Home Director Out?

The Australian-based gadget site Kotaku issued a story with this headline yesterday: "Home Director says Home Will be 'Out' in 2008."

The structured-wiring manufacturer Home Director (OTCBB: HMDO) is one of the companies I watch in my Home Tech Portfolio.

I no longer follow stories tagged "Home Director" because they inevitably feature a nursing home director or the like.

But this headline appeared in my portfolio under HMDO so I took a look.

In fact, the Kotaku story was about the forthcoming PlayStation Home, and it quoted the director of that product line, Jack Buser.

From everything I know, our "Home Director" was out -- as in no longer in action -- earlier this year.

The stock hasn't moved since Mid-September from its $0.03 price.

The last SEC filing was March 31, 2008, when Home Director said its form 10k would be late.

Mid-century modern home goes back in time with cork floors

Our mid-century modern home originally had cork flooring when it was built in 1950. At some point it was covered with carpet, and ultimately we pulled both layers up and refinished the underlying cement floors.

The cement company did a lousy job and we got sick of the floors so decided to go back to the original.

Today is the first day of the install.

Enjoy more home projects at "Julie Jacobson's Retrofit from Hell"

Cement floor fiasco -- looked cool for a little while, but not for long.

Mark and Jeff starting the install. Jeff does floors, doors, carpentry, anything with wood. Let me know if you're in the Twin Cities area and need his info.

Blockbuster's VOD -- it's about time

What took Blockbuster so long to get into the video-on-demand game? The company is finally offering a settop box (made by 2wire) for watching movies over broadband.

The "Blockbuster OnDemand" box costs $99. Movies cost $1.99 and users have 30 days to watch their titles (24 hours once they first press the "play" button).

Whither Vudu?

Home Tech Stocks - Update

Home Tech stocks ended the day up 5.4%, led by home builders -- Centex, Lennar, KB Home, Pulte.

But we lagged behind the other indicators. The S&P 500 was up 6.5%. DJIA was up almost 5%.

TechHome award redux

Ah, I guess my quick email nominations didn't cut the muster. CEA wants us to fill out a big form for the TechHome Leadership award. Sorry Grayson and Joel. Maybe someone else will go to bat for you! I'm just not a form kind of girl.

TechHome Leadership Award - who should win in '09?

The Consumer Electronics Association is taking nominations for its annual TechHome Leadership Award.

I nominated Joel Silver and Grayson Evans. Other good prospects are Petro Shimonishi (NetStreams), Al Barron (Polk Audio), and Walt Zerbe (Russound).

Send your nominations to markofexcellence@ce.org

Here are the previous winners. Who's missing?

David Rodarte, NuVo Technologies LLC (2008)
Bill Maronet, ETC Inc. (2007)
Tom Callahan, Sawyers Control Systems (2006)
David Hanchette, On-Q/Legrand (formerly EH Publishing Inc.) (2005)
Peter Hoagland, BG Corporation (2004)
Duane Paulson, Sequel Technologies LLC (formerly ITI/GE Security) (2003)
Richard Scholl, Worthington Distribution (2002)
John Galante, EH Publishing Inc. (2001)
Ken Kerr, Home Controls Inc. (2000)
Jay McLellan, Home Automation Inc. (1999)
Ken Moyes, EH Publishing Inc. (1998)
Joe Freeman, J. P. Laboratories LLC (1997)
Doug Fikse, Founder and President, On-Q Home (1996)
Mark Hollcraft, Leviton Manufacturing Company (1995)
Pete Lesser, Bill Scheffler, Dave Rye, X10 USA (1994)

Home building stocks are smoking

It's a good day to own stock in home-building companies. They're all up right now except for Hovnanian (NYSE: HOV), which is down 12%.

Home Tech stocks are currently up 3.8% for the day.

'Mojave' Media Center ad: Msoft has a long way to go on consumer awareness

By now, maybe you've seen "Mojave Experiment" ad in which regular consumers discuss this cool "new" product from Microsoft that lets you watch TV and record shows RIGHT FROM THE PC!!!

(Wow! You mean this is available today?)

It shows how far the Microsoft marketing team has to go with Windows Media Center.

The ad is shown here on YouTube, and the first comment is this:

"wait how do you record tv on vista?"

Vegas hotels slash rates for CES

Some of Las Vegas's most popular hotels have slashed their rates for rooms during CES.

Normally, the city gouges us during that busy January time, but it seems rooms aren't selling as fast as they used to.

No such luck for the CEA Winter Retreat in Jackson Hole, though. Rooms there are still $525 per night.

Two degrees of separation between Obama and me

image from Flickr

My former sister-in-law, Patti Solis Doyle, has been asked to be Obama's cabinet secretary.

She married my brother Andy (what was she thinking?!) when they were both young students at Northwestern University. They parted amicably when they started to grow up!

My favorite memory of Patti is when she and Andy took me through the barrios of Chicago to find a good place for breakfast. We found one -- the home of some random woman who cooked us up the greasiest, most delicious, homey, affordable Mexican-style breakfast I ever had.

Patti had worked with Hillary for years, and was her campaign manager till she left to become Biden's would-be chief of staff under Obama.

She hasn't said yes to the cabinet post.

Patti's great. We don't keep in touch, but all of us Jacobsons like her and wish her well.

UPDATE: As it happens, the cabinet secretary post went instead to Chris Lu, not Patti. Apparently, Patti had been Rahm Emanuel's choice.

Now ... I am only one-degree of separation from Bush. A good, long-time friend in the industry, Tom Riley -- arguably the father of home automation (founder of Unity Systems) -- was Bush's roomie at Harvard. He is now the ambassador of Morocco.

Looks like he may be headed back to the country.

Obama, if you're listening -- Tom is your kind of guy. You should let him stay put!

(Hey, Tom, drop me a line)

Sony won't let retailers slash prices this holiday

The NYT reports that Sony Electronics will eliminate price competition on some CE products over the holidays.

Jay Vandenbree, the company’s president for consumer sales, said that retailers won't be allowed to slash prices on some CE products including high-end TVs.

Apparently, the move would eliminate stress for buyers.

“Consumers don’t have to worry about whether I can get a better deal at retailer A or retailer B,” he said. “Everybody gets the best deal.”

According to the story, Vandenbree said stores can now compete on other attributes, like education and support.

The Supreme Court ruled last year that manufacturers could indeed dictate minimum pricing for their resellers.

Now THAT's a 'Female Friendly' phone

In response to my mockery of Sprint's new "female friendly phone," the folks at RemoteCentral.com had a field day.

The best comments pertained to this phone by Bang & Olufsen.

Enough said, but if you want to hear some vulgarity, check out this thread on RemoteCentral.

Stormy Daniels to kick off porn show

Wicked Pictures star Stormy Daniels, "one of the hottest and most prolific adult stars on the circuit today", will kick off the 2009 AVN Adult Entertainment Expo by cutting the ribbon to open the event.

Sorry, I can't make the ribbon cutting, but once again I will be reporting from the show.

See some of my previous porn-related stories.

CE Pro High Impact Products of the Year (CHIPs) 2008

CE Pro just posted the winners of our annual High Impact Product awards.

If you're a dealer and you don't see your favorites in there, then you didn't send in your nominations or the editors weren't convinced.

Next year, get your nominations to me before Oct. 1.

Click on the images to learn why each product was selected, and who nominated them.

GOLD WINNERS

INNOVATOR OF THE YEAR: Savant Systems Rosie	Agilewaves Resource Monitor	Autonomic Controls Media Control Server
DirecTV SWM (Single-Wire Multi-Switch)	James Loudspeaker Landscape Series Speakers	Philips Pronto TSU9600
Pioneer PDP-6020FD Kuro	Samsung Series 7 Touch of Color	Tripp Lite AV550SC Backup Power Block
Vudu XL

SILVER WINNERS

AMX MVP-5200i |	Aton DLA
AudioQuest ITC	Crestron TPS-6X	Ethereal HDMI-CAT5

HomeLogic DVR	Kaleidescape 1080p Mini Player	Lumagen RadianceXD
Magnum Dynalab ST-2 Antenna	NuVision Lucidium LCD	PlanetWaves HD Cable Station Connectors
Proficient M6 Audio Controller	Sherbourn 7/2100A Amplifier	Sonance Visual Performance Series Speakers
SpeakerCraft Mode iPhone Interface	Universal Remote Control (URC) KP900

Home Tech Stocks - Update

Home Tech Stocks were down 1.82% for the day yesterday.

Still, that's better than yesterday's performance of:
Dow Jones Industrial: down 2.63%
New York Stock Exchange: down 2.37%

In the Home Tech category, the big loser was Theater Xtreme, which filed an unpleasant 10k last week.

Brink's and Tivo were winners. Brink's ... I have no idea why. Tivo, though, is obvious: you can now order a Domino's pizza through your TiVo.

Brink's Home Security Holdings - up 5.94%
TiVo Inc. - up 2.56%
Theater Xtreme Ent. Group, Inc. - down 33.33%

DTV Transition tech support: Remember to remove plastic from batteries

There's something a little strange about creating an installation video for a process that "couldn't be easier."

But that's just what Zenith has done to help people install a DTV converter box.

Then again, not all consumers are as tech savvy as, say, my mother.

From the press release announcing the video:

Based on consumer calls to the Zenith customer service hotline, the video reminds consumers to remove the plastic wrapper before installing batteries.

Scary.

For the technophobes out there, I would advise against watching the video. It looks a little like the video spoof of the old lady trying to figure out how to install at converter box.

Sprint's 'Female Friendly' phone: I'm embarrassed to be a woman

The PR headline reads:

Boost Mobile Launches Female-Friendly Motorola i776w Phone

Latest Handset Delivers Quality With Style to Cost-Conscious Female Consumers

I guess what makes it so "female-friendly" is that women are cheap and fond of "soft purple."

"The i776w is a bold combination for the female who wants to stand out in the crowd," said Moni Wolf, director of design for iDEN mobile devices. "The juxtaposition of the cool aluminum anodized metal with the soft, warm nature of the purple and high-gloss surfaces creates an inviting look and feel that attracts attention and begs to be held."

I guess the "w" stands for woman.

Forgive me if I puke.

More silly stories from the Women in CE files:

Industry Insider: What a Girl Wants (Same as a Guy)
Chicks Rule at CEA Forum
Oxygen, Westinghouse Launch ‘Girls Gone Wired’ Campaign
Audio Technica Discriminates Against Men
Go Figure, Best Buy Closes Original EQ-Life Store

Sprint has nothing on the Hello Kitty phone.

Employee: Geek Squad wants good salesmen, not good techs

On the TechExam.net forum, a Geek Squad employee (reportedly) paints this not-so-rosy picture of a job with the PC installation company.

(Thanks for the heads up, RTI Installer at RemoteCentral.com)

$10-$12/hr is the max they will pay you unless you are an In-Home tech. I was also told I was overqualified in my interview but I got the job anyway. The only required cert for Geek Squad is A+; however, only the senior tech is required to have it. Where I work we have people from 18 (me) all the way up to the 30's.

If you do indeed end up working for the Geek Squad, DON'T expect it to be a purely computer related job. You are required to ring up computer sales, test all returned items (including TVs, washing machines, iPods etc.), and sell Geek Squad services. Best Buy does not care if they have good techs, they want good salesmen. Be prepared for the worst customers also. Best Buy salesmen will tell them whatever they want to hear to make a sale. Usually, the techs get an earfull when the customer finds out their iPod will not be repaired in store and will take 3-4 weeks to get it back.

Point is, the Geek Squad is a baby step towards a career. In 2 weeks I'll be starting a full-time internship with a local Cisco partner and never look back. The Geek Squad may not be the best IT job, but it provides experience to those who have none.

I've been called worse

The folks at D-Tools University, where I spoke last week in Atlanta, were so apologetic about misspelling my name.

What's the big deal?

I've been called worse -- by my own company, no less:

Tech Home Stocks - Update

Tech Home stocks rebounded yesterday. The only loser was Dell (Nasdaq: DELL).

Overall, tech home stocks were up 5.6%. Among the winners:

Protection One (PONE) - up 27.21%
Audiovox (VOXX) - up 23.27%
Thomson ADR (TMS) - up 21.01%
Netflix (NFLX) -up 17.68%
HH Gregg (HGG) - up 16.20%

Tech Home Stocks - Update

Tech home stocks down 6% for the day, with home builders and P-One topping the losers list.

- Hovnanian - (14.72%)
- Protection One (13.49%)
- Lennar (12.78%)
- Centex (12.48%)
- DR Horton (11.85%)

Washington Post loses all credibility: Fake TV for thwarting thieves?

The Washington Post ran a nice little article about the benefits of burglar alarms, safes and other products to thwart the bad guys. They even quoted our friend Kirk MacDowell from GE Security.

And then they had to go and promote the silly "Fake TV" that my colleague Jason Knott mocked on CEPro.com

One inexpensive way to dupe burglars into thinking someone's home when they're not is the Fake TV. The device flashes intermittently, simulating the light output of a television. It retails for about $31.

I'm surprised the Post didn't recommend the bedside shotgun rack, too.

CEA Winter Retreat: just $565 a night

The Consumer Electronics Association did us all a favor by reducing the fee for its annual Winter Retreat: only $249!

The catch: the event takes place at the priciest venue ever -- the Four Seasons in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

A hotel room is $495 + $30 "resort fee" + $40 tax for a grand total of $565 per night.

And I thought Vail and Aspen were pricey.

At least there won't be boring speeches and presentations to interfere with skiing and saunas. "The event is now almost entirely focused on networking in a casual environment."

Boss, can I go?

Goodbye Vudu CEO

Valleywag.com first reported, and others have subsequently confirmed, that former Vudu CEO Mark Jung has left the company after one year.

Jung had joined the company fromFox Interactive Media (FIM) where he was responsible Internet properties including MySpace, IGN Entertainment, FoxSports.com and AmericanIdol.com.

Vudu began slashing its work force in August, but has quelled rumors that the company is in trouble. The provider of IP-based video on demand has boasted about its partnership with Best Buy, the recruitment of 1,000 dealers and its collection of 1,100 HD movie titles.

The scuttlebut, however, is that Vudu has sold precious few boxes.

Despite the fact that Vudu is the only one to offer 1080p/24 movie downloads, the company faces fierce competition from NetFlix, Blockbuster/Movielink, possibly Apple, cable, satellite, and many more.

Home Tech Stocks - Update

I have set up a portfolio of home technology and related stocks, and plan to track their performance weekly, if not daily.

I set up the account today, using the closing prices from Friday, Nov. 7, 2008.

The portfolio is down 2.30% for the day (updated from previous posting; changed Brinks from Brinks corporate (NYSE: BCO) to spinoff Brinks Home Security (NYSE: CFL).

Not surprisingly, Circuit City's (NYSE: CC) Chapter 11 filing put the retailer at the top of the losers list, with a 60% decline in its stock price, which ended today at $0.10.

The rest of the Top 15 losers were led by the homebuilding sector, which occupied seven slots, including no's. 2, 3, and 4.

Currently, my home tech portfolio includes homebuilders, as well as manufacturers, distributors, service providers and retailers in the consumer electronics, security and other home technology-related businesses.

In recession, focus on product quality, durability

Lloyd Ivey, founder and CEO of Mitek and the former chairman of the Consumer Electronics Association, suggests we sell product quality and durability during economic downturns.

He was one of the 6 CE industry insiders I interviewed during the CEA Industry Forum.

"We can convince people the money they have should be spent on better things," Ivey says. "During the depression, people didn't buy junk. They bought things they could depend on."

He points to the success of Frigidaire freezers during that period.

I found this 1930s Frigidaire on sale for $600. Apparently it still works.

From the listing:

This auction item is for a 1930's vintage GE Frigidaire Refrigerator?Freezer. When this refrigerator was picked up-it was still operating. We have had in cooling drinks in our salvage warehouse this summer. Would be perfect for keeping all sorts of beverages cold!!! This refrigerator/freezer measures 30" wide by 23" deep and stands 58" tall and has a very space age "Jetson's" type handle. The freezer compartment also has a unique handle. Refrigerator is in exceptional condition for its age!! The interior of the door has a scratch and some of the plastic molding on the interior is slightly cracked.

Talk about a good investment during the depression!

Other insiders interviewed in my story: Ian Hendler, Leviton; William Chamberlain, Cobra; Frank DeMartin, Mitsubishi; Richard Stoerger, ADA; Cat Fowler, Elan

KB Home's Martha Stewart Community perfect for EH CEO Ken Moyes

Ken Moyes, the CEO of EH Publishing, has a home in La Quinta, Calif.

We have found a perfect new community for him. The homes are even environmentally friendly and Energy Star rated!

KB Home and Martha Stewart Introduce New Active Adult Community in La Quinta, California
Announcement Event Features Cupcake-Decorating Contest Judged by Stewart

"I'm very excited about our newest Martha Stewart community with KB Home created especially for mature adults who lead active lives," said Martha Stewart. "As in all of our communities, these homes will be affordable and beautifully designed with an eye to practical details. In addition, the clubhouse activities and meeting areas will help cultivate friendship and camaraderie among residents."

MORE

Dell's iPod-killer delayed

Wall Street Journal reports that Dell will not launch its new MP3 player for this holiday season. The product was to be based on new entertainment software called Zing, which has a heavy online component.

The WSJ also says that Dell will hold off on the music player indefinitely but plans to move forward with the Zing software for PCs.

Dell withdrew from the music-player market in 2003 after its DJ Ditty player flopped.

UPDATE: Dell quells rumors about new music player

What would YOU do?

I'm in an elevator heading down to an EHX function and there's a nicely dressed businessman next to me.

Door opens, and a gentleman going to a lawyer's convention steps in.

His fly is unzipped.

I glance at the first guy, and clearly he is not going to take action. It surely would be his responsibility. Did he not see the wardrobe malfunction? Or was he simply ignoring it?

Do I or don't I?

The troller was a middle-aged man, a little nerdy. Doesn't look to have much of a sense of humor.

Time was running out. We were nearing the lobby level.

So I did it. I just blurted it out.

He blushed and thanked me.

What would YOU do? You know it's the RIGHT thing to say something, but WOULD you?

The Top 17 Ways to Tell Someone Their Fly Is Unzipped

17. You've got Windows on your laptop.
16. Sailor Ned's trying to take a little shore leave.
15. Your dork is ajar.
14. Quasimodo needs to go back in the tower and tend to his bells.
13. I can see your Gap dancers.
12. Paging Mr. Johnson... Paging Mr. Johnson...
11. Your pod bay door is open, Hal.
10. Elvis Junior has left the building!
9. Mini Me is making a break for the escape pod.
8. Ensign Hanes is reporting a hull breach on the lower deck, sir.
7. Captain, sensors detect a wormhole in the forward quadrant!
6. Lil' Shaq's at the free show line.
5. You've got your fly set for "Monica" instead of "Hillary."
4. Your closet door is open and Donato's peeking out.
3. You've got a security breach at Los Pantalones.
2. I see you have an opening in senior management.
1. Our next guest is someone who needs no introduction.

Digital Transition: hope for my mom

Are Seniors Ready For The Digital Conversion? | Funny Jokes at JibJab

Brink's Home Security shares tumble on first day of spinoff

Shares of Brink's Home Security Holdings Inc. (NYSE: CFL) fell Monday, its first day of solo trading on after spinning off from Brink's Co.

Shares of Brink's Home Security fell $2.28, roughly 10.5%, to $19.47. The high for the day was $22.29.

It's former parent company, however, fared well. Brink's Co. (NYSE: BCO) gained 60 cents, or 2.2%, to close at $27.34 in regular trading Monday.

Brinks Home Security's competitor Protection One (NASDAQ: PONE) fell 3.27% yesterday to end the day at $7.11.

By the way...Want to know what the "CFL" stands for? "Customers for Life." Sweet.

What's New in Security Stocks?

Today Brink's Home Security Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: CFL) announced its separation from The Brink's Company (NYSE: BCO). Brink's Home Security had been an operating unit of The Brink's Company for over 25 years. Trading in CFL began this morning on the New York Stock Exchange.

Market cap now is about $1 billion.

The ticker reflects the Company's internal mission statement: Creating Customers for Life. Puhleeze!

*****

Amityville, NY-based Napco Security Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: NSSC) issued a statement from chairman and CEO Richard Soloway, who starts out by noting that it is not "normal policy" for Napco to provide future guidance or to respond to market activity.

Napco stock has fallen from $4.42 in August to about $2 lately, a trend that "belies the basic strengths of the Company and its extremely positive future prospects," Soloway says.

Net sales for the first fiscal quarter of 2009 increased approximately 25% to $17.4 million, up from $13.9 million for the first quarter of fiscal 2008, due primarily to six weeks of revenues added from a recent acquisition "as well as an increase in our existing business," Soloway states.

Finally, he suggests that NSSC is a good buy: "We strongly believe that the prospects for long-term growth have never been better. In our estimation, investors should carefully investigate NAPCO’s future prospects …."

*****

The Board of Directors of Honeywell (NYSE: HON) has declared a regular quarterly dividend of $0.275 per share on the company's outstanding common stock. The dividend is payable on December 10, 2008 to shareowners of record at the close of business on November 20, 2008.

*****

Former Tyco (NYSE: TYC) CEO and lavish spender/swindler Dennis Kozlowski cannot sell his Florida and Massachusetts homes and other property without first asking Tyco for permission, a court has ruled.

Kozlowski is in jail for financing a lavish lifestyle by looting millions of dollars from the industrial conglomerate.

If he can manage to pocket some of his orange suits upon his release from prison, perhaps he could pawn them on ebay for a few bucks.

CE Stocks

I've added a live stock ticker to the site (at left). If you don't recognize the ticker symbols, they are listed below.

Click on the link to get up-to-date news, financials, and other information on the respective stocks.

CE RETAILERS/INSTALLERS
BBY – Best Buy
CC – Circuit City
COST - Costco
HGG - HHGregg
TWTRQ - Tweeter
TXEGE - TheaterXtreme* (OTCBB stock - not followed on CEPro ticker, but accessible here)

SECURITY MANUFACTURERS, INSTALLERS, MONITORING
CFL - Brinks Home Security
HON - Honeywell
NSSC – Napco Security
PONE – Protection One
TYC – Tyco

CE & PC MANUFACTURERS, TECHNOLOGY PROVIDERS, SERVICE PROVIDERS
DELL - Dell
DTV - DirecTV
HAR – Harman International
HIT - Hitachi (American Depositary Shares)
HMDO – Home Director* (OTCBB stock - not followed on CEPro ticker, but accessible here)
HPQ – Hewlett Packard
IM – Ingram Micro
LOGI - Logitech
LPL - LG Display Co. (American Depositary Shares)
NFLX - Netflix
PC – Panasonic
PLNR - Planar
RNWK - Real Networks
SIMG – Silicon Image
SIRI - Sirius XM Radio
SNE - Sony (American Depositary Shares)
TIVO - Tivo
TMS - Thomson Multimedia SA (American Depositary Shares)
UEIC – Universal Electronics Inc.
VOXX – Audiovox

HOME BUILDERS
CTX - Centex
DHI - DR Horton
HOV - Hovnanian
KBH - KB Home
LEN - Lennar
MDC - MDC Holdings
PHM - Pulte Homes


*Home Director and TheaterXtreme are listed on OTCBB and aren't followed through this feed. I'm working on it. If anyone has a suggestion for a better stock ticker widget, please let me know.

Who else should I add? Leave your suggestions below in the comments.

Well, if you put it that way...