Now Google believes it finally has found the formula to cash in on YouTube’s potential as a magnet for online video advertising and keep its audience loyal at the same time.
internet
Get Ready For YouTube Ads
By 8.22.07
Half Of Consumers Are Not Aware Of Online Threats?
By 8.15.07
Ars Technica quotes a recent study by Microsoft that found that 58% of American consumers didn’t even know “online threats” existed. The study also found that of the ones that did know about said threats, 17% of them had fallen for some sort of Internet scam—and 81% of those people said it was their fault for opening suspicious emails or sending information to strange companies because they had a nice logo.
Use Online Real Estate Broker, Get Back 2/3 Of The Sales Commission
By 8.12.07
A contributor to Kevin Kelly’s “Cool Tools” site writes that they saved $15,000 on a recent home purchase in California by using Redfin, an online real estate broker that lets you do most of the grunt work of finding a new house, then steps in to help with the paperwork at the end for a greatly reduced fee. We’ve discussed Redfin before, but thought it was interesting to read a user’s personal experience with it.
Circuit City Rep Offers Refund Of $389, Now Is "No Longer In The Dept" And Won't Help
By 8.8.07
Josh realized he forgot to click a “web only special” link when ordering something from CircuitCity.com, so he suspected that his order was not processed correctly. He called customer service as a precaution and sure enough, because he didn’t click the link they said he wouldn’t be getting the the deal and there was nothing they could do about it.
Will American Airlines In-Flight WiFi Succeed Where Others Have Failed?
By 8.8.07
The Chicago Sun-Timestakes a look at the difference between American Airline’s new in-flight WiFi service and other failed services that came before it. What will be the big difference? Technology. Unlike more pricey satellite services American will use technology that uses ground-based cellular phone sites to provide internet.
Making Cheaper Phone Calls (Some Assembly Required)
By 8.3.07
If you have a landline telephone and a cable modem, then you’re in the perfect position to take advantage of cheap (sometimes free) phone calls–provided you’re willing to try one of the many oddball companies reviewed by tech columnist David Pogue in this week’s Circuits section of the New York Times.
10 Nifty Free Security Programs For Your PC
By 7.30.07
ZDNet has a list of 10 spiffy free security programs for your PC. We already use CCleaner, a program that removes cookies, URL history and unused files from your PC. Deleting cookies is very cathartic. Try it.
OECD Says US Broadband Network Is Flailing; Telecoms Respond, "You Mean Superior!"
By 7.25.07
According to a new report by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), in a ranking of broadband penetration among 30 member nations, the US has slipped from 4th place (2001), to 12th place (2006), to 15th place this year. Corporations, lobbyists and politicians have skewered the report, but this follow-up piece from Free Press provides a point-by-point rebuttal and confirms that yes, by pretty much every account, the United States enjoys craptastic Internet access.
Congress Wants Consumers To Have More Information About Their Broadband Connection
By 7.21.07
The government may soon help consumers pick between competing broadband offers, if a Senate bill becomes law. Last week, the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation unanimously approved S. 1492, the Broadband Data Improvement Act. The bill focuses primarily on refining the FCC’s analysis of broadband deployment: the Commission would have to reevaluate the definition of broadband as anything over 200 kbps; broadband access would be evaluated by smaller zip+4 codes, rather than full zip codes; and, the Commission would need to create a new metric for services such as high definition video. Most helpful to consumers, however, is a provision calling for the Government Accountability Office to provide consumers with information about their broadband connection’s costs and capabilities:
Don't Activate Comcast's Internet Service Yourself Or They Will Block Your Modem
By 7.21.07
Why wait for Comcast to set up your internet service when you can activate it yourself? That’s what Alex and his roommates thought when they activated their service in June, unaided by a tech. Comcast had scheduled a tech to install Alex’s service, but the tech didn’t show until several days after his appointment, when he was told his services were not needed. This greatly angered Comcast:
“because [Alex’s roommate] called Comcast himself to set it up (in effect doing exactly what the tech would have done, had he bothered to show up), no one was being billed for our internet! So, instead of notifying anyone, they flipped the switch and turned it off.”
McDonald's Launches Viral Invite To "BurgerCon"
By 7.21.07
Are you ever sitting around, internetting with your fellow internetters, when all of a sudden you wish you had a corporate-approved “viral” way to challenge said “fellow internetters” to a competitive eating contest?
Walmart Adds "Customer Reviews" To Website
By 7.19.07
Walmart has announced that it will add “amazon” style customer reviews to its website, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Internet Radio Saved?
By 7.13.07
Wired’s Listening Post Blog claims that internet radio has been “saved” (for now, anyway) and that SoundExchange executive director Jon Simson “promised — in front of Congress — that SoundExchange will not enforce the new royalty rates. Webcasters will stay online, as new rates are hammered out.”
Botnet Targeting Consumers Interested In iPhone
By 7.11.07
Ars Technica is reporting that a there is a 7,500-computer (and growing) botnet infected by a Trojan called Aifone.A.
By 7.9.07
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The speed sounds great, but did you know Verizon also removes all your old copper phone lines when they install FiOS?
Does The Future Of Internet Commerce Look Like QVC?
By 7.8.07
Internet retailers may soon embrace video product demonstrations to boost stagnant customer satisfaction levels. Though internet commerce has kept pace with technological changes, many consumers still expect an even richer experience.
Now some observers predict a future where online retailers will essentially adopt something like the QVC model, with sales staff pitching the site’s merchandise with polished video presentations, produced in a high-tech television studio.
"Automatic Bill Payment" Means Verizon Pays Your Bill, Then Sends You Another One
By 7.3.07
Just when you think you’ve head everything, Rebecca writes you. She thought she’d set up her Verizon DSL with automatic payments. When she could suddenly no longer log in to her Verizon email, she called them up and found out that she was way overdue. Once she paid her past balance, and waited several days for Verizon to turn her service back on, she logged in to her account and sure enough she did have automatic payments set up:
Comcast Customer Service Agents Get Answers To Certification Tests Right Before The Tests
By 7.2.07
Comcast customer service sucks so much because they outsource much of it to Convergys, affectionately called the “sweat shop” of the call center industry. One disgruntled insider has these four unverified confessions about how they run their customer service hellholes:
