–TestFreaks:

Spyder3Express Monitor Color Calibration Device

Jabra BT3030 Stereo Bluetooth Headset

Kingston SSDNow V Series 40GB Boot Drive Desktop Upgrade Bundle

An Unofficial History of The Unboxing

23″ Hannspree HF237HPB Widescreen 1080p HDMI LCD Monitor

Upgrading to Windows 7

Thrustmaster Tennis Duo Pack NW Dual Racket Pack for Nintendo Wii

–Bona Fide Reviews:

NZXT BETA EVO Classic Series PC Case Review

PowerMobile Advanced Emergency Charger

NZXT CRYO S Notebook Cooler Reviewed

–iGadget:

Extra DVD to All MP4 Ripper Reviewed

–DragonSteelMods:

Bluetooth Mini Mouse

Kingwin F-35 3.5″ SATA Enclosure Reviewed

NZXT PANZERBOX Aluminum Chassis Reviewed

–MobilityDigest:
Logitech Cordless Bluetooth Headset Reviewed

I hate texting, I hate talking on the phone while I’m driving, when I’m in the car I always have my Bluetooth headset on to answer any calls, and I’ll never make a call while I’m driving. If I need to make a call my passenger, if I have one, can dial my phone, if I’m by myself I’ll wait till I get to where I’m going. Usually though there’s no one that I need to talk to that can’t wait a few minutes..

There’s enough I’ve got to pay attention to like people running red lights and going through stop signs, and any phone call I’ve got to make can wait until I get to my destination.

None of you are that important that you must have a phone glued to your head at all times, and surely you’re not that important that you must text while driving..

The whole article is here: http://finance.yahoo.com/news/FTC-Bloggers-testimonials-apf-468964868.html?x=0

but the gist of it is that we must disclose the things we get for free for reviews..

I’ve had it listed on my site for well over a year now that any products received for review are my property, but not in the reviews themselves. I’ve got a separate page on my site that mentions How We Test Etc and it’s listed right there…

I can say that I’ve never been paid by a company to review their product, I’ve been asked yes, but I’ve said no because it could lead to a bias towards the company… I don’t want the company thinking that if they pay me then they’ll get a good review. The point of the review is to be objective and honest, to let people know what’s good and bad about the product and of course toss your own personal opinions in there as well.

I don’t think getting the product for review and keeping it is considered something under these guidelines really..

I mean I get products for review to test them, and sometimes testing requires taking them apart, and actually destroying them.

I personally prefer to get products to keep, mainly because if it’s a loaner product then I’ll be held responsible and have to pay for it if something happens to it while it’s in my possession.. I man I’ve got three kids and well, accidents happen.

Getting and keeping the product for review isn’t really a perk in my opinion, it’s part of the job, you need the product to do the reviews.. well ok maybe it is a perk, but it’s still part of the job plain and simple and I don’t consider it a bribe or payment for the review, it’s what it is, you need the product to do the review.

Now I can see how this applies to those that receive gifts after the review, or special things from the company, but I’ve never never got those kinds of things so I can’t really comment on it…

I can see a problem coming for those companies like ReviewMe and SponsoredReviews that pay for reviews… some of them actually mention NOT to say that you are being paid for the review, and in my opinion that is plain wrong and has always been…

All I can say it’s going to be interesting to see how this splays out..

it’s a shame that a few bloggers/reviewers spoil it for others that do it honestly like I/We do on the sites I write for..

I’ve noticed that if I review something and my results differ then I’m accused of being paid for the review, but it’s just not true, I’m reporting my opinion and my experiences with the product. Those that have been caught getting bribes or being paid for a review have spoiled it for the rest of us that try and be honest… I’ve never been paid by a company to review their product, nor have I ever received any other compensation from a company besides the actual product being reviewed, but again you need the product for the review…

Oh well, we’ll see…

I’m writing on another site now, Bona Fide Reviews. Let’s just say the site has changed hands, and is moving in a new direction now.

So as of now I write for or should I say manage.. oh well, something like that…

DragonSteelMods

MobilityDigest

Xbox360digest

iGadgetLife

TestFreaks

and Bona Fide Reviews

So I’m keeping very busy, and it’s great… life is good I think…

at least it’s getting better.. this year started out pretty bad with my Mom dying in February and then my Grandmother in April… but I’m getting back into the swing of things. Keeping busy is a great way to keep your mind off other things in life, but I was fairly depressed for a while there, even though I really didn’t show it.. Especially my Mother dying, yes she was sick, but something me kept hoping she would get better and continue living, but it wasn’t meant to be I guess…

There’s something wrong with people in the world is they train their dogs to be mean like this, and especially if they can’t contain them properly. The dog is obviously dangerous, but yet it’s not secured to protect other people. All I can say is that they’re very lucky it wasn’t one of my kids that got attacked, there would be hell to pay I guarantee it…

anyway, here’s some of the latest news from sites I write for:

My Stuff:

OCZ Agility Series SATA II 2.5" 60GB SSD –Fast as fast can be!!

Wi-Fire Wi-Fi Adapter –It’s ok…

LG GSA-E50L 8x Slim Super Multi DVD±RW DL USB 2.0 External Drive –Small and portable!

Cocoon Innovations Travel Case Netbook Case –Awesome Netbook case!!

Extra DVD Ripper Professional Reviewed –Junk!

Other writers:

Pepcom 2009 Holiday Spectacular Recap

How Stuff Works: DVDs and DVD Players

MusicSkins for PSP

What is with this? Did a new law go into effect stating we’re allowed to go through red lights if we’re in a hurry or on the phone? Did I miss something? In my drive I see it all of the time, it’s to the point now that if I’m first at the intersection I will not go when the light turns green, I’ll wait to make sure these morons are done. I’ve watched people actually stop for the red light, and then just decide to go on through, and it’s not just turning, it’s going straight as well..

Most times I’ve got my kids in the car with me when I’m driving, I’d have to beat the crap out of the person who did this and harmed one of my kids in the process. What is SO important that you’ve got to run through a red light and endanger  the lives of other people? Are you really that important that you must be on the phone at all times and just not pay attention?

And that’s something else too, I WISH my state would enact a hands free law for cellphones. I hate following behind someone only to have them hit the brakes and turn or park their car without signaling, 99% of the time they are on the phone. I’ve also almost been hit many times by people turning from the opposite direction and me thinking that they’re going straight because they couldn’t use a turn signal because they were on the phone.

What the hell is wrong with people these days? It seems everyone is just so self-absorbed that they could care less about the rest of the world. It seems that they think they’re the most important people in the world and no one else matters except for them.’

Stop signs are good for this as well, I almost got into a wreck yesterday, goofy chick just blew right through the stop sign because of course she was on the phone. It’s not like it was the old ‘slow and go’ either, she blatantly just drove right on through, never even slowing down at all. If I hadn’t been paying attention I’d probably be in the hospital right now as she was going faster than the speed limit and she would have hit the driver side of my car. Luckily I pay attention, I saw her coming up and was about to pull out, but then noticed that she was not slowing down for the stop sign..

I don’t get it, where are the police when you need them? I could point out intersections to them where they could nab many, many drivers for going through red lights. The city could be making quite a bit of money on these morons instead of raising our taxes yet again…

Oh well…. I guess all we can do is pay attention..

At one point I recommended you to all of my friends and installed you on all of my computers.

What has happened to you?

You now crash at least four times per day, usually more than that, and usually at the most inopportune times.

Why have you forsaken me Firefox? Why are you treating me this way, why are you doing this to me? What have I done to deserve this scorn from you?

With all of your updates I thought you were getting better, but it seems you’re just getting worse.

I’ve taken to using IE more now, but it feels like cheating, but when you’re not there for me I’ve got to turn my attention elsewhere. I don’t want to cheat on you but you give me no choice.

Is our relationship coming to an end? Is it really over?

It was nice while it lasted but it seems your desire to become popular has overshadowed your actual usefulness.

You were my rock, I could depend on your like no other, but now you fail me, you’ve let me down.

I think it might be time to part ways my dear Firefox, parting is just such sweet sorrow.

It might be time to move on to another that will not let me down as you have.

You used to bring me happiness but now you just bring me frustration and even anger, and that I cannot live with anymore.

Why have you done this to me?

I will miss you.

Maybe, when you get your act together, we can start anew, but until then I just cannot bear to see you anymore.

I’ve been told that I’ve got one of the greatest jobs in the world, and I’ve been told I’m ‘envied’ by some, it’s odd to hear that really, but whatever, guess I’m just modest..

Actually getting products for review can be fairly difficult, at least the new stuff. The idea of course is to get it first, early, before anyone else.

The new Zune HD comes out tomorrow and of course I hit up my contact to try and get one, but I was turned down. Why? I’m not sure, I got the canned, general response that you get instead of just NO, it basically says they don’t have enough units and you’ll be added to the list, that means you won’t be getting one, plain and simple.

My last Zune review of the Gears of War2 Special Edition 120gb version is still on the first page of Google search results. You can just put ‘Gears of War Zune’ in the search box and it’s there, near the bottom # 10 actually if you count the ads etc. If you knock out the ads it’s number 8. That rank isn’t too bad for a review that I posted almost one year ago, November 12th 2008 to be exact.

In fact a lot of my reviews are in the top ten search results, which is an achievement in itself I would think. Some of them were actually above the company product page for quite a while before dropping below the official page, but still they are there, a year later, in the top ten search results.

Another thing that bugs me, and one I’ve yet to understand is the what qualifies as a loaner product or a product that you can keep. I’ve kept products that sell for upwards of $800, and I’ve had to send back products that sell for $50… There’s no standard there at all when it comes to trying to figure it out.

I also can’t quite understand why a company would request a product be reviewed, and then never mention that it needs to be sent back, only to have the product arrive and find a shipping label inside of it to send it back..

This job is fun though, don’t get me wrong, it’s great, it’s awesome being on the ‘cutting edge’ of new products, but it’s not all it’s cracked up to be really. It truly is a whole lot of work, and like anything, you can never please everyone, everyone as in the readers. You’ll also find someone to disagree with you about what you wrote or how you did or didn’t test something, or how you did the pictures or how you did the videos. For the most part though, the good people outweigh the bad, it’s the nature of the internet though, you’re always going to have ‘trolls’, people that just like to insult others and people that have nothing better to do than attack people they are jealous of.

The majority of the insults don’t bother me too much, I laugh them off and maybe I’ll have fun with them, the ones that really piss me off are the ones that accuse me of getting paid by the company for the review. I’ve never, and will never accept payment from a company for a good review. I post or publish my objective views, and of course toss in my thoughts, experiences and feelings as well. If those don’t correspond to someone else’s experiences that’s not my fault, it’s just my experience with it.

It might sound bad, but there’s another thing I do like about it, I appreciate the ‘Thank You’ that I get from people, it does make me feel good, like I am appreciated and that’s all we could ask for really, do the job to the best of your ability and have your work appreciated.

The other day I posted my review of Darkest of Days for Xbox360 over on TestFreaks..

The premise behind the game is a good one, but it just wasn’t well thought out really

http://www.testfreaks.com/blog/review/darkest-of-days-xbox360-review/

The idea of time travel is a good one, but the game leaves you hanging at the end, like it’s unfinished, and running on the Xbox frame rates are choppy, and the AI is just downright stupid…  hit the link above for the full review..

Over on iGadget Life I’m running a series of review of programs that convert and/or rip dvds and videos to use on the iPod, I’ve just posted the 4th one last night of the Wondershare DVD Ripper Platinum and it’s not a bad one, but a bit expensive at $39

http://igadgetlife.com/2009/09/12/wondershare-dvd-ripper-platinum-reviewed/

So far I’ve checked out:

Wondershare DVD Ripper Platinum

Extra Video Converter Pro

WinX iPod Video Converter

WinX DVD to iPod Ripper

and there’s more to come!

I also did a comparison of Windows XP and Windows 7 Running on my Acer Aspire One D250 Netbook as well, and I’ve got a second part coming tomorrow comparing 1gig to 2gigs using Windows 7 on the Acer..

I was luckily enough to get a copy early, Harmonix hooked me up!!! Awesome bunch over there…

The game is just excellent overall, there are a couple flaws, but none that aren’t overshadowed by the rest of the game.

It’s the best Rock Band game I’ve played yet… I think the best music game I’ve played as well..

I got the new Guitar Hero 5 and there’s just something about it that I don’t like at all.. If you get any music game then get this one, even if you’re not into The Beatles..

Go check out the review:

Link: http://www.testfreaks.com/blog/review/the-beatles-rock-band-review-xbox360/