VICTORY FOR THE LITTLE GUY

May 19, 2005 | business, video

WalMart is getting out of the rental DVD business and turning its customers over to Netflix.WalMart only made a half-hearted effort to compete over the last two years, developing a hundred thousand customers who drew from a comparatively small selection and got slow...

FIND A HUMAN

May 18, 2005 | business

Frustrated by voice mail systems? Here’s a list you might find useful. It’s the phone numbers for several dozen large companies – banks, cell phone carriers, credit card companies, insurance companies, and more – with instructions for each one...

VERIZON CEO GIVES LESSON IN ALIENATING CUSTOMERS

Apr 16, 2005 | broadband, business, Internet, wireless

Ivan Seidenberg, CEO of Verizon, gave an interview to the SF Chronicle yesterday. In a shocking and unexpected development, he was critical of San Francisco’s interest in building a city-wide wireless network offering cheap or free Internet service. By an...

REBATES: THEY DON’T WANT YOU TO GET THEM

Apr 11, 2005 | business

Here’s a good article about the rebate game. Whether you believe in rebates or disdain them, never forget that they don’t want you to get them. The process is intentionally difficult and fraught with error, and you don’t stand a chance if you treat...

MGM v. GROKSTER

Mar 28, 2005 | business, DRM, file_sharing

Oral arguments are set in the US Supreme Court on Tuesday in MGM v. Grokster, a case with potentially huge consequences. File sharing programs are used for downloading music and movies, but they are also used for group collaboration and completely legitimate...

FILE SHARING HEADED FOR SUPREME COURT

Mar 17, 2005 | audio, business, DRM, file_sharing

The US Supreme Court will hear arguments on March 29 in MGM v. Grokster, potentially leading to a ruling that could stifle new Internet-based services that have nothing to do with sharing music and movies. Here’s an article about the issues at stake. Although...