[H] Consumer

Browser To Browser File Swapping

Alright, this sounds pretty cool, an application that allows you to swap files…browser to browser by dragging and dropping the files into your browser window. Both parties have to have the app installed but it sounds like it might be worth looking into, check it out here.

The new service lets you send large files across the Net simply by dragging them onto your browser window. You can't send to someone unless they've installed AllPeers' app too, but once both of you have everything set up, you can zip files back and forth with ease.

eBay Takes Heat For Privacy Practices

Privacy International is taking issue with eBay privacy practices, which they claim abuse its users. According to this, the Information Commissioner is examining Privacy International's complaint against eBay and Amazon.

The civil- and cyber-rights group complained to the U.K.'s Information Commissioner this week about eBay.co.uk, which it claims is breaching the Data Protection Act by making it hard for users to cancel their accounts and delete details of their Web shopping habits and other personal data.

If you’ve ever had your bank account tied to your eBay or PayPal account, you should know they can do stuff like freeze your eBay or PayPal account but leave it attached to your bank account for up to 180 days.

iPod Manufacturer Drops Demands Against Reporters

The two Chinese reporters that had all their assets frozen (homes, bank accounts and cars) after they were sued for $3.7 million U.S. dollars are now only being asked to pay 0.13¢ after a wave of negative publicity.

An official at Hongfujin Precision Industry Co., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Taiwan's Foxconn that manufactures iPods for the U.S.-based Apple Inc, told Xinhua in a telephone call that the company would apply the Shenzhen Intermediate Court to unfreeze the journalists' assets, which include their homes, bank accounts and a car.

Seeing two reporters have their life savings, homes and cars seized for reporting on iPod sweatshops sure makes you appreciate the freedoms we enjoy in this country.

Firefox 2.0 Beta 2

All you Firefox users interested in playing around with the latest 2.0 beta should hit this link. You can get all the documentation on Firefox 2.0 here.

Firefox 2 provides the same clean, streamlined, interface as previous versions, with small improvements to make it easier to use. In addition, it includes improved security features and useful tools to make the Internet experience safer, faster, and better than ever before.

Velocity Micro's ProMagix E2200

The day that Core 2 Duo launched, we went to our local Best Buy and bought this new Velocity Micro system that is now being sold at B&M locations. We ended up with a great system, but we had to jump through some support issues to get there. Is the customer feeling growing pains at VM?

Don’t Sell That Cell

Most of us know better than to sell an old PC with personal info on it, no matter how well we “think” it was deleted…but what about your old cell phone? This ought to scare the daylights out of some of you:

Trust Digital resurrected information on nearly all the used phones, including the racy exchanges between guarded lovers. The other phones contained: One company's plans to win a multimillion-dollar federal transportation contract. E-mails about another firm's $50,000 payment for a software license. Bank accounts and passwords. Details of prescriptions and receipts for one worker's utility payments. The recovered information was equal to 27,000 pages -- a stack of printouts 8 feet high.

Linspire Makes CNR Library Free

Linspire has decided to make access to its "Click 'N' Run" library of software free. The company used to charge as much as $50 a year for access to the CNR software but has recently decided to open it up in hopes of making its product more popular.

"CNR really makes using desktop Linux easy, and we want everyone to have access to this quality service," Chief Executive Kevin Carmony said in a statement. The move was financially feasible for the company because it's making enough revenue from premium products such as software to play DVDs, CodeWeavers' CrossoverOffice software to run Microsoft Windows and Sun Microsystems' StarOffice,

Google Offering Free Classic Books

Google is offering free classic book downloads in PDF format so you can read them from the convenience of your desktop, from your own computer, at your own pace, in your own home...you get the idea.

Starting today, you can go to Google Book Search and download full copies of out-of-copyright books to read at your own pace. You're free to choose from a diverse collection of public domain titles -- from well-known classics to obscure gems.

Future Batteries Will Be Better

According to an MIT battery expert, advances in materials and engineering can double battery life without sacrificing safety.

The growing demand for portable electronic devices with power-hungry features has led manufacturers to invest in the highest-capacity batteries. But packing so much energy into a small package can be dangerous, as shown by the recent, massive recalls of Sony lithium-ion batteries for Dell and Apple laptops.

AMD-ATI To Launch Notebook Platform In Q4

According to DigiTimes, AMD and ATi plan on launching a new notebook platform, codenamed Yokohama, that utilizes the AMD Turion 64 X2 processor and ATI's future chipsets.

By the fourth quarter of this year, Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) and ATI Technologies will jointly launch a new notebook platform, currently codenamed Yokohama, that utilizes AMD's Turion 64 X2 processors and ATI's future chipsets, which are currently known as the RS690M, RS690DC and RS790M, according to sources at Taiwan-based notebook makers familiar with ATI's latest roadmap.

Apple Working On Labor Issues

The labor issue and allegations against the iPod maker of low pay and poor working conditions is getting worse each day. It seems, the reporters who broke the story have had all their assets frozen by the government and Apple is being asked to step in on behalf of the reporters. An Apple spokesman said the company is “working behind the scenes”.

"We believe that all Wang and Weng did was to report the facts and we condemn Foxconn's reaction," said the letter, signed by Robert Menard, secretary-general of the group. "We therefore ask you to intercede on behalf of these two journalists so that their assets are unfrozen and the lawsuit is dropped."

AT&T Hack Exposes 19,000 Identities

AT&T said yesterday that hackers broke into its system and made off with the personal information of 19,000 customers. AT&T is offering to pay for credit monitoring service for customers that were affected.

The information that was illegally accessed includes credit card numbers, AT&T said in a statement. The cyberattack affects about 19,000 customers who purchased equipment for high-speed DSL Internet connections through AT&T's Web site, the company said. "We deeply regret this incident," Priscilla Hill-Ardoin, chief privacy officer for AT&T, said in the statement.