There are two interesting developments that Nordstrom is trying right now: first, they’re remodeling and fancying up their stores in Seattle, Chicago, and San Francisco, seeking to draw international tourists with world-class retail experiences. They’re also experimenting with curbside order pickup, so local shoppers can pick up their online order of bras without getting out of their cars. [More]
Philip Morris International Uses Copyright Claims To Quiet Marlboro Critics
By May 1, 2015
Earlier this year, John Oliver thrust Philip Morris International — the New York-based cigarette giant that markets Marlboro and other brands in hundreds of countries outside the U.S. — into the spotlight for its questionable legal efforts to delay and block tobacco regulation around the globe. And this morning, the company used copyright claims to have videos posted by critics of Marlboro removed from the Internet. [More]
Net Neutrality Is Already Improving Internet Connections And It Hasn’t Even Gone Into Effect
By May 1, 2015
Though the FCC narrowly voted to approve the new Open Internet Order (AKA net neutrality) several months ago, the rules don’t actually kick in until June 12. Yet with those new guidelines looming, some Internet service providers are already beginning to play nice with the companies that do most of the heavy lifting for the web. [More]
Jet.com Is Either The Future Of Retail Or A Doomed Wacky Scheme
By May 1, 2015
This week, a new e-commerce site launched to about 10,000 beta users who signed up for a preview. The easy-to-remember name of this new site is Jet.com, and its goal is to remove some of the inefficiencies of shopping online. Will they succeed? [More]
Owners Of Derby-Pie Trademark Fight To Keep It From Becoming Genericized
By May 1, 2015
First of all, what’s a derby pie? For those not living in or near Louisville, many Kentucky Derby fans say it’s a pie made with bourbon, chocolate chips and pecans. And then there’s one company that says it’s a walnut treat made without bourbon. Thing is, the latter holds the trademark to the phrase Derby-Pie, and it’s not ready to allow others to peddle their own iterations of the traditional dessert with that name. [More]
IKEA Expands Crib Mattress Recall To Include Five Additional Styles
By May 1, 2015
All recalls are important to take note of, but ones related to baby products are often of the greatest concern. And IKEA’s expansion of a six-month old recall to include an additional 150,000 crib mattresses because of the risk of entrapment would fall into that category. [More]
Judge Throws Out United’s Lawsuit Against “Hidden City” Airfare Site Skiplagged.com
By May 1, 2015
Last fall, both United Airlines and Orbitz sued travel-booking startup Skiplagged.com, which helped travelers find so-called “hidden city” tickets where you book a multi-stop itinerary with the intention of not flying all the way to the end. Orbitz settled its part of the case in February, but the United suit continued — until yesterday, when a federal judge dismissed the airline’s complaint, but not because the airline didn’t have a case. [More]
Played With That Viral Age-Guesser This Week? You Just Gave Microsoft A Bunch Of Free Photos To Use
By May 1, 2015
If you use Facebook, Twitter, or basically any part of the internet at all, sometime in the last 24 hours you’ve seen Microsoft’s newest tool, the age-guesser. Everyone’s sharing it, using it, and laughing over (or feeling insulted by) the results. But the tool’s rapid spread also accidentally highlights one of the biggest challenges of the digital age: the fine print. [More]
Delta Employees Will Probably Be Dressed Better Than You With Plan For New Designer Uniforms
By May 1, 2015
Maybe you think of yourself as a snappy dresser. Maybe you prefer to wear housepants on a regular basis. I’m not here to judge, only to report that someday in the nearish future, most Delta Air Lines employees will have an automatic advantage over us less fashion fortunate, with designer Zac Posen on board to pull together new uniforms for all workers. [More]
Community Furious That School Cafeterias Served Smelly 6-Year-Old Pork To Kids
By May 1, 2015
You might not take your kids all that seriously when they complain about the gross mystery meat served in their school cafeteria, but the children in some schools in Hawkins County, Tennessee had a right to complain last week when they were served pork that had been sitting in the freezer since 2009. [More]
Why Everyone Is Suddenly Dying To Buy A Cable Company You May Never Even Have Heard Of
By May 1, 2015
Odds are (unless you live in central Florida) that you probably don’t know much about Bright House Networks. The cable company serves about 2 million TV and internet customers, mostly in Florida and also in Alabama, Indiana, Michigan, and California. But in the many eddies rippling through the cable world after the sinking of the Comcast/TWC merger, this one regional provider may be poised to make or break some pretty big deals. [More]
Great, Now Hackers Are Apparently Hiding Malware In Job Applications Submitted Online
By May 1, 2015
Though we often think of all the stress in a hiring process as being on the side of the job seeker, businesses have a new potential part of the process to worry about: Researchers say hackers are infecting companies by slipping malware in along with resumes submitted through job posting website CareerBuilder.com. [More]
Here Is A Ship That Could Carry 182 Million iPads
By May 1, 2015
As we learned during the contract dispute at cargo ports on the West Coast that finally ended this year, cargo ships are essential. They keep the things that we now think of as the basic comforts of modern life, from car parts to McDonald’s French fries, flowing around the globe. [More]
Report: Stick Of TSA Dynamite Used In Training Exercise Accidentally Left In LAX Museum Plane For 4 Days
By May 1, 2015
When you make a mess, you’ve got to clean up your toys. It’s a lesson many of us learned as kids, and one that a Los Angeles Airport law enforcement officials says police slipped up on after a stick of live dynamite used in a training exercise was left behind near the airport museum for four days. [More]
Black & Decker To Pay $1.57M Penalty For Failing To Report Defects Of Lawnmower That Started On Its Own
By May 1, 2015
Under federal law, manufacturers, distributors and retailers are required to immediately report information regarding possible safety defects to the Consumer Product Safety Commission within 24 hours of obtaining reasonable supporting evidence. That 24-hour window allegedly turned into 11 years for Black & Decker and now the company must pay a nearly $1.6 million fine for failing report safety issues related to an electric lawnmower that started spontaneously, injuring at least two consumers. [More]
MillerCoors Sued For Selling Blue Moon As A Craft Beer
By May 1, 2015
To some people, the term “craft beer” implies that the brew is made in limited quantities and implies some level of independence from industry giants like MillerCoors and AB InBev. To others, it may mean just any brand that runs fewer than 10 commercials during your average Sunday NFL game. A recently filed lawsuit raises the question of whether anything made by these giant beer behemoths can justifiably be labeled a craft beer. [More]
We Are Immensely Relieved That Many Subway Riders Will Offer A Pregnant Woman A Seat
By May 1, 2015
In a world of man-spreading, pole-hogging, door-holding and other public transit nuisances, one might expect that there are times when a pregnant woman can’t get a seat amidst a sea of suddenly oblivious passengers. This might have even happened to you. So it’s with a sigh of relief that we learn today that there are still a lot of good hearts out there ready to rise to the occasion. [More]
Driving Around With A Recalled Takata Airbag Is Scary For Consumers
By May 1, 2015
Earlier this week, we shared the news that federal regulators are not thrilled with the speed at which cars with potentially dangerous Takata airbags are getting the repairs that they need. What’s that like from the other point of view: specifically, from behind the wheel of a recalled car that has an airbag that may harm you instead of protecting you? [More]
