Make space for at least one BB-8 tattoo.
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Pawsitively adorable.
Andrius Burba Photography
Andrius Burba Photography
Andrius Burba Photography
Columbia Pictures
Should consumers who pay for cable or satellite TV have an array of set-top options from which to choose? The head of the Federal Communications Commission thinks so. But he’ll be working against the current market, where consumers generally rent equipment from their TV providers at what many believe are unfair prices, absent real competition.
FCC Chair Tom Wheeler proposed an alternative vision for cable boxes Wednesday, one in which consumers personally select the set-top device they use to watch TV shows or internet video. In an essay published by Re/code, Wheeler argued that his proposal would enhance telecom innovation, increase consumer choice, and lower costs.
“It’s time to unlock the set-top box market — let’s let innovators create, and then let consumers choose,” he said, comparing the forced rental of set-top boxes to decades past, when households had to lease their telephones from operators.
According to the FCC, 99 percent of pay-TV customers rent set-top boxes from their providers. And unlike computers, TVs, and mobile phones, the cost of cable boxes to consumers has increased, averaging $231 every year. Wheeler’s proposal wouldn’t set a government standard for delivering TV and internet programming; instead it would set rules forcing providers to pass along channel line-ups and the content itself to the creators of competing devices and software.
Without this overhaul, Wheeler believes consumers end up leasing pricey, inferior products — devices that fail to connect well with the proliferation of online streaming content.
While third-party box providers like Roku, Apple, Google and Tivo stand to gain from a more open arrangement, cable companies face the prospect of lost revenue from fewer set-top box rentals, and potentially the forfeiture of crucial consumer data — who is watching what and when — information that tech companies can use to calibrate advertising and other services.
Wheeler said he will share the details of his proposal with his fellow commissioners this week.
“It’s hard to believe there are six people in this photo!”
Erin Elizabeth Photography
Erin Elizabeth Photography
Erin Elizabeth Photography
Duke, who uses a wheelchair to walk, lives at a animal sanctuary in England but his owners are being forced to relocate and are fundraising to find a new home.
Ross Parry / SWNS
Due to his smaller size and short legs, Duke wasn’t wanted by the commercial farm where he was born. He was even attacked by the other cows at the property.
Ross Parry / SWNS
Lawlor spent £10,000 nursing Duke back to health.
Ross Parry / SWNS
Give it a try.
Spencer Platt / Getty Images
It may feel at times like Starbucks has hit a frothy peak. Its stores are enviably busy compared to many competitors, and its consumers tend to go often, perhaps daily. And the giant coffee company continues to grow.
A strong holiday season boosted Starbucks sales to another record high, the company reported on Thursday. In the last three months of 2015, the chain made more than $5.3 billion in revenue globally, up 12% over the same period a year earlier.
“We are delivering quarter after quarter of record-breaking financial and operating results despite the shift in consumer behavior away from traditional bricks and mortar retailing,” CEO Howard Schultz told investors during an earnings call.
Sales at stores that have been open at least 13 months grew 8% globally, and 9% in the U.S.
BuzzFeed News
Strong gift card sales helped boost results: One in six American adults received a Starbucks card over the holiday, up from one in seven in in 2014, according to the company. The chain also gained loyalty program members: It now has more than 11 million active members in the U.S.
The chain also started taking mobile orders via app nationwide in September, which boosted sales. Starbucks reported that more than 1 million customers in the U.S. used mobile order in December, and they averaged about five mobile orders that month. Starbucks is now processing over 6 million mobile order transactions monthly.
And food sales continued to grow in the morning, afternoon, and evening, in total rising by 20% over the same period the previous year. Sales of breakfast sandwiches rose by more than 40% year over year, according to the company.
Schultz has high hopes for China, now Starbucks’ second largest market with about 2,000 stores. “Starbucks is just getting started in that important country,” he said. The company plans to have 3,400 stores in China by 2019.
But this could get tricky. China is a risky market, and its economy has been volatile, with Starbucks’ results in the China/Asia Pacific region disappointing investors this quarter. Comparable sales rose by just 5%, less than investors had expected.
The chain’s comparable sales growth in Europe, a region that has been shaky both economically and politically, also slowed to 1% last quarter. Despite Starbucks’ strong domestic performance, its weaker international sales caused shares to drop late Thursday.
They swore to shake it up. Did you swear to listen?
Lazing on a sunny crafternoon.
Jenny Chang for BuzzFeed Life
Make a sloth while being slothful.
$18, Kiriki Press.
$36.67, Making Things Happen.
Stitch your truth.
$15.20, The Make Arcade.
Will it be the one that you want?
bethanycoopz 