Minolta had a line of camera lenses known as Maxxum. They used a similar xx pattern as Exxon and were sued. They made Minolta change their entire line of lenses to be changed so they no longer had the crossed x's.
I also found out that they now charge $40 for a service call with a technician being dispatched, even if it is a problem on their end. To avoid being charged, they asked if I wanted to subscribe to their maintenance plan for $4.99 a month. I told them what a load of crap that is and refused. I did get it taken off my bill after 2 hours on the phone.
They screw you every chance they can. Comcrap is THE WORST company in the US, if not the world!
The Happy Birthday song is the perfect example of how messed up copyright is for music. This is a quote from Snopes.com:
"Under the laws in effect at the time (1935), that copyright would have expired after one 28-year term and a renewal of similar length, falling into public domain by 1991. However, the Copyright Act of 1976 extended the term of copyright protection to 75 years from date of publication, and the Copyright Term Extension Act of 1998 added another 20 years, so under current law the copyright protection of "Happy Birthday to You" will remain intact until at least 2030."
In reality, the song is much older than 1935. None of the royalties generated from this song go to the person who made this (since it is still unclear who actually did it) and only profits Warner Music Group.
Copyright needs to be completely redone. It a huge cash cow for the music industry, not the artists.
Many years ago, I had gotten AOL to be able to talk to my sister (back in the modem days). I had automatic payments. AOL raised their rates and I decided it was time to drop them. I called up and canceled my account. Next month, I got charged by them. I called them up and they assured me it was a mistake and they would refund my money. A couple days later, I got hit for over $350 from my account by AOL. It caused my rent check to bounce. When I called up AOL, I told them that not only didn't I get the refund, but I also got hit for the $350. She put me on hold for about 10 minutes. When she came back on, she had an attitude. She said they back billed me for an old account that had never been paid for. I told them that I never had another account. They told me I did (with some bs user name) and that I hadn't logged into it in 3 years. Since I authorized them with the account I closed, they were also authorized to debit for the other account that I supposedly had. She asked if I wanted to cancel that account now. I told her I wanted to talk to a supervisor.
The supervisor had a major attitude with me. I was told that they were AOL. I gave them permission to debit from my account any amount and at any time they want and if they wanted to continue to debit from my account, they will. I ended up having to cancel my checking account and then open up a new one to prevent them from debiting any more. I filed a complaint with the BBB and there was no resolution. AOL's response said that if I want my money back, I would have to sue them and they had plenty of lawyers to handle people like me. I never did get my money back.
NEVER allow any company to debit directly from your checking account if you want to keep your money.
I HATE AOL after what they did to me. It is still a sore point to me. It is nice to find a place to vent after all these years.
Techdirt has not posted any stories submitted by Blue Adept.
Not the first time they have bullied people not in their industry
People dont call them ComCrap for no reason.
To avoid being charged, they asked if I wanted to subscribe to their maintenance plan for $4.99 a month. I told them what a load of crap that is and refused.
I did get it taken off my bill after 2 hours on the phone.
They screw you every chance they can. Comcrap is THE WORST company in the US, if not the world!
Copyright needs reforrm, not extension. Happy Birthday says it all
"Under the laws in effect at the time (1935), that copyright would have expired after one 28-year term and a renewal of similar length, falling into public domain by 1991. However, the Copyright Act of 1976 extended the term of copyright protection to 75 years from date of publication, and the Copyright Term Extension Act of 1998 added another 20 years, so under current law the copyright protection of "Happy Birthday to You" will remain intact until at least 2030."
Read more at http://www.snopes.com/music/songs/birthday.asp#hHzjYGpWDOgCOESU.99
In reality, the song is much older than 1935. None of the royalties generated from this song go to the person who made this (since it is still unclear who actually did it) and only profits Warner Music Group.
Copyright needs to be completely redone. It a huge cash cow for the music industry, not the artists.
How about
AOL
The supervisor had a major attitude with me. I was told that they were AOL. I gave them permission to debit from my account any amount and at any time they want and if they wanted to continue to debit from my account, they will. I ended up having to cancel my checking account and then open up a new one to prevent them from debiting any more. I filed a complaint with the BBB and there was no resolution. AOL's response said that if I want my money back, I would have to sue them and they had plenty of lawyers to handle people like me. I never did get my money back.
NEVER allow any company to debit directly from your checking account if you want to keep your money.
I HATE AOL after what they did to me. It is still a sore point to me. It is nice to find a place to vent after all these years.
Techdirt has not posted any stories submitted by Blue Adept.
Submit a story now.
Tools & Services
TwitterFacebook
RSS
Podcast
Research & Reports
Company
About UsAdvertising Policies
Privacy
Contact
Help & FeedbackMedia Kit
Sponsor/Advertise
Submit a Story
More
Copia InstituteInsider Shop
Support Techdirt