On Friday credit-card payment systems went down for major businesses scattered across the U.S. Business Insider reports:
Fiserv, one of the leading payments providers in the US, told Insider, “A widespread internet service provider outage has impacted multiple businesses today.” Ann Cave, a company spokesperson, added in an email: “Some Fiserv services that rely on internet connectivity were interrupted. The majority have…
Tag: ikea
IKEA Is Killing Off Its Catalog After 70 Years
After 70 years in publication, Ikea is ending both the print and digital versions of its annual catalog, citing the increasing shift to online browsing and shopping. “Turning the page with our beloved catalog is in fact a natural process since media consumption and customer behaviors have changed,” said Konrad Grüss, an Ikea executive, in a statement. “In order to reach…
IKEA To Buy Back Used Furniture In Recycling Push
Last week, the BBC reported that IKEA, the world’s biggest furniture business, is planning to launch a scheme to buy back your unwanted furniture you no longer need or want. From the report: Under the plan, it will offer vouchers worth up to 50% of the original price, to be spent at its stores. The “Buy Back” initiative will launch to…
IKEA Is Saying Goodbye To Non-Rechargeable Batteries
Ikea will remove all non-rechargeable alkaline batteries from its global home furnishings by October 2021, according to statement from the company emailed Wednesday. CNET reports: Aiming to reduce energy consumption and environmental waste with the move, the home furnishing giant cited the results of recent life-cycle assessment studies showing the environmental impact of alkaline batteries is higher compared with rechargeable nickel…
Apple, Amazon, Google, and Zigbee Alliance Standard For Smart Home Tech On Track For 2021 Release
An anonymous reader quotes a report from MacRumors: Last year, Apple, Amazon, Google, and the Zigbee Alliance, which includes Ikea, Samsung, and Philips, announced a new working group known as “Project Connected Home over IP” that set about developing an IP-based open-source connectivity standard for smart home products, with a focus on increased compatibility, security, and simplified development for manufacturers. The…
Looking Beyond Hardware, Sonos Launches Its First Streaming Service
Sonos launched its first audio service Tuesday, called Sonos Radio. It promises free and exclusive music programming across a few dozen stations. From a report: Many of these stations will be supported by advertising — a new business for Sonos, which the company is entering at a time when the ad business is feeling the pressure of an evolving economic downturn….
Police Shut Down 3,000-Person Game of Hide-and-Seek At IKEA
An IKEA hide-and-seek game with 3,000 people was scheduled to take place in Glasglow, Scotland on Saturday, August 31, but police managed to put a stop to it before it even got started. From a report: The one-stop shop for everything home-related and also the ideal place for a 3,000-person hide-and-seek game. After all, the average store is about 300,000 square…
‘I Want a Super-Smart Chair!’
Long-time Slashdot reader shanen writes:
Imagine you had a perfect chair for using your computer. Also a perfect chair for watching TV. And a chair for listening to music, a chair for reading, a chair for napping, a work chair that keeps you awake, and a perfect chair for dinner. Also a massage chair and a diagnostic chair that checks your temperature,…
University of California Sues Five Major Retailers Over Edison-Style LED Bulbs
The University of California is suing five major retailers, including Amazon, Walmart, Target, IKEA, and Bed Bath & Beyond, for infringing on four patents related to “filament” LED light bulbs. Reuters reports: These patents relate to what the university called the “reinvention of the light bulb” by researchers at the University of California, Santa Barbara led by professor Shuji Nakamura, who…
Apple and Amazon Become Top US Solar Users, Besting Target and Walmart
Apple has spent nearly a decade dramatically expanding its use of solar energy across the United States, and the effort has paid off. From a report: The Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) reports today that Apple now has the most installed solar capacity of any U.S. company, followed by Amazon, as both companies vaulted over prior industry leaders Target and Walmart….