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The United States hourly demand for electricity broke two records last month, reaching its highest-ever level759,190 megawattson July 29. The Energy Information Administration (EIA) expects demand to keep rising, especially in states with expanding data center and manufacturing industries, such as Texas and Virginia. Most of this demand will continue to be met by nonrenewable sources, primarily fossil fuels, which accounted for 91% of U.S. energy consumption in 2023. Still, solar consumption has steadily increased over the past 35 years, according to the EIA, and new research suggests boosting solar use could significantly reduce carbon emissions. A new study published in Science Advances found that increasing solar generation by 15% nationwide could lower annual carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by 8.54 million metric tons, though the benefits vary by region. To identify where the climate impact would be greatest, researchers mapped the effects of expanding solar production. Our ambitious goal is to highlight that, first of all, there is a big advantage in investing in solar, Arpita Biswas, lead author of the study and a computer science professor at Rutgers University, tells Fast Company. And this paper shows where the strategic investment could be. The work behind the paper began after Biswas, then working as a postdoctoral researcher at the Harvard School of Public Health, noticed a lack of research quantifying exactly how much CO2 emissions might decrease if more solar energy were generated. To close that research gap, the team built a statistical model analyzing EIA generation data from 2018 to 2023. The model projected how adding solarsuch as utility-scale solar farmswould affect regional CO2 emissions, and how increases in one region could influence emissions in neighboring ones. The findings show that even modest increases in solar output significantly reduced emissions in places such as California, Florida, Texas, and states in the mid-Atlantic and Southwest. Biswas describes these areas as well placed for solar, thanks to abundant sunshine and, in some cases, strong incentives for adoption. In contrast, regions such as New England and the central U.S. saw little effect on CO2 emissions, even with large increases in solar capacity. However, proximity to high-potential regions still offered indirect benefits, as exported solar reduced emissions next door. For example, if you increase solar in California by something like 15%, it actually has some effect in decreasing carbon dioxide emissions in the Northwest and Southwest regions, Biswas says. Investing in regions that are getting a good amount of solar generation capacity not only helps that region, but also all the other neighboring regions where that energy gets exported. The researchers hope their data will guide policymakers and stakeholders toward more strategic solar investmentsand inspire communities to make personal ones. If they want to use their own solar mini-grid for cost-cutting, there have been a lot of studies about how to use those to [reduce costs] . . . and they can also sometimes sell the excess energy, Biswas says. It makes it a win-win situation.
Category:
E-Commerce
Shares in Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc. (Nasdaq: CBRL) arent reacting as much as the company had probably hoped on Tuesday after the beloved country-style restaurant chain apologized over a logo redesign it rolled out last week. The backlash highlights the level of emotional attachment that customers have to a brands identity. Heres what you need to know about the Cracker Barrel logo redesign, apology, and the effect on CBRL stock. What happened? On August 19, Cracker Barrel announced that it was launching a redesigned logo. Gone was the old-timey Cracker Barrel Old Country Store logo, which featured the laid-back old timer Uncle Herschel sitting in a chair, resting his arm over a wooden barrel. It was replaced with a more modern, minimalistic logo that consisted of nothing more than the name Cracker Barrel set on top of a rough outline of a two-dimensional shape resembling a barrel. In a press release announcing the change, Cracker Barrel said that the new logo is now rooted even more closely to the iconic barrel shape and word mark that started it all. But that wasnt how some Cracker Barrel fans saw things. Stock price drops after backlash After the new Cracker Barrel logo was unveiled, fans of the restaurant chain, which currently operates over 600 locations across America, took to social media to vent their frustrations. Generic, soulless, and bland were some of the most common words used to describe the redesigned logo, notes CNBC. From a financial standpoint, things got worse for Cracker Barrel. As noted by CBS, last Thursday, after public blowback to the logo went viral, Cracker Barrel saw almost $100 million wiped from its market cap as investors sold the stock. It ended up down about 7.2% for the day to $54.80. Before the logo discourse began, Cracker Barrel shares had been on an upswing. In March, the company increased its financial outlook for the year, projecting revenue of $3.45 billion to $3.50 billion, up from an earlier outlook of $3.4 billion to $3.5 billion. Cracker Barrel apologizes for logo redesign Since the redesign-induced stock slump, CBRL shares have remained depressed, which is likely one of the reasons that the company has decided to publicly apologize for the logo change. Yesterday, the company put out a statement saying that it could’ve done a better job sharing who we are and who we’ll always be. It also reiterated that despite the redesign, the things people love most about our stores aren’t going anywhere. Those things include rocking chairs on the porch, a warm fire in the hearth, peg games on the table, unique treasures in our gift shop, and vintage Americana with antiques pulled straight from our warehouse in Lebanon. The chain also clarified that while Uncle Herschel is no longer on the new logo, the character will remain in other places in the companys branding. “We love seeing how much you care about our old timer. We love him too, the company wrote. Uncle Herschel will still be on our menu (welcome back Uncle Herschel’s Favorite Breakfast Platter), on our road signs and featured in our country store. He’s not going anywhere – he’s family. Still, while Cracker Barrel may quell some of the backlash, the statement has so far done little to reverse the companys decline in stock price. As of the time of this writing, CBRL shares are virtually unchanged in premarket trading. Currently, shares are down about half a percent to $54.01 per share. Over the past five days, CBRL shares have lost nearly 11% of their value.
Category:
E-Commerce
For understandable reasons, most technology coverage tends to focus more on the physical or visual elements of new devices than their audio signature. Its much easier to show and tell audiences how great a new screen is or how thin a new phone is than to explain the experience theyll get from its sound effects. But that doesnt mean audio cant be just as memorable, or as important to the companies that design it. Here are 10 of the most impactful, unforgettable sounds and effects from the past few decades in tech. Mac startup chime Frustrated by the previous tri-tone sound that accompanied the frequent Mac crashes of the ’90s, Apple sound designer Jim Reekes took it upon himself to create an iconic chime that remains an indelible part of the Mac experiencealthough we dont need to reboot our computers so often these days. The current chime, introduced in 1998 on the iMac G3, was inspired by The Beatles A Day in the Life and makes for a much more calming, optimistic way to start your work. {"blockType":"creator-network-promo","data":{"mediaUrl":"https:\/\/images.fastcompany.com\/image\/upload\/f_webp,q_auto,c_fit\/wp-cms-2\/2025\/03\/multicore_logo.jpg","headline":"Multicore","description":"Multicore is about technology hardware and design. It's written from Tokyo by Sam Byford. To learn more visit multicore.blog","substackDomain":"https:\/\/www.multicore.blog","colorTheme":"salmon","redirectUrl":""}} It says a lot that of all the issues introduced alongside the controversial 2016 MacBook Pro lineupincluding the unpopular USB-C-only port setup and the fragile butterfly keyboardthe lack of a startup chime managed to cause a similar level of uproar online among Mac diehards. The chime was restored in 2020 and has remained on Mac computers ever since. Windows 95 startup sound While the Mac startup chime came from a single employees personal inspiration, Microsofts equally iconic counterpart came about through sheer corporate willpower. To create a sound that would define the Windows 95 experience, the companys marketing agency decided to leverage the talents of legendary record producer and ambient music pioneer Brian Eno. The thing from the agency said, We want a piece of music that is inspiring, universal, blah-blah, da-da-da, optimistic, futuristic, sentimental, emotional, this whole list of adjectives, Eno told SFGate in 1996. And then at the bottom it said and it must be 3 1/4 seconds long. Eno may have failed the brief, because the resulting sound is actually more like six seconds. But it does a lot with its running time; a lush, rising arpeggio gives way to fading crystalline notes, managing to sound at once warm and futuristic. It was the perfect match for Windows 95, which drove an explosion in the accessibility of personal computers. Dial-up modem handshake The other inescapable sound associated with PCs of that era could not have been more different to Enos delicate precision. The screeching handshake as a dial-up modem connected to an internet service provider was not exactly a single sound effect, but the raw, analog result of machines talking to each other. Although it sounded like random static, it reflected a precise negotiation on the part of the modem. Each bleep and hiss served a purpose, from the tones that disabled voice-line processing to the test chirps that probed for speed and stability. No one would ever have described the eventual noise as pleasant, and it was frustrating to have to sit through it every time. But there is a certain beauty in how such a chaotic signature came to symbolize getting online in the early days of the web. Logging onto the internet each evening felt like tapping into a fragile new frontier held together with string. Of course, that wasnt too far from the truth. DROOOID This was the mechanical sound that first signaled to American consumers that Apple might have some serious competition. While Android had been around for a couple of years, it was still a Wild West of janky hardware and convoluted software from a variety of providers, with no one quite managing to break through. But by pairing the aggressive, sci-fi Droid brandinglicensed from Star Wars owner Lucasfilmwith some impressive keyboard-equipped hardware from Motorola, Verizon managed to define an identity for Android that stood in direct opposition to Apple. The Droooid audio tag not only appeared at the end of TV commercials, it was the notification sound on Verizon phones at a time when people didnt live on Do not Disturb (DND). Sat next to a Verizon customer on the subway who justgot an alert? Droooid. Looking back at Droooid today, it comes off as deeply silly. The techy, self-consciously masculine branding swiftly descended into parody, with some truly ridiculous products like the Droid Xyboard tablet. But its impact on the mobile ecosystem cant be underestimated. It was so successful as a branding exercise, in fact, that for years many people would refer to any Android phone as a Droid regardless of whether it came from Verizon or Motorola. Nintendo Game Boy startup The simple, two-note Game Boy bling was an exercise in delayed gratification. Flip the switch with a game cartridge inserted and youd see the monochrome Nintendo logo slowly descend from the top of the screen; if everything was in order, youd hear the satisfying da-ding. What made it so effective was that often enough, everything would not be in order. Often because of dirty cartridge contacts, one way or another most original Game Boy owners would eventually run into what happened when the console couldnt communicate properly with the game: A garbled, pixelated Nintendo logo would be shown instead, and the sound would either be incomplete or not play at all. The solution? You guessed ittake the cartridge out and blow on it. Nintendo has never officially endorsed this technique, but the proof of its effectiveness was right there in the restoration of the chime. The anticipation of hearing it play as the correctly displayed Nintendo logo moved down the screen made the struggle worth it. Sony PlayStation startup The original PlayStation went for something functionally similar to the Game Boy, but with a much more maximalist approach. The booming, cinematic drone that accompanied the gold Sony Computer Entertainment logo on a white background would, if a readable game CD was inserted, give way to a black screen that featured the iconic four-color PS logo accompanied by a cascade of shimmering chimes. The startup sequence was created by Sony sound designer Takafumi Fujisawa. My aim is to lead the sense of security when the console is turned on to the excitement after, he said in a 2019 interview. I kept thinking from the start that I wanted the sound image to be something exciting, like that feeling when you walk into a cinema. I really wanted to communicate and reinforce that something fun is going to happen. Sony brought back the PS1 boot animation and sound as part of a nostalgic 30th-anniversary theme update for the PS5, but unfortunately it was a limited-time addition. While subsequent PlayStation startup sounds have been similarly classyin particular the PS3s orchestra tune-upits hard to beat the original. THX Deep Note Audio company THX is known for its quality assurance rather than any particular products of its own. But if you ever watched a movie in a THX-certified theater, you wont have forgotten the Deep Note, a swelling synthesized crescendo that serves two purposes: demonstrating the sound systems capabilities, and convincing you that youre about to be blown away by some serious audio. Starting from a low rumble in narrow frequencies and expanding to pitches that span three octaves, the THX Deep Note is an ode to the concept of dynamic range. THX has bounced around various owners since being spun off from Lucasfilm, and the Deep Note is not as ubiquitous a fixture of the cinema experience. But there might never have been a more powerful sound in technology. Cherry MX Blue switch If youre not into mechanical keyboards but you think you know what mechanical keyboards sound like, youre probably thinking of the Cherry MX Blue switch. Cherrys pioneering range of switch designs includes several with quieter feedback, but the Blue is best known for its ultra-tactile, intentionally clicky response. The sound is not necessarily the point of the design, which most appeals to writers for its deep travel and satisfyingly physical click. But the experience of typing on a keyboard with Blue switches is multisensory and, for many, addictive to the point of no return. Between the way you feel the key travel past the bump of the actuation point and the sound you get when the switch is activated in response, you really know when youve successfully typed each and every letter. Is this a problem that non-converts ever think about? Not really. But in the same way that watch enthusiasts obsess over legibility or font experts demand readability, the sound of a Cherry MX Blue switch is a testament to crunchy, inimitable typeability. Xbox 360 ‘blades’ Microsoft has never been abe to make its mind up about Xbox software design, and no iteration was more beloved than the Blades interface that launched with the Xbox 360 in 2005. Though simple by todays standards, and a little visually gauche even at the time, the key feature was the ability to swipe between pagesgames, hardware, media and so onwith the bumper buttons on the controller. The interface was fast and responsive, but it was the audio that elevated it into such a satisfying experience. Switching between each Blade was accompanied by a crisp, directional swooshing noise, giving you a sense of place in the UI and encouraging you to explore more. The Xbox 360s Blades were designed in an age of physical media, where access to Netflix involved pressing the eject button on the console itself. Its no wonder that Microsoft eventually decided that the UI would require a total overhaul. But that doesnt mean Xbox fans to this day dont miss the precise, razor-sharp swoosh that came when they swiped over to play a video from a USB stick. iPod Click Wheel clicks Apple knew it had a hit on its hand with the iPod, and a big part of it was the wheel-driven interface that made scrolling through long lists of music effortless. But when the company moved to touch-sensitive capacitive scrolling wheels, it needed something to replace the sense of tactile feedback that came from the older mechanical wheels physical detents. With the Click Wheel, introduced with the iPod mini, Apple hit on an ingenious solution: sound. Whether played through headphones or a tiny onboard piezoelectric speaker, the subtle ticks you could hear created the illusion of a physical bump behind every item in the list-based interface. Between the synthetic ticks and the way the Click Wheel incorporated physical buttons for controls like skipping and play/pause, Apple designed a more convincingly tactile experience while actually reducing the moving parts. {"blockType":"creator-network-promo","data":{"mediaUrl":"https:\/\/images.fastcompany.com\/image\/upload\/f_webp,q_auto,c_fit\/wp-cms-2\/2025\/03\/multicore_logo.jpg","headline":"Multicore","description":"Multicore is about technology hardware and design. It's written from Tokyo by Sam Byford. To learn more visit multicore.blog","substackDomain":"https:\/\/www.multicore.blog","colorTheme":"salmon","redirectUrl":""}}
Category:
E-Commerce
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