CompUSA Decides to Close 126 Locations!

What is going on? First Circuit City decides to close a mess of locations throughout the United States, now CompUSA. The Tech retailer claims they are closing the 126 locations in order to focus on their top performing locations. Doing this will also create a $440 million dollar cash infusion and allow the company to really rework their image as a top tech retailer.





Now why are these big stores deciding it's worth it to close? I feel if you want to point a finger at anyone or anything aside from the bottom line figures, you have to blame the internet. With websites like slickdeals.com or phatwallet.net that are designed for users to post the best deals and prices on all different types of products, why not take advantage of buying online and not have to leave your house? Now that tech retailer websites have built in product reviews as well as websites like cnet.com that supply in-depth reviews of all sorts of gadgets with links to the best prices on the net, why bother wasting the gas and going to the store when you can have it at your doorstep in 3-5 business days.





Although there is this push to lower costs and bring retails exclusive to the internet, I'm not completely sold on the idea. I feel with all of these new gadgets hitting the market, it is important to have stores like CompUSA to be able to showcase these items and actually get to see the products in person. Even though stores like CompUSA and Circuit City don't have the guaranteed best prices around, they are reasonable and if you have a problem, returns don't involve sending the product back in the mail and then waiting for a refund on your charge.





No matter what happens, I'm interested to see what CompUSA is going to do in restructuring their business plan and whether or not they are going to do something to mimic Amazon and allow the Users to take a greater part in the online retail sector of the company.

Read more at: http://news.com.com/CompUSA+to+close+more+than+half+of+U.S.+stores/2100-1041_3-6162933.html?tag=cd.top

Talk about Scary! MIT's iFind

So you're on your computer and decided to go down to your hangout in a secluded area of the library when all of a sudden your buddy taps you on the shoulder. You look at him in disbelief as to how he knew of your whereabouts and it turns out your computer left him the perfect trail of jelly beans to follow.

Recently at MIT, the creation of the iFind has swept through campus. What the iFind actually does for MIT students is via a AIM-like instant messaging tool displays the current location of all your buddies if they are on campus.

Today we have the big two social networks, Facebook and mySpace...could iFind be the next big addition to staying connected and will it be at Bentley in the near future? Who is to know for sure but with about 5 iFind downloads every 5 minutes at MIT, it looks as if its popularity is going in the right direction.

http://news.com.com/2300-1008_3-6143833.html?tag=nefd.gallery

Can the Web Give Pontiac a Makeover?

Granted the internet is repsonsible for some of the greatest and most successful businesses in society, but the question is, "can the internet give Pontiac a makeover?" It's tough to say for sure. GM (maker of Pontiac) has been traveling in a continuous downward spiral and in order to help re-image the brand has gone straight to one of the hottest relatively recent additions to the net, mpSpace and Second Life. With a mySpace page that offers all sorts of pictures and media on the newest Pontiac models as well as links to other Pontiac exclusive sites, they are hoping to really get a buzz going.

Second Life is a phenomenon in itself. Recently, Pontiac paid to open an island and a dealership in the online realm. Although Second Life attracts a heafty 1.2 million users, who knows if Pontiac has what it takes to win over this web savvy crowd.

With a rocky history, Pontiac has not been known to be too hott of a seller, especially among the younger demographic. With their latest web campaign, the company hopes to finally penetrate the market and appeal to those that were neglected by their past marketing endeavors.

So you've seen the cars, but will the web drive truckloads of cash back to the folks at Pontiac?

http://news.com.com/Can+GMs+Pontiac+become+cyber-groovy/2100-1024_3-6157231.html?tag=nefd.lede