FROM: KEVIN HUNSAKER
scary
Repair Your Credit By Disputing
By 2.15.07
Max started his journey with a credit score in the low 500s, and now, in a matter of months, it had crested above 600. Eventually, and through great discipline, Max managed to eliminate every negative item on his credit report, simply by asking for proof that they belonged there in the first place.
RIAA Tries To Avoid Paying Expensive Lawyers By Bullying ISPs
By 2.14.07
“The RIAA has sent out a letter to the ISPs telling them to stop making mistakes in identifying subscribers, and offering a ‘Pre-Doe settlement option’ — with a discount of ‘$1000 or more’ — to their subscribers, if and only if the ISP agrees to preserve its logs for 180 days. Other interesting points in the letter (PDF): the RIAA will be launching a web site for ‘early settlements,’ http://www.p2plawsuits.com”
That’s cool, just bypass the legal system with a scary letter and a website. ISPs aren’t going to fall for this, are they? Comcast? Verizon? Are you there? —MEGHANN MARCO
Brain Scans Predict If You’ll Buy Something
By 1.11.07
- When people see something they want to purchase, a portion of the brain called the nucleus accumbens “lights up” on a brain scan. If the price is too high, another region of the brain called the insula is activated and the mesial prefrontal cortex (MPFC) is deactivated, Dr. Brian Knutson of Stanford University in California and colleagues report.
FDA Expected to OK Cloned Meat
By 12.26.06
Is cloned meat safe? The government seems to think so. According to the Seattle Times, “A long-awaited study by federal scientists concludes meat and milk from cloned animals and their offspring are safe to eat and should be allowed to enter the food supply without special labeling.”
Like, Cingular Friends MySpace
By 12.19.06
According to Reuters, Cingular has cut a deal to offer MySpace on almost all of its cell phones. For a measly $2.99 a month, people not old enough to have cell phones, let alone MySpace profiles, can update photos, check MySpace messages, and update their blogs…all from their phones! It looks like the holidays have come early for internet predators!—MEGHANN MARCO
Military Not Allowed To Test On Civilians
By 12.15.06
- The development and testing of experimental blood substitutes has been fraught with controversy: Baxter International Inc. stopped research on one such product in 1998 when more than 20 patients given the substitute died.
Eat A BK Octawhopper
By 10.11.06
The Burger King eat like a snake guy has nothing on this kid who eats eight slabs of meatburger.
Happy Day of Labor!
By 9.4.06
Today is a bank holiday for the Gawker Media Network but that doesn’t mean that the fickle wheel of commerce stops keep spinning round. Here’s some updates on consumer’s stories we reported on last week.
UPDATE: Time Warner Pays Inexplicable House Call
By 8.24.06
Dan Edelman gives us an exciting update on the mysterious, TWC tech that visited his house two days ago, without notice and for no apparent reason.
Time Warner Pays Inexplicable House Call, Consumerist Helps
By 8.23.06
Dan Edelman, a loyal Consumerist reader, was shocked to hear a Time Warner Cable tech visited his apartment yesterday. Odder than the difficulty in getting one to show up in the first place was that the tech wasn’t asked for. No service call was put in. His cheetos slathered roommate let the guy in without an explanation. The tech puttered around for 20 minutes and left.
HOWTO: Blow Up Airplanes With Liquids
By 8.18.06
How feasible was it for terrorists to mix together a few common chemicals into a big sky kablooie? People far smarter than us investigate. (Thanks to Caitlin!)
Study Reveals Poison Pill Among Hospital Prescriptions
By 7.25.06
A new study analyzing hospital prescriptions shows startling and potentially deadly trends.
