Shinycroak

[Edited 2010.08.02 to add lapel and headworn singer's microphones.  2010.08.08 change "singer" to "performer and announcer"] Since The Raven now works long-distance for a large government lab (LGL) which shall remain nameless, he has had to acquire a comfortable high-quality headset for long on-line conversations. Headsets turn out to be an area where a large amount of design and research has been invested. There are numerous types of earphones and microphones, signal processors, and devices. I've only scratched the surface of the market, and I came up with the following incomplete set of options: Wired or "corded" vs. wireless. Wireless sets sometimes include Bluetooth at considerable expense. Audio processing Basic telephony set. High-quality telephone set—includes audio processor. Some versions provide wideband sound reproduction, but this doesn't work with the actual telephone network, which is still bandwidth limited to 300-3300 Hz. ...

Restocking fees and non-refundable deposits are the same thing. Many products are now sold in this way, and sometimes we don't find out that there's a non-refundable deposit until we go to return the unsatisfactory product. With the relaxation of regulation and fraud prosecution, such deceptive selling practices, long abandoned, have made a comeback. The marked price of goods is no longer their real price; instead, there are many hidden charges. The hidden charges may appear beforehand, like shipping charges, or afterwards, like the non-refundable deposit, which bites when the product turns out to be unsatisfactory. The price of a product becomes the stated price, plus whatever the hidden charges are, and buyer beware. Do not, also, underestimate the costs of time in a purchase. An online purchase from a distant seller may in fact have a lower price, even after shipping charges are included, but by the time it has been shipped and received, and possibly exchanged once or tw...