- Obama makes plans for the tech sector.
- Contradictory reports on malware irk me.
- Mac gets Netflix streaming now.
- AOL in the news as they mock Google. I think they are up for grabs.
- Circuit City closing stores left and right.
- MSFT sending money to S. Korea.
- Fluff piece on Google going Green.
- IBM exec stopped from working at Apple.
- WDC unveils dopey media player.
- Motorola brings out 5-MP phone.
- Panasonic buying Sanyo?
- Microprocessor outlook murky.
Right click here and select ‘Save Link As…’ to download the mp3 file.
I heard about Obama’s Grandmother. Sad. As she raised him and it looks like he’ll win, it would have been nice for her to witness the event.
R.I.P.
Here’s a complete list of the 155 Circuit City stores that are closing.
I think the Sony Cybershot camera phone looks good.
“WDC unveils dopey media player.”
If you want a real media player, here is my recommend.
Get Zoom Player. I don’t give this recommend lightly, but this player has worked every time for me, specially when Windows doesn’t. It plays absolutely everything including Ogg media, flv, Dvix, Xvid, and so on including Matroska subtitles without a hitch.
It’s free version is way better than Windows Media Player.
Just give it a try. Be amazed.
http://www.inmatrix.com/
On Circuit City.
I wonder if this has something to do with firing the top 10% of their sales staff and offering them their jobs back at minimum wage…
Not as big a deal as GM registering 45% drop in year over year sales…
Obama’s election is going to hit retail stores first. Some already have and others are developing layoff schedules for immediately after the Christmas rush that far exceed the normal reductions in force at that time.
Military equipment suppliers are going to be massively impacted and will implement draconian levels of terminations.
Kiss the US automotive market goodbye.
High tech can forget about funding for any new technology unless it supports the tree huggers or the Global Warming hysterics.
Buckle your seat belts. It is going to be a bumpy ride.
Forget about any 100 day honeymoon. The honeymoon will official end on January 21.
#6,
Um, did you miss the news??? The US automotive market died under Bush, and so is retail.
How about a prediction that has weight?
I predict some group of Republican Christianistas will mass suicide in the next 90 days.
You forgot to cover the alien communicator software!!
Does anyone remember that Circuit City, just a few years ago, was the best performing company in Jim Collins’ book “Good to Great”? Obviously, Mr. Collins’ approach to management is worth some reconsideration given the fall of Circuit City. It would seem a new approach to management would be worth considering. Read more at http://www.ThePhoenixPrinciple.com
#6 – Jay Benson II
So angry, Jay. So very, very angry.
Sure, the shit that’s hitting the fan is because us damn fool ‘murriners elected a blue gum.
In fact, I predict jams in the skyscraper elevators as the top 10% of the wage earners clambers and punches its way into the cars so they can kill themselves before Obama even takes office.
Then won’t things be nice for the rest of us?
A shame about the Circuit City chain, reducing stores. Compared to some other outlets, I’ve generally gotten a better deal from them. Perhaps because they don’t screw their customers as much, they’re not as profitable. I heard that the Tweeters stores were also closing (some or all). The closest one of those to me, was right next to where the CompUSA store was that closed some years ago. I think its partly due to store locations. The one Circuit City store nearest to me (#847) has nothing else nearby to compete with it, except a Home Depot store. Yet it’s like ten miles away, in a very seedy old part of town. The Bestbuy store I often visit is only a mile away, in a newly developed shopping area. The one other Circuit City store, 21 miles north of me, isn’t closing. And it’s in a very nice looking strip mall, with a Bestbuy store a few blocks away. Doesn’t make much sense to close the C.C. store that has no competition nearby. But its location is terribly run down. Rarely are there more than 15 cars in its parking lot, ever. And its only neighbor is a boating supply store. It’s also difficult to access off a major highway (in one direction only). So little doubt that location is everything, with the public. And these stores are barely holding on, even in good times. But C.C. kept them going to serve the lower income populous’ needs. You can bet that few will be beating down any doors to take over these C.C. store properties.
There used to be a Circuit City nearby but it closed in the first round.
Didn’t really miss it because Newegg had better prices and selection anyhow.
I also can’t help but wonder if Circuit City store are a victim of its vendors’ strategy to consolidate distribution with fewer chains? So Sony (and other makes) went with Bestbuy and Sears, but shut out Circuit City. Which already was carrying some weird brand named TVs, I’ve only heard of there. I got my current ProView CRT computer monitor at a C.C. store that’s closing. They gave me a great deal on an “open box” model, that’s still working after four years of use. I went to them, after an Office Depot store tried to screw me with a phony rebate deal. Fortunately they were so paranoid they refused my check. They only prefer to screw people with $50k incomes, I guess. They did me a favor, by sending me away to a better chain store. But I’ll just bet that the Office Depot store won’t be closing soon. Screwing customers is a profitable business model.
I don’t really care about C.C. I buy very little from big stores anyway.
What I have noticed is my small Mom & Pop computer store cutting back on inventory. It is just too expensive to carry something that won’t sell inside of two months. Faster and larger variations are coming too fast. And I like to shop there. They support the community, pay local taxes, and I can talk to someone with brains.
I have to admit that Best Buy ate CC’s lunch where I live.
CC had a bad location, and the ‘sales staff’ was went and hid when you walked in..
2 bad…
Yeah, go figure a chain called “Best-buy” would do far better than one called “Circuit City”. The name choice alone was pretty bad. Ok if it had no other competition. Which it probably didn’t when it started out. But I seriously doubt that 90% of consumers even know what a “circuit” is, or care. And “city” these days has too much of a blight connotation. In some locales, it looked more like “Circuit Inner City”. “Gadget Land” or “Audio Villa” would have been more appealing to today’s consumer crowd. And to beat “Best-buy”, they would have needed something to top it, like “Supreme Deals” or “Ultimate Bargins”. The only drawback to these would be that they’re harder to spell, and farther down the alphabet in the phone directories. To satisfy that factor they’d need a name like “AAA Appliances” to beat “Best-buy”. But today, that looks way too much like an “Acme Store” title. We use to have a chain called “Ames” which was much trashier than KMart, and it’s been gone for a while now. Alone with Caldor and Woolworths chains. I guess the lesson here is that you just can’t rely on an old name, and sales model. You’ve got to reinvent every decade or so, just to stay in business. The public wants bigger and better. Not quaint and run down.
This is not good news. I like Circuit City and when I buy brick-and-mortar I go there. (I understand the irony of my comment). I wish Best Buy would shutter its doors instead.
If CC sell xp instead of vista, they will still be in business.
They’re done. Delisted from NYSE and trying to reorganize. It should turn into a liquidation. The website was up yesterday, as if anybody is going to order something online from a store that might not be able to deliver the goods. I’m sure some idiots will order from them and then maybe end up on the TV news complaining about getting burned in one of those consumer protection stories.
Story of the future. “We ordered a new TV, they said delivery was free and we are still waiting.” How did you pay? Cash. As long as the assholes can process credit cards, they can keep floating. The stock is now worth a total of 0.02 cents a share.