The sky could fall sometime within the next few days. German authorities say the broken-down ROSAT satellite, which once mapped stars and studied X-rays, will plunge into the Americas sometime between Friday and Tuesday. They’ve lost communication with the device so there’s no way of knowing exactly when or where it will hit. [More]
You Could Be Under Sidekick Contract Or Not, Depending On T-Mobile's Whim
By April 8, 2011
Chad is a T-Mobile customer who used to be a Sidekick user. He also still is a Sidekick user, depending on which situation is more advantageous to T-Mobile. See, he signed a new contract and got a shiny new Sidekick last February. Earlier this year, that phone died and he bought an inexpensive Android phone to use while he waits out his contract. T-Mobile is ending Sidekick service soon, and has offered users still under contract the choice of leaving their contracts with no early termination fee, or switching to a different subsidized phone and sticking around. Chad is still under the original contract that he signed when he got his Sidekick last year, but at the same time is not under a Sidekick contract according to T-Mobile, so neither option is open to him. [More]
T-Mobile Puts Sidekick Out To Pasture, Annoys Former Customer
By March 10, 2011
Adam is one of the last of the T-Mobile Sidekick customers hanging around. The phone is finally being put to pasture in May, as T-Mobile turns to Android instead of Danger/Microsoft. But Adam is annoyed at how T-Mobile chose to (not) tell him, and their offer of a replacement phone. Not that this actually affects him, since he had switched to Verizon days before. [More]
Starbucks Kicks Customers Out Into New York's Crazy Storm?
By September 17, 2010
Talk about pouring a bitter cup. The Post reports that eight customers inside a Long Island Starbucks were unceremoniously kicked out at the peak of yesterday’s lethal storm. [More]
5 Horrors Parents Most Worry About Vs 5 Most Likely To Occur
By September 9, 2010
According to a new survey, the top 5 calamities parents fret over happening to their kids are, in order from most fretting to least: kidnapping, school snipers, terrorists, dangerous strangers, and drugs. What they really should be concerned over are the top 5 way children actually get hurt and/or killed: car accidents, homicide by someone the kid knows, abuse, suicide, and drowning. [More]
Family Of Four Dies In Sinkhole After Yard Silently Liquefies
By May 13, 2010
The bodies of a family of four were found on their couch at the bottom of a crevasse after the area underneath their house suddenly gave way Monday. The culprit was an ancient one, the modern-day after-effects of a 10,000-year old inland sea. [More]
Apocalypse Sweet: 1/3 Of Bees Didn't Survive Winter
By May 3, 2010
We’re all going to die: Over 1/3 of US bee colonies didn’t make it through the winter, for the fourth year in a row. Bees are an important part of the global food economy; It’s estimated that at least a 1/3 of the stuff we eat gets pollinated by honeybees. At this rate, we may only have the comic stylings of Eddie Izzard with which to remember our apiatic friends by. (Video after the jump). [The Observer] [More]
Sushi "Tuna" Might Be Endangered, Dangerous, Or Fake
By November 23, 2009
Biologists testing DNA code identification technology discovered that the tuna they ordered at sushi restaurants was actually hazardous or fake fish, or even an endangered species.
3 Cellphone Apps To Block Texting While Driving
By October 30, 2009
We’ve been talking about the dangers of texting while driving for a while, and if you’ve been paying attention, you know it’s no joke: texting is 23 times more distracting than talking on a phone. In spite of this, most people do it anyway. If you just can’t help yourself, here are three apps that will limit your ability to text while driving.
American Medical Alarms Sends Elderly Neighbor To Investigate Next Door
By October 21, 2009
Is it okay for an alarm company to ask a neighbor to check on its customer? By sending a 70-year-old woman over to check on their 80-something-year-old customer, American Medical Alarms may have helped prematurely end a robbery/beating in progress. On the other hand, they asked a 70-year-old woman to go investigate an emergency next door—basically turning her into a potential Red Shirt. As the heroic neighbor’s daughter points out, “They should have already considered the possibility that something like this could happen, and have policies in place to prevent it.”
T-Mobile Posts Instructions On How To Restore Sidekick Data
By October 20, 2009
If you’ve been waiting impatiently to get your data back on your Sidekick, here’s your opportunity. IntoMobile reports that T-Mobile has posted data retrieval instructions on its website. They note that most but not necessarily all contacts should be there, but if you’re one of the unlucky few who lost all of your data, T-Mobile has a shiny $100 gift card for you.
Microsoft: We May Have Recovered Sidekick Users' Lost Data
By October 15, 2009
Maybe those lawsuits over the Sidekick data outage were a little premature. Microsoft, parent company of Sidekick maker Danger Inc, reports that they have recovered most, if not all, of users’ lost data. Yay!
T-Mobile: We Won't Swap Out Your Sidekick For A Different Phone
By October 15, 2009
Amber is a pre-paid Sidekick owner who has been a T-Mobile customer for 7 years. After the recent T-Mobile data disaster, she doesn’t intend to get burned again. She wants to switch to a different phone, and she wants T-Mobile to buy back her Sidekick since they can’t deliver the data security they promised. Initially T-Mobile agreed, but then they pulled a Sidekick Data Outage on their promise and it disappeared forever.
First Sidekick Data Outage Lawsuits Filed
By October 15, 2009
After T-Mobile Sidekick users lost data access for the better part of a week, then lost the information stored on their phones, it should surprise no one that the lawsuits are already flying. Though it is surprising that none of them were filed by Perez Hilton.
T-Mobile Sidekick Data Outage Turns Into Epic Customer Data Fail
By October 11, 2009
This time last week, we thought of the T-Mobile Sidekick data outage as a mere inconvenient outage, but a temporary one. We grossly misunderstimated how badly T-Mobile and Danger/Microsoft could screw things up.
Federal Employees Banned From Texting While Driving
By October 2, 2009
An executive order issued this week bans federal employees from texting while driving when using government vehicles or phones, or while on government business. Given the safety risks of texting while driving, we think this was a good move, and hope that it extends to the general population. Take our poll and tell us what you think, inside.
Watch Out For The Five Worst Teen Jobs Of 2009
By June 30, 2009
Because we took a lot of seasonal jobs/were easily bored, we had quite a few jobs as a teenager. But although our workplaces exposed us to hazards like deli slicers and Christmas Eve mall shoppers, we’re relieved to learn we never had one of the National Consumer League’s Five Worst Teen Jobs.
Comcast Installer Dangles From Water Tower For 1.5 Hours Before Rescue
By January 8, 2009
You thought you were having a bad day? Meet Chris. He was installing some equipment for Comcast (by way of a subcontractor) on a water tower in Payne, Ohio. His rigging broke and left him dangling by his safety harness for over an hour.
