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Making a Buck Online - Without Ads

Posted by Zonk on from the juggling-act dept.

A New York Times article hosted by C|Net looks at the unique position of the Consumer Reports website; they're one of the few online resources that gets by completely on subscription fees. They have no ads. One key seems to be valuing their online readers as much as their print readers - and charging both the same amount. "The New York Times and the Los Angeles Times tried charging for some online content, then abandoned the practice. For a decade, however, Consumer Reports has charged Internet readers the same price as print subscribers, currently $26 a year (or $5.99 for a month's online access or $45 a year to get the magazine both in print and on the Web). While the rest of the industry sees print readers as more valuable--because advertisers do--Consumer Reports actually makes more money from readers on its Web site, because it avoids printing, trucking, and mailing costs."

34 of 160 comments (clear)

  1. Reputation counts too by Titoxd · · Score: 5, Interesting

    And Consumer Reports also has a reputation of not screwing people on both ends, so its clients are more than willing to pay for the content, be it in print or online. It just shows you the power that good ethics can have.

    1. Re:Reputation counts too by jotok · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Oh, it's not ONLY their ethics. The information they provide is truthful and valuable. People will pay for "data."

      News articles, on the other hand, are essentially stories. I like to read them, but I read them with my morning coffee on the couch. Newspapers nowadays have lost their reputation for relevance and timeliness (typically by chasing ad revenue with sensationalist stories rather than by doing real investigative journalism) and so while they are interesting and amusing, they are not worth paying for.

      Subscription journals, on the other hand, I will still pay for, just like I would pay for Consumer Reports.

    2. Re:Reputation counts too by Titoxd · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Aye. Moreover, Consumer Reports is in an enviable position, as their comparisons allow people to save money, be it by getting a cheaper product, or by not spending on an overpriced piece of junk. As a result of these long-term savings, the consumer sees that CR provides value to him or her, and any company that has a product that is perceived as valuable has a captive market. I know I would think, "If this magazine can save me money any time, it might be worth the purchase price."

    3. Re:Reputation counts too by Fozzyuw · · Score: 4, Interesting

      The information they provide is truthful and valuable. People will pay for "data."

      Exactly. I signed up for CR online when I was looking to buy a new cars in 2006 (and still had it when I bought another in 2007). To find the right car for me I spent the $30 to help read up on the cars I was interested in. It helped. I was able to read up on the past history of the cars, like the Toyota Corolla, and find it had a long history of excellent reviews. I was also able to knock a few cars off my list, like the Chevy Aveo, which had a recall in 2006/7 (I forget what year). Despite both cars having similar gas milage, the Aveo was a much smaller car (something my fiancee, who's French, felt more comfortable with given her European cars) with not as good reviews. In America, given the average size of a car is much larger, I felt safer with her having a slightly bigger car and she's adjusted to the size difference, given that roads here are also much larger.

      That small amount of money I wrote off as part of the cost of a proper new-car purchase. And what's $45 when you're spending $15,000? However, I have no reason to continue until there's some other big name purchase I want to do so I canceled. I'll pick up their magazine at the gym when I see one laying around. I also found it more difficult than expected to cancel my account with CR.

      Cheers,
      Fozzy

      --
      "The past was erased, the erasure was forgotten, the lie became truth." ~1984 George Orwell
    4. Re:Reputation counts too by The+Raven · · Score: 2, Interesting

      What's your opinion of The Real News? If you haven't heard about it, it's a guy who used to make documentaries brainstorm. He wanted a news network that was not beholden to government money, corporate money, or ads... only subscriptions. He estimates that if they get 200,000 subscribers, at $10 per month, they can operate a news network that's broadcast quality, with several hours of new daily programming.

      It's worth checking out. A very similar ethos to Consumer Reports... only the subscriber matters.

      --
      "I will trust Google to 'do no evil' until the founders no longer run it." Hello Alphabet.
  2. Consumer reports MUST be standalone by LiquidCoooled · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Of all the websites, consumer reports (and in the UK; Which) must be seen as totally seperate from the products they are reviewing.
    How good would it be if this edition of Consumer Reports (and its special report on Car safety) was brought to you in association with Ford?

    --
    liqbase :: faster than paper
    1. Re:Consumer reports MUST be standalone by the_humeister · · Score: 3, Funny

      Why very good, what with all this Ford stock I just bought!

  3. Content helps too by The_Fire_Horse · · Score: 4, Insightful

    and once the reputation is established, if the content is good then I will pay for it no matter what format it comes in (and the web is certainly the easiest)

  4. Independence by proudfoot · · Score: 3, Insightful

    But consumer reports cannot feature ads like other papers, because it must be, uniquely independent, of the products it reviews. Other newspapers do not necessarily have to be independent.
    While it would be nice if others were, I think I prefer paying less, and reading some ads.

    1. Re:Independence by SanityInAnarchy · · Score: 3, Insightful

      I'll agree that paying less (and reading some ads) is preferable to paying more (and avoiding ads), if that's all there was to it. For instance, sites that offer a subscription service to avoid ads just make me turn Adblock on.

      However, independence has the implication that they are not being paid to say something. Now, some of the things CR says make me wonder if they're either paid to say it, or are complete morons. But the idea is what counts.

      Today, I had a long talk with my dad about what he does. I'd been talking a lot about my new job, so I wanted to hear more about what he does. His company -- two corporations, actually, so they can legally do both stocks and commodities, but it's the same people -- they're, well, a financial company. As in, you can bring them a big pile of money, and they'll invest it, and you get to involve yourself at varying levels. One of the things that came out in that discussion was, he provides two options for payment -- either a commission, or a yearly payment.

      Well, he recommends the yearly payment, even if it might (sometimes) cost a bit more. It's better for him, obviously, because the company then gets a stable income in the form of regular checks. But it also provides some assurance to the customer that there's never any motivation for a trade other than because it will benefit the customer.

      That is, if there's a commission, a broker might encourage a lot more trades than the client wants or needs, because it generates commissions. If there's no commission, you'd think it encourages doing less, to avoid work, and that's partially true. But it also means that the motivation for everything they do is to make money for their customers, so they stay customers, and because of how powerful word of mouth is in that industry.

      So yes, I would pay for Consumer Reports, and I'd pay more for that independence. Except that after reading their articles on various software, I'd never be able to shake the feeling that they were screwing me over with their other recommendations -- that their car recommendations, for instance, might sound as laughable to a mechanic as their software recommendations sound to me.

      --
      Don't thank God, thank a doctor!
  5. Curious by Oddster · · Score: 3, Informative

    Why point to the C-Net version of the article when the original article is freely available online here?

    1. Re:Curious by Aluvus · · Score: 2, Funny

      Because CNet does make its money from ads ;)

      --
      Never mistake "can" for "should".
  6. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by F34nor · · Score: 2, Insightful

    When I read by "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" Maya Angelou I got one thing out of it; you have to be rich to have an opinion. This is why we pay for content from Consumer reports, to make them rich enough so they can have a real and honest judgment about things we buy. This is also why they can afford to make sure no one uses their opinion as an endorsement, they don't want to be soiled by the petty filth of capitalism.

  7. No ads, how about no registration? by ThreeGigs · · Score: 2, Insightful

    The telling point in the article for me was the implication that leveraging their internet presence took them from losing 7 million a year to being 28 million in the black.

    I remember being frustrated at researching a purchase, only to find links to CR articles which I couldn't access. Sans web, I'd have forgotten about CR, or if I remembered, might not have bothered subscribing because the information I wanted was in a back issue, and libraries are free.

    What I'd really like to see is a study or report on ad revenue changes based on a site switching dropping required registration, like the NY Times did.

  8. Re:micropayments by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

    It is 2007, where is the ubiquitous micropayment scheme we were promised?

    Because now all of online payments are tied into your personal credit card and personal info. With identity theft, malware/spyware, etc., people are very leery about putting in a credit card number at every other website. If there was an anonymous credit/debit card with a 10 dollar value, people would be more inclined to pay 50 cents here and there for some extra content. If it was compromised, you be out 10 bucks, and that's it.

    Do you want to screw around with your regular credit card and have some scumbag get your whole identity?

  9. I thought so... by SanityInAnarchy · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I thought so, too. Then I read this review of the EEE PC. I was with them right up until this bit:

    For more advanced tasks, consider getting a full-fledged laptop with a dual-core processor, 1GB of RAM, and Windows Vista.

    First, what does "more advanced tasks" actually mean? I could use an EEE PC for programming, ssh access, and, I'm sure, many other things that this reviewer has never heard of.

    Second, and most important: Why the fuck are they recommending Windows Vista? I was curious, so I found this other page, with these gems:

    Windows Vista offers an array of improvements over XP aside from visual enhancements, new multitasking features and simpler home-network setup....

    And, of course, no mention of the downsides -- of why you'd want to keep XP. (Well, there's a sort of casual mention of "If Vista does nothing for you, you can still buy a new PC with XP", but no mention of the insane number of bugs that still exist in Vista.)

    Microsoft offers three versions of Vista

    No, it offers four.

    Mac OS is considered by many to be easier to learn and use than Windows, and it's more secure against online threats because it's less of a target for malware writers.

    Not to bring up the old debate again, but the fact that there is a debate is worth some mention, at least, right?

    Linux, a free operating system with source code anyone can modify, is most appropriate for users who aren't intimidated by technology.... The only things you won't find are sophisticated 3D games.

    Doom 3 isn't sophisticated? What about the new Unreal games?

    Or did they mean "sophisticated" in the artsy/intellectual sense? As in, say, Neverwinter Nights, Neverball, Wesnoth, and the like?

    I'm not claiming the situation is good for Linux gaming. But to claim there are no sophisticated games for it, even if we're all willing to ignore Wine/Cedega, is factually untrue. By "factually untrue", I mean it's in the realm of 2+2=5. Even for very large values of 2, that statement is wrong, and always will be.

    You'll need additional software to access other file formats such as MP3 or iTunes.

    No mention that it's free and easy to download/install this software. Oh, and it does seem to support mp3s out of the box.

    As for Linux, you'll need more than just a casual knowledge of operating systems, because the interface is not entirely graphical.

    That's a nonsensical statement. It's "not entirely graphical" in the same way that Windows and OS X are -- I can still run cmd.exe or Terminal. If they mean that you may occasionally have to do things with the commandline, well, that's also untrue -- and they must know this, having used Ubuntu.

    If all you do is Web browsing and e-mail you can probably get by, but if you use a wide variety of applications, you're better off passing on Linux.

    If all you do is Web browsing and e-mail and word documents and finances and web development and education and PDF reading and listening to music and creating music and putting music on your iPod and basic camera and photo scanning/editing and CD/DVD burning and scanning/OCR and Skype and instant messaging and IRC..... *inhal

    --
    Don't thank God, thank a doctor!
    1. Re:I thought so... by Joe+Jay+Bee · · Score: 4, Insightful

      So, wait, they're bad because they recommend a product you don't like for an audience you don't identify with, and don't recommend your OS of choice.

      Just because you think Linux/Mac should be mentioned in glowing praise next to every mention of Vista doesn't make it so. The point of Consumer Reports is to review things, not advertise the competitors to those things.

      --
      I write bullshit
    2. Re:I thought so... by Joe+Jay+Bee · · Score: 3, Insightful

      And sorry to reply to my own comment (mea culpa) but since when did "Independent" automatically mean "Hates Microsoft"? Some people independently like and recommend Windows. I hate this attitude if they recommend everyone buy a Mac Mini/install Linux they're free-thinking individualists, but if they recommend a cheap Dell with Vista they're being bribed by Microsoft.

      --
      I write bullshit
    3. Re:I thought so... by PopeRatzo · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Some people independently like and recommend Windows.
      Yes, but not Vista. The one decent point the GP makes is that if a "pro-consumer" organization recommends Vista, it either means they have not done their homework or they are getting a little taste from Microsoft. I think Consumer Reports is a useful magazine, but they occasionally get a little bit sloppy. If they in fact recommended Vista (and I have not verified that with my own eyes) then this is such a case of them being sloppy.

      To be fair, I rarely use Consumer Reports for anything having to do with computers or software, because I can get more reliable expert opinions elsewhere.

      NOTE: I'm offering this comment based upon my personal experience with Vista (I eventually went back to XP) and my interactions with hundreds of computer professionals whose opinions I have come to trust. I do not hate Microsoft. I might hate Steve Ballmer, but mostly because he is a sweaty friggin' maniac. I do love how he dances to "Safety Dance" though.
      --
      You are welcome on my lawn.
    4. Re:I thought so... by mrhartwig · · Score: 2, Insightful

      I grew up reading Consumer Reports, and I've always been very impressed with their methodology & analysis of their test data for almost everything. Want to know which microwave meets its published wattage? CR is the way to go. Want to know which tires actually perform to their published specs? -- CR. Want to know if Zune battery life is as MS says? etc, etc, etc,

      Except for computers. As another child poster says, they're writing for a different audience than the typical /. reader. I've no idea who evaluates computers for them, but I have a sneaking suspicion that it's some Engineer -- not the train or Civil kind, but certainly not the computer kind either. They don't really know the state of the industry, and they come to many conclusions I think are in error.

      But said error is only from my prospective as a Computer Geek, and as a professional who's programmed, supported, and cursed at computers for 30 years. From the standpoint of my Biology Geek father or my Teaching Geek wife -- both very knowledgeable in their fields, too -- CR's evals are fine. And since I'm the family Computer Guy anyway, what CR says in that area really doesn't matter.

      No one organization can be expert in everything, even CR. Except, of course, /.

    5. Re:I thought so... by Joe+Jay+Bee · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Yes, but not Vista.

      Why? Lots of people on Slashdot are willing to come up and state they like Vista, and while I personally don't use it I have used it in the past and could find nothing overtly objectionable about it. So, I'll ask again: why, when discussing Vista, does the concept of independent thought cease to exist, and instead anyone saying anything positive gets labelled as being paid by Microsoft? The article is from Consumer Reports, for christ's sake, widely held as putting independence and integrity above all else; so why the sudden turnaround? Because they recommend something you don't like for nebulous reasons?

      Your post seems to be more about that; you don't agree with them, so it's "sloppy". Right.

      --
      I write bullshit
    6. Re:I thought so... by edumacator · · Score: 2, Funny

      No one organization can be expert in everything, even CR. Except, of course, /.

      Have you ever seen the threads about women around here?

      --
      An important change for education.
    7. Re:I thought so... by Mongoose+Disciple · · Score: 4, Informative

      I'm a computer professional, and my Vista box has been my most trouble-free Windows machine yet. To read Slashdot I would've thought it was the OS equivalent of a burning paper bag full of dog crap on my doorstep, but surprisingly my experience with it's been great.

      Granted, I waited until 6 months or so after the launch to get it.

      I don't see a compelling reason for most people to move to Vista, but I haven't experienced a compellign reason not to yet either.

    8. Re:I thought so... by NMerriam · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Then they shouldn't sell themselves as "experts" if every true expert in a subject matter says they're wrong (which, as you point out, is pretty much the case).

      There's a difference between experts who make recommendations for other experts, and experts who make recommendations for casual users. CR has never pretended to care about anyone other than the average person looking for a good deal. I have yet to see any criticism of CR in the past decade (other than clear factual mistakes that CR corrected) that didn't boil down to someone's ego being hurt that CR didn't endorse their particular preference.

      I have yet to meet a REAL expert in any subject matter who didn't recognize that CR was correct in their recommendations, given their target market. There are plenty of "enthusiasts" out there who claim to be experts and insist that everyone needs gold-plated Monster Cables.

      --
      Recursive: Adj. See Recursive.
    9. Re:I thought so... by billcopc · · Score: 2, Interesting

      The day Linux is worth using for the average Joe, is the day I'll start rooting for it.

      I'm not an MS fanboy, but XP gets the job done. If I could use my Linux desktop to do my work efficiently and without "mystery menus" whose feature has yet to be coded, then I would.

      Right now, as a computer elitist (yes, a performance freak), I still see Linux as a rock-solid server OS, but a "toy" desktop, mostly because Xorg is still the backwards cesspool that X has always been. It's pretty sad when I have to say the NVidia-drivers package does more work for me than the actual Xorg configuration tools. Joe Random won't touch Xorg.conf with a ten foot pole, and neither should I under most circumstances.

      What gets me is there are some really nice LiveCD distros out there with all the creature comforts like hardware detection, easy customization and intuitive prompts. Why can't the big disk-based distros follow suit ? We can't even get a decent package manager, save for Ubuntu's Single-Click Install.

      Everyone likes to brag about their distro's unique features, but that's going against the spirit of open-source! What if I like Ubuntu's friendly desktop, but I prefer Gentoo's build system ? Why can't they play nice together ? Heck, most binary distros can't even play nice with custom-built packages without some major kludging.

      There are many problems with Linux distros, some easy, some difficult. We need to get out of denial and start working on solutions. Linux can be awesome in the right hands, just look what Mac did with the outdated pile that is BSD. Linux can pwn that big time, but we need to stop inventing "yet another unfinished sourceforge project" and start putting our strengths together.

      --
      -Billco, Fnarg.com
    10. Re:I thought so... by Random+Destruction · · Score: 3, Interesting

      And then there are just as many of us who have had terrible time with vista. My aunt got a dell that came loaded with vista. She has a hard time reading the screen, so first thing I did was increase the text size. Apparently that requires a reboot. On the fourth attempt at booting, it decided not to lock up, and I got back to the interface. Everything was ugly and I couldn't move any window more than 2/3s across the screen. There was an invisible wall. So I set the text back, and rebooted again.

      Then I went to copy her mail form outlook express to windows mail. I moved the proper files over from the other computer, and loaded windows mail. I pointed it to the files, and it spat out "file in use, or wrong file type" or some other such BS. I tried saving the DB in different formats etc. Eventually I discovered that what this error really meant was "Windows mail can't import user data as a user. Please re-run this program as administrator" why the fuck couldn't they just say that?

      My experience with that box has continued in a similar vein. The computer is as slow as her old box, yet has 4 times the memory and at least that many times the processing power. I find it simply inconcievable anyone could run this OS.

      That aside, people do. Smart people too, so there must be more to this equation. I'm not really sure what it is, but this polarized opinion is confusing.

      --
      :x
  10. Re:I've always wondered about ad effectiveness by mrjb · · Score: 2, Insightful

    How many of you have seen an ad for something on a web page and thought "Fantastic! I must click this." Mostly when they were relevant ads showing up next to my search results. Showing up at the right place, at the right time, with my mind in the right context. I must say, Google got it right.

    --
    Visit http://ringbreak.dnd.utwente.nl/~mrjb/growingbettersoftware to download your free copy of the book
  11. Stick it to the Customer? by zotz · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Is there another reason to charge as much for the online version as for the print version when, admittedly, their costs are less for the online customers.

    If I were an "about to commit" customer, and I have thought about becoming one recently, this would put me off, I would like a good share of the savings passed on to me.

    One simple solution:

    Print subscription comes with (either a CD version or) an online account, online version is stand alone.

    I am sure there must be better possibilities. But if they're happy...

    all the best,

    drew

    --
    FreeMusicPush If you want to see more Free Music made, listen to Free
    1. Re:Stick it to the Customer? by domefreak · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Why do you assume that publications are priced on a cost-plus basis? At any rate, you're only addressing the marginal cost of production; most of their costs are probably in the research and writing of the articles. Since they're selling information, and not paper or pixels, the value to customers is the appropriate basis for pricing. From that perspective, the online version is more valuable, since it's constantly updated, searchable, and organized by category rather than date.

      If they were making a higher margin on online subscriptions but pushing people to print subscriptions because there was greater perceived value, they should decrease the price of online subscriptions to increase profits. But the article indicates that there is little overlap between the two audiences, and an individual's choice of print or online is largely based on what medium they're comfortable with. Most likely, the two subscriptions are priced equivalently so that customers *don't* think they are getting scammed: there is one price for the information, and you can have it delivered however you prefer.

      If you think they're "sticking it to you" then go do the research on your own for $26/year (or wade through the print subscription if you think it's a better deal), but I am happy to pay for my online subscription even though I only log on every few months to look for a specific piece of information.

  12. Target group for review by Per+Abrahamsen · · Score: 4, Insightful

    > First, what does "more advanced tasks" actually mean? I could use an EEE PC for programming, ssh
    > access, and, I'm sure, many other things that this reviewer has never heard of.

    And neither has the intended target audience for the review (or for the EEE PC).

    > I'm not claiming the situation is good for Linux gaming. But to claim there are no sophisticated
    > games for it, even if we're all willing to ignore Wine/Cedega, is factually untrue. By "factually
    > untrue", I mean it's in the realm of 2+2=5. Even for very large values of 2, that statement is
    > wrong, and always will be.

    It refers to the kind of games the self-declared gamers want to use a box for, rather than the kind of games the intended audience is interested in (flash games, solitaire).

    The statement is factually untrue in the sense that "the world is round" is a factually untrue statement in the context of people who believe in a flat Earth (since, to the nerd, only a mathematically perfect sphere would qualify as "round").

    Congratulation, you have discovered that consumer report is not written for nerds with autistic tendencies.

    > this whole Slashdot article is about them making a buck online, so are they even nonprofit?

    Yes, non-profit is a legal term that doesn't involve giving away stuff for free.

    And "expert" can also refer to the ability to explain complicated stuff in terms ordinary people can understand.

    1. Re:Target group for review by SanityInAnarchy · · Score: 3, Insightful

      If you think someone coming to you and saying "I'm a big gamer, what computer should I buy?", and you answering "Oh, you should install Linux, it plays all the cutting edge games!" is in any way NOT wrong or bad advice, I think we can all agree you're not anywhere near as competent at distilling advanced technical knowledge as you think you are.

      This is what's known as a strawman argument.

      No, if someone came to me with that question, I'd suggest building their own, or buying a Dell (NOT Alienware), and putting XP on it. But people don't come to me with that question, they come to me with questions like "So I hear you're into Linux, should I use that for myself?" And the first thing out of my mouth is not "yes", but "What do you use a computer for?"

      If, at any point, they mention some Windows-specific program, or that they're into gaming, I'll point out that they are going to need Windows, so the best they can hope for is dual-boot.

      Actually, the most frequent question is "Can you fix my computer?" Second most frequent is "How do I stay secure online?" And while it's unlikely that I'll answer that without mentioning Linux, it's also unlikely that I'll recommend they switch -- I just let them know that if they do decide to switch, I'll be willing to walk them through it.

      They don't have space to go into page after page of caveats and explanations for every summary they make

      Bullshit, this is the Internet. Even if they don't have space, they can link back to Wikipedia or something. But like I said, I wasn't looking for "page after page". I was looking for some simple accuracy -- things like "Most games won't work with Linux."

      simply so that the average Linux user doesn't get his ego bruised.

      That one's an ad-hominim attack, right there with your suggestion that I'm autistic (I'm not).

      I develop HD-DVDs for a living. The very existence of my current job, and company, is dependent on Microsoft, and I have not, yet, been able to use Linux at work, even as a VM host -- nor have I spent a ton of time trying. I am not, by any means, a zealot.

      For the average suburban household, buying a Dell PC with Vista is the most optimal choice.

      Even if you're arguing Windows is the most optimal choice -- and I don't even want to get into that tired flamewar -- are you actually deluded enough to think Vista is a better choice than XP for those users?

      --
      Don't thank God, thank a doctor!
  13. PayPal Virtual Debit Card by tepples · · Score: 2, Informative

    If there was an anonymous credit/debit card with a 10 dollar value, people would be more inclined to pay 50 cents here and there for some extra content. I think PayPal already has disposable debit card numbers for those of us who use Microsoft Windows.
  14. CR Online is worth much more than print version. by Don92126 · · Score: 3, Insightful

    As a current Consumer Reports Online subscriber it's obvious to me why I'm willing to pay as much as the print magazine: it's worth more to me. In fact I'd even pay more for online that print in this case. When I want to go find reviews, I don't want to go dig through a pile of print and hope I haven't lost the issue with the review I need, and if I'm a new subscriber to the online service I basically just got all the back issues for free. The online service is so handy I use it for basically every major purchase I make now.

  15. Re:CR not good for high tech by NMerriam · · Score: 2, Informative

    About a CD burner they said something along the lines of "It can copy an audio CD but the sound quality will be reduced and the copy cannot be further duplicated."

    I know exactly what you're talking about because i remember going "WTF?" after reading the same thing. So I researched it, and sure enough it was correct -- the device they were reviewing was a turntable->CD device for converting old records to CD, and could be hooked up via USB to a computer as well. And yes, if you used it to make multiple copies of the CD it would use an analog circuit rather than just doing a bitwise copy. If you hooked it up via USB of course you could do regular bit-for-bit copies using your computer, but that was not the primary advertised way to do it.

    As with 99% of the criticisms of CR, errors are usually just a matter of them not having the space to explain every technical detail of every device for pages on end (and their readers don't want to read pages of technical crap, either) -- so they summarize, and no summary is ever as complete as the whole explanation.

    --
    Recursive: Adj. See Recursive.