text:
A report on restaurant industry trends by Food Chain Workers Alliance in collaboration with the Restaurant Opportunities Centers United. This study aims to portray the primary aspects and practices of the high-road restaurant industry nationwide in relation to their supply chains, as well as to describe what it means to be a good food business, why it matters, and how policy can direct more companies to embrace these practices.
Eating Well announced the winners of the 2018 American Food Heroes Awards and our very own Joann Lo and Jose Oliva were among the 12 award recipients.
“To select the winners, EatingWell solicited nominations from top experts, advocates and readers. A panel of editors reviewed the submissions and narrowed down the finalists to those who stood out for their focus, creativity, ongoing contributions and, in particular, the achievements they had made in the past year.
Past award winners include celebrity chef and activist José Andrés; Lindsey Shute, the executive director of the National Young Farmers Coalition; Bob’s Red Mill founder Bob Moore; and Panera Bread CEO Ron Shaich.”
International Food Workers Week (IFWW) is held annually close to the week of Thanksgiving to engage the public about the importance of food workers and to move people to take action in support of the workers. Events or actions around the U.S. are organized by the FCWA, member groups, and allies.
During IFWW, on November 14, we are releasing a new report No Piece of the Pie: U.S. Food Workers in 2016. This update from our original report The Hands That Feed Us in 2012 will provide the most recent data on food workers and their wages and working conditions, highlights interviews with 20 workers throughout the food system, and shares solutions to addressing the problems they face.
Organize an event or action in your city! You can submit your event info here. Stay tuned for a list of actions and events taking place that week.
We emphatically reject the violent abhorrent actions that took place in Minneapolis against peaceful Black Lives Matters protestors. We call on our elected officials to denounce these terrorists with the same vigor as the attacks in Paris last week.
As the country’s largest private sector workforce, the nation’s 20 million food workers form the backbone of the economy. Over 40% of workers in the food system are people of color. However, the food system has the lowest wages of any sector in the economy. The legacy of slavery continues to plague the food system, and our society at large. The jobs that were once slave-labor; farmworkers, pickers, servers and others are now by no coincidence the lowest paid jobs in America. Unless we leave these chains behind we will not be able to move forward and value the labor of the people who put food on our table.
On this International Food Worker Week when we give thanks for our families and the food we are blessed to share, let us not forget the workers and their families that struggle every day to put food on their tables. As food workers we give thanks to the Black Lives Matter movement and our shared struggle to free us all from the legacy of slavery in our food system and in society.
*Food Chain Avengers: A Food Justice & Worker Justice Comic Book*
20 million people work in the food system in the U.S., joining millions around the world who labor on farms and in meat, poultry and food processing facilities, warehouses, grocery stores and restaurants. The food system is the largest employer in the U.S. and the majority of frontline food workers earn poverty wages. In the U.S., a third of food workers suffer from food insecurity and hunger.
The members of the Alliance decided to create a comic book focused on food workers in order to illustrate the issues facing these workers, as well as their efforts to organize to improve their workplaces, their communities, and the food system. Luis DeLeon, a restaurant worker and member of the Restaurant Opportunities Center of Chicago, volunteered to write the backstory for the comic book. He created five characters, each representing one of the five main sectors of the food system, and he called them the Food Chain Avengers.
The Food Chain Avengers comic book uses examples drawn from real experiences by workers in their respective industries, the five main characters of the story walk us through each of five sectors of the food chain: production, processing, distribution, retail, and food service. The comic book exposes the exploitative nature of the industry Vis-à-vis its workers, communities, and the environment. in addition, it tells the story of struggle to victory.
Food Chain Avengers is illustrated and written by artist Jerel Dye. Jerel is an Artist, illustrator, and designer based in Massachusetts. While in high school he worked as a pizza chef. You can learn more about Jerel’s work at https://jereldye.com/blog/.
You can order copies in English and/or Spanish using the form below. You can also download a PDF of comic book in color in Spanish, English, and Chinese. We have also developed discussion guides with suggested homework assignments for middle school students (Spanish here) and high school students (Spanish here)that list the Common Core English Language Arts Standards that the comic book and discussion guides address. We also have a discussion guide for adults (Spanish here).
*Re-posted from Gawker
*By Hamilton Nolan
Retail death star Walmart has just announced that it will be giving raises to all of its low-level hourly workers this year, and setting a minimum wage of $10 an hour next year. Walmart can see which way the wind is blowing.
Walmart, the largest company in America, with a value of $270 billion and sales of half a trillion dollars per year, does not do things to be nice. Its business model, in fact, is to squeeze suppliers and workers for every last cent in order to drive down prices to their lowest possible point and sell huge volumes and drive local small businesses to bankruptcy. They are the very embodiment of ruthlessness in business.
Walmart CEO Doug McMillon wrote that the company decided to give employees raises to $9 an hour this year, and $10 an hour next year, because of corporate conscience: “We’re always trying to do the right thing and build a stronger business. We frequently get it right but sometimes we don’t. When we don’t, we adjust… When we take a step back, it’s clear to me that one of our highest priorities must be to invest more in our people this year.”
Doug McMillon is lying. It is true that the Walmart corporation and its executives are always trying to build a stronger business, but it is clearly not true that this faceless machine for selling enormous quantities of manufactured good is “always trying to do the right thing.” In fact, Walmart is so committed to holding down the wages of its workers—keeping them in poverty—that it consistently fights any attempts of employees to organize, even as the company’s ownershave grown to become some of the richest people in the world. Dozens and dozens of current and former Walmart employees have explicitly described to us how Walmart is a bad place to work. The Walmart corporation does not do things for its workers in order to help its workers, out of kindness. To the Walmart corporation, workers are tiny gears grinding in a very large global machine.
Walmart is giving raises to its workers for one simple reason: it has to. The company is smart enough to see that the ongoing protest campaign against it by its own poor employees demanding a living wage will not end. It will not end, just like the similar campaign by fast food workers will not end. Not only will the cries of low-paid workers not end; they will be heard. Walmart knows that these demands must, eventually, be met. Because they are eminently reasonable. And more to the point, because America is a nation that is starting to realize in a very public way the the economic inequality that has been choking us for three decades now is unsustainable. The Walmart corporation and its well-paid executives and fabulously wealthy owners understand this simple truth: there are many, many more people who identify with Walmart workers than there are people who identify with the richest family in America.
Walmart is giving its workers raises. It is doing so because it doesn’t have a choice. This is a good example of rising public anger accomplishing something. Just a couple of dollars an hour, for now. More, soon.
Southern California United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Union locals 324, 770, 1428 and 1167 represent approximately 600 El Super workers employed at seven locations.
The unions and our El Super members called a boycott of El Super markets on December 20, 2014, in protest of El Super’s refusal to provide our members with Respect and a Fair Contract.
El Super employs low-wage and predominantly Latino workers. The workers at the Union stores were were covered under a contract with El Super that expired on September 27, 2013. For over a year the Union and the worker bargaining team have sought to bargain to improve the working conditions.
Unfortunately, rather than working cooperatively to meet their employees’ needs, El Super focused its efforts on persuading our union members to vote out their union. The company held captive audience meetings conducted by El Super CEO Carlos A. Smith, pushing a “No” vote. The workers were not fooled. On December 12, 2014 they voted – by a more than 3-1 – in favor or retaining their union, the UFCW. Indeed, more than 90 percent of the workers voted.
After the recertification vote, the union promptly sent a letter to the company asking for them to return to the bargaining table. El Super ignored and then rejected that request.
El Super’s actions, and its steadfast refusal to address the workers’ priorities such as more guaranteed hours, adequate sick leave, and fair pay, all led to the call for a consumer boycott of El Super markets on December 20, 2014
The boycott will continue until El Super workers achieve their core goal of winning respect and a fair contract. The outstanding issues include adequate paid sick leave, seniority rights, guaranteed 40-hour work weeks for full time employees, and a fair wage. The workers seek your support.
From UFCW Local 770, an FCWA member; UFCW Locals 324, 1167, & 1428; UFCW Western States Council; and UFCW International
Sign Street Vendor Projects’ Petition to Lift the Caps on Vending Permits and Licenses in NYC!
Sign the Petition HERE!
Members of the Street Vendor Project have been hard at work on an important legislative campaign to lift the caps on vendor permits and licenses. Despite attempts at making an honest living, vendors are subject to a litany of unjust regulations which make their work an incredible challenge. Since the early 1980s, an arbitrary cap has been placed on the number of available food permits and general vending licenses. This cap effectively makes street vending illegal for thousands of vendors and has led to the creation of a black market where permits (originally purchased from the City for $200) are now sold upwards of $20,000.
Lifting the caps on permits and licenses would decriminalize vending for hard-working immigrant communities, generate revenue for the City, and put an end to this illegal black market.
Join the Street Vendor Project, Urban Justice Center, Council Members, customers, and many other worker and immigrant rights organizations to support this bill by signing this petition!
The Farmworker Association of Florida
* By Bob Maschi, FCWA Volunteer
“Can you imagine rising before the sun, enduring long hours of physical labor, surrounded by the extreme Florida heat and humidity, as well as constant exposure to pesticides? And after giving your full, physical self you still earn deplorable wages and live in impoverished conditions?” – Tirso Moreno, General Coordinator of The Farmworker Association of Florida (FWAF), from the video: Sowing the Seeds of Justice
The Farmworker Association of Florida was formed in 1983 and expanded statewide in 1992. They now have over 10,000 member families and five offices in the state of Florida, including in Apopka (main office), Fellsmere, Homestead, Immokalee and Pierson. Their membership includes Hispanic, Haitian and African American farmworkers in over 15 counties statewide. Their long-standing mission is to build power among farmworkers and low-income rural communities to respond to and gain control over the social, political, workplace, economic, health, and environmental justice issues that impact their lives.
The organization’s philosophy rests in challenging the current agricultural system that keeps farmworkers and the rural poor in poverty, vulnerable to exploitation, oftentimes victims of intimidation and mistreatment, and subject to unsafe working and living conditions. FWAF harnesses the collective power of their ethnically diverse farmworker membership in order to build strong communities to create a unified force in which farmworkers can advocate on their own behalf for better laws, policies, regulations and systems for themselves, their families and for future generations of farmworkers.
The organization’s aggressive advocacy promoting fair and just conditions and justice for farmworkers and immigrants has resulted in many statewide and national victories. Over the years, FWAF has organized tens of thousands of farmworkers and supporters to participate in rallies and protests for social justice, including organizing some of the largest immigrants’ rights demonstrations in the state in 2006.
Through this work, FWAF has been successful in securing improved health and safety regulations for all Florida farmworkers related to transportation, field sanitation, and pesticide exposure. Many of the organization’s efforts involve the underreported dangers of farmworkers’ contact with dangerous chemicals, including pesticides. FWAF helped push through a state Right-to-Know law in 1995 and again in 2005 and conducts ongoing health and safety trainings for health care providers, and for farmworkers
The organization’s advocacy work also means that farmworkers in Florida are covered under Workers Compensation and minimum wage laws. FWAF has secured improvements in wages and working conditions for farmworkers in over 60 Florida companies, ran a citrus workers co-op for close to ten years, and created economic development projects in their communities. The FWAF has taken on an international profile with active participation in the National People of Color and Indigenous People Environmental Leadership Summits, the United Nations World Conference Against Racism, two World Social Forums and the Southeast Social Forum. FWAF is currently a member of the international organizations La Via Campesina (LVC) and the Coalition of Agricultural Workers International (CAWI). In addition, FWAF works in coalition with other groups in the U.S., including the Food Chain Workers Alliance, the Domestic Fair Trade Association, the Agricultural Justice Project, and the Rural Coalition, among others.
Farmworkers feed the world! Yet, big agribusiness gets a break on their taxes, while farmworkers break their backs working in the fields. They perform the hardest and most dangerous work, often face racism, detention and deportation. All that for pay that can barely provide for a subsistence standard of living.


text:
On June 27, the Alliance of Automotive Service Providers of Minnesota (AASP-MN) gave away a 2012 Custom Fat Bagger Razorback motorcycle and bike trailer in a special statewide raffle held to raise funds for the Minnesota Careers in Automotive Repair and Service (MNCARS) workforce initiative.
Dan Gilley, director of RLO Training, was the lucky winner of the bike, which was awarded during a lunchtime reception at the Veit Automotive Foundation Museum in Buffalo, MN. The event, which also provided an exciting tour of collectible cars and automotive memorabilia, was open to anyone who purchased a ticket. Valued at $30,000, the motorcycle and trailer were generously donated by honorary AASP-MN member Roger Bonn (recently retired from Peter’s Body Shop, St. Cloud) and his wife, Jill. The one-owner, original custom-built bike boasts a one-of-a-kind custom paint scheme and only 18,000 miles.
Dan, who is from Seattle, purchased tickets earlier this year while in Minnesota to conduct training at the AASP-MN Annual Meeting & Leadership Conference. Now, he and his wife, Paula, will soon have an exciting new addition back home. Not surprisingly, he is thrilled that the prize also comes with a trailer.
“I told my wife, 'If we win it, I can tow it home. It’s a long way from Seattle!’ I don’t think the first ride should be 2,000 miles; I think we should work up to that!” he said.
Launched in January and concluded in mid-June, the fundraiser sold over 2,300 tickets and raised more than $42,000 for MNCARS. Tickets were $20 each or six for $100.
“The number-one challenge facing the industry is the availability of a future workforce. MNCARS is all about trying to address that issue and attract young people into our college programs and ultimately into industry jobs,” said AASP-MN Executive Director Judell Anderson. “We had an army of volunteers selling these tickets for the motorcycle raffle. Many active AASP-MN committee members were out on the street selling them to industry vendors and customers. It was really a group effort.”
After deciding they were no longer going to ride, the Bonns chose to give one of their three bikes to AASP-MN to use as the Board saw fit to benefit the state's automotive community.

domain: news


text:
Gee. You think the peanuts actually contained peanuts? #Whodathunkit
Via The Daily Express:
Pensioner Peter Davy, 73, of Preston, fumed: “It says monkey nuts on the packet. What do they think is in it? Cheese?”...Booths withdrew 350g Whole Hearted Roasted Monkey Nuts because the packet did not state that the product was unsuitable for those with nut allergies.The Food Standards Agency has issued an allergy alert as the nuts could pose a health risk.Yesterday local shoppers in Lancashire blasted the lack of common sense involved.
Post a Comment


text:
This article is more than 1 year old
Android passes iPhone in mobile ad race
3,130 per cent climb in 2010
Android is firmly crushing Apple's iOS in the smartphone ad wars, according to a report released Thursday by mobile advertising firm Millennial Media.
The report, based on what Millennial Media identifies as "carrier, device and campaign data collected over billions of monthly ad requests," says that Android devices accounted for 46 per cent of mobile ad requesst in the fourth quarter of 2010 – the first time Google's open source OS had passed Apple's iOS devices on the Millennial network.
Devices based on iOS – including the iPad – accounted for 32 per cent of ad requests, while RIM pulled in 16 per cent.
Android-based ad requests grew 141 per cent from the third to fourth quarter of 2010; during the same period, iOS ad requests grew just 12 per cent.
Android smartphones started slowly after the introduction of T-Mobile's G1 in September 2008, and began to take off only after Motorola and Verizon aggressively advertised the Droid in late 2009. At this time last year, however, Android smartphones began to make their move – and, according to Millennial Media, Android-based ad requests increased a staggering 3,130 per cent during 2010.
Apple's iOS devices increased 14 per cent during the same period.
The iPhone, however, remains the number-one ad platform, with 12.45 per cent of all of Millennial Media's mobile-device ad placements. Apple's iPod touch is number three, with 6.47 per cent, sandwiching RIM's BlackBerry Curve, which is number two at 6.55 per cent.
After those top three, the Android takeover begins, with the HTC Nexus One (Passion) at number four, Motorola Droid at number five, and so on. Among Millennial's top 30 mobile devices, 16 are Android-based – and nine are from HTC.
Keep in mind that these aren't pure market-share numbers – those could only be determined by counting how many of each type of smartphone are in US smartphoners' pockets, and not by either counting how many have left the factory or, in Millennial's case, by how many ads are being served to them.
But the report does indicate, and indicate clearly, that the Android juggernaut is real, and that Apple and its iOS devices are feeling the heat. ®


text:
Indian footwear model Liberty Footwear has forecast a ten% to fifteen% development in gross sales for the upcoming summer season season from March to June 2023.
This was confirmed by Liberty Footwear Retail director Anupam Bansal in an interview with FinancialExpress.com.
Bansal stated: “Usually in worth phrases, winters contribute to nearly 55%-60% and summers contribute to 40%-45% since open footwears are priced a lot decrease than closed footwears.”
Based on the report, the model has recorded a development of almost 20% this fiscal yr (FY), with particular classes of the model, comparable to sports activities and athleisure, reflecting a development of 25% out of the general gross sales.
Aside from the 2 divisions, the corporate’s college sneakers enterprise has additionally recorded an upward trajectory within the earlier quarter. This development has contributed about 20%-25% of development.
In the course of the interview with FinancialExpress.com, Bansal revealed that the corporate is at present specializing in increasing its manufacturing capabilities to spice up manufacturing in India. He stated that the present aim will not be on importing the footwear.
Bansal added: “We produce nearly 35,000 to 40,000 pairs daily. Inside our plant, nearly 80%-85% manufacturing occurs in-house. The remainder of the manufacturing is evenly distributed between outsourcings. And in that, about 30% comes from imports. Nonetheless, it’s on a decreasing development proper now as a result of our dependence on the outsource financial system is decreasing drastically.”
This effort is additional anticipated to advertise the Authorities of India’s ‘Make in India’ and ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ initiatives.
Liberty Footwear owns and operates 450 Unique Model Shops (EBOs), with a presence in on-line shops in addition to multi-brand shops.
Bansal specified that future plans embody the enlargement of shops, with an anticipated goal of 50-100 shops on a year-on-year foundation.
He stated the corporate has already allotted roughly $1.216m to $1.824m (Rs100m to Rs150m) on-year capital expenditure.


text:
Lay’s Super Bowl ad 2022
TV Commercial Review
Heart or Humor
Lay’s is now delivering more smiles through the release of its first Super Bowl campaign in 17 years, reminding people to Stay Golden through life’s moments. The campaign kicks off with an in-game spot starring two comedic masterminds who have brought hilarity to fans on the big and small screens for years – irreverently funny best friends Seth Rogen and Paul Rudd.
Does Rogen have a stalker? Why are they on a retro road trip? In the commercial released today, fans finally learn that those moments were memories shared between Rogen and Rudd along with a bag of Lay’s. The journey down memory lane is filled with good times, scary times, and even some hilarious mishaps, and Lay’s was there through it all. The commercial makes one thing clear – this classic comedic duo has been a trio all along.
“I love working with Seth because we always have a good time together,” said Rudd. “Any chance I get to spend time with Seth AND eat potato chips is a win.”
Rogen and his longtime friend and writing partner, Evan Goldberg, collaborated with Lay’s on the script. Goldberg, the renowned director, screenwriter, and producer, who has brought fans some of the most beloved comedic movies of all time such as “Superbad” and “This is the End,” directed the commercial.
“I love Paul and I love Lay’s, so co-writing this Super Bowl spot was really a no-brainer!” said Rogen.
Starting Super Bowl Sunday, Lay’s is launching the #LaysGoldenDuet Hashtag Challenge on TikTok to help fans “Stay Golden” just like Rogen and Rudd did in the commercial. Fans are invited to duet a video of Rogen and Rudd’s road trip scene and belt out their own version of international superstar and five-time GRAMMY Award-winning artist Shania Twain’s hit song “You’re Still the One” with a friend.
“From everyday occasions to family holidays, to memorable moments with friends, everyone has joyful memories with Lay’s – a brand that’s been there, spreading smiles for decades,” said Rachel Ferdinando, senior vice president and chief marketing officer, Frito-Lay North America. “This campaign brings Lay’s back to the Super Bowl in a huge, hilarious way by staying true to our brand purpose and reminding us to ‘Stay Golden’ no matter what life throws our way.”
Additionally, to celebrate football fans who rally for their teams season after season, Lay’s recently introduced Golden Grounds™, a first-of-its-kind lineup of NFL-inspired chips, before NFL playoffs. The limited-edition chips were created using potatoes grown in fields mixed with sacred soil pulled directly from NFL stadiums and fields.
In addition to the in-game advertisement from Lay’s, Frito-Lay also has a second spot during the Super Bowl. For the first time, Frito-Lay’s Flamin’ Hot brand will have its own in-game commercial featuring both Doritos and Cheetos, showing fans what the world would look like with a little more Flamin’ Hot.
Frito-Lay and PepsiCo Beverages have also teamed up for a joint NFL Playoff campaign, Road to Super Bowl. The commercial features the breadth of the food and beverage portfolio and is aimed to excite fans gearing up for Super Bowl LVI with the help of five beloved Super Bowl Champions.
Funny and smart!


text:
7-Eleven to Let Customers Scan and Pay for Goods Via their Phone
7-Eleven is testing a new way for customers to pay for items as they shop at 7-Eleven retail locations. The Scan & Pay feature is being added to the 7-Eleven mobile app. Customers will need to install the app and sign up for the 7Rewards loyalty program in order to gain access to the feature. When customers are near a store that supports Scan & Pay, the "start scanning" option will appear within the app. Customers can then scan their items through the app as they go, adding items to their virtual basket. The app supports Apple Pay, Google Pay, or credit/debit cards for completing the transaction. Once customers have paid, the app generates a QR code that shoppers scan at the confirmation station before they can leave with their items. 7-Eleven is piloting this feature at just 14 stores in the Dallas area. It expects to expand availability of Scan & Pay over time.
Apr 10, 2020
Apple and Google will work together to build interoperable contact-tracing technology into both the Android and iOS phone OSes. The technology will use Bluetooth — which has a typical range of about 30 feet — to keep track of everyone you come near, so that public health workers can quickly look for additional new infections when someone is diagnosed with COVID19 (Coronavirus).
Nov 15, 2018
Instagram has integrated shopping deeper into its mobile app. The latest version of Instagram, which people use to share photos and videos, adds a shopping collection, or a way for people to save potential purchase items for later.
Oct 3, 2018
Facebook believes artificial intelligence will benefit buyers and sellers who use Facebook Marketplace. Moving forward, Marketplace will rely on several AI-based features to improve the usefulness of the neighborhood sales tool.
Apr 22, 2019
A new option has appeared in Google Pay that lets it automatically, continuously import "passes" (including tickets and loyalty cards) from emails received in Gmail. The option is disabled by default, but is available now for most users within the Google Pay app, under Settings > General > Gmail imports.
Feb 20, 2018
Google today released Google Pay, the revised payment application and service that replaces Android Pay. Google Pay encompasses most features of Google Wallet and Android Pay in a single app, allowing people to use Google Pay to make payments online and via mobile devices.


text:
Toshiba-owned smart-meter specialist Landis+Gyr has set a share price range of CHF70 to CHF82 (around €63 to €74) for its upcoming IPO, valuing the Swiss company at up to CHF2.4 billion. Toshiba will sell all of its 60% stake in the business, while the Innovation Network Corporation of Japan will offload its 40% holding.
The move comes as Toshiba looks to recover from the heavy losses sustained from its ill-fated acquisition of nuclear power business Westinghouse; Toshiba has already agreed to sell its NAND flash memory unit to a Japanese-government backed consortium, although that saga is still unfolding. Last month, Toshiba announced that losses in the 2016 financial year could total 995 billion yen (around €7.7 billion).
Landis+Gyr is expected to start trading on the SIX Swiss Exchange on 21 July under the symbol LAND.


text:
Consumers and initiatives like TV Everywhere are driving the video transcoding business to record revenues as their hunger for video anywhere and on any device.
According to a new report from In-Stat, this is forecast to surpass a $460 million market by 2015 for companies like Elemental, Harmonic, Envivio and Encoding.com.
The market for online video, delivered to multiple devices over unmanaged networks with fluctuating bandwidth, is driving content creators and service providers to produce multiple outputs of every piece of content they send out.
As more and more video content becomes available via the Internet and mobile networks, the need for video transcoding products that can ingest content in one format and output content in the video formats used for distribution will grow, said In-Stat.
“The industry is at the start of multiscreen delivery and TV Everywhere. Content providers expect in a few years that as much as 75 percent of their content will be available via the new distribution platforms,” said Michelle Abraham, research director at In-Stat.
“Multi-screen delivery, either directly on the part of content providers, or via pay-TV service providers, is driving a lot of the market for multiformat transcoders. In-Stat expects this to remain the case for the next several years. We define multi-screen as delivering content files or streams to displays of various sizes and resolutions, not just to the TV and the PC.”


text:
Apr 16, 2001
By Deborah Ng
LONG seen as a non-glamorous cousin of the high-profile cosmetics industry, the market for skin-care products in Asia is coming into its own finally.
|Good make-up is nothing without a clear complexion to work on, and Asian women are takng the adage to heart. -- JAMES HODSON|
And its circle of influence can only widen, say major beauty product industry players, as an old adage takes greater hold in the region: that good make-up is nothing without a clear complexion to work on.
Suppliers and manufacturers of beauty products say demand for skin-care products in Asia is creeping up on demand for cosmetics.
'The skin-care market in Asia is one of the fastest- growing categories in the personal care business,' said Mr Francis Sapienza, sales and marketing manager of Collfan Development.
Collfan is the sole distributor of the water-based skin care range H2O Plus in Singapore.
'Make-up has had a lead primarily because it was introduced into the Asian mindset earlier.
'But now that Asian consumers are becoming more concerned with the effects of the environment on their skin, they are devoting more energy to caring for their skin,' he explained.
Mr Sapienza expects sales for H2O Plus skin-care products in Singapore alone to reach US$1.2 million (S$2.17 million) this year and grow roughly 20 per cent every year.
Another player hooking onto this growing trend is Japanese cosmetics and skin care giant Shiseido, which enjoys double-digit sales growth in Asia currently.
Shiseido hopes to increase sales in Singapore to US$12.5 million by next year, from 1999's turnover of US$7.2 million - tapping into a growing demand for higher-end luxury skin-care products.
At the end of last year, the company launched a range called Cle de Peau Beaute in Singapore, including a lotion which retails at a jaw-dropping $844.60 per bottle.
According to Shiseido's senior manager Florina Wong, an average of 2.5 bottles are sold a day.
'More women are getting sophisticated and seeking top-grade prestige cosmetics and the ultimate in pampering,' she said.
'This demand has resulted in a luxurious beauty and lifestyle industry which is buoyant with new entry of upmarket mega-spas and beauty retreats.'
Avon Products' president and chief operating officer Susan Kropf agreed.
'Asia is a dream growth area, it's the future,' she declared.
According to Avon's own estimates, the Chinese use more skin-care products than anyone else in the world - almost double their usage of makeup and fragrances.
Singapore makes up but a fragment of total demand in Asia, say industry players.
Other hotspots include Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, China and the Philippines.
According to a cosmetics and toiletries market survey by the consumer market researcher Euromonitor International, the Asia-Pacific countries expected to see the strongest growth by 2004 are:
Even though Singapore is a relatively small market, it is expected to grow from US$298 million in 1999 to US$407 million in 2004.
This is out of the global sales of US$200 billion for cosmetics and toiletries that the Euromonitor predicts for 2004.
Taken from http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/money/story/0,1870,37273-987458340,00.html


text:
Ina Smith swept the mat lying outside the door to her compact recreational van. Her cat, Louise, slept inside.
Smith is a regular winter resident of Sebring, Fla., according to a report in the News-Sun. For 10 years she has repeatedly returned to the Highlands Wheels Estates — when she isn’t exploring New Mexico or South Dakota or going to the races in Daytona.
“I like to travel,” she said, “and as long as I have my health I will.”
There are many people like Smith, people who live on wheels, always eager to drive around the next curve; always delighted to meet up with old friends.
The individuals, couples, and families who live in recreational vehicles or trailers exist in a parallel universe. RVers have an identity, outlook, and language uniquely their own. It is one reason the RV park and campground industry is weathering these difficult times.
“The worst is over,” said Robert Cornwell, spokesman for the Florida Association of RV Parks and Campgrounds (FARVC). “With the economy and political situation the way they are things are unstable, but better than two years ago, much more positive. Of course, everybody wishes things were better, but given the economy, we’re doing better than many other industries.”
Linda Ekberg, at Holiday Oaks old Plantation Avenue, agreed. “Last year we had a waiting list, this year we had late openings,” she said. “We’re filling them up, but we’re usually filled, or have reservations booked, by September.”
At Sunshine RV Park on State Road 70, Tim Duncan said, “Business is pretty good, but could be better. We’re a little down. I’m hoping it snows — tons and tons of it.”
Cornwell said two years ago the industry was hurting. Dealers selling new RVs were closing, as were some RV parks. The recession caused the plunge in business. Now, changing technology winnows what is left.
With GPS systems, cell phones, iPads, cable and computers, customers often make reservations on the road, rather than in advance. “A lot of people are calling at the last minute,” said Pam Jessup of Bonnet Lake Camp Grounds.
Technology has changed the way parks do business too. “A good 20% of our reservations are made online now,” said Sue Lewis, who with her husband Jim, manages Highlands Wheel Estates.
She added, however, a bigger change was the park’s website and advertising online.
Another shift is the Baby Boomers who are going on the road. Cornwell said because of the economy, the big rise in numbers the industry expected did not materialize, but things would probably “equal out in the end.”
When these younger retirees arrive at a park, however, they expect Wi-Fi and a cable television hookup — at a minimum.
“Parks are having to keep up with the times,” Cornwell said.
Those that have chosen a resort destination model are typically doing the best, he added. Guests are looking for parks with swimming pools, top-notch facilities and opportunities for day trips.
The industry, said Cornwell, while well positioned, is still working its way back.
At the height of the recession, sales of RVs fell drastically. “Banks weren’t making loans for houses, they sure weren’t loaning money for RVs,” he said. What RVs and trailers did sell were used. Cornwell added, however, that sales of new RVs are picking up, which bode well for parks and campgrounds.


text:
We know D.C. Get our free newsletter to stay in the know.
After months of pouring coffee at the Glover Park-Burleith Farmers Market and Sunday gatherings in their apartment, owners of D.C. specialty coffee roastery Café Los Sueños opened a pop-up yesterday at fro-yo shop Mr. Yogato.
The coffee pop-up, the second to occupy Mr. Yogato, will operate from 7:30 to 10:30 a.m. Monday through Thursday. Café Los Sueños will sell cups and bags of single-origin pour-over coffee—and that’s it. Currently, the cafe has Ethiopian, Colombian, Guatemalan, and Salvadoran coffees for $3 a cup. Although the selection will rotate, Salvadoran coffee will always be on the menu, in honor of co-founder Carlos Payes‘s roots.
“We’re roasters, we’re not caterers,” says co-founder Elizabeth Ryan, Payes’ wife. Still, they may be “persuaded” to sell or give away cookies with cups of coffee. “Having food ultimately turns into a restaurant, and we’re more interested in being roasters and serving delicious coffee.”
Café Los Sueños will pour free samples of their coffee throughout this week but will offer loyalty cards in the future with the promise of a free cup after purchasing 10.
Payes left school in the second grade to work in the coffee fields of El Salvador and help support his family. He returned to school at age 13, and, with the support of his father, became the first member of his family to attend and graduate high school. He immigrated to the U.S. in 2005, took his GED, and launched Café Los Sueños with Ryan in May.
“Café means coffee in Spanish, and sueños means dreams—this is the American dream,” Ryan says.
Because education played such an important role in the cafe’s story, Ryan says a portion of the proceeds will go to Cup for Education, a nonprofit that supports education in rural Central and Latin America coffee-growing communities.
For now, Ryan says, they are committed solely to the mission of encouraging sustainability and helping farmers in coffee communities to combat poverty, although a brick-and-mortar cafe is a possibility.
“We will have a coffee shop probably some day, but in terms of where our commitment is, it’s to get as close to the sources as possible,” Ryan says.
Café Los Sueños at Mr. Yogato; 1515 17th St. NW. cafelossuenos.com
Photos courtesy Café Los Sueños


text:
A recall that began with a contaminated batch of peanut butter sold at Trader Joe's and which has now expanded again. The recall now includes raw and roasted in-shell and shelled peanuts, Sunland Inc. announced Friday in a news release posted on the Food and Drug Administration website...
The nuts were processed in the Sunland Peanut Processing Plant in Portales, N.M. The same plant processed the two Trader Joe's Valencia Peanut Butter varieties linked to an outbreak of salmonella bradeney, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Products in the most recent expanded recall include cookies sold at Whole Foods to nut butters from Harry & David, the protein bistro box at Starbucks to chocolate peanut butter cup gelato from Talenti.
The potential salmonella contamination could cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, the elderly or others with compromised immune systems. Healthy persons who get infected with salmonella experience fever, abdominal pain, vomiting and a most unpleasant distress of the lower intestinal system.
As of the most recent CDC report—released Monday—35 peanut-butter related illnesses had been reported in 19 states. Of those 35 people, eight people have been hospitalized, and 63 percent were children younger than 10 years old.
FDA analysis completed Saturday found traces of salmonella matching the outbreak strain in environmental samples taken at the New Mexico plant.
"We are most concerned about the individuals experiencing these recent illnesses," Sunland President and CEO Jimmie Shearer said in a statement. "Sunland is dedicating all of its resources to the identification and correction of any conditions which have created the potential for Salmonella contamination in any of our products. We are reviewing every step in our manufacturing process and are confident that the expertise being applied to the investigation will enable Sunland to take any necessary corrective measures and once again produce products that families will enjoy with confidence."
The first Sunland recall was issued Sept. 24. It was expanded to include other types of nut butters on Oct. 4.
The products recalled Friday were distributed to produce houses, grocery stores and online stores, according to Sunland's news release. Recalled roasted peanuts were distributed between April 12 and Friday and have best-by dates between Oct. 12, 2012 and April 12, 2013.
Recalled raw peanuts were distributed from Oct. 12, 2011 until Friday and either have a best-by date between Oct. 12, 2012 and Oct. 12, 2013 or a "crop year" marking of 2011 or 2012. (See below for a complete list of recalled products from Sunland.)
People who have purchased the recalled peanuts should dispose of them immediately.
In addition to the various peanut products and nut butters, ice creams, cookies, brownies, energy bars and even packaged lunches have been recalled in connection with the Sunland recalls. These products contained Sunland nut products processed at the New Mexico plant.
For more information, contact Sunland Inc. at 1-866-837-1018 or visit the FDA website dedicated to the recall.


text:
The iPad enjoyed more support from consumers when it was mere rumor.
That’s according to a new survey by online technology shopping site Retrevo. Before the launch, 26 percent of respondents said they were not interested in buying an Apple tablet. After last week’s announcement of the iPad, 52 percent said they weren’t interested.
Before the launch, 49 percent said they didn’t think they needed an Apple Tablet. After the unveiling, the figure went up to 61 percent.
The positive news for Apple is that most everyone knows about the iPad, which can’t be said for most competing devices. Before launching, less than half or 48 percent said they had heard of the Apple tablet. Now, with all the press coverage, only 18 percent said they haven’t heard about the iPad.
The survey found that users are more likely to gravitate to the Wi-Fi only iPad models. Fifty-nine percent of respondents said they wouldn’t pay more for 3G, while 29 percent said they would think about it. And 12 percent said they would be willing to pay for 3G service.
So what do you take from all this? Well, any device is gonna be more popular when you can ascribe all kinds of fanciful attributes and features to it. The reality usually can’t live up to the speculation so there’s bound to be some disappointment.
Critics also listing the iPad’s omissions probably haven’t helped the device either. Adobe Flash, a camera, multi-tasking, these are all popular features that will go missing on the iPad.
But I think we’ll just have to see how the buying public actually responds when they get to finally interact with the iPad and imagine it in their everyday lives. Yes, it reminds people of a big iPod Touch and that may curb some enthusiasm from people who were expecting more. But once people get their hands on it, they’re also gonna see this is more than just that.
How much more depends on developer and content provider support. But I’d say let’s see. We’re forgetting that the cheapest iPad will sell for $499 by late March, which is a lot less than many people were expecting. This isn’t as cheap as a netbook but the price is going to be very compelling, especially for Apple lovers and those people already thinking about buying a netbook or e-reader.
– Posted by Ryan Kim


text:
By Alfred Lee, The China Post
Taiwan exporters have successfully developed new markets in the Americas recently. Test Rite Group, a leading exporter of home products, recently secured orders valued at US$30 million from Soriana of Mexico. Collins Co., Ltd, another large trading company in Taiwan, will also sell its products to large home product channels in Central and South American countries in the second half of this year. Test Rite Group in March took over MDI of America. The acquisition marked the company’s diversification into the bedroom and kitchen room products.
Currently the company’s sales to America account for 71.14 percent of its total sales. Its major customers include Wal-Mart, Home Depot, Staples, and Stanley.
The company was selected in the Best Small Companies by Forbes last year, Best Supplier to Wal-Mart, Best Supplier to Sears and Best Supplier to Big W. Besides, Taiwan Ratings rated the company’s credit as Long-term Stable. All these factors show that Test Rite’s business culture is — steady aggression ensures a blooming result. The share of stock held by foreigners in the company has continually expanded — now over 30% — thus making it the second favorite stock held by foreign investors in the traditional business economy.
Test Rite reported that sales to its new customers such as Soriana, Sanderson, and MDI will have substantial growth this year.
The company also received large orders from Falabella, MB, Jusco, and HHC not long ago. Shipments to these customers are scheduled from the second through the third quarter. Orders to these new customers are valued at US$30 million.
The other big trading company, Collins, reported that its orders booked for the U.S. market would exceed US$30 million.


text:
Target has confirmed reports that hackers infected Target’s point-of-sale terminals with
malware (POS malware) to steal the payment card information from millions of customers, the retailer’s chief executive has confirmed.
The security breach, which yielded the personal information of as many as 110 million customers, was first identified on December 15, four days before the breach was publicly revealed, CEO Gregg Steinhafel told CNBC during an interview. Target revealed Friday that the security breach it suffered between November 27 and December 15 was larger than originally believed, yielding the names, mailing addresses, phone numbers, and e-mail addresses for near three times its original estimate of 40 million customers.
“Sunday [December 15] was really Day 1. That was the day we confirmed we had an issue and so our number one priority was … making our environment safe and secure,” Steinhafel said in the interview. “By six o’clock at night, our environment was safe and secure. We eliminated the malware in the access point, we were very confident that coming into Monday guests could come to Target and shop with confidence and no risk.”
Steinhafel defended the four-day delay in its notification process as necessary for investigators and consumer preparation.
“Day 2 was really about initiating the investigation work and the forensic work … that has been ongoing. Day 3 was about preparation. We wanted to make sure our stores and our call centers could be as prepared as possible, and Day 4 was about notification,” he told CNBC in an interview scheduled to air Monday.
The practice of payment card skimming at point-of-sale terminals has become more frequent in recent years, often victimizing customers of well-known retailers. Bookseller Barnes & Noble discovered in fall 2012 that hackers had broken into keypads at more than 60 locations around the United States and made off with customers’ credit card information. That same month, two Romanian men pled guilty to hacking point-of-sale terminals at hundreds of Subway sandwich stores in the US to steal credit card data from more than 146,000 accounts.


text:
J. Miles Reiter Returns to CEO Post at Driscoll’s
WATSONVILLE, CA - Driscoll’s has put into effect a planned leadership restructuring announced at the end of last week, including J. Miles Reiter reassuming the position of Chief Executive Officer.
As a fourth generation grower and the grandson of one of Driscoll’s founders, Reiter will continue to serve as Driscoll’s Chairman, a role he has held for more than 30 years, according to a press release.
“Over the past several decades, Driscoll’s has maintained strong success and growth. Through the tireless pursuit of fulfilling our company mission, we now delight consumers with fresh berries that bear the Driscoll’s brand name in more than 60 countries,” Reiter said.
The company said that Kevin Murphy, who was named CEO in 2015 after serving as President and Chief Operating Officer, will leave this position by the end of the year.
“Kevin has played a key role in leading this growth, and we’re grateful for his leadership and many contributions,” Reiter continued. “Reshaping our leadership structure allows us to adapt to our ever-changing marketplace as well as streamline our close work with growers and customers to meet the high expectations that consumers globally have of our berries and brand.”
In addition to that chance to adapt, the company expects this restructuring to support its mission to delight berry consumers through alignment of its customers and network of independent growers. Family owned-and-operated for more than 100 years, Driscoll’s concluded it is positioned for future global brand expansion with this organizational announcement.
Follow AndNowUKnow for all key leadership changes in the produce industry.


text:
5G is the next significant evolution in the mobile landscape, promising to deliver better and faster connectivity. The technology will also empower innovate variety of existing and new apps, including cloud gaming on the go.
Newzoo’s Global Mobile Market Report shows that there will be over 700 million 5G-ready smartphones active in the market this year (a market share of 16 percent), up from 206 million in 2020.
Despite pandemic-related setbacks in terms of 5G infrastructure and rollout, especially in emerging markets and in the West, manufacturers released an array of 5G-ready handsets last year. And consumers were eager to buy these models, completely shaking up our ranking of the top companies by 5G-ready devices.
Who is leading the 5G-ready pack? In this article, Newzoo will be looking at 5G-ready smartphones actively used in the market—in terms of general usage, not 5G usage.
Huawei overtakes Samsung as #1 manufacturer of 5g-ready smartphones
Huawei had an incredible 2020 in terms of its 5G-ready-smartphone sales. Owing to the success of devices such as the P40 series, the company became the 5G-ready market leader at the end of 2020. Huawei’s share of active 5G-ready devices skyrocketed from 8.6 percent in November to 27 percent in December:5G-ready smartphones.
Huawei’s home market, China, remains the leader in 5G device adoption; therefore, it’s no surprise that the company is also leading the market for 5G-ready smartphones.
But Huawei’s future position remains uncertain, owing to the U.S sanctions and the fact that it sold the Honor brand (reportedly based on sanctions situation). Soon after this sale, Honor began working with Qualcomm and MediaTek on 5G chips. Nevertheless, Huawei’s impressive market share as of December 2020 is undeniable.
Samsung falls to #2, but enjoys superior presence
Samsung was among the first major brands to push 5G in its flagship devices, with 2019’s Galaxy S10 series already offering 5G-readiness. This helped Samsung secure an early foothold in the 5G-ready-smartphone market, especially in its home market of South Korea. Newzoo’s Monthly Active Mobile Device Data shows that in December 2020:
- South Korea accounted for 21.8 percent of Samsung’s active 5G-ready smartphones.
- The U.S. accounted for 9.1 percent.
- And Russia accounted for 5.6 percent.
Samsung has since expanded 5G functionality to its non-flagship handsets, including devices in its Galaxy A series. As of December 2020, over 21.6 million active Galaxy A21 5G handsets were active worldwide, as shown in Monthly Active Mobile Device Data.
While newer entrants have taken much of the Korean tech giant’s share, Samsung still boasted a 5G-ready market share of 25.1 percent in December 2020. But its biggest competitor, the other half of the overall-smartphone-market duopoly, might be catching up.
Success of iPhone 12 in China Brought Apple into the Top 3 for 5G
In mid-October, Apple announced the iPhone 12 series, the first iPhones to support 5G connection thanks to their mmWave and Sub-6GHz 5G compatibility.
Newzoo expected Apple’s foray into smartphones to significantly bolster the uptake of 5G-ready devices, and that’s exactly what happened. After just one flagship release, Apple is now the world’s #3 smartphone brand by 5G-ready devices, boasting a market share just shy of 20 percent in December 2020:
Apple also enjoyed its best-ever quarter by revenues in its fiscal Q1 2021. In a conference call, CEO Tim Cook revealed that China had a record number of iPhone upgraders during the quarter. Total revenues from Greater China hit $21.3 billion, up +57 percent from last year.
The iPhone 12’s 5G capability was—and continues to be—one of the major drivers for Chinese consumers upgrading their handsets; after all, the country quickly and effectively rolled out its 5G network infrastructure. This certainly bolstered Apple’s strong 5G-ready performance and is reflected in Active Mobile Device Data for December 2020:
– 29.5 percent of Apple’s active 5G-ready smartphones were in China
– 24.7 percent were in the U.S.
– And 8.7 percent were in Japan.
Newzoo expects that the iPhone 12 series drive will further 5G-ready adoption in Apple’s key markets (including China, Japan, and the U.S.) this year and beyond.
We also expect to see Chinese brands continuing to perform well in the 5G-ready-smartphone space, including Xiaomi and OPPO, who also saw market-share jumps in December 2020.
One thing is for sure: when infrastructure catches up and the pandemic subsides, consumers across the globe will be ready to take advantage of the next generation in mobile internet technology. But how can companies stay up to date with active (5G-ready) smartphones?
Newzoo clients who subscribe to Monthly Active Mobile Device Data include some of the world’s biggest tech giants—as well as leading app publishers that have underlined growth countries as a strategic priority. Others, closer to the telecom sector, ingest the data into their business intelligence (BI) platform, combining it with their shipping or sales data.
This article has been written by Amsterdam-based gaming market insights firm Newzoo.
S. Korean operators to share 5G networks in remote areas
South Korea’s three major mobile operators, SK Telecom, KT and LG Uplus, have agreed to share their 5G networks in remote coastal and farm towns.
The initiative is designed to accelerate the rollout of 5G networks across the country, Yonhap news agency cited the Korean ICT Ministry as saying. The agreement signed by SK Telecom, KT and LG Uplus will enable 5G users to access 5G services regardless of their mobile operator in 131 remote locations across the country.
The ministry said telecom operators will test the network sharing system before the end of this year and aim for complete commercialization in phases by 2024.
The ministry noted that the selected remote regions are sparsely populated, with a population density of 92 people per square kilometer, compared with those without network sharing at 3,490 people per square kilometer.
1 million subscribers in 5g network
In addition, South Korea ended January with 12.87 million subscribers in the 5G segment after a net addition of almost 1 million subscribers in the first months of the year, Yonhap reported, citing data from the Ministry of Science and ICT.
As of February, the country had 13.66 million 5G subscriptions, accounting for 19 percent of its total mobile users. South Korea was the world’s first country to commercialize 5G in April 2019.
The big boost in 5G subscriptions during the first month of the year was due to the popularity of Samsung Electronics’ latest flagship Galaxy S21 smartphones, according to the report.
“Korean telcos are expecting a big surge in 5G adoption this year, with top wireless carrier SK Telecom aiming to have 9 million 5G users by the end of the year, and smaller rival LG Uplus targeting 4 million,” the ministry said.
SK Telecom added a total of 1.21 million 5G subscribers in the last quarter of 2020. For full 2020, SK Telecom saw the addition of 3.4 million subscribers in the 5G segment, according to previous reports.
Total mobile subscriptions in the Asian nation stood at 70.69 million at the end of January, with 4G subscriptions at 51.9 million, down 660,000 compared to December.
The move comes as the country races to establish nationwide 5G coverage, with network equipment currently installed in major cities.
The three telecom operators promised in July last year to invest up to 25.7 trillion won (US$23.02 billion) to update their network infrastructure by 2022.
Romania bans Huawei from its 5G efforts
The Romanian government approved on Thursday a United States-supported bill banning China and its mammoth telecoms vendor Huawei from participating in the country’s 5G development efforts, reported Reuters citing a member of the IT&C and National Security Committee.
Romania joins the likes of the U.S., UK, India, and Taiwan who consider Huawei to be persona non grata from their domestic 5G endeavors.
The 5G security concerns, which were ignited by the Trump administration’s trade spat with China, includes espionage, sabotage, and blackmail. The U.S. government considers Huawei as a security risk and has urged allies to shun its equipment over fears it could serve as a Trojan horse for Chinese intelligence services.
The consequences of the trade war have spilled over to Europe as it becomes the center of a technological race divided between Beijing and Washington. Earlier last year, Germany ruled to keep Huawei as a part of the country’s 5G future, delivering a diplomatic blow to the U.S., and favoring Chancellor Angela Merkel’s close relations with China.
However, these tensions with the Chinese tech titan have proved beneficial for European rivals Ericsson and Nokia, who have stepped in markets that dumped Huawei.
The fifth generation of mobile networks is expected to become the de-facto telecoms infrastructure that will set the stage for a wide array of services and products such as autonomous vehicles and the fourth industrial revolution.
“The government just approved this bill of paramount importance for Romania, sealing a 2019 memorandum signed in Washington, meaning that China and Huawei are ruled out from any would-be partnership on 5G with the Romanian state,” Romanian MP Pavel Popescu told Reuters.
The August 2019 memorandum entailed that the move would be “as part of risk-based security approach, careful and complete evaluation of 5G vendors is necessary.”
Romania has always considered the United States as an important ally, even before the country joined NATO back in 2004. In parallel, Huawei has repeatedly denied allegations that it reports back to the Chinese state and has even filed multiple lawsuits in the U.S. courts to battle this claim.
“National security is a key goal and protecting Romania’s future generations’ personal data is crucial,” Popescu told Reuters.
The bill says a vendor’s evaluation should say whether a company is subject to control by a foreign government, has a transparent ownership structure, and is subject to a legal regime that enforces transparent corporate practices.
Popescu said the bill, which could be rubber-stamped in parliament in the next weeks, is a prerequisite to launching 5G tenders in the Black Sea state in second half of the year.
Cradlepoint intros 5G edge router for in-vehicle networks
Cradlepoint announced its new R1900 Ruggedized 5G edge Router, designed for in-vehicle networks such as first responders. The device comes with a Cradlepoint NetCloud subscription service that includes cloud-delivered software, endpoints, training and support.
The global leader in cloud-delivered LTE and 5G wireless network edge solutions, offers the router which is optimized for in-vehicle networks and offers superior ruggedness, performance, security, connectivity, and utility in a purpose-built, compact design. Again, Cradlepoint sets the bar for 5G edge solutions.
According to a recent IDC report, the market for enterprise LTE and 5G routers is exploding and forecast to reach close to $3B by 2024.
Importance of 5G edge
As 5G proliferates, enterprise and public sector organizations will take advantage of secure and fiber-fast 5G mobile networks to enable immersive applications for field force productivity and enhanced customer experiences.
“While others view 5G as a simple add-on to existing products, Cradlepoint has taken a clean-sheet-of-paper approach with the R1900,” Todd Krautkremer, chief marketing officer at Cradlepoint said.
“5G is more than just a faster pipe – it enables transformative applications that help mobile workforces be safer and more productive while delivering better customer experiences. However, achieving these benefits requires a 5G mobile router that is up to the task from a reliability, performance, connectivity, security, and edge computing standpoint, and the R1900 with NetCloud delivers on all of these attributes,” he added.
Cradlepoint is a first mover in the “5G for Business” market, shipping the industry’s first enterprise-class 5G product back in June 2020.
Second-generation 5G architecture
In addition, the R1900 is the first product to launch using its second-generation 5G architecture – most network vendors have not shipped their first 5G product. The company’s early 5G and long-standing mobile and IoT experience helped create a global mobile platform that supports the fiber-fast speeds and breadth of use cases enabled by 5G worldwide.
Ken Rehbehn, senior principal analyst at OMDIA says that “Mobile applications and use cases serving the requirements of public safety and enterprise organizations continue to expand, forcing an embrace of high-performance 5G mobile broadband services and edge computing.”
He added: “In-vehicle routers, such as Cradlepoint’s R1900, provide an ideal platform for tying remote workers to rich 5G-enabled cloud applications that boost mission capabilities, helping save lives and reduce property damage.”
The latest: vaccines to be made available at Alaska airports
2.7 million products on display at China’s digital Canton Trade Fair
Google Earth adds time lapse video to depict climate change
Sanctioned Russian IT firm was partner with Microsoft, IBM
NEOM: A $500 Billion smart-city to be built in Saudi Arabia
5 Reasons Why… Telecoms is Important in Society
Telecom Sales Strategies that will Bring You Success in 2020
Advantages and drawbacks of Voice Recognition Technology
- Interviews3 weeks ago
Raghid Charara, Vice President and Khaled Chatila, VP of Business Development at ANALITICO
- Community3 weeks ago
Women feel burnout from male bosses during pandemic, Girls in Tech study finds
- Telecoms3 weeks ago
eSIM’s silent revolution on track with 3.4 billion users by 2025, report finds
- Technology3 weeks ago
Big Tech’s outsized influence draws state-level pushback
- Technology4 weeks ago
Ingenuity Mars helicopter prepares for first historical flight
- Fintech3 weeks ago
Would you like some Bitcoin with your Burrito?
- 5G3 weeks ago
Samsung and Marvell unveil chip to advance 5G network
- Technology4 weeks ago
AI robot vacuum slated for release this spring from Dreame Technology


text:
Pickleman’s Founder and CEO, Doug Stritzel, launched Pickleman’s in 2005 with the purpose of creating a nationally franchised concept. His dream succeeded with a sound economic model that provides the company’s franchisees with favorable returns, leading to significant internal growth. Today, the company comprises 29 stores across Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, and Indiana, and a location in McKinney, Texas, is opening in February 2024.
Stritzel proves that quality versus quantity still reaps profits and market growth. With a five-store development in Dallas and a four-store development in Indianapolis underway, Stritzel expects to have around 25 locations under area development agreements by the end of 2023 and plans to open six locations in 2024. Stritzel’s commitment to his franchisees’ success has given Pickleman’s an average unit volume in 2022 of $1.44 million, which is a leader in the quick-service restaurant sandwich segment, and 14.57 percent growth of same-store sales over the previous year for cafes that were open for the calendar year in 2021. “Over the past few years, we’ve spent time tweaking our systems to ensure that we’re ready for growth,” Stritzel says.
“Our niche in the segment encompasses healthier, high-quality food, freshly prepared. We believe we can serve fresh and healthy food with an artisan approach at a good value to the customer. Our artisan approach means scratch-made proprietary recipes resulting in foods free from preservatives, fillers, and antibiotics. Food is medicine, in my opinion, and today’s standards in this country are unacceptable,” Stritzel says. “It’s important to me that our brand serves food that we can feel good about, which has led to many proprietary products that we have manufactured.”
From bread with seven ingredients produced in a family-owned Saint Louis bakery, No Antibiotics Ever chicken and pulled pork from Tulsa, Oklahoma, to award-winning tomato basil bisque from Kansas City—Pickleman’s doesn’t skimp when it comes to all-natural, thoughtfully curated and sourced ingredients.
The robust menu features many made-from-scratch items, including salad dressings, sauces, and chocolate chip cookies to accompany its other proprietary products. This gives the brand over 40 main menu items with only 227 SKUs. This makes the cost of goods sold easy to manage, allowing Pickleman’s to appeal to a wide range of consumer preferences and a manageable business model for a franchisee.
With award-winning flavors, Pickleman’s has won Best Sandwich in Omaha for multiple years in a row, adding to 100-plus category wins in different municipalities for best sandwiches, best delivery, and best soup.
Alex Harrington, one of the brand’s largest franchisees with eight Nebraska locations, is no stranger to those accolades. After graduating from the University of Iowa, he worked for Pickleman’s Franchising in 2010, learned the operations, and helped franchisees grow the brand in multiple markets. After about a year, he had the opportunity to purchase the Lincoln, Nebraska, franchise location and realized his dream of becoming an entrepreneur.
Using Pickleman’s unique brand and systems and his tenacity, he has grown the Pickleman’s brand in Omaha and Lincoln, Nebraska. The company’s turnkey growth opportunity to launch and scale fast is substantial, according to Harrington, who is about to sign on five more locations in Nebraska and dreams of eventually having a total of 100.
“The biggest advantage to owning a Pickleman’s is creating a connection with the community,” Harrington says. “Supporting the community and being a true community partner is the starting point for our marketing strategy at Pickleman’s. You want to be a part of something that matters, a company that’s doing the right things across the board, and Pickleman’s does that for sure.”
By Jocelyn Winn


text:
The third tranch of the Centre’s Rs 20 lakh crore COVID-19 economic relief package, announced by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday, is a combination of relief measures and reforms, with the collecting aim of unshackling the agriculture sector and raising farmer incomes.
Over three tranches, the government has so far announced Rs 10.66 lakh crore worth of measures out of the overall Rs 20 lakh crore package. Sitharaman is expected to address three more press conferences till Monday to announce the full scale of the package, sources say.
The administrative reforms declared today include amending the Essential Commodities Act and reducing farmers’ dependence on the Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC).
Sitharaman said that with an amendment to the Essential Commodities Act, agriculture food stuffs including cereals, edible oils, oilseeds, pulses, onions and potato will be deregulated. A stock limit will be imposed only under “very exceptional circumstances” like national calamities or a famine with surge in prices. Further, no such stock limit shall apply to processors or value chain participants, subject to their installed capacity or to any exporter subject to the export demand.
The act was enacted in 1955 to check hoarding of essential commodities and offences under it are non-bailable. It was often used to conduct raids on traders accused of hoarding agriculture products to increase prices. However, experts warned that the prices of products had actually increased after the act’s implementation. This act was brought in when there was shortage of agricultural products—now, with many commodities produced in surplus, its relevance has waned.
In addition, bringing in a new APMC Act will allow farmers to sell their produce to private players directly instead of going through the government-approved mandis. Anticipating crowding of the mandis, the Centre had asked states to suspend the Act during the COVID-19 pandemic, in order to let farmers sell in more markets and hopefully follow social distancing. Madhya Pradesh was the first state to amend the law, while other states like Karnataka followed suit.
The privatisation of procurement received mixed reactions at the time, with some farmer bodies fearing that removal of this law could lead to farmers being exploited by big corporations. In their view, the APMC Act was a cushion against such malpractice.
Changes to the APMC Act and the ESA, however, have been under the Centre’s consideration for a while. The pandemic presented an opportunity to the government to enact these reforms.
In another initiative, Sitharaman said the government will finalise a facilitative legal framework to enable farmers to engage with processors, aggregators, large retailers, exporters in a fair and transparent manner. Risk mitigation for farmers, assured returns and quality standardisation shall form integral part of the framework. This will set up enforceable standard mechanism for predictable prices of crops at the time of sowing.
Sitharaman's third tranche was to create a Rs 1 lakh crore agriculture infrastructure fund that will finance projects at farm-gate and aggregation point for efficient post-harvest management of crops.
The Finance Minister said the government will provide Rs 1 lakh crore for the agri infrastructure fund while a Rs 10,000 crore fund will support two lakh Micro Food Enterprises (MFEs) for promoting health and wellness, herbal, organic and nutritional products.
Fishermen received a huge bonus from this package, with Rs 20,000 crore alloted through the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana. The goal is to develop marine and inland fisheries, to provide employment to over 55 lakh people and to double exports to Rs 1 lakh crore.
In addition, a Rs 15,000 crore Animal Husbandry Infrastructure Development Fund was set up. An outlay of Rs 4,000 crore was announced to promote herbal cultivation in about 10 lakh hectares of area with another Rs 500 crore earmarked for beekeeping initiatives that will help two lakh beekeepers.
Operation Greens—which was announced in the 2018 Budget in order stabilise the supply of tomato, onion and potato crops—will now be expanded to cover all fruits and vegetavles with an additional outlay of Rs 500 crore. The scheme would provide a 50 per cent subsidy on transportation from surplus to deficient markets and a 50 per cent subsidy on storage, including cold storages. It will be launched as a pilot for the next six months and will be extended and expanded.


text:
From the Blogosphere
Bringing DevOps to Pay TV | @DevOpsSummit #DevOps #IoT #Microservices
Continuous innovation is a concept that has taken hold with internet companies and other consumer tech companies
By: Mark Hydar
Mar. 8, 2016 09:30 PM
With live TV, there is no room for error. There's no reset button. Any mistake can have a catastrophic effect on their brand. If during the World Series or the Super Bowl or a Presidential debate a system fails to handle the capacity or load - it would affect millions of people around the country. Simply put, it's a front page news story waiting to happen.
Continuous innovation is a concept that has taken hold with internet companies such as Amazon, Netflix, eBay, Google and countless other consumer tech companies, but is still a relatively new concept in the world of pay TV. Because consumers have been conditioned to expect continuous innovation from the technologies that they interact with every day - from website experiences to the operating software on their tablets - their expectations towards pay TV have evolved to expect the same cadence of new product and feature releases as their other consumer technology offers. Unfortunately, our industry has a lot of catching up to do.
The pay TV industry has historically used waterfall software development techniques to develop new products. Waterfall's traditional, time-consuming methods typically result in one or two product releases a year. While that approach worked very well for years, it's no longer acceptable in a world where TV has been transformed by web, mobile and cloud-based technologies. Tech-savvy consumers now expect highly personalized experiences updated on a daily basis - not years. At home, they expect their TV to know who they are, what content they enjoying watching and the ability to access that content instantly, regardless of the screen they're using.
Compounding the issue is that there are new over-the-top TV services seemingly launching on a monthly basis that are beginning to offer the flexibility and personalization that consumers want. Consumers now have more choices than ever before, and can easily switch services with an app download. When you combine consumer sentiment with these new emerging services, it's clear that pay TV can no longer afford to innovate at a glacial pace.
How can we catch up?
A DevOps approach is now crucial in today's environment to respond to consumer needs, while also reducing time to market. DevOps lays the groundwork for ensuring the team that delivers the solution also supports the solution, and is engaged every day in ensuring the experience being delivered meets consumer demands.
Ericsson, a Swedish telecommunications company that provides the TV and multiscreen experience to over 100 global service providers including AT&T, TELUS and Telefónica, has taken a DevOps approach in its next gen TV experience platform. The new platform utilizes agile software development to enable continuous innovation and delivery of new functionality, developed in conjunction with customers every six weeks. With agile development, each new release of functionality is tested on users to ensure that new products are customer-centric and will be adopted successfully. This approach minimizes the risk of time intensive and costly launch failures, which is essential when introducing disruptive new initiatives.
Minimizing launch failure risk is especially critical when you consider the business-to-business-to-consumer (B2B2C) pay TV business model. The B2B2C model provides operators with the ability to create a truly immersive consumer experience that drives scalability and revenue without the burden of managing a time consuming and costly infrastructure, but the stakes are high for B2B2C vendors. In a traditional B2C initiative, if the development team impacts the customer, they are only impacting their own business. In pay TV, if our developers make a mistake, not only does it affect a service provider's revenue, millions of TV viewers are impacted.
With live TV, there is no room for error. There is no reset button. Any mistake can have a catastrophic effect on their brand value. If during the World Series or the Super Bowl or a Presidential debate a system fails to handle the capacity or load - it would affect millions of people around the country. Simply put, it's a front page news story waiting to happen.
At Ericsson, the Development Operations and the Deployment teams work hand-in-hand in a continuous engagement model to evolve products at the speed of consumer-focused web platforms like Amazon or Facebook. Working together, the teams are able to match the pace of the market to ensure the products are reflecting the latest trends and behaviors that consumers expect, such as personalized discovery/recommendations, multiscreen support, cloud DVR and advanced on-demand capabilities. Because developers no longer toss code over the fence to operations, when bugs are found they are fixed fast and fixed permanently. Near real-time speed of development plus increased code durability are essential for pay TV to remain relevant and competitive in today's environment, where choice is everything.
Switching to a DevOps approach has given us four major benefits:
A Cultural Shift
A successful DevOps mindset starts with team and organization culture. It is very much comparable to team sports culture. For DevOps to work there must be shared passions and goals. Just like managing a sports team, you can expect continual improvement but not perfection, and most importantly there must be transparency and clarity into the current state of the development and delivery pipeline. With this, customers will trust and embrace the DevOps model because they will experience lower risks and better control, and the ability to revert as fast as they want.
DevOps benefit developers and engineers, but also ultimately benefits your organization as a whole. Your organization will be more transparent, unified and collaborative than ever before. This collaboration will also inspire greater customer satisfaction and loyalty, improving your organization's bottom line.
The Time to Move Is Now
There are risks - moving too fast to push out a feature or service that's not ready for prime time can have catastrophic results. But if you get it right, the benefits to both your organization and to your customers are endless.
Reader Feedback: Page 1 of 1
Latest AJAXWorld RIA Stories
Subscribe to the World's Most Powerful Newsletters
Subscribe to Our Rss Feeds & Get Your SYS-CON News Live!
SYS-CON Featured Whitepapers
Most Read This Week


text:
While there are countless industries that have struggled since the beginning of the pandemic, one industry that’s facing major challenges and seismic changes is higher education. These institutions have been forced to completely rethink how they’re marketing to potential and current students. Whether it’s navigating new COVID restrictions, rolling out virtual learning, dealing with students […]
‘Above the fold’ is a myth. No really, there’s an entire web page and a bunch of data to back up such a bold statement. But we get it; you want your most valuable information to be front-and-center in case visitors don’t scroll. Here’s the deal, unlike in the nineties when scrolling was mostly discouraged, […]
It’s an impressive gaming universe, created on a shoestring budget (with a relatively small 6GB install size to boot) by a relative handful of incredibly dedicated and resourceful developers.
We recently had the opportunity to jump in the retail video phenomenon for our client, Lincoln Electric, a major manufacturer of welding products and related accessories.
There’s a tremendous opportunity to make price transparency real for patients and offer valuable information that helps them make informed healthcare decisions.
The Union Pacific Crossing Accident Reduction Education and Safety (UP CARES) public safety initiative reminds both drivers and pedestrians to stop, look and listen when approaching railroad crossings and to always expect a train.


text:
Anaheim, Calif. – The Winter NAMM show is in its second of four days, running Jan. 24-27 at the Anaheim Convention Center and more than 90,000 retailers, manufacturers, distributors and end-users are attending. As always, this massive music-products market has produced plenty of gear debuts, including several DJ-related products.
Testa Communications – publisher of DJ Times – is there with a dedicated exhibition booth. It’s also producing Convention TV @ NAMM, which provides on-the-spot show coverage.
After looking at DJ and pro-audio products yesterday, we now take a peek at new gear from the lighting, studio and accessories sectors.
Onto the Showfloor: From the lighting world, ADJ has debuted seven new products. They include: the Starship centerpiece; Entour Faze Jr., a compact faze machine; Starbar Wash, a portable four-head LED wash bar; 4 Stream DMX Bridge; Airstream Wifi Bar, a wireless switch pack built into a T-bar; and Rayzer and Contour, two new additions to the Startec series of effect fixtures. Related company Elation Lighting has debuted Rayzor 760 wash light, the Smarty Hybrid spot/beam/wash fixture, and the Protron Eclypse LED luminaire.
Chauvet DJ has debuted a number of new lighting products, including three battery-powered Bluetooth wireless technology lights – the EZLink Par Q4 BT and EZLink Par Q6 BT quad-color LED par fixtures, plus the EZLink Strip Q6 BT linear wash light – and the EZLink FS BT footswitch. Other Chauvet DJ debuts will include the Intimidator Spot 475Z moving-head light, the EZBar pin-spot unit, Scorpion Dual RGB laser, the Vivid Drive 28N video driver for Chauvet’s Vivid video panels.
HARMAN company Martin Professional is showing the ERA Profile fixture, the MAC Allure Profile fixture and the ELP LED ellipsoid fixtures.
From the studio world, Audionamix is showcasing XTRAX STEMS 2, its automatic stem-creation software. High-end studio-hardware manufacturer Bettermaker has debuted its new Bus Compressor. Distributed by TransAudio Group, the digitally controller VCA compressor features like digital recall, Dry/Wet and Highpass Sidechain. PreSonus has introduced its Studio Series USB-C 24-bit, 192 kHZ audio interfaces with five models – the Studio 24c, Studio 26c, Studio 68c, Studio 1810c and Studio 1824c.
Sweden’s Elektron has debuted Model:Samples, a 6-track, sample-based groovebox. JBL Professional is showing its JBL One Series 104 compact reference monitors.
IK Multimedia has debuted the iLoud MTM, a compact, nearfield reference monitor for professional- and home-studio applications. IK is also showing the new iKlip 3 Series of iPad- and tablet-mounting products. Blue Microphones has introduced the Ember XLR condenser microphone for home-studio applications.
Shure has launched its MV88+ Video Kit, an all-in-one solution for capturing quality video recordings on the go.
HARMAN company AKG has debuted the DMS100 and DMS300 digital wireless systems. VocoPro has introduced its Commander Series of wireless microphones, which includes handheld and headset configurations. Sony is showing its new PCM-D10 and PCM-A10 portable hi-res recorders, in addition to the DWX Digital Wireless Series and the UWP-D Wireless Microphone Packages.
Floyd Rose Audio is showing its FR-80BK 3D Bluetooth foldable headphones and FR-620BK Bluetooth earbuds.
In addition to showcasing its updated A2e custom in-ear monitor, 64 Audio has unveiled three new IEMs, including the A6t, A4t and A3e units – all of which feature the company’s tubeless technology.
Audinate is showing the Dante AVIO, a family of endpoint adapters that includes line-in and line-out analog adapters, an AES3/EBU adapter and a stereo USB adapter. RHC is showcasing the RAT FX RAT tail distortion cable, the RapcoHorizon V-Cable and the ProCo Sound Drop Snake Boxes and Wall Plates.


text:
Things are heating up with AT&Ts pending merger between WarnerMedia and Discovery. The $43-billion deal was supposed to close halfway through 2022, but now has been moved up to Q2 according to information shared on Wednesday’s earnings call.
“We’re encouraged with how the process for the WarnerMedia deal is progressing,” said AT&T CEO John Stankey on a call to analysts.
A “definitive agreement” between AT&T and Discovery was announced in May 2021. “This agreement unites two entertainment leaders with complementary content strengths and positions the new company to be one of the leading global direct-to-consumer streaming platforms,” Stankey said when that announcement was made.
The merger is pushing forward despite raising major concerns among Congress members that the two media companies joining forces could pose harm to consumers, employees, and more. On Wednesday’s call, Stankey commented that the process of having the deal approved was going as expected and that the company is making “final preparations” to complete the deal now.
The massive merger would put brands such as HBO, CNN, Animal Planet and Food Network under a new publicly traded company called Warner Bros. Discovery. “We love the new company’s name because it represents the combination of Warner Bros.’ fabled hundred year legacy of creative, authentic storytelling and taking bold risks to bring the most amazing stories to life, with Discovery’s global brand that has always stood brightly for integrity, innovation and inspiration.,” Discovery CEO David Zaslav said of the new name.
WarnerMedia shareholders would own 71% and Discovery shareholders 29% of the new company.


text:
Engine maker Cummins Inc. plans to sell its light-duty diesel and gasoline engine filtration operations to private equity firm Industrial Opportunity Partners, LLC, (IOP) for an undisclosed amount. Cummins said it plans to focus its resources on the needs of the medium- and heavy-duty engine market.
“Selling this part of our light-duty filtration operations to a strong buyer like IOP … allows us to concentrate on markets that are core to Cummins long-range growth plans,” noted Joseph Saoud, president of Cummins Filtration.
The sale affects Cummins’ Kuss Filtration business in Findlay, OH, and its filtration business at Bloomer, WI, along with Kuss operations in Sao Paulo, Brazil and Shanghai, China. Those operations are part of Cummins’ Filtration that specializes in filtration products for light duty diesel engines and smaller engines used in gasoline applications, including in-tank fuel filters.
Hasnain Merchant, a current Cummins executive, will become CEO of the new company, which will revive the name Kuss Filtration and be based in Findlay, OH.
During the transition period, Cummins said it will continue operating the business while working to ensure a smooth transition for customers, suppliers, employees and the communities where the businesses are located.


text:
Bitcoin Nedir Nasıl üretilir Bitcoin mining nedir? Kripto para birimi Bitcoin'e merak saran yatırımcıların en çok araştırdıkları konulardan biri de Bitcoin'in nasıl üretildiği. İşte Bitcoin üretimi . 27 May 2014. Bitcoin & Altcoin Borsaları ✅ Binance : http://bit.ly/BitcoinBorsasi Bitmex : http://bit. ly/bitmexuyelik FTX: http://bit.ly/FtxKayıt Crypto: Huobi: http://b. Sears Diehard Gold Warranty 17 Jun 2009. Sears Auto Centers carries the
8 Mar 2018.
Twitter is taking steps to reduce the amount of cryptocurrency scams on its platform.
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin, Elon Musk, or John McAfee.
him 0.1 ether, he would send them nothing, “because I am too lazy.
05/11/2019 · John McAfee has become one of the best-known Bitcoin supporters in the last year, but his story goes far deeper than being a crypto expert. He is considered to be one of the most controversial figures in the world of crypto and technology, with countless ups and downs throughout his life.
30 Aug 2018.
Except John McAfee's cryptocurrency wallet, which was only.
If the security community could tell you just one thing, it's that “nothing is unhackable.
as to prevent the estimated few thousand Bitfi users from being put at risk.
6 jan 2020.
A ruse to onboard new users. It worked. Bitcoin was first. It's an ancient technology. All know it. Newer blockchains have privacy, smart contracts,
Nothing Can Stop Bitcoin – John McAfee interview John McAfee is always controversial, a little sick with cough in this interview, but he still speaks his mind about the future of Bitcoins. Bitcoins are worth looking into, please don’t wait.
The Financial Armageddon Economic Collapse Blog tracks trends and forecasts , futurists , visionaries , free investigative journalists , researchers.
I know two of these wealthy people. I see them as friends and mentors. In this article, I will share their stories, as.
The blockchain space has grown exponentially over the last few years. When you think of its small beginnings when BTC was.
7 jan 2020.
John McAfee heeft zich weer uitgelaten over Bitcoin.
McAfee gelooft niet dat Bitcoin 'toekomst' heft omdat het de eerste blockchain ooit is.
Sears Diehard Gold Warranty 17 Jun 2009. Sears Auto Centers carries the DieHard Platinum Battery! Rated #1 by. Learn more about the most powerful and dependable DieHard Auto Battery Ever! Visit your. Axle's Rant: What happened to Battery Warranties?. How To Install a Battery In Your 4Runner (Sears DieHard Gold AGM) – Duration: 5:38. 5 Oct 2016. Up next.
Welcome to /r/Anarcho_Capitalism, a place to discuss free market capitalist anarchism and related topics, and share things that would be of.
Though this fall’s business and economic books were all underway when the pandemic struck, many address issues that have been.
John McAfee: “I do not think governments can stop Bitcoin” The war between world governments and Bitcoin has already begun. This is the opinion of the founder of MGT Capital Investments and the creator of the anti-virus McAfee Security, John McAfee.
‘The Most Crippled Crypto-Tech’ is Bitcoin. The popular tech entrepreneur and well-known cryptocurrency proponent John McAfee has once again said that his $1 million Bitcoin price prediction was nothing but a joke. He made that prediction back in 2017 when the cryptocurrency was surging and reached its all-time high value of around $20,000.
The 26-year-old had tested positive for a metabolite of cocaine, a substance banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), during an in-competition urine test last May, UKAD said in a statement.
6 jan 2020.
Volgens John McAfee is bitcoin een ouderwetse technologie. 'Nieuwere blockchains' hebben volgens hem meer mogelijkheden op het gebied.
A final wrap-up of how COVID-19 has been affecting cybersecurity, with our final regular update on the pandemic and cyber.


text:
More than 70 series, 100% original, will be launched by ViX+
in its first year of operations (50 had previously been estimated). “I don't recall any single service that during its first year of inception had offered even half that number of originals. And we are going to add and add to that year after year”, highlighted Rodrigo Mazón, EVP and general manager of ViX+ of TelevisaUnivision.
For Mazón there is no better time to be producing and creating content, especially in Spanish. “What undoubtedly sets us apart is a completely Latino approach. We believe that being two now (TelevisaUnivision), the combination of both companies so authentically Latino, with a history of decades of production, developing relationships with the creative community, with very strong businesses, on linear and cable, on radio, among others, gives us the opportunity to have and create a different proposal with what we believe will be the best content in Spanish, both in terms of entertainment, but also live sports, which complements a very unique proposal”.
ViX+ debuts today Thursday 21 in the US, Mexico, and most Spanish-speaking countries in Latin America, with a monthly fee of US$6.99 in the US and MX$119 in Mexico. The service will offer the first year 10,000 hours of entertainment, including the 70 series already mentioned, and original movies, which translates into a premiere of an original production per week. It will also offer more than 7,000 hours of live sports in the US and 3,000 live games per year.
ViX+ is available by subscription at vixplus.com
and the ViX app on several platforms and devices, including Apple iOS and Android mobile (mobile); iPad, Android (tablets); Fire TV, Android TV, Apple TV, Roku, Samsung TV, and DISH (Smart TV); Prime Video Channels, and YouTube TV, Sling TV (digital subscriptions).
Without disclosing specific figures, Mazón said that the company will be investing billions of dollars over the next few years in original, acquired, and sports entertainment streaming content.
In addition to the alliances previously announced, such as that with María Dueñas and her first series Los Artistas
); Eugenio Derbez and 3Pas Studios; Salma Hayek and Ventanarosa; they are "very close to close more."
The first series to be displayed will be Pinches Momias
, directed by Santiago Limón of Propagate Fuego. “It is a genre that I had never seen in a series that will draw a lot of audiences”.
“We want to be the home of the Latin American and Spanish-speaking creator”, he said, adding that the main pillar of the content strategy is what "we call in English ‘best in class, the best of the best."Watch a teaser of ViX+


text:
Behind Unemployment Figure, A Nuanced Outlook
The U.S. unemployment rate took a big tumble in November, from 9 percent to 8.6 percent, according to the government's monthly jobs data. Still, it's probably too soon to pop the champagne corks. A combination of forces caused the big drop, some good and some bad.
Getting a big fall in the unemployment rate is always good news in the White House, but President Obama was careful not to gloat at an appearance Friday in Washington.
"This morning we learned that our economy added another 140,000 private sector jobs in November. The unemployment rate went down," he said.
The president didn't make a big deal about the unemployment rate falling sharply — maybe because he's afraid it will go up again.
Diane Swonk, chief economist at Mesirow Financial in Chicago, says the president might be playing it down because there's another reason the rate fell so much: 315,000 people gave up looking for work.
"Many people are just not even trying right now," she says, "and seeing people just drop out of the labor force entirely is not the best reason in the world to have the unemployment rate move down."
Of course, the best reason to have the unemployment rate go down is because new jobs were created. There was some of that in November, but the headline number — 120,000 net new jobs — was not enough to bring the unemployment rate down.
That probably sounds like a contradiction — because it is.
The disconnect between the unemployment rate and the job growth number happens, says Swonk, because they come from two different sets of data. The headline unemployment rate comes from a survey of households. Meanwhile, every month, the headline job growth number comes from a survey of businesses.
"That's a survey of established firms, and it doesn't always capture changes in small business formation, the new businesses that are being created out there," Swonk says, "and we're starting to see some evidence that that may be picking up."
The fact is it takes a few months for the Labor Department to find those new businesses, like designer Anke Loh's new online fashion store, which was launched two months ago.
"In the online store you can see mainly scarves and shawls and a T-shirt line," Loh says. So far, she's the only person on the payroll.
"I do have freelance people, graphic designers, I mean, for every little bit of this company, I have people who help me," she says.
Loh says she hasn't received any forms from the Labor Department asking for the number of employees she has.
This is the kind of business that's not picked up in the statistics immediately, and it's much more likely to show up in the household survey because it's more grassroots than the survey of established businesses.
However, even if there are entrepreneurial juices producing jobs unnoticed in the official data, the economy continues to face many challenges. Right now, the darkest cloud may be the debt crisis in Europe. If there's a financial meltdown there, it would hurt the U.S. economy and the job market.
Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.


text:
Man finds bags of rocks in place of PlayStation
A Denver man says he got a big surprise when he opened up the Christmas gift he'd bought for his 13-year-old niece this week.
Igor Baksht told KMGH he thought he bought a PlayStation 4 for his teenage niece for Christmas but when he opened the box he found something different -- not quite coal, but close -- rocks, specifically two big bags of rocks.
"When I opened it I said, 'Oh my gosh!' You know," he said. He got the gaming console at Wal-Mart and when he confronted the store, he claims he got the runaround from various employees before being told the gaming console he'd purchased for his niece had been returned by a previous buyer. Apparently no one on the staff bothered to check inside the packaging before putting it back on the shelf.
Fortunately, Igor got his money back a short time later.
This type of scam is nothing new for Wal-Mart. There have been instances occasions over the last couple of years of people finding paper notepads in place of iPads they bought at the super store.