perk

BetterWorks aims to be Groupon of employee perks

Employees love their perks, be it cheap gym memberships, lower-priced ski lift tickets, or discounted restaurant meals, and a new startup is aiming to do for these kinds of rewards what Groupon and LivingSocial have done for local coupons.

The startup, Los Angeles-based BetterWorks, has a simple idea: reach out to local merchants and strike deals for year-round offers while at the same time signing up companies that will offer those deals to their employees. The result? The companies have new ways to incentivize workers, merchants have a new source of regular customers, and employees get a wide range of … Read more

Travel mug makes coffee or tea

Making decisions isn't always the easiest thing to do in the morning. Coffee drinkers and tea lovers usually know what they want, but sometimes they want a change--coffee instead of tea or vice versa. Naturally, the process of making the newly desired brew would have to change, possibly ending with disastrous results because of the sleepy-eyed, precaffeine morning. Unless of course, the same familiar equipment was used.

Practically speaking, making a mug of coffee or a cup of tea requires different contrivances to get the job done. One could use a French press to extract all the goodness out … Read more

The 404 Weekend Throwback: Episode 191, 05/16/08

Now you can get your weekend 404 fix with throwback episodes coming atcha every Saturday! We're always open to suggestions on which episodes you guys want to hear, so hit us up at th404(at)cnet[dot]com and let us know your favorites.

First up, check out this episode from wayyy back in May 2008: it's the first official appearance of yours truly, Justin Yu, as the OFFICIAL HOST of the show! Before you judge me though, take note that I'm still learning the ropes and exactly what I can, and more importantly, CAN'T say … Read more

HP to execs: Bye-bye to plane perks

Add Hewlett-Packard to the list of companies reining in the number of corporate perquisites that once defined the high life in Silicon Valley. In a Monday filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the company said it had changed its policy covering personal use of corporate aircraft.

Here's the fine print:

HP will no longer provide its executive officers with a gross-up to cover the individual income tax incurred when corporate aircraft are used for personal purposes (including spousal travel on business trips).

Previously, the policy provided that the chief executive officer would receive a gross-up for the tax … Read more

NetApp tops 'Best Companies to Work For' list

Storage maker NetApp ranked No. 1 on Fortune magazine's list of the top 100 companies to work for, bumping Google from its perch, according to a report in the publication on Thursday.

NetApp, which employs nearly 8,000 people worldwide, was selected for its "employees enthusiasm," along with its benefits from nearly $11,400 in adoption aid to five paid days to do volunteer work.

And even better still, the company is one of the few in the hiring mode during these recessionary times, seeking to fill 55 positions as of January 13.

This year's ranking … Read more

Analyst sees desperation in Microsoft SearchPerks

Microsoft's effort to woo Internet searchers with financial incentives strikes one Wall Street analyst as a "desperate move" that will make little headway.

On Wednesday, Microsoft announced SearchPerks, a frequent-flier-like program that gives searchers one "ticket" for every search they do via Microsoft's Live Search engine.

To Collins Stewart analyst Sandeep Aggarwal, though, SearchPerks is just another sign that Microsoft lacks a "Plan B" strategy to gain share against Google without buying Yahoo.

"Our preliminary reaction is that SearchPerks will likely result (in) a sub-standard outcome," Aggarwal wrote in a … Read more

CNET News Daily Podcast: Will paying searchers pay off for Microsoft?

Microsoft has introduced SearchPerks, a sort of "frequent flier" program that lets people cash in for every search they do. What's it worth for consumers? And what does Microsoft hope to gain from it? CNET News reporter Ina Fried explains.

Plus, Electronics Arts has scrapped an upcoming title a year into development. And Netflix subscribers get more movie titles when using the "Watch Now" feature. Listen now: Download today's podcast

Today's stories:

Apple drops NDA for iPhone developers

Report: Norway says 'nei' to iTunes DRM, again

EA kills 'Tiberium,' says misses quality standards… Read more

The 404 170: Where we brush our teeth with roast beef

Wilson can't make it to the show again because of his ongoing illness, so everyone send us a voice mail wishing our buddy well wishes and a speedy return back to The 404! Dan the Mantern takes time out of his busy schedule of doughnut runs and paper stapling to fill in and give us some laughs on this overcast Monday. We recap our weekend adventures, talk about the dangers of kidnapping a virtual lion, send our condolences to the hungry worker bees at Google, protect ourselves from exploding iPods, and perform reveal the first ever sushi DNA test!… Read more

Google's fallibility: Daycare that only an elitist could love (and afford)

Google continues to be at the top of its game, shoving Microsoft and Yahoo! aside in search market share and pushing into new markets, like its innovative slant on collaboration with Google Docs. But in one area Google is proving to be human, all too human:

Daycare.

The New York Times dissects Google's recent problems with its daycare (allegedly jacking up the price to accommodate Sergey Brin's sister-in-law's beliefs on the one true way to do daycare), concluding:

Google may be providing the greatest day care ever, but so what? It doesn't matter how good the day care is if only its wealthiest employees can afford to use it. If Google had really wanted to do something path-breaking about its day care crisis, it would have spent less time creating elitist day care centers and more time figuring out how to "scale" day care for everybody no matter what their salaries.… Read more