The Computer Next Door

The Magazine's Future is in Our Hands

I've been hearing the death knell of traditional magazine publishing for some time now.  Subscriptions and revenues are down.  Anxiety amongst management, reporters, and staff is high.  Many younger readers are getting their news and commentary almost exclusively online.  Is traditional magazine publishing going the way of the buggy whip?

Recently I traded in some airline miles for some magazines.  I hadn't been flying anywhere, and the airline (US Air) was quite insistent that I do something with the miles (I'm sure they benefited somehow, but oh, well).  And so, I obediently ticked off one magazine after another that I would have been unlikely to have ordered otherwise: titles like Dog Fancy, Budget Travel, and Martha Stewart Living.  10 in all. I sent in my little postcard and waited.

One by one, they started to arrive.  A mini-deluge of glossy reading to multi-task with while watching TV. Then, within the hour, destined for the recycling bin.

I have other magazines I care more for (The New Yorker, some art magazines), but for the most part, I find a magazine a quick "rifle" at best.  Something to take to the hairdresser.  Only occasionally to take to the bedside table. I am as much a magazine reader as the next person, but I'd have to say, they seem to have lost their sheen recently.

My question is, is magazine readership down because there are better (digital) versions or alternatives, because of the growth of other forms of news and entertainment, because of concern about the environment, or because magazines don't seem to give much bang for the buck?  (Some seem to be mostly ads).

I went online in search of answers.  I was wondering what I would do if I gave up traditional magazines permanently. Here's what I found:

1) The online version of a magazine is not necessarily better. I enjoy leafing through The New Yorker, for example, because I know I will discover a few cartoons to laugh at, find a review of interest, and possibly read a thought-provoking article. Everything is always in a certain order, so it's easy to page through.

The New Yorker's Website has no such appeal. Its long, scrolling Home Page seems to be mimicking that of the New York times, but the lack of color or imagination is at odds with the very nature of The New Yorker with its long tradition of artistic cover art. They seem to be trying to get on the bandwagon, but aren't sure how to go about it.

New Yorker online - just not the same

What's worse, I couldn't get my bearings on the site.  Some of their groupings of content seemed logical, but it simply isn't how I like to read the magazine - which is sequentially.  I like going from cover to cover.  It is reassuring in a way that newyorker.com is not.

2) Digital Editions are not the answer. These days, you can get "Digital Editions" of just about any magazine. For proof, check out Zinio.com, a virtual magazine store where you can buy access to digital versions of many magazines.  This would certainly solve the recycling issue, but is a digital edition interesting enough to consumers?

I have yet to see a fellow passenger reading a digital edition on his/her laptop on the train. Not to say it won't happen one day, but this just isn't a trend.

Zinio sets up a library where you can keep your magazines (not unlike the virtual library shelves Google allows on Google Books - see my previous blog entries on digital and virtual libraries).  Zinio.com is currently offering free complimentary issues so you can try the service out.  The digital editions load in Zinio's Online Reader.  It took a while for my March edition of Women's Health to obtain a clear focus (it was a bit blurry initially), but then it looked just like - well, the print edition. They are in fact identical - ads and all.

Zinio's Online Reader - too much work for a lot of ads

And that of course is the problem.  I didn't feel it was terribly much fun to page through the Web-based Online Reader of Women's Health.  It's certainly more work than the print version.  I had to keep squinting to make out the type, which varied in size.  On a regular Website, the type for articles tends to be all one size -and in print, the resolution is better so you can actually read it (Web resolution is far worse than print).

The digital edition of a magazine is the worse of both worlds: all the hard work of using computer software, with all the ads of the magazine. And none of the tactile experience.  Geez, I even missed the smelly perfume inserts, that's how nostalgic I was for traditional magazines after this experience.

3) There are many free substitutes for the kind of content magazines offer. This is probably what magazines are fearing.  Think about it.  There are so many ways to get your current news and information, no matter what the topic, including:

• The classic Web-only eZines (such as Salon)
• Website offered by TV stations (such as CNN.com), which have plenty of "magazine-style" reporting
• Blogs of every stripe and specialty (more specialist than magazines, often)
• Blog aggregators (such as Bloglines)
• Customized Home pages that aggregate news from global sources (such as iGoogle)

The list goes on.  Everybody has their favorite way of getting information, commentary, and entertainment, whether  specialized or general  Does anybody turn to printed magazines for the first word on anything anymore?

But after my foray online, I re-examined my pile of glossy printed matter.  What's the answer?  I will probably keep reading the magazines a little while longer.  At least until the Green Police come after me for contributing more than my share to the local landfill.

Eat, Drink, and Give the Gift of Merry

Don't get me wrong - I love consumer goods as much as the next red-blooded American.  After all, going to the mall (if you can avoid getting gunned down by some nut) helps keep the economy afloat.

But eventually, you can only accumulate so much "stuff," and start to see the wisdom in buying consumables - things to eat, drink, enjoy, and then be done with.  It's the experience, after all.

Here are a few sites I'm shopping at this holiday season that offer edible (or drinkable) gifts for the gourmet or gourmand on your list.

GIFTS OF TEA

Tea is so good for you.  It's good for the soul, good for the mind, and good for the body.

If you want to buy tea as gifts, try some of these sites:

Numi Teas

I really like Numi teas.  They're fragrant, beautiful, and definitely  unusual.  All good attributes for a holiday gift.

I have a little glass Numi teapot of my own (individual size), into which I put a flowering bud and hot water.  The bud blossoms into a wonderful flower that at the same times gives you - guess what, a flower tea.

The Numi website includes groupings of inexpensive teas and herbal "teasans", bamboo-packaged gift selections, loose tea, tea ware, and flowering teas.  Anything would be a treat for a tea lover, but I definitely recommend (unless they already have one) that interesting little glass teapot with which they can see their tea bloom.

For a broader selection of different kinds of teas, try:
Adagio

For the benefits of green tea, try:
Rishi Tea

CHOCOLATE GIFTS

Godiva is the gold standard in chocolate gifts, and they make the online ordering process for gifts quite easy. Every year they come out with something new in the gift area, although their truffles are always an exquisite classic. Be careful at Godiva, though - if you spend enough on gifts, they'll give you a box of the stuff for your own use.

If you want to branch out and try some other brands, you might also try:

Artisan Confection, with Joseph Schmidt, Scharffen Berger, and the organic Dagoba Chocolates

Candinas Chocolatier - Swiss made and preservative free

SPICES AND EVERYTHING NICES

A friend turned me on to Penzey's Spices a couple of years ago, and I've been buying their spices by mail ever since.  They have considerable depth and breadth to their offerings (this is more apparent if you actually order their catalog or go to one of their retail stores) and they have some really interesting spice samplers for anyone you know who loves to cook. Their Website is slightly retro, and takes some thought to find what you're looking for, but the quality of the spices is really worth it.

Oh, and the other great thing about buying things to eat and drink as gifts - you can be pretty sure they won't be returned!  Ho ho ho.

When Customer Service goes South

Online shopping is by no means a level playing field. You'd think that the newer online vendors would be savvy about how to handle customer service, but such is not the case.  Some are downright awful, especially in the areas of customer service. so you really have to be careful where you shop online.

I like to experiment and try new vendors, and every now and then this leads to an unhappy customer service experience.

Such was the case when I recently attempted to purchase some replacement china and tableware on the Web. I had made notes about a Website I previously used to purchase tableware, but the site was a little hard to use.  So, I thought I'd try another online vendor.

I tried a vendor who was sending me regular emails - Homeclick.com.  I must have purchased something there before, but I don't remember what it was, or in fact anything about the shopping experience.  But I will not soon forget this recent purchase.

I liked the china, but getting the order sorted out was a nightmare.

The Web transaction was smooth enough, even though I was told to expect my shipment in two packages.  Since most of the shipment was coming in the first package, I chose to pay for "expedited shipping" (via FedEx) for that part of the shipment, running me an extra $12.

The initial confirmation of my purchase was also fine.  But the 2nd email Homeclick sent about what was being shipped showed an incorrect number of items.  They appeared to have left out one of the sets of silverware.

I called customer service, who assured me that nothing was amiss, and that it had simply been back ordered. I requested a refund on that part of the "expedited shipping" and was told I would receive some of the money back.  When I received the first part of my shipment, it made no reference to the correct number of silverware settings, back ordered or not.  It appeared that part of my order had "disappeared" - into the bowels of Homeclick''s order placement system.  By this time, the entire charge had also been made to my credit card.

Irritated, I called HomeClick's customer service department. They seemed to not understand what was going on.  I cancelled the remaining parts of my order, and requested a refund for all items I had not yet received.  The service rep told I would receive a refund for $98. Shortly thereafter, I received an email telling me my refund would be $38.

This went on like this for the next few days.  I would call customer service, they would tell me one thing, then a day or two later, I would get a completely different story via e-mail.  It was bizarre - it was almost as if nobody in customer service was talking to anyone else, and the e-mail department was in its own little world.  I also was wondering if I would ever see my refund - or, in lieu of that, my china and silverware.

The upshot was that I finally received a set of silverware I had asked to be cancelled, and finally did get a credit back to my credit card for two items (totally about $60), but it simply wasn't what I had requested of the customer service department, and I felt misled. But they wore me down through the experience of making multiple calls to customer service, cross-checking their e-mails (which all contradicted each other), and continually checking my credit card's Website to check for a refund.

It could have been worse, I suppose (they could have failed to give me any credit back, or failed to ship the merchandise).  Nevertheless, the whole experience ticked me off.

What went wrong?

I'm guessing that Homeclick's back-office systems are simply not in synch with each other or with their Website transaction processing system. Their customer service process also lacks process (typos in their emails make me think they are hand-written, not automated).

The lesson is, I suppose, to make a note of these lousy customer experiences when you have them, and remember not to order from these sites again.  Also, you can let others know to "buyer beware." You can post opinions about online vendor on many consumer sites, including:

Epinions

RedPearl

Yahoo Shopping

Most require you to have a user ID of some sort.  It's worth a try.  My problem with all this is - it's just more time spent on something that should be very simple. And isn't that why we're online in the first place?

My Favorite Site for Learning Software

One of the leading reasons for the digital divide is that some people learned about computers in school, and some people (maybe you) did not.  If you were never formally taught about computers, the Web, or interactive media and you don't have a "shucks, let's-just-hack-away-at-it" approach to things, you may find it difficult to play catch-up with software these days.

This becomes especially critical if it's a productivity software, is in any way related to the work you do (or long to do), or is a software program that otherwise keeps you in business - whoever you're working for. So if you don't have a deep-pocketed employer picking up the tab on software or computer training, what do you do, and where do you go?

Your choices will most likely boil down to: 1) Enlist a friend or family member to help you, 2) sign up for a class near you, 3) read a book on the subject, or 4) find help online.

In the past I tried options #1 and #3 with limited success - until I discovered online learning. I find the online learning approach to be the most effective approach because of the way I personally like to learn. I like a lot of visual reinforcement on new concepts, and therefore prefer some form of  multimedia presentation.  Multimedia training allows me to see and hear the material, and work along at my own pace.  It's easy to literally "rewind" the multimedia program (which usually takes the form of an online or DVD video) to review something I didn't quite get the first time around.

I have checked out a few of the online trainers, and always come back to Lynda.com.  Lynda.com is a venture started by Web designer Lynda Weinman. Weinman wrote some leading books on Web graphics and Web design many years back which I found helpful (not to mention funny).  Weinman has subsequently expanded her business (greatly) to cover subjects from numerous other trainers (there are currently over 24,000 video tutorials available online on Lynda.com).  It is a great resource.

There's only one hitch:  It isn't free. You can sample a few sections of courses online, but eventually if you want more you will need to subscribe.  Monthly the site subscription runs $25; annually, subscriptions start at $250. What you'll get is unlimited access to the instruction - all you can view. (Check out the free titles available).

If you're trying to be more proficient with a particular computer software program, it's useful to go through the full tutorial on the application - made up of multiple QuickTime movies that allow you to follow along as the instructor uses the program.

Additionally, the site has instruction on general computer-related topics that are not software specific (e.g., using graphics for business presentations, or general concepts about digital photography.) These type of courses tend to be more presentation-like rather than the "over-the-shoulder" tutorials.

I'm a monthly subscriber, and a happy one.  Whenever I have a question about a major software program that can't be easily answered by the manual or the online help, I just go to Lynda.com, and then select one or two of the little sections within the related online course that seem most appropriate.  Usually I find what I'm looking for.  They don't have instruction on absolutely every computer program out there, but they have a lot.

For more information or to try a free lesson (or two, or three), go to: www.lynda.com.

Out of Copyright (and Onto Your Hard Drive): Creating a Personal Digital Libary from Public Domain Materials

 If you like collecting the classics, you're in luck: now you can do it for free (or very inexpensively).

A classic book on drawing, available as a free PDF file

A number of organizations are busy as beavers these days, building online digital libraries of books (and sometimes other works) in the public domain. You can take advantage of this wealth of free online material, and use them to build your own private library.  Although the digital books are accessible in different formats, I'll refer to them all books available online or in digital format as "eBooks". (see also my earlier post: EBooks and the Virtual Library)

WHERE TO FIND PUBLIC DOMAIN EBOOKS

So where do you find eBooks in the public domain?  Some places to begin browsing or searching for titles are:

Google Book Search  (10,000+ public domain titles)

Google has been working with some large libraries (including the University of Michigan Library) to scan their collections, allowing the public to search not just for titles but to search inside virtually any book. If you do a search on Google Book Search (currently in Beta test), you will see the results labeled based on how much you can peek inside: either it is a "Full view," a "Limited preview," "No preview" is available or you can get a "Snippet view" of the book. To find public domain books you can download or view online, uust filter out your results to see only the "Full view," books. You results will look like this:

Full view means this book can be downloaded or read online

The Google online reader is fairly easy to use, and is rich in its links to related resources (such as where to buy the book or borrow it locally if you prefer a print version). Google also allows you to save your eBooks  to a personal, online library, eliminating the need to download large files.

The Google online reader

Internet Archive (270,000+ public domain titles)

The Internet Archive has a grand vision to archive virtually all media, from old web sites to moving images and software.  The public domain books in the Internet Archive's Open Library can be accessed either by reading them online in a "Flip Book" format, by downloading the eBooks as PDF files, or by opening them in the Internet Archive's proprietary book browser.

I like the Flip Book experience for the way it simulates the online reading experience in a fun, simple way.  If you're looking for more functionality, try the proprietary (DjVU) browser.

Project Gutenberg (20,000+ public domain titles)

Options for eBooks here include read books online as "pure text" (very fast, but no graphics), downloading text files, downloading  "Plucker" files for reading on a Palm organizer, and

Gutenberg Partners, Affiliates and other Resources combined have list of 100,000 titles

World Public Library (500,000+ titles)

Every now and then this group opens access to their titles, but at other times (like now) you need to join.  But not to worry - it's still pretty cheap ($8.95 annually) to get access to their large selection in 125 different collections. In addition to classic literature, classic children's books, and science fiction, the World Public Library subscription also includes access to audio Books in MP3 format, technical reference books, and government publications. So...plenty of stuff to look at or listen to for less than $10 a year.

BUILDING YOUR OWN  DIGITAL LIBRARY

You now know where to get hundreds of thousands of public domain eBooks. So where are you going to store these books, and how do you build a personal library of your favorite titles?  Should you download the eBooks, or read them online?

Some things to consider are:

• Type and size of each eBook
• How frequently you will use the title
• Your reading preferences

Type and size of the file is probably the biggest consideration. Some older titles in the public domain have been scanned in from old volumes, and are basically a series of pictures of the actual pages. For example, a PDF of the original  classic "Bambi," which, while very pretty to look at, also takes up nearly 15 MB of hard disk space. Eeek.  More than about 10 of those titles, and you'll have to start thinking about an external hard drive.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, anything stored strictly in text format (.txt files)- with no pictures  will occupy only a tiny amount of space.  For example, the "Plain Vanilla Electronic Text" version of Sir Walter Scott's "Lady of the Lake" which I downloaded from Project Gutenberg takes up a mere 472 K of hard drive space.

Suffice it to say you can feel free to download classic titles in "Plain Vanilla Electronic Text" format  pretty much willy-nilly.  Not only will hundreds or even thousands of these fit on your hard drive easily, they can also be downloaded onto a hand-held device with little concern.

How frequently will you use the eBook? If you will want to refer to the book frequently, or if it's a favorite author or book of poems, you may want to keep it on your computer.  A one-time read could be something you want to read online and not keep on your drive.

Finally, what is your reading preference?  After you try the digital online readers on the various "library" sites, you will know if you like their different proprietary online readers -  or not.  If you don't want to have to be on the Internet when you read your eBook, you can use your favorite digital reader such as Adobe Acrobat Reader or Adobe Digital Editions, and just read it on your computer (or hand held, if you prefer small screens).  These each have their own trade-offs in functionality and ease-of-use.

You need to experiment to find what you like.  For my part, I have been taking the Smorgasbord  approach:  storing what interests me (and fits) on my hard drive, bookmarking "found library" of materials on Google Book Search, and bookmarking the other archives mentioned above, for reference.  Now, I just really have to read all this stuff...

 

Toss the Manuals! (and Build a Digital Reference Library)

I'm not sure at what point manufacturers of hardware products (including electronics and major appliances) realized that they could serve their customers by putting manuals for their products online, but at this point the practice is in full swing - at least for consumer products.

If you have a tendency to misplace the original hardware manual - whether for the lawn mower or for your DVD player, you're in luck.  You can (almost always) find it on the Web.  Just go to the manufacturer's Website, then look in the section devoted to to Customer Care (sometimes called Customer Service or Support). Somewhere there you are likely to find a list of "technical documentation" or "manuals" you can download for free as PDF files, provided you have the model number for your product

The manufacturer site is your first stop in finding documentation.  But if your appliance or product is really old or the manufacturer isn't providing online documentation, you do have a few other options.

SPECIALTY SITES

Some sites specialize in providing access to manuals for many manufacturers.  Some of these are broad-based in scope; others are more specific to certain kinds of products, such as appliances.

One specialty search engine that can help you find user guides and manuals is  DeviceManuals.com.  Although I found this site's interface a little offputting, it did turn up a large number of useful links for the product I was looking for - for free.

Some sites are home appliance oriented.  One example is Appliance411, which offers both owners' manuals (usually what you'll be looking for), as well as repair manuals for a variety of appliances. If your kitchen appliance is relatively new, you might look for it on KitchenManuals.com, which requires free membership to access its library of documents.

Some of the more highly specialized sites might charge you a few dollars for manuals to much older (or even antique) machines. I spent about $7 to get a copy of the owner's manual for a 30-year old sewing machine I had inherited "sans manual."  It was worth it.  Now, instead of getting frustrated, I actually understand how to work the danged thing.

IS DIGITAL BETTER?

In spite of the name of this blog post, I don't think you really have to go "all the way" with the digital manual route. By all means hang onto your paper copies if it makes you feel better.  I admit there's some overlap in my household.  But I do find that it's quicker and easier to browse or search the files on my hard drive than it is to traipse all over the household looking for that elusive user guide or manual.

So try it.  The next time you make a hardware purchase, go to the manufacturer's site and download the manual. Then you'll always have it when you need it.

Proceed with Caution on Map & Direction Sites

 

Yahoo didn't know where I was going - and neither did I.

Boy, times have changed.  It used to be when you had to drive somewhere, you'd call AAA and get directions or order a personalized "TripTik."  All very quaint.  All very yesterday.

Now, when you want to drive somewhere, the drill is that you go online and check an online Maps and Directions site Two of the best known online destinations for maps and directions are: Yahoo Maps and MapQuest, but Google, Rand McNally, and MSN also offer similar sites, as does AAA (although you need to be a member for the latter).

Everybody has their favorite.  For years I have relied on Yahoo Maps. Whenever I am going to a new location, I enter the information into Yahoo, print it out, and take off. I also like the Yahoo interface,  which allows me to save favorite addresses, and find it a relatively simple and flexible site to use.

But the problem with relying on automated services is that sometimes they're simply not up-to-date enough, and provide poor information. I was running out the door to an appointment last week, and quickly "Yahoo'd" the address, printed it the directions, and took off.

Much to my dismay, about 45 minutes later, I found myself in a part of the city that clearly was not where I wanted to be.  Only then did I understand what had happened.  Yahoo had not recognized the address I was trying to get to, and so had simply given me the "center" of the the ZIP code for the address I was trying to get to!

The office I was going to admitted they were relatively new, which was why the hadn't been picked up yet by Yahoo.

Later, I checked out all the other map sites I mentioned above.  Would one of them have had the information and given me better directions? None of them did any better, but some a few, like AAA, did a better job of pointing out the fact that they didn't actually have the address I was looking for in their database:

 

At least AAA owns up when they can't find an address.

Ah, technology.

Call your location or check their Website's handwritten directions.  Don't rely on map sites 100% of the time.

Price Check Before You Splurge

Recently I laid out a non-trival sum of money (over $300) for a language learning CD that I bought directly from the publisher (Rosetta Stone).  I noticed their 10% discount in a magazine ad, and after testing out a demo CD, also succumbed to their special pricing offer for product packaging (levels I & II together).

I've been happily learning French for the last few weeks, but must admit I did feel a little sheepish when I accidentally came across the same product on Amazon.com for an additional 10% less than I paid for it. I had neglected to price check!

Let this be a lesson to us all...it's relatively painless these days to check and compare prices online.

SIDE-BY-SIDE COMPARISONS

Sites like PriceGrabber.com let you compare products side-by-side

Two sites I like best for price comparisons online are PriceGrabber.com and BizRate.com.

Both sites are geared towards online shoppers who know what they want and are looking for the best price. They both offer, side-by-side price comparisons, and include customer ratings and reviews of the online store as well as product details. It's also easy to check in these "one stop shops" as to whether the items are in stock, whether they are an authorized dealer of that item, have same day shipping, or have any other special offers currently.

Customers ratings of vendors are indispensable to using these kinds of sites successfully. Like a great many other online shoppers, I like to hear first-hand customer experiences before using a new online vendor for a purchase (particularly for electronics, which can be a little shady).  So, it's useful to hear from other online shoppers whether their merchandise was delivered in a timely manner and in good condition, or if they had any problems with return or service questions.

In addition to understanding (and avoiding) vendor problems, good reviews and five star ratings can help point you to a new favorite vendor.  I discovered Crutchfield.com on PriceGrabber, and was rewarded with a terrific online user experience when I bought a camcorder on that site.  (I heartily recommend Crutchfield for your consumer electronic needs.)

Vendor details like this help you find new vendors

The other nice feature of these sites is they help you determine who has what in stock, which makes it easy to make your final buying decision.

ONLINE VS LOCAL

There are also sites that help you price shop sales at your local stores with online discounters.  One example is ShopLocal.com. You  enter your ZIP code and select how far you are willing to travel to do comparison shopping (10, 20, or 50 miles away, etc.)

Although this sounds good in theory, the reality is that for many different kinds of products I got a lot of negligible results. This is because ShopLocal seems to be relying on "in-store offers" (sales), as opposed to regular pricing.  This may be because I'm out in the (relative) boonies, but I think it's also a sign that implementing the promise in a site like this a little harder than delivering results.

WHEN IN DOUBT, CHECK THE BIG KAHUNAH

And then there's always Amazon. It's amazing to me how much Amazon is a moving target (for its competitors, too, I'm sure).  I have to learn to always check them for prices on anything - not just books.

Some people think that eBayExpress is giving Amazon a run for their money, but I don't think there is any comparison.  For one thing, Amazon has a much better interface.  Amazon's customer service may fall by the wayside on occasion (it's outsourced to overseas customer service centers, and can be a little quirky to put it nicely), but it's certainly proven to be reliable source for good products at good prices...

Now I just have to remember to take my own advice.

 

 

Major Appliances , Big Headaches

Linda's new kitchen looks great - but getting there was quite an experience

How often do you buy a major appliance?  I just bought my second refrigerator ever. That's not counting the wine fridge, or my dorm mini fridge.

If you haven't bought one of the new energy efficient refrigerators it could be costing you hundreds of wasted  dollars a year in electricity.  Not to mention how politically incorrect wasting energy is these days.  Current standards were inaugurated in 1990 with updates in 1993 and 2001.

We  just replaced a Sharp Carousel microwave, a Magic Chef gas range, GE refrigerator and Kitchen Aid dishwasher.  The newest appliance was 9 years old and the rest were twice that vintage.

This is the saga of our online purchases.  I always check Consumer Reports before I make a big purchase.  I subscribe to their online service www.consumerreports.org Their advice was to purchase from P.C. Richard or a mom and pop shop for the best prices.

I wanted to stay local so I opted for the mom and pop.  Or in this case a pop and pop. We decided on a Viking over the range microwave, a Viking French Door refrigerator, a Miele Optima dishwasher and a Bertazzoni gas range.

Bertazzoni's an Italian brand newly introduced into the U.S. market.  The range is a looker. Comes in colors.  Costs half the price of a comparable Viking Stove.  Perfect.

That is until I went online at 4:00AM to www.bertazzoni-italia.com.  After downloading the installation instructions I discovered what I'd feared to be true. This beautiful stove was unsuitable for our retrofit.  The range needed a clearance of at least 6 inches from a wall.  We barely have two inches.   A later call to their customer service confirmed that an installation without sufficient clearance could be a fire hazard.

We cancelled with pop and pop.  And decided to do more research before the next buy. Our new choice of range was a Jenn-Air pro style.  It had most of the good looks of their top of the line appliance AND it had the consumer features I craved such as self-cleaning, convection and electronic timers.  I kid you not.  We could have spent twice the money for their all stainless model and had none of the aforementioned features.  Then again the Bertazzoni has none of those features either, it was just beautiful and I was  previously seduced.

So where did we shop now?  I went online to Bloom and Krup.  Won't give you their site because they're no longer in business.  That's right.  They went out of business AFTER we'd given them a deposit.  Great website though.  It was the most informative I'd found which is why we gave them our business.

Good news.  The third time was the charm.  Len Harris, Inc. was a recommendation from my very satisfied friend Claire.  The mortar and brick store's located in Flushing, Queens.  But for those not seeking a field trip you can call 718-591-6557 or go online to www.lenharris.com.  They carry 9,000 appliances.  They were prompt, efficient, competitively priced and hassle free.  Considering our experience with the other stores (2 credit card disputes to get our deposits back) this was heaven.

Speaking of credit cards.  Both American Express and our Mastercard offer extended warranties and buyer protection.Specific details of the coverage vary from card to card.

Try www.chowhound.com if you want to know what foodies think of the appliances you're considering.  By the way, our Viking Microwave is actually a Sharp Carousel made especially for Viking.  The Viking refrigerator is nearly identical to the Jenn-Air counterpart, but offers a better warranty with its higher pricetag.  We chose the Miele, even though Consumer Reports ranks the Bosch as its first choice.  The Miele's unbelievably quiet.  Like the Bosch and most European brands it has a long and efficient cycle.

Before you spend big bucks, check out a big box store. It pays to "kick the tires" with purchases as large as these.  Then buy what's right and where it's right for you.

Preventing Buyer's Remorse: Useful Online Tools for the New Car Buyer

Being in the market for a new car recently, I ventured online to see what the Web offered in the way of tools and resources to help me out.

Basically, there are three broad categories of sites that can help out the new car buyer:

1. Car Research sites - devoted to arming you with the information you know you'll need
2. Auto Marketplace sites - where you can browse and compare the current offerings
3. Online car brokers - who  act as your middlemen for you, and handle the negotiation for you.

Some sites seem to bridge these categories, but it's useful nonetheless to see what each category of site do for you.

CAR RESEARCH SITES

I may be a bit of a traditionalist, but when it comes to shelling out upwards of $20,000 for an object of any sort, I like to rely on the trusted providers of information.

Some trusted names in auto research can, of course, be found online:

Car and Driver - the old standby for car reviews.  Enough said.

Consumer Reports - they offer a New Car Price Report that will gives you  the low-down on the "Real" bottom line for any new vehicles with manufacturer's incentives to the dealer, the invoice price is generally not the whole story.)

Kelly Blue Book - invaluable, of course, for knowing what your trade-in value will be on that old klunker you're getting rid of.

AUTO MARKETPLACE SITES 

Catering to the to the needs of the today's information-hungry car buyers, the marketplace sites offer such features as reviews, previews, lots of photos and multimedia, and (most importantly), the ability to compare  vehicles from different manufacturers side-by-side - saving you a lot of running around town. They also usually provide you with ways of getting quotes from your local dealerships.

Side-by-side comparisons are particularly valuable before you visit local dealerships for those test drives you will  still need to do (don't even think about a virtual drive). Most of the marketplace sites will allow you to submit a "request for a quote" which they forward to local dealerships.

One best-of=breed site in this category, is Edmunds.com, where I was able to compare mid-range SUVs from Honda, Toyota, Ford, and Jeep all side-by-side.  In a point-to-point comparison of multiple SUVS, I was told the advantages of each car in relationship to the first one I was viewing (for example, one costs several thousand dollars less, antoher had a CD changer standard, and another got better gas mileage.)

Edmunds also offers reviews, tips and buying advice, finance and insurance, and forums.  Several calculators on the site help you figure out the true cost of ownership of a car and estimated payments.

Autobytel has a competitive offering with its suite of Websites, including AutoWeb, with  many of the same features as Edmunds.  Its "car community" MyRide  (now in Beta) also offers crash test videos, which, while not exactly light entertainment, is exactly what every car buyer should be watching before they plunk down their hard-earned money.

ONLINE CAR BROKERS

Every now and then the Internet delivers up something you don't really see in the real world.  Like, for instance, car brokers.  I certainly have never heard of a car broker for new cars, but there they are, on the Web - for all the world to see and use.

The concept as explained by one online car broker, HaggleFreeAutos, is this: the average consumer is not well-matched against any car salesman to really negotiate for himself.  You or I might go look for a car once every 3 years, whereas a car salesman may make 5 or 6 deals a day.  Not a fair match, and nobody's betting on us to get the upper hand in the deal.

So, along come car brokers to help you negotiate the best terms.  As you found out in your upfront auto research, the bottom line is not what you think it is.  Want somebody else to find you the best deal?  It doesn't take much.  A car broker will do the work for you of brokering the best deal possible for a percentage of the discount you will get (difference between the negotiated price vs the MSRP).

It's a question of personality - that is, do you want to negotiate with a car dealer, or do you want to let somebody else do it for you?  The option is yours.