Tech Article- 10/29/10

Sears' site gets zombie makeover

Sears' site which features blood-splattered corpses in place of the living models who usually grace the department store's homepage, even offers a zombie gift guide. "Find something your zombie will live and drool over for ages," it says. The gift guide invites customers to "check the appropriate box:" Is your zombie female or male? Is he slow, cranky, hungry, or all of the above? And don't forget brain preference -- chilled, runny, boiled, or a la mode? Ads for clothing, electronics, and jewelry are also being zombie-fied. Some ads include the sayings, "Revive your style," and "Accessorize like the living." A popular ad for washing machines has also improved sales rates  11.9%. The ad states that Kenmore washing machines can get rid of "brain stains." Many people are becoming hooked to these fun little ads and sales are currently sky-rocketing for Sears'.

 

Check out Sears' home page! 

Tech Article- 10/22/10

Rapleaf is selling your identity

Rapleaf knows your name, your age and where you live. It knows your e-mail address, your income and what social networks you use. It knows your likes and dislikes. And it makes money by selling much of that personal information to advertisers. The security concerns are far-reaching. Building databases about customers is hardly a new business, nor is it illegal. Information is becoming far more precise because it's one thing for a marketer to know you're 40 years old and subscribe to travel magazines; it's another for them to know you're leaving Saturday for a week in Italy. "What's different is that the information now is likely going to be accurate and specific, because it's coming from social networks like Facebook where you represent yourself as you really are," said Debra Williamson, senior analyst at eMarketer "What I'm worried about is health information and your life getting stolen from you. That moment of reckoning is coming."

Check out this video

My weekend -______-

So, my weekend was horrible. I was sick the WHOLE time and I'm still sick. Friday I stayed home from school and did absolutely nothing, but sleep and eat soup? Ugh, my Saturday was boring. I, again, did nothing. And Sunday was probably the worst day. I got into an argument with my friend and yeah...we still haven't made up. Not the best weekend as you can see.

Tech Article- 10/13/10

The internet kills Gap's new logo

Gap Inc. on Monday announced it will drop a new version of its logo, a logo the clothing retailer has used for more than 20 years. The new logo featured a white background, black letters and a small blue square in the top right corner. After the company proposed the new logo on its website on October 4, the internet lit up with snotty comments about the new look. "It reminds me of the old Microsoft Free Clip-art galleries," one Facebook user wrote. Another wrote, "It totally looks like a powerpoint design!" The company responded with a Facebook post of its own on Monday, "OK. We've heard loud and clear that you don't like the new logo" the company said. "We've learned a lot from the feedback. We only want what's best for the brand and our customers." More than 1,700 people clicked that they "liked" that decision. After the logo complaints started rolling in, Gap decided they would "crowdsource" the design of its brand, meaning it would take alternate suggestions from fans and might decide to use one of them, but on Monday the company said that idea didn't work either because they didn't feel crowdsourcing was truly them. For now, the company is going to keep their old logo, but will change it in the future.


Going above and beyond :]

My long weekend :]

My long weekend was great. Friday I went out with friends and got ice cream and did a bunch of fun stuff. We took pictures and walked all around Wood-Ridge. Saturday I went to the WR football game and it was awesomeeee[:. Both teams put in great effort! Sunday I basically just relaxed and did homework. I went on the computer and texted the whole day -_____-. So yeah, that was my weekend.

Tech Article- 10/7/10

Ipad makes electronics product history

 Some people still doubt the iPad's chances for success, but current sales rates suggest that the device could rank among top consumer electronics categories within a year. Consumers are adopting the iPad faster than any other consumer electronics device, including the iPhone."The iPad did not seem destined to be a runaway product success straight out of the box," said McGranahan in a recent note to investors, acknowledging the many criticisms about the iPad's lack of certain features at launch. The iPad's current sales rate is approximately 4.5 million units per quarter. If the current rate persists, the iPad could become a $9 billion per year business, blowing right past game consoles and cell phones to become the fourth largest consumer electronics category. 

Tech Article- 9/31/10

'Zeus Trojan' zaps $3 million from bank accounts

An international cybercrime ring was broken up Thursday by federal and state officials who say the alleged hackers used phony e-mails to obtain personal passwords and empty more than $3 million from U.S. bank accounts. The U.S. Attorney's Office charged 37 individuals for allegedly using a malicious computer program called Zeus Trojan to hack into the bank accounts of U.S. businesses. "This advanced cybercrime ring is a disturbing example of organized crime in the 21st Century -- high tech and widespread," New York District Attorney Cyrus Vance said in a statement. Prosecutors said the malware was typically sent as an "apparently-benign e-mail" that embedded itself in the victims' computers once it was opened."The Zeus Trojan allegedly allowed the hackers, from thousands of miles away, to get their hands on other peoples' money," said FBI Assistant Director Janice Fedarcyk."But their scheme didn't eliminate risk," she added. "Like the money mules, many, if not all, will end up behind bars."