Cell companies have seen double-digit percentage increases in law-enforcement requests for subscriber information for each the past five years.
Cell phone carriers say they received 1.3 million requests last year from law enforcement agencies for subscriber text messages, caller locations, and other information, reflecting a steady increase during the past five years.
Continue reading… “Wireless carriers see double-digit increase in surveillance requests”
The shopping brain isn’t very smart.
You are at your local Starbucks and see two deals for a cup of coffee. The first deal you see offers 33% extra coffee. The second deal takes 33% off the regular price. Which one is the better deal?
Continue reading… “11 ways consumers are bad at math: Study”
Augmented reality shopping app.
The prototype of a mobile app that can act as a personal shopping assistant in stores has been announced by IBM Research.
The mobile app could be branded and provided by retailers. Consumers would download the app and then input products they’re shopping for and their selection criteria.
Continue reading… “Coming soon – augmented reality shopping”
Futurist Thomas Frey: Over the 4th of July, I attended a theatrical production of the history of my hometown of Mobridge, SD. The actors and actresses did a terrific job of illustrating the tough times of the early pioneers trying to forge a new life along the Missouri River in barren lands of northern South Dakota.
Continue reading… “Controlling Your Own Legacy”
Walmart began allowing shoppers to order merchandise online and pay for it with cash at a store when they picked it up.
Online shopping has surged. Traditional retailers have lost millions in sales to so-called showrooming. Showrooming is when shoppers check out products in stores that they then buy from Web sites like Amazon. It has gotten so bad that Best Buy even replaces standard bar codes with special Best Buy-only codes on big ticket items so they cannot be scanned and compared online.
Continue reading… “Big retailers luring online shoppers offline”
Project Glass
Some could easily say that Google had lost its way over the last few years. But last year Google announced that it would focus on its core products. So now Project Glass is the future of Google. Not as a product that will make them billions of dollars but what it means for Google as a company and its future.
Continue reading… “The future of Google is Project Glass”
Robots made by Kiva Systems move product shelves on a warehouse floor.
Author and entrepreneur Christopher Steiner tells the story of stockbroker Thomas Peterffy, the creator of the first automated Wall Street trading system in the new book due next month, Automate This. Using a computer to execute trades, without humans entering them manually on a keyboard, was controversial in 1987—so controversial that Nasdaq pressured him to unplug from its network. Then, with a wink, Peterffy built an automated machine that could tap out the trades on a traditional keyboard—technically obeying Nasdaq rules. Peterffy made $25 million in 1987 and is now a billionaire.
Continue reading… “Automate or perish – has it come to this?”
Private probation companies add huge fees for probation.
Gina Ray, 31 and unemployed was fined $179 for speeding three years ago. She failed to show up at court (she says the ticket bore the wrong date), so her license was revoked.
EU rules sales of used software legal.
Are you looking for a second-hand copy of Angry Birds? The Court of Justice of the European Union has ruled that software authors cannot prevent customers from reselling their products.
Continue reading… “European Union rules digital games and software can be resold”
Horace Dediu’s chart
An excellent chart has from analyst Horace Dediu of Asymco shows the ratio of PCs sold to Macs sold each year since the early 1980s (via Philip Elmer-Dewitt, who notes that the peak year for Microsoft dominance was 2004).
Continue reading… “Ratio Of PCs to Macs sold has fallen to levels not seen since the 1990s”
Microsoft C.E.O. Steve Ballmer
Two-time George Polk Award winner Kurt Eichenwald analyzes one of American corporate history’s greatest mysteries—the lost decade of Microsoft— traces the “astonishingly foolish management decisions” at the company that “could serve as a business-school case study on the pitfalls of success.” Relying on dozens of interviews and internal corporate records—including e-mails between executives at the company’s highest ranks—Eichenwald offers an unprecedented view of life inside Microsoft during the reign of its , in the August issue. Today, a single Apple product—the iPhone—generates more revenue than all of Microsoft’s wares combined.
Continue reading… “The downfall of Microsoft”
Death may be permanent, but headstones are always changing.
Gravestones are the very mark of solidity; their stone says longevity, durability, time immemorial. But there is at least one headstone company in Seattle that brings headstones into the 21st century by pasting a QR code sticker onto them.
Continue reading… “A QR code for your headstone”
By delving into the futuring techniques of Futurist Thomas Frey, you’ll embark on an enlightening journey.
Learn More about this exciting program.