Amazon Now Owns the Concept of One-Click Online Checkouts [Patents]
After years of fighting, Amazon's infamous 1-Click patent has been (re)confirmed. In other words, if a site wants to deploy a single-click checkout system for registered customers, it's gotta license the tech from Amazon. Oh, patents! More
Dell Mini 5 filtrado (Strake), se confirman especificaciones y se descubren nuevos acabados
En Xataka ya os hemos hablado en más de una ocasión del esperado Dell Mini 5, un producto que por su tamaño, que recordemos viene determinado por su pantalla de 5 pulgadas, podemos considerarlo a medio camino entre un smartphone y un tablet.
Pues bien, como ya es habitual en internet, se ha filtrado nueva información en forma de folleto informativo, un documento interno con los datos del dispositivo, por lo que ya podemos considerar algunas características como “prácticamente oficiales”. Pero no sólo eso, el folleto también nos ha sorprendido con cosas que no sabiamos, como la posibilidad de poder personalizar el dispositivo, tal y como podéis leer en la imagen:
Premium finishes & consumer personalization of colors & designs possible
Is Amazon hiring devs to build a robust web browser for Kindle?
Is Amazon hiring devs to build a robust web browser for Kindle? originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 09 Mar 2010 16:21:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Net Sales Tax Prompts Amazon to Cut Off Colorado, More States Could Follow
Right now, there are a bunch of angry former Amazon Affiliate program members in Colorado. A new law signed by the state's governor Bill Ritter would require Amazon to pay sales taxes if its affiliates, meaning Web sites and bloggers who refer purchasers to them, are based in the state. In response, Amazon discontinued its program, leaving thousands of affiliates -- many of whom rely on the referral fees for income -- with little recourse but to complain to their elected officials.
This is not the first time that Amazon has been compelled by states to collect sales taxes. In 2008, New York began requiring the online retailer to pay taxes, but, likely due to the market's size, Amazon kept the affiliate program in place. North Carolina and Rhode Island passed similar laws which caused Amazon to pull the plug on affiliates there.
Continue reading Net Sales Tax Prompts Amazon to Cut Off Colorado, More States Could Follow
Filed under: Web
Net Sales Tax Prompts Amazon to Cut Off Colorado, More States Could Follow originally appeared on Switched on Tue, 09 Mar 2010 15:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
CrunchDeals: Star Trek Online for $28, Collector’s Edition for $48
Summer will be here before you know it, so that means it’s time to stock up on anything that’ll keep you out of the sun. In that spirit, Amazon has discounted both the standard and Collector’s Edition of the new-ish Star Trek Online franchise.
The standard edition will set you back $28 (selling for $45+ elsewhere) and the Collector’s Edition, which features “additional bonus items including unique packaging, descriptive material, and in-game items,” is on sale for $48 (selling for $80+ elsewhere).
Both games are for the PC and the sale is good today only.
Star Trek Online – Standard and Collector’s Editions for PC [Amazon.com]
More here:
CrunchDeals: Star Trek Online for $28, Collector’s Edition for $48
Why the iPad’s Ultra-Realistic Page-Turning Metaphor for Books Is Stupid [Ipad]
Craig Mod, a deadtree book designer, delivers the most considered explication of how new the model of "books" on the iPad actually is. Simply put, it allows 1:1 digital versions of books and their form. Must read: [craigmod via DF]
Read more here:
Why the iPad's Ultra-Realistic Page-Turning Metaphor for Books Is Stupid [Ipad]
Paying the Amazon tax
Yay, taxes! It looks like more and more states are considering forcing the likes of Amazon and Overstock.com (note: I’ve never bought anything from there!) to pay taxes. This is good and bad: it helps, however little, state governments balance the books, but it also raises the cost of “doing business” in those states. It also makes it more expensive to buy things online. Boo!
As always, the story is more complicated that it needs to be. A law recently went into effect in Colorado that would have forced Amazon to pay taxes on money made via its affiliate store program. You set up an affiliate, you get to sell your wares “on” Amazon, then Amazon takes a cut of your profit. Win-win. Well, rather than comply with the new law, Amazon has canceled the program altogether in Colorado, saying it would cost too much money to remain viable. The affiliates aren’t made at Amazon, but rather the state for coming up with the law in the first place. Is taxing a guy who sells tupperware (or whatever) via Amazon really going to keep Colorado afloat?
You’ll note that New York is the biggest state, so far, to collect taxes for Amazon. That means that for every widget I buy from Amazon, I have to pay tax, as if I were walking into a Best Buy (not that I’d ever shop at Best Buy again, mind you).
Other states that tax Amazon include Rhode Island and South Carolina. So, it’s not really like we need to storm the Internet Bastille or anything, but I can understand why people get upset.
Then there’s the much larger, far beyond the scope of CG topic of, well, does taxing the likes of Amazon really help out the states that much that it’s worth crushing affiliate programs left and right? I don’t know, I don’t want to get into a tax “thing” here, I just sorta wanted to complain about having to pay shipping and tax on my Amazon orders. I’m sure I’m not alone in that regard.
See the article here:
Paying the Amazon tax
Barnes & Noble Doesn’t Want Digital Magazines to Be Owned By Apple and Amazon After All [Ebooks]
Though they could've fooled me, Barnes & Noble apparently isn't content to let ebooks and digital mags be a two-horse race between Amazon and Apple. They just made a big hire in Jonathan Shar, from Time, who's going to be running their "Digital Newsstand and Emerging Content, Barnes & Noble.com" division. Though that division name tells me they're already kind of fucked. [MediaMemo]
Read more:
Barnes & Noble Doesn't Want Digital Magazines to Be Owned By Apple and Amazon After All [Ebooks]
Spring Design Alex eBook Reader Hits The FCC
Looks like the Spring Design Alex has taken one step closer to becoming available to the general public, as it has just paid a friendly visit to the FCC. In case you aren’t familiar with this device, it’s the first Android-powered eBook reader to sport full browser capabilities, not to mention its patented dual screen display, dubbed the Duet Navigator. Other features of the Alex include Wi-Fi, 3G, SD memory card slot, 6-inch e-ink EPD display and 3.5-inch color LCD display. Do you think it will provide a worthy challenger to Amazon’s Kindle?
Permalink: Spring Design Alex eBook Reader Hits The FCC from Ubergizmo | RSS Sponsor: Win a Fellowes Microshred Paper Shredder!
Original post:
Spring Design Alex eBook Reader Hits The FCC
HTC Desire, Legend and HD Mini show up on Amazon UK, expected to arrive on April 1
Slowly but surely, HTC's latest trifecta of handsets is making its way westwards. After appearing on Amazon's Deutsche hub with a pre-order value of €519 ($707), the Desire has now reached the UK with an even steeper