Category: Do-It-Yourself Tech

Costco Limits Return Policy for Electronics: It Was Only A Matter of Time

February 26, 2007August 20, 2008 Bob Caswell 10 Comments

Looks like your friend and mine, the amazing Costco return policy, is on its way out. Apparently, it did enough damage to the already razor thin profit margins of the company for management to take action. For those unfamiliar, it used to be that you could return anything whenever you wanted for a full refund (with the exception of desktop computers, which had a limit of six months). The policy was one of the reasons why I was an avid Costco electronics shopper (if the wanted gizmo was carried there).

But I always knew it would only be a matter of time before the too-good-to-be-true shopping scenario changed. Though even with the change, Costco likely still has the best return policy out there. Here’s what to expect:

Do-It-Yourself Tech, Gadgets, Just For Fun, Shopping, Tech News

Help This Woman Catch Her Cheating Husband Using a Cellphone

January 22, 2007August 20, 2008 Bob Caswell 8 Comments

I get all sorts of interesting emails being part of a site like TechConsumer, but I’ve never gotten a request like this. A woman contacted me — we’ll call her Tina — and explained how her husband is cheating on her. She knows this because she took a peek at his cellphone and saw some rather questionable text messages from his new, uh, “friend.”

So what’s she hoping to find is a way to setup his phone (obviously while he’s unaware) so that it forwards his text messages (sent, received, or both) to her cellphone or email address (without him knowing).

Do-It-Yourself Tech, Gadgets

RSS Going Mainstream 2007: New York Times & Washington Post Have Big Plans

December 30, 2006August 20, 2008 Bob Caswell No Comments

For those unfamiliar, RSS is generally thought to stand for “Really Simple Syndication,” a name that’s almost as useless as the acronym in explaining what it is. In short, it’s a technology that allows users to read headlines/articles from news websites, blogs, and other sources all in one place.

It’s a huge time saver, making it so that you don’t have to browse the Internet to check out the latest content from your top 50 sites (or however many). RSS strips all that information from the original site and consolidates it into one area for you to quickly see content from all over the place.

Do-It-Yourself Tech, Internet, Tech News, Web 2.0

Online Backup Revisited: Mozy Strikes Back with Unlimited Backups

December 14, 2006August 20, 2008 Bob Caswell 2 Comments

Backing up your computer is never something you want to worry about it; you wish it would just happen. With that perspective, I previously reviewed two online backup services: Mozy and Carbonite. Mozy had more customization options while Carbonite had a slicker interface and offered unlimited backups.

But Mozy’s back with the release of Mozy Unlimited, and the company today has impressed even Walt Mossberg of the Wall Street Journal. It’s the little things that seem to make the difference, such as the option to have all your files sent to you on DVD or Mozy keeping multiple versions of your files for 30 days (Carbonite doesn’t have the DVD option and only keeps the latest version of any file).

Do-It-Yourself Tech, Tech News, Tech Reviews, Web 2.0

The 12-Step Program for Email Addicts

December 10, 2006August 20, 2008 Bob Caswell 3 Comments

The Wall Street Journal (subscription required) has an excellent article discussing email addiction and what to do about it. It’s the type of thing you laugh about with words like “CrackBerry” until you realize that professionals (including time-management experts, professors of psychiatry and family studies, and family counseling therapists) have weighed in on the subject and consider it closely related to Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. Luckily, they’ve compiled a 12-step program for the email addict:

Do-It-Yourself Tech, Internet, Tech News, Web 2.0

Free Advertising: Microsoft $200, Google $50, LookSmart $300, & Ask $50

December 7, 2006August 20, 2008 Bob Caswell 66 Comments

Tis the season for online advertisers to attract new customers. If you have a website, blog, etc. and are looking for the perfect time to build exposure while freeloading, then these offers are for you. This is likely to be the best compilation of free offers available for some time; if interested, make your move now, as most these offers expire within a month. Here are the details and links for each company and offer:

Do-It-Yourself Tech, Google, Microsoft, Tech News, Web 2.0

Symantec Norton 360 Review with Screenshots

December 5, 2006August 20, 2008 Bob Caswell 83 Comments

Symanteclogo_1 Symantec recently released the beta version of its new security suite: Norton 360. The question is whether the 360 part of the name refers to what Symantec would have you believe: “Norton gives you a full circle of protection.” Or could it refer to Symantec doing a 360 and being right back where it started with a bloated, buggy, and overpriced product?

When I covered the Norton AntiVirus 2006 release last year, the thread turned into a place for consumers to vent on how the product caused more problems than fixes. Some were even wishing for a class-action lawsuit. Well, I’ve been playing with the latest iteration for a few days now to see which implication of using the term 360 is true. Here’s what I found:

Do-It-Yourself Tech, Internet, Privacy, Tech Reviews, Web 2.0

Review of Mozy: Free Online Backup

December 4, 2006August 20, 2008 Bob Caswell 16 Comments

So I recently reviewed Carbonite, a $5 per month online backup service for unlimited data backups from one computer. But the last few days I’ve been playing with Mozy, another online backup service with a different offering. In a nutshell, Mozy offers more control, more features, and is completely free for two gigabytes of online storage. The down side is that for $5 per month, you only get a maximum of 30 gigs (see update at end of article). And though the interface gives power users more control, it may be less inviting to the average user. But free is free. There is no reason why any of us shouldn’t take advantage of backing up our most important two gigabytes of data.

Do-It-Yourself Tech, Internet, Tech Reviews, Web 2.0