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Dell Closing Down North Carolina Facility – 1400 To Lose Their Jobs

Dell is slowly closing down their North Carolina facility, which at one time employed 1400 people. By January, 2010 the plant will be vacant and the locals are looking for a new tenant to fill the void. The plant which was opened 4 years ago, promised prosperity for the local township, has left residents angry.

According to a local news article it stated the following:

It’s been a slow fade for the company which had promised so much when it announced amid great fanfare that it was locating the esteemed plant in North Carolina. But more than 250 employees were laid off at the plant in March, dropping the workforce from 1,400 in January to 1,140.

The plant had only been in operation for four years when it suddenly announced last month plans to close.

With the addition of the plant, the rural landscape along Union Cross Road in southern Forsyth County slowly changed. Many residents said the peace and quiet they’d grown to enjoy was replaced by with traffic and noise.”There were just farms up and down this road,” said Paul Stephens, who along with his wife lived off Union Cross for several decades. “Now you look at it — shopping centers and everything.”

“It is a waste — nothing but a waste,” Stephens added. “They spent a lot of money to get setup and just four years — we didn’t expect it. We wanted them to last at least five.”Now Stephens said he wonders what will happen if the lot stands vacant. City officials have said they are working to find a new tenant for the building.”It would bother us if it wasn’t maintained.

It don’t do the neighborhood any good with shrubs and stuff grown over it,” Stephens said. “It could sit there for several years. It would take a big company to come and make good use of it.”

Competition in the computer market has been stiff, with companies such as HP-Compaq, Acer and others claiming more market share. Dell could be pushed out of the number 3 market spot in 2010, if and when. Acer and Toshiba merge.

Comments welcome.

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Where Are My Eggo Waffles? Kellogg Rations Supply After Plant Closes

Eggo waffles are a real convenience for those who have small children and need a quick meal for the kiddies in the morning. It doesn’t get any simpler than to just pop in a couple of Eggo waffles into the toaster and in a few minutes you have breakfast ready to go. But it seems that we will be suffering an Eggo waffle shortage that could go on into mid-2010.

According to one news source and also from a CNN report this morning, Kellogg has closed its Atlanta processing plant.

“We are working around the clock to restore Eggo store inventories to normal levels as quickly as possible,” wrote Kellogg spokeswoman Kris Charles in an e-mail. “In the meantime, we’re allocating available product to customers based on historical percentage of business.”

So which regions might get their Eggos back first? Mrs. Charles wouldn’t say, adding only that Kellogg has “loyal Eggo consumers across the country.”

Eggos are in short supply because two of the company’s four frozen-waffle facilities have had operational problems in recent months. In September, Kellogg announced it had shut down its Atlanta plant after a Georgia Agricultural Department test revealed the bacteria listeria in a sample of Kellogg’s Buttermilk Eggo Waffles. Listeria has been linked to meningitis and encephalitis, according to the Food and Drug Administration.

Kellogg issued a recall of two of its products, totaling 4,500 cases, although no illnesses had been reported.

There are also problems at their plant in Tennessee as well:

Meanwhile, “extensive enhancements and repairs” at Kellogg’s largest Eggo-producing facility — in Rossville, Tenn. — also slowed production, according to Charles. Several production lines at that plant are still down, she adds, but all the other lines at the four plants are operational.

It is now becoming a national issue and some people are trying to sell their boxes of Eggo’s on eBay! I am not joking. So how is this shortage affecting your life?

Share your experience with us.

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ExtremeTech Web Site Bites The Dust

Ziff Davis will be shutting down their ExtremeTech web site soon and the folks who worked the site will be let go. ExtremeTech was noted for their in depth study of new technology and new products. The site also presented information for what was called ‘extreme geeks’.

According to a recent article it also states:

The ExtremeTech.com web site will continue to operate as an archive. But no one will be working on it or refreshing the web site anymore. ExtremeTech is a site for extreme geeks. The site reviewed all sorts of gadgets in a way that showed that its experts really knew what they were talking about.

ExtremeTech and their band of experts will be missed. I wish the staff well in their new endeavors.

Comments welcome.

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3D Realms Closing – Goodbye Duke Nukem

It is kind of like losing an old friend that is dear to your heart. That is how saying goodbye to Duke Nukem is going to be for some of us. The muscle bound character that entertained us through some unbelievable episodes may be heading for extinction now that 3D Realms has closed it’s doors.

I still recall Duke Nukem 3D that at the time was very controversial due to its strong language and violence. But it was ahead of it’s time and I enjoyed playing it. But as with all good things, this has also ended. According to a news article it states that:

A very reliable source close to Duke Nukem Forever developer 3D Realms today confirmed to Shacknews that the development studio has shut down.

The closure came about as a result of funding issues, our source explained, with the shut down said to affect both 3D Realms and the recently resurrected Apogee. Employees of both entities have already been let go.

Nuke Nukem will be missed. This morning some are reporting that Duke Nukem Forever project may still proceed. With the recession hitting everyone hard, this may or may not happen.

Comments welcome.

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Hearst Dumps Seattle Post-Intelligencer

The Hearst Corporation said it will close down the Seattle Post-Intelligencer after 146 years of operation. This will leave only one major newspaper, The Seattle Times, in the metro area. The SPI lost 14 million bucks last year and Heast was unable to find a buyer for the paper. The last edition will be published this Tuesday.

In a statement the company said:

The company, however, said it will maintain seattlepi.com, making it the nation’s largest daily newspaper to shift to an entirely digital news product.

It was also reported that:

Demand for news has not fallen but the revenue model has changed faster than American newspapers can keep up. Thus, falling advertising revenue and the migration of readers to online has rocked newspapers large and small. The Rocky Mountain News in Denver closed in February. The Seattle P-I is the second newspaper to shut down in 2009.

Other major newspaper companies are reducing staff, eliminating bureaus and freezing pay in an attempt to get expenses in line with falling revenue.

I believe we will see many more newspapers and magazines going all digital during 2009. The newspaper as we know it may be coming to an end.

Comments welcome.

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Hearst Corporation Wants Online Only News

I previously mentioned that on Monday I lost my column at a local newspaper in California. Though this came as no surprise considering the state of the economy and how newspapers are struggling to survive, it appears that the Hearst Corporation may close another newspaper in Seattle and wants to go online only with their news. In a news article at the seattlepi.com, one reported has stated the following:

Staffers chosen to participate in an online-only version of the Seattle P-I were notified of their selection Wednesday and Thursday. The selections indicate The Hearst Corp.’s plan for such a Web site is advancing.Two reporters said they received “provisional offers” from P-I New Media head Michelle Nicolosi or Hearst executive Ken Riddick. They said they were told they will be given formal offers if the Web site gets the go-ahead from Hearst’s senior management.

The reporters wouldn’t give details, saying they had been asked during their interviews not to comment. Nicolosi also declined to comment. Riddick, who has been at the P-I over the past two days, didn’t return a call seeking comment.

The statement continues with:

According to Castro, Riddick said Hearst plans to start the site the day after the paper quits publishing, which Hearst has said will occur on a date not yet specified if no buyer has emerged by March 10.

It has been previously reported that Hearst also has plans on closing the San Francisco newspaper The Chronicle, which has been posting severe loses. The Chronicle could also suffer the same fate as the Seattle newspaper and go online only for their publications.

Magazines are also switching to online only publications as well. In the February 2009 issue of VARBusiness, they have announced there last printed copy.

Comments welcome.

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Circuit City To Shutter On March 8th, 2009

Hurry on down to your local Circuit City store before they close on March 8th, 2009. This is the latest in rumors from the Consumerist that may have seen an internal memo stating the closing date. It seems that the liquidation has gone smoothly and quicker than anticipated. So the new date may be in just 3 days.

I went to CC on Saturday where I live and the place was pretty bare. There was a smattering of DVD’s and some games but what stood out was that even the shelving was for sale. I was just window shopping so I didn’t stay long because I wasn’t in the market to buy.

You men know what I mean. When we walk into a store we have a specific purchase on our mind. Let’s say it is socks. We will walk by all of the sale items, immediately go to the sock aisle, pickup a pair and go immediately to the check out counter. We don’t browse, we just buy. LOL. I have always said that if the economy depended on men to buy stuff we would be in a real depression.

So if you want to get that last minute deal at CC, you better hurry on down.

Comments welcome.

Source

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Tech Blogger Receives Death Threats

The WJS is reporting that TechCrunch founder is taking a brake after receiving death threats. Michael Arrington, the founder of TechCrunch, states that some unhappy readers as well as other bloggers have turned against him causing him to stop his TechCrunch blog. Though he didn’t state how long the blog would be closed, it could be sometime before we see the blog once again.

So what happended to cause all of this drama? According to the WJS it states that:

“Whoever is the top blog will get attacked by everyone else and that’ll just be the way it is,” Mr. Arrington said. “We really need to think about, the community of bloggers, if we’re going to continue to slay our own for competitive reasons.”

Mr. Arrington downplayed any connection between the role his site has taken on — giving buzz to tech startups — and the emotional responses he gets from unhappy readers. Rather, he contends that unfounded allegations from his peers that TechCrunch accepts payment or other favors for stories make him a target.

“I think there are crazy people out there, like the guy that threatened to kill me,” Mr. Arrington said. “I just wish that people wouldn’t suggest to the crazy people that I’m a good target.” Mr. Arrington did not suggest that any tech site actually urged people to harm him. But he did name a handful of tech blogs that he thought had published matter that damaged his site’s reputation, including AllThingsD.com, which is owned by Dow Jones, publisher of The Wall Street Journal.

I have enjoyed past article by TechCrunch and hope he gets his site and reputation back up. What do you think? Should he close his site or just ignore the critics and threats?

Comments welcome.

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Circuit City Liquidation – Deal Or No Deal?

We are all aware that Circuit City failed to find a buyer and is now closing down for good. We are also aware that the company is having a liquidation sale of approximately $2 Billion in electronic products. Depending on who you listen to, there are many differences of opinion about how good or bad the sale pricing actually is.

I personally have not been to the close out event and wanted to ask this question.

If you have attended a closing at one of your local Circuit City stores, what is your opinion as to the discounts being offered? Deal or no deal?

Please comment.

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Circuit City To Close Another 150 Stores?

Whether this is a rumor or not, it is not going to make life easier for the folks employed by Circuit City. Consumers will not shop at a store that might go out of business soon, no matter what guarantees the company makes. As an example, Circuit City states that extended warranties will be honored, since they are provided by third parties. But let’s face it. Who is going to believe this?

According to Tech Traders:

As for which stores close, it’ll be a simple question of which locations remaining have the worst profitability. Black Friday looks to be a large indicator of how this whole scenario will play out.”

Anyone feeling optimistic about sales on Black Friday? I didn’t think so.

But what caught my attention was this comment:

I currently work for circuit city, and I have seen a tremendous decline in sales over the past couple months. I would come in to work and there would be little to no customer’s on the floor as oppose to last year where the whole month of November was packed. I honestly feel that shutting down another 150 stores will not help the company in any way, it will just postpone if not speed up the process of completely shutting down. Circuit city’s inevitable doom awaits it in 2009.

Are things really that bad? I’m not sure. But on Monday evening we went out for dinner near a Circuit City. At 7:00pm, there were 3 cars in the Circuit City parking lot.

Comments welcome.

Source

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It Is Confirmed – Circuit City Closing 155 Stores

The Consumerist has confirmed via an internal memo that Circuit City will be closing 155 stores before December 31, 2008. Also confirmed from employees is that the memo has in fact been sent to those stores which will be closed. What is not confirmed is which stores will be closed.

The Consumerist posted this memo from the Circuit City CEO. To view the memo check the source below.

Though these stores closing were only a rumor in September, it now appears that it is now a fact that stores will be closed.

How do you think this will affect the electronic retailers with Best Buy being the major player left in the game?

Comments welcome.

Source.


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Dell Closes Another Support Center

Dell is closing a support center in El Salvador that employs 900 people. In the article about the closing it stated that the call center provided assistance for those living in South America. Though the article didn’t state where support would be provided from, one could guess that India would be a good choice. After all, we want our Latin friends to suffer the pains of hell when calling India for support, just like we do here in the U.S. :-)

This did bring up another thought.You may recall previous articles in which I had mentioned about buying a business system from Dell, and not a home system. Business systems come with support still here in the U.S. and you avoid the language problem when having to call India.

In addition it is also said by some that you get better service for anything you wish to do at Dell, when you are a business customer instead of a home user.

Comments welcome.

Dell source

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Circuit City Could Close 150 Stores

Talk about a down turn. Circuity City, the #2 electronic retailer, is in deep financial trouble. Their stock is trading at .39 cents a share which just adds to their problems. There is now talk that Circuit City may have to close down some 150 stores in order to try and survive.

Personally I always find our local Circuit City store well stocked and for the most part, had very helpful employees. But it seems that Best Buy, for whatever reason, is the top dog and has pounced on Circuit City sales. It is unfortunate if Circuit City folds, since competition in the electronics market is always a good thing.

Last quarter Circuit City posted a loss of $239 million. Ouch!

What do you think of Circuit City?

Comments welcome.

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Linkup Closes Down Online Backup Service

Some 20,000 customers of the backup service known as The Linkup lost all of their stuff when the service recently closed. It appears that the company was having problems maintaining users data coupled with a lot of finger pointing. But what is known is that on August 8, 2008 Linkup was to delete all of the data on their servers. They also stated in a blog post that all user information, i.e. user names, password, billing info. and so forth would also be deleted. But there is one statement I read that raised my eyebrow:

The Linkup is no longer accepting any uploads or new accounts, and no further charges will be made to your credit card. After August 8, your account will not be accessible, all your personal information will be deleted (username, billing information, history, etc), and your files will be deleted. Please download any files that are in your account that you wish to keep before Friday, August 8 at 5:00 pm PDT.

This part of the statement ‘billing information’. This would indicate that The Linkup has credit card or other payment information on their servers. Is deleting the information enough? What happens to the hardware after the company is done with it? Is their anyway to guarantee that these 20,000 people will not have their information available at a later time?

I know, I know. There is the matter of trust. But how trustful would you be of a company that is going out of business?

I know I would feel better if the word ‘destroyed’ was used in lieu of ‘deleted‘.

Comments welcome.

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The Linkup Blog

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Microsoft's Windows Live Expo To Close

Microsoft has announced that they will be closing their Windows Live Expo service on July 31, 2008. The site originally was developed to compete against Craigslist a very popular site to sell and buy items on. On the WLE site it states:

Windows Live Expo will discontinue service on 31 July 2008. In preparation, the following features are no longer available:

  • Create a new account.
  • Post a new listing.
  • Extend a listing.
  • Upgrade a listing to a premium listing.

All current listings will remain on expo.live.com until they expire.

Which makes one wonder. The ‘Live’ of anything Microsoft currently has, is not working very well against the likes of companies such a Google. Which could led one to believe that Microsoft may really need Yahoo in order to succeed on the Internet.What do you think?

Comments welcome.

Windows Live Expo will discontinue service on 31 July 2008. In preparation, the following features are no longer available:

  • Create a new account.
  • Post a new listing.
  • Extend a listing.
  • Upgrade a listing to a premium listing.

All current listings will remain on expo.live.com until they expire.

Which makes one wonder. The ‘Live’ of anything Microsoft currently has, is not working very well against the likes of companies such a Google. Which could led one to believe that Microsoft may really need Yahoo in order to succeed on the Internet.

What do you think?

Comments welcome.

Source.