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All of the pieces seem to be falling into place for Amazon’s rumored set-top box — now we have a potential wireless game controller. The above controller sports the usual buttons, directional pad, and analog sticks, but it also includes …
Amazon's set-top box may offer an optional gaming peripheral, and it's one of the most complicated controllers yet.
The rumors about Amazon's entry into the game console/set-top box gained a ton of credibility this morning, as shots of a gamepad bearing the online giant's logo hit the web. Read more...
While Amazon has yet to officially announce a set top box, it's commonly believed the company is developing a competitor to Apple TV, Roku, and its ilk. In addition to supporting Amazon streaming video, the upcoming device is expected to support games. Show More Summary
We hadn’t heard much about the rumored set-top box from Amazon this month, but on Friday we finally got a glimpse of what looks to be the official game controller that the device will support. Zatz Not Funny has leaked the first images...Show More Summary
Amazon's new gaming and media controller has been revealed online in a new set of photos. The device will apparently not ship with Amazon's upcoming set-top box but be an optional extra, TechCrunch reports, and also work with Kindle Fire tablets. Show More Summary
Zatz Not Funny just posted images of an Amazon-branded gaming controller that supposedly found its way to the world through an overseas regulatory agency. If real, the controller suggests that Amazon could be planning to use gaming to differentiate its long-rumored set-top-box from the Apple TVs and Rokus of the world. Read more...
A new image leaking out today shows what appears to be an Amazon branded game controller. The image obtained by Zatznotfunny shows a pretty regular looking game controller with the addition of Android styled back, home and menu buttons as well as those for media control.
Amazon is probably making a game console, and today we've got a better idea of what that console's controller looks like thanks to Dave Zatz and the Brazilian FCC. The standards are all there: two offset, concave analog sticks, four buttons (A/B/X/Y)...
It looks like Amazon's set top box is going to be used for serious video gaming. Dave Zatz at Zatz Not Funny passes along the following photo of an Amazon controller. The photo comes from " an overseas regulatory agency, similar to our very own FCC," says Zatz. Show More Summary
Amazon is upping the annual membership price for Prime in a move that comes just as rumors circulate that the online retail behemoth will soon challenge Apple in the set-top TV box market. Prime, the increasingly ubiquitous service for streaming video, borrowing books, and getting free shipping on all orders, will now cost $99 annually. […]
It looks like a cross between an Xbox controller and an Onlive controller. It looks ugly. Mr. Dave Zatz recently uncovered these photos of the gaming controller for Amazon’s upcoming media streaming device. Apparently this will not ship with the upcoming set-top box but rather be sold separately and also work with Kindle Fire devices. Show More Summary
Click here to receive Mediabistro’s Morning Media Newsfeed via email. Amazon Prime Gets Price Bump to $99 A Year (VentureBeat) Nine years after it launched, Amazon Prime is getting an inevitable price increase. Amazon announced Thursday that Prime will now cost $99 per year in the U.S., a slight bump from the previous $79 a year price. Show More Summary
Today in Tech News Digest, Zuckerberg has words with Obama, Gates expresses his opinions, Amazon Prime goes up in price, Microsoft ditches Xbox contracts, Facebook gives Pages a makeover, and 3/14 is Pi Day. Zuck Calls Obama To Complain About NSA Zuckerberg called Obama about the importance of privacy. Show More Summary
Online retailers might slurp your data but they still don't know jack Something for the Weekend, Sir? I am a very lucky man: Amazon is offering me a 20 per cent discount.…
For today’s edition of Deal of the Day, Amazon has the Harman Kardon CL Precision On-Ear Headphones with Extended Bass for just $64.99 plus free shipping. That’s 74% off the headphones’ regular list price of $249.95. Harman Kardon CL headphones feature an exclusive acoustic system that integrates superb mechanical design, materials, and electronics. User-exchangeable bows, […]
Stay a step ahead of the competition--and your customers--with these tips. "Build a great experience, customers tell each other about that. Word of mouth is very powerful." -Jeff Bezos, CEO Amazon.com Read Full Story
Good morning, good lookin'... The three things you need to know on March 14th are:
(Reuters) - Amazon.com Inc plans to hike the annual fee for its popular Prime service by 25 percent to $99 starting next week, a move announced on Thursday that risks losing customers for a feature that has helped drive its business...
We spend plenty of time here on The Millions telling all of you what we’ve been reading, but we are also quite interested in hearing about what you’ve been reading. By looking at our Amazon stats, we can see what books Millions readers have been buying, and we decided it would be fun to use […]


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Apple has made its case against Samsung in the patent lawsuit that never ends, and the company’s attorneys rested today after an expert witness testified that Samsung should pay the full $2.191 billion in damages. As CNET reports, Quantitative Economic Solutions economist Christopher Vellturo told the court today that Apple’s claim to over $2 billion is valid based on estimated profits lost to Samsung’s infringing devices as well as royalties owed to Apple for use of its protected software designs.
John Hauser, another of Apple’s expert witnesses, testified earlier this week that Samsung’s mobile phones would have been much less appealing to the public if they had lacked features that Apple created, such as the ubiquitous “slide to unlock” gesture. Together the two experts weaved a tale of desperation in which Samsung is depicted as having ripped off Apple’s design when it failed to create a compelling product that could stand its own against the juggernaut of the iPhone.
This case is really only halfway over, though. Samsung’s attorneys will now have a chance to defend against this narrative, providing testimony and evidence to support its own view and argue against the legitimacy of Apple’s software patents. Of course, it’s likely that once this case is over the two rivals will just find another reason to sue each other.
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A mechanic for a West Islip car dealership has been disciplined after a dashboard camera caught him driving a customer's car close to 100 mph on Sunrise Highway.
John Gentile, an attorney for Atlantic Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram, did not disclose the disciplinary action against the dealership's mechanic Tuesday, but said it acted immediately after the customer complained and even made three repairs to the car, a Chrysler 300.
Gentile acknowledged that the mechanic drove at a high rate of speed during a test drive; a 20-minute dash-cam video indicated high speeds of 96 to 97 mph, he said.
"Going at a high rate of speed is a concern to us," Gentile said.
On three separate occasions, after the customer complained, the car's bumper was repaired, as were scratches to the dashboard and exterior of the car, he said.
"All repaired, when nothing on the video showed it was damaged during the test drive," Gentile said.
The customer, Joe Fradella, of Levittown, said that he first noticed bumper damage after taking the car in for a routine service check on July 31.
Then, while clearing out video files on his camera before a family road trip the next day, Fradella found a clip of the service trip and said he "put two and two together."
"I'm getting more and more aggravated as I'm watching it," Fradella, 43, said. "I immediately took the video down to the dealership."
Gentile said that such test drives are common. He said the mechanic stopped at his apartment a few miles from the dealership during the drive.


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Microsoft may be facing an uphill battle in the portable media player market against Apple and its wildly popular iPod, but the company certainly isn't ready to give up the fight. In fact, Microsoft’s media player division marketing manager Brian Seitz has just confirmed that the company will release new Zune hardware this year.
Sadly no specific details have been revealed but he does make it clear that this year's update will be more significant than the fall 2008 refresh, which simply increased storage capacity and added firmware support for buying songs over Wi-Fi. We're curious to know what sort of announcements Microsoft will make regarding their Zune line. Rumors have circulated that the company plans a smartphone-media player crossover device, although Seitz himself has denied this, and possibly even a living room media device under the Zune banner.


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Steph Curry’s latest shoe – the Under Armour Curry 6 – is modeled after a running shoe as the 2x NBA MVP moves more than 95% of the league with feet that change direction just about every two seconds.
While the design team at Under Armour have their hands full creating kicks for arguably the fastest feet in the NBA, they’re about to embark on designing apparel for astronauts in outer space that will move at three times the speed of sound.
Just how? UA has teamed up with Richard Branson to develop space suits for Virgin Galactic.
As reported by CNN, the brand and the business tycoon are currently developing a line of austronaut apparel that will be unvieled in 2019 as part of Virgin Galactic’s first commercial flight.
That flight is expected to take place in the next five to six months with Branson set to be onboard with passengers and thus suited up. At this point, over 600 tickets have been sold with prices ranging from $200,000 to $250,000 a flight.
Under Armour will be desiging the suits worn by both pilots and passengers, with brand CEO Kevin Plank more than excited.
“Working with Sir Richard [Branson] and Virgin Galactic is an opportunity of a lifetime, one that has the entire Under Armour team across the world excited,” said Plank in a statement.
In the interview above with CBS This Morning, Plank touches on the topic that astronauts will be able to test product at the brand’s Portland facility. From a historical standpoint, this is of great relevance as that building is where Tinker Hatfield created the cross-training category for Nike over three decades ago. Pretty cool.
While financial details were not disclosed, keep it locked to Nice Kicks for updates on this forward-thinking partnership.


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Shipping costs at some of the world’s largest cargo companies have skyrocketed in recent months.
How It’s Played Out
Similar to the price of bitcoin, shipping prices are a raw representation of the laws of supply and demand. Too many ships and not enough demand: prices crater. But when demand strengthens and ships grow scarce, magnates with names like “Niarchos” can build a fortune.
At the outset of the pandemic demand was, clearly, light. Thousands of empty containers were left stranded across Europe and the U.S. as no one needed anything delivered except for more toilet paper and a computer camera.
But when western demand for Asian-made goods rebounded in the second half of the year, competition for available containers and ships intensified. Lately, prices have hit a fever pitch:
- The cost of shipping a 40-foot container from Asia to northern Europe has increased from about $2,000 in November to more than $9,000, according to the Financial Times.
- The Baltic Dry Goods Index, which measures the average rates charged by shipping lines to move dry goods like sugar and coal, has risen 60% since December.
- Profit margins Maersk and Cosco Shipping have swelled, and their stock prices are up 92% and 195% over the last twelve months.
Call The Dockmaster
The shipping bonanza is causing a log jam at some of the world’s largest ports. In Los Angeles, a city known for its gridlock traffic on land, 32 container ships were recently anchored off the coast due to a lack of available space at the port.
No New Year drop: In a normal year, shippers would expect that the upcoming Chinese New Year would lead to a drop in shipping as companies close their factories for the holiday. But for the second year in a row, Chinese factories show no signs of letting up.
Fear not—rising shipping costs won’t affect your next Amazon order. Shipping costs normally account for just 5% of a product’s price and price increases are usually absorbed by the wholesaler.


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Amid the illegal practices of trading and tampering of MRP in Roing Town, A meeting was held at DC Conference Hall to review the situation and take immediate measures to resolve the illegal rise of prices of commodity in the retail market. The meeting was chaired by Shri. Tapik Pertin ADC Lower Dibang Valley, Shri. J.K Lego Superintendent of Police Roing and representatives from Legal Metrology and Consumer Affairs, Tax and Excise Department, Food and Civil supply, Lower Dibang Valley District Students Union, Adi Student Union, All Idu Mishmi Students Union , Bazar representatives, Media person, AMYAA NGO and public individuals.
Shri RK Paul Secretary AMYAA NGO on behalf of community organization highlighted the objectives for the called meeting. He spoke on problem face by middle class families who are being fooled on daily basis by almost every shops of Roing by manipulating and tampering the MRP of goods. He also stated that these issues would bring negative impact to upcoming local entrepreneurs in days to come.
Shri. Tapik Pertin (ADC Roing) welcome and applauded AMYAA NGO and concerned community based organization for taking up the initiative and for calling upon the District Administration and concerned Departments to resolve the issue.
Shri JK Lego (Superintendent of Police Roing) would seek for early formation of a system comprising of team from district administration, concerned departments and community organization of Roing to check and maintained fair practice of trading by retailed shops in Roing.
Shri Debojit Linggi (ACLM Legal Metrology and Consumers Affair) stated “Charging above MRP is an offence for which the trader can be prosecuted and be punished with fine up to Rs 25,000 for the first offence. It can increase to Rs 50,000 for the second offence and subsequent offences can attract a fine of up to Rs 1 lakh or imprisonment for one year or both.” he stated that being a consumer we should be aware of our rights and one can contact his department if they encountered any illegal or charging of commodities above the maximum retailed prices.
The representatives of student union bodies spoke re-affirming the increasing trend of illegal trading in Roing and the urgent need to address the issue either through legal proceeding through district administration or raiding. They wish to resolve the illegal practice at the earliest for the best interest of the people of Roing.
Important topics brought into discussion:
• Ceased of Trading License and imposing Penalty if found violating and practicing illegal tampering of MRP (Consumers Protection Act 1986, Consumers Protection Act 2019)
• Regular Check of prices by concerned authorized department.
• Looking into Skyrocketing of prices of goods, taking COVID-19 Lockdown as an excused.
• Need for checked of manufacture and expiry date.
• Solution to solve illegal sale of pork meat and Broiler without proper trading license which is the main reason for the fluctuation of Pork and Chicken rate.
• Tobacco sold above MRP
• Chinese good and products.
• High rate of taxi fare.
• Need for special telephonic helpline number to report illegal trading in Roing.


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Rifle through the average person's gym bag (if you dare) and you're likely to turn up exercise clothes, towels and energy bars. Go through Bonin Bough's, and you'll uncover 3-D phones, a variety of tablets, Apple TV, Nintendo DS and a Slingbox.
Mr. Bough, director-digital and social media at PepsiCo, is a believer in digital fitness, and like any athlete running a competitive race, wants his team to be prepared by training with and understanding the tools of their craft. He's emblematic of an era when consumers have better technology in their pocket than the average executive has in their office, and marketers such as Pepsi's Mr. Bough and Adobe's Ann Lewnes are becoming increasingly responsible for getting their organizations up to speed.
"Society is becoming 100% digital and most organizations are not 100% digital," said Mr. Bough. "There's a gap, and we have to work relentlessly to close that gap. We've looked for a way to describe it, and that 's fitness. You can't just work out once."
PepsiCo has gone so far as to create a "digital fitness" boot camp. Other marketers have turned to their agencies to build out formal education programs of their own. Digital shop 360i launched an education center, 360iU, earlier this year and recruited Mark Avnet as its dean. Mr. Avnet had been a professor and chair of the creative technology track at Virginia Commonwealth University's Brandcenter.
For many marketers, one of the key challenges of digital marketing is educating executives. It's one thing for the chief marketing officer and a core group of lieutenants to understand the ins and outs of mobile marketing, social media and digital startups. But it's just as important for the chief financial officer, chief sales officer, legal team and public-relations team, among others, to understand aspects of digital marketing.
"As we look at where our customers are going in the future, [we realize] everything from supply chain to sales needs to understand how to operate in this digital world. And it's going to happen really quickly. It's not 20 years out, it's four years out," said Mr. Bough. "Most organizations are going to go through a pretty massive rescaling, asking "How do we make sure everybody can apply [technology] to their part of the business?'"
Pepsi's program includes a series of online classes, as well as some experiential sessions. An experiential session could involve putting a dozen or more tablets on a table and then demonstrating how mom, the kids and competitors are using them. This is where Mr. Bough's "gym bag" of digital goodies comes into play—he lets other executives borrow and experiment with its contents. In the coming months, he hopes to begin conducting classroom training for various internal groups as well.
At Adobe, Ann Lewnes, senior VP-global marketing, has led the charge toward digital, to the point where it now commands 74% of the company's marketing budget. But that "extreme" shift hasn't been easy, requiring plenty of hand-holding. "Marketing today has two roles; one is to educate," she said. "You need to be able to explain why search is going to be more valuable than perhaps a live event. And in some markets and regions outside the U.S., there's more resistance."
During a recent panel about mobile marketing, hosted by the Association of National Advertisers and moderated by Ad Age , executives from HP, Wal-Mart and Coca-Cola discussed the dramatic shift taking place among consumers and inside their organizations.
"We don't have muscle memory on this," said Wendy Clark, Coca-Cola's senior VP-integrated marketing communications and capabilities, during the panel. "They've been making TV spots for years. Mobile is a couple years old. When you go up the ranks in our company, this is entirely new. The people who are doing mobile programs are the guys in flip-flops. There is a very big cultural shift."
360iU has been helping its clients to tackle that cultural shift with tailored training sessions and, occasionally, one-on-one coaching sessions with C-suite execs. The agency, which counts Coca-Cola, JCPenney and Kraft among its clients, has also worked more broadly with customer service and legal teams. Clients can even invite customers -- such as grocery retailers, if it's a packaged-foods client -- to workshops or seminars.
"You have to think through the entire food chain, whoever is in your four walls, but also your customers -- the Walmarts or Krogers -- because it's in your best interest," said Sarah Hofstetter, senior VP-brand strategy at 360i. "What's interesting about digital is it's a mind-set, not just a media channel."
Ms. Hofstetter offered the legal department as an example. "Social-media education for legal is wonderful and very necessary," she said. "It's not just about allocating dollars and getting contracts signed. What if legal isn't comfortable with you retweeting? If you have to get retweet approval every time, you're not going to be particularly effective."
But not all execs are going to become adept tweeters or suddenly take an interest in the ins and outs of Android vs. Apple operating systems. And, at the end of the day, TV or radio or magazines are still media that 's infinitely more familiar to the majority of C-suite executives.
"Ideally, we'd like all of our executives to participate [in social media] and some of them do," Ms. Lewnes said. "But you have to really want to do it. The reluctant tweeter isn't a good tweeter, because there's no authenticity. I feel the same way about Facebook or LinkedIn or anything else."


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South Korea’s LG Energy Solution (LGES) just announced that it began construction of a nickel processing plant in Indonesia as part of a USD 9.8 billion investment in the country to produce electric vehicle batteries.
LGES revealed that the company would build a USD 3.5 billion smelter with a capacity to produce 150,000 tonnes of nickel sulfate per year. A USD 2.4 billion factory will also be built to produce 220,000 tonnes of precursors and 42,000 tonnes of cathodes per year. It will provide key raw materials for a planned 200 gigawatt-hour battery cell plant in the industrial city of Karawang in West Java, worth USD 3.6 billion.
In addition, in September 2020 LGES and Indonesian state mining company Aneka Tambang (Antam) will to jointly invest in a USD 300 million nickel mine on the eastern island of Halmahera to produce 16 million tonnes of nickel ore.
With the world’s largest nickel reserves, Indonesia has ambitions to become a major producer of nickel-based products, Jokowi said at the launch. Indonesia ended nickel ore exports in 2020 in an effort to attract foreign investment to develop its downstream industry. Indonesia´s president recently announced that the country will replicate this strategy for other natural resources, including stopping bauxite and tin exports that abuse guidelines.
(Source: Channel News Asia)


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Whether you’re back in the office or still working remotely, Dell Technologies’ Rahul Tikoo introduces the company’s latest portfolio of products that’ll help partners meet their customers’ end-to-end needs – no matter where they are.
Here's a look at some of the lightweight business laptops pulled together by the CRN Test Center, featuring portable devices from top PC makers HP, Lenovo and Dell to meet the needs of today's growing "hybrid workforce." [Published Jan. 15, 2021]
Lenovo is unveiling four new models for its SMB-focused ThinkBook lineup, along with new ThinkPad X1 laptops, but Lenovo’s Matt Zielinski says this year’s CES announcements are "bigger than just the products." [Published Jan. 13, 2021]


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EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — That saying ‘You are what you eat’ became serious business this season for Lakers players, subjects to a new nutrition project designed by their training staff in partnership with none other than America’s healthiest grocery store.
“I ate a lot of Jack In The Box in college and Taco Bell and now I’ve transferred into Whole Foods,” laughed Robert Sacre. “Grass-fed animals, that’s all I eat, is grass-fed animals and I make sure that it’s grass-fed cows when I drink milk. None of this like, you know, wannabe cows.”
He wasn’t joking.
Lakers strength and conditioning coach Tim DiFrancesco, tasked with receiving the Whole Foods Market deliveries at home and on the road, explained a typical pregame meal: grass-fed beef skewers or omelets from eggs from chickens that ate grass, bacon from humanely-raised pigs, full-fat chocolate milk from grass-fed cows.
The rationale, according to DiFrancesco, is you can’t out-train a bad diet. All the work he does with the players in the weight room and on the court would not be as effective without being supported on the back end by good nutrition. So the question became, ‘What is good nutrition?’
Part of the answer came in a book by Dr. Cate Shanahan that head athletic trainer Gary Vitti had on his desk just before training camp. A couple phone conversations with Dr. Shanahan confirmed that knowing where the food comes from is key. The search for those products kept bringing DiFrancesco and Vitti back to Whole Foods, so they went ahead and created a relationship that’s set to go on indefinitely.
“The one in El Segundo is one of the largest and most extensive stores in the country and we happen to have it in our backyard, so we’re very lucky about that,” DiFrancesco said. “And that being the hub, they communicate with all Whole Foods in the other cities we travel to, so it’s a seamless relationship.”
A standard pre-game spread includes Applegate organic sliced meats like turkey, pepperoni and genoa salami; Organic Valley raw sharp cheddar, mild cheddar and jack cheese; and naturally fermented dill pickles with healthy bacteria to boost the players’ immune systems. Even meals on the plane come from Whole Foods.
Stuck on sugar? Not anymore!
When word got out about the new nutrition project, some players feared they’d no longer be able to eat what they wanted.
“It’s like telling a kid he can’t have any candy!” said Antawn Jamison. “It’s not bad though, a lot of guys really take care of their body on the team anyway so it’s just letting us know that what we eat, what we do off the court really makes a difference on the performance on the court.”
Before the new regiment, Dwight Howard said he was “stuck on sugar” – not just candy, but four to five fruits a day. He’d have two or three good meals a day and then one McDonald’s.
“When I got with Tim, no candy at all,” he said. “Fruits once a day for breakfast and throughout the day, only eat almonds and crazy snacks, things I wouldn’t eat, ever.”
For meals, his new diet includes steak and pasta, but tomato-based sauce instead of alfredo. A break from strictly water means Kombucha, a synergy drink Howard described as having “real itty bitty stuff in the inside, looks nasty, like octopus or something is floating around.”
“I’m like ‘uhh’ but it’s actually pretty good and it helps me recover,” he said. “I miss having sodas and stuff like that but I want to be able to get my body back to 100 percent and start to help this team win and just help myself get in better shape.”
DiFrancesco described the difference in energy coming from good fats versus carbohydrates and sugars as analogous to building a fire with sticks and twigs.
“If you put a bunch and lit them, they would burst into flames but they would quickly die out, that’s what things like pasta, rice, different types of energy bars that have a lot of carbohydrates and sugars end up doing,” he said.
‘It sucks, but it’s worth it’
The adjustment has varied among players.
At 39 years old, Steve Nash already watched what he ate and just had to try to get more healthy fats in his diet.
“It’s been good, I think it’s helped me. I feel like I have a lot of energy and my joints feel better too,” he said.
Arguably the most disciplined player in the league, Kobe Bryant cut out pepperoni pizza, Sour Patch Kids, sugar cookies in favor of fish, lean meat and vegetables last summer.
“It sucks, but it’s worth it,” said Bryant.
Now 16 pounds lighter, the superstar is putting up numbers better than his career averages in points, rebounds, assists and minutes per game, as well as shooting percentage, despite this being his 17th season.
“The diet has a lot to do with it to be honest with you, I think it’s really impacted my energy level,” he said after scoring 41 points and leading the Lakers to a remarkable comeback against the Toronto Raptors earlier this month.
Strict as their new diet may be, players do get five or six meals out of the week on their own. DiFrancesco said it’s not about wagging a finger and telling players they can’t eat what they love, but instead educating them on how certain foods can impair their performance and empowering them to make better choices.
Jodie Meeks said he still eats pizza and fries sometimes, but tries to limit that intake during the season.
“As you get older, you have to watch what you eat,” he said. “I like the diet. It gives you more energy and they’ve done a great job of giving us an idea of what to eat when he’s not around.”
Indeed, DiFrancesco’s carrot-not-the-stick approach of surrounding players with the right food choices has gotten many of them hooked on healthy eating.
“The guys start saying, ‘Where did you get this? I really want this at home,’ because they notice how much better they feel and how much it helps them to avoid injury and breakdown during the course of the season,” DiFrancesco said.
Having a nutrition regiment is a luxury compared to the days when legend James Worthy was a Laker.
“It wasn’t as apparent as it is now,” the Hall-of-Famer said about emphasis on having nutritionists and someone like DiFrancesco around.
“I don’t want to give him credit, but I have to give him credit,” said Sacre, who’s been able to limit his number of stops at Popeyes chicken. “I’ve definitely seen an improvement and it’s helped me, so I don’t really look back at what I used to eat.”


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Brocade Communications Systems Inc. is reportedly pursuing a potential sale that could mean big changes for San Jose’s fourth biggest tech employer.
The company has looked for buyout opportunities before, including in 2009 when it held talks with Hewlett-Packard Co. It appears that discussions with various suitors have been renewed, with Reuters reporting on Jan. 9 that the company is talking to several private equity buyers and recently hired Frank Quattrone’s Qatalyst Partners to help them pursue a buyout deal.
Now, a question mark hangs over what a deal could mean for a company that has more than 2,000 local employees, moved into a brand-new 562,000-square-foot North San Jose headquarters in September 2010.
Analysts said the company is being spurred into a sale by an under-performing stock performance and pressure from shareholder Elliott Associates, which has an approximately 10 percent stake in the company.
Brocade’s stock has improved over the last couple of months, closing at $5.77 on Jan. 11 from a low of below $3.50 in August. But overall, growth has been stagnant: $5.77 was the exact same price it opened at on Jan. 11, 2011. Bloomberg reported that the company would be an extremely cheap buy: It was trading at 7.7 times its cash from operations, while the median among comparable companies was 17 times.
Brocade is the biggest player in its core business, making “fibre channel” networking equipment. However, they also branched into another area of networking hardware, ethernet switches, by acquiring Foundry Networks Inc. in 2008.
Best company solution
The fibre channel business is large and highly-profitable, but there’s not much room to grow and there are doubts about the technology’s longevity, said Bill Choi, a New York-based analyst with Janney Montgomery Scott. Brocade’s ethernet business has more opportunity, but the company only has a tiny share of the market.
“What you’re looking at is can you break this out in pieces,” Choi said. “Someone’s going to want the high growth opportunity in ethernet and somebody else is going to want the slower growth” in fibre channel equipment.
Silver Lake Partners, TPG Capital, Blackstone Group LP, Bain Capital and Warburg Pincus LLC were named by Reuters as potential private equity buyers. Brocade declined to comment on a potential sale.
“I think (Brocade) lost the confidence of the investment community so it’s difficult to attract talent when stock is underperfoming,” said San Francisco-based analyst Erik Suppiger with JMP Group. “At least amongst the investors there’s a lot of concern that (their ethernet) strategy is not working and is not going to work. Certain private equity might be inclined to restructure and just take the company in a different direction. Still, a takeover by another major tech company instead of a private equity firm is a possibility, though a less likely one, analysts said.
Hewlett-Packard, Dell Inc. and IBM Corp. have all been named as potential buyers, but they’ve already made acquisitions in the networking business that would make Brocade somewhat redundant, such as HP’s 2010 acquisition of 3Com Corp., Suppiger said. He named Oracle Corp. and Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. as others who could have a potential strategic interest.
A strategic deal with a tech company may be problematic because about two-thirds of Brocade’s revenue comes from sales through other companies such as HP and IBM, said San Francisco-based analyst Matthew Robison, of Wunderlich Securities. If Brocade were acquired by one of those companies, the price would likely have to be discounted and other companies might have to drop their agreements with Brocade due to competitive considerations.
“You can see where if you were IBM and you buy Brocade, you say automatically I don’t get that revenue (from IBM) anymore because I’d be selling to myself, or you might say, ‘Hey HP is going to quit buying (Brocade’s) stuff because I own it now,’” Robison said.
If Brocade is bought by a private equity firm, any employee layoffs and other changes likely would not happen until the firm decided whether to break the company up and how to do it, Suppiger said.
Stay in San Jose
Regardless, the fate of the company is of major importance to San Jose. Mayor Chuck Reed said keeping the company in the city is one of San Jose’s “success stories.”
When Reed learned from Brocade CEO Mike Klayko that the company was expanding and considering leaving the area, Reed said, “I asked him to give us a chance to see what we could do to help him stay in San Jose. He gave us a chance.”
The city offered Brocade an incentive of $4 million in redevelopment agency funds to locate its headquarters at the @ First development in San Jose.
The company is an active corporate citizen, and Klayko is chairman of the Silicon Valley Leadership Group. Carl Guardino, the group’s CEO, calls Brocade a “classic” Silicon Valley success story. “They bet on San Jose when not everyone was doing that, especially during the downturn,” Guardino said.


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ST. LOUIS – Locally made items crafted by artisans weren’t at the Tower Grove Farmers Market on Saturday, but the fresh vegetables, breads and plants were.
And there were some additions: the masks worn by almost all vendors and customers; and a smaller, more spread-out venue than in the pre-pandemic era.
It was all part of the market’s efforts to start up again safely. And vendors in booths spread out around the circle drive said their business was starting up again, while customers said they felt they were safe.“I think they’re doing a good job distancing and everything,” said Bobby Sweet, as he carried some tomato and pepper plants he had just bought.
Four miles away, at the venerable Soulard Market, a reporter observed than most people weren’t wearing masks. Although two vendors said people were wearing them, neither said that almost all were wearing them, as at the Tower Grove market.“Probably the majority of people are wearing masks,” said Cathie Shurtleff, who sells soap, lotions, oils, fragrances and essentials at her stand at the Soulard Market.
“When all this first started, this corona scare, people were afraid to come out, but the last three weeks have been pretty busy,” Shurtleff said.
Right after news started about COVID-19, “It was so slow, we didn’t see any point in coming back, so we shut down for a couple of weeks; and then we came back, and it’s just been getting like back to normal,” Shurtleff said.
Sam Bergadia, who sells nuts, said he had shut his business down for a while. He estimated that about 60 to 70 percent of those at the Soulard Market wear masks.
Meanwhile, Anurag Terkonka had different thoughts about visiting the Soulard Market on Saturday.
Terkonka had never visited the market before and tagged along with his girlfriend, who often buys meat from a vendor there. Terkonka, who recently received a Master of Science degree in neuroscience at St. Louis University, is helping to provide area business people with medical personal protective equipment.
“The last thing we need to do is allow small business to shut down,” Terkonka said. “We want to make sure that we are having medical grade equipment being delivered.”
Some of the vendors have masks and some don’t, Terkonka remarked.“At the end of the day, it’s part of the Constitution. You can’t really tell someone to wear a mask unless you put a law into place,” Terkonka said. “My opinion is, we should all have masks on, just for the safety. At the very least, respect others.”
Back at the Tower Grove Farmers Market, visitors Gary and Brenda Lane said they felt safe there. However, “I don’t think we should have to wear a mask. We only have masks because they require them,” Brenda Lane said.
Gary Lane said he didn’t wear masks that much, “but they wanted it here, so. …”
Vendor Luke Cockson said almost everyone at the Tower Grove Farmers Market had a mask.
“I’d say probably 95 percent of the people if not higher than that are wearing masks, customers included, and then they’re all very spaced out,” said Cockson, who has been selling at the market for eight years. “We’ve got little circles down for the lines, and we’re more than six feet apart.”
Cockson has a product that’s fitting for staying hygienic. He buys food from farmers and then packages it. It has helped his sales, he said.
Heather and Mark Stille of Griggsville do something similar at their booth, which sells a variety of lettuce, kale and similar products.
“When we are planting and harvesting, we’ve been wearing gloves, since March. So, really, when I give you your lettuce or your product, you’re the first person to touch it,” Heather Stille said.
Business has been good, she explained.
“We’re about sold out,” she said late on Saturday morning. “It’s kind of what we thought it would be. A little slower start, but we kind of knew that.
“It’s picking up. It’s all good.”


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The first social cannabis consumption lounge that opened in California is now facing several lawsuits, two from state regulatory authorities and one from a patron who claims the lounge gave her herpes.
The cannabis lounge Lowell Cafe opened in October of 2019 and became the first nationally-recognized cannabis consumption restaurant. In less than two months from their open date, they have changed their name to Original Cannabis Cafe, in order to distance themselves from these lawsuits.
California Attorney General Xavier Becerra filed suit against Lowell Herb Co., its CEO David Elias, and co-owner Brett Myers Vapnek, for allegedly engaging in commercial cannabis activity without a license. The new suit raises questions about the group’s future, as well as its past contributions to the Original Cannabis Cafe.
The California Department of Food and Agriculture also filed a civil suit in December mirroring a similar charge. In March 2019, the California Department of Food and Agriculture and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife raided and seized 17,772 pre-rolled cannabis joints, 7,161 jars of flower, and more than 1,400 pounds of other cannabis products illegally processed in 2018, from a San Luis Obispo warehouse allegedly operated by Lowell Herb Co. A quick search on the Bureau of Cannabis Control’s website shows that David Elias holds a distributor Type-11 license in Los Angeles.
Separate of the state of California’s accusations that Lowell Herb Co. has been diverting or distributing illegal unlicensed cannabis products, the cannabis cafe is being accused of unsanitary conditions in giving a patron herpes in November of 2019.
Last month, in December the cafe had an underwhelming 3 star rating on Yelp, and that’s with less than two months of operations. This month, January 2020, with the name change in place, their Yelp rating went up to 3.5 stars. If you go through the reviews and read them, there is an overwhelming amount of complaints of bad service, inflated pricing, high budtenders/waiters that really don’t seem to care at all and bad food.
December 1st, the official name change took place and the restaurant made a statement to Eater LA distancing themselves and ending the “corporate sponsor” partnership with Lowell Herb Co. they originally launched with.
The customer claims that on November 1st she went to Lowell Cafe and paid $30 to rent a PuffCo vaporizer to use with her own cannabis flower. It took 5 different vaporizers to find a PuffCo that worked, and each time she noticed the vaporizer was never sanitized. She writes that she never once received any alcohol, wipes, or cleansing pads. She said she noticed the manager had an oral herpes outbreak on his mouth. Two days later she had an infection of cold sores in her mouth that caused feverish symptoms. She says she now has herpes when she did not previously have the virus.
In addition to her pain and suffering, she claims that the managerial staff at Lowell Cafe (now @OGCannabisCafe), was rude and dismissive. At first, they seemed to care and replied to her initial email about it, saying they take this matter seriously. Then they went dark and never replied, only to find that @lowellcafe posted on their instagram a meme in very poor taste as a response.
It’s unclear if her lawsuit will remain against Original Cannabis Cafe or Lowell Herb Co., but these types of lawsuits are not only bad for business, as they add up, they have the potential to put both companies out of business.
If it wasn’t bad enough in the California cannabis industry, where major players are going under and giving up because they can’t operate due to the multi-stage taxation system that prevents profitability, making every licensed cannabis company upside down financially… The most litigious state on the planet will make this cannabis company and all other early adopters go belly up, unless their pockets are deep enough to hang on and survive.


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MINNEAPOLIS/CHICAGO – Paint and coating manufacturer Valspar Corp., Minneapolis, announced a long-term strategic supply relationship with Ace Hardware Corp., Chicago, under which Valspar will manufacture and supply Ace-branded paint products as well as make a comprehensive line of Valspar-branded paints available to more than 4,000 Ace retail locations in the United States. In addition, the two companies announced that Valspar has acquired Ace Hardware’s paint manufacturing assets, including two manufacturing facilities located near Chicago.
The relationship combines Ace’s in-store service model and neighborhood store footprint with Valspar’s national paint brand, manufacturing and distribution expertise, and technology.
Valspar will immediately begin manufacturing and distributing Ace’s existing portfolio of Ace-branded paint products. Over the next year, Ace and Valspar will collaborate with retail owners to enhance their paint departments. Introduction of Valspar paint products is expected to begin in the fall of 2013. Ace will retain ownership of its existing paint brand trademarks, including Clark+Kensington® and Ace Paint, but Valspar will manufacture Ace’s product lines exclusively for the retailer.
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By Amy Langfield
Originally posted on CBS MoneyWatch.
Millennials are growing up, buying homes and starting families. That is causing their values and technology expectations to change the ways companies do business, Goldman Sachs says in a report Monday.
Brands such as LEGO, Carter’s, Hasbro, Netflix, Whole Foods Market, Starbucks, Chipotle Mexican Grill, Blue Apron, Zulily, Etsy and Amazon.com are well positioned to serve millennials; companies at risk, include McDonald’s, Kellogg, Campbell Soup, Coca-Cola, Mattel, The Children’s Place, Toys ‘R’ Us, J.C. Penney and Kohl’s.
In fact, Whole Foods last week said it was working on a new type of grocery store aimed at millennials.
Most new mothers are now millennial moms, and the most populous group of that generation — now 23 to 26 years old — is reaching the average age of a first-time mother, 26. The number of births is increasing and last year was the first time millennials accounted for the biggest group of home buyers, according to the National Association of Realtors.
When it comes to food, they want brands to be more transparent, more organic and more value conscious. When it comes to household and personal care, they want safer and less toxic options. As for toys, they should be geared toward child development and pegged to entertainment titles, such as Hasbro has done with deals for Transformers, G.I. Joe, My Little Pony, Star Wars, Marvel and Frozen.
Millennial parents have a high reliance on smartphones and little time for brands that don’t have their digital act streamlined. “The logistical challenge of distributing content and merchandise across multiple channels remains high and under-appreciated by this generation,” according the Goldman report.
Also, “immediate access to information (through smart mobile devices) has empowered millennials to expect instant gratification. Free shipping is becoming the standard and same-day delivery is not far behind.”
Millennials also change their social media habits after become parents, the study notes. They use Tumblr 56 percent less, Twitter 48 percent less and increase their use of parenting communities, Pinterest, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube.While many established brands are changing, the new disruptors and small niche brands have strong opportunities to thrive.
One company singled out in the report is Zulily, which is “representative of two significant trends emerging with the millennial shopper – shopping as entertainment and uniqueness of merchandising.””Zulily has invested significantly in its mobile experience to enable moms to fill white spaces of time with a mobile-friendly user interface in a highly personalized experience with 1-click checkout. The company also merchandises the site in a ‘flash-sale’ model, enabling a fresh, new experience daily,” the report states.
Millennials’ saving habits help debunk stereotype
The top factors considered important by millennial moms when making everyday purchases are safety, convenience to purchase, brands that provide good value, good product reviews online, products that simplify life and recommendations from other parents.
Those findings aren’t surprising, according to Dr.Liraz Margalit, a psychologist at Clicktale, a firm that helps companies understand how customers are using their websites. Margalit said the Goldman report findings are in line with millennial shopping patterns she has observed.
“A factor such as ‘convenience to purchase’ or ‘simplify my life’ that didn’t play a role in the past” becomes legitimate criteria, Margalit emailed. “If a few years ago parents would only have looked at the end results (product functionality), now the purchasing process becomes central calculation.”
The stakes are high as Goldman estimates $1 trillion is spent annually in the United States, including on housing and food, for children 17 and under. The average family is expected to spend $304,000 to raise a child from birth to 17. College costs excluded, of course.
The Goldman report is also quick to point out that what experts think they know now about millennials is still changing. “How their parenting styles – and by extension their decisions on education and healthcare – will compare to Gen-X and Boomer parents, ” are among the topics we still don’t know, the report states. Also unknown: “How their value system will evolve as they get older and as the economy improves.”


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CASTING is now open for the Lesotho Fashion Week Spring Summer 2019 scheduled for 3 to 5 May 2019 at Mpilo Boutique Hotel, organisers have said.
The forthcoming event will, among other requirements, feature plus size models.
The event will showcase the Spring Summer 19 women’s and men’s wear collections by designers from all over the world.
The show, which started last year, promotes Lesotho designers by bringing together industry experts in one place to form new relationships and share ideas. It Is a platform which helps local designers understand the business of fashion, the importance of the fashion calendar and how to relate with international buyers and press thereby integrating them into the cut throat global business of fashion.
Founder of the Lesotho Fashion Week, Mahadi Granier, told the Weekender that this season, they intend to break barriers in terms of what is perceived as the industry norm.
“The international fashion industry at large expects runway models to be tall with a slender frame, which is a disconnect from real life,” Mahadi said adding that this was the Eurocentric standard of beauty.
She said the reality is that Africans are built differently and as such, they want models at Lesotho Fashion Week to show how the clothes will look on an average African, who ultimately is the consumer.
Mahadi said they decided to include plus size models because they want to challenge the way beauty and diversity are portrayed.
“We want to promote body positivity and uplift women, especially those who struggle with self-love.”
Mahadi said the average African woman is a size 12 and by increasing the size ranges, they intend to ensure that the majority of women in the fashion consumer market are fully catered for.
“We care about body diversity and want to create a runway that is open minded and we want buyers to visualise themselves in the fashion that is being showcased as opposed to showcasing fashion that preys on women’s insecurities.
Mahadi said they have so far received applications from designers from South Africa, Botswana, Nigeria, Ghana, Malawi, Mozambique and Senegal.
For his part, Lesotho Fashion Week production assistant Thato Fonya noted that only pre-registered models will be allowed to cast. To book for a casting spot, models are expected to complete a pre-registration form on www.khalala.com/models before 14 February 2019.
Fonya said they are looking for men aged between 18 and above with the minimum height of 1.7 metres height who are of slim build. He said the models are expected to wear knee high shorts, a t shirt and flat shoes.
“Women should be aged 18 and above with the minimum height of 1.65m. They should be size 28 to 32 with maximum hip size of 96cm. They are expected to wear black leggings and vest tops,” he said.
Fonya said all models should ensure that they wear fitted clothing to allow a clear impression of their body proportions.
He said plus size female models should be aged 18 and above with the minimum height of 1.65m and should be dress size of 34 to 48.
“All models must bring four composites which must include their portfolio pictures, name, contact details and measurements,” Fonya said.


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He has been named regional sales manager for several Southern and Midwestern states
White Pine Trading, the recycled diamond and fine jewelry company, has named Seth Pepkin regional sales manager.
He will cover Southern and Midwestern states including Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Arkansas, and Kansas.
He has been in the jewelry industry for more than 10 years and has held sales positions with Epic Designs, EfuneUSA, Forum Design, Express Fine Jewelry, and most recently Simon Golub & Sons, where he remains a part-time consultant.
“We are excited to have Seth join the team,” said CEO Benjamin Burne. “Seth has had an impressive career providing stellar customer service that has spanned a vast network of retailers. We look forward to working with Seth to drive business and increase the company’s retailer relationships.”
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Disneyland has officially reopened, but if you’ve followed us over the past month, you’ll know all the hoops we had to jump through to get tickets!
Shanghai Disneyland was the first Disney park to reopen on May 11th followed by Hong Kong Disneyland on June 18th.
And today, Disney’s third international theme park reopened since closing down in February. Let’s see how the first day of Tokyo Disney Resort’s phased reopening went!
Now that California Governor Gavin Newsom says theme parks may reopen in Phase Three, Legoland has just proposed its reopening date.
The theme park located in Carlsbad, California is hoping to reopen on July 1st.


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Did the Xbox One do everything it needed to this year to come from behind?
Rockstar has added a few new Festive Surprise bonuses to Grand Theft Auto Online.
A new trailer for Dontnod's action-RPG Vampyr offers more information about the game's protagonist, Dr Jonathan Reid.
All right, kids, who's got the coolest Xbox Live crest?
Learn more about Sniper Elite 4's protagonist Karl Fairburne in this new trailer.
The first week of Xbox Store's "biggest sale ever" is now live, offering discounts of up 75 percent off for Gold members.
Mojang has released a big update for the console versions of Minecraft that adds a bunch of new content.


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08 July 2004 | Bob Papworth
The head of the Guild of Business Travel Agents (GBTA) has called for better relations between corporate travel managers and their outsourced travel management companies.
Philip Carlisle, chief executive of the GBTA, told the Corporate Travel and Expense Management Forum in London that constant retendering of outsourced contracts could destroy a good supplier relationship.
"It's a purchasing mentality to go out to re-tender every three or four years, almost regardless of whether corporate travel managers are getting the service they want," Carlisle said. "It costs a lot of money and a lot of trust. If you have a travel management company that meets or exceeds your requirements, why do it?"
Fellow panellist Mike Platt, managing director of BTI UK, part of Hogg Robinson, one of the UK's largest travel management companies, urged corporate travel managers not to feel threatened by outsourcing.
He said outsourcing to a travel management company saved money, but should not be seen as a replacement for the in-house corporate travel function.
Travel managers, Platt said, are best placed to communicate the policy and ensure compliance with a travel purchasing policy.
"Any company that lets go of that communication is misguided. Travel management is not all about getting deals. It's about communicating those deals internally," he said. "I would counsel corporate travel managers not to go out and try to get better deals, but to implement the deals they have better."
Louise Innes, supplier management consultant with Standard Life Insurance and a past chairman of the Institute of Travel Management, said travel managers have mixed feelings about outsourcing. "I am now responsible for permanent and temporary recruitment, and for waste management, as well as the strategic aspects of travel," she said. "The travel management companies have stolen my job.
"I'm not saying that's a bad thing, though. My company recognised I had certain skills, so outsourcing some of the day-to-day work was beneficial."


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Not all sunscreens are created equal. Many high-SPF lotions that are on the market may not be providing as much protection as we think--either because their ingredients or their instructions aren’t effective enough, say researchers.
That could help explain why even though sales of sunscreen products are rising--up 27% from 2009 to more than $1 billion last year--so is the incidence of melanoma, the most deadly form of skin cancer.
"Skin cancer is the most common form of cancer in the world, but it is also one of the most preventable," says Elizabeth L. Tanzi, M.D., a Washington, D.C. dermatologist and co-director of the Washington Institute of Dermatologic Laser Surgery. Sunscreen, she adds, is "a vital part" of skin cancer prevention--if it’s used correctly.
The problem is that we often don’t apply sunscreens evenly or frequently enough, or we assume from the packaging that we’re getting more protection than we actually are (and behave accordingly). Now new labeling rules by the Food and Drug Administration are aimed at changing that.
Keep reading to find out what the new regulations will mean.


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According a blog post over at GamerScoreBlog
(the blog of Microsoft Games' marketing team) there are no HD-DVD games in the works for the Xbox 360. The HD-DVD player which is due out later this year will be exclusively for movies. Sony is claiming that their Blu-Ray disc will offer gamers better games with bigger worlds. MS points to 'Oblivion' as an example of a huge game that fits fine on a standard DVD.
Continue Article ↓


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PC Brands, a California-based manufacturer of nutrition bars, today announced the release of Pop Culture Probiotics bars which are shelf stable all-natural bars. The "on the go" bars contain GanedenBC30(TM), a patented probiotic strain from Ganeden Biotech that does not require refrigeration.
The all-natural Pop Culture Probiotics bars come in a 90-calorie Yogurt Fruit and Nut with Cranberries, Almonds & Flaxseed bar, as well as a 110-calorie Chocolate Chip Granola variety. Additionally, the bars pack a powerful probiotic punch, delivering 10 times more live cultures than the leading probiotic-enhanced yogurts.
"We chose GanedenBC30 for this product because of its unique ability to survive and reach the digestive system alive where it can provide consumers with the most benefits," said PC Brands president Jack Kelly. "With their innovative probiotic strain, Ganeden Biotech is opening up new possibilities for consumers who want non-refrigerated probiotic-enhanced food products that can help regulate the digestive system. These bars are a great way for consumers to get their daily dose of probiotics in a convenient, great tasting on-the-go shelf-stable form."
Currently, GanedenBC30 is the only commercially available probiotic strain that can survive baking and other manufacturing processes. The ability of the strain to survive harsh manufacturing conditions and remain viable without refrigeration makes it ideal for inclusion in shelf-stable products like nutrition bars.
"This is a major breakthrough both for food manufacturers who want to add digestive benefits to their products and consumers who are increasingly demanding more functional food choices," said Ganeden Biotech CEO Andy Lefkowitz. "We are excited to be able to offer a probiotic that can be used in entirely new categories of food, including shelf-stable nutrition bars."
Probiotics are "good" bacteria that have been shown to improve digestive health and boost immunity. Unlike many probiotic strains currently found in popular brands of yogurts, GanedenBC30 is able to survive the heat and pressure of manufacturing processes, as well as the acidic stomach environment due to the protection of the bacteria by a naturally-occurring hardened shell of organic material.
Pop Culture Probiotics bars will be available online soon at http://www.popcultureprobiotics.com, as well as at select retailers.
About PC Brands
PC Brands is a new company started by veteran industry professionals with expertise in product development, nutrition and in sales across multiple channels. The company's mission is to provide consumers with all natural products that address specific nutritional and health needs. The Pop Culture bars are the first products to be introduced.
About Ganeden Biotech
Founded in 1996, Ganeden Biotech Inc. is based in Cleveland, Ohio, and is the largest seller of over-the-counter probiotics in the U.S. through its Digestive Advantage(R) and Sustenex(TM) brands. It also licenses its patented probiotic bacteria, GanedenBC30, for use in commercial food and beverage applications, medical foods, nutraceuticals and in animal health industries. GanedenBC30 is self-affirmed GRAS (Generally Recognized As Safe) by an independent panel of experts assembled to assess its safety in use as a food ingredient. For more information about licensing opportunities visit ganedenlabs.com and for probiotic supplement information visit digestiveadvantage.com or sustenex.com.


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Counties across the State of California are scrambling to get everything in order now that marijuana is legal, and the 3rd party vendors working with the state are using an API to try and bridge the regulatory needs of each county, as they look to regulate the brand new industry. It sounds like the marijuana regulatory API isn’t 100% ready for prime time, but it is interesting to hear that state is looking to “mitigate the burden of counties” when it comes to production of marijuana using APIs.
I have been curating news about APIs in use across the growing marijuana industry, but this is the fist story I’ve written on the subject. Now that I’m seeing APIs use as part of the regulatory engine for the industry, things are getting a little more real, and not just be about finding seeds, stores, and other industry data. I’ll keep scratching around to see what I can find out about the software vendors mentioned in the article, and see if I can get my hands on any documentation, or a link to any active portal. I’m curious to see where this marijuana regulatory API train is headed.
Since the marijuana industry is a completely new one for cities, counties, and states to manage, there is an opportunity to leverage new technology like APIs as part of the interactions between government entities, with the help of 3rd party providers. Maybe there is even some opportunity for revenue generation on top of these APIs, allowing for government to fund the software development in a way that it could also be used across other government systems. Push things forward with the rollout and expansion of the marijuana industry, and use that to fund other government systems that lack the funds, and are often years behind. The problems states face in working with counties doesn’t stop with this new marijuana industry, and there are so many other aspects of government operations that could benefit from APIs helping “mitigate the burden of counties” trying to comply with state laws and regulations.


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Huawei-owned Honor will launch its gaming-centric smartphone, the Honor Play, in India today.
The key highlights of the phone include its modern notch-based display, high-end internals, an in-house performance boosting GPU Turbo technology, and a haptic feedback for an immersive gaming experience.
Notably, the phone will go on sale via Amazon starting today itself.
Here's more about Honor Play.
How to watch the Honor Play live stream?
Honor Play will be launched in India tomorrow at an event in New Delhi. The event will commence at 11:45 am and those interested can catch the live stream on Honor India's official YouTube channel. Link: https://bit.ly/2AK5zhC
Honor Play: At a glance
Honor Play sports a 6.3-inch Full HD+ notch-based display with a 19.5:9 aspect ratio.
It is powered by Huawei's HiSilicon Kirin 970 processor, paired with 4GB/6GB RAM and 64GB internal storage (expandable upto 256GB).
In terms of optics, the phone gets 16MP+2MP rear-camera setup and a 16MP front camera.
Honor Play supports dual-SIM cards, runs Android Oreo-based EMUI 8.2 and packs a 3,750mAh battery.
Honor Play could be priced under Rs. 25,000 in India
In China, Honor Play was launched at starting price of CNY 1,999 (approx. Rs 20,100) for the 4GB RAM/64GB storage variant while the 6GB RAM/64GB storage model was priced at CNY 2,399 (approx. Rs 24,100). Reports suggest Honor could offer similar prices in India also.


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Microsoft Office 15 will open Office experience to tablets, smartphones: report
Office 15, the forthcoming software suite from Microsoft, incorporates the Metro interface from Windows 8.
Late last month, Microsoft launched a consumer preview of Windows 8, the latest iteration of its popular operating system, and the first to be designed as a cross-platform OS – software for use, in other words, on traditional desktops, laptops, and on tablets. Reviews have been mostly kind. Now Microsoft is releasing a very limited preview of its new Office suite, and according to one tester, the entire Office experience is about to be revolutionized.
The tester in question is Paul Thurrott, who runs Supersite For Windows, a popular tech site. Thurrott spent an undisclosed amount of time with the new Office software – officially titled Office 15 – and he says the products sits "visually, between the new Metro style and the traditional desktop." Metro, of course, is the tiled interface introduced with Windows 8. Thurrott's entire report is here; it's well worth reading in full.
But here's the bottom line: The new Office will be streamlined and in many cases simplified, with plenty of clean lines and Metro-style widgets. Of particular interest to casual users will probably be the new Word set-up, which includes "touch mode" – the ability to manipulate text by on tablet computers and smartphones. No longer will Word be confined to your laptop or desktop. So is that a good thing?
Maybe not, writes Preston Gralla of Computerworld.
"The vast majority of people will be using Office on traditional computers, not tablets, for many years to come and possibly always," Gralla argues. "Making Office more Metro-like is unlikely to make people more productive on traditional computers. As I've written before, I think Microsoft is making a mistake by designing Windows 8 for tablets rather than for PCs. I hope the company doesn't make the same mistake with Office."
For more tech news, follow us on Twitter @venturenaut. And don’t forget to sign up for the weekly BizTech newsletter.


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- 3 min read
ITB Asia 2021 Virtual opens today
The five-day long virtual B2B trade show will feature over 3,200 exhibitor showcases to meet optimistic demand of over 900 international buyers.
In a move to signify the travel industry in Asia gradually opening and braving new realities in leisure, MICE and corporate travel, ITB Asia 2021 opened virtually today. In the course of the next few days, more than 3,200 travel products will be showcased to international attendees. Besides, over 900 buyers, 400 sponsors and exhibitors from all over the world will come together to explore business opportunities and connect with travel trade suppliers and partners.
For the first time, Asia's leading travel trade show will run for five days, from October 25 to 29, as an entirely virtual event, bringing together international exhibitors with travel trade buyers and trade delegates. ITB Asia Virtual Conference is happening from October 26-28 and will feature a number of key industry speakers who will provide thought-provoking insights and presentations during the event.
Katrina Leung, Managing Director of Messe Berlin (Singapore), the organiser of ITB Asia, said, “This year will be the most important ITB Asia show to date. After 1.5 years, the tourism industry is showing promising signs of recovery, with testing, safe travel bubbles and vaccination campaigns increasingly normalising travel, but there is still a long way to go to reach pre-pandemic levels. If the pandemic, which caused closed borders, travel restrictions and strict safety measures, has taught us one thing, it’s that our industry must remain flexible and keep re-inventing itself. At ITB Asia Virtual, the industry comes together to establish high-quality networks, conduct business, and share valuable knowledge. What makes this industry so unique is its ability to always turn crises into opportunities and innovations.”
Berlin Brandenburg Airport (BER) and the Saudi Tourism Authority are premiering as Elite Partners of this year's ITB Asia 2021 Virtual show. A large number of visitors are expected to attend the webinars on October 26 (Saudi Tourism Board) and October 27 (BER) at 2 pm, which are curated exclusively for the Asian travel trade market.
The virtual exhibition continues to facilitate business meetings, showcase interactive digital exhibition booths, promote engagements through video calls and 24/7 chat functions for the show’s 400 sponsors and exhibitors from around the world, allowing effective engagements with key clients and partners.
Being a global stage, the virtual exhibition will feature destinations including Azerbaijan Tourism Board, Maldives Marketing Tourism Promotion, Meet Taiwan, Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy of the Republic of Indonesia, Japan National Tourism Organisation, Saudi Tourism Authority, Seoul Tourism Organisation, Singapore Tourism Board, Tourism Authority of Thailand, Tourism Promotions Board Philippines, Visit Scotland and Zagreb Tourist Board.
Under the overarching conference theme of The Decade Ahead: Braving New Realities in Travel, visionary pioneers and leading figures will gather at the 3-in-1 show ITB Asia, MICE Show Asia and Travel Tech Asia 2021 Virtual, sharing their up-to-date insights and discussing key strategies to lead the industry towards recovery and growth.
How to remove barriers to travel, accelerate international recovery and ultimately make sure the travel, tourism and MICE industries become more inclusive and sustainable? This is one of several big and important issues that the conference’s keynote sessions will cover.


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CEO Says Apple Is Less Arrogant Now That It's Under Pressure (AAPL)
Updated 10:58 am, Tuesday, February 26, 2013
In an interview with journalists he said, "Apple has [become] more flexible, paying more attention to everyone else, probably a little less arrogant than they used to be … I think they are probably a little more under pressure, and it is quite nice."
Ina Fried of All Things D was at the interview and reported the above quote.
Richard, like many telecom execs isn't thrilled that Apple has so much power. It has been able to charge more its phones, cut out carriers from collecting App Store revenue, and dictated when its send out OS updates.
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Now that Apple has run through the carriers willing to deal with its terms, it's probably having to soften to get its next group. As Tim Cook recently pointed out, Apple is only available to 50% of the people in the world because it's not available on half of the world's carriers.
In Richard's interview with journalists, he also suggested he's not too happy that Android and iOS are taking over. He's hoping for a third ecosystem. With a third ecosystem, carriers could play the various groups against each other to get the best deal for themselves.
But he doesn't sound optimistic about Windows Phone or BlackBerry.
On Windows Phone he says there's no "wow" factor with Nokia phones, and the operating system just isn't better than iOS or Android. On BlackBerry, he didn't have many specific reasons it wouldn't work, just saying they have a tough road ahead.


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I am now unexpectedly in the market for a diamond engagement ring. Married 17 years, at the age of 44, with a house, two children, and five pets, it’s not exactly the moment. Who needs to buy a diamond ring now, when college tuition, home repairs, and b’nei mitzva celebrations loom? Unfortunately, mine was stolen when my house was broken into last August. It was a beautiful 2.1 carat diamond in a platinum setting with seven serpentine diamond chips on either side, and it originally belonged to my husband’s grandmother.
My initial impulse was to find a pretty band complementing the one I already have, and walk away with the sparkly stacked look.
“You should have a ring,” was my husband’s quiet response.
Meanwhile, my 12-year-old son has dipped his big toe into the process of becoming a bar mitzva. Just a few weeks ago he met with our rabbi to put together a list of issues he cares about. Perhaps one will become the focus of his mitzva project. Topping the list, along with animal conservation and puppy mills, was, of all things, conflict or “blood” diamonds.
Conflict diamonds, according to a United Nations resolution implemented in 2003, are gems that originate from places controlled by forces that are opposed to legitimate, internationally recognized governments and that fund military action against the government.
My son, who doesn’t miss much, eventually weighed in. “Mommy, you’re not going to buy a blood diamond, are you?”
Anyone with children knows that there is only one answer to such a question.
I had heard about blood diamonds, but never really considered what it would take to avoid them. But a simple trip to a local jewelry store, or even to 47th Street — the center of the diamond district in New York — now seemed suddenly fraught.
My personal matter took on a more public turn, as blood diamonds screeched back into the headlines. On Dec. 28, Israel’s Diamond Exchange announced that it had expelled a longtime member for smuggling illegal blood diamonds from Zimbabwe into the country. A spokesman for the exchange said his organization “will not tolerate dealing in blood diamonds.”
But wait, if the UN has a definition for blood diamonds, adopted in the course of passing a resolution to halt the trading of blood diamonds, can I, in fact, go to a local jeweler to purchase a ring without worrying about contributing to terror? It was time to get my hands dirty. A few mouse clicks, e-mails, and telephone calls later, I have finally reached a conclusion — sort of.
A higher standard
The main result of that UN resolution is known as the Kimberley Process, named for the town in South Africa where it was conceived in 2000. It is basically a certification process that ensures all rough diamonds entering the international market come from legitimate mining operations through legal sales channels. Participating countries basically pledge both to ensure the legality of their diamonds, and not to do business with non-participants.
As of December 2009, 75 countries had signed on as members. Kimberley Process diamonds account for 99.8 percent of the global production of rough diamonds, according to its website. (In the 1990s, by comparison, up to 15 percent of diamonds were considered blood diamonds.)
Israel, by the way, currently holds the rotating chair of the Kimberley Process.
So what does all this mean for my possible upcoming purchase? According to one local jeweler, it means I am virtually assured of buying a conflict-free ring.
Henry Feldman owns Henry’s Fine Jewelry, located in Summit and Basking Ridge. He’s been in business since 1989, when he opened his first shop, then in Union. Once upon a time, he said, no one asked any questions about diamonds. “People didn’t question it, so retailers didn’t question it, and suppliers didn’t question it.”
But today, asked if one could purchase a conflict-free diamond in his shop, he said, “Not only can you get it, it’s the only diamond you can get.” He added, “Suppliers like to make sure diamonds come from the right sources, and they say so on their invoices.”
He estimates that only 5 to 10 percent of his customers ask if his diamonds are conflict-free.
“But it’s important for me to know, and when I sell, I can point it out to people,” said Feldman.
But critics say the Kimberley Process falls short, particularly in addressing issues in Zimbabwe, a Kimberley Process participant. Ian Smilie, a creator of the Kimberley Process, cites human rights abuses, with alleged government involvement, in diamond mines in a region of Zimbabwe known as the Marange. He and others say diamonds from this region continue to be smuggled into international markets and mixed with other diamonds.
Other critics say the UN definition itself is too narrow — that it focuses only on rebel groups and excludes child labor, state-sanctioned violence, and worker exploitation, not to mention the environmental damage inherent in mining.
Among this latter group are Beth Gerstein and Eric Grossberg, who founded Brilliant Earth in 2005. A San Francisco shop with an on-line store, Brilliant Earth sells what the proprietors call “ethical origin” diamonds that meet their specific criteria for conflict-free diamonds. They promise “Canadian diamonds, ethically sourced sapphires, and recycled gold and platinum,” as well as Namibian diamonds “mined, cut, and polished with fair labor practices.” It’s the fair trade coffee of the jewelry trade.
“Well-documented instances of torture, rape, and vast problems are getting past the Kimberley Process, which doesn’t address violence perpetrated by the government,” said Gerstein. “Millions of carats are exported legally even though these abuses are well documented.”
And yet, even as recently as last month, the UN General Assembly backed a resolution calling for countries to be more consistent and thorough in reporting the origins of diamonds. The resolution was proposed by the Israeli chair of the Kimberley Process, Boaz Hirsch, who also urged action on Zimbabwe and the Marange.
I’m still not sure what to do about replacing my ring, or what to tell my son. I’m glad local jewelers meet the Kimberley Process standards, but I wish they were higher. If I want to be really machmir (strict), I could buy from the folks at Brilliant Earth or a similar shop.
But, as it turns out, the best solution may be sticking with an antique ring similar to my original. According to Gerstein, not only is purchasing an antique diamond okay, it’s also environmentally friendly — it counts as recycled; there would be no way my purchase would contribute to the exploitation of workers or the propping up of corrupt regimes.
In any case, no matter what I do or which mitzva project my son ultimately chooses, he is already making an impact.


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RETAIL entrepreneur Andrew Wass has sold a minority stake in his online musical instrument shop to a private equity firm for £3.4m.
Key Capital Partners’ investment in Gear4music.com will help the fast-growing company to expand market share in Britain and continue its expansion into mainland Europe.
The York-based business sells well-known brands such as Fender, Gibson, Roland and Marshall and own-label items such as electric guitars and electric drum kits.
Turnover last year was £10.2m, up from £7m in 2009. Five per cent of sales are from Europe.
Mr Wass told the Yorkshire Post: “We are going to keep growing as quickly as we can and hopefully get to the stage where we will become the number one player in our market place. We want to expand into Europe, have lots more of our own brand products and serve our customers betters so they buy more from us.”
Gear4music.com was founded in 2003 and has a showroom at York Business Park.
Mr Wass said: “We are fairly sure that the future is going to be e-commerce backed with face-to-face retail. Doing both these things really well is where the successful companies are going to be.
“We might explore high street retail more in the future, but at the moment we are going to focus on online expansion plans.”
With the investment, KCP director Mark Buttler takes a place on the board. The company also gets a new chairman, Dean Murray, a non-executive director at French Connection.
Mr Buttler said: “The combination of established brand names and high-quality own-brand instruments has attracted a strong customer base with great potential for further growth in the UK market.
“We believe the company has a foothold in the European e-commerce market and we anticipate revenue from European markets to increase considerably following our investment.”
Mr Wass, who used to run a recording studio, sold computers online before moving into the musical instruments market.
His company sources own-label goods from the Far East.
Products include an electric guitar with amplifier package for £85.
Mr Wass said the business has benefited from consumers looking for “extremely good value”.


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This could be one of the biggest disasters for a company. Hackers stole the source code of Symantec’s pcAnywhere back in 2006 and have now claimed to release it to public. In the meantime hackers stole all source code for all the Symantec products i.e Norton Antivirus, Norton works, Internet security, etc.
The hackers had been threatening Symantec in a series of e-mail negotiations with what they thought were representatives of Symantec. The group is known as Yamatough, Indian hacker force operating under the umbrella of Anonymous, had been demanding a $50,000 payoff from Symantec to keep the source code private. Emails are published to Pastebin. Hackers tell Reuters that their intention was never to get the money but to release the code.
“All the Symantec source codes are now on sale! PcAnywhere, System Works, Internet Security and Norton GoBack with Utilities, NAV”, hacker said in one of his tweets. Source code is now available on Pirate bay.
“At this time, Symantec recommends disabling the product until we release a final set of software updates that resolve currently known vulnerability risks.”
“We have been conducting direct outreach to our customers since January 23 to reiterate that in addition to applying all relevant patches that have been released, customers should also ensure that PCAnywhere version 12.5 is installed, and follow general security best practices.”
On January 23, Symantec released a patch to secure PCAnywhere 12.5. And then on January 27, the company rolled out another patch directed toward PCAnywhere versions 12.0 and 12.1. The hackers, who call themselves The Lords of Dharmaraja, originally claimed they found the code after breaking into servers run by Indian military intelligence. But Symantec later revealed that the group had captured the code for PCAnywhere and other products by breaking into the security vendor’s own network in 2006.
But Symantec has insisted that since all the source code dates back to 2006, customers of the current versions of these products are at no risk. Though that may be true, the entire incident does raise the question of how a security vendor, of all companies, would be so vulnerable that its key source code could be stolen.
“As the extortion attempt by Anonymous indicates, we’re working with law enforcement right now, Therefore, given the active investigation, we’re not in a position to provide specifics on the incident at this time.”
Symantec is of course sitting silent, they are working on a number of things in order to prevent such mistakes in future:
Improved Network Defenses, Compartmentalized Access to Information, Improved Source Code Security, Improved Process Controls, Employee Education.
Anonymous believed that companies like Symantec had been creating scareware, malwares and spreading them to networks in order to scare users and promote it’s security products. What do you think, is that what Symantec and other security companies do?


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We’re caught up in 2023’s first wave of video game reveals this year, and PlayStation has some of the latest details for us coming up this week. Sony has announced a PlayStation State of Play will air later this week. During the event, we’ll be treated to looks at a number of PlayStation VR2 titles alongside the hardware’s launch. We’ll also get to see new details and reveals for the upcoming Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League.
Sony revealed the February 2023 PlayStation State of Play and what viewers can expect in a tweet on February 21, 2023. The next PlayStation State of Play will take place on Thursday, February 23, 2023, at 1 p.m. PT / 4 p.m. ET. It will air on both PlayStation’s YouTube and Twitch channels. As for what to expect, PlayStation revealed three major points of this particular direct:
The PlayStation VR2 launches on February 22, 2023, and already has quite a vibrant list of games that will be available on Day One. It seems we’re going to see some all-new upcoming titles that hadn’t been revealed as of yet. Moreover, it looks like we’re also going to see some new third-party games that are on the way to PlayStation hardware. Finally, the centerpiece of the action is going to be new details on Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, which had previously been delayed from a 2022 release window into Spring 2023. It seems very likely we could get a release date in addition to anything else shown during the showcase.
Unfortunately, it seems we won’t be seeing major first-party reveals such as Insomniac’s Spider-Man 2 and Wolverine during the February 2023 PlayStation State of Play. Nonetheless, it should be exciting for those anticipating Suicide Squad and the PS VR2. Stay tuned as we report on all reveals from the event later this week.
TJ Denzer posted a new article, PlayStation State of Play February 2023 to showcase Suicide Squad & PS VR2 games
State of Play always sounded like such a coldly detached name, like it's the title of a graduate thesis or something
Staying on theme for all of Sony's online and PR efforts.
"PlayStation Plus Essential"
Hell I was shocked that they came up with a really concise and artful controller name (DualSense) instead of just calling it DualShock 5.


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They do it to save time and they aren't the only ones who use them voluntarily
Most toddlers can feel a sense of accomplishment when they graduate to the big boy or girl potty, but some people in Japan voluntarily going back to wearing diapers.
Japanese media report the trend of wearing adult diapers is becoming increasingly popular, especially for women looking to save time.
According to Oddity Central, Japanese magazine SPA described the trend in an article titled "The Ultimate Form of Slob." In the article they talk about the masculinization of women who don't clean their rooms as often as they used to, don't shave and wear diapers.
[ More Daily Buzz: Kid licks entire NYC subway handrail on dare for a dollar ]
One 25-year-old woman, who would only be identified under a pseudonym, has been wearing a diaper to work at a real estate agency almost every day for the last six months. She does it to save time and the trouble of going to the washroom. She doesn't wear one when she's with her boyfriend and only wears them under a skirt because pants make it too obvious.
This woman is far from alone. Sales of adult diapers surpassed sales of diapers for babies for the first time in Japan this past May. However, a big part of this is Japan's quickly aging population, meaning there is an increasing number of people who require the diapers.
As a Bloomberg article points out, companies are rushing to get the biggest share possible in this booming market.
[ More Daily Buzz: Driver may have to pay for smashed Ferrari due to insurance small print ]
Japan is also doing some other interesting things with adult diapers.
Adult diapers aren't just a growing trend in Japan, they are also a tactic for gamblers. Casino-goers wear them so they don't have to get up to go to the bathroom and abandon their slot machines.
Tim Pelton, a professor at the University of Victoria's Centre for Addiction Research, learned of the trend from casino staff when studying signs of problem gamblers. Casino staff constantly walk the floors and see the diapers peeking out of people's pants and can smell the odour.
According to Digital Journal, in 2007 an Ontario company began selling adult diapers online. They hold nine cups of fluid, dry within an hour and are reusable.
(Photo courtesy Getty Images)


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Guesthouses Maldives Conference 2016 organized by Maldives Getaways, was held at Dharubaaruge. It was attended by over 160 guesthouse owners, leading travel agents from Maldives and biggest travel agencies and travel websites from around the globe and the region. In addition, 15 of the biggest business partners in the country were associated in the conference. This was a closed event engaged only by pure business leaders with presentations, dedicated product launchings and networking continued from morning to evening.
Morning sessions provided some useful insight on how to conquer potential travel markets through OTAs. These were presented by the global elites of tourism such as Booking.com, Expedia, Vista Rooms. Important analysis, in terms of safety and security, were provided by Hussain Rasheed (Sendi), an expert on diving experience, while constrains on development and hotel standards were highlighted by Mr. Ahmed Naseer (CEO, CMDA). The Premium Partners of the conference utilized its opportunity to unveil new and exciting products in front of 160 guesthouse owners. Afternoon sessions provided tax awareness information by MIRA, while Mega Maldives presented the importance of airline industry to the guesthouse Market.
In an exclusive interview given to Corporate Maldives by Dr. Sunny of Maldives Getaways stated that this is one of many annual events that is aimed at promoting and developing the untouched industries that bring in tourism revenue into the country. He stated that it was a very challenging event to bring in the owners from all over the country and the amount of support from our partners in proof that the conference was a success and that this was a market that needs further development in the country.
Guesthouses Conference is set to be an annual event and aimed at developing this industry further by bringing together the owners and players involved in this industry as well.


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During January of 2016, vape pens were on a healthy roll in Colorado. Sales had more than doubled compared to January of 2015, rising from $1.93 million during the month in 2015 to $5 million a year later. During the same period, the market share for vape pens had ballooned from 16 percent to 25 percent.
The upward trajectory of vape pens continued through 2016 and into 2017. New Colorado data for January of this year shows outstanding strength for vape pens, with $8.27 million in sales during the month. And vape pens’ claim on market share rose enough to oust the longtime market-share leader among concentrates — shatter. In January of 2016, shatter owned 27 percent of the concentrates market — making it No. 1 within the category — compared to vape pens’ 25 percent. But during January of this year, vape pens emerged as the top dog, with 27 percent of the market compared to shatter’s 22 percent.
Another interesting bit of data: cartridge-style vape pens grew enormously popular during the year, capturing 77 percent of the market in January of 2017 compared to disposable pens’ share of 23 percent. A year earlier, cartridge pens represented 64 percent of the vape pen market, and disposables grabbed 36 percent of the market.
The jockeying for dominance within the broad concentrates market, as well as the vape pen category, remains volatile and interesting. Consumer choice within cannabis evolves markedly as markets mature.


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iPhone 8 beats both the iPhone 8 Plus and iPhone X in benchmarks
iPhone X, iPhone 8 Plus and iPhone 8 are the first smartphones that can record 4K video at 60FPS
iPhone X, iPhone 8 Plus and iPhone 8 announced
Apple's plans for global contactless payments domination have taken another step forward with the announcement of Apple Pay in the UAE.
When it launches before the end of this calendar year, Apple Pay will support Visa and Mastercard debit and credit cards from six banks. These include EmiratesNBD, Mashreq, HSBC, RAKBANK, Standard Chartered and Emirates Islamic Bank.
Customers of these banks will be able to make pay with their iPhone 6S or later, or, an Apple Watch at participating outlets.
“We know our customers in the UAE will love the added convenience and security Apple Pay brings, and we can’t wait for them to start making easier and more private payments soon,” said Jennifer Bailey, VP of Apple Pay.


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Famous Footwear to close Inner Harbor store
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Famous Footwear is about to become the latest retailer to close shop at Lockwood Place.
The national shoe chain is holding a store-closing sale for its 6,000-square-foot Inner Harbor location, which opened in 2007. The store plans to close Dec. 22, according to a manager. Brown Shoe Co. (NYSE: BWS), the parent company of Famous Footwear, could not be reached for comment.
The St. Louis-based chain was among the first tenants to occupy Lockwood Place, which opened at Pratt Street and Market Place in 2006. Filene's Basement and Best Buy closed during the first half of this year.
Famous Footwear's move creates another void for property manager David S. Brown Enterprises Ltd. to fill. The Owings Mills developer has signed department store chain Marshall's to a 37,000-square-foot lease to fill the space vacated by Filene's Basement.
Although the Famous Footwear move is bad news for downtown advocates, it might be good news — at least in the short term — for deal-seeking shoppers with shoe lovers on their holiday gift lists.
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POMONA, Calif. - Oldcastle Precast Enclosure Solutions (OPES) has recently introduced its website specifically designed for the Enclosure Solutions segment of products and services offered by Oldcastle Precast.
The website is now live and available for public viewing at www.oldcastleprecast.com/enclosuresolutions.
“It is a great pleasure to announce the long-anticipated debut of our website,” said Britt Sweet, director of marketing for OPES. “We continue to make improvements to the site so our customers can easily access the information they need regarding our enclosure products.”
The legacy company websites will remain active for several months before they are redirected to the new OPES home page.
For further information about OPES products, visit www.oldcastleprecast.com/enclosuresolutions or call 800-735-5566.


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Monstermob slips as mobiles fashion rings changes
Monstermob, the AIM-listed ringtone specialist, is considering a sale of its British business after a slowdown in the market contributed to a £105 million loss at the troubled group.
The AIM-listed company, which was recently taken over by LaNetro Zed, of Spain, said that it was reviewing its UK division to “determine the best future for it”. It has not yet appointed advisers.
Martin Higginson, nonexecutive director and founder of the group, said that British consumers were spurning ringtones in favour of longer music tracks. “People don’t want ten seconds of a track anymore they want all of it,” he said.
The entertainment group is seeking to offset the ringtone slowdown by pushing other “rich media” services, such as music and games.


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As the majority of hotels in Houston and across the nation continue to struggle, their taxable value is coming into question.
Appraisal districts gave limited consideration to the impact of COVID in 2020 indicating it would be reviewed in 2021. Now that 2021 is here, there should be significant value reductions.
The financial pressures of the downturn in energy prices coupled with the widespread impact of the coronavirus pandemic have left the Houston hotel market more distressed than other big cities.
An estimated 4,600 energy-related firms are based in Houston. The downturn in the energy market translated into less business travel and declining hotel profits even before the pandemic began. In addition to the decline in business travel, Houston lost many energy-related conventions and events in 2020 that area hotels depended on.
Hotels in different submarkets have experienced the pandemic differently. Downtown Houston and Galleria assets, which typically cater to business travelers, have had lower occupancy levels during the pandemic than suburban hotels.
According to HVS, Houston hotel occupancy declined from a 2019 benchmark of roughly 63% to 42% in 2020 indicating a 21-point decrease. Average daily rate (ADR) declined from $102 to $81, which reflects a 20% drop from 2019 to 2020. Revenue per Available Room (REVPAR) is down 47% market wide. The market is expected to see a small rebound by the fall of 2021. A stabilized occupancy in the mid 60s is forecast to return by 2024.
The number of delinquent hotel commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) loans that have been transferred to special servicing nationally is at the highest level since the aftermath of the Great Recession.
Houston’s hotel delinquency rate sits at 73% compared with the national average of 19.8%. Some CMBS hotel properties in Houston are being reappraised at discounts of up to 60% of their original issuance appraisals.
Analysts don’t believe these types of discounts will materialize throughout the entire market. There is still hope that with the vaccine, there could be a reversal in travel volume that would bring business back to hotels.
The financial challenges facing hotels provide unique appeal opportunities this year. Thorough documentation can help individual properties prove their case for a reduced taxable value.