Magellan GPS 315 (12 Channel)
Average Customer Review:
Electronics
list price: $209.99
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Editorial Review

Magellan's GPS 315 doesn't have a lot of advanced features, but it does provide positional and directional readings accurate enough to help you find your way back to base camp when you're out in the woods. This portable global positioning system is one of the most compact we've ever tested, and it features a crisp display for the pages of information it throws at users.

The GPS 315 is designed more for outdoor use than car navigation and doesn't display road maps. It does have a database of over 15,000 cities and the capability to accept up to 500 user-defined waypoints, so it still works fairly well for giving you bearings to the next town or point of interest. We used the tracking features extensively, which let us leave a "bread crumb" trail as we traveled. This was especially helpful when we were backtracking along the same route, as we were able to easily compare our current position with the trail on the display.

The display has two levels of backlighting, a feature that drains the unit's two AA batteries at a frightening rate. However, without the backlight on, we got more than 12 hours of use from the unit.

The GPS 315 uses simple controls that let users page through its numerous data screens. As long as we were moving the compass, the screens worked well; we especially liked the graphical compass that pointed out our current direction of travel and the bearing to a waypoint at the same time. The device can also serve as a full-fledged trip computer, measuring distance, average speed, and providing an estimated time of arrival. Perhaps the best thing about the GPS 315 is that all the data screens are fully customizable, letting users create their own data pages containing only the data they want to see.

Although Magellan doesn't include a lot of goodies in the box, the GPS 315 has many optional accessories that increase its capabilities. For example, you can get a PC cable to upload topographical and street map data. Without all the extras the GPS 315 is better suited for hikers and boaters than highway travelers, but it's an accurate and inexpensive way to keep your bearings. --T. Byrl Baker

Pros:

• Clear, high-resolution screen
• Customizable data pages
• Great accuracy
• Relatively inexpensive

Cons:

• No road maps or other detailed data included
• No built-in routing ability

... Read more

Features

• Rugged and weatherproof with a rubber grip
• Upload/download capability for additional points of interest and for use with PC mapping software
• Powerful 12 parallel-channel receiver and super sensitive quadrifilar antenna for superior tracking in any environment
• Built-in database displays worldwide cities and user-entered landmarks
• High-contrast, high-resolution backlit display with 2 levels of brightness

Reviews (29)

Great Introductory GPS Unit for Outdoor Use
While the 315 lacks many of the high-end features of newer or more expensive GPS units, it provides a basic level of GPS functionality that will be more than enough for the average GPS user.

The 315 is a parallel channel GPS receiver that can receive information from up to 12 satellites at any one time (however, you will likely never be able to lock onto 12 satellites at a time). The accuracy of the 315 is around 15 meters (45 feet), which is more than enough for the average person using a GPS to navigate in the woods or along roads.

Eminently portable, the 315 weighs about a quarter of a pound and can easily fit in the palm of an adult's hand. Built out of endurable plastic, the 315 is also weatherproof and waterproof (but don't go submerging it). The 315 runs on AA batteries and on a new set of batteries, can last anywhere from 10 to 15 hours.

Should you wish to download your waypoints, or update the built in database of locations, the 315 can be connected to a PC with an optional RS232 PC cable, available from Magellan.

Several different modes are available when you are using the 315 and these include a basic coordinate mode, where you location is shown in UTM coordinates and latitude and longitude. Other modes include: a waypoint mode (where you can input waypoints); an electronic compass mode; and a bearing mode (where the unit will keep you on the right bearing to a certain point) to name just a few.

The menu system on the 315 is fairly intuitive and the instruction book is clear and easy to understand. Within an hour of so of first using the 315, you should be able to have a good understanding of how it works and what you can do with it (read the manual, it does help).

Should you want more information on how the exactly GPS works, or on GPS in general, check out a book like GPS Made Easy, it is a great introduction to GPS navigation in the outdoors and will have you up running with your GPS much faster than trying to figure it out on your own.

I've had the 315 now for quite some time and have been quite happy with it. I first got it when I was a forest ranger in the Catskills and would use it during rescues and searches. The accuracy was high enough that when I would call in our coordinates to a rescue helicopter after finding a victim, that the helicopter would be able to find our location without any additional assistance. That in of itself made it more than worth the $150 that I paid for it. There's nothing like trying to direct a helicopter from the ground while they can't see you and everyone's yelling and hollering on the radios.

I've also used the 315 regularly to locate my own personal waypoints in areas that I am hiking. If I find an interesting or unique area, in goes a waypoint and that way, in the future, I'd be able to find that area without too much effort.

15-meter accuracy you say? 45 to 50 feet really isn't all that much when you consider how large an area you could be navigating in. Say I find a cave entrance and I mark it as a waypoint and then go home. When I'm back in the woods and locating that point, with my 315, the furthest I would be from the cave entrance on my return trip is within an area no more than 100 feet from cave. This significantly narrows down the area you are looking in and likely, you will find whatever you marked before without too much effort. In addition, while the accuracy is pegged at 45 to 50 feet, at times, your accuracy can be much greater than this and it will help you locate what you are looking for.

The 315 is quite sturdy too - years of being knocked around my backpack or thrown in and out of bags has not hurt it. The black and white LCD screen is still just as clear as when I first got it (though it does have a few scratches) and the rest of the unit is still in good shape. The back of the unit is coated with rubberized plastic and the front of the unit is hard plastic - this makes it easy to hold and operate - and helps when you drop it or bang it around - the rubbery plastic helps cushion the unit.

Final Thoughts

No one needs sub-meter accuracy in a GPS unit unless they are using it for surveying, or detailed research work. For those of us out in the woods navigating or driving and using GPS for navigation, need nothing more than the 15-meter accuracy that the Magellan 315 provides. Yes, you may want more, but in reality, you don't need anything better than that.

In addition, the 315 proves to be a worthy GPS workhouse, handling the rough conditions of the outdoors with ease.

So while the Magellan 315 may lack some of the high-end features of newer or more expensive GPS units, the basic level of GPS functionality that it does provide, is more than enough for the average GPS user.

(originally posted on Epinions.Com at http://www.epinions.com/content_121554767492)

Does not hold up
After about six months of use it started using batteries even though it was turned off. A few months later it quit working completely. I sent it in to be repaired under warranty. They sent me a new one along with a power cable. It worked fine for about four months (it only had a 90 day warranty), before it did the same thing. I turn it on now and the whole screen goes black. It worked very well and I liked the GPS and functioanlity, when it worked. I am now stuck with a non-working GPS and the accessories that I won't be able to use with the Garmin I plan on buying. Everyone I have talked to told me I should have bought a Garmin as they are the best.

not bad, but maps are better
Liked the reception of this vs. the Garmin unit I had previously. But soon learned that maps are the way to go. I upgraded to a Map330 soon after trying the 315. ... Read more

Asin: B00000J0IX
Subjects:  1. Global Positioning Systems (GPS) System    2. 990437    3. GPS (Global Positioning System)    4. Units    5. map (mapping)    6. navigation   

The PSR160 features a two-way speaker system and large backlit LCD. It is powered by the Yamaha PA-3B AC adapter (not included). ... Read more

Features

• Dual, harmony/echo, split voice effects
• 2 pads and 10 banks of rhythm
• 49 standard-size keys
• 100 voices and 16-note polyphony
• Perfect for beginners

Asin: B00005Q5J2
Subjects:  1. Keyboard (Keyboards)    2. Piano (Pianos)    3. Musical Instrument (Instruments)   

Garden Weasel90106Garden Weasel with Detachable Blades and Two Handles
Average Customer Review:
Tools & Hardware
list price: $29.99 -- our price: $19.99
(price subject to change: see help)
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Editorial Review

Originally invented and marketed in Germany, the Garden Weasel is still an amazing garden tool, even after 15 years of "As Seen on TV" advertising here in the States. Its self-cleaning rotary cutters run crosswise against each other, meeting about 1-1/2 inches below the ground to break the surface soil and creating a fine till with their scissorlike action. Use this tool to break up soil in large areas or wide rows or to scarify soil for seeding. If you remove a few of the blades, you can work on exceptionally narrow rows or around plants. By using the short handle (included), you can work in greenhouses or rock gardens. Clearly, there are many uses for this tool--it's hard to imagine, but after all these years, it's still one of the best cultivators on the market. Ingenious design, versatile applications, and solid construction have kept this tool at the top for decades. --Ariel Meadow Stallings ... Read more

Features

• Loosens the soil and does the weeding
• Wheels run crosswise against each other
• Scissor action ensures that the soil is continually broken up and weeds uprooted
• Wheel prongs clean themselves of dirt automatically

Reviews (18)

Should be called a Garden Wiz
I've had my weasel for a couple of years now and I love it.I have a vegetable garden about 12'X12' and this weasle is a wiz in it.Excellent to use weekly to rid my garden of beginner weeds, if you use it regularly you won't have a problem with weeds.

It also works good to airiate bad spots in your lawn and break up the compacted soil for new grass to grow.

This is a useless tool
What a waste of money.It won't cultivate, it won't weed, it won't even mix soft soils together.If you want to break your back scratching the surface of your yard or spend hours untangling the impenetrable foliage tapestry the blades will create, then this is the tool for you.If you actually want to accomplish something, you're better off buying a hoe, a rake, or a sharp, pointy stick.

Like most as seen on TV items...
I'm probably going to get blasted with no helpfuls for this review, but I've got to call a spade a spade.Growing up my family's summer project was driving to my grandparents farm and growing about 3 acres of winter squash.We started every saturday at about 6:00 am and worked through the day until 4 or 5 at night.There were 3 hoes around the farm that were fought over and a couple that were ok.My father to try and help out the situation bought one of these garden weasels, which soon became the most fought over tool around... to not have to use it.After everyone had tried it for a few rows (the rows were longer than you are thinking... no raised beds) it got left in the shed every time.After the first day that garden weasel was not used again.Save yourself the cash and buy a real hoe, designed for use in a garden.People have been using hoes for hundreds of years and I don't think much progress has been made in the last 20 years on the designs.Stick to the traditional.Unfortunately as much as I love amazon (see my other reviews) I don't see many options for hoes here.There are a couple of scuffle or stirrup hoes, I have only cursory experience with this kind of hoe and can't say you should buy one.Tierra looks to have a couple of hoes with promise but I shrink a bit at the price.My personal favorites can be found from a company called Prohoe or from Lehmans.Sorry Amazon, one thing you don't have. ... Read more

Asin: B00004RA1U
Subjects:  1. Landscaping Tools    2. Hand Tools    3. Cultivators & Tillers   

Scream Trilogy - Boxed Set
by Campbell Arquette Neve Campbell
Average Customer Review:
DVD (07 September, 2004)
list price: $29.99 -- our price: $23.99
(price subject to change: see help)
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Editorial Review

When Randy the video geek rattles off the rules of surviving a horrormovie in Wes Craven's Scream, he speaks for a generation of filmgoerswho are all too aware of slasher movie clichés. Playfully scripted byKevin Williamson with a self-aware wink and more than a few nods to itsgrandfathers (from Psycho to Halloween to the Friday the13th dynasty), Scream skewers teen horror conventions with lovingreverence while re-creating them in a modern, movie-savvy context. And sogoes the series, which continues the satirical spoofing by tackling (whatelse?) sequels while sustaining its own self-contained mythology. Cattyreporter Gale Weathers (Courteney Cox) turns grisly murders into luridbestsellers, a cult of killer wannabes continues to hunt spunkypsycho-survivor Sydney Prescott (Neve Campbell) for their 15 minutes of fame, and acheesy movie series (Stab) develops within the movie series.

Scream remains the high point of the series--a fresh take on a genrelong since collapsed into routine, but Scream 2 spoofs itselfwith witty humor ("Why would anyone want to do that? Sequels suck!" opinescollege film student Randy), and delights with more elaborate set pieces andall-new rules for surviving a horror movie sequel. The endangered veterans ofthe original film reunite one last time for Scream 3, which playsout on the movie set of Stab 3. (It's a trilogy within atrilogy!) With Williamson gone, replacement screenwriter Ehran Kruger triesto mine the formula one more time. It's a little tired by now, and paleimitations (Urban Legend, I Know What You Did Last Summer) havefurther drained the zeitgeist, but the film bubbles with bright humor, anddirector Craven is stylistically at the top of his game. As a trilogy, itremains both the most consistently entertaining and self-aware horror seriesever made. --Sean Axmaker ... Read more

Features

• Color
• Closed-captioned
• Widescreen
• Box set

Reviews (453)

These won't make you scream....
Rich pretty teens get killed, main stream fluff for the "kids". Best part of all three films is the first ten minutes of the first feature, but only in the directors-cut (not in this set)when Drew's boyfriend gets disembowled, and his guts spill out, also the zoom-in on Drews body hanging from the tree is not as rushed (thanks MPAA!)

Puñalada final
Tres años después de los asesinatos que aterrorizaron al pueblo de Woodsboro, Sidney Prescott vive aislada del mundo en el norte de California. Mientras tanto, en Hollywood, la producción de la secuela Puñalada 3: Regreso a Woodsboro, se encuentra a medio camino. Un asesinato en el set, con las mismas características de los anteriores llevará a la siempre ambiciosa reportera Gale Weathers al plató, mientras la vida de Sidney peligra de nuevo. Reunido con Gale y Sidney para descubrir la identidad del nuevo asesino está Dewey Riley, ahora el asesor técnico de Puñalada 3. Mientras el asesino continúa cobrando nuevas víctimas, los sobrevivientes de Woodsboro y sus contrapartes en la gran pantalla tendrán que unirse en una carrera contra el tiempo y el enmascarado villano.

La Máscara de la Muerte 3 contiene todos los elementos que marcaron hito en sus precuelas: cameos de grandes celebridades, algunas víctimas del asesino, otras no; referencias a otras cintas del género de terror, una lista casi interminable de víctimas, galones de sangre derramada, la voz inolvidable del asesino, gritos desmesurados, llamadas telefónicas desconcertantes y sorpresas hasta el último minuto.

Tres vítores para el director Wes Craven, quien logró mantener el espíritu -o espíritus- en la serie de cintas "La Máscara de la Muerte". Esta tercera entrega cierra la trilogía con la misma estampa de humor y sustos que caracterizaron a las dos anteriores.

Mucha de la diversión de estas películas viene del guión y cómo este dobla o modifica, según su conveniencia, las reglas del "terror". En la Máscara de la Muerte 3, se nos recuerda que el capítulo final de una trilogía desploma todas las reglas anteriores; ningún personaje está a salvo, ninguna verdad es absoluta.

Craven continúa su juego a la hora de hacernos descubrir al asesino. Como siempre, las pistas son confusas y las más obvias no harán sino alejarnos del verdadero enmascarado. Los sospechosos varian, desde la pobre Sidney hasta el ingenuo Dewey. Y aunque los fanáticos tendrán oportunidad de renovar su simpatía por las viejas caras, nuevos personajes como Jennifer Jolie (una divertidísima Parker Posey) también robarán su atención.

Lo más entretenido de esta historia no es su final, el regreso de nuestros amigos de Woodsboro, los gritos y sustos imprevistos. La diversión yace en el viaje, en adivinar la identidad del asesino. En ese ámbito, la Máscara de la Muerte 3 mantiene con honor la tradición familiar. Hurra por eso.

Entonces, ¿te gustan las películas de terror?

Good Ending to the series
With the Scream series coming to an end, we find Sydeny hidden away in the hills of California where she is sure she can't be found, so that the ghost masked killer couldn't find her and destory what's left of her life and friends.But somehow, the killer does find her.And brings her out of hiding with several murders around Hollywood and the set of the new sequel to the "stab" movies, which are based in what happened in the previous films.As the body count mounts our heros must find out who is the killer or killers before they become the next victim of the "movie".The plot twist at the end is a generic but good ending to the entire series. ... Read more

Asin: B00004W20F
Subjects:  1. Horror   

Outrage : The Five Reasons Why O.J. Simpson Got Away With Murder
Average Customer Review:
Mass Market Paperback (10 March, 1997)
list price: $7.99 -- our price: $7.99
(price subject to change: see help)
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Reviews (104)

In-depth Analysis of the Case Scores High Points
This is an amazing work that details every aspect of the O.J. Simpson murder trial. Bugliosi's outrage is palpable. How could O.J. walk? I'm still shaking my head in disbelief after all these years. The bungling by the prosecution is particularly well-detailed. As a former prosecutor, he is in a good position to perceive their mistakes. Also, he writes very well so there is no sense of boredom about legal matters. My only question is why he puts so little emphasis on the positives of the defense. Even if the "dream team" wasn't that great, at the very least, they made fewer mistakes than the prosecution, and should be acknowledged for their consistency.
Congratulations Mr. Bugliosi!This is your second real crime classic.

Buckle up before reading!
The author says he only wrote this at the behest of his editor but ironically, this is Vince Bugliosi at his finest:indignant as hell and shouting the plain truth in a book that reads like a raging oratory. He delivers more than the title promises, citing examples of incompetent judges and attorneys in other cases too, and he names names.He rants about incompetence in general, religious beliefs, and more; it is provocative and refreshing.These are akin to George Carlin observations except that no humor is intended.

As always, Mr. Bugliosi serves up a big helping of law for the layman without being pedantic.It is super-informative and I learned a lot about how a case comes to trial, rules of evidence, and the emerging field of jury consultants.Next time I am on jury duty, I will in no way feel that I am any less a part of that trial than the lawyers or judge!

I was surprised by some revelations such as: Simpson's jailhouse confession to Rosie Grier and why that evidence was perfectly admissible --but Judge Ito barred it because he apparently does not know the law.Another:Mark Fuhrman had had a previous squabble with the highest-ranking woman in the LAPD, who also happens to be the wife of Judge Ito!(Which might explain why Ito allowed Fuhrman to be crucified on something not relevant to this case.)

Mr. Bugliosi is not content to prove something once and leave it at that.He proves it again and again with different evidence.He pulls no punches on:

(1)Gil Garcetti, the then-District Attorney of LA County;
(2)Judge Lance "Ego," who never met a TV camera he didn't like, for making one appallingly illegal or idiotic decision after another once the trial started;
(3)the so-called "Dream Team," who was anything but that:not one of them had any murder trial experience whatsoever until Lee Bailey joined them;
(4)journalists and commentators, who consistently missed the point entirely;

...and then there was the prosecution.It is worth noting in this review that "Bugliosi" is not found in the index of either Marcia Clark's book nor Chris Darden's.Silence in the face of an accusation = consciousness of guilt.

The only copy I could find was a large print edition and I highly recommend it to anyone who wants the full effect; it made the words seem extra declamatory.Wow.

Outstanding Argumentation From Common Sense
Some other reviewers made notes I agree with.

1) Bugliosi argues this case magnificently.
2) OJ would have gotten away with it even if Vince had been the prosecutor barring one thing....

....that one thing is a powerful Bugliosi argument, a change of venue (like just happend with Michael Jackson).

Bugliosi tells it like it is. The defense attorneys were shameless nincompoops (except for Shapiro who winced at the playing of the race card and Flea Bailey who was an outstanding lawyer) who threw out red herrings. The prosecutors were so inept at their case that they didn't drill the obvious red herrings that were thrown their way.

And the linchpin of Bugliosi's argument is the simple fact that there is NO WAY the cops had time to get together and figure out what shoes OJ was wearing, what size gloves he wore - or bottom line make OJ act like the guiltiest person alive. Innocent people don't 'attempt suicide' because they've been 'framed,' especially celebrities like OJ.

Warning: this book requires a heavy dose of common sense to understand it. Don't read it if you lack said tool.

... Read more

Isbn: 0440223822
Sales Rank: 32412
Subjects:  1. Criminology    2. General    3. Murder - General    4. Nonfiction - True Crime / Espionage    5. Social Science    6. Sociology    7. Current Events / Law