Consumerist
”Will Your ISP F You In the A? Bandwidth Hogs Beware
Homemade Conan the Barbarian Booby Trap Almost Stabs Verizon Agent to Death
Long Island is a dangerous place, filled with bad accents and crazy people wandering around, like Verizon technicians. Eric Stetz knows mere deadbolts won't keep them out. No, you've gotta get medieval, Conan the Barbarian style. So he built a booby trap out of a massive knife, crutch and elastic trip-cord to poke intruders in the head. To death. Like the Verizon guy scheduled to visit his apartment. More »Comcast Pulls an About Face, Teams Up with BitTorrent for Net Neutrality
Amazon Kindle and Sony Reader Locked Up: Why Your Books Are No Longer Yours
cables
Are Monster Cable's Markups Technically Worth It?
Consumerist found this amazing list of retailer cost for Monster Cable, where many of the cables went for nearly double what they cost. Monster responded with an answer that was thoughtful from their point of view. Many times, in "jewelery, clothing, and furniture, the markup is even greater." Fine, I don't know anything about retail. But technically speaking and from a consumer's point of view, here is what I think: More »A Consumer's Cheat Sheet to HD DVD's Death and Blu-ray's Victory
HD DVD is dead. Officially. That may mean a whole bunch for the early-adopter tech geek crowd that's been wading in the kiddie pool of technological bickering and backhandedness for years, but what does it mean for the average consumer with only a cursory interest in high-def DVDs? Here's our cheat sheet Q&A for you to whip out if you ever have to explain the high-def format wars to your parents.
More »AT&T Now $99 for Unlimited Voice and $35 For Unlimited Data
AT&T's responding to Verizon's Unlimited calling and data contracts with a $99 all you can eat voice plan that can be combo'd up with any data plan. The data plans are a step in the non-evil direction for AT&T: $35 bucks for unlimited connectivity and messaging. An AT&T spokesperson tells us that includes 3G.
More »
blu-ray
Wal-Mart Goes Blu-ray Exclusive in June
Wal-Mart is going Blu-ray exclusive by June—they won't even stock older HD DVD stuff at that point. While Netflix and Best Buy pulling Blu were hard blows to HD DVD, when the world's largest public corporation won't stock your products, you're basically doomed. Wal-Mart is the avenue to the unwashed masses, and, as an emerging format, if you're not rolling on it, you've effectively fallen off the radar of millions of people. It's probable Toshiba already knew this, hence the rumors of it finally pulling the plug. If they weren't considering it before, it's gotta weigh heavy on them now. Update: Press release below. More »
starbucks
AT&T Bringing Free Wi-Fi to Starbucks (Finally!)
AT&T is popping Wi-Fi hotspots at over 7,000 Starbucks stores, exploding their own network and razing T-Mobile's biggest Wi-Fi front in one fell swoop. And they're offering the true killer app: Two hours of free Wi-Fi a day to Starbucks Card holders (like the gift cards, so just pre-pay for your fix) and unlimited internets to AT&T's broadband customers and Starbucks slaves. Update: Even though T-Mobile has actually gotten the boot from Starbucks, AT&T is letting T-Mo customers keep using the hotspots for no extra fee. More »The Truth Behind Costco Cash-For-Gadgets Program
When I learned about Costco's money-for-gadgets recycling program, I got excited. I calculated estimates for some old gadgets lying around my apartment, and I started looking forward to the $122 bonus that would surely come my way in time for the holidays. Nearly two months later, the estimate has been revised to $50, and I'm still waiting for the gift card. I can safely report that the truth was not nearly as good as the promise. Here's what I've been through so far:
More »
Wal-Mart Year-End Report Card: C
Oh, Wal-Mart. You are so easy to hate. What with your union-busting, mom-and-pop-killing, big box awfulness, who wouldn't hate you? It would be all to easy for me to come in here and just give you an F and everyone would agree with me and we could all walk hand-in-hand into the sunset, hating Wal-Mart. And while I do have my Wal-Mart issues, there's no denying that it's made some pretty solid moves in the tech world this year, and no matter how much I hate to admit it, I need to give Wal-Mart at least some props.
More »
busted
Linksys Seizes Misprinted Hotline Number, Puts An End To Sexy Party
Remember that misprinted Linksys tech-support number that led callers to a phone-sex hotline? Well, Cisco-Linksys has flexed its muscles, scooping up the number and reprogramming it with good old-fashioned helpful info. No more sexy time for you, unless of course you listen to our previously recorded version of the message. Linksys customers who want to bypass all shenanigans can call the usual US tech-support line: 800-326-7114. [Linksys]
wtf verizon number one
Consumer Reports Cellphone Service Survey 2008 Published: Verizon Number One
Consumer Reports just published its latest Annual Survey of Cellphone Service in its January 2008 issue, consisting of responses from 47,629 readers. As it's noted in its previous surveys over the past six years, the respected nonprofit publication says that cell service is "among the lower rated services we survey." The wide-ranging poll found that "fewer than half of the respondents were completely or very satisfied with their cellphone service." More »
toll free sexy time
Linksys Tech Support Misprint Leads to Phone Sex Hotline
I hit Circuit City with my mom on Black Friday to pick up the greatest and cheapest router ever, the Linksys WRH54G, costing a slim Andrew Jackson after the mail-in rebate. As far as I could tell, there was only a single flaw with the thing: the toll-free technical support number in the manual wasn't that at all, but a promotional line for a "stimulating conversation" service. Hear it for yourself in the call video above, and check out the manual after the jump.
More »
The Pros and Cons of LED Christmas Lights
cellphones
T-Mobile to Start Prorating Early Termination Fees Next Year
T-Mobile has plans to start prorating its early termination fees early next year, charging less if you've been under contract for a while. Previously, you were stuck paying the same hefty cancellation fee whether or not you signed up last month or 23 months ago. Thanks, T-Mo.Sprint's WiMax Gear To Hit at Full Price, No Contract
When Sprint's WiMax "Xohm" group starts selling WiMax gear next year, it won't be subsidized, but it also won't have an associated contract. This makes sense, considering the Xohm website's puffy manifesto to WiMax-ify more than just computers and handsets, but MP3 players and other gadgets that wouldn't feel right with service contracts.
More »







