Fix It or Toss It?



Elderly Amish Man Caught on Film With Prostitute, Blackmailed
When a 75-year-old Amish widower slept with a prostitute, he -- we feel certain -- felt pretty bad about it the next morning. As if that guilt weren't enough for the old man, the prostitute and her boyfriend demanded $67,000 from him, claiming that they had filmed the scene with wall-mounted cameras and would upload the recording to the Internet. The pair was later arrested and, we can only imagine, the Amish man abhorred technology more than ever.
Bank Robber Gets Away With the Help of Craiglist
In October, a bank robber -- wearing a safety vest, blue shirt, face mask and goggles -- eluded police with the help of Craiglist. Just outside the bank, while the robbery was in progress, stood a group of men who were responding to a Craiglist day labor opportunity. As the advertisement required, they were all wearing safety vests, blue shirts, face masks and goggles.
Nude New Zealander Arrested After Responding to Fake Sexy Text Message
Late in 2007, a Wellington, New Zealand man received a racy text message from two anonymous "ladies," giving him only an address and a request that he show up naked. Well, he indeed showed up naked... at the home of one appalled, unsuspecting New Zealander. Both the nude Romeo and the sadistic texter were arrested, though neither were prosecuted.
Fake Craiglist Ad Costs Man Most of What He Owns
Last Spring, a post appeared on an Oregon Craigslist board stating that the owner of a specific house was leaving all of his worldly possessions (still in said house) to whoever wanted them. When homeowner Robert Salisbury rushed home -- on a tip from a woman suspicious about the offer of a free horse -- he found his house being ransacked by 30 strangers. We suggest he take that horse and collect some vengeance Clint Eastwood-style.
17-Year-Old Jailed for Stealing Virtual 'Furniture'
When a 17-year-old Dutch boy hacked into several accounts on the Second Life-style site 'Habbo' in 2007, the the law got involved. The boy was discovered to have stolen $5,800 worth of virtual furniture and knick-knacks. Apparently, crime -- whether actual or virtual -- does not pay.
Phishers Going After Your Phones in New 'Vishing' Trend
Over the past year, sneaky spammers have begun to forsake the worn-out territory of e-mail in favor of cell phones' fertile frontier. The result? "Vishing." Get it? Voice mail phishing. It might be more ominous if it didn't sound like a James Bond villain saying, "Wishing."
Burglars Break Into Restaurant, Steal HDTV, Leave Money / Food Behind
Around Halloween of last year, a truckload of thieves drove into -- that's right, into -- a Pennsylvania Mexican restaurant, where they -- apparently uninterested in the cash register -- stole a mid-grade 47-inch HDTV and fled the scene. We've all heard about how this generation is lacking in ambition, but this generation's thieves, too?
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Denon AVR-4306 (black)
Incredibly well-featured 7.1-channel receiver; excellent sound quality; three HDMI inputs; converts analog video to HDMI output; upconverts analog video to 720p/1080i HD resolution; iPod and USB MP3 player connectivity; Internet radio and MP3/WMA streaming audio via built-in Ethernet port; XM Satellite Radio compatible; touch-screen remote; multizone, multisource operation; browser-based control via home network; accurate autocalibration routine. Full Review
KEF KHT3005 (black)
The KEF KHT-3005 is one compact, beautifully designed speaker package with solid aluminum satellites that feature unique driver technology to produce incredible clarity. Meanwhile, the equally astounding dual 10-inch, 250-watt powered subwoofer delivers ultradeep bass. Full Review
KEF KHT3005 (silver)
The KEF KHT-3005 is one compact, beautifully designed speaker package with solid aluminum satellites that feature unique driver technology to produce incredible clarity. Meanwhile, the equally astounding dual 10-inch, 250-watt powered subwoofer delivers ultradeep bass. Full Review
Wi-Ex zBoost YX510-PCS-CEL cell phone signal extender
The Wi-Ex zBoost YX510-PCS-CEL significantly boosts your cell phone reception and is easy to operate. Also, it uses a wireless connection to your phone. Full Review
Turbo Charge Tc2 portable cell phone charger
The Turbo Charge Tc2 portable cell phone charger successfully delivers emergency power to your cell phone. It's easy to use and comes with a couple of surprising features. Full Review
LG VX6000 (Verizon Wireless)
Compact and stylish; impressive battery life; solid audio quality; sharp color screen; built-in camera; USB ready; affordable. Full Review
Canon EOS 1D Mark III
Extremely fast, 10-megapixel continuous shooting; very low noise; highly customizable; well-designed body with weather sealing; 3-inch LCD; abundant optional accessories. Full Review
Nikon D3 (body only)
Full-frame sensor; well designed, pro-level weather-sealed body; very low noise, even at extremely high ISOs; fast. Full Review
Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III
Very low noise, high quality images; 21.1 megapixels; live view shooting; pro-level build-quality and performance. Full Review
Apple iMac (24-inch, 2.8GHz)
A minor specification update results in some significant performance gains; graphics upgrade an option on this 24-inch model; sleek, polished design didn't receive an update, but we won't start clamoring for a new design until the current one is at least 12 months old. Full Review
Velocity Raptor Signature Edition Gaming PC
One of the fastest PCs we've tested; a PCI Express RAID card helps media encoding performance; typically immaculate Velocity Micro assembly; strong, three-year warranty. Full Review
Dell Studio Desktop Computer (Intel Core 2 Quad Q8200, 750GB HDD, 6GB)
Best performance in its class; dedicated graphics card; large hard drive. Full Review
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
CraziestGadgets.com said 3:27PM on 6-26-2008
fix it, toss it, or sell it to some sucker "as is" on ebay.
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Patrick said 3:39PM on 6-26-2008
I would agree that there is many many steps one can do to fix and item. And when it does come down to it some items are trashed. I have a few items that where of great fun that just aren't as fun anymore. I have put these items to good use still. A 3rd Gen I-pod light switch cover, a Microdrive necklace, a 3.5 hard drive speaker. Just to name a few. I do whats called Hardware hacking, I take apart old or broken devices and a rebuild a totally new device. My concept for this is a broken A plus a broken B can combine for an even better C. I do not think that throwing out devices is good when there are still people like me who can use the components. a broken cell phone still has a mic, speaker, mini-motor, several LEDs, and polerizing film. When reading this and thinking about that dead i-pod or cell phone or what ever it may be just think about those little smart people just starting out. let your 12 year old take it apart and experiment... or you can yourself it can be fun. Any questions please e-mail me Jaws8472@aol.com
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Randall Buss said 3:52PM on 6-26-2008
When my digital camera was damaged by jumping out of its case as I was putting it away on my third day of a three week trip in Europe, my main concern for getting it fixed was that the newest version was not compatable with any of the extra batteries, charger, spare charger, adaptors for foreign outlets, lenses, adaptors for lenses, etc., that I had bought for the camera, so you may want to include that into your determination of what percentage of the cost the fix will be. What I did not think of, though, was looking for a good used version of my camera either online or through the local camera shop. Might have saved some time (it took two tries to get it fixed more or less right) and money.
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cupdizzle fo shizzle said 4:17PM on 6-26-2008
well I broke the front lens on my Razr and found a replacement lens on ebay for like 5 dollars. It beats a high cost of having it fixed at the phone dealer. DURR!
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Aaron Gray said 4:52PM on 6-26-2008
If you need to get rid of your old electronic items, the best way is not ebay, it's this new site called Second Rotation. Check out the link below.
(www.secondrotation.com)
Reply
Ashram said 7:07PM on 6-26-2008
Here's a third option; if you have the skills, tools, and a resource for parts, FIX IT YOURSELF!
That's what I've done with a few items of mine that had broken down.
For instance, I have a 9 year old Sony 900 MHz wireless telephone that stopped working.
Instead of spending around $60 to buy either a new phone from a decent brand that would last or $30 from a brand that would only give me about a year's worth of service before crapping out, I broke out a philips head screwdriver, a soldering iron, and $2 worth of replacement electrolytic capacitors.
My reward; the phone works perfectly again, saving me a huge chunk of green over buying a new phone.
Now, yes, not many people have the skills or know-how to do this. But, you are at a huge advantage if you do have them.
Plus, you are minimizing e-waste, which also helps. - Ashram
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Michael Cahn said 8:13PM on 6-26-2008
Olympus waterproof, drop proof camera, used once. and it failed, just wouldn't turn on. I couldn't find the receipt so I paid 3/4 of the original price to get it fixed.
Got it back, (they added a huge shipping cost), I took iit into a swimming pool, and it drowned.
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danny KRESKY said 3:12AM on 6-27-2008
I had my teeth done by one of these products. They are basically all the same. Within 3 months my "whitened" teeth reverted back to the original color. And as to the method of counting "shades whiter" I say baloney. I spooke to a few different dentists and they did not promise better results that what I had and nobody would gurantee that the results you get immediately will remain that way for a long time. It is expensive and uncomfortable and ony a temporary fix. Like do it if you are going to a great event like getting married. You teeth will look their best but only for a short while. Also , who wrote this report ? Sounds like a paid ad to me in the form of a community report. Ech hum !!!
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frozen2 said 1:26PM on 6-27-2008
love your idea would like to find out more thanks
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tom said 8:30PM on 6-29-2008
What ever you decide, DON'T bring it to Best Buy.
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diane said 7:07AM on 7-25-2008
Well, this is a great advertising move to get recognized in our bad ecomony. Leave it alone. Now the whole world knows....what a great mistake?????????? Or just a great move. Now I am sure it will be on Jeno Leno show he loves mistakes in newspapers or magazines.
I owned my magazine in Weston for over 19 years I just sold it. I think I should have done the GREAT MISTAKE move. GREAT IDEA.
diane
weston express (former owner)
Broward County Florida
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