Traditional Stores Failing?
Are traditional Stores Failing?Here is a good question for you.. Did you buy anything on-line this holiday season? How much did you buy on-line v.s. in a department store? Has this changed since last year? Since the year before?
We have seen many reports that indicate a third of holiday shopping is over, and that one in four bought their presents on-line this year (increased from one in five last year).
Are traditional brick-and-morter stores done for? Do they stand a chance against the cheap on-line e-commerce stores like Amazon? Yes, and no! There will no doubt always be a need for physical stores, but their high mark up of over five times manufacturing price may very well be over. We have been seeing a trend since the onset of the recession that is becoming more commonplace than not. That is to find the best price, and when possible get it on-line for less. Unless the stores lower their profit levels per item, we will see an end to all of the malls and all of the big department stores, ushering in a return to small mom and pop stores and local retailers. Since the big stores have to report to their boards and their boards report to their share holders, this will no doubt happen, and big retail will be over forever.
Personally, I think this would be good. Give the people back their small businesses and their local stores. Bring back a simpler world with less corporate greed, and more local retailers. Bring back life as we once knew it before the world of acquisitions and lateral growth. Bring back the small town that actually never had to venture outside it's own little world. Bring back all that we have lost since big government was taken over by the corporations! And while we're at it, give us back the day of rest! We could use one!
Think about it.. wasn't it nice to have Sunday at home with the family because all of the stores were closed? I think so! If you never experienced such a thing, ask your parents and grandparents. They remember! Perhaps some day you can share this experience with your children when things revert back again, and again, and again :-)
Happy Holidays from Your Data Center!
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Cyber Monday Warning!
It is Cyber Monday!Every year the hype starts before the stroke of midnight! It is here and you should beware!
Many times you will find a legitimate looking ad in your inbox. Take a good look at where that link brings you by hovering over it BEFORE you click on it. On average, one in four phishing emails get clicked on by unsuspecting consumers on this day!
You might want to save.. your bank account today. Think before you click!
... and the Happy Holidays count down begins ...
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Dennis Ritchie dies, age 70
UNIX and C..No, there is nothing after the letter C! It is a programming language that Dennis Ritchie pioneered. He was also one of the great minds that made UNIX.
The silent giant, who was responsible for just about everything that happened in technology has passed on. The MAC OS/X operating system is built upon POSIX/UNIX. Even the great Steve Jobs would have had nothing to do without the inventions of Dennis. Why even the servers that host most of the Internet are using some form on UNIX. Windows is based upon UNIX too!
What a great man Dennis was. A genius, who was for the most part forgotten by everyone he helped to enable.. until his death. Not everyone forgot him though. In 1999, Mr Ritchie was awarded the US National Medal of Technology - the highest honor a technologist can be given.
Today we honor your memory and your greatness Dennis. Now you WILL be missed AND remembered!
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Steve Jobs has left us..
Steve Jobs has passed away last evening (October 5th, 2011)For those of you who have been living in a bubble, he is the man who was responsible for Apple's success over the past 15 years. He took a failing company to unexpected heights, carrying them to greatness.
Last night Steve passed away, finally losing his long battle with pancreatic cancer. His legacy lives on, but we all know that Apple will never be the same. Steve jobs was a mastermind, who made Apple shine. He could sell a bridge in seconds! Quite a man indeed.
We now say goodbye to one of the greats. Best of luck on the other side Steve. We will miss you..
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Are you the 99 percent?
"I'm the 99%" is the latest craze on Wall Street. What is it? It is the people speaking out against the one percent of Americans who are living large at the expense of all others.Even Anonymous is getting involved! They say that the NYSE will be "erased" from the Internet on October 10th. What that means is still unclear, but it sure looks like many are getting angry now.
Prices continue to rise, banks continue to rape customers of their money with fees and penalties, and the price of oil is bouncing up and down faster than a basketball in play!
What comes next? Protests, civil unrest, riots? Who knows? One thing we all know is that today's college student stands little chance of experiencing the America that most of their parents did. We also know that the middle class probably will no longer exist in a few years if something is not done now.
Will Obama come to the rescue? Not a chance! He can't! He has to work with our congressmen and senators to make things happen. That pretty much ends his chances of fixing anything at all.
It looks as if the United States is about to go into revolution, just like it did to protest high taxes imposed upon it in the days of it's infancy before it became a great nation. History may just repeat itself once again. This time it will be much more of a disaster though. There will be no winner.
Are you one of the 99 percent? Chances are that you are, and chances are that you will do nothing but stand by and watch. It is not your fault! It is our government's for failing us! Do not blame yourself. Do not blame one person. Blame the whole government. It had to work together to become so dysfunctional. It had all the cards, and it threw them all away! All for greed and profit! It is time we took back our country! It is time "We the people" spoke up!
End this miserable excuse for a government now! Vote in the elections to disrupt the processes that are taking place which hurt us. Join peaceful protests to show that you are not going to stand by and take this abuse anymore. Most of all, have respect for yourself, and for others. We are all in this together, and at some point, perhaps even our government will join us. Let us hope so. Until that time, let us protest in peace, and in numbers!
Am I going to protest? I just did! Your turn... SPEAK UP!
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