The Huffington Post and the Wall Street Journal’s AllThingsD blog are reporting that unnamed sources at Apple have indicated that the company plans to pull the plug on its Ping social networking service, perhaps as early as this fall. Ping, a sort of Facebook for music was incorporated into their iTunes software back in 2010 and launched by famed company chairman Steve Jobs to great fanfare.
EHX 2.0? EH Publishing Gambles on a New Trade Event at a Connecticut Casino
EH Publishing announced today that it is launching a new trade event next year that they call CE Exchange. The CE Exchange event will be held over a three-day period from May 6-to-May 8, 2013 at the MGM Grand Hotel in the Foxwoods Resort and Casino in Mashantucket, Connecticut. Targeted primarily to appeal to custom integrators in the northeast, the promoter says this is a new kind of event – not a typical trade show…but not a conference either.
So just what is CE Exchange?… [Read more…] about EHX 2.0? EH Publishing Gambles on a New Trade Event at a Connecticut Casino
Don’t Worry About the Top 1% or the Bottom 99% – Worry About the Middle 60%
A new report from the Federal Reserve Board shines the light on why the economic recovery is so anemic – middle income families got hit the hardest in the recent financial industry collapse in 2007-2010. And with an economy that is 70% based on consumer spending…this is troubling news for those involved in selling consumer goods and services – such as the consumer electronics industry.
[Read more…] about Don’t Worry About the Top 1% or the Bottom 99% – Worry About the Middle 60%
Jeff Kussard Leaves Capitol Sales
BREAKING NEWS
We have learned that Jeff Kussard, a top executive involved in strategic business development at Capitol Sales, Corp., reached a mutual agreement with the company resulting in his exit from the business on June 1, 2012. Kussard, a well-known and well-respected industry luminary, shared his new plans with us in a telephone interview.
See Kussard’s plans for his next move… [Read more…] about Jeff Kussard Leaves Capitol Sales
Latest Brand Preference Survey Spells Trouble for Key Tech Brands
In a new study by market researcher Strategy Analytics, more than six thousand consumers were surveyed about which technology brands they preferred – and the results highlight what is likely a radical market repositioning for certain tech brands that have lost market share in a challenging industry environment.
See if these results surprise you as much as some of them did me… [Read more…] about Latest Brand Preference Survey Spells Trouble for Key Tech Brands
New Corning Glass is So Thin, It’s Flexible; Will Drive New CE Products by 2013
Corning Inc., the American glass manufacturer deeply involved in providing glass for flat-panel TV and mobile device manufacturing, said this week that they have developed a glass so thin, it’s flexible. And this new glass, they call it Willow Glass, is so flexible it can help create a whole new class of consumer electronics devices with glass shaped into curved surfaces.
When will new CE products appear? Soon… [Read more…] about New Corning Glass is So Thin, It’s Flexible; Will Drive New CE Products by 2013
Sony Slaps Senior Execs – Makes Them Give Back Pay
In a public move that will probably make more sense in Japan than it will here, Sony Corp. said on Tuesday that seven top executives will return their fiscal 2011 performance-linked bonuses. The executives affected by this decision include their former CEO Howard Stringer and current CEO Kazuo Harai.
Why this announcement now?…. [Read more…] about Sony Slaps Senior Execs – Makes Them Give Back Pay
JVC Kenwood to Sell System Streaming Soothing Sounds of Forests
JVC Kenwood Corp. said that next spring it will begin selling a system designed to deliver the soothing sounds of the forest streamed over the Internet in real time. The company will be involved in all aspects of the system from setting up source equipment to collect the sounds of various forests, to coordinating the delivery of the forest content across the Internet, to delivering unique speaker systems in the homes of end users with technology to receive and play the environmental sounds.
How does it work?…
[Read more…] about JVC Kenwood to Sell System Streaming Soothing Sounds of Forests
New Symbol of Sony’s Suffering – Stock Drops to Lowest Level in 32 Years
In yet another sign of the decline of a once seemingly invincible technological powerhouse, shares in Sony Corp. in Tokyo closed Monday below ¥1,000 ($12.76) per share – setting a disturbing new record low. The last time the stock was this low was August 1, 1980 – 32 years ago. The press in Japan took notice and newspapers couldn’t help but point to the development as a symbol of an industry slump that is changing the world’s view of Japan’s technological prowess.
Why do analysts think this happened?…
[Read more…] about New Symbol of Sony’s Suffering – Stock Drops to Lowest Level in 32 Years
Sometimes…You’ve Just Got to Jump
If you’ve been following the flow of articles and postings about our forced transition from 
www.stratecongroup.com to www.strata-GEE.com, you know that I was scared to death about making this change – literally losing sleep and enduring a wide variety of gastrointestinal issues (I’ll spare you the gory details). Why?
