Product review: OsoCozyUnbleached Prefold Cloth Diapers

I originally purchased these diapers for their original intention, but found them to be too thin for that purpose.  I also did not like that they ball up after washing rather than lay flat like microfiber diaper inserts.  To make they lay flat I need to iron them. When flat they are sized 2" x 6" x 2".



I was about to write a negative review when I read a review by another reviewer who re-purposed them to work as a re-usable wet cleaning pads for a Swiffer mop.  Indeed, they fits well.  The width of each diaper is just right to be tucked into the back of the mop, the thin sides fit as well as the disposable pads, and the middle section which is slightly thicker hold water or cleaning solution without making the floors too wet.  I re-wet it with a spray bottle when it dries out so I don't have to remove it after it is already dirty. 

Well, so it least I did not waste my money on it.  Thanks to those who shared these cleaning tip  - this is reviews at their best! Sharing "work arounds" as well as problems and kudos.



You can find these diapers on Amazon by following this link.



Ali Julia review ★★★☆☆

Book review: Backyard Bird Guide: Attracting Wild Birds to Your Yard

This book is aimed at novice bird watchers that live in Northeast. The book does not have as many photos as I was hoping for but the ones that were included are very nice.  It also did not cover all the birds we see in our back yard (we do live in Massachusetts). I found information about how to attract some species of birds we do not see most interesting. None of the information is unique, you can find everything by searching the web.  I was glad that I got the book during a free promo period.



We have a large number of bird feeders and I agree with the author that the commercial bird seed is not the bird's favorite food. If we fill one bird feeder with commercial bird seed and another with sunflowers, the bird feeder with commercial birdseed will hardly be touched where as sunflower seed will be gone very quickly.  I also can confirm that cracked corn attracts a lot of larger birds including wild turkeys and blue jays.



We have not seen Orioles and Waxwings in our backyard, and I will try adding their favorite foods to see if they appear.





You can find it on Amazon by following this link.



Ali Julia review ★★★☆☆

Product review: TelPal Call Blocker Display for Landline Phone with 1500 Number Capacity Block Robocalls , Telemarketing Calls, Junk Faxes and All Spam Calls

This call blocker works - i.e. once you block the number it is disconnected after one ring - but its user interface is difficult to use because it is not intuitive. Someone older or not computer savvy is not the right audience for this device. I tried showing my mother how to use this blocker as she complains about getting marketing calls every day and she got totally confused. The blocker's feedback on the display is numeric, not words. The manual is written in a broken English, not very detailed, so it does not provide clear instruction when someone is confused.



The second issue is that depending on how you hook up the blocker, you could lose caller id on your phone. There are two options for hook up - you can plug the call blocker into the wall, and hook up the phone to the blocker. Alternatively, you can put a splitter in the wall and have the phone and the blocker hooked up in parallel. I am using the parallel hook up because in this configuration I still get the caller id on the phone.



The unit displays the wrong time and day. The manual said that it will be set automatically, but I have not seen this happen. However, this information is not relevant to the blocker operation so I did not bother setting it manually. Setting it manually is cumbersome, you need to put the blocker into setting mode and then use the phone's key pad to do the setting of values.



TelPal documentation states that the blocker can block 1000 numbers.



On the positive side, the blocking does work. I recruited a friend to help me test the blocker. I was able to block the number and the next call disconnected after 1 ring. The caller was not told anything, it was just a hang up. After blocking the number I was able to see it listed on the blocked phone numbers list. Then I was able to delete it from the list. I show these three operations in attached video.



There are two ways to block calls. One is to push Blacklist button as the marking call is coming in another one is to enter the phone number by hand and save it. The number displayed on the unit does not show the caller id, so it is not easy to identify a marking call without picking up the phone or looking at another phone which shows the caller id.



Blocking a marketing calls gives me a lot of satisfaction. Just the fact that I am not helpless and can take some action has a great mental benefit.



This call blocking device is provided by TelPal for testing and review. This is not the best call blocker out there because of the difficult to use interface, but it does block calls.





You can find it on Amazon by following this link.





Ali Julia review ★★★☆☆

Product review: Solar Powered Light Motion Sensor 16 LEDs by WBESEV

This light is smaller than I pictured looking at stock photos on Amazon. The lamp area is just 3" across, the entire light is 4.5". It 260 lumens, so it is not very bright. It has three settings off, dim light when no one is around, and bright light when motion is detected.  The unit is sealed and the batteries cannot be replaced or recharged outside the unit. 

To turn the light on you need to use a pin (included) to push into a tiny hole in the rim. This needs to be just one when you want to activate the light.  It motion detection works very well and detection motion reliably.  Mounting hardware is included in the package. 



The light does not have my favorite mode of operation "On only when motion is detected" which uses less power and works better in New England climate as we don't always get long sunny days to fully recharge the battery.



Overall I thought the light was okay, but for my use it was too small and not bright enough too rate higher than okay (3 stars).



You can find it on Amazon by following this link.



Ali Julia review ★★★☆☆

Book review: Dealing with Relatives: Your Guide to Successful Family Relationships

This book is OK. Some sections of the book are useful (not just theory) and can be acted on such as discussion of blending - minimizing the differences between people. The authors did identified an area I was particularly interested in - how to deal with a person who only wants to talk and does not to listen to others. The authors only offered solution to the person who is reading the book (i.e. make pauses, repeat what the other person said, ask questions) but it does not help the person who is the talker, the person who is not pausing or hearing the others.



The book does not address how to deal with all areas that cause family problems such as alcoholism, drug abuse, co-dependency, and other more serious disorders. It mostly deals with the personality issues. The book is most helpful for self-improvement, it helps YOU to be a better relative.





You can find it on Amazon by following this link.



Ali Julia review ★★★☆☆

Product review: Aluminum External DVD Drive USB 3.0 Ultra Slim Portable CD Player Burner CD/DVD-ROM by Smallcar

This a nice looking slim external DVD drive. It comes with a power cord and a data port, both plug in to separate USB port of the computer. Documentation states that you should not run it from a USB hub, which means you have to make sure you have two free USB port on the computer or laptop.



I tested the DVD speed by doing a copy the same DVD using a built in DVD reader and Smallcar external DVD reader.  The external DVD was significantly slower.  The copy on internal DVD took 15 minutes, the copy on external DVD took 45 minutes.



You can find it on Amazon by following this link.



Ali Julia review ★★★☆☆

Product review: Cushion made from memory foam for wheelchair or rolator

I have a bad back and had two back surgeries. I am very sensitive to the shape of cushions and how they compress as my back "complaints". The issue I have with this pillow is how it compresses when I sit on it. It does not compress evenly so I feel pitched forward. This could be entire based on a person's geometry, weight and height but I am not finding this cushion comfortable.



On the positive side it appears to be very well made. It is heavy, and its underside has texture that keeps it from sliding. It is generously sized at 18" x 16". This size fits the seat of wheelchair and rolator well. As I mentioned earlier it is heavy - 3 pounds and 14 oz. This is both good and bad. It is heavy to carry when it is not in place, but the weight makes it stay in place when it is in wheelchair or rolator that are moving while the person is not sitting on the cushion. The pillow is made out of memory foam, so the 3" thickness compresses significantly when someone sits on it. The bottom of the pillow and the cover have silicone dots so the pillow is non-slip.



This cushion was provided to me for evaluation with a request for a review as part of a new product introduction. If you are skeptical about my review because of that I invite you to examine my reviews to see that I leave critical reviews when the product deserves it. The issue for me is that it compresses at a different rate in the front and in the back and I feel tilted forward.





You can find it on Amazon by following this link.



Ali Julia review ★★★☆☆

Product review: FULLLIGHT TECH 720P 8.0MP Low-Glow Waterproof Game Camera

I have experience with several wild cams because we have a lot of wild life on our property and love taking a peek in the life of our visitors. This wild cam produces very good videos (excellent color, good exposure, night time video has a lot of definition) but it has difficult controls including for the operation that I use most frequently - formatting SD to remove the old videos.



This camera is controlled by physical switches to set the mode and the switches works fine. Other operations require the use a complicated sequence of key combinations (up, down, and keys together). The camera often gets into a wrong mode even when the sequence is done correctly. I have been using the camera for over 2 weeks and it has not gotten any easier. I tried other methods of removing old videos like formatting the SD using my computer or removing the files without reformatting. This does not work. After removing files with the computer the camera does not record, it only works if reformat SD in the camera.



The highest resolution of video you can get with camera is 720P. The photo resolution maximum is 8M. However the quality of the video and images under different light conditions is very good. The night time video has more resolution and details then any of my other cameras. I have included a couple of video clips taken at night when the camera switched to infrared. You will be able to recognize those clips because they are black and white.



Motion activation mode works reliably. There is a switch of how long it should wait until the next activation (1 minute, 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 20 minutes). The camera can run on 4, 8, or 12 batteries. The battery use is quite good, it recorded a large amount of videos every day on the same set of batteries. On some days 32G of data was recorded at which point the camera stopped recording. The camera has a low battery indicator but it is a tiny light that is hard to see. Other cameras have an easier to see displays.



In attached video I included videos recorded during the day and during the night. The camera is mounted on a tripod using the screw on the bottom of the case. The camera is waterproof and has been out in several rain storms without any problems.



Keep in mind that video you see on Amazon is highly compressed and it is best viewed as a time stamp image, because then you don't see the degradation caused by compression.



Bottom line: The video is good during the day and excellent during the night (i.e. much more definition compared to my other cameras). On the negative side the camera controls are hard to use.



This camera was provided to me at a special discount for testing and review as part of a new product introduction. Getting a discounted product does not effect what I say. I always leave critical reviews when the product deserves it. This camera has both highs and lows and I described both aspects of my experience. I think the videos it generates are better than others, but the user interface is much worse.



You can find it on Amazon by following this link.





Ali Julia review ★★★☆☆

Product review: Morning Smile Premium Bathroom Toilet Stool

I saw a squatty stool idea on an episode of Shark Tank and thought it was an interesting concept. When I received an offer from Morning Smile to give one of these gizmos a try I accepted. It sounded like something my elderly mother could benefit from as she has problems with occasional constipation.



Even though I like the concept, I decided this particular construction is not for my mother or other elderly people. The strap between the two steps is a tripping hazard for someone who might be unsteady on their feet. I think a stepping stool that is a solid construction (i.e. not two separate things) would work better. If you want to shift your position while sitting the separate steps make it somewhat difficult for someone who does not have rock solid balance.



As far as squatting position, it does seem to be effective for its purpose even though it does take some getting used to. The height of each step can be adjusted by adding and removing the base. I found the low position most comfortable.



The steps themselves are quite small. In attached video I show them with 7.5 woman shoe size and 8.5 men shoe size. You can see that a portion of the foot is overhanging the edge in both cases which decreases comfort.



The strip between the two units tends to come off on its own (as well as being a tripping hazard) so we removed it.



The steps have friction pads on the bottom, so if one is careful they do not shift. The friction strips are attached by pressure to the bottom, three of them stay in but one of the strips kept fall out when the step was lifted, so I glued it down.



I received this bathroom aid for evaluation and review. If this makes you skeptical about what I say examine my review history to see that I leave critical reviews on regular basis when the products deserve it no matter what I paid for the product. This aid is not a good match for someone elderly or who has issues with balance. I think the concept is pretty good, but this particularly implementation had some practical issues.





You can find it on Amazon by following this link.



Ali Julia review ★★★☆☆

Product review: SEREE S2 Ultra HD 4K 360 Degree Action Waterproof Panoramic Sport Camera

The unique feature of the camera is has a fisheye lens which produces 360 degree video. Overall, the video quality is pretty good under many conditions but not all. It overexposes video when the camera is shooting in very sunny conditions and it does not compensate well when you move from shadow to the sun (like when you come out from under the bridge into the full sun). I show small clips which show the camera at its worst and at its best in attached video. Under good lighting the color rendition is good and true to life. It also takes pretty decent night time video. The camera microphone is worse than other sports cameras I have used. You will hear sound distortions in my video. Keep in mind that Amazon compresses video, so it is best to watch it as postage format so the compression effects are not visible.



The camera user interface is menu driven, but you can only see two lines. The documentation is not detailed and not good, so I am finding myself fumbling with the keys a bit as I navigate through menus even after several weeks of using the camera. The navigation and keys are not obvious in many cases. All buttons are overloaded with several functions depending on what mode the camera is in.



This camera support WIFI mode where live video can be see on the smart phone. The app for live product is called "XDV360°" (by Shenzhen Pisoftware Technology). The app is not great, but at least it is available from Googplay and the manufacturer did not ask me to load the app from an untrusted site. Downloading software from untrusted site is not safe and I never down load apps from manufacturer web site unless it is a well known trusted company.



The camera supports micro SD cards up to 32GB (the micro SD card is NOT included). To recharge the camera takes about 2 hours from empty, I am getting about 2 hours of video on one charge.



The package includes a large number of clamps and holders as well as a waterproof case. Windshield suction cup mount is not included, and because of the shape of the camera none of my old window suction cup mounts fit the camera facing forward.



The manual is very sparse. The manual is very small and only has a few basic operations. It does not have instructions for every button. Plan on doing some experimentation to figure out controls.



I received this camera for testing and review at a special discount as part of the new product introduction. If reviews for discounted items make you skeptical, examine reviewer record. I have a long history of leaving critical reviews when products deserve it. I covered pluses and minuses of my experience. I really like the fisheye lens. The video quality is very good under many conditions, but not all. The sound recording is not good. The user interface is not as user friendly as some other sports cameras. Overall rating OK.





You can find it on Amazon by following this link.





Ali Julia review ★★★☆☆

Product review: LAPA key finder

There are things about LAPA key finder that I like, but also it has some shortcomings.



On the positive side it is small, thin, and light. You make it beep by using an app on your phone. I have other finders that beep when you press a button their special remote.  They are bigger and are more cumbersome to carry on the key chain.



On the negative side I have doubts about the experience level of LAPA engineers in web security. I am a software engineer with a lot of experience in security. There were several things that I did not like.  First, the documentation told the user to load an app not from Google Play but from their web site.  This is unsafe. I would never load any application that has not gone through the scan by Google Play store or Amazon app store.  To my surprise, the app to control LAPA is in Google Play store, so the fact that instruction do not lead the end user to Google Play is even more surprising.  I loaded the app from Google Play.



The second thing that concerned me that when I created my password with letters, numbers, and special characters (i.e. a good strong password) I received an error that only letters and numbers can be used.  This is bad! A company with engineers that have experience in security would never put such restrictions on passwords.  Usually the restrictions are the other way - you can't create a password without adding at least one special character.  In the world where every site is constantly under attack from hackers the users are not as well protected as they should be.  Make sure you don't use real words as passwords, use gibberish that would make it more difficult to attack with a dictionary style guessing.

I hoped I could use the key finder as a GPS tracker for my car. I hid LAPA in my car and then tried to see if I can display its location on the map when it was far away from me.  Unfortunately that did not work unless I was within 100 feet from the car.  Within 100 feet from the car it does show the location of the car on the map. Unfortunately, the map is shown in a small circle so it is hard to identify.  the map cannot be zoomed in our zoomed out to get a better idea of where it is or zoomed it to get more details of the area.  So it is only marginally useful.



Bottom line?  I think LAPA has a lot of potential, but in the current implementation it has shortcomings.  I am giving it a 3 star rating with several asterix - do not load app from any site other than GooglePlay, overcome password shortcoming by using complex random string of letters and numbers that does not form any real words.





You can find it on Amazon by following this link.



Ali Julia review ★★★☆☆