Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.1 6/24/83; site mcnc.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!bonnie!akgua!mcnc!bch From: bch@mcnc.UUCP (Byron Howes) Newsgroups: net.video,net.consumers Subject: Re: Consumer Reports Message-ID: <2375@mcnc.UUCP> Date: Sat, 17-Nov-84 14:45:04 EST Article-I.D.: mcnc.2375 Posted: Sat Nov 17 14:45:04 1984 Date-Received: Mon, 19-Nov-84 02:47:56 EST References: <132@harvard.ARPA> Reply-To: bch@mcnc.UUCP (Byron Howes) Organization: North Carolina Educational Computing Service Lines: 35 Summary: I have always found Consumer Reports to be entirely reliable and, with some qualifications, to give generally good advice. The major qualification is that Consumer Reports ratings and research is directed toward purchases by the *average* consumer. High end audio gear, automobile, computing equipment, photography equipment, etc. is not really in its bailiwick. Simply put, the objective of Consumer Reports is to give the best advice possible for the average consumer make average purchases for average utilization. My approach to buying a washing machine or a refrigerator, for example, is going to be entirely different than my approach to buying computing equipment. All I want in a washing machine is something that will get my clothes clean, be relatively inexpensive and be easy to maintain. I really don't care about the fine points of washing machine technology and wouldn't have time to absorb them if they were offered. I am sure that anyone really *into* washing machines could tell me all manner of things that Consumer Reports did not consider and would give me advice as to what the *best* washing machine would be. It would also probably cost me *much* more than I wanted to allocate to washing my clothes. All I want is something that will do the job, the rough equivalent of the average stereo. The marginal utility of the high-end washing machine doesn't mean anything to me. In this case, Consumer Reports advice is entirely satisfactory. In addition to ratings (which seems to be the only thing that people look at) CR also gives its criteria for making the ratings and, in general, does a function-by-function evaluation of the products it reviews. It is quite possible to make the kind of trade-offs of that one generally makes when buying things by reading and evaluating all of the information that CR provides. -- Byron C. Howes ...!{decvax,akgua}!mcnc!ecsvax!bch