According to a reader who works as a telemarketer for a timeshare company, it’s not enough to say say, “Stop calling me,” to get yourself off a company’s calling list, you must unequivocally request the removal.
telephony
To Get Telemarketers To Stop, You Must Specifically Say "Put Me On Your Do Not Call List"
By 8.27.07
iPhone Unlocked For Use With Other GSM Carriers
By 8.24.07
Ars Technica is reporting that the iPhone has been unlocked. Good news for those of you who wanted to use it with T-Mobile or a foreign GSM carrier.
By 8.21.07
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Professional WIRED blogger experience the ignominy of waiting for days upon weeks for a Comcast installation. [Gadget Lab]
Former Rep Kvetches About Sprint's Lax Identity Theft Protection
By 8.21.07
“We took pride in shredding all information of the customers and being as mindful as possible to their security. Something that always blew my mind was that right on the computer screen, available for anyone to see (depending on the store layout), was the customer’s social security number, date of birth, license number and more. Incredible! I never understood that. My store had two registers in the front and two in the back. A customer could stand behind us at the front register and get a full peak at everything we were doing. Where is the protection?”
By 8.20.07
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Last week’s two-day Skype outage was due to millions of users across the globe restarting their computers after a Windows Security update. [Skype]
And This Is Your $4190.76 iPhone Bill
By 8.18.07
Like others, Pierre had found out the hard way just how extremely expensive international data transfer rates are…
Is AT&T Crippling The Blackberry So It Doesn't Make The iPhone Look Bad?
By 8.16.07
Over at Blackberry Cool they’re claiming that an AT&T insider told them AT&T had bullied RIM into crippling the Blackberry’s GPS features so it wouldn’t make the iPhone look bad in comparison.
How To Cancel Sprint Without Termination Fee Over New Text Message Rate Change
By 8.16.07
If anyone is looking for a cheap way to escape their Sprint cellphone contract, you can use their raising of the pay-as-you-go text message rates from 15 cents to 20 cents as an excuse. Here’s the step by step procedure to follow…
Fight Bogus Charge Cramming With Account Freeze Power
By 8.15.07
Regarding, “Watch Out For Bogus Charges On Your Phone Bill,” it turns out there’s a more proactive way to fight back against companies passing unauthorized charges on and having your phone company bill you for them. You might be able to get your account “frozen,” according to Verizon’s Fraud and Scam alert page: [More]
Watch Out For Bogus Charges On Your Phone Bill
By 8.15.07
Under the current system, telephone companies allow 3rd party companies to submit charges which the phone company then includes in your bill, with no verification other than a list of names and numbers. The phone company keeps a cut and blithely bills away. Scammers have figured this out and will sometimes submit bogus charges, disguised under vague names. [More]
By 8.14.07
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AT&T experiencing coast-to-coast data service outages, reader Michael writes, with users unable to connect to EDGE via iPhone or use data via Blackberries. Reportedly, it should be fixed within 1-2 hours. (P)
Updated: Contact AT&T CEO, Randall Stephenson
By 8.14.07
Randall Stephenson, AT&T CEO
rs2982@att.com (direct)
randall.stephenson@att.com
phone: 210-351-5401 (direct to his secretary)
fax 210-351-3553
alternate phone: 210-821-4105 (headquarters, press 3, ask for Mr. Stephenson’s office)
175 E. Houston
San Antonio, TX 78205 [More]
Free Calls From Telemarketers With Digital Voice Service Activation!
By 8.13.07
Subscribers to Comcast Digital Voice service get more than just digital phone service installed when they sign up. They also get the pleasure of Comcast selling their phone number to telemarketers, fresh out of the box!
Update: Replacement iPhones Will Work With Prepaid SIM Cards
By 8.11.07
Remember JD? 32 hours of tech support from Apple and AT&T couldn’t coax his replacement iPhone into working with his prepaid SIM card. After we posted his story, representatives from both companies had a powwow and traced JD’s problem back to mismatched IMEI numbers. Now JD’s replacement iPhone works, and he has advice for anyone in a similar bind:
Received a call from an extremely helpful AT&T representative yesterday. She was informed of the situation by Apple, and worked with them to resolve it. Along with AT&T, I received a call from an Apple executive, who was also extremely helpful. Thanks to them both for getting to the bottom of this situation.
No Replacements For Prepaid iPhone Users
By 8.9.07
iPhone owners using prepaid SIM cards better take extra special care of their pocket trophies. According to Apple and AT&T, prepaid SIM cards are eternally wed without consent to one lucky iPhone, an important caveat reader JD discovered after spending 32 hours trying to activate his replacement iPhone. JD warns:
If you activated an iPhone with a new AT&T prepaid plan, you *must* keep using that iPhone. You *cannot* replace that iPhone with another iPhone. The only way to use a new iPhone with your prepaid account, is to *create a new account with a new phone number,* and have them move your balance over. Period. Apparently this is a “security feature” and the system was “designed that way,” specifically for prepaid iPhone plans.
The discouraging verdict from both Apple and AT&T should make potential iPhone users think twice before using a prepaid SIM card to skirt the confines of a two year contract. JD’s full story, after the jump.
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.
Comcast Changes Your Telephone Number, Neglects To Inform You
By 8.1.07
Welcome, Comcast, to Houston, TX, where you’ve already managed to irritate your brand new customers. Laura Gill is perhaps the most irritated of them all.
