Ticketmaster Settles Class Action Lawsuit

Ticketmaster Settles Class Action Lawsuit: "

If you bought a ticket from Ticketmaster between Oct '99 and May '10, get ready for some bucks/ticket discounts coming your way. Ticketmaster has agreed to settle a class action lawsuit brought against it in 2003 that alleged the ticket giant's processing fees were just a 'profit component' and didn't recoup any actual costs of doing business.

Another part of the claim averred that Ticketmaster's fee for USPS was a substantial markup over their actual USPS mailing costs.

In settling the case, Ticketmaster admitted no wrongdoing.

In Feb 2010,Ticketmaster settled with the FTC over charges that it had told fans that Bruce Springsteen were sold out and redirected them to a secondary site that charged multiple times the face value of the tickets, even though Ticketmaster still had tickets for The Boss still available.

Live Nation, Ticketmaster settle suit [Variety]

"

Sponsored Facebook Posts Turn Your Updates Into Ads For Which You Get No Money

Sponsored Facebook Posts Turn Your Updates Into Ads For Which You Get No Money: "

For the none of you who really, really wanted to have your Facebook updates automatically converted into ads for which you receive no money -- and which you can't opt out of -- the site has answered your prayers!

Facebook is rolling out a new program that allows advertisers to use your status updates for their own buzz-generating purposes.

For example, if you write an update saying 'Just bought me some Starbucks' or you 'check in' at a Starbucks location, Starbucks can take that update, slap their logo on it and label it a 'Sponsored Story.'

Facebook says that only your 'friends' will be able to see sponsored stories generated by your updates. Unfortunately, there is currently no way for users to opt out of the program.

So that means you're not only not getting paid for unwittingly shilling for a company -- one you may not even like -- but that you also have no say in how your content is being used.

A Facebook product manager tries to keep a straight face as he explains the reasoning behind this in a video about the new ads:

Anything that one of your friends is seeing as a sponsored story which features some of your content is actually something they would have already seen in their news feed... A sponsored story never goes to somebody who is not one of your friends.

But isn't it one thing to tell your friends 'Just had that new Burger King burger' and another for Burger King to use it in a paid ad for which you receive zero remuneration?

And you know it won't be long before savvy Facebook users figure out how to get Starbucks and other advertisers to sponsor crude and/or obscene updates. We await hilarious screengrabs.

Facebook's 'sponsored stories' turns your posts into ads [CNN]

"

Adding Calories To Menus Doesn't Affect Consumption, Study Says

Adding Calories To Menus Doesn't Affect Consumption, Study Says: "

Though the move to require menus to sport calorie information was met with applause by health advocates, a new, limited, study of Taco Time restaurants in Seattle says they don't change what people decide to eat.

The researchers compared sales at seven Taco Time restaurants that had the menu labels with seven that didn't. They also looked at sales both before and after the regulation started. They found no change whatsoever.

'Given the results of prior studies, we had expected the results to be small,' wrote lead team Eric Finkelstein, 'but we were surprised that we could not detect even the slightest hint of changes in purchasing behavior as a result of the legislation. The results suggest that mandatory menu labeling, unless combined with other interventions, may be unlikely to significantly influence the obesity epidemic.'

Oops. If you want to make a difference, they'll have to start doing something like serving smaller portions, use better ingredients, or change to healthier meals. It looks like simply slapping on a '600' next to a picture of an ice cream isn't going to change someone's mind who has already walked in deciding what they want to consume.

Mandatory menu labeling didn't change behavior at 1 fast food chain [Press Release]

Evidence Menu Labels Don't Affect Calorie Consumption [Miller-McCune]

"

Xbox Live Assigns Scarlet 'Cheater' Label To Autistic Boy

Xbox Live Assigns Scarlet 'Cheater' Label To Autistic Boy: "

An 11-year-old autistic Seattle boy may have been so good at video games that Xbox Live mistakenly branded him a 'cheater' and reset his statistics.

Xbox Live administrators are known to give the treatment to gamers who use mods or team members sharing the same profile to rack up impossibly high achievement scores. When the Xbox police identify a wrongdoer, they correct their scores and affix a 'cheater' label to their profiles.

Seattle Q13 reports the boy's mom insists he played fair, but her complaints have gone unheeded. She said the Xbox 360 provided one of her son's few social outlets, but is now unsure if she'll let him play anymore.

'It disgusts me that they did this to my child,' the mother says.

Kotaku posts Microsoft's response:

'Gamerscore resets are done when cheating is detected to keep LIVE fun, fair and safe for everyone. We only do them when we are 100% confident that cheating has occurred, and they are not something that can be appealed. Details can be found here - http://www.xbox.com/Live/Cheating.'

Xbox Live Labels Autistic Boy 'Cheater' [Seattle Q13 via Kotaku]

"

Mom Jailed For Falsifying Address To Send Kids To Better School District

Mom Jailed For Falsifying Address To Send Kids To Better School District: "

An Ohio mom has been convicted and sent to jail for lying about her address so she could send her daughters to a better neighboring school district. School officials said she was cheating the system by having her daughters receive an education she hadn't paid the taxes for. 'Those dollars need to stay home with our students,' said school officials. To snare her, the school hired a private investigator, who videotaped her driving the children into the district.

They confronted her with the video tape and demanded that she pay $30,000 in back tuition. She refused and they pressed charges. She was sentenced last week to 10 days in jail, three years of probation, and additional community service.

The school district admitted they wanted to make an example of her. Presiding Judge Patricia Cosgrove said, 'I felt that some punishment or deterrent was needed for other individuals who might think to defraud the various school districts.'

Ohio Mom Jailed for Sending Kids to Better School District [ABC News]

"

Change Your Old Amazon Password Now To Avoid This Cracking Risk

Change Your Old Amazon Password Now To Avoid This Cracking Risk: "

Some old Amazon account appear to have a flaw in their password protection scheme that makes them more vulnerable to a brute force cracking attempt. For affected accounts, if you haven't changed your password in several years, and it's over 8 characters long, it looks like all people have to do is enter the first 8 characters correctly and they're in. Even if after the 8 characters they just type gobbledygook.

So if your password was 'PASSWORDSCHOOL' it will accept 'PASSWORDdf234243' or 'PASSWORDsputnik' etc.

Several Consumerist readers verified that they were able to replicate the error on their accounts. One was not, even though his password was 7 years old. It's not clear what determines which accounts are vulnerable.

Reddit commenters also say that the passwords have been 'flattened,' so correct upper and lower case is not required either.

Why does this matter? If someone was trying to break into your Amazon account through a method known as the 'brute force attack', where all possibilities are tried out in succession, i.e. 0001, 0002, 0003, etc, it would take them a lot less time to do it, potentially weeks less. That's bad.

We've reached out to Amazon via voicemail, email, and Twitter for comment and an ETA on a fix.

THE TAKEAWAY: To fix the issue, simply change your Amazon password. You should change your passwords on a regular basis anyway, so now is as good as time as any.

Amazon security flaw... wtf??? [Reddit] (Thanks to Alex, GitEmSteveDave, @conanlicious, @otterman!)

"

Man Scores 100% Discount On Electronics By Making Fake Receipts At Home

Man Scores 100% Discount On Electronics By Making Fake Receipts At Home: "

Here's a story that should let you check off both the 'receipt-checking' and 'I make my own at home' boxes on your Consumerist bingo card. A man in New Mexico was recently arrested for allegedly forging receipts to steal goods from Sam's Club and other stores in his area.

Loss-prevention staff at the Sam's Club in Farmington, NM, had been told to keep their eyes peeled for a particular 38-year-old man who had been deemed a possible suspect in the recent disappearance of over $25,000 in electronics from the store.

So last Thursday, when authorities say the man tried to walk out the door with around $1,500 of Sam's Club goods, he was detained by the loss-prevention folks.

Publish Post

Meanwhile, a search warrant was executed at his home, where police say they found several bogus homemade receipts for other stores. Police also found several new TVs, blank receipts and duplication equipment. Oh, and little bit of meth for good measure.

'We are in the process of investigating documents we found in his residence as well as his computer and duplication equipment,' a Farmington police officer said. 'We anticipate that there will be other charges.'

Here's a lesson for all those creative shoplifters out there: You still end up in the same jail cell as the less-ingenious pilferers.

Man caught trying to steal items from Sam's Club using homemade receipts [Daily-Times.com]

"

Prof: IKEAs Are Designed Like Pac-Man Mazes To Trick You Into Spending More

Prof: IKEAs Are Designed Like Pac-Man Mazes To Trick You Into Spending More: "

If you've ever strolled through IKEA, you've probably gotten the sense that you were in Willy Wonka's chocolate factory -- enjoying yourself well enough and fascinated by the sights, but clueless as to how to get the hell out of there.

The Daily Mail interviews a British professor who opines that the labyrinthine design is meant to give you the sense of feeling lost in order to get you to spend more time in the store, thus causing you to buy more stuff.

The professor says:

'You're directed through their marketplace area where a staggering amount of purchases are impulse buys, things like lightbulbs or a cheap casserole that you weren't planning on getting.

'Here the trick is that because the lay-out is so confusing you know you won't be able to go back and get it later, so you pop it in your trolley as you go past.'

If you manage to make it through IKEA without spending money, what do you do to win these Swedish mind games?

Why shoppers find it so hard to escape from Ikea: Flatpack furniture stores are 'designed just like a maze' [The Dauly Mail via Newsvine]

"

Woman paralyzed by hickey

Woman paralyzed by hickey: "A 44 year old woman in New Zealand presented with partial paralysis at Auckland's Middlemore Hospital emergency department; after examination, the doctors concluded that she'd suffered a mild stroke caused by a hickey near a major artery in her neck. She recovered after being treated with anti-coagulant.

'Because of the physical trauma it had made a bit of bruising inside the vessel. There was a clot in the artery underneath where the hickey was.'

Wu said the clot dislodged and traveled to the woman's heart, where it caused a minor stroke that led to the loss of movement.

'We looked around the medical literature and that example of having a love bite causing something like that hasn't been described before,' he said.

New Zealand Woman Partially Paralyzed by Hickey

(Image: File:Love bite.jpg, Janek B./Wikimedia Commons)

"

The Blueberries In Your Food Could Be Fake

The Blueberries In Your Food Could Be Fake: "

Here's something to choke on. The 'blueberries' inside that muffin or cereal you love so much might not actually have ever been blueberries. Instead, they are a composite of sugars and starches that have been dyed blue. Check the label. If it says 'blueberry flavored chrunchlets,' for instance, those are actually sugars, soybean oil, red #40 and blue #2. Reached for comment, Kellogg's told NPR that the stuff is 'labeled in compliance with applicable laws and regulations.' Well that takes care of that. If it's not illegal and is profitable, do it.

Fake Blueberries Often Masquerade As Real Fruit [NPR]

"

Protected By Cops, Emergency Locksmith Rips Woman Off For $613

Protected By Cops, Emergency Locksmith Rips Woman Off For $613: "

A woman blogs that she found herself locked out of her apartment because her keys were getting stuck and the lock wasn't working. So she called an emergency locksmith who arrived 15 minutes later, drilled off the cylinder, replaced it, and presented her with a bill for $613. When she refused to pay, the locksmith called (what were presumably) the cops. When they arrived the said, 'Pay the man now or you're under arrest.'

The emergency locksmith ripoff is not new. A normal locksmith would have charged around $60-$80 for this deed. Often shady locksmiths will snare you in by advertising the lowest price in the phone book. This is why it's important to:

• Agree on an estimate before they start services
• Find a local reliable locksmith before you need one, and put their number in your cellphone.
• If you can't come to an agreement before services begin, sleep at a friend's house and wait until morning when you can call the regular local hardware store or locksmith guy.

Eventually the woman walked to her bank ATM, followed by the locksmith and the cops in their cars, where she withdrew the money and paid him the full $613.

This is Something That Happened To Me [No Great Illusion] (Thanks to Elle!)

RELATED

That'll Be $176 For The 'Special' Air Jet To Unlock Your Car

Beware Nationwide Locksmith Swindle

'I Fell For The Locksmith Scam'

"

Survey: Facebook Users Compelled To Update Status From Bathroom

Survey: Facebook Users Compelled To Update Status From Bathroom: "

If you've ever wondered how some of your Facebook friends find the time to update their status as frequently as they do, a new survey may have an answer. According to the study, from AIS Media, 27% of people use Facebook in the bathroom. Good thing they're not actually including details about that in their updates.

According to AIS, women are more likely to spend time on Facebook in the can; 54.4% of those answering 'yes' to bathroom usage were female and 45.6% were male. AIS, which works with the advertising industry, sees a marketing opportunity in the numbers:

'While it may seem humorous to survey people about their Facebook usage while in the bathroom, the results underscore the proliferation of consumer social media usage and their strong need to stay connected', said Thomas Harpointner, CEO of at AIS Media, Inc. 'For businesses and brands, social media offers an opportunity to engage potential customers like never before.'

Dr. Edward E. Rigdon of Georgia State University theorizes that the usage is driven by an irresistible urge: 'I imagine most people carry their phone with them, in pocket or purse. People receive emails on their phone alerting them to Facebook messages or postings, and many people respond by reflex.' We just hope they're washing their hands first.

27% of People Can't Resist the Urge to Use Facebook on Their Mobile Device In the Bathroom [Press Release]

"

Bank Of America To Charge Fee For Making Mortgage Payment Within Grace Period

Bank Of America To Charge Fee For Making Mortgage Payment Within Grace Period: "

Bank of America is making an 11th-hour push for inclusion in the upcoming Worst Company In America tournament. Starting in February, folks with BofA mortgages who don't have BofA bank accounts will see their current 15-day grace period for making payments cut by 40%.

From MSNBC's Red Tape blog:

Consumers who use the bank's online payment tool, Mortgage Pay, will risk a $6 fee if they fund payments using another bank's checking account and the payment falls during the final six days of the traditional 15-day grace period. Consumers who make payments from Bank of America accounts are not subject to the fee.

So... it's not really a grace period anymore for those people, is it?

Gail Hillebrand from Consumers Union (the proud parent of Consumerist) had this to say:

Let me get this straight. They tell you that you have a grace period, (then) they say, 'Oops, you only have half of it if you don't bank with us,'... That doesn't seem fair. ... This looks like a new 'gotcha,' and we have enough of those already.

Many of the people with BofA mortgages don't have an existing checking account with the bank because they didn't get their mortgage from BofA to begin with.

'You don't want to have to go around changing your checking account every time someone buys your mortgage,' said Hillebrand, who says the way to avoid this problem is to make your payment before the grace period even kicks in. 'This is just one more way to extract money out of you that you don't expect to have to pay.'

B of A redefines 'grace period' with new fee [MSNBC]

"

Study: When New Walmarts Open, People Get Fatter

Study: When New Walmarts Open, People Get Fatter: "

Walmart is now the largest grocery store chain in the country, and a new study says that the more supercenters the company opens, the heavier the people living nearby become.

From the Montreal Gazette:

The researchers found that one new Walmart supercentre per 100,000 residents meant an average weight gain of 1.5 pounds per person sometime over a 10-year period dating from the store's opening. It also boosted the obesity rate by 2.3 percentage points, meaning that for every 100 people, two who weren't obese ended up in that category after a superstore opened.

One of the study's authors says the root cause is both the low cost of food at Walmart and the quality of the food sold there.

'I think the most obvious story is that Walmart lowers the price of foods and a lot of the foods it has big price advantages on are the processed, inner-aisle types of food that aren't that good for you,' explains the researcher from the University of North Carolina, Greensboro.

Additionally, he believes that Walmart's price-slashing has a ripple effect at other stores: 'It's not just about Walmart underselling the competitor. It's about the competitors cutting their prices in response to competition from Walmart. Someone might never step foot in a Walmart, but they still might pay less for their food.'

The study, which will be published in the March issue of the Journal of Urban Economics, found that women, low-income families and those in less densely populated areas are the ones most likely to experience weight gain after a new Walmart opens.

'We don't want people to look at this and immediately say Walmart is evil. We want people to realize this is one of many things that are going on, and maybe some are good and some are bad,' said the study's co-author. 'Certainly our results should not be taken as, 'Ban all Walmarts.' It's part of a very broad debate.'

Packing on the pounds blamed on . . . weight for it . . . Walmart [Montreal Gazette]

"

College Student Pays $14,000 Tuition In Singles

College Student Pays $14,000 Tuition In Singles: "

A student at the University of Colorado, Boulder, is making headlines after deciding to pay for all $14,300 of his semester's tuition in $1 bills.

'You're looking at all this money and you're thinking 'Wow, this is for one semester of school,' the out-of-state student told a Colorado news station about toting the cash to the bursar's office in a duffel bag. 'It was quit a sight and they said that nobody had even payed in ones before.... I just hope that it kind of stirs some conversations and people talk about it.'

His mom says she hopes her son's stunt will bring some attention to the rising cost of an education. 'Tuition has gone up so much and there are a lot of kids who don't have a family who can send them to school,' she explains. 'There are a lot of children who have to pay for their own education, who have to take out loans.'

Student Pays Tuition In $1 Bills, Parents In Sacramento React [Fox8.com]

"

In Wake Of Tragedy, Tucson Goes Wild For Gun Fair

In Wake Of Tragedy, Tucson Goes Wild For Gun Fair: "

Just days after a shooting rampage northwest of Tucson left six dead and 13 wounded, a gun show near the city drew 8,000 attendees.

The Telegraph reports the heavy turnout was a reaction to the perceived threat that the tragedy will bolster the cause of gun control advocates.

The Telegraph spoke to the president of the gun show, which hits Tucson five times a year: 'Any time gun owners feel their rights to use firearms lawfully may be challenged, they turn out in numbers,' the owner said.

While senseless incidents such as the one in Tucson, my hometown, cause some to yearn for more restrictions on gun access, they convince others that gun ownership needs to be more prevalent so innocents can better defend themselves.

Did the massacre change the way you feel about firearm ownership?

Arizona shooting: business booms at Tucson gun fair [Telegraph]

"

Johnson & Johnson Recalls Even More Tylenol, Benadryl, Sudafed & Sinutab

Johnson & Johnson Recalls Even More Tylenol, Benadryl, Sudafed & Sinutab: "

The new year isn't starting well for Johnson & Johnson. First, the OTC drug giant gets sued by the state of Oregon over allegations of a phantom Motrin recall. And now its McNeil Labs division has issued the latest in a lengthy list of actual recalls. This time, it's for certain lots of Tylenol 8 Hour, Tylenol Arthritis Pain, Tylenol upper respiratory products, Benadryl, Sudafed PE, and Sinutab products distributed in the United States, the Caribbean, and Brazil.

According to the McNeil recall site, all of these products were made at its Fort Washington, PA, plant prior to April 2010, when production at the facility was suspended.

'The company is initiating the recall as a precautionary measure after an extensive review of past production records found instances where equipment cleaning procedures were insufficient or that cleaning was not adequately documented,' reads the announcement. 'It is very unlikely that this impacted the quality of these products.'

This is a wholesale-level recall; the company says that no action is required by consumers or healthcare providers and that consumers can continue to use the product. These actions are not being undertaken on the basis of adverse events.

Details on the recalled lots of these products can be found here.

Consumers can access full product details and other information about the recall at www.mcneilproductrecall.com or by calling McNeil's Consumer Care Center at 1-888-222-6036 (available Monday-Friday from 8 a.m. - 8 p.m. ET and Saturday - Sunday, 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. Eastern Time).

Any adverse reactions may also be reported to the FDA's MedWatch Adverse Event Reporting program either online, by regular mail or by fax.

McNeil Consumer Healthcare INITIATES Voluntary Recall of CERTAIN OVER-THE-COUNTER (OTC) PRODUCTS [McNeil Recall Site]

"

$100 Bribe Gets Mysterious Package On JetBlue Plane

$100 Bribe Gets Mysterious Package On JetBlue Plane: "

Here's a deal you won't see JetBlue advertising on its website. All you need to get a mysterious package unaccompanied onto a JetBlue flight is a $100 bill in the hands of a JetBlue ticket agent.

Back in November, TSA agents were doing a test at Charlotte Douglas International Airport in North Carolina. They wanted to see if they could bribe a ticket agent into accepting an unaccompanied package onto a JetBlue flight to Boston. The answer: Yes, they could.

From SeattlePI:

An undercover TSA agent told a JetBlue ticket agent that he needed to get a package to Boston that day and would pay the agent $100.00 for helping. The agent took the $100, put it in his pocket and proceeded to follow the unknown person's instructions. The ticket agent chose a passenger's name at random, which just happened to be an unaccompanied minor, and the package went through the screening process with no problems. Although the package was harmless, the TSA pulled the package just before being loaded onto the aircraft.

Speaking to the media, TSA tried to downplay the fright factor of this news: 'TSA can assure travelers that, like checked baggage, every package tendered at the airline counter is screened for explosives.'

JetBlue says it is cooperating with the investigation and that 'the involved crew member is no longer employed at JetBlue.'

$100 Bribe to Ticket Agent Allows Unknown Package to Fly on JetBlue [SeattlePI.com]

"

Starbucks Trenta Slightly Larger Than Average Human Stomach Capacity

Starbucks Trenta Slightly Larger Than Average Human Stomach Capacity: "

A graphic is making the rounds comparing the volume of the new Big-Gulp sized Starbucks Trenta and the average capacity of the human stomach. Seems that the Trenta's 30.9 fluid ounces are slightly more than that of the average adult human's, 30.4. I don't really see what the big deal is. Obviously people will just take a break from chugging ice coffee and go to the bathroom and then go back and drink more ice coffee.

See, for comparison, 7-11 sells drinks in 20, 44, 64 and 128 oz sizes, known as the Gulp, Super Big Gulp, Double Gulp, and Team Gulp, respectively. No one goes around making funny pictures of them.

But those are for truck drivers, right? Well, this a 34 ounce Nissan thermos. So, basically Starbucks is selling you a plastic, disposable, thermos full of coffee. Well, guess what, Mr. Fancypants? Some days when you're pulling a long-haul of Powerpoints and your budget request is getting jacknifed coming off of Mt. Sheetrollzdownhill, you just need a dang Trenta full of iced coffee to get you through it.

What's even better is that you can buy two, drink one, and then use it to empty out your average adult human stomach into later, discreetly, under your desk. With a sly toss out of your work area, no one needs to know that you're the one responsible for the 'cubicle bomb.'

Graphic: How big, exactly, is Starbucks' new 'Trenta' size? [National Post]

PREVIOUSLY

Starbucks Drops A 31-Ounce Bomb: The Trenta

"

Cigarettes Start Giving You Cancer Within Minutes, Not Years

Cigarettes Start Giving You Cancer Within Minutes, Not Years: "

It doesn't take years for smoking to start the cancer-making process in your body, but minutes, according to a new study in the Chemical Research in Toxicology.

The study looked at polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), which are believed to be one of the major likely inciters of cancer in smokers. Researchers looked at how PAH was metabolized by the smokers' bodies, and found it was quickly transformed into diol epoxides.

These chemicals are mutagenic and carcinogenic, which means they damage and alter DNA and are directly involved in causing cancer. This process only took 15-30 minutes. Which means that death sticks start living up to their name in less than half an hour.

'The results clearly demonstrate immediate negative health consequences of smoking,' wrote the researchers, 'which should serve as a major warning to anyone contemplating initiating tobacco use.'

Immediate Consequences of Cigarette Smoking: Rapid Formation of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon Diol Epoxides [Chemical Research in Toxicology via BBC]

"

Oregon Sues J&J For Secretly Recalling Motrin

Oregon Sues J&J For Secretly Recalling Motrin: "

Instead of issuing a recall, after Johnson and Johnson discovered its Motrin caplets were defective, they hired a contractor to go around the country buy up all the drugs. It was a "secret recall" that left the bad medicine on shelves for months for consumers to buy. Now the Oregon AG is suing J&J. The story broke when one of the guys hired to do the buying faxed regulators the instructions J&J gave him.

They said:

...he was assigned to go into local stores, look for certain batch numbers, and buy the offending packets with a credit card provided by his employer...

[His instructions said]: 'You should simply 'act' like a regular customer when making these purchases. THERE MUST BE NO MENTION OF THIS BEING A RECALL OF THIS PRODUCT! '

Walther said he brushed aside questions from store clerks who quizzed him about the volume of his purchases. When company officials were certain that they had successfully ducked the possibility of a national recall, they sent around congratulatory emails proclaiming 'great job' and 'major win.'

Oregon sues Johnson & Johnson for leaving flawed Motrin on store shelves [The Oregonian] (Thanks to Brandi!)

"

So you found something cool in the internet...

ATMs Are As Dirty As Toilets

ATMs Are As Dirty As Toilets: "

You might want to wash your hands after the next time you take money out the cash machine. A new study shows that when bacteria harvested from both were compared, ATM keys were as dirty as the seat in a public bathroom.

The scientists swabbed the keys on a busy ATM, as well as the the seats in a public bathroom. Both contained pseudomonads and bacillus, bacterias which can cause illness and diarrhea.

The study was sponsored by BioCote, a company that makes an anti-bacterial coating that, among other things, can be used on ATM keys, and therefore would have a keen financial incentive interest in publicizing findings like these.

Cash machines 'as dirty as toilets' [The Telegraph]

"

Southwest Pilot Holds Plane For Murdered Child's Family

Southwest Pilot Holds Plane For Murdered Child's Family: "

Elliott.org has the incredible story of a grandfather who was trying to race through the airport to get to the funeral of his 3-year old grandson who was murdered by his daughter's live-in boyfriend. Despite getting to the airport early, long lines were going to make him late for the plane and all the TSA drones couldn't give a damn. Finally through security, he ran through the airport in his socks, clutching his shoes, before arriving, gasping at the Southwest gate—12 minutes late.

Would he lose the seats his wife had arranged for him over the phone with the ticketing agent, whom she had told about the tragic reason for his trip?

According to the letter written to Elliott by the man's wife, the gate agent told the grandfather,

'Are you Mark? We held the plane for you and we're so sorry about the loss of your grandson.'

The pilot held the plane that was supposed to take off at 11:50 until 12:02 when my husband got there.

As my husband walked down the Jetway with the pilot, he said, 'I can't thank you enough for this.'

The pilot responded with, 'They can't go anywhere without me and I wasn't going anywhere without you. Now relax. We'll get you there. And again, I'm so sorry.'Reached for comment, a Southwest airlines rep told Elliot that they were 'proud' of what the pilot had done.

Nice to see that in this age of razor thin margins and pretzel bag fees there's still some human decency left.

Southwest Airlines pilot holds plane for murder victim's family [Elliott]

"

Finallyfast.com Refunds Thousands In Scareware Suit

Finallyfast.com Refunds Thousands In Scareware Suit: "

FinallyFast, one of those companies with the late-night infomercials promising to make your computer faster, has settled with the Washington AG for misleading and deceiving consumers, and making it hard to cancel or get refunds. One of their tactics was to make the free scan on their site falsely identify harmless files on your computer as being errors. Consumers can now get some of their money back.

Just listen to all the tricky business, Ascentive, the company behind FinallyFast, was up to. From the WA AG press release:

• Misrepresented that consumers' computers are at risk of harm through banner ads that resemble warning messages, pop-ups and graphical images.
• Sent deceptive e-mails that suggest the company's software is recommended by Microsoft.
• Offered free scans that were bundled with other programs that launched excessive pop-up warnings and nagging alerts until the user either purchased the company's product or uninstalled the software. The scans often identified harmless files as errors.
• Failed to disclose that by downloading one program in its suite of services, an additional program - essentially an advertisement for other software products - would also be installed.
• Added additional products to orders during the checkout process. Consumers had to uncheck boxes next to the products in order to avoid being charged.
• Failed to clearly disclose that consumers who purchased products were actually buying an annual license and would be automatically billed each year unless they cancel.

All good reasons why you should avoid these so-called 'optimization' sites that often do nothing more than optimize sucking money from your credit card.

Eligible Washington customers who bought Ascentive products will get an email in the next month telling them how to claim their refund, which will involve printing and signing the message and sending it in within 30 days.

The settlement was with the Washington AG but I've seen their commercials in other states...

Finallyfast.com Maker to Refund Thousands in Spyware Case [PCWorld] (Thanks to Jessica!)

"

Verizon Switching "New Every Two" Plan To 20 Months?

Verizon Switching "New Every Two" Plan To 20 Months?: "

Verizon Wireless could be changing it's 'new every two' upgrade policy, making customers wait until their contract is almost up before they upgrade phones, according to what appears to be a leaked internal slide posted at Android Central.

The screenshot of what looks like an internal training module says:

...customers on 2-yr contracts will no longer be able to upgrade in months 13-20 of their 24 month contract as standard policy.

Customers will no longer be enrolled in NE2 [New Every Two ed.] at the time of activation/upgrade after January 16.Note that this does not affect 1-year agreements.

So 'New Every Two' is being phased out and you'll have to wait longer to get an upgrade, instead of being able to get one in months 13 through 20. Is this in preparation for the iPhone coming to Verizon?

We've reached out to Verizon Wireless to confirm or comment.

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CTRL-H Replace, Voila! AT&T's 3G Network Is Now 4G!

CTRL-H Replace, Voila! AT&T's 3G Network Is Now 4G!: "

"AT&T Inc. flipped a switch and turned on its 4G wireless network Wednesday," reports the WSJ. "The switch, however, was in the company's marketing department." Taking advantage of loose definitions for what qualifies as 4G, AT&T has simply relabeled its existing, and much-maligned, 3G network as 4G.

The International Telecommunications Union hasn't set a hard definition on 4G, so carriers are going right ahead and calling their networks 4G. AT&T told WSJ that it was okay to do it because consumers won't notice the difference between their HSP-plus and the new LTE network.

AT&T isn't the only one, T-mobile did the same last year and then went on an anti-AT&T advertising spree.

Alls fair in war, love, and marketing.

A recent Consumer Reports survey of wireless carriers ranked AT&T dead last.

AT&T Pins 4G Label to Existing Network [WSJ] (Thanks to Evan!)

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Study Linking Vaccine To Autism Was Fraud, British Medical Journal Reports

Study Linking Vaccine To Autism Was Fraud, British Medical Journal Reports: "

Blasted almost as soon as it was published, a 1998 study linking the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine to autism has still managed to scare off hordes of anxious parents from fully vaccinating their children. Now a new investigative report published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) goes further, saying that the study was not only rife with error, but outright fraud, committed for financial gain.

The new report shows how the study's author altered facts about his patient's medical histories so they would fit more neatly with his claims.

'A great deal of thought and effort must have gone into drafting the paper to achieve the results he wanted: the discrepancies all led in one direction; misreporting was gross,' wrote BMJ in an accompanying editorial.

In one case, a child was included in the list of children who supposedly started displaying autistic symptoms 1-14 days after they got a MRR vaccine. The study said his showed up a week later. But when the child's father was tracked down and medical records were checked, it turned out the child's symptoms started showing up a month before he even received the vaccine.

This wasn't only the first of several discrepancies found between the timing of symptoms on the medical records and what ended up in the published study. Also, the patients themselves that became part of the study were sent to the doctor by an anti-vaccine campaign called 'JABS.'

Later the study's author attempted to use it as a basis for a class action lawsuit against MMR makers. The lawyer working on his behalf ended up dropping it because he said it would fail on evidence. The study itself was retracted from the journal that published it, and the other 10 authors listed on it withdrew their support after it was published. The study's author was also stripped of his medical license. The claims made by the study have never been able to be reproduced in any subsequent experiments.

Nonetheless the study's effects linger, with vaccination rates down and infection rates up. In 2008, for the first time in 14 years, there was a declared measles endemic in England and Wales.

How the case against the MMR vaccine was fixed [British Medical Journal]

Ileal-lymphoid-nodular hyperplasia, non-specific colitis, and

pervasive developmental disorder in children (original and ultimately retracted paper) (PDF)

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Pay Movers A Fuel Surcharge Fee? Get Money Back

Pay Movers A Fuel Surcharge Fee? Get Money Back: "

If you hired movers and paid a fuel surcharge fee, you could be up for getting some cash back in a recent class action action.

If you hired a mover between 2003 and 2007 and used American Moving & Storage, Atlas Van Lines, Mayflower Transit, United Van Lines or Wheaton Van Lines, you might be eligible.

The suit claims that a consortium of movers agreed to set an artificially high price for fuel surcharges under a tariff called 'Tariff 400N.' The defendants have agreed to a $40 million settlement.

To participate, you must submit proof before February 3, 2011. How much each individual class member will get has not yet been determined.

For more info on eligibility and filing a claim, check out the settlement site.

HouseholdGoodsAntitrustSettlement [Official Site via TopClassActions]

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Woman Faces Year In Prison For Trying To Return Lost Wallet On Her Own

Woman Faces Year In Prison For Trying To Return Lost Wallet On Her Own: "

The moral of this story, we suppose, is if the police ask you to give them the lost wallet you found, you should do it. ...Or maybe it's that if you see a lost wallet, you should run away.

A woman in Casper, WY saw such a wallet and, being a Good Samaritan type, she picked it up and started trying to contact the owner.

'I left messages at his home phone after I found his number on the Internet,' the woman told ABC News in Denver. 'I called his bank and a Harley Davidson dealer listed on a business card in his wallet.'

She also contacted the police. Eventually, the owner of the wallet filed a police report.

From ABC Denver:

Police phoned [the woman] back and asked her for the wallet. She said she was going to hang on to it until she heard from [the owner] what he wanted her to do.

She said police became aggressive and demanding, but she held firm.

'I just didn't need to be bullied,' she said.

Police then arrested [the woman], and charged her with interference.

'I said, 'Are you serious? I'm going to jail for trying to return a guy's wallet to him,'' [the woman] said. The first attempt to prosecute apparently ended in a mistrial, so they're going at it again. She faces a possible sentence of one year in prison and a $1,000 fine if convicted of interference.

The owner of the wallet says he'd love it if both the police and the women just dropped the whole thing and shook hands.

Woman Arrested After Trying To Return Wallet [ABC Denver]

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PowerBalance Admits There's No Proof It Works

PowerBalance Admits There's No Proof It Works: "

PowerBalance was forced to announce in Australia that there's no proof its magical wristbands work. These bands contain holograms, yes, frickin' holograms, that are 'designed to optimize your natural energy flow.' Did we really need an announcement? Apparently, because the bands are selling well and have been showing up on celebrities' wrists. And you know they only use products when they are effective and reasonably-priced.

'We'd made claims in the start that said that our product improved strength, balance and flexibility,' CEO of Power Balance Australia, Tom O'Dowd, told ABC. 'And we didn't have the scientific peer-reviewed double blind testing or the level of proof that we needed to substantiate those claims.'

That about says it all right there.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) forced PowerBalance to remove any claims from their website and offer any unhappy customers a refund. They were also forced to run a series of ads saying that there's no proof the bands work.

What does work is the placebo effect and the order effect. If you think the band will help you, it will. And if you do a test of your sports performance, the second time you do it you will always perform better. So if you try a vertical jump without the band, and then with the band, with the band you will jump higher. But you would also jump higher the second time if you first jumped with the band and then without the band.

Nobody better tell Shaq. Or Ronaldo. Or DeNiro.

Watch ESPN debunk these bands in their investigative video:

PowerBalance Admits Their Wristbands Are a Scam [Gizmodo]

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