As our economy continues to sputter, it is no surprise that most of us are looking for creative ways to make our money go a bit further. It stands to reason, then, why so many people are turning to the internet to find bargains, especially when considering a high dollar technology item like a laptop or big screen HDTV. However, with so many retailers claiming to have the “best prices and service,” it is often very difficult and time consuming to find out which ones actually do. In the effort to save the reader a little bit of time and energy, this article will suggest some of these e-tailers actually do.

This piece is based on my own personal experiences in buying technology products to write on line reviews, as well as simply an end user. This article will discuss only some of the recent purchases and my experiences surrounding them, and thus is not intended to be an A-Z list of all the good and bad on line shops. I will also not rank the mentioned stores, as those mentioned herein are among the best overall in terms of price, service, and ease of use.

Our first store will mention is MicroCenter, which has both physical locations and on-line stores. I have purchased several products from MicroCenter over the years. Most recently, I picked up an ACER 19″ monitor for about $109.00, which was a great deal. Shipping was a tad slow, but it was mid-December and the holiday rush was in full swing. I have always had good service, and prices are really good. The only bad experience I have ever had was when I returned something that didn’t work-I had to jump through hoops to get a resolution. Microcenter has several physical stores.

Tiger Direct has amazing deals on many products, and are among the lowest in terms of price. A word of caution, though-be sure that you order new products and that you actually get new ones. Had an instance when my “new” item was actually a refurb. Honest mistake? I am almost certain it was, because this store always has items in great condition

The final store we will mention here – chipsdigitalpc.com – is a recent find of ours. I was a little apprehensive about buying from them at first because I hadn’t heard of them like the previous two. After a bit of online research, I managed to ease my apprehensions, and made a purchase of a computer motherboard. The price was lower than what I found on the previous two sites, and I got the item 3 days after ordering. Since then, I have made a couple more purchases from them with the same positive results. I also got a chance to talk with the owner, who revealed that they have been in business for about two years. He also said that they are strictly an e-commerce operation and entirely family based, which allows them to keep their prices low despite being a trimmed down operation. I also learned that a good chunk of their profits go to the animal shelter which the family runs a few miles from their business.

Well, there are three of the stores that I like. Which ones do you prefer?

Sensor Technology:

Sensor technology really breaks down into, how the raw data from the swing is collected and communicated to the system to determine how the golf ball was hit and how it is shown on the course. This breaks down into three major categories of sensors: Radar, Camera and Infrared based systems. In my personal experience infrared and camera based systems tend to be more accurate and will give more feed back through the swing analysis software.

Radar:

The data is collected in much of the same way a radar gun collects its data. In my option it is not very accurate and is poor for giving feedback for a swing.

Camera:

Camera technology can be great due to the fact all of the data is collected when the ball passes through the view of the cameras (a small area) and requires no sensors in the ground. I would recommend this system to the people who cannot dedicate the floor space to an infrared based system (sensors in the ground or walls).

Infrared:

Infrared systems will give the best feedback for club fitting and swing analysis. I have found the best simulators use infrared based technology and I prefer an in-ground sensor. The data for a swing analyzer is most accurately taken at the point where the club meets the ball, again advantage in-ground infrared. The in-ground sensors make putting much more realistic. The draw back is the floor space which is required for these types of systems.

Putting:

Putting can be the most frustrating part of playing on a golf simulator, much of this is due to the placement of the sensors. On a radar based system the sensors are usually placed above the ball striking area. Many golfers’ upper body will block the sensors and this tends to lead to miss reads by the sensors. Camera and infrared systems are the best for putting, but beware there are many simulators where the sensors will impede the path of the putt. Again creating errors and misreads, better have those mulligan’s ready. Be weary of systems which have any sensor on the putting surface, the ball will not travel over the sensors accurately. The best system for putting is an in-ground infrared based system.

Sensor technology will have a major impact on the overall performance and playability of your simulator.