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Review of the Phaser 6130 Color Printer October 9, 2009

Posted by Pat in : just thinking , comments closed

Xerox’s Phaser 6130 is a color laser printer that packs a lot of printer into a small package. The best part is that the 6130 costs less than $500. At just 37 pounds and 15″x16″x15″ , the Phaser 6130 is unusually small and lightweight for a color laser . Even though it is smaller than most laser printers , the 6130 is still a little large for a desk .

An important component of any color printer is not just the retail price , but how much the ink or toner costs . The 6130 toner cartridges are rather expensive. You can save a lot by buying discount toner. All our tests were performed on the 6130 using Low-cost Phaser 6130 toner cartridges

Setting up the color laser is easy even for a novice . Since the printer is so compact, you should be able to set up this device without assistance . Just snap the toner cartridges in place. Then all you have to do is hook it up to your computer using the proper cable, power it up, and install the software and drivers .

Xerox’s network installation is as easy as it gets. Locating the printer on the network and installing the Windows driver took under 2 minutes toatal .

The Phaser 6130’s speed over a 10/100 Base-T Ethernet connection was adequate, but not impressive . It took 22 seconds to print a one-page Word document, just under a minute to print a 10-page document , 2 1/2 minutes to print a 25MB Photoshop image , and 1 minute to print a 4 page PDF file .

One of of the idiosyncracies of the 6130 is that if the printer driver is set for color, the printer will print in the 12-ppm color mode even if all you’re printing is black-and-white text. If it’s set for black and white, it will print at 16 ppm, but it will print everything, including color documents, in black and white. I’d expect most people will simply leave the printer in the default color mode instead of checking the setting each time. I ran all my tests based on that assumption.

The Xerox 6130 was also mediocre in terms of quality . Most reviewers gave the printer’s color-photo printing a fair rating because colors appeared washed-out compared to our control photo. In graphical printing areas , the Phaser 6130 scored ahead of the pack. The color ratings were the same whether we used the included OEM toner or in a machine where we installed replacement Xerox Phaser 6130 color toner cartridges .

The Phaser 6130 scored high in its ability to print clean , clear grayscale text . Ultimately, the 6130 handles any text you’re likely to throw at it and textual printing quality was very good. Printed text was readable all the way down to 4 points. Most fonts needed no more than 6 points to be perfectly legible . Even a heavily stylized font printed easily-readable and well-formed at 12 points. This color laser printed text clearly even with the compatible Phaser 6130 black cartridges.

The Phaser 6130 is a low cost color network printer, and even though you can find other fine printes at the same price, the 6130 is a capable printer, and a good choice for any small to medium sized office .

Who Makes The Best Juicer ? October 9, 2009

Posted by Pat in : just thinking , comments closed

In today’s ‘chaotic world’ we seem to be spending less and less time at home and more time rushing around meeting ‘dead lines’ at work. Stress and pressure has become part of America’s staple diet, convenience food the ‘norm’. The result: a nation over fatigued but under nourished…..a nation lacking in the essential fuel that would ‘see’ us through our daily grind. But fortunately there is a quick and easy solution that more and more Americans are turning to…..natural juice.

Juicing is quick, it’s easy and it’s packed with the essential ‘fuels’ necessary to survive, and then thrive, in today’s fast paced world. But who makes the best juicer and what should you be looking for when buying a juicer for the first time?

This is a difficult question to answer. We all have different needs. Do you want an ‘all round’ appliance that the whole family can use or are you looking for the best juicer that is able to tackle ‘exotic’ produce such as wheatgrass? So, with this ‘proviso’ allow me to review my 2 favourite juicers. The ‘all round’ Breville Fountain Juicer and the top of the line, Green Star, appliance that also specialises in juicing produce such as wheatgrass.

The Breville Fountain Juicer is certainly one of the better ‘all around’ family juicers on the market today. The reasons are many. It’s remarkably simple to put back together, it’s quality parts are built to last, it’s a breeze to clean and it’s remarkably quiet when ‘running’….a major consideration when preparing a juice while the rest of the family are sleeping.

In addition to this, the Breville Fountain Juicer also incorporates an extremely powerful filter and cutting system , so powerful in fact, that it is able to juice large chunks of pineapple with the rind still attached.

Also, if standing over a sink having to wash lots of parts sounds unappealing to you then you’ll be glad to know that the parts are dishwasher friendly. All I do is give them a quick rinse, then ‘shoot’ them through the dishwasher. Not only is ‘clean-up’ quick and easy but the parts are further sanitized for your family’s safety.

This bring us onto the Green Star, a terrific juicer with a ‘raft’ of awards to back up it’s ‘top billing’.

The Green Star GS-3000 is certainly one of the premier juicer on the market today. What makes the Green Star so desirable is that it comes with heavy duty two gear technology that allows it to operate at 110 RPM as well as at higher rotations. This feature will allow you to juice both softer fruit as well as harder varieties, that many other machines are unable to ‘tackle’.

To my mind, and one of the reasons I own two juicers, the Green Star is more of a processor than a juicer. It is able to cope with leafy greens and other more exotic produce, thereby allowing me to enjoy the full nutritional and health benefits of these ‘fruits’.

Finally, the Green Star has an extremely fine screen that renders an almost pulpless juice. If you want, however, you can attach a larger screen for a ‘pulpier’ concoction, which can also be used to homogenize food for babies, or for making breadsticks, pasta and delicious rice breads.

So, ‘breaking free’ of today’s chaotic lifestyle is easy….and on top of that…it’s delicious. The hard part is deciding who makes the best juicer. It’s a personal choice, based on your needs. Consider the two above

Thus once again, who makes the best juicer and why it is the best juicer is the one that does what you need it to do. It’s a personal selection that only you can answer. Consider the two mentioned above, ask around but ultimately ask yourself: ” who makes the best juicer … for YOU. “

Top 3 Family Colorado Tourism Destinations October 9, 2009

Posted by Pat in : just thinking , comments closed

Has your family decided wherethey want to go on your summer vacation?  You are not alone, most families have not yet decided where they want to go.  It can be a very time consuming activity to find that perfect vacation plan, so explore the choices for your Colorado tourism.  You will find various alternatives and it certainly will not be an easy decision!

However, if you are careful and take the time to do some planning, it should make your summer vacation easy and one of those “family events” that you will treasure forever.  The most common mistake people make is first choosing a “destination.”  The perfect vacations occur when you first select “what you want to do”!  Do you want to go camping, tanning on a beach, playing and relaxing at a park, or touring informational or heritage attractions?  By choosing “what you want to do” to start with, you are off to the best start of selecting that perfect family vacation destination!

Since you know “what you want to do” – you can sift through the various tourism destination regions and discover those perfect attractions that you hope to go see or do.  By taking a short time planning, you can also find those destinations that include a variety of attractions that are interesting to both you and your inclusive family.  Online destination guides are useful that can help you find comprehensive information about activities that are more detailed than a simple attraction name and address.   Once you know “what” you want to do and “where” you want to go, a real high quality online free usa travel guides will provide you a comprehensive article describing each attraction to help you make an informed decision about what you want to do and where you want to go.

Here are 3 Colorado vacation ideas that you may want to consider:

Idea #1: Applefest - Cedaredge, Colorado. Come and enjoy the wide variety of things made from apples at this annual celebration.  There is music including folk, gospel, blues, country, rock, bluegrass and more as well as displays from local, regional and national artists.  The music begins daily during the festival at 10 am.

Idea #2: Cherry Creek State Recreation Area - Aurora, Colorado. There are some parks that offer more than others and Cherry Creek is one of them.  Not only can you enjoy camping, nature walks and hiking but you can watch (or participate with) model airplane flying, horseback riding and a family shooting range.

Idea #3: Academy Riding Stables - Colorado Springs, Colorado. When you go “out west” for a vacation you probably want to do some horseback riding.  It’s part of the American West and certainly a part of the great Colorado Vacation experience.

As you can see, you have a significant choice of alternatives available to you when it is time to select that perfect family vacation getaway.  Take advantage of your time to plan carefully what you want to do and where you want to go.  Use a quality travel guide to help you discover those perfect free travel guides videos.  And you will find that you will experience a wonderful vacation with a lifetime of memories.