How to mow your lawn without any effort

You know that Spring has arrived when you hear the sound of lawnmowers throughout the neighborhood. Most weekend mornings you’ll see your neighbors pushing their mowers in an effort to keep their yards looking manicured. If you ask them, most would jump at the chance to find a way to get the job done without all the time and sweat effort required.

It seems like the Great American Pastime of cutting the grass was a tradition that many of us remember dreading as we grew old enough to push the mower. Whoever invented the riding mower was surely a hero to long suffering homeowners who didn’t have kids or anyone to “inherit” the weekly chore. Now, technology has come to the rescue once again.

Good news weekend yard warriors!  Instead of coming up with “creative” ways to mow remotely, a trip to the store might be all the effort you need. It looks like there may be a new product coming to a lawn care center near you that will free you from some of the hassles if getting the perfect looking lawn. The FCC has recently given the green light to iRobot Corporation, the makers of the Roomba robotic vacuum cleaner, to make and sell a robotic lawnmower.

The robotic mowers have already been in use in Europe in recent years. Most use some sort of underground fence or other system to keep the mower in the proper area. The one approved for iRobot seems to have a different system that uses wireless stakes in the ground to direct it within the boundaries. The beacon design will allow it to operate but not interfere with signals of other devices using the same frequency.

Brendan Spaar enjoys working in his yard so the robotic mower won’t be his next tech purchase. Using the regular mower will allow Brendan to keep his lawn and wallet looking good. However, he might suggest it to his neighbor who keeps mowing over the cord of his electric mower.

230,000 reasons not to Robocall

How many times have you been just sitting down to eat dinner and the phone rings? Or maybe you’re in the middle of watching your favorite tv show when the call comes in. The last thing you want is to be disturbed by some automated robocall offering you “deals” on something you have no interest in.

It doesn’t seem to matter that there’s a “Do Not Call” list. These annoying calls are generated by someone who must not get the calls at their home. If they did, they might not be so quick to bombard the rest of us with dire warnings about the hidden viruses lurking in our computers or giving us a “final notice” from Cardholder Services about our credit card.

The FTC has long been aware of the abuse of phone solicitation by these automated intruders. They report that there were over 200,000 complaints filed last year alone. The companies that are doing the calling clearly have no fear of any punishment for their actions.

Well, things might be about to change and the robocallers might find their dialing days are coming to an end. Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) has introduced legislation to strengthen the Federal Communication Commission's ability to crack down on the companies generating the calls.

The bill she has introduced would give the FCC more enforcement authority, allowing harsher penalties on robocallers. It would also allow the agency to crack down on “spoofers,”  robocallers that hide their identity from caller ID systems or  appear to be a call from a legitimate business entity that you might want to talk to. If passed, the bill would  also expand the scope of current spoofing rules to apply to anyone outside the country who targets a U.S. resident. The penalty for robocall violations would increase from $16,000 to $25,000 per call.

Time Warner found out just how expensive robocalling can be. Recently, a federal judge awarded an Irving, Texas woman almost $230,000 for suffering through 153 robocalls. Even though she complained, Time Warner continued to call her with “exciting offers”. The judge must have had his share of annoying calls because he tripled the penalty to $1500.00 for each call.

As you might imagine, Time Warner is scrambling to figure out how to deal with this decision. The woman who filed suit is delighted with the $230,000 award but stopping the calls will be priceless. Brendan Spaar hopes this sends a message to all telemarketers. If you robocall, be prepared to pay for the call.