Apple has the iPhone and Siri, Amazon has Echo and Alexa, and Google has Home and Ok Google. Now it appears that it is Samsung’s turn to wade into the connected device and virtual assistant world, as the tech giant recently filed a trademark in Europe for a system dubbed “Hello” that sounds a lot like the already crowded field of digital assistants. [More]
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Report: Butt Dials Are Clogging The 9-1-1 System
By 10.5.15
What’s an emergency management department to do when 9-1-1 calls are spiking, but there aren’t enough workers to cover all those calls? San Francisco turned to researchers in an effort to understand a recent surge in emergency calls, which has been putting a strain on its emergency resources, and found that butts are to blame. Specifically, when someone’s backside accidentally makes a 9-1-1 call. [More]
New “Hello” App Puts Facebook In Control Of Screening, Blocking Phone Calls
By 4.22.15
Because we’ve somehow gotten to a place where we can no longer answer the phone without knowing exactly who is calling and why, Facebook is rolling out a new app, dubbed “Hello,” that effectively uses all the info Facebook has about its users to help you decide whether to answer/ignore/block incoming calls. [More]
140 Passengers Get Stranded On JFK AirTrain, No One Notices
By 8.27.12
I once got stuck in an elevator with a few other people, several of whom began to panic after not getting an immediate response. So I can only imagine the panic felt by some of the 140 people stuck for nearly two hours on the AirTrain elevated rail system at JFK International Airport before anyone at the airport did anything about it. [More]
Live In An AT&T Dead Zone? There's A Fix, But It'll Cost You
By 9.21.09
It’s no secret that AT&T’s cell network sucks (and, yes, that is the scientific term for the state of the company’s infrastructure). Fortunately, AT&T has come up with a solution to dead zones and overtaxed circuits: The AT&T 3G MicroCell, a router-like device that will let you experience the magic of using your mobile phone in your very own home! Of course, magic doesn’t come free — or cheap. AT&T is testing the MicroCell now, and is charging subscribers $150 for the box, plus $20 a month for the magic of, you know, using your own freaking phone in your own damn home.
Welcome NPR Listeners
By 3.14.06
If you’re coming here after hearing the broadcast on NPR’s Marketplace, hello and welcome to The Consumerist, an independent consumer affairs-oriented blog in the Gawker Media Network.
