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Learning from China, as it recovers first from Covid-19 … the post-pandemic economy might be a lot worse than we think, warns The Economist
May 27, 2020
3 months after China’s lockdown was lifted, the nation is recovering from the worst effects of Covid-19, and the rest of the world is looking for clues as to how the post-pandemic world might look.
In many ways, China has returned to around 90% of its pre-Covid performance.
A 90% economic recovery might not sound too bad, but analysis by the Economist shows how it could be catastrophic
Factories are busy and the streets are no longer empty. However the missing 10% include large chunks of everyday life. Travel on public transport and domestic flights are down by a third. Discretionary consumer spending, on such things as restaurants, has fallen by 40% and hotel stays are a third of normal.
People are weighed down by financial hardship and the fear of a second wave of covid-19. Bankruptcies are rising and unemployment, one broker has said, is three times the official level, at around 20%
And this in a country which had one of the shortest lockdowns, and has huge state support.
The latest IMF economic outlook report shows that the pandemic is inflicting high and rising human costs worldwide, and the necessary protection measures are severely impacting economic activity.
As a result of the pandemic, the global economy is projected to contract sharply by –3 percent in 2020, much worse than during the 2008–09 financial crisis.
In a baseline scenario, which assumes that the pandemic fades in the second half of 2020 and containment efforts can be gradually unwound, the global economy is projected to grow by 5.8 percent in 2021 as economic activity normalises, helped by policy support.
The WEF says the crisis will catalyse some huge changes. Few industries will avoid being either reformed, restructured or removed. Agility, scalability and automation will be the watchwords for this new era of business, and those that have these capabilities now will be the winners.
Thanks to government stimulus packages, liquidity is coming back to the market, hoping to keep enough of the economy afloat, and accelerate a recovery. But the way much of it is structured means that it will likely benefit already better capitalized larger businesses, over the smaller operators who may struggle.
It would be an over-simplification, however, to paint this new era as one of “big” versus “small”, or “incumbents” versus “upstarts”. The past decade’s tropes that pitted fintechs and digital natives against big banks and consumer brands will seem dated by the middle of this year.
Indeed, one could see the current times as the first real test of the digital-first business mantras that have been extolled over the first part of this century. COVID-19 will force a rebirth of many industries as we all sit at home in lockdown, re-assessing and re-imagining modes of consumption, supply, interaction and productivity.
For instance, the shift from cash to digital payments is clearly accelerating. In the UK, ATM usage was already falling between 6% and 14% a year, but has now plummeted by more than half. As discussed in the “Future of Finance” report, this has major implications for: the resilience of payment forms – young and old; for banks’ business models; and society, as we work to ensure no-one is left behind in an increasingly digital economy.
In the workplace we’re already seeing a super-charging of the nascent bring your own device (BYOD) trend in business technology. As people scramble to work and socialize remotely, previously niche tools such as Zoom, Slack, Microsoft’s Teams, and even the Houseparty app, are suddenly supporting millions of personal and corporate interactions every minute.
Those businesses that have designed their solutions to use the full potential of cloud computing, will not buckle under the pressure. For instance, the cloud gives businesses easy access to digital payment methods. It has enabled companies to continue working, by rapidly and securely providing access to business applications to their employees working at home. Yet it also provides financial flexibility, allowing those seeing a slow-down to wind down the technology costs of business lines that are facing challenges.
The combination of scalable and agile capabilities is what will define the short and medium-term success of businesses, whether large or small. But in the longer term, change will have to be more fundamental. Resilience, combined with agility, must be the new focus of business leaders as we all emerge from this crisis.
To create long-term resilience we will likely see further robotic automation and artificial intelligence (AI) within our supply chains. These technologies reduce manual intervention and hand-offs, cutting transmission risks, and reducing the reliance on humans to work face-to-face. They can also enable production to scale and shrink in response to sudden demand.
Indeed, government interventions may have unintentionally accelerated this trend. Many countries’ fiscal stimuli amount to the largest scale experiment in Universal Basic Income (UBI) to date. UBI is considered by many to be a prerequisite for a successful AI-driven economy – by enabling businesses to potentially replace humans without impacting their welfare.
It’s clear that this crisis will end a lot of outdated practices, yet many more than we might think will continue. We will always want to travel, to eat out, to be entertained, and to have experiences in person. Just don’t expect any of these activities to be unchanged. Or to be delivered by the same brands, and by the same means to which we’ve become accustomed.
We will emerge from this period stronger, wiser and more connected as a global society. Resilience will be at the forefront of every strategy, yet it is agility that will ensure competitiveness, and an ability to respond to the unexpected. To achieve this, businesses will have to re-evaluate where they must be strong and where they must be flexible.
More from Peter Fisk:
- How do you see the future? Future Recoded … Reimagine markets. Reimagine work. Reimagine business. Reimagine success.
- Why innovate in a downturn? Whilst everyone else is losing their heads, the companies of tomorrow are being created right now
- What are the impacts of COVID-19? What business leaders should do now, to support people and society, and secure their business future.
- Liquid Business … Covid-19 is accelerating a shift in how we work and compete, with the emergence of new types of “liquid” business models
- The latest edition of my “Fast Leader” magazine … Time to move forwards, to reimagine the future … Reimagination, The Big Pivot, Word Changing Ideas, Ripples of Reinvention
More from the blog


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Airbnb’s contribution to GDP increased by 115% between 2019 and 2022, according to an independent report.
Airbnb has reported its first full year of profitability and $8.4-billion of annual revenue – 75% more than it achieved in the year immediately preceding the pandemic.
Airbnb is suspending its operations in Russia and Belarus, CEO Brian Chesky said in a tweet on Friday morning.
Airbnb is requiring most professional hosts outside North America to include all service fees in the rate presented to guests, a move that mirrors how rival platforms operate.
Airbnb is aiming for a valuation of nearly $35-billion in what will be the last blockbuster US IPO of the year, marking a stunning recovery in its fortunes after the home rental firm was ravaged by Covid-19.
Airbnb is hiring former Apple design chief Jony Ive and his new firm, LoveFrom, to work on projects with the home-sharing start-up.
Airbnb has announced a global ban on parties and events listed on its platform in a bid to comply with Covid-19 health protocols.
Short-term home rental company Airbnb has filed confidentially for an initial public offering with US regulators, setting the stage for one of 2020’s marquee stock market debuts.
Uber Technologies will eliminate 3 700 jobs and permanently close 180 driver service centres, the first in a series of cost-cutting measures to be announced in the next two weeks.
Airbnb is cutting 25% of its workforce as the coronavirus pandemic continues to pummel the travel sector. About 1 900 Airbnb employees across the world will be affected

domain: news


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Everywhere we turn at the moment we seem to come across the news that major brands like Coca Cola and even the Canadian Government are abandoning the press release as a business tool. (Check out this brilliant Coca Cola Unbottled blog for why this is getting us so excited!
Since my business partner Jo and I are from a background in PR, we spent years of our lives relying heavily on press release writing and media relations skills. But the press release becoming irrelevant isn’t news to us. We saw it coming a few years ago now. And not just because the rise of social media platforms like Twitter saw news breaking in 140 characters. But because of a whole range of cultural, social and economic factors which were changing the face of ‘news’ and storytelling in business.
So, we didn’t set up an ‘online PR’ business where we carried on with the same old model but in a digital format. We set up a digital communications consultancy with its foundations in creating engaging content that tells a story, whatever that may be and in whatever medium/format is required to reach the right audiences. For some of our clients, that means writing case study material for tenders that takes the technical jargon and turns it into an engaging narrative and for others than means distilling down their messages into punchy blogs, tweets and updates.
Whether it’s a corporate website, LinkedIn update or a Facebook status, we don’t write formulaic stories that start with the who/what/when/where/why; we write stories that have a beginning, middle and end and paint a real picture of the people behind the story. It is the brand personality and the platform that sets the tone, not the news agenda.
But aren’t those kind of stories even more difficult to measure tangible business outcomes from? Aren’t they even ‘fluffier’ and ‘nice to have’ than traditional media relations-focused PR? No. Because with these kind of stories it isn’t about the output (ie the media coverage), it’s about the response and the dialogue that they create. And when you tell a really good story, people listen and, more importantly, remember it and tell it to others.
We for one are glad to hear that the press release is a dying art because it means that we can break down the boundaries that have always made storytelling in business dull or, at best, ‘staged’. What is newsworthy shouldn’t be dependent on whether it follows a formula/norm of what media outlets tell us is newsworthy, but on whether it’s interesting to the people that you’re trying to talk to. Not all the people in all the world, just your niche sector of the population. Better to get a few relevant people really engaged in what you’re talking about than try and shout about it to everyone and not get heard. So let’s try listening to, and not just broadcasting ‘at’, our audience – and let them lead our communications.
Our digital communications research, training and consultancy gives you the insight, skills and tools to become a ‘social business’. Get in touch to talk to us about how we can help you.


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The Future is (Still) Green
A new survey showing that eco-friendly consumer trends
are surviving global uncertainty is great news for our planet, writes
With the world in turmoil, do the things that mattered to us pre-pandemic still stand? Or have the challenges we’ve all faced in 2020 shifted fundamental consumer beliefs and behaviours?
These questions were top of mind when Targus recently commissioned a powerful new piece of research into eco-trends across Europe. The positive results are creating some welcome respite from the prevailing gloom, both for green campaigners and business transformation champions keen to do the right thing going forward.
The future is certainly looking green in the UK, with nearly half of all Brits (44%) intending to keep up their eco-conscious lifestyle choices post-lockdown. That increases in the younger generation, with almost two-thirds (62%) of those under 55 planning to keep making green choices.
In fact, 63% of Brits feel that sustainability should be a top priority for all businesses. The French go even further with a massive 88% seeing sustainability as a top business priority. So it’s clear that a brand’s future reputation and success may well depend on it continuing to offer eco-conscious products and services while demonstrating sustainable manufacturing and supply chain credentials.
Still happy to dig deeper
It all sends a clear message to product designers and portfolio managers about including sustainable options in their ranges, driving the top down change our planet needs.
Wearing and walking the talkSo are consumers themselves prepared to make any changes, creating vital bottom-up, market-led pressure too? It seems they are. 54% say they are switching to energy saving appliances, 43% are focussed on reducing their addiction to fast fashion and 40% are walking and cycling more.
So much about our world has dramatically changed in 2020, so it’s reassuring to know that the movement for greener and more sustainable living has not just survived, but is growing in parts of Europe. There’s a lesson in that for consumer brand owners, business and government purchasing teams and environmental legislators alike.
Want to know more? Why not read the full survey report here. You can also explore Targus’ own journey to building a greener supply chain and more sustainable products here.


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A new leak, confirmed by the Financial Times that Apple is working on its own search engine. The goal is to replace Google, which pays dearly every year to be the default search engine for iOS. Apple’s goal is twofold: to no longer be dependent on Google and to move away from it as much as possible during the investigation opened by the United States against Google.
You probably know: Google is the subject of a large investigation in the United States for abuse of dominance. Two areas are particularly targeted: Internet search and online advertising. The two are obviously intimately linked. The search engine drains the traffic and the advertising monetizes the traffic. Google Search has become an almost obligatory passage for all Internet users. And therefore for all sites that wish to benefit from its audience.
Google’s dependence is therefore strong for the entire web ecosystem. Even for the other members of GAFA. Apple, in particular, is linked to Google for the search services integrated into its software, such as Safari or iOS. Today, Google is the default search engine for the iPhone operating system. A place that Apple for which Google pays several billion dollars a year. But, Apple would much prefer to take full advantage of this audience. And the firm wants above all that it does not benefit a competitor.
For many years, rumors have claimed that Apple is therefore developing its own search engine. A rumor that made people talk about her again last August and which once again suggested that Apple wants to replace Google’s search engine. In September, when Google released iOS 14, users were able to discover that part of the searches (those performed from the widget screen) are no longer supported by Google, but directly by Siri. .
This week, the Financial Times published a new article on the subject. The financial daily explains that Apple is working hard on its in-house search engine project. And that the primary motivation for this renewed motivation is not only to be independent from Google in Internet search, but also to not be a part of something that is under the radar of American antitrust investigation.
Indeed, according to the Financial Times , the American justice department would have decided to use the annual payment from Google to Apple, the amount of which is between 8 and 12 billion dollars, as an argument to prove the guilt of Google on abuse of dominance. Furthermore they would also sue Apple and force the two companies to cease this partnership.


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Tide, the UK’s leading business banking platform, has launched a new Invoice Protection product in partnership with insurance solutions provider, Hokodo, to help micro, small and medium-sized businesses protect their cash flow against the late and non-payment of invoices.
The Coronavirus crisis is having an immediate and potentially long-term impact on the UK economy, and a serious knock-on impact on SMEs. The threat of increases in late payments, non-payments and insolvencies means small businesses are being put into a precarious position whereby an unpaid invoice or late payment could put them into insolvency.
To combat this, Tide has teamed up with Hokodo to offer Invoice Protection to its members, helping to protect their businesses, giving extra peace of mind, and added income security. Invoice Protection will allow Tide members to protect their cash flow against uncertainty and guarantee the payment of invoices, even if the customer does not pay.
Hokodo takes care of debt collection on overdue invoices, and if the debts can't be collected or the customer is insolvent, then Hokodo protects 90% of the invoice value. Members can choose which invoices they would like to protect, up to the value of £20,000, for a small fee (typically between 0.3% and 1% of the invoice value).
In addition to being able to protect their invoices, Tide's members will also benefit from additional insights into their customers' financial health. Members will have the ability to assess risk, improve their credit decision making, and have confidence in taking on new business in these uncertain times.
Amit Kahana, VP of Credit Services for Tide said: “We know that overdue invoices put a real strain on SMEs even at the best of times. Our research from late 2019 told us that UK SMEs are chasing a total of £50bn in late payments at any one time, and spend 1.5 hours per day chasing these invoices.
“Considering the situation we are now in, it is more important than ever that small businesses are able to protect themselves as best they can. Invoice Protection will protect Tide members against the risk of non-payment of invoices, reduce the time wasted on chasing invoices, and give much-needed peace of mind.”
Richard Thornton, co-Founder at Hokodo adds: “As the impact of Coronavirus continues to intensify, many SMEs will be worried about what the next few months will bring, whether they’ll receive payment, and whether they or their clients face the risk of insolvency. It is now more vital than ever that SMEs put the right measures in place to deal with any potential risks.
“Invoice protection can help small businesses avoid financial distress and provide them with some peace of mind, particularly in times of crisis such as these, by guaranteeing payment of invoices. By partnering with Tide, we’re proud to be supporting SMEs and giving them the opportunity to protect their cash flow.”


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A new program was recently released by Apple, for a hardware malfunction on the iPhone 6 Plus that was widely reported. The malfunction is known as the ‘touch disease’. It is a thin grey line that appears at the top of the display and makes the touchscreen useless.
Apple has claimed that the malfunction comes from the phone being dropped repeatedly. Apple has made it known that they will not cover the repair cost and asks that those with the malfunction pay the $149 fee to have the phone repaired. Not every iPhone user was ready to hear that announcement. So, some iPhone owners have filed a class lawsuit for the touch disease problem.
The company wrote on their website: “Apple has determined that some iPhone 6 Plus devices may exhibit display flickering or Multi-Touch issues after being dropped multiple times on a hard surface and then incurring further stress on the device. If your iPhone 6 Plus is exhibiting the symptoms noted above, is in working order, and the screen is not cracked or broken, Apple will repair your device for a service price of $149.”
The mobile phone giant went on to say that if you paid a service fee in the past for the issue, you are eligible for reimbursement of the difference between the $149 price and the original service repair cost. Apple has already begun to contact users that already paid to have the repair done. They urge their customers to contact Apple Technical Support, if you believe that your iPhone 6 Plus is affected. This will help expedite the process.
As of now, no additional information has been released from Apple. We will continue to follow-up and deliver any updates that may be released by the company or additional information pertaining to the malfunction.


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Elite Survival Systems, a concealment products and tactical gear manufacturer based in Washington, joins a prestigious class in business this year by being ranked in Inc. Magazine as No. 1985 of the top 5000 fastest-growing, privately held companies in the nation.
This list represents a unique look at the most successful companies within the American economy’s most dynamic segment — its independent small and midsized businesses.
To be eligible for this list, companies must be U.S.-based, privately held, for-profit enterprises. The 2017 Inc. 5000 list is ranked according to percentage of revenue growth when comparing 2013 to 2016.
Elite Survival Systems achieved a 190 percent rate of growth, earning the position of 1985 of 5000.
Since its founding in 2003, Elite Survival Systems has specialized in designing and manufacturing sewn products for concealed carry, shooting enthusiasts, law enforcement and tactical uses.
The company manufactures most of its product lines in its facility in Missouri — continuing a legacy begun in 1979 with the Assault Systems brand.
Elite Survival Systems has become known for creating premium quality products in an ever-broadening product line, and providing excellent customer service.
“We, as a company, care about quality, and making products which people can count on,” said Bryan Bogue, president of Elite Survival Systems.
“We work every day to better serve our customers and our industry,” he said. “I thank our loyal product resellers, users, and our talented, dedicated staff for helping us to become a better company every day.”
Elite Survival Systems has experienced steady growth since its inception. In 2013, the company nearly doubled the size of its facility, providing additional space for manufacturing and storage.
Recently, the company has completed a second expansion which has once again doubled the size of its facility — adding office space, additional room for production and storage. The company’s products are offered primarily through its network of dealers throughout the world.
For more information, visit www.elitesurvival.com.


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Ghost Tequila has appointed Andrew Teubner as chief commercial officer to direct and lead all national sales, brand strategy and marketing for the Boston-based company.
Teubner began his career in the beverage alcohol industry more than 25 years ago, working in the US and Asia with Joseph E. Seagram & Sons, Coors Brewing Company, The Patrón Spirits Company, and most recently Tequila Casa Dragones.
“As bartender and consumer excitement for Ghost continues to grow, bringing Andy onboard reinforces our commitment to establishing a truly world-class spirit,” said Chris Moran, Ghost’s CEO and co-founder. “His experience, leadership, and industry acumen will be an immeasurable asset as we build this industry-changing brand.”
Ghost Tequila is a 100% agave spicy tequila which launched two years ago and distributed in New England and southern and western US states, with plans for aggressive expansion into new markets.
Teubner added: “This is a brand that’s perfectly positioned to capture the growing market for spicy margaritas and other spicy cocktails, and is already showing above-average reorder rates.”


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Core Wars or the Journey
from Single to Multi-core Processors
Computer speed used to be determined by actual speed - the speed at which its processor rotated.
But more and more, speed has become a function of capacity as manufacturers shove more central processing units or cores into their processors to boost power and speed. Just as people are getting used to dual-core processors, computers with four cores or quad-cores are coming on the market. Some servers and workstations already have chips with eight cores.
Just a few years ago, several computers had to be linked together to get serious computing power. Then, multiple printed circuits, each with their own processor were housed in one computer. Now multi-core processors, chips with multiple central processing units that have their own independent processor, are here. Large systems have given way to smaller, energy efficient units, says Carsten Albrecht, a computer scientist at the Institute for Technical Information at the University of Lübeck.
"The new standard is computing power per watt."
Advanced integration techniques and energy savings were major reasons for developing multiple core processors. Another reason was the rotational speed of the old processors. As they got faster, they gave off more heat ... sometimes reaching uncomfortable levels.
The first dual core chips hit the consumer market at Easter 2005 and companies like IBM have sold quad-core processors since the end of that year. Intel launched them on the market in early 2007. But as long as prices remains higher than 2,000 euros (around $2,700), consumer interest will remain limited. It might take systems like AMD's planned new generation of two and four core chips processors to turn some gamers onto quad-core.
The average shopper probably won't have to get involved in the core wars.
"If I only need Word and the Internet, then I check that the computer is affordable, not whether it has two or more cores," says Albrecht. But people who work intensely with their computers will quickly see the advantages of an additional core.
Background programs that use a lot of computing power, like virus scanners, firewalls or desktop search engines don't slow down the computer as much as multiple core processors.
The multiple cores also reduce the risk of a complete system crash. But multiple cores do not solve every problem. If a processor's capacity - particularly its second cache where temporary data is stored - is not up to standard, the multiple cores will not help much says Stiftung Warentest, a Berlin-based consumer product information organization. The cache should be as large as possible for data intensive operations.
It's also important to remember that two cores do not necessarily double computer power. Nor do four cores quadruple power. Operating systems like Windows, Mac OS or Linux can divide duties between the different cores. But the time saved by this simultaneous work also depends on whether the program being used is designed to use multiple cores.
To get more speed, chip circuits are shrinking down to nanometre sizes. The number of transistors in a processor will continue to double every two years and researchers will continue to encode more sophisticated commands into the silicon. There are already processors with eight cores on the market with no end in sight for processor capacity.
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Pit Express: Pit Liquor Happenings
Can your deodorant really cause cancer? New research says the answer is yes. CNN recently announced a recall of several major deodorant brands, including Old Spice and Secret, that were found to have benzene in their spray deodorant products. According to the Centers for Disease Control and World...Like death and taxes, sweat is an inevitable part of life. Unlike death and taxes, it’s actually good for the body and mind to get your sweat on. For those who haven’t yet discovered Pit Liquor, stinking can also be a part of life. Before we concocted this natural, whiskey-based deodorant, we suf...When did armpits become a go-to descriptor for some of the worst places in the world? New Jersey, Florida, even Battle Mountain, Nevada have all been referred to as “the armpit” to denote some intangible terrible-ness that wafts off them. We’re looking to upend that narrative - for New Jersey a...
Ever wonder why our bodies sweat? Or maybe you wish you could skip sweat all together and just live a stink-free existence. Fun fact – sweating and stink aren’t the same thing. Sweating means your body is healthy, functioning, and thriving.Here’s everything you need to know about the benefits of sweating.


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Eagle Radio Breakfast Show Presenter to Draw Winner
The weblaunch free website draw from Woking Means Business will take place on Tuesday morning and will be drawn by Eagle Radio Breakfast Show Presenter Posh Al, at Eagle Radio headquarters in Guildford.
"We're very excited that Posh Al has agreed to pick our winner" enthuses weblaunch's Commercial Director, Bruce Hazelton. "I've listened to the breakfast show for a few years now, and I'm really excited to meet her."
Once Bruce has stopped grinning like a Cheshire cat, a video of the draw will be posted on the weblaunch website.
- Weblaunch GDPR compliance
- 25th May 2018
- We're pleased to announce that Weblaunch is fully GDPR compliant, and most weblaunch customers need… more...
- Testimonial star ratings now built in
- 27th March 2018
- We're pleased to announce another upgrade to our testimonials.We've added testimonial headings and… more...
- More enhancements to Weblaunch
- 9th February 2018
- After listening to feedback from our customers we've made some updates to our system to make it… more...
- May's News
- News Archive


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There are growing worries on the supply of wheat, and hence of bread, in Syria in the coming months as the FAO warns of a severe decline in this year’s crop.
On June 12, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations said that this year’s wheat crop will be lower than last year’s, which was at 2.3 million tons, and well below the annual average of around 3.6 million tons.
This figure is to be compared with the annual consumption of wheat, which stands at around 4 million tons. In other words there could be a gap of up to 2 million tons between demand and supply.
The level of the wheat crop is traditionally followed very seriously in Syria because bread is the main staple food for the population but the issue has now become much more serious because bread represents a growing part of the food consumption of the many Syrian families that have fallen into poverty in the last two years.
The estimate of the government is more optimistic than that of the FAO. The General Establishment for Cereals Trade and Processing – which is also known as HOBOOB – has said that it targets a crop of around 3.16 million tons, down from 3.6 million tons in previous forecasts. HOBOOB plans to purchase from farmers around 2.5 million tons, while the rest is expected to be sold independently by the farmers.
Because it considers wheat a strategic crop, each year the government commits to buy from farmers any volume of the crop they produce, at a given fixed price, which is traditionally higher than market prices – besides wheat there are two other strategic crops in Syria, cotton and sugar beet.
In order to fill the gap between demand and supply the government plans to import wheat from global markets. Earlier this year, Nawaf Al-Ali, the head of HOBOOB, said that Syria planned to import this year a total of 1.1 million tons.
In practice, several shipments have already reached Syrian ports in recent months. According to the Reuters news agency, some 220,000 tons of wheat were imported between February and May, including 90,000 tons from France.
The government has also announced that it had imported from Ukraine 300,000 tons of wheat and that it sought to buy 300,000 additional tons from that country.
The goal of the government to reach a target of 3.16 million tons can sound ambitious given that most of the country’s wheat is grown in the north-eastern part of the country, which is facing significant levels of violence and which is largely under the control of the opposition. Around a third of Syria’s wheat crop is traditionally grown in the province of Hassakeh and another third in the provinces of Aleppo and Raqqa.
For the government to keep adequate supplies to the city centres that it still largely controls, the major issue will therefore be of how to ensure steady supplies of wheat from the opposition-controlled northeast. Should it be unable to do that, it will have to resort to larger volumes of imports, straining further its already tight finances.


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REI’s Annual Stewardship Report
Recreational Equipment, Inc. (REI), a national retail cooperative providing quality outdoor gear and clothing, has released its third annual stewardship report.
Get access to everything we publish when you sign up for Outside+.
Recreational Equipment, Inc. (REI), a national retail cooperative providing quality outdoor gear and clothing, has released its third annual stewardship report that provides an evaluation of the co-op’s social and environmental efforts in the 2008 calendar year.
Available online at www.rei.com/stewardship, the report updates progress toward short and long-term goals, including the co-op’s environmental aspiration of being carbon-neutral and zero-waste-to-landfill by 2020. REI is also committed to increasing outdoor participation, especially among youth, and ensuring natural spaces are available for all to enjoy.
â€œREI’s stewardship report is an important part of our commitment to share our progress and opportunities with our employees, members and communities,â€ said Sally Jewell, REI’s president and CEO. â€œWhile we are proud of our accomplishments, we embrace the challenges that remain on the long path ahead.â€
REI’s 2008 stewardship report content is structured into three sections â€” Community; Environment; and People. Highlights include:
â€¢ 14,481 acres of land and 6,520 miles of trail maintained through the co-op’s investment in conservation and recreation nonprofits.
â€¢ 1,573,138 volunteer hours donated through the â€œsweat equityâ€ of 130,347 individuals through REI’s nonprofit support.
â€¢ 182,834 youth learned how to recreate outdoors responsibly through the Promoting Environmental Awareness in Kids (PEAK) program via REI’s partnership with the Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics.
â€¢ LEED Gold certification for REI’s Boulder, Colo. store and a second green building prototype store in Round Rock, Texas, featuring solar panels and forward-thinking lighting, materials and design strategies.
â€¢ 85.1 percent of all paper was purchased from â€œacceptable sourcesâ€ according to REI’s paper policy, including 25.6 percent that was certified by the Forest Stewardship Council.
â€¢ Recycling 84.8 percent of the operational waste generated, such as cardboard, wooden pallets, cans and bottles.
â€¢ An 86 percent employee engagement score through the company-wide annual survey, underscoring REI’s ranking as #12 on the FORTUNE magazine â€œ100 Best Companies to Work for in Americaâ€ list.
â€¢ A new recruiting strategy to ensure REI’s staff is reflective of the diversity of its communities.
â€¢ 95 percent of the dollar value of REI-brand products had a third-party factory audit under the co-op’s compliance program to ensure factories manufacturing REI products provide appropriate working environments.
To supplement the online content, a brochure can be downloaded from www.rei.com/stewardship or picked up in any REI retail store. An online survey offers readers the opportunity to provide feedback on the report and the company’s progress.
REI’s 2008 report is the co-op’s third stewardship report. The co-op’s first report, which highlighted efforts during the 2006 calendar year, established a process of milestones, metrics and data, and storytelling surrounding the company’s stewardship commitments in its headquarters, retail locations, distribution center and supply chain manufacturing. All past REI stewardship reports are archived and maintained with open access for future reference.
REI is a national outdoor retail co-op dedicated to inspiring, educating and outfitting its members and the community for a lifetime of outdoor adventure and stewardship. Founded in 1938 by a group of Pacific Northwest mountaineers seeking quality equipment, REI is committed to promoting environmental stewardship and increasing access to outdoor recreation through volunteerism, gear donations and financial contributions.


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SmartCode Debuts Smallest Chip
The company says its tiny RFID chip will allow it to produce tags for 5 to 10 cents in volumes of 1 billion or more.
Jan 23, 2004—SmartCode, an RFID systems provider based in Tel Aviv, Israel, says it has created the prototype for an RFID microchip that is 0.25 millimeters square. The smallest microchip currently used in RFID tags on the market is 0.55 millimeters square.
The smaller size of the chip reduces the overall cost of the tag. SmartCode says it will sell Class 1 EPC tags for 5 to 10 cents in volumes of 1 billion or more. Last year, Gillette placed an order for 500 million RFID tags from Alien Technology, a tag and reader supplier in Morgan Hill, Calif. Gillette said it paid "well under 10 cents," which is the lowest price paid for silicon-base RFID tags to date.
The new chip, which will go into commercial production in the fourth quarter, is manufactured using standard CMOS (complementary metal-oxide semiconductor) technology, a common, cost-effective way to manufacture chips. SmartCode has been working with a silicon fabrication company to create the chip, but Roy Apple, SmartCode's VP of business development, declined to identify the company for competitive reasons.
The chip operates in the UHF spectrum (902-928 MHz). Apple says it delivers a read rate and read range comparable to that of other UHF tags on the market (15 to 20 feet). SmartCode plans to assemble tags with a high-speed tag assembly machine—dubbed FAST, for Flexible Area Synchronized Transfer—that it says can produce 10 billion units per year (see SmartCode Readies RFID Production).
SmartCode is a member of EPCglobal, the organization that is commercializing EPC technology. The new chip is based on EPCglobal's specification for the Class 1 EPC tag. Apple says SmartCode will support Class 1, Gen 2, once the specification for the new protocol is finalized by EPCglobal.
"Our announcement of the new EPC RFID chip, side by side with our FAST mass-production manufacturing lines, perfectly fits with our strategy to provide suppliers of Wal-Mart, the DOD, Tesco and the Metro Group with the best available RFID solutions," says Apple.
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Huge Holiday Event for a Good Cause Coming to Brampton
If you love the holidays, giving, and free hot chocolate, get ready for an incredible event that’s coming up very soon in Brampton!
Do you hear festive bells jingling?
No, it’s not Santa - it’s the joy and cheer that comes with CTV’s Toy Mountain! That’s right, the popular Toy Mountain event is coming to Brampton on Tuesday, November 28, 2017, at 5:30 p.m. in Garden Square.
This annual event is for a very good cause. Basically, you bring a new, unwrapped toy to donate to less fortunate children for the holidays to add to the Toy Mountain.
The Salvation Army then delivers the toys to the less fortunate children in our community.
For the rest of the evening, you can warm up with a free hot chocolate, listen to holiday carolling, and kick off giving season.
You may or may not know that this event is quite timely - it’s on the same day at GivingTuesday, a global day of giving that comes after Black Friday and Cyber Monday, two big days for consumerism.
CTV Toronto will be broadcasting Toy Mountain live from Garden Square from 6-7 p.m. as residents gather and the mountain of toys grows in our downtown core.
So, grab as many toys as you can carry and stack them on the mountain next Tuesday!
Happy holidays, Brampton!
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Fans and collectors bid carefully in the live auction conducted at the NFL Experience on Saturday.
Recent Super Bowl game memorabilia and game-worn Chargers jerseys seemed to be the best sellers at the 2009 Super Bowl auction conducted during the NFL Experience in Tampa Saturday.
310 lots were offered in the sale conducted by Hunt Auctions and the NFL. Perhaps reflecting the less than stellar economy, 74 lots went unsold including a vintage Norm Van Brocklin Rams helmet, John Elway, Brett Favre and Gale Sayers game-worn jerseys and a run of 37 Super Bowl full tickets from past games.
Participants seemed to gravitate toward some recent game-used Super Bowl memorabilia, rarely offered at public sale. The auction even included the game ball that kicked off last year’s Super Bowl XLII between the Giants and Patriots. It sold for $6095 which included a 15% buyer’s premium. The silverplate coin with 24k gold highlights used for the pre-game coin toss in the same game brought $3450.
The auction also included a number of game-worn jerseys from current and past eras. Several San Diego Chargers jerseys, used in the team’s game with the Stains played in London were sold along with others worn by the team in the January 3 playoff game and during a regular season game four weeks earlier. Two LaDainian Tomlinson jerseys were in that group; one selling for $6210 and the other for $5980. Phillip Rivers’ twice-worn jersey sold for $3680.
Topping the auction was a 1960s professional model Johnny Unitas helmet which sold for $27,600 and a 1960s Jim Brown game-worn Cleveland Browns jersey nailed down for $18,400.
Other auction sales included:
- 1920s-30s Executioner style football helmet $8625
- Notre Dame football helmet attributed to Johnny Lattner $6325
- Boston/Washington Redskins 1930s wool pullover jacket $5750
- Autographed 1980s Joe Montana helmet $5175
- 1989 Miami Hurricanes championship ring $3565


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NEW YORK — Critics have yet to weigh in on Sidney Pollack’s new flick “The Interpreter,” but Milan-based Piazza Sempione is already giving the movie’s star, Nicole Kidman, two thumbs up.
The Academy Award-winning actress has been pictured in ads for the film wearing a belted black trenchcoat from the clothing and accessories company. That was not by chance.
Piazza Sempione provided the coat as well as suit-y looks for Kidman’s character, named Silvia Broome, a United Nations interpreter who overhears a death threat against a head of state. The U.N. allowed Pollack to shoot inside its General Assembly Hall, which had never been done.
“To have Nicole Kidman wear our clothes is fantastic for us,” said Stefania Amfitheatrof, U.S. press office manager for Piazza Sempione. “For us, it reinforces brand awareness in the U.S., which is 50 percent of our business.”
The 15-year-old company did not pay a fee to have its clothes featured in the film, but it receives a credit at the end, Amfitheatrof said. “The Interpreter” opens here at the Tribeca Film Festival on April 19.
Kidman isn’t the only actress Piazza Sempione has wooed onscreen. Angie Harmon wears the brand’s belted wool and alpaca trench in chocolate brown in “End Game,” a thriller that is in production.


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Ford Motor is conducting 25 mobility experiments (Photo: Ford)
Ford Motor said it would study companies such as Apple and Amazon to learn how to successfully manage a major industry transformation.
Ford Motor CEO Mark Fields, in an address to the International CAR Symposium in Bochum, Germany, announced that the US-based carmaker has entered into a research cooperation with Aachen University to launch the so-called "Personal Mobility Experience Innovation" project.
The collaboration is part of some 25 projects Ford has launched under the umbrella of its Ford Smart Mobility strategy, which aims to identify features, technologies, services and solutions to meet people's changing personal mobility needs.
Apple and Amazon are examples of companies that have expanded from single-product and service providers to enterprises that deliver a full ecosystem of hardware and software platforms and services, Ford said in a press release.
"The project will identify how such approaches could deliver enhanced car-ownership experiences; new approaches to car-sharing and personalization of mobility solutions; and create innovative features and new business opportunities," Ford said.
The automaker is also contributing to a UK government-sponsored project called UK Autodrive. The initiative will look at how driverless and connected cars can be integrated into everyday life. Other carmakers are also participating in the project.


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Morals with your Marmite? Unilever banks on ‘purpose-led brands’
A change in leadership at the consumer goods giant has fuelled its drive to lure picky Gen Z consumers
One Friday last month, climate activists walked out of workplaces and schools around the world demanding immediate action from global leaders to address what they describe as a climate “emergency”.
Among those taking to the streets were employees from Ben & Jerry’s, a brand best known for making tubs of ice cream in flavours including Phish Food and Chunky Monkey. Ben & Jerry’s has campaigned on causes ranging from LGBTQ+ rights to supporting the resettlement of refugees since it was set up by founders Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield in 1978. And now its owner, Unilever, one of the largest consumer goods companies in the world, wants its entire stable of brands from Marmite to Magnum to follow suit.
Setting out his stall as Unilever’s new chief executive in June, Alan Jope pledged to sell off brands that “are not able to stand for something more important than just making your hair shiny, your skin soft, your clothes whiter or your food tastier”. These so-called purpose-led brands are what Jope hopes will set Unilever apart from its rivals and entice fickle younger customers who are increasingly conscious about what they buy and where it comes from. Almost two-thirds of “Generation Z” consumers, typically those shoppers born between 1995 and 2010, research the origins of a product before deciding whether to buy it or not, according to data experts Kantar...


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Cynics ridicule Uber’s plan for flying cars
The human race has been trying to produce flying cars for a century. Now Uber says it will engineer them within three years. But will the future really be that different from the present?
In 1917, aviation pioneer Glenn Curtiss unveiled a machine with three wings, spanning 12m (40ft). At its rear stood a four-blade propeller. He called it the Autoplane.
He had tried to make a flying car, just 14 years after the first powered flight. But though his machine made some short hops off the ground, it was never able to fly.
A century later, his dream may be nearing reality. This week Uber hired former NASA engineer Mark Moore to join its Uber Elevate division. He made a bold prediction: there will be several well-engineered flying cars within one to three years.
The cars would take off and land vertically, like helicopters, but fly horizontally, like aeroplanes. Uber says they could revolutionise travel in cities, by making it faster and cheaper.
Flying cars have long captured the popular imagination, and have featured in films such as Back to the Future and Harry Potter. But could they work? They would create concerns over congestion and safety — a new form of air traffic control may be needed to manage them.
And major technology firms have made similar statements before. In 2008 the company Terrafugia expected to sell a ‘roadable aircraft’ by the end of 2009. In 2013 it said it would begin production in 2015. In 2015 the makers of a flying car called AeroMobil said it would be on sale by 2017.
It has been possible to combine aeroplanes and cars for decades, but nobody has yet created practical and affordable flying cars en masse. And the technology Uber plans to use has a chequered past.
Matt Novak of Gizmodo was unconvinced by Uber’s claims. ‘Flying cars have been the perennial dream of futurists for well over a century now,’ he wrote. ‘But they always seem to be just two years away.’ Novak has also promised to ‘eat the sun’ if the AeroMobil is released this year, as planned.
The repeated letdowns have drawn comparisons with space tourism, which companies such as Virgin Galactic have repeatedly pledged — and failed — to deliver. So will these outlandish ideas always remain futuristic?
Yes, say pessimists. Human beings will retain the same fundamental needs and limitations. It is easy to make grandiose announcements for a bit of publicity; it is much harder to produce a revolutionary product. Most change is only incremental. And the shock of the new quickly wears off once people realise how similar things really are.
What defeatism, optimists respond. It is easy to scoff, but the companies which dream big will change the world. Attempts to create flying cars or send ordinary people into space are very complex, so of course they will face setbacks. But with enough determination and ingenuity, they will come to fruition eventually.
- Would you like to travel in a flying car?
- Will flying cars ever be mass produced?
- Draw a picture showing how you think a flying car of the future might look. Compare with a partner — how different are your ideas and why?
- Fast forward to the year 2067. Do people commonly travel by flying car? Write a letter, addressed to the you of 2017, explaining why you think so — or not.
Some People Say...
“The more things change, the more they stay the same.”
What do you think?
Q & A
- Flying cars will be expensive and take ages to create. Should I care about them?
- If you use Uber, this is how they spend the money you give the company. And if the first cars are built successfully, they might become more common — meaning you may be able to travel in one, or they may change the place you live. You may relish the extra convenience they will bring and celebrate the extra time they will give people who travel faster. But you may worry they will make life more hectic and cause noise and pollution.
- But I don’t use Uber, and nor do my friends.
- A successful technology company has still decided these cars are worth investing in. That effort is telling. It may encourage other companies to invest in them — or similarly futuristic ideas which you may want to use one day.
- The National Aeronautics and Space Agency is the US space agency.
- A car which took off like a helicopter would not need a runway; a car which took off like an aeroplane would. But helicopters are too expensive, loud and heavily polluting to operate in large numbers in cities.
- The cars would have a range of 50–100 miles. They would be powered electronically, so they would need to recharge.
- Uber is investing heavily in technology known as VTOL — vertical take-off and landing.
- The American military used VTOL in its Osprey vehicles. These took far longer to become operational, and cost much more to make, than expected. When an Osprey vehicle was produced for the presidential fleet in 2013, President Obama was not allowed on it for safety reasons.
- Virgin Galactic
- This division of the congolmerate Virgin says it aims to ‘democratise’ space travel. In 1999 Richard Branson, Virgin’s owner, said he hoped to see a ‘reusable rocket’ developed in five years to take 10 people at a time to a space hotel. There have been several similar claims since.


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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 11, 2017
Bart Cera, COO, CFO, VARGO®
Michele Lemmon, GREENCREST
HILLIARD, Ohio (October 11, 2017) — VARGO®, a leading provider of material-handling system integration, warehouse execution software and equipment solutions for major fulfillment and distribution centers, has hired Mike Peters as a quality assurance and support professional.
Peters, who works out of VARGO®'s headquarters in Hilliard, Ohio, was hired to provide technical support to customers, provide quality assurance on existing and upcoming products, and to manage and update code.
"In addition to a customer-support driving mindset, Mike has the technical skills and educational background we look for in a VARGO® associate," said Bart Cera, COO and CFO at VARGO®. "We're pleased to welcome him to our team."
A native of Xenia, Ohio, Peters has a Bachelor of Science in biology from The Ohio State University and a Bachelor of Science in computer science from Oregon State University.
Peters lives in Galloway, Ohio, with his wife, Meaggie. (ZIP Code 43119).
VARGO® is a team of mechanical and software engineers changing e-commerce operations by designing fulfillment solutions differently than anyone else in the industry. For more than four decades, VARGO® has been working with retailers, manufacturers and distributors to improve material handling operations. VARGO® uses its proven, pull-based methodologies to create intelligent solutions for fulfillment centers and is the only company that offers COFE® (Continuous Order Fulfillment Engine), the software that does for fulfillment what Lean did for manufacturing. For more information, visit www.vargosolutions.com.
More Info: http://www.vargosolutions.com/


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Alta Fox Capital, a long/short hedge fund based in Fort Worth, Texas, recently published its Q2 investor letter. The fund discussed its investment theory on 3Pea International Inc (OTCMKTS: TPNL) in the letter. Henderson, Nevada-based 3Pea International is a prepaid debit card payment solutions provider as well as an integrated payment processor. The company provides prepaid card programs and processing services to corporate, consumer and government applications through its PaySign brand.
Let’s take a look at Alta Fox Capital’s thoughts about 3Pea.
3Pea International (“TPNL”) is a high-quality payment provider to the domestic plasma industry with excellent returns on capital, a long growth runway with high incremental margins, an attractive duopoly industry structure, and multiple near-term catalysts.
Insiders own ~50% of the company, including the founder/CEO, Marc Newcomer, who owns ~21% of the company and has not sold a single share despite a 10x+ increase in share price since 2016.
Moreover, Dan Henry, a widely respected pioneer in the payments space, agreed in May of this year to join the company as Chairman of the Board. I believe TPNL’s existing plasma payments business is conservatively worth over $5.00/share (~100% upside).
Moreover, the company has three other initiatives that I believe have a reasonable chance of pushing air value above $10 over the next 3 years (~300% upside).
For the first quarter ended March 31, 3Pea International Inc (OTCMKTS: TPNL) reported a 46% increase in revenues to $4.6 million. Net income for the quarter was $412,548, or $.01 per share, versus net income of $369,394, or $.01 per share, in the same quarter last year.
Revenues for the six months ended June 30 were $10.14 million, an increase of 53% compared to the same period in the prior year. Net income for the six months ended June 30 was $1.14 million, or $0.02 per share, a 52% increase compared to net income of $753,837, or $0.02 per share, for the same period last year.


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Fans are going haywire as EA just dropped the latest trailer of Star Wars Squadrons. Do not fret if you missed the announcement, you may check the details here. The game is coming to PlayStation 4 on the 2nd of October 2020 and this can be played from start to finish just by using your Playstation VR. This includes a single campaign and multiplayer options. More information will be shown on EA Play this Thursday including gameplay reveal and hopefully will show us some virtual reality action.
This is truly a breakthrough for PSVR fans as they will be getting one of the biggest budget video games ever to hit that platform. This move is quite a breath of fresh air as EA took the risk and released something that is not in their traditional wheelhouse, especially with no microtransactions involve whatsoever. With the 2016 VR X-wing mission release, one can only imagine what amazing things they now have come up with after three years of tweaking with technology. It is going to be huge and keep up to date with the latest news and reveals in the coming months when you stay tuned to our site.
I, for one, cannot wait to buckle up behind an X-wing Starfighter and a TIE Fighter and explore an endless space. Truly a childhood dream come true!
Star Wars Squadrons will launch on October 2, 2020.


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While the design of Porsche’s latest road cars has been fairly standard and predictable, the company has been busy churning out beautiful concept cars like the Taycan, the limited-run Porsche 935, and now this, a modern interpretation of the Le Mans winning Porsche 917 race car.
The Porsche 917 design concept, revealed today to mark the 50th anniversary of the unveiling of the original 917 race car back in 1969, has flattened out the bulbous body of the old car, instead offering a sleek, low and long look that seems like a natural progression of the styling on the Porsche 918.
The original 917 won the 24 Hours of Le Mans overall in 1970 after working out a lot of initial failings. Referred to after its Salzburg team from Austria, the 1970 winner rode out in a corresponding red and white striped livery, which the modern concept pays homage to. The 917 won overall again in 1971, and a Gulf-liveried version of the car starred in the 1971 Steve McQueen flick, Le Mans.
The new 917 is sadly just a concept car destined for the Porsche museum, designed by a group of designers and engineers to join the first car from 1969—a test chassis that never raced, as noted by the 962 registry—that has been restored for the exhibition. The two join nine other 917s that will be on display, according to Porsche. Funny enough, chassis 917-001 was for a time repainted to look like the 1970 winner as well, being displayed in that livery and spec.
The technology used in the later turbocharged models of the 917 race cars in our nearly-unrestricted CanAm Series led directly to the development of turbo engines in Porsche road cars. We should all make a trip out of it and go pay the 917, old and new, our respects.
Porsche didn’t include any additional photos or renders, so I guess we’ll have to go see it in person now.


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Report: Chrysler outperforming internal forecasts, readying IPO
Chrysler showed an operating profit in the first quarter of this year, but even so, it doesn't want to change its estimates for the entire year, at least not yet. The only brand-new vehicle it will be rolling out is the 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee, and that leaves a lot of not-exactly-new product trying to keep the momentum going all the way to the end of the year.
Still, for a company that was left for dead last summer, to be here in May of 2010 talking about it at operational break-even this year and net break-even next year is not a bad year of work. With negative cash flow of $1 billion expected this year, true profit is still a couple of years away, but we can at least see the way with the Fiat 500 arriving in December, a Chrysler small car in Q4 of 2011, updates on its current offerings and an IPO. Come on, Jeep Grand Cherokee...
- Most and least efficient car companies
- Fastest-depreciating cars in the United States
- Find and compare 2017 Models


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We usually enjoy the latest SwizzBeats track as much as the next pop rap follower. However, the brand new Voltron Force theme song, which turns our favorite kitty robot into some sort of horrible buzz verb, has us worried.
It just sounds like all those other horrible commercials where the marketing team tries to turn the brand name into a verb like "Do you Dew?" or "Gellin'". And that's not the only thing they're changing, Topless Robot pointed out the changes to the series' plotline in the most recent press release.
Several years after the final battle between the Voltron Force and Prince Lotor, a new evil threatens the galaxy, and the universe is once again in need of its true defender...
The original Voltron Force pilots, Keith, Allura, Lance, Hunk and Pidge, are joined by three new cadets. With the once-in-a-millennium opportunity to train alongside their heroes, these junior pilots will help unlock incredible new powers, discover secret origins, and fight to earn their role in the legendary Voltron Force!
New characters (kid characters) and a mythos flash forward? Eep. That being said, all the video we're seeing now (that isn't peppered with screaming "Let's Voltron" music) looks great. To the cat robot!
Voltron Force will be on NickTunes on June 16th.


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In a press statement, Itron said it will supply an additional 500,000 smart payment meters for deployment under the utility’s automated metering infrastructure project.
In the previous deal, the energy management firm supplied Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PT PLN) with 635,000 smart payment meters.
Itron is partnering with its Indonesian subsidiary PT Mecoindo for implementation of the project.
The decision by PT PLN to deploy smart payment meters falls under its efforts to help its customers to manage their energy usage in line with their budgets and needs. The smart payment meters provide consumers with access to view their remaining energy balance and plan ahead in regard to their payments to avoid untimely energy shut-offs.
The project will also help the utility recover its revenue lost to bad debts. [Itron firm wins smart prepayment deal in Indonesia]
Septa Hamid, general manager of supply chain management at PT PLN, said: “Itron’s smart payment solution is helping PT PLN enhance our ability to provide convenient and affordable electricity services to energy consumers in Indonesia.”
Smart meters landscape-Asia
The news follows an announcement made in October, 2016 by the government of Singapore that it is conducting studies for large-scale smart meter rollouts.
The Singaporean government said it is investigating the possibility of large-scale smart meter deployment for electricity, gas and water supply.
Singapore’s Energy Market Authority (EMA), together with national water agency and grid operator Singapore Power, announced that they will be issuing a call for proposals for a smart meter trial, aimed at helping consumers to be more efficient in their power, water and gas consumption.
According to the Business Times, currently, most electricity meters in Singapore are read manually once every two months, together with gas and water meters.
The EMA, the national water agency and Singapore Power are working toward developing a technical solution for remotely reading electricity, gas and water meters reliably and in a cost-effective manner.
The trial will also include the development of a mobile application to provide consumers with real-time information on their electricity, water and gas consumption.


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Finally, Canadians can buy Microsoft’s Zune music player. But does anyone care?
In 2006, Microsoft launched the Zune in the States. It was heralded as an iPod killer, but it turned out it was the Zune that got the pounding. To date only about two million units have been sold in the U.S., while worldwide sales of the iPod have topped 150 million. Regardless, on Friday the Zune made its debut in Canada, with three models of varying capacity, from four GB to 80 GB, ranging in price from $139 to $249. So far, the response from consumers and analysts has not exactly been riotous. “Hmm,” mumbled Iain Grant of the Seaboard Group when told of the launch. “I guess that would explain why I’ve never seen one.”
The awareness level in Canada for the Zune is so low, many consumers seemed to think that the device was already here. “I didn’t realize they weren’t in Canada yet,” wrote one commenter on a news website that reported the launch. It was the same on blogs and forums across the land. When Microsoft first announced in May that Zune was headed for this country, the popular tech website Engadget wrote: “Hear that? That’s the sound of dozens of Canadians rejoicing.”
The subdued launch is a sign of the uphill
battle the Zune faces in Canada, say analysts. “This has been one of the best stealth marketing plans,” says Kevin Restivo, a technology analyst and blogger in Toronto. “The launch has been completely overshadowed by the iPhone.” Indeed, anticipation for the
Aside from its clandestine debut, the Zune faces another challenge in cracking the Canadian market. According to the PC World website, the Zune’s online store for downloading legally purchased music may not launch in Canada until next year. In the meantime, given Ottawa’s goal of introducing tougher new anti-piracy legislation, Zune users will have to be careful where they get their tunes. M
Zune has been nothing compared to the clamour surrounding the impending Canadian launch of Apple’s iPhone 3G.
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Jenelle Evans has made some bad choices in her time.
At this point, that’s pretty much the only kind of choice she knows how to make.
But this latest thing … it’s a doozy, even for her.
OK, so we know that Jenelle has struggled with addiction, right?
She was obsessed with weed for a long time, and it’s likely that she still is — and while a lot of people can use it recreationally, she never seemed like one of those people.
For a while there, she was a heroin user, which was terrifying to watch.
She managed to kick that habit, which was truly a remarkable thing to do, and while there have been rumors here and there, there’s been no solid evidence that she’s done hard drugs since.
However, for the past few months now, Teen Mom fans have been growing more and more convinced that she’s developed a new addiction …
An alcohol addiction.
If you watch any of the videos she shares on YouTube or social media, you’ll notice that she often has a beer in her hand, or one nearby.
She’s been visibly tipsy in some recent videos, and she’s mentioned several times that she needs a beer, or that she and David need to go buy more beer.
When her followers point any of this out, she insists that she’s not an alcoholic, and that because she’s over 21, she can drink if she wants.
But she’s also posted evidence that she’s been drinking alone, in the mornings while working, while watching her kids in the pool …
Earlier this year, she even said that she believes she could have been considered an alcoholic when she was younger because she drank a lot of liquor, but those days are behind her now that she can only drink beer and wine because of her esophagus problems.
… Because as everyone knows, alcoholics don’t drink beer or wine (???).
Things have seemed to be getting worse and worse with her apparent problem, but thanks to a new video she uploaded to her YouTube channel, we know that things may be even worse than we thought.
Like, worse enough that it looks like she may not even make it all the way home from a beer run before she opens a bottle.
Yesterday morning, Jenelle shared one her vlogs.
She talked about how MTV hurt her feelings by not letting her do the Teen Mom spinoff, and she also filmed a day of shopping that she did with David and Ensley.
She showed them going to the mall, and she showed them going to Walmart.
In the footage from the checkout line at Walmart, you can see that they bought one pack of Landshark beer and one pack of Modelo — that will be important in just a minute.
When they were done shopping and driving home, Jenelle filmed herself from the passenger seat, and while she was talking about their plans for the rest of the day, David crashed into another car.
“Oh my god!” Jenelle exclaimed, while David could be heard saying “My fault.”
She turned off her camera and then added in footage from the next day where she explained that it was just a small accident, though when she showed photos of both cars, it did look like there was a fair bit of damage to the other person’s car.
The whole thing seemed pretty sketchy because we know that just a few months ago, David didn’t have a valid driver’s license.
He got a ticket for driving without a license last year, and when her followers pointed that out when she shared a video of him driving a few months ago, Jenelle explained that he’d actually had his license suspended for only two days for an unpaid ticket.
It’s hard to say what’s going on with his license, but Teen Mom fans on Reddit noticed something even more interesting — it turns out that when the collision happened and Jenelle dropped her camera, you can see an open beer bottle in the cup holder.
Specifically a Modelo beer, the same kind they’d just purchased at Walmart.
Some of her defenders have claimed this is actually a water bottle, but she has what is obviously a water bottle in addition to this one, and it’s a pretty distinctive bottle, right?
Does this mean that Jenelle couldn’t even wait until they got home to have a drink?
Could David have been drinking too? To be fair, the bottle is clearly in the cup holder on her door, but who’s to say with these two?
In North Carolina, you can’t have an open container anywhere in a vehicle, whether it’s driving or parked or if you’re just a passenger, so it’s pretty clear that at least one law was broken here.
And we really, really hope that was the only one …


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Increasing the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2025 will boost wages for 32 million workers in America, a new report says.
The report, published by the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute (EPI), found that an increase in the minimum wage would affect 22.1 million workers directly, and 10.1 million workers indirectly, by the year 2025 – and together would constitute 21% of the projected U.S. workforce in that year.
According to EPI's estimates, 22.1 million workers would directly see a benefit from the hike since they would otherwise be earning less than $15 an hour in 2025, and 10.1 million would benefit indirectly as they'd be earning just above $15 an hour by 2025.
Previous research from the UC Berkeley Labor Center reached roughly the same estimates, expecting 23 million workers to see a "direct boost" in pay.
On average, an affected low-wage worker would see an annual pay increase of more than $3,300, EPI estimated.
'It makes great business sense'
Part of the 32 million who would see an increase in pay includes those in "critical infrastructure" jobs, such as in healthcare, energy, and transportation.
And the hike would disproportionately benefit Black and Hispanic workers — and women — the authors said. Earnings would rise for nearly one in three Black workers, and one in four Hispanic workers. Only one in five white workers will see a boost in wages, in comparison.
Additionally, a wage increase would lift 3.7 million people out of poverty, EPI stated.
That estimate is higher than a separate report by the Congressional Budget Office. The CBO said that while the wage hike would cost 1.4 million jobs by 2025, 900,000 people will be lifted out of poverty with a $15-an-our federal wage. (It's also worth noting that the CBO is more conservative in its estimates of how many workers would benefit directly and indirectly from a wage increase, placing that number at 27 million.)
For many workers, an increase to $15 would have a significant impact on their day-to-day finances. "I work 20 hours a week, my take-home pay is about $200, after paying rent, electric, phone bill and transportation and ... food and medication ... it's really a struggle and I'm working from paycheck to paycheck," Tracey Thuo, a 59-year-old worker Wilmington, Del., said at a press conference earlier this week organized by a coalition of groups that support a $15 minimum wage, including Business for a Fair Minimum Wage.
Thuo is a member of the 32BJ Service Employees International Union, and cleans a building on Market Street. A "$15 minimum wage means a lot for all of us... [and] will make a big difference in my life," she added.
A handful of big retailers have already moved to raise their employees wages to $15 an hour and above, namely Target, Costco and Best Buy. Some smaller businesses support a hike as well. "It makes great business sense," Delaware-based Courtney Sunborn, who owns Ecolistic Cleaning, said during the press conference. "I want all of the employees to feel valued for their hard work."
She explained that by paying her workers a minimum of $14.50 an hour — and soon $15 an hour this year — "we've seen that it increases both employee commitment and reliability, but also decreases turnover. And turnover has proven for me to be so expensive," Sunborn said.
The current federal minimum wage has been at $7.25 an hour since 2009. Many parts of the country have already raised the minimum wage, reflecting local market pressures and workers' needs.
This includes Republican-leaning states like Florida. By 2022, three more states will have hourly wages beyond $10.
While President Joe Biden and some progressive lawmakers tried to include a $15 federal minimum wage hike in the $1.9 trillion stimulus package expected to pass this week, congressional rules prevented the wage hike from being included in the budget reconciliation bill.
For instance, in Arizona — Sen. Krysten Sinema's state — around a quarter of the state's workers would be affected by the hike. Sinema, a Democrat, had voted against the amendment last week.
Some Democratic lawmakers have since then urged Biden to overrule the parliamentarian's decision.
"Without a higher minimum wage, a lot of workers... they're working two or three jobs... just to literally put food on their tables, so it's just a shame," Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D., N.Y.) told Yahoo Finance Live. But the fight isn't over, she added.
Most Americans favor raising the federal minimum wage, which was last increased in 2009.
Aarthi is a reporter for Yahoo Finance. She can be reached at email@example.com. Follow her on Twitter @aarthiswami.


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General Motors To Launch Revised 2.0L Ecotec 4-Cylinder Turbo Engine
General Motors much loved LNF engine, the same 2.0L Ecotec that powered the Pontiac Solstice GXP, Saturn Sky Redline and Chevrolet Cobalt SS is continuing on in the Buick Regal Turbo and Buick Regal GS, but a new generation of turbocharged 4-cylinder motor is set to replace the LNF next year, packing even more power.
While the LNF makes as much as 270 horsepower and 295 lb-ft in the Regal GS, the new engine, dubbed the LHU, will be used as a replacement for V6 engines in mid-size cars, and is expected to make at least 280 horsepower in standard trim. Given that GM’s current “high feature” V6 makes 306 horsepower, we should expect a figure somewhere in that area.
The LHU will get its first use in the Cadillac ATS sports sedan and the 2013 Chevrolet Malibu. Expect it to migrate to other products in the near future as well.
[Source: GM Inside News]


text: LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) -- SamMobile.com, a website devoted to mobile devices made by Samsung Electronics Co. KR:005930 SSNLF said Wednesday that the Korean tech major plans to unveil a "smartwatch" at its corporate event on Sept. 4. The site had reported earlier on plans for a wearable tech device, citing patents filed in South Korea. The Wednesday report, which couldn't be immediately confirmed, said the companion device for Samsung Galaxy phones would be called "Galaxy Gear" and "might possibly have a [flexible] display." An earlier SamMobile post said Samsung would also announce its new "phablet" smartphone, the Galaxy Note III, citing "our trusted insiders." The Samsung "Unpacked" event is slated to be held in Berlin. Samsung's major competitor Apple Inc. AAPL is also reportedly working on a smartwatch of its own.


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SHANGHAI — October 21, 2016 — At ITMA ASIA + CITME 2016, Italian textile technology will showcase a high level of innovation and sustainability features, confirming its leadership once again.
About 130 Italian exhibitors are on hand at ITMA ASIA + CITME 2016 (Shanghai, 21-25 October 2016), occupying an overall exhibition space of more than 5,400 so. meters. 60 Italian companies are presenting their products as part of the National Sector Group, organized by ACIMIT (the Association of Italian Textile Machinery Manufacturers) and ICE-Italian Trade Agency. The four Italian clusters are in the spinning and winding (Hall 1), nonwovens (Hall 2), digital printing (Hall 5) and finishing machinery areas (Hall 6). The total surface area occupied by Italian National Sector Group amounts to roughly 1,600 qs. meters.
The high number of Italian exhibitors testifies a positive outlook on the future of Asian markets, and Chinese one in particular. Asia, on the whole, is a constant benchmark for Italian textile machinery manufacturers, absorbing 45% of their sales abroad. “The high number of Italian exhibitors in Shanghai”, Raffaella Carabelli, President of ACIMIT, says, “shows that our companies are confident in a further growth of the Asian markets, and China in particular. Compared to the last edition of ITMA ASIA, the space booked by Italian exhibitors has grown by 13%.”
The Chinese market is the primary destination for Italian exports. In the first half of 2016, the value of Italian machinery exported to China totaled 152 million euros (+11% over the previous year), around 17% of Italian total exports. The other main destinations of the area for Italian companies are India, Bangladesh, and Pakistan.
The demand for machinery in Asia focuses mainly on machines capable of combining savings in production costs with respect to environmental issues. “Visitors at ITMA ASIA + CITME will once again be able to ascertain in person the extremely high quality and uniquely innovative character of Italian technology on display”, states Raffaella Carabelli. “Less than a year from ITMA Milan, Italian machinery manufacturers will be present in Shanghai with further new proposals, aimed at providing rigorous production standards while cutting costs for energy, water, chemical products and other raw materials.”
Around 40 Italian machinery manufacturers have signed up to ACIMIT’s “Sustainable technologies” project, committing themselves to supplying increasingly sustainable machinery, both from an economic and environmental standpoint. The project is an initiative supported by the Ministry of Economic Development and by the ICE-Italian Trade Agency and is documented on the new website www.green-label.it presented during the ACIMIT press conference at ITMA ASIA. “a website is an additional tool made available to textile operators,” comments ACIMIT’s President, “aimed at providing a better understanding of what we want to achieve in terms of sustainability.”
In addition to the 40 companies which already participate in the “Sustainable technologies” project, other Italian exhibitors at ITMA ASIA are prepared to display the progress made by their technology concerning cost reduction and production resource savings to the visitors of the most important show in the sector in Asia, confirming Italian industry at the top for the supply of sustainable processes.
As far as relevant the Asian market, ACIMIT that brings together the majority of Italian textile machinery companies (which account for 80% of Italian turnover), has been realizing an active promotional program in Asia, in order to support the associated companies in their sales efforts. This program is realized in cooperation with ICE-Italian Trade Agency.
Italy, with its high-tech and eco-friendly manufacturers, is one of the most important player in the textile machinery industry. Italian high-quality machines will foster China textile industry’s quality and will provide environmental conservation – explain Claudio Pasqualucci, Italian Trade Commissioner in Shanghai. China is implementing policies for the reduction of carbon emissions. The new measures for low carbon economy which is low energy consumption, low material consumption low-emission and low-pollution, one of the future choices in the economic development. For that reason, we think Italian textile machines eco-friendly technology, should be appropriate with Chinese policies. In Easter China, that is the area of competence of ICE Shanghai, there are the top three Provinces for textile and garment industry: Zhejiang, Jiangsu, and Fujian, that along with the Provinces Guangdong and Shandong reach around 80% of the industry’s production capability –– and Italy remains one of the leading suppliers of textile machinery in China: it’s strong in machines for preparing especially textile fibers and yarns, machines for cleaning, dyeing and finishing machines, knitting, stitch-bond, lace and auxiliary machinery”.
ACIMIT is present at ITMA ASIA + CITME. Details on the “Sustainable technologies” project and other initiatives about the Italian textiles machinery sector can be obtained by visiting the ACIMIT booth at the INDUSTRY INFORMATION HUB – Association Village (Hall 1, Stand F92).
Posted October 21, 2016


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Socially responsible investing soared to new heights, with investors now expressing more interest in the good that a company does over anything else. Corporations have taken notice of this new trend as they have begun taking steps towards projecting a better image for the public, and now, there are a lot of viable options for socially responsible investments. Per InvestorPlace, here are some choices investors can consider:
As one of the leading tech companies in the world, Microsoft is already one of the top choices for investors. Microsoft’s shares are stable at the $100 mark, and with the company still a prominent force in software and cloud services, it might not see any massive drops in the near future.
Beyond its financial performance, Microsoft’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) is geared towards empowering communities and promoting growth. It donates its products to those in need, no matter where they are in the world.
According to a report released last year, Microsoft was able to donate $1.2 billion in software, and services to non-profits worldwide to help empower their services. Moving forward, the company is planning to connect 2 million people in rural America to broadband by 2022 in hopes of providing them with access to the economic, educational and health opportunities.
Tiffany & Co.
It’s hard to associate luxury jewelry retailers and manufacturers with social responsibility, as these companies face criticism for what their line of work does to the environment. Tiffany & Co. understands the public opinion on jewelry retailers, so it takes steps to ensure everyone that the materials used in its production are gathered from safely operating mines.
Tiffany & Co. practices responsible mining. It devotes time to fully understand the social, economic and environmental impacts of mining and processing of precious minerals from an area. It mines from areas it knows through and through. It also sources minerals from recyclable sources.
Kellogg’s share price is moving near the $70 mark, and it maintains a market cap of $24.09 billion at the time of this writing. It is one of the largest stocks in the U.S. Aside from its market size, the company also was included in The Ethisphere Institute’s The World’s Most Ethical Companies list earlier this year, marking its 10th time to be a part of the said list.
The Ethisphere Institute is a global leader in defining and advancing the standards of ethical business practices. Kellogg’s was recognized for its consistent efforts to integrate responsibility and sustainability into its core practices and its code of ethics. The numerous ethical practices awards it has bagged has made Kellogg’s the ideal choice for socially responsible investors.
These companies are impressive in both the financial and responsibility aspects. Investors should consider making a few stock purchases from these companies as their shares are expected to further rise within the following months or years thanks to the growing popularity of socially responsible investing.
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The tech hierarchy is determined by what vendor has the best and easiest to use software.
Articles about Software
Google Apps for Work users can obtain Hangouts support over the phone all hours of the day on top of a promised 99.9 percent uptime rate.
Who says the Windows desktop is dead? These are the six essential utilities I install on every new Windows PC, and they work with Windows 7, Windows 8.1, or even the Windows 10 Technical Preview.
Following a similar move by Hewlett-Packard this week, Symantec confirmed on Thursday that it will indeed split into two companies.
Facebook's engineering team is shining a light on a number of stats and lessons learned when building a high-quality real-time application.
When it comes to big data and privacy, mistakes are inevitable. But it's how you respond that will most affect your reputation and bottom line, stress Intel privacy officers.
Veteran tech journalist and Microsoft watcher Mary Jo Foley provides insights on Windows 10 in this exclusive Tech Pro Research analyst call and Q&A session.
Aiming to beat the onslaught of Salesforce.com-related updates next week, Adobe is introducing its updated EchoSign app for Salesforce now.
With the release of Lightworks version 12.0, EditShare reaches its goal of a cross-platform video NLE for Windows, Linux and now OS X. Unfortunately this is accompanied by a substantial price increase for the Pro version.
Do you have too many items on your todo list or in your email inbox? If so, you might want to learn some of the insider techniques and tools our own David Gewirtz has put into practice to keep his very busy schedule under control.
The Pi Vessel is a B+ Raspberry Pi-based computer enhanced with an indestructible case, power, and more disk space. It's better than your average Pi.
Home product designers suggest we've been witnessing a 'domestication of the office' over the last five years in which the workplace/home boundaries have been blurred.
LinkedIn and Evernote's founders also ponder whether or not LinkedIn is actually a social network.
Evernote Business is also getting a new LinkedIn-like dashboard, dubbed 'Context.'
Admitting the initial fear in launching the digital marketplace was simply "looking stupid," Evernote's CEO says it turned out to be a grand success.
Voice recognition technology is good enough for almost all your dictation and PC control needs, although Nuance's desktop software still has the odd rough edge.


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Med-tech company Inspire Medical Systems Inc. has closed on $40 million in venture capital and hired a former superDimension executive to serve as its chief financial officer.
The round of financing comes two weeks after the Maple Grove company announced it received regulatory approval to sell its implantable device for treating sleep apnea. The capital will fund the company’s growth as it launches the product.
Inspire’s recent round attracted several new investors, including New York-based OrbiMed Advisors, Johnson & Johnson’s venture capital arm and Aperture Venture Partners. OrbiMed led the round and Inspire’s previous backers, including Medtronic Inc. and Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, also participated.
Inspire also named Richard Buchholz, a former CFO at med-tech firms superDimension and Vascular Solutions Inc., its CFO. Bucholz is a past Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal CFO of the Year Award winner.
Inspire makes a pacemaker-sized device for treating obstructive sleep apnea, a condition that causes patients to intermittently stop breathing during sleep. The device uses electrical pulses to prevent the tongue from collapsing and blocking a patient’s airway.


text: I was just reading an interesting article linked from www.lowendmac.com, which interestingly states what many have suspected. It wasn't only really about the power of the chips for the swtich, but many other factors we have yet to know about. It also states that the PPC was going to go through a renaissance of sorts and the 3GHZ would've made it this year. Of course the supply would've never met the demand, so Intel makes sense financially in a lot of ways especially marketing wise. Keep in mind mac hardwars sales were on the rise last year despite not having Intel. http://www.blachford.info/computer/articles/Timing_is_Everything.html There's also a mention of something that most likely won't happen, but I always wondered of Apple choosing to use to different architectures. It sounds innovative and would be the only company to do it. Especially now that UB are being coded.


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The US auto industry remains unsold over the future of "green cars" such as electrics and hybrids, as carmakers struggle with the first steps in a market most agree shows promise over the long term.
Automakers wheeled out a variety of new hybrids and plug-in electrics at the annual Detroit auto show this week, touting their great energy savings along with new, freshened designs.[Others] foresee the industry turning instead toward compressed natural gas as an alternative fuel, as gas prices falling due to the huge investments being made in extracting it from shale.
But despite that apparent commitment, behind the scenes, the manufacturers remain split between doubts and optimism over their potential.
Ten years after the Toyota Prius hybrid swept into the market, only about three percent of all cars sold in the United States are electric or gas-electric hybrids, said David Cole, director of the Center for Automotive Research.
"Initially there was probably some excessive exuberance about the green auto," he told AFP.
"But the economics are not attractive yet for the average consumer."
Nissan has sold only 9,700 of its all-electric Leaf in the US market, and General Motors has sold just 8,000 of its rechargeable hybrid the Volt since its launch at the end of 2010, below the targeted 10,000.


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NBC and iTunes mend fences in the name of cash
Looks like all the fussin’ and feudin’ between NBC Universal and Apple has come to an end (for now) as the two companies announced yesterday that shows from networks within the Peacock family (NBC, Bravo, USA, Sci Fi, et al) will once again be available through the iTunes service. NBC Uni pulled out of iTunes last fall after a fight over pricing. NBC was the No. 1 supplier of iTunes’ digital media, and NBC Universal president Jeff Zucker wanted some say over Apple’s flat $1.99 per episode pricing scheme (some reports say he was pushing for $4.99 per episode). Despite NBC’s value to iTunes, Apple CEO Steve Jobs said no, and NBC opted to not renew its contract with iTunes.
You’ve got to admire Zucker for trying to take down iTunes’ stranglehold on digital media distribution and its strict, secretive, proprietary (and extremely successful) way of doing business. You also have to admire that he is big enough to admit when he’s licked: Hulu, Zune Marketplace, and Amazon UnBox (Amazon what? Exactly.) just don’t pose a serious threat to the iTunes hegemony — or its cash-generating prowess. So, in a deal that includes a new $2.99 per HD episode option, NBC has come back into the Apple fold just in time for the fall TV season.
Though Jobs has seemingly won this battle, he remains a half step behind in the war against piracy by failing to offer the subscription-based model it was rumored would be unveiled this fall. The reduced-price season pass option for TV shows is a step in the right direction, but the real way to win the entire public is have them think of the monthly iTunes subscription as a “necessity” on par with cable, Internet, and cell phone service. You think Verizon Wireless would be doing as well if it was based on a price-per-call structure? iTunes is certainly better off being able to offer a Heroes season pass for $29.90, but there will be a whole lot of people who’ll find those same episodes elsewhere for free AND be able to view them not only on an iPod, but also on a Creative Zen player (without tedious conversion), a portable DVD player in the car, and any other device they desire.
What of you, PopWatchers? You psyched to watch NBC shows on iTunes, or does live TV and your DVR suffice? And how about those of you (fess up, now) who download shows for free — would you be tempted to sign up for a subscription model instead?


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Primera Technology today announced their attendance at Replication Expo, Print UK, LabelExpo Europe, and REPLItech Asia. Primera will exhibit their full range of CD-R and DVD-R duplication and printing systems, including the new ComposerPro Optical Disc Duplicator, at Replication Expo in Beijing, China. Replication Expo runs from September 13th-15th at the China World Trade Center. Primera will exhibit in booth 2092.
Print UK provides a sneak peak at the new Impressa 3 Digital Label and Decal Press September 18-20th at the Olympia Exhibition Centre in London. Primera can be found at stand 270. Impressa 3 is a fully digital printing and die-cutting press designed for unattended, short-run production of labels and decals on vinyl, polyester and various other substrates. Up to 16.7 million continuous-tone colors are available as well as built-in PANTONE color matching.
Labelexpo Europe will be the official launch of the Impressa 3 Digital Label and Decal Press at the Parc des Expositions in Brussels, Belgium. Primera will exhibit at stand 5103 from September 26th-29th. The Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre is home to REPLItech Asia from October 3rd-5th. Primera will exhibit their entire line of CD-R and DVD-R duplication and printing systems in booth 1607.


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Mozilla, the maker of open source browser Firefox, is planning to offer a subscription service within Firefox that would offer users access to "premium" features like a virtual private network (VPN) service and cloud storage. Separately, Mozilla also unveiled a new, cleaner logo for the Firefox brand. The new look will translate to not just the Firefox browser, but to products like Firefox Send, Firefox Monitor, and Fire Lockwise.
As of now, it remains unclear if this would be a single subscription service offering multiple features, or if these will be separate subscription services.
With this plan, Mozilla aims to develop "diverse sources of revenue" to avoid being heavily reliant on capital that comes from search companies that pay to be featured in the Firefox browser.
The company said it would not charge for any existing Firefox features as part of its shift to offering subscription services.
In October 2018, Mozilla started testing a VPN subscription service that was made available to only a small group of users who were allowed to subscribe through Firefox, paying $10 per month for access to ProtonVPN.
"A high-performing, free and private-by-default Firefox browser will continue to be central to our core service offerings," the report quoted Dave Camp, Senior Vice President of Firefox, as saying.
As we mentioned, Mozilla this week also unveiled its new logo for the Firefox brand.
In a blog post, the company said, "Now Firefox has a new look to support its evolving product line. Today we're introducing the Firefox parent brand — an icon representing the entire family of products. When you see it, it's your invitation to join Firefox and gain access to everything we have to offer. That includes the famous Firefox Browser icon for desktop and mobile, and even that icon is getting an update to be rolled out this fall."