uTarget’s Fuzzy Math Spreads To Dollar Generalr

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• Imagine that you need 42 ounces of Skittles. We’re not sure what you need them for; it’s your life. When shopping in large quantities, always check for dastardly Target Math, which exists to trip up innocent shoppers like you who just want a large quantity of something. Instead, Target Math makes you pay more per ounce when you buy in bulk, while you could have purchased multiples of a smaller size for less money.

  

  Take this example, the real-life version of the Skittles quandary posed above, submitted by reader Tami. You, the theoretical buyer of large quantities of Skittles, could buy one bag of 41 ounces for $7.79, or three bags of 14 ounces each for a total of 42 ounces and $7.47. Makes perfect sense.

  Meanwhile, over at Dollar General, a “dollar-ish” discount store, Guillem noticed something curious about the sale price on bread. This is the other variation of Target math: putting something on sale without putting it on sale.

  

  
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by Laura Northrup via Consumerist

uReminder: Today Is The Day Microsoft Pulls Support For Internet Explorer 8, 9, And 10 For Goodr

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• If you’ve been putting off your final farewells to Internet Explorer, it’s time to stop procrastinating: Microsoft is ending support for IE versions 8, 9, and 10, effectively sending the browser to that Internet pasture in the sky, where its friends Netscape Navigator, Mosaic, and other tech dinosaurs are waiting.

  The final security update delivers a few bug fixes for the browser, as well as a warning that its about to bite the bucket, in the form of an “end of life” notification. The message will push users to upgrade to IE’s successor, Microsoft Edge.

  So why should you care? If you’re one of the possibly hundreds of millions of users still running one of those IE versions, you won’t get any more security patches. And if you don’t get security updates, your software will become increasingly vulnerable to hack attacks as time goes by.

  If you or your loved ones are still relying on a soon-to-be very outdated version of Microsoft’s web browser, this is your moment. Seize it, and move on.

  
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by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

uWhy Is Comcast Interrupting My Web-Browsing To Upsell Me On A New Modem?r

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• 
  We already know that Comcast can — and does — inject alerts into users’ web browsers to alert them to potential copyright infringement, but the nation’s largest Internet provider can also use this ability to interrupt your enjoyment of the web in order to remind you to upgrade your modem.

  Consumerist reader and Comcast customer “BB” says that the cable company upgraded the network in his area in recent months, and has been writing and calling him regularly about upgrading his modem ever since.

  “For months we received multiple letters in the mail, explaining how we were missing out on the great new capabilities of their network,” writes BB. “This eventually escalated to repeated phone calls from Comcast, stating that we should really upgrade our modem.”

  Thing is, BB owns the modem he uses and he’s experienced no problems with service or speeds since the network upgrade. He’d rather not spend money on a new modem — or pay Comcast too much to rent one from the company — when what he has is working just fine.

  And BB is not some minor Internet user with an ancient desktop computer that he only uses to check email once a week. In fact, he’s a software developer living — like many of us — in a home with multiple web-connected devices.

  “We stream Netflix and YouTube and our Internet speed is great for everything we need,” he writes. “Why should I spend the money?”

  BB knows that sometimes customers can indeed be left out in the cold by using old tech — just ask all those people who had to scramble for digital antennas and cable boxes when that changeover happened — so he called Comcast to ask exactly what he was missing out on with his old modem. He says the support rep would only tell him that he wasn’t enjoying the full benefits of the upgraded modem, but failed to provide any real technical info about what this meant.

  “Now they’ve moved to more aggressive measures to try to get me to upgrade,” writes BB. “The other day as I was browsing the web on my phone, on my home WiFi, I got a pop-up notice while browsing on wired.com.” (see screenshot above)

  In big red letters, the notice alerts BB that there is some “Action Needed” on his service.

  It reads:
  “Our records indicate that the cable modem, which you currently use for your XFINITY Internet service, may not be able to receive the full range of our speeds. To ensure you’re receiving the full benefits of your XFINITY Internet service, please replace your cable modem.”

  “This feels like a step too far,” writes BB. “It just feels invasive in a way I’m not comfortable with.”

  A Comcast exec we talked to argued that this is not an attempt to upsell the customer on a new modem, and instead characterized the alert as an educational tool to let the customer know that their device may be nearing the end of its life cycle. They explained that while an older modem may work, it may also no longer be receiving necessary, regular software updates and bug fixes.

  The exec points to Comcast’s impending rollout of DOCSIS 3.1 technology — which allows for gigabit Internet speeds over existing cable lines. Taking advantage of that leap in speeds will also require users to switch out to newer modems.

  Unfortunately for BB, the only way to stop the upgrade alerts from showing up in his web browser is to eventually upgrade his modem. There is currently no way to opt out of these injected notices.

  For now, BB seems content with his setup.

  “If they want me to upgrade my modem so badly they can send me a new one, or put a credit on my bill to pay for one that I buy myself,” he writes. “Until then, I’m perfectly happy with my Internet speed and will use my modem until it stops working.”

  
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by Chris Morran via Consumerist

uBlue Bell Pinky Swears, Promises Its Ice Cream Is Totally Safe To Eat Nowr

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  Blue Bell Creameries is working hard to reassure customers after last year’s outbreak of Listeria contamination and a slew of massive recalls, issuing yet another message promising that its products are now safe to eat.

  The company announced on Friday that it was within the realm of possibility that listeria might be present still at its Brenham, TX plant — one of three facilities total — while saying that there was no reason for customers to worry about contamination. It seems it’s trying to hammer that message home hard, issuing another statement on Monday (via the Associated Press) saying customers “can be confident in our ice cream because of all the steps we have taken to ensure a safe product. Our enhanced testing program confirms that these procedures are working.”

  Part of the new process the company is implementing to stay contamination-free involves enhanced testing that flags suspicious areas early on, “so we can take steps to extensively clean and sanitize the areas, refine our procedures or make additional physical enhancements in our facilities.”

  A spokeswoman for the Texas Department of State Health Services said Blue Bell told her agency that it found “a couple of instances of environmental positives for Listeria species at the Brenham plant over the last month” in non-food areas such as floors and floor drains “and the instances were addressed,” which is pretty much what the company said last week: yes, there could possibly be listeria hanging around here, but no, it’s not going to get into the food.

  Part of the fallout from last year’s recall and the subsequent cleanup effort means Blue Bell agreed to inform health officials in the states where it has factories — Texas, Alabama, and Oklahoma — when there’s a positive test result for listeria in its products or ingredients. The agreements don’t mean that Blue Bell has to notify the states of any positive listeria test results if it was found on floors or other areas that don’t have contact with food.

  Listeria happens to be a foodborne pathogen that can survive being frozen, which is why its presence in ice cream is a particular threat. The Blue Bell outbreak killed three people and sent twelve to the hospital. In healthy people, infection with listeriosis causes fever and muscle aches, along with diarrhea and abdominal pain. Infection can be life-threatening to people who are elderly, young, or who have compromised immune systems.

  During last year’s outbreak, 12 people became sick and three died. Blue Bell recalled eight million gallons of ice cream as a result. The company is now in the process of expanding its distribution again, adding El Paso, TX; Little Rock, AR; and Memphis, TN to the list of areas that will be getting Blue Bell products again.

  Blue Bell says ice cream is safe despite potential concern [Associated Press]

  
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by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

uBill Requiring Childproof Packs For Liquid Nicotine Heads To President’s Deskr

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• The Child Nicotine Poisoning Prevention Act, intended to reduce the odds of kids getting their little hands on tasty-looking – but poisonous – liquid nicotine, appears destined to be the first new federal law regulating e-cigarettes. Yesterday, Congress passed the measure, which now goes to the White House for President Obama’s signature.

  The Act [PDF], introduced by Florida Senator Bill Nelson, aims to treat the packaging of liquid nicotine the same as household substances under the Poison Prevention Packaging Act of 1970: requiring the use of childproof bottles and containers.

  Liquid nicotine, used to refill e-cigarettes, has been a point of concern for consumer advocates, health officials, and lawmakers in recent years, with reports indicating that children, who may be drawn to the product’s bright color packaging and flavors, are at a higher risk of death from coming into contact with the toxin.

  According to poison control data, the substance is highly toxic if ingested or absorbed through the skin; as little as half a teaspoon can be fatal if ingested by an average-sized toddler. In 2014, poison control centers received more than 3,000 calls related to e-cigarette and liquid nicotine exposure, and one toddler died, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) reports.

  At issue in the bill is the packaging of the products. Currently, manufacturers aren’t required to use child-resistant containers.

  That would change under the Child Nicotine Poisoning Prevention Act, as manufacturers of liquid nicotine will be required to sell products in child-resistant packaging — consistent with U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) standards — within six months of the bill’s passage.

  The packaging must be difficult for children under five years of age to open or to obtain harmful contents from.

  Additionally, the measure will preserve the Food and Drug Administration’s authority to regulate the packaging of tobacco products.

  Advocacy groups were quick to applaud the bill’s passage.

  “This legislation will go far to protect young children from the dangers of liquid nicotine,” Consumers Union, Consumer Federation of America, and Kids in Danger said in a joint statement on Monday. “Just one teaspoon can be fatal to a child. And this safety threat only continues to grow as e-cigarettes and other vaping devices grow in popularity.”

  
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by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

uAirBNB Will Gently Nag Hosts In San Francisco Instead Of Requiring City Registrationr

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• 
  Airbnb’s hometown of San Francisco voted down a proposition that would have limited the number of days per year that a host on the service can rent out a room or property, with the goal of keeping scarce housing stock as housing, not places for tourists. Yet the company is preparing for similar future battles in San Francisco and in other cities, and will start by nagging hosts in San Francisco.

  Here’s where Airbnb’s approach to local laws gets a little bit tricky. Hosts in San Francisco are supposed to register with the city to avoid violating laws against short-term rentals. The company has offered to help hosts to register, but has not offered to cross-reference and take down the listings of hosts who aren’t registered.

  Airbnb has made a new promise to the city of San Francisco to send e-mails and paper letters twice a month to hosts within the city who haven’t registered yet, hoping to gently nag them into doing so. What they haven’t done is responded to a request from the city that the site require hosts to display their city registration numbers on their profiles: the offer to nag their hists is apparently the company’s counter-offer.

  New York City is also an expensive market and tourist magnet, and in that city, Airbnb provided a large data dump meant to prove that most of its hosts are not scheming landlords who have dedicated apartments in hot neighborhoods to the tourist trade.

  Airbnb’s Latest Weapon in Full-Time Landlord Crackdown: E-Mail and Letters [Bloomberg]
  Airbnb to share registration information with hosts [San Francisco Examiner]

  
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by Laura Northrup via Consumerist

uT-Mobile CEO John Legere Sorry For Cursing Out Critics On Twitterr

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• Last week, T-Mobile CEO John Legere went on Twitter to post video responses to questions about his company’s Binge On program. While the rabble-rousing exec is often applauded for his plainspoken demeanor, he was roundly criticized for cursing out one pro-consumer group that has been critical of his company. After a few days to think about it, Legere is now apologizing.

  In an “Open Letter To Consumers” (read: press release) about Binge On, Legere reiterates many of his previously stated positions on the program, which doesn’t charge T-Mo customers for using data from certain streaming video providers… so long as they don’t mind the fact that the stream may be downgraded from its intended resolution.

  YouTube, which does not participate in Binge On, was the first to publicly criticize T-Mo for not delivering its data to Binge On users in full HD. The streaming video service accused T-Mobile of throttling all video content, a possible violation of recently enacted federal net neutrality rules.

  T-Mobile fired back, claiming that the downgrading was not throttling, but an optimization process to make these streams run better for customers and allow them to get more for their data subscription.

  But a study by the Electronic Frontier Foundation alleges that T-Mo is doing is the opposite of optimization and may actually result in video that is even worse than if the content company had sent it out in a lower resolution. Additionally, the EFF claimed that T-Mobile appeared to be downgrading streams regardless of network speeds or congestion.

  So when the EFF used last week’s Twitter Q&A with Legere to ask the CEO to explain in more detail about how Binge On works, he finished his response to the non-profit, pro-consumer group by asking “Who the fuck are you anyway EFF? Why are you stirring up so much trouble, and who pays you?”

  As we noted in our story last week, this didn’t go over well with supporters of EFF, which is predominantly funded by donations and not from corporate gifts.

  And so, Legere concludes today’s open letter with an apology to the EFF.

  “Just because we don’t completely agree on all aspects of Binge On doesn’t mean I don’t see how they fight for consumers,” he writes. “We both agree that it is important to protect consumers’ rights and to give consumers value. We have that in common, so more power to them. As I mentioned last week, we look forward to sitting down and talking with the EFF and that is a step we will definitely take. Unfortunately, my color commentary from last week is now drowning out the real value of Binge On – so hopefully this letter will help make that clear again.”

  
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by Chris Morran via Consumerist