HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: mankola@thor.ece.uc.edu (Manishkumar Ankola)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers,rec.photo
Subject: Where can I get PAL camcorders ??
Keywords: PAL,camcorder
Date: 8 Nov 92 15:22:45 GMT
Distribution: usa
Organization: Unversity of Cincinnati, ECE Dept


hello folks!

i am intend going to india sometime in december and would like to take a
8mm PAL camcorder home. as you already know most of the stores that do sell
camcorders usually carry NTSC systems only. 

someone told me that PAL camcorders are available in NY/Chicago area, but 
could not give any specific details. if any one of you know anything about
PAL camcorders please let me know. 

also, i have a couple of questions. what are the popular models? are there any
complications in buying a 8mm camcorder ? whats the approximate price range?
and any other information you have!

send all replies to mankola@thor.ece.uc.edu

-manish


--------
 Manishkumar Ankola			- mankola@thor.ece.uc.edu
 Dept. of Electrical & Computer Engg.   - mankola@uceng.uc.edu
 University of Cincinnati		- ankolamb@ucunix.san.uc.edu
-- 


--------
 Manishkumar Ankola			- mankola@thor.ece.uc.edu
 Dept. of Electrical & Computer Engg.   - mankola@uceng.uc.edu
 University of Cincinnati		- ankolamb@ucunix.san.uc.edu
From: avk@hafnium.cchem.berkeley.edu (Tony Konashenok)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
Subject: Re: The unhappy byproduct of gas stations and ATM cards
Date: 10 Nov 1992 00:33:06 GMT
Organization: University of California, Berkeley
Distribution: usa
NNTP-Posting-Host: hafnium.cchem.berkeley.edu

>>|> I thought it was illegel to charge more for using a credit card then for 
>>|> cash. I think I read this in the local paper but it was some time ago.
>>|> Anyone know for sure?
>    I don't know of any such "law" in the first place.  There are
>    credit card merchant contracts for cards like Visa, MC, Amex
>    which prohibit such practices, but these are strictly contracts
>    that allow the credit card company to cancel a merchant who
>    violates them...not that most won't if offered cash.  

At any rate, here in the S.F. Bay Area many gas vendors stopped
surcharging for using plastic a few months ago. The only ones who
keep doing it are "generic" vendors. Chevron, Exxon, Shell, BP do
not surcharge, ARCO doesn't accept plastic other than ATM cards 
(they still surcharge 15c per transaction, but it is the feature of
the PayPoint network rather than vendor's discretion).


-- 
Tony Konashenok   avk@hafnium.cchem.berkeley.edu   (510)843-5632 (home)
University of California, Berkeley                 (510)642-5831 (office)

Strauss research group, Latimer Hall, UC Berkeley, Berkeley CA 94720, U.S.A.
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
From: alopez-o@neumann.uwaterloo.ca (Alex Lopez-Ortiz)
Subject: Squash racquets?
Organization: University of Waterloo
Date: Thu, 12 Nov 1992 18:10:44 GMT


 
 I saw a prince CTS Extension Elite _squash_ racquet priced at about
 $180 USDollars. 
 
 Is tehre anybody out there qith good/bad experiences withs this typ
 of racquet and does the price seems right?
 
 
 Thanks in advance
 
 Alex

-- 
Alex Lopez-Ortiz                              alopez-o@maytag.UWaterloo.ca
Department of Computer Science                      University of Waterloo
Waterloo, Ontario                                                   Canada
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
From: alasnik@casbah.acns.nwu.edu (Adam Lasnik)
Subject: Re: Prodigy - Don't even think about it!
Keywords: Prodigy, Junk
Organization: Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, USA
Date: Wed, 11 Nov 1992 18:39:34 GMT

In <1992Nov11.125610.25681@netcom.com> erc@netcom.com (Eric Smith) writes:

>Prodigy is not for experienced computer users.  It's for novices who are
>scared of computers and want them to work as slowly as possible so they
>won't be scary.  You have to have a lot of patience to watch it download
>each menu you select, but if you are a scared computer novice, patience
>is probably not your main concern.

1) I'm an experienced computer user.  I find Prodigy quit expansive and
suitable for my needs.  Hmm... so much for your theory, unless you think my
friends and I are all "exceptions."
2) Unless you are very IMPATIENT or have a really crappy system (i.e. 1200
baud modem and 8088 processor), Prodigy should be fast enough for you.  Moving
from screen to screen usually takes on average .75 seconds on my system...
certainly faster than it takes me to read the screen.

>I personally think Prodigy is great for small children, because they can
>sit there and play with it for hours with no danger of running up a bill.
>There are all kinds of interesting activities on it for them, and the
>graphics make it fairly good even for those who are just learning to read.
>It's at least as good as Saturday morning cartoons, anyway.

Hmmm... a rather interesting group of statements.  Small children, eh?  When
was the last time you were ON Prodigy, anyways?

Prodigy has an award winning computer news section.  Its news / politics /
sports coverage is the top of any available flat fee system, and perhaps only
beat by compu$erve on the whole.

I am confident that graphical services like Prodigy are the wave of the future
for computer phobic people as well as computer gurus.  With Prodigy's
soon-to-be implemented 9600 baud lines, as well as their internet connection
coming later this calendar year, I can see know reason why Prodigy would not
be the top choice for the majority of the American public.

--ADAM "KEYS" LASNIK

No, I have no affiliation with Prodigy whatsoever, except as a happy and
impressed customer.

PRODIGY UPDATE:
--In addition to the recent BB enhancements (tripling of topics), soon to come
internet and 9600 access, Prodigy has recently unveiled a fascinating new
navigation system, complete with cross-referencing and intelligent subject
searching.
--Prodigy is offering free kits through a member referral promotion.  If you
are interested in receiving a free kit, talk to any of your friends who are
Prodigy members -- they'll order a kit for you for free, and receive $5 of
their own credit.  Since I cannot ethically encourage MY account for this
purpose, I will ask that you not request member kits from me.
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
From: bhostetl@silver.ucs.indiana.edu (Brian Hostetler)
Subject: What kind of oil to use in fryers.
Organization: Indiana University
Distribution: misc.consumers, iu.general
Date: Wed, 11 Nov 1992 15:47:44 GMT

	I just bought one of those enclosed, charcoal filter fryers.
It's a Tefal and I got it for 60% off (not a good sign, ususally).
Anyway, I need to know what kind of oil I should use with it.  I want
something that is high in monounsaturated fats, but most of the oils
at the store do not tell you how much monounsat. there is.  Also, I
want to get something that is 'fryer-compatible'.  Does anyone have 
some advice??
-- 
-brian
*bhostetl@ucs.indiana.edu 	  |	"Stop and breathe, close my eyes
 bhostetl@iubacs.bitnet   	  | and smell and listen...  no more cotton
 bhostetl@silver.ucs.indiana.edu  | candy, no more band concerts..."
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
From: rudoff@mdd.comm.mot.com (Doug Rudoff)
Subject: Re: DiDi7 (?) stain remover
Organization: Motorola, Mobile Data Division - Seattle, WA
Date: Thu, 12 Nov 1992 17:45:58 GMT

In article <NAN.92Nov11214719@ertou.UCSC.EDU> nan@ertou.UCSC.EDU (Nan Ellman) writes:
>Does anyone know if the super stain remover advertised on late night
>tv (I think it's called DiDi7) is any good? Can it deal with ink
>stains of the sort from capless pens left in pockets? If so, where
>could I find it? Does it have to be bought mail order?

First of all, I have found hair spray to a very effective ink remover.
(I think what I used was Aqua Net.)

A few months ago on a consumer protection show on CNBC they reviewed
DiDi-7. Their verdict was that for some stains with a water base, it
worked fine. But it really wasn't effective for most stains they
tested. The funny thing is after blasting it, there was a commercial
for it on the station.
-- 
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Doug Rudoff          Motorola, Seattle    INTERNET:rudoff@mdd.comm.mot.com
                                            USENET:uunet!mdisea!rudoff   
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
From: paula@nlbbs.UUCP (Paula Stockholm)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
Subject: Can a Microwave's performance deteriorate with time?
Date: Thu, 12 Nov 92 16:45:06 GMT
Reply-To: paula@nlbbs.UUCP
Distribution: world
Organization: The Electronics Workbench


In article <1992Nov11.153135.13142@tamsun.tamu.edu> tpradeep@cs.tamu.edu writes:

 > The same food which used to take 40 sec to get cooked in my microwave
 > now takes about 60 sec. Can the intensity of a microwave radiation
 > go down with time? Or is something else wrong with my microwave?
 > 
        Just like in the good ol' days when tubes faded with age, so can
        the magnetron tube in your microwave.  It's a fairly common
        occurance.

        There are other possibilities (natch!); local brown-out from the
        loading of other appliances on the line. (I can hear the
        diffeernce when my toaster oven is on) or other circuit problems
        in the microwave.

        I'd bet on the magnetron. Unfortunately, magnetrons aren't
        cheap, nor are they a lot of fun to change.  Some TV shops (like
        mine) have access to lower-price magnetrons, but you might
        end-up spending $80-100 anyway.

        Of course, you could just switch to smaller meals. <g>

        
           Paula Stockholm              paula@nlbbs.UUCP        
          Cumberland, Maine          !nlbbs!paula@uunet.uu.net  
        
        
From: zeng@hplvec.LVLD.HP.COM (Charles Zeng)
Date: Tue, 10 Nov 1992 23:29:23 GMT
Subject: Re: Citybank Choice card
Organization: Hewlett-Packard Co., Loveland, CO
Newsgroups: misc.consumers

In misc.consumers, schep@math.scarolina.edu (Anton Schep) writes:

>    My wife got in the mail an offer for the Citybank Choice Visacard and I was
>    wondering whether there was a catch to the offer: no fee, 25 day grace
>    period, and upto 2% rebate! This seems to make the card more attractive
>    than e.g. the Discover Card. I know that their interest rates suck, but we
>    don't care, since we pay off the balance each month. The only suspicious
>    thing I noticed in the fine print was, that this offer was not valid for
>    current Citybank cardholders. Does this mean that they plan to change the
>    terms on me a year from now?

Are you sure there is no catch for that card?  I have gotten several credit
card offers that offer no fee, 25 days grace period, and 2% rebate.  But,
the catch is, in order to get the 2% rebate, you have to carry a balance
beyond 25 days grace period (i.e. you have to borrow money from them).
If you pay off the balance on time each month, you won't get the rebate
at all.  Correct me if I am wrong.

-- Charles
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
From: vijr@microsoft.com (Vij Rajarajan)
Subject: Business Opportunity
Date: 12 Nov 92 16:47:13 GMT
Organization: Microsoft Corporation

I am posting this for a friend:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                         BUSINESS OFFER
                         ==============

I, Mr. Ashok, am an exporter from India dealing in leather  coats 
/  garments,  leather  goods,  granite,  lingerie,  semi-precious 
stones, handicrafts, textile garments, groceries etc, etc.  I  am 
now  in  the USA on a business visit to find buyers /  agents  to 
export  my  items  from  India.  All  interested  Americans   and 
immigrants with / without prior exposure may kindly contact me at 
the earliest.  No financial commitments or obligations required.

US Mail : 15209 NE 16TH PLACE, #4 
          BELLEVUE, WA-98007

E-Mail  : VIJR@MICROSOFT.COM

SEATTLE (WA) : (206) 641-7194
DAYTON (OH)  : (513) 237-0922

PERMANENT ADDRESS : "PEARL CASTLE"
                     S-106, 4TH MAIN ROAD
                     ANNA NAGAR,
                     MADRAS - 600 040
                     INDIA.
                     PHONE : (91-44) 6214481 / 6214339.






















































Xref: sparky misc.consumers:19007 misc.consumers.house:14542
From: dan@resonex.com (Dan Kell)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers,misc.consumers.house
Subject: Re: Kerby Vacuum Cleaners Information
Keywords: We are talking about a Kirby not a Dirt Devel
Date: 12 Nov 92 11:01:12 GMT
Distribution: usa
Organization: Resonex Inc., Sunnyvale CA

My mother has had a Kirby for as long as I can remember. She traded her old
one on a new one in 1968 (I think, it was a _long_ time ago now!) Her previous
one was purchased when my second brother was born, in 1951. The only problem
with it was the time Thor (our weimuerweiner (sp?)) was barking at it. We,
boys thought it was so funny we started chasing him with it. He attacked and
ripped open the collection bag. The Kirby still performed flawlessly, spraying
dirt all over the living room. You can imagine what happened to us!

Seriously, aside from changing belts on the rug head every decade or so, I've
never heard my mom complain about hers. It runs and runs and runs. They used
to be very well made and extremely sturdy. I rode around on Moms until she
caught me riding it down the stairs one day. I don't know what they are like
these days, but most Kirby places sell used ones also. I know that the old
ones are indestructable. And try to get another brand to take your old one
in on trade. If you get $10, your lucky.

I personally have a Panasonic, one of the few things I got out of the divorce.
Its been okay. I replaced the motor last year for $50 (in a $500 vacuum). It
eats a belt every year or so and you have to buy paper bags for it. And the 
hose doesn't suck very hard. It will pick up stuff but not like my Moms Kirby
did. I guess I was spoiled. We used to suck up _everything_ with Kirby. Coins
went through it like nothing. For the money you spend versus the time you'll
own and use the Kirby I don't think you can do better. But like anything
truly premium you pay more for it.


t


-- 
Dan Kell                  
email to dan@resonex.com
"Imagination is more important than knowledge."   A. Einstein
Lines: 18
Date: Fri,  6 Nov 92 18:25:32 MST
From: haymoree@bones (Edward Haymore)
Subject: Re: US to Europe electrical transformers
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
Organization: Brigham Young University, Provo UT USA
Distribution: world
X-Newsreader: Tin 1.1 PL4

julian@baldur.lbl.gov (julian cortella) writes:
: Hi,
: 
: I will be moving to France soon, and I was wondering about the 110 to 220V
: transformer problem.  So here are a couple of questions:
: 
:  o Does anybody know of a good cheap source for such transformers, mail
:    order or otherwise? What's a decent price?

Radio Shack puts out a couple of small converters -- one for low-power appliances
(ran my electric shaver just fine) and another for higher-power ones.
I don't remember the price, but it's reasonable.  They won't help things
that need 60Hz, but they ought to run your iron well.  


--
Ed Haymore
ed_haymore@byu.edu
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
From: n36c@pnet16.cts.com (Rm1 Straight)
Subject: Re: Nope again (was Re: Yup, Amway's a scam)
Organization: People-Net [pnet16], NCTAMS EASTPAC
Date: Sun, 8 Nov 1992 00:56:04 GMT

I must put in my two cents worth. Being a newcomer to this net, I have
read with great interest on the comments regarding Amway. IMHO they have
some very good products, from toothpaste to air fresheners, they are all
good quality products. Here's where my bitch comes in, being a recently
"disgruntled distributor", the problem I have is with the people that are
"here to help you when ever you need us". BS! The person that I am under
(not for long tho), called me up today as a matter of fact to tell me of
a seminar. The first time he's called me in 3-4 months, he calls me at 
11:45, the seminar is at 1:00. Give me a break! Piss poor planning on his
part will not constitute an emergency on my part. I can honestly say that
the "head distributor" here in Hawaii, is very successful, and uses great
integrity when presenting "the plan". But when the help isn't there when
you need it why bother? Thank you for hearing me out.
when i plays i plays hard. when i thinks i falls to sleep.
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
From: erc@netcom.com (Eric Smith)
Subject: Re: Prodigy - Don't even think about it!
Keywords: Prodigy, Junk
Organization: Netcom - Online Communication Services (408 241-9760 guest)
Date: Wed, 11 Nov 1992 12:56:10 GMT


Prodigy is not for experienced computer users.  It's for novices who are
scared of computers and want them to work as slowly as possible so they
won't be scary.  You have to have a lot of patience to watch it download
each menu you select, but if you are a scared computer novice, patience
is probably not your main concern.

Once you become at least a little computer literate, and your patience
starts to wear thin, you can get Royston's "pro-util" to make it a
little smoother, but not much.  "pro-util" enables type-ahead and lets
you program a few keyboard macros, and has other misc. functionality.
But it still tries your patience, because Prodigy frequently changes
their menu sequences, and it is painful if you sit back and watch it
go through your macro or type-ahead sequence and then suddenly go off
into left field due to a menu change.  But it's often amusing to see
just where in left field it winds up, because it's still playing your
menu selections, but on different menus.  I've noticed that it seems
to usually wind up somewhere where someone is trying to sell you
something.  Maybe that's because a large percentage of the menu
selections on Prodigy are for selling stuff to you.  Also, every ad
at the bottom of the screen has a "Look" button, which is selected by
typing "L" or by going to it with arrow keys, and many type-ahead
sequences have both, so it is easy to get misdirected into the "Look"
screen of an ad.

One interesting thing about Prodigy's slowness is that you can sometimes
read all the news without touching the keyboard.  You can give pro-util
a sequence to page through everything, and you can sit back and read,
and Prodigy is so slow to download the next page, you can often read
each whole page before the next one appears.  This is better than waiting
till you come to the end of a page then selecting next page and waiting
for it to download it.

I personally think Prodigy is great for small children, because they can
sit there and play with it for hours with no danger of running up a bill.
There are all kinds of interesting activities on it for them, and the
graphics make it fairly good even for those who are just learning to read.
It's at least as good as Saturday morning cartoons, anyway.
From: lou@hpkslx.mayfield.HP.COM (Lou Kvitek)
Date: Wed, 4 Nov 1992 16:24:24 GMT
Subject: Re: Nope again (was Re: Yup, Amway's a scam)
Organization: HP Response Center Lab
Newsgroups: misc.consumers

In misc.consumers, jfurr@nyx.cs.du.edu (Joel Furr) writes:

> Right.  I guess I didn't make my point very clearly but the poster I'm
> replying to put it well.  After all, it's not just that local individuals
> are reluctant to spill the beans about it being Amway, but that it's so
> ingrained that it seems to be a matter of corporate policy to pretend you own
> this little local business that COULDN'T POSSIBLY be AMWAY.

I must repeat Joel, it IS the truth (believe it or not), Amway distributors
run there OWN business.  Their business merely uses Amway as a supplier.
The same is true for your local 7-Eleven.  The 7-Eleven owner carries
Coca-Cola products, but he is not IN Coca-Cola.  Here merely has Coca-Cola
supply him with products.

What's ingrained is ingrained by the people who are teaching these people
how to build an Amway business.  Amway has nothing to do with it.  Their
distributor organization and their own personal characteristics have
everything to do with it.  These people are not building their businesses
in the most productive way; and, unfortunately, their bad practices give
the rest of Amway distributors a bad name.  Note, all Amway distributors
do NOT do business like these people.  So, don't generalize.  I could
say:  So, Joel, you're a computer programmer, well the last computer
programmer I met embezzeled $10,000 from the company.  Are you an 
embezzeler Joel? So, yes, be mad at these people, and disgusted with their
tactics.  But don't blame Amway and don't assume all distributors act
this way.  Think how much better you could do building a business with
the correct business philosophy.

> Not only that, but all of the callers I get are so desperate to sign me
> up, since of course they know that the only way they can make any money in
> Amway is if they get people below them in the hierarchy, so often-times my

Simply signing people up is not the best way to make money in your own
Amway distributorship.  Its too complicated to get into here, but if you
really want the facts find a distributor who is in Bill Britt's organization
or Worldwide Dreambuilders and ask them to show you how the business is
best built (Britt and WWDB are 2 of the top 3 distributor organizations
in Amway, and they do not teach distributors to merely sign people up).

> Why is recruitment
> the main aim of the organization?  

You need to see the business plan to get this question answered.  In
short, Amway pays people for creating volume.  You as an individual 
will not be able to create anywhere near as much volume as an entire
network of people can.

> ... since all my
> contacts with Amway people are based on them trying to trick me, I
> conclude: Amway is a Scam. 

See my response above on this generalization.

Lou
Newsgroups: misc.consumers,misc.fitness,misc.misc,rec.misc
From: smay@boi.hp.com (Scott Smay)
Subject: Re: Advice Wanted on Home Workout Equipment
Date: Tue, 10 Nov 1992 16:22:05 GMT
Organization: Hewlett-Packard / Boise, Idaho
X-Newsreader: TIN [version 1.1.4 PL6]

Jon Noring (noring@netcom.com) wrote:
: 
: My cardiovascular system is fit enough.  I'll compare my cardiovascular
: fitness with most other men my age and younger (age 37, blood pressure 105/65,
: rest pulse 55 and lower, cholesterol 110-120, excellent HDL/LDL ratio,
: optimal body fat, and I don't diet at all, I eat like a horse).  Not only
: will I out eat anybody here and maintain optimal weight, I'll out hike
: anybody here on strenuous vertical Class II and III climbs in the High

: keep in touch 60 years from now - I definitely intend to live to a hundred
: (I've got excellent genes) and want to die at the hands of a very jealous
: husband. :^)
: 
: Jon "living to a 100 if it kills me" Noring
: 
: 
: Please, I'd still like to get recommendations as to workout equipment.
: 
: =============================================================================
:
Geez, I was gonna give you some fabulous recommendations on equipment, but I
see now that it would be utterly wasted on someone who's already perfect!

5 * :)

scott 
: ------->   I VOTED FOR PEROT IN '92
: ------->   support UNITED WE STAND!
: 
Newsgroups: misc.consumers
From: tzs@carson.u.washington.edu (Tim Smith)
Subject: Re: Make money off of credit card?
Organization: University of Washington School of Law, Class of '95
Date: Sun, 8 Nov 1992 08:10:00 GMT

Speaking of making money off of credit cards, how about these new cards
that give rebates based on purchases?  Take, for example, the GM card,
that gives you money toward GM cars.

Assuming you want a GM car, what's to stop you from buying a lot of
stuff on the GM card, then returning the stuff for a a refund, and using
the refund to pay off the credit card bill before interest accrues?  Repeat
until you've reached the maximum GM rebate.

--Tim Smith
Xref: sparky misc.consumers:18807 alt.business.multi-level:599