review

Used to turning to Consumer Reports for product reviews? You might want to bookmark MrCoversClassReviews.com.

Sixth graders at Fox Meadow Intermediate Center in Jonesboro, Ark., have started testing consumer products and posting their reviews online. And given their clear and thorough assessments, it looks like Jonesboro may have a future David Pogue or Walt Mossberg in its ranks.

Students in Millard Cover's reading classes are getting gadget-ey to learn to apply analytical and critical skills to nonfiction. "When we review a product, we first review news releases, advertising, packaging, manuals, and other written materials to see how … Read more

For a remarkably affordable price, the 2008 Mercedes-Benz C300 Sport model gives you better cabin tech than we've seen in Mercedes-Benz models costing more than $100,000. To be fair, the C300 is a 2008 model, and we've only seen 2007 models so far (of the more upscale models). But the way cabin tech upgrades go, it might be a couple of model years before we see these tech upgrades in something like the CL550.

Mercedes-Benz seriously updated its C-class for 2008 and now offers the C300 Sport, the C300 Luxury, and the C350 Sport, all in sedan … Read more

I've tried Lensbabies' 3G selective-focus lens, and I like it.

This lens, which looks more like a miniature Lunar Excursion Module than a traditional SLR lens, restores some physicality to a world of photography that's ever more electronic and automated. And the images it produces can be compelling.

The trend in photography in recent decades has been toward ever more automation. We have automatic exposure, focus, shutter speeds, white balance. As computers get smaller, the list of automated camera operations gets longer: newer Panasonic models can tell the difference between a landscape and portrait, and Sony's DSC-T200 … Read more

Mercedes-Benz engineers like to tell you that the company's philosophy involves starting with an engine and building a car around it. Based on the number of models that make use of the company's 5.5-liter V-8, we find it hard to disagree. Having reviewed the S550, the E550, the SL550, and the CL550, we were hardly surprised when the midsize ML SUV arrived at our garage furnished with the 382-horsepower flagship power plant. Like its stable mates, the ML550 also comes equipped with Benz's advanced seven-speed automatic transmission and some of the less-than-advanced cabin tech that we … Read more

The official CNET review for Apple's iPod Touch is now live, joining the slide show we posted on Friday. I have to admit, this was a tough product to review. It's easy to get hung up on what the iPod Touch isn't (it's not an iPhone, and it's not a high-capacity PVP), and lose your objectivity on what the iPod Touch really is: a cool, innovative gadget.

After all, if you could put the iPhone genie back in the bottle and pretend it never existed, wouldn't a product like the iPod Touch seem breathtaking? … Read more

Zocdoc is a new service for finding local dentists and booking appointments for times that work with your schedule. It's aim is to replace the often aggravating process of trying to find a local dentist through the overwhelming, and often non-user-friendly directories provided by insurance companies.

Just plug in your city or ZIP code, and Zocdoc will pull up a list of local dentists, along with their daily appointment openings and insurance options. You can sort open appointment times by the type of service you're looking for--e.g., cleanings, Invisalign, or the hallowed root canal. If you find … Read more

Yesterday I spent a lot of time raving about the SVS 20-39 PC Plus subwoofer, today we'll look at the company's satellites.

Like the subs, the SVS SBS-01 and SCS-01 speakers are generously proportioned; both use a 1-inch silk dome tweeter and 5.25-inch polypropylene woofer (the first speaker has one, the "center channel" speaker has two woofers). The SBS-01 is 12 by 7 by 9.5 inches (hwd) and the SCS-01 is 7 by 20 by 8.5 inches (hwd), so they're both big enough to make a fair about of bass on their … Read more

Maria Schneider is a jazz composer, but on "Sky Blue" (artistShare) her music doesn't immediately sound like jazz--it's more meditative and expansive than what you might expect--it glides more than grooves. On paper her group, which has been together since 1988, looks like a big band, but it definitely sounds like an orchestra.

I recently spoke with Schneider about her music and she said "I want to create beauty and hopefully each time you listen to the CD, you'll hear something new." Well, with arrangements as densely layered as Schneider's that's … Read more

Since I wrote this article on Yelp, the people-powered reviews site, I found out that a owner of a San Francisco Bay Area cafe mentioned in the piece has posted signs in his two coffee houses that read "No Yelpers!!"

Why? Apparently the cafe owner wants to discourage any (more) customers from writing bad reviews of his businesses on the site. I'm pretty sure that's not the way to do it.

But more importantly, it seems like that first homemade sign in a coffee shop means Yelp has come up in the world, if only a … Read more