staples

Canadian Staples stores are failing to fully wipe customer data off returned laptops and storage devices before reselling them, thus violating Canada's privacy laws, the CBC News reports.

More than a third of the 149 storage devices tested by the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada, including laptops and USB hard drives, still had customer data on them--despite undergoing a wipe and restore process to be readied for resale. Some of the lingering information was reportedly pretty sensitive, including things like tax and ID records and passport numbers.

"Our findings are particularly disappointing given we had already investigated two complaints against Staples involving returned data storage devices and the company had committed to taking corrective action," commissioner Jennifer Stoddart said in a press release. "While Staples did improve procedures and control mechanisms after our investigations, the audit showed those procedures and controls were not consistently applied, nor were they always effective, leaving customers' personal information at serious risk." … Read more

The Wi-Fi-only versions of Motorola's Xoom and Samsung's Galaxy Tab tablets could reach consumers very soon, at least according to a couple of product flyers discovered by the folks at DroidLife.

Displaying what appears to be an upcoming flyer for Staples, DroidLife has zeroed in on a launch date of March 27 and a price tag of $599 for the Wi-Fi-only Xoom. Though the price seems accurate based on information from Motorola, the new date contradicts earlier information sent to DroidLife indicating an April 3 debut for the Wi-Fi-only Xoom.

Motorola Mobility's CEO Sanjay Jha recently revealed that the Wi-Fi-only version Xoom would sell for around $600. Staples' price for the Wi-Fi Xoom is a bit higher than the $539 that Sam's Club reportedly will charge. But if accurate, the difference makes sense since Sam's Club discounts its prices for members. The Wi-Fi Xoom is slated to launch in Europe starting in the second quarter.

We've reached out to Motorola and Staples for comment or further details.

Meanwhile, another supposed product flyer uncovered by DroidLife says the Wi-Fi-only Galaxy Tab will start shipping by April 4 and sell for $399. Launched last November, the 3G version of the 7-inch tablet currently sells from a variety of carriers for a variety of prices, with T-Mobile offering the Tab at $249 with a two-year contract.

A Samsung spokeswoman told CNET that the company has not announced pricing or availability for the Wi-Fi-only version of the Tab.… Read more

Are you ready for some cheery PR spin? Some deeply thought out, loving, but slightly cold-hearted PR spin?

Alright then. Staples, the people who offer you the Easy button, would like to impart some important personal information to ease your spirit.

For the company has just performed its fifth-annual Small Business Survey (yes, I missed the first four, too) and discovered that techno-love has now superseded the fleshy, inadequate, unsatisfying version in which so many of us still naively believe.

It appears that 60 percent of small business owners admit that they dedicate more time to holding their cell phones … Read more

Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen has refiled a lawsuit against several major technology companies over claims of patent infringement.

In his revised complaint filed yesterday, Allen alleges that 11 tech companies and retailers--Apple, Google, Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, YouTube, eBay, Netflix, OfficeMax, Office Depot, and Staples--are violating patents granted to him when he headed Interval Research, a small R&D firm that he started in 1992 and ran until it went out of business in 2000.

Allen initially filed the suit in August in U.S. District Court in Seattle. At the time, Allen's Interval Licensing company--which holds the patents … Read more

Staples will start selling the Amazon Kindle at its stores starting this Sunday, the office supplies company announced today.

Staples said that its stores will have the Kindle and Kindle 3G for $139 and $189, respectively. The company will be selling the 9.7-inch Kindle DX for $379 starting in mid-November. In addition, Staples will be selling a variety of Kindle accessories, but it didn't say exactly what would be available.

Staples is joining a growing number of brick-and-mortar retailers selling Amazon's Kindle, including Best Buy and Target.

Amazon's e-reader continues to enjoy success. The Kindle is … Read more

Thought spanking new Intel Core i5 laptops would command a price premium? Not this week at Staples, where fully loaded Core i5 laptops from Dell and Hewlett-Packard are on sale for as little as $649.

Staples is selling a Dell 17-inch system with the Core i5 430M for $649. The Dell system is regularly $799. The $150 discount (which is "instant savings"--not a rebate) ends later this week, according to a sales representative who said prices will go up again at the close of business on Saturday.

Dell Insprion 17.3" Laptop at Staples:

Staples is selling a big-screen laptop with robust features that belie its low price.

As 17-inch laptops go, it's a lot of laptop for the money, compared with higher-priced systems from vendors such as Hewlett-Packard. Big-screen, 17-inch-class laptops priced a couple of hundred dollars above the Acer typically offer slightly faster processors and higher-performance graphics. But for the average user, there's not much difference.

And what do you get for $479? The Acer Aspire AS7736Z-4809 comes with Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit, a dual-core Intel Pentium Processor T4300 (2.1GHz), 4GB of memory, a 320GB hard disk … Read more