When Good Treos Go Bad
This blog post, about three users of Treo phones bringing a class-action suit in California over how poorly the phone functions in their eyes is intriguing for two reasons I see:
One, the word Treo, itself, is linked to ads that sell the Treo. Forbes.com notably tried, then dropped the internal linking technique and others have written about the editorial vs. commercial problems with doing so. It could become the equivalent of product placement within journalism and serve to, over time, influence the product in nefarious ways. (”Say, John, could you throw the word Porsche into your story a few more times?”) This one is sort of sadly amusing as its whole theme is about how lousy the Treo is, yet you can click to buy one for only $179.
Secondly, I wonder, if this lawsuit gets any traction, what it might mean for technology, in general. If people can legitimately sue technology creators for making overarching promises — then, r’uh r’oh.