Do you know your ecological footprint? American Public Media released a quiz game called Consumer Consequences where anyone can get an interesting ecological assessment of their lifestyle. The idea is to see how many planet Earths we’d all need as a species if we lived the lifestyle of the person taking the quiz. The calculations are based on data taken from official sources and other proven sources, so the estimate you get at the end, even though arguably accurate, will give you a good idea of what your ecological footprint is. You’ll be surprised at the least with the results, provided you give honest/accurate answers.

During the game you will have background graphics representing your neighborhood, as well as illustrations of your impact on the environment globally. Kind of like a lifestyle collage. It changes according to your answers as you progress to the end of the quiz. The impact is modeled using the “ecological footprint” model created by Redefining Progress. After every answer there are contextual tips and interesting information shown at the top of the game interface.

Take the quiz, see how many Earths your lifestyle demands. At the very least, the quiz is amusing, but can also induce some healthy ecological self-criticism.

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Would you hang out in a big entertainment mall, having the freedom to download music, video and other digital content for free onto your favorite storage device, while sipping on a smoothie in a relaxed environment equipped with iMac hubs? Sounds cool. This is a new concept introduced by HMV as it makes a move into the future with a whole new approach. The new megastore will be a place where people can enjoy all the latest digital content and be entertained. A collapsing CD market has brought a drastic drop in HMV’s profits, so this is a refreshing change that HMV hopes will help boost its revenue. After six months of tweaking, the new solution has been opened as a “compelling multi-channel social shopping space and experience”. The new store, measuring some 8,000 ft² (750 m²), contains digital sale-spots that enable the customers to download songs and videos for free, onto their portable memory devices. The content can then easily be transfered to mobile phones, MP3 players or PCs.

There is the “social hub”, which has iMacs which are available for visitors to use for browsing the latest music and entertainment web sites. A mini Apple store will sell latest iPods and accessories. Digital radios and DVDs, as well as other accessories, are for sale with special deals for HMV customers exclusively.

In case you get thirsty or tired, there is the Lovejuice bar serving freshly made smoothies at spot that has been created especially for laptop users. There is plenty more in store, which you can see here in more detail.

Will visitors actually spend money in this place remains to be seen. There are plenty of services on the Internet selling digital content downloads, and you can get them from anywhere as long as there is an Internet connection. HMV’s approach is better in my opinion, than making even more CDs with questionably useful content, as is the case with the latest music industry idea called ringles.

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Would you buy a CD with three singles and a ring tone? The music industry certainly hopes so. It has decided to wake up and do something old new. The latest thing to hit the music stores will be the ringle - a CD format containing three songs (a latest hit, a remix, and an older track) and a ring tone in slip-sleeve cover. The new product is expected to retail for $5.98 or $6.98, and that means about a 33% profit margin, with wholesale price at around $4.

According to Reuters, Sony BMG Music Entertainment, which came up with ringle, and Universal Music Group are going to be the first to roll out ringles. Sony BMG will release 50 titles during October and November, while UMG will have somewhere between 10 to 20 titles ready by then. The “ringle” name has been approved by the Recording Industry Association of America, and there is an industry wide logo to help with branding. Only Sony thus far can distribute ring tones, while the other major players will have to seek deals with operators.

Music on CDs has been retailing for prices much lower compared to a few years ago, mainly due to various new ways of digital distribution (mostly through the Internet). Personally, I wouldn’t buy ringles for one reason at least - the ring tone on the CD and the couple of songs you will eventually have to move to your preferred listening device, whether it’s your MP3 player, or your mobile phone or computer. The CD will be virtually useless, except maybe as a collector’s item, or original backup storage. There will probably be millions of copies in the stores, and that’s millions of pieces of plastic, metal and other materials that will eventually find their way into the environment, if not recycled or disposed of properly. Would you buy ringles?

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Social networks have become a bit of a problem for companies haven’t they? It seems that many companies employing a large number of people have had combat a growing problem of their employees spending a lot of time online doing things that are not productive for their company. Latest study to go into this has been done in Australia. According to a Reuters article, an internet security company called SurfControl delved into this problem and found that Facebook users cost their employers about $5 billion a year (1 USD = 1.3 AUD) !

People love being there and telling people what they are doing right now, what their thoughts are right at this second…

It’s so interactive that people just get addicted to watching their Facebook groups all the time.

The study was based on a typical Facebook user, earning average wage, and spending on average an hour online per day. They then calculated the costs of one person in each company spending an hour online every day, instead of working.

SurfControl’s Chairman, Richard Cullen, said banning employees from using Facebook, or being online in general, would probably not be the best way to resolve this problem. Social networks are all about forming relationships, communications and participating in focused groups. This in turn makes people happier and relaxed, and willing to work longer hours.

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Online Publishers Association released results on August 13, 2007, from a study comparing online behavior in 2003 and in 2007. To sum it up, visitors now tend to spend more time viewing content and less time searching. If you want the numbers, see the Online Publishers Association press release. The OPA also sites a number of factors that have contributed to these changes.

What was interesting also is that there’s a small (5%) decrease in commerce activity. It seems people are taking some of the shopping back offline. It’s not surprising since there had been analysis results in the past months suggesting consumers use the Internet mostly for research and comparison before doing actual shopping offline. This may not present that much of a problem for business that have a majority of offline sales, but for those doing retail mainly online, this decrease, however small, may present an introduction to a far more serious problem in the future. Online retail will have to come up with new ideas on how to convince consumers to buy online, with special focus on the social side of the web today.

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Amazon is entering the online perishables arena with its new project AmazonFresh.com , a special part of Amazon, dedicated to online ordering and delivery of perishables. The service is only available in the Seattle area for now. You have to register using your Amazon profile, but you also have to apply for a special code, which you have to enter only once, the first time you login.

AmazonFresh, if it expands, will have to compete with services such as Peapod.com, FreshDirect.com and YourGrocer.com, which services the New York area.

Amazon claims order are coming in and trucks are filled and delivering, in the early morning, even before dawn, which is very convenient if you need your groceries early to get started preparing food for the family. Prices are competitive, or so they say anyway. You’d have to actually order some groceries and get the real picture.

When we feel we are ready to add neighborhoods and add more customers to the invite list, and we can provide those customers with a great experience then we will do so…

Apart from books, electronics and other consumer goods, Amazon is clearly taking a big move by entering into the perishables business. If they indeed provide good service and maintain high quality of products, this service should receive a nice welcome from people who are busy, and need to save time on chores.

Weekend markets are fun though. I like to browse around and feel the fresh scents and aromas, and see all the different vivid colors, and touch all the different fruit and vegetable textures, but I guess if you live in a larger city area, and are a busy bee every day, grocery shopping may be a lot less enjoyable, and you need a service like AmazonFresh.

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Ducati, the famous motorbike manufacturer, has decided to wonder into personal computing technology. After Ferrari laptops, McLaren mobile phone, this time it’s something smaller - a flash drive that really shows sleek Ducati motorbike curves.

The new flash drive boasts 20Mb/s transfer rate and 4GB capacity, both worthy of the super fast looking housing. It really looks like a motorbike fuel tank. This would make a great multi-functional key chain, especially if attached to Ducati bike keys :)  If only this happened sooner, a couple of years ago, when the then new Ducati model was featured in Matrix Reloaded (you know the part when Trinity has to rescue the Key Maker from the moving truck on the freeway) …

See more details on the SanDisk website, the manufacturer of the flash drive.

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The iPhone craze continues. Louis Vuitton, the famous fashion designer, decided to jump onto the iPhone crazy train and contribute with specially designed cases. I must say they look pretty good. I guess if I was a fashion nut, and already wore clothes and apparel befitting a modern urban warrior, this would certainly be a welcome addition to my style. Heh, the price though, it’s kinda Vuitonish. The alligator case is about $1100 US! So, if you have a grand lying around, get a Louis Vuitton iPhone case (you may want to get an iPhone first though) You can always get an Louis Vuitton iPod leather case instead.

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