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It’s Official – Monster Money is Dead

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Monster Money logoBack in June, Strata-gee reported that Monster Products, Inc. (the former Monster Cable) had filed an S-1 registration document with the Securities and Exchange Commission, laying out its plans to launch a new cryptocurrency known as Monster Money. In addition to this, the company would offer shares in the company as well. The filing got a lot of attention at the time, in part because if successful, it would be the largest cryptocurrency launch ever to that point.

Now, I’ve learned that this initiative has been officially rescinded by the company.

See what we know about the retreat of Monster Money… [Read more…] about It’s Official – Monster Money is Dead

Emerald Expositions CEO Resigns, Q3 Results Released

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For Owner of CEDIA Expo, There’s Trouble in Emerald City

Emerald Expositions logoEmerald Expositions’ stock nose-dived 19% in early afternoon trading last Thursday as the company released its third quarter fiscal results and announced that David Loechner has resigned as the company’s President and CEO. Current CFO Philip Evans takes over as Interim President and CEO.

What’s going on at Emerald Expositions?… [Read more…] about Emerald Expositions CEO Resigns, Q3 Results Released

Troubling Sign: New Home Sales Drop in Sept

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New Residential Sales in SeptRecently, I warned of some troubling housing related news. You may recall that a collapse in the housing sector was a key driver of the last recession in 2007-2009 that was so painful for the custom integration community, and for the country as a whole. In my report – Are You Prepared for the Coming Recession? – I noted a pronounced and troubling turn in several housing industry specific data, perhaps presaging another economic downturn. Now new government data shows that, once again, new residential sales have declined in the month of September.

See more on residential sales turning downward… [Read more…] about Troubling Sign: New Home Sales Drop in Sept

Gibson to Emerge from Bankruptcy & Stop Singing the Blues

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With Old Debt Gone, A New Leader & Team Arrives

Logo for Gibson BrandsGibson Brands is on the verge of emerging from bankruptcy a much healthier business in many respects – with less debt, more money in the bank, and a new leader to help the company shed its consumer electronics debacle and reconnect with the musical instrument market. The fifth time, it appears, was a charm as the court has approved the fifth revision of a company submitted turnaround plan that, cuts debt, jettisons former CEO Henry Juszkiewicz, and puts bondholders KKR in the driver’s seat.

See more on Gibson’s dramatic turnaround… [Read more…] about Gibson to Emerge from Bankruptcy & Stop Singing the Blues

Thiel Audio Files Bankruptcy in Bitter Coda to a Sad Song

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Although owned by an agribusiness tycoon who is rumored to be extremely wealthy, Thiel Audio Products Company last Tuesday declared bankruptcy. The company filed papers with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court saying it had assets of around $900,000 and liabilities of over $1,800,000. The filing was a bitter end to a sad series of developments over the last six years, with new owner David B. Griffin changing management teams at least five times in one five-year period. The result was a constant, if slow, slide down the slippery slope of ruin.

See what is learned from Thiel Audio’s bankruptcy filing… [Read more…] about Thiel Audio Files Bankruptcy in Bitter Coda to a Sad Song

Apple Weaponizes Privacy Policy for Edge on Rivals

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Photo of Apple store and logoApple, sensing an opportunity to gain an edge on its tech industry rivals, is weaponizing its privacy policies by demonstrating unusual transparency with users. The move is brilliant, and one that is not likely to be followed by many of its more opaque tech industry rivals like Google and Amazon.

See more on Apple using transparency as a competitive advantage… [Read more…] about Apple Weaponizes Privacy Policy for Edge on Rivals

Legrand and Lumileds Partner to Drive Adoption of Tunable White LED Lighting

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Legrand logoLegrand and Lumileds announced today that they have signed a partnership agreement that is designed to combine forces and help drive industry adoption of tunable white LED lighting. The two will create and sell what they say is a “simple to integrate” and “easy-to-install plug and play solution” that delivers high quality tunable white LED light. This partnership is another example of the growing interest in this more human-friendly lighting solution.

See more on this tunable white lighting technology partnership… [Read more…] about Legrand and Lumileds Partner to Drive Adoption of Tunable White LED Lighting

New Study Says Voice-Controlled Assistants Aren’t Used Daily

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eMarketer logoAs more research continues to emerge on consumer utilization of voice-controlled devices, it becomes clear that there are still impediments to end-users utilizing their voice-control capabilities regularly, according to research by Social Lens. A separate study by Nielsen reaffirms what Strata-gee has previously reported, that people use smart speakers more for listening to music, than for any other task…including voice-control of their home automation solutions.

See more on this pair of new studies on voice-controlled smart speakers… [Read more…] about New Study Says Voice-Controlled Assistants Aren’t Used Daily

House of Horrors: Sept. Housing Starts Drop 5.3%

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Photo of a home being builtI’ve been sounding the alarm about a housing slowdown for a couple of months now, starting with this overall look at how a housing industry-led recession could be just around the corner. Now, new data on housing, the industry that was a major driver of the last recession, continues to offer a bearish outlook with housing construction starts dropping a significant 5.3% in the month of September.

See more on the latest data from the Commerce Department on housing starts… [Read more…] about House of Horrors: Sept. Housing Starts Drop 5.3%

NY/NJ Tech Summit – 2nd Verse Same as the 1st

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Photo of entrance to Renaissance Hotel

The NY/NJ Tech Summit rolled in to the Big Apple last week, almost exactly one year after its first iteration, which took place last year in the MetLife Stadium…a really unique venue. This year, I looked forward to it with great anticipation, interested to see if the Summit would begin to gain traction and what changes would take place as a result of the show being acquired by CEDIA.

There were interesting answers to both of these questions. See more below… [Read more…] about NY/NJ Tech Summit – 2nd Verse Same as the 1st