Well, at least they finally came...
580536
On December 27, 2011 I posted the following 3 star review:
"Thought I ordered in time to have spare batteries to shoot kid's team's tournament games, but shipping date keeps getting pushed back, so after 17 days; still no batteries. Tourney starts tomorrow, so if they don't magically show up today (despite still showing "shipping w/in 2 days"), other arrangements for backup batteries will have to be made. Can't rate what hasn't been received. :-("

On Friday the 13th of January 2012, the batteries *finally* showed up, over a month after ordering them.
Upping the stars to 4, but haven't had a chance to charge 'em up and use 'em yet.
Original order was through United Integral, but notice now that seller is listed as Blue Mall.
1543005
Took awhile for delivery, but over all it's nice!
1968683
Needed these and they were happily received.
4807262
So Far so Good.  They seem sturdy enough.  They did get delayed in shipping, but that is just how it goes sometimes.
4281484
This came earlier than I was expecting, and they were perfect!
2030909
Seem like decent, well made pants and they sure got here quickly.
3578075
...and this time, they got it quite right.  The smiling begins the moment you open the Amazon box and lay your eyes upon the beautiful nearly 10 x 10 box which encases this very nicely put together set.

Some may complain about having to pay for the two disc formats; if it means, however, getting this overall deluxe package, it's worth not letting this one detail get in the way.

Before getting to the "main event", we have a nice set of bonus features.  My personal favorite of these is the "outtake" video of Your Mother Should Know in which we see "the boys" clearly enjoying themselves amidst smiling stumbles and do-overs.  When I was getting to Hello Goodbye i expected the "usual" Sgt Pepper outfitted performance video.  Instead I saw something I, myself, had never seen before..a black and white sort of scripted concept piece set to the music interspersed with scenes of the group going over parts of the film on a viewing machine.

One thing to point out about the bonus sequences is that the video quality of these outtakes was not 'corrected" all that much if at all...there's a little bit of "grain" and "scratch" but not something to get too upset about. Also, in the musical sequences, the sound, while quite good, is not as aurally enveloping as in the actual movie.

The book which accompanies this box is, in a word, a delight to read and look through.  In words, it aptly catches the spirit of the times both in terms of The Beatles' world and the world around them at that phase in their careers.  Pictorially, it's beautifully layed out adding effectively to the overall "flavor" and 'color" of the Summer of 1967;  some shots are very familiar, some not as familiar...it's all good.

The double EP vinyl set-a reproduction of the original-was, for me-a vinyl lover-quite a treat and, perhaps, the main reason I salivated over this deluxe version.  We get the original mono versions of the six movie songs pressed on Parlophone repro labels.  Not only is the sound quality deep and vibrant, the actual heavy quality vinyl pressings are quiet and near flawless.  These, by the way, are far superior to the Capitol 45 RPM re-issue pressings appearing in the Target and record Store Day boxes.  As a continuing fan of the "record", I'm extremely happy with these.

...and, finally, the movie itself;  as  always , it continues to be a joyful watch as a time piece representing-as the book states-The Beatles within the context of The Summer of Love.  The visual quality-given the shortcomings of the original film-is gorgeous;  the sound-with most consideration given to the song sequences-is breathtaking.  This is, by far, the very best these songs have ever sounded in my opinion.

If you are an average fan of The Beatles I recommend the bluray/DVD disc on it's own.  If, however, you happen to fall into that sacred group of "serious" Beatle fans, this deluxe version is a must-have as far as I'm concerned-most especially if you're a fan of vinyl-not only for the records but for the beautiful reproduction of the story book as well.  Well done, Apple.
2895522
With much anticipation and after so long, Chicago XXX finally came out.  Perhaps it was abit naiive to have any serious expectations at all.  Don't get me wrong, this is not a terrible album by any measure, but it would be untrue to call it anything other than just 'ok'.  I completely agree with the other reviewer that there are still fans waiting for them to come out with something more uniquely Chicago and more sophisticated, something with some resemblance to what they were back in the 70s, before David Foster came along.  Frankly, they just don't have anything to lose after all this time and they should be having as much fun as they could.  Time is running out in a sense.  What on earth are they waiting for ???

By contrast, another legendary band with a brand new studio album, TOTO, is very much moving forward with their music and heading into some very impressive directions, without losing their distinct TOTO signature.  The name of the album is "Falling In Between".  Order it now and 'experience' it for yourself.

As for Chicago, here's hoping that their next studio album will be just a short wait away, but more importantly, that it will be an outstanding one to demonstrate what these guys are really capable of.
4324974
They arrived alive and well, even though the shipment was delayed somewhere.  They are MUCH tinier than expected, definitely not 1/2 an inch long. I haven't seen them since I put them in the tank, so hopefully they are just hiding and haven't been hiding.
4871443
yep finally got a good pair of pliers again!  Where my old pair went, I wish I knew.  Hope they didn't get thrown away by accident.
64212
This is the one thing I have been really waiting for as I gave the last one I had to my Stepdaughter for the same problem, it took a bit longer to get it than I had hoped but it is here finally and now I'm getting some relief fromthis cursed pain.
4560428
My only complaint is that it took nearly a month to finally get this. .... but the price was right.
1130178
They are beautiful.  I love them.  They were worth waiting for (it took quite a while for them to arrive).
1322887
They were adequate but that is what I expected when I ordered them.
2730959
It took couple weeks. But things are getting so much better.
4756560
They did arrive sooner than expected, and did have a little odor to them. I let them air out, and they seem fine now.
1679068
It's what I was expecting.  It came a bit late.  But it came.