According to research firm estimates, China’s hunger for devouring PCs is finally surpassing that of the U.S. During the second quarter of the year, shipments in China rose 14 percent to 18.5 million while they fell 4.8 percent in the U.S. to 17.7 million. [More]
computers
Best Buy Holding Deaf Bed-Bound Girl's Laptop Hostage Since May
Jenni’s sister is disabled and bed-bound, and her laptop is her portal to the world. So when her HP laptop had to go in for repair, it was a big deal. It was an even bigger deal after the Geek Squad spent over a month dickering with the repair and while it was in their hands, the warranty ran out. Now Geek Squad won’t give it back unless the full out of warranty price is paid, and HP says it’s not their problem, it’s Geek Squad’s. Meanwhile it’s been almost three months and Jenni’s sister has no computer. [More]
Judge Rules IP Addresses Aren't People, Blocking Subpoenas
In a decision that could have long-term implications for cybercrime prosecution, a U.S. District judge ruled that IP addresses do not directly represent people, and thus aren’t fair criteria for copyright holders to subpoena individuals. [More]
The Magical Chinese Hard Drive
A customer walked into a Russian hard-drive repair center complaining about his broken 500Gb USB-drive. He had bought it dirt cheap in China but it had a problem. If you saved a movie to it, it would only play the last five minutes. They opened up the case and found inside a 128-MB flash drive working in looped mode. It displays the correct capacity when you plug it in but when you write to it and run out of space, it just overwrites the old data. Two nuts make it feel like it has the right heft. Crafty, crafty counterfeiters! Caveat emptor, if the price is “too good to be true,” it is. [More]
The Classic Commodore 64 Reborn As Modern PC
If you fetishize the look of old technology but are frustrated by how it can’t actually be used to perform present-day tasks, it’s time for a party. Commodore is making new PCs running Windows 7 housed in those familiar and beloved beige Commodore 64 shells. [More]
Stretch The Life Of Your Laptop Battery
If your laptop is saddled with a battery so poor that you have to constantly be plugged into an outlet, you’re missing out on all the benefits a portable computer can offer. There are steps you can take to make sure your batter lasts as long as possible before you need to replace it. [More]
Sorry, No Parts At Asus: Guess You'll Just Have To Buy A New Computer
As consumer electronics become lighter and tinier, and are assembled on the other side of the planet, we’re more inclined to replace something than to repair it. Mike’s experience takes the “ending is better than mending” phenomenon to a new level: he’d be happy to replace the unbearably loud fan on his Asus Eee PC himself, but the company doesn’t sell parts. Asus could accept the machine for repair, but no one knows how much the repair would cost, or if it’s even possible. [More]
Via Email, HP Apologizes For Sending Too Many Emails
HP apparently sent some customers too many emails recently by accident. So they sent out an apology to them, via email. No doubt they will realize this additional email was an unwanted further intrusion and send out another email to apologize for it. [More]
Check The Specs Yourself Before Ordering Electronics
Corey found a great deal on a Dell laptop at Best Buy. He was under the impression that the computer included a Blu-Ray optical drive, since Best Buy’s “specifications” page listed the drive as included on the computer. Twice. So did the product overview page. But after bonding with the computer for a few hours, Corey learned that the computer was Blu-Rayless. [More]
Netbook Freezes, I Send It Back, Get A New One, Repeat And Repeat
Brian is an Acer devotee, but says his girlfriend has been stung by a particular netbook model that freezes up on her no matter how many times they exchange it for a new one. [More]
Finallyfast.com Refunds Thousands In Scareware Suit
FinallyFast, one of those companies with the late-night infomercials promising to make your computer faster, has settled with the Washington AG for misleading and deceiving consumers, and making it hard to cancel or get refunds. One of their tactics was to make the free scan on their site falsely identify harmless files on your computer as being errors. Consumers can now get some of their money back. [More]
There's No Caps Lock On Google's New Laptop
The most revolutionary feature on Google’s new laptop might not be the Chrome OS, free broadband or cloud-based computing, but their decision to leave off the Caps Lock key entirely. How else will everyone on the internet know that I am screaming? [More]
Reach Dell Resolution Expert Center
Here’s how to contact the Dell Resolution Expert Center (REC), another place to get action on your Dell customer service issue. It’s a special internal escalations team set up to resolve thornier problems that’s been around for several years but many customers aren’t aware of. [More]
Does Logitech Disable Keyboard Combos To Stifle Gamers?
Greg bought a Logitech keyboard, hoping to use it on first-person shooters. He discovered that a common shift+W+space bar combination, which apparently is often used by gamers, doesn’t work on its lower-end products. [More]