dodgy
Business
Best Buy Staff Paid Bonuses to Deny Legit Guaranteed Price Matches
1:40AM Matt Buchanan | Best Buy, like many other stores, has a public “price matching” policy. But HD Guru reports that according to internal docs, personnel are trained to deny price-matches and even paid bonuses for shutting them down. More »
Business
Manufacturers Attack Discount Sellers with Cubicle-Dwelling Enforcers, and the Consumer Takes the Hit
1:00AM Gizmodo US Edition | The Wall Street Journal investigated the mafia-like tactics of major electronics manufacturers in maintaining higher pricing. Makers like Panasonic, Samsung, and Klipsch hire offices of internet tough guys to track down discount sellers and punish those filthy capitalists for sullying their brand perception with affordable prices. More »
Gadgets
Surprise, Another Electronics Dealer Bribes Reviewers
4:30AM Mark Wilson | Do you remember the story about Cameta Camera from yesterday? The company was bribing Amazon reviewers to take down negative reviews. Now more fraudulent reseller practices are coming out of the woodwork, as TheCellShop.net was found to be offering this little incentive to their buyers to bump their scores on resellerratings.com: More »
Entertainment
Terminator Ad Looks Like a Rip-Off, Makes Sarah Connor Chronicles Even Worse (NSFW)
3:00AM Jesus Diaz | We like Terminator as much as we hate companies who rip-off the work of artists without even crediting them. This is apparently what happened with the poster used to promote the bland Sarah Connor Cronicles TV series: some blogs are reporting that the Fox channel’s poster was allegedly copied straight from a striking montage created by someone else before the series were even announced. Compare the full images after the jump (NSFW). More »
Gadgets
Keyport Update: Refunds Issued, But They’re Keeping Your Keys
5:10AM Jason Chen | Now we’re not sure what’s going on with Keyport now. Two weeks ago they managed to ship a unit to NOTCOT to fool around with, but apparently there’s SOMETHING going on in the manufacturing process that makes it unsuitable for shipping it out to paying customers. Keyport told Josh five months after he paid and shipped them his keys that they were going to refund his money, but keep his keys. Wha? More »
Computers
Mac Clone Maker Psystar Examined: Who Are They And Why Are They So Shady?
6:50AM Jason Chen | The Guardian did a little research on this Psystar, the company that vows to continue selling their generic Mac OS X clones even if Apple decides to sue them. Turns out that not only has the Miami Chamber of Commerce and BBB never heard of them, there’s essentially no trace of them on the internet at all. As if that wasn’t enough to make Psystar seem more than a little questionable, their address on the contact page changed completely now and earlier today from a residential address to a business one. More »
Computers
Get Your Next PC for $39.95, Right Here
7:15AM Charlie White | WTF? It’s a $39.95 PC. Could this be the machine to beat the $200 OLPC at its own game? It’s billed as a “cheap desktop computer,” and then gets worse from there. First of all, it’s a refurbished IBM PC from the late 20th century, probably occupying many a junk heap by now and maybe even some museums. Its shipping and handling costs $24.95. It has a Pentium III running at 933MHz. Oh, and it doesn’t include an operating system, just a Windows 2000 COA (Certificate Of Authenticity). We can go on, but let’s don’t. Our conclusion? It’s way overpriced at $64.90. So line up, suckas. [HCDI Trading] More »
Games
Wal-Mart Selling Wiimote Knockoff, Perfect for a Stepchild Stocking Stuffer
6:00PM Matt Buchanan | Usually this kind of awesome is relegated to Chinatown shops, but this fake Wiimote produced by LA-based ToyQuest is available in that most red-blooded of American institutions, Wal-Mart. The $10 to $15 Wiimote-”inspired” toy actually features motion controls for the built-in game, but thanks to the tiny, cruddy screen you can’t see anything when you’re waving it around, making it impossible to play. But it does rattle when you shake it, making it the closest thing around to Wii Samba di Amigo maracas. [About] More »
Games
Dr. Ashen Reviews the PolyStation 3
4:37PM Jason Chen | Our buddy Dr. Ashen of crappy gadget fame just reviewed the the PolyStation 3; a horrific knockoff of a famed Japanese console that only a snarky British gentleman can properly go to town on. Not to spoil the ending or anything, but there’s a reason why he calls himself a Doctor (and no it’s not like why Judge Reinhold calls himself Judge). [YouTube] More »
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