E-commerce

The Amazon.com of pot

I am sure there are many of you who inhale marijuana for purely medicinal purposes. Your pains might be physical. They might be psychological. But you feel as though your world is going to pot, so you turn to pot.

Now, an enterprising man called John Lee has decided to bring a little online rigor to your smoking vigor.

Sonoma, Calif.-based Lee has created PlainView Systems, a remarkably non-hippie name for a venture that, according to CNNMoney.com, he describes as the Amazon of pot.

That would be Amazon.com, rather than the never-ending river.

A visit to the … Read more

Intel touts 'smart' digital signage

Intel's prototype design for interactive, holographic digital signage continues to make the rounds.

After debuting last week at the CES 2010 show during the keynote address by Intel CEO Paul Otellini, the 7.5-foot-tall multitouch, multiuser Intelligent Digital Signage Concept this week is being demonstrated at the National Retail Federation Convention in New York. In addition, Intel on Tuesday announced that it is working with Microsoft to develop an open-standards platform for digital signage applications.

On-location digital signs based on the technology could change the way consumers find and interact with information at stores, banks, and hotels, Intel said.

In effect, such signs would bring something of an online experience to the brick-and-mortar world. The Intel prototype is designed to let retail customers touch its holographic screen to virtually tour a store, shop for products, learn about sales, read customer reviews, submit their own reviews, and share feedback with family and friends through integration with social networks and cell phones.

Retail outlets could use the digital sign to show realistic maps of each aisle of the store, and then display coupons or sales promotions next to images of different products.

But the sign offers more than just one-way communications. Using built-in cameras and image analysis, the display could determine a consumer's gender, approximate age, the clothes he or she is wearing, the time of day, and other factors to tailor ads and other content specifically to that consumer. By figuring out a person's size, it could show ads only for clothes that would fit.

Of course, advertisers could also use the digital signage to get immediate feedback on how consumers respond to their ads. … Read more

Scam probe casts harsh light on Web retail

The sheer number of retailers accused of betraying customer trust, and the scrutiny being directed toward credit card companies, has churned up an unprecedented scandal for the e-commerce sector.

New York examines Web marketing 'scam' The state follows up U.S. probe of "misleading" marketing practices by Orbitz, Barnes & Noble, and other online retailers. (Posted in Media Maverick by Greg Sandoval) January 28, 2010 12:54 AM PST

Affinion stops buying credit-card info from e-tailers In a victory for consumers and a Senate committee, one of the marketers accused of duping Web shoppers into joining paid programs … Read more

Apple's iTunes Web preview pages get audio clips

Apple continues to take baby steps in making iTunes a less software-oriented experience. The latest change, which blog The Distorted Loop noticed early Thursday, shows that Apple now lets users listen to 30-second preview clips from its recently-introduced Web preview pages. Here, users who may not have iTunes installed can listen to the first 30 seconds of a song, just as if they were using the media software. Though, in typical Apple fashion, streaming clips requires users to have its QuickTime browser plug-in installed.

It may be a relatively small addition, but it's likely a sign of larger things … Read more

Baidu launching online-video company

High-quality online video has been in high demand in China, and Chinese search provider Baidu is hoping to fulfill that need.

Baidu announced on Wednesday that it is creating an independent company to offer premium online videos to Chinese Internet users. The new entity is designed to work with content providers to supply copyrighted material, including movies, TV shows, sports, and animation, and it will generate its revenue through advertisements.

"As China's Internet industry evolves, we have seen increasing demand for high-quality video content on our search platform. By establishing this new company, we will be able to … Read more

Amazon beefs up wireless Kindle family

Amazon.com announced late Tuesday that it is expanding its Kindle e-book reader family with the addition of a "global wireless" Kindle DX.

The larger Kindle DX, which features a 9.7-inch electronic ink display, will allow wireless downloads of books in more than 100 countries. The retailer is taking pre-orders for the $489 e-reader and plans to ship them to customers beginning January 19.

Amazon, which introduced a smaller 6-inch version of the wireless Kindle last October, said the new e-reader has a PDF reader, auto-rotate capability, and 3.3GB of memory for storage of up to … Read more

Study: Three-quarters of U.S. adults use Internet

Nearly three-quarters of American adults use the Internet, more than half connect wirelessly via laptop or handheld, and 60 percent use broadband connections at home, according to a survey released Tuesday.

The Pew Research Center survey (PDF) also found that Internet users in the U.S. tend to be young, white, and educated, with an equal distribution between men and women.

The results show that 74 percent of people surveyed use the Internet. Other demographics are:

93 percent of people between the ages of 18 and 29 years old said they use the Web, followed by 81 percent in the … Read more

Online holiday sales hit $27 billion

Holiday shoppers brought good cheer to e-commerce retailers, spending $27 billion online from November 1 through December 24, a 5 percent jump over last year, ComScore reported Wednesday.

The period from Black Friday through Christmas Eve was also bright and merry as sales grew by around 3.5 percent, even after adjusting for an additional shopping day this year. Consumer electronics proved to be the hottest selling category, rising 20 percent. Larger retailers outpaced smaller vendors thanks in part to their use of free shipping and marketing via social-networking sites, said ComScore.

The growth in this year's online holiday … Read more

Amazon touts top products of 2009

The Kindle e-reader, the Nintendo Wii, and an Asus Netbook were among the top tech items for Amazon customers in 2009.

The retail giant touted three "Best of 2009" lists on Wednesday, revealing the best selling, most wished for, and favorite gift items chosen by Amazon consumers for the year. The company also introduced its Bestsellers Archive, which can show historical popularity among several categories, including print books, Kindle books, music downloads, movies and TV shows, and video games.

Amazon has been relentlessly proclaiming the popularity of its Kindle device, though it just as steadfastly has declined to … Read more