In response to Alex’s blog on the attempted rebuilding of McDonald’s tarnished reputation, I can only say that I completely agree. Over the years, McDonald’s and the words “unhealthy”, “junk”, etc. have become synonymous to the point that infants are able to switch between them without much thought. Just the thought of simple, delicious, and popular food must be very appealing to many people from all classes and backgrounds. However, the most important thing that McDonald’s has had going for them has been their low price. The incentive of a cheap, filling meal has proven to be overwhelming over the years and has resulted in a lot of popularity with the McDonald’s brand. Unfortunately, the large increase in popularity leads to a lot more attention- the negative kind. McDonald’s has undergone a series of criticism, most significantly noted with what Alex mentioned: Supersize Me, which landed a staggering blow on the company’s image, one that may never be completely fixed. It is high time the company has begun to address these questions, so I strongly agree that McDonald’s new question website is a smart and viable option to resolve the problem. Giving concise and well-detailed answers to break the existing consumer myths is a great idea and will prove effective in helping to rebuild McDonald’s tarnished image.

Link to Alex Jason Chau’s article McDonald’s Loves Your Questions: http://bit.ly/SR0iTZ

Many of us in the Lower Mainland have probably taken road trips to our Southern neighbors  and have purchased many items which we find to be fantastic deals. Among these great deals would be a fill-up of the gas tank with cheaper fuel that somehow seem to last longer than the Canadian variety. Unfortunately, that is not the case in the Golden State. California’s fuel shortage has led to an increase in prices. This unfortunate shortage was the culmination of the temporary shutdowns of many refineries in the state, pushing companies like Costco to have to close 14 of its 40 gas stations in Los Angeles. Although these problems are all temporary, citizens are unconvinced as the state continues to release statements to reassure citizens that their is ample supply to meet their demands. Such  assurances are hard to believe at the moment as the rising fuel price blatantly contradicts it. At its current price of $1.42 per liter (after conversion), the low-price benefit of getting your fuel in the states (California at any rate) is gone. It’s sadly very much on par with the lovely price of gas we are currently getting here in Vancouver.

link to article: http://bbc.in/QBwviB

We’ve all heard of Samsung’s growing strength in the phone market, taking on Apple quite easily. In fact, it could be said that Samsung has begun to overtake the previous smartphone giant. Apple’s unchanging product features throughout the years are beginning to take its toll, as consumers are becoming more and more swayed by the attractive alternatives to the iPhone offered by competitors such as Samsung. The South Korean giant expects its profits to double last year’s, surpassing the expectations of expert analysts and further propelling Samsung’s stocks by 1.5% Despite the legal battles instigated by Apple and losing some, Samsung could actually be doing better after them. “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger” certainly applies to Samsung, as the publicity has highlighted how similar Samsung’s current power product the Galaxy S III is to the iPhone. Consumers are beginning to pull away from the iCraze and move into the Android market. With operating profits projected to be at $7.3 billion this year, Samsung’s market share has overtaken Apple in many markets around the world, greatly threatening the easygoing, supreme atmosphere Apple has been enjoying for a while.

links to articles: http://bbc.in/QMkDZN , http://zd.net/VbZ5eW