HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: dbernard@clesun.Central.Sun.COM (Dave Bernard)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
Subject: Automobile LEMON LAWS
Date: 16 Nov 92 16:29:54 GMT
Article-I.D.: texsun.13844
Reply-To: dbernard@clesun.Central.Sun.COM
Organization: Sun Microsystems

I noticed a thread recently, and posted a similar question
in rec.autos, but have been unable to get a real clue :-)

I understand that state Lemon Laws were enacted to help get
consumers a refund/exchange on a qualified auto, but don't
no of anyone who was actually able to use such a law to do so.

In other words, are such Lemon Laws just hollow sops to consumers,
or do they really work?  Anyone know of a consumer who was
succesful in getting Lemon Law relief from an auto company?

	Dave
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
From: rsingh@goliath.Stanford.EDU (   raj)
Subject: Millennium rechargeable batteries -- Summary
Organization: Makalu Mountain Hermitage, Mt Makalu, Nepal
Date: Fri, 20 Nov 92 08:31:48 GMT

Thanks to all those who responded to my post about my very bad
experience with millenium rechargeable batteries. (Two free ones never
delivered, and the four that I bought giving a VERY bad performance.)

5-6 people said that they didn't have any problems, and one even
flamed me for making a "summary" judgement based on just one incident.
True, my experience is only *one* data point.

All of you suggested that these batteries can be exchanged because
they come with lifetime warranty.  Two questions:

1. I paid cash at Fry's and don't have receipts any more since I sent
   the ORIGINAL receipt, for the two free batteries that never arrived.
   The fine print said it had to be original receipts for free batteries.
   Will the company still exchange these nonworking batteries for new,
   hopefully working ones?

2. Just what exactly is a lifetime warranty? Expected lifetime of the
   battery (200-400 charges???) or the lifetime of the company ;-) or
   my lifetime?

3. (Ok, one extra question.)  The batteries/recharger only have the
   city name for the company along with zip code, no street address/po box
   number. I called 800 directory but there is no listing under
   Millennium Batteries/Millennium Corporation/Inc OR under Gates energy
   products.  So where do I send these batteries for a replacement?
   (Spend more money calling Gainseville/Gainseville-suburb directory
   assistance??)

--raj
-- 
Rajesh Kumar Singh               E-mail: rsingh@goliath.stanford.edu
Gauls!  We have nothing to fear; except perhaps that the sky may fall
on our heads tomorrow.  But as we all know, tomorrow never comes!!
                                         -- Adventures of Asterix.
From: paul.westley@uttsbbs.uucp (Paul Westley) 
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
Subject: RE: MILLENNIUM RECHARGEAB
Date: 19 Nov 92 23:07:00 GMT
Distribution: world
Organization: The Transfer Station BBS, Danville, CA - 510-837-4610/837-5591
Reply-To: paul.westley@uttsbbs.uucp (Paul Westley) 

-> >More importantly, the rechargeable batteries seem to have died down
-> >after just abut 8-10 charges!  Even if I charge it for many hours,
-> >Anyone else have a similar experience?
-> >
-> I have to disagree, I bought a set of Millennium AA's about 2 months
-> ago and have charge them eover 40 times, they still last about 8-10
-> hours in my walkman.  Besides they only take 3 hours to charge, which
-> is a great advantage

This type of rechargeable battery (as opposed to the new type they are
starting to put in laptops) has a "memory".  If you don't completely
drain it before recharging, it won't charge back to full power.  To
drain it properly, you could get a discharger gadget - it costs a couple
of bucks - just a piece of wire that attaches to each end of the battery
with a heat disperser in the middle, or, and I'm not sure but I think it
should work as well, just leave the cassette on fast forward overnight,
then try charging the batteries again.
From: paul.westley@uttsbbs.uucp (Paul Westley) 
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
Subject: RE: DAK BREADMAKERS. YOU
Date: 18 Nov 92 22:05:00 GMT
Distribution: world
Organization: The Transfer Station BBS, Danville, CA - 510-837-4610/837-5591
Reply-To: paul.westley@uttsbbs.uucp (Paul Westley) 


-> The reconditioned units are purchased from the factory and don't have
-> anything to do with how many returns DAK had.  Chances are the
-> reconditioned models come from stores all over the country.
-> --
Nevertheless, why would DAK sell a product it knows must be prone to
break (seeing as how they can get an endless supply of reconditioned
ones).  I never trusted DAK since about two years when they started
selling the satellite speakers, and promised a 50 Dakonian sound quality
judging real soon.  For the next two years they were still working out
the "logistics" of this test, meanwhile selling thousands of units.
They never did conduct the test, just a bunch of hype.
                                                                                     
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
From: greg@mobius.viewlogic.com (Gregory Larkin)
Subject: Rubbermaid customer service?
Originator: greg@mobius
Organization: Viewlogic Systems, Inc.
Date: Thu, 19 Nov 1992 14:54:03 GMT


Hi there,

I have a Rubbermaid product that is defective.  I would
like to exchange it for a new one.  Does anyone know
if the Rubbermaid company has a customer service phone
number?  I can't exchange the product, as I received it
as a gift, and I don't know where it was bought.
If there is no phone number, does someone have an address
that I could write to?


Please email to me directly.

Thanks for any help!

-- 
              Greg Larkin, Software Engineer, Waveform Analysis
                 Viewlogic Systems, Inc.  Marlboro, MA 01752
                            greg@Viewlogic.COM
Organization: Doctoral student, English, Carnegie Mellon, Pittsburgh, PA
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
Date: Tue, 17 Nov 1992 15:49:47 -0500 
From: Ken Zuroski <kz08+@andrew.cmu.edu>
Subject: safe headphone use?


Howdy:

Hope this isn't a FAQ.

I don't like to wear headphones because my ears seem to be especially
sensitive to 'em; even if I use them with the volume turned quite low
my ears still ache a bit after extended use. I've found a pair of headphones
that seem to work better than most others I've tried, however; I can wear
them for many hours and not feel any ill affects. Now I'm gunshy, however--
I don't want to damage my ears through extended use of Walkman listening.

So my questions:

1. If I keep the volume turned down low enough so that outside ambient sounds
mask the music to a large degree (in other words, I can only use the 
headphones in very quiet places), does this mean that my eardrums (&
accompanying aural equipment) are being subjected to more "stress" from
the ambient sounds than from the music, or is some other more complicated
physical mechanism at work hear? What I'm thinking is this: as long as
I keep the music low enough to be masked by natural ambient sounds, which
they're used to, then they won't be hurt by music that is at a level less
than that. Again, I wouldn't be able to hear music with that ambient level,
but remove it by choosing a quiet place to work and now the low-level music
can be heard.

2. Do you think it makes any difference if the headphones speakers are not
placed directly over the ears, but instead are placed a bit forward on the
head, a bit toward the face? With this position I can still hear the music
if I turn up the volume a bit, but for some reason my ears don't get as
tired as quickly--it's much more comfortable.

The worse headphones for me are the so-called "ear buds"--I can only wear
them for about 15 minutes before my ears begin to ache. I wouldn't attempt
to wear headphones at all except that I have to spend many solitary hours
alone studying and listening to music during that times boosts my productivy
to a large degree. 

Thanks for any information, anectodal or otherwise.

Ken Zuroski

---
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ken Zuroski
Department of English
Carnegie Mellon University
Pittsburgh, PA 15213 USA
kz08@cmu.edu
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
From: fino@point.cs.uwm.edu (Alexander Finogenov)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
Subject: Re: extended warranty
Date: 22 Nov 1992 01:02:16 GMT
Organization: University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee
Distribution: usa
NNTP-Posting-Host: 129.89.2.5

In article <1992Nov20.182703.10718@eskimo.com> ghazel@eskimo.com (Geoff Hazel) writes:
: We bought a new 89 Ford Probe, when they first came out...
: Well, we had the alternator go out...
: The electric door motor on drivers side died
: ... the transmission slipped off its mount...

Are you sure this car was new? :-)
If you are, will you by another FORD?

Alex
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
From: jreiser@scott.skidmore.edu (Jason Reiser... Asleep)
Subject: Re: Nintendo Game vs. 386sx Computer
Organization: Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs NY
Date: Tue, 17 Nov 1992 17:16:21 GMT

Bummer... no mailing across IBM lines... but here's my addition.

Consider the fact that your kids are bound to learn something about
computers and computing if they use your '386 for games... there's not
much to learn with a Nintendo. 

I know that by using my old Apple ][e for games, I learned a lot about
the operation of the computer, learned BASIC programming, and
eventually became interested in more advanced (non-game) programs.  

The only drawbacks to this would be your loss of computing time and
the potential of your kids urging you to get a '486 sometime in the
future.
;-)

Good luck with your decision.
				- Jason

-- 
---------------------------------------------------------------
\ Jason A. Reiser  \ Send E-Mail to jreiser@scott.skidmore.edu \
 \ Skidmore College \ Saratoga Springs, NY 12866 \ 518-581-6580 \  
  \ It's a new Ice Age!  Hooray!!  Sled City!  - Calvin & Hobbes \
From: kevin@carson.u.washington.edu (Kevin Caskey)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
Subject: Experience w/ Insurance (auto mostly) companies sought
Date: 16 Nov 92 18:04:53 GMT
Article-I.D.: u.1992Nov16.180453.11200
Distribution: na
Organization: University of Washington, Seattle

Secondly, any comments on homeowners policies from these (or similar) 
companies?

Kevin at the U dub (are we off to the Rose Bowl again?)
From: bew@druwa.ATT.COM (WeissBE)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
Subject: Re: eyeglasses: want info about anti-reflective coatings
Summary: experience with anti-reflective coatings on eyeglasses
Date: 17 Nov 92 19:48:25 GMT

In article <1992Nov16.172320.11880@acuson.com>, marc@acuson.com (Marc Weinshenker) writes:
> I would like to hear about experiences with anti-reflective
> coatings for regular clear eyeglass lenses. I have some idea
> about the advantages as well as the expense, but I would also
> like to know about what the downsides might be.
> 
> Thanks.
> 
> -- 
> Marc Weinshenker                         marc@acuson.com
> Acuson Corporation                       415-694-5186 
> Mountain View, California                

Mark

I got an anti-reflective coating for my clear eyeglass lenses almost
two years ago.  I should preface my remarks that my prescription is
for -7.0 diopters; I don't know whether that has a bearing on the
following.  I don't like the anti- reflective coating and will not
get it on my next set of lenses in 1993.  Reasons: 1) there are still
some reflections although greatly reduced; 2) the most important
reason: the coating causes chromatic aberration  (I often see
a blue band on one side of an object and a yellow band on the other.
I found it extremely annoying at first although it is less
annoying now.); 3) makes the lenses harder to clean.  (I used to
be able to clean my lenses with warm water and a soft towel.
Now I must use soap, water, and towel)   These are my opinions;
I suggest you consult with your optician for all the disadvantages
before opting for the coating.


Barry Weiss
AT&T Bell Labs               303-538-4266
From: charleen@net.bio.net (Charleen Bunjiovianna)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
Subject: Re: funeral add-ons
Keywords: do people actually want these things?
Date: 17 Nov 92 17:11:20 GMT
Distribution: na
Organization: BIOSCI International Newsgroups for Biology

In article <1992Nov17.152033.13154@meaddata.com> dedek@meaddata.com (Mike Dedek) writes:
>|> (kate perkins)
>|> Is it just us?  Do people go to events like this?  As I said, I have nothing
>|> against the people at this funeral home, but they're not my friends, and
>|> they weren't personal friends of our deceased family member.  Why would I
>|> want to go to a commemorative event with a lot of strangers?  Is this sort
>|> of thing common?
>
>I have no personal experience in this (so I probably shouldn't wasted
>bandwidth), but here's what I think:  The funeral home is doing this
>to "help" people get over their loss, and possibly to acquaint you with
>others going through the same type of loss.

No, I don't think that's the case at all.

If you look at the funeral industry as a business, just like real
estate or antiques or banking, you'll see that what the funeral home is
trying to do is marketing, pure and simple.  The next time Kate and her
family need to make funeral arrangements (a very long time from now, I
hope!), the funeral home wants to be the first place Kate thinks of.
That's why they do these "thoughtful" promotions, like memorial
ornaments, bookmarks and the like.

Even if Kate doesn't go to the memorial event, the funeral home has
still succeeded in getting her to think about them again.  

Charleen

P.S.  Please don't quote the entire article you're replying to, just
the relevant section(s).
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
From: jnielsen@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu (John F Nielsen)
Subject: Re: Whining about buying American cars
Organization: The Ohio State University
Distribution: usa
Date: Fri, 20 Nov 1992 15:56:15 GMT

In article <1e6g50INNbmg@moe.ksu.ksu.edu> zchen@phys.ksu.edu (Zheng Chen) writes:

>By running "10 mpg", you helped the gas stations all the way up to the
>big companies like Exxon. By sending your car to the repair garage, you
>helped the mechanics and the owner of the shop. Whatever you do, as
>long as you are spending all of your hard earned money in this country,
>it doesn't matter where the money will go later on, you are helping the
>American economy :-) So I see no difference which car to buy. Just buy the
>one you and your wife like.
>--
I think there is a difference in what you spend your money on. 

Spending money does not necessarily help an economy.
When spending money, buying products which encourage research and
development would be much more valuable than buying that which
encourages waste.

Money is a type of constant, what really matters is the quality of the
actual material wealth of the country. A nobel in the middle ages does
not live as well as an average American, even though the nobel may be
relatively much richer. 

john
-- 
---------------------------------------------------------------------
John Nielsen   MAGNUS Consultant            ______   ______   __  __	
jnielsen@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu         /\  __ \ /\  ___\ /\ \/\ \
                                           \ \ \/\ \\ \___  \\ \ \_\ \
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
From: chrz@tellabs.com (Peter Chrzanowski)
Subject: Re: Stereo Receiver Recommendations needed
Organization: Tellabs, Inc.
Date: Wed, 18 Nov 1992 18:12:58 GMT

In article <1992Nov17.215647.12586@pony.Ingres.COM>, reb@Ingres.COM (Phydeaux) writes:
> In article <6967@dove.nist.gov> glenn@sloth.ncsl.nist.gov writes:
> >I'm in the market for a new stereo receiver (our 28 year old tube amp isn't
> >up to the task at hand).  

> Sony has something for multi-rooms too.  Have you tried looking in rec.audio?

Do you suppose a modern Sony consumer-grade receiver will last for 28 years
like his old amp did?


> 
> 						reb
From: gove@radar.bu.edu (Alan Norwood Gove)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
Subject: Re: eyeglasses: want info about anti-reflective coatings
Date: 18 Nov 92 22:55:12 GMT
Organization: Boston University Center for Adaptive Systems
In-reply-to: bew@druwa.ATT.COM's message of 17 Nov 92 19:48:25 GMT

>I got an anti-reflective coating for my clear eyeglass lenses almost
>two years ago.  I should preface my remarks that my prescription is
>for -7.0 diopters; I don't know whether that has a bearing on the
>following.  I don't like the anti- reflective coating and will not
>get it on my next set of lenses in 1993.  Reasons: 1) there are still
>some reflections although greatly reduced; 2) the most important
>reason: the coating causes chromatic aberration  (I often see
>a blue band on one side of an object and a yellow band on the other.
>I found it extremely annoying at first although it is less
>annoying now.); 3) makes the lenses harder to clean.  (I used to
>be able to clean my lenses with warm water and a soft towel.
>Now I must use soap, water, and towel)   These are my opinions;
>I suggest you consult with your optician for all the disadvantages
>before opting for the coating.

Like the poster quoted above, I often see a yellow band bordering
objects.  I haven't seen a blue band, but I'll look for one tonight
after taking my contacts out.  I should note that I also need strong
lenses (-10 diopters).  Overall, I'm not happy with the
anti-reflective coating.  Not only are they harder to clean, but they
seem to get dirty (and oily) much faster than other glasses I've
owned.  The result is lots of reflection off the dirt particles, and
blurring from the oil, so that I feel my vision is worse with the
coating than without it.

I'm glad to hear some people are happy with it, though.

alan
From: grtorlba@sumax.seattleu.edu (George Torralba)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
Subject: Re: Whining about buying American cars
Date: 16 Nov 92 19:12:24 GMT
Article-I.D.: sumax.5788
Distribution: usa
Organization: Seattle University

In article <1992Nov16.172323.19119@afterlife.ncsc.mil> michael@afterlife.ncsc.mil (Michael of Nebadon) writes:
>In article <5779@sumax.seattleu.edu> grtorlba@sumax.seattleu.edu (George Torralba) writes:
>>
>>Not too many people have $10,000 dollars, at least, of money to gamble.  I'd
>>rather be called a misguided person than have to risk living with a car that
>>will give me nothing but headaches and frustrations.
>
>Then don't buy a car. You're taking that risk, whether you're willing to
>admit it or not, no matter what car you buy. My point in the posting was to
>encourage people to give cars of both countries (all countries, I suppose)
>a chance when you are considering a new car. You may be surprised,
>particularly if you are as afraid of one kind or another (you didn't
>mention which) as your post implies you are.
>

I do realize that I'm taking risks either way, but if you were like me,
you would try to minimize those risks.   And how exactly can you give
another choice a chance when your choices involve a big sum of money
which, as you pointed out, you will be paying for for at least 36 months.
Does giving a chance mean going out to the dealership and listen to the
dealer dish out a lot of garbage, test drive the car maybe.  What will that
tell you in terms of reliability?  But hey, it's your money, you can do
anything with it as long as it doesn't hurt anybody else.


George

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Email  : grtorlba@sumax.seattleu.edu
  Phone  : (206) 781-7622 (with voice mail)
  USMail : George R. Torralba, 8728 Phinney Ave. N. #8,  Seattle, WA  98103
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Xref: sparky misc.consumers:19243 rec.music.makers:11027 rec.music.classical:16382
From: loosemore-sandra@cs.yale.edu (Sandra Loosemore)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers,rec.music.makers,rec.music.classical
Subject: Re: Yamaha Clavinova as a piano
Date: 18 Nov 1992 19:46:53 -0500
Organization: staff hacker @ Yale Haskell project
NNTP-Posting-Host: functor.systemsz.cs.yale.edu
In-reply-to: dlhanson@nap.amoco.com's message of Wed, 18 Nov 1992 21:53:33 GMT

When I was shopping for a digital piano a couple of months ago, I
tried the Clavinova in the store and hated the way it felt -- the
action was much stiffer than any of the "real" pianos I've played
regularly before.  (None of them were really professional-quality
instruments, however -- the last one I owned was an ancient Baldwin
Acrosonic.)  Anyway, I ended up getting a Yamaha YPP-50 instead,
which felt more comfortable for me than any of the other ones I tried,
but still not quite the same as a "real" piano.

As to whether practicing on a Clavinova is a bad idea -- I wouldn't
worry too much if it's just a hobby for the kids.  You might consider
trading in the Clavinova for another model the kids like better, though.

-Sandra
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
From: klee@wsl.dec.com (Ken Lee)
Subject: Re: Stuck Stamps
Keywords: stamps
Reply-To: klee@wsl.dec.com
Organization: DEC Western Software Laboratory
Date: Thu, 19 Nov 92 02:17:14 GMT

|> 	- Could I soak the entire book to loosen the stamps from each
|> 	  other, let them dry, then reuse them (by glueing or taping
|> 	  the back side of them to an envelope)?

Yes.  Use glue.

-- 
Ken Lee
DEC Western Software Laboratory, Palo Alto, Calif.
Internet: klee@wsl.dec.com
uucp: uunet!decwrl!klee
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
From: nicki@hprnd.rose.hp.com (Nick Ingegneri)
Subject: Re: Nintendo Game vs. 386sx Computer
Date: Tue, 17 Nov 1992 18:57:19 GMT
Organization: HP - Systems Technology Division
X-Newsreader: TIN [version 1.1.8 PL6]

Charles N. Tomlinson (chuckt@austin.ibm.com) wrote:
: Pro for buying Nintendo:
:   1. Simple to use.  As I stated the kids are 3 & 8.  The 8 yr old has no
:      problem with using the computer but the 3 yr does.  It would be alot 
:      easier for him to use the Netendo by himself.   

Not only simpler, but you will also probably find it easier to find games
that suit their interests.

On the other hand, by using the 386sx to play games on you would let them
start to gain experience in using a computer.  If they ever expressed an
desire to learn programming or such, they couldn't do that on an Nintendo
system.  

My $0.02 worth would be to let them use the 386sx.  BTW, there are game
pads available for the PC that they would probably like more than a 
joystick.
From: betsys@cs.umb.edu (Elizabeth Schwartz)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
Subject: Need address/help for Reebok
Date: 22 Nov 92 18:33:23 GMT
Distribution: misc
Organization: University of Massachusetts at Boston

My new Reeboks have developed a hideously loud squeak. I think this
means that the layers inside are separating. I want to write to the
company and complain. The squeak developed just after the 30-day
return from the store; the shoes are now about 60 days old and
unwearable. 
   I wonder if they will take them back/refund my $50? I expect to get
more than 5 weeks of walking from a $50 shoe. 

  Sigh...I hate Reeboks. Ever since Reebok bought Avia, Avia's have
gone downhill. I have slightly non-standard shaped feet (wide front,
very narrow heel, very flat arches ouch!)  and just cannot find a
comfortable sneaker. I treasured my last pair of "real" Avia's ...
--
System Administrator                  Internet: betsys@cs.umb.edu
MACS Dept, UMass/Boston               BITNET:ESCHWARTZ%UMBSKY.DNET@NS.UMB.EDU
100 Morrissy Blvd                     Staccato signals
Boston, MA 02125-3393                      of constant information....