There are two main problems: We like bills to be consistent, and we're risk-averse consumers.

To the first point, Sprint tried to offer a plan in 2004 where 300 minutes cost $35, and $2.50 for each additional 50 minutes. Seems great to me, no outrageous overage charges. But customers didn't like it because their bills would vary so much from month-to-month, so Sprint switched back to age-old tiered minutes plans.

Because we like consistent billing, the carriers institute ridiculous overage charges to convince us to spend up. That way we don't have to worry about any unforeseen costs, even if the fixed price plan ends up costing more than a variable pricing structure would.

The article also goes into how stupid expensive text message rates are subsidizing falling voice revenues, how wireless carriers would love to stop subsidizing phones, and more.

I know the average Gizmodo reader would like nothing more than to pay as little per minute as possible, but the average consumer thinks differently.

What's interesting is that this wholesale mentality does work, at least in terms of raw pricing. One minute of talk time costs 5 cents, and the average text message costs 1 cent. According to the article, that's the lowest average pricing in the developed world. The minutes do come at a bulk discount, it's just a matter of whether or not you use all of them.

I'll leave it to you commenters to discuss, but it's a good read into how wireless pricing in America got so complicated. [New York Times]

Fortunately, that is plenty of time for subscribers to the GPS information service to jump ship. You don't even have to wait for your subscription to terminate—just shut down your service anytime before the end date and receive a refund for the unused portion of your service. Check out the MSN Direct page for the full details. [MSN Direct via Electronista]

The Benjamin-a-year plan entitles the user to a service rep to come out next-day, no matter where on the planet you are—provided it's somewhere reasonable, we'd assume. The tech guy came by his office and fixed exactly what was wrong, basically doing an in-house call that Apple stores, even with their notoriously decent service, couldn't match. I mean, in-house? And they even ignored the fact that he put Linux on there instead of his original Vista?

He does some caveats on his experience with IBM/Lenovo as a whole, and you can check that out over at BB. [BoingBoing]

Apple scored the highest with an A overall (that's a combined score of online and phone tech support). HP, Acer and Dell tied for lowest with C- each.

The good news: Most techs were able to answer basic usage questions after hold times within 5 minutes...with the exception of Dell, who maxed out at 19 minutes before connecting Laptop to a line that was "full of static and hissing" only to be transferred through one of those seemingly infinite tech support loops.

The bad news: While some problems across manufacturers varied, like Acer claiming that a computer was beyond its warranty date (despite not having even been manufactured by its alleged expiration), others were fairly common, like the low call quality from overseas lines.

Of course, we're just skimming the surface of Laptop's results, so hit them up and read the whole story on the current state of online and call-in technical support. [Laptop, Image, it's actually a 911 call center in NY]

Users will now be able to drop any file into a note which is then synchronized with the Evernote Service. The note is made instantly available to all versions of the app, including the one for the iPhone. While you won't be able to edit those files on the iPhone, you will be able to view, listen to, and even email them. Currently, this feature is limited to Evernote Premium. The service costs $5/month or $45/year if you pay annually. [Evernote via Wired]

If you want to really go nuts, there is a 3rd tier "Premium Onsite Support" branch that will offer assistance with problems like OS and network installations for a price that falls between $100-$300 depending on the service. That's all well and good if you are loyal to Verizon, but with the market for home repair service getting so competitive, one has to wonder whether all of these companies can carve out their own piece of the pie. [Verizon via Ars Technica]

Xbox Live will be offline, and you won't even be able to bitch about it because the official Xbox forums will be down as well. Be-masked Xbox spokesperson Major Nelson confirms that there will be no updates whatsoever to the service, especially not the Xbox Experience update due this fall, so quit bugging him about it. Zune, for its part, will lose Zune Social, the Zune Marketplace and the Zune.net forums, again with absolutely no new features when the service is back up and running. So, commenters, how are you going to deal with what I've just decided to name the Great Microsoft Service Outage of 2008? Read a book? Go to work? Not care because you've never even seen a Zune in real life? [Xbox Live's Major Nelson and Zune Insider]

NO CONTRACT REQUIRED — NEW MONTH-TO-MONTH AGREEMENT GIVES VERIZON WIRELESS CUSTOMERS EVEN MORE FREEDOM

BASKING RIDGE, N.J. – Beginning today, Verizon Wireless customers who want to enjoy the best customer experience in wireless, but don’t want to sign a one- or two-year customer agreement have a month-to-month option. The new Month-to-Month agreement is an extension of the company’s overall commitment to delivering its customers quality products and services over the nation’s most reliable wireless network, while providing the industry’s best customer service.

Verizon Wireless’ new Month-to-Month agreement gives customers the freedom to purchase new devices at full-retail price, or use their own CDMA devices without the commitment of a one- or two-year contract. Additionally customers can terminate their agreement at the end of any month without paying an Early Termination Fee.

The company’s Month-to-Month agreement is now available on all Nationwide Voice and Data plans for both new and current contract customers. Current contract customers must fulfill the terms of their current contract before moving to a Month-to-Month agreement.

Is this worth it? It depends on your luck. Most products don't break within the first three years of their lifespan, but if you buy enough STUFF, the odds are that at least one of your things will break. Since we're all Giz readers here, we're likely to fall under this category. So here's the bottom line. You're paying $360 over the course of three years (the extend that they cover a product) for this. If in that span of three years, something(s) breaks that will cost more than $360 to fix or replace, you're out in front. If not, you're out $360.

We can't say whether they're good with honoring repairs since they're a new company, but they are owned by the parent corporation Experian. Does Experian ring a bell? They also own FreeCreditReport.com, which signs you up for a $14.95 a month fee when you get a "free" credit report from their site. [Green Umbrella]

Make sure to write this down. You're gonna need it. [consumerist]

The audit also uncovered that the most significant of these lapses involved the DoD's handling of London-based weapons maker BAE Systems. According to the report, DSS failed to collect the company's internal audits—information that is crucial to determining potential weaknesses at the plant. The DSS responded saying that they have "a thorough and fundamentally sound facility inspection process which was only marginally diminished by the failure to systematically collect, analyze, and retain BAE's required reports" and that they have "taken action to resolve this shortcoming." However, a recent House Armed Services Committee hearing revealed that the DSS has been significantly understaffed for some time. Currently, around 750 people work for DSS and a rep claimed to be short staffed by "well over a hundred" persons.

So rest easy folks. Once again, you can be secure in the knowledge that our government has everything under control. UPDATE: BAE systems has responded to claims that their facility is not secure stating that "there is no basis whatsoever for that conclusion." [Wired]

The small print on their page says you need AT&T service in order to activate iPhone and iPod features. This leaves the question of whether these features will be active after your two-year subscription is over up in the air, but we'll look in to that.

Apple Rate Plans

Apple Rate Plans [Apple]