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<title>Haaze.com / garretkrgr / Published News</title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com</link>
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<pubDate>Thu, 17 Mar 2011 07:10:01 +0000</pubDate>
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<title><![CDATA[Gadget review aggregator Retrevo opens own store]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=gadget-review-aggregator-retrevo-opens-own-store</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=gadget-review-aggregator-retrevo-opens-own-store</comments>
<pubDate>Thu, 17 Mar 2011 07:10:01 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>garretkrgr</dc:creator>
<category>Mobile &amp; Electronics</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=gadget-review-aggregator-retrevo-opens-own-store</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Retrevo will now sell some items directly. Instead of linking out to other stores, it will have its own &amp;34'Buy&amp;34' buttons.(Credit:Retrevo)Tech hardware advice site and reviews aggregator Retrevo is opening its own online store. The company has struck deals with 10 online resellers that will fulfill orders for Retrevo, but buyers will conduct all their business on Retrevo.com itself. Retrevo is also taking on the support role for customers who need help with products they purchase on its store.Retrevo's main function, to date, has been to provide tech buying advice to consumers. It aggregates reviews data from professional sites (like CNET) as well as consumer reviews (from sites like Amazon) and generates reviews scores and other analytics to help users make buying decisions. There's also a strong editorial hand at work at Retrevo to come up with the criteria that the site's algorithms use to rank products.Retrevo has always linked out to online stores for people who want to purchase a product they read about. Today's new store function replaces the links to other stores with Retrevo's own &quot;Add to Cart&quot; button for select items.The ethical wallThere is a barrier at good reviews sites between opinion and commerce, for one big reason: If a site is recommending a product and then turns around and makes a direct profit from selling it, one could think the site's recommendations are tainted by potential profits. Retrevo CEO Vipin Jain says you can still produce a trustworthy editorial service even if you are helping readers close the loop in commerce.  Reviews sites like CNET also engage in consumer commerce, but at a different scale. When a user clicks on a price link on a reviews page, we earn a referral fee, which is a small fraction of an item's selling price. When a user buys a product directly from Retrevo, though, the company books the entire purchase price of the item. It does then have to buy the item from its reseller or manufacturer partner, but actually reselling items opens up avenues to Retrevo to negotiate for more attractive profit margins. These profits may vary by product, and the user won't know which items are more profitable for Retrevo, adding to the potential perception that the site's recommendations may be slanted. To be clear, I do not expect Retrevo to juggle its recommendation algorithms so it sells more of the items that make it the most money. That would lead to only a momentary financial gain, at the cost of killing the site's credibility and ultimately its ability to do any business at all. Retrevo won&amp;39't sell items determined by its algorithms to be bad deals. (Credit:Retrevo) Jain feels that making commerce easy for the reader can be a service itself, especially if the content itself remains pure. Retrevo takes this position a step further and aims to &quot;own the customer experience,&quot; Jain says. All products available from the Retrevo store will ship free and come with 30-day return privileges, which Retrevo will handle.Prices, not profits, can affect Retrevo's recommendations, but in a consumer-friendly way. In some cases, for products that are overpriced, over the hill technologically, or just outmatched by competing products, even when Retrevo has access to sell the product directly it may put a &quot;Do Not Add To Cart&quot; flag on a product page instead of a Buy button. Jain says this feature will reinforce his service's editorial independence and customer service philosophy. Users can still buy such products from other stores' Retrevo will provide links. Currently, only a small percentage of the products on Retrevo are available on the Retrevo store, since the resellers Retrevo has deals with are on the small side. Over time, additional partnerships could give Retrevo more items for direct sale. Jain still has to close these deals, however. He's banking that resellers will be more interested in incremental sales than in the fact that they'll be losing direct contact with customers who buy via Retrevo itself. <br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[EPA approves new air conditioning refrigerant]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=epa-approves-new-air-conditioning-refrigerant</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=epa-approves-new-air-conditioning-refrigerant</comments>
<pubDate>Wed, 02 Mar 2011 08:10:50 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>garretkrgr</dc:creator>
<category>Eco</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=epa-approves-new-air-conditioning-refrigerant</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Automotive air conditioning of the future will not be the environmental blight it has been in the past. The EPA on Monday announced it has approved the refrigerant HFO-1234yf for use in vehicles.Designed by Honeywell and DuPont, HFO-1234yf has a global warming potential that is 99.7 percent less than the current chemical (HFC-134a) used in mostcar air conditioners.General Motors last summer announced it planned to use HFO-1234yf in 2013 models pending final approval.GM will be joined by other automakers eligible to receive greenhouse-gas emission credits for 2012-2016 models by adopting eco-friendly refrigerant, thanks to new laws passed last year.Over the next few years, HFO-1234yf will become the new standard for U.S. automakers' the refrigerant has also been approved for use in Europe and Japan. The change will be better for the environment, the EPA said.Prior to the use of HFC-134a, car air conditioners generally used CFC-12, which the EPA calls &quot;a potent greenhouse gas and ozone-depleting substance.&quot;&quot;This new chemical helps fight climate change and ozone depletion,&quot; said Gina McCarthy, assistant administrator for EPA's Office of Air and Radiation. &quot;It is homegrown innovative solutions like this that save lives and strengthen our economy.&quot;<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Warning: Coupons make you spend more]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=warning-coupons-make-you-spend-more</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=warning-coupons-make-you-spend-more</comments>
<pubDate>Thu, 17 Feb 2011 08:10:02 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>garretkrgr</dc:creator>
<category>Mobile &amp; Electronics</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=warning-coupons-make-you-spend-more</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ I've said before, and not too long ago, that only people with poor impulse control buy things at retail prices. But I've recently come to understand that deal-seekers, people who habitually try to save money by using social-shopping sites like Groupon or coupon directories like RetailMeNot, may actually be even more valuable to the retail industry than people who buy stuff at list price. Because they spend more. Cotter Cunningham, CEO of WhaleShark Media, which runs RetailMeNot, explained to me recently why his straightforward coupon site is working well, and how the Internet is changing how pricing and consumer marketing is done.Cotter Cunningham says coupons make for bigger online orders.(Credit:Rafe Needleman/CNET) Affiliate marketing--paid links to commercial destinations--is the third-most efficient way for consumer goods and services companies to get online business, after e-mailing existing customers and doing good SEO. Coupons make for very effective and trackable affiliate links, because users have to click on them to get the deal, not just visit the site selling the product they want. And coupon sites succeed because the business of aggregating coupons is very strong: each link is a CPA, or cost-per-action link, which pays out at a much higher rate than CPC, or cost-per-click advertising links.  The goal is to become the big site with the most coupons, as getting into that position makes for a virtuous SEO cycle: the more coupons you have, the more people link to and visit the site, and the higher you rise in the search engines. RetailMeNot pursues this strategy by including even nonaffiliate coupon deals in its listings. Unlike some of the original coupon sites, where each coupon has an affiliate or CPA link attached to it, RetailMeNot encourages its users to submit coupon codes they find around the Internet. These coupons don't generate direct revenue for the site (although pages they're on do serve ads), but they do serve the incredibly important function of improving RetailMeNot's depth and thus its SEO juice and its traffic, making its paid links bigger revenue drivers.  According to Cunningham, retailers don't mind the couponification of their customers. While it's certainly true that the profit margin a coupon-using consumer generates is less than somebody paying full retail price, advertisers effectively use coupons to &quot;march you up the AOV (average order volume) food chain,&quot; he says. You know those offers to get a discount or free shipping only on orders over a certain amount They work. People spend up, and spend more, to get to the coupon threshold. RetailMeNot has both paid coupons and those discovered by its users.(Credit:Screenshot by Rafe Needleman/CNET) The current challenge for the standard coupon site business is the competitive threat posted by the social coupon sites like Groupon and LivingSocial. RetailMeNot has some of its own social initiatives on Facebook and Twitter, and the company is working on ways to add more compelling game mechanics to the site to get people to use it more. Also, Cunningham says, RetailMeNot will soon launch a partnership with a social deals site as a test project.  Cunningham sees the effect of the group deals sites already. He says consumers are getting more disciplined, and this is good for his business. Consumers are learning the value of waiting for a coupon or group deal to appear' this realization will lead to enhancements in the alerting system in RetailMeNot.  The other coming improvement on RetailMeNot is a mobile app to help users find deals on items they're right in front of at physical retail stores (see also: eBay building mobile apps to grow user base). The site has focused on electronic commerce to date, so this is a bit of a branching out.  I still maintain that retail prices are for suckers' with the growth of social deal sites, now more than ever. However, it appears that thanks to retailers' smart use of coupons and deals, it's still just as easy to get suckered into paying more than you need to.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Groupon faithful mad about Valentine's flower deal]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=groupon-faithful-mad-about-valentines-flower-deal</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=groupon-faithful-mad-about-valentines-flower-deal</comments>
<pubDate>Sat, 12 Feb 2011 08:10:25 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>garretkrgr</dc:creator>
<category>Marketing and advertising</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=groupon-faithful-mad-about-valentines-flower-deal</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Do Groupon deals tempt you Or are you so committed to causes like Tibet and the rain forest that you have switched your allegiance to LivingSocialThis vital question is placed into strong relief because of some owl-like hooting and town crier hollering that has engulfed Groupon's Thursday deal of $40 worth of flowers for $20.Was this deal, unlike so many that flood our e-mail in-boxes, too good to be true love Some seem to think so.Though the flowers in my house all accidentally fell from other people's gardens, I confess that I was tempted by this marvelous offer. It read: &quot;Wonder why you're getting a second Groupon deal today It's because Valentine's Day is so close and we couldn't wait to send it. Buy and redeem today for delivery on the 14th. Enjoy!&quot;The slight problem seemed to reside in the enjoyment department.As CNNMoney.com reports, almost 3,300 people formed a phalanx toward this offer, only to discover that they might have been outflanked.The special FTD.com/Groupon page seemed to be featuring prices that were somewhat inflated from the normal FTD.com site.(Credit:Screenshot: Chris Matyszczyk/CNET)A poster to Groupon's site reportedly wrote: &quot;What a scam. The FTD Groupon site has a price $10 to $20 more than their own site. So basically you didn't save anything.&quot;Other Grouponites reportedly offered that service and shipping charges seemed to be so high that the voucher was rendered valueless. Others noticed that they couldn't actually have their flowers delivered on Valentine's Day.And the situation has some wondering whether more client companies of Groupon and LivingSocial might feel encouraged to raise their base price in order to make more profit...or at least some.Groupon, for its part, ended the FTD promotion a day early. The company also e-mailed its customers and said: &quot;To make this right, we've worked together with FTD to make sure that discounts available on FTD.com will now also be available to use with your Groupon. For those of you who already purchased items that were on sale on FTD.com, FTD will automatically issue you a refund on the credit card you used with the difference as additional savings.&quot;After the entertaining kerfuffle caused by Groupon's Super Bowl advertising, it would seem that Groupon's complaints department has been putting in quite some hours this week.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Cisco ships dual-band 450Mbps router]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=cisco-ships-dual-band-450mbps-router</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=cisco-ships-dual-band-450mbps-router</comments>
<pubDate>Tue, 18 Jan 2011 08:10:30 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>garretkrgr</dc:creator>
<category>Technology</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=cisco-ships-dual-band-450mbps-router</guid>
<description><![CDATA[The Cisco Linksys E4200 router sports a more eye-catching design than its predecessors.(Credit:Dong Ngo/CNET)True dual-band 450Mbps Wireless-N routers were one of the main trends in networking during CES 2011, with Trendnet, Netgear, and D-Link announcing their own. Cisco, on the other hand, didn't make any announcements during the show, but it's now one of the first to have a 450Mbps true dual-band router on the market. Cisco announced today that it now ships the new Linksys E4200 concurrent dual-band router, its first to offer the ceiling speed of 450Mbps on the 5GHz band. This is similar to the Netgear WNDR4000 and the D-Link DIR-857, which are not yet available for purchase.The router offers Gigabit Ethernet, true dual-band with 450Mbps on the 5GHz band. It also has a USB port to host external storage or USB printers.(Credit:Dong Ngo/CNET)Apart from the higher speed, which is based on the three-stream standard, the E4200 also boasts a new, eye-catching design. However, it still has a flat shape and internal antenna design similar to previous models, such as the E3000 or the E2000. The Linksys E4200 is a full Gigabit router with four LAN ports and one WAN port. It also has a USB port to support external storage. According to Cisco, the router's network storage feature supports UPnP Media Server, which allows consumers to stream movies, music, and photos to other devices around the home.The company says that the USB port can also be converted to a Virtual USB port to host USB printers. Like other Cisco Linksys E-Series routers, the E4200 comes with Cisco Connect software that provides an easy three-step setup process and network management tools, such as parental controls and guest access. All in all, the E4200 seems to be a major upgrade to the well-designed, easy-to-use E3000. A review of this new router is under way, so check back soon at CNET.com. If you can't wait, the Cisco Linksys E4200 Dual-Band Router is available now and costs around $180.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 30 Nov -001 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>garretkrgr</dc:creator>
<category>Technology</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=</guid>
<description><![CDATA[<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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