Target

Target adds bar code scanner to iPhone app

BYOBS. That stands for "bring your own bar code scanner," and more and more shoppers like the concept--so much so that Target has added bar code scanning to its existing free iPhone app along with a new TargetLists feature that allows you to manage shopping and gift lists from your phone.

Why would you need to use a Target bar code scanner in a Target store if you already know the price of the product? Well, the idea is you could instantly tap into more info without having to talk to a salesperson. "In addition to pricing, … Read more

Target to begin selling the Kindle

Target, a longtime Amazon partner, is going to give the Kindle a distribution hand in a small number of stores with a larger roll-out later in the year.

The retailer said Wednesday that it will carry Amazon's Kindle beginning on Sunday in select stores. Specifically, Target will carry the Kindle at its flagship Minneapolis store where the retailer is based. In addition, Target will put the Kindle in 102 south Florida store. After those pilots, Target will bring the Kindle to more stores

News of the Target distribution leaked out earlier in the month. Meanwhile, Barnes & Noble paired … Read more

Study: Like it or not, behavioral ad targeting works

Want to get digital-policy regulator types fired up? Start talking about behavioral ad targeting, the business of serving up digital ads that are fine-tuned to a user's Web surfing habits, and you're sure to get all kinds of wildly varied opinions about privacy and sensitive data.

But a new study from a group called the Network Advertising Initiative, or NAI, claims that behavioral targeting is more than twice as effective as non-targeted ads, and the inventory from behavioral ads is worth double that of their non-targeted brethren. The study found that 6.8 percent of people who click … Read more

Facebook: That ad is not actually targeted

Facebook is making moves to crack down on ads that look like they're finely targeted but really aren't, some digging by marketing blog ClickZ revealed Monday.

You've probably seen these ads: they make it look like they're geared to you ("28, female, and living in Boston? Try this..."), but the rest of the message and the product itself are actually fairly generic. According to ClickZ, Facebook has built an "evaluation program, part automated and part human" to give the thumbs-down to ads "featuring user attributes that are deemed irrelevant to the … Read more

Attention shoppers: Target offers mobile coupons

Mobile coupons are coming to mega-retailer Target, which will allow shoppers all over the U.S. to use their mobile handset to get discounts on all kinds of products.

The bar-coded coupons are available now. Shoppers interested in getting the mobile coupons must "opt in" and register on Target's Web site. They can also text the word "COUPONS" to 827438.

Once consumers are registered they will get text messages on their phones with links to a Web page that features various coupons. The program works with any phone that has a mobile browser and data … Read more

Key combinations to troubleshoot your Intel-based Mac at start-up

Many articles you read about Mac troubleshooting mention troubleshooting methods such as resetting the NVRAM, starting in FireWire Target Disk Mode, starting in Safe Mode, or starting in Single-User Mode, but fail to explain exactly how to do that. This article breaks it down for you.… Read more

Chinese schools deny links to Google attacks

Two days after a New York Times report linked two Chinese schools to hack attacks on Google and other Silicon Valley companies, both schools are denying those claims.

Security experts traced the attacks to computers at Shanghai Jiaotong University and Lanxiang Vocational School, The New York Times reported Thursday. But on Saturday, according to the Associated Press, China's official Xinhua News Agency cited a representative of the university calling the accusations "baseless" and an official from the vocational school saying its investigation turned up no evidence the intrusions originated on school machines.

Shanghai Jiaotong University is known … Read more

Got sleep apnea? Stimulate your tongue

If you're someone who's never had to deal with sleep apnea, as I am, it may come as a surprise to learn that the most effective--and frequently prescribed--device to treat the disorder, CPAP, is an enormous, unwieldy in-the-vein-of-a-bad-Halloween-costume mask that tends to find its way to such places as the closet, waste basket, or list of inventions to improve before you die.

So it is with great relief that I, even with my lack of sleep apnea, have been tipped off to a new technique currently being tested in Belgium that, if effective, could do wonders for those whose health can seriously suffer from sleep apnea.

ImThera, a privately funded start-up, has developed a tiny neurostimulator surgically implanted near the tongue that is programmed to essentially keep parts of the tongue awake enough to not block one's airway at rest.

Called Targeted Hypoglossal Neurostimulation (THN) Sleep Therapy, the technique consists of a small electrical device implanted under the skin near the lower jaw and along the Hypoglossal (12th cranial) nerve, then connected to a programmable implantable pulse generator (IPG) implanted near the surface of one's upper chest. … Read more

Get a 32-inch HDTV for $269

Is it Black Friday again already? No, but this deal sure seems like a leftover: Target is offering a Sylvania LC320SLX 32-inch HDTV for $269.10, plus sales tax in most states.

That's after applying coupon code URTYJLI8 at checkout, otherwise you'll end up with the already-pretty-low sale price of $299.

The sellout potential here is through the roof, so I'm just going hit the highlights. The LC320SLX features 720p resolution, three HDMI inputs, and a remote control.

Now for the lowlights: The set has an ATSC/NTSC tuner, but its specifications don't mention if it … Read more