calchip commented on Smoking Near Apple Computers Creates Biohazard, Voids Warranty

"Seems to me that smoking in the workplace is still a common-enough occurrence that Apple should be obligated to state in their warranty that they reserve the right to void a warranty in the event of serious smoking-related residue."

calchip commented on Geek Squad Turns Your Laptop Into An XBOX 360?

"@SkuldChan: In particular, why would anyone *who reads consumerist* get their computer serviced at Geek Squad?"

calchip commented on Disney Removes Closed Captioning From "Up" Rental Release

"I think it's clear there's no argument that one is required to provide captioning on a DVD. However, I think there may be an argument to be made that if one has done the work to provide the captioning, but then intentionally stripped it out of a version of the DVD, that might be confusing/deceptive in the eyes of the consumer, and might be actionable on that basis. In any case, it's unfortunate that the studios are now trying to kill the goose that lays the golden eggs."

calchip commented on Am I Responsible For My Parents' Debt?

"@Nascar24Dude: I was told by an attorney (but not one who specialized in telecom law) that BOTH parties had to be in a one-party state if you're not getting consent."

calchip commented on Walmart Security Guard Gets Head-butted, Sat On, Peed On

"I have a friend who manages a security company that provides services to a number of shopping centers."

calchip commented on Litter Robot Replaces Box Destroyed By Cat's Poor Aim

"Haven't tried the Litter Robot."

calchip commented on Starting July 1, 2010 Overdraft Fees Will Require Consumer Consent

"Bank of America and probably others will go bankrupt with this new law."

calchip commented on Keep Track Of Which Diploma Mills Will Work Out Best For Your Pet

"UoP, while not very highly regarded by many, is at least a legitimate school with the same regional accreditation as other universities in its home region. Among the unwonderful schools we've found over the years at Degreeinfo.com that would probably be happy to issue a diploma to a kitty, there was -- a "university" run out of a janitorial service office in Connecticut -- a group of 4 "universities" operating out of a mobile home in a trailer park in North Carolina -- a "law school" operated out of the back of an insurance agency in Kansas -- a university with the same name as a legitimate school, but operated out of a wooden lean-to shed in the backyard of the proprietor's home in rural Pennsylvania For most of these schools, the only evidence of academic achievement necessary was a Visa card with enough credit to pay for the degree."

calchip commented on MacPadd Inventor Drinks With Wife, Brags About Education, Curses, But Does Not Provide Tracking Number

"Later on in a followup article, Tuan Nguyen mentions that the QMS guy started up his own blog on Livejournal to bitch about "how unfairly" he was being treated."

calchip commented on Bank of America Cancels Solo India Traveler's Debit Card, Shrugs

"I don't know if this is still the case, but in the early days of fraud prevention, I had problems with Chase who couldn't understand that I traveled all over the country and would be in 5 different states in 7 days. Each time, I'd call and each time, they'd reactivate the card, and they always claimed the would "notate the account" but it kept happening. Finally I asked the rep what would happen if Chase's chairman's daughter was traveling all over the US, and he (stupidly) admitted that they turned off the aggressive fraud prevention for customers like that."