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 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]

• Free shipping and free postage paid container
• If your box is still under warranty, they will extend your coverage 90 days or the duration of the warranty (whichever is longer)
• If your box is out of warranty, they'll give you an entire year of coverage starting from when you get your console back
• Microsoft will try and give you your original console back
• They'll try and get all repairs done and back to you within five days

All in all, great stuff, which makes us happy since our 360 is one disc-read failure away from us being in tears. – Jason Chen

Xbox 360 Warranty and Service Enhancements [Xbox via DailyTech]

Other cable companies such as Time Warner and Cox will also be jumping on the mobile phone bandwagon with service available in 2007. – Travis Hudson

Comcast starts offering wireless phone service [Reuters]

1) Call Apple Corporate: 408-996-1010)
2) Ask the operator for Gene (like denim) Teluse, VP of Customer Care. She is Apple's highest ranking customer service agent, and she reports directly to Steve Jobs.
3) Leave a nice message, include any Apple Case/Repair numbers you might have, or your machine's serial number, and a callback number.
4) Wait ~24 business hours for one of Ms. Teluse's minions to call.
5) Calmly explain your story, and what you want Apple to do.

Tipster Thirdgen adds that in general, Apple will not replace a machine unless it has been unsuccessfully fixed 3 or more times for the same issue, or several major repairs (i.e. a logic board, a screen, a top case as separate repairs).

Only use this if you've jumped through various hoops and still can't get your Apple machine repaired. Don't use this if you've just dropped your iPod in the toilet and you hope they can send you a replacement "just cause". – Jason Chen

Get Applecare Executive Customer Service [Consumerist]

The problems started soon after the purchase, where Ciccone noticed whining noises emanating from his laptop, accompanied by extremely hot temperatures. Two unsuccessful repair attempts later, Apple replaced the MacBook with a new unit. Bringing that home, Ciccone noticed there was still a whining noise but used a plug-in to make that go away, only to find three weeks later there was a loud mooing noise coming out of the machine. Then the MagSafe connector began fraying from the heat, and at about the same time Apple recalled the unit's defective battery. Next he noticed severe warping in the battery slot area, causing the battery to wiggle. Now he's getting some sort of flaking problem.

At the end of his rope, Ciccone called Apple Executive Relations, asking for either a new MacBook Pro or a refund. The response: "It's to our discretion if we want to replace it and this is not an option for you." Now he's taken matters to the top, writing an open letter to Apple CEO Steve Jobs. Six different service issues on two different MacBook pros? Something's fishy here. Is Ciccone alone? Is everyone having these types of problems? What's happening here? – Charlie White

A Letter to Steve Jobs [Mobility Today]

Essentially, shoddy, fly-by-night VoIP resellers are racking up all sorts of complaints do to poor customer service and general jackassery. How this is any different than any other industry is hard to imagine, but it does clearly deserve its own feature and sense of righteous outrage. – John Biggs

Web Phone Woes [PCWorld]

Berliner Zeitung (Translated) [Via I4U]

It's simple - text CALL to 80876 and get a temporary number that diverts to your mobile phone for 7 days, and keep your own number safe - until you know if they're nuts or not!

Each number costs £1.50, and you can choose to either extend your usage of the number after seven days or cancel it. Avoiding confrontation seems very British-y, but this service should do well in the US for daters.

Safe Talk [via SMS Text News]

The large computer manufacturers like Dell, Gateway and Apple shouldn't be worried about Wal-Mart taking business, but you can expect this new service to severely hurt the Mom'n'Pop computer shops around town.

Wal-Mart to sell build-your-own computer [Reuters]

While obviously these boys are trying to sell something, namely their "innovative solutions that enable mobile operators to differentiate themselves by delivering a better user experience and proactive customer care," the fact that this commissioned study came back with some interesting and comparatively significant information is important.

Services like picture messaging and mobile web, especially when they are not self-apparent, are almost impossible to sell to Americans. I suspect, and this is me suspecting, it's because we have too many distractions and we don't really expect our phones to be cool so we don't expect much from them. If I can't send my mom a picture message because she uses Verizon and I use T-Mobile, then screw it... nobody's getting a picture message. That little bump ruined the experience for me. I mean imagine if I tried to send an email and an error appeared 8 out of 10 times I pressed send, I sure as hell wouldn't bother with that email.

There are obviously exceptions to that rule, but not many. An anecdote—I was just over in Germany and was meeting with a bunch of guys who all had Blackberries. On the ground the US, the Blackberry was their lifeline. It, like OS X and porn, just worked. No setup issues, no concerns: they just pulled it out of their pockets and WOW! EMAIL!

So imagine their horror when because of a T-Mobile fuck-up they couldn't get their email. It took fifteen overseas calls to get things right. There is a fine line between clever and stupid, and all it takes is one bump in the road to make a beloved cellphone carrier your enemy.

So carriers (YEAH?) Carriers! (YEAH?) Do your customers not use your mobile services? (HELL YEAH!) It's because they don't work right right away. If I have to enter all my crazy addresses and GPRS crap into my Nokia, I don't want to even think about. Send us periodic updates, via SMS. Give us an immediate free trial and keep giving us a free trial every few months, just to remind us what's up, kind of like HBO used to do—one free week of Hard Bodies 2 over and over again probably turned a lot of people on to premium cable. Send us a little booklet that says "Hey, this December, send 50 free picture messages. Here's how. We'll tell you when you're over your limit and how to buy more access. If your phone doesn't appear in this book, visit YOURPHONEISCOOL.COM."

Consider my own experience, for example. I rarely use mobile services like web browsing or picture messaging. In fact, I NEVER use them. I can name maybe three times when I tried picture messaging or browsing and I've consistently been let down. And I'm the prime candidate for it. I need 24/7 web access, but I'm not going to use my cellie for it. I just know that I will have a better experience with a 12-inch Powerbook than I ever will having to navigate T-Zones and VCasts and WAP settings. It just never became compelling for me—and I'm a guy who gets a new phone every few months and has played with everything from the brick Nokia to a PEBL. It's just never been compelling and, after hearing all sorts of bad things about EVDO et al, nothing has compelled me to rethink my attitude.

I'd like to hear comments from people who like and don't like mobile data services.

Most people give up on mobile data [TheInquirer]