Info and forum posts by 'Reckless'

RE: Free Gillette razor.....

Also received a M3 Power Nitro model this morning :)

I usually use a Wilkinson Sword Quattro and I can`t really decide which is better! I don`t really feel the vibration gave me a better shave but the whole razor was thinner/more svelt than the quattro and looks loads better. Will keep using it to see how I fare.

RE: 360 Media centre question.....

Sorry to say that it`s all proprietry and no-one has yet [bothered] to `crack` it as you put.

RE: Golden Wonder in administration !?!?

Bad news about Golden Wonder :(

As for the Cheese & Onion debate... well, wouldn`t it be better if the crisps actually tasted of cheese and onion and not some other smelly false rubbish all manufacturers I`ve tried push on the consumer? Most flavours are at the top end of comparison with the real item whereas the C&O flavour is poor.

RE: X Files season 1 - £12.99

Wasn`t the recently released boxset supposed to be a `limited` (not as in collectable) edition? In which case in may not drop or if it does, it might disappear quite quickly :)

RE: Why I`ll be getting High Definition...

HDTV does look great but there are several issues for me with it:

1) No HDTV via DVB-T [until analogue is switched off]. That`ll be 5 ish years then!
2) Sky`s service is as yet unspecified in terms of pricing/features. They`ve so far focused on sport and movies. Sky One type of programming may get a look in I guess depending on the number of shows they can get in HD format.
3) Telewest could be the first in the UK to offer general access to HD feeds. Sky & Telewest have a bit of race :) Availability of Telewest (OK, now they`re parented by NTL) is not good at all.
4) Pricing will free fall once it becomes more mainstream - that is when there`s general availability of HD feeds (i.e. a large % of the populous can receive it).
5) Current generation DVDs are in fact good enough to watch (unless it`s a cheapo transfer from dodgy master - in which case HD will do nothing anyway) and it`s a lot of investment just to see how many dimples someone`s arse has got ;) :)
6) Which leads on to the format wars between Sony`s Blue-Ray and the competitions HD-DVD. Madness to start off with a format war when [in this day and age] we`ve been through a few too many and to be honest are getting a little fed up with them all :)

Sure I`d like one, but perhaps in 5 years!

RE: Full Price DVD Box Sets? Does anyone buy them?

Damn good question! I used to but these days I`m much more inclined to wait until the price drops which isn`t too long really. It`s amazing how much markup there is on these sets or the `need` of the retailers to offload their stock within a time period?!

RE: Miami Vice on DVD 1/18/05

I haven`t picked up the DVDs but from what I remember the 1st and some/most of the 2nd seasons were the best. Later episodes were a bit dark (both in story/characters and actual set lighting!) :)

RE: MVC Calls in Administrators?

The MVC in Bath was hanging out the closing down `sale` signs a few days before Christmas. It looked like there had been some stock `clearing` before they wheeled out the sale items mind you. Funny that some months back that store stocked LOTR TT Collectors Edition (with Golum) at £20 and last week it was .... £49.99. ROFL

RE: SKY + (Existing customers)

I don`t understand some people/posts. Sky have given you nothing if you have to pay more in order to have something you previously didn`t have. Now if you really wanted to subscribe to those channels then surely most would have done so anyway. Sky aren`t stupid - they offer you sweetners on extras where they make more money not a discount on what you have already. For Sky, even a reduced rate is pure profit for them - they`ve already spent what they needed to in order to get the channel broadcast in the first place, having more people pay for it just brings in more revenue.

This item was edited on Sunday, 30th October 2005, 21:25

RE: Surround sound help

You`d be better off going for a virtual surround system like Denon`s (set you back more than you`d want I expect). Wireless speakers have two problems 1) bandwidth and 2) power. A lot wireless speakers simply don`t have the dynamic range (bandwidth/implementation restrictions) and so aren`t any good except for basic sounds. Once you have good sound you have a hefty ticket price. More importantly though is the subject of power. OK the speakers are wireless but most are amplified and so need power. Running a power cable up the wall is worse than running a speaker cable so most speakers are left with batteries. Batteries don`t last that long and the sound will degrade gradually over time when the battery is losing power. Most have NiCads these days but consider cost/recharge times/ease of access/method of charge etc.

RE: Question about Highlander 2 dvd

You, as others, have simply got tied up with the fact that as a sequel it was/is s***. As a standalone film it`s OK. Highlander 1 has a good premise but the plotline is vapour thin and the acting (bar Connery) is wooden.

I also dislike the forum system here and have long given up trying to use anything than the reply button :)

RE: Question about Highlander 2 dvd

I personally think Highlander is way overrated! Highlander 2 may not have been true to the story but is almost a better film. Not perhaps as in a Highlander film but just a flick to watch.

Neither film deserves a Special Edition however :) /me ducks ;)

RE: SKY + (Existing customers)

Been with Sky for around 15 years (good old analogue days!) and I`d like to think they owed me something :( Didn`t get free anything when I first installed and had to buy a new box last year when my digibox cooked itself. I laughed at them as they said it was £60 for a refurb! Sky+ interests me greatly but it`s simply too expensive.

RE: Favorate 80`s horror flicks?

@ floyd_dylan - wow you actually enjoyed some of this?! :)

Classic horror from the 80s for me was `The Thing`. Fav scene was when the chest opened up..... ouch ;)

RE: Amazon free delivery from £15 now

Cancelling a pre-order just to sneak in under the postage limit is pretty low isn`t it? Amazon are one of the better online companies out there and I for one would like their service to stay as is (or improve) not be cut back due to people who abuse their system.

Of course Amazon could fix their system so this couldn`t happen...

RE: The Horror Channel

The Horror Channel has been running much longer than a few months.

Most of the movies may be pretty dire but you have to factor in that they`re showing niche material with a low budget. It certainly isn`t everyone`s `cup of tea` but hey it`s free (completely), UK based and their films are at worst a laugh for the time they`re on.

RE: Netgear DG834T 108mbps Wireless Router + USB2.0 Adaptor for £89.99

Mine`s also `dispatching` soon. It`s not for me and their broadband isn`t going to be enabled for a week or two yet so it`s not `that` desparate at the mo. I saw the USB adaptor stock was now available whereas it was 2 weeks when I ordered the bundle. Hopefully they`ll get over the fulfillment spike soon enough :)

RE: Netgear DG834T 108mbps Wireless Router + USB2.0 Adaptor for £89.99

It really annoys me that 1) there are people shallow enough to do this sort of thing and 2) why eBay are a bunch of faceless `£$%^&`s in never doing anything about this type of listing :(

RE: Netgear DG834T 108mbps Wireless Router + USB2.0 Adaptor for £89.99

The Amazon page where the voucher is described shows an end date of the 15th or when Amazon choose to end it (or some such wording!). I`m hoping that it comes through as it`s a great saving and my parent don`t have stacks of cash!

RE: Netgear DG834T 108mbps Wireless Router + USB2.0 Adaptor for £89.99

Damn! Is the offer is now gone :(

Edit: Nope! Just added it all up and it came out as £52.98

Many thanks to who posted the Amazon coupon details. Needed exactly this for my parent`s 1st foray into broadband and as I`m paying for this bit, it`s good to get a free adaptor! Ta very much! I do hope it turns up and doesn`t get cancelled!

This item was edited on Tuesday, 20th September 2005, 00:35

RE: eBay Scam Warning

I don`t think eBay send out e-mails any more. They require you to use their Message box service inside your MyEbay login.

Also, I enjoy going to the spoof sites and typing in some harsh words for the user and password fields :)

RE: Titanic - Alternate Ending

It was never fashionable to hate the film... It was just a s*** film and is generally hated for its over-long presentation of a love story (when most people wanted a little more drama).

RE: LIVE 8 - So what`s your opinions?

I personally didn`t think much of the overall experience. Some acts were good but mostly it was a line up of average performances. Live Aid seemed to be a bit more cohesive.

Will it actually make any difference, that`s the golden question!

RE: I don`t want children - surely I`m not the only one...?

Anyone who says they don`t want kids `cause they`re expensive, smelly, etc. is a REALLY sad and selfish excuse for an individual. Your parents brought you up and probably with less resources than you have now. You`re probably too cozy going out spending every penny earned on yourself `enjoying` life while you can.

Fair enough if a person just isn`t interested in kids - I have quite a few friends who are like that. Making kids out to be a burden and using that as an excuse is another thing entirely.

RE: Would you support an outright ban on smoking in bars, restaurants and cafes?

The amount of tax collected from the industry is certainly high but so is the cost to the NHS to treat smoking related illnesses. My dad is now on a portable breathing machine and has considerable heath problems after some 40 years of smoking. I really hate to see young kids smoking - they have *no* idea what cards life will deal them! I do feel for the addicted people so with the ban should be more resources helping people to give up - it`s a long term goal to remove what essentially is an unecessary substance from our society.

Starting off with a ban in all public places would be a great thing - I`d certainly support it!

RE: The Cinema Poll - I`m Staggered!!!

Used to go to the cinema when it was reasonably priced (10 yrs ago) but now have 2 kids, 25 or 60 mile round trip journey to a modern cinema and really dislike most audiences :)

I was one of those who did see LOTR on a TV for the first time. My TV system isn`t the best (Panasonic 32" 100Hz with DVD playback from a TEAC Legacy 800 system connected to Mission FS-1 speakers) but we`ve got used to it :p

RE: Boundary fence.

I think it`s fairly usual for the left hand side boundary to be your responsibility (2 houses I`ve been in have been that way). However your deeds (boundary plan) will show the exact details of your plot and you should check these out.

If it`s marked as your responsibility then it`s yours to repair.

A difficult situation can arise however if your neighbour has ruined the fencing with large bushes, trees, etc. like mine has been incidentely. I`ve just repaired it at my own cost (this time) but should it happen again, they`ll be invited to share in replacement costs or the offending bushes will be reduced in size considerably.... ;)

Your neighbour may wish to share in any costs if it`s to their benefit as well. Better/more suitable fencing is good for both gardens at the end of the day!

RE: Doom3 - Resurrection of evil

Doom3 was such a non event in terms of gameplay I`m not gonna bother buying this *especially* as I`ve seen it in stores for a full game price £30. iD, Nerve, their publisher can take a jump on that!

Doom3 was scary (very in places) and had a reasonable [but thin] plot line. It was severly let down (IMO) by the predictable nature of spawn ins. Just why do so many Imps hide in walls eh? Back in the days of Doom this was `acceptable` gameplay but they surely things have moved on :)

... and I`ve got a set of Altec Lansing 5100s and Doom3 sounded good :) I didn`t think the atmospherics where that good throughout the game however.

This item was edited on Tuesday, 12th April 2005, 00:33

RE: restless natives....

Really enjoyed that film when it was 1st released but I remember not having enjoyed it as much 2nd time round a few years back (it has dated somewhat!). Soundtrack was great however - shame Big Country are no longer :(

RE: LCD TV question

Each to their own desire and budget...

Rear projection have always had issues of lack of vibrancy. The picture is sent from a small LCD/chip with mirrors/projection unit via optics to the screen. The benefit of this method is cheaper cost for the resultant size. Drawbacks are that the final picture [was/]isn`t as good as the source.

LCDs are just a large panel of fixed size pixels which can have a state of one or off and applied a colour. LCDs issues are bad pixels and jagged edges. The latter is usually `smoothed out` using sophisticated image processing electronics. I for one however think LCDs have a while to go yet before I`d buy one!

Plasma`s - no idea how they work :) They have a as yet untested reputation in terms of longevity. Screen burn always was a problem when plasma screens were used on computers however.

Whatever you decide, always consider size isn`t everything. Consider a better picture on a smaller unit would be more effective. You can see this by looking at the stupidly cheap [and relatively nasty] LCD panels the likes of Tiny and Dixons are selling for £900ish. A Sony unit isn`t likely to be crap but consider that you will be paying a hefty premium for the badge and not the TV. Try to get a decent viewing of any TV set using a digital source (pref the same DVD on each) with similar lighting conditions.

Best of luck!