Such information is referred to broadly as a channel check.

WSJ: Insider Probe Focuses on Supply-Chain Data

Such channel-check information has become crucial to Apple traders, who have come to expect a weekly dose of information from channel checks about Apple's iPad and iPod businesses.

WSJ: Insider Probe Focuses on Supply-Chain Data

Of course, while we've seen this sort of setup before (as seen above, check out an awesomely 90s Sega Channel ad after the break) and recently from OnLive and Gaikai, cloud gaming has yet to catch on in a major way.

ENGADGET: Cable, IPTV providers reportedly testing cloud-based HD gaming for launch next year

From the perspective of the daimyo, the procession dazzled the populace while, from the viewpoint of the shogun, the cost involved helped keep the daimyos in check by draining resources they might otherwise channel into insurrections.

WSJ: Dressed to Kill in Peacetime | Samurai! | Museum of Fine Arts, Boston | By Lee Lawrence

Saving Face will air on HBO on Sunday morning (check local listings for times), and on Channel 4 in the U.K. in April.

FORBES: Saving Face: A conversation with Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy

Also check out areas on the upswing before the storm, like Irish Channel.

FORBES: Magazine Article

You can check out more builds and other Path of Exiled videos at their YouTube channel.

FORBES: 'Path Of Exile' Adds Voice-Acting To The Dark Action-RPG

And for more Forbes coverage check our section pages for Markets, Stocks and Commodities on the Investing channel.

FORBES: Blackstone Offers A Peek Behind The Refinancing Curtain