Sometimes, for our own sanity, we all just need to sit back and take in the beauty that surrounds us. All too often we are so focused on work or other matters that we forget that the world around us offers so many simple pleasures. My co-worker Marcio took the below picture of a sunset overlooking a parking lot in our hometown of Alhambra, CA. It was such a serene moment that I had to share, enjoy!
As a surprise early birthday celebration, my wife took me to the Los Angeles Clippers vs. Portland Trailblazers basketball game last night. As a basketball fan, it’s exciting to see any professional teams play in person. But these tickets were exceptionally good and it made the night even more exciting as you can see from these photos taken during the game:
One thing that I realized is that HD broadcasts are so clear, it’s almost like being at the game. In fact, even though I was in the front row, the clarity of the HD picture gives you clarity you couldn’t get anywhere else, even at the game. So there’s no question that everything will be in HD and anyone who wishes to produce video content will have to do it in HD. In order to produce HD content, you have to use the much higher capacity of Blu-ray discs, so it’s only a matter of time before all videographers switch over to Blu-ray to shoot their videos. Just an observation.
I’ve read a number of articles about the expansion of the DVD rental kiosk through companies like Redbox (the most prevelant), NCR, Blockbuster, etc. All of these companies recognize that while the consumers may not be going back to the dedicated video stores in the numbers they used to, movie rentals as a commodity is far from being dead. Instead they found if the consumers were not coming to them, then they should bring the product to the consumer.
First, home delivery with services like Netflix were all the rage. But somewhat quietly, Redbox has emerged as a major player by allowing customers to rent and return movies from convenient locations they frequent regularly anyway, like the grocery store, convenience store or pharmacy.
So even though many major and privately owned video rental stores may be going the way of the dinosaurs, video rentals as a commercial entity is still very much alive and prospering. Maybe video on demand and video streaming will eventually knock these video rental services off their perch, but for the foreseeable future, there is money in those kiosks and retail is recognizing this.
As Flash memory gets cheaper and the capacity increases, the small rewritable format is gaining momentum in the data storage realm. In fact the low cost netbooks do not offer optical disc drives, yet do offer USB & SD card slots. Now, one of the leading video rental companies, Blockbuster, has announced that they will offer new SD card video rental kiosks.
These kiosks will allow those interested in renting movies the opportunity to load a movie onto a SD card and watch it on any medium (TV, computer, cell phone, etc) that accepts an SD card or a SD card adapter. This will greatly enhance the movie viewing options and locations.
We’ve posted a new video on youtube showing how easy and convenient it is to use the Xerox Duplicator. Check it out for your self (copy and paste the below link into your web browser):
Recently I read about how the Sears Corporation trumped the traditionally low price leaders of Wal-Mart and Amazon.com in the field of books. For the avid reader, reduced pricing is a positive as they can now purchase the books they want at a much reduced cost. However, this has caused quite a stir with the American Booksellers Association (ABA) as they feel the continued reduction in pricing will diminish the funds available for publishers and authors therefore reducing the number of books being published and therefore limiting the range of expression that could come from less mainstream authors.
You can see the same concerns in the CE world as not only are the small retailers hurt by the major chain stores due to greatly reduced margins, but ultimately it’s the consumer who pays the price as the manufacturers, under pressure from the retailers to lower pricing, have to focus on reducing their costs and increasing output. This in a way lowers the overall quality of goods and reduces the lifespan of products.
At Vinpower Digital we are constantly battling between offering a greater product and yet keeping our pricing competitive with those on the market more concerned about sales than quality. Since most duplicator sellers are merely intermediaries and have very little interaction with the customer after the sale, they often could care less about the quality of the product and whether the low price is truly a good value or a ploy. They are more concerned about getting the sale because with the reduced margins, they are forced to care more about volume than customer service. Those that do emphasize customer service over pricing tend to have a loyal following of customers, but often loose footing to the companies who just move boxes.
Fortunately we are in a unique position where we move enough volume to keep our costs low which can be passed on to our resellers and ultimately to the customer. At the same time, as one of the very few duplicator manufacturers we also care deeply about the quality and ability of our products, so we are constantly striving to improve and develop new features and products that meet the consumer’s needs.
As a consumer myself, I’m all for lower prices, but I also recognize that quality has a cost associated with it, and often times it’s better to pay a little more now than a lot more later.
I’m posting a picture of my son, not because it has anything to do with the Duplication industry or anything related to my previous blogs, but because I’m a proud father. However it’s important to note that everything we do in life has an impact on the next generation and we are very conscious of this. That is why we take it upon ourselves to run a “green” business where we recycle nearly all waste possible as well as try to reduce our carbon footprint whenever possible. At Vinpower, we care about the environment and want to leave the world in better shape for our children!
Every year during the Ghost Festival, (dated July 15 on the lunar calendar), many companies, households, and temples will prepare lots of food items like fruits, drinks, cookies, etc. to “sacrifice†for our ancestors as well as those who have died unjust deaths so they can rest in peace. We worship in the hope that society and households can be at peace and healthy.
Therefore, you could see our President –Mr. Chang lead Vinpower’s members in a ritual ceremony to offer our “sacrifice†sincerely. At the end of this ceremony, we burn paper money, light firecrackers and pray for our ancestors so that our business can be more successful and profitable in the coming year.
In addition, there is a big traditional public event related to this festival which is held in Keelung, Taiwan every year. People will release water lanterns carrying their prayers of well-wishers one by one into the water. As the lanterns sail into the ocean they will light up the Keelung night.
