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Samsung patent shows uses for wraparound display release
We have seen both Samsung and LG introduce smartphones this year that offered something different in terms of their displays, but it looks as if Samsung is going to take this a stage further in 2014 as a patent shows the uses for a wraparound display release.
Only last week we heard rumours emerge that suggested that Samsung would be introducing a new display technology next year that would feature a 3 sided wraparound display. Now this looks to be confirmed after a Samsung patent has been discovered that features a number of images that show how the technology would be utilized on a smartphone including the image that you can see on this page.
It seems that the edges of the display can be used for such things as unlocking the device or display such things as the battery remaining meter. It could also be used to display a users bookmarks while browsing the Internet or act as a clipboard so items can be quickly copied, or even a place to display all of your contacts.
Of course a number of companies win patents with the ideas never seeing the light of day, but this sort of feature could open up a number of possibilities depending on how a smartphone is used. There could be some concern that a display of this type could be prone to scratching while it is placed into a pocket or bag, but we will have to wait until next year to see if Samsung actually uses this on any hardware released to the public.
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Wesfarmers, parent group of Bunnings which acquired DIY chain Homebase last year, has announced first-quarter sales down 13.8% to £276m thought the UK and Ireland.
Like-for-like-sales declined 11.9%.
The Australian conglomerate, headquartered in Perth, has attributed the downside in sales to “difficult trading conditions” as the company embarked on a three-month clearance of stock at its 200+ Homebase premises.
Discussing the sales slide, Bunnings group MD Michael Schneider said: “While the performance of Homebase is disappointing, we continue to be encouraged by the performance of the Bunnings pilots.
“The UK and Ireland team remains focused on stabilising the performance of the Homebase stores as well as delivering proof of concept for the Bunnings format.”
The group has launched a small selection of Bunnings Warehouse stores, starting with a pilot store in St Albans back in February, and are planning on a further 20 to be completed by the end of the year.
Wesfarmers managing director Richard Goyder admitted that the investment in Homebase and commercial strategy would “take longer than expected”.
“We still consider the opportunity is a good one,” said Goyder.
The Bunnings group made a loss of £54m in its first full year in the UK.

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Lisa Jackson has a big job. As Apple’s Vice President of Environment, Policy and Social Issues, her role is rooted in making the world a better place - and she has some big goals in mind. As well as making Apple completely carbon neutral by 2030, Lisa also runs the racial equity and justice initiative to improve lives - and has created major opportunities in Apple’s Community Education Program. But is it all too much for one person?
MORE: 10 amazing Apple iPhone hacks you might not be aware of
"We have a team of very wonderful people," Lisa laughs. "We actually keep a pretty small team because we really believe a lot of the work has to be the work of the people all over Apple, so when we work on environmental improvements like in our hardware, we just announced this past Earth Day that we're up to twenty per cent recycled content in our devices. That didn't happen because of my team, that happened because of the product engineering In teams and the materials teams, we work closely with them to help them push the boundaries of what's possible.
WATCH: Lisa Jackson talks Apple's 2030 goal
"So, I always tell people, it's my honour to lead it but there are people all over Apple who are motivated and inspired by their work."
As one of the biggest companies in the world, Apple’s leaders are well aware of the importance their contribution has to the vital protection of the planet.
"We're already carbon neutral and I think that is a huge accomplishment for a company that touches both hardware and software data centres," Lisa explains. "But now it's the 2030 goal. We challenged ourselves and the company to come up with the most aggressive goal to bring our supply chain and our products to 100% carbon neutral and it’s 2030 - when we first came up with the number we were like, 'We’re crazy!' But there’s a history of being crazy at Apple!
"The other thing we challenge ourselves on is the kind of innovation that people expect in our products we want them to see that in our environment work. So the 2030 goal is based on a lot of innovation that we're driving inside the company and even outside the company. So it feels very true to who we are as a company."
Lisa admits that the climate crisis is a concern for her on a personal level - but that this should motivate people to action. "Concern can do one of two things, right?" She asks. "It can paralyse you in place or it can motivate you to action and in this case leadership. It's a source of pride for employees that Apple that we're taking our innovation and applying it to probably the biggest crisis that the planet as a whole faces.
MORE: The iPhone's secret Apple button you didn't know you needed
MORE: These are the best laptop deals that are on the internet right now
"It motivates everyone like, 'I have to do something,' and because of who Apple is, we are such we make tools to help individuals do what they want to do. So we're also very cognizant that you have to work at almost a community level person by person."
She continued: "The number one thing anyone can do is the be part of the recycling economy. It's a big part of our products, the whole trade-in program, the idea of recycled material use and getting our products back so we can get that material back into the circular economy."
You can recycle any Apple device within the store, which is the best way of disposing of your device as vital items from devices can be recycled. Lisa explained: "There're recycling options. So first is part of the natural part of making you a choice for the next device so you can trade in or bring in your device and the wonderful thing about that is if you have access and can do it in person, we can make sure it's wiped, that your data is no longer on it that from a privacy and security standpoint. That's always a huge priority for us.
"But if you can't we can send you the instructions to make sure you do it yourself and you can mail it back to Apple. In Europe you have access to some recycling programs, so there're a bunch of options, but we prefer to come back to us because all generations of iPhone, I think we're up to 23 different models can go through [our systems] so we can find a way to get those materials back."
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For the last decade or so, Millennials have been the generation that every brand has sought to engage as their spending power has grown. With this generation now past teenage years, however, digital advertisers are shifting their focus to the succeeding generation, Generation Z or Gen Z.
The adoption of smartphones and the incidence of online financial transactions has always been high among Millennials. Comparatively, Gen X has been slower to adopt technology in general. What’s interesting is that this trend may be losing steam.
Whether watching TV, checking emails, or flipping through a magazine, it seems like everywhere we look there’s an opportunity for advertisers to connect with us, earn our trust and deliver their message. So has all this media proliferation watered down the resonance of their messages?
As the media landscape evolves, so too do the sources consumers use to find out about new products. Globally, shoppers' reliance on earned media is growing while their attention toward some paid media sources are declining.
Globally, consumers largely favor TV as the device of choice for watching video programming. However, there are a few regional and generational differences in how we watch.
What are today's Future Talent—students close to graduating or college-educated, newly working professionals—looking for when seeking employment or making purchases? A recent study on corporate reputation explores the factors these young future leaders consider.


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(Panama City-ANPanama) The logistics sector will have better results for the second and third quarters of the year, compared to other activities of the economy, as a consequence of the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Logistics Business Council COEL held its third webinar “Recovery of the logistics sector facing the new normality II” with the participation of José Alejandro Rojas, Minister Counselor for the Facilitation of Private Investment; David Hernández, Area Manager for Central America, Ecuador and Venezuela of the International Air Transport Association, IATA and Antonio Domínguez, General Manager of Maersk.
The logistics sector has made a key contribution in this time of emergency. It has moved cargo 24/7 to keep the logistics chain active, which has allowed vital products for this contingency not to suffer setbacks in their deliveries.
José Alejandro Rojas, Minister Counselor for Private Investment Facilitation, reiterated the National Government’s position to support the logistics gear that has maintained economic activity in the most difficult moments of the emergency.
“In this sense, we are working as a State to consolidate ourselves as the first COVID-19 free country in Latin America, seeking to reaffirm our position as the best center for business, investment, logistics, services and tourism, generating jobs and attracting talent. Potentiating itself in initiatives such as the Logistics Hub, Business Hub, Digital Hub, Health Hub, E-Commerce Hub and Value Generation Hub,” Minister Rojas said in his presentation.
In this sense, the logistics sector in consensus, asked Minister Rojas to work hard on the digitization of processes to avoid bureaucracy and corruption.
For his part, David Hernandez, Area Manager for Central America, Ecuador and Venezuela of the International Air Transport Association, IATA, stated that his sector is a catalyst for economic growth, however the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has been devastating.
“The number of daily flights worldwide was down 81% at the end of April, with 93% for Latin America and the Caribbean. This virtually grounded the entire industry with the exception of cargo operations and some domestic flights in the United States, Asia, and in Latin America in Mexico, Brazil and Chile. Airlines will suffer a global revenue loss of US$314 billion due to a 48% reduction in demand,” said Hernandez.
According to Antonio Dominguez, General Manager of Maersk, emerging economies in Asia are the only ones that will manage to escape a negative impact on their growth. “This has a lot to do with the changes in logistics, where we see that sources of production were taken out of China to other countries in Asia, which are now continuing to produce. Asia’s emerging economies will close the year with 1.2% growth,” he said.
According to official economic projections, the Panamanian logistics sector will be one of the least affected in the second and third quarters of the year. However, efforts must continue to make processes more efficient by implementing technological tools.
“We have all the infrastructure, capacity and connectivity conditions to successfully promote Panama as an important logistics option for multinational companies. However, one of the great challenges is to convert our manual processes into digital ones, for which we are working through the Government Innovation Authority,” reaffirmed Minister Rojas.
Panama will continue to have a privileged position despite the pandemic, so it is important that the industry remains strong for the good of the entire continent.
The main challenges for the logistics sector in this “new normal” involve understanding and implementing health measures or protocols to continue operating efficiently, in addition to executing a well-structured plan to reach all members of the chain.


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CARINDALE PROPERTY TRUST REPORTS FULL YEAR RESULT POST DEVELOPMENT WITH NET PROPERTY INCOME OF $38.9 MILLION UP 7%
Carindale Property Trust (ASX: CDP) today announced its full year results to 30 June 2014 with net property income of $38.9 million up 7% which includes the full year contribution from the major redevelopment completed in August 2012. AIFRS profit for the full year was $71.8 million (2013: $25.1 million). Funds from operations, which excludes unrealised fair value adjustments of $50.1 million, was $21.7 million, an increase of 9% on the previous corresponding period.
Westfield Carindale is one of Australia’s top 3 shopping centres based on retail sales. The financial results of the Trust reflect the successful $310 million (CDP share $155 million) redevelopment of the centre which delivered over 120 new stores and increased the centre’s size by 22,000 square metres to approximately 136,000 square metres.
The centre was valued as of 30 June 2014 at $1,456.4 million (CDP share $728.2 million). The current year’s revaluation increment was $49.1 million.
At 30 June 2014, the centre was in excess of 99.5% leased. Total retail sales for the 12 months to 30 June 2014 were $914.7 million, up 7% on sales for the previous corresponding period.
The final distribution for the period is $11.1 million or 15.90 cents per unit. The final distribution is payable to members on 29 August 2014. The tax deferred component of this distribution is estimated to be approximately 52%.
As of 30 June 2014, the net tangible assets of the Trust were $7.17 per unit.


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‘shop small’ this Small Business Saturday
- government ministers out in force to support their local independent businesses this Small Business Saturday (2 December)
- the UK is home to a record 5.7 million small businesses
- Edinburgh shoppers urged to support our small independent shops this weekend
Government ministers are visiting independent businesses across the UK today in celebration of Small Business Saturday.
The annual campaign, now in its fifth year, champions and supports the UK’s small businesses. Last Small Business Saturday, £717 million was spent in small businesses on the day.
Small Business Minister, Margot James said: “This government is completely behind the UK’s 5.7 million small businesses – they are there, day in and day out, at the heart of our local communities. They are the backbone of our economy, so I encourage everyone to think big by shopping small this Small Business Saturday.”
At the start of 2017 there were a record 5.7 million small businesses in the UK – an increase of more than 1.2 million since the start of 2010. The latest business population estimates show that these businesses are responsible for 48% of private sector employment and contribute £1.4 trillion in turnover.
Since 2010, government support for smaller businesses includes:
- British Business Bank programmes supporting £3.4 billion of finance to over 59,000 smaller businesses
- over 50,000 Start-Up Loans worth more than £348 million
- increasing the amount central government spends with small business – central government contracts above £10,000 are openly advertised on the government’s procurement website, Contracts Finder
- a network of 38 local growth hubs which make it easier for start-ups and existing businesses to access the support they need
- appointing a Small Business Commissioner to champion the interests of small business and help drive a culture change in payment practises
Additional support in the Budget included a 10-year action plan to unlock £20 billion of investment in innovative firms, a £2.3 billion package to reduce business rates bills and further freezes to fuel duty worth £850 million a year.
For more information about government support available to small businesses, please contact the business helplines.
The City of Edinburgh Council is also supporting Small Business Saturday. Cllr Gavin Barrie, Housing and Economy Convener, is encouraging residents to support Small Business Saturday this weekend.
He said: “I would encourage everyone to go out and support their local shops and businesses this weekend. There is plenty of variety as Edinburgh’s town centres are crammed with vibrant boutiques and other independent shops, cafes, restaurants and many other businesses. With Christmas just around the corner, Small Business Saturday on 2 December is the perfect opportunity to discover the many great gift ideas you have right on your doorstep.”


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GM plans to lower prices on most vehicles
Tuesday, January 10th 2006, 10:28 am
By: News On 6
DETROIT (AP) _ General Motors Corp., the world's biggest automaker, said Tuesday that it will lower the prices on 57 of its 76 models in North America in an effort to boost its sliding market share and wean buyers off expensive incentives.
Mark LaNeve, GM's vice president of sales and marketing, told reporters that the program will lower the manufacturer's suggested retail price by as much as $2,500 on some vehicles, but the average decrease will be $1,300.
``We want it to be crystal clear that with or without incentives you're getting a great price,'' said LaNeve, who planned to announce the deal later Tuesday at the North American International Auto Show.
GM will lower prices on all Chevrolet, Buick and GMC vehicles and most Pontiac vehicles starting Wednesday, LaNeve said. Saab, Saturn and Hummer will be excluded because GM feels they are already priced appropriately, he said.
LaNeve said GM believes it will make money despite the markdowns because it has new products coming to market, and it will be spending less per vehicle on incentives, which have sometimes topped $4,000 per vehicle.
``Bottom line, we think this is the right thing to do for our business,'' LaNeve said. GM's sales dropped 5 percent in 2005 despite popular employee-pricing discounts last summer.


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Fortinet has blunted the impact of the economic downturn by helping customers consolidate their security footprint and add protection in areas like OT, WiFi and SD-WAN. CEO Ken Xie says Fortinet's ASIC chip allows the company to take market share from rivals while delivering superior performance.
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles has joined a growing list of organizations being sued for allegations that its use of website tracking codes is unlawfully sharing individuals' personal and health information to third-party social media and marketing companies.
The German government selected a new president for the Federal Office for Information Security, better known as BSI. Claudia Plattner, currently serving as the European Central Bank's director general of information systems, is set to lead the agency starting on July 1.
APIs represent the best and worst of times - "massive amounts of business value, but massive amounts of unmitigated risk," says Richard Bird, CSO, Traceable AI. In the past year, misconfigured or error-prone APIs resulted in high-profile breaches at Twitter and T-Mobile. He sees more on the horizon.
Secureworks has axed roughly 210 employees, and CFO Paul Parrish and Chief Threat Intelligence Officer Barry Hensley are leaving their posts. Secureworks revealed plan to reduce its 2,351-person staff by approximately 9% to help balance continued growth with improved operating margins.
During the height of the coronavirus pandemic, mergers and acquisitions in the healthcare sector slumped, but they now appear to be slowly rebounding. What does this mean in terms of potential security risks that organizations undergoing consolidation face?
Microsoft suffered its second major outage in less than two weeks, as users in North America and beyond were left unable to send, receive or search emails via Outlook.com and unable to access some additional functionality, including calendar APIs. Microsoft blamed unspecified "recent changes."
The LockBit group has gone from denying it had any involvement in the ransomware attack on Britain's Royal Mail to trying to bargain for a ransom. The ransomware group's site now lists Royal Mail as a victim and demands it pay a ransom or see stolen data get dumped.
On the heels of an enforcement action last week by the Federal Trade Commission, telehealth and discount prescription drug provider GoodRx now also faces a proposed class action lawsuit over its data-sharing practices with third parties and the use of website tracking code.
Security practitioners are putting cognitive psychology and customer experience at the forefront of new product development in a push for usability, says Trusona's Kevin Goldman. Getting user experience designers familiar with products allows them to speak meaningfully with the security team.
A massive automated ransomware campaign is targeting VMware ESXi hypervisors worldwide, warns CERT-FR, the French government's computer emergency readiness team that's part of the National Cybersecurity Agency of France. VMware is advising customers to patch affected servers and scan for malware.
Cisco plans to debut a common design language across its network and security offerings so that products such as Cisco Meraki and Umbrella will no longer look or feel different from one another, says Jeetu Patel, executive vice president and general manager for security and collaboration at Cisco.
Varonis has dedicated most of its engineering resources to SaaS since the onset of COVID-19 to provide more automation to customers, says CEO Yaki Faitelson. The company has focused on delivering robust data protection to customers without them having to dedicate hardware or personnel to the task.
The cloud security landscape has long been fragmented, and different vendors attempt to separately address containers, serverless and vulnerabilities, says Wiz CEO Assaf Rappaport. Consolidating detection, vulnerability and misconfiguration data in a single place reduces the noise for clients.
According to the World Economic Forum, geopolitical instability has helped to close the perception gap between business and cyber leaders' views on the importance of cyber risk management, and "91% of all respondents" believe that "a far-reaching, catastrophic cyber event" is on the horizon.


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MLB 14: The Show dated for PS4Written by: / / No Comments
Last month Sony announced that the PS3 and PS Vita versions of MLB 14: The Show will be released on April 1st, with the PS4 build out sometime in May. Now the platform holder has revealed that the game will launch on PS4 on May 6th in North America – exactly five weeks after the other versions.
Earlier this year developer SCE San Diego Studio gave us a sneak peek at how MLB 14: The Show looks on PS4 but since then the team has only showed the PS3 version – recently unveiling a video explaining two expediting, optional features in the game called Quick Counts and Player Lock.
Head over here for El33tonline’s previous coverage of the latest entry in this award-winning baseball series.


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Jun 19, 2015 Bridgeport, Conn., is taking measures to rely more on locally made power.
Jun 25, 2015 Quartz and Marketplace look at how the Cuban economy has changed in the last few years.
Jun 11, 2015 Retail sales numbers look good, but there are reasons to be skeptical.
May 1, 2015 Tesla's new home battery may be ahead of its time.
Apr 29, 2015 Q1 GDP growth is slower than the rest of the year, again, and lower than expected.
Apr 24, 2015 Life inside the Monastery of the Angels in Hollywood.
Apr 24, 2015 Taking inspiration from animals to design the camouflage of the future.
Apr 8, 2015 California's drought is affecting its energy.
Apr 1, 2015 Here come the lawsuits...


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Can the Google Pixel 2 finally topple Apple's dominance at the premium end of the market?
Samsung will be hoping to atone for the failure of its combustible Note 7 smartphone.
Samsung has pledged to enhance product safety.
The South Korean electronics giant is reportedly following the iPhone maker's lead in abandoning the headphone jack on its smartphones.
One of the smartphones will be able to fold completely in half.


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Making trucks more efficient helps Paccar boost its sales
Bellevue-based truck builder Paccar Inc. is going increasingly international, a shift that’s bringing new work to the company’s Renton plant.
The Renton factory, just south of Boeing’s, now focuses on building big specialized trucks for mining, logging and oil drilling, said Paccar Chairman and CEO Mark Pigott.
And in the process, he said, Renton has become the primary source of Paccar vehicles exported to China.
Pigott described the changes during his annual press access event after the company’s April 29 annual meeting.
Washington’s fourth-largest public company by revenue, Paccar sells Kenworth and Peterbilt trucks in North America, and Leyland and DAF brands in Europe.
The specialty of the Renton factory — which employs about 500 — has shifted in recent years from turning out long-haul highway trucks for the domestic market to making heavy trucks for off-road job sites, often with all-wheel drive.
Those off-road export trucks are hybrids of the Kenworth chassis normally used for highway trucks and the vertical “cab-over” style popular in Europe.
“We have a great DAF cab-over, and we take that cab and mate it with a very robust Kenworth chassis,” Pigott said. “We do that here — the only factory that does that in the world — and it’s a perfect application for off-road vehicles, oil fields, natural resources and timber in Indonesia, China, Australia.”
Pigott added that building these off-road trucks requires some of the most skilled workers in Paccar.
“It’s a talented work force, building the broadest variety of trucks — everything from a dump truck for the local region to very heavy vehicles with a 200-ton payload — going to China, or northern Alberta or the Middle East,” he said. “These are by far the most complicated and complex vehicles we build.”
Steve Wilhelm covers manufacturing, aerospace and trade for the Puget Sound Business Journal.
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In the latter half of 2015, Samsung seeded an update to Android 6.0 Marshmallow for both the Galaxy Note5 as well as the Galaxy Note 4. This was accidental and both the smartphones are yet to receive a mass update to the latest Android version. However, it seems that another lucky user has gotten a similar update on his Galaxy S5.
The lucky user is from France and is the owner of a Galaxy S5. The update brings the phone’s version to 6.0.1 and comes with a security patch dated “1 January 2016”. This is probably because it isn’t a final build as such.
The update came on the S5 with model number SM-G900F as an OTA update and judging by the screenshots, everything seems to be real. A roadmap that was leaked last year stated that many phones would get the update to Android 6.0 Marshmallow in the first quarter of the year itself. In fact, the Note5 and S6 edge+ were expected to be update in December 2015 itself. However that didn’t happen and we are guessing that the entire upgrade schedule got pushed back. We hope that the updates aren’t much behind schedule and that they do release the update for the handsets sometime soon.


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Asian Companies Lead The Way On Digital Solutions For Food Safety
Friday, April 26th, 2019
While not yet widely adopted, digitalisation offers substantial new opportunities to advance efforts on food safety today and will increase in importance moving forward. By DNV GL.
Safeguarding the health of consumers is the main driver for food safety according to a recent survey “Food safety: what’s next to assure its future?” by assurance provider DNV GL and GFSI (the Global Food Safety Initiative). Certification has been and continues to be core, providing benefits throughout the supply chain. Emphasising the human element, food safety culture is a rising topic.
Companies participating in the survey conducted on more than 1,600 food and beverage experts worldwide clearly indicated that safeguarding the health of consumers is the main driver. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), over 200 diseases are spread through food and one in 10 people fall ill every year from eating contaminated food. Much of the burden of unsafe food is preventable through sound food safety management.
In the survey, not surprisingly, operational risks, such as physical, chemical and biological contamination, is the overwhelming food safety threat for firms. Considerable attention and investments are channelled into food safety efforts, in particular systems and procedures such as HACCP, management systems (e.g. ISO 22000) and actions to incorporate food safety at the design phase of products. The next thing seems to be food safety culture; companies list this as a main risk and it ranks high among future priorities. A total of 64 percent plan to develop food safety culture programs.
When it comes to new digital technologies, however, only 8 percent of the respondents say these play a role to a “great extent” in food safety today, compared to 13 percent who say “not at all”. Of the wave of new digital technologies, sensors and beacons (44 percent) are the most widely used solution today. This is followed by blockchain (15 percent) and smart tags and labels (10 percent). A total of 27 percent of firms say they do not know how much they will in invest in digital technologies for food safety in the next 12-18 months. There seems to be a lack of clarity as to how new digital technologies will significantly advance food safety.
However, in three years, four in 10 companies indicate new digital technologies will play a role to a “great extent”. Blockchain application is expected to increase the most, rising from 15 to 40 percent in three years, but all digital technologies are expected to play a significant larger role in managing food safety three years from now.
Asian companies seem to lead the way in the application of digital technologies to manage food safety. Compared to eight percent on average, 14 percent say digital technologies play a role “to a great extent” in food safety today. This number rises to five in 10 in three years. They see particular value in blockchain with rates significantly higher than other regions both today and in three years from now, when 57 percent expect it to be used to address food safety. When looking to sensors & beacons, big data analytics, smart tags and labels and artificial intelligence and machine learning, Asian companies indicate higher usage across the board both in one year and three years from now.
“Digital technologies, such as blockchain, will transform many industries, especially those in the retail sector, but this survey indicates that many food and beverage companies have yet to transition from buzzword to real applications,” said Wendy Yap, Regional Food & Beverage Manager—Business Assurance, DNV GL. “Through our work on digital assurance solutions, we see blockchain technology already emerging as a key element in tackling operational and industry challenges, while bridging trust gaps within value chains and toward consumers.”
Take a box of supermarket sushi as an example. If the fish was produced on a farm, the owner could upload information about the farm itself, e.g. a code of conduct or information about people, fish welfare, feed and water quality. Fish caught at sea could be tagged with the location of the trawler and the fishing method, storage conditions etc. Similar information could then be collated at the processing site and transportation to the supermarket shelf. At the point of purchase, the consumer would be able to scan a smart label and get instant access to this information. By uploading the data to a blockchain, the data are safely stored and immutable to change.
The components of working ecosystems already exist; blockchain is already used to raise transparency helping brands build trust into their products. Blockchain-based ecosystems can enable companies to address specific operational issues and turn marketing buzzwords into a true, verified story. For companies seriously investing in sustainable processes and value chains, it enables sharing of these and other efforts to set them apart from less serious players, in a trustworthy and transparent way.
“When it comes to food safety, in particular, we have executed specific projects related to the cool chain of ready-to-eat meals,” says Wendy Yap. “Smart sensors on the product log temperature, time and location at the critical points along the value chain—from the raw ingredient throughout the production, during the transportation and logistics phase, and including the shelf-life in the store. The data is uploaded into a the blockchain, which is impossible and immutable to change. The information is communicated real-time to the producer, who can manage and improve performance. Through a smart-tag on the product, quality and safety can be communicated directly, in a trusted way, to the consumer ready to purchase his or her next meal.”
The food and beverage industry is facing increased pressures for transparency and higher levels of scrutiny of their products. Blockchain-based ecosystems that combine new technologies with assurance competence in terms of data integrity, industry expertise and independent verification, can address operational challenges and increase transparency to build trust in its operations, value chains and toward customers and consumers. They give companies a unique opportunity to share with consumers directly the authentic product story—from quality and safety to social, environmental or ethical integrity of a product—displaying verified facts stored on a blockchain platform. The same technology enables direct interaction with consumers on specific products during a product recall, contributing to a precise and effective recall. However, to advance in that direction will require collaboration and sharing of data among multiple players in the food value chain.
“The opportunities to comprehensively manage and build trust into the food value chain globally is tremendous. To truly reap its potential, producers and its suppliers alike must come together to compile quality data from farming to processing, from packaging to the store and consumption at home. If data are recorded, verified and shared, the potential can be expanded beyond individual efforts to creating early warning systems for recalls, reaching consumers at individual level. Connectivity provides a completely new means to manage our supply chains, improve and build trust within the industry and toward consumers,” says Wendy Yap. “The potential is huge, but what is quite clear is that to truly benefit we must work together as an industry. This was true when the food and beverage industry came together over ‘safe food for consumers everywhere’, and this is the only way to fully utilise the potential of new digital technologies to improve food safety.”
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Medical furniture and equipment manufacturer Bristol Maid launches its new catalogue for 2018
The 392-page edition showcases several new and improved products that compliment the company’s existing ranges including drug and medicine cabinets, popular Caretray trolleys, infusion stands and instrument trolleys manufactured in-house at Bristol Maid’s factory in Blandford Forum, Dorset.
Ian Farnfield, Sales Director at Bristol Maid, said: “Each year we manufacture many thousands of products from our extensive portfolio that are used in almost every healthcare discipline around the world.”
“With 65 years’ experience, we are well positioned to provide effective solutions to cater for the demands of the healthcare market. The launch of our 2018 catalogue reinforces our commitment to offering our customers the best value solution.”


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Last updated on June 23rd, 2022 at 04:29 am
Tech enthusiasts and business giants alike are looking towards automation to modernize whole sectors. But which industries could see the biggest changes due to automation?
Retail is seeing a rise in ways it could be improved through automation. For example, the Amazon Go stores enable you to conduct a food shop by placing items in your basket and then having the total automatically deducted from your Amazon account. This is being trialed to see if it’s a service people would use, eliminating the need for checkouts. Online shopping is also on the rise and as the UK-based online shopping delivery company, Ocado has shown, using automated bots to collect the shopping and then bag it could help save time and money.
However, bots alone in a warehouse is a cautionary tale, as one example in the UK saw a robot-induced fire tear through the warehouse in April 2019, with the bots completely unaware and no-one there to raise the alarm. £215 million in losses were reported because of the fire. So, perhaps a combination of automation and human oversight could prevent further issues.
The hospitality sector has seen a gradual change – led partly by companies such as McDonald’s, who introduced touchscreen ordering facilities, removing the need to queue as much. More and more hospitality companies are delegating their booking and ordering processes to automated systems. Mobile apps can be used to book tables and place orders at restaurants, while check-in can be done online for some hotels, which helps speeds the process up for the customer and the employee.
For example, in China, guests at hotels can check-in with facial recognition software. While some Marriott hotels already have a service that offers voice-search functions in the room to do things like asking for recommendations on where to go and order items from the hotel, such as towels. Moreover, online food ordering companies such as Deliveroo and UberEATS mean that restaurant orders and deliveries can be conducted through automated processes. This helps remove the human error that might be seen through mishearing an address or food order. While there are issues with this, many people seem to enjoy the streamlined way of interacting with hospitality.
The fintech sector has many new developments – one of which is the expected benefit from a further degree of automation. This could help streamline existing services and use the machine learning functionality to do in seconds what it might take humans to do in days. McKinsey suggests that around 40% of banking tasks – such as managing revenue and disbursing cash – could be automated. It is anticipated that this will lead to more interesting jobs as the time-consuming jobs will be streamlined with automation.
Automation will also have a significant impact on real-time forex trading signals. For instance, automated forex trading robots can backtest the formula they use with historical market data to see how accurate the formulas are. As such, this can help craft a strategy for trading using historical analysis mapped onto future market possibilities. This may lead to those who haven’t yet begun their trading journey to have a better set of guidelines to work within initially, which will help them grasp the complexities of the industry.
Moreover, banks are increasingly using machine programming to determine risks when it comes to credit cards and loans. Typical credit scores are ineffectual and being able to analyze a lot of data and model it to future scenarios will help banks ascertain the risk of each loan or credit card customer. Furthermore, a joint model of human and automated services can help bring down the cost of financial advisory services, which is usually expensive. By allowing automation to do a lot of the legwork and then using a human operative to ensure everything is correct, the process will be cheaper.
But Will Robots Steal Our Jobs?
Academics at Oxford suggest that half of the US workforce could have their jobs automated, while other estimates suggest that between 75 and 375 million people will need new skills. Automating certain jobs – such as responding to live chat customer service queries – doesn’t necessarily replace a human job but works in tandem with it to deliver a better service.
For example, the live chat would be programmed to answer certain issues such as opening times, contact information, or making bookings. This frees up time for human customer service operatives, who will then have a greater capacity to deal with issues that bots can’t handle. While some lower-level jobs may be replaced by automation, this just frees up resources to focus on creating more meaningful jobs and developing areas of the business that can’t possibly be automated, such as idea generation.
Technological changes are often only noticed when you look back and realize how far you’ve come. With automation, that is the case. Gradually, parts of processes and systems were replaced and streamlined through automation. The retail, hospitality, and finance sectors all show ways in which automation is beginning to help these processes, and ways in which it could further save time, money, and effort to free people up for more important jobs.
Read Dive is a leading technology blog focusing on different domains like Blockchain, AI, Chatbot, Fintech, Health Tech, Software Development and Testing. For guest blogging, please feel free to contact at firstname.lastname@example.org.


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Dubai: UAE nationals visiting Thailand have been warned they risk years in prison if they vape or take e-cigarettes into the country.
The UAE Embassy in Bangkok has advised Emirati tourists that authorities in Thailand have outlawed all kinds of electronic cigarettes. Anyone found breaking the ban could face a fine or up to ten years in prison.
Thailand is one of the favourite destinations for residents in the UAE. The Tourism Authority of Thailand recorded more than 500,000 visitors from the Middle East in 2015, led by tourists from the UAE, followed by Oman, with an average stay of just under 12 days.
The Southeast Asian state approved a legislation in 2014 banning the import of e-cigarettes into the country. The sale of vaping devices is also considered illegal in the kingdom. The ban applies to both Thais and foreigners.
The country’s tourism board had earlier issued an advisory to all travellers that anyone found using an electronic cigarette in Thailand could be arrested and face jail time, or a fine several times the value of the item.
“While electronic cigarettes or e-cigarettes are used around the world as a way of helping people quit smoking, travellers coming to Thailand should be aware that these devices are in fact illegal in the kingdom,” the tourism authority said in a statement.
“There have been recent incidents of foreign travellers who were unaware of the ban facing an on-the-spot fine or being arrested.”
Travel agents and tour operators should therefore advise their clients heading to Thailand to leave behind any electronic cigarettes, or any item or equipment associated with vaping, such as the liquid use in the device.


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Geely, the owner of Polestar and Volvo, is launching a new “high-end electrified product series” in a bid to take on the top EV contenders like Tesla and BYD. The first fully electric vehicle from the sub-brand is slated to launch before the end of the year.
Chinese automotive giant Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co. Ltd., or simply Geely as its best known, began its quest toward sustainable transportation shortly after acquiring well-known Swedish automaker Volvo from Ford in 2010.
The acquisition gave Geely access to Volvo’s advanced technology and expertise in safety, design, and engineering. Perhaps, more importantly, Geely also gained access to Volvo’s racing partner, Polestar, which the automaker bought out in 2015.
Geely and Volvo deepened their relationship in 2021, vowing to collaborate on next-generation electric drive technology.
The partnership has paid off with the success of Volvo’s C40 and XC40 Recharge electric SUVs, as sales more than doubled.
To better compete in the rapidly expanding EV market, Geely is adding another high-end electric brand to its portfolio called Geely Galaxy.
Geely launches new high-end EV brand
At a flagship event in Hangzhou Thursday, the Chinese automaker announced that its premium electrified series would be called Geely Galaxy.
Geely teased a mysterious electric sedan last month that appeared to vaguely resemble a longer Tesla Model S and Lotus (another Geely brand) combination.
The Geely Galaxy brand will launch seven new electrified products, including three fully electric vehicles under the pure Galaxy E range. The first up will be the Galaxy E8, scheduled for delivery in the fourth quarter of 2023.
According to the automaker, Geely’s newest sub-brand will feature its latest battery safety technology and new Galaxy N-Operating system, allowing its models the fastest system startup and response in its class.
More details, including range and pricing, will be revealed at a later date.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.


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Toyota pulls all Games-related TV commercials
Toyota won't be airing any Olympic-themed advertisements on Japanese television during the Tokyo Games despite being one of the IOC's top corporate sponsors.
The extraordinary decision by the country's top automaker underlines how polarizing the Games have become in Japan as COVID-19 infections rise ahead of Friday's opening ceremony.
"There are many issues with these Games that are proving difficult to be understood," Toyota Chief Communications Officer Jun Nagata told reporters on Monday.
Chief Executive Akio Toyoda, the company founder's grandson, will be skipping the opening ceremony. That's despite about 200 athletes taking part in the Olympics and Paralympics who are affiliated with Toyota, including swimmer Takeshi Kawamoto and softball player Miu Goto.
Nagata said the company will continue to support its athletes.
Being a corporate sponsor for the Olympics is usually all about using the Games as a platform to enhance the brand. But being linked with a pandemic-era Games may be viewed by some as a potential marketing problem.
Masa Takaya, a Tokyo 2020 spokesperson, said sponsors each make their own decisions on their messages.
"There is a mixed public sentiment toward the Games," Takaya said. "I need to emphasize that those partners and companies have been very supportive to Tokyo 2020. They are passionate about making these Games happen."
Toyota Motor Corp signed on as a worldwide Olympic sponsor in 2015, in an eight-year deal reportedly worth nearly US$1 billion, becoming the first car company to join the IOC's top-tier marketing program.
The sponsorship, which started globally in 2017, runs through the 2024 Olympics, covering three consecutive Olympics in Asia, including the Tokyo Games.
Meanwhile, South Korean President Moon Jae-in has decided not to visit Japan for the Tokyo Games, citing a failure to set up a summit with Japan's prime minister that would produce meaningful results in improving relations.
Moon's office said on Monday that officials from Seoul and Tokyo held talks over long-standing disputes about wartime history and a "future-oriented" development of their relations, but did not find enough common ground to support a summit between their leaders. The countries had been discussing the possibility of Moon visiting Tokyo and having talks with Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga about repairing bilateral ties.


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NewsBytes Briefing: Galaxy Z Fold2 price announced, and more
Last night, Samsung held the second part of Galaxy Unpacked event and gave an in-depth look at its latest foldable phone - the Z Fold2. The live-streamed show focused on the design and capabilities of the new device and confirmed its price at $1,999. Shipping will start from September 18 across 40 countries, possibly including India. Here are other major developments.
Amazon drew widespread criticism after posting the job listing that looked for an "intelligence analyst" who would, among other things, monitor "labor organizing threats" within the company. The listing was removed in light of the public outcry, with Amazon saying, "The job post was not an accurate description of the role — it was made in error and has since been corrected."
Meanwhile, as part of its Defending Democracy Program, Microsoft has announced a tool to detect deepfakes. The 'Microsoft Video Authenticator' will check photos and videos and assign a confidence score signaling whether they have been manipulated by AI or not. It will work in real-time, assessing clips frame-by-frame to look for subtle deepfake-specific elements in content posted online.
In another news, Uber has announced that some of its riders will have to scan their faces to show they are wearing masks. The rule is already applicable to drivers and is being expanded to cover those riders who remove their masks during the ride. If a driver reports you did not wear a mask, the company will require verification on your next ride.
Among other things, NVIDIA announced GeForce RTX 3070, GeForce RTX 3080, GeForce RTX 3090 'Ampere' GPUs, and LG launched a virtual version of its IFA exhibition with rollable OLED screens, other appliances at display. Further, Google expanded its AI-powered flood prediction service to cover all of India, while both Facebook and Twitter removed over a dozen troll accounts linked to Russia's Internet Research Agency.
India on Tuesday reported over 78,000 new coronavirus infections, taking the nationwide tally close to 38 lakh. The death toll rose to 66,333, with over 1,045 fresh fatalities. In the fight against the disease, AstraZeneca has started the Phase-3 trial of Oxford's vaccine in the US while Japan is considering offering free vaccines to all its citizens.


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KUALA LUMPUR, March 26 — Senior Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob said claims that the police have prevented vehicles transporting food items from going through roadblocks during the movement control order (MCO) are untrue.
He also gave an assurance that vehicles transporting food items and other essentials will be prioritised at roadblocks.
“The police through the Inspector-General of Police (Tan Sri Abdul Hamid Bador) have given their assurance that these vehicles will be allowed through.
“There has never been any restriction on vehicles transporting food items, vegetables and essential goods,” said Ismail during a press conference after chairing the special task force meeting in Putrajaya today.
Ismail, who is also the defence minister, said the false claims had stemmed from several fake news reports.
He said claims that vegetables from Cameron Highlands had to be discarded after they could not pass through roadblocks were also untrue.
“My advice to those who disseminate fake news is that no one benefits from it. It is destructive and only causes panic,” said Ismail.
On Tuesday, Ismail announced a special committee headed by International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali is to be set up to ensure an adequate supply of foodstuff during the ongoing MCO period.
He said the committee will also comprise representatives from the Agriculture and Food Industry Ministry and Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry to discuss the food supply chain and transportation of foodstuff to consumers.


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Industry revenue of “retail sale of automotive fuel“ in South Africa 2011-2023
Petrol prices set for a massive slump
The outbreak of the Covid-19 virus has had a devastating impact on the oil market, as prices have plunged to a decade low. As the nation-wide lockdown ends in April, industry experts believe that petrol prices could reduce by as much as 4 ZAR a litre. This might help drive vehicle sales in the medium term, which have currently witnessed a 35 percent year-over-year decline as of March 2020.


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Bob Mariano quickly built a chain of upscale Chicago-area supermarkets by expertly straddling the middle ground between Whole Foods and Jewel-Osco.
Now his nimble group of 34 stores, as well as the company behind it, is about to be devoured by a giant — the nation's largest supermarket operator, The Kroger Co.
But Mariano, 65, says Mariano's customers needn't fret that the popular stores will see quality drop now that Kroger has agreed to an $800 million deal announced Wednesday to purchase Mariano's parent company Roundy's.
"I'm still on watch, I'm not going anywhere and I'm not going to let that happen," the Roundy's CEO...
Trailers line up at the loading docks at the Supervalu distribution center in Hopkins, Minn. The company said Tuesday that it will eliminate 1,100 positions.


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Oracle Irish unit slides to €10m loss as cost rises bite
The main Irish subsidiary of US software and hardware giant, Oracle went into the red last year in spite of revenues increasing by 8pc to €8.7bn.
New figures lodged by Oracle EMEA Ltd to the Companies Office show that the firm recorded a pre-tax loss of €10m - compared to a pre-tax profit of €109m in 2015.
"Although the company suffered an operating loss in the current year, the expectation is that the company will continue to trade successfully and return to profitability in future periods," the directors stated.
They added that the loss in the current year is due to an increase in both distribution costs and administration expenses.
They said the increases are driven by an adverse foreign-exchange impact, primarily to do with fluctuations experienced on the Russian rouble, and increases in certain provisions affecting the EMEA region.
The company's principal activities consist of the manufacture and sale of computer hardware and software products in Europe, Middle East and Africa markets, together with the associated translation, finance and marketing services.
The revenues generated by the Irish arm represent 25.5pc of Oracle's global revenues of €33.99bn ($37bn) in the year to May 31 last.
The directors' report reveals that "in fiscal 2016 Oracle EMEA Ltd invested €41m in research and development to enhance existing and develop new technologies".
On the firm's future developments, the directors state that the company intends to continue operating in the areas of software and cloud, hardware systems and services business, consolidating recent acquisitions and to increase profitability.
The filings show that the firm's tax liability for the year was €32m compared to a tax bill of €39m in 2015.
The shareholder funds stood at €2.2bn with the company's cash pile increasing marginally to €756m.


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O2 appears to be taking a cautious approach with its move into U.K.'s wireline market. After announcing in January that it would launch an integrated wireline broadband bundled service, O2, according to an ISPreview report, will now roll the new service out 'later in the spring.'
When asked about the delay, an O2 spokesperson said the company wanted to work out all of the bugs before making the service available to customers.
"Whenever we launch a product we always want to ensure our customers get the best service possible, particularly when you see the dissatisfaction customers have with other providers," the spokesperson said in an ISPreview article. "We will be launching our Home Phone service later in the spring."
- ISPreview has this article
O2 taps into Britain's wireline voice market
BT and O2 extend iPhone WiFi deal
Jeff Kelly takes top post at BT Global


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Los Angeles to offer Coronavirus vaccine records on iPhones
People who get the coronavirus vaccine in Los Angeles will be able to keep proof of immunization in their iPhone’s digital wallet.
The record will live in the Apple Wallet, usually used for payment cards, boarding passes, or event tickets.
Officials say it will first be used to remind people to get their second required dose of the vaccine. But it could also be used as proof of vaccination in the Covid-19 hotspot of Los Angeles.
The digital card could be used “to prove to airlines, to prove to schools, to prove to whoever needs it,” that a recipient has been immunized, the company’s chief executive Ramin Bastani told the newspaper.
Los Angeles County, the most populated country in the United States, has a high level of infection of the disease, with nearly 13,000 new cases reported on Tuesday, and 227 deaths – bringing the number of those who have died with the disease to 9,782 to date.
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Dunnes Stores is reportedly planning to trial a grocery delivery service in collaboration with Flipdish.
The grocery retailer has launched an app – Dunnes Stores Cornelscourt – to allow customers to order food to be delivered from the company’s store in Cabinteely, Dublin 18, reports The Irish Times.
It is understood that the move will allow customers to order a minimum of €20 worth of groceries to be delivered to their home for a €3 delivery fee and that fee will be waived for more expensive orders.
McCarthy said that Dunnes Stores’ new Cornelscourt system went live on Tuesday and has already “been receiving orders.”
© 2020 Checkout – your source for the latest Irish retail news. Click sign-up to subscribe to Checkout.


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The Guardian & Central Saint Martins
We are delighted to be part of The Guardian's article about the introduction of Degrees in sustainable fashion and that Central Saint Martins will be featuring Tom Cridland in their lecture slides.
More from Tom’s Blog
Tom has just interviewed Annie Lennox for greatestmusicofalltime.com.
Greatest Music of All Time has just released Season 1 - Male Artists. It was an honour to interview these amazing people, you can watch and listen here.
My new single, Rock Out If We Wanna, is out now. Listen to it here.


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Lloyds banking customers hit by cash machine and card problems
Some customers of Lloyds Banking Group had problems with cash machines and cards today.
Debit card transactions were affected for three hours and cash machines for four and a half hours before the difficulties were resolved.
Disgruntled customers took to social media to express their dissatisfaction.
Carl Bullivant tweeted: "Wife's card declined in Asda had to go get my card from home how embarrassing standing and waiting #poorbankingservice."
Essie Young wrote: "Didn't even want to be a TSB customer when LTSB split! Couldn't buy my twins bday presents today with TSB card! #fuming #customerservice."
Another customer tweeted: "TSB left me unable to pay for my shopping and no access to my money. TSB are a joke."
Another Twitter user wrote: "This problem is also affecting Halifax debit cards as I found out trying to pay for lunch with my wife!"
TSB chief executive Paul Pester said in a tweet as the difficulties were being experienced: "My apologies to TSB customers having problems with their cards. I'm working hard with my team now to try to fix the problems."
A Lloyds Banking Group spokeswoman said at that time: "We are aware that some customers are unable to use their debit cards either to make purchases or to withdraw money from ATMs. We are working hard to resolve this as swiftly as possible and apologise for any inconvenience caused."
A TSB spokeswoman said: "We are aware that some TSB customers are unable to use their debit cards either to make purchases or to withdraw money from ATMs. This has impacted all Lloyds Banking Group brands. We are working hard to resolve this and unreservedly apologise for any inconvenience caused."
A Lloyds Banking Group spokeswoman said later that the problems had been resolved.
She said: "We apologise that earlier today, between 3pm and 6pm, some customers were unable to complete their debit card transactions. Although the majority of transactions were unaffected, we are very sorry for the inconvenience that this will have caused.
"At the same time, some customers encountered problems at approximately half of our 7,000 ATMs. This was resolved by 7.30pm, and all of our ATMs are now working."
Online and telephone banking were unaffected by these issues, and customers were still able to withdraw cash from other ATMs.
The spokeswoman was unable to say how many people were affected.
Mr Pester said later: "I am pleased to confirm that the problems causing some debit card and ATM transactions to fail earlier today are now fixed. I apologise once again to all our customers who were affected.
"Some customers may still experience a short delay making payments this evening as we are currently working through the backlog of payments from this afternoon. But rest assured we are working as quickly as possible to restore a normal service."
Diving in at the deep end is no excuse for shirking the style stakes
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According to MYOB CEO Tim Reed, 2014 is a “critical year” for Australian and New Zealand small businesses and their advisors.
“Cloud accounting is now much more than just for early adopters. And new mobile applications are making this space even more exciting,” Reed says.
The MYOB roadshows will be staged in 16 locations in New Zealand including Auckland, Christchurch and Wellington, as well as 30 locations in Australia including Melbourne and Sydney and the other mainland capitals.
“Join us at the MYOB 2014 Roadshow - our biggest event ever, and it’s free. You can find out how to make the most of cloud accounting, more information on new products launching and get updates on the latest enhancements for the products you use in your business today.”
MYOB has also brought in renowned futurist and business strategist Tim Longhurst, director of global strategy and communication consultancy Key Message, as a keynote speaker.


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Android Auto’s new UI resurfaces ahead of the final release
In September last year, we unearthed evidence of a new UI for Android Auto. The new UI, codenamed “Coolwalk,” is set to be the biggest UI overhaul for Android Auto since 2019 and is seemingly designed to reduce the number of times the user leaves the navigation mode. Now ahead of its official release, some new images of the design have surfaced yet again.
Images of Android Auto’s new UI were shared by Redditor user u/RegionRat91 (via Mishaal Rahman) and it showcases some new tweaks to the design as well as an in-development screen mirroring app. For the most part, the UI is pretty identical to what we saw back in September, but there are some notable changes here.
Gone is the status bar, with all icons (Wi-Fi, cell signal, battery indicator, and clock) now appearing in the bottom right corner. This makes for a more immersive visual experience. The dedicated button to bring up the side panel has also been removed. This function is now served by the home button, which when long-pressed brings up retractable widgets.
Image courtesy: Android World
When there’s enough space, the side panel now displays a Google Assistant card that shows a detailed overview of the weather, as reported by Italian publication Android World. Another notable change is that when you exit the navigation map the map view now remains fixed to the left side.
It appears Google is also testing a screen mirroring app called “Cast” for Android Auto. While not much is known about the app at this point, it may let users mirror their phone’s screen to an Android Auto dashboard using Google Cast.
Lastly, Android World reports that Android Auto is testing a new “Send SMS” button for the incoming call window. The feature will let users send a quick response text to the caller when rejecting an incoming call.
Android Auto’s redesigned UI hasn’t rolled out to users yet. We’ll keep an eye out and let you know as soon as it goes live for everyone.


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Grower Marketing Sessions Offered for NC Produce Farmers
The N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services will host two grower information sessions for farmers interested in selling their products to Lowes Foods and Merchants Distributors Inc. The sessions, which were first held last year, developed out of the need to meet growing demand for locally sourced foods in grocery stores. The information sessions will address guidelines Lowes Foods requires to sell in its store. The first session will be Feb. 19 in Lillington. And another session will be held Feb. 20 in Kinston. Each meeting will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. and include lunch. There is no charge for the event, but registration is required. For more information on registration, visit our calendar.
US Economic Growth will Trail Global Growth Next Ten Years
A new Agriculture Department report has projections for U.S. economic growth over the next ten years. David Stallings, USDA analyst and coordinator of the report:
“We are going to be growing a little more slowly than the rest of the world.”
Developing countries in Latin America and Asia are expected to pull up the rate of global economic growth over the next ten years to about 3.33 percent, but in the US:
“We are still recovering from the great recession, that has been a slow rate of growth over the past 3-4 years. We see that picking up over 2013-2014, then returning to our long run trend growth rate of 2.6% a year.”
But, the US share of the gross domestic product could drop from 25% currently to 24 by the year 2022 due partly to the rapid economic growth of the rest of the world.
Russian Ban on Pork & Beef Political, not Scientific
Russia issued an all-out ban of U.S. beef and pork products on Monday due to concerns of the feed additive ractopamine. National Cattlemen's Beef Association Associate Director of Legislative Affairs Kent Baucus says the ban is more political than scientific…
“This isn’t about the safety of our product, its about an arbitrary guideline put in place by the Russian government. Until they choose to abide by international standards it will be tough. We need more objective standards in place for trade to flourish and we look forward to developing that market access into Russia.”
With Russia recently joining the World Trade Organization system – Baucus says it's important all of the international standards are followed – that rules are not violated and that market is restored as soon as possible – as it is very important for U.S. producers and Russian customers. Russia is a top U.S. market – totaling 500-million dollars annually for U.S. Beef and pork.
SC Farmers Invited to Listening Session on New Produce Rules
South Carolina farmers, growers, and producers interested in learning more about the proposed Fresh Produce Rule are invited to attend a listening and feedback session February 20 at the South Carolina Farm Bureau.
The proposed Fresh Produce Rule is part of the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), and is significant because it will bring major changes to our country’s food safety system. Session participants can share their thoughts and concerns with representatives from the South Carolina Department of Agriculture (SCDA) and industry leaders.
SCDA encourages growers to attend this live web stream session. U.S. Food and Drug Administration officials will take part in a question and answer session with those in attendance. The South Carolina Department of Agriculture is hosting the session.
Irrigation & Water Management Workshop Scheduled
The Richland, Calhoun, and Orangeburg Conservation Districts will host an Irrigation and Water Management Workshop on Thursday, March 14, at Tri-County Electric in St. Matthews from 9 am until 3 pm. Attendees will learn about irrigation scheduling, water quality and how it affects production and pesticide efficacy, agricultural water use regulations and reporting requirements, and NRCS technical and financial assistance for efficient irrigation and water management practices. The cost for the workshop is $10 and includes lunch. For more details or to register, visit our calendar.


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Is Instagram’s Hyperlapse going to knock Vine out of the picture? I wouldn’t go as far as saying that yet, but Hyperlapse is a great new tool for brands to engage online.
In case you’ve been on holiday or not spotted the news, Instagram has just launched a new standalone app called Hyperlapse. The app, which is only available to iOS7 users at the moment, allows you to shoot time-lapse video, even if the smartphone is moving.
As stated in a blog post from Instagram:
Traditionally, time lapse videos depend on holding your phone or camera still while you film. Hyperlapse from Instagram features built-in stabilization technology that lets you create moving, handheld time lapses that result in a cinematic look, quality and feel—a feat that has previously only been possible with expensive equipment.
On the iPhone4 you can shoot up to 10 minutes, and the iPhone5 a whopping 45 minutes. Hyperlapse isn’t a social network, it’s a tool but you can share the video on Instagram and use its multiple filters and effects.
It’s early days still, but not too early for some brands to start experimenting. Here is:
And of course, one from us. Hello from the Fireflies!
Can't wait to see a lot more of these!


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SPYR Inc (OTCMKTS:SPYR) is ready to mark its presence in mobile game and app development industry. The company has been engaging industry leaders to become a real player in digital industry. It announced the appointment of Paul Thind to head its Games and Applications vertical. Thind has been known as a “brand builder” in the related industry.
In July, the company stepped up its plans to expand its market share in the digital advertising and publishing vertical with appointment of Adam Tuttle as MD of Media. Mr. Tuttle has experience of more than 20 years in digital media and advertising industry.
Presently, SPYR owns a robust portfolio of nine advertising driven sites that are functioning well in terms of getting traffic to websites. The appointment of Tuttle makes sense as it will help to enhance advertising revenue from the respective websites in coming period.
CrowdGather Inc (OTCMKTS:CRWG) Revenue Gets A Boost From Mega Fame Casino Performance
CrowdGather Inc (OTCMKTS:CRWG) revenue in 1Q2016 surged 74% to $709,151 over the revenue in 1Q2015. The gross profit came at $551,858 compared to $299,121 in the same quarter, a year earlier.
Expressing his views on the quarterly performance, the CEO Sanjay Sabnani said that in terms of operating basis, the strong revenues from Mega Fame Casino supported quarterly performance considerably. However, due to lack of low cost capital they can face some problem in growing rapidly
Through the contribution of stakeholders and CEO’s, CrowdGather has invested $1.2 million into making the balance sheet debt free. The CEO added that the business has indicated that it has the capability of growing rapidly when resources are procured. They remain committed to provide increased returns to company’s shareholders as the company utilizes expertise in social gaming and social media to extend market share in industry.
The other company in the same sector LookSmart, Ltd. (NASDAQ:LOOK) recorded a weak session on Monday as it dropped 7.58% to close at $0.610.
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Lineage fans have a lot to be excited about this week, as NCsoft has finally announced the third franchise entry at G-Star 2011. Lineage Eternal is shaping up to be a throwback to the original Lineage title due to its overhead camera, and it also sports a fairly unique "drag-and-hold" mechanic designed to make combat more immersive via drawn mouse patterns for various actions like spell-casting.
We say fairly unique here because while the mechanic is new to AAA MMO franchises, a similar idea was employed earlier this year in the Shadow Cities iPhone game. You can get a look at the mechanics in action, as well as over 14 minutes of Lineage Eternal gameplay, in the trailer after the cut.
[Thanks to John for the tip!]


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Samsung Mass Produces 20-Nano Mobile DRAM - Should Micron Be Worried?
- Yonhap is reporting that Samsung has started mass producing 20-nano mobile DRAM.
- Samsung recently started supplying mobile DRAM to Apple. Additional DRAM supply will allow Apple to play DRAM suppliers against one another.
- Apple's unit volume in mobile devices is explosive. It is expecting iPhone 6 unit sales of 70 - 80 million alone.
- Micron's top line revenue should grow due to its relationship with Apple, yet margins may remain compressed as Apple wields its industry power.


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During the recent interview with CNBC, Phil Spencer confirmed that Xbox has not finished with le yet acquisitionsand he’s going to keep growing with the annexation of other teams and companies, similar to what the competitors are doing.
In the same interview in which he confirmed that Microsoft has no plans to raise the price of the Xbox Series X and Series S, Phil Spencer reported that Microsoft cannot think it can slow down from a competitive standpoint in the market. The head of Microsoft Gaming reported that this is also an attitude shared by the competitors, such as Sony and Tencent.
“It’s a very competitive market, I don’t think you can press pause on anything,” Spencer said during the interview. “Tencent is the largest gaming company on the planet today, and they continue to invest heavily in gaming content and developers.” She then added that “Sony is a bigger business than us in terms of video games today, and continue to invest. It is a very, very competitive market and we try to represent an important element within this. We want to deliver great content to players and we will remain active on this front. “
The idea, therefore, is that Microsoft intends to continue to expand in the field of video games, even after the maxi-acquisition of Activision Blizzard, waiting for it to go through. In this regard, we have seen how the maneuver has passed to phase two of the investigations in the United Kingdom, receiving the praise of Sony, which has strongly opposed the acquisition.CopyAMP code.


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A GROUP OF ELECTRONICS manufacturers, government officials and environmental organizations that had hoped to develop a national system for recycling electronic waste (e-waste) apparently will not accomplish its goal. No further meetings of the National Electronics Product Stewardship Initiative (NEPSI) have been scheduled because of manufacturers' inability to agree on a financing system, says Catherine Wilt, NEPSI project coordinator.
Wilt, the director of policy for the Center for Clean Products and Clean Technologies at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tenn., says she is preparing the initiative's final report.
NEPSI drafted a proposal in which an e-waste recycling and collection system would be initially funded by a fee paid by consumers when they purchased electronic equipment. Eventually, the fee would be eliminated, and governments and manufacturers would internalize the costs, Wilt says.
Yet there was a disagreement among NEPSI's electronics industry members — which include the Electronic Industries Alliance, Panasonic, Hewlett Packard and about a dozen other firms — on the advanced recovery fee, according to Wilt. A minority of the manufacturers “instead wanted the flexibility to meet similar national system goals through their own programs,” she says.
More than one year ago, NEPSI's electronics industry members agreed to try to reach a compromise on the advance fee. Because of the lack of an agreement, Wilt has decided there will be no more stakeholder meetings.
NEPSI was formed in 2001 and its members also included recycling companies and retailers.


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Netflix just released its first 4K video. Apparently it’s just an 8-minute long travel footage from Mexico, but the industry is taking notice. Why?
Because 4K is the next big thing in digital media. The tech world doesn’t stand still. It’s always upping itself with newer and better technologies. It was not too long ago when people were talking about 2K, which is basically 1080p. And now, it’s all about 4K. And guess what? Some trailblazers are already working on 6K. A great example would be Real-Time Immersion, our tech partner who provides unique solutions with proprietary panoramic camera systems. They’ve actually gone beyond 6K and boast a 9K camera in their portfolio!
But what about the consumers? Technologies are only as good as how their consumers embrace them. After all, somebody has to pay for it! Are the consumers ready for all this “K-business”? Are they willing to shell out their hard-earned money to upgrade their hardware to enjoy UHD (Ultra-HD) content?
My answer is, eventually yes. But I think the tech world is moving a little too fast for the consumers to catch up. And, our eyes can appreciate the whole Ultra-HD experience only to a point. Even with those who are blessed with 20/20 vision or better, the difference between 4K and 6K may not warrant the cashing out a wallet-full of Ben Franklins.
Are we ready for 4K video?
When you think about it, it’s a moot question. It’s already here.


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Equinix (EQIX) continued its steady performance, posting strong results and announcing several new data center expansions. The company also trimmed its revenue guidance for 2009, citing economic conditions and slightly longer sales cycles for new customers.
"In the U.S. market, our overall demand in this region remains strong, with the size of our pipeline in the later stages of the sales cycle as high as it's historically been," said Equinix CEO Steve Smith. "Yet, despite the size of this pipeline and in this economy, we did see slowdown in decision-making, particularly from new customers, as the fourth quarter progressed."
For 2009, the company cut its revenue outlook to $855 million to $875 million, compared with its prior outlook of $870 million to $892 million. For the fourth-quarter, net income was $116.5 million, compared with a net loss of $6.1 million a year earlier. Revenue rose 37 percent to $190.7 million, in line with analysts estimates.
Equinix said it will continue to invest in data center infrastructure in key global markets. On Thursday it announced plans to invest $35 million in incremental expansions to its Los Angeles 1 and Chicago 2 data centers increasing the net cabinets by approximately 700. Equinix also said it will build out space for an additional 200 cabinets in its Hong Kong 1 data center, spending about $7.5 million for the expansion.
Equinix added 110 new customers in the fourth quarter to finish the year with 2,272, with a total of 27,320 cabinets. The company's data center utilization rate was 79 percent in the U.S. and 85 percent in Asia-Pacific. Average monthly revenue per cabinet at year-end was $1,689 (excluding Europe), an improvement of 7 percent from a year earlier.
Smith said economic conditions led the company to take a conservative approach to revenue guidance. "As the broader economy continues to contract, we've slowed down our bookings assumptions to factor in some level of softness in the decision-making that we now expect to experience in this type of environment," he said.
But Smith said that Equinix stood ready to expand its data center capacity if conditions improve, and has set aside money for this purpose. "There's approximately $40 to $90 million in our guidance for potential expansion projects that we're contemplating but have not yet committed to," said Smith. "As we deliver on Q1 and have better visibility into Q2 bookings, additional expansion decisions will be made. This also is a built-in circuit breaker should the first half of the year not develop as anticipated."


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In an article entitled "'Buy America' in the Stimulus (But good luck with that)", by Louis Uchitelle, Jonathan M. Feldman is quoted:
Take mass transit. The Obama stimulus would designate a chunk of money for the upgrading or expansion of mass transit systems, in part through the purchase of new subway and light rail cars. No American manufacturer makes these cars, although three foreign companies assemble them at plants in the United States, mainly from components manufactured abroad, according to Jonathan M. Feldman, an American economist at Stockholm University, whose research focuses on mass transit.
“The assembly operations represent only 10 percent of the total value added,” Mr. Feldman said. “The rest is embedded in the components, made overseas.”


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Inside the Syncreon distribution center outside of Carlisle, business - which involves getting shipments of Apple computers, tablets, iPhones, watches and more to Walmarts, BestBuys and all the other major retailers that are selling through the coronavirus crisis - it’s business as usual, workers say.
And that’s exactly what has them spooked.
While much of the nation is in a mandated economic lockdown, they are being asked to keep coming to work with scores of shift mates, mixing in a workplace - or more importantly, the biome of that workplace - that is shared by hundreds of people a day, at times in fairly close quarters, at a time when every message they see from the president, the governor and the TV tells them to stay home.
It’s like this, said Stephania Severe, a 19-year-old Fayetteville resident who quit her job at the Syncreon plant in Carlisle last month over a bout of coronavirus anxiety.
“They had meetings and they told us to stay three feet apart,” Severe, who has the cushion of living with her father, told PennLive this week. “But when you’re there, you’re stacking boxes on a pallet with everybody, the pallets are where they are. You can’t just put these boxes anywhere.”
Workers around the midstate told us similar stories featuring details that wouldn’t have mattered so much a month ago, but that fill their conversations now: empty hand sanitizer dispensers, cafeterias that require use of touch screens to place a food order; not enough janitors to properly sanitize the building.
To be clear, these are not the voices of people who are arguing about unfair workplace conditions, low pay or lack of benefits. Many of them are longtime staffers who stressed that they like their jobs, and take pride in doing them well.
Their beef, they said over and over again, is that in this current instance, they felt that employers were putting interest in the bottom line over their workers’ safety.
And in some cases, they are choosing to quit, seeing it as a matter of choosing physical health over financial health.
“I see all of these big corporations advertising on the television to stay safe, stay home, and order online,” Jacqueline Minarick, a worker at the hbc.com distribution center near Pottsville, Schuylkill County, said Friday. “I don’t know if people realize that it’s human beings that are filling those orders, not robots.”
Gov. Tom Wolf’s working list of essential businesses that are permitted to operate under his public health emergency includes “electronic shopping and mail order houses,” as well as the more general category of warehousing and storage.
“Warehousing and most merchant wholesalers are considered life-sustaining. Also generally, warehouses (but not warehouse construction) have been aligned to any online sales / e-commerce they may support,” Casey Smith, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Community and Economic Development said Friday.
“Mail order and online fulfillment may continue with essential staff but telework should be employed whenever possible, and social distancing must be observed,” she added.
Those classifications appear to have given these firms the legal justification they need to stay open.
But it has many of the workers scratching their heads, especially those moving product that’s not food, pharmaceuticals or medical supplies.
Another Syncreon employee said he understands the need to keep supply lines open for those kinds of goods. iPhones, to him, are another matter. Especially, when Apple - his company’s sole client at this center - has closed its own retail stores, and is taking bows for donating two million masks to New York state when he’s working without one while moving its product.
“Is the world paying attention to this?" the Harrisburg resident, who like many speaking for this report asked not to be identified by name, asked. “How do you have hundreds of people working at a warehouse all mingled up and working right next to each other, and then going back out into the community?”
Like Severe, he said he has decided to quit the job after Sunday - Syncreon’s temporary $2-per hour raise notwithstanding - for the safety of his 95-year-old grandmother who lives with him.
“What it comes down to, their making their money is coming before peoples’ lives. There’s no other way they can dress that up.”
PennLive reached out Syncreon and hbc.com, but had not heard back as of Friday evening.
There were no known confirmed cases of COVID-19, the name for the disease associated with the coronavirus, among workers at either of those sites. But there were six confirmed cases, as of Tuesday, at another of the region’s largest distribution centers, the Defense Logistics Agency base in Fairview Township, York County.
The base has since stopped releasing specific counts.
Base Commander Col. Marchant Callis said in a statement this week that the affected facilities were closed and employees in contact with those infected had been notified and directed to self-isolate. But some DLA workers who reached out to PennLive this Friday said at least four staffers in one of the affected buildings had since been moved to their worksite, and that was very unnerving to them.
“We don’t know if one of them was exposed, and now we might be exposed,” one of the workers said.
They weren’t calling for a total shutdown, of the base, necessarily.
“The military is still protecting us, and they need supplies,” one of the DLA staffers said. But she said she did wish the base’s leaders would provide more information, and consider reducing the workforce, or putting some of the staff on an every other week schedule.
The workers’ complaints come at a time, ironically, when job losses in other sectors of the economy are mounting because of pandemic-related lockdowns. In Pennsylvania alone, more than one million new unemployment claims have been filed since March 15. Workers are many of those firms are irate because their businesses have been forced to shut down.
Adding another layer of irony, Amazon announced last month that it wants to hire 100,000 additional workers in its fulfillment centers and delivery networks as its remote shopping channel has been the only game in town for millions of home-bound Americans.
But that is part of the great quandary of this particular crisis; the anxiety level, and the causes of that anxiety, varies greatly from person to person depending on where their risk lies. Some - out of work but safe at home - are more concerned about their economic well-being, and others - with steady paychecks still available - find themselves wishing they could be safe at home.
Minarick, 51, summed up the dilemma.
"I love my job. I love going to work. I love trying to provide excellent customer service. But right now I feel like I’m disobeying what the nation is trying to do by keeping people separated at this point.... I honestly don’t see how shipping shoes is life-sustaining.”
At work, she said, even though the company has taken steps like propping doors open to minimize repeated touching, and many workers are wearing face masks and gloves, the picking of merchandise constantly brings workers into close proximity with one another and there are certain choke points that everyone has to pass.
HBC, like Apple, has closed its brick-and-mortar retail stores, which include the top-flight chains like Saks Fifth Avenue, Saks Off Fifth, and, in Canada, Hudson’s Bay department stores. It also also closed the distribution centers that service those stores, she noted. The e-commerce fulfillment center in Pottsville, is the only facility that’s operating.
She’s not quitting. But she did use some of her leave time to take off this weekend to relieve some stress.
“All day long I see the reason why the governor ordered businesses to close," Minarick said. "It’s almost as if you’re in a PacMan game. Someone turns a corner and you want to quick turn around and go the other way.”
State government is not turning a deaf ear to the workers’ concerns.
On Sunday state Health Secretary Rachel Levine issued a new order under the state’s public health emergency declaration that will require operators on most of the state’s essential businesses, including warehouses, " to clean and disinfect high-touch areas routinely in accordance with CDC guidelines, in spaces that are accessible to customers, tenants, or other individuals."
Levine’s order will also obligate business owners to make sure they are employing enough workers “to perform the above protocols effectively and in a manner that ensures the safety of occupants and employees.”
The local workers’ concerns are echoing across the land as the COVID-19 case count has climbed over the past month.
In perhaps the most highly-watched case nationally, a worker at an Amazon fulfillment center in Staten Island, N.Y. was fired March 30 after leading a group of colleagues in a lunch hour protest of what they saw as that company’s inadequate response to the pandemic. They wanted their building to be temporarily closed and deep-cleaned, and for workers to be paid during the hiatus as several had become sick.
Amazon said Christian Smalls was fired because he returned to work to lead the demonstration while he supposed to be observing a paid, 14-day quarantine after coming into contact with someone at the facility who was sick. “We terminated his employment for putting the health and safety of others at risk and violations of his terms of his employment,” a spokeswoman said.
Many companies, like the supermarket and pharmacies with their public-facing clerks, have bumped up worker salaries in the short-term to reward workers for sticking with it.
But higher wages don’t wash the worries away.
“I was one of the ones who didn’t see the coronavirus as a big deal at first, this too shall pass mentality,” said a grocery selector at United Natural Foods, a York-based wholesaler that supplies chains like Giant and Wegmans. The company has given staff a $2 per hour raise while placing everyone on mandatory six-day work weeks.
“Now that it (COVID-19) is in York County and working with 500-plus people, it’s a little unsettling knowing anybody could have it and not even know. I’m more worried about bringing it home to my children at this point.”
Severe, who walked away from Syncreon shortly before it raised pay for its shippers by $2 an hour, said she has no regrets, even if quitting costs her unemployment benefits. “That pay raise isn’t going to pay for your hospital bill when you have to go get treated for coronavirus,” she said.


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In light of a new study suggesting widely varying incomes for coffee growers around the world, Fairtrade International calls for a collaborative effort to help increase farmers’ wages globally.
BY CHRIS RYAN
BARISTA MAGAZINE ONLINE
Photos courtesy of Fairtrade International
Most smallholder farmers earn less than a living wage from coffee, and a large-scale response from the coffee industry and the government in producing countries is necessary to spur solutions leading to producers earning a decent income that supports their families.
These are two of the main takeaways from a recently completed pilot study by certifying organization Fairtrade International and social enterprise True Price, the results of which were presented at last month’s World of Coffee conference in Budapest, Hungary.
In a statement about the pilot study, Fairtrade International calls it “one of the most detailed studies into coffee farmer income to date.” The analysis focused on farmers in India, Indonesia, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, and Vietnam, studying coffee farmers’ actual earnings and the potential impact of Fairtrade pricing on their household income.
Among the key findings from the study:
- Coffee production accounts for about 50 percent of the household income for farmers who grow coffee. This varies greatly by region, with farmers in Kenya relying more heavily on crops other than coffee, while Indonesian farmers depend mostly on coffee.
- Coffee results in a varied quality of life for the farmers who grow it, depending mostly on the local context. Farmers in Indonesia and Vietnam had the highest household incomes in the study, which came largely from coffee.
- Among the coffee farmers sampled for the study, those in India, Indonesia, and Vietnam earned a living household income, while the Indonesian farmers were the only ones in the study to achieve that income on coffee alone. The study found that an astounding 100 percent of Kenyan farmers participating in the research do not currently earn a living income.
- Only some of the countries’ farmers are able to pay their workers a living wage using their coffee income—farmers in India and Indonesia participating in the study are able to do so, while those in Kenya and Vietnam are not.
In light of these findings, Fairtrade International is currently developing an action plan and recommendations for how the industry can work together to help farmers earn a living wage. Ricardo Guimaraes, head of pricing at Fairtrade International, says: “I think the key contributions of this study are that it gives us a robust model for calculating farmers’ income and provides insights into livelihood strategies. Improving the methodology together with producers and deploying it in other countries will help us develop the strategies for improving incomes.”
In its statement about the study, Fairtrade International says it is currently developing a holistic Living Income Strategy, which “aims to create an enabling environment and develop tools that support Fairtrade farmers to progress towards a living income.” Key components of this strategy will be improving yields, market development, and farm efficiency, and Fairtrade International will be calling on stakeholders at large to advocate for this initiative and offer support. “Collaboration and the support of governments and civil society are key to delivering increasing change and better lives for farmers,” the statement offers.


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Holland America Line’s newest ship, the ms Koningsdam, wrapped up her inaugural Caribbean season this past weekend. On Sunday, the 2,650-guest ship left her Caribbean home of Port Everglades for Rome, to spend the summer months in Europe. On the 14-night voyage, she’ll make a call in Portugal and two calls in Spain – arriving Rome on April 15.
ms Koningsdam will spend the summer doing cruises in Northern Europe and the Mediterranean. The ship will reposition back to the Caribbean in October during a 15-night transatlantic crossing.
The ship debuted a lot of the cruise line’s newest culinary features like Sel de Mer, Culinary Arts Center dining experience, the Grand Dutch Cafe, and Blend, the hands-on wine blending area.
Her Majesty Queen Máxima of the Netherlands, christened the new ship at a ceremony in Rotterdam, last May.
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