Turn It On (TiO), the affordable wired and wireless multiroom home automation solution from Anuva Automation, announced on Wednesday that the next level in their comprehensive training program – known as the yellow belt level – is now live. TiO training, called “Ninja” training follows the conventions typical of martial arts programs, where each program level connotes to a different colored “belt” and dealers earn multiple colors of belts as they progress through the program. The first level of training, called the white belt, debuted in March and now the company has released the yellow belt level.
Sales Down, Losing Money, Ingram Micro CEO Says ‘Doing a Great Job’
AVAD Parent Ingram Micro Reports Fiscal 2nd Quarter Results
Ingram Micro, Inc. reported results for the second quarter and first half of their current fiscal year and it would be easy to be confused by these results. Why? Well, sales were down 3.2%, operating earnings dropped an astonishing 98%, and last year’s net income plunged into a net loss this year. Yet CEO Alain Monié said in accompanying materials, “Our teams are doing a great job…”
Really?!?! See why Monié feels Ingram Micro’s doing a great job… [Read more…] about Sales Down, Losing Money, Ingram Micro CEO Says ‘Doing a Great Job’
The Future of Electronics? Two Words: Graphene Nanoribbons
On Tuesday, the University of Wisconsin-Madison gave us all a glimpse of the future of microelectronic devices when they reported a breakthrough in the development of a next generation technology – graphene nanoribbons (GNRs). This new technology promises to be a major advance in semiconductors with performance that is described as “dramatically” faster while simultaneously exhibiting better energy-efficiency properties.
See more about this breakthrough and learn why scientists are so excited about it… [Read more…] about The Future of Electronics? Two Words: Graphene Nanoribbons
Azione Unlimited Adds Select Core Brands Lines
Azione Unlimited, a national buying group of specialty retailers and integrators, said today it has added several lines of products from the Core Brands’ stable of brands to its mix. The Core Brands lines added include BlueBOLT, Furman, Panamax, and Xantech.
See more on this newly expanded Azione assortment… [Read more…] about Azione Unlimited Adds Select Core Brands Lines
Is HydraConnect Out of Business?
BREAKING NEWS
*STORY UPDATED* (See note below…)
It started innocently enough when we received calls and email messages asking us what we knew of what was going on at HydraConnect, the manufacturer of unique and useful HDMI matrixes and other devices. Rumors were swirling that the company was out of business. The plot thickened when we visited the HydraConnect website and found that it was down. Now we had a bit of a mystery. Phones at the company went straight to voicemail and we weren’t getting called back.
More twists and turns at the HDMI specialist company… [Read more…] about Is HydraConnect Out of Business?
Nortek Management Scrambles in Wake of Troubling Q2 Results
Company Loses Almost 6% of Total Market Value in Just a Few Hours
Nortek, Inc. released the results for its fiscal second quarter after the market’s close on Monday and took the unusual step of issuing optimistic performance guidance for the remainder of the year. The company does not typically release future performance guidance as a matter of policy, but did so in an apparent attempt to calm investor reaction to their troubling report. It didn’t work – investors reacted strongly on Tuesday by driving Nortek’s stock to a close of $75.23 per share, down sharply from the previous close of $79.88. In just a matter of hours, the total market value of Nortek collapsed almost 6%.
Why did investors react so strongly?… [Read more…] about Nortek Management Scrambles in Wake of Troubling Q2 Results
Industry Personality & Technology Enthusiast Len Schneider Passes Away
A truly unique industry personality – and unabashed technology enthusiast – Len Schneider passed away Monday, after a brief illness. Most recently known as the President of TechniCom Corp., an industry marketing company offering product development capabilities and technical writing services, Schneider had a long history working in largely product marketing roles for a variety of top brand names such as Sony, Marantz, and Onkyo. However, many more in the industry became aware of him through his well-researched and approachable writings, with many articles, white papers, books and posts – including one of the most popular posts ever on Strata-gee.com – having been published on a national basis.
See more about Schneider and his contributions… [Read more…] about Industry Personality & Technology Enthusiast Len Schneider Passes Away
A Bad Day at the Office for Apple: Stock Goes Cold, Investigation Gets Hot
Apple, Inc. released the financial results of their fiscal third quarter Tuesday and by most measures, it was good news. Revenues hit $49.6 billion with net profits coming in at a robust $10.7 billion. These results were well over the $37.4 billion and $7.7 billion respectively booked in the same quarter last year. Unit sales of iPhones grew a remarkable 35%, with iPhone revenues increasing 59% to a new quarterly record; sales in China more than doubled; service revenues hit a new record; and cash reserves are at an astounding $203 billion.
How did Wall Street react to all of this “good” news? The stock tanked. At one point Apple’s market value collapsed $60 billion as the stock dropped 7% in just a matter of minutes after the announcement. Yesterday, the stock closed down 5.2%.
See why this is happening…and why government investigators are in high gear… [Read more…] about A Bad Day at the Office for Apple: Stock Goes Cold, Investigation Gets Hot
Bluesound to Offer iHeartRadio Streaming Internet Radio
Bluesound, a line of high performance wireless multi-room music components offered by specialty supplier Lenbrook America, announced this week that it has added iHeartRadio to the list of streaming services its line offers. iHeartRadio, one of the more popular Internet radio solutions, joins a growing list of cloud-based music services offered by the industry’s first high performance wireless multi-room system.
See more about this announcement from Bluesound… [Read more…] about Bluesound to Offer iHeartRadio Streaming Internet Radio
Toshiba’s Top Executive Team Resigns in Wake of Scandal
BREAKING NEWS
Much as we anticipated in our report yesterday, at a press conference today in Tokyo, Toshiba President Hisao Tanaka has resigned from the company as a result of a broiling accounting scandal in which investigators say company bosses were involved in improperly inflating company profits. Vice Chairman, and Tanaka’s predecessor, Norio Sasaki and adviser Atsutoshi Nishida have also resigned in a startling confirmation of the severity of the crimes, as these executives are some of the most powerful individuals running the company up to now.