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If you’re trying to keep an eye on March Madness but you still need to get some actual work done, Google’s Picture-in-Picture Extension feels like a secret weapon. This free Chrome browser extension lets you move any video into a resizable, floating window that sits on top of anything else you’re doing. It’s perfect for keeping the games on in the background while still doing other things on your computer. How to use the Picture-in-Picture Extension Start by downloading the picture-in-picture extension from the Chrome Web Store. In addition to Google Chrome, it also works with most other Chromium-based browsers, including Brave, Vivaldi, Opera, Arc, and Microsoft Edge. Once you’ve installed the extension, here’s how to use it: Start playing a video. Click on the puzzle piece icon near the top-right corner of your browser. Click on the Picture-in-Picture Extension button. (You can also optionally click the pin icon so the extension appears right next to your address bar in the future.) Alternatively, you can skip the previous two steps by pressing Alt+P in Windows or Option+P on a Mac. Drag the floating video player to a convenient spot on your desktop, and drag the corners of the player to resize it. To exit picture-in-picture mode, click the “X” or “Back to tab” buttons in the floating window. Watch several games at once Chrome’s Picture-in-Picture Extension works only with one video at a time, which isn’t ideal for March Madness. The work-around is to use more than one web browser, each with its own Picture-in-Picture Extension. For instance, you can use Google Chrome to play one game, Microsoft Edge to play another, and Vivaldi to play a third. You’re limited only by the number of web browsers you’ve installed and how many simultaneous videos your computer can handle. What about Safari and Firefox? Apple’s Safari browser has its own picture-in-picture mode, no browser extension required: Right-click the audio icon on any tab that’s playing video. Select “Enter Picture-in-Picture.” This works only with one video at a time, so you’ll need to use additional browsers to watch multiple games. Mozilla Firefox has as built-in picture-in-picture mode as well, and it even works with multiple videos. Hover your cursor over any video, then click the small picture-in-picture icon that pops up. A word of advice, though: Keep the sound down, or you may have trouble getting anything done.
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E-Commerce
Branded is a weekly column devoted to the intersection of marketing, business, design, and culture. Just a few years ago, iRobot, best known as the maker of the Roomba, was riding high, with annual revenue topping $1 billion; Amazon bid $1.7 billion to add it to the e-commerce giants home technology business. But that deal fell through, and now the Bedford, Massachusetts-based company has reported plunging revenue and steep losses, and recently warned investors of substantial doubt about its ability to continue as a going concern. With its share price down drastically, its now worth about $100 billion. How did the creator of the iconic round robot vacuumwhich has sold more than 50 million unitsget into this mess? Although theres of course more than one answer to that question, a major factor seems to have been an ill-fated focus on dreaming up ways to move beyond the vacuum into new product categoriesall the while failing to keep up with new competitors in its core business. Sometimes, those rivals competed on price, but Chinese brands like Roborock developed cutting-edge models praised for advanced technology such as a LIDAR sensor (generally recognized as more accurate than camera sensors) and other obstacle-avoidance and spatial-mapping tech. In short: as iRobot matured, it seems to have emphasized the wrong sort of innovation. (The company declined to comment beyond public statements about its earnings and recent new product announcements.) Founded in 1990, iRobot released its first Roomba model in 2002, essentially inventing a new robotic floorcare category: a relatively affordable robotic vacuum that whirred around on its own, sucking up dust. It was nobodys vision of the future, but it caught on; some fans gave their Roombas names, treating them almost like techno-pets (and making endless cat-riding-a-Roomba memes). While it quickly attracted competition, the Roomba was long the clear leader, its name becoming a borderline-generic term for all robo-vacs. This popularity reached a peak in the COVID-19 lockdown era, when many consumers had way too much time to obsess about their domestic environments. By then iRobot had begun exploring (and pouring R&D into) new products, most notably a robo-mop, but also a lawn mower, air-purifying devices, and educational products. The company still looked like an innovator and its share price soared beyond $130 in early 2021, briefly giving the company a valuation of more than $4 billion. But the new experiments mostly didnt catch onwhile the robo-vac competition did. Several of the fastest-growing robotic-vacuum businesses are based in China, such as Anker, Ecovacs, and Roborock, all of which have eaten into iRobots share of the market. Lower prices were part of the equation, but competitors also brought design and technology innovations to the category, improving core functionality. While the whole category declined post-COVID, its growing again (in excess of 20 million units were distributed last year, up 11.2%)but iRobots global share has shrunk to 13.7%, compared to 22.3% for Roborock. Amazons 2022 acquisition offer looked like a lifelinebut the deal fell apart in January 2024 under regulatory pressure over competitive and privacy concerns. Cofounder Colin Angle stepped down as CEO, replaced by Gary Cohen, appointed to oversee a recovery-and-turnaround mission. Since then, the company has scrubbed most of those new-category initiatives and cut staff by 50%. Fourth-quarter revenue dropped from $308 million to $172 million, with a loss of more than $44 million; sales fell 47% in the U.S. and almost as drastically in its various international markets. Full-year revenue for 2024 was down 23%. (Amazon CEO Andy Jassy has criticized regulators treatment of the deal, essentially blaming them for iRobots subsequent woes.) In its effort to save itself, the company has shifted focus (and more of its slimmed-down R&D resources) back to its core Roomba products. Earlier this year, iRobot said it expected to grow revenue through new (vacuum-focused) product launches, and has stated it is negotiating with lenders and actively exploring other options. This past week, it released eight new Roomba models, including mop-combo unitsand its first versions equipped with LIDAR and AI technology. Prices, ranging from $300 to $1,000, seem more competitive with Chinese rivals. But as the company acknowledged in its earnings release, the fresh generation of Roombas isnt guaranteed to save the day, depending on consumer demand, competition, macroeconomic conditions, and tariff policies. If the robovac pioneer cant figure out how to navigate those obstacles, it may just get swept away.
Category:
E-Commerce
In a correctional facility just outside of Silicon Valley, a Goodwill store operates inside the prison walls. And the women who are incarcerated there are both the employees and the customers. This Goodwill store, which opened in October 2024, is the first of its kind, and the team behind it hopes that the program will help incarcerated women get back on their feetwhether it’s with a new job or new clothesas quickly and easily as possible. [Photo: Santa Clara County Sheriffs Department] The shoppers are women who are about to get released; typically about three people come in each day. Traditionally, when a woman is released from Elmwood Facility, she is given only the clothes she was arrested in. We’re really here to try and help people get back into the community, says Chris Baker, CEO of Goodwill of Silicon Valley. Nearly 75% of formerly incarcerated people remain unemployed a year after release despite looking for work, according to the American Civil Liberties Union. A new California law passed last year allows formerly incarcerated people to ask for their records to be cleared after completing a sentence. There are over 600 incarcerated women at Elmwood Facility, and eight operate the store at one time. The store is open three days a week for a few hours each day. Some participants had never had a job before, some had jobs that werent in the retail industry, and some had previously worked at Goodwill in e-commerce roles. Each woman works in the store for 60 hours total before completing the program with Goodwill. At the store, they take turns working behind the register and performing other tasks, like running inventory or logistics. This can be valuable career training for incarcerated women, who may face significant barriers to employment after leaving prison, according to Steve Preston, the CEO of Goodwill Industries International. It builds skills, it builds competence, it builds dignity, it prepares people, and it gives them a smoother path when they leave, says Preston. He says many business leaders and HR professionals across the country are unwilling to hire formerly incarcerated individuals and dont recognize their potential. [Photo: Santa Clara County Sheriffs Department] Prison employment The women who work in the Elmwood Facility Goodwill aren’t paid for their labor (most prison jobs in California pay only pennies per hour). Many prison rights activists have criticized prison work at large as exploitative, but the Goodwill program is entirely optional and the team behind it believes it prepares the participants for success outside prison. [Goodwill] doesnt get anything monetarily out of it. What we get is knowing that we are providing training to individuals so that they can enter our community and better our community as a whole, says Castello. She adds that if the women want to work at a Goodwill after release, they would already be mostly trained, which results in less training responsibilities for a store manager. Working at the Elmwood Facility Goodwill doesnt automatically guarantee employment after release, but participants can find employment through a separate Silicon Valley Goodwill reentry program called NOW, which has been operating for 12 years. Participants in the NOW Program work at a Goodwill retail shop for 90 days and have access to job readiness workshops. Goodwill declined to make any participants available to Fast Company, citing privacy concerns, but it shared one emailed comment from a woman who had both worked and shopped at the Elmwood Goodwill, who said: This program was designed to serve someone like me. Released with no clothes The Elmwood Goodwill operates similarly to Goodwills retail stores across the country, but swaps out cash and credit for pre-loaded gift cards, which Goodwill provides. The shoppers use gift cards to buy themselves two complete new outfits and a backpack for their release. Everything in the store is priced the same and comes in via regular donations to Goodwill dropoff facilities. Providing incarcerated women with new clothes can be just as powerful as providing them with jobs, says Trish Dorsey, VP of mission services at Goodwill of Silicon Valley. She told Fast Company how shes seen the impact firsthand. In one instance, a woman was arrested inside a hospital, and so she was checked into prison with only a hospital gown, according to Dorsey. The only options she had for release were wearing that same hospital gown or exiting prison in a paper jumpsuit. But after visiting the Elmwood Goodwill, she was able to leave with two complete outfitsas well as shoes, socks, and a backpack, says Dorsey. The training part is really impactful because it gets [the women] ready to work, says Dorsey. But I think just as impactful, if not more so, is the way they now are able to leave the county jail system with dignity.
Category:
E-Commerce
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