the wilson360

After Amazon made the decision to remotely delete books from customer’s Kindle units, I contacted them for comment about the situation, and I received the following form-mail response:

Hello,

These books were added to our catalog using our self-service platform by a third-party who did not have the rights to the book. When we were notified of this by the rights holder, we removed the illegal copies from our systems and from devices, and issued a full refund to your account.

We have changed our systems so that in the future, books will not be removed from customers’ devices in these circumstances.

I’ll send your comments to the Kindle team. Customer feedback like yours really helps us continue to improve our store and provide better service to our customers. Thanks for taking time to offer us your thoughts.

There is currently a debate over whether or not Amazon had the right to pull this content from users. This story is an update to an earlier Wilson360 blog post.

written by wilson360

In a surprising and unexpected move, Amazon recently remotely removed titles from customer’s Kindles when a publisher filed claim with Amazon that books had been posted to the Kindle store illegally. Kindle customers who had paid for and downloaded the books legitimately woke up to find that the books had been deactivated and removed from their Kindle units, sparking anger and outrage throughout the Kindle community.

eBooks have had a fairly slow adoption rate, as DRM (digital rights management) restrictions have discouraged customers from embracing the technology. Currently, paper books can be resold, lent, donated, and most importantly …read on or comment »

written by wilson360 \\ tags: amazon, bad business, e-books, ebooks, kindle, kindle 2, kindle dx

I recently decided to investigate the world of e-books, e-readers, and everything in between. Motivated by shelves of now useless books, I began to wonder if digital books are truly the next big thing for publishing. Right now, I have books that are outdated, un-interesting, boring, or just plain useless – and they are occupying prime real estate in my home. Not to mention the fact that every few months, I have to sort, donate, (attempt to sell), or throw out recycle books that have overstayed their welcome. NOT a fun process. And let’s not forget about the digital paper of our day: the PDF, which my hard drive is overflowing with.

After reseraching almost every available e-reader on the market today, …read on or comment »

written by wilson360 \\ tags: amazon, e-book, e-reader, ebook, ereader, kindle, kindle 2, kindle dx

I heard about this story on one of those early-morning national news shows this morning. After my post about big businesses treating customers badly, I had to share this newfound information.

It appears that in 2008, artist and musician Dave Caroll traveled from Canada to the U.S. by way of United Airlines. While exiting one plane to catch a connection with another, Dave, his band-mates, and fellow passengers observed U.A. baggage handlers on the ground damaging their guitars and equipment. Dave tried to notify U.A. employees about what was going on, but …read on or comment »

written by wilson360 \\ tags: bad business, dave caroll, united airlines

Times are rough. I know it. You know it. Businesses really know it, and it’s starting to show. In addition to massive lay-offs and downsizing, it’s been my experience that companies are trying to save money but taking customer service out of their financial equations. Is it a smart business decision, or a kiss of death? I’d like to go on record as saying that after we emerge from this economic slump, businesses will be scrambling to win back the trust the customers they once treated badly.

One example: as challenging as it is for banks right now, I think it’s only going to get worse …read on or comment »

written by wilson360 \\ tags: bad business, bank of america, credit card, customer service, interest hike, wachovia

Unfortunately this was less exciting than I had anticipated, but here’s some pics anyway!

written by wilson360 \\ tags: 3g s, 3gs, apple, iphone 3.0, iphone 3g s, iphone 3gs, unboxing

It was not all that long ago that I was one of the many individuals left scratching their head and wondering “What is this Twitter ‘business’ all about?” Well, I’m here to help you understand what Twitter is about, and what makes it so fun to use.

If you are familiar with FaceBook, you know that you can update your status to quickly and easily keep your friends updated on what you’re doing. Twitter is similar to FaceBook updates, but without …read on or comment »

written by wilson360 \\ tags: social networking, TweetDeck, twitter, Twitterriffic

While CFL (compact fluorescent lights) have been growing in popularity, a new issue is growing as well: What to do with the bulbs after they have burnt out.

Many government and private agencies, and also retailers, have been encouraging consumers to switch to long-lasting, energy efficient compact fluorescents. However, there has been very little national support for CFL recycling. Most often, any recycling center that offers CFL recycling has offered that service for a fee. Consumers are unlikely to pay a fee to recycle their old light bulbs, when they could just as eaily throw them in the trash for free.

Home Depot now offers CFL recycling for free, and the company has said this service is available at all of their locations throughout the U.S. The home-improvement chain has set up brightly-colored orange collection bins where customers may drop off their old energy efficient bulbs free-of-charge. In my opinion, this is a great program because consumers can complete the environmentally-friendly circle by disposing of used energy-saving bulbs in a completely guilt-free way!

You can find more information about Home Depot’s CFL recycling program by visiting:
http://www6.homedepot.com/ecooptions/index.html?
and click on “CFL Recycling” in the left-hand menu.

written by wilson360 \\ tags: cfl, compact fluorescent, home depot, recycle, recycling

Just when you think you have it bad, someone else has it worse.

FMyLife.com

Here’s a link to one of my personal favorite entries.
Thanks to Melissa for recommending this site!

written by wilson360 \\ tags: funny, humor, site

On February 28, 2009, Lifetime will air “The Golden Girls” for the last time on their network. Beginning March 1, 2009, the show will move to The Hallmark Channel. At the time this post was written, the new airing schedule for GG has yet to be announced.

You can visit The Golden Girls page on the Hallmark Channel website at:
http://www.hallmarkchannel.com/publish/consumer/home/shows/golden_girls.html

I’m sure the page will be updated as new information become available.

written by wilson360 \\ tags: golden girls, hallmark, lifetime