As many integrators seek to pitch their clients on the many wonders of converting their dumb homes into “smart” homes, there are growing indicators that the promise of the smart home is not being reliably delivered up to this point…and may never be, according to one respected industry expert. And there is a growing chorus of others who appear to agree – possibly including Google, who is trying to manage expectations by relabelling the smart home as the “helpful home.”
Archives for 2019
Audio Design Associates Warns of Imminent Company Shutdown
In a letter to the media early Tuesday evening, Richard Stoerger announced the likely impending closure of Audio Design Associates (ADA), a company that was a founding member of CEDIA and a significant driving force in the early days of the “CEDIA channel.” The letter itself never explicitly explains the reasons for the possible closure, only offering vague allusions to: difficulty to “defeat the noise generated on a public level”… and … that they “just ran out of time and money”… and … a failure to “reckon with” how “difficult and expensive” it is to tell one’s story.
This news tolls the end of an era…
[Read more…] about Audio Design Associates Warns of Imminent Company ShutdownGrinding – Embrace It & Stop Looking for That One Magic Move
As longtime readers may suspect, I am a bit of a newsy and as such, subscribe to an amazing array of sources of news and information. One such source is Fred Wilson, a cofounder of Union Square Ventures (USV), a New York City-based venture capital firm, who is a favorite of mine. Wilson does something that I admire and don’t seem to be able to equal – he posts to his blog EVERY day. Some of his posts are short, some long, some trivial, some surprisingly impactful.
Recently, Wilson (his blog: AVC, as in “A Venture Capitalist”) posted an item that really resonated with me – it’s about grinding…and I wanted to share this with Strata-gee.com readers. It is important…
What does Wilson mean by ‘grinding’?…
[Read more…] about Grinding – Embrace It & Stop Looking for That One Magic MoveJames Loudspeaker Terminates Reps as Integration into Sonance Progresses
Early last week, a holiday week, sources reached out to relay the news that multiple manufacturer sales representatives were being terminated by James Loudspeaker. Happy Thanksgiving…you’re fired. In chats, I heard of the pain that some those reps felt – for while getting terminated is never a happy circumstance, getting terminated during holidays seems particularly poignant.
James Loudspeaker’s CEO & Sonance’s CSO speak to what is going on…
[Read more…] about James Loudspeaker Terminates Reps as Integration into Sonance ProgressesNPR: American Speaker Manufacturer Says Tariffs May Force Him Out
This week, National Public Radio (NPR) tells the story of the Minneapolis Speaker Company, Inc., known as MISCO, a St. Paul, MN-based manufacturer of speaker drivers and systems sold mostly on an OEM basis, who is struggling to continue to manufacture products here in the U.S. as they have for the last 70 years. What threatens their ability to continue to do so? In a word…tariffs.
See more on the MISCO story…
[Read more…] about NPR: American Speaker Manufacturer Says Tariffs May Force Him OutAtlantic Technology Launches Its First Headphone, The FS-HAL1 In-Ear Monitor
Atlantic Technology, known for years for its high quality/high value loudspeakers designs, announced this week the launch of its first ever headphone, the FS-HAL1. True to their positioning in the market, the FS-HAL1 is a high-performance model targeted at music lovers and Hi-Fi enthusiasts who value better sound quality in an affordably-priced, convenient in-ear monitor design.
Learn more on Atlantic Technology FS-HAL1..
[Read more…] about Atlantic Technology Launches Its First Headphone, The FS-HAL1 In-Ear MonitorHappy Thanksgiving!
Always one of my favorite holidays, Thanksgiving is one of the few times where it is socially acceptable to completely stuff your face with a big, delicious meal, and veg out on the sofa watching football all day long. What could be better than that??
But read on to see my full and not-too-sappy holiday greeting…
[Read more…] about Happy Thanksgiving!Is Darth Vader in Your Kitchen? Would You Like Him to Be?
Williams Sonoma launches a fun line of kitchen countertop appliances designed like popular Star Wars characters. These definitely should be on the top of your gift list for the person in your life who likes to cook…and loves Star Wars.
See Star Wars in Your Kitchen…
[Read more…] about Is Darth Vader in Your Kitchen? Would You Like Him to Be?The Greatest Barrier to ‘Smart Home’ Adoption is Complexity, New Study Shows
Lots of studies have shown that consumer adoption of various smart home technologies and devices is growing…and that is undoubtedly true. But a new study shows that adoption is not as strong as it could be but for the complexity of installing and using smart home devices.
This Study has Some Chilling Data for Integrators. Check it out…
[Read more…] about The Greatest Barrier to ‘Smart Home’ Adoption is Complexity, New Study ShowsConsumer Confidence Drops for the 4th Straight Month in-a-Row
The Conference Board, in conjunction with Nielsen, announced on Tuesday that consumer confidence, a widely watched economic indicator, fell in November for the fourth straight month in-a-row. Consumers, it seems, are concerned about the current business climate and employment outlook. Even so, the level remains historically high and should not provide too much of a damper on current holiday spending by consumers.