Job Hierarchy in Zappo's Is Now Holacracy

(12/30/2013) The world largest online shoes shop -- Zappo's -- has gone through some organizational structure changes. Their new structure is called "Holacracy, a radical “self-governing” operating system where there are no job titles and no managers." As the business continues to grow, the Holacracy introduced into Zappo's is to "scale Zappos without letting bureaucracy set in." This reorganization gets much attention because Zappo's the largest company to implement Holacracy so far. Next time when you are upset by Zappo's customer service representative, you cannot ask "let me talk to your manager!"

Traffic Controversy of Chris Christie

(12/26/2013) The bridge traffic controversy of Chris Christie (NJ's governor) just could not be distinguished. After reading the details of the whole event, I found it interesting. The controversy is Bill Baroni (deputy director of the Port Authority of New York and Jersey) and David Wildstein (then the director of interstate capital projects and an ally of Christie's) were accused to conduct a unapproved traffic study at the town of Fort Lee in September 2013 on a highway entrance to the George Washington Bridge. Two of three lanes of Fort Lee "to the George Washington Bridge had been closed, causing dangerous traffic jams in the borough on the first day of school." A potential reason of this traffic disaster was that the Mayer of Fort Lee, Mark Sokolich (D), did not endorse Christie's reelection bid and the controversial part is "Neither he nor Port Authority Executive Director Patrick Foye -- who was appointed by New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) -- were given any advance warning." And another development is that Mr. Baroni "acknowledged that no one ever sought approval for the study, which, without an alternative route, was guaranteed to create traffic congestion.... Wildstein and Baroni have since resigned and hired attorneys to represent them."

Definitely the person who caused the traffic disaster know Queuing theory very well. Highway traffic is one example of queuing management. The traffic of Fort Lee is extremely busy in the normal time since "the George Washington Bridge, which is the busiest bridge in the United States," which implies that the highway system at that part has been reached close to its system capacity (maybe close to 90 or 95 % utilization in this case). In a queuing system that it's utilization rate has reached close to its capacity, any cut in the capacity will make the highway utilization reach above 100%, which implies that traffic will be backlogged till the capacity increases or the demand diminishes. In this article, it says "On approximately 20 occasions in the last forty days, our Borough has been completely gridlocked," wrote Sokolich to Baroni, who was Christie's top official at the Port Authority. "Traveling from the south to the north end of our Borough takes upwards of one hour. Our safety vehicles are unable to traverse our own thoroughfares to attend to emergencies which place our residents in harms way."

(1/8/2014) In Chinese, we say "Paper cannot cover the fire." Now this scandal exploded in the Governor's office as emails revealed that Christie's administration is linked to the Bridge Traffic retaliation. Christie's trouble is far from over due to these potential lawsuits.

Racist Tweet or Badly Planned Joke?

(12/23/2013) A PR executive tweeted a 'racist' message before she flew to Africa for vacation:

This message stirred a huge controversy and Justine Sacco was immediately fired by her employer. Justine Sacco immediately apologized on the Internet: "Sacco apologized "for being insensitive to this crisis -- which does not discriminate by race, gender or sexual orientation, but which terrifies us all uniformly -- and to the millions of people living with the virus, I am ashamed."".

But several people who knows Justine Sacco think it was a badly planned joke. One reporter who had contacted Justine Sacco describes "“I think she was more mocking the aloofness white people can have on this issue, not celebrating that aloofness,” says one friend."

I think he has a point.

Bitcoin Crashing

(12/18/2013) After Chinese government officially challenged the validity of Bitcoin, the value of Bitcoin continued to drop further. Today (12/18/2013), the Bitcoin dropped 17% when "the People's Bank of China (PBoC) has ordered third-party payment providers to stop using the virtual currency." Without a trusted central financial institution (like US Federal government), the users of Bitcoin have to transact on a software follows Bitcoin Protocol. "Users send payments by broadcasting digitally signed messages that transfer ownership of bitcoins, the unit of currency." I never have trust on Bitcoin, and even doubt its function to be used as a transaction currency. Look at the historical value of Bitcoin, if its value fluctuates so dramatically, how can it be used as a currency? Bitcoin itself has become a speculation commodity like gold or oil. When an influential player (like China) challenges its validity, it crashes. It eventually proves to be just a bubble.

Bitcoin historical price accessed on 12/18/2013

Bitcoin price on 12/18/2013.

(3/5/2014) Not only Bitcoin's volatility is a concern, it's safety just damaging the currency's credibility even further. One week ago, the world's biggest bitcoin exchange, Mt. Gox,  filed bankruptcy as nearly half a billion dollars worth of bitcoins were stolen due to computer hacks. Today, another bitcoin exchange, flexcoin.com, is shut down due to another hack and a loss of around $600 K worth of currency. The Japanese government now considers a regulation "adding that banks and securities firms will not be able to handle bitcoin as part of their main business, suggesting the crypto-currency will be treated more as a commodity, like gold." It may means the day that bitcoin survives as a currency is soon to be over.

Microsoft Is Conservative on Surface 2

(12/18/2013) Once burnt, twice shy. Microsoft's revenge product -- Surface 1st generation -- costed $900 million USD charge due to product glitches and overstock. This time, Microsoft's Surface 2 is sold out in many retail stores. The reason it is sold out is because Microsoft is conservative with its production and inventory. Surface 2 received positive reviews and the app crashing and dropped Wi-Fi issues have been improved. With conservative production forecasts, at least Microsoft does not have to be forced to write off inventories or has huge price-cut.

How Much Kindles Make You Buy More from Amazon

(12/17/2013) $443 per year, based on a research done by Consumer Intelligence Research Partners (CIRP). The headline on Time.com is misleading. The kindle users don't spend more (some maybe), but other retailers lose $443 per year to Amazon.com. That is what Mr. Bezos gets when he sell you Kindle tablets at the price of its production cost. Kindles do fulfill its mission: get Amazon Kindle users to spend more. Since Kindles suck out spendings from consumer's pockets so well, no wonder Amazon give consumers more BONUS: $57 to own a Kindle Fire FDX tablet and pay the leftover in next 90 days.

A Warning from Carl Sagan

(12/16/2013) This is a video originally aired on "Charlie Rose" in 1996. Carl Sagan, as an outstanding scientist and astronomer, gave us a warning about that general public not knowing science and technology. He said "We live on an age that based on sciences and technologies... if we general public does not understand sciences and technologies ... who is making all the decisions about sciences and technologies are going to determine what kind of future our children will live in."

I think what Sagan said applies to business operations too. Now the business financial and tax manipulations are so complicated, not even financial experts can figure out what's really going on. Same as the global supply chain. The consumers are so far and alienated from the real suppliers, they do not know how their purchasing decisions form the global labor and production division and show less interest to know the complexity too.

Shameful Pollution

(12/15/2013) The world largest semiconductor assembling and testing firm, ASE (Advanced Semiconductor Engineering), was shut down recently due to water pollution. They discharged wastewater (without processing) directly into the Houjin River in Kaoshiung City, which is located in southern Taiwan. ASE's K7 plant has seriously polluted the river, which the government spent $100 million USD years ago in order to cleanse the previous pollution. However, the penalty from the the government is merely $20,000 per day if the wastewater exceeds the standard (the discharged wastewater is more than four times higher than the acceptable level.) After the K7 plant pollution was revealed, another ASE's plant in Chung-Li city was caught again for discharging wastewater though ASE said the operations in Chung-Li is unaffected.

So far, the semiconductor and electronics industries remain alert for further development in case the Taiwan Government forces a more large scale shutdown. One CEO from another Taiwanese said that if ASE is totally shutdown, around 1/3 of the global semiconductor production will be impacted (news in Chinese) since ASE is the largest semiconductor assembling and testing firm. I feel ashamed of this company's greed and the inability of our government. However, Taiwan recently has experienced several business scandals (intentionally mislabled cooking oils and mixing with inedible oil, and other industry-grade ingredients used in food). Business consciousness is very underdeveloped in Taiwan as well as many Asian countries since the economic growth has been #1 goal of many governments and getting rich is #1 goal for many people. Consumers in the developed countries are rarely aware of this dark side of global supply chain and hidden costs of global economic growth. Try to google this news, you won't get many returns.

Schneider Logistics Settled Over Wage Theft Allegations

(12/11/2013) Schneider Logistics, a Walmart warehouse contractor, settled in the State of California over wage theft allegation. Schneider was accused of "failing to pay them for overtime and illegally deducting wages from their paychecks, among other claims" filed by 568 warehouse workers. Walmart was under pressure in this lawsuit since the workers handles Walmart merchandises. Well, Walmart gave a routine defense: none of the workers are directly employed by Walmart. Using contractor to perform some key business functions is one way that big business to be exempt from benefit packages and expensive HR investment. Example like this includes: Southwest Airline's ground crew in some smaller airports (Bronson, MO; Keywest, FL, I knew it through my personal conversation with the ground crew there). The reason: save $$$.


(5/14/2014) This is another settlement. Finally, the contractor of Walmart agreed, Schneider Logistics, the settlement ($21 millions) for the "backpay to warehouse workers in California who claim they were systematically shorted on pay for years.". 

Drug Cartel in Smartphone Business

(12/10/2013) The drug cartels in South America still get their hand dirty, but maybe smarter now. They buy stolen phones from the US and resell them like news one to people in their market. The technology to block resell stolen smartphones is available. Absolute Software's technology has shown that it can trace the phone to the location. However, Apple, Google, Verizon & AT&T ... won't do anything. Why? First, many people cell phones are in the contract, so it means they will have to replace new phones otherwise they still have to pay the service. Second, very few people who rely on smartphones can now live without it. Three, cell phone users tend to stick to the same maker (due to learning curve of switching) and the same wireless service provider (contract and service level preference).

The companies (Apple, Google, Verizon & AT&T ... ) can sell you new phones to replace your stolen ones, why do they ever make effort to sacrifice their profit? Good and evil only differ in a very fine line here.

Runway Competition: Someone's Give Becomes Someone's Take

(12/6/2013) The landing and taking off time slots in busy airports are very precious. For the American Airlines and US Airways merger to be approved, they have to give up some spots to Southwest and Virgin. Well, I think it is good for travelers in New York, right?

Amazon's Delivery Drone

(12/1/2013) Amazon wants to delivery its product through Drones? No kidding? Watch this 60-Minute report. Jeff Bezos has proved several times that he is right, will he be right again?

We had a discussion about Amazon's service innovations today (12/2/2013) in the MBA class. Students showed their concerns about jobs (retailers before, maybe logistics later) being eliminated from many service innovations now. The jobless issue will be a more severe problem in terms of social justice and stability. Jeff Bezos responded (in 60 Minute's interviwe)  "It's the Internet that changes these." When new technologies are available to improve and better serve the customers, are those changes also driven by consumer's demand? Do you enjoy Amazon's good service and prompt delivery? What are your comments on this employment (or unemployment) issue resulting from technology changes?

This analyst says Amazon's flying drone is just an marketing gimmick (12/3/2013) for free advertisement. How do you think?

Privacy for Discount?

(11/30/2013) We know our online searching and shopping are tracked by google and online retailers. Now the retailers want the consumers to opt-in to allow mobile tracking in exchange of discount in shops. You download an app, torn it on when you enter some shops, and enjoy discounts and being tracked. Is it good to consumers? Is it worthy to sacrifice the privacy to get discount? This news raises some concerns.

 

Profit or Tradition? US Business Struggling with Thanksgiving Working Rules

(11/27/2013) Millions of US workers have their 2013 Thanksgiving ruined. From Walmart, Target, Bestbuy to PizzaHut, one after another, business decided to ruin this holiday for many. It is an arm race. You think you can gain early shopping budget from the pockets of the consumers. Well, when your competitors think as unthoughtfully as you are, your leading edge just vanishes. From the moment the business decided to open in Thanksgiving, they are in this no-winner game.

One employee at PizzaHut is fired because he refused to work in Thanksgiving. A lot of media coverage on this news one day before Thanksgiving. Although Pizza Hut headquarter distant itself from the local decision, tons of angry online users flocked onto PizzaHut's facebook page and left their disgust. I think now the managers of Pizza Hut know the feeling of Thanksgiving get ruined.

(11/28/2013) In less than 1 day, the pizza guy was hired back.

PS: Rhode Island is one of three states that ban Thanksgiving shopping.

Beauty Right Next To Us

(11/26/2013) We WOW and find beauty in very large, very small, very fast and very slow because it is a world we didn't know it is right next to us and behave in that unique way......

Biodegradable But Not Popular

(11/26/2013) As consumers become more environmentally conscious, it is surprising a new biodegradable packaging is unpopular to consumer. Sun Chips (a brand of Frito-Lay, own by Pepsi) had its chips inside a new 100% biodegradable material in 2008. However, this new materials made very loud noises (see how loud it is here) that consumers repelled and the sales dropped 11% after new packaging. After 18 months of experiment, Sun Chips dumped this noise bags. In 2011, Sun Chips made another try to have a quieter bag. It looks like this time it works.

eRetailer's Working Conditions

(11/25/2013) The low-skill low-pay working conditions at many major retailers (like Walmart) in the US have been criticized for a long time. As eRetailers get bigger and more influential (like Amazon.com) in the market, the job opportunities brought by these eRetailers are not much better. In an Amazon.com's warehouse in UK, the hidden camera revealed the stressful working conditions. The workers working there as order pickers are like machine. When they fail to pick the right order the computer 'beeps' to warn their mistakes. The researcher says "The characteristics of this type of job, the evidence shows increased risk of mental illness and physical illness." (Another article about Amazon unfairly underpaying workers for their security checking time in Germany and in the US.) The sad thing is that eRetailers have to use people to do order picking because the robot machines are not sophisticated enough. If one day the machine can replace the workers, the eRetailers will definitely 'replace' workers by new machines to 'improve the working conditions. Isn't it ironic? The low skilled workers will lose their job then.

Below is a positive report about the complexity of Amazon's distribution center.

Southwest And Airtran's Painful Merge

(11/20/2013) If you were an Airtran's loyal customer, you probably are not happy with its new boss: Southwest Airlines. Since its merger from 2011, these two companies' merger has been painful and frustrating many customers (probably more on Airtran's customers since Southwest will change Airtran's operations into Southwest's style). Wall Street Journal had a good article showing the complexity of process integration between Southwest and Airtran. Overall, the merger and system integration was not as bad as United and Continental if you judge from media exposure. As a Southwest happy customer, I hope one day I can have an easy flight to Cancun or Aruba via Southwest.

McDonald Add 3rd Drive Through Window

(11/16/2013) Do you order at McDonald's drive-through? Do you think the waiting time of McDonald is getting worst? McDonald finally heard your complaint. McDonald announced that they will add a 3rd windows in their drive-through to improve their ailing service. One factor that deteriorated McDonald's service is their expanding menu items. The more items on the menu, the more options customers can choose, the more complex the service has become. With a third window, maybe you don't have to park you car and wait for your food next time when you order at McDonald's drive-through, .

TSA Security Program Is Slightly Better Than Chance

(11/13/2013) The tight and tedious security check in US airports trouble many travelers and airlines (if you think of how people try to avoid air travel). We sometimes justify this process as the necessary 'cost' of having a more secure society. US government spent $1B in a TSA SPOT (Screening of Passengers by Observation Techniques ) program for behavior screening. The GAO report shows that this money is not well spent because its results are “the same as or slightly better than chance.” Who is the COO (Chief Operating Officer) of US government? Run some benefit/cost analysis on your programs and eliminate those ineffective expenditure. Don't say the benefit of this spending is "creating jobs!" There are some others GAO should check next: Medicare/Medicaid abuse.

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Great Application of Google Glass

(11/13/2013) Google Glass has been in the market for a while and we see videos of goole glass once in a while. NBCNews just had a report about its amazing applications: it helps disabled people to reconnect with the society. Not being disable, I cannot imagine the difficulty of life being a disable. Glad to see how it help the student returning back to the law school. I love what she said "the more I can forget about what I can't do and the more I am focused on what I can do, the less I think of myself as a disable person." So moving!

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Queuing Analysis Simulator

(11/13/2013) I found these two online queuing analysis simulators when I was preparing for my class.  This first one is provided by supositorio.com. It provides only queuing systems with Poisson arrival rate and Exponential distributed service time. (that is M/M/.... system). You can imbed its link of this calculator Queueing Theory Calculator on your webpage:

The second simulator, which is provided by Dr. Jaroslav Sklenar, is more powerful and flexible. It allows you to set different distribution patterns in the arrival rate and service time of the queuing system. You can also configure batch arrival/service or configure an open/closed queuing system. However, you have to really understand the details of your queuing systems and know how to write simple coding for it.

How US Senate Became More Polarized

(11/13/2013) When I saw this news, I wondered "WOW! This is great for data visualization." Unfortunate, it is showing how US Senate has become more polarized and more ineffective when the partisan creeped in their voting behavior. What are our principles? The party ideology?

This Invention Can Change Our Commuting

(11/11/2013) You might be a person who would like to bike to your office if you don't live too far away from work. Not many commuters can handle 20 miles round-trip ride per day without too much hassles (attire, suitcase, change of clothes...). This invention may make your healthy commuting come true. A group of bikers in New York invented a FlyKly wheel that can be attached onto most bikes and make them motorized bikes so commuters can have one less hurdle for their bike-to-work dream. The highest speed of the motorized bike can be 20 miles per hour, and it can go as far as 30 miles on one charge. It is not clear about how much it costs. But I think a good marketing plan can make it a hit product that changes our commuting life.

Blockbusted

(11/6/2013) I love the title Huffington Post gave in this news: Blockbuster will close its remaining 300's retailer stores. It will close its mail DVD distribution business as well. Once the largest DVD rental company, Blockbuster filed bankruptcy in 2010 after the economic downturn in 2008. DISH network (a satellite TV distributor) bought Blockbuster to better compete Netflix, but it seems DISH cannot find a new formula to save this company either. It shows that it is really to undercut yourself (blockbuster) when the enemy (Netflix) is invading in full forces, farewell Blockbuster.

Your Dream House Maybe Better Comes Later

(11/1/2013) Owning your dream house is a recent American dream, which also triggered the housing bubbles mid 2000's. After the biggest recession in 2008, the US employment situation grew very slowly even though the overall recovery is good.  The national average unemployment rate in the US is still around 7.2% now. People call it "jobless recovery." What is the cause of low-job growth in the economic recovery after 2008? One of the reasons maybe the higher house ownership. Based on this study of economics professor Andrew Oswald from Warwick University, the states with higher house ownership is significantly related to their higher unemployment (their research covered some European countries too). The reason: the labor mobility drops because the labor prefers a job near the house. It may sound ironic at first, but it is pretty reasonable. The global economy now just changes so fast. A booming industry in a city may move to another state in 5-10 years. The employees who buy houses during the booming years face a big change in the job market once several business employers move somewhere. Then they are stuck.

Your dream house maybe better comes later.

Sriracha Might Be In Shortage Soon

(10/31/2013) Do you love Sriracha, the red chili sauce, that you can probably see in many Asian restaurant? Well, it might be in shortage soon in the market. Why? Because it stinks. The court may order the city to shut down its production due to its pungent odors emitting from its California factory. Sriracha is not my favorite chili sauce, so I won't rush into Chinese market. I wonder if other chili sauce companies see this great opportunity to offer promotions and grab some market share from the most loved chili sauce maker?

Newest update (AP|Posted: 10/31/2013 11:03 am EDT): the judge ruled against factory closure. I bet the judge is also a Sriracha lover and (s)he will not allow shortage to happen.

Interestingly, Bloomberg's Business Week has a story about how Sriracha becomes so popular in the US. They sold more than 20 millions bottles in 2002. It always amazes me when I see some American Sriracha lovers just add it on everything...... Well, that is a little bit too much for me.

(11/27/2013) One month later, the news takes a dramatic turn. Now the factory really needs to be shut down. Buy and stock your Srichara now. If you need some substitute for your favorite Srichara, some chefs and experts have their recommendations.

How Did OSU Marching Band Do It?

(10/30/2013) If you have seen some OSU's football games recently, you are probably amazed by their amazing marching figure animations. NBCnews now reveals the secret of their artwork: iPad. I can imagine that in the future the NCAA mid-game show will be a fierce competition as well.

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

The Benefits of Yoga Practices

(10/28/2013) Many people have heard that yoga practices bring a lot of benefits to our mind and body. Here is a summary of researches (see the link) that demonstrate the various benefits of yoga. Next time, when you feel tired or stressed, maybe you should really give yoga a try (or be determinant to practice yoga regularly if you have learned). I am a regular yoga practitioner. Doing yoga and mediation make me a more efficient worker and learn how to enjoy life.

Visualize Something Very Big and Very Small

(10/26/2013) We difficulty to process something very big or something very small. Say, 9,460,730,472,580.8 km in distance, you know it must be very far, but how far? One light year. Or a length of 1.61605e-32 mm, how long is it? It's a unit of plank length, which is assumed to be the smallest unit of distance at the quantum scale. That is the limitation of our biological brain. So look at these pictures and guess what it is. Click here to know the answers and more amazing pictures in the micro and macro scales.

Crazy Innovation -- Fart Filtering Underwear

(10/24/2013) This will be the most crazy innovation of this year (maybe decade): fart filtering underwear, which comes from the United Kingdom. It says "Americans are making up the majority of our sales at the moment." OK, Wait a moment. Do American fart more than other people, or are American more ashamed of it? Well, I am still not an American at this moment.

I would say the price is pretty 'reasonable,' $31 to $45 a piece (The Calvin Klein designer male underwear can easily go above $30 per item). No wonder it says the company has experienced 400 percent increase in their order. By the way, does the fart filter has some expiration date or maximal amounts of usage?

(11/18/2014) Last year, I used this new innovation in my MBA class. Their reaction was very hilarious. However, I had some doubt about their business sustainability. I plan to use this example again tomorrow in class. Before I do, I check whether this company (myshreddies.com) still exists. Guess what? It does and seems to do pretty well. I would recommend they sell their patent to all major underwear makers. Check out how they name the product lines ( FLATULENCE, INCONTINENCE...), hilarious.

Another recommendation: they should have some thicker filter models. They will last longer and raise ('disguise') some people's butts by visually misleading viewers.

This is a new picture that used in their website homepage. Can sniffing be more fun than this? It reminds of the dogs in my neighborhood. 

Herpes and Human Migration

(10/24/2013) You may wonder what is Herpes related to business? Well, not directly. But I want to show you the data visualization and the creativity of this research. "Human beings originate from Africa" theory has been speculated for a long time, and human genome research has partly shows how human migrated out of Africa. This herpes research shows another evidence of it. Well, please read it yourself. Why do they use herpes? Their research will demonstrate the creativity of this research.

What I like to show you here is the data visualization of this research. Well, if they can compile their data along the timeline and show the changes and human migration over time, that will be fantastic.

World map featuring the geographic location of the 6 HSV-1 clades with respect to human migration.

Phylogenetic network of Herpes.

Why Sears is Running Down

(10/22/2013) If one picture is worth a thousand words, then these pictures on Business Insider about Sears is worth of whole page of explaining why people don't shop in Sears anymore. Do you know Sears was one time the largest retailer in the US? Hard to believe, hmm? Or maybe it is "no wonder why."

Website Failures - Diagnosis of Obamacare & Common App

(10/21/2013) Obamacare website (HealthCare.gov) has been full of glitches since Day 1 of its launch. The Republican party was so busy wrestling on government shutdown and totally ignore a great opportunity to nail Obama government. Now the shutdown is over, media and Obama critics start paying attention about how wrong HealthCare.gov is. There is a good analysis on NBCNews today.

I like this comment: “Buying a health plan is a lot more complicated than buying a flight," says Brandon Cruz, president of GoHealth, a private health insurance marketplace. “When you’re buying a health plan, you need to know all the doctors in the network, what you deductible will be, what your co-insurance will be. And the terminology is so foreign.”

What is Obama's temporary solution to this failure? "“So you'll find information about how to talk to a specialist who can help you apply over the phone or to receive a downloadable application you can fill out yourself and mail in,” Obama said."

This is a good lesson for complex website launch.

(10/31/2013) Are Obamacare website's glitches contagious? The "Common App" (a platform that allows high school students to send out their applications to multiple schools at one time) just had a huge problem for their users and high school students cannot submit their applications successfully. Common App is not as new as Obamacare registration website. From the reply of the company's executive, it is "technological glitches from some new technology updates" on their platforms. Many universities are forced to extend their application since there are as many as 800,000 applicants impacted. It is not promising that this problem can be solved before the peak time of application. I bet the enrollment offices in many colleges won't be happy this year because their admission process is forced to be delayed.

Most Advanced Data Storage, Processing and Accessing in the World

(10/18/2013) Do you know which field has the most advanced data storage, processing and accessing technology in the world? It is in the scientific research of the Universe. Each day, there are "700 terabytes of data are expected to rush in" and collected. Definitely, we are in a 'world' with significant details that have more than we can conceptualize and understand. Can we really comprehend the whole universe with so much data to process? How much more details we need to know the Universe? I wonder what the most 'efficient' way to probe the Universe is.

Will Briggo Coffee Kiosks Replace Starbucks Shops?

(10/18/2013) Can robot coffee machine make better coffee than Starbucks baristas? One company, Briggo, is ambitiously aiming to switch our taste for good coffee with their sophisticated coffee machine. "It needs just 50 square feet (4.6 sq m) of floor space, and it can be dropped anywhere—an airport, a hospital, a company campus, a cafe with tables and chairs and WiFi just like Starbucks. It’s manufactured in Austin."

One suggestion? Have multiple order and pickup station, which can also take orders from the mobile devices. I am not waiting for some indecisive customers occupying the machine in front of me.

A 50 sqft. of coffee kiosk to serve whatever taste of coffee you want

Yahoo Mail Redesign

(10/16/2013) If you are a yahoo mail user, you are probably very 'surprised' by their new mail page redesign. It was not the best mailbox, but the redesign is getting even worse. It's tab function in mail is gone and there is no way to get it back now (unless yahoo engineers are listening to customer's complaints). From all services that yahoo provides now, mail is still a traffic magnet for yahoo. The previous Flickr redesign was unpopular already. Will Marissa Mayer (Yahoo's current CEO) lose her job soon? I think she does not have much time left as the most recent's financial report shows Yahoo's earning is waning.

Budget Airlines and Pickpocketing Gangs

(10/11/2013) We know budget airlines are very popular in Europe. You can fly between German and England with 10 euros. The tickets are so cheap, the members of pickpocketing gangs just fly out of Romania, do their works, then fly home with their loots. They don't stay in one city and they can do a lot of sight seeing and traveling. What a great life, right?
I think these thieves probably have cumulated quite a lot of mileages on the budget airlines. Do they redeem their mileages?

Obamacare Website Exposed US Gov's Information System's Weakness

(10/10/2013) This is a very scaring news: Obamacare registration website is not working. If it is not because GOP's shutting down the federal government, this news will be the biggest headache for Obama. Thanks to GOP's uncalculated shutdown plan which saves Obama. One thing that should really worry us is: can we trust such kind of government who's IT infrastructure is often not the most advanced and secured system? A hacking or data leaking will put this issue in the spotlight. But so far? Wish us good luck and stay in ignorance, I hope nothing really bad like IS security breach will happen.

10 days after the first launch, Obamacare registration website still has huge problem. I totally agree with the analysis below: Shutdown that website, Fix it, then reopen it. It is a shame. No real business website will allow a glitch like this alive for so long.

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

How Jeff Bezos Built Amazon.com

(10/10/2013) There is a very complete story about how Jeff Bezos built Amazon in BusinessWeek.com. Truthful? I don't know. But it definitely opens your eyes and makes you wonder. If Jeff Bezos does not have the personality described in this report, will Amazon still be so successful and let us realize that an online bookstore can become such a 'serve all you need' company?

Quality Control and Customer Expectation

(10/9/2013) I posted this on my factbook today (see the picture below). I was thinking why does the retailer sell jeans so cheap on their website? Well, definitely, the quality control of the production did a very poor job. How can two jeans of the same size (even in the same style, just different wash) has 2-inch difference in waist? Poor supplier selection. Next year, the same supplier probably won't be selected. What is the impression of this online shopping for a buyer like me? I can return it but I feel it is too much work. With the price I pay, I will not waste my time doing that. This over-size jean might be a good fit one day when I really gain weight.

The problem is that I will not buy their product again from the retailer. Why did the retailer salvage these poor quality jeans on their own website? Why didn't it salvage to retailers like TJMax or Ross? If I am a consumer and I find the jeans in TJMax, I will try it on and will not notice the inconsistency of poor quality control. This retailer probably thinks discounting in its own website gets a higher salvage value then sell to TJMax in bulk. Selling on their own will also get consumer's personal information (and it will be good for marketing to customers directly in the future). However, once a consumer loses confidence in the quality, it will probably not come back. I don't think this retailer made a right decision.

Origin of A Real Transformer in The Future

(10/8/2014) This is the coolest "toy" I want. I bet many transformer fans would like to have one too. A lab from MIT designed this self-assembling robot cubes that can move, rotate, and even jump (watch video below). The amazing design of robot cubes is its modularity, which may one day be applied to difficult construction or exploration that the conditions are totally beyond calculation. If I am the CEO of Hasbro, I would like to get license from this technology and launch a toy for kids, it definitely will be more appealing to kids than the "roboroach". How long does its battery really last?

The RoboRoach stirs some ethic issues of cruel treatment on insects. Definitely it's not a toy for everyone.

Inspiring Speech - From Online Dating to CRM?

(10/6/2013) This woman reminds me of Nate Silver. Interestingly, both them are jewish. Not only her speech is very inspiring, I am thinking some of the techniques might be useful for customer relationship management (CRM). What are the algorithms used by those online or mobile marketers? Maybe they should watch this speech.

Labor Disputes Creep to Amazon

(10/6/2013) You probably think of Walmart if I say a retailer that is struggling with labor issues. But now it's Amazon. German Amazon workers may be on a strike before the Christmas sales season in Europe. Note that, Amazon recently has been caught with unfair treatment to their warehouse workers in the US too. Several lawsuits in the US are acting against Amazon now. As an online shopper, we will not see these unhappy workers squeezing their insincere greeting to us like those in Walmart or Target (that is the difference between front-end and back-end operations). But we should not ignore the working conditions and unfair pay those Amazon workers experience.

(12/16/2013) Dear Mr. Bezos, don't say these German workers didn't give you a warning. "Hundreds of workers at Amazon.com in Germany have walked off the job in an effort to put pressure on the American online retailer in the busy days before Christmas to settle on a new wage agreement." You (Amazon) fails yourself.

No Jerk, Please!

(10/4/2013) We probably all worked with jerks sometime in our life. It is pain in the ass and we just try to avoid any encounter with that person. If "No jerks, please!" is the sign on a job description, what would you think of this company? It seems now some firms dare to take a firm standing saying that: we don't want jerks to work with us. Life is too short to deal with jerks, isn't it?

Customer Service to The Next Level

(10/2/2013) Wow, this is real customer service. In 15 seconds after pushing the mayday button, you will talk to customer representative for Kindle problems and they guide you on the screen step by step to answer your question. Amazing.

The Success of K-Cups

(10/1/2013) When you walk in the aisle of a supermarket and look for some coffee, what do you notice? K-cups are taking over the shelf. Keurig's success is well established now. I found two articles talking about its success: THE K-CUP PHENOMENON from CoffeeTalk, and The Buzz Machine-- The inside story of Keurig's rise from Boston.com. Keurig's story can be used for class discussion in the topic of product innovation. No matter how easy and convenient it is, my favorite coffee is still my morning french press. :)

Walmart and Made in USA

(9/25/2013) Do you connect Walmart with Made in U.S.A.? Probably not, and that is what Walmart wants to change your perception by marketing campaign. The rising labor cost in China and more expensive logistics cost now are two economic factors justifying this change of tide. But the patriotic image can change the perception of consumers on Walmart, whose suppliers once in a while are in trouble of labor working conditions.

Is manufacturing really returning back to U.S.? Here we have stories of Google's Moto X, and other companies.