Archive for January, 2011
An ATV is not a toy and is a machine that should be respected and taken seriously, or the potential for injury is great. It is true that many ATV injuries occur every year, especially with children. When children do not wear protective gear, are not supervised, and do not ride in a safe manner, the potential for injury is great. However, with the proper precautions the chances for injury are greatly reduced.
ATV’s are not too dangerous for children, providing that you and your child take the necessary safety precautions. If your child does not have the right attitude towards ATV’s, they do not wear safety gear, and are not supervised while riding, then yes, an ATV is too dangerous for them. But, if you plan on teaching your child safe driving practices, have them wear safety gear, and supervise them, an ATV can be a safe and enjoyable pastime.
One of the most important things you can do to keep your child safe on an ATV is to teach them safety practices and give them the right attitude about ATV’s. If you assume that your child will not view an ATV as a toy and will drive it responsibly without any instruction, you are probably asking for trouble. Taking an ATV safety course with your child is a great way to tech them safe driving practices, and in many places it is required before your child can ride.
Never assume that your child will be responsible right off the bat, they need to be taught how to responsibly drive and supervised to make sure they follow safety protocol. If you drive an ATV as well, you should try to set a good example by always wearing your safety gear and riding safely.
If your child does not wear safety gear, then an ATV is too dangerous for them. Many ATV injuries involving children are preventable if the child had been wearing safety gear. Everyone who rides an ATV should always wear a helmet, goggles, and gloves. The best way to get your child to wear safety gear is to wear it yourself and set a good example. Durable pants and a jacket designed for ATV riding are also a good idea as they can protect from scrapes and abrasions. If you do not intend to enforce the use of safety gear, then do not get your child an ATV as unprotected rides face the biggest risk of injury.
While there are many injuries involving kids and ATV’s, with the proper precautions they are not too dangerous for kids. As long as kids know the rules of safe driving and obey them, they should stay safe. It is a parent’s responsibility to keep their kids safe and to always supervise them.
If you do not think your child is mature enough to handle the responsibility of safe driving, wait until they are older to get them an ATV. Kids should only drive an ATV that is the correct size and should always be supervised. If kids follow the rules and parents enforce them, ATV riding can be fun and safe.
The Dell W3207C is a feature packed 32 inch LCD high definition that is well worth its price of $1200. It has received great scores and passed every test it has been put through thus far. The W3207C also features a beautiful design that will look good in every home.
Included in its design is both an NTSC and ATSC tuner for analog and digital signals. When all signals change to digital in the near future, you won’t have to worry about getting extra connectors to still view broadcasting channels.
When viewed under a steady test of different lighting situations, the Dell W3207C passed easily. Even the brightest fluorescent did not obstruct your view on screen. Regardless of the harsh lights, it was easy to see bright and beautiful colors in varying contrast.
The Dell W3207C features a color scheme of silver and black and this makes it stand out beautifully in a way that an all black HDTV would not be able to. The TV is lifted off the floor by a base that matches the two toned color and it the base moves and turns for easy viewing and free movement.
The remote is also two toned to match the TV and its design is more reminiscent of a portable media player than a basic remote control. It also has a central control pad that is similar to the touchpad of the iPod player. Instead of soft touch control, the pad moves using four different buttons. While the remote is nice to look at, it unfortunately will not allow you to use it as a universal remote for other electronics such as a DVD player.
Even with this small fault, the remote is structured and organized to prevent confusion and to allow ease of use. When you pull up the menu on the HDTV you will find that it is as easy to use as the remote controls.
Square controls on the right side of the TV are easy to reach if not to read. You can find it difficult to see what the label reads, but a quick glance at the instructions will soon clear up any confusion involving the controls.
The only real issue that makes itself present in the Dell W3207C, concerns the audio capabilities. As you listen to what is being played, you will notice that the sound is not as exciting as you hoped it would be. In fact it is down right flat but the use of the Surround XT can give the sound a small boost. The speakers are supposed to be the very same ones placed on their previous model but the sound in the Dell W3207C seems a lot more inferior. The sound was not as clear or crisp and adjusting the audio controls did not do much to improve the sound.
The only other difference between the speakers is that you are not able to detach them like you could with the previous models. The inability to place the speakers around your media room in key locations is also a bad feature in the W3207C.
For a good HDTV at a reasonable price, this is definitely a great option. The design is beautiful, the remote is easy to use and setup is a snap. Picture quality is exquisite and you will be able to enjoy anything you choose to watch on this flat screen TV.
One of the biggest features that people want when they purchase a cell phone is simplicity. Apple knows what customers want, and they take created the Apple iPhone with this in mind. This is one of the reasons this phone has become so popular. It is easy to stay in touch with your iPhone. Playing around with the iPhone is so much fun. However, the iPhone has missed on a couple of points. There is a downside to the iPhone. It is not the perfect peripheral that it proclaims to be. Some of the issues are with the battery, memory, and AT&T.
What – there is a downside to the iPhone? Actually, there are several. The first issue is with memory. It is not possible to upgrade or add to the iPhones memory. You have either 6 GB, 8 GB, or a 16 GB model and that is it. If you love to download content and music, you will quickly find yourself running out of space. This means loading and unloading content from your iPhone to your computer. Nothing is more annoying than starting a download and finding out you cannot complete it because your memory is too low. This was one area that Apple missed on. Teenagers can download an amazing amount of music and video content. Having the option to use memory sticks would have been a nice feature.
Many iPhone users are unhappy with the fact that the iPhone battery is sealed and cannot be changed. The overall consensus with the current owners is that they were not warned about the battery situation. Apple is being sued about the iPhone battery and the lack of disclosure on the fact it cannot be changed. I agree with the users here. If you shell out $500-$600 for a phone and it dies in 6 months, you are going to be pretty upset. The ability to change cell phone batteries is standard within the cell phone industry. Perhaps apple would have been better off with making money on battery replacements and this would have many users happy and Apple out of court. Short battery life is the number one complaint of heavy cell phone users. This is another downside to the iPhone.
Finally, the calling plans that AT&T offers for the iPhone leave a lot to be desired. Lacking calling plans that allow free usage between AT&T users, or calling circles, or other forms of unlimited use, AT&T has fallen behind all of the other cell phone carriers. Furthermore, limits on area coverage and interruptions in service reduce the cell phone user’s sense of freedom. This is why most of us chose to have a cell phone – the ability to roam and call when and where we please. The iPhone and AT&T really shaft the consumer on the exclusive contract between the two. AT&T has no incentive to give better rates to iPhone users because they legally cannot go anywhere else. Roaming charges and fees for the iPhone are astronomical. This is a downside to the iPhone and it is compounded by the fact that hackers have found a way to unlock these phones so they can be used on other cell phone networks. Apple set itself up for this one, and until the exclusivity is removed, the hackers are going to be right there breaking into every code update that Apple releases.
Apple has been making computers and peripheral devices for many years now. You would have thought that they would have put a little more effort into researching the effects on users that memory, battery life, and availability of an affordable cell phone plan would have on potential users. I foresee a decline in the iPhones popularity due to these concerns. Hackers will keep having a field day with unlocking iPhones until the agreement between AT&T and Apple expires, or it gets sent to the courts. It will be interesting to see how the battery issues turn out in court. There is a downside to the iPhone and Apple has done nothing to fix it.