Video games have emerged as the most popular type of project to pledge money to on Kickstarter. Can these crowdfunded games match up to the ones developed with a traditional game publisher?
Companies & Industries
Is There a Future for Same-Day Delivery? How About Online Grocery Shopping?
For the time being, brick-and-mortar retailers don’t seem to have to worry too much about two of the most hyped, potentially “game changing” options in e-commerce.
End of New Airline Fees? Nation’s Most Fee-Crazy Airline Is Tapped Out of Ideas
For years, airlines have rolled out new fees to foist onto passengers like clockwork—see American Airlines and Southwest Airlines as the two latest examples. There is somewhat of a silver lining, though: With every new fee …
Get Well Sooner—And Cheaper: Two Medical Insiders Pull Back The Curtain on the Doctor-Patient Relationship
The authors of a new book exposing major flaws in the way most doctors diagnose offer advice to improve your health—physical and financial.
The Sleep Industry: Why We’re Paying Big Bucks for Something That’s Free
PBR Owner Making a Bid for Twinkies
The private-equity firm that owns Pabst Blue Ribbon beer is planning to bid on the Hostess cake brands division – which includes Ding Dongs, Ho Hos, Drake’s Devil Dogs, and…Twinkies. Could a PBR-like revival be in the snack …
Auto Navigation Systems: Too Complicated, Too Pricey, Just Plain Unnecessary?
A factory-installed navigation system adds more than $1,000 to the sticker price of a car. Maybe that’d be worth it if the systems worked better—and if there weren’t cheap or free, arguably superior alternatives readily …
Q&A: Why Would Patrick ‘McDreamy’ Dempsey Buy a Seattle-Based Coffee Chain?
Patrick Dempsey’s doing just fine without having to pull a West Coast coffee chain from the brink of extinction. But Dempsey’s not satisfied merely acting.
Now There’s an Official Way to Threaten Businesses with Bad Online Reviews
Anyone and everyone can write reviews of hotels and restaurants at sites like TripAdvisor and Yelp. So why would anyone pay $100 for a card that simply states “I Write Reviews” — something that, to repeat, anyone and everyone can do?
You Probably Spent 13 Hours on Hold Last Year
Add this factoid to the many others concerning the poor state of customer service, right alongside the one about how we collectively lose $38 billion annually waiting around for the cable guy to show up.
Hey Kid, Where’s Your Mom? Malls Ratchet Up Restrictions on Unsupervised Teens
Generally speaking, it’s unwise to kick customers — any customers — out of a shopping center. But what if kicking out certain customers increases the likelihood that other, wealthier customers will come to the mall and spend?
Ugh, More Airline Fees: Want a Decent Seat on Southwest? Pay Up
Et tu, Southwest? A relative absence of fees and an overall nonelitist, democratic approach to airline travel are among the reasons Southwest Airlines has been so successful. A new fee — $40 to be among the first on the plane …
