David Lazarus

There's definitely an art to informing customers that you're about to smack them upside the head. About 500,000 Time Warner Cable customers in Southern California probably knew they were in for trouble when they received a letter the other day that began: "At Time Warner Cable, we strive to bring you the best products and services available."

When it comes to high-speed Internet access, are you getting what you pay for? Although Internet service providers market "up to" speeds, consumers may rightfully ask "What's the usual speed?"

AT&T customers saw their monthly rate for basic residential phone service jump 22% this month to $16.45. The increase followed a 23% rate hike last year. Beginning in January 2011, AT&T and other phone companies will be permitted to jack up basic rates as much as they want -- no regulatory limits will apply.

If federal regulators have their way, the next big thing on the tech horizon will be a brave new world of Internet-ready, work-with-any-network set-top boxes, offering consumers unprecedented multimedia options through their TVs, not just their computers.

Before you go shopping for a nifty new smart phone this holiday season, keep this in mind: Verizon Wireless, the largest provider of mobile-phone services, has just doubled its early-termination fee for high-end handsets if you decide you'd rather go with a different carrier.

Fines for the misuse of a copyrighted photo are too high, critics say.

Network Neutrality is what every Internet user takes for granted when they go online... It simply means there are no gatekeepers. Any consumer can access any content without discrimination by the network owner.

California law states that "a telephone bill may only contain charges for products or services, the purchase of which the subscriber has authorized." So why do so many seemingly unauthorized fees appear on people's phone bills?

At first glance, Google's latest plan for global domination sounds very cool. Everyone's favorite pedal-to-the-metal, innovate-or-die tech company is throwing its Mensa-level brainpower behind the development of a computer operating system to rival Microsoft's Windows.

The company tries to hold a man accountable for $10,000 worth of Internet access in a month. It eventually admits a billing error.