Epinions Recent Reviews for mcjester

Syracuse's Ortygia: Ancient, Accessible, Amazing

Sat, 23 Jun 2001 14:39:16 GMT

rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author mcjester - For the serious traveler to southern Italy, the Isle of Ortygia is a true must-see. The heart of Syracuse, this pint-sized island is one of the most architecturally, gastronomically and historically fascinating parts of Sicily, if not the whole of...

They try harder -- to deceive, then make up for it

Fri, 22 Jun 2001 01:44:58 GMT

rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author mcjester - How did $430 end up as $1240 and finally $650? A combination of good deals, shady deceiving, small print, and trying harder.

I found an 11-day full-size rental for $430 (plus 1200 miles!) at the avis.com site, which was by far the lowest rate...

A Comprehensive View: Stacks Up Well Against PCs

Sat, 19 May 2001 03:24:06 GMT

rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author mcjester - Sure, it’s gorgeous, but how does Apple’s PowerBook G4 compare to similarly-priced PCs? Very well, and that’s not even taking into account its devilish good looks.

In my laptop search, I looked for the best value among high-performance Mac and...

Great value for MP3/CD listeners

Tue, 27 Mar 2001 19:05:44 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author mcjester - For the price, the Altec ACS54 is quite a fine set of speakers. Consisting of a subwoofer and four satellite speakers, it can put out more than enough pretty good quality sound for most any purpose.

Price: I got the set for $50 after...

30 Minutes of Rockin' Handheld Sound

Sun, 22 Oct 2000 02:26:53 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author mcjester - While certainly not an award-winner, the D-Link DMP-100 fits the bill of a cheap portable MP3 player. It will keep you satisfied, but not amazed.

With only 32MB memory, it holds roughly a half-hour of 128kbps MP3s, which is the most common...

RCA DS2232ND Dual LNB DIRECTV System: Cable's Worst Nightmare

Sat, 20 May 2000 22:43:09 GMT

rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author mcjester - Since getting DirecTV, we've cancelled our cable, because there's no reason for us to hold onto it. We can get our four major network affiliates for a paltry $5 more per month, and all we lose is a few local independent channels we never watched...

Eccentric and Good French-like Food

Fri, 19 May 2000 22:43:32 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author mcjester - Soizic, located just a block from the Oakland Coroner's Office and three from Jack London Square (an odd juxtaposition, no doubt), has a location which well represents its style.

With tall brick walls guarding the inside from the corner of 3rd...

A Damn Fine Piece of Software

Fri, 19 May 2000 22:23:34 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author mcjester - I have tried a few different page creation programs for the Mac, and while it does have some flaws, Dreamweaver is my top choice for the job.

I'm an intermediate in terms of HTML programming, but I find that while I'm too lazy to code...

A Great Dordogne Rental Agency

Fri, 19 May 2000 21:52:23 GMT

rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author mcjester - We used At Home In France in Ashland, Oregon to rent a centuries-old stone hunting lodge in the Vézère Valley in the Périgord (I'm having fun with accents!), and we could not be happier.

Allyn Kaufmann & Bruce Dicoskey, the proprietors,...

Highly Acceptable Italian

Thu, 11 May 2000 20:11:10 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author mcjester - Italian Colors in Montclair rates on the high end of three stars. Its food beats out its service or its ambience.

Montclair Village of Oakland is disappointingly lacking in terms of quality eateries, with Italian Colors making an exception...

High-class Hostel: Cheap and cool

Sun, 7 May 2000 17:57:16 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author mcjester - Avoid extortionate hotel rates and stay in the world's finest youth hostel! At $40/night, it's hardly a pittance, but compared with multi-hundred dollar hotel rooms, it's a good place to be.

The Tokyo International Youth Hostel is on the 18th...

JR Pass: Ticket to Fun!

Sun, 7 May 2000 17:23:45 GMT

rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author mcjester - The Japan Rail Pass is a fabulous tool to seeing all of Japan at a (relatively) reasonable price.

You can purchase a 7-, 14- or 21-day pass for adults or children, first class or regular. It can get you on any Japan Rail train including the...

Yahoo Finance: Easy, simple, powerful

Sun, 7 May 2000 16:54:19 GMT

rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author mcjester - I can find absolutely no reason to use any site other than Yahoo! Finance to track my stocks and mutual funds. They offer an easy-to-use system with a wealth of resources that continues to boggle my mind.

My favorite feature is their main one,...

Canon PowerShot A5 Digital Camera: PowerShot A50: All-Around Good

Fri, 7 Apr 2000 20:33:24 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author mcjester - The PowerShot A50's combination of features, size, value and more is a winner for the $300-400 digital camera range. It's not the absolute killer of a machine, but it's quite satisfactory to the beginning to intermediate digital photographer.

...

Love those 777's

Mon, 24 Jan 2000 23:54:00 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author mcjester - I was afraid that our 9 and 11 hour non-stops from SF to London and from Paris would be full of cramped seating, hard-to-see projected movie screens and plasticy rattles. Fortunately, United's new 777 planes made the grueling haul in coach a little more...

Tamarindo Beach and Hotel Capitán Suizo

Mon, 24 Jan 2000 22:56:31 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author mcjester - If you're planning a trip to Costa Rica, and especially if you're headed to Monteverde, take Tamarindo Beach into very serious consideration.

On a gently inset bay at the top of the Pacific side of the Nicoya peninsula, this roughly...

The Oakland Hills: Gorgeous for Walks

Sun, 23 Jan 2000 03:59:36 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author mcjester - Whenever visitors from neighboring towns and around the world stop by for anything longer than lunch, we delight their senses with a walk in the fascinating Oakland Hills. They make up the ridge that divides Alameda and Contra Costa counties, and are...

Cheap Tickets: Good if you're patient and diligent

Sun, 23 Jan 2000 03:16:45 GMT

rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author mcjester - Cheap Tickets should be my best friend: I love to do travel planning, and I love to use the Internet to do it, and I love to save money. I just have a hard time embracing it completely.

My grandparents went on vacation to Cape Cod last...

J'aime la Dordogne!

Sun, 23 Jan 2000 00:01:19 GMT

rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author mcjester - On a visit to France last summer, we went to the Dordogne. It was the most marvellous experience.

The Dordogne is a départment in southwestern France, east of Bordeaux. Although officially named for its famous river, the locals call it by it's...

Good for the Financially Disciplined

Sat, 22 Jan 2000 22:47:21 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author mcjester - As long as you've either got enough cash to pay off the balance monthly, and maybe have a low rate home equity line of credit to dip into when you've spent too much, this Mileage Plus card is really worth it.

Of course, the major benefit is...

Nokia 6120: Comprehensive review: I like it!

Sat, 22 Jan 2000 21:39:11 GMT

rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author mcjester - You may be tempted to take the free phones when you get a new service, but it's well worth spending less than $100 extra to get this amazing digital/analog dual band phone.

Often sold side-by-side its cousin from the 5100 series (a fine phone...

San Francisco / San Jose / Oakland: CellularONE: OK, I guess

Sat, 22 Jan 2000 17:07:19 GMT

rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author mcjester - In September, we signed up for CellularOne service at our local Circuit City. It seemed to provide the best deal for what we now do with it: local calling, mostly on weekends. A plan for $30 gave us 125 "anytime" minutes, plus -here's the good...

La Coupole Restaurant

Sat, 22 Jan 2000 16:36:27 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author mcjester - For any traveler, first-timer or veteran, to Paris, La Coupole, on Boulevard Montparnasse in the 14th, on the Left Bank, is a must-go. The food may be a bit overpriced, but the absolutely unique experience and the ambience may make you forget about the...