Until yesterday, I was one of those suckers who thought online tracking data actually meant something. So on Friday, when I checked UPS’s web site and found this:

Package Progress

I naively assumed that this was a mostly accurate representation of how my package had progressed. Silly me, I actually believed it meant that some facility in the U.S. had received the package’s billing information at 6:41 p.m. on July 12, 2007, that it had been scanned into the system at 8:51 p.m. EDT in West Chester, PA, that it had departed there for Laurel, MD at 9:54 p.m. at arrived at 12:26 a.m. the next morning, leaving for Richmond at 2:29 a.m. and arriving there at 5:37 a.m. Silliest of all, I even believed that “out for delivery” meant that someone had scanned my package one last time at 6:48 a.m. on July 13, placed it on a delivery truck, and sent it out for delivery later that day.
(more…)

If you’re in the market for a router, this is a very good deal. I’ve had that brand for almost a year now, and it’s worked flawlessly. That’s more than I can say for the Linksys router it replaced.

From where I sit, the VOIP Revolution began early last year, when I told my phone company to VOIP off. It ended last week, when I told my VOIP company to VOIP off.

If you have the misfortune of doing business with Sprint, as I do, you may have long assumed that in an emergency, the GPS device built into your cell phone could be a lifesafer. Guess again. According to their current policy, if your kid ends up kidnapped along with your SUV and the cell phone happens to be inside it, Sprint won’t release the GPS data without a $25 fee and a subpoena. Aside from how sick it is not to honor the subscriber’s wishes without a subpoena, since when does anyone get to charge a fee in exchange for honoring one? Can private individuals do that, too? If so, effective immediately my new fee is $1,000,000, which ought to be more than enough to cover any early cancellation fees if I dump their service today.

Hat tip: Jeff Lewis.

Real news, or a good fart joke? That is the question.

UPDATE:  The Other Xrlq is not impressed by Sirius’s handling of the matter.

I thought American Airlines sucked, but right now Patterico and his entire family are stranded for three days because Air Tran couldn’t get their act together for three hours. Apparently, Air Tran’s business model is so crappy they actually planned for this sort of thing. From their “contract of carriage,” which you’ve almost certainly never seen but have presumably “signed” every time you boarded one of their planes, take a gander at Sections A, C and E, Right of the Carrier and Limits on Liability for Delay or Failure to Perform Service, Including Schedule Changes, Substitution of Alternate Aircraft and Rerouting:

A. AirTran will endeavor to transport the passenger and baggage with reasonable dispatch, but times shown in timetables or elsewhere are not guaranteed and form no part of this contract.

C. Schedules are subject to change without notice. AirTran is not responsible or liable for failure to make connections or for failure to operate any flight according to schedule, or for a change to the schedule of any flight. Under no circumstances shall AirTran be liable for any special, incidental or consequential damages arising from the foregoing (including the carriage of baggage) whether or not AirTran had knowledge that such damages might be incurred.

E. AirTran wil not provide or reimburse passengers for expenses incurred due to delays or cancellations of flights.

In other words, welcome to the Jack-(o)F(f)M of air travel: we’ll fly you where we want, when we want, and if our three hour screwup screws you up for as many days, so be it. Of course, delays caused by the customer are something different. If you cause the delay in your travel, you will pay AirTran, the only question is how much. Per Section K(1)(a), Voluntary Refunds:

If the passenger decides not to use the ticket, and the ticket is not subject to non-refundable restrictions, AirTran will issue a credit as follows:

If the ticket is totally or partially unused, the total fare paid for each unused segment minus a cancellation charge will be applied toward future travel if the reservation is canceled at least one (1) hour prior to departure.

The rest of this self-serving “contract” consists of a litany of “we’re not liable” crap, filling a total of 17 pages. What a horrendous waste of ones and zeroes. All they really needed was four words: “Screw you, pay us.”

UPDATE: Actually, American’s “contract” isn’t much better.

UPDATE x2: What, you say?  You’ve never heard of AirTran?  Sure you have - when they were called ValuJet.  More here.  Thanks to Aphrael for pointing out this connection, which I had completely missed.

If you have bought, sold or refinanced a loan on your home between April, 1999 and February, 2005, and bought title insurance from Chicago Title or its affiliate, you may be entitled to a refund. Go here to find out, or call (800) 694-9787 between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. Central.

Which is better, Sirius or XM? Why?

United Health Care has recently announced it will give away pill-splitters to make it easier for its customers to split pills in half to save money. Beldar predicts a suenami. I hope he’s wrong, but time will tell.

If you live in an SBC area where DSL is available, now’s the time to get it. Between $15/month for high speed Internet and $40/month for unlimited local and long distance calling, that’s actually cheaper than VOIP in my area - where DSL is, alas, unavailable.