CES 2024: The most talked-out companies and products at the massive tech show

CES 2024 unleashed a tsunami of exciting new products and technologies across a diverse range of industries and markets. For a general interest journalist, such as me, it was pretty overwhelming.
This week, the Social Media Analytics Platform of GlobalData provided a list of the most-mentioned companies and products showcased at the consumer electronics show, which ran Jan. 9-12 in Las Vegas. GlobalData is a leading data and analytics company.
Samsung ranked first on social media (both the X platform and Reddit) during CES 2024, based on the volume of discussions about its products at the show. Those products included its S95D OLED TV, folding-screen smartphones and transparent micro-LED TV displays.
Other top-mentioned companies at CES 2024 included Rabbit, Nvidia, LG, Sony, Intel, Microsoft, Qualcomm, Honda Motor and Walmart.
Artificial intelligence device startup Rabbit was the biggest surprise. The Santa Monica, Calif.-based company introduced a pocket-sized consumer AI gadget at CES 2024.
The Rabbit R1 is a walkie-talkie-like device with a built-in camera. It offers smartphone-free solutions to simplify tasks like booking a flight, getting an Uber or ordering a meal.
GlobalData said its analysis is based on online discussions from Jan. 7 through Jan. 15.

Photo: Word cloud showing the most talked-about subjects at CES 2024. (GlobalData)

The end of movies on disc is nigh

Netflix ending its DVD-by-mail service last month was just the latest sign that movies on physical media are going away. And with it goes consumer ownership of physical copies of their favorite movies and TV series.
Going forward, consumers will be left to the whims of streaming video services to decide which movies to carry. Or they’ll be forced to pay for a digital rental or purchase of a movie title, if it’s even available.
Last week, director Christopher Nolan encouraged movie fans to buy a copy of his film “Oppenheimer” on Blu-ray Disc “so no evil streaming service can come steal it from you.” (See articles by Variety and IndieWire.)
In addition to Netflix getting out of the DVD business, there have been other signs that the medium has reached its end game.
Retailer Best Buy plans to phase out sales of DVDs and Blu-ray discs both in-store and online in early 2024. It wants to use that space for other merchandise. (See articles by Variety and Media Play News.) Other retailers like Walmart and Target also are cutting back on their DVD offerings.
Also, Ingram Entertainment, a leading DVD distributor, announced that it is winding down operations after more than 35 years in business.
The DVD market has been waning for years as consumers have switched to streaming video services for entertainment. But the decline has accelerated recently.
Media pundits have noted that many movies and TV series that were released on DVD are now difficult or impossible to find in any digital format. And that’s a shame for the movie fans and culture as a whole.

Related articles:

Why the Dying DVD Business Could Be Headed for a Resurrection (The Hollywood Reporter; Nov. 10, 2023)

‘Crossroads,’ Britney Spears and the Journey to Watch a DVD in 2023 (New York Times; Oct. 18, 2023)

Where’s the Love? — Is Hollywood Abandoning Disc, Once its Golden Goose, Too Fast? (Media Play News; Sept. 25, 2023)

The DVD’s Demise Leaves Many Films Gone With the Wind (Wall Street Journal; April 27, 2023)

For movie lovers, there’s a darker side to Netflix ending DVD rentals (Washington Post; April 21, 2023)

Photo: DVD collection (Dave Campbell via Creative Commons)

Time to shame McDonald’s, Walgreens and others for their toxic, wasteful paper receipts

I recently learned about the environmental impact of paper retail receipts.
A group called Green America released a report on June 25 about retailers with the best and worst practices regarding sales receipts. Of the 36 companies studied, those that got the best marks offered electronic receipts and phenol-free paper receipts.
Only three retailers in the study got A grades for offering digital receipts and phenol-free paper receipts: Apple, Ben & Jerry’s and Best Buy. The rest fell short, most by a lot.
Green America estimates that U.S. paper receipts consume over 3 million trees and 9 billion gallons of water each year. It said that receipt production generates over 4 billion pounds of greenhouse gases (the equivalent of 450,000 cars on the road) and 302 million pounds of solid waste.
What’s worse, many retailers are using paper coated with toxic chemicals, namely bisphenol A (BPA) or bisphenol S (BPS).
Nobody likes receipts. We’ve just gotten used to receiving them. More retailers need to ask consumers if they want or need a receipt before automatically printing one. When I’m asked if I want a receipt, I almost always say no. If there’s an email receipt option, I choose the electronic option. I get receipts emailed to me from Best Buy, Home Depot, Office Depot and small businesses that use Square.
Green America is on the right path with this crusade to get retailers to change their practices. I think Americans can get behind this cause, unlike unpopular moves like banning plastic straws. But I don’t think the group should promote new state or federal laws at this point. Instead, I think it should get companies to change their behavior by shaming them and getting shareholders and customers to push for change.
The group can start with the worst offenders. It gave D ratings to 17 companies. They include pharmacies Walgreens and Rite Aid; grocery chains Safeway and Aldi; restaurants Burger King, Chipotle, McDonald’s, Panda Express, Subway, Taco Bell and Wendy’s; and retailers 7-Eleven, Claire’s, Family Dollar, Petco, TJX Companies and Walmart.
Green America’s “Skip the Slip” campaign is a righteous one.

Photo: Skip the Slip graphic by Green America.

More 2019 predictions: Walmart buys Roku, tough year ahead for Snap and Twitter

Some pundits like to wait until a new year has begun to trot out their predictions for the year ahead.
So, here’s a roundup of predictions from a few Johnny-come-latelies.

Walmart Buys Roku

BTIG media analyst Richard Greenfield thinks Walmart will buy streaming video platform Roku.
Walmart’s first foray into the online video market with its 2010 acquisition of Vudu has been a “clear failure,” Greenfield said in a Jan. 7 blog post. Now the retailer is exploring its own subscription video-on-demand service, but is late to the market.
“If the goal is to increase time spent with Walmart to drive retail spending (as Prime Video does for Amazon), we believe acquiring Roku could be Walmart’s most compelling entry point into streaming video,” Greenfield said.

Snap, Twitter stocks cut in half

Scott Galloway, professor of marketing at the NYU Stern School of Business, sees a tough year ahead for social media firms Snap and Twitter. In a Jan. 13 post on Seeking Alpha, he said both companies will have their valuations cut in half this year.
When he published his article, Snap was trading at $6.28 a share (it was 5.64 at Wednesday’s market close) and Twitter was at $32.87 a share (now 32.47).
He called Snap “the walking dead.” Meanwhile, Twitter has seen its content overrun by bots and foreign agents, Galloway said.

A Big 3 network abandons its evening news broadcast

Robert Silvershein, a senior adviser with research firm TDG, thinks one of the Big 3 TV networks (ABC, CBS and NBC) will announce the end of its evening news broadcast after the 2020 election.
“2019 will be the year that TV network executives are forced to come to grips with the financial realities of their business,” he wrote in a blog post. “A television product that is expensive to make, with a 40-year decline in ratings, and a median viewer age of 60+ should have been cancelled a long time ago. But the prestige of owning a #1 evening news broadcast has been a legacy difficult to part with.”

Related articles:

Top 20 celebrities predicted to die in 2019 (Jan. 1, 2019)

2019 will be big year for plant-based meat, beer-brewing machines and ‘Harry Potter’ mobile game (Jan. 2, 2019)

2019 psychic predictions for Donald Trump, Taylor Swift and Apple (Jan. 14, 2019)

Photo: Limited-edition Roku SE streaming player sold exclusively at Walmart stores for Black Friday 2018. (Roku)

Lies, damn lies and clickbait

Fake news continues to find a home with online content promoters like Taboola and Revcontent. These services need to be held accountable by the websites that use them.
Here are some recent examples of the types of stories they and their ilk are peddling.

A Taboola-sponsored article titled “China’s new jet is straight out of a sci-fi movie” used a detailed model of a Vic Viper spacecraft from the Gradius Series of video games by Konami. The model was assembled and photographed by blogger RoboRay. (See article by Kotaku.)

Another Taboola article titled “30 Amish facts that’ll make your skin crawl” used a photo of a model (Sophie Letyago) wearing Amish-inspired clothing. (See description of the photo on DeviantArt.)

A Taboola article titled “15 Walmart shoppers captured these photos” didn’t use a Walmart picture, but a “plandid” (planned candid) photo of smoking hot Swedish Instagram model Anna Nystrom from August 2015.

This next type of clickbait keeps popping up.
An article titled “Shocking images of the Titanic taken by a passenger’s camera” used a still from James Cameron’s 1997 movie “Titanic.” Also, Jack and Rose are fictional characters, people!

Another common clickbait tactic is promoting an article on dead celebrities using the photo of a live celebrity to exploit the curiosity gap.
Revcontent implied that actress Julia Stiles is dead by using her picture with a story titled “She died but no one said a word, here’s why.”
Another recent clickbait article implied that actor-director Clint Eastwood had died.

And finally, here’s a blast from the past.
A recent clickbait post titled “15 chilling photos you will not find in history books” uses a photo of attractive young lady in a revealing dress. This photo is neither historic nor chilling, unless you’re horrified by side boob.
I first wrote about use of this photo in May 2016.

Lying clickbait: Celebrity meth addicts, plastic surgery nightmares

Lying clickbait comes in different shapes and sizes. And the lies they tell range from little ones to whoppers.
What follows are some recent examples.
When clickbait contains an incorrect photo or headline, you could chalk it up to a researcher making an error. But more likely it is someone trying to exploit the curiosity gap for clicks, resulting in more ad revenue.
A recent Taboola article titled “23 photos of Kate Middleton that will make your jaw drop” used a photo of the princess next to a picture of model and socialite Tamara Ecclestone (see above). They’re both British and attractive brunettes, but the similarities pretty much end there.

This next one is a twofer.
One article is titled “Celebs who died and no one said a word” and features a picture of actress Sara Gilbert, who is still alive, along with a photo of a reported meth addict named Kari.
The accompanying article is titled “11 celebrities who committed suicide” and features a picture of singer Susan Boyle, who is alive.

Another Taboola article, titled “12 celebs who are unrecognizable after plastic surgery,” featured side-by-side photos of a young Meg Ryan and reality TV star Elsa Patton. The clickbait article implies they are before-and-after photos.

A clickbait article by Adblade titled “Walmart photos that should never have been captured” uses a picture of a busty lady who’s obviously at the airport and not the discount retailer.

These next two are the latest examples of movie photos being passed off as historical shots. Two Clickbait articles promising images of the Titanic sinking use pictures from James Cameron’s 1997 film “Titanic.” One of the articles touts “Heartbreaking images of the Titanic taken by a passenger’s camera.” Yeah, right.

A Taboola article titled “It’s hard to believe these stars are single” uses a photo of actress Margot Robbie, who got married in December 2016. There are lots of attractive single celebrities. Why use a photo of one that’s married?

More fun lists: Wal-Mart to Girl Scout cookies

Continuing my review of fun web lists, here are several related to business and commerce.

11 things Wal-Mart has banned (Mental Floss, Sept. 17, 2009)

The 10 retired Girl Scout cookies fans miss most (Divine Caroline, March 18, 2010)

America’s 9 biggest rip-offs (CNNMoney.com, Feb. 2, 2010)

6 inventors who got jack shit for changing the modern world (Cracked.com, Nov. 19, 2009)

9 great moments in false advertising (Minyanville, Nov. 19, 2009)

The most popular Christmas toys, by year, since 1960 (Geek In Heels, Nov. 4, 2009)

Photo of Megan Fox from the Superficial goes with the Wal-Mart list.

Hot Chicks at Art Openings: Name says it all

I love blogs built around a simple premise.
Take the blog Hot Chicks at Art Openings. It features photos of attractive women attending art exhibitions and shows. That’s it.
Or check out Sad Guys on Trading Floors. It posts photos taken on the floors of financial exchanges. The author adds humorous comments to each photo.
Another blog, People of Walmart, goes the same route with photos of bizarre shoppers at Wal-Mart stores. It adds funny captions to pictures of oddly dressed customers and other “creatures” roaming the aisles at the nation’s biggest retailer.
And finally, My Parents Were Awesome, runs old photos of people’s parents when they were young and cool and before they had kids.

Photo: One of the attractive ladies from Hot Chicks at Art Openings

Editor’s note: This is the latest in a series on Tech-media-tainment’s favorite Web sites.

Attention Wal-Mart shoppers: People are laughing at you

Discount retail chain Wal-Mart has been the target of critics for years for everything from its impact on small town stores to its labor practices. Now it’s the target of jokesters mocking the shoppers it attracts. Examples include the Web site People of Walmart, which was launched last month and posts photos of the weird people you see there, and a Wal-Mart bingo game card posted to I Am Bored.
People of Walmart even merited a write-up on Time.com this week.

Millions of Americans too lazy to bother with digital TV transition

President Barack Obama and Democrats on Capitol Hill are pushing to delay the transition from analog to digital TV broadcasts from Feb. 17 to June 12 because too many Americans aren’t ready for the switch.
Consumers have had three years to get ready. How much time do they need?
President George W. Bush signed the Digital Television Transition and Public Safety Act into law on Feb. 8, 2006. It set Feb. 17, 2009, as the last day for analog TV broadcasts.
The transition stumbled recently when the Commerce Department ran out of funding for coupons to help people buy converter boxes for their old analog TVs. Fixing the funding issue is a better idea than delaying the switch by four months.
The Commerce Department’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration has been distributing coupons to consumers since Jan. 1, 2008. Households have been able to request two $40 coupons to buy set-top converter boxes. The boxes typically cost $50 to $60, so a consumer’s out-of-pocket expense per box is $10 to $20 after using the coupon. You can only use one coupon per box. The boxes are available at Best Buy, RadioShack, Target, Wal-Mart and elsewhere.
Most households get cable or satellite TV, so they don’t need the special converter boxes. Only homes that rely on antennas, such as “rabbit ears,” to get programming over the air on analog sets need converter boxes.
The Feb. 17 cutoff date for analog broadcasts has been widely publicized for over a year. It would be hard to miss the frequent public service spots on TV and the media coverage of the issue.
The NTIA, which supports sticking to the original deadline, says awareness of the digital TV transition is at nearly 97% now. The other 3% presumably think Ronald Reagan is still president.
Politicians should not bow to the lazy and stupid by moving the analog cutoff date. The federal tax filing deadline is well known, but you don’t see a move to delay it because of a bunch of Johnny-come-latelys.
With the digital TV transition, lawmakers are worried about upsetting voters whose screens might go blank next month. When they can’t watch “American Idol,” they’re going to be royally ticked.
Republicans in the House and Senate have raised concerns that a delay would confuse consumers, create added costs for TV stations that would have to continue broadcasting both analog and digital signals, and burden wireless companies and public safety agencies waiting for spectrum that will be freed up by the switch.
To date, only 53% of coupons distributed have been redeemed. The NTIA has mailed 46.5 million coupons. Of those, 14 million expired and were unused. More than 11.7 million coupons are still active.
On Jan. 4, the full $1.34 billion available for coupons became fully obligated. About 1.2 million households are now on a waiting list for coupons, the NTIA says.
The Nielsen Company reported Jan. 22 that more than 6.5 million U.S. households – or 5.7% of all homes – are not ready for the upcoming transition to all-digital broadcasting. Still, that’s an improvement of more than 1.3 million homes since Nielsen reported readiness status at the end of December.

Tis the season for out-of-control shoppers

The Christmas shopping season kicked off with three deaths in two separate incidents at stores holding early-morning sales on Black Friday. Merry Christmas, everyone!
A worker at the Wal-Mart store in Valley Stream, N.Y., was trampled to death by out-of-control shoppers who broke down the doors at a 5 a.m. sale. Other workers were injured as they tried to rescue the man. Shoppers stepped over the victim on the ground and streamed into the store. Customers shouted angrily and kept shopping when store officials told them the store was closing because of the death, the Associated Press reported.
At the Toys “R” Us in Palm Desert, Calif., shoppers ran for cover when two men shot and killed each other in the store, press reports said. Joy to the world! (Photos by AP, see links.)
Last year, there were only sporadic conflicts and violence among shoppers on Black Friday, according to Cnet. But in 2006, there were numerous reports of crowds getting violent at post-Thanksgiving sales.
Good news for shoppers who didn’t get the big deals on Friday: Many stores are planning doorbuster sales on Saturday too.

Black Friday deals could mean a blue Christmas

Retailers have baited their hooks with tempting after-Thanksgiving sales, but the question is whether consumers will bite.

With Americans worried about the economy, their investments, home values and jobs, many aren’t in much of a buying mood this holiday season. But stores like Best Buy and Wal-Mart hope to change their minds with one word: doorbuster.

Doorbusters are those super low-priced items, available in limited quantities, at early-bird sales. They get their name from the mobs of crazed shoppers who practically bust down doors to get inside a store to grab bargains when it opens.

Here’s a snapshot of what’s hot in electronics at this year’s early-bird doorbuster sales on Black Friday, the traditional kickoff to the annual Christmas shopping season:

• Blu-ray Disc players and movies: With Blu-ray Disc now established as the high-definition successor to the DVD, consumer electronics manufacturers and Hollywood studios are driving down prices to encourage mass market adoption of the blue-laser format. Wal-Mart is selling a Magnavox Blu-ray Disc player on Black Friday for $128. (A year ago, the cheapest Blu-ray Disc players were about $300.) Wal-Mart also is selling a Samsung Blu-ray player for $199. Plus, the discount chain is selling several Blu-ray movies for $15 each, including “Iron Man” and “Transformers.” (Blu-ray Disc movies usually cost $20 to $40.)
• HDTVs: Retailers are sitting on a glut of flat-panel LCD and plasma high-definition televisions ordered before the economy turned south. Add to that struggling and bankrupt retailers like Circuit City and Tweeter liquidating inventory and forcing other retailers to drop prices to stay competitive. For more details, read the article in Investor’s Business Daily. Wal-Mart is selling a Samsung 50-inch plasma HDTV for $798 and a Polaroid 42-inch widescreen 1080p LCD HDTV for $598.
• Portable GPS navigation systems: Faced with competition from GPS-enabled smart phones and factory-installed car navigation systems, portable navi device sellers like Garmin and TomTom are breaking the $100 price barrier. Wal-Mart is selling a Garmin Nuvi 200 with 3.5-inch display for $97. RadioShack is offering a TomTom One 125 with a 3.5-inch screen for $99.99.

Low-cost notebook PCs and video game system bundles also are popular doorbuster deals this year.
For more deals, check out:
http://blackfriday.gottadeal.com/
http://www.blackfriday.info/
http://www.blackfridayads.com/
http://www.theblackfriday.com/