text:
Have you ever wondered about the remarkable evolution of technology over the years, particularly in Malaysia?
Let’s journey back to the year 2000, a time when people heaved a sigh of relief that the Y2K bug, which was predicted to disrupt computer systems all over the world, fizzled out.
The bug was expected to cause havoc as computers were programmed to handle years with only two digits, such as 99, which would cause the year to roll back to 00 or 1900 with the arrival of the year 2000, making computers malfunction.
However, the National Y2K Project team, set up to monitor the nation’s transition into the new decade and formed under the Energy, Communications and Multimedia Ministry, said there were no incidences of the bug disrupting systems locally.
Dialling it up a notch
This was also the year when people and businesses started to get on the Internet bandwagon, hitching a ride on the slow dial-up connection.
As of April 2000, it was reported that the number of Internet account holders in Malaysia stood at 750,000.
Getting online was a laborious process that required dialling the Internet service provider’s (ISP’s) number, which may be tied up – a process that most will remember as the modem made a distinctly loud noise as it attempted to establish a connection.
As users were charged based on how long they were connected, staying online for extended periods of time was a luxury for most.
Only a year later, Malaysians got to enjoy broadband Internet when TM Net, the country’s biggest ISP and a subsidiary of Telekom Malaysia, introduced Streamyx, offering unlimited access for RM88 a month with download and upload speeds of 384Kbps (kilobits per second) and 128Kbps, respectively.
In tune with the times
Apple released the iPod in 2001, a portable digital music player with a sleek design, an innovative click wheel, and large internal storage space that took the world by storm.
Users who were listening to music on CDs and cassettes could now carry thousands of songs on a device that fit into their pockets.
They could also purchase songs or organise their music collection via the iTunes software, making them embrace the convenience of digital media over physical mediums.
In Malaysia, the iPod was first showcased at the eWorld 2001 tech fair organised by The Star, but it only went on sale a year later for RM1,749 for the 5GB model.
By then, PDAs (personal digital assistants), the precursor to the smartphone, had also started to become popular, with brands like PalmPilot and Handspring becoming household names among geeks.
Though it lacked an Internet connection, it could be synced to a PC, allowing users to read email, check calendars, manage appointments, play games, read ebooks, and take notes on the go.
One distinctive feature of PDAs was the stylus, as using one’s finger to input anything was rather challenging.
During the early 2000s, one mobile phone brand reigned supreme – Nokia – introducing models like the entry-level 3310 that left an indelible mark in history. In fact, this phone could even leave a lasting impression on your wall if thrown, as it has a reputation for being indestructible.
The Nokia 9210 Communicator, introduced in 2001, marked the company’s pioneering step into the Symbian OS, an early mobile operating system with a customisable interface and support for multitasking.
It was designed like a mini laptop, and unfolding it will reveal a Qwerty keyboard with an internal screen.
Another exciting innovation from Nokia was the 7650. Released in 2002, it was touted as the company’s first phone with a built-in camera. It had a sliding design that revealed a keypad and a VGA camera at the back.
This smartphone was considered a luxury at the time as it was priced at RM2,199, compared to the 3310, which cost RM899.
A year later, local mobile operators announced the availability of MMS (multimedia message service) that allowed users to send photos to take advantage of their camera phones.
When 3G connectivity became more widely available in 2005, the Nokia 6630, priced at RM2,399, became one of the first 3G phones that users could get their hands on.
However, Nokia’s dominance would soon crumble as Apple reshaped the smartphone landscape forever in 2007 with the iPhone. Sporting an innovative touchscreen design, the iPhone boldly screamed, ‘Look, ma, no keypad!’.
Apple co-founder and former CEO, the late Steve Jobs, declared the iPhone an iPod, phone, and “Internet communicator” in one device, deriding smartphones and PDAs that relied on styluses for input.
The device, which had a 3.5in screen, 8GB storage, a 2-megapixel camera, and was made of metal, was the first phone to support multi-touch technology that allowed users to, for example, zoom in and out of photos with just their fingers.
The iPhone didn’t reach our shores until 2009, when Maxis bundled its successor, the iPhone 3G, with a voice-data plan, which was then considered the first of its kind in Malaysia.
The 2000s will also be remembered for how social media platforms emerged and changed the way people interacted and communicated online.
Friendster was launched in 2002, followed by MySpace in 2003, but it was Facebook that made the biggest impact, even though initially people were just busy virtually poking one another as a way of getting attention.
It started to take off once it introduced a newsfeed that showed updates from friends, allowing everyone to keep up with each other despite being on different continents.
Meanwhile, YouTube came along in 2005, revolutionised video sharing, and spurred people to make their own content.
To pay tribute, Time magazine featured a reflective cover on its Person Of The Year issue in December 2006. It said that “You” and millions of individuals are credited for the growth and transformation of the Internet as social media platforms like YouTube thrive on user-generated content.
2010s: Compact computers
The 2010s saw Microsoft’s various ill-fated forays into the world of smartphones, which started with Windows Phone 7, its Windows-based mobile operating system (OS), which received a local launch in October 2010.
Devices using the Windows Phone 7 OS were made in collaboration with its hardware partners, such as HTC.
The HTC HD7 had a large (for its time) 4.3 display, a five-megapixel camera capable of 720p video recording, and a kickstand.
While the OS received successors with Windows Phone 8 (2012), 8.1 (2014), and 10 Mobile (2015), the adoption rate was low, with many attributing its failure to a lack of good third-party apps, particularly Google apps like YouTube.
By 2017, under 1% of smartphones ran on the OS, causing Microsoft to discontinue development in October.
Samsung, on the other hand, was more successful in its gambit for the smartphone space, launching the first device in the company’s Galaxy S series of smartphones in Malaysia in July 2010 with the Galaxy S.
But it wasn’t until the Galaxy S II that Samsung took aim at Apple directly with its “next big thing” campaign, which allegedly made Apple concerned enough to consider changing its advertising agency, according to Samsung’s lawyer during a 2014 patent lawsuit between the companies.
Samsung then popularised the idea of phablets, a portmanteau of phone and tablet, with the Galaxy Note, which had a display measuring 5.3in, considered large for the time.
The influence of the Note series can still be seen today after it was folded into the mainline Galaxy S series with larger screens on the Ultra models.
In the same decade, the world saw continued growth in portable computing, with Apple launching the iPad in early 2010. However, Malaysians only got an official release later in November of the same year.
During a presentation at the Consumer Electronics Show, Jobs defined the iPad as a novel category, positioning it between smartphones and laptops due to its improved performance in certain tasks.
It was so successful – 32.4 million units were sold by 2011, according to online reports – that it ate into laptop sales by as much as 50%.
The tablet started at RM1,549 for the WiFi version and RM1,999 for the 3G model. Unlike the modern tablets of today, the original iPad distinctly lacked cameras.
The new tablet category also gave rise to competition, such as Samsung’s Galaxy Tab, which launched in Malaysia in July 2010 and included a selfie camera (though selfies weren’t a part of the public lexicon at the time).
Apple’s success with the iPad is one reason why Microsoft looked to include a more touch-centric user experience with its desktop OS, eventually launching the Surface line of tablets and hybrids that can switch between tablet and laptop.
At the time, Apple CEO Tim Cook bashed the form factor: “Anything can be forced to converge, but the problem is that products are about trade-offs, and you begin to make trade-offs to the point where what you have left doesn’t please anyone.
“You can converge a toaster and a refrigerator, but those things are probably not going to be pleasing to the user,” he said in an investor call in 2012.
The Surface series is a success today, and even the iPad has received official keyboard accessories, underscoring that Apple has changed its stance.
Shifting to the realm of social media, 2010 saw the launch of Instagram (later acquired by Facebook in September 2012 for US$1bil) on iOS, a social platform primarily centred around sharing photos.
It not only promoted visual storytelling but also took a mobile-first approach to capitalise on the smartphone camera, which was starting to push ahead of compact cameras.
In 2011, the world saw the launch of Snapchat (then known as Picaboo), a messaging app that allows users to send “snaps”, which introduced users to messages with video or photos that disappear after a specified amount of time.
Snapchat also popularised augmented reality (AR) filters after introducing Snapchat Lens in 2015. The feature caught on, eventually becoming a staple on other social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.
Speaking of mobile apps, Tinder made an appearance in 2012, introducing the swipe-to-date interface later emulated by competitors like Bumble and Coffee Meets Bagel.
Meanwhile, on the Internet connectivity front, Malaysia saw the rise of high-speed broadband (HSBB) utilising fibre optics with the launch of Telekom Malaysia’s Unifi service in 2010.
At launch, it offered three plans: RM149 for 5Mbps (megabits per second), RM199 for 10Mbps, and RM249 for 20Mbps, a significant jump from the existing Streamyx speeds.
However, a small number of people enjoyed the speed too much and hogged the bandwidth, forcing ISPs to come up with fair-usage policies (FUPs).
They had their speeds throttled, especially if it was detected that they were torrenting, a peer-to-peer service that was popularly used for illegal downloads.
Shifting from copper also had an unexpected benefit: users no longer had to be afraid that their modems would be fried by lightning strikes.
Meanwhile, Maxis became the first telco company in Malaysia to introduce 4G LTE in 2013.
The telco introduced it in Cyberjaya, Taman Tun Dr Ismail, Damansara Utama, Desa Sri Hartamas, Bandar Puchong Jaya, and Bandar Sunway.
The company’s 4G service offered speeds of up to 75Mbps (megabits per second), with an average of between 10Mbps and 30Mbps, allowing users to enjoy all sorts of services on the go with minimal restrictions.
It would take another six years before 5G kicked off with the 5G Malaysia showcase held in Putrajaya, which showed off various 5G-enabled technologies to the public.


text:
CAMBODIA: Cambodia’s Plans for Indefinite Use of Temporary Employment Contracts
[Feb 24, 2009] The Global Union representing workers in the textile and clothing sector is taking action to oppose proposed amendments to Cambodia’s labour law aimed at extending the use of temporary employment contracts.
CAMBODIA: INDITEX Driving Change In Global Garment Industry
[Mar 16, 2008] International Framework Agreement, had made a positive beginning in promoting the sea change needed in management and trade union thinking to promote decent work in the global textile
CAMBODIA: Silk deal signed with Chinese company
[Sep 14, 2007] A memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed between a Cambodian and Chinese company to cultivate mulberry plantations. Cambodia will breed silk worms and build a factory to ship the raw product to China. It is yet to be clear
CAMBODIA: Illegal strikes threaten textile sector
[Sep 05, 2007] The domestic garment makers have urged the government to regulate the labor unions, saying that illegal strikes and power struggles among more than 1,000 workers' groups threaten the key textile trade. The garment sector remains a key pillar of impoverished Cambodia's economy, employing some
CAMBODIA: Garment workers show their talents in nationwide competition
[Sep 01, 2007] A competition titled "I am precious" was launched nationwide in Phnom Penh city to honor Cambodian garment workers, value of the work they do. For the first time they got a chance to show their talents and expression through a
CAMBODIA: Create the right investment climate: World Bank Chief
[Aug 06, 2007] World Bank chief Robert Zoellick has said that the Cambodian economy is too narrowly focused on its garment sector. It should now build on its successes to draw investors to other industries.
CAMBODIA: Garment exports growth slows down
[Jul 13, 2007] According to the recent statistics issued by the commerce ministry the growth rate of garment exports of Cambodia has slowed down.
CAMBODIA: Garment workers resume nightshifts after assurance
[Jul 06, 2007] Cambodian garment factory employees were scared by the rumours of a syndicate involved in human organ transplant trade is targeting them.
CAMBODIA: Vietnam creates threat to Cambodian garment industry
MEM [Nov 16, 2006] The imminent entry of neighboring Vietnam has created a fear of threat posed by the World Trade Organization upon Cambodia's garment industry; officials said on November 14...
CAMBODIA: US, Cambodia sign agreement to increase trade and investment flows
MEM [Jul 19, 2006] The United States and Cambodia signed an agreement on July 14 to increase trade and investment flows as part of a broader American initiative in the region, the U.S. Trade Representative's office said...
|Website Design by InWiz||© - 2000-2018. Inwiz. All rights reserved.|

domain: news


text:
If you're HBO, you're out of this equation; your customers are already paying an extra fee. But if you are ESPN with "Monday Night Football," or Fox, CBS, or NBC with their NFL football, the growing sentiment is that big TV rights fees may not keep pace with growing advertising revenues that support the programming.
Yes, big sports leagues will continue to pay sizable percentage increases per year -- but how will they financially account for this? ESPN just shelled out around 60% more for "Monday Night Football": around $1.8 billion a year.
Will advertisers pay 60% more next year?
For all the extras that ESPN will get from the NFL - such as new shows and certain digital and international rights -- ad revenues from those specific 17 "Monday Night Football" games is where the real money is. In recent years, TV sports advertisers have paid high price hikes -- 15% or more per year -- relative to other programming. But that's not 60%.
Say what you will about cable's affiliate fee structure -- something broadcasters are getting a taste of through retransmission revenue - those revenues for networks aren't rising as fast as they have in the past.
The NFL rights fees for Fox, CBS, and NBC will assuredly go in the same direction -- all due to the NFL's steady ratings as compared with fast declines in non-sports programming viewership. For some networks, the NFL is "must-have" even if it's a loss leader. It pulls people into their big tent.
But in the future more TV networks -- just like most new digital content providers -- will be thinking more about viewer "subsets."
Concerning the NFL, Derek Chang, executive vice president of content strategy and development at DirecTV, told the Los Angeles Times: "It is valuable programming, but it is only valuable to a subset." But, he warned, this was "taking us down a dangerous path."
What is dangerous? TV entertainment consumers are price-sensitive -- especially these days. Chang says subscription TV is already losing customers; more might want to cut the cord.
Certainly, this is a problem. But if that subset of viewers cannot do without that product, perhaps they might pay more. Perhaps they should pay more. DirecTV for years has been getting nice business from its big NFL Sunday Ticket package where viewers spend an extra $300 for an entire season of football games. But that doesn't generate enough revenue to run its entire satellite TV distribution business.
In the future, a few more networks will need to come to a similar decision -- no doubt with the NFL's blessing. Think of it as being on a video-on-demand basis, a daily basis, an iPad basis, or another digital device basis.
Fractionalization of TV -- which speaks to viewer "subsets" -- is a continuing process that established TV and media companies have sleepless nights over.
Whether it's "American Idol," "Real Housewives" or the New York Giants battling the Dallas Cowboys, a price point versus an intense fanatic viewer subset has always been the real issue. What would you pay for a show you really wanted? The industry still awaits some real breakthroughs.


text:
HAMBURG - The lowest price offered in an international tender from Egypt's GASC to buy about 50,000 metric tons of raw sugar was believed to be $690 a ton CIF free out, traders said in initial assessments on Monday.
The lowest offer for about 50,000 metric tons of white refined sugar that was also sought was believed to be $780 a ton CIF free out, traders said.
Offers in the tender, which closed on Saturday, are still being considered and no purchase has yet been reported, they added.
The prices were the lowest submitted after a series of negotiations, the traders said. However, prices were still regarded as too high, with GASC’s target for raw sugar assessed at $655 a ton CIF free out and white sugar assessed at $755 a ton CIF free out.
The lowest offer for raw sugar was said to have been submitted by trading house Alvean and lowest price for the white sugar was said to be offered by Al Khaleej Sugar (AKS).
The refined white sugar should be for human consumption and supplied in 50kg packages.
Offers should be submitted for arrival Jan. 1-15 and/or Jan. 16-30 and/or Feb. 1-15. Payment is at sight (immediate) using funding from the International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC).
Raw sugar futures hit 12-year highs in early November on fears that an El Nino weather pattern would curb production in India and Thailand, plus concern about logistical bottlenecks in top exporter Brazil, though prices have since pulled back from their peaks.
(Reporting by Michael Hogan in Hamburg and Sarah El Safty in Cairo Editing by David Goodman)


text:
Poco has shown that it will likely be imparting the Poco X4 Pro and Poco M4 Pro 4G at MWC upcoming week, however, it seems that a store has jumped the gun on the previous handset. Amazon France has already published a complete Poco X4 Pro list, displaying specifications and renders.
The renders display a smartphone with flat edges, a rear digital digicam housing that extends from the left to proper aspects of the rear cover (paying homage to the Mi 11 Ultra), and a center-hooked-up punch-hollow cutout. The list additionally suggests numerous colorways, particularly black, blue, and yellow.
As for the Poco X4 Pro specs, the retail list factors to a Snapdragon 695 chipset, a 6.67-inch 120Hz OLED screen, and a 5,000mAh battery with 67W stressed out charging. The mobile is likewise stated to be ready with a 108MP most important camera, 8MP ultrawide lens, and a 2MP macro sensor.
All of those specifications advise that we’re searching at a Redmi Note eleven Pro with a brand new design. So the ones hoping for an instantaneous follow-as much as the Snapdragon 860-toting Poco X3 Pro is probably disappointed. Then again, the X3 Pro didn’t have plenty else going for it apart from the horsepower and battery size, while the X4 Pro looks like a higher all-spherical revel in on paper.
The Poco X4 Pro has a $396 ( ₹29,583) fee tag at the website, despite the fact that we’re guessing that this must be involved in a pinch of salt for now.


text:
LONDON (AP) -- New car registrations in the United Kingdom rose 58 percent in November compared to a year ago as the industry continued to benefit from government-backed incentives, an industry group said Friday.
The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders said 158,082 cars were registered in November.
For the year to date, new car registrations are lagging 9 percent below a year ago.
The government and the industry are sharing the cost of 2,000 pound ($3,300) discounts on cars for buyers who trade in a car more than 10 years old. That program was involved in slightly more than a fifth of the November registrations, the society said, adding that buyers were also seeking to get cars before the sales tax rises in January.


text:
HUMMELSTOWN, PA. (WHTM) — A winning Pennsylvania Lottery Match 6 ticket worth $530,000 was sold in Dauphin County from the Thursday, April 27 drawing.
According to the lottery, the ticket matched all six numbers to win the jackpot prize of $530,000. The store where the ticket was sold, Turkey Hill located at 240 Hershey Road in Hummelstown, earned a $5,000 bonus for selling the winning ticket.
According to the lottery, more than 28,200 other Match 6 tickets also won prizes in the drawing, and players are reminded to check every ticket, every time they play.
Recently, a Match 6 ticket worth $6.6 million was sold in Lancaster County for the Tuesday, April 25 drawing.
Pennsylvania Lottery players have options to purchase their Match 6 Lotto tickets online or by visiting a retailer. Players can find lottery-selling locations closest to them by visiting the Find a Retailer section of the Lottery’s website.


text:
Will speed bumps make Roma's CBD safer?
THERE have been polarising views on the new speed bumps in the main street of Roma, with some praising the measure and others describing it as 'ridiculous'.
Maranoa Regional Council have brought in numerous safety measures in to Roma's CBD, including speed bumps and LED lighting.
The speed bumps, which were passed by council earlier this month, were installed this week along McDowall St.
The LED light road signs will be installed at the eastern and western approaches to the CBD area.
Resident Marg Oatman said the speed bumps would be a deterrent to the main street.
"Why so many? It is ridiculous,” she said.
"I think a lot of drivers will avoid CBD area, which is not great for business.”
Deputy mayor Jan Chambers said the measures were being brought in to alleviate the stream of near-misses caused by the changed traffic conditions thanks to upgrades to the Roma CBD area around Arthur St.
"With the safety of CBD users paramount, council this week decided to go forward with implementing these temporary safety measures while the CBD Upgrade is under way,” Cr Chambers said.
"Given the temporary nature of the bumps, we will be able to move them as the location of the crossings change with the CBD development.”
Councillor David Schefe, who moved the motion to install the temporary speed bumps, has asked all pedestrians and motorists to be extra vigilant during the construction period.
"At the end of the day, the safety of our residents is the most important thing. I encourage all CBD users to please be cautious when entering the construction area and to be aware of traffic changes,” he said.
What do you think? Let us know by emailing firstname.lastname@example.org.


text:
Bitcoin crossed $ 14,000 (£ 10,460; € 11,870) on Thursday, raising $ 2,000 in less than 24 hours.
The cryptocurrency began the year below $ 1,000 but continues its rise despite warnings of a dangerous bubble.
Bitcoin reached the last milestone during the first operations in Asia, according to the Coindesk.com website.
The new record comes a few days before the launch of bitcoin futures in two exchanges, including the world's largest futures exchange, CME.
Open bets firm CMC Markets said the rise had all the symptoms of a bubble market and warned that "there is no way to know when the bubble will burst."
What's behind the Bitcoin gold rush?
The American regulator approves the negotiation with Bitcoin
What is Bitcoin?
There are two key features of Bitcoin: it is digital and it looks like an alternative currency.
Unlike notes or coins in your pocket, it largely exists online.
Second, Bitcoin is not printed by governments or traditional banks.
A small but growing number of companies, including Expedia and Microsoft, accept bitcoins, which function as virtual tokens.
However, the vast majority of users now buy and sell them as a financial investment.
The rapid rise of the digital currency of around $ 1,000 at the beginning of the year has put it in the spotlight.
Critics have said that Bitcoin is going through a bubble similar to the dotcom boom, while others say it is rising in price. because it is intersecting with the mainstream financial.
Financial regulators have taken a variety of views on the state of digital currencies and their risks.
The UK Financial Conduct Authority warned investors in September that they could lose all their money if they buy digital currencies issued by companies, known as "initial currency offers."
But last week a US regulator agreed to allow two traditional exchanges, CME Group and CBOE Global Markets, to begin trading in Bitcoin-related financial contracts.
The announcement of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) that will allow investors to buy and sell "future" contracts in bitcoins, an agreement to buy the cryptocurrency, for example, in three months at a certain price, It was seen as a turning point for Bitcoin.
Director, Global Payments, Cambridge, global product and market strategy Karl Schamotta said that move was behind the last rally: "The perception in homes around the world that the CME and the CBOE are giving legitimacy to Bitcoin is really what is driving the massive rally here. "
Leonhard Weese, president of the Bitcoin Association of Hong Kong, said the increase in the value of Bitcoin was "mainly motivated by fear of getting lost and greed."
Bitcoins are created through a complex computer known as mining, and then monitored by a network of computers around the world.
A constant flow of approximately 3,600 new bitcoins per day is created, with approximately 16.5 million in circulation from a maximum limit of 21 million.


text:
There are a number of reasons why you might want to delete your Twitter account. Maybe you just don't use it. Maybe you can't stand another hashtag. Maybe you said something stupid and have half the Internet mad at you ("Come on, it was only satire!"...
Several recent IPOs and eBay's US$800 million cash offer for payments startup BrainTree this week highlight what looks like a burgeoning market for tech initial public offerings and mergers and acquisitions.
Twitter wants to bolster its position as a go-to source of information during emergencies and other crises with a new notifications feature.
Didn't catch that tweet all your friends were talking about? Twitter wants you to see it next time, using a new feature that will notify you of tweets and contacts that Twitter thinks you'll want to know about.
Some Twitter users were surprised Monday when they clicked a button to share content from third-party websites but instead downloaded a mysterious torrent file.
Pinterest already makes nice with outside businesses to better connect them with its site, but the social network is now thinking about consummating that relationship with promotional content.
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has no jurisdiction or legal authority to bring a data breach complaint against an Atlanta medical laboratory, the lab said in a response to FTC charges.
Microsoft and its latest purchase target, Nokia, have lined up big announcements on September 23 and October 22, both likely to involve some form of tablets.
Even before Twitter's initial public offering announcement grabbed the spotlight Thursday, the market for tech IPOs had been heating up thanks to a general rise in stocks.
Fresh off of its introduction of a sadder shade of phone, a leaked photo hints that HTC may soon introduce a gold-colored version of its top-shelf HTC One.
The days of shrugging off Twitter may soon be over. Some 200 million users strong, the site is already one of the most prominent social networks, but going public could give it the muscle to become the next Facebook or Apple, one analyst said.
Twitter announced -- on Twitter, of course -- that the company has filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for an initial public offering.
How should Twitter handle an initial public offering? Mark Zuckerberg admits he's probably not the best person to ask.
Twitter has acquired MoPub, a mobile-focused advertising exchange that could help the social network grow its ad business as more users move away from the desktop.
Facebook is seen as a website for connecting people. Now the company also wants to make it easier for outside developers to build their apps and connect them with users, by providing back-end hosting tools.
Latest News Articles
- LG's latest curved TV is a 105-inch world record breaker
- Huawei, ZTE, Nokia cleared in patent dispute with InterDigital
- Verizon to report on law-enforcement data requests
- ARM server chip pioneer Calxeda shuts down
- Building products company halts SAP project, citing strategy shift
Most Popular Articles
- 1 How to update your Samsung Galaxy S4 to Android 4.3 Google Edition
- 2 Portable Air Conditioners
- 3 Tethering tutorial: How to use your iPhone as a modem
- 4 Capacitive vs resistive touchscreens
- 5 Best tablets: Christmas 2013
GGG Evaluation Team
First impression on unpacking the Q702 test unit was the solid feel and clean, minimalist styling.
Best Deals on GoodGearGuide
Best Deals on PCWorld
- NotebooksView all »
- TabletsView all »
- Mobile PhonesView all »
- Printers & ScannersView all »
- Networking, Wireless & VoIPView all »


text:
Share & Connect
This Spring, Marvel Entertainment takes Austin, Texas by storm in its inaugural appearance at the South By Southwest Interactive Festival with the Marvel: Digital House of Ideas panel at SXSW ScreenBurn.
In this historic event on Sunday, March 11 at 1pm on the IGN stage at the Palmer Events Center, Axel Alonso (Marvel Comics Editor in Chief), Jeph Loeb (Head of Marvel Television) and Peter Phillips (SVP & GM, Marvel Digital Media Group) unveil Marvelâ€™s bold new multimedia plans that includes the premiere of Marvel’s revolutionary new ways to read comics.
Not only does this mark the first major appearance by a comic book publisher in SXSW history, but Marvel is coming armed with the big newsâ€”and exclusive animation footageâ€”that canâ€™t be missed by any fan in attendance.Â Best of all, this event is free and open to the public, so everyone can be on hand to see Marvelâ€™s newest innovations.
â€śMarvelâ€™s always been the industry leader in graphic fiction & digital media and with the announcements weâ€™ve planned, we couldnâ€™t have picked a more appropriate show than SXSW,â€ť said Dan Buckley. Publisher & President of the Print, Animation & Digital Divisions, Marvel Worldwide, Inc. â€śWeâ€™re big believers that both print and digital can work hand-in-hand to bring more readers to comics than ever beforeâ€”and if youâ€™re at SXSW Interactive youâ€™ll be the first to see just how weâ€™re going to do that.â€ť
Since the launch of Marvel Digital Comics Unlimited in 2007, the first major digital comics program in comics history, Marvel has been on the forefront of digital comics publishing with innovations such as the landmark Marvel Comics app in 2010. Since then, Marvel has expanded its digital comics offerings to numerous platforms, while also becoming the first comics company to offer free digital copies with select print issues and comic shop coupons with the purchase of a digital comic.
“We are very excited to have Marvel on board for the ScreenBurn portion of the 2012 SXSW Interactive Festival,â€ť said Hugh Forrest, Director of SXSW Interactive. â€śThe presence of this industry leader is another indicator of the growth and maturation of the event. Marvel’s addition to the SXSW lineup will add even more flavor to the mix of creative energy that fills Austin in March.”
After the Marvel: Digital House of Ideas panel concludes, fans in attendance will receive a limited edition lithograph (while supplies last) and a chance to have it signed by Alonso & Loeb in a special Marvel signing session.
â€śMarvelâ€™s fans are the best in the worldâ€”bar noneâ€”and Iâ€™m excited to meet more of them at SXSWâ€ť said Alonso. â€śWe have exciting new plans that youâ€™ll see implemented with the release of Avengers VS X-Men #1 thatâ€™ll take the biggest comics event in history and make it even bigger!â€ť


text:
This weekend, Sprint CEO Dan Hesse raised some eyebrows when he called the iPhone the “Michael Jordan” of smartphones.
Q: Is the Palm Pre making a dent into the iPhone market?
A: Aaah… It’s-it’s doing well, but you can almost put the iPhone, to be fair, in a separate category. The Apple brand and that device have done so well, it’s almost not… it’s like comparing someone to Michael Jordan.
With that in mind, I came across the following tweet which is as hilarious as it is accurate.
“If the iPhone is indeed the “Michael Jordan of cell phones” then AT&T is the Washington Wizards.”
Well played sir, well played.


text:
Students from Castle Tower School will be among more than 700 budding young entrepreneurs from throughout Northern Ireland set to showcase their start-up businesses at an event in Belfast on Wednesday, December 6.
Castle Tower is among 60 schools on the Young Enterprise Big Market programme who have developed their products from conception to production in just three months.
The programme takes each student on a business start-up journey that gives them their first opportunity to trade and launch their product in The Big Market held at St George’s Market on Wednesday.
The Castle Tower students, who enjoy making products out of used materials, will be showcasing their product called CTS Buddies.
Over 70 businesses consisting of young people from the ages of 10-18 will be selling everything from jewellery, coffee, baby products, gifts and phone apps to crafts.
Throughout the Young Enterprise Big Market, which runs from 10am-2pm, Northern Ireland business leaders will judge the young people’s companies to eventually announce the winning companies on the day.


text:
Apple's iPhone 7 should be coming soon, just like Samsung's Galaxy Note 7. The next flagships of these two tech giants are about to come face to face and have significantly upgraded from the current ones found on the market. Whether it be new color options for the handheld devices, or making their own unique innovations.
According to Mac World, the iPhone 7 is expected to launch this September. The standard will be 4.7 inches and the Plus variation will be 5.5 inches. It is expected to be thinner than all other iPhone generations, which is why rumors that Apple is ditching the 3.5mm headphone jack are very strong at this point. Apple is reportedly letting go of its 16 GB internal storage offering and is likely to make the 32 GB option its new minimum.
Other rumors, which are definitely possible at this point include an edge to edge screen, wireless charging and better water proofing. However, the publication goes on to completely deny the possibility of a 3D screen and spring-out gaming joystick in the home button.
On the other hand, Techno Buffalo shares that Samsung has indeed decided to skip over the Note 6 name. The upcoming release will definitely be called the Samsung Galaxy Note 7, in order to align it with the rest of the company's phone series. The Note 7 will be coming in 3 color options. Those are Black Onyx, Silver Titanium and Blue Coral.
The publication goes on to share the the Note 7 will come with an iris scanner and IP68 water protection. Its rear camera will be 12 megapixels and the front camera will be 5 megapixels. The screen is expected to be 5.7 inches with QHD SAMOLED display. As for storage, the device will come wiht 64GB of internal storage, which can be extended through a microSD.


text:
Shares in India's Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd fell as much as 3.2% on profit-taking after Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd said it will buy the company in a $3.2 billion all-share deal, creating the world's fifth-largest generic drug maker.
Ranbaxy shares had surged 32.6 % in six consecutive sessions of gains till Friday's close.
Sun Pharmaceutical shares rose as much as 4 %.
Under terms of the agreed deal, Ranbaxy shareholders will get 0.8 of a Sun Pharmaceutical share for each Ranbaxy share they own. Daiichi Sankyo said in a statement that it will hold a stake of about 9 % in Sun Pharmaceutical after the deal.


text:
"Family Guy," which had a three-season run on Fox, will launch, again, on the network May 1 as part of an animation-heavy Sunday night. The show, left for dead and resigned to late-night cable, has been revived because of 3.5 million DVD sales, ranking third among all TV shows sold on DVD, and more 18-to-34-year-old male viewers than Leno and Letterman.
"Family Guy" is both unique-in that no other show has ever come back from cancellation for another run on the same network-and indicative of the shifting TV business. The property has shown that there are ways outside the traditional model to find an audience, and cable airings and DVD sales can breathe life back into a show. That's different from the age-old route of a show airing on network TV and, if it's lucky enough to last 100 episodes, the magic number for syndication, only then starting to earn its keep and justify its production costs.
While skeptics point out that its total reach is unlikely to be that of say, "The Simpsons," "Family Guy's" potential strength is its core fan base, teens and young men, who are avid DVD buyers. Those fans also use their disposable income on such add-ons as video games, ring tones and licensed tchotchkes.
"The Simpsons" is the gold standard for prime-time animation, produced by "Family Guy" studio 20th Century Fox TV, part of the $21 billion News Corp. empire. The show, centered on Homer, Marge and their dysfunctional-yet-loving brood, has been on Fox for 17 seasons. It's approaching its 350th episode. It's been a ratings and merchandising juggernaut, and analysts say it's brought in $1 billion to News Corp. during the first decade of its life.
Its characters have rubbed shoulders with marketers for years, including a current campaign for Unilever's Dove Styling products that tames Marge Simpson's hairdo.
There's an elite club of billion-dollar brands based on TV shows, and "Family Guy" still has a long way to go to reach the lofty heights of such properties as "The Simpsons" and "SpongeBob SquarePants," with their appeal to kids, adults and everyone in between, said Debra Joester, a licensing expert and president of the Joester Loria Group.
`"Family Guy' could be very successful, but it's a question of scale," Ms. Joester said. "You can't apply the same yardstick to every animated property."
Networks have tried mightily to develop animated shows, realizing the financial potential of series that appeal to broad demographics and that lend themselves to licensed merchandise and other ancillary revenue streams. Most are short lived, and the landscape is littered with the likes of "The PJ's," and "Dilbert." After weak ratings last fall, NBC canceled "Father of the Pride," one of the most expensive TV shows ever at $2 million an episode. Even so, its creators, DreamWorks Animation, are releasing the finished episodes on DVD this spring.
Fox has had the most success with prime-time animation. After "The Simpsons" came "King of the Hill," a strong network and syndicated property, and next up, from "Family Guy" creator Seth MacFarlane, is "American Dad."
The half-hour "Family Guy," a take-no-prisoners comedy, launched with much fanfare on Fox after the Super Bowl in 1999. Its ratings declined after that and, over the next two seasons, it moved around the schedule until a head-to-head thumping by NBC's "Friends" on Thursday nights hastened its cancellation.
Time Warner's Cartoon Network picked it up on a trial basis, airing it in the popular "Adult Swim" block. The fans followed, creating a cult around Peter Griffin and his family, including Stewie the diabolical baby and Brian the talking dog.
"It gave us a chance to stay alive with our core, but also to grow our audience," said David Goodman, executive producer. "Networks give shows so little time to prove themselves, but cable and DVD allowed people to find us."
beating jay, dave
"Family Guy" routinely beat out Jay Leno and David Letterman's late-night network shows in the young male demographics. Then, Fox Home Entertainment released the DVD versions of the shows, which started selling briskly. The 3.5 million units sold persuaded the Fox network to bring the show back.
Fox has ordered 13 new episodes, but the creators are on their way to making close to 50. Even if Fox cancels the show again, the fresh episodes will air on Cartoon Network and its sibling TBS, which are paying undisclosed licensing fees to the studio. 20th Century Fox TV will rely on cable fees and future DVD sales to fuel the project. Once 100 episodes have aired, the producers plan to shop it in the lucrative syndication market.
TV shows still must have a solid creative heart, but production companies are increasingly looking for the financial upside.
It's not possible yet to estimate the value of "Family Guy," said Gary Newman, president of 20th Century Fox TV. As a studio TV producer, "it's all about creating key brands that can go beyond traditional network exploitation," said Mr. Newman. `"Family Guy' is a very valuable consumer-products property. These are few and far between, and when you have it, you must carefully manage it."
The studio produces a few dozen series, but only a handful can extend beyond the screen, Mr. Newman said. Animation is so difficult to nail, but when it happens, "those are perceived as evergreen properties."
The value of "The Simpsons" as ad icons goes back to the early days of the property, when Intel was stamped on Homer's head and Butterfinger used Bart as the center of a campaign.
Fox, hyping "Family Guy" as part of its revamped Sunday night "Animation Domination" lineup, is using a mix of traditional and alternative tactics. Cable and network TV, print, radio and online marketing has been rolling out alongside in-theater spots, fraternity house screenings, spring-break events, independent record- and comic-book store promotions.
"We're trying to make an event out of it," said Chris Carlisle, Fox's exec VP-marketing. "This show was brought back by grassroots movements, and we need to go that route to promote it as well as broaden the base."


text:
iPhone owners may grouse about AT&T's service, but the "halo effect" of Apple's smartphone significantly boosts the U.S. carrier's customer satisfaction levels, not just its revenue, an analyst said today.
While the rest of the world focuses on the perceived issues surrounding the iPhone 4's antenna reception, I thought I'd bring us back to something that really matters to iPhone users, namely, the security of Apple's App Store, which just marked its t...
Apple flunked its first response to the iPhone 4's antenna problems, but the company turned everything around with a last-minute press conference and free bumper cases, one crisis communications expert said.
Responding to questions from U.S. lawmakers about what kind of location data it collects, Apple said it gathers location information from some users every 12 hours.
To save Apple's iPhone 4 from antenna scrutiny, all it took was the promise of free bumper cases> and a dose of Steve Jobs' magic.
Microsoft announced a broader release of the latest build of its Windows Phone 7 mobile operating system, and it's getting good reviews from developers. The company also says it started shipping thousands of prototype handsets to software developers ...
The iPhone 4's antenna and reception problems have given pause to two out of three current iPhone owners, who said they would postpone upgrading to the new model, said research firm IDC.
Apple on Friday quelled concerns on iPhone 4's signal and reception issues, but the company needs to shed its mask of secrecy and be quicker in addressing customer concerns before such issues spiral out of control, analysts said.
HTC is on a roll, producing high-quality and high-demand smartphones left and right. HTC's latest creation -- the HTC Desire HD, an update to its original Desire model -- had its specs leaked by an online U.K. retailer. Looks like it could be another...
Google, which broke mobile industry practice last year by offering the Nexus One smartphone for sale exclusively on its website, has received its last shipment of the device for online sale.
Today's Apple press conference was a strange mix of finger pointing, random sales figures and statistics and--surprise!--some actual accountability and solutions for the iPhone 4's antenna woes. At the end of the conference, Apple CEO Steve Jobs fina...
Image is everything. And that's why Apple must terminate the iPhone 4 as quickly as possible.
Apple announced several measures Friday to keep iPhone 4 users "happy" and to turn the controversy over the smartphone's occasional reception issues into a "non-issue." Again.
Apple's news conference last week on the iPhone 4 antenna and reception fiasco gets an A- grade, but its overall response rates just a C, according to a crisis communications expert.
Complaints and theories about the iPhone 4 reception problems are coming from what seems like every pundit and consumer in the country, and now a senator is getting in on the action.
Most Popular Reviews
- 1 Fetch TV Mighty review: Better than Foxtel
- 2 Fetch TV Mini review: Make your TV a smart TV
- 3 Parrot Mambo Drone review
- 4 Evapolar USB air conditioner review
- 5 Hisense Series 7 ULED 4K UHD TV review
Join the Good Gear Guide newsletter!
Latest News Articles
- Twitter said to plan 300 more job cuts this week
- Nissan, Renault tout plans to make 10 autonomous vehicles by 2020
- Apple releases watchOS 3.1 update
- Apple Watch Nike+ hits the ground running on Oct. 28
- Portrait Camera now available for iPhone 7 as Apple releases iOS 10.1 update
GGG Evaluation Team
First impression on unpacking the Q702 test unit was the solid feel and clean, minimalist styling.
For work use, Microsoft Word and Excel programs pre-installed on the device are adequate for preparing short documents.
The Fujitsu LifeBook UH574 allowed for great mobility without being obnoxiously heavy or clunky. Its twelve hours of battery life did not disappoint.
The screen was particularly good. It is bright and visible from most angles, however heat is an issue, particularly around the Windows button on the front, and on the back where the battery housing is located.
My first impression after unboxing the Q702 is that it is a nice looking unit. Styling is somewhat minimalist but very effective. The tablet part, once detached, has a nice weight, and no buttons or switches are located in awkward or intrusive positions.
- Google Pixel XL full, in-depth smartphone review: The new best Android phone
- TV buying guide: What to look for when buying a TV in 2016
- Best iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus plans: Optus vs Telstra vs Vodafone vs Virgin
- Which flagship TV is best? Sony 4K HDR Bravia 2016 versus LG 4K HDR OLED 2016
- 10 Blu-ray movies / Best looking Blu-ray movies
- CCAccounts Payable/Contract Officer- NSW Government backgroundNSW
- CCWeb Developer - Government - SydneyNSW
- CCProject Reporting Officer - Tabelau exp - 6 mth contract - Nth SydneyNSW
- CCSenior Consultant, Enterpreneur in ResidenceVIC
- FTApplications ManagerVIC
- CCBusiness AnalystNSW
- CCArcher ConsultantNSW
- FTScrum MasterNSW
- CCSenior Frontend Developer (Angular or React or Ember)NSW
- FTMultiple Permanent Project Manager rolesACT
- TPEDRMS Project ManagerVIC
- FTDigital Optimisation and Analytics SpecialistNSW
- FTMicrosoft Dynamics AX Manufacturing ConsultantACT
- CCContract Programmer (HTML5/Java/Oracle) 161031/P/551Asia
- FTSenior Service Delivery ManagerVIC
- FTIntermediate Front End DeveloperQLD
- CCFront End Developer with Django or Rails exp.NSW
- FTHL7 Interface AnalystQLD
- CCMid level Business AnalystQLD
- CCKofax DeveloperQLD
- CCDigital ProducerNSW
- FTPega DeveloperVIC
- FTIT Operations Manager / IT Business ManagerVIC
- CCInfrastructure Specialist :SCOMWA
- CCSecurity Incident Response Handler - TelcoVIC


text:
While walking thru Downtown Coeur d' Alene as I do most every Saturday I noticed on big business totally gone. That business is the Americantiques Antique Mall that was located in the 200 block of N 4th St. next door to Cisco's Antique Shop. I was, for a moment, saddened that Americantiques was no longer. But some quick research helped to discover that they have not gone out of business, only relocated to a new free standing building further north in Coeur d' Alene.
Americantiques has re-opened their business in the former Rodda Paint store at 6456 N. Government Way across the street from Silver Lake Mall. And that's not all that's new with Amercantiques, as the store has been re-branded going from a traditional antique mall to a full estate sale center. The store has even been re-named as the Americantiques Estate Sales Center. The new store still sells antiques and collectibles just like before but they have also now added other items found at estate sales like furniture, craft items , houseware items , yard items, tools and much much more.
Americantiques Estate Sales Center is having a grand opening thru the entire month of April and their recent ad mentions they plan to update merchandise continually. Americantiques began a couple of years ago in the Silver Lake Mall and moved for about a year to the space Downtown mentioned earlier in the article.
For more info on Americantiques in Coeur d' Alene visit their Facebook page at-


text:
A Steven Spielberg film will again be the biggest movie that Hollywood will promote at the box office this holiday weekend. Except this film is one he made 40 years ago — “Close Encounters of the Third Kind.”
For Hollywood, the seasonal doldrums are coming at a particularly bad time. Tech giants such as Netflix, Apple, Amazon and Google are committing billions of dollars to muscle into the business of making movies and shows — and all of these companies want audiences to watch from the comfort of their living room sofas.
“It's been a bad summer-movie session,” said Ross Gerber, president of Gerber Kawasaki, an investment-management firm based in Santa Monica, Calif. “But there is a bigger thing going on here.” Gerber and others point to a wider malaise affecting the entire legacy entertainment ecosystem. Thanks to a confluence of circumstances — blockbuster events on television, the encroachment of online streaming services, the inexorable pull of social media and sequel fatigue — audiences now have more reasons than ever to stay home. And without a must-see tent-pole feature luring huge audiences into auditoriums, going to the movies just wasn’t what it used to be.
But analysts offer a number of reasons movies performed so poorly this summer. It could have been the content itself; films such as “The Emoji Movie,” “Ingrid Goes West,” and “Birth of the Dragon” were all panned by critics.
By comparison, television content this summer was particularly compelling. HBO saw record numbers watch its hit show “Game of Thrones” in July and August. Last weekend, a fight between Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor appeared to suck up all the attention from the popcorn-eating crowd at the theater. Those successes may only embolden Silicon Valley to move more aggressively into the business of making entertainment. It’s clear that hit and popular shows on small screens can be as powerful a draw as a tent-pole superhero flick on the big ones.
“People have a glut of things they can watch,” said Patrick Corcoran, a spokesman for the National Association of Theatre Owners. “So what they go out of their way to watch in a movie theater has to be that much more compelling for them.”
Studio executives are hoping that audiences will return to the movies in the fall and winter, as flashier franchises such as “Star Wars” and “Blade Runner” return to the big screen. To some in the industry, the crushing results of the past several months are little more than a blip, one attributable more to bad luck and poor timing than a full-on industrial crisis.
Recent industry data appear to support this finding. Just a few months ago, executives were crowing about a record-setting quarter for the box office, off films like Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast,” which made a whopping $500 million domestically.
Last year, theaters took in more money than ever, according to industry statistics.
“Stocks are getting destroyed because investors have concluded that if nobody is going to the movies now, then they are never going back — which is just wrong,” said Michael Pachter, a research analyst at Wedbush Securities, a Los Angeles-based investment bank.
Still, few deny the movie business faces a challenge from tech giants who aim to revolutionize the way films are distributed.
For example, Netflix has pushed for releasing more films on its platform sooner, which could eat into box-office returns by shortening the window in which movie theaters may exclusively show new content. Companies such as Apple and Amazon, meanwhile, are elbowing their way into the entertainment space by making their own original films and TV shows.
To anticipate that pressure, film studios and theater owners are turning moviegoing into a more specialized experience, trying to recreate the sense of magic that consumers today still can't get at home — at least not without great expense.
Theater chains nationwide are ripping out those old, fold-down seats and replacing them with deluxe, upholstered recliners. In a way, it’s like replicating the comforts of the living room experience, but with far more amenities. Some are beginning to offer alcohol, or installing premium audio systems with speakers that not only blast your eardrums from the side, but in some cases from the ceiling above — or even underneath your seat. By the end of the year, as many as 40 percent of big screens at some theater chains may feature high-end seating options, according to James Goss, an industry analyst at Barrington Research.
“The longer-term trend has been a modest erosion in actual attendance,” he said, “and the theatrical sector has tried to respond by creating a better experience.”
Film studios are also growing more strategic about when to release their biggest hits. As entertainment alternatives have multiplied, companies are no longer treating summer as the most important ballgame. Instead, they are spreading their films out across the calendar. But studios tend not to coordinate their schedules — resulting this year in a weeks-long hole in summer coverage, according to Corcoran.
“The summer, while an important time period, is becoming less so over time,” he said. Five years ago, he added, roughly half of box-office receipts were concentrated in the summer. Last year, that figure was down to 39 percent and could drop to 34 percent this year.
For Spielberg’s warmed-over sci-fi classic, that could end up being an advantage.


text:
NVBOTS Launches NVLABS Promoting Commercial Multi-Metal 3D Printing, Announces Dr. Paul Burke as CRO
NVBOTS is one of the companies that hit the ground running and has continued with a very clear vision. From putting 3D printing into the hands of student innovators to putting 3D printers onsite in camps and 3D curricula in schools, we’ve followed their progress as they work to empower the world with new technology and skills.
Now, this global provider of automated enterprise 3D solutions has announced the they’ve steadily turned their interest and dedication to 3D printing with metal, and want to support any other companies interested in turning to that technology for production. With NVLABS, the NVBOTS team is dedicated to helping meet their needs as they work to ‘commercialize their innovations’ with not just metal printing, but that of multi-metal printing–and at very high speeds.
- Stainless steel
- Copper nickel
Users can also look forward to printing ten times faster than with any other solutions, and not only that–they promise better pricing.
As NVLABS is launched, the NVBOTS team welcomes Dr. Paul Burke as Chief Research Officer and he will be leading NVLABS’ R&D efforts, commercial projects, and innovations. As a renowned metallurgy expert who also possesses a great deal of experience with 3D printing, this is certainly a win for all–and the goal is for companies who are investing in metal 3D printing to be able to use their knowledge and patented technology in order to take their products and innovations to the marketplace in a revolutionary new way.
“As NVBOTS has evolved, our core focus has always been around a three-part evolution: education, innovation and commercialization,” said NVBOTS CEO AJ Perez. “Through the establishment of NVLABS and bringing on Dr. Paul Burke, we are breaking new ground in enterprise 3D printing, through unmatched multi-metal printing capabilities, allowing companies on a global scale to commercialize their innovations in ways never before thought possible.”Powered by Aniwaa
Dr. Burke is known as both a visionary and an expert in sintering and has been a lead researcher in numerous areas, including that of liquid metal battery, electrochemical studies and automotive body sheet alloys. He has held numerous positions at MIT as well as other prominent organizations, and holds a PhD in Materials and Metallurgical Engineering, as well as a Masters of Applied Science, Materials and Metallurgical Engineering, received at Dalhousie University.
“3D printing is undergoing a transformative state and NVBOTS has been leading the way since the development of the world’s first fully automated 3D printer, able to run 24×7 without human interaction–essentially providing a six-square-foot automated factory in a box,” said Dr. Burke. “With NVLABS, the company is set to take things to an entirely new level, granting companies access to state-of-the-art automation and ultra-high speed, multi-metal printing capabilities that will allow them to cost-effectively manufacture and scale, in ways only imagined – until now. I am proud to be part of such a well-respected and progressive company, and I look forward to making a difference in the world through our efforts.”
NVBOTS user-friendly and sharing-oriented platform is centered around the NVPro, which we’ve reported on often–and most recently as they began donating packages to non-profit Citizen schools. The printer is coupled with the NVBOTS cloud-based interface, which is able to run nonstop from any device.
“Since our inception, NVBOTS has been committed to transforming education and business through a truly disruptive approach to 3D printing,” said NVBOTS CTO Forrest Pieper. “Through the establishment of NVLABS and bringing on a known metals thought leader like Dr. Burke, we continue to challenge the status quo, fundamentally transforming 3D Printing in new and exciting ways.”
Tell us your thoughts on NVBOTS’ new platform in the NVLABS for Multi-Metal 3D Printing forum over at 3DPB.com.
You May Also Like
3D Printing News Briefs: January 22, 2020
In today’s 3D Printing News Briefs, we’ve got a 2019 recap, a new 3D printing conference, a new 3D printer, and a 3D printed medicine story. Prusa is sharing how...
Victrex and University of Exeter Commission EOS P 810 to Commercialize PAEK Materials
Back in the summer of 2018, high-performance polymer solutions provider Victrex, based in the UK, announced that it had developed new PAEK 3D printing materials. PAEK, or polyaryletherketone, is a family...
3D Printing Is Ready for Manufacturing Primetime—Are We?
When the World Economic Forum reported that the value to society and industry of digital transformation across industries could exceed $100 trillion—yes, trillion—by 2025, we knew that wouldn’t happen without...
3D Printing News Briefs: December 15, 2019
In this edition of 3D Printing News Briefs, it’s business, business, and then an upcoming event. 3D Alliances signed a collaboration agreement with Xact Metal. Sigma Labs has appointed a...
View our broad assortment of in house and third party products.


text:
Trump Budget Would Swap Food Stamps With "100% American Grown Food"Chris Menahan
Feb. 12, 2018
Man Smashes Car Into Trump Plaza In New York, Multiple Injuries Reported
High School Cheerleaders Placed On 'Probation,' Benched By School For Posing With 'Trump' Banner
Major Democratic Donor Ed Buck Arrested After Third Man Overdoses Inside His House
Kevin Spacey Flew On Jeffrey Epstein's 'Lolita Express' With Bill Clinton. One Of His Accusers Just Mysteriously Died.
Report: MPD Says Mob Attacks Not 'Hate Crimes' Because Victims Not Targeted For 'Class Or Race'
President Trump's new budget proposes reducing EBT card (food stamps) payments and swapping in "100 percent American grown food" boxes distributed directly to recipients.
In what would be one of the biggest shakeups of the†U.S. food-stamp program in its five-decade history, President Donald Trump is proposing to slash cash payments and substitute them with "100 percent American grown food" given to recipients.
The plan is part of an effort to reform SNAP and save a projected $214 billion over a decade. It would give all households receiving more than $90 a month in cash a food-aid package that would "include items such as shelf-stable milk, ready to eat cereals, pasta, peanut butter, beans and canned fruit, vegetables, and meat, poultry or fish," according to the proposal.This would help greatly to cut down on fraud. As it is now, criminals frequently buy other people's EBT food stamp cards and use them to stock their stores.
WKBW explained how the scam was run back in 2016:
According to the Erie County District Attorney's Office, between October 9, 2014 and March 21, 2016 [Buffalo deli owner Ahmed Alshami] is accused of buying EBT (food stamp) cards from people willing to trade them for cash. He usually paid people half of what the cards are worth.This is huge problem.
Giving people a choice of actual food options would allow people to have access to a relatively healthy range of foods in so-called "food deserts," help American food manufacturers and farmers, and cut down on fraud.
This is a win-win-win for taxpayers, welfare recipients and American businesses.
The only losers are scam-artists.
Follow InformationLiberation on Twitter, Facebook and Gab.


text:
The accommodation industry can’t return to normal operations until restrictions are eased and borders are re-opened, was the consensus message reached this week in the latest TAA NSW Market Update and Economic Outlook.
In a webinar hosted by Tourism Accommodation Australia, nearly 200 General Managers and senior hotel management tuned in to hear updates from Adele Labine-Romain of Deloitte Access Economics, Greg Clerk from Hostplus and Matthew Burke of STR Pacific.
The pandemic has forced the industry to embrace new technology, new business practices and a general new way of professional life which will remain long after the virus and the pandemic subsides, said Greg Clerk from Hostplus.
TAA NSW Chief Executive Officer, Michael Johnson, said that while nobody has a crystal ball to predict the future, it was important to hear regular analytical updates from some of the best minds in the business to chart possible ways forward.
“We all know the tourism accommodation sector is facing its hardest years in decades,” Johnson said.
“One thing all the industry leaders agreed on was business cannot return to normal until restrictions are eased and borders re-opened.”
Despite the grim outlook, Deloitte Access Economics’ Adele Labine-Romain said consumer confidence was beginning to rebound, particularly in states with eased restrictions.
STR Pacific’s Matthew Burke said the CBD hotel markets of Sydney and Melbourne are facing a very long road to recovery, with international travel, major events and corporate travel all needed to restart before either city can begin to kickstart their respective recoveries.


text: Biota will start promoting the Bioxsine brand in Asia this year and signed already contracts in: Korea, Cambodia, Thailand, Singapore, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Philippines. Indonesia and Malaysia will follow. In 23-25 August, we joined the exhibition in vietnam "Vietbeauty" to enter that country as well. Vietnam is an amazing country with big demand for our products. We are sure to find here as well the right partner for us.


text:
Facebook gives Android Users an option not Permanently to share Location. Facebook now offers users on Android phones the opportunity to share their location only when they use the app, the company announces Wednesday.
Android users can modify the background location option in the Facebook app to ensure that Facebook can only query the location when the app is in use.
Previously, Facebook only had the opportunity to always or never collect the location.
Android does not offer an option to determine per app that the location data can only be obtained,
when the app is in use, something iOS offers for iPhones.
Users who disable location history assure that Facebook only collects the location when the app is in use.
If Location History is enabled, users will also share their location if they do not use the app.
In that case, Facebook also saves the location data that users send to the company.
Facebook users on Android obtain a notification in the app to check their background location settings.
They can also do this manually by going to ‘Settings and privacy’ in the Facebook app.
The function can be found by going to ‘Manage your location settings’ via ‘Privacy shortcuts’.
The Facebook location update maintains the settings that users previously set for their background location.
Location history will continue off for users who have already turned off the setting and on for users who have chosen it.


text:
Read today’s dose of chic intel right here…
Equinox Pledges $1 Million to Charity (WWD)
After news broke that Equinox investor Stephen Ross hosted a fundraising lunch for Donald Trump, the gym, along with SoulCycle, has seen protests and calls for boycotts. On Thursday, Equinox chairman and managing partner, Harvey Spevak, sent an email to gym members pledging $1 million to charities. The donation will be split between Cycle for Survival, The Heroes Project, Move for Minds, The Felix Organization, and House Lives Matter. Beginning August 17, “gym members will have the opportunity to select how the donation will be allocated to the charities.”
View this post on Instagram
Elite World Issues a Statement On Recent Court Victory
Last week, Women Model Management took legal action against Elite Model Management NYC for poaching talent and employees. New York Supreme Court Judge Melissa Crane issued a temporary restraining order, “prohibiting Elite New York and its principals, along with the individual model managers, from continuing their scheme to poach [Women’s] employees and models.” Now Elite World — which owns Women — has issued a statement on its court victory.
“We are pleased the court issued an injunction preventing our model managers from luring more of our models to an environment like Elite NY. This is a big win,” says Orin Snyder, an attorney for Elite World. “Their smear campaign against Julia [Haart, CEO and co-owner of Elite World] is false and malicious. The fact is that the models who were lured to Elite NY are still happily working with Julia and her team at their other agencies around the world. We look forward to uncovering more evidence of misconduct and to holding Eddie Trump [owner of Elite NY] and his cronies fully responsible for their wrongdoing.”
Jewelry Designer Marie-Helene de Tailac Is Releasing a Book
Parisian jewelry designer Marie-Hélène de Taillac is teaming up with Rizzoli for her first book, Gold and Gems: The Jewels of Marie-Hélène de Taillac. The tome features a forward by Vanessa Friedman, and additional text by Nathalie Rykiel, Ines de la Fressange, and Hamish Bowles. Gold and Gems will be available in September.
Lily Aldridge Launches a Youtube Channel
Following Naomi Campbell, Victoria Beckham, and others, Lily Aldridge is the latest fashion personality to launch a Youtube channel. “I’m so excited to bring fans into my world through this intimate video platform, offering viewers an even more authentic level of access to my life,” she explains. “My channel will marry all of my worlds – my life as a mama in Nashville, as a model in New York, and as the new CEO of my own company, Lily Aldridge Parfums – giving those who follow along an inside look at what my life is really like.” The first episode is online now.
Roger Federer Will Appear at Uniqlo’s Global Flagship to Promote New Items
To celebrate Uniqlo’s new game wear pieces, brand ambassador Roger Federer will make a live appearance at its 666 Fifth Avenue location on August 20. The store will open at 9am and the first 150 customers to make a $75 or more purchase — including a piece from the game wear collection— will secure a seat for the intimate conversation later that evening. Fans who don’t get a spot needn’t fret. The conversation will also be livestreamed on Uniqlo’s website.


text:
The India electric vehicle market size was valued at USD 1.45 billion in 2021 and is projected to grow from USD 3.21 billion in 2022 to USD 113.99 billion by 2029, exhibiting a CAGR of 66.52% during the forecast period. According to reports in public domain, India electric vehicle market exhibited a rise of 11.34% in 2020 as compared to 2019.
Post the COVID 19 pandemic, the India Electric Vehicle market in India has rebounded with the cumulative sales crossing the 1 million mark for the first time in Y2022. The total units sold across all the segments reached 10, 90,641 units. Uttar Pradesh with 26.92% share dominated the EV market with maximum share in EV sales in 2022, followed by Delhi with 12.82%, Karnataka with 7.85% and Maharashtra with 7.21% market share. Among the cumulative EV sales figures, Electric 3 wheeler segment lead the market share with 59.4%, followed by electric 2 wheelers with 32.8% and electric 3 wheeler cargo with 4.0% market share.
From the global perspective, the Indian automobile industry ranked fifth largest globally and is expected to become the third largest by 2030 as the demand for electric vehicles is growing tremendously due to the rising prices of petrol and diesel, policy support from the government and NITI Aayog’s vision that aims to achieve 70% penetration of EVs in all types by 2030, indenting to attain net zero carbon emissions by 2070.
COVID-19 and Other Challenges:
Surely, like every other industry, the EV industry was also affected by the pandemic. However, looking at the encouraging sales figures for the year 2022, it can be safe to assume that the EV industry is slowly but steadily recovering. Still challenging times lies ahead.
First, the EV batteries catching fire and the visuals of electric vehicles burning on roads adversely affected the sentiments towards EVs. Though these incidences have had a short term impact on the demand for EV’s in the market, it was a wake-up call for the industry. The industry readily accepted the challenge, with players taking validation and testing seriously and focusing more on designing and improving battery packs, using quality cells and paying more attention to BMS.
Another challenge that the industry is going through and is likely to have wider and long time ramification is the complaints received by the ministry of Heavy Industries regarding misappropriation of subsidies under the FAME India Phase II scheme by some electric vehicles manufacturers which has led to the government tightening the release of FAME 2 subsidies and in some instances even action by the government like suspension of models from the list. Going forward, according to various reports, the government may not extend the FAME 2 subsidy scheme, even though there is a demand by the EV manufacturers to extend it beyond FY 2024.
Subsidies were given to level the price difference with combustion vehicles, and to support commercialisation and are anyways not sustainable for long time. According to experts we interacted with, the EV market will keep growing even if the government decides to stop subsidies. With companies devoting major resources to R&D and growing consumer interest the EV industry is likely to witness a gradual transition from policy-driven to market-driven segment.
Looking at the market trends, the two-wheeler market in India holds the key to the future of EVs given the volume and size of the auto market it can cover. Electric two-wheelers were first introduced in India in 2015, and sales have steadily increased since then, owing primarily to increased awareness among the growing middle class and young population. Electric two-wheelers are also becoming more popular, as many low-speed category models are exempt from RTO registration and driving licence requirements. The price sensitive nature of the India market is also driving faster adoption of electric 2 wheelers, coupled with the traffic congestion witnessed by majority of the travellers is making electric 2 wheelers a preferred choice.
Another segment that is witnessing rapid growth is that of commercial electric vehicles lead by the 3 wheeler. According to a BNP Paribas report, the electric three-wheeler market grew 115 per cent in volume year-on-year and 11 per cent month-on-month. The penetration of electric three-wheelers is the highest in Uttar Pradesh with 79 per cent in FYTD 23 followed by Punjab and Delhi. The three-wheeler industry segment plays a crucial role in terms of rising economic activity and business-led mobility solutions.
Logistic players, last mile delivery companies and large fleet operators are the other segments that are contributing to the growth of EV market in India. According to experts, E-commerce and logistics firms in India are increasingly lining up to electrify their fleets in a bid to cut emissions and cope with high fuel prices, boosting prospects of the emerging Electric-Vehicles-as-a-Service (EVaaS) sector. The new-found focus on electrification is also attracting more investors to the fleet segment. According to Crunchbase, a private company database platform, more than $160 million have been invested in electric vehicle start-ups in this segment starting from April 2020, against $7 million in the period before that. Availability of easy financing, dearth of right product and lack of charging infrastructure are some of the challenges that needs to be addressed for the segment to continue its growth trajectory.
Another major opportunities emerging is of electrification of public transport sector. In the public transport sector, meeting the mobility needs of citizens with clean passenger kilometers is among the highest priorities for India. As demand for public transport rises, a significant opportunity exists to electrify this new demand. By pursuing this opportunity, India can become one of the largest electric bus (e-bus) markets in the world. The increasing priority and support for e-buses from the central government and active response from states, cities and industry, as being witnessed under FAME II, are encouraging India to achieve this adoption path. Yet many challenges must be overcome by Indian cities and industry players to successfully deploy these buses and ensure robust processes and planning for their tendering, contracting, and operations.
In all this growth stories, one segment that is missing is that of the electric four wheelers or the personal/ passenger vehicle market. According to KPMG India, Electrification in the personal vehicle segment is likely to lag compared with other segments. Based on an analysis of key enablers, the consulting firm expects 10-20% penetration of personal electric cars by 2030. Several gaps in the four-wheeler EV market such as a limited number of products, high prices, insufficient battery promise, low performance and an underdeveloped charging ecosystem are some of the impediments to the growth of this segment.
KEY GROWTH DRIVERS
Rising Fuel Prices & Operating Costs:
Surging fossil fuel prices in India is one of the major factors that is driving the demand for electric vehicles in the region. The purchasing cost of fossil fuel-powered vehicles is lower than EVs. However, their operating cost is high due to surging gasoline and diesel prices. In contrast, the operating cost of electric type of vehicles is significantly less than that of fossil fuel-powered vehicles. Therefore, shifting consumer preference towards adopting electric vehicles as a response to rising fossil fuel prices is likely to continue to drive growth for electric vehicles.
Additionally, the government’s focus on fighting climate change by tightening emission control norms and introducing scrapping policies for conventional vehicles is anticipated to drive market growth in years to come.
Declining Cost of EV Battery:
The Indian automotive market is price-sensitive; therefore, a consistent decline in the cost of lithium-ion batteries positively influences the market growth. An essential driver for EV adoption is battery cost reduction, thereby reducing the total cost of operation (TCO) parity and the high upfront costs of EVs in India. Battery costs have declined by around 85% over the last decade, which has witnessed broader EV adoption in all vehicle categories. In addition, the battery cost in 2010 was USD 1200 per kWh and has declined drastically to USD 130-150 per kWh in 2021 due to scale in operations, changes in cell chemistries, and many other parameters.
In addition to the above factor, the contentious support from the government in the form of policy push and incentives ahs also contributed the growth of the EV industry in India. Here we look at some of the flagship policy initiates taken by the government that is aiding wider adoption and growth.
National Electric Mobility Mission Plan 2020 (NEMMP):
The National Electric Mobility Mission Plan 2020 (NEMMP) was launched in 20132 to achieve national fuel security by promoting hybrid vehicles and EVs in India. At the time, the government aimed to provide fiscal and monetary incentives to encourage the nascent technology, as well as monetary support to potential buyers for the purpose of purchase. Accordingly, the NEMMP aspired to establish a roadmap for increased adoption of EVs in India, including in respect of sales targets.
Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and Electric Vehicles in India scheme I (FAME)
The Ministry of Heavy Industries (MHI) launched Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and Electric Vehicles in India scheme I (FAME ) in 2015, which focused on creating demand, technology platforms, pilot projects, and charging infrastructure related to EVs. The second phase of the scheme called as FAME II started in 2019 with an outlay of Rs 10,000 crore to incentivize demand for Electric Vehicles (EVs) by providing upfront subsidies and creating EV charging infrastructure. 1 million Electric 2 Wheelers, 5 lakh Electric 3 Wheelers, 55,000 Electric Cars and 7,090 Electric Buses are to be supported under FAME II through subsidies. Allocation of Rs 1000 crore has also been made under FAME II for provision of EV charging stations.
AME India II Scheme was redesigned in June 2021 based on experience particularly during Covid-19 pandemic and feedback from industry and users. The redesigned scheme aims at faster proliferation of Electric Vehicles by lowering the upfront costs. The scheme has been extended for a further period of 2 years i.e. upto March 31, 2024.
Productivity Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for Automobile and Auto Components:
The Government approved the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme for Automobile and Auto Component Industry in India for enhancing India’s Manufacturing Capabilities for Advanced Automotive Products (AAT) with a budgetary outlay of ₹25,938 Crore. This Scheme proposes financial incentives to boost domestic manufacturing of Advanced Automotive Technology (AAT) products and attract investments in the automotive manufacturing value chain. The prime objectives of this scheme include overcoming cost disabilities, creating economies of scale and building a robust supply chain in areas of AAT products.
The PLI scheme for Automobile and Auto Component Industry has been a huge success in terms of the applications received from local as well as globally headquartered groups engaged in/ proposing to manufacture Advanced Automotive Technology vehicles/products. Apart from Indian business groups, approved applicants for Champion OEM Incentive scheme include groups from countries such as Republic of Korea, USA, Japan, France, Italy, UK and Netherlands. The overwhelming response shows that Industry has reposed its faith in India’s stellar progress as a world class manufacturing destination which resonates strongly with Prime Minister’s clarion call of Atma Nirbhar Bharat – a self-reliant India.
PLI Scheme for Advanced Chemistry Cell (ACC):
Union Cabinet on May 12, 2021 approved the National Programme on Advanced Chemistry Cell (ACC) with an outlay of Rs 18,100 crore to incentivize setting up of manufacturing facilities in the country for 50 Giga Watt Hour of ACC and 5 GWh of “Niche” ACC. The scheme was notified on June 9, 2021
Through this Scheme, the Government intends to optimally incentivize potential investors, both domestic and overseas, to set- up Giga-scale ACC manufacturing facilities with emphasis on maximum value addition and quality output and achieving pre-committed capacity level within a pre-defined time-period.
In addition to the above schemes, devised to promote the use of electric vehicles in the country and to make their manufacturing cost effective, several Indian states have introduced EV-related manufacturing policies which include subsidies, exemptions, and other miscellaneous incentives.
CHARGING INFRASTRUCTURE AND BATTERY SWAPPING
About a year ago, the Ministry of Power consolidated and issued revised guidelines/standards in respect of EV charging infrastructure, last amended in November 2022. The private sector is already investing in the manufacture and installation of EV-related supply equipment (“EVSE”), including with regard to charging and battery swapping technology. The Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs amended the model building bylaws of 2016 to include enabling provisions for installing EV charging infrastructure in private and commercial building premises, including across core urban areas. Further, the viability gap funding (VGF) for battery energy storage systems (BESS) announced in the Budget will likely create additional critical infrastructure.
Meanwhile, the draft battery swapping policy, released for comments by NITI Aayog in April 2022,is likely to be finalized soon. This policy may include a voluntary design standardization, pursuant to stakeholder requests made in this regard. Furthermore, in response to incidents of fire in e-two-wheelers, amendments were introduced in respect of EV battery testing standards by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways late last year. A few months prior, the Bureau of Indian Standards had formulated performance standards for EV batteries.
Given that new registrations of EVs still account for less than a twentieth of annual sales, industry stakeholders have suggested that a regulatory mandate for Zero Emission Vehicles (“ZEV”) may be necessary in India. Such a mandate may establish EV-related percentage targets for annual production/sales, along with a credit trading mechanism to generate additional income streams. For instance, the EU, China, and several states in the US have adopted ZEV mandates with credit/offset-based elements along with financial penalties for non-compliance, leading to a significant growth in EV sales. The state of California, for example, which has more ZEV models than the rest of the US combined, has a percentage credit requirement, where such credits – awarded based on ZEV sales – can be traded.
Indeed, ZEV mandates globally have helped accelerate EV incorporation into mainstream transport, including by diversifying the range of products, providing roadmaps for innovation, pushing down prices, promoting investments in charging infrastructure, and generally building confidence among investors and consumers. Further, like in Europe, in order to increase electrification, India could redesign its extant fuel economy regulations in a manner that champions technological innovation. That way, domestic manufacturers may be incentivized to make more EVs for the purpose of meeting fleet average norms.
Several factors, including the availability of charging infrastructure, robust financing ecosystem, reduced battery prices and increased customer awareness, will pave the way for the new era of EV adoption.
Innovative business models such as battery swapping have emerged to enable widespread EV adoption. The battery swapping model alleviates issues of long charging time, range anxiety, high upfront cost and battery reliability concerns for the EV owners. To make this model workable, the operator needs to ensure standardisation of batteries and operate in a closed-loop environment.
To drive EV adoption, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and the central and state and governments need to work together for an integrated policy, creating a conducive ecosystem for India’s electric mobility vision.
A combination of enabling policy measures, infrastructure development, total cost of ownership (TCO) parity, and a market buzz-promise to fast-track the shift to electric, are needed for the dawn of a new era for the automotive industry. Only a few state EV policies provide guidelines and incentives on battery recycling. A coherent recycling policy is also the need of the hour.


text:
International Truck & Engine Corp. said it plans to lay off 250 workers at its Springfield, OH, plant next month and cut truck production because of declining demand. The company said most of the layoffs would go into effect January 3.
International spokesman Kyle Rose said the plant will reduce its production of medium-duty trucks to 143 a day, down from 162.
"Market demand out there right now doesn't support keeping the rate at that level," Rose said. "When you're building fewer trucks, one of the results is it requires fewer employees to do that."
International's medium-duty sales were down 14.1% in November compared to the previous month, but up 12.6% from the same period last year, according to Ward's Communications.


text:
WWT’s CEO On Jeff Bezos, Cisco’s Future And SolarWinds Hack
‘As large as Amazon is on both the cloud side and I’ll call it the retail side of what they do, to bring in their technologist to lead the company, that’s something that they are leaning toward: technologists to drive the future of that business along with Bezos still being intimately involved in where they’re going,’ says WWT CEO Jim Kavanaugh.
Kavanaugh’s View Of Cisco, Amazon And Cybersecurity In 2021
World Wide Technology CEO Jim Kavanaugh has guided his company from a small startup to a $13.4 billion IT behemoth over the past three decades. Kavanaugh, who was a professional soccer player before co-founding WWT in 1990, understands where the technology puck is heading better than most.
In an interview with CRN, the channel icon discusses Cisco’s future in as-a-service, WWT’s plan to hire 1,000 new employees this year, and Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos handing the baton to AWS CEO Andy Jassy.
“ I don’t believe that Bezos is going away. Andy Jassy is going to have Jeff Bezos close to him, and they’re going to be collaborating,” said Kavanaugh.
WWT’s CEO also talks about the biggest takeaways from the massive SolarWinds hack that rocked the IT world as well as his advice to channel partners on how to combat such security issues.
“There needs to be a collaborative effort between IT, the line of business, the policies in place, but also trying to reduce the number of technology security products that you have in your environment to standardize on,” Kavanaugh said.
What’s your take on Amazon’s Jeff Bezos handing over the reins to AWS’ Andy Jassy?
AWS and Jeff Bezos (pictured) are just so impressive. They’ve defied a lot of odds out there and I think proved a lot of people wrong regarding the maniacal focus he’s had investing long term. I don’t believe that Bezos is going away. Andy Jassy is going to have Jeff Bezos close to him, and they’re going to be collaborating.
It’s interesting. As large as Amazon is on both the cloud side and I’ll call it the ‘retail’ side of what they do, to bring in their technologist to lead the company, that’s something that they are leaning toward: technologists to drive the future of that business along with Bezos still being intimately involved in where they’re going. They’re an impressive company.
We literally have two entrepreneurs and innovators that will be recognized for many, many years to come. If you look at Bezos and Elon Musk, they will be in the history books a long time based on the things they’ve done and will continue to do.
What big lesson should be learned from the massive SolarWinds hack?
There’s a mindset that everybody needs to understand: It’s not if you get hacked, it’s when you get hacked. It’s becoming very pervasive at this point. You have to come together to figure out how do you put the safest environment and the most secure environment in place that is possible. But you also have to keep in mind that you need to keep an agile and nimble organization. Because if you lock down everything to such a degree, you may actually put yourself out of business. It’s an absolute challenge to balance those things: speed, flexibility, agility and driving digital acceleration.
In the spirit of the Internet of Things and all these devices being enabled, those are just additional endpoints that can be breached. So everything is becoming automated—from your lights and your doorbell to video to driverless cars. All of those things also need to be secured. Unfortunately, I would love to say there’s a silver bullet to go do that, but I don’t believe there is.
What is your security advice to prevent another SolarWinds-type breach?
For you to actually integrate and enforce the most secure environment for a company, you need to blend technology and policy. The policy and the operating structure of the company need to be aligned to what you’re doing from a technology perspective. Those worlds need to come together to drive the most secure environment.
What a lot of the CISOs are dealing with is there’s such a barrage of individual security technology products and it’s so hard for those individuals to evaluate all those products. To build a secure network and environment, you need to look at standardizing certain things to mitigate not having too many devices or too many different products in your environment that literally overcomplicate things and create additional complexity. This is just a world that we have to embrace. It’s not going to go away. The hacking isn’t going to go away. The threats aren’t going to go away. The need to technology-enable and digitize a business is not going to go away.
There needs to be a collaborative effort between IT, the line of business, the policies in place, but also trying to reduce the number of technology security products that you have in your environment to standardize on.
Is Cisco’s massive as-a-service charge in 2021 the right strategy?
I think they are going in the right direction. I know [Cisco Chairman and CEO] Chuck Robbins (pictured) very well and I talk to Chuck quite a bit. Obviously, our business is linked with Cisco. Overall, I think they’re doing the right thing. I don’t think Cisco is trying to overcorrect too fast, but they are moving aggressively into Software as a Service, these enterprise software licensing and enterprise software agreements with customers that basically open up the Cisco portfolio of hardware and software.
The key is we’re helping Cisco and the customer with not only understanding what that portfolio is made up of, but making sure that if you’re going to buy that hardware and software that you adopt it and integrate it and you get the benefit and value out of that software. Because that creates a win-win for Cisco and the customer. Because a lot of times, over the years, many companies have bought a lot of software from different companies and, at times, they may use only 10 percent of the functionality of that software. So our goal is to build these consulting services and life-cycle services that help customers evaluate what are they buying, why are they buying it, and then how do you make sure you implement that in a very productive and optimized way.
Is WWT doubling down on Microsoft Teams, Zoom or Cisco Webex in 2021?
I have anywhere from three to 15 calls a day, it varies, and I could be on any one of those platforms. It’s going to be the ones that build a platform that they continue to innovate and iterate faster than the others. If you look at the emergence of Zoom, I think Zoom has pushed Cisco and Microsoft in a way that they probably would not have moved quite as quickly as they’re trying to move now because of where Zoom is. It’s actually good for the market.
From a WWT perspective, we’re a very large Cisco partner and they are a very strategic partner of ours. But we still have to be able to advise our customers on the features, functionalities and what products fit best to provide a level of independence. That is a perfect example of where we can help customers really sort through what is the best solution for them based on the things that they need. Those are three very formidable competitors that I think are basically good for the market.
What does WWT’s hiring forecast look like in 2021?
Even during COVID we hired 600 or 700 people last year. We have a budget this year to hire over 1,000 people. We’re watching the market very closely as we still continue to work through the pandemic and some macroeconomic things both domestically and globally. With that being said, we have plans to continue to grow this year.
The last two years we have grown 12 [percent] to 15 percent top line, bottom line, which is part of our five-year plan. The largest areas of investment and growth that we’re looking at is around services and those areas would tie to things like software development in our digital portfolios. So as we go out and design and implement mobile-based solutions, web-based solutions, digital solutions, digital strategy implementation, etc. ,we have the software side as well as management consultants that go along working with those software engineers.
Also, big data and AI is an area of growth for us. Security is another big area of growth. We’re also watching some of the networking pieces as 5G starts to take hold, and the type of engineers and architects that are going to be required to help customers build out some of their networks and leverage that capability. The last area is cloud. We have a big focus on helping customers evaluate private, public, hybrid cloud and how that aligns with Microsoft, Amazon and Google.


text:
Free Super Duper Burger Day
Free burgers at Super Duper’s new downtown SF location on Wednesday from 1-2p.
By Johnny Funcheap - posted 6/2/2011 No Comment
Super Duper is celebrating the opening of a brand new location in downtown SF on June 8, 2011 with a free burger hour.
Super Duper will give away free burgers from 1pm to 2pm to their Facebook fans and twitter followers at their new restaurant at 721 Market Street (between 3rd/4th @ Grant)
Super Duper Free Burger Hour
Wednesday, June 8, 2011 (1pm to 2pm)
Super Duper – Downtown
721 Market Street (between 3rd/4th @ Grant)
– Free for Super Duper Facebook fans and Twitter followers