The Straight Scoop on Coffee
So what is a discussion about coffee doing on a consumer web site? Anything that costs consumers upwards of $1,000 per year seems to be worth analyzing. Yup — that daily …
Household
SCAM ALERT: Internet Belly Fat Cures Are Chock Full of Lies
Lean Belly Breakthrough and its companion Net-based publication See Your Abs are highly problematic Net offerings. By our definition, they are scams and are disturbing examples of how Internet marketers are trying to wrest money from unsuspecting …
COOL TIPS: PV Sings Here Comes the Sun
Increasing numbers of homeowners are installing photovoltaic (PV) arrays on their roofs in order to produce some or all of their own electricity. The costs of solar power have dropped sufficiently that complete paybacks of …
COOL TIP: Online Classified Ads and Barter Sites Will Save You Money
Who doesn’t love Craigslist? Craig Newmark gave consumers an incredible gift when he used technology to obliterate the paid classified business previously controlled by the newspapers. Ooops, we suppose the newspaper publishers don’t love Craigslist. …
COOL TIP: Don’t Buy Any Pharmaceuticals Before You Do This One Thing
Your doctor tells you that you need to start taking some pills for something or another. He (or she) sends the prescription to the pharmacy that you’ve designated to fill your prescriptions. STOP! You’ve just …
The Baffling Case of the Elusive Shrimp: Is Labeling Meaningless?
Is a tiger shrimp a white shrimp or wild-caught or farmed or local or Chinese or what? Or, as Hamlet once might have asked: “To sea or not to sea? Is that the question?” It …
The Attack of the Coffee Pods — and how to Defend Yourself From Them
It isn’t often that a coffee pod earns its own viral parody, but Keurig and its K-Cup coffee pods have been controversial for a number of years….and deservedly so. The company and its coffee pods …
How is China Hurting America?
There have been numerous efforts to persuade U.S. consumers to “Buy American” and some even to boycott all products produced in China. The boycott proponents often cite unsafe foods, melamine-tainted plates, toxic toothpaste and other …
A Smart Plug for Smart Plugs
Here’s a plug for smart plugs. They are power outlet adapters that also tap into a home’s WiFi network. Consumers can then power on or off simple home fixtures—lamps, TVs, and so on—from any Internet-connected …
How to Find Great Value Wines
“Help!”, you scream silently to yourself. You’ve just been to a wine store/Costco/wine bar and tried a few wines. They are all quite lovely but now you have to decide whether the price asked for …