Items tagged with service
Comcast is not exactly a well-liked company in the United States, and that’s putting it nicely. In fact, Consumerist readers ranked Comcast as the Worst Company In America for 2014 (making it two-time winner… err loser). As Comcast ratchets up its lobbying efforts to win approval for its acquisition of Time Warner Cable, the unnerving shadiness of the company continues to emanate from its pores.The latest chapter in the Comcast saga comes to us courtesy of consumer advocate Christopher Elliot. He details the story of Lisa Brown, who had a nasty run in with the company. After her family was experiencing financial difficulties, she made the fiscally responsible move of contacting Comcast to cancel...
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The cloud wars are seemingly only beginning, and while enterprise mainstays like Oracle, Microsoft and Google are certainly grabbing up market share left and right, smaller players such as Box, Dropbox and even Kim Dotcom definitely have a stake in things. After the whole MegaUpload fiasco, Dotcom launched MEGA -- a file sharing / cloud service that he hopes will see more success (and less police intervention) in the market. But of course, a service these days is only as solid as the app that allows users to interface with it. So, this week MEGA launched its first app: MEGA for Android. It's available for free right now in the Google Play Store, enabling users to browse one's MEGA account, download...
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While cloud services in general are hotter than ever, it's been quite some time since we've heard an update on LG Cloud. But now, the Korea-based company is providing a crucial update. LG Cloud was first (quietly) rolled out in the U.S., South Korea and Russia last year, but now, things are about to get a lot more global. LG plans to roll Cloud out to more than 40 other nations (including those in Europe, Asia, and Latin America) but the next of May. LG Cloud enables users to stream content directly to LG CINEMA 3D Smart TVs as well as providing a convenient location to store entertainment content that automatically synchronizes between PCs, smartphones and TVs. "LG Cloud eliminates the time-consuming...
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Are you a frequent user of Google Reader? Tough luck! Google has had an ongoing "spring cleaning" for a few years now, shutting down peripheral services and items that it simply can't find time to focus on as a more mature, publicly-traded company. For the most part, the shut-downs have only angered a minority, but it seems the decision to sunset Reader has awaken a hornet's nest. While RSS as a whole isn't quite as popular as it once was, Reader was one of the more popular ways to view 'em. And, perhaps more importantly, a lot of services used Reader in some way or another. In addition to Reader, which is scheduled to be killed in July, there's also Google Building Maker, Cloud Connect, and...
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We've covered OnLive, the plucky little cloud gaming company that recently partnered with Ouya and had plans to drive cloud gaming to a ubiquitous future. Now, that future is suddenly in doubt; a report from Mashable claims that the entire company's staff has been fired. Reports from Twitter and Kotaku have backed up the claim. OnLive will reportedly close by the end of the day and is planning to file for bankruptcy. Kotaku quotes one employee as writing: "by the end of the day today, OnLive as an entity will no longer exist. Unfortunately, my job and everyone else's was included. A new company will be formed and the management of the company will be in contact with you about the current initiatives...
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Oftentimes, we find ourselves wishing that Wi-Fi was everywhere. Kind of like oxygen. But given that it's not going to happen any time soon, this is actually getting us closer to the goal. TruConnect Mobile has announced a partnership with Walmart that'll bring Internet on the Go to customers. It's described as a "prepaid mobile broadband service that offers a great value for casual users." The keys here are twofold: Walmart, meaning widespread accessibility, and prepaid, which puts in the hands of so many people who have no need to commit to a two-year data agreement. The service will start by selling the MiFi 2200 Intelligent Mobile Hotspot, as well as a service plan from TruConnect with no...
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Customer service. It's hugely important, but oft goes unchecked. In many cases, it's just outright overlooked. The amount of CSR complaints revolving around technology companies in general is staggering, and honestly, it's tough to find a single company with overwhelmingly positive remarks regarding service to the end-user. Microsoft knows it, and they want to change it. The company has this week teamed up with 24/7 Inc. in order to jointly bring the power of natural user interfaces (NUIs) and data analytics at cloud scale (Big Data) to enable the future of customer service for businesses. The agreement includes Microsoft merging its interactive self-service assets (clients, people and technologies)...
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Remember when that huge hack put Sony's PSN users out of a connection for what felt like an eternity? Sony offered some gifts as a peace offering, and now, it looks like Research In Motion is taking a note out of a book that no company looks forward to reading. Earlier this month, RIM's servers went on the fritz on a near-global basis, leaving tons of BB addicts out in the cold. Not exactly the kind of press RIM needed on a week where Apple was gearing up to sell 4 million of their iPhone 4S handsets. But now, the company has announced hat a selection of premium apps worth a total value of more than US $100 will be offered free of charge to subscribers as an expression of appreciation for their...
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AT&T may take a lot of heat for having subpar network access in major cities, but the carrier is no slouch when it comes to network technologies. Despite the red tape that's involved with planting a tower somewhere, AT&T is forging ahead with a different kind of support. A new release details the company's remote mobility zone, which aids critical communications in emergency / disaster situations. It's aimed at businesses and governments, obviously, but public safety is a major concern when it comes to networks. We'd all love to get signal during a great sporting event, but that's just a luxury; having network connectivity during an emergency is something else entirely. The new Remote...
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In the same way that people "view" AT&T in one sort of light, people tend to "view" Sprint in another. Sprint is oftentimes seen as the "laggard" of the bunch when it comes to viewing the major U.S. cell phone operators, regardless of whether or not that's legitimate. But the company has done a lot over the past few months to turn things around. For starters, the "Simply Everything" plan cannot be beat, and the smartphone selection is second to none (or Apple, if you really need the iPhone).Now, Sprint is topping all others with a knock-out money-back guarantee that is tops in the industry right now. In order to give potential customers a chance to really try out the Sprint netword, despite...
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The biggest thing that happened at Santa Clara University (from a national perspective) was that season opening win over the UNC-Chapel Hill basketball team that eventually went on to win a National Championship in NCAA Men's Basketball. The biggest thing to happen at Santa Clara University this decade is most likely this: a complaint that's gaining all sorts of national attention. According to a new article in the Chronicle of Higher Education, a slew of iPhone owners at the school are fed up with AT&T's poor reception on campus. So fed up that they have organized a "day of complaint" to push for better coverage. To be honest, the main reason this little demonstration is picking up so much...
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McAfee recently launched an online backup service that lets you store and encrypt photos, videos, music, emails, and other files. To make things even easier, McAfee Online Backup is a completely automated service that provides unlimited capacity. After installation, the backup process is automatic and takes place in the background at regular intervals so you won't have to worry about remembering to back up your files. Furthermore, since storage is unlimited, you don't have to prioritize data. Should a catastrophe or device failure occur, your files are easily retrievable with a few clicks from a secure remote server. “The McAfee Online Backup service addresses many of consumers’ concerns about...
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AT&T Customers Connect Faster with New 18 Mbps U-verse High Speed Internet Service AT&T Offers More Speed, More Choices with Its Fastest Broadband Service Ever For millions of consumers with a need for more speed, the broadband choices just got better. AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) today announced it will launch AT&T U-verseSM High Speed Internet Max 18 on Nov. 9, offering speeds of up to 18 Mbps downstream. Exclusively available for AT&T U-verse TV customers, Max 18 is the fastest high speed Internet package available from the nation's leading provider of broadband services. In addition to more speed, U-verse Internet customers have the freedom to enjoy their broadband connection in...
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No, no one at the ISP was arrested, so strike that from your mind. In this case, it was Carol Sinclair, a 53-year-old Halifax actress and playwright. Her service went down, and in a typical finger-pointing episode, the ISP pointed a finger at her PC, and she pointed at the ISP. Eventually, she lied to get them to come out (that's not the reason for the arrest, however), as she had a deadline to meet and was running out of time. "I was polite the first 20 times I talked to them," she told The Globe and Mail. "But each one gave me the same routine: 'Is the modem connected. Are the lights blipping?' And then each one would say, 'It should be working, it should be working....
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Amazon customers, watch your e-mail inboxes carefully today. You might be one of the select few who get invited to try out Amazon's new Video On Demand Service, which is scheduled to rollout today for a limited, invitation-only debut. The rest of us schlubs will have to wait until later in the summer to check it out. Unlike Amazon's Unbox service, which is a download-only proposition, Amazon's new Video on Demand service will stream movies and TV shows directly to your computer. Amazon's Unbox service requires proprietary software and runs only on Windows-based computers and TiVo set-top boxes. Right now, our only source of information about the Amazon Video on Demand service is from the New...
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Nine days and counting until the Apple iPhone 3G goes on sale in the U.S... Many plan on buying their first iPhone, while existing iPhone users ponder whether to upgrade to the new phone or not. Rumors and speculation abound as to how much AT&T will charge for its service plans and what features will come with those plans. We've taken it upon ourselves to address some of the rumors and issues below...1) Rumor: AT&T will charge iPhone 3G customers more than it charges other AT&T non-iPhone customers.False: AT&T offers four different individual calling plans for its phones, and the same rates and features apply to all of them, whether they are iPhones or not. The only difference...
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Remember Albany, the beta version of Microsoft's subscription-based version of Office and Windows Live OneCare that launched in mid-April? Well, Albany is now Equipt, but you won't find it in the state of New York: for now, starting in mid-July, you'll find it only at Circuit City. In a press release on Wednesday, Microsoft announced the launch: Initially code-named “Albany,” Microsoft Equipt offers consumers Microsoft Office Home and Student 2007, giving them the latest versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote for their personal and school projects; Windows Live OneCare, the all-in-one security and PC management service; Windows Live tools, such as Windows Live Mail, Windows Live Messenger...
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Lenovo Asset Recovery Service Helps Businesses Go Green, Turning Computer Trash into CashEco-Solution Gives Customers Easy Way to Refurbish, Reuse and Recycle ComputersRESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, NC – June 17, 2007: Lenovo today introduced Lenovo Asset Recovery Services (ARS), a new set of services to help business customers in the U.S. and Canada manage their end-of-life technology equipment by providing computer take-back, data destruction, refurbishment and recycling. Lenovo also offers additional services including inventory, value assessment, on-site deinstallation and data encryption. Lenovo can facilitate donation of the old computers or can help customers receive cash back for them. After...
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Bournemouth, England is getting a big upgrade on their Internet infrastructure. It's the first town in the UK to get a certain kind of fiber-optic service, with speeds up to 100Mbps. Of course fiber-optic Internet service isn't really news. It's the method of running the cable to everybody's home that has people talking. H2O Networks limited is running the cable through the sewerage system. H2O has been offering the underground network to businesses and universities around the UK for several years and plans to create a nationwide network for consumers over the next few years.It is also cheaper and more environmentally-friendly to use the UK's 360,000 miles of sewers rather than dig up roads to...
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Security firm Finjan has uncovered a criminal online supermarket of usable FTP security credentials for some of the largest and most prominent companies in the world. Oh yes -- and some government agencies. The crime ring that holds the information is selling the information to DIY malware entrepreneurs who can upload all sorts of exploits to what users would expect to be the most secure destinations on the Internet. In a sense, this crimeware as a service (CAAS) was inevitable. According to an earlier report from Finjan, more than 51 percent of websites that pushed malicious content in the second half of 2007 were legitimate destinations that had been commandeered by bad guys. The service is...
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It appears that Yahoo has other things on their agenda besides the potential takeover from Microsoft. What could be more important than billions of dollars? A new video service to help Yahoo catch up to arch rival Google's YouTube.Yahoo completed the takeover of Maven Networks on Tuesday for a tidy sum of $160 million.“The deal marks Yahoo's latest attempt to expand its online advertising network and snap out of a two-year financial funk that has culminated in unsolicited takeover offer from Microsoft Corp.”It will certainly be worth considering if Microsoft's Soapbox service can benefit from Yahoo's latest acquisition or if this purchase was made to make Yahoo seem less appealing....
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As with all rumors, please take the following news item with a grain of salt until we can receive official confirmation or denial from Yahoo.Yahoo may be attempting to break into the MP3 download business sometime in 2008. At this stage it appears that Yahoo is in preliminary talks with various players in the music industry, and nothing appears to be finalized just yet.“The talks, held as recently as last month, were preliminary because Yahoo is still working out the details, said the executives, who requested anonymity because of the discussions were confidential."Having an industry stalwart like Yahoo jump into the fray could prove interesting. It's also hard not to wonder if Google...
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