October 09, 2008

Selling for less in China?

A reader asks why Microsoft's Vista OS costs $200 in the States and $70 in China; the Gripe Line investigates more

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October 07, 2008

A clean sweep: Going paperless with Pixily

The Gripe Line looks into Pixily.com, a service that scans and stores your paper and digital documents online more

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October 03, 2008

The end of an era

Daniel wrote to me to lament the passing of an era: "I recently went shopping at Best Buy to help my son choose a gaming computer and was pleased to see both Gateway and Dell carried there because we had been weighing the Dell XPS against the Gateway FX. As soon as my son saw the Gateway FX, though, he knew which he wanted. The model in the store was not quite the configuration we wanted, so I told him we could go online and order exactly what he wanted from Gateway. When we tried to do that, though, we discovered that Gateway no longer sells direct. That was a shock." It's sad, isn't it? I feel the same way Daniel does about Gateway no longer selling direct. (But Daniel apparently also missed that the company stopped doing custom configurations more than a year ago.) As of July, it sells only through e-tailers and retailers. It seems like only yesterday (though it was June) that I bought a computer online from Gateway. The company announced the change to an indirect model more recently -- on July 27. "We believe that our retail and e-tail partners offer consumers the best, easiest... more

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October 01, 2008

Should you buy from Blackbeard the software pirate?

Kristen asked me recently, "Where can I get a cheap copy of Photoshop?" I suggested the open source photo-editing software, The Gimp, but she was determined to have Photoshop. "But it's $699!" she lamented. "That's not in my budget. There is a guy here in town selling pirated copies for $40. Why shouldn't I do that?" Dare I even answer this one? OK, skipping right over the "it's wrong" arguments, the possibility of getting caught and fined, and even dodging the impact that piracy has on the availability of high-tech jobs in the United States, there are some completely selfish reasons the average small-business consumer should think twice about buying software from Blackbeard the software pirate. The biggest, I think, is quality control. I'm very careful about the software I install on my computers because I have to bypass my anti-virus protection to do it. My time is valuable to me, and I don't want to spend it dealing with a malware infection. So I like to know that the software I install is nice and shiny clean. (Feel free to start with the Microsoft jokes here.) Pirated software is not usually a product created by some rebel geek in... more

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September 29, 2008

Gripe Line gripe

Richard recently wrote to tell me, rather kindly, "While it's lovely to hear what YOU have to say, I think the focus of the [Gripe Line] column is on the consumer (us) and our gripes. It would be nice to see these items as they used to appear in this column." I could not agree more about the focus of this blog, so I thought I would take this opening to explain that my transition into Gripe Line was a little rough. There was an e-mail glitch that, as far as I can tell, sent your gripes into the ether or perhaps right back into your e-mail in-box as a bounced message. I apologize for that. That problem has been, I'm told, fixed. But while this glitch was doing its bit, your e-mails were not getting to me. So I didn't get your -- or any -- gripes. Nor did I get gripes you sent before I came onboard. I got a few of your e-mails last week but nothing before that. I feel like the emcee filling air while the main act is having a crisis back stage. Now, I have been covering consumer issues for a long time,... more

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September 25, 2008

Why does my money expire?

I don't know of any prepaid plans that don't require you occasionally top-up your balance in order to keep the line active. Why is that? more

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September 22, 2008

Lipstick on a pig?

Last week I noted that Best Buy announced a new Black Tie service plan. This announcement raised (for me and for many of you, it seems) a difficult computer-buying question. As I said, I don't advocate buying a warranty in response to a hard-sell in the store — whether that store is Best Buy, Circuit City, Sears, or someplace smaller. I think the post-purchase hard-sell on warranties is the low point of every purchase: car, cell phone, washing machine, or computer. Sure, I take a brochure home to compare against my other options. But I do not like to be pressured into adding 20 percent to the purchase price after the fact. But computers are expensive and not everyone is comfortable going warranty-free. So I was pleased to hear from Steve Abernathy, CEO of SquareTrade.com. And not only because he said Best Buy's Black Tie plan was "like putting lipstick on a pig." That was pretty good, but I was also glad to hear that he had a solution to my problem question: He offered his company's warranties, which are sold online and not as an arm-twist in the store, as an option. "Our first premise," said Abernathy, "is that... more

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September 17, 2008

A future with better service?

Yesterday Best Buy announced its new Black Tie service plan through the Geek Squad. This plan covers things that warranties historically have not wanted to touch such as the battery, normal wear and tear, and replacement for a gizmo that is just no good. According to the brochure, an "advanced plan" offers a No Lemon Policy for laptops that would replace that laptop if it requires four qualified repairs. The plan is not just for computers either. According to the press release, "customers with a Geek Squad Black Tie Protection premium plan for their televisions will automatically receive a loaner TV if their TV cannot be repaired on the first visit." Good news if your TV goes on the fritz just as the new season of Lost starts. I found it difficult to get a handle on pricing for these plans and, despite several phone calls and e-mails, could get no one at Best Buy to answer questions for me. But the service plans are offered only on products purchased at Best Buy and all service is provided by The Geek Squad. The hard sell that preys on consumer confusion regarding warranties has long been a gripe of mine with... more

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September 16, 2008

A cell phone for (almost) nothing

For many of us, our cell phone is our constant companion, electronic leash, safety harness, and tiny entertainment bundle. But some people don't see the point. "I wouldn't mind having a phone for emergencies or to occasionally call home and say I'm running late," says David. "But I'm not signing one of those 2-year contracts. They are a rip-off for people like me who don't talk much. And once you sign, they lure you to stay forever by offering you a new phone every two years. And what do you do with last year's phone? Throw it in the trash? No thanks. My sister already has a drawer full of old phones she doesn't know what to do with." David makes a good point. For many people -- your parents, kids, or ne'er-do-well brother perhaps -- committing to a monthly fee is prohibitive and wasteful. I suspect that's why consumers are lately seeing a lot of offers like Prepaid and Flex-Pay (from T-Mobile) and Go Phone (from AT&T) that allow you to pay in advance every month or buy packs of minutes and pay for only what you use. And Virgin Mobile's entire business model is prepaid -- you never... more

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September 12, 2008

It's not so easy being green

Where is your old computer? Under the bed? In the garage? Maybe today is the day to donate or recycle it? more

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September 09, 2008

Hello world! Send in your gripes

Christina Tynan-Wood steps into the late Ed Foster's role as InfoWorld's consumer advocate in The Gripe Line more

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