Recently in eCommerce Category

During the tough economic times when companies are downsizing and cutting costs, Barnes & Noble decided to buck the trend and go big.  The chain that made hanging out at bookstores cool, is offering free wireless connectivity at all of its 777 U.S. stores and launching an eBookstore to enable its customers to buy and read ebooks on handheld platforms such as the iPhone, iPod touch, Blackberry smartphones, and laptops.  

The wireless service is powered by AT&T--which also works with Starbucks to offer that franchise's patrons internet access.  Starbucks internet is free with a few strings attached--including the requirement of a Starbucks card and a time cap on free connectivity.  Though Barnes & Noble has worked exclusively with AT&T to provide Wi-Fi connectivity in the past, it did so by billing the customer at a hourly rate of nearly $4. 

Free Wi-Fi and ebooks...is there a connection?

FindLaw columnist Eric Sinrod writes regularly in this section on legal developments surrounding technology and the internet.

A Web site ideally is "sticky."  This means that the site attracts consumers who visit frequently and spend significant time and hopefully money on the site.  

Even better, the site also caters to so many of a consumer's needs and interests in a given space that the consumer will not go elsewhere on the Internet.

Along comes www.MakeItPro.com, as an example.  According to its press release, MakeItPro has just launched "the world's only online, interactive all-sport destination, marketplace and resource center for athletes and fans of more than 175 sports worldwide."