Kalashnikov 
AK-47s are legendary in the gun world, but as of last July 16, imports of the weapon were banned—part of the economic sanctions put into place against Russia after its suspected role in the downing of a Malaysian passenger jetliner over Ukraine.
The U.S. distributor of the weapons may have found a loophole, though—by making the guns here.
Porn, 
it would seem, has traded in one set of bedfellows for another.
For 12 years, the Adult Entertainment Expo (AEE) and CES went hand in hand. Starting in 2012, however, many attendees of the annual electronics trade show were surprised to find the Sands Convention Center—the former home of the event—bereft of cleavage and porn videos.
Instead, the show had been moved back a week, and had begun running at the same time as the SHOT Show—the annual convention for the firearms, ammunition, hunting and shooting accessories industries. They’ve run concurrently ever since.
Telecommuting 
is shaking up the porn industry.
Camgirls—models who earn their living by stripping (and more) in front of a computer webcam for hundreds of people watching live online—are taking advantage of the Internet’s freedoms to work anywhere.
The porn industry has a long history of spotlighting women with Barbie-like figures and impossible proportions. But just as pop culture began to feature women with more natural figures in TV, movies and advertising, the adult industry began to realize that its stars don’t all have to be a size 0, either.
In the past year, Wicked Pictures produced a sex education video for plus-size people, which went on to become one of the fastest-selling titles in the line. Another studio, New Sensations, saw success with its plus-size feature films.
Crimson 
Trace is a leader in the laser sight space for handguns, and the company has been enjoying rapid growth for the majority of the past six years. But CEO Lane Tobiassen faces an interesting dilemma: The company’s biggest obstacle is its own customer.
In order to keep up its growth, Crimson Trace needs to persuade retail partners to upsell its product when an end customer purchases a handgun—except retail partners may not think the customer actually needs it.
Not 
too long ago, the chief requirement to become a porn superstar was to have sex on camera, and do so in an enticing fashion to win over fans.
Today, the rules have changed.
The 
U.S. porn industry is a $14 billion business, and the U.S. gun industry is a $38 billion business, both roughly speaking.
And sometimes, the two meet in spectacular fashion.
Crude 
oil prices are plunging worldwide, a trend that shows no signs of reversing any time soon. While that’s good news for consumers, it’s leading to industry layoffs and scaled-back exploration. But one area of industry growth that won’t be held back is technology — in particular M2M technology and Big Data, both of which could help oil producers locate new fields and slash costs in the years to come.
“The oil world is moving much more rapidly towards the Internet of Things,” says Alex Brisbourne, CEO of KORE Wireless, a provider of M2M network connectivity, and chairman of the International M2M Council. “Its impact … over the next three to five years is going to be quite profound, and that’s going to drive much more important infrastructure changes.”
While 
red hot stars in the porn industry come and go, the behind-the-scenes power players tend to lead more stable professional lives. But as the industry has changed in recent years, some of the most powerful people in adult entertainment have started to transition, as well.
Some of the names below may be familiar, but odds are you won’t know them all. These are the people who generally prefer to keep a low profile, focusing instead on the bottom line.
CNBC.com spoke with a variety industry insiders, ranging from executives to stars, to get their thoughts on who the true power brokers in the world of porn are today.
The porn industry got in a lot of fights in 2014, and from the look of things, 2015 is going to be a brawler of a year as well.
Piracy and condoms continue to be the porn business’ chief battlegrounds. While the push for a controversial bill that would have criminalized the production of porn without condoms anywhere in California died in committee last year, a circuit court upheld an existing, similar law in Los Angeles County (where 60 to 70 percent of U.S. porn films are shot).
Chris Morris: Journalist 