Earlier this month, Google announced an initiative to provide free WI-FI access in 47 major airports nationwide during the holidays season and through January 15th 2o1o.
The initiative is through a Google partnership with those airports and a host of other service providers like Time Warner Cable, Advanced Wireless Group and many others, and that is the reason why it does not cover every single major airport in the country. Because of that, it may come as a big surprise that none of the New York major airports is part of the project, so are Chicago O'Hare, LAX in Los Angeles, Minneapolis-St.Paul and Dallas-Fort Worth. But as a result of Google's project, Seattle and Burbank airports have decided to to offer indefinite free WI-FI from now on.
On top of the free WI-FI giveaway, Google also announced that it will extend the free Wi-Fi offer to Virgin Airlines America flights within the continental United States, PC World reports.
Google's initiative comes in the heels of Yahoo announcement of a free WI-FI access giveaway for an entire year on Times Square in New York.
Google's offer does come with some attempts to direct people to use some of its services like Google Checkout and the Online photo storage and sharing site Picasa. Here is how: When they are about to take advantage of its offer, Google is encouraging users to donate any amount of money to three preselected charities and it would match any donation up to $250,000.
Google has also announced a photo contest in which people are invited to submit photos taken using the free WI-FI, and the best ones will win some prizes but without any specifications what the prizes may be.
For more, see PCWorld.com
Monday, November 30, 2009
Friday, November 27, 2009
Google to introduce automatic caption to YouTube videos.
As if being already the world biggest video site isn't enough, YouTube owned by Google, has announced last week that it is adding automatic caption that will bring text captions to many videos on the site.
YouTube has already several hundred thousand videos with close captioning but they are mostly from broadcast networks and some other professional Web sites. What the new initiative will achieve, is to allow anyone who upload a video on YouTube, to use the technology which is called "auto-timing", to upload as well a text file of the words spoken in the video and have them automatically turned into captions by Google.
The underlying technology for auto-timing is the same as the one used for Google Voice service which is used among others things, to transcribe text messages into voice messages.
For now, Google is adding captions on its own to videos from selected channels like the ones from PBS, the National Geographic and some Universities. The reason given for this gradual roll 0ut is that Google recognize that the technology isn't perfect and that time is needed to get feedback from the video owners and the viewers before being released to the public at large.
Also, the automatic captions will be available in English only for now, but can be translated to 51 languages using Google Translator service.
For more, see news.Yahoo.com
YouTube has already several hundred thousand videos with close captioning but they are mostly from broadcast networks and some other professional Web sites. What the new initiative will achieve, is to allow anyone who upload a video on YouTube, to use the technology which is called "auto-timing", to upload as well a text file of the words spoken in the video and have them automatically turned into captions by Google.
The underlying technology for auto-timing is the same as the one used for Google Voice service which is used among others things, to transcribe text messages into voice messages.
For now, Google is adding captions on its own to videos from selected channels like the ones from PBS, the National Geographic and some Universities. The reason given for this gradual roll 0ut is that Google recognize that the technology isn't perfect and that time is needed to get feedback from the video owners and the viewers before being released to the public at large.
Also, the automatic captions will be available in English only for now, but can be translated to 51 languages using Google Translator service.
For more, see news.Yahoo.com
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Retailers are fighting back against "friendly fraud."
Already faced with one of the toughest economic climate in a long time, retailers are not leaving any stone unturned in their quest to stay afloat. They are doing a thorough review of all aspects of the way they do business and are implementing measures they think will allow them to whether the storm. In that context, chargebacks, one area that has drawn little scrutiny in the past, is getting a second look.
Chargeback is the practice in which customers call their credit card companies to contest a charge on various grounds like: they never placed the order, the item was never delivered, or the wrong item was delivered etc. What happens next, is that the customers get their credit cards refunded for the amount of the order and the merchant get fined $100 for the incident. A you may imagine, a lot of those claims were bogus ones from some dishonest shoppers and in almost all of those instances, the merchant was left holding the bag. In good economic times, maybe a lot of merchants would have found it not worth their time or their resources to try to go after those authors of chargebacks. But in today economic environment, nothing is to small when it comes to cutting costs.
One way retailers are fighting back against chargebacks, is by using the services of companies like BadCustomer.com who has created a database of customers who have practiced chargeback in the past.
After signing up with BadCustomer.com, retailers can enter credit card numbers of potential customers in the database and get an instant response. If it is a positive, they can inform the potential customer about their findings, and deny the transaction, saving themselves from future losses. The customer whose card is rejected under those premises, has the option of calling BadCustomer.com and ask why they were on the list in the first place and maybe have a chance to have their name removed they have a good reason. Or, if they choose so, they still can pay using other methods like cash, checks or debit cards.
Another source of past abuses, is merchandise returns which has seen merchants suffer agreat deal of losses due to unscrupulous customers who would order a product, use it and then put it back in the box and sent it back and ask for a refund.
To combat that practice, some merchants are using methods such as shipping merchandises sealed with a security tape. Whenever the seal is broken in the hands of the customer, it is assumed that the product was used, therefore, if sent back for refund, the merchant will have the option to charge a restocking fees, or a prorated refund based on the condition of the returned product.
Another way for merchants to fight " friendly fraud", is to impose shorter return windows, or to only offer store credits etc.
Overall, in the next few weeks when shoppers will be in a buying frenzy, it doesn't hurt to take a second and inquire about the return policies of the merchants they plan to do business with, as most of them are clamming down on "friendly fraud."
For more, see WSJ.com
Chargeback is the practice in which customers call their credit card companies to contest a charge on various grounds like: they never placed the order, the item was never delivered, or the wrong item was delivered etc. What happens next, is that the customers get their credit cards refunded for the amount of the order and the merchant get fined $100 for the incident. A you may imagine, a lot of those claims were bogus ones from some dishonest shoppers and in almost all of those instances, the merchant was left holding the bag. In good economic times, maybe a lot of merchants would have found it not worth their time or their resources to try to go after those authors of chargebacks. But in today economic environment, nothing is to small when it comes to cutting costs.
One way retailers are fighting back against chargebacks, is by using the services of companies like BadCustomer.com who has created a database of customers who have practiced chargeback in the past.
After signing up with BadCustomer.com, retailers can enter credit card numbers of potential customers in the database and get an instant response. If it is a positive, they can inform the potential customer about their findings, and deny the transaction, saving themselves from future losses. The customer whose card is rejected under those premises, has the option of calling BadCustomer.com and ask why they were on the list in the first place and maybe have a chance to have their name removed they have a good reason. Or, if they choose so, they still can pay using other methods like cash, checks or debit cards.
Another source of past abuses, is merchandise returns which has seen merchants suffer agreat deal of losses due to unscrupulous customers who would order a product, use it and then put it back in the box and sent it back and ask for a refund.
To combat that practice, some merchants are using methods such as shipping merchandises sealed with a security tape. Whenever the seal is broken in the hands of the customer, it is assumed that the product was used, therefore, if sent back for refund, the merchant will have the option to charge a restocking fees, or a prorated refund based on the condition of the returned product.
Another way for merchants to fight " friendly fraud", is to impose shorter return windows, or to only offer store credits etc.
Overall, in the next few weeks when shoppers will be in a buying frenzy, it doesn't hurt to take a second and inquire about the return policies of the merchants they plan to do business with, as most of them are clamming down on "friendly fraud."
For more, see WSJ.com
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Google Chrome operating system is unveiled.
Last Thursday, Google unveiled the underlying of its much anticipated Chrome operating system and the early reviews are generally good. According to the New York Times, the new operating system takes its clues from Google recently released Web browser by the same name. For that reason, it will not reside in users computers but rather in the "clouds", the catch name giving to the Internet in such cases. Already, most Internet users rely on cloud computing as the whole concept is called, to access a lot of things like e-mails, photo albums, maps etc. The Google Chrome operating system that was unveiled last week is an early version running on a netbook rather than more powerful PCs. It is at least a year from being offered to the public, and when that happens, it will certainly be restricted to the netbook category for a while. Regardless, the test version unveiled last week, showed an impressive boot time of seven seconds and according to the New York Times, people at Google are promising an even faster start up time once it goes in production. But for now, Google is not saying which PC manufacturer plan to built machines with the Chrome operating system.
For more, see NewYorkTimes.comMonday, November 23, 2009
Apple announces Black Friday deals.
With less than a week until Black Friday which marks the unofficial lunch of the holiday shopping season and retailers big and small already engaged in a frantic race to lure uneasy customers, Apple is getting into the act too. The maker of some of the most popular electronic devices in the market right now, Apple is not known for giving them away, thanks to a very loyal core group of enthusiasts. Still, the company could not resist the powerful lure of the holidays to stir some buzz. Speaking of buzz, Apple's intention came in the form of a a brief one page teaser on its Web site, announcing the upcoming deals but without any details. Instead, the one page announcement invites users to browse the Apple store and make up their shopping lists and to come back on the 27th, the day after Thanksgiving when the the sale will go in effect. The only one hint that was given, is that shoppers will get to enjoy free shipping for their purchases but without any indication of which ones will qualify for it.
But if the past is any indication, Apple's announcement shouldn't make anyone jump from their seats as the maker of the iPod, iPhone and the likes, has only offered discounts in the 5 to 7 % range.
For more, see Apple.com
But if the past is any indication, Apple's announcement shouldn't make anyone jump from their seats as the maker of the iPod, iPhone and the likes, has only offered discounts in the 5 to 7 % range.
For more, see Apple.com
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Vizio Black Friday's HDTV deals start earlier.
With Black Friday just one week away, retailers and manufacturers are locked in a frenetic race to offer the best deals imaginable to anxious consumers. And some of those retailers and manufacturers could hardly wait till then to start the discount, for fear that maybe they would loose the boat so to speak on this rare opportunity to score big in these challenging economic times.
In that context, Vizio the television sets maker has teamed with retailers like Costco, Wal-Mart, and Sams Club in offering some earlier very good deals with some starting right now.
Here a list of those deals obtained from techsaver.com, and it is quite impressive:
Costco:
VIZIO Blu-ray Player (VBR110) with free HDMI cable for $99.99, saving you $40*.
VIZIO Sound Bar with Wireless Subwoofer (VSB210WS) for $199.99, saving you $30*.
VIZIO 32-inch Full HD 1080P LCD TV (VL320M) only $399.99, saving you $50*.
VIZIO 55-inch Full HD 1080P 120HZ LCD TV (VF550M) only $1,199.99, saving you $300*.
VIZIO 32-inch HD LCD TV (VO320E) for only $339.99, saving you $50. The offer is valid from now until November 29, or while supplies last.
VIZIO 40-inch Full HD 1080P LCD TV (VO400E) only $599.99, saving you $100. The deal is valid from December 3 to December 20.
*From November 27 to November 29, or while supplies last.
Wal-Mart:
VIZIO 19-inch HD LCD TV (VA19LHDTV10T) for $178, saving you $30. The deal is valid from now through the end of the year.
VIZIO 26-inch HD LCD TV (VA26LHDTV10T) for $248, saving you $99. The deal is valid from November 21 to November 27 (pictured above).
Sam's Club:
VIZIO 32-inch HD LCD TV (VO320E) for only $339.99, saving you $50. The offer is valid from now until November 29, or while supplies last.
For more, see techsaver.com
In that context, Vizio the television sets maker has teamed with retailers like Costco, Wal-Mart, and Sams Club in offering some earlier very good deals with some starting right now.
Here a list of those deals obtained from techsaver.com, and it is quite impressive:
Costco:
VIZIO Blu-ray Player (VBR110) with free HDMI cable for $99.99, saving you $40*.
VIZIO Sound Bar with Wireless Subwoofer (VSB210WS) for $199.99, saving you $30*.
VIZIO 32-inch Full HD 1080P LCD TV (VL320M) only $399.99, saving you $50*.
VIZIO 55-inch Full HD 1080P 120HZ LCD TV (VF550M) only $1,199.99, saving you $300*.
VIZIO 32-inch HD LCD TV (VO320E) for only $339.99, saving you $50. The offer is valid from now until November 29, or while supplies last.
VIZIO 40-inch Full HD 1080P LCD TV (VO400E) only $599.99, saving you $100. The deal is valid from December 3 to December 20.
*From November 27 to November 29, or while supplies last.
Wal-Mart:
VIZIO 19-inch HD LCD TV (VA19LHDTV10T) for $178, saving you $30. The deal is valid from now through the end of the year.
VIZIO 26-inch HD LCD TV (VA26LHDTV10T) for $248, saving you $99. The deal is valid from November 21 to November 27 (pictured above).
Sam's Club:
VIZIO 32-inch HD LCD TV (VO320E) for only $339.99, saving you $50. The offer is valid from now until November 29, or while supplies last.
For more, see techsaver.com
Friday, November 20, 2009
Corel Digital Studio 2010 offers basic photo and video editing features for novice users.
For people who shoot and edit photos or videos for a living, Corel Paint Shop Pro is a must have arsenal to have in their tool box. But if you like to shoot, edit and organize photos and videos as a hobby or just for fun, you might not find a value in all the features that comes with it. To those people, there is some good news as the maker of Corel Paint Shop Pro has come with a light version of the popular software. It is called Corel Digital Studio 2010 out this fall and normally retailing for about $100, but it is being discounted for the holidays at $59 on the company Web site until November 23, 2009.
Corel Digital Studio 2010 is according to PC World Magazine, " a suite of applications designed to give novice users, basic photo and video editing features, plus the ability to organize large media libraries, produce photo projects like calendars and greeting cards, and generate videos suitable for upload to YouTube or for burning to a DVD."
But according to the magazine, while its user interface is abbreviated and clean, the software as a whole is not working well and is not very functional.
For more, see PC World.com
Corel Digital Studio 2010 is according to PC World Magazine, " a suite of applications designed to give novice users, basic photo and video editing features, plus the ability to organize large media libraries, produce photo projects like calendars and greeting cards, and generate videos suitable for upload to YouTube or for burning to a DVD."
But according to the magazine, while its user interface is abbreviated and clean, the software as a whole is not working well and is not very functional.
For more, see PC World.com
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