As the levels progressed, I became more absorbed into the game storyline and the increasingly challenging battles (well, some were a little repetitive, but there was enough variety and unique boss battles to hold my interest and qualify as really fun).

For a PS2 game, the graphics were suprisingly well done, downright beautiful, and PS2 usually looks a little dull and flat when it comes to color textures and shading.

There were a few parts of the game that were reminiscent of other great 3D platform games I have loved,- like the Tak series, Pitfall: The Lost Expedition, among others,-.. in fact, there were some levels that had specific game challenges with tools/items/control that I would swear were done by the coders for those games, if not directly taken from those games (which wasn’t a bad thing, as those were a big part of the greatness of this and those games).

I usually prefer playing platform games on GameCube, as it does far better color depth, texture and shading,- but whenever the same games look to be virtually identical on the PS2, I always choose it by default.- because in in-game quick button press challenges,- circle, square, triangle, X is instantly reacted to,- as oppossed to red, green, shoulder button presses on GameCube. Also, the dualshock controller (PS1/PS2/PS3) is more resonsive than that of the GameCube,- not to mention that I have worn out the jump button on GameCube controllers by playing long platform games (the buttons silicon reflex material under the buttons wore out and the jump button would stick down, not return to up position). I have a friend who works in Nintendo’s tech dept who sent me a bunch of replacement silicone reflex parts, but they are a little hassle to change out. I also have adapters that permit me to play my GameCube using wired or wireless dualshock controllers, unfortunately, other than for games like Resident Evil, the dualshock controller doesn’t allow the camera angle viewpoint control to pan up and dowwn as far as necessary, for some reason, whereas the GameCube controller has extreme up/down panning ability,.. go figure?

I recently encountered some problems when attempting to go thru PayPal checkout for an eBay auction I had won.

I won the item at an excellent price,- but when checking out, I received a message prompt; ‘this sellers auction is being hosted by a third party host, Auctiva,- if you continue you accept that your information will be redirected to the Auctiva host site to complete checkout’.

Not only do I checkout exclusively thru my eBay account,- I NEVER deal with third parties in the process (with the exception that eBay and PayPal have contracted tracking and logging services under their direct oversight).

[I don't even respond to unsolicited contact from ANY source (personal, buisness, legal, financial institution), or medium (email, postal mail, telephone, or in person), whether accompanied by what may appear to be legitimate authentication, or not. When response may appear necessary, I don't use any provided link,- but instead make direct contact and verification through established valid channels]

Auctiva’s revenue is from buying/selling/trading information for marketing purposes (regardless of their privacy statement). I don’t compromise privacy and security measures in dealing with Auctiva or any other entity with whom I would not normally engage in buisness.

It is unfortunate that eBay waits until checkout to disclose details regarding Auctiva,- and I assume the seller hadn’t encountered issues with it before, or would have either opted not to have Auctiva act as host (free image hosting isn’t really “free”),- or would post information regarding Auctiva checkout in their listings.

The seller was easy to communicate with and understanding of my concerns,- and as I really wanted to complete the transaction, I asked the seller to try directly sending a PayPal invoice within eBay; unfortunately, the Auctiva link was ‘hardwired’ to his auction, resulting in the same message opening in the invoice regarding their third party hosting/checkout.

As a last resort, I attempted to do an end-around and use PayPal to directly send payment (of course, I still logged in thru eBay). I suppose then, I shouldn’t have been suprised with what I encountered:

It is impressive, even commendable how well eBay and PayPal have linked their shared user info; I filled out a PayPal send money form to the sellers [eBay/PayPal] email address (no user ID or item number) and received a message in red type saying; ‘If this is payment for an eBay transaction, it is recommended that you complete checkout through eBay secure checkout PayPal payment…’.

I’ve never been comfortable doing anything other than that anyway,- and that was enough for me to immediately log out of PayPal; but it begs the question,- if eBay considers [rightly so] secure checkout thru eBay so important,- then why would they defer checkout offsite to a third party, such as Auctiva? Doesn’t that present both privacy and security concerns (and how does that not affect eligibility for eBay’s/PayPal’s buyer/seller protections)?

I don’t know everything about Auctiva, but I do not consider them benign,- and is the fact that eBay gives a last minute notification regarding Auctiva’s third party hosting of the checkout process that reads more like a casual; “oh, by the way”, – than an appropriate warning of real privacy concerns,- cause for concern in itself that eBay may consider that a valid disclaimer of any responsibility in the event Auctiva carelessly [mis]handles or abuses user information (and any resulting consequential damages)?

I’m not trying specifically to seriously ‘hammer’ Auctiva (although I dislike their buisness, like most marketers,- much like parasites that produce nothing of their own making,- but some might say they perform services in exchange for what they take). I do question some of eBay’s ‘double standards’ though.

On a broader note, there definitely needs to be legislation holding ALL who buy/sell/trade personal information liable, without limitations of [cleverly worded onesided or of unequal benefit waiver of protective rights] contractually granted immunities for any and all damages incurred as a result of such entities failure to secure and protect the information they collect and store. (Of course, to police and regulate these entities requires that still more agencies and their agents have virtually unlimited access to the information in its entirety). Okay, so that’s a whole new can-O’-worms, deserving a bit more copy than a blog about third party auction hosts.

While not all of the Looney Tunes games are worth playing or even remembering, this one is a virtual masterpiece of well rounded humor, puzzles and challenges, and looks great when played on my PS2 with smoothing settings on (strangely, it looks bad on my PS3, even with smoothing settings on,- possibly an inability of the new hardware to emulate earlier video processing programming. I have found this to be an issue with audio playback of some ingame sound effects too, when playing games like the original Silent Hill on Ps3, while it looks far better on both PS2 and PS3 than it did on the PS,- it looks almost like a PS2 generation game on my PS2 with smoothing on to remove pixelization and clean up of images to run at higher resolution, showing details that were not visible when played on the original Playstation console).

Having played a demo of the original Far Cry Instincts for XBOX, I skipped over the enhanced XBOX 360 Far Cry Instincts/Instincts Preditor (which was really more of a FarCry 1 1/2 than a sequel), and went straight to FarCry 2 on PS3 (which was not really a sequel either, but rather another story and character altogether, along with a completely new game engine and graphics,- still, a great game in its own right).

Now that I have come back around to play FarCry Instincts and Preditor, I can appreciate it for it own worth,- though the environment is miniscule in comparrison to the expansive area that can be covered and traveled back and forth within without getting boring in FarCry 2.

FarCry Instincts/Preditor is a pretty basic firstperson shooter that while allowing for some interesting elements in exploring environments,- is conspicuously missing the natural expected elements that would make the experience more believable,- which would be some serious interactive wildlife. (FarCry 2 suffered the same failed imagination and creative element that should have made it more plausible,- such as no crocodiles attacking waterbuffalo or zebra crossing water,- and of course would have posed a heartpounding threat to players crossing water as well).

I cannot count the number of times I was point blank shooting an enemy in the face with a shotgun, only to have them continue to finish whatever stupid nonsense they were lipping off to me, as if I hadn’t hit them,..NO DAMAGE,.. when I could have poked out their eye with the barrel! It doesn’t occur continually, but happens enough to really piss you off,- when you work your ass off to stealthfully get the drop on them.

Both Preditor and FarCry 2 are great games, but have AI that can get inanely repetative in their actions and dialog, but provide enough variety in weapons, enemies and behaviour/tactics to continue to present a challenge and carry a reasonably well written storyline.

All of the FarCry games have replay value and are must have additions to any collectors library.

I have scored FarCry Instincts Preditor 4 of 5 stars, but that is relative to other console games published when it was. The PC version was better, and FarCry 2 still only scores 4 of 5 stars, in spite of being considerably better than its predecesor,- as I am rating it against console games that were published when it was and are its better.

It is playable and even a good first person shooter both in terms of graphics and storyline,- although there are long periods of boring lackluster visuals and action, followed by occasional brief interludes where you find yourself actually enjoying the experience.

TUROK is Klingon for “Shut off that damn background music!” As I more than eluded to in the title of my review,- one of the most annoying [almost unbearable at times] things about this game was the lack of an option to turn off the horrific background music repetitive loop, that was nearly enough to make me quit playing and turn the game disc into a coffee coaster. (At one point, during a particularly difficult combat scenario, the repetitious music kept rising to a creshendo, as if it would end,- only to pause momentarily and began all over again; I thought my head would explode, and actually had to mute the sound altogether, to even continue). I generally disable background music in FPS, because in addition to the need to be aware of the degree of noise your character is making, to be stealthy,- it is necessary to be able to hear subtle sounds like snapping twigs or rustling brush, footsteps, etc., that tip you as to enemy position and suprise attacks (in the case of Turok, to hear Dino’s too).

Game developers who fail to include the option to silence “torturous” background music, and instead integrate it into the soundeffects track, really piss me off; I mean,- I can understand if your sound production staff had spent a major portion of the development budget composing an original musical score that was a masterpiece,- rather than just a ‘piece’ [of s**t].

I own all three major platforms for playing games (highend custom selfbuilt gaming PC, 360 and PS3), so I would have to give the nod to PC for graphics and framerate,- and the 360 for my preference of having the tactile feel of forcefeedback controller that a gaming console provides, while still having decent graphics texture and detail, as well as fairly smooth playable framerate. The PS3 not only sacrificed framerate to run halfway acceptable graphic texture and detail,- (emphasis on halfway/halfass) but also failed to preserve most of the best graphic detail of the terrain that made the PC version an emersive experience with mood and visual feel of the jungle environment (that the XBOX 360 almost captures, doing better than PS3).

The jungle terrain and foilage are reminiscent of Ghost Recon, circa 1998ish PS2, or in places, 1rst generation Playstation games.

With all of the great FPS games available (Bioshock, FallOut 3, just to name a couple),- this game, even with some fun to be had at points, is really not worth spending much on, in terms of time or money.
It might be okay for a budget buy, if you have already played the games I mentioned, as well as some other now budget games,- like ‘Assassin’s Creed’, ‘Dead Space’ or ‘FarCry 2′, ‘Gears of War 1&2′ 360/PS3 ‘Resistance 1&2′,- and you want something inexpensive to amuse you while waiting for the sequels to the above mentioned great games.

Having BOTH the XBOX 360 and PS3 consoles, and versions of the game (as well as a selfbuilt highend gaming PC, permitting me to experience the original base code that the consoles ported from),- I can state unequivicably,- I consider the single player experience on PS3 to be superior in this and most other apples to apples and oranges to oranges games,- perhaps giving the slight edge to the 360 for online multiplayer matches,- only when the framerate is more consistant.

Few video games are as beautiful in their completed publication as they were in the minds of those who conceived of them. Fallout 3, I dare say, may be one of those few whose realization meets or exceeds the vision of its conceptual creator.

As with Hollywood movie depictions of what were masterpieces in book form,- most lose much of what made them great, in the translation.

In any case, whether played out on the big screen of a movie theater,- or on the 21rst centuries greatest gifts to man,- the video game console and LCD flat screen 46″ monitor,… it takes a village to make it happen; from the patient, repetitious playtesting to the point of eyestrain,- mapping of visual artifacts and physics glitches by someone like myself who knows it isn’t possible for the developer to correct every small thing I point out,- to the hardworking team before and after the continual testing,- each specializing in their own particular parts.
(Sit through the credits at the end of a game, if you want a better idea of the size of that ‘village’ and the work that goes into just an individual project in game development).

Fallout 3 is in the genre of games like Bioshock,- or rather, Bioshock is in the genre of Fallout 3,- as the Fallout video game storyline and game model significantly precedes Bioshock,- and I would venture to speculate that the creators of Bioshock were heavily influenced by Fallout,- possibly even having derived much of their game model directly from it. (Bioshock is of course, more FPS with RPG elements,- while Fallout is more RPG with FPS content). I can’t help feeling that Vault Boy might feel at home in the Gatherers Garden of Bioshock.

Paradoxically, the Fallout 3 creators may actually have derived inspiration and ideas from Bioshock,- as Fallout 3 clearly took a decided turn and progression from its predecesors [Fallout 1&2] and adopted the more non-linear, freeranging, interactive environment and interesting character models that made Bioshock the successful masterpiece it is (one of the most highly anticipated sequels for many gamers, including myself).

Programs such as Bluetooth tethering to user PC’s have been blocked by Google from Root access in North America,- presumably so that Google can release [and market for sale] its own tethering programs [and others] that Google currently has under research and development.

Already, there are hackers hard at work on creating Root access hacks and programs with easy user installed applications that not only give users the necessary Root access to have complete control over the Android OS and what can and cannot be installed on the G1 phone, but also to enable users to effectively apply a lockout to prevent GOOGLE from accessing the users phone [or making changes] via the Android Operating System.
Just as important, users will be able to give unwanted apps the boot off of their G1; such programs as Amazon’s MP3 application that waste system memory space and have icons populating valuable realestate on the G1, which were previously unaccessable for removal by users will soon be able to be uninstalled and their files deleted. These applications would be fine, if ithey could be stored on 4 or 8 GB micro SDcard, nstead of utilizing system memory. (It can be argued that Amazon’s MP3 program contains necessary digital rights management controls for downloaded content; however, such controls can be contained within downloaded materials themselves, on the back end of a download transaction,- NOT installed by default on users devices who may or may not have interest in anything Amazon. Also, it is interesting that the Amazon MP3 program has access to system information and regularly tracks user activity, collects and stores user information,- whether the user accesses or uses the Amazon MP3 program or not. Hmm,.. how about ‘personal user information rights management?!’ ..hello, FCC?).

While “locking Google out” means future firmware updates [or retrodating to previous versions] will have to be applied manually by the user (austensibly obtaining the firmware from hacker sites),- it allows for the immediate development and installation of much desired and invaluable programs, such as caller blocking,- which require Root access (or modification of the “Favorites Contacts” to cause the unwanted blocked caller to not ‘ring’ on the users phone, and/or to be forwarded directly to a voicemail recording that warns the caller that their calls are being logged for prosecution of those and all other unsolicited/unlawful buisness calls to the users cellphone and personal or buisness calls to a telephone number registered with the National Do Not Call Registry).

If Google persists with interfering with open-source development of programs and applications for the G1 and Android OS, it will soon find ITSELF on the outside looking in,- effectively losing control over the Operating Sytem THEY developed- and [unlike the Apple iPhone], as the G1/Android OS was [mis]represented as being open-source, Google will have no legal recourse whatsoever.

I have posted reviews of dotcoms that posted on page 1 of Google, while advertisements by those same merchants (searching by dotcom name or for products) often didn’t make page 2 or 3.

It is an absolute that carefully chosen keywords and comments related to popular subject/item searches virtually guarantee top placement on google,- after that, it’s a matter of a listing/webpage actually having what the searching individual is looking for,- NOT 1, 100, or 1000 other items, which may ALSO sell if a merchant can actually fulfill the want of the item the searcher is specifically trying to find,- but the ONE item the merchant KNOWS they have their buyers interest in purchasing! It is far more important to be up on the most popular searched/desired products,- and then obtaining a quantity (actual stock or commited to you within a specific time frame by the manufacturer or wholesale distributer/vendor). Points won, the emerchant scores a customer who moves them to the top of their emerchant list.

A customer base is built one satisfied customer at time,- and by customer referals that are worth more than any advertising or paid publicity. Adversely, a merchant posts MANY ads with popular search keywords that draw a searcher to their listing/website, but doesn’t actually have the searched item (or not at the advertised price) and hopes to get the buyers attention and sell something else…..,- virtually guaranteed to waste both buyer and sellers time and tick the buyer off,- alienating them for pointlessly redirecting their search.

Incidentally,- single sales are shortsighted and no business can become successful or survive by simply closing a single sale to a customer by whatever means possible.
I have written negative reviews for companies and their representatives that did a thousand times more damage to them than pouring all of their resources into advertising could repair.
I have also gone head to head with the CEO of a major corporation and under advisement of his legal department had him unequivicably concede to my demands,- based entirely on the detailed outline I presented on the specific actions I would be taking against them.
(Doing my own paralegal work and drafting demand letters based on and citing case law history has resulted in more than one out of court settlement being paid me, sans [without] one dime of legal expense.

I know that was a lot of rambling on to state the obvious; there are a relatively limited few dotcom tech-electronics ebuisnesses that have the framework for a long term successful ‘etail buisness,- and ‘etail trumps retail in competitive pricing.
The key is to convincingly establish that an ‘etail business will provide reputable and reliable service before, during and AFTER the sale,- in product knowledge, customer services and accessibility.

Retail stores have generally been more accessible for resolving issues, and that access weighs against even significant potential online purchase savings.
Returns and exchanges: advantage retail.
Counter? Minimize aftersell issues with intelligent communication before the sell. Know what the customer wants and be knowledgeable about the products you sell.
A good merchant (‘etail or retail) doesn’t want to make a one-time sale and lose all future sales with a customer who can become a regular contributer of not only THEIR purchases but become a mobile advertisement of your business and the great products you sell and support.
You cannot pay for advertising that honestly says; “Our knowledgeable sales representatives and reputation for reliability and quality of service is why our customers are the only advertising we will ever need”.

Following is the content of an email communication with Provantage Customer Service Rep., Julie, as followup to a problem with a purchase:

Julie,
Thank you for the quick response with the RMA process, I can see that the content of your email is a form letter.

I would appreciate, and am requesting an email communication regarding the actual details and reason for the refusal and return of this item, as we discussed on 01-13-09; specifically, that the item was received in clearly previously opened and resealed condition, and has scuff/scratch marks notably visible on the face of the product, appearing to have been dropped or scuffed across asphalt, cement or similar surface.
There is a tacky plastic film sheet that the manufacturer presses onto the surface of the clear plastic crystal box cover (like a wristwatch display package,- the product is viewable thru the clear plastic crystal cover,- I did not open or need to open this item,- as th RMA form letter generic return comment inappropriately impies); peeling back the plastic film sheet, the scuffed face can be seen by anyone who isn’t visually impaired.
As all available stock for this item is currently from the same Illinois vendor, I told you that I did not want a replacement ordered, as I have absolutely no confidence in any vendor that would have received this item return in clearly damaged/opened and resealed condition and returned it to stock for resale.
A previous purchase of the same product from the same Illinois vendor appeared to have also possibly been opened and resealed (gummy adhesive line outside of the tape seal line); that item itself appeared to be in cosmetically new condition but was defective,- being unable to accept a charge.

In any case, the item received in clearly damaged/opened and resealed condition made me understandably angry, and while all of my experiences with Provantage representatives (especially Debbie in Accounting and yourself) have been positive,- this frustrating incident (costly and time consuming for everyone involved) was completely unnecessary and avoidable.

I told you that I wanted two of this product (based on my extensive research regarding features and quality, and it being the only bluetooth headset capable of direct long range intercom communicatiions with each other),- but considered it fortunate that, after the frustrating dance, I have one pristine new Callpod Dragon headset.

I told you I understand that, in order to be competitive, Provantage drop ships product from independent disributers, rather than having the overhead of stocking thousands of products,- and that is the occassional drawback of purchasing online, as opposed to retail.

As we discussed, based on this experience, I will need to contact Provantage Customer Service prior to future purchases,- to determine which vendor (s) the stock I am purchasing will ship from,- as in this case, the product was only available from the same Illinois vendor,- and I will not accept any items from them.

I am working on reviews and blogs to post on my blog websites; first, a product review for the Callpod Dragon bluetooth headset,- followed by a blog detailing my experience with online versus retail tech-electronics purchasing and the savings weighed against potential order issues (i.e.- time is money and the ability to see the actual item being purchased as well as quick accessibility for resolving problems, refunds and exchanges,- as compared to significant savings over retail).

The online versus retail buying blog isn’t an actual specific ‘review’ of Provantage.com,- it is more of a comparison of the pros and cons,- but I will be including a commentary that details why the extremely quick and efficient manner that you dealt with both this and a prior problem and issued UPS Call-Tags for returning defective/damaged products,- demonstrates why some online merchants reputation and reliability weighs heavily in not only the decision of ‘etail vs retail’,- but the importance of online merchant choice. (For example; several online merchants list the Callpod Dragon for within a few dollars of Provantage.com,- but most are unknown or poorly rated sites.- and the only online site reasonably reliable with average rating is J&R,- listing at $99,- which is $7 MORE than WalMart,- the only local retail store I could find that stocks this item). Incidentally (as I will note in my blog),- not all retail stores are preferable over online transactions in either price OR service before, during or after the sale (another tipping of the scale in favor of Provantage.com, Newegg.com and a very short list of North American and select International ‘etail merchants in Japan, China, UK, Australia). I’ll be posting a list of most or all of these merchants and the reasons/ratings as to why their service and reliability make them good choices over other retail and online merchants.

I would appreciate and am requesting an acknowledgement of this communication in a direct reply to this email.
When we discussed the issue with this product and the vendor who shipped it, I asked that you be certain to include the specific complaint details in the record of our contact on 01-13-09, and you said that you would make notes.
If there is a reference confirmation #number for that Customer Service notes entry,- please include that in your email response to me, so the history can be easily reviewed if needed in the future.

Again, much appreciation for the quality of services you and Debbie provided.
—————————————————————————–

I won’t bore you with the generic RMA form letter email that preceded this, as we all know what they look like.

Julie didn’t send a personal reply,- understandably, as according to Daria in accounting, Julie (one of eight customer service representatives) does nothing but the repetative task of responding to calls and email.
Perhaps Provantage should find some other tasks to rotate these employees on occasion, as a stress relief.
Both Daria and Debbie of accounting listened with interest to and commented on the damaged item I received, and their positions rarely require interacting with customers.
I can understand not making personal replies to email communications,- but that only demonstrates the importance of Customer Service representatives recording notes that are of use for future reference.

Provantages’ continued success and customer service for 25 years, shows the efforts they have gone through to build a solid business structure,- and the model they are using has been successful for businesses like Buy.com (a more recent buisness that also does not have the overhead of warehousing thousands of products, but instead dropships from vendors and/or purchases item lots from manufacturers after receiving order requests for items; not a problem, as long as they demonstrate the ability to provide the items).

Provantage Customer Service representative, Julie, issued UPS Calltag pickup for the returns,- expediting the process, saving me the time and return shipping expense.
This experience with Provantage.com wasn’t a complete disappointment, as I now have one pristine and properly functioning new Dragon V2 Black Chrome Callpod for $59.98 [$55.03 plus shipping], (my product review for that will be posted in the next few days).
Had it not been for the customer service Provantages’ agents provided after the sale, this would have been a total trainwreck.
Julie did seem to get somewhat impatient when I said that I wanted her to make specific notes (regarding the item being received in obvious previously opened, physically damaged and resealed condition, apparently returned to stock for resale as new by the Illinois vendor),- which she ckaimed no one will see but her.
While I understand that with the number of calls and emails she processes, it isn’t possible to take detailed notes for all of them,- the notes she made would be of little use for future reference by anyone else.
When I later spoke with Debbie Klusty of Provantages’ accounting dept.,- she said that the only notes Julie had made were that “customer originally wanted two of this product, but was concerned he may receive another defective one from that vendor. He may change his mind”. (Her notes provide no detail of the problem with the vendor, or that I had said I may purchase another if additional stock becomes available from a different vendor).
My customer service experience with Debbie Klusty was more of what I expect; she listened patiently to my entire explanation of details, tracked the returns, and credited me for them.
My conclusion is that while online purchasing of particular items can represent significant savings,- that was not the case in this instance,- as my final cost for the one item was within $35 of the only available retail merchant who stocks this,- Walmart, at $93 plus tax.
Granted, that is nearly twice the price, and would have been even more substantial for two of these,- but the time and frustration involved outweigh the monetary savings for me (some of you may feel differently).

Because of my experiences overall with Provantage, going back as far as 2002,- I consider them to be a reputable emerchant, ranking high on my short list.
Their only real emerchant competitor for the Callpod Dragon was J & R,- who listed at $99.97 plus shipping.
There were other emerchants who listed for prices as low or lower. but whose reputations were unestablished or have a history of posting misleading low prices for items they do not have available, for obvious purpose of of obtaining undeserved Google keyword page positioning and redirecting [misdirecting] product searches to their online stores.
Buy.com is a similar business model and competitor to Provantage, but did not list the Callpod Dragon. I have had good buying experiences with them.
Overstock.com listed the Callpod Dragon, but although I have had good buying experiences with them in the past, I don’t consider them a competitor with Provantage, in that Overstock.com is as their name implies,- a purchaser of manufacturer and retailer new and open box clearance and overstock item lots.
Newegg.com could be considered a competitor and is one of my preferred emerchants for computer tech products, after many transactions,- but their product focus is narrower, and they actually inventory their items.
I consider the open box damaged Callpod Dragon received from the offending Illinois vendor that filled the order for Provantage to be the fault of the vendor,- with the efficient and expedited manner in which the situation was corrected by Provantages’ agents setting them apart from the competition. Advantage Provantage.

There are a number of retail merchants that have earned my trust and confidence (BestBuy, Target are just a couple), and I will be posting a comprehensive list of both emerchants and retail stores,- including how they rate in specific products and services (and why)l- but that will take considerable time for me to fairly and accurately compile. I have a number of reviews posted on resellerratings.com, under the user name Dragon Slayer,- and other ratings sites that I may make reference to.