In our most recent survey, 51,858 CR members shared their views on their providers’ offerings, including the value of the service they use, customer support, data service (cost, reliability, and speed), cellular reception, and consumer experience. Note that our methodology for scoring providers has changed a bit. The tweaks prevent a carrier from receiving an…
Using a heat pump can be one of the most efficient ways to cool and heat your house. In cooling mode, it works like an air conditioner, extracting heat from the air inside and releasing it outside. In heating mode it does the opposite, extracting whatever heat is present in outside air (even cold outside…
Second, it wasn’t clear that the DOGE affiliates had the authority to either access these systems or do what they purportedly wanted to. An executive order signed by president Donald Trump gives the US DOGE Service broad authority to access unclassified systems. But while Holmes is detailed to DOI from USDS, Hassen and Trampe are…
The arbitrary ways in which the government applies the “routine use” exemption have been drawing criticism since at least 1977, when a blue-ribbon commission established by Congress reported that federal law enforcement agencies were creating “broad-worded routine uses,” while other agencies were engaged in “quid pro quo” arrangements—crafting their own novel “routine uses,” as long…
What did we learn? That it’s indeed possible to find a reasonably priced office chair that’s comfortable to sit in, easy to adjust, and outfitted with plenty of support for your back, butt, and arms. In fact, we found three—all priced at $200 or less. While many chairs are marketed as being ergonomic, keep in…
Consumer Reports’ test engineers spend about 30 hours testing each dishwasher. To evaluate cleaning performance, dishes are put through a proprietary test that uses photo imaging to determine precisely how clean they are after a standard cycle full of dishes with baked-on food. While previously we only evaluated how well dishwashers cleaned dishes on the…
What About Nintendo Fans? Photograph: Nintendo It’s a shame that two of the best retro gaming consoles in recent years, the NES Classic Mini and the SNES Classic Mini, have been discontinued. Both feature great designs with a miniaturized look that’s true to the originals, silky performance, and strong game lineups of Nintendo’s greatest hits….
I also wanted to call out one oddity I noticed in testing, which is that dogs seem very attracted to the big knob on the Woodridge’s control panel. Three different dogs who came over to my house during smoking sessions pressed it with their noses, probably due to the combination of meat smell and seeing…
Below, we present the best car batteries for the money in seven different sizes: Group 24/24F, Group 35, Group 47 (H5), Group 48 (H6), Group 49 (H8), Group 51R, and Group 65. These numbers indicate size in the same way AA, AAA, C, and D indicate the size of batteries you’d use to power home…
Advertising FeeDealers sometimes add an extra few hundred dollars to recoup the cost of national and regional advertising campaigns. The fix: If the dealer says he will sell a car at the invoice price but you have to pay an advertising fee, just say no. The cost of advertising the car is baked into the…