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What’s the Newest Trend in Healthy Plant-Based Eating?
If you’ve ever wondered where food trends come from, we have the answer: Every year there are a few major trade shows that we can trace back to as the genesis of cool product trends and fun, tasty or innovative foods. Think of it as the fashion week of supermarket products. This past week in Philadelphia, the entire industry swooped in and tasted, tested and got excited about the latest products that will soon be debuting at supermarkets near you.
Called the Food & Nutrition Conference & Expo (FNCE) and sponsored by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, more than 10,000 Registered Dietitians, nutrition researchers, policymakers and other health industry leaders. Here is what it means for you:
The trends start with the new messaging “Have a plant,” created by the non-profit organization Produce For Better Health, which is dedicated to transforming how people feel about fruits and veggies. (We feel that.) Below are some of the most interesting foods you can expect to see more of in 2020 and beyond.
This cruciferous veggie isn’t new to the food scene, but it’s definitely taking the nutrition world by storm. CAULIPOWER was one of the most popular booths, as they distributed samples of cauliflower pizza crust. Shows we love anything with the word pizza attached.
Other snack companies, like Rhythm Foods, picked up on this trend and created a new crunchy low-heat crispy Cauliflower Bites. If you like the taste of cauliflower in a salty little bite, you’ve got to try this new snack as a chip alternative.
Cauliflower is also being utilized as an ingredient in pastas and crackers. If I had to put my money on a vegetable for continued growth, I’d put all my chips on cauliflower.
Gluten-Free For Everyone, Not Just the Gluten Avoiders
Everyone is starting to avoid gluten, not just people with allergies or Celiac Disease. The reason is that more of our grains are processed and grown to have more of the harmful protein. For those who want to avoid gluten but still want the taste of grain, there are plenty of new products making waves. “I've noticed an increasing amount of grain-free and gluten-free products on the market, from grain-free tortillas to muffins,” says Alena Kharlamenko, RD.
Siete Family Foods showcased grain-free tortillas, made from ingredients like cassava, almond, chickpea and cashew flour. Kharlamenko also likes Soozy’s Grain-Free Muffins, which makes products from nontraditional flours like almond, arrowroot and coconut flour.
Another favorite among Dietitians is Simple Mills, known for its products that utilize nut flours in everything from baking mixes to crackers to cookies. Be on the lookout for more gluten-free alternatives coming to store shelves.
Seeds are the New Nuts
Nuts are a crucial part of any plant-based diet, but seeds are often overlooked as a good source of protein and healthy fats. Expect to see seeds as ingredients, stand-alone snacks and even protein powders.
Super Seedz showed off their 1-ounce pumpkin seed snack packs, which come in yummy flavors like Cinnamon & Sugar and Somewhat Spicy. With 8 grams of protein in just 1-ounce, they have an impressive amount of plant-based protein.
Seeds are also making their debut in the protein supplement aisle. Tera’s introduced an organic protein powder made from pumpkin seeds, with 23 grams of plant-based protein per serving. If you’re tired of the taste of pea or rice protein, this alternative is an exciting new development.
Gut Health is Bigger than Ever
While the term “gut health” has become totally mainstream, nutrition professionals are upping the ante with even more products targeted towards gut health. From probiotics to prebiotics to low-FODMAP foods, there was plenty of gut-healthy foods at FNCE 2019. Cleveland Kraut gave out their fresh-tasting probiotic-rich kraut, which comes in traditional flavors and more obscure Gnar Gnar and Curry Kraut.
Prebiotics--a fiber that nourishes the live bacteria in your gut-- were also trending. Uplift Food, an RD-created company, sampled their new Gut Happy Cookies, which are made with different prebiotic-rich plant-based ingredients.
Lastly, Epicured displayed their low-FODMAP and gluten-free subscription meal delivery service, intended to help those who suffer from gastrointestinal conditions.
Anti-Inflammatory Foods Are Hot: Turmeric takes a Star Turn
Just when you were getting used to lentil and bean-based pasta, Ronzoni upped the game by adding turmeric to their pasta blend. “There was turmeric pasta, drinks, and more at the conference,” says Mandy Enright, MS, RDN, RYT, the Food + Movement Dietitian. “Anti-inflammatory is a hot buzzword these days, and turmeric is definitely up there when it comes to anti-inflammatory foods,” Enright adds.


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Littelfuse buys automotive supplier for $145 million
Hamlin Inc., a Lake Mills, WI-based supplier of sensor technology to the automotive industry and electronics and industrial markets, is being sold by its parent company to Littelfuse Inc. of Chicago for $145 million.
Littelfuse said in a press release Monday that Hamlin also has operations in Norwich, U.K., Suzhou, China, and Matamoros, Mexico. Hamlin, being sold by Key Safety Systems, had sales of $76 million in 2012.
The Hamlin product line includes reed, hall-effect, inductive and its newly developed PWG linear sensing technologies, as well as switches and relays. Gordon Hunter, CEO of Littelfuse, said its addition is a major step forward in the company's plan to build a global automotive sensor business.
Completion of the transaction, subject to regulatory conditions, is expected by the end of May.
David Schuyler is Digital Producer overseeing website content and also serves as a reporter covering the arts and nonprofit organizations for the Milwaukee Business Journal.
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European purchase alliance, Agecore, has threatened to cut 160 Nestlé products from its list unless the Swiss agree to better conditions. Colruyt, Coop and Edeka are members of Agecore.
Agecore’s demands simply boil down to a demand for lower prices, because otherwise, it will not purchase Nestlé’s products. Considering the fact that the organization represents a lot of European chains, its refusal could immensely impact Nestlé. Over the past few days, the retail partners have apparently already lowered their Nestlé orders and according to Lebensmittel Zeitung, Swiss Coop has even temporarily halted orders for several products.
On the other hand, supermarkets cannot keep it up to no longer have a wide range of products available to customers and seeing how Nestlé is one of the food industry’s largest companies, it remains to be seen who will cave first: Nestlé or the supermarkets… or no one at all, as KU Leuven’s study suggest.
Agecore’s demands are not new for the food industry. We have seen increasing examples of temporary product scarcity as chains want better conditions. Colruyt had its own kerfuffle with PepsiCo late last year, which led to the temporary unavailability of 29 products.


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On Tuesday, Panera Bread Co, decreased its earnings forecast for the whole year as it is working to make its services faster at the popular bakery cafe units that it owns.
The company shares, which limited its earnings-per-share forecast for 2014 from 6.65 dollars to 6.80 dollars and has now its range in between 6.60 dollars to 6.70 dollars. It went down 2.9 percent, reaching 165.98 dollars in the extended trading.
Panera, based in St. Louis, mentioned that it is expecting the operating margins for 2014 to go down 200 until 225 basis points, compared to the previous year, because of increased costs for their ingredients, like butter, as well as other various dairy products, plus project investments that are trying to achieve the customer service speed up.
The net income for the third quarter fell over eight percent, reaching 39.2 million dollars, which is equivalent to 1.46 dollars for every share.
Based on reports coming from Consensus Metrix, the company-owned bakery cafe sales open around 18 months increase 2.1 percent during the most recent quarter of this year, a bit better compared to the 1.7 percent rise expected by analysts. The said gain was mainly because of the traffic increase.


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Spaceport America for space tourism opened
British billionaire Richard Branson’s company Virgin Galactic on Monday opened the world’s first-ever commercial spaceport in the New Mexico desert, which will be the hub for space tourist shuttles. The opening ceremony was attended by New Mexico Governor Susana Martinez, astronaut Buzz Aldrin, and 150 Virgin Galactic customers, amongst others.
Spaceport America, that cost $209 million, is expected to house up to 2 White-Knight-Twos and 5 Spac-Ship-Twos, in addition to all astronaut preparation facilities and mission control. Head of Virgin Galactic George Whitesides said that the first commercial space flight would be launched next year.
Virgin Galactic has sold some 430 tickets for space travel, at $200,000 a trip for an estimated $86 million.


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Just a couple of days ago, we came across a report which suggested the specification details of an upcoming wearable of the South Korean electronics giant Samsung i.e. Samsung Galaxy Watch Active. Well, the device surfaced online again and this time it suggest the design as well as the information about the battery capacity.
According to the source, the upcoming Galaxy Watch Active will sport a 1.1-inch display and that is the smallest displays on any of the Samsung wearable. The company will ditch the bezel ring which makes it easier to operate the smartwatch. It is powered by Exynos 9110 processor and 4 GB of internal storage.
The source also says that the device will have more than one variant and one of them will come with 236 mAh battery, along with redesigned Charger. Furthermore, it is said to be 13 mm thick and will be water resistant up to 50 meters, and it will run Tizen 220.127.116.11.
So, that’s all the information we have at this moment of time. But we believe to hear more about the same in the coming days and we expect that the company will launch this wearable at the upcoming MWC 2019 event.


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Jack Dorsey, founder of Twitter, tweeted back in September when the change was announced that this will solve “a real problem people have when trying to tweet”.
However, some Twitter users have opposed the change, leaving a divide in opinion throughout the Twitter-sphere. This was the case in the Freestyle office, where a debate took place into the pros and cons of having 280 characters to tweet. So, to mark this momentous social media occasion, we asked Freestylers to share their opinion on the 280 character limit. Here’s what they had to say (in 280 characters or less, of course!):
We got a mixed bag of opinions from the Freestyle team. Personal musings aside, we were interested in what this change means for brands: specifically, how will it impact their ability to engage audiences on Twitter and influence their wider social marketing strategy? We spent some time discussing this in the office, and came up with six potential pros and cons we see for businesses:
1. Better customer engagement: having more space to reply to customers’ queries will allow brands to send more detailed, less cryptic responses (no more acronyms and 3-part responses!
2. A larger canvas for ads: it’s no secret that social media has allowed marketers to promote their brands to a more targeted and socially-engaged audience. Let’s hope that marketers use this extra space to revolutionise how Twitter is used, and not spam our timelines with pointless filler and barrages of hashtags and emojis.
3. More users = more customers: Twitter is hoping this change will attract more users to the social media platform, which for marketers means more potential customers. A win-win situation could be on the horizon.
1. Less is more?: as referenced in our Freestylers’ tweets, giving people more characters doesn’t mean they will compose better tweets. Marketers need to be aware that the extra allowance means more effort is needed to create quality content.
2. Twitter loses its USP: With the extended character limit, Twitter needs to be careful it does not become another Facebook, Instagram or LinkedIn. Twitter’s one characteristic that made it unique from the rest is slowly fading away, and it’s the job of marketers to not become complacent by sharing the same content over all channels, just because it is now possible.
3. Altered customer engagement: we put this as a positive, but it could easily be seen as a con. Customer will have more space to complain, and negativity will be harder to ignore. We agreed that customer interactions would be the largest change in this update, which means social media strategy is vital.
Whether you’re pro or anti 280 characters, it’s clear this change has shifted the way Twitter will be perceived and used. Are you embracing or lamenting the extra characters? We'd love to hear your opinion.


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On Thursday, Samsung Display confirmed that they are engaged on a show with new kind components. It could be a rollable and slidable display similar to a display that LG teased throughout its CES 2021 occasion. Choi Kwon-young, senior vp of Samsung Display spoke for the corporate revealed its monetary report and stated that its first rollable and slidable displays are coming this year.
It’s a logical assumption that Samsung would be the first to adopt these kind of shows. The foldable shows may additionally undertake new applied sciences like variable refresh charge and low-power consumption as the company needs to remain forward of opponents getting into the OLED market. Let’s see which might be Samsung’s first phone coming with these new show technologies.
That’s All For As we speak. Keep Tuned To GadgetBrahma For Extra Stuff.


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From colonizing Mars to autonomous cars, Elon Musk is transforming how people travel. There is life beyond the Model 3.
The U.S. opioid crisis rages on. TheStreet takes a look at several drugs being used to help treat people.
HPE is preparing to cut 10% of its workforce, roughly 5,000 employees, in a move to cut costs in a crowded technology solutions market.
Tesla isn't the only car-maker looking to make great looking cars. Here's a peak into some hot models fro 2018.
Activision Blizzard's Tespa launched its revised collegiate program this week.
It won't be available in the United States, though.
SeaWorld continues to struggle.
Sometimes, it's what's not talked about that is more telling than what is.
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Fabricators go to great lengths to make sure every piece of material they produce or distribute will be up to difficult tasks. But sometimes the task is so specialized—or so extreme—that production requires a truly exceptional level of care, expertise and, often, regulation.
Products such as the ropes that firefighters use to rappel from helicopters and the parachutes that sport jumpers depend on to get them safely to the ground obviously require careful production.
“You don’t want a parachute ripping in half when it’s 6,000 feet in the air,” says David Mackney, vice president at Performance Textiles, a Wilmington, N.C., company that makes high- performance technical fabrics used for sport chutes, hot air balloons and other products.
For this article, we talked to manufacturers and distributors of these products to find out how such materials are created, the changing industry requirements, and what it takes to produce textiles used in extreme circumstances in accordance with stringent rules and regulations.
Skydiver fashion and function
In the early days of skydiving, parachutes were made from a strong silk fabric, according to Mackney, but silk has long been replaced by ripstop nylon. “If it does rip or tear, it stops right there,” he says. “A 1-inch hole and it’s going to stay like that. It’s not going to continue to run, which is the last thing you
want in a parachute.”
Nylon may be the established standard for parachute fabric, but how that nylon is produced does change, for reasons of performance as well as aesthetics.
Mackney says that today’s sport jumpers increasingly want parachutes that allow them to descend at a greater speed but still land where they’re supposed to. That’s accomplished by using smaller canopies as well as fabric that meets appropriate porosity expectations.
“Jumpers use a different fabric than what the military might use to drop a truck from a plane,” he explains. “You can drop a truck anywhere in an area the size of a football field and it’s fine. But you’re a person, you want to drop dead center on the 50-yard line.”
Smaller chutes also play a role in skydiver fashion, says Ignatius “Kappie” Kapp, engineering manager for Performance Designs Inc., a parachute manufacturer in DeLand, Fla.
“We’re working with several companies right now to get fabric that actually makes the parachute pack smaller,” says Kapp. “It’s only about 15 percent smaller, which you may think is not a big deal, but it’s actually considered cooler to have a smaller backpack. If you could put your parachute in your shirt pocket, that would be the coolest.
“For some reason,” he says, “people think you are a student or not very capable if you wear something bigger on your back.”
In addition, different parts of a parachute have different requirements. Take, for example, the mesh fabric that is produced by Jason Mills LLC, in Milltown, N.J., which is used for the interior of parachutes.
“Our fabric has to be a specific pH,” says Mike Lavroff, the company’s president. “It can’t be too base or too acidic because it will start to destroy the nylon lining that it’s lying on, or the canopy itself. The fabric has to be as close to a neutral pH as possible.”
Hot air balloons
There are three main concerns with hot air balloons, according to Andrew Baird, general manager at Cameron Balloons in Dexter, Mich., the largest maker of hot air balloons in the world. Cameron built the Breitling Orbiter 3, the first balloon to fly around the world, and the Roziere 550 Spirit of Freedom, the balloon used for the first solo round-the-world flight.
“The fabric needs tensile strength, tear strength and it needs to be lightweight,” says Baird.
And as with parachutes, there’s the issue of porosity.
“A balloon needs to hold in all that hot air, and it needs to hold it as long as it can through its life span,” says Baird. “Today’s fabrics are far more resistant to porosity because coating technology has made great leaps forward. In the past, coatings would break down over time and the balloon would gradually become more and more porous, or less efficient in the way it flies. That really doesn’t happen anymore.”
Cameron produces a fabric called Hyperlast™, which is coated on both sides with silicone. The fabric is 30 percent heavier than conventional ripstop nylon, says Baird, but it’s up to 800 percent stronger.
Hyperlast was originally designed to be used in the upper portion of a balloon, which gets the most heat and UV exposure. “It makes sense to use a stronger fabric in that part of the balloon to get the most life from the aircraft as a whole,” says Baird. “But we’ve been seeing some commercial balloon operators who are flying passengers day in and day out switching to Hyperlast. It lasts longer, so it makes more sense in their business model.”
Advancements in technology don’t always come fast, but there’s a good reason for that, says Baird.
“Changing fabrics is a risky business,” he explains. “What happens in a lab or in weather testing machines doesn’t predict as much as we’d like about what will happen in the real world. The risk to us is that we introduce a product that tests very well in the lab, but we get it in service and five years later a problem shows up. Now instead of having a few balloons in service, we have five years’ worth.
“Because we’re building aircraft,” he says, “quality is critical, so innovations tend to come more slowly, but more deliberately.”
There are also aesthetics to be concerned about.
“People who buy parachutes can get very picky about the color, simply because these things are so expensive,” says Mackney. “If you’re really into it, and you’re buying yourself a $3,000 or $4,000 parachute, you want that color to be perfect. You don’t want little spots on it from the dye or coating. It doesn’t impact the performance, but it’s aesthetically not pleasing.”
Innovations in ropes
Fabric is a critical piece of the rope descent systems manufactured by Sky Genie in Fort Smith, Ark., where they are used for a variety of purposes, including aerial firefighting and window cleaning on skyscrapers.
Those descent devices don’t work well with common “kernmantle” rope, which has an interior core protected by a woven exterior sheath. Instead, Sky Genie uses a rope woven from 20 strands of high-strength nylon fiber.
“Our rope works best with our descent devices because it is designed to have high knotability, which is a measurement of how tightly you can bend the rope,” says Sky Genie owner, Flip Kindberg. “A high knotability factor allows our rope to collapse on the descending device and causes the proper amount of friction that a kernmantle rope does not.”
The way rope is made—the weaving of strands to create a stronger rope—has not changed much, according to Kindberg. But fibers developed over the last 10 or 15 years have vastly improved rope strength and allowed more of a variance in a rope’s dynamic properties.
“In some situations, you want a rope that doesn’t stretch at all, such as when you’re lowering and lifting things,” Kindberg says. “But when it’s a human being on the end of the rope, you want some shock absorption designed into the rope. Rock climbers usually use a dynamic rope, so in a fall the rope is absorbing some of the impact, stretching to remove the snap.”
Technology has also allowed ropes to shrink in size and weight while maintaining the required safety characteristics, says Josh Walls, director of research and development for Sterling Rope Co. Inc., a Biddeford, Maine, company that makes ropes for both recreational climbing and work applications.
When Sterling was getting started, a small rope would have been 10.5 millimeters, says Walls, but some are now under 8 millimeters. “The evolution of the fibers used is what has allowed the diameters to shrink,” Walls says, “and new finishing and coating have improved to protect the fibers from both internal
and external abrasions.”
Not surprisingly, fabrics used in applications where safety is critical are subject to a raft of requirements, some dictated by government or industry standards, and some by internal specifications.
Sterling’s ropes, for example, are certified and verified by third parties, with specific certification depending
on the end use of the product.
“For climbing ropes,” says Walls, “we conform to UIAA 101, the standard of the International Climbing and Mountaineering Federation, which specifies minimum performance properties. All the testing is done in France.
“We’ve never sent a product that hasn’t passed,” he adds. “We know what the minimums are and we have the ability to test all of these properties in-house. It’s expensive to test, about $2,000, so we want to be 100 percent sure it’s going to pass.”
“There are quality checks at every point in production,” says Mackney. “Everybody who gets the fabric in the supply chain has checked everybody’s work along the way. The last thing you want to do is be the coater and you’re coating fabric that’s out of spec. You want to make sure of that before you coat it.”
According to Lavroff, the parachute industry uses the military spec Mil-C-3395 as a requirement in its production processes: “It’s a very useful tool that requires you do not exceed a specified weight as measured in ounces per square yard, and equally important, maintain or exceed specific strength requirements in regard to tensile and tear characteristics.”
When it comes to products made by Cameron Balloons, says Baird, “Everything we do is according to approvals we have through the Federal Aviation Administration. We have engineering drawings approved for everything we build and a pretty lengthy quality control system in place to make sure we are manufacturing in accordance with those drawings.
“We are also periodically audited by the FAA,” he says. “They send a team in here and they can go through anything and everything in our building.”
Safety comes from regulation, but it also comes from people, Kapp adds.
“It’s unbelievable how well-trained the eyes of our in-house inspectors become,” Kapp explains. “What I like is that the people on our production floor are very compassionate. They don’t want anything to be made that could injure people. They feel very responsible for making something that will function 100 percent the way it is supposed to function.”
Jeff Moravec is a freelance writer from Minneapolis, Minn.
Until 20 years ago, “there were really no fabrics in the circus unless it was costuming or props,” says Dan Butler, co-founder (with his wife, Elizabeth “Betty” Butler) and executive director of Circus Juventas, a St. Paul, Minn., nonprofit performing arts circus school for young people.
But Butler says times have changed as the popularity of Cirque du Soleil and similar performing arts circuses have grown. Now, fabrics play a starring role in the productions staged by Circus Juventas, including its spring shows that feature 800 beginning and intermediate students, and summer shows featuring 100 advanced student performers.
“Cirque du Soleil kind of set the bar, and now we’re seeing fabric used in so many different things in the circus today,” says Butler.
Butler, who as a 15-year-old started under the big top of Sailor Circus in Sarasota, Fla., says prominent among the Circus Juventas acts that use fabric are those referred to as aerial silks, in which one or more artists perform acrobatics while hanging from long pieces of polyester material.
“Every circus calls it something different and they use different fabrics,” Butler says, “but there are just amazing acts that come from it. When it’s used in an aerial pas de deux act, with two pieces of fabric on a high-speed cable winch, the fabric becomes the safety device for the students because they wrap themselves in it. It’s quite an ingenious creation.”
Tricot and polyester materials with varying degrees of stretch are also used in several Circus Juventas acts, including those involving what is called a hammock, a single piece of fabric folded to make a loop in which single or paired artists perform aerial work.
There are also, of course, ropes that are used in a variety of acts. And while ropes have been around circuses for a while, advancements have been made. “That’s because of rock climbing,” says Butler. “As the rock climbing industry has sprung up, the circus has been able to embrace what they’re doing, particularly using ropes that come with specifications. That’s been a big change.”
Simulated golf is likely not on anyone’s list of extreme sports, but it is a sport that requires a fabric that’s pretty advanced—one that can absorb the impact of a golf ball traveling at more than 100 miles per hour and 3,000 to 10,000 revolutions per minute.
Obviously, the screen into which the ball is hit—which projects an image of the golf course—can’t be a traditional video screen material that could shatter. But there are other significant considerations as well, according to Mike Lavroff, president of Jason Mills LLC, in Milltown, N.J., which produces a line of heavy-gauge knit polyester materials that are used for the simulator screens.
“The screen needs to be durable and can’t pucker on impact,” says Lavroff. “Plus, it needs to have limited bounce-back and should deaden the sound of the ball.” It also needs to reflect a good image.
“The projectors have improved so much, and with high-definition (HD) images you can’t get away with the same materials you used five or 10 years ago,” says Lavroff. “For the higher-end units, we now use a tighter knit, and the imaging is incredible.”
The materials for the screens, produced to be marketed at various price points, cost from $20 to $50 per yard (at 120 inches), depending on the type of fabric chosen. Jason Mills is continually working to develop new and advanced materials that will integrate well with advanced HD and ultra HD images, according to Lavroff.
“Image quality and durability are the two big drivers in this market,” says Lavroff.


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We have now added new collections in Hard drives and Bluetooth slim wireless keyboards.
Creativelubs.... WE STAND BY IT!
Creativelubs introduces new products collections in External Hard drives, Bluetooth keyboards Posted on 08 Jun 11:34
Creativelubs headphones now trading @ "THE HILL boutique", No 70 Juta Street, Brammfontein, Johannesburg Posted on 05 Jun 11:14
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With the growing opioid crisis, healthcare professionals are searching for a drug-free alternative to pain management. A new CDC report found that overdoses corresponding strongly with use of synthetic opioids increased nearly 10% year-over-year in 2017 and, as a result, the average American life expectancy has been reduced by nearly four months for the first time since WWII. Now, Oska Wellness, a pioneer in technology-driven wellness solutions, announced it will debut its next-generation Oska Pulse device at Pepcom’s Digital Experience at the CES 2019.
Oska Pulse is a revolutionary drug-free pain relief device that is clinically proven to reduce inflammation, increase circulation, improve mobility and alleviate pain using Pulsed Electromagnetic Field (PEMF) technology. Key advancements of the device provide added customer convenience and include:
- Three times longer sessions for 90-minute PEMF pain relief sessions
- 50 percent longer battery life – 15-hour total run time
Attendees at the Pepcom’s Digital Experience! can visit Oska’s table to learn more and test out the innovative new Oska Pulse device.
Greg Houlgate became a co-founder of Oska Wellness after his personal experience with pain led him to recognize the need for an easy to use, affordable, drug-free pain relief. Greg will be available to discuss and demonstrate Oska Pulse, PEMF technology, said a press release.
“Chronic pain disrupts the lives of over 100 million Americans daily and is the leading cause of long-term disability in the U.S., affecting more people than diabetes, heart disease and cancer combined,” said Houlgate. “It’s very clear that the United States is fighting a battle with pain. Oska Pulse addresses this issue at the source and brings affordable, drug-free pain relief to those who need it most.”
Our CEO Christian Stammel will attend CES 2019 and also be part of the conference track Wearable Tech Summit on January 9. The perfect sneak peek on what will be awaiting you at the WT | Wearable Technologies Conference EUROPE 2019 will give you a deep dive into the current momentum of the wearable market and how you can turn the previous hype into mass volume. Our 33rd edition of the WT Conference will be bigger than ever with more than 1.500 m2 floor space and over 80.000 visitors from WT and ISPO integrated into the brand-new innovation hall C6 of the Munich Tradeshow. More than 60 high-level speakers coming from Bayer, BMW, Casio, Gore, Microsoft, and STMicroelectronics will give you latest insights in their applications and digitalization strategies via IoT and WT solutions and drive your business development. In the afternoon of the first day, you will get also the chance to be connected to 30 future stars of our ecosystem via our annual IOT/WT INNOVATION WORLD CUP® pitch and award ceremony.
Register here https://www.wearable-technologies.eu/ with 20% discount by using the code WT20


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Snapshot of Pork and Poultry Exports to Asia
Asia is a key destination for many U.S. commodities. Despite recent disruptions, countries in this region offer great potential as markets for U.S. pork and poultry. Combined, pork and poultry production consume 88 percent of the soybean meal fed in the U.S. and nearly 92 percent of the soybean meal fed in Illinois. And so, growing demand for high-quality U.S. meat and poultry products translates to growing local demand for soybeans.
The Illinois Soybean Association (ISA) checkoff program supports U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF) and U.S.A. Poultry and Egg Export Council (USAPEEC) work in strategic countries to keep our animal agriculture industry – and top consumers – growing. ISA funds strategic projects that promote U.S. pork and poultry, breaking down barriers between U.S. products and international consumers.
Trade discussions and retaliations between the U.S. and China impacted U.S. pork exports, as pork was one of the products that China increased tariffs on during 2018. However, the spread of African swine fever (ASF) has significantly decreased the size of China’s swine herd. That could cause pork demand from ASF-free regions to grow.
Poultry exports to South Korea fell dramatically due to the Avian Influenza outbreak in the U.S. in 2015. Great potential remains, though it will take time to rebuild those markets. Free trade agreements like the revised Korea-U.S. (KORUS) agreement holds promise for future exports, as well.


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TECNO announced that it has designed mobile cameras that meet the needs of different markets and cultures
Editor’s note: This press release is sponsored by TECNO and was handled by BrandRap, the sales and marketing arm of Rappler. No member of the press and editorial team participated in the publication of this article.
TECNO, a premium smartphone brand focused on emerging markets, is working with BBC StoryWorks, BBC Studios’ in-house business content studio, which has created a short film The Future Goal: Looking Ahead with TECNO to explore the meaning of mobile camera innovation.
The video showcases TECNO’s inclusive mobile camera technology for every user through its unique “glocalization” strategy, detailing the work that has been done to better reflect different communities.
In the article, TECNO discusses how they spotted and resolved the gaps between rapidly developing mobile camera technologies and actual consumer needs in various situations to better meet the unique needs of local users, environments and cultures.
For example, to optimize the imaging quality of portraits, TECNO has built a huge database that covers seven skin types and 76 skin categories in its TAVIOS™ lab. So everyone, no matter what they look like, can enjoy cameras that know how to show them off. In the photo-taking process, TECNO’s progressive algorithms will automatically gather information from users’ surroundings, recognizing various image enhancement opportunities.
Li Jiangtao, Senior Director of TECNO Imaging Products and Head of TAVIOS™ Lab, said, “It’s been a great experience for us to work with BBC Storyworks, share our ideas and tell the story behind the development of our mobile camera. The short film explores the meaning of “Future Lens”, TECNO’s key concept on mobile camera innovation – to provide more inclusive technology for everyone, creating a world with more understanding without limits.
Richard Pattinson, Senior Vice President of BBC StoryWorks, said: “We are delighted to be working with TECNO on this piece. TECNO has provided our content production team with superb access for interviews, including photographer Justin Amoafo, front-line staff from TECNO’s mobile camera department, as well as the opportunity to visit mobile phone manufacturing sites and TECNO camera labs. This allowed us to paint a comprehensive picture for the public of what TECNO does and how it does it, as well as its goals for a more inclusive future.
TECNO is optimistic that emerging markets will continue to see the incredible potential of mobile camera technologies designed to meet the real needs of every user, benefiting communities around the world. TECNO, a rising innovator in mobile cameras, is committed to championing the wide variety of beauty standards and aims to provide users in emerging markets with the ability to express themselves through this technology.
The commercial series will air from January 4 to February 8, 2022. It will include a thirty-second version airing on the BBC World News South Asia Feed and BBC World News Africa feeds, as well as a full version on the hosted branded content hub on BBC.com. – Rappler.com


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Farmville, Zynga Poker and Words With Friends each will see see an expansion and new mobile games some time this year.
Farmville 2: Country Escape will look to reclaim the over 400 million users who played the original Farmville on Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) when the game was launched over five years ago. Chief Executive Officer Don Mattrick, who left Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) to take over at Zynga Inc (NASDAQ:ZNGA) last July is clearly trying to appeal to smartphone and tablet users who aren’t afraid to spend a few bucks on in-app purchases.
Corsair Capital, the event-driven long-short equity hedge fund, gained 6.6% net during the second quarter, bringing its year-to-date performance to 17.5%. Q2 2021 hedge fund letters, conferences and more According to a copy of the hedge fund's second-quarter letter to investors, a copy of which of ValueWalk has been able to review, the largest contributor Read More
Zynga Inc (NASDAQ:ZNGA) faltered after its initial public offering while it remained chained to Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) and focused on real money gambling. Since Mattrick took over the company as looked as though it could go either way: a return to prominence or a total fall from relevance. These releases may prove the catalyst either way as the company looks to shift to in-app purchases and advertising that has benefit like King, the creator of Candy Crush Saga.
Zynga farmville as savior?
“We know what we need to do as a business is create hits and sustain them,” Mattrick said in a telephone interview. “The team now understands that’s the to-do list.”
“We still have a huge, loyal following, and we’re now bringing FarmVille to mobile in a really reimagined, mobile-first way,” said Jonathan Knight, a Zynga Inc (NASDAQ:ZNGA) vice president in charge of the title.
Farmville for mobile will give free currency to former players and will allow users to swap commodities from the mobile and Facebook versions of the game.
While it’s Farmville that may prove to make or break the company, Zynga Inc (NASDAQ:ZNGA) announced on Monday that they had other plans.
The new poker tile will offer “more personalized gameplay, lightning fast performance and sophisticated design,” says Zynga Inc (NASDAQ:ZNGA) chief operating officer Clive Downie.
A new Words With Friends will launch this year as well, and will offer a game history, and a sleeker interface.
“We know these games in particular have struck a chord with many of you,” says Downie. “You’ve not only spent time playing and sharing in these games, but you have also shared incredibly valuable feedback, helping us evolve these games over time in order to make them better for players around the world.”
Each of these games is expected to launch by the end June with Farmville 2: Country Escape leading the way with a launch in unnamed countries later this week. The global launch is expected within two months of this week’s release.


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During the forum, attendees will learn about trends, innovations and challenges in smart manufacturing from experts in Artificial Intelligence (AI), 3D printing, supply chain, security and industrial analytics. The Smart Manufacturing Forum will include four keynote presentations and two panel discussions.
“Smart manufacturing is about connecting industrial assets in a factory and the people using them with information systems and business processes,” said Dr. Richard Soley, Executive Director, IIC. “With insights based on data analytics, companies can make more informed decisions for transformational business outcomes. At the Smart Manufacturing Forum, technology experts and business leaders will provide their views on smart manufacturing, enabling technologies and their own practical experiences.”
Dr. Orla Flynn, Vice President for External Affairs at Cork Institute of Technology, welcomed IIC members to Ireland, stating, “CIT is delighted to host the quarterly IIC meeting at our campus in Cork, and we are especially pleased to welcome members of the public to the Smart Manufacturing Forum, part of the IIC Global Event Series. Given CIT’s strengths in cyber-physical systems and smart manufacturing, we see this as a brilliant opportunity to connect Irish businesses and researchers with global thought-leaders and practitioners.”
“Confirm - Smart Manufacturing is an SFI and Industry funded Research Centre dedicated to the advancement of Cyber-Physical manufacturing systems to help Ireland lead in a world where smart products are manufactured by smart machines, through smart production systems, with bespoke products delivered through smart supply chains. This is only achievable through the convergence of IoT and digital manufacturing, both of which form Confirm’s research agenda. Confirm brings together 9 research performing organisations and over 50 industry partners, and through our community of practice mission Confirm is delighted to work with I-Form and IIC to help Ireland Inc. through this digital transformation,” said Confirm Centre Director Professor Conor McCarthy, of the University of Limerick.
“As an SFI Research Centre focused on advanced manufacturing, I-Form is pleased to partner with the Industrial Internet Consortium and Confirm on this industry event highlighting current trends and challenges in smart manufacturing,” said I-Form Director Professor Denis Dowling, of the UCD School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering. “Our economy is underpinned by manufacturing: manufacturing is the second largest employer in Ireland and accounts for 36.5 percent of GDP. This event is an opportunity to come together to dissect and discuss some of the key issues facing manufacturers right now, such as how safety, security, privacy and reliability will be assured in this new age of digital manufacturing.”
Keynote Speakers include:
Vincent Wang, Chief Innovation Officer, Wanxiang Group


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Feb. 14 (UPI) — The U.S. Department of Agriculture suspended imports of avocados from Mexico just one day before a commercial for them was set to air during the Super Bowl.
The imports were paused “until further notice” after an inspector for the USDA at a plant in the state of Michoacán received a threatening call to his cell phone, Mexico’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development said in a statement.
Michoacán, the largest producer of avocados in the world, has been a haven for drug trafficking cartels who have extorted farmers causing thousands to flee their homes.
Mexican officials said that the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is investigating to assess the level of threat to its workers.
“In the last six weeks, avocado producers from Michoacán have exported more than 135,000 tons of avocado to the United States through more than 5,000 shipments of fresh fruit,” the statement reads.
The U.S. Embassy in Mexico said in a statement that it was working with the office of Mexico President Andrés Manuel López Obrador to “guarantee security conditions that allow our personnel in Michoacán to resume operations.”
“Facilitating the export of Mexican avocados to and ensuring the safety of our agricultural inspection teams go hand-in-hand,” the statement reads.
The import block came before Avocados From Mexico, the joint marketing group in the United States for the Mexican Hass Avocados Importers Association and the Association of Growers and Packers of Avocados From Mexico, was scheduled to air a commercial for avocados during the Super Bowl.
Americans eat more than 1.7 billion pounds of avocados from Mexico each year, particularly in guacamole during events and holidays like the Super Bowl, according to Avocados From Mexico.


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China Economy: NBS official: Economic recovery better-than-expected in first two months of this year
Officials from China’s National Bureau of Statistics say the country’s economy posted a better-than-expected recovery during the first two months of this year despite multiple challenges and sporadic COVID-19 outbreaks. Dai Kaiyi has more.
As the effect of stabilizing policies and stronger support for the bricks-and-mortar economy kicked in, the National Bureau of Statistics says the latest figures show that China’s economy is on the track of recovery.
FU LINGHUI Spokesperson of Department of Comprehensive Statistics, National Bureau of Statistics “The national economy sustained steady recovery, the production demand grew fast, employment and prices were generally stable, new driving forces continued to develop, and high-quality development made new progress.”
The manufacturing industry kept growing as it rose over 7 percent, 3.5 percentage points higher than the December last year, and the investment in the field also posted a faster growth than other economic categories.
Meanwhile, imports and exports were up rapidly as the total value of two-way traffic registered a double-digit growth.
FU LINGHUI Spokesperson of Department of Comprehensive Statistics, National Bureau of Statistics “Under the epidemic, domestic enterprises are getting better at adapting to external demand changes, which is conducive to supporting export growth. At the same time, even though the world economy is being impacted by negative factors like price surge of international commodities, the recovery trend of the world’s economy is not changing.”
According to the data compiled by the National Bureau of Statistics, the service sector continued to recover and consumer prices went up mildly. Investment in fixed assets has seen accelerated growth.
FU LINGHUI Spokesperson of Department of Comprehensive Statistics, National Bureau of Statistics “But we also have to be aware that the domestic economic recovery is still uneven, the impact of the spread of the COVID-19 epidemic in some areas is still ongoing, the industries and enterprises are differentiated in different regions, the pressure of rising costs for enterprises is still increasing, the operating difficulties of small and micro enterprises are still relatively prominent, and the foundation for sustained economic recovery is not yet firm, and the trend afterward remains to be seen.”
DAI KAIYI Beijing “The bureau says China’s economy still faces mounting risks and challenges due to the current geo-political environment, but they believe its upward trend will continue for the first quarter of 2022. DKY, CGTN, Beijing.”


text: As the brand’s Fall/Winter 2022 series is about to arrive, according to Supreme intelligence source Supreme DROPS, Supreme will join hands with Rolex to create the Oyster Perpetual Date co-branded watch. If the news is true, this partnership will undoubtedly be the most watched part of the brand’s Autumn/Winter 2022 partnership plan. According to the exposed images, the co-branded watch may have a stainless steel construction with a bright red dial, which is adorned with the white lettering “Supr” from the brand logo. It’s worth noting that in 2013, the two created a family and friends-only Rolex Submariner. Due to its rarity, the price of the watch rose to over $100,000 last year. The Supreme x Rolex 2022 Autumn/Winter partnership is yet to be officially confirmed. Interested readers may wish to pay more attention to the relevant news.


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LAS VEGAS -- In recent years, some downtown businesses had a history of risk. Crime rates were high and customers were worried about parking their cars to shop or eat, but things seem to have turned around and now some businesses are taking advantage of the cheap commercial real estate.
The owners at Globe Salon bought their property years ago for a bargain and now, it's very valuable. It's been a long road since 1999 when it was unthinkable to have a business in the downtown area. James Reza went to great lengths to make his customers feel comfortable.
"We used to have clients go, 'Is it safe to park there?' So we started posting things on our Twitter and Facebook showing our expensive cars parked out in front of the salon so they wouldn't feel afraid," Reza said.
He says downtown real estate has long been undervalued and there are bargains for businesses willing to take the chance.
"It's probably the most under appreciated in that regard. You have a really great market but priced lower than it probably should be at this point," he said.
The recent move in of Zappos has changed many perceptions. Downtown streets are now full of young workers in their 20s and 30s who both work and live in the downtown area. Nearly 300 homes have been purchased in the past few years and condos are filling up in the Ogden and Soho Lofts.
No business has noticed the difference more than new downtown branch of Rachel's Kitchen, just blocks from Zappos.
"We've felt it. Morning to night. We've had a much bigger breakfast crowd which has been wonderful and we've started to have a dinner crowd which is really fantastic," said Brianna Hayes, Rachel's Kitchen manager.
She says they knew it could take time to see profits soar and now, they're reaping the benefits.
"It was definitely an investment. We knew it was going to pay off because of the growth that is happening down here and over the next few years," Hayes said.
As more people continue to arrive to the area, businesses like Rachel's Kitchen hope to keep growing. There's still some challenges with having a business in this area and parking is still a concern, but representatives with the Downtown Project say at least one new parking lot is going up within the next few months.


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Christmas season is upon us which means fresh new festive adverts, TV specials and of course, a hot drink to keep you warm.
And now, Starbucks has come out with its Christmas menu and it has honestly completed Christmas.
From a bunch of classics that have been fan-favourites year after year, to two new drinks that are surely going to leave people’s mouths watering, the coffee chain has ticked all our festive boxes.
Here’s what’s on the Starbucks Christmas menu from food to drinks to some extra-special treats:
What drinks are on the Starbucks Christmas menu for 2022?
The first of two headline additions on the Starbucks Christmas menu is the Toffee Nut Cream Cold Brew. It may sound odd to have a cold drink at this time of the year, but iced coffee is a necessity all year round in our opinion. This cool beverage will cost £3.90.
If you don’t fancy a cold drink, there is a delicious Praline Cookie Hot Chocolate that is available too, which sounds like a must-to drink around Christmas time. This festive drink will set you back £3.65.
All the classic festive drinks will be returning too, including the Toffee Nut Latte (£3.55), Gingerbread Latte (£3.55), Eggnog Latte (£3.65), and the Caramel Waffle Latte, (£3.55) which was last year’s new addition.
What food is on the Starbucks Christmas menu for 2022?
There will also be plenty of festive food available too as the menu this year is full of new additions and delicious snacks.
New to the menu, is a Pigs Under Blanket Roll (which sounds amazing), a Toffee Nut Muffin and a Toffee Nut Mini Loaf Cake.
The Pigs Under Blanket Roll will cost £4.89, the Toffee Nut Muffin will set you back £2.19, and the Toffee Nut Mini Loaf Cake is £2.29
There are also classics like a Turkey Sandwich (£4.19), Brie and Cranberry Focaccia sandwich (£4.89), and a Festive Feast Panini (£4.89).
For those with a sweet tooth, there is The Ginger Mini Loaf Cake (£2.29), Christmas Tree Brownie (£2.00) and Red Velvet loaf cake (£2.29) to complete the menu.
When can you buy the Starbucks Christmas drinks menu? And how long are they available?
The menu is already available, as Starbucks released it on November 3.
No official end date has been announced, but going off previous years, it could be sticking around until the second week of January.
Will the reusable cups be returning with the Starbucks Christmas drinks menu?
To the delight of most fans, customers can pay £2.95 for a colour-changing reusable cup.
If you use it in-store, it can take 25p off your bill so if you are a regular at the coffee chain, it will definitely be worth the price.
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Where is the Starbucks Christmas menu available?
The Starbucks’ Christmas menu will be available to buy in-store in all Starbucks coffee shops and also via the Starbucks app.
Watch our Video of the Day below…


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Zara found themselves at the epicentre of a retail scandal this weekend, as customers reported finding notes in their clothes written by allegedly unpaid workers.
Shoppers in Istanbul uncovered a series of handmade labels from third-party manufacturers, which read: “I made this item you are going to buy, but I didn’t get paid for it.”
The workers claim to have been employed by Bravo, which was shut down overnight in July 2016 and say that they are owed three months’ worth of pay, the Associated Press reports.
A spokesperson for Inditex, the label's parent company, told The Independent that they are committed to reimbursing those who have been affected as quickly as possible:
"Inditex has met all of its contractual obligations to Bravo Textil and is currently working on a proposal with the local IndustriALL affiliate, Mango and Next to establish a hardship fund for the workers affected by the fraudulent disappearance of the Bravo factory’s owner."
Worth an estimated £8.6bn, Zara is largely credited for being one of the world’s most successful high street brands.
While the Spanish chain might always one step ahead of its competitors from a design perspective, when it comes to matters of sustainability, they are less attentive than they are avant-garde.
With Zara stores around the world receiving biweekly drops of new garments, their business model extends beyond “fast fashion”, as described by Inditex chief executive and chairman Pablo Isla to The Daily Telegraph.
With products hitting stores just three weeks after they’re designed, Zara does not simply accelerate beyond its high street companions; it zooms past like a shiny sartorial supercar.
Owned by retail magnate Amancio Ortego, the world’s fourth richest person, the popular brand is certainly meeting the instantaneous demands on the modern consumer, often producing pieces inspired by high-end designers just weeks after they’ve debuted on the catwalk.
However, as sustainability becomes an increasingly prevalent talking point in fashion and shoppers wise up to the provenance of their clothing, is it only a matter of time until more consequences of Zara’s uniquely speedy business model become clear?
Loyal fans of the brand were shocked by the news, taking to Twitter to voice their dismay.
It's not the first time that Zara has been linked with unethical labour practices, with a 2013 article by The Fashion Law accusing the high street brand of using slave labour in Argentina.
Shopping with a conscience is more popular than ever before, with new, trendy sustainable fashion labels launching every week and more established high street labels launching environmentally-friendly lines.
H&M recently launched a “Conscious Collection” which uses organic and recycled materials wherever possible as part of the Swedish label’s pledge to make all of its clothing sustainable by 2030.
Stella McCartney also has been a perennial leading light in the way of sustainable fashion, producing vegan-friendly pieces and employing ethical fabrics that never compromise on style.
It’s only a matter of time until other major retailers feel obliged to follow suit, in an ethically-sourced fashion.
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49 percent Indian consumers say online sites and apps became the preferred mode of shopping for them in the last 12 months.
Safety from Covid-19 and convenience were cited as top reasons by consumers for using e-commerce. 69 percent of those who shop on e-commerce bought groceries/ essential supplies online, highlighted a survey by Local Circles.
Consumers used large e-commerce platforms as well as small verticals or local e-commerce sites to purchase groceries and essentials.
As per the survey, feedback indicates shopping via e-commerce sites and apps has become a habit for 33 percent e-commerce shoppers and their usage continues despite markets, retail stores and malls being fully functional and open.
The survey said consumers are using services like BigBasket, Amazon Fresh/ Pantry, JioMart, Flipkart, Grofers and a host of local e-commerce sites for essentials and groceries since March 20.
Consumers reported improvement in returns and refunds processing and ability to reach out to customer service of e-commerce sites and apps in the last 12 months
The highest number of consumer say free shipping for all orders and more effective and efficient returns and refunds process will make them use e-commerce sites and apps more for their purchases going forward.
The findings indicate that 49 percent of consumers e-commerce sites and apps for shopping in the last 12 months. 18 percent said they called local retail stores and got home delivery, 31 percent visited mall, local retailers, markets and shop there, while 2 percent couldn't say.
Among the reasons why consumers trusted e-commerce sites and apps in the last 12 months, more than before, 86 percent of the e-commerce shoppers said safe deliveries or no reason to step out, 50 percent said competitive prices, 48 percent said ease of return or return policy, 46 percent said expanded product selection, 45 percent said faster deliveries, and another 45 percent said increased product information and relatable reviews.
The findings indicate that safe or contactless deliveries and not wanting to step out was the top reason why consumers trusted e-commerce sites and apps in the last 12 months.
While consumers trusted e-commerce platform for reasons of safety, when asked about why they continued the use of the e-commerce sites and apps to regularly make their purchases in the last 12 months, 63 percent said personal safety or social distancing norms due to Covid-19, 61 percent said convenience, 45 percent said ease of return and refund, 44 percent said better value or price, 41 percent said fast delivery, and another 41 percent said product range. The findings indicated that personal safety and convenience, followed by ease of return or refund and better value were top reasons why consumers made their purchases on e-commerce sites and apps in the last 12 months.
2020 has been the transformative year in the history of Indian e-commerce because of the Covid-19 pandemic. Something that would have taken 3-5 years in terms of consumer acquisition and penetration happened in just one year as many preferred to order what they needed via e-commerce sites and apps. 49 percent consumers saying that it was the preferred mode of purchasing for them in the last 12 months is significant. As per the survey, for 33 percent of these consumers, e-commerce became a way of life or habit which is likely to continue into 2021.


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As the punch-drunk freight industry battles to come to terms with the fallout from Covid-19, and industry authority believes the longer-term impact is what we should be considering.
Alan Murphy, CEO of consultancy Sea-Intelligence, says the concern is the impact this will have in the longer term in 2020 and possibly beyond, not only on consumer spending but also on the willingness of companies to order goods in the first place – as well as their ability to do so, as there is also a possible financial liquidity problem beginning to appear.
“On the positive side, short term there are two elements helping the carriers. One is the collapse of the oil price which de facto acts as a short-term cash infusion to carriers having bunker surcharges based on oil prices two months ago and paying bargain basement prices for oil today. The other is the discipline the carriers have shown in blanking sailings and avoided dumping freight rates to fill vessels. This means that until now rates have been relatively stable despite the coronavirus impact from China and might well also be through the coming period if we see a new raft of blank sailings.”
If this negative scenario plays out fully, Murphy believes the industry needs to be prepared for the aftermath which will come in the shape of a sharp rebound where we will temporarily see capacity shortages and rocketing freight rates.


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Pinot’s Palette® Says Cheers to Highest Ranking in Entrepreneur’s 2016 Franchise 500®Adina Simpson
HOUSTON (January 28, 2016) – Pinot’s Palette, the fastest-growing paint and sip franchise chain in North America, is kicking off 2016 with its highest ranking in company history at #247 on Entrepreneur magazine’s Franchise 500 list. Published annually in the January issue of Entrepreneur, the iconic list ranks franchise concepts based on emerging trends and industries headed for growth in the coming year. The brand gained more than 200 spots on the list from its 2015 ranking.
The premium entertainment destination to “Paint. Drink. Have Fun. ®” celebrated a record year of franchise expansion in 2015 with 59 new studios added to the map. They finished the year with 156 locations open or in development and a 70% increase in system-wide gross sales.
“We are incredibly honored to have Pinot’s Palette recognized within such a respected and prestigious list such as Entrepreneur magazine’s Franchise 500,” said Craig Ceccanti, co-founder and CEO of Pinot’s Palette. “Our outstanding franchisees work extremely hard to represent the premium paint and sip experience that is taking the world by storm, and we have a great team to support them behind the scenes.”
The rapid embrace of Pinot’s Palette has driven demand for further expansion. The company projects to add another 75 studios in 2016.
Entrepreneur’s Franchise 500 is an annual ranking of the best franchises based on financial and statistical data listed in surveys completed by franchisors across the nation. All franchises are judged based on identical criteria regardless of size. A complete list of all recipients on Entrepreneur’s 37th Annual Franchise 500 is included in the January 2016 issue of Entrepreneur magazine, now on newsstands or online.
About Pinot’s Palette
Pinot’s Palette is a pioneer of the paint and sip experience – a revolutionary way to enjoy art and wine, meet new people and bond with friends. With 156 locations open or under development across 34 states and Canada, and new locations popping up monthly, Pinot’s Palette is the world’s fastest growing paint and sip franchise. Guests enjoy a no-experience-required art class—all supplies included—directed by trained, local artists, who guide guests step-by-step through a featured painting. By bringing fun, modern and creative ideas to their events, Pinot’s Palette curates a unique, rewarding experience while providing a worthwhile contribution to the community. For more information, visit www.PinotsPalette.com.


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March 11, 2022
Lehmann Maupin announces the launch of CollectAR, a new platform designed to present NFTs in Augmented Reality (AR), furthering the gallery’s commitment to the immersive presentation of artworks. This follows the gallery’s exclusive partnership announcement with Gemini in July 2021, when it became the first commercial art gallery to accept cryptocurrency through the Gemini platform for artwork sales globally. CollectAR will officially launch on March 29, 2022 in collaboration with NiftyGateway, a subsidiary of Gemini. The gallery will release three artworks—minted as NFTs and viewable in situ—by artist Ashley Bickerton, as part of his solo exhibition, Seascapes at the End of History at Lehmann Maupin New York.


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Neymar tests Panasonic’s new 4k technology
Neymar tested the new 4k technology in an event, organised by Panasonic in Barcelona. The Japanese brand and the Brazilian have been working together since 2010, and Neymar serves as an ambassador for Panasonic all around the world. The technological company recently chose Neymar to test out its latest innovations and to give visibility to the new gadgets and technology by Panasonic.
During the event, which was largely covered by Spanish media, Neymar participated in an experiment, where the fans had to try to find out if the Neymar that they were seeing on screen was real, or his digital verion. Panasonic‘s message with this is that the 4k technology is so realistic that it is very hard to differentiate.
On this occasion, Neymar did not post anything on his social media accounts, but Panasonic still announced the event and mentioned Neymar on the brand’s posts, to try to reach some of his 25M Twitter followers. At the end of the event, Neymar answered the questions from the press, which would be later published alongside some branded pictures of the event. During the Q&A, he mentioned that he wouldn’t change his style despite the criticism, and that he does not like to watch football on TV, he gets very anxious and doesn’t enjoy it as much as watching TV series or movies.


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Independent greeting card retailers are pinning their hopes that a pledge re-elected Prime Minister Boris Johnson has made to halve business rates for small businesses from April 2020 do become a reality.
Yesterday (19 December) in the first Queen’s Speech of the new government, the monarch highlighted the key pledges of the 25 bills which set out the government’s legislative programme for the next term.
“To support business, my government will…bring forward changes to business rates,” stated the Queen, making reference to PM Boris Johnson’s proposal to instigate a 50% discount in business rates for small retailers (with a rateable value below £51,000), giving indies a saving of up to £12,500, with some 500,000 businesses expected to benefit.
“I’m delighted with the news on business rates – they have been crippling small businesses for years. I like the certainty that the recent election brought,” exclaimed Amanda Oscroft, co-owner of Love It in Bury St Edmunds and Stamford.
Nick O’Brien, owner of Cards 2 Confetti in Brixham described the mooted business rate cut as “a welcome relief” though adds the proviso “As long as it is a true cut and not then taken somewhere else!”
Adding her endorsement, Jo Sorrell, owner of Cardies in Stevenage said: “This is certainly great news for businesses. The High Street needs some positivity and this move will certainly help.”
Summing it up in one word, Richard Marsden, co-owner of card and gift shop, Highworth Emporium in Highworth said: “Wow” of the mention in the Queen’s Speech. “We, like all local businesses in small high streets, will welcome this support from the government. Everything that can help encourage a retail and social environment in our small towns will help maintain that sense of local community. Go Boris!”
Concurring, David Lorimer, co-owner of Brocante, which trades from four shops in Cornwall said: “Any reduction in rates will help support businesses and make them a bit more profitable, as the costs of running a business are increasing with recycling, wages etc., are going up annually.”
This pledge follows continued lobbying by trade organisations that include the British Independent Retailers Association (Bira) and the British Retail Consortium (BRC) for a drastic review of the outdated business rates system. It is hoped that improvements will be included in the government’s March budget.
Top: The Queen’s Speech mentioned business rate reform is on the cards.


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There is nothing more satisfying for startups, than established companies recognising them for performance and growth. To facilitate this recognition, money has never been lacking, especially in the form of acquisitions. Going by this tune here is taking a look at five of the largest tech acquisitions in the world!
1. Microsoft buys Skype for $ 8.5 billion
It was the year 2011 and Skype was entering the world of a technological revolutions. People were moving away from the traditional calling system to sophisticated platforms, with Skype setting the trail blazing. While not a lot of people thought Skype would succeed, Microsoft’s interest in the company cemented the fact Skype was here to stay. Incidentally, Skype was one of eBay’s first acquisitions in the year 2005. However, eBay could not create a market for itself in the industry and had to sell Skype. Skype is still going strong, but it has many more competitors these days in the form of messaging apps with built in voice calling features.
2. Google buys Motorola for $ 12.5 billion
In 2012, Google was primarily known for being one of the fastest search engines, while Motorola was an emerging name in the world of smartphones. When news came of the search engine wanting to take over this new smartphone company, people were skeptical. However, one of the major reasons this deal made it to the headlines was because Google not only acquired an emerging smartphone company, it also got the patent rights of Motorola! This acquisition was Google’s largest to date. However, despite promises, the search engine could not keep up with the growing trends and was forced to unload $ 2.9 billion from its initial investment. Can Google really keep up with the growing trends, or is it too much to expect from a seemingly strange acquisition such as this?
3. Walmart buys Flipkart for $ 16 billion
The Flipkart acquisition by Walmart was one of the most intriguing acquisitions in recent history. Flipkart was already an emerging e commerce platform, with its arms wide spread and reach constantly growing. Walmart, on the other hand had been looking at entering the Indian e commerce platform for a while and with Flipkart’s acceptance, the deal was made all the more sweeter! Post this deal, the e commerce world certainly took a completely different route in terms of change and growth!
4. Facebook buys WhatsApp for $ 19 billion
WhatsApp and Facebook on their own were strong forces in the field of technology and innovation. Built with the intention to connect people all over the world with ease, this acquisition was not out of the blue because, Facebook has a history of acquiring platforms that enhance its future growth. The $ 19 billion acquisition of WhatsApp by Facebook marked a serious shift in industry trends. The 2014 deal, which could have cost the social media network up to $ 22 billion when all was said and done, netted it more than just a hugely popular internet based messaging app. Through the takeover, Facebook also got access to a data base of over 700 million users, marking this as one of the largest social media platform acquisitions in the world.
5. Microsoft buys LinkedIn for $ 26 billion
One of the most epic takeovers by Microsoft was that of LinkedIn. As a platform, LinkedIn was new, growing and entertaining. LinkedIn provided people in the know about where to look for jobs and how to look for them. However, being a relatively new entrant into the field, LinkedIn did not have the user base to connect with a large audience. With Microsoft, LinkedIn saw new light and new customers. At $ 26 billion, not only was this the third tech acquisition by Microsoft, it was THE largest investment made by Microsoft at that point.
Tech acquisitions are interesting. They make people want to explore, create and evolve, with an eye on the future. For more information on things happening in the tech world, do not forget to like, subscribe and comment!
Carl Pei’s Nothing Invites Retail Investors
Carl Pei said the time came for him to leave OnePlus and focus on other interests, following which he resigned from OnePlus in October 2020. Since then, Pei had been working on his new startup in the audio hardware sector. Carl Pei unveiled the name of his startup which is now called as Nothing, on January 27th, 2021. Since the unveiling of Nothing, Pei’s startup has attracted a lot of attention from Silicon Valley and venture capitalists.
Carl Pei now seems to be emulating his success formula at OnePlus with his new startup Nothing. OnePlus is highly customer centric, because as a company they take in inputs from their consumers and adapt them to their products. Pei seems to be using the same strategy with Nothing, as he invited retail investors to invest in his new startup. Normally a startup raises Series A funding to begin product development and then goes on to Series B and so on. For a normal retail investor to invest in a stock, they could only do it at the time of an Initial Public Offering (IPO) at the time of which the company would be valued highly. However, Carl Pei is letting in investors from the beginning.
Usually the community has to wait for an IPO to invest, but by that time, the valuation is already high. We are inviting you to own Nothing from the very beginning, at the same price as our Series A, and be on board for the entire ride.🚀 https://t.co/mnQtoiJwOV
— Carl Pei (@getpeid) February 16, 2021
This lets the investors be a part of the product development process and makes Nothing more personalised. Moreover the investors would also act as promoters for the products. Currently, there are $ 1.5 million worth of shares available. Users can invest a minimum of € 50 and a maximum of € 20,000. However, the demand to invest is off the charts and was unexpected as Carl Pei confirmed there was an interest worth of $ 10 million from 8,700 users.
WOW we have just reached $10m USD of registered interest in just 7 hours from over 8,700 people! So grateful for the amazing community behind @nothing ! 🥰🥰
— Carl Pei (@getpeid) February 16, 2021
Nothing’s first wireless earphones will be unveiled in the summer of 2021. Nothing aims to build an ecosystem of listening devices which talk to each other. Initial investors of Nothing include the likes of Tony Fadell (Principal at Future Shape and the Inventor of the iPod,) Casey Neistat (YouTuber,) Kevin Lin (Co founder of Twitch,) Steve Huffman (CEO of Reddit,) Liam Casey (Founder and CEO, PCH,) Paddy Cosgrave (Founder of Web Summit,) Kunal Shah (CEO of CRED) and Josh Buckley (CEO of Product Hunt.) Alphabet’s investment arm Google Ventures was the latest investor in Nothing as they invested $ 15 million.
Startup India Seed Fund To Be Disbursed From April 1st
There is no doubt India has a strong foothold in the startup ecosystem. India currently ranks third in the world for the number of startups, next only to the United States of America and China. This was possible due to the Indian Government’s initiatives to develop the startup ecosystem and also due to a strong presence of unicorn startups like PayTM, Zomato, Unacademy and many more.
The Government of India announced it would begin to disburse INR 945 crores seed capital from April 1st, 2021 under the Startup India Seed Fund Scheme in a bid to boost the startup ecosystem in India. These funds would be distributed through select incubator partners all over the country. This scheme will be implemented by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT.)
In a gazette notification, DPIIT announced that Startup India Seed Fund Scheme will provide financial assistance to startups that have been recognised by the DPIIT and incorporated not more than two years ago at the time of application.
— Anil Agrawal (@anilarch) January 29, 2021
The Startup India Seed Fund Scheme will have a common central application on the Startup India portal for startups on an ongoing basis. An Experts Advisory Committee (EAC) will be formulated to oversee and monitor the overall execution of the scheme. The EAC will evaluate and select the incubators for allotment of the seed funds and place measures for the efficient disbursement of funds.
The government also mentioned preference will be given to startups working in the areas of agriculture, education, food processing, healthcare, social impact, waste management, water management, financial inclusion, biotechnology, energy, mobility, defence, space, railways, textiles and oil and gas.
CRED’s Kunal Shah Invests In One Plus Founder Carl Pei’s Startup
Carl Pei is one of the most well known names in the startup circles considering he gave the world one its best smartphone brands OnePlus. Since the debut of OnePlus One. The smartphone maker earned the moniker ‘flagship killer’ and has grown in leaps and bounds. Today OnePlus boasts on an impressive product line up apart from its smartphones and is one of the leading electronic brands in the world. In October 2020, Carl Pei said the time came for him to leave OnePlus and focus on other interests. Since then, Pei had been working on his new startup in the audio hardware sector.
— Carl Pei (@getpeid) October 16, 2020
The name of Carl Pei’s new startup will be unveiled on January 27th, 2021 but in the past three months the unnamed startup received almost $ 7 million in seed funding. The investors include Tony Fadell (Principal at Future Shape & Inventor of the iPod,) Casey Neistat (YouTuber,) Kevin Lin (Co-founder of Twitch,) Steve Huffman (CEO of Reddit,) Liam Casey (Founder and CEO, PCH,) Paddy Cosgrave (Founder of Web Summit) and Josh Buckley (CEO of Product Hunt.)
The latest to invest in Carl Pei’s startup is Indian based CRED founder Kunal Shah who invested an undisclosed amount. Shah is not new to being an angel investor as he already has a portfolio of investing in almost 80 startups. “Carl is working on a new consumer electronics company that I am sure will be a disruptor in the tech industry. I am excited to be part of this journey (sic,)” the CRED founder said in a statement.
While Pei’s startup is headquartered in London, more details will be known on January 27th, 2021.
- Discover Kheyti, The Startup Changing The Lives of Farmers In India
- Suki: This Startup Wants To Transform Healthcare With Its Artificial Intelligence Tool
- 5 Successful Indian Startups Founded By Women
- Leher Versus Clubhouse: Which Audio Listening Startup Would You Choose?
- Why Are Ads On Digital Media Failing To Reach The Right Audience?
- Facebook Launches BARS For Creating Raps To Counter TikTok’s Growing Popularity
- How Domino’s Pizza Grew 13000% From 2008 To 2020
- Elon Musk Tweets About Bitcoin Bull Run And Loses $ 15 Billion
- Daily Basket Creates BBisabully Over Being Sued By Big Basket Over Usage Of Basket
- Bike Rental Startup Bounce Goes For A Second Round Of Layoffs Amidst Operations Scale Down
- How Parle G Became An Iconic and Well Loved Indian Brand
- Adidas To Sell Reebok Brand Due To Declining Sales
- Carl Pei’s Nothing Invites Retail Investors
- The Incredible Journey Of Wolfe Herd And The Dating App Bumble Which Went Public
- Alphabet Invests In Carl Pei’s Startup Nothing
- Bitcoin Soars As Tesla Purchases 1.5 Billion Dollars Worth Of Cryptocurrency
- From Unicorn To Bankruptcy; Knotel Bears The Brunt Of COVID-19 Pandemic
- The Journey Of Wine Recommendation App Vivino Which Raised 155 Million Dollars In Funding
- How Does Investment Startup Robinhood Make Money?
- The Story of Mens Grooming Startup Bombay Shaving Company


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Soybean deal will ship 8 million bushels to China
Perdue Agribusiness Inc., which owns a deepwater export terminal for grains and oilseeds in Chesapeake, has signed a deal to supply up to 8 million bushels of soybeans to a Chinese company.
The agreement with China’s Jiusan Oil and Grain Industries Group will involve a series of bulk shipments for the 2013-14 soybean crop.
The deal was the result of a trade mission by state government officials to Beijing in April.
In the soybeans deal, up to four ships will be loaded for export in October. Each vessel will hold approximately 55,000 metric tons, or more than 2 million bushels, of soybeans.
The value of the shipments will depend on market prices at the time each order is placed.
State officials expect the deal will mean soybean shipments from Virginia will reach new market areas within China through Jiusan's network of processing plants.
The Jiusan Group, based in Harbin, China, is a subsidiary of Beidahuang Group and one of China’s largest soybean processors and a top soybean importer. The company operates 12 soybean crushing facilities, where the soybeans are processed and soybean oil is extracted.
According to a economic impact study completed this year, agriculture and forestry are two of Virginia's largest industries, with a combined economic impact of $70 billion annually.


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Residents in the Wilshire-Montana neighborhood have a new place to buy stamps or send packages. Miko Photo at 718 Montana Avenue is now Miko Photo and CPU (Contract Postal Unit); in other words, the friendly neighborhood version of the U.S. Postal Service.
The CPU opened officially on August 28 at 11a.m., with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and refreshments of canned soda and cookies. Present were Santa Monica Postmaster Joe Yusan and contract postal unit coordinator Denise Bunn.
Sang Park, who has owned Miko Photo for seven years, told the Mirror that his business has been dropping off due to the new photography technology. Miko sells disposal cameras and film, develops camera film, and makes prints and CDs, but with almost everyone using digital cameras, Park has been seeing fewer customers. Wanting to have another business to back up his income, Park thought of starting a CPU, but the process took three years. “The first coordinator I contacted retired,” he said. When Bunn became coordinator for the Los Angeles District, Park’s idea came to fruition.
“Everything that a post office has, you can get here,” says Bunn, “except for money orders.” Miko now carries postage stamps and other postal products and offers UPS shipping.
Hours are from 9 a.m. – 6 p.m. Monday – Friday, and 11 a.m. – 5 p.m. Saturday.
Miko Photo and CPU, 718 Montana Avenue, 310.393.0838.


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COLUMBUS, OH — Heating, Air-conditioning & Refrigeration Distributors International (HARDI) has released its monthly TRENDS report, showing average sales for HARDI distributor members increased by 15.9 percent in June 2016.
The average annualized growth for the 12 months through June 2016 was 7.2 percent. This annual growth rate has generally remained within the 6 percent to 7 percent range for most of the past two years.
“The strong sales this month helped push the annualized growth to more than 7 percent for only the second time in the past 24 months,” said HARDI market research & benchmarking analyst Brian Loftus. “It was warmer than normal across much of the country, and some systems had their first chance to stumble after the slow start to the cooling season.”
“The results are consistent with other consumer, residential or nonresidential building reports,” said HARDI Senior Economist Connor Lokar. “Existing and new home sales are doing well through the mid-point of the year. Housing starts overall are growing at a near-double digit pace, with single-family outperforming multi-family.”
The Days Sales Outstanding (DSO), a measure of how quickly customers pay their bills, is now 49.8. “The DSO has traced a familiar pattern the past few calendar years,” said Loftus. “It ticked up unexpectedly this month. We will monitor to see if the move is a reflection of the strong sales activity.”


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Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos have become even richer, and more than 160 million people have fallen below the poverty line during the pandemic.
When your business is burgled your preparedness to adapt is essential to survival. We faced destitution when Amazon seized the entire contents of our small publisher’s store. The booksellers continued to sell my commandeered books through agents so added salt to the wounds.
Did you ever wonder why the rich, the elite, the politicians, bankers and Press barons don’t fear an all-out war between NATO and Russia or China as those of us in the firing line do?
Few writers are under any illusions as to their chances of their book becoming a blockbuster. Amazon pays from 10 cents to $3 per book sale. Amazon doesn’t promote books; you do.
The Russian and Chinese presidents vowed to reject interference by the West during a video call on Wednesday which came eight days after Russian President Putin spoke to Biden in another video call.
Two of America’s largest real estate search engines have removed neighbourhood crime data from their websites. While prospective buyers use this data to find the safest safe addresses to live in, which are White neighbourhoods the companies involved say it’s racist.
Some UK supermarkets have said they will not be enforcing new face mask rules brought back in after concerns about the Omicron coronavirus variant. Supermarket chain Iceland told the BBC its staff would not ask customers to wear masks to stop them from facing abuse.
Americans and the people of Great Britain, Europe, Canada, and Australia have heard for decades that they live in ‘the free world.’
The business of war is profitable. In one year alone, 2011, the 100 largest contractors sold $410 billion in arms and military services. Just 10 of those companies sold over $208 billion.
Taxes contributed by the slave class cascade from the ever-giving money tree into the coffers of the ruling elite. With so many tax scams operating the trick is to discover which swindle emerges the winner.


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Coca-Cola begins making local deliveries in Belgium with 30 electric Renault Trucks vehicles | Brand & SustainabilityThrough a key partnership with Renault Trucks, the beverage manufacturer is electrifying one-fifth of its truck fleet and creating the largest fleet of electric trucks in Belgium.
IKEA launches guide on measuring air pollution across value chains | Brand & SustainabilityUsing the guidance, IKEA set a baseline and encourages other businesses to join the Alliance for Clean Air in contributing to clean air and health.
Deutsche Bank expands support for Egypt’s sustainability ambitions | Brand & SustainabilityDeutsche Bank is expanding its support for the Government of Egypt’s ambitious plans for energy transition by becoming a founding member of a dedicated private sector finance working group.
Amazon and USAID launch effort to boost climate funding for women | Brand & SustainabilityAmazon will commit a total of $53 million to help accelerate women’s climate solutions, including $3 million toward the USAID partnership and $50 million for Amazon to invest directly in climate tech companies run by women.
The IKEA Foundation to deploy an additional €600 million for climate by 2025 | Brand & SustainabilityIn 2021, the IKEA Foundation announced an additional €1 billion in funding for climate change programmes over a five-year period, with the strategic goal of quickly and significantly reducing global emissions
These trucks can operate at a total weight of 44 tonnes* and the three models represent around two thirds of the company’s sales.
IKEA will introduce heavy electric Volvo trucks for internal transport flows at two IKEA Industry factories in Poland, which will be operated by Raben Group. The learnings from the pilot will be used for the electrification of transport operations at scale in a larger transport network.
TotalEnergies will install up to 4,400 public charge points over the next two years. The new 22 kVA charging stations will be operated under the TotalEnergies brand for a period of twelve years and will be supplied with 100 % renewable electricity generated by offshore wind power in the North Sea off the coast of Belgium.
Kubota Corporation and Accenture have formed a new joint venture company, Kubota Data Ground, Inc., to accelerate the digital transformation (DX) of the Kubota group’s business model and operating infrastructure.
Rail Baltica's purpose is to provide sustainable passenger and freight service between participating countries and improve rail connections between central and northern Europe.
The company will start to use green hydrogen to replace grey hydrogen, diesel, and other fossil fuels as it works to decarbonize its operations.
Sasol Chemicals, a business unit of Sasol Ltd., plans to double its use of green steam from a first of its kind biomass cogeneration facility adjacent to its Brunsbüttel, Germany facility.
Volkswagen AG and the Government of Canada aim to promote e-mobility in the country and to explore opportunities across Canada’s automotive and battery supply chain.
German multinational chemical company BASF has reached its goal of sourcing all palm (kernel) oils certified from sustainable sources by the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) in 2021.
The membership of the company´s Loctite 3D Printing business underlines the commitment to sustainability initiatives and aims to open up discussions on the environmental benefits of additive design and foster the adoption of (AM) in the future.
These include a roadmap to achieve net zero carbon emissions across the entire value chain by 2040, from the barley in the fields to the beer in hand.
Deutsche Bank is introducing a comprehensive package of energy saving measures in its German operations that will help the bank save an additional 4,900,000 kWh of electricity each year.
The first units of BorgWarner's new fast-charging station, Iperion-120, have been installed by the Italian service provider Route220 and are ready to support drivers of electric vehicles on their journeys in Italy.
BRP acquires majority stake in German-based Pinion to spur the development of urban mobility solutions
BRP, the global player in the world of powersports products, propulsion systems and boats, announced the acquisition of an 80% stake in Pinion GmbH, a pioneer in gearbox technology based in Germany.
Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany and Micron join forces for more sustainable gas solutions in the semiconductor industry
Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany and Micron Technology, an industry leader in innovative memory and storage solutions, join forces to develop gas solutions with a low global warming potential (GWP).
Sasol Chemicals, a business unit of Sasol Ltd, has earned certification from the International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC) system for its three largest manufacturing facilities in Europe.
To meet the growing demand for battery, electric heavy-duty vehicles and machines, the Volvo Group has initiated the process to establish a large-scale production plant for battery cells in Sweden.
Unilever has announced the global launch of its most sustainable laundry capsule yet, the fastest growing detergent format in many parts of the world.
This places Logitech in the top 1% of sustainability rated companies, having been previously Gold rated at top 5% of rated companies for several years now.
JOLT Energy and ADS-TEC Energ, as part of their strategic partnership, have announced that the introduction of ultra-fast charging stations in major European cities and the United States is gaining momentum.


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A slow economy may have put the squeeze on IT budgets, but many users at the Comdex Fall trade show last week were still in a buying mood, on the lookout for storage, wireless technology and Microsoft Corp.’s recently released Windows XP operating system.
While IT professionals are feeling the pressure to keep their company’s infrastructure up to date, they have seen their budgets tightened. This has produced some interesting changes to user buying trends.
In particular, users are on the hunt for low prices and bargains on hardware – both new and used – to fill holes in their back-end infrastructure, while waiting for better times to return before they embark on major IT upgrades. At the same time, however, many IT buyers are ready to roll out wireless networking projects and want to put Windows XP on as many PCs as possible.
On the hardware side, storage was a hot topic at Comdex. Many users have shied away from the latest products to be released by big name vendors and are instead scouring the used equipment market for bargains.
“In this type of climate, you don’t need the latest and greatest products,” said Larry Fischer, president of consulting firm Show & Tell Inc. “People are looking at refurbished stuff. You can save 50 per cent or more right now.”
Fischer’s comments were echoed by a number of users on the hunt for used storage equipment and servers to act as a stop gap until better economic times return. The slowdown in hardware sales coupled with the demise of so many dot-coms has created a hardware glut in the refurbushed equipment market that benefits users willing to buy recycled wares.
While some users stretch their budgets with used IT equipment, others have been able show the cost benefits of using leading-edge storage systems and are rolling out new storage systems.
Perry Passin, manager of local area network operations at Olympus America Inc. is connecting about 50 Intel-based servers to a SAN (storage area network) and is currently looking at IBM’s high-end data warehouse system, Shark.
“It was rough selling it to the executive management, but we came up with solid ROI (return on investment) numbers, and they pushed it through” Passin said.
By consolidating its storage on a large system, Olympus hopes to decrease management costs and open up data to more servers via the SAN. Passin estimated his company could save more than US$300,000 over the next four years by investing in the Shark system now.
Users with their storage needs taken care of were looking for ways to push data out to workers and were launching various type of wireless projects.
While St. Vincent’s Hospital in Birmingham, Ala., has cut capital spending by 25 per cent, its data warehouse manager, Stephen Anderson, is buying software and devices to give doctors wireless access to patient files and each other. “Times are tough, but we have been asked to move our technology forward,” Anderson said.
Smaller companies are also looking to wireless technology, either for an edge over their competition or just greater convenience.
“I am all about going mobile,” said Steve DeMeo, president of THSPhoto.com in East Aurora, N.Y. “I am looking for anything that can take me the next step up.”
DeMeo’s company sends photographers to cover a variety of sporting events and could use wireless technology and wearable computing gear to send photos shot on the road to wireless devices, reducing the time required to deliver pictures.
In a small stroke of luck, DeMeo will be able to upgrade one of his PCs after winning a free copy of Windows XP at the Microsoft booth. While Microsoft’s generosity did not extend to all Comdex attendees, many users said they are taking advantage of lower PC prices to get their companies up and running on XP.
“Prices on new PCs are down right now and service is good,” said Rich Skowronski, president of Restech Inc. in North Hampton, N.H. “Smart people are buying now.”


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WHO’S MAKING MOVES?
Neat Company has a new CEO, Jeff Dickerson, the former chairman and CEO of Boston-based, venture-backed cloud archiving startup Sonian, according to a release. The 14-year-old company underwent big change in the last year, shifting to focus on software and getting an all new leadership team.
Before Dickerson joined the company, board member Ron Kaiser was interim CEO. Kaiser will continue as a board member for Neat, a spokeswoman confirmed. Dickerson is living in Center City, a spokeswoman said.
Graphene Frontiers will now be able to mass-produce graphene, the “miracle” nanomaterial that its business is built around, thanks to a partnership with a Massachusetts manufacturing company called Madico.
Arielle Friedlander, Venturef0rth’s longtime community manager, is leaving the Callowhill incubator to run her own business as a health and wellness coach. She said that “being around a community of entrepreneurs (at Venturef0rth and in the Philly startup scene)” inspired her to go off on her own. Venturef0rth changed hands last month, with American Certified CEO Marvin Weinberger taking over.
Spotlight, the Center City mobile app that gives away money for the most-liked posts, partnered with youth nonprofit Mighty Writers to run a special contest that awarded $250 to the Mighty Writers student whom judges chose based on their posts (no photos allowed, that was the writing tie). See the winner here.
“I really liked his creativity and use of mainstream names, labels and concepts while weaving in cynical yet factual ingredients into how the ‘game’ works,” said Spotlight cofounder (and contest judge) Kevin Brophy. “Plus, for me, growing up in SoCal I’ve been a rap fan my whole life! Many other factors went into the decision including other judges’ inputs, but those were what did it for me.”
Spotlight’s next campaign, a $10,000 contest, starts Dec. 1. Check it out here.
RJMetrics, the Center City business analytics startup, is marketing in a few interesting ways, like this sponsored post on VentureBeat and an ad on podcast Planet Money. (Here’s the site the Planet Money ad brings you to — it also features the following pop-up.)