General Topics

Apple, 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

‘No One Lost Their Job Except Me!’

Gary Wermuth, founder of WAVE Electronics in Houston, TX, spoke with Strata-gee about his company’s recent acquisition by Kingswood Capital, which also owns AVAD and plans to merge the two operations. The deal, announced last week and the cause of substantial buzz around the industry, has actually been in the works since April and he was clearly pleased to have the deal done and behind him.

See more of what the WAVE founder told me in our Q&A… [Read more…] about WAVE Founder Talks to Strata-gee About Acquisition

Multiple creditors are fighting a pitched battle over the Chapter 11 bankruptcy plan worked out between Gibson Brands and their major debt holders and submitted to the Bankruptcy Court. Some of this was to be expected, as there was a large pool of unsecured creditors who did not participate in the pre-bankruptcy negotiations. But now, even one of the secured creditors – a power player in their own right – has turned on the other secured creditors, joining in with the unsecured creditors and potentially jeopardizing the whole plan, according to a report by the Nashville Post.

See what all the fighting is about… [Read more…] about Creditor Infighting Could Jeopardize Gibson Bankruptcy

Once again, June in New York means CE Week. I once called CE Week a “strange little show in search of meaning” and an “odd, undefined show.” I stand by those descriptions and to this day, still feel CE Week is bit of a work-in-progress.

But this year, I was looking forward to CE Week…read on to see why… [Read more…] about CE Week: Under New Ownership

Housing starts, the measure of new home construction that many in the custom integration industry feel is a leading indicator for the sale of home-making products, such as residential technology systems, jumped nearly 10% in the month of January. This may be yet another indicator of an overall improving economy, although the monthly numbers tend to vacillate up and down on alternating months. Still, the long term trend appears to remain positive.

See more on this latest report on a key economic and industry indicator… [Read more…] about Housing Starts Take Healthy Jump in January

Amazon announced on Wednesday that its Alexa AI with Echo, Echo Plus and Echo Dot are all now available in Japan. The move, which the company says took a full year of development, is seen as further boosting its dominance in the Smart Speaker market globally.

See more on this exporting of Alexa to Japan… [Read more…] about Amazon and Alexa Invades Japan via Echo, Echo Plus and Echo Dot

As has been the case for a couple of years now, press day – the day before the show opens, was opened by an Origin Acoustics press conference. Always a good show, Dave Donald kicked it off in his own inimitable fashion, kind of a cross between a carnival barker and a faith healer…but always with a great deal of enthusiasm.

This year, Origin had a lot to talk about.

See what Donald had to talk about… [Read more…] about Origin’s Big News is an Enthusiastic Embrace of Dot