Product review: BasicWu Power Strip Multi Outlet Smart 6-Outlet with 4-USB Output Surge Protection Tower Power Strip

My review is for the 2 level power strip.

This tower power strips work very well in tight spaces. It has a very small foot print yet accepts large plugs next to each other. The AC outlets are well spaced out. This is a very clever design.

The strip has a 111.5" cord and a regular size grounded plug. The outlets on the tower itself accept plugs with not only the plugs we use in USA but international plugs as well. Until recently this was as "I don't care" feature. However, recently I purchased a photo light stands which had a power plug which is common in Europe and Asia instead of the one we use in USA. Instead of purchasing a converter I am able to use this tower power strip to plug them in.

In addition to 6 AC outlets this tower also has 4 USB outlets - two 2A ports and two 1A ports. I tested each USB port with a current monitor an Android device and an Apple device. It charged each of them at an optimal rate on two of the outlets, and a slower USB rate on the other two. Ipad Mini worked best on 2A port and Android on the 1A port. The ports are not labeled. You can see which ports perform better for each device in my photos which show the current meter. Use the position of the power cord to help you map the ports: the USB ports closer to the cord are the 2A ports.

To see how well different chargers and external batteries charge my mobile devices I use a Nexus phone and an iPadMini to test each of them. I do my tests with the devices charged to the same level, running the same applications and using the same cables to keep everything the same. This allows me to compare them to each other in a fair way. I use the current monitor to see what current is delivered to each device which tells me how well each external battery is working.

I love the shape of this power strip, it gave me more than enough outlets in the area which barely has any space.

This power strip is provided by BasicWu for testing and review. Getting a free product to test does not prevent me from leaving critical reviews when the product warrant it. However, this is not one of them.


You can find it on Amazon by following this link.



Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: AUKEY 37MM Professional Cell Phone Camera Circular Polarizer Lens Kit for Smartphones

This polarizer lens works very well. It rotates smoothly and easily on its holder, it does not block my camera lens (no vignetting).

In attached video you can see the polarization effect using a polarizer test card - you can see the full effect from no image, to black image, and then to white image.

Beside the filter and the filter holder the package also include two lens covers (for both ends of the lens), a cloth pouch, and a cleaning cloth.

I received this lens kit for testing and review. I like it! Good polarization, good fit for for my phone, smooth rotation.


You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: Maxchange32GB Class 10 Micro SDHC Memory Card with SD Adapter

The definition of class 10 micro sd card is minimum write rate of10MB/s. I run benchmarks on this micro-sd card a number of times and I am getting average write rate of 7.8 MB/s. This meets the requirements for class 6 micro sd card. The read rates are reasonable, but the average access time is also slow. I want to see access times below 1 msec. I repeated the benchmark tests several time and I getting very consistent results. I ran these tests on the same 3.0 USB port using the same adapter that gives me class 10 performance on other micro USB cards.

Here are two sample results of the set I ran for Maxchange card:

Using USB 3.0 port (sample test 1)
' Average read rate 78.7 MB/s
' Average write rate 7.8 MB/s
' Average access time 3.88 msec

Using USB 3.0 port (sample test 2)
' Average read rate 76.2 MB/s
' Average write rate 7.1 MB/s
' Average access time 4.01 msec

Using the sd adapter included in the package did not introduce additional delays.

If you are looking for class 10 micro sd card you should look elsewhere.

This SD card is provided by Maxchange for evaluation and review. Getting an evaluation product does not prevent me from writing critical reviews when my tests show that the product falls short of the performance of class 10 memory card, which is how it is described currently in the Amazon description.


You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★☆☆☆

Product review: Yogurt Starter Cultures - Pack of 10 Freeze-dried Culture Sachets for BIO Yogurt

I have been making my own yogurt for over a year. This is my first experience with bio yogurt culture. I thought the yogurt made from it tasted sweeter (without adding anything sweet) than the yogurt made from acidophilus culture.

I own an electric yogurt incubator (Epica) which holds the temperature at the right temperature while the culture is incubating. The electric yogurt maker is not a requirement for making your own yogurt but it makes it easier to keep the temperature at the right level. The entire process is very simple. All I have to do is mix the yogurt culture into milk brought to the right temperature and pour it into jars. Then the jars have to be kept at the right temperature for 12 or so hours. The key is to keep the yogurt culture at a steady temperature and a steady position (no moving or shaking) during the incubation period.

While experimenting with yogurt making I have tried 2% milk with and without pre-boiling, whole milk with and without pre-boiling, and goat milk with pre-boiling. I also made a couple of batches just changing the length of incubation to get an idea of what difference that makes. Sometimes I add a straining step at the end to make Greek-style yogurt (2 hours of straining is all I do). There were two things that made a big difference in the results: whether I pre-boil milk or not and whether I am using whole milk. Both pre-boiling and using whole milk creates significantly thicker yogurt.

After the incubation the yogurt needs to refrigerated. Refrigeration stops the incubation process. Home-made yogurst taste great by itself, but sometime for variety I add fruit, maple syrup, or honey. I add very little just for a light flavoring. My yogurt tastes better than store bought! Note that yogurt should be consumed within 1 week.

This yogurt starter is provided for evaluation and review by Natural Probiotic Selection.


You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: SmartyPants Women's Complete Gummy Vitamins

I like the taste of these vitamins so much that it takes self-control to stop with a daily dose of 6 gummies. They are not as chewy like a typical gummy bear, they are softer more like a fruit candy. I like both the flavor and the texture. On the negative side, the daily dose 6 gummies means that the bottle of 180 vitamins will last 30 days. With the current price of slightly of $30 dollars this is a dollar a day. Pretty pricey!

The flavor is fruity, there is no fishy flavor even though the vitamins contain Omega-3. I have tried other vitamins that included Omega-3 in non capsule form and I could always detect (and not like) the fishy flavor. In these vitamins I do not detect any fishy flavor.

For those who are vegetarians or keep kosher I should note that the gelatin used in these vitamins is made from pork.

These vitamins contain all natural ingredients. I noticed that the list of ingredients is hard to read in the stock photo, so I copied it from the bottle to make it easier to read:

Size: 6 GummiesServings Per Container 30
Calories 50
Cholesterol <5mg < 1%
Total Carbohydrate 11 g 4%
Sugars 7 g
Vitamin A (as retinyl palmitate) 1500 IU 30%
Vitamin C (as ascoraic acid) 60 mg 100%
Vitamin D (Vitamin D-3 as cholecalciferol) 1000 IU 250%
Vitamin E (as d-alpha-tocopherol from sunflower ) 30 IU 100%
Vitamin K (Vitamin K-2 as menaquinone) 32 meg 40%
Thiamin (Vitamin B-1 as thiamme mononitrate) 0.08 mg 5%
Riboflauin 0.26 mg 15%
Niacin (Vitamin B-3 as niacinamide) 4 mg 20%
Vitamin B-6 (as pyridoxme HCI) 2 mg 1 00%
Folate (as L-methylfolate, calcium salt) 400 meg 1 00%
Vitamin B-12 (as methylcobalamin) 100 meg 1 667%
Biotm 300 meg 1 00%
Pantothenic acid (as calcium D-pantothenate) 10 mg 100%
Iodine (as potassium iodide) 150 meg 100%
Zinc (as zinc citrate) 4.5 mg 30%
Sodium 25 mg <1%
Fish Oil (from anchovy and sardine) 510mg
EPA (Eicosapentaenoic Acid) 83 mg
DHA (Docosahexaenoic Acid) 67 mg
Total Omega-3 Fatty Acids 183 mg
CoQ10 (as Coenzyme Q10, ubiquinone] 100 mg
Choline (as choline citrate) 18 mg
Inositol 30 meg
Percent Daily Value (DV) based on a 2,000 calorie diet.

Other ingredients:
Organic cane sugar, organic tapioca syrup, gelatin, lectin, ctric acid
Natural Flavors (Orange, Lemon Creme, Blueberry)
Colors added (Organic black caroot juice, annatto, organic turmeric)
Fractionated Coconut Oil Carnauba Wax
Contains Anchovy, Sardine, Essential Omega 3 Oils from sustainable fisheries

I received this vitamins for evaluation and review. I like the flavor!

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.

Ali Julia review

Product review: Sametop Jaws Flex Clamp Mount with Adjustable Gooseneck for GoPro

This is a useful camera holder, it can be clipped anywhere and the neck is flexible and stiff. The only problem is that it that extremely stiff, I cannot open it with one hand, I need to push with two hands to open. I hope it loosens up with use but right it it is a chore to use it.

All my selfie sticks and small tripods have a double duty holding up photo light panels. These jaws are no exception. It is very useful to be able to clip lights in any place I am doing a video.

Overall, great idea, but the fact that it is so stiff right out of the box makes me rate it ok rather than great.


You can find it on Amazon by following this link.

Ali Julia review ★★☆☆☆

Product review: LEFON Mutifunctional Dual Channel Digital FM Radio Media Speaker MP3 Music Player Support TF Card / USB Disk with LED Screen Display and Clock Function (Black) LEFON Mutifunctional Dual Channel Digital FM Radio Media Speaker MP3 Music Player Support TF Card

This listing combines a large number of different radios. My review is for the one with Speaker MP3 Music Player that supports TF Card and USB stick.

This radio / mp3 player is 7" x 2.5" x 1". It has an FM tuner and can also double as an MP3 player with external speaker either from USB memory stick or micro SD card.

It has a long antenna so FM reception is pretty decent. However, my main interest in it is as an MP3 player with an external speaker. I use it to listen to audio books while doing chores listening to the external speakers. This MP3 player works very well: decent sound and portable.

It runs on 800 mAh lithium battery or from USB power. I typically have it plugged into a large external battery so the internal battery is constantly recharged and is never is out of juice.

In attached video I show all three functions. Overall, I am quite pleased with it. The only thing I do not like is the scan function for FM radio - it scans really fast you can't hear enough of the station to determine if you like it and it also does not give enough enough time to stop the scan. How to stop the scan is not documented and not intuitive. I found that I can stop it if I press any number key on the key pad. So scanning function is not good. If you know your favorite stations you can just enter its frequency on the keypad - that works very well.

I received this radio for testing and review. I covered the pluses and minuses and I hope the video gives you a view beyond what the words can describe.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.

Ali Julia review ★★★★☆