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Circuit City Name is Pursued by Successful CompUSA Salvagers
Tweet Share on Facebook April 14, 2009 Comment (4)The same company that bought the CompUSA name and a few of its stores out of bankruptcy is bidding to buy the name of also-bankrupt Circuit City. Systemax bought the CompUSA name and a few of its stores a couple of years ago.
Both CompUSA and Circuit City are damaged brands. Each earned a reputation for poor service with clerks who didn't know the goods.
Systemax is trying to answer tech clerk ignorance with, believe it or not, technology. The company's confident enough to be slowly expanding the CompUSA, despite the tough times.
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Nine Inch Nails' Reznor on the New Business of Music
Tweet Share on Facebook April 13, 2009 Comment (4)It's both fascinating and disturbing to hear a Rock god talk glibly about "business models" and "monetizing." But those are a few insights into the practical, modern thinking of Trent Reznor, the musician behind the long-running success of the rock band Nine Inch Nails. Reznor has been at the leading edge of marketing music without the backing of a traditional label.
The future of the business is a focus of the first dozen minutes or so of Reznor's conversation with Digg Founder Kevin Rose. The musician describes how he's trying to profit from the NIN brand while still getting his art to as many fans as possible. (via Hypebot)
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Palm Pre's Touchstone Might Move Data, Too
Tweet Share on Facebook April 13, 2009 CommentOne of the innovations coming with the Palm Pre is its Touchstone charger, which will wirelessly juice the handset's battery. It's at the forefront of a variety of wireless charging products that are expected this year.
Now comes word that the charger is just one in an expected line of accessories, according to a demo posted by a blogger tnkgrl Mobile. Bloggers have speculated on what other types of gear might rely on the new Touchstone tech. Many have focused on transferring data through the charger's wireless connection, which uses magnetic fields to send small electrical impulses to recharge the battery.
Here's a clip of the video:
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Time Warner's Unlimited Web to Cost Same as Cable Triple Play
Tweet Share on Facebook April 10, 2009 Comment (1)If you want unlimited downloads over your cable Internet connection, it could cost $150 a month from Time Warner Cable. The top tier is included in new tests the cableco is running on different rates for Internet consumption.
Tiered charges are one approach being considered by Internet providers. They say that heavy users will force the building of new Internet infrastructure -- and that not everyone should bear the cost.
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Batteries Can't Keep Up With Smartphones
Tweet Share on Facebook April 9, 2009 Comment (2)You've likely noticed that we're having to charge our phones more often, despite steady advances in battery technology. The reason is that we're using the handsets that much more. Blame smartphones with their Web browsing, texting and navigation.
Battery capacity has grown about 4 percent a year, report analysts at Strategy Analytics. That isn't enough to keep up with the added demands. The time that we can go without charging will shrink about 5 percent a year between now and 2015.
Do the math: That means a phone that now can handle ten hours of heavy use won't make it seven hours. Faster charging will ease the pain, but we'll still need to find an outlet.
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iTunes, Amazon Variable Pricing Also Spurring Price War
Tweet Share on Facebook April 8, 2009 Comment (3)Tunes launched its variable pricing for tracks, which raised the price on some tracks by 30 percent to $1.29 and lowered it on others to 69 cents. The price shifts were an apparent concession to music studios, which in turn allowed Apple to remove copy protection.
Turns out to be an industry wide move, notes ARS Technica:
Apple isn't the only digital music distributor to make that switch—it appears to have affected the entire industry, including Amazon, Real's Rhapsody store, and most others.
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Legacy Locker Gives Life to Digital Assets After Death
Tweet Share on Facebook April 7, 2009 Comment (3)I've had a chance now to try Legacy Locker, the Web service that will pass along your digital assets after you die. No, I'm not dead yet -- so I can't vouch for how it will perform in the clutch. But I've learned enough to see its value and more of its faults.
The startup launches its service today. The idea is a good one -- to have a central spot for storing passwords to online accounts, including banks, E-mail, photo storage and just about anything else that has a username and password. While consumers can buy the service directly, Legacy Locker hopes to catch on with estate planners.
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Audio: BlackBerry's Answer to iPhone App Store
Tweet Share on Facebook April 7, 2009 Comment (2)BlackBerry users are happy to get an easier way to find and download software that adds power to their smartphones. The launch of the BlackBerry App World should help discourage defections to other phones with their own software services, most notably the iPhone.
BlackBerry's Answer to iPhone App Store
Subscribe to Tech Trends by David LaGesse
I spoke this weekend with WTOP about how the new App World isn't quite as slick as the iPhone App Store. I found it hard to even get the BlackBerry software downloaded to get started shopping.
Other users have reported the service appears sluggish and that it drops connections. But BlackBerry maker Research in Motion has already updated the store twice with new software that aims to fix some of the issues.
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AT&T Retracts Ban on Sling-Like Services
Tweet Share on Facebook April 6, 2009 Comment (2)AT&T has retracted its ban on Sling-like services that redirect television to mobile handsets. That was one element in a debate spurred by the wireless company's restrictions on Internet services seen as competing with its own.
Liz Gannes at NewTeeVee has a good description of the limited about-face, which AT&T said arose from a contract change made in in error.
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Netflix Streaming Adds SpongeBob and South Park
Tweet Share on Facebook April 6, 2009 CommentWe've been huge fans of Netflix's video streaming. But the offerings for kids have been a bit thin. Some good movies like Ratatouille from Starz, and cartoons like Scooby-Doo and Tom and Jerry. But most of the series seem dated.
Now MTV Networks and its Nickelodeon channel have struck a deal to beef-up Netflix's contemporary fare, including Blues Clues and a favorite with our boys, SpongeBob SquarePants. Oh yeah, several seasons of South Park are coming, as well, but we'll do our best to keep those "foul-mouthed young boys" (as described on the Netflix blog) away from ours.
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