Features of the Magnavox TB110MW9 DTV Converter Box with analog pass through. Buy this box FREE WITH A COUPON and a replacement remote from our site at EZDigitalTV.com

A few days ago, I got another lesson in the Law of Unintended Consequences. I tried out a free service called Soocial, aimed at the "connected consumer" who wants to share a single electronic address book among all their computers and portable devices.

Great idea, if it had worked right. Unfortunately, Soocial's software didn't properly handle my Microsoft Outlook contacts list, in which I have my contacts neatly organized into several subfolders: personal, companies, organizations, medical, etc. What Soocial did was copy the contacts from ALL my subfolders to a single online folder—not a very useful tool. But it gets worse: when Soocial subsequently "synchronized" between Outlook and online, it inserted all the hundreds of extra contacts from all the subfolders into my personal folder in Outlook, and then proceeded to DELETE them from the original subfolders! Ouch!

(Fortunately, I regularly backup my Outlook storage file. Most Outlook users do not, since Microsoft inexplicably puts this file in an obscure, hidden folder rather than in "My Documents" where you'd normally expect to find such things residing for easy backup.)

Soocial currently uses a Beta version of its software, which signifies that the program is still being developed and debugged, and might be expected to exhibit strange behavior. I should have heeded the warnings that are invariably embedded in the "fine print" when one downloads Beta software, and first experimented with it using data I could afford to lose.

Beta software doesn't carry any guarantee of performance—in fact, it's almost always free—and support is usually limited to user forums where other "Beta testers" help each other with problems. The manufacturer supposedly watches these forums for consistent "issues" that signal problems they need to fix before the final version. That sort of feedback is the reason that software companies make Beta software available to the public, a growing trend.

Beta software includes the newest version of Google's Chrome browser and Microsoft's Security Essentials anti-malware program (though the public beta is now closed to new testers). Microsoft made the Windows 7 "release candidate" available as a public Beta months before the final version was ready for manufacturing. (It's due Oct 22nd.)

Our advice: Beta software can be a nice, cost-free way to try out a product before it's released. But don't rely on Beta software to do everything it claims to do right, or even at all. It may not even uninstall cleanly, so beware. Expect problems, and don't use Beta software to work on important files you can't afford to lose. —Dean Gallea

Low price may not be the only reason to shop at a warehouse club: Sam’s Club has announced it will offer free tech support on electronics products beginning November 1. The wholesaler is also offering home delivery and installation packages starting at $50 and $89, respectively.

According to their release, Sam’s Club “Tech Experts” will give free assistance to members with installation, set up, and troubleshooting queries on a broad range of consumer electronics products—whether or not they were purchased at Sam’s.

There’s a tradeoff, though. While Sam’s return policy on electronics has been among the most lenient in the industry (with no time limit on any item other than computers, which have a 6-month return period), all electronics items purchased after November 1 will have a 90-day return window. Anything bought before then will be covered under the current returns policy.

Sam’s isn’t the first membership warehouse club to offer free tech support to its members: Costco has been providing free “Concierge Services” to it’s members for a few years now. (If any Costco members have used this service, we'd like to hear about your experience. Let us know in the comments section.)

For more on free help with electronics, see “Get free tech support online.” Also, check out our free guide to buying electronics and our Ratings of electronics retailers (available to subscribers). —Nick K. Mandle

We’ve just posted Home Theater Ratings (available to ConsumerReports.org subscribers) for 15 new home-theater-in-a box systems, which include models without a built-in player, those with an integrated Blu-ray player, and models that have a DVD player. Most are 5.1- or 7.1-channel systems equipped with either five or seven acoustically matched speakers, plus a powered subwoofer. One model, a Samsung, is a 2.1-channel system designed for those who don’t have the room or desire for a full multichannel set-up.

Prices for these systems vary widely—the least expensive system we tested, a 5.1-channel system from RCA, costs $160, and Blu-ray models from both LG and Samsung are priced at $700. And price isn’t the best indicator of performance, we found.

You’ll have to choose carefully when buying a system to get the best combination of sound and video quality. For Blu-ray models, high-definition 1080p picture quality was uniformly excellent when playing Blu-ray discs, and most also did a good job upconverting standard DVDs; upconverted 1080p picture quality, however varied among systems with DVD players. But the biggest differentiator among systems was sound quality, which ranged from very good to disappointing.

More models have features such as an option for adding wireless rear speakers, iPod docks that let you play songs or videos through your entertainment system, and auto-calibration feature that can automatically set appropriate speaker volume levels. Some Blu-ray models are able to stream movies instantly from online services, such as Amazon Video On Demand and Netflix.

You’ll find more detailed information on the systems we rated than in previous tests. We’re already getting some new models in for testing, so check back here soon for information about when those results will be posted. —James K. Willcox

Everyone at one time or another has received an email with a very large image file attached. It can be very annoying. I've even deleted some emails that were just way too big. Here's how to do away with the problem by reducing the size of your photos before you email them.

One way is to see if your camera has a photo-email feature, which will automatically resize a copy of the larger image, which you can then email. Another way is to open the file in image-editing software, like Adobe Photoshop Elements or Apple iPhoto. Select the photo. Then choose "email photo" or "email attachments". Generally, you'll have various options to choose from, but the most important is the size of the file. Use the smallest size option for the fastest uploading times. Click "OK" or "compose." The software should open your email application, and attach the downsized photo to a new email message. —Terry Sullivan