Reasons Why You Should NOT Buy a Plasma Television

The Superbowl draws near and you want to see the big game in high definition television (HDTV) but you’re unsure about which type of HDTV television you should buy? If you open up your local consumer electronics flyer, the choice is clear - Plasma.

Here’s 5 Reasons Not to Buy a Plasma TV this Superbowl Season.

The purpose of the article was to provide a counterpoint to some of the misinformation being advertised prior to the Superbowl by various retailers and was not a blanket condemnation of Plasma televisions.

For reasons why you should buy a Plasma check out our May 2005 article entitled - Five Reasons to make your next HDTV a Plasma

Plasma televisions are sleek, sexy and can hang on a wall. In addition to a slim space saving design, Plasma’s offer a wide viewing angle, uniform screen brightness and good colour fidelity. What’s not to love?
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Find Out the Secrets Why Companies Use Rebates

Rebates are a marketing tool used by manufacturers to increase sales, by lowering the cost of a product in the eyes of a customer, without actually dropping the price on the shelf. The company makes available a rebate for those buying the product, let’s say, $20. You buy the product, send the company the filled-out rebate form and proof of purchase, and they mail you a check for $20. Simple, right? Read on.

You might (rightly) ask yourself: if a company wants to increase its sales of a product by dropping the price $20, why don’t they just drop the price by $20? Isn’t it the same thing? Wouldn’t it be easier for the company to do than dealing with the rebate forms and mailing checks and whatnot? The answer to this question becomes obvious when you consider this: there are companies that sell items that cost $X and have an $X rebate (often seen for media such as floppy disks, or low-end components like cheap keyboards). The net cost to you is zero, yet, you almost never see companies just giving away stuff for free in the store! Clearly there is a big difference between rebates and “just dropping the price”.
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My PayPal Debit Card Was Cancelled and I Can’t Get A New One

I normally wouldn’t care, but I really loved using my PayPal debit card. It allowed me to leave my money in my PayPal account for the interest with the money market account portion or take it out at any time wat an ATM and not have to wait for transfers to my bank> It provided a cash back incentive and interfaced well with my financial software. Plus I’ve been a member of Paypal since 2000. I’ve done like 100+ transactions through paypal and even more on ebay.

That said, back in march of this year (2008) I was sent an email that said:

“We have been informed that your PayPal Debit Card number may have been obtained by an unauthorized party as a result of a security breach at a merchant where your debit card was used to make a purchase. The security of your PayPal account information was not compromised in connection with this event. To help ensure your security, we have taken the proactive step of cancelling your PayPal Debit Card.”

With my anti-phishing radar at high alert, I made it a point to manually visit the PayPal site to do this and triple check for any problems, because it would be just plain embarrassing if some “l33t h4×0r” compromised a security nut’s account. I was curious, too. After all, I wouldn’t give my card info to shady people/sites, and I definitely wouldn’t fall for a phishing scam. Failing both of those, I fairly religiously check my PayPal account for any strange activities, and until that point had never had any incidents. Read more

Should You Change Your Oil Every 3000 Miles?

In a recent study performed by the California Integrated Waste Management Board, it was shown that an astounding 73% of California drivers change their oil more than necessary. If it’s happening in California it must be happening all across the country right? So what does that mean?

Well besides being a waste of money for the individual person, premature oil changes are causing unnecessary consumption of oil which is ringing in at $130.00 per barrel and in most cases is being imported. aside: I thought Hess and Sunoco were an all American oil company.

Used motor oil poses the greatest environmental risk of any motor vehicle fluid because it is insoluble and contains both heavy metal and toxic chemicals. When you look at the fact that in California alone there is a reported 153.5 million gallons of waste oil each year and of that figure only about 60 percent is being recycled. Now are you getting the picture? Read more

How Rising Gas Prices Could Affect Your Diet

In an age when American’s are becoming more aware of the importance of a healthy diet, it is really upsetting to see what a huge impact the rising gas prices are having on our nations’ food costs.

There are many factors that go into just how the price of gas is effecting our food prices but here is a real basic picture of it. Trucks are used to haul things like wheat and grains. And what do trucks use to make them go vroom? Fuel. And what are prices of fuel doing these days? Rising. What will the farmers of Wheat and Grains need to do? Raise prices to cover their costs.

It is this rising fuel cost that has what some have been calling a “trickle down” effect on the price of our food. Trickle down? More like shit storm. So just how severely are rising gas prices going to effect your diet? Read more

Maybe We Can Lower Gas Prices If They Won’t

THIS IS NOT THE ‘DON’T BUY’ GAS FOR ONE DAY, BUT IT WILL SHOW YOU HOW WE CAN GET GAS BACK DOWN TO $1.30 PER GALLON.

This was sent by a retired Coca Cola executive. It came from one of his engineer buddies who retired from Halliburton. If you are tired of the gas prices going up AND they will continue to rise this summer, take time to read this please.

Phillip Hollsworth offered this good idea.This makes MUCH MORE SENSE than the ‘don’t buy gas on a certain
day’ campaign that was going around last April or May! It’s worth your consideration. Join the resistance!!!!

I hear we are going to hit close to $ 4.00 a gallon by next summer and it might go higher!! Want gasoline prices to come down?

We need to take some intelligent, united action. The oil companies just laughed at that because they knew we wouldn’t continue to ‘hurt’ ourselves by refusing to buy gas .

It was more of an inconvenience to us than it was a problem for them. Read more

Horrible Customer Service From Denon DJ

I received this from a reader here about the Denon DN-s3500 turntable that he and many other people are getting horrible support for from the company that makes it, Denon DJ.

Hello. I’m trying to get some help in regards to spreading the word about a faulty and relatively expensive product. It is made by a company called Denon. The model number is DN-s3500. It has some major design flaws that make it a $900 paper weight. Not even getting the unit replaced or serviced cures the problem. The company itself refuses to really acknowledge the problems with this unit, and me and many others are left in the cold feeling nothing but frustration, because the problems occur after the 30 day money back guarantee that most retailers have. Representatives from the company are rude in their responses and are unhelpful. Here is the Forum where you can read the issues that are happening and how representatives from Denon respond.

http://www.denondjforums.com/

The main problems are discussed in threads named:

• UNIT RETURNED FOR SERVICING STILL CHIPMUNKS - UNBELIEVABLE!!
• Abnormal Acceleration of the Platter in Main Scratch Mode
• Denon Please respond, more problems with v.99

The DN-S3500 has an issue with the platter speeding up and the pitch going up on these decks after 3 seconds of every stop and play. Apparently there is even youtube examples of this.

Even servicing and replacing of these units does not solve the problem. Denon refuses to acknowledge that there really is a fundamental flaw in these units.

I made the mistake of spending almost a grand on one of these and now I got nothing but headaches. I’m extremely pissed off. I can keep getting the unit serviced, but for what? To have it only work properly for a few hours and have the same problem?

Please help me do something about this. I am just a person who loves music and wanted a really great DJ turntable from Denon DJ. I can’t afford to throw away money like this, nor pay $900 per unit to be the companies beta tester. Thank You very much!

Lee Jeans Ad Featuring Lolita is “Porn-like”

Lee Jeans‘ controversial “Lolita” ad poster for spring-summer 2006 has been found acceptable by the Advertising Standards Board.

Shot by renowned US photographer Terry Richardson, the advertisement - shown in locations including Toorak Road, South Yarra - featured the standard cliches of the soft-porn aesthetic: lollipop being sucked, breast half-exposed, legs spread.

Groups including Australian Childhood Foundation had expressed outrage about the advertisement.

“The clothes can hardly be seen,” wrote one complainant to the advertising industry’s self-regulator. “This type of ad demeans women.”

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How a Superdollar is Made. A Counterfeit’s Secret

A superdollar is an almost perfect counterfeit American dollar bill. Although some would think the $2 bill is a counterfeit.
Millions of dollars of the fake cash have been passed into circulation since its existence was first noticed over a decade ago.

The money, officially known as Note Family - C14342, is thought to originate from communist North Korea.

Experts believe that the money is being produced and flooded into the system, mostly by North Korean diplomats as they travel abroad. It is also circulated by criminals - with the Russian mafia and even Republican organisations in Northern Ireland involved in the distribution process. One school of thought is that it is part of a plan to try to destabilise the American economy by putting millions and millions of dollars into the system. Read more

Jack 2 Project Finds Oil in Gulf of Mexico

Successfully drilled for oil in the Gulf of Mexico’s deep waters, in what could be one of the most significant finds for the domestic oil industry in a generation.

The successful well, known as Jack 2, reached a record total depth of 28,175 feet, coming in 7,000 feet of water, and more than 20,000 feet under the sea floor. Analysts said the find suggested the success of that drilling may mean more oil than previously believed is available under the Gulf of Mexico, a region that already provides a quarter of U.S. output.

One published report suggested the breakthrough could increase U.S. oil reserves by as much as 50 percent.

During the test at record depths and pressure, the Jack No. 2 well flowed at more than 6,000 barrels of crude per day, Chevron (Charts) said. That puts it on a par with discoveries in exploration hotspots such as the waters off Angola.

With U.S. oil output in decline, big new fields are increasingly rare and oil companies are widening their search to more difficult places

Chevron, the No. 2 U.S. oil company after Exxon Mobil (Charts), did not give an estimate of the field’s reserves. Read more

Grand Theft Auto Liberty City Stories Game Review

Rockstar Games’ Grand Theft Auto series has been around for nearly a decade, yet it is only within the last few years that the series has truly revolutionized action gaming. The release of Grand Theft Auto III on PlayStation 2 redefined the possibilities of game design and subsequent releases have built on this success. Innovations in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas have essentially spoiled us into expecting each new title to be bigger and better. Answering this demand, Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories delivered big game play and flashy visuals to PlayStation Portable. In moving to PlayStation 2, the game retains its solid game play; however, it doesn’t necessarily push the series forward. While those who have played the PSP version will find little reason to pick up this port, Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories is an engaging extension of the series that is totally worthwhile. Read more

Where To Find A Cheap Computer

What form of computer do you use? I personally enjoy a Mac Ibook G4. This baby does everything I want it to and more. It’s great the way they make them so pulverization compact and they weigh less than fivesome pounds. Engineering is a dream these times, and it’s only getting better. You can literally buy a notebook computer that’s a mere half in midst, but yet still multitude a high degree of g. It’s truly awe-inspiring.

As you know by now, folks about the world savour the benefits of computers in their very own place. In fact, if you still don’t have a PC or Mac, then you’re in all likelihood somewhat out of the eyelet. Well folks, now days you don’t have to hand-to-manus struggle iron with giant computer costs.

There is a immense spectrum of cheap computers to choose from. What are you await for for?

When it come up up up to our home computers, many of us would have trouble acquiring on without them. There are just so many animal comforts that come up from Internet entree. The World-Wide-Web cary grant us the ability to do our revenue enhancement without paper, hold our depository financial institution business relationship from home, and order groceries and have them delivered. Read more

Selling Your Structured Settlement Payments and What You Need to Know

Before the state structured settlement protection statutes and the Victims of Terrorism Relief Act of 2001 which created §5891 of the Internal Revenue Code, any one wanting to sell their settlement payments were on their own. The sale of structured settlement payment rights today requires a Court in your state to review and, if appropriate, make a “qualified order” approving the sale of such payments or a hefty 40% excise tax is applied. The concept of Court approval is intended to protect you from entering into a deal that is not in your best interest.

Should I sell my payments?

The answer to that one is difficult. The question you might ask yourself: Do I need the money now?
For example: to buy a house, pay for an education, a business opportunity or to keep from filing bankruptcy. Any good reason would make sense. To go on vacation or buy an Acura Legend might not be in your best interest.

If you have other money sources to explore, I suggest using those options first. Selling your structured settlement should be a last resort. Read more

lendingtree.com Advantages

Home sellers said that overpricing was the biggest mistake they made when listing their homes. Next worst mistake is dealing with the same real estate agent who represented the buyer. LendingTree.com is a great place to start.

Overpricing a home is the number one mistake sellers said they made when listing their homes, according to a new national real estate e-mail survey. The margin was nearly three-to-one over the second choice concerning homes for sale.

Survey respondents said their next biggest mistake was “dealing with the same real estate agent who represented the buyer,” thereby setting up a possible conflict of interest and possibly a perception that the buyer was getting a better deal with the home price.

Third biggest mistake was “failure to disclose known defects or problems.” Virtually tied for fourth place were: “under pricing their real estate properties” and “not utilizing Internet technology to market their homes.”

“With the rapid home price appreciation we’ve seen in many housing markets across the country, it’s not surprising that sellers expectations sometimes outran their local real estate market reality,” said Michael Bearden, president and CEO of HouseHunt, Inc.

Bearden expressed surprise over the negative response to agents representing both buyers and the sellers: “Usually it boils down to good communication with the consumer. The agent who communicates effectively and stays in touch throughout the real estate transaction usually has a positive experience with both the buyer and the seller.. With automated response systems customer communication should not be a problem.”

Monte Helme is a national public relations consultant with HouseHunt, Inc. Previously, he was vice president of public relations and publications for Century 21 Real Estate Corp.; vice president of communications for AmeriNet Financial Services (now LendingTree); assistant city editor/Orange County for the Los Angeles Times; executive sports editor of the Rockford, IL, Morning Star and Register-Republic; and reporter for the Dixon, IL, Evening-Telegraph. Find real estate, homes for sale through public MLS and check what my home is worth by visiting websites: HouseHunt.com and moveUp.com powered by HouseHunt, Inc.

WII and the World Wide Web

Nintendo and Opera team up to take Wii users to the Internet. Learn how it’s all going to work in this exclusive interview.rnAt the Electronics Entertainment Expo 2006, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata revealed that its forthcoming Wii console would be able to access the Web with the Opera browser. Iwata said that the Wii console could, “… power up virtual console games and applications like our Opera Web browser saved to flash ROM… in just a few seconds.”rnrnWe recently chatted with Opera for Devices’ executive vice president, Scott Hedrick, about its partnership with Nintendo and what benefits the Web browser will bring to Wii users.

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Cheap Sony PSP for Under $200

This is the lowest price I’ve seen for the Sony PlayStation Portable (PSP).

What: Sony PSP
How much: $199.99
Shipping: $8.99
Where: TigerDirect
When: Now until unknown date.
Click here for PSP product review.

Grand Theft Auto To Go From Game Console to the Movie Screen

This is what the trademark said published today for the Xbox<