The Museum Of Weird Consumer Culture.

posted on Dec 14, 2007 - View this thread

Luxury items, once made by European artisans, fetched a high price due to the craft of making the items by hand in small workshops. But now, although the prices are even more astronomical, the products themselves are really cheaply produced in Chinese factories, similar to those that make Gap socks, or baseball caps. Despite this, they continue to be worn as badges bought on thinning credit.
posted on Nov 24, 2007 - View this thread

When they came for the gummy bear, I remained silent; I have cavities. When they came for the red hots, I remained silent; I am allergic to cinnamon. But when they came for the liquorice allsorts, one man did not stay silent. And for that Bertie Bassett thanks him.
posted on Nov 7, 2007 - View this thread

There's been much talk about the Supreme's decisions on desegregation and free speech, but another ruling with broad consumer impact has gone relatively unnoticed. In a 5-4 decision [PDF], the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a 96-year-old ban on minimum pricing agreements between manufacturers and retailers. Dissenting opinion believes that this ruling will hurt consumers, raise prices and keep new retailers out of the marketplace. The 1911 ruling that was overturned was Dr. Miles Medical Co. vs. John D. Park & Sons which decided that it is always illegal for a supplier to dictate minimum prices to a retailer.
posted on Jun 29, 2007 - View this thread

...no one here has any intentions of helping you with anything. I am the manager of all of Customer Service. There is no one higher than me that you will speak with.
posted on Feb 1, 2007 - View this thread

In the last few years, Fair Isaacs, along with the FTC have made considerable effort in educating us in how our credit scores are derived. But is the whole system about to change? In a somewhat quiet AP story, the three major credit bureaus, Equifax, Transunion, and Experian, announced they had agreed on a new common formula for generating your credit scores: VantageScore. [more inside]
posted on Mar 15, 2006 - View this thread

The Worst Company in America. Which company sucks most? The first two square off: Halliburton vs. Monsanto. Do your own research and vote.
posted on Feb 22, 2006 - View this thread

Similar to the US Federal Trade Commission, the Consumer Council of Norway, or Forbrukerrådet (PDF) strives "to achieve a balance of power between the consumer and the provider of products or services." This week, the council filed a formal complaint, citing several violations of Norwegian law in the fluid terms of service attached to iTunes music file downloads.
posted on Jan 28, 2006 - View this thread

Organic Foods ... Consumer Reports spells out which organic foods are worth buying, and which you should skip.
posted on Jan 10, 2006 - View this thread

Possible "contamination" of some baby milk-based products 30 million liters of big-brand name milk were recalled in Italy and other EU countries because of contamination by traces of ITX (ISOPROPYLTHIOXANTHONE) which is a product used in packaging printing.Tetrapack issued a press release (Italian language) in which they declare they are not going to use ITX for printing anymore as a precautionary measure. According to a memo sent to an italian consumer-oriented tv show(italian), Tetrapack acknowledges that 1200 more products use packaging with the same printing technology. What about their recall and is it happening worldwide ? [Google News query]
posted on Nov 25, 2005 - View this thread

Howard Schmidt thinks that developers should be accountable for security holes. Schneier responds.
posted on Oct 20, 2005 - View this thread

A Senate bill to overhaul federal bankruptcy laws, a top priority of retailers, auto lenders and banks, cleared a key hurdle Tuesday afternoon. Sixty-nine senators -- nine more than needed -- voted for "cloture," a procedural move that limits debate. Republican leaders hope to push the bill to a final vote by the end of the week. Earlier, the Senate turned back a controversial, abortion-related amendment that has scuttled previous efforts to pass bankruptcy legislation. The Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 was first introduced in 1998 as The Consumer Bankruptcy Reform Act.
posted on Mar 8, 2005 - View this thread

Got certain DVD ? Join class action, get replacement ! Apparently MGM mislabeled (or simply sold ?) from 1998 to 2003 a few hundred DVD titles as Widescreen format while they were not really Widescreen. As one must respect MPAA they must respect our looking in this list to see if our dvd titles are in the list and our joining class action. Let's not be on the receiving end for a change ! (via HardOcp (SFW))
posted on Jan 28, 2005 - View this thread

The perfect Christmas gift for the geek in your life. Or maybe you need something for your new niece or nephew? Then again, this site may have all the stuff on your gift shopping list.
posted on Dec 11, 2004 - View this thread

If the poor get richer, does the world see progress? The global "consumer class", defined by those who make $7,000 or more in local currency, is growing quickly but making it even more difficult for the worlds poor to get ahead. 1.7 billion belong to the consumer class while over 3 billion survive on less than $2 a day. Will the growing tide of new consumers in the developing world contribute to the solution of global poverty or simply add to the problem?
posted on Feb 3, 2004 - View this thread

More problems with credit cards...after you canceled one Apparently some credit card company may not take you seriously when you say "I want to cancel this credit card". If the account of the credit card is not "terminated" you may still be charged, even after receiving a letter from cc company confirming you its cancellation. You may also receive "accidental charges" of stuff you never ordered. One more link inside.
posted on Nov 25, 2003 - View this thread

If you're still working for K-mart A bankruptcy bonus may be delivered to you soon. 1. Work for some company 2. ??? 3. Bankruptcy 4.PROFIT!
posted on Apr 9, 2003 - View this thread

Purchasing an one-way airplane ticket with cash May trigger airport security alert on you. No credit card ? Bad Guy ! Credit Card ? Good guy ! Unofficially sponsored by VISA or Amex ?
posted on Feb 28, 2003 - View this thread

People are talking. Now, someone's listening. Late-from-the-gate tech startup BuzzMetrics "analyzes, measures, monitors, & influences the unaided consumer discussions that naturally occur in online communities." If that's not spooky enough, they continue: "Some consumers have more influence over public opinion than others, but targeting them has always been extremely difficult." BuzzMetrics is happy to identify negative posters and research their posting histories, among other services. Does this toe an ethical line? Does it change how you post to online conversations? Oh, yeah -- they're hiring.
posted on Oct 10, 2002 - View this thread

Robots vs. bunnies! Dust bunnies, that is. Roboticist Rodney Brooks, who you should know because you should have seen Fast, Cheap and Out of Control, co-founded iRobot, which is releasing its first consumer model this week: Roomba, the vacuuming robot. Even once you've seen it in action (which, of course, I haven't), it's probably not going to convince that the future has arrived or get you thinking about the moral rights of robots, but every consumer tech movement has its watershed, and maybe this will turn out to have been a Big Step for getting robots in our daily lives. The author notes that iRobot "hopes that one day Roomba will do for vacuuming what dishwashers did for dishwashing."
posted on Sep 16, 2002 - View this thread

Just FYI Honda is recalling 1.3M cars For a fault in ignition system. Check if your car is in the list.
posted on May 24, 2002 - View this thread

DigitalConsumer.org is trying to get Congress to pass a six-point Consumer Technology Bill of Rights to protect the legitimate rights of honest consumers who buy copyrighted content legally. You can read about the issue and the group in Walt Mossberg's WSJ column.
posted on Mar 14, 2002 - View this thread

Legally, is a computer more like a TV, a pen, a radio, a CD player or a shortwave radio (or a hat, a brooch or a pterodactyl)? "Last month the top executives of two of the most powerful media companies in the world traveled to Washington to testify before Congress about the most dangerous threat they face: the American consumer." As in most computer piracy discussions, this NYTimes article (reg. req'd) analogizes computers to existing technologies: "airplanes, telephones, watches and televisions." Isn't the problem that no existing precedent really fits? To me, a computer is at once a communications tool, an entertainment (audio and video) device, a content creator, a copier, and much, much more. The laws regulating each of those things vary significantly, and in some cases approach mutual exclusivity, and for good reason. How can one device satisfy all of them? (oh, and via blogdex)
posted on Mar 13, 2002 - View this thread

The People's Bureau for Consumer Information has been a long time coming (The Designer's Republic have been trailing it to those in the know for over 2 years). Yesterday, it finally went live. tDR's work may or may not be your bag (I'm about 50/50) but the way they have set this site up is amazing - everything even the secure purchasing is done with a very uniquely styled Flash frontend.. It's worth going just to play with it.
posted on Feb 15, 2002 - View this thread

Fauxhemian Rhapsody: Rob Walker writes in the New York Times Magazine "boho trappings that vaguely suggest counterculture taste are everywhere, because the fauxhemian idea is that you don't have to choose anymore. You can be mainstream and alternative, a grown-up and a hipster, all at the same time." [via canceled] A scene from Washington, DC illustrates: She, wrap skirt artfully tossed; he, purchased punk rock look, price tags still attached. Both on their way back from an afternoon at the Pentagon City mall Borders. They climb into their carefully battered Golf, with the prominent "Friends Don't Let Friends Drink Starbucks" bumper sticker leering from the rear, and she is carrying a huge paper Starbucks coffee cup, fresh latte steam rising in the chill air.
posted on Jan 24, 2000 - View this thread