(Image is in the Public Domain)

Data breaches are common, but shouldn't be. They could easily stem the flow by putting better security in place, taking personal data offline, stop sending employees home with laptops that have personal data on them, and, above all stop storing our data once you no longer have need of it (you can't lose my credit card number if you don't have it).

Anyway, class action suits don't often work so one man decided to take a company to small claims court instead (and won!). A $700 settlement might not seem like much, but as he says:

...it was likely more than most consumers who filed class-action lawsuits ever received (after attorney fees are paid) and it would be received much more quickly.

(Image used under: Fair Use doctrine)

Just as AOL was the first to go to unlimited Internet access in the 90's thus changing the way Internet service is charged, Verizon is making that step in the wireless communications field. All I can say is that it's about damn time.

Wireless companies have been robbing people for years with their ridiculous rate plans and minute to minute charges. Now that they're going flat rate, chances are that the prices will come down just like they did for Internet service so many years ago.

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If you didn't know this already, stores make massive profits on cables and connectors. Most of these cost anywhere from 3 to 60 dollars for the store, but are sold from 19.99 to 179.99 or more!

There's just no way to get a good deal on cables from a regular retail outlet so buy them from an online outlet instead.

For a bonus, head over to the Consumerist for a full price sheet from Radio Shack showing their cost versus your cost on their stock of Monster brand cables.

Sample:

Item | Retail Price | Wholesale Price | Profit Margin

MONSTER 19FT HDMI-DVI | $179.99 | $99.94 | $80.05

MONSTER 8M L 26.24' | $137.99 | $73.49 | $64.5

MONSTER 19FT HDMI-HDMI CA | $169.99 | $105.5 | $64.49

"MONSTER 21' STRAIGHT 1/4""" | $149.99 | $88.87 | $61.12

MONSTER HTS 950 | $149.99 | $90.89 | $59.1

MONSTER SLVR FLAT MNT-37I | $149.99 | $91.44 | $58.55

MONSTER 16FT DVI-DVI CABL | $149.99 | $93.08 | $56.91

MONSTER 13FT HDMI-DVI CAB | $149.99 | $93.08 | $56.91

MONSTER 6M L 19.68' – COM | $114.99 | $61.24 | $53.75

MONSTER 8' DIGITAL FIBER | $114.99 | $61.24 | $53.75

eBay

(Image used under: Creative Commons 3.0 [SRC])

In what is perhaps the dumbest move eBay has ever made, they are planning to eliminate the ability to leave negative or neutral feedback. Positive feedback is already pointless with a horde of robotic responses left only for bragging rights:

AAAAA+++++ Buyer!

Would Buy again!

Fast Shipping. Excellent Seller!

What does any of this mean? NOTHING. If you want the real scoop, it used to be only the negative feedback that would give it to you. Besides, if you DO get scammed, it's not like eBay will do anything about it so the negative feedback was the only thing that would protect you.

(Image used under: Creative Commons 2.0 [SRC])

So not only was Diebold dumb enough to use a universal key for all their voting machines, and not only did they sell those keys off their website (though supposedly only to "authorized people" as if we could trust them to handle who's authorized or not), but they posted a picture of the keys on the Internet which allowed at least one researcher to make a perfect working copy at home with a key blank bought from the store and a file.

This story came to light a while ago, but there's been some updates such as:

In a classic Diebold bury-the-evidence move, they've now replaced the entire page in their online store featuring the mechanical, copyable key with a page featuring a "Smart Card, Security Key Card." A digital key card. Same link, different key entirely. Which can only be done, given the database they use for their online store, quite deliberately in order to try to fool folks again. Par for the course. And, of course, shameless.

Whee.

(Image used under: Creative Commons 2.0 [SRC])

The Consumerist has an article about a reader who has taken big companies to small claims court several times to get resolution to his problem. His average cost is about $24 and 45 minutes of time.

See, in all cases, he hasn't even had to go to court: the company calls him up the day before the court date and gives him a settlement. It seems they prefer to do that then pay to fly a company representative who isn't fully versed on all the facts to court.

See the original article for the full story of how he does it.

(Image is in the Public Domain)

I found this picture on Digg.com that has an easy 5 step process to hacking the voting machines to do your bidding. Remember when you go to vote soon, to thank your state's voting commission if they are using these well known, hackable, substandard, and completely worthless machines. Better yet sue them for incompetence or corruption (or both).

(Image is in the Public Domain)

Ars Technica, usually a good resource for information ran this bonehead article today about how, despite the bad press, consumers are choosing Vista over XP.

Fact: Most (if not all) in-store computers are pre-installed with Windows Vista

Fact: Most standard consumers don't build their own computers

Therefore, if a normal person goes to a store to buy a computer, and all of their options are Windows Vista, Windows Vista, or, gosh maybe I'll take, Windows Vista, it follows that they'll "choose" Windows Vista. Dur…

Last I checked, lack of options doesn't mean that they made any choice at all. Besides, most normal computer users would automatically assume that the newest version of an operating system is the best option because they normally are. Unless they've studied the news and/or read site like this one, they wouldn't know to steer clear.

So… My point is that the Ars article says absolutely nothing of value. Even if it were true that people were "choosing" Vista, it wouldn't mean anything.

(Image is in the Public Domain)

According to a recent case, you have no right to privacy when having your computer repaired.

(Image used under: Creative Commons 2.0 [SRC])

In a colossally stupid move, Best Buy triggers the Streisand Effect by issuing a take-down notice to a blogger who wrote about something they didn't like.

It turns out that this group called Improve Anywhere did a funny prank where they got about 80 people to dress in khakis and blue shirts and had them all enter a Best Buy and stand around. I heard about the prank last year sometime (and I saw the video).

Now they are selling joke t-shirts based on their famous stunt and Best Buy (not surprisingly) doesn't like it. Whether they have a real claim or not, I don't know (or care), but they've issued a take-down notice to the guys over at the Laughing Squid. Who's that? Well, the Laughing Squid is a blog, not unlike many other blogs online and the key issue here is that Best Buy is trying to surpress the blogger's right to cover information by saying that he's "promoting" the shirts.

Here's one for you Best Buy, I'm covering all his articles, and the original story, plus I'm promoting blogging! Oh horrors. I wonder what they'll do now.