• Verizon last month introduced a $2 fee for customers who don’t subscribe to long-distance service and don’t pay for a long-distance calling plan. It is nice to know that it costs money to NOT do business with Verizon as well as all the surcharges we pay for doing business with them. You can get rid of the charge…if you happen to notice it….by disconnecting your long-distance access…but that will cost $6.75.
• Compact Fluorescent Lightbulbs contain mercury…and thus you are advised to dispose of them in compliance with local regulations…The Consumerist has its review of this story which made the rounds in the media…of a woman who broke one of these bulbs and was advised to call a toxic waste team at a cost of $2000 to clean up the mess. The bulb has less mercury than a thermometer. It is unnecessary to have it professionally cleaned. Just take proper care…clean completely and then clean yourself afterward.
• We got a kick out of this cheap network rack project…which uses cheap Rubbermaid letter trays to keep and stack network equipment in a simple and aesthetically pleasing ways. Have a look here.
• Vonage has set up a website called Freetocompete.com as a result of their current legal problems with Verizon. They want you to sign their petition to keep VoIP companies from being unfairly hassled by Verizon by claiming they own patents that cover all VoIP services.
• For those of youwho use or consider using third-party ink refills for your printer(refills not made by the printer manufacturer…check out this investigation by TrustReviews.
• Popular Mechanics did a test on the light quality of a set of Compact Fluorescent Lightbulbs.

With increased features and functionality being in demand, and the decreasing cost and storage space of flash memory, the move can be a good one. But 32GB of flash memory is only as good as the lowest standard iPod storage space count…although the availability of larger flash memory modules is no doubt around the corner. Flash memory does have a shorter possible lifespan than hard drive storage, but the estimated lifespan is not that far off the warranty period of a standard hard drive.

We tend to prefer flash memory systems over hard drive ones. Mostly because we can’t foresee needing our entire music collection in our pocket at all times. With video…there is a need for more space to store each hour…but for those who need it…technology marches on.

As we’ve mentioned in the past…the idea of a CableCard is simple, and mandated by the FCC. The card would allow devices such as televisions and consumer owned tuners to become cable ready, by decrypting the content instead of requiring consumers to rent cable boxes from the cable provider at an expensive monthly cost. The problem has been so far that these devices are only one-way…blocking such features as on-demand programming, electronic program guides, and so on from being available.

Personally, while we have never seen an inexpensive television with a CableCard slot, this could pave the way for that option, now that the same experience as a cable box can be integrated and universal. We are hoping to see inexpensive CableCard options popping up within the year.