Sox again eye adding booze concessions

A year after the city endorsed extended alcohol sales at Fenway Park, the Red Sox are looking to further increase the number of concession stands selling booze at games and other events.

The team is seeking city approval for liquor sales at two more grandstand concession stands, which would bring the number to 10. It also wants to add two more stands, with the "location to be determined by the type of event, at management('s) discretion," according to a Boston Licensing Board notice.

"The request to add stands and extend flexibility of locations would help ease lines and congestion during games and other non-baseball events at Fenway Park," Red Sox spokeswoman Zineb Curran said.

Last December, the team won city approval to ramp up the number of liquor concessions from five to eight, including on Yawkey Way, and to extend all alcohol sales until the end of the seventh inning or earlier at "management's discretion." It also got the OK to sell beer in light aluminum and plastic bottles in addition to the long-time plastic cups used at the ballpark.

Those requests were made less than three months after the Boston Redevelopment Authority signed a controversial 
$7.3 million deal that allows the Red Sox to shut down part of Yawkey Way for concessions during games and other city-approved, non-baseball events.

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Gas pipeline would skirt Mass. towns

The Houston-based company vying to build a controversial gas pipeline through Massachusetts is shifting its proposed route amid heavy local opposition by snaking miles of it through New Hampshire and bypassing more than a dozen Bay State towns.

But the revised plan, which Kinder Morgan officials say they'll officially file with federal regulators Monday, still isn't sitting well with residents and environmental activists who for months have fiercely fought the $5 billion project.

"It really doesn't change anything," said Ken Hartlage, president of the Nashoba Conservation Trust. "There's still going to be more pipeline coming through the neighboring towns. It may not be a problem outside my front door, but it's still going to be somebody else's problem. And it's still going to contribute to climate change by bringing in a lot of carbon-based fuel."

Hartlage said a group opposing the pipeline is already growing in New Hampshire, where some are planning a Dec. 13 meeting in Mason to discuss Kinder Morgan's proposal. "There are groups of people who have mobilized and who are active," he said.

Allen Fore, a Kinder Morgan spokesman, yesterday briefed reporters on its revised plans, which include cutting 14 Bay State towns from its original 127-mile path that weaved from the New York border through Massachusetts.

In the new proposal, 64 miles will still stretch through the state, with roughly 70 miles of pipeline going through 17 New Hampshire towns before weaving back down into Dracut. The new path would also cut through four new Massachusetts towns — Cheshire, Hancock, Lanesboro and Shelburne.

Kinder Morgan officials say the project will help cut into New England's monstrous demand for energy and lower costs. Fore said 90 percent of the project would also be built near or along existing utility paths.

Kinder Morgan officials have been pitching their plans to lawmakers and the Patrick administration. The Herald reported last month that several high-ranking company officials also had donated the maximum $500 to Gov.-elect Charlie Baker's campaign account on Election Day after Baker had publicly come out against the plan during the campaign.

Tim Buckley, a Baker spokesman, said the Republican will review the new proposal after he takes office in January.

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Seasonal, full-time work adds 321,000 jobs in Nov.

Hiring surged in November, with employers adding 321,000 jobs — the best month in nearly three years and the third best month since the end of the recession.

The unemployment rate kept steady at 5.8 percent, the Labor Department said yesterday.

A portion of the growth can be attributed to above-average seasonal hiring and consumers spending their savings from low gas prices, said Doug Handler, chief U.S. economist at IHS Global Insight in Lexington.

"But it shows the economy is still adding jobs at a fairly aggressive pace," said Handler, who forecast an acceleration in real gross domestic product from 2.2 percent this year to 2.7 percent in 2015.

Retailers added 50,200 jobs, about double the average over the past year, suggesting they are expecting above-average holiday sales, he said.

But the gains the Labor Department reported were not just from seasonal workers. Construction and manufacturing jobs were also up, as were jobs in business services and health care, while the numbers of long-term unemployed and of people working part time because they couldn't find full-time jobs fell.

"Now, not only are there more jobs, there are more full-time jobs," said Andre Mayer, senior adviser at Associated Industries of Massachusetts. "It won't take very much more growth for people who are willing and qualified to find a job readily."

Average hourly earnings for all employees increased by 9 cents — the best gain since January 2011 — although average hourly earnings growth among production and non-supervisory workers was a more typical 4 cents.

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Panel waits on Wynn’s IRS flap

State gaming commissioners stopped short of faulting Wynn Resorts for failing to disclose an IRS request for documents a month before it won the Boston-area casino license — a probe the commission acknowledged Wynn only brought to its attention after a newspaper report.

Commissioner James F. McHugh said the gaming panel's Investigations and Enforcement Bureau (IEB) needs to report back on the nature of the IRS inquiry — which the Wall Street Journal reported is linked to a federal money laundering probe — to determine if Wynn should have notified them earlier.

"There's a difference between an inquiry about customers and an inquiry about them," McHugh said yesterday, after the commission's investigative chief gave her first public report on the matter. "There's an inquiry about them that's routine, there's an inquiry about them that is not routine. Until we know the answers to those kinds of questions, we're not in a position to make a judgment about whether or not we should have known."

IEB director Karen Wells said yesterday the IRS inquiry was brought to the commission's attention when Wynn's general counsel emailed her the Nov. 20 Wall Street Journal article. Wells said her agency's review has not yet turned up any summonses or subpoenas of Wynn employees.

"To my knowledge, at this time, one does not exist," Wells said.

Under the state's gaming law, licensees must "upon receipt of a criminal or civil process compelling testimony or production of documents in connection with a civil or criminal investigation, immediately disclose such information to the commission."

McHugh said, "It sounds to me like a process was not served … the statutory and regulatory obligation to report was not triggered."

But former state Inspector General Gregory Sullivan, now at the Pioneer Institute, said Wynn should have disclosed the inquiry considering the feds had recently reached a settlement with Las Vegas Sands.

"Since Las Vegas Sands had settled a high-roller money laundering investigation by the IRS for $47 million a year earlier, I would have expected the applicant to disclose to the Gaming Commission an administrative summons from the IRS criminal division for information about high-roller money laundering," Sullivan said.

Wynn VP Robert DeSalvio declined comment yesterday, referring questions to a company spokesman who did not respond to an inquiry.

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Logan eyeing more direct foreign flights

With Mexico City crossed off the list, Massport is looking at adding more nonstop international flights to China, new direct service to India and Brazil, and the return of a direct connection to Milan, Italy.

"Mayor (Martin J.) Walsh also wants us to look at Belfast," CEO Thomas Glynn said, noting Walsh made the request after his September trip to Ireland and Northern Ireland, where he wants to forge greater business ties. "Part of our success has been the enthusiasm from the business community."

The economic impact on the Boston region of Aeromexico's six nonstop flights per week between Boston and Mexico City, which were announced yesterday and start June 1, will be an estimated $49 million, according to Massport. Mexico is Massachusetts' third largest trading partner.

The Aeromexico flights are getting a premium schedule to allow for connections to other parts of Mexico and Central and South America, and to Europe through Aeromexico's Delta Air Lines partnership, said Aeromexico CEO Andres Conesa Labastida.

"Today, Boston has good connectivity to Cancun," Conesa said. "But for leisure (travelers), there is a huge offering of places on the Pacific coast."

Logan's fast-growing international service — Mexico City will be its 42nd international destination — is putting pressure on Terminal E. Massport is investing $100 million in terminal improvements, but an expansion isn't on the immediate horizon, said Glynn. Massport instead has been moving airlines to other terminals.

"So far we're making it work, but it's definitely a question we need to look at," Glynn said. "It's not an easy thing to do when we're surrounded by residential neighborhoods."

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Globe CEO: Smartphones great for news, but print’s better for ads

Most journalism in the years to come will be delivered on smartphones, Boston Globe CEO Mike Sheehan said yesterday, but print journalism may not be on its way out entirely.

Asked what role smartphones will play in the industry's future, Sheehan said, "Everything."

"It's not going to be an overnight migration, but it's important for us to appeal to 18- to 35-year-olds, and their life is on the smartphone," he said at the Massachusetts Newspaper Publishers Association annual meeting in Boston. "But it'll be easier to do from a journalistic sense than from an advertising sense. That's going to be the challenge."

Because of the difficulty of creating advertising that works well on a smartphone, he said, the industry may see a stabilization in print journalism.

"More and more," Sheehan said, "I talk to advertisers who come back to print because they say, 'You know what? It just works.'"

There is no turning back the clock on digital journalism, however, he said, and to remain viable, more and more newspapers, including the Globe, are charging readers for that content — something he doesn't see as a bad thing.

"It always bothered me that newspapers gave away journalism for free. It killed me," he said. "We just have to make sure the quality is always there, that digitally, it's updated regularly, and it's terrific, relevant, important content ... I know of no other way to build a business than to improve the quality of the product. The great thing about a newspaper is in print you can improve it every 24 hours, and digitally, you can improve it every two minutes."

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The Ticker

Walsh names entirely new licensing board

Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh yesterday replaced all three members of the city's Licensing Board, which regulates liquor licenses, restaurants, bars and hotels.

The three-member board now comprises Hyde Park attorney Christine A. Pulgini, a partner with the Law Offices of Joseph J. Pulgini P.C; Lisa Maki, a city of Boston lawyer since 2010; and Keeana Serene Saxon, deputy general counsel to the state's Executive Office of Housing & Economic Development since 2012. They started their six-year terms Monday.

State legislation passed this year moved responsibility for Licensing Board appointments from the governor to the mayor for the first time since 1906.

State's export growth seen lagging

Economists say Massachusetts has been lagging behind the nation as a whole in one key area of international trade.

MassBenchmarks, a journal of the state's economy, said in a report that Massachusetts ranked 49th out of the 50 states in export growth between 2009 and 2013. While U.S. exports have increased 50 percent since the Great Recession, exports from the Bay State have been, in the words of the economists, "fairly anemic," rising by just 14 percent.

Lower income tax for Mass. taxpayers

Massachusetts taxpayers will start paying a lower state income tax rate beginning in January.

Revenue Commissioner Amy Pitter confirmed that all the requirements needed to automatically lower the personal income tax rate from 5.2 percent to 5.15 percent beginning Jan. 1 have been met.

As a result, revenue collections for the remainder of the fiscal year, which ends June 30, will drop by about $70 million, contributing to an estimated $329 million budget gap.

Today

 Labor Department releases weekly jobless claims

 Selected chain retailers release November sales comparisons.

 European Central Bank's governing council meets to set monetary policy for the eurozone.

TOMORROW

 Labor Department releases employment data for November.

 Commerce Department releases international trade data and factory orders for October.

THE SHUFFLE

Codeship, a continuous delivery platform for software developers, announced the appointment of Jim Schley to vice president of engineering. Schley brings more than 15 years of successful product delivery experience to lead Codeship's expanding engineering team, with eight engineers across its Cambridge and Vienna offices.

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U.S. patients get Genzyme drug for MS

An injectable multiple sclerosis drug developed by Cambridge biotech giant Genzyme was made available to patients in the U.S. for the first time yesterday, less than a month after federal regulators reversed course and approved the medication.

"Lemtrada has changed my life," said Harold Johnson, 44, of Swansea, Ill., who was among the 1,500 MS patients who participated in the drug's clinical development program. "I'm working full time now, I'm married, I can ride my bike on the weekends, I can work out, I can finally be happy."

Johnson, who was diagnosed with MS in 2005, said he "felt almost reborn" just two weeks after receiving his first clinical dose of Lemtrada in March 2009.

"I felt like a new man," Johnson said. "I had a lot more energy, my depression immediately went away and it was replaced with the happiness that continues to this day."

Lemtrada, which is already sold in Europe, Canada and Australia, was initially rejected by the FDA last December after medical experts raised concerns about its safety and the quality of clinical studies. Two new studies comparing Lemtrada to EMD Serono's drug Rebif led to the medication's approval Nov. 14 for the treatment of American patients with relapsing remitting forms of the debilitating disease.

"My experience with Lemtrada as an MS center director has been quite positive," said Johnson's neurologist, Dr. Barry Singer of Missouri Baptist Medical Center in St. Louis, Mo. "We have really seen the impact where people's lives are more under control — that their lives are regained."

Multiple sclerosis is a chronic, autoimmune condition that affects more than 2 million people worldwide and up to 400,000 in the United States.

Bill Sibold, head of Genzyme's Multiple Sclerosis business, said: "Since approval, we have been singularly focused on providing access as quickly as possible for those patients awaiting Lemtrada by ensuring drug availability, completing required REMS training and certifications, and establishing appropriate patient support."

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Carbonite shares soar on buy offer

Shares of Boston tech company Carbonite skyrocketed yesterday after the firm said it had received, and was considering, an acquisition offer from a California-based cloud services and digital media company.

Carbonite, a cloud storage and data backup company, disclosed in an SEC filing yesterday that j2 Global, which is headquartered in Los Angeles, had submitted an unsolicited offer to buy the company.

"J2 is ready, willing and able to acquire all outstanding shares of Carbonite stock that j2 does not now already own at a price of $15 per share payable in cash, representing a 28 percent premium" on Tuesday's closing price, according to a letter from j2 chairman Richard Ressler to Carbonite executives.

Ressler said Carbonite CEO David Friend told him the company was open to a sale "at the 'right price.'"

J2 tried to buy Carbonite more than two years ago, offering $10.50 per share.

Shares of Carbonite shot up 22.79 percent yesterday, closing at $14.44. The offer values Carbonite at just over $400 million.

Carbonite is not immediately rejecting the offer, said spokeswoman Megan Wittenberger.

"Our board — for the stockholders' sake — reviews any material offers," Wittenberger said. "We've received unsolicited offers in the past."

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The Ticker

Three cos. buy retail at hotel in Kenmore Sq.

Three real estate investment firms have purchased the 37,000-square-foot retail portion of Hotel Commonwealth in Boston's Kenmore Square in a $38.5 million deal.

Boston's UrbanMeritage and Novaya Real Estate Ventures and Atlanta-based Invesco Real Estate plan to re-tenant and reposition the more than 10,000 square feet of space that's currently vacant at the Shoppes at the Hotel Commonwealth in the next 12 to 18 months.

"The retail space has never been focused on by any of the hotel owner/operators," UrbanMeritage principal Michael Jammen said. "As a specialist in retail and mixed-use properties, we believe we can find the retail users that will work well with the hotel use and continue the revitalization of Kenmore Square and the Fenway area."

Current tenants in the hotel include the Eastern Standard and Island Creek Oyster Bar restaurants, as well as The Hawthorne, Starbucks and Hunt's Photo & Video.

The sellers were Denver-based Sage Hospitality, which purchased the hotel two years ago, and co-owner Fundamental Advisors of New York. The 149-room hotel is undergoing a 134,000-square-foot expansion that will add 96 more rooms, event space and parking.

Jobs emails in Apple iPod trial

The late Steve Jobs, co-founder of Apple Inc., led the company to violate antitrust laws by restricting music purchases for iPod users to Apple's iTunes digital store, an attorney for consumers suing Apple said in court.

Opening statements began yesterday in an Oakland, Calif., federal court in the long-running class action, which harks back to Apple's pre-iPhone era. The plaintiffs, a group of individuals and businesses who purchased iPods from 2006 to 2009, are seeking about $350 million in damages from Apple for unfairly blocking competing device makers. That amount would be automatically tripled under antitrust laws.

Today

 Labor Department releases revised third-quarter productivity data.

 Institute for Supply Management releases its service sector index for November.

 Federal Reserve releases Beige Book.

THE SHUFFLE

JLL Construction has hired Cosmas Papanikolaous and Bill Guzowski to join the firm's New England Construction group as an estimating manager and senior construction manager, respectively. Papanikolaous comes to JLL from Bond Brothers. He brings more than 14 years of industry experience having previously worked for Suffolk Construction and Tocci Building Corp. Guzowski joins JLL from AZ Corp. He has more than 21 years of experience in the institutional, life sciences, and health care industries.

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Somerville pols laud $1B for Green Line expansion fed

The economic future of Somerville and Medford is on a fast track after the Green Line extension passed one of the last key financing milestones for a plan that calls for adding six stops to the popular MBTA route.

"The economic impact is unlimited for Somerville," said city Mayor Joseph Curtatone.

Curtatone said the extension will be more transformative to the city than even Assembly Square, a project that was made possible by a new Orange Line station.

The project will add six stations in Somerville and Medford, including a new branch to Union Square and a stop at College Avenue in Medford.

In its evaluation of the extension, federal transportation officials said the area's future development is largely dependent on transportation improvements.

"The corridor's capacity to accommodate additional development depends on the improvement in the transportation access that would be provided by the Green Line Extension," the report says.

The project will get nearly $1 billion in federal money, the Federal Transit Administration said in a letter to a U.S. Senate committee.

The rest of the project will be paid for by 
$996 million in state bonds and $305 million in state operating funds.

U.S. Rep. Michael Capuano, who represents Somerville and served as mayor of Somerville, said the project will have more than just economic benefits, adding that the line "is really intended — in my mind — to serve people who have been underserved for forever."

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Obama to discuss economic ideas with CEOs

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama is meeting with leading CEOs to discuss ways to promote the economy and create jobs during his last two years in office.

Obama on Wednesday will attend the quarterly meeting of the Business Roundtable, an association of CEOs. Obama plans to give a speech and take questions.

The White House says Obama will use the meeting to promote bipartisan opportunities to grow the economy and the middle class, such as tax reform, infrastructure spending and trade agreements.

In the weeks since the midterm elections, Obama has cited those three issues as examples of where Democrats and Republicans might be able to compromise. Heavy Democratic losses in the elections diminished Obama's prospects for passing most of his other legislative priorities before leaving office.

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Business Protocol: A wrapup of dos, don’ts for business gift-giving

Getting through "the most wonderful time of the year" with our values and budgets intact can be daunting. Here's how to be remembered and save money at the same time.

Government agencies have stipulations and companies have compliance issues. Knowing just how much you should or even can spend can be tricky. Being "gift-savvy" is an art!

Remember, the purpose of giving and sending cards during the holidays, 
socially or in business, is to thank individuals for tangible and intangible gifts — their friendship and their business.

Even if no business has been conducted during the past year, holiday time is the ideal time to continue to invest in and cultivate the relationship. Assume the best, assume the sale and, at the very least, send a card. Not doing so may compromise your future relationship.

Personalize the card. Write the person's name and sign yours. Use more festive blue ink, green, red or gold — black ink is reserved for strictly business correspondence/contracts. Even if you write only a line or two, write something, i.e. "Dear Jack, wishing you and Judy a wonderful holiday season! Enjoy your Disney Vacation with Jack and Judy Jr.!" If you're up to it, consider penning a poem or a limerick.

Whatever you give, even a bottle of wine, remember — presentation is everything! Wrap it, box it, monogram it. But whatever you do, do not simply hand over an item.

And bear national, ethnic and religious considerations in mind — do research if you have to. In some countries, some colors may have symbolic value, and some items may or may not be appropriate.

Consider giving something symbolic of your company — though not necessarily logo gifts — or your city and country. Boston is known for the Boston Symphony, New England Patriots. Hence, giving a CD of the Boston Symphony or some Patriots item might be appropriate.

Depending on your budget, you might invest in a quality case of leather, pewter or silver.

Or consider something they will use every day: a letter opener, a personalized pen or notebook. You can also frame a photograph, offer a lunch date, present them with baked goods or make a charitable donation in their name. In all these cases, carefully consider the nature of your relationship.

And when you receive a gift, acknowledge it.

Take a photo of the flowers, the letter opener or the Red Sox tickets and send a note — a real thank you note that you've written yourself. So few people do these days, and your business associate — and/or friend — will notice.

Judith Bowman is the president of her own protocol consulting company.

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Haslet-Davis promotes #GivingTuesday

Marathon bombings survivor and dancer Adrianne Haslet-Davis, determined to triumph over tragedy, has become a driving force behind the Limbs for Life Foundation, which is taking part in #GivingTuesday today for the first time.

Haslet-Davis, 34, who lost her lower left leg in the April 15, 2013, blasts but returned to dancing, says in a promotional video: "Giving someone a prosthetic is giving them back control of their life. Give the gift of mobility. Give the gift of independence. Give a limb for life."

Shelley Dutton, development director of the Oklahoma City-based organization, said, "Her influences and willingness to be there and support Limbs for Life has been phenomenal.

"Adrianne has been willing to help, offering her time and energy for the campaign. Currently we just went over the $20,000 mark through our online site and we're getting more donations through the mail," said Dutton.

Typically, prosthetics range from $15,000 to $100,000. The Limbs for Life Foundation, with 235 amputees waiting for replacement limbs, promises "every $2,500 will fund another limb for an amputee on our waiting list," Dutton told the Herald.

To see the video and to donate, visit www.limbsforlife.org.

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Contract talks resume for West Coast dockworkers

LOS ANGELES — Labor strife on the West Coast waterfront isn't going to steal Christmas.

Dockworkers at 29 sea ports from San Diego to Seattle have worked without a contract since July. Negotiations over a new one turned contentious this fall.

On Tuesday, full negotiating teams are meeting for the first time in nearly two weeks.

Public pressure has been mounting, especially because the movement of cargo — several billions dollars' worth on an average day, mostly to and from Asia — has been slowed. Those issues ripple through the economy, including truckers who don't get paid as much because they're hauling fewer loads and importers who are being charged fees to store containers in dockside yards.

An association representing transoceanic shipping lines and operators of port terminals accuses dockworkers of orchestrating work slowdowns at the twin ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, and north to Oakland and Washington state. The International Longshore and Warehouse Union says they have been working safely and that the bigger factor is a shortage of truck beds to carry containers from the docks in Los Angeles and Long Beach — by far the nation's largest — into commerce.

At the Southern California port complex, for example, the time it took between when a ship docked and when a container was available for pickup more than doubled to about 80 hours between September 2013 and September 2014, according to data from INTTRA, which tracks global trade for shipping lines.

While both work pace and equipment shortages are a factor, retailers say most holiday goods are safely through the ports. Most likely affected would be the restocking of "must-have" toys or other surprise sellers.

In those cases, importers might opt for air delivery, which is about 10 times more expensive than delivery by ship, according to Jonathan Gold, vice president of supply chain at the National Retail Federation.

Those stores are "pretty much eating the cost at this point," Gold said.

___

Contact Justin Pritchard at http://twitter.com/lalanewsman.

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Businesses in dark over Affordable Care Act

Beginning Jan. 1, Affordable Care Act reporting requirements will get underway for businesses, opening the floodgates to potentially billions of dollars in penalties nationally for companies that fail to comply.

To help them navigate their way through the intricacies of the ACA, Cross Insurance, one of New England's largest independent insurance providers, will host a free seminar for businesses with 50 or more employees at 1:30 p.m. Thursday at Atlantic Wharf's Fort Point Room at 290 Congress St. in Boston.

"We don't think most businesses are aware of the reporting requirements," said Keith Ferdinando, Cross Insurance's senior vice president of benefits. "The myth is Obamacare is going to go away now that the Republicans are going to have control of Congress. But they're going to have a very difficult time taking away health care from millions of Americans who have just received subsidized insurance. Employers need an action plan."

Jon Hurst, president of the Retailers Association of Massachusetts, said his group will educate its businesses about the reporting requirements.

"But we have 4,000 members," Hurst said. "I think it needs to be a joint effort with state and federal officials, brokers and local chambers of commerce."

The reporting requirements and penalties will be particularly onerous, Hurst said, for small businesses.

"The system is rigged against them because they aren't self-insured," Hurst said. "Larger companies that have human resource departments and legal staff (to handle the reporting) — they're doing pretty well. We just hope there's some leniency with how the law is phased in."

As of Jan. 1, all businesses will be required to track whether they are offering their employees insurance and whether it's affordable — that is, whether it costs 9.5 percent or less of each employee's gross income, said Bill Fields, president of Health Plan Solutions in Boston and Mashpee.

If it costs more, companies will be required to notify their employees that they can sign up for health insurance through the state's Health Connector website and receive a subsidy, Fields said.

In addition, businesses with 50 to 99 employees will be required to fill out two forms: one for employees, noting month by month whether they worked full time, whether they were offered health insurance, whether they accepted it, and how much it cost; the other for the IRS, compiling that information for all of the company's employees.

Businesses with 100 or more workers will be required to fill out all three forms and could face one of two penalties: Companies that choose not to offer health insurance will be subject to a $2,000 yearly fine per full-time employee; and businesses that offer insurance that isn't affordable to all of their workers will be subject to a $3,000 yearly fine for each employee who can't afford the insurance, Fields said. Beginning in 2016, both penalties also will apply to businesses with 50 or more workers, he said.

Fields estimated that fewer than 30 percent of companies understand the penalties or the reporting requirements, even though they will take effect in one month.

"As a result, the fines are going to put some companies out of business," he said.

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Network booster widens your Wi-Fi

TP Link Universal Wi-Fi 300Mbps Range Extender ($24.99 and up)

Wi-Fi boosters are becoming a necessity now that Ethernet cords have gone the way of the dodo.

This device uses the electrical wiring in your house to extend your wireless network, an intriguing solution for anyone who has struggled for a signal.

The good: It actually works. Create one unified network throughout your entire house by plugging as many of these devices as you need into your electrical outlets. Unlike wireless repeaters (which don't work as well) this allows you to create just one network for your entire house.

The bad: It'll never be quite as fast as the original wireless network it's connected to.

The bottom line: I have several of these devices in my house and it's revolutionized our wireless connection. A great stocking-stuffer.

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Booting Up: Google Glass shows some cracks

This was a bad year for Google Glass.

The creator of the augmented-reality bifocals has left Google for Amazon, the device remains out of reach for most consumers, and being lucky enough to score a prototype makes you just about as hip as a fanny pack these days.

Though Google has repeatedly stated its commitment to the project, it's time to face the harsh, unaugmented reality: 2015 will not be the year of Google Glass either, and it's probably time to put this project to bed.

Two-and-a-half years after Google promised the world a hands-free, screen-free fantasy, backlash against the company is growing. Techies dubbed the Glass beta-testers a certain impolite name not suitable for a family newspaper. A German artist wrote a computer program that shuts off Wi-Fi to Glass-wearing visitors. Bars and movie theaters in various cities have banned Glass, and websites such as Stop
theCyborgs.org offer downloadable signs and merchandise to help people establish Glass-free zones. Pretentious, intrusive, and a $1,500 curiosity are just some of the ways that Google Glass has been described. Glass-wearers report being harangued in public because of the popular misconception that the device is always recording.

Google deserves credit for its novel, risky strategy of crowdsourcing the vision for a product that was not yet on the market. But as it turns out, Glass could have been successful if it had remained stealth for a few more years. Had Google waited for a generalized consumer release — and found a way to price the device just under $1,000 — it would have had the hottest innovation since the iPad. History would have dubbed Google as the forefather of wearable technology.

In its words, Google promised to change the world with a screen-free, augmented reality future. But in its deeds, Google seemed to focus that future on a small segment of the population — largely elites.

There are highly successful stories of Glass Explorers (aka beta-testers) — like the celebrity chef who uses them to record recipes, the paralyzed woman who uses Glass to help her be more independent — but those stories are overshadowed by a chorus of mockery that has even included shots from "The Daily Show."

Make no mistake: We are probably about a decade away from a world in which wearable devices will record nearly everything we do — and have the capability to replace many of the functions performed by smartphones. But it's looking less likely than ever that Google will lead the charge.

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