Consumer Goods
Consumer goods like electrical outlets and hairdryers should definitely be tested, no? We can deal with frying our hair every once in a while, but burning the house down? A tad more expensive than your normal morning routine.
When it comes to technical consumer goods, like mobile phones, electrical charges can go utterly haywire, causing fires or much worse. Phony household products are just a mess, including ingredients that are often far too abrasive or potent for your health.
- U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission
- Electrical:
- Beware Counterfeit Circuit Breakers: Connecticut Electric Recalls
- UL Warns of Counterfeit Surge Protectors
- Don’t Get Burned by a Bum Battery
- Various:
- Gibson Leads Industry Fight Against Counterfeit Guitars
- Spot a Fake Swiss Army Knife
- Technology:
- A Smart Buyer's Guide to Refurbished Computer Parts
- Phones Explode, Melt Down
- Fake Tech Part 1
- Fake Tech Part 2
- Fake Tech Part 3
- Spirits and Cigars:
- Watch out for Coma-Inducing Vodka
- The Problem of Counterfeit Wine
- New Site Targets Counterfeit Wines
- Is Your Wine as Fine as it Looks? (Money Week)
- 90% Fake Wine (Fermentation News)
- Excuse Me, Waiter, There's Fake Wine in My Glass (Slate)
- Lawsuit Alleges $340,000 of Bordeaux Wine is Fake (Wine Spectator)
- Cigar Aficionado Counterfeit Gallery
- Counterfeit vs. Real Cohibas (Havana Journal)
- The Ultimate Counterfeit Cuban Cigar Primer (Cigar Nexus)
- Spotting Fake Cuban Cigars (Smoke Magazine)
- Musical Instruments:
- DNA Counterfeit Testing on your Instruments
New Informative Website Fights Pirates
Microsoft has added a new element to their ongoing effort to fight fakes--an informative website to help consumers. In addition to suing 20 alleged pirates in 13 states as part of their continuing "Genuine Software Initiative", the industry giant has created www.howtotell.com, which helps their customers spot counterfeits.
How to Tell provides a rich amount of content aimed at enabling customers with the right information about identifying pirated software. Among its pages are tips on what to avoid and answers to common questions. The most interesting element of the website, though, is its gallery of recently seized fakes, which can provide a laugh about the design of phony software and helpful examples for you to match your own products against. Most importantly, How to Tell allows customers to report fakes.
In 2006 alone, the U.S. lost $7.3 billion to software pirates, among $40 billion lost overall in 102 countries, according to researcher IDC. This same study, sponsored by the Business Software Alliance, indicates 21% of all PC software is pirated.
With their "Genuine Software Initiative," Microsoft has been a leader against piracy since its infancy--though generally their pursuit of the issue has involved tracking down counterfeiters. How to Tell allows them to reach out to software consumers and raise awareness about the issue.
Photo Credit: Flickr CC. "On" Button in Header.