Tidal, the music streaming service recently purchased by rap star Jay Z and more than a dozen of his closest music superstar friends, is already feeling the impact of its new ownership. Moving quickly, Jay Z and his team has taken several steps including dismissing the existing CEO Andy Chen and what the company says is a “handful” of other executives from the service.
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Whew! First Hurdle Cleared: Banks Say They’ll Help Sharp
If you’ve been holding your breath, waiting to see what is going to happen to troubled Japanese giant Sharp Corp., you can now relax and exhale. The first significant hurdle the company faced on their race to survival appears to be cleared. Media in Japan is now reporting that Sharp’s two banks will support it through a restructuring with a ¥200 billion convertible loan.
But these bank loans come with strings attached. Read on to see what these are… [Read more…] about Whew! First Hurdle Cleared: Banks Say They’ll Help Sharp
Showing the Power of Software – Latest TiO Update Expands Capabilities
We have been reporting on TiO and its various predecessor permutations (Colorado vNet, 3vNet, ACTP) for some time now. TiO, which stands for Turn it On, is an interesting hybrid of software and hardware enabling an incredibly flexible home automation system that strikes a balance between easy operation, system capabilities, user experience (UX) and powerful performance.
TiO is app driven and also has a proprietary system software solution . And now the company shows us the power of a strong system software foundation with an “update” that dramatically expands the systems capabilities.
See more on how this upgrade expands the TiO capabilities… [Read more…] about Showing the Power of Software – Latest TiO Update Expands Capabilities
Sonos Shoots Back; D&M Filings ‘Not Entirely Accurate’
The legal battle in the patent infringement case filed by Sonos, Inc. (Sonos) against D&M Holdings, Inc. dba The D+M Group, D&M Hodlings U.S. Inc., and Denon Electronics (USA), LLC (D&M) continues to heat up as lawyers launch new salvos against each other alleging – among other things – improper actions. In February, we reported that D&M’s legal team had filed a Motion to Disqualify the Sonos legal team, with the astonishing allegation that at one time these lawyers worked for both Sonos and D&M at the same time.
Now, Sonos’ legal team shoots back, saying D&M’s filings are “not entirely accurate”… [Read more…] about Sonos Shoots Back; D&M Filings ‘Not Entirely Accurate’
Apple’s Smartwatch: A Magnum Opus? Or A Major Oh-Oh?
Smarmy smugness notwithstanding, Apple executives must be getting at least a little nervous. As we recently reported, their launch of the new Apple Watch saw a response that was tepid at best. As the press expressed a healthy dose of skepticism, Apple CEO Tim Cook noted with a touch of irony how the press has been wrong on most of the company’s launches of many products that went on to dominate their markets. So…talk to the hand.
But is this time – with this product – going to be different for Apple?… [Read more…] about Apple’s Smartwatch: A Magnum Opus? Or A Major Oh-Oh?
Tidal Narrative Turns from Quality of Sound – to Quality of Royalties
Soon to Face New Competitor in Service Created by Apple and Beats by Dr. Dre
The narrative surrounding Tidal, the latest music streaming service to enter the increasingly crowded music delivery market last year, has taken a new and unforeseen turn with the purchase of the service by Jay Z. Originally conceived as a pay music streaming service offering a higher performance alternative to the ad-driven free services of highly compressed music streamers such as Pandora and Spotify, the Tidal narrative was one of quality. Now?
See more on our thoughts on this dramatic new development… [Read more…] about Tidal Narrative Turns from Quality of Sound – to Quality of Royalties
SupplyStream Says Its All About the Search
SupplyStream, the industry product-line aggregator that offers dealers and integrators a web platform with cross-vendor consistency in product and pricing information, announced today that it has upgraded its search function based on feedback from current users. The company also says that it will make its API available to select 3rd party software solution providers.
See more on this growing service… [Read more…] about SupplyStream Says Its All About the Search
IBM to Invest $3 Billion to Launch ‘Internet of Things’ Unit
Momentum Building in Emerging IoT Market
International Business Machines Corp. – the company better known as IBM – announced this week that it will invest a cool $3 billion dollars (yes, that’s billion with a ‘b’) to launch a new division focused on the now rapidly emerging “Internet of Things” (IoT) market. IBM hopes to convince customers it is the expert they need when it comes to “gathering and making sense of the surge in real-time data” according to a Reuters report.
See more on why we feel this story is significant… [Read more…] about IBM to Invest $3 Billion to Launch ‘Internet of Things’ Unit
Kaleidescape’s Latest VP of Sales is Out After Only 8 Weeks
BREAKING NEWS
In a development that, depending on your viewpoint, is either very shocking – or not surprising at all – we learned on Wednesday that Kaleidescape Vice President of Sales Mark Weisenberg has left the company. Even in a company known for turmoil at the Sales VP position – this is an unusually quick turnaround. We originally announced Weisenberg’s appointment as Kaleidescape VP of Sales in an exclusive SYNCH newsletter at the end of January…just eight weeks ago.
What the heck is going on at Kaleidescape? And why did this happen so suddenly?… [Read more…] about Kaleidescape’s Latest VP of Sales is Out After Only 8 Weeks
Stunning Stories of Impending Doom Swirl Around Sharp
In just the last two days, Japanese and U.S. press outlets are releasing a slew of stories of Sharp Corp.’s impending doom in the form of a restructuring announcement that isn’t expected to be officially released until May. Nonetheless, multiple reports have emerged from a wide range of media sources including the Nikkei and Reuters news services with a relatively wide range of estimated job cuts – all citing unnamed sources.