Slashdot Mirror
Domain: consumerreports.com
Stories and comments across the archive that link to consumerreports.com.
Comments · 7
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Re:Thank WallMart et al.In addition to FatWallet, here are some other sites that have helped me save money.
http://bestbookbuys.com (compares prices for books accross most online bookstores)
http://consumerreports.com (untainted consumer information, subscription required)
http://edmunds.com (a good read before you buy a car)
http://insweb.com (cheap online insurance agency with a number of insurance providers)
http://www.ftc.gov (to learn your rights as a consumer or as a business)
http://forums.ebay.com/db1/forum.jsp?forum=107 (scams performed on Ebay -- good read for Ebay newcomers)
http://resellerratings.com (to check the track record of electronics resellers, some of the cheapest electronics resellers are one-fly-night operations that take your money one day, go bankrupt the next, and restart the day after under a new name)
http://pricewatch.com or http://pricescan.com (compares prices on pc hardware and electronics)
http://techbargains.com
http://bottomdollar.com -
Not true for all reviewers
I've said it before on this forum; Consumer Reports
The only problem with them (probably only a problem to slashdotters) is that they don't do in-depth computer hardware reviews; general computer reviews are about all you get.
and no... I'm not affiliated with them in any way, aside from being a happy subscriber. They accept no advertisements at all, and are entirely member-supported. If something sucks, they say so... an invaluable service for those of you that don't like throwing your money away. -
Duh
I don't mean for this to sound like a flame, but exactly what do you expect? People are biased. It might be a matter of taste, or a matter of honesty, or a matter of psychology (canonical example of the latter: Mac fans).
Read a lot of opinions, and ignore the ones that can't give supporting evidence for why their opinion is the way it is. Weigh the evidence, and decide what is important to you.
The other option is try to find publications that provide relatively unbiased comparisons of similar products. Consumer Reports is a particularly good one, although I don't always agree with how they rank things. But they generally tell you how they came to their conclusions.
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On the nature of online newsThe online news industry doesn't have reporters. It has only pundits and columnists, like Katz. There's nothing like a newspaper's city desk, sending out reporters to cover incidents. Online media haven't created anything like the Associated Press, or even the equivalent of a local TV news operation. There's no technical obstacle. But it's not happening. You'd think that LA or NY would have a local online news site where full-time reporters go out, photograph and record events, find out what happened, and the results are edited down into a news stream with hyperlinks for those who want to know more. Doesn't exist.
This is crucial. Online media don't have people out there snooping around finding the news. News, remember, is something someone doesn't want published. All else is publicity. The print media have problems with this too. Notice how much you read in newspapers and magazines stems from a press release or press conference. But they at least realize it's a problem. And because reporters traditionally start out covering accidents, fires, and crimes, they learn how to get the facts in the field.
The problem is that online media doesn't have a revenue stream. So most of it is either advertising or psuedo-advertising ("Why you should upgrade to Windows 98 / buy vinyl pants / etc.) What we have online is people commenting on stuff others put online. Original material generally is either advertising, self-promotion, or online versions of offline content.
Micropayments have been floated as a solution to this since the Ted Nelson / Xanadu days. But nobody wants to pay micropayments. All the enthusiasm for micropayments is from the collecting side. Other than porno and Consumer Reports, there are very few successful pay sites.
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People need to be smarter.. or maybe the BIOS doesTo argue that "poor helpless people" can't see the fine print that says that a machine was overclocked to the advertized MHz doesn't help much. Did you ever get help when going to a used car dealer? Did you ever get help when you went to purchase a stereo? Ok, maybe the used car dealer is dealing in used equipment and we're talking new equipment, but the idea is that things aren't always as they appear. Let's go back to the stereo. You see a 5-disc CD player for $400 and one for $200. Same thing, right? (same MHz, right?) but you bring the $200 product home and it only works for 2 months before the tray stops rotating or the laser gets out of alignment.
This could be arguing apples and oranges, but I think what I'm really trying to say is that people need to know a little more about what they buy. That is why the magazine Consumer Reports exists.
But what about those situations where the chip has been overclocked and there is no fine print? Maybe it is time that BIOS chips reported the CPU configuration. It seems that overclocking has gotten much more exposure in the last few years, and it seems that a new chipset comes out for each new processor, so why not create a hook in the chipset (for the BIOSs' sake) that reports what the chip should be running at and what it is running at? In the startup screen of your computer, report if the machine is running above it's spec'd speed. It'd be a benefit to the hackers out there who like to overclock because they can see what they've achieved, and it would be informative to the consumer because they could see that their machine is the correct chip. If Intel can write a program to detect their CPU configurations, then this should be a snap.
I guess the big thing is that Intel has been cracking down on overclockers for some time new because (supposedly) of the abuses by the resellers overclocking and repackaging. This at least would bring to the surface situations which might normally be hidden without extra software. Maybe it'll hinder Intel's efforts to block overclocking? Who knows.
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Re:What makes a computer magazine useful?In the U.S., we already have something like this, only not for computers. My family subscribes to Consumer Reports (http://www.consumerreports.com/), which is precisely what the name implies. You get product reviews and comparisons of everything, from shampoos to laser printers. The magazine has no advertising, except for its own. It also offers used car guides by request, books, and similar stuff.
Now, if only something like this were available for geeks. But we already have Slashdot, Tom's, and other similar sites... I guess it's just a matter of HTML vs. dead trees.
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Taunting the Dinosaurs
If there's ever been a time for the open source community to make itself known, this is it. Now, more than ever, we have proof of the damage to the consumer that intellectual property concerns can do. Apparently, if we give our legislators enough rope, they will gleefully hang themselves.
Here's what you can do:
- Talk to management. Get them to see what intellectual property concerns will do to their bottom line. Then suggest the alternative: open source.
- Support things like Consumer Reports, and the Better Business Bureau.
- Inform would-be software buyers of the tradeoffs to buying proprietary software.
It's a decidedly different tact. If you're on the open-source train, I'd have a good laugh right now, because these people are putting the nails in their own coffin, free of charge -- The ultimate compliment to the OSS movement.
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