target

Google's new teleportation, its search-within-search function, is getting mixed responses, at least from some site owners, who may be remembering occasions when teleportation in the Star Trek transporter went wrong. Earlier in the month, Google introduced the teleportation functionality as a way to better help searchers find information within a site by providing a search box below the snippet of the top listing, which performs a "site:" search on the domain of that listing using the additional search terms the searcher added in.

The "site:" advanced query is quite familiar to those within the search … Read more

A New York lawmaker wants you to have the choice over whether Internet companies can serve up ads based on your actions online and who you are.

Companies like Microsoft and Yahoo are already serving ads that reflect your interests, such as Web sites you visit, and even your geography. Behaviorally targeted advertising is the vanguard of online marketing because it can lead to more sales than random ads can.

Privacy advocates say that Web surfers don't understand how much they are being tracked online, and that if they did they wouldn't like it.

With this in mind, … Read more

YouTube returns to Pakistan: Everything's right on the Internet, for now http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/02/26/everythings-right-in-the-internet-for-now/

How Pakistan knocked YouTube offline (and how to make sure it never happens again) http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9878655-7.html

ICANN, Network Solutions sued for domain tasting http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/ 20080226-bad-flavor-icann-network-solutions-sued-for-domain-tasting.html

Apple updates MacBook, MacBook Pro lineups http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9879198-7.html

Apple’s iTunes grows to No. 2 U.S. music retailer http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080226/media_nm/apple_itunes_dc

Internet service providers filter http://www.australianit.news.com.au/story/0,24897,23274585-15306,00.html… Read more

Behind the scenes, Wal-Mart and Target use radio-frequency identification tracking systems to help them keep their shelves stocked, but that method could face new complications if an ongoing patent lawsuit doesn't go their way.

The suit, filed back in August 2006, accuses the megaretailers and Gillette of infringing on a U.S. patent covering an "inventory control system" that employs radio-frequency identification (RFID) technology to track the presence or absence of items and keep them from colliding. The patent belongs to a Houston man named Ronald Bormaster, who assigned it to Houston-based RFID World, which does not … Read more

Every now and then, I come across some stories that make me cringe. Unfortunately, this is one such story. The New York Times is reporting today that Target made itself look like a fool because of the idiocy of its public relations arm.

According to the Times, a blog about the impact of marketing on children called Shaping Youth found issue with Target's latest ad campaign that showed a woman behind Target's logo. And while the site's founder Amy Jussel didn't necessarily find fault in the depiction of the woman, she was perturbed by Target's decision to place the bull's-eye directly over the woman's crotch.

Upon sending an email message to Target to get an explanation for the ad, the major retailer said that it was "unable to respond to [her] inquiry because Target does not participate with nontraditional media outlets."

Wow. What a bunch of clowns.… Read more

If you were trying to find a Nintendo Wii to give someone as a Christmas present and were counting on buying that Wii at a retailer like Best Buy or Target, odds are you came away empty-handed and frustrated.

That was certainly my experience when I spent a day looking to see where it might be possible to find a Wii near San Francisco.

But always, in the back of my mind, I figured that for those who were truly desperate to get ahold of one of the machines, a small mint would fetch one on eBay.

I remember, however, … Read more

Way down at the bottom of the electronics section on Target.com is something you'd miss if you weren't looking for it: a tab called "Pre-owned Electronics."

The retailer has been testing out selling some gadgets on its Web site only that have been returned to stores for the past month, but the company finally called attention to the experiment during its quarterly earnings call Tuesday, as Reuters reported.

So far Target is reselling used Nintendo GameCube systems, a variety of Toshiba high-definition TVs, a JVC video camera, and original iPods, as well as iPod Nanos, … Read more

Now that the dust has settled with Manhunt 2 and Rockstar and its parent company Take Two Interactive are being held to the fire once again, the utter lack of knowledge and ignorance that permeates every level of retail has shown its ugly face.

Instead of understanding the nature of the latest Manhunt 2 scandal where gamers could ostensibly view adults-only content in the game through a code hack, Target and others have announced that it will not sell the game on its shelves because "players can potentially view previously filtered content by altering the game code."

Simply put, this is one of the most ludicrous and ridiculous decisions I have seen in years by any retailer. Just because a gamer can "potentially view previously filtered content by altering the game code", Target (and others) feel the need to take Manhunt 2 off store shelves?

Ridiculous.… Read more