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Archive for April, 2006
Honda Apple Link
Apr 26th, 06
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nuxx.net – Honda Music Link iPod Adapter Review. But don’t get the Honda Music Link. It has software that is supposed to allow voice recognition and selection from the stereo, but as this user notes, it doesn’t work. Instead, I’d recommend getting a Tendeck flexible thingy that plugs into the cigarette lighter and then using the auxiliary MP3 iinput.
Honda Fit Hybrid
Apr 26th, 06
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Hybrid Cars – Honda Fit Hybrid. More details on this rumored car. The high points:
* Will probably be about $3K more than the $16K list.
* Target is 60 mpg (!!!)
* Will use a 90 hp engine with Honda inline electric motor (20 hp)
* They will probalby allow the electric motor only to power the car at low speeds (<30 mph) and for a short time (< 5 minutes).
* Doesn’t have regenerative braking
* Probalby will launch in a few month
Honda Fit
Apr 26th, 06
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1
Also it is the car tuners dream and lots of folks at “Hondatuner.com”:http://hondatuningmagazine.com/features/0308ht_spoonfit/ would agree with that.Stock it weighs just 2500 pounds and has a 110 horsepower motor. Not far from the original Civic with its 90 hp that we had. It only comes in a hatchback.
The main innovation as “Edmunds”:http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/Drives/FullTests/articleId=109810 points out is not the nice tight suspesiuon of the 5 speed manual, but the “magic seat” which with one button lets you slide the front seats forward to get in and then the rear seats drop flat if you want without removing the head rests. Also the gas tank is moved to the front so there is lots more leg room.
For the cool folks, the 5 speed automatic has paddle shifters so you can handle it like a manual if you want it gets elssentially identical fuel economy. The so called Sprot trim level (higher end trim) adds security system, fog lights, power windows, cruise control, those cool paddle shifers, stereo with iPod input and about $1300 to put the list price at $15970.
And of course there is a rumor of a hybrid version coming out in later this “year”:http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/News/articleId=109394. Now of course this will be the so called light hybrid, so the fuel economy won’t be anythingl9ike the toyota models.,
Honda Fit
Apr 26th, 06
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Consumer Guide, Edmunds review Honda Fit – Autoblog. The Honda Fit just got the top rating from Car and Driver this month. It is a subcompact that is the size of the original Civic (if you remember that car, we had a 79 Civic called the rollerskate). It is the best selling car in Japan. and gets an amazing 32 mpg without any fancy hybrid technology.
Also it is the car tuners dream and lots of folks at “Hondatuner.com”:http://hondatuningmagazine.com/features/0308ht_spoonfit/ would agree with that.Stock it weighs just 2500 pounds and has a 110 horsepower motor. Not far from the original Civic with its 90 hp that we had. It only comes in a hatchback.
The main innovation as “Edmunds”:http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/Drives/FullTests/articleId=109810 points out is not the nice tight suspesiuon of the 5 speed manual, but the “magic seat” which with one button lets you slide the front seats forward to get in and then the rear seats drop flat if you want without removing the head rests. Also the gas tank is moved to the front so there is lots more leg room.
For the cool folks, the 5 speed automatic has paddle shifters so you can handle it like a manual if you want it gets elssentially identical fuel economy. The so called Sprot trim level (higher end trim) adds security system, fog lights, power windows, cruise control, those cool paddle shifers, stereo with iPod input and about $1300 to put the list price at $15970.
And of course there is a rumor of a hybrid version coming out in later this “year”:http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/News/articleId=109394. Now of course this will be the so called light hybrid, so the fuel economy won’t be anythingl9ike the toyota models.,
Putt Putt in Seattle
Apr 22nd, 06
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“Putt Putt Golf”:http://www.cityofseattle.net/parks/Athletics/golfcrse.htm#green. There are two municipal places. Interbay has putt putt, but Green Lake has pitch and putt.
King County Library System NetLibrary
Apr 22nd, 06
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King County Library System. It’s impossible to figure out how to do this, but King County has a bunch of relationships. On the main page are links to Overdrive, to get to Netlibrary, you have to find this magic page, type in your library number and these audio books re available to you.
SD Card Guide
Apr 22nd, 06
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The new Panasonic DVD-D300 needs an SD card for still photos. It is only 3Mp resolution, but OK for snap shots. So what to get. Well, the main issue is read/write speed. The benchmark is 20MBps or 133x as the standard interface was once 133 times less thatn 20MBps. A 1GB card has probably the best price/performance.
Here are some good SDs to choose, but basically, you can buy 30x (5Mbps), 60x (10Mbps) and 133x (20Mbps) cards as noted in “Pricegrabber”:http://www.pricegrabber.com/search_attrib.php?form_keyword=&topcat_id=&page_id=152&popup1%5B%5D=50%3A105&lo_p=0&hi_p=0, the best selling card is right now the Corsair 133x in 512MB and 2GB forms. The 2GB is a screaming deal at $63 with a $20 rebate right now.
* Legit Reviews – Kingston Ultimate 1-GB SD Card Review. Runs at 133x
* “Sandisk Extreme III”:http://www.mobiletechreview.com/tips/sandisk-extreme-III-SD-card.htm. Another 133x card that performs well.
DVD Media Reviews
Apr 21st, 06
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There are lots of reviews on the web on DVD writers, but very little on the media itself. The right kind of media can make a big difference. I’ve used the Verbatim Data Life Plus line for CDs for a long time with great results, but with the plethora of DVDs out, what’s the right choice. Here are some places to look:
* Dvd Media Reviews. They have a pretty large set of reviews and do a bunch of burning with different drives that covers most of the major labels.
* “DVD-Recordable”:http://www.dvd-recordable.org/Reviews+index-req-showcontent-id-126.phtml. These folks have a great set of media test for the “off brand stuff”. In particular Ritek makes really cheap media as does Titanium, so you can se their tests.
* “CDR-Zone Media Forum”:http://www.cdr-zone.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=26. Some of the best data are on these forums as various hobbiest try different media.
* “DVDInfoPro”:http://dvdinfopro.com. This is a utility program that lets you do your own testing. What you find quite a bit is that if you record at 16x, then quality is tough, so slowing down to 12x is sometimes smart and is only a little bit slower.
So here are some things that I learned mainly from the CDR-Zone “Guide”:http://www.cdr-zone.com/articles/recordable_dvd_quality_page_1.html to high quality DVD media:
h2. Premium Media
This is the best quality and it costs more but you get great DVD burns:
* Taiyo Yuden. They also OEM to Plextor and Miflop Extreme
* Verbatim . It depends who manufactured this for Verbatim. For 8x media look for made in Japan. DataLifePlus is another indicator of quality
* Sony. _The most surprising recommendation, I personally haven’t seen such great reviews._
* Ricoh. But only for DVD+R media
* Panasonic. Look for Made In Japan on the packaging
Much of this is hard to find, but “Super Media Store”:http://www.supermediastore.com/ has a huge selection of DVD media (and CD media for that matter) at good prices and they have a special “Taiyo Yuden”:http://www.supermediastore.com/taiyo-yuden-dvd-r-media.html section with good prices. Or see the “Taiyo”:http://www.pricegrabber.com/search_attrib.php/page_id=2/mf=1/vendors%5B%5D=PGTYY prices at Pricegrabber.
h2. Recommended Media
This is good stuff, but you have to make sure that your particular drive with your particular firmware does well with it. So caveat emptor here, you need to read the reviews carefully and see if they tested your drive. Or test it yourself. This stuff has the best price/performance:
* Traxdata. always uses Ritek A grade dyes – it’s as good as Ritek media gets
* Ridata
* Ridisc Xtreme
* HP
* Ricoh. DVD-R versions only
* Infiniti
* Philips
* TDK
* BeAll
* BenQ
* Fujifilm
* Imation
* Samsung
* Optodisc
* Thats Write
* 3A Media
* 4M Media
* Piodata
* ToPrint
* Emtec
* Daxon
* Mitsui
* Maxell
* MAM-E
* MAM-A
They have lists for Budget and “landfill”. To me, don’t be penny-wise and pound foolish, stick with the best quality you can afford.
h2. Individual media reviews
* “Verbatim 8x DVD+R DL”:http://www.cdr-zone.com/reviews/dvd_media_reviews/verbatim_8x__double_layer_media_review_page_1.html. This is both big and fast media made by Mitsubishi Kageku Media. (Along with Taiyo Yuden, one of the best). It had great quality and was particularly good with the Benq 1640.
* “Philips DVD+R 16x”:http://www.cdr-zone.com/reviews/dvd_media_reviews/philips_16x_dvd_media_review_page_3.html. This burns particularly well on the Benq 1640 since Philips actually OEMs these drives. The media is made by Infomatics, which is a decent vendor.
Costco Auto and Discounts
Apr 21st, 06
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Costco Costco Auto Buying Program. Well I always knew that Costco had a program for buying cars. I didn’t realize how online it is. Now you can contact dealers online.
Also if you are an executive member and you go to a participating dealer, you get 15% off of service, parts and accessories. That alone could be worth the $100 membership. I don’t know what participating means though. Probably for dealers way too far off the beaten path.