Copper end use trends

Remember the Illy house? The shipping container that would unfold at the push of a button to reveal a fully furnished, highly functional pre-fab coffee shop? People went crazy for the New York installation of the Quik House.

The world’s largest consumer electronic trade show opens Monday in Las Vegas and the new ideas, products and promises will be as plentiful as terraflops at a server farm. The big trend as predicted so far seems to be an immense emphasis on reducing energy consumption from batteries and power adapters. It may seem small, but the impact could improve market share.

As sacred as ancestral shrines in Japan, mosques in Iran, or beaches in Brazil, the shopping mall has for decades been a place of worship in the United States. Since its inception in the 1940s, it’s grown to define and represent the very culture of mainstream America - and like other representations of the American culture, the mall has been copied and appropriated by nations the world over. But now, while sprawling indoor shopping centers and hypermarkets flourish in far-off countries of the first, second, and third worlds, the mall in America might be on its way out. Not one new indoor shopping mall will be built in America till at least 2009, compared to 5 built in 2005. In 2002 just 19% of U.S. retail purchases were made in malls, down from 38% in 1995. A December 19 article in the Economist tries to pinpoint the reasons behind the decline:

Last month, Stanford University materials scientists unveiled a nanowire electrode that could more than triple lithium batteries' energy storage capacity and improve their safety.

We can use any kind of waste, such as sewage or pig manure, and the microbial fuel cell will generate electrical energy,

The London Underground, with its dingy walls and dark, gloomy corridors have been a fantastic location for brands to entertain and uplift their audience with emotive or interesting advertising imagery. But now the digital age is transforming these communication channels with amazing new DEP (digital escalator panels), XTP (cross-track projection), LCD corridor panels and even moving LED panels on buses once people get above ground.

2007 was a pretty eventful year for technology. We saw much to provide us with a warm glow of optimism, not least some incredible tech stock valuations and VC plays. On the downside we also saw some gremlins in the mix, most notably the Facebook Beacon fiasco. What will 2008 have in store?

JWT, the world’s fourth largest advertising agency, was originally founded by William James Carlton in 1864 and renamed by James Walter Thompson in 1877 to The James Walter Thompson Company (JWT). It is one of the key companies of Sir Martin Sorrell’s WPP Group, headquartered in New York, and has just released its list of 80 things to watch in 2008.

the telecom revolution has touched a Dalit village. However, as they get no electricity, some 40 villagers who now have mobile phones, travel at least 20 kilometers everyday just to get their phones charged.

village in India without electricity, residents have to walk 12 miles to a neighbouring town to charge their mobile phones. Poverty and isolation mean that the phones are key to communicating with the outside world in the event of emergencies

n interesting article from Japan Market News explores the country’s love for blogging - mobile blogging in particular.  According to the Technorati 2007 “State of the Blogsphere” report, Japanese is the #1 blogging language in the world, accounting for 37% of all blog posts, narrowly edging out English at 36%.

unveiled their Friends List feature today, making awkward introductions between your boss and old fraternity (drinking) buddies at your holiday soiree a thing of the past. Now users can separate their friends into different groups, allowing them to send mass messages and event invitations to specific sets depending on context.  Friends Lists are kept private (so no one’s feelings get hurt), and Facebook says that in 2008 more privacy settings will be added so users can keep some friends and not others from seeing certain profile updates and information.

King’s larger point — that we should act individually to start a cultural shift that re-prioritizes gas guzzlers at the bottom of the desirability list — is probably valid. But broad assumptions about women liking hot cars (and the men who drive them) aside, the idea that one person’s decisions should be unrelated to his or her personal interests runs contrary to free-market models for achieving both personal and societally optimal results. In other words, trying to influence someone else’s consumer choices is far less effective than simply making those choices yourself.