Does lowering a connection beyond their ability to charge for it constitute breach of contract? Jim isn’t getting what he’s paying for. What should he do? He might try bargaining with AT&T. If he really can’t get a reduced rate, maybe there are some features he could get for free. If they’re not willing to negotiate, it’s time to escalate. Ask for the supervisor. Tell them they are not providing the service you are paying for and you expect compensation. Say “Work with me here.” Don’t give up! —MEGHANN MARCO
internet
Hotlist: Deal Tracker
By 11.30.06
Reader Ben liked the Wii inventory tracker, so he sends us this “deal of the day” tracker site. it lists both Tanga, Woot, Overstock, Amazon… as well as many other sites that we can not speak to the awesomeness of, having never tried them. The site lists activity, product, site, the age of the deal, the amount available and the estimated time remaining. Pretty cool. —MEGHANN MARCO
Wii Inventory Tracker
By 11.27.06
Sick of looking for a Wii to buy your ingrate kids? Here’s a tracker that automatically checks websites for Wii availability. Best Buy is noticeably absent, but otherwise it seems comprehensive. —MEGHANN MARCO
Where You Love To Shop
By 11.21.06
“Readers who bought electronics products online were happier than those who bought at stores. That was the case for every product category we have data about. It proved especially true for digital cameras, audio gear, camcorders, DVD players, and digital video recorders. The top overall e-tailer was Crutchfield, closely followed by Costco.com, BuyDig.com, Amazon, Buy.com, and JR.com.”
Why Net Neutrality Is Good
By 11.16.06
Just because Verizon gave it link love, you didn’t think we would let that post, “Why Net Neutrality Is Bad,” get away with standing there unopposed, now did you? — BEN POPKEN
Why Net Neutrality Is Bad
By 11.14.06
Voluminous pixels are spilt in defense of Net Neutrality, the premise that ISP’s shouldn’t be allowed to throttle, toll-house, or block access to certain sites because the ISP finds it financially beneficial to do so (e.g. Verizon creates its own videosharing site and blocks YouTube).
Your Doctor is Googling
By 11.10.06
“Two Australian doctors have found that entering the symptoms of a tricky case into the internet search engine often results in accurately diagnosing the illness.
Like.com Finds What You Like
By 11.9.06
Like.com is a brand-new search engine that allows you to search by looking at shoes and accessories featured in celebrity photos. Sounds lame, and it is, until you realize that you can draw a box around the exact part of the featured accessory you like… and like.com searches for other products that have that same feature.
Orbitz Hides Flex Search
By 11.9.06
For some reason, and we really can’t imagine what that reason might be, Orbitz has cleverly hidden its “Flex Search” feature. As far as we can tell, it’s only accessible through the sitemap. In any case, it’s not actually gone, so here’s a link to it. We are so punk rock.— MEGHANN MARCO
Best Buy PS3 Preorder SNAFU
By 11.7.06
If you were one of the lucky few who ordered a PS3 at Best Buy’s website…guess what? They fucked up. “Best Buy never intended for customers to preorder a PS3 on its website, and so all those orders have been canceled by the retailer. As compensation for the mistake, Best Buy will be giving US$10 coupons to those folks who preordered the system” Ha HA HAHA HA, geeks. Enjoy your ten bucks.
Ugenie Beta Shopping Site
By 11.3.06
Still in Beta, the “true price” shopping search engine Ugenie has raised $5 million bucks in venture capital to take it to the next level. Type in a shopping list and Ugenie calculates the cheapest combination of sellers.
Marketing an Invasion of Privacy?
By 11.3.06
According to CNet, “The Washington-based U.S. Public Interest Research Group and the Center for Digital Democracy have asked the Federal Trade Commission to review–and ideally restrict–what they describe as a growing online business model dependent on technologies that “aggressively track us wherever we go, creating data profiles to be used in ever-more sophisticated and personalized ‘one-to-one’ targeting schemes.”
YouTube Sued by Utube
By 11.2.06
Universal Tube & Rollform Equipment Corp., of Perrysburg, Ohio, sued YouTube Inc. earlier this week, claiming that millions of people confused its Web site, utube.com, for the online video site where people watch entertaining home-made videos.
Buy.com’s Packaging Sucks!
By 11.1.06
Jerry writes in with a photo of the totally fucked up book he received from Buy.com. He realizes that it’s the USPS’s fault for messing up the book… but is wondering if Buy.com’s packaging needs to be quite as flimsy as it is.
Netbank Plays The Dating Game
By 10.31.06
Mike’s bank is asking inappropriately personal security questions, and Mike doesn’t feel that he will be able to remember the answers 12 months down the line.
Spammer Mad That People Call Him A Spammer
By 10.16.06
A Chicago area spammer took London-based anti-spam outfit, Spamhaus, to court. E360 was mad that Spamhaus had added their ip addresses and names to a blacklist.
Cavalier Telephone Is Stoop-Sitting Hell
By 10.13.06
You know, sometimes, you practically need to diagram out the labyrinth of a customer-company horror story. It’s a maze of dead ends and twisted passages.
