Advantages: Stylish appearance, Intelligent route planning, accurate ETA calculation
Disadvantages: No major disadvantages

...I bought this to upgrade a built in Toyota satnav system. Build quality is good and it is easy to use, once you work out that after planning a multi point route it has to be given a name before the unit will accept it. On the whole I find the routing software is well up to the job and have had no problems in the three months I've been using it. It doesn't seem to have the strong "pulls" for motorways my earlier system had ie taking you on a long detour just so as you can use a short section of motorway. It has quite a good local speed limit database so does a better route calculation than my previous system that rated all A roads the same speed limit. The Becker can distinguish an A road that mostly runs through built up areas from one with mainly national speed limit and can plan routes accordingly. It gives accurate ETA calculations... Read review

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Advantages: Good Plot, Fast Paced, Very Interesting
Disadvantages: Possibly a little Predicatble

...Security Agency (NSA), what can be thought of as the I.T arm of the CIA, snooping on internet traffic and people e-mail in what they claim is an attempt to prevent it being used for organised crime. The book focuses on the NSA's key technology, a massive supercomputer, known as TRANSLTR which can decode any code in a very very short period of time. One of the main characters Susan Fletcher a high ranking cryptologist is unexpectedly called into work where her boss explains that an extremely talented ex-agency employee Ensei Tankado has threatened to release what he claims is an unbreakable encryption key to world which would infact render TRANSLTR useless and leave the USA and the rest of world vulnerable, not knowing what was being discussed on the internet or in e-mails. The code which Tankado has on engraved on a ring is to auctioned off... Read review

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Advantages: Good storylines and acting
Disadvantages: Nothing drastically original or different

...Ted Danson delivers one of his best performances yet as John Becker, an irritable doctor trying to find his way in the world. You're not going to watch Becker and marvel at wildly unusual storylines or acting -- in the world of American sitcoms, original ideas are hard to come by these days. But I am certain that if you like light-hearted, humourous entertainment, you'll enjoy this. The storylines are good, the jokes are funny, and each episode keeps you watching until the end. It's well-written and well-performed, and whilst it's not drastically different from other things on the market, it's enjoyable and fun. Try it -- you might like it!... Read review

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Advantages: ted danson shines
Disadvantages: a bit insulting at times

...Becker is a medical comedy set in the Bronx and is a mix between Friends ER and of course cheers. Ted Danson is amazing in his role as a very grouchy doctor in his 50’s and if he were a woman I would say he has permanent pmt he portrays the role to perfection and makes you either hate him with a passion or sympathise with him. The story revolves around John Beckers every day life as a 50 yr old divorcee running his own practice in the Bronx and we are shown the different ways in which john gets out of his sticky situations. If he is not clipping an old ladies toenail, trying to give up smoking or eating at the diner across the way he is always complaining. He will even moan about the sun if it went behind a cloud. His receptionist Margaret, a lady of similar age accompanies him in his practice and her marriage is on the rocks. I... Read review

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Advantages: A half-decent performance from William H Macy.
Disadvantages: Dreadful attempts at comedy, limp performances, lazy direction and hackneyed writing.

..., the music has no appropriate context. Obviously the real bikers are backed with electric guitar and drums, while the friendly backwater the main characters find themselves in is represented by country and western strings, steel guitar and harmonica and fiddle arrangements. “Wild Hogs” is a laugh-free attempt at comedy that fails through uninspired direction, predictable writing, lazy performances and a complete dearth of comic timing all round. The characters are cardboard cut-outs that never develop anything you could call a personality, so there’s nothing to empathise with and the actors playing them (with the exception of William H Macy) can’t be bothered to do anything with them. If you’re looking for a laugh, you’d be better off attending a road traffic accident than this bike wreck of a movie. If I ever meet director Walt Becker, I’m going... Read review

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Advantages: Good existing infrastructure that is slowly improving (although not quickly enough)
Disadvantages: Uneven quality of transport services.

...--- OVERVIEW --- Cardiff the capital of Wales has a population of over 325,000. It is currently experiencing a building boom partly created by the need for more homes, but also by commercial and government investment. This growth therefore attracts a lot of traffic whether from outside the city or internally. Below I have looked at various modes of transportation in the city available giving pro's and con's for each. --- RAIL --- Cardiff is served nationally and regionally by a main station (Cardiff Central) and several smaller stations (linking up the suburbs). High-speed Inter-City trains link most cities with Cardiff. The journey time from London Paddington to Cardiff is approximately two hours. -Pro's- Train services to the main population centres around Cardiff (Swansea, Newport) and the suburbs are frequent (although night... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful

Advantages: Exciting, Gripping, Well Thought Through
Disadvantages: Surprisingly Easy Read, Too Short!

...This gripping thriller by Brown is not like any of its rival novels... as the critical acclaim on the reverse of 'Deception Point' notes: "Brown proves once again that he is amongst the most intellegent and dynamic authors in the thriller genre. He has skillfully blended his own wit and style with the rip-roaring adventure of Cussler and the modern technology of Clancy. Highly recommended" (Library Journal). American professor David Becker holds plans for a trip to the Smokies with his fiance, NSA cryptographer Susan Fletcher, and is taken on a mystery mission to retrieve a golden ring (it's nothing like lotr by the way!). Problems at the NSA in the form of a seemingly unbreakable code spark a chain of events across the globe. This thrilling read had me gripped, I couldn't force myself to put the book down. Brown has... Read review

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Advantages: This
Disadvantages: That

...of Altamira 3:32 3. Don't Take Me Alive 4:14 4. Sign in Stranger 4:21 5. The Fez (Becker / Fagen / Griffin) 3:58 6. Green Earrings 4:05 7. Haitian Divorce 5:48 8. Everything You Did 3:54 9. The Royal Scam 6:31 Musicians: Donald Fagen - Keyboards, vocals Walter Becker - Bass, guitar Additional Musicians: Keyboards - Victor Feldman, Paul Griffin, Don Grolnick Guitars - Walter Becker, Larry Carlton, Denny Dias, Dean Parks, Elliot Randall Bass - Chuck Rainey Drums and Percussion - Rick Marotta, Bernard Purdie, Gary Coleman, Victor Feldman Horns - Chuck Findley, Bob Findley, Slyde Hyde, Jim Horn, Plas Johnson, John Klemmer Background vocals - Venetta Fields, Clydie King, Sherlie Matthews, Michael McDonald, Tim Schmit... Read review

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Advantages: Useful information
Disadvantages: At the same time Useless!

...Why the sun lightens our hair, but darkens our skin? Why women can't put on mascara with their mouth closed? Why don't you ever see the headline "Psychic Wins Lottery"? Why is "abbreviated" such a long word? Why is it that doctors call what they do "practice"? Why is it that to stop Windows 98, you have to click on "Start"? Why is lemon juice made with artificial flavour, and dishwashing liquid made with real lemons? Why is the man who invests all your money called a broker? Why is the time of day with the slowest traffic called rush hour? Why isn't there mouse-flavoured cat food? When dog food is new and improved tasting, who tests it? Why didn't Noah swat those two mosquitoes? Why do they sterilise the needle for lethal injections? You know that indestructible black box that is used on aeroplanes? Why don... Read review

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Advantages: Consistently very funny, great characters
Disadvantages: Not enough outdoor locations

...Watching “Becker” for the first time was a pretty sobering experience for me – here was Ted Danson, the charismatic and outrageously handsome star of the eighties hit “Cheers”, playing a grouchy, disillusioned and misanthropic old MD, who has all the charm of a six-week old fish head. But, in common with all the other miserable, but brilliantly played comedy curmudgeons in TV sitcom (Victor Meldrew, Pa Steptoe, and Alf Garnett to name just a few), Dr. John Becker has that peculiar ability to make you love him, and hate him, at one and the same time. He is the wrong side of 50, and is always keen to point out to everyone else that the universe is a completely hostile and irrevocably nasty place. A wry smile always appears on his face whenever his twisted philosophy is proven right by one of the others’... Read review

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