Hastytech.com - Technology Information

Update On Roger’s iPhone Plan

Hastytech — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 05:49:33 +0000

Yesterday I wrote about an open letter sent to Steve Jobs about Roger’s iPhone Price plan. As of June 30 there has been 15,432 signatures. Good Luck and I hope the pressure makes Rogers lower the price of their monthly plan. Read more here

Open Letter to Steve Jobs

Hastytech — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 06:10:40 +0000

Some Candian’s are protesting the iPhone pricing plan that Rogers offers. If you think AT&T is bad check out how much Roger charges and what you get. Roger’s 3G iPhone Pricing plans Im not sure how well this will work but I do think Candian Users are getting ripped off. Read the letter below.

“Dear Steve,

My name is James and I would like to thank you for creating the wonderful iPhone device. We really think that you will change the world with it, just as you changed the world with the iPod. We were so happy to learn that on July 11th, we would finally be able to buy the iPhone and legally use it in Canada.

To our great disappointment, Rogers Communications Inc. has announced VERY unfair rates in comparison to AT&T in the United States and to other authorized wireless service providers around the world. As a result, a consumer movement was born yesterday (June 27th) in protest against these rates.

Nearly 6,000 people have signed an online petition to help make a difference and the list is growing rapidly. In the last 48 hours, the website has had 40,000 unique visitors from around the world supporting Canadian consumers. There are a vast number of Canadians that would take the opportunity to buy an iPhone at $199CAD but these new plans have put it out of reach for many.

I would like to invite you to take a look at all these disappointed people at www.fuckyourogers.com.

I was going to buy an iPhone for me, my girlfriend and my family.

Now, sadly, I cannot afford the plan.

I hope you can do something Steve; we are loyal customers and trust that you will. We don’t want to lose faith in Apple.

Thank you,
James Hallen
Representing nearly 6,000 Canadian consumers.”

10 Safety Tips For Buying On eBay

Hastytech — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 20:29:11 +0000

eBay has become a household name for shoppers. A lot the buyers on eBay are not regular internet shoppers but they still shop on eBay. Such is the power of eBay giving simplicity of shopping and top bargains. From time to time, there is some fraud on eBay about fake fashion items, event tickets that do not exist, some expensive electronic items that do not exist.
eBay does its best to intervene and resolve such disputes. As a shopper, you can follow these 10 safety tips to avoid being conned.
1. Check the seller’s feedback. Positive feedback rating of over 95% is good. If there are many recent negative feedbacks, then this is not a good indication. Also, read all the negative feedbacks. Are these negative feedbacks reasonable? What type of response does the seller have for these feedbacks? Does the seller’s defense sound reasonable? Sometimes new members who buy items on eBay are paranoid and they leave a negative feedback in a haste so make sure if the seller has defended himself/ herself in a reasonable manner. If there are too many complaints of the same nature, then it is probably true.
2. The sellers must have some kind of identification or recognition seal like Paypal verified, or Square trade or a Powerseller seal on the auctions. Such sellers are more reliable. This is especially a good check when you buying an expensive item.
3. Ask seller a question before bidding on the item. Responsible sellers reply promptly to questions. Also, if the seller actually has the item, he/ she maybe able to answer a valid question otherwise not.
4. If you are buying something expensive, then get the contact information of the seller at http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQtZvbQQsofindtypeZ9. You have to login to your eBay account and send a request. You can get the seller’s address and phone number. In doing this, your address and phone number will also be emailed to the seller.
5. The items must have pictures unless it is a service that is sold on eBay. If there is no picture, then the items is probably not there. Almost all sellers will put at least one picture of the item. Let’s assume that the item is there but the seller has been lazy in not putting the picture in the auction ad. Would you like to deal with someone who is so careless? It just shows that the item may not be in good condition, maybe defective or broken.
6. Check description of the item. Research other websites for the same item. Some of the shopping websites to research would be shopping.yahoo.com, overture.com and shopping.msn.com. These sites are adequate for researching items and get the description that you need. The eBay description should match item description on other sites.
7. Research prices for the item on sale. If the item on sale is Gucci handbags, then search for this model of handbag on shopping.yahoo.com. If it retails for $800 on Yahoo and seller on eBay is selling a brand new one for $90, then this item may not be authentic! Large wholesaler are able to sell items for around 50% of retail but something like an original Gucci handbag, it is unlikely that a seller would let go for $90 because these items sell like crazy. Just a note on fraud items – a lot of fraud eBay occurs on fashion items. This is very unfortunate and eBay has taken a lot of steps to eliminate fraud.
8. If the seller has not mentioned any shipping and handling terms, then ask before bidding. There are many auction ads, where the seller mentions that shipping and handling will mentioned to the winning bidder. Surprisingly, there are bids on that item! If you start bidding on the item, then it means that you agreed to the terms and condition of the sellers and there is less room for you to dispute later so ask for the clear instruction on shipping and handling.
9. Reliable sellers have clear description on their refund policy. If it is not there, then ask the seller for it. If the seller has no refund policy, then do not bid on the item. If the there is no refund policy in the auction description, then make sure you get the refund policy in an email from the seller. In this way, you have a document of the refund policy.
10. Do a search for the sellers past items on eBay. Check to see if the seller has sold similar items in the past. To search on the past auctions, go to the Advanced Search page. Here click on the items by seller link and type in the sellers ID and check the box for Include Completed listing. It is always good to check this especially if you are considering buying something expensive.

Hacker Cracks London Crack Ticketing System and more

Hastytech — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 17:11:06 +0000

Dutch Security Researchers have cracked Londons Ticking System using a laptop. The researchers cloned the cryptography that was built into the transit cards or Oyster Cards. They scanned the key into the laptop which turned the laptop into a portable device reader. They would brush up on somebody to download their card data giving them a free ride. More importantly all of that persons information. Dutch Officals have taken this matter very seriously and have started issuing 120,000 new cards to government workers and are in the process of upgrading the security in secure buildings. The same hackers recently cloned access to a secure building in the Netherlands. This is a common problem with these types of cards and there is no countermessure.
If buildings can be broken into and information being stolen whats next? Remember that next time somebody brushes up againist you.

The blind can now experience

Hastytech — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 12:53:18 +0000

But for the roughly 10 million people in the United States who are blind or visually impaired, using a computer has, so far, required special screen-reading software typically installed only on their own machines.

New software, called WebAnywhere, launched today lets blind and visually impaired people surf the Web on the go. The tool developed at the University of Washington turns screen-reading into an Internet service that reads aloud Web text on any computer with speakers or headphone connections. Read More

5 Reasons why Android might be better then the iPhone

Hastytech — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 05:11:49 +0000

It promises to run on most modern smart phones - More cell networks will support Android than iPhone does — the iPhone is bound to just AT&T. Mobile providers NTT DoCoMo, Sprint Nextel, T-Mobile and more have committed to the project. Also, more handsets will operate on it. You might even get more life out of your old phone if it supports it. Handset manufactures HTC, LG, Motorola and Samsung have already signed on.
It’s open-source software - Any programmer can whip up some code to match popular features from any other phone.
It has support for Google products out of the box - The Latest Android demonstration displayed the phone’s compass prominently in Google Maps. You can bet Google will have the latest and greatest features of their software running on Android before it hits other operators.
Third-party developers have more access - iPhone prohibits people from using its internet capabilities for things like VoIP or an alternative browser. Android’s API allows you to create an application for anything, even the dialing software.
Android allows for ‘unlocked’ phones - Most handsets in America, including the iPhone, are locked by software to a cell phone provider’s network. While there are various ways to jailbreak, it’s not easy and might break your terms of service. The availability of downloading and installing your own unlocked OS might just change the game in respect to shopping for mobile phone providers and signing contracts. If this method gets more popular, it is conceivable phone networks may drop the contracts in lieu of (better) European pre-pay pricing.

Can the Samsung Instinct compare to the Apple iPhone?

Hastytech — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 04:21:03 +0000

The Apple iPhone revolutionized the cell phone industry. Breaking all the rules and creating a truly unique phone. There has been a few phones that try to top the iPhone such as the Verizon Voyager or the LG Glimmer, but none of them can go over the edge and make something different. I think the reason why the iPhone is so popular is because users options. whether you jailbreak your iPhone or keep it the same there are many things you can do with the iPhone and with the release of the 3G the iPhone is still pushing the limits. However one phone is getting close to becoming the next “thing” The Samsung Instinct is butting heads with the iPhone. Here are some pro and cons of the Samsung Instinct

Pros

Almost the same size as the iPhone
Phone lets you know when your touching the screen with feedback buzz’s
5 hours to talk time
Only $139 + 2 year contract
Great Music Player

Cons

Locked to Sprint
No Apps (besides Sprints applications)
OS not as pretty as iPhone
Phone not as nice as the iPhone
No Wifi

So right now the iPhone is still the phone to have and with each release it does get better. Maybe one day we will have an iPhone killer but for now the iphone lives on.

Sharp to start selling 108′ LCD HDTV

Hastytech — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 03:34:30 +0000

Sharp has announced that they will start selling its 108′ LCD HDTV also known as the LB-1085. German retailers have started to sell this TV at a price tag of 120,000 euro which comes out to just over $186,000. Expect this TV to be a special order and not something you come in and pick it. It weights 430 pounds and will take 16 weeks to deliver.

I couldn’t imagine playing my Xbox 360 on this however I do hope the prices to drop and Sharp continues to make great TV’s at a lower price. If I find a retailer selling this product online I will update with a link.