Author Profile Page for: fnordian

I bought the HP Color Smart 5180 to replace another HP computer I had purchased from Apple as part of a printer rebate deal (the Canon PIXMA MP530). No matter how much I talked to Canon's tech support, I couldn't get that printer to work (this may have been a fluke, but it was highly frustrating). The HP 5180 was a delight after the Canon. It was extremely easy to set up, even though I ...

Gun was one of the best video games I've played this year. The gameplay and overall quality is very similar to the Rockstar Grand Theft Auto series. Of course, this game has an entirely different premise from GTA. It takes place in the Old West, and you get to play a sort of vigilante cowboy. You ride horses, do pony express and law enforcement missions, hunt wild animals, act as a rancher,...

I am so glad I bought this little jump drive. I regularly have to move large video files between computers, and I was constantly frustrated by the small size of my jump drives (I had been using one with 512MB and another one with 1GB). I would only be able to move one large file at a time, and sometimes I couldn't ven get that single file on the jump drive. I am so glad that I decided to up...

The Prius is a great car. It's got all the comforts of modern luxury cars - particularly with the option to include a built-in navigation system - without the cost OR damage to the environment. My favorite things about the Prius include: super quiet operation, very comfortable to sit in and drive, hands free keyless entry system, and only having to get gas every 2 weeks or so. However, ther...

I waited quite a while before purchasing my Wii - I'm not the kind of person to run right out and spend a ton of money on the latest gaming console, but now I wish I'd bought my Wii sooner! First of all, there are a ton of great games for Wii, and it it backwards compatible with GameCube games. But even the game that came with the Wii, called Wii Sports, was surprisingly fun! You have a...

The original Katamari game - no doubt, it's a lot of fun. But unfortunately, one simply can't get much gameplay out of this version compared to the remake, We <3 Katamari. The game has a vaguely linear plot progression, as one rolls up everything on Earth in order to repopulate the sky with its stars. Once you've completed one katamari, you move on to the next, though there is al...

Yes! Katamari Damacy was such a great concept, but poorly executed. Finally Namco has improved on this concept and introduced the more sophistocated and fun sequel: We <3 Katamari. Like the original, the premise of this game is to roll up stuff (everything from the very small to the very large) by pushing around a giant ball called a katamari. Each level has its own mission, many of them wit...

Being a big fan of the Harry Potter books and movies, I was excited to make my first foray into the video game sector of HP merchandise. However, I was sorely disappointed by the PS2 version of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Because of the triwizard tournament events, I thought for sure this game would be entertaining, but gameplay was awkward, the graphics were severely lacking (in that ...

As far as I'm concerned, Vice City might as well be the original Grand Theft Auto. I've played GTA III and tried a few of the earlier versions, but Vice City was a groundbreaking game as far as the complexity of gameplay, number of missions, and, well, fun. It's one of those games you don't want to stop playing until you've completed it to 100%. As in all other GTA games, yo...

If you liked GTA: Vice City, buy this game right now. It has everything Vice City has, only better and more of it. The premise of the game is essentially the same as earlier games, but instead of an Italian mafia ganster, you're representing your 'hood in South Central Los Angeles-- oops, I mean Los Santos. Frankly, it's nice to see some people of color in a video game for once, and...

This breadmaker is the first I've ever used or purchased, but I am really glad I finally made the plunge and decided to get one. This particular model was an amazing deal (less than $45 from Amazon.com), and worth every penny. I have tried both basic and egg bread recipes, and both turned out delicious with an absolute minimum of effort - you just put in the ingredients and thee hours later...

Note: the high price I paid was due to the game coming with an extra Wii remote. For this reason only, the purchase was worthwhile. Overall, however, I didn't think this game was fun enough to bother spending more than a few dollars on if it were sold on its own. I played it a little when I first bought it, Like Wii Sports, this game offers you several gameplay options. Unlike Wii Sports,ho...

HI Fisherman's Wharf is probably the best budget lodging in San Francisco. In a city where it's difficult to find a hotel room for under $100, this hostel is a great option for students, couples, road trippers, and even organized groups (call for special rates). Private rooms are a good option for small families.Aside from the price, which is matched by the other two Hostelling Internat...

Having played the GameCube Paper Mario, I must say that this new version is a huge improvement. The original Paper Mario was fun, but its major flaw, for me, was that fighting enemies was not done in real time on the gameplay screen, but in RPG-style turn-taking battles. In other words, instead of stomping on enemies while going through the levels, you would run into an enemy and be taken to th...

I frequently use short audio-video clips in the courses I teach on language in society, and I have tried a number of programs designed to capture segments of video from. While many of these were unreasonably expensive video editing programs, the best was SnapzProX, shareware made by Ambrosia Software. The free version of the program allows you to capture a still picture or video of any selected...