It appears that there may be a recession proof industry after all. The Solar Energies Industry Association just released their annual report, and while coal and oil are “suffering”, solar is a growth industry.

It’s been a banner year for alternative energy, with the support from the White House, the American Reinvestment and Recovery act, and other tax related benefits, solar has managed to show a 37% increase. That’s no small feat considering the state of the economy. Add to that the drop in manufacturing costs, and solar seems to be the place to be.

[via Treehugger]

The Brother MFC 8890DW printer is the perfect example of an all-in-one printer that can save an office both time and money. When paired with the Brother MFC 8890DW toner, you have a team that prints out incredible copies and a lot of them. Consistency is key in any office and this printer and toner make sure that you get exactly that.

Cables are often an eyesore and a trip hazard in any office. When multiple locations are all using the same printer, everyone has to be connected and often, the only way to do that is to run cables everywhere. This printer is Wi-Fi capable, which means as long as there is a router and wireless on the computers, everyone is connected without a single cable being run.

This machine comes equipped with a wide variety of standard features that are sure to make it a welcome addition to any small business. The high capacity paper tray can stock up to 250 sheets of either standard or legal sized paper, keeping it ready for any job that is sent its way. For those offices that may put out a higher volume, there is the advantage of being able to expand this quantity to 550 sheets by using the optional secondary feeder tray.

The Brother MFC 8890DW toner that accompanies the machine can handle up to 3000 pages before needing a replacement. This goes a long way in keeping costs down for the busy office or home based business. The optional drum can handle up to 25,000 printed pages reducing the need for frequent replacements.

Something else to note is the fact that a USB flash drive can be used to download documents right to the printer. This is especially good for offices that have visitors who need to print things on the go very quickly. Today, many presenters keep everything on their flash and this helps them get the job done quicker and not have to use a professional printing company.

Double-sided printing is another money saver. First, presentations will often require this and many printers force the user to catch copy after copy and feed it back into the machine. Nobody wants to pay someone to do this. Furthermore, in house memos and such can always save money by printing on both sides.

The “scan” feature on the printer will enable anyone using it to send their document to various outlets with just the push of a button. The best part is that there is no need to have an actual document to use this feature. Download something via the USB port and then send it off to everyone in the office or even attach it to emails without ever wasting the money to print it out.

The Brother MFC 8890DW toner cartridges and printer are a great way for any office to keep a few extra dollars in the bank. It can save time, money, and a lot of paper with the double-sided printing feature. Since Brother cartridges have such high print yields, it means less time between toner fills and an office that runs smoothly.

The adult entertainment industry, once thought to be nearly completely recession-proof, is struggling against many of the same kinds of problems that “traditional” online entertainment faces. Just like many people are “obtaining” mainstream music and movies without purchasing them through “legitimate” channels, so too are people “obtaining” adult entertainment. The content producers — big names like Vivid, Digital Playground, Adult Entertainment Broadcast Network, and more — are struggling to find ways to protect their protect as well as their revenue streams. With a recent increase in the number of so-called “tube sites”, it’s easier than ever for the consumer to watch free pornography.

Tube sites are basically YouTube knock-offs, but instead of hosting clips from anime cartoons, crazy Japanese game shows, and idiots, the tube sites host videos of men and women engaging in various consensual activities, and often exchanging bodily fluids. Many such sites permit users to upload their own videos, though it’s a safe bet that not too many amorous amateurs are sharing their private lives with the Internet at large. Instead, most of the uploaded clips come from ripped DVDs, and downloads from other sites.

Some tube sites are fly-by-night operations, looking to make some quick cash by slapping various advertisements around other people’s content. Other tube sites are operated as portals for the professional porn companies: like what you see, young man? A subscription to our site(s) gets you all that and much, much more!

According to web tracking company Alexa.com, several tube sites are in the top 100 of all web sites around the world. Major porn company sites, on the other hand, rank way, way down on that list. It’s no wonder that the porn companies are worried about how to stay afloat in these dark times when their big-budget productions are being uploaded willy-nilly to tube sites. It should be no surprise that the porn companies have full-time employees to search for copyright infringement, and generate up to 700 DMCA takedown notices per month. That’s a very reactive approach, though, and costs money.

Pornography, once one of the most innovative of all online industries, seems to be settling down to suffer the same fate as the rest of the online entertainment world. Now might be a good time to explore that killer porn business plan you’ve been mulling over all these years.

Via Forbes.

The recession has finally reached the stench filled bedrooms of ‘the gamer’, as gaming sales have plummeted to a nine-year-low. It initially seemed that gaming was part of the select band of recession proof industries, as people holed away in their bedrooms playing Call Of Duty 4 as opposed to squandering money on such frivilous things as “a social life”. But gaming sales plummeted 31% this year, down to $1.1 billion. Yes – down to. Console sales fell the most, at 38%, but this would make sence as their are, after all, only a finite number of viable gamers and this generation of consoles has been about for a while now. Game sales also fell while the Xbox 360 actually managed to increase its sales in July. (Via PCMag)