Consumer Reports articles from July 2006

Consumer Reports archives from July 2006

Working for change: three stories.(Have You Heard?)
July 1, 2006... In 2003, 26-year-old Kelsen Young packed her life into a rental truck to begin her move from Washington to Montana. The next morning, the parking space outside her hotel room was empty. The truck and everything in it, including her bank...

Lost luggage what to do when bags go AWOL.(absent without leave)
July 1, 2006... To avoid parting from her luggage when she flies, Gerrie Summers, a Brooklyn-based writer, usually carries it onboard. But last February, when flying to Uruguay to start a two-week cruise, she had to check her bag. She didn't see it again until...

Costco's prime steak is cheaper, but is it good?(Costco Wholesale Corp.)
July 1, 2006... Costco has begun selling prime steak, the fanciest grade, to online customers for 30 to 50 percent less than some other prime mail-order steak. Can bargain steak really be, as Costco claims, "beef nirvana"? We pitted Costco's filet mignon...

Vehicle: 2007 Toyota Camry.(first look)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... The Camry routinely ranks as the best-selling car in the U.S., where about 400,000 are sold annually. Previous generations of the Camry consistently performed well in our tests. We're testing the 2007 Camry in three versions: the LE, XLE V6,...

Windows on Mac experiences some pre-wedding jitters.(up front: News / Trends / Advice)(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... To some technology types, the announcement that new software will let Intel-based Apple Macintosh computers run either the Mac OS X operating system or Windows XP was akin to ending a computing cold war. But before you create a computer that...

Looking at labels: you asked, we answered.(food wise)
July 1, 2006... Sixty-five percent of Americans surveyed by ACNielsen last year said they "mostly" understood nutrition information labels on the food products they buy. That leaves plenty of room for confusion. And judging by their letters to us, plenty of...

Cool choices in room air conditioners.(up front: News / Trends / Advice)(Product/service evaluation)
July 1, 2006... Prices as low as $100 have made room air conditioners an affordable luxury. Research suggests that they also save lives. A study published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives in 2003 found that on average, heat-related mortality...

The power of fusion?(Gillette's Fusion Razor )(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... The claim. Gillette's Fusion Razor "has five blades spaced closer together to help reduce pressure for less irritation and more comfort." The test. We asked 26 men to compare it with their regular razor. Those who usually shaved with a...

Sports sedans.(Letter to the editor)
July 1, 2006... Regarding your May report on sports cars, "Driving Ambitions," there are six upscale autos and the only distinction as you look at the pictures is the color. How can anyone want to pay $30,000 for a car that looks like all the others? What has...

Health savings accounts.(Letter to the editor)
July 1, 2006... Thank goodness for May's Viewpoint, "False Promises: 'Consumer Driven' Health Plans." My husband's employer has switched us to a health savings account (HSA), and I despise it. It's scary, confusing, and I fear getting ill. Our insurance plan...

Righting retailing wrongs.(Letter to the editor)
July 1, 2006... Jim Guest would like retailing to go back to the way it was when I started in it (see "Have You Heard?" in the May issue). Stores were staffed with decently paid, knowledgeable people who cared about their customers. Stores had service...

Golf balls.(Letter to the editor)
July 1, 2006... As a golfer, I appreciated your May article on golf balls. In recent rounds, nearly every ball I or my playing partners have found has been a premium ball, which means the marketing people have been very successful in getting higher handicap...

Rubber mulch.(Letter to the editor)
July 1, 2006... The May Up Front report "Mulch Match: Rubber Stacks Up Well Against Wood" does not mention flammability. Cedar bark does not burn easily, whereas I found a rubber mulch that I've tested burns with an oily black smoke when lit with just a match....

Dishwasher detergent.(Letter to the editor)
July 1, 2006... While your report "Face-off: Get the Cleanest Dishes" in May's Up Front does include a paragraph about "greener choices," its emphasis is clearly on which detergents will get you the cleanest dishes regardless of whether they contain...

Contact-lens solution could cause serious eye infection.(Recalls & Safety Alerts)(Bausch & Lomb Inc. )
July 1, 2006... Bausch & Lomb is urging soft-contact-lens wearers to stop using its ReNu with MoistureLoc cleaning solution until the source of an infection that could lead to blindness is determined. At press time, there were 102 confirmed cases of the...

Best restaurants: newer chains take high honors.
July 1, 2006... Eating out is no longer a treat; it's a way of life. Americans spend half of every food dollar at restaurants, and most of those dollars are going to waiter-service establishments like those we asked about in the latest Consumer Reports...

Iced tea: how sweet it really is.(Buyers guide)
July 1, 2006... Bottled and canned teas are hot these days, growing in sales even as soft-drink volume is fizzling. But while they enjoy a reputation as a healthful alternative to their carbonated cousins in the soft-drink aisle, they are, in fact, often...

Mercury in tuna: new safety concerns.
July 1, 2006... Canned light tuna, long recommended as the safer choice because of its presumably lower mercury content, sometimes harbors at least as much of that potentially harmful heavy metal as white tuna does, our analysis of Food and Drug Administration...

Laundry rooms near living space: what you need to know.
July 1, 2006... Schlepping a load of dirty laundry from the bedroom to the basement or utility room can be a pain in the hamper. That's one reason more homeowners prefer locating the laundry room closer to the source of most dirty clothes and linens than...

The right digital camera going small & simple.(Annual Photo Guide: What to buy, how to shoot, ways to print)(Buyers guide)
July 1, 2006... It's easier than ever to go to extremes when you buy a digital camera. Small is bountiful, and big is also booming. This report includes an unprecedented range of pocket-sized (subcompact) cameras, including some new models with unusual...

The right digital camera going big & serious.(ANNUAL PHOTO GUIDE)(Buyers guide)
July 1, 2006... Serious shutterbugs demand a serious camera, one with the versatility and power to readily capture fast action or to create photographic art under the most demanding light conditions. But choosing among the three basic types of serious...

7 summer classics: how to ace outdoor shots.(ANNUAL PHOTO GUIDE)
July 1, 2006... Everyone rues the great vacation shot that got away. This guide to taking better outdoor photos offers tips on how to make the most of your digital camera, whether it's a humble compact or a power-packed SLR. You'll take the pictures you yearn...

Canada extra.
July 1, 2006... How to use the Canada Extra section Every month, Canada Extra provides Canadian pricing and availability information about products tested for that issue. The Ratings in this section are based on this month's reports, but they narrow your...

Photofinishing: online vs. in-store.(ANNUAL PHOTO GUIDE)
July 1, 2006... The do-it-yourself days aren't over for digital photography; almost every camera owner still prints some shots at home. But this year photographers will take more digital images to photofinishers than they print themselves. Using a...

Inkjet printers: fine photos & more.(ANNUAL PHOTO GUIDE)(Buyers guide)
July 1, 2006... If your inkjet printer doesn't offer the features and quality you want for printing photos, you might be shopping for a new model that's more photo-friendly. Many inkjets now on the market are called photo printers. That doesn't mean they...

Snapshot printers: fast & easy.(ANNUAL PHOTO GUIDE)(Buyers guide)
July 1, 2006... If convenience and portability outweigh versatility, consider a snapshot printer--a compact unit designed to print small photos and nothing else. Often smaller than a few DVD-movie cases stacked atop each other, snapshot printers generally...

Printer inks: more choice & value.(ANNUAL PHOTO GUIDE)(Buyers guide)
July 1, 2006... If you print a lot of photos, you might be as fed up with ink costs as you are with gasoline prices. Alternative brands that sell for as little as half the price of brand-name ink seem like a good way to save money. They are--sometimes. ...

Organizers: closet and garage systems.
July 1, 2006... The dream of an orderly closet and a clutter-free home is very compelling. But reality intrudes: Our tests found many install-it-yourself systems are poorly designed, made of shoddy materials, and a nightmare to install. Others matched...

Deck treatments: best across the board.
July 1, 2006... A good deck treatment will save you the trouble of buying and applying a fresh coat every year. We've found that opaque ones generally last longest. To judge treatments, we built a deck behind our Yonkers, N.Y., testing facility where some 500...

Car wax: quality shine for less.(Product/service evaluation)
July 1, 2006... In our test of car waxes, we found that pricier ones favored by enthusiasts do not necessarily work better than some less-expensive brands. The two top performers cost just $7, while a product selling for $32 ranked no better than the middle of...

Black boxes monitoring driving habits.(Cars)
July 1, 2006... Parents who want to teach their teenagers safe driving skills can purchase vehicle monitoring and recording devices to help. Those devices are the descendants of event data recorders (EDRs), or black boxes, best known for helping...

Seeing red: spoiled meat may look fresh.(Health)
July 1, 2006... Attention, meat shoppers: Your supermarket may be selling ground beef and steaks packaged with gas that keeps it looking red for a month or longer. Our tests found that meat packaged using that method stayed red even if it was spoiled. The...

CocoaVia: chocolate that helps the heart?(names & claims)(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... Packages of CocoaVia Original Chocolate Bars claim they contain "natural plant extracts which have been proven to reduce bad cholesterol (LDL) by up to 8 percent," and "high levels of naturally occurring cocoa flavanols to help promote healthy...

A painful lower leg can indicate high cholesterol.(Did you know?)(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... People with pain in the Achilles tendon, which connects the muscles of the calf to the heel, should consider getting their cholesterol checked. In research involving 200 people, those with a common form of hereditary high cholesterol were...

Roadside assistance: beware the gaps.(Money)
July 1, 2006... When your car heaves a sigh and collapses, it's nice to know that you have somebody to come to your rescue with the right equipment. Motor clubs such as AAA used to be a driver's only option. But these days, an army of other businesses are...

Duty driven: SUVs: small, efficient ones handle everyday jobs, but traditional SUVs can carry the big load.(sport utility vehicles)(Buyers guide)
July 1, 2006... Rising fuel prices are a big factor in stalling sales of large SUVs. Meanwhile, consumers are buying smaller, fuel-efficient car-based SUVs at a brisk pace. They may not match the big trucks in terms of cargo space and towing capacity, but...

The FDA at 100: are you that much safer?(View point: THE CONSUMERS UNION PERSPECTIVE)
July 1, 2006... A century ago, in an era of snake-oil salesmen, dangerous medicines, and horrifying conditions in the meatpacking industry, Congress created the Food and Drug Administration. Consumers' health and safety has improved remarkably since then....

Guess the test.(View point: THE CONSUMERS UNION PERSPECTIVE)
July 1, 2006... Winner of the May contest More than 900 readers took on the challenge posed by the photo at right. Guesses included Jiffy Pop popcorn, giant blintzes, ceiling paint, and curling irons. Good tries, but the subject was smoke detectors, in...

What's next, flat-panel toothpaste?(selling it: Goofs / Glitches / Gotchas)(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... We're always amused by the use of high-tech terms for distinctly low-tech products (Sonic Burger comes to mind). We've recently spied two more examples: High Resolution (make that Resolution) for a line of Lancome skin creams that can "double...

Open wide.(selling it: Goofs / Glitches / Gotchas)(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... Packed with vitamin C, but 0 percent per serving? How does that work? We asked a customer service rep at Sunsweet. "The amount of vitamin C in cranberries is about 0.21 mg per serving," we were told. "It is somewhat of a minimal amount." Better...

Oops.(soup advertising)(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... A California reader was struck by the unfortunate placement of the soup ad, which was wrapped around an issue of TV Week. The cover featured a program on bird flu. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

What's in a name?(selling it: Goofs / Glitches / Gotchas)(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... An AT&T customer rep told us that the rate touted below falls to 10[cent] only after the first minute. So what we have here is apparently an "AT&T Two Rate 49 cent-Oops 69 cent-Then 10 cent" offer. But that's not as catchy.

Squint hard.(selling it: Goofs / Glitches / Gotchas)(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... That way, you might see the disclaimer above the number at right. The package actually weighs 10 pounds. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Think bigger.(selling it: Goofs / Glitches / Gotchas)(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... This day-care center's sign provides a chuckle to the South Carolina reader who says she passes by it every day. We think we know what the center means, but still.... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Nothing to sneeze at.(selling it: Goofs / Glitches / Gotchas)(Correction notice)
July 1, 2006... In the interest of accuracy, we'll correc the boast on Kleenex's newer box: "Now 300 smaller tissues!" [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]