Shopping
Sites for consumer information
There are a number of Web sites with useful information for consumers. PC World has a description of some of these. Included are:
The Consumerist
Consumersearch.com
U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission
A new way to shop online
At All Things Digital, Wall Street Journal consumer electronics reporter Katherine Boehret writes about some new software that may help you shop better online:
This week, I shopped online with Flit.com, a free Web site owned by San Francisco-area company enterONCE LLC that encourages people to shop using the same method they use at the mall: [...]
Taking advantage of the average PC user
The average PC owner is at a great disadvantage when it comes to computer repairs and fixes. Very few have any idea of what goes on in Windows and most have to accept on faith whatever someone tells them about a misbehaving computer. To some extent this is also true of cars and household appliances [...]
The psychology of online buying
Online vendors are using brain research to help them persuade you to click away and make those purchases. The New York Times reports:
An increasing number of retailers, marketers and ad agencies are using elements of neuromarketing techniques—developed from brain research—to make those clicks more likely. They are beginning to use brain-science studies to help [...]
Netbook and laptop buying guide
Thinking of buying a laptop or netbook this holiday season? You’ll find some worthwhile information at AnandTech’s Mobile Buyers’ Guide:
There are many different types of laptops right now. They run the gamut from low cost, low performance netbooks that typically deliver good to excellent battery life up through high-end desktop replacement systems that offer performance [...]
Amazon opening actual stores (?)
24/7 Wall St. reports:
Word comes from the Times of London that Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN), the world’s largest e-commerce operation, is planning to open stores in well-to so sections of the UK. The stores will allow people to buy items on site but will also serve as locations where people can pick-up what they have bought online. [...]
Beware the 12 scams of Christmas
The holiday season is big business for everybody, including scammers. In an interview with CNET, security firm McAfee gives its list of the 12 scams of Christsmas. Slightly paraphrased, these are:
Charitable phishing scams
Fake invoices from delivery services
Phony social networking friend requests
Fake holiday e-cards
Fake “luxury” jewelry
Hacked or phony holiday shopping sites
Sites with Infected Christmas carol lyrics
Job [...]
Black Friday shopping
In America, the day after Thanksgiving is the traditional Black Friday frenzy of shopping for bargains. ZDNet offers a guide to sales specials for electronics and gadgets. It’s a substantial listing so if you feel like braving the crowds on Friday, take a look. Actually, you might not have to leave your home since there [...]
Can you trust eBay reputations?
An important consideration in dealing with others on eBay is their reputation rating. These ratings are supposed to reflect the feedback from those who have had previous transactions with the person in question. But are those reputation ratings reliable? Science Daily reports a study that says there may be problems:
A new study to be published [...]
Holiday gadget review
Shopping for Christmas starts earlier every year. PC World already has a selection of gadgets to look at:
When it comes to gadgets and gear, smaller is better, high fashion is in vogue, and affordability will be king this holiday buying season. That’s the message from tech firms that showed off their holiday wares at [...]
Amazon – the world’s general store?
Every time I look at the Amazon site, it seems there is something new for sale there. For example, preparatory to buying my wife an anniversary present, I was doing some Web research about jewelry and I discovered that you can even buy rubies and diamonds and the like through Amazon. I had already noticed [...]
