Disqus - Friends of omerzach

Re: Outside Lands 2011: Write a limerick, win tickets!

Michael Zhao — Tue, 02 Aug 2011 14:36:41 -0000

For four years I've promised I would,
Save up for this show like I should.
For live music I lust,
But my credit is bust.
Better hope that this limerick is good.

Re: Latest Survey Shows People Choose Tech Over Family

Michael Zhao — Fri, 05 Aug 2011 12:28:54 -0000

Could you please link to the study?

Re: California's HSR Boondoggle Now Even More Boondoggly

Michael Zhao — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 20:29:54 -0000

Say what you want about us Chinese but at least we can build a railroad in California while staying within the budget...

Re: Oh The Ways This New iPhone Will Completely (and Not) Change Your Universe

Michael Zhao — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 01:44:18 -0000

I'd recognize this writing style if I was dragging my forehead across it in braille. Awesome commentary, great to see your writing again!

Re: GSM Nexus Prime passes through the FCC, possibly heading to AT&T?

Michael Zhao — Sat, 08 Oct 2011 13:08:35 -0000

Oh, you mean selling out a week before it even launches? God help Google if that's the case :P

Re: There, there…let me help you with this iPhone 4s conundrum

Michael Zhao — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 22:23:55 -0000

There's a way to check how much data you use per month. It could very well be that you're using less than 200MB which could save you a lot of money in the long run. Even if you do use more, you'd probably still be better off with Sprint anyway. All my friends who have it in Portland and the Bay Area (not San Francisco) love it.

Re: Best Standing Desks

Michael Zhao — Wed, 30 May 2012 11:16:08 -0000

I put a folding chair on top of mine haha. Used it for an entire summer.

Re: The Best Instant Camera

Michael Zhao — Fri, 08 Jun 2012 00:48:09 -0000

Thanks!

Re: The Best Instant Camera

Michael Zhao — Sun, 10 Jun 2012 12:58:50 -0000

We did not see complaints about this in the countless user reviews we read.

Re: The Best Electric Toothbrush

Michael Zhao — Sun, 17 Jun 2012 01:13:09 -0000

The latest generation of these brushes have Ni-Mh batteries which should provide better performance and last longer.

Re: The Best Portable Hard Drive

Michael Zhao — Thu, 28 Jun 2012 12:14:50 -0000

Yes they are readily available. Here's one: http://www.amazon.com/C2G-C...

Re: The Best Portable Hard Drive

Michael Zhao — Sun, 01 Jul 2012 16:47:01 -0000

The prices keep fluctuating. At this point, I'd say go with the 1TB since the 750GB price went up and the 1TB price went down.

Re: Eye muscle replicated by piezoelectric materials

Michael Zhao — Fri, 06 Jul 2012 14:06:34 -0000

Missing source link?

Re: The Best Chef’s Knife for Most Cooks

Michael Zhao — Wed, 18 Jul 2012 13:52:35 -0000

Right on. It's all about what works for you. I would even suggest looking into the 10 inch version if you're really tall.

Re: The Best Chef’s Knife for Most Cooks

Michael Zhao — Thu, 19 Jul 2012 09:33:50 -0000

I would venture a guess that that's probably the result of a sponsorship more than anything else. If you can get someone to learn on your knives, regardless of quality, that's what they're gonna look for when they go out to buy them. It's like how Nike and Adidas sponsor sports camps.

Re: The Best Chef’s Knife for Most Cooks

Michael Zhao — Thu, 26 Jul 2012 14:42:24 -0000

Thanks for pointing that out! All that means is that you can run it through an industrial dishwasher, not something most people have in their houses. That's why I didn't bother mentioning it but good information for some people.

Re: The Best Chef’s Knife for Most Cooks

Michael Zhao — Thu, 26 Jul 2012 14:44:54 -0000

Thanks for the info! I definitely hear you on the first two points but would never ever recommend an electric sharpener to anyone. They're really bad for your blade and produce only passable results. Much better to let professionals handle sharpening, or learn to do it yourself through lots of practice.

Re: The Best Portable Hard Drive

Michael Zhao — Tue, 07 Aug 2012 21:13:23 -0000

The thing is, pretty much all external hard drives suffer from this issue, and its prevalence tends to be overstated since people with a drive that failed on them are far more likely to complain when compared to satisfied customers whose product works fine.

Currently, about 18% of the 85 total reviews on Amazon are 1 star (which is a good indicator of failure in one form or another). When this recommendation first published, that ratio was lower. That being said, it's consistent with other offerings from larger companies like Western Digital's MyPassport (currently at around 16%) and the Seagate FreeAgent GoFlex (~22%).

What sets Silicon Power apart, is that they have an industry leading 3 year warranty should anything go wrong. They've also takent the time to respond personally to unsatisfied customer reviews on Amazon in the comments sections.

Re: The Best Blender

Michael Zhao — Fri, 10 Aug 2012 01:39:54 -0000

Perhaps you are referring to a lower end or older version of the VitaMix? Also, pretty difficult to make such a powerful blender completely silent.

Re: Velodyne vPulses Are the Best $100 Earbuds

Michael Zhao — Fri, 17 Aug 2012 01:41:27 -0000

There are plenty of sites out there with ranks and numbers, but what does a number tell you? For some people, that's enough. If you want more, we're happy to help. I hope you will reconsider your opinion of our evaluations.

Re: Panasonic TC-L32X5 (The former Best Small TV)

Michael Zhao — Mon, 20 Aug 2012 22:37:18 -0000

Keep your eyes peeled for the Nixeus Vue when it hits store shelves. I know I am.

Re: The Best Chef’s Knife for Most Cooks

Michael Zhao — Mon, 01 Oct 2012 13:29:02 -0000

Honestly, if I were to do it again, I'd just go with a magnetic strip like this one: http://www.amazon.com/Chica.... I dig the cleaner look, plus, I really only use a pair of Chef's knives, bread knife, and paring knife. The only reason I use a block is because my room mate got one for Christmas from his parents.

Re: A quick guide to my favorite green juice recipe

Michael Zhao — Wed, 10 Oct 2012 17:45:06 -0000

Not a recipe in and of itself, but Costco sells 2lb bags of baby kale for $3.50. Awesome for juicing (or anything for that matter).

Re: Filson Original Briefcase

Michael Zhao — Tue, 16 Oct 2012 21:27:46 -0000

Mission Workshop Sanction VX if you can afford it. Awesome small backpack and better looking than just about everything else on the market.

Re: Filson Original Briefcase

Michael Zhao — Tue, 16 Oct 2012 21:29:31 -0000

The Maine Guide is available in leather for an additional price. It's an awesome brief. As far as high-quality leather backpacks and messenger bags go, most companies that make them aren't large enough to afford to send out review samples.