There's a Sucker Converted Every Minute

Ponca City, We love you writes "Once the US converts from analog to digital broadcasting next February, those who receive their signals over the air will need a converter box for older, non-digital models. Government-approved converter boxes sell for $60 or less and a government-issued $40 rebate coupon is available for the asking but that hasn't stopped companies like the Ohio-based Universal TechTronics from offering supposedly free converter boxes. The gimmick: the box is free, as long as you pay $88 for a five-year warranty, plus $9.30 shipping. Universal TechTronics seems to specialize in 'high-tech' products of questionable value, marketing the Cool Surge portable air cooler, 'a work of engineering genius from the China coast so advanced that no windows, vents, or freon are needed' that uses the same energy as a 60-watt light bulb. It works by blowing a stream of air over two ice packs that you have previously frozen in your freezer. What's the best tech scam you've heard of lately?"

Comments

Re:I like Vista

[ThatFunkyMunki]

I disagree, I just got a new Dell XPS M1530 with Vista preinstalled, and I genuinely tried to get it to work for me, got all the applications i use in windows normally, etc. I used it for about 4 hours, after which i noticed my computer was not nearly as fast as the one it was replacing (aging pentium 4 system), and decided to install XP. Now, it runs great, and uses about 2/3 the ram that was being consumed by Vista. Oh, and now I have the ability to play games without the horrible FPS that came with Vista.