Usually when we hear one big company is interested in buying out another big company, there’s an element of “Hmm, didn’t see that one coming…” But in the case of Microsoft reportedly toying with the idea of paying $1 billion for Barnes & Noble’s Nook business, it’s more of “It’s about time those two crazy kids made formal commitment.” Microsoft already invested $300 million in Nook last year, and it seems prepared to go all the way. [More]
Microsoft Reportedly Considering Buying Out Barnes & Noble’s Nook Division For $1B
By May 9, 2013
Posing As Pink Floyd’s David Gilmour To Scam Hospital For $100K In Treatment Is Not A Good Idea
By May 1, 2013
Pretending to be a legend of rock in order to rack up a six-figure hospital bill may sound reasonable — to a crazy person — but it’s likely just going to end up with you in a whole mess of trouble. [More]
Burger King’s Expansion Of Delivery Service To 3 More Cities Greeted By Cheers From The Couch
By April 23, 2013
Way back in the beginning of 2012, Burger King started testing the waters of delivery service with a trial run in Washington, D.C. and soon expanded to certain locations in Houston, Miami and New York. Sounds like those tests were a hit: stay-at-home diners in Chicago, Los Angeles and San Francisco will never have to put on real pants again to get fast food, as the service is headed to those metropolitan areas as well. [More]
Off-Duty Cop Gets Impatient At McDonald’s, Pulls Gun On Customer
By April 18, 2013
When we write about customer disputes at fast food joints, it usually involves the cops showing up to put an end to things. But here’s a tale of an impatient police officer who has been accused of pulling his gun on the car in front of him at the McDonald’s drive-thru. [More]
Buckle Up: Researchers Say Trans-Atlantic Flights Could Get A Lot More Turbulent
By April 16, 2013
I’ll be the first admit that when a flight gets bumpy, my insides do a flip-flop and my brain scrambles to focus on anything it possibly can (cheese/bearded men/song lyrics/chicken vs. egg question) to stop thinking “Whatifwhatifwhatif?” on a crazy loop. And if you’re like me, well, a new study that says turbulence over the Atlantic could get stronger and more frequent is probably not going to help ease your mind.* [More]
Maybe You Can’t Deduct Nose Jobs & Sex Toys From Your Taxes, But Someone Can
By April 15, 2013
One of the only entertaining things about tax season has to be the crazy deductions. Because honestly, what other joy can be reaped from this most dreaded of days? Well, besides a refund, if you get one. While you might not be able to write off a nose job or your excessive sweating as tax deductions, somewhere out there, someone can. We salute you, crazy deduction-takers. [More]
Lawmakers Call Out Energy Drink Makers For Inconsistent Labeling, Shady Marketing Practices
By April 10, 2013
Despite repeated reassurances to the public that their energy drinks are safe and not marketed to kids, a group of lawmakers is calling the manufacturers of those drinks out for a variety of concerns listed in a new report. From labeling practices to potentially unsafe amounts of caffeine, the report details widespread labeling inconsistencies, questionable marketing practices and how much caffeine is in those beverages. [More]
California Lawmaker Seeking To Extend Bar Hours Not Ready To Part With That Beer At 2 A.M.
By April 9, 2013
To a person, the one thing visiting friends always said to me after I moved to New York City was: “It’s crazy how late bars are open here!” Crazy, maybe, but last call is at 4 a.m., and not 2 a.m. like many other establishments across the country. One California lawmaker has apparently been visiting pals in the Big Apple because he wants his state to adopt those later hours for last call. [More]
Southwest And AirTran Now Holding Hands: Flights Can Finally Be Booked Together
By March 20, 2013
Even though Southwest and AirTran got hitched back during their 2011 merger, the two have barely seemed like they were going steady, much less married. But now it appears they’re ready to let the whole world know they’re moving on to holding hands: all flights on either airline can now be booked together as one itinerary. [More]
To Waive Flight Change Fee, Delta Wants To Talk To My Dying Aunt’s Doctor
By March 11, 2013
Stacy doesn’t have a lot of money to throw around, but she booked a flight to visit her terminally ill aunt on the other side of the country. Then she got the flu. Spreading the disease to her fellow passengers would be bad enough, but a cancer patient certainly doesn’t need the influenza virus. Stacy rescheduled to a time when she would be less of a walking germ factory, and asked Delta whether they could waive her change fee. Sure, they said: as long as she gave them contact information for her aunt’s doctor. [More]
Domino’s Japan: Have A Synthetic Pop Star With Your Chain Pizza
By March 7, 2013
Here at Consumerist, we’re fond of cross-cultural exchanges that involve fast food. Okay, we just like anything that involves fast food. We particularly relish news of menu items and promotions that American fast-food joints don’t offer in their home country, like the seven-patty Whopper. Domino’s Japan has taken a great step forward by combining a famous artificial pop star, an iPhone app, an incredibly awkward YouTube video, and what we can only guess are songs about pizza. [More]
10 Things We Learned From Time’s Analysis Of Why We Pay So Darn Much For Healthcare
By February 22, 2013
If you have some time this weekend, sit down and read the fantastic cover story in this week’s Time magazine, “Bitter Pill.” In it, Steven Brill lays out over 36 print pages (11, when laid out for the web) a core question that no one really ever asks in the course of the debate over health care in this country: why are our bills so high? More importantly, why are our bills so high when only un- or underinsured middle-class people seem to pay the sticker price for their medical care? [More]
Ticketmaster Ditched CAPTCHA Codes But Hey, Look At This Deal From Our Partners!
By February 20, 2013
We all did a little jig of glee upon the news that Ticketmaster would no longer be inflicting garbled, incredibly difficult phrases on its customers, who were left trying to decipher if kyrshztosiglormp was right or not. But is this new, CAPTCHA-less future better if it means having products and services from Ticketmaster and its partners thrown at customers? [More]
Carnival Triumph Poop Cruise Passengers Reach Land Safely; Rescue Bus Breaks Down
By February 15, 2013
If you were one of the passengers on the Carnival Triumph Poop Cruise, how could things possibly get worse? When passengers disembarked from the crippled ship at the port of Mobile, they got a hug and a ride from their loved ones right from Mobile, or climbed on buses bound for Galveston, Texas or New Orleans. After days stranded in the Gulf of Mexico, what the passengers needed was another travel delay. That’s what they got when one of those buses broke down. Well, at least this time they were stranded on land. [More]
American Airlines & U.S. Airways Announce They’re Finally Getting Hitched
By February 14, 2013
After spending years as just friends, American Airlines and U.S. Airways are taking their relationship to the next level with the official announcement today (Valentine’s Day, no less) that they’re merging. The heads of both say it’s been a long time coming but that now they’re ready to take the plunge and become the world’s No. 1 airline. [More]
Bissell’s Warranty Replacement For Our Vacuum Is Just Terrible
By February 14, 2013
When they got married, Tim and his wife picked out their new Bissell vacuum cleaner from Consumer Reports’ list of top vacs. It was the most reliable for the money (around $250) and their first few years with it were glorious. Then it developed an inconvenient problem: part of the canister door fell off, and the entire door would always fall into the trash. It was a minor annoyance, but something they shouldn’t have to bother with for an appliance that’s under warranty. Right? [More]
Coroner Concludes Woman’s 2 Gallon A Day Coca-Cola Habit “A Substantial Factor” In Her Death
By February 12, 2013
When a New Zealand woman died in February 2010, her family swiftly pointed fingers at her 2.2 gallon a day Coke habit. Not the white powdery stuff, the drinkable, cola-y stuff. And although it’s taken three years, a coroner has found that the beverage was a major factor in her death. Coca-Cola had pointed out last year that too much water is bad for you as well, so it’s not surprising that the company disagrees with the ruling. [More]
Baltimore Furniture Store Makes Good On Super Bowl Pledge To Give Away Free Furniture
By February 5, 2013
A Baltimore furniture store isn’t bummed that the Ravens won the Super Bowl, but if not for some clutch foresight by its owner, the store might’ve been out $600,000 worth of merchandise. See, the store ran a special promotion to encourage customers to come in and buy items during the Super Bowl: If a kick was returned by the Ravens for a touchdown, all products purchased between Jan. 31 and 3 p.m. on the day of the game would be free. [More]
