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transcribed by Michael Reis
When CNC technology was first introduced to the stone industry, a common thought was, “When will my volume reach the point that I will need this technology?” Today, while large-scale operations are continuing to advance their utilization of CNC equipment, smaller-volume fabricators are also finding that CNC and digital technology can be the central component of their process.
At a recent Stone Fabricators Alliance (SFA) Workshop, two veteran stone fabricators presented both sides of the CNC spectrum. Scott McGourley from Kasco Stone of Tampa, FL, represented smaller “microshop” CNC/digital production, while Miles Crowe of Crowe Custom Countertops of Acworth, GA, discussed large-volume production using CNC technology.
“Microshop” CNC production
McGourley began his presentation on microshop production with an explanation of how many shops are initially formed. “Most people start with a rail saw or a bridge saw and then figure it out,” he said. “We started manual, and I was never able to do enough to make the profit that I wanted while also not doing hack work. Then I read about a producer in Norway who was cutting slabs on a four-axis machine. He was a one-machine shop, and he was making it work.”
According to McGourley, a microshop is small in terms of size as well as production rate, but it is equipped with CNC and digital technology. “I consider a microshop to have 5,000 square feet of space or less, to have two to four employees and to produce 500 square feet or less per week. I personally do two slabs a day to make 400 square feet per week,” he said. “You need a digital cutting solution and digital renderings, and you are bringing everything down to the minimum. Just having a CNC router without a separate bridge saw is not a digital cutting solution. You still would need a saw man, so you are still dependent on manual labor. If you’re a small manual shop with three workers, it can be crippling if one guy doesn’t show up for work. Meanwhile, a machine is steady in its performance and the time to complete a task, so the level of quality and costs are maintained.”
Addressing the investment and costs of CNC technology, McGourley explained how a microshop can actually lower its monthly outlay. “Looking at tooling costs, we all know that CNC equipment is costly, but my tooling costs went through the floor,” he said. “We only purchase CNC tooling and a new saw blade once in awhile. A set of CNC tools is $3,000 or even a little less, but they last forever when you’re only doing 400 square feet per week. Our electricity costs have gone up, but our monthly outlay has gone down overall. A CNC is a lot of money on the initial investment, but when you look at our monthly outlay, it begins to make sense. You also have growth options. You cannot seriously do volume in a manual operation, but going from a microshop to a volume shop is possible with the addition of a digital cutting solution. Of course, a breakdown is very bad when you’re completely relying on one machine, so this is why finding a company with good service is key. You also have to pick the right machine for the right situation. This [Breton Fabcenter] is my solution.”
The process at Kasco Stone also allows McGourley to work directly with his customers. “In a microshop, the owner controls the quality. I am the templater right now, and that allows me to control the process,” he explained. “Digital renderings allow you to show the kitchen to the customer before cutting. It is also a way to check for errors. The customer might say that the sink is wrong, or that there are three faucet holes instead of two, or something like that. You cannot let the customer sit down and ‘design’ the kitchen, however, because they will sit there all day tweaking everything. If they want that, we offer the design option for $25 an hour.”
At the time of his presentation, McGourley said that his company is booked two months in advance. “We are now at the point where we can pick which customers we want to work with, because a small volume of work sustains our business model,” he said. “We can also select customers who are willing to pay higher margins for quality and service. We are not dependent on the customers who are comparing you to the guy down the street charging $29 per foot.”
Speaking on the operations at Crowe Custom Countertops, Crowe began by saying that he began as a much smaller shop. “I never planned on being a production shop,” he said. “We were doing two kitchens per week seven years ago,” he said. “And now we are doing 40 kitchens per week.”
Initially, Crowe invested in a CNC stoneworking center from Northwood Machine Corp. as a way to reduce his shop’s reliance on manual labor. “As we grew, I got tired of people always asking for a raise,” he said. “You sort of expect to be able to get rid of everyone when you invest in CNC, but we were getting more and more work, so we kept everyone on.”
With this new business model in place, Crowe’s sales techniques had to change as well. “We had to find the volume and devise creative ways to sell,” he said. “We also were able to find wholesale customers. I knew that I could produce granite cheaper than 75% of the shops out there, and once we got people to understand that, we could be successful. We also took over two shops, so we picked up their volume as well.”
Ultimately, Crowe said that the shop succeeded because it had the technology in place to set it apart from heavy competition in the Atlanta area during a down economy. “By having the SawJet and CNC, it turned out to be the best decision I ever made,” he said. “Atlanta has gone down from 300 shops to 150, but the last two years have been awesome for us. We have great opportunities in terms of purchasing material as well as not having downtime. We bought the first CNC when we were at 700 square feet of production per week, and now we are booked out for six weeks and can do 500 square feet in a shift.”
For Crowe Custom Countertops, the investments ultimately presented the company with an opportunity to expand in size and scope. “My philosophy is based on growth,” he said. “We’ve grown because we were forced to grow and we had the capacity to do it. But there is a point of diminishing returns - for example, when overtime or Saturdays come into the equation to keep up. Also, selling the jobs comes with a cost. We now have four polishers working with us, and we also added a shop foreman and a quality control specialist.”
With a relatively large staff in place on the shop floor, Crowe said it is important that everyone is certain of all the specific details on a job. “No one in the shop can make a decision or an assumption on something,” he said. “If the type of radius isn’t listed, they need to go look it up rather than decide on their own. We have a digital sales, templating, information flow and fabrication, and we have the Moraware JobTracker system in place to keep track of everything.”
Crowe Custom Countertops also completes “fab-only” work for outside companies. “Everything is sent around digitally, and your quality-control manager is key,” Crowe said. “Approximately 40 to 45% of our work is fab-only on a square-foot basis. Of course, the revenue from fab-only is less than that, but that’s the percentage that goes through the shop.”


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As the connectivity of vehicles and the amount of online data connections between cars and an IT backend increases, the number of attack vectors and vulnerabilities to cyber attacks also is rising, explained Werner Köstler, responsible for interior development strategies at Continental. Whereas in the past – in the case of the non-connected car – physical access or at least a spatial proximity of a few meters was required to manipulate a vehicle’s electronics, in the case of the connected car anyone who has found a weak point can access the car and disrupt its functions – with potentially devastating consequences for its safety. And there are many entry roads for possible cyber attacks – they range from the numerous telematics functions to automated communication with other vehicles and the infrastructure (V2X) to the WiFi hotspots with which more and more vehicles are equipped. Plus, while in a conventional car a hacker could only attack a single vehicle at a time, in a multiple-networked car it is possible to copy and paste an attack option once found and spread it to many vehicles simultaneously, possibly to an entire fleet.
Continental, its software subsidiary Elektrobit (EB) and Israeli cyber security expert Argus, which was acquired some time ago, are working together to develop a comprehensive range of vehicle security products to prevent such dark scenarios from happening. This comprises several components. It starts with consulting OEMs and tier ones on the development of a secure electronics architecture for their vehicles. The second pillar of this strategy is the development of hardware and software components for vehicles by EB. Examples are the Autosar basic software or specific solutions such as secure bootloaders for vehicle-internal ECUs. These components also include authenticated identification, secure updates via the air interface and corresponding real-time diagnostics for the car.
Argus is to establish an additional security screen with services ranging from online monitoring to a security center. This security center is operated by Argus (possibly at the respective OEM’s location), develops individual countermeasures after a detected cyber attack in the shortest possible time and, where necessary, installs appropriate patches in the vehicles via its OTA update service EB cadian Snyc.
With its Security Operations Center for vehicles “Argus Lifespan Protection” (LP), Argus enables vehicle manufacturers to continuously monitor the cyber health of their fleets and analyze fleet-spanning information in order to gain real-time insights into the type of attacks that have occurred, to detect emerging threats and to respond quickly to them by immunizing the fleet.
At the hardware level, Continental is currently developing various security units. One example is a gateway that functions as a router within the vehicle network in classic distributed vehicle architectures as well as in the domain architectures currently under development. It contains Argus security functions and takes over the functions of basic vehicle diagnostics as well as the management of OTA updates. According to Continental Security expert Karsten Mattmüller, the gateway thus assumes the role of a security master. Continental also has developed an in-vehicle server for future server-based architectures. This high-performance computer acts as a network manager and central communication interface in vehicles with server-based architecture.
EB cadian Sync paves the way for offerings such as Software-as-a-Product (SaaP) or Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), which will increasingly come onto the market in the future as OEMs change from vehicle manufacturers to mobility providers. With these new business models, car manufacturers can offer “upgradeable” cars, as long as they are also equipped with the necessary hardware to be able to offer new exclusive features even after the vehicle has been sold. For example, vehicle users can activate Adaptive Cruise Control during an excursion to make driving more comfortable. In addition, car manufacturers can create more consistent and modern brand experiences by regularly updating their infotainment systems.
Such a security service would of course have to accompany the cars throughout their entire product life cycle. For the time being, it is unclear who will pay for it. “Security is not sexy,” says Köstler. That’s why customers aren’t overly willing to spend money on it. But, says his colleague Mattmüller, “We are observing that a change is taking place that is emanating from the fleet operators. Demand must definitely come from the customer.”

domain: news


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Apple appears to be the real winner of the new partnership announced earlier today between France-Telecom owned mobile phone network Orange and the Californian company.
The new deal is likely to spawn a number of fundamental questions over the way Apple does business with its existing partners and is likely to change the way it forges new alliances in strategic territories.
The company now knows that it can no longer afford the element of surprise; the iPhone has been on the market for more than two years now and since then, all of the features of Apple's iconic device have been copied/replicated.
From the accelerometer to the 3.5-inch screen, the form factor and the capacitive display (ed: although many of these features were available before, Apple was the one to bring them together and improve on them significantly).
The only thing remaining is the App store which is by far the best such application solution available on any mobile or desktop platform.
Apple is therefore in a position where it must run faster than the competition, not only to hit targets and make investors happy, but also to prevent its rivals from placing their smartphones before it can do so.
Which is why the iPhone is no longer exclusive in France and the UK where competition appears to be the most ferocious with a glut of iPhone-esque smartphones likely to launch before Christmas.
It is also very likely that (a) other territories like the US will soon lose the exclusivity - AT&T beware! (b) other networks like Vodafone and 3 Networks in the UK might get their own iPhones. After all, why limit yourself to one network when you can get all four (or five if you count Virgin Media).
It also throws in another possibility especially when you consider that both the iPhone 3G and the 3GS are included in the Orange deal; over the next 12 months, Apple might launch other iPhones and we believe that memory capacity and colour are not going to be the only things altered.
A 16GB iPhone 3GS unlocked costs as little as £599.99 at Play.com and is widely available online through at least ten popular e-tailers. So even if you can't get your hands on the real thing from your network, you can always get it unlocked.


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Although no specific date has been set, a U.S. tariff on imported aluminum from Canada could well be announced by this fall, say industry experts.
The Trump Administration had initially proposed a 10 percent tariff on aluminum imports in 2018, but a year later exempted Canada through a series of exclusions.
Since then, aluminum imports from Canada into the U.S. have been surging. By the end of last year, just under $6 billion in such imports exempted from the initial 10 percent tariff had entered the U.S.
But U.S. aluminum producers say the Canadian aluminum exclusion process has put them at a competitive disadvantage.
In an open letter to the President, the American Primary Aluminum Association has asked that the 10 percent tariff be re-imposed.
“Now is the time to put America First and for President Trump to enforce our trade agreements, stop this unprecedented Canadian import surge, and stand strong with American workers by reinstating the 10 percent tariff on Canadian imports,” APAA chief executive Mark Duffy said in a statement.
But in a press conference, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said of the move to recompose the tariff: “This is something that again is a little difficult to understand, because the United States relies heavily on imports of Canadian aluminum, in particular for their domestic manufacturing capacity.”
The Arlington, Virginia-based Aluminum Association has estimated that at least 50 percent of the materials going into the construction of a modern high-rise today are made up of aluminum products and used for everything from roofs and siding to door and window frames and facades.
By Garry Boulard
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Facebook's initial asking price for a marketer looking to buy all logout page inventory in the U.S. for a given day is reportedly about $710,000, putting the unit in the same league as the most expensive online display properties. Log-out ads are bundled with premium homepage ads that users see on their News Feeds. To own the logout page in the U.S., you have to fork over $550,000 for homepage ads, plus $160,000 specifically for the logout inventory, according to a source cited by AdAge.
Microsoft is Facebook's first customer for the company's new logout ads. When you logout of Facebook, you could soon be greeted with an interactive Bing ad: you'll see Bing's trademark wallpaper photo as well as an active search box, which opens a Bing search results page in a separate tab when you search for something. TechCrunch reader Raj Singh already has it on his Facebook logout page.
Last month, Facebook introduced new advertising options for its customers. The first is Offers, a way to share special discounts and promotions. The second consists of two new placements for premium advertising and Sponsored Stories: both can now appear on the Facebook logout Page and the mobile News Feed. Mobile news feed ads were available immediately, and logout page ads were supposed to go live in April. Earlier this month though, Microsoft became Facebook's first customer for the new logout ads when it advertised Bing with an interactive search box. At the time, it wasn't clear how much the software giant was paying, but now we've got a rumor that gives us a ballpark.
When the logout ads were announced, here's what I wrote:
Logout ads seem bizarre to me because I'm always logged into the social network. Still, Facebook says 37 million U.S. users logout of the service each day and 105 million do so per month (out of 161 million monthly active U.S. Facebook users as of December 2011). Plus, and there's no other engaging content on the logout page to distract them from the ads.
Microsoft clearly agrees with Facebook more than I do, and other companies have followed suit. Ford has paid for video-enabled logout ads featuring its latest Mustang model and the upcoming 3D re-release of Titanic has also made an appearance. Both were built out of content posted to the company's Facebook Pages and also showed how many times the videos had been Liked, commented on, and Shared.
- Microsoft pays to put Bing on Facebook logout page
- Bing to use Facebook, Twitter more in fight against Google
- Microsoft adds Facebook video calling to Skype for Windows
- Facebook Messenger for Windows officially released
- Facebook taps Microsoft Bing for Page content translation
- Microsoft puts Facebook into Bing Bar


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By Eric Althoff
CLEVELAND—HOSPECO, the Ohio-based firm that services the healthcare industry thanks to its profile of janitorial, food service and hospitality solutions, is celebrating its centennial of being in business.
HOSPECO was founded in 1919 to aid patients with personal care products in public restrooms. The firm grew its offerings to eventually add toilet seat covers, vended menstrual care products and air-care products for its clients.
The company remains headquartered in Cleveland, and also has facilities in Knoxville, Tenn., Sparks, Nev., and Irvine, Calif., employing over 450 employees. HOSPECO has more than 1,200 distributors in North American.
“For 100 years, HOSPECO has been growing strategically, innovating and creating true end-user value in each of our core product categories,” Bill Hemann, HOSPECO’s vice president of sales and marketing, said in a recent statement. “But our success has been a result of our distribution partners who have supported us all these years. We personally and professionally value all of our distributors and, really, our world revolves around them. We thank each for our 100 years and we celebrate that loyalty.”
The firm is also a charter member of the ISSA (International Sanitary Supply Association), and their combined mission, the company said, is to “contribute thoughtfully to maintaining healthy, safe, and clean away-from-home environments.”
HOSPECO’s personal care products include TASKbrand disposable wipers, SaniWorks foodservice towels, ProWorks disposable gloves, MicroWorks microfiber towels/floorcare, SPHERGO flat surface cleaning systems, AirWorks air care, Evogen menstrual care products and Health Gards disposable toilet seat covers.
“We couldn’t have continued to grow, maintain relevance, and innovate for over 100 years without the talent and dedication of our HOSPECO team, whose passion and dedication to our mission and our customers will continue for the next 100 years,” Hemann said. “We recognize and thank all the generations of HOSPECO employees.”


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Jul 20, 2017
Firestone Complete Auto Care store team in Illinois honors long-time Boss
Bridgestone teammates consistently go above and beyond to know the Boss best and recently, Susan Granko, Store Manager at the Firestone Complete Auto Care in Lisle, Illinois demonstrated her commitment to the Boss through a kind gesture in memory of a long-time customer.
Bill Benson had been a regular customer and visitor of the Lisle FCAC since it opened in 2009. In late June, Mr. Benson’s wife, Diane, came in to the store to deliver the sad news that Mr. Benson lost his battle with lung cancer and to make an appointment for his vehicle. When Diane returned for the appointment a few days later with her granddaughter, Susan and her team had honored Mr. Benson’s memory and dedication to the store by engraving his name in the chair that he frequently sat in.
Diane and her granddaughter were touched to see such a thoughtful remembrance of Mr. Benson at the store he trusted with his car and the team he came to know over the years. Both sat in the chair and took a photo in his honor, and his granddaughter painted his name in gold.


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North Americans kept a recessionary mindset in the first quarter of 2013, but they cautiously opened their wallets and exhibited a desire to spend again, according to findings from the Nielsen Global Survey of Consumer Confidence and Spending Intentions. Forty-two percent said they plan to spend on discretionary items this year, a 6-point rise from Q4 2012 and a welcomed increase from the average of 33 percent over the past three years.
In the US, 22 percent plan to take a vacation and spend on out-of- home entertainment, an increase of 2 percentage points each.
North America led the other regions in terms of spending intentions, followed by the Asia-Pacific region, which reported an increase of 2 percentage points to 39 percent. Comparatively, spending intentions declined among respondents in Latin America (34%), Middle East/Africa (30%) and Europe (27%).
The Nielsen Global Survey of Consumer Confidence and Spending Intentions measures consumer confidence, major concerns and spending intentions among more than 29,000 respondents with Internet access in 58 countries."Buoyed by a nascent revival of the U.S. housing market, a strengthening of employment rates and an increase in retail sales in the first quarter, Americans demonstrated an eagerness to spend again,” said Dr. Venkatesh Bala, chief economist at The Cambridge Group, a part of Nielsen. “However, volatile economic factors, such as inflation and fuel prices, continue to affect U.S. households, which will make continued growth an ongoing challenge.”


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Chr Hansen has developed a new natural white colour from calcium carbonate, which it claims is the first non-chemical alternative to titanium dioxide available to coated confectionery and chewing gum manufacturers.
New applications for iPhone are giving consumers instant access to information on food additives by entering the E-number – but there are questions about the science used to support the safety opinions.
Mane is launching a new range of vegetable flavours for culinary applications to cater to the growing trend for natural foods and the new legislation on the composition of flavours that can be called natural.
A review of all new food and beverage product launches in Europe over the past year has revealed an increased focus on three top-of-the-mind consumer issues: The quest for all things natural, the need for speed, and the avoidance of allergens.
A High Court judge has found in favour of Asda in its court battle with Ajinomoto over food and beverage ‘no nasties’ labelling, which listed aspartame as an ingredient not used. Ajinomoto plans to appeal.
Symrise has developed a new tool for comprehensive flavour analysis which it says will enable it to produce more authentic profiles quickly and efficiently – and develop more true to life natural flavours.
The contamination of food with certain metals needs to be urgently addressed in light of growing evidence linking trace elements to negative human behaviour, according to a lead researcher in the field.


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Uber will provide free rides for vaccination.
Uber has made a big announcement for customers who get the Corona vaccine. The company has said that it will provide a free ride of Rs 1.5 crore, meaning that customers can book rides for free to go to the vaccination center.
Giving information, the company said that they have announced a free ride package of Rs 1.5 crore. Apart from this, earlier the company also announced help for the NGO and the Ministry of Health and Family Affairs.
Also read: Government has made a list for the eighth installment of PM Kisan, check whether you will get 2000 rupees or not …
Who will benefit? Talking about cities other than Delhi, the company said that this facility will be given in 34 cities, through which it has announced to give free riding of 10 crores rupees. Let us know that only those people who are eligible to get the vaccine will get the benefit of this facility.
You can take advantage through promo code
Let me tell you if you are going to get vaccinated, then you can take advantage of the facility of free riding through promo code.
How will you get the benefit?
>> You must first go to the Uber app on your mobile.
>> Here you have to go to the top left and select Wallet.
>> After this, the option to add promo code is to be selected.
>> Now you have to add 10MV21V to the bottom.
>> This vaccination promotion code will be visible in the app of all Uber users of Delhi NCR.
Pick and drop facility
The company is offering this facility to both pick and drop customers. After adding the promo code to the app, you can go to the Vacation Center. You can go to any private or government center. Apart from this, this promo code will also be applicable on your return ride.
Also read: Gold Price Today: Gold slipped by a month’s record price, know how much the prices fell today?
The value of the ride will be 150 rupees
The company has said that the value of each ride will be around 150 rupees. All riders will get two free rides. On the occasion of giving free rides for vaccination, Uber’s India and South Asia President Prabhjit Singh has said, “We are excited to help the Delhi government in this mission to vaccinate all citizens.” We will continuously support vaccine drive under MoveWhatMatters’


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Barely some time has passed since the iPhone 12, but people now already have some ideas about what the next product might look like. 2021’s lineup, that is, iPhone 13, is set to keep all the form factors and the screen sizes introduced with iPhone 12 line. These reports have been let out in the media by TFI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. Although, the major improvement in iPhone 13 will be of ultrawide camera. It will be provided in the high-end Pro as well as Pro Max models.
All the tech geeks out there know how Kuo has previously speculated about the iPhone 12 lineup, and they all turned out to be true. As of right now, Kuo seems to predict what the 2021 line could actually look like before a year of its launch. This time, Kuo discloses that the ultrawide camera feature of the Pro and Pro Max are going to be upgraded from the current f/2.4. We will also have a five-element lens setup to an f/1.8. All this while, a six-element lens will be provided with autofocus.
iPhone 13 Pro and Pro Max models will have an ultrawide camera!
With the larger aperture, we should get in more light, enhancing all the pictures we will click in low light. All the people who are in love with iPhone products surely are curious to witness if the autofocus and an increased number of the lens might make it a bit easier to take pictures from an ultrawide angle. We all have acknowledged the creators at Apple in the recent past, saving the best cameras for their priciest iPhones. With this, the iPhone 12 Pro Max got a larger sensor and a Sensor shift optical image stabilization for its main camera.
The high-end product also has a longer telephoto lens as well. But if course, the Pro Max did not bring us a better feature at an ultrawide camera than any other iPhone 13. But, as per the reports released by Kuo, everything is set to change next year. Kuo has even predicted the far-off future, such as the tech releases in 2022. He says that the new ultrawide is set to become a standard thing across the iPhones line. But well, we still might have a high-end camera option. Kuo has previously predicted that the iPhone lineup from 2022 is set to feature a periscopic lens.
Here are some other new features of the iPhone 13 lineup
It is just like the first one we saw getting torn down in the Huawei P30 Pro. With the help of a periscopic telephoto lens, a user can increase the optical zoom by spacing out lenses present inside the body of the product. This feature employs a mirror to point them out the back. All this while, a completely port free flagship speculates that tye 2021 iPhones will have 120 Hertz ProMotion displays. It all comes along with a new generation of Touch ID.


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World of Disney, the new flagship store at the hub of Disneyland Paris and entrance to Disney Village, has finally had its opening date set in stone: 12th July 2012! An unusual Thursday opening, then; perhaps a nod to the 12th April, or a chance for the newly-opened store to prepare itself ahead of summer weekend crowds? At least this puts an end to confusion over the date, which has been moving back and forth between June and September for the past few months. Work is suddenly flying ahead on the exterior, which will eventually end up looking like the visual above.
This new concept art, first included in the ‘Disneyland Paris: 20 Years of Dreams’ book, shows the final design of the Hollywood Art Deco-inspired exterior and its signature globe dome. You might remember from earlier concept art that the original idea was for a second half of the globe to continue inside the store itself, visible through the windows to create the effect of a floating Earth. Now, just the dome on top is part of the final design, with the double-height atrium inside to be decorated with stars; its centrepiece a hot air balloon carrying the Disney characters to destinations around the world, which will be featured in different areas of the store’s interior design.
The new design also clearly depicts how the boutique is raised slightly from the hub itself, with a small set of stairs around the front and sides to offer some protection from the surge of visitors at park closing. Naturally, a ramp is also provided on the right-hand side.
There, we also see the beginnings of an intriguing new perimeter gate. Rumours have suggested that the opening of World of Disney could see changes to the operation of the resort hub and its security barriers, perhaps allowing guests to go between the parks and Disney Village without leaving the security-controlled zone, though exact details of this are unconfirmed.
Along with the opening date announcement, Disneyland Paris has also shared photos of two important arrivals, all the way from New York City: Mickey and Minnie Mouse!
These two statues, which now sit either side of the main World of Disney entrance in Paris, were salvaged from the marquee of the former World of Disney store on Fifth Avenue in New York, which closed on 31st December 2009.
Disney moved to a new retail space in Times Square in late 2010, branded as a general Disney store, leaving only the two — and very soon to be three — theme park locations. Of which, Paris certainly has the most beautiful, unique exterior. But isn’t that always the case?
Halloween 2011 Preview — Something strange has come over Disneyland Paris. As we approach the launch of Disney’s Halloween Festival this Saturday, you’ll see not a hastily-crafted static Pumpkinman in sight. Instead, the decorations are new, the pumpkins have ears and Castle Stage… has come back to life. At last this season appears to be heading in the right direction. After years trailing around misguided creations such as the Pumpkinmen, Pink Witches and Stitch, Paris — the Disney resort which pioneered the Halloween season in 1997 (before trashing it all with orange paint in 2003) — has now looked to Disneyland in California for inspiration. This year, we’re seeing brand new decorations lifted directly from the Anaheim park’s popular HalloweenTime. High quality, considerately-designed and most importantly more “Disney” in their execution as well as their style, they should go a long way to giving Disneyland Paris guests the Halloween they expect from the park.
For fans, it’s a double surprise. As well as a park plussed rather than spoilt by the season, the majority of those new decorations have so far arrived at Le Théâtre du Château, which will be coming back to life to host the new Mickey’s Halloween Treat in the Street event. Vines wrap their way around the bronze columns, pumpkins top the towers and a giant Mickey-shaped pumpkin head (similar to that on Town Square in California) is the centrepiece. The mini-show will feature the full line-up of Mickey and friends in special costumes and dialogue in both French and English. After highlighting several times this year what a wasted opportunity the stage is, it’s a delight to see it fully decorated and back in use.
Plans for Main Street, U.S.A. seem a little lower spec, with just colour-coordinated flower beds, Mickey-eared pumpkins and a spot of bunting on the concept we’ve seen, but it’s still a step up from last year’s near complete lack of Halloween decoration on the street. Hopefully now that Disneyland Paris has finally found the right path for its Halloween decorations, Main Street will gradually begin to match the warm and vibrant Harvest “Pumpkin Festival” theme seen in California (below).
Meanwhile, one old decision hangs on, for a little while longer at least: Central Plaza Stage. That behemoth will at least be hosting a big new show, titled Disney’s Maleficious Halloween Party, which amongst other surprises is said to see Snow White’s Evil Queen transform into a Witch, courtesy of the stage lifts, and Dr Facilier from The Princess and the Frog return to the park.
Rumour suggests Disney’s Once Upon a Dream Parade won’t feature its usual Halloween pre-parade this year, although Jack Skellington and Sally from The Nightmare Before Christmas will be making a return for meet ‘n’ greets, despite not being mentioned in any publicity. It remains to be seen if Halloweenland will return to Frontierland in any form. In truth, the land has felt more like a boneyard for discarded decorations rather than a proper overlay for the past few years, anyway. A cleaning out of the junk and a shot in the arm in quality is exactly what the festival needed.
Eighteen months into his role as chairman of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, Tom Staggs has announced a big reorganisation for the department that appears to bring Disneyland Paris more tightly under Disney’s managerial wing. The former President of Worldwide Operations position has been eliminated following the retirement of Al Weiss; in its place a new expanded role for Walt Disney World President Meg Crofton, pictured above, who will now not only oversee the resort and four parks in Florida but serve in a new position as President of Operations in the US and France. Reporting to Meg will be George Kalogridis of Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California (and previously chief operating officer in Paris) and our own Philippe Gas of Euro Disney SCA, the group which operates Disneyland Paris. Meanwhile, previous Euro Disney CEO Karl Holz will add Disney Vacation Club to his current role overseeing Disney Cruise Line and Adventures by Disney.
In a memo sent on Tuesday Tom Staggs writes,
“Meg’s strong leadership abilities and broad experience make her the perfect person to lead resort operations in our established markets in the United States and Europe. Meg will report directly to me and become a member of my executive committee, allowing us to continue the great work of sharing best practices and leveraging our operational expertise across our properties. Meg understands and respects the unique heritage and characteristics of each of our theme park resort locations, which gives me great confidence in her ability to fulfill this role while preserving and enhancing what makes each of our properties so special in their own right.”
Whilst crossovers between Disneyland Paris and the American resorts have been noticeably increasing in recent years (the UK even had a joint Paris/Florida TV campaign earlier this year), this appears to be the firmest move yet in bringing their trans-Atlantic management closer. In fact, the Orlando Sentinel reports that it is all part of an initiative known as “One Disney”, which has been seeking to merge functions and responsibilities between resorts. What do you think — Is it a good thing for Disneyland Paris to be brought closer to the American resorts? And is Meg the right person to do it?
There’s a grand “Happy Birthday” and many congratulations in order today — for Disney California Adventure, the problematic second park at Disneyland Resort in California which opened back on 8th February 2001 and is currently nearing the end of an enormous $1 billion makeover project that will transform the original, mediocre gate into a park worthy of the Disney name. If you’ve not been following progress, you’re missing out — be sure to check the official site, Yesterland, MiceAge, this fantastic infographic and all the other great Californian fan sites — it’s a fascinating look at what can happen when Disney really, truly puts its money — and more importantly, its heart — into making something work. Those three beautiful new attraction posters above, a Disney tradition brought forward for a new generation, are the final signature of intent.
What’s the relevance to Disneyland Paris? Well, it’s looking more and more like our own second gate, a similar project of early 2000s misguidedness, has just lost its running partner; been left behind at the starting block. Whatever analogy you want to use, Disney California Adventure is finally getting really good, really fast — and Walt Disney Studios Park, well, it’s still ambling along like all is well. Of course, though they’ve been lumped together for years as Disney’s follies, the two parks were very different. Where California Adventure had in many of its original areas and attractions a disheartening sheen of “hip” tackiness that Imagineering are now having to steam-clean out of the place, Walt Disney Studios was (and still is) simply massively under-built. And not under-built in the rather charming “there’s plenty of room to expand” style of 2005’s Hong Kong Disneyland, either. As a member on our forum succinctly put it, it’s like “a place filled with nice Disney attractions still in their boxes, waiting to be put in a Disney park.” Ironic, then, that Toy Story Playland, probably the best (at least, most fully-realised) themed area in the park is based around toys being unpacked from their boxes.
Even that expensive new land has almost entirely failed to be integrated into the park around it, as seen above. When Walt Disney Studios doesn’t even get a themed path leading to its new land, what hope is there for going back and readdressing the original, lacking areas, like California is doing? What for the original portion of Toon Studio — the barren, soulless area in front of Animagique — do Euro Disney SCA really consider that to be Disney quality? Will Studio Tram Tour: Behind the Magic ever be given a raison-d’être beyond being an extended drive out to Catastrophe Canyon? Whatever happened to those plans Imagineering dreamed up to turn the depressing and utterly theme-less corner of Production Courtyard into a buzzing Theater District to match Hollywood Boulevard, complete with Soarin’, a new period-specific façade for CinéMagique and new dining and retail? At one time, we we seemed sure to see the terrible, emotionless “Production Courtyard” name become “Hollywood Studio”, to match its “Toon” neighbour, with Backlot following suit. Where Disneyland has “lands”, the Studio would have a collection of different theme “studios”, and finally some vision.
Yes, Walt Disney Studios has been given Toy Story Playland whilst California Adventure will get an expensive Little Mermaid dark ride and an enormous Cars Land, but right now this isn’t about size or scale, it’s about vision and intent. Disneyland Paris doesn’t have the money for a Cars Land, but it probably doesn’t need it. The best part of the California makeover isn’t the new attractions but the sensible and thoughtful re-touching of the original park — adding detail, atmosphere, charm and soul. Paris could spend as much as it likes on that mythical Ratatouille dark ride to be nestled at the back of Toon Studio, but it will just be another self-contained patch of quality. The park as a whole still won’t work if the original areas remain unfinished. Luckily, these corners of the park are so devoid of anything that they’re practically a blank canvas. There’s no giant tile mural needs knocking down here. The attractions are top quality, they just need to be unpacked from their boxes, wrapped in a cohesive theme. So where is the vision for Walt Disney Studios, the intent? Maybe it’s still to come. We’ve heard rumblings of a “30-year plan” — but that means if you’re in your 30s today, you’ll be just about retiring by the time the park has moved forward. Today, to the eyes of a visitor, the Studios isn’t going anywhere — and the worst thing a Disney park can ever be is static.
But, unlike our dear Studios, Disney have long given up on a piecemeal approach to fixing the disastrous second gate and have thrown themselves (with perhaps more than a little pushing from John Lasseter and co) head first into a billion-dollar expansion and improvement programme. Check out the website here, if you’d like to be jealous.
Now back to Paris.
Though it appears DCA is getting all the luck with its $1bn investment, that doesn’t mean Walt Disney Imagineering haven’t also been planning the future of our second gate. Drawing up plans, throwing around ideas. Thinking about the future way, way ahead of Toy Story Playland and the Ratatouille dark ride; to a time where the Studio Tram Tour route would finally be thrown aside and the park allowed to expand outwards, along an extended Hollywood Boulevard.
And what would be at the end of the new boulevard, according the latest proposals from a few years ago? A lake. Yes, water! In Walt Disney Studios Park! It’s a fan’s dream come true, finally a body of water in the parched concrete kingdom of the Studios.
But this wouldn’t just be any body of water. Though the talk of a lake or large area of water in the park has recently, and very quietly, turned from the dream of fans to something actually on the drawing board, no-one guessed what the Imagineers might use such an asset for.
Well, who’d have put World of Color together with Walt Disney Studios? But according to a recent blog post by Alain Littaye, that’s exactly what WDI and Euro Disney SCA are pondering for the future. At the end of this grand, extended Hollywood Boulevard, leading right up past the current service road, the body of water wouldn’t just sit there being all watery, it would become a giant nighttime spectacular — the first of its kind at Disneyland Paris.
Don’t head to the park this year — or perhaps even most of this decade — looking for something like that, though. This is a truly long-term project, major long-term. Alain says “don’t expect it before 2015”, but even that seems incredibly generous unless the proposals have since been rejigged to put the lagoon closer to the heart of the park.
Because, to get to the point where even just this lagoon, bay and stadium — yes, unlike DCA there’d be proper seating — are ready to be built, the park would have to expand right the way back, along the full length of the forest. That’s a major expansion and investment programme even before you get to the frightening cost of the lagoon itself.
There’s a chance that by the time Walt Disney Studios Park is ready for this, World of Color might not seem so exciting. Plus as Alain points out, the people involved in these decisions at Disneyland Paris will also need to look in-depth at how it actually turns out. With the show still under preparation, they’ll want to know the full cost of daily performances, maintenance and of course, guest reaction, before it gets anywhere near Paris.
Although it seems like the odds are stacked against Paris for this one as we currently stand, a “nighttime spectacular” is certainly a very real aspiration for the resort. Not only would it extend guests’ visit to either park, prompting more nights in Disney Hotels, it would finally give the resort, well, exactly that — a real nighttime spectacular.
Being so constrained with firework shows due to nearby villages, a show involving comparably quiet fountains and pyrotechnic effects is the perfect solution. The parks would have a draw and a reason to open later for more of the year. And, if you’ve ever visited Versailles or Futuroscope, you’ll know that the locals are already very familiar with the format. They have expectations just waiting to be blown away.
Regaining interest since the death of its lead earlier this year, the short film will return to its original home in Disneyland, California, for a “limited engagement” from February 2010.
Since this rumour first appeared, and especially since these plans were confirmed, fans of the other international resorts have obviously been questioning whether ‘EO’ could also, even temporarily, replace ‘HISTA’ in their home park.
Now, Disneyland Paris have given their answer. As confirmed by the press department in Le Journal and reported by Photos Magiques on Twitter, Captain EO will not be returning to Marne-la-Vallée.
Original CinéMagique: Captain EO entrance.
The 3-D special effects attraction originally played in Paris from opening day on 12th April 1992 up to 17th August 1998, when it closed to become Honey, I Shrunk the Audience (HISTA). On this date, Disneyland Paris was the last park in the world you could see the film — it having closed elsewhere over a year earlier and at Epcot over 4 years earlier.
Starring Michael Jackson in a film directed by Francis Ford Coppola, executive produced by George Lucas and featuring music by James Horder, it was one of the flagships of Michael Eisner’s arrival at the company when it premiered in the US parks in 1986. In Paris, the attraction was actually named CinéMagique, a variation on the “Magic Eye Theater” of California, making the resort perhaps the only one to have had two completely different yet identically-named attractions in its history.
With Honey, I Shrunk the Audience hardly doing a roaring trade over the back of Discoveryland, opening such limited hours as 11am to 6pm during the Summer high season, it remains to be seen what all-new replacement will eventually come about for the tired 3-D film. Rumours on MiceAge.com have suggested the limited-time showing of ‘EO’ in California could be followed by the arrival of Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor, a living character show (think Stitch Live!) from Florida’s Magic Kingdom. Could this be rolled out to ourselves and Tokyo? That’d still leave the problem of Epcot’s theatre.
In any case, Paris will likely have to wait for the other resorts to make their move in replacing HISTA first. It doesn’t appear to be much of a priority and, with the Californians now buying time with a nostalgia trip, this firm “non, merci” to EO‘s return means Wayne Szalinski will likely be winning Inventor of the Year a good few more times yet — even if there’s hardly any Audience left to shrink.
For newly-promoted Kalogridis, this also ends a three-year reign. George became Chief Operating Officer (COO, or French title, Directeur Général Adjoint: Opérations) for Euro Disney SCA, operating group of Disneyland Paris, back in 2006 after Karl Holz was promoted to Chief Executive Officer.
In that time, we’ve seen new parades, new shows and no less than six new attractions — including of course, the formidable Twilight Zone Tower of Terror. We’ve also enjoyed a renewed focus on the resort’s upkeep and details, increasingly wonderful Cast Members, new initiatives like Extra Magic Hours and E-Tickets, and in pure number terms, the most successful years of the resort’s life to date.
Meanwhile, characters have taken over some of the magic of the original park, proper entertainment has been shunned in favour of street dance-alongs, attractions have been forced into reduced operating hours, hotel pools have stayed closed until 3pm, the official website has remained incredibly poor, and progress, generally, at Walt Disney Studios Park has been disappointingly slow and half-hearted. And of course, during his entire run as COO, George Kalogridis would never have seen the front of Disney Studio 1 — it being flanked first by Chicken Little and Cars advertisements, then later a “refurbishment” covering for the past 14 months.
Overseeing such a large programme of expansion should certainly have set him in good step for the continuing billion-dollar expansion and improvements still ahead at Disney’s California Adventure park, if his time overseeing the opening of that park didn’t already — he was their senior vice president of operations first, from 2000 to 2002. Further back, he has history in Paris as one of the original Cast Members on the pre-opening development team in 1988.
The past three years have been spectacularly successful for Disneyland Paris, and we can only hope that the incoming COO is somebody who knows exactly what Disneyland should be — (preferably the Californian or Japanese version, eh?) — and how to achieve that kind of quality more consistently in Paris.
Euro Disney SCA have yet to announce a replacement.
UPDATE (01:46 GMT) — The OC Register “Around Disney” blog has just posted an exclusive Q&A with George Kalogridis, with several interesting comments on the similarities between the California and Paris resorts and some operational tricks learnt in Paris. Here’s an excerpt:
Q. What have you learned from other resorts and your previous stint here that you can bring to the new job?
A. Probably, the one thing that’s most interesting is Disneyland Paris and Disneyland California are the two sites that are the most similar. Both have two theme parks, resort hotels and a retail-entertainment center. Both are in an urban environment. Secondly … in the last three years, I’ve opened a new major attraction each year in my time in Paris. So, I think I also have very recent experience opening a big new attraction. I see the same opportunity here.
Q. What lessons did you learn from the similarities of Disneyland and Disneyland Paris?
A. I think the dynamic of guest visitors and whether or not they choose to cross over to the other park and what makes them choose to do that. It’s an interesting dynamic. There’s no recipe for it. But it’s a big issue as to how you operate. I think we had some learning in Paris. For example, turning the direction of the parade made a big difference in terms of the crush exiting to get to the other park. Again, it’s not that it’s the right thing or the wrong thing here, but it’s learning. … I think the Paris site and this site are the only ones where guests can walk between two parks without a mode of transport.
And some good news for Disneyland Resort fans (and MiceAge columnists) — George states very specifically that “I’m in the parks and hotels more than I’m not. I’m a visible person. […] My goal is to be very visible. And in my time with the company, that’s always proven to be something that’s doable.”
Ever wished you could see a Disney Cruise ship drop anchor in the UK, in France or in Germany? Stop dreaming — start saving. Disney Cruise Line is returning to Europe, and this time it’s coming even closer to home for many Disneyland Resort Paris fans.
For five months, from April to September 2010, the majestic Disney Magic will once again be sailing in European waters, taking guests on brand new family-friendly cruises to the places where the magic of Disney truly began. The ship’s first visit to Europe came during the first year of the 15th Anniversary in 2007, when it ran European cruises out of Barcelona, Spain.
This time, Disney’s hugely successful seaborne venture will also be offering a brand new Northern European Capitals Cruise. What’s more, you can even book a cruise to enjoy the unique legs of the ship’s journey as it travels to and from these main departure ports — transatlantic from Port Canaveral, Florida to Barcelona and — believe this: Barcelona to Dover, UK!
Disney Cruise Line’s outgoing president, Tom McAlpin, announced the new routes online:
The new 12-night Northern European Capitals cruises sailing out of Dover include stops at Oslo, Norway; Copenhagen, Denmark; Warnemünde (for Berlin), Germany; St. Petersburg, Russia; Helsinki, Finland; and Stockholm, Sweden; whilst the returning 11-night Mediterranean cruises from Barcelona include Malta, Italy, Tunisia, Corsica and Villefranche, France.
Northern European Capitals Cruise
Or, enjoy a shorter spell on the Disney Magic by tagging along for 8/9-night Barcelona/Dover cruises, which stop at Gibraltar, UK; Cadiz, Spain; and Lisbon, Portugal outward as well as Cherbourg, France and Vigo, Spain on the return.
You can find all the itineraries and details at the special website here. Better start saving now, though — these cruises will set you back anything from $999 per person to well over $2,139 per person (prices for the longer cruises aren’t even listed).
Interestingly, Tom McAlpin was just recently replaced at the helm of Disney Cruise Line by “our own” Karl Holz, former CEO of Euro Disney SCA, operating group of Disneyland Resort Paris, when his New Vacation Opportunites department was merged with the Cruise Line.
Whether Holz will seek to cross-promote the cruises with his Disneyland Resort Paris successor Philippe Gas, the way Walt Disney World does with the Port Canaveral/Castaway Cay cruises, remains to be seen. When the Cruise Line’s two huge new ships come into service in 2011 and 2012, there is a strong likelihood the venture will have a more regular presence in European waters, just in time for Disneyland Resort Paris’ 20th Anniversary.
However, the business does still seem mostly US-focused. Because, whilst we wouldn’t see Europeans taking a Disney Cruise combined with a trip to Disneyland Resort Paris, for Americans already travelling a long distance, a combined parks/cruise package could be a good venture for the resort. Already, the original 2007 cruises were actually highlighted in Paris’ 15th Anniversary press releases, and the loading dock in Barcelona did feature a large advertisement for Disneyland Resort Paris.
So, in 2010 at least, the Disney Magic will be much closer than you think… sailing the English Channel, for example!
• Find the Disney Cruise Line’s European cruise website here.
The agreement with MGM began back in 1986 as Michael Eisner’s new management sought after more “adult” properties for the park Disney hoped would beat Universal Studios’ Florida outpost.
On 1st May 1989, Disney-MGM Studios Theme Park opened its gates in Orlando, Florida, the third theme park at Walt Disney World Resort. Since then, fans have long used the ‘MGM’ tag to refer to the park, but not for much longer…
The troubles began way back in the 1990s, as MGM became unhappy with Disney’s use of the name and Disney became unhappy with MGM’s use of the name for casinos, hotels and a small theme park in Las Vegas. The news of a name change has been expected for years… but did fans expect this? Not a hint of ‘Pixar’ in sight, a possible sign that the park will return to its purely Hollywood roots…
Disney-MGM Studios name to be put to rest January 2008
The press release from late yesterday:
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (Aug. 9, 2007) — In the Walt Disney World theme park famous for all things Hollywood, it’s curtain up on the launch of new attractions, new looks, new breakthrough experiences…
…and a brand-new name.
Disney-MGM Studios will be renamed Disney’s Hollywood Studios, effective January 2008, announced Meg Crofton, president of Walt Disney World Resort.
“The new name reflects how the park has grown from representing the golden age of movies to a celebration of the new entertainment that today’s Hollywood has to offer — in music, television, movies and theater,” she said.
Framed by the park’s supporting cast of classic Hollywood architecture are shows and attractions straight from contemporary Hollywood, such as Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith, “Lights, Motors, Action! Extreme Stunt Show” and many more. Disney’s Hollywood Studios is also the place to meet favorite character stars of today including Lightning McQueen and Mater from Disney-Pixar’s “Cars,” Power Rangers and Little Einsteins.
With exciting coming attractions and experiences, the best and brightest of Hollywood is about to emerge for park guests, Crofton said.
“As Disney continues to grow and invest in our family entertainment business, we constantly explore new ways to deliver high-quality, immersive experiences for our guests,” she added. “As a park all about entertainment, Disney’s Hollywood Studios will deliver like never before. Now we can say that Hollywood is literally our middle name.”
Initial reaction from a Paris perspective: relief.
The ‘Disney-Pixar Studios’ name was always the favourite (or rather the “most likely”) amongst most followers, but there was always the off-chance that Disney-MGM could become something along the lines of ‘Walt Disney Studios Florida’, casting our much-loved little park in Paris into the shadows, in the eyes of the public nothing more than an offshoot from the older brother.
Luckily, that hasn’t happened. The park in Florida stays true to its “Hollywood that never was” roots and the fast-growing park in Paris can stand on its own two feet, still the only park with Walt Disney’s name on it… whether its critics like that or not.
Still the one and only Walt Disney Studios Park
The release goes on to confirm several new attractions for the park — ‘Toy Story Mania!’, ‘Block Party Bash’, a new ‘Playhouse Disney-Live on Stage!’, ‘Disney’s High School Musical 2: School’s Out!’ show and ‘Handy Manny’ meet ‘n’ greets. Obviously having exclamation marks at the end of names will be a new criteria for Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Ever confident and superlative of their offerings, Walt Disney World announce this line-up as “one of the most ambitious attractions rollouts in the 18-year history of the park.”
‘Toy Story Mania!’ has been anticipated for a long time to be the attraction to launch the new park name, but not confirmed until right now is the second new offering — Block Party Bash. The high-energy parade from Disney’s California Aventure park coming to Florida means that the old 2002 Disney Stars and Motor Cars parade finally jumps ship…
Is that really likely to happen? Visit Disneyland Resort Paris tomorrow and watch the current parade, Disney Cinema Parade. A little later, hop over to Disneyland Park and catch the new Disney’s Once Upon a Dream Parade — the difference is quite shocking, don’t you think? For all its charm and interesting avant-garde designs, Disney Cinema Parade is, after over five years of daily “lights, camera, action!”, tired and ready for replacement — especially next to the dazzling show on offer next door.
A brand new parade on the scale and budget of Disney’s Once Upon a Dream Parade is out of the question, so the park would be a fool not to pick up the Stars and Motor Cars to celebrate its very own new Hollywood, don’t you think?
“Walt Disney Studios: More than just Hollywood”
So, as it works out, Disney’s Hollywood Studios could mean very good things for Paris’ Walt Disney Studios Park. A new parade, it’s own identity. Good things at least… so far.
Yes, the shadow being cast over this “good news” for Walt Disney Studios Park is that several online news sources continue to push Crush’s Coaster as a possible new attraction for the new ‘Pixar Place’ area of the park, next to ‘Toy Story Mania!’.
Kevin Yee mentions it as a rumour in every ‘Rumour Rundown’ article on MiceAge.com and today Jim Hill even spoke of Pixar Place as the area that will “play host to the studio theme park’s ‘Toy Story Mania’ attraction as well as the soon-to-be-announced stateside version of ‘Crush’s Coaster‘.”
Crush’s Coaster, “soon-to-be-announced” for Disney-MGM Studios? The bright blue showbuilding and its wacky blue rockwork don’t seem like an instant match for the more serious Florida studio, not to mention this would give Walt Disney World its third consecutive Nemo-based attraction at a third different park (after The Musical at Animal Kingdom and The Seas at Epcot).
Haven’t folks in Orlando had enough ‘Nemo’ yet?
It’s no secret that Crush’s Coaster was built on a fairly tight budget for Paris, so a second version in Florida could end up teasing unlucky fans in Paris with enhanced effects. Even if the attraction arrived in Florida in identical form, it would mean Walt Disney Studios Park losing a unique attraction, one which has finally helped to edge it onto the Disney map in a very positive way.
Hopefully rumour of Crush’s Coaster in Florida will go the same way as the ‘Disney-Pixar Studios’ name… to a Hollywood that truly “never was”.
Some items copyright Disney. This website is independent of and not supported, endorsed by or connected to Disneyland® Paris, The Walt Disney Company, Euro Disney Associés S.C.A., Disney Enterprises, Inc. or their subsidiaries and affiliates.


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Amazon-owned smart home firm Ring allegedly let employees have access to videos and live feeds of customers’ cameras, according to a pair of new reports this week.
Sources say some teams had unfettered access to unencrypted server-stored video files and even live feeds, even when that level of access was unnecessary, according to two separate stories by The Intercept and The Information.
Reportedly, this mishandling of customer data kicked off in 2016. That’s when Ring founder Jamie Siminoff moved much of the company’s infrastructure from the Bay Area to Ukraine to cut costs.
Videos recorded by Ring customer cameras were frequently sent without encryption, allowing them to be downloaded and shared. Some teams were even given access to databases that linked videos to individual customers. But that wasn’t the end of it.
High-level teams in the U.S. reportedly had access to “round-the-clock” live feeds from some customer cameras. All that was needed was a Ring user’s email address. Some sources indicated that Ring engineers teased each other about “who they brought home” after dates.
Back in Ukraine, employees there also had to take up some slack after issues with A.I. performance. Staff members reportedly had to manually tag objects in videos to train Ring’s machine learning algorithm.
The Ukraine team allegedly watched footage from both indoor and outdoor cameras, showed each other some of that footage, and labeled customer actions like “kissing, firing guns, and stealing.”
There weren’t any reports of actual privacy abuse, however. And after Amazon acquired the company, it placed security restrictions on some of that access — but Ring employees told The Information that they had ways around that security.
Ring pushed back
Actual privacy is becoming much rarer and more valuable in the digital era. But aside from covering your cameras and learning to delete your interactions with Amazon’s Alexa, your own level of privacy may largely be left up to the company you’ve entrusted it to — willingly or otherwise.


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Symbol, Terabeam settle patent suit News & Analysis 2/28/2006 Post a comment Symbol Technologies Inc. has entered into a licensing agreement with Terabeam, Inc., the parent company of Proxim Wireless Corp., settling long-standing patent litigation between the two companies.
Lab test system gets handset trace capability Product News 2/28/2006 Post a comment RF test equipment vendor Aeroflex adds handset trace capability to its existing SystemAT test system. The SystemAT is used for regression testing wireless network software prior to rollout, and handset validation/interoperability testing. It also accommodates network load and capacity testing.
India readies high-tech manufacturing policy News & Analysis 2/28/2006 Post a comment The Indian government will soon announce a policy that will enable it take equity in and help boost the manufacture of high-technology products, such as semiconductors, wafers, storage devices, plasma and LCD panels.
Silicon Design Chain claims methodology validation News & Analysis 2/28/2006 Post a comment The Silicon Design Chain Initiative claimed that a second, enhanced version of its power-management methodology and implementation up to tapeout of the ARM 1136JF-S processor is proof of the methodology and its interdependent technologies.
PCI-X board runs parallel TI DSPs Product News 2/27/2006 Post a comment Designed for high-speed I/O and processing, here's news of a board-level PCI-X drop-in that harnesses the power of up to nine TI TMS320C6414T DSPs. With that you can get over 2000-Mbytes/s of concurrent I/O, and the ability to combine any number of customer-specific channels of data for up to 500-Mbytes/s of continuous data input from an external source.
Rambus claims victory in antitrust case News & Analysis 2/23/2006 Post a comment A San Francisco court has ordered the evidence in the Rambus antitrust hearings to be turned over to Rambus, in an apparent coup for the chip licensing company’s quest to prove that several chip makers colluded to fix prices and engage in other anti-competitive practices.
USB data-acq modules synchronously sample multiple analog signals Product News 2/23/2006 Post a comment Check out this series of analog-input multi-function data acquisition modules for USB 2.0. They provide two or four channels of simultaneous 16-bit analog measurement at throughput speeds up to 2-MHz/channel. Each channel has its own 16-bit A/D converter that uses a common clock and trigger for synchronous sampling of all analog and digital inputs at the exact same instant in time.
IPCC becomes IMS Forum News & Analysis 2/23/2006 Post a comment The International Packet Communications Consortium has acknowledged the popularity of the “IMS” (IP Multimedia Subsystem) acronym by reincorporating as the IMS Forum.
Vietnam OKs Intel chip plant News & Analysis 2/23/2006 Post a comment Vietnam's Ministry of Investment and Planning has approved an investment license for based Intel Corp., which plans to build a $605 million plant in Ho Chi Minh City, a ministry official was quoted as saying in an Associated Press report.
Video tester gets HDMI CEC support Product News 2/22/2006 Post a comment Providing a Consumer Electronic Control test approach, ranging from development through pre-compliance testing, video test maker Quantum Data now has an HDMI CEC development and compliance test suite for its existing test equipment. CEC is an HDMI option that provides automatic power-on, automatic signal routing, and single-point remote control for CEC-enabled products.
High-speed XMC data-acq board packs Virtex-4 FPGA Product News 2/22/2006 Post a comment Designed for high-speed data acquisition applications such as software-defined radio, SIGINT, tactical communications, and radar, here's a VITA 42 board that can simultaneously sample two inputs at frequencies up to 210-MHz, at a resolution of 12 bits. Total aggregate I/O bandwidth is 12.5-Gbits/s.
Probe targets Serial RapidIO, PCI Express Product News 2/21/2006 Post a comment Check out this Serial RapidIO protocol analysis probe. An optional modification can add PCI Express analysis capability. The probe works with most Agilent Technologies 16700 and 16900 logic analyzer modules.
Court says ITC erred on Energizer patent decision News & Analysis 2/17/2006 Post a comment Energizer Holdings Inc. has announced that the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) ruled that the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) erred in 2004 when it concluded that Energizer's patent covering mercury-free batteries was invalid.
TechWing vows to fight patent claim News & Analysis 2/17/2006 Post a comment TechWing Inc., the Korean IC test equipment maker locked in a patent dispute with Advantest Corp., said it will fight the Japanese company's petition in a Taiwan court.
African entrepreneur tweaks U.S. at 3GSM News & Analysis 2/16/2006 Post a comment In the midst of Europe's largest mobile telephony conference Wednesday, an African entrepreneur interjected a wry critique of "American know-how" and provided participants at the 3GSM World congress a rare note of levity.
DRM panel called 'bunch of big girls' Product News 2/16/2006 Post a comment At a 3GSM World Congress discussion on digital rights management, audience member David Birch called the panelists “a bunch of big girls” for buckling under to the demands of Hollywood studios and record companies.
Study: Outsourcing is more than saving costs News & Analysis 2/16/2006 Post a comment Contrary to popular belief, intellectual capital and university collaboration, not just lower costs, are driving companies to locate R&D activities outside their home country, according to a study sponsored by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation.
Yokogawa expands in Singapore News & Analysis 2/15/2006 Post a comment Yokogawa Electric plans to ramp up investment in its regional headquarters in Singapore as part of an effort to boost the company's presence in Southeast Asia.
What are the engineering and design challenges in creating successful IoT devices? These devices are usually small, resource-constrained electronics designed to sense, collect, send, and/or interpret data. Some of the devices need to be smart enough to act upon data in real time, 24/7. Specifically the guests will discuss sensors, security, and lessons from IoT deployments.


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Kingdom Hearts III reveals new Monsters Inc World
Kingdom Hearts III may end up being the most anticipated game of all time when it finally comes out. Square Enix has been slowly trickling information out about Kingdom Hearts III for over two years now. A new combat video here, a new character there. Today is no diffrent with the official announcement of a new world, specifically Monsters Inc. Revealed at the D23 expo at Toyko Disney, the announcement also included a new video.
SQUARE ENIX also revealed new cutscenes and gameplay from the Toy Story-inspired world, Disney princess Rapunzel (Tangled) as a party member, flashy Keyblade transformations, a link system featuring Ariel (The Little Mermaid), and the return of Dream Eater Meow Wow as well as KINGDOM HEARTS villains Marluxia and Vanitas.
Fans were also treated to a second trailer teasing a mysterious exchange between Riku and King Mickey and the announcement of a new theme song by international sensation and series veteran singer Hikaru Utada, titled “DON’T THINK TWICE.”
About the KINGDOM HEARTS Series
KINGDOM HEARTS is a series of role-playing games created through the collaboration of Disney and Square Enix. Since the first KINGDOM HEARTS was released in March 2002 for the PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system, the series has expanded with several additional entries. The series celebrated its 15th anniversary on March 2017, and has shipped over 22 million units worldwide.


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Matson expands its service into China
September 17, 2010
Matson launched its expanded China – Long Beach Express service this week, with the first departures from Hong Kong and Yantian and a new second weekly call at Shanghai.
The new weekly service allows Matson to extend its geographic reach to the South China region, including Hong Kong and the Pearl River Delta.
With the second string of vessels, Matson will now offer twice weekly service from Shanghai and weekly service from Hong Kong, Yantian, Xiamen and Ningbo to Long Beach. The expanded service also features a new direct westbound service to China that links Southern California and the U.S. interior to Hong Kong, Shanghai and the Pearl River Delta.
“Our smaller vessels allow faster loading and unloading of cargo,” said Dave Hoppes, senior vice president, ocean services.
He also noted in a statement that Matson’s fixed day arrivals and next day cargo availability is extended to all shippers—not just for “a select few.”
This news may also be welcomed by U.S. West Coast exporters, who are currently scrambling to find space for their goods on the Transpacific westbound lane.
According to Michael Gargaro, senior vice president for ocean freight at cargo consolidator Agility Logistics, carriers are not moving fast enough to accommodate a surge in outbound freight this autumn.
“Capacity shortfalls will continue into 2011,” he said in an interview.
He added that this trend would continue as long as carriers deploy capacity based on higher-valued eastbound vessel strings.
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It's all about looks last week with app selecting one's best photos and plastic surgery 'games'
A RUSTY KNIFE AND TWO CATS
A man expertly cleans and polishes a knife he bought for $3 at a local second-hand shop as his two cats look on in apparent bemusement.
That is the premise of the top trending video on YouTube in the past week.
Since it was uploaded on June 19, the four-minute-long "Polishing A Rusty Knife" video, by the channel JunsKitchen, has gone viral, racking up close to nine million views.
Jun, who stars in the video, starts by saying he believed he was duped into overpaying for the rusty blade.
Determined to make the best of the situation, he takes out his various knife-cleaning mixtures and tools and starts the sharpening process. Soon, he uses the sharpened knife to effortlessly slice through things like paper, a leaf floating on water and a tomato in mid-air, and to create a flower out of daikon radish.
Throughout the video, his cats are seen looking on with an apparent mix of interest and nonchalance.
On Reddit, many users attribute the video's success to its simplicity, pace and overarching narrative of recycling an old product into something new and usable.
The most successful producers of viral content study trends to learn what kinds of articles and videos have received the most views and "shares" in the past, then capitalise on them, says Mr Emerson Spartz, the CEO of digital company Dose, in a Forbes article earlier this year. "Almost everything you see that's viral has already been on the Internet before. The same things go viral over, and over, and over again," Mr Spartz says.
So it's not surprising that Jun's latest viral hit is a lovechild of his two most popular videos, each with more than four millions views.
One features Jun sharpening a $1 knife while the other shows him preparing homemade cat food and comparing it with store-bought ones in front of his feline friend.
LEE FAMILY FEUD: The ongoing dispute between PM Lee Hsien Loong and his siblings over their father's property has attracted plenty of attention online. One of the main drivers for this is the fact that the two younger Lee siblings are using social media, namely Facebook, to push their messages.
REBECCA BURGER: The Instagram star and well-known fitness blogger died in a freak accident after a pressurised canister used for dispensing whipped cream exploded and hit her chest. Her family said it was a domestic incident.
PHILANDO CASTILE: New shots of the shooting of Mr Castile by a cop have been released, a week after the officer was acquitted of manslaughter.
SELECTING THAT PERFECT PHOTO
Having difficulty identifying that perfect photo to upload on social media? An app - EyeEm - has released a new feature that might make that choice a little easier.
EyeEm is a stock photo service which boasts more than 20 million users. Users upload their photos and sell them on an online marketplace to any brand or customer registered with the app.
A feature, called Selects, appears above the camera roll for Android users. Utilising image-recognising technology, the app is able to tap the expertise of professional photographers via an algorithm and pick the top few noteworthy photos.
"To find your best photos, the EyeEm app scans your entire camera roll and selects the photos with the best aesthetics - pictures that are composed particularly well, have the best quality, or highest chance of selling on EyeEm Market," said the developer in a press statement released on Thursday.
Essentially, it means photos you've long forgotten about have a second chance at being posted. "EyeEm Selects… unearths the hidden gems among your photos. Chances are, your camera roll is full of pictures you didn't share right after shooting them," the statement adds.
The selection takes place on your device, the developer says.
The key feature, it adds, saves data, battery power and increases privacy as no one would be able to see the photos in the camera roll before posting.
PLASTIC SURGERY APPS, GAMES
The cosmetic procedure industry has grown significantly in the past decade in Britain, and social media is behind it, says a recent report.
The authors of the survey by the Nuffield Council on Bioethics say young people are turning to botox and dermal fillers due to online pressure.
It adds that makeover apps and online plastic surgery games aimed at children as young as nine are also contributing to a growing anxiety over body image.
"We've been shocked by some of the evidence we've seen, including makeover apps and cosmetic surgery 'games' that target young girls," says Professor Jeanette Edwards, who chaired the council's inquiry into ethical issues surrounding cosmetic procedures.
"There is a daily bombardment from advertising and through social media channels like Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat, that relentlessly promote unrealistic and often discriminatory messages on how people, especially girls and women, 'should' look," she tells the BBC.
Makeover apps like Plastic Surgery Princess, Little Skin Doctor and Pimp My Face might even be contributing to mental health problems in young people, the report added.
A British government spokesman said action had already been taken to improve regulation.
"This report highlights once again that we live in a world where young people are under immense pressure on a daily basis about how they should look," he added.
"It is ethically wrong for companies to exploit this and offer unnecessary cosmetic procedures to under 18s."
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Apple is launching a new feature for Apple Pay that allows you to pay for purchases in four installments without interest, called Apple Pay Later. It’s Apple’s take on a buy now, pay later (BNPL) service, built into Apple Pay and shipped with iOS 16.
Buy now, pay later services are on the rise. You’ve probably seen names like Affirm or Klarna when shopping on the web, and Block (formerly Square) jumped into space with its acquisition of Afterpay. Apple has been rumored to be working on its own service for quite some time, and it looks like what was announced Monday at WWDC will be a natural extension of the company’s strategy of encouraging people to buy things with Apple Pay.
You can pay in installments in six weeks. You pay the first payment in advance and the other three every two weeks. Payments are managed in the Wallet app and you can prepay them if you wish.
“Users can request Apple Pay Later when checking out with Apple Pay or in Wallet,” Apple said in a press release:† “Apple Pay Later is available wherever Apple Pay is accepted online or in-app, through the Mastercard network.”
Apple Pay Later is one of several announcements already unveiled at WWDC for iOS 16, including order tracking, editable texts, and a revamped lock screen.
Developing… we’ll add more to this post, but you can follow us with our WWDC 2022 live blog to get the news even faster.


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Game company Ubisoft has announced that upcoming video game Rainbow Six Extraction has been postponed.
The new R6 Extraction release window is now January 2022. According to the development team, they want to take extra time to bring the vision of delivering a full-fledged AAA experience to their fans. This game has unique features like Missing in Action and The Sprawl and they want every mission to be an exciting and challenging experience. Taking more time would mean adding more content.
No specific reason was given as to why the development team had to further delay the release, but to speculate, it had to be due to the global pandemic. Being in the game studio would have made all the difference in increasing the speed of development, but with COVID-19 still around, completing tasks would have been limited.
It would be better to launch a complete game rather than an incomplete game with major updates released week after week to fix issues.
Rainbow Six Extraction will launch in January 2022 on PlayStation 4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S and PC.
Check all Gaming News here: Gaming Ideology


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You may have seen — and been concerned by — news stories about Superfish software on Lenovo notebooks. Lenovo began pre-installing Superfish on certain notebooks in September 2014. But, the software makes it easier for hackers to access your personal information, even when you’re visiting a website, like a bank’s website, that uses HTTPS to encrypt the transmission of sensitive information.
Although Lenovo has announced that they have discontinued pre-installing Superfish on its notebooks, some Lenovo notebooks sold today may still have Superfish pre-installed. So, if you purchased a Lenovo notebook any time since September 2014, your computer may be vulnerable to security threats. Here are some steps you can take.
Thinking about using a company, product, or service based on online reviews? You’re probably interested in getting the best service – and price – for your money. You might have read what other customers have written to help with your decision. But can you always trust those online reviews? Just how credible are they?
When National Consumer Protection Week starts on Sunday, it will mark the 17th year of a growing partnership. NCPW now includes 89 federal, state and local agencies and non-profits working together to connect people with the best consumer education resources.
At NCPW.gov, you’ll find resources to help you manage your money, handle credit and debt, stay safe online, avoid identity theft, and more. Read the latest news from consumer protection experts on our blog; share videos, articles, audio tips, and blog posts; order free resources; or file a complaint when you spot a scam. You’ll also get ideas on how to get involved so you can help us spread the word about consumer protection.
Apps can provide hours of entertainment, keep you organized, and help you learn something new. Indeed, apps can be helpful, as long as they provide accurate information. But if you’re trying to analyze a serious medical condition with an app — like whether that mole on your back might be a sign of melanoma — talk with your doctor or another reliable medical professional first. As recent FTC cases show, some health apps make claims they can’t back up.
Imagine you’re at a coffee shop, sipping on a latte while working on your laptop. After all that coffee, you need to run to the loo. Would you leave your laptop for just a sec while you heed nature’s call?
Here’s another question: wouldn’t you hate it if your laptop disappeared? Your family photos, tax documents, and other personal stuff could vanish along with it. Unfortunately, it only takes a minor distraction for that to happen. And the last thing you’d want is for an identity thief to get their hands on your laptop.
Last week I told you about health insurer Anthem’s data breach affecting more than 80 million customers. This week, I’m telling you about scam artists who are sending phony “Anthem” emails that pretend to help customers, but actually phish for their personal information.
Valentine’s Day is around the corner, and yes, romance is in the air. But the month of love also celebrates Safer Internet Day on February 10th. Show how much you care by sharing this short online safety Q&A with your loved one.
Last week, hackers hit Anthem, the nation's second-largest health insurance company. As many as 80 million customers had their account information stolen. The pilfered data includes names, birth dates, medical IDs, Social Security numbers, street addresses, email addresses and employment information.
If you’re worried about your personal information ending up in the wrong hands, the FTC has a helpful reminder. A credit freeze, also known as a security freeze, lets you limit access to your credit report, which makes it more difficult for identity thieves to open new accounts in your name.


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It’s not screen-used, but it’s your chance to get your hands on an autographed “Lucille.”
Steiner Sports is getting into the business of The Walking Dead with the launch of a line of autographed pieces with two of the top stars from the popular and long-running series.
Walk softly and carry a big stick? No need.
Fans of The Walking Dead can carry “Lucille” with them anywhere they go beginning in late July with a new officially licensed ballpoint pen.
The Blowout Cards Forums are where thousands of collectors converge daily to discuss, well, a little bit of everything. Here are five threads about collecting and more that you should check out right now.
What’s Buzzing Today: 2017 Topps Heritage is finally here — check out the chatter, the breaks and plenty more — plus Image Comics’ 25th Anniversary box & more.
It was 25 years ago this week that the comic book world changed a bit with the formation of Image Comics.
The new company brought us Spawn, The Savage Dragon, WildC.A.T.s. and Youngblood in its earlier days and The Walking Dead in later years.
As part of that anniversary, comic book shops around the country are celebrating Image Comics Day on Wednesday with some new arrivals from the company, which was created by Erik Larsen, Jim Lee, Rob Liefeld, Todd McFarlane, Whilce Portacio, Marc Silvestri and Jim Valentino.
Free Comic Book Day is still a few months away but it’s never to soon to see what the SWAG will include.
A dozen free issues made for the hobby-shop holiday were revealed by its organizers on Monday with titles from Marvel and DC a bit more secretive than others, which include books from Dark Horse Comics, IDW Publishing, Image Comics, Archie Comics, Bongo Comics, BOOM! Studios, ONI Press, Titan Comics, Valiant Entertainment and Viz Media.
Also known as: Cyber Warrior on Blowout
Location: New York
Work away from comics: Owner/operator medical transporter service
Collecting since: 2002
Main focuses: J. Scott Campbell, Adam Hughes & Artgerm comics, Sideshow Premium Format statues.
Favorite artists/publishers: J. Scott Campbell, Adam Hughes & Artgerm and Marvel, DC, Image
Current collecting projects: Hard to find Campbell variants.
Update: The packs are now live and on sale.
Preacher debuted on Sunday night and the AMC series’ trading cards will apparently debut today from Topps as part of a pack program via the Topps Now platform.
The cards have not yet been revealed or put on sale today, but the structure for the program can be seen here. The company tweeted about the series on Sunday night, teasing a forthcoming announcement, which comes on the heels of its recent deal to acquire the trading card rights to another AMC staple, The Walking Dead, which also was based on a long-running comic.


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Lighting technologies dominated the energy efficiency market in the UK in the last quarter of 2015.
Eight out of 10 consumers chose to install them, according to the Energy Efficiency Verification Specialists (EEVS) and Bloomberg New Energy Finance.
Their ‘Energy Efficiency Trend’ report assessed consumer and supplier market activity in the same period.
Solar generation also increased with four out of 10 consumers installing the technology on their buildings, it added.
The report also highlighted consumers are more keen on energy saving performances as eight out of 10 reported undertaking projects to be more efficient.
The growing consumer confidence is because of finance as they can get external support to fund their projects.
Offices continued to lead the way as the property type most likely to benefit from building upgrades, the report stated.
However, supplier responses were less optimistic than those of their consumers, it added.
Ian Jeffries, Head of Performance Management at EEVS said: “Demand for energy savings appears strong, with consumers reporting increasing levels of activity, including an uptick in solar activity – perhaps made with an eye to FiTs changes. This focus on renewables could have had a negative impact on energy efficiency investments this quarter but this did not happen and lighting technologies in particular enjoyed demand growth.”
According to data released by DECC, around 1.79 million energy efficiency measures were installed in the country’s buildings until the end of January.


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Social media giant X (formerly Twitter) has made the changes to the Like button ahead of Apple’s Wonderlust event. The Wonderlust event will see the launch of top-of-the-line products including the iPhone 15 series, the new Apple Watch series and AirPods Pro with USB-C.
According to a report by Macrumors, the metal patterns seen in Apple’s teaser video could be a hint at the possible switch to titanium on the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max models.
The report also notes that Apple has been using the unique Twitter ‘like’ animations since 2020, when it was first used at the ‘Time Flies’ event in September that year. In addition, similar to WWDC 2023, Apple also used a custom Twitter hashtag with the signature logo for the Wonderlust event.
What’s expected from today’s Apple event?
The star of today’s show will be the four new iPhones – the iPhone 15, 15 Plus, 15 Pro and the iPhone 15 Pro Max. Moreover, Apple is reportedly shifting to USB Type-C with the iPhone 15 series due to EU regulations. Standard iPhone 15 models may have limited charging speeds with Apple-certified cables required and only the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max will come with the faster data transfer speed.
Apple is also planning to release updates to two of its watch lines this year – the Apple Watch Series 9 and the Apple Watch Ultra. Additionally, Additionally, Apple aims to introduce USB-C charging for its regular AirPods and AirPods Max, with a likely timeframe for implementation by the following year.
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Updated: 12 Sep 2023, 03:00 PM IST


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Madavor Media Acquires The Writer Magazine
Posted on August 28, 2012
Madavor Media, a Boston-based media company, has announced the acquisition of The Writer magazine and its website from Kalmbach Publishing Co. The amount of the transaction was not disclosed.
The Writer editor Jeff Reich announced last month that the magazine was going on hiatus and would be seeking a buyer.
Madavor Media VP/Group Publisher Susan Fitzgerald said in a statement, "We are excited to include these brands in our lineup and to find innovative ways to expand them in new markets. We will continue to deliver the quality and authoritative content readers and advertisers expect, and we intend to take both magazines to new and engaging places."
Madavor also acquired BirdWatching magazine from Kalmbach in the deal. The Writer and BirdWatching will join Madavor's other titles, which include FOAM, JazzTimes, International Figure Skating, Gluten-Free Living, Fairways + Greens, Teddy Bear & Friends, Doll Reader, Inside Arts and Volleyball.


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SAN DIEGO — Editor Greg Johnson, Managing Editor Fred Wilkinson, National Editor Tom Karst, Retail Editor Pamela Riemenschneider, and Staff Writers Mike Hornick and Vicky Boyd collected these news items on the exposition floor at United Fresh 2013.
NATURIPE FARMS: Kyla Garnett, marketing manager, says Naturipe is planning Fourth of July labeling as part of its joint promotion with the California Avocado Commission. Recipes feature avocados combined with blueberries or strawberries. From now through September, Naturipe offers a 55-cent instantly redeemable coupon for Reddi-Wip, marking the third year of the joint promotion.
NATURESWEET TOMATOES: J. Michael Joergensen, marketing director, said San Antonio-based NatureSweet is focused on two Arizona greenhouse facilities acquired from bankrupt EuroFresh Farms in a deal finalized in April. “It’s a very different environment for us. We grow in plastic greenhouses; everything there is climate controlled," he said. "We’re continuing to grow all the products they’ve been growing in Willcox and Snowflake, Ariz. They’re our sixth and seventh facilities and greatly increase our overall capacity.”
READY PAC FOODS: Tristan Simpson, director of marketing and corporate communication at Irwindale, Calif.-based Ready Pac, shows two of the four organic Bistro salad bowls that started shipping in late April — Southwest style, left, and chicken Caesar. Ready Pac’s sweet tropical, caramel apple and Waldorf fruit salads were finalists for best new fruit product at United Fresh 2013.
NATURESEAL: Natureseal Inc., Westport, Conn., introduced a formulation designed for avocado in sushi. The chemistry takes into account other ingredients in a California roll that might interact with the anti-browning agent, said Karen Murphy, director of marketing.
RENAISSANCE FOOD GROUP: Phil Fendyan, vice president of sales and marketing, showed cardboard trays that Renaissance Food Group is introducing to replace foam in its Chef Essentials line of vegetables, for sustainability reasons. The company is also launching tamper-proof, rounded containers for fresh-cut fruit.
STELLAR DISTRIBUTING: Kurt Cappelluti of Stellar Distributing said tiger fig production will rise from 10,000 2-pound trays last year to about 100,000 trays when its second year of production starts Aug. 1 on 300 acres in Madera, Calif. Harvesting of fig varieties in Brawley, Calif., started May 5.
FRESHWAY FOODS: Freshway Foods, Sidney, Ohio, introduced a line of "superfood" salads for the foodservice industry. Janet Eastman, director of marketing, said all salad ingredients come in a box and consumers simply toss and dress them. Flavors include an Asian kale and a roasted cherry Brussels sprouts slaw.
PISTACHIO THUMB: Travis Lemaster, creator of Pistachio Thumb, came up with the idea of the aid to help pistachio aficionados protect their digits from wear and tear from cracking nuts. Lemaster is working with Sherman Oaks, Calif.-based Sunkist on branded Pistachio Thumbs with several promotions coming this summer.
YUCATAN FOODS: Los Angeles-based Yucatan Foods showed off 2-ounce, 100-calorie individual Cabo Fresh guacamole servings that come in 4 packs, chief executive officer Ardy Haerizadeh said. The processor also displayed new 6-ounce containers in the same flavors as the current 12-ounce containers.
NNZ: Steve Greenfield, director of marketing for Lawrenceville, Ga.-based NNZ Inc., says the company is offering a “fast start” option for customers interested in trialing the company’s new Snack Fresh single serving containers. NNZ will include everything needed to set up for 10,000 units for $6,000. Snack Fresh containers can be used for a variety of produce items like grape tomatoes, blueberries, blackberries and grapes.
RUBY FRESH: In response to customer demand for a smaller option for its Ruby Fresh Salad Jewels, Firebaugh, Calif.-based Ruby Fresh offers a new 3.5-ounce option, said salesman Dave Anthony. The smaller option, half the size of the company’s other packs, is more appropriate for a single meal or small family side dish salad, he said.
ROYAL FLAVOR: Jorge Vega, general manager for Royal Flavor Greenhouse, San Diego, says the company plans to start shipping new heirloom tomato variety packs in June. Vega, marketing director, says the company plans to offer a year-round program.
PURE HOT HOUSE: Ken Paglione and Jamie Moracci of Leamington, Ontario-based Pure Hot House Foods showed off the company’s new Juno Bites Trio pack of tri-color grape tomatoes and a new refrigerated Caprese Salad Kit, which includes fresh mozzarella and a vinaigrette in the package. Pure Hot House also has a new Marzanito mini sweet tomato, grown with gourmet cooks in mind, Moracci said. The company also launched a new cocktail cucumber, which is smaller than its mini seedless cucumber variety, and is a 1-2 bite option for snacking and children’s lunches.
HOLLANDIA: Consumers and retailers asked for an organic option for Hollandia Produce LLC’s line of live butter lettuce and watercress, and the Carpinteria, Calif.-based company answered with the Grower Pete’s brand, says Vincent Choate, director of sales and marketing. The company has been test marketing the product and is now ramping up production, Choate says.
ZANINOVICH & SONS: Chance Kirk, director of retail and foodservice sales for Richgrove, Calif.-based Vincent B. Zaninicich & Sons, introduced attendees to its proprietary green Sweet Sunshine grape which comes in high-graphic stand-up handled pouches. The company also has designed a Sweet Sunshine carton along with retail displays, Kirk said.
WELL-PICT: More of the company’s proprietary raspberries are on tap from Watsonville, Calif.-based Well-Pict Inc., says Julie Lucido, representing the company along with salesman Jim Grabowski. Well-Pict added more acreage of the sweet-tart berry and expects to have it available through October or November, thanks to the additional acreage.
BUDDY FRUITS: Coral Gables, Fla.-based Buddy Fruits has two Apple Chips varieties, introduced in the fall, said Eliu Vinas, director of new business development. Flavors include granny smith and fuji and contain just that: 100% apple and no other ingredients, Vinas said. They’re offered in a .75-ounce single-serving pouch and 2-ounce family size, said Catherine Vieira, vice president of sales.