I've been on the wrong end of legal action due to someone else's incompetence. Because I lived in a "one-party" state, I was able to legally record a call to an office WITHOUT TELLING THEM and use it in a phone hearing as evidence. Because of this, I was able to prove that I had been given the wrong instructions and it wasn't my fault, but theirs.

So there.

If you'd like this kind of satisfaction, you either have to tell them that you're recording the conversation (which will likely get you hung up on), or live in a state where it's legal to record any conversation that you're a part of (one-party state).

Here's the list on Consumerist.com

If you live in a two-party state, about the best you can do is record it and use it to refresh your memory or put together a convincing case of what was said. But you won't be able to use it as evidence and you might actually be breaking the law by recording it so beware.

Oh, and just because they say "This call may be monitored… blah blah blah" doesn't automatically give you permission to record it (though it should).

Because Comcast has been denying the results of an Associated Press study showing they've been blocking certain types of traffic, the The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) has done their own study proving that it's true.

Beyond that, they've created software that can be downloaded free that people can use to test it for themselves. Go EFF!

They had it, they shouldn't have, now they lost it. Same story all over.

The funniest part of this is that they're trying to convince their public that it's a good idea to have a national ID card containing even more data.

Said someone from an anti-ID card group:

"It's inevitably good news for our campaign because it proves to people that this government, and indeed any government, cannot be trusted with this amount of information. For 25 million people this is a catastrophe but it is just a small herald of the national ID scheme which would mean a potential catastrophe for 60 million of us."

It's a little light on content at the moment, but I think this has potential. If you can't remember what something is called, you can hunt it down visually via connections to other pictures that are related or part of it.

Remember that TJX, the idiot company responsible for the biggest data breach in history, managed (somehow) to have part of their punishment include having to put their products on sale (oh, curses!)? Well, some Attorney Generals aren't satisfied with that.

It's nice to know that someone in a position of authority is actually paying attention.

They may have found a way to modify regular skin cells into working like stem cells. Having another source that is easier to get, far more plentiful, and lacks those nasty moral issues would make the technology thrive. Let's hope for the best.

(H/T to Slashdot for the link)

There's been a recent report about the Typo-squatting problem where they talk about mistyping a popular website name can get you served with a fake site full of ads, Malware, or porn.

They mention the McAffee SiteAdvisor software that tries to alert you if you're on a site that probably isn't what you intended, but I offer this simple tool instead: Google. Set Google to your homepage and from now on, whenever you would normally type a site name into the address bar, hit the "home" button and type it into Google's search box instead.

If you mispelled it, Google will correct it and the first or second link will probably be the page you meant.

Substitute a different search engine if you must.

When the police in Greece used a surveillance camera network to monitor demonstrations, the head of their Data Protection Authority (along with the deputy head and two others) all resigned in protest.

Too bad our leaders don't have the same level of integrity. We can't even get our new attorney general to admit that waterboarding is torture.

(H/T to Privacy.org for the link)

The RIAA has been able to run free for years suing just about anyone it can using dubious legal methods. Well, their glory days may be over. The Free Software Foundation has pledged funds to "pay fees and/or expenses of technical expert witnesses, forensic examiners, and other technical consultants assisting individuals named as defendants in non-commercial, peer-to-peer file sharing cases brought by the RIAA, EMI, SONY BMG, Vivendi Universal, and Warner Bros. Records, and their affiliated companies, such as Interscope, Arista, UMG, Fonovisa, Motown, Atlantic, Priority, and others".

That is awesome.

Caspian just released a paper documenting the research showing the causal link between RFID implants and cancer in lab animals. The reason they issued this report is because of the recent news press about the issue. They wrote and issued this report because "a lot of misinformation about the cancer research has circulated since [the original cancer research] was published". Damage control by Verichip perhaps?

In almost all cases, the malignant tumors, typically sarcomas, arose at the site of the implants and grew to surround and fully encase the devices.

That's not subtle is it? Neither is this:

Either VeriChip and the makers of HomeAgain actually don't understand the difference between a benign fibroma and a malignant fibrosarcoma," noted Dr. Albrecht, "or they're deliberately lying to the public. Either way, it's clear they can't be trusted. We hope our new report will set the record straight.

Check out the "Recent Industry Misstatements about Implant-Cancer Research" section near the bottom of the page for specific examples of lies/ignorance told by chip makers and CASPIAN's factual rebuttals.

Many gift cards (or parts of gift cards) go unused. Don't buy gift cards unless you consider the possible disadvantages first.

Way to go Nordstrom! They refuse to get involved with Christmas until AFTER Thanksgiving! Now if only everyone else will follow along.

Rather than preventing the problem, many companies are satisfied (and make tons of profit) by inventing new services to attack the symptoms rather than the problem.

Don't waste your time or money. Get a credit freeze and don't worry about all the snake oil.

(H/T to The Consumerist for the link)

A fairly clever video maker has created a tutorial on copyright law using, of all things, Disney movie clips. It's humorous and informative which is a good combination

Just be careful because the speed that he switchs between clips might make you convulse.

(H/T to Digg.com for the link)

Here's a little summary of the battle between the RIAA and university students. Looks like things are getting harder and harder for the RIAA meaning as their exploits become more public, less people are willing to bend over and take their abuse.

This is funny and informative. I didn't know that the total number of Vista machines is near the same number of Macs out there. What's that? Under 5% market pentatration? Ouch.

(H/T to Digg.com for the link)

As it should. No better way to encourage voters than to give them e-voting machines that have been proven faulty. Yeah… I really feel my vote counts now.

Anyway, let's hope a well placed lawsuit or two can set them back on the right track.

This covers it pretty well. In case you don't know what I'm talking about, watchdog groups sued the Whitehouse for records that they believe will prove that Bush and company lied and generally did bad things. The Whitehouse claims to have deleted all e-mail records from that time.

Imagine that.

Walmart has tried selling a computer based on a Linux OS before, but this time it seems to be taking. the gPC runs with very light specs (by today's standards), but becuase the system and programs require less memory and processing power, the net result is competitive with today's more beefy machines.

Personally, I'm blogging about this article just for this line alone:

Even at the low end, however, image is everything. The gPC is built using tiny components, but put inside a full-size case because research indicates that Wal-Mart shoppers are so unsophisticated they equate physical size with capability.

Ha!

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Consumeraffairs.com has an article today about extended warranties. With the way they present it, I wonder why anyone would ever buy one.

It turns out that I mostly agree with them. I sold extended warranties for a long time and I can guarantee that you'll get your money's worth in some specific cases, but unless you know your rights very well and push for them in the face of opposition from the store and the company, you probably will never recoup your costs.

If you don't have the tenacity to fight for your warranty terms, you're better off avoiding the expense.