Between safety concerns and a tit-for-tat with a former supplier of parts for its assisted-driving system, Tesla’s Autopilot has been thrust into the spotlight numerous times in the last year. Now, the company is doing battle over the semi-autonomous feature again, this time suing a man who formerly worked as a manager for the division, claiming he stole company secrets to start his own self-driving company. [More]
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Consumerist Friday Flickr Finds
By 5.15.15
Here are nine of the best photos that readers added to the Consumerist Flickr Pool in the last week, picked for usability in a Consumerist post or for just plain neatness. [More]
Media Companies Afraid To Show FCC Their Comcast Contracts Because Rivals Might Learn Their Secrets
By 9.30.14
It’s no secret that media companies are pretty worried about the repercussions of letting Comcast and Time Warner Cable merge. But what is a big secret are the agreements that those companies have with Comcast and TWC right now. They’re so secret, in fact, that networks are refusing to share any data with the FCC because they’re afraid their rivals might benefit from it. And that’s a problem, because without that data, the FCC is missing one of the key tools it should have in its toolbox as it evaluates the merger. [More]
5 Little-Known Ways To Save Money On Amazon
By 8.29.14
Online shoppers often end up buying things on Amazon by default. They have the best price, and hey, I have a Prime membership anyway! What you may not realize is that there are ways to save money even after you’ve put that package of flea pills or protein powder or new keyboard in your cart. [More]
Ex-Ford Employee Admits Stealing Secrets Worth $50 Million
By 11.23.10
Espionage! A former Ford engineer charged with stealing trade secrets worth $50 million has pleaded guilty, and was apparently caught with the evidence on his laptop when he was arrested in Chicago in 2009. The man worked for Ford for 10 years before quitting the company to accept a position at a Ford competitor — Beijing Automotive. [More]
SNL Teaches The Secret To Staying Debt Free
By 10.27.10
With the economy in the pooper, it’s time to repost this classic Saturday Night Live sketch which contains the most important secret to staying out of debt and living happily. Starring Steve Martin, Amy Poehler and Chris Parnell, this gem distills the one essential trick to just one single phrase… [More]
Hyatt Charges Asthmatic Woman $250 For Smoking, Says It Has Secret Photos
By 9.8.10
A woman who stayed at a Hyatt in Milwaukee last month was hit with an extra $250 charge for smoking in her room. The problem, she says, is that she has severe asthma–she offered to show Hyatt her prescriptions–and is not a smoker. When she complained to Hyatt, the hotel’s director of operations told her “the Hyatt had photographic evidence of smoking in the room and would absolutely not refund her money.” [More]
5 Secrets Your Waiter Doesn't Want You To Know
By 7.29.10
The kitchens and pantries of restaurants are a strange and mysterious place to many people. We’ve all heard horror stories on the news about staffers committing heinous acts of food molestation or heard whispers that you should never eat the shellfish special. But the editors at Reader’s Digest went straight to the source and spoke to real restaurant wait staff to get the inside scoop. [More]
Simple Mobile Unlimited Data Plan Is Of Course Secretly Limited
By 7.26.10
Simple Mobile, a reseller of T-Mobile cellphone service, offers a $60 “unlimited everything” plan that includes unlimited data. To no one’s surprise, there is a hard cap on the unlimited data according to Howard Forums and our tipster Eric. Naturally you can’t find that limit anywhere on their website, and if you exceed it you’re asked to pay $10 for an additional 100 MB of data. [More]
24 Secret Menu Options To Dream About
By 3.4.10
It’s been nearly three years since Meg put together that epic list of every secret menu known to mankind, and now Coupon Sherpa is following up with 24 items you may not have known you could order. [More]
Everything You Wanted To Know About BestBuy.com
By 12.28.09
Someone who says he’s worked with BestBuy.com for a couple of years now sent us an exhaustive list of topics related to buying from the website. Learn about the Satisfaction Matrix that determines how a CSR treats you! Discover the best way to ensure a new shipping address is accepted into the system! Exciting stuff like that follows. [More]
Secrets Of Waiters
By 12.1.09
Michelle Crouch at Reader’s Digest has compiled another list of secrets that your waiter won’t tell you. Some are just going to make you annoyed, like the waitress who lies for sympathy tips. But there are plenty of useful secrets on the list that might improve your experience the next time you go out to eat. [More]
6 Things Your Insurance Agent Doesn't Need To Hear
By 10.23.09
MSN Money Central posted a list of five things not to tell your insurer.
How To Reverse A Debit Card Overcharge Quickly
By 9.15.09
If someday you have the bad luck to have one of your debit transactions entered incorrectly by a merchant, here’s how to get things back to normal quickly. The important part is not to let the merchant “get back to you” at some later day. Instead, try to get your bank and the merchant on the line at the same time in order to get it rectified immediately.
How Toothpaste Got Its Stripes
By 8.7.09
If you always assumed striped toothpaste was the work of a magic devil, assume again. It turns out it’s the work of a little extended pipe inside the tube that merges the different colored substances onto the toothpaste highway and straight onto your brush. That mechanical trick is half a century old, however; modern varieties sometimes just come that way, as this frozen toothpaste photo that’s been around for a while demonstrates.
10 Things You Should Know About Gas Stations
By 7.7.09
MSN Money has a list of 10 secrets about gas stations that could cost you money if you don’t know about them. The best ones are about why you shouldn’t use a debit card. For example, some stations will ask banks to place a hold on some of the cash in your account to cover your purchase, and won’t report the real purchase amount for a few days, leaving your cash in limbo.
Alan Thicke Can't Save Tahiti Village Timeshare Company From Going Under
By 6.24.09
Even the hearty television presence of Alan Thicke couldn’t help Consolidated Resorts, Inc., a company owned by Goldman Sachs that sold timeshares, from going belly up. An anonymous tipster emailed us yesterday to say that they “just laid off most of their staff, including all collections, customers service, marketing, information technology departments.” And according to this insider, this is good news for consumers.
Hey! Walt Disney Reuses Animation Sequences!
By 4.23.09
We were fascinated to discover today that Walt Disney reused animation cycles across different movies—the characters are unique (sorta) but the motions are cel for cel copies. It looks like the movies that reuse animation are from that infamous era in the 70s and 80s when Disney’s animation unit cut too many corners and churned out less “classic” fare. Well, they were copying classics—shouldn’t that count for something? Video clip below.
