Archive for January 27th, 2012

Obama warns colleges … yeah, right.

January 27, 2012

During the SOTU address Pres. Obama warned colleges and universities that they risk losing federal funding if they do not keep tuition costs down.

Hmmm.

Loyal HomeFilers know that we rail often on the indefensibly high tuitions colleges are charging.

For example, see one of our all time favorite posts:
What do b-school profs and Lady Gaga have in common? 

Many pundits are predicting that high-priced colleges will be the next bubble to burst. Students (or their parents, or their companies) have been paying an increasing amount of money to get a decreasing amount of relevant learning. That’s not a good formula.

Government subsidies, student loans and “full fare” foreign students keep pushing tuitions up to levels required to support lavish facilities, expansive athletic programs, outdated delivery methods (think classrooms vs. online), and light teaching loads for faculty journalists.

Let’s see if Obama follows through on his threat … and see if it has an impact.

I’m betting under on both counts.

Universities are hot beds of liberal thinking.

No way Obama puts them in his cross hairs.

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Life is a sport’… and for $150, Nike wants to help ‘make it count’

January 27, 2012

TakeAway: For $150 – more than a year’s gym membership at Planet Fitness – you can purchase the Nike + Fuelband to track your every ‘move.’ This new rubber bracelet measures your activity level, and even syncs with an iPhone.

* * * * *
Excerpted from “Nike’s FuelBand: Game Changer or Slickly Marketed $150 Monitor?”

While the large majority of athletic gear is segmented for each specific sports market, Nike announced a product that sweeps across the entire sporting landscape and can be used by any athlete at any level.

The Nike+ FuelBand, is a foray into more technically-advanced digital monitoring 

It is a rubber bracelet worn on the wrist during exercise and sports activities to measure “steps, calories, time & Fuel metric (currency measured by oxygen kinetics).”

The NikeFuel Twitter account says:

“Not only is the FuelBand a fun way to keep you active, but you can compete, collaborate & compare your activity w/each other.”

The price is $150, “about 50% more expensive than the similar Fitbit device” .

According to Nike, “The @Nike+ FuelBand syncs with your iPhone via Bluetooth, provides on-device feedback, gives you @NikeFuel experience.” Integrating Path technology with a free iPhone app and dashboard at NikePlus.com, it’s being positioned as “the ultimate measure of activity.”

The marketing pitch: “NikeFuel is the ultimate measure of activity. It isn’t bought or sold. It’s earned.” 

Edit by KJM

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