It’s getting harder to tell what’s an advertisement and what’s “real” content online. For example: Google has been testing a new background color for its sponsored search results for a while. I just noticed it this week, when Googling with a laptop on battery power caused my display to be [Keep reading]
Gotcha capitalism means companies lurk until you make a tiny mistake, then punish the heck out of you — such as a $39 overdraft fee for a $5 mistake. That’s sinister enough. But you know what’s worse? Gotcha governing. It’s epidemic in America. Local and state governments are hurting for [Keep reading]
Home borrowers got a reminder Thursday that the mortgage process remains a potential minefield. A nationwide mortgage firm accused of paying employees bonuses to steer borrowers into less-favorable mortgage terms has agreed to pay $13 million in penalties to settle the charges, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announced Thursday. Utah-based Castle & [Keep reading]
Spanish bank Banco Sabadell announced last month that it was the first financial institution in the world to release a banking app for Google Glass. Months earlier, a Ukrainian bank demoed its Glass app. Analysts are predicting that here in the States, Wells Fargo, Bank of America, and Fidelity are [Keep reading]
Home Depot’s Twitter timeline was full of what seemed like endless apologies on Thursday afternoon after the firm tweeted a picture that it now calls a “dumb tweet,” and others are calling racist. “We are deeply sorry for the dumb tweet and have deleted it,” the firm Tweeted dozens of [Keep reading]
Sometimes, all you need to avoid getting ripped off is a reference point. To wit: I love FlightAware’s average flight cost tool. You pick two cities, click a button, and see the average one-way cost of a flight between the two. For example, I just checked flights between Newark and [Keep reading]
Dealing with the death of a parent is sad and complicated enough without having to deal with bills from a student loan servicer. But as Axton Betz-Hamilton helped her widowed father deal with the death of her mom Pamela, she found herself lost in red tape trying to beat back [Keep reading]
There is just nothing like Southwestern light. Lucky enough to spend two quick days in Arizona. Reminded me of my time in Lake Havasu. A nice reminder that light still exists during this first week of post-daylight-savings-time darkness.
Hey website builders – stop stealing my expensive bandwidth! Video autoplay is a terrible idea (I’m looking at you, ESPN.com). And according to AdWeek, it might be coming to your Facebook walls. Auto-play video a terrible user experience. It’s annoying. It bothers co-workers. It feels a little like a hacker [Keep reading]
Shop for a cell phone these days, and you aren’t buying a cellphone plan. You really shouldn’t be buying a gadget, either. Shop like you are first and foremost buying a data plan. Data will cost many of you $2,000-$3,000 during the next two years — a lot more than [Keep reading]
Bob Sullivan