Jeremy G.

I signed up for Mozy to back up my computer which has been crashing. The service has been abysmal for 6 reasons:

1) Cost of Mozy Pro and Mozy Home were not clearly stated on sign up
2) Mozy client did not easily let me select which files I wanted uploaded
3) I could not log into Mozy in Safe Mode (which I am now writing this review in because my computer has been crashing) OR run the Mozy client.
4) I could not contact their technical support because I cannot log in (their support line is just a recording)
5) I emailed Mozy on the support email provided to me, only to get an auto-response saying that email address is no longer accepting support questions.
6) Even the the Mozy sales office is closed (it's 5:05pm I guess?)

If you need to back up your computer, get an external hard-drive or use another online backup service. I would not use this one.

UPDATE: once I was able to log into my Mozy account I requested a cancellation and a refund and received both promptly so changes my rating from a S#@! To a Meh.

The American diet has become a bit of a mess. We eat too much of foods that are bad for us and pay for it with our health and taxes (not to mention individual health care costs). Meatless Mondays is a movement to get Americans to skip meat on Mondays, which is a great idea. I love a good steak, but eating less meat is good for us all (and the environment for those who care). This movement will particularly impactful if it can reach schools where it is perhaps needed most (childhood obesity is ever-rising) and eating habits can be influenced for a lifetime.

Their website has useful links to recipes:
http://www.meatlessmonday.com/category/recipes-by-week/

And ways to spread the movement:
http://www.meatlessmonday.com/spread-the-movement/

Tell your friends!

At this point, Wikileaks appears to be a big and interesting idea (transparency for all information can make the world a better place?) poorly executed. Founder Julian Assange was careless at best when he released the names of Afghan civilians helping the fight against the Taliban--putting their lives in great danger. A cynic might think Assange rushed to publish the documents to maximize his personal prestige, particularly since he has since asked for help in editing the now public documents (why not ask for help ex-ante?). Assange's apparent anger toward human rights organizations also seems misplaced http://online.wsj.com/article/SB****************************558.html?mod=WSJ_hpp_MIDDLENexttoWhatsNewsTop

The site does contain a tremendous amount of interesting information not just on the Afghan war. However, I do believe it should all be read with a grain of salt because much of the information lacks the context needed to truly understand it. Net net, I believe Wikileaks to be an interesting project that I hope will actually make the world a better place. But for now, I really think it's a wait and see.

Progress in stem cell research has been amazing and the Harvard Stem Cell Institute website is a great way to keep up on all the latest developments. Doug Melton, the institute's director has done an impressive job and they have developed great public resources like: http://www.stembook.org/ - check it out

I recently bought my uncle a gift certificate from Woodcraft--he loves woodworking but already owns hundreds of wood gadgets (ie, I couldn't possibly pick out a specific present for him). Woodcraft has a good selection of woodworking tools and wood, as well as reasonable prices and physical stores (in addition to the website) so the gift certificate worked out to be a good present. The only ding I give them is that after I ordered I was inundated with email deals from them. Otherwise, definitely recommended.

Seriously the slowest wireless internet I have ever used. It's not expensive, but it is slow, and it goes down with some frequency. Note: my experience is only in San Francisco - it could be better elsewhere.

An interesting concept where the wealthiest Americans pledge to give at least half their wealth to charity. Warren Buffett and Bill and Melinda Gates started the Giving Pledge to get more people to give, sooner. It seems like a fantastic idea - use public glory, peer pressure, and a sense of moral obligation to increase philanthropy. I hope it works.

Here's an interview about it on Charlie Rose: http://www.charlierose.com/view/interview/*******

I just bought a new computer monitor on this site for a very low price compared to other major electronics retailers (Best Buy, Amazon, etc.). I used Google Checkout to buy it, so I didn't have to give the website my info, and everything came as ordered in slightly less time than they promised. The site's a bit of a mess, but overall it was great experience. What I can't vouch for is Tiger Direct's customer service because I didn't have to deal with it. But if you're looking for a deal on electronics, this seems to be the place to go.

Americans for Fairness in Lending is a great information resource for consumers looking to take out a loan. It has information on abusive practices in everything from payday loans, to car loans, student loans, mortgages, and credit cards. Americans for Fairness in Lending does not take money from corporations, but has a lot of great non-profit partners, like the Consumers Union (the parent of Consumer Reports).

Some people love cars. I am not one of them. However, I do love listening to Car Talk on NPR. And I really couldn't tell you why - their jokes are corny and it's not like I'm ever actually going to fix my car myself. But, the hosts are uniquely charming and the information is fascinating, so I listen. The Car Talk website is great for all sorts of car information (selling your car, fixing your car, etc.), there are also games, online recordings of the radio show, and you can even buy Car Talk merchandise.

If you're in New York and love art, you can't miss the Pace Gallery of modern and contemporary art. For those of us that don't live in New York the Pace Gallery's website is a great resource to read about contemporary artists and see images of their work. And next time anyone is in China they can also visit the new Pace Beijing.

Virgin America, in my opinion, is by far the best US domestic airline. The entire flight feels great - everything from the way the plane looks, to the awesome flight attendants, to the Method hand soap in the bathrooms, to the low-cost wifi and laptop plugs in coach, to the entertaining security video (I actually watch it). And the great thing is, it costs basically the same as the other major carriers. Got to love it.

One of the best places to read what's on the mind of the tech community in Silicon Valley and elsewhere.

Worried about what information Facebook is sharing about you? This new open source tool helps you monitor your Facebook privacy settings.

Craigslist never ceases to amaze me. It just works, and it's free for almost everyone (unless you consider the demise of US newspapers a cost - just kidding, sort of). In the last month I rented an apartment, bought a desk, and sold concert tickets all on Craigslist completely painlessly. Got to love it.

Not bad, good value, big selection. I think that pretty well sums up Target.com. In particular, I'd like to point out Target.com's furniture. It's not fancy, but some of it's not bad and if you spend over $50 often items will ship for free. Also most of Target.com's furniture is not available in stores. Also, they show reviews of all their items so you can get an idea of what you're getting into. I think it's a decent alternative/compliment to Ikea.

I found Bank of America's business banking services to be poor - there's a monthly fee regardless of what balance you keep, and there is a fee for inbound wire transfers. Moreover, it's impossible to get useful help on the phone. I'd bank elsewhere (trying Silicon Valley Bank at the moment... will review in a couple months).

Facebook and social network users beware: Spokeo seems to have taken advantage of Facebook's lax privacy default settings by scraping personal information and displaying it publicly. This includes your location, education, credit estimate, wealth estimate, age, ethnicity and so on. You can have your information removed by going here: http://www.spokeo.com/privacy (seems to be a big ad for Reputation Defender...)

Nice way to test how fast a site loads on different severs in different locations (West Coast, East Coast, China, UK, etc.). It also gives a breakdown of how quickly each element loads similar to PageSpeed, YSlow, and Firebug.

I don't have as much time to read the news as I would like so I often find myself just flipping through New York Times or Wall Street Journal headlines and then reading the Economist at the end of the week. But if I had a bit more time, I would sort through more opposing viewpoints on contentious issues. Shows like Intelligence Squared do an interesting job of highlighting how people on opposing sides of important issues feel, which I find adds a bit deeper understanding than is gained from a typical new article.

You can listen to free episodes on the NPR website: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=*******