Mixed bag, your results may vary...
931850
So I knew I was rolling the dice on this one when I snagged these guys up, and the odds weren't totally against me this time, but there were some notable drawbacks...

 Allow me to explain... Of the two batteries included only one worked properly, the other although fully charged, wasn't recognized as such by my phone and kept sending a signal that the charge was low. My phone, not knowing any better, kept force closing after the low battery charge message popped up. I found this to be very frustrating, but I didn't bother to send the package back because of its relative low cost, and 'cause I was LAZY. That's my gripe, and my hard lesson learned.

 What I did like; I thought the performance of the other "good" battery was ok, I've had it for about 6 months and the charge capacity held pretty good. I did notice a tapering off though in the performance as of late, the last update on my phone has been pretty hard on the battery. It still works, but the charge is depleting noticeably every MONTH. Because of this I picked up a new Samsung battery at my local sprint store and use that instead and keep the Laza as a backup just in case. At the very least I can say that the provided charger is handy and hasn't failed me yet. The provided pouch is..."cute" to say the least, but it's too small to be practically used for anything else I would need.

 I think the kit is OK, but considering my bad experience you might be better off buying the genuine article. I gambled and lost some, but at least I have someTHING to show for it...

 Who am I kidding, I'm just trying to justify my purchase... :-P
2834039
I ordered the Channel Master DVR+ direct from the company without the wifi adapter (didn't need it).

I'll start with the good, then tell you why I'm probably going to send it back.

The good: the unit is small, so it fits nicely in my smaller TV stand. I've found the interface to be responsive & quick. Some things take more clicks than I'd want, but I'm just sitting on the couch, right? Not like I don't have the extra second to spare. A lot of people aren't fond of the remote, but it reminds me a lot of the Playstation 3 remote, so it didn't feel weird to me. Guide data seems pretty good - I only checked it for one week out, but it was there & accurate. My 1 TB USB drive was recognized, formatted easily & ready to go without intervention, so thumbs up for that experience.

The bad: the tuner in this thing is pretty poor. This is really what kills it for me. I have 2 other TV tuners (one in the TV itself, one in a Windows 7 HTPC). The TV and Windows PC both pick up the main and subchannels for my local CBS and ABC stations. The DVR+ sees neither (both signal strength and quality read 0 in the interface - not sure how that could be since they're clearly getting TO the antenna as my other two tuners demonstrate). Not getting half of the major network content is really unworkable for me.

Channel Master support suggests moving the antenna (which I will try, but I'm skeptical since I have tuners doing just fine with its current location) or calling a professional installer to wire up your antenna - that seems to me to add quite a bit of labor cost to the price of the unit, so keep that in mind when considering the purchase.

If you have a near flawless signal, the features of the unit are nice and it could be a solution for you. If you think your signal can be a bit dodgy, be aware that this DVR may not be able to pick up less than 100% quality signal channels even if your TV or other tuner-enabled devices can. I was hoping to replace the HTPC with this unit as its smaller & quieter, but as things stand now, unless moving the antenna clears up the tuning issues, I will be returning the DVR+ to Channel Master. I give it 3 stars for the feature-set and because I don't think it will be a universally bad tuner experience for everyone.
2825729
I recently got a Squeezebox Radio and was impressed with the possibilities of the Squeezebox server.  I have experimented with a number of different ways to get my music integrated into my home theater/stereo, and hoped this would be the silver bullet.  Short story...it isn't.  Not quite yet.  Reasons below.

1. Sound Quality - While it was nice having my music on the big boy speakers (Aperion w Onkyo amp at 140 w per channel) the music was noticeably compressed and "lossy" sounding.  Bass lacked authority, highs and mids were muddled together, and the soundstage was quite narrow.  I tried connections over coaxial digital and stereo RCA with similar results.  By comparison, the Wadia 170i Transport sounded much much better.

2. User interface - The remote is very cool, however, its Wi-fi range is limited to about 20 feet if you have any obstruction whatsoever.  Walking around the corner from the receiver was enough to drop signal.  The click wheel is imprecise and clunky which makes selecting the desired song/option more difficult than it has to be.  Many of my songs are in a foreign language and their Cyrillic alphabet titles were not recognized.  Even after changing to Latin titles and they now showed up on my playlist, selecting them sent me to a seemingly inexplicable substitute.  Sometimes it would be the first song in my library (usually beginning with the number 1 - e.g. 1979 Smashing Pumpkins) or to a random song I couldn't figure out.  Also, it was rather annoying that your computer has to be on to access internet content like Pandora or internet radio.  The unit ought to work through your wifi connection independently.

3. Reliability - Often, when listening over my stereo, the audio signal would drop out unexpectedly and then re-initiate.  This happened both on coaxial and RCA on each occasion I played music.  Plus, each time I turned the unit on, it acted as though I had just updated and had a new welcome screen.  It also froze multiple times when I tried to enter my email account for the Squeezebox server, but somehow recognized the account without me entering the password on the 3rd try (?).

The Duet has some promising features, but overall it was a bit of a disappointment.  For the money, I'd rather not have to sacrifice sound quality for convenience nor do I enjoy constantly troubleshooting a brand new item.  I think Logitech needs to do some additional work before this is ready for the masses.
4271863
This was definitely hit or miss for me.  I got it because I wasn't a big fan of the test strips.  The price is cheap, but the results would sometimes vary quite significantly even with back to back measurements which kind of defeats the purpose and forced me to confirm with the test strips :/
1568200
First, you should know that the company WILL work with you if you have a problem, that is a big plus. Based on a friend's referral plus lots of good reviews here, I took a shot to use this with my FoodSaver 4840. For me, very mixed results, more on the negative side with issues of the vacuum seal holding. Based on my back and forth, it seems not 100% of this product comes from the same source, one order may come from on manufacturer, another from a different one - this may be the cause of the inconsistency.
the savings from the Foodsaver branded product are substantial, so it may be worth trying this out and working with the company to get product that works well for you - but you should be aware that it may not be a simple transaction where you buy it and it's perfect.
2909490
Good deal but there are some that don't work, make sure to buy more than you think you need
4847480
The kit itself and the instructions are great. There are at least three soil testing methodologies out there and the kit is ambiguous as to which methodology it employs. I believe it is a "sufficiency" methodology.

But be aware that once you have the test results you will not be spoon fed an amendment plan. In the copious amount of literature in the kit it took a while to track down recommendations. The challenge was they appeared in I believe three different sections of two different books. And the recommendations in those sections was at times contradictory.

I had to take all of their recommendations, and all the other recommendations I could find from other gardener/microfarmer types and come up with my own "best guess" for our situation. We amended to that (making records of course) and are observing throughout the growing season.

To really figure out the results/amendment recommendations I think it will take semi-annual testing and amending (pre-season and post-season) until figures get into and remain in the "sufficient" zones AND the crops perform as expected in a fertile environment.

And this is just pH, and N-P-K! However it's almost impossible to be insufficient on micronutrients where we are (long story).

So this is a great kit at a great price as I think you get 15 tests or so for $50-$60. That's like 25% of the price we'd pay going through our cooperative extension system. But the contradictions in certain sections and general fuzziness of amendment recommendations are real, so buyers should not expect a simple amendment plan to pop out of the kit itself.
3866866
Ive been using opks for a few months now and Ive been trying different brands to see what works for me. These were thinner then the ones Ive used  and not very good from what I experienced. Last month I never got a clear positive and it was not from lack of testing because I tested almost everyday . I tested two of these strips in the same urine against my clinic guard strips ( I got in the past and decided to rebuy for the future) none of them are a true positive but hopefully you can see the varied results on the bottom two strips. At the very least I feel the same brand should have the same result in the same urine. Is only a small variation but when you're looking at these little lines its a big difference. I will not be buying these again. As far as the pregnancy tests go I took two last month and wasn't pregnant and there was no false positives or faint lines so they seem to work well from what I can tell.
Update new picture from my actual surge. All three were dipped in the same sample. These strips are inconsistent.
3300886
My experience with the DIR-628 is mixed. It's a feature-filled router that may be wonderful, if you have all the parts to make it so.

Background: I am an intermediate to advanced computer user with two desktops and two laptops on a wireless home network. I replaced a 4 year old Buffalo brand wireless router with the D-Link and had high hopes of increased Internet speeds, increased range and increased security for all of the computers on my network.

I read the directions and manual prior to attempting setup, which definitely helps anyone setup a home network. Dual band (selective) is clearly explained in the manual which comes on the CD included with the router.

First, the promises. Up to 12x's faster speeds and 4x's farther range. I did note a nice speed jump on all the computers. I already have a high speed connection (250-300Mbps) so it didn't make a huge difference, but about 20-30% faster. Range is a tough one. I note the signal is stronger than the older router, but I didn't roam across the street with a laptop to check it. RE: MIMO technology - I didn't notice any dead spots in my one level house, however I didn't notice them before either.

On the box it says "You may need DWA-160 (usb adaptor)" to get more out of your network. Also under Recommended System Requirements on the side of the box it says "For Optimal Wireless Performance: Use with Dual Band N USB Adapter (DWA-160. REMEMBER: your wireless network is only as strong as your weakest link. If you have all of your computers running 802.11g... and one running 802.11n (draft), you'll only get the slower speed. Right now these adapters are about $80 each. Unless you need faster and can afford it, the `n' wireless setup might not be for you.

Second, `easy to install'. Yes and no. The CD with the setup on it (run it on your main computer before you do anything else) has clear directions and pictures which help.

The included Network Magic software is friendly, but it's trialware and will require you to purchase it after a 30 day trial. Not good in my opinion since you basically have all you need for seeing and maintaining a network through Vista or XP. It is visually appealing though, which made me install it...and then uninstall it when I figured out what it was and that I really didn't need it.

The setup worked and I was up, but then I was down. I had to reset the router and/or cable modem multiple times.

The router seemed unstable. I wonder if it was the "advanced WPA/WPA2" encryption or the two firewalls? Security is a frustrating...er, wonderful thing.

Third, the dual band feature. It's there and you can set it to either the 2.4GHz band for email and internet or you can select the 5GHz band for streaming HD video (not terribly useful yet for me...) and enhanced VoIP (Internet voice phone calling). It would also be good if you wanted to add a home surveillance setup which uses Internet cameras. I think it's on the cusp of something great, but misses the mark.

Finally, I had high hopes for something new and better, but frankly I don't think it's worth more than an average wireless router pricetag. If it came with an `n' usb dual band adaptor I'd think that would help, as would automatic dual band as part of the deal.

It is backward compatible and there is a slight speed bump from the `g' wireless (or at least it seemed so momentarily until the router went offline...), but in the end I took it off the network and I setup a Linksys router with the same security features, with much less hassle.

If you have dual band 'n' wireless throughout your home or office, this router might be worth a try if the price is right, but for me with my eclectic mix of new and old, I would not recommend buying this router until you have all the other new wireless dual band, rangebooster technology to go with it.
4488752
I bought this after purchasing the Incredible Results set with Rizer to add some variety into my morning routine (I do a DVD 6 mornings a week), but this is set is so far from what I was used to that it is going to take me a while to acclimate. First, there is so much going on with all the flashy lights and trampy looking dancers that it is hard to follow. At one point during the "Exhilarate" DVD, the main studio lights go out and you can hardly see silhouettes of the instructors / dancers between the disco lights when they're trying to tell you what to do. Seriously? There is no way anyone can follow along with that! I do like the "Ripped" DVD with the toning sticks (I bought the 2.5 pounders to go with it) and did feel the burn, but some of the people on set are dressed  so ridiculously that I had a hard time following along. The 20-minute "Rush" DVD was also good for the times when you're in a hurry. Overall, it's okay and I'm glad to add it to my routine because I did get a really good workout, but if you're trying to decide between this set and the Incredible Results set, I would go with the later. The Incredible Results set is in a calm studio and you get the burn from the using the step (with much better music!). While the 'party' / 'club' atmosphere for this DVD was fun, it sometimes felt like organized chaos with people running around stage to Latin/Hip-Hop music.
4665908
Some cups are 5 stars, some 1 star...average 2.5 stars. I'm averaging down to 2 stars though, versus 3 simply because of the inconsistency.
So far I have used about 11 cups of this. 6 were really good, just like you'd get at your favorite convenient store on a road trip. They don't require any 'extras' although I will add a little sweetener, but most folks don't drink coffee type drinks as sweet as I do. However, 5 of these were extremely weak, you can actually see a huge difference as it flows down to the cup. I've gone through about 8 other cups by hand, feeling, shaking, etc. It's obvious they had (hopefully past tense) a quality issue where a machine was out of calibration or something. Some cups are all but full, some seem to be 20% full, and the range varies between the two. I've had these for quite sometime now because I'm normally a plain coffee drinker, and I ordered such a large quantity of these because of a coupon and subscribe and save. However, if the first two cups had not been so good, I'd have requested a return/refund immediately. If you get a good batch, I'd recommend.
3829405
This works great so far! It might not be 100% accurate, according to some. But it'll let you know if you have a problem
1022186
I had hoped to really love this monitor, but it doesn't quite land in the 5 star "perfect" range for me.  It is quite nice, but not without a couple of areas where I hope the manufacturer makes some improvements.

First up, trying to find the proper driver to make sure that you can enable the promised FreeSync mode wasn't as easy as it should have been.  Perhaps because I got the monitor before it was officially released, but I would like to have thought that the manufacturer would have had things on their website before shipping the device out to anyone.  Information on the interwebs indicated that in order to get the most from this monitor customers would likely need to find beta drivers, though I didn't find those drivers as easily as others might have.  What this all tells me and should tell potential customers is that customers may find themselves having to search the web a bit to find information that should be on the manufacturer's website or included in the box on documentation that one might expect to find there.  Granted, again, the manufacturer may change things over time, but the box arrived with little or no documentation within, though it did include a monitor that felt, well, a little "beefy".  In my case, it replaced at 22" monitor, so it wasn't a huge difference in screen size and yet it does occupy more desk space than the monitor it replaced.

This G2460PF monitor offers plenty of ports for connections of just about any type you might want to use.  One item of note though is that if you intend to take advantage of the FreeSync feature you'll need to connect (at least at the time I was last researching it) via Display Port.

I have to note that I found this monitor very, very, very bright when it comes to the whites and bright colors compared to the Acer monitor that I replaced.  I was able to adjust the brightness for the display driver and that brought things back to a more normal range but before that it almost felt like I was getting lazer eye surgery just from trying to read the screen.  Once the colors and brightness were adjusted to my taste (through the Radeon display driver I use), I was much happier.

24 inches of display is a pretty nice range to be in.  It offers a fair amount of real estate to move windows around within and that can quickly spoil you.

For me, this device sits with 4 solid stars.  It is nice, and I'd certainly consider purchasing another or possibly a batch of monitors just like it for my work place if possible.  With some more obvious documentation and device support (such as providing *all* drivers, and including documentation within the driver files that can be downloaded, in an easy to find location on the the device support page) this device might sneak its way up into 5 star territory for me.
988262
Because the psychological profiles of four types described me very accurately, I paid to take the quiz to identify my dominant type.  I was very thorough, took my time, examined detailed photos.  The results placed me in a category that did not accurately reflect any aspect of my personality, my nature, or physical strengths (quite the opposite), and the same was true of the gland/type that ranked as my second highest score... also way off base.  Meanwhile, I had low scores for the four types that I entirely related to based on the detailed characterizations.  So, while I find the subject matter fascinating to read about, I wish I hadn't spent that money and I would not be tempted to invest further in purchasing and pursuing customized dietary recommendations because I am not convinced there's solid and consistent foundation on which to base these associations between gland, body shape, predispositions, and personality.  Nevertheless, I'm delighted this system has proven effective for some people.
826185
My score is based on difficulty with the product and not whether or not it worked because I don't know. Basically, I had a very hard time getting enough blood to fill the vile. I used all 3 lancets and only filled about 1/4 of the vile up. So on to Plan B - poke more, but with what? All the lancets were used up. I grabbed a sterile lancet from my diabetes kit to help draw more blood. I tried wiping the diabetes poker down as much as I could (with antibacterial wipes) to remove any male DNA. After about 10 pokes (I'm a horrible bleeder), I finally filled the file. Trust me, I did the hands under warm water, big circular motions, hang arms low, EVERYTHING! Very hard for me to get that much of a sample. Side note: it doesn't hurt, it's just startling :)

Results: SneakPeak said Boy, but I just completed my US and it's a girl. That said, did I cross contaminate? Probably. Hard to know now. So I would hate to say the product doesn't work because I was unable to follow it 100%.
344144
The performance of this sharpener varies wildly depending on the profile of your knife. I have seen reviews saying that it works on any knife, but I have not found that to be true at all. It is also possible that mine is defective. The angle of the coarse steels seems to be more aggressive on the right side of the blade then the left. if I line the knife up dead center (aligned with the "aiming" notch) it forms a massive burr on the left side of the blade which is too aggressive for the fine steels to get rid of so I have to fix the edge using one of my other sharpeners.

when I use this on my outdoor knives which have a more shallow profile in general, I find the performance of the edgemaker to be hit or miss. sometimes great but usually awful. On kitchen knives It is a little more consistent, but still not as great as I had expected based on reviews I read. I know I am using it correctly having seen several youtube videos of people pitching this product, I read the instructions more than once, and I have seen the instructional videos on the manufacturers website. Its not rocket science and the device is pretty simple to use. So the only determination I can  make is that this product is not as good as people say it is or the one I purchased has misaligned steels. The latter is quite possible Since two of the steels are touching and the other two are not. This hardly seems like the precision I'd been hearing about from this company. On the knives it works on it REALLY works well but on 80% of my knives (and I have a bunch) this tool does more damage than good.
363353
I bought this kit as an organic alternative to other products I was using based on reviews from another website. Long story short, I should have read more Amazon reviews. Im in my late 30s and have always battled problem skin areas - mostly around my jawline and cheek area.

The first 2 days seemed promising. My skin felt smooth and the nasty, painful blemishes around my jawline dried up a bit. I didn't notice any excess oil during the day, even covered in makeup. On the 3rd day, the results went south and throughout the remainder of the first week, my face ended up an oily, red, blemish-covered mess. I stuck through a second week, assuming it was the normal purging and adjustment period, but my face did not show signs of healing, and the breakouts were moving to places I normally didn't get breakouts. During the day, there would be so much oil coming from my skin I could dab it with a paper towel and see large patches of oil residue - it was pretty gross and embarrassing. After two weeks, I threw in the towel, literally.

The cleanser has a nice texture and feels good on the skin. It lathers nicely and does feel like its cleaning well. The scent was a little off for me, citric, but not quite, and there was an undertone of something I didn't care for, but I was wiling to ignore it. The serum was a little too sticky and it felt like I had a thin layer of something on my skin after applying - to be fair, some similar products have felt the same to me. The moisturizer is light and oil-free, but beyond that, its nothing remarkable.

Weighing the cost vs. benefits - there are mainstream natural and organic product lines out there that have given me better, less-expensive results. I would recommend trying those before this one.