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    January 3, 2014
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    January 10, 2015
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3Tcubed's Reviews
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Body Comp offers a total body assessment with weight precise up to 50g, plus full  body composition metrics  (body fat and water percentage, plus muscle and bone mass), cardiovascular assessment (Standing Heart Rate, Vascular Age), and an Electrodermal Activity Score, providing the most complete and accurate overview of body metrics ever offered. Every weigh-in appears in the Withings app automatically, via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth sync. And unlike many smart scales, with Wi-Fi sync, you don’t have to have your phone with you when you weigh-in to synchronize your data.
 
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Customer Rating
5 out of 5
5
Insightful Health Scale
on May 28, 2023
Posted by: 3Tcubed
​I recently changed from using a "fb" health tracking device to using an Apple Watch. For me the latest "fb" watch did not track my sleep properly, it basically said I never slept. My wife has not had the same issues, her tracker works fine for her. A few years back we got the "fb" scale and she had used it pretty regularly; so I'm familiar with the data it captured. This Withings scale is quite similar, but I actually find it to be much more sophisticated with better data collection (although I've used it just over a week). I had a lot of problems with getting the "fb" scale to register my Ecg and O2 saturation, but no problems at all with the Withings. The Withings is also much faster in collecting data, it takes between 25-30s to collect all data; the "fb" scale took closer to a minute. If you've never used a smart scale, you should use it at about the same time everyday if you want to get consistent results. I'd suggest either first thing in the morning, or right before bed time. For me, I found that I lose about a pound or two overnight (dehydration).
Setting up the app and scale was very simple, just what you'd expect. The Body Comp Scale is very easy to use, just step on the scale and it automatically measures your weight, body fat percentage, heart rate, bone/water percentage and other statistics. This data automatically syncs with the Withings Health app, and with the Apple Health App. This makes it easy to view your progress over time (and in multiple formats). You can set goals and view your progress in achieving those goals (mostly weight). It is possible to share your progress with friends and family. My bathroom floor is a white tile, the white scale looks very simple and modern o​n the tile floor. The numbers on the scale are plenty large, I don't need to wear my glasses to see them​.
I believe the scale is very accurate. To test this I got on the scale, got my weight, then got back on holding 2x10lbs weights, and my new weight was exactly 20lbs heavier. I weighed the weights alone and the weight was 0.1lb shy of the expected 20 lbs. And I've not seen any significant swings in the data it records, except for my sleep data (which it has detected reliably, but my Light, Deep and Rem sleep varies significantly, as does my Awake periods). Getting this data integrated with other data from my Apple Watch makes for a pair that plays very well together (something Apple seems to do with very few). So having used a smart scale before, this Willings Body Comp scale is a great advance in data collection. I'm looking forward to creating a lot more data over time.
The scale does require you to set up an account with Withings, and they claim all of your data will be kept confidential; no different than Apple and Apple health I'd guess. I'm quite impressed with the scale speed and data collection operations, it's a fine piece of health equipment. I recommend it to track your health data.
I would recommend this to a friend!
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Get hands-on cleaning control and hands-off debris removal with the All-in-One Tower that keeps your LG stick vacuum clean, charged and ready to go—automatically. Two quick release batteries and Kompressor technology combine for uninterrupted cleaning power, with multiple tools for cleaning all kinds of surfaces, both high and low. Done for the day? Return the vac to the tower to recharge, store tools neatly out of sight and let Auto Empty clean out the dust bin for you. Your hands, floor and air stay clean and your CordZero vac is ready to go when you need it next.
 
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5 out of 5
5
Finally a battey powered vac that sucks
on May 28, 2023
Posted by: 3Tcubed
I live in a split level home, I have 4 robot vacs, 2 downstairs and 2 upstairs. They run once a week.  I ran them before I did my testing on the LG CordZero.  I have a variety of rugs throughout the house (mostly tile and wood floors).  The robots have a tough time with the rug edges and where the rugs are close to walls.  I also had an exercise room with rubber floor tiles (18"x18"). The robots struggle with this floor, as did my old Hoover.  So I'm anxious to see how the LG stick will do.
Getting the LG CordZero setup took about 10m to unbox and remove all the tape and do the simple assembly.  The unit cones in one big box containing 3 smaller boxes, One all of the accessories (a nice assortment of tools), the next largest is the stick components, the last largest box is the stand/emptying tower.  The vacuum comes with 2 batteries, one gets charged in the vacuum the other goes into the top of the tower.  The batteries only go one way and click into place. Like everything these days, LG has an app, the LG ThinQ (which they use for most of their smart products, I already had the app installed, so I only needed to add the Vacuum, which it found automatically once I connected the Vacuum to my 2.4G WiFi network.  About all the app does is tell you the status of the device (Charging, Charged or Vacuuming).  It also collects information about usage to help  you with filter changing suggestions, a smart diagnosis tool that assures you everything is put together correctly. There is also a "Tips & Articles" section that is an online help guide.
The StickVac has 3 power levels, Normal, Power and Turbo; each uses the battery more rapidly.  I'd expect to get 40m on Normal, 30m on Power, and 20m on Turbo.  The vacuum is fairly quiet on Normal, a bit louder on Power, and even louder on Turbo.  None are that noisy.  The vacuum tools all can be stored inside the tower sides. The crevice tool, pet hair tool, and cleaning brush go on the right side. The  mini-vac head (likely to be used in a car or in place of a 'DustBuster') goes on the left side (it makes a really powerful dustbuster).  It took almost 3 hours for both of my batteries to charge completely (there is a LED indicator on the vacuum front and on the top of the charging station).  
I started in my kitchen where the rug is close to a wall, where the head easily negotiated the space and picked up what the robot had left behind.  I generally found the LG CordZero did a better job on my hard floors than the robot did, and it can get under furniture that the robots bounce off of.  So I found that I found a lot of dust bunnies under furniture and in corners that the robots miss.  I also used the stick on my carpeted stairs, obviously a place the robots are useless.  This was one of the primary reasons I was looking for another vacuum, my stairs.  I then went to my exercise room, where I have 1" thick compressed rubber floor tiles.  It makes for a nice workout area, but they are so difficult to clean, as they are kind of rough, and traffic from outdoors attracts dust that sticks to them.  In the attached image you can see the difference that two passes made on the tiles (on the 'power' setting).  My "green rooms" new best friend.  I wandered around getting under beds and furniture that I knew the robot missed.  I can't say I was surprised by the amount of dust and hair that the CordZero picked up (but I was).  I ran about 1/2 the time on normal power and most of the rest on the 'power' setting. I didn't really use the Turbo mode that often (that's how powerful the first 2 modes are).  I did find that using the CordZero on thick pile rugs was somewhat difficult to move the vacuum, but that is not where I plan to use it the most.  
The second last image shows how full the vacuum container was after about 25 min of use.  The last image shows a "push" plunger on the top of the vacuum, when emptying the vacuum into the tower, if the vacuum is packed pretty tight, you might need to assist ing the unloading process by pressing this push button in.  
There are numerous filters that eventually need to be cleaned or changed, the CordZero comes with several bags and extra filters, one goes in the hand held unit, the other goes into the tower. Emptying the bag is quite straightforward, LG's did a good job of trying to prevent you from making a mess of emptying the tower.  I've not used the tower enough to know how often it needs to be emptied, but there is a message that will be displayed on the tower when it needs to be emptied.  You can either set the tower up so that it sits on the floor or it can be hung on the wall, depending on the space you have available.
If you have hard floors I can fully recommend the LG CordZero Vacuum, this coming from someone with 4 other robot vacuums, there is still a place for manual vacuuming.
I would recommend this to a friend!
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Easily shift between tasks with the new Dell Inspiron 14 3420. Multi-tasking is a breeze with the Snapdragon compute platform powering swiftly between applications, browser tabs, and tasks on this Windows 11 PC.
 
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4 out of 5
4
Color me pleasently suprised
on May 27, 2023
Posted by: 3Tcubed
This is not the type of notebook I'd usually get for myself, it, on the surface appears to be an entry level notebook. And with only 8GB ram (not upgradable) and 256GB m.2 SSD (upgradable) and this new'ish Snapdragon 8cx G2 CPU, I really did not know what to expect. It ships with Windows 11 Home S edition. This can easily be changed to the full windows home edition. Windows S only allows apps from the Microsoft store to be installed. That wont work for me, as the first thing I wanted ot install was Google chrome. So good bye S Edition. I also wanted to upgrade the SSD from the 2230 single channel SSD that the unit comes with to m.2 Gen4 Samsung 850 Pro (2280). To do this you must disable Bitlocker that comes enabled by default. It took about 10min for the decryption to be completed (I don't plan to re-enable it). I then installed CrystalDisk to see what the read perfomance of the installed SSD drive was. I got what I expected about 2000mb/s read; max for a Gen 3 SSD would be 3500. for a gen 4 it could be well over 6000. I then cloned the installed SSD to my Samsung 1Tb SSD installed in an external USB SSD case. It took nearly an hour.
This Dell had 8 philips screws than needed to be removed/released (4 stay in place), the plastic back then needed to pryed off. The only thing upgradable inside the case is the SSD. The battery can easily be changed if necessary. The SSD has a room for a 2230, 2240 or 2280 m.2 SSD. Dell has a simple aluminum heat spreader on/over the SSD. Two smaller philips head screws, and the SSD can be easily removed. I then installed the 850 Pro SSD with a copper/graphine heat spreaded (3mm), which should be an improvement over the originally installed aluminum head speader. I made sure it booted, which it did, before screwing it back together. Now I rebooted, and all looked good, back to CrystalDisk Sequential reads were 3500mb/s. Not what I'd hoped to see, but almost double what I started with (not to mention 4x the space). But even thought Dell's service manual says the 3420 supports gen3 & gen4 the BIOS (which is VERY limited) currenly only supports gen3 speeds. I guess this could change with a future firmware/BIOS update, as the hardware seems to support gen4. I considered re-imaging to another 1Tb SSD (gen3), but decided not to.
Now some great news, the time to boot the 3420 was now less than 3 seconds. Quite remarkable. I did find that some software could not be installed as it was expecting a windows 64 bit, some how it got a response tht told it differently. I tried installing Microsoft Office (2019) and it gave me errors. I deermined the errors were caused by Office 365 being installed to begin with. I removed the 3 different office365 version and the 3 versions of onenote. Rebooted, and the install of office with the SnapDragon CPU went perfectly. This is was a suprise, I was not sure that older software would work correctly with this CPU, and without Windows S. Well no issues. And Chrome a with gMail worked pretty swiftly, not much different than my i7 12th gen Intel notebook. Draw3D with a large image seemed somewhat sluggish in loading. But streaming video from YouTube worked fine, as did with movies from VUDU (I do have Gb connection with wifi6).
I confirmed the 8cx CPU does in fact have 8 cores (running at 3.?? Ghz). With "nothing" running about 3.5GB ,of the 8GB memory is still available; I wish this could be easily increased, that would make this a REALLY surprising machine. The touch screen looks good and works very well, the trackpad is a nice size for a 14" notebook. The keyboard is pretty average, it's not backlit, it's a little soft, with no tactile markings on the keys. But the battery life looks to be excellent. I did not do any extensive tests, but it looked like, with periodic use, +12h would be achievable with minimal usage like browsing the internet.
This is a really good budget notebook, if you can live with its limitations; 8Gb memory limits running many applications at the same time (or Google Chrome or MS Edge having many tabs open). The stock SSD is not very good, or sufficiently large. But with m.2 gen 3 drives becoming cheaper weekly, a 1Tb drive is now under $80. I can't recommend a gen 4 drive until the firmware is updated to support the faster speeds, in which case the performance of this "little" notebook will get even better. For the price it's a good deal that could get even better.
I would recommend this to a friend!
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Store your favorite bottles of wine and impress your guests with a nice, chilled drink for your next small gathering. The Insignia NS-WC29SS3 14-Bottle Wine Cooler allows you to store your wine and other drinks at an ideal temperature, so they are always ready to drink. Perfect for any gathering, store up to 14 bottles of wine in an organized layout. Moving the party? Position the cooler wherever you’d like. With a reversable door and adjustable legs, the cooler doesn’t have to stay just in the kitchen. Finally, this appliance adds a modern look to any space with its stainless-steel finish and tempered glass door. Prepare for your next party knowing your drinks will be chilled and ready to let the stress of the day melt away.
 
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4 out of 5
4
Nice and quiet
on May 27, 2023
Posted by: 3Tcubed
I've had several solid state coolers in my exercise room, they just have not lasted. So I inquired at BB what would provide a longer life. A sales person told me to get one with a real compressor, he acknowledged the solid state units didn't last if you didn't keep their fans clean. I told him how I was going to use it, so he showed me a can fridge, "dorm" fridge and this wine fridge. The appearance of the wine fridge was far superior, and it cooled to a lower temperature (41 degrees) [but no temperature display (-1 star)]. The temp adjustment is on the bottom, behind the bottles, making it inconvenient to get to, but I doubt I'll change it much. Given that I'm going to use this for water and medications that must be kept cold, the shelves in the wine cooler seemed to offer a better fit than the can cooler. They had an 8 bottle cooler, but based on my calculations I could not store more than 16-20 water bottles, this can easily accommodate over 24, although 20 will be fine. Another nice feature is that the door swing can easily be changed from the right side to the left side, by unscrewing 3 screws on the top and bottom of the door, moving the bracket to the other side and screwing the screws back in (no flipping the door). There is a grab handle on both sides of the door.
Installation requires removing some packing materials, it is packed quite nicely. I like the exterior appearance of this cooler. The top rack probably would not accomodate a tall wine bottle (like some Rieslings). The unit also does not have an interior light, I had not noticed this in store. But given my exercise room is well lit, this is not a problem for me. The unit is about 18w x 19t x 17d, it runs very quietly, with only a moderate humm. The lowest could get the temperature to go (turning past 'cooler') was 44.5 degrees. I think it looks quite modern, I hope to have it for a long time.
I would recommend this to a friend!
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As the most compact speaker in the home line-up, Acton III fits in anywhere, with sound that really stands out. Acton III has an even wider soundstage than its predecessor, delivering room-filling Marshall signature sound that has been re-engineered for a more immersive experience. This new generation of Acton has tweeters angled outwards and updated waveguides to deliver a consistently solid sound that is so wide it chases you around the room. This two-way driver system delivers a balanced sound, with crisp, soaring treble and controlled, rumbling bass. Built-in Dynamic Loudness adjusts the tonal balance of the sound, ensuring your music sounds brilliant at every volume, while Placement Compensation corrects for any nearby reflective surfaces that may affect the sound. Acton III is ready for the future of Bluetooth technology and has been built to deliver next-generation Bluetooth features the moment they are available.
 
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5 out of 5
5
Impressive
on May 9, 2023
Posted by: 3Tcubed
I had a hard time deciding whether to get the portable or corded version of this, they are different models and sizes, but priced about the same. Finally I decided that +90% of the time I'll be in a location that has power, either on my patio, pool or at work. And the Action III has the larger amplifier, with hardware bass and treble controls.  I have two other BT speakers that are about this size, one does not have an Aux input, as this Marshall does. Both are priced about the same.  They both start with a brand name that starts with "S".  I did some side by side comparisons, and this Marshall Action III, was far better than the one from a well known Japanese manufacturer.  The Marshalls bass and mids were much more well rounded, fuller. Its highs were similar, both very pleasing, the Marshalls had a wider soundstage.  Compared to the American "S" brand, which had a room tuning tool, the Marshalls bass was again fuller.  But the mid's/voices of the Marshall were not as precise. But to be fair the room tuning tool of the American brand adjusts, equalizes the speaker based on the room's acoustics.  The application that comes with the Marshall speaker is pretty primitive, it allows you to change the bass/treble knobs from the app, instead of turning the knobs.  Both of the other speakers have more sophisticated apps.  Apple's Music app has a set of equalizer settings, these helped me get the Marshall's sound much better to my ear, but not as crisp as I'd hoped.  IOn my iPhone I also use an 'Equalizer Pro' app, that provides a sophisticated graphic/parametric equalizer.  Using this I could dial in a better tone curve that I could get from either of the other speakers.  So with the appropriate sound tools, I found the Marshall better filled the room than either of the others.
But like I said I'm going to use this speaker outside the majority of the time.  So out the door I went. I started listening to Boston's first album. I was about 15' from the speaker with the speaker close to a wall. More than a Feeling, sounded quite airy, the speaker seemed to bounce highs around. Quite pleasant. The bass was a little thin, so I adjusted the bass via the knob on the speaker, and that muddled the mids.  I used the equalizer I used indoors and knocked up the bass from 40hz to 120hz about 8db, and what a difference. Another boost from 1k to 2k and the mid highs from the speaker were much improved.  As Boston's Foreplay switches to Long Time, and the rhythm picked up, the speaker sounded very sweet, very easy to listen to.  Pretty superb.  The bass of Smokin was ok for a small speaker, I didn't expect chest thumping bass, and I didn't get it but it had a very even tone, just what I wanted.  I was listening with the speaker turned up to 6, and it was plenty loud. But turning it up to 8 it was really loud, MUCH louder than my Japanese "S" brand could go, and a bigger, deeper bass.  I then listened to some DSOTM, Money sounded amazing, a little bass light but the mids and highs were awesome.  US And Them had a nice presence, some nuances of the girls' voices seemed to get lost in the mono mix, but the subtle voices in Brain Damage and Eclipse seemed quite fine.
All and all this is an excellent speaker, the software they provide is somewhat deficient, but this is easily remedied.  The bass and treble knobs do boost those frequencies, but depending on your listening environment some additional help will yield better results.   This is exactly what a parametric equalizer is intended to do, help get the most out of a good speaker, based on your rooms acoustics.  Marshall has a winner here.
I would recommend this to a friend!
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5 out of 5
5
A big improvent over CH700Ns
on April 30, 2023
Posted by: 3Tcubed
About 4 years ago I reviewed the Sony CH700N headphones and said it sounded better than 6 other BT headphones I had, but they were not comfortable for more than an album or so. Needless to say I've kept looking, and looking, and with 7 more set earbuds and 5 more over the ear headphones to consider I now have the updated Sony CH720Ns. They weigh a little less than the CH700's and are said to offer 35hours of listening.  I  understand they have improved drivers.  They have a similar feel on my head to the CH700Ns, but a little lighter, and that matters.
Id's also say that the foam around the ears is a bit softer, and they are deep enough that my ears don't touch the inner drivers, which is what I think caused the discomfort with the CH700s.  They are much more comfortable and do a slightly better job of noise canceling.  I've found them much more comfortable than the CH700's but they still squeeze a little tight.  In addition I can use Alexa or to change volume (nice).  It also has an ambient mode so you can clearly hear the environment around you via a single button.  The 700's didn't have this function.  Several other headphones I've acquired recently have this feature in one fashion or another.  It's truly worth having if you're going to wear headphones around others.  Using these headphones on the telephone seems fine for the listener but still has the same tunnel sound I found on the CH700s.  The echo cancellation seems to work better, the CH700s prevented me from hearing myself talk and these CH720s allow my voice to be heard as I talk.  This is another improvement.
Now how do they sound?  I tried to compare the two headphones (which BT I can't pair simultaneously (nor can I wear).  There is no question that the CH720Ns are louder. And the bass is better,  maybe deeper, or just tighter.  They are not as bass forward as I've found in 'B**ts' headphones, but at the same time these Sony CH720N's mids and highs are a bit firmer and louder than that of the CH700's.  
I think that the CH720N's do a much better job of noise cancelation; I tried listening to both with my television on, and the external noise bleed with the CH700's was noticeable, where it was better with the CH720N's (but not perfect).  The ambient listening environment, where you turn off noise cancelation and "bring in" the external noises.  This allows you to hear what's going on around you.  I could hear the television on when my music was low enough, but over say 5 or 6 it had little effect.  Still this is a great feature.  
Now to some music from Boston and Pink Floyd; The transition from "Foreplay to Long Time", has some great surround stereo separation, softly swirling from ear to ear.  The CH720s were deeper and more airy.  But I found the mid-range lacking some sort of complexity. The overall balance of the lows and highs on the CH720s was very good but  not quite captivating.  As "Smokin's" bass built the CH720s certainly get your attention but are not overwhelming.  Here the CH700's were not as captivating, lacking some thump.  Listening to the Immersion Edition of TDSOTM, the voices in my head in "Speak to Me (Live)" were surreal with the subtle background noises being heard clearly.  But the full open soundstage was somewhat missing. The girls in "The Great gig in the Sky'' sounded surreal.  I enjoyed the comfort and sound of the CH720s more.  That being said, the deep bass of Money seemed a bit muddled.  But after spending some time with Sony's HeadPhones App I found that via the 'Equalizer' I could either use their Bright mode or create my own custom mode, taking down the bass a notch and kicking up the highs, to give me a better balance.  
The headphones also support 360 Reality Audio, which is another subscription service, to which I didn't have any subscriptions.  You can't get to these features from the headphone directly (that I could find). You need to access them from the phones 'Headphones App' and/or 360 Reality app.  But the best feature of the Headphones app is the equalizer, you can modify their sound curve from the app to your liking.
One other touted feature is Google and Alexa integration.  Having both Google and Alexa I tried Google first, but the first instruction I tried (skip to next song) was not supported. It could handle volume up and volume down though.  Also when issuing voice commands, my other Google devices could hear my commands and they "won" over the headphones.  Maybe my understanding of how this integration is supposed to work is misunderstood.... but it's not explained anywhere in the "manual" or via the online Headphone app.  After many years I'd say this is a work in progress with too many features not supported..
I also listened with the wired connection and as expected the overall sound stage was much wider and the brightness of the headphones really shined.  Until I connected these headphones directly to my DAC I really didn't know how much  better the CH720s were (via my custom equalization).
The headphones take 3+hrs to fully charge, in 3min you can add an hour of play time. They are a big step up from the CH700s.  And they are available at a very reasonable price.  I'm impressed they are not my best in my collection, but for the price they are outstanding, nothing less than $300 comes close.
I would recommend this to a friend!
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Achieve high-quality visuals on every play with this Panasonic Ultra HD Blu-ray player DP-UB154P-K. Deep color HDMI output and 4K upscaling delivers immersive enjoyment of your favorite movie titles, showing images at their very best. Featuring Dolby Atmos and HDR10+ compatibility, this Panasonic UHD Blu-ray player immerses you both in lifelike sound and images.
 
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4 out of 5
4
Many Pros a few Cons
on April 15, 2023
Posted by: 3Tcubed
I can't believe how small and fast Blu-Ray players have gotten.  It seems like I've been upgrading Blu-Ray players about every two years.  When they first came out they were quite big with all sorts of features.  Many included the original steaming products, offering included streaming functions before Streaming functions became common on HD TV and then 4K; although most 4K TVs had streaming functions by the time they came out.  Ten plus years later, we all have streaming boxes or TV's that stream on their own.  But when 4K ultra Blu-rays started to be released, HD10+ was not yet released, and Hi  Res (384kHz/32-bit PCM wasnot common).  But the feature I was most looking forward to was DVD to 4K upconversion.  I have a lot of early TV shows from the 60's/70's that are only available on DVD's; I'm anxious to see how this Blu-Ray player does on these.  I have 3 current Blu-Ray players, one was supposed to upconvert from DVD to Blu-Ray quality, It was a nominal  improvement.
To get started the front of the Panasonic DP-UB154P-K is about as plain as it could get, gone are the big LEDs telling you what it's doing.  I'm going to hide this in a big Audio Cabinet, where it won't be seen, so the fancy display won't be missed.  The on/off eject buttons are on the top right, they are small and black, hard to find; they had some LED backlighting to better find them.  There is a single red LED that tells you the unit is on.  Setup was an absolute breeze.   I connected to my Ethernet network, checked for updates and I was ready to go.  Note: this unit this not support/offer a WiFi connection.  So without a Ethernet connection, advanced Blu-Ray features won't be accessible.  The back of the unit has a power connection, HDMI connection and an Ethernet connection.  That's it.  No optical/digital output, only HDMI.  The unit supports 3D output if you have a DVD/Blu-Ray that supports that.  No Glasses are provided.  The unit supports absolutely every Audio/Video format that exists, including FLAC, via CD/DVD or USB connection.  It also supports DLNA connections, it found my NAS Server and 2 media servers with  me only needing to provide user/password information where required.  And it supports most Dolby Surround formats (except Atmos).
In operation I started watching Wonder Woman 4K Ultra, I've watched it several times before but never on a player that supported HDR10+, HDR10.  I have to say the difference is quite impressive, the things in the shadows are much more apparent, and motion is more clear.  WW has a lot of very dark scenes, and visually they pop a lot better on this BluRay player than on my others.  I then tried playing Lost in Space, the 3rd season (in Color!). And the quality on  my 4K Sony TV was surprisingly good. I could see some color blending issues, but compared to the original which was heavily pixelated, the 4K image was remarkably good, and it surprisingly fit the screen very well (no black bars).  Very good.  Then on to Colombo, where I got black bars but again a much better image than I had before.  Here the player really shines. It's great at upconverting.
The biggest con I had was lack of digital/optical outputs.  My surround setup feeds multiple independent Stereo systems, one 7.2 the other 5.1 (outside).  Without optical/digital outputs I could not get both to work. With HDMI I could get one or the other but not feed the audio signal to both. I tried a HDMI splitter, but it did not do what I needed.  I also with this blu-ray supported WiFi natively so that updates could be done without hooking it up to an Ethernet network.  For where I plan to use this player it's not a big deal, but for a different location it would be.
It is quite a nice BluRay player, especially for state of the art 4K discs and older DVDs.
I would recommend this to a friend!
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Own your space with the K585 Slim Multi-Device – an ultra-thin and design-forward keyboard perfect for simultaneously typing your ideas on your laptop and a text on your smartphone. Type across computers, tablets, and smartphones from one keyboard for one seamless workflow — with a built-in phone cradle for easier multitasking. The compact design integrates a number pad and media shortcuts, so you can work efficiently and comfortably in tight spaces. The quiet low-profile keys offer fluid, laptop-like typing, while an auto-sleep feature preserves battery life, so you can power through your work..
 
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Customer Rating
4 out of 5
4
Nice Kbd, Easy Setup
on April 1, 2023
Posted by: 3Tcubed
This is a nice little keyboard, it was very easy to set up (Windows, Apple, Andriod & Linix). I would have given it 5 stars if the built in stand for phone and tablet was wider and had better support. It's not quite big enough to fit my iPad air with no case.  And the wight of the tablet tips the kbd over (no issues with a smaller lighter phone.  But with a tablet device you must move between kdb and touch tablet. Not a big deal for me as I plan to use it with a computer and raspberry Pi.  But my first usage was trying multiple devices.
The K585 keyboard is very thin, much thinner than anything Logitech has produced previously (I have 5 or 6 K830s which is still my favorite, but it does not support multiple devices, and is not a full size keyboard (so more of an apples to oranges comparison).  Sitting on your lap it has minimal flex, and the keys move with little effort.  The keyboard is not backlit.  And you can pair it with either Bluetooth or the logitech USB RF adapter.  I used to find BT was a little slower response, but since BT 5, I can't tell the difference.  The unifying USB RF Adapter can be stored under the top of the keyboard (see photos).  The keyboard uses 2 AAA alkaline batteries (included) they claim it will get 2 years of battery life.  In using it as a Mac kbd I found some compatibility issues (fn key did work as expected, so using it with the Swift development environment is almost impossible). It is also difficult to get the upper cover back on correctly, it's made of a softer plastic, which makes aligning the little connector teeth more difficult than it should be, you must align all of the teeth at the same time to get it to reconnect, fortunatly I don't need to remove it often.
For Windows and Linux use I found the keyboard a nice comfortable layout, can't say the same for Apple.
I would recommend this to a friend!
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0points
0of 0voted this as helpful.
 
The Philips Norelco Shaver 7600 glides smoothly over your skin, while cutting each hair close - even on 3-day beards. Equipped with SenseIQ technology, the shaver senses, adapts and guides on the correct motion, for better skin protection.
 
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Customer Rating
4 out of 5
4
An Improved Shaver, does a nice job
on January 28, 2023
Posted by: 3Tcubed
My first electric shaver was the Norelco Triple Header with a slide "closeness" adjustment during High School. I used through College. A fwe years later I moved to Japan and discovered a new Wet-Dry rechargeable shaver and converted. Now, I'm back to the Philips Norelco 7200, a much lighter shaver than I recall, it claims to have a runtime of 60 minutes with a 60 minute charge. It has a popup trimmer which locks solidly in place. It is a wet/dry shaver which weights 7oz. The handle has a rubbery feel to it, is very comfortable, about 5" long. The entire razor being a little shorter than 7". In glancing at the instruction manual I noticed that they recommend using the shaver with a circular motion, not up and down, that this motion will improve the quality of the shave, and will require require less effort. The shaver comes with a USB-A charging cable, it does not include a USB power adapter (if your like I am I have plenty). Well my bathroom wall outlets actually have 2 usb charging ports, so this was not a problem.
So how did I like, it; the shave on my face and chin was very smooth, moving in a circular motion required some retraining, only under my upper lip did it seems odd. This shaver is noticibly quieter than the electric I've been using. But the shaver provided a nice close shave with no missed area after a few passes. No different than what I'm accustomed to. The wider pentagon shaped pads surrounding the circulat blades did a nice job of smooth gliding over my skin and placing the blade where it did it's job easily. No tugging, no pulling. When it got to doing my neck after several passes there were still whiskers that laid down, flat to the skin that the shaver missed repeatedly. This is a problem I've always faced, and why I can't use a shaver without a trimmer. The trimmer pops out easily and locks into place (better than what I've been using). With a few passes the "trouble" whisker were dispatched, another pass with the rotary head, brought a smooth neck.
The Shaver comes with an app (doesn't everything these days). The app telles you if your using a circular motion, and keeps a history of how long you shaved an on what days....yawn. The only feature I really liked was the improved battery charge display/status. I don't like to leave things charging all the time (especially if they charge in an hour). I can rely on the charged percentage to remind me to charge the shaver when it gets down to about 20%. The shaver also comes with a plastic cover for the top that protects the head when traveling. It very easy to open to clean, it also comes with a little cleaning brush. The shaver has a LED display on the front that notifies you when it needs cleaning, the battery level (only 3 bars), an app connected indicator and a motion led (which you can't see when your using it), and a SenseIQ logo. My only real complaint is the battery indicator, I'd much rather see a numeric percentage, rather than just 3 bars, maybe I'm just being picky, but needing the app to get a more accurate battery display was somewhat disappointing, although I'm glad the app has it. Other than that the shaver does a great job.
I would recommend this to a friend!
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0points
0of 0voted this as helpful.
 
A compact, foldable design weighing under 249 g makes DJI Mini 3 a great companion on any outing. Capture in 4K HDR, and with an extended battery life of up to 40 minutes, you can capture your surroundings in stunning detail without worrying about low battery.
 
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5 out of 5
5
249g of Impressive
on December 26, 2022
Posted by: 3Tcubed
The new DJI Mini 3 is a step down from its slightly older sibling the Mini 3 Pro. Both weight in under the magic 250g mark (where at or over that you need FAA License, which is easy to get but required for drones weighing over 249g). It loses forward and rearward obstacle avoidance (APAS), its camera sensor is 12MP vs 48MP, its max video resolution if 4K/30p vs 4K/60p, and the Pro’s advanced video functions of 10-bit D-Cinelike Video, Timelapse/Hyperlapse, Active Track, Spotlight and MasterShots. But its camera is much the same with a very fast 24mm F1.7 lens (fixed aperture), than can shoot in portrait or landscape orientation. But with the standard battery its flight time is 38 minutes vs the Pro’s 34 minutes. The 3 axis gimbal is extremely fast and stable. I took my first test flight with a 8-10 mph breeze, and I was immediately impressed with how well the Mini 3 handled in the wind, far more stable than I expected. The Mini 3 can use the same snap on filters that Mini 3 Pro uses.
My Mini 3 came with the DJI RC (LCD display), but can be flown with the DJI RC-N1 (no LCD display). Having used several drones with my phone as the display, the RC’s LED display was joy to use, it was bright enough to overcome most sunlight, whereas most phones are not nearly bright enough (and add to the weight). The RC had a 5.5” FHD, touch display with a 700nits brightness (few phones are more then 400) and it only weights 390g (<14oz) with a 4 hour runtime. The RC remote has 2 USB-C ports, one for charging, and one for connecting to a computer. It also has a microSD card slot, this card is used for 2 purposes, one to store detailed local maps and to store transmitted video (1080p max) and transmitted photos. The controller uses DJI’s O3 and OC3+ transmission for a max range of 12k (7.5 miles) with the Mini 3, but legally you must keep your drone in sight, which you can’t do with it miles away. But DJI’s great transmission distances are many times further than a Wi-Fi only drone, with a much more stable signal. The controls are very smooth and the joy sticks re-center very quickly. I found that RC remote took 2-3 minutes to acquire 10 satellites. I find in order for return to home to function properly 9 the minimum I’d typically fly with (with 11 or more preferable). The Mini 3s downward sensors allow you to fairly safely fly indoors but if you’re going to do this I’d suggest getting a set of prop guards to protect the propellers from nicking any walls.

This Fly More combo comes with three 38min batteries, a 3 battery charger, a padded case, a mini-screwdriver and 3 sets of replacement blades & screws, the RC remote and the Mini 3 drone and 2 USB cables and a gimbal cover (used when storing drone in case). When using the battery charger, the batteries are charged in sequence (the strongest to the weakest, never multiple at the same time). The charger can also connect to the remote, or other devices to charge them. The Mini 3 also supports the ‘Plus’ longer life battery (51 minutes of flying time), but this put the drone over 249 grams (to 287g). It took me about 1 hour to charge each battery.
The RC remote has the DJI Fly app already installed, but both the drone and the app needed an upgrade when I first started each. Both of these updates went smoothly once I’d connected to my local WiFi network. The Mini 3 drone has 3 flight modes, ‘C’inematic, ‘N’ormal and ‘S’port. These are marked with C,N & S on the remote. In Cinematic mode the drone fly/s turns slower and smoother, to improve the video quality (less jerky). In Sport mode it will fly much faster and its avoidance sensors are disabled. And any movement of the joy sticks lead to an immediate movement of the drone. In Normal mode small movements’ lead to small changes, in sport mode (which should be called expert mode) the drone reacts much faster to movements. The RC remote has two programmable buttons on the bottom, these can be set to any number of user selected functions.
On the Mini 3 drone there is a USB-C charging port/computer connection and a microSD card slot. 4 foldable arms and the removable battery compartment. The first outdoor images I captured were extremely bright, much brighter than I expected. I’m sure the camera fast f1.7 lens had a lot to do with this. Most drone’s I flown have slower lenses f2.4 and higher. This made me appreciate that the Mini 3 can easily accept filters. Having captured video over water before, I’ve experienced how important ND and polarized filters can be to getting decent video in bright environments. With the Mini 3s fast lens, I’ll probably always fly with at least ND8 filter in daylight (this also helps to protect the camera’s lens). Since almost all shooting is done in ‘Auto’ mode knowing how to adjust the cameras manual settings in ‘Pro’ mode I think is essential to improve video quality. When in video mode the controller shows the video options and in photo the photo options (on the touch screen). The bottom left corner displays an Icon showing the drones position from the takeoff location, and its “H”eight and “D”istance away (and rate of change (speed)) from the takeoff location. You can change the take off point to your current location, in the upper right corner by selecting Update “Home Point”, very useful if walking around with the controller and not planning to land where you took off from. The lower right corner shows the storage photo/video options, tapping here brings up the ‘Pro’ options, to change ISO, Shutter Speed, Resolution and FPS rate. The DJI Mini transmits video back to the controller in 1080P but display it on the screen in 720P, so live video appears softer then video played back from the SD card. Not sure why this is, as the Mini 3 Pro apparently does not do this. Keep in mind the highest quality video and images are stored in the SD card in the drone. Its 4K video images are truly sensational. As are the 12MP still images. I attempted some panoramic shots, that were just ok, could be me just learning, or the need to shoot pano when completely still. On the video side there are 5 preset shot types: Boomerang, Circle, Dronie, Helix and Rocket in each you select a subject with an x or by drawing a box around it, then Drone then moves around the object in the pattern selected around the subject. It does this much more accurately than you could do this by hand. In photo mode you can either a single shot, multiple bracketed shots or timed shots. The quality of photos is substantially better than pulling a single frame from a 4K video (which you can also do). You will want to use the DJI Quick Transfer feature which uses WiFi to transfer Video/Images from the drone to your Phone, not when doing this make sure the Drones arms are fully extended (not folded up). The other alternative is to move the microSD card to your computer.
The Mini 3 is quite a step up from the Mini 2, pretty much all around, especially with the RC remote, which I truly enjoyed. It made flying so much more natural. Highly recommended, but if cost is not really an object, or is you’re more concerned about hitting objects the Pro’s object avoidance and improved 10 bit video has to be considered. Both are great options, a step ahead of the competition.
I would recommend this to a friend!
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3of 3voted this as helpful.
 
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Harness the productivity of the Intel Core m3 processor with this Microsoft Surface Pro 4. Its 12.3-inch touch screen and 2736 x 1824 resolution are ideal for streaming your favorite movies and shows. This Microsoft Surface Pro 4 has 128GB of internal storage and a microSD slot for your music, photos and videos.
 

Is the power pack included in the Surface Pro 4 ?

A AC/DC power adapter is included; about 2' to wall about 6' from adapter to tablet (with quick release magnetic connector) prevents kicking cord and pulling tablet to floor accidentally (a nice feature).
7 years, 7 months ago
by
3Tcubed
 
Harness the productivity of the Intel Core m3 processor with this Microsoft Surface Pro 4. Its 12.3-inch touch screen and 2736 x 1824 resolution are ideal for streaming your favorite movies and shows. This Microsoft Surface Pro 4 has 128GB of internal storage and a microSD slot for your music, photos and videos.
 

Is there an option to increase to 256Gb?

You can increase storage with Micro SD card, but this is not exactly the same as increasing on board SSD, which you cannot (reasonably) do.
On the other hand you can add a 128GB Micro SD card for about $50, 200GB for about $70 and 256GB for $150 (w/prices dropping every month).
You could also use a external SSD drive like the Samsung T3, and add 250GB for ~$100 or 500Gb for <$175 or 1TB for ~$350 this is a little bulkier but offers higher performance and greater reliability - it would be my choice if your interested in durability (and you can easily share it/take it to anther machine).
7 years, 7 months ago
by
3Tcubed
 
Harness the productivity of the Intel Core m3 processor with this Microsoft Surface Pro 4. Its 12.3-inch touch screen and 2736 x 1824 resolution are ideal for streaming your favorite movies and shows. This Microsoft Surface Pro 4 has 128GB of internal storage and a microSD slot for your music, photos and videos.
 

does this come with the microsoft office already?

No
7 years, 7 months ago
by
3Tcubed
 
Harness the productivity of the Intel Core m3 processor with this Microsoft Surface Pro 4. Its 12.3-inch touch screen and 2736 x 1824 resolution are ideal for streaming your favorite movies and shows. This Microsoft Surface Pro 4 has 128GB of internal storage and a microSD slot for your music, photos and videos.
 

Does this come with Windows 10?

Yes, mine had the latest Anniversary Edition
7 years, 7 months ago
by
3Tcubed
 
Harness the productivity of the Intel Core m3 processor with this Microsoft Surface Pro 4. Its 12.3-inch touch screen and 2736 x 1824 resolution are ideal for streaming your favorite movies and shows. This Microsoft Surface Pro 4 has 128GB of internal storage and a microSD slot for your music, photos and videos.
 

Does it come with any bloatware? Stuff other than a clean windows install that you don't need?

Very little, not like buying an ACER - additional apps include the "Inking" aps that not part of Std Win 10 release, but you appreciate having it.
7 years, 7 months ago
by
3Tcubed
 
Simplify your everyday life with the Google Home, a voice-activated speaker powered by the Google Assistant. Use voice commands to enjoy music, get answers from Google and manage everyday tasks. Google Home is compatible with Android and iOS operating systems, and can control compatible smart devices such as Chromecast or Nest."
 

IS Philips - hue White LED Starter Kit required in order for the speaker to work?

No you don't have to a Philips Hue light for the speaker on the Google Home to work
7 years, 7 months ago
by
3Tcubed
 
Simplify your everyday life with the Google Home, a voice-activated speaker powered by the Google Assistant. Use voice commands to enjoy music, get answers from Google and manage everyday tasks. Google Home is compatible with Android and iOS operating systems, and can control compatible smart devices such as Chromecast or Nest."
 

Can I play music from my network drive?

It can play music from a DLNA music server
7 years, 7 months ago
by
3Tcubed
 
Simplify your everyday life with the Google Home, a voice-activated speaker powered by the Google Assistant. Use voice commands to enjoy music, get answers from Google and manage everyday tasks. Google Home is compatible with Android and iOS operating systems, and can control compatible smart devices such as Chromecast or Nest."
 

is it ac and dc

It requires 16.5V (2A) in input voltage; a DC -> AC Wall adapter is included
7 years, 7 months ago
by
3Tcubed
 
Simplify your everyday life with the Google Home, a voice-activated speaker powered by the Google Assistant. Use voice commands to enjoy music, get answers from Google and manage everyday tasks. Google Home is compatible with Android and iOS operating systems, and can control compatible smart devices such as Chromecast or Nest."
 

Can i use this device as Bluetooth speaker?

No, but you can "cast" to it, if allears as a Chroma Cast device, so from a browser, with the chrome cast extension you could send it audio.
But to answer you specific question, it does not "speak" /"understand" bluetooth
7 years, 7 months ago
by
3Tcubed
 

what is the best and fastest processor out there for and android tablet?

I want to buy an android tablet with the best processor thats offered yet, and dual camera would be nice but if not then definitely rear cam., has to have adobe flash, has to be upgrade-able to whenever the newest OS is available like right now is icecream sandwich, has to have a great responsive touch interface like the ipad, has to have the "Play Store" for apps, and it'd be nice if it had the external SD or mirco SD storage slot for expandable memory because I will probably buy the 16gb of whatever tablet has all these specifications, so help me please!! because I know theres a few tablets out there with all this specifications that I need in a tablet but which one has all these AND the best processor available???
Look for new Intel 5th generation CPU's to be hitting market very soon (Just announced at CES, Jan 2015); this new 5th generation of their i3,i5,i7 processors is specifically designed for higher performance, longer battery life tablets.
9 years, 5 months ago
by
3Tcubed
   Phoenix.AZ