APRIL 25, 2011 — You might have heard over the weekend that skyrocketing gas prices have finally “plateaued.” If gas prices were like gravity, you would anticipate they would start plummeting soon. Raise your hand if you expect that. Me neither. While the words “skyrocketing” and “gas prices” often end [Keep reading]
Hey parents, stop letting your kids sleep with a smartphone or tablet. A new study says kids who sleep near a small screen get, on average, 20 minutes less sleep and are about one-third more likely to suffer restless sleep. I know, that sounds obvious, but apparently it’s not. More [Keep reading]
Free of an old media job, I don’t have to write a tech gift guide this year! So instead, I’m taking a writer’s privilege today, to do something that I hope will help people read. Scrambling for last-minute holiday gifts? Books are great emergency presents. And they are easy to wrap. [Keep reading]
(A version of this story first appeared on CNBC.com, where I am a contributor. See a collection of mys stories on CNBC) If you plan on splurging for a pricey handbag, watch, or pair of shoes this fall, prepare to be insulted. Marketing professor Morgan Ward is pretty sure about [Keep reading]
Why would it take data broker DataLogix a full 90 days to respond to a consumer request? Submitted by email? Welcome to the outrage of the day. I’m committed to learning more about the murky industry that is data brokers, and one of the best ways is to see what [Keep reading]
One of the simplest reasons that Americans are unhealthy is because bad food is often much cheaper and easier to get than good food. I am often enraged when I stop at rest areas and other public facilities around the country and discover that bottles of water are more expensive [Keep reading]
Brazil is considering a law that would force U.S. companies like Google to store and keep data on its citizens only within Brazil’s borders – not at Google’s U.S. servers. Let’s call that data protectionism. Pandora, meet the NSA. This isn’t a story about Brazil. It’s a story about the [Keep reading]
When $200,000 stands between you and a dream, what do you do? You borrow the money, of course. But what if you have a good idea, but no one wants to listen? Every small business that survives a few years in downtown Newark is a success. Janell Robison had made [Keep reading]
Surprisingly, the largest government computer systems integration in history isn’t going very well. Who would have predicted that? Imagine if Amazon’s checkout required 47 steps…and you couldn’t see a price before you finished those steps. That includes the most personal of personal information, and questions consumers you can’t readily answer. [Keep reading]
A crush of health insurance buyers and lookie-loos are predictably knocking over websites today, frustrating consumers who want to sign up for coverage at a health care exchange. But there’s no need to rush. Coverage doesn’t start until Jan. 1, and you have until Dec. 15 to sign up. So [Keep reading]
Bob Sullivan