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We offer a huge bouquet of gratitude and a raincheck for some R&R to the hundreds of firefighters who came from near and far to battle the Cuesta Fire.
The fire was a frightening experience for Santa Margarita residents; at one point, the flames reached within a quarter-mile of town.
The Red Cross did a wonderful job providing shelter and comfort, as did friends and relatives who opened their homes to those temporarily displaced by the fire. We toss Good Sam bouquets to all who volunteered both in official and unofficial capacities.
Remember, it’s far too early to relax our guard. September and October are typically high fire danger months, and if ever we needed an example of why it’s so important to follow safety guidelines, look no further than the Cuesta Fire.
Haggen’s retreat leaves bitter taste
We hadn’t even gotten around to giving Haggen Food & Pharmacy a welcome-to-San Luis Obispo bouquet — and alreadyone store is closing? Good thing we held onto those bouquets.
We don’t like to kick a business when it’s down, but the announcement of the closure of the Los Osos store — and the warning that more stores could be closed or sold in the coming weeks — is disruptive to employees and customers of San Luis Obispo County.
Clearly, something was amiss with Haggen’s business plan. The chain gets a carton of broken brickbats and a bushel of bad apples.
Cal Poly settles the scoreboard
In lieu of a bouquet, we invite the community to join us in a collective sigh of relief: The name of disgraced financer and convicted felon Al Moriarty can now be permanently removed from the Cal Poly scoreboard.
Cal Poly — or more precisely, the Cal Poly Foundation — will pay $480,000, according to settlement terms announced on Wednesday.
The bankruptcy trustee originally sought the return of the $625,000 that Moriarty had donated to Cal Poly, plus interest. Cal Poly balked at that, claiming it would hurt students.
“In order to give back the $625,000, money would have to be taken directly from current student programs — Learn by Doing laboratories, classrooms and curriculums,” university President Jeffrey Armstrong wrote in a Tribune Viewpoint published one year ago. (In a rebuttal piece, the bankruptcy trustee responded that the foundation had nearly $250 million in assets, and “could withstand returning the victims’ money to the Moriarty bankruptcy estate for distribution to the Moriarty creditors.”)
By negotiating, the university managed to trim $145,000 from the original $625,000 minus any legal expenses racked up over the past 12 months or so.
Another way to look at it: Instead of being deprived of $625,000 in Learn by Doing programs, students will only be out $480,000. What a deal, right?
And so what if it meant leaving the “Moriarty Enterprises” name on the scoreboard for months and months and months, subjecting the university to ridicule and Moriarty’s victims to painful memories? At least Learn by Doing programs didn’t suffer!
Now, about that sigh of relief? Never mind. Let’s make it a sigh of disillusionment in Higher Education.
Dancing queen hangs up crown
We salute Chris Hovis with a standing ovation and a big bouquet of red roses for serving local dancers for 40 years. Hovis, 81, is ending her run as owner of The Dance Shop in downtown San Luis Obispo at the end of the month. She’s interested in selling the shop at 1019 Morro St., but if no buyer steps forward, Hovis plans to close the doors.
Thousands of dancers — past and present — have wonderful memories of shopping at The Dance Shop for leotards, ballet slippers and pointe shoes. The shop also has been the place to go for information about the local dance scene.
Thanks, Chris! You will be missed.


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Who supports beverage container deposits?
It's true: Two respected polls have found that an overwhelming majority of Tennesseans support a 5-cent deposit with returns to redemption centers, regardless of party, education, economic status, gender, age or location. (Click here to see the demographics breakdown of both surveys.) Tennessee deposit-return also has broad support among businesses, organizations and local governments.
Even some bottlers are getting behind well-designed deposit return programs. In February 2017, Coca-Cola European Partners, the largest independent Coca-Cola bottler in the world, announced its support for a "well-designed" deposit-return scheme in Scotland, support that was soon echoed by some of the largest supermarket chains in Great Britain. A few months later, in September 2018, Nestlé Waters, Danone and other beverage brands joined the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership in issuing a report calling for deposit-return and other tools to “achieve zero plastic packaging waste from UK bottled water and soft drinks by 2030.” You can download the report here.
Here in the US, there are signs of growing acceptance as well. In Iowa, for instance, the wholesale beer distributors association has devoted a page of its website to praising Iowa's 40-year-old deposit-return law.
The fact is, despite lingering claims that deposits are obsolete, bottle bills are not only here to stay; they are on the rise. Since 2016, at least ten new programs have been announced or implemented worldwide, from Scotland and England to Jamaica and Turkey. These new programs bring to more than 50 the total number of deposit-return "schemes" worldwide, collectively representing nearly 600 million people.
It’s time for Tennessee to add its name to the list.

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In his latest salvo aimed at big tech, Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., said Monday he will introduce legislation that would give consumers greater power to prevent companies from harvesting their data.
His bill, which he plans to introduce Tuesday, aims to bolster "Do Not Track," an internet feature that allows users to request that websites be blocked from collecting their personal data. Currently, complying with those user requests is voluntary, even though the Federal Trade Commission endorsed "Do Not Track" in 2010. Hawley's bill, called the The Do Not Track Act, would make it illegal for websites and companies to disregard a user's preference.
"Big tech companies collect incredible amounts of deeply personal, private data from people without giving them the option to meaningfully consent," Hawley said in a statement. "They have gotten incredibly rich by employing creepy surveillance tactics on their users, but too often the extent of this data extraction is only known after a tech company irresponsibly handles the data and leaks it all over the internet. The American people didn't sign up for this, so I'm introducing this legislation to finally give them control over their personal information online."
Hawley's legislation would also expand the service to cover all internet activity — not just what takes place in a browser. App users would then have the ability to block programs from harvesting data beyond what is necessary for those services to function.
In addition to codifying "Do Not Track," the Hawley bill would prohibit companies from profiling or discriminating against people who activate the service, ban companies from transferring data to other companies under most circumstances once a person activates the service and impose stiff penalties for companies that violate any of the bill's provisions.
Users would be able to enroll in the service through their browser settings — as is the case currently — or by downloading an app.
Growing concern about the privacy and societal implications of widespread data collection has led to scrutiny over how major tech companies track users, with Google and Facebook under particularly close scrutiny for their data collection practices. Facebook, Google, Twitter and other prominent sites don't honor the existing "Do Not Track" system.
As Gizmodo wrote last year: "The main reason why Do Not Track ... became a useless tool is that the government refused to step in and give it any kind of legal authority."
"If a telemarketer violates the Do Not Call list, they can be fined up to $16,000 per violation," according to the Gizmodo report. "There is no penalty for ignoring Do Not Track."
Similar legislative efforts have stalled in Congress over the last decade. Earlier this month, Gabriel Weinberg, the CEO and founder of DuckDuckGo, a privacy-focused tech company, authored a draft legislation he intended for congressional lawmakers to take up called The Do Not Track Act of 2019. Now, Weinberg is endorsing the Missouri Republican's effort.
"Senator Hawley recognizes the pervasive nature of online tracking, and we're thrilled he is taking legislative action to combat it," Weinberg said in a statement. "Our research shows tens of millions of Americans are right now broadcasting Do Not Track browsing signals that Big Tech is ignoring."
Hawley, the Senate's youngest member, has fashioned himself as a staunch opponent of big tech's practices. Contrary to conservative orthodoxy, the senator has called for the government to take an increasingly active role in regulating Google and Facebook.
CORRECTION (May 20, 2019, 10:30 a.m.): An earlier version of this article misstated when Sen. Josh Hawley plans to introduce his legislation. He will introduce the bill Tuesday, not Monday.


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StereoLabs announces huge hardware breakthrough: Human vision
Earlier this month, a Bay Area startup called StereoLabs quietly introduced the first affordable high definition stereo camera. This is a big deal, and autonomous machines will never be the same. Here's why.
Humans have stereo vision. With two eyes, two perspectives, and some hefty brain processing power, we can perceive distance by sight, a nifty trick if you need to hunt your food or hope to avoid spilling coffee on your keyboard.
But giving machines the same advantage has remained surprisingly elusive. Earlier this month, a Bay Area startup called StereoLabs introduced the first affordable high definition stereo camera. When coupled with a drone, autonomous car, or some other robot, the device can effectively give machines something like human vision, allowing for deft indoor/outdoor navigation at a price that's thousands or even tens of thousands of dollars less than the next cheapest technology. To create the ZED, the engineers had to figure out a novel solution to a problem that's made all other stereo cameras finicky, fragile, and mechanically overly-complex. The device costs less than 500 dollars and is certain to be a game changer for hardware developers.
Today's robots that navigate their environments autonomously rely on lasers, radar, infrared, or some combination of these technologies to gauge distance, recognize objects, and avoid collisions. The problem is that refined versions of those sensing technologies are very expensive. Google uses laser-based LIDAR on its self-driving car to sense objects. Its system can accurately pick up a pedestrian crossing the street 100 meters away, which is a real feat, but it also reportedly costs 60,000 dollars. And that's just one of the sensing technologies Google employs on its cars.
Some drones use infrared, a thermal sensing technology that's used in night vision, to perform collision avoidance. But there's a problem: IR sensors don't work well in daylight, which is a pretty significant limitation when you're talking about drones. Robots that do use electronic vision to sense their environment typically only have one functional eye in any given scenario, meaning depth and distance can't be achieved by visual input alone.
At first glance, it seems like a high definition stereo camera shouldn't be much more complex than a regular camera. Strap two of them together, do a little coding, and voila! The problem is one of alignment. "The most difficult part is making sure both cameras' sensors and optics are perfectly aligned," StereoLabs CEO Cecile Schmollgruber tells me. "This is practically impossible, even with hours of trying." Of course digital stereo cameras do exist, but to date they all share a common Achilles' heel. They must be calibrated constantly in order to maintain alignment, and they have sophisticated and ridiculously robust mechanical underpinnings to help users perform that task. If anything does get even slightly out of whack in the optics, including subtle variations in the lenses themselves, which are common, the resulting 3D images won't be representative of the environment they purport to capture, and the camera becomes useless.
StereoLabs began looking at the problem in 2008. The company got its start in the movie industry. "Production companies used to come to us," says Schmollgruber, "and they'd say, 'we're shooting in 3D, I have two huge cameras that aren't aligned, do you have a solution?' They would have to manually change position of their cameras and try to visually see the alignment errors. It took so much time, which is why so few movies are done in native 3D, as opposed to conversion."
StereoLabs' elegant solution seems destined for tech startup lore. Instead of investing in better hardware, which is expensive and failure-prone, they built software to recognize and accommodate for subtle calibration variations. Schmollgruber says it wouldn't have been possible just a few years earlier. "Computer vision has evolved so much, and all the power of graphics cards and GPUs has exploded," she says, "so the convergence of these things made it possible today." StereoLabs was the first to pounce on this new reality, and in one step the company slashed the entry price for stereo video five-fold.
The earliest consumer use of the ZED will likely be in drones. Collision avoidance is an obvious utilization, but as developers get deeper into the capabilities of the system, exciting new uses will surface. The company is working with developers of self-driving cars, but confidentiality agreements prevent it from divulging which projects it's involved with or what role the stereo vision technology will play. For now, the ZED is available off-the-shelf for anyone who has the technical know-how to create applications that utilize stereo vision. The camera plugs into a Jetson TK1 Board, a cheap computer, and can give users a 3D model in real time. This September, StereoLabs plans to release ready-to-go 3D scanning applications.
Expect to hear more about 3D vision in months to come. Machines just got one step closer to being able to interact with the world the way humans do.


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Click's Spencer Kelly takes a hands-on look at three gadgets making the news.
He tries out a motion-sensitive laptop which is controlled through movement - much like the Nintendo Wii's game controllers.
Spencer comes up with a novel solution to an infuriating design quirk in a PDA with a magnetic screen.
A phone that has taken LCD screen technology to a new level also grabs his attention.
Click's Spencer Kelly tries out the new motion-sensitive PC
Click's full programme can be viewed at


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From the desks of the Hotel News Now editorial staff:
- AHLA: 84% of hotels have layoffs and furloughs
- Benchmark acquires Westroc
- Brand CEOs want collaboration on the recovery
- US hotels record worst April ever
- Worries of virus mutation rising in China
AHLA: 84% of hotels have layoffs and furloughs: A new survey from the American Hotel & Lodging Association highlights the high rate of unemployment for hotel industry workers in the U.S., with 84% of respondents saying they’ve laid off or furloughed workers due to COVID-19. Roughly two-thirds of hotels are at less than 50% of their previous staffing levels, the survey notes.
But only 37% have been able to use relief programs like the Paycheck Protection Program to rehire. A majority don’t expect to be at pre-crisis staffing levels until the end of this year or later, with 14% expecting to rehire by 31 December and 38% expecting an even longer timetable.
Benchmark acquires Westroc: A push for consolidation among third-party operators continues as Benchmark announced the acquisition of Arizona-based Westroc Hotels & Resorts, which had two properties in the Scottsdale, Arizona, area: Hotel Valley Ho and Mountain Shadows Resort Scottsdale, according to a news release. No price was announced for the deal.
This represents a return to the experiential and unique destinations market for Benchmark.
“The Westroc team has created two exceptional resorts that fit perfectly into Benchmark, and the teams we’ve connected with already are a welcome addition to the Benchmark family,” Benchmark CEO Alex Cabañas said in the release.
Brand CEOs want collaboration on the recovery: Hotel brands won’t be able to navigate the eventual recovery on their own, with many CEOs speaking at the “In Sync” online conference saying it will depend on relationships with owners, guests and third parties, HNN’s Terence Baker writes.
Radisson Hotel Group President and CEO Federico González said how his company works with its owner community is critical.
“Everyone is really focused, and that is helpful, and we have to have flexibility to change some contract terms in the short term. … We have found support and understanding, and real partnerships,” González said.
U.S. hotels record worst April ever: The latest data from HNN’s parent company, STR, shows U.S. hotels saw the lowest recorded levels for both occupancy and revenue per available room in April and the lowest average daily rate since 1997.
Occupancy fell 63.9% year over year to 24.5%, while ADR was down 44.4% to $73.23 and RevPAR plummeted 79.9% to $17.93.
With four consecutive weeks of demand increases now recorded, though, STR analysts are hopeful the industry “likely reached the bottom in early April.”
Worries of virus mutation rising in China: The coronavirus may be “changing in unknown ways” based on how it’s presenting in a new cluster of cases in northeast China, which would complicate “efforts to stamp it out,” Bloomberg reports.
The news outlet notes Chinese authorities say patients in the Jilin and Heilongjiang provinces “appear to carry the virus for a longer period of time and take longer to test negative.” They also appear to be taking longer than one to two weeks to show symptoms after being infected.
Compiled by Sean McCracken.


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Ford’s F-150 has finally made its debut on Australian shores, but, in a move that will disappoint many, this is not the version many were waiting for, the F-150 Lightning.
Ford Australia has announced that the first shipment of nearly 100x Ford F-150 customer vehicles, completed the 15,000km long journey from Baltimore, USA to Melbourne. Here’s the crazy bit, they have to first be converted from left-hand drive to right-hand drive before they go to dealerships across the country.
The vehicles will now head to RMA Automotive’s facility in Mickleham, where they will undergo re-manufacturing. This is a crazy trend with American trucks (aka the new Australian Ute), where the manufacturer isn’t making them in RHD from the factory.
For the past 46 years, the Ford F-150 has been the best-selling truck in America, but knowing the times are changing rapidly, they made the F-150 Lightning, with the first customer deliveries starting in May 2022.
The F-150 Lightning features are compelling, offering a great blend of size, payload, towing, range and a massive, industry-leading frunk, large enough to host a party.
The Lightning is powerful, with up to 563 horsepower and 775 lb-ft of torque it can accelerate from 0-60 mph in just 4.4 seconds.
The EPA estimates its range at between 230 and 320 miles, depending on the version and battery size. On the upper end, that’s a healthy 514km. The truck features a modern interior, complete with a 10.1″ touchscreen infotainment system and a centre armrest that folds down to create a work surface, great for completing invoices on a laptop or ordering Uber Eats to site.
For those leveraging the Lightning for a work truck, they can use a Pro Power Onboard system that provides up to 9.6 kW of power for tools and appliances.
Australia really lacks a compelling offering in the electric ute/truck space and with the top-selling vehicle in the country being a Toyota Hi-Lux, there’s an opportunity for Ford to launch the lightning here (RHD from the factory please) and steal that top spot.
Australia’s EV Landscape
Australia currently has a mismatch between supply and demand, there’s a clear appetite for EVs here, but automakers like Ford, need to supply compelling products at the right price into the market and will be handsomely rewarded with results.
According to a 2022 study by the Electric Vehicle Council, one in three Australians plans to buy an EV as their next vehicle.
For the sake of the local market, Ford might need to readjust its strategy to deliver on the expectations and environmental commitments of Australian consumers. The arrival of the wrong F-150 version could be a misstep, but it also provides an opportunity for Ford to recalibrate its approach and embrace the increasing demand for electric vehicles.
While the arrival of the Ford F-150 in Australia is a landmark moment, the absence of the Lightning variant is a glaring omission.
In Q4 2023, Ford will ship their Mustang Mach-E down under. This is an all-electric mid-sized SUV that was first released back in 2019, let’s hope that Ford doesn’t wait 4 years to release the Lightning, as this opportunity to be market leader in the EV Ute space will certainly be taken by the competition by then.


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This month, Herman Miller opened a leviathan flagship showroom in Manhattan. The sprawling 60,000-square-foot temple to a furniture empire represents an ambitious five-year plan to change the way it approaches business.
Herman Miller’s history dates back to 1905, when it was known as the Starr Furniture Company and made traditional bedroom suites. During the 1930s, it began producing furniture tailored for modern living, and in the 1940s became the company as we know it today under the guidance of its visionary design director George Nelson. During the postwar era, Nelson worked with Charles and Ray Eames and and essentially developed–and popularized–what we now call midcentury design.
Beginning in 1960s, the company’s main focus turned to office design when it invented a modular furniture system called the Action Office, aka the cubicle, and later had the singular distinction of turning task chairs into objects of desire. Since then, it’s been deeply entrenched in furniture for corporate settings–a fairly lucrative model until the ’00s, when growth rates began to diminish and the economic crash upended business.
Amid dramatic shifts in the marketplace, Herman Miller vowed to change course. Now, the legendary brand wants to sell consumers on a better life through good design. “It’s about helping you envision a lifestyle, whether it’s a lifestyle about work or a lifestyle for your home, or a lifestyle for where you heal,” CEO Brian Walker says about Herman Miller’s ambitions.
In short, it’s becoming a lifestyle brand.
The “Shift” strategy is the formal name of Herman Miller’s five-year initiative to reposition itself in the furniture market. It revolves around four points: moving from the realm of offices to every interior environment, expanding its market from North America to other corners of the globe, and shedding its reputation as selling solely to design professionals–towards an approach that includes consumers.
The company implemented the plan in 2011 and since then, it’s steadily overhauled its business from how research and development is structured to how sales people talk to customers to how it even thinks about consumers in the first place. It’s scooped up complementary companies to bolster its offerings and carried out one of the largest real estate transactions in its history to bring its family of brands under one roof at the flagship. But at the heart of Shift is a pivot from peddling products to providing lifestyle solutions.
“As companies go thorough maturity cycles, it’s easy to start focusing your energy on competing at the same dimensions and being more about features and benefits, or trying to protect where you’ve been versus saying to get to the new place,” CEO Brian Walker says of the Shift strategy’s inception. “We’re going to have to challenge even some of our own norms, and we’re going to have to be willing to rethink who we are.”
The way Walker saw it, in the last 40 years Herman Miller had narrowed its approach to focusing on one particular audience: its bread and butter, American corporate customers. However, amid the volatile economy in the ’00s (between 2000 and 2003, Herman Miller’s sales dropped from $2 billion to just $1.3 billion), slow growth in the contract furniture industry, and changing demographics and living styles, the company saw the writing on the wall. It had to either change its approach or keep fighting with its competitors–including Knoll, Steelcase, and Humanscale–for a piece of a smaller pie.
“Our fundamental belief was that people’s lives were blurring and they no longer live compartmentalized,” Walker says. “We also thought that Herman Miller’s unique gift was not its specific focus so much as its ability to reinvent itself based on understanding of social change.”
In other words, how does an industry stalwart revamp for 21st-century relevance? By mining its rich history, remixing it, and bringing it to new audiences.
For a brand that’s over a century old, changing course isn’t as easy as issuing an idea and saying “make it so.” It involved rethinking the entire company’s operations and finding the right individual to steer the ship. The man Herman Miller hired to do that is Ben Watson, who became the company’s executive creative director in 2010.
“Ben and I first met when we were beginning to think about building our consumer business, and this was before the financial crisis, around 2007,” Walker says. “Frankly, we didn’t hit it off very well.” But the market crash tabled plans to bolster the consumer end of the business that year and eliminated the need to fill the position for which Watson was a candidate. Yet when the economy began to recover, Herman Miller’s executive team revisited the conversation. While they recognized the company’s skills with research and development, its branding, marketing, and messaging weren’t fulfilling their potential.
So in 2008, Walker decided to build a creative advisory board to triage Herman Miller’s operations. Composed of designers Bruce Mau, Kim Colin, and Sam Hecht as well as Collin Burry, the design director of Gensler, the group met regularly from about 2009 to 2011. About a year in, they presented Walker with the idea of hiring a creative director and laid out what a potential management structure could look like. Walker then asked a number of trusted colleagues both inside and outside of Herman Miller about who would be the best fit for the role. “The name Ben Watson came up three times in a row,” Walker says.
Before Watson arrived at Herman Miller, he was no stranger to the business of design, working as global creative director of apparel for Nike, global marketing director at the Swiss furniture company Vitra, and CEO of the high-end Italian furniture house Moroso. “I don’t claim to have authored the description, but creative direction is managing the intersection of strategy and design,” Watson says of his approach. “It’s frequently confused as art direction or design direction, which are actually different practices.”
Watson—together with the advisory board, senior leadership at Herman Miller, and Walker—helped craft the Shift strategy. “It’s how do we align all of our creative work in products, experience, and communications to actually make that strategy happen,” Watson says. “My work is saying, ‘Are we aligning all that work to make this strategy come true?'”
There’s a dichotomy in the furniture industry: contract and consumer. Interior designers and architects are the contract customers, who usually place large orders through dealers for spaces like hospitals, offices, hotels, and restaurants. Consumers are nonprofessionals who purchase through retail. One of the biggest shifts in Herman Miller’s strategy was thinking more broadly about who the consumer is and how to engage them.
To accomplish that, Watson tapped into his experience at Nike. “Nike is extraordinary in their obsessive focus on the consumer and it’s a wonderful thing, but it is an obsession,” he says. For example, to understand its female tennis consumers, it talks to Serena Williams. It has teams on the ground at tennis clubs talking to aspiring junior players. It heads to local courts across the country where women of all skill levels are playing.
“They want to know exactly what is hanging in their closet, what magazines they read, who they think does a fantastic job and why, who they aspire to be, what fashion brands they’re buying, what they love and hate or wish they had when they’re playing,” Watson says. “Going back to Nelson and Eames, Herman Miller has an extraordinary legacy of being human-centered in our product designs, but we hadn’t been as obsessive about focusing on our consumer holistically, not just in the design of our solutions for them, but how we serve them completely.”
In a similar way that Nike identified the needs of its consumers, Herman Miller conducted intensive demographic research to inform the furniture solutions for living challenges. For example, one of its core groups is a “design-passionate” consumer, which is more defined by a mindset than a particular income level or age range. They could be empty nesters looking to downsize, people buying a second home, apartment dwellers who don’t have a lot of disposable income but want something that can last a lifetime, or someone interested in sustainability.
“For an urban-living, design-passionate consumer, who can be 25 or 65, what are the things that they need at home?” Watson says. “What does it mean to work at home today? I wouldn’t want an Aeron chair at home because I don’t have an apartment large enough, so I need something that can serve multiple demands.” One of the products that speaks to this problem is the Distil desk and table by Todd Bracher, which Herman Miller introduced in 2015. The design features storage and cable management for work purposes, but is handsome enough to function as a dining table.
“It’s not just responding to the market but being aware of it to actually know enough about the problems to solve them in a way that’s truly helpful and authentic to us,” Watson says.
This focus on consumers and their needs also came to bear on building the Herman Miller Collection, a group of furniture named after the first catalog George Nelson produced for the brand in 1940, featuring designs that can work equally well in residential, office, work, or hospitality environments. Many of the classics Herman Miller is known for–from the likes of Nelson, the Eameses, and Noguchi–live in this group, as do contemporary pieces from European brands it distributes, like Magis and Mattiazzi. Just as Nike made sure that it could supply products to any athlete of any level, Herman Miller assembled the products in the Herman Miller Collection to serve anyone that needed furniture.
“Business has more than doubled in the last four years because we gave it focus, saying we’re going to pay attention deeply to the make and finish to the Eames products we create, refresh it where appropriate with new material options, and think about how people are going to use them today,” Watson says. “We’re also going to create new designs that solve problems that continue to be unearthed that weren’t in our classics. We’re thinking—like Nike—that obsessing around a customer doesn’t stop just at designing a product to solve a problem. It’s actually meeting them where they are, solving their problem not once but in every way with our products. It’s where we meet them, the experiences we deliver, and are we inspiring them always.”
Another example of this “consumer-obsessed” strategy is the Living Office, a philosophy of office design created to help customers build environments that help people work better and mesh with a company’s culture. The company is framing the Living Office not as a workstation system but rather as a point of view. “Ultimately you’ll need our furniture to do that, but it’s not about the furniture—the furniture is what’s necessary to make the place happen,” Watson says. “If you’re the CEO of Bank of America or Nike, you’re trying to create a campus or a building or a floor or a space that’s going to empower your people to do great things. We’re saying, we shouldn’t just be down there at the commodity level trying to sell one object—pick my chair!—so let’s bring all of our deep knowledge that started in the Action Office days, where dozens of researchers focused on asking, how does great work happen? It’s not just is a desk that goes up and down healthier than one that doesn’t. How do you as an individual or a group measure, is the space working for me?”
Focusing on the consumer was also an avenue to boost contract business. “We knew that offices were becoming much more of a mix between residential and what had been a contract-institutional feel, so we made the move [to consumers] commercially because of that,” Brian Walker says. “The second reason is we had a belief that more and more, companies are beginning to allow and are beginning to ask for input from their employees on how the company is going to evolve and what it’s going to become. We believed that if we were in the hearts and minds of those people, our chances of serving them in their companies would go up.”
One recent trend is offices having more residential touches, like a communal kitchen or sofas for employees to work or lounge upon. Case in point: many of Airbnb’s offices. For some businesses, telecommuting and working from home is becoming more common. Herman Miller’s consumer-based approach taps into both of these shifts.
The physical embodiment of the Shift strategy is the Park Avenue flagship, which encompasses 60,000 square feet of retail, showroom, and office space. When the ground-floor retail storefront opens in late 2016, customers will be able to spy vignettes featuring furniture and housewares for every room in their home. The second floor will host retail and some office furniture organized into the Living Office’s concepts. The third and fourth floors will have office furniture from most of Herman Miller’s range, and the fifth floor is dedicated to Geiger, the line targeted to executive offices. Maharam–a textile company Herman Miller owns–is also located in the building, and design professionals will be able to peruse their textile library.
“Part of the exercise when we built our Shift strategy was to imagine a timeline and imagine what does nirvana look like when we arrive?” Watson says. “Very early in that process, we imagined that a flagship location as the top of the pyramid, which embodies our shift from being just a contract company or just an industry brand to truly be a powerful lifestyle and consumer lifestyle brand—to make that palpable and a physical experience that all of our customers can walk through.”
Herman Miller’s first foray into retail was back in the 1960s in the Alexander Girard–curated Textiles & Objects shop, which sold folk art sourced from around the world, fabrics, and decorative items. “We’ve taken that as one of the guideposts—how can we awaken that desire to curate your own life?” Watson says. “It’s important that we don’t envision us as just a furniture store, but that for the consumer, can we help you imagine a modern way to live?”
While the flagship’s retail space will contain a similar mix of goods, it’s also more comprehensive and will give visitors—both professional and nonprofessional customers—a look at everything under the Herman Miller umbrella, all under one roof. While you may come in for a task chair, you could leave with new upholstery for your sofa or see something that sparks a bigger redecorating project.
Buying the formerly beleaguered retailer Design Within Reach in 2014 for $154 million gave Herman Miller an instant consumer business and e-commerce channel, plus the proprietary knowledge DWR gained from developing its back-end system, which will help Herman Miller refine its own online digital retail operations. The company plans to revisit its website and online shopping experience this year—which has seen double-digit growth since it launched in 2010—with a particular focus on mobile.
“Sometimes you’re an architect in Midtown who needs an office chair at 8 a.m. for a presentation with their board—we need to serve that need,” Watson says. “But sometimes you’re a consumer at home daydreaming about your new apartment. Are you able to find us in search when you’re thinking about sofas? Able to find us when you’re thinking about Herman Miller? Are you able to be inspired when you do find us? We’ve got to do all of those things.” Herman Miller has also begun to sell task chairs on Amazon–part of its strategy to meet consumers where they are.
To move away from solely an industry focus, Herman Miller has tried to jettison jargon and tell stories that appeal to a general audience. “Industries begin to speak their own language,” Walker says. “And they speak in languages to their customer that sound more like what the industry cares about rather than what the users care about.”
This sparked Why, Herman Miller’s online magazine, which features stories about the company’s history, the philosophy of designers it works with, the pioneering design principles it has developed, documentaries about how its customers use its products, and more. The stories let readers glimpse into Herman Miller’s huge network of design. The narrative format, custom illustrations, and multimedia are more engaging than brochures of product features. While the magazine lives on Herman Miller’s website, the company also promotes the stories on social media.
“When we look at statistics, like our social following, which is four times the contract industry combined, it means people want to have a conversation with us, but are we engaging in inspiring conversations with them?” Watson says.
Because Herman Miller is so large, the company can come off as siloed to people who only know if for one thing, like office furniture or design classics or health care. Discussing sustainability practices or why it’s working with a particular young designer or how an important figure from its history shaped its philosophy invites people to learn about what the company stands for.
“I think our job is not to build customers, but to have fans,” Walker says. “We don’t really want to have transactions, we want to build relationships. We’re not trying to build places, we’re trying to build inspiring experiences.”
Herman Miller’s headquarters are in Zeeland, Michigan—a town about 25 miles southwest of Grand Rapids—but it also has a network of 660 dealers in 109 countries. To better serve international markets, the company has opened e-commerce stores for Japan and China, and will also do so for India and the U.K. by the end of the year. In 2011, 79% of company sales were in North America and in office products. That percentage dropped to 58% by the end of the 2015 fiscal year thanks to a more global mindset.
“We know that there will be a greater conversion of labor-based economic drivers to knowledge-based economic drivers in places like India and China in the next 10 to 15 years, which is a lot of what happened in the United States in the ’70s, ’80s, and ’90s that really fueled the office furniture industry,” Walker says. “So that’s not to say the United States won’t grow, but that conversion for us is not going to happen at the same pace because we’re further along the curve. So certainly by being in emerging markets where that conversion is going to happen, we think we’re better positioned that, over time, we can ride [economic] cycles.”
Moving beyond market share, the company also rethought its international approach to research and development–a department that has historically been a badge of honor for the brand and a powerhouse for innovation. Take, for example, the groundbreaking ergonomic design of the Aeron chair and the material engineering behind its eco-friendly fiberglass. While it used to be based solely in Michigan, it’s no longer a single team, but rather a series of teams spread around the world in the United Kingdom, China, North Carolina, and Wisconsin. (Maharam and DWR also have their own R&D teams.) Within the last 18 months, Herman Miller has also instituted commercialization teams to bring new research to market faster, though no products have been released as of yet from the program.
“What we looked at a year and a half ago is that we have fantastic ideas coming from the design partners, and we have great people and engineering solutions, but we have too many handoffs and start and stops,” Walker says. “We’re not enabling our people to spend enough of their concentrated time on a specific task so that they can get those products in the hands of customers sooner.”
So far, Herman Miller’s strategy seems to be working. For the third quarter of fiscal year 2016, which ended February 27, Herman Miller posted a 33% increase in profits, beating estimates. Net sales totaled $536.5 million, a 3.9% increase compared to the same quarter last year. In 2015, 22% of sales originated from products developed within the last four years. The contract furniture industry as a whole grew at a compound rate of 5.5% over the last five years and Herman Miller outpaced that, growing by 8% organically and 10% overall. In 2011, when the Shift strategy was developed, annual revenue was $1.6 billion. That sum grew to $2.1 billion by the end of fiscal year 2015.
The furniture industry as a whole is susceptible to swings in the economy, which is part of the reason Shift was needed in the first place. Businesses grow–they need more workstations and equipment. The housing market expands–people need to furnish those spaces. When the market contracts, pocketbooks do, too.
“I don’t know that we have necessarily changed the business in a way that makes it less cyclical or counter cyclical,” Walker says, noting that an economic situation like the financial crisis hit virtually every segment of the market. What the strategy is about, however, is the long game. “What we’ve created is a much larger market opportunity, and we’ve positioned ourselves in places that have better long-term demographics for growth.”
This strategy–of scooping up other design brands, taking a more holistic approach to its customer base, adopting a global approach, tapping into history, and leveraging e-commerce–is not unique to Herman Miller. In 2013, the Swiss manufacturer Vitra (which holds the European licensing for Charles and Ray Eames’s designs) acquired the historic Finnish company Artek, which was founded by Alvar Aalto in the 1930s. Vitra’s parent company, Ormand AG, bought the two-year-old e-commerce brand Hem in 2016, taking a chance on the upstart’s direct-to-consumer model for contemporary furnishings. In 2014, Haworth—a privately owned office furniture company based in Michigan—inked a $270 million deal to buy a 58.6% stake in the Poltrona Frau Group—a luxury Italian brand that owns Cassina and Cappellini—to strengthen its international footprint. Knoll—which is Herman Miller’s closest American counterpart thanks to its textile, health care, office, and design classics divisions—bought Holly Hunt, a transitional residential brand, in 2014 for $95 million in an effort to diversify its customers after slowing demand from government and financial services clients.
Herman Miller has made big shifts in its business model before. The year was 1930, and the business was reeling from the Great Depression. Company founder D.J. DePree feared that his business—which produced big, ornate, traditional furniture—would be shuttered within a year. Then he met designer Gilbert Rohde, who preached the virtues of Modernism and earned a contract from Herman Miller to produce his designs, which were forward-thinking and tailored for new modes of living. By 1945, Herman Miller had phased out its period pieces, going on to become a beacon of accessible modern design.
This fundamental pivot in the brand’s history informed its core philosophy and in some ways, the Shift strategy is attempting to achieve the same spirit of transformation. Will the results prove to be as successful? Time will tell if the groundwork laid by Watson, Walker, and the rest of Herman Miller’s leadership will pave the way for another century of business.
All Photos: courtesy Herman Miller


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Taiwan-based Egis Technology is reporting solid results in its year-end update for 2019, despite a fourth quarter revenue dip.
The company says it brought in NT$ 7.358 billion, or roughly $244.5 million USD, for the 2019 fiscal year, which it called “a new high” in a statement announcing the result. The figure represents a 24.5 percent year-over-year increase.
Revenues for the fourth quarter, meanwhile, were down 4.1 percent quarter-over-quarter, “which is in line with the seasonal pattern seen among IC fabless peers and consistent with what we communicated at our previous earnings conference,” the company said.
In its Q3 update, Egis reported that some major customers had “requested not to carry inventory at year-end,” which suggested that it would see lower shipment volumes in the coming quarter. But the company insisted that its management team expected this development to be temporary in nature, and suggested that its fingerprint sensor technology was expected to find its way into a growing number of smartphone models.
Fingerprint biometrics is Egis Technology’s specialty, and the company is a board member of the influential FIDO Alliance.
January 6, 2019 – by Alex Perala


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Jack White surprised workers at the Tesla factory in Fremont, California with a free concert on Friday.
The show was broadcast to the company’s employees around the world. Before his performance, White got to tour the manufacturing plant and was given a test ride in Tesla’s new Model 3 Performance at the factory’s test track.
In a press statement White called himself “a huge fanatic and supporter of everything Tesla has been doing since day one,” and claimed to have been “one of the first Model S owners in Nashville.” He considers the car “the greatest automobile ever made.”
White added that he’s been thinking for a while about doing a free concert for the employees at the Fremont factory. He feels the company is doing incredibly important work for the future of car design, both in terms of “fixing climate change…taking the world away from the internal combustion engine [and] making cars safer…”
White has posted compilation video of his visit and performance on Facebook.


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Only Two Car Brands Are Actually Cheaper In 2022 Than 2021
With all of the hoopla going on 2022 car sales prices skyrocketing, you wouldn’t expect that in 2022 the price of some brands would be selling for less than in 2021. But there are, and they might surprise you. In 2022, both Lexus and Roll-Royce are selling for less than last year.
Aren’t new cars selling for a lot more in 2022?
According to CarGurus, the average price of a new vehicle is $31,000. That’s over 16 percent more than last year. Honestly, we expected car sales prices to be higher, but it’s still high no matter how you look at it. That number is based on millions of sales in 2022 tracked from the first of January to the end of May.
But get this, vans are tracking almost 50 percent higher than they were at this time last year. Minivans and wagons are next at 25 percent higher. And pickup trucks? Their average price is only five percent more than in 2021.
But back to Lexus and Rolls-Royce prices. In the last 90 days, Lexus automobiles are selling for 20 percent less than in 2021. The average Lexus selling price is now $33,209. And in the past month, the price has slipped even more by .70 percent. So the gap is closing, but still is a good sign for buyers.
Does Rolls-Royce selling for less surprise you?
As for Rolls-Royce, the average price now is $175,000. That’s 2.26 percent below what it cost to purchase one last year. But the drop seems to be accelerating. In the last 90 days, it is down over two percent, and in the last month, prices have slipped over one percent. That may not seem like much.
But one percent of $175,000 is $1,700. That’s not much for buyers in the market for a Rolls. But it shows that at least for now, Rolls-Royce cars can’t ride the pandemic, supply chain, and microchip shortage wave.
The only American-made vehicle that comes close to this phenomenon is the Jeep Wagoneer. It’s selling for the same as in 2021. Its average selling price is $90,000. But in the last 90 days, it is down over 15 percent. And in May alone, it was selling for $1,000 less than last year. So, we don’t know if this is a sign that the wind is out of the Wagoneer sails, or if this is just a speed bump?
In all, new car prices are way up from last year
But these are definitely outliers. Prices are up for virtually every new car, with the popular Chevy Silverado up almost 15 percent, and Ford products up 12 percent. Even Chrysler, with only two models in its lineup, is up almost 25 percent. So it’s all backflips and rainbows for manufacturers and dealers.
But dealers need to be concerned. Just today, Ford’s CEO Jim Farley said the future for dealerships is not selling cars but customer service. This follows the Tesla model, which is also the direction Mercedes is looking to introduce. So we may be seeing the slow end of manufacturer dealerships selling new cars.


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Opening in the Detroit North American International Auto Show, so that participants feel strongly that the world automobile industry is experiencing a rebirth? Major manufacturers have their own direction for future development identified as the main fuel-efficient and environmentally friendly. What is happening here this clearly tells us: the future fuel-saving and environmental protection technology who developed the application so walk in front, who can become the leader of executive development in the global automotive, and those who move slowly, strategic decision-making factory misconduct, regardless of How glorious in its history, may be abandoned. See more about environmentally friendly direction at http://www.durocherkia.com/blog/2012/march/26/most-efficient-and-environmentallyfriendly-automaker-kia.htm
Detroit Auto Show, American cars, “Waterloo” In recent years, Toyota, Hyundai, South Korea and European car manufacturers to gradually squeeze the U.S. Big Three auto makers (GM, Ford, Chrysler). Launch of the exhibition hall-the Big Three car also makes clear sense, the Big Three for 10 years ago, are two strategic decision-making errors, have been paid, and will continue to pay a terrible price: the year, General Motors should not mistake their own developed by the motor hybrid vehicle power technology, hand over sold to Toyota, so Toyota’s hybrid gasoline prices soaring in the North American market when the Steal the thunder; three major car companies also should not blindly adopt the “ostrich mentality”, knowing that long-term marked increase in gasoline prices, but tightly tightly hold their own competitive products, resulting in tens of thousands of vehicles, gas-guzzling cars is hard even slashed prices to attract the buyers. Today, three major car manufacturers have begun its major strategic mistakes and show a high profile launch of its own site Energy New models of environmental protection. However, the harsh reality is that, though they occupy a large area within the exhibition hall and show the repairer of their superb technology, but most exhibitors car is brilliant yesterday?? Large luxury gas-guzzling cars. In the hybrid, etc.
Energy Car seriously consumers, the U.S. auto market demand has plummeted nearly 50%, their faces capital chain rupture the occasion, General Motors, Ford and Chrysler, only this time make a determined effort in transition, can not but say it is too late . Detroit in January, ice and snow; car exhibition hall, in full swing, colorful; outside the background is the world’s automotive market is the Great Depression, the U.S. Big Three auto makers into financial difficulties, life and death are difficult . Faced with this complex situation, the Detroit show on and off the authorities, mostly worried about the end of 2009, the U.S. automobile industry “three pillars” of the pattern of GM and Ford are likely to rely on “two-pillar Praia” in the. The Chrysler Corporation, is almost impossible to avoid the bankruptcy or reorganization of the fate of purchase. Contrast, Toyota, Honda, Kia, Hyundai, over the years by its fuel-efficient, environmental protection, service and other advantages of the great expansion of the North American auto market, auto show models during the launch of the future, it is pre-empted the make thunder, to the continuous development of hybrid and other fuel-saving technology-led, not only in the depth of the North American automotive market in 2009, hold a position, and will certainly further expand after the share market recovery. Chinese car to enter the North American time being realistic Worth mentioning is the participation of two Chinese car companies? BYD and Brilliance, are also perceived to the future direction of the global automotive industry, to vigorously promote its hybrid advantage. However, the industry believes that, although the Brilliance of the car market in South Africa and other developing countries exports have led to rapid, but to enter the North American market in the foreseeable period of time is still non-reality of the wish. Motor Show, BYD’s press conference is impressive, starting with reporters on the high interest in BYD unexpected. None in North America sold a car BYD, journalists and industry insiders see is its impressive R & D and manufacture of car batteries. No denying that the two auto companies in China, whether to launch the car show or promotional strategies and techniques, with the United States and Europe there is a big gap between Japan and other counterparts, especially in car sales to squeeze into the highly competitive North American, to much more difficult than people imagine. The future development of the global automotive closely follow and research vice president of global vehicle forecasts Michael?
Robinett that leading Chinese auto companies, but actually to be taking advantage of General Motors, Toyota and other auto giants face the North American market downturn, such as the predicament, the focus on open development countries in the automotive market, and to savings of technology, management, funding, and even the size of the basis for all aspects of strength for the future into the world lay the foundation for high-end automotive market. If impractical to set the direction of recent developments in North America and other international auto giant white-hot art market competition, the failure is inevitable. Inside and outside the atmosphere from the show, and many professionals and politicians, a comment of view, the difficulties now facing the auto industry, forcing major companies put a lot of manpower and material resources for technological breakthroughs to the next round of enforcement become the leader of the automotive market development. To this end, the next two to three years will likely become the world’s automotive industry is an important transformation. During the fuel-saving, environmental protection, quality competition will be the motto of the major manufacturers, while the U.S. auto industry can hold its ground in its traditional strengths, such as hold by the Japanese counterparts have been squeezed off 50% market share, will be the world’s cars industry and other related industries a major focus of concern.
At the same time, research in the United States and Japan, a leading national automotive research and development sector, driven by the automotive industry can achieve world-saving and environmental landmark breakthrough in the automotive industry and consumers are more concerned about and looking forward to the historic development . In the Detroit auto show, the reporter clearly felt: As China’s auto manufacturing industry, can keep pace with the development of the times the car will determine the future destiny of the Chinese automobile industry.


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Uruguay is said to have installed its first Bitcoin (BTC) ATM, making it the 11th South American country to publicly promote cryptocurrency adoption.
South America had 79 ATMs prior to Uruguay’s involvement, accounting for 0.2 percent of global BTC ATM installations.
iexclusive News Nigeria reports that according to mbito, Uruguay’s first crypto ATM was installed in Punta del Este, a popular tourist destination in the region.
Uruguay’s first Bitcoin ATM was created and installed in collaboration with two local cryptocurrency companies, URUBit and inBierto.
The Uruguayan crypto ATM currently accepts withdrawals and deposits of five cryptocurrencies.
BTC, Binance Coin (BNB), Binance USD (BUSD), Ferret Token (FRT), and Urubit are the coins in question (URUB). URUBit and inBierto manage and distribute the in-house cryptocurrencies FRT and URUB, respectively.
Adolfo Varela, CEO of inBierto, confirmed that the initiative was fully funded by the Uruguayan government.
inBierto is a cryptocurrency investment platform that is also a member of the Uruguayan Fintech Chamber (Cámara Uruguaya de Fintech).
A startup accelerator specializing in the fintech industry.
URUBit is a decentralized token developed in Uruguay and currently available on the Binance Smart Chain (BSC).
According to Coin ATM Radar data, Colombia currently leads the South American market with 31 crypto ATM installations, followed by Brazil and Argentina with 22 and 11 installations, respectively.
Other South American countries, including Ecuador, Venezuela, Aruba, and Saint Kitts and Nevis, have one crypto ATM as well.
Cointelegraph has yet to receive a response from inBierto.
Last year, a Uruguayan senator proposed legislation to regulate cryptocurrency and allow businesses to accept cryptocurrency payments.
Senator Juan Sartori, according to reports monitored by iexclusivenews on Cointelegraph, was not interested in adopting cryptocurrency as legal tender. Instead, he proposed:
“Today, we present a bill that seeks to establish a legitimate, legal, and safe use of virtual currencies in Uruguayan businesses.”


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Disney is buying Maker Studios. Who wants to buy Fullscreen?
We don’t know yet. But in the wake of the Disney/Maker deal, industry sources say that lots of would-be investors and acquirers are circling Fullscreen, a video startup that sort of looks like Maker: It’s a few years old and it has billions of video views on YouTube.
People familiar with the company, run by former YouTuber George Strompolos, insist that it’s not looking to sell. But that’s what you say before you sell. In any case, sources say Fullscreen has now hired Allen & Co. to help it sort out various offers.
It’s not the first time that Fullscreen has worked with the investment bank, and it’s not the first time it has dealt with big media companies. Last year, Comcast’s venture arm* and The Chernin Group led a $30 million round in Fullscreen, in a deal that valued it at around $110 million.
At the time, Fullscreen described itself as a company that sold software and services to other companies trying to make money in Web video. But it also operated its own YouTube-based video network, which it says currently generates more than 3.5 billion views a month.
Now, the logic goes (at least among a certain kind of investor/big media company): If Disney thought it was a good idea to buy Maker, which has five billion views a month, then Fullscreen, which is the next biggest network out there, must be really valuable, too.
Dunno. Disney’s deal still has lots of industry people — including some who work at Disney — scratching their heads. They understand why Disney would want to get involved in Web video, and particularly in YouTube, since Disney’s core audience lives there.
But some people are still baffled by a $500 million bet on a money-losing company, especially since YouTube seems like it’s going to remain a very difficult place for video owners to make money.
Meanwhile, who’s that guy getting licked by a dog, in the screen grab featured at the top of this post? He’s one of the YouTubers highlighted in a Fullscreen sizzle reel, but I’m out of the demo. First person who can correctly identify him gets a free subscription to John Paczkowski’s Code/red.
* Comcast owns NBCUniversal, which is a minority investor in Revere Digital, which owns Re/code.
This article originally appeared on Recode.net.


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Interesting little piece posted in FinancialDirector, pointing out that the UK Chancellor of the Exchequer (think Treasury Secretary), included commentary about late payments to SMEs in the Spring Statement. This is one of two semi-annual economic/budget discussions provided to Parliament.
“This week’s Spring Statement was no ordinary statement. It took place in the middle of 72 hours of voting on the major story of the day, Brexit, and was therefore deeply overshadowed….What would have been a fairly important event in the UK economic calendar was relegated to a side show as the main drama unfolded centre stage….And yet for UK small- and medium-sized businesses, there was a highly encouraging take-away from the Despatch Box: the Chancellor’s commitment and growing resolve to address the critical issue of late payments for SMEs.”
Not deeply familiar with how something like this type of potential government intervention actually might occur in the UK, other than some legislation. As far as we know, this ministerial position has no regulatory responsibilities, but prima facie would have a great deal of influence across various aisles. As to the culture of late payments to SMEs in the UK (which we have previously highlighted in these pages), typically one would expect that this is purely a matter for the free market to hash out. This is the age of digitization, and certainly SMEs should start there. There is a solution for just about any business process issue, and financial ops is high on the list of fintech investment.
‘We are currently waiting on more information and details from Greg Clark, the Business Secretary, to be published in the days or weeks ahead….In the meantime, to tackle “the scourge of late payments”, Mr Hammond announced that, “as a first step, we will require company Audit Committees to review payment practices, and report on them in their Annual Accounts.”…Translate: the Government is going to make late payments a board room, corporate governance and potentially even CSR issue rather than something that is kept firmly under wraps by the finance division….This type of increased transparency and accountability by those at the top of the supply chain is long overdue.’
Yikes, those big company bullies must be a tad nervous…judgement day indeed.
Overview by Steve Murphy, Director, Commercial and Enterprise Payments Advisory Service at Mercator Advisory Group


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By now, most of us should have heard from reports that Sony is slated to unveil a couple of new handsets during the upcoming IFA event held in September. These devices of course include the long rumored Sony Xperia XZ1 as well as the Xperia XZ1 compact. From what we’d learned so far, these two devices is expected to carry the model number G8341 and G8441.
Earlier today, we reported that the duo were spotted on a Polish retailer site which revealed their pricing as well as color variants. Right now, the device with model number G8441 had also been benchmarked by AnTuTu as well. According to the benchmark database, the G8441 will be powered with a Snapdragon 835 SoC along with 4GB of RAM and 32GB internal storage space under its memory compartment. Camera-wise, we can expect to see a 8 megapixel main snapper as well as a 8 megapixel front-facing camera for selfies. It’s also good to know that the device will come with a HD display panel.
Since the listing shows that the G8441 is running on the latest Android 8.0 onboard, the Xperia XZ1 and Xperia XZ1 Compact could in fact be one of the first few devices to run on Android Oreo out of the box


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Online shopping platform, noon.com has launched its peer-to-peer payments service for users in Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
It means shoppers can send or request money in the form of noon credits to contacts using just their mobile phone number or an email ID. Once a user allows noon Pay access to their contacts list, money can be transferred instantly in the form of noon credits to anyone, at any time, and from anywhere, the firm said in a statement.
The user’s noon Pay balance can be accessed via the noon app on the ‘pay’ tab at the top of the screen. It can be used on noon, noon Minutes, noon Grocery, noon Food and fashion e-commerce platform SIVVI, offering users the option of using existing credits or adding money to their credits with a debit or credit card.
“Today marks a significant milestone for us as we introduce noon Pay to the world. We believe that providing people with a secure and versatile platform to transfer money effortlessly is a game-changer in today’s digital age. With noon Pay, we aim to revolutionise Peer-to-Peer payments, simplify financial transactions, and ultimately make people’s lives easier. noon Pay is aiming to be the one integrated financial services platform for its users, with a lot of new services being planned to be added soon,” Mosam Gadia, noon Pay said.


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Amazon India on Monday announced that it had strengthened its partnership with the Indian Railways to transport consignments via rail route across the country. The company is leveraging the ‘COVID-19 Parcel Special Trains’ introduced by the Indian Railways to ramp up operations to 55 lanes during the lockdown period.
This is yet another step towards a long-term partnership between Amazon India and Indian Railways, which is focussed on developing the rail network to supplement the road and air networks for the transportation of customer packages at greater speed and reliability.
Indian Railways, with the support of the Railway Board and the zones across Western, Central, Northern, Eastern, South Central, Southern, South Eastern, North East Frontier, North Western and South Western, have created a proactive solution to provide support for transportation during the lockdown. This enhanced network will enable sellers to ship their products and keep businesses running, thereby, allowing people to access essential products.
“In these unprecedented times, we understand the importance of ensuring that critical supplies reach our customers across the country. With the support of COVID-19 Parcel Special trains introduced by the Railways, we are confident that we can further fulfil customer orders with enhanced speed and capacity,” said Abhinav Singh, director, Amazon Transportation Services, Amazon India.
“We are pleased to extend our partnership with Amazon India and offer services of ’COVID-19 Parcel Special Trains’ to ensure that essential needs of the public across the country are met and fulfilled by Amazon. We will continue to build on this partnership to help the industry service customers during this critical period.” said sources at the Indian Railways.
In 2019, Amazon India had partnered with Indian Railways for inter-city transportation of e-commerce packages on 13 lanes. Previously, the company had also partnered with the Indian Railways to set up pick-up kiosks for customers in Kolkata and Mumbai.
News Source; The Hindu


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The launch of ‘Let’s Bagel’ comes in line with Jasmi’s’ goal to continue delivering the finest products to a wider customer base, and further consolidate their position in Bahrain’s food service industry.
A …Read full article » Bahrain: Wednesday, August 07 - 2013 @ 12:23
Embodying the spirit of France, Le Chocolat offers its customers authentic French cuisine which comprises a selection of delectable savory dishes, more than 30 varieties of artistic deserts, cakes and pastries accompanied by beautiful blends …Read full article » Bahrain: Thursday, July 25 - 2013 @ 14:30
Originally opened on 4th September 1986, the Exhibition Road branch was the first branch of Jasmi’s and had been a favorite among a number of families and youngsters on the island.
Keeping in mind Jasmi’s …Read full article » Bahrain: Saturday, February 23 - 2013 @ 10:21
Located in Salmabad, Jasmi’s decided to position the new branch at the Square Plaza, in close proximity to AMA University so that students can grab a delicious bite to eat on the go, and also …Read full article » Bahrain: Sunday, June 16 - 2013 @ 12:57
Jasmi’s is the first fast food venture in the kingdom of Bahrain to present an ‘organic’ addition to their existing regular burger meals. A scrumptious patty of pure organic beef, crisp lettuce, freshly sliced tomatoes, …Read full article » Bahrain: Sunday, December 30 - 2012 @ 10:58
Tony Roma’s truly captures the flavor of casual dining at affordable prices and takes pride in using only the freshest ingredients and innovative cooking techniques to create beautifully crafted dishes and memorable meals from scratch …Read full article » Bahrain: Monday, August 26 - 2013 @ 16:31
The relocation of Jasmi’s’ West Riffa branch comes as part of Jasmi’s’ expansion plan and intention to assure further accessibility to their customers with more convenience and easier access to their services.
The outlet which was …Read full article » Bahrain: Tuesday, March 26 - 2013 @ 12:33
Jasmi’s recently made the switch to become one of the first among all the fast food ventures across the island to use Canola oil in their recipes so as to improve the quality and standards …Read full article » Bahrain: Thursday, February 07 - 2013 @ 15:51
Due to Jasmi’s recent dynamic and continuous expansion plans, a number of vacancies are now available at different branches of the leading fast food venture.
Jasmi’s is looking to fill these spots with young, vibrant and …Read full article » Bahrain: Wednesday, November 28 - 2012 @ 11:39
The inauguration of their new branch comes as part of their initiatives to maximize their availability to Jasmi’s customers and Enma Mall proved to be an ideal location to set up an outlet.
Customers can …Read full article » Bahrain: Wednesday, April 10 - 2013 @ 13:56


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Ukash has announced a partnership with YuuPay to enable merchants a secure, safe online transactions option.
This announcement marks Ukash’s growing partnership network, increasing payment choice for consumers who shop and play online without the need for a bank account or credit card. YuuPay offers this as this partnership will help expand and embed the firm’s presence within its key markets.
“The Ukash brand is already well established with Asian and Australian consumers, so this new partnership with YuuPay provides a great opportunity for merchants to leverage the loyalty around our service, offering customers flexibility and security when they shop, play and pay online.” said James Allum, Chief Commercial Officer at Ukash.
Yoav Elgrichi, CEO of YuuPay, said: “Ukash offers the perfect fit for our customers as its universal and inclusive payment method helps consumers transact online safely and securely. Its simplicity makes it easy for consumers who don’t own a credit card or those who prefer to keep their personal information private when making online transactions.”
Digital payments giant ACI Worldwide is teaming up with VocaLink for real-time payments infrastructure.
Fresh from its $4.5bn IPO, Nordic payments processor Nets has picked Spire as its partner to help with the physical roll out of mobile payments for Dankort customers.
It seems laptops are about to catch the biometric fever as PayPal, Intel, Lenovo and Synaptics are collaborating to introduce FIDO-enabled embedded fingerprint solution to PCs.
Mastercard is working with Stripe to expedite the payment process for American sellers on the latter's marketplaces using the instant payouts feature from Stripe.


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Study finds consuming extra virgin olive oil during pregnancy increases level of antioxidants in rats’ breast milk
New research has found that extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) increases the level of phenolic compounds in breast milk and can cross the placental barrier, reaching the descendant.
The study, published in the journal, Food Chemistry, was conducted by a team of investigators from the Faculty of Pharmacy and Food Sciences of the University of Barcelona (UB), the Institute for Research on Nutrition and Food Safety (INSA-UB) at the University of Barcelona, and the Physiopathology of Obesity and Nutrition Networking Biomedical Research Centre (CIBEROBN) in Madrid, Spain.
According to researchers, the study’s findings support the understanding that diets enriched with EVOO can modify or even increase the content of these bioactive compounds in breast milk with potential benefits for the infant’s health.
As part of this preclinical study, the team assessed the levels of phenolic compounds and their derivates in biological samples in pregnant rats and their offspring after six weeks of a daily intake of EVOO. After this assessment, they found that the phenolic compounds of EVOO can be a compound in breast milk and be available in infants.
The results of the research, according to the study’s authors, showed that the phenolic compounds coming from the diet —specifically those from EVOO— reach the systemic circulation of mothers. In addition, they detected many phenolic compounds and derivates in breast milk. Of surprise to the researchers, some of the phenolic compounds and their metabolites were detected in higher concentrations in the offspring plasma than in the mothers’ plasma.
“To date, several studies had described that the composition of breast milk can be affected by biological and environmental factors to which the mother is exposed, such as the mother’s diet. Therefore, the nutritional interventions during pregnancy and the breastfeeding period can have an impact on the quality of breast milk, and consequently, on the infant’s health. Our findings shed light on the importance of the mother’s diet during pregnancy and lactation, and they provide the base for future studies on the impact of phenolic compounds on the mother’s and the infant’s health,” concluded the study’s authors.


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June 2, 2006 - Ovenu, the UK oven valeting franchise, has continued its global expansion plans with the establishment of a master licence in France.
Stephen Halston, originally from Jersey, will now offer Ovenu’s specialist cleaning service in the Province of Brittany in North-Western France and will act as a ‘master licensee,’ recruiting individual franchisees to roll out the service into other parts of the country.
The deal marks the awarding of Ovenu’s third international master licence, after its franchise model was established in the United States in March 2006, and successfully introduced in Perth, Western Australia, in early 2005.
Stephen, who previously spent 20 years working as an accountant in the UK, has been planning to introduce the Ovenu concept in France for more than a year, ever since he and his family, wife Sharon and daughters Victoria, 10, and Emma, eight, first relocated.
The environmentally-friendly service, which involves dismantling key components of an oven such as the door, interior panels, and shelves, takes around three hours to complete, using specialist non-caustic products.
For the next six months Stephen will focus on piloting this service in the Morbihan area of Brittany, but aims to expand the business over the next two years.
Rik Hellewell, managing director of Ovenu, says: “Ovenu has already enjoyed great success in the UK market and we relish the opportunity to explore international markets and drive the business forward.
“Our franchisees have already made an encouraging start in the Australian and American markets and we now foresee similar demand in France and other parts of Europe.
“Ovenu’s 12-year development in the UK has allowed the service to become easily replicable anywhere around the world and, with the support of our franchise model, I am sure that Stephen will make great progress in France.”
Stephen says: “The Ovenu concept is something entirely new in France and I am looking forward to making a real mark on the country.
“Although there are undoubtedly cultural differences between the French and UK markets, I believe that there is plenty of demand for the service both from the locals, and holiday home or rental property owners.
“It has taken me a while to get to this stage, tackling French legality and red-tape, but I am now ready to embark on the business challenge and I am looking forward to generating new business as soon as possible.”
For further information, please contact Stephen on 02 97 22 18 81.
NOTES TO EDITOR:
Ovenu, which is based in Wokingham, Berkshire, was set up in 1994 and started franchising in 1999. With almost 100 franchisees covering different areas across the UK, the business is predominantly an oven cleaning and valeting service, but also uses its expertise to clean other items such as barbecues. Since 1994 Ovenu has cleaned over one million items.
The company is a full member of the British Franchise Association (BFA), which is the prestigious umbrella organisation that covers the UK’s leading franchisors. Ovenu has well in excess of 100,000 clients across the country and last year the franchise network had a turnover approaching £3million.
View Company Website: http://www.ovenu.co.uk


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Supposed to be about Consumer loans Payday financing is decreasing
Regulators squeeze the industry
A loan provider near her house in Wilmington, Delaware IN MAY 2013 Gloria James borrowed $200 from Loan Till Payday. Rather than subscribe to just one- or two-month loan for a $100 expense, she was offered a one-year loan that will set her back $1,620 in interest, equal to a yearly price of 838% as she had done many times before,. Ms James, a housekeeper making $12 an hour or more or so, made a decision to the high-interest loan but quickly dropped behind in the re re re re payments. After filing situation in federal court, a Delaware judge ruled that the home loan at problem wasn’t simply unlawful but вЂњunconscionableвЂќ.
Her story is remarkably typical
Many rely on high-interest payday improvements to help keep afloat. But government efforts to split directly down about the $40bn industry could be having a visible impact.
Around 2.5m households which are us about one out of 50, use payday advances each year, according to authorities information. The typical loan is $350, continues two weeks, and costs $15 for each $100 lent. Although payday improvements are marketed to be a method to get money that is short-term be used in financial emergencies, they truly are generally familiar with generally fulfill spending plan this is certainly chronic 2015 more borrowers in Ca took down ten pay check loans than took out one. Professionals state the industry dupes its clients that are susceptible paying out high fees and rates of interest. Yet studies expose its consumers are usually happy, because payday improvements are convenient and simple.
Legislation of payday funding in america has historically been the responsibility of states. A lot more than a dozen use interest-rate caps to, in spot, ban payday advances. But loan providers will get around these guidelines by registering as вЂњcredit service organisationsвЂќ, relocating to a lot of other states, or even working with indigenous US tribes to claim resistance that click over here is sovereign.
Through the degree this is certainly federal Congress passed the Military Lending Act in 2006, capping loan rates to solution users at 36%. Recently, the Department of Justice launched вЂњOperation Choke PointвЂќ, an undertaking to press financial institutions into severing ties with businesses in danger of money-laundering, payday loan providers one of these. However the genuine crackdown on payday lending could can be bought in the function that customer Finance Protection Bureau (CFPB), a watchdog, implements brand title name completely new legislation on high-interest loans. The principles include underwriting demands as well as other restrictions created to keep borrowers away from economic responsibility; the CFPB estimates that they’re in a position to reduce payday-loan volumes by significantly more than 80%.
the chance of legislation may have had an curently impact
The Centre for Financial Services Innovation, a bunch that is reckons that are non-profit payday-loan volumes have in fact actually fallen by 18per cent since 2014; earnings have in fact actually dropped by 30%. Through the 1st nine months of 2016, lenders shut more than 500 stores and total work with the industry dropped by 3,600, or 3.5%. To avoid the principles which can be brand new loan providers are going definately not lump-sum advances that are payday instalment loans, which give borrowers more time to obtain right directly returning to their feet.
It might be untimely to commemorate the demise of cash advance providers. The Trump administration may very well block the CFPBвЂ™s laws being brand brand brand new. Along with the big event that recommendations are forced through, customers is virtually most certainly not well down. Academic research on payday-lending legislation is blended, by having a studies that are few benefits, others showing costs, yet still other individuals finding no consumer-welfare effects at all. A paper that is forthcoming two economists at western aim concludes that the Military Lending Act yielded вЂњno significant benefits to service membersвЂќ.
This article that is short into the Finance & economics the main publishing version under the headline В« Principles and interest В»


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The French Market is getting some new restaurants, including Joker's Cajun Kitchen, a New Orleans-inspired eatery. Husband and wife John and Kelly Reed aren’t new to the restaurant industry, having run the now closed Blue Frog Bar & Grill and Blue Frog’s Local 22.
“My specialty is soups and spicy foods,” said John Reed. “The French Market is so competitive between restaurants, but Cajun was something that no one was doing. Kelly and I love Louisiana and New Orleans. We love the culture, we love the food, we love the music and the vibes, so it just seemed like a natural fit for the next place that we opened up.”
Joker’s Cajun Kitchen will feature three different gumbos, including a classic gumbo with chicken and andouille sausage. The Bourbon Street is made with chicken, shrimp and andouille, while a vegan version uses collard greens, corn, zucchini, squash and tomatoes.
Other New Orleans favorites include shrimp etouffee, a variety of po’ boys, and breakfast options, like beignets, shrimp and grits, and biscuit sandwiches. Once the liquor license is approved, the Reeds hope to serve hurricanes, a rotating frozen drink and Abita, a beer made with Louisiana sugar cane popular in the state.
Reed said that while some people may have doubts about authenticity, he’s received a number of positive comments about his food — particularly the gumbo — from customers from Louisiana.
“I feel like you could order this stuff in New Orleans,” Reed said.
Other new French Market additions include Blue Spot Sushi, serving sushi, ramen, udon, teriyaki bowls and sushi burritos. Bang Chop serves Thai food, while Jianbing offers Chinese street food. Wood Fire Counter, B.I Team and Dim Sum, and the French Lunchbox have added new menu items.
131 N. Clinton St., 312-624-9400, jokerscajunkitchen.com
VERNON HILLS — City Barbeque is showing no signs of stopping, opening its fifth Illinois location. Look forward to smoked meats, homemade sides and decadent desserts. 887 N. Milwaukee Ave., citybbq.com
VARIOUS LOCATIONS — Einstein Bros. Bagels will open Caribou Coffeehouses in all its Chicago area stores. cariboucoffee.com
RIVER NORTH — Mason, a steak and seafood chophouse, opens Thursday in the Found Hotel, serving dry-aged steaks, seafood, salads and cocktails. Expect items like a caviar dip, wedge salad, pan-seared scallops, lamb chops and rib-eye steaks. 613 N. Wells St., 224-243-6863, masonrestaurant.com
ROSCOE VILLAGE — The old Riverview Tavern has been replaced by The Reveler. 3403 N. Damen Ave., 773-248-9523, revelerchicago.com
OLD IRVING PARK — Sabatino's closing after 49 years of serving Chicago families
SOUTH LOOP — Rooftop bar Vu sets sights on a late-September debut
EDGEWATER — That Little Mexican Cafe II has closed, although the Evanston location of the same restaurant remains open, according to the Facebook page. 1055 W. Bryn Mawr Ave.
WEST LOOP — The Eastman Egg Company has closed its Loop, West Loop and River North locations, Eater reported. Owners said that the business wasn’t sustainable. 23 N. Wacker Drive
LAKEWOOD-BALMORAL — La Fonda Latino Grill is closing, according to the restaurant. The last day of service is Sept. 23. 5350 N. Broadway.


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Dubai-based Callix aims to capitalise on human interaction instead of impersonal digital personas to help small- and medium-sized enterprises in the UAE to drive business and unify customer experience.
According to Forrester data, 72 per cent of businesses list customer experience improvement as a top priority.
Arif Saiyad, founder and CEO of Callix, part of ASA Ventures, is in the technology field for the last 15 years.
He said that he has been in Dubai for the last six years running different projects.
“We found that small companies really need support for customer service and the contact centres that are currently working are based on the HR business model and are tailored for big corporations.
“What we have done is to provide contact call centre as a service to bring the price point to an affordable level so that any small businesses can leverage on the complete customer solution. We also provide the technological backbone to the service,” he said.
Moreover, he said that customer happiness is the motto of Dubai.
“What we have built is something which was not possible a couple of years ago in Dubai due to prohibitive prices of the telecom operators. We came up with a solution based on technology that does not require training. The call centre can be set up instantly and any person can set up in minutes an online call centre,” he said.
Callix picks up unlimited calls on behalf of the company (24/7) according to their scripts and it will cost them less than Dh1,000 a month.
“Some companies are looking at it to boost the sales. Everyone has websites today but there has to be a differentiator. Just having a website is not enough anymore. It has to be interactive. To boost the sales, we have companies that say call us any time,” Saiyad said.
Callix has more than 150 multilingual staff working at the call centre in Dubai Silicon Oasis.
He said the contact centre is equipped to handle inbound and outbound engagement contracts, and the custom-built AI software enables the centre to feed data back to the client, for actionable business intelligence on customer demands, key issues, outlet performance, stock planning and more. While most business owners will want to Understand Stock Planning so that they can successfully run their business, having an AI manage this on a daily basis could help save time and money.
He said that customer engagement is undergoing significant change, and while there are new channels constantly being added, “We are taking the lead in enhancing the power and potential of the traditional, and arguably most popular, voice-based interaction model.”
“SMEs don’t have the options for setting up a contact centre and the only viable one is to have a receptionist. It is difficult to get a receptionist to answer all the calls and all the time.
“From the cost-cutting side, the companies don’t need to waste time training their receptionist team. We do that part for the SMEs,” he said.
Stats show that 22,000 new companies start every year in the UAE and out of that, 95 per cent are SMEs.
Even though our target is SMEs and start-ups, he said the company gets a lot of interest from government departments and big brands.
“The information we provide to them is far more accurate and scientific when compared to what their own team provides. We give insights and dashboards. These data analytics are devised to help businesses get an insight of recurring customer concerns and successes, thereby allowing management to invest resources towards the best scenario for customer experience and operational efficiency,” he said.
“No one takes the website information of small companies at its face value. I am reading what I am reading on the website. I need still to call them and hear the feedback on the other side. How many of the small companies are picking up the calls.”
Today, Callix has more than 300 SMEs as clients and expects to have more than 3,000 by the end of the year.
Saiyad eyes Saudi Arabia as its next stop as part of the expansion.
Sector: contact call centre
Year Founded: 2017
Founder: Arif Saiyad
Source: Gulf News


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In the race to win the television streaming race,
Recently, the company announced that it was adding seven more apps to the device, which include everything from movies to television to music. While additions like Comedy Central, Nickelodeon, and Sesame Street Go are sure to please those looking for more viewing options, the company is thinking more broadly, adding non-viewing apps as well.
TuneIn will also now be available on Chromecast, which means anyone who has the device now has access to more than 100,000 radio stations, including almost any local or international option you could want. On top of that, upwards of four million podcasts are also offered, covering everything from news, sports, and yes, music.
If you’re not familiar with Chromecast, it’s a thumb drive-sized device that plugs into any TV with an HDMI port. It then connects to laptops, smartphones, or tablets, and displays the apps right on the screen, turning any TV into a smart TV. Google has been partnering up with more content providers lately to add new apps to the service in an effort to come out ahead of other media devices and services that connect to the TV (most notably,
The company is going out of their way to tout the incredible number and variety of podcasts available on the device, which includes some of the most popular and beloved recordings on the internet today. Out of the four million available, TuneIn recently highlighted a handful that they feel stand out from the rest including This American Life, On Point, Here’s The Thing (with interviews conducted by Alec Baldwin), Freakonomics, and plenty of college sports.
When asked about why radio and podcasts were a good fit for Google’s move into the smart television market, TuneIn CEO John Donham said:
“A tremendous amount of listening happens in the house. People ask the question: ‘Why is it that I’d want to listen through my TV’, and yet we can look at a twenty year history of cable companies providing that very popular service. Now, instead of fifty or one hundred channels or music, TuneIn does it with 100,000 channels.”
Starting at just $35 and now offering some of the best music and television content out there, Chromecast might be a great stocking stuffer for the media or tech lover in your family.


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July 11, 2019 10:06
Standard & Poor's on Wednesday slashed Korea's economic growth forecast for this year from 2.4 to two percent. The credit ratings firm said Korea's credit cycle is "turning negative" as "the credit quality of Korea's top 200 companies has weakened as a result of rising debt and stalled earnings in 2018."
S&P forecast that Korea's export-dependent businesses will be directly impacted by the U.S.-China trade war and Japanese curbs on shipments of high-tech materials.
It added that industries such as semiconductors, smartphones, automobiles and petrochemicals will face difficult conditions over the next one or two years. For the first time since 2015, more Korean businesses had their credit ratings slashed than raised in the first half of this year, and that will continue for the time being, it said.
The world's three top ratings firms have now all slashed Korea's growth projection to just above two percent between them. In March, Moody's lowered Korea's growth forecast to 2.1 percent, and Fitch followed suit with two percent last month.
Investment bank Morgan Stanley cut its outlook for Korea from 2.2 to 1.8 percent citing the impact of Tokyo's export restrictions on key industries including semiconductors and displays. Last month, Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan lowered their outlook for Korea to 2.2 percent.
The government held out hope of a recovery in the second half of this year until it reluctantly cut its own outlook from 2.6 to 2.7 percent to 2.4 to 2.5 percent this month, but that is probably still too rosy.
Bank of Korea Governor Lee Ju-yeol said recently, "Global trade could shrink due to the prolonged U.S.-China trade war, and forecasts of a slower-than-expected recovery in the semiconductor industry are gaining more weight."
The BOK is expected to lower its forecast for this year further from the present 2.5 percent.
- Copyright © Chosunilbo & Chosun.com


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Gaming equipment maker and content provider International Game Technology Plc (IGT) says it has signed a “broad” patent cross-licensing agreement with market rival Aristocrat Leisure Ltd. The financial terms of the deal have not been disclosed.
A Tuesday press release from IGT said the deal included “valuable patents related to game features and remote game server technologies”.
Under the arrangement, IGT and Australia-listed Aristocrat will each be able to offer licences to the companies’ combined game feature and remote game server patent portfolios “to the global gaming industry,” said IGT.
“This agreement extends and expands the previous patent cross-licensing arrangement between IGT and Aristocrat,” said Renato Ascoli, IGT’s chief executive global gaming, as cited in the press release.
He added: “We look forward to providing the entire gaming industry with the opportunity to license IGT and Aristocrat patents, particularly the compelling content resulting from our combined remote game server portfolios, in the spirit of competition and innovation.”
IGT stressed however that – notwithstanding the latest deal – it would “continue in its efforts to protect its intellectual property, individually and through collaborations with gaming industry developers and suppliers”.
On Monday, IGT announced it had an agreement to acquire iSoftBet for approximately EUR160 million (US$174 million) in cash. iSoftBet is an online and mobile casino games supplier, and third-party game aggregator.
Apr 19, 2024The deployment of a “smart table” product – combining the use of radio frequency identification (RFID) technology and cameras gathering data for analysis via artificial intelligence (AI) –...
”Once Solaire North is fully ramped up, and both properties are generating a certain expectation that we have on cash flow… then we will probably launch the Paniman [casino] project”
Chairman and chief executive of Bloomberry Resorts


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San Francisco's FarFaria raises $3.25M in Series A funding for children's iPad book service
FarFaria announced that it has secured $3.25 million in funding for its children's iPad subscription book service. The Series A financing round was led by Inventus Capital Partners, according to TechCrunch.
Ajay Godhwani, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of FarFaria, said he plans to focus their marketing efforts on the US for now. He also said that the company's service offers a curated collection of children's books through a subscription service. This allows subscribers to read a series of titles without the need to pay for additional books. In addition, parents do not have to worry if the book content is appropriate or not. The service also has a "Read To Me" feature and another one that allows users to locate books using a map-like menu, the report detailed.
Godhwani's next plan includes growing the library and adding more devices for the app's service, the report said.
FarFaria currently offers one free story per day. Beyond that, users have to subscribe to a monthly fee of $3.99, TechCrunch reported.


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Garry H (Cut Nut)
- Aug 15, 2000
TRADE: A comprehensive study by KPMG, an economic research group, concluded that worldwide jewelry sales will experience a 4.3% combined annual growth rate, from about $146 billion in 2006 to $230 billion in 2015.
However, if the industry were to reform its marketing practices, adopt more transparent and professional business methods, and spend more on product research, that growth could reach $280 billion, with significantly improved cash flow. Much of that extra growth would come in mature markets, especially the U.S., if manufacturers and retailers created more innovative products and marketing programs.
The study predicts that high debts, mounting inventories, and dwindling profits will catch up to the diamond trade within two years and force a series of mergers and consolidations as well as an average price decline of 20% in 2008.
Industry observers familiar with the report acknowledge that some consolidation may occur, but they believe strong consumer demand for diamonds worldwide will keep the diamond trade from experiencing the hard landing predicted by the report.
If our industry woke up to the idea that 1/2 the biz is round diamonds, and spent some effort to be more creative - then the growth coul easily become +10% a year - then we could keep up with the rest of the fashion related industries.
Who knows - it might be a diamond company that entertains me at the Australian Open grand slam event in 2015, instead of a tic toc company.
(either way - the tennis has been fantastic this last 2 weeks!)


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Broadway Just Debuted a New Citi Bike Station for Lower Manhattan Bike Commuters
Lower Manhattan residents and workers have so many ways to commute to and from Downtown, and now we’ve got one more: A new Citi Bike station has opened outside of 42 Broadway, making it easy for folks to get to Wall Street, Broad Street and elsewhere in the neighborhood.
The station’s a short distance from a longstanding Citi Bike station at Bowling Green, and close to the newcomer on Albany Street, in between Washington and Greenwich streets.
Citi Bike day passes include unlimited, 30-minute rides, and an annual membership includes unlimited 45-minute rides. Download the Citi Bike app to monitor bike availability in real time via the Apple Store or Google Play.Tags: Broadway, citi bike