customs

Many of the newer Android phones on the market are missing a notification light. This isn't a huge deal if you check your phone every 5 minutes, but what if you're in a meeting or listening to something when the alert goes off? For these situations and others, here's a selection of three awesome notification apps that help you notice every message or missed call.

NoLED will allow you to set custom notifications, like icons or dots that appear on a black screen. The whole screen is considered "on," but only the icon is … Read more

By any measure, the new iPad has been a smash success, with Apple selling more than 3 million units in the product's first three days of availability.

Not surprisingly, the latest survey finds widespread customer satisfaction with the iPad compared with previous models.

The new iPad, however, comes with its own set of pros and cons. Of course, we're talking about Apple so there was still a wide range of opinion about what the company's designers got right this time and where they need to return to the drawing board. (Do I hear "iPad 4" … Read more

Three years ago one of the largest payment processors in the country reported that hackers had accessed its computer system, exposing millions of credit card numbers in what is believed to be the largest hacking-related security breach ever.

Heartland Payment Systems' CEO said at the time that the breach had occurred in 2008, but had only been discovered in January 2009. According to the DataLossDB site, the Heartland breach involved 130 million credit and debit card numbers. The company was sued by shareholders, but the suit was dismissed. Meanwhile, after pleading guilty to that hack as well as a slew … Read more

Cable companies--like cell phone companies--aren't always keen to explain all the little nickels and dimes that they sweetly extract from your account.

There are so many little charges on your bill that their names mesmerize. You know, like the "Oops, We Made A Mistake, But We'll Charge You To Fix It" charge.

You might not have heard of this one, because it might masquerade under the name "payment reversal." At least this is the claim made by one pseudonymous Comcast customer, who noticed a $25 line item that seemed out of line.

Consumerist reports … Read more

Updated, October 22, 2012: Replaced Windows 8 Consumer Preview screenshots with those from the final version of Windows 8.

We recently showed you how to use the new Windows 8 refresh feature to reinstall Windows, while keeping your settings and data files intact. One drawback to refreshing your system is that you have to reinstall any programs you installed on your own (non-Microsoft Store apps).

Using a custom refresh image will allow you recover Windows 8 with the programs you want, so you won't have to reinstall them after a refresh. You can create as many custom images as … Read more

More than 3,000 Verizon Wireless workers will need to find new jobs over the next few months.

The company will close or consolidate several call centers in the U.S. where it handles customer complaints and questions. The non-union employees were informed of the decision yesterday and are being given one of three different options, Verizon explained in a statement sent to CNET.

Workers can apply for a different job elsewhere in the company. They can try to find a similar job in another Verizon call center with relocation assistance in the form of $10,000 in after-tax dollars. … Read more

Attention all those who like to gripe about lousy customer service and companies (I'm looking at you AT&T and airlines everywhere) that tend to provide it: there's a new place for people to get their complaints heard, and it means business.

The site is called Gripevine, and it's more than a platform like Facebook and Twitter on which frustrated customers can broadcast their complaints and hope for a response. Gripevine is signing up companies (for a fee) and has built a dashboard that automatically informs the targeted business of the complaint, offering them a chance … Read more

Sound-quality advances in headphone design show no sign of slowing down, and even old names like Philips and Sony are getting serious about making great-sounding headphones. Sadly, those brands aren't attempting to make anything that could be compared with the world's best, like the JH-3A headphone/amplifier system, from JH Audio.

That company's founder and designer, Jerry Harvey, started building in-ear monitors for rock bands in 1995. He counts Lady Gaga, Alicia Keys, Aerosmith, Foreigner, and Linkin Park as customers. Harvey is currently with the Van Halen tour--the band uses his 'phones onstage--and Harvey uses their feedback to improve his designs.

The JH-3A is an amplifier/in-ear headphone system, with analog and digital inputs with up to 24-bit resolution and 96kHz sampling rates. I've used portable headphone amplifiers before, and they can sound great with all types of headphones, but the JH-3A takes in-ear headphone performance to another level.… Read more

Ford wants consumers to get creative with the 2013 Mustang. The company debuted an ad online on Friday depicting the creativity of Ford's "Inner Mustang" customizer, which launched online last September.

Visitors to Ford's Mustang Customizer can build the Mustang V6, GT, Boss 302, or GT500 as well as choose from a pallet of custom colors, trims, wheels, and decals. The finished designs can be shared on Facebook.

According to Ford, more than 4 million digital Mustangs have been made using the customizer. But is too early to tell if the Web site has affected sales … Read more