The majority of motorcars are obtained as a run around to get you around on your day-to-day business but the people who love their motorcars and have the spare income to get a special motorcars for the weekends do so. These special motorcars can be anything from a 206 GTI to a McLaren F1 LM and anything in between like a Civic Type R, as these are special to the individual although some will be special to most people. It could be that these motorcars are special as they were the motor that they dreamt about owning when they were growing up or they just saw them and fell in love. Either way, these motorcars are there to be admired and driven by their owners. Most of the time these motorcars are only there to be admired and will only be enjoyed when they are being driven, and will most likely only be taken out on sunny weekends, hence the term weekend motor.

These motorcars are typically kept in immaculate condition with a constant washing and waxing even if the motor not was driven. If the smallest thing goes wrong with the motor it is immediately repaired with the best quality parts and the best mechanic. Normally no mechanic is good enough so the work is carried out by the owners of the motor. They will spend hours and hours doing a 10 minute job to make sure it is completed to the highest standard. This obsession with their motorcars can strain even the strongest of relationships, as the other person in the relationship feels like they second to the motor, but notice I said other person because it is not always males that worship their motorcars, a large number of females owners do as well.

I said before that these motorcars are treated to the best of everything, for example let’s consider their wiper blades. When people think of wiper blades, it is something that cleans waterand muck from the wind screen and when it is time to buy replacement wiper blades they always get the least expensive. But the people who love their motorcars see wiper blades as a way of enhancing the look of these motorcars, and when they get replacement wiper blades they buy the best wiper blades they can. The best wiper blades in the stores today are flat wiper blades. These are wiper blades that do not have a large metal frame and as a result they look sexy compared to the classic metal framed wiper blades. The best flat wiper blades are made from silicone and not the classic rubber that has been used for many years to make wiper blades; silicone wiper blades have many advantages over classic rubber ones which make them ideal for these sorts of motorcars. Even though these motorcars are not being driven a lot the owners will often find that their wiper blades have deteriorated . This is typicallydue to damage by cold weather, UV rays, ozone and chemicals which are often used in windshield wash. With silicone replacement wiper blades you get a wiper blade that is extremely resistant to the cold, UV rays, ozone and chemicals which means that even when the motor is in storage the wiper blades are not deteriorating and should be in good condition when you want to use the motor.

Although a lot of people have five senses, most of them are not used when it comes to driving, and this is why 90% of driving are based solely on what people can see. This is why having a clear field of vision is important. Is by having a scratched and chipped wind shield is one part of achieving this, because as soon as the weather starts to rain you have to turn on your wiper blades to keep your wind shield clear of rain. Windscreen wiper blades are not just there to keep the wind shield free from rain, they also look to keep it clear and free from the muck that is thrown from the dual carriage way by other road users, even in sunny weather the constant splatter of muck and flying things on the wind shield can make it difficult to keep the wind shield clear, and even with high performance wiper blades that are not kept in good condition. This is why it is important to make sure your wiper blades are in good condition at all times as you never know when you’ll need them, but 78% of drivers stall until their wiper blades are in a condition where the performance has downgraded to a state where the operation is severely compromised before buying new ones, making it a danger to drive and unsafe for all the motorists. Waiting until the MOT inspector has to replace them to pass the MOT, is a dangerous way of replacing wind shield wiper blades, and this is why we need to adjust the way you think about wiper blades and their replacement.

When it becomes time to choose replacement wiper blades, which ones to choose can be a tough decision, as there are numerous types on the market. Some of the things you have to consider when selecting replacement wiper blades are the manufacturer, the type of wiper blades, how much they cost, if you want high performance wiper blades, if you want good-looking flat wiper blades, what weather conditions the wiper blades will be working in and what material they are created from. Many of these decisions can be made for you by first choosing the material which the wiper blades are created from, to do this well you must understand the differences between materials which are used to make wiper blades.

Traditionally, replacement wiper blades are created from rubber which worked well in most weather conditions but to maintain this performance they need to be replaced frequently. This is because they wear when in use, particularly in cold conditions, as the cold weather causes the rubber to toughen and then when in use the rubber cracks and breaks. The other frequently used material is silicone and these wiper blades have many advantages over classic rubber wiper blades. Some of these are quieter when in operation, resistant to chemicals and UV rays, last longer and have the ability to work in much lower temperatures without splitting and breaking. With these facts in mind it would be tough to choose any other material but silicone for your replacement wiper blades, this of course is unless you live somewhere where cold weather is unlikely. There is a small price difference between the two materials, the generally silicone wiper blade is a little more dearer than the classic rubber wiper blades but with their longer life and resistance to icy weather it means any extra expense is soon recovered. Unfortunately, almost all people are reluctant to try silicone wiper blades as they are stuck in their ways and have always used the rubber wiper blades which the motorcar was bought with.

Lowest…price…ever on a 25-incher. Amazingly, it’s new, not refurbished, and you don’t have to muck around with any rebates. It even has two HDMI inputs!

Originally posted at The Cheapskate

Seemingly overnight, Apple has become the poster child of the responsible, Green company. (Apple recently posted all the details of its efforts; Greenpeace is now BFFs with Apple.) In fact, it’s so pro-enviroment (as if anyone is anti-environment!) that it just quit the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which is a huge organization that represents business interests to the various powers that be. The USCC, however, is all up in arms about all this “nonsense” about new laws designed to protect the environment and whatnot, so it’s doing its damnedest to ensure that those laws don’t get passed. That’s what has upset Apple.

It’s sorta hard to describe what the USCC is, but you can safely think of it as a super powerful lobbyist. It has lobbyists on staff, yeah, but it also so damn influential that it hardly needs to muck about with lobbying, like a common schlup. Its mission statement is:

To advance human progress through an economic, political and social system based on individual freedom, incentive, initiative, opportunity, and responsibility.

So yeah, it represents the interests of big business to the People Who Matter.

Back to Apple. Cupertino, sick of Greenpeace bitching about its every move, recently published the details of what, it feels, makes it one of the greenest (big) companies out there. As such, Greenpeace now likes Apple.

But while Apple is now Green Green Green, the USCC isn’t too keen on laws meant to limit greenhouse gas emissions. While I’m sure no one in the USCC would prefer to pollute the atmosphere with absolute garbage, the fact is that it’d cost a boatload of money to retrofit factories, to change manufacturing methods, etc. to limit such pollution. And that, of course, costs money; money is more important that the environment, you see.

So Apple has left the USCC, saying this on its way out:

We strongly object to the chamber’s recent comments opposing the E.P.A.’s effort to limit greenhouse gases. … We would prefer that the chamber take a more progressive stance on this critical issue and play a constructive role in addressing the climate crisis.

I guess my only question is: how much do you guys care about how “green” a company is? Personally, I could give a toss. I have enough “real things” to worry about that I’m not about to add pollution statistics to that list.

via Huffington Post

Did you happen to catch Fringe last night? Apparently – I missed it – Fox decided that it would be hip to superimpose a Twitter feed on top of the picture. Well, the Internet has spoken and no one likes it. Oh, and it’s going to happen again tonight during Glee.

Check out this pic from Dave Zatz. The damn twitter takes up nearly the bottom third of the screen. It had to be distracting. Marketing Pilgrim has some great comments from its readers stating the solution: change the channel. But in case you missed the FAILfest last night, be sure to tune in tonight to watch the Glee cast members twit about their innermost thoughts.

I wanted to love this remote. The Harmony One has a great form factor, and I was hoping that Logitech would add its current RF system to the mix. But that didn’t happen with the $400 Harmony 900. Instead, Logitech attempted to simplify the RF setup even though the current method is easy enough and managed to muck things up. The remote’s nice, but crippled by a lackluster RF system and therefore nowhere near the best remote I have ever used.

Things I like

The Harmony One was a welcome update to Logitech’s line of universal remotes a few years ago. It feels good in the hand, the buttons are nice enough, and the charging system is bulletproof. Thankfully, the Harmony 900 has the same exact form factor and charging system. The top touchscreen is responsive and bright, although a little on the small side. The physical buttons have just enough resistance behind them and work well. The form factor is nice.

There are some differences between the One and the 900. The 900 sports a slightly different color scheme, along with themes for the top LCD screen.

Setup is easy. Logitech includes a program that installs a Web-based program that guides you through all the steps. It took me about five minutes to configure the remote. It may take a little longer for you if you don’t know model numbers, how everything is connected, and if you don’t have high-speed Internet. But if you do, it’s a breeze. I just wish Logitech would make an off-line program like Universal Remotes. I’ve had to leave a person’s house and find a hotspot to install a few remotes before.

I have to give Logitech props for making the RF system easy to configure. Now it’s done on the remote itself instead of on the PC. This means you can adjust things when you’re right next to the equipment, which is really handy if you aren’t using a laptop to install the remote.

Things I don’t like

The only reason a person would buy the Harmony 900 over the One is for the RF capabilities. This allows owners to stuff their equipment in a closest – or downstairs in my case – and control the whole system through the magic of radio frequency. I’ve used and tested five different RF remote systems over the years and never had an issue before. I have an issue with the Harmony 900, though.

Most RF systems have a range of about 100 feet depending on physical walls and wireless interference. The Harmony 900 remote has a range of about 20 feet even though the product description clearly indicates 100 feet. That means that I can use the remote just fine in the front part of my house, but not in the kitchen, which is apparently too far away from my equipment stashed in the basement, away from prying eyes and little fingers.

Part of the joy of having the AV equipment elsewhere is that you generally don’t have to worry about where you point the remote. Or you can crank the tunes in other parts of the house. RF remotes are great, but this remote fails miserably. The 20 feet range is just barely enough to reach all parts of my living room. However, if I step one foot through my kitchen door, it doesn’t work. It’s not a huge deal if you have a simple system, but if you have speakers located throughout your house or have video streaming to different rooms, this limited range is a deal breaker. Plus, everyone’s walls are different so YMMV.

But it’s just not the range I have beef with, it’s the implementation of the IR blasters. For some reason Logitech felt the need to design new IR blasters that sit on a shelf instead of sticking to the front panel of the device. This means that AV geeks that spent good money on equipment racks cannot use this remote because there probably isn’t a shelf available when the gear is flush-mounted. I can’t use the IR blasters on my office system because of the lack of shelf. Logitech didn’t need to reinvent the wheel, the mini IR blasters used by the industry for years work fine.

The new blasters use a 2.5mm jack instead of the standard 3.5mm plug, so your current IR blasters probably will not work.

I guess it wouldn’t be that big of a deal if the range was limited, but the remote also displays a error message when it’s out of range which requires the user to acknowledge it. This same error message pops up when the remote is giving a ramping command like volume control or navigation. For instance, if you hold down the volume button, that same message pops up as if the remote is having trouble communicating with the RF system even if the remote is within range.

I do need to point out that this is my second Logitech Harmony 900. The first one only had a range of 5-10 feet. Logitech support was great and sent me out a second one though.

Conclusion

I love the Harmony 900, but hate the RF system. Perhaps I received two bad eggs. Idk. But I’m also thinking that a lot of the problems can be fixed with firmware updates. My recommendation would be to hold off for a while, since I have a feeling that eventually it will be the best sub-$500 remote available. I’ll update the remote in a few weeks and see if it improves the range at all.

Pros:

• Great ergonomics
• Seemingly reliable charging system
• Very easy setup

Cons:

• Crappy RF system
• Weird IR blasters

Product page

$400 @ Amazon