ON-LINE A Study’s About To Begin Well, it’s already been done. And to think we never knew. According to a recent report by a US web security firm, almost 95% of email sent in 2007 was SPAM. Remember the 2004 CAN-SPAM Act? Think it’s doing any good? Me neither. Of course, it’s getting harder to stop as the spammers route emails through other folks’ websites, blogs, zombie computers, and of course the off-shore (to U.S.) servers. Recycling More places to recycle your used electronic stuff. For cell phones, in addition to your own wireless carrier, electronics stores, and libraries, visit www.recyclewirelessphones.com. Many computer manufacturers will take back their own computers and sometimes competitors’ when you get a new computer. Details vary quite a bit, of course. Check out their respective websites, and also www.cristina.org, a site that connects donors of working computers to the needy. Batteries can be recycled at many places, and we’ve mentioned some in the past. Here’s a website with information on battery recycling: http://www.call2recycle.org. Printer supplies, especially toner cartridges, can be recycled at many office supply stores, sometimes for discounts or maybe a ream of recycled paper. Same with ink cartridges. There are refill stations in many office-supply stores where you can get your old cartridge refilled with ink. But a note of caution: Most refilled cartridges don’t work as well as new ones. Besides the “who makes the ink” issue, these cartridges generally double as the print head. The print head part is designed to last as long as the ink, so with refilled cartridges, you’re using the print head part beyond its intended life. Caveat emptor. Amazon’s Amazing Maybe you didn’t know, but the giant online retailer amazon.com (www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/redirect-home/photosourcefolio) offers the equivalent of a 30-day price guarantee (some exclusions apply). If the item(s) you buy goes down in price within 30 days of your being charged for it, you can apply for a refund of the difference. And if it goes down again within that same 30-day window, you can ask again! The place to request this is non-intuitive. So, start by being on your order history page and note the order number containing the item that has dropped in price (include in your email, more on that coming up). Next, click on the Help hyperlink at the bottom of the page. On the right side of the Help page, in a box labeled “Contact Us,” click on the Customer Service button. This will retrieve your recent orders. Find the one with the price reduction, and then click on one of the Contact Us buttons, either email (our favorite) or Phone. State your case and you’re done. You’ll get an email from Amazon quickly. Since it can be a pain to constantly monitor the item’s price, just put it into your shopping cart. Then all you do is check your shopping cart as often as you like, and Amazon will alert you when the price changes (up or down). Now, if you don’t know what to do with that extra money, start saving for your Kindle. Bill Hopkins is the Webmaster of PhotoSourceFolio* (www.photosourcefolio.com) and a regular contributor to PhotoStockNotes. Send comments via e-mail to wh@photosourcefolio.com. Fax: 1 818 831-0916. For on-line questions, contact Bill on the Kracker Barrel at www.photosource.com/board. *Display 6 of your own images for photobuyers to view, on your page on the PhotoSource website. |