Groupon's do-or-die moment

Groupon is a deal-of-the-day website that features discounted gift certificates usable at local or national establishments.  They are the fastest startup company in history having grown from nothing to a staff of 6, 000 and annual of sales over $3 billion in just three years.  The next step in their business is a smart phone app that will provide their customers with coupons of locations in their vicinity.  There is said to be a I’m hungry button that when pressed can fill you in a on maybe a coupon for a burger place somewhere nearby.  The deals however will be time sensitive and good for just a few hours so you will have to move fast.  This is one of the most awesome things I have ever heard.

You can catch the rest of the article here: http://money.cnn.com/2011/05/09/technology/groupon_now/index.htm

AT&T starts capping broadband

AT&T announced recently that it will be putting a cap on their broadband use of their customers.  This means no more unlimited internet.  U-Verse is AT&T’s broadband, television and telephone network.  It is now limiting its users to only 250 gigabytes of internet usage per month.  It is even worse for DSL users who are limited to 150 gigabytes.  Oh yea, there’s a $10 penalty for anyone of goes over every 50 gigabytes.  AT&T is not the only company capping their services.  The largest broadband provider in the country is Comcast.  They too are putting a 250 gigabyte limit on their customers.  Time Warner Cable had also experimented with a tiered billing system back in 2008.  Luckily, this will only affect about 2% of AT&T’s customers.

You can catch rest of the article here: http://money.cnn.com/2011/05/03/technology/att_broadband_caps/index.htm

Google doesn't get gadgets

Google is one of the largest and most successful corporations in the world today, specializing in web applications.  One aspect however that Google has had struggled with has been gadgets.  This plans to be a hot topic at the upcoming Google annual developer conference.  Why is this the case though that this web giant can struggle so much with developing gadgets?  A lot of it has to do with Google’s lack of middlemen.  When it comes up with a great web idea, it comes straight from the top.  However when it comes up with good gadget idea’s, they must consult with manufacturers and that is where the problem lies.  They also treat gadgets like they treat software by coming up with ideas and when there are problems with it they try to fix it on the fly.  This works for software but not for gadgets.

You can catch the rest of the article here: http://money.cnn.com/2011/05/09/technology/google_gadgets/index.htm

San Francisco backtracks on cell phone radiation bill

 According to the San Francisco Chronicle, the city of San Francisco has put their controversial cell phone radiation disclosure bill on indefinite hold and a “watered down” version will probably be enacted instead.  The original bill called for cell phone providers to post the radiation levels of the phones they were selling.  These levels have always been available to the federal government but California Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom believes that the public deserves to know as well.  Some officials were worried about the exposure of radiation over the course of a lifetime cell phone use.  The city of San Francisco is worried it will face a law suit from cell phone companies. 

You can catch the rest of the article here: http://www.cnn.com/2011/TECH/mobile/05/09/san.fran.ars.technica/index.html

Netflix CEO: We don't want World War III with cable

The days of driving to Blockbuster or Hollywood Video and renting movies to take home and watch is over.  This is large in part to the emergence of Netflix.  The company has rapidly become one of the largest sources of entertainment in the world.  CEO Reed Hastings is pleased with the rapid growth of his company but fears that it growing too large will cause world war III with the cable networks.  He believes in his “niche” philosophy of remaining not to small and not to large.  The one thing cable networks will always have over Netflix is their ability to broadcast live events such as sports and breaking news.  Netflix top priority remains upgrading the quality of the content that it makes available for instant streaming.  In 2012, it is scheduled to launch its first original series called “House of Cards” starring Kevin Spacey.

You can catch the rest of the article here: http://money.cnn.com/2011/05/03/technology/netflix_streaming_growth/index.htm

Now, To Find a Parking Spot, Driver's Look on Their Phones

As a student at St. John’s University in Queens, I can tell you that parking is one of the most frustrating thing that New Yorkers have to go through.  We sometimes spend fifteen, twenty minutes just driving around looking for a parking spot.  The scary thing is that this is Queens; it is a hundred times worse in Manhattan.  Experts say that about 30 percent of all New York City congestion is caused by people driving around looking for a parking spot.  Luckily, San Francisco is said to have found the solution.  Experts have come up with a new cell phone app that alerts drivers on empty parking spots available in the city.  It uses censors located throughout the streets of the city to recognize when spots are opened up and within seconds alerts drivers who have the app.  There are concerns about the new technology however.  Officials are worries that drivers on the prowl for a spot will be more focused on their phones rather than on the road.  Nonetheless, this new technology should hopefully eliminate some of the congestion in New York and help relieve some stress from drivers.

You can catch the rest of the article here: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/08/technology/08parking.html?_r=1&ref=technology

Super Bowl Ads

The Super Bowl is one of the most viewed events in the world today.  What better time to do some advertising.  Different companies pend millions of dollars just to get a time slot during the big game.  They range from really funny to some more serious ones but the one thing they all have in common is that they are entertaining.  I decided to post a few of what I thought were the best ones.

Chrysler- Eminem

Volkswagen- The Force

Doritos- House Sitting