Last night, during the Fox news hosted Republican primary debates, Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich accused each other’s Super PACs of blatant lies in their attack ads. While campaign finance laws make it illegal for a candidate to have any influence over the Super PACs and where they spend their money, each candidate did agree that it should be known that BOTH of the attack campaigns by each of their supporting Super PACs are stating wholly inaccurate falsehoods (a.k.a. LIES) about the other candidates.

My question is, now that each side admits that these campaigns are stating out right lies about their Republican competitors, do you think that these candidates and their supporters would also exaggerate and even lie about their accusations across party lines? Do you think they also lie about Obama? Democratic party policies?

Or will we claim that the lying stops at party lines, and when it comes to the Democrats, the claims are 100% fact-checked truths? I’m simply saying, if they actually admit they’re lying about each other, don’t you think the lies are even worse when referring to the other side?

Sound scary? It is. In a coordinated effort to raise awareness and convince the confused crew in D.C. to drop the dictatorship-like law from passing some of the Internet’s most influential powerhouses are joining forces. Among those are Google, Facebook, Amazon, Yahoo, eBay and others. They’re calling it the “nuclear” option.

This “nuclear” option may be a temporary inconvenience for many of us, but if it works, it’s worth it.

GoDaddy, on the other hand, originally supported SOPA. This caused an uproar and an attempt at a mass boycott of their domain registration services. There was a significant effort to convince and support GoDaddy customers in moving their domains to other domain registrars. Other services were even giving discounts for doing just that. As a result, GoDaddy has since renounced its public support of SOPA, but we here at ErixClix don’t believe the driving force behind GoDaddy’s politics actually changed their minds on the subject.

Regardless, it’s time to raise awareness of the oppressive, free-speech clobbering, law they are considering and fight it until it’s dropped.

The reasons stated indicate that Boxee believes the future of the Home Theater will become increasingly centered on the Set Top Box and less on Home Theater PCs. This is a non-sensical and simply untrue statement as hardware manufacturers, lawmakers, and most importantly consumers are all heading quite aggressively in the opposite direction of closed media solutions.

More and more Home Theater PCs are flying off the shelves and nearly all Video Card models and manufacturers include HDCP support (allowing you to connect your computer to a TV and play encrypted content…with proper sources).

Further, we already have the laws in place that require cable companies to provide “CableCard” support so you aren’t forced to rent a cable box. CableCards go into HDTV Tuners that connect to your PC. This enables full premium cable, DVR, guide and extra capability because of the computer’s resources and connectivity. In fact, the trend is finally moving so aggressively toward this goal as more companies have released CableCard devices (e.g. ATI, Hauppage and SiliconDust), and even more have been announced.

Ever wonder why your cable box’s user experience is so antiquated? Because the cable companies and the cable set top box manufacturers benefit by giving you the absolute minimum they can get away with and still provide service. Sticking you with a proprietary, closed and expensive solution that just barely gets the job done.

However, with a central PC in your home, you can have central storage and access for video, live cable tv, music, streaming media, updated tv guides and more from anywhere in the home. And, until it becomes outdated and dies, Boxee’s PC software version could have been at the core of your “Media Center of the Future.”

Strangely enough, while Boxee discontinues its PC software, they will simultaneously be releasing a new hardware product for Home Theater PCs, a tuner device for bringing over-the-air, local HD channels to your computer.

So why discontinue the software? Because Boxee not long ago started selling proprietary hardware. You don’t need a Business degree to know that by releasing PC software they are cannibalizing their new hardware sales.

Also, their final PC software release “gesture” will strip out Netflix and other premium playback capabilities. ..they cited “extensive DRM and Certification Requirements.” Interesting these concerns all popped up for the final version of the PC software and for ALL premium apps (Netflix, VUDU, Pandora).

On the surface and underneath this sounds like a classic corporate greed sellout…maybe not even solely by Boxee. It’s too bad as I (and many other upset consumers) would have paid for the Boxee PC software as many others are begging to be able to do. (And I mean FULL Boxee software with all of the Netflix, VUDU and Pandora streaming goodness we’ve had for some time now.)

By the way, a Boxee Box is actually just a Home Theater PC. A closed, proprietary, limited PC. I don’t want one. The trend is to move AWAY from these limited, controlled and closed systems. Anyone that doesn’t see that for the long term is either brain dead or lying to you. Yep.

Boxee is no-cost Home Theater PC (HTPC) software that is easy to use and quick to setup. It allows users that have their Mac, Windows or Linux PCs connected to an HDTV to easily navigate music, movies, tv shows and other media using a powerful and intuitive interface with large on-screen controls similar to that of a cable box or other familiar set top box.

Aside from a few tweaks to their simple keyboard interface I highly recommend this solution. And when the iPhone Remote issue is fixed, it’s a dream to use your iPhone to navigate the media on your computer without a mouse or keyboard.

Boxee can be found here: www.boxee.tv

If you have a Boxee box of your own, post your experiences, comments and opinions here. Let us know what you think!

ORIGINAL STORY – John Boehner and the rest of the GOP left to take their holiday vacation time, but not before denying the rest of America the payroll tax cut extension. Which means, if action isn’t taken, their “no new tax” pledge officially only applies to the rich as the middle class gets an average of a $1000 annual tax increase as a result.

It’s obvious now that the GOP wants Obama to fail and doesn’t care if their policy of failure affects the rest of us. Their politics are killing us…literally in some cases.

Their pledge for no new taxes on the rich has become a pledge of poverty to the rest of us.

The good news is, it looks like their campaign to endlessly barrage the media with anti-Obama slogans and fact-less finger pointing isn’t working, Obama’s approval rating has jumped a sharp 5% to near 50%, while the GOP controlled Congress’ approval rating is down to 11% and falling.

Not that the Republican hard-heads will change, but it looks like their policy of imposing failure is backfiring.

This destruction is so unbelievable and ridiculous in its face it almost seems intentional. I always believed this kind of failure is calculated as it doesn’t come easily! So, how do you completely screw up the most successful online streaming and DVD rental business?

Step 1 : Instead of increasing, DECREASE your online streaming movie selection by walking away from your most valuable content provider (Starz).

Step 2 : In a very highly competitive business, raise your prices beyond all reasonable inflationary expectations to the point of shocking your customer base.

And finally, Step 3 : Take your bread and butter, and now over priced, business, DVD rental, and make it a separate company where your already loyal users must now migrate to and add extra steps and complexity to the process they were already used to.

This should be a “How To” on destroying a brand. And it doesn’t just kill the company, it kills jobs, and therefore the economy. Reed Hastings isn’t just a big idiot, he’s part of the bigger problem. Meanwhile, he gets to take his multi-million dollar salary as a reward for this gross incompetence.

Does any of this sound familiar? Let me refresh your memory: HP, Carly Fiorina and the Compaq purchase. eBay’s Meg Whitman with her unending price increases and tax-code-esque fee structure. Even our beloved Apple. Before Steve Jobs was brought back in (I believe as a last resort), John Sculley and Gil Amelio, both permanent members of the a*hole CEO’s club, nearly positioned the company and its great products for a hostile takeover (Oracle’s Larry Ellison and AT&T were some of Apple’s potential takeover suitors) in the late 90′s.

What do they have in common? Reed Hastings, Carly Fiorina, Meg Whitman, John Sculley and Gil Amelio are all permanent members of the CEO’s club. They all attended prestigious schools and are all well connected. But are any of them qualified? I don’t think so. But they all were well paid and well equipped with golden parachutes so that after their rein of terror they could leave the nuclear waste behind as well-off multi-millionaires.

What’s the solution? I like Steve Jobs’ paycheck. Since Apple brought him back, Steve’s paycheck was a huge, monolithic, $1, yes, one dollar. Steve was paid for performance, and perform he did.

What motivation do these CEOs have to perform? Whether the company succeeds or it tanks under their command, they get obscene financial compensation. Some might see this as corruption…even criminal.

Steve Jobs was a college dropout. The “grossly incompetent” CEOs club members are all Ivy league d*bags. If shareholders want to see results, if they want to see $$$, I think they need to change their ways, re-evaluate the accepted conventions when hiring true, visionary leaders. It’s just not about the GPA.

It’s one thing to fear Apple’s future on the recent loss of their co-founder Steve Jobs, therefore causing a dip in stock price. It’s one thing to question where the innovation will come from. These can cause valuation decreases in a company’s shares.

However, this rather significant 5% drop is due to something more Wall Street manufactured. AAPL dropped over $20 in one day because Apple’s highest earning quarter was a tad shy of analyst’s precious quarterly projections, and for the first time in history, Apple missed its own guidance, which has historically been rather conservative.

So, does this warrant the fear and abandonment of the stock? Does this slight, but unprecedented miss justify the panic? I don’t think so. A success story like Apple missing their own guidance for the first time, while simultaneously having their best quarter ever is hardly ‘material’ enough for me to run for the exit.

The real issue is that the stock’s devaluation may be justified for other reasons. It’s no secret that Apple’s non-stop success for the past decade was the sole result of the leadership and vision of the late Steve Jobs. And it’s no secret that everyone is wondering where the innovation for the next 10 years will come from.

It’s almost certain that Steve left not only a great corporate culture and legacy, but also a road-map, at least for the near future. A few more significant upgrades to the iPhone (NFC Near-field communication for mobile payment, larger screen, pre-approved form factor changes), iPad (Retina display, additional smaller screen model, lighter, faster), etc, etc. But what happens after that? Who will invent the next super-cool thing that we didn’t know we needed but have to have? Tim Cook? While a very nice guy, and very capable of leading Apple through the existing road-map, is he capable of world changing innovation? Scott Forstall? Phil Schiller? A great team, a world class team. But, I don’t think so.

And it is for that reason, Apple’s monumental rise will, at some point, level out. Hopefully, the legacy, culture and pre-laid plans are enough to get Apple through the next 5 to 10 years safely and securely. At least until the next Walt Disney, Henry Ford or Steve Jobs emerges.

I believe this is the beginning of the end of the American Middle Class. With taxes on the wealthy the lowest they’ve been in 50 years, and Bush’s tax breaks in place for 10 of those years, the result is the economy we see today. Majority leader John Boehner has had his way 100% of his time in office and he hasn’t created a single job.

American voters, during mid-term elections, put these idiots in office. At this point these people are more interested in seeing Obama fail, than seeing America succeed. None of these ignorant, stubborn morons represent the people who put them in office, the polls clearly show this.

While I believe it’s almost too late, maybe the sleeping American Middle Class will wake up now that their homes are foreclosed, their jobs are gone and their wallets are empty and elect the right representation next time. Obama’s not ruining your economy, your elected representatives are.

Next, accounts started coming in consistently that Sprint’s site was taking orders flawlessly, next AT&T’s site, the same, meanwhile Apple’s sites were still locked down. Finally, when Apple’s services became available, the method I chose, mistakenly, was unbelievably inconsistent. Shopping cart erroring, validation forms erroring, checkout processes erroring. Then, after many reloads, and start overs, it seemed as if I was actually able to complete a pre-order, then the final checkout/payment process timed out after a minute of ‘spinning’ with an error.

After that, I was ready to go straight to my carrier, whose site and order process worked perfectly. I was even able to retain my Unlimited Data Plan for the same price. Initially the shopping cart complained about it. It then forced me to exchange the plan for the 4S Unlimited Data Plan, which was just 2 clicks. After that, my checkout, receipt and confirmation email came through smoothly.

I wonder, 2 hours later, after all the clicking and frustration, would it have been worth waiting in line?

If you have had a similar or different experience tell us in the comments below.

This creative pioneer and inspirational industry trailblazer was suffering from a very rare form of pancreatic cancer and finally succumbed to his illness.

Steve, we will miss you.

Meanwhile, the new iPhone 4S has some great new enhancements. A largely expected 8 megapixel camera, with more sophisticated features for low light handling and detail. Video shooting up to 1080p. And, the amazing Siri, voice control. Previously, iPhones could take voice commands for playing music and dialing contacts. With Siri, however, it looks like the sky’s the limit. From asking the time, the weather, directions to a nearby fast food establishment, to dictating emails. Siri, looks like a great new technology.

UPDATE! Since we posted this, Apple has restored the home page of their site. Yay.

After doing some of my own “Googling” in my area, it showed all of the Office Depot locations having this product for $130. So we made an effort to get up early this Sunday morning (9am is early for us on a Sunday) and try to get our own blowout HP Touchpad. Unfortunately, they were sold out. A drive by the nearby Staples confirmed the same thing.

Oh well. Regardless of the phantom $99 Touchpads, we were able to use a demo unit at Office Depot (which they said they weren’t selling because they weren’t “full, normal Touchpads.”) After tapping around, holding it, etc, I can confirm, this thing is slow, bulky and heavier than our iPad 2.

The reason we wanted one is that I am a developer and there’s rumor that Android will be ported to the Touchpad. I figured, for $99, it was worth it.

I guess we have to wait until the next ‘iPad killer’ arrives, or buy one of the many HP Touchpads on eBay for under $250.

But there is one thing that everyone, besides S&P, seems to agree on; that America is still a AAA credit bet. I believe in staying positive and moving forward and holding strong and all that, but at some point, when will we face reality?

The reality is things are not good. And nobody is able to do anything about it. Now, why should a credit rating agency ‘pretend’ along with the rest of us, that everything is fine. I think it’s time to stop pretending, hoping, and praying, and start doing something about it.

Michelle Bachmann has been caught praying for jobs recently. Now, do we think jobs will fall from the sky? Or do we actively have to create them? Will the expenses of the government, war, healthcare, public programs, general costs, just pay for itself? Is there a magic slot machine somewhere? Or, do we have to raise taxes ever so slightly on the most fortunate of us, who, by the way, made their money because of this great country? Shouldn’t they have to pay their fair share for taking advantage of the opportunities they’ve enjoyed here?

Brief history ‘reminder:’ Remember that great ancient Roman civilization? Even that eventually fell, but only when they ignored their problems and believed (or maybe hoped) that they were indestructible.

God Bless America

Now what do we do?

The Republican majority Congress has dug their heels in pretty deep on keeping the ultra rich and multi-billion dollar corporations their Bush-era tax breaks and loopholes.

Where’s my “tax loophole” for being poor? As a small business owner why do I pay tax just for being self-employed? (that’s compounded with regular income tax?) Shouldn’t large corporations pay more taxes instead of breaking the backs of the self-employed, small business owner? We goofed. We voted as if we were rich, because we wanted to be. Protect the rich because I might be one someday…right?

So, what to do? Contact your Congressman. Pressure your Congressman. Here’s a link to get you started…and yes…it matters.  Click this link to Contact your Congressman.

I do believe this “news network” has finally spun completely off course. I used to watch it every day, really. But for the last couple days I can’t find any real news there, I’ve changed the channel for good.

CNN you lost an educated, intelligent viewer who was just looking for real news. CNN IS NOT A NEWS NETWORK anymore.

Goodbye CNN.

I suppose they (Windows users) have cause for celebration, there are now only 249,999 viruses and malware separating the Mac / Windows security gap.

By the way, Apple has acknowledged a quick fix to this security breach which still must be triggered by clicks and logins to fake web sites.

They’re also wanting to see video evidence of his “burial at sea” to be sure that he was given a proper Muslim burial. Supposedly over 1,100 victims remains were never found at the site of ground zero, what about their “proper burials?” Some of them were also Muslim.

This kind of reporting makes me sick and can be attributed to only one thing, this is not journalism it’s sensationalism. Some may even go so far to say that this kind of reporting is inciting violence and reprisals. These are not reporters, they’re opportunistic “Donald Trumps” with a microphone and camera. Let’s stop asking the stupid questions and start asking the ones that matter.

A page in history has finally turned for America.

Last month I listed an item for sale on eBay, a buyer placed a bid on the item, after several days, the buyer never paid. The buyer also wasn’t responding to contacts or re-sent invoices so I used eBay’s support system to open a “case” associated directly with the item. Unpaid items are so common with the eBay experience there’s a ready-to-click Open “Unpaid item” Case button, how convenient. So, I opened one.

After several weeks of no response, from either eBay’s support team or the buyer, suddenly there was some action taken on the item in question taken by eBay. But it wasn’t an update on the case, eBay actually charged me their “Final Value Fee” on the UNPAID item! The Final Value Fee is what eBay charges the seller once an item has sold and is the largest of eBay’s seller fees. (See eBay Policy) How can they do this? I haven’t received payment from the buyer on this “sold” item, and the eBay system knows this as it says “Awaiting Payment For 1 Item” yet they still assess this fee?

eBay even knows there was a case open for this item related to non-payment. I haven’t made a penny yet, and now I am under water on an item I haven’t been paid for yet. Thanks eBay!

And this is where the ‘loophole’ lies; I was charged a “Final Value Fee” on an item that hasn’t yet been paid for! It looks like I am fee-Bay’s latest victim. But before making assumptions, let’s read the policy on this matter…

Looking at eBay’s “Final Value Fee” policies. As of the writing of this article, under “What’s a final value fee?” it clearly states “When your item sells, your seller account is charged a final value fee.” That’s a simple statement, but if the buyer hasn’t paid yet is the item still considered sold?

As I continue reading I find eBay actually does clear up the policy with this fee but with a seemingly contradictory statement; A few paragraphs below under “How can I get a credit or refund for the final value fee?” the policy states “This fee applies whether or not you complete the sale with the buyer.” What?! Didn’t they just say a few paragraphs before that the fee is charged when the item sells? And here it says “whether or not” it sells!? I’m quite sure that most retail businesses don’t consider an item sold until it is paid for. But eBay says “whether or not” you complete the sale so not only does it contradict the first statement, it says we’re charged their highest seller fee regardless of a completed sale!

These two statements, shown clearly on the policy page, don’t make sense, at least not for eBay sellers. This is either an oversight in the policy department or a blatant, intentional hole to charge additional fees on even unpaid for items. If eBay sellers were shown this policy in large print BEFORE listing an item that they would be charged eBay’s highest seller fee whether or not their items sell, most of them would run away screaming!

The Final Value Fee is the largest single fee eBay charges its sellers. Amazing how many ‘fee oversights’ policy departments of major corporations have these days, and it’s even more amazing how many are actually in favor of the corporations themselves.