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Nlee

Member since: Dec 5th, 2006

Nlee's Latest Comments

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Joystiq1 Comment
Engadget HD1 Comment
DV Guru1 Comment
Joystiq Playstation1 Comment
Switched2 Comments
Politics Daily1 Comment
Daily Finance1 Comment

Recent Comments:

GM's accelerated bankruptcy ends: Was it long enough? (Daily Finance)

Jul 10th 2009 6:05PM A perspective from a first generation Asian American. My parents came to the US in 1975 after the Vietnam war and up till 1988 had driven a myriad of American brand cars. It's important to note that I use the term "American brand" since many American car models are a culmination of parts and services from around the world.

Here's a list of vehicles my parents owned up till 1988: Ford Torino wagon (used 70's), Chevy Impala wagon (used 80's), Chrysler K-Car wagon (used 80's), Plymouth Horizon (new 1984), Eagle Premier (new 1988), Chevy Sonoma pickup (new 1988).

My father drove American cars because in constrast to foreign vehicles, American brand vehicles were less expensive, larger, and perceived to be easier to work on. Because we didn't have much money, buying used was always first thought and my father would work laboriously to maintain them. Growing up I spent half my life standing in the garage with my father - holding tools, cleaning up and being cursed at if I couldn't find a wrench or screw driver fast enough. I've spent many times crying because my father would bark at me for the slightest inattentiveness while he worked on these cars. Whether the car was used or new, we had problems with everyone of them. When I talk about problems I'm not talking about problems little problems... problems where the vehicles would not start, died on the road, or drive only backwards rather than forward.

In 1991 they bought their first Honda Accord with a lot of pain. They had hoped that the 2 American brand cars they purchased in 1988 would have lasted more than 3 years. The Chevy Sonoma and Eagle Premier were classic lemons with too many problems to even list. Because of the major financial burden of keeping these to vehicles - both were sold at fire sale prices. As a side note, these tow vehicles were under warranty. It was a fight at the dealership everytime to get any kind of warranty service. Three out of four times my father just bought the parts and fixed it himself rather than deal with the frustrations of the service department.

With the money they got from the two cars, they bought a used Honda Accord -1986 vintage with 67,000 miles on the odometer. They drove it to 153,000 miles by 1995 when they traded it in for a new 1995 Honda Accord. They still have that 1995 Honda Accord which has reached 238,000 miles. Neither of these two Hondas needed any fixing except for the usual maintenance - oil change, air filter, wiper blades, brake pads and tires. My father who used to pray that the family cars would go another mile, now prays that the Honda will die so he can get another one.

If you are still reading, you may argue that American brand cars have changed a lot since 1988. I'm sure they are better now but in 2001 a family member bought a Chevy Malibu and within 3 yrs of ownership had problems with the alternator, struts, A/C, back power windows, and rear trunk latch.

I personally own a 2005 Mercedes E320. My two dream cars - 1970 Ford Boss 302 Mustang and a 1978 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am. If American brand cars can build inspiring cars without having shadows of bean-counter cost savings, price it right, reliable like a Honda and have quality dealer support - I'm all in.

RIAA Claims Ripping CDs for Personal Use is Illegal (Switched)

Dec 11th 2007 4:56PM The RIAA is going to be a complete joke a few year from now. An irrelevant organization that is trying to take its last stand. Of course its last stand is being dirty and trying to sue everyone. If they had it there way, we would pay for the $18 CD and listen to it once, alone, and then throw it away in the garbage. What we have are rich old bastards using young retarded lawyers to make some "old money". Some of these old bastards at RIAA also own stock in Apple and other tech companies they are trying to stop. Talk about need to get an ass kickn!

Peeved Bill Gates Says Everyone Copies Microsoft (Switched)

Dec 10th 2007 5:52PM I guess there are some people here defending Bill Gates. Most come up with something like this:

1. Well he was smarter than you since he's the richest guy in the world.

2. Microsoft had the sense to capitalize on key technologies.

3. Well thank goodness for Gates and company hence the whole IT support and tech world would be a lot smaller.

I believe all ideas are a rip-off of another. There are very few unique ideas out there if you review any patent directory. I do have a beef with Microsoft though. It's two fold:

1. They initially ripped-off everybody and did a lot of hack jobs to start their company.

2. Once they created their empire, they stifled competition by threatening other companies and/or acquired them.

There's a thing called "organic" growth where a business innovates and develops new products from within. MS has used unfair dirty business tactics to grow its business. It has no organic growth at all. The only thing I give MS is there ability to continue to acquire, copy, and destroy the computer industry. Without MS we would have a more competitive computer industry.

Clinton Loses General Election (Politics Daily)

Nov 27th 2007 9:41PM I don't care for this pre-mature survey. It doesn't predict anything and only serves to catch headlines. With that said, I'm annoyed that the current Democrat GOP contenders. Obama is a major fake - smooth talker and with recent news about his womanizing, no surprise. McCain is just a grumpy old guy. Guiliani the guy whole stole all of the credits for 9/11 and another womanizer. Hillary Clinton, what can I say? She was womanized by her womanizer husband. She was ranked one of the top 200 female lawyers and we just love those bloodsucking lawyers. Is this the best the Dems have? Slim pickings and I'm thinking I may have to look at an independent this time around.

Sony retracts 1080i fix statement, leaving customers in lurch (Engadget HD)

Dec 5th 2006 11:10PM I'm learning this the hard way and it's really pissing me off. It's absolutely ridiculous that Sony doesn't state these compatibility issues. No where is it listed on the box or documentation. Basically if you don't have 720p and or 1080p you are screwed. Several reports say this affects older HDTVs that don't support 720p/1080p. I have a Sony and Zenith HD tv set. Is a 2 year old and a 3 year old CRT based HDTV set really old school? I run HD cable service and the XBOX360 and run everything at 1080i. ZERO problem and never would have even thought it would be an issue.

Basically - I'm playing Gears of War at 480p - no 1080i support at all. While 480p is not shabby it's not HD and doesn't provide widescreen viewing.

Playing BluRay movies at 1080i makes my Zenith turn on and off every 7-8 seconds. It's annoying because when I can see it running at 1080i it's great for 7 seconds then the screen blanks out for 4 seconds. On occasions I was able to watch a complete BluRay movie without it flicking on and off.

On another note... setting up the wireless connection was a real pain in the butt. I had to completely change my wireless security setup just to get it to connect. It took me two days just to figure out how to get online. It's embarrassing considering I've setup maybe a dozen wireless appliances in the past without a hitch.

I've never encountered a console machine with so many fatal flaws. And I mean "FATAL" flaws. I've already got this piece of sh#$*@t on Craigslist because I simply don't need this much aggravation to play video games.

The new CEO of Sony Entertainment I squarely blame with these problems.

I'm a big Sony fan and was rooting for the PS3. I bought the XBOX360 last year as an "interim" machine while I waited for the PS3. The logic was to sell my XBOX360 after getting the PS3. Now after just owning the PS3 for less than a week, I'm fed up with the continued list of problems.

Observation: I've been switching back and forth between playing the XBOX 360 and PS3 and I'm having a hard time believing that the top rated game Resistance Fall of Man for the PS3 is a "next generation" game. I'm playing Gears of War and Ghost Recon Advanced Warfare on the XBOX 360 and by far they are superior games to Resistance (not just in graphics but in overall gameplay).

FYI - I'm posting this message on as many forums to help other frustrated users. This is not because I want to take it out on Sony. It's my duty to inform others because I've been thankful with all of the useful info I've found on the web which has made my life easier.

PS3: Sony Botches Blu-Ray Playback? (DV Guru)

Dec 5th 2006 11:00PM Commenter #2... don't be such a brat. Just because it works for you doesn't mean it works for everyone.

I'm learning this the hard way and it's really pissing me off. It's absolutely ridiculous that Sony doesn't state these compatibility issues. No where is it listed on the box or documentation. Basically if you don't have 720p and or 1080p you are screwed. Several reports say this affects older HDTVs that don't support 720p/1080p. I have a Sony and Zenith HD tv set. Is a 2 year old and a 3 year old CRT based HDTV set really old school? I run HD cable service and the XBOX360 and run everything at 1080i. ZERO problem and never would have even thought it would be an issue.

Basically - I'm playing Gears of War at 480p - no 1080i support at all. While 480p is not shabby it's not HD and doesn't provide widescreen viewing.

Playing BluRay movies at 1080i makes my Zenith turn on and off every 7-8 seconds. It's annoying because when I can see it running at 1080i it's great for 7 seconds then the screen blanks out for 4 seconds. On occasions I was able to watch a complete BluRay movie without it flicking on and off.

On another note... setting up the wireless connection was a real pain in the butt. I had to completely change my wireless security setup just to get it to connect. It took me two days just to figure out how to get online. It's embarrassing considering I've setup maybe a dozen wireless appliances in the past without a hitch.

I've never encountered a console machine with so many fatal flaws. And I mean "FATAL" flaws. I've already got this piece of sh#$*@t on Craigslist because I simply don't need this much aggravation to play video games.

The new CEO of Sony Entertainment I squarely blame with these problems.

I'm a big Sony fan and was rooting for the PS3. I bought the XBOX360 last year as an "interim" machine while I waited for the PS3. The logic was to sell my XBOX360 after getting the PS3. Now after just owning the PS3 for less than a week, I'm fed up with the continued list of problems.

Observation: I've been switching back and forth between playing the XBOX 360 and PS3 and I'm having a hard time believing that the top rated game Resistance Fall of Man for the PS3 is a "next generation" game. I'm playing Gears of War and Ghost Recon Advanced Warfare on the XBOX 360 and by far they are superior games to Resistance (not just in graphics but in overall gameplay).

FYI - I'm posting this message on as many forums to help other frustrated users. This is not because I want to take it out on Sony. It's my duty to inform others because I've been thankful with all of the useful info I've found on the web which has made my life easier.

Sony will lovingly fix that pesky 720p problem (Joystiq Playstation)

Dec 5th 2006 10:39PM I'm learning this the hard way and it's really pissing me off. It's absolutely ridiculous that Sony doesn't state these compatibility issues. No where is it listed on the box or documentation. Basically if you don't have 720p and or 1080p you are screwed. Several reports say this affects older HDTVs that don't support 720p/1080p. I have a Sony and Zenith HD tv set. Is a 2 year old and a 3 year old CRT based HDTV set really old school? I run HD cable service and the XBOX360 and run everything at 1080i. ZERO problem and never would have even thought it would be an issue.

Basically - I'm playing Gears of War at 480p - no 1080i support at all. While 480p is not shabby it's not HD and doesn't provide widescreen viewing.

Playing BluRay movies at 1080i makes my Zenith turn on and off every 7-8 seconds. It's annoying because when I can see it running at 1080i it's great for 7 seconds then the screen blanks out for 4 seconds. On occasions I was able to watch a complete BluRay movie without it flicking on and off.

On another note... setting up the wireless connection was a real pain in the butt. I had to completely change my wireless security setup just to get it to connect. It took me two days just to figure out how to get online. It's embarrassing considering I've setup maybe a dozen wireless appliances in the past without a hitch.

I've never encountered a console machine with so many fatal flaws. And I mean "FATAL" flaws. I've already got this piece of sh#$*@t on Craigslist because I simply don't need this much aggravation to play video games.

The new CEO of Sony Entertainment I squarely blame with these problems.

I'm a big Sony fan and was rooting for the PS3. I bought the XBOX360 last year as an "interim" machine while I waited for the PS3. The logic was to sell my XBOX360 after getting the PS3. Now after just owning the PS3 for less than a week, I'm fed up with the continued list of problems.

Observation: I've been switching back and forth between playing the XBOX 360 and PS3 and I'm having a hard time believing that the top rated game Resistance Fall of Man for the PS3 is a "next generation" game. I'm playing Gears of War and Ghost Recon Advanced Warfare on the XBOX 360 and by far they are superior games to Resistance (not just in graphics but in overall gameplay).

FYI - I'm posting this message on as many forums to help other frustrated users. This is not because I want to take it out on Sony. It's my duty to inform others because I've been thankful with all of the useful info I've found on the web which has made my life easier.

PS3: HDMI doesn't like you (Joystiq)

Dec 5th 2006 10:31PM I'm learning this the hard way and it's really pissing me off. It's absolutely ridiculous that Sony doesn't state these compatibility issues. No where is it listed on the box or documentation. Basically if you don't have 720p and or 1080p you are screwed. Several reports say this affects older HDTVs that don't support 720p/1080p. I have a Sony and Zenith HD tv set. Is a 2 year old and a 3 year old CRT based HDTV set really old school? I run HD cable service and the XBOX360 and run everything at 1080i. ZERO problem and never would have even thought it would be an issue.

Basically - I'm playing Gears of War at 480p - no 1080i support at all. While 480p is not shabby it's not HD and doesn't provide widescreen viewing.

Playing BluRay movies at 1080i makes my Zenith turn on and off every 7-8 seconds. It's annoying because when I can see it running at 1080i it's great for 7 seconds then the screen blanks out for 4 seconds. On occasions I was able to watch a complete BluRay movie without it flicking on and off.

On another note... setting up the wireless connection was a real pain in the butt. I had to completely change my wireless security setup just to get it to connect. It took me two days just to figure out how to get online. It's embarrassing considering I've setup maybe a dozen wireless appliances in the past without a hitch.

I've never encountered a console machine with so many fatal flaws. And I mean "FATAL" flaws. I've already got this piece of sh#$*@t on Craigslist because I simply don't need this much aggravation to play video games.

The new CEO of Sony Entertainment I squarely blame with these problems.

I'm a big Sony fan and was rooting for the PS3. I bought the XBOX360 last year as an "interim" machine while I waited for the PS3. The logic was to sell my XBOX360 after getting the PS3. Now after just owning the PS3 for less than a week, I'm fed up with the continued list of problems.

Observation: I've been switching back and forth between playing the XBOX 360 and PS3 and I'm having a hard time believing that the top rated game Resistance Fall of Man for the PS3 is a "next generation" game. I'm playing Gears of War and Ghost Recon Advanced Warfare on the XBOX 360 and by far they are superior games to Resistance (not just in graphics but in overall gameplay).

FYI - I'm posting this message on as many forums to help other frustrated users. This is not because I want to take it out on Sony. It's my duty to inform others because I've been thankful with all of the useful info I've found on the web which has made my life easier.