1
red ring of death
Search Results
Your search for “red ring of death” produced “382” results
These Men Died For Your 3G Signal (And A Paycheck)
By Laura Northrup on May 23, 2012 11:30 AM
59 Comments
In the last few years of the aughts, while many of us privileged jerks were whining about how our iPhones kept dropping calls, and the national mobile network couldn't handle the call volume generated by our data-slorping smartphones, a hidden army of workers were there for us, risking their lives so that we could download podcasts on the bus. These dudes (they're all dudes) scale towers to fix and upgrade equipment, working for subcontractors and receiving relatively low pay of $10-$11 per hour. And some of them fall and die. More »
(akeg)
Even A Happy Ending To An Appliance Saga Doesn't Leave Customer Happy
By Laura Northrup on May 22, 2012 10:38 AM
78 Comments
Last year, George purchased an Electrolux refrigerator from HH Gregg. Just barely a year after the first anniversary of his purchase, the fridge broke down. After he contacted four separate repair shops trying to find someone to fix it, the search came up empty. No repair tech, no working fridge. But wait! Electrolux contacted him, offering to buy back the fridge for the same price he paid for it. Hooray! But he's still not satisfied, since the refund doesn't cover the full cost of getting a new appliance. More »
Man Commits Suicide After Years Of Fighting Wachovia & Wells Fargo Over Mortgage Mess-Up
By Chris Morran on May 17, 2012 3:00 PM
113 Comments
We've written some incredibly sad stories about homeowners trapped in the mortgage meltdown maze, and this one certainly ranks up there among the most depressing. Not just because a man is dead, but because it could have all been prevented more than three years ago. More »
Study Links Popular Antibiotic Zithromax To Rare But Deadly Heart Risk
By Mary Beth Quirk on May 17, 2012 2:00 PM
41 Comments
Many people use the antibiotic Zithromax, or azithromycin, to treat bronchitis and other common infections. Some surprising results of a 14-year study might turn some off the antibiotic, as it found the risk of sudden deadly heart problems increased with use of Zithromax. More »
AT&T Upgrades DSL Customer To U-Verse, Slower Internet, Static
By Laura Northrup on May 16, 2012 12:32 PM
22 Comments
Cameron moved recently, but not all that far away. Just to another apartment within the same building. Not so bad. He's been an AT&T DSL customer for six years, but the Death Star wants to wean customers off DSL and get them onto U-Verse. Cameron was told that he couldn't be reconnected to DSL down the hall, so he upgraded to U-Verse. Only the upgrade is more of a downgrade. To lower Internet speeds and static on the phone line. More »
I Don't Appreciate Your Bubbly Excitement About Death, Shutterfly
By Mary Beth Quirk on May 11, 2012 12:00 PM
85 Comments
Perhaps Shutterfly should rethink the automated shipping confirmation it's sending out — especially since not every occasion one might order a card for is a time for celebration. Consumerist reader Ron was a bit unsettled over the email he received from the photo product company after he ordered a card for a somber life event. More »
Recall Roundup - Banzai Inflatable Slides, Kolkraft Bassinets, And More
By Laura Northrup on May 10, 2012 12:33 PM
10 Comments
There are some particularly scary recalls this week, including a massive pet food recall for dog foods manufactured by Diamond, some bassinets that might collapse and hurtle babies, and those Banzai water slides are finally being recalled after allegedly killing one person and paralyzing another. More »
(jadavids)
Why Private Student Loans Are A Dangerous Game
By Laura Northrup on May 10, 2012 8:04 AM
118 Comments
Co-signing a younger relative's private student loans doesn't seem like such a reckless idea. After all, it's an investment in their education and careers, they'll certainly be able to pay it all back once they're educated, and they're going to outlive you, anyway. That's not always the case, and the risks can be substantial. Jessica's best friend had her grandfather, now 80 years old, co-sign her private loans with Citibank. After her sudden and shocking death, now he's on the hook for $70,000. More »
U.S. Officials: New Terrorist Plot To Bomb Airliner Discovered, Foiled
By Mary Beth Quirk on May 8, 2012 10:00 AM
68 Comments
U.S. intelligence agencies say they recently disrupted a plot to bomb an airliner, seizing an explosive device like others used by al Qaeda in the past. The plan was uncovered before it had a chance to threaten any Americans or put any airliners at risk, says a counterterrorism official. More »
AT&T CEO Regrets He Ever Offered Unlimited Data To You Ungrateful Punks In The First Place
By Chris Morran on May 7, 2012 11:15 AM
86 Comments
A lot of things keep AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson up at night. If he has enough hair gel to get through the week... Putting down the pesky rebels led by that Luke kid from Tatooine. But mostly it's about how third-party messaging systems are taking money out of his company's coffers and how he never foresaw that people might actually want to use smartphones for things other than checking e-mail. More »
The U.S. Government Wants To Make Sure You've Written Your Social Media Will
By Mary Beth Quirk on May 2, 2012 5:00 PM
20 Comments
The United States government is hip to social networking, and because it knows all about the Facebook and the Twittering, it wants you to be prepared with a social will in the event of your demise. After all, there have been reports of the families of deceased people having trouble gaining access to those kinds of accounts. More »
Air Travel Officials Keeping An Eye Out For Surgically Implanted Threats
By Mary Beth Quirk on May 1, 2012 11:00 AM
63 Comments
It's come a long way from underwear and shoe bombs, as authorities now say they're focusing on explosives that could be surgically concealed inside someone's body. Tonight is a year from when President Obama announced the death of Osama bin Laden, which has caused security at airports in Europe and the Middle East to be stepped up. More »
MetLife Hit With $500 Million Settlement Over "Death Master" File
By Chris Morran on April 23, 2012 4:15 PM
25 Comments
The Social Security Administration's "Death Master" File sounds like something that is guarded by a specter resembling the Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come, but it's really just a list of everyone who has recently moved on to another plane of existence. Regardless, the nation's largest life insurance company is now on the hook for $500 million after being accused of using the Death Master File for its own benefit while ignoring it when it could benefit others. More »
Coca-Cola On Woman's Death: You Could Die From Drinking Too Much Water, Too
By Mary Beth Quirk on April 20, 2012 12:00 PM
148 Comments
There's not a doctor out there (we hope) who would say drinking two gallons of Coca-Cola a day is good for your health, but did it contribute to a New Zealand woman's death? Coca-Cola would like to note that even too much water can be deadly. So, there's that. More »
Starbucks Can't Serve Me Coffee Unless They Misspell My Name First
By Laura Northrup on April 19, 2012 8:00 AM
311 Comments
Some people would say that Carrie is making a big deal out of nothing. That she is being unnecessarily difficult on principle regarding something that isn't all that important. Well, of course. This is The Consumerist. That's our thing! Carrie's battle was against Starbucks, and she fought against employees' insistence that she give them her name with her order so they can misspell it on her cup. She declined, which threw the employees' entire worldview into chaos. More »
Woman Spends 6 Years Trying To Convince Credit Bureaus She's Not Dead
By Chris Morran on April 16, 2012 2:30 PM
37 Comments
In 2004, a hospital staffer accidentally checked off "deceased" on a heart surgery patient's discharge papers. That one little tick mark on one document resulted in years of headaches for that woman, as she has attempted time and again to prove to the three credit bureaus that she is not a zombie. More »
Boots The Cat Heads To New Home At Shelter After Being Saved From Late Owner's Will
By Mary Beth Quirk on April 11, 2012 4:00 PM
42 Comments
Boots, a Chicago-area cat, made headlines last week when Fifth Third bankers in charge of executing her late owner's will made the decision not to euthanize the kitty, despite that being a term in the document. And now Boots has been moved to her new home, a no-kill shelter called Cats Are Purrsons Too. More »
Owners Of Deceased Puppy Claim PetSmart Strangled It During Grooming
By Mary Beth Quirk on April 10, 2012 3:00 PM
83 Comments
A couple is suing a PetSmart in California, claiming that their puppy died as a result of injuries it sustained during a grooming session. They say their four-month-old English bulldog was "healthy and happy" when they brought it to PetSmart last May, but then took a turn for the worse while in the groomer's care. More »
Best Buy CEO Brian Dunn Resigns
By Chris Morran on April 10, 2012 10:01 AM
71 Comments
After three years as Best Buy's top executive and biggest public cheerleader, CEO Brian Dunn has said goodbye to the electronics retailer. More »
Yahoo Explains Why It Laid Off 2,000 Employees
By Phil Villarreal on April 5, 2012 8:15 AM
38 Comments
The first round of those massive Yahoo layoffs hit this week, with 2,000 employees getting whacked. The company says the bloodletting will save it $375 million a year, allowing it to restructure in order to survive long enough to lay off more employees at a future time. More »
