darthbanker.blogspot.com

Wal-Mart Toothbrush Experience

2005-05-21T21:04:00.000-04:00

I decided to make a trip to my local Wal-Mart today to pickup some personal items. I have been looking at power toothbrushes latley, since mine has finally passed away after four years of use. I went to the toothbrush isle, and like any other product comparison shop, started pulling down box after box of the powerbrushes reading the technical specs, and their company guarentees. After looking at about 4-5 models, I saw one on a taller shelf all by itself. It was laying on its side, and the face of the box was extremely dusty. I am tall, so I spotted this box because of its hologram-like packaging. I looked closely at it, I remembered seeing it on the internet. It was an Oral-B Sonicare Complete S300. You can see it here: http://www.oralb.com/SonicComplete/ It wasn't marked with a price, so I took it two isles over to pricescan it on one of the community scanners. It wouldn't scan, so I tried to locate a Wal-Mart associate for assistance. I found an associate and she was carrying one of those wireless UPC scanners. I asked her to scan the box for me and she did. What she said next was unbelievable. "Five dollars" she said. I thought to myself, there must be some kind of mistake.. I know that the cheap power brushes that run on batteries are like $7.00. She insisted it was the correct price, and even told me that since the entire box was in a blister pack packaging, that the UPC couldn't have been tampered with. I clinched the package in my hand and thought to myself, this is a really great deal. I took it to the checkout counter, thinking surely that this would draw some attention to the clerk as she scanned the box over the reader and it says $5.00. She scanned it and without a moment of hesitation said "That will be Five dollars and thirty-two cents, please." I finally broke down, and told her that this brush had to be worth at least a hundred bucks, and with it ringing up five dollars had to be a mistake. She insisted to tell me that she didn't know and all I could do is buy it, and go to the service counter and tell them that I think I should have to pay more. After I thought about what she had just said, I had a change of heart. Maybe she was right, asking to pay more to a store that has proved to me time and time again they have the skills on how to make you send an additional $50 when you go in for a $10 item. I decided this was Wal-Mart's way of returning me a great value on my being so loyal shopping them for years, and all the additional thousands of dollars I have spent on them and their clever store layout to get you to overspend every time you visit. As I write this a small feeling of guilt still resides in my gut, but HELL.. if you happened to you, wouldn't you do the same thing (As long as you TRIED to bring it to the attention of two seperate employees, as I did?)

Review Update: Conceptek's INVIS-ID

2005-05-21T20:51:00.000-04:00

Okay, it's like this. Conceptek contacted me about my post on my blog about three months ago, and saw that I had some positive things to say about their product: The Invis-ID personal marking pen and light kit. They decided to send me a kit to test and review for you. The kit can be found here: http://www.invis-id.com/Store/index.htm This item retails for $24.95 and is worth every single penny. I can personally tell you, I have yet to find a surface it cannot mark on yet. I labeled my laptop, PDA, Cell Phone, heck even my car keys. (I still don't know why I did that) All you have to do is take the handy pen, write your name or whatever you want to identify your property, and when the surface is dry, you can turn on the blue light and wave over your writing and it shows up under the light. To write alittle easier, it is my experience that you can turn the light on and write (So you can see what your writing) I have labeled three or four dozen things and the pen is still wet like new. The overall quality of this product is awesome. They package it in a nice little carrying case as well. I just took a new job as a computer technician, and plan on using this product to mark my expensive tools. Kit also came with some theft deterrent stickers. Overall I rate this kit 5.0/5.0 = Does exactly what it is suppossed to do, without any problems: Buy yours today!

Almost 3 full months since last post

2005-05-21T20:46:00.000-04:00

Okay, I have not posted anything in awhile, I switched jobs and things have been quite hectic right now. I have so many things I want to give reviews on. I have seen many good movies, received some new tech hardware, and have learned a few new tricks to pass on. I plan to give a full review on the Invis-ID, since I posted that I wanted to get one someday, someone at the company contacted me and sent me a free product to try out. To keep good on my word, I will hold up my end of the bargain and let you know how to get yours! Look for that review and many more to come your way very soon.

Credit card epidemic

2005-02-25T22:25:00.000-05:00

We have all been there.. when you pay with a credit card, when they make no attempt to check the signature to make sure it is you making that purchase? This particular man had all he could take of the system, and the credit card companies that claim they have your security taken care of, and are the very ones that allow transactions to go through that are bogus. Check the following sites out for this man's brilliant adventure on exploiting a very big problem in America right now, get the story here

DVD back-up guide

2005-02-17T21:45:00.000-05:00

I have small children, and being able to backup my media lets me sleep at night. I have great success in backing-up my personal movies with these utilities: DVD Decrypter 3.5.2.0, DVD2one 1.5.2, and Nero 6.0 -- You can download these programs at the folllowing sites:

DVD Decrypter 3.5.2.0 http://www.dvddecrypter.com/index.php?act=download
DVD 2 ONE http://www.dvd2one.com/download.php
Nero 6.0 http://www.nero.com/us/download_demo.php?pak=2

I am using a NEC 3500A DVD-R (Dual Layer burner), and it has never burnt a coaster after 50 tries and counting. I use generic 4x DVD-R media. Here is a quick rundown, in order, of what steps I take with each program to ensure a perfect 1:1 copy of DVD

1) I use DVD Decrypter to decrypt the DVD and make it a single layer data source
2) I then use DVD2one to compress the data to fit on an ordinary DVD-R
3) I use Nero to burn the image to the actual disc
4) I then test the burn in the DVD player, and watch the entire movie to ensure all audio/video transferred correctly

I hope this helps... comments welcome!

Software Review: Mozilla Firefox 1.0

2005-02-17T21:22:00.000-05:00

Ever since I haev made up my mind to try out MAC OSX on an iBook, I have looked to this little program to become familiar with. Not being a huge fan of Safari, this browser made by a team of independant software developers has the edge on Microsoft's Internet Explorer on security and plug-ins. I am impressed with the feel of the browser, and the built-in themes are a bonus. It seems to load webpages faster, and alerts you when you are viewing an ecrypted page (Useful if you purchase alot of things from internet) You can bookmark a page with a right-click, also move browser back and forward with the right-click as well. One of the most useful options I love its the "send link" option in the right-click menu, it copies a link to the page, opens your default email program, and pre-fills the subject line in, if you are constantly bookmarking and emailing links to your favorite websites like me, then you certainly can appreciate this feature. Best thing is, this version is available in PC or MAC, so you have the same "feel" no matter what kind of computer you are working on.

My rating 4.0/5.0 (The only downside: The copy/paste link doesn't work on address bar)

Apple iBook G4

2005-02-16T23:28:00.000-05:00

Well I am going to make the leap. Mac OSX has lured me into trying out a Mac iBook. I have been searching and searching for one in my price budget. I snagged one up for next to nothing and it is coming to me this Friday with the latest version of OSX Panther 10.3.8 - I know enough about Windows to hold my own, and admit to knowing nothing about the Mac side of computers so I decided now is as good a time as any to give it a shot.

Apple has a ton of software I would like to try, and alot of accessories that look cool. iSight for one, coupled with iChat looks sweet. It's basically a virtual videoconference that looks like something out of a futuristic movie. It can give these amazing framerates through the firewire port, not like crappy CPU USB cameras. It is, like all Apple goodness a bit pricey, but if you got the bucks to shell out, it sure looks worth it!

Expect to see a full review on the iBook once I get it and test it out.. more to come

Movie Review: SAW

2005-02-16T22:56:00.000-05:00

*Awesome film, one of the best of 2004* This is how I feel about the latest movie from "Lion's Gate Films" gone to DVD last Tuesday. I was lucky enough to hit Blockbuster on my lunch hour to snag my copy on my movie pass. My wife wouldn't even watch this movie with me after watching the trailor. I ended up watching it on my notebook with my iPod earphones. I watched this movie the ONLY way it should be watched, in the complete dark. Enough about events that led up to this masterpeice.. on with the review

The story takes off in an old bathroom-style basement room (with no stahls) with rusty tile and blood-stained floor. Two men that have never met(A Doctor, and a Photographer) are trapped there and unsure how they got there. In the middle of the room lays a man (appears to have committed suicide) lying face down in buckets of blood that drained from the gunshot from his head. In this dead man's hands hold a revolver and a mini-tape recorder. The men that are trapped in this room are chained to heat pipes on opposite ends of the bathroom. Each man is given a mini tape to play in the recorder that gives them clues to the game he has created for them to play to stay alive.

The movie is filled with riddles that the men have to keep guessing right in order to stay alive. The story is best summed up, that a serial killer snatches people from their everyday lives that are not greatful about being alive. (Suicide attempts, drug abusers, cheaters) He then puts them in situations that have them trying to stay alive no matter what you have to do, the only problem is there is about 1,000 ways to die and only 1 way to live in these scenerios he puts them in. The plot thickens when you learn that the two men trapped in the bathroom, have more than they know in common. One man was hired to follow the other man around and take pictures of him cheating on his wife, with another woman. The story continues on through riddle after riddle, and gut wrenching gory scene after gory scene. The killer is extremely clever in his nature on some of the ideas he thinks up. The doctor in the bathroom eventually looses his mind and proceeds to hacksaw his foot off in an effort to free himself from his deadly fate of the killer returning to the bathroom and killing him or his family back home.

The movie has an awesome twist ending where you think the killer is actually one of the workers form the hospital that the doctor works at, and you find out at the end that he is not the killer at all, he was also a pawn in a game stretched by the killers imagination. After this man breaks into the bathroom to kill the doctor, the photographer jumps him from behind, killing him with the back ceramic tank cover off the toilet. After the photographer kills him, he frantically searches the dead corpse for a possible key that would free his leg. As he checks the dead man's jacket pockets, he comes across another tape recorder! He pushes play and you quickly learn that this isn't the killer at all, this was another victim doing what he had been instructed to do, so he could live. You see the dead man in the middle of the floor (lying there since beginning of movie) start to move.. He gets up to his knees, and stands up and removes a "rubber-like" fake head injury mask form his face.. This man is the killer, and was a CANCER PATIENT OF THE DOCTOR'S from the hospital!! He had cancer killing him, and was taking out his rage on people that weren't sick, but that were unhappy or destroying their own lives.

What I find interesting about this movie the most, is why they call the movie "SAW" it's because the serial killer always "watched" his victims kill themselves in the situations he put them into, when they tried to escape and killing others to stay alive in our own selfish manner of human instinct to survive.

I rate this film 5.0/5.0 (Perfect)

Finally uploaded to Google search

2005-02-16T22:54:00.000-05:00

You can now easily find my blog through Google's Search, Keyword "darthbanker" and clicking the David's Blog link (The 1st hit)

Small victory for me, FEAR ME WORLD!

Caller-ID Spoofing* What's next?

2005-02-07T22:15:00.000-05:00

I came across this little website through another blog I check out now and again, and from what I read the user can *spoof* the read-out on a caller-ID box. Imagine calling someone you cannot usually get ahold of and spoofing the ID to say it is someone in the family. *Evil*

Anyways, check it out here, and use at your own risk (Don't even know if it is legal)

http://www.covertcall.com/

3 horrible gift ideas

2005-02-07T21:57:00.000-05:00

Okay, I was bored at work today, and found some things that would make HORRIBLE gifts. These little shitters better not end up under my xmas tree.

3) Saitek's "Lighted" keyboard
http://store.yahoo.com/saitekusa/pcgake1.html
At first, your wondering.. what's wrong with that? Well the problem is, the "lighted" part they claim is so cool, is in *between* the keys, it is not at all backlit. Basically you cannot see the keys in the dark, just a cool blue glow in a place you don't need it... right between the keys.

2) USB Watch
http://www.thinkgeek.com/gadgets/watches/5eec/
This one speaks for itself, if you cannot fight the urge to have your USB drive IN your watch, then you and this timepiece were destined for each other.

1) Doom 3 Board game
http://www.gearlive.com/index.php/news/article/doom_the_board_game_01310621/
WTF? Sums this peice of crap up in one short sweet review.

Apple & Reasoning behind one button mouse

2005-02-07T21:51:00.000-05:00

I know I used to wonder. The answer may surprise you, find out the whole story here..
http://www.gearlive.com/index.php/news/article/why_apple_makes_a_one_buttoned_mouse_01280820/

Product review: Razor DIamondback Mouse

2005-02-05T18:26:00.000-05:00

I bought this mouse with some christmas money I had last December. It is suppossed to have 1,000 DPI vs. the traditional 150 DPI regualr mice have. This is geared for gamers, that need precision in games such as shooters. It comes with its own carrying case, and software suite. I even noticed that it had gold USB connector. My first impression of this mouse was that it was very sleek in design, and the mouse clickers feel kinda like rubber. You plug it in and the scroll mouse glows neon red. It has super slippery feet on it, and is AMAZINGLY fast. You can adjust the sensitivity, but man I was blown away how my regualar mouse lags in movement. This thing is actually so precise it takes alittle getting used to. It boasts many programmable buttons on sides, and overall is a killer value at $58.99. The only drawback I can fault it on is the use of USB only, doesn't work with the generic PS/2 converters. You are probably thinking who cares about PS/2, but I use a I/O gear 4 port KVM switch, and it sucks having to switch to the game mouse. Other than that, it does exactly what it says it does, delivers awesome performance many gamers demand, and has a great price for what you get.

I rate this product 4.5/5.0 (Would give it 5.o if it were compatible with PS/2 connection)

Product review: Palm Tungsten E

2005-02-05T09:10:00.000-05:00

I bought this Palm about five months ago. At the time I bought it, it was $199.95 @ Staples. Owning serveral Palm devices before I was no stranger to what I wanted/needed. I wanted color screen, expandability of SD slot (SD cards with programs or extra storage), and price was a major consideration. I saw this puppy, and immediatley thought to myself "That's the one" I took it home and loaded the software on my laptop that came with it, and started using it the next day. Since then, I have gotten some applications for it that were available through third party companies that make the device alot more fun. I grabbed Repligo 2.0, Agendus, and 3Nity's Password keeper/generator. I love these applications, but I have ran into a serious problem latley. I have switched laptops with my wife (I got a new Dell) and when I switched PC's the 3rd party programs I had on my old laptop I lost (I forgot to keep them on media, before giving the unit to my wife) Worst yet, I cannot remember where I ordered the programs from, since I didn't order them from the companies that wrote the software. I was alittle bummed out about that, and recently the Palm started "going dead" when I turn it on to use it. The battery is so drained, it won't even come out of a black screen. If it does come on, it has a message "Fatal Exception Error" on the screen, and I have to do a hard reset to get it to work again. This is really frustrating. Only thing I can figure, is that when I sync it with Outlook, it is picking up that I want to be reminded for an appointment, it flips on at that reminder time, reminds me (The unit is usually in my laprop bag when this happens) and it stays on until the battery is good and dead. This really sucks, because when I need it - it's dead. It is a great little PDA when it is working, and give it good marks because of that. I think they should make it "auto shut down" to save battery if yo can't get to it, so it will work when you need to use it.

I rate this product 4.0 / 5.0

Wishlist: INVIS-ID

2005-02-03T23:35:00.000-05:00

Okay, I know your thinking "MAJOR GEEK" but seriously, I have liked this type of thing since I was a small boy. The idea of marking valuables in the event they get stolen and helping recover such items makes me all warm and fuzzy inside. Actually, 99.6% of the time you will never find out who did it, this would cover the .04% of people you needed to prove that the goods belong to you. Check it out here: http://www.invis-id.com/Store/index.htm $24.99 and you get the whole kit. Too awesome for words...

Penny Arcade comic strip

2005-02-03T22:57:00.000-05:00

I have been reading this strip now for about a month and a half. I stumbled across it one day shopping at Thinkgeek.com I have been reading it ever since, the link below is to the archives, so you can search it from #1 to the present day. Enjoy :)

http://www.penny-arcade.com/search.php

Some more helpful links

2005-02-03T22:48:00.001-05:00

Small collection of IE favorites I frequent:

http://www.cdcovers.cc/ Place to get software covers for your program backups
http://www.scroogle.org/scraper.html Google, stripped of all annoying ads, clean search results
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page Encyclopedia of reference that readers can edit

Product review: Motorola V60v

2005-02-03T17:32:00.000-05:00

This phone is offered by Motorola and is part of their "Hello Moto" campaign. The one I tested was offered through SprintPCS, and the coverage is adequate for where I live. The phone is nice looking, carbon fiber shell with black face and fully lighted keys in blue neon inside. The screen is full color, and has nice clarity/contrast even in direct sunlight. This phone retails for $249.99, but if purchased with a qualified plan, you can get it for $69.99. This is a great deal for a non-camera phone. Has all the same features all phones have now-a-days, and includes some nice ones like: voice-dialing, 250 number phonebook (real nice), voice memo record, and customizable ringtones. The real downside to the one I tested is the battery life. This one lasts about 3 hours on standby (Total crap) Maybe it was a bad battery, but I have not replaced it to see if this is the cause. Also, when offered through SprintPCS, the service doesn't work where I live. It works only at my workplace, so I have learned to live with that. All and all, it's worth $69.99 for features, color screen, ringtones, and looks, if your in the market for a basic non-camera phone.

I rate this product a 3.5/5 .0

Healthy Lifestyle 2005

2005-02-03T11:36:00.000-05:00

I am going to start an adventure of weight loss this year. I am planning to pay attention to what I put into my body, on a single-meal basis. I am going to live by (3) basic principals, and stick to them for a healthier lifestyle. I am going to do the following:

1) Drink (8) 8oz. glasses of water a day
2) Exercise min 25 minutes a day, with heartrate in 125 BPS range
3) Eat (3) meals a day under 80g carbs each (net carbs)

I am also going to adapt these (3) behaviors to maximize well-living:

1) No food or snacks after 7pm
2) Limit diet soda to meal time only
3) Work more vegtables into diet

I am starting this program today, and will post updates to my progress at a later time - Also check out this link for (45) tips on successful diets:
http://articles.health.msn.com/id/100100351?GT1=6177

Movie Review: Cellular

2005-02-02T23:29:00.000-05:00

Okay. I saw the previews, I saw the trailer, this movie looked promising. I have been watching it at the video store for the last week and a half. (It has been constantly rented) I got my copy today, and watched it this evening. Here is the quick rundown: It is about a the Martin family who gets abducted by thugs and held against their will unless they disclose where a certain "package" the father of the family has hidden away. You are not sure why they are abducted in the first place, nor do you know what is in the package they want from this family. The story is set, that in the beginning the wife (Kim Basinger) goes home and gets abducted and kidnapped and thrown in an attic of a run down house. They ask her where her husband is, and when she doesn't cooperate they leave her in the attic,while they search for the rest of the family. One of the thugs uses a sledgehammer to bust a rotary-style phone into peices in the room shes in. (Who keeps a phone in their attic anyways?) Well she somehow, peices it back together and it makes a random call out to some young man on a cell phone. The rest of the movie is a race against the clock of trying to find out the wife's location, and if the Martin family will survive. One by one each member of the Martin family (including their son) gets abducted and brought to this little house. It unfolds in end that what the thugs want is a videotape of them beating up and murdering a family. You also come to find out that the thugs are crooked cops, trying to cover this whole ordeal that Mr. Martin videotaped from a distance and threatened to tell the police. Very interesting movie, great show to spend 1.45 hours on, I would recommend it.

I rate it 3.5/5.0

Product Review: Apple iPod, iTunes & Anapod

2005-02-02T23:14:00.000-05:00

I bought an Apple iPod awhile back, because I thought it was a good idea, since working on computers of having a data storage system small enough to fit into a shirt pocket, but large enough in size to hold sizable amounts of data. Plus, I sold my old RIO MP3 player, and was into the iPod for the obvious reason. I bought the 20 gig version, and am very satisfied with it. I will however say that iTunes, isn't that great. (I am an old Musicmatch Jukebox junkie) I don't care for iTunes interface, and really don't like the "automatic" sync when device is plugged into it. Last complaint is the "double files" you seem to get when sync*ing with iTunes. 30% of the 4 gigs worth of tunes I have on my iPod are duplicates. (Very annoying, seems that they copy from iTunes a second time for some reason, from PC to PC) Another thing that kinda annoyed me about the iPod, is that at the time, there did not seem to be a way to "explore" the iPod for files, etc. After some searching on the net, I have came across a highly recommended program for the iPod to use like Windows Explorer. It is called Anapod, and you can find it here: http://www.redchairsoftware.com/anapod/ This program costs $25.00 for a personal license, and is worth every penny. It validates your iPod serial number, and generates a unique key to let you register the product. Since I have began using this program on the iPod, I have been able to easily name, replace, delete and move files on the iPod through my computer using an explorer interface.

I would rate the iPod a 4.5/5.0 (Battery life still sucks)
iTunes 2.0/5.0 (Looking for replacement program as we speak)
Anapod 5.o/5.0 (Awesome little app, does exactly what it says)

Wishlist: ZBOARD

2005-02-02T19:55:00.000-05:00

This product was first introduced to me by my best friend, as he got it as a gift for xmas. I wasn't sure what to think of it at first, but he is in love with it, and it seems like a neat idea. I am talking about the ZBOARD keyboard. You can check it out here: http://www.zboard.com/us/index.php It is basically a normal keyboard, that you can buy themed facias for, that are designed to work with our favorite games. (Notice the World of Warcraft option :>) The board itself retails for around $50 and the facias range around $15-$20 USD depending on which retailer you find them at. Great idea if your favorite game is featured. I will write an in-depth review once I get mine. Only drawback I can see with it would be that it isnt compatitble with my I/O gear 4 port KVM switch.

Software Review: Microsoft Outlook Live

2005-02-02T19:33:00.000-05:00

I have always been a big fan of Outlook, since the introduction of Palm devices started sync*ing with it. I always found it to be particularly cumbersome to work with on a daily basis though, becuase I use multiple computers. I always got stuck with my content on my work PC, Laptop, or Home Desktop, but it seemed like I was never at the right PC at the right time, to get the information I wanted. Sure, I could have sync*d my Palm device with the computer and set up a relationship, but sometimes the Palm battery would be dead, or have the hassle of sync*ing it to every machine.
Well this is a thing of the past with the introduction to Microsoft's latest product: Microsoft Outlook Live. I know there are people out there that are thinking that this subscription service is a total rip-off, but there is more. The service might actually surprise you on what it can do. Once you purchase the subscription for $44.95 from here: http://join.msn.com/?page=outlook/olc&pgmarket=en-us&ST=1&xAPID=1983&DI=1402 You get an option to download the office connector. This allows you to connect to Microsoft's email server, and also sets up your Hotmail account directly into Outlook. You can also download an extra utility that allows you to sync the information over the internet between multiple PC's automatically. If that was it, that would be worth it for me, but Microsoft also throws in an increase to your Hotmail email account. They adjust your inbox size from 200mb to 2 gig storage, they also increase your attachment limit from 2mb to a generous 10mb. Also, they lift the "inactivity-login" expiration timer off your Hotmail account, so you willl never have to worry about logging in every 30 days in risk of losing your email account.
I opted to use this program this year for my work scheduler, and ditched the Franklin Planner. I have been using it for about six days now, and I love it. It is really nice to log onto any computer and click the sync icon, and 20 secs later be cruising my datebook, having my contacts phone numbers at my fingertips, and never again having to write down 1,000 post-it notes to remember what I need to do when I get home. I would have given it a 5.0, but due to 30% of it's advanced users options/features only able to be accessed through Hotmail's server on the internet, I knocked it .5. Great app, check it out!

I rate this product 4.5/5.0

Purpose of this webspace

2005-01-12T21:30:00.000-05:00

I plan to publish information to help the people I know get the answers they need, all in one spot on many different topics