Apple tax break! (not)

I got an email blast from Apple this week regarding the sales tax break in the State of Alabama. A sales tax holiday is a big deal on a Mac, since the cheapest new Mac costs $1,099 (outside of the Mac mini).

However, the fine print from Apple's promo says:

The transaction does NOT qualify for the exemption if:

• The CPU costs more than $750 before tax.

Tune in for Apple's next promotion, where they give away a free Porsche 911 with every new MacBook purchased from an Apple Store for under $1,098*.

* Offer excludes student and government discounts, theft, typos, and other loopholes we haven't thought of.

TripAdvisor's Golden Rule?

I think I've discovered how to use TripAdvisor for hotels.

I'm at the Hilton Boston Dedham tonight. It's very close to my appointment for tomorrow morning. (I'll be talkin' deals on FOX25 Boston sometime around 7 am ET, woohoo!)

I must say, this Hilton is absolute crap. It's old. It smells funny. And there's more.

I checked in to the hotel, entered the room, went to the bed, moved a pillow, and this is what I saw: buffalo wing sauce. Fresh buffalo wing sauce. Mmm ... except that it wasn't mine. I pulled the sheets, wondering if I'd find a welcome platter of steaming hot buffalo wings in the bed. Nope, but I did find dirt. Black dirt. At least, I hope it was dirt. It was certainly dirty.

So, I called the front desk and asked -- as nicely as I could -- for a new room. Why, he asked? The bed was dirty, I said. No apology, he gave.

But hey, maybe this new room will be a diamond in the rough, right? I get to the next room, I check the bed. I find a BIG FAT TOENAIL CLIPPING on the top of the bed. Yuck!

Now, why does all of this make me feel like I've unlocked a TripAdvisor secret level? After all, most of TripAdvisor's ratings were positive. TripAdvisor even gives this hotel 4 stars (of 5) for cleanliness.

I think that TripAdvisor's secret is, if the hotel's rating is lower than 4 stars (of 5), then the hotel sucks. I've stayed in dozens of the hotels rated on TripAdvisor, and this rule seems to be the golden rule. Reviewers gave this nasty Hilton a 3.5 rating out of five.

Of the other Dedham hotels, The Residence Inn, which was booked, rates 4 stars. It's booked solid, and I couldn't get in. Hmm, I wonder if they serve buffalo wings?

p.s. Darn you Paris Hilton, it's impossible to Google for anything containing "Hilton". Thank God for SafeSearch!

Update: Western Digital's My DVR Expander

A quick update to my blog post, Western Digital's My DVR Expander. Within 24 hours after hooking it up to my Time Warner DVR, the DVR stopped recording shows. Nothing. Nada.

Unplugging the external hard drive (a.k.a. My DVR Expander) fixed it. That was almost a month ago, and I haven't yet had time to troubleshoot and experiment.

However, I followed the directions, it showed itself by all indications to be working (i.e., the capacity jumped and no error messages were given), and even so, it doesn't work. I suggest avoiding Western Digital's My DVR Expander product for now until I come up with more.

Using a Mac mini as an HTPC

I'm well underway using my Mac mini as a home theater PC (HTPC).

Background: After finding myself connecting my MacBook Pro time after time to my 46" Samsung LCD TV to watch videos, I decided to dedicate a computer to the task. I looked hard into buying an Antec case like the FUSION or NSK2480 and building my own PC, but there's a problem. I'm lazy.

So I purchased Apple's cheapest refurb Mac mini a couple of months ago (then $479, currently $679). As always, Apple's refurbs are indistinguishable from new ones. I added a new Logitech MX Air Wireless Air Laser Mouse (I paid $100). I still need to buy a wireless keyboard, but since I use the keyboard rarely, I haven't done so yet.

A Mac mini has some real negatives as an HTPC. The main thing is, it has DVI out, not HDMI. Also, there's no internal expansion, so things like a built-in TV tuner have to be done via FireWire or USB. And the only reasonable way to increase storage is to add an external hard drive like the NewerTech miniStack, a problem I'll have soon enough. Last but not least, like all things Apple, a Mac mini (even a refurb) is generally more expensive than a comparably-equipped BYO HTPC, especially if built via deals on dealnews.

But it's also got some real positives. It's TINY. It's incredibly tiny compared to Antec's HTPC form factor, and yet it still fits in a built-in DVD reader. (That means that I can toss my upconverting DVD player.) It's completely silent, with no noticeable noise whatsoever. It has optical audio output, although I haven't set that up yet.

Also, from a software standpoint, it works really well out of the box with no setup required. Front Row, Apple's media navigator, is free and an extremely simple interface to access my videos and music, so anyone can use it. Just stick your content into the appropriate folders (e.g., "Movies" or "Music") and it's ready. And since it's a Mac, things like setup, file sharing, and so on are all quite easy for Kari or for guests to access. You can use the iTunes Store for video and music (although as I've mentioned before, iTunes is dead to me). It even came with an Apple Remote, which is the only remote you need when using Front Row. (The Logitech Air is needed for things like Hulu.) Lastly, if I really want to use Vista's media center features, I can install it, since this is an Intel-based Mac.

The negatives weren't a big deal to me, although setup without HDMI took longer (two cables instead of one) and I'm not happy with the DVI-to-HDMI conversion (explaining that begets a whole 'nother blog post). As for no TV tuner, I have hi-def cable from Time Warner, so I didn't plan on watching cable TV via this device (even if if there is a CableCARD solution out there). It's solely there to archive all of my DVDs (so they work as video-on-demand), watch Hulu and other online video, and playback MP3s. However, it should be said that no HDMI and no internal expansion make a Mac mini an inviable HTPC for most home theater enthusiasts.

As easy as setup was, it took me a while to get around to setting it up, then it took me a while longer to add content to it. But now that I'm using it, I'm quite happy being able to hit one button on my Onkyo receiver and having my HTPC and all of its content available instantly. Now, I want to start reading up on what other people are doing with their HTPC Macs to see what I'm missing out on.

More to come.

Folding Charcoal Grill

If you have an apartment with a small patio, you'll understand. Once you're done with this Notebook Portable Grill, it folds flat for storage. At $70, it's not cheap. However, it's not a lot more than a 18.5" Weber Kettle Grill, although it is 20% smaller in cooking surface.

Of course, there's no Weber grill that folds into something 1.5" thick. Nice.

Why iTunes is dead to me

Why is iTunes dead to me? Here's my "A-HA!" moment:

1) My wife and I watched Juno for the first time last night. (Loved it.)

2) Kari mentioned how much she loved the music and wants the soundtrack.

3) Today, I checked prices on Juno - Music From The Motion Picture from Amazon and from iTunes:
* Amazon: $8.99
* iTunes: $11.99

4) Amazon is DRM-free, meaning I'll never be given that annoying prompt about re-licensing this music when I upgrade machines.

Every time I check Amazon, it costs less than iTunes. When you see Amazon's daily specials, which we list regularly on dealnews, they're far less. In fact, they're so cheap that they make entire albums into impulse purchases. And they're DRM-free, they work perfectly on my iPhone, and Amazon's downloader even puts them in my iTunes app.

I have over $100 in credit at iTunes, since I usually stock up when iTunes Gift Cards go on sale. I'll take your best offer.

So long, iTunes. Pardon me if I don't wish you luck on maintaining your monopoly.

Hill Country BBQ = $$$

I lunched at Hill Country Texas BBQ today (30 W 26th St). Quite decent barbeque, with excellent brisket, good jalepeno cheese sausages, good pork ribs (although a tad dry), good corn pudding, and a good red BBQ sauce. Their sweet tea was a little odd because it had a mint flavor (real mint, but still didn't seem right). It's the best BBQ I've had in NYC by far, but that's compared to Jake's in Brooklyn (which is very average).

The problem? $72 (before tip) for three people for lunch! HOLY FRICKING PAYOLA. I'm used to Big Bob Gibson's BBQ in Decatur, AL ... better food at about half the price.

Western Digital's My DVR Expander

I purchased the Western Digital 500GB My DVR Expander eSATA External Hard Drive yesterday and connected it today to my Scientific Atlanta 8300-Series DVR (from Time Warner). Worked like a charm. Don't get me wrong, the Scientific Atlanta 8300 is a piece of garbage compared to a TiVo. But I went from 65% full to 15% full, a 4.3x increase if my math is right. Woohoo! I can finally let the DVR record niche shows I like to watch occasionally like Colbert Report and Deadliest Catch.

I paid 150 clams for this privilege, though, $50-$70 more than what a 500GB eSATA HDD should cost. Ouch. However, when I researched expanding my DVR, it seemed that there wasn't consensus on whether any ol' eSATA HDD works on my DVR model. I really didn't want to have to buy a HDD that I'd have to return, so I waited until dealnews stumbled on a deal for this model, which is intended for DVRs. I might have pissed away $70, but I might have saved myself lots of time and trouble. Any brave souls out there that have gotten any ol' eSATA to work?

And may I add ... OMG, I picked budget shipping from Buy.com, and I got this item next-day. WOW.

Why can't Amazon sort by price?

Amazon, the world leader in e-commerce, can't sort by price. What's up with that? Surely the people who can provide customized recommendations can figure out how to ...

... oh, I just took a look at my personalized recommendations. Amazon apparently thinks I'm incontinent. Nevermind.

Setup my Onkyo receiver & Infinity Beta 10 speakers

This weekend, I setup my new Onkyo TX-SR606 7.1-Channel Receiver (paid $385). Setup was a breeze. The only hitch was that I'm using a 2-channel setup, and it ships from the factory in 7.1-mode. So I had to configure it so it knew I only had two speakers. Cake.

The Onkyo TX-SR606 is overkill for my system, but it was one of the cheapest HTS receivers dealnews has listed with 4 HDMI inputs (that aren't sound-disabled like some older Onkyos). I've got the Time Warner box, HD DVD player (which I only use as an upconverting DVD player), Xbox 360, and Mac mini hooked up to it. Loving it so far.

I connected it to two new Infinity Beta 10 Bookshelf Speakers. The dealpad is a rental, so I opted not to get a multi-channel home theater speaker setup for now since I didn't want to run wire through the walls. These speakers were top-rated by Consumer Reports (ya I know, but cheap bookshelf speakers are hard to get a rating on). Although far from fantastic compared to high-end bookshelf speakers, I'm very happy with their sound at $89 a pop. They'll make decent rear speakers down the road. Too bad Vanns sold out.

Walmart.com: Now with advertising

Walmart.com is taking a risk by adding banner ads to its product pages, at the top. They aren't exactly engaging high-end advertisers either ... I was shown a "Free dinner at Olive Garden" ad (pictured). First off, the link sent you to a very scammy solicitation for "2 Silver offers, 1 Gold offer, and 1 Platinum offer". Second, Olive Garden wasn't mentioned anywhere. And third ... Olive Garden? Ick!

So, is Walmart saying that e-commerce doesn't work for them? Or are they simply maximizing revenue from the thousands of people who visit their site every day from dealnews to buy something and then go, "Wait, I'm not shopping here. It's Wal-Mart! I'd rather eat at an Olive Garden!"

I finally saw a Kindle

While on a plane this past week, I actually saw someone using an Amazon Kindle. Maybe I'm just not observant, but I've never seen one used before, even on the NY Subway. Observations:

1) The screen is terrifically bright, quite amazing, even in that annoyingly bright sunlight you get from a plane's window.
2) The Kindle owner sat in First Class. The Kindle costs $359. Nuff said.

BabyCakes NYC

Last night, Kari and I went to BabyCakes NYC, a much-hyped bakery (specializing in cupcakes) in the Lower East Side. It has friendly, helpful staff. $16 bagged us four cupcakes and a slice of banana bread. A unique twist at BabyCakes is that is uses no sugar, flour and butter cream in its cupcakes. They instead use "all natural, organic and delicious alternatives free from the common allergens: wheat, gluten, dairy, casein and eggs."

It turns out, sugar, flour and butter cream are essential for yummy cupcakes. The frosting tasted odd, the cake was dry and unforgiving, and the flavors don't quite come together. Verdict? Yuck!

The banana bread, however, was the best I ever had: Moist, flavorful, with gooey chucks of banana.

Pining for a very special utility knife

Now that we have an office and home in NYC, I find that I miss one of those unique buying opportunities you'll see from time on dealnews: The Alltrade Auto-Loading Squeeze Utility Knife. I paid $6.94 for it way back in May of 2006 from Amazon (free shipping via Prime). That's one of the best purchases I've made in my life. I have one for my Huntsville office and one for my Huntsville home, both bought back then.

I open lots and lots of packages ... I get maybe three to four per week, even more when I order FreshDirect, tons more around Christmas. (Yes, I'm an addict.) I use this utility knife like a box cutter. It opens super-fast and retracts with an easy button press, keeping the blade safe. I've retracted it hundreds and hundreds of times, with no reduction in performance. Blade dull? Hit another button and it pulls out easily, replaced automatically.

It's got a comfort grip, it's pump action, auto-loading ... it feels almost like using a gun, but it's okay for liberals! When Jeff, our COO, comes in our office, he usually plays with it absentmindedly while talking. (Cha-chunk! Cha-chunk!) Yeah, that's a little scary.

FWIW, there are a few knives on Froogle that are identical, but not sold from stores I've heard of. I may try one of them, but I'll never get this again for $7 shipped.

Site silliness: LNT & OfficeMax

Have you ever tried to add an item to your cart at Linens 'n Things (LNT.com) or OfficeMax.com, only to be told that you needed to enter a quantity first? We have to investigate a fair number of deals at these sites, and that particular eccentricity has always annoyed me. I mean, how many knife sets or all-in-one printers is a person likely to need? (Me? 6. But I mean normal people. ;)

No doubt there are things about dealnews that annoy people. But my (lame) excuse is, these are far larger enterprises than we are, and you'd think they'd have the resources to fix this quirk that shows up at virtually none of their competitors. Just sayin' is all.

Got a similar annoyance? Post a comment.

Update: The Company Store also has this annoyance, as Jeff Contray spotted, although in a different way.

Go Ducks!

Oregon v. Mississippi State tonight in the NCAA Tourney. Update: Well, dang.

How Amazon tried to poison me

Not long ago, I ordered a pack of four CFL (Compact Fluorescent Lamp) light bulbs from Amazon.com. It was a wicked deal that sold out too fast for us to post on dealnews.

When I received my CFLs, I didn't know what they were, because Amazon shipped them in a padded manila envelope. Surely, I thought, Amazon wouldn't ship as fragile an item as light bulbs in a manila envelope. Right?

I opened the package, found that it was indeed my CFLs, and also found that two of the bulbs had broken, as seen here:


If you look at the two middle bulbs, you can see that they're indeed partially shattered. I had just read this Consumer Reports piece on how CFLs contain mercury, which is a neurotoxin, and to dispose of broken CFLs properly. OMG, Amazon is trying to KILL ME!

What's the actual risk of mercury exposure from two broken CFL bulbs? The answer is, INSTANT DEATH. No really ... the actual answer is, the risk is apparently low. It's not likely that this amount of mercury would be dangerous. However, the risk isn't zero. Mercury in CFLs is metallic, not liquid, mercury, but it can turn into mercury vapor easily, which can then be inhaled into your lungs. And that's a risk, since it can then damage your central nervous system, kidneys, and liver.

FWIW, Amazon refunded my money without question. But Amazon Customer Service didn't answer my question: Why in the world would Amazon ship a breakable item (that contains a poison no less) in a manila envelope and not in a box?

More info:

• NPR: CFL Bulbs Have One Hitch: Toxic Mercury
• The EPA: What to do if a fluorescent light bulb breaks
• Ask TreeHugger: Is Mercury from a Broken CFL Dangerous?
  

Logitech refurb? A-OK

I've always been a fan of factory-refurbished Apple products, but I've had mixed success with refurbished products that aren't from Apple. Witness my refurb Samsung LCD TV with its noticeable blemishes on the cabinet.

So, I'm happy to report that my new, refurbished Logitech MX Revolution Cordless Laser Mouse is flawless and indistinguishable from the new ones I already own. Chuck and Jim also inspected it and couldn't find a flaw. At $45 without rebate hassles, it's a bargain compared to the typical $80 or more you'll see for a new one.

This mouse joins my other two MX Revolution Mice (one for dealpad, one for NY office, one for Huntsville office) as the best mouse I've owned yet. It replaces a Microsoft Intellimouse Explorer, which was much cheaper and suckier. The Logitech mouse better fits my hand, weighs more (which is especially good when doing detail work), and has a much smarter scroll wheel that lets you get from the top of dealnews to the bottom with one flick.

The W Bed review update: It kinda sucks

We're throwing out the bed we bought for the dealpad. Read the original dealpad review. It's The W Bed Queen Plush Top Mattress.

This was a bargain at $627 shipped, but after being on it for 6 months (really more like 3 months, since I split time between NY and Huntsville), I've found that it's gotten softer and that it's slightly concave in the middle. Kari has always had a bad back, and this bed is waaaay too soft for her.

We're replacing it with the Sonno Mattress (in Medium Queen) from DWR. It costs $1,000 more ... ouch ... but the bed does wonders for Kari's back. I don't like it as much as Kari, but I don't hate it. And I've got to admit it's good for my back when I lie on my back. (However, it can make my shoulders sore when sleeping on my sides.) Despite that high cost, it's cheaper than the competing products from Tempur-Pedic. This is our second Sonno; the first is still in Huntsville and is just fine after a year of use. Kari had asked for one in NY, I looked at the deal on The W bed and said, C'mon, let's try it. Well, if I hadn't cheaped out on the bed the first time around, I'd have been better off. Kari 1, Dan 0.

Jeff Contray, dealnews' Managing Editor, has owned the same W bed for about the same amount of time. Said Jeff, "I don't know that I'm very happy with it." He and I agree that this bed doesn't have the same feel as the beds in actual W Hotels. Surely those beds don't start to suck in 6 months.

dealpad: Garlic roller

Kari's favorite new kitchen gadget is our Zak Designs E-Z-Rol Garlic Peeler. Roll a garlic clove in this for a second, and its shell pops right off. We got ours at Amazon for $7.99 with free s&h via Prime. Lessee ... I love garlic, Kari loves preparing food with garlic because of this peeler. WIN.

Spitz-A-Lot

Kari and I went to see Spam-A-Lot today. Bloody brilliant. The best spot was completely unexpected, when the Knights Who Say "Ni" gave their new name. They sang song lyrics referencing Cloud 9 -- I forget the song -- and at the end changed Cloud 9 to "Client 9."
A Spitzer joke in Spam-A-Lot! Brilliant.