In Response to Chris's 'Prices going UP'

I couldn't' agree with you more! People who complain about gas prices are usually the ones driving an SUV, or some kind of car that is not necessarily very good on gas.  I drive a 1996 BMW, I try not to complain about the gas prices because I'm choosing to drive that car so I have to pay what I have to pay.  However, on the other end of the spectrum, you have the families that are struggling to provide and have a hard time affording gas; they also might not be able to afford buying a better more fuel efficient car.
With gas prices going up I believe that we will begin to see more smart cars/fuel efficient cars on the road.  I heard on the radio however that recent polls show that most people will not move to smart cars or more fuel efficient cars until gas prices hit $6.51, which is an extremely random number.  Would you still drive a car of your choice if the gas price went that high? Would you drive a fuel efficient car even if it was harder to use with a family, kids, etc.?

In Response to Jacelyn's post about Apple

I think Apple is moving in the correct direction with building customer loyalty using the steps and protocol that they have in place.  If other companies were to use this they would have greater outcomes with their sales/customer loyalty.  Take the company Dell for example, (granted there are no actual Dell stores around here) however if they were to take their time with their customers and respond better to feedback they would be a more successful company as well as more competition for Apple.  Apple has mastered the customer loyalty technique as well as making you feel comfortable and almost right at home when you walk in their door.
If more companies used Apple's technique I think that our expectations as customers would change, we would expect more from the stores when we walk into them.  Apple has the right idea with the way that they run their business, and if more companies were to follow this they would be more successful with their operations.
Do you think that other business don't take this approach because they lack the money?  Or do you think they just simply don't need the customer loyalty to be successful

In response to Chris' Facebook IPO

I think that Facebook will do extremely well.  Facebook is a technology that people of all ages are using; they also gain more members everyday.  Facebook is a worldwide company that has members in many different countries.  Facebook to me is going to be the next Apple in the world of stocks.  I can admit one thing, every time I sit down at the computer, I'm going to check Facebook at some point even if it is not the moment that I sit down.  There is definitely money to be made with this offering, it is already such a successful company that this will only help them.  Mark Zuckerburg seems to know how to run the website and what people want with social networking and I believe that investors understand this, which will make people want to invest in this company even more.  Do you think that the investors will try to put too much of their own words in on how to run the company? Will this upset Zuckerburg if it happens?

TSA Airport ID Scanning

TSA in airports is now using an automated systems that checks your ID and boarding passes.  These new systems will prevent from fraudulent ID's or boarding passes from getting through security as they have in the past.  I think that this new system is a great idea, this will make it nearly impossible to create an ID or boarding pass that can pass these automated machines.  Up until this new invention TSA employees physically check each individual ID and boarding pass.  This will also improve the time it will take to get through the line at a security checkpoint in the airport because all the employees will have to do is slide the ID or boarding pass through the machine and this will tell them whether it is a valid ID or boarding pass.
Do you think this is a good thing for the TSA to do? Do you t think that the TSA is trying to do to much with the new machines that they are coming out with to improve security breaches?

In response to Michael Thompson's "Pick up your phone, your tattoo is vibrating"

I recently read about this and found it very interesting.  Having a tattoo that vibrates would be pretty neat but don't you think that would get annoying after a while?  Nokia has reached a new level and market with creating tattoos that can vibrate and I personally think it's a waste of time.  I don't think that there is a big enough market for vibrating tattoos.  I've got one tattoo right now, I've thought about getting another one; but to get one that would vibrate every time my phone rang, well, I think I would be ready to cut it out of me after the second day.  In a business perspective I think that this is a waste of time and money for Nokia; this will turn out to be a "cool thing" for a few months but people will begin to get sick of their tattoos.  How do you feel about this? Would you go out and get a vibrating tattoo for your phone?

Economic Downfall

Yes I bet the only reason you're reading this is because the title caught your eye.  Well I just read an article today saying that the stock market is on its third day at a loss.  To me this comes as no surprise because of where the economy has been for the past few years.  However, according to the people who wrote the article this is a big deal because this is the "first time in some time that there has been a particularly negative job report".  This is a little surprising to me because our unemployment rate is still above 8% right now so how can they say this is the first time in some time that there has been a negative report? Last time I checked 8% is pretty negative.  The article goes on to explain how stocks in the market is continuing to decline over the past few days.  I don't think that this will change until the market starts to improve.  What do you think this article is showing? DO you think the writers are overreacting to the loss in the market or do you think it means something?

Apple iPad 2

I'm sure just by looking at the title you know what this blog is about, actually, I'm sure anyone who sees the title to this blog would know what I'm talking about.  The new release of the iPad 2 has already sold out, even the preorders are backed up.  Apple has just released the iPad 2 that has more features and better qualities than the previous iPad.  Having sold out of the iPad 2 already Apple is on its way to record selling sales this week as customers continue to buy the tablet.  The one question this article made me ask was, "If we're living in such a tough economy right now, how is it that Apple can have record selling sales with a device that is no where near a necessity?"  I still don't know if I know how to answer the question, but I'll try and take a stab at it.  People living in this economy right now don't want to spend they're money (unless it's someone from the upper/rich class) unless its on necessities such as groceries, clothes, bills, etc.  However, being in a generation run by technology everyone wants the new device to be caught up in the loop.  Here's where buying the iPad 2 comes in, since everyone wants the new device they will start saving up for it before it even comes out so that they can buy it the day of release.  This was just a few thoughts I had about this.  How do you feel about Apple's products?  Do you think that them having record selling sales for one week is saying something about our economy possibly growing?