Businessweek Online: In the sales world, one of the most common stumbling blocks is price objection. A potential deal may be moving ahead smoothly, but when numbers enter the conversation, eager customers can suddenly turn and flee. What I’ve found, however, is that humor can be used to move the sale along at almost every stage of the process. Humor […]
Laugh All the Way to the Bank
Ants Collective Intelligence Inspires Technology
we make money not art: Scientists are studying ants behaviour to help solve technical problems. An ant can work out the quickest way from A to B more efficiently than a boffin with a computer. It bases its behaviour on pheromone trails laid down by its nest-mates. So now human communications networks are often based on virtual pheromone trails. Nigel […]
Microsoft Child Surveillance Toy
Shiny Shiny: How to give your child a lifelong uneasy feeling that it’s being watched: sit this ugly stuffed toy into the corner of its room. This Teddy Bear is something Microsoft’s been showing off recently. It’s still, thankfully, only a prototype, but there’s a chance that a creature like it may one day emerge to begin a reign of […]
Trash With Solar-Powered Compactor
we make money not art: New York is testing a trash can that uses solar power to sense when it is full and automatically compact the garbage inside. When the can is full, a red indicator light goes on and it can even send out a wireless call for a pickup. The BigBelly can’s tryout began February 14 in Chinatown […]
Super Trainer Bicycle Treadmill
Gizmodo: My brain goes all crunchy with potential Jetsons-type disaster of the Super Trainer Bicycle Treadmill. At about twelve feet long, three feet wide, and something like twenty-five hundred pounds, the Super Trainer simulates a patch of road with far more clarity than the so-called streets here in New York. With no restraints to hold the bike in place the […]
Milk At Its Finest
Businessweek.com: Although the 400-acre farm’s profits were a distant memory, Shatto had both a financial and familial stake in the company, and he refused to sell out. “I figured the only thing we could do was keep milking the cows,” he says, “but we had to find a way to make money for a change.” He conducted a feasibility study […]
Presents of Mind
Entrepreneur.com: Bored by the idea of giving her husband a traditional gift basket to celebrate his promotion, Kate Dyer-Seeley made her own by filling a sleek, plastic box with treats including brainteaser games, mints and other cool, fun items. When her husband took it to work, the box was such a hit that Dyer-Seeley, 29, and two friends, Karen O’Hollaren, […]
Intellimug – Warm Beverages In Your Car
Shiny Shiny: Been on a stakeout recently? No, us neither, but if we ever had reason to go on a stakeout, this is the cup we’d want with us. The Intellimug plugs into your car’s cigarette lighter and warms up tea, coffee, soup and any other liquid food or drinkstuff you care to mention. A temperature display on the side […]
Toys R Kids: High-Tech Playmates
Wired News: NEW YORK — Picture an Elmo or Winnie the Pooh plush doll that knows a child’s name and favorite food, and tells stories and sings songs incorporating such personal details. Or a new version of Furby that recognizes voices and reacts with emotions from surprise to dismay, and responds to specific words a child says. These electronic toys, […]
Yahoo! Sends Driving Directions To Your Phone
Engadget: We were seriously wondering why Google hadn’t already rolled this out (especially with their movement towards the geographical with maps.google.com and their purchase of Keyhole), but Yahoo’s definitely beaten them (and everyone else, it seems) on the driving directions via SMS tip. Hit the “Send to Phone” link on their Yahoo! maps page and you’ll get the data via […]