Tuesday 29 October 2019

E-Commerce Minute

E-Commerce Minute: Tuesday -- October 29, 2019

The E-Commerce Times -- E-Business Means Business
https://www.ecommercetimes.com
Part of the ECT News Network

Headline Scan
5 Things Retailers Can Do Now to Avoid a Cyber Monday Disaster
Do Your Customer Journeys Have Dead Ends or Dead Spots?
The Ultimate E-Commerce Guide to Black Friday
Harnessing Visual AI to Boost E-Commerce Sales
E-Gurus: Online Guides to Personal Growth

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Today's Story Highlights

5 Things Retailers Can Do Now to Avoid a Cyber Monday Disaster

We may just be turning the calendar to November, but if you're like most
retailers, you're already deep into planning for the gift-giving season.
Black Friday and Cyber Monday are circled and starred as you anticipate,
with a mixture of excitement and trepidation, the spike in sales and
massive increase in traffic to your website and mobile app -- with good
reason.
http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/86325.html

Do Your Customer Journeys Have Dead Ends or Dead Spots?

It's easy to take things you see every day for granted. We take the sun
rising and setting for granted, for instance, and that's a good thing,
because it helps us organize our lives. However, in business taking
things for granted is a hazard. Change is everything these days, and
that means the concepts you take as constants may not be as constant as
they seem.
http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/86326.html

The Ultimate E-Commerce Guide to Black Friday

The shopping season is fast approaching. Black Friday -- the kickoff of
Christmas consumerism -- falls on November 29 this year, six days later
than last year. However, e-commerce stores easily will compensate for
this shorter shopping season: Last year consumers broke records with
$6.22 billion spent online, but this year Black Friday is set to surpass
$12 billion in online sales.
http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/86323.html

Harnessing Visual AI to Boost E-Commerce Sales

Each person interprets an image in countless subjective ways, based on
individual biases. However, when searching for a product on the
Internet, most people prefer accuracy over multiple interpretations of a
single object. Putting the appropriate tags on images ensures better
searchability for users. Doing this manually, though, can be inefficient
and prone to errors.
http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/86322.html

E-Gurus: Online Guides to Personal Growth

The personal and professional growth coaching industry is exploding,
thanks in part to the accessibility afforded by the Internet and digital
technologies. People who want to improve themselves are flocking to
Skype sessions, online classes, Facebook groups, and other venues to
work with life and performance coaches, get career advice, and network
with other seekers.
http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/86321.html

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Apple's AirPods Pro

Engadget Email Newsletter

Now available on your smart speaker and wherever you get your podcasts

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It's Tuesday, October 29, 2019.

Hey, good morning! You look fabulous.

This morning, we’re learning the punctuation for Apple’s most professional set of AirPods and preparing for the launch of Apple TV+ on Friday. We have another new Star Wars trailer to watch for The Mandalorian, and Uber’s speedy food delivery drone is ready to show off all of its rotors.

(View in browser.)

And the 'Game of Thrones' pair won't make a new Star Wars trilogy after all.

New 'The Mandalorian' trailer looks like the Star Wars we're used to

Later today we’ll learn more details about HBO Max, and Apple TV+ launches November 1st, so how can Disney keep our attention on its streaming service? A flashy new The Mandalorian trailer with even more rambling voiceover from Werner Herzog will just about do it and provide a good reminder that Disney+ is about to launch on November 12th.

In other Star Wars news, the team of David Benioff and D.B. Weiss is officially off a planned trilogy of movies. We were expecting to see the first one in 2022, but the former Game of Thrones showrunners are apparently far too busy with work related to their $200+ million Netflix deal.

And they go on sale October 30th.

Apple's $249 AirPods Pro pack noise cancellation and hands-free Siri

To little fanfare, Apple has snuck out its AirPods sequel, and they’re shorter with even more features crammed inside. The main one is noise cancellation, with two microphones on each earbud, and software that continuously adapts the level of active noise cancellation to your ears -- monitoring up to 200 times per second. One microphone keeps tabs on ambient noise, and the other faces inward to pick up any additional sound that may remain. These upgraded buds are also IPX4 rate, so they should hold up just fine to sweat during your workouts. The AirPods Pro will ship on October 30th for $249.

Android TV isn’t dead.

NVIDIA's new Shield TVs start at $149 with Dolby Vision and Atmos

After a slew of leaks, the $149 Shield TV and $200 Shield TV Pro are on sale for you to buy right now. Besides an odd cylindrical shape for the cheaper device and a funky triangular remote, they feature Dolby Vision and Atmos decoding support plus AI-powered upscaling, all powered by a Tegra X1+ chip inside.

Learn to code with this $45 certification bundle.

And AirPods Pro support.

iOS 13.2 arrives with Deep Fusion photography

The latest update to iOS 13 is here, and it adds the “computational photography” feature, Deep Fusion, which is Apple’s answer to Google and Night Sight. It takes advantage of machine learning and image stacking to render each pixel of a photo optimally. You'll likely see the benefits of Apple's new approach most in less-than-ideal lighting conditions, but it should help to improve all your photos. The update also adds 70-or-so new emoji, and if you have a HomePod, it’s ready to recognize voices for multiple people in the home and handle audio Handoffs with iPhones.

The only one with mostly good reviews is the space drama ‘For All Mankind.’

Early Apple TV+ reviews show a lineup lacking hits

With Apple TV+ set to launch this Friday, initial reviews have come out for the original shows that will premiere alongside the platform. And it's probably safe to say Apple won't be happy with how things have turned out so far.

More turbos than a Taycan.

Intel's 5GHz-capable Core i9-9900KS arrives October 30th

Intel has revealed that its special edition Core i9-9900KS processor will be available on October 30th at a recommended price of $513. If you recall, this is really a top-binned version of the 9900K, which can reach a 5GHz turbo speed across all eight cores rather than one and hit a base speed of 4GHz instead of 3.6GHz.

Don’t expect to see this six-rotor beast landing in your yard.

Uber Eats' delivery drone is a VTOL speedster

The ride-hailing company, which has been expanding its repertoire recently, unveiled a new design for its food-delivery drone at the Forbes 30 under 30 Summit. Uber's drone design has rotating wings with six rotors "for increased speed and efficiency" and can carry meals for up to two people. The idea is that it would carry food quickly from a kitchen to somewhere else (like the conveniently located and easily accessible parking lot that so many restaurants lack) where a driver would grab the package and complete the delivery.

But wait, there's more...

1. Migrating eagles flew to Iran and racked up huge roaming bills

2. The all-electric Mini Cooper SE will start at $29,900

3. What's on TV: 'The Morning Show,' 'Afterparty,' 'Jack Ryan,' 'Atypical' and Arsenio Hall

4. Xbox All Access financing returns with a Project Scarlett upgrade option

5. Google parent company Alphabet is reportedly interested in buying Fitbit

6. The best games for Nintendo Switch (Fall 2019 Edition)

7. DJI's 249g Mavic Mini is so small it doesn't require FAA registration

8. Waymo starts picking up riders for fully driverless rides around Phoenix

9. Samsung's SpaceSelfie balloon crashed in someone's yard

10. 'Luigi's Mansion 3' is Mario's brother at his best

The Morning After is a new daily newsletter from Engadget designed to help you fight off FOMO. Who knows what you'll miss if you don't subscribe.

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Monday 28 October 2019

Editor's Pick: Getting Sustainability Right

Getting Sustainability Right

Rob Enderle Oct 28, 2019 10:44 AM PT
	It seems strange to me that our governments haven't been more aggressive about protecting the environment, given that the cost of not doing so poses an existential risk to the human race. It seems insane to me as we watch parts of the country burn and other parts of the country drown that we're still arguing about climate change rather than coming together to do something about it. [More...]

More Picks:

Harnessing Visual AI to Boost E-Commerce Sales
Each person interprets an image in countless subjective ways, based on individual biases. However, when searching for a product on the Internet, most people prefer accuracy over multiple interpretations of a single object. Putting the appropriate tags on images ensures better searchability for users. Doing this manually, though, can be inefficient and prone to errors. [More...]

E-Gurus: Online Guides to Personal Growth
The personal and professional growth coaching industry is exploding, thanks in part to the accessibility afforded by the Internet and digital technologies. People who want to improve themselves are flocking to Skype sessions, online classes, Facebook groups, and other venues to work with life and performance coaches, get career advice, and network with other seekers. [More...]

Bob Stutz, CRM Nomad
Bob Stutz is a great guy. I have interacted with him occasionally over the years in his various senior postings throughout the CRM industry and always found him to be kind, generous and thoughtful. Last week he announced he was leaving his position as head of the Salesforce Marketing Cloud, which he's been at for four years, and taking a job as President of SAP's CX effort. [More...]

FTC Targets Fake Influencer Metrics, Fake Reviews
The FTC announced settlements of a series of fraudulent marketing charges against two high-profile firms. The actions taken make it clear that anyone who engages in similar illegal behavior will face enforcement action, the FTC said. In the first case, Devumi agreed to settle the FTC's first-ever complaint challenging the sale of fake indicators of social media influence. [More...]

Threat From Above: How to Stop Hostile Drones
Unmanned aerial vehicles -- or "drones" as these flying objects more commonly are known -- pose a growing danger, cybersecurity expert Kevin Townsend recently warned. The drone category is broad -- it includes toys for hobbyists, tools for commerce, and devices used for a variety of military purposes. They range in size from massive military drones to small hobbyist devices. [More...]

GoPro Max 360 Wins Reviewers' Plaudits
GoPro has begun taking preorders for its $500 360-degree camera, the Max 360. It has two 180-degree lenses that can capture 360-degree stills at 16.6 megapixels, single lens shots with a 4:3 aspect ratio at 5.5 megapixels, and arresting 270-degree "PowerPanos" at 6.2 megapixels. For video, it can capture 1440p at 60 frames-per-second with a single lens and 5.6k spherical clips at 30 fps. [More...]

Smart Speaker Apps Caught Snooping Around Homes
Flaws in Amazon and Google smart speakers can expose users to eavesdropping and voice phishing. Researchers at Security Research Labs discovered that developers could create malicious apps for the Amazon and Google platforms to turn the smart speakers into smart spies. Using the standard development interfaces for the platforms, the researchers found a way to request and collect personal data. [More...]