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]
gadgets
There's No Caps Lock On Google's New Laptop
By 12.21.10
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]
The Fuel Doctor FD-47 Is More Of A Fuel-Savings Quack
By 12.8.10
A basic understanding of physics should tell you that the Fuel Doctor–a small device that you plug into the 12-volt power outlet in your car–will not work. The gadget claims that by “conditioning” your car’s electrical systems, it increases power and gas mileage. But…why have none of the major automakers thought of this? Is it all a plot between the car and gas companies… or is the Fuel Doctor just automotive snake oil?
To find out, Consumer Reports plugged the device in to cars set up with sensitive fuel mileage meters, and also tested the vehicles’ power with and without the Fuel Doctor. Their verdict? Well, there are some pretty lights on the Fuel Doctor, so it makes a nice decoration.
Rad Or Bad: The Individual Pie-Making Machine
By 11.16.10
For anyone that ever wanted to make a pie but doesn’t want to share with others (or spend several days feasting on pie leftovers), there might be an answer — the Breville Pie Maker. [More]
How Gadgets Designed For The Dump Are Killing The Planet
By 11.12.10
Annie Leonard is back with another engaging and frightening look at how our disposable electronics are trashing the earth. The concept is that our favorite gadgets are “designed for the dump,” because they’re “hard to upgrade, easy to break, and impracticable to repair.” For instance, her DVD player broke and the fix-it guy wanted $50 just to look at it. Why bother when you can get a new one at Target for $39? Something about this system has got to change. [More]
Pix Of Where The Chinese iPhone Worker-Drones Sleep
By 11.4.10
Gizmodo’s Joel Johnson got to peek inside the Foxconn factory in China where your iPhone and other fancy gadgets get made. Some 200,000 workers work inside, and also live in on-site dorms. Perhaps the most gripping images, however, are of what’s on the outside. Every building is draped in protective nets to prevent workers from suiciding off the roofs. [More]
Should The Map Updates I Paid For Overfill My GPS's Memory?
By 10.29.10
C.R, bought a Navigon GPS unit a few years ago, and also paid for a service that allows him to download fresh maps every so often. When he went to install the latest map, he discovered something irritating: the memory that came with his unit wasn’t enough, and he would need to go out and buy an 8 GB microSD card to fit all of the map goodness. Is this fair? [More]
Mobile Devices Harbor More Germs Than A Men's Room Flush Handle
By 10.15.10
A new study finds that the mobile devices are excellent virus vectors, harboring 18% times more bacteria than a typical men’s bathroom flush handle. Furthermore, “If you put virus on a surface, like an iPhone, about 30 percent of it will get on your fingertips,” said the study’s co-author. And, “a fair amount of it may go from your fingers to your eyes, mouth or nose.” Next time you borrow someone’s cellphone, you might want to bust out the rubber gloves and Lysol first. [More]
Boy Develops "Toasted Skin Syndrome" From Laptop
By 10.6.10
A 12 year-old-boy who played computer games a few hours a day for several months with his laptop on his legs developed permanent sponge-patterned discoloration on his left thigh. Though he knew it got hot, he didn’t adjust the laptop. [More]
Garmin Recalls 1.3 Million GPS Devices For Fire Hazard
By 8.26.10
So you’re driving down the highway, looking for the exit that will lead to the secluded cabin where you and your long-lost twin have arranged to meet for the first time. The turn-by-turn directions intoned by your Garmin Nuvi are a welcome threshold to cling to as anxiety churns through your stomach. Then, there it is, the offramp, its emerald sign throbbing gently as your headlights trace over it. Relief washes through your veins, just as your GPS unit explodes into a ball of flames, instantly turning you and everything inside your car to ash!
Nothing like that has been reported in the 1.2 million Garmin Nuvi devices recalled for battery overheating that increases the risk of fire hazard affecting model numbers 200W, 250W, 260W, 7xx and 7xxt where xx is a two digit number, but man, if it did, what a story that would be.
~600,000 Chinese Die Making Our Shiny Toys
By 8.13.10
Let’s expand our foreign language vocabulary! Can you say, “guolaosi”? It’s a Mandarin word meaning “death from overwork!” The word describes the phenomenon of Chinese workers falling dead on the spot as they toil in sub-Dickensian conditions so you can save a dollar on your next laptop! [More]
Loading A PDF Could Give Hackers Total Control Over Your iPhone
By 8.3.10
Better not load any PDFs on your iPhone for a while, not unless you want to risk handing over total control of your device to hackers. The exploit affects all iOS 4 iOS 3.1.2 and higher devices, including the iPod touch and the iPad. [More]
Fry's Exchanges Empty Box For Phone Without Batting An Eye
By 7.12.10
Talk about buyer’s remorse! Troy bought a new Wifi Skype phone from Fry’s. Upon opening the box at home he discovered that the box had all the accessories in it, but no phone. He girded himself for an epic confrontation when marched back to the store. Something involving shooting ball lightning and calling forth minions, but he ended up not needing any battlemage skills whatsoever. [More]
IKEA's Blue Screen Of Death
By 7.8.10
Snapped this picture last night at my local IKEA of a blue screen of death afflicting their product finder kiosk. Since it’s IKEA, they also expect customers to do their own tech support. [More]
7 Things Ex-Geek Squad Employee Wishes Every Computer Novice Knew
By 7.2.10
Not all Geek Squad technicians are ex-Domino’s delivery guys trying to siphon porn from your computer, some of them actually have a heart. This guy gal does, and it keeps breaking over and over again as he she sees clueless consumers queuing up to pay for service for mundane computer issues they could have prevented with just a teensy bit of know-how. Perhaps that is why she no longer works there. In any event, he she sent us a list of 7 different money-saving tips he she wished every computer owner knew. Most Consumerist readers probably know them, and most Best Buy customers don’t, so send this on to your Aunt Gretchen and lose Geek Squad some business: [More]
How To Fix iPhone 4 "Death Grip" Issue
By 7.1.10
Here’s a custom mod you can apply to your iPhone 4 to fix any “death grip” related signal loss. [More]
Emailing Logitech VP Gets Out-Of-Warranty Remote Fixed
By 6.21.10
Chuck was stuck with a broke remote. Out of warranty, it was a joke, its LCD screen croaked, its buttons he blindly poked. Customer service offered him reimbursement, 50%, on his next purchase. Not good enough, he puffed! He did not want to fill a landfill with more stuff! So he leapt over the minions and emailed a man who had hand, like pinions he spun gears and he won Chuck a repair and now Chuck no longer rips out his hair, no longer stuck with a joke of a broken remote, his tale I now share: [More]
iPhone 4 Online Pre-Orders Swamp Servers
By 6.15.10
Today is the first day you can pre-order an iPhone 4, and would-be shoppers have created long lines, both in front of Apple brick and mortar stores, and – online? [More]
