Epinions Recent Reviews for Scott_A_R

Faulty design limits product

Sun, 27 Jul 2008 17:23:22 GMT

rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author Scott_A_R - I've had this product for about two years now, though its use is infrequent--my laptop if a secondary computer I mainly use on the road, and I don't bring the cooler with me. As a result, I've used the Antec basically a couple of dozen times--and this,...

Defective? I'll never know.

Tue, 8 Jul 2008 17:23:17 GMT

rating: 2/5 by: Epinions Author Scott_A_R - I have amassed quite a collection of iPod Touch cases, each one used and set aside for one reason or another. Some were perfectly fine in most ways, but they didn't address a particular need. Others were returned or otherwise disposed of because an...

Verizon FiOS Online Service: No utopia, but better than the cable company.

Thu, 21 Feb 2008 00:04:33 GMT

rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author Scott_A_R - Dealing with utility monopolies is often a case of choosing the lesser of two evils. I'd been with my local cable company's broadband service, Optimum Online, for nearly nine years when I finally had enough. There were often interruptions,...

Not the greatest thing since sliced bread

Mon, 18 Feb 2008 17:35:50 GMT

rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author Scott_A_R - I collect mice. I don't know how this came about, but I've got a bag full of them. Part of it is that I don't like using corded mice; I have a crowded desk, and the cords always snag on or bunch up against something. So, my OEM mice are first into the...

Good, basic case

Mon, 18 Feb 2008 13:36:56 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author Scott_A_R - The Marware Sportgrip is a pretty typical Touch case, in many ways. Most manufacturers have addressed iPod Touch protection as they would have other iPods: find a way to reduce scratching and, often to a lesser extent, protect it from drops. A...

Hard to beat

Mon, 18 Feb 2008 01:53:19 GMT

rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author Scott_A_R - I recently took a trip to San Francisco--a combination visit to see an old friend who'd relocated jobs, and a guilty sneak cross-country to go to the Macworld Expo. The hotels I'd started looking at seemed to either be quite pricey or were in what...

Yet another gadget, but that's not a bad thing. Is it?

Sun, 17 Feb 2008 15:14:18 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author Scott_A_R - Boy, am I a sucker for gadgets. I like to cook, so I could have learned how to make crepes myself. But the idea of a crepe maker.... I try to live by the Alton Brown mantra of not buying "unitaskers," but, like I said, I'm a sucker for gadgets...

Handhelditems .com: Sloppy and questionable business practices mean no future business from me.

Sun, 17 Feb 2008 12:45:23 GMT

rating: 2/5 by: Epinions Author Scott_A_R - Handhelditems.com is an online retailer that specializes in MP3-related accessories. Though their site has sections for other products, their dedication to the additional categories is questionable: at the time of this writing, their selection of digital...

The iPod Touchless Defender

Tue, 12 Feb 2008 18:22:36 GMT

rating: 2/5 by: Epinions Author Scott_A_R - I think, maybe, I jumped the gun on this one. I ordered the Defender for my iPod Touch because of the promise of protection. The Touch is a great device--I've lost count of how many people have bought one after I show them mine--and I wanted it safe...

Not bad, but not for everyone

Sun, 19 Aug 2007 00:24:49 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author Scott_A_R - This iPod auto adapter combines two functions: a charger, and an audio adapter. The first function works via a pretty standard 12v car adapter; attach the dock plug to your iPod (meaning, of course, that the iPod must have a dock connector) and so...

Convenience and quality at a cost

Sat, 18 Aug 2007 01:32:27 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author Scott_A_R - Who is this machine for? Not me. I'm a coffee nut. Not only do I grind whole beans just before brewing, I roast my own coffee. You simply can't beat that for taste and variety. But I understand that few others will be so obsessive; my...

Proud Prius Parent

Sat, 2 Sep 2006 23:14:06 GMT

rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author Scott_A_R - Well, I have nearly 1500 miles and six weeks on my 2006 Prius, so I finally feel qualified to write a review. I've leaned towards performance for quite a number of years. Perhaps that was in reaction to my first car (a used '81 Olds Cutlass Supreme...

Great geek accessory

Tue, 23 May 2006 23:11:24 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author Scott_A_R - Boy, I have a lot of USB flash drives. Each time, I find something wrong with it. Minor things really, but there's usually something. I had an I
omega
Micro Mini drive, but its design gave it the unfortunate...

Very good quality, but some "gotchas"

Mon, 22 May 2006 20:50:37 GMT

rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author Scott_A_R - I was looking for a portable printer to take along with my PowerBook. Looking around, I found positive reviews for the Selphy printers, so I called Canon in order to get some specific information. My requirements: 1) it must absolutely be able to use...

NetMagazines Online Store: Two words: never again.

Wed, 26 Apr 2006 11:27:12 GMT

rating: 1/5 by: Epinions Author Scott_A_R - Months ago, I purchased three subscriptions via NetMagazines. I'm not a big magazine reader, but they happened to have several that I'm interested in, and the price was quite right, so I figured "what the heck." Heck indeed. Weeks went by, and I saw...

Truly, the floppy is dead....

Mon, 24 Oct 2005 20:43:36 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author Scott_A_R - Then again, I haven't used a floppy disk for a half-dozen years. Still, USB Flash drives are a final nail in the coffin. I seem to have amassed a collection of ever-shrinking flash drives. Well, not quite. My prior favorite, the...

Almost, ALMOST there, but watch out...

Fri, 22 Jul 2005 21:17:42 GMT

rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author Scott_A_R - I picked this little guy up after a couple of mail-in rebates made it impossible to resist--the final price was about $10. I initially purchased it because, well it's hard to resist such a neat little gadget for $10, but I quickly found a use for it...

An OK basic grinder

Fri, 22 Jul 2005 20:18:33 GMT

rating: 2/5 by: Epinions Author Scott_A_R - In the quest for a good cup of coffee, bean freshness is one of the top requirements. That being the case, it is imperative that freshly-roasted whole beans be purchased and ground before use. Ground coffee typically stales within hours, so "fresh" and...

Still no great options for the Vista C and Legend C

Thu, 26 May 2005 12:14:26 GMT

rating: 1/5 by: Epinions Author Scott_A_R - In my review of G
armin's
eTrex case, I noted several problems and hoped for a product that solved them. Well, Gilsson's case does so, by and large; however it then creates its own problems. The Gilsson case...

Wait until alternatives are available.

Thu, 12 May 2005 00:41:39 GMT

rating: 2/5 by: Epinions Author Scott_A_R - This review pertains to my experiences using the case with the eTrex Vista C in particular, as I understand that its form factor is slightly different than the other Vista models (even though Garmin says this case is also for the Vista C). The case is...

98% wonderful

Sun, 22 Aug 2004 17:54:45 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author Scott_A_R - I recently purchased the 2620 for a significant drive: a cross-country jaunt without any specific route plans besides "west, then east." As a result, I had a chance to do a real trial-by-fire. I had picked this model specifically because there aren't a...

AKA: the problem with monopolies, illustrated

Sun, 25 Jan 2004 15:57:37 GMT

rating: 2/5 by: Epinions Author Scott_A_R - This review is specifically about iO, Cablevision's digital television service. The half-hearted decision to switch from regular Cablevision to iO was not entirely voluntary--I had received notice from Cablevision that HBO would soon be a digital-only...

Mixed bag

Sun, 20 Apr 2003 15:38:50 GMT

rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author Scott_A_R - Tom Holt is a British author who has written about a dozen books of humorous fantasy, only three of which ("Expecting Someone Taller," "Who's Afraid of Beowulf?" and "Flying Dutch") have been generally available in the US until recently.

I was...

Perhaps the one coffee maker you should own

Mon, 10 Feb 2003 02:11:25 GMT

rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author Scott_A_R - I am coffee nut. Not only do I own almost two dozen different coffee brewing devices, I also own three coffee roasters, and roast all of the coffee that I drink at home.

I am not a fan of autodrip machines because, with a few exceptions, they...

Fresh coffee. Hopefully.

Sat, 21 Sep 2002 15:29:49 GMT

rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author Scott_A_R - A small intro.... I've had my Alpenrost for about two years now, and I am somewhat ambivalent about the purchase. Before I purchased the Alp, I'd roasted coffee beans via a variety of methods for about three years. All of them were somewhat...