Category: Featured

Want to buy the new iPhone 6 this month? You’re in luck. But that’s about all that will be shipping out from China, as Apple may have booked every cargo flight from China to the U.S. on three major freight carriers for two weeks, to deliver enough iPhone 6 units to fulfill demand for the phone’s launch on Sept. 19.

Though it’s been reported that Apple will only have a limited supply of the iPhone 6 and the iPhone 6 Plus (10 million for the month of September), the company is said to be shipping up to 80 million combined units this year.

PCMag spoke to several smaller manufacturers and analysts at the CTIA Wireless Super Mobility Week trade show, who all told the same story.

This won’t affect big names like Samsung and LG, but the smaller manufacturers are frustrated about not being able to get their products into the U.S. during the iPhone shipping crush, simply because they don’t have the same preferential rates and reserved air cargo space.

Shipping is no small concern for electronics. The iPhone, for example, must be stored in temperatures between -4 degrees and 113 degrees F, (-20 to 45 degrees C). That may seem like quite a broad range, but shipping containers can easily reach extreme temperatures while traveling between point A and point B.

Climate controlled containers are an excellent choice for shipping cargo which absolutely requires protection against temperature extremes. They keep the electronics at the proper temperature, so they are ready and operational for the hungry consumers that await them.

Apple has played this game before. In 1997, Steve Jobs bought up all the holiday freight space for the new iMacs. In 2012, Apply took up enough capacity on DHL for shipping the third-generation iPad that DHL bumped up everyone else’s rate by 20%.

Because of all the hubbub, several smaller manufacturers, including American Network Solutions, Unnecto, and Blu, all said they have new phones launching in October, rather than September.

For four of its highway expansion and renovation projects, the state of Wisconsin is expected to spend a whopping $3 billion.

It’s a price tag that is causing many of the state’s taxpayers to speak out — including two legislators and an environmental group that call the projects “unnecessary,” especially considering rising trends in alternative modes of transportation in cities like Milwaukee.

According to a September 9 Fox 6 Now article, the WISPIRG (Wisconsin Public Interest Research Group) Foundation is pressing Wisconsin’s legislation to spend these billions on repairing local roads and funding alternative transportation methods like bicycles and public transportation.

“Local transportation infrastructure is in disrepair,” a WISPIRG Foundation statement reads. “We could implement all the recommendations of the 2013 bi-partisan Transportation Policy and Finance Commission for local road repair, transit, bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure, and the rehabilitation of state-owned roads, for the next 10 years, for just over $1 billion of those highway expansion funds.”

In addition to costing taxpayers literal billions, expanding highways like I-94 requires the use of large industrial construction equipment — and when this equipment is mostly stored in warehouses, there are a number of safety hazards that come along with it.

The forklift battery, which powers the machinery that transports this construction equipment in and out of warehouses, is especially notorious for the harmful chemicals it contains. If a warehouse doesn’t follow OSHA regulations for battery room ventilation, the gases that leak from a forklift battery during the watering or maintenance processes can be extremely hazardous to one’s health when inhaled.

All told, travel by car in Wisconsin reached its peak a decade ago, according to Fox 6 Now. More and more of its residents are choosing instead to travel by bike, public transit — even by foot. Considering this, it’s hard to think of reasons to support the state’s planned spending on highway repairs.

A new Lexus advertisement has created quite a stir — and anger — among electric vehicle enthusiasts. According toInternational Business Times, people believe the new ad “stokes fear” in the hearts of people who are considering buying an electric car.

The ad features an image of an electric car charging station with the caption “Reserved for someone with four hours to kill,” suggesting that charging an electric battery takes a long time, especially in comparison to the regenerative braking capabilities of hybrid cars.

Lexus, which is owned by Japanese auto maker Toyota, seems to imply that recharging electric cars is prohibitively inconvenient, perhaps in an effort to promote the image of their own hybrid vehicle technology.

Something has been stagnating the sales of hybrid and electric cars. Though auto sales in general are higher than ever since the Great Recession, electric and hybrid sales are not quite keeping up.

Why? According to Time magazine, relatively low and stable gas prices and loss of the novelty feel in the marketplace, both likely contribute to waning sales.

But Lexus’s scare tactics and declining numbers don’t mean that Americans aren’t buying them at all. Hybrid Carsreports that Americans made their 250,000th plug-in vehicle purchase last month. This number includes both battery electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids (37,820 and 40,789, respectively).

Aside from unrivaled fuel economy and a more environmentally friendly option, hybrid and electric cars offer another attractive incentive. In the United States, purchasing a hybrid vehicle can have tax incentives worth up to $3,400, and according to Time, federal tax credits for electric vehicle purchases can potentially amount to $7,500.

So while Lexus implements fear-inducing ads, and prices at the pump aren’t putting Americans into hybrid vehicles as quickly as one would think, they’re still buying them even if the rate isn’t in tune with the rate of traditional vehicles — maybe partly due to those sweet tax incentives.

According to a recent report by real estate website Zillow.com, South Florida “Mom-and-Pop” landlords are cashing in on a recovering and hot rental market, and making substantial returns on their rental properties. “Mom-and-Pop” landlords are considered property owners who own just one property, and renting is not their primary or full-time business.

This comes at time when the rental market is beginning to not only improve, but thrive, following the subprime mortgage crisis and economic downturn between 2007 and 2009. At that time, thousands of South Florida homeowners became landlords, and they are now beginning to reap the benefits. Many are in a better financial position than they originally thought possible.

This reflects a shift in the American housing and rental markets. Demand for rentals has significantly increased post recession, as many are attracted to the benefits and conveniences of renting, including flexibility. For example, most tenants sign a lease — a legal,binding contract that means the tenant is responsible for paying rent for an apartment for a certain amount of time, typically six months, one year, or even month-to-month. This is especially appealing to those who are relocating, or those who aren’t quite ready to commit to the longevity of a mortgage.

Many people find renting to be more cost-effective for their financial needs. Some have even sold their homes in favor of renting an apartment following the housing market collapse. Additionally, renting allows tenants to enjoy all the benefits and comfort of living in a home, without the responsibilities of owning a property, which makes rentals especially appealing to both workers and retirees alike.

Property managers and developers are also feeling the positive effects of a recovering housing and rental market, as more and more young professionals are leaving the nest. The construction boom is mostly taking place in metropolitan areas across the country, where renting is commonplace.

Home ownership, along with a white picket fence, has long been synonymous with achieving the fabled “American Dream”, however, this ideal is fading as home ownership rates are declining nationally. In fact, the percent of homeowners in the first quarter of this year was nearly 65%, the lowest it’s been since 1995, according to U.S. Census Bureau data.

In lieu of declining home ownership rates, perhaps it’s time for Americans to reinvent and redefine the American Dream, as well was what makes a home. It’s often said that home is where the heart is. Perhaps The Jeffersons had it right, and home just might be that deluxe apartment in the sky.

As packaged, salt and sugar-laden foods continue to saturate the shelves in our markets and dominate American food culture, one chef in Chicago is saying enough is enough. Homaro Cantu, chef and owner of the Michelin Star-rated Moto Restaurant in the Windy City, told The Packer in a recent interview that the time for small measures to reform the way American food is produced, sold, and consumed is over.

“We need a moon shot,” Cantu told reporters. “Forget about making incremental changes within the system.” Cantu, like many other respected chefs across the world, believes that governmental and other systemic barriers to making the changes necessary to protect human health and improve food culture make it impossible to implement these changes in any controlled, steady way. The chef says that now is the time for chefs, effectively the fighters on the ground, to start working with local, eco-friendly producers of food to produce healthy, delicious food that doesn’t impact our waistlines or the environment.

Despite Staggering Obesity Levels, Americans Are Malnourished
The biggest problem with American food culture is, of course, that it has led to an obesity epidemic. At last blush, nearly two-thirds of American adults were overweight or obese. The interesting part about that statistic? We are overweight, but we’re also malnourished.

Vitamin D deficiency, for instance, is exceptionally common, with a full 75% of Americans suffering from a lack of this essential vitamin. Vitamin D can be consumed through eggs and fatty fishes, but it can also be synthesized by the body through absorption of sunlight. While Homaro Cantu and other chefs can do nothing to push Americans to get outdoors, they can help to get more of the right kind of food in front of their customers.

Smarter, Healthier Food is the Solution
And that’s really the crux of what Cantu is saying, and it’s what he’s been offering through the respected Moto Restaurant. Microgreens are one of those foods that was before seen as a healthy eating trend for those with extra pocket change; Cantu makes them a focus of many of his dishes.

Usually no more than an inch and a half tall, microgreens are harvested after a shortened growing period. Nutritionists and food scientists have touted microgreens as more nutritionally valuable versions of their fully matured counterparts. Microgreen cilantro, for instance, has 300% more beta-carotene than matured leaves of the plant.

From microgreens to ethically raised chicken, these are the foods Cantu wants to get people excited about. While he and other chefs on the same mission understand that the increased price of organic, ethically produced food may make this a hard sell, Cantu knows that the flavors — and the health benefits — will ultimately speak for themselves.

Do you agree with Chef Cantu’s idea that American food culture needs a revolution? Tell us why or why not in the comments below.