case will last much longer than the Makita cordura bag, which was pretty beat up after six months of use.

* Both brands have a use light above trigger but Makita's will glow for a short stretch after trigger release whereas the Milwaukee turns off immediately.

* Makita also has the glow ring on the impact driver that makes finding it in the dark easier, very handy.

* The Milwaukee impact driver has a rubber bumper strip on both sides of the nose for friction protection [nice] but one end on both sides come unattached with very little use [annoying]. I had to super glue them in place and they have held for several weeks.

* I anticipate no difference in tool life and durability having used both tool brands for many years. Milwaukee 2691-22 18-Volt Compact Drill and Impact Driver Combo Kit

After owning two of the white Makita lith-ion drills I had to return both of them because the charger kept killing the batteries dead. From what I have read this is a known problem.



Here is what I like better about the Milwaukee.



First the charger does not kill the $80 batteries no matter how long you leave them on the charger. Second, the Milwaukee has a great battery charge indicator right on the battery. This is very important with Lith-Ion batteries as they have full power right up to the end and quit without warning. With is level gauge you know exactly how much battery life you have when you grab your drill. Third, the Milwaukee drill has bit storage on board, handy for philips and reg bits. Lastly the red color holds up much better then white.



Hope this helps.

Recently I've been doing a lot of work around the house getting ready for winter. I went to Home Depot looking for an impact driver (something that could easily drive 4-6 inch lag screws and 8-10 inch Timberlock screws). The Makita and Milwaukee impact drivers seemed to outperform any others available. I chose the Milwaukee based on prior experience with this brand AND final sale price of $225.00 for the set (versus $275 for the Makita). Right out of the box there was enough charge in the battery to finish driving several timber screws in a drain box I was repairing. I've been very impressed with the weight, durability, and performance of this set. The torque in the impact driver is eye-popping. No buyer's remorse for this tool purchase.

After having Makita products in the past, I chose to buy this Milwaukee drill after the Makita Lithium Ion drills had concerns about wobbly chucks and poor batteries. I received the drill and immediately liked it. The weight, size, trigger control, etc. were all fantastic. The best drill I ever handled. So I took my new drill to put up several blinds and thought the new quick change bit set I bought was junk. Everything was wobbling and it was even hard to put in the screws. I went down to the shop and started going through some other bits. Every one of them wobbled. So, I pulled out my old Makita and the wobbling was immediately gone. I was in the middle of a bunch of different projects, so I went to a local store and picked up another Milwaukee. I got it home and the same problem. They both wobble like nothing I've seen before. Beware, others say Makita has wobble problems, but in my case 2 Milwaukee compact drills from two different stores have suffered from wobbly chucks, while I've never seen a Makita with this problem. There's definitely some quality control issues at Milwaukee with these drills.

I'm a hobbyist...a retired car nut. I like good tools, and in this case, I wanted a cordless drill with lots of power, and a keyless chuck that would hold a drill bit without slipping. I haven't used my new Milwaukee drill and impact driver much yet, but my initial impression is very positive, with one exception: battery life. Both pieces have all the power you could ask for, and they're light and well-balanced. They feel good in your hand...not over-bulky or lop-sided. The chuck on the drill grabs great, and doesn't spin on the drill bits, but I noticed the battery charge getting low after about 30 holes in sheet metal. Battery charge lasted a little better on the impact driver...I don't know if the drill just pulls more charge out of the battery, or maybe my drill battery happened to be weaker than the driver one. In any case, the battery charge indicator lets you know where you're at (after you put the battery on the charger), and the batteries recharge in a relatively short time. I questioned at first, why I'd need or want an impact driver if I had a powerful drill. Won't they do basically, the same thing? The impact driver gives you much greater control in driving screws. I was able to drive about 75 sheet metal screws into thick sheet metal without boogering up a single phillips head or twisting off a single screw. I know that using a drill to drive those screws, I'd have had about a 75% success rate at best. For me, these are great...for a contractor or someone working for a living, you'd want to have a handful of batteries so you can keep going.

How could a craftsman who's bought Milwaukee tools for over 20 years, (and many are Still in constant use), mark a "one star"? Two reasons: very very poor engineering and cheap brittle plastic. First of all I should have realized a change when my trusty 'ol 18 volt nicad Milwaukee drill slid off a chair onto a wood floor - and the handle snapped in half! Luckily I could buy the case, and after 2 hours of reassembly it is functioning again. Their plastic looks maleable, it is an illusion - it is incredibly brittle. The opposite of what is needed in a 'Heavy Duty" tool. So I should have known better than to buy this new set. I could find nothing amiss with the impact driver - it looks like good ol Milwaukee quality. But, believe me or not, the driver drill snapped in half too! And this was one half hour out of the box, drilling studs with a 1" spade bit for wiring. The bit caught on a knot, I resisted, and the drill snapped. Same brittle plastic. But far worse is the engineering / design of the drill. On a cursory inspection it looks strongly built. It's totally an illusion. All that holds the drill motor to the handle is two tiny pieces of brittle plastic hidden under pretty coverings.

Amazon prime is wonderful, they refunded in full in short order. I so regret I did not take pictures of this pathetically designed tool broken in two in my hands! And I am no gorilla -( like those who still respect these Chinese made Milwaukees may need to presume). For me, 20 years of supporting them has come to an end until I learn they have recalled this tool And changed their plastic formulation. Next day I went out and bought a Bosch set, nearly the same price, with even better specs on torque. (Bosch CLPK23-180 18V 2-Tool Litheon Combo Kit) After careful inspection and hard use I can say they are designed very well. It seems Bosch hasn't gone the route of Milwaukee. Whew. My partner uses a Makita set, and as can certainly happen on a job site, eventually one fell a story and half. We just picked it up and kept going, as it should be. Makita is not quite as well built IMHO, but certainly a good second choice. I have never written a review before, hope it's useful. - Combo Packs - Milwaukee M18 - Drill - Lithium-ion'

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Woodworking - bandsaw, woodworking

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I searched and searched and finally came to the conclusion that for the average home woodworker's budget, there are three types of bandsaws. Cheap ones that you will wish you didn't buy (think 12" saws made in China and sold at the big box stores), medium priced saws that are ok but have some serious shortcomings (think of the Delta and Jet low-medium priced models), and saws that are good but expensive (Powermatic and Delta X5). After reading absolutely everything written on the subject in the past 5 years (I am a librarian after all) I decided that this Grizzly saw deserves a category of its own. Though it is priced closer to the "cheap" category than the other two, it sports features and performance that are much closer to the "expensive" saw category.



Now that I own this saw I can say that my experience supports my research and vica-versa. Once it was properly set up, this saw has minimal vibration and I quickly came to appreciate features such as a great stand, excellent blade guides, a decent sized table (ground to a nice finish), blade quick-detentioner, a smooth running powerful motor, and a lightweight yet strong and accurate fence and rail system. Did I mention the stand? I am almost embarrased to go on about it, but from the pictures I was expecting a cheapo thin sheet metal stand that I would replace asap. Boy was I wrong. This stand is HEAVY gauge metal and bolts together quickly and perfectly to form a rock solid platform for this saw. I will never bother to change it. I am also well pleased with the power of the 1hp motor. I almost spent hundreds more for the Jet 1.25hp model and am really glad I didn't. With the 6" riser block and an average quality Olson resaw blade installed I have been able to resaw some HARD, 12" wide old growth pine into beautiful bookmatched pieces without so much as a stutter. I wasn't terribly gentle with the feed rate either. It has also handled resawing 6" white oak and walnut with ease.



Overall I can't say enough good things about this saw. The power is excellent, the features all exceed the hype, and the price is outstanding compared to the competition. I highly recommend this product and give Grizzly an A+ for offering high quality at such a great price. Grizzly G0555 The Ultimate 14" Bandsaw

After many months of agonized research, the decision was made to purchase this saw. I figured that because it was less expensive, it must be inferior. That is simply wrong. This saw has now been in service for over a year. It has run two-to-four hours a day, 5 days a week, for 13 months. The saw has never had a mechanical problem. The fence is still dead on. The motor has NEVER stalled, even when ripping 8/4 oak. I saved enough money buying this saw a year ago, and am so incredibly impressed, that now I am buying a second one. The second saw will have cool-blocks and keep a 1/8 inch blade permanently mounted. Both saws will cost less than ONE Delta. And the delta does not even have a fence.Also, the blade tensioning and release is much superior, and the dust collection is a a 4 inch port instead of 2 1/2 inch plastic piece that gets in the way.The saws arrived with one 3/8's inch blade that is 92 1/2 inches long. The only vendor that I have found for that lengh blade is Grizzly and it now seems that they are discontinuing their stock.The table tilt mechanism works well for a saw of this size. The rails for the fence are long enough to be able to mount the fence in FRONT of the blade when the saw is tilted. This was a very pleasant surprise.The handle broke off of the miter in the first months after my purchase. Customer service was fast, and accurate, and professional. The replacement part arrived in less than 72 hours.All-in-All... This is the best saw at this size on the market today.

I have delayed writing this review because I wanted several months and board feet under my belt before making comment. As my title suggests, it is a fine band saw for the money -- certainly a lot better than my old Craftsman 14"er that it replaced.



I'll get my complaints out of the way first:



1. The blade it comes with, and the other Grizzly blades I bought, are poor, poor blades. They go dull very, very quickly. I ended up buying a 3/4" 3tpi Lennox 92.5" Classic bi-metal and things improved dramatically.



2. The saw does not have a light to illuminate the blade and cutting area. Even my old Craftsman had a decent light to help see the work in progress.



3. Dust collection is barely adequate - even with the 4" chute and my 4" collection hoses. It leaves a lot of dust on the table and around the saw.



Now to what I like about it, in no particular order:



1. I love the table and fence system. The fence is easy to move and remove and accurate enough for my needs.



2. It is fairly quite and vibration free.



3. It handles re-sawing (with the Lennox blade) with ease. I re-saw 3" maple and walnut, and 4" Western Red Cedar, and the saw/saw blade handles it well.



4. Centering the blade is very easy with a handy knob that can be turned to adjust the blade and then locked in place.



5. Set-up was straight-forward and fairly easy.



6. Access to the blade and wheels is easy via the pop-open doors.



Overall, I am very satisfied with this band saw. I would buy it again, and would recommend it to my friends.

I now have three bandsaws... From 11" 12" and now the Grizzly 14".. and I must compare them all and my Jet 12" is a superior saw for general use... The Grizzly Ultimate is a close runner.. The Grizzly Ultimate 14" saw is not as smooth as I would have expected it to be.. A good product none the less and if it were my only saw I would have graded it at least 4.5 stars but since I can compare I've got to say the Jet 12" is a better, smoother, cleaner, quieter and more handsome saw.. (Just for comparative reasons alone) The Grizzly Ultimate does have some vibration and is a little more noisy.. Also, the saw is not what I call properly balanced on it's stand... Can be tilted forward (towards you) with ease.. Outstanding features on the Grizzly however... The rip fence and miter is super and works great... resawing is a breeze even at a max height of 6".. My saw arrived in perfect condition, easy to assemble and setup... Was up and running in less then an hour.. comes with a crappy blade installed but good enough for setup and general sawing I spose... No wheel brush but has a large 4" dust port.. All and all for the price and quality of the saw is super. Sorry Grizzly, you'll have to settle for Silver on this one as I have to place my JET in the Gold.... If only I hadn't compared this saw I wouldn't have known better.. - Woodworking - Riser - Grizzly - Bandsaw'

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