As Microsoft’s new and updated version of Windows is released to consumers today, many people can’t help but wonder what the future holds for Microsoft. The new system, Windows 8, is a complete redesign of the graphic user interface, focusing on Microsoft’s “everything at once” design. The ever-familiar start button is gone, and in it’s place is a new “tile format”, displaying the systems key features and applications on the screen all at once. For users of Microsoft’s popular gaming console, the Xbox 360, this new interface will look familiar; the console’s user interface has an almost identical layout.

Microsoft’s new start menu for Windows 8. Click on the picture for more information.

Why the big change? Obviously they want to keep their consumer base happy, but I personally believe their primary objective is to challenge Apple in the tablet and mobile phone industry. This new interface provides plenty of advantages in these product categories that previous Microsoft products just couldn’t offer. The key element is the layout, where every app or program is activated by pushing a button. This allows for touch screens, which previous Windows phones either underutilized or didn’t use at all. It will be interesting to see how consumer’s react to this change, and even more interesting to see how its competitors react.

What do you think?

ADF Steel Corp., a Canadian steel company based out of Quebec, has halted US progress on rebuilding the World Trade Center. ADF has refused to ship a massive, 750 ton, 458 foot-long antenna which will complete the building. According to ADF, the owners of the World Trade Center site owe ADF more than $6 million (for a different project), and they will not ship the antenna until this has been paid. Due to the massive size of the antenna it must be transported by boat, and the only way to do that is  by shipping it along the St. Lawrence river, which will freeze in just a few short months.

Not surprisingly, the owners of the World Trade Center site are taking legal action, suing ADF and demanding the court to order ADF to ship “unique and indispensable pieces of steel for a project of preeminent national importance”. The irony here, is that by doing this, they’re basically ensuring that the antenna doesn’t get shipped. The St. Lawrence river will surely freeze over before the lawyers can bring this to a close, and the World Trade Center rebuild will likely not be completed until the spring.

Check out the full article here.

What do you think?

A recent survey by Pyramis Global Advisors showed that “only 60% of Canadian pension managers predict they will successfully achieve their annualized target return”. This target return is, on average, 6% annually. This is forcing many pension managers to rethink their investment strategies. The most common shift has been toward liability-driven investment (LDI) models, which “involve choosing assets with long time frames, such as real estate, that have payouts that match the long-term nature of pension obligations”. Most pension managers seem to believe that this switch will help them meet their target returns.

From my perspective, the major problem with these target returns is that, on average, they’re simply too high. 6% seems overly optimistic and frankly, not possible given the current economic climate. A recent report by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) showed that, between 2001 and 2011, the average annual investment return was well below 4%. How can these pension planners somehow achieve the 6% mark? Do they really think that a simple switch to LDI models will accomplish that?

What do you think?

Check out the full article here.

With the September 15th deadline behind us and the current collective bargaining agreement expired, the NHL and the NHLPA have yet to reach a new deal for the 2012-2013 season.The main issue at hand concerns revenue distribution between the owners and the players. Under the previous CBA, the players took a 57% share of total revenue, with the owners taking in 43%. The NHL has been pressing hard for a new deal, which increases the owner’s share of revenue to roughly 54%. According to NHL commissioner Gary Bettman, this is part of a plan to introduce revenue sharing into the league, meaning that NHL franchises who take in less money will be eligible to receive subsidies to sustain and improve their organizations. As Bettman puts it, “The fact of the matter is the players have been getting 57 per cent, we were getting 43 per cent — and we were paying all the expenses of running the game, running the league and running our clubs” (see article here).  With a full lockout now in effect, there is still little movement being made, however Bettman has reported that the NHL has been moving their proposals closer to a 50-50 deal.

Check out the most recent NHL video update here.

Last February, Apple CEO Tim Cook asked the Fair Labor Association (FLA) to investigate working conditions at Foxconn, Apple’s primary manufacturer. This request followed a series of worker suicides in 2010, with speculation that they were in protest of dismal working conditions. For more details about those conditions, click here. The FLA was happy to report that the electronics giant “had made significant improvements”, but they still found “at least 50 violations of local regulations at Foxconn plants in Chengdu, Guanlan and Longhua”.

Safety nets were installed at the Foxconn plant to prevent suicide.

This story poses difficult ethical questions concerning Apple’s business practices. Many would argue that 76-hour working weeks without full overtime pay is unacceptable, regardless of any other factors. However, an important question to ask is, would these people have a job if they didn’t work at Foxconn? The company employs about one-million people in China, a country where good work can be extremely difficult to find. Cutting hours means hiring more people, meaning existing workers will lose income (even if they don’t receive full overtime pay). It’s a difficult situation; it’s impossible to be sure which action will truly benefit the workers and improve their overall quality of life.

What do you think?

Check out the full article here.

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