Mass. home sales slide in Nov.

There was a slight chill in the Massachusetts housing market last month. November saw the first year-over-year decline in single-family home sales — and the fewest number of monthly sales — since April, driven by a tight supply of available properties...

12.33 | 0 komentar | Read More

Drone research funds to fly into Bay State

The announcement of six states that will host testing areas for commercial drones is a significant step toward approving unmanned aircraft in U.S. skies, experts said, and will pay dividends for Massachusetts — even though the Bay State isn't on the...

12.33 | 0 komentar | Read More

What’s on tap for 2014

Local techies say 2014 is set to be another banner year for the Boston area. Here are some companies and trends to watch out for in the next 12 months. Companies on the rise: • Care.com filed for an IPO earlier this month, seeking to raise $80 million....

12.32 | 0 komentar | Read More

Don't overlook these apps

If Santa was kind this year and got you a smartphone or a tablet, chances are you're looking for a few good apps. And chances are you've already downloaded the ol' standbys — such as Kindle, Facebook, Skype and YouTube. But there's a wide world of mobile...

12.32 | 0 komentar | Read More

Is an older Cadillac a good candidate for synthetic oil?

I recently purchased a 2001 Cadillac Deville with 52,000 original miles. The service advisor at the dealership recommended using conventional oil or a synthetic blend. I was told there can be problems with synthetic oil causing gasket failure on older...

12.32 | 0 komentar | Read More

Gaming foes await SJC decision

Attorney General Martha Coakley is pushing for swift action by the state Supreme Judicial Court on the legality of a ballot initiative to repeal the Bay State's two-year-old expanded gaming law, a question that looms large over the awarding of casino...

12.32 | 0 komentar | Read More

Delta says it will honor man’s tix

Delta Airlines has reversed its decision — after repeated Herald inquiries — to deny a man planning a family vacation to Disneyland the rock-bottom fare he booked through Orbitz on Thursday due to a systemwide web glitch that also offered $68 Hub-to-Hawaii...

12.32 | 0 komentar | Read More

2014 Nissan Versa strikes right note

You know, for a little get-me-to-work-comfortably kind of car, I'll take the 2014 Nissan Versa Note SV hatchback. I ventured up Interstate 95 to southern Maine thinking the Versa would struggle on the highway, but a pleasant surprise was in store. The...

12.32 | 0 komentar | Read More

Employment numbers spur Dow climb

The number of people applying for unemployment benefits last week dropped more than expected, another sign of continued growth in the economy that sent the Dow yesterday to a record high close. "The underlying trend suggests job destruction continues...

12.32 | 0 komentar | Read More

The Ticker

Twitter up 4.8 percent in continuing surge Twitter stock jumped 4.8 percent yesterday to close at $73.31 a share on optimism by investors that the company has room to expand sales in advertising. The stock has surged 32 percent over the past five days,...

12.32 | 0 komentar | Read More

Booming tech opportunities key Hub-Israel collaboration

Boston-area techies are heading to Tel Aviv for a marathon hackathon at Google in a trip that highlights the burgeoning relationship between the Israeli and Bay State tech sectors. "Israel right now is at a really unique place in the tech world," said...

12.32 | 0 komentar | Read More

New app incorporates social media and driving

Dreading a long road trip home this holiday season? Relief is on the way in the crowdsourced driving app Waze. Recently acquired by Google — reportedly for more than $1 billion — this brilliant app for iOS, Android and Windows Phone is a new take on...

12.32 | 0 komentar | Read More

Phishing scammers go after Target data breach victims

Target Corp. is warning of "phishing" scam emails aimed at customers whose card information was compromised under the breach of its point-of-sales system. "We are aware of limited incidents of phishing or scam communications," spokeswoman Molly Snyder...

12.32 | 0 komentar | Read More

Post Office stuffs stockings with 3-cent stamp hike

The U.S. Postal Service delivered a surprise on Christmas Eve that may land them on some naughty lists as it announced a temporary 3-cent price increase on first-class stamps. The hike, approved by an independent Postal Regulatory Commission, will raise...

12.32 | 0 komentar | Read More

Critic blasts Cape Wind tax credit

Offshore wind company Cape Wind has signed a key contract for the construction of its controversial turbines, but critics say the contract is just a ploy to qualify for a crucial federal tax credit before the end of the year. "This is smoke and mirrors...

12.32 | 0 komentar | Read More

Revere trumps Boston in new deal

Mohegan Sun says Boston can expect fewer benefits as a surrounding community to its proposed Suffolk Downs casino than Revere will get under a new host agreement unveiled yesterday in the deal that resulted from the project being shifted a few feet over...

12.32 | 0 komentar | Read More

Analysts: Economy is on track

Boston, Massachusetts and the country are well-positioned for continued economic success in 2014, experts say, though we might not see the type of growth that came unexpectedly in 2013. "Boston is in a great position because the economic engine of Boston...

12.32 | 0 komentar | Read More

What did we learn in `13?

'Tis the season for regret and recriminations. Let's not let this year pass without taking stock of social media's epic fails — and the lessons we can carry into 2014: 5) While having a private conversation in public, you could be live-tweeted. This...

12.32 | 0 komentar | Read More

Fannie, Freddie hiking mortgage loan fees

Buying a home will be more costly next year for many people thanks to planned fee increases. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will hike the guarantee fees on government-backed mortgage loans — fees that typically are passed along to borrowers and will result...

12.32 | 0 komentar | Read More

Cool Deal fills FIFA cup

A Plymouth company will help hydrate soccer fans across the globe under a licensing deal with the Federation Internationale de Football Association. Cool Gear International will produce FIFA-themed, reusable chillers, tumblers and its signature coolgearcans...

12.32 | 0 komentar | Read More

Feds eye food defense vs. terrorism

The Food and Drug Administration yesterday proposed a rule that would require the largest food businesses to take steps to prevent its facilities from becoming the target of terrorists trying to contaminate the food supply. The proposed rule would apply...

12.32 | 0 komentar | Read More

Patriots fan’s paradise

The owner of this new Brookline home will be neighbors with Patriots owner Robert Kraft and quarterback Tom Brady. The 6,000-square-foot shingle-style home at 324 Heath St. occupies nearly an acre in the wealthy Chestnut Hill enclave of south Brookline,...

12.32 | 0 komentar | Read More

AG targets chain after data breach

Hackers targeting Target Corp. hit the bull's eye, but the nation's second largest discounter said it has resolved a security breach that gave cyber-criminals access to the credit and debit card information of some 40 million customers during the busiest...

12.32 | 0 komentar | Read More

Lost piece of Chinatown to rise again

In the 1950s, Paul Lee's family was forced to leave a stretch of Hudson Street that was demolished to build the Southeast Expressway. Lee, now board chairman of the Asian Community Development Corp., recalled that the block "was full of Chinese families...

12.32 | 0 komentar | Read More

Gov vows all will be insured Jan. 1

Gov. Deval Patrick vowed yesterday the state will meet a key Obamacare deadline — insisting the disastrous website is "not the main event" — even as skeptical Bay Staters nervously struggled to sign up for health care with less than five days to go....

12.32 | 0 komentar | Read More

Fed stimulus reduction taken as optimistic sign

The Federal Reserve's announcement yesterday that it will slightly reduce its stimulus efforts beginning next month rallied Wall Street, but stands to have a limited practical effect on the economy, experts said. The Fed said at the end of its two-day...

12.32 | 0 komentar | Read More

Shopping hits homestretch

If yesterday's snow put a crimp in your holiday shopping plans, fret not: Today is "Free Shipping Day," and close to 900 online stores have agreed to a new change this year — no minimum purchase required for orders with guaranteed delivery by Christmas...

12.32 | 0 komentar | Read More

B.R.A. adds huddle to end Menino era with project OKs

The Boston Redevelopment Authority is squeezing in an additional meeting Jan. 2 to approve development projects before the Menino administration comes to an end. "The lending and financing community is very confident in Boston right now, so we want...

12.32 | 0 komentar | Read More

Nonprofit to invest $20M in South End

Community Builders Inc. is planning more than $20 million in renovations to its South End properties, including 32 additional apartment units it has acquired for 
$5 million. The Hub-headquartered nonprofit housing developer, which has a 49-year history...

12.32 | 0 komentar | Read More

Google will keep robot co. in Mass.

Boston Dynamics — the maker of uncannily agile robots including Cheetah, WildCat and BigDog — is staying in Massachusetts for now after its acquisition by Google, a purchase that could draw investors to other robotics companies in the state and ultimately...

12.32 | 0 komentar | Read More

Dropcam Pro monitor remains best in the business

Dropcam Pro ($199, various retailers) The sequel to the Dropcam's original Wi-Fi video monitor offers twice as sharp viewing, a wider field of view and zoom capabilities. A two-way talk feature allows you to chat through the camera to whoever — or whatever...

12.32 | 0 komentar | Read More

Tablet solution in sight

A Boston nonprofit is putting the finishing touches on the world's first affordable "tablet" for the blind, an Android-based device that is part of an innovative campaign to turn around a little-known literacy crisis among the visually impaired. "If...

12.32 | 0 komentar | Read More

Fuel assistance drying up

Community activists are urging the federal government to increase fuel assistance funding, saying 50,000 households across the Bay State who depend on the aid to heat their homes may be left out in the cold by Christmas. "We have thousands of households...

12.32 | 0 komentar | Read More

Reading the tech tea leaves

Predictions are a tricky business, but I did tell you last year that 2013 would be the year that Best Buy started to go bye-bye, that wearable devices like the Jawbone Up would be huge and that Apple's stock surge would start to collapse. So I'm reading...

12.32 | 0 komentar | Read More

Get your mall buys delivered

Massachusetts mall-goers, who don't want to be saddled with their shopping bags, soon may have a new way to get their purchases home. California startup Deliv has jumped into the same-day delivery fray, offering the service to malls through crowdsourced...

12.32 | 0 komentar | Read More

JP condos have energy to spare

New contemporary townhouses in the Woodbourne section of Jamaica Plain are designed to create more energy than they use so that utilities cost nothing. Part of Boston's Energy Positive Green Building Program, GFC Development partnered with Hub architecture...

12.32 | 0 komentar | Read More

Hospitals get $25M NIH grant

The National Institutes of Health has awarded a group of researchers from Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston Medical Center and Brigham and Women's Hospital a $25 million grant to determine the most effective treatment for the most severe form of...

12.32 | 0 komentar | Read More

B.R.A. to give ‘blighted’ tax break to Garden complex

The Boston Redevelopment Authority is set to approve a $950 million redevelopment of the former Boston Garden site next week — including $7.8 million in tax breaks for the city-designated "blighted" area — despite neighborhood objections to a 600-foot...

12.32 | 0 komentar | Read More

Red Sox eye more booze sales

The Red Sox hope to ramp up the availability of alcohol at games and other Fenway Park events. The team wants to hike the number of concession stands selling liquor and extend sales until the end of the seventh inning. That would include adding liquor...

12.32 | 0 komentar | Read More

App lets you pay parking tickets

Getting a parking ticket is never a pleasant experience, but a new app makes paying them in Boston a little less painful. Terrible Labs has developed TicketZen, which can be used to pay parking tickets by scanning them with a smartphone camera. "Three...

12.32 | 0 komentar | Read More

Clergy may sue if panel OKs bid

Clergy in Revere and East Boston are watching today's planned vote by the state Gaming Commission on a Suffolk Downs casino in Revere. "If that happens, we will pursue legal means," said Tim Bogertman, associate pastor of First Congregational Church...

12.33 | 0 komentar | Read More

Suffolk: We eyed Revere from start

Suffolk Downs casino officials are claiming in a memo to the state Gaming Commission — due to decide the project's fate today — that ballot questions were purposely crafted to let them build in Revere if East Boston voters rejected them. Opponents say...

12.33 | 0 komentar | Read More

Getting to know all about you

Expect to hear more about the "quantified self" movement — the name for a growing mass of devices, apps and technologies that sense, save and synthesize everything about you. And we do mean everything. We've all heard about wristbands that track your...

12.32 | 0 komentar | Read More

PowerShell a treat for iPhone users — but not many others

Logitech PowerShell Controller + Battery ($99.95, Apple Store) Expected to be the first of many devices that turn your iOS 7 Apple device into a gamepad, the PowerShell is reminiscent of the iconic Nintendo controller from the 1980s. This device also...

12.32 | 0 komentar | Read More