Good affordable option (Belinea 1730 S1)

Advantages: Cheap, simple to use, stylish
Disadvantages: Lack of resolution options

...As a school ICT teacher monitors are obviously important to me. We have kitted out our classrooms with the 1730s for a variety of reasons. Firstly they proved to be one of the best value models that our supplier could provide us with. I can't say exactly how much they cost us per unit but suffice to say it was cheap. When our inspection unit arrived we were delighted to find it had a hardened screen covering which means that we have had no failures due to over enthusiastic hands. The range of options are fairtly limited but the auto settings and auto adjust cope with most things we throe at it from a school point of view. The viewing real estate is good with a reasonably small bezel all around and built in speakers at the bottom of the unit. Style wise the silver effect fits in with most modern equipment and the large base...

thejazzyj 14.09.2009 · Read review
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Review of Belinea 1730 S1

The lifebook S7210 CAM

Advantages: very portable
Disadvantages: quite expensive

...space built in. I don’t know whether to class this as a downside as I know everyone wants the most they can get, but honestly do you really need more than 80 gb of hard drive? Well I certainly know I don’t and I guess most people don’t either, so this 80 gb should really be enough and not a downside to the laptop at all. As it’s a portable laptop, it does have a smaller screen than most, its 14.1 inch screen is noticeably smaller if your used to a larger one, or a desktop screen however isn’t too small that it limits anything you would usually need to do on a computer. Its very light weight as well, only 2.1 kg in fact. However that isn’t the best thing amount it, its battery life is an amazing 7 hours, which is certainly the most in a laptop iv ever tested before and I’m not sure there’s...

techno_man_37 07.02.2009 · Read review
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Review of Fujitsu Siemens LifeBook S7210

Fuji FinePix S1500. Descendant of the S1000fd

Advantages: Huge zoom, Focus Tracking, Easy to use
Disadvantages: Bulky, A little slow, AA batteries are a bit inconvenient

...The Fuji FinePix S1500 is the latest incarnation of the very successful FinePix S1000fd. It is very SLR-like in appearance and the added bulk of the battery-holder/grip does give it an assured feeling in your hands. Of course, this can be a disadvantage, and if you want a camera that you can just slip in-and-out of your pocket, then maybe a slimmer compact should be considered. The 12x optical zoom is excellent and it equates to 33-396mm in 35mm terms - and if this isn't enough, there is a 5.7x digital zoom feature too. The menus are friendly and easy to navigate, and there are helpful explanatory prompts that appear on thew LCD screen when the mode-dial setting is changed. There are 14 preset scenes to choose from, each setting the camera to its optimum settings for the given scenario, but on top of this, the camera can be used...

rabidbadger 31.08.2009 · Read review
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Review of Fujifilm FinePix S1500

Oscar Wilde's obsession with books

Advantages: Full of fascinating information about Wilde's life and love of books
Disadvantages: None really, except maybe best enjoyed by those with some prior knowledge of Wilde

...The controversial Victorian playwright and poet Oscar Wilde, so the introduction to this book tells us, ?devoured and luxuriated in books?. He had a lifelong thirst for reading, so it?s not surprising to find that his house in Chelsea was packed with them. Not only was he an avid collector, but he was also an accomplished speed reader with a remarkable ? and to some extent photographic ? memory which helped him to absorb and recall instantly vast amounts of prose and verse. As a reviewer for the Pall Mall Gazette, he could master a book's content, plot or argument in minutes. (If only ciao had been around in those days as well). Maybe it is only fair to get the one major chink in his armour out of the way quickly. Once, when he was preparing a lecture on the poet Chatterton, most of his notes were made up of entire pages and paragraphs...

JOHNV 24.11.2009 · Read review
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Review of Oscar's Books - Thomas Wright

A Book Lover

Advantages: Well-drawn characters. Creative use of words.
Disadvantages: A little difficult to adjust to the changing style of writing

...The Book Thief written by Australian author Marcus Zusak was published in Australia in 2005 as an adult novel and in America in 2006 as a children?s novel. It finally came to the UK in 2007 published by Doubleday and Black Swan in both adult and teen-age versions. Though I have to admit, I do not know what the differences between the two versions are! My copy and the one I am reviewing is the adult version. The novel proved to be a triumphant success greeted by glowing accolades from a wide range of literary reviewers ? excerpts of which can be found in the book. The most apt from The Irish Examiner, ?A peculiar tale, whose deceptively plain language and cryptic style describe the most profound of human emotions and the most hideous of human actions . . . an unusual and compelling novel? Set in Nazi Germany during the Second World...

MAFARRIMOND 03.06.2009 · Read review
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Review of The Book Thief - Markus Zusak

Tweenies Book

Advantages: children will enjoy it
Disadvantages: none unless your child wants you to read it about 10 times a day

...I got this book from a book club for my eldest and now my youngest likes to look at it. It's a hard back book with each page inside being double thin card so that the pull out pictures are fitted in the middle of them. The book is called 'Come Back Colours' because Doodles (The red dog) has lost its colour and so have all the Tweenies toys. The front cover has a picture of the youngest Tweenie Jake and the colourless Doodles, when you open the book you see a picture of the other Tweenies (Milo, Bella and Fizz) on the opposite page is Jake with his special cape opening his arms to the colourless Doodles. The story starts ' One day, Jake put on his special coloured cape.' His job was to look after the colours but where have Doodles colours gone? Jake comes to the rescue waves his arms and says 'Colours come and colours go...

rojm 26.11.2009 · Read review
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Review of Tweenies: Come Back Colours - BBC Books

Books for free!

Advantages: see review
Disadvantages: see review

...points will allow you to chose any book valued at £2.99 and for 200 points a book valued at £4.99.When you browse the site each book will show you how many points you will be awarded if you buy it. The points don't expire so even if you only order a few times a year you can save up your points. Points passport. ************* This is another loyalty scheme. If you order 3 times between 1st July and 31st December you will become a passport holder. This means that you will be given access to exclusive book titles, be given a free upgrade to priority delivery, have a exclusive phone number to call and be given a dedicated customer service manager. I haven't ordered 3 times since July (just twice) so can't comment on these so-called benefits! Delivery. ********** Delivery is free if you order over £25's worth of books otherwise standard...

anwar 24.10.2008 · Read review
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Review of The Book People (Shop)

SDR S26

Advantages: Size, quality, reputation, ease of use. truly pocket size
Disadvantages: none

...Having been stuck with a busted camcorder on the morning on an important family visit, I dashed to a major electrical store to source a replacement, stumbled across this camera, researched the others on display and chose the S26 for ease of use, merit for the make (I bought Lumix TZ5 and have been really pleased with it, quality, capabilities etc, great lens) and general feel for the camera. in my opinion, X70 zoom works very well, resolution excellent for an "older" user and their "junior" assistants. I think that Transfer speed is not rapid, but "so what" in a camera at this price point. Very happy to recommend for general everyday trouble free use. BUT buy it on line for £60 less than the big stores and be even more satisfied that I am Ron...

migloi2 17.05.2009 · Read review
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Review of Panasonic SDR-S26

Book Heaven

Advantages: Price, amazing offers, points
Disadvantages: Only one, see below

...If you love books and enjoy a good bargain, then look no further! The Book People are exactly what you need. Now, this isnt your 'usual' type of book club, like World Books for example, you will not be expected to buy a certain amount of books per year and you will not be sent books every month which you have to send back or pay for. When you join, all you will be sent is a thin brochure which shows a selection of the books they offer at fantastic prices. That is it. Read on for more amazement! The key features are: The books are cheap (examples below) The books are good quality You earn 1 point per pound spent and these can be saved up and redeemed for books. This can be done when ordering from both the catalogue and online. 75 points = £2.99, 100 points = £3.99, 125 points = £4.99 Usually free postage and packaging...

watkins11 29.09.2007 · Read review
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Review of The Book People (Shop)

The Book With No Plot

Advantages: It's different...
Disadvantages: Not terribly cohesive, too many characters and sub-plots.

...This was a very strange book and one that I picked up as I was intrigued by the title and the fact that the author was Anonymous. According to the blurb on the back of the book this was originally self-published on the internet. The plot centres around (unsurprisingly) "The Book With No Name" - a book which if read leads to the death of the reader. I thought this sounded quite interesting but the mysterious book is not as central as you would assume from the premise. The other main plot focus is on the retrieval of a precious stone known as "The Eye of the Moon". This stone is rumoured to have magical powers and is guarded by a group of monks known as Hubals who live on an island. The book is set in Santa Mondega, a town that is a dangerous place to live and one that is conveniently forgotten about by the rest of the country. We are...

mogdred1 10.06.2009 · Read review
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Review of The Book With No Name - Anonymous