Skip to main content

Sony considering two-week shutdown in Japan to save energy

sony_logo_1Sony Corp. is weighing the costly option of a complete shutdown at some of its company premises in Japan for two weeks this summer due to power shortages currently affecting the country, the BBC reports. In addition to saving energy, the shutdown would give its staff a much-needed vacation.

The potential plan follows ongoing power shortages in Tokyo and Japan’s norther regions caused by shutdowns of some of the country’s nuclear and thermal power plants that were closed as a result of the devastating earthquake and tsunami disasters that rocked the Asian nation on March 11.

Last week, Japan’s government announced new energy-saving targets that will require many of the country’s largest operations to scale back by one quarter during the peak consumption months.

The power shortages have already caused Nokia, Research In Motion and Sony Ericsson to throw the off switch at their operations.

In addition to extending the summer closing, Sony says it may also introduce daylight savings time by staring work time earlier, according to company spokesman Atsuo Omagari, who spoke with Reuters.

Sony is also considering shifting its schedule to have workers clock-in one weekend day, and give them a week day off instead. This plan, which requires the approval of labor unions in the country, would also require workers to come in on public holidays from July to December, which would allow the company to make up for the time lost during the long two-week summer break.

A shutdown by Sony would not only disrupt the global supply chain for its own products, but could also disrupt the availability of components for other devices, such as Apple’s iPhone 5, which is said to come loaded with an 8 megapixel camera made by Sony.

The Sony shutdown is only a small part of a larger swath of disruptions to Japan’s economy caused by the disasters, which have so far caused more than $300 billion, making it the costliest natural disaster in history. Nearly 28,000 people are said to be dead or missing because of the disaster.

Andrew Couts
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Features Editor for Digital Trends, Andrew Couts covers a wide swath of consumer technology topics, with particular focus on…
How to change your language in Google Chrome on desktop
Chrome OS

Google Chrome supports a wide range of languages. While it'll default to English in most cases, there's nothing stopping you from changing its settings and displaying pages in Spanish, French, or dozens of other languages.

Changing your default language in Chrome takes only a few seconds, and the technique used is the same across Windows and Mac. Aside from changing your language, note that Chrome now gives you the option to automatically translate pages written in another language – making it easy to read content from around the globe.

Read more
23 of the best Netflix hacks, tips, and tricks
The Netflix home screen.

Netflix is one of the most popular streaming platforms for all things movies and TV shows. Home to an immense library of titles, the Netflix archive is constantly changing and evolving, and so are the many ways you can use your Netflix account. 

For instance, did you know you can access region-locked Netflix shows and flicks by using a VPN? Or that you can disable that pesky Autoplay feature? There are tons of Netflix hacks, tips, and tricks out there, so we’ve gone ahead and rounded up all of our favorites! 
Expand your streaming with a VPN

Read more
How to make a GIF from a YouTube video
woman sitting and using laptop

Sometimes, whether you're chatting with friends or posting on social media, words just aren't enough -- you need a GIF to fully convey your feelings. If there's a moment from a YouTube video that you want to snip into a GIF, the good news is that you don't need complex software to so it. There are now a bunch of ways to make a GIF from a YouTube video right in your browser.

If you want to use desktop software like Photoshop to make a GIF, then you'll need to download the YouTube video first before you can start making a GIF. However, if you don't want to go through that bother then there are several ways you can make a GIF right in your browser, without the need to download anything. That's ideal if you're working with a low-specced laptop or on a phone, as all the processing to make the GIF is done in the cloud rather than on your machine. With these options you can make quick and fun GIFs from YouTube videos in just a few minutes.
Use GIFs.com for great customization
Step 1: Find the YouTube video that you want to turn into a GIF (perhaps a NASA archive?) and copy its URL.

Read more