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Archived blog posts

Extended Warranty

02 May 13 | Are extended warranties worth it? You might want to read the terms and conditions before you decide.

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Post by: Matthew Steen
12 Comments

How to get a refund on SimCity

15 Apr 13 | Madison Cartwright explains how you can get a refund on SimCity.

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Post by: Madison Cartwright
2 Comments

Cutting my paper ties

14 Mar 13 | I wasn't thinking about going paperless, until I stumbled upon a book that showed me the way.

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Post by: Rosalyn Page
0 Comments

Making the switch to a solid state drive

26 Feb 13 | How I gave my laptop a solid performance boost with an SSD.

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Post by: Peter Zaluzny
2 Comments

No festive cheer in bill shock

20 Dec 12 | Travelling is no fun if you arrive home with a huge global roaming bill from using your mobile phone overseas.

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Post by: Rosalyn Page
1 Comments

Archived blog posts

Piracy and market failure

10 Dec 12 | It's time for media companies to meet consumer expectations, writes Madison Cartwright.

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Post by: Madison Cartwright
1 Comments

Consumers reap benefits of the social web

01 Dec 12 | The phenomenal growth of social networking combined with continuing technological advances, like mobile internet connectivity, has brought new opportunities across the social spectrum – and consumers are one of the biggest winners.

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Post by: Brendan Mays
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Call Centre Anguish

14 Nov 12 | Our journalist Jodi Bird struggles to make a decision that could alter his home life experience forever.

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Post by: Jodi Bird
3 Comments

The new Facebook algorithm

02 Nov 12 | A new Facebook algorithm means you may not be getting the full story, writes Madison Cartwright.

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Post by: Madison Cartwright
3 Comments

Don't be ripped off on IT goods

18 Jul 12 | Madison Cartwright shares the results of CHOICE's submission on IT price discrimination in Australia.

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Post by: Madison Cartwright
9 Comments

Archived blog posts

Webcams for Security

15 Jun 12 | CHOICE's Matthew Steen experimented with using a webcam as a safety cam, and discovered that there were a few more costs and factors to consider than he originally suspected.

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Post by: Matthew Steen
1 Comments

Testing smartphone developments

12 Mar 12 | Denis Gallagher visited the German labs which carry out most of our smartphone testing and discussed advances in technology that might need to be tested on future phones.

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Post by: Denis Gallagher
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Superior service is good PR

15 Feb 12 | There’s doing the correct thing and then there’s doing the right thing and, as Denis Gallagher explains, they aren't always the same.

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Post by: Denis Gallagher
4 Comments

Optus upsell attempt ends in tears - for Optus

23 Jan 12 | When Angela McDougall's Optus home phone plan was discontinued Optus "carefully considered" her phone usage and decided to upgrade her to a new plan - at double the cost.

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Post by: Angela McDougall
14 Comments

Is SOPA a threat to internet freedom?

19 Jan 12 | The US Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) has triggered one of the biggest industry-based protests ever to hit the World Wide Web. Most notably, the popular Wikipedia site closed down in protest. Is SOPA a necessary move to curb copyright infringement, or a threat to internet freedom?

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Post by: Brendan Mays
4 Comments

Archived blog posts

Streaming music services in Australia

09 Jan 12 | Retailer JB Hi-Fi has recently released a streaming facility called JB Hi-Fi NOW. Matthew Steen has been giving it a test run while it's still in beta and is pretty happy with the service and functionality.

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Post by: Matthew Steen
7 Comments

The long path to VoIP satisfaction

24 Nov 11 | When a change of mobile phone provider meant a loss of coverage inside the home, one couple decided to give VoIP a go instead of returning to a traditional landline. While they're happy with the result, getting it all up and running wasn't as easy as they'd hoped.

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Post by: Matthew Steen
15 Comments

Discount grocery shopping online doesn't stack up, yet

10 Oct 11 | I recently saw that Catch of the Day launched a sister operation called Grocery Run. I’m not new to buying online, however aside from the odd overseas grocery item that I couldn’t get in Australia, I’ve never ordered groceries online locally in Australia.

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Post by: Matthew Steen
4 Comments

Questioning your phone bill can pay off

05 Sep 11 | The recent experience of a friend is a timely reminder to give your phone bill a once-over before you pay it.

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Post by: Ingrid Just
7 Comments

Mobile internet changing the marketplace

19 Aug 11 | There’s no doubt that internet on the go is becoming commonplace. Nearly 12 million Australians now have an internet-capable mobile phone, and over half of those are smartphones, according to Nielsen’s Australian Online Consumer Report.

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Post by: Brendan Mays
0 Comments

Archived blog posts

eBooks going to the library

27 Jul 11 | A few weeks ago, CHOICE Technology team leader, Steve Duncombe, and I visited the Bowen Library in Maroubra (Randwick City Library Service) in New South Wales to give a talk on eBooks and eBook readers.

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Post by: Matthew Steen
7 Comments

Your privacy is in the fine print

14 Jul 11 | The unravelling of the News of the World scandal has put the tenuous right to privacy into the spotlight over the last week. As the extent of the News phone hacking operation has become clearer, people are asking questions about the safety of personal information.

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Post by: Zoya Sheftalovich
6 Comments

Steep learning curve follows switch to HTC Sensation

13 Jul 11 | Some time ago, I was made aware that I had given some bad advice. My wife took great enjoyment, given where I work, that my advice on her phone had been rushed.

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Post by: Matthew Steen
4 Comments

Censorship - too much, not enough or just right?

08 Jul 11 | Australia has a long history of censorship. At our foundations, we have no constitutional protection of free speech, and some claim ours are among the most restrictive censorship policies in the Western world.

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Post by: Brendan Mays
1 Comments

Think big or our progress will be small

02 Jul 11 | Having worked at the heart of government I have some insight into how the daily morass of stuff can obscure the bigger picture and the ambitions that drive people into politics in the first place. The divisive debate around the National Broadband Network is reflective of the balancing act of vision and self-preservation that politicians face.

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Post by: Nick Stace
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Archived blog posts

Next generation travelling

20 Jun 11 | Going overseas can be an expensive exercise. After you've paid for airfares, travel insurance and accommodation, the budget starts to look a little thin. But by taking advantage of a number of websites and resources online and on the smartphone, it's possible to take the financial sting, and the guesswork, out of a dream holiday.

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Post by: Zoya Sheftalovich
1 Comments

Tablet, eBook reader or plain old paperback?

26 May 11 | When CHOICE started testing eBook readers a few years ago, there was nothing like the iPad out there. But since its inception and inclusion in our second test, the question we get asked most regarding eBook readers is: why bother with an eBook reader when I can get a tablet?

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Post by: Matthew Steen
7 Comments

Roam around to avoid bill shock

10 May 11 | Disclaimer: I am an idiot. I’ve been working for a fine consumer organisation for almost three years now, during which time I’ve come across several bill shock horror stories from members stung by exorbitant global and data roaming charges for postpaid mobile phones.

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Post by: Sam Butler
5 Comments

Mobile phones: one size doesn’t fit all

27 Apr 11 | Cat people and dog people, people who think Sean Connery is the only James Bond and those who can only consider Roger Moore. Lady Ga Ga fans and people who just don’t get it. The world is full of divided camps and mobile phones are yet another area where people have strong opinions on what constitutes the perfect model.

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Post by: Denis Gallagher
2 Comments

Is your email account at risk from hackers?

11 Apr 11 | I was awoken on Friday with an early morning phone call from a friend. She told me she’d received a strange email from me saying that I was in Spain and that I had been robbed - and asking if she could help by sending me some money.

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Post by: Marni Switzer
3 Comments

Archived blog posts

Behind the scenes of the CHOICE Awards

31 Mar 11 | Planning the CHOICE Awards is a little like planning a wedding. No bride, sure, but a similar amount of organisation and hard work: book a venue, tee up an MC, invite guests, select a menu, prepare speeches, make seating plans – and then there’s the little thing about choosing awards and winners.

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Post by: Linda Magee
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Freeview labelling - do we need it?

25 Mar 11 | Digital TV is already being broadcast across much of Australia. By 2014, remaining analogue TV broadcasts will be shut down, and you’ll have no choice but to watch digital TV. The federal government is doing a pretty good job of educating Australians about the transition to digital, and what consumers need to do. But then there is Freeview - is it a help, a hindrance, or just plain old marketing hype?

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Post by: Scott O'Keefe
2 Comments

Why we try not to put photographers in their place

17 Mar 11 | Heroditus was a Greek tourist (and some say historian) who lived around 490 to 430BC. He didn't have a camera and we can't be sure if he wore a bumbag, but he did try to describe some of the places he visited. He used a simple classification of people: if you speak Greek you are Greek, if you don't you're a Barbarian. The term Barbarian wasn't meant as an insult, it just meant everyone else. Today marketers classify us into market segments like Gen X or Y, or in the case of people who might be thinking of buying a camera: pro, semi-pro, enthusiast, serious, point-n-shooter or style conscious.

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Post by: Chris Ruggles
0 Comments

Take two tablets

20 Sep 10 | Samsung is hoping to give Apple a real headache with its new tablet. The Galaxy Tab, unveiled early in September, is a smaller, lighter rival for Apple’s highly successful iPad and one of the first of what is expected to be a flood of tablet-style devices to hit the market in coming months.

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Post by: Chris Ruggles
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Choose your own adventure

17 Sep 10 | Being a geek and gadget lover I read all about Android and the promise it held (though I must admit I was tempted by the iPhone 4). So patiently I awaited a mobile phone that ticked all the boxes for me. Some people can make snap purchasing decisions and buy on impulse. Others like to take their time and thoroughly research an item before deciding to buy it. I fall into the latter camp.

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Post by: Jason Ranieri
11 Comments

Archived blog posts

Picture perfect

16 Sep 10 | I like travelling. I've done a lot of it, but mostly in my own time and at my own cost – so I appreciate the very rare occasions when CHOICE decides I need to be somewhere other than at my desk in Marrickville. Brussells is a very long way from my desk. So even the prospect of spending three or four days buried in databases and PowerPoint presentations didn't diminish the prospect of meeting with over 80 colleagues from all over the world, and indulging in a little tourist photography in Paris on the side.

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Post by: Chris Ruggles
0 Comments

Remember the customer has the last word

27 May 10 | Following my last blog on the language of bad business, a colleague in the consumer movement sent me YouTube clip. It’s a great example of where the new media age allows customers to fight back and hit companies where it hurts - their reputation!

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Post by: Nick Stace
1 Comments

Naked tales

23 Feb 10 | Recently I moved and decided to do without a very large national communications network. You know who I’m talking about: Telstra.

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Post by: Matthew Steen
6 Comments

Where TV is going

15 Jan 10 | There's a lot of hype around at present over 3D TV. I'm not convinced it'll be as big a seller as the manufacturers are claiming — but we'll definitely test some when they're in the market and there's something 3D to watch on them. My thinking is that it'll be attractive to some people because they will watch a lot of movies and there'll be some titles (such as UP or Avatar) that will work best in this format. However, I think most of us will still be watching sport and the news in 2D for some time to come.

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Post by: Chris Ruggles
2 Comments

Acoustic foamy goodness

10 Dec 09 | I’ve always found it rather ironic that poor video with good audio always comes across as a lot more professional than good video with poor audio. And frankly, getting a decent audio recording at CHOICE is a real pain in the proverbials - particularly since the recent renovation replaced the tatty old sound-absorbing carpet with noisy wooden floors.

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Post by: Laurence Grayson
4 Comments

Archived blog posts

A Wii game of tennis, anyone?

23 Oct 09 | We’re always hearing about kids getting fatter and fatter due to too much junk food and not enough exercise. In the ideal world kids would be outside playing cricket with the other kids on the street, kicking a footy or knocking on your neighbours’ doors and running away. But depending on where you live, daylight hours time commitments, the weather and your neighbour’s sense of humour, it’s sometimes just not possible to get active in the great outdoors.

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Post by: Karina Bray
3 Comments

Foxtel's price increase - less for more

21 Oct 09 | Five years ago I broached the subject of subscribing to Foxtel Pay TV, primarily so I could watch (even) more sport. While my love of English football isn’t shared by everyone in my household, the “Digital Basic” package included UK TV and the Lifestyle channel. I'm not sure I ever would have got sign-off on this extra household expense without the promise of Eastenders and Coronation Street to offset my late night Premier League viewing.

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Post by: Alan Dooley
2 Comments

Video tip #1

16 Oct 09 | Well this is a fine state of affairs. Only my second blog and already I find myself breaking promises. If you read my last post, you'll most likely be expecting to see a video walk-through showing you some of the techniques I used to put the new site promo video together.

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Post by: Laurence Grayson
0 Comments

Radio radio

25 Sep 09 | It's been a long time since I listened to the radio on my regular trips from Sydney to Newcastle. CDs were a godsend and now I follow the trend and carry an iPod with hundreds of hours of music and podcasts. In the car I've a little transmitter that wirelessly connects the iPod to my FM radio. Sure, the sound isn't terrific, but I grew up listening to trannies in the sixties, so I have a fair tolerance for convenience over quality – in some circumstances.

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Post by: Chris Ruggles
1 Comments

An extra large medium

24 Sep 09 | As most people who know me will admit (often with an unseemly amount of enthusiasm), it's not often that I'm lost for words. But starting a blog on video production for CHOICE presents me with something of a challenge.