gigi, I have the Trucut cutter and ruler and they work great for me. I'm the kind of guy who can begin handwriting a long word and about halfway through my mind wanders off and I snap back and don't know what letter comes next. So imagine how off-track I can get when cutting a long 24 inch piece of fabric.
The ruler has a small, raised edge that the cutter rides along. It takes just a little getting used to, but it isn't difficult. I've recently had to use a regular cutter and ruler and - boy howdy - the cutter (and my mind) just seem to drift off. Oh, and if you lay the ruler down one way, its marked in whole inches; the other way is marked with an extra half inch.
I do recommend you keep the instructions for the cutter. When you change blades, there's a washer in the cutter that I never can remember where it goes.
Like you, before I bought it, I looked online for reviews and didn't see much. Now that I have one, I don't understand why everyone doesn't use them. Well, except that maybe everyone isn't as scatterbrained as I am.
Tate