Sony Discontinues Betamax Cassette Production

(11/10/2015) Most people (including me) may not know Sony's Betamax cassette still exist, but this news just posts its epitaph. Sony's Betamax was a revolutionary video recording technology that is considered superior in term of video quality than rival VHS technology. Because Sony insisted Betamax to be sold exclusively by Sony, their rival united together and supported another standard -- VHS -- and eventually toppled Betamax's dominance in video cassette market. One amazing part is that, when the rest of the world has let go Betamax long time ago, Japan is still very nostalgia towards Betamax.

Japan is a very unique market in technology. It has its own ecology, regulation and standards. As a result, the technology's catchup in Japan's market often follows a different path. For example, fax machine sales is still 'relatively strong' in Japan compared to most developed countries in the world. Seeing from the perspective market development, Japan is almost like a " Galápagos Archipelago" compared to the rest of the developed countries. The Betamax production is just an example. Those once big Japanese technology companies worked so hard to please their native consumers (Japanese), they totally missed the bigger market outside of Japan. In this aspect the cellular phone market is another example (NYT news). Washington Post has a good report on this aspect. Will Japan lead the next big wave of technology innovation like Internet in the U.S. in the 1990's? I doubt it.

Amazon Dash, Will It Be Successful?

(4/2/2015) I just heard about Amazon Dash today, that was a not-so-successful product. But check Amazon Dash out, it has built-in microphone for voice searching, barcode scanner, and WiFi function, you can scan or search and let Amazon know what you need. Amazon just launched new Dash Buttons, it covers more than 200 popular brands and products with free Dash Buttons available to its PRIME members.

Will this concept of smart-shopping be successful? From its concept, it is a very powerful tool for manufacturers, especially for big brands. But some smartphone applications has similar capabilities: scan barcode, search where to shop online or locally. They could not make a big splash so far. But I think an application or device from Amazon and Walmart like this "Dash" button may really change the way we shop in the future. Isn't it scary? Now the firms not only know what you buy, they even know how fast you use their product.

Fire Tablet Bad News from Amazon Shows The Importance of Real Retail Channel

(2/4/2015) Amazon's Fire phone was a failure (causing $170 millions of write-down on its book), but its predecessor - Fire Tablet was not. Well, at least, before the Fire Phone was launched. Just within 5 years after the first generation of iPad was launched, the global tablet sales has entered its "mature stage." In 2014, the tablet sales dropped for the firs time (still before Tablet is 5 years-old), even Apple's iPad has 17.8% of sales drop. But once the biggest contender of iPad -- Amazon Fire Tablet -- had a even bigger drop of 68% in 2014, almost 70% of in sales. How can that be? This news has a very good analysis: Amazon's Fire tablets are only available on Amazon and very limited channels. But many smaller brands tablet maker had encroached a good chunk of the market share: 35.2% and was the 'only group' that saw tablet sales growth in 2014. $40 after gift card for 10" Android tablet (see captured picture below), How can Amazon's Fire beat this price? Can Bezos dodge this miscalculation again?

Useless Invention Coming back

(1/17/2015) Selfie stick is one of the most popular new devices in 2015 CES due to the popularity of mobile devices. There is even a booth selling various type of selfie sticks (see picture below). However, this type of product was invented early in the early 1990's and was voted as one of the most useless product in 1995. If you are old enough, you probably remember Apple's Newton (launched in 1991) handheld device that failed. There were really born in the wrong time (生不逢時), right?

Selfie Stick is popular in 2015 CES show. Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/there-are-whole-booths-filled-with-selfie-sticks-at-ces-2015-1 

Microsoft Surface Is Doing Well, Finally!

(11/30/2014) The new blockbuster stock might be Microsoft (MSFT) in next five years again because Microsoft is selling pretty good. It's a bad news for many PC brands since they may become the contract manufacturers for Microsoft Surface in the future. Is Surface a great product? It may not be that good, but Microsoft has a huge user base and the potential of 'upgrade' is sweet enough for Microsoft.

German Publsiher Axel Speringer's Deal with Google

(11/7/2014) For many content publishers, google's dominance in the search engine market is too big to compete or even negotiate. Google's search engine and news site are known for indexing online contents without 'paying' the publisher. As German's court ruled that "publishers can prohibit search engines and similar services from using their news articles beyond headlines" and Axel Springer did just that. In the last several weeks, they did not allow google to run snippets to grasps their content and Google complied. Google stopped showing some contents from its search engine and news site. The result is a disaster to Axel Springer: "traffic flowing from clicks on Google search results had fallen by 40 percent and traffic delivered via Google News had plummeted by 80 percent in the past two weeks."

Springer caved in. They allow Google to index their content in snippet and show their content online when users search by keywords. However, Springer is not happy at all. They hope "lawmakers, courts and competition regulators would take action to curb its (Google's) powers."

Spain just passed a new copyright law saying "post links to news articles or excerpts from them will have to pay a fee to the Association of Editors of Spanish Dailies." If Germany cannot even fight with Google, do you think Spain will eventually win this battle?

Axel Springer's example reflects the dilemma many traditional publishers are facing. More and more access content through the Internet via a search engine like Google (or others if they can be competitive). The publishers pay the salaries for the journalist and have huge overhead running publishing business. Google have ad revenue from user's every search; the publisher's content has to compete with other contents on the display order of search result. Blocking Google or other search engine is just shooting one's own feet.

Axel Springer: "I have no choice. Shutting Google's snippet, we will be out of the market."

(12/11/2014) Who will win in the dispute of Spain's new copyright tax? Google or Spain? Google's reaction is shutting down its news website that use news sources coming from Spanish publishers. It will seriously decrease the website traffic for these publishers if they don't allow Google to list their articles 'free' on Google News. What is fairness in this dispute?

Modern Society and Privacy

(7/31/2014) You don't check in on your Facebook page. You don't take Selfie. You are not even a celebrity. But as long as you look different, the 21st century society can still keep track of you.

http://abcnews.go.com/US/mystery-roaming-woman-black-revealed/story?id=24774876

Apple Is Losing Its Pricing Grips

(4/3/2014) Apple is knows for its pricing power. You rarely see Apple's products hugely discounted in the retailers. Most retailers have to follow Apple's pricing strategy and cannot give huge discount to consumers. The reason is to protect its long-term interest since slashing prices will decrease Apple products' prestigious images and eventually decrease Apple's profitability. To the retailers, breaching the rule means losing license to sell Apple's product.

However, a news analysis from Dealnews.com shows that Apple's grip on its pricing may get loose now. When retailers start slashing prices, there will be less consumers buying directly from Apple, which is an important revenue source for Apple. Their recommendation to the consumers is: don't buy directly from Apple. Shop around to get the best deal!

Amazon FireTV Great Outperformance

(4/3/2014) In the following video you will find that Amazon's new FireTV set-up-box is really amazing in its searching function. I wonder how could Amazon did it while Apple, Google and other big companies fails to achieve such fast and accurate results.

(12/2/2014) Compared to the success of Kindle Fire and FireTV, Amazon's Fire Phone just does not 'burn' at all. It just surprised me that the Fire Phone failure costs Amazon $170 millions USD.

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.

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

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.

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.

MOOC Still Falls Short

(7/10/2013) There is a good analysis about why no student at Colorado State University would take an online course by just $89 to get credits which normally cost more than $1000.

I think for those who have not attended college, they may not be technologically ready for MOOC. Plus, they receive no assistance from the institution regarding how to complete a series of course to be equally trained in one subject as those students attending real classes. At this moment, MOOC is still a platform of various independent free online courses. No wonder this news says most who took MOOC courses already have college degrees. They have been through, they know what they have missed and MOOC fills that gap.

How Kodak Missed Digital Cameras and Fell

(5/23/2013) This is a great story about how Kodak missed the market of digital camera and fell even though it was the first company spotted that opportunity. It made me realize that how difficult for us to face our own weakest link and live in denial.

3D Printer Can Save Life

(5/23/2013) 3D printers cannot only print guns, now it can save life too. If the nanotechnology progresses further, maybe miniature 3D printer can print stent for heart attack patients.

PC Sales in Free Fall

(4/28/2013) Now we know how many people DON'T really need to buy a personal computer (or laptop) if they have an alternative. Tablets are good enough for many people.

Game Changing Technology

(4/1/2013) Tired of paying hefty monthly fee to the cable companies or the satellite dish? There might be a (sort of) solution. Aereo TV may allow you to skip cable companies and it just won a first court decision.

"Subscribers to Aereo can stream live broadcasts of TV channels on mobile devices using miniature antennas, each assigned to one subscriber. The service was launched in March 2012 in the New York area at a cost to subscribers of $12 a month. The company in January announced plans to expand to 22 U.S. cities."

Combined with this news (30% Of Internet Users In The U.S. Would Consider Becoming Cable Cutters: Survey), I would say the cable companies need to find other way to be connected with their subscribers.

(4/10/2013) NBC news has a more detailed report about Aereo TV vs. broadcasters. Though the technology is disruptive, I am not sure whether Aereo can really win in the court. Those media broadcasters are just very powerful and they can cut the broadcasting off.

(4/11/2013) So far, it looks like the lawsuit against Aereo is not that successful. A Boston local TV station's request to shut down Aereo is turned down because no 'irreparable harm' can be proven.

(11/21/2014) Following the ruling of the Supreme Court, Aereo files Chapter 11 bankruptcy today.

Leap Motion's Air Touch

(3/11/2013) You don't need mouse anymore to control your computer. Now Leap Motion's Hands-In-the-Air Controller will allow you to control your computer without touching. One thing I am not that sure is whether your gestures will always need to be around or above the sensor bar. We are getting there.

Gesture Motion Becomes Real

(2/27/2013) This is a good innovation becomes real. Watch this video.