economy
Business
How Budget Airlines Undercut The Majors (Spoiler: Infographics)
2:20AM Mark Wilson | Personal theory: Man has a natural propensity to question what he reads but believe anything he sees in neat infographic form. And this is one heck of an infographic, comparing budget airlines (like Southwest) to traditional companies like Delta. More »
Business
2009 Hasn’t Been So Great For HTC (Wait, What?)
11:26PM John Herrman | By most measures, HTC looks like a company that should be cleaning up: they own the market for Android phones, the press watches their every move, and they’ve got popular handsets on nearly every carrier. So what’s all this about? More »
Robots
Robotic Factory Workers Getting Laid Off Just Like The Rest Of Us
10:30PM John Herrman | One of the dangers of humanising robots—giving them person-like shapes, names and roles—is that when they face joblessness due to a decrease in demand for manufacturing, you actually feel a little sorry for them. More »
Business
Microsoft Cuts IPhone, BlackBerry And Palm Pre Employee Reimbursement Program
1:30AM Jack Loftus | Microsoft, on the heels of its big layoffs and other cost-cutting measures enacted earlier this year, has reportedly stopped reimbursing its employees for iPhone, Blackberry and Palm Pre data plans even if they’re being used significantly for work-related purposes. More »
Business
Dell’s Gearing Up To Buy Something Big, But What?
10:21PM John Herrman | Recently, Dell’s been doing all the things that a major company does when getting ready to make a big acquisition, like building up cash reserves, selling bonds, and, well, talking about it, at least internally. The only question now is, what do they want? Is it a hardware company, maybe to break into the mobile space, or, as the WSJ boringly insinuates, a “data-storage and tech-services business.” [WSJ]
Design
2:00PM Nick Broughall | If you ever find yourself flying cattle class in the Qantas A380 over to Los Angeles, at least you can take solace in the fact that the economy seat you’re sitting in won an International Design Award. More »
Qantas Economy Seat Wins International Design Award
2:00PM Nick Broughall | If you ever find yourself flying cattle class in the Qantas A380 over to Los Angeles, at least you can take solace in the fact that the economy seat you’re sitting in won an International Design Award. More »
Business
Microsoft May Lay Off 5,000 More Employees
8:23AM Jason Chen | This follows up their 1,400 count layoff in January, which were its first ever. Maybe it can use some of that $US11 million in stimulus money to build a bridge so the poor people who got laid off can live under it. [Seattle Times] More »
Design
Vending Machine Dispenses Comfort Food When Economy Stumbles
8:00AM Jack Loftus | The Japanese have vending machines dispensing treats when an emergency strikes and the British, not to be outdone, now have one that dispenses snacks when the BBC reports something bad about the economy. More »
Screens
LCD Prices Climbing During Recession, Chinese Farmers To Blame
6:13PM John Herrman | Cheap electronics can be counted as one of the few perks of a recession, but because of China’s stimulus plan, tobacco farmers in Qinhai and simple economics, LCD screens are actually getting more expensive. More »
Business
