Choice (Chippendale, Australia) articles from October 2007

Choice (Chippendale, Australia) archives from October 2007

Unfair bank penalty fees.(Comment)
October 1, 2007... We now pay $1.6 billion a year in bank fees on deposit accounts--an increase of 45% between 2002 and 2006. Average credit card penalty fees increased even more over the same period. Seven years ago there were few, if any, fees for exceeding...

Hop on the bike bus.(+ TRAVEL OPTIONS)(social travel )(Brief article)
October 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] If you'd like to reduce your carbon footprint, get fit and save money, joining a 'bike bus' could be the perfect starting point. A bike bus is a group of people who meet up and ride to work every day for social and...

Will you buy into the Blu-ray/HD DVD buzz? There's a lot of hype in home entertainment stores about these two competing DVD formats. Both have some big brands behind them and both want your dollars.(+ HOME ENTERTAINMENT)
October 1, 2007... TV screen resolutions have increased over the past few years with the introduction of LCD and plasma screens, offering the potential for more detailed pictures. Meanwhile, the introduction of high-definition (HD) TV broadcasting has kindled...

Food less travelled: climate change, global warming, carbon footprints--we all know the latest 'eco' buzzwords. Now there's another to add to the list: food miles. These are a measure of how far food travels from source to plate, and are a way of quantifying the impact on the environment of what you eat.(+ FOOD INFORMATION)
October 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] From a 'green' perspective, the less distance your food travels, the better it is for the environment. Transporting food contributes to carbon dioxide emissions--and it's not just the distance travelled that counts,...

Labelling mischief.(canned tuna's labels)(Brief article)
October 1, 2007... This pack of John West tuna is called 'light tuna', which you might think means it's lower in fat or kJ than other tinned tuna. But all tuna in springwater or brine is low in fat and kJ. In fact 'light' here means light-meat tuna--lighter in...

Financial planning fees.
October 1, 2007... In a recent research study of 1350 financial planners by Brandmanagement, over 40% said clients were asking more questions about fees. CHOICE advises you to do this, to find out what you'll pay and give you the chance to negotiate. Cost...

Can your super fund go bust?(Strategic Capital Super Fund's license )(Brief article)
October 1, 2007... (Update of CHOICE, August 2007, Hip Pocket) The Australian Prudential and Regulatory Authority has taken enforcement action against the trustee and trustee directors of Strategic Capital Super Fund, which the article noted as having...

Get wise with e-waste.(+ TECHNOLOGY RECYCLING)
October 1, 2007... If you're wondering what to do with an unwanted computer, don't panic. There are plenty of ways to dispose of your old machine and stop it ending up as poisonous landfill. If it's in working order, it can usually be donated to a computer...

Super fund returns compared.(+ SUPERANNUATION)
October 1, 2007... Figures from the Australian Prudential and Regulatory Authority (APRA, see above) show the average annual returns for the five main types of super fund over 10 years from June 1996 to June 2006. It's notable that retail funds, open to any...

Music to the highest bidder.(+ ONLINE AUCTIONS)
October 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Music fans now have the option to bid for concert tickets--with eBay nowhere in sight. Ticketmaster has begun running its own online auctions (www.ticketmaster.com.au/ticketauctions), in a bid to curtail the...

HRT increases heart risk in older women.(+ HEALTH)
October 1, 2007... Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) can have a place in relieving symptoms in women going through menopause, and there's some evidence to suggest oestrogen-only HRT, started near menopause, may also decrease the risk of heart disease, breast...

Take care with mercury.(+ PRODUCT SAFETY)
October 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Your prized collector's items could be a health risk. Mercury, a toxic, heavy, silver liquid, is commonly used in thermostats and thermometers, but it's also in some antique and vintage clocks, barometers, mirrors...

Cheap and cheerful home theatre.(+ HOME THEATRE ON THE CHEAP)
October 1, 2007... There's a species of home entertainment product that's rarely seen in the lounge room, living instead in the study, kitchen or--if you're lucky--holiday home. In the past, these animals included the 34 cm TV and the cheap VCR with no remote....

Going with the Gogo.(+ GPS WITH MULTIMEDIA)(TYCO Gogo CM310)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
October 1, 2007... The TYCO Gogo CM310 is a very good car GPS; in fact, it's among the best we've tested. But is it the multimedia marvel the company claims it is? As well as showing strong all-round performance on the road, the Gogo does exceptionally well...

Convenient coffee: grab yourself a high-tech hot latte.(+ SELF-HEATING COFFEE)
October 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Craving a hot coffee but there's no cafe in sight? Now, whether outside cafe hours or off the beaten track, you can pull out a self-heating container and minutes later be sipping on a steaming-hot latte. A new...

A very clever touch.(+ PHONE WITH TOUCHSCREEN)(HTC Touch )(Brief article)
October 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The HTC Touch is a smartphone with a 7 cm touchscreen, similar to that of the new Apple iPhone. You can access the internet, email, send and receive SMS messages and play music and video files. The HTC Touch is...

Air conditioners.(Coming ...)
October 1, 2007... Ever-increasing numbers of Australians are getting air conditioning installed to get them through the hot summers. Use the upcoming CHOICE test to pick a model that's as energy-efficient as possible--and one that's is reverse-cycle, to keep you...

DVD/hard disc recorders.(Coming ...)(Brief article)
October 1, 2007... Using a DVD player to play movies and a VCR for recording TV shows is so five years ago. If you think you've lingered too long in this technology time warp, you probably want an upgrade to a DVD recorder. Throw in a 160 GB hard disc drive as...

Fridges.(Coming ...)(Brief article)
October 1, 2007... One side-by-side model in CHOICE's latest fridge test even has its own TV, and it's now common for extra-large fridges to have through-the-door water and ice dispensers. Some of them come with a pretty high price tag as well. Regardless of its...

No Panasonic or Samsung?(Letters: Emails)(Letter to the editor)
October 1, 2007... I read with interest your 106 cm TV test (CHOICE, July 2007) but was disappointed to see you hadn't included Panasonic or Samsung models in the test line-up. After all these are the leading brands and would be, in my opinion, more comparable to...

Low-emission hot-water systems.(Letters: Emails)(Letter to the editor)
October 1, 2007... I'm a CHOICE subscriber, but writing in this instance on behalf of the Technical Information Committee of CANWin, a climate action group operating in the Southern Highlands of NSW. We were very impressed by your cover story, Flicking the green...

Next G--"a quantum step up".(Letters: Emails)(Letter to the editor)
October 1, 2007... As a long-suffering rural subscriber, I have no particular affinity for Telstra, but for marginal reception areas, Next G is a quantum step up. With previous CDMA and digital mobile phones, reception in our house in the Moree town area was...

Fading problem.(Letters: Emails)(Letter to the editor)
October 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] On your recommendation for dishwasher detergent (CHOICE Jan/Feb 2007), we used Home Brand powder for about three packets, as the efficiency was as good as Finish and the price is much cheaper. But it has severely...

Tip for sofa beds.(Letters: Emails)(Letter to the editor)
October 1, 2007... Regarding sofa beds (in the August 2007 issue of CHOICE): a simple tip on how to make a sofa bed comfortable, even the cheap wire frame ones, is to place the leftover seating cushions in the space between the floor and the bottom of the wire...

Dentist's advice.(LETTER OF THE MONTH)(Letter to the editor)
October 1, 2007... It's great to see the disgraceful lack of funding for the public dental service being given some exposure (CHOICE, July 2007). Regarding private health funds, one tip that has saved many of my patients (I'm a dentist) is for them to do their...

Adam from Darwin bought a pair of hiking shoes from a Columbia footwear store; after two months, the rubber liner on the front of the shoes started falling apart.(Thumbs up!)
October 1, 2007... * Adam from Darwin bought a pair of hiking shoes from a Columbia footwear store; after two months, the rubber liner on the front of the shoes started falling apart. When he returned to the store, he found it had closed down. He contacted...

Julie from Hampton, Victoria, offers her Thumbs up to Onelink Transport Systems.(Thumbs up!)
October 1, 2007... * Julie from Hampton, Victoria, offers her Thumbs up to Onelink Transport Systems. When she found her lost monthly ticket after buying a new one at a cost of $152.60, she applied for a refund--even though she knew she didn't fall into Onelink's...

Karen's GHD Professional styling iron stopped working just after the warranty expired.(Thumbs up!)
October 1, 2007... * Karen's GHD Professional styling iron stopped working just after the warranty expired. After reading of others' experiences in CHOICE, she decided to call GHD to see if it could be replaced. The next day, a postbag arrived in her letterbox to...

Helen from NSW would like to offer her Thumbs up to Hasbro, the Australian distributor of My Little Pony.(Thumbs up!)
October 1, 2007... * Helen from NSW would like to offer her Thumbs up to Hasbro, the Australian distributor of My Little Pony. After her three-year-old's My Little Pony broke, Hasbro replaced the toy, even though she had no receipt.

Colin from Victoria offers his Thumbs up to Cyclone Industries for its customer service.(Thumbs up!)
October 1, 2007... * Colin from Victoria offers his Thumbs up to Cyclone Industries for its customer service. When the blade of his 10-year-old Heavy Duty Cyclone Pruner secateurs broke, his local Mitre 10 called Cyclone to see if it could get a replacement...

Moisturise with sunscreen: more women than ever now use a moisturiser with sunscreen. CHOICE's Home Testers tried 26 to see which they liked best.(Cosmetics: Moisturisers)(Cover story)
October 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] About half of all skin cancers occur on the head and neck, as do most incidences of melanoma--the deadliest skin cancer. Exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the sun can also cause premature aging. UV...

Heels under the microscope: why does one shoe cost 12 times as much as another?(Shoes: Cost comparison)
October 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] If you've ever lusted after a pair of designer shoes like Sex in the City's Carrie Bradshaw, you've no doubt come up with a long list of reasons why spending $500 on some to-die-for heels is a good idea. After...

The great cheddar revival: your local supermarket now has some good vintage cheddar cheese with sweet, nutty flavours and a moist, crumbly texture.(Food: Cheddar cheese)
October 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Cheddar's back in style. This classic English variety has recovered its reputation as a fine cheese, with good cheddar worthy of taking its place on the cheese board alongside brie, stilton, Roquefort, gorgonzola,...

Saving water in your home: our current patterns of water use have to change--you can spend just a few bucks ... or do even more with a few hundred.(Home: Save water)
October 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATIONS OMITTED] In November 2006, 16 of the 24 major cities in Australia had water restrictions in place, ranging from limits on garden watering to a complete ban on outdoor water use. And despite the Australian Bureau of...

Shedding new light: to cut greenhouse gases, most light bulbs as we now know them will be off the shelves by 2010, replaced by energy-efficient compact fluoros. What do you need to know about CFLs?(Home: Light bulbs)
October 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Standard incandescent light bulbs are set to be phased out from 2009-10, to be replaced by energy-saving compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs). More commonly known as long-life or energy-efficient bulbs, they save...

It's sold! Selling your property for the price you want can be full of traps. CHOICE looks at how to find a good real estate agent and avoid the pitfalls.(Home: Property sales)
October 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] A real estate agent's primary focus is winning the contract to sell a property you want to put on the market. Getting your business is the hard part; in comparison, selling your home can be easy. So, bearing this in...

Should you hang up on a landline?(Phones: Need a landline?)
October 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The landline's role as a permanent fixture in our homes is under threat. In a 2006 Newspoll survey commissioned by VODAFONE, 40% of respondents said their mobile phone was their main point of contact, and 22% would...

Cooking on a grand scale: monster ranges are in vogue, but are they worth the money?(Test: Dual-fuel ranges)(Product/service evaluation)
October 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] They could cost more than your first car and are about the same size, but if you entertain friends regularly, are cooking for a plus-sized family or simply want an extra-wide oven for the Christmas turkey, a...

When small will do: our mini-test of 66 cm LCD TVs found two good models.(Test: 66 cm TVs)
October 1, 2007... They're considered small by today's standards, but if you don't want to spend thousands or you're looking for a second, smaller TV for your bedroom or small living area, this test is for you. When these 66 cm widescreen LCD TVs produce a 4:3...

Travelling light: pocket cameras can still give you great holiday snaps.(Test: Compact digital cameras)
October 1, 2007... CHOICE tested 36 compact cameras weighing less than 300 grams and found some models you'd be happy to keep in your pocket or purse, ready to take out for that perfect shot. A major issue to consider with most of these models is not just the...

Not so cool: if you can, consider other types of cooling before you resort to a portable air conditioner.(Test: Portable air conditioners)
October 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Portable air conditioners are generally ugly, noisy, high-maintenance and less effective than their built-in counterparts. If you're renting and so don't want to fork out for a fixed air conditioner, or you're...

Hard-floor heroes: If you don't have carpet, these cheap vacuum cleaners are all you need.(Test: Vacuum cleaners)
October 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] You don't need to spend hundreds of dollars on a vacuum cleaner if you've mainly got timber or other hard floors, and perhaps just a few rugs or small carpets. CHOICE tested 13 vacuum cleaners costing around $70 to...

A run for your money: like to exercise in private rather than in a gym? A treadmill could be for you, but how much do you need to pay?(Price point: Treadmills)(Buyers guide)
October 1, 2007... WESLO Cadence A45 Retailer Big W (www.bigw.com.au) Warranty 1 year (in home). Frame Aluminium Weight 48 kg Dimensions (cm, L x W x H) 157 x 68 x 120 $500 [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] AVANTI G-Fit 300 Retailer...

Recalls & bans.
October 1, 2007... Nowadays there are so many product recalls we may not be able to print all of them in CHOICE. For comprehensive recall information go to the Product Recalls Australia website: www.recalls.gov.au. If you don't have web access, call the Product...

Product safety is no accident.(+ PRODUCT SAFETY)
October 1, 2007... CHOICE has been testing consumer products for nearly 50 years. Every year in Australia, around 750 people die and tens of thousands are injured because of poor product design, faults or misuse, or in other product safety-related accidents. ...

Better protection for reverse mortgagees.(+ FINANCE)(Brief article)
October 1, 2007... A CHOICE investigation into reverse mortgages earlier this year exposed serious flaws with these financial products. It's now prompted a positive response from lenders. In August, the industry association representing most reverse mortgage...

Hard word.
October 1, 2007... The prize for best entry goes to W Gould for the disappointing holiday. Thanks also to P Jenkins, M Sharp, I Tuohy, P Truscott, K Paget, P Shute, P Frith, Helen, A Rush, C Ozga, J Jeal, J Booth, W Swift, B Retschlag, M van Luyn, T (and L)...