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THE HEDGEYE BREAKFAST MENU
Yesterday, it was reported that the Chicago Fed's national activity index indicates that the U.S. recovery has weakened considerably since April and is at risk of slipping further; improvement in the labor market has ground to a halt. By contrast, the Texas Manufacturing Outlook was consistent with the weakness and uncertainty of the national economy on the one hand and the relative strength of Texas on the other. In particular, the Employment outlook picked up significantly last month, which is consistent with our positive bias on JACK.
The smallest hay crop in more than 100 years is withering under a record drought in Texas, according to Bloomberg, boosting the cost of livestock feed for dairy farmers and beef producers across the nation.
Restaurant stocks continue to trade softly with the food, beverage and restaurant categories all trading down yesterday.
- DPZ today announced 2Q EPS of $0.40 versus the Street at $0.36. Domestic same-restaurant sales came in at +4.8% versus +3.0%.
- SBUX Seattle’s Best Coffee cafes within Borders locations ceased operation late last week as close to 400 remaining bookstores across the country began liquidation sales over the weekend.
- MCD is announcing plans today to provide a serving of fruit or vegetable with every Happy Meal sold in the U.S., according to the Chicago Tribune.
- CBOU, PEET, and SBUX traded well yesterday ahead of the DNKN IPO tonight. I published a note early this morning looking at the bubble in coffee stocks.
- COSI traded down 9.2% on accelerating volume.
- DRI’s Red Lobster has launched a new national advertising campaign featuring the “real people of Red Lobster”, employees and others associated with the brand sharing “unscripted” stories about the concept.


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Exponential progress in artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning, fueled by the combination of cloud, big data and new algorithms, is transforming the retail industry. As AI leverages big data to automate, predict and personalize, retail is testing and implementing these applications to garner robust competitive advantages. The key focus for AI in retail is customer relationships. In times of concerns for the retail sector in the UK where sales posted biggest quarterly fall since 2010, the refashioning of this industry comes as a breath of fresh air with many opportunities to come.
Global Artificial Intelligence Opportunities in Retail, 2017, new research from Frost & Sullivan’s Connected Industries Growth Partnership Service, offers an overview of AI and its relevance to business in 2017. The study assesses the commercial viability and impact of retail applications for AI, either through integration with existing workflows or by creating new ones. It also explores strategies for navigating AI as a retail or information technology (IT) vendor, and the imperative for both to adopt a data-focused mind set. Key market participants include Amazon, Ocado, IBM and Softbank.
“Improving and refocusing the customer experience online and offline must be the guiding principle for all retail businesses,” says Frost & Sullivan’s Digital Transformation Research Analyst. “Large tech-driven firms and retail tech startups are leading growth, particularly in e-commerce, and data network effects may mean that laggards never catch up. Older e-commerce and brick-and-mortar retailers must urgently adopt these technologies to regain their competitive footing.”
Retailers and tech industry players are investing in AI and creating opportunities that will disrupt incumbents. Emerging use cases include:
Chat Bots and Virtual Assistants: These AI tools of direct customer engagement allow for a seamless experience when ordering products. Chat bots have question-answer and recommendation capabilities that make it a highly scalable yet personal sales channel.
Marketing and Segmentation: AI models can use data sets to predict and prioritize the most successful campaigns and channels, and provide these insights to decision makers.
Inventory and Supply Chain Optimization: In addition to increased accuracy and timeliness over traditional systems, AI tools can predict future supply-demand scenarios.
“In the AI age, data is digital gold and data inequality will prove a major battleground,” concludes the analyst. “Optimization across all business functions will require an ever-growing pipeline of data collection that will demand new hardware, software and networking investments. The market must also pay attention to security requirements for AI and customer-analysis data collection.”

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A lot of smartphone cameras have been popping up over the past couple of years and now the first one to join the growing list is the Samsung SE camera.
This is the second Samsung camera that we have tested and the first smartphone camera that Samsung introduced last year.
The Samsung SE has a resolution of 960×540 pixels, and that means that it can capture stills at a resolution which can capture a pretty good quality.
It has a wide-angle lens, as you can see in the photos below.
The Samsung SE’s camera also has a lot of features, including its built-in LED flash and a built-out flash, which is a very handy feature for when you want to take a picture.
Samsung also added a digital zoom mode, which can zoom out a little bit.
There is also a video mode and a macro mode, so you can capture video of things that are in front of you.
The video mode is especially handy because you can get a good exposure and then save the image for later.
The main difference between the Samsung and the iPhone SE is the rear camera, which has a 10MP sensor.
The rear camera also is bigger than the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, so it can be used for taking stills.
It is also very fast and the camera also comes with an auto-focus function.
The camera also does not have a front-facing camera.
Samsung says that this is to make it more compatible with the selfie cameras of the future.
Samsung has also added an autofocus function to the camera, and it is capable of using more than one sensor for capturing a picture at the same time.
Samsung’s new camera does not come with a USB-C port, but it has a USB Type-C jack, which means you can charge your phone and transfer images with it.
The USB Type C port is also compatible with Samsung’s wireless charging technology.
The price of the Samsung Samsung SE is around Rs. 11,999.
It costs Rs. 15,999 for the iPhone 7 Plus, and Rs. 16,999 if you buy it with an unlocked version.
The phone will come with 64GB of storage, which may not be as big as 64GB offered by the iPhone, but is still bigger than what you can buy with an iPhone 6 Plus.
It also comes in a white, silver, gold and rose gold color scheme.
Samsung is yet to officially release the Samsung smartphone camera.
However, the company has already announced that the smartphone camera will be available for pre-order on December 13.
The price of this phone camera is around $100 more than the Samsung iPhone SE, and Samsung is offering the device for Rs. 1,000, which will put it in the range of the iPhone.
The company is also selling the Samsung phone for Rs 9,999 and the Samsung Galaxy S7, which come in a variety of colors and have similar cameras.


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WARREN, N.J. -- The wireless-communications market, which is consuming gallium arsenide (GaAs) chips as fast as they can be produced, propelled Anadigics Inc. here to record sales of $43.0 million for the first quarter ended April 2, a 72% increase over the $25.0 million reported in the first quarter of 1999.
Net income was $5.7 million, or 18 cents per diluted share, compared with net income of $1.2 million, or 5 cents per share, in the year-ago quarter. Quarterly earnings reflect the company's 3-for-2 stock split, which took effect on Feb. 29.
Sales increased in wireless, cable, and fiber optic segments. Wireless took the biggest leap of 148% over the 1999 first quarter, to $23.4 million. Wireless-chip sales were up 3% sequentially from the seasonally strong fourth quarter, Anadigics said.
Cable products of $15.3 million rose 54% over the year-ago quarter and 12% sequentially on growth ICs for cable set-top box and cable modems. Fiber-product sales of $4.3 million were up 14% sequentially on rising shipments of higher data-rate products for data communications.
"The communications IC market is as healthy as ever," said Bami Bastani, Anadigics' president and CEO. The company's book-to-bill is well over 1.0, he said.
Net income for the first quarter excludes costs of $1.3 million associated with employee stock options that were exercised, and a gain of $1.0 million on the sale of 4-inch fab equipment. Including these items, net income was $5.5 million, also 18 cents per share.
A year ago, Anadigics took a special charge for accelerated depreciation of $2.7 million associated with the closing of the 4-inch wafer fab. Including the special charge, the company's net loss in the first quarter of 1999 was $500,000, or 2 cents per share.


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9to5Mac noticed that the latest iOS 8.2 beta for the iPhone adds Bluetooth support for the Apple Watch.
Found in iPhone's Bluetooth menu, the new panel also mentions an "Apple Watch app," confirming the watch will come with a companion app.
The current version of iOS is 8.1.2, and this new info does not mean the 8.2 version is coming next. In fact, a December report from Macrumors claimed there would definitely be a 8.1.3 version, likely bringing just bug fixes and minor updates.
While Apple's official release date for the Apple Watch is "early 2015," a recent report said the device, originally unveiled in Sept. 2014, will be coming in March, and a report from November 2014 pegged the release for the spring.


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Card payments on retail sales reached 76% in the UK last year. In parallel, British Retail Consortium reported the rise of payment processing fees by £170 million, approaching £1 billion per annum. The BRC is pointing to card scheme fees for the 39% increase in 2017 – fees paid to financial institutions behind the payment network.
The head of BRC Andrew Cregan claimed that savings initially made by the retail industry and consumers thanks to the EU payments services directive, were lost due to the rise in card fees. Many UK retailers wonder in fact if those benefits have been indirectly passed on to card companies. The group is asking that the government intervene to prevent any further increase in fees and to simplify the system in general.
Unfortunately, forecasts project the doubling of domestic Visa and MasterCard fees in 2018. The growing adoption of card payments did not stop Britons from spending reaching 20 billion transactions per year or 40.000 a minute. Meanwhile, the BRC reported a 4.3% rise in total UK retail sales in 2017.


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Trucking’s 50 largest companies increased their combined revenue 5.5 percent in 2013 to $106.6 billion, according to the Top 50 Trucking Companies list published by The Journal of Commerce and prepared by SJ Consulting Group, Pittsburgh.
The carriers, ranging from the largest U.S. transport operator, UPS, to Pitt Ohio, a regional less-than-truckload, package and truckload carrier, posted more than $100 billion in combined revenue for the second straight year, though growth slowed.
The Top 50 list’s revenue growth has decelerated since 2011, climbing 6 percent in 2012 after rising 11.6 percent in 2011, the peak year of the recovery so far for trucking, and 9.3 percent in 2010, according to the SJ Consulting Group data.
Still, the increase in Top 50 revenue over the four years from 2009 — the end of the recession — to 2013 totaled $28.5 billion, compared with $32 billion in the five years from 2003 through 2008, trucking’s last economic growth cycle.
Much of the carrier revenue growth among the Top 50 in 2013, however, came through acquisition. At least eight of the fastest-growing companies increased sales by double digits as a result of buying large carriers or several smaller firms.
This year’s list of the 50 largest trucking companies ranked by revenue is available here.


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- The New Jersey Zero Emission Incentive Program (NJ ZIP) is a pilot program with a funding pool of over $44M to help small businesses purchase zero-emission medium-duty vehicles
- While NJ ZIP covers a significant portion of the vehicle cost, Ideanomics helps small businesses finance the remaining cost while allowing them to secure complete vehicle solutions
NEW YORK, April 13, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — ideonomic (NASDAQ: IDEX), a global company focused on accelerating the commercial adoption of electric vehicles (EVs), is now enabling small businesses to New Jersey to purchase commercial electric vehicles. While the New Jersey Zero-Emission Incentive Program (NJ ZIP) offers a significant reduction in the initial capital needed for businesses to purchase mid-duty electric vehicles, Ideanomics offers operating expense (OPEX) financing solutions for small businesses to support their transition to electrification.
Administered by the New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJEDA), NJ ZIP is a voucher pilot program with a funding pool of $44.25 million to support companies in the purchase of new zero-emission medium-duty vehicles. This pilot project is funded by the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) with proceeds allocated to NJEDA with the goal of reducing harmful emissions, especially in communities disproportionately affected by transportation emissions. , and create economic opportunities within the state. The NJ ZIP Driver is designed to cover the added cost of electric vehicles over their gasoline or diesel counterparts. According to the NJEDA, more than 90% of program applicants were small businesses and 50% were women-owned or minority-owned businesses.
Ideanomics, as an independent third party, has developed a product that will help small businesses finance the additional cost of these electric vehicles, as well as enable these businesses to overcome barriers to market by offering a wide range solutions for commercial applications. electrification.
Based in the New York metropolitan area, Ideanomics uniquely understands the holistic needs of area business owners from both a capital and vehicle perspective. In addition to financial support, Ideanomics can help small businesses procure vehicles, charging infrastructure and a wide range of commercial electrification solutions.
“Programs like NJ ZIP allow businesses to access and take advantage of zero-emission vehicles that would not normally be able to afford the transition to an electric fleet,” said Anthony Orantes, Chairman of Ideanomics Capital. “We are excited to offer additional support to businesses participating in the NJEDA pilot program as they seek to make meaningful change in underserved communities as part of Governor Murphy’s vision for a greener environment. New Jersey. We look forward to helping small businesses in our own backyard by supporting their transition to electric mobility as we continue to invest in industry-transforming programs. »
It is one of the first financing solutions Ideanomics brings to market. With challenges such as high upfront cost and lack of readily available capital hampering the transition to an electric vehicle fleet, Ideanomics offers innovative financing solutions by turning capital expenditure (CAPEX) into OPEX, enabling fleet operators capture favorable total cost of ownership. (TCO) of electric vehicles compared to traditional internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles.
Funding through Ideanomics provides access to solutions that support the transition to commercial electrification, including vehicles as a service (VaaS), charging as a service (CaaS), and infrastructure and projects.
“As a small business owner based in Orange, New JerseyI wanted to invest in additional work vans to meet the needs of my growing business, but transitioning to an electric fleet is usually cost prohibitive for new construction companies like mine,” said jessie philippe, CEO of JP2018 LLC, a renovation and real estate investment company. “Ideanomics’ holistic approach to complementing commercial electrification solutions with innovative technology and financing has not only made e-mobility accessible for JP2018, it has also provided my company with a customer experience unmatched by compared to a traditional commercial bank.”
Ideanomics recently announced plans to open a new state-of-the-art EV Experience Center at New Jersey. The facility, which is expected to be operational by the end of 2022, will support product development and scalable production of new and existing products across its range of electrification solutions. The facility will be approximately 48,500 square feet in size, with more than 4,000 square feet dedicated to showroom space. The introduction of the state-of-the-art Ideanomics facility is expected to bring between 75 and 100 jobs to the state of New Jersey in executive leadership, business development, energy services, engineering, supply chain and logistics over the next three years.
For more information and news about Ideanomics and its operating companies, please visit https://ideanomics.com.
Ideonomy (NASDAQ: IDEX) is a global group with a simple mission: to accelerate the commercial adoption of electric vehicles. By linking vehicles and charging technology with design, implementation and financial services, we provide the end-to-end solutions needed to engage the commercial world in an EV future. To keep up to date with Ideanomics, please follow the company on social media @ideanomicshq or visit https://ideanomics.com.
Tony SklerSenior Vice President of Investor Relations
Skyya PR for Ideanomics


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This morning Business Insider published an article forecasting the impact of e-commerce on sales across a variety of consumer sectors. Here’s the link:
As much as I’ve been talking recently about direct-to-consumer sales, Amazon’s push in to the HVAC industry, Nest and its broadening capabilities this article only further solidifies the point: In 2015 50% of home appliances will be purchased using an e-commerce platform. That’s a little more than a little.
Of course we can splice the hairs as to what “appliance” means: blender, dishwasher, kitchen range, and on. But that’s not really the point. The definition of an “appliance” is broadening while e-commerce capabilities improve. This, while an increasing number of homeowners find it simpler and more convenient to point and click their way to whatever that new appliance happens to be. One way or another a new furnace will find its way in to the mix. Just a matter of time.
The trend is looking more like a hockey stock than a horizon.
Even Costsco, perhaps especially Costco, is leveraging the ease and reach of e-commerce to break in to new markets. Also published this week in Forbes is an article explaining how Costco will enter in to the Chinese market using an on-line store hosted by Alibaba. Here’s the link:
I don’t know much about doing business in China but I can’t but help think that Costco can afford a brick-and-mortar warehouse in Beijing.
All of this is great news for small business. As the Etsy’s of the world have demonstrated a successful e-commerce initiative is a legitimate way to build a brand, spread a viral message, and make it that much easier for prospective customers to look at products, learn about the provider, get a sense of the brand, and point-and-click their way to a purchase. And that means that it’s time to start putting together an e-commerce strategy for 2015. What can be sold via a website? Thermostats. Maintenance agreements. Water tanks. Filters. Duct cleaning. To name a few. It means that a website will evolve toward a type of digital storyteller. It means that the quality of the content needs to be interesting, provocative, fun, engaging (for the love of Pete let’s be done with the ’10 ways to save on your power bill’). It means that the HVAC industry needs to re-calibrate its sense of just how important a kick ass and monetized website really is for the future of growth. Fish where the fish are. Pretty simple.


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Aston Martin, James Bond's favourite sports car maker, celebrates its centenary this year. The company recently shifted its disparate office IT onto Microsoft’s cloud-based Office 365. Designing, building and selling high-performance cars requires reliable systems that can deal with data-dense diagrams and images. Aston …
Well I can see the charm in moving all my users to Office 365. No more office installs or tedious troubleshooting when they get an exception error.
- YARR! Pirates walk the plank: DMCA magnets sink in Google results
- Pics Whisper tracks its users. So we tracked down its LA office. This is what happened next
- Review Xperia Z3: Crikey, Sony – ANOTHER flagship phondleslab?
- OnePlus One cut-price Android phone on sale to all... for 1 HOUR
- UNIX greybeards threaten Debian fork over systemd plan


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Medlife International, which owns and operates an eponymous online healthcare startup, has raised $6.8 million in debt from New Delhi-based Ivy Icon Solutions.
The Bengaluru-based startup has allotted 50 compulsorily convertible debentures at Rs 1 crore per debenture, leading up to Rs 50 crore, to Ivy Icon, according to regulatory filings.
In July, the firm raised Rs 168 crore ($22.9 crore at the time) by allotting 3,27,373 equity shares to Prasid Uno Family Trust, the investment vehicle of Medlife co-founder Tushar Kumar. The Kumar and Prashant Singh founded firm also allotted 16,871 optionally convertible redeemable preference shares at Rs 100 per share and a premium of 11,754 to the family trust in February, aggregating to Rs 19,99,88,834.
In June, the online pharmacy offered 100 non-convertible debentures at a face value of Rs 10,00,000 per share, amounting to a total of Rs 10 crore, to SC Credit Fund, it added.
In March, the six-year-old company raised about $21 million from Hero Fincorp.
The latest development comes at a time when Medlife and Mumbai-based online drug delivery platform PharmEasy have sought approval from the Competition Commission of India (CCI) for a potential merger of their businesses.
The online pharmacy sector is seeing consolidation with the entry of new players, including ecommerce major Amazon and oil-to-telecom conglomerate Reliance Industries (RIL).
This month, RIL acquired a majority equity stake in Vitalic Health, which owns and operates online pharmacy player, Netmeds. Around the same time, Amazon forayed into the segment with Amazon Pharmacy to home deliver prescription-based and over-the-counter medicines, health devices and Ayurveda medication.


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LEGO is to honour 90 years of Disney’s poster-mouse, Mickey with the release of a new set inspired by the animation that gave life to the studio’s best-loved creation.
Launching on April 1st this year, the Steamboat Willie LEGO set takes inspiration from the classic animation that first aired on November 18th, 1928.
The concept was struck upon via LEGO’s fan invention platform, LEGO Ideas, the concept that has spawned the likes of the LEGO Yellow Submarine, LEGO TARDIS and LEGO Delorean, and will launch to commemorate 90s years of Mickey and Minnie Mouse.
The Steamboat Willie set will retail at around £80 and will come with 751 pieces to construct the iconic scene. The set will be black and white, like the animation itself and will come with two minifigures.


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JEMEZ SPRINGS — Jemez Valley businesses in Sandoval County and the Sandoval County Tourism Division are launching a new campaign, “Jemez Springs is Happening,” to remind visitors that businesses in the Jemez Valley are still open, despite the June 1 closure of the Santa Fe National Forest because of high fire danger.
“The Jemez Valley, which encompasses Cañon all the way to La Cueva, should be at its busiest time of year. But any time a forest closure happens, it can have an impact on visitation in any community,” Village of Jemez Springs Mayor Roger Sweet said. “As business owners who rely heavily on tourism in the Jemez Valley, we want to reassure visitors that our doors continue to be open during normal business hours. There are still many culturally and environmentally rich activities to participate in throughout the Jemez Valley.”
“Not only are there businesses open but there are several new businesses worthy of repeat visits!” Sandoval Co. Tourism Coordinator, Emily Stovel said. “Nomad Mountain Pizza and Nomad Mobile Motor Lodge opened earlier this year in La Cueva, for example, and offer delicious food and vintage airstream camping for adventurous travelers.”
As part of its efforts, Jemez Valley businesses will use the hashtag #JemezIsHappening on social media. A landing page is now available to the public at www.jemezsprings.org/jemez-is-happening, which features frequently asked questions about what is closed and open, maps roughly defining the boundary lines between the Forest Service and village limits, and things to do in the Jemez Valley during the forest closure.
Culturally rich attractions such as the Jemez Historic Site are offering guided walking tours of the ruins daily at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Likewise, the Pueblo of Jemez Welcome Center, on the Jemez Pueblo, is offering guided walks of Red Rocks Canyon and hands-on experiences such as pottery demonstrations and food sampling. Jemez Hot Springs has extended hours where night sky viewing comes with the price of a soak.
Fishing access is also still available at the Jemez Springs Village Plaza behind the Jemez Springs Bath House. Trout are stocked at the bridge, south of the Plaza.
On June 1, the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service closed the Santa Fe National Forest until further notice due to high fire danger. The closure prohibits any recreational activity on forest land.


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Keyport Life Insurance Co. outpaced the annuity industry in first-quarter sales through banks, brokerages, and other third parties and an executive predicts a boost from the coming takeover by Sun Life Financial Services of Canada Inc.
Despite the stock market and a cloud of unknown created by plans to sell the Boston annuity company, Keyports bank sales of annuities variable as well as fixed were up from the fourth quarter, said chief operating officer Paul LeFevre. Suns strong ratings will help Keyport sell to banks, and so will Suns agreement to buy Independent Financial Marketing Group, Keyports sister company and its main distributor, he said.
Many of Keyports competitors including Nationwide, Allstate, Equitable, American General, Aegon, and American Skandia lost a lot of ground in variable annuities in the first quarter, according to Kenneth Kehrer of Kenneth Kehrer Associates in Radnor, Pa. Bank sales of variables dropped about 10% from the fourth quarter, he said.
Keyport said its bank sales of fixed annuities rose 23% from the fourth quarter and 64% from year-earlier, to $269.8 million. Its sales through wire houses rose 12% from the fourth quarter and 48% from last years first quarter, to $45.4 million.
The pattern was mixed for variable annuities gains from the fourth quarter, declines from a year earlier. Sales through banks rose 6% from the fourth quarter and but dropped 35% from year-earlier, to $58.4 million. Sales through wire houses rose 5% from the fourth quarter and but fell 3% from last years first quarter, to $112 million.
Liberty Financial Co. of Boston announced in early May that it would sell Keyport and Independent Financial Marketing to Sun, which is based in Toronto. The deal is expected to close in the third quarter.
C. James Prieur, Suns president and chief operating officer, said at the time that Sun would use Independent, a third-party marketer that specializes in bank sales, to increase sales of its own investment and insurance products and those of its Boston mutual fund subsidiary, MFS Investment Management.
Mr. LeFevre said being owned by Sun will make Keyport more attractive to potential partners.
Keyports ratings are very good, but Sun Lifes are better, and banks are very ratings-sensitive, he said.
The announcement that a buyer had been found was extremely well received out in our distributors, Mr. LeFevre said.
The deal will also help Sun sell its current products through banks, Mr. LeFevre said. Sun Life has a stellar reputation, but they havent really penetrated the bank market.
He said Keyports primary distribution agreements are with Fleet Bank and Independent Financial, which distributes Keyports and other companies annuities through about 70 banks.
Mr. Kehrer said Keyport may also benefit from the fact that Sun owns MFS, which in a lot of banks is a highly regarded mutual fund company. The MFS connection may open some doors for Keyport, he said.
Suns strong ratings are attractive to banks, Mr. Kehrer said. Banks tend to look at themselves as having a fiduciary duty towards their customers, he observed. Even with investment products that are not federally insured, banks want to deal with the highest-rated insurers to make sure that the insurance companies will be able to keep their promises to the bank customers, he said.
Terry Freeman, a managing consultant with Tillinghast Towers-Perrin in Atlanta, said being part of a large family of products could help Keyport sell through more banks.
Over the years banks have moved away from having a lot of different providers, because of the complexities of evaluating and managing them, he said. To the extent that they can get best-of-breed products priced appropriately and with the right commissions within the same family of companies, they will.
However, he said, banks will not automatically take on a subpar partner just because they offer the products of a sister company; all the products must be equally strong.
Furthermore, Mr. Freeman said, a downside for Sun and Keyport is that banks sometimes demand a higher commission for selling many products from one company.


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Australian wine lovers can now buy mixed bundles of wine from the Coonawarra Wine Region online, directly from the region’s producers, packaged and sent from the region to their door.
The sudden announcement of South Australia’s Statewide 6 Day “circuit breaker” lockdown enforced the closure Coonawarra’s Cellar Doors, in what can already be described as a challenging year for the wine industry.
With ongoing border closures and national lockdown measures early in the year impacting Coonawarra cellar door operations, the regional association has sought to provide an additional avenue for its producers to sell their wine.
Coonawarra Vignerons earlier this month launched the new e-commerce store allowing wine lovers to purchase curated mixed packs of Coonawarra wine, featuring more than 20 Coonawarra wine labels.
Coonawarra Vignerons Acting Executive Office, Heidi Eldridge said that the purpose behind the store was not only to offer support to its association members but to make the wine from the region more accessible to consumers.
“Coonawarra is renowned for its Cabernet Sauvignon and well known for its reds in general. The intention behind the wine packs is to showcase the variety of world-class wines coming from the area, not just the red varieties, and to introduce consumers to some of our smaller producers whose brand’s may not be as well known in the market place.” Eldridge said.
“Coonawarra Wine region is home to over 30 wineries, so wine lovers are spoilt for choice when it comes to the range of wines available. Settling on just one producer can be difficult, which is where the idea behind the regional mixed pack came. What makes the store unique is that each pack includes either 6 or 12 individual wine brands in half dozen and dozen packs respectively.”
“It’s an opportunity for Australians to learn more about this region, surprising themselves with the breadths of the varieties it offers, allowing them to immerse themselves in the magic of Coonawarra without having to leave their homes” Eldridge said.
23 Coonawarra producers are currently involved in the collaboration, offering over 60 wines for inclusion in a series of mixed packs.
Owner and Winemaker of Patrick of Coonawarra, Luke Tocaciu is proud the Coonawarra community collaborated to create this project.
“We are a close-knit community here in Coonawarra and often work together in our winemaking and promotion of the region. It made sense for us to come together and collaborate in these regional wine packs to take a taste of Coonawarra out to the nation,” said Mr Tocaciu.
This special corner of the world, a half day drive from Adelaide and Melbourne, has captured the attention of visitors for decades, inspired by the stunning scenery, its Terra Rossa soil, the charm of its residents, and of course, exceptionally crafted wine and food.


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The Retro Pod app was banned from the Apple App Store because it broke the terms of service. The app, which allows users to browse their iPhone music library in an iPod-inspired browser, went viral on TikTok last month. However, it’s since been removed, leaving many unable to try it.
Why was the Retro Pod app that went viral on TikTok removed from the Apple App Store?
While there’s been no official statement, the Retro Pod app was likely removed from the App Store for violating Apple’s rule against emulating Apple devices. Since the point of the app was to make your iPhone into an iPod, it broke the terms of service.
Unfortunately, nostalgia alone won’t return Retro Pod to the App Store. Even though the iPod has been discontinued, Apple is stringent when it comes to protecting its products. Retro Pod isn’t the first app to attempt to emulate the iPod experience on iPhone. In 2019, another app called retroPod (different developer) and one called Rewound offered similar functionality and were also delisted.
The creator of Rewound attempted to get his app back on the store to no avail. Unfortunately, Apple doesn’t seem like it’s going to let up on this one either.


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Korea suffers fall in production, consumption, investment in July
Korea's industrial output, retail sales and investment declined together for the first time in three months in July amid heightened external uncertainty, data showed Wednesday.
Industrial output fell 0.1 percent in July from the previous month, compared with a 0.8 percent on-month increase in June, according to the data from Statistics Korea.
Compared with a year earlier, industrial production grew 3.8 percent.
Retail sales, a gauge of consumption, fell for the fifth straight month in July as high inflation and rising interest rates weighed on private spending.
Retail sales declined 0.3 percent in July, following a 1 percent on-month fall the previous month.
Consumption fell for the fifth straight month for the first time since the statistics agency began compiling related data in 1995.
Facility investment retreated 3.2 percent on month in July, compared with a 4 percent increase the previous month.
It marked the first time since April that industrial output, consumption and facility investment posted on-month falls together.
The July data indicated economic recovery momentum has somewhat slowed, Eo Woon-sun, a senior Statistics Korea official, told reporters.
Last month, output in the mining, manufacturing, gas and electricity industries fell 1.3 percent on-month, the first decline in three months. The decline was led by the faltering production of memory chips. Chip production contracted 3.4 percent on-month.
The Korean economy is slowing down as it is grappling with runaway inflation and export growth could lose momentum amid heightened external uncertainty.
The country's consumer prices, a key gauge of inflation, soared 6.3 percent on-year in July, the fastest in nearly 24 years. High inflation erodes people's purchasing power and could weigh on consumption.
The Bank of Korea (BOK) raised the key interest rate by 0.25 percentage point to 2.5 percent last week to tame inflation. The decision followed its first-ever "big-step" rate hike of 50 basis points in July and marked the seventh rate increase since August last year.
A rate hike is meant to curb inflation, but it could increase debt-servicing burdens and slow down economic growth.
Exports, the main driver of Korea's economic growth, rose 9.4 percent on-year in July, marking the 21st consecutive month of growth.
But the nation suffered a trade deficit for the fourth straight month as high oil and commodity prices pushed up the country's import bills.
In its latest revised outlook, the BOK lowered its 2022 economic growth forecast to 2.6 percent from 2.7 percent. Korea's central bank sharply raised this year's inflation estimate to a 24-year high of 5.2 percent from 4.5 percent.


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India loses Rs.1.5 trillion due to logistical loopholesDecember 22nd, 2008 - 8:21 pm ICT by IANS
Mumbai, Dec 22 (IANS) India loses around 3 percent of its total gross domestic product (GDP) or Rs.1.5 trillion because of supply chain inefficiencies, according to a survey done by a business consulting firm.India’s spending of 13 percent of the GDP is higher than that in the developed world; in the US, the spending is 10 percent of its GDP, Europe is at 11 percent, and Japan 10 percent, the report released Monday said.
The survey titled ‘Technology Survey for the Indian Logistics Industry - 2008′, conducted by Kale Consultants, said inefficient use of technology in the logistics business costs the economy billions of rupees.
The report further goes to state that significant strides in IT implementation could lead to bridging the gap in the supply chain, resulting in higher efficiency at lower costs.
While IT spends in Indian logistics industry currently stand at Rs.4 billion, it is slated to grow by approximately 22 percent CAGR (compounded annual growth rate) to over Rs.10 billion in the next five years.
“There is a lot of activity happening in this highly fragmented market. Family-owned businesses are growing in stature while global majors have committed huge investments for their Indian operations. The sector has already attracted investments of over Rs.20,000 crore (Rs.200 billion) in the first half of 2008,” said Sumeet Nadkar, head of Kale Consultants’ logistics strategic business unit.
The report also said the demand is expected from the western part of India, followed by the northern and southern regions. About 46 percent of IT investments are currently made towards capital expenditures, and the remaining 54 percent as operational costs.


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The Future of CRM Cloud Computing
Cloud computing is the latest trend in the technology world. Cloud computing’s increase in popularity has led some to think about its future in the customer relationship management (CRM) field. There is now a growing demand for CRM cloud computing solutions, and more vendors are jumping to satisfy this demand.
IDC, a research firm, recently reported that more companies are buying server hardware because of their increased interest in CRM cloud computing. It is estimated that server revenue for public cloud computing will grow from $582 million to $718 million in 2014 as a result. Businesses are increasingly moving their systems offsite, and they see CRM cloud computing solutions as the answer to this migration.
A research analyst with Enterprise Platforms and Datacenter Trends, Katherine Broderick, commented on the issue. She said that many Internet technology administrators want to simplify their virtual and physical infrastructure with CRM cloud computing. Broderick explained that as companies grow and acquire more customer data, they need more data space to store all their information. For a growing company, data storage can be a real challenge. This is why CRM cloud computing, which offers an essentially unlimited data center, is becoming so important to these companies.
Of course, adopting cloud computing solutions is not as easy as it sounds. Broderick explains that companies worry about problems with integration, security, costs, and availability. For security and other reasons, IDC found that most companies prefer adopting private clouds as opposed to public ones for their CRM cloud computing initiatives. Public clouds are not as enterprise-focused, which is less appealing to those companies.
CRM cloud computing has a strong future ahead, for both enterprise and small businesses. Though there may be obstacles to implementing cloud solutions, businesses can enjoy the many benefits of CRM cloud computing if adopted correctly.
If you are interested in reading more articles about the buzz surrounding cloud computing, check out the article Addressing the Cloud Computing Skeptics.
If you are considering adopting CRM software, consider looking at this Top 10 Enterprise report for CRM vendors. There are CRM cloud computing vendors on the list, including Salesforce.com. If you are interested in other CRM vendors, there are also a wide range of CRM reports available here.
Want to know more about Cloud Computing? For additional reading material such as articles, blogs and software reviews, visit Business-Software.com’s cloud computing resource page.


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Drowning in Debt: call for tighter regulation of high-cost lending
Low-income customers are being charged up to six times the retail cost of furniture by the booming rent-to-own sector
A campaigning Christian charity has called for urgent reform to the whole high-cost credit market after publishing a report which shows the industry has more than doubled profits since 2009
Drowning in Debt, a report published this week by Church Action on Poverty and the Centre for Responsible Credit, has revealed that the rent-to-own (RTO) sector has more than doubled its pre-tax profits over the last three years, from £9.83 million to £19.7 million. It has done this by selling basic appliances, furniture, and white goods to hard-up families at inflated prices with interest rates of almost 70 per cent.
People who rely on benefits, without savings, on a low income or with a bad credit history are reliant on the RTO and high cost credit sector to equip their homes.
The charities are now urging the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to use their new powers to enforce firm limits on what the high cost credit sector can charge. They say the FCA also needs to ensure that lenders share the data that will enable customers to get affordable credit. Otherwise, the charities say, millions more will needlessly sink further into debt.
Niall Cooper, National Coordinator at Church Action on Poverty, said:
'Against this backdrop of enormous profits and expanding markets, the people who are fuelling this boom continue to struggle with rising living costs. And as millions of people struggle to access cheaper bank loans and credit cards, many are left with nowhere to turn.
'It is crucial that the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) use their new powers to enforce firm limits on what the high-cost credit sector can charge. They also need to ensure that lenders share the data that will enable customers to get affordable credit. Otherwise, millions more will needlessly sink further into debt.'
Payment plans spread over years make prices seem affordable, say the charities in the report. But a six-seater sofa bought from BrightHouse on a payment plan of £26 a week for 156 weeks at 64.7 per cent interest costs £4,056.00 – while the equivalent item from Sofaland costs just £660. A Hotpoint 7kg washing machine on a payment plan of £6 a week for 156 weeks at 64.7 per cent costs £936.00. The equivalent item from Appliances Online costs just £235.
What's more, the number of RTO shops across the country has roughly doubled since the recession began, from 179 in 2008 to 344 now. The charities' analysis of store locations shows that they are overwhelmingly located in the poorest communities across the UK. 62 per cent of PerfectHomes stores and 48 per cent of Brighthouse stores are located in the poorest 10 per cent of neighbourhoods in England.
By contrast the recession is forcing mainstream retailers to shut down their stores, with electronics giant Dixons planning to close 60 shops as losses continue.
Taking out doorstep loans and using rent-to-own companies left mum-of-five Donna Allison, 28, of Thornaby, with large debts. But with help from Church Action on Poverty's partner organisation Thrive, Donna has managed to pay off most of her loans, and is now a money mentor.
'Everyone I know has doorstep lenders - family, friends,' she said. 'They also use rent-to-own. You don’t have the money to save when you’ve got children or you’re on benefits so you go to these places. But then you’re paying a thousand pounds for a second-hand washer.
'I had bailiffs coming to the door, and red letters all the time. I was scared to answer the phone. I was getting depressed. They threatened to come and take my goods from me if I didn’t pay. I was frightened. They keep asking me if I would like another loan. But now I’m strong, and say no.'
Thrive and the Centre for Responsible Credit have successfully negotiated with RTO leaders BrightHouse, PerfectHome and Buy As You View to secure a number of important reforms that include a commitment to data sharing, lower default charges, lower interest rates of 24.9 per cent, more flexible payment options, and independent debt advice.
But the Government continues to reject calls for a cap on the interest rates that firms can charge borrowers.
Church Action on Poverty are calling on the FCA to ensure that:
Nobody should ever have to use more than a third of their gross income to repay high-cost lenders;
Lenders should share data so that they can check borrowers' income and other commitments before lending;
Lenders who break these rules lose their licences.
The total UK high-cost credit sector – which also includes payday and doorstep loans - is now worth more than £7.5 billion.


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When Victoria Beckham declared she “just can’t do heels anymore” there was a collective sigh of relief from women everywhere.
Along with confirming the glorious news that sneakers were in -- and stilettos were out -- the fashion designer made the point that heels are far from productive at work.
But Beckham isn’t the only celebrity endorsing comfy feet around the clock.
So far this year we’ve seen Rihanna add 'creative director' to her resume as PUMA’s highest profile collaborator; Kanye West continue to roll out his popular Adidas Yeezy Boost 350s and Reebok turn to fashion influencers like blogger, Sincerely Jules to front their latest campaign.
We also can’t forget Kylie Jenner, who signed a big bucks contract with Puma to be the face of the sportswear brand with some media outlets reporting the 18-year-old had negotiated a seven-figure deal.
Her decision was not Kanye West approved though, with her brother-in-law claiming Jenner is “Team Yeezy” only (according to West’s Twitter rants, Puma’s appointment of Jenner was the company’s attempt to divide the family).
Nonetheless, while we once saw huge numbers of sporting heroes like Michael Jordan, Chris Paul, Dwight Howard and Carmelo Anthony putting their faces to sporting shoes is now musicians and fashion influencers.
Just a measly 1.1 million likes.
Last season's “Fenty Creepers” by Rihanna sold out in three hours while West’s latest Boost offering sold out in just two hours across the United States last month.
Models Gigi and Bella Hadid with Rihanna at New York Fashion week for the FENTY PUMA by Rihanna AW16 Collection.
But this hard-to-get status is all part of the sneaker culture. Much like the Apple-obsessed who camp out in the night lining up for the latest smartphone, so too do the sneakerheads.
And of course, the lack of supply and difficulty of actually getting your hands on a pair only adds to their cult, cool-kid status.
Blogger Sincerely Jules is the latest face of the Reebok Classic X Face Stockholm limited edition campaign.
We're just wondering if we can get away woth wearing them in the office?


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Monday, February 06. 2017
Via IEEE Spectrum
Today’s mobile users want faster data speeds and more reliable service. The next generation of wireless networks—5G—promises to deliver that, and much more. With 5G, users should be able to download a high-definition film in under a second (a task that could take 10 minutes on 4G LTE). And wireless engineers say these networks will boost the development of other new technologies, too, such as autonomous vehicles, virtual reality, and the Internet of Things.
If all goes well, telecommunications companies hope to debut the first commercial 5G networks in the early 2020s. Right now, though, 5G is still in the planning stages, and companies and industry groups are working together to figure out exactly what it will be. But they all agree on one matter: As the number of mobile users and their demand for data rises, 5G must handle far more traffic at much higher speeds than the base stations that make up today’s cellular networks.
To achieve this, wireless engineers are designing a suite of brand-new technologies. Together, these technologies will deliver data with less than a millisecond of delay (compared to about 70 ms on today’s 4G networks) and bring peak download speeds of 20 gigabits per second (compared to 1 Gb/s on 4G) to users.
At the moment, it’s not yet clear which technologies will do the most for 5G in the long run, but a few early favorites have emerged. The front-runners include millimeter waves, small cells, massive MIMO, full duplex, and beamforming. To understand how 5G will differ from today’s 4G networks, it’s helpful to walk through these five technologies and consider what each will mean for wireless users.
Today’s wireless networks have run into a problem: More people and devices are consuming more data than ever before, but it remains crammed on the same bands of the radio-frequency spectrum that mobile providers have always used. That means less bandwidth for everyone, causing slower service and more dropped connections.
One way to get around that problem is to simply transmit signals on a whole new swath of the spectrum, one that’s never been used for mobile service before. That’s why providers are experimenting with broadcasting on millimeter waves, which use higher frequencies than the radio waves that have long been used for mobile phones.
Millimeter waves are broadcast at frequencies between 30 and 300 gigahertz, compared to the bands below 6 GHz that were used for mobile devices in the past. They are called millimeter waves because they vary in length from 1 to 10 mm, compared to the radio waves that serve today’s smartphones, which measure tens of centimeters in length.
Until now, only operators of satellites and radar systems used millimeter waves for real-world applications. Now, some cellular providers have begun to use them to send data between stationary points, such as two base stations. But using millimeter waves to connect mobile users with a nearby base station is an entirely new approach.
There is one major drawback to millimeter waves, though—they can’t easily travel through buildings or obstacles and they can be absorbed by foliage and rain. That’s why 5G networks will likely augment traditional cellular towers with another new technology, called small cells.
Small cells are portable miniature base stations that require minimal power to operate and can be placed every 250 meters or so throughout cities. To prevent signals from being dropped, carriers could install thousands of these stations in a city to form a dense network that acts like a relay team, receiving signals from other base stations and sending data to users at any location.
While traditional cell networks have also come to rely on an increasing number of base stations, achieving 5G performance will require an even greater infrastructure. Luckily, antennas on small cells can be much smaller than traditional antennas if they are transmitting tiny millimeter waves. This size difference makes it even easier to stick cells on light poles and atop buildings.
This radically different network structure should provide more targeted and efficient use of spectrum. Having more stations means the frequencies that one station uses to connect with devices in one area can be reused by another station in a different area to serve another customer. There is a problem, though—the sheer number of small cells required to build a 5G network may make it hard to set up in rural areas.
In addition to broadcasting over millimeter waves, 5G base stations will also have many more antennas than the base stations of today’s cellular networks—to take advantage of another new technology: massive MIMO.
Today’s 4G base stations have a dozen ports for antennas that handle all cellular traffic: eight for transmitters and four for receivers. But 5G base stations can support about a hundred ports, which means many more antennas can fit on a single array. That capability means a base station could send and receive signals from many more users at once, increasing the capacity of mobile networks by a factor of 22 or greater.
This technology is called massive MIMO. It all starts with MIMO, which stands for multiple-input multiple-output. MIMO describes wireless systems that use two or more transmitters and receivers to send and receive more data at once. Massive MIMO takes this concept to a new level by featuring dozens of antennas on a single array.
MIMO is already found on some 4G base stations. But so far, massive MIMO has only been tested in labs and a few field trials. In early tests, it has set new records for spectrum efficiency, which is a measure of how many bits of data can be transmitted to a certain number of users per second.
Massive MIMO looks very promising for the future of 5G. However, installing so many more antennas to handle cellular traffic also causes more interference if those signals cross. That’s why 5G stations must incorporate beamforming.
Beamforming is a traffic-signaling system for cellular base stations that identifies the most efficient data-delivery route to a particular user, and it reduces interference for nearby users in the process. Depending on the situation and the technology, there are several ways for 5G networks to implement it.
Beamforming can help massive MIMO arrays make more efficient use of the spectrum around them. The primary challenge for massive MIMO is to reduce interference while transmitting more information from many more antennas at once. At massive MIMO base stations, signal-processing algorithms plot the best transmission route through the air to each user. Then they can send individual data packets in many different directions, bouncing them off buildings and other objects in a precisely coordinated pattern. By choreographing the packets’ movements and arrival time, beamforming allows many users and antennas on a massive MIMO array to exchange much more information at once.
For millimeter waves, beamforming is primarily used to address a different set of problems: Cellular signals are easily blocked by objects and tend to weaken over long distances. In this case, beamforming can help by focusing a signal in a concentrated beam that points only in the direction of a user, rather than broadcasting in many directions at once. This approach can strengthen the signal’s chances of arriving intact and reduce interference for everyone else.
Besides boosting data rates by broadcasting over millimeter waves and beefing up spectrum efficiency with massive MIMO, wireless engineers are also trying to achieve the high throughput and low latency required for 5G through a technology called full duplex, which modifies the way antennas deliver and receive data.
Today's base stations and cellphones rely on transceivers that must take turns if transmitting and receiving information over the same frequency, or operate on different frequencies if a user wishes to transmit and receive information at the same time.
With 5G, a transceiver will be able to transmit and receive data at the same time, on the same frequency. This technology is known as full duplex, and it could double the capacity of wireless networks at their most fundamental physical layer: Picture two people talking at the same time but still able to understand one another—which means their conversation could take half as long and their next discussion could start sooner.
Some militaries already use full duplex technology that relies on bulky equipment. To achieve full duplex in personal devices, researchers must design a circuit that can route incoming and outgoing signals so they don’t collide while an antenna is transmitting and receiving data at the same time.
This is especially hard because of the tendency of radio waves to travel both forward and backward on the same frequency—a principle known as reciprocity. But recently, experts have assembled silicon transistors that act like high-speed switches to halt the backward roll of these waves, enabling them to transmit and receive signals on the same frequency at once.
One drawback to full duplex is that it also creates more signal interference, through a pesky echo. When a transmitter emits a signal, that signal is much closer to the device’s antenna and therefore more powerful than any signal it receives. Expecting an antenna to both speak and listen at the same time is possible only with special echo-canceling technology.
With these and other 5G technologies, engineers hope to build the wireless network that future smartphone users, VR gamers, and autonomous cars will rely on every day. Already, researchers and companies have set high expectations for 5G by promising ultralow latency and record-breaking data speeds for consumers. If they can solve the remaining challenges, and figure out how to make all these systems work together, ultrafast 5G service could reach consumers in the next five years.
Art Direction and Illustrations:
Tuesday, November 24. 2015
Via The Daily Dot
People with Android devices might be a bit frustrated with Google after a report from the New York District Attorney's office provided detailed information about smartphone security, and Google's power to access devices when asked to by law enforcement. The report went viral on Reddit over the weekend.
Google can unlock many Android phones remotely when given a search warrant, bypassing lock codes on particular devices. The report reads:
Forensic examiners are able to bypass passcodes on some of those [Android] devices using a variety of forensic techniques. For some other types of Android devices, Google can reset the passcodes when served with a search warrant and an order instructing them to assist law enforcement to extract data from the device. This process can be done by Google remotely and allows forensic examiners to view the contents of a device.
When compared to Apple devices, which encrypt by default on iOS 8 and later, Google's seemingly lax protection is irksome. The report continues:
For Android devices running operating systems Lollipop 5.0 and above, however, Google plans to use default full-disk encryption, like that being used by Apple, that will make it impossible for Google to comply with search warrants and orders instructing them to assist with device data extraction. Generally, users have the option to enable full-disk encryption on their current Android devices, whether or not the device is running Lollipop 5.0, but doing so causes certain inconveniences, risks, and performance issues, which are likely to exist until OEMs are required to standardize certain features.
In October, Google announced that new devices that ship with the Marshmallow 6.0 operating system (the most recent version of Android) must enable full-disk encryption by default. Nexus devices running Lollipop 5.0 are encrypted by default as well. This means that Google is unable to bypass lock codes on those devices. However, because of the massive fragmentation of Android devices and operating systems, Google can still access lots of Android devices running older versions when asked to by law enforcement.
And despite the encryption updates to the Android compatibility documentation, a number of devices are exempt from full-disk encryption, including older devices, devices without a lock screen, and those that don't meet the minimum security requirements.
The number of devices that actually have full-disk encryption appears to be low. Just 0.3 percent of Android devices are running Marshmallow and more than 25 percent of Android devices are running Lollipop 5.0, but most of those aren't Nexus, according to ZDNet.
When compared to Apple, Google's security appears lacking. Apple made encryption mandatory in iOS 8 back in 2014, which of course extends to iOS 9, its most recent mobile OS update. Data shows that 67 percent of Apple users are on iOS 9, and 24 percent of devices are still on iOS 8. Just nine percent of devices run an older version of iOS.
Android users are often at the mercy of carriers who decide when to roll out Android updates, which is an obstacle for some Android owners who want the latest OS.
If you do have a compatible device and want to enable encryption, head over to your security settings and select "encrypt device."
Monday, February 23. 2015
Via EE Times
PARIS — As of the end of 2014, 16 million mobile devices worldwide have been infected by malicious software, estimated Alcatel-Lucent’s security arm, Motive Security Labs, in its latest security report released Thursday (Feb. 12).
Such malware is used by “cybercriminals for corporate and personal espionage, information theft, denial of service attacks on business and governments and banking and advertising scams,” the report warned.
Some of the key facts revealed in the report -- released two weeks in advance of the Mobile World Congress 2015 -- could dampen the mobile industry’s renewed enthusiasm for mobile payment systems such as Google Wallet and Apple Pay.
At risk is also the matter of privacy. How safe is your mobile device? Consumers have gotten used to trusting their smartphones, expecting their devices to know them well enough to accommodate their habits and preferences. So the last thing consumers expect them to do is to channel spyware into their lives, letting others monitor calls and track web browsing.
Declaring that 2014 “will be remembered as the year of cyber-attacks,” Kevin McNamee, director, Alcatel-Lucent Motive Security Labs, noted in his latest blog other cases of hackers stealing millions of credit and debit card account numbers at retail points of sale. They include the security breach at Target in 2013 and similar breaches repeated in 2014 at Staples, Home Depot Sally Beauty Supply, Neiman Marcus, United Parcel Service, Michaels Stores and Albertsons, as well as the food chains Dairy Queen and P. F. Chang.
“But the combined number of these attacks pales in comparison to the malware attacks on mobile and residential devices,” McNamee insists. In his blog, he wrote, “Stealing personal information and data minutes from individual device users doesn’t tend to make the news, but it’s happening with increased frequency. And the consequences of losing one’s financial information, privacy, and personal identity to cyber criminals are no less important when it’s you.”
'Workhorse of cybercrime'
According to the report, in the mobile networks, “Android devices have now caught up to Windows laptops as the primary workhorse of cybercrime.” The infection rates between Android and Windows devices now split 50/50 in 2014, said the report.
This may be hardly a surprise to those familiar with Android security. There are three issues. First, the volume of Android devices shipped in 2014 is so huge that it makes a juicy target for cyber criminals. Second, Android is based on an open platform. Third, Android allows users to download apps from third-party stores where apps are not consistently verified and controlled.
In contrast, the report said that less than 1% of infections come from iPhone and Blackberry smartphones. The report, however, quickly added that this data doesn’t prove that iPhones are immune to malware.
The Motive Security Labs report cited findings by Palo Alto Networks in early November. The Networks discussed the discovery of WireLurker vulnerability that allows an infected Mac OS-X computer to install applications on any iPhone that connects to it via a USB connection. User permission is not required and the iPhone need not be jail-broken.
News stories reported the source of the infected Mac OS-X apps as an app store in China that apparently affected some 350,000 users through apps disguised as popular games. These infected the Mac computer, which in turn infected the iPhone. Once infected, the iPhone contacted a remote C&C server.
According to the Motive Security Labs report, a couple of weeks later, FireEye revealed Masque Attack vulnerability, which allows third-party apps to be replaced with a malicious app that can access all the data of the original app. In a demo, FireEye replaced the Gmail app on an iPhone, allowing the attacker complete access to the victim’s email and text messages.
Spyware on the rise
Impact on mobile payment
The rise of mobile malware threats isn’t unexpected. But as Google Wallet, Apple Pay and others rush to bring us mobile payment systems, security has to be a top focus. And malware concerns become even more acute in the workplace where more than 90% of workers admit to using their personal smartphones for work purposes.
Fixed broadband networks
Why is this all happening?
Noting that a recent Motive Security Labs survey found that 65 percent of subscribers expect their service provider to protect both their mobile and home devices, the report seems to suggest that the onus is on operators. “They are expected to take a proactive approach to this problem by providing services that alert subscribers to malware on their devices along with self-help instructions for removing it,” said Patrick Tan, General Manager of Network Intelligence at Alcatel-Lucent, in a statement.
Due to the large market share it holds within communication networks, Alcatel-Lucent says that it’s in a unique position to measure the impact of mobile and home device traffic moving over those networks to identify malicious and cyber-security threats. Motive Security Labs is an analytics arm of Motive Customer Experience Management.
According to Alcatel-Lucent, Motive Security Labs (formerly Kindsight Security Labs), processes more than 120,000 new malware samples per day and maintains a library of 30 million active samples.
In the following pages, we will share the hilights of data collected by Motive Security Labs.
Mobile infection rate since December 2012
Alcatel-Lucent’s Motive Security Labs found 0.68% of mobile devices are infected with malware.
Using the ITU’s figure of 2.3 billion mobile broadband subscriptions, Motive Security Labs estimated that 16 million mobile devices had some sort of malware infection in December 2014.
The report called this global estimate “likely to be on the conservative side.” Motive Security Labs’ sensors do not have complete coverage in areas such as China and Russia, where mobile infection rates are known to be higher.
Mobile malware samples since June 2012
Motive Security Labs used the increase in the number of samples in its malware database to show Android malware growth.
The chart above shows numbers since June 2012. The number of samples grew by 161% in 2014.
In addition to the increase in raw numbers, the sophistication of Android malware also got better, according to Motive Security Labs. Researchers in 2014 started to see malware applications that had originally been developed for the Windows/PC platform migrate to the mobile space, bringing with them more sophisticated command and control and rootkit technologies.
Infected device types in 2013 and 2014
The chart shows the breakdown of infected device types that have been observed in 2013 and 2014. Shown in red is Android and shown in blue is Windows.
While the involvement of such a high proportion of Windows/PC devices may be a surprise to some, these Windows/PCs are connected to the mobile network via dongles and mobile Wi-Fi devices or simply tethered through smartphones.
They’re responsible for about 50% of the malware infections observed.
The report said, “This is because these devices are still the favorite of hardcore professional cybercriminals who have a huge investment in the Windows malware ecosystem. As the mobile network becomes the access network of choice for many Windows PCs, the malware moves with them.”
Android phones and tablets are responsible for about 50% of the malware infections observed.
Currently most mobile malware is distributed as “Trojanized” apps. Android offers the easiest target for this because of its open app environment, noted the report.
Tuesday, June 24. 2014
ComputedBy - The idea to share a WiFi access point is far to be a new one (it is obviously as old as the technology of the WiFi access point itself), but previous solutions were not addressing many issues (including the legal ones) that this proposal seems finally to consider seriously. This may really succeed in transforming a ridiculously endless utopia in something tangible!
Now, Internet providers (including mobile networks) may have a word to say about that. Just by changing their terms of service they can just make this practice illegal... as business does not rhyme with effectiveness (yes, I know, that is strange!!...) neither with objectivity. It took some time but geographical boundaries were raised up over the Internet (which is somehow a as impressive as ridiculous achievement when you think about it), so I'm pretty sure 'they' can find a work around to make this idea not possible or put their hands over it.
Via ars technica
We’ve often heard security folks explain their belief that one of the best ways to protect Web privacy and security on one's home turf is to lock down one's private Wi-Fi network with a strong password. But a coalition of advocacy organizations is calling such conventional wisdom into question.
Members of the “Open Wireless Movement,” including the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), Free Press, Mozilla, and Fight for the Future are advocating that we open up our Wi-Fi private networks (or at least a small slice of our available bandwidth) to strangers. They claim that such a random act of kindness can actually make us safer online while simultaneously facilitating a better allocation of finite broadband resources.
The OpenWireless.org website explains the group’s initiative. “We are aiming to build technologies that would make it easy for Internet subscribers to portion off their wireless networks for guests and the public while maintaining security, protecting privacy, and preserving quality of access," its mission statement reads. "And we are working to debunk myths (and confront truths) about open wireless while creating technologies and legal precedent to ensure it is safe, private, and legal to open your network.”
One such technology, which EFF plans to unveil at the Hackers on Planet Earth (HOPE X) conference next month, is open-sourced router firmware called Open Wireless Router. This firmware would enable individuals to share a portion of their Wi-Fi networks with anyone nearby, password-free, as Adi Kamdar, an EFF activist, told Ars on Friday.
Home network sharing tools are not new, and the EFF has been touting the benefits of open-sourcing Web connections for years, but Kamdar believes this new tool marks the second phase in the open wireless initiative. Unlike previous tools, he claims, EFF’s software will be free for all, will not require any sort of registration, and will actually make surfing the Web safer and more efficient.
Open Wi-Fi initiative members have argued that the act of providing wireless networks to others is a form of “basic politeness… like providing heat and electricity, or a hot cup of tea” to a neighbor, as security expert Bruce Schneier described it.
Kamdar said that the new firmware utilizes smart technologies that prioritize the network owner's traffic over others', so good samaritans won't have to wait for Netflix to load because of strangers using their home networks. What's more, he said, "every connection is walled off from all other connections," so as to decrease the risk of unwanted snooping.
Additionally, EFF hopes that opening one’s Wi-Fi network will, in the long run, make it more difficult to tie an IP address to an individual.
“From a legal perspective, we have been trying to tackle this idea that law enforcement and certain bad plaintiffs have been pushing, that your IP address is tied to your identity. Your identity is not your IP address. You shouldn't be targeted by a copyright troll just because they know your IP address," said Kamdar.
This isn’t an abstract problem, either. Consider the case of the Californian who, after allowing a friend access to his home Wi-Fi network, found his home turned inside-out by police officers asking tough questions about child pornography. The man later learned that his houseguest had downloaded illicit materials, thus subjecting the homeowner to police interrogation. Should a critical mass begin to open private networks to strangers, the practice of correlating individuals with IP addresses would prove increasingly difficult and therefore might be reduced.
While the EFF firmware will initially be compatible with only one specific router, the organization would like to eventually make it compatible with other routers and even, perhaps, develop its own router. “We noticed that router software, in general, is pretty insecure and inefficient," Kamdar said. “There are a few major players in the router space. Even though various flaws have been exposed, there have not been many fixes.”
Sunday, June 01. 2014
Complimentary Wi-Fi is so commonplace that a business advertising its “hotspot” in the window seems somewhat passé. But a new hotspot location should impress even the most jaded among us: For the first time, scientists have demonstrated it’s possible to beam a wireless Internet signal across the 238,900 miles separating Earth from the moon.
The demonstration, done by researchers at NASA and MIT, means that
future moon explorers could theoretically check in at Mare Imbrium and
post lunar selfies with greater speed than you do from your home
The team will present its findings June 9 at the CLEO laser technology conference in California.
Not Your Starbucks Wi-Fi
In order to bring broadband to the moon, scientists used four separate telescopes based in New Mexico to send an uplink signal to a receiver mounted on a satellite orbiting the moon. Each telescope is about 6 inches in diameter and is fed by a laser transmitter that beams information in coded pulses of infrared light.
Since our atmosphere bends the signal as it travels to the moon, the four telescopes transmit the light through different columns of air, each with different bending effects. This setup increases the chance that at least one of the laser beams will interact with the receiver, and establish a connection with the moon.
And if you’re fixing to binge on Netflix on the moon, the connection isn’t too bad, either. Scientists managed to send data from Earth to the moon at a rate of 19.44 megabits per second — on par with slower broadband speeds — and could download information from the moon at a rate of whopping 622 megabits per second. According to Wired UK, that’s over 4,000 times faster than current radio transmission speeds.
So, in light of all that, there’s really only question that remains… “What’s the password?”
Thursday, April 17. 2014
Apple has just released the iBeacon specifications for everyone who is a member of the MFi program, Apple’s program for hardware partners (“Made for iPhone program”, etc.). You’ll have to sign an NDA to read the specifications. BEEKn first spotted the news. The company also reiterates that you can’t use the iBeacon brand without prior consent. You have to register to the MFi program, submit a request and get approved by Apple. It’s free for now.
As a reminder, iBeacon is an indoor positioning system based on Bluetooth Low Energy. Many iOS and Android devices now come with Bluetooth Low Energy, so they are all theoretically compatible with iBeacon. iBeacon is particularly interesting for retailers. They can buy a beacon (such as the Estimote pictured above) and use it for proximity interactions.
For instance, merchants can send a push notification to smartphone users when they get close to a particular product. It can also be used for payment systems to detect who is in your store. There are countless of possibilities — it’s just the beginning.
iBeacon is just a particular implementation of Bluetooth Low Energy. Devices broadcast a Bluetooth LE signal, and iPhones download data when they are close to a beacon. It also works with Android phones, and Apple apparently doesn’t want to stop that.
Yet, iBeacon is a registered trademark and Apple can decide what to do. For now, developers who sign up to the MFi program, request to use the iBeacon name, and conform to the Apple standard can use the brand for free. iBeacon devices will mostly be B2B devices for shop owners, trade show staffs and more.
Think of it like the “Made for iPhone” brand. Dock manufacturers can build a speaker that works with Android and iOS phones. They put the little “Made for iPhone” stickers. It means that Apple certifies that it will work well with iPhones. The iBeacon brand works the same way for beacons.
Wednesday, April 16. 2014
Qualcomm is getting high on 64-bit chips with its fastest ever Snapdragon processor, which will render 4K video, support LTE Advanced and could run the 64-bit Android OS.
The new Snapdragon 810 is the company’s “highest performing” mobile chip for smartphones and tablets, Qualcomm said in a statement. Mobile devices with the 64-bit chip will ship in the first half of next year, and be faster and more power-efficient. Snapdragon chips are used in handsets with Android and Windows Phone operating systems, which are not available in 64-bit form yet.
The Snapdragon 810 is loaded with the latest communication and graphics technologies from Qualcomm. The graphics processor can render 4K (3840 x 2160 pixel) video at 30 frames per second, and 1080p video at 120 frames per second. The chip also has an integrated modem that supports LTE and its successor, LTE-Advanced, which is emerging.
The 810 also is among the first mobile chips to support the latest low-power LPDDR4 memory, which will allow programs to run faster while consuming less power. This will be beneficial, especially for tablets, as 64-bit chips allow mobile devices to have more than 4GB of memory, which is the limit on current 32-bit chips.
The quad-core chip has a mix of high-power ARM Cortex-A57 CPU cores for demanding tasks and low-power A53 CPU cores for mundane tasks like taking calls, messaging and MP3 playback. The multiple cores ensure more power-efficient use of the chip, which helps extend battery life of mobile devices.
The company also introduced a Snapdragon 808 six-core 64-bit chip. The chips will be among the first made using the latest 20-nanometer manufacturing process, which is an advance from the 28-nm process used to make Snapdragon chips today.
Qualcomm now has to wait for Google to release a 64-bit version of Android for ARM-based mobile devices. Intel has already shown mobile devices running 64-bit Android with its Merrifield chip, but most mobile products today run on ARM processors. Qualcomm licenses Snapdragon processor architecture and designs from ARM.
Work for 64-bit Android is already underway, and applications like the Chrome browser are already being developed for the OS. Google has not officially commented on when 64-bit Android would be released, but industry observers believe it could be announced at the Google I/O conference in late June.
Qualcomm spokesman Jon Carvill declined to comment on support for 64-bit Android. But the chips are “further evidence of our commitment to deliver top-to-bottom mobile 64-bit leadership across product tiers for our customers,” Carvill said in an email.
Qualcomm’s chips are used in some of the world’s top smartphones, and will appear in Samsung’s Galaxy S5. A Qualcomm executive in October last year called Apple’s A7, the world’s first 64-bit mobile chip, a “marketing gimmick,” but the company has moved on and now has five 64-bit chips coming to medium-priced and premium smartphones and tablets. But no 64-bit Android smartphones are available yet, and Apple has a headstart and remains the only company selling a 64-bit smartphone with its iPhone 5S.
The 810 supports HDMI 1.4 for 4K video output, and the Adreno 430 graphics processor is 30 percent faster on graphics performance and 20 percent more power efficient than the older Adreno 420 GPU. The graphics processor will support 55-megapixel sensors, Qualcomm said. Other chip features include 802.11ac Wi-Fi with built-in technology for faster wireless data transfers, Bluetooth 4.1 and a processing core for location services.
The six-core Snapdragon 808 is a notch down on performance compared to the 810, and also has fewer features. The 808 supports LTE-Advanced, but can support displays with up to 2560 x 1600 pixels. It will support LPDDR3 memory. The chip has two Cortex-A57 CPUs and four Cortex-A53 cores.
The chips will ship out to device makers for testing in the second half of this year.
Monday, March 17. 2014
Via Slash Gear
This week the experimental developer-aimed group known as Google ATAP - aka Advanced Technology and Projects (skunkworks) have announced Project Tango. They’ve suggested Project Tango will appear first as a phone with 3D sensors. These 3D sensors will be able to scan and build a map of the room they’re in, opening up a whole world of possibilities.
The device that Project Tango will release first will be just about as limited-edition as they come. Issued in an edition of 200, this device will be sent to developers only. This developer group will be hand-picked by Google’s ATAP - and sign-ups start today. (We’ll be publishing the sign-up link once active.)
Speaking on this skunkworks project this morning was Google user Johnny Lee. Mister Johnny Lee is ATAP’s technical program lead, and he’ll be heading this project for the public, as you’ll see it. This is the same group that brought you Motorola’s digital tattoos, if you’ll remember.
Monday, February 24. 2014
Qloudlab is the inventor and patent holder of the world’s first touchscreen-based biosensor. We are developing a cost-effective technology that is able to turn your smartphone touchscreen into a medical device for multiple blood diagnostics testing: no plug-in required with just a simple disposable. Our innovation is at the convergence of Smartphones, Healthcare, and Cloud solutions. The development is supported by EPFL (Pr. Philippe Renaud, Microsystems Laboratory) and by a major industrial player in cutting-edge touchscreen solutions for consumer, industrial and automotive products.
Wednesday, February 12. 2014
Via tom's HARDWARE
Taiwanese firm Polytron Technologies has revealed the world's first
fully transparent smartphone prototype. As you can see in the pictures
above and below, the prototype device is almost fully transparent. The
only components visible on the device are the board, chips memory card
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Economic, environmental and social sustainability is at the core of the co-operative business model while having a sustainable co-operative is one of three core platforms for Fonterra’s strategy, writes Cooperative Business NZ CEO Craig Presland. In many ways it is the most vital as well as the most challenging, he says. “Fonterra has a
Co-operative (ngātahi, paheko) is a concept to which Māori can relate, and this Hawkes Bay iwi has successfully embraced the sustainable business model since its Waitangi Treaty settlement eight years ago.
Ashburton Lyndhurst Irrigation Ltd (ALIL) is a farmer-owned co-operative, which receives its allocation of water from Rangitata Diversion Race Management Ltd. The co-operative currently delivers water through a network of races and pressurised pipe system to its 244 shareholder members, who collectively farm close to 30,000 hectares west and north of Ashburton.
Barrhill Chertsey Irrigation Limited (BCI) was formed as a farmer owned co-operative company in 1998 and, in 2001, was granted consent to take 17 cumecs of water from the Rakaia River and irrigate 40,000 ha in Mid Canterbury.
Innovation, strength, organisational efficiencies and a commitment to ensuring environmentally and economically sustainable water is available for future generations. These are the cornerstones on which Ashburton-based irrigation co-operative MHV Water Ltd is based.
Seven NZ co-operatives now appear in the world's top 300 as announced last week at the ICA’s General Assembly held in Buenos Aires. The world’s top 300 co-ops now have a combined turnover of just over US$2.0 trillion according to the latest edition of the World Co-operative Monitor, this based on 2016 revenues.
In this article, Cooperative Business NZ CEO Craig Presland writes that while corporate capitalism has generated massive wealth for some, it has devastated parts of the planet and failed to improve human well-being at scale. He sets out the harsh reality of the present and explains how the sustainable co-operative business model provides hope
In this article, Cooperative Business NZ CEO Craig Presland sets out the case for more co-operatives throughout the world, including across the UK, to counter unsustainable, inequitable and undemocratic economic models.
In this article, Co-operative Business NZ CEO Craig Presland challenges the anti-Pacific rhetoric of media commentator Heather Du Plessis-Allan, sets the record straight on the Pacific’s importance to New Zealand and explains how the co-operative business model can aid the sustainable development of the region.
Cooperative Business NZ is speaking up for Fonterra and the co-operative business model, with CEO Craig Presland going in to bat for our largest co-op through the media and beyond.


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Governor Jerry Brown Signs Driverless Car Bill At Google Headquarters. Gov.
Jerry Brown showed up in Mountain View Tuesday morning in a driverless Prius and signed a bill allowing Californians to sit behind the wheel of a vehicle and allow an automated robotic system do all the work. The governor held the event at Google, and was met by Google's co-founder, Sergey Brin, since the Silicon Valley search engine company lobbied for the bill after the high-profile launch of its automated hybrid car. "This is the essence of Google," Brown told the audience. "Being able to imagine what isn't, and bring it into reality. " At the event, which was closed to the public, Brin said the cars would be good for the "blind," the "elderly" and those who are "too intoxicated.
" Google’s self-driving car in broadside collision after other car jumps red light. One of Google’s self-driving cars has been involved in a collision at a red light.
The autonomous Lexus SUV was involved in the worst recorded accident of a self-driving car yet. The autonomous Lexus SUV was hit by a driver who ran a red light at the intersection of El Camino Rea and Phyllis Ave in Mountain View, California. The Lexus SUV was passing through a green light when the collision occurred. Google patents emergency vehicle detection for autonomous cars - Roadshow. Part of self-driving-car development involves teaching these vehicles to respond in certain ways to specific stimuli.
Sure, an autonomous car might be able to navigate a road, but what if there's an emergency vehicle coming down the street? One of Google's patents addresses exactly that. The patent, which was submitted back in 2014 but published this month, deals with a system for real-time detection of emergency vehicles. Google still lurks in self-driving race with Uber and others. By Wendy Lee and David R.
Baker August 19, 2016 Updated: August 20, 2016 11:13am. I took a ride in Google's self-driving car. Have Google's Self-Driving Cars Hit A Technological Roadblock? A look inside Google's "Driverless Car" Google Car: It Drives Itself - ABC News. Self-Driving Car Test: Steve Mahan. Google driverless car - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia - Nightly.
States that allow driverless cars public road testing.
In addition, a law proposed in Texas would establish criteria for allowing autonomous motor vehicles. Toyota Prius modified to operate as a Google driverless car driving a test course. The U.S. state of Nevada passed a law on June 29, 2011 permitting the operation of autonomous cars in Nevada. Google had been lobbying for robotic car laws. The Nevada law went into effect on March 1, 2012, and the Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles issued the first license for an autonomous car in May 2012.
Technology Google buys solar-powered drone maker Titan Aerospace. 14 April 2014Last updated at 15:03 ET Titan Aerospace manufactures drones that fly at high altitudes for long periods of time Internet search giant Google has bought US high-altitude drone maker Titan Aerospace for an undisclosed sum.
Google said the acquisition was intended to help the firm's efforts to expand internet access. Titan Aerospace, which is building two types of solar-powered drones that can fly for years, says it expects "initial commercial operations" by 2015. The firm, which has about 20 employees, will continue to be based in Moriarty, New Mexico. Robot-car technology by Google. Google Self-Driving Car - Part 1: Outside. Google Self-Driving Car: Part 2 - Inside. Google gets in the drone game - Alex Byers and Jessica Meyers. Google is not about to miss out on the drone craze.
The search giant announced Monday that it has purchased Titan Aerospace, a New Mexico company that makes high-altitude drones. Google didn’t say how much it paid for the firm, which Facebook considered buying earlier this year reportedly for $60 million. Instead, it paid $20 million last month for U.K-based aerospace company Ascenta. Google achète le fabricant de drones solaires Titan Aerospace. Google's Acquisition Of Drone Maker Titan Is About Imagery And Internet. Google to Buy Titan Aerospace as Web Giants Battle for Air Superiority.


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With a maximum capacity of 38 liters, Chrome Industries’ Barrage Freight backpack is the midsized cousin of its massive 85-Liter Barrage Pro made popular with professional messengers.
It has a 100% welded waterproof liner with a durable coated nylon shell, gusseted roll top opening, an adjustable cargo net, a padded laptop sleeve for a 15″ MacBook Pro.
Since this thing is generous enough to fit roughly one and a half bags of groceries, or whatever you’d like to throw in, there is of course a molded back panel and ergonomically-shaped straps to haul around town with.
While Chrome Industries calls this the “BLCKCHRM Lako 3-Way Tote,” it’s not your ordinary, farmers market specific tote in that it’s convertible.
It can be worn like a badass top-loading messenger backpack, and either as a handheld or over-the-shoulder tote bag. Convenient right? It also has separate wet/dry compartments, a padded 13-inch laptop sleeve, plus a quick access phone pocket built right into this versatile design with their patented weatherproof 22x nylon laminate tarp liner.
And as always, the Lako 3-way is backed with Chrome’s lifetime warranty.
We’ll keep this short. If you can sew, Chrome Industries has a very informative video on how to make masks during this dire COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak.
“The lack of masks, gowns, and eye protection is limiting the ability of medical workers to fight the COVID-19 and putting their lives at risk. There is a basic need on the front lines, and our community has an opportunity to help,” said Steve McCallion, President of Chrome Industries, “We all can help make a difference.”
There are still a few hours left to enter for a chance to buy the (very) limited 20th anniversary Upper Playground x Chrome Industries messenger bag.
Made in the shape of Chrome’s excellent Citizen Messenger bag, the special edition features a custom tarp liner printed with Upper Playground’s 20th anniversary logo pattern, a corresponding anniversary patch, plus an inside panel with renowned artist Jeremy Fish‘s “Fowl Mood” owl wallpaper which traces its roots to Chrome and Up’s 2009 Artist Series bags collaboration.
Only 20 bags are available and they will be sold by lottery sign ups online, Chrome Hubs and UP stores. The lottery for the $180 bag will end one week from today at midnight on Nov. 13. Winners will be notified via email by Nov. 15 with 48 hours to purchase before it is passed on to the next lucky person.


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Discover more from SVGN.io Silicon Valley Global News
VR Ready Laptop for $999, HTC Vive for $699 (100 dollars off)
Written by Micah Blumberg, November 27th, 2016, VR Matrix http://vrma.work
Right now there are over 800 VR apps on the SteamVR store for VR headsets like the Vive, Rift, and OSVR. That combined with the fact that a VR Ready laptop went on sale today for $999 is significant for several reasons. So is the fact that we are beginning to see sales for VR headsets like the HTC Vive ($699) Will sales for the Oculus Rift/Touch bundle follow?
These might be temporary sales but the significance for the VR Industry is pretty big. As the cost of high end VR experiences continues to drop we get closer and closer to a point when the mass market decides that their next PC will be a VR Ready PC.
Getting to that point will bring the VR Industry past the threshold that other technologies like 3D televisions never crossed.
In the early part of this year VR Ready Laptops were going for as much as 5,000. (And they still are but they just weren’t available at this price, the cheapest one might have been just over 3K)
Before you buy it consider that the GPU only has 3GB, not the usual 6GB associated with the GTX 1060. The harddrive is also the slower older kind, not the newer SSD, and the i5 processor will miss out on some of the high end rendering features in newer VR games like Arizona Sunshine.
But I think it is good simplifying the setup of a VR booth at an event, or setting up VR in your hotel. It’s good for being your secondary VR demo station at work, when you are not looking to invest in a whole new computer workstation, and you want to be able to move it, or put it away and bring it out again quickly.
If you have a VR company, *bam*, suddenly it’s faster and easier to get a VR capable machine into the hands of one more developer working for you. If you have friends and family, you are one step closer to being able to get them set up with something that lets them try out Oculus Touch and HTC Vive experiences in their living room, without it needing to take over their whole living room full time with tons of wires.
Here are the links, this price may change or the product may sell out by the time you read this
One reason this price shift is significant is that at VRLA this year in August 2016 they announced the first VR Ready desktop computer that could reach the low price of $719 dollars.
It means that all these PC companies are now in a race to the bottom to get the lowest priced VR Ready PC on the market.
That $719 PC used the new AMD GPU and it was fine for VR, but it was not portable. It’s not exactly easy to throw a midsize tower and a monitor keyboard and mouse into a luggage bag and travel with it.
A low end low cost VR ready laptop changes that equation.
Those of us who follow a lot of VR news know that there a great number of companies working on new technologies to upgrade Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality headsets far beyond what went on sale in 2016 with the HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, and Playstation VR.
So what this means in part is that the PC industry is racing towards the inevitable $500 dollar VR Ready Laptop. Then the $300 dollar VR Ready laptop.
Maybe within a year, the cheapest laptops sold will match VR Ready specifications. I mean except for Apple laptops of course.
This $999 VR Ready laptop is still more than twice as powerful as the most expensive Macbook Pro that you can buy today (for Virtual Reality applications). You still might want your Macbook Pro for it’s faster hard drive, high end display, operating system, and numerous other features. But the one thing Macbook Pro isn’t yet set up to do is VR.
For now, people who like to use the Apple Macbook Pro can consider having a second PC just for VR. It is plausible also that there will be Thunderbolt 3 external GPU chassis available for connecting a high end gaming GPU to the Macbook Pro for future VR applications. That may cost about $500 for the eGPU chassis, and between $200 and $1200 for a GPU that will be VR Ready.
At the same time we found out this year that companies like Oculus have been finding ways of lowering the computer requirements required for VR so that older computer systems can run current VR software at acceptable frame rates. I guess it’s possible that the new Oculus Asynchronous SpaceWarp technology will make something like the new Macbook Pro with the Pro Radeon 460 VR Ready, I’m not saying it will happen but the Pro Radeon 460 might be comparable to the GTX 950, and if it is that could mean that with a Windows partition a Macbook Pro could run the Oculus Touch apps, but it’s doubtful and it remains to be seen.
Regardless of what will or won’t be possible on Apple’s platform the point is that today VR got one step closer to mass adoption.
Not only because of the price, but also because of the convenience that a laptop offers over a midsize tower.
Maybe some of this is happening because of the availability of the Playstation VR, and maybe these sales are happening because it’s the Holiday sales season right now in the US but its a good sign for the VR industry. A lot more people will be packing a VR Ready laptop with a Vive or Rift & Touch set up because of simple changes like this one. This will mean more people get to try VR, and it will increase the speed of awareness and adoption by the masses.
Also when you have a VR ready laptop, you have the precursor to a VR Ready back pack. Just think about that one for a second.