![]() Samsung S3 4 GB Slim Portable Media Player (Black) $79.99 The YP-S3 player itself isn't the issue, but the Emodio softeware, the firmware and USB connection. Half the time when you plug in the player the response is "USB device not recognized" and have to try it again. The firmware for the player is not updated automatically. You must save the zipped file, unzip it, then copy the file from the unzipped location to the main folder of the player through the Windows Explorer. Much too involved for someone who isn't computer literate. The single biggest issue is trying to transfer songs to the player. If you try and transfer more than a few songs, the program freezes up, EVERY time. You then have to close the program through the task manager, reopen it and try it again. Trying to load several hundred songs is an exercise in frustration. Also, playlists you create on the player when it's connected to your PC DON'T show up on the player when you use it. Considering the above issues, I wouldn't buy another Samsung MP3 player and wouldn't recommend one to others. ![]() Canon PowerShot Pro Series S3 IS 6MP with 12x Image Stabilized Zoom $449.99 I start off by saying that I know that some of those cameras have lens problems, so if you got a lemon one, sorry. Otherwise a very useful camera. The biggest things for me is of course a 12x zoom. I had this camera for about 3 years now, and this zoom let me take amazing pictures. I travel a lot, so 12x zoom helps to take far away pictures, for example out in nature, zoos, beach, parks like Disney World/Land, where it is not an option to be closer to an object. Also the micro focus works very well. You can see my pictures at platonm(dot)com. The 6MP is not really anything to brag about, but 3 years ago, especially for the price I paid ($298.26) it was a good choice. Do not be discouraged by the fact that it needs 4AA batteries. It threw me off at first, but then looking at other options, that combined mega-zoom and low price, there was nothing else. I bought Sony BCG-34HE4 Super-Quick Worldwide Battery Charger with 4 AA NiMH Batteries for $22.95, and those work forever between charges. I can take about 300-500 pictures on one charge, even 3 years later! Including using a flash! As all Canons it is simple and easy to use, and since it is higher-end PowerShot it has extra features, like manual/micro focus. The lens focuses nice and fast. I sometime have problems with focus on higher zoom when it cannot focus because it cannot make out depth of an object, but that's like any other camera. It is durable. I take very good care of it, but still, nothing ever broke for me. ![]() Programming Amazon Web Services: S3, EC2, SQS, FPS, and SimpleDB $49.99 As mentioned in other reviews of this book, there are a lot of Ruby examples. If this book were completely written using Java or C#, this would have been a 4-5 star book. If nothing else, include examples with other languages as well. |
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