Posted on Techdirt - 5 January 2003 @ 01:11pm
More and more, it seems, robots are filling the prescriptions you get through your mail-order pharmacy. And, as insurance firms encourage their customers to order from their mail order firms, the likelihood that your prescription is filled by a machine, rather than a person, is high. This raises several questions: do we really trust robots to get every single pill in the bottle? And the right pill, for that matter? Is there a conflict-of-interest in that large pharmaceutical companies often own a stake in the mail-order firms? Personally, I’ll take the friendly neighborhood pharmacist over a robot for this particular job.
Posted on Techdirt - 14 November 2002 @ 02:20pm
Why is it that people are excited about the fact consumers are spending more online this year than in the past? Isn’t that a natural phenomenon that we should expect? Call me cynical (and many people do), but this shouldn’t be news, it should be expected.
Posted on Techdirt - 25 March 2002 @ 11:27am
SonicBlue is giving Amazon.com exclusive rights to the new ReplayTV4000 unit. For two months buyers will only be able to order the unit through Amazon.com. While this sounds like a great win for Amazon.com (and it probably is), this type of exclusive promotion only makes sense if one of two things is happening:
(1) Sonic can’t make enough units to meet the demands of selling at a truly national level or (2) Sonic is expecting a lukewarm response to this product and is trying to generate buzz by limiting the availaiblity.
I suspect that at a starting price of $700, it is the latter…
Posted on Techdirt - 15 November 2001 @ 08:36am
While it’s not standard to report on earnings here on Techdirt, I thought this was interesting. Orbitz, the new online travel site, is predicting profitability by the middle of next year. This goes to show that if you build a good site, based on a good business, you can survive. It has amazed me how fast Orbitz has caught on among the average consumer. I constantly hear from people I wouldn’t expect that they are using Orbitz exclusively because of the low fares they can find there but nowhere else.
Posted on Techdirt - 15 November 2001 @ 08:32am
While this isn’t exactly earth shattering news, it demonstrates how technology can cause irrational expectations and disappointments. Those that pre-ordered the new XBox from Amazon/Toysrus.com were notified of shipping delays. It was only a computer error – and it’s not like this was for delivery of life-saving blood or anything – but we have come to expect (right or wrong) perfection from online resellers like Amazon.
Posted on Techdirt - 9 April 2001 @ 07:48am
In a not no surprising move, NBC announced today that it is acquiring and subsequently shutting down most, if not all, of the NBCi properties. NBC said it will examine the various areas of the service to determine if they fit with the companies strategy, but my speculation is that they will sell off those areas that they can and shutter the rest. It’s somewhat ironic, since every time I watch an NBC show these days they are promoting the NBCi Web site. I’m not sure it speaks so well for the entire industry that it ultimatley failed.
Posted on Techdirt - 25 January 2001 @ 12:25pm
Dialing up to the Internet your airline seat may be easier in the near future. A company is testing out in-flight dialup through what they say is a much easier process than hooking into the in-flight phone – a process that is also very costly. The system was recently tested in Canada, and although the company admits it’s not as easy as 1-2-3 yet, they are hoping it will be in the future. Of course, they can’t do anything about the reclining seat in front of you that prevents you from opening your laptop altogether…
Posted on Techdirt - 25 January 2001 @ 12:19pm
It’s fairly common for software companies to release security patches and bug updates to their programs. It’s also fairly common for the average user to have no clue that this ever happens. I’ve always been baffled by the fact that software companies do not build in auto-update programs that check for updates once a month, via an Internet connection, if available. This would make life so much easier on the average computer user who will never be able to navigate through some of the confusing support sites out there.
Posted on Techdirt - 25 January 2001 @ 12:17pm
The outage of most of Microsoft’s worldwide network of Web sites was caused by human error. It was some sort of router misconfiguration. The interesting part, though, is the fact that it seems Microsoft has their servers set up in a rather stupid way, with no backup DNS servers located separately from the primary servers. This is a classic misconfiguration issue and it baffles me how they would let this happen.
Posted on Techdirt - 3 January 2001 @ 08:11am
Microsoft and Starbucks have announced they are working together to bring wireless Internet access to Starbuck locations around the country. The network will use the MobileStar wireless system and will allow Starbuck patrons to look up information on the arts and shop online. Am I missing something, or is this a non-event? My local McDonald’s has Internet access now, so who cares that Starbucks will as well?
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Newspapers
This is actually disappointing to me. The few times I read a physical newspaper are when I'm traveling on business and find the hotel outside my hotel room. I actually enjoy it and look forward to it. There is always an opt out option at the major chains and if people really don't want it, they should just tell the front desk.
This is not a conspiracy
Why does everyone assume it's a Yahoo conspiracy? It's their network, they have the right to do whatever the hell they want, and if blocking third party apps is their desire, so be it.
Shipping fees
Users are becoming more and more educated on this stuff and over time the merchants that choose to try and take advantage of the unsuspecting buyer will be pushed out. Most buyers aren't searching for a free ride, just reasonable rates...
popup/under, just get out of my way
Popup and under ads are the single biggest nuisance on the Web. I have stopped going to ABCNews.com altogether because of it and the day Yahoo starts popping them up on My Yahoo! is the day I stop using that service...
I've always said I will pay for shit to make the ads go away.
Re: just goes to show
Personally, I have no issues with giving Microsoft my personal data. The whole benefit of the Internet is frictionless transactions. I trust Microsoft a hell of a lot more than some online resellers...
Re: No Subject Given
The procedure during a hijack is for the flight crew to set their transponder to a special four digit code that indicates that the plane has been taken over. That code hadn't been used in the U.S. for over 10 years when Tuesdays events started to unfold and still weren't used during these hijackings. It requires that the pilot actually enter the number in prior to being removed from the cockpit.
The problem with the "press a button and give control to others" theory is that it presumes that hijackers don't have a knowledge of how to fly or operate planes. That's a valid assumptiom, based on hijackings of the past, but as we saw on Tuesday these were well coordinated attacks with highly trained individuals. Just as the system could be activated, it could be de-activated by an appropriately trained person.
Reality of the situation is that you can't stop someone who wants to die, once a certain point is reached. The passengers on United flight 93 were able to save other lives, but not their own. We have to be willing to sacrifice the convenience of running to a plane 10 minutes before it leaves, in order to ensure a higher level of security.
No Subject Given
I worked for RealNetworks from 1997-1998. I worked on the team responsible for distributing the RealPlayer software. I have never worked for a more dysfunctional company in terms of employee morale and cooperation. It was never about the team getting something done, and always was about how individuals could screw over their co-workers to get ahead.
Glaser set an abysmal tone for the company and while he may be smart and he may win the battle with Microsoft, I have absolutely no respect for someone who treats others like inferior beings unworthy of their own thoughts.
I like this
I really like this idea. If they could have someone talk in a seductive voice and tell me how good looking I am, all the better...
Re: Camera Mail Order
The problem of fraud online is no different than the problem with fraud offline. The same resellers who attempt to bait and switch on the Web have been doing it for years through retail store fronts. While it may be true that the Web gives them a larger audience and a more efficient means to perform their dirty work, the Web is not anymore responsible for the problems than the landlord of one of the retail establishments.
You referenced the CNET Shopper.com site in your message and I felt that I should respond specifically to that. As the Director of CNET Shopper.com I can tell you (and Mike can affirm this) that we take every single complaint that comes in about the resellers on our site seriously. If the reseller is a CNET Certified Store we solve the problem brought to our attention in less than 48 hours for 99% of the cases brought to our attention. If the user chooses to buy from a non-certified store we will still attempt to assist the user in solving a problem but we cannot guarantee a solution for these non-certified stores.
We actively police resellers and take appropriate actions against those that violate both our certified store program and our reseller code of conduct which explicitly states that the sale of goods cannot be tied to the sale of accessories. We do our own test purchases on a regular basis. I doubt you will find another shopping engine on the Web that can say they do all that.
Thanks for your note.
Sincerely,
Dan Miller
Director, CNET Shopper.com
Egghead sends an email
Last night I received a mass mailing email from the CEO of Egghead.com. Someone in their marketing department really should have used their brain a little bit before sending this out. It came from their "specials" email account, which quite frankly, usually just gets deleted when I get it. They should have setup a special address that was a little more descriptive in nature. The content of the note was also fairly useless, but at least they sent it.
Re: screwing people over for the holidays
The law is actually very clear on credit card charges. There is a common misconception out there that a reseller can not legally charge a card until the product is shipped. The law, however, states that the reseller can charge the card immediately and only has to refund the charge if they are unable to ship the product within 30 days of the order. So, technically, the reseller can have the money for 30 days before giving it back.
It is illegal, however, to knowingly take money when you know your company is insolvent or on the verge of declaring bankruptcy.
Re: No Subject Given
You're kidding me, right? If you need to get past filtering software, and should have the right to do so, simply enter the password to turn it off. Why do you need some program that hacks through the protection layer?
Re: No Subject Given
Of course it doesn't give me the right anymore than anyone else. Did I say it did? All I indicated was that as a Jew, the material offends me, but the material is a fact of life. Why the hell should Yahoo be prosecuted for something some jerk-off is trying to sell? They shouldn't, in my opinion. Nor should the German courts convicted the CEO of CompuServe (Germany). They are targeting the wrong people, plain and simple.
Re: Look closer...
You are right that it is a posting method. The point is not the stupidity of the URL formation, but that the fact that anyone could sit down at my computer, start to type the Citibank address and have the rest auto-filled in, including the URL with the transaction information. This is utterly stupid programming and a security hole, in my view.
Re: why be insulted?
If you don't care, fine. Don't respond to the post.
Re: No Subject Given
My point is that it's not illegal. It may be against government worker policy, but it's not illegal. I could care less if a government worker is looking at porn during the day. If they're getting their job done and it's not illegal, I don't give a crap. I'd rather see a history of how the sewing machine was made on the news than a report on this. It just doesn't effect our day to day lives.
And, Watergate was a crime. Little bit of a difference.
No Subject Given
Talk about hearsay. Give me a break. There isn't a business in America that doesn't have employees that don't surf porn at some point during their work day. This type of reporting second hand information is irresponsible.
Re: Are you crazy?
One more thing...
I have a lot more trust that the FBI won't take my email address and SPAM the hell out of me. I don't have that same level of trust in the organizations out there that monitor email streams and the like and aggregate email addresses in the same way the FBI will be doing it.
Folks, they already have the right to tap your phone line with just cause. This is the same thing. Get over it.
Re: Are you crazy?
I have the utmost respect for personal privacy. But I also trust that if the FBI feels the need to monitor millions of email there is probably a damn good reason.
Re: Playboy/Penthouse vs. the web
It's a huge mistake to put Maxim in a different category than technology. They go hand in hand. What do men like most? Sex and cool toys. Plain and simple...