Get $100 From Microsoft to Buy a New PC

According to CNNMoney, Microsoft is offering $100 to consumers who purchase a new Windows 8 PC between now and June 15, 2014. To qualify, the shopper must be a current Windows XP user, and the new computer must fall between the price range of $599 and $2,299. This is Microsoft's latest effort to migrate Windows XP users to the newer Windows 8 operating system, as support for XP is scheduled to end on April 8. Currently, 30% of Windows users still run XP.

What operating system do you use?

IKEA Now Sells Consumer Electronics

The Swedish furniture store IKEA has announced it's entrance into the consumer electronics market. According to RedOrbit.com, the retailer has teamed up with China-based company TCL media to create a furniture line specifically tailored to accommodate the brand's home electronics offerings that will include HDTV's, Blu-ray players, and wireless sound systems. Like IKEA's other products, the new pieces will be designed for easy home assembly and sold in packing boxes. The new designs will be available in Sweden, France, Poland, and Germany as early as this summer, and are scheduled to hit the U.S. sometime next year.

Would you buy home electronics from IKEA?

3 Personal Finance Apps to Help You Track Your Money

Freelance switch recently released a list of personal finance applications to help freelancers and small business owners keep track of their finances. Here are just a few of those mentioned:

1. XpenseTracker helps consumers track personal and business expenses like mileage, business lunches, and other expeditures. It is available for the iphone or ipad and expenses are easily exported into Exel files that can be opened on a personal computer.

2. Pageonce allows users to pay and keep track of their bills in one place. It also sends out alerts and reminders when spending gets uncharacteristically high or when bills are due.

3. Grocery Gadget is an app. that helps users create grocery lists and save money by using e coupons from various retailers. Also, users can scan the bar-codes of their favorite items and the app. will create a list for future use and automatically calculate totals.

What personal finance applications do you use?

*Jonesjustice blog is not affiliated with these products and received no compensation for their mention.

AT&T Ranked Lowest in Consumer Reports

AT&T has ranked last in a customer service survey conducted by Consumer Reports. According to Wired.com, the mobile carrier also came in last place in 2010. Although the company has improved its dropped call performance by 25 percent, it was not enough to overcome a history of coverage and service problems or to remove it from the bottom position. Verizon took the top spot with Sprint in second. The survey rated carriers on overall value, satisfaction with voice, data services, and customer support.

Who is your mobile carrier? Do you agree with these survey results?

2012 Consumer Technology Trends

Verizon recently released a list of consumer technology trends for 2012. Changes in the way products are developed and the use of cloud technologies seem to be at the forefront of the projections. Instead of the traditional model of companies developing a product and then pushing it into the market, consumers will play a much more collaborative role in the process.

In addition, the list shows that people want a lifestyle where they can have access to what they want when they need it. An increased use of cloud technologies like Dropbox and Icloud will allow them to do just that. Other things to look out for include: the spread of watching videos and streaming media on mobile devices, the development of products to help keep consumer information more secure, and green technologies going mainstream.

With more and more people becoming connected each day, what trends do you forecast in the world of technology?

Bill to Allow Robocalls to Cellphones

A new proposed bill called The Mobile Informational Call Act would allow companies to use auto dialers to place pre-recorded calls to mobile phones. This type of activity has generally been outlawed in the past with few exceptions.  According to the Chicago Tribune, many consumer advocates oppose the bill that would potentially  "open the floodgates" to telemarketing and debt collection calls. Under the bill, anytime a person provides a wireless number as a means of contact, it would act as "prior express consent". In other words, if a person ordered a pizza and gave them their cell number, he or she would have just opened themselves up to receiving robocalls from the pizza shop and possibly any 3rd parties it does business with.

In light of changes in technology and the way people communicate, should companies be allowed to robocall cell phones?

Privacy Program Lets Consumers Block Internet Ads Based on Browsing Habits

According to Business Week, a voluntary advertising industry program to protect consumer privacy has extended its provisions allowing consumers to block ads based on their web-browsing history. After concerns raised by the FTC, the program was revised to prevent participating companies from collecting such data to determine eligibility for employment, credit, insurance and medical treatment. However, companies will still be able to collect information required for "operations and systems management".

With more and more access to personal information being requested from 3rd party applications and networking websites like Facebook, have people become too comfortable with sharing private information? Is there a need for more regulation, or will it inhibit the progress of technology and the overall web-experience?