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There is a push going on by two musicians, Peter Gabriel and Brian Eno, to get the control of the record industry back in artists’ hands. The two have started a group called MUDDA - Magnificent Union of Digitally Downloaded Artists. Artists who join this organization will be able to sell their music directly to people without the involvement of the record labels. Artists have always been taken advantage of by the music industry. Contracts they sign basically allow the music label to take most of the profits from the sale of the records. The music industry spends money promoting certain bands that they think could be a hit. But if they become a hit, the label gets most of the money. And it’s hard for artists to get picked up by one of the five big music labels. So, if you would like to get your name out there as a musician and keep your dough, you might want to check out MUDDA. Go to wired.com to learn more.
And if you are trying to get your music to play on an MP3 player, there is a new service to help you out. At Rip Digital, you can have all of the music from your CD collection put into your MPs player. It’s roughly $1.25 a CD, and about $1 a CD if you have tons of CDS. To find out more, go to ripditigal.com.
Several new reports out today say AT&T is still a wounded duck in the wireless industry and is basically waiting for someone to bail them out. AT&T has had the worst problems porting people who want to switch companies and take their cell phone number with them. About half of the complaints about poor porting service were lodged against AT&T. That is due, in part, to the fact that AT&T refused to use the industry standard system for switching companies as all the other companies did. Number portability is supposed to happen in about two and a half hours, but that is just a guideline. The FCC made a terrible error in allowing the cell phone industry to regulate itself in this area. It’s more like 24 to 48 hours and sometimes longer. The good news is that there are some decent companies out there if you’re looking to switch companies. According to the Washington Post, Verizon Wireless has been consistently ranked as the best wireless company out there, although the plans are quite expensive. Verizon has had about a third of all the “porting” complaints, but you must consider that the company has 50 percent more customers than AT&T. T-Mobile has been adding huge numbers of subscribers because they’ve been dubbed as the bargain provider. The company has received complaints, but they are considered decent. Nextel is the company that people fire the least often, so that is a good sign too. This is the third time Clark has talked about AT&T in recent weeks for a reason. He doesn’t want you to be handcuffed to an unreliable company, especially if it’s a sinking ship. If you want help choosing a plan and learning more about cell phone portability, go to our Wireless Phone Kit.
Almost 13 million people paid monstrous junk fees for refund loans last year, according to the IRS. All told, people paid nearly $1 billion in fees to get their own money back. These numbers blow Clark away. Interest rates on these loans are usually between 200 and 600 percent. And some don’t even let you know they are loans. These companies promise that people will get their money back in a few days. Consumers get so excited by the fever pitch that they buy in. But what they may not know is that if you file electronically the normal way, you may wait just one week more – and you won’t have to pay a dime. So, it’s really not worth it to get money seven days earlier. So, when you’re sitting there with a tax preparer and he or she says the company can arrange for you to receive the refund immediately, run! They act like they are doing you a favor. All you need to do is sign on the dotted line. But it’s no favor! Also, if you’re getting a big refund, it means you are having too much withheld from your paycheck. You’re giving an interest free loan to the government. All you need to do is go to your human resources department and adjust the amount you’re withholding.
One of the main reasons people to buy SUVs in such large numbers is the perception that they are safer than smaller cars. If you are driving an SUV and it collides with a smaller car, the SUV driver will probably fare better. But there has been a big problem with these SUVs flipping over because of the vehicle’s high center of gravity. As a result, the government has designed rollover tests that allow people to see how well an SUV does. The safest vehicles earn a “5,” while an SUV with a “3” has a tendency to rollover. So far, no vehicles have earned a “5,” and one vehicle got a “2.” Would you believe it’s one of the Ford Explorer models? The company has spent years – and lots of money - trying to overcome the negative publicity it got in the past because of rollover problems. But the trouble seems to continue for Ford. The Sport Track 4x2 earned the lowest rating of any SUV. Check out safercar.gov to see ratings on all SUVs. Cars with a 3-star rating or lower are questionable. And, putting a teenager in an SUV is never smart no matter what the rating. They don’t know how to handle these vehicles, and the casualties involved are staggering.
More and more Americans are signing up for high speed Internet access, which is great. But there is also an increased risk that someone will be able to get into your computer and change passwords or view your accounts. It can’t really happen with dial-up connections, but it’s a constant threat with high-speed access. According to abcnews.com, two out of three Internet users have no firewall system. A firewall is basically a software package that protects other people from hacking into your system. So, if you’re asking what a firewall is, you probably don’t have one. Check out the programs available on our Firewall Protection page and download one of them. Even if your ISP claims to offer firewall protection, you probably want to add your own as well.
In other Internet news, Comcast has limited the amount of time customers can spend online but it has chosen a very strange and unprofessional way to let customers know. Comcast used to advertise “unlimited use” for its customers, but now customers are limited to “acceptable use.” That would normally be fine, but Comcast does not define what “acceptable use” means. So, some Comcast customers are getting letters in the mail, saying they are spending too much time online. The company can then arbitrarily cut you off without explanation. So, if you get a letter, fire Comcast and switch companies immediately.
You may have heard about the recent debacle at U.C. Berkeley involving the Fulbright Scholarship. Berkeley is one of the most prestigious schools in the U.S. and one of the hardest to get into. It also has one of the nation’s most competitive doctoral programs, and sometimes students in this program are awarded the Fulbright Scholarship. The Fulbright is given to people who will make a big difference to our country, and people apply to the program every year. To apply, you send the application to the U.S. Department of Education. So, Berkeley recently sent 30 applications to the DOE via FedEx. But FedEx didn’t pick up the package on time and so it failed to get there before the deadline. The school realized that the package was never picked up and called the DOE to see what to do. The U.S. Department of Labor also got involved and determined that the 30 students would not be able to participate. The university was out of luck. So, the school is outraged. They are not upset with FedEx; they are angry at the DOE. And Clark thinks they are right. To say there is no room for human error is wrong. When this program was started, the idea was that the scholarship would nurture the brightest minds in the country. So, to keep them participating on a technicality is a travesty. Clark is going to find out the phone number of the woman who decided the Berkeley students could not participate and ask her to come on the air. If she declines, Clark will share that number with you and he hopes you voice your opinion to her. So, be looking for it soon!
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