The recent release of the Playstation 4, on November 15, 2013, has marked the first console Sony has released in 7 years (the last being the Playstation 3). Sony projects to sell 5 million units by the end of their fiscal year (which is March). With the Playstation 3, Sony managed to sell approximately 3.5 million units by that same time, 7 years ago, it does not seem unreasonable to have that projection. Also, with the constant competition between Nintendo, Microsoft and Sony, we expect to see each successive video game console generation boast a wider variety of upgrades from their predecessors and, of course, attract its many loyal followers to continue purchasing their products.

Since the video gaming industry is so massive, and Sony’s fan base is the majority of the video gaming fanatics, we should continue to see a rise in success for Sony’s gaming consoles. As is for many things in life though, only time will tell how Sony does.

Once again, we see the emergence of another smartphone. This time, it is Motorolla’s new Moto G, an entry-level Android smartphone that is designed for emerging markets. According to CBC:

“A key selling point of the Moto G is it runs the latest version of Android, 4.3 Jellybean, with a promise of upgrading to 4.4 KitKat by January of next year.

The phone also packs a quad-core processor, where most mid-tier phones are dual-core. The 720p display is also made of Corning’s Gorilla Glass — a standard in durability in the industry.” (CBC News)

Although I will need to do further research to find the specifics of this new smartphone, I do believe that the world is steering towards the use of cheaper smartphones. In Hong Kong, the frequency my family members change their cell phones is roughly every 1 or 2 months, especially because of how frequent companies are developing “newer” smartphones with “improved” (most likely only a few) features.

I am intrigued to see how these phones will compete the big names such as Apple and Samsung, and the upcoming Nexus, by Google. The competition is immense, and it appears change occurs relatively quickly.

Whenever industries want to expand, they usually run into the issue of over-exhausting resources or, in the case of the fishing industry, over-fish. For the blue-fin tuna, people have urged the federal government, of Canada, to not ask for a raise in the quota for that fish.

It appears that this fish may be a potential endangered species, but the government has been quiet about whether they choose to raise the quota or not.

Over the past centuries, humanity has been responsible for the disappearance of many species on earth. If we continue to endanger the world through our selfish needs and gains, what will be left of the world for us to enjoy with our wealth? All we are doing is creating wealth for the present, and potentially the future, in the process of damaging or even killing off the futures of other living organisms, in this world. Let us move forward with through sustainability.

Recently, Genevieve Fouda of Duke University and her colleagues have discovered a chemical that may repel HIV from spreading to infants; it is known as tenascin-C, found in milk. As of now, not too much information has been released about this, but we do know that it acts like an antibody, latching onto the virus’ surface, which inhibits its effects on the infected patient.

The article is in the following link: <http://www.economist.com/news/science-and-technology/21588351-one-proteins-milk-protects-infants-against-hiv-infection-luck-would>

After I read this article, I immediately pondered how this would affect the world. There are people out there who would stop at nothing to maximize their profits. If an anti-HIV drug was created, would the discoverer be the kind, ethical person who would be willing to share it with all of humanity? Before we even begin thinking about these scenarios, do you believe humanity will eventually find cures for HIV and AIDS or will it just haunt humanity for as long as we live? Only time will tell, which also sparks the question, “Should we focus on making individualistic gains or should we all try to contribute for everyone’s cause, without making many personal gains?” The human population continues to grow, yet we are hardly making any progress in making the world a more habitable place for the upcoming generations. How do we manage our resources for these upcoming generations? There are too many questions that, in my opinion, do not have a definite answer.

As of November 15, 2013, General Motors has recalled over 15,000 Malibu sedans, of the 2013 model, to check for faulty wiring harnesses. According to two separate cases, the cars were set on fire, while unattended. It is said the wiring harness could wear against the seat frame, causing sparks that could lead to a fire.

Although General Motors is a huge company, there is a potential for major back log, but the major issue for General Motors is their vehicles’ reputation is at stake, leading to the possibility that customers will steer away (pardon the pun) from General Motors when purchasing a car.

In addition to the 15,000 2013 models they recalled, General Motors has also recalled over 40,000 2014 models due to an issue with the defroster; it could lead to a malfunction in the car’s heating and air-conditioning systems, making it difficult to defog the car’s windshield. Although this may seem to be a minor issue, as I mentioned before, General Motors’ reputation is on the line.

I fondly remembered browsing through Youtube, one day, and happened to bump into a video about Google Glass about a month or so ago. It never occurred to me that Google would actually go forth with this idea. Just today, I looked through The Economist and the quirky title, “Ubiquitous cameras, The people’s panopticon” appeared on the side. I read the description and noticed that it was about the very same Google Glass that I watched about a month ago!

The following is a link to the full article: http://www.economist.com/news/briefing/21589863-it-getting-ever-easier-record-anything-or-everything-you-see-opens

Google Glass is basically a portable computer that will let anyone, using it, to record or even take pictures of everything that is being done. An additional feature includes streaming music and videos through the screen of the glasses. This product will seemingly replace all that you would use a smartphone for, so the major question is, “Where will this lead to?”

In March, ESPN, a large sportscaster company, bought the rights to broadcast the Triple Crown Tour, a series of tournaments for elite teams separate from the standard league. At this moment, USA Ultimate (USAU) is seeking a “big-name sponsor” (The Economist).

The sport of ultimate has been taking strides to grow over the past year. There are even mobile apps that allow coaches to view and assess player performance called Ultiapp. This app also powers the online fantasy league for the Major League Ultimate (MLU).

http://www.economist.com/news/business/21587256-chucking-frisbee-becoming-serious-sport-and-lucrative-business-ultimate-recognition

“Tushar Singh, one of Ultiapp’s founders, thinks that a whole new economy can form around ultimate.” (The Economist). One may come to believe that such speculation is purely based on the fact he is one of the founders of an app for this sport, specifically, but it appears that his argument is quite valid. Many years ago, nobody believed that basketball would generate as much income as it does today, where big-name players like Lebron James and Kobe Bryant, in the NBA, generate over $20 million per year, and teams gather in huge revenues at the end of a season. This brings up the question of whether ultimate will become the next big sport, or if this is just false hope. Only time will tell.

What do you think?

Despite having declared that “Verizon had lost interest in Canada and “never seriously considered” a move into this country’s $19-billion wireless market” (The Globe and Mail), Verizon, the second largest mobile network in the US, founded in 2000, appears to have tried to enter into the Canadian mobile network scene by offering to purchase Mobilicity for $350 million, in addition to its initial offer of $700 million to Wind Mobile.

One of the main barriers to entry for Verizon, as well as other mobile network companies outside of Canada, face is the fact that the federal government controls how much mobile bandwidth is sold/auctioned off to these companies. If Verizon cannot get access to a large amount of it, they will not be able to compete with The Big 3. An alternative entry method Verizon considered was to offer a purchase of an existing mobile network in Canada, which was exemplified with the offers it made to both Mobilicity and Wind Mobile, but those offers did not come to fruition.

According to this article: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/verizons-canadian-dalliance-deeper-than-admitted/article14427259/ , “Verizon spokesman Bob Varettoni confirmed that the company did not file application papers this week to bid in the 700 MHz auction, which begins Jan. 14, 2014.” (The Globe and Mail). This statement can be simply interpreted that Verizon’s interest in the Canadian market has greatly diminished from what it it initially was, but it certainly does not mean the interest is no longer there.

The world is constantly changing. It is certainly a possibility that another foreign-based mobile network service will contest the Canadian market again, but at this moment, it appears Verizon is focusing most of its attention on controlling the entire wireless services of the US; one of the main threats of foreign-based mobile networks appears to be preoccupied with another goal. What is certain, though, is that there will always be barriers to entry into many of the existing markets in the world, where Canada’s wireless services is no exception.

As we should all know, Apple and Samsung have been major smartphone competitors for quite some time already. With Apple’s recent release of the new line of iPhones: iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C, Samsung has replied with the unraveling of the new Samsung Galaxy Note III. As a consumer, it is perfectly understandable that these companies would like to heed to their consumer’s wants by releasing a new smartphone line and of course, compete with each other. As a Samsung smartphone user myself, I begin to question whether the the Samsung Galaxy Note III will have the sufficient features to be a successful product.

Looking back, the Samsung Galaxy Note was only released two years ago, whereas the first generation iPhone was released back in 2007. It is quite evident that Apple has made big changes to each successive version of the iPhone, including features such as Siri, but there have mainly been internal changes and larger screens, as highlights, for the Galaxy Note production line. If Apple makes more recognizable changes to its versions, how come Samsung has been more successful than Apple over the past year (aside from the obvious passing of Steve Jobs) Shouldn’t Apple have an advantage over Samsung with its other production lines such as the iPod?

Certainly, price seems to be a major factor when it comes to the quantity demanded for smartphones, but how long will Samsung’s success last? I am intrigued to see how the latest, most competitive, smartphones will be received by the world, in the next few months.

Southbrook Farms has produced award-winning wine in the years of its existence. Despite being projected to produce 15, 000 crates, a whopping 9, 000 more crates than its production 5 years ago, owner, Bill Redelmeier and his wife, Marilyn, have had to turn down orders from its clients. The reason being they lack access to local certified organic manure to fertilize their crops.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/small-business/sb-growth/the-challenge/niagara-vineyard-in-deep-organic-doo-doo/article14223250/

To see owners turn down the opportunity to expand their business to maintain an earth-friendly environment is not uncommon these days, as we, humans, strive for a greener world. We sometimes need to question ourselves, “Do I do what’s in the best interest of our company or do I need to consider the potential dangers it will cause the people and the environment around us before taking any action?”

In present day, businesses need to be conscious about all of their actions, especially considering its effects on its stakeholders. This article may not portray how this decision, by the owners, directly affects its stakeholders, but it shows that sacrifices need to be made to maintain the ethics of a business. By maintaining their reputation as a certified biodynamic winery, Southbrook Farms should continue to grow, as soon as it can find more organic material to support its production.