Consumer

Consumer Page

SummitLake.com Home. Welcome to SummitLake.com, home of original analysis, essays, technical articles, photos and creative writing. Each department on our site hosts and indexes a rich collection of resources on its own topic.

Here we're compiling our growing collection of reviews, articles, rants and raves on consumer topics.

These articles first appeared in other department directories. They are scattered all over the site. They remain in their original locations to avoid "URL not found" issues with bookmarks and search engines.

Summitlake.com is not in the business of product reviews. We are not paid to praise or to damn, so generally you will find reviews only on products we have purchased that we found to be exceptionally good or bad. We post reviews to share our own consumer experiences of interest to the community. Reviews are ordered here roughly by article date. Dates are the most recent for which the posting had activity. Our rating system translates as follows:

Poor	We would never buy a product from this manufacturer again. Product and Customer Service experience were both totally unacceptable.
Fair	Severe reservations about product or manufacturer
Good	Serves a niche purpose well but has one or more downsides
Very Good	We are happy with this product and this manufacturer
Excellent	We are delighted with this product and manufacturer
	we now award half stars for 1.5, 2.5, 3.5 and 4.5 star evaluations

Ratings revisions: We reserve the right to update our ratings based upon new discovery, or upon a change in the posture of the vendor or manufacturer. Generally, we feel that if a consumer has to spend evenings and weekends fighting for a fair hearing, the consumer is wasting time. The manufacturer shares the responsibility for the entire purchasing experience, not just for the bad or problematic product. Service isn't just part of what we expect when we buy a product that does not live up to performance claims. Customer service costs are factored into the product price, and we have purchased a right to expect fair remediation.

A rating can go from a 3 to a 4 (for example, or vice versa) based on the disposition of a problem, but it would take a dramatic corporate turnaround to improve a poor '1' rating. Please be assured we will never change a rating unless new information quite obviously warrants a rating downgrade or upgrade.

POST DATE	RATING	ITEM	NOTES AND DISPOSITION
11/23/2004		Super Flexible File Synchronizer	For road warriors or any user trying to maintain current data across multiple machines or locations: we've found the ideal file synchronizer for our own household needs. Powerful and flexible, with an exceptionally clean and logical interface, this utility is also lightning fast. Our top rating. We recommend you give it a try. Review: Super Flexible File Synchronizer.
12/6/2003		Apricorn notebook HD upgrade kit	Afraid to upgrade your notebook HD because you never did it before? Read this article: Apricorn Notebook HD Upgrade Kit
4/29/2003		ComCast broadband cable internet	Responsive, fast, reliable; easier set-up. Personnel generally knowledgeable, helpful, responsive and prompt. When SBC told us of a 9 day minimum wait to get our DSL transferred to a new apartment unit in the same complex, we jumped ship. Most readers wouldn't benefit from a full ComCast review, but we wanted to report that our cable experience has been superior so far.
02/21/2003		Lexar JumpDrive	Just plug it in to any USB port and "read and write". USB 2.0 and 1.1. About the size of a BIC lighter. We're sold. See our review on the JumpDrive.
10/28/2002		PocoMail 2.63	Powerful, simple, uncluttered email client offers most of the features of more complex programs and several indispensable tools that neither Outlook nor Eudora offer. We reviewed PocoMail 2.63 after porting our venerable Outlook installation to PocoMail in just one evening.
9/1/2002		Nikon D100 digital SLR	Reviewing our new Nikon D100 digital camera, in PHOTOS. This is digital's "pro consumer" debut into Nikon's single lens reflex camera family. Advanced features and price mean this equipment will never replace the family camera in most households, but serious 35mm fans who are looking for a move to digital without a compromise in quality may find that the time to move is here.
8/29/2002		PhotoWorks	We review PhotoWorks, a leading film processor (formerly Seattle Filmworks). Discussion and comparison of image quality. Thumbs-up if you don't require enlargements or do digital image processing of Pictures on Disk.
8/10/2002		Ulead Photo Explorer 7.0	Photo Explorer is greatest $29.99 image browser/editor utility we ever saw. Indispensable for both photo image casual viewing and advanced PhotoShop users as well.
4/30/2002		DataDesk SmartBoard	We review the almost-perfect SmartBoard keyboard from DataDesk. A well designed ergonomic keyboard by the makers of the legendary Mac 101E (also reviewed in this department).
4/28/2002		DataPort V	A removable drive cartridge storage system for regular IDE and SCSI hard drives. By CRU. DataPort™ , our review: "Finally, a perfect backup system. A 5-star review of a hard drive data cartridge system that's much cheaper than JAZ, usable when Firewire drives are not, and which holds a hundred times more data than the closest competitor, possibly with the hard drive you are using right now."
3/9/2002		Kensington Expert Mouse Pro	Actually a massive trackball. Software and hardware both superior. Not reviewed here. See Kensington site for product information.
3/8/2002		Windows XP Professional	Friendlier and more plug-and-play support than Win98SE. At least as stable as Win2000. If you have loads of legacy applications, consider W2000 instead or stay with W98. We had very few issues, all are resolved. We are only recommending clean installs. Not reviewed here. For reviews, see PC Magazine or PC World reviews sections. July 2002: we went back to Windows 2000 because of the invasive registration edits (we swap out drives a lot), but we're not changing the rating on this otherwise fine product.
2/11/2002	n/a	Junk Mail Ideas	Put to work all those coupons and prepaid envelopes that keep arriving in the mail - in HUMOR
2/9/2002		Dell Computer	Arguably, our Dell 3800 Inspiron laptop was the most unpleasant consumer experience we ever endured. By far, our worst product investment and biggest financial loss. Dell Executive Support finally authorized an out of warranty repair, but it never should have gotten that far, nor taken that long. See Dell Customer Firewall. We upgraded from one to two stars, but Customer Care amd Tech Support generally remain severe obstacles in dealing with Dell. Letters still coming in from other 3800 users suggest this product may have been a "lemon". Our recommendation: If you must buy a Dell laptop, buy Latitude, not Inspiron. 6/2/2002: the entire laptop failed the next time we tried to use it. Sorry folks, this company is downgraded from two stars back down to one, and there it stays.
2/9/2002		ADS/Pyro Drive Kit	Firewire to IDE external drive kit worked fine on a Sony laptop but we had problems on a desktop machine. Contacted 12/15/01. ADS is responsive. Upgraded from 3 to 4 stars. Problem resolved 3/4/2002. See Backups Reconsidered.
June 2001		DataDesk 101E Keyboard	An excellent product, but this small manufacturer has not yet tapped the USB or PC keyboard market effectively. See DataDesk 101E.
April 2001		National Geographic DVD	A wonderful adventure, but an expensive piece of obsolete software that doesn't run under Windows 2000 and is no longer supported. See 110 Years of National Geographic.
2/1/2001		AlphaSmart 3000	Feature review. One of the most thoughtfully designed and useful writing tools I have ever purchased; highly recommended. See AlphaSmart 3000.
Nov 2000		Iogear MiniView KVM Switch	We wrote a rave review on this item but it crapped out a few months after we posted the article. See KVM Switches.
Oct 2000		Elite Industries EL-509 Storage Unit (CD/Tape)	One of the most delightful furniture assembly experiences we ever had. A great design. See Made In The USA.
Oct 2000		Ford Bronco	Our first serious exposure to corporate denial and coverup began back in 1986. We sold the vehicle in June 2000, only to read in the papers that our experiences with the deadly TFI ignition were finally making national headlines. See Ford Ignitions. We received a letter from a woman whose husband was killed in a stall that was probably related to TFI; see Ford Kills.
Oct 2000		Pac Bell/SBC DSL	Our second-most horrible consumer experience ended well after we got helped by two ourstanding SBC employees. For the most part, our DSL service has been good ever since. Pacific Bell has an entrenched bureaucracy beyond mortal comprehension, but a few good people can still really make a difference. See DSL Log.
July 1998		Kodak DC260 Digital Camera	Great product, great pictures, and a pioneer in its class. We have since purchased a new 4 megapixel Sony, which is state of the art for 2002, but we still use our DC260 for many photo opportunities. See Kodak DC260.

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