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New Data: Has Influencer Marketing Jumped The Shark?
An influencer tries out a new pair of sneakers
In recent months, there's been talk in marketing circles on whether the age of the influencer has passed its peak. Open your Instagram or YouTube Apps and chances are, you'll quickly find influencers promoting everything from makeup to power tools in your feed. Using influencers to rep products and services is one of the hottest marketing trends in recent memory, but some think the practice has fallen from grace due to glaring inauthenticity--and in many cases, fraud.
In her recent Quartzy piece, "The Age of the Influencer Has Peaked. It's Time for the Slacker to Rise Again," Rosie Spinks writes :
"It’s hard to remember a time when scrolling through Instagram was anything but a thoroughly exhausting experience. Where once the social network was basically lunch and sunsets, it’s now a parade of strategically-crafted life updates, career achievements, and public vows to spend less time online (usually made by people who earn money from social media)—all framed with the carefully selected language of a press release. Everyone is striving, so very hard."
The Changing Media Landscape
To understand why influencers have become such an important piece of the marketing mix, one must understand the changing media landscape. In 2005, television and radio were the leading mass-media platforms that commanded large audiences. Marketers could easily reach their target consumers by placing ads on popular shows, or pay to have a radio personality endorse their product (anyone remember Metabolife 356?). But things changed rapidly when consumer attention shifted to social media platforms.
By 2010, consumer audiences were increasingly fragmented across a multitude of new social platforms and marketers followed closely behind. TV networks had built large audiences by airing compelling programming, but now, individuals could command large audiences themselves (followers) by posting their own compelling content to social feeds (a gorgeous sunset at an amazing resort, a dinner at a hot new restaurant, or a how-to piece on lawn care). Marketers were quickly allocating budgets to influencers who could help them reach large, targeted audiences (remember Ellen taking the Samsung selfie at the Oscars?)
Ellen's Samsung selfie
Influencing is big business. Millennials are 67% more likely to buy a product or service recommended by influencers, and are much more likely than older generations to do so, according to O'Dwyers. (Case in point, nearly half have admitted to already purchasing a product because of an influencer, compared to about 30% of Gen-Xers and Boomers.
Influencers Behaving Badly
On paper--er, on Instagram, influencing seems like just another form of product placement, a highly-regulated practice that's been successful on other media platforms for years. In reality, some recent influencer abuses have tarnished the practice of influencer marketing.
Yes, ladies and gentlemen, the influencer hangover has arrived and marketers are demanding accountability!
Marketers are doing their homework, using AI-enabled platforms to keep a sharp eye on influencer campaigns. These platforms have unearthed a rash of influencer fraud including so-called "influencers" gaming the system by paying thousands to bot farms to boost followers, costing companies millions of dollars in influencer fraud. There's also bad behavior being questioned including countless stories of influencers breaking the law to get a perfect shot, individuals demanding luxurious vacations in exchange for a few Instagram posts, or some influencers literally dying for attention. And, there's the recent story of Olivia Jade Giannulli, the social media influencer and 19-year old daughter of actress Lori Loughlin, who lost brand deals as a result of the highly-publicized college admissions scandal.
Recently, regulators have joined the marketing industry in taking a closer look at social media influencers. A growing chorus of stakeholders are calling on Washington to regulate influencers, just like government agencies already do for other forms of advertising and product placement. These basic consumer protections are needed in the ever expanding digital world.
The Numbers Don't Lie, Even if Some Influencers Do
With two-thirds of millennials more likely to purchase products or services because of influencers, and nearly half already confirming purchases, it's strong evidence that influencers are here to stay. Perhaps the short-lived "golden age of influencing" has passed, where anything goes (and went). Perhaps it's time for a sobering dose of regulation. But remember, according to the data, influencers are a preferred method of marketing for millennials, the largest generation in our nation's history.
So, have influencers jumped the shark? No. The industry is normalizing and influencers should be part of the overall marketing mix of brands.


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CDProjekt Red has just announced that their digital trading card game GWENT that spun off the inrcredibly successful The Witcher series will be hitting mobile devices later this year. While iOS is currently confirmed for a 2019 release, the date for Android is still up in the air and will be announced at a later date.
To quote CDPR's Jason Slama, the Game Director of GWENT: The Witcher Card Game“We’ve been preparing long and hard to adapt GWENT to smartphones,” said Jason “Beautiful visuals aside, we’ve tailored much of our technology, including GOG Galaxy which powers GWENT’s multiplayer, to support mobile devices. I think our vision for bringing GWENT to smartphones combines the best we have to offer both in terms of graphics and gameplay. I can’t wait to share more details on the subject with you later this year.”
It'll be fun to see how GWENT makes the jump to portable devices. I would've preferred to see an announcement on a possible Switch version, but this is the next best thing. Hopefully it'll spur me to finally take the plunge and get good at it!
Eduardo Rebouças, NoobFeed

domain: news


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The main benefits of Intel’s new agreement with Brookfield are that it will cut the cost of building a brand-new facility and that its dividend will remain secure for the time being. The partnership between Intel and Brookfield to invest up to $30 billion in the new Arizona semiconductor production facility was unveiled on Tuesday. 51% are funded by Intel, and 49% by Brookfield. According to Citi analyst Chris Danely, “Intel benefits from access to $15 billion in funding and Brookfield will share the cash flows of the fabs,” which refers to the foundries where chips are made.
“Before the fabs start producing chips, the deal should be marginally accretive to Intel, and it
should be somewhat depletive once they start. Although the agreement should allay concerns about Intel’s ability to pay its dividend in 2023, we think Intel’s improved production is the most important issue. We think the business could have to reduce capital expenditures to keep the dividend if Intel keeps losing market share to AMD.” One of the first Wall Street analysts to publicly cite Intel’s dividend as maybe not being secure in its current form is Danely, who has a neutral rating on Intel’s shares.
While the business navigates the difficult PC market conditions and invests billions to construct new factories to produce chips for other companies, the dividend is unlikely to be in jeopardy in the medium term. About $32 billion in cash and equivalents were on hand at the end of the most recent quarter for Intel. In each of the last two years, the corporation has distributed dividends totaling almost $5.6 billion. However, Danely’s suggestion to be concerned about Intel’s dividend in 2023 is not without merit.
In response to a surprising second-quarter earnings loss and a reduction in the full-year earnings outlook, Intel informed investors in late July that it anticipates the total addressable market for PCs this year to decline by 10%. Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger stated on Yahoo Finance Live that “we saw major inventory corrections on the part of our customers.” Analysts claim that the corporation lost additional market share in its important data center industry to rival AMD. According to Gelsinger, the fourth quarter will see trends improve as people buy PCs for the holidays, with the third quarter serving as the company’s low point. The price of Intel’s stock, which yields over 4%, has fallen 34% so far in 2022.
For more news like this stay tuned with newsconduct.com


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BILDIT Finds Development “Suite” Spot to Build Consumer Loyalty and Increase Conversions by 25% with Easy, Affordable and Secure Native M-Commerce App
BILDIT, already the leading native mobile app development platform specially designed for retail and brand ecommerce, announced its official launch today. BILDIT’s suite of fully-customizable features create immersive and personalized native mobile ecommerce app experiences that can increase conversions by 25%. The company already has an impressive roster of customers, including Forever 21 and Belk Group, among others, as well as partners, Astound Commerce and Radius Networks.
“Though it may feel like every retailer has one, only the top 5% of the world’s retail companies have native ecommerce mobile apps, which drive 10% to 15% more sales than websites,” says BILDIT CEO and Co-Founder Matt Hudson. “We launched BILDIT to lower the barrier to entry by making fully native m-commerce apps ultra-accessible and ultra-affordable for a broader range of retailers.”
Native m-commerce app adoption has lagged behind web development because:
- While retailers have multiple options when choosing a web development solution for their e-commerce sites, there are few to no affordable, fast and secure options for native mobile app development.
- M-commerce requires IT teams with experience in both iOS and Android app development, as well as web development.
- Until now, m-commerce app dev has been prohibitively expensive and time-consuming for all but the largest retailers.
- Progressive Web Apps have benefits but are limited in performance, don’t provide a true app experience and have further limitations on iOS. “No code” is restrictive and doesn’t allow for true customization of the app development. Few options offer easy pre-built native apps that still allow developers to make granular coding changes.
Despite this, native apps have higher conversion rates, don’t require repeated customer log-ins, and are faster, more secure and dependable than third party apps. BILDIT is changing the playing field for native mobile app development by solving the cost, speed and security challenges that have stopped this industry from moving forward. BILDIT can be used as a fast turnkey solution for native app development or enable users to fully customize their app to completely make it their own. By partnering with ecommerce development giants like Salesforce, ShopifyPlus, SAP, Magento, and Big Commerce, BILDIT helps clients harness the power of native apps to give customers a premium shopping experience and retailers the flexibility to grow fast.
“While at Amazon, our team recognized across digital shopping platforms that for every 100ms of added page load, it cost the company 1% in revenue,” Ryan Terry, President and Co-founder, BILDIT. “If you are a medium to large scale enterprise, this is an unacceptable KPI. BILDIT is designed with speed in mind. By building world-class features ahead of time, all ecommerce enterprises need to think about is customization to their brand.”
Finding the Development “Suite” Spot
BILDIT allows users to rebuild existing apps or start fresh using a full suite of features, including:
BILDIT’s CMS: Allowing marketing and business teams to easily create and manage their own mobile content reduces reliance on front-end developers. With BILDIT’s CMS, clients can create and store all app promotions, banners, images, carousels and interactive content in one place, manage products and categories, easily schedule banners and new content, maintain multiple versions of an app, see changes in real time, and manage remotely across all platforms.
BILDIT’s App Clip SDK: Retailers can quickly implement App Clips into their app UI. With an App Clip, consumers can view products and make purchases by scanning a QR code, bar code, or clicking a special web link. It also enables customers to seamlessly transition into the full app experience and allows the retailer to test new app features prior to full implementation.
BILDIT’s Sample App: A fully built sample app allows retailers to easily adapt it to their brand or project. The sample app includes pre-built product detail pages, secure and fast-loading point-of-sale pages, native checkout and full customization.
BILDIT’s Native Checkout: One-finger one-step checkout removes barriers to purchase and builds customer loyalty. With BILDIT’s Native Checkout app, content loads faster, navigation is easier, data is more secure, and customers are ensured a premium shopping experience.
“Think about how convenient it is to order through your favorite phone apps, and you can see why the huge mobile retailers are clobbering everybody. They designed those apps to live on our phones because they know that mobile shoppers are loyal and they spend more,” says Hudson. “We’ve taken the time to craft a premium mobile app development platform so that the hard part is already done, cutting development time and cost in half for our clients, while giving them the same type of ease and convenience consumers have come to expect.”
The full BILDIT Suite operates on both iPhone and Android phones for the Apple App Store and Google Play Store.
BILDIT is changing the playing field for e-retailers building native mobile apps by solving the cost, speed and security challenges that have plagued this industry. BILDIT creates native apps that give customers a premium shopping experience and retailers the flexibility to grow quickly. BILDIT’s suite of fully-customizable features create immersive and personalized native mobile ecommerce app experiences that can increase conversions by 25%. Leading e-commerce retail brands are already taking advantage of BILDIT, including Forever 21 and Belk, among others, as well as partners, Astound Commerce and Radius Networks.


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NEW DELHI: Come November and you will see the effect of the revised tariff order on your power bills. A day after DERC announced the revised tariff, reverting to the original slabs, the three discoms - Tata Power Delhi Distribution Ltd (TPDDL), and Reliance groups BRPL (Rajdhani) and BYPL (Yamuna) - gave assurance that the bill generated for November will incorporate all the adjustments.
"It is a tedious job which will require software upgrade. But we are on the job to ensure that the November bill shows the amount credited after the adjustments. We are trying to attach all the details with the bill issued to the consumers," said Praveer Sinha, CEO, TPDDL.
The order that has abolished the contentious 0-400 units slab will come into effect retrospectively from July 1. According to DERC calculations the new tariff will reduce power bills of about 9 lakh consumers falling in 200-400 units slab by 10%-15%. Depending on the use of appliances, the relief in some cases can be as high as 22%, while in others it may be as low as 3%-4%. Also, consumers in 400 and above units slab will have to pay 10 paisa more for per unit power consumption. The new tariff order has raised the per unit charge in this slab from Rs 6.4 to Rs 6.5 per unit.
"These are not simple calculations, but we are trying to do them at the earliest in compliance of the DERC order. The adjustments will be have to be made at once," said Gopal Saxena, CEO of BRPL. Officials of BYPL, too, confirmed that the discom has already started working on bill adjustments.
Discom sources said the revised tariff will cause an annual revenue loss of Rs 200 to 220 crore to all three discoms combined. BRPL that caters to the maximum number of consumers will see a revenue loss of Rs 80 to 90 crore (approx), while other two discoms will lose around Rs 60 crore per annum.
"This is true but we have no choice but to follow DERC orders," Saxena added.
The new tariff order, which abolishes the contentious 0-400 units slab, will come into effect retrospectively from July 1


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Starting today and running throughout the month of December, we will be highlighting the Top 5 Internet Marketing Stories of 2011 as a 5-part series on our Rewind podcast.
Each week, we will post highlights of a story that impacted the world of internet marketing and we showcase how it was reported by our show hosts as it happened. We have posted the first episode which showcases the launch of Google Plus.
Here is our upcoming Rewind schedule:
Week if December 5th-Carol Bartz, Yahoos Chief Executive, Is Fired.
Week of December 12th-Retail giant JC Penney is punished by the Google web spam team for engaging in black hat link building tactics for SEO.
Week of December 19th-Google Plus 1 Button is Introduced.
Week of December 26th-The Google Farmer/Panda Algorithm Launch


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The war between Madonna and her record label is starting to heat up, as the singer has finally spoken out about Warner Music Group's lawsuit against Maverick Records, the boutique imprint she owns with it in a partnership that's ending this year.
"I find myself in the ludicrous position of being sued by my own record company," Madonna said in a statement, "whom I have been loyal, industrious and reliable to for over 20 years. For them to behave this way is nothing short of treason."
The two record labels filed lawsuits against each other late last month, after negotiations to resolve the ending partnership faltered between Madonna's partners in Maverick and WMG's new chief executive and part owner, Edgar Bronfman Jr. At the heart of the dispute was the value of the 60 percent share Madonna and her partners Guy Oseary and Ronnie Dashev co-owned, and whether Warner would buy out that share when its agreement with Maverick runs out on December 31.
But on March 24, Warner Music filed a "preemptive" suit in Delaware, asking the court to affirm that it had not breached its contract with Maverick and that it has no further obligation to the label. In the complaint, WMG claims that Maverick has amassed $66 million in loses since 1999. The suit also reveals that WMG expects to be paid $92.5 million before Maverick would be able to make an offer for WMG's 40 percent share of the joint venture — the alleged losses plus repayment of a $20 million loan plus a $6.5 million "special fee."
The next day, Maverick filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court against WMG, claiming that the record label group failed to keep up its end of the joint venture due to fraud and improper accounting. Maverick, which is home to such artists as Alanis Morissette and Michelle Branch, claimed that WMG "repeatedly and willfully" breached its 1992 joint-venture pact, manipulating figures to show that Maverick was losing money by not crediting it with the profits generated by the manufacture, distribution and international sales of Maverick releases, which they estimate are in the realm of $100 million. The suit alleges the label had to spend $30 million in promotion, publicity, new media, sales and marketing expenses — which WMG was required to pay under the pact. The suit also charges that Warner coerced them to settle a lawsuit with Branch to keep her manager happy, since the manager represents other Warner Music artists.
In addition to damages to be determined, though it's estimated to be more than $200 million, the suit also seeks a declaration that the label has the right to terminate the joint venture.
Madonna, who is preparing for her world tour, owes two more albums to Warner Bros. Records. Meanwhile, Morissette's new album, So-Called Chaos, is due in May.
The next court date in the case is May 7, when a Delaware judge will hear a motion to stay Warner's action to allow the California complaint to proceed.


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Toronto, Canada, August 25, 2015 – 3C Contact Services (www.3CContactServices.com), North America’s premier cost-effective provider of contact center solutions for small and medium-sized businesses, is weighing in on a study on customer service interactions via social media.
A recent article in Forbes shows that an increasing amount of customer service interactions are taking place online rather than in person or over the phone, with 80% taking place on Twitter and the other 20% on Facebook. Using this information as a basis, three professionals spoke on what businesses should and should not do when interacting with customers over social media channels. (Source: Solomon, M., “Social Media Customer Service: 3 Speakers, 12 Best Practices,” Forbes web site, August 9, 2015; http://www.forbes.com/sites/micahsolomon/2015/08/09/social-media-customer-service-speaking-about-tweeting-an-experts-roundtable.)
“For many companies, dealing with customers via social media is a new, and sometimes intimidating, frontier,” says Damian Reyes, Customer Service Manager at 3C Contact Services. “There are a lot of common social media customer service mistakes that can be easily avoided.”
The article recommends the hiring of agents that have social media savvy and customer service experience. An organization’s social media channels should also include a prompt response to any issues a client may have. The experts also recommend not going on the defensive when responding to complaints.
Other wise practices include following up with customers and remembering to ask beforehand how they would like a response: via e-mail, instant messaging, or a phone call. It’s also recommended that an agent have a customer’s profile to be sure that they are a client and not just someone looking to cause trouble on social media. Clear internal communication is also essential, especially if different departments share the same social media contacts.
Some of the other recommendations include treating a complaint on social media the same as one that the customer would deliver in person or on the phone. Diplomacy is a must too; a tweet or status update can be screen-capped even if it has been deleted. Finally, always thank the customer for bringing attention to any issues.
“An increasing number of dissatisfied customers are turning to social media to vent their frustrations, and these complaints can often go viral—and not in the good way,” Reyes concludes. “By using social media wisely for the purposes of customer service, an organization can avoid any negative fallout.”
3C Contact Services provides its partners with the tips they need to avoid the problems that happen when a company’s social media-based customer service fails. For more information, visit www.3CContactServices.com.


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Counterpart and Beelman’s are teaming up with tech startup Choco for an anti-food waste pop-up taking place from November 19th-21st.
RELATED: Maya's Cookies Opens a Brick-and-Mortar in San Diego
Want even more vegan news, food, and lifestyle content? Subscribe to VegOut Magazine!
Food waste is a massive problem in the US. Approximately 40% of all food produced goes uneaten, making up 133 billion pounds in landfills and totaling $161 billion of food disposed per year. While the problem occurs at every stage from farm to table, food suppliers and restaurants carry a heavy part of the responsibility.
Choco is a new app that provides free order management technology to restaurants and food suppliers in efforts to transition the world to sustainable food systems. The company joined forces with three popular LA restaurants to host an anti-waste pop-up, Waste is Gold.
The restaurants have all created new dishes or repurposed existing menu items to utilize food waste ingredients. Two of the three participating restaurants are vegan—Counterpart and Beelman’s. The Beelman’s team is serving a tomato soup made with leftover vegetables. Chef Mimi Williams of Counterpart Vegan crafted a farmers market ratatouille with handmade spaghetti and various parts of squash, including those typically discarded. “Our team is focused on sustainability and that includes utilizing as much of our produce as possible. Specifically in creating the ratatouille, I considered how versatile squash is and thought of different ways to implement it into the dish. The squash is not only one of the key featured ingredients on the plate but is also repurposed in the sauce,” shared Williams.
The limited-edition menu items can be ordered for outdoor dining or takeout from November 19th through the 21st. For more information, visit my.choco.com/wasteisgold.
Not able to make it to the pop-up? When asked how we as consumers can aid the fight against food waste, Mimi Williams told us, “to support restaurants that practice sustainability. At home, I urge everyone to think twice before throwing away vegetable and fruit scraps. You never know what can be repurposed into a sauce, spread, or creative garnish.”


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Elon Musk has been a vocal advocate of Dogecoin and has aided in the growth of the first meme coin. On October 24, he revealed the real reason for his support for a meme-based cryptocurrency in a tweet.
Musk responded to a Dogecoin tweet by millionaire Glauber Contessoto on Twitter. He told a lot of people at his Tesla car firm and SpaceX, the space-based satellite corporation that owns Dogecoin.
He went on to say that Dogecoin feels like a human cryptocurrency because its supporters aren’t financial or Silicon Valley specialists.
Contessoto’s tweet was on a survey that revealed Dogecoin was owned by one-third of all crypto owners in the United States. Musk reaffirmed his support for the meme-based cryptocurrency as a result of this.
Musk’s support for Doge was warmly received by the Doge community. Many Dogecoin owners, according to Contessoto, do not come from qualifying domains and seek financial assistance from professionals in unconnected Silicon Valley.
Musk was hailed for his support of the meme coin. Dogecoin was created in 2013 by Jackson Palmer and Billy Markus as a social media joke and satire.
According to a recent survey conducted by Finder, an Australian cryptocurrency research firm, Sown Dogecoin has more users than any other cryptocurrency. According to research, Dogecoin has the greatest adoption rate in the United States, with 30.6 percent of crypto owners owning the cryptocurrency.


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Those who do business in Crested Butte are well aware of the challenges — whether in the availability of workforce housing, finding enough employees or the high cost of operations. However, another predicament for Elk Avenue establishments is the rising cost of rent for commercial properties.
“Our rent is really expensive now,” said Kay Peterson Cook, owner of Donita’s Cantina. “My husband always jokes we work for the landlord, basically.”
Donita’s is finally closing its doors after more than 30 years. The decision is the culmination of several factors, including the end of a 20-year lease at the end of next month. To renew the agreement, Donita’s lease would increase by 50 percent.
“For these kind of rents, the amount of business that we have, it doesn't match,” added Cook.
Like other nearby businesses, Donita’s currently pays what’s referred to as a “triple-net” lease — or a lease agreement whereby the tenant promises to pay all expenses, including property taxes, building insurance and general maintenance.
“So many of the buildings are doing the triple-net thing,” said owner Winnie Haver of Pema Dawa, a local craft and jewelry shop that’s been open on Elk Avenue for nearly two decades.
Closing up shop
At the end of this month, Haver will be closing her business, primarily because of a rent increase of approximately $500 each month and the additional costs of a triple-net lease.
“Rent was going to be difficult enough but if the property taxes go up, then all a sudden I have to pay that much more a month,” said Haver.
During snowy winters, the cost of removal for the shop increases as well, adding another unique strain to operations, said Haver.
These payments are in addition to the fees for rent and utilities, and those costs add up, said Cook.
For restaurants and other business owners in Crested Butte, there is also the element of the off-season which can present challenges. According to Cook, Donita’s has five solid months of business outside of the slower shoulder seasons.
“The offseason is getting shorter and shorter, but when you’re paying the kind of rent that we do here, you need to have people that want to come here and spend money,” explained Cook.
To understand the real estate market on Elk Avenue, Cook looks to Niky’s Mini Donuts. The business opened in recent years and is caddy-corner from Donita’s.
According to owner Kim Machemehl, the business is for sale — for an asking price of $2.9 million. The price includes the business as well as its commercial space and a living quarters.
“You really have to be on Elk to get the foot traffic,” explained Haver, noting other spots in Crested Butte off the beaten path don't see the same amount of people to make business feasible.
Situation different in city
The City of Gunnison, on the other hand, is working to entice business owners to rent commercial spaces available in city limits — in large part to encourage economic development while avoiding urban sprawl into the unincorporated county.
Some commercial properties in Gunnison remained on the market for extended periods of time in recent years, and rents don’t appear to be increasing like they are on Elk Avenue. However, commercial activity is afoot.
Most notable is a new office building being constructed on the corner of Denver and Main Street, Pie-Zan’s remodel of the former Pizza Hut at 11th Street and Tomichi, and the Colorado West Investments and NuVista Credit Union office construction along North Main.
But unlike the City of Gunnison where business can be found on Main Street, Tomichi Avenue and other areas, when it comes to Crested Butte, restaurant and retail business is largely concentrated on Elk Avenue.
“Obviously, it’s time for me to be done because all these roadblocks are being put up,” added Cook of troubles with finding employees and affordable housing.
Yet, the trends seen in Crested Butte also mirror other municipalities that have struggled with gentrification. Take San Francisco, for example. What used to be a quirky collection of all types of people has transformed into one of the largest tech hubs in America.
The Bay Area is home to more billionaires per capita than anywhere on Earth — one of every 11,600 residents, according to Vox.
And one of the biggest indicators of the city’s shifting character is the rising rents. It’s not uncommon these days to see a parking lot sell for more than $3 million in San Francisco.
According to the Washington Post, one restaurant in the city saw their rent spike 62 percent last year — and with the cost of living on the rise, local residents are slowly being pushed out.
While that kind of change may not be as widespread for Crested Butte, the closure of shops from similar rental hikes still hits close to home.
“I can’t imagine how somebody else can come in to start a business,” said Cook.
(Kate Gienapp can be reached at 970.641.1414 or firstname.lastname@example.org.)


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SHI International (formerly known as Software House International) is a global provider of information technology products and solutions including Cloud Solutions. The company operates in North America, Europe and Asia.
The California Court of Appeals has held that a private retirement plan formed for the purpose of defeating creditors, and not for retirement purposes, is not entitled to the creditor exemption of CCP 704.115(a)(1).
According to the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), the world’s largest cruise industry trade organization, 32 million passengers are set to travel on cruise ships in 2020, up from 30 million in 2019.
As in 2019, Thanksgiving fell late in 1939, and FDR worried that a short holiday shopping season would sap the still-struggling economy. His solution? Move up Thanksgiving, a decision that sparked remarkable holiday disunity.


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by Apparel Resources News-Desk
5 months ago | 3 mins read
As ‘logomania’ returns, several big -pocket heritage brands are getting ready to cash on the trend. Italian luxury label Fendi has also announced a big update to its logo, citing social media friendliness or simple ‘Instagrammability’ as the main driver for this change.
To celebrate this update, the brand is launching a capsule collection that will be wildly monogrammed with the archival square ‘FF’ logo that was earlier used in the ’70s – everything from joggers and crop tops to sneakers and fur slides will sport the new hallmark.
The collection will initially be exclusively launched on Net-a-porter on April 13 and soon be rolled out on Fendi’s own website and other outlets. On April 19, a pop-up will be hosted at the Dubai Mall Fashion Catwalk which will be designed to look like Fendi’s Roman HQ in an inflatable form as an opportunity to tap the young Middle Eastern consumers.
Everything about Fendi’s new strategy will be steered with the millennial clientele and its younger siblings Gen-Z in mind.
In keeping up with Fendi’s Instagram awakening, a street crowd-approved party will also be hosted at a hidden graffiti tunnel in artsy South London. The event will go beyond the launch of the line to showcase the brand’s new urbanized vision with graffiti artists painting their interpretations of the new logo, hip-hop performances and DJ-ing from the street world’s favourite Disco Smack, among others.
With original Karl Lagerfeld sketches of Fendi’s logos back in the ’60s, to his new work as the brand’s long-standing creative head, the event aims to commemorate both Fendi’s heritage and future in the same place.
Silvia Venturini Fendi, the last member of the Fendi family still working with the house, said, “Looking back to the ’70s and ’80s, I have images of Sophia Loren or Catherine Deneuve or Lady Diana wearing the logo. It’s always been the same but it adapted to so many different women, decades and generations. It connects everyone and when I see my children wearing the logo I realise that it’s going to be here forever because the younger generation like things that have longevity.”
The logo revamp is just one of the many changes heating up in Fendi’s rooster. The heritage house is also excited about the new ‘drops’ format of releasing products, wherein brands can create small storied collections that have “a quicker start and finish date. It’s interesting that you can find the logo line now, but you probably won’t be able to find it in a few months,” Venturini Fendi added.


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Verizon closing call centers in New York, nationwide
Chris Carola is reporting for the Associated Press Verizon has announced it will close call centers in five states, including New York. The impending loss of jobs prompted Governor Andrew Cuomo's office to label the move as “corporate abuse.” The company said Thu., Oct. 13, a consolidation of its call centers will impact about 3,200 workers near Rochester and New York City, as well as in Maine, Nebraska, Connecticut and California. Verizon employs 162,000 people nationwide. A Verizon Communications Inc. spokesperson said workers were notified Wednesday. All are being offered jobs at other company sites or severance packages if they decide not to relocate, she said. Rich Azzopardi, a Cuomo spokesman, called Verizon’s move “an egregious example of corporate abuse. Verizon’s negligence is astounding and as a result, hard-working New Yorkers will lose their jobs,” he said. Earlier this week the company announced job cuts in its national retail stores as it deals with increasing competition in the wireless industry. Read the full Associated Press story in the Daily Freeman.


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Juniper made a number of changes to its Partner Advantage program, since the new version was launched a year ago.
The networking vendor recently revealed that it experienced 18 per cent growth in the APAC region during its second quarter.
Mitch Lewis, Juniper Networks APAC vice president partners and alliances, explained it experienced a number of quarters in a row of Asia Pacific growth, and that it wasn’t just because of its products and people, but also its partner programs.
As part of its channel transformation strategy, Juniper is setting up a shared partner service centre and will be rolling out specialisations in its partner program.
The vendor will also be expanding its Champion Program beyond system engineers to also include sales, marketing and channel professionals.


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The spring semester has begun. Spring conjures up images of fresh leaves on the trees, fun in the sun after a long winter, putting away the winter coats and breaking out the shorts and t-shirts. But, as anyone who has lived in Slippery Rock knows, winter can certainly take its time turning into spring. It’s not uncommon in this area to experience snowfall as late as April.
Fortunately, there are few outdoor activities that do not have indoor alternatives. Indoor tracks and treadmills substitute for outdoor running. Indoor swimming pools make any day a good day for a swim. And for those who like their skin to maintain a golden hue, tanning salons are an alternative to lying in the sun.
Dreary weather needn’t stop people from getting a good tan, and some people continue to use tanning salons even in the summer months. Indoor tanning beds make a nice golden tan a quick and easy commodity.
However, it is known that ultraviolet radiation from the sun can cause skin cancer and a number of other skin-related problems. With this information as common knowledge, it seems strange that people continue to pay to expose themselves to artificial ultraviolet radiation.
Studies show that frequent sunbathing and indoor tanning may be a type of addictive behavior. Is indoor tanning a harmless hobby or a harmful habit? Is there such a thing as a tanning addiction?
A 2005 study by researchers at the University of Texas concluded that frequent tanners exhibit behavior that could be classified as “addiction to the sun” or “ultraviolet radiation dependency.”
The study involved evaluating sunbathers who continued to spend time in the sun in spite of knowing that the behavior is bad for them.
The study reported that the subjects showed symptoms that are common in cases of alcohol and drug dependency. Such symptoms include being aware of the danger and feelings of guilt associated with the continued behavior.
Renee Bateman, Coordinator for Health Promotion, recommends that people consult with their dermatologist or primary care provider for safety guidelines when it comes to indoor tanning.
“It might ultimately depend on your skin type,” Bateman said. “Those who are fairer skinned might have more problems. It’s good to be outside. It’s good to have exposure to the sun as long as you’re protecting yourself appropriately and using sunscreen. In a tanning bed a lot of people are not using sunscreen.”
Bateman said that frequency of tanning is also a factor in one’s potential risk for skin cancer.
“Skin cancers and different types of cancer, as well as premature aging, depending on how often people are going, would be the main concern,” Bateman said.
Bateman recommends that all students follow the recommendations of the Center for Disease Control (CDC) in regards to skin protection and tanning. The CDC recommends year-round protection from the ultraviolet rays of the sun by the wearing of hats and long sleeved shirts, and using shade and sunscreen.
The CDC recommends avoiding indoor tanning, which exposes a person to direct ultraviolet radiation. A suntan is, in fact, the skin’s response to damage from the sun, according to the CDC.
The CDC cites both indoor and outdoor tanning as being linked to skin and eye cancer.
Sophomore early education and special education major and frequent indoor tanner Kellie Sub, 19, believes that indoor tanning can be harmful for those who do not take appropriate precautions.
“My sister actually used to work in a tanning salon, so a lot of the things I know I’ve learned from her, because she’s had to take classes to get certified in it,” Sub said. “I’ve been at her work and seen people coming every single day all throughout the year, and you can tell it’s really taking a toll on their skin.”
Sub considers tanning to be a nice way to relax at the end of a long day. She tans every other day and not all year round.
“I feel like it’s just an easier way to get tanner,” Sub said. “I wouldn’t consider it addicting. You try to take precautions by using lotions and wearing goggles. It can definitely hurt your skin if you don’t use lotion.”
In 2005, Archives of Dermatology, a journal of the American Medical Association, published a study, which concluded that individuals who frequently and repetitively use indoor tanning can develop symptoms similar to a substance-related disorder.
Despite dermatologists’ warnings that ultraviolet radiation is the leading cause of skin cancer, tanning salons continue to flourish.


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While many have consider the fate of the MeeGo-based Nokia N9 sealed even before it hits the shelves later this year, others are optimistically assessing the potential of the platform and its ecosystem.
In the meanwhile, another titbit of information has appeared that might just change the equation quite a bit – a high-performance Android emulator known as Alien Dalvik will be developed for MeeGo sometime later this year. This will enable Nokia N9 and other MeeGo mobile users to run non-ported, unmodified Android applications.
All Android app developers will have to do is to repack the .apk installer. Made by Myriad, the Alien Dalvik emulator is different from other such software in that it is designed to take full advantage of the hardware, and therefore performance is not expected to be an issue. Any further, more complex features can be integrated using the Android SDK that Myriad provides.


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Japan’s giant carmaker Toyota has announced a major recall of its latest redesigned Prius hybrid sedan to fix a parking brake glitch.
The company said in a statement on Wednesday that it is recalling 340,000 units of the Prius globally, including 212,000 in Japan and 92,000 of the 2016 and 2017 models in the US.
The balance would be recalled in Europe, Australia and other regions, Toyota added in its statement.
The company said the parking brake cable can disengage unexpectedly, causing the brakes to stop working properly. So if the car is left in any gear other than park, it could start rolling away, and possibly crash, reported the Associated Press.
"On the involved vehicles, there is a possibility that the parking brake could become inoperative," read part of the statement as reported by the USA Today. "If this occurs and the driver exits the vehicle with the transmission in a gear other than ‘Park’ while the ignition is on, the vehicle could roll away, increasing the risk of a crash."
A Toyota spokeswoman told Reuters that no accidents had been reported in Japan in connection with the glitch. She, however, declined to comment on whether any accidents had occurred overseas.
Toyota Motor Corp admitted receiving reports of crashes, injuries and deaths, but refused to give details, saying it was still looking into the reports, added a related report by the Associated Press.
Toyota ranks third among the world’s top 10 car manufacturers with the most vehicles recalled.
The world’s top two are Honda (above 13 million cars) and General Motors (above 10 million cars). Toyota’s record is above 8 million cars.


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NEW YORK — Microsoft had to buy Nokia’s cellphone business if it wanted its Windows Phone 8 OS to remain a viable competitor in the smartphone OS wars, but the OS’s success is far from assured, analysts said.
The deep-pocked software giant will have to spend a lot of money, execute smartly, and do what it can to ensure that other smartphone makers do not back away from their commitment to license the Microsoft OS for their devices, analysts said.
Microsoft and Nokia expect the purchase to be complete in the first quarter of next year. The $7.17 billion deal includes a 10-year license of Nokia’s patent portfolio at a value of $2.17 billion and the purchase of cosmetic-design patents.
Nokia accounts for 85 percent of global Windows Phone 8 shipments, according to Canaccord, but the company’s handset division continues to post operating losses. Through a close two-year partnership, Nokia and Microsoft have been able to boost Windows Phone’s worldwide share, surpassing BlackBerry, but Windows Phone 8 still accounted for only 3.3 percent of second-quarter share compared to 14 percent for iOS and 79 percent for Android, Gartner research shows.
In a conference call, Microsoft operating systems executive VP Terry Myerson saw the purchase as “unlocking our potential to win in mobile devices.” He and other executives said the integration of Nokia’s manufacturing and marketing capabilities with Microsoft would enable the company to more deeply integrate the OS with hardware, accelerate innovation, and create the scale to compete against Apple and Android. Licensing the Windows OS to OEMs, Myerson added, is “prohibitively expensive from a marketing standpoint.”
The merged companies will also be able to present one brand with a unified voice, simplifying the consumer branding message, they said.
The acquisition will deliver “faster innovation, better products, and unified branding and marketing,” said Stephen Elop, formerly Nokia CEO and now Nokia’s device division executive VP. The company will also be able to “invest more resources” in growth, he added. Elop will become executive VP of Microsoft devices when the acquisition closes.
Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said the acquisition wouldn’t drive existing smartphones licensees away because Microsoft will get the opportunity to “blaze trails” as a first-party supplier. The company also contends that it has strong relationships in place with other-brand tablet makers despite last year’s launch of Microsoft-brand tablets.
Microsoft has targeted a market share of 15 percent by 2018.
Industry analyst Mark Lowenstein said Microsoft has a few things going for it, including “tons of cash” and a desire by carriers and the app-developer community to support “a third ecosystem to counterbalance Apple and Google.”
Lowenstein added, “Microsoft and Nokia are two companies with incredible resources, talent, patents, marquee products, and R&D capabilities. “If Steve Ballmer, his successor, and the executive team can make all of these hum and place the right strategic bets, and execute on them, Microsoft still has a shot of being a meaningful player in mobile.”
For Futuresource Consulting analyst Oliver Rowntree, the acquisition won’t be successful unless it “can drive apps development for Windows to compete with the momentum of iOS and Android.” He also warned that “by moving into smartphone hardware, Microsoft may alienate possible OEM partners who could potentially run Windows OS as they will be competing with them as a hardware vendor.”
Despite past failures in marketing hardware, Microsoft could make a go of the Nokia opportunity because it “will have access to Nokia’s engineering resources and channel relationships worldwide, which will be essential to its success in the mobile market,” he said.
Ronan de Renesse of Analysys Mason agreed. “The biggest opportunity for Microsoft is in the non-smartphone space,” he said. “Microsoft will gain a foothold in developing market via Nokia’s non-Lumia device portfolio in China, Middle East and Africa, and Latin America.”
Tony Cripps, principal device analyst at Ovum, warned, “There is still much to resolve if the acquisition is really to have meaningful impact.” Although the two companies “have jointly been increasing the money flow through the Windows Phone marketing faucet of late, it will take mega bucks to take on Apple and Android head-cheerleader Samsung for marketing volume and volume shipments.”


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Shares of GameStop (GME -0.43%) are starting off the new year on the right foot, launching out of the gate with a 3.9% gain in morning trading Monday. The video game retailer was one of the top five performing stocks in all the market in 2021, with a 687% gain, but it has been trending mostly lower over the past three months.
Most of GameStop's gains, of course, came from the meme stock trading frenzy in January and February of last year, but its stock has defied the expectations of many analysts who didn't believe it could sustain its valuation over time.
While there is no specific news to account for GameStop's jump this morning, the video game retailer is continuing to implement its vision of transforming into an online business that can better meet the needs of gamers who are increasingly moving to digital gaming.
Part of the problem for Wall Street has been the tight-lipped policy of management in explaining exactly what it will do to effect the change it desperately needs. Its last earnings report underwhelmed the market as performance continued to decline with no evident results of its plan.
Volatility will continue to be the watchword for GameStop and other meme stocks, which tend to trade more on internet chatter than the fundamentals of the business. Yet the pandemic showed GameStop was still the go-to place, and because the retailer saw a 1,500% increase in online traffic during the lockdown, it indicated there was hope for it to successfully make the transition to becoming "the Amazon of video games."


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Those with Higher Incomes More Confident About Future Economy
An April 2009 online Barometer survey conducted by Ipsos Mendelsohn as reported by MediaPost, found that among adults with an income of $100,000 or greater, the highest income segment — those with a household income of $200,000 — did not cite the economy as their number one concern; instead, choosing “corruption/scandals,” followed by “moral decline.” As a whole, affluent consumers were also more optimistic than pessimistic when asked about the future of the U.S. economy.
Interestingly, every subgroup either measured by age, gender or household income reported optimistic points of view about the future of the U.S. economy, with the most positive being, again, affluent consumers.
When asked about the recession, 39 percent of affluent consumers said they think it will end in 2010. “Next year” was also the strongest belief of every group surveyed regardless of gender, age or household income. Most positive about a 2010 turnaround were the 18-34 year-olds (55%), while women were both the least hopeful (30 percent) and most undecided (23 percent).
How are you marketing to your customers of different income segments? Do you notice a difference in their levels of optimism?
Contact me at firstname.lastname@example.org or via Twitter @stevekleber.


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Digital Lifestyle Expo and Symposium — DLexpo for short — is coming to New York City on Sunday, Sept. 26, 2004, after a successful West Coast launch in Long Beach, Calif. last month. DLexpo offers practical advice for people interested in digital photography, DVD creation, Web site creation, digital video editing and more.
DLexpo takes place on the second floor of the Marriott Marquis hotel in Times Square, and features speakers including New York Times technology columnist David Pogue, Andy Ihnatko from the Chicago Sun-Times, Colin Smith, founder of Photoshop Cafe, David Barrett of R/com Networks, Apple’s Don Henderson and Apple Distinguished Educators. Early registration for DLexpo costs US$79, or $99 after Sept. 18. Educators can register for $59 by Sept. 18 as well.


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New Michaels Store 'Crafts' $1,500 in Giveaways for Upcoming Southlake Grand Opening
Jan 29, 2015 02:13PM
● By Kevin
Michaels will host the grand opening of a new store at 1051 E. Southlake Blvd. on Sunday Feb. 8. To celebrate, the store will give away more than $1,500 in gift cards and prizes throughout the day. The store replaces the former location at Gateway Plaza.
The day begins with a 9:45 a.m. ribbon cutting ceremony, headlined by a performance by the Carroll Dragon Cheer Squad. Then, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., there will be a DecoArt Demo and Jewelry Make-It Take-it class.
The first 100 in line that day will receive a mystery gift card, ranging in value from $10 to $100. There will also be prize giveaways each hour and a DJ on site between 3 and 5 p.m.
Every Saturday, kids can explore their creativity with $2 Kids Club crafting events that continue all year long.
“We hope everyone will come out to help us celebrate during our grand opening festivities on Feb. 8,” said district manager Chris Young. “Our new store features thousands of products that will inspire every crafter at any level from beginner to expert, plus classes for our customers to learn new skills.”
The store features an open design with wider aisles, warm colors and brighter lighting. Key departments are expanded and re-organized for easy shopping:
- Home decor and floral
- Scrapbooking and paper crafts
- Kids and tweens
- Art supplies
- Custom framing
The new store will be approximately 23,201 square feet and will employ more than 60 people.


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Despite an unstoppable rise in prices, the automobile industry of Pakistan has yet again recorded a notable increase in the production of cars during FY 2017-18.
Pakistan’s automobile scene continues to be dominated by decades-old trio i.e. Pak Suzuki Motors, Toyota Indus Motors and Honda Atlas with Al-Haj FAW also creeping in slowly. Despite the alarming speculation of the declining buying power of the general public in Pakistan, the production of cars is increasing. The stats show that the production has only increased in the past few years as 218,372 cars were produced during the fiscal year 2017-18 as compared to 186,936 and 179,944 in 2016-17 and 2015-16 respectively. Currently, the total capacity of plants installed by the car manufacturers can produce 300,000 cars every year. This particular production figure is more than the overall annual sales in the country.
In a country like Pakistan that consists of a budding middle-class population, the market share in the automobile sector is essentially concentrated in the low-budget cars segment i.e. 800 cc to 1000 cc. Pak Suzuki is the one and only major car manufacturer in this segment enjoying the monopoly for the past three decades. However, the Automotive Development Policy (ADP) 2016-21 has opened ways for the new investors to set-up their manufacturing or assembling plants in the country under several incentives. The competition environment promises to get intense as United Motors and Regal Automotive Industry have entered the local market.
On the other hand, let’s have a look at the production stats of the major companies in the local auto sector. The production capacity allows Pak Suzuki to produce 150,000 cars per annum however, the company managed to produce 123,846 cars during FY 2017-18 as compared to 97,531 cars in 2016-17. In 2015-16, the company produced almost the same number of cars i.e. 97,409. As we go further back, Pak Suzuki produced 76,861 and 64,522 cars during 2014-15 and 2013-14 respectively. If we further categorize the production in the 800 cc segment, the auto manufacturer produced 69,078 cars in 2017-18 against 57,842 in 2016-17. As many as 66,957 cars of 800 cc engine capacity were produced in 2015-16 as compared to 54,333 and 42,476 cars in 2014-15 and 2013-14 respectively.
The plant of Honda Atlas has the capacity to produce 55,000 cars per annum whereas it produced 42,710 units during 2017-18 in contrast to 36,531 in 2016-17. The car manufacturer managed to produce 25,061, 24,271 and 23,605 cars during 2015-16, 2014-15 and 2013-14 respectively.
Toyota Indus being another major auto manufacturer in the high-end vehicles holds the capacity to produce 80,000 vehicles every year. However, the company produced as many as 51,218 units during 2017-18 in comparison to 52,874 in 2016-17. The fiscal year 2015-16 is worth-mentioning for the automaker as it produced the highest number of cars in this time period i.e. 57,474. The company jumped to a significant figure of 51,392 units during 2014-15 from the previous 28,124 vehicles produced in the 2013-14.
Al-Haj FAW is comparatively a new face in the local sector which doesn’t have a long history. But, so far the company has produced 598 cars during its maiden FY 2017-18. The production capacity of Al-Haj FAW is 15,000 units.
The production stats of these local manufacturers reveal that apart from Toyota Indus, both Suzuki and Honda have grown in terms of producing vehicles every year. It would be interesting to see the new players competing in the local industry with these decades-old companies. From a buyer’s perspective, it’s a positive sign to have more choices in any certain range of budget. However, the pace at which the car prices are climbing, it’s almost becoming next to impossible for a common person to even think of buying a new car. The government needs to play a critical role here and develop a strategy accordingly to control the prices to a certain extent.
Stay with PakWheels for more statistical updates. Drop your valuable thoughts in the comments space below.


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On the 20th, Jennie posted several photos on her Instagram along with the words “This is Pink Venom.”
In the photo, she showed off a style with a slit at the waist. Wearing a dress that cuts through his shoulders and chest, Jennie catches his attention with her slender legs. In addition, she showed off her beauty with a bright smile.
Netizens who saw the photo on Instagram responded with comments such as “Aww…”, “Really bold,” “Really a goddess,” etc.
Below is a photo Jennie released.


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More than half of consumers think they really need to know what a health plan drug formulary is, and what, roughly, minimum essential coverage means.
But, in the real world, fewer than half of consumers say they understand those terms, according to analysts at the BlueCross BlueShield Association.
Fewer than a quarter of consumers say they understand other common terms, such as “minimum essential coverage exemption,” the analysts say.
“There is, in some cases, a significant gap between the consumer’s desire to know and the actual understanding of insurance terms,” the analysts warn.
The analysts dissect consumer confusion in a report prepared for regulators at the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC).
The Consumer Information Subgroup, part of the NAIC wants to help the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) revise the rules for the Summary of Benefits and Coverage (SBC) notices and the Uniform Glossary.
Agents and brokers may be able to use the report to improve their own consumer communications.


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Nelson's Ice Cream in Stillwater adds St. Paul store
Nelson's Ice Cream is opening a St. Paul store May 17, the owners of the longtime Stillwater business said Wednesday.
The second Nelson's shop will be at 454 Snelling Ave. S., which owners Dave Najarian and Bill Bergstrom picked in part due to its proximity to schools, colleges and residential areas.
"We love the neighborhood. ... There are a lot of similarities to Stillwater," Najarian said.
The Najarian and Bergstrom families purchased the 90-plus-year-old business in 2006. They are financing the expansion with cash from growth at the Stillwater store, Najarian said.
The store will have more than 40 flavors of ice cream, indoor seating, an outdoor patio and parking.
For store hours and more details, read the company's news release.
Jim Hammerand reports on Twin Cities breaking business news for MSPBJ.com and manages online features and social media.
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ISLAMABAD: The holy month of Ramadan is around the corner and ICT administration should reactivate price control committees in markets to keep the prices at reasonable level and control inflation. This was said by Ahmed Hassan Moughal, President, Islamabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry. He emphasized that the constitution of Islamabad Market Committee should be revised and ICCI should be given representation in it so that joint efforts could be made to keep prices from further hike.
Ahmed Hassan Moughal said that ICT administration often imposes heavy fines on shopkeepers to control prices, but this is not a sustainable solution. He said one of the main reasons of price hike is shortage of goods in markets due to supply chain issues. He urged that administration should take measures to ensure smooth supply of goods from production points to markets as timely supply of goods in markets would help in reducing unnecessary price hike.
ICCI President said that inflation rate in Pakistan was 3.68 percent in April 2018 that has gone up to 9.41 percent by February 2019, which shows that people are suffering from high inflation. He stressed that government should take urgent remedial measures to bring down inflation. He said that rising inflation always results into reduced purchasing power of people that causes low purchasing and further slump in business activities. Therefore, controlling inflation is very important for smooth growth of business activities.
Rafat Farid Senior Vice President and Iftikhar Anwar Sethi Vice President, Islamabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry said that government has hiked the prices of electricity, gas and petroleum products due to which cost of doing business has increased manifold. They said that Pakistan is facing rising trade deficit and the best solution of this problem is to boost exports. However, they said that due to rising production cost, our exports are facing stiff competition in international market which is evident from the fact that in March 2019, exports have declined by over 11 percent. They emphasized that government should bring down power tariff and prices of POL products in order to reduce cost of doing business. It will cause reduction in inflation and give boost to business and economic activities, they opined.


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by Paul Jacobson (@pauljacobson) Facebook is clearly the dominant social network. That much has been obvious for some time now but could a version of Facebook become your preferred business network? Dubbed “Facebook at Work”, the social giant’s latest foray into the enterprise space is an interesting approach.
One question you may ask is why Facebook is developing a business collaboration version of its popular social platform? The short answer is that Facebook wants to secure your undivided attention (well, in as much as that is possible). According to Quartz Magazine:
“Chartbeat, which measures real-time traffic for many of the most popular websites, provides another look at people’s Facebook habits. As this chart illustrates, Facebook desktop traffic peaks during the workday, while mobile traffic rises in the evening.”
Legitimate and compelling
If Facebook can give its business users a legitimate and compelling reason to use it during the day (even if it is a distinct service loosely connected to the social platform), Facebook will have even more of your attention and, quite possibly, expand its social user base even further in the process. You are probably familiar with the term “mindshare”? This is a move which, if successful, is almost guaranteed to secure a dominant mindshare that spans the work/personal divide.
For now, though, we’re getting ahead of ourselves. The first thing to bear in mind about Facebook at Work is that we don’t know a lot about it. It is currently in a closed and fairly small testing phase, and Facebook hasn’t shared much about the service’s features and longer-term plans. What we do know is pretty interesting, though. The basic idea is to take the service we know and use daily and adapt it for enterprise collaboration. According to the Wall Street Journal:
“Facebook At Work looks and feels similar to Facebook’s familiar social network service, with a few key differences. There are no advertisements and the company doesn’t track users or hold their data.
“Facebook says a key feature of the app is Groups, which the company believes could replace email lists that appear never-ending and seem to grow larger with time.”
Appealing or not
Whether this appeals to you or not depends largely upon your feelings about Facebook (not for work). If you are an ardent fan, being able to collaborate within a Facebook environment is pretty close to idyllic. Although your work and personal accounts will be separate, you will still have a somewhat coherent identity in the Facebook ecosystem (unlike in the Google ecosystem, where your identity is split across multiple Google accounts if you have, say, a personal account and a work account). According to the Facebook Help Center:
“Your work account is only visible to people at your company and is separate from your personal account. From your work account, you can still access things that are shared publicly on Facebook.
“When you set up your work account, you’ll be able to connect it to your personal account. This lets you switch between the 2 accounts while using the same username and password for both. Your username and password aren’t shared with your employer.”
However, it is easy to adopt what will likely be a very familiar interface and lose sight of some of the likely challenges. Perhaps the most prominent one is how much sensitive corporate data Facebook will have access to and process, with the correlative concern being the risk of that corporate data being misused or even mistakenly exposed to people who shouldn’t have access to it?
One of the common responses to Facebook privacy controversies is that a person’s typical Facebook user data isn’t especially sensitive and, if it is exposed to an unintended audience, the consequences are probably not likely to be severe. That won’t be the case with corporate data, which could include discussions about upcoming projects; sensitive pricing models; and product development. In that case, the consequences of data falling into the wrong hands could be catastrophic.
Again, according to the Wall Street Journal:
“Facebook, however, could face trust issues from chief information officers wary of allowing a company that specializes in gathering personal data to tap into sensitive corporate conversations.
“A Facebook spokeswoman said Facebook will gather no data on corporate users and the actions of Facebok At Work users will not change their usual Facebook profiles.”
In one respect, this is a technical challenge which Facebook’s engineers could, almost certainly, meet through robust data safeguards. Facebook also wouldn’t be the first internet company to become a custodian of this sort of sensitive data, either. Companies entrust their data to various cloud service providers which include Amazon (through its Amazon Web Services); Google (Apps for Work); Salesforce; and even new providers such as Slack. The next biggest problem is perception.
Facebook is perceived as a personal social network with more than a few privacy controversies under its belt. It features strongly in more than 1.4bn people’s lives but it is still the place where people share family photos, write updates about their kids, keep track of birthdays and play farming games.
Could Facebook change that dominant perception and become known as a serious business productivity company, too, that is trusted with business data?
Solving the technical challenge of securing valuable business data is one thing but Facebook will have to persuade corporate clients that it will handle that data responsibly; regulators that it will process that data in compliance with a variety of data protection laws; and users that Facebook can be a credible work collaboration platform, too — and not just the place they go to Like photos of other people’s kids.
South African-born Paul Jacobson (@pauljacobson) is a content marketing specialist and reformed internet lawyer, now based in Israel. He has a passion for the social web, internet trends, digital marketing and related themes such as online reputation management and privacy. He contributes the regular “Tech Law” column focusing on issues in the digital marketing space to MarkLives.com. CC BY-SA 2.5
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Study Links Whole Grain Diet to Reduced Body Weight and Inflammation
It’s been established for a while that whole grains are healthier than refined grains, but their effect on the body hasn’t been well documented. Now the largest study of its kind has found that switching from processed and refined grains to whole grains helps reduce body weight and reduce systemic low-grade inflammation.
Participants in the study included 50 people. Half of the group was instructed consumed an all whole grain diet. This was followed by a six-week period where they consumed their habitual diet, then another eight weeks where all the grains they ate were refined. The other half did the same intervention, in the opposite order.
At the conclusion of the study, blood tests showed that participants had less inflammation in their bodies when they were eating the whole grains. They also ate less when consuming whole grains and generally lost weight, probably because whole grain consumption causes satiety.
The researchers also used DNA analysis to analyze stool samples in order to determine whether or not the dietary changes effected their gut microbiota. No major changes were found.
Researchers from the National Food Institute, Technical University of Denmark conducted the study. It was published online ahead of print on November 1, 2017, in the journal Gut.
Whole grains are full of vitamin B, dietary fiber and iron, all of which have been shown to provide numerous health benefits, including reductions in the risk of stroke, diabetes, heart disease and inflammatory disease. The increased popularity of these grains has also increased the range of products available that contain them, such as pasta, sandwich bread, and cereals.


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Microsoft looks set to arm its forthcoming Xbox Two, codenamed Scarlett, with a PS5 pummelling super weapon designed to achieve just one thing — break Sony PlayStation's current domination in the console market.
Right now, more than twice as many PlayStation 4s have been sold compared to the Xbox One and, with Sony seemingly scheduling its Playstation 5 release date shockingly early next year (enabled by a secret Skunk Works-style covert operation), the Xbox division needed to arm up in order to combat the next-generation threat.
The result, as reported by GameReactor, is that Microsoft has not only loaded the Xbox Two with insanely powerful hardware and elite next-generation features, but has also purportedly started to write blank cheques to its game studios so that they can make the titles of their "wildest dreams".
The GameReactor piece reports on comments made by YouTuber boogie2988, who recounts how he had a conversation with Xbox's Mike Ybarra where these comments were made:
"He [Mike] said we basically went in there to those companies and said: 'what project do you wanna make?' And they are like 'what's our budget?' And he's 'I don't think you understand, that's not our question, our question is what games do you want to make? We are Microsoft and we have the budget, we just want to know what game you want to do, what are your wildest dreams,'"
While this could be taken as flag-waving, fanboy-pleasing bluster, it would make sense as a strategy given that Microsoft has spent much of the past couple of years buying up prominent game studios, including Undead Labs, Ninja Theory, Obsidian, Inxile, Compulsion, and Playground.
And, well, it would hardly make sense to buy up a load of game makers only to then pull the financial rug from under their feet. And especially so when Xbox currently trails PlayStation by such a massive distance in terms of install base and popularity.
One of the major reasons Sony has been dominating the console market with the PS4 is the exhaustive list of exclusive titles, with the likes of God of War and Spider-Man offering amazing experiences that simply can't be played on Xbox One.
This is a strength that Sony will obviously take into the PS5 generation, too, and clearly Microsoft is currently looking to launch a counter-offensive of jaw-dropping exclusives for Xbox Two.
While it is unclear who will win the next generation console war, thanks to developments like this one thing is certain, gamers on both PlayStation 5 and Xbox Two look set to win big, with awesome new games hitting their powerhouse gaming hardware with increased frequency.


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Original Mouseketeers celebrate 50th anniversary of "The Mickey Mouse Club"
August 19, 2006 (WLS) -- Topping off a summer of 50th Anniversary festivities, Harlem Irving Plaza (The HIP) will welcome three of the original Mouseketeers for a public meet and greet on August 20, then show a 1950s-themed musical on its rooftop on August 26 at 4104 N. Harlem Ave. in Norridge. Both events are free and will wrap up anniversary festivities for The HIP, which had opened in 1956 as one of Chicago's first suburban shopping centers.
MEET THE MOUSEKETEERS: On Sunday, August 20, Sharon, Bobby and Cubby -- three of the original 24 Mouseketeers -- will be on hand to meet and greet the public from 2:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Harlem Irving Plaza's rooftop. The meet and greet include fun activities and music from the Radio Disney AM1300 Party Patrol, which is emceeing the event.
These famous Mouseketeers were among founding members of The Mickey Mouse Club, which is also celebrating its 50th anniversary. The Mickey Mouse Club was one of the most popular children's television shows of all-time, running its hour-long variety, live-action and cartoon show each weekday from October 1955 to September 1959. Until then, children's TV shows were mostly locally produced, low-budget productions. The show was revived in 1977 as "The New Mickey Mouse Club," then in 1989 as "MMC" on The Disney Channel, which launched the careers of such successful performers as Christina Aguilera, J.C. Chasez, Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake.
To bring you up to date on the original Mouseketeers, Sharon (Baird) went on to perform for children's shows both on stage and on television; Bobby (Burgess) is now a dancer with a long-standing career on The Lawrence Welk Show under his belt, and Cubby (O'Brien) is now a professional drummer for numerous Broadway shows and headliners.
According to Edan Gelt, The HIP's corporate marketing director, guests may register during the event to win an adventure vacation for four to Orlando, including indoor skydiving and a day at Kennedy Space Center. "We'll have the drawing at the end of the Mousekeeters' visit, then announce the winner," she says. "That will certainly wind up a fun day for a lucky family."
ROOFTOP MOVIE FUN: On Saturday, August 26, The HIP's 50th Anniversary celebration continues with a special rooftop screening of a popular PG-rated 50's-themed movie musical at 9:00 p.m. It is preceded by a Radio Disney AM1300 Party Patrol bash from 8:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.-- all on Harlem Irving Plaza's rooftop. Come dressed in '50s retro apparel and receive a free gift.
THE HISTORY OF "THE HIP" -- The HIP's grassroots literally served as a livestock farm before being purchased by Harlem Irving Companies in 1955. In 1956, The HIP (not yet referred to by its acronym) opened at the intersection of Harlem Avenue, Forest Preserve Drive and Irving Park Road, with 337,000 square feet of space. Then, 45 stores were anchored by a three-level Wieboldt's department store. Today the 700,000 square foot retail center is known as one of the area's most successful enclosed malls, even with a trendy power center in the neighborhood. There are now 140 stores and specialty food venues, anchored by Best Buy, Kohl's, Carson Pirie Scott and Target. Specialty retailers include Express, Express Men, Hot Topic, LensCrafters, Bath & Body Works, Victoria Secret, Limited and New York & Co. For more information on The HIP and its 50th anniversary events, visit www.shopthehip.com or call (773) 625-3036.
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Apple announced the new Apple Watch Series 6 at an online event on Tuesday evening.
A cheaper Apple Watch SE was also shown.
Apple announced its new smartwatch, the Apple Watch Series 6. The design looks the same as the Series 5, but it comes with a new blue and red case.
The biggest innovation in Series 6 is a new sensor to measure blood oxygen.
This can be used to determine in 15 seconds how much oxygen the user has in his or her blood.
A new, faster chip has been placed in the new Watch.
The display is 2.5 times brighter than in the Series 5. The Watch also has an altimeter and new clock designs have been added.
Apple also announced the 'Family Setup' feature.
This allows multiple Apple Watches to be linked to the iPhone of a family member, for example those of children without an iPhone.
Parents can indicate which contacts children can connect with.
The location can also be tracked.
This position is not yet coming to the Netherlands.
Apple also announced a more affordable Watch.
This Apple Watch SE has the same size screen as the new watches.
The wearable has largely the same hardware as the Series 6, but uses the previous chip.
This device costs $ 279.
The new Apple Watch Series 6 will cost $ 399.
Euro prices and availability are not yet known.
Incidentally, the Watches are delivered without a USB charging adapter this time.
According to Apple, this should combat the waste of electronics.
No new iPhones
Apple began its presentation by saying the focus would be on the Apple Watch and iPad Tuesday night.
did not announce any new iPhones on Tuesday evening.
Traditionally, the company will do this in September, but it is said to do so in October.
According to rumors, this is due to delays in the production chain, due to the outbreak of the corona virus.
The event is still underway. This message is being supplemented.
The event is still underway.
This message is being supplemented.


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Nike Air releases continues on the Air Jordans as Jordan Brand is set to debut the Air Jordan 1 Retro High OG “Varsity Royal”. Look for these to drop tomorrow on February 16th at select Jordan Brand accounts. Will these be a Cop or Pass release?
Air Jordan 1 Retro High OG
February 16th, 2013


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In the News
Uber defies demand to stop using self-driving cars
Uber seems prepared to flout the law with its self-driving cars - being prepared to ignore the California Attorney-General and continue to run its self-driving cars in San Francisco.
The permit itself isn't expensive "Other companies testing autonomous technology in California, such as Google, have applied for and obtained the permit which costs $150 (£120) for 10 vehicles. Additional vehicles can be added at a rate of $50 for each additional 10 vehicles."
However, one also wonders whether there are potentially damaging consequences for the Uber brand, and, potentially, the concept of self-driving cars.


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RedPoint Global partnered with the CMO Council on a new research study to investigate the needs of the CMO today and examine their customer strategies. In “The State of Engagement: Bridging the Customer Journey Across Every Mile,” more than 200 senior-level marketing executives shared their insights, including:
- 75 percent of CMOs believe their jobs are on the line if their customer experience strategies are unsuccessful.
- Nearly half of marketing respondents believe it is possible their jobs will be at risk should technology investments fail.
- Direct interviews with brand leaders at Coca-Cola, Aston Martin, Allrecipes.com and more.


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The American bank-backed Zelle network processed 170 million person-to-person payments last year boasting an aggregate transaction volume of $55 billion, more than double that of PayPal-owned rival Venmo.
Google has teamed up with several banks - including BofA - to let customers add cards to Android Pay from within their apps.
Bank of America is pumping $1.5 million into a fintech initiative in the firm's hometown of Charlotte, North Carolina.
Bank of America has become the first member of the US bank-backed Zelle network to roll out its P2P payments functionality.
Aditya Bhasin, Consumer and Wealth Management CIO, Bank of America, outlines where banking should focus, and how fintechs and banks can practically work alongside each other.
Bank of America is adding a spending and budgeting tool to its mobile and online platforms, helping customers to track and control their money.
Bank of America today celebrated the grand opening of its newly renovated Stanford financial center located at 3000 El Camino Real.
Bank of America chief Brian Moynihan says the arrival of real-time payments combined with advances by cherry-picking fintech startups threatens to derail long-held assumptions about bank ROI levels from technology spending.
Bank of America has unveiled Erica, an AI chatbot that will be available to answer queries and help the bank's million of mobile app users make smarter spending and saving decisions.
Bank of America Merrill Lynch, a global leader in transaction services, and ModoPayments, LLC (Modo), an industry leader in digital payments innovation, today announced a strategic relationship that will give the bank access to Modo’s patented COIN Operated Digital Payments Hub.
© Finextra Research 2017


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Elon Musk on Wednesday confirmed that Tesla is aiming to begin production on next-gen EVs by the end of 2025.
"Our current schedule shows that we will start production towards the end of 2025," he said during an earnings call. "But there's...a tremendous amount of new revolutionary manufacturing technology here."
That tech will initially be put to the test at Tesla's Giga Texas plant in Austin. "We'll follow that up with other locations around the world. Probably the factory we'll build in Mexico will be second, and then we'll be looking to identify a third location, perhaps by the end of this year or early next outside of North America," Musk said.
"That will be a challenging production ramp," he added. "We'll be sleeping on the line practically. In fact, not practically. We will be."
(OSHA might be interested in that given Giga Texas' track record.)
Musk didn't talk pricing, but his comments come after Reuters reported that Tesla is working on its next-gen lineup, codenamed Redwood, which could include a $25,000 version of its EV. Musk has talked up a lower-cost version of its Tesla EV for years. Last month, he said it's "obviously" in the works but declined to offer any specifics.
Tesla is telling suppliers it's aiming for a weekly production volume of 10,000 vehicles, Reuters reports, though Musk said on Wednesday that he's "not going to make any predictions on that front."
Until then, Tesla is focusing on the Cybertruck, which launched in late 2023 after years of delay.
"Demand is off the hook," Musk said this week. "I see us ultimately delivering on the order of 0.25 million, something like 0.25 million Cybertrucks a year in North America, maybe more."


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Micro Plastics goes macro with Arkansas expansion
MELBOURNE, Ark. — Nylon fastener maker Micro Plastics is expanding its north central Arkansas plant with a $2.4 million investment, and plans to add 79 jobs in the next five years.
The company, which produces threaded nylon fasteners, will begin production at the expanded plant in the first quarter of 2016.
“This year is the 40th anniversary of our move to Arkansas,” Tom Hill, president of Micro Plastics, said in a statement provided by the Arkansas Economic Development Commission. “In that time we’ve grown from 15 employees to nearly 400 at our plant in Flippin. “We are plotting our future for continued success and growth and we are looking forward to the Melbourne plant and community being a major part of that.”
The company has a headquarters and manufacturing facility in Flippin, employing 387 people. The Flippin plant has 93 plastic injection molding machines which produce plastic components for industry and retail, including nylon hardware such as screws and nuts, electronic components, and cable ties.
“For almost half a century, Micro Plastics has been a leader in the plastics sector,” said Gov. Asa Hutchinson. “When the company moved their headquarters from Illinois to Arkansas, they were looking for a location and workforce that would foster continued success. They found that here. Today we celebrate Micro Plastics and thank them for their ongoing commitment to doing business in Arkansas.”
Visit the career page here.
Source: The City Wire


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Intercede has announced the arrival of their MyID technology on the Windows Phone platform.
The app provides virtual smart card (VSC) management – a form of authentication that uses a device’s inbuilt secure element – for Windows Phone 8.1.
Windows Phone 8.1 comes with an inbuilt Trusted Platform Module (TPM) – a secure element within the device – which is where keys for use in secure two-factor authentication with a virtual smart card are stored. The TPM is protected from hackers; the keys are never loaded in the operating system’s memory, meaning the VSC remains safe even if the phone itself is compromised.
Virtual smart cards offer a convenient alternative using two-factor authentication, allowing organisations to give their employees secure access to corporate networks and resources straight from their Windows Phone.
“Mobile devices have always been seen more as a security risk than a security asset,” said Allen Storey, Product Director of Intercede. “But that’s because mobile security was typically based on a vulnerable form of ID verification – usernames and passwords.”
“Passwords simply do not provide high enough levels of security. They are easily cracked, lost or stolen; and in needing to be increasingly complex, they are also getting harder to remember and more inconvenient for the end user. By implementing two-factor authentication, organisations can immediately strengthen their network security and offer employees the convenience of accessing corporate resources with a simple PIN on the go.”
MyID provides all of the lifecycle management features required to effectively implement large-scale credential roll-outs, including key recovery, certificate renewal and revocation.
Learn more about MyID at Intercede here.


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A flash memory-based ultraportable Mac may hit the market as soon as Macworld Expo, a leading analyst has warned.
Piper Jaffrey analyst Gene Munster made his predictions in his latest note to clients, pointing to Samsung's recent introduction of new 64GB flash memory drives.
“We believe NAND Flash drive sizes have now reached capacities that Apple would consider large enough to include in a new MacBook model,” the analyst wrote.
Of course, news of a flash memory-based ultraportable Mac is by no means new, like the years of speculation surrounding the iPhone, there's been hot whispers on the idea of a flash-based Apple laptop for three years now.
The ultra-portable laptop is said to be 50 per cent lighter than Apple’s current 15-inch MacBook Pro and should sport a 13-inch LED display, claims AppleInsider.
Recent whispers also suggest a tablet Mac or a Mac equipped with Apple's multi-touch technology may emerge as possible future products from the company.


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A consumer sees milk in gallons and buys meat by the pound, but producers live in a different world.
"We buy milk by the hundredweight," said Dub Garlington, president of Plains Dairy in Amarillo. "There's roughly 8.6 pounds per gallon. Low fat would be a little heavier, about 8.9 pounds, because water is heavier than fat."
That means when a dairy farmer is paid $15 for 100 pounds of milk, that money is buying about 11.6 gallons at $1.29 per gallon.
The origins of the different measurements are not clear.
"For the 35 years I've been doing this, it has been that way," Garlington said.
According to information from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the practice far outdates the American dairy industry.
Since at least 1400, Britain has used the hundredweight which in Britain is actually equal to 112 pounds. But at least that makes it closer to the weight of competing units of other countries, such as the German zentner and the French quintal.
Selling by the hundredweight is also a tradition in the beef industry.
"The price is on a per-pound basis, but what most of us do is talk about price per hundred," said Jim Gill market director for Texas Cattle Feeders Association.
"When a packer sells his beef, it is usually quoted on a dollar-per-hundred-weight basis. I think one reason is a semi load is supposed to be 40,000 pounds, so that makes figuring pretty simple."
Size also confuses the pricing picture.
When a packer buys a steer from a feedlot for $95 per hundred weight, comparable to 95 cents per pound, it is buying a 1,000 pound animal making the price $950 per head. But that is not the same as 1,000 pounds of steak.
"The yield varies, but generally, it is 63.5 or 64.5 percent," Gill said. "What that means is you end up with 630 to 640 pounds of meat. That's bone in but hide and offal off."
So the packer's $950 went for what ends up as byproducts and 640 pounds of meat.
While grocery shoppers usually buy vegetables and fruits and other food by the pound, box or jar, food dealers operate in a different world.
On the wholesale market, prices for grain are expressed in bushels, or for every 2,150.42 cubic inches, according to the Economic Research Service of the United States Department of Agriculture. That compares to a bag of flour or loaf of bread.
Other wholesale measurements include:
Snap beans in a bushel weighing between 28 and 32 pounds;
Cabbage in bags weighing 50 pounds;
Sweet corn in cartons weighing 50 pounds;
Potatoes in cartons weighing 100 pounds.
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Last night, Facebook’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg gave his first interview since Facebook’s float.
In particular he gave an update on the importance of mobile to Facebook’s future. He revealed that his letter to investors of more than 2,000 words was written on a mobile, and stated that “on mobile we are going to make a lot more money than on desktop”.
Of particular interest were his comments on HTML5. Facebook sees HTML5 and the mobile web as key going forward, but he admitted that their intense focus on HTML5 had led to a mistake in not initially producing a true “native app” for Facebook on iOS. Over the last few weeks Facebook have updated their iOS Facebook app with a version that did not simply re-use the HTML5 code from their mobile web site, and which was therefore much faster on an iPhone.
This makes a lot of sense. Businesses with the resources to build native apps as well as mobile web apps for mass deployment can provide a better user experience by doing so. For Facebook, there is an expectation of excellence in their mobile apps, while their mobile web presence is the glue that holds the user experience together across different devices and operating systems.
Bango technology is used to collect payments in native apps, as has been demonstrated for almost 2 years in Blackberry App World, as well as to power payment on the mobile web. Bango first demonstrated this frictionless mobile web billing for Facebook at Mobile World congress earlier this year, and has since launched in the USA, Germany and UK.


text: Milwaukee Tool announced it will soon release new M12 RedLithium High Output CP2.5 and XC5.0 Battery Packs this fall. The batteries provide 25 per cent more power on high-demand tools while running 25 per cent cooler through heavy applications, allowing users to maximize productivity. The High Output feature has been available since 2018 on the M18 line. The increased performance will maintain the same footprint as current M12 batteries. The improved technology for the M12 line leads to increased runtime and the durability to withstand wear from more demanding applications, allowing the professional to be more productive. The new items are compatible with the entire M12 line. The new battery packs will launch in November 2022.


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The vertical indoor farm in Dhaka's Mirpur is built by four young entrepreneurs at an abandoned house, known as 'Farm Imagination.' The indoor vertical farm, built with a hydroponic system, produces different varieties of salad and vegetables, including lettuce, buckthorn, basil, celery, capsicum, and cherry tomatoes. There are also green vegetables being produced in layers. Specialized LED lights are being used to control lighting and heat while 95% less water is needed compared to the normal agriculture procedure.
Parveen Akhter is one of the four entrepreneurs of the indoor farm. Having completed her MBA from the Dhaka University, she has worked in various institutions at home and abroad. She is interested in good agricultural practice and was inspired by watching Hridoye Mati O Manush on YouTube and Facebook. She can now fully comprehend what the future agri-business might look like and was brave enough to start her indoor farm. Parveen believes that the demand for fresh and safe food will increase day by day. "With this in mind, I think this is the time to work with the advanced technology," says Parveen.
There are three small rooms along the corridor. Each room has steel trays installed from the bottom to the top. Green vegetables like Bakchay (Chinese cabbage), basil, lettuce, etc are cultivated there. Each room has a 100% automated system, with which light, water, and air are all being used accordingly. Parveen said that one of their goals is to introduce the new agriculture system to the new generation. Several young people, including Parveen's daughter Radia Rihanna was working there with deep concentration. "These young people are very much interested in modern technology. They are also very optimistic about this initiative. A small greenhouse has been built where cherry tomatoes and various colors of capsicum are being cultivated. The advantage of the greenhouse is that there is no artificial light needed as natural light and temperature are important elements for the crop production," Parveen said.
Parveen says it is a pilot project. Over the past year and a half, her team has been able to build a successful structure using indigenous materials. She has been able to produce and market fresh vegetables in Dhaka as there is a huge demand for vegetables produced indoors. It is not possible for her to supply it alone. She wants to spread this initiative among the youths so that they can take the lead to change the face of farming in Bangladesh.
Read the complete article at www.thedailystar.net.


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Toyota Recalls Hybrid Vehicles
Toyota Motor Corp. announced another round of recalls Wednesday, involving 110,000 hybrid vehicles.
The recall will involve 36,700 Lexus RX 400h hybrid vehicles, and 45,500 units of Toyota's Highlander Hybrid. In a press release, the automaker cited inadequate soldering as as the recall's cause.
As a result of the defect, Toyota said transistors in the vehicles can be damaged during high-load driving, due to heat caused by a high-current flow. In this case, the vehicles would operate at reduced power or coast to a stop.
Toyota said it will obtain replacement parts and notify owners by mid-July. This year, Toyota is expected to lose its spot as the top-selling automaker.
Toyota has already suffered setbacks this year due to the Japanese earthquake and tsunami in March. The AP reported it has had to recall over 1.4 million vehicles in all.