Why Eco-Friendly Packaging Box?

With an estimated 5.25 trillion pieces of plastic circulating our oceans right now – and that number increasing by the day – plastic is a problem. Brands and packaging specialists are quickly turning their attention to materials that can replace plastic.

As mentioned earlier, single-use plastic effects are catastrophic and do not end or even begin with wastage treatment. Most customers are only aware of the process that happens at the end, but the truth is that serious harm is potentially caused at every stage of production, from being a raw material to transportation, manufacturing, and disposal.

Therefore, switching to eco-friendly packaging seems like a feasible solution to cut back on polluting our planet and endangering its inhabitants. And for this, the packaging industry and businesses have a major role in allowing environmentally friendly packaging to be part of the mainstream and, eventually, exponentially reduce if not eliminate plastic use.

Why Eco-Friendly Packaging Box?

Were Facebook’s “Oculus Exclusives” Anti-Competitive?

Were Facebook’s “Oculus Exclusives” Anti-Competitive?

Facebook’s Oculus VR launched a software update which prevented apps on rival platforms, like Revive on HTC’s Vive, from playing Rift-exclusive games. The move was clearly intended to protect its library of exclusive games and give it a competitive edge against PC-based rival headsets like Vive. Oculus also recently bought several well-received games — including Killing Floor, Superhot, and Giant Cop — to launch as exclusives or timed exclusives for the Rift.

Why VR Wins – Oculus Opens Game Library to Vive

Recently, Oculus VR was a subject of major controversy when it introduced software locks to disable Revive, a fan-created patch designed to allow HTC Vive owners to play Rift-exclusive games. Citing a need to discourage piracy, the app update introduced DRM checks on Rift software, essentially contradicting Oculus founder Palmer Luckey’s statement on Reddit on keeping the Rift an open platform back in 2015.

Oculus discovers platform exclusives won’t wash with the VR community

HTC Vive owners rejoice: at the end of last week, Oculus, manufacturers of the rival VR headset Rift, removed the hardware check that prevents games exclusive to the Oculus platform from being played on anything other than a Rift.

Oculus Opens Rift VR Game Software to Competing HTC Vive Viewer

The move appears to reverse Oculus’ earlier strategy, which was to prevent users of competing devices from using and playing Rift games.

Oculus has quietly removed software controls that prevented users of competing virtual-reality headsets from using and playing games that were developed originally for Oculus Rift VR headsets .

Apple Abandoning Headphone Jack Suddenly Makes Perfect Sense

Where there’s smoke it is said there’s fire, and the rumours that Apple AAPL +0.00% will ditch the headphone jack (starting with the iPhone 7) refuse to go away. In fact having first started 18 months ago, this week the rumours have intensified as new leaks build a compelling case for a headphone jack-less Apple world…

Both The Verge and AppleInsider note multiple sources at Japan’s Portable Audio Festival are reporting Apple is in discussions to add high resolution streaming audio to Apple Music in 2016. The reports claim Apple wants to implement 96kHz / 24-bit music streaming and is in deep discussions with headphone makers – and here’s the interesting part: the high res audio is specifically designed for use with headphones featuring Lightning connectors.

And now you’re ahead of me: Apple would be in its familiar position of being able to take something away (the jack) by giving something more (high res audio). Apple loves this tactic. A focus on FireWire allowed it to dump the floppy disk and this year a focus on USB Type-C gave it (perhaps dubious) grounds to remove every other port type on the 12-inch MacBook.

But why would Apple want to abandon the headphone jack? After all, as a variation of the original phono connector which has been around since 1878, it is the oldest common technology standard still in use today. The answer is simple: practicality and profit.

On the practical side, Apple would be able to do away with the largest and deepest connector it uses. This would free up space for it to fit either in a larger battery or (given past attempts to cut the width of the receptor) allow it to make even thinner products. Furthermore it would open the doors to making a device like the iPhone 7 waterproof.

Needless to say, this also comes at a time when Apple has stepped up its marketing of Lightning headphones. JBL, Philips and yes, Beats are all now selling Lightning headphones which are being heavily promoted in Apple stores. A great deal of marketing was also thrown behind the debut of Audeze’s $799.95 EL-8 Titanium Lightning headphones earlier this month. Clearly Lightning is being positioned as the high quality option.

The (Deliberate?) Flaw

Of course those serious about their audio will spot a flaw in this logic: the headphone jack is a standard which already supports high resolution audio. That’s true, but it also misses a crucial point: Apple’s business logic.

Without the headphone jack Apple gains greater control over how audio is consumed on all its devices. Lightning is a proprietary standard, so it can charge all headphone makers licensing fees meanwhile it can champion the greater power delivery of Lightning (it can support integrated DACs, for example) and smart functionality (a digital connection could be programmed to offer specific functionality based on the time, location, etc that a pair of Lightning headphones is connected. Apple can avoid looking overly controlling as it can still point to Bluetooth.

Ultimately if it ditches the headphone jack, Apple also gets a great new way to hold onto customers. Users will need to think twice about leaving the Mac OS/iOS ecosystem if it entails them investing in a new pair of premium headphones. Meanwhile I’m sure a simple 3.5mm to Lightning adaptor will welcome those with standard headphones into the Apple world.

What about charging? Again this opens the door for Apple to offer another trade: wireless charging. Throw wireless charging (optional accessory alert), waterproofing, high res audio and thinness/battery benefits at consumers in exchange for them giving up the headphone jack and the majority may well come around to the idea.

I have been sceptical that Apple would abandon the headphone jack as quickly as the iPhone 7, but as the puzzle comes together it makes ever more sense. Furthermore, even if the iPhone 7 ultimately escapes this port cull, I’ll bet it will only be a temporary reprieve. Apple has the headphone jack’s demise in its sights and very little escapes Cupertino crosshairs…

Apple Makes It Easier for Shareholders to Nominate Board Members

Apple announced a significant change in its corporate bylaws that will make it easier for shareholders to nominate candidates for Apple's board of directors. According to The Wall Street Journal, Apple filed amended bylaws with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) giving shareholders "proxy access" for a limited number of board positions.

Proxy access is a new trend in open governance, and The Journal said that Apple was one of the most prominent to adopt the policy. It allows shareholders to include nominations on a company's proxy statement, making it more likely those candidates can get voted on by other shareholders.

Activist shareholders of all persuasions—predatory investors, social activists, and fans of a company—want proxy access because it gives them more opportunities to change the direction of a corporation.

Usually, that is. In Apple's case, a shareholder or group of shareholders who have owned 3 percent or more of Apple's shares for three contiguous years to nominate up to 20 percent of Apple's directors. Apple has a remarkably small board for a company its size at just eight members, meaning that shareholders can nominate just one candidate. That leaves Apple's chosen nominees firmly in control of the company.

James McRitchie, an activist investor who was pushing this change for Apple, said that he didn't want Apple to adopt proxy access because he expected to use it, but because Apple is a leader in the corporate world.

"We need to get proxy access on the books where it’s really needed," Mr. McRitchie told The Journal. "One way to do that is to get it where it’s not needed and point to those companies."

In general, Apple's shareholders greatly support the company's management, and for good reason. Apple's stock is well off its high, but it has still risen tremendously during Tim Cook's stewardship. That doesn't stop Carl Icahn from pushing for measures that he thinks will make him more money, and it won't stop activists on the left and right trying to push their agendas onto Apple.

Having attended many $AAPL shareholder meetings and covering them extensively, I'd be shocked if a shareholder nomination not supported by Apple's management could get elected in today's environment.

*In the interest of full disclosure, the author holds a tiny, almost insignificant share in AAPL stock that was not an influence in the creation of this article.