HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: greg@netcom.com (Greg Bullough)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers,misc.consumers.house
Subject: Re: DISHWASHER recommendations?
Date: 10 Sep 92 16:43:43 GMT
Organization: Netcom - Online Communication Services  (408 241-9760 guest)

In article <1992Sep9.174418.6419@cs.sfu.ca> shell@cs.sfu.ca (Barry Shell) writes:
>
>After finding the best price on sale at a local department store,
>I stumbled on a store here called Coast Wholesale, who was selling
>the same model for almost $100 less. I bought it. I would just
>suggest that you look for the simplest machine that has a reasonable
>rating (we chose GE) at the lowest price you can find.

One thing I noticed while pondering the decision of whether to fix my
dishwasher by replacing the motor/pump unit or to replace it with a 
quieter model was this:
 
The difference between one of the base-models and the same model, billed
as "whisper quiet" was very simple. The "whisper quiet" model came with 
some insulation that looked like something cadged from a water-heater 
blanket, which you were to wrap around the top and sides before installing.
Apparently a good deal of the noise is from the water hitting the walls of
the machine.
 
That was it. No other difference. For this, you payed about $80.00 more.
 
Oh, yes: since my racks and interior were in fine shape, and I just had a
howling pump bearing, I replaced the whole pump unit in 30 minutes for 
about $80.00. Didn't bother to try wrapping the insulation around it, 
but I probably should have, just to prove a point.
 
Greg
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
From: don@helix.nih.gov (donald seto)
Subject: PacTel Phone Answering Machine
Organization: National Institutes of Health, Bethesda
Distribution: usa
Date: Sun, 6 Sep 1992 17:00:34 GMT

thanks, 
don@helix.nih.gov
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
From: daniels@zorch.SF-Bay.ORG (Daniel Segel)
Subject: Re: Not Sony (was Re: Best 27 - 30" Big Screen T.V.)
Organization: SF-Bay Public-Access Unix
Distribution: usa,world
Date: Thu, 10 Sep 1992 20:13:11 GMT

In article <1992Sep9.000907.1723@ucbeh.san.uc.edu> yuanj@ucbeh.san.uc.edu writes:
>In article <holly.208@mailhub.scf.lmsc.lockheed.com>, holly@mailhub.scf.lmsc.lockheed.com (Holly Wise) writes:
>> I'm looking to buy a big screen (not gigantic) T.V.  Any idea on which kind 
>> is the best buy?
>
>Avoid Sony!  They are more expensive but not more relaible.  My friend bought
>a 27" set 6 months ago with 3 month warrenty on labor & parts, 1 year parts 
>only.  It went wrong in the 4th month.  The color seems to concentrate on all 
>four corners.  The center and most part of the screen is B&W.  My other friends
>bought Toshiba's for cheaper prices and did not have any problems with their
>sets.  Sony cost $650, Toshiba $490, both 27", in Cincinnati, OH.
>
I hate making any kind of brand judgment with only one or two samples, so here's
one more piece of information:

I've owned two Sony TV's in my life, one 13" that operated perfectly for about
15 years, and more recently a 27" that has operated perfectly for about 4.5
years now.

Your milage may vary. I bought the second Sony because I had such good luck
with the first, and I personally like the Sony picture tube (Trinitron) for
sharpness and color, blue-tinged warts and all.

Daniel A. Segel
daniels@zorch.sf-bay.org


-- 
1. TO PLAY WITH SLINKY IN HANDS:
   Hold end coils of SLINKY with both hands.  Now raise and lower
   each hand in a rythmic motion.

Newsgroups: misc.consumers
From: hubcap@hubcap.clemson.edu (System Janitor)
Subject: Re: ATM interface design
Organization: Clemson University
Date: Tue, 8 Sep 1992 14:16:49 GMT

>on the screen unless your eyeballs are exactly 4'11" above the ground and
>21" away from the CRT.  Typically the choice you want is sandwiched between
>2 undesirable options (i.e. cancel transaction, withdraw money, silent alarm,
wings-stay-on, wings-fall-off)

Bwahahahahaha.

Hopefully enough people read ``The Far Side'' that this posting won't
be considered obtrusive.

-Mike
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
From: kadie@herodotus.cs.uiuc.edu (Carl M. Kadie)
Subject: Re: Internet connectivity coming to Prodigy....
Organization: University of Illinois, Dept. of Comp. Sci., Urbana, IL
Distribution: na
Date: Sun, 13 Sep 1992 03:18:28 GMT

arup+@cs.cmu.edu (Arup Mukherjee) writes:

>There was never anything to indicate that Prodigy does or ever did censor
>*e-mail*. They claim they never have, and although I'm highly critical of
>their actions in other respects, I believe them on this one.
[...]

Although I've don't believe they prescreen e-mail, didn't they punish
users who send e-mail to their merchants asking the merchants to ask
Prodigy to stop being so repressive?

- Carl
--
Carl Kadie -- kadie@cs.uiuc.edu -- University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
From: jchen@flash.bellcore.com (Jason Chen)
Subject: test
Reply-To: jchen@flash.bellcore.com (Jason Chen)
Organization: Bellcore, Morristown NJ
Date: Fri, 11 Sep 92 04:29:05 GMT


C. Jason Chen 
jchen@flash.bellcore.com
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
From: jimh@pacdata.uucp (Jim Harkins)
Subject: Re: ATM interface design
Organization: Pacific Data Products
Date: Sat, 5 Sep 1992 00:21:39 GMT

In article <JAK.92Sep3081952@bimini.cs.brown.edu> jak@cs.brown.edu writes:
>My bank recently changed its automatic teller machines from the kind
>that have a single keypad to the kind that have one normal keypad for
>entering numbers etc. and one keypad next to the screen where the
>buttons are pointed to by arrows on the screen.
>
>Personally, I find this latter type of ATM an abomination --

I agree 100%  There's some banks around here with this arrangement and to
me it's most serious problem is the buttons don't line up with the options
on the screen unless your eyeballs are exactly 4'11" above the ground and
21" away from the CRT.  Typically the choice you want is sandwiched between
2 undesirable options (i.e. cancel transaction, withdraw money, silent alarm).

Another thing that's rather silly.  A few months ago I bought a TV and never
got around to going to the bank to transfer money into checking.  So I go to
the ATM and try to withdraw money.  Get the message "not enough money in your
account, pick another amount".  So I try to get an account balance.  No can
do.  So I lower my withdrawal.  Still not enough cash.  Finally tried pulling
out $0.0, got the message "Invalid entry, try again".  What I really wanted
to do was change from checking to savings, what I ended up doing was hitting
the cancel key to get out of the checking withdrawal menu.  Of course, cancel
spits out your card and you've got to start over.  Murphy says this only
happens on Friday afternoon with a long line of people behind you.

And to think they charge me $0.50 for using their damn machine.

jim

-- 
Lawyers Creed:  What's mine is mine, what's yours is negotiable.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Jim Harkins                         [ucsd|uunet]!pacdata!jim
Pacific Data Products               jim@pacdata.com
--------------------------------------------------------------

Newsgroups: misc.consumers
From: eab@msc.edu (Edward Bertsch)
Subject: Re: News from the "Press 1 now" front
Organization: Minnesota Supercomputer Center, Minneapolis, MN
Date: Sat, 12 Sep 1992 00:09:17 GMT

In article <7SEP199211132500@amarna.gsfc.nasa.gov>, packer@amarna.gsfc.nasa.gov (Charles Packer) writes:
|> An item appeared in the "Metropolitan Diary" column of the NY
|> Times a couple of weeks ago reporting that when you call Casio's
|> hot line at 
|> 
|>   800-762-1241
|> 
|> the recorded voice says (and I confirmed it),
|> 
|>    "...if you are calling from a touch tone phone, press "1"
|>    now. If you are calling from a rotary-dial telephone,
|>    please call back on a touch-tone telephone." 

You must not have confirmed it recently.  I just called this number, and
they give you a long distance (i.e. not an 800 number) phone number
to call.

--

Edward A. Bertsch (eab@msc.edu)   Minnesota Supercomputer Center, Inc.
Operations/User Services          1200 Washington Avenue South
(612) 626-1888 work               Minneapolis, Minnesota  55415
(612) 645-0168 voice mail         [DISCLAIMER: MY OPINIONS; NOT MSCI'S]

      ___________________________________________________
      Dump the Republocrats:      vote Libertarian in '92
      ---------------------------------------------------

% echo "potatoe potato" | spell
potatoe
%
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
From: houck@scivax.stsci.edu
Subject: WALDENBOOKS MUST BURN!!!!!
Organization: Space Telescope Science Institute
Distribution: na
Date: Thu, 10 Sep 1992 16:46:44 GMT




     I propose that we boycott, Boycotts.

     Those wishing to waste time in such endeavors or in pleading with
     others to do so, so as to save themselves the evil ways of the
     written word - should save their breath.

     They should however, spend some of their much wasted time reading,
     in the hopes of furthering their own narrow minded opinions.


Newsgroups: misc.consumers,alt.discrimination,alt.censorship
From: burke@tss.com (Jim Burke)
Subject: Re: Waldenbooks fires staff for refusing to sell racist book!
Reply-To: burke@tss.com (Jim Burke)
Organization: Teknekron Software Systems. Inc.
Distribution: usa
Date: Fri, 11 Sep 1992 20:48:48 GMT

In article <1992Sep11.183119.15009@m.cs.uiuc.edu>, kadie@herodotus.cs.uiuc.edu (Carl M. Kadie) writes:
|> so@fortran.cs.psu.edu (Nicol C So) writes:

|> [...]
|> >The boycotters are exerting their "fair share" of influence on the business
|> >decision of bookstore owners, there is nothing morally wrong with these
|> >people.
|> [...]

|> By your argument all boycotts are moral. Would you feel the same about
|> this boycott if it's goal was to suppress books by all black authors?
|> Would you still say: 'The boycotters are exerting their "fair share"
|> of influence on the business decision of bookstore owners, there is
|> nothing morally wrong with these people.'?
|> 
|> I oppose this boycott not because I think boycotts are inherently
|> immoral, but because I oppose its goals, namely, the suppression of
|> material that some people find offensive.




It seems to me that there are two types of boycott, and this is reflected
in the definitions given in my own dictionary.  One definition is given
as "To join together in refusing to deal with, so as to punish, coerce, etc."
This would seem to be the definition Mr. Kadie is applying to his 
understanding of Mr. So's article.  However, another definition of boycott
is "To refuse to buy, sell, or use [to _boycott_ a newspaper].  The second
definition is less agressive and it is one that I use all the time.  I
don't agree with the editorial policies of the San Jose Mercury News - I
feel they slant the news with their own editorial bias, so I personally
boycott the SJMN.  I am not trying to suppress their rights, I simply don't
agree with their journalistic policies.  I have not organized a public
boycott in order to shut them down, however.  I also boycott lots of products
I consider shoddy.  

-- 

	Jim Burke	"Life is uncertain - eat dessert first!"
	Teknekron Software Systems		... burke@tss.com
  	phone:(415) 617-2432			... uunet!tekbspa!burke
From: ben@yenta.alb.nm.us (Ben Klausner)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
Subject: Re: car sun shade devices: what works best?
Date: 6 Sep 92 04:26:44 GMT
Distribution: usa
Organization: Department of Redundancy Department

arti@brahms.udel.edu (Arti Nigam) writes:

>I have seen a lot of car sunshade devices advertised, including
>even electronic devices such as solar fans.
>I use a cardboard sunshade on the front windshield; you know,
>the accordion-folded type with 'help' on on side and some picture
>on the other.  Are other types actually better (effectiveness and/
>or convenience), or are they just prettier and more expensive?

>I am willing to spend more if it makes a substantial difference,
>because we are moving to a *hot* area (El Paso / Las Cruces).

>I'd appreciate any comments about types you have used.  Thanks.

The best ones, IMHO, are those with a silver colored surface to reflect some
of the heat back out. The cardboard ones are a poor substitute. Whatever you
use, it needs to fit your cars windshield!

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  inet: ben@yenta.alb.nm.us                    | My opinions are my own.
  CI$:  76337,1730                             | Who else would want them?
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
-- 
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  inet: ben@yenta.alb.nm.us                    | My opinions are my own.
  CI$:  76337,1730                             | Who else would want them?
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Newsgroups: misc.consumers,rec.video,sci.electronics,sci.misc
From: evansmp@uhura.aston.ac.uk (Mark Evans)
Subject: Re: VCR Maintenance Advice Wanted. Head Cleaners Any Good?
Organization: Aston University
Date: Fri, 11 Sep 1992 15:27:31 GMT

chrisp@theory.TC.Cornell.EDU (Chris Pelkie) writes:
: 
: As everyone else points out, don't use anything with fibers in it, like cotton Q-tips or rags.
: In fact, watch the edges of your chamois for any small fibers (we just had that happen!).

A standard method is to use a piece of card (the back of a new business card
is ideal)

Take off the top of the machine (and any protective shielding over the
head assembly)
Hold the card flat against the video head and turn the head.
-- 
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mark Evans                                   |evansmp@uhura.aston.ac.uk
+(44) 21 565 1979 (Home)                     |evansmp@cs.aston.ac.uk
+(44) 21 359 6531 x4039 (Office)             |
Xref: sparky misc.consumers:16278 sci.electronics:15335
From: miken@krypton.tv.tek.com (Mike Nakamura)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers,sci.electronics
Subject: Re: Cordless phones
Keywords: cordless recommendation
Date: 8 Sep 92 02:44:41 GMT
Organization: Tektronix TV Products


How secure are the various makes of cordless phones to unauthorized use?
I don't really care if people want to listen to my conversations, but I 
don't want to pay for someone elses phone calls (malicious or otherwise).

Several of the Sony models claim to have 1,000,000 security codes. Has this 
proven adequate in practice?
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
From: rboudrie@chpc.org (Rob Boudrie)
Subject: New Mortgage Scam
Organization: Center For High Perf. Computing of WPI; Marlboro Ma
Date: Fri, 11 Sep 1992 18:52:18 GMT

My mortgage holder (Huntington Mortgage) just wrote to inform me that 
I qualify to save $48K in interest over the lifetime of the loan.  All
I have to do is pay them 1/2 mtg payment per month (and sign an 
agreement allowing them to collect this directly from my checking account).
They will keep this money in a separate account, and apply it to the 
mortgage at the regular due dates (though with a slightly larger amount
since there will be 13 instead of 12 payments per year).

The catch?  I only have to pay a "one time processing fee" of $495.00
for them to set this up, and a $1.00 fee on each bi weekly payment
processed!

The "questions and answers" in the accompaning literature answered the
question "Is there any other way to reduce the interest?" with mention that
payment of additional interest as per contract terms is permitted, but that
this is the only systematic way of arranging for Huntington to collect
bi weekly payments on a regular basis.

I guess I don't understand why they gave me a mortgage in the first place
if they think I'm stupid enough to pay them $495 for this non-service.
(I'll just keep sending in extra principal with each month's payment and
do it myself).

Rob Boudrie
rboudrie@chpc.org
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
From: cep@taligent.com (Christophe Pettus)
Subject: Re: Priority Mail is a fraud
Organization: Taligent, a little subsidiary of two really big companies.
Distribution: usa
Date: Mon, 14 Sep 1992 16:47:51 GMT

In article <1992Sep12.200159.8703@cbnews.cb.att.com> ask@cbnews.cb.att.com (Arthur S. Kamlet) writes:
>This is true:  The motto used by Federal Express:
>      When it absolutely, positively has to get there overnight.
>
>  The motto used for express mail by the postal service:
>      If it doesn't get there when we promise we will refund
>      your money.

To be fair, that's all Fedex guarantees either, slogans
nonwithstanding:  If Fedex doesn't deliver your package on time,
they'll refund the delivery charges, with relatively good grace (claims
for damage are another matter, however).

So, which to use?  I generally use Fedex, since their customer service
(including an 800 number to check on package status, vastly superior
drop-off options, and relatively easy-to-get accounts) is far superior
to that of the USPS.  However, there are circumstances where I'll use
Express Mail:

1. When it's going to a PO Box, there's no other choice.

2. When it's going to be delivered on a Saturday, it's much cheaper to
   use Express Mail.
--
-- Christophe

"Black is the color of non-conformity.  Everyone has to have it."
	T-shirt company executive
From: chin@hpcc01.corp.hp.com (Frederick Chin)
Date: Tue, 15 Sep 1992 16:09:56 GMT
Subject: Info on ISUZU AMIGO pls
Organization: the HP Corporate notes server
Newsgroups: misc.consumers

/ hpcc01:rec.autos / chin@hpcc01.corp.hp.com (Frederick Chin) /  1:11 pm  Sep 11, 1992 /
Greetings,

Anyone out there have info on an ISUZU Amigo?  I am thinking
about getting a car like this or equivalent and will appreciate
any feedback anyone has to offer.

Basically, I am thinking about...what's the best price I would
get for the Amigo SX with no options.

Also, I heard the crash test on the thing shows that it is not
too safe.. is this true.

Thanks in advance,
Fred Chin
chin@hpcc01.corp.hp.com
----------

Newsgroups: misc.consumers,alt.politics.correct
From: staffan@ca.serum.kodak.com (Kenneth Staffan (x37507))
Subject: NPR & PC (was Re: Waldenbooks fires staff...)
Organization: Clinical Products Division, Eastman Kodak Company
Distribution: usa
Date: Wed, 9 Sep 1992 20:36:21 GMT

>Morton Kondracke has some great commentary on NPR and their unabashed
>PCness in the latest issue of the NEW REPUBLIC.  I get nauseated when NPR
>has a "panel discussion" and all the members of the panel tow the NPR line
>and they all take turns bashing the other side of the issue the panel is
>supposed to represent. Radio Moscow has changed their tune, why can't NPR?

Personally, I like it.  In our town it's great balance to the other
predominantly talk radio station's conservative slant.  Now if either was
the _only_ station available...

Ken
From: charlesv@aupair.cs.athabascau.ca (Charles Van Duren)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
Subject: Re: Florida disaster raise auto or home insurance rates?
Date: 11 Sep 92 15:24:46 GMT

jimh@pacdata.uucp (Jim Harkins) writes:

#In article <1992Sep1.141047.29767@lmpsbbs.comm.mot.com> markr@mcil.comm.mot.com writes:
#-In article <9208312234.AA04488@tyrell.CFSMO.Honeywell.COM> ottoh3@CFSMO.Honeywell.COM (Otto Heuer #3) writes:
#->
#->The person in the office next to mine was mentioning today how he was
#->expecting his car and home insurance rates to rise quite a bit due to 
#->the damage done in Florida this past week (several billions of dollars
#->in claims filed).
#->
#->My question:  can they really do this (raise rates (in Minnesota in my
#->case) becase they get stuck with a hefty bill in Florida)?

According to a newspaper report (I believe it was in the Globe and Mail's
Report on Business, the CEO of one of the US' largest insurance companies
expressed the desire, in an internal memo, to sneak in an extra premium raise
along with that to cover the damages from Hugo.

#-
#-Isn't the purpose of Insurance companies to spread the risk around
#-a large number of people ?

In Alberta, homeowners' premiums have been going up for several years to
cover the damages caused by the '87 Edmonton hurricane ($275M) and two
massive hailstorms in Calgary in recent years. One of those alone cost
over $400M.

Yes, insurance is a way of spreading out the risk, both over a larger
number of people, and over a longer time period.

#My understanding of it is that the insurance companies themselves took out
#insurance against this kind of disaster after hurricane Hugo.  Now who an
#insurance company would by insurance from I don't know, maybe Lloyd's of
#London.  This is all from a CNN report on the subject.

CvD
*----------------------------------------------------------------------------*
| Charles van Duren - Senior Systems Analyst - Center for Distance Education |  
|      Athabasca University, Athabasca, Alberta, Canada T0G 0B0              |
*-------------------------------------\/-------------------------------------*
| They've never seen the Northern lights,                                    |
| Never seen the hawk on the wing,                                           |
| They've never seen spring on the Great Divide....                          |
|                                       Nightrider's Lament (Mike Burton)
*-------------------------------------/\-------------------------------------*
Newsgroups: misc.consumers,alt.discrimination,alt.censorship
From: kadie@herodotus.cs.uiuc.edu (Carl M. Kadie)
Subject: Re: Waldenbooks fires staff for refusing to sell racist book!
Organization: University of Illinois, Dept. of Comp. Sci., Urbana, IL
Distribution: usa
Date: Thu, 10 Sep 1992 14:14:59 GMT

guillory@crhc.uiuc.edu (Stanford Guillory) writes:

[...]
>A boycott is not censorship.
[...]

True, but the goal of this boycott is to compel bookstores suppress
material of which you disapprove. Supporters of free expression thus
oppose this boycott.

- Carl

ANNOTATED REFERENCES

(All these documents are available on-line. Access information follows.)

=================
library/censorship.def.ala
=================
The American Library Association's definition of "censorship" and related
terms.

=================
library/freedom-to-read.ala
=================
The "Freedom to Read Statement" of the American Library Association
and Association of American Publishers.

It says in part: "We trust Americans to recognize propaganda, and to
reject it.  We do not believe they need the help of censors to assist
them in this task.  We do not believe they are prepared to sacrifice
their heritage of a free press in order to be "protected" against what
others think may be bad for them.  We believe they still favor free
enterprise in ideas and expression."

=================
=================

These document(s) are available by anonymous ftp (the preferred
method) and by email. To get the file(s) via ftp, do an anonymous ftp
to ftp.eff.org (192.88.144.4), and get file(s):

  pub/academic/library/censorship.def.ala
  pub/academic/library/freedom-to-read.ala

To get the file(s) by email, send email to archive-server@eff.org.
Include the line(s) (be sure to include the space before the file
name):

send acad-freedom/library censorship.def.ala
send acad-freedom/library freedom-to-read.ala



--
Carl Kadie -- kadie@cs.uiuc.edu -- University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Xref: sparky misc.consumers:16247 sci.electronics:15300