Tag: NEW YORK

In this economy, people are coming up with some inventive ways to pinch pennies. Social network TapIt, which was created in 2008, is a group of cafes that partnered to offer free water to the thirsty public. Not only does clean water help folks save money (the site claims it saves users about $500 a year), but it also reduces waste by cutting down on the number of used plastic water bottles. ...

Homelessness and technology may seem incongruous, but they are not as far away from each other as one might expect. Cities like San Francisco and New York are helping the homeless to become more connected, through the unlikely means of Facebook and Myspace. Although the homeless may not have physical mailing addresses, they want to have virtual ones through free social networking sites. ...

No, folks -- this is no prank. Time Warner Cable really is throwing caution (and public opinion) to the wind and moving forward with its evil consumption-based internet billing. If you'll recall, we heard that the operator was trialing the method -- which imposes premium rates on big broadband users -- back in early 2008, but now it seems it's quietly hoping to roll it out into more major markets. ...

You know that using a cell phone while driving in New York state is illegal, right? Unless you're using a hands-free kit, it is. Since the law passed, most police officers have been rather lenient in issuing tickets, generally only giving them out when someone is pulled over for another offense -- like speeding or poor driving. Last Thursday, however, police in New York City decided it was time ...

With New York facing a $15 billion budget deficit , it should surprise no one that the Empire State's leaders are getting creative in their search for a solution. New York Governor George Patterson wants to place a four-percent tax on Internet downloads of books, music, and other content. While some people are calling this the iPod tax, we all know that it should be called the "porn tax." ...

Google is finally mapping something that matters (with all due respect to the earth and oceans): subway routes in New York City. Yes, Google has decided to add New York City Transit to its infinite list of things already mapped (you'll find other transit systems mapped here). Now, when someone searches for a location in the city, they will be supplied with a list of accompanying mass transit ...

New York State Governor Elliot Spitzer has launched an effort to collect state sales tax on goods purchased online. The governor has said that forcing online retailers, such as Amazon.com, to collect the taxes would send an influx of $47 million to Albany. Amazon is fighting the proposal tooth and nail. New York consumers are sure to not support the idea, but local merchants and small business ...

Verizon is finally paying up for disconnecting over 13,000 users due to their breach of an unpublished download cap on its cellular broadband service known as BroadbandAccess. Following a nine month investigation by New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, Verizon has agreed to pay a fine of $150,000 to the state as well as reimburse users the price of laptop cards or cell phones they purchased to ...

There's no point in lying anymore. With new technology, someone will always catch you whether it's on camera, through spyware, or GPS. Take the following anecdote as a lesson: It seems John Halpin, a supervising carpenter for the New York City school system, was let go after he was caught skipping out early and falsifying his time sheets. Turns out the Board of Education was tracking his ...

Sure, it won't be nearly as devastating as the New York City transit strike of 2005, but an impending taxi strike could make the lives of many New Yorkers much more difficult if it goes into effect. The New York Taxi Workers' Alliance is prepping to walk off the job in response to the city's new requirement that all cabs install a touch screen device that includes a GPS receiver. Cabbies are up ...

New York State Senators Martin Golden and Andrew Lanza are preparing to introduce legislation that aims to keep inappropriate video games out of children's hands. There are three major components to the legislation: The creation of an advisory board that would monitor the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB), the current ratings organization that stamps games ...