Both KJ and BGE sell "built-in" models that come with little ceramic feet that it can rest on when you build it into a niche like this, as opposed to going into their metal stand.
Search found 5150 matches
- Wed Mar 27, 2024 3:27 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Outdoor Kitchen Island Equipment Suggestions
- Replies: 10
- Views: 913
Re: Outdoor Kitchen Island Equipment Suggestions
- Wed Mar 27, 2024 9:42 am
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Continuous Glucose Monitor
- Replies: 13
- Views: 803
Re: Continuous Glucose Monitor
I would think if you were able to articulate to your doctor your reasons for wanting one (whatever they may be), they may be willing to write the script for you, with the acknowledgement that it will be on your own dime and not covered by insurance. The current ones are pretty expensive, but it should be doable. Not sure what Stelo will cost once it's available.
- Wed Mar 27, 2024 8:21 am
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Kindle Users--Please help
- Replies: 24
- Views: 1412
Re: Kindle Users--Please help
They didn't loan them to you, they sold licenses for them to your Amazon account. If you burned down your house in a snit, Amazon isn't obligated to replace your print books either. Sounds like the best solution is to avoid "snits".
- Wed Mar 27, 2024 7:59 am
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Kindle Users--Please help
- Replies: 24
- Views: 1412
Re: Kindle Users--Please help
As others mentioned, the ads are almost certainly from the solitaire and word search apps you mentioned. These are most likely "free", which is code for "ad-supported", and doesn't have much of anything to do with Amazon other than they host the App store she downloaded them from. She should never get any ads inside of the Kindle app, other than the "recommended selections" or whatever on the library screen.
- Wed Mar 27, 2024 6:51 am
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: When brand names matter and when they don't
- Replies: 193
- Views: 11800
Re: When brand names matter and when they don't
We live in a country with a genius for marketing. I heard a great podcast about the development of "premium" vodka, which by definition is clear, odorless and tasteless! Except that's an oversimplified and therefore wholly inaccurate description. You could say the same thing about water, and it'd be equally as wrong. You've probably never had absolutely pure water. It tastes terrible . You can try this yourself. Buy a bottle of distilled water, boil it to drive off dissolved gases, and then drink it as soon as it cools. Vodka is not simply synthetic or flawlessly refined ethanol and distilled water. If it was, you could use words like "empty" and "hollow" to describe it, and no one would ever drink it alone or...
- Tue Mar 26, 2024 12:55 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Outdoor Kitchen Island Equipment Suggestions
- Replies: 10
- Views: 913
Re: Outdoor Kitchen Island Equipment Suggestions
Definitely go for a Kamado-type grill. I have a Kamado Joe that I love, but Big Green Eggs and Komodo Kamado (much more expensive) are great options as well, and Weber recently got into the game (though I'm not sure how you'd build theirs into an island). It is the single best investment I've made into outdoor cooking.
- Tue Mar 26, 2024 8:19 am
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: What siding (or paint) to get ?
- Replies: 11
- Views: 637
Re: What siding (or paint) to get ?
In our community, we can choose Hardie Board or vinyl siding. Where the Hardie Board has been installed, the end-to-end joints started off butted tightly together at installation time but the boards subsequently shrank a fraction of an inch over the years, leaving ugly gaps at most the butted edges. This is not only a visual thing, but the gaps invite water infiltration behind the boards and do not keep as much air out, which diminishes the thermal efficiency of the Hardie Board. Sounds like it was installed improperly. The VERY FIRST notice in the product information guide--which is also printed all over the packaging material--is to store the materials covered, and off the ground. If they are allowed to become saturated, it slows the cur...
- Tue Mar 26, 2024 7:30 am
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: What siding (or paint) to get ?
- Replies: 11
- Views: 637
Re: What siding (or paint) to get ?
Sounds like a pretty large house, or HCOL area. We did our house (2600 sqft ranch) last fall, and went with Hardie Board. We started by pursuing a re-paint using a painter that had done some work on our neighbor's house. That quote was $10k for one coat, no primer, and did not include replacing wood in a few places where it was rotted. It also would have to be re-done every few years after that. That didn't sit well with us. Having had vinyl on prior houses, I did not want that again, so we went Hardie Board. It was $33k, including all trim, and metal soffits. We went with Khaki Brown in smooth finish for a more modern look, which meant custom order. Wood-grained is a standard offering and would have been in stock. There were also Magnolia ...
- Mon Mar 25, 2024 6:39 am
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: When brand names matter and when they don't
- Replies: 193
- Views: 11800
Re: When brand names matter and when they don't
Yeah this was odd. Frito-Lay (maker of both Lays and Ruffles) is a giant in the snackfood space. The Lay's brand alone makes up 30% of the potato chip market, and makes more annual revenue ($1.7B) than the entire Utz company ($1.4B).
If Lays and Ruffles are generics, then so are Coke and Sprite. Ruffles may be nasty sludge of grease and salt, but they're still a name brand.
- Sun Mar 24, 2024 7:24 am
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: What Toys Have You Bought That Have Been Worth it?
- Replies: 254
- Views: 18426
Re: What Toys Have You Bought That Have Been Worth it?
Seconded. I put around 700 lbs through my Gene Cafe before upgrading to the Bullet. I easily sold the Gene for $200.
- Sat Mar 23, 2024 6:38 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: What Toys Have You Bought That Have Been Worth it?
- Replies: 254
- Views: 18426
Re: What Toys Have You Bought That Have Been Worth it?
Learned something new today, thank you!Kenkat wrote: ↑Sat Mar 23, 2024 12:17 pm
There was a retractable hardtop option on the NC starting in 2007.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mazda_MX- ... d%20Canada.
- Sat Mar 23, 2024 7:12 am
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: When brand names matter and when they don't
- Replies: 193
- Views: 11800
Re: When brand names matter and when they don't
Absolutely too sweet, and completely disgusting. The original contains SEVEN sweeteners and is 50% sugar by weight. For reference, maple syrup--a dedicated sweetener--is only 60% sugar.
I have not (and won't) tried the Teriyaki sauce and marinade. Just like the original, it has HFCS as the very first ingredient. But despite having only three unique sweeteners vs the original's seven, it is 53% sugar by weight. Gross. I don't see a product called Teriyaki BBQ in their lineup.
- Sat Mar 23, 2024 6:54 am
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: What Toys Have You Bought That Have Been Worth it?
- Replies: 254
- Views: 18426
Re: What Toys Have You Bought That Have Been Worth it?
You mean it came with the hardtop accessory. All Miatas are softtop convertibles, except for the newer RF which is kind of an auto-targa. They only ever built one hardtop coupe, and Mazda still owns it.CascadiaSoonish wrote: ↑Fri Mar 22, 2024 9:51 pmWe just bought an '08 hardtop Miata and I'm teaching our oldest how to drive stick with it. We paid waaaaay over KBB for it because it's a hardtop in great condition. Price didn't matter, it's a great experience with my kid.
- Fri Mar 22, 2024 3:10 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: What Toys Have You Bought That Have Been Worth it?
- Replies: 254
- Views: 18426
Re: What Toys Have You Bought That Have Been Worth it?
It was fresh roast SR800. I just upgraded to nucleus link roaster. KlangFool I'd have to think about my break even time there. Green beans seem like a good value though. Some roasters have become very expensive these days. I started with a Gene Cafe in 2015 ($500? then, $650 now), and upgraded to a Aillio Bullet 4 years ago ($2800 then, $3500 now), which is almost certainly my endgame. I've roasted a little over half a ton of beans, currently running about 100lbs/year. I can look at the economics two ways: I save $14-20/lb compared to freshly-roasted beans from a local roaster. Not the most realistic, because I wouldn't consistently pay $20-27/lb for beans, just as an occasional treat. I get to drink freshly-roasted, high-end coffee every ...
- Fri Mar 22, 2024 12:13 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Supermarket pizza - any good ones? Any great ones?
- Replies: 174
- Views: 16199
Re: Supermarket pizza - any good ones? Any great ones?
totally agree about crazy expensive to eat out or delivery. I feel like my dad- i remember when a movie was a dime---but, fast food lunch at 15$ and you dont remember what you ate by dinner time? the world is crazy Yup. A cheeseburger, regular fries and soda at Five Guys is now $23. But there are bargains to be had. That same $23 will get me a 10x better cheeseburger, with fries and a 9 oz pour of a perfectly serviceable Cabernet at Ruth's Chris during happy hour (Sunday-Friday 4:30-6:30pm). Back closer to the thread topic, another local pizza place we enjoy has 1/2 price pizzas (limit 1 per person, dine in only) on Tuesdays. So we can get 2 excellent deep dish pizzas AND booze for $75-80 including tip, with a bunch of leftovers to take ho...
- Fri Mar 22, 2024 11:36 am
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Supermarket pizza - any good ones? Any great ones?
- Replies: 174
- Views: 16199
Re: Supermarket pizza - any good ones? Any great ones?
Nope. At our favorite place, it's $18.95 for a large thin crust cheese. Plus $2.75 per topping, typically 4 or 5 of those per (fresh garlic is mandatory! plus 3 or 4 others). So now we're at $30-33 for one pizza. x2 is $60-66. Now add tax and tip. Voila! $75.gunny2 wrote: ↑Fri Mar 22, 2024 11:21 amWow; tell me that includes booze? I can easily get quality pizza for half that or less around here.PeninsulaPerson wrote: ↑Fri Mar 22, 2024 9:04 am Eating out has gotten surprisingly expensive - even for pizza. $75 for two pizzas is a lot!
It costs me about $12 to make a quality pizza at home from scratch except for fresh dough from Aldi ($1.75). So I'm not seeing how a business could be profitable making one for me for $15 or less.
- Fri Mar 22, 2024 10:49 am
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: When brand names matter and when they don't
- Replies: 193
- Views: 11800
Re: When brand names matter and when they don't
Mustard? Can’t tell the difference between a French whole grain mustard such as Maille and the yellow (or even brown) stuff? Wow. Only on Bogleheads. I don't see anyone having said that. Even the OPs statement was "It's more about what kind you're getting vs the brand name." I read that as the variety of mustard is the biggest factor in the taste, which I would agree with wholeheartedly. I think you'd agree the converse is certainly NOT true, as if you stick with Maille, their whole grain tastes nothing like their original Dijon. I've had several good whole grain mustards (including Maille), and several good stone ground ones, which are kind of a halfway point between whole-grain and a smoother brown. A bottle of Koop's stone gro...
- Fri Mar 22, 2024 10:10 am
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: When brand names matter and when they don't
- Replies: 193
- Views: 11800
Re: When brand names matter and when they don't
Definitely disagree with a few Heinz is indeed better than Hunt's and the random store brands, but it's still a sickly-sweet mass of HFCS. Maybe so...forgot that I get the "no sugar added" variety. That's still every bit as unnaturally and overpoweringly sweet as the standard issue, just a slightly different kind of overly sweet because of the sucralose. Most mainstream brands of ketchup (including Heinz) are around 4g of sugar per tablespoon, or about 25%, and those with artificial sweeteners use an equivalent amount to achieve a similar level of sweetness. The ones we tend to prefer use about half as much (2g per tablespoon), more in line with something like a burger sauce. That said, I'll acknowledge that our tastes are not th...
- Fri Mar 22, 2024 9:17 am
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: When brand names matter and when they don't
- Replies: 193
- Views: 11800
- Fri Mar 22, 2024 8:21 am
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: When brand names matter and when they don't
- Replies: 193
- Views: 11800
Re: When brand names matter and when they don't
Definitely disagree with a few Ketchup: Yes. There's Heinz and the rest. Hunts is passable in a pinch and the rest suck. Heinz is indeed better than Hunt's and the random store brands, but it's still a sickly-sweet mass of HFCS. For straightforward Ketchup, the best ones I've found are Sir Kensington's (sadly discontinued after the company was sold) and Organicville . But our favorites are Trader Joe's Black Summer Truffle , Melinda's Habanero , and Acid League's Savory Saffron . At least 2 of the 3 are in our fridge at any given moment. Mustard: No. It's more about what kind you're getting vs the brand name. Sort of. In general, I agree. I've had lots of great cheap and expensive mustards, and a fair number of not-so-good ones across the s...
- Fri Mar 22, 2024 6:26 am
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Dark Chocolate heads Rejoice !!!
- Replies: 198
- Views: 31156
- Fri Mar 22, 2024 6:21 am
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Supermarket pizza - any good ones? Any great ones?
- Replies: 174
- Views: 16199
Re: Supermarket pizza - any good ones? Any great ones?
Digiornio is mid. Better than average but there are many better options out there.gunny2 wrote: ↑Thu Mar 21, 2024 9:35 pm IMO they are all pretty nasty save one: DiGiorgnios (sp)? It's not "great" - expecting a frozen pizza to be great is a fool's errand IMO - but it is respectable. Still, I'd rather just get a really good pizza at a mom n pop place or pass altogether. It's kind of like choosing between a Miller beer or no beer. Most days I'd say no beer in that case thank you.
I would prefer a mom 'n pop too, but two pizzas is a $75 dinner with leftovers vs. a $10-12 one without for frozen.
- Tue Mar 19, 2024 3:24 pm
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: IRS slow this year (2024)
- Replies: 27
- Views: 2914
Re: IRS slow this year (2024)
Got it Mine is 16 so he squeaks in.somewhatentertained wrote: ↑Tue Mar 19, 2024 2:02 pm Sorry did not mention he is also under 16, so disallowed.
- Tue Mar 19, 2024 11:33 am
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: How worthwhile is Zillow to estimate home value?
- Replies: 58
- Views: 5238
Re: How worthwhile is Zillow to estimate home value?
Zillow's current value for my home feels about right. Judging it based on recent comps provided by Redfin bears this out. Nicer homes sold for more than my valuation, less nice homes sold for less.
Redfin's estimate, however, is a full 25% higher and seems insane. Especially compared to the comps they provided to back it up. They think my house is worth 15% more than the most expensive home that has sold in my area, which is clearly nicer than mine.
Redfin's estimate, however, is a full 25% higher and seems insane. Especially compared to the comps they provided to back it up. They think my house is worth 15% more than the most expensive home that has sold in my area, which is clearly nicer than mine.
- Tue Mar 19, 2024 11:14 am
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Help me with my car dilemma . . .
- Replies: 36
- Views: 2797
Re: Help me with my car dilemma . . .
My advice would be to trade it for a NON hybrid vehicle like a CRV. The dealer will auction the thing anyways. I say non Hybrid because for lots of highway driving, you're carrying around 1000 pounds for no reason. You'll get worse gas mileage than a pure gas vehicle and pay way more. Where a plug in hybrid shines is short distance around town, stop and go type driving. Not highway. A co-worker some years ago got a new territory, covering all of Connecticut. She lived in Boston downtown. To save gas money, she bought a Civic hybrid to replace her gas Civic. She came to me a month later to ask (I was the resident car guy) why her gas mileage was horrible and far worse than her gas civic. I explained that the way she drives (3 hours to the d...
- Tue Mar 19, 2024 10:51 am
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Buying an Expensive Car
- Replies: 101
- Views: 8720
Re: Buying an Expensive Car
Will you really be able to go back to buying a $30/40k mid-range vehicle AFTER having this $100k vehicle? Doubtful. The next vehicle will be $125/150k. Do not set yourself up to be buying new $100k+ cars every 4 years. Who says he's going to buy one every 4 years? He got a $17k insurance payout for his current car, which implies it was not <4 years old unless it was a stripper econobox. $17k buys a low-mileage 2020 Chevy Spark, or a high-mileage Corolla. Speaking only for myself, we have tended to replace cars at around the 12 year/150k mile mark. COVID and the transition to permanent WFH changed this math by dropping my annual mileage dramatically. I just bought my first $100k car last June, and 9 months later it has 2200 miles. I expect ...
- Tue Mar 19, 2024 10:15 am
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: IRS slow this year (2024)
- Replies: 27
- Views: 2914
Re: IRS slow this year (2024)
Can't speak to paper filing, but for e-filing my experience and that of folks I've talked to is that they are insanely fast this year. I eFiled on Saturday, 3/2. It was accepted the same day. I saw a pending transaction for my refund by midweek, which settled on Friday, 3/8. So far, the IRS has not had a chance to be slow because USPS did not do their job and make the final destination scan. I paper mailed my son's first returns, which apparently have to be paper mailed because they are first returns, on the same date at the same post office. They do not have to be paper mailed. In fact they published an article four years ago titled: "IRS Free File: Ideal for young and first-time filers". It's now out of date because technology a...
- Tue Mar 19, 2024 9:56 am
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Sending Copy of Driver License and SS Card by Email Question
- Replies: 36
- Views: 3743
Re: Sending Copy of Driver License and SS Card by Email Question
The problem is this is a new account and it must be opened first so that one can access the Secure Upload feature (if available). Without opening the account (registering first) this access is not available. That reinforces the earlier claim in this thread that their tech sucks. User account != bank account. There doesn't even have to be a 1:1 alignment between them. Nearly all of my user accounts with financial institutions have access to more than one numbered account at that institution. It is beyond trivial (and best practice) to allow creation of a user account and the credentials to secure it, and THEN present an application for a bank account. Nearly everyone does it this way, and for good reason. That Barclays seems incapable of fi...
- Tue Mar 19, 2024 9:44 am
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Waterproof iPhone case suggestions
- Replies: 17
- Views: 1283
Re: Waterproof iPhone case suggestions
Every iPhone since the 7 and 7 Plus in 2016 has been water resistant. They can't say water proof (neither can case manufacturers) because there is a combination of time and depth at which water will intrude. But for practical every day purposes, your phone is already waterproof.
I have on numerous occasions accidentally gotten into the pool with my "water resistant" android phone in my pocket. I rinse it with clean water to wash off any salt and/or chlorine and it's fine.
I have on numerous occasions accidentally gotten into the pool with my "water resistant" android phone in my pocket. I rinse it with clean water to wash off any salt and/or chlorine and it's fine.
- Tue Mar 19, 2024 8:04 am
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Retuning an iPad— How to Clear All Sensitive Info?
- Replies: 9
- Views: 1299
- Tue Mar 19, 2024 5:48 am
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Retuning an iPad— How to Clear All Sensitive Info?
- Replies: 9
- Views: 1299
Re: Retuning an iPad— How to Clear All Sensitive Info?
Those services are not reactivated automatically after a wipe, so whether you disable them or not doesn't matter. The device will not allow you to perform the reset unless "Find my iPad" has been disabled.
- Mon Mar 18, 2024 9:51 am
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Portable Audio - your configuration?
- Replies: 9
- Views: 680
Re: Portable Audio - your configuration?
For indoor biking and outdoor activities other than biking, I have a set of 1st gen PowerBeats Pro which have been fantastic. Sound quality is decent, they stay on no matter what, and are definitely sweatproof.
For outdoor biking, anything that excludes exterior sounds is dangerous IMO. So bone conduction is far better there.
For outdoor biking, anything that excludes exterior sounds is dangerous IMO. So bone conduction is far better there.
- Mon Mar 18, 2024 8:13 am
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: navigation system for car
- Replies: 64
- Views: 3368
Re: navigation system for car
Have MagBak in 3 cars and like it very much. Does require their cases, but it works well in both landscape and portrait orientation. It claims to be compatible with MagSafe, but at least for the charger, the grip on my son's iPhone 15 Pro Max was uncomfortably weak without the case.
- Sun Mar 17, 2024 8:39 am
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Should I buy a $3k camera lens or get a cheaper lens instead?
- Replies: 25
- Views: 1689
Re: Should I buy a $3k camera lens or get a cheaper lens instead?
I'm not in the Sony system, but I have the Nikkor 70-200/2.8 VR II for my D7000 (hard to believe it's 13 years old!), and it's been a joy to use, both with and without the 1.7x tele I later added to my kit.Hubub wrote: ↑Sun Mar 17, 2024 8:22 am - The Sony lens can take a teleconverter (1.4 or 2). The Tamron and Sigma cannot. While the teleconverter is an additional purchase later on down the line, it would enable the 70-200 to become a 98-280 focal length at F4. Since I have a higher megapixel camera model, I can crop in to reach something like 150-400 mm (with lower resolution but something usable for most situations). Adding a TC gives me considerable future flexibility for shooting birds or occasional wildlife, and still keep things relatively lightweight.
- Sun Mar 17, 2024 7:55 am
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Buying an Expensive Car
- Replies: 101
- Views: 8720
Re: Buying an Expensive Car
I absolutely love it, and was genuinely surprised at the positive attention it attracts out in the wild, given the level of eHate it gets online.
Something's working, as this is by far the fastest-selling M3. It's about to start its fifth model year, and you still have to wait for an allocation--though generally not the 6 months I had to wait for mine 1.5 years ago--and MSRP is about the cheapest you can get. By the 3rd year of the previous generation, you could buy one off the lot with a $15k discount.
- Sun Mar 17, 2024 7:24 am
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Buying an Expensive Car
- Replies: 101
- Views: 8720
Re: Buying an Expensive Car
Why do people keep talking about the X3? Here are OP's literal words:
And has even been called out just a few posts up:
Maybe a picture would help. This is the M3 sedan he's considering:
- Sun Mar 17, 2024 6:47 am
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Buying an Expensive Car
- Replies: 101
- Views: 8720
Re: Buying an Expensive Car
It's not like he's buying a Mustang!
You do have to pay to play, but it's nowhere near as bad as you might suspect. Full coverage (250/500/100, medical, UI/UIM, roadside and rental) on my 2023 M3 is less than $800/6 mo. And that's with a 16M driver on the policy. It was cheaper before he got his license. For reference, I also have a 2011 3-series on the same policy, which is just a hair under $500/6 mo.
- Sat Mar 16, 2024 5:23 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Buying an Expensive Car
- Replies: 101
- Views: 8720
Re: Buying an Expensive Car
You can get a regular 3 Series with xDrive (or a Tesla Model 3 AWD) for half that much. What makes the 3 Series great is the balance of the chassis, which you get even in the base version. The M3 doesn't have all that much more usable performance on the road. Having driven exclusively BMW 3 series for the past 25 years, from low end, to high-end non M, and now a full M, I couldn’t disagree more. Every single component of the suspension is different, and it shows. Even something as simple as powering through an empty traffic circle (which I did just this morning) feels completely different. Yes they’re all great-driving cars. Clearly I agree with that, or I wouldn’t have spent the better part of my life driving them. But even on my old E46,...
- Sat Mar 16, 2024 6:45 am
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Buying an Expensive Car
- Replies: 101
- Views: 8720
Re: Buying an Expensive Car
Doesn't help as much as you'd think, since inventory is so low--there are only 85 used ones available nationwide. There's a nice 2023 with 11k miles at a dealer near me for $87k. Ordering a 2024 in the exact same spec would be $91k
Considering the previous 5 generations of this car have ALL become collectors items, it's a pretty good bet. Quick look at ~10 year old M3s find the going rate for ones with 50-70k miles is in the mid-$40k range. That's definitely not zero.
- Sat Mar 16, 2024 6:33 am
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Buying an Expensive Car
- Replies: 101
- Views: 8720
Re: Buying an Expensive Car
As someone who purchased a base 6MT M3 last year, I wholeheartedly endorse your choice. It's a glorious car, and the S58 has indeed proven to be bulletproof so far.
I had been planning to finance when I was waiting for an allocation in late 2022, but rates went up sharply by the time I was finally in production. So I paid cash.
- Fri Mar 15, 2024 8:34 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Navigating Speakers for in home theater
- Replies: 44
- Views: 3364
- Fri Mar 15, 2024 4:42 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Navigating Speakers for in home theater
- Replies: 44
- Views: 3364
Re: Navigating Speakers for in home theater
Definitely understand the frustration, and while ~10 years old is on the lower side of the historical replacement window for AVRs, it is indeed in the window.hand wrote: ↑Fri Mar 15, 2024 4:17 pm AVR Supports HDCP 2.1 while the new Sony Bravia OLED introduced into the system supports HDCP 2.2 and 4k HDR.
Frustratingly this means that inputs connected directly to the AVR will not pass 4K HDR to the TV through the AVR.
Full resolution now appears to require trashing a perfectly good AVR
- Fri Mar 15, 2024 4:29 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Microsoft Office 2021 for Home
- Replies: 47
- Views: 3517
Re: Microsoft Office 2021 for Home
I don't think the subscription makes sense for me at least. S ubscription prices will go up over time with inflation. Corporate discounts will vary. In the long-term you end up paying more. They wouldn't push subscription models if that wasn't the case. It may indeed not make sense for you. But the bolded part has absolutely not proven to be true. When O365 launched in 2013, it was $100 for one user, with 5 installs. That is $133 in today's money. But today the retail price of a one-user subscription is $70, and for $100 (or $70 with a corporate discount) you get 6 users. So it has gotten dramatically cheaper in real dollars over the intervening 11 years, not more expensive. Corporate discounts also do not vary. They are fixed at 30%, rega...
- Fri Mar 15, 2024 3:59 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Navigating Speakers for in home theater
- Replies: 44
- Views: 3364
Re: Navigating Speakers for in home theater
Agree very much on the audio side, but personally pretty bitter at how quickly my 4k ready AVR was obsoleted by having the wrong HDCP version. I'm glad I didn't buy it at MSRP and plan never to buy a new AVR - technology moves too quickly. You definitely have to be aware of this stuff, but it doesn't have to be a major gotcha. When I was receiver shopping in 2015 (to replace an Onkyo from 2003), one of the things that led me to the Denon AVR-7200W was that they promised a firmware update to HDCP 2.2 in late spring/early summer (which was indeed delivered). By the time I placed my order, I actually received the revised AVR-7200WA that had that support baked in. This is still sufficient for protected 4k/60fps content, which is the best this ...
- Fri Mar 15, 2024 3:35 pm
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Microsoft Office 2021 for Home
- Replies: 47
- Views: 3517
Re: Microsoft Office 2021 for Home
But the version that people are reporting getting for $20 is office 2019. Which ended support in October. As noted above, you can also get this unsupported version for $30. But the cheapest I've seen anyone report getting 2021 is $45. And 3 years at $14/user/year takes you a year longer (to 2027), for $3 less.madbrain wrote: ↑Fri Mar 15, 2024 3:21 pmOffice 2021 is still getting updates, until 2026.
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/lifec ... ffice-2021
- Fri Mar 15, 2024 8:06 am
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Navigating Speakers for in home theater
- Replies: 44
- Views: 3364
Re: Navigating Speakers for in home theater
Not anymore, which is not surprising since that represents a screaming bargain, and less than I paid 3 years ago for the AVR-X4700H, even with a significant discount. The 6800 they replaced it with retails for $3500.
- Fri Mar 15, 2024 7:25 am
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Microsoft Office 2021 for Home
- Replies: 47
- Views: 3517
Re: Microsoft Office 2021 for Home
The family plan is an even better deal. $100 (or $70 with a corporate discount) for six users, each of which can have office installed on 5 computers at a time and unlimited mobile devices, plus a 1TB OneDrive per user.bombcar wrote: ↑Wed Mar 13, 2024 9:46 pm As a note, and depending on how many machines you have, the silly subscription may actually be a better deal, especially if you want to always be on the latest version.
$70 a year, can go on five machines. Can even get an email and domain for a bit more.
It’s not a terrible deal.
For the 5 users in my family (myself included), this works out to $14/year. Or $6 less than folks are paying (one time) for an ancient version of office that stopped getting security patches last year.
- Wed Mar 13, 2024 9:29 am
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: [What UN-frugal thing do you do? What do you splurge on?]
- Replies: 785
- Views: 84178
Re: Frugal heros - what is your one guilty consumer splurge?
Me as well, though headphones are my joint. The current signal chain on my desk cost almost exactly $10k, and this month marks one year since the most recent dollar was spent.
- Wed Mar 13, 2024 8:20 am
- Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
- Topic: Microsoft Office 2021 for Home
- Replies: 47
- Views: 3517
Re: Microsoft Office 2021 for Home
Best case scenario is these are legitimate but grey market licenses. OEM keys that are only supposed to be bundled with a new PC.
More likely is that they are volume keys being used illegitimately or fraudulent keys generated by a tool like SCDGen.
More likely is that they are volume keys being used illegitimately or fraudulent keys generated by a tool like SCDGen.
- Wed Mar 13, 2024 6:41 am
- Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
- Topic: Change in Empower Dashboard Personal Capital's Retirement Forecast
- Replies: 2
- Views: 403
Re: Change in Empower Dashboard Personal Capital's Retirement Forecast
I don't think the 1% is an assumed fee. It's a hedge against the possibility that reality winds up proving the model to be optimistic.