Strange Behavior With Appliances!

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I'm trying to get back home, but I came down with a bad cold or flu! I had a flu shot before the trip back in November, but I had to call in sick today. I am wondering how the hell I'll be able to even make it to the airport! This is one humdinger!
 
Ohmygod. Traveling when ill---there's nothing worse. Dope yourself up with over-the-counter medications, drag yourself onto the plane and get home. Same thing happened to me a number of years ago when I was trying to get from Seattle to Minneapolis. You poor guy. I'll try to send you all the healthy vibes I can muster. Good luck and let us know when you get home.
 
You don't always need digital service to pick up HDTV. You can pick up digital signals off the air with an ordinary antenna for free! I wonder though, how many people that bought HDTV's that didn't subscribe to the digital TV service actually do know that, and are using that to their advantage!
 
Many of the stupid myths that are wondering around the electronics industry are actually generated on the sales floor. For example, the all too common one that says you need to recharge the plasma gas in a plasma TV every few years! Stupid...Plasma gas is created from electrically excited gases when the set is in use, and they go away when the set is turned off...so I guess they are saying they recharge your plasma TV by powering it up!!!

Another one is that CD and DVD players need periodic alignment of the pickup head...Idiots! The heads constantly are re-aligning themselves as it's playing, that's what makes optical media possible in the first place!

OTOH, I've told people that the coolant was bad in their projection TV, and if they change the coolant (about a $50 job) it will look like a brand new set. They just look at me funny, and go by another TV!
 
Ewwww!! Sending thoughts of wellness your way! My grandmother is having some icky nasal congestion. A couple weeks ago I woke in the night with a sharp pain behind my right eye and right side of my face, felt like a toothache. A week of sinus congestion followed but it passed promptly.

Back on the subject .... some years ago a friend of my grandmother mentioned her Maytag washer was leaking, I offered to fix it (fill injector). Her utility area was off the kitchen. While she was watching TV in the living room, I took a peep at the dishwasher, which was filled with paper bags, a couple six-packs of soft drinks, and some plastic containers. Obviously not used in years.

My grandmother's sister and brother-in-law were a pair leery of "technology." They had an automatic washer which she did use, but she refused to get a dryer. No dishwasher (which there was no room for one in her kitchen anyway). They were kind of afraid of the telephone, but did eventually get a microwave oven. I remember once when they were at our house at Christmas in the mid 1970s after we'd gotten the KDI-17. She kept eyeing it suspiciously, LOL. I ran it on the Soak cycle, and she remarked when it paused "I guess it has to fill."

My plasma panel is HD-capable, but I don't have HD TV service. The neighbor got an HD DVD player, brought it over for a test run. Honestly, I don't see an appreciable difference on the 42" plasma, but I DO see a difference on the larger picture with his projector.
 
I have a similar gripe....

and, I have decided to turn over a new leaf.

People have asked me over the years which brands and models to buy.

However, it just makes my blood boil when I do hours of research, and considering, and they buy something else, usually because "it was cheaper."

Well, no more.

Lawrence/Maytagbear
 
I feel your pain, Lawrence. Most of my circle knows I am the go-to guy for assistance in choosing appliances. I'm regularly asked about brands, models, features.....and then they buy the BOL because "it was cheaper". Now I just print out CR's ratings and give it to them. And they usually don't follow those recommendations, either, LOL.
 
So tell me this...

just how unbiased is Consumer Reports?

I had heard something a while back that implied that their opinions weren't exactly without prejudice. I have always looked to them for honest product reviews, but sometimes I have my doubts. I will say this, they (and Gansky1) saved me from buying an LG refrigerator. It seems that LG "fudged" the energy efficiency numbers and got busted by CR.
 
Maytagbear, the best way to handle that is to explain that corporate alliances, models, stock availability, etc. are changing so rapidly that you just don't feel comfortable endorsing any product at this time.

This is truthful, and helps people to understand they have to do their own homework to make the best decision they can, at the price they can afford...

It's a truthful response, and saves you both the pain of not being able to meet one another's needs...

I learned this with my search for a new television. The variables are staggerings, and we as consumers simply don't trust that we are getting a good product/deal anymore.

Speaking as a shopper, though, I truly appreciate all the time and effort you "helpers" go to, to be well-versed and knowledgeable....
 
While I believe consumer reports is not biased by any financial factors (IE companies paying them off for advertising doller, etc) Consumer Reports is still biased, more from their own opinion more than anything, and at the very least, a bit unaccurate. The thing is that what I see out in the field and what people like and rave about is totally different than what the magazine is reporting.

For Example, Sony is one of C.R.'s favorite manufacturers. If it has Sony on it, C.R. will love it no matter what. Out in the field however, I have seen constant problems with Sony laser heads dying, and their LCD projectors are the worst! Their CRT televisions were regularly leaving the factories mis-aligned, and needed convergence and all sorts of tweaking when they came out the box. It's readily apparent that their affection for this manufacturer of electronics comes from their own internal opinion, and not collected data, like failure ratios, out of box performance, etc.

Consumer Reports also seems to have an odd phoenominon of inconstent repporting of similar products. Products that roll off of the same assembly line and are different only in styling will frequently receive dramatically different results on reliability and performance. Also, they don't seem to take into account changes in internal design when they give their ratings.

An example of this instance is the Ford Escort. Prior to 1991, the Escort received relatively poor reviews, which I choose to debate in their own right, as the cars were very popular throughout the eighties, and many racked up some amazingly high mileage. Anyways, in 1991, Ford redesigned the Escort, and it was basically a re-skinned version of the Mazda 323. The Mazda version got good reviews...the Ford version didn't! C.R.'s blamed the poor ratings on the fact that the car was an Escort, and previous versions of the vehicle received poor ratings. The data they reported obviously did not come from hard factual evidence, but simply their reporters walking through the parking lot saying "Hmmm, that looks like a good one, but that's a bad one"
 
I love my LG television but, I'm sad to report, their other products seem to be cropping up with a LOT of problems....
 
funny ratings...

I can think of another instance where CR's ratings don't make sense.
In 1974 the Hoover Dial-a-Matic powerdrive scored down towards the bottom of the ratings, and most Eureka made uprights(Eureka, Wards-Signature, and Wizard) were at the top.
Two years later the same DAM powerdrive was number 1 in the ratings. The only difference between the 1974 and 1976 machines would have been the 1976 model was equipped with the stiffer red brush strips...
I'd have liked to have seen how they tested the cleaners!
 
Do they ever allow consumers to witness their testing? Aren't they supposed to be non-profit? Who pays the salaries? I'm almost inclined to believe that, on occasion, some manufacturers perhaps "push" their products on them, perhaps making a suggestion for a favourable review. I also feel that some "testers" may have a personal bias for or against an item. After all, they are only human, and past experiences with an item are not soon forgotten.
 
Did you say Maytag(mom)?

What, no lip to contain water and ....? OY! Carol, this could be serious! ;-)
 
I am not going to touch this one

Not even with a 3 ft Spanakopita....

*deleted rest of post for fear of retaliation*

How many more posts do I have to reply to in order to keep up with Exploder??

Damn, I got stuff to do! LOL
 

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