On Playfeed: Microsoft will reveal the next Xbox on May 21

Latest Gear Live Videos

General Motors officially opposes Washington State Electric Vehicle Tax

washington state senate bill 5251

GM went on the record opposing Governor Christine Gregoire on Senate Bill 5251. For those of you not familiar with the bill, it would impose a $100 annual tax on electric vehicle owners to make up for lost revenue not paid in gas taxes.

GM’s Regional Director Howard Lenox, Jr. wrote "A fee which singles out electric vehicles will be a disincentive to the growth of the electric vehicle market in Washington State. As a practical matter, there are so few vehicles on Washington's roads today that their impact in replacing fuel tax revenues will, for now, be negligible."

Now, we understand where the Lenox is coming from, but has he sat through 405 traffic in the morning? Seattle area traffic is some of the worst in the nation. The bill is supposed to generate $1.9 million dollars in lost revenue by 2017. However,  it's still subject to approval by Washington state voters. It’s reported that Arizona, Oregon, and Kansas are among other states to pass similar bills.

How about you? Would you oppose or support Senate Bill 5251? Leave your answers in the comments letting us know!


Advertisement

Microsoft and Washington Sue Scareware Businesses

Scareware Screen

Microsoft and Washington’s Attorney General Rob McKenna have filed suit against two Texas businesses that scare people into buying a Registry Cleaner XP service for $39.95. The action has been filed under the Computer Spyware Act. The Branch Software and Alpha Red messages resemble system warnings. McKenna is hoping that the lawsuit will make the “spyware purveyors” to cease the practice and pay customer restitution.

McKenna says the action “has yanked the fear factor dial out of the hands of businesses that use scareware as a marketing tool and have spun it toward them.”

Read More | Space Mart

Verizon FiOS vs. Comcast: Feature-by-feature


FiOS vs ComcastFiOS vs Comcast

Ten days ago, Verizon TV officially launched here in Washington state. I was actually invited to speak at the launch event that took place that day, alongside Verizon representatives, and local government officials. I was specifically chosen as a case study of just how good FiOS is, since I literally moved specifically because was way too slow for the things we expected out of our Internet connection here at Gear Live HQ. It was an event meant to talk up the advantages of FiOS over cable (specifically, Comcast, in this area). Obviously, with FiOS looming over their territory, Comcast went into damage control mode to combat Verizon’s claims that they were the best option for Internet and television services. We were sent both the FiOS press release and the Comcast press release, and we figured we would respond to the claims of each, point-by-point.

For some background, we’ve been Comcast customers for over six years, for both Internet and television services. When we moved for FiOS 15 months ago, Comcast was still our cable television provider. As of today, I am a FiOS customer for both Internet and television, and as of 10 days ago, am no longer a Comcast customer. Now, on with the comparisons.

Click to continue reading Verizon FiOS vs. Comcast: Feature-by-feature


Advertisement