services
Computers
Carol Brady Creates The Worst Ever Tech Support Job
9:20AM Sean Fallon | If you thought your IT job was filled with annoying questions, try working for Florence Henderson’s new FloH Club. It’s a telephone-based tech support service for old people. More »
Online
10:45AM Nick Broughall | One of the few things I learned at Uni that is actually useful in my day job is that recording a telephone conversation is only legal with the consent of all parties involved in the conversation. So there’s a lot of potential for criminal activity with this new service that records your conversation and emails you an MP3 of the call. More »
1300 RECORD Makes Recording Prank Calls Easy
10:45AM Nick Broughall | One of the few things I learned at Uni that is actually useful in my day job is that recording a telephone conversation is only legal with the consent of all parties involved in the conversation. So there’s a lot of potential for criminal activity with this new service that records your conversation and emails you an MP3 of the call. More »
Software
Google Voice Coming VERY Soon?
3:20AM Jason Chen | There has been lots of chatter about Google Voice being on the verge of being released, so keep an eye out tomorrow and early next week to see if it hits. You’ll probably have to sign up early to get a number in an area code you like. More »
Entertainment
10:52AM Nick Broughall | Fans of music and Nokia phones are in for a treat: according to a Reuters report, Nokia is bringing their “Comes with Music” service to Australia in the next couple of months. In case you don’t remember, Comes with Music is a service that gives you 12-months worth of unlimited music downloads, which you then get to keep at the end of your 12 month subscription. Crazy, huh? More »
Nokia Bringing Unlimited Music Service To Australia This Quarter
10:52AM Nick Broughall | Fans of music and Nokia phones are in for a treat: according to a Reuters report, Nokia is bringing their “Comes with Music” service to Australia in the next couple of months. In case you don’t remember, Comes with Music is a service that gives you 12-months worth of unlimited music downloads, which you then get to keep at the end of your 12 month subscription. Crazy, huh? More »
Gadgets
Cogi Writes Down Your Conversations So You Don’t Have To
7:20AM Mark Wilson | As a lazy writer who is occasionally forced to interview an actual person, I still haven’t found the perfect solution to transcribing phone interviews without doing it myself. But a service called Cogi looks promising. More »
Networks
Netgear Launches GearHead Home Network Support Service, Has Geek Squad and Firedog in Their Crosshairs
6:40AM Adrian Covert | Netgear is launching their new GearHead service, which provides support and assistance in setting up any of your home networking gear—whether it’s made by Netgear or not. The brand independent service is a service in the same vein as Best Buy’s Geek Squad, except it’s focused soley on home networking (and they probably won’t steal your porn). It’s available 24/7, and comes in two different pricing plans: An annual subscription that offer’s unlimited support, or a one-off, pay-per-incident service. More »
Online
8:59AM Nick Broughall | We’ve bitched and moaned a lot about the “Australian Tax” that gadgets get placed on them when they’re released in Australia. Everything from the PS3 to anything from Apple – they all get marked up when they hit Australian shops. In many cases, it would be cheaper to buy online from an overseas store, but then you’re hit with astronomical shipping fees, or you need a US address to finalise the purchase…
Enter Bongo International. Their job, as they eloquently put it on their website, is to: “take in the goods, store them, repackage them when our customers advise us, and handle any custom related issues that may arise”. Which means you can not only get stuff you normally wouldn’t be able to get delivered to your door, but also have multiple deliveries consolidated into one package, saving on shipping costs.
There are two pricing options: Single use (which costs $5) or a subscription service for regular shoppers, which costs $15 a month. There are bigger savings on shipping with the subscription service (makes sense) and you need to subscribe to get that package consolidation service.
We haven’t used the service yet, but considering we’re not likely to see Rock Band 2 in Australia until they release Rock Band 3 overseas, I’m thinking that could be a pretty good test case. But what about you guys? Have any of you used Bongo, or would you? More »
Get Your Very Own US Address For Online Shopping With Bongo International
8:59AM Nick Broughall | We’ve bitched and moaned a lot about the “Australian Tax” that gadgets get placed on them when they’re released in Australia. Everything from the PS3 to anything from Apple – they all get marked up when they hit Australian shops. In many cases, it would be cheaper to buy online from an overseas store, but then you’re hit with astronomical shipping fees, or you need a US address to finalise the purchase…
Enter Bongo International. Their job, as they eloquently put it on their website, is to: “take in the goods, store them, repackage them when our customers advise us, and handle any custom related issues that may arise”. Which means you can not only get stuff you normally wouldn’t be able to get delivered to your door, but also have multiple deliveries consolidated into one package, saving on shipping costs.
There are two pricing options: Single use (which costs $5) or a subscription service for regular shoppers, which costs $15 a month. There are bigger savings on shipping with the subscription service (makes sense) and you need to subscribe to get that package consolidation service.
We haven’t used the service yet, but considering we’re not likely to see Rock Band 2 in Australia until they release Rock Band 3 overseas, I’m thinking that could be a pretty good test case. But what about you guys? Have any of you used Bongo, or would you? More »
Online
MobileMe ‘Not up to Apple’s Standards,’ Says Steve Jobs
5:53PM Kit Eaton | We all know that Apple’s MobileMe had a difficult birth: but it’s quite another thing to be able to read the criticisms of the service from his Steveness himself. And over at Ars Technica they’ve got hold of an internal Apple email that Steve Jobs sent out to Apple employees detailing his displeasure that MobileMe was “not up to Apple’s Standards.” It needed both more time in testing, and a piece-by-piece launch, rather than attempting to launch it as a “monolithic service,” he thinks. More »
Computers
2:11PM Nick Broughall | If only John Mayer’s dad lived in Australia and owned a Dell. Then all of John Mayer’s dad’s tech support questions could have been easily answered by the good folks at Gizmo.
You see, today Dell and Gizmo announced that they were going to get intimate, with Gizmo services like setting up your Dell PC or setting up a wireless network available as an optional extra when purchasing a new Dell machine.
While it’s highly unlikely that anybody reading this would need tech support to set up their own computer, this could be the kind of thing that you purchase for your own mum or dad when buying them a PC, so you can save yourself the 1,742 phone calls about how to get the computer working or, in John Mayer’s case, finding an application.
Pricing is a bit on the expensive side, but look at it this way: they have to put up with all of those inane questions from old people so you don’t have to. Isn’t that worth something?
Pricing is below: More »
Dell And Gizmo Get It On For Home Computing Support
2:11PM Nick Broughall | If only John Mayer’s dad lived in Australia and owned a Dell. Then all of John Mayer’s dad’s tech support questions could have been easily answered by the good folks at Gizmo.
You see, today Dell and Gizmo announced that they were going to get intimate, with Gizmo services like setting up your Dell PC or setting up a wireless network available as an optional extra when purchasing a new Dell machine.
While it’s highly unlikely that anybody reading this would need tech support to set up their own computer, this could be the kind of thing that you purchase for your own mum or dad when buying them a PC, so you can save yourself the 1,742 phone calls about how to get the computer working or, in John Mayer’s case, finding an application.
Pricing is a bit on the expensive side, but look at it this way: they have to put up with all of those inane questions from old people so you don’t have to. Isn’t that worth something?
Pricing is below: More »
Vehicles
