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Sputtering Supply Chain Takes Another Hit as China Forces Factories to Close

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Shutdowns in Shenzhen China threaten the supply chain
Shuttered buildings in Shenzhen, China on Monday [Photo: Chinatopix, via Associated Press]

Here we go again! Yet another major blow has been dealt to the supply chain, this time from another round of COVID-19 hitting China, forcing lockdowns in many critical areas of the country – including Shenzhen. You may or may not know that much of the electronics goods manufactured in China come out of the Shenzhen region – so we all have a direct connection to the impact of this development. Add to this, new reports of container costs rising again and transportation disruptions from the Russian invasion of Ukraine. What’s next?

See more on the latest supply chain disruption

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Sony Forecasts a Record Profit; Says NOT Entering the Car Building Biz

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New Financial Info Shows Sony Continues to Transform Biz

On the eve of closing out their current fiscal year (fiscal 2021) on March 30, 2022, Sony Group announced their latest financial results for the first nine months of the fiscal year…and included a surprising new upgrade of their forecast, now saying they’ll have a record operating profit for the year. This was a high note for the company, a company that has benefitted from consumers spending more time at home playing video games on their PlayStation, thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic.

But the company also answered the question that many – including me – had about Sony entering the automobile business via their new Sony Mobile division – and in so doing, reiterated their plan to move away from a hardware-centric business.

See more on where tech leader Sony is headed

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CES 2022 Forced to Remove Programs from Schedule in Wake of Cancellations

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Day 1 of CES 2022 at the Venetian
Just before opening at the Venetian on Day 1 of CES 2022

Heading to CES 2022? Be sure to check the online version of the show schedule regularly, as Advertising Age (Ad Age) is reporting that CES has apparently removed “a slate of programs,” including several previously scheduled sessions and panels planned for Tuesday. The move is said to be a result of so many companies and executives canceling or otherwise pulling out of the show.

See the latest news on CES 2022

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CES Shortened by a Day as ‘An Additional Safety Measure’

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Photo of CES show floor

BREAKING NEWS – Event Shortened Jan. 5-8, 7

Strata-gee readers reached out to me on late Friday as word circulated that the Consumer Technology Association (CTA) was taking the unusual step of cutting the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) short by one day “…as an additional safety measure.” That is essentially all that an announcement from the association says about this decision, which on the face of it seems to call into question the safety of attending the event at all.

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Huge 6-Fold Jump in Omicron Infections in One Week; Ready for a New ‘Normal?’

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Omicron causes long lines at testing facilities
A long line of cars waiting for COVID testing recently in New Jersey (NBC News)

Remember back in 2020 when as the stressful year unfolded, we would wistfully daydream about the day when this coronavirus pandemic would come to an end and we’d get “back to normal?” We thought that would happen, like, in 2021. Then 2021 came along and the deadly Delta variant of COVID-19 emerged. “Normal” had eluded us once again.

Enter Omicron which looks to complicate 2022. I think it’s time to forget about getting back to what used to be normal and make sure you and your company are ready for a new “normal”…

See more on Omicron and a new ‘normal’

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Today in Malaysia, Intel CEO Warns Chip Shortage Will Last to 2023

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Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger at press conference in Malaysia with government official

Speaking at a press conference in Malaysia today, Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger said that the global chip shortage will last until 2023. Gelsinger pointed to the fact that demand keeps expanding, even as the industry struggles to bring more production online to fill the demand.

See more on how Intel sees supply chain issues continuing

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Hundreds of Integrators Descend on Boston for the Crestron Next Road Trip

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Crestron Next Road Trip Day 1 crowd

Attendees Got a Full Show, Training & a Preview of Future Technology

Last week, Crestron Electronics, a leading provider of control and automation solutions, wrapped up their two-day regional show, the Crestron Next Road Trip, at the Westin Copley Place Hotel in Boston. The well-attended two-day event saw hundreds of integrators descend on Boston to participate in an event that included whole sections of their displays from the CEDIA Expo and InfoComm trade show booths and offered full-day educational courses for both their residential and commercial dealers.

Learn more about the successful Crestron Next Road Trip

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Majority of All Companies Raised Wages in Q3; Will Do It Again This Quarter

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Photo of happy employees

In a survey by the National Association of Business Economists, a strong majority of all businesses – fully 58% – reported that they raised the wages they paid to employees in the third quarter, as reported by AXIOS. Nearly the same number say they will raise wages yet again in the coming months. While the news has some positive elements, especially for workers (like the smiling employees above), it definitely has some economists worried.

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CEDIA Expo Opens with Few Exhibitors; Not 500, Not 242, Only 76 Booths Remain

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CEDIA Expo 2021 floorplan
Looks like lots of room for hospitality at CEDIA Expo 2021

CEDIA Expo opens this week, with education sessions starting today and the show floor opening tomorrow. As Strata-gee has been reporting, over the last three weeks literally hundreds of exhibitors have pulled out of the event over concerns surrounding the surge of infections due to the Delta variant of COVID-19. With Emerald expositions vowing to forge ahead with the event no matter what, attendees to the event – whether many or few – will find themselves at a very different CEDIA Expo.

See more on this very different CEDIA Expo

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CEDIA Expo Loses More Than 100 Exhibitors; Redraws Smaller Floorplan

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CEDIA 2018 crowd
CEDIA Expo in better days

CEDIA Expo 2021, scheduled to run in less than two weeks from September 1-3, 2021 in Indianapolis, IN, has been steadily shrinking over the last ten days or so, as exhibitors began pulling out in the face of the rapid expansion of COVID infections due to the Delta variant. Emerald, the exposition company that owns the CEDIA Expo, has said they are going forward no matter what – even though their data shows that more than 100 exhibitors have pulled out of the event in the last two weeks.

See the latest numbers from Emerald and the smaller floorplan

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