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Conejo school board has safety, health concerns with proposed 7-Eleven in letter to city
The Conejo Valley school board indicated Tuesday that its members and some school community groups are “interested and concerned” about a proposed 7-Eleven across from Thousand Oaks High School.
The 24-hour gas station and convenience store would be situated off Moorpark Road and has not been approved by the city of Thousand Oaks’ planning commission.
Earlier this year, the school board formed an ad hoc committee consisting of trustees Jenny Fitzgerald and Cindy Goldberg to return to the board after speaking more with stakeholders. They included Superintendent Mark McLaughlin, developer Taylor Megdal, of Elliot Megdal and Associate and a host of administrators, student and parent groups.
Tuesday, the ad hoc committee brought a letter to the board as an information item — to be voted on at the next Conejo Valley Unified School District board meeting — indicating there were concerns among stakeholders. Trustees are not expected to take a stance against the proposed project.
“I think that it certainly sets the stage for whatever the City Council and the planning commission decide to do next on that property and lets them know that we are interested and concerned,” said Betsy Connolly, board president, during the meeting. “And I think that’s the right tone to express.”
The proposed letter to the city indicates concerns regarding traffic safety, security and student safety over the sale of alcohol, tobacco and vaping products as well as student health and nutrition.
The plan calls for the 7-Eleven to include 32 security cameras and offer fresh food in the convenience store where 30 percent of the store would have healthy items. In the letter, board members are also requesting a deed restriction prohibiting the sale of alcohol, tobacco/tobacco-related products and vaping products, Fitzgerald said Tuesday.
She did note that in talking to students and teachers at the high school, the proximity of a convenience store could have some benefits.
“There are a lot of students on campus after school hours for various activities and sports and that we could use this as an opportunity to put an establishment there that could benefit students and teachers that are right there,” Fitzgerald said.
“There were students who said, ‘Yeah, it would be great to have reasonably priced food that we could buy right there when we are on campus later into the evening.’ For us, it almost seems like an opportunity to improve that corridor and also to provide a benefit to our students at Thousand Oaks High School.’”
When the idea of a 7-Eleven establishment across from the high school was brought forth, it was met with some pushback from residents. An online petition was generated in opposition of the proposed project at Moorpark Road and Avenida De Las Flores, which as of Tuesday had 826 supporters.
“It’s not really in our jurisdiction, but there are, as you can see, very specific issues that will impact our students,” Fitzgerald said. “So I think it’s great that we are setting a precedent of working with other local groups and the city to do what’s best for our school populations.”
Connolly said the item would come back for a vote at the board’s next meeting. There was no indication that changes would be made to the proposed letter.
The project is expected to go before the planning commission this spring.


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The leading adhesive provider follows the guidance from the European Adhesive and Food Safety Authorities
The global pharmaceutical packaging market has a consolidated vendor landscap
UK-based manufacturer of recyclable paper-based packaging, Frugalpac, has added another innovative option to its range of sustainable coffee cups, introducing the Frugal Cup Linerless.
A study has found that bisphenol A (BPA), still found in some food and beverage packaging, can activate an immune response in mice which passes down through generations.
Californian wine brand Böen, part of Copper Cane Wines & Provisions by Joseph Wagner, announces itself as the first United States wine brand to deploy Near-Field Communication (NFC) technology
Braskem, the largest polyolefins producer in the Americas and leading producer of biopolymers in the world, and Advanced Laser Materials (ALM), an EOS Company, and leader in materials development f
Bradman Lake IBPRO Bread Bagging Machine, the world's most advanced bagging system, proved to be a great attraction at the recent Gulfood event.
Sara Udyog is the most common eatable which is eaten by a lot of population and that is why we manufactured Chips Packing
As part of its 20th anniversary, the Snoqualmie Brewery and Taproom is introducing a brand new pale ale, with a high-tech label.
Elopak is taking a step forward with sustainable packaging and launching aseptic Pure-Pak® cartons made with Natural Brown Board.
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iAngels Focus on Crypto Adoption, Bringing New Investors to the Bitcoin World
Adoption is very important for the development of the crypto world. Fortunately, companies such as iAngels exist. Created by a software engineer, a former lawyer and a Wall Street trader, the company is focused on promoting the adoption of crypto and securing investments for blockchain startups at the same time that it educates traditional capitalists about this new world.
According to Mor Assia, one of the co-founders of iAngels, the idea is to build a crypto ecosystem together with the investors. Her background in engineering helps her to explain the concepts to investors.
Adaga Nameri, the lawyer who also founded the company, the company has provided a yearly return of 40% for investors so far. These are not small returns. Nameri believes that the company, which operates in Israel’s capital Tel Aviv, can work as a sort of bridge between the more traditional investors and this brand new world.
Shelly Hod Moyal, the third co-founder, affirmed that the company manages funds in over 50 countries and has investments in Telegram, Bitmain and several other crypto-related companies. The company is getting a lot of clients by using the approach of explaining to people what Bitcoin is and how it could change their lives.
To the trio, the crypto world is more than just an investment, it is a new way to see the world. She has strong roots in traditional finance as she is married to eToro’s founder Yoni Assia, but she believes in the power of the decentralized world. According to her, she is educating her children to not rely too much on traditional banking and to value decentralization.


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Ellen DeGeneres to feature Curls hair care products in greenrooms
LOS ANGELES — Celebrity Ellen DeGeneres has partnered with TLK Fusion in featuring Curls, the hair care line geared toward curly hair, in all the greenrooms of her daily talk variety show.
"I am thrilled to have Curls featured in the greenrooms and placed for celebrity use on the Ellen DeGeneres show. I am a huge fan of Ellen’s,” stated Mahisha Dellinger, founder of Curls.
As previously reported by Drug Store News, the brand recently acquired the Kynx Hair Care collection.
Aveeno awards those who create positive change through Be An Active Natural fund
NEW YORK — Aveeno has announced the launch of the Be An Active Natural fund to award individuals and organizations that are creating positive change in their communities.
Eight $10,000 grants will be awarded throughout the year to consumers whose work impacts the lives of others through one of these three categories:
Inspiring others to see their natural and inner beauty;
Educating about the values of an active and healthy lifestyle; and
Preserving, restoring and improving the local environment.
The Aveeno brand established the Be An Active Natural program in 2011 and is the brand’s way of encouraging and supporting consumers who continue to embrace the lifestyle of active naturals. Throughout 2012, Aveeno will be giving $300,000 in grants to individuals and organizations to support their efforts in creating positive change.
To enter to win or to vote, visit the Aveeno Facebook page. The call for entries began on April 10 and will end on Oct. 31, 2012. Winners will be announced on a monthly basis starting in May.
P&G launches ‘Thank You Mom’ campaign to celebrate moms, London 2012 Olympic Games
CINCINNATI — Procter & Gamble, a worldwide Olympic partner, has launched its global P&G "Thank You Mom" campaign in celebration of 100 days to go until the opening ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games.
The campaign recognizes and celebrates the moms behind the athletes by thanking moms for all they do, and is a part of P&G’s worldwide partnership with the International Olympic Committee. It marks the biggest campaign in P&G’s 174-year history and will run from now through the end of the Olympic Games.
The campaign launched simultaneously around the world with the digital release of “Best Job,” a short film that celebrates the role moms play in raising Olympians and in raising children. P&G recruited award-winning director Alejandro González Iñárritu to create the film, which is the foundation of the entire campaign. The ad campaign will run online, in social media, TV and print.
The campaign will come to life through a variety of media channels and in-store with a worldwide retailer program from April through August. Olympic Games-themed P&G branded products will be featured in millions of stores across the globe. As a part of the P&G Thank You Mom promotion, P&G has committed to raise $5 million to support local youth sports programs in many countries, through a portion of sales and donations from the company’s brands, including Pampers, Tide, Gillette and Pantene.


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Justin Bieber Reveals Single Artwork for Usher Collab ‘The Christmas Song’
We still haven't stopped shaking and crying since the release of Justin Bieber's Christmas single, 'Mistletoe,' earlier this week -- and now the pint-sized pop star has gone and slayed us again by debuting the single artwork for his Usher-assisted track 'The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire),' off his upcoming holiday album, 'Under the Mistletoe.'
The artwork is fairly simple, and features Justin's logo in twinkling red glitter and Usher's name spelled out in silver, against a snow-spackled black background. Still, even just the sight of the artwork makes us want to put on our snuggliest red holiday sweater and cuddle up in front of a crackling fire (Maybe even with some chestnuts?).
The Biebs has been hard at work plugging the new album, starting with first single 'Mistletoe,' which has been well-received by critics (namely, us). While it is is far from the first time that Bieber has teamed up with mentor and pal Usher on a track, we think 'The Christmas Song' should be extra-special. After all, it's not everyday that you get superstars of this caliber spreading Yuletide cheer through the pop universe.
Bieber's 'Under the Mistletoe' album hits stores on Nov. 1.


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From: Robina Suwol
Date: 07 Oct 2002
Remote Name: 188.8.131.52
New Organic Food Rules to Level Playing Field
Reuters, Oct 6, 2002 3:23PM CHICAGO/NEW YORK (Reuters) -
U.S. consumers, long besieged and sometimes bewildered by food makers' claims about "organic" products, are about to get a government seal of approval on their premium-priced groceries. Companies ranging from giants like Kraft Foods Inc. and General Mills Inc. to independents such as Annie's Naturals and Honest Tea expect the new government labeling requirements, which take effect on Oct. 21, to level the playing field in the fastest-growing segment of the food industry.
"Manufacturers felt their natural-product market was being threatened by all types of claims," said Katherine DiMatteo, who heads the Greenfield, Massachusetts-based Organic Trade Association, a group representing U.S. manufacturers and growers. "There had to be consumer confidence in the label." The U.S. Department of Agriculture is requiring food companies to adopt strict standards for organic foods, ensuring they are produced free of pesticides and genetically modified crops. In the past, some 30 states and more than 50 certifiers, all with different standards and regulations, called their own shots on what could and couldn't be deemed organic.
The USDA, whose National Organic Standards Board has been working with food companies and growers since 1990 to develop the standards, is allowing three tiers of organic claims, with only the top tier permitted to carry a "USDA Organic" seal. "Now you have a differentiation between products," said Steve Demos, president of White Wave, the Denver, Colorado-based soy milk division of Dean Foods Co. . " The consumer is now given the means to make a credible choice." A HUGE OPPORTUNITY Meeting the new USDA hurdles is worth the trouble, companies said, if it means keeping a stake in the organic category, which has been growing at about 20 percent annually. Sales of organic foods are expected to reach $11 billion in 2003, according to the Organic Trade Association.
Growth remains promising, as organics now account for only 2 percent of foods sold at retail. "We see organics as a huge opportunity," said Margot McShane, director of marketing for Half Moon Bay, California-based juice company Odwalla Inc., part of soft drink giant Coca-Cola Co.'s Minute Maid juice company. As it becomes more available, at more attractive prices, consumers are showing they are interested, she said. For now, the procedures required to grow, manufacturer and certify organic foods, coupled with limited supplies, mean that the foods often carry hefty premiums, ranging from 10 percent to 50 percent above conventional foods, industry experts said.
At about $2.39 per 15.2-ounce bottle, Odwalla's organic juices cost about 9percent more than its regular line. H.J. Heinz Co.'s newly introduced Heinz Organic Ketchup sells at about $1.99 for a 14-ounce container, 30 percent more than regular Heinz. A 15.2-ounce bottle of organic Naked Juice, made by Ultimate Juice Co. of Basking Ridge, New Jersey, retails at about $2.89, or about double the price of a 16-ounce carton of regular orange juice from Pepsi-Co Inc.'s Tropicana. Some companies make up for the higher prices of organic ingredients by shrinking package sizes.
Stonyfield Farm Inc.'s organic yogurt comes in a6-ounce container that sells at the same price as an 8-ounce container of its regular yogurt. Manufacturers expect that consumers' confidence in uniform processing standards will translate to more willingness to pay higher prices. "That's one of the reasons companies like Heinz have entered this category," said Michael Vaszily, brand manager for Heinz's organic ketchup. "We're really hoping to make it more mainstream." MEETING THE NEW STANDARD Organic food makers have had nearly two years to prepare for the new USDA standards, investing millions to bring their sourcing, manufacturing and labeling into line. Most said their product formulations will meet the requirements for the top two USDA labeling tiers.
Products with 95 to 100 percent certified organic ingredients can carry a seal that says "USDA Organic." Those with 70 percent to 94 percent organic ingredients can't use the seal, but their labels can say "made with organic ingredients." They can also list up to three of the organic ingredients or food groups. Foods that are less than 70 percent organic can't carry the seal or use the word "organic" on their front labeling, but they can list organic ingredients on their ingredient panel. Some products fall short of the top tier simply because certain added ingredients, such as calcium, are not available in organic form. For example, none of Kraft's Boca line of soy-based vegetarian meat alternatives will carry the USDA seal because organic soy isolates are not readily available, a company spokeswoman said.
Under the new standards, about 50 USDA-approved third-party certifiers must oversee the entire production process, inspecting everything from farm to factory. "They certify that the soil and the harvesting process is all natural and organic," said Heinz's Vaszily. "They review the whole supply chain." Stonyfield Farm, based in Londonderry, New Hampshire, called its suppliers to a meeting with a USDA-certified inspector a year ago, training them on processing requirements that meet the USDA standards.
Since then, Stonyfield has been working to make changes to meet the new regulations, said Nancy Hirshberg, a Stonyfield vice president who works closely with the company's suppliers. Logistics, too, can present a challenge, since packages with the new label can't be on store shelves until Oct. 21.In the end, food makers said the changes are worth the effort. "Right now, organics is a very nebulous word," said Seth Goldman, who started Honest Tea in the late 1990s with his former professor. "The term organic is mushy and undefined and doesn't mean much to the consumer," he said. "But when you create one common standard and one common symbol ... people have a point of reference they can all understand."10/06/02 15:22 ETRTR/SCIENCE-FOOD-ORGANIC-COMPANIES-DC/Copyright � 2002 Reuters Limited.


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A couple of weeks ago, Microsoft launched the first datacenters in Africa to deliver cloud services across the continent. Today, the tech giant has announced that its Azure cloud services will be used to power a new platform, the Alliance Intelligent Cloud, built by the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance.
The program will enable the automobile manufacturers to provide connected services in vehicles by managing and analyzing vehicle data. This platform will be launched in almost all of the 200 markets in which the companies operate. Azure will be used to power these services, offering cloud, AI, and IoT technologies. As the new platform is highly scalable, it will be catering both current and future connected car features, making use of a multitude of legacy connected vehicle solutions. Some of the aforementioned features are connected navigation, connected assistance, proactive monitoring, over-the-air software updates, and more.
Jean-Philippe Courtois, EVP and President of Global Sales, Marketing and Operations at Microsoft, believes that today's production release of the new platform will help offer "a new generation of connected services powered by Microsoft Azure". Kal Mos, Global Vice President of Alliance Connected Vehicles at Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi, commented on the Alliance's parternship with Microsoft, noting:
"Today we are deploying a vehicle connectivity platform that will transform the digital experience for customers of Renault, Nissan, and Mitsubishi. Through our collaboration with Microsoft, we are introducing the most powerful and far-reaching connected vehicle platform. Leveraging the size and scale of the Alliance, we have built an intelligent cloud platform that sets the pace for our industry."
Initially, only the new 2019 Renault Clio and select Nissan Leaf models sold in Japan and Europe will be utilizing the technology. Vehicles which are making use of the new platform will be able to gain timely access to firmware updates, along with the provision of infotainment services and more. Interestingly, these vehicles are also the first widely available models to be powered by Microsoft's Connected Vehicle Platform.
Microsoft believes that the Alliance Intelligent Cloud will prove to be compatible with future smart cities' infrastructure, while also becoming the sole point of contact for third parties aiming to connect with Alliance vehicles.


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More than 30 resellers and retailers have already signed up to Synaxon’s lead guarantee scheme before it is officially launched in December.
Back in June, at the Synaxon annual conference in Northamptonshire, the scheme was first mooted, and has been running in Germany for the past four years, generating around 60 leads per partner, per month for every participating reseller.
The plan is to divide the UK into different areas which are ‘owned’ exclusively by the reseller, and ensure they appear top in Google rankings and adwords, and is fully SEO-optimised.
Customers search for key phrases such as ‘computer repairs’ and then go through to the TrustATec website, where they select from a menu of fixed-price services such as PC repair, WiFi set up, virus removal and others.
Synaxon claims that in Germany, 75 per cent of end user enquiries result in additional service business for members and the fact that a fixed cost for each service is published, makes the scheme stand out from similar initiatives such as Checkatrade or Trustatrader.
The organisation has also reduced registration from £250 down to £150 for the first 50 reseller registrations. Monthly fees are set at £50.
Derek Jones, managing director of Synaxon UK, said the scheme was officially set to be unveiled in the next six weeks.
“We are very excited about the launch and confident of success. We are guaranteeing increased revenue for independent dealers from increased technology repairs and we aim to hit the ground running with 50 participating TrustATec repair centres," he said.
“Although we have most of the UK covered now, there are still some gaps and we’d like to fill as many as possible before we actually launch the programme. Resellers and Retailers still have time to join the programme at a reduced rate and become part of the unique TrustATec UK network by reserving their own exclusive business area of the UK. Unfortunately, we will very quickly fill most available geographic regions, so we do anticipate having to disappoint some resellers if their area has already been registered.”
Nima Green asks what is driving public cloud uptake in Germany
In the wake of yet another lawsuit involving Oracle, we run through 10 of the vendor's biggest court battles
CEO Chuck Robbins says Cisco will use the Catalyst 9000 product range as a template for future launches
Today saw 14 of the UK IT channel's biggest hitters come together to determine the winners of CRN's WiC awards. But what does being a WiC judge actually involve? Doug Woodburn reports


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Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi yesterday said market price of onion will come down after 50,000 tonnes of the vegetable arrives from Egypt.
“Arrival of the huge shipment will reduce onion price,” he said while talking to journalists before attending the general meeting of District Brick Kiln Owners’ Association (DBKOA) at a city hotel.
“We generally import onions from India, but their local market price has gone up to Rs 80 per kg. After they come to our country from India, the price reaches Tk 100 per kg, providing no benefit to us,” he added.
He informed the media that a senior official of commerce ministry has been entrusted to monitor the onion market. He hoped that onion price in local markets will go back to the normal level as locally produced onions will be available from the end of this month.
Later, the commerce minister attended the general meeting of DBKOA as the chief guest with its president Mahbubur Rahman in the chair.
Rangpur Police Commissioner Abdul Alim Mahmud, SP Biplob Kumar Sarkar, and Additional Deputy Commissioner Syed Enamul Kabir attended the event as special guests.
More than 100 owners of various brick kilns from across the district participated in the meeting moderated by DBKOA General Secretary Azizul Islam.
While addressing the meeting, the commerce minister told brick kiln owners to produce bricks by following related laws to avoid polluting the environment.


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Travelers heading to Indonesia's archipelago can rejoice with the global hospitality marketplace, Airbnb, which is looking to expand its reach to the nation.
Earmarking Indonesia as an important market in the Asia-Pacific, Airbnb's country manager for Southeast Asia, Hong Kong, and Taiwan, Robin Kwok, was quoted by The Jakarta Post saying it was one of the fastest growing nation in the inbound travel segment.
Currently, nearly 38,000 local homes are listed for rental on its online marketplace.
Kwok said Indonesia was an important country not only in the Southeast Asia region but also for the entire Asia Pacific region.
She added that the company has made efforts to educate local hosts how to operate the application, developing teams to fulfill the mission. "We want to drive more people to Indonesia and we also do a lot of marketing," Kwok said.
She said the company has launched discussions with government officials as to how the company could give the government a better understanding of the services required by travelers to Indonesia.
At the same time, Kwon said Airbnb was looking forward to collaborating with local partners, adding that high expectations of partners boosting the brand's awareness were set on high priority.
Founded nine years ago, Airbnb has a presence in 65,000 cities and in 191 countries worldwide.
Meanwhile, Antara News reported South Korean's airline carrier, Korean Air, was ready to fly to Indonesia's Lombok Island in July and August this year.
Quoting Lombok International Airports General Manager 2, Gusti Ngurah Ardita, he said Korean Air will open a charter flight seven times.
The statement came following a meeting with Korean Air's Network sales general manager and Indonesia's regional manager Bae Sang Wook in Mataram, Lombok yesterday.
The Seoul-based airline company will fly into Lombok International Airport starting 29 July until the end of August this year.
Gusti said they are expected to open a fixed-route between Korea and Lombok following the charter flight exercise.
The Indonesian government has set a target of luring 20 million foreign tourists annually until 2019, in line with its goal to make the archipelago a world-class tourism destination. Lombok island is one of the sought after tourist destination for holiday-goers.


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Renting in the U.S. nowadays is challenging for anyone, given the increasing rent prices, but the real estate market has proved to be especially unforgiving to Millennials. A generation of renters, struggling to pay off high student loan debts and constantly hunting good job opportunities, Millennials face more difficulties than what their Baby Boomer parents did back in the day. According to a recent study from apartment search website RENTCafe.com, Millennials spend 92,600 on rent between the ages of 22 and 30. This is considerably more than what previous generations used to spend when they were in their 20s.
Millennials carry the highest rent burden of 45 percent
To avoid being rent burdened, renters should not spend more than 30 percent of their income on rent. However, looking at Millennials, Gen Xers and Baby Boomers, it seems that none of them managed to stick to that golden rule. In fact, Millennials turned out to be the most rent burdened generation, spending a staggering 45 percent of their income on rent alone. Their total income earned between the ages of 22 and 30 was of $206,600 and $92,600 of that went only on rent.
Gen Xers didn’t fare any better, with 41 percent of their income going on rent, meaning that they earned $202,100 during the eight-year period of time and spent $82,200 on rent. Baby Boomers were also rent burdened, with 36 percent of their $195,700 income going directly toward rent.
As the generation carrying the highest rent burden, it’s no wonder Millennials are unable to afford to buy a home. Besides the high rent prices and student loan debts, their spending habits differ from other generations, with more Millennials preferring to live in big, high-tech cities like San Francisco, CA, Miami, FL or New York City, NY. The high cost of buying a home is also an important factor contributing to Millennials’ decision to postpone setting down and forming families.
Although they have higher incomes, Millennials spend more on rent than previous generations
While comparing Millennials’ income and rental amounts paid between the ages of 22 and 30 to those of Baby Boomers and Gen Xers, RENTCafé analysts showed that Millennials pay $10,400 more on rent than Gen Xers and a staggering $21,600 more than Baby Boomers. As for the income, Millennials earn $4,500 more than Generation X renters and $10,900 more than Baby Boomers. They do have a higher income compared to previous generations, but it’s important to point out that rent prices were considerably lower prior to the U.S. housing market crash of 2008 when Gen Xers and even Baby Boomers used to rent. Home prices were also more affordable back then than they are nowadays.
Younger Millennials spend higher amounts of money on rent than older Millennials
Millennials do spend an impressive amount of money on rent but there’s a difference between older and younger Millennials. Older Millennials, now aged between 30 and 40, used to pay less on rent than younger Millennials, aged between 22 and 29 years old. To be more specific, older Millennials paid $90,500 on rent before hitting 30 while younger Millennials paid $97,400 before hitting the same age. The incomes also differ between the two cohorts with younger Millennials earning about $4,000 more than older Millennials.
As for the rent burden, younger Millennials carry a rent burden of 47 percent and older Millennials have a rent burden of 44 percent, well above the recommended 30 percent.
Gen Z renters are expected to pay over $102,000 on rent
According to the data, Baby Boomers used to pay the lowest amounts of money on rent between the ages of 22 and 30, followed by Generation X renters and Millennials. For example, Baby Boomers that turned 70 in 2017 used to spend $66,900 on rent while those aged 60 spent about $73,000. The amounts continued to increase considerably along the years. If the trend continues and rents keep on increasing, it’s projected that Generation Z renters, aged 20 in 2017, will pay about $102,100 on rent before the age of 30.
Considering the fact that Gen Z renters are just now starting to look for their first apartments, the housing market will need to adjust in order to justify the high prices. Although similar to Millennials, this cohort will have completely different needs and will be much more selective in their apartment hunt. Growing up in the internet era, surrounded by cutting-edge technology, Gen Zers are prone to have a preference for innovative amenities and will not be easily convinced to rent an apartment that offers only standard perks.
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Gen Zers are looking for relatable and engaging content that better reflects their understanding of personal wellbeing – and Woo is a platform aiming to provide just that. As young people's wellness values shift, how can brands best cater to their changing mental health needs?
The COVID-19 pandemic plunged Britain into a mental health crisis. With depression on the rise and a health system under pressure, what have people been doing to manage their emotional and mental wellbeing? Canvas8 spoke to eight individuals from across the UK to find out.
Dr. K has built a following as a mental health guru on the popular video-sharing platform Twitch, conducting interviews with high-profile gamers about their personal experiences and self-care within the digital landscape. What does popularity say about health and wellness in online communities?
As employers become more mindful of workplace wellbeing, they’re focusing on mental health by promoting open channels of communication. Helping to create a supportive environment is Evermood, a platform where employees can be anonymously candid about their work experiences.
Athleta is launching a digital platform with a mission to empower and connect women on topics from mindfulness to body positivity. People have turned to athleisure brands during the pandemic for comfort and exercise, and these brands are hoping to maintain loyalty through shared values.


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Procter & Gamble has announced that Nelson Peltz, CEO and founding partner of Trian Fund Management, L.P., will retire from the company’s board of directors when his term expires.
Peltz has informed the group that he will not stand for re-election as a director at the 2021 annual shareholders meeting.
Commenting on his departure, Procter & Gamble board chairman, president, and chief executive officer, David S Taylor, said, "From day one, Nelson [Peltz] has been a focused, collaborative member of P&G’s Board.
"Peltz and the board have constructively provided perspective and expertise to help me and P&G’s senior leaders navigate a challenging external environment and maintain long-term competitive advantage for the benefit of many stakeholders."
"I’m grateful for his service and the collaborative partnership we’ve developed over the past few years and wish Nelson [Peltz] and the Trian team the best in future endeavours,” he added.
Last week, the FMCG giant beat quarterly sales estimates, driven by higher demand for its skin and health care products, but warned that rising commodity and freight costs would take a nearly $2 billion bite out of its earnings this year.
A member of the board since 2018, Peltz has served on the board's governance and public responsibility and innovation and technology committees.
"P&G has created tremendous value for all stakeholders since 2017," said Peltz. "As a large shareholder of Procter & Gamble, Trian remains highly confident in P&G’s continued success given its focused strategies, disciplined execution, accountability-driven organisation structure and an extremely strong management team."
"Under David Taylor’s leadership and the stewardship of the P&G Board, Trian believes the company is well-positioned for continued, future success as David [Taylor] passes the baton to Jon Moeller," Peltz added.


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Restaurants, especially small and local eateries, have been taking harsh blows over the past few years.
First, there was the entire April 2020 circuit breaker which cut off a huge chunk of revenue unless the owners turned towards online orders and deliveries, then the fluctuating COVID-19-related dining restrictions throughout the entire pandemic, only saved by pockets of aid from the government.
Now with global inflation showing no sign of slowing down despite the recovering economy and sky-high oil prices, another well-known eatery has fallen.
Teochew Meat Puff Ceasing Operations from 1 May
Teochew Meat Puff Pte Ltd owns a permanent brick-and-mortar store at 71 Woodlands Industrial Park E9, in the Wave 9 Food Court.
As their name states, they are well-known for their handmade meat puffs; each pastry filled to the brim with delicious meat stuffing before it’s fried to a deep golden-brown colour over 20 minutes.
Even though the pandemic proved to be difficult, they stayed true to their pasar malam roots, refusing to take any delivery orders as it might compromise the crispiness and tastiness of the crumbly and tantalising treat.
Teochew Meat Puff are clearly loved by its customers, as it boasts a 4.6 out of 5-star rating on Facebook, with 275 reviews, as of writing this article.
Alas, Teochew Meat Puff announced that it will be closing down on 1 May after two short years.
The eatery opened its first and only physical store on 17 September 2020.
Will It Be Back in the Future?
Although many patrons were saddened by the news, they are hopeful that Teochew Meat Puff will return to its old roots and become a travelling pasar malam stall again.
It’s not completely false hope either.
On a Facebook post that the store owner made on 6 April, they wrote: “As you all know that Pasar Malam is back and wondering whether we are going back?”
In the next line, they re-affirmed that they will still be operating from their Woodlands outlet, and they won’t be operating in any of the Pasar Malam for the time being.
Therefore, it’s completely possible that they might re-open for business under the street market tents again.
Moreover, some netizens have speculated that Teochew Meat Puff might be choosing to close their physical store because it’s less profitable with its higher rent, and that their current location is inconvenient to reach.
Whereas if they transition back to their Pasar Malam model, it’d be easier to gain the business of passing customers, whether they are new or old, because pasar malams shift around the island all year long.
It’s like a limited-edition pastry that you get to conveniently enjoy when it’s parked near your area once or twice a year.
You get to satisfy your cravings; Teochew Meat Puff acquires a steady flow of business.
It’s a win-win situation.
If you’re interested in knowing about their future movements, you can follow their Facebook page.
Featured Image: Facebook (Teochew Meat Puff Pte Ltd)


text: PaySafe Ltd (NYSE: PSFE), a high-performance specialized payments firm, announced that the digital wallet in the Skrill platform now has 20 new cryptocurrencies. This company that concentrates on digital payments has integrated 20 new cryptos for its clientele to trade, buy and sell. Some of the cryptos in the wallet include; Polygon (MATIC), Uniswap (UNI), Dogecoin (DOGE), Ankr (ANKR), Aave (AAVE), and many more. Skrill says the addition of these 20 new cryptocurrencies will bring the total number up to 35. The digital wallet initially already had 15 cryptos. However, Skrill’s team also discovered that their customers could find such cryptocurrencies on NETELLER, another proprietary digital wallet of PaySafes and an e-money transfer platform.


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April 25, 2019, | AtoZ Markets – A new survey, recently conducted by a cryptocurrency trading platform, has revealed that a high percentage of Europeans believe that Bitcoin will live for at least more ten years. bitFlyer, the organizer of the EU bitcoin poll of “do you think Bitcoin will still exist in 10 years’ time.”
EU bitcoin poll results revealed a positive attitude toward cryptos
The aforementioned poll results have shown that more than two-thirds of the Europeans are bullish on crypto (63 percent) and believe cryptocurrencies will still exist by 2029.
Of the ten countries participating in the survey, residents of Norway showed the highest level of trust in cryptocurrencies, since 73 percent believe that virtual currencies will still exist in ten years.
Such results seem obvious against the background of Scandinavia’s positive attitude towards digital assets. Just a few months ago Sweden announced that by 2025 it might become the first cashless nation. The country also announced its plans to launch the digital krona or e-krona as a new type of money that could replace physical cash or at least help calm the current cash conundrum.
However, respondents from France were less sure of the bright future of cryptos than Norwegians. Only 55 percent of French respondents expressed confidence that cryptos would serve the next decade.
Certain Europeans remain suspicious about bitcoin
Despite the fact that the Europeans were generally optimistic about cryptocurrency in general, they were less bullish on bitcoin. According to BitFlyer, the EU bitcoin poll included seven possible answers to the question “Do you think Bitcoin will still exist in 10 years?”
Only seven percent of the EU bitcoin poll participants expressed their belief in Bitcoin’s existence as a security or investment tool.
Only 49 percent of participants said they believed that Bitcoin would last a decade. Italy had the highest percentage of confidence in the Bitcoin future — 55 percent, while France was again behind with its 40 percent.
Commenting on the patterns observed in the result, Andy Bryant, the COO of bitFlyer noted:
“The fact that Bitcoin is not generating as much support as other cryptocurrencies is in part a symptom of the market’s volatility but is also a direct impact of the constant media attention that is associated to its volatility.”
EU bitcoin poll resembles the community’s mood about cryptos
In general, the results of the EU bitcoin poll correspond to the changing attitude toward the cryptocurrency, which is moving from advertising to the legitimate asset class. The recent IMF survey on Twitter showed that more than half of respondents believe that crypto would become mainstream in the next five years.
Moreover, since 2018 has grown the number of huge conglomerates interested in institutional participation in the cryptocurrency. Trust funds holding investment positions, IT, healthcare and logistics businesses seeking to create vital crypto services.
The crypto analysts believe that the next crypto-bull-run will appear against the background of an increased asset class compared to the speculative game that characterized the 2017 bull market. They point to the emergence of a reliable bitcoin market and technical fundamentals, as well as the decline of the ICO market.
Please share your thoughts with us in the comment box below.


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UK and India vow ‘quantum leap’ in ties as Johnson, Modi Speak1 min read . Updated: 04 May 2021, 07:56 PM IST
- The investment precedes negotiations on a formal free-trade agreement, with talks expected to start in the fall.
The U.K. and India pledged a “quantum leap" in their relationship and said they aim to double their trade by 2030, following a virtual meeting between Boris Johnson and Narendra Modi on Tuesday.
In a U.K. statement following the call, Johnson said a “new era" had begun with the world’s largest democracy and that Britain would continue to support India as it battles the coronavirus pandemic. Britain has been sending emergency equipment and oxygen to help India tackle a surge in infections.
The Johnson-Modi meeting comes as the U.K. tries to strengthen diplomatic and economic alliances after leaving the European Union and as it prepares to host the Group of Seven summit in June. Britain also announced an expected 1 billion pounds ($1.4 billion) of extra trade with India over an unspecified time period, which it said would create 6,500 British jobs.
The investment precedes negotiations on a formal free-trade agreement, with talks expected to start in the fall.
“This is going to be a win-win for both countries," Trade Secretary Liz Truss said on Sky News. “There are currently very high tariffs on products like cars and whisky into India -- we want to see those tariffs removed to benefit businesses in Britain."
U.K.-India trade is currently worth about 23 billion pounds a year, less than a tenth of Britain’s trade with the EU, according to the British government. In 2019, 1.1% of U.K. exports went to India, and 2% of Britain’s imports came from the country.
The trade package includes 533 million pounds of new Indian investment into the U.K. in areas such as health and technology. The highest profile deal is a 240 million pound investment by the Serum Institute of India into their vaccine business, the British government said.
Other areas where the U.K. and India want to work together include tackling climate change, increasing cooperation between their universities and combating common security threats, the U.K. said in the statement.
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We Are Promotional Products UK, an online print and promotional gifts company based in Wales, has announced its support for The Printing Charity by becoming a Corporate Supporter.
Company Director, Joshua Weaver said: “We are delighted to announce our support for The Printing Charity. I believe that the work the charity has undertaken and accomplished to help those within our industry is outstanding.”
The company, founded in 2014 as a brand extension of Annex Group, produces and distributes a wide variety of items from ethical and environmentally friendly products to exhibition giveaways. Clients include multinational companies and SMEs.


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Hosting Wex – Wax Inc. (NYSE: WEX), the global trading platform that simplifies trading operations, is hosting a Virtual Investor Day today beginning at 9:00 a.m. ET.
“Today, I am pleased to announce that we are reaffirming our ambitious and achievable growth goals over the next five years.”
Melissa Smith, WEX’s President and CEO, and other members of the executive leadership team will provide an update on the company’s strategy to drive long-term growth and create value for the businesses’ shareholder.
President Of Ireland Hosts Members Of The Rotary Club Of Wexford To Mark 40 Years Of Service
“I’m pleased to announce today that we are reaffirming our ambitious and achievable growth goals over the next five years,” Smith said. “Today, WEX is better positioned than ever as a market leader in each of our businesses, with proven product differentiation, deep expertise, data-driven insights and a platform that is both reliable and scalable. Taking advantage of strong secular headwinds, we will continue to expand addressable revenue opportunities by introducing new products, entering new customer segments, and expanding our agent geographic reach. We remain committed to delivering superior shareholder value to shareholders by harnessing our leading-edge technology, developing relationships with customers and people, and continuing to help customers.
In conjunction with today’s event, WEX reaffirmed its long-term financial goals. Assuming stable exchange rates and fuel prices within the next 5 years, the company expects to achieve:
For more than 50 years, Business Wire has been a global leader in press release distribution and regulatory disclosure.
“Beyond King Tut: The Immersive Experience” produced in partnership with the National Geographic Society to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the discovery of the tomb
The Wex To Host Community Open House Saturday October 2
The ‘Twitter Files’ Are Just the Beginning of the Rot Elon Musk Must Fix: Straight With Tiana Lowe
Sign up now to get breaking Washington Examiner news and commentary straight to your inbox.
The Washington Examiner would like to invite its readers to ASK WEX. We’ll be hosting a Facebook Live event today, Wednesday, October 12 at 12 noon. EDT, continuing every Wednesday until the 2022 midterm elections.
Wex Launches Virtual Payments Solutions With Mastercard In Middle East
Washington Examiner political editor W. James Antle and investigative and political reporter Sarah Westwood will answer public questions and debate important issues.
While both parties are openly optimistic about retaining or controlling the House of Representatives, Republicans will almost certainly give up control of the House of Representatives by November.
The Senate, currently split 50-50, is anyone’s game, with key races in Pennsylvania, Nevada, Georgia and North Carolina proving decisive for either party’s hopes of controlling the Senate. Meanwhile, the race for governor has tightened up, with some surprises expected on election night.
Top concerns include inflation, taxes, education, crime and abortion. The Washington Examiner tracked Google search trends on a country and state-by-state basis to see what matters to voters.
Pwc Wexford International Women’s Day Event
If you’d like to submit a question first, please email feedback@ and put ASK WEX in the subject line or follow our Facebook page and ask questions in real time. Fintech services provider WEX on Tuesday (April 26) launched Flume, a digital payments platform to accelerate payments for small and medium businesses, according to a company press release.
Flume is a digital wallet designed to help the 30 million US businesses with less than $15 million in annual revenue that rely primarily on similar payment methods.
Jay Dearborn, president of corporate payments at WEX, said: “For a small business operating in a market that typically caters to the needs of larger businesses, time is short. Flume provides retail stores with a personal CFO at their fingertips. wants to level the playing field.
Powered by an FDIC-insured digital wallet, Flume will enable SMBs to focus on growing their businesses while improving productivity, saving money and reducing costs, he added.
New Lgbqtia+ Support Group In Enniscorthy
Flume’s digital payments platform eliminates the need for manual accounts payable (AP) and accounts receivable (AR) processes. Businesses can send, store and receive funds through mobile and web apps, and Flume’s digital wallet will enable fast and real-time payments.
Matt Roy, co-founder and general manager of Flume at WEX, said: “Most SMBs still rely on paper-based processes to run their businesses, which have served them well for decades. “But looking forward to the next 10 years, we hear from many of our customers, especially across industries, that their current workflows cannot keep up with skyrocketing demand.
“Most of the equipment on the market today is built for more modern, technology-enabled companies, leaving many of these physical businesses unfocused; That’s why we built Flume. Flume puts the power of customizable, accessible software in their hands so they can focus on development, not paperwork,” he said.
The first Flume phase will focus on existing WEX fuel card users and new customers. Later this summer, WEX plans to release new software add-ons that will extend Flume to builders and merchants.
Facilities And Rentals
In January, WEX partnered with BestPass, which provides toll management solutions for commercial fleets, to launch a new product. WEX customers also have access to Complete Pass Scout, a BestPass product accepted at every major toll road in the US. Premium Product customers no longer need to manage multiple accounts with multiple national collection agencies.
How consumers make online payments using stored credentials Convenience leads some consumers to store their payment credentials with merchants, while security concerns keep customers away. Other items are on hold. For “How We Pay Digital: Stored Credentials Version,” a collaboration with Amazon Web Services surveyed 2,102 US consumers to analyze the consumer dilemma and reveal how sellers can win withholding. Looks like nothing was found at this location. Maybe try or search one of the links below?
To provide the best experience, we use technologies such as cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this website. Disagree or withdraw consent, which may adversely affect certain features and functionality.
Technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a particular service expressly requested by the Customer or User or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of information via an electronic communications network.
National Hurling League: Wexford Upset Limerick, Dublin Draw With Waterford, Kilkenny Survive Antrim Scare
Technical storage or access is not necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing the preferences requested by the Subscriber or User.
Technical storage or access is used exclusively for statistical purposes. Technical storage or access is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet service provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose generally cannot be used to identify you.
Technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertisements or to track users across a website or multiple websites for similar marketing purposes.
Wex card, wex telematics, wex flex, wex gas, wex bank, wex toys, wex gps, wex, wex business, wex mastercard, wex fuel, wex fleet


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Industry sources confided to DigiTimes that the video card supply chain is hit by high inventories as cryptocurrency miners are no longer buying cards in massive volumes. The market hit a peak earlier this year and despite a slight upturn in May, many of the smaller mining farms are reportedly shutting down. Medium and large-sized farms are still operating, but they're no longer buying video cards in huge volume.
For gamers, this is positive news as supply is once again hitting retail shelves, and pricing is slowly returning to normal.
As a result, Taiwan suppliers of graphic cards have seen their inventories pick up rapidly, and their sales prices have declined to the levels seen in early 2017. The suppliers may be forced to return to the gaming market to renew growth momentum in the second half of 2018, as they have turned conservative about the prospects for the crypto mining sector. Even Nvidia and AMD predicted earlier the crypto mining market demand would maintain a downward trend in the second half, the sources continued.


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A team of chemical and biomolecular engineering students at Johns Hopkins University has developed an edible tape to make burritos and other wrapped sandwiches easier to eat.
In a product design course, senior students Tyler Guarino, Rachel Nie, Marie Eric, and Erin Walsh were tasked with creating an invention that would be useful for everyday life. Inspired by their own experiences with messy lunches, the all-female group decided to address one of life’s most frustrating problems: preventing a burrito from falling apart.
In an interview with TODAY, Nie revealed that it was Walsh who first suggested making an edible adhesive for burritos and other wraps.
“It was our favorite because we thought it was so simple, yet so relatable. And we thought that it was also feasible,” Guarino explained why they decided to work on an edible tape.
The making of edible tape
Burrito fillings: secured
Let’s taco’bout Tastee Tape, an edible adhesive created by biomolecular and chemical engineering students which allows for a mess-free meal for wraps, gyros, and more. (2/6) pic.twitter.com/HB1o6VBHVB
— Johns Hopkins University (@JohnsHopkins) May 10, 2022
After settling on an idea, the group studied the different components that make up a real tape and started to find edible counterparts.
“We tried tons of different combinations, and formulations and really did a lot of trial and error until we were able to get a product that was clear in color, tasteless, didn’t have a noticeable texture but was still strong enough to hold a big fat burrito together,” said Guarino.
Nie admitted that a couple of their first prototypes had “some really strange textures and tastes.” But for the most recent version of the product, she said that they wanted to make sure that wrap lovers “could barely feel it or taste it.”
Guarino came up with the name Tastee Tape for their invention.
What’s in a Tastee Tape?
Tastee Tape is comprised of a food-grade fibrous scaffold and an organic adhesive that ensures the ingredients in a wrap are kept tucked tightly inside during cooking and consumption.
Members of the team are understandably vague when speaking about the ingredients of the tape, as they are currently working with Johns Hopkins University to secure a patent for their invention.
“[But] what I can say is that all its ingredients are safe to consume, are food grade, and are common food and dietary additives,” Guarino told Johns Hopkins University Hub.
How to use Tastee Tape
After months of prototyping, the latest version of Tastee Tape is packaged in two-inch by half-inch rectangles on wax paper sheets. “You simply just peel the piece off of the sheet,” Guarino said. “You wet it to activate it, and then you apply it to your tortilla.”
What’s next for Tastee Tape?
After the team presented their invention at the university’s annual engineering showcase, Design Day, earlier this month, Guarino shared that they are “going to continue to work on it, refine the formula and … try and get it out there.”
Tastee Tape was recently featured in an episode of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.
— Johns Hopkins University (@JohnsHopkins) May 18, 2022


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THE FARM BILL Congress passed last winter was a compromise between two goals. The first was to lower support levels, reducing incentives to produce and making U.S. products more competitive abroad. The second was to do the first gently, minimizing both pain to farmers and the risk of farm bank failures.
Congress, as you might expect, steered to the generous side. The most immediate result of the bill has been an increase in government costs, now expected to exceed $20 billion next fiscal year. Nor is all this going to family farmers; some very large payments are going to very large producers. The air is thus full of election-year calls to revise the law before it is seven months old.
Some who favor revision think the answer is to impose production controls. They would bolster prices by cutting production, then allocate the proceeds by assigning each farmer marketing rights. The idea is to share, which is fine, except that the government can only clumsily do all the things this system would require of it. It is not clear either that in a large and free economy the government should be asked to do these things.
Others argue for increasing export subsidies for the major crops of wheat and corn as the bill is already doing for rice and cotton. But this is a fool's game in which the government pays first to raise prices for domestic producers, then to lower them for foreign buyers. If the United States increases export subsidies, other countries that can afford it will increase theirs. The losers, other than taxpayers, will be weaker countries, some of whom need the foreign exchange from agricultural exports to pay off U.S. bank loans. The United States is squeezing friendly Thailand now with its export subsidies on rice.
The right way to fix the farm bill is to:
* Do a better job of capping and otherwise targeting support payments, so that fewer large payments go to large producers. But although such payments are offensive, they are not where the main costs are.
* Increase acreage set-asides. The set-asides, by which the government seeks to limit production and costs, are already 20 percent for corn and 25 percent and more for wheat, high by historical standards. But they need to be higher.
* Reduce more than Congress voted to do last year the target prices on which subsidies are based. Because these are so high there is still too great an incentive to produce, and too much production is for the government.
Some of those now most loudly bewailing the cost of last year's bill were among the most insistent that these target prices be kept high. There is a lot of grandstanding on these issues. An entire sector of the economy is vastly overbuilt and depressed. There is no quick or cost-free way to correct this.


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by Scott Baughman
A new year means new beginnings, resolutions and PLENTY of new technology at the annual Consumer Electronics Show in fabulous Las Vegas, Nevada! So this year the main thrust of new products wasn’t necessarily TVs or computers. Oh sure, there were plenty of those revealed which I’ll mention in a bit, but this year the main focus was on some new smartphone technology. Later this year when you decide to reach out and touch someone you just might be doing it on a much faster, and much SMALLER smartphone. Here are some of the major revelations from the show:
- Samsung: The giant behind the Galaxy series of phones introduced “Lite” versions of their flagship devices the Galaxy S10 and the Galaxy Note 10. So, Lite isn’t necessarily a reference to weight or size of the phone, but rather the more modest hardware inside them. For starters, the two phones have slightly slower processors for their main chips. But it should still be plenty powerful enough for the average user. The phones still have the enormous 6.7-inch AMOLED screen and the hole-punch selfie camera facing the front. The Galaxy S10 Lite has a Snapdragon 855 chip and the Note 10 Lite has the Exynos 8895 chip inside. There are a few differences in the rear-facing cameras as well. For the S10 Lite, the camera has a 48-megapixel main lens and a 5-megapixel macro lens with a 12-megapixel ultrawide lens. The Note 10 Lite has a triple 12-megapixel lens setup. The price and release date have not yet been set for the two Lite phones.
- TCL – The TCL company started its big push into the smartphone market just last year, but has made a big splash so far. The flagship phone for the group is the TCL Plex but at CES 2020 the company introduced its 10 series range. I mean, why bother to have any phones before number 10 – just start with 10, right? Anyway, the company has the TCL 10 L, the TCL 10 Pro and the TCL 10 5G. The 10 L and the Pro will get a release in the USA later this year, but the 5G phone is set for a global release at some point in the so far undefined future. All three phones will be priced around $500 making them not a bad deal for current smartphones.
- Cat S32 – Need a smartphone that’s rugged and REALLY tough? I mean, like, physically tough? Look no further than the Cat S32. This is the latest rugged smartphone to bear the Cat name and it is reportedly very, VERY durable. According to the official specs, the phone can survive a drop of 1.8 meters and has an IP68 water and dust-resistance rating. It has a MediaTek A20 processor, a 5.5-inch screen, a 5-megapixel selfie camera and a 13-megapixel rear camera. And the battery has a 4.200mAh capacity to keep it going through several days of use.
And now, how about those TVs? Yes, there were PLENTY of big screens on display, but which had the best – well – display?
- Samsung Q950TS 8K TV: Ok, so this year’s CES didn’t involve any major technological leaps as in years past like 8K or QLED, but that didn’t stop the manufacturers from releasing some really top notch stuff. For example, this incredible bezel-less 8K TV. OLED-based TVs usually have an edge when it comes to tiny edges because they don’t require a backlight. But QLED TVs are not quite the same and that’s a big deal when it comes to Samsung’s achievement engineering this little marvel. This isn’t an OLED TV but it sure looks like one. But it isn’t merely about the looks, the Q950TS has some impressive tech on the inside. It has a unique Artificial Intelligence picture engine that teaches itself how to upscale non-8K content to 8K resolution. This means, the more you watch it, the better your content will look.
- TCL 6-series mini-LED: TCL didn’t have much to say at CES this year about its TVs, instead it focused on its new Vidrian Mini-LED backlight technology. Back in 2019 the 6-series was already a great value for a modern television with a cool Roku Operating System, a bright QLED display and support for Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos at prices that made it a great choice for consumers. But the 2020 version of the TV has a drastically improved backlight technology inside it increasing the number of individual LEDs and local-dimming zones compared to traditional backlit QLED TVs. It could make this highly affordable TV the kind of performance-based model usually only seen on TVs that cost twice as much.
- Vizio 4K OLED TV: Vizio is bringing its first OLED TV to the U.S. this year and CES 2020 is where the company decided to introduce the set for the first time on American shores. There’s not much known yet about the devices other than it will be available in the 55 and 65 inches sizes. But in the past in the EU, Vizio has delivered consistently good performance models and is usually a great value for the money. And now that the company has decided to sell an OLED TV, you can bet it’ll be great.
That about wraps it up for this year’s CES. So until next time…download complete.


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- FECIF report highlights most important points about new crypto regulation towards Bitcoin (BTC) and other cryptos.
- Proposal for new regulation legislation will create a pilot program to study use of blockchain technology in the EU.
Research firm D-Core has published a report by the European Federation of Financial Advisers and Financial Intermediaries (FECIF) on the adoption of the “Digital Financial Package”. Adopted by the European Union at the end of September, the package introduces an unprecedented set of regulations for Bitcoin, Ethereum, stablecoins and digital assets in general. The FECIF breaks down point by point the most important aspects and implications for service providers related to these assets, consumers and the future of the industry in Europe.
The new regulatory framework is divided into the following parts: Digital Finance Package, Digital Finance Strategy, Retail Payments Strategy, Legislative proposal on crypto assets and Legislative proposal on operational resilience. As reported by CNF at the time of publication of the new regulatory framework, its objective is to give a boost to “competitiveness and innovation” in European countries, to provide new financial and payment instruments to consumers and to reduce the risk associated with this asset class.
Key points on new regulation towards Bitcoin and stablecoins in Europe
According to the FECIF, the Digital Finance Strategy in Europe will reduce “fragmentation in the digital single market”. European consumers and industries will therefore be able to access the financial products it regulates with “rules that are fit” for the digital age. Within the region, the application of blockchain technology will be allowed following the institution’s standards in terms of privacy and data protection. Banks and other financial service providers, adds FECIF, will have the same rules and face the same risk.
The retail payments strategy introduced will have a “modern” approach aimed at increasing the speed of transactions made in the European Union and reducing their costs. Its main strength is to encourage ease of payment for European consumers through the creation of an integrated retail payment system throughout the region. Local payment solutions, clarifies FECIF, will be promoted, but a company like Ripple could benefit from the new regulation.
One of the most important aspects of the proposed legislation is the ‘Regulation on Markets in Crypto Assets’ (MiCA). Designed to provide legal clarity and certainty to digital asset issuers and service providers, MiCA will allow “authorised operators” in an European country to offer their services throughout the region. It also introduces new safeguards such as capital requirements, asset safekeeping, enforcement procedures, among others. On the other hand, stablecoins issuers will have more requirements. For example, they will have to publish a Whitepaper and be more transparent with their economic information.
The institution also published details on the pilot program with a “sandbox” approach that will be applied in specific areas of the European Union. In this way, regulations will be suspended and regulators will be able to gain experience on how the referred assets and the distributed ledger technology are used in market infrastructures. Thus, regulators will gain “real world” experience. Finally, the new regulation requires all related service providers, firms and financial institutions to demonstrate their ability to deal with digital threats.


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VRstudios Wins Innovative Product of the Year at Bellevue Chamber’s 2016 Eastside Business Awards.
On March 31, 2016 a diverse group of entrepreneurs gathered at the Bellevue Chamber of Commerce 27th Annual Eastside Business Award Ceremony. The Eastside is home to an impressive number of outstanding companies that use innovation, creativity, talent, and leadership to develop products that transform the marketplace. VRstudios was honored to be nominated alongside 36 other amazing companies.
The Bellevue Chamber of Commerce actively pursues companies that perform above and beyond in developing cutting-edge products and services to highlight the community’s greatest assets of the local businesses. According to the Better Business Bureau, Bellevue is home to over 30,000 technological companies, so the competition for innovation is rigorous. Receiving the Innovative Product of the Year Award is an impressive distinction that VRstudios is elated to accept.
VRstudios innovative recognition arises from their technology that brings an unprecedented, completely immersive and interactive experience that is wireless, provides full-physical-motion tracking, and allows simultaneous multiple users in the same virtual space.
The company is providing real business solutions and significantly transforming numerous industries, such as gaming, aerospace, health care, architecture and design, and construction. VRstudios technology allows the company to continuously take advantage of the newest breakthroughs in VR.
About the VRstudios Enterprise
VRstudios® launched in 2014, when five local entrepreneurs with backgrounds in gaming, enterprise technology, executive management, and global organization establishment, merged to provide a flexible virtual reality (VR) solution-based platform. Headquartered in Bellevue, Washington, VRstudios is the only VR company providing a collection of unique capabilities to the commercial enterprise and gaming industries through its turn-key systems.


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Optimism of the first quarter should be considered with caution and it is not expected to continue in the second half of this year and in 2023, the Brazilian Institute of Economics of the Fundação Getulio Vargas (FGV/Ibre) warned. This is because the external stimuli are unlikely to stay — commodity exports are seen as falling due to China’s slowdown and the higher-than-expected increase in services may cool down as normalization advances. Besides this, Brazil will face a long period of high interest rates to slow down inflation, which will also weigh on activity, FGV said in the May issue of the Macro Bulletin.
The better-than-expected results for retail and services in March led FGV to revise GDP year-over-year growth projection for the first quarter to 0.9% from 0.4%. For 2022, the revision was to 0.7% from 0.6%. The Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) will release the GDP for the first quarter on June 2.
Silvia Matos — Foto: Leo Pinheiro/Valor
“We made this revision, even less optimistic than the market, because we may have a negative second quarter, and also because we have to consider the stabilization of the reopening of the economy,” said Silvia Matos, coordinator of the Macro Bulletin.
According to the Bulletin, in March the indicators showed a faster normalization of the economy, with services and retail showing strong growth. FGV evaluates that there is still room for recovery in some service activities this year, but retail will move sideways. Household consumption will probably be weak, thanks to high inflation and monetary tightening, which is a problem for household indebtedness.
According to Ms. Matos, the high level of uncertainty ahead is calibrated by the slowdown of major economies such as China, pressure on inflation and high interest rates.
“There is a lot of uncertainty about this first-quarter GDP given that we have several shocks that have helped economic activity more resilient,” she says. “But there are other events coming into play. This half-year has been very commodity dependent, and that’s not likely to continue because the world is slowing down and fighting inflation.”
Reducing inflation quickly and consistently will be a tough task, wrote José Júlio Senna, head of the Center for Monetary Studies at FGV Ibre, in the section on monetary policy.
The economist notes that today’s inflation is a global phenomenon born out of a new phenomenon — the pandemic —, is related to the loss of credibility of the fiscal anchor, is pressured by election spending and the real, depreciated by the price of commodities and oil on the international market. Some variables, such as the price of oil, did not exist between 2015 and 2017, when inflation was reduced to around 3% from over 10% per year.
The prospect of high inflation for a longer period will impact demand, says Ms. Matos, and the “bad mood of the consumer” already noticeable in the polls may lead to an adverse second half.
The bulletin informs that “inflation is once again one of the signaling issues of economic uncertainty, and the feeling of loss of purchasing power is felt by consumers. A survey carried out in February by FGV showed that from December to February, 32.5% of consumer spending went to pay bills and buy essential goods and services, a percentage that reached 45% in poorer families.
The expectations are not good, and the prospect is for high inflation, says Ms. Matos. “It’s as if the patient were going to suffer a lot in the next few quarters,” she says as she adds the effects of a long period of high interest rates. “We have all been hit by inflation throughout this year. It has positive effects for public accounts and tax collection, but it’s more interest and more prolonged interest.”
Ms. Matos does not expect a reversal of the contractionary monetary policy before next year. “Inflation will drop, but interest rates will not. They will only start to fall when we have inflation close to the target next year [of 3.25% a year],” she says.
According to the Bulletin, there are reasons to expect that inflation will remain under pressure. Besides the pressure on the labor market, there are still bottlenecks in the supply chains and impacts of the war in Ukraine. “The first quarter is off to a positive start, with normalization. But we are witnessing a lot of volatility because of the stimuli overseas, such as the demand for commodities,” says Ms. Matos. “Will those drivers continue in 2023? We expect deceleration in the world and in the demand for basic items.”
Besides the revision of the GDP, FGV revised the projection for the services sector in the first quarter to 2.9% from 2.2%, and to 1.3% in the full year (from 1.5%).
Household consumption was revised upwards to 0.8% from 0.2% in the first quarter and to 1.0% from 0.9% in 2022. Government consumption for the year was revised upward to 2% from -1.2%. In the case of industry in 2022, it went to -0.2% from -0.7%, while the projection for investment went to -3.3% from -3.5%.
“To celebrate accelerated growth with high inflation is short-lived. So, I don’t see the economy balanced. The table is standing, but a little wobbly,” she adds.


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Specialty coffee roaster Blue Bottle Coffee will arrive in the San Diego market with a cafe in Carmel Valley’s new mixed-use community One Paseo, opening in spring 2019.
Blue Bottle Coffee was founded by James Freeman in Oakland in 2002. A self-declared “coffee lunatic,” Freeman hand-roasted beans in a 182- square-foot potting shed and then delivered them to friends from his Peugeot wagon. Sixteen years later, Blue Bottle is now a network of cafes in the Bay Area, Los Angeles, New York, Washington D.C., Boston, Miami and Japan.
In addition to the One Paseo location, a second San Diego location will open later in 2019 in downtown’s Tower 180.
“We’ve been looking for the opportunity to begin serving our customers in the San Diego area and are pleased to have found two such ideal locations for Blue Bottle Coffee,” said Bryan Meehan, CEO of Blue Bottle Coffee. “San Diego is a community of free-thinking, adventurous spirits and we’re looking forward to the opportunity to connect with a community of coffee drinkers excited about specialty coffee.”
The One Paseo cafe will face a central courtyard and offer interior and exterior seating. Blue Bottle Coffee baristas will serve beverages, including coffee, espresso, Cold Brew and New Orleans-Style Iced Coffee, as well as a selection of pastries, including Liège wafels and toasts. Cafes will also host coffee education classes where guests can learn about coffee brewing techniques and the nuances of different varietals and coffee types through coffee cupping – or coffee tasting – classes.
The One Paseo cafe will also serve as the region’s training lab, offering space for new Blue Bottle baristas to learn the art of pour over, espresso and milk foam.
“One Paseo couldn’t be more delighted to welcome Blue Bottle to our collection of culinary and lifestyle shops,” said Nelson Ackerly, senior vice president of Kilroy Realty. “Being the location for their first brick-and-mortar in San Diego gives us a jolt of excitement, just like the careful curation and innovation behind their coffee. We can’t wait to sip Blue Bottle's freshly brewed coffee while enjoying everything One Paseo has to offer.”
One Paseo’s roster of retail, restaurants and three announced fitness studios will open their doors in March 2019. The residential component, which includes 608 residential units, will open in 2019 and the office spaces will be completed in 2020.
For more on One Paseo, visit onepaseo.com


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Unit4 boosts BI offering with prevero purchase
Dutch ERP vendor Unit4 has expanded its range with the acquisition of market-leading business intelligence (BI) provider prevero for an undisclosed sum.
German firm prevero has 4,000 international clients, primarily across the German-speaking world, including BMW, Konica-Minolta and Swisscom. The firm’s performance management products allow customers to use business data to uncover insight and optimise financial and operational functions.
Prevero’s business intelligence and corporate performance management products match Unit4’s new focus on professional, service and educational organisations, with data-based decision making and analysis becoming an increasingly important aspect of corporate life.
In one of his first briefings since taking over as chief executive, Unit4’s Stephan Sieber stated that the acquisition of prevero will add valuable forecasting capabilities to the company’s offering.
“We had multiple different products that covered parts of what prevero can do, but they were never as strong and complete”, said Sieber. “We can now offer a 360-degree decision-making platform supporting all business areas.”
Previously Unit4 did not have any specific BI products in its portfolio, but its acquisition of prevero will allow users to monitor performance according to KPIs such as revenue, return on investment, overheads, and operational costs.
According to Unit4, key capabilities of the prevero suite include:
- Predictive analytics and business insights
- Modeling and simulations
- Ubiquitous access to information via in-memory technology
- Corporate-wide collaboration and planning
- Pre-built content for CxO offices and specific verticals
Budgeting and planning automation
The acquisition is the latest in a series of developments in the roadmap of budgeting and planning automation. These developments are at an early stage and experts have not even agreed a name for the technology. In business circles it is commonly known as corporate performance management (CPM) tools, while financial experts are referring to it as forecasting, planning and analysis (FP&A).
With software giants focusing their industry know-how on creating powerful automated tools fed by big data, it’s likely that sometime in the near future a new generation of software will emerge that will leverage big data, machine learning and predictive capabilities to make accurate, automatic predictions and plans.
Perhaps this will offer the much-vaunted tipping point that will allow firms access to real-time forecasts based on big data, held in the cloud and with unlimited computational power. Only time will tell, but this particular deal offers both parties the opportunity to steal a march on the competition in the budgeting automation race.
Is your company using or looking at CPM/FP&A tools? What advantages are they likely to offer your business?


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What a difference a month makes! Just a little more than a month ago, China was basking in the afterglow of the Beijing Olympics, and the US still had an investment banking sector. Now, all China news has been taken up with tainted milk scandal, and the US consumers have changed from spendthrift junk-buyers into […]Read More...
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text: It's apparent that the Nexus One is having some sort of connection problems with 3G. T-Mobile reps were given a list of troubleshooting tips to try. Right on the top of the list, it says that customers should not be transferred to HTC since they cannot resolve the problem. Customers also should not exchange handsets as the list says this also will not help fix the problem, which leads us to believe that this is a widespread issue that could affect most units. Reps are supposed to make sure that the customer is in a 3G service area with no outages. Of course, resetting the phone and doing a battery pull is one suggested fix. For some users, this is their first smartphone and they may think that 3G is off when in reality, they are on Wi-Fi (when on Wi-Fi, the 3G icon does not show). Other suggestions include checking the 3G signal on older Android devices still owned, checking out service with friends or neighbors. The ultimate fix might require a firmware upgrade. Otherwise, we might soon learn the answer to the age-old question, will a Nexus One fly?


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(Bloomberg) — Hillshire Brands Co. authorized takeover talks with Tyson Foods Inc. and Brazil's JBS SA as the bidding war for the maker of Jimmy Dean sausages and Ball Park hot dogs escalated.
The contest for Hillshire illustrates the desire of traditional meatpackers to gain consumer brands that offer fatter profit margins than those available from slaughtering livestock.
Pilgrim's Pride, the chicken producer 75 percent owned by JBS, raised its offer to $55 a share from $45, Hillshire said in a statement today. That topped a $50 a share bid last week from Tyson, the second-largest U.S. pork producer.
The $6.7-billion bid is the second from Greeley, Colorado-based Pilgrim's Pride. Prior to its first bid, Hillshire had itself made a $6.6 billion offer to buy Pinnacle Foods Inc., producer of brands including Vlasic pickles.
Hillshire stock was up 8.9 percent in early trading this morning.
Hillshire said today that it's not making any recommendation regarding either of the competing proposals, and it won't withdraw or alter its advice for the planned acquisition of Pinnacle Foods. A condition of both Tyson and Pilgrim's Pride's earlier offers was that Hillshire scrap an agreement to buy the Birds Eye frozen-foods maker.
The Chicago-based company was known as Sara Lee Corp. before spinning off its tea and coffee segment and renaming itself Hillshire Brands in June 2012. It's since focused on improving lunch-meat quality, creating new hot dog flavors and winning over more customers with lower-calorie breakfast sandwiches.
For JBS, which slaughters and packages beef and poultry, buying Hillshire would push it further into higher-margin, branded prepared foods. JBS spent about $17 billion on acquisitions in the past decade to overtake Tyson in the meat industry. CEO Wesley Batista said May 23 that his company will keep expanding through acquisitions. Hillshire would be the company's largest U.S. takeover.
Pilgrim's Pride said today it expects cost savings from the proposed takeover to exceed $300 million annually and that the purchase would boost earnings per share immediately.
In a May 27 letter sent to Hillshire, Pilgrim's disclosed a meeting between the two companies in February.
“It has long been our desire to acquire the company,” Pilgrim's CEO William Lovette and JBS CEO Wesley Batista said in the letter.
Pilgrim's was puzzled by the Pinnacle bid because it believed the promised cost savings were aggressive considering the cuts that had already been carried out by the company's private-equity owners, a person familiar with Pilgrim's thinking said May 27.
Hillshire's bid for Pinnacle had disappointed some shareholders including activist investor and Hillshire holder Eminence Capital LLC, which opposed the takeover and supported the proposal from Pilgrim's.


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Advocates of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) argue that they are a necessary corrective to the monetary balance, which, in the age of electronic payments, has seen central bank-issued “public” money increasingly sidelined by commercial bank-issued “private” money.
In this story, central bankers like to depict CBDCs as a kind of digital cash. But can the new form of money ever really displace its physical counterpart? The latest research by the Bank of Spain (BoS) suggests little appetite for digital euros among the country’s citizens.
For many Europans, electronic transactions have long since superseded cash as their default payment method. But the digitization of payments has proceeded unevenly across the continent, and in Spain, cash is still king.
According to BoS’ report , 65% of survey respondents said they use cash for the majority of their everyday payments, marking a 1% increase since 2022.
Incidentally, the same number of people expressed no interest in using CBDCs and said they were satisfied with existing payment options.
In fact, the majority of Spanish consumers have never even heard of the digital euro, with only 20% of the population apparently aware of the eurozone’s CBDC project.
While Spain houses one of Europe’s most cash-heavy economies, around the world, the growth of electronic payments has stalled in recent years.
Across the eurozone, in 2022, the ECB found that cash accounted for 59% of all payments at the point of sale. In the country with the greatest preference for cash, Malta, the figure was 77%.
While low levels of bank account ownership may contribute to high cash usage in emerging economies, in Europe, personal preferences appear to be more important.
For example, in Germany, where cash accounts for around 30% of payments, research by the central bank points to widely held beliefs surrounding the advantages of physical money. According to a survey of German consumers, the most common reason cited for preferring cash was the anonymity it offered over alternatives. In addition, many respondents said that cash gives them a better overview of their spending.
When it comes to the future of digital euros, consumers’ apathy toward CBDCs and preference for cash payments makes the widespread adoption of the new digital currency appear unlikely.
Nevertheless, from the outset, the European Central Bank has stressed that the digital euro project isn’t about replacing cash, but about complementing existing payment channels.
Assuming the eurozone does embrace CBDCs, it will likely be years or even decades before digital euro wallets catch up with cash as a means of everyday payments.
By analogy, European consumers were introduced to credit and debit cards in the 1960s. Yet even today, in countries like Spain cash remains the go-to payment method for over half the population.
However, although digital euros may struggle to make inroads in the realm of retail payments, wholesale transactions represent a far more compelling use case for CBDCs.
After all, for most European consumers, payment cards and digital wallets already offer instant, convenient transactions at the point of sale. But when it comes to large-value business-to-business transfers, many legacy payment rails remain bogged down by inefficiencies.
By streamlining the settlement process between financial institutions, wholesale CBDCs can help reduce costs, settlement times, and counterparty risks associated with traditional systems. They could also help to ease friction in cross-border payments.
In the end, even if EU citizens reject digital euros, businesses may still ensure that CBDCs play an important role in the monetary system.


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Vincent Aita, a partner in a Chicago-based hedge fund firm who does considerable work in New York, bought a two-bedroom apartment overlooking the Chelsea section of Manhattan last year. But before he moved in, he commissioned a months-long makeover complete with new floors, a sleek new kitchen and an updated open profile where there were once walls.
And naturally, he said he thought at the time, he wanted a simple means to control all the consumer electronic goodies he planned to buy to equip his new home.
These days when he enters his home, a touch on a compact, wall-mounted L.C.D. screen just inside his front door lights up his apartment like a department store. Once inside, another touch on a larger portable screen commands his 61-inch high-definition television and multi-channel sound system to stand by as he readies a favorite DVD.
Another tap of a screen or a button on what looks like a conventional remote control, and Mr. Aita's living room falls into a cozy twilight, perfect, he said, to enjoy a good film at home -- controlled, of course, with the same fingertip ease as practically everything else in his apartment.
"The system is mostly intuitive," said Mr. Aita, who is 32 years old and has an evident penchant for order. "I was fortunate that this particular technology was available when I was looking for it."Continue reading the main story
In Mr. Aita's case, the technology comes by way of a system built by Control4, a home automation company based in Salt Lake City. The company aims to produce affordable security products that are easy to use and can be installed after homes are built. Control4 is hardly alone in its attempt to make home automation as much a part of high-tech American homes as flat-panel televisions.
The promise of a remote control home has buzzed around consumers' ears for decades, but never seemed to materialize for mainstream households. Most Americans have had to behold home automation from afar, featured in magazine spreads on televised tours of the homes of the well-heeled.
But just as flat-panel television prices have significantly fallen in the last year, so have the costs of putting a home's operations under a fingertip's control, many home automation makers and installers say. Even basic functions -- like central control of all of a home's music, movies and television, with atmospheric lighting -- now cost hundreds rather than thousands of dollars, said Craig Cohen, president of Compushine, the New York company that installed Mr. Aita's system.
Mr. Cohen said earlier home-automation systems could routinely cost $70,000 to $300,000. Mr. Aita said his Control4 system cost about $10,000.
One advantage of the newer systems, users note, is that they are modular. As a result, once the central control unit is installed, additional modules -- usually wirelessly linked -- may be added according to the homeowner's needs and budget.
Mr. Aita said his system's main control unit cost $2,300, the in-wall touch screens $700 each, the hand-held remote controls $100 each and the wireless light switches $100 apiece.
An integrated controller with CD player, MP3 server, with FM, AM and satellite radio cost about $5,000, he said.
Not everyone, of course, is a hedge fund partner. But even those on small budgets can take advantage of falling prices. Kurt Scherf, the principal analyst and vice president of Parks Associates, a market research and consulting company based in Dallas, noted that a home starter kit he found at Home Depot, consisting of a controller and enough modules to control at least four lights wirelessly, cost as little as $100.
"The technologies to allow for low-cost and hassle-free installation and reliability have come a long way since the 1970's, when people first stared talking about the possibility of home control and home management," he said.
Many of the innovations transforming home automation, industry executives and analysts say, are possible because of steady improvements in wireless technologies and home Internet access. Last month at the Consumer Electronics Show, the annual Las Vegas showcase of new high-tech products heading to market, companies like Control4 and Lutron Electronics prominently displayed a new class of affordable home automation systems.
Most of the new products rely on wireless links that connect the hub of a home security system with various modules, like those that control power outlets and light switches. One of the newest wireless protocols, ZigBee, also called 802.15.4b, is designed specifically for integration with home and office networks.
ZigBee is capable of two-way communications, an advantage over many earlier systems that were only one-way. With a two-way link, remotely controlling a light in the basement, for example, becomes less of an act of faith; a signal can be sent back to confirm that the light has done what it was commanded to.
This year, some industry analysts say, ZigBee may become a standard for home automation, further speeding system adoption and overall popularity of the category. Wireless systems offer great utility and convenience compared with conventional wired systems, Mr. Scherf said, because they are easier to install, greatly reducing or eliminating the need to string cables over or through walls to connect the systems.
A wireless light switch, for instance, can be placed in the wall and be commanded by a wireless remote control or wirelessly linked to a control hub that automatically activates preferred lighting brightness based on the time of day, home-theater use or other factors, Mr. Cohen of Compushine said.
In fact, he said, a remotely controlled light switch is often what he first shows prospective customers to help them conceptualize what can be accomplished in retro-fitting automation systems into homes.
"You start with a light switch and people understand that you are bringing something to the home when they can see that they can control the home's lights from the bed, from a couch," Mr. Cohen said. "They go, 'wow.' "
Lutron's Maestro IR remote control dimmer, which won an innovation award at the electronics show, can recall a user's preferred lighting level at the touch of a button. It costs $54 at home improvement stores and lighting showrooms.
While home automation systems have become significantly easier to install and set up, systems like Control4 still require professional installers and are sold through authorized dealers, said Will West, president and chief executive of Control4. But he said the company was testing putting its systems and components in big-box stores like Home Depot to appeal to adept do-it-yourselfers.
"It is still fairly new, and most people are just becoming familiar with home automation," he said.
But the home automation pioneer X-10 has long been selling its systems to consumers and urging them to take remote control of their homes and offices. X-10, founded in 1978, uses a combination of wireless technologies and a home's existing electrical wiring to communicate with its modules.
While the company offers some two-way systems, most are offered in one-way mode to keep costs low, said Dave Rye, senior vice president and technology manager of X-10, which is based in Hong Kong.
X-10 products are sold online (www.x10.com) and under various brands names in retail stores like Radio Shack.
For years, he said by telephone from the company's office in Seattle, X-10 has been able to retrofit a home with automation for less than $100 requiring only a personal computer to set it up. He said a starter kit costs $50 and each additional wireless module to control a lamp, for instance, costs $10.
But Mr. Aita, the hedge fund partner, said he did nothave the time or ability to automate his Chelsea apartment. So when he literally bumped into Mr. Cohen of Compushine while playing hockey at Chelsea Piers, everything -- the able installer, a maturing technology and the affordable price -- seemed to click into place.Continue reading the main story