Category: Tech

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The Shack Could Come Back

RadioShack is an interesting sort of place. Much like your local CVS, Radio Shack sells a broad assortment of items at considerable markups, aiming at customers more interested in convenience than cost. “The Shack” has a pretty varied shelf, selling big ticket items like TVs and smartphones, as well as more mundane doodads like cables and chargers. Understandably, the business is rapidly shrinking, thanks to online behemoths like Amazon (which even has its own branded line of peripherals) and the reasonable variety of electronics now found in Costco, Walmart, and Target, wherein RadioShack operates the “Bullseye Mobile” counter.

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The Second Coming of Microsoft

For years, Microsoft was regarded as the elephant in the computer room.  It was big, it was boring, and it was impossible to go one conversation without begrudgingly mentioning the computer behemoth.  But now, with the meteoric rise of Apple, things look a little different – and possibly more favorable, for the world’s largest software company and its decisive push into hardware.
For nearly ten years, Apple has had a lock on hardware, creating gorgeous aluminum-and-round-edged devices that impressed techies and average users alike. Apple excelled at crafting dependable software that worked with – and only with – their devices.  And in quick succession, Cupertino pushed out the iPod, iPod touch, iPhone, and iPad – each one not so much inventing a field as re-imagining it, tying it into Apple’s expanding, if heavily curated, ecosystem of music, TV, movies and apps.

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Shopping Online vs. On Line

I received an Amazon giftcard the other day.  As I perused the site and compared prices with other e-tailers such as Target, Best Buy and Wal-Mart, I found that, as always, Amazon undercuts its competition, especially with tax and shipping factored in. Since I spend much of my pocket change at Amazon, this discovery came as no surprise.

But what was surprising was an interesting metric; Amazon, nearly earth’s largest bookseller, books a net profit of only 1.34%.  Granted, they rely on volume, not margin, for profits, but this incredibly low number was compelling, and seems indicative of Amazon’s corporate philosophy of using loss leaders – like the Kindle Fire – and microscopic margins to catch and keep customers within its simple and increasingly expanding product and entertainment ecosystem.  The thinking is, as long as one buys a book at Amazon – giving them, say 28 cents on every $25 hardcover sold – one may as well purchase digital content from Amazon’s burgeoning music, video, and e-book selections.  And while you’re at it, why not everything else?

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Microsoft Reveals a Tablet: Cue the “Surface to Air” Comparisons

Yesterday, Microsoft announced Surface, its entry into the tablet market.  Technically described as both a tablet and a PC, Surface packs a keyboard/cover that may bring it more into ultrabook territory. Like Apple, and Google with its Nexus line of phones, Microsoft has slid into the hardware driver’s seat to ensure tighter integration between hardware … Continue reading Microsoft Reveals a Tablet: Cue the “Surface to Air” Comparisons

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The Huffington Post Needs to Stop Featuring Sensationally Large Headlines

As we all may have heard, the New York Times published a survey, detailing Americans’ declining faith in the Supreme Court.  The story was also picked up by the Wall Street Journal, Boston Globe, and a number of other papers.  And yet, the Huffington Post, as is its nature, insists on publishing obscenely large pictures … Continue reading The Huffington Post Needs to Stop Featuring Sensationally Large Headlines