This is not how you avoid paying an airport toll. Repeat, do not hit the concrete barrier at a high rate of speed and go all General Lee over the tollbooth. Your car may burst into flames and you might die. [More]
videos
Kill The Cable Bill, Keep The Shows
By 6.21.10
Bryan over at Consumerism Commentary says he “felt a little dirty paying a monthly bill and watching advertisements at the same time.” So he canceled his cable TV and put together a Mac Mini-based system to watch “99%” of all the shows he and his wife liked, online, for free. This is video describing how he did. Like with all good nerdy projects, it begins with a spreadsheet. [More]
BP-Hired Mercenaries Keep Reporters From Interviewing Workers
By 6.17.10
This video shows a BP-hired mercenaries working for “Talon Security” trying to keep WDSU-New Orleans reporter Scott Walker from talking to cleanup crews on a public beach. I would normally say something like, “Apparently they didn’t get the memo last week from from National Incident Commander Thad Allen and BP Chief Operating Officer Doug Suttles that the media is to have full access to oil-affected areas and to cleanup workers,” – except that the mercs in the video are perfectly aware of the memos, and yet continue to obstruct the journalist! [More]
Watch The World Cup Online Live (Sometimes Free!)
By 6.11.10
The World Cup has started and there’s several places you can watch the beautiful game, aka soccer, aka association football, streaming live online and free. There’s restriction depending on your geographical location and internet service provider, but with a little effort and know-how you should be catching all the excitement of the awesomest sport in the world in no time. [Lifehacker] [More]
BP Tries To Clean Up Coffee Spill
By 6.9.10
What would happen if BP spilled a bunch of coffee on their conference room table? Pretty much the same thing if they spilled a whole bunch of oil in the Gulf of Mexico. This Upright Citizen’s Brigade theater sketch spoof explores the delicate mapping between the two scenarios, and the delightful comedy that ensues. Kevin Costner’s voice, or a reasonable facsimile, guest stars. NSFW for one naughty word. [More]
Colbert Visits The Consumer Reports Labs
By 6.9.10
Stephen Colbert nearly breaks some plates, puts aluminum foil in the microwave, and hits on some sexy spinning robot ladies when he visits the Consumer Reports labs in part 2 of the series. He also asks the head of testing, “How did the Bible rate against the Koran?” [More]
Unfortunately Named Products: Aciphex
By 6.2.10
Remember how when you were writing essays in school teachers would say that you should read your work aloud before handing it in? To see if you could catch any typos or strange-sounding phrases? Well, the nomenclature-smiths who came up with heartburn drug “Aciphex,” seem to have forgotten that important lesson. Watch the ad and you’ll hear what I’m talking about: “Fred, you have acid reflux disease. I want you to try prescription ass effects.” [More]
How Fraudsters Make Fake Credit Cards
By 5.27.10
There’s many ways your credit card can be stolen and exploited, but this is one of the more sophisticated: In this WIRED video, Detective Bob Watts of Newport Beach Police Department shows how crooks take your credit card numbers they steal off the internet and turn a blank plastic card into something they could swipe through a Best Buy scanner or plunk down at a fancy restaurant, complete with holograms and embossing. Using these techniques, one criminal ring racked up over a $1 million in fraud before they got busted. [More]
Clark And Dawes Comedy Team Skewer European Debt Crisis
By 5.25.10
Making poor lending decisions is by no means uniquely American. In case you haven’t heard, the Europeans are going through a debt crisis of their own right now, and it’s bound to have an impact on America’s economy. Seems that several broke countries have lent massive amounts to other broke countries and nobody can pay each other back. Bailouts are inevitable, but where is the money going to come from? Some other broke economy! And round and round it goes. Comedy team Clarke and Dawes take the piss out of it all in a mock business game show. [More]
VIDEO: Angry Homeowners Rally Outside BofA Exec's House
By 5.24.10
Embittered homeowners and activists packed the yard of a Bank of America executive on a recent weekend, and they brought their bullhorn. [More]
American Psycho: The Business Card Scene
By 5.21.10
Apropos of the blow dealt to Wall Street excess by the financial reform bill just passed by the Senate, here’s another piece of Wall Street excess that should probably get regulated. Business cards. They’ve gone totally off the rails. As my favorite scene from American Psycho shows, we must rein in these out-of-control practices before more kittens get stuffed into ATMS. [More]
Halfway To Our Donation Goal! $4,870.44 Raised
By 5.19.10
Thank you! Consumerist readers have donated $4,870.44 to our donation drive, putting us within spitting distance of being halfway to the $10,000 we’re aiming for. You contribution helps shoulder the burden of putting on this crazy blog show with over 30 posts a day and new content nearly 365 days a year. To help us meet our goal, out, visit donatetoconsumerist.com (FAQ). P.S. Thank you for all the cat pictures you guys gave last time. [More]
VIDEO: New Kin Ad Creeps Consumer Reports Out
By 5.18.10
Theresa over at Consumer Reports Ad Watch took a gander at the latest Kin ad and is kinda skeeved out. In the ad for Microsoft’s new social networking phone targeted at teens, protagonist “Rosa” goes out to confront in person “Matty Goldberb” who’s been hitting on her on Facebook, despite their never meeting before and not knowing each other besides some “mutual friends” (according to Facebook). [More]
New Google Phone Whispers Targeted Ads In Your Ears
By 5.18.10
So this is how Google is going to make the Nexus One work: Advanced voice-recognition technnology will whisper targeted ads directly into your ears, reports The Onion. [More]
BP Sucking Off 1,000 Barrels/Day From Spill, Only Thousands More To Go
By 5.17.10
By attaching a mile-long pipe to its leaking well, BP is now able to slurp off 1,000 barrels of oil daily. The Gulf of Mexico spill currently emits about 5,000 barrels of oil per day, according to BP/Coast Guard/NOAA estimates, which have been challenged by independent scientists who put the figure more at 70,000 barrels per day, and criticized BP for using methodology specifically not recommended for measuring large oil spills. BP’s response: we’re here to stop the oil, not measure it. Scientists are also concerned that the oil could reach a major stream that would ferry it into the Florida Keys and up the East Coast. Looks like we’re gonna need a bigger milkshake straw. [More]
$4,675.44 Raised – Mountain Of Candy Explodes
By 5.17.10
We know why you read Consumerist and why you donate. For one thing, it’s for our gripping reports from the front-lines of candy stores across America. [More]
Cat Picture Shortage Detected: Donate Now!
By 5.14.10
In this informative video, Ben demonstrates how the scientifically-calibrated instruments at Consumer Reports have determined there is a severe shortage of cat photos on Consumerist. With your support, we can work together to alleviate this crisis. (btw – we know about the Paypal problems where some people’s transactions weren’t completing and they would get bounced back to the main screen, are very sorry about them, and have disabled Paypal until we get it straightened out). [More]
Diaspora: The Facebook Slayer Where Protecting Your Privacy Is Their Killer App
By 5.13.10
Instead of just kvetching about Facebook, these four self-described “talented young nerds” are doing something. They’re constructing a new kind of open-source distributed social network called Diaspora, and protecting all your information is at its core. Instead of handing over your bits to a central hub, it goes into your personalized server or “seed.” You own the server, you own your data. Everything is private and encrypted by default. It’s up to you to decide how much or how little you want to reveal. Sound crazy? There’s plenty of people who don’t think so. In just 20 days, the NYU students have raised $93,068 on Kickstarter. [More]
