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Money-making stock! Hero Motocorp gives 5% return in 1 day - Should you buy? Find out!
Post Q1FY20 result, one can actually still continue buying Hero MotoCorp shares as the company is seen doing well.
Investors were very upbeat on two-wheeler giant Hero Motocorp in Wednesday’s trading session after the company surprised both experts and industry by bagging a massive 38% jump in their net profit during Q1FY20. The share price of Hero Motocorp ended at Rs 2,349.75 per piece up by Rs 90.40 or 4%. At one point, the company gave a nearly 5% return in 1 day, after it touched an intraday high of Rs 2,369 per piece. In Q1FY20, Hero posted a net profit of Rs 1,257.34 crore on a standalone basis for the quarter ended June 30. However, revenue from operations for the quarter fell to Rs 8,030.27 crore, from Rs 8,809.82 crore for the quarter ended June 30, 2018. Post Q1FY20 result, one can actually still continue buying Hero shares as the company is seen as soaring further.
Here’s what the experts say:
Chirag Shah and Jay Mehta, Research Analysts at Edelweiss Securities said, “ Demand across rural and urban markets continued to remain subdued with recovery contingent on a strong monsoon and improvement in availability of financing. With the Destini 125cc (18% market share), the company has tasted success in the fastgrowing 125cc scooter segment, but we believe it needs to replicate the performance in the premium motorcycle segment as well. Ability to pass on BSVI costs and prudent inventory management remain key H2FY20 monitorables. Maintain ‘HOLD’ with revised TP of INR2,498 (INR2,532 earlier) as we roll over to December 2020E.”
Meanwhile, Saksham Kaushal, Research Analyst at Phillip Capital said, “2W industry has not yet recovered from the negative impact of the recent price hikes and further given the weak consumer sentiment coupled with a liquidity crunch we don’t see the market fully absorbing the another increase of c.Rs 8,000 because of BS6 emission norms from April 2020. Industry already is witnessing trends of down‐ trading towards cheaper variants, which will put more pressure on profitability. To factor in the same we build in ‐6.2%/ 1.5 volume growth and EBITDA margins of 14.1%/13.9% for FY20/21. Maintain Neutral with a target of Rs 2,273, valuing the company at 14x FY21 EPS.”
Similarly, expert at Motilal Oswal in their note said, “We cut our FY21 EPS estimate by ~4% to factor in our reduced volume/margin assumptions. Near-term demand uncertainty, BS6 transition and increasing threat of electrification are likely to keep earnings and valuations under check. The stock trades at 14.5x/13.3x FY20/21 EPS, which is a fair reflection of flat EPS over FY19-21. Maintain Neutral with a target price of INR2,525 (~14x Mar’21 EPS + INR140/share for Hero FinCorp).”
However, on the other hand, Aditya Makharia and Mansi Lall analysts at HDFC Securities said, “Maintain BUY as (1) Hero has successfully defended market share in the 2W segment in the current downturn. (2) The premium launches will further enhance its addressable customer base. The market share shift away from scooters will benefit given its motorbike dominant portfolio. (3) The stock is trading at attractive valuations of 13.7x on FY20E estimates and offers a dividend yield of ~3.9%. The co has healthy return ratios with an ROE of 24%.”
Hence, the duo at HDFC said, “1QFY20 operating performance was a beat as margins at 14.4% were up +90bps QoQ on improved cost management. Amidst an uncertain environment, Hero is addressing white spaces in its portfolio and upgrading its existing products. Re-iterate BUY, with a TP of Rs 2,875 (16x FY21 EPS).”
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These were New Jersey’s top luxury home sales in 2023
The Garden State had nearly 30 home sales worth $5M or more last year
There were nearly 30 residential home sales worth $5 million or more in New Jersey last year.
The Real Deal scoured the records of the state’s major counties to compile a list of New Jersey’s biggest home sales for 2023. Of the 57,000 home sales collected, 28 were for $5 million or more.
Sea Girt Borough in Monmouth County had the most, with five $5 million-plus deals.
But you have to go a few miles up the Jersey Shore to find the priciest home sale of the year.
The tiny seaside enclave of Allenhurst Borough just north of Asbury Park took that prize at the start of 2023 with the $12.75 million sale of 1 Cedar Avenue, an eight-bedroom, five-and-a-half-bathroom home right on the beach.
Farther north, in the Bergen County borough of Alpine, a six-bedroom home at 8 The Esplanade took second place with an $11.4 million sale.
The third-priciest sale takes us further inland to 349 Crestmont Road in Essex County’s Cedar Grove Township, which went for $9.5 million.
A seven-bedroom, 12-bathroom mansion at 7 Hemlock Drive in Alpine sold for nearly $8.2 million to take fourth place, edging out a similarly sized house at 65 South Boulevard in Monmouth County’s Spring Lake Borough that sold for an even $8 million, rounding out the top five.
Though Sea Girt had the most $5 million-plus home sales, the towns of Alpine and Spring Lake also made a decent showing, with three such deals each.
For the full dataset underlying the rankings as well as key contact information, check out TRD Data, The Real Deal’s new data subscription platform.

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At age 20, the teen prodigy of "Royals" raised the bar, marrying the massive vistas of electronic music alongside the human-scaled and handmade on her second LP, with help from co-producer Jack Antonoff.
Any decision by China’s policymakers to begin selling down the country’s huge reserves would have a large impact on markets.
Arriving at the stage, he said: "What an incredible honour, that meant a lot. Two years ago we found ourselves submerged deep in nature with all its complications and all the beauty that it gave us cinematically.
The pear-shaped diamond named The Blue is 13.22 carats is estimated to be worth between $21-$25 million.
Her mother discovered the debits on Jan 30, China Central Television reported.
Major American retailers including Wal-Mart, Target (TGT, Fortune 500), and Kmart all opened their stores on Thanksgiving to get a jump on the holiday gift shopping season. Wal-Mart even went as far as to open its stores two hours earlier this year than it did last. But Costco (COST, Fortune 500) refused to join the trend of "Black Friday creep" and kept its doors shut. Chief executive Craig Jelinek thought giving his workers a day off was more important than increasing his company's bottom line.
In Sex and the City, Miranda and Carrie frequent a place called Magnolia Bakery at 401 Bleeker Street. After the episodes aired, hordes of people had to investigate those cupcakes. Nothing can incur cupcake mania quite like Carrie Bradshaw can. Magnolia Bakery received a huge boost in sales and customers. In fact, they were so popular that they had to hire a "bouncer" of sorts. Not quite your typical club bouncer, this bouncer was friendly and very interested in the finer points of cupcakes.


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MIAMI – The South Florida Seafood Fest is back this year, taking over Coconut Grove.
The event features food from more than 30 local spots and live music.
This is the festival’s 10th year, and this year, organizers are hosting it where it all began.
“In past years, we’ve had thousands of local people come out and celebrate. It’s such a good time. It’s all things seafood and waterfront living. And now we’re back at Coconut Grove, where it all started,” said Director of Marketing Michael Priceman.
Attendees will be surrounded by a sea of food and drinks as more than 30 gourmet seafood spots are serving up dishes and drinks shaken up by top mixologists.
The whole family is invited, too.
There will be live music, games and a kitchen lab where local chefs will show you firsthand how it’s done.
One of the participating restaurants is Manjay -- they blend together different Caribbean flavors and food.
“So basically what I’m doing is cooking the shrimp before I add my coconut curry, and we also use Haitian house-made Creole sauce to blend that and that brings everything together,” Manjay’s chef explained as he cooked up a meal.
The coco loco shrimp has Haitian djon djon rice and tostones, and is topped off with coleslaw.
“We have the spicy coleslaw, which adds a little kick to it,” the chef said.
The beauty about this dish is you can use a fork or your hands.
And you can try it this Sunday at the festival.
In addition to the coco loco shrimp, there will be crab legs, paella, lobster rolls and more.
It’s truly a seafood lover’s dream come true.
Cooking demonstrations start at 11:30 a.m. and happen every 45 minutes.
Click here for ticket information.


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There has been significant increases in the number of recent Smash and Grab attacks in London. Gangs target high end, luxury stores and perform rapid, shocking attacks, often stealing thousands of pounds worth of stock.
Bandit UK are sponsors of this Police and Security event bringing together high end retailers, selected product providers, Police and other partners to examine potential solutions for Smash and Grab attacks being held at the Royal Institution, Mayfair, London on Friday15th May 2015 . The event will be an immersive, educational experience. Members of the ‘Safer Jewellery and Luxury Fashion Group’ who already share information / intelligence about such crimes and associated activity will make up the majority of the delegates, as well as representatives from other areas of Greater London.
Actors will perform a high impact reconstruction of a Smash and Grab incident on stage, showing the reality of these crimes including a live Fog Bandit activation.


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Dr Atta Hussain Soomro, director general of Agriculture Research Sindh, on Wednesday addressing a seminar at Quaid-e-Awam Agriculture Research Institute, Larkana said that the Sindh government has launched aerobic rice project to introduce new varieties and get maximum crop yield.
The seminar was held to celebrate the successful experiment of ‘DR 92’ rice variety.
Dr Atta said that the concerned officials have observed water shortage due to climatic change and hence they have considered to introduce those varieties which are feasible to counter the water scarcity.
The need to adopt the new methods felt after a view to copeup farmers with shortage of water. Aerobic rice production is a revolutionary way of growing rice in well-drained, non-puddled, and non-saturated soils without ponded water.


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Back at the Mobile World Congress 2014, Motorola mentioned that Moto X successor will see the light of the day later this year. Later, we found out it will be known as Moto X+1, thanks to the well-connected @evleaks.
Earlier today, the prolific leaker posted another tweet with a wide range of color options for the upcoming Moto X+1, which includes over 20 backplate options.
There are a lot of different backplate options to choose from. Surprisingly, they are not limited to the usual back covers, but the list also shows different wood, as well as leather backs. We’ve heard about the leather backs in the past as well.
There’s no word about what we could expect from the handset, but it’s a little too early to talk about it. You never know, since we’ve started seeing about the alleged handset, it should be long before we will find out more information about the handset.
We’ll update you as soon as we get more information, or if any leak pops up.
Latest Geeky Gadgets Deals
Disclosure: Some of our articles include affiliate links. If you buy something through one of these links, Geeky Gadgets may earn an affiliate commission. Learn about our Disclosure Policy.


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PARIS — Parfums Kenzo is banking on flower power again for its new men's scent, Kenzo Power, due out starting at the end of August.
It is the seventh fragrance for guys from the LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton-owned brand and comes eight years after its blockbuster Flower by Kenzo women’s fragrance.
“When we look at the Kenzo fragrance portfolio, Flower by Kenzo has been the star since its launch in 2000. It embodies a bold creativity that not only set new standards for the industry but also brought tremendous commercial success worldwide,” said Philippe Lesne, regional director of North and Latin America for Parfums Kenzo. (In France, for instance, Flower by Kenzo ranks among the top five prestige women’s fragrances.)
“So this year, our goal is to bring out a fragrance for men that is equally innovative and successful,” he added.
Kenzo executives would not discuss sales projections, but industry sources believe the fragrance will generate $150 million in first-year retail revenues worldwide.
International Flavors & Fragrances perfumer Olivier Polge was given a brief to come up with a flower for men. With that in mind, he dreamed up an imaginary flower for his woody amber composition.
“It’s not a real flower; it is an association of flowery notes, and then you have softness because of tolu balsam,” said Odile Lobadowsky, president and chief executive officer of Parfums Kenzo.
“Kenzo Power gives a general feeling of ‘flower’ with a woody drydown,” added Patrick Guedj, creative director of Parfums Kenzo.
Beside the floral part of the juice, other notes include bergamot, coriander, cardamom, cedar and labdanum.
Kenya Hara designed both Kenzo Power’s minimalist outer packaging and streamlined bottle, which takes its cue from a sake bottle he created.
Advertising was conceived and shot by Guedj and stars model Andy Gillet.
“It’s really the story between a man and a flower,” said Guedj, who explained there's also an association between the image of a woman and that of a flower. “At the end of the film, he goes out of the room with the flower just to take it from the darkness to go into the light.”
There will be a 60-second version of the film for the Internet, a 45-second iteration for movie theaters and a 30-second one for TV. The print ad will appear as single and double pages.
The new fragrance will be introduced in North America, Europe, Russia and Australia between the end of August and early September. In the U.S., it is to be launched exclusively in Bloomingdale’s and in Canada in The Bay. Elsewhere, the launch will take place between yearend and early 2009.
The Kenzo Power line will include a 60-ml. eau de parfum spray for $55, a 125-ml. eau de toilette spray for $75 and a 750-ml. eau de toilette spray for $300. Ancillaries comprise a 150-ml. aftershave balm for $47, a 125-ml. aftershave spray for $49, a 75-ml. roll-on deodorant for $22, a 150-ml. spray deodorant for $28 and a 150-ml. hair and body shampoo for $28.
There'll be no rest for those headed to Europe for men's, as Paris just closed the gap with Milan. According to a provisional calendar released by the Chambre Syndicale, Paris Men's Week will now open a day earlier on January 16. See new highlights on the official lineup on WWD.com. #wwdnews #wwdfashion (📷: @kukukuba)
BREAKING: Jonathan Saunders is leaving @DVF. The designer has resigned from his position as chief creative officer of Diane von Furstenberg, the company said in a statement on Friday. At the time of his hire, von Furstenberg said Saunders’ arrival symbolized and facilitated her stepping back from the day-to-day duties that occupy the work of a full-time creative director. The British designer joined DVF in May 2016 and was in charge of all product categories. #wwdnews
For @versace_official’s spring ad campaign, the brand emphasized the archival prints from the spring tribute collection dedicated to the late Gianni Versace. Closing out the show were five of Gianni’s favorite models: Cindy, Naomi, Carla, Helena, and Claudia. Bowing on December 18, the new campaign is yet another tribute to supermodel-dom as the images by Steven Meisel are fronted by @iamnaomicampbell, @cturlington, @gisele and more. #wwdfashion
Four-time Oscar-nominated actress Annette Bening has been waiting 20 years to play Gloria Graham in "Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool," which will be released on December 29. The movie about Graham – a Hollywood star known for her controversial relationship with a younger Englishman named Peter Turner – is based off a memoir Turned wrote. "She felt vulnerable to him, because she loved him, she really did love him. And anyone that we really truly are in love with, we re vulnerable to in a very deep way," said Bening. Read our full interview with the modern icon of an actress on WWD.com. #wwdeye (📷: @ninebagatelles; Styled by @cristinaehrlich)
The crisp white button down: a staple that can be dressed up or down and accessorized throughout the decades. Here, on a Art Basel-goer in 2017 on the left and on the iconic Audrey Hepburn in “Roman Holiday” in 1953 on the right. #tbt #wwdfashion (📷: Andrew Morales)
Known for her work with @victoriassecret, 25-year-old model @georgiafowler is raising her profile in Hollywood. Fowler stars in @vincecamuto’s holiday campaign, which launched in partnership with “Pitch Perfect 3.” “Almost every shoot with Vince Camuto, I’ve had to face a fear…It was definitely a challenge. I’m so grateful for it, though. I’ve always wanted to be a pop star, so that was the perfect chance,” Fowler said. Head to WWD.com to read about Fowler’s experience modeling, including at the #VSFashionShow, and her relationship with Nick Jonas. #wwdeye (📷: @jilliansollazzo)
EXCLUSIVE: Huda Kattan just became the first beauty influencer to land a major beauty deal. Kattan's business, @hudabeauty, has received a minority investment from private equity firm TSG Consumer Partners. The brand, which industry sources say is on track to do $200 million in retail sales for 2017, will receive support on product, retail and geographic expansion through the deal. Get all the details on the deal and read @_a_collins' interview with Kattan on WWD.com. Link in bio. (📷: @jgreenery) #wwdbeauty #wwdnews
Peruvian model @juanaburga_official – who is known for walking the runways of @rodarte, @viviennewestwood and @torybuch – is making the move to the big screen with drama “Los Últimos.” The film premiered in Argentina in November and arrives in the U.S. and Europe in 2018. On making the switch from modeling to acting, Burga told WWD: “It’s a completely different thing – a lot of people think it’s similar or try to connect things, especially like getting used to the camera or being looked at all the time or playing these different characrers, but film is a completely different story.” #wwdeye (📷: @jgreenery)
London’s newly opened @designmuseum will look back on the life and work of Azzedine Alaïa in a show that the designer helped to curate before he died of heart failure last month. The retrospective, which Alaïa had worked on with Mark Wilson, chief curator of the @groningermuseum, will look at the impact of his work worldwide. The show, “Azzedine Alaïa: The Couturier,” will run from May 10 to October 7. Read more about the exhibit on WWD.com #wwdnews #wwdfashion (📷: @zefashioninsider)


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Google, the largest search engine in most parts of the world, has penalized the ranking of the homepage of its own Chrome browser from the search results of relevant keywords, such as Chrome and browser. The move comes after the Mountain View, CA-based, company was found purchasing sponsored posts for Chrome on blogs, with a link that wasn't tagged as "nofollow." The move essentially punishes Google for violating a rule it sets itself. Google did not buy a paid link per se. It bought it through Unruly Media, an ad agency specializing in the distribution of online videos, which purchased blog posts with an embedded promotional video about Google Chrome. As with other Unruly Media advertorial campaigns, bloggers are free to write unbiased articles to accompany the video, with no requirement to link to any websites. In the case of Google's campaign, most bloggers did not link to Chrome's homepage. Only one was found to be doing so, without a "nofollow" tag, and that apparently is enough to justify a penalty, according to Matt Cutts, head of Google's webspam team:
I’ll give the short summary, then I’ll describe the webspam team’s response. Google was trying to buy video ads about Chrome, and these sponsored posts were an inadvertent result of that. If you investigated the two dozen or so sponsored posts (as the webspam team immediately did), the posts typically showed a Google Chrome video but didn’t actually link to Google Chrome. We double-checked, and the video players weren’t flowing PageRank to Google either. However, we did find one sponsored post that linked to www.google.com/chrome in a way that flowed PageRank. Even though the intent of the campaign was to get people to watch videos--not link to Google--and even though we only found a single sponsored post that actually linked to Google’s Chrome page and passed PageRank, that’s still a violation of our quality guidelines, which you can find at http://support.google.com/webmasters/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=35769#3 . In response, the webspam team has taken manual action to demote www.google.com/chrome for at least 60 days. After that, someone on the Chrome side can submit a reconsideration request documenting their clean-up just like any other company would. During the 60 days, the PageRank of www.google.com/chrome will also be lowered to reflect the fact that we also won’t trust outgoing links from that page.
This isn't the first time
In 2009, Google Japan was also found to be purchasing paid links to promote a new product. Google wasn't acting very kind to its Asian cousin either, dropping its PageRank from nine to five. Google.co.jp is now ranked at eight (out of ten). In a Senate antitrust hearing last September, Google Chairman Eric Schmidt said that Google doesn't cook its search results to favor its own products. The actions Google took upon itself in both the above cases could be a testament of that.


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Impossible, you say? How could an Internet company buy such an American manufacturing behemoth? A quick look at the math reveals how. With a market cap of about $150 billion, Google could gobble up GM which has a market cap of about $8 billion for breakfast and still have plenty of room for lunch. Derek Kaufman, president of C3 Network, recently raised this possibility at the Aftermarket eForum in Chicago. The potential for scenarios like this illustrate the fact that things are changing very rapidly in the automotive industry, and changes inevitably filter over to the aftermarket. It was unfathomable 10 years ago that an Internet company had the power and money to buy an American car manufacturer.
Just as a company like Google seemingly came out of nowhere with new business models and became a powerful force to be reckoned with, the automotive aftermarket is undergoing a series of changes and encountering trends that will be real earthshakers. One trend is telematics. Ask six people what telematics is and you’ll likely get a host of varying answers. Regardless what the answer is, there’s a lot of money to be made in telematics.
Vehicle telematics is anything to do with sending, receiving and/or storing information about a vehicle. It can be the ability to pay tolls remotely, global positioning, vehicle tracking, collision notification, accident prevention, mobile data and mobile television, to name a few. Sirius satellite radio already has Sirius Backseat TV in the works. It’s a system that will broadcast shows from three kids’ networks, much like the company now broadcasts music and cable news programming live to in-car receivers.
There was a time when people marveled at how an on-board computer became the brains of an automobile. When that happened, there became a critical need for independent repair shops to be able to access the information inside those on-board computers. Now a whole new array of information-laden and information-gathering devices are coming on-board which makes new revenue streams possible.
The impact of the future of telematics on the aftermarket is outlined and reviewed in “Telematics Primer The Aftermarket’s Role in the Telematics Future,” which was produced by the Automotive Aftermarket Industry Association (AAIA). It’s a 101-page guide to telematics that explains potential applications, opportunities and challenges to the aftermarket. The study is available free to AAIA members and costs $1,250 for non-members. I’d suggest everyone get a copy, review it and get ready for the future. Go to aftermarket.org for more information. While telematics is used in some vehicles today, it will flourish down the road.
Remember 12 years ago or so ago when people thought the Internet was just a quaint diversion for geeks and there weren’t really any practical uses? I remember people asking, “What’s email? Why would I send one?” Well look at it now. Telematics is poised to follow the same route. Think the idea of a car driving itself is just silly? Some of them can already park themselves.


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If the state’s convenience stores have their way, anyone wanting a six-pack of beer in Tennessee soon will have to prove they are old enough to buy it, even if they look well over 21.
The state House approved legislation Thursday that would require all beer sellers but restaurants to check all IDs.
The bill also would create a voluntary training regimen for sellers and all their employees called the “responsible vendors program,” and that is where the legislation has drawn opposition.
Businesses that participate in the program would face lower fines if found guilty of selling beer to a minor than those that don’t participate. The measure also stipulates that beer permits for “responsible vendors” cannot be revoked on a first offense.
“Our biggest concern is a reduction in fines for those who opt into the program,” said Laura Dial, executive director of Mothers Against Drunk Driving of Tennessee, which is neutral on the bill. “That just doesn’t make any sense.”
The House passed the legislation on a vote of 75-20 Thursday, and the Senate approved it unanimously last week. The Senate approved the bill last week but must vote again because it was amended.
Gov. Phil Bredesen has not said if he would sign it.
The bill would mandate carding for only a year beginning July 1, 2007, unless the Legislature votes to extend it. And it wouldn’t apply to sales of wine or whiskey. Beer sales are traditionally regulated locally in Tennessee, while liquor sales are regulated by the state. Beer can’t be sold in stores that sell wine and liquor.
Suburban mayors object
Several mayors of suburban municipalities in Shelby County, known for strictly enforcing beer laws, have lobbied against the bill because of the lighter punishments.
Mayor Terry Jones of Millington, a town of about 10,500 residents just north of Memphis, said the legislation is an attempt to shield convenience stores from local laws.
“All they’re trying to do is take the ability to enforce the law away from us,” Jones said. “You get one chance here” if caught selling beer to minors.
But Emily LeRoy, associate director of the Tennessee Oil Marketers Association, one of several industry groups pushing the bill, said the lower fines are a fair deal for a business that puts the time and expense into the training.
A business would still face losing its license if caught in two separate instances of selling beer to a minor. A business could also be kicked out of the program if it does not train all employees.
Chris Freeman, a manager for Pilot convenience stores, said it was difficult at first to get customers used to being carded even if they were obviously older than 21.
“Now they walk up and have their IDs ready,” he said. “It made it easier on the cashiers.”


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Xiaomi is planning to launch its budget flagship Mi 8 Lite smartphone in Taiwan. The smartphone is already available in the Chinese market. It seems like the brand is finally making its flagship device available globally. If you’re not aware, there are five devices which fall under the latest Mi 8 lineup, with Mi 8 Lite sitting at the lowest. The Xiaomi Mi 8 Lite offers flagship-grade features at an affordable price tag. Before Mi 8 Lite, the Xiaomi Mi 8 SE was the most affordable smartphone in this lineup but now the lite version takes the pricing to another level.
Xiaomi Mi 8 Lite to go official in Taiwan on November
According to several reports, the Chinese manufacturing giant will launch their budget Mi 8 Lite device in Taiwan during 11.11 sale period. The 11.11 sale period goes by the name of Single’s Day which is somewhat similar to the Black Friday. Launching this smartphone during this shopping festival would be a great move for the brand. Apart from that, the brand will launch this device in three different colors – Dream Blue, Twilight Gold, and Deep Space Gray.
To recall, Xiaomi Mi 8 Lite was launched in China on September 19, 2018, along with its Pro variant. The smartphone comes with a 6.26-inch Full HD+ display with an aspect ratio of 19:9 and a resolution of 1080 x 2280 pixels. Yes! It has a notch on the front. The brand went with the IPS LCD panel instead of AMOLED unlike other smartphones under this series. The device is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 chipset paired with 4GB/6GB RAM combined with 64GB/128GB internal memory. Speaking of optics, there is a dual camera setup at the back with 12MP + 5MP sensors. In front, there is a 24-MP selfie shooter. Both the front as well back cameras are equipped with AI capabilities. Sadly, there is no 3.5-mm headphone jack meaning you can’t consume media while charging. All of this runs on a 3350mAh battery and Android 8.1 Oreo.
Xiaomi Mi 8 Lite going global, Indian launch next?
If this report is to be believed, then we can say the brand is finally launching their Mi 8 lineup in the global market. We were already expecting Mi 8 SE to hit the Indian shores a couple of months ago. It seems like the Mi 8 Lite might actually arrive in the Indian market. It is worth noting that Xiaomi hasn’t really launched any flagship device in India for a long time. The brand skipped the Mi 6 and might also do the same with Mi 8. Since the Mi 8 Lite falls on the budget segment, there is high chance that this device will make its way into the country.
Adding to the story, Xiaomi’s Global spokesperson Donovan Sung previously confirmed that Mi 8 Pro will go global soon. Last month, Xiaomi’s official twitter handle posted a tweet which reads “Where should be the first stop?”. It clearly indicates the intention of the brand to launch the Mi 8 Lite in the global market.
Xiaomi Mi 8 Lite comes in three storage variants – 4GB/64GB, 6GB/64GB and 6GB/128GB. The base variant is priced at CNY 1,399 (Rs. 14,800 approx.) while the other two variants will be yours at a cost of CNY 1,699 (Rs. 18,000 approx.) and CNY 1,999 (Rs. 21,200 approx.) respectively.


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A new report is suggesting that Sony will ditch the DualShock controller for the PS4 and instead create a new one possibly containing a LCD touch screen and biometrics.
Biometrics technology captures data from the player's body, such as temperature and heart rate. Valve has been experimenting with the tech, trying to discover new game experiences that would benefit from it. A second source explained that Sony was supposedly trying to emulate the UI philosophies behind the Vita, and this is what inspired the touch screen implimentation to the new controller. The Vita has a touchscreen on the front and a touch panel on the rear, which some games use as an alternative to the conventional control methods.
Many of the controllers currently being tested by Sony's R&D (Research and Development) department mark a rapid departure from the DualShock. Sony will be looking to further integrate its handheld devices with the main hub of a next generation machine. At present, only some games feature cross-platform play between the PS Vita and PS3.


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cross February 4-6, at ExCel, London, Alfastreet will showcase plenty of its latest developments, being led by the brand new Verso single terminal.
"This terminal is our latest achievement and it combines our latest technology, knowledge and experience, all combined into this beautiful standalone station," said the company’s Sales Director, Albert Radman.
Radman also said that, at ICE, the Slovenia-based company will be presenting the rest of its best selling products, refreshed and upgraded, with new multi-game software that provides features and abilities 'so far unseen in the electronic table gaming.' These terminals offer huge flexibility with positioning, gaming options, entertainment, comfort, and privacy.
When asked about the company’s plans and strategies for 2020, Radman explained: "we at Alfastreet believe that our latest Verso terminal is the future in the market with more and more rising of single-player terminals and huge stadiums at the same time that offers a great amount of entertainment to the player. With great flexibility for the casino and players and also not forget to mention a great improvement of ergonomy for the players to enjoy even more we believe that this is the future of casinos."
Regarding the challenges ahead, Radman commented: "let me just mention that as every year is a great challenge to enter markets where we still need to strengthen our position and we are working really hard every year to prove ourselves and keep the leading position at the same time."


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By Mike De Socio
When Rebecca Hughes stops in at the Sunoco station on U.S. 9 in Schroon
Lake, she always seems to draw attention from locals who aren’t very
familiar with electric vehicles.
“People are super curious, whether they’re current drivers or someone who
maybe an EV has never crossed their mind,” said Hughes, who led the
installation of four electric vehicle chargers there for the New York Power
Authority this past December.


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Gaming execs: Join 180 select leaders
from King, Glu, Rovio, Unity, Facebook, and more to plan your path to global domination in 2015. GamesBeat Summit
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on March 6 Pacific!
Foursquare cofounder and chief executive Dennis Crowley just took the stage at Le Web, an Internet conference held in Paris, France, and noted the company now has 5 million users, is adding 25,000 new users daily, and is seeing more than 2 million check-ins a day.
The company recently announced it was expanding with a full team of engineers in San Francisco, California. The hiring is taking place in part to handle the company’s monthly user growth of 30 percent. While the company noted it had more than 4.5 million users at that time, Crowley updated this number today to 5 million total users.
The New York City-based company, founded in 2009, has raised more than $21 million in funding and currently has close to 40 employees.
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Analysts have warned that the UK economy is “spluttering” and “slowing down” despite returning to growth in the third quarter of 2019.
The UK economy avoided falling into a recession after UK Gross Domestic Product (GDP) returned to growth in the third quarter.
The UK economy is expected to only grow by 1% next year – down from previous predictions of 1.5%, new data shows.
Britain’s economy shrank by 0.1% in August, but a better-than-previously thought performance in July is expected to help the UK avoid recession.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has confirmed that the UK economy slid into decline in the second quarter of 2019, in the latest update of its figures.
The economy grew by 0.3% in July, reducing the risk that the UK is heading for a recession, according to the Office for National Statistics.


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A WINCHESTER High Street store has had its windows smashed after a car allegedly crashed into them.
It is believed a car “backed into” the L K Bennett store at its rear entrance on St George’s Street at some point last night (February 25).
It is not yet known if anyone was injured or if any of the displays were destroyed.
Police have confirmed they received a call at around 8.30pm after "reports of a Citroen Saxo rolling into the window at L K Bennett" were received.
No arrests have been made.
The site is boarded up for the moment but the shop remains open for business.


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Latest News on Google Employees
Showing of 0 - 10 from 5 results
Google Employees - Total results - 5
Aug 11, 2017
Google CEO Sundar Pichai addresses coding event for women after cancelling town hall meetingAfter cancelling a town hall meeting over fears of an anti-diversity manifesto, Google's CEO Sundar Pichai addressed a coding event for women on the campus.
May 13, 2016
Want to become a test driver for Google's self-driving cars? You will need a bachelor's degreeGoogle is now looking for test drivers in Arizona, to test out its self driving cars in the state, but the requirements needed to applying for the job will surprise you.
Mar 08, 2013
Motorola Mobility hardware unit axing 10pc of its workforceMotorola Mobility's hardware unit is in the process of laying off over 10 percent (about 1,200 employees) of its workforce, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Dec 10, 2012
Motorola Mobility to exit South Korea next yearLatest reports confirm that Motorola Mobility will be closing down almost all of its operations in South Korea next year, according to a report The Next Web.
Nov 26, 2012
Motorola Mobility shuts down its Indian websiteIn what has come as another nail in the coffin for Motorola Mobility in India, the company has now shut down its website, marking the end of its India operations.


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A closed sign hangs on the door looking out to an empty restaurant during the coronavirus pandemic on April 14, 2020 in New York City.
Rob Kim | Getty Images
In March, restaurant sales fell sharply after rulers banned eating in person and consumers began to operate with an abundance of grocery stocks. After several weeks, however, a new trend prevailed, evidenced by long car driving lines around the perimeter of fast food sites.
Checkers and Rally’s was one of several fast food companies that took advantage of this shift. With more than 800 locations, it is the largest double-lane restaurant chain in the country.
“We’ve seen the most amazing year in the past,” said CEO Frances Allen. “We have recorded record gains in same store sales and created massive momentum.”
The crisis coincided with the chain renewing its roster, which helped revive sales. To keep up with the surge in demand, about two-thirds of Checkers and Rally restaurants have diverted one of their driving lanes to handle digital orders and delivery.
After decades of fast food, fast food driving lanes are the star, helping fast food chain sales recover faster than full-service brethren sales. By December, driveways accounted for 44% of orders outside of the facility across the entire restaurant industry, according to the NPD Group. With the distribution of vaccines increasing throughout the United States, the popularity of demand by driving a car appears to have steady strength, although industry experts expect it to moderate in some.
Florida, Brooksville, Chick-fil-A, fast food chicken restaurant, driving across the line because of the pandemic.
Jeff Greenberg | Global Photo Group | Getty Images
“I think as people get more vaccinations, the demand will drop from one car to the next, but I don’t think it will drop to previous levels because this increased awareness of germs is here to stay and some people are used to doing things differently now,” said Lisa. Van Kestern, CEO of SeeLevel HX, which conducts an annual lane-driving service survey.
Adrienne, a 27-year-old who lives in Wichita, Kansas, agrees. I have worked in Starbucks With a lane passing for several months.
She said, “Pre-order, delivery and in person may fluctuate, but driving by is an everlasting necessity.”
Other SUV workers say the extra pressure of their jobs seems unlikely to stop for months. Randy, a 30-year-old who works in Michigan, said he wants to quit his job many times, and his site has a very high turnover rate. According to him, the focus has shifted from communicating with clients to making sure orders are filled out in less than a minute.
Bigger volume, bigger orders The average drive slowed down by 29.8 seconds, According to SeeLevelHX’s 2020 study, which was conducted June through August using mystery shoppers. Kentucky owned by Yum Brands, Topped the list and was one of the few chains that managed to shorten the times.
U.S. chain president and chief concept officer Kevin Hochman has credited the Kentucky family’s packing buckets, which saw double-digit growth last year. Hochman is also the interim US president for Pizza Hut, the sister chain of Kentucky Fried Chicken. In response to the higher ticket average, KFC added a $ 30 filling deal to its list to tackle the trend of larger orders.
Cars wait in line when driving through the Yum Corridor! Brands Ink Kentucky Fried Chicken (Kentucky) and Taco Bell Restaurant in Lockport, Illinois, US
Daniel Acker | Bloomberg | Getty Images
“Packing a bucket of 12 pieces against a bucket of eight is very easy to do, versus making eight sandwiches – it’s a completely different model,” said Hochman, adding that other fast food chains are now adding more value meals to their menus.
Hochman predicts that some vehicle-to-car traffic is due to the KFC lobbies where consumers are vaccinated. The fried chicken chain is testing small cubes, with the expectation that their customers will search for faster ways to get their food after the pandemic.
The shift in demand for the car has also increased competition between the fast food and fast food sectors. Strings like Sweetgreen and Shake Shack You have Announce plans to add driving lanes. Chipotle Mexican Grill, Which has been offering its driving lanes only for digital orders, said it would speed up plans to add more “Chipotlanes” to its footprint.
But even before the pandemic, fast food chains were investing in their driving lanes, giving them the upper hand. McDonald’s It has spent more than $ 300 million on Dynamic Yield, an artificial intelligence company that will help the company get customers to spend more. (The company is now exploring selling Dynamic Yield’s third-party business.)
These investments to make driving lanes more efficient have only accelerated in the past year. Strings like KFC and International brands restaurant Burger King has designed new restaurant layouts that highlight the drive and lower pathway into smaller dining rooms.
The Burger King Next Level kitchen suspended over the driving corridors
Source: Burger King
John Kelly, chief operating officer at Arby, said Inspire Brands has been working to make their production more efficient over the past three to five years. Many of its kitchens are now working with two groups of workers gathering orders to keep up with the influx.
“We definitely didn’t upgrade all of our restaurants during Covid,” Kelly said. “There wasn’t enough time or manpower to do that, but we were already on our way, and we accelerated that in 2020.” “And we will continue to upgrade the ones in our restaurants for sure as there is volume today but also in the future.”
Van Kesteren pointed to automation as another big trend that stems from increased driving demands during a crisis. McDonald’s and White Castle are testing an AI program with the goal of receiving driving orders with greater speed and accuracy.
“Previously, automation was being explored and fully automated driveways and kiosks were being tested, but this greatly speeded this up,” she said.
Kelly said Arby’s is investing in technology that will be better able to inform general managers how to hire employees for a restaurant with the fluctuations of traffic. During the busiest time during the pandemic, Arby’s has tasked many restaurant workers to focus on one task, whether it be taking orders or filling drinks.
“So they don’t always try to catch up with where the business is headed,” he said, “but they are actually moving forward with it.” “I think we’ve learned a lot from that during Covid, and we’ll keep moving forward.”
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- The Steam D launched this year and has become a favorite among gamers.
- Valve has lived up to its promise and has delivered a Windows 11-compatible device.
- In addition, the partnership with AMD has reportedly delivered impressive results.
A lot of users want to know about Steam deck Windows 11 compatibility. Well, let us give you all the info you need.
Since Valve first announced this new gadget, they said it would be a powerful PC capable of running almost everything a regular PC can.
The jury is out on the new gaming device, and post Steam Deck release, we can verify if it has lived up to the hype.
If you are interested in purchasing Steam Deck but wondering if Windows 11 runs smoothly on it, you should read on to find out.
What OS does Steam Deck use?
This device is powered by SteamOS, Linux’s Arch-based distribution with built-in Proton support.
If you are wondering, Proton is a compatibility layer whose primary role is to enable Windows games to run on Steam Deck.
You may use it to set up and play Windows games that don’t have native Linux counterparts. The creation of Proton involves collaboration between CodeWeavers and Valve developers.
Proton provides a customized version of Wine and a selection of fast graphics libraries. As a result, there are no performance downsides when using Proton to run Windows games on Linux. Instead, Proton enables you to play several well-known games at decent framerates.
Does Steam Deck support Windows 11?
Valve was reportedly working with another company that knows operating systems and hardware to ensure that the upcoming gadget is ready for any challenge.
Since the most critical factor determining a new device’s capability is whether it is Windows 11 compatible, Steam Deck is not an exception.
And after working on the Trusted Compatibility Module (TPM) and with AMD to ensure Windows 11 compatibility, Valve is confident it has built a flawlessly Windows 11 compatible system.
Steam Deck Windows 11 TPM collaboration was essential because no device can support the new OS with TPM 2.0, and yes, you already guessed it, AMD was chosen because Steam Deck will run on the giant’s processors.
Before release, the was the official statement from Valve:
We’ve focused so much on Windows 10, so far, that we haven’t really gotten that far into it. Our expectation is that we can meet that. It’s also a conversation that’s going on with AMD to make sure that, at the BIOS level, we can accommodate that,” he added. “So there’s nothing to indicate to us yet that there’ll be any issues with Windows 11.
Well, the jury is out, and are there any issues with Windows 11? Not at all.
As the creators of the custom silicon at the heart of the Steam Deck, the Zen 2/RDNA 2 APU, the AMD team has ensured that, at the fundamental level, the new tech is ready for Windows 11.
How do I install Steam Deck on Windows 11?
- Download the installation media for Windows 11 on a PC by clicking the Download Now button.
- Run the tool and select a USB flash drive when asked which media you want to use.
- Connect the USB flash drive to your Steam Deck.
- Power on Steam Deck, hold the volume down button and select USB drive as the boot option.
- After selecting your Language, choose install, then follow the prompts.
You will also need to install Steam Deck Windows 11 drivers to make the best of its Windows compatibility.
So if you didn’t want to buy a Surface laptop or a tablet and are looking more for a different, unique device, you could look into acquiring a Steam Deck for gaming and for running the new OS. The Steam Deck Windows 11 compatibility is flawless.
Have you decided to get your Steam Deck for running the upcoming operating system? Let us know in the comments section below.


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Tara mobile app aims to prevent phone theft
Galileo Software Services Inc., an information technology company established by former whistleblower Rodolfo Noel Lozada has unveiled a mobile security application called Tara, or theft apprehension and asset recovery application.
“We are making it available to all telcos and phone manufacturers before the end of the year,” Mr. Lozada, who became famous as the NBN-ZTE whistleblower, was quoted as saying.
The app service is available only to Smart Communications Inc. and Sun Cellular subscribers. The monthly fee for the package is PhP50 or an annual subscription of PhP500.
Mr. Lozada said Tara would render a stolen smartphone unusable through a “kill-switch” feature that would prevent the mobile phone’s brain from functioning again.
A 2014 National Telecommunications Communication report shows at least 30 smartphones were lost every day to pickpockets or thieves and were easily disposed in the grey market and re-sold to private individuals.
"In most cases, there is a feeling of helplessness among those who lost their phones," said Mr. Lozada.
Tara can lock the stolen phone with a text message, or call a call center to have his or her phone deactivated.
Tara would render the mobile phone unit useless even if the SIM card was removed or replaced, or memory was reformatted or erased, he said.


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Singtel and Ericsson have announced plans to launch what they reckon will be Singapore’s first 5G pilot network at ‘one-north’, the country’s science, business and IT hub, by the fourth quarter of this year.
Ericsson will supply the gear for the 5G pilot network, which will do the usual 5G things – enhanced mobile broadband 10x faster than 4G, low latency communications, transmission of terabytes of data in minutes, 4K video downloads in seconds, etc and so on.
Using trial spectrum allocated by the IMDA, Singtel and Ericsson are planning drone and autonomous vehicle trials on their 5G pilot network later this year at ‘one-north’, as well as other designated areas. Enterprises can use the network to develop and test new 5G use cases, said Mark Chong, group chief technology officer at Singtel.
“5G has the potential to accelerate the digital transformation of industries, as well as empower consumers with innovative applications,” Chong said.
Aileen Chia, deputy chief executive and director-general (Telecoms & Post) at IMDA, said the announcement was “an encouraging step towards commercialization with live 5G trial networks made possible with the regulatory sandbox IMDA has in place”.
Singtel announced the launch of its 5G pilot network at its “Bringing 5G to Life” event held at Singtel Comcentre on Monday, where Singtel and Ericsson demonstrated 3D augmented reality (AR) streaming over a 5G network operating in the 28-GHz mmWave band.
The demonstration enabled participants to view and interact with lifelike virtual objects such as a photorealistic human anatomy and a 360-degree image of the world. The experience was then streamed in real-time to a remote audience via 5G, illustrating the possibilities of using 3D AR technology for large scale remote learning in various industries such as medical and education.
“5G represents a key mobile technology evolution, opening up new possibilities and applications,” said Martin Wiktorin, country manager for Ericsson Singapore, Brunei & the Philippines. “Demonstrating the possibilities in this showcase event will be a catalyst for engagements with Singapore enterprises.”
The event also showcased emerging technologies from partners Garuda Robotics, Intel, Meta, Rohde & Schwarz and Sony. The companies demonstrated how enterprises and consumers can use technologies such as AR, mixed reality, connected drones, real time HD 3D mapping as well as cloud-based gaming and robotics.


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Apple enterprise management company Jamf today announced that its platform now serves over 47,000 customers, powering over 20 million devices worldwide.
Jamf is enterprise management software that businesses, schools, hospitals, and government organizations use for Apple device management purposes.
Jamf says over the course of 2020 it added more than 4 million devices and 10,000 customers, and it is now powering 24 or the 25 most valuable brands (based on Forbes‘ list of the most valuable technology companies).
“Coming into 2015, Jamf was 13 years old and managing less than 4 million devices for approximately 5,000 customers. That year, as the enterprise saw a growing number of professionals demanding to use Apple at work, we set an aggressive goal to empower the new workforce by running on 20 million Apple devices by the end of 2020,” said Dean Hager, CEO of Jamf. “Through our mission to help organizations succeed with Apple, we are proud to have achieved this milestone, and more importantly to have enabled so many organizations to help their employees, doctors, nurses, teachers and students get the most out of their technology and be their best.”
Jamf-powered organizations include:
- 24 of the 25 most valuable brands, according to Forbes
- 10 out of the 10 largest U.S. banks, according to bankrate.com
- 10 of the top 10 global universities, according to U.S. News & World Report
- 16 of the top 20 best U.S. hospitals, according to U.S. News & World Report
- 7 of the top 10 Fortune 500 technology companies


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In recent decades, the story of globalisation has been one of ever-increasing complexity for global supply chains. Producers have shifted manufacturing from one low-cost location to the next – resulting in complex global supply chain ecosystems.
More recent trends towards regional supply chains reflect increasing preferences for near-shoring and on-shoring, plus the need to improve visibility and velocity in order to drive competitive advantage.
But despite this shift towards regionalisation, heightened consumer expectations mean that while supply chains may be getting shorter, their complexity is here to stay.
Trade Growth now lagging GDP Growth
We have known for some time that the historic 2:1 ratio of trade growth relative to economic growth ground to a halt following the 2009 Global Financial Crisis (GFC).
For almost two decades prior, between 1990 and 2008, world trade consistently grew at twice the rate of GDP (Gross Domestic Product) – which averaged annual growth of 3.2 per cent.
More recently, the trade to GDP correlation has become closer to 1:1.
However, it now seems that in the current climate of slowing GDP growth in the developed world, even a 1:1 ratio will be challenging to achieve.
Amongst the many complex factors behind the latest slowdown is the lingering GFC hangover effect – throughout the developed markets – of reduced demand for consumer goods, many of which are imported via complex global supply chains.
Ironically, these complex global supply chains were themselves created by the globalisation frenzy of the last three decades, whereby out-sourcing and off-shoring initiatives fuelled the dramatic growth of manufacturing in Asia, with China notably becoming positioned as the ‘Factory of the World’.
The endless pursuit of low-cost country sourcing (LCCS) initiatives chased the lowest cost locations for labour intensive manufacturing activities. This led to the large-scale unbundling of production – in terms of both location and process – which, in turn, drove the widespread globalisation of supply chains.
This resulted in a sustained period of continuous and rapid growth in worldwide cargo movements, now recognised as a massive ‘one-off gain’ for international trade, albeit with huge benefits for international freight forwarders.
However, just about anything and everything that could be out-sourced and off-shored to Asia, has been. Hence, in recent years, we have seen only incremental growth in trade volumes.
In addition, governments across the developing world have focused on domestic infrastructure investments to drive economic growth, whilst across all markets there are increased elements of protectionism, which is a drag on global trade.
Populist protectionist sentiment has been on the rise, as witnessed for example with the Brexit and Trump electoral outcomes, increasing the use of trade-restrictive measures such as tariffs. During 2016 alone, according to Global Trade Alert, more than 800 new discriminatory trade measures were introduced worldwide, compared to just 354 liberalising measures. As summarised in BCG’s New Globalization report, bilateral agreements based on national interests are taking precedence over multilateralism.
In addition, as WTO Director General Roberto Azevêdo articulated to world leaders at the 2017 World Economic Forum in Davos: “The net positive effect of trade means nothing if you've lost your job. So we need better domestic policies to support people and get them back to work.”
Supply Chain Velocity drives competitive advantage
Supply chain velocity is an additional factor influencing the rethinking of goods flows beyond global to regional. With product life cycles continually reducing and speed-to-market a key differentiator, supply chain velocity is becoming another key component of competitive advantage.
Companies are seeking to rebalance their supply chain complexity by adopting a more regional approach, with the movement of some – but not all – production activities that can migrate ‘closer-to-home’. This reconfiguration of the manufacturing landscape will result in regional supply chains such as ‘Made in North America for America’, or ‘Made in Eastern Europe for Europe’.
However, this does not mean a mass exodus of manufacturing from Asia.
The global supply chain ecosystems that service the developed markets in America and Europe from low-cost sources in Asia are well-established, finely tuned and highly efficient; they cannot easily be replaced, plus they need to expand to serve the rapidly growing local markets across the developing world.
Global companies must not ignore or underestimate the importance of the domestic consumer markets in the emerging economies across Asia, whose potential is enormous. Indeed, ‘Made in Asia for Asia’ will gradually become a leading model for regional supply chains that serve these growth markets in the Far East.
However, to increase velocity in serving their global markets, more and more companies are exploring how they can shorten their supply chains.
Regional Supply Chains will be shorter, but will they become simpler?
Whilst supply chains greatly increased in length and complexity during the globalisation era, looking forward, many business leaders expect to see fewer links in their supply chains, according to a recent study by The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU).
Nearly half of respondents (49%) said they expect their supply chains to shorten and become simpler during the next five years, whilst one third of respondents said they expect supply chains to lengthen and become more complex. Participants included businesses large and small, with almost half of this group having annual revenues of less than USD 500 million.
Operational improvements and innovation were seen as key factors in helping businesses reduce the length and complexity of their supply chains.
By geographic region, almost six in ten respondents in Asia Pacific (59%), said they expect to see shorter supply chains, compared to 46% in Europe and 45% in North America.
Reflecting the ever-increasing need for better compliance and governance, more than a third of respondents (36%) said they agree with the statement that a rising regulatory burden will add cost and complexity to managing their supply chains.
Supply chain visibility is confirmed as a key priority, with 54% of respondents saying that achieving complete transparency about where and how their products are made is an important or very important goal.
Whilst regional supply chains will be shorter, they are not necessarily simpler. Being closer to market enables more rapid product innovation and customisation, empowering companies to address consumer preferences for products tailored to their needs. Despite the complex challenges involved, such increased responsiveness and agility will prove to be a durable source of differentiation and competitive advantage.
A new era for supply chains
After three decades of globalisation, many companies expect their supply chains to shorten in the years ahead. But while some manufacturing processes will migrate ‘closer-to-home’, speeding the shift towards regionalisation, numerous well-established and finely tuned supply chains will remain in place, adapting to serve expanding local markets.
For businesses, supply chains may be shrinking, but the era of complex supply chain ecosystems is still far from being over.
Mark will further explore Regional Supply Chains in his keynote presentation at the Focused Annual Partnership Meeting in Kuala Lumpur next month.
To find out more about how Mark’s informative, engaging and memorable presentations will make a difference at your next event, please visit our website; to check Mark’s availability for your next corporate event, customer function, industry conference or panel discussion, contact us here.


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KANSAS CITY, Mo. — MEAT+POULTRY’s first podcast of the year focuses on the pork industry and specifically explores findings from the National Pork Board’s consumer research conducted this past year.
Tara-Ann Dugan, director of consumer and marketplace insights for the NPB, discussed key findings about consumers, including the role of simplicity and convenience in new product offerings as well as pork’s health and wellness attributes. Dugan also covers how pork’s popularity continues to grow across cultures and the opportunities that still exist
Dugan details all the programs the association spearheaded in 2019 and looks ahead at opportunities in the coming year based on the most recent consumer trends.


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MUIPR & DJ Universe Bring Cutting-Edge Fashion to New York Fashion Week
MEDIA CONTACT: Genevieve Mbamalu
NEW YORK, NY—On Saturday September 8th, MUI-The PR Company (MUIPR) and its leading entertainment client, DJ Universe, will produce a fashion show and after-party during New York Fashion Week (NYFW) for the Kingdom Come collection from Pan-African fashion house, 54 Kingdoms. The fashion event, featuring glamorous lifestyle creations for the quintessential man and woman, is scheduled to be unveiled at the elegant and globally-recognized Thompson-Smyth Hotel, located on 85 West Broadway, Tribeca, NY.
The event will start with a press conference at 8PM, providing members of the press with a unique opportunity to learn more about the history, vision and aesthetic of the Kingdom Come 2012 collection. From 9PM to 9:30PM, guests will enjoy photo opportunities and interviews on the red carpet hosted by African socialite, Ms. Mazuba Kapambwe. Immediately following the red carpet interviews will be a presentation of the Kingdom Come 2012 collection and a fashion after-party with dance music by Afro-Electronic Dance Music creator, DJ Universe.
“With the tag line ‘Bold Colors for Bold People’ the designers at 54 Kingdoms, Mr. Nana Poku and Mr. Kwaku Awauh, capitalize on their love for Africa , to present a showcase that is stylish, smart, and with the same bold wonder as the designers who created them,” said Genevieve Mbamalu, publicist at MUIPR. She further added, “Using a color palette characteristic of their love for bold colors, the collection presents fashion rich in substance, sophistication and creativity”.
Nana Poku, founder of 54 Kingdoms, is ecstatic when he talks about the unparalleled elegance in the 2012 collection. “The Kingdom Come collection will be viewed with interest by the fashionable man and woman looking for something distinctive, provocative and sophisticated.”
“This NYFW event is the first for the MUIPR and DJ Universe brands. Each NYFW we will carefully select and feature creations from a designer who we respect for their delicate workmanship and inventive perspective on fashion forms”, said DJ Universe. “We look forward to producing shows like this for more designers in future years to come.”
Access to the NYFW show and after-party is by RSVP only. Press RSVP: email@example.com and Fashion show/after-party RSVP: firstname.lastname@example.org.
About MUI-The Public Relations Company: MUIPR is a newly-formed public relations and promotions company in NYC specializing in a diversity of accounts for African businesses and leaders in the non-profit, entertainment, politics, lifestyle, urban development, and health care industries. Connect with MUIPR today to learn more: www.muipr.com |www.twitter.com/
About DJ Universe: DJ Universe is the world’s most expensive DJ and creator of the new wave of dance music entitled Afro-Electronic Dance Music (A-EDM). Connect and socialize with DJ Universe: www.twitter.com/
Page Updated Last on: Mar 27, 2013


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India’s Reliance Retail (RIL) is reportedly in a race to buy a stake or all of UK’s struggling department store chain Debenhams.
Sky News reported that RIL emerged as a surprising contender.
In April, Debenhams, owned by a consortium of lenders, voluntarily entered administration for the second time in a year to fend off a collapse into liquidation following the coronavirus outbreak, which adversely affected retailers.
Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) subsidiary Reliance Retail is among the parties that approached Debenhams’ advisers for acquiring either a part or all of the 242-year-old retail chain.
Although there is no certainty that the deal will materialise, Reliance Retail’s interest in Debenhams “appeared to be serious”, the news agency reported, citing one insider.
Earlier this month, investment bank Lazard, which is in charge of Debenhams’ auction process, set the deadline for bids, in line with administrator FRP Advisory’s aims to conclude a sale process by the end of this month.
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Last month, the retailer announced plans to cut 2,500 jobs in department stores and warehouses to ensure itself “every chance of a viable future”.
Reliance interest in the department store comes days after US private equity firm KKR revealed its plans to invest ₹55.5bn ($755.09m) in India’s Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) subsidiary Reliance Retail Ventures Limited (RRVL).
In 2019, Reliance Retail acquired UK toy store chain Hamleys.


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“Other companies suck in your data too,” Facebook explained in many, many words today with a blog post detailing how it gathers information about you from around the web. Facebook product management director David Baser wrote, “Twitter, Pinterest and LinkedIn all have similar Like and Share buttons to help people share things on their services.…Details
Just last quarter Netflix passed a $100 billion market cap — and we might already be talking about it as a $150 billion company before too long with yet another big financial quarter that sent its stock soaring. Netflix, again, beat out some expectations Wall Street held for the first quarter and provided a pretty…Details
There is a lot of value in learning. Taking what you learn in university and going a step further with it and starting your own blog, however, can be vital in securing a job in your future. Not only can you demonstrate that your knowledge in your field of study, you can also demonstrate your…Details
Here is today’s roundup of news related to local marketing and advertising, local media, technology, local commerce, consumer behavior and more. Study: Understanding Today’s ‘Hierarchy of Needs’ Among Consumers (April 16, 2018) LSA Insider: “Consumer behaviors have shifted greatly over the last few years to an online-to-offline or omni-channel experience, leaving brands in the dark…Details
Following the passage of a new cybersecurity law and the removal of term limits from Chinese president Xi Jinping, China’s government is conducting a comprehensive crackdown on online discussions and content, with few companies spared the rod by the central government. Among the casualties has been Bytedance, the extremely high-flying $20 billion media unicorn startup…Details
T-Mobile will pay $40 million as part of a settlement with the FCC for playing ringing sounds to mislead customers into thinking their calls were going through when in fact they had never connected in the first place. The company admitted it had done so “hundreds of millions” of times over the years. The issue…Details
Le géant de l’e-commerce chute à la 7e place dans le classement Internet global de Médiamétrie. Le groupe de PQR Web 66 passe lui de la 13e à la 10e place.
Jérôme Marty (Waze) : « Nous allons dépasser les dix millions d’utilisateurs mensuels actifs en France »
Le directeur France de l’appli de navigation automobile fait le point sur le programme Connected Citizens, via lequel la société fournit ses données de trafic en temps réel à des villes et entreprises.
A feature has been spotted in Google Maps that appears to show the app highlighting public events that are ongoing.
The post Google Maps Highlights Public Events Currently In Progress by @MattGSouthern appeared first on Search Engine Journal.
Source:: Search Engine Journal > Local Search
While Amazon preps to expand Amazon Go, its cashierless retail shopping strategy, Berkeley Research Group leader Keith Jelinek offers insight on what’s ahead with cashierless checkout and why consumer response is a key part of potential success.
Source:: Latest Media
Mark Holenstein, COO at Signavio, maps out why having the best omnichannel strategy is not only important, but necessary when competing with other high-volume, low-margin sectors.
Source:: Latest Media
Sony promised an “ultra low-light camera” during its Mobile World Congress press conference back in February. The off-hand announcement was intended to throw a bit of shade at Samsung’s recent flagship, but ultimately had the unintended consequence of undermining the company’s own newly announced XZ2. But, then, Sony’s never been great when it comes to…Details
La Fevad et KPMG de nouveau partenaires pour la deuxième édition du classement » Start me up ! qui permet d’identifier les start-ups les plus innovantes dans le domaine du e-commerce avec cette année un coup de projecteur sur l’intelligence artificielle appliquée à notre univers. Une chance unique pour les start-ups d’approcher les principaux acteurs…Details
The Russian state telecommunication regulator has began blocking Telegram as expected. This comes after the messaging company refused to give Russian security services encryption keys. The service is expected to be blocked within the coming hours. According to several reports Telegram is still operational in the country though several service providers have started blocking the…Details
iHeartRadio is best known for its free service offering thousands of live, streaming AM and FM radio stations and its ability to create your own custom station, similar to Pandora. Today, the company is adding a new feature for all users – both free and paid – that blurs the lines between streaming radio and…Details
If you’re a WordPress user, you must have come across the term Markdown. In case you’re wondering What is Markdown? How to get started with it? You have landed on the right page. Everything that you need to know about Markdown is right here. We’ll briefly discuss the benefits and working of Markdown after covering…Details
Consumer behaviors have shifted greatly over the last few years to an online-to-offline or omni-channel experience, leaving brands in the dark about when, where and how to engage with customers in the most effective manner. These shifts in behavior have resulted in a new “hierarchy” of consumer expectations of brands. A recent Blis survey of…Details


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58,000 Small & Medium Businesses in the UK To Collapse After a Cyber Breach
Research has emerged purporting that as many as 50,000 small and medium-sized organisation in the UK alone are at risk of closing their doors in the wake of a cyber attack.
The numbers come from Gallagher who says that there’s a huge unseen danger on the part of smaller organisations that believe that they’re too small to be a target. Their study took responses from 1,120 UK firms with up to 250 employees, with results showing that tens of thousands of organisations are at risk of a serious cyber incident that could prove fatal for the business.
The average cost of these cyber breaches is a reported $12,000, however, 17% of organisations that took part in the poll reported that they were forced to pay $20,000, while a further 9% paid in more than $38,000 in the aftermath of a cyber incident.
What’s more, just under a quarter of the respondents said that they’d fail to last more than a month if a cyber attack crippled their networks. Gallagher used this number for the basis of their claim that as it stands, there’s more than 58,000 organisations operating in the UK alone that are at risk of closing their doors after a cyberattack.
Gallagher says that 1.4 million businesses were hit with cyberattacks last year, with damage totaling $17 billion to the world economy. Just under a quarter of the organisations interviewed by the company said they were impacted which represented a 5% increase year-on-year. Data sourced from Hiscox shows that there was a “sharp increase” in the number of reported cyberattacks on small firms, rising from 33% to 47% as well as medium-sized organisations which were up 63% from 36%.
According to the report, the most common form of cyber incident or crisis that was reported by organisations was a data breach and subsequent cyber-extortion attempt from the hackers, often referred to as a ransomware attack, which accounted for around 15% of all reported cyber events.
Paul Bassett, manager director of crisis management at Gallagher said that the UK’s service-oriented economy was particularly at risk, considering the vast number of small and medium-sized organisations operating without adequate security protocols in place.
“Alongside regularly interviewing their crisis preparedness, response plans and forms of protection, such as insurance, it is critical UK SMEs also assess their ability to survive in the event of a major crisis incident when the risk of serious disruption and protracted recovery process is very real.”
“The cost of a crisis is by no means the only consideration,” he added. “Duration is key- especially with a quarter of UK SMEs admitting they could survive for less than a month if unable to trade following an incident. For companies with tight margins and limited working capital, even a relatively short-term denial of access to premises or systems paralysis could be a crippling, possibly fatal blow,” Basset said.


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Dell is one of the largest computer firms in the world with global shipments. While the demand for computers from corporate and governments has been high, Dell is seeing the demand from consumers wane in the face of the till struggling economy. This has led to a lot of uncertainty in the computer market and has forced Dell to cut its forecast for revenue this year.
Dell has been forced to cut its revenue forecast for the fiscal year ending in January. This and other uncertainty forced Dell stock prices down 7% earlier this week despite Dell’s revenue growing 63% in the last quarter. Analyst Shaw Wu from Sterne Agee said that Dell’s forecast was surprisingly weak. Wu also noted that part of Dell’s trouble is also to blame on Apple.
Apple continues to do well thanks in part to a stronger push into the small and medium business markets. Apple also thrives in the down economy thanks to the iPad tablet and the iPhone. Last quarter, Dell saw its revenue from large corporations grow 1% and the revenue from consumers rose by the same margin. At the same time public sector revenue fell 3%. Dell did grow its small and medium business revenue 5%. This is the market where analysts think Apple is taking some of Dell’s business. Dell is now predicting revenue of $62.1 to $64.6 billion for the year.


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The Friday Report: February 15th, 2019Quick wrap up of a few hot topic newsworthy stories in the supply chain logistics industry
Amazon Reportedly Plans Fee Reduction to Compete with FedEx and UPS
According to the Wall Street Journal, Amazon Shipping is planning to slash fuel surcharges and additional home delivery charges. The information was based on an email sent by Amazon to New York area shippers. Recently fuel surcharges for ground vehicles were reported to be 6.5% for FedEx and 7% for UPS.
In 2018, FedEx eliminated residential surcharges for the holiday season. During this same time period, UPS charged a $.28 peak fee, a
Consumers Report Expectations about E-Commerce Purchases and Delivery
Over the past decade, online sales have increased at a steady pace. E-commerce now
A new survey by Hanover Research and LaserShip indicates that consumers ranked free shipping, fast delivery times and easy return policies as the most important factors when selecting online retailers. Fifty percent of the 1000 consumers surveyed reported that they had abandoned an online shopping cart based on high delivery fees.
Millennial and Gen Z consumers indicated that they were willing to “pay a premium” for fast shipping. Survey respondents reported that they expected online purchases to be delivered in three days or less. By 2020, Millennial and Gen Z workers will make up approximately 70% of the workforce.
Walmart Gets Ready for Grocery Delivery Using Custom Cargo Vans
Launching a new pilot with
Grocery delivery service is currently available in nearly 100 cities and can reach 40% of U.S. households. Walmart plans to increase online delivery availability to 800 more stores later this year. Curbside pickup is available at more than 2100 U.S. stores and is targeted to reach 3000 in 2020.
What Makes Datex Different?
1. Revolutionary low code/no code flexible workflow-driven warehouse management software
2. Most configurable, user-friendly WMS on the market today
3. End-to-end solution provider: software, hardware, EDI, and managed services
4. White Glove Concierge Service
5. Executive-level attention and oversight


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Tencent Holdings, in which South African technology and media giant Naspers holds an approximately one-third stake, posted a 43% rise in third-quarter profit as its ability to attract Chinese gamers and social media mavens fuelled advertising growth.
Net income climbed to 10,6bn yuan (US$1,5bn) in the three months ended September, the Shenzhen-based company said on Wednesday. That compares with the 10,7bn yuan average of analysts’ estimates compiled by Bloomberg. Adjusted earnings per share were 1,24 yuan, compared with the 1,26 yuan average of estimates.
Tencent’s bottom line depends on its effectiveness in engaging a Chinese Internet population now 710m strong, and advertising has become a major source of sales growth.
The operator of messaging apps WeChat and QQ increased ad space and attracted big brands to a video-streaming service where users spend hundreds of millions of hours monthly. It’s also been scooping up popular content and fleshing out its mobile games slate, adding hits like King Glory and Legacy TLBB while acquiring Clash of Clans studio Supercell.
“We see brand advertisement enjoying stable growth due to the expansion of Tencent’s video business,” Wen Tianli, an analyst at Blue Lotus Capital Advisors, wrote before the earnings. “The decline of PC games has been offset by the increasing number of players of mobile games on their summer vacation.”
Sales rose 52% to 40,4bn yuan, compared with estimates for 39bn yuan.
Tencent has helped brands including BMW run promotions via WeChat Moments, a service similar to Facebook’s news feed where users browse photos, videos and stories posted by friends.
It’s also buying the rights to anime, comics and novels to convert into movies and mobile games. In the Chinese games market alone, revenue could climb 43% to $12,8bn by 2020 from last year, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers.
Shares of Tencent rose 1,9% to HK$196,90 in Hong Kong before earnings were announced. The stock has gained 29% this year, compared with a 12% rise for New York-listed Alibaba.
Naspers was trading more than 3% higher in Johannesburg at 11.34am on Wednesday. — (c) 2016 Bloomberg LP


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The global shoe company is using time-saving technology to shift from mass production to smaller batches of city-customized shoes.
Using robots and athlete data, shoe company Adidas is creating small batches of city-specific sneakers, signaling a technology-driven shift from mass production.
Using their Speedfactory in Germany, Adidas is making shoes designed for certain cities, starting with London. Called "the future of how we create," the Speedfactory uses athlete data to create the city-customized designs, according to the micro-factory's website. Instead of using human workers, the factory uses robots, cutting time to market from over a year to as little as 45 days.
The initial global launch of the robot-built shoes, called the AM4 series, will also include shoes designed for and sold in New York, Los Angeles, Paris, Tokyo, and Shanghai. London's shoe will be sold next week for around 169.95 pounds--around $222 US dollars.
David Drury, director of development for footwear sourcing at Adidas, called the venture an opportunity to "disrupt with brand new technologies."
SEE: Quick glossary: Robotics (Tech Pro Research)
As the shoe industry begins to focus on smaller releases instead of mass production, Adidas shows how technology can aid in overcoming the normally long and costly procedure of mass production. Smaller batches take less time and money to develop and create than a mass release, which can take over a year to get a shoe to market and requires at least 50,000 shoes a batch to turn a profit.
In Adidas's mass production model, the firm employs a million factory workers in China and Vietnam to create the shoes. The shoes are then sent to customers around the globe.
In the small batch model, the manufacturing point is closer to the customer and shoes are created by machines, which move faster and make fewer errors than humans. The machines also cost less than hiring workers in North America or Europe, where the new models need to be manufactured to cut delivery time.
Adidas isn't the only shoemaker experimenting which tech. Nike is using static electricity to create shoes up to 20 times faster than humans.
With two top names looking to next-generation technologies to advance their manufacturing techniques, other shoe companies will have to develop or adopt technologies to match pace. Outside of shoes, other companies can examine how their production processes can be sped up through robots or customized through small batches tailored using data.
The 3 big takeaways for TechRepublic readers
- Shoe company Adidas is using time-saving robots and athlete data to create small batches of city-customized sneakers in its Speedfactory in Germany.
- The experiment in shifting from mass production to small batch lets the shoemaker drop the time it takes to bring a shoe to market from over a year to a few weeks or days.
- Adidas shows that companies, especially those not necessarily deemed "techy," can utilize tech to rev up production and their business.
- Robots in warehouses to jump 15X over next 4 years, but won't take all the jobs (TechRepublic)
- Adidas is using robots to produce small-batch, local-market shoes(ZDNet)
- 79% of AI leaders expect employees to work comfortably with robots by 2020 (TechRepublic)
- This robot-run 3D printing farm is the future of light manufacturing (ZDNet)
- Robots are coming to work. Are they safe? (ZDNet)


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Attorney Ken Feinberg: “I’m here to compensate victims, not to punish General Motors.”
Dodge shows off lineup of classic vehicles, ranging from muscle cars to minivans.
All new Edge will be sold in Europe, expand its presence in China.
Auto supplier Valeo shows new technology that allows car to drop you off, and park itself.
GM Slips in quality study, but still has a good showing. Ford and Hyundai improve. Jeep and Fiat don’t fare so well.
GM CEO to make a repeat appearance before subcommittee. Will promise to personally push through cultural change at the company.
What sounds like a science experiment could be your next car.
This time it’s a half million Camaro’s. Drivers knee can knock key out of run position.
Fuel economy rankings cut 1-7 mpg for hybrid Fusion, MKZ and C-Max, as well as most trims of 2014 Fiesta.
Alfa’s return starts with 4C sports car. The plan is to create a luxury brand to compete with BMW, Mercedes and Audi.


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A couple of days ago, the upcoming device Xiaomi Mi Note 2 revealed in live images and showed its thin borders. Again the device in the latest live shots unveiled its design. The leaked images showed a single camera on its rear along with a curved screen. It’s likely to be LG made OLED display made of ceramic with metallic frame. Since, there is no confirmation whether the device will come with dual camera or single camera.
Also according to the latest rumor, the Xiaomi Mi Note 2 device will sport a 5.7-inch dual-curved AMOLED display with a 1440 x 2560 resolution. It will come in two versions. The first will be powered by the Snapdragon 820 SoC chipset and it will feature 4GB of RAM and internal storage capacity of 32GB and the other version will have 6GB RAM, it will be powered by a Snapdragon 821 SoC chipset and 128GB/256GB of internal memory. The device Xiaomi Mi Note 2 will have a dual camera setup on its back with 16MP cameras and a front-facing camera. Both will run on Android 7.0 with MIUI 8. The device will be powered by a 4000mAh. It will have the thickness of 6.5mm.
The device Xiaomi Mi Note 2 will be announced on 25th October, 2016 at the cost of $845.
Continue with us for more information.


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In a recent move, the government has sent notices to Ola Electric, Pure EV, and Okinawa, seeking answers as to why they should not be penalized for using faulty batteries that had led to EV fires in the past couple of months, Livemint reported citing sources.
The EV manufacturing companies have 30-days to respond until the end of July. The government had formed two committees following the EV fire incidents. The first committee was responsible to investigate the cause of EV fires, whereas the second committee was formed to suggest battery testing criteria and norms for the EV makers.
In its recent report, the first committee pointed out the cause of EV explosion to be the usage of faulty batteries. The report, which was also shared with the EV manufacturers said that the defects in the systems have caused the fires.
Meanwhile, the second committee is likely to submit the report next week, following which changes in the testing procedures. Notably, the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) has already issued performance standards for lithium-ion batteries.
Moreover, in April, the union minister Nitin Gadkari warned the EV makers of strict actions, if they are found negligent. “If any company is found negligent in their processes, a heavy penalty will be imposed, and a recall of all defective vehicles will also be ordered,” he had tweeted.
Outlook Business had previously reported about the lack of battery testing norms leading to EV fires in India. Notably, following the EV fires, the manufacturers recalled thousands of electric vehicles. The country also witnessed its first four-wheeler EV fire incident recently after a Tata Nixon caught fire in Maharashtra.


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It's not surprising, but as of today, November 14, it is official: Amazon AWS is protesting the U.S. Department of Defense's award of its $10 billion cloud contract to Microsoft. AWS made the company's decision to file paperwork to challenge the Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure (JEDI) public inside the company during an all-hands meeting on November 14, as reported by the Federal Times.
According to a video the Federal Times said it had seen, AWS filed the required paperwork on Friday last week. Fedscoop confirmed this, saying the paperwork was filed with the Court of Federal Claims on November 8. The Federal Times said that Amazon planned to try to get the government to reveal what really happened in the awarding of JEDI.
(I asked Amazon to confirm it was protesting the JEDI award, but no word back so far.)
Update: An Amazon spokesperson sent me the following statement:
"AWS is uniquely experienced and qualified to provide the critical technology the U.S. military needs, and remains committed to supporting the DoD's modernization efforts. We also believe it's critical for our country that the government and its elected leaders administer procurements objectively and in a manner that is free from political influence. Numerous aspects of the JEDI evaluation process contained clear deficiencies, errors, and unmistakable bias- and it's important that these matters be examined and rectified."
Throughout much of the bidding process, Amazon was expected by many to be the triumphant bidder. In the later rounds, Amazon and Microsoft emerged as the two final bidders in the winner-take-all deal. (Google dropped out of the JEDI bidding late last year, while Oracle and IBM were eliminated earlier this year. ) But in August this year, the Pentagon said it was putting the JEDI contract on hold after US President Donald Trump complained about potential conflicts of interest in the process. Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos has been targeted by Trump as a political thorn because of his ownership of The Washington Post.
The JEDI contract is designed to upgrade legacy systems with newer cloud services. The JEDI Cloud will provide "enterprise-level, commercial IaaS (infrastructure as a service) and PaaS (platform as a service) to the Department and any mission partners for all Department business and mission operations," the government said. The contract is expected to be worth up to $10 billion over 10 years.
Microsoft was awarded the JEDI contract on October 25. Industry experts have predicted since that date that Amazon would challenge the award.


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Researchers at MIT presented findings at the SIGGRAPH computer graphics conference in California, Thursday, in which they explained new approaches to simplify and streamline 3D printing.
With existing technology, hardware can “reproduce complex, multi-material objects,” but software “is cumbersome, slow and difficult to use, and needs to improve substantially if 3D technology is to become more mainstream,” the MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Lab (CSAIL) explained in a recent statement.
“Our goal is to make 3D printing much easier and less computationally complex,” MIT professor Wojciech Matusik, a leader of the Computer Graphics Group at CSAIL, said. “Ours is the first work that unifies design, development and implementation into one seamless process, making it possible to easily translate an object from a set of specifications into a fully operational 3D print.”
Currently, software has to provide a very high-resolution model of an object to be printed. It must include detailed information to make “complex surfaces containing bumps, color gradations and other intricacies,” the statement said. “Such models often amount to petabytes of data, which current programs have difficulty processing and storing.”
Now, researchers have come up with OpenFab, which they describe as “programmable pipeline architecture.”
The inspiration for OpenFab is RenderMan, which is a piece of software used to design computer-generated images in movies. OpenFab uses what the researchers call “fablets,” which are “programs written in a new programming language that allow users to modify the look and feel of an object easily and efficiently,” the MIT researchers explained. They can provide for “intricate surface details and the composition of a 3D object.”
“Our software pipeline makes it easier to design and print new materials and to continuously vary the properties of the object you are designing,” Kiril Vidimce, a PhD student at MIT, said. “In traditional manufacturing most objects are composed of multiple parts made out of the same material. With OpenFab, the user can change the material consistency of an object, for example designing the object to transition from stiff at one end to flexible and compressible at the other end.”
OpenFab is also more efficient. Data about the design of the object is “computed on demand and sent to the printer as it becomes available, with little start-up delay,” researchers explained.
They claimed to have made an insect embedded in amber, a marble table and even a squishy teddy bear using the new method.
In addition, the new method doesn’t require exact design specifications or the testing of all possible combinations. Instead, it uses Spec2Fab, which features a reducer tree, which can divide the object “into more manageable chunks” and then determines “the material composition of an object.”
“Spec2Fab is a small but powerful toolbox for building algorithms that can produce an endless array of complex, printable objects,” Desai Chen, a PhD student at MIT, added.
The two papers are titled: “OpenFab: A Programmable Pipeline for Multi-Material Fabrication,” and “Spec2Fab: A Reducer-Tuner Model for Translating Specifications to 3D Prints.”
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