Reports by Consumers

A television news report announced that because of contracts with companies like Matel, 90% of all toys sold in the U.S. are manufactured in China. Few Chinese children will ever play with such toys. Autom Catholic Religious Goods catalogues advertise inexpensive articles, almost all from China. However, all of it is reserved to foreign export and domestic circulation would be regarded a crime. Heck, even my DVD Player has “Made in China” on the back.

We browsed Tony Vincent’s website www.learninginhand.com. Here, I read some articles on using the Handhelds, browsed at pictures, and view some sample lesson plans. This site is helpful as a source of information to some of our class assignments.

I wanted to upgrade the RAM in my laptop from 1 GB to 2 GB and I looked for the cheapest deal I could find on the Internet. I came across ECost.com and I found the Kingston memory for $30 cheaper than I could buy it directly from the manufacturer. So, I ordered the memory as the website said it was "in stock". I pay for the 2 chips and chose the option for overnight delivery. A few hours later I checked the status of the order and it said the items were backordered. I called ECost and could not get a hold of anyone. I sent an email which was not replied to for over 24 hours. Finally, after 2 days, I got them to release the hold on my credit card and cancel the order.

Fast forward a few years. iTunes (and other similar music services) have now made the game fair. You pay for what you want. But the game is still unfair in the world of movies. Why should anyone pay over $20 (for two; even more for families) for watching a movie in a theater when you can watch it for much less a few months later on DVD or on-demand. And if you are patient enough, you can watch it on television for free later on.

Opera Mini is a free download for mobile phones. It also can be delivered to handhelds by way of text messaging. The software is for handsets that are capable of running Java applets. Most current mobile phones have this capability. The browser is available in English and several other languages.

As we’ve already learned, the Vulcanus MK4 is a tankless water heater that uses microwaves to change standard ground water to piping hot in seconds. It is based on the Faraday Box–similar to the microwave in your kitchen. What makes the Mark 4 different from other water heaters is it’s size: 24×14x7.5 It is also esthetically pleasing, allowing ’stand alone’ use or versatality in placement. From the website, “This is the only system of its’ kind that can function under all climatic conditions.It can convert water at ground source of 35F-140F within seconds in unlimited capacity. It is so simplistic in design that one requires only a cold water inlet pipe and a hot water exit pipe be attached to its’ two terminals. Design, shape,reliability, cost, energy savings, compact, and user friendly, Vulcanus is this and more. We are so confident of our product that we offer a 10-year on the Faraday casing, 3 years on all parts, and a full 1-year warranty on labor.” The unit is also fully recyclable–although I would imagine this applies to only the casing. In comparisons, they mention that the unit only weighs 20lbs. Corrison is ‘nil’ and a gas infrastructure is not needed.

On the other hand, they got your new-fangled electrical refrigerators, too. For $4700. I had always wondered where you get some of those high-end appliances. Now I know. Too rich for my taste.

Regarding the Matsushita problem, however, I felt their response was very thorough, especially compared to the recent problems with Mitsubishi truck wheels falling off, and if anything too thorough, as for a month they pulled all their TV advertising and replaced them with simple information spots about the product recall, manned almost every kerosene stand with employees to ask purchasers if they have a National Fan Heater, and had leaflets distributed with everyone’s gas bill.

Over the past couple of years, the satellite and cable industry decided to abandon Tivo and pursue their own ventures. They took a lot of business from Tivo by offering their own DVR units with dual tuners and system packages with the DVR service included at no charge (or less than $10 a month in some cases). With no dual tuner support, I too began to question my loyalty to Tivo.

The EFF’s Deeplinks section has a pretty alarming post about the RIAA and MPAA’s attempts to freeze the progress of consumer electronics technology and then start turning back the clock on all of us. Fair use, meet your successor: “customary historic use.”

This is my first apartment with a dishwasher. Man, do I ever love this thing. In previous apartments, I was "pretty good" (ahem) about taking out the trash, but dishes... well, sometimes I neglected them just a bit. And, you know, once in a while I'd find mold growing on my dishes. It can be rinsed off, sure, but the smell is what's problematic.

Not a lot else going on. I am making better use of my “premium channels” and recording some of those shows you think about watching, but don’t get around to, now that I have a DVR. Shows like Medium, Charmed, Simpsons, Family Guy, Earl, Office, Geek, Supernatural, fill in the gaps when I’m bored. I’m also recording some shows that I didn’t watch, like Enterprise, when it was first on. Of course, I’m so busy this week that the two new DVDs I bought (”Transporter 2″ and “The Constant Gardener”) have yet to be inserted into the DVD player. I have a feeling that hard drive will fill up and I’ll realize that it isn’t all that important to watch television after all. My God! What crazy talk!

I don’t usually do entries on consumer issues or product plugs. But when I come across something that I feel can be of great benefit to my readers, I feel it’s my obligation to let you know.

Anyway, I just hate it when large corporations prey on the poor, who can least afford to be "taken" by such schemes. I fully realize that there will be a sentiment that it's their own fault for not having good credit, but I don't buy that, at least not in every case. People have a bad credit history for a number of reasons, including cases of identity theft that the victim was unaware of until they applied for some type of utility service.

According to a story in today's Mercury News by Dean Takahashi [Link] the hot thing in this year's Consumer Electronics Show is going to be Internet connectivity. No, he is not talking about your computer, he is talking about all kinds of devices including things like digital cameras and iPods connecting directly to the Internet to access and move data around:

For me, probably the biggest news from the 2006 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Vegas is the announcement from TiVo of their Series 3 High Definition PVR. While this is not the first PVR / DVR to record HD programming it is the first from the brand leader, TiVo. Quick specs rundown: it’s supposed to have 6 tuners in it (2 ATSC, 2 NTSC and 2 CableCard Tuners), it will support external SATA storage and be able to playback MPEG4 content. What I think it’s missing is support (via line in and IR Blaster) for existing DISH or DirectTV receivers and it will still record shows in MPEG2 (what’s wrong with space saving MPEG4?). However, with the addition al suppor for playing back MPEG4 content (via PC) and if it does support all the current TiVO online / HME integrations, it should be a rockin’ set-top-box! It’s definatley the nicest looking TiVo box yet, it has a display on the front telling you what it’s currently recording, and the famous peanut remote is now backlight.

A GOP-sponsored bill to supercede consumer-safety warning labels on food in most states will prohibit scientifically accurate warnings about mercury levels in tuna high enough to cause measurable neurological damage in fetuses. The FDA is backing the lower standards and is suing states that attempt to impose more accurate warning labels.

Tis now the season for contemplating the number of "updated" electronic items given and received as holiday gifts during this past week. The heap of PCs, laptops, printers, VCRs, televisions, cell phones of all sizes and abilities, iPods, MP3s, BlackBerries, handheld computers and personal organizers, to name some, though hardly all, of them. What now will happen to the "old" ones these have replaced? Will they join the vast stream of "e-waste" which has now become a little-thought-about peril to the planet? If you are one of the millions of Americans who upgrades and updates electronic equipment with ever-growing frequency, please take a minute to find out what happens to the discards.