Reviews of Android apps

I've added reviews of some new Android apps at my Website:http://janehadley.net.I now have reviews of 30+ apps there.

Sleazy tactics by Comfort Inn

Hey folks - Wanted to warn you to read your hotel bill if you stay at any Choice Hotels. Here's what happened to my husband and me when we stayed at a Comfort Inn in Medford, Oregon.

When my husband signed in for a room for the night, he was asked to initial a place on the form to "acknowledge that there is a safe in the room with a limited warranty." He assumed this was the Comfort Inn saying it was not responsible for stolen items and to use the safe if we were concerned about our items being stolen.

We did not use the safe.

The next day when we went to check out, we got the bill and there was a charge of $1.50 for "Safe w/ ltd warranty." I asked the front desk what this charge was about and was told that customers are automatically charged this $1.50 for the safe. If customers do not use the safe, they must tell the desk the next day to have the charge removed.

She said Choice Hotels requires hotels in its chain to automatically charge all customers for the safe and make it the customer's responsibility to have the charge removed the next day if they do not use the safe.

This obviously is a scheme by the hotel chain to increase their revenues by adding a small charge to bills, knowing that a huge number of people do not closely read their hotel bills. My husband had no idea based on initialing the form the night before that he would be charged for the safe. A charge was never discussed.

Other Choice Hotels besides Comfort are Quality, Rodeway Inns, Sleep Inns and Clarion.

Birding Software

Here's a chart showing birdwatching software (U.S.) for cell phones, desktop and the Web, some of it free.

http://birdingwashington.info/software/

Run-flat tires

There are serious downsides to run-flat tires. Let's get the pluses out of the way first.

One plus is that if you have a flat, you can continue to drive on the tire for ~50 miles and, thus, might be able to get to a safe and convenient place to have the tire changed. That means, of course, that you aren't stuck in the dark or in bad weather on the side of the road having to do the dirty work of changing a tire.

Another plus is that you do not need to sacrifice the space to store a spare tire. In my van, that means that there is enough room for a transmission so that I can have four-wheel drive and there is also room to store the rear seats when they fold down so that the cargo area goes totally flat. This is wonderful. I love the all-wheel drive and I love the spacious, all-flat cargo area.

OK, here are the negatives.

I have a 2005 Toyota Sienna minivan. I now have close to 48,000 miles on the van and I have already gone through two sets of tires. That means that I am getting about 24,000 miles on a set of tires. (In truth, I got 32,000 miles on the first set and 15,000 miles on the second set.)

Why did I get only 15,000 miles on the second set? One of the tires apparently got a nail or screw in it at some point early on and leaked air. We were traveling in another state and I went to a Toyota dealer who refused to work on it, saying he didn't have the equipment or training. He referred me to a local tire dealer, who repaired it for $20. The official word is that you cannot repair run-flat tires, but this tire dealer did so. After the repair, the tire still leaked, but at a much slower rate. When I got back home, I took the car to the Toyota dealer who originally had put the tires on and they claimed there was nothing they could do. I continued to drive on the tires and just filled the leaking tire with air every week or two. Finally, the tire blew after I'd put about 15,000 miles on this set of tires.

My husband was driving the car and was about 80 miles from home at the time. He turned around to drive back home and got to within about 25 miles when the tire shredded to the point where he could no longer drive. He had to be towed to the nearest Toyota dealer, who told him that he must replace all four tires, because there cannot be more than a 2/32nd-inch disparity in the tread between any of the tires. Installing just one new tire would violate that rule, so all four must be replaced. Run-flats are more expensive than regular tires.

Total bill for the towing ($175) and the four new tires installed was ~$1400.

Soooo, $1400 for 15,000 miles on the tires. Not good.

Cons of run-flat tires:

1) You are advised not to repair run-flat tires, even though it appears that you can repair them. A repair probably reduces the life of the tire.

2) It is difficult to find places that will agree to work on run-flat tires. Many places, even car dealers, simply wash their hands of run-flats.

3) If a single run-flat tire has a problem, you likely will have to replace all four tires, oftentimes even if the other three tires are in good condition.

4) Run-flat tires are significantly more expensive than regular tires.

I would implore the automotive and tire industries to come up with a better solution than the current generation of run-flat tires. The current state of affairs is simply unacceptable.

When I bought my Sienna minivan new in 2005, the dealer never uttered a peep about "run-flat" tires. I had no idea that the van had run-flat tires and I had no idea what run-flat tires were. When I found out, I was not pleased. I will think twice when I go to make my next car purchase.

New Web site for birders

My husband Randy Robinson just created a new Web site for people who want to visit Washington State to find birds. This steers birders to information about where to go to find birds, which birds will be found, where to stay, etc.

http://birdingwashington.info

OK, I've finished my review of the System76 Starling Netbook. You can find it at: http://tinyurl.com/lkexet

Feel free to return to this site to comment.

New System76 Starling netbook

I recently bought a new System76 Starling netbook and will post a review soon.