For awhile now, 3D televisions have been the talk of town. Samsung's even unveiled their 3D TV’s at the annual tech event CrunchGear, attempting to woo regular Joe’s and Jane’s to fill their living rooms with 3D television sets. But before you throw out your “worthless” HD televisions and get fitted for your 3D glasses, stop and think whether the switch is worth it.

How could it not be worth it? All of the new, great entertainment out there is in 3D, like Avatar, and, well, maybe just Avatar.

That’s the point Avatar director and 3D-pioneer, James Cameron, is trying to make at least. Cameron isn’t convinced that there’s enough 3D entertainment out there to make such a purchase worthwhile for everyday television viewers.Continue reading...

Despite the enormous popularity of video games like Rock Band and Guitar Hero, the music video game category has also experienced its fair share of ridicule from humorists and musicians regarding its obsessive, yet faux music sensibilities. However, Seven45 Studios, an offshoot of musical-instrument maker First Act, is trying to bridge the gap between sofa simulations and real-life, gritty jam sessions.

Its “Power Gig: Rise of the SixString” video game will not only produce similar musically interactive game play as its predecessors, but more importantly, it will feature a real six-string guitar as its controller. Considering gamers have been wielding plastic, toy-like replica instruments, the transition to real instruments should go a long way in appeasing the “haters.”Continue reading...

If you tuned into the 82nd Annual Academy Awards this past weekend, besides seeing Alec and Steve, Sandra and Jeff, and James and Kathryn, you also saw Apple’s first commercial for the iPad. It’s very possible Apple fanboys were more excited for the ad than many award-winners were for their respective Oscars. And now that we've had a few days for the commercial to settle in, it's time to gauge its effectiveness.

At first glance, the commercial appeared flawless. It was a classic Apple ad that perfectly illustrated the exciting and sexy features of their much-hyped, state-of-the-art product. However, beneath the spectacle of the actual device was the curious reality that the iPad was sitting on a person’s lap the entire time. Yes, we all saw how amazing the various functions were – but isn’t the iPad supposed to be a sleek, portable device? If that’s the case, the iPad in the commercial came across as a little, well... big.Continue reading...

Similar to how companies like Xerox became interchangeable lingo for their respective product, Blockbuster was once the synonymous with video rentals. Times, however, have changed.

This year the brand sustained a $435 million fourth quarter loss. Indeed, the digital age hasn’t been friendly to the former “Be Kind Rewind” mammoth – forcing it to close down most locations, cut its inventory, and even file for bankruptcy in some countries.

But how could Blockbuster possibly compete with Netflix, the flat-rate online service that allows users to rent movies or watch streaming videos on their computers? Even before Netflix, most cable providers offered on-demand channels that enabled users to choose from a variety of reasonably priced movies – and many free ones, too.Continue reading...

Facebook has been a staple in social networking since it’s debut in September 2006, and because of its reign, it generates upwards of $300 million in revenue per year. Due to its ever-increasing popularity and value, its move to Wall Street appears to just be a stones-throw away.

Surprisingly, Mark Zuckerberg, the Founder and CEO of Facebook, doesn’t see a marriage anytime soon.

"We're going to go public eventually, because that's the contract that we have with our investors and our employees," said Zuckerberg. "We are definitely in no rush."Continue reading...

Domino’s might be in the business of delivering pizzas, but it has also been taking home the bacon recently. The pizza giant boasted its most lucrative fourth-quarter earnings – producing twice as many sales, better margins, and lower interest expenses.

With tough competition from Pizza Hut and Papa John’s, how did Domino’s pull off such a feat? Was it by offering more lunch options such as pasta, sandwiches, and salads? Or was it the brand’s decision to pump money into its advertising? Both could account for the surge on some level, but there’s another factor to consider: Domino’s admitting that their pizza was bad.Continue reading...

Remember magazines? They used to be those bound packets of paper filled with glossy photos of celebrities, stimulating articles – and of course, lots of advertisements. Big brand magazines like People, Vogue, ESPN, and many others have been actively promoting a collective ad campaign called the “power of print,” hoping that it will save them from their inevitable kowtow to the digital world.

With the introduction to Apple’s iPad a few months ago, it appeared that Apple was throwing all print media – magazines in particular – a much-needed life line. However, with the recent pro-magazine propaganda push, magazines could very well be taking for granted the very market forces that may indeed save them.Continue reading...

Whether it’s cutting down on emissions, offering “green” products, or using reusable materials, big companies have been pushing eco-friendliness like never before. And Wal-Mart is no different.

The mammoth retailer announced this week that the company would undergo a “green” overhaul – including its plan to cut more than 20 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions, offer more “green” products than ever before, and rethink how to package and transport products by using reusable materials.

Looks like someone is giving Al Gore a run for his Nobel Peace Prize, right? Well, sort of.Continue reading...