Productopia

We're particularly proud of our annual report on snow tires, because in order to bring you the most complete, up-to-date information, our background research needs to go beyond the reviews offered by English-language publications. This presents an interesting problem that we don't need to deal with on other reports: a language barrier.

You'll have to move fast if you want to save some money on a slow cooker during Sears' Black Friday sale. Two slow cookers are among the doorbuster deals that are advertised in Sears' leaked circular (remember, items and prices contained therein have not been officially confirmed): the Euro-Pro 6-quart Slow Cooker (*Est. $18) and the Hamilton Beach 4-quart Slow Cooker (*Est. $10). If you'd rather sleep in, Sears is also advertising sale prices on two other slow cookers all day Friday and Saturday: the Rival 5-quart Slow Cooker (*Est. $20) and the Kenmore Black Slow Cooker (*Est. $30).

Are any of these prices worth braving the crowds?

It's hard to explain why a marathon is a great spectator sport. On paper, it sounds pretty boring to wait on a curb for a group of elite runners to zip by in a matter of seconds. But it's not boring at all -- in fact, it's so inspiring you'll want to break out the running shoes yourself. What's exciting is not just the 60 or so elite runners that stream by -- it's the 43,000 other people behind them at this year's ING New York City Marathon.

Need a new food processor but strapped for counter space? Consider a combo model. These creative appliances conveniently bundle a blender and a food processor.  Most have a base unit that's interchangeable with both a blender jar and small food processor bowl. Cuisinart, Hamilton Beach and Oster all currently offer these combinations. Although we couldn't find any professional evaluations; Amazon and Cooking.com offer many insightful owner reviews.