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Pacific Plastics Injection Molding announced that it has purchased a new customized automated loading system to expand its automation capacity.
The automation machine is part of PPIM’s plastic injection over-molding process and its new pick-and-place robotic equipment is designed to deliver high-volume production of enclosed blade cutters.
The machine’s robotic arm is able to pick up eight razor blades at once and place them into a mold. An onboard vision system camera ensures that the metal blades are in the mold before being over-molded with plastic resin. It can be easily adapted to manufacture other components for the electronics, biomedical, and consumer industries.
“Operating 24 hours a day, the automated loading system decreased production cycle times by nearly 34%,” Rob Gilman, general manager of PPIM, said in a press release. “This allows us to provide our customer with highly competitive pricing. Additionally, scrap is reduced by more than 50%.”
PPIM says it plans to invest in a second automation system sometime in the first half of this year.


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As plans for Brexit are currently being discussed in preparation for UK’s departure from the European Union, what consequences are in store for creative businesses, and will it impact jobs for those working in smaller independent businesses?
Many of the creative and digital businesses in Liverpool call the Baltic Triangle home. With Brexit negotiations swaying towards a no deal – which could cost the UK’s creative sector £3.3 billion and 27 thousand jobs* as a result of said outcome- will Baltic still be the same highly praised home to creative industries?
I sat down with Citrus Suite’s Chris Morland & Steve Donovan to discuss this, and what issues it could potentially bring to those with independent businesses. Funding, which the EU offered independent creative businesses such as ‘Creative Europe’ and other funding such as ‘European Regional Development Fund’ (ERDF)’ will no longer be accessible for UK businesses as of 2020. I asked Steve what problems he could see with the loss of this funding. “There will be less opportunities for infrastructure needed to kick start creative business, less direct start-up funds for businesses that go on to generate taxes for the government, and without the funding what fills the void?”
Brexit Threats To Liverpool Creative and Digital Sector
So, what are the threats to Liverpool creative businesses? Citrus Suite’s CEO, Chris Morland, considers, “There are 3,500 creative and digital businesses in the Liverpool City Region, employing almost 20,000 people. It’s hard to come up with any positives of Brexit for this sector. Let’s try – a weak pound means our products and services are competitive to foreign buyers. This means exports could increase – which could help reduce the UK’s deficit, but the fact we’ll have poor and hastily arranged trade deals means these contracts are in jeopardy.”
“The real conversation is about whether the majority of local businesses are resilient enough to survive the impact of leaving the EU. The greatest threat is the damage that will be done to the national economy. A contracting economy means our clients and partner companies stop investing into innovation, others relocate outside of the UK, and for Liverpool it means our businesses win less contracts. There is less demand for our services and products.”
I asked Chris about the situation with grants and access to EU talent, Chris: “When the EU funding dries up there will be clear problems. Companies that rely on EU grants and the like will obviously be impacted, as will those who subcontract work to Europe or need talent from Europe to fill jobs- it will hit some hard. The story that we’re being told is that UK government will look to guarantee to support some EU-funded projects, but I’m not sure Liverpool is positioning itself well to replace the lost EU support. London seems to be proactively lobbying, what are we doing locally?”
Tough Market Conditions
I asked Chris what Citrus Suite are doing to counteract the potential effects of Brexit. Chris: “I worked at a startup that suffered the effects of the financial crisis from 2007, so I’ve seen what can happen when market conditions get tough. Right now for UK software businesses, Brexit is causing nervousness in supply chains, and downstream investments are slowing. Organisations previously looking to commission big projects are now looking for the value option. At Citrus we are consolidating our service offering. Our technical capabilities are extremely strong, we’re small and agile and will ride the tough times ahead and maintain growth. But I’d prefer to see the whole sector buoyant, and there’s no Brexit option where that is remotely possible. It’ll take the ingenuity and hard work of SMEs to minimise the impact of Brexit.”
“Locally we can help, Citrus can have an impact within the Liverpool City Region – we have targets to invest locally, and we employ local staff on fulltime contacts (no zero hours). We’ll carry on winning projects from outside the city, and we’re looking to work with more Liverpool City Region (LCR) businesses, to form local partnerships. We have Citrus innovation labs for LCR start-ups, mentoring in the community, and we’re working with schools to help guide the next generation of developers and entrepreneurs. We are also looking at ways we can share our digital tools and expertise with other businesses to address some of the biggest issues ahead.”
From the conversation I had with the team of Citrus Suite, it’s clear that they are ready to take their success far beyond a ‘bad deal’ Brexit.
*According to expert independent research by Cambridge Econometrics, commissioned by the Mayor of London, 2018.
Posted, October 2018
Guest blogpost by Kerri Chamberlain.

domain: news


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Chevrolet Beat price Rs. 3.34 lac to help GM India sell 1 lac cars in 2010
General Motors India (GM India) launched global mini car Chevrolet Beat in India at price of Rs 3.34 lac - Rs. 3.94 lac (ex showroom in national capital Delhi). Chevrolet Beat will be launched in 150 countries in Europe, Asia etc. simultaneously and hence Chevrolet Beat is called global mini car.
Chevrolet Beat will also be show cased at Auto Expo 2010 Delhi along with Spark and Aveo small cars from GM India.
General Motors India expect Chevrolet Beat to help achieve GM car sales at one lac units in current financial year 2010 which is an increase of more than 40% over GM car sales in 2009. GM India plans to sell more than 2 lac cars in India by 2012.
Chevrolet Beat is 1.2 litre petrol car with three variants. The diesel variant of Chevrolet Beat will be launched later in 2010 itself. Chevrolet Beat follows Chevrolet cruze in 300 series cars from GM. Chevrolet Beat was developed in a period of 27 months.
In India, Chevrolet Beat will be manufactured at GM plant at Talegaon, Maharashtra. Before launch of Chevrolet Beat, GM India was focused on Spark model.
GM India is hopeful of good sales of Chevrolet Beat in Indian car market after good success of small car Nano from India and other small cars from Maruti etc. GM manufactures 7 GM cars in India and has plans to invest Rs 20,000 crore in its manufacturing plants. GM India will manufacture petrol, diesel and gas variants of cars in India.
Around 60 per cent of Chevrolet Beat components are manufactured at GM India plants and rest are outsourced. GM India will limit the outsourcing to 10 % of Chevrolet Beat parts soon.
GM India is also in talks with SAIC (a Chinese auto company) to launch light commercial vehicles in India. The news joint venture is termed as General Motors SAIC Investment Ltd.
GM India has less than 4 per cent market share in Indian auto market. Given more than 60% annual increase in sales by GM China over 2009 gives GM India of similar improvement in GM car sales in India in 2010.
- Honda Brio price in India, Honda Brio Petrol model price in India
- Force One SUV price
- Honda CR-V Crossover 2012 launch in India, Honda CR-V Crossover price India
- Spark 800, GM Chevrolet Spark 800 compact car to be launched by 2011
- Honda Brio launch, Honda Brio price: urban car designed for congested roads
- Camaro launch in India, Camaro launch date and price, Camaro price in India
- Volkswagen Vento Technical Specification, Volkswagen Vento Review, VW India
- Honda readies to launch new face lifted Jazz on Indian shores in 2011
- BMW X1 is again popular and the most liked car in India
- How to wash car at home, Tips to wash car at home, Easy tips to wash car


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Retailers and consumers are being asked to check their fridges and freezers for beef products that may be contaminated with E. coli after a voluntary recall was issued over the past few days for certain President's Choice beef products.
Steaks, roasts and ground beef trays were identified as contaminated with the virus as part of an expanded investigation that began in the United States last month.
The contaminated beef was processed in April by JBS Swift Beef Company in Greeley, Colorado. The United States Department of Agriculture launched an investigation of these products after 24 people fell ill.
Recently, it was discovered at least 6,700 pounds of beef contaminated with E. coli by the American company was also shipped to Canada, Garfield Balsom, a food safety recall specialist with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) told The Guardian newspaper in P.E.I. Thursday.
These products were distributed by Loblaws to stores across Canada. That means Atlantic Superstores and Save Easy locations may have sold the contaminated beef, Balsom said.
"The Loblaws have indicated to us the product was distributed throughout their stores in Atlantic Canada, but we don't have a list of individual stores for each area," he said.
Since the meat was processed in April, none of these products are currently for sale. The contaminated beef, therefore, has mostly already been sold.
"The potential of any product being around is pretty low. Our main reason for the alert is to ensure consumers who may have frozen this to not consume the product," Balsom said.
"However, most of it probably is already consumed."
Inga van den Berg, vice- president of public affairs for Atlantic Superstores' parent company, Loblaws, said Thursday only five cases of President's Choice (PC) top sirloin products from the contaminated plant in the U.S. were shipped to Atlantic Canada. Those cases contained 15 'tender and tasty' beef products, all of which have already been sold.
"That's only 0.05 per cent of our weekly volume," van den Berg said.
"So thankfully the amount of product impacted by this recall is actually quite low."
Loblaws is issuing the recall as a precaution in case people might have stored these products in their freezers. But if consumers do have them, they can return them for a full refund, van den Berg said.
She added that E. coli is a common type of bacteria that can get into food, like beef or vegetables, and the best way to avoid sickness is take proper precautions.
"It's difficult to guarantee that you'll never have E. coli on the surface of beef," she said.
"But everything from washing hands to making sure that beef is refrigerated properly and most importantly to cook the beef at the proper temperatures - when you do then it will destroy the E. coli bacteria."
So far there have been no illnesses in Canada reported as a result of this beef recall.
Food contaminated with E. coli O157:H7 may not look or smell spoiled. Eating food contaminated with this E-Coli may cause serious and potentially life-threatening illnesses. Symptoms include severe abdominal pain and bloody diarrhea. Some people may have seizures or strokes and some may need blood transfusions and kidney dialysis. Others may live with permanent kidney damage. In severe cases of illness, people may die.
The CFIA is monitoring the effectiveness of this recall.
Just the facts:
CFIA list of President's Choice (PC) beef products bearing best before dates April 29 to June 16, 2009, inclusive, affected by this recall:
PC Tender and Tasty top sirloin steak club pack (SKU 20663200000).
PC Tender and Tasty top sirloin beefeater steak (SKU 21040700000).
PC Tender and Tasty top sirloin cap steak (SKU 21040800000).
PC Tender and Tasty top sirloin steak (SKU 21040900000).
PC Tender and Tasty top sirloin oven roast (SKU 21041000000).
PC Tender and Tasty top sirloin steak (SKU 20913700000).
PC Tender and Tasty top sirloin steak club pack (SKU 20296500000).
PC Tender and Tasty top sirloin roast (SKU 20925300000).
PC Tender and Tasty top sirloin c/o beefeater (SKU 20901800000).
PC Tender and Tasty top sirloin cap steak boneless (SKU 20907900000).
PC Tender and Tasty top sirloin cap steak boneless (SKU 21019200000).
PC Tender and Tasty top sirloin steak (SKU 21019300000).
PC Tender and Tasty top sirloin steak club pack (SKU 20335200000).
PC Tender and Tasty top sirloin c/o beefeater (SKU 21019100000).
PC Tender and Tasty top sirloin oven roast (SKU 21019400000)
For more information on the specific meats recalled, consumers and industry
can call the CFIA at 1-800-442-2342 or visit its website at


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A new variant of the Gameover malware that steals online banking credentials comes with a kernel-level rootkit that makes it significantly harder to remove, according to security researchers from Sophos.
A mobile application designed to make it easier for RSA Conference 2014 attendees to navigate the event and interact with their peers exposes personal information, according to researchers from security firm IOActive.
A British man faces new charges in the U.S. for allegedly hacking into the U.S. Federal Reserve Bank's servers and stealing names, email addresses and other personal information of the bank's computer users.
Financial data and news company Bloomberg has developed in-house access controls and embraced several other technological fixes after it emerged last year that the company's journalists had routinely accessed data on how Wall Street clients were usin...
A gaping hole in Amazon.com's mobile application, now fixed, allowed hackers to have an unlimited number of attempts guessing a person's password, according to security vendor FireEye.
A cybersecurity company said Tuesday it has obtained a list of 360 million account credentials for Web services, likely collected through multiple data breaches.
Cybercriminals have infected the computers of digital currency holders, using a virus known as "Pony" to make off with account credentials, bitcoins and other digital currencies in one of the largest attacks on the technology, security services firm ...
A hacker defaced the website of EC-Council, an organization that runs IT security training and certification programs, and claims to have obtained copies of passports of law enforcement and military officials who signed up for the organization's cour...
A subtle mistake in how Apple implemented a basic encryption feature that shields data from snooping also affects many desktop applications that rely on the code, according to a noted security researcher.
Neiman Marcus has revised downward the number of credit and debit cards exposed in a data breach, from 1.1 million to 350,000, according to a notice posted Friday on its website.
The source code for an Android mobile banking Trojan app was released on an underground forum, making it possible for a larger number of cybercriminals to launch attacks using this kind of malware in the future.
Personal records for more than 309,000 students and staff were exposed this week in a "sophisticated" database attack at the University of Maryland, the university said Wednesday.
A newly discovered variant of the notorious Zeus banking trojan is disguising a crucial configuration code in a digital photo, a technique known as steganography.
A cyberattack against the Veteran of Foreign Wars website, believed to have been initiated in China, may have sought to spy on U.S. military members, security company FireEye said Thursday.
Hackers are circulating credentials for thousands of FTP sites and appear to have compromised file transfer servers at The New York Times and other organizations, according to a security expert.
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Over the past two months, vegetable prices in Russia have risen sharply, as reported by Rosstat on March 10. Onions rose in price by 34%, tomatoes – by more than 15%, cucumbers – by 7%. At the same time, in some places, onions became more expensive than meat, and 400-500 rubles were asked for a kilogram of cucumbers. Analyst Daniil Kashin explained that the reason for the rise in prices is crop failure in many regions of the world, as well as problems with equipment for greenhouses at Russian enterprises.
How have the prices of vegetables risen?
Traditionally, in the middle of winter, vegetables become more expensive, but this time the prices have jumped significantly. And this is not just the usual seasonal rise in price. For example, in Rostov-on-Don, imported cucumbers increased in price to 800 rubles per kilo. In some regions, the price tag was even lifted up for 1300 rubles.
According to the latest data from Rosstat, in 73 regions of Russia, the price increase for onions was 20% – 71.5%. In places, the price per kilogram now costs 100 rubles. Tomatoes in 19 regions increased in price by 20 – 36%.
Why are vegetable prices on the rise?
Analyst Kashin, in an interview with Evening Moscow, explained the increase in the price of vegetables by the fact that Russia has problems with equipment for greenhouses. According to the expert, it is in 85% of cases of foreign production, and our country is under sanctions.
Another reason is crop failure. A similar situation is now observed in the European Union, Africa, Azerbaijan, Turkey and other countries. For example, in the Philippines, the price of onions exceeded the cost of meat. The kilogram has risen in price eight times. And all because of typhoons, which destroyed a lot of local crops.
When vegetable prices go down
According to the expert, in the near future the cost of vegetables will go down, as the harvest season will begin.
“Supplies from countries that currently have problems will be redirected to other points,” Kashin explained.
How to replace expensive vegetables
The rise in prices for vegetables and fruits is not at all a reason to refuse such products, because our body needs them.
According to nutritionist Oksana Kovylkina, instead of the usual salad of cucumbers and tomatoes, you can cook a dish of cabbage, beets, carrots, radishes, radishes, sweet peppers.
Do not forget about frozen vegetables, fruits and berries. Usually in the store they sell cauliflower, broccoli, green peas, corn, and green beans in this form. They can be mixed with cereals, make salads and desserts, the specialist added in an interview with RIAMO.
But with frozen foods you need to be careful. Not all of them are safe for health. The Swedish nutritionist Signe Swanfeldt previously spoke about the most harmful.


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Recently, the spy photos of Volkswagen new t-roc exploration song without fake road test have been exposed overseas. The new car is undergoing the final test. It is planned to be officially released in the fourth quarter of this year, take the lead in overseas sales and officially delivered next year. In other markets, the new car is expected to be officially changed as a 2022 model next year, and the price is expected to be the same as the cash.
The biggest change of the upgraded model lies in the front face. The new car has been replaced with a brand-new lamp set, grille and more radical bumper.
Internally, the new car is expected to be digitally upgraded again, equipped with a new touch screen, built-in new golf 8 generations of the same intelligent car machine system, and cancel some physical buttons, making the overall degree of science and technology stronger.
In terms of power, the new car will remain the same as the cash power. As a reference, the entry power of the new car overseas is a 1.0T three cylinder supercharged engine, the high configuration model is a 1.5T four cylinder supercharged engine, and the top equipped t-roc r high-performance version is equipped with the same 2.0T engine as golf R.


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According to Australian Macadamia Society’s market development manager Lynne Ziehlke, sustainability and traceability demands from consumers were increasing, and the society was relying on social media heavily to respond.
She said the focus was on transparency, and giving consumers the opportunity to know more about the product they are buying, and the steps it takes from the very beginning, to the moment it lands on their plates.
A shift consumers wanting reassurance on quality and safety of food products, to demanding brands demonstrate environmental sustainability, health, and ethical standards, has seen a change in the way the macadamia industry advertise and promote their product and growers.
“For today’s consumer, it’s about knowing a whole lot more about the product that they pay for,” Ms Ziehlke said.
In Australia, a small percentage of the production is classified organic, but Ms Ziehlke said the industry prided itself on a 100 per cent record of complying to residue testing over a period of 15 years.
She said complying to industry standards and a strong regulatory framework also assisted in reassuring consumers they were purchasing a high-quality, sustainable product.
“We have an industry standard, and all our processing sector adheres to HACCP (Hazard analysis and critical control points) and other international systems such as BRC (British Retail Consortium),” she said.
“The best evidence is that high end/big multinationals buy product from us – organisations like Aldi in Germany, Costco in the States, Haagen Dazs, Seeberger, Meiji – they buy from us because we have a very good reputation for consistency.”
In 2012, the Australian Macadamia Society changed the direction of their consumer contact. They swapped from a primarily magazine-based advertising campaign to utilising social media, specifically Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.
Ms Ziehlke said while advertising in magazines was “one dimensional”, social media allowed them to interact and converse with consumers in real time, addressing individual concerns directly.
Related Insights: Consumers Getting Smart by Mobile Technology
Source: Queensland Country Life


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BANGOR, Maine — The bad economy appears to have eaten its way into the food business in Maine. The 22-year-old Shaw’s Supermarket near the Bangor Mall is scheduled to close on Jan. 31, and an unspecified number of jobs will be eliminated from the Hannaford Bros. corporate headquarters in Scarborough.
“It’s not good news,” Judy Chong, director of communications for Shaw’s Supermarkets Inc., said Wednesday.
Chong would not give too much information about why the Shaw’s will close, but did say that the economy is involved.
“It would be fair to say that when you evaluate the landscape, the current economic conditions would be one factor,” she said.
The supermarket chain is based in West Bridgewater, Mass., and operates 200 Shaw’s and Star Markets stores throughout New England.
The Bangor store’s 120 employees received the news on Tuesday.
Chong said that the company’s human resources department is working with the employees to place “as many as possible” in the Main Street Shaw’s in Bangor and the Shaw’s in Ellsworth.
The company’s plans to build a new store on Stillwater Avenue in Bangor have been “placed on hold,” she said.
News of shutdowns and cutbacks may not be surprising given the tough economic climate, but the most recent monthly sales figures from the U.S. Department of Commerce seem to show that grocery store sales in the U.S. are a rare bright spot. Grocery store sales in October increased 4.7 percent over October 2007, according to the department’s figures.
“In comparison with other retailers, grocery stores probably are recessionproof,” Hannaford Bros. spokesman Mike Norton said Wednesday. “But grocery stores are a competitive business.”
Norton, whose company just offered “voluntary resignation” to all 750 employees at its corporate headquarters, said Hannaford is working hard to maintain its competitive edge.
“This certainly has something to do with the economic environment. It also has to do with being positioned well for the future,” Norton said.
The company isn’t saying how many jobs will be eliminated altogether. The voluntary resignation program will offer severance packages based on tenure.
Norton said the corporate restructuring will have no impact on more than 27,000 workers at the company’s 167 retail stores in Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York and Vermont. Nor will there be reductions in trucking and distribution divisions.
“We know we need to have a lower cost structure at the corporate office,” Norton said. “Once we start moving through with it, it’ll be good. It’ll be good for the company in the long run.”
Curtis Picard, executive director of the Maine Merchants Association, said that grocery stores have tight profit margins and that while a competitive marketplace tends to keep prices down for consumers, it can be hard on the stores. He said the advent of discount grocers in the area — such as the Wal-Mart Supercenter in Brewer — might be having an effect on other grocery stores.
Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world’s largest retailer, is planning to open a new supercenter in Bangor next year. The company reported in November that its third-quarter earnings increased 9.8 percent to $3.14 billion from the same quarter last year and attributed some of that jump in sales of food at Sam’s Club and the supercen-ters, which sell groceries.
Phil Serghini, the public affairs manager for Wal-Mart Inc. in Maine, said people shouldn’t have to worry that the Bangor Wal-Mart’s current location near Shaw’s on Springer Drive will become a “dark store” after the supercenter opens off Stillwater Avenue.
“The story is, we have a buyer lined up at this stage,” he said, declining to identify it. “We still have to close on the deal, but the buyer’s been on board a couple of years now, actually.”
After Shaw’s Springer Drive store closes, there still will be 22 Shaw’s Supermarkets in Maine, Chong said. It is the only Maine store currently slated for closure, although the company has chosen not to renew a lease on a Connecticut store, too.
According to the Bangor assessor’s office, the Shaw’s building is owned by Frost and Webber of Bangor, which did not return calls to the BDN on Wednesday.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.


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Headpieces by Flair Designs of Jackson will be featured at the Posh Boutique Spring Fashion Show in Garfield on Thursday, May 9.
Housewives go high-fashion at the third annual Posh Boutique Spring Fashion show on Thursday, May 9.
The event in Garfield celebrates the new season of "The Real Housewives of New Jersey" (premiering June 2 on Bravo) and features cast members Kathy Wakile and Melissa Gorga as special guests.
Posh Boutique, a clothing and accessories online store based in Fair Lawn, is owned by Jairo Arias, who currently serves as one of the clothing stylists for Wakile and Gorga. The boutique's spring and summer collection will be premiered at the show, which features looks from Los Angeles, Miami and New ...


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Singlepoint Inc (OTCMKTS:SING)
Shares of Singlepoint Inc (OTCMKTS:SING) rallied 20.20% after the company confirmed the acquisition of Dr. FeelGood, a profitable cannabis distribution company. Under the terms of the agreement, the company is to acquire a 51% stake in the distribution firm in a cash and stock transaction.
The 20.20% rally helped reverse a sell-off wave that had already broken a key support level. Singlepoint Inc (OTCMKTS:SING) is currently trading in a $0.06-$0.07 trading range, waiting to see if it will break through the $0.08 – $0.09 levels, which are acting as immediate resistance levels.
The Dr. FeelGood acquisition has already triggered renewed investor interest in Singlepoint Inc (OTCMKTS:SING) stock given that it strengthens the company’s prospects in the multibillion legal cannabis business. Dr. FeelGood is SinglePoint’s third acquisition for the year as it continues to diversify its revenue stream through acquisitions.
Dr. FeelGood should provide Singlepoint Inc. (OTCMKTS:SING) with additional revenue, in addition to an experienced team that has been working in the cannabis industry for years. The distribution firm is currently working on a mobile app that, it claims, will enhance their user experience in addition to streamlining operations.
“SinglePoint is in a better position than it has ever been before. We are well capitalized to continue acquisitions and we are optimistic to complete additional acquisitions and very optimistic to significantly increase the company revenue,” said Singlepoint Inc (OTCMKTS:SING) CEO, Greg Lambrecht.
Dr. FeelGood boasts of a wide variety of products distributed through B2B and B2C channels that Singlepoint Inc (OTCMKTS:SING) is set to gain access to. The two companies are also set to collaborate on the development and implementation of a new delivery platform.
Singlepoint Inc (OTCMKTS:SING) has also completed the acquisition of WeedCoin from First Bitcoin Capital Inc. The acquisition expands the company’s footprint into the Bitcoin business. WeedCoin is one of the three Cryptocurrencies targeting consumers in the cannabis business. Since its launch, the cryptocurrency has achieved a market capitalization of $60 million.
By acquiring WeedCoin, Singlepoint Inc. (OTCMKTS:SING) hopes to provide customers an alternative payment option given the many barriers that come into play with traditional payment options. WeedCoin is already registered in three popular exchanges which could see it generate greater levels of interest needed to gain a competitive edge against other Cryptocurrencies.
I have no positions in any of the stocks mentioned, and have no plans to initiate any positions within the next 72 hours. All information, including any data, is provided without any guarantees of accuracy.
Don’t miss out! Stay informed on $SING and receive breaking news on other hot stocks by signing up for our free newsletter!
About the author: Monica has an undergraduate degree in Accounting and an MBA she earned – with Honors. She has six years of experience in the financial markets and has been an analyst for the past two years.


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SoundGuard is proud to have our soundproofing paint technology recognized as a promising sustainable innovation.
Katerva seeks to identify the most promising startups with a focus on sustainable disruptive innovation; the kind of innovation that makes our world a better place, while blazing a path toward sustainability.
With over 1500 global nominees identified by Katerva’s researchers, SoundGuard was selected as one of only ten finalists in the Smart Cities category.
The categories, which build on the UN’s 17 sustainable development goals, include Economy, Behavior Change, Gender Equality, and Smart Cities.
SoundGuard has created the world’s first soundproofing paint for commercial and residential markets. Our revolutionary, eco-friendly noise reduction coating that has been independently and scientifically proven to reduce sound transmission through interior walls by up to 90% making it the closest thing to soundproof paint that has ever been developed.
SoundGuard was recently selected as a Top 100 Global Semifinalist for the 2018 Startup of the Year Award. This year’s class of Semifinalists come from 43 states and 46 countries. As a Semifinalist the SoundGuard team was invited to attend Innovate Celebrate in Boston, MA on October 15th-17th to compete for $500,000 in prizes. Innovate Celebrate, co-hosted by Consumer Technology Association (CTA) and Established (formerly TechCo Media), is the premier global conference bridging the gap between the very best emerging startups and the world’s leading technology brands.
During the Innovate Celebrate Conference, our Founder and CEO, Jonah Lupton, was able to meet entrepreneurs and investors from around the world as well as showcase the company to a room full of community members, business executives and startup enthusiasts. There was also a phenomenal group of speakers, judges and mentors which can be found on the Innovate website at InnovateCelebrate.com
Although SoundGuard was not named one of the 5 Finalists, we were still very honored to be included with so many amazing early-stage companies. Considering that Uber and Grubhub were also Semifinalists and went on to build massively successful companies with billions in revenue — we have a lot to be excited about. SoundGuard was chosen as one of the top 100 startups from around the world out of thousands of applicants and for that we are grateful and proud.
Congratulations to the winners and thank you to Innovate, Established, the CTA, as well as all of the other competing startups and founders for including us — we look forward to watching your success over the coming years.
SoundGuard, creator of the world’s first and only soundproof paint has been named a Finalist for the 2018 New England Innovation Award. The New England Business Association, founded in 1938 as the Small Business Association of New England (SBANE) is a private nonprofit association with approximately 600 member companies. NEBA was established to provide a legislative voice for small businesses and to make information and resources available to help small business owners grow their companies.
The prestigious New England Innovation Award, which originated more than 30 years ago, strives to recognize companies that have taken their innovative ideas and developed them into transformative products and companies poised for massive disruption and growth.
Judging for the New England Innovation Award is based on four main criteria: Innovation. Growth. Stability. Impact.
The nomination for SoundGuard was a result of years of research and development by their team of chemists and coating experts. SoundGuard’s founder and CEO Jonah Lupton was dedicated in his pursuit to create their soundproof paint because he was confident the application possibilities would be endless. SoundGuard is the only non-invasive soundproofing solution on the planet that can achieve 12+ decibel reduction at a truly reasonable price point. In addition to being effective and affordable, this revolutionary product is also eco-friendly, fire-resistant, mold/mildew resistant and anti-microbial.
Winners of the 2018 New England Innovation Award will be named at the New England Business Association’s Annual Gala on Thursday, May 10th in Waltham, Massachusetts. Tickets can be purchased at NewEnglandBusiness.org


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A pivot in focus a few years ago has positioned Immerss to tackle the growing e-commerce trend.
Now, as it looks to raise millions in a new fundraising effort, the Dallas-based company—which provides digital tools to help brands drive online sales—says it’s looking to become the “go-to solution” for live e-commerce.
“We really view ourselves as a matchmaker between brands and their customers,” Immerss co-founder Patrick Jacobs told Dallas Innovates.
The ‘lightbulb moment’
Immerss initially launched in 2015 with the goal creating a video connection platform, bringing on now-CEO Arthur Veytsman as an earlier investor. The company later reiterated to a tool connecting brands with influencers to market products online, but found itself moving more toward an agency model rather than its core focus as a tech platform.
“It’s always been about the belief that live video was going to become more of a prevalent player in commerce, and in general, that live video was going to continue to evolve be a player in multiple areas,” Jacobs said.
At around that time, the co-founders found themselves speaking with Doug Kindy, the president of San Antonio-based bootmaker Lucchese. Kindy told them his company’s biggest pain point was selling expensive, high-consideration items to customers who don’t get the experience of being helped by a knowledgeable salesperson online
“That was the lightbulb moment,” Jacobs said.
Client becomes investor
In 2019, Immerss leveraged its years of R&D work and began working on an MVP for its new focus as an e-commerce shopping experience, with Lucchese as its first client and use-case. After going live with the Immerss platform in early 2020—even before the pandemic pushed most sales online—the company was able to help Lucchese move the majority of its sales to direct-to-consumer.
Through family office investors led by Lucchese board members—Oak Stream Investors III, a fund of Oak Stream Investors, and Muse Family Enterprises—the bootmaker would go on to invest $1.1 million in seed funding in Immerss in 2021.
“When we got numbers out of Lucchese’s case study, that just blew everybody’s mind. We’re like, ‘Okay, we’ve got something good here, because we went with the most difficult use-case and we got really amazing KPIs out of it,’” Veytsman told Dallas Innovates. “That that gave us a very strong trajectory into we’re building the right thing at the right time. So, then it’s going and making it accessible to many stores.”
‘It’s all about enabling brands to build relationships’
To help brands drive e-commerce sales, Immerss offers two core solutions. Its one-to-one solution, which is called digital clienteling, is similar to the chat widget that pops up on many retail websites. However, Immerss’ solution connects customers with real-time video to a brand’s sales rep. Its one-to-many solution is described by Jacobs as giving companies their own “branded QVC experience,” allowing them to host interactive livestreams to entertain and make sales.
Both solutions provide real-time analytics about sales and engagement.
“It’s all about enabling brands to build relationships with their shoppers online, to really create a human element in e-commerce and create this kind of virtual in-store experience from a clientele standpoint,” Jacobs said.
That solution has helped Immerss attract local clients like Ylang 23 and Tinge Beauty, as well as others like Hammitt and Radley London. On average, the company says brands using its platform see sales conversions between 24% and 31% and average order volumes increase by at least 35%.
“Through our technology, you can build a relationship with an associate from the store from anywhere in the world. The brand could do that successfully, they’re going to win in the long-term,” Jacobs said. “You’ve got to differentiate the brands out there, and the number-one way to differentiate is to provide memorable experiences.”
Immerss plans to start raising $5 million later this year
Building on the success it has seen, Veytsman said his 12-person company plans to begin raising a $5 million funding round in Q4 of this year. Still considering the companies Immerss works with as early-adopters, he added that the funding will help Immerss continue to garner traction and customers, while positioning it to become a “business influencer” in the space, leveraging its understanding of technology and e-commerce, in addition to helping it build out its offering.
One of the areas Immerss is looking at is bridging the in-person shopping experience with digital shopping. Veytsman said the new solution the company is building out will allow a shopper to enter a store, and instead of looking around for a sales rep or specialist, they’ll be able to scan a QR code, which would connect them with a live online expert—something he says also helps cut down on hiring costs for businesses.
“The big, overarching goal is to provide our clients with the ability to use our technology to better their business and better life for their employees,” Veytsman said.
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Mobile payments and commerce company Paytm has appointed Bhushan Patil as its new president, reports Business Standard. Patil will focus on international expansion for Paytm. Prior to joining Paytm, Patil was a director at Alibaba which pumped an undisclosed amount of money in Paytm in September last year, for over 5.5 years.
He continues to be a business mentor at MentorEdge at CIIE, IIM Ahmedabad since June 2010. Before that, Patil worked at Mailgen, Startup Venture and Zapak Digital for over 3.5 years, and at Yahoo, Vendio, Talisma Corp and Aditi Technologies for about 9 years.
Previous moves at the company:
– In January, Paytm appointed Varun Khullar as head of partnerships for its payments bank. Khullar would lead partnerships and build partners in insurance companies, banks and nonbanking financial institutions. Paytm also appointed Vikas Purohit in a leadership position for its payments bank, and said it planned to hire 3,000 people for the same business.
– In the same month, Amit Lakhotia, VP of payments at One97 Communications’ Paytm has resigned, with plans to start his own company. At Paytm, Lakhotia worked as as the associate VP, before which he worked as the GM of payments and deals for about 2 years.
– In June last year, Paytm made three new additions to its board appointing Ruchi Sanghvi, the first woman engineer at Facebook, WhatsApp global business head Neeraj Arora and InMobi founder Naveen Tewari.
Alibaba tie up: Last month, Paytm and Alibaba entered into a commercial agreement to allow Paytm to deploy Alipay’s technology via AliCloud. The agreement would allow both firms to integrate their existing platforms to work with each other. Paytm would invest about Rs 120 crore for deployment, which will essentially allow Alipay’s global customers from China, Japan, US and the UK buy from Paytm’s merchants and Indian Paytm users to buy from merchants listed on Alipay on a commission basis.
Loan from ICICI Bank: Earlier this month, the company borrowed close to Rs 300 crore from private sector lender ICICI Bank in working capital loans in a treasury management move to secure the credit lines by pledging fixed deposits and cash reserves.
PVR tie up: At the same time, Paytm partnered with PVR, INOX and other unnamed cinema houses to sell movie tickets on its platform. The new initiative would also let users pay for food and other value-added services through their Paytm wallet. Paytm had announced that it would launch movie ticketing in September last year.


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Sony have just announced a new 24” all-in-one 3D touchscreen multimedia PC called the Vaio L.
Today at IFA 2011, Sony confirmed the launch dates for it’s two new tablet devices, and they have their final names – the Sony Tablet S and the Sony Tablet P.
Sony Introduces World’s Lightest 15.2cm eReader with Enhanced Touchscreen and a Limited Edition Harry Potter Edition
Sony have just announced the World’s lightest eReader with Enhanced Touchscreen. Oh, and a specially-created limited edition of Reader Wi-Fi for Harry Potter fans!
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Archives for Nemetschek Archives - Architosh
Nemetschek announced 12 July 2022 that it has become a founding member of the Metaverse Standards Forum. This is a newly established governing body that aims to foster agreement on requirements and priorities for metaverse interoperability standards. Prior to joining the Metaverse Standards Forum, Nemetschek’s Maxon brand had already embraced exchange file formats and bridges to other software.
Nemetschek Group announces its investment in UK-based start-up SymTerra. This is a new communications platform for mobile devices aimed squarely at the construction industry.
Nemetschek revenue through subscription and SaaS models builds momentum – company posts strong top line and margin growth.
Allplan and SDS2 join forces allowing combined expertise in concrete and steel detailing to benefit customers globally.
The Nemetschek Group says construction (AEC) industry needs paradigm shift—offers integrated design transformative technologies.
Nemetschek challenges the status quo with new Integrated Design BIM workflows, streamlining workflows between architects and engineers.
We take a look into themes shown in the upcoming Graphisoft Building Together digital global event and tie-in some analysis and commentary from what we heard a year ago at Graphisoft’s last major event in the US.
Subscription-Only Release Offers Improved UV Workflows and Viewport Performance.
Nemetschek’s daughter company, GRAPHISOFT, has gained a new seasoned executive leader from Bentley. In this feature, we gain insights into how Huw Roberts will use his vast experience as the BIM innovator’s new global leader as well as how this development came to be.
It looks like 2019 will be a pivotal year for the Nemetschek Group as it begins its march toward becoming a one billion euro a year company.
Nemetschek Group Introduces ‘Spacewell’—Brand Encompasses Building Operations and Management Segment
The Nemetschek Group of Germany has announced a new brand that encompasses their building operations and management segment of companies and solutions. Spacewell forms the basis for leadership and future growth this growing segment.
Vectorworks Inc. announces its Vectorworks 2019 product line—advances its CAD and BIM software solutions for AEC and Entertainment industries.
Nemetschek’s ALLPLAN acquires BTG IT & Consulting GmbH as it positions Allplan Engineering for BIM-based Infrastructure market leadership.
Nemetschek’s Bluebeam Inc. gets a new interim CEO in internal CTO leader Don Jacob as company co-founder Richard Lee steps down.
Now it is possible to utilize Solibri Model Checker (SMC) in a faster, near real-time way with the popular BIM application ArchiCAD.


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Foreign media outlets have successively predicted that with the implementation of favorable economic policies, China's ultra-large market will release more dividends and bring new opportunities for the recovery of the world economy, and a number of foreign investment banks have also raised their forecast for China's economic growth this year.
Due to intensified geopolitical tensions, pandemic outbreaks and high inflation, the prospect for the global economy is not optimistic. In this context, the international community is shifting more attention eastward, especially to China. China is committed to keeping its economy on the track of high-quality development driven by innovation and new growth drivers, while trying to expand domestic demand.
China's high-tech industry is becoming a hotspot for global investment. Despite its economic downturn and pandemic pressure, China has made remarkable achievements in electric vehicles, artificial intelligence, the digital economy, aerospace technology, deep-sea exploration and other fields, and its high-quality development has enhanced its economic innovation and sustainability and injected new impetus into world economic development.
With a population of over 1.4 billion and a middle-income group of over 400 million, China imports about $2.5 trillion in goods and services every year, making it the world's mega-large market. In the long run, China's consumer market is still resilient and its overall trend of consumption expansion and upgrading has not changed. China's top authorities have repeatedly stressed that the country will focus on expanding domestic demand and prioritize consumption. This will release more dividends for other countries. That is why Goldman Sachs and other international banks have raised their forecasts for China's economic growth in 2023.
China began to lower its overall tariffs again on Jan 1, and 1,020 categories of goods now can enjoy a tariff lower than the most-favored-nation tariffs. The agreed tariff rate on some goods originating in Indonesia under the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership was also implemented from Jan 2. China has also submitted entry applications to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership and the Digital Economy Partnership Agreement. All this shows that China's desire to bring new opportunities to other countries will not change.


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Lawmakers and their staffs are now busy proposing hundreds of rules. (And some retail financial advisors are making changes to their businesses.) Some of them are downright stupid. For example, the New York Times reported yesterday that some of the rules are rather "exotic." Here is a quotation from the story:
"While the issue may be outside the S.E.C.’s core expertise, it is now within its jurisdiction. A little-known amendment tacked on to the Dodd-Frank financial reform law requires corporations to disclose whether they manufacture products using so-called conflict minerals from Congo or neighboring countries." Jaysus!


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Our request is more appropriate, “Don’t let small businesses die.”
Countless small businesses will not survive. The historic Small Business Federal Disaster Program enacted by bipartisan majorities --- ran out of money and recently “earned” a respite with more money.
But is it available to true small businesses or something else?
From our perspective, the new federal funding program has missed the mark and again, the only benefit appears to be a select few with influence and nothing more to garner the funds with no questions asked.
The rollout and implementation were plagued by problems from the start (as if the government didn’t want it to work in the first place), and the Small Business Administration (SBA), which is running the program, appeared overwhelmed.
Mandatory business shutdowns and quarantines have decimated small businesses. No-fault of their own, but the federal government by its procrastination, unconscionable paper working and excuses to selectively fund “insiders,” gives the appears of a hidden agenda to blame small businesses for perpetuating the dilemma and not worthy of support. It is the small businesses on the battle line, help and doing what the can, supporting the community, seeking and to easy the pandemic while they fight the government for a few dollars.
Is that the American Way or just more noise?
Our GREENMARK 101 research shows that 74% of small businesses applied for federal disaster relief when the program opened on April 3. Within a week and a half, the funding appropriation was nearly three-quarters gone, even though most small businesses are telling us they have yet to receive any money and are running into roadblocks when applying. They’re angry at the SBA and the banks for failing to come through and lack of communications.
We are on the same cliff with nowhere to go, except to push back.
More money and communication are needed. Roughly 1.6 million small companies were able to obtain loans, the SBA said, out of 6 million that were likely eligible. Bank of American economists estimate than another $650 billion would be necessary to meet demands, while our algorithms reckon $1.1 trillion.
Congress is on the wrong mountain when considering small business funding.
It would be better if lawmakers directed at least $400 billion to fund businesses with 20 or fewer employees, take steps to make sure the funds make it to true small business. The SBA must ensure a “level playing field.” Complete transparency is required to uncover and disclose undue influence, objectionable connections, and the means to obtain special treatment.
Small businesses are not asking for handouts or something for nothing. The COVID-19 cure for small businesses is useless if the patient is already dead. From what has occurred to date, the federal government wants small businesses to take a step back and disappear.
Small businesses are half of America’s economy and account for 56% of America’s jobs.
This crucial part of the economy is most in danger of failing. The vast majority of small businesses have fewer than 20 employees. They don’t have an army of lawyers and accountants to process their paperwork, nor do they have piles of reserves or huge lines of credit with financial institutions to weather the crisis.
Small businesses are the silent majority that functions without benefit of a safety net, unlike the public companies and the other kind that are being funded without mindfulness.
Small businesses are always “at risk,” but continue to persevere.
COVID-19 is not their fault, but the lack of federal support is sending a message: “Be safe – Back a Step.”
Northridge Corporation, subsidiary Greenmark Corporation, and divisions will survive and hopefully all small businesses. Yet, we collectively reinforced what we know --- never relief on anyone or anything except the internal strength and fortitude, your personnel, suppliers, and the integrity of the status quo.
Small businesses must stick together. We don’t have much to offer but are willing to share what we have. Just ask, and maybe we can collectively take a step forward and get off the ledge.
“We will come out of this. Small businesses are empowered with a voice to correct these injustices. We must use it. Intrinsic to our business model are empathy, generosity, respect, and integrity." Christopher Netelkos, Vice President, Northridge Corporation


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Small batches of developers from various studios are coming forward to pledge their support for the #GamerGate movement. These game-makers feel as if the industry needs a desperate change and have spoken up.
Brad Wardell, the CEO of Stardock Entertainment, a company known for games such as Sins of a Solar Empire and Galactic Civilization, has openly come out in support of the #GamerGate movement, writing some eye-opening words about how “toxic” the games media circuit has become: blog...
The problem is that the gaming media gets more hits from demonizing game makers which makes their audience angry and causes them to lash out at the appointed villain. So contextless articles are written designed to make you hate someone, usually people that the article writer already has a problem with. Those articles then live on via search engines perpetuating people being mad and going after the appointed villain. Toxicity is created, spread and maintained.
He felt that the gaming media portrayed him as one of these villains after he was sued for sexual harassment by a former employee. The case was later dismissed.
Wardell just recently made a post titled “#GamerGate – The Free Ride is Over”, making it known that...
“...the bulk of the “anti-#GamerGate” crowd, are perfectly comfortable with harassment and abuse as long as it’s the right people doing the harassment and abuse: Themselves.”
Both sides have managed to spew some hateful things, but most major media outlets only focus on the abuse that anti-#GamerGate individuals encounter. A website called GamerGateHarassment chronicles the abuse that also comes from those supposedly championing “inclusion” by promoting the “death” of the gamer identity.
An independent developer named Devi Ever made also stepped forward, making a 25-minute long video explaining some of the hurdles of dealing with cliques in the games media, saying...
“The nail in the coffin for me was when I had a friend in the industry say 'Hey, you should talk to Ben Kuchera [from Polygon], because he's open-minded and he'll listen to you.' I was like 'Are you f—king kidding me?' and they were like 'No, you should really talk to him.'
Devi also released an image of the e-mail exchange here.
It's not just the smaller developers stepping forward. Supposedly, a member of the original Xbox One design team posted anonymously on 4chan, using a photo of the white Xbox One that Microsoft sent out to the 2013 launch team as proof – stating the following...
“Me and a large part of my work colleagues support #gamergate. We work to create an amazing experience for our customers, for the gamers, and in return we are branded as misogynists, fat, neck-bearded creeps by these so-called 'journalists'. Yes, almost all of us here in this studio are gamers. We, on a personal level do NOT approve of these websites (which, at the end of the day, make money on our work) and their biased articles and lacking ethics.
Of course, is it possible someone purchased a near $3,000 Xbox One unit from eBay and then posted the #GamerGate post-it in the photo to boost morale? It's possible, but that's a very expensive way to troll.


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3 7 Million Of Obesity Cases May Reduce By 2025 In UK Applying Tax Over Sugar Drinks Study Report
- Post By : Microbioz India
- Date: 22 February, 2016
According to report published by Cancer Research, UK and UK Health forum,approx 3.7 million of obesity cases may reduce by 2025 through applying tax over all of sugar drinks. According to brief report, about 20% tax over sugar drinks is effecting in reducing approx 5% sugar cases equal to 3.7 million people in UK.
The report also includes if these taxes are continued, then it saves NHS funding alone about £10 million in healthcare and social care costs by 2025.
Alison Cox, Cancer Research UK's director of cancer prevention, said: "The ripple effect of a small tax on sugary drinks is enormous. These numbers make it clear why we need to act now before obesity becomes an even greater problem."
Sugar drinks and other Junk foods are cheaper in price and can easily be purchased and after applying taxes over these foods, peoples can put option over these products and these also forced and switch to buy other healthy products.
Note: The above story is for information purpose only. For more information, go through story source.
Cancer Research UK


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News & Hot Topics
ZoomSystems is excited with our most recent customer launch: Pressed Juicery, California's leading cold-pressed juicery chain. ZoomSystems' automated retail unit has been deployed at The Oaks Mall in Thousand Oaks, California. Expanding our current supply chain solutions, these units are refrigerated and replenished on a daily basis to ensure the freshest and highest quality product.
We are excited to announce ZoomSystem's launch with NTT, the largest telecommunications company in the world in terms of revenue. Our Zoom Shops have been deployed in Tokyo, Japan and we will be expanding with NTT's network.
ZoomSystems' Benefit Kiosk and partnerships with Essie and 3FLOZ are featured in Family Circle Magazine's April 2015 print edition.
Vending machines have been undergoing dramatic high-tech upgrades in recent years. Here's a look at three kinds of vending machines that are being used in the Twin Cities, and the people who are operating them.
More and more, companies are making vending machines an important part of their product distribution strategies. Vending machines enable products to sell in more locations at a lower cost than in traditional retail shops since the real estate expense is usually lower, and other than restocking the machines, labor costs are non-existent. In most cases, there’s no competitive clutter around the machines and the products are the only ones in their category at that spot. There’s also strong advertising value because vending machines can be uniquely branded.
ZoomSystems showcased Benefit Cosmetics, Amazon and Essie automated retail machines at the 2015 Airport Revenue News Conference this month in San Diego, CA . The show featured the latest trends and business strategies for attending airport decision makers. Thank you to everyone who helped make this show a great success!
Harvard Business Review article: "It seems like sort of a win-win, both for companies that want to make more money and for customers who feel more comfortable without that social friction."
In 2014, Nespresso grew in all regions, further expanding its presence around the world. The focus on quality and investments in products, machines and services were the base for its strong results. Nespresso continued to drive the expansion of the global single-serve coffee market with the successful launch of the VertuoLinesystem in North America creating a new premium coffee segment. The roll-out of the innovative automated retail boutique, the Nespresso Cube, is pioneering a new way of shopping and a personalised service for consumers.
Mani lovers, how much do you really know about nail polish? Scroll down to read a few mind-blowing facts about this classic beauty staple!
Longtime industry salesman Dennis Gelb, who most recently worked at ZoomSystems as vice president of airport location development, died suddenly earlier this month.
“He gained the respect and friendship of those he worked with through his organizational skills, creative ideas and his kind and thoughtful demeanor. He was well liked by all of us here at ZoomSystems, always finding a way to make us laugh. He will be greatly missed.”
Jack Lawrence, CEO, ZoomSystems


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Tomorrow, sales of iPhone 14 smartphones will begin, which will be received by the first buyers in retail stores and those who have placed pre-orders.
However, not everyone will receive their smartphones on the day of the official start of sales. Someone will miss the smartphones that Apple prepared for the first day, and someone was deceived when pre-ordering. Just such a story happened to Mr. Kang from Zhengzhou, Henan Province.
On September 9, he pre-ordered 11 iPhone 14 series smartphones and 4 iPhone 13 smartphones on a platform called Yiliangou for a total of $22,700. He confirmed that compared to the official website, the prices for smartphones on this platform were $250-$300 lower. The victim added that he learned about this platform from friends in the WeChat group who had previously purchased smartphones from Yiliangou and had no problems.
However, over the past few days, Kang has tried unsuccessfully to contact the seller to inquire about the delivery time of the smartphones. However, the robot answered the calls, he could not get through. As a result, Kang and his acquaintances, who also spent thousands of dollars buying smartphones at bargain prices, panicked. They found out that the platform was connected to a company in Chongqing and asked local contacts to check the office address, only to find that it was already empty.
How the iPhone 14 Pro and Dynamic Island work in realitycan be found in our previous post. Also don’t miss: why iPhone 14 Pro’s always-on display is better than competitors’ solutions. iPhone 14 Pro Max lasts even longer than iPhone 13 Pro Max although its battery has shrunk. In addition, the first reviews of the 48-megapixel camera of the iPhone 14 Pro have appeared. Superiority is best seen in low light.


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March 10, 2009
RadioFrame Networks Inc. is the first high-profile company to exit the femtocell hardware business, Unstrung has learned, although it will continue to make chips for the tiny home basestations.
This morning, Redmond, Wash.-based RadioFrame confirmed rumors that it had closed down its European office -- while stressing that it is still very active in the U.S. -- and said it was getting out of the customer equipment side of the femtocell business.
"While we closed down Europe specific to Femto cell, we are now focused on our iDEN and ASIC businesses," the company's CEO Jeff Brown said in an email reply to Unstrung.
"We are trying to be prudent with our money in these tough economic times and we have pared back to a core set of businesses that will take advantage of our unique market position while maximizing our use of funds."
RadioFrame's EMEA business was headquartered in Dublin. It is not yet clear how many people the closure may affect, and the company isn't commenting.
According to an industry source, RadioFrame has recently laid off employees, and European staff were mainly in business development and sales roles, but it is unclear just how many employees are involved.
Chatter about the company grew when it wasn't at the major European Mobile World Congress tradeshow in Barcelona last month, and it appears there are no plans for CTIA Wireless 2009 in Las Vegas either. On the company's Website in the "Upcoming Events" section, it says "Nothing scheduled at this time."
Back in August last year, RadioFrame -- founded by McCaw Cellular veteran Rob Mechaley -- raised $28 million in Series F equity and debt financing, which brought the company's total funding to $100 million since 2001. (See Femto Vendor Lands $28M.)
At the time of the last funding round, CEO Brown told Unstrung that the money would be used to further develop its femtocell products. Currently, the company's revenues come mainly from iDEN and GSM picocell sales. Nokia Networks resells RadioFrame's picocell products and is also a system integrator partner for femtocell products. (See RadioFrame Pumps Up iDEN, NSN, RadioFrame Team, Orange Uses RadioFrame Pico, and TeliaSonera Tackles Indoor Coverage .)
RadioFrame's femtocell product -- a 7.2 Mbit/s HSDPA standalone device dubbed the OmniCell@Home -- is not yet commercially available and is not in any operator trials. See our report, Who Makes What: Femtocells, to see how RadioFrame compares to its femto rivals. (See Radioframe Intros OmniCell.)
— Dan Jones, Site Editor, and Michelle Donegan, European Editor, Unstrung
Dan is to hats what Will.I.Am is to ridiculous eyewear. Fedora, trilby, tam-o-shanter -- all have graced the Jones pate during his career as the go-to purveyor of mobile essentials.
But hey, Dan is so much more than 4G maps and state-of-the-art headgear. Before joining the Light Reading team in 2002 he was an award-winning cult hit on Broadway (with four 'Toni' awards, two 'Emma' gongs and a 'Brian' to his name) with his one-man show, "Dan Sings the Show Tunes."
His perfectly crafted blogs, falling under the "Jonestown" banner, have been compared to the works of Chekhov. But only by Dan.
He lives in Brooklyn with cats.
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A liquor store with locations in Natick and Everett is suing the state for the right to offer you cheaper booze.
Massachusetts has a rule banning stores from selling alcohol cheaper than what they paid for it. Two Total Wines and More liquor store locations face multi-day liquor license suspensions after pricing their alcohol lower than the wholesale price, WickedLocal reports.
The store argued that the low price was based on anticipated discounts from its suppliers, but the Alcohol Beverages Control Commission said the liquor couldn't be priced lower than the invoiced price from the wholesaler, the paper reports.
The Total Wines store in Natick will reportedly lose their licence from March 22 to March 24. The store in Everett will lose their license from March 15 to 16.
Total Wines is challenging the suspension and filing a lawsuit in Suffolk Superior Court. The new lawsuit seeks to get rid of the minimum price rule and allow stores to charge whatever they can afford. A hearing is schedule for Friday.
© 2019 Cox Media Group.


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After advertisers complained about programmatic ad placements on anti-vax videos, YouTube removed ads on videos that advocate against vaccination.
YouTube on Friday said it would prevent channels that promote anti-vax content from running advertising, saying explicitly that such videos fall under its policy prohibiting the monetization of videos with “dangerous and harmful” content. The move comes after advertisers on YouTube pulled their ads from these videos, following inquiries from BuzzFeed News.
“We have strict policies that govern what videos we allow ads to appear on, and videos that promote anti-vaccination content are a violation of those policies. We enforce these policies vigorously, and if we find a video that violates them, we immediately take action and remove ads,” a YouTube spokesperson said in an email statement to BuzzFeed News.
In addition to demonetizing anti-vax content, YouTube also introduced a new information panel pertaining to vaccines. Now, a considerably larger number of anti-vax videos have an information panel that links to the Wikipedia page for “vaccine hesitancy”, where it is described as “one of the top ten global health threats of 2019” according the World Health Organization.
Free speech matters, and the people worried about it aren’t all bigots! Even if it is not your point of view, you shouldn’t censor it! That’s what I call intolerance! And the death of freedom of speech!
Follow us on Facebook and Twitter or become a Patron on Patreon / donate through Paypal. Please and thank you


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The blank-check company Foley Trasimene Acquisition II Corp (BFT) is scheduled to take payments processor Paysafe public. William P. Foley, who is the chairman and CEO of Fidelity National Financial Inc. and the vice-chairman of Fidelity National Information Services, started BFT. The BFT and Paysafe merger is expected in the first half of 2021.
Paysafe provides global payment processing. Its brands include Skrill, Neteller, and Paysafecard. Paysafe is already a huge business that handles $100 million in payments volume annually. BFT stock has been on a downtrend over the last few days. Should you buy BFT stock before its merger with Paysafe?
Why BFT stock is falling
After hitting a high of $19.24 on Jan. 21, BFT stock has fallen by more than 23 percent. There has been a broad-based sell-off in SPACs. Fintech stocks have also been under pressure amid the recent sell-off in tech stocks. The large-scale COVID-19 vaccinations should get the economy back on track during the year. The Fed might have to raise interest rates faster than expected, which has stoked inflation concerns and has led to rising Treasury yields. These developments have depressed stock prices. While the fintech space has been falling, the outlook remains strong. Now might be the time to buy some of these stocks on the dip.
Paysafe versus Paypal
Paysafe competes with many players in the space, including PayPal (PYPL), Square (SQ), Stripe, and Payoneer. One of its largest competitors is PayPal. While Paysafe and PayPal operate in the same market, there's scope for multiple players in this space. One of the major differences between the two is that while Paysafe’s take rate is 1.5 percent, PayPal has a higher 2 percent take rate. This is the average fee that the company charges on gross transactions to produce its revenue.
However, due to its expense management, Paysafe has higher EBITDA margins compared to PayPal. In its presentation, Paysafe is estimating an EBITDA margin of 39.5 percent in 2023—up from 30.4 percent in 2020. In comparison, PayPal had a margin of just 20 percent, according to Investor Place.
When it comes to valuation, according to TIKR, PayPal is trading at an EV-to-NTM EBITDA multiple of 37.2x. According to Paysafe’s presentation, adjusting its EBITDA estimates for 2021 and 2022 to calculate it for NTM, the EV-to-EBITDA multiple is 15.5x. Therefore, PayPal has a higher valuation compared to Paysafe. Paysafe’s other payment processing peers, like Square, also have much higher multiples. Paysafe seems like an attractive bet in the fintech space based on its valuation multiple.
Paysafe is a good fintech stock to buy.
Paysafe has exposure to the expanding online payments market and it also facilitates standard brick-and-mortar point-of-sale transactions. The brick-and-mortar transactions are expected to benefit from the pent-up demand after the COVID-19 pandemic. Another strong catalyst for Paysafe is the strong growth expected in igaming. Currently, the company generates nearly 34 percent of its organic revenues through igaming commerce. Since Paysafe is focused on this attractive vertical within the e-commerce space, its revenues should rise significantly. Amid a reasonable valuation and high growth prospects, Paysafe seems like a good fintech stock to buy.
BFT stock forecast
BFT has fallen over 23 percent from its highs. However, the drop doesn't have anything to do with company-specific factors. The fintech names sold off along with the overall market. Therefore, the pullback in BFT's stock price gives investors an attractive opportunity to buy the stock at a cheap price.


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Research to improve safety at Port
Researchers are examining the challenges facing the operations within the Newcastle Port in a bid to improve safety.
Wollongong University researchers have received $1.3 million in funding from the Australian Research Council and Newcastle and Port Kembla Port Corporations.
The value of bulk commodity exports and container imports is expected to double to $800 billion by 2020.
Professor Tim Coltman says it is a five year project aimed at improving port safety.
"In these environments we just cannot afford for failure to occur because the impact of that can be disastrous on the whole Australian supply chain," he said.
"The damage that can be done by a ship colliding into a berth is a disaster and something that we really don't want to entertain."
Professor Coltman says the research also focuses on innovation management to help port operators cope with the extra pressure.
"Essentially the real research question for us is how managers can deal with the paradox during the innovation," he said.
"Particularly in companies and within industries where there is high risk with ensuring that the product succeeds."


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International yoghurt retailer Pinkberry has added support for Google Wallet payments and offers at 69 of its US outlets. The Google Wallet functionality has been integrated into Pinkberry’s POS system by hospitality systems specialist Micros.
- NXP unveils high security NFC tags that let brands deliver digitally connected products at scale
- Startup tracks fine art provenance using NFC tags and blockchain registry
- iPhone XS packs chips for payments from NXP and ST
- Paytm to test face verification for payments in stores?
- Huami includes NFC for travelcards, payments and access control in $116 budget smartwatch


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Absolut, better known for offering a wide range of alcoholic drinks like Absolut Vodka, launched a global IoT demonstration unit at its headquarter located in Stockholm, Sweden. This unit contains a host of connected products and devices and poised to help brands like Absolut, Kahlúa design and Malibu to test different connected initiatives and offer a combined platform to generate consumer feedback.
Absolut has launched this facility with the help of well-known internet of things agency, SharpEnd. Initially, the primary objective of this agency will be to come up with eight demonstrations that can explore how well the latest technologies of IoT can help the companies create new reliable revenue streams.
What if the users fill their bottle with the cocktail and the color of the room light automatically changes to enhance the overall experience. Or music player starts to play songs as one pours his bottle with the cocktail to make sure he has the best time of his life while drinking his favorite cocktail. Absolut is working hard to make sure that it can create the best in class experience for consumers with the help of internet of things, and this new IoT facility will help it doing so.
In addition to facilitating the company with best tools and technologies, this innovation centre will also educate club owners, bar owners and event partners about how Absolut can help them serving their customers in the most effective way possible.
This announcement has come as part of Center for Data Innovation asking UK Policymakers to formulate a national level strategy based on the internet of things technology that can improve the quality of life and contribute to the economic growth.
You can click here and know more about this announcement.


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Bulgarian Tennis Legend Champions Organic FoodViews on BG | August 10, 2012, Friday // 13:36| views
Magdalena Maleevs rose to rank fourth in the world in 1996, at a time when Bulgarian sport was on something of a high. Photo by EPA/BGNES
By Andrew MacDowall
Bulgarians and many of those who have spent time in Bulgaria – including your correspondent – rave about the country's farm produce and its simple but delicious cuisine. It was enthusiasm for the fresh, flavourful products of her homeland and a heartfelt belief in organic farming that led Magdalena Maleeva, one of Bulgaria's greatest ever tennis players, to establish Bio Bulgaria in September 2006. The blossoming organic food company is becoming an established name in its home country and is now looking to build exports to take Bulgarian food to the world.
"For me, one of the best things about Bulgaria is the food," Maleeva told beyondbrics. "It's a very important part of the country."
Maleeva's professional career, from April 1989 to October 2005, included ten WTA singles titles and eleven other finals appearances. She rose to rank fourth in the world in 1996, at a time when Bulgarian sport was on something of a high. Two years earlier, the "Golden Generation" of the country's football team, featuring the brilliant but famously irascible Hristo Stoichkov, came fourth in the World Cup, having never even won a game in their previous appearances in the tournament. But the Maleevas are arguably just as celebrated: her mother, Yulia Berberyan, was the country's top female tennis player of the 1960 and her sisters Katerina and Manuela reacjed WTA rankings of sixth and fourth in the world, respectively.
When she stopped playing tennis Magdalena and her husband Lubomir Nokov settled in Bulgaria and, with a shared interest in food, began looking into organic farming. They found that some farmers were producing organic products – particularly yoghurt, a Bulgarian staple – and started helping them get their products onto supermarket shelves.
What began as a support project has grown into a small but expanding business, with a turnover of €1.3m last year. Bio Bulgaria markets, distributes and sells premium quality "traditional food products" from a network of farmers and producers, as well as its own yoghurt, made in Sofia.
Its best-known brand is Harmonica, "a brand for authentic regional products and recipes", according to Nokov. Harmonica's best selling products include yoghurt and eggs as well as Balkan specialities such as sirene (a white, feta-like cheese), kashkaval (yellow cheese), ayran (a yoghurt drink) and boza (very much an acquired taste: a fermented cereal-based drink resembling a thick milkshake). Harmonica also imports organic food from Austria, Hungary, Greece and the Czech Republic.
Bio Bulgaria sells through supermarket chains in Bulgaria's bigger cities and through organic food shops – it owns three of its own small stores in Sofia. The company is now looking towards exports. Having increased its production capacity, it recently entered France under the brand "Le petit bulgare". It is also eying exports of honey to Dubai, yoghurt to Singapore and cheese to Germany.
This is still a small enterprise. For Maleeva, the most important aspect is promoting "cleaner food" and Bulgarian farming, which she feels has been short-changed by the authorities, despite its strengths.
"We don't expect to become millionaires but we want a sustainable business," she says. "We're passionate about what we do, we believe in the business and we live it. Bulgaria has huge potential – the fruit and vegetables taste amazing and I've never been anywhere where they taste the same. But the government doesn't focus on farming, they're more interested in ski resorts."
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Aggressor Adventures®, the leader in luxury adventure travel, announces the results of its latest Consumer Travel Index, which tracks consumer sentiments on a bi-monthly basis. In the last 18 months, scientists have made thousands of exciting new discoveries of new species in the ocean and artifacts at historic sites around the world. As such, Aggressor’s February Index puts a spotlight on discovery.Discovering the Unknown
Traveling is about venturing into the great unknown. It helps eradicate any fears you may have of what you can’t control, and you are better able to embrace the unfamiliar with an open mind. Aggressor’s first question asks travelers for their feelings towards new animal species and their willingness to visit sites home to discoveries. Nearly 45 percent of respondents say they would love to be the first human to discover a new species. Furthermore, only 10 percent of respondents would be frightened to come across something previously undiscovered.
Curious at Heart
“As we travel, we are constantly stepping outside of our comfort zones, pushing ourselves to immerse ourselves in the many unique destinations we visit all around the world, Our latest survey results prove it's one thing to learn about a new discovery online or on television, but nothing beats actually setting foot where the discoveries are made and being a part of history.”
-Wayne Brown, CEO of Aggressor Adventures.
A recent study from Curio Collection by Hilton reveals what drives curiosity as it relates to the modern traveler. The findings show 91 percent of the population considers themselves to be curious and 73 percent of people say that traveling is their go-to outlet to express their curiosity. Furthermore, 57 percent of travelers wish they could spend more time exploring the things they are most curious about, such as visiting ancient ruins, eating dinner at a well-regarded restaurant or experiencing a safari.
Aggressor’s second Index question asks respondents their first reaction to a new scientific discovery being made and the level of curiosity is evident. Nearly 60 percent of respondents say their curiosity leads them to research the discovery for more information and more than 15 percent will research the location of where the discovery is made to learn how they can visit the site.
Aggressor Adventures’ customer base is filled with curious travelers who long for the opportunity to not only discover but explore, adds Brown. We encourage curious travelers to follow us on social media this year as we share and uncover incredible finds of the natural world. We’ve already seen a handful of remarkable discoveries made this year and are excited to share them with you in real-time.
About Aggressor Adventures
Since 1984, Aggressor Adventures® has offered travelers liveaboard scuba and snorkeling charters, luxury river cruises and exotic wildlife safaris. Worldwide locations the company explores include Bahamas, Belize, Cayman Islands, Cocos Island, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Egypt, Galapagos, Hawaii, Indonesia, Maldives, Mexico, Philippines, Palau, Red Sea, Roatan, Sri Lanka, Sudan, and Turks and Caicos. The company’s Clean, Refresh, Sanitize safety standards are industry leading. For more information, visit www.aggressor.com or call (800) 348-2628 or (706) 993-2531.


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Olympusat’s CEO says the TV network company has slowly grown to where it can now expand with lightning speed to meet an emerging Hispanic market.
The West Palm Beach-based company, which specializes in providing independent programming networks to television – mostly faith-based or Spanish – has spent the last 15 years as a medium-size company with close to 100 employees in South Florida and about 50 more nationwide and in Mexico.
Now the company wants to expand its business, adding 100 employees to its headquarters over the next 12 months, and possibly look at taking more office space in downtown West Palm Beach, CEO Tom Mohler said.
Olympusat’s headquarters has 20,109 square feet of office space to house management of its television networks – including the Spanish-language Ultra network and religion-focused TBN – and its digital production studio that dubs films into Spanish. The company also has a Mexico City contingent that focuses on restoring classic Spanish-language movies.
Company officials say it made $70 million in revenue in 2012 and projects it will double that this year. Mohler is confident that Olympusat has reached a point where the technical capabilities of the market are meeting that of the company.
“Cable companies are all going from analog to digital and now have the bandwidth to take on more networks,” he said. “And, of course, the Hispanic population continues to expand in the United States, so we’re able to attract cable companies with a new type of distribution deal that provide incentives for them to take a multitude of channels from us.”
Hispanics are big business nowadays, with a growing consumer market size and buying power of $1 trillion in 2010, projected to be $1.5 trillion by 2015, according to Nielsen Ratings. Television viewing still ranks high with Hispanics, who spend an average of 125 hours and 48 minutes watching traditional television each month.
In Florida alone, the Hispanic population has grown 57 percent in the past decade, adding more than 1.54 million people to the state – more than half the state’s population growth, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Olympusat, which has about 50 Spanish networks and about 25 shopping and religious networks, plans to expand aggressively to provide a complete package of Spanish programming that allows cable companies to have every genre of content from every country available, Mohler said.
These types of packages deals have been uncommon until recently, as cable companies try to minimize their costs and increase their margins, he said.
“I haven’t heard of these types of deals until now,” Mohler said. “A decrease in margins overall has been the one thing that has been plaguing cable companies. The TV business has been declining, and we’re coming in and allowing them to replace their content that ultimately decreases their cost per subscriber.”
Cable companies have taken a hit from non-linear programming from live-streaming products like Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX) and Hulu, which allows viewers to choose what they want to watch and when they want to watch it. Olympusat, which mainly works with cable companies, wants to work with any provider, linear or non-linear.
“We’re looking at any distribution avenues possible and any change in the marketplace is good for us,” Mohler said. “The Spanish television marketplace has relatively small distribution, and any chance to improve the situation and the efficiencies to get the channels to the consumer is a welcomed one.”
BY THE NUMBERS:
Projected 2013 revenue
2012 number of employees
Projected 2013 number of employees
CEO: Tom Mohler
Address: 560 Village Blvd., Suite 250, West Palm Beach 33409
Phone: (561) 684-5657


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reverse decision on thomas cook concessions
We, the undersigned, call on Thomas Cook to withdraw its decision to slash staff holiday concessions. In the past Thomas Cook has excused low rates of pay in the company by pointing to the add-on benefits of holiday concessions. The decision to slash concessions means that, even by Thomas Cook’s own standards, the company is now a low-pay employer. Despite working in the travel trade, many Thomas Cook employees will now no longer be able to afford a family holiday. As an example a family of 3’s holiday under the new scheme would cost £1,000 more, meaning our dedicated staff will have to tell their families they can’t afford their holiday this year. And the employees worst affected by the cuts in concessions will be those who have shown the greatest loyalty to the company, by sticking with Thomas Cook through all its difficulties. Thomas Cook response to objections was to say our employees are good at finding the bargain holidays and there are still the 48 hour concessions. The pay freeze, following on from years of below-inflation pay rises, will push down still further living standards of all Thomas Cook employees across the board. Such shoddy treatment is in stark contrast to the millions of pounds showered on Thomas Cook’s former chief executive on the occasion of his departure from the company – a contrast that underlines the injustice of the cuts in concessions and the pay freeze faced by the company’s employees. We therefore call on Thomas Cook to immediately withdraw its proposals.