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Fellowes Flat Screen Dust Cover
by chrisandmark
About 17 years ago I worked as a copy typist in a huge office that housed around 50 computers, as the office junior part of my job was to go around at the end of the day shutting down the computers that had been left on and sliding onto each one huge and very ghastly looking monitor covers which were the size of a Sainsbury's carrier bag ... and made the office look horribly untidy. So I wasn't exactly over the moon when Mark asked me to source and buy a monitor cover for the flat screen monitor located in Hollie's bedroom, having spent years turning this room into a girly utopia the last thing I wanted was an ill-fitting ugly piece of plastic covering her monitor.
The problem was dust getting into the back; Hollie uses this flat screen monitor as her television as it has all the necessary ports for connecting her games console and a basic DVD player, located in the very corner of her room however meant it was awkward to get behind it to dust the back without stretching so far over that I was in danger of toppling the monitor/television completely. I knew Mark was right, but was determined to buy something that looked more attractive than the circa 1994 monitor covers I remembered - and I hit gold with this Fellowes Flat Screen Dust Cover which I found in Staples priced at around £5.
The dust covers are available to purchase singly for home use or in various sized packs to suit the needs of an office environment, glancing at the pricing I can't say it works out much cheaper buying ten rather than one dust cover so there was little point stocking up with half a dozen dust covers as I was planning if the larger sized packs had been saving me a fortune. There are two different sized covers in this Fellowes range; one to fit a flat screen monitor of 14" - 16" and the one I bought which is suitable for a monitor measuring 17" - 19".
It's very easy to fit, you simply need to slide the dust cover over your monitor and ensure the long flap at the back is sitting neatly over your cables. This flap prevents the cover itself being pulled out of shape by cables or any USB device you happen to have poking out of the bottom of your monitor - obviously, if your cables are in an odd place you may struggle with this slimline cover but for our monitor it's the perfect design for both tidiness and workability. I like the size and shaping of the dust cover as it slides smoothly onto the monitor and is a reasonably tight fit, but doesn't require any faffing around or struggling to push it all the way down to the base. When fitted it looks smart and tidy, there's no weighting in the hem which I was surprised about as on the demonstration cover in Staples it appeared to be weighted to ensure it wouldn't start flapping around in any breeze - after getting it home and fitting it to our monitor however I realised the fit meant it didn't need weighing down anyway as the subtle tapered style keeps it in place beautifully.
The dust cover is made of vinyl rather than the PVC of monitor covers of yesteryear. This gives it a semi-clear finish which looks so much nicer than the vaguely nicotine hued covers I remember, you can't see through it to the point of being able to watch a television programme while the cover is fitted but on occasion Hollie activates the built in screensaver on her monitor-cum-television and the bright swirly shapes actually look better through the vinyl! Very psychedelic!
This dust cover works a treat. From the first day we used it (on a dusted-in-preparation monitor) I've been impressed by the amount of dust that collects on the surface of the cover. Of course, I'm never impressed with dust usually but in this instance the more that is stuck to the cover the better as this would usually be trickling its way into vents, nooks and crannies of the monitor and causing untold issues inside it. As the dust cover has anti-static properties it doesn't attract dust to itself that would otherwise not be there, I suspect these properties are also useful for some other aspect of keeping your monitor healthy but I have no idea what - all I know is that they're there!
Every couple of days I remove the dust cover and rinse it under the tap to get rid of any dust that has accumulated on it, being made of such a smooth material means it's usually dry enough to put back on within a few minutes and only the bottom hem seems to retain moisture for slightly longer - I'd guesstimate everything being dry well within fifteen minutes and as I tend to rinse it while Hollie is watching a film it's not really a big deal if it takes a little longer. Despite regular removal and washing, the cover has not become misshapen over time and is as easy as ever to fit when the time comes to place it back over the monitor, something I've been quite surprised about considering how saggy this style of monitor cover can become over a relatively short period of time - and that sentence I credit to my brother in law who stated yesterday that he buys £2 dust covers which sag to the point of being useless very quickly, he's going to buy this Fellowes one next as the initial outlay might be higher but the cheaper ones he buys have proved to be a ridiculously false economy.
I'm very pleased with this purchase and don't hesitate to recommend it to anyone looking for a similar product, obviously ours is used for a slightly different purpose than it would be for most people who are looking to buy a monitor cover but the end result is the same - a well fitting cover which looks fairly nice and protects the screen and back of the monitor from dust and other household debris.
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Samsung SSG-2100AB
by jlaker1992
We recently purchased a Samsung smart tele which also has the 3D feature on it. Because of our sky package we can view the sky 3D channel and thought it would be great for movies and sport such as football and tennis which are on it sometimes. We also wanted to be able to watch 3D films. The tv we purchased included a pair of these for ... free, we managed to get curry's to give is another pair free with the tele which we believed to be good as they were selling these for around £40 each at the time! I will now go into a little more detail on them and what it is like to watch 3D television at home.
Comfort:
These fit nicely over your face and cover your eyes completely, they also sit nicely on your nose and do not feel uncomfortable after using for a while. It does feel strange to be watching tele with these on your face though. overall they feel nice and after a while you will get used top wearing them.
How do they work:
I am not an expert of 3D tele or how these actually work. But I can tell you that they have a button on the side which you press when you are facing the tele. This will then turn them on. When you put them on without the tv on they will appear dark, then when you face the tele and turn them on properly, they will connect you the tele and the 3d channel will look great!
Good picture?:
I am so amazed at the quality of the image you see from the screen. I recently watched a football match using these and the game was really clear and much better than HD, you felt like you were there at times. Films are also brilliant and save you money going to the cinema! I wasn't expecting these to be any good, but they are fantastic and the technology to have this at home is brilliant. You will enjoy it.
Negatives:
Obviously the main negatives are that you are going to have to have these on your face when watching 3D, it looks a little silly at times. Also they are very expensive and if you have a large family then you will need a few
Pairs. You can't watch the 3D channel without these because it is very blurry and will hurt your eyes. I wish these were cheaper because we would buy a few more pairs so that when mates and family come found we could have a 3D night infromt of our tele. Also if you look away from the tele, it will take a while to re focus back onto the screen.
Overall:
These seem rather basic, but cost a lot! They are good to use at home and are made to a high quality! They are 100x more comfy than the ones you get free at the cinema. I have tried other 3D glasses in stores when looking for a new tv and these were the best for quality and also they looked the best. I'm happy with these and they have got a lot of use so far and haven't stopped working at all. they are fragile so if giving to a child I would advise you supervise as there not really going to work as a toy!
These get 4 stars from me, they have worked well. They lose a star because of the price it costs to get new ones!
Thanks for reading my review :) josh
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AF Screen-Clene Duo
by Randal
There are times when I'm out and about using my laptop somewhere and I've suddenly noticed that my screen was full of dust and finger marks. In the past, I used to try and get away with just wiping it down with a slightly damped tissue, but that often left smears, which in some office lighting or daylight just made it worse. Then we ... had a delivery in the office of a few boxes of these AF Screen-Clene Duo wipes, and I thought these might be the answer to my prayers.
Not sure how much the company paid for them because they were part of a larger stationary order, but on Amazon, they currently retail for about £4, where you get a box containing 20 packets of these AF Screen Clene Duo wipes. Now the clue is in the title - Duo, meaning 2, because in each little packet, you get 2 wipes - one for wiping on and one for wiping off (Wax on, wax off from Karate Kid springs to mind for some reason???) but it is a little bit more scientific that just that.
Each cloth is a sort of micro fibre material, so soft enough not too scratch your screen, but just abrasive enough to remove any dirt. With the first cloth, you have some assistance in the form of a cleaning fluid that has been impregnated on to the cloth, a little bit like window cleaning fluid that you would buy in a supermarket. The idea is that you open out the cloth and wipe down whatever screen you want to clean, be it your laptop, TV or smartphone screen (it works equally well on all 3 - I've tried!!). The cloth is not dripping wet with the fluid, but more just moderately damped, and hence the combination of using the micro fibre cloth with the impregnated cleaning fluid is sufficient enough to remove pretty much all dirt and smears from your screen.
Once you have done that, you then get out cloth 2, which is a dry cloth. By the time that you do this, most of the cleaning fluid has already evaporated from your screen, and hence, you use this dry cloth to just polish your screen to a nice streak free shine. When you've finished, you just through both clothes away in the bin. So a very simple process overall and hence, the wipe on and wipe off bit I mentioned before.
Of note, what was also particularly attractive about the individual packets were that they were small enough to put into your jacket or trouser pocket, or in your handbag without be too bulky. Hence, they were very easy to carry around with you to have them readily available when required.
Negative points? Well they are just a one use only item, in that you use them once to clean your screen and then throw them away. For a time I did try to reseal them in the packet to try and save them for a second or third use at screen cleaning to try and get better value for my money. However, the problem was that the cleaning fluid just dried out over time, leaving you with just 2 dry cloths, and hence, your streak free cleaning process was slightly thwarted when you came to use them again.
Another point which perhaps is more how you use them rather than what they do is when you come to clean your screen with the damp cloth. Most people would just wipe the screen back and forth, up and down and round and round. But if your screen is particularly dirty or dusty, you just end up with dirt streaks across your screen which you then have to tackle again. What I've found useful is to just wipe the screen from one side to the other, say left to right, in horizontal strips working down the screen. Then I finish off by wiping down the right hand side of the screen where all the dirt has been collected during the previous wipes. This process then tends to leave the screen a lot cleaner after using the first cloth.
In summary, this is a particularly effective cleaning process for you screen, such as a TV, computer or smartphone, and the process does achieve very good results. But that one use only bit is a little bit of a flaw, and hence, can get a little bit expensive if you really want to keep your screen very clean. So overall, I would give this 5 stars for the cleaning performance, but when you bring in that one use issue, I think it comes down to only 4 stars overall.
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