Brief news items of notes for Lifehacker readers, including: get a 50-inch Sony LED TV for $897, Oculus Rift backers demand refunds, 25% off Easter Show tickets.
- There was a time when the very cheapest HD TVs would still set you back a few thousand dollars. Today, you can pick up Sony’s 127cm Full HD Smart LED TV (KDL50W670A) from Dick Smith for just $897. Bargain! The deal also includes free delivery. [Via OzBargain]
- The Senate Select Committee on the National Broadband Network has just released an interim report on the Liberal Party’s NBN strategic review. It paints a grim picture, with “deficient”, “inaccurate”, and “unreliable” all featuring in the document. You can view the PDF here.
- Here’s one for Sydneysiders: the Sydney Royal Easter Show is offering 25 per cent off tickets for customers who use the discount code ‘S25S14NA2’. The show is on between 10 and 23 April.
- Yesterday, Facebook purchased the virtual reality company Oculus Rift for a cool $US2 billion. Now, various Kickstarter backers who helped to make the technology possible feel frustrated and betrayed. Does the company actually owe them anything? Read the full report here.
Comments
3 responses to “Briefly: $300 Off Sony LED TV, Coalition’s NBN Gets Roasted, Oculus Kickstarter Rage”
I suspect you mean the Labor government’s management, because that is what this senate inquiry is about
The report focuses on the strategic review of the NBN released by Malcolm Turnbull’s Department of Communications in December last year.
The FB purchase of Occulus Rift will change the way Kickstarter backers think. I would go so far as suggesting that Kickstarter should put in place an equity purchasing scheme as part of the funding, so that backers can be rewarding for picking a winner, as in this case, not just be given an early discounted version of the product/service. It doesn’t have to be complex, but should recognise the backers investment in the form of real shares that can be sold if the company does well.
It is no different to venture capital (VC) funding, where the VC organisation takes an equity shareholding in the company its backing. The only difference is that the VC company intends to make a lot of money out of its investment, whereas Kickstarter backers aren’t.