Macrocosmic Technologies

A settlement has been proposed between TJX and the lead plaintiffs for consumers who were affected. Divided into two classes are those whose financial details were exposed and those whose identity information was exposed. If you lost money, you can collect up to two $30 gift certificates, provided you can document the loss, including your wasted time at a princely $10 per hour. If you returned something without a receipt, and gave your driver’s license, you can collect three years of credit monitoring too. Oh, and they’re going to have a sale sometime in 2008 where you can get 15% off.

So, if a company implements shoddy security practices and causes mass card cancellation, as well as untold identity theft and consumer fraud, instead of quietly burying it, you turn it into a marketing event. Got it.

I have an $80 charge from 11/05 against a card that was used at TJX during the period that thieves had open access to the credit card details. Needless to say, FCRA’s 60 day dispute period is long gone, so a lawsuit against TJX may be my only reasonable recourse. Treble damages, court fees, time lost, and identity monitoring and theft protection come up to a tidy sum. Even if I accepted the class action settlement, I’d get, at most, $60 in gift certificates for my lost $80.

According to this article, a Massachusetts IHOP has recently found itself in hot water for requiring diners to leave a drivers license with the restaurant while eating. According to one patron, the security guard at the restaurant had “at least forty” licenses in his hand. Needless to say, this didn’t go over well with corporate, who issued a statement saying it was done without management’s approval.

Given all the freely-available web services out there, it’s fairly easy to build a custom search engine. Combining the services of Google, Yahoo, eBay, Amazon, and MSN, you can build a dynamic directory script that is easily monetized and is very search engine friendly. MSN search results, Google and Yahoo keyword suggestions, Google AdSense ads, and eBay and Amazon search results. All of it is combined in a couple of PHP pages that are easily customized and even more easily installed.

Ever have too many ideas and too little time? I’ve been making some money selling discount MSDN information on eBay and through my site, and while it makes money, and even enough to make it worthwhile, I know there’s so much more out there.

I’ve been rattling a few ideas around. I’ve had a subscription-based site that I’ve wanted to build for over four years now. Well, since my “free time” hasn’t allowed me to get further than the data model and a few pieces of application server logic, I’ve bit the bullet and gone out and picked up a script that will do what I need.

Another idea is a USB key that includes versions of applications, such as Firefox, gaim, and others, that won’t require an installation. There’s an outfit out there that does this, but they charge $100 for the 128M version. Clearly, it can be done better and cheaper.