Metacritic, a review aggregator that raised eyebrows by affixing ratings to video game developers based on the average of ratings of their work, scrapped the system because it believes rating developers is unfair. [More]
RATINGS
Govt. Unveiling "Superstar" Energy Star Rating
By 2.3.11
The government is updating the Energy Star program and launching a new higher tier of certification called “Superstar,” Marketplace reports. The program currently certifies the top 25% most energy-efficient products in a given category, so the new star might be for the top 5%. Energy Star could certainly use an overhaul; last year the Government Accountability Office found it was able to submit and get certified 15 of 20 phony products, including a gasoline-powered alarm clock. [More]
Nielsen Partners With Facebook, Other Websites To Measure Ad Views Online
By 9.28.10
If you don’t like the concept of having your online actions tracked for marketing purposes, you can add Nielsen to you list of sworn enemies. The audience measurement company is better known for its TV viewer ratings, but yesterday it announced a new partnership with websites like Facebook where it will access user info (age and gender only, it says) to collect aggregate data on ad views around the web. [More]
Parents Group To Best Buy: Move Mature-Rated Games To Higher Shelves
By 6.28.10
Advocacy group Parents Television Council says it’s a Joe Camel move to place video games intended for adults right alongside the Marios and Sonics of the world, and the group scolded Best Buy for the practice at a shareholder’s meeting last week. [More]
Airlines' Approval Ratings Rise
By 6.8.10
You love the airlines now! Or at least, you don’t hate them any worse than you did back in 2007, according to a new survey released by J.D. Power & Associates. [More]
Shoppers Love Costco And Dillard's, Say Target And Walmart Are Subpar
By 6.1.10
Consumer Reports asked 30,000 readers to weigh in on the best and worst chain stores in the country, and it looks like people really love Costco and Dillard’s. Both stores received above average ratings in things like merchandise quality and value. On the other end of the spectrum, Target’s women’s fashion, jewelery and watches were rated below-average in quality. [More]
Use Doctor Finder To Prescreen Your Doctor
By 5.11.10
If you’re like most people, you pick a new doctor by going through an approved list provided by your insurer and selecting someone nearby. Doctor Finder from insiderpages.com hopes to make the process less random by providing reviews for doctors and dentists. You can search by zip code, then narrow down results by your insurer, distance, gender, specialty, language, and experience. [More]
What's The Best Smoothie?
By 4.27.10
Whatever smoothie I’m drinking at the moment, that’s my answer! Consumer Reports took a nerdier approach, as they often do, and gathered a bunch of people to taste test various store-bought smoothies, then combined those opinions with information from nutritionists. Coming out on top in the dairy category was Lifeway Lowfat Kefir Strawberry, and in the fruit category was Bolthouse Farms Berry Boost Blend. [More]
America's Best Airports: Detroit, Denver, Minneapolis/St. Paul
By 2.24.10
J.D. Power and Associates has released rankings of U.S. airports based on a survey of 12,000 travelers last year, and Detroit’s decision to mesmerize travelers with colored light really paid off. You can check out the list here and sort the airports by overall satisfaction or by factors like the quality of check-in or baggage claim. [More]
Quick, Someone Develop Adblock For Online TV Commercials
By 2.8.10
The ratings company Nielsen–the company you can blame for bad stunt-casting and stupid plot devices during sweeps week–is going to start rolling in data from online viewings of commercials this fall, which means networks will start using online viewing stats to help sell ads this time next year. What this means: if a network uses the new Nielsen rating system, “shows seen online will have to have the same group of commercials that run on TV,” reports AdAge. [More]
Goodreads: A Better Alternative To Amazon's User Reviews
By 1.18.10
Amazon’s user reviews for books are problematic because they serve more than one master. They’re meant to help inform consumers, sure, but they’re also meant to drive sales, and sometimes they’re even used by angry consumers as a form of protest. If you’re looking for more honest feedback on books, try Goodreads. [More]
Which Notebook Brands Are The Best?
By 12.14.09
The website Laptop has launched a new series of posts about notebooks and netbooks. This time, they’re grouping the models by brand and asking readers to weigh in. Up first: HP, which generally has good aesthetics and keyboards as well as multitouch technology, but bad touchpads and heat issues. They also note that customer service is pretty bad for HP products. [More]
How To Choose The Best Tires
By 10.22.09
The Consumer Reports Cars blog has posted a video on how to choose the best tires for your car. Here’s one interesting trick we learned from the clip: how to measure tire tread depth using coins.
Schwarzenegger Asked To Close Prostitution Ratings Website
By 10.1.09
At Punternet.com you can rate UK prostitutes, find out about British massage parlors, and participate in a bulletin board about all things prostitutey. (“Punter” = “john” in British slang.) Yesterday a British government minister asked Arnold Schwarzenegger to shut it down, because although it concerns the British sex industry—where prostitution isn’t illegal—it’s based in California.
Study Rates Cell Phones By Radiation Emitted
By 9.9.09
The jury is still out on whether cell-phone radiation is something consumers should worry about. Scientists disagree on whether the low levels emitted are enough to cause brain tumors or other health problems in the long-term. Nevertheless, the Environmental Working Group has analyzed radiation emissions from 1,268 cell phones to see how the levels stand up against government standards.
Find Out What You Can Expect Before You Call Customer Service
By 8.5.09
The website Customer Service Scorecard ranks the CSR experience for all sorts of companies, from hotels to appliances to telecoms. They’ve rated 128 so far, and here’s their top five. Do you agree?
