TC News: Mobile Printing via HP, Data Is Now Less Safe, Netflix’s Superior Customer Service

by Bob Caswell

A new feature we are experimenting with here at TechConsumer is providing a couple posts per week which follow interesting news specific to our sphere of consumer technology. Some of these stories may be a day or two old, heaven forbid. But the idea is to provide a concise, compiled overview of the most intriguing. We also plan to continue with more of our own original content. So without further ado, here’s some TechConsumer news:

HP has introduced a free service which makes it possible to “print documents on any printer almost anywhere in the world.” It’s called Cloudprint and has been in the works for a few months by HP Labs researchers. The idea is to allow consumers to share, store, and print documents using a cellphone.

Universities, government agencies, and corporations are having more and more issues with data being leaked. ID theft is up 50% since 2003, and the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse explains how 159,105,898 people have been affected by data leaks since 2005. Interestingly enough, no major “data breach” legislation has been passed.

Netflix is investing in superior customer service to stay ahead of its arch rival Blockbuster. Rather than offer typical not-so-immediately-rewarding email-based support, Netflix has 200 friendly operators standing by to answer calls around the clock. These employees, based in Oregon, are not given target call durations but rather are encouraged to “err on the side of generosity.” Their only goal: satisfy the customer.

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11 Comments

Published on: August 21st, 2007

Categories: Dell & HP, etc., Privacy / Security, TV & Online Video, Tech News, Web 2.0

1. TC News: Dell's Consumer Laptop Delays, The Dismal State of Home Networking, YouTube's New Ads Hated | TechConsumer says:
   August 24th, 2007 at 1:11 pm

   [...] News is a feature we started out of a hobby of tracking the latest happenings within the consumer related technology sphere. The [...]

2. TC News: Google's Cellphone, Dell Laptop Bursts Into Flames, Wait Till the Holidays to Buy an HDTV | TechConsumer says:
   August 28th, 2007 at 9:12 am

   [...] News is a feature we started out of a hobby of tracking the latest happenings within the consumer related technology sphere. The [...]

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   September 4th, 2007 at 11:55 pm

   [...] news roundup focuses on Google. TechConsumer News is a feature we started out of a hobby of tracking the latest happenings within the consumer related technology sphere. The [...]

4. TC News: Google's Cellphone Again, New Blu-ray Discs Don't Work, Social News to Come to MSNBC | TechConsumer says:
   October 8th, 2007 at 7:00 pm

   [...] News is a feature we started out of a hobby of tracking the latest happenings within the consumer related technology sphere. The [...]

5. TC News: Apple Lowers iTunes Plus Pricing, Best Buy Ditches Analog TVs, Google Getting Social | TechConsumer says:
   October 17th, 2007 at 9:07 pm

   [...] News is a feature we started out of a hobby of tracking the latest happenings within the consumer related technology sphere. The [...]

6. TC News: Consumers' New Online Privacy, Internet Tax Free for 7 More Years, Google Getting More Social | TechConsumer says:
   October 31st, 2007 at 7:45 pm

   [...] News is a feature we started out of a hobby of tracking the latest happenings within the consumer related technology sphere. The [...]

7. TC News: Yahoo & Google Changing Email, Wal-Mart Sells Out of $200 PC, More Ways to Pay Online | TechConsumer says:
   November 14th, 2007 at 12:00 pm

   [...] News is a feature we started out of a hobby of tracking the latest happenings within the consumer related technology sphere. The [...]

8. TC News: Googling Yourself Is Popular, Google vs. Microsoft, Google vs. Wikipedia | TechConsumer says:
   December 18th, 2007 at 2:22 pm

   [...] News is a feature we started out of a hobby of tracking the latest happenings within the consumer related technology sphere. The [...]

9. TC News: The 5 Most Annoying Programs & 2008 “Can’t Live Without” Web 2.0 Companies | TechConsumer says:
   January 2nd, 2008 at 12:57 pm

   [...] News is a feature we started out of a hobby of tracking the latest happenings within the consumer related technology sphere. The [...]

10. TC News: Apple’s Replacement Policy, Suing Best Buy for $54 Million, Wal-Mart Covers Up “M” Rated Games | TechConsumer says:
    February 13th, 2008 at 1:51 pm

    [...] News is a feature we started out of a hobby of tracking the latest happenings within the consumer related technology sphere. The [...]

11. TC News: Wii Fit Unvelied, Amazon Now Prefers Blu-ray, Top Tech Companies Create Gaming Alliance | TechConsumer says:
    February 20th, 2008 at 4:56 pm

    [...] News is a feature we started out of a hobby of tracking the latest happenings within the consumer related technology sphere. The [...]

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