customers

Microsoft has assured users that it will strive to give cloud computing customers the same privacy commitments given to those using desktop software. But it warns that this could be limited by government regulations, particularly where data is ... transferred across international borders. Cloud computing is a broad term, but generally refers to set-ups where data, an application, or even an operating system is stored on, and operative from, a remote server rather than a user's computer. As Microsoft notes, it's not a new idea: Hotmail is an example of a cloud-based service, with the emails and ... (view more)

Computer manufacturers have been accused of excessive shipping charges for a supposedly free Windows 7 upgrade scheme. The fees mean some buyers could wind up paying as much as $17.03 for shipping: far more than the actual costs of delivering the ... upgrade. According to the free Windows 7 deal, people who buy Vista machines before the Windows 7 release date of October 22nd, 2009 will be able to get a "free" copy of Windows 7 upon its release. The aim of the scheme was to minimize the drop in computer purchases over the summer among people who'd otherwise have waited for the new system rather ... (view more)

A major newspaper has recently questioned how much AT ... (view more)

Microsoft has some bad news for those who signed up for the Office Live Small Business service before February 2008. These people will now have to pay an additional fee to renew all web domains acquired through the service. This is not the first ... time that Microsoft has requested payment for domain renewals. In February 2008 the company started charging new customers $14.95 USD for each new web domain. Up until now, those who signed up for the Office Live Small Business service before February 2008 were exempt from paying any additional fee. In the Interest of Fairness... Now, all Office Live ... (view more)

Malware planted on web servers belonging to Network Solutions LLC, a hosting company and domain registrar, reportedly compromised more than a half a million credit card accounts belonging to customers of its e-commerce merchants. The company said it ... found unauthorized code on servers that support some of its e-commerce merchants' websites. It's reported that transaction data for about 4,343 of its merchant websites was stolen and redirected to outside servers. (Source: techtarget.com ) Half a Million Cardholders Affected Approximately 573,928 cardholders were affected by the breach that ... (view more)

Everybody was talking about Barack Obama's inauguration on Tuesday morning, and it showed. According to reports, a number of mobile phone networks faced overload circumstances that day until late afternoon, when the chat sessions finally began to ... dissipate. Having the most trouble that morning appears to have been T-Mobile, with PC World reporting that one customer complained they were unable to make or receive calls throughout the entire morning leading up to Obama's appearance. With cellphones an often necessary lifeline for personal and business purposes, the victim's disgust is certainly ... (view more)

Last fall, several communications companies reportedly conducted trials, in some cases lasting up to 6 months, of network-based technology designed to track a customer's Internet actions, attempting to amass refined data on web-surfer habits that ... may be sold at premium rates to advertisers. Cable One's 'trial' affected about 700,000 customers. Bresnan Communications conducted a similar 'trial' that was limited to about 6,000 broadband customers in Billings, Montana from April 1 to June 26, 2008. Knology tested it on about 230,000 of their customers from January until July 2008. WideOpenWest ... (view more)

It's one of the first rules of Internet 101: visiting questionable websites leads to viruses, which entices hackers to access your hard drive and monitor your every click. But can someone still be monitoring your web activity even if you're extra ... careful when selecting online destinations? The answer may just depend on which Internet provider you use. A few months ago, The U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce sent out an open letter to 33 companies inquiring about their online targeting practices, or in other words, the extent to which the web activity of their customers is being ... (view more)

It has long frustrated me that I can't saunter into my local Starbucks, buy my favourite over-priced java, slide into an over-sized comfy chair, and browse the Internet. Well, actually, I could, but I would have to pay around $30/month to get it. ... For most Starbucks customers, myself included, the price of a coffee is high enough. Independent coffee shops have had a long tradition of offering free Internet access to customers. The logic is that, if you give them Internet, they are likely to stay longer and buy more. Plus, independent owners are often less the boardroom, bottom-line driven ... (view more)

Computers, cell phones and the like are the ultimate luxuries. They make our lives easier and, lets face it, we love them to death. But we all know how frustrating it can be when something goes wrong. Either it's way more expensive than we thought, ... impossible to repair, or the warranty doesn't cover what's broken. That's how some deceived Dell customers felt about financing, warranties, and repair services promised by the company. Clients who were "left on hold for hours...pressured to take apart their computers themselves, and subjected to numerous other negligent and abusive practices." ( ... (view more)