Top Product Reviews

The firestick works by connecting to WI FI of your home network. The two absolute requirements are that you have to have high speed internet and a WI FI connection. You don't have to Amazon Prime to use it, but then you will not have access to Amazon Prime Video and Music. You can connect it to other services you already subscribe to, such as Netflix or premium channels from your cable provider (such as HBO). The overall installation process goes like this: 1. plug in the firestick into the TV 2. when it boots it prompts you to log into your Amazon account 3. then you can enable individual channels (the activation instructions will be displayed on the screen) You can control the user interface with the remote included in the package. You can use arrows on the remote to navigate or you can use voice commands. The voice recognition is pretty good. I am able to move the fire stick between several TVs. I am able to watch Amazon Prime content as well as Verizon FIOS channe...

I like that most of this hose splitter are the long shut-off handles.  They are very easy to open and close. The splitter is made out of metal encased in rubber. The quick connects are plastic, but the other fittings are zinc alloy and give me a tight seal. On the negative side the water outlets are tightly packed. This comes into play if you are using timers. A timer on this splitter covers up two outlets. Some four way splitters have connectors that are angled and they allow an outlet next to the timer to be accessible. For my gardening needs I have multiple timers as well as hoses, so I could not use this splitter in the back of the house. However, in the front I am using one timer on this splitter which means I had to give up one of the outlets as it is blocked. The package includes 10 additional washers (plus one more is already in the hose splitter). You can find it on Amazon by following this link. Product review ★★★★☆

I am using this laser printer in a home office with Linux, win10, and win XP computers. All three operating systems connected without trouble. 1. Linux - I had to install HPLIP from repository, support for the driver is built into the Linux OS. I was able to connect the printer both as USB printer and network printer. 2. Windows 10 - the driver for win10 is included on the CD ROM that came with the printer, searching for the network printer during configuration found the printer and configured it. 3. Windows XP - the driver for XP is not included on the on the CD ROM but it is available from the HP website. The quality of the print is nice and crisp. The black color is not as bold as the old laser printer, but very clear. The colors are bright and clear. Both the scan and the print are fast (the first scan/print has a short pause for the printer to warm up, but the rest of the pages are very quick.) The FAX (the sending part) is fairly slow,...

Astonish paste did a pretty decent job.  In the attached video you see me cleaning the stove top and the bottom of a skillet.  The results are pretty good, although not perfect and not instant. Overall, it did a job better than other things I have tried. You can find it on Amazon by following this link. Product review ★★★★☆

These artificial hydrangeas look pretty good, from a distance the flowers look quite real, the leaves looks a bit more artificial mostly because they are shiny. I ordered 5 stems and some of the small flowers broke off the main flower during shipping.  However, this made each blossom slightly different in size (I mean fullness) which made them look more real. The flowers were slightly squashed in shipping and as the instructions suggested I fluff them up by hand while blowing them with hair dryer. I found that low volume on the hair dryer worked best.  To fit the vase I wanted to display them I needed to shorter the stems.  I was able to cut the stems  by this method:  using regular scissors I cut the skin and then fatigued the metal wire inside of the stem by bending it back and forth as you see in my video.  The flowers are pretty. You can find it on Amazon by following this link. Product review ★★★★★

This action camera generates pretty decent video for such a small camera. The colors are good during the day when not shooting directly in sun.  Shooting in the sun is a challenging situation for any camera and this camera like many other overexposed the video if the sun is shining directly into the lens of the camera. In attached video you can video taken with the camera. My full size Cannon digital camera takes better video, but it is big and heavy and as a small size action camera the video quality of this camera is quite good. This is a 4K camera.  On a 1080p monitor you cannot tell a difference between 1080p and 4K video, but if you own a 4K TV/monitor then you can take full advantage of 4K video. The colors in the video are bright and accurate. Keep in mind that I am posting compressed video due to size limitation for the video clips, so viewing it as a thumbprint gives you the best approximation of the real thing. The camera has an intuitive menu-dri...

These artificial hydrangeas look pretty good, from a distance the flowers look quite real, the leaves looks a bit more artificial mostly because they are shiny. I ordered 5 stems and some of the small flowers broke off the main flower during shipping.  However, this made each blossom slightly different in size (I mean fullness) which made them look more real. The flowers were slightly squashed in shipping and as the instructions suggested I fluff them up by hand while blowing them with hair dryer. I found that low volume on the hair dryer worked best.  To fit the vase I wanted to display them I needed to shorter the stems.  I was able to cut the stems  by this method:  using regular scissors I cut the skin and then fatigued the metal wire inside of the stem by bending it back and forth as you see in my video.  The flowers are pretty. You can find it on Amazon by following this link. Product review ★★★★★

This is a beautiful mechanical watch. You can see the watch movement from the front and from the back. In addition to the main dial it has two small dials and a date.  The date goes to 39 days every month, so you have manually advance it at the end of each month. The top button on the watch is the one that controls the date. This is typical of a cheaper watch movements as they have  have simple gears the first one 1,2,3 and the second one from 1 to 9.  The fancier movements have extra logic to know how to account for the end of the months dates, the simple gears do the same thing for 30s that they do for 20s. The band is made out of heavy stainless steel. The clasp is easy to open one-handed. The band is 9.5" and was too wide for my husband's wrist. We were able to adjust it by removing links as you see in attached video.   The watch came with a link removal tool.  In attached video you can see my husband taking two links using this tool and a small hammer....

Each sponge is 3.75" across and 1.5" thick.  Their texture is firmer compared to common Scott Sponges used for dish washing. Scrub Daddy sponges are best for cleaning cups and pots, not dishes.  The holes are useful for inserting my fingers so I can hold the sponge, but the mouth opening that is designed for washing spoons I am not finding all that useful. The sponges did not have a smell right out of the package and so far are holding up okay. I have been using two of the four sponges for the last month. Scrub Daddy on Amazon Product review ★★★★☆

This earrings are handcrafted and unique. I love the Kiwi design! The Kiwi looking center appears to be hand drawn and covered with acrylic in a silver-tone setting.  I am not sure of the metal material but I nickle allergy did not react to the metal, I am able to wear them all day long.  The earrings are lightweight (both earrings to together weigh 0.1 oz).  They are 1/2" in diameter. Watch out - they are not waterproof - so be careful if you get caught in the rain. You can find it on Amazon by following this link. Product review ★★★★☆

Chin best ear buds sound good and fit comfortably in my ear. The Bluetooth sounds nice and clear when I have the phone in my pocket, but at a longer distances then my pocket the bluetooth reception breaks up a bit. The ear bud fill my entire ear cavity but don't stick out.  I can wear these ear buds for several hours without any problems. To charge them one must use a proprietary charging cradle.  The cradle works nicely, but it comes a very short charging cord which I found rather inconvenient. Fortunately, the cradle can be charged by any micro USB cable and I am using it with my own longer cable.  Play time of these ear buds is  2-3 hours one one charge. Pairing with my phone was easy.  I needed to press my fingers on both ear buds at the same time for a few seconds and that started the pairing process.  The device appears as "i8s". Overall, very comfortable fit, good sound. On the negative side one charge does not last all day. YOu can locate these ear...

This necklace are handcrafted. Violin has a special meaning for me I really like the design.  The violine center appears to be hand drawn and covered with acrylic. It is presented in a silver-tone setting and has a rope-style silver-toned chain.   The necklace is lightweight (both chain and the pendant together weigh 0.2 oz).  The pendant is 1" in diameter and the chain is 16" long. The chain has a lobster closure, and operates smoothly. You can find it on Amazon by following this link. Product review ★★★★☆

These pebbles glow gently in the dark, they are decorative and not meant to provide any lighting.  In attached photos you can see the effect when they are together and spaced out.  During the day they do not look like regular pebbles, they are white with greenish tones. They are made out of resin, and look like resin rather than stones.  I mixed them into regular gravel for an interesting effect. The pebbles require exposure to the sun during the day in order to glow at night.  How much sun?  A couple of hours, but the more sun the brighter they look. After a full day of light they flow for about 5 hours. The pebbles are made out resins (i.e. plastic) and photoluminescent pigments. The seller describes as non-toxic and non-radioactive. I emailed the seller and asked him how long they are expected to last if I expose them to sun every day of the year.  He told me that I should expect life expectancy up to 10 years. You can find it on Amazon by following thi...

I love being able to recycle the capsules and save money on using  my own coffee.  The capsules are a little had to use (to clear all grounds from the cover).  The coffee comes out a little weaker than the original capsules, but acceptable.  Overall, being able to recycle the capsule and using my own coffee overcomes the cons I listed. You can find it on Amazon by following this link. Product review ★★★★☆

This is a light tripod aimed to hold light cameras - such as Go-Pro and phone cameras.  It stated capacity is 5 founds, but I would limit it to a couple of pounds to be safe.  With that per-amble it is a full featured tripod that is very light. - It has quick release legs. This tripod's quick releases operate smoothly and the hold is good.  The legs have four sections. The bottom portion of the legs is quite thin, and that's where the weight limit feels most critical. - This tripod  does not have a quick plate.  It does come with 1/4" standard screw. - Lightweight. 12.85 oz. - Tripod's maximum height is 41". When it is collapsed its size is 14". Overall, pretty good tripod for light cameras and phone cameras. You can find it on Amazon by following this link. Product review ★★★★☆

This shoe rack looks quite nice. It comes with a cushion so you can use it as a stool.  It can support the weight of my husband who is around 200 pounds. I decided I like all wood look better and we are using it without the cushion.  We are using the top as the shelf for purses, gloves and hats. Each shelf holds 2 pairs of shoes for a total of 4 pairs.  It also has a shallow draw, which is 2" deep. Assembly took me about 20-30 minutes.  It shelves comes with an Allen wrench. All hardware and holes lined up perfectly, the Allen wrench fit well but is just a  piece of metal without a handle and it was a bit cumbersome to use.  If I could use a screwdriver with a handle I would have put the shoe rack together in 10 minutes, but the little Allen wrench was a bit hard to hold.  Overall, I am pleased with look and function of this shoe rack.  The only thing that is not working perfectly is the metal piece that is supposed to hold the drawer up. It is to...

I was looking to buy 1 oz sunblock to carry in my purse.  These fit the bill very well. They come in  4 1/4" long tube which is 1.5" wide at the widest point.  The sunblock goes on without leaving white residue.  The tube I got from Amazon had an expiration date in about a year, the dates on each tube were slightly different. Minor negative: (1) The sunblock is not totally scent free, it has some sort of flowery scent. It is not unpleasant, but it lingers for a bit. (2) My tubes had the reside from some kind of sticky sticker.  They were tacky to touch.  I had to clean them with Goo gone so when I put them in my purse other things would not get stuck to then.  This made wonder where the seller got these tubes, what did the sticker say, were they used? They should have been cleaned before shipping to customers.  The tubes appear to be full, so I don't think they have been used.  But I am reducing the rating because this is not what I expect wh...

The hanger is made out of thick plastic, you slide the belt from the side and the belt buckle is too thick to fall through the slot.  The hanger can pivot side to side if one side is heavier than the other so you have to distribute the belts evenly.  When I remove the belt I want to wear I make sure that I leave the empty slot closer to the center by moving another belt if the one I want was on the end. The belt hanger holds 14 belts.  Before this hanger I used a round ring belt hanger, and it took a little more re-arranging to get each belt out of the opening. You can find it on Amazon by following this link. Product review ★★★★☆

This is a nice electric kettle. This kettle hold 57 oz.  The only downside of the kettle that is not aimed at American market and the measurements are in liters. It shows no ounces or cups.  I use my mug to fill the kettle so I would boil just enough water. Some electric kettles have multiple temperature settings, this one has just one - boil.  This makes the kettle very easy to use, just press the button and in a few minutes it is boiling. Half a kettle took 4 minutes to boil.   The kettle is pretty loud as you can hear in the video. The kettle is made out of stainless steel and heavy duty plastic.  The parts that are plastic are the window that shows the water, the cover, the handle, and the hot plate. I have been using this kettle on daily basis no problems so far.  If I could change one thing I would have liked it to have a longer cord, the cord is 30 inches. I have to use the kettle with a power strip. You can find it on Amazon by following this ...

Sable containers are large separated into three compartments. They can be used for reheating food in the microwave or storing in the refrigerator.  The containers are best for dry foods as the container is not water tight.  To see if the containers are water tight I poured some water into them closed and then shook.  I saw that the container dribbled a little bit.  If you take them somewhere where the container will not be horizontal use a plastic bag just in case it dribbles. The containers are 7.5" wide and 10" long. In attached photos  I show a container with a measuring tape on top so you can see how the space is divided with the container. The large compartment is 4.5 inches wide. Overall, pretty nice containers for dry foods. You can find it on Amazon by following this link. Product review ★★★★☆