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The most authoritative journal in the field of robotics worldwide, Science sub-published “Science Robotics” (Science Robot) annual forecast released focus report, which was first proposed a new point of view: the robotics industry needs to build global cooperation and collaboration. The first author of the report, Professor of Shanghai Jiaotong University, IEEE Fellow, founding editor of Science Robotics Yang Guang in the report, said, “Only through such cooperation and collaboration, we can truly change the social values of the robot.” This reports of unusual significance. Currently CONTROL ENGINEERING China Copyright , the robotics industry at a crossroads this critical period, as the focal point forecast “scientific robot” once a year (paper), new viewpoints bright spots, let the robot contradictions and problems the industry has been resolved scheme.
fall on the Chinese robot industry, we should not “behind closed doors”, but rather “to open the door to” take advantage of the global industrial chain linkage effects robot, the robot technology design and manufacturing costs down, implementation techniques and products win-win. The main factor in national preparations for the budget plan, but the capital, and political development of the robot is restricted with the outbreak of new technologies 5G, AI, edge computing, it is expected this year Control Engineering Copyright , the global installed capacity robot We will continue to grow. China, no doubt still needs power. According to data from the International Federation of Robotics (IFR) and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) show that the United States, China, Japan, South Korea and Germany are five major market for industrial robots, the total installed capacity of 75%, and is expected to 2022 control Engineering Copyright , the average annual growth rate may reach 12%.
and national R & D investment in robotics, robot installations and other indicators (Source: Science Robot papers report)
“scientific robot” report that the international robotics market are aging with the locals, closely related to the relevant local government policies and other factors continue to improve. Elements I: Aging World Health Organization (WHO) predicts that by 2050, Control Engineering Copyright , the proportion of the global population aged over 60 will reach 22%, the absolute number will reach 20 billion. Aging direct impact on the Fourier similar rehabilitation robot intelligent enterprise development. Fourier intelligent Gu Jie, founder and CEO of titanium media said that the future of robots is likely to have a scene in which the family company, with accelerated aging, the body gradually decline, the crowd dysfunction will be more and more, these most people need to do at home rehabilitation training, the other will need to be a robot as an assistive device to improve the quality of life, which makes rehabilitation robots become a necessity. Elements II: national policy as well as local government policies relating to international robot development. 2011 Control Engineering Copyright , the US government announced a new initiative called “National Robotics Program” (National Robotics Initiative), which plans to invest huge amounts for the next generation of robot technology research and development, and is expected to increase in fiscal year 2020 this investment, the formation of version 2.0, and further updates the investment scope. Although the United States continue to overweight in research and development of new technologies, but the brain drain, capital and other factors involved in the conflict, or restricting its development. In the military field, supported by the US government military robot developers accounted for 85% of the global market for military robots, Europe accounted for 15%, while China is only 0.1%. At the same time, IFR Korea will also be listed as one of the highest robot density, sales of no less than Japan. The South Korean government also decided that the annual budget of the country will also be put into large-scale to which the robot research and development (R & D), is expected to have $ 150 million to $ 200 million amount will be put to the capital and new technology research and development, and plans 2023 control Engineering Copyright , will expand the Korean robot market size to $ 15 billion. In fact, these are the technology-dominated government investment, but in the back, more is the game between the major powers in the political, so a lot of art does not disclose, many products only “behind closed doors.” This robot industry is concerned, a hundred more harm than good. On the Chinese market, by the national science and technology, patents and other policies greater impact. Due to patent the entire robot is still held in Japan and South Korea, Canada, among other countries, China’s machineProduct is people are “strangle hold”, so the cost of the robot remains high, so that the domestic brands cost compared to foreign brands robot robot is not much advantage. Three elements: the Internet business when Internet companies to join the wave of the robotics industry, the competition becomes more intense. Gu Jie believes in the future of intelligent robots track in this area, a lot of companies will be eliminated, gathered in the end, are some of the head company, capital will be injected into it, globalization is an important method of survival of the fittest. In fact, compared to a foreign subject to environmental and demographic differences, Chinese robot market is very broad. According to the National Bureau of Statistics show that China has 1.4 billion people. With the population aging trend to accelerate, as well as health care, education continued strong demand, there is a huge market potential and development space of China’s service robots. 2017 Control Engineering Copyright , the industrial robot sales in China last year reached 141,000 units. The following year Control Engineering Copyright , the expansion of the domestic robot market size to $ 8.74 billion. Market research firm IDC predicts that by 2022 Control Engineering Copyright , China robot market will reach $ 80.52 billion, accounting for up to 38.3% worldwide. 2018-2022 China’s robot market forecast data
Gu Jie said that the current CONTROL ENGINEERING China Copyright , China through a joint laboratory of the way, “Let the ETH Zurich Imperial College London and other laboratory technical cooperation with Chinese enterprises, and develop some doctors, let technology and products from the laboratory to the ground China , into real goods, rather than technology has been sleeping in a foreign laboratory. “this unique position will allow the robot industry or global linkage more smoothly. China robotics industry at a critical moment, globalization is the trend, “the scientists is to bring the dream into reality, after ten years of effort, we finally (robot) dream become a reality.” Chinese scientists, “the father of Chinese robot “Jiang Xinsong has said so. 1982In April, with the support of National 863 Program, China’s first industrial robot prototype successfully developed in Shenyang Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Compared robot developed regions such as Japan, nearly a full 10 years later. With the Internet and the development of AI technology, and we are part of the developed countries in the field gap getting smaller and smaller. From deep sea to space exploration, from micro-robots to large-scale infrastructure robot, robot development in China is accelerating. On the one hand, the market demand by leaps and bounds. A set of data provided by Xinhua, expected in 2020 Control Engineering Copyright , (mainland) China robot technology spending will reach $ 59.4 billion, accounting for more than 30% of global spending. However, manufacturing robots, especially in terms of the core components of its own brand of robot, has been monopolized by Japan and the US and other countries brands, resulting in the price of industrial robots stubbornly high. The founder of a company engaged in the field of robotics has told the media that in August last year, although the sensors and hardware prices continue to decline, but the price of China’s own brand of robot is still high, there is no market size. However, the risks from private equity funds to entrepreneurs, are encouraging the future development of the robotics industry, a large-scale financial support, including a new song, a large number of state-owned enterprises emerged as a listed company. So far, many Chinese own brand of industrial robots and service robots for basic products have been landed. To rehabilitation robot, for example, Gu Jie said, except for some chips also need to import the United States, China rehabilitation robot can achieve localization.
Caption: Fourier smart recovery in Hong Kong
and the huge demand of the Chinese market, but also to the domestic robot manufacturers see hope. Gu Jie believes that the robotics industry is the future trend of globalization, China is the center of the floor rehabilitation robotics industry need to “lose (technology) come in, take the (product) out”, allowing domestic robotics industry to flourish. Although Fourier had sold the company’s intelligent robot products in more than 20 countries around the world, but it seems Gu Jie, China and the United States is the biggest market rehabilitation robot. The report also said , now the world’s leading robotics, is the capital and government spending, have a great need for better international cooperation and collaboration. This is both in warOn a little, but also tactically, because we are faced with similar socio-economic challenges and development needs new talent. From R & D perspective, the broad support of science and engineering in the field of robotics future needs, global linkage and cooperation is essential. This global way, will allow robots become more and more healthy development, China also will benefit from the robotics industry. With the development of new technologies, technical conditions, technical reserves reached a certain stage, China will usher in a wave of robot again.


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And finally…burger joint run by oil mogul Wood’s son donates entire £250,000 profits
The profits of two restaurants in Aberdeen and Edinburgh, run by Scottish philanthropist Garreth Wood and totalling more than £250,000, are to be donated to charity.
The Boozy Cow restaurants –operated by Speratus Group which is owned by Mr Wood, the son of the oil tycoon Sir Ian Wood – will donate £263,000 to five charities.
Garreth Wood said: “Every single penny of profit of our Boozy Cow restaurants will go to registered charities.
“Life is a careful balance between what you do for yourself, and what you do for others, and to finally share this profit has been a dream.”
The profits will go to the Children’s Hospice Association CHAS, the Archie Foundation, VSA, which focuses on social care, STV’s Childrens appeal and the Youth and Philanthropy Initiative, Edinburgh.
The Speratus Group launched the initiative, #fromMoo2U, last June, committing all annual profits from the restaurants to charities and is confident that, by the end of 2018’s financial year, the combined donations to charity on an annual basis will be more than £1million.
The Group is in the final stages of acquiring new premises for a Boozy Cow in Stirling and is making advances in securing premises in Dundee, both due to open later this year. In addition, and following the first year’s success, the Aberdeen Boozy Cow is planning to expand to larger premises in late Spring.
The Speratus Group plans to open two new restaurants of this kind every year, over the next five years, in both Scotland and England, with Glasgow, Perth, Newcastle and London being considered.
Mr Wood continued: “Our concept is very simple! Every single penny of profit from each Boozy Cow restaurant will go to registered charities.
“At Speratus, we are extremely proud of the Boozy Cow concept and clearly our customers agree. Their loyalty has enabled us to announce a healthy profit from two restaurants, one of which has only been operating for 7 months.
“Our incredible staff and the wider team have been blown away by our customer engagement and I want to thank each and every one of them for their support. We encourage our loyal customers to continue to support, eat and drink at all our Boozy Cow restaurants, so we can continue to open new venues across the country.”
Speratus is Latin for ‘hope’ and Mr Wood explained that his Group has a real social conscience.
He added: “If through business, we can go some way to tackle social problems, improve communities, people’s life chances or their environment then it has all been worth it.
“We are doing something truly exceptional with the Boozy Cow concept and we look forward to opening more restaurants to increase next year’s total.”

domain: news


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On December 31, 2019, Whatsapp had stopped working on lots of devices. On February 1, 2020, it is also going to stop working on further millions of mobile phones. WhatsApp is a Facebook-owned messaging app and nowadays, it is very popular among people all around the world. Millions of people are using it in interacting with each other. If this mobile app stopped working on these millions of mobile phones, they have to face lots of problems in interacting with the people. Here, we will discuss how and in which devices Whatsapp will stop working from February 1, 2020.
According to news, it is expected that strict action will be taken by Whatsapp. As a result, it will stop working on millions of mobile phones. First of all, it will stop working on those iPhones which have installed older software. According to current news, if you are using an iPhone which has software older than IOS 7, Whatsapp will stop working on this iPhone. In a similar way, WhatsApp will also stop working on some android devices. The android devices which are using version 2.3.7 will also not be able to get access to WhatsApp features.
Which Phones Will Not Work?
As we have discussed earlier that Whatsapp is a very popular messaging app among the people and they are worried about. That’s a common question comes to mind of all the people that which phones will not work. The answer to this question is given below by coursework writers after conducting detailed research;
- The last iPhones that were released with the operating system IOS 7 were iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C and these iPhones were released in 2013. After that iPhone had released its new version in 2014 and in this version, they have used IOS 8 operating system. It means that if you are using an iPhone which is released in 2013 or before 2013, Whatsapp will stop working on your iPhone. On the other hand, if you are using such an iPhone which was released in 2014 or after 2014, you can enjoy all the features of Whatsapp.
- In 2010, a new Android operating system was launched and it is known as Gingerbread and its version is 2.3.7. It means that if you are using such android phones that were released in 2010 or after 2010, Whatsapp will stop working on your phone. In 2011, a new operating system for the android phones under the name of Honeycomb was introduced and its version is 3.0. It means that if you are using such an android phone which was introduced in 2011 or after 2011, you can enjoy all the features of Whatsapp.
- Windows mobile phones are also older because these phones were introduced in 2003 and these phones were launched till 2010. Therefore, Whatsapp will also stop working on these mobile phones.
- According to the Whatsapp, if you are using one of these older mobile phones, Whatsapp will stop working on your mobile phone. It means that you will not be able to create a new account and you will also not be able to re-verify your existing Whatsapp account.
- Whatsapp has also told us the reason about this update. According to Whatsapp, in order to support this app in these older mobile phones, they have to make regular updates and it is difficult for them to make updates for these older mobile phones.
When Does Whatsapp Stop Working On These Mobile Phones?
Whatsapp is asking to its users that if they want to use this app, they will have to keep up-to-date mobile phones. That’s why Whatsapp is regularly stopping the work of its app on older mobile phones. First of all, Whatsapp stopped working on Nokia Symbian S60 on June 30, 2017. In the similar year, on December 31, 2017, Whatsapp had also stopped working on Blackberry 0S and Blackberry 10. Thirdly, Whatsapp stopped working on Nokia S10 on December 31, 2018. Fourthly, they had stopped working on the Windows mobiles on December 31, 2019. Nowadays, Whatsapp has decided to stop working on IOS 7 and Android 2.3.7. For this reason, Whatsapp regularly takes an overview of the latest versions of mobile phones and it takes some strict actions against the users of older mobile phones. For this reason, Whatsapp stops its functionality on these mobile phones. That’s why if you want to keep in touch with your loved ones by using Whatsapp, it is necessary for you to keep an up-to-date version of the mobile phones. Otherwise, you will have to face some problems.


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According to news on September 1, the Salvadoran government plans to deploy 200 Bitcoin ATMs in the country and connect them to the digital currency wallet Chivo. According to the news that ZB Research Institute learned from the Twitter of El Salvador’s President Nayib Armando Bukele, there will be 50 financial branches in the country that support Bitcoin deposits and withdrawals, and transactions will also be commission-free. Analysts believe that if overseas remittances occur, El Salvador will save a lot of intermediate costs every year.
In addition, according to the China National Currency (ZB) Research Institute, El Salvador will take effect on a series of laws related to Bitcoin next Tuesday, and Bitcoin and the U.S. dollar will be used as legal tender at the same time. El Salvador has released its first Bitcoin advertisement, which shows that Bitcoin will have the same legal tender status as the U.S. dollar. But not as a mandatory currency, people can freely choose whether to use Bitcoin or U.S. dollars for transactions.
On September 1, US CFTC staff clarified the fact that cryptocurrency assets are regulated by the CFTC or SEC in the United States. China Currency (ZB) Research Institute believes that the recent popularity of crypto products and other digital assets has caused people to worry about the tightening of cryptocurrency regulations. In fact, the CFTC does not regulate commodities (regardless of whether they are securities) but rather derivatives. Taste.
According to news on September 1, the Australian government is considering enacting new laws to strengthen the supervision of digital payment services of technology giants such as Apple and Alphabet’s Google. According to statistics from the China Currency (ZB) Research Institute, payments made through digital wallets have increased by 6% in the past two years, and digital wallet transactions have increased by more than 100%, reaching 2.1 billion Australian dollars. This move by the Australian government should be based on its financial system. Will be threatened by digital payment services.
On September 1st, Twitter launched the “Tip Jar” function. The latest beta version of Twitter will further extend the function. In the future, users can use Bitcoin to pay tips to content creators through Tip Jar. In the test version, the user method selects Bitcoin for rewards, but the code shows that Twitter already has a pre-set interface. In the official version of Tip Jar, Twitter will allow users to add bitcoin payment links.
At the same time, Facebook’s digital wallet Novi is recruiting staff related to encrypted digital positions in Singapore. China Currency (ZB) Research Institute believes that Novi may choose the Philippines as the preferred release location. According to statistics from ZB Research Institute, 82.7% of Filipinos are Facebook users, and the market penetration level is even slightly higher than that of countries such as the United States or Australia.
On September 1, it was reported that Raymond Chan, chief executive officer of Ether Securities Hong Kong, a subsidiary of the loan platform Jiufu, said that the R&D team in Singapore has increased its resources and will focus on the research and development of NFTs, Metaverse and other blockchain technologies and services.
According to statistics from China Currency (ZB) Research Institute on September 1, the opening volume of cyclical cargo contracts in the Bitcoin derivatives market has increased by 1 billion US dollars. Since the June low, futures contracts have increased by more than 4.1 billion US dollars. (+105%), the current $8 billion open interest level is similar to the level during the May sell-off and January-February 2021. China Currency (ZB) Research Institute believes that transactions in the derivatives market still only occupy a small share, and the degree of open positions is still relatively low.
This article was originally edited by ZB Research Institute
Posted by:CoinYuppie，Reprinted with attribution to:https://coinyuppie.com/el-salvador-deploys-bitcoin-atm-twitter-and-facebook-to-accelerate-the-layout/
Coinyuppie is an open information publishing platform, all information provided is not related to the views and positions of coinyuppie, and does not constitute any investment and financial advice. Users are expected to carefully screen and prevent risks.


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Consumer Reports Cries Wolf
Posted on March 27, 2012
Business Insider is not known for its support of Apple products, but they have come out heavily against Consumer Reports treatment of the iPad heat-gate.
But it turns out that the “new iPad gets too hot” thing was just a bunch of hot air.
PCWorld did its own tests. Here’s what it found:
• Yes, the new iPad runs modestly hotter than the old iPad, but only modestly
• The new iPad doesn’t get any hotter than other tablets, namely Android
• The new iPad doesn’t get as hot as many laptops, including Macs
Consumer Reports has taken a small increase in iPad heat to increase their notoriety. They did the same with the iPhone 4 Antennagate last year which had no measurable impact on iPhone sales. This year again Consumer Reports cried wolf – next year when they do it again no one will listen to them. Consumer Reports is finished.


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Thank you Phil [Brady] and good afternoon ladies and gentlemen.
It's great to have the opportunity to speak with you today about the many "e" initiatives GM has planned with its dealers.
Wayne Gretzky once said, "I skate to where the puck is going to be, not where it's been."
Well, today I'd like to spend a couple minutes talking about where I think the internet is "going to be" over the next couple of years, and how GM and its dealers are going to win in the game of attracting customers and selling vehicles via the web.
We have a lot to cover so let's start off with a quick overview of what the internet landscape looks like today.
In spite of the dot-com bust, the web still plays an important role in the automotive industry: Customer usage continues to grow. In fact, over 60% of customers use the web for research before actually buying a car or truck. That number is expected to grow to 75% two years from now, representing over 11 million new vehicle sales.
And these customers aren't just "fooling around" on the internet. Our experience shows that of those customers who use GMBuyPower and then contact a dealer, 2/3's of them actually purchase a vehicle within fourteen days. That's a pretty revealing statistic about the growing importance of the web in our industry.
But it's not just consumers who are using the web more than ever. Dealer web presence is growing as well. In today's digital economy, customers expect dealerships to be just as accessible online as offline. Dealers are responding to that demand with over 90% of them now having some form of a web presence.
All of this is good news for dealers, customers and GM. But there are some challenges that come with this. Today, we all know that customers using the Internet are better informed and have higher expectations when it comes to buying a new vehicle:
They want information from the dealer now, not tomorrow. And they expect to have this information at their fingertips.
They want more value from their purchase. This is not just about getting the lowest price. Whether online or offline, it's about the quality of the retail experience, and how the customer is handled.
Today, possibly more than ever, the customer is in the driver's seat.
No where is this trend more evident than in Brazil, where the Chevrolet Celta has proven that when given the opportunity, consumers will choose the internet. Since launch in September of 2000, 112,000 Celta's have been sold. 78,000 of those vehicles were sold online. That's almost 70% of all sales online!!!
And customers aren't the only ones who love the Celta sales model -- dealers want more as well. The best testimony to dealer acceptance is that over 90% of online Celta transactions are completed at dealership kiosks. Consequently, the dealer has the ability to switch the customer to a traditional sale in a number of ways if they really wanted to. However, what we see is the opposite...online sales are increasing as a percent of total Celta sales. There has been plenty of talk among dealers in Brazil about extending this online model to a number of other GM models.
The Celta program has taught us how to use technology to create a better retail experience, and the learnings from Celta could be applied worldwide.
GM's vision for working with dealers on the internet hasn't changed...it's the same vision we started with when e-GM was formed in 1999; and it's the same vision that is directing our future plans.
Our vision is based on the understanding that the web is not about "web pages"; it's about effectively connecting the online consumer with the dealership network. This means providing the technology, web-based tools, and interactive (or internet) marketing and sales strategies to help our dealers.
It's about making it easy for our dealers to do business with GM. This, in turn, will make it easier and more enjoyable for our customers to shop for a GM vehicle, buy one from our dealers, and become a customer for life.
So what progress has been made? I'd like to spend the next couple of minutes walking you through some of the building blocks we've put in place to turn our vision into reality.
The first block, and in fact, the cornerstone of our strategy is GM BuyPower. BuyPower's robust suite of shopping and buying tools is the bridge that connects GM brands with GM dealers, providing a seamless, integrated experience for the customer.
Since its introduction, the response from our dealers has been substantial:
70% of our dealers are now active on GM BuyPower
Of those dealers, over 90% are receiving leads - up from 50% just a year ago.
Over the past six months, leads to dealers have increased more than 300%! We are currently averaging over 70,000 leads per month!!! Some of this increase is due to the recent zero percent financing offer, but most of it can be credited to the continuously improving customer experience provided by GM BuyPower's shopping and buying tools, such as the new messaging system, making it easier for customers to send messages to dealers.
And we expect this volume to grow even more with the new applications and programs planned for '02. We'll talk more about those exciting initiatives in just a moment.
GM BuyPower brings more than leads to the dealer. The presence of a GM BuyPower Manager in the dealership has been a big plus for dealers in helping to turn leads into sales. The GM BuyPower manager adds the "human touch" that customers need to finalize their purchase decision.
The importance of this human touch is evident in some compelling statistics:
With the GM BuyPower service, customers receive responses to their online dealer inquiries 90% of the time, compared to the industry average of just 42%.
When a GM BuyPower Manager is involved, the closing rate at the dealership is almost 30% higher than without one.
As a result...
JD Power reports that GM BuyPower has the highest closing rate for new vehicle sales across all manufacturer and third party automotive sites!
And that GMBuyPower is now the leading OEM net buying service in online sales!
It's clear that our strategy is paying dividends for our dealers. Each year the numbers get better and better. In 2001, 550,000 vehicle sales can be attributed to GM BuyPower, up from 400,000 the year before.
While I've been talking about the U.S. version of GM BuyPower, the website is international in scope. We've rolled "BuyPower" out to 40 countries around the world, covering 3.5 billion of the world's total 6 billion population. Right now, BuyPower is in every global market where GM does business!
GM BuyPower has helped GM to attract new customers, but an area where we need improvement is in retaining the ones we already have. Thanks to the internet, GM is now at the forefront of maintaining owner loyalty with a new website called Owner Center at MyGMLink.com.
The Owner Center concept was born from a simple consumer need...GM vehicle owners wanted a comprehensive online resource to enhance their ownership experience.
MyGMLink.com provides owners with all of the information they need to know about their vehicle. It also provides the ability to track their maintenance history, get service reminders, and locate nearby dealerships for ongoing care of their vehicle. Last but not least, it provides exclusive access to offers and other privileges that come with owning a GM vehicle.
Here's a short clip highlighting some of the key features of MyGMLink.com.
Currently, MyGMLink.com is operational for Pontiac and some select Chevrolet models. The initial results are very promising and we expect to roll out these tools to all GM divisions later this year.
In addition to these customer-facing initiatives, we've also been using the web to simplify the dealer's ability to connect with GM. We've created the DealerWorld portal to provide a single point of contact between dealers and GM. Through last year, we've incorporated 31 different applications into DealerWorld, with more scheduled this year -- all based on substantial dealer input.
Our ultimate goal is to provide GM dealers with a one-stop point of access for all of their GM business applications...spending less time on administrative activities and more time selling vehicles.
Just providing the online tools is not enough. Recognizing that we need to help our dealers take full advantage of the rapid developments in eCommerce and Internet technology, we launched a nation-wide training program. The "eBoot Camp" training program was designed originally only for our wholesale team, but the positive response was so strong that we rolled out the program to dealers as well. Over 1200 wholesale staff attended the training together with more than 370 dealers.
To make sure that we continue to listen to our dealers' needs and concerns, we've set up the eDealer Advisory Board. Our sponsorship of and participation in this board is another example of our ongoing commitment to using the web to help our dealers succeed.
We've been working side-by-side with our dealers on initiatives to pilot new programs like Retail.com and dealer web sites. The learning from these joint efforts is helping to focus our future strategies for maximizing leads to our dealers.
But that's only the beginning of the story. There's more to come over the next year. We are taking our vision to the next level and there are some important things you'll be seeing from us as we do this.
One of the first major efforts is to integrate GM BuyPower services into the GM divisional sites. This is a critical step towards leveraging the almost 4 million visits our Brand sites receive monthly -- providing a seamless, integrated experience for the customer, starting with the Brand and ending directly at the dealership.
We will continue to increase the volume of qualified leads flowing to our dealers through some important initiatives:
The first is an innovative strategy working with 3rd party web sites to drive incremental sales through GM BuyPower. The key benefits to dealers will be:
A second important initiative is to help dealers launch their own online presence.
This initiative will provide a consistent consumer message- off-line and on-line
And it will delivers customers directly to participating dealers
When you look at the building blocks we've put in place and the exciting plans for 2002, it's clear that GM is working very hard to fulfill the vision we put in place two years ago. The benefits of these efforts to our dealers is equally clear:
Increased leads and increased sales
Better communications between dealers and GM
And increased customer satisfaction that will generate greater loyalty to dealers and to GM brands
When I think about the work we are doing with dealers on the internet, I am reminded of a story told about a French Marshall named Louis Hubert Lyautey (pronounced lyota'). Marshall Lyautey once asked his gardener to plant a tree. But the gardener objected, arguing that the tree would take over 100 years to reach full maturity.
The Marshall replied, "Then we have no time to lose. Plant it this afternoon."
Over the past two years I've heard everything from, "The internet will change the world," to "It's all a waste of time." Who's right? I know one thing for certain...the work we are doing today to build up our online retail initiatives will pay big dividends in the future.
The internet has become more and more important in terms of our ability to succeed in this fast changing and unpredictable world.
But we have to maintain perspective. For GM and its dealers, the internet is not an invitation to tear down our traditional way of doing business...it's an opportunity to improve what we already do - and that's build, market and sell the best automotive products and services in the world.


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VEVEY, Switzerland and NORTH BRUNSWICK, N.J., June 28, 2016 (PRNewswire) — Nestlé and Chromocell Corporation, a life sciences company focused on the discovery of novel ingredients, have agreed to extend their collaborative effort to reduce sodium in foods. The continuation of the joint effort underscores the commitment both companies share to develop nutritious, tasty foods with less salt.
Nestlé will continue to provide funding to Chromocell to utilise its proprietary Chromovert® Technology, to identify natural compounds that provide similar or equally pleasing tastes to salt.
The continued collaboration builds on the successful identification of numerous compounds that enable sodium reduction. As these compounds move through development towards product launch, the two companies will focus on finding additional natural compounds that enable further sodium reduction across a broad range of products.
Sean Westcott, Head of Nestlé’s R&D centre in Solon, Ohio, said: “We are pleased to extend our partnership with Chromocell as part of our continued commitment to reducing the sodium in our food and beverages, to provide healthier choices while retaining the same great taste.”
Chromocell Chief Executive Officer, Christian Kopfli, said, “We are thrilled to support Nestlé’s continued efforts to reduce sodium and promote public health. The longstanding partnership has produced tangible results and we look forward to providing additional solutions to our partner.”
By Chromocell Corporation
Paine Schwartz Partners has closed on a Paine Schwartz Food Chain Fund VI, L.P. at $1.7 billion. The fund is aimed at investing in the food and agribusiness value chain. The company has invested about 40% of Fund VI in AgroFresh Solutions, Costa Group, Elemental Enzymes, HGS BioScience and Monterey Mushrooms.
After 26 years in Geneva, Switzerland, the decision to move has been made after visitor and exhibitor feedback, as well as growth plans for the Vitafoods brand. Vitafoods Europe 2025 will be held on 20-22 May 2025 at Fira Barcelona, with more details to be announced next year.
The traditional symbol of family reunion and cultural pastry of Asia is undergoing a reinvention. With the majority of young consumers in Asia expressing an increasing interest in healthier options, a growing market for mooncakes tailored to dietary preferences and restrictions is opening up across the globe.


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Xiaomi 13 Ultra will be a high-end new smartphone from the Chinese technology company Xiaomi. Today, the device was spotted on the IMEI Database. There are many claims about the Xiaomi 13 Ultra around. The new Leica-supported Xiaomi flagship is highly curious and is expected to come with a more advanced camera system than the Xiaomi 12S Ultra. Xiaomi secretly tests its new smartphone and ensures that it is suitable for use by the end user. The model will be launched in certain regions.
Xiaomi 13 Ultra in IMEI Database
Last year, Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun announced that the Xiaomi 13 Ultra will be available in the Global market. The announcement was made 1-1.5 months after the Xiaomi 12S Ultra was introduced. Since then, Xiaomi 13 Ultra has been secretly tested by Xiaomi engineers, and preparations have been made for its launch in many markets.
We have detected that the new premium Xiaomi flagship Xiaomi 13 Ultra is in the IMEI Database. As Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun said, Xiaomi 13 Ultra will be available in the Global market. Previous Xiaomi 12S Ultra and Xiaomi Mi 10 Ultra models were only launched in China. But this time, as with the Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra, we will see the new device in many markets.
Here Xiaomi 13 Ultra appears in IMEI Database. Model numbers are 2304FPN6DG and 2304FPN6DC. The smartphone will be launched in the Chinese and Global markets. It will not be available for sale in India. What we know is not limited to this. Xiaomi 13 Ultra is coded under the codename “Ishtar“.
When we examine the codename, Ishtar is an ancient Mesopotamian goddess. She is known as the queen of heaven. It was originally known as “Inanna” by the Sumerians. Her husband’s name is Dumuzid. Ishtar is the goddess of love, war, and fertility. Later, we checked the internal MIUI tests and found the first internal MIUI build of the Xiaomi 13 Ultra.
The first China MIUI build of Xiaomi 13 Ultra is 22.11.5. The Global MIUI build began to be tested 23 days later. The premium smartphone has been tested for a long time. Xiaomi 13 Ultra will come out of the box with Android 13 based MIUI 14. It will be powered by a Qualcomm SOC based on the SM8550. This indicates that it will currently be powered by Snapdragon 8 Gen 2. But Qualcomm may introduce the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 2 or a different SM8550-based SOC.
And this SOC can be used in the new Xiaomi 13 Ultra. Regardless, the Xiaomi 13 Ultra will be one of the highest-performing flagship smartphones of 2023. At the same time, it will combine a Leica-powered superior camera system, an impressive AMOLED display, and many great features. We can say that those who are waiting for the new model will be very happy already.
When will the Xiaomi 13 Ultra be released?
So when will this model be launched? To understand this, we need to examine the model number. 23=2023, 04=April, FPN6D=M1, G-C=Global, and China. We can say that Xiaomi 13 Ultra will be available in the second quarter of 2023. This device will meet users in the Global and China markets. We will inform you when there is a new development. What do you think about the Xiaomi 13 Ultra? Do not forget to share your opinions.


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Apple next generation iPhone mobile that is Apple iPhone 4G will be the upcoming hit in the iPhone market all over the world. Apple is making big bets all over the market about their incredible iPhone 4G Apple features and according to the Apple officials they are expecting its launch will be amazing with large number of sales. Apple Corporation is planning to ship 24 million units of the Apple iPhone 4G by the end of this year 2010. Apple has granted an agreement to one of its Chinese manufacturer.
Taiwan- based Foxconn Apple’s Manufacturer, according to the manufacturer partner Apple has planned to launch their implausible next generation iPhone mobile in the upcoming Apple’s Worldwide Developer Conference around 7th June till 11th June this year 2010. Apple has given the responsibility to the Foxconn to ship approximately 4.5 million iPhones by the end of June this year 2010 and remaining shipment of approximately 19.5 4Gs iPhones will be completed during the end of this year 2010, according to the DigiTimes.
Apple has adopted very different strategy regarding the launching and shipment of the next generation iPhone 4G as compare to iPad. The reason behind choosing different strategy by Apple Corporation is the huge number of iPhone’s that is 24 million and it’s not easy to handle such big number of amount as compared to total sales of 50 million since the iPhone first arrived in market in 2007. Apple approach is to spread out the market with the iPhone 4G every where in order to avail benefit over its other iPhone competitors specially phone running on Android operating system.


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Asus’s Zenbooks are known for being quite lightweight and quite affordable. But the company is adding another calling card to the line: OLED display technology.
The new 14-inch Zenbook 14X OLED will be available with either a 4K OLED HDR display or a 2.8K OLED 90Hz display. Given those resolutions, either should be a significant step up in picture quality from the Zenbook 13 OLED, the ultraportable OLED model Asus released earlier this year. That device has an FHD OLED display (which was still quite vivid and bright in our testing).
The Zenbook 14X OLED will cover 100 percent of the DCI-P3 color gamut and a 0.2ms response time. Asus claims it will emit “70 percent less harmful blue light than normal LCD”.
Screen aside, the 14X weighs…


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Facebook is being hauled up in front of a judge by a bloke who thinks the social networking behemoth has been targetting minors through ad campaigns – and passing on their details.
Robin S Cohen, David A Cohen’s guardian, is throwing the lawsuit out there. He has filed the lawsuit in California and wants to take the social networking giant to trial for the “violation of civil code 344” under unfair competition law.
Cohen reckons Facebook has broken the civil code by targeting minors and encouraging them to communicate with their friends while at the same time marketing the names of children who “like” adverts.
The lawsuit hinges on a loophole in California law which says parents must give consent before a minor’s likeness or name is used for an advertisement. And Facebook doesn’t do that.
On Facebook, you can “like” any status update or post in your stream, but you can also “like” ads. Facebook then will turn the advert into a social endorsement displaying the names of all of your buddies who like the ad.
In the lawsuit, which was obtained by Techdirt, Facebook claims that ad companies aren’t targeting anyone in a network, instead users are encouraged to join and befriend people with like minded ideas. As anyone who has ever worked in advertising, known someone who worked in advertising or even seen an advert, that’s what advertising is all about. Befriending people.
It said no personal information on the user is stored, just that they “liked” a specific ad that cropped up.
It could be argued that it’s no different, really, to bunging on toy adverts on the after-school TV slot. They’re virally spreading some marketing bloke or blokette’s message to all their other mates, all little uns. Not that different to the playground except they’re actively endorsing all these brands with their names plonked next to them.


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Corcoran just unveiled a revamped website. If you haven't checked it out yet, get to it. To promote the shiny new feel, they've launched their first-ever ad for TV. With dogs.
The new site takes finding an apartment to a new level, with a slick interface, succinct browsing options, social media integration, and much more. Check out the video above to learn more, then head to the new Corcoran.com.


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Good news for online payment gateways, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) decided on Thursday to give them a second chance. All Payment Aggregators (PAs) whose applications were rejected by the central bank due to non-compilation of eligibility criteria are eligible to apply.
“Keeping in mind the disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and to ensure the smooth functioning of the payments ecosystem, it has since been decided to allow another window to all these APs (existing as of March 17, 2020 ) to apply for RBI,” the central bank said in a statement.
APs can apply before September 30, 2022 and must have a net worth of Rs 15 crore as of March 31, 2022, he said.
Additionally, PAs are permitted to continue their operations until they receive communication from RBI regarding the fate of their application. The timeline of March 31, 2023 to achieve net worth of Rs 25 crore must remain, however, the regulator has said.
The RBI said it observed that applications received from some PAs had to be returned as they did not meet the eligibility criteria, including the minimum net worth criterion of Rs 15 crore as of March 31, 2021.
This has led to some APs halting operations within six months of the date the application was returned, RBI said.
“Although they have the option of reapplying if they meet the prescribed criteria, the cessation of operations may lead to disruption of payment systems. It is also possible that some APs did not apply to RBI due to non-compliance with the eligibility criteria”, he added.
Previously, the deadline for submission of permission applications by non-bank companies providing PA services was initially set for June 30, 2021, but was later extended to September 30, 2021 by the RBI.
The RBI had published a payment aggregator framework in March 2020 stating that payment gateways will need to be licensed in order to acquire merchants and offer them digital payment acceptance solutions. This was done to protect the welfare of consumers and businesses.
It also demanded that only companies approved by the RBI can acquire and offer payment services to merchants. RBI has been strict in its assessment of entities that have applied for the payment aggregator license.
Several online payment gateways seeking the aggregator license have come under central bank scrutiny for issues related to know-your-customer (KYC), past transactions with currency exchanges. cryptocurrency and gambling apps, and for not complying with the net worth criteria that RBI had from plan.


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Apple Preparing Record 90 Million iPhones with Force Touch: WSJ
Apple has ordered between 85 million and 90 million units combined of the forthcoming iPhone 6s models, the Wall Street Journal has learned. The due date for delivery is December 31, sources of the news outlet reveal. By comparison, Apple ordered 70 million to 80 million units combined of the current iPhone 6 model.
To put those figures into perspective, the Wall Street Journal looked back to Apple’s first half of fiscal year: Apple sold 135.6 million iPhones, up 43% compared to the same period a year earlier.
Supply chain sources have confirmed once again – now to the WSJ – that Force Touch will finally reach the iPhone 6s, allowing users to control the device according to how hard they press the display.
But there is more: Apple plans to add another colour for the casing of the iPhone, the sources say. The word on the street is that this colour will be pink – at least this is what the previously leaked Foxconn documents suggest.
Also, Apple is considering adding a third assembly partner, Wistron, to help the company meet demand, according to people familiar with the matter. Until now, Foxconn and Pegatron have handled iPhone assembly but have not been able to meet demand. While we know Apple’s strategy is to diversify its supply chain, this marks the first time the company will have worked with three assembly partners.


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On Monday, Nov. 12, Texas Roadhouse restaurants across the country will participate in a free-lunch event to honor men and women of the U.S. armed forces. ---
From 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., veterans and active military members are invited to enjoy a free lunch at Texas Roadhouse (dine-in only).
Military folk get to choose one of 10 entrees from a menu including a 6-oz. sirloin steak, country-fried chicken, pulled-pork dinner, all-American cheeseburger, grilled-chicken salad and others, plus two side dishes and a Coca-Cola product, sweet tea, iced tea or coffee during lunch.
Proof of service includes a military or VA card or discharge papers.
Utah Texas Roadhouse locations include Salt Lake City, Sandy, Lehi, Logan, West Bountiful, Taylorsville, South Ogden, Orem and St. George. New Texas Roadhouse restaurants are coming to Layton in December, and Riverton in January.


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Planning continues for the transition to our new premium payment platform for Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of Washington on-exchange members. Please be aware that the migration to the new system will happen between October 12 and October 16. Members will be unable to make a payment online or by phone during this time but can continue to send checks to:
Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of Washington
P.O. Box 740708
Los Angeles, CA 90074-0708
New account required for online payments
As a reminder, Kaiser Permanente Individuals and Families (KPIF) on-exchange members will also need to register for a new account if they want to begin electronic payments, continue making electronic payments, or set up autopay. We recently started notifying members about this change with emails, letters, and recorded calls.
- A letter was mailed to members between August 23 and August 25, encouraging them to preregister with the new payment platform.
- Emails were sent the week of September 5 as a reminder to preregister with the new payment platform.
- Further notification will be sent via email and automated phone message to encourage members to preregister in the coming weeks.
Other information about the new payment platform
- This fall, the new payment platform will have a new web address for on-exchange members who want to pay online (kp.org/payonline). There will also be a new phone number to make payments by phone (1-844-340-2468), and a new payment address to send checks by mail (Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of Washington, P.O. Box 7172, Pasadena, CA 91109-7158).
- The new payment platform will also offer self-service options, including settings and tools for electronic payments, monthly payment reminders, autopay, and multiple-accounts management.
If you have questions about any of this information, please contact the KPIF Sales and Producer Support team at 1‑800‑474‑1079, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., or email email@example.com.


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New Mage Card Revealed: Ghastly Conjurer
Reall1992 has revealed a new rare Mage card! This does indeed give you a Mirror Image and not just one of the minions.
Learn more about Knights of the Frozen Throne!
Visit our expansion guide to look at all the new cards that have been revealed so far, as well as anything else you want to know about the new expansion!


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Juxtapoz // Tuesday, March 18, 2014
Juxtapoz Magazine, Encinitas, California-based shop UNIV and San Francisco-based Chandran Gallery have teamed for a special auction and exhibition benefit for Waves For Water, an organization on the ground in the Philippines, mobilizing an urgent clean water disaster relief initiative in the aftermath of Super Typhoon Haiyan. From March 18—31st, a special curated selection of hand-painted surfboards will be available at auction on Paddle8. Artists who participated include Geoff McFetridge, CR Stecyk III, Tim Biskup, Lucy McLauchlan, Andrew Schoultz and more.
Design // Monday, March 17, 2014
Long awaited and finally released this past Friday, Nike SB has released a silhouette of the Iconic Air Jordan I, designed by one of Juxtapoz' founders, CR Stecyk III. According to Hypebeast, "the shoe takes cues from his art installation'“Northwest Passage' and adopts his signature tribal identity alongside an iridescent upper reminiscent of bronze casting."
Juxtapoz // Monday, March 03, 2014
Perhaps you followed our Instagram feed during the week of Art Basel 2013, but you may have saw our collaborative surfboard project with Encinitas, California-based shop UNIV and San Francisco-based Chandran Gallery. In Miami, we kickstarted the project that will soon be fully announced as a full auction and exhibition benefit for Waves For Water, an organization on the ground in the Philippines, mobilizing an urgent clean water disaster relief initiative in the aftermath of Super Typhoon Haiyan.
Juxtapoz // Sunday, July 21, 2013
Kustom Kulture 2 was not just yesterday’s leftover hash or a nostalgic stroll down American Graffiti Lane. Nor was it Western Exterminators 3 as dubbed by John Pochna (profiled in Juxtapoz #1) who brought what was a grassroots tradition in places like Kim’s sign shop and Mooneyes to its first gallery show.
Juxtapoz // Wednesday, February 08, 2012
CR Stecyk III, one of our founders and a legendary photographer, writer, and historian of all things art and culture, just finished a new film, FIN, set to be premiered at Hurley's H Space in Orange County tonight, February 8, 2012.
Juxtapoz // Tuesday, January 24, 2012
CR Stecyk III, one of our founders and a legendary photographer, writer, and historian of all things art and culture, just finished a new film, FIN, set to be premiered at Hurley's H Space in Orange County on February 8, 2012. The premiere for Stecyk's film is also in conjunction with the release of a series of new tees that Stecyk created with Hurley. Trailer after the jump . . .
Juxtapoz // Monday, November 21, 2011
Juxtapoz is sponsoring a new exhibition of photographs presented by Vans at the new Vans DQM General store in NYC that opens on December 1, 2011. Pave the Way features the photography work of Mofo, C.R. Stecyk III, Lance Dawes, and Tobin Yelland. After all your Thanksgiving gatherings, you can get a little skate culture.
Juxtapoz // Friday, July 08, 2011
One of our founders and contributors, CR Stecyk III, created this video, Luxuria, in conjunction with MOCA, featuring a montage of film and photographic images taken from the artist's archive dating back to 1965. In perfect, the video is abstract, minimal, and full of images that are defining moments for everything that came after.
Juxtapoz // Wednesday, June 01, 2011
One of our founders and photography editors, CR Stecyk III, played director of photography on this video, "Street, 2011," a video for MOCA documenting the Barry McGee, Todd James, Steve Powers installation in "Art In the Streets." Felipe Lima, a great filmmaker, directed the piece.
Juxtapoz // Thursday, May 26, 2011
Juxtapoz were esteemed guests at the premiere of Alex Stapleton's documentary, the Levis' presents, "Outside In: The Story of Art In the Streets" at Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood this past Tuesday evening. The film captured the making of the MOCA's "Art In the Streets "exhibition that opened last month in LA.


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Volvo Polestar May Introduce High-Performance Electric, Diesel Cars
From the BMW i8 to the Ferrari LaFerrari, high-performance electric vehicles are nothing new. Volvo is jumping on the trend and is considering new electric and diesel cars for its Polestar lineup. According to a report from Autocar, the race-oriented Polestar division is developing more engineering influence at Volvo. Future Volvo Polestar models are likely to be four-wheel drive and come equipped with Drive-E engines that power the front wheels and an electric motor and battery pack for the rear axle. “Power output [of the smaller engines] is not a problem – there’s so much ‘green’ technology that is from racing, such as low friction and roller cams – and electrification is logical because low-end torque is the weak spot in downsized engines,” said Volvo Polestar boss Hans Baath. “It’s also interesting that we can use electrification to produce four-wheel-drive Volvo models.” Baath also told the publication that he "absolutely" sees a diesel Polestar model for the future.We got a first glimpse of Volvo's Drive-E technology on the new V60 wagon, which promises high fuel economy of 25/37 mpg city/highway from a four-cylinder engine. The V60 Polestar gets 345 horsepower from an inline-6, but Volvo is now looking toward high-performance four-cylinder cars for the future. Source: Autocar
Volkswagen is set to create a retro lineup of vehicles based on the all-new Beetle.


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Fed’s Barkin speaking
That’s a new way of looking at inflation this week….
Of course inflation used to be that invisible thief, that stole money from consumers pocketbooks. Central banks and consumers alike were more concerned of inflation. If inflation expectations are high, it can lead to a self-fulfilling prophesy during growth times…"just because". Businesses feel that


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Not too long ago, Amazon announced their own smartphone dubbed as the Fire Phone. The handset comes with some innovative features on board, which can be quite helpful on some occasions.
Amazon Fire Phone is set to go on sale on July, and is available for pre-orders on Amazon and AT&T. But, the question is: is the device good enough to compete in the already crowded smartphone industry? It’s a tough one to answer at the moment, but according to a new report from Digitimes, Amazon may be able to sell around three million smartphones by the end of 2014.
Total shipments of Amazon’s Fire phones are expected to reach 2-3 million units by year-end 2014, which is unlikely to make a significant impact on the global smartphone market, according to sources in Taiwan’s handset supply chain.
Amazon is outsourcing production of the Fire phones to the Foxconn Group, with initial shipments totaling 300,000-500,000 units a month, the sources revealed.
The report further mentions, citing Taiwan’s handset supply chain sources, that initial shipments amounts to 300-500k units a month, which is an impressive number.
However, I’m not really sure about these estimates, not because Amazon doesn’t have the potential, but because the report surfaced from Digitimes. They are correct at times, but they have a very shaky track record.
Despite of several innovative features, the device still misses some key features that are available in most of the Android devices in the market, and that is, Google services. Amazon devices run a forked version of Android which have nothing to do with Google or its services, even the app store on the device is not from Google. Secondly, the price tag it carries is still a little high, compared to other high-end devices in the market.
Anyway, let’s just take this with proverbial amount of salt, and wait for Amazon Fire phone to hit retail.
Source: Digitimes, PhoneArena
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The state’s senior automotive adviser will outline details of a 30-year strategic plan that aims to elevate Michigan’s status as a global auto industry leader.
Michigan is already known as a global leader in the automotive industry. Business Leaders for Michigan, the statewide CEO grouip that succeeded Detroit Renaissance, Wednesday outlined a plan to grow that industry further with a target of adding 100,000 new jobs in what BLM calls mobility.
The latest event and meeting notices from Michigan’s technology-focused companies, institutions and groups
Uncle Sam is watching, but there is no federal government bailout in the works for Detroit.
The American auto industry is on a “slow and steady growth path up,” even though it now accounts for a mere 12 percent of global auto production, a panel said Wednesday at the Detroit Regional Chamber’s Mackinac Policy Conference.
Electric sports car maker Fisker Automotive has laid off about 160 people at its California headquarters.
Macomb County Executive Mark A. Hackel will attend an expansion celebration for Fori Automation Tuesday at 12:30 p.m. at Fori’s offices, 50955 Wing Drive in Shelby Township.
You know the saying: ‘As GM goes, so goes the nation.’ Last week, both GM and Ford stocks sputtered on Wall Street as their European operations continue to be a challenge.
Talking to workers at Chrysler headquarters on Monday, Gov. Rick Snyder said local talent will bring automotive companies back to our state.
The next generation of product information online is now available on Atlas Copco’s Web sites.


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Live Gourmet lettuces and leafy greens not only taste delightful but are healthy too! Live Gourmet lettuces have the roots attached to maintain the crisp and delicious taste to stay fresh for days. We recently read an article on HortiDaily.com that shared, “green leafy vegetables are chock full of phytochemicals, vitamins and minerals.” For better nutrition, go to your local market and pick up some greens and make a delicious salad to fill your appetite. To learn more about leafy green nutrition, here are more highlights from the article:
- Many health professionals believe that leafy green vegetables deserve a special focus in the produce world for the volume of nutrients tucked into their low-calorie, low-carbohydrate, low-glycemic index package.
- The article also shared that, “the U.S. Department of Agriculture recognizes the benefits of dark green vegetables on the basis of color, and recommends incorporating at least three cups (cooked, or 6 cups raw) in your diet every week, based on 2,000 calories per day.”
- Also stated, “greens, such as collard and mustard greens and spinach, are rich sources of vitamins A, C, K and folate — a water-soluble B vitamin that supports cell production, such as for hair, skin and nails, and may protect against diseases.”
- Many varieties of vegetables supply 20 to 30 percent of your daily recommendation for calcium in a one-cup cooked serving.
- The article also featured information from DetroitNews.com that shared, “all of these antioxidants and nutrients in leafy green vegetables work together to fend off illness. Consumption of these vegetables is linked to protection against mental decline, and better heart, bone and eye health. At near 25 calories per one-cup serving (uncooked), adding leafy green vegetables to your daily diet is an excellent way to promote long-term health.”


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Like many other Black-owned institutions in America, Black-owned media companies have been historically underfunded and less supported than their white counterparts.
Despite the many promises made after the historic Black Lives Matter protests that swept the country in 2020 after George Floyd was murdered by a Minneapolis police officer, Black-owned media companies continue to be victims of structural racism and digital redlining – particularly when it comes to securing advertising dollars from major brands.
For those that publish content highlighting racism and inequality, the problem is exacerbated. Advertisers tout “brand safety” as a reason they don’t want their ads to run on certain Black-owned sites.
For any Black-owned media company committed to amplifying the voice of Black America, having the word “racism” on a keyword blocklist is detrimental to their bottom line. This doesn’t stop many brands from doing so anyway.
It’s a phenomenon The Moguldom Nation founder Jamarlin Martin has intimate experience with. As one of the early pioneers in Black digital media, he’s seen firsthand the disparity in the type of content in which advertisers are willing to invest.
“My intimate experience over 16 years in Black digital media has demonstrated America’s advertising complex is structured more like police departments and America’s crooked justice system than advertisers will acknowledge,” Martin said. “Advertisers and agencies have their own expression of digital redlining, mass incarceration, sentencing disparities and stop and frisk.”
“Producing content about racism that can’t be monetized is removing tremendous advertising liquidity from blocklists, blacklists, and whitelisting approaches within the industry,” Martin continued. “Fox News is able to get the same ad buyer that doesn’t want to be close to Black content about racism.”
Martin is not alone in his sentiments.
In a June 2020 article published on Check My Ads, Claire – who identifies herself as a white woman working in marketing – encouraged brands to remove racism (the word and action) from their keyword blocklist.
“This is a perfect example of white privilege in action. We are literally using our advertising stack to exclude and punish important news coverage because… it feels uncomfortable for us?” Claire wrote, noting that Fidelity was one brand that had the word racism on its blocklist.
“Imagine running a Black media outlet – or any media outlet – that is financially penalized for producing stories about racism because thousands of brands just like Fidelity have simply blocked it out,” Claire continued, referring to Fidelity Investments, the financial services company.
“When you block ‘negative sentiment’ news content, you block investigative journalism and breaking news coverage,” Claire added. “You make it difficult for reporters and newsrooms to invest in critical news coverage and stories that we as a society need in order to confront racism. And you make it damn near impossible for outlets that represent Black voices to even exist.”
Fidelity Investments is not an anomaly. In Claire’s article, Martin said, there are no lies told. According to Martin – who was crowned the “Emperor of Digital Media” by OZY Media and the Ebony 100 list of most influential African Americans – content can be perceived as more offensive or brand risky than similar content that is not attached to any Black person or Black media.
“America’s relationship with Black Media is malstructured as our content and perspective is thought to be more risky and unsafe for advertisers because it’s attached to being Black,” Martin explained. “It’s logical for the advertising industry to follow the patterns of the crooked lens of the police profiler, financial redliner or disparate hospital care.”
“These structural racism biases in America don’t just stop at the door of online advertising. America is malstructured as it relates to Black Americans in general, and this can be seen heavily in the political content that Black Americans are most interested in,” Martin continued.
“Content on the right side of history won’t be funded like other categories of content due to its association with Black people dealing with racism. Even YouTube has been sued by Black creators who alleged the platform limited the amount they could earn in advertising dollars,” Martin said.
“Major advertisers and agencies can become a form of digital police who regulate Black media in an arbitrary way – associating content related to serious issues affecting Black people, and Black-owned media’s coverage of it, as more risky, more brand unsafe and more likely to be thrown on a blocklist,” he added.
Martin and Claire aren’t the only ones calling out the advertising industry’s status quo and encouraging brands to reform their practices and edit their keyword blocklists to exclude racism and other words they’ve historically deemed controversial.
Vice Media Group also criticized the advertising industry for its censorship of Black content. According to a 2020 press release from Vice, one large entertainment corporation even had “Black people” on its keyword blocklist. Marsha Cooke, Vice’s senior vice president of impact, called the problem “the brand-safety paradox.”
Cooke said the company also had “Black Lives Matter” on its blocklist and that the list “was sent the very same week that the corporation issued a statement in support of the Black Lives Matter movement,” Variety reported.
A 2020 poll found that 58 percent of advertising workers believed the industry should speak out about Black Lives Matter. Despite this, Variety reported that an analysis by Vice found “content related to the death of George Floyd and resulting protests was monetized at a rate 57% lower than other news content.”
Listen to GHOGH with Jamarlin Martin | Episode 04: Detavio Samuels
Jamarlin talks to Detavio Samuels, president of Interactive One, the largest independent digital media platform focused on urban culture. Samuels leads a $30M digital media business that in 2017 acquired Bossip, Madamenoire, and HiphopWired. They discuss Richelieu Dennis’ acquisition of Essence, Facebook’s recent fumbles, and whether Complex Media is a culture vulture.
It’s a classic example of the dangerous hypocrisy many brands exhibit. They would rather look good to avoid being canceled than be good to actually improve the human condition.
It’s something Martin said he deeply frowns upon.
“I don’t think any of the performative brands and agencies preaching they are woke after George Floyd are serious about anything if they don’t acknowledge their own place in trafficking in hurtful structures that harm Black America,” Martin said.
“Black Media has to deal with industry-wide challenges such as Facebook, Amazon, Alphabet and TikTok taking about 80 percent of the advertising pie and then has to be told you can’t get premium advertising dollars because you authentically cover massive problems with your content. Its structural racism,” Martin continued.
“They handcuff you on what authentic content you serve to your audience while blocking you because you don’t have a large enough audience,” Martin added. “Some of these decision-makers may not even be aware of the complexity and depth of these pervasive structural issues but most don’t care enough to be aware.”
PHOTO: Courtesy of Nappy.co / @WOCInTech


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A new age for shopper marketing
Article originally posted to Retailing Today on July 16th, 2014 (http://www.retailingtoday.com/article/new-age-shopper-marketing)
The concept of “programmatic shopper marketing” is transforming the ways brands engage with shoppers to drive sales, and creating a new set of skills for marketers to master.
Technology continues to reshape the way retailers and brands connect with current and prospective customers, especially when it comes to the field of shopper marketing. Advertising agencies have long used behavioral targeting to reach people whose characteristics make them likely candidates for ads promoting particular products, but contrary to popular belief digital media planners don’t have a monopoly on behavioral targeting. Nor are they its pioneers. Before Yahoo made this media strategy “cool” over a decade ago, shopper marketers honed the discipline of targeting shoppers at the moment of truth before purchase.
While demographic targeting and geo-targeting are proxies for delivering brand messages to the right audience, both leave room for wasted impressions and missed opportunities. That’s why shopper marketers have been going straight to the consumers whose behavior exhibits intent to buy — active retail shoppers.
But shopper marketers are facing new challenges in today’s landscape. Omnichannel shopping is forcing shopper marketers to look outside of the brick-and-mortar floor space. Shoppers spend less than 30 seconds in an aisle, but the average U.S. adult spends more than two hours browsing the web — every day. And research shows that 70% of consumers begin their path to purchase online before they shop in store. This is why programmatic — a technology-based method of buying relevant ad inventory in real time based on a set of predetermined conditions (e.g. price, audience, site, ad size) — is the perfect solution for shopper marketers to reach active shoppers of their retail channels with 100% accuracy. But what the heck is it?
Think of programmatic shopper marketing as having three core elements:
• First, there is an audience of shoppers that are creating data footprints. Every time consumers shop at an online retailer, a few pieces of information are recorded on their browser – which retailer they visited, when they visited, and which types of products they browsed. These data footprints are anonymously and securely recorded. No personal information about the consumer can be captured.
• Second, there are pools made up of billions of impressions of media inventory that are accumulated from thousands of sites across the web. These pools are called “ad exchanges,” and they are available for hundreds of buyers to access in an open and transparent marketplace. All of the impression buying is done using a real-time, auction-based model.
• Third, there are programmatic technologies that buyers can leverage to access these ad exchanges, and bid for the impressions that are most important to them. It’s all about reaching the right audience, at the right time, with the right message.
So how does this all come together for shopper marketers?
A buyer representing a brand leverages a programmatic technology to access the ad exchanges and identify shoppers based on their data footprints. Major retailers are now providing brand advertisers with access to their online shopper data, which is creating even more precise data footprints of shoppers. In real time, the programmatic technology scans the pool of inventory to identify consumers with recent shopping behavior at one of the buyer’s key retailers. Once identified, the technology makes a bid to serve the brand’s ad to that consumer. If the bid is higher than the bids made by competing buyers who also want to reach that same consumer, then the brand’s ad will be delivered. This all happens in milliseconds. Imagine how many thousands of retail shoppers you could reach within a single day using this approach.
With programmatic, shopper marketers can achieve the scale of a traditional media buy, but with the precision shopper targeting of an in-store display. This makes it the most effective way to maximize reach against your retail shoppers to drive awareness of new product launches or seasonal promotions. It’s also the most effective way to protect your shelf space by stealing share of voice from competitors in your category. Now you can buy impressions against active shoppers of a specific retailer, shopping in a specific product category with zero wasted impressions.
This is why the combined power of audience data and programmatic buying is going to change the game for shopper marketers. It’s the same concept shopper marketers have been using all along — targeting an audience based on their shopping behavior. But now they have the perfect mix of precision and scale.


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BEIJING — China’s 2018 economic growth fell to a three-decade low as activity cooled amid a tariff war with Washington.
The world’s second-largest economy expanded by 6.6 percent over a year earlier, down from 2017’s 6.9 percent, official data showed Monday. Growth in the three months ending in December cooled to 6.4 percent from the previous quarter’s 6.5 percent.
Communist leaders are trying to steer China to slower, more self-sustaining growth based on consumer spending instead of trade and investment. But the slowdown has been sharper than expected, prompting Beijing to ease lending controls and step up government spending to shore up growth and avoid politically dangerous job losses.
Economic activity held up through most of 2018 despite President Donald Trump’s tariff hikes on Chinese imports in a fight over Beijing’s technology ambitions. But exports contracted in December as the penalties began to depress demand.
2018’s growth was the lowest since 1990’s 3.9 percent in the aftermath of the violent crackdown on pro-democracy protests centered on Beijing’s Tiananmen Square the year before.
Growth in investment, retail spending and other indicators all declined, the National Bureau of Statistics reported.


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EA and DICE have a February Star Wars Battlefront update on the way. Ahead of the imminent release date, we want to take a look at five things we’re excited about.
Star Wars Battlefront still has problems. Gamers are still complaining about its lack of depth and problems that are plaguing the title on Xbox One, PS4 and PC. EA and DICE are working hard to address these concerns and companies are off to a hot start in 2016.
In January, the companies announced Star Wars Battlefront DLC details including three expansion packs set for release in 2016. EA and DICE also detailed free Star Wars Battlefront updates including a monster update that rolled out in January.
The January Star Wars Battlefront update is live and it includes bug fixes, tweaks to weapons and heroes and new features for all three platforms. It’s a substantial update but like the game itself, it’s far from perfect.
It’s a good thing EA and DICE are prepping another major Battlefront update for this month.
The February Star Wars Battlefront update release date is now confirmed for tomorrow morning with EA and DICE outlining downtime for PC, Xbox One and PS4. The companies haven’t confirmed a specific change log just yet but we expect that soon. An imminent release isn’t the only thing you should be excited about though.
While we wait for EA and DICE to outline a specific change log we want to take a look at a few of the things we’re excited about.
Tons of people have been complaining about the A-Wing hit box and shield ramming in games. We've seen other complaints but these two appear to be the loudest.
EA and DICE introduced a number of changes in the January update but they didn't address the problems with the A-Wing. Fortunately, the developers have been listening and it looks like the February update will sort out some of these problems.
EA says that "the team is working to bring a lot of these fixes in our February update." The companies haven't outlined the fixes in detail but once DICE developer has said that the company will address the hit box issues at the very least. It's clear that it's a priority and that's exciting.
The company is encouraging user feedback about the A-Wing and its other starfighters and those who are seeing problems with balance and bugs should report back as soon as possible so EA and DICE can get things squared away with its next major update.
That's one thing to get excited about. There's more.
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Google announced revenue growth that was its lowest since 2009, according to Ben Schachter at Macquarie Research. Critically, Google’s paid click growth increased only 17% year-over-year while in the past it has increased 30% every quarter. Analysts expected 22% year-over-year growth. The cost per click was also down.
Incursions by Facebook and standalone apps into Google’s core business–how people get information–may be responsible for the slow down. People using shopping apps and news-curation apps like Flipboard cut Google out of the info gathering process. Facebook is increasingly a source of information supplied by people’s networks of friends. Even when that information originates from a Google search, when it’s shared on Facebook Google is out of the picture. Google’s other businesses–and there are many–are generally unaffected by the search dip.


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The Entrepreneurship Cell at the Indian Institute of Information Technology, Pune, has announced the second iteration of its annual flagship event, E-Summit’23:Bridging Businesses Beyond Borders. It will be one of the most moving entrepreneurial extravaganzas the community will ever see and will test all qualities the youth should possess as budding entrepreneurs and ultimately future tycoons. Looking forward, each aspect of this, soon to come true, reverie is challenging but ...Read More »
E-Summit’22: Making Impossible Inevitable with E-Cell IIIT Pune | 19 March – 27 March
The Entrepreneurship Cell at the Indian Institute of Information Technology, Pune, announced its flagship event, E-Summit’22: Making Impossible Inevitable. It will be one of the most incredible entrepreneurial events of the year in online mode with 14 different fascinating events highlighting every aspect of entrepreneurship. Since Metaverse is taking over, E-Summit’22 is converging towards the realm of future startups by reflecting Global Financial Capitals in Metaverse and contributing to globalization ...Read More »
Hackathon 2021: The Entrepreneurship Event Of Institute of Information Technology Pune!
The Entrepreneurship Cell of the Indian Institute of Information Technology Pune has continuously kept its word of honor for providing a platform for rising entrepreneurs to showcase their skills and test their entrepreneurial acumen through successful events. Recently, another such grandiose event ‘Hackathon 2k21’ has been victoriously aligned by E-Cell IIIT Pune with its motto “Think. Innovate. Sell. Prosper.” with a noteworthy contribution from its title sponsor Juspay Technologies in ...Read More »
E-Cell IIIT Pune Announced Its Next Event ‘Hackathon 2021’ | 8 June – 27 June
The E-Cell at the Indian Institute of Information Technology, Pune announced its upcoming flagship event “Hackathon 2k21”, with its rousing tagline – “Let’s hack the future”, powered by Juspay Technologies. The E-Cell at IIIT Pune witnessed its inception in December 2020 with its iconic tagline – “Think. Innovate. Sell. Prosper.” Keen on stirring the entrepreneurial buzz prevalent among the youth, the students have been orchestrating events to create opportunities for ...Read More »


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Beijing JingCheng develops truck cranes for Chinese market
16 June 2009
Beijing JingCheng already has a joint venture with Tadano under which it manufactures truck crane chassis that Tadano uses for its truck cranes sold in China, but JingCheng said it wanted to develop a lower-cost range of cranes for the domestic market.
The cranes use truck carriers produced by Chinese manufacturer DongFeng, based in Shiyan. The model pictured at JingCheng's main manufacturing facility in Beijing has an 8 tonne capacity, but a 12 tonne model will also be produced, plus 35 and 55 tonne models later this year.
A spokesperson for JingCheng said that Tadano was aware of the project and had no objections.
Beijing JingCheng makes a wide range of aerial platforms and also wheeled harbour cranes. In addition, it has joint ventures with Tadano for truck crane chassis, with Hyundai for hydraulic excavators, and also makes 20-52 tonne capacity dump trucks for a Singapore partner.


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Food & Fairness for African Farmers
"If Europeans don't want pesticides in their fruit, why do European companies send all these pesticide products to African farmers in the first place?"
This was the question posed to us by a group of young men from Fotobi village in southern Ghana, who had returned from poorly-paid work in the cities to earn a living in agriculture by growing pineapples for export.
Three years ago they were enthusiastic about the decent income to be made from pineapple but they were worried about their future in farming, due to the many problems they faced as independent smallholders in an export market dominated by big companies.
What did European consumers really want in terms of fruit quality and production methods? Fotobi villagers had heard about the increasing market demand for organic food, for instance, but didn’t know how to produce good quality pineapple without the use of synthetic pesticides and fertilisers. How could small farmers like them get into the lucrative organic export market?
European food safety laws have got much stricter in the last few years, as governments and supermarkets have responded to food scandals and growing consumer concerns. Food quality controls on European and imported produce include legal limits on the maximum amount of pesticides permitted in fresh produce, as well as independent quality standards of supermarkets and sophisticated retail practices involving traceability from individual farm to supermarket shelf. This may be good news for European consumers but what does it mean for the livelihoods of millions of farmers in developing countries if they cannot meet these standards? In an increasingly globalised food supply chain, importers and supermarkets can simply turn elsewhere to source their produce, with devastating consequences for the estimated 45 million people in African, Caribbean and pacific countries who earn their living from the thriving export fruit and vegetables sector. Many of these are poor farm and packhouse workers, often women struggling to bring up their families alone, with few other prospects of employment.
Conflicts of interest
Conflicts between food safety requirements, sharp supermarket purchasing practices and the position of small and medium-scale farmers is not just a problem in developing countries. One low price supermarket in the Netherlands, for example, recently responded to media campaigns over high levels of pesticide residues in its table grapes by cutting off relations with 600 small-scale vine growers in Greece and shifting its custom to a single, large scale supplier. Is there a future for small-scale and family farmers in Europe and in Africa or will the supermarkets, which dominate our food supply, simply exclude them in the quest to reassure consumers' concerns about food safety and increase shareholders’ profit?
To tackle these questions, PAN UK is starting a three year project to put pressure on supermarkets and aid agencies in Britain, Germany and the Netherlands to support African smallholders in export markets. Our partners in Africa are working with local farmer groups to train them in how to manage pests and diseases without using hazardous pesticides. In 2002, a group of smallholders in Senegal were able to export tons of green beans to Europe for the first time, grown with much reduced pesticide use. Consumer surveys show that people are concerned about the welfare of farmers overseas- witness how much fairly traded produce we now see on supermarket shelves. What is missing is serious commitment from the food retail industry to make practical changes to help African farmers in this mainstream sector.


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Shoppers in north and east metro looking for fresh produce, seafood, meat products, and other food items have one more chance to catch the Harvest to Goodness Weekend Market at Eastwood Central Plaza in Eastwood City this weekend.
An initiative by the Department of Agriculture, in partnership with Megaworld Lifestyle Malls and non-profit group RestoPH, the weekend market aims to provide a venue for farmers, fisherfolks, and Filipino-owned restaurants to showcase and market their products in a safe shopping environment. It’s open on July 24-26.
Some of the fresh finds for sale at the Harvest to Goodness Weekend Market include:
- Bananas, avocados, watermelons, dragonfruit, eggplant, upo, squash, and more fresh fruits and vegetables from Benguet, Baguio City, Bulacan, Quezon Province, and Batangas.
- Boneless Dagupan Bangus and other seafood items such as tiger prawns, tilapia, espada, talakitok, and more.
- Fresh strawberries from Baguio.
- Fresh organic, chicken, and salted eggs from Bulacan.
- Coconut products including skimmed coconut milk.
- Flavored yogurt from Batangas.
- Pechay, mustasa, and patola seed packs from Bureau of Plant Industry.
- Thai milk tea and grab-and-go meals from Mango Tree.
- Cow Cow Ice Cream from Tokyo Milk Cheese Factory.
- DIY Ramen from Menya Kokoro.
Shoppers who prefer to have their goods delivered to their doorsteps can use the personal shopping service app MyKuya and pay cashless using PayMaya.
They can also get in touch directly with the farmers—contact information are posted on Eastwood City’s Facebook page, Viber Communities, and website—to pre-order products and pick them up at the curbside pick-up station at Eastwood Central Plaza.
Cashless personal deliveries for food purchases from participating restaurants can also be made via LalaFood and Mr. Speedy.
After its Eastwood staging, the weekend farmers market will move to Venice Grand Canal in McKinley Hill on July 31 to August 2, before heading to Uptown Bonifacio on August 7-9.
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South Korea’s finance minister warned July 4 of “corresponding measures” against Japan’s move restricting key supplies for the nation’s semiconductor and display industries, in a major escalation of a long-simmering row over compensation for wartime forced labor.
The diplomatic conflict between Korea and Japan, which have close economic ties despite strains over history and territory, showed signs of moving toward an economic front as Tokyo implemented export restrictions against Seoul on high-tech materials vital for the production of semiconductors and display panels.
Korea has said it will file a complaint with the World Trade Organization to resolve the matter, but Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki said earlier in the day that the Korean government will “consider various corresponding measures” unless Japan withdraws export curbs.
“We believe that the Japanese move is a clear act of economic retaliation,” Hong said in an interview with local radio station CBS, adding that the Japanese move would have an adverse impact on both countries.
“If the problem is not settled, surely (Korea) needs to ask the WTO to make a judgment,” Hong added. “But as it takes a long time for the WTO to deliver a verdict, it cannot be the only solution.”
Although Hong didn’t elaborate on what such countermeasures would be, he said Korea will take other necessary measures under domestic and international rules as well.
Starting today Japanese companies need to apply for approval for each contract to export three materials to Korean clients, including major brands such as Samsung, LG and SK.
The three materials are fluorine polyimide, resist and etching gas.
By Ram Garikipati and newswires (firstname.lastname@example.org)


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Open Science can improve European competitiveness.
Posted 03 October 2014
What are the financial and administrative costs of complying with funder OA policies?
Posted 03 September 2014
Open Access advocates believe model licenses will limit exploitation and re-use of research.
Posted 13 August 2014
FOSTER is an EC-funded project aiming to help young researchers learn about Open Science, OA and more.
Posted 07 February 2014
Several organisations have come together to offer a national level pilot project.
Posted 06 February 2014
The discoverability of scholarly content is critically important in making high quality research findable and accessible.
Posted 03 February 2014
The 2014 Brill/IFLA award for OA in the social sciences and humanities.
Posted 30 January 2014
Pilot collection launched; target of 200 libraries to sign up.
Posted 08 December 2013
Starr Hoffman explores how academic librarians can enrich scholarly conversations.
Posted 27 November 2013
Tim Berners-Lee has unveiled the latest survey of the open data performance of 77 countries.
Posted 01 November 2013
Global survey of thousands of authors reveals regional and subject differences.
Posted 31 October 2013
Sixth annual event aims to help make OA 'a new norm' in scholarship and research.
Posted 01 October 2013
Policy will now include monographs and book chapters.
Posted 30 May 2013
New policy makes all publications open without a licence.
Posted 16 May 2013
Ian Clark explores how MOOCs could transform higher education and how the role of librarians might change.
Posted 10 May 2013
De Gruyter will offer 100 titles for Open Access through crowdfunder Unglue.it
Posted 03 April 2013
The Editor and his entire editorial board have resigned citing 'restrictive' authors' agreement.
Posted 30 March 2013
Competition to create relevant educational applications.
Posted 20 March 2013
Latest OA papers resulting from agreement between IFLA and Emerald are now available.
Posted 13 March 2013
Springer's historic book collection now includes 28,000 German-language titles.
Posted 13 March 2013
Open Data: Germany launches National Data Portal.
Posted 04 March 2013
Works will be included in Summon Discovery Service.
Posted 12 February 2013
Digitised items now openly accessible thanks to JISC funding.
Posted 01 February 2013
Academic publishers De Gruyter and the Max Planck Society to cooperate.
Posted 28 January 2013
Information and knowledge industries call for independent study into the potential impact of OA.
Posted 21 January 2013


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Personal credit card debt grows again
Credit card balances grew in May by 2.5 percent, according to the Federal Reserve, extending a 12 percent surge the month prior.
Matt Schulz, senior industry analyst for CreditCards.com, said the latest data are a "good sign" when combined with other economic reports that indicate increased consumer confidence and improving employment numbers.
"People are feeling a little better about things and feel they don't have to worry about going out and buying that TV because they might lose their job," Schulz said.
Schulz also pointed to a change in the way American consumers are using their cards. An increasing number of people are putting almost everything, from gum to appliances, on their credit cards and paying off the balance in the same month. The goal is to rack up rewards or cash back without having to pay interest on a carried balance.
"There's almost a divide between a significant group of people who have gone away from credit cards entirely, and people who have moved towards using credit cards towards everything," he said. "It seems like there's a little less middle ground than there was."
The spike in card debt could also be attributed to the particularly brutal winter experienced by much of the country. Warmer weather brought more people out of their homes and into malls.
The report from the Fed noted the average interest rate on credit card accounts was 11.83 percent in May, unchanged from the last examination in February.


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The sun may have been shining here in the desert, but one couldn’t help pining for a little rain to test the new weather-forecasting umbrella recently launched by Ambient.
Through a partnership with AccuWeather.com, the company has devised an umbrella that receives local weather information from the Web site, causing the umbrella’s handle to illuminate when rain or snow is in the forecast. The umbrella is available now for a suggested $124.
According to Lisa Ferrante, senior coordinator at Gartner, Ambient was only one of an estimated 110 vendor companies who participated in the show, held here Sept. 4-7. Up to 160 different retail companies were also said to have been present. Ferrante estimated that all told, the bi-annual event saw between 600 to 700 attendees.
In addition to the smart umbrella, vendors showcased a wide range of products from a variety of CE and IT categories. Following are a few of the highlights:
GearHead displayed four new Mac compatible accessories, all of which are set to launch in the United States at the end of October. The line includes a Bluetooth wireless keyboard and optical mouse combo that carries a suggested retail of $119, a 1.3-megapixel Mac Web cam and headset with a suggested retail of $79.99, a Bluetooth wireless laser rechargeable mouse at a $69.99 suggested retail, and a wireless optical rechargeable mouse for $39.99.
Nokia used the show to shine a spotlight on two new products for fall. The N81 is said to be an unlocked “entertainment-oriented” phone featuring 8GB of internal memory to accommodate its music and gaming functions. The device features a slider form and offers dedicated music and gaming keys.
The company also showcased its new Bluetooth headset BH-902. It has multi-pairing capabilities. Its design features in-ear earplugs and and an OLED screen that indicates battery power status, caller ID, clock and received messages.
Both Nokia products are set to launch at retail in the fall and prices are yet to be determined.
Sungil Telecom used RetailVision as an opportunity to unveil its new NOVA5000 digital broadcasting converter box. The box is designed to meet the needs of consumers who will be affected by the upcoming Feb. 17, 2009, government-mandated cease of analog broadcasting. A company spokesperson said he expects the box to be available at retail in mid-January 2008 and that it will carry a suggested retail between $59 and $69.
Iogear showcased its new Digital Scribe, a digital pen said to be able to capture natural handwriting from any surface for storage on a PC. According to the company, the pen requires ordinary ink refills and can be used with any paper. The pen can be used in place of a keyboard for text input and can also be used as a substitute for a mouse. The Digital Scribe is available immediately at a suggested retail of $79.95.
Digistore Solutions showcased its new Centurion disk hub. The automated CD/DVD storage device with a built in read-write drive holds 100 CD/DVD discs, which the company estimates is equivalent to about half a TB of storage capacity. Digistore Solutions suggests “daisy-chaining” the units, which can be stacked up to 10 high, in order to increase storage capacity as necessary. According to a spokesperson, the storage device will soon be available for a $499 suggested retail.