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Are You Prepared for the Coming Recession?

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Photo of stressed guy at deskFive Steps to Take Now to Protect Your Business

Occasionally, I’ll chat with an integrator or other industry colleague about that ugly shared nightmare experience, otherwise known as the recession of 2007-2009. This recession, unlike others in the past, zeroed in like a torpedo on the residential construction market and dramatically reshaped the custom integration industry. For those of you joining the industry since that time, you dodged the bullet…but you also missed the lessons that survivors were forced to learn in order to keep afloat.

Why you need to prepare now for the next recession… [Read more…] about Are You Prepared for the Coming Recession?

Monoprice: King of Cut-Rate Cables, Expands

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From Monoprice website

Intros ‘Carbon Collection’ of Home Décor Items

Monoprice, the company most successful at pursuing a low-price, cut-rate strategy in regards to cables, adapters, and accessories, and the bane of many upscale cable companies in the consumer electronics space, has continued to grow and expand, now adding housewares and home goods to their growing assortment.

See more on what Monoprice has been up to recently… [Read more…] about Monoprice: King of Cut-Rate Cables, Expands

Amazon Horror: Alexa Users Not Using Voice to Shop

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Amazon logoA new report by The Information has roiled Amazon, punching a hole in the concept that users of their Alexa-powered smart speaker devices will use them to buy billions of dollars of goods through voice ordering. According to sources from inside Amazon, the company is disappointed that only about 2% of users of their devices use them for voice-enabled shopping – a result that throws shade at the company and industry analysts who predicted a tsunami of voice-powered purchases. The company’s spokesperson disputes the report.

See what we’ve learned about Amazon’s voice shopping experience… [Read more…] about Amazon Horror: Alexa Users Not Using Voice to Shop

SEC Rejects Monster Cryptocurrency Filing, Notes ‘Serious Deficiencies’

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Monster Changes: Prez/COO & Auditor are Terminated, Three-Man Board is Now Only One

Photo of Noel LeeIn June, after significant outreach by many Strata-gee readers, we posted our take on the Monster Products, Inc. (Monster) S-1 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in which Monster sought to launch its own Monster Money cryptocurrency in a major shift in the company’s direction. This SEC filing by Monster was at the end of May, and our story [see: Is Monster Money a Massive Mistake?] was posted June 13th.

We have just discovered that days after our story appeared, Monster received an SEC staff letter dated June 15th titled “SERIOUS DEFICIENCIES.” But that’s not all we discovered…

See more on Monster’s S-1 rejection and other major news we’ve uncovered… [Read more…] about SEC Rejects Monster Cryptocurrency Filing, Notes ‘Serious Deficiencies’

Control4 Announces Appointment of Charlie Kindel, ex-Amazon

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BREAKING NEWS

Former Head of Amazon Smart Home Org. to be
SVP of Products & Services for Control4

Kindel close upControl4 Corp. announced today that it has appointed Charlie Kindel, an ex-Amazon executive in charge of their Alexa project, to fulfill the role of Control4 Senior Vice President of Products & Services. Kindel is replacing Eric Anderson, who announced his retirement recently after holding the same role since 2012.

See more on Kindel joining Control4…

[Read more…] about Control4 Announces Appointment of Charlie Kindel, ex-Amazon

EU Hits Pioneer, D&M, Philips & Asus with Fines for Price Fixing

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Asus logoThe European Commission, the EU’s antitrust regulatory unit, after a 17-month investigation of online price fixing and other illegal anti-competitive practices has levied a fine of €111.2 million ($130 million) against four prominent consumer electronics brands, including Pioneer Corp., D&M Holdings Inc. of Japan, Koninklijke Philips NV of the Netherlands, and AsusTek Computer, Inc. of Taiwan. The companies were alleged to have imposed fixed or minimum online prices for their products.

See more on this strong action by European regulators… [Read more…] about EU Hits Pioneer, D&M, Philips & Asus with Fines for Price Fixing

Savant Partners with AVAD in Push for Market Expansion

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New Tools & Partners Open the Door to Entry-Level Buyers

Savant logoSavant Systems LLC, one of the leading control and home automation brands in custom integration, has made two significant announcements recently, both sent within just a matter of three weeks between them. First was the announcement of new software tools: Savant Central Management, a new cloud-based management software, and Studio, an iPad-based field configuration tool. This announcement was followed with a second one – Savant is partnering with AVAD, a national custom integration-focused distributor with 20 locations across the U.S.

It turns out that the two Savant announcements are related. Read on to see how… [Read more…] about Savant Partners with AVAD in Push for Market Expansion

ISE Formally Announces Show Move to Barcelona

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‘Welcome to Barcelona’ Press Conference Reveals Motives

ISE logo

Integrated Systems Europe (ISE) held a formal press conference today at 7:00AM Eastern to present more details on their plans to move ISE – the show, that is – to a new facility in Barcelona, Spain starting in 2021. Speaking at the press conference were local government officials, representatives of the owners of the ISE show (CEDIA and AVIXA), and most importantly Mike Blackman, the father of the show.

See what we learned about ISE moving to Barcelona… [Read more…] about ISE Formally Announces Show Move to Barcelona

SnapAV Launches Scalable Media over IP Solution

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Binary MoIP controller

SnapAV, the unique national manufacturer/distributor of custom integration products based in North Carolina, announced on Tuesday that it has launched a media over IP solution designed to offer a uncommon combination of tremendous flexibility along with simplicity. Part of their Binary line, this 900 Series Media over IP solution delivers 4K UHD content with HDR support from any number of sources to any number of displays.

See more on SnapAVs new MoIP solution… [Read more…] about SnapAV Launches Scalable Media over IP Solution

Senators Call for Govt. Investigation of Smart TV Industry

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Graphic of digital TVWith all that’s going on in the world of politics – or perhaps because of what’s going on in the world of politics – two senators are calling for an investigation of the Smart TV industry, citing concerns about a potential compromise of privacy for users of which they are unaware. This move is in response to news that emerged a few weeks back suggesting that Smart TV makers were tracking users viewing, unbeknownst to them.

What are Smart TV makers doing to get Congress riled up?… [Read more…] about Senators Call for Govt. Investigation of Smart TV Industry