Day: February 2, 2012

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Verizon Wireless Leads Industry in Customer Care? Really?!

According to J.D. Power & Associates survey, Verizon is leading in customer care… Really?!

You see, I have been a loyal customer for almost a decade.  You’d think that they’d treat you well for loyalty… well, no!  😡 I got a new phone (Droid Charge) back in end of October just a day before I left for work.  I figured I’d have few days left (I was going for 2 weeks) if I wanted to exchange the phone.  The phone was crap.  Slower and crappier than its predecessor, Droid X.  And since I didn’t want to be without a phone while I was on travel, I decided to call in when I returned.

Big mistake. It turns out the 14-day return period begins from the day they SHIP IT OUT!  WTH?!  I kept complaining and they eventually said that they’d let me swap it out with HTC Thunderbolt (which is way better!).  They would re-imburse me later on once I ship back Droid Charge.  Well, they didn’t come through and after much crap, I was given the short end of the stick!  I was beyond mad.

I am thinking about not renewing my contract.  I tend to be very loyal… unless you screw me over big time.  Verizon did.  But my other problem is… who would I switch to?!  Surely not AT&T!  No thanks…  Sprint?  Too much doubt…  erg…  Ok.  I am done with my ranting… but just had to laugh and rant on J.D. Power & Assoc. survey results…  who do YOU ask?!  Big sets of walls?!  Please… both Verizon and J.D. Power & Associates… get in touch with REALITY!

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From News: Senate Passes Ban On Insider Trading

Finally!!  I can’t believe that the Congress members were allowed to profit from their intimate and oftentimes proprietary information and not be held accountable!  That’s ludicrous!!

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The bill would explicitly prohibit members of Congress, top aides and senior administration officials from using nonpublic information to trade. Passed 96-3, the act now goes to the House.

from News

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From Engadget: Skype rolls out update for Windows with full HD video calling, group screen sharing

Skype rolled out its version 5.8 software update for Windows users today, and it brings with it a couple of fairly notable features. That includes full HD video calling (provided you have a suitable webcam and internet connection, of course), video calling to Facebook users (regardless of whether they have Skype installed or not), and group screen sharing, which will let folks share either their entire desktop or a single application with other participants on a conference call. That last feature is only available with Skype Premium, though. Other new features include a “push to talk” option that will let you set up a hotkey to trigger your microphone (for multiplayer gaming, for instance), the ability to hide offline Facebook contacts, and one possible fruit of the Microsoft acquisition: Bing toolbar integration.

from Engadget

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From There, I Fixed It – Redneck Repairs: Historical Thursday: The Dynosphere

Announced in 1932, the Dynosphere was marketed to be the “automobile killer,” a new mode of transportation that would revolutionize the market by being more reliable and affordable than its 4 wheel counterparts. Popular Science featured the machine on its cover and the world quickly became excited about this revolutionary invention.
white trash repairs - Historical Thursday: The Dynosphere

 

Fitted with a gasoline engine at its base, it powered the large latticed wheel and pulled it towards itself – pushing the whole machine forward. It could hold up to two people and had the potential to get up to 30mph. There was also a smaller, electric one-man model up for grabs.

white trash repairs - dynosphere

The world was excited to see the machine in actions, and hundreds gathered in the seaside resort of Weston-Super-Mare, England to watch its inventor, Dr. J. A, Purves, take the thing for a ride. Alas, the machine did not live up to its hype. It was unwieldy, large, and because its only way of steering was for the driver to physically lean in a desired direction, had horrible handling. It even ran over a spectator during its maiden drive.

Responding to the objections from consumers, Dr. Purves tried to come up with safer models that could hold more people had better visibility. Unfortunately, the 5-passenger version he concepted never made it past the drawing board and the other models were never made available to the public. A shame.

white trash repairs - dynosphere

Enjoyed what you read? Check out all whole compendium of Historical Thursdays!

Pictures and Information courtesy of: Untrue Song and Burbia.

As always, if YOU have an idea for a Historical Thursday, let me know at thereifixedit@gmail.com

 

from There, I Fixed It – Redneck Repairs

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From Popular Science – New Technology, Science News, The Future Now: Chili Crab Dinner Inspires Robot That Crawls Down Your Throat To Grab Your Cancer

Who ever doubted an amazing meal could change your life? Researchers in Singapore have developed a robotic surgery device inspired by the country’s famous national dish, chili crab. The mini crab robot crawls down your throat and into the stomach, where its pincers grab onto a cancerous mass and a hook slices it away.

It could help patients with early-stage gastrointestinal cancer and is far less invasive than other surgical options – since it enters through your mouth, it leaves no visible scars.

Enterologist Lawrence Ho of Singapore’s National University Hospital co-designed the robot and said it has already been used to remove early-stage stomach cancers in five patients in India and Hong Kong, according to Reuters. Other existing methods to excise these types of cancers require cutting a patient open, either through a large-scale invasive surgery or a keyhole surgery, in which smaller incisions can still enable surgical access. But those methods are both quite painful and invasive.

Instead, this device enters through a patient’s mouth and is attached to an endoscope, through which a surgeon can watch and control the robot’s actions. A hook attached to the crab bot is used to remove the cancerous tissue, and it also coagulates the blood to stop internal bleeding.

Ho and Louis Phee, associate professor at Singapore’s Nanyang Technological Institute, decided to build the robot after a 2004 chili crab dinner with a well-known Hong Kong surgeon named Sydney Chung. Chung apparently suggested the crab as a prototype. “The crab can pick up sand and its pincers are very strong,” Ho noted.

The team formed a company in October and hopes to commercialize the crab bot within three years, Reuters reported.

[International Business Times]

from Popular Science – New Technology, Science News, The Future Now