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In search of recs on 3 topics.
Jun. 9th, 2009 08:34 amI am in need of recommendations.
First, if you know anything about kitchen mixers, I have finally decided I should sacrifice the space and buy one. The reviews of modern KitchenAids suggest they have engineering problems including gearboxes that leak motor oil into the workbowl. I need the mixer to be strong enough to knead bread dough. I don't mind if it's heavy because I intend to store it on the countertop instead of lifting it out of a cabinet for each use. But it absolutely must be able to handle heavy-duty mixing jobs like dual-loaf bread dough recipes that want to be kneaded for 15 minutes. The point of buying a machine is that I cannot do that kind of hand-intensive labor, so it cannot overheat, smoke, or fail while doing its job.
Second, I think we are looking to upgrade our media options. We currently have Netflix (with a Roku for downloading), an ancient TiVo with Lifetime, a $25 DVD player, and a tube-TV which does not have any fancy plugs (we bought it because it was cheap and we knew it would be an interim thing while the digital conversion hoopla was settled), we have ordinary cable from before they offered digital and have refused to upgrade because of the need for a cable box. We do have tolerable broadband but it is low-tier and independent.
So, pretty much you can assume we have nothing that we need to carry forward, but that I would like the ability to play downloaded content and DVDs.
I have heard good things about AT&T's UVerse, but have heard horrendous things about AT&T in general. We have been pretty unhappy with AT&T phone service mostly because the price isn't dropping despite how little value landlines have, in fact charges keep going up. (Mobile service through Verizon but not for any particular reason-- TMobile/Sprint doesn't serve inside my apartment, AT&T and Verizon do.)
In exchange:
I will say that we are extremely happy with both Netflix and the Roku. The Roku device is $100 plus tax and shipping, but it is exactly what it says it is, a device which downloads Netflix and Amazon (and probably others) content and displays it on your TV without the need for a computer (though it does require broadband connectivity). Netflix is Netflix, but with access to their downloadable catalog, the vagarities of mail service no longer hold me hostage. If the Roku people did a deal with Hulu, that would be awesome.
We used to be diehard TiVo supporters, but TiVo has dicked us around a lot and now their (very expensive) service comes plastered with really obnoxious and intrusive advertising. For example, whenever you pause a popular program, there's an ad for weightloss product plastered all over the lower third of the screen. The whole point of having a DVR is to be able to pause and rewind TV.
I think we might like to divorce ourselves from TV content entirely because of the Hulu type services. The shows are there, with no conflicts for recording, the commercials are minimal. Really, it's hard to beat. But we definitely would like the ability to play media in our living room so we can both watch it. Maybe we should just buy a huge computer monitor and a dedicated laptop. Then we'd need a source of local news, but my national newses are podcast.
Third, I would like recommendations on mobile phones. My LG EnV handset is 2.5 years old. I like having a keyboard available because I send more txts than I make calls. But the really locked down phone (you can't download apps or ringtones from anywhere else but the Verizon pay-for site, you can't even make your own) has limited the usefulness of what might have been decent hardware. If anything I might want to be able to do costs me $6.99 plus a monthly fee, I'm not going to do it on the phone.
I admit to being tempted by the iPhones from the commercials I have seen, but I worry that each of those little brightly colored icons they show costs the $6.99 type price and probably they're only available from the iApple iStore too. So it looks like they've got the same problem... Really expensive hardware that's extremely limited by nickel and dime fees. No idea if that's true, maybe iPhones have tons of free apps.
I've also understood that AT&T service for the iPhone sucks filthy weasel toes with athlete's foot. But again, people love to complain when things aren't going well and hardly anyone jumps up and down screaming, "It works marginally better than my minimal expectations!"
I won't say that price is no consideration, but I kept the first phone for years, so investing in hardware isn't the issue compared to the monthly pricing schemes. If it's going to take up room in my pocket, then it should be useful.
First, if you know anything about kitchen mixers, I have finally decided I should sacrifice the space and buy one. The reviews of modern KitchenAids suggest they have engineering problems including gearboxes that leak motor oil into the workbowl. I need the mixer to be strong enough to knead bread dough. I don't mind if it's heavy because I intend to store it on the countertop instead of lifting it out of a cabinet for each use. But it absolutely must be able to handle heavy-duty mixing jobs like dual-loaf bread dough recipes that want to be kneaded for 15 minutes. The point of buying a machine is that I cannot do that kind of hand-intensive labor, so it cannot overheat, smoke, or fail while doing its job.
Second, I think we are looking to upgrade our media options. We currently have Netflix (with a Roku for downloading), an ancient TiVo with Lifetime, a $25 DVD player, and a tube-TV which does not have any fancy plugs (we bought it because it was cheap and we knew it would be an interim thing while the digital conversion hoopla was settled), we have ordinary cable from before they offered digital and have refused to upgrade because of the need for a cable box. We do have tolerable broadband but it is low-tier and independent.
So, pretty much you can assume we have nothing that we need to carry forward, but that I would like the ability to play downloaded content and DVDs.
I have heard good things about AT&T's UVerse, but have heard horrendous things about AT&T in general. We have been pretty unhappy with AT&T phone service mostly because the price isn't dropping despite how little value landlines have, in fact charges keep going up. (Mobile service through Verizon but not for any particular reason-- TMobile/Sprint doesn't serve inside my apartment, AT&T and Verizon do.)
In exchange:
I will say that we are extremely happy with both Netflix and the Roku. The Roku device is $100 plus tax and shipping, but it is exactly what it says it is, a device which downloads Netflix and Amazon (and probably others) content and displays it on your TV without the need for a computer (though it does require broadband connectivity). Netflix is Netflix, but with access to their downloadable catalog, the vagarities of mail service no longer hold me hostage. If the Roku people did a deal with Hulu, that would be awesome.
We used to be diehard TiVo supporters, but TiVo has dicked us around a lot and now their (very expensive) service comes plastered with really obnoxious and intrusive advertising. For example, whenever you pause a popular program, there's an ad for weightloss product plastered all over the lower third of the screen. The whole point of having a DVR is to be able to pause and rewind TV.
I think we might like to divorce ourselves from TV content entirely because of the Hulu type services. The shows are there, with no conflicts for recording, the commercials are minimal. Really, it's hard to beat. But we definitely would like the ability to play media in our living room so we can both watch it. Maybe we should just buy a huge computer monitor and a dedicated laptop. Then we'd need a source of local news, but my national newses are podcast.
Third, I would like recommendations on mobile phones. My LG EnV handset is 2.5 years old. I like having a keyboard available because I send more txts than I make calls. But the really locked down phone (you can't download apps or ringtones from anywhere else but the Verizon pay-for site, you can't even make your own) has limited the usefulness of what might have been decent hardware. If anything I might want to be able to do costs me $6.99 plus a monthly fee, I'm not going to do it on the phone.
I admit to being tempted by the iPhones from the commercials I have seen, but I worry that each of those little brightly colored icons they show costs the $6.99 type price and probably they're only available from the iApple iStore too. So it looks like they've got the same problem... Really expensive hardware that's extremely limited by nickel and dime fees. No idea if that's true, maybe iPhones have tons of free apps.
I've also understood that AT&T service for the iPhone sucks filthy weasel toes with athlete's foot. But again, people love to complain when things aren't going well and hardly anyone jumps up and down screaming, "It works marginally better than my minimal expectations!"
I won't say that price is no consideration, but I kept the first phone for years, so investing in hardware isn't the issue compared to the monthly pricing schemes. If it's going to take up room in my pocket, then it should be useful.
