text:
Lenovo Legion Y70 flaunts a 6.67-inch full HD+ OLED panel with support for HDR10+.
Search results: lenovo legion
Lenovo Legion Phone Duel could soon launch India as the product listing has appeared on Lenovo India’s official website.
The Legion Slim 7 is capable of offering up to 8 hours of battery life and comes with Rapid Charge Pro support.
Lenovo has made the announcement at MWC (Mobile World Congress) 2022. Here are the details about the newly launched Lenovo Legion Y90.
The Lenovo Legion Phone Duel 2 gaming phone has a 144 Hz display, an active cooling system with two built-in fans, and up to 18GB of RAM.
Lenovo posted a teaser on Chinese social media website Weibo which confirms 22nd July as the launch date for a Legion branded smartphone.
The Geekbenc listing reveals that the device will be equipped with an octa-core chipset.
Mobile gamers need to mark their calendars for July as that's when ASUS and Lenovo are both set for a showdown with new gaming phones: in respective order, the ROG Phone 3 and the Legion.
Lenovo has teased us with the official renders of the upcoming Legion gaming phone and the phne l
Lenovo's gaming phone seems to have unusual camera choices with a side pop-up camera and a rear camera setup that is almost at the centre. The other specs like Snapdragon 865 SoC, LPDDR5 RAM and 90W fast charging certainly make it apparent it is indeed a gaming phone.
Lenovo's move seems to be similar to what Asus did with its ROG sub-brand and that idea did pay off well for the Taiwanese company, which should give Lenovo a boost of morale.
Predictably, UK tabloids are picking the show apart — based on second-long segments of the trailer.
Lenovo appears to be following Asus' footsteps to work on a 'Legion' branded gaming smartphone with internals updated for 2020.
PlayStation Store Announces End Of Year Sale With Hefty Discounts On Popular Games; Check Out The List Here
PlayStation Store has announced its most awaited “End of Year” sales.


text:
Ford Ramps Up Assembly Plant Production, Creating 4,500 Jobs In Louisville, Kentucky Area
"Today marks a celebration of progress and transformation," said Mark Fields, Ford's president of the Americas. "Louisville Assembly Plant's reinvention illustrates how Ford is going further, continuing to invest in American manufacturing and new jobs while delivering even more of the fuel-efficient vehicles that give customers true power of choice."
Ford invested $600 million to transform its Louisville plant into the company's most flexible high-volume plant in the world, and a new labor contract signed with United Auto Workers Union provided cost reductions to allow a third shift to be hired.
In addition to the Louisville Assembly Plant, Ford will to invest $600 million at the Kentucky Truck Plant in Louisville, which employs more than 4,000 people and manufactures the F-Series Super Duty line of trucks, he said.
"This is a day of celebration for Ford and the Commonwealth of Kentucky," Gov. Steve Beshear said. "Production of the new Escape not only means thousands of jobs for Kentuckians, it boosts our GDP, tax revenue, and raises the level of the Commonwealth's robust automotive industry, which is already one of the top five in the nation."
The transformed plant has more than 20 miles of conveyors, nearly 1,000 programmable machines and robots, and the flexibility and capability to produce six different types of vehicles at the same time.
"With thousands of workers here, it's easy to see how Ford is a crucial part of Louisville's economy, but Ford plays a major role in Kentucky's overall success as well," Lt. Gov. Jerry Abramson said. "The Commonwealth ranked fifth in the country for light vehicle production last year, but that ranking is expected to jump now that Ford is up and running here."
"I was proud to support federal investments that helped Ford retool the Louisville Assembly Plant, and I am thrilled to see the results today," said Rep. John Yarmuth, of Louisville. "In less than three years, we went from being behind the curve to beating the curve, and we're using American labor and ingenuity to do it. The Louisville workforce, Ford and government partners have shown just how successful we can be, working together to build the vehicles of the future and the innovations that keep our city and our country on the leading edge of manufacturing.
2023's Leading Metro Locations: Hotspots of Economic Growth
The Logistics Analysis That Drives Industrial Site Selection
2023 Top States for Doing Business Meet the Needs of Site Selectors
Technology’s Influence on Workforce Development
Workforce Q4 2023
AI 101 for Site Selection
First Person: Realizing the Inflation Reduction Act’s Full Potential
2023 Top States Commentary: Top-Ranked States Have What It Takes to Win Mega Projects

domain: news


text:
Television is king, although younger viewers turn to the Web
The stereotypical picture of senior citizens spending their days in front of the television is not far off from the truth, although the nation's youth is increasingly turning to the Internet, Nielsen finds.
The average American 65 and older watches nearly 178 hours of television a month, far above the national average of 127 hours a month, up 4% from the previous year, according to findings published today by the Nielsen Company. However, an increasing number of people are using timeshifting technologies.
Made popular by TiVo, and now a staple of DVR offerings industry-wide, usage was up 56% to nearly 6 hours per month. Usage in this category was highest among adults 25 to 34, which consumed 9 hours and 28 minutes of time-shifted programming.
Of the six in ten US households with cable, about one-fourth have DVR capabilities, although the total usage is less than five percent of all television viewing.
Video viewing on the Internet is about two hours and 19 minutes, and is most prevalent among the the nation's youth in terms of percentage of total Internet time. "Web video is changing the definition of the Internet for those under the age of 24. Those under 24 use the Internet less than older users but spend a greater percent of time viewing video," Nielsen marketing chief John Burbank said.
As for those who surf the Internet most, that belongs to the 35-to-44 demographic: total Internet usage averages 38 hours and 47 minutes per month.
All in all, it seems to indicate that television isn't dead, and is still growing, albeit at a much slower pace. "Commercial television is alive and well - growing 1% year over year - despite the rapid adoption of other platforms," Burbank added.
New to consumer's consumption habits are the viewing of videos on the mobile phone, where the average is three and a quarter hours. Again here, the nations youth (12-17) lead the way with nearly five and a half hours, with those numbers decreasing with age.
Burbank said his company estimates the number of mobile video users at four million, but said the rapid rate of adoption may be related to the "always available" nature of the mobile device.


text:
Cold Chain Federation response to CCA extension announcement
The Cold Chain Federation, which represents temperature-controlled storage and distribution businesses, has responded to the launch alongside today’s Spring Budget of a consultation on extending the Climate Change Agreement scheme:
Cold Chain Federation Chief Executive Shane Brennan said: “The cold storage Climate Change Agreement has been very successful in incentivising businesses in our industry to invest in energy efficiency, and the result has been a decade of significant energy efficiency progress in cold stores as well as important tax savings for the industry. Many operators now need to advance to more complex measures to make further energy efficiency improvements, while at the same time they are dealing with the cost impact of the energy crisis. The continuation of a successful Climate Change Agreement scheme is vital in supporting the investment needed to maintain momentum towards a net zero cold chain despite the challenging economic environment.
“We have been calling for the Climate Change Agreement scheme to be extended past 2025 and the consultation launched today is a really positive step towards that. We will be studying the details of the proposed extension and engaging with Cold Chain Federation members to help ensure the scheme continues to provide strong incentives and supports investment in energy efficiency for cold storage facilities.”
Comments are closed.


text:
Earlier today, two videos of Hitsuguya vs Halibel were released. Well, now from the London MCM Expo, another new game play video has been released. This time it’s Ulquiorra (in his Segunda Etapa form) vs Hollow Ichigo!
There is also a video of Ichigo fighting Menos Grande!
Bleach: Soul Resurreccion is an action/adventure game under development by Sony for the PlayStation 3. It will feature 21 playable characters from the Bleach anime/manga series, free-roaming action, various game modes, and the ability to customize and level up characters. NIS America will publish the game in North America this August, while Sony will release it in Japan on June 23rd. For more information please check out the prior posts on Bleach: Soul Resurreccion


text:
It hasn’t been long since Apple launched this year’s iPhone lineup but there’s already a new rumor regarding next year’s iPhone lineup (iPhone 12) or future iPhones in general. The new rumor comes from a patent which suggests that the Apple logo on the rear design will light up when there’s an unread notification.
According to T3, the patent published by the US Patent and Trademark Office was first spotted by AppleInsider. The patent application titled “Electronic Devices with Adjustable Decoration” outlines a decorative element that can be added to a casing which could take the form of a company logo or another piece of trim along the edge.
The adjustable decoration featured on the back of the device will serve as a way to alert the user in case there’s an unread notification or other events like an incoming call.
Furthermore, the concept featured on the patent won’t be limited to the iPhone 12 or future iPhones only. There were also images of other Apple products, such as the MacBook, depicted there.
Speaking of MacBooks, the folks from The Verge have pointed out that having the Apple logo illuminate isn’t something new. Such feature has already been seen on older MacBooks and the company only dropped it back in 2015 when they unveiled the 12-inch MacBook with Retina display.
As for whether a similar concept has been seen on non-Apple products, well, one example is the Razer Phone 2 which was released back in October 2018. Another example is the Motorola One Zoom which was released this month.
What are your thoughts about the iPhone 12 or future iPhones having such feature? Is it a good idea? Tell us in the comment section below.


text:
South African President H.E. Jacob Zuma has praised the scenic beauty of Uganda, affirming that indeed the small East African nation deserves to be called the Pearl of Africa.
Zuma was Tuesday delivering his keynote address at the opening ceremony of the 2017 Tourism Indaba running from 16th-18th May 2017 in Durban South Africa.
Hon. Prof. Ephraim Kamuntu, the Ugandan minister of Tourism Wildlife & Antiquities, Mrs Doreen Katusiime, Permanent Secretary Ministry Tourism, Mr Julius Kivuna, Acting High Commissioner Uganda High Commission, were present at the event.
In his opening remarks, H.E President Zuma reiterated the tremendous role of tourism in boosting and sustaining not only the South African economy but all economies on the African continent singling out Uganda for the transformation tourism has played in boosting the economy.
“Africa has long been regarded as the world’s Eden. The time has come to bring the world home, to the cradle of humankind, Africa,” he said.
President Zuma specifically highlighted the “scenic beauty of Uganda” describing it as indeed the “Pearl of Africa with the majestic Lake Victoria climaxing the beauty of this East African country”.
The South African department of tourism said Indaba is Africa’s top travel show – more than 7000 delegates from all over the world attend this show.
In his speech, Zuma said the start of Indaba was “wonderful way to celebrate Africa Month, by hosting all of you as we showcase the beauty of our country and of the African continent”.
He welcomed dignitaries to the vibrant city of Durban, to the spectacular scenery and warm beaches of KwaZulu-Natal, and to the cultural melting pot of South Africa.
Earlier this month, he hosted Heads of State and Government and global captains of industry and commerce in this same venue, for the World Economic Forum on Africa, which was another wonderful marketing opportunity for the African continent.
This week Durban once more brings Africa and the world together, in this home-grown trade show where Africa markets herself to the world with 21 African countries exhibiting their diverse cultures at this year’s Travel Indaba.
Zuma said in addition to job creation, tourism also provides opportunities for entrepreneurship and makes it possible for new entrants particularly women and the youth to get into business.
Africa enjoyed an eight percent increase in international tourist arrivals to reach 58 million arrivals. This means that Africa is growing at twice the rate of the global average.
“It is indeed most encouraging that more and more world travellers are discovering our continent. It means they see its value as an exceptional destination for holidays and business events,” Zuma said.
He called this era, the fourth industrial revolution that may threaten traditional jobs; saying tourism’s labour absorption capacity remains a greater weapon against unemployment.
“Whilst we pursue the increase in global Africa inbound travel market share, we also encourage and promote travel within Africa. Africans must explore their continent as well.”
He added: “Indeed, tourism activities extend into every corner of our country, into cities and rural areas, into townships, into our mountains, our forests and our coastline.”
The total contribution of tourism to the South African economy in 2015 was about three hundred and seventy-five billion rand supporting over 1.5 million jobs in total, and “we want tourism to support over 2.2 million jobs by 2026”.
Zuma said he is ready to work in partnership with our sister countries on the continent, and with our partners in the tourism industry, to make Africa a destination of choice for the world and promote the beautiful continent.
“At the African Union level, Africa is investing in infrastructure development projects that will help us to promote economic development, including tourism development.”


text:
An international collaboration between 3D Bioprinting Solutions in Russia, Israeli-based Aleph Farms, and U.S.-based Meal Source Technology and Finless Foods has successfully produced cell-based meat aboard the International Space Station—248 miles away from any natural resources. Aleph Farms, which creates steaks from animal cells, was able to assemble a small-scale bit of muscle tissue in a 3D bioprinter, developed by 3D Bioprinting Solutions, under microgravity conditions, proving its concept that meat can be created in a lab in even the most extreme of environments.
“In space, we don’t have 10,000 or 15,000 L [approximately 3,963 gal] of water available to produce one kg [2.2 lb] of beef,” said Didier Toubia, co-founder and CEO of Aleph Farms. “This joint experiment marks a significant first step toward achieving our vision to ensure food security for generations to come, while preserving our natural resources. This keystone of human achievement in space follows Yuri Gagarin’s success of becoming the first man to journey into outer space, and Neil Armstrong’s 50th anniversary this year, celebrating the moment when the first man walked on [the moon].”
While the proof of concept in space was successful, it will likely take at least three years before consumers on Earth will be able to buy Aleph Farms’ cell-based meat. “The mission of providing access to high-quality nutrition anytime, anywhere in a sustainable way is an increasing challenge for all humans,” said Jonathan Berger, CEO of The Kitchen accelerator that co-founded Aleph.
An international team of scientists led by the University of Goettingen has developed a new approach to identifying the genes that control plant traits.
A team of 12 students from the Department of Biotechnology and Food Engineering at the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology has won a gold medal at the International Genetically Engineered Machine (iGEM) competition in Boston for its bee-free honey.
Earth’s soil is becoming more saline, and as it does, growing crops becomes more difficult or impossible. Scientists at Brigham Young University (BYU) may have discovered a way to prevent soil salinity from ruining crops and crop yields.
This episode examines the emergence of food with a purpose and feature insights about what this means for different generational groups, upcoming trends and more.
Conagra Brands has entered into a 15-year service agreement with SolAmerica Energy to place eight acres of solar panels on the company’s St. Elmo, Ill. facility property.
PepsiCo has announced the launch of its second PepsiCo Greenhouse program in North America, an initiative designed to support emerging entrepreneurs and brands in the food and beverage industry.
Danone Institute North America, a not-for-profit established by Danone North America, announced the four winning teams of the One Planet. One Health. Initiative—a new grant program in which transdisciplinary teams from across the United States and Canada were challenged to design, implement, and evaluate actionable community-based projects for sustainable food systems.
Barry Callebaut has released its Forever Chocolate Progress Report 2018/2019, which notes that of all the agricultural raw materials the company sourced in 2018/2019, 51% were sustainably sourced.
Nielsen Global Connect has released its Top 25 Breakthrough Innovation winners for 2019. For close to a decade, this list has been the gold standard in recognizing innovation and global success within the consumer packaged goods (CPG) space. Of the 25 winners, 15 of the products are from food companies.


text: This weekend, The New York Times published a lengthy report about working conditions for white-collar workers at Amazon. Describing the e-commerce giant as a “bruising workplace,” the report paints a picture of a Darwinian environment in which data is used to squeeze every last ounce of productivity out of workers, and where conflict and secrecy are the norm. One former employee told the Times that Amazon is a workplace “where overachievers go to feel bad about themselves.” Within hours of the article’s release, Amazon pushed back hard. “The article goes further than reporting isolated anecdotes,” CEO Jeff Bezos wrote in an internal memo given to The Verge. “It claims that our intentional approach is to create a soulless, dystopian workplace where no fun is had and no laughter heard. Again, I don’t recognize this Amazon and I very much hope you don’t, either.” Midway through the memo, he encouraged employees encountering brutal behavior to either escalate to HR or share the story with firstname.lastname@example.org. Bezos also included a link to a LinkedIn post from an Amazon employee, Nick Ciubotariu, who attempted to dispute the Times article almost point for point. “The Amazon described in this article may have existed, in the past,” that posting concluded. “Certainly, I’ve heard others refer to ‘how things used to be’ but it is definitely not the Amazon of today.” In The Everything Store, a book-length account of Amazon by Bloomberg BusinessWeek reporter Brad Stone, the Amazon of yesteryear is indeed described as an aggressive place in which Bezos pushed employees relentlessly. Is Ciubotariu right? Has Amazon evolved, or is it still the dystopian nightmare described by the Times article? On Quora and Glassdoor, current employees suggest that the company presents its workers with interesting challenges, and that the culture is fast-paced. While there are complaints about the hours and workload, many don’t seem Amazon-specific: The world is filled with tech pros struggling to achieve work-life balance in the face of incredible goals on tight deadlines. Many cite issues with the company’s frugality—its lack of perks vis-à-vis Google or Microsoft—but for those tech pros hungry for a huge professional challenge, Amazon seems more than willing to deliver.


text:
There have been some misconceptions surrounding the 2019 Market Facilitation Program (MFP) and when the third tranche of MFP payments would be dispersed to farmers impacted by trade tensions and increased tariffs. After speaking at the American Farm Bureau Federation annual meeting in Texas, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue explained to reporters that the payments will indeed be issued.
“The third tranche is assured, I can’t give you the date; it will be imminent,” said Perdue. “We hope sooner rather than later but we don’t have a date of release. We’ve got to get the firm date from OMB on the allocation is what happens. But it is assured.”
There had been concern among the agricultural community as to how the trade deal development with China would impact the third tranche of MFP payments. Perdue noted that there may have been some misunderstanding with some of his previous statements and provided clarification that a final round of payments will be coming to producers.
“I don’t know how in the media or in the ag world it got out where there wouldn’t be a third tranche,” said Perdue. “I think that may have been confused with the 2020 Market Facilitation Program of which I’d been telling farmers all Fall, don’t expect a 2020 Market Facilitation Program even if we get a deal because we want trade not aid, and we’re going to have our trade.”
Perdue went on to highlight the purpose of the MFP as only being a temporary relief program to help the farming community struggling under a loss of trade market opportunity. Expectations are for the new trade deal with China to expand the scope of the export market for U.S. ag products to negate the need for another year of MFP payments. Perdue also expressed optimism that negotiations with other trade partners will bring even more of an opportunity for American agriculture moving forward.


text:
A week earmarked purposely to celebrate Ghanaian Startups, Small and Medium scale businesses has been launched at the Accra Digital Center, with massive commitment from key Ministries and Agencies. The Deputy Minister for Trade and Industry, in […]
WAN-Hive Ghana supports Four (4) Female-led Startups with Electrical Sewing Machines, Farming equipment, Fridges, and other business equipment through its Obaasima Business Challenge.
WAN-Hive Ghana through its Obaasima Business Challenge initiative has awarded four of its female winners with Business equipment and free advisory services to start, grow and sustain their business Innovations. […]
Social Enterprise Ghana is inviting applications from young women, returnees, and people with disabilities seeking better employability and job opportunities, TVET young women, returnees, and people with disabilities seeking better employability […]


text:
Some 16 nations have signed a framework agreement with the Trade Bank of Iraq and the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA), providing for a total of over US$2bn in support for the Trade Bank to help facilitate Iraqi reconstruction.
US Ex-Im Bank’s board of directors recently approved a US$500mn short-term insurance facility to support the export of US goods and services to Iraq financed by the Trade Bank. This facility becomes effective with the signing of the 16-nation agreement.
Representatives from a number of ECAs including Italy, UK, Poland, Japan, Spain and Germany, among others, entered into similar framework agreements. Ex-Im Bank’s sister US government agency the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (Opic) also participated in the signing.
The CPA established the Trade Bank on July 17, 2003 as an independent government entity created to facilitate the reconstruction of Iraq by providing trade financing services that Iraqi financial institutions are currently unable to offer. Initially, import transactions supported by the Trade Bank will consist of goods and services to fulfill the needs of the Iraqi Ministries and the CPA for the reconstruction of Iraq. These imports will be funded through the Development Fund of Iraq.


text:
People are locked up in their houses since many days. With their favourite theatres and restaurants closed, people have only one option, i.e., online streaming services, to keep them entertained. This increased demand in online downloading and streaming services. Piracy has spiked up in India than anytime. Online film piracy rose 62% in India in the last week of March compared with the last week of February, according to digital piracy authority MUSO.
Not only in India, but film piracy has been increased 41% in the US, 43% in the UK, 50% in Spain and 66% in Italy. These numbers indicate that it has never been easier to view content illegally and people have never been more comfortable about doing so, said MUSO.
“A lot of pirated content in India is circulated through platforms that people technically use for other features," said Rajkumar Akella, honorary member of the Telugu movie industry anti-piracy chamber. Akella refers to messaging and voice services like Telegram and social networks like Helo which he says, understand concerns of filmmakers and intellectual property right owners but are also hungry for traffic and do not currently have adequate protective mechanisms in place.
Given that all cinema halls are shut indefinitely and people are dividing their time between television, video streaming platforms and pirated content, at least 30-40% of the total video consumption is of the last mentioned, , Akella said.
Film and video piracy will impact small producers comparatively more during this lockdown. As theatres are shut and there is no box office to judge the value of the film, filmmakers and VoD services are likely to operate on revenue sharing basis in some cases, and divide profits based on how the film performs on the platform. As a result, piracy will take away significant chunks of their revenue.


text:
Novell hopes the release of two software development kits early next year will push its Nest range of products ahead of the pack.
The company wants to increase the number of intelligent devices used across business networks and intranets. Naturally, Novell also hopes that when this happens, its software will be at the helm.
Using the Nest range, OEMs can incorporate Novell Netware and Intranetware technology into products such as copiers, fax machines, printers and scanners.
The company will deliver its Nest Office SDK to manufacturers with a double billing of lower pricing and rapid product implementation.
The product is available to OEMs for $5,000. Novell promises the development cycle will take weeks as opposed to months.
Nest Server SDK is aimed at manufacturers of storage subsystems. It allows the addition of network server and directory capabilities into CD servers, Raid systems, tape libraries and other peripherals storage products.
By providing source code and tools, OEMs will be able to create storage subsystems that can be accessed over a network without requiring a separate Netware Loadable Nodule.
John Harris, office automation director at Novell, said: 'Historically, storage servers were housed in secure sites and incorporating them into networks was time-consuming.
'Nest-embedded servers allow users to lower network administration costs by enabling systems administrators to quickly set up, configure and manage these storage systems.'
Chief exec Jens Montanana claims Logicalis performed well despite 'currency headwinds'
All the photos from last night's event, which saw over 600 people congregate at the Hilton London Bankside
Five year deal with Essex NHS Trust will cover 400 sites, including hospitals, clinics and GP practices
18 individuals and three companies walked away as winners at CRN's inaugural Women in Channel Awards last night


text:
This online video shows exactly how some car dealers Smuggled cars into Nigeria from Cotonou.
Table of Contents
From the video, a Peugeot 206 is seen being driven through an untarred bush path out of Cotonou and into Nigeria. The car dealer of the Peugeot 206 did not bother paying any customs duty. Instead, they find an easier and cheaper way to drive the car out of Cotonu and into Nigeria.
Many Nigerians who have seen the video blame the increased cost of customs duty as one major reason most car dealers are opting for cheaper ways to buy and resell cars in the Nigerian market.
Here are some of the reactions to the post:
@idrees7065 commented, “You will now come and write “duty fully paid.”
@elevenperoo commented: “The car has passed thru alot. I am nt a fan of stressing a car this way. Most of them enter the country with broken suspension systems.”
@johnreese555 commented: “Nigerian Customs Service liked this post.”
@celebrity_automobile commented: “The car really waka, the car looks Masha Allah.”
How Cars Are Smuggled From Cotonou Into Nigeria
Cotonou is a major port city in Benin, and many cars are imported into the country through its port. These cars are often smuggled into neighbouring countries like Nigeria to avoid paying import duties and other taxes. One common method of smuggling cars from Cotonou into Nigeria is to bribe border officials to turn a blind eye to illegal activity.
Smugglers may also use back roads and other unofficial routes to avoid detection. Another method is to dismantle the cars into parts and transport them across the border in smaller pieces. Once in Nigeria, the parts can be reassembled to create a whole car. In recent years, the Nigerian government has cracked down on car smuggling and implemented stricter measures to prevent it.
These measures include the use of scanners to detect hidden cars and other goods at border checkpoints. It is important to note that car smuggling is illegal and can result in serious consequences for those involved. It is always better to follow legal channels and pay the appropriate import duties and taxes when importing a car.


text:
|Fanciful pre-launch image of espresso in space by the marketing team at Italian coffee maker Lavazza|
SPACE STATION BREWING—Guest Blog by Argotec’s Antonio Pilello--While other earth bound coffee makers have boasted their coffee will blast you into space, two companies, Argotec and Lavazza are working together with the Italian Space Agency (ISA) to literally deliver on that claim. Today, is the dawn of authentic Italian espresso into space. Today, a rocket to the International Space Station will deliver on that promise. The launch is today!
“An espresso coffee is what I miss most aboard the International Space Station.” Coffee makers at Lavazza have repeatedly heard this comment from the Italian astronauts aboard the International Space Station, and today their espresso wish is about to become reality.
European Space Agency, Air Force Captain
Samantha Cristoforetti is the first Italian
Woman to orbit in the International Space
Italian astronaut of the European Space Agency, Air Force Captain Samantha Cristoforetti is the first Italian woman to go into space, but also the first astronaut in history to drink an authentic Italian espresso in orbit.
The innovative espresso making machine is called ISSpresso. It takes its name from the International Space Station (ISS), where it is to be installed. It is the first capsule-based espresso system able to work in the extreme conditions of space, where the principles that regulate the fluid dynamics of liquids and mixtures are very different from those typical on Earth.
ISSpresso is the product of a project run by Argotec, the Italian engineering company specializing in the design of aerospace systems and maker of healthy and nutritious foods for in-space consumption, and Lavazza, the popular Italian coffee brand.
Gushing at the opportunity to go into space, Giuseppe Lavazza, VP at the company his ancestors founded in the 1890s points out, “Italian coffee is a beverage without borders and we have been thinking about taking the espresso into space for some time.”
“Our aerospace engineers,” stated David Avino, Managing Director of Argotec, “have designed a new-concept coffeemaker, which is safe for the astronauts and able to function in microgravity conditions, also thanks to Lavazza’s experience as a leader in capsule extraction systems. ISSpresso is a technological challenge that meets very stringent requirements, imposed by the Italian Space Agency, in terms of technical functionality and safety.”
|Check out the crema |
created by ISSpresso in space
coffee dispensing system
designed by space engineers
at Argotec for Lavazza
In addition to the engineering aspect, Argotec is also taking care of the European astronauts’ training and nutrition. Food provides an important psychological support and being able to enjoy a good Italian espresso may be just the right way to finish off the menu designed especially for each astronaut, helping him or her to feel closer to home.”
Roberto Battiston, President of the Italian Space Agency added: “ISSpresso is a perfect example of the way ISA's decision to make ISS national usage rights available to public-private partnership initiatives can result in a valorisation of public resources for technological, economic, and social objectives. The ISA will bring ISSpresso aboard the ISS, thanks to bilateral cooperation agreements with the NASA, as it shares with the project partners the objective of improving the quality of life of ISS astronauts, as well as the astronauts who will take part in future long interplanetary exploration missions. At the same time, we are also proud to contribute to the promotion of the image and spreading of the Made-in-Italy brand at international or better “space”, level.”
|The new ISSpresso machine |
pushes forward the frontiers
of Italian coffee in space
A coffee break in space. Launching ISSpresso into orbit with the Futura Mission crew today will create a ‘corner café’ on the ISS, which will be the hub for socializing on board the Station, a sort of social network in space, a venue for getting together, chatting and relaxing: an aspect that should not be ignored in missions that keep the astronauts away from home for many months in a very challenging environment. The innovative capsule system will also be able to prepare not only a regular espresso, but also a caffè lungo or hot beverages, such as tea, infusions and broth, so that food can also be rehydrated.
Extra-terrestrial technology of ISSpresso is designed to respond to a scientific and engineering challenge: in fact, the machine studies have enabled principles of physics and fluid dynamics to be tackled, such as the difficulty of handling liquids at high pressure and high temperature in a space environment. Just think that the plastic tube carrying the water inside a normal espresso machine has been replaced with a special steel tube designed to withstand pressure of more than 400 bar. The machine is so complex that it weighs about 20 kilograms since there are back-ups of all the critical components for safety reasons in accordance with the specifications agreed upon with the Italian Space Agency.
Argotec is an Italian aerospace company, with headquarters in Turin, that focuses on research, innovation, and development in many sectors: engineering, information technology, systems integration and "human space flights and operations". Argotec trains European ground controllers as well as astronauts at the European Astronaut Centre in Cologne and it is the unique responsible in Europe for their bonus food.
Lavazza established in Turin in 1895, has been owned by the family of the same name for four generations. The world’s seventh ranking coffee roaster, today Lavazza is the retail market leader in Italy with a market share by value of over 47% (source: Nielsen), 3,300 employees and sales of EUR 1,340 million (as of December 31, 2013). The company has five production sites, four in Italy and one abroad, and operates through associated companies and distributors in more than 90 countries. Lavazza exports 46 percent of its production.
Italian Space Agency Press Office
+39 06.8567.431-351/ 366.6449857
Post a Comment


text:
Fintech UpStreet is determined to put consumers and retailers on “the same playing field”, with an app rewarding customer loyalty with shares, rather than points.
“So what we want to do is get retailers and customers speaking the same language,” co-founder and chief executive Shivani Gopal tells StartupSmart.
To achieve this, the UpStreet app “turns a customer into an owner by rewarding them with shares as they shop”.
According to Gopal, the idea has been “selling itself”, thanks to the success of a similar product in the US, which offers the startup proof-of-concept as it pitches to retailers across Australia.
Get business news first
Sign up to SmartCompany’s daily newsletter
However, getting the product to this stage hasn’t been as smooth.
Despite understanding the problems inherent to current loyalty models for a long time, Gopal needed the help of co-founder and chief technician Ermin Nurovic to build a solution.
Together with co-founder and chief operator Christian Eckelmann, Gopal and Nurovic are looking to change the way Australians earn money.
“All three of us are really intrinsically motivated to help build the wealth of the everyday Australian and to do it in a really fun way,” Gopal says.
Deconstructing the problem
Customers want to receive discounts and rewards for their loyalty, Gopal says, yet at the same time, they are not motivated to use said discounts.
The often-cumbersome processes to save a few cents also puts people off, she says, and “customers also couldn’t be bothered to go through the high friction and time-consuming nature of having to follow cookies and actually get a discount”.
“They wanted something that was going to be seamless,” Gopal says.
“At the end of the day, we are all time-poor.”
On the other hand, discounts were not only creating “greater price sensitivity”, but also didn’t help retailers develop a true sense of customer loyalty, Gopal says.
“We hypothesised about different ways we can do it, and we landed on, ‘the rewards should be shares’,” she says.
The three co-founders theorised this would incentivise shoppers to return to the same stores.
The idea is to allow customers to watch their own wealth, or shares, grow as they shop.
And in the process, “actually creating a meaningful interest in those brands,” she adds.
Retailing to retailers
Although they are already piloting the first iterations of the app with an undisclosed number of testers, the three co-founders are holding off launching until early-to-mid next year, giving them time to onboard more retailers, so they can “come out with a bang”.
But pitching a product to big retailers comes with its own challenges, Gopal admits.
“From the consumer side, we didn’t have to spend very much to get them interested. From a retail side, it’s really who you know,” she says.
Trawling through LinkedIn and reaching out to connections who knew someone within the retail industry was the team’s first step.
Some retailers were quick to sign up, while others, Gopal says, took three separate meetings, moving up the chain of command, to even get the ball rolling.
Helping her case was the success of an American app similar to UpStreet, which she says has joined forces with retail behemoths such as Walmart, McDonald’s and Amazon.
And while these are some huge names, Gopal hopes, Down Under, stores of all sizes will join the program.
“In retail today, most brands are largely undifferentiated,” Gopal says.
“Everyone has their own loyalty programs. The only way you differentiate yourself is to make your customers feel like an owner of your store.
“They will disregard all the competition and go straight to you.”
StartupSmart was invited to Antler HQ as the official media partner of Antler Demo Day 2019.


text:
York Fair offers free or reduced admission for promo days
The York Fair — the last one in the fall before the annual tradition switches to summer — will begin in about a month, and there's a different promotion each day.
Everyone can enjoy the Deggeller amusement rides discounted or free every day except Wednesday, Sept. 11.
A special free admission price will be offered on Sunday, Sept. 8, to honor heroes who serve the community on a daily basis — firefighters, police, veterans, military and EMS personnel.
Some new offers this year are Apple Automotive Group customer day on Wednesday, Sept. 11; Family Day on Thursday, Sept. 12 — where children 17 and younger are admitted free with paid adult tickets — and buy one, get one free for admission and ride wristbands on Sunday, Sept. 15.
Here's a full list of promo days:
Friday, Sept. 6: People’s Bank Dollar Day, $1 admission per person; $1 per ride on Deggeller Attractions midway.
Saturday, Sept. 7: Deggeller Attractions wristbands $23 all day.
Sunday, Sept. 8: Heroes Appreciation Day, courtesy of the York Fair. Free admission for firefighters, police, veterans, active duty military and EMS personnel with proper identification. Admission includes one guest. Regular parking charges apply; Deggeller Attractions wristband $23 all day.
Monday, Sept. 9: Weis Markets Day. Free admission for up to four people with a Weis card; Deggeller Attractions wristband $20.
Tuesday, Sept. 10: Senior Citizens Day, courtesy of the Pennsylvania Lottery. Free admission for seniors with a Medicare card noon-4 p.m., regular parking charges apply; Deggeller Attractions wristband $20.
Wednesday, Sept. 11: Apple Automotive Group Customer Appreciation Day. Free carload admission and parking or free walk-up admission (up to four people) for Apple Automotive Group customers. Apple Automotive Group emblem, license plate frame or receipt from any Apple Automotive Group company required for free admission.
Thursday, Sept. 12: Family Day. Children 17 and younger admitted free with paid adult admission; Deggeller Attractions wristbands $20.
Friday, Sept. 13: Preschool Pals Day, courtesy of WGTY “Froggy” 107.7 FM. Free admission from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. for one adult with a preschooler, regular parking charges apply; Kiddie Kingdom Ride wristbands $10 for purchase from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., ride until 4 p.m.; Deggeller Attractions wristbands $21.
Saturday, Sept. 14: Regular admission and regular parking charges; Deggeller Attractions wristband $23.
Sunday, Sept 15: BOGO Day. Buy one admission at the regular price and get the second admission free; buy one Deggeller Attraction wristband at $23 and get one free.


text:
EA is planning to reveal Skate 4 next month, according to journalist Tom Henderson (via Try Hard).
Henderson reports that the long-awaited next entry in the Skate franchise has been undergoing “extensive playtesting” in recent months, and apparently is further along in development than many players might have expected.
The report also suggests that Skate 4 might simply be titled ‘skate.’ and that we’ll get our first look at official in-game of the game during the reveal next month. The last time we saw anything about the game was a behind-the-scenes teaser revealed ahead of last year’s EA Play Live.
Pre-alpha footage of Skate 4 leaked earlier this year, which looked pretty rough, but Henderson’s sources suggested that the early footage was already months old by the time it leaked.
This news comes shortly after Tony Hawk revealed that a planned Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 + 4 remaster was scrapped by Activision after it merged developer Vicarious Visions into Blizzard.


text:
As the world struggles with the economic fallout from the Ukraine war, fears are mounting about a conflict that would be even more consequential: a Chinese invasion of Taiwan.
Last week, Taiwan’s foreign minister said he was preparing for the possibility of a conflict with China in 2027, and a leaked memo from a four-star US general said his “gut” told him the US – which is committed to defending Taiwan – would be at war with China in 2025.
The UK foreign secretary warned last week that such a war would destroy world trade and deal a catastrophic blow to the global economy. James Cleverly said in a speech on Britain’s relations with Beijing that “no country could shield itself from the repercussions of a war in Taiwan”, and cited an estimated cost to global trade of $2.6tn.
Taiwan is the world’s largest manufacturer of microchips, so any damage there would severely disrupt global supply chains for goods ranging from defibrillators to cars.
Western governments would probably respond to an invasion with sanctions against China, severing at least some trade and financial links, as they have with Russia. While sanctions have led to inflation, stopping imports from the world’s workshop could lead not only to more price rises, but to shortages.
Mark Williams, chief Asia economist at consultancy Capital Economics, says: “War between China and Taiwan would deliver a shock to the global economy that would be bigger than anything we’ve seen in modern times.”
For the UK, he says, it would mean a huge supply blow, reflecting China’s status as the nation’s biggest single source of goods imports, and hitting everything from medicines to smartphones.
“Governments would have to respond with massive support,” says Williams. “Prices for many products would surge, but the main problem would be scarcity.”
Here we outline the various ways in which the UK economy is linked to China.
Central to Cleverly’s $2.6tn estimate of the economic damage of a China-Taiwan conflict, which is based on research by Nikkei Asia, is the impact on the global semiconductor industry.
Semiconductors, or microchips, are wafers of silicon that are essential to nearly all forms of modern technology, from cars, smartphones and TVs to advanced weaponry. They are the “brains” of all electronic devices. There would be an obvious knock-on effect for British manufacturers’ ability to supply products to consumers, and to the cost of those products.
About 60% of all microchips – and more than 90% of the more advanced types – are made in Taiwan, largely by the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company. That fact alone could see a conflict bringing the global economy to a shuddering halt.
Some analysts argue that Taiwan’s strength in semiconductors is actually a helpful deterrent to an invasion. China has been working to develop its own domestic chip industry, but its companies are still lagging several generations behind the most advanced firms.
In November the UK government ordered Nexperia, a Chinese-owned company, to sell off at least 86% of Newport Wafer Fab, the UK’s biggest semiconductor factory, on national security grounds. The south Wales facility manufactures the more basic type of chips, but its products are still vital to the UK economy.
The government argued that a Chinese company should not have access to British knowledge. But the subtext to this was also important: the UK no longer feels safe having its supply of chips anywhere near Chinese hands.
The car industry in the UK has already had to cut production for a while as the consequence of a chip shortage. Carmakers were caught out when demand for vehicles surged after the coronavirus pandemic. Production dropped back to levels last seen in the 1950s, costing the European automotive sector €100bn in lost output over 2021 and 2022, according to insurer Allianz.
“We have already seen the impact shortages can have,” says Richard Gane, a director of consultancy Vendigital, who has worked with carmakers across the UK, Europe and the US. “And this would be 10 times worse.”
Modern cars are stuffed with microchips: they are in everything from door handles to rear-view mirrors. Disruption in the supply from Taiwan could slow the industry’s adoption of driver assistance and self-driving technologies.
The geopolitical crisis could also threaten the supply of parts from China. The country’s economic rise has been built on deep integration into western manufacturing. China controls between 50% and 70% of global refining capacity for lithium and cobalt, two of the key ingredients in electric car batteries, according to the International Energy Agency. Even the most basic car parts often come from China, including most alloy wheels. No one can make cars without wheels, Gane notes wryly.
The automotive industry is a cornerstone of the UK’s manufacturing base: factories for brands including Nissan, Jaguar Land Rover and Mini employ 182,000 people and exported £32bn of vehicles last year. China is the third largest export market for UK-made vehicles, with luxury brands such as Bentley and Rolls-Royce enjoying particular success. Jaguar Land Rover, the UK’s largest manufacturing employer, has relied heavily on Chinese buyers for British-made vehicles and also has a joint venture near Shanghai, producing cheaper Range Rover models.
Neither would China’s automotive industry be spared. The ruling Communist party poured in huge subsidies when it spotted an opportunity to dominate the new electric car sector. Its manufacturers are racing to sell more cars in Europe and the US, which could make them a prime target for economic retaliation after an invasion – or a victim of any public backlash.
China is the UK’s fourth largest trading partner after the US, Germany and the Netherlands. Total UK-China trade in goods and services rose by 9% to £104bn in the 12 months leading up to the third quarter of 2022, according to the Office for National Statistics. In the same period, the UK exported goods and services worth £32bn to the world’s second largest economy, and £72bn of imports came the other way.
The biggest export from the UK to China is cars, followed by petroleum products, pharmaceuticals and power-generating equipment. London is the biggest exporting region, followed by the West Midlands and the north-west.
Andrew Seaton, chief executive of the China-Britain Business Council (CBBC) says the “huge and fast-growing” Chinese middle class is becoming a critical market in the global economy. “China is a key export market for UK businesses,” he says. “These exports, with their associated supply chains, support, on a conservative estimate, between 115,000 and 130,000 jobs across every region of the UK, from the south-west to Scotland.
“Clearly it is right to protect our national security interests and stand up for our values. But with exports a vital driver of the economic growth the country so badly needs, it is also right to promote our trade and economic interests in China.”
British success stories including AstraZeneca, drinks group Diageo and luxury fashion brand Burberry are among the major exporters, and they could all suffer.
In a recent report Rhodium, a US research firm, said: “Companies could also face boycotts and protests, both in the Chinese market (due to home country statements of support of Taiwan), and in their home countries if they continued to operate in China during a period of aggression against Taiwan.”
The biggest category of imports from China to the UK was telecommunications equipment, with the top 10 dominated by consumer goods such as mobile phones. And the competitive pricing of Chinese imports is helping mitigate the cost of living crisis, says the CBBC.
Taiwan is a less significant export market for the UK: it is worth £3.8bn, with imports worth £4.6bn.
UK banks are the largest foreign lenders to China, with claims on a guarantor basis of about $238bn (£208bn), out of a global total of $835bn, according to the Bank for International Settlements. Those loans would come under pressure in any conflict scenario.
“UK banks may be forced by sanctions to write off loans they have made to Chinese partners, and western firms could end up having their investments in China expropriated,” says Williams at Capital Economics. The UK has more than £10bn tied up in foreign direct investments in China.
A key player in the region, and a major UK financial institution, is HSBC. It is the leading foreign bank in mainland China and has exposure of just under $17bn to the Chinese commercial property market, with the majority of it related to Hong Kong. HSBC made impairment charges of $1.3bn related to the Chinese commercial property sector last year, but said in its annual results that the west’s relationship with China “appears to be relatively stable”. Standard Chartered, another London-based bank, also has a strong presence in China.
TikTok, the hugely influential and popular viral video app, has already come under pressure because of the tensions between Beijing and the west. The Chinese-owned business has more than a billion users worldwide and about 18 million in the UK, including influencers for whom it is a cornerstone of their livelihoods. For advertisers targeting the youth market, it is equally important. Fears that the Chinese state may be able to access TikTok user data, which the company has denied, have led to the app being banned on government-issued phones in the UK, US and Canada.
Pressure for a complete ban on TikTok will grow in the event of a conflict. It is widely feared that the Chinese Communist party (CCP) could manipulate the app’s For You feed to affect public opinion – a possibility that TikTok has denied.
Prof Alan Woodward, an expert in cybersecurity at the University of Surrey, says: “If China attacks Taiwan, all bets are off. The sanctions on China would very probably include banning products like TikTok. The UK would want to send the strongest signal possible, just like the US. Any company that might potentially harvest data for Chinese authorities is likely to disappear from the app stores available to western users, including those in the UK.”
Sanctions could also have a devastating effect on British higher education, according to experts, potentially causing a loss of £2bn a year in fees from 150,000 international students.
“Any disengagement from China would have a very severe effect on UK universities because a quarter of international students in the UK come from China,” says Nick Hillman, director of the Higher Education Policy Institute.
He says large, research-intensive universities such as Manchester, Edinburgh and UCL would need to quickly recruit students from other parts of the world, “or face a severe funding shortfall that would affect their research and the viability of many courses”.
Prolonged sanctions would also complicate partnerships that see 70,000 Chinese students a year study remotely for British university qualifications, and disrupt operations for those, such as the University of Nottingham, which have satellite campuses in mainland China.
Confucius Institutes – Chinese-government-funded bodies that teach Chinese language and culture at British universities – are already under increased scrutiny from the UK government, and some campaigners are calling for them to be closed. Critics argue that they suppress academic freedom and promote CCP values in the classroom.
Britain’s private schools would also be hit if wealthy Chinese families were unable to send their children abroad. More than 10,000 pupils from China and Hong Kong attend boarding schools in the UK, paying up to £50,000 a year each.
Like Nottingham University, top schools such as Harrow have exported their brand, earning useful income by operating more than 50 satellite schools in China and Hong Kong. Dulwich college alone is involved in six schools in China.


text:
Logitech Revue Google TV box set for 6 October
New box will hook up with Google's new offering, with Android and iOS apps also expected.
Google TV has been back at the top of the gadget agenda this week, following chatter that the Apple TV bashing service could top a million units this year. And now word has finally landed on what techheads can get their hands on the first piece of kit to pack in the Big G’s boobtube bonanza.
Logitech is holding an event over in New York on 6 October, next Wednesday, to officially launch its Revue box, which will let you access the web, use Google TV to record your favourite shows and keep up with your pals’ TV-based opinions on Twitter.
Logitech is promising “a line of products for Google TV”, with some suggesting that an Android and iOS app to control the Revue is in the pipeline.
Sadly, this will be a US release for now. But even so, Google TV is such a big deal that we can’t help but get a tad moist with excitement. Let us know what you reckon to Google TV via our Facebook and Twitter pages.


text:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
GAME DEVELOPERS CONFERENCE, San Francisco - March 7, 2006 - The Multiverse Network, Inc., a company building the world's leading network of massively multiplayer online games (MMOGs) and 3D virtual worlds, today demonstrated for the first time six prototype games and worlds built by independent development teams on the Multiverse Platform.
"We're tremendously excited to unveil these early efforts, as they're indicative of how Multiverse is helping those passionate about creating the next great online experiences transform their ideas into reality," said Bill Turpin, co-founder and CEO of The Multiverse Network, Inc. "By giving developers our platform technology with no upfront costs and eliminating many of the barriers to getting started in this market, we're making virtual world development faster and less expensive than ever before."
During the conference, Multiverse will demonstrate the following projects currently in development by a range of unique teams, including university-led groups, a professional game development studio and small team efforts:
The Synthetic Worlds Initiative -- Arden: Indiana University's Dr. Edward Castronova is leading The Synthetic Worlds Initiative to construct Arden, a synthetic world based on the characters, plots and themes of William Shakespeare. In constructing this world, the team has called upon experts from a variety of disciplines, including history, political science, economics, psychology, fine arts, computer science and law. When complete, the world will consist of geographically accurate topography, period music and spoken dialogue performed by trained artists, historically accurate art models and an economic system.
Max Gaming Technologies -- Dark Horizons: An established independent game studio with several single and multiplayer titles already released, Max Gaming is creating an MMOG based on its successful Dark Horizons science-fiction property. The game, which will be massive and instanced, will contain a player-driven economy and political system, a learning-based skill system and a fast action combat system.
Doomsberg Entertainment -- Forgotten Legends: Doomsberg Entertainment is a young and energetic team of gamers-turned-game-creators who met through the Multiverse developer community. Their next-generation fantasy world includes a skill and power-based leveling system that will enable players to improve their characters through a wide range of innovative game play, without the need to "grind."
Wardog Studios -- Force of Arms: With the Multiverse Platform, this team of dedicated and talented developers, with non-traditional game design backgrounds, is now able to realize their dream of entering the video game industry. Force of Arms, which uses the award-winning Hero System TM role-playing system, is a futuristic mech-based game that includes innovative use of mixed media.
Mars Colonization Authority: An educational MMOG designed to teach science, technology, engineering and math to junior and high school students, Mars Colonization Authority is designed around the near-future space exploration and colonization of the planet Mars. Its gameplay will focus on exploration, problem-solving and traditional questing.
Georgia Institute of Technology's Emergent Game Group -- Mermaids: Under the direction of Dr. Celia Pearce, Mermaids is an underwater virtual world designed to let visitors explore rich and vibrant ocean ecology. The team has also pioneered a gesture-based interface that enables players to interact with the world and other players in a unique manner.
Since December 2005, over 9,000 developers, ranging from garage teams to Fortune 100 companies to Hollywood legends, have registered to use the Multiverse Platform. In addition, more than one hundred pre-qualified customers have already begun building MMOGs and non-game virtual worlds with the Multiverse Platform. Presently in beta, Multiverse will release version 1.0 of its platform later this year, which it expects will spark development of hundreds of diverse MMOGs and virtual worlds on the platform. Even in beta, Multiverse enjoys a very active and collaborative user community, which has surpassed 15,000 posts to its developer support forum.
"Unlike our competition, we absolutely depend on our customers -- whose feedback, from the onset, has been and continues to be instrumental to the development of our platform," said Corey Bridges, co-founder and executive producer of The Multiverse Network, Inc. "From a business perspective, we only make money if our customers make money -- through a very compelling revenue-sharing model -- so we have a vested interest in seeing them succeed, no matter how they define success."
About The Multiverse Network, Inc.
The Multiverse Network, Inc. is creating a network of online video games and virtual worlds. The company recently licensed the popular sci-fi TV series Firefly to become a Massively Multiplayer Online Game (MMOG). Its unique technology platform will change the economics of MMOG and virtual world development by empowering independent game developers to create high-quality titles for less money and in less time than ever before. Multiverse solves the prohibitive challenge of game creation by providing developers with a comprehensive, pre-coded client-server infrastructure and tools, a wide range of free content -- including a complete game for modification -- and a built-in market of consumers. The Multiverse Network will give video game players a single program -- the Multiverse Client -- that lets them play all of the MMOGs and visit all of the virtual worlds built on the Multiverse Platform.
For more information about the company, please visit www.multiverse.net.
The Multiverse Network, Inc.


text:
Gifts galore: Communities help residents shop for the holidaysSHOPPING: Residents have many options
Published 12:42 pm, Thursday, November 8, 2012
Senior living communities across Houston are gearing up for the holidays and are already planning decorations, events, open houses for friends and family, and parties, but most of all, they are helping their residents check off their gift lists.
"With the holidays coming around, we are beginning to make plans. One of the many things we do for our residents is to bring in outside vendors, to make it easier for them to do their gift shopping. A couple of the vendors are Premier Jewelry and Forbidden City Pearls, both favorites," said Deborah Mahrt, director, lifestyles, The Buckingham, a senior living community in Houston.
Also, Buckingham residents have the opportunity to shop at Memorial City via provided transportation.
"We will also have a private viewing at Brookwood Community's Gift and Garden Center, which is a very special outing for all of us. We will also provide transportation to the Nutcracker Market at Reliant Center, and we'll be attending the Quilt Show at the George R. Brown Convention Center. So we do provide numerous opportunities for our residents to complete their shopping," Mahrt said.
Village on the Park, another senior living community, is planning a fall festival and is busy inviting a diverse group of vendors, to give its residents a chance to shop on site.
"Our fall festival is opened to everyone, and we will have age-appropriate vendors, as well as a variety of booths. This is a favorite time of year and our residents are looking forward to the festival," said Shanon Smith, activities director, Village on the Park.
Village on the Park also provides shopping trips to various malls, which are scheduled and on its monthly calendars throughout the holiday season.
"We have a bus and a limousine for our residents, so depending on the number of people going on a shopping trip, we might take one or the other," Smith said.
Some shops, such as Draper & Damon, a ladies casual to evening wear store, will be providing a personalized shopping event for The Buckingham residents, and lunch will be served.
"This is something our residents are looking forward to," Mahrt said.
The Village on the Park also will be visiting a number of outlet malls and arts centers.
"We provide a number of outings to make sure all of our residents have a chance to shop in different types of places. We also have a limo for residents, at no charge, to take if they would like to shop somewhere not on our full calendars. We also have weekly Wal-Mart and Kroger outings, if anyone needs to pick up things like wrapping paper, tape, etc.," Smith said.
However, Smith added that the staff at Village on the Park are very accommodating, and it is not uncommon for a resident to forget something they need, such as a card, or an extra box, to complete their gift list.
"We are here to help, and we do not mind running and picking up something one of our resident needs, and during the holidays we often run to the store for different items," Smith said.
After the gifts are wrapped, and the decorations are up, the fun begins.
"We will have a nice Christmas dinner, a big celebration of fine dining for our residents. It will be a five- to seven-course meal with entertainment. This is a favorite celebration for most of our residents," Mahrt said.
The Buckingham, like other senior living communities, also has a number of private rooms, a five-star gourmet kitchen, private dining rooms, and a club room for residents to have an intimate dinner with their friends and family.
Around the Dec. 1, Village on the Park will have a huge open house, for the residents' friends and family to visit and help kick off the holidays.
"Our residents will also have Christmas dinner on Christmas Day; this is their home, this is where they live, so we have a very nice dinner for them on the same day they would have been having it in their home," Smith said.


text:
As group vice president of Microsoft's .Net Services Group, Muglia is charged in part with developing new subscription-based Internet services aimed at consumers and businesses.
"There are ways to make money. There is an opportunity to...create new business models around this," Muglia told Microsoft's software developers during his keynote speech at the company's Professional Developers Conference here Tuesday. "We think we are creating a strong enough value proposition so users are willing to pay for these services."
For more than a year, Microsoft has touted its .Net strategy for moving computing to the Web. The strategy touches nearly all of the company's products, services, Web sites and development efforts. Muglia's job is to create, market and sell .Net My Services, Microsoft-hosted services that will offer content, shopping, banking, entertainment and other features through a variety of devices, all linked to the company's Passport authentication service.
Expected to debut in full next year, .Net My Services will allow consumers to get one-step access to contact lists and calendars; instant alerts on stock changes, weather forecasts and online auction bids; and automated transactions, such as online banking and ticket purchases, from Microsoft and its partners.
At its developers conference, Microsoft released a mix of test and near-final software tools to developers so that they can begin offering the company's initial .Net My Services and start building their own Web services for their customers.
Muglia, who previously was responsible for Microsoft Office and handheld appliances, such as Pocket PC and Tablet PC devices, now has to take the Web services vision developed by Bill Gates and turn it into a success.
In an interview with CNET News.com, Muglia discussed the merits of Web services, Microsoft's business strategy, and the forthcoming release of the new Tablet PC computing device.
Q: Will consumers actually want to use .Net My Services?
A: Yes. We will have things for end users for free, such as Passport, .Net Alerts and Presence, and merchant-funded services through MSN. And when I look at the broader services, such as sharing a work calendar with my wife and my daughter's calendar, there are tremendous opportunities. These services can change the way people live. People have had a willingness to pay for technology. They pay a lot of money for cell phones and for cable, so I believe these new software-based services will become apparent for people.
I recently explained to two friends about your plans for .Net My Services. They don't work in the technology industry, but they're tech savvy--they've got cell phones and DSL installed at home, for example--but they saw no need for .Net My Services in their lives. Who's your target audience and how will you market the services to them?
A household where people need to stay connected. It's families. As for marketing, as these services roll out, we will demonstrate the value they have.
What is the overall message to software developers this week at the Professional Developers Conference?
We are focused completely on Web services as the new programming model. As we announced, it's the new breed of application involving client and server and creating a new user experience. To sum it up, it's a major step forward for developers, and Microsoft is delivering on that commitment. We are the leader and delivering the software into their hands, so they can get started in building Web services. We've been discussing Web services actively for over two years and in great detail last year. It took Sun 18 months to announce any strategy whatsoever. They are way behind where we are.
Can you talk about Microsoft's business model for .Net My Services? You've said you want to make the bulk of the profits through subscriptions to consumers, while charging nominal fees to businesses and software developers.
The developer pricing has three levels: entry-level for smaller-scale applications for $1,000 a year and $250 per application. The main one we think will be used by most businesses will be $10,000 per year and $1,500 per application. And for people who are doing serious business with this and need a high degree of quick support turnaround, we have custom pricing associated with that. We have a dedicated support engineer and a service-level agreement.
The applications are putting a load on us. These numbers are barely covering (our costs). We're not making money with these numbers. We think the place is to focus on users' value and charging (consumers) for that value. If your business model is not focused to do the right thing for end users, you do not behave the way you want to behave. That's the predominant reason. We want to make it as friction-free as possible to adopt this new platform.
A year from now, how will you gauge the success of .Net My Services?
The most important thing to gauge success is developer adoption.
Microsoft has mostly talked about Web services for consumers. Can you talk more about Microsoft's plans to bring more Web services to businesses?
We think .Net My Services impacts businesses, and we can imagine business-related services. Right now we're pouring a good percentage of our research and development on the future of Web services. We're delivering now, but we also seek to continue our innovations, anything from the forms of business purchase orders for B2B transactions to the need to evolve traditional EDI (messaging) to the Web services model.
Bill Gates in his keynote speech hawked the Tablet PC. What's the potential for the new handheld device?
It's a great form factor to supplant notebook computers. Keyboards are also associated with them. You can carry it to a meeting. It will be priced about the same as notebook PCs. I'm excited about the home. You can be sitting with a wireless connection on the living-room couch and get the latest set of news, instead of (getting) it on paper form. You can't do that with a PC form factor. It doesn't lend itself to sitting on the couch and reading the news with a cup of coffee.
But is there a market for it, considering Intel recently killed its plans to build a Tablet PC and 3Com's Audrey Web-surfing device failed miserably?
All those were network appliances. It's a different marketplace. That was dumb terminals. This is a full PC. We're not taking anything away from users. The Tablet PC has handwriting input, and the application doesn't know if the user is handwriting with a pen or typing on a keyboard. It's a new form factor for people to work with. Imagine speech recognition to translate and put interviews into text.


text:
Tesla (TSLA) stock has been on a terrific run since its third-quarter earnings. The stock has risen by 109% in the past six months.
Kohl’s stock plunged 9.5% while JCPenney was down 11% today at 1:01 PM ET. These department store chains announced dismal holiday sales.
Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) stock gained 3.6% on January 8 after the company beat analysts' earnings forecast for the third quarter of fiscal 2020.
Elon Musk danced yesterday at Tesla's Model 3 event in China. The surge in Tesla’s stock price in recent months has set the stage for such celebration.
Analysts’ activity indicates that Starbucks stock could continue to grow in 2020. The stock increased by 36.5% in 2019 and outgrew its peers.
Kroger’s performance in recent quarters compared to its peers has left its investors unimpressed. In 2019, Kroger stock rose 5.4%.
Higher sales could support Costco stock. Analysts project high-single-digit growth in Costco’s top line in fiscal 2020 despite tough comparisons.
Tesla's stock price closed at a record high of $492 on Wednesday. While the stock gained about 74% in the fourth quarter, it has risen 18% YTD.
Bed Bath & Beyond stock fell nearly 10% after hours following its weaker-than-expected third-quarter earnings results yesterday.


text:
NEW DELHI: Chinese smartphone maker Vivo on Tuesday entered the European markets and officially forayed into six countries--France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain, and the United Kingdom.
At the same time, it outlined its expansion plans during an online event and highlighted that it has partnered with UEFA for the EURO 2020 Championships and on the products, the portfolio side introduced its first smartphone lineup as well as companion devices for the European market.
“We are truly excited to come to Europe, to take this opportunity to officially introduce ourselves and our first product line-up for the European markets. This has been a challenging year for people and businesses around the globe, and many things have changed. Nevertheless, our commitment to people and our business in Europe has not changed, as our philosophy is and always will be doing the right thing, and doing it right,” said Denny Deng, Vice President, President of European Business at Vivo. Elaborating its partnership with UEFA, Vivo said its role will be that of the UEFA EURO 2020 Global Smartphone.
“We share the passion of football with our friends around the world, which is even more of a reason for us to be excited about this new partnership with UEFA, for the EURO championship,” said Deng.
On the smartphone lineup side, Vivo has launched the top-of-the-line Vivo X51 5G smartphone and in the mid-tier smartphone series, it launched the Vivo Y Series--comprising the Y50, Y20s, and the Y11s smartphones.
Talking about companion devices, Vivo launched two series of wireless headphones geared towards audio performance, Google Assistant functionality, and portability.
The first companion device--the Vivo Wireless Sport--is aimed at active users who prefer music streaming on-the-go, at the gym, or while exercising outdoors.
The second device--Vivo True Wireless Earphones (TWS)--features 14.2mm drivers and is intended as the preferred companion for the Vivo X51 5G, Vivo said. The Vivo True Wireless Earphones comes with Qualcomm aptX audio codecs and other related audio technologies to enhance the audio experience.
The smartphone maker has five manufacturing facilities--of which two are in China, and one in Bangladesh, India, and Indonesia, respectively.
Samsung had launched its first foldable smartphone in February this year, and made the phone available in India October 1 in India Rs 1,64,999. The device comes with a 7.10-inch along with 7.30-inch Dynamic AMOLED display and is powered by a 2.8GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 processor. It has a 12 GB RAM bundled with a 512 GB internal storage. The new foldable device has a 12.0 MP + 16.0 MP + 12.0 MP, triple camera setup on the back and a 10.0 MP + 8.0 MP double camera setup on the front. The device comes with a 4380mAh battery and supports fast charge. The device runs on Android Pie as mentioned by the company. The phone’s 5G version is already available in South Korea, which has commercially launched 5G services.
Samsung, in November 2019, launched its W series of a foldable smartphone, W20 5G, currently available in China. The device is similar to global Fold variant in terms of screen size, but is powered the latest Qualcomm Xiaolong Snapdragon 855+ processor. It has a 12GB RAM bundled with a 512GB internal storage. The device comes with a 4235mAh battery.
Motorola, in November 2019, its first ever foldable phone at $1500. It comes with a 6.2-inch foldable pOLED primary display and a 2.7-inch gOLED secondary display. The device is powered by a 2.2 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 710 processor and has an internal storage capacity of 128 GB bundled with a 6 GB of RAM. The new device has a 2510mAh battery and a 15W TurboPower charger. The company also boasts about its 16 MP rear camera and a 5 MP front camera.
Huawei, in February 2019 launched its first foldable device Huawei Mate X with an 8.00-inch display. The device has a HiSilicon Kirin 980 processor. The Huawei Mate X comes with a triple camera setup with a 40MP + 16MP + 8MP lens. The company provides a storage capacity of 512GB bundled with 8GB of RAM. It has a 4500mAh battery for longer usage. It was made available in China at $2400.
In October 2018, Royole launched FlexPai with a 2.84GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 processor at around $1500. The device comes with a 7.8-inch flexible AMOLED foldable display, and will be available in 6GB and 8GB variants. The device has a 16 MP+20 MP, double camera setup. The device has a 3970mAh battery.
Xiaomi President Lin Bin in January 2019 posted a video of its prototype folding smartphone; He showcased the device by folding the device from both sides. The Chinese smartphone maker hasn’t shared any more information regarding the device’s specifications, pricing or launch date.
7 of 9
Microsoft Surface Duo
Microsoft is taking a crack at the smartphone market again, this time with a dual-screen crossover (Android) device that closes like a book. Surface Duo is a new dual-screen device with two screens connected by a 360° hinge. The device is expected to launch around Holiday, 2020, as per Microsoft’s official website.
8 of 9
Apple Foldable phone
Apple is said to be exploring the idea of a foldable phone, reported by those who’ve seen the company’s patents for a folding screen. But we may have to wait a while for the phone.
9 of 9
TCL Zigzag foldable phone: Expected in 2020
TCL recently displayed its prototype of folding smartphone with dual hinge. The phone, unlike any other commercially launched foldable smartphone, folds in three parts in n a zigzag fashion. The device will have a quad-camera setup on the rear, as per various media reports.
Welcoming the package and calling it path breaking, Mittal said, Airtel would opt for the option to defer payment to the government by 4 years, a move which would ease its cash flows by Rs 35,000 crore and Rs 40,000 crore.


text:
Toy company Tomy Corporation is expanding its consumer software business, planning to publish its own video games in North America and Europe, the company announced at the Tokyo Game Show.
Tomy plans to create multiplatform releases based on its popular toy brands and licensed characters, as well as original intellectual properties tailored for the Western market.
The company has already expanded game publishing operations at its headquarters in Santa Ana, California. The first two games to be released under the new strategy will be Lovely Lisa
for the Nintendo DS and Penny Racers Party: Turbo-Q Speedway
for the Wii. The company will also continue to publish Naruto
games for Nintendo platforms, as it has previously done.
The U.S. Tomy Corporation is a subsidiary of the Japanese Takara-Tomy. Although both Tomy and Transformers creator Takara have dabbled with games publishing both before and after their merger, games have never been a focus of either’s business. The company even blamed the success of the Wii and DS
for its disappointing financial results last year.
"With our expansion as a vertical publisher in North America, we are dedicated to bringing gamers quality titles on next-generation systems that entertain and inspire families and kids of all ages," said Tomy president Kaz Sugiyama.
"We are proud that Tomy’s two new games are based on principles and play patterns that parents can feel good about sharing with their children."


text:
Privacy expert, Dr. Hannah Fry, is warning against allowing Alexa into the bedroom.
Fry is of the belief that you should not have an Amazon Echo anywhere near your bedrooms or bathrooms.
Earlier this year, it was alleged that Amazon may have been tapping into conversations across the world to make sure the devices were working properly.
In that short amount of time, they heard a woman singing to herself in the shower as well as someone reading out their confidential bank details.
“I think there are some spaces in your home, like the bedroom and bathroom, which should remain completely private. This technology is activated by a trigger word [such as ‘Alexa’] but it keeps recording for a short period afterwards. People accept that, but we should all spend more time thinking about what it means for us.”
And while Amazon has denied that it is spying on anyone using these devices, it has since been revealed that there are workers in places like Costa Rica, Romania, as well as India who have been listening to over 1,000 audio clips a day.
Dr. Fry requested the technology companies provide all the data they had collected on her and was given recordings of normal, everyday conversations that had taken place at her house.
She continued, saying:
“There are people who are very senior in the tech world who will not have so much as a smartphone in their bedroom. If a company is offering you a device with an internet-connected microphone at a low price, you have to think about that very carefully. I have both an Alexa and a Google voice-activated device and I regularly turn them both off. People really must set their own limits.”


text:
It is no secret that the live events industry was impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic in a big way. We here at Bluewater were front row as we talked with clients about postponing live events vs. moving them to a virtual model, how to host a successful and engaging conference virtually, and even created our own best-in-class virtual event platform that brought all the vital aspects of live events to the digital space.
But now that live events have returned to normal, we wanted to take a step back to reflect on where we have been the last year, how events have been forever changed by the pandemic, and what both live and virtual events will look like going forward.
This past Monday, Bluewater’s own Braden Graham (VP of Operations & Client Services for Live Events) and Bob Marsh (Chief Revenue Officer) hosted a webinar to chat about the return of live events and the new hybrid model that is starting to follow. Here is a quick look at their conversation as they discuss the conversations they are having with clients and what the future model of live events will look like. For the full webinar discussion, check out the entire video On Demand below.
A Look Back
While many people didn’t attend their first virtual event until after the pandemic had started, we here at Bluewater had been catering to remote audiences even before 2020. Teams and Zoom were familiar parts of our toolkit for clients who wanted a virtual option to their event, and we had already began dreaming up our own platform to cater to the needs of our clients before virtual events became the norm.
However, Covid-19 still made a significant impact on the way that both we (and our clients) will run both live and virtual events going forward. In the future, we are seeing many events still offering dual content and multiple ticket options for attendees who prefer to attend an event virtually, rather than in-person.
The need to be adaptable and be able to pivot are also more important than ever in today’s event landscape. While in-person events are back right now, there are still many unknowns in the future, and we don’t know what events will look like with 100% confidence moving forward. But we do know that businesses need to prepare for the long-term need to host remote participants, even once live events have returned for good.
So long as companies are prepared to adapt and pivot, they will be able to successfully navigate these new parameters of live events.
The Hybrid Event Model
As we have mentioned before, virtual events are here to stay in one form or another – either as a replacement to real-world events, or as an addition to them. Every company and event is going to have a different need. Thankfully, the pandemic has allowed us to think more flexibly and be ready for whatever the next pivot or requirement may be.
Our consultations with clients have now switched from asking questions like, “what is the capacity of our venue that we need to stick to?” to “what’s the right approach for our event and how many tickets should we allocate to in-person vs. online?” This represents the new global model of hybrid events that we are seeing, where a local event that was once limited to 1000 people is now a stage for the world to attend.
Our Definitive Virtual Event Platform
This new consultative process is one of the reasons why we created Parallel Live – Bluewater’s own virtual event platform that is designed to serve even the most event-savvy customers. Our platform is built by event professionals to help businesses stay connected when you physically cannot – and that rides alongside you when you can.
For an in-depth look at how some of the top brands in the world are using Parallel Live to host or supplement their events, be sure to watch our full webinar above, where our hosts walk you through how different brands are using Parallel Lie, and some of the hybrid live event concepts that we anticipate seeing more of as we move forward in the hybrid event space.
Have questions about how to get started with live events? Contact us today.


text:
The media have recently seen an outcry of sustainability needs both in (business) industries and the environment. Interests for eradicating single-use plastic bags have been on the rise and now IKEA is on in it, too. Last thursday (June 7th), The Guardian published an article on IKEA’s commitment to integrate sustainability-friendly products by eliminating single-use products by 2020 – just two days after World Environment Day. This is a big step forward for major business chains in making the move towards a more sustainable future – it might even inspire other leading industries to aim for the same.
IKEA and their environmental pledge
Governments globally have recognised the significant needs to address marine pollution as the proliferation of plastic bags have infiltrated the marine ecosystems. Countries have started to introduce levies and bans to fight against the issue. In the process, they have inspired IKEA to do the same by firstly eliminating plastic straws, bags and other single-use plastic items, also to promote their larger environmental pledge to become “people and planet positive” by 2030.
Business industries are shifting their focus, to find ways in which production and consumption can operate in a circular, rather than a linear model. Previous business models relied on single-use products to gain profit; fast production allowed for a place in the competitive industry. Nowadays, business models appreciate a circular mode of production whereby products sold can still be repaired, reused, and renewed instead of getting thrown away.
Business industries are shifting their focus, to find ways in which production and consumption can operate in a circular, rather than a linear model
IKEA’s new way of production in working towards their environmental pledge is integrated in their product designs in optimising for quality and longevity and as such reparation, reselling and/or recycling of materials are valued. In further encouraging their environmental pledge on to consumers, they will also offer more plant-based meals and snacks in their restaurant.
World Environment Day
In accordance to World Environment Day on June 5th as declared by the UN, this year’s theme is “beat plastic pollution”. Plastic pollution accumulates in coastlines, forests, industrial areas, rivers, etc. – this is an alarming sign to start focusing on reducing, if not exterminating, the existence of single-use plastics. BBC News published an article on the actions of over 50 countries in restricting the use of plastics. In the article, head of UN Environment Erik Solheim said the following: “[…] Plastic isn’t the problem. It’s what we do with it.”
The biggest report on plastic pollution so far found that levies and taxes that are properly planned and enforced are among the most effective strategies to restrict plastic waste. In Ireland, there was a 90 percent decrease in plastic usage once tax was imposed. In China, the usage decreased by 60 to 80 percent in supermarkets, although finding accurate figures for informal markets was not gathered. In Vietnam, the government aims to increase levies five times in order to yield an extreme change in behaviour towards plastic use.
In Ireland, there was a 90 percent decrease in plastic usage once tax was imposed
Governments are slowly influencing businesses by encouraging them to adopt a similar environmental agenda. This just goes to show that collaboration between different actors is needed to incite change and further maintain it. “Change will only be possible if we collaborate with others and nurture entrepreneurship. We are committed to taking the lead working together with everyone – from raw material suppliers all the way to our customers and partners,” said Torbjörn Lööf, the chief executive of IKEA’s parent inter group.
Cover: Michael Coghlan/Final editing: Kevin Hesp


text:
Lacoste Spring/Summer 2013 Collection Unveiled
Louis Vuitton Winter Resort Store Opens In Switzerland
Louis Vuitton is a brand famous for its upscale luxury stores, and they’re evidently interested in spreading that luxury all over the world. The latest example of this is the Louis Vuitton Winter Resort store, now open on the famous Promenade in Gstaad in Switzerland.
The store is just the second to open in the country, and it continues the Vuitton tradition of luxury within a new wintry context.
Unfortunately, it’s not actually a winter resort, so your dream of being delivered a Louis Vuitton handbag via room service will have to wait a little bit longer.


text:
Or your VR will never upgrade again
Existing owners who don't want to use a Facebook account have until 2023 before losing "full functionality".
People go for cheap option
A report from research company Strategy Analytics said that by the end of this year only three percent of Brits will own a VR headset.
Augurs at the soothsaying outfit Juniper have inspected the liver of a rather fat ram and come to the conclusion that by 2020 more than 30 million virtual reality headsets will be sold.
Uncrossing your eyes
A US businessman has found a medical use for VR headsets like occulus.
€299? So where’s Dre hiding?


text:
Washington, DC (May 6, 2016) – Today, the Sweetener Users Association (SUA) applauded 45 members of the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate for urging Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack to allow an increase in the tariff rate quota (TRQ) for raw sugar.
In a letter to Secretary Vilsack yesterday afternoon, policymakers on both sides of the aisle wrote:
“We respectfully request that you immediately use your authority to make adequate sugar supplies available in the United States at reasonable prices. Because of the federal sugar program and marketplace factors, both supplies and prices are distorted, to the detriment of workers, businesses and consumers – and even some segments of the sugar industry.
“Cane sugar refiners are having difficulty in obtaining raw sugar supplies because of unintended consequences stemming from a bilateral agreement between the United States and Mexico. At the same time, the demand for cane sugar has been on the upswing because of growing interest in non-genetically engineered foods.
“… As a consequence, prices in the U.S. futures market have skyrocketed and markets have been unstable. Calls for more adequate supplies of sugar have come not only from companies that use sugar, but also from U.S. cane refiners, including some of those owned by sugar growers. … “
Rick Pasco, President of the Sweetener Users Association said, “We applaud the two principal co-authors of the letter – Sen. Jeanne Shaheen and Rep. Joe Pitts – and all of the other members of Congress in both chambers for coming together in a bipartisan manner to press for a much needed increase in the TRQ for raw sugar. Given market demand and the tight feedstock supply situation, what is needed now is a commercially significant increase in the TRQ, and we commend members of Congress for standing up and calling for an increase in sugar supplies needed by America’s sugar-using industries, which support an estimated 600,000 American jobs.”
The full text of the congressional letter can be found here.


text:
Palo Alto, Calif (PRWEB) May 22, 2017
Eversight, the leader in Offer Innovation software, today announced that the company’s Co-Founder and Chairman, David Moran, will be a featured presenter at the upcoming RBC Capital Markets Consumer and Retail Conference, taking place May 31st and June 1st at The Four Seasons Hotel in Boston.
Mr. Moran’s session, entitled “The Great Trade Spend Efficiency Opportunity: What’s Real and Where are the Actual Opportunities for Performance Gains,” is scheduled for 1:30-2:30 pm ET on June 1st.
The session will address the long-standing challenge of trade spend efficiency and offer pragmatic, concrete perspectives for both CPG manufacturers and retailers to take away and start addressing new and real opportunities to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of trade promotions.
“Even though manufacturers have been spending an increasing percentage of sales over the years on trade promotions that largely don’t work, the industry has been faced with a lot of hype and only partial solutions until recently,” said Moran. “As a former practitioner myself, I am excited by what is now possible and am honored to participate and share my perspectives at this important conference.”
Prior to co-founding Eversight, the leader in Offer Innovation software solutions that enable CPG manufacturers and retailers to discover, test, and deploy more effective promotions, Mr. Moran developed a wealth of expertise in pricing, promotions, and overall revenue growth management as VP of Global Sales, Revenue Management for Anheuser-Busch InBev na/sv and, earlier in his career, as a leader in McKinsey & Company’s Consumer Pricing service line.
Mr. Moran has also written and spoken on related topics such as machine learning technology for pricing and promotion, the behavioral economics theories and heuristics behind why consumers buy on promotion, and broadly about digitization and other major forces disrupting the retail industry.
Headquartered in Palo Alto, Calif. and founded in 2013, Eversight provides Offer Innovation software that helps retailers and consumer goods companies dramatically improve promotion effectiveness and make better use of in-store promotion dollars. Eversight disrupts the world of promotions by combining the latest in predictive analytics, cloud software, data science and behavioral economics. Eversight Cloud™ enables customers to remove the guesswork and risk from promotions by digitally testing hundreds of unique offers with real shoppers to find the best performing ones. Eversight serves as a strategic partner to some of the largest consumer goods companies and retailers, including Coca-Cola, Ferrero, Keurig, Kimberly-Clark, Nestle and other leading brands. Promotions based on Offer Innovation have yielded an unprecedented 10 to 25+ percent performance improvement over traditional promotions. Visit http://www.eversightlabs.com to learn more.
Follow Eversight on Twitter at @Eversightlabs and on LinkedIn http://www.linkedin.com/company/eversight.