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Chatter about an Apple self-driving car had mostly died down until a well-regarded analyst revived it with a vengeance earlier this month.
In an Aug. 14 note, TF International Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo -- who has a reputation for being right about what Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL) has in its pipeline - predicted a car will be the company's "next star project."
Kuo forecast the Apple Car would debut between 2023 and 2025 with the potential to be as disruptive to the auto industry as the iPhone was to the mobile phone industry.
Rumors of an Apple car have percolated since early 2015, when a van with obvious self-driving technology was traced to the Cupertino, Calif., tech giant.
Since then, analysts and pundits alike have struggled to figure out what "Project Titan" - Apple's internal code name for the endeavor - would ultimately produce.
Clues have been sparse and sometimes contradictory.
It seemed clear the company had every intention of becoming an auto manufacturer when it was revealed in 2015 that Apple was hiring auto tech and design experts and had plans for recruiting up to 1,000 people to staff the effort.
But since then, there has been a strange mix of reports on the Apple self-driving car project. Executives came and went. There were rumors of partnership talks with manufacturers like BMW and Mercedes Benz that never bore fruit.
The "common wisdom" on Project Titan veered from an actual self-driving car to just the technology for one (which Apple presumably would license) and back to an actual car again.
But when you think about it, neither one of these options make sense...
Why You Won't Be Buying an Apple Self-Driving Car
Kuo's research note gave renewed credibility to the idea that Apple is indeed building an auto for sale to the public.
I don't think so.
Apple did briefly toy with the idea, but according to The New York Times, it kept running into roadblocks. Plans for a manufacturing plant gave way to a mostly futile search for a partner to build a car designed by Apple.
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Eventually, a partnership did emerge with Volkswagen. But for now, it appears to be limited to a project aimed at refitting T6 vans as electric self-driving shuttles tasked with transporting Apple employees between its two Cupertino campuses.
Beyond the manufacturing complications, selling cars is not nearly as profitable as selling iPhones, iPads, and related services.
Operating margins for the world's biggest automakers typically range between 3 and 8%. They're not much higher for aspirational brands. BMW's operating margins are about 10 to 11%.
But Apple's operating margins are three times that, usually falling between 27 and 30%. Even if Apple charged premium prices - pretty much a given - the margins on auto sales wouldn't come close to what the company gets from its other segments.
And falling margins don't sit well with Wall Street.
Then there are those who believe Apple is working on a package of self-driving car technology it will sell to automakers.
That's not likely, either...
Every Industry Is Wary of Apple
When The New York Times reported the Apple-Volkswagen collaboration on the self-driving shuttles, it provided some enlightening background on why the company's talks fell through with other automakers.
Most were reluctant to hand over too much control to Apple. They were concerned about Apple's dominant brand diluting their own, as well as which company would own the customer experience and relationship.
That's not surprising. Ever since Apple upended the music industry with iTunes, it has had a hard time convincing other large companies to enter into partnerships in which Apple will have significant control over the user experience.
In addition to its struggles with automakers, Apple has also had little luck making deals with video content providers to fulfill its Apple TV aspirations.
So if Apple were able to develop compelling self-driving technology, it would have a tough time lining up customers. Any automaker that didn't use its own homegrown tech would likely opt for that of another third party, such as Alphabet Inc.'s (Nasdaq: GOOGL) Waymo, that would pose fewer headaches than an Apple partnership.
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But if Apple isn't going to sell cars and it isn't going to sell its tech to those who do, what the heck will it do?
After all, no one doubts the existence of Project Titan at this point.
I believe there's a third option - the one option that best matches Apple's strengths and profitability requirements.
And it's the only explanation that fits everything we know...
This Apple Car Project Would Really Move the Needle
About the Author
David Zeiler, Associate Editor for Money Morning at Money Map Press, has been a journalist for more than 35 years, including 18 spent at The Baltimore Sun. He has worked as a writer, editor, and page designer at different times in his career. He's interviewed a number of well-known personalities - ranging from punk rock icon Joey Ramone to Apple Inc. co-founder Steve Wozniak.
Over the course of his journalistic career, Dave has covered many diverse subjects. Since arriving at Money Morning in 2011, he has focused primarily on technology. He's an expert on both Apple and cryptocurrencies. He started writing about Apple for The Sun in the mid-1990s, and had an Apple blog on The Sun's web site from 2007-2009. Dave's been writing about Bitcoin since 2011 - long before most people had even heard of it. He even mined it for a short time.
Dave has a BA in English and Mass Communications from Loyola University Maryland.


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Finger Furniture files Chapter 11, liquidating assets
Finger Furniture is liquidating its assets, according to reports, after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy last month.
KTRK ABC 13 was investigating undelivered Finger Furniture orders when it discovered the company was in the process of filing for Chapter 11.
"After several years of fighting to save our company, on Jan. 16, 2014, Finger Furniture was forced to file for Chapter 11 in Federal Bankruptcy Court,” owner Rodney Finger told KRTK. “We will be liquidating Finger Furniture starting Feb. 16. This process will help us pay our creditors and fulfill as many customer back orders as possible."
The case was filed in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas and assigned to Judge Karen Brown.
Industry publication Furniture Today reports that the company listed assets in the $501,000 to $1 million range and debts of more than $1 million.
The company began going-out-of-business sales at its two remaining Houston-area stores earlier this month, Furniture Today reports.
Finger Furniture closed its flagship Gulf Freeway location in late 2012 after beginning a going-out-of-business sale in August of that year. The Gulf Freeway location reopened in 2010 after all Finger stores closed during a companywide restructuring. The two other stores — in the Willowbrook and Clute-Lake Jackson areas — reopened after the flagship.
Meanwhile, the 4001 Gulf Freeway location recently sold to Houston developer Frank Liu, the Houston Chronicle reports. That 16.5-acre property went on the market in early 2013. Wulfe & Co. represented the seller, Amegy Bank, and Read King represented Liu, according to the Chronicle.
Liu, whose projects have included townhomes, single-family homes and commercial developments, also is considering redeveloping property in Houston’s Fifth Ward.
Olivia Pulsinelli is the web producer for the Houston Business Journal's award-winning website. Follow her on Twitter for more.
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The glitz and glamour of Spring and Summer 2022 New York Fashion Week (NYFW) may have ended, but the impact Black women had on the week still remains. Sis, read that again.
Unlike previous seasons where diversity in fashion week participants – from designers and models to invitees and influencers – were few and far between, this September’s schedule had much more memorable ‘for the culture’ moments. And, many of these moments were led by, produced from, or a direct result of the hard work and constant advocacy of Black women. I’d like to think the Black Lives Matter Movement – also a product of Black women – had something to do with it as well.
Not only was this a refreshing change from years past, but the increased inclusion of women who look like us signified a much-needed shift in NYFW. And in the industry overall – hopefully.
Long time icon and innovator, Brandice Daniel kicked off NYFW with Harlem Fashion Row (HFR)’s 14th Annual Fashion Show and Style Awards on 137th St. where HFR was founded. For the first time, her organization’s event was included as part of the official American Collections Calendar and provided a platform to highlight other Black women making moves in the fashion space including Meg thee Stallion’s stylist, Zerina Akers, who won Stylist of the Year,” model and philanthropist, Liya Kebede, who won the “Fashion Icon Award,” and fashion writer and editor, Constance White who presented during the night.
At the event, Daniel also announced incubator programs to help support the next generation of young Black talent and new store-front displays in Harlem highlighting Black designers. Event sponsor Stitchfix’s display will launch on Oct. 6 and features five Black women designers: Jamela Acheampong of Kahmune, Bettina Benson of Chloe Kristyn, Diarra Bousso of Diarrablu, Busayo Olupona of Busayo, and Robin Sirleaf of Sarep + Rose.
Following HFR, NYFW attendees were able to see more Black talent and designs in the Black in Fashion Council (BIFC) Discovery Showrooms spearheaded by BIFC co-founders Lindsay Peoples Wagner and Sandrine Charles. Committed to holding corporations accountable for their diversity efforts and providing robust support for Black designers and fashion creatives, BIFC was created in 2020.
Black women designers who presented collections as part of the BIFC Showroom this season include, Letesha Renee of the Eugene Taylor Brand, Samantha Black of Sammy B Designs, Jessica Rich, Amina Means of Nalebe, Bronté Laurent of Par Bronte Laurent, Mariama Diallo, of Sincerely Ria, and Neume Anekhe of Oma The Label. BIFC’s partnership with IMG also helped support Black women designers, Rebecca Henry and Akua Shabaka of the House of Aama, Marrisa Wilson of Marrisa Wilson NY, and, Undra Celeste of Undra Celeste New York, who held shows during NYFW as well.
FashionBombDaily creator, Claire Sulmers and Essence CEO, Caroline Wanga also lended their names – and multimedia platforms – during fashion week to increase the presence of Black women by hosting two seperate day-long fashion events. Events were the Bomb Fashion Show and Essence Fashion House, respectively. By curating unique experiences of multiple runway shows, intimate conversations and panels, and tailored shopping experiences, Sulmers and Wanga brought the runway to the general public and showed the importance of creating opportunities for everyone in fashion.
“We have been champions for diversity before it was a buzzword,” Sulmers said about her first Bomb Fashion Show during NYFW. “We are excited to continue to use our platform to fuel the dreams of this underserved yet powerful community.”
The Bomb Fashion Show and event featured several Black women in fashion including model and reality star, Cynthia Bailey, lifestyle and culture commentator Bevy Smith, and designer Oyemwen Oriakhi. Essence Fashion House featured influencer and stylist Kelly Augustine, model Tocarra Jones, and artist Sevyn Streeter.
Lastly, we can’t talk about Black women and NYFW without mentioning CaSandra Diggs, the current and first Black woman president of the Council of Fashion Designers of America.
While we saw the participation of up-and-coming designers and well-known influencers such as Christopher John Rogers, LaQuan Smith, and Dapper Dan last week, it was the emergence of newer Black women designers that had us saying, “Yasssssss” and “It’s about time.” Highlighted in fashion presentations, in-person runway shows, and virtual showings, Black women were more present than ever before. We can thank the Black Lives Matter movement, initiatives from insiders like those in the Black in Fashion Council (BIFC), and tireless advocates like icon Constance White, Fashion Bomb Daily’s Claire Sulmers, and Harlem Fashion Row’s Brandice Daniel for that.
Not only did last week’s “Black Girl Magic” moments signify a shift in NYFW, but they showed a more inclusive future for the industry overall. Below is a curated list of Black women designers who showed and made their mark at NYFW last week – many for the first time.
Bookmark them, follow them on social, and turn on your notifications. It is our time – and now, our obligation, to keep the momentum going.
1. Renee BishopSource:Getty
Renee Bishop brought what her site described as the “self-assured look for the Manhattanite” to the runway in a show at Spring Studios last week. Titled Deity NYC, her collection was a mix of feminine, body-hugging silhouettes, staple fabrics like leather and satin, and playful colorful notes. Each piece was wearable and perfect for the city girl who likes classic silhouettes and staples with a unique, youthful high end flair. Diety NYC has been worn by Destiny’s Child’s Michelle Williams and others. While this was one of Bishop’s first runway showings, she is no novice to the fashion industry. Bishop came from a family of seamstresses and fashionistas and was a model and stylist before becoming a designer.
2. Rebecca AllenSource:@rebeccaallenny
Rebecca Allen’s self-titled shoe collection was featured by Afterpay as part of their “House of Afterpay” Small Business Show. Afterpay was this year’s presenting NYFW sponsor. While Allen did not start off as a designer, after working in the finance industry she realized that it was time for a different path. As she looked for attire and footwear for work and play, she constantly became frustrated not finding the right nude tone heels to compliment both her skin tone and her looks. So, in 2018 she created them for herself and every other woman looking for the right shoe to match her skin tone and empower her wardrobe. What started off as one woman’s idea borne out of necessity is now available for everyone at Nordstrom.
3. Samantha BlackSource:sammybdesigns.com
“Small but we Tallawah” is the name of the Spring/Summer 2022 collection from Jamaican-American designer and Project Runway alumna Samantha Black, also known as Sammy B. Presented as part of the BIFC NYFW Showroom, Sammy B’s collection focused on her heritage and what it is to be a Jamaican American living in New York. Her most memorable looks included screen tees and decorated, exaggerated mesh. If Sammy B’s looks familiar it’s probably because of her celebrity appeal. Her clothes have been seen on A-listers from Gabrielle Union and Lizzo to Andra Day.
4. Tiffany Brown
With her Spring/Summer 2022 collection named “Lavender,” Tiffany Brown presented a runway show celebrating the healing nature of purple in midtown Manhattan. Outfits were flirty, fun, and featured options for men and women. When asked why she chose this color – which is the “it” color of the next season – Brown shared “Lavender symbolizes and represents spiritual healing, tranquility, easing of tension, and purification. Today, with this collection, we are celebrating the human spirit.” Hailing from Atlanta, GA, Brown is not only a designer, but a Black PhD as well. Brown started as a small boutique owner and is known for her structured, inclusive styles and designs.
5. Dur DouSource:Getty
Mother-daughter duo Cynthia and Najla A. Burt started Dur Doux as a lifestyle brand in 2013 in Washington, D.C. Known for mixing wearable pieces with edgy avant-garde designs and fabrics, Dur Doux is created for the woman who wants to stand out. Dur Doux’s Spring/Summer 2022 collection was presented during a rooftop, in-person fashion runway show during NYFW. Pieces included well-known resort wear prints such as palm trees and leaves, headwraps, vibrant tulle, and floral.
6. House of Aama – Rebecca Henry and Akua ShabakaSource:Getty
Established in 2015, House of Aama is another fashion house presented by a mother-daughter team. A brand that “exists beyond just creating clothes,” according to clothing’s site, the brand looks to tell stories by informing the future from notes of the past. Guests of the House of Aama’s Spring/Summer collection were transported to “SALT WATER,” a fashionable resort inspired by the legacy of Black communities from the 1950s. Models were presented in the form of cultural characters and took on the personas of sailors and the water spirits of Yemaya, Olokun and Agwe, spiritual anchors of African traditions in the diaspora. Attire included vibrant colors and silky fabrics, shorts and polos, and printed swimwear perfect for a resort.
7. Junny Ann HibbertSource:Getty
Harlem designer Junny Ann Hibbert presented “Mama,” a collection paying homage to her mother in a fashion presentation marking her first time to be featured on the official New York Fashion Week calendar. While Hibbert joked her mother, Alex Melceta Johnson, would be “turning over in her grave” if she knew of her new collection and profession in fashion, Hibbert noted how each piece was created with her in mind. The debut collection included colorful silk dresses, capes and caftans, and vibrant bomber jackets. Hibbert proudly boasted catering to inclusive, unisex sizes and styling.
8. par Bronté LaurentSource:par Bronté Laurent
Brooklyn-based Bronté Laurent presented her fifth collection in the fashion world, Dear Sunday, with BIFC. Filled with neutral colors, feminine slip dresses and blouses, and light summery fabrics, Laurent’s collection is perfect for the “careful Black girl” looking for effortless fashion. After working in advertising and PR, Laurent started her label in 2017 in her Brooklyn apartment. According to an interview with Voyage, Laurent credits her roommate for teaching her how to sew, sample fabric, and help her discover her true passion in fashion.
9. Letesha Renee – Eugene TaylorSource:Getty
Committed to showing the contributions of Black women in fashion, designer Letesha Renee told HelloBeautiful that she’s been wanting to be a designer for as long as she can remember. So eventually she stopped just helping other people and started also working toward her own dreams. In 2015, Eugene Taylor, a unisex design house was born. Part of BIFC, the Eugene Taylor Brand presented a Spring/Summer collection called Resilience. Offering trendy, genderless designs in both body hugging and oversized cuts, the collection celebrated the diversity and creativity within fashion.
10. Marrisa WilsonSource:Getty
Born and raised in New Jersey, Marrisa Wilson is a first-generation Guyanese-American designer committed to leaving her mark in the fashion world and the Black community. It’s no surprise that her Spring/Summer collection was multifaceted – drawing parallels between the 1960s Space Age and current technological advances due to COVID and inspired by the spirit of Motown, the Civil Rights Movement, and Black Lives Matter. Pieces included prints hand drawn by the designer, futuristic silhouettes, bold colors and patterns, and bucket hats. As described on NYFW.com, Wilson looked to tell a story of “a new, wild, digital age in order to ensure that Black people, women, and women of color are able to have access in participating and shaping what the future can look like.”
11. Studio 189Source:Getty
Co-founded by actress Rosario Dawson and Abrima Erwiah, Studio 189 is a luxury fashion brand headquarted in Accra, Ghana. The brand is known for its African and African-inspired content and clothing and supports various community projects in Africa and the United States. In other words, real life “Wakanda Forever.” Realizing the impact COVID has had on the fashion industry – and recognizing the importance of international textiles and merchandising – Dawson and Erwiah used traditional techniques in creating “Inheritance,” its Spring/Summer collection. Techniques include hand-weaving, patchworking, and natural indigo dyeing, and recycled cotton and upcycled denim from second-hand clothing sent to Ghana.


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The Yeezy Slides have been a hit throughout the year, but it appears that we will see more colorway debut in 2022. One of the following drops will come dipped in Black aka Onyx, which could be one of the more popular color options.
One of the more simplistic adidas Yeezy Slide releases, it comes covered in all-Black. Constructed with the usual build that includes injected EVA foam and a soft top layer in the footbed. Lastly, Black appears on the grooved outsole.
adidas Yeezy Slide Onyx Release Details
You can expect the adidas Yeezy Slide ‘Onyx’ to release at select retailers, including Yeezy Supply and the adidas Confirmed app, on March 7th, 2022. The retail price is $60. As soon as we have more information, we will make sure to update you. For now, check out another photo below.
Release Date: March 7, 2022
Style Code: HQ6448
Update (2/26): adidas has unveiled official photos of the ‘Onyx’ Yeezy Slide that will release on March 7th. The pair will also launch in kids sizing.
Update (2/3): The ‘Onyx’ Yeezy Slide is expected to release on March 7th for $60.


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Apple's iOS 8 addresses a serious weakness that could allow attackers to hijack the wireless network authentication of Apple devices and gain access to enterprise networks.
Google is turning on data encryption by default in the next version of Android, a step that mirrors broad moves in the technology industry to ensure better data security.
CloudFlare said it has engineered a novel way to handle sensitive encryption keys that allows organizations such as financial institutions to still use its caching service to fend off cyberattacks.
The breach of Home Depot's payment systems may have compromised 56 million payment cards as a result of malware that has since been eliminated, the company said Thursday.
Nine months after revealing plans to develop a decentralized and encrypted chat application, BitTorrent has opened public testing for Windows, Mac and Android versions of the program Wednesday.
A software development project launched Monday aims to create free tools that simplify the encryption of online forms of communication like email, instant messaging, SMS and more by solving the complexity associated with the exchange and management o...
Developers of the popular Enigmail email security extension for Thunderbird have fixed several issues that could have exposed messages users believed to be encrypted.
A file-encrypting ransomware program called CryptoWall infected over 600,000 computer systems in the past six months and held 5 billion files hostage, earning its creators more than US$1 million, researchers found.
Managing the keys of all your valuable resources, be they in the real world or the virtual, can be a hassle. Managing all the encryption keys for an entire enterprise is a harder challenge still.
Websites that aren't encrypting connections with their visitors may get a lower ranking on Google's search engine, a step the company said it is taking to promote better online security practices.
A new program that encrypts files to extort money from users highlights that attackers don't need advanced programming skills to create dangerous and effective ransomware threats, especially when strong encryption technology is freely available.
An open-source project has released the first free application for the iPhone that scrambles voice calls, which would thwart government surveillance or eavesdropping by hackers.
Developers of Tor software believe they've identified a weakness that was scheduled to be revealed at the Black Hat security conference next month that could be used to de-anonymize Tor users.
Email encryption startup Virtru has launched a version of its service for businesses using Google Apps, a market segment that the company thinks is showing increased interest in secure communications.
Cybercriminals are spreading a new file-encrypting ransomware program that's more powerful and resilient than Cryptolocker, a threat recently shut down by the U.S. Department of Justice.
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My first impression after unboxing the Q702 is that it is a nice looking unit. Styling is somewhat minimalist but very effective. The tablet part, once detached, has a nice weight, and no buttons or switches are located in awkward or intrusive positions.
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WITH the global population expected to reach nine billion by 2050, the United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimates that world food production needs to increase by 60-70 percent to meet demand. Add to this increasing regulation and consumer need for product traceability, and the food and beverage sector is at a crunch point.
So how can the sector face these pressures and protect brand reputation, employee safety and profitability? The answer lies in digital transformation – enabled by the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), the latest in edge computing and predictive analytics. And the most agile, productive firms embrace transformation in four key ways.
Smart Manufacturing – real-time response across the supply chain
Smart Manufacturing integrates devices, machines and processes with innovative software so that employees can operate a more efficient production floor, backed by real-time data, which has the ability to respond to evolving customer needs. In short, Smart Manufacturing means systems that are smart enough to tackle the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) manufacturing challenges of the 21st century.
US-based New Belgium Brewing Company — the country’s fourth-largest craft brewer with global export operations — identified gaps in its production chain caused by legacy systems and a lack of end-to-end connectivity.
Joe Herrick, Packaging Systems Manager, said: “With operations rapidly reaching capacity, we needed to address inefficiencies in our bottling lines to meet operating schedules. Transformation at low cost was the most viable option.”
The brewery collaborated with Schneider Electric to install MES/Performance, an ecosystem software that extracts data across the entire production chain. The results were impressive. Herrick said: “We have extended our packaging area capacity to about 1.3 million barrels each year.” This was possible without installing any new equipment. The software increased equipment effectiveness, reduced downtime by 50 percent and created annual savings of US$400,000.
Smart Facilities – optimising sustainability and profitability
Safe, efficient processing facilities with sufficient storage help reduce a firm’s carbon footprint — which can boost productivity and profitability. This is because smart facilities enable real-time assessment of equipment, predictive maintenance and power consumption to ensure efficient supply.
Dairy producer Fonterra is one of the world’s leading milk suppliers. Based in Darfield on New Zealand’s South Island, the firm’s milk production is time-critical and subject to strict safety standards. The plant faced a key challenge: to increase and ensure consistent production – not easy in an industry subject to natural interruptions.
“Fonterra is pushing the limits of scale and what’s possible, and that requires a lot of engineering input and knowledge,” said Glen Sullivan, Group Manager of Electrical Engineering at Fonterra.
Fonterra partnered with Schneider Electric and installed a solution based on EcoStruxure, its open, interoperable, IoT-enabled system architecture and platform that delivers enhanced value around safety, reliability, efficiency, sustainability and connectivity, along with a holistic power management system. This enabled a more streamlined supply with significant results, allowing Fonterra to process an additional 1.2 million gallons (4.4 million litres) of milk a day and produce 30 tonnes of milk powder every hour.
Smart Food Safety – an effective protector of brand reputation
As more processed food is consumed and production facilities expand to accommodate growing demand, food safety accidents due to contamination or mislabelling can have far reaching and deleterious effects, both on consumer health and on brand trust.
“Recalls, even successful ones, have become extremely costly. They can put companies out of business in weeks because of adverse publicity, government fines, production downtime and class-action lawsuits,” said Gene Grabowski, Partner of the Public Relations Agency Kglobal.
How can firms mitigate the effects of a product recall? By employing smart and automated food safety strategies that reduce the chances of contamination, human error and production disruption.
Traceability is the key to avoiding recalls due to mislabelling. In the US, up to 40 percent of products lack any indication of the presence of allergens. The recall of such a product can cost a company up to US$10 million. With a traceability solution, 100 percent of labels are checked.
When vegetable oil producer Oleificio San Giorgio decided to offer its customers 100 percent confidence in production traceability, partner Schneider Electric was able to create a complete solution that manages the vegetable oil production unit. This system provided a food defence system, truck and manufacturing traceability and even the GMO-free certification of its brand lines.
“To build a plant capable of processing 1,000 tons of seed an hour, 24 hours a day; by totally automating the arrival of raw material and output of finished product in less than a year and a half; we have found in Schneider Electric the right partner for our challenge,” said Nicola Tesser, Plant Manager at Oleificio San Giorgio.
Smart Supply Chain – end-to-end visibility that boosts supply
Against the backdrop of increasingly strict regulation and traceability, an economical supply chain is paramount. Producers need more ways to streamline end-to-end production while remaining responsive to external factors and legislation changes.
In the water sector, 70 percent of all fresh water usage is by the agriculture sector. Water supply management is therefore critical and technology is being deployed by farmers worldwide to reduce costs, stay sustainable and improve production.
Thanks to cloud technologies, New Zealand-based WaterForce can more effectively assist its farming customers to manage water usage, reduce wastage, and ultimately improve crop yield. The company partnered with Microsoft, Schneider Electric and AVEVA to develop SCADAfarm, a cloud-based water management solution that supports smart agriculture initiatives.
Farmers access SCADAfarm remotely so they can make real-time adjustments to irrigation that cater for weather observations and forecasts. “The machine might be saving up to 50 percent of its allocated water use, and I can contribute that to the efficient use of SCADAfarm,” said Craig Blackburn, Director and Farm Manager at Black Hills Farm. “I wouldn’t go back without it.”
The future is smart – and transparent
As customers demand more environmentally-friendly sourcing and supply, food and beverage manufacturers must work smarter to deliver the most premium service and product. Smart technology enables end-to-end production visibility — which, in turn, results in tangible benefits to employees, customers and corporations. As food and beverage firms embrace transformation, it’s clear only the smartest firms will enjoy growth.
Original article promoted on CNBC on August 2, 2018.
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Record-breaking solid state memory stores data at 100 times the density of Blu-ray
Scientists at the University of Alberta have demonstrated a new data storage technique that stores zeroes and ones by the presence (or absence) of individual hydrogen atoms. The resulting storage density is an unparalleled 1.2 petabits per square inch – 1,000 times greater than current hard disk and solid state drives, and 100 times greater than Blu-rays.
Ultra-high density storage devices aren't new, but they usually come with serious drawbacks that make them impractical in the real world. In the past, scientists have managed to store bits of digital information in a single molecule and even a single atom, but only in systems that had to operate at cryogenic temperatures, near vacuum pressure, or both. By contrast, this latest technology is designed work at room temperature and is expected to be able to preserve information without errors for over 500 years.
The researchers, led by PhD student Roshan Achal and physics professor Robert Wolkow, built on a technique previously developed by Walkow that used the tip of a scanning tunneling microscope (STM) to remove or replace individual hydrogen atoms resting on a silicon substrate.
The inconceivably small dimensions (a hydrogen atom is only half a nanometer in diameter) allow for an astounding data storage density of 1.1 petabits (138 terabytes) per square inch. By comparison, a Blu-ray disk can "only" store about 12 terabits of data in the same area (one hundredth the data density), while both traditional magnetic hard drives and solid-state drives store somewhere in the region of 1.5 terabits per square inch (a thousandth of the density). This development, says Achal, could allow you to store the entire iTunes library of 45 million songs on the surface of a US quarter-dollar coin.
Achal and his team demoed the technology by creating a 192-bit cell, which they used to store a simple rendition of the Super Mario Bros video game theme song. To show the rewrite capabilities, the scientists also created an 8-bit memory cell which they used to store the letters of the alphabet one by one, represented via their respective ASCII code.
Unfortunately, writing speeds still leave something to be desired. According to the accompanying paper, writing each 8-bit ASCII code took between 10 and 120 seconds, which isn't exactly practical for today's consumer products. However, the fact that this technology is built on silicon and uses materials that can easily interface with existing semiconductor technology bodes well for the future automation of the manufacturing process.
In fact, Wolkow is confident that atom-scale fabrication is on the verge of becoming commercially viable. His spinoff company, Quantum SiliconInc., is working on developing classical and quantum computers that would operate at room temperature and which, because of their atomic scale, would benefit from much reduced power consumption.
The study appears in the latest issue of the journal Nature Communications and is further illustrated in the video below.
Source: University of Alberta


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This post aims to take you on a short trip to the future of the hospitality industry.
The hospitality industry is not only about hotels, dining in and lodging. It is a wide platform of various fields of the service industry.
It comprises lodging, entertainment, event planning, transportation, cruise lines, food and beverages, recreational sports and many other services. In this article, we discuss the future of the hospitality industry.
We are talking about future developments in the hospitality industry in terms of innovation, technology and more.
From magnificent innovation in the hospitality industry like Driftscape to the visionary futuristic hospitality innovation in YUselect; there is a lot to rejoice in the hospitality industry.
So, please read on.
The Hotel smartphone apps will be a rage in the future
Millennials are the fastest-growing target segment for the hospitality industry (They are already over 30% of the population).
And Millennials are found mostly on smartphones and social media. isn’t it? (pun intended!)
A few reports mentioned the below statistics about the usage of smartphones and mobiles. These are from the surveys done in 2017/2018.
These figures are expected to be higher in 2023 and beyond as per the trends.
- 35-45% of travel agencies use social media for bookings.
- 40-45% of people use mobile phones for payment of hospitality costs. Mostly in restaurants.
- Within the hospitality industry, 35-45% of the bookings occurred online in 2018.
- To engage with customers, 90% of the hospitality industries are utilising social media.
- Up to 70% of the population tends to go for reviews.
The hospitality industry’s future is set to be impacted by these trends giving way to more smartphone-based services and greater social media engagement.
Hotels are taking it a step further by allowing guests to control their rooms and access services. In some hotels, guests use smartphones as room keys.
Also, guests can adjust lighting, and temperatures and change channels on TV.
So look out for Contemporary Hospitality Apps that are going to shape the future of the hospitality industry.
Information Technology thus holds the key to the future of hospitality and social media will have a big role to play in defining the steps.
Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality are the next big things in hospitality
Yes, AR and VR are certainly going to be shaping the hospitality and travel industry’s future.
The Beacon technology and augmented reality are push form of marketing initiative riding high on technological innovation.
In 2023 and beyond, it is expected that virtual reality is going to blow everyone’s mind.
Prospective customers can see themselves in your spa or hotel through virtual reality. Event planners and travellers can take a tour of your hotel, suites, pool and other areas. Marriott is already doing it.
Plus, Marriott has a lot of other innovations in hospitality to offer.
Augmented reality would be more important now after the Covid pandemic.
Through Virtual reality and Augmented reality, the guests would be able to enjoy places and culture in an enhanced manner.
That too even from the comfort of the room or by walking down the road of the locality.
Augmented reality would help to enhance the feel leading to better customer satisfaction.
This would include Gamification, interactive and augmented hotel environment to name a few.
Another rapidly growing trend using augmented reality is beacon technology.
This allows two-way communication between the guest’s phone and small beacons set around the hotel. They can be used to push the guests to use hotel services with promotional offers sent to their phones directly.
The Hotel industry is embracing technology to come up with Innovative Hotel concepts to amaze customers.
Read on to learn more about what’s in store for the hospitality industry in future.
Well, we have just begun.
Let’s continue taking a sneak peek at the future of the hospitality industry.
The Hotel services will get smarter in the future
We already have ‘Siri’ and ‘Alexa’ in smart rooms.
The hotel rooms and services are going to get smarter using a lot of top hospitality innovations.
Fasten your seat belts to have an enhanced service experience in the future.
Technology, innovation, and creativity will find themselves on the same page in future to come up with amazing things.
Let’s have a look at the 1-minute video about the future of hospitality shared by the Chief innovation officer of EHL, Switzerland.
Isn’t that interesting?
While this might be something that looks like a fictional movie it can soon be a reality.
So, how’s the future of the hospitality and travel industry going to be?
The hospitality industry is growing at a pace more than almost all other industries.
With time, the hospitality industry has transformed itself into a multibillion-dollar industry.
Expect a slew of innovations to come up to keep amazing customers.
Sustainability will be the future of Hotels
Millennials are driven by social responsibility.
If reports are to be believed, most of the Millenials would stay in hotel rooms that are committed to sustainability.
Green tourism is on the rise and hotels are using more and more recyclable products.
We are set to see the hospitality industry focusing more on sustainability and social responsibility in the future.
And the customers would love hotels to embrace the green culture.
Moreover, sustainability is not only environmental but also social and economic.
A bigger commitment to these is already evident among hospitality companies and is set to increase further in the future.
Organic Food and Stay Well Rooms will be more popular
Farm to table is a novel concept that is already quite popular.
Post COVID-19 this is set to reach new heights in the future.
Expect to have organic and fresh food on your table during your hotel stays in the coming years.
Similarly ‘Stay well hotel rooms’ would get more popular.
Stay well rooms contain wellness facilities and are oriented towards healthier living.
Amongst the gradual dwindling condition of the economy worldwide, the hotel and hospitality industry has kept on going by adding something or the other to make people happy.
The agenda is to make people happy by providing the best of luxuries and amenities.
This clearly ascertains the fact that the hospitality industry has a lot to offer and has a long way to go.
The Hotel of Future is something like Driftscape
Most people, when they travel, don’t spend their time in their hotel room.
Instead, they’d rather go exploring.
There’s Driftscape – a futuristic hotel idea that allows you to stay inside a “flying glass pod.”
Driftscape’s room pods are connected to the primary stationary hub but are detachable so guests can fly to a specific location. According to the HOK team, it’s known as a drone hotel.
With this design, it allows travellers a whole new way to explore the area.
Isn’t this interesting and novel? What an amazing hospitality innovation indeed.
HOK is a Canadian-based firm, which won the 2016 Radical Innovation Award – a hotel that looks for imaginative hotel designs.
Now, this is part of the bright future of the hospitality industry.
The hotel will have 10 to 15 flying pods that are affixed to the primary hub including the main lobby, restaurant, bar and lounge.
The pod will detach from the key part of the hotel, and the artificially intelligent system ensures the flight plan is followed automatically.
Guests can sit back and watch the world go by. Once the flight plan is over, the pod returns to the hub for reconnection.
Every pod has a dashboard with a camera so guests may take pictures as they fly around.
If Driftscape does become a reality, the cost would be the same as a luxury car rental.
Isn’t this great? The future of hospitality is filled with innovation.
If you look at the various Sectors of the Hospitality industry, you will come to know that the global economy is heavily dependent on how the hospitality industry performs in the future.
Everything and everyone is improvising. The hospitality industry is the fastest-growing of industries.
Because it is a myriad of different services, it has a wider aspect and scope to enhance and improve its operations.
Future can bring up a virtual concierge which can allow guests to tour the local places and landmarks.
Robots are already serving as receptionists in a few hotels. Automation is set to take centre stage in future in the hospitality industry.
Think of possibilities and you will find them all in range. The future of the hospitality industry will have a huge intervention of technology.
Look out for more trends of the hospitality industry and that will help us all imagine where the hospitality industry is heading.
The future is bright indeed.
So, what else can we expect to see in the hospitality industry in the near future?
Don’t be surprised when you walk into a fast food outlet and meet a smart-looking interactive robot to welcome you.


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David Bouchard is the new president of Flagler Global Logistics.
Bouchard has more than 30 years of experience in strategic planning, operations and sales and has worked in the international markets for food, retail, high-tech, automotive and consumer industries. Bouchard will be based at the company headquarters in Miami.
“We plan to expand our operations and value-add services on a global scale, strategically positioning the company to build a nationally recognized brand and solidify its position as a leading 3PL services company in the perishables industry,” Bouchard said in a news release.
Most recently, Bouchard was chief executive officer of DB Schenker Logistics for the Americas, where he oversaw more than 8,000 employees across the Americas. Prior to DB Schenker, Bouchard spent 22 years with Ryder System Inc. where he held multiple leadership including leading international and corporate strategy divisions.


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Results For "IPG"
28 News Found
Ad revenues to grow at +12.6% CAGR: Magna forecast
In OOH News By M4G Bureau - June 16, 2017
Shashi Sinha, CEO, IPG Mediabrands India to address & moderate OAC 2017 session on media planning & OOH
In OOH News By M4G Bureau - June 06, 2017
Shashi Sinha - CEO IPG Mediabrands India, manages the second largest media agency group that includes Lodestar UM, Initiative Media, BPN, Reprise, Interactive Avenues, Mediabrands Rapport & Magna Global in India
Sony India appoints Initiative Media as its media agency
In OOH News By M4G Bureau - May 30, 2017
The contract will officially kick-start from June 1, 2017 for a period of two years and will involve the agency to serve the gamut of product categories which includes BRAVIA, Xperia, Audio, Digital Imaging and Professional Solutions
Union Bank of India steps out to digitally empower senior citizens
In OOH News By VJ Media Bureau - December 20, 2016
The onground activity was ideated and executed by Rapport, the OOH agency of IPG Mediabrands India
Lodestar UM creates carpool karaoke in Tata Hexa with Rock On 2 stars
In OOH News By VJ Media Bureau - November 11, 2016
The Rock On 2 stars drove around the Bandra in Mumbai in the new Hexa, doing a high energy karaoke on their famous title track. The ride ended with them jamming and driving to the trailer launch event of Rock On 2 at the amphitheatre in Bandra.
OOH will complement digital and boost its growth: Sanjeev Goyle
In OOH News By VJ Media Bureau - June 18, 2016
Presenting the most futuristic session,"Planner's Purse 2025â€ on Day 1 at OAC 2016, Sanjeev Goyle, CEO - OOH & Rural, IPG Mediabrands explained that OOH is lagging behind as the industry has failed to keep pace with evolving nature of brands as well as consumers.
Sanjeev Goyle to speak on'Planner's Purse... 2025' at OAC 2016
In OOH News By VJ Media Bureau - May 31, 2016
Sanjeev has over 30 years of experience as profit centre head, and in areas like project management, product management, brand management, advertising & PR, research, sales, general management and strategic planning. Recently, he took over as CEO -- OOH & Rural, IPG Mediabrands.


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Sony Goes Live at CES 2021 With A Digital Presence Event
Sony has officially announced and launched its Digital Presence event for CES 2021 called “Sony Square” starting at 5pm eastern, (2pm Pacific), today with the entire show coverage running until January 14th 2021!
While we’ve not received any word of any Sony Alpha camera gear being announced or released, being CES, you never know what can happen. Especially since it’s already been leaked that Sony has registered 3 new cameras and a new 35mm f/1.4 GM Lens in Asia), CES would be the perfect place to make those official announcements.
We don’t have any particular info at the time of this announcement but we’ll check back in and include any video embeds as we find the links. Until then, be sure to check out the Sony Square website for everything Sony at CES and be sure to let us know what you think of the reveals in the comments below.


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SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters)—The launch of Apple Incs latest operating system, Leopard, was its best ever, a research group said on Monday.
When comparing the first full month of sales of Apple Mac OS 10.5 “Leopard” (November 2007) to the first full month of sales for Mac OS 10.4 “Tiger” (May 2005), dollar volume for Leopard was up 32.8 percent and unit volume up 20.5 percent, NPD Group Inc said in a statement.
Apple, maker of the Macintosh computer, the iPod digital music player and the iPhone smartphone, started selling Leopard on October 25, after a four-month delay due to the companys work on the iPhone.
The new version of Apples OS X software costs $129 for a single user and $199 for a “family pack” that can be installed on as many as five computers in a single household.
New features include a file back-up feature called “Time Machine,” improvements to e-mail and instant messaging, and the ability to preview documents or files without starting up a separate program, as well as quick access to other computers on a home or an office network.
While the increases in dollar and unit volume can partially be attributed to going on sale during November—a key month for consumer shopping—and the growth in the number of Apple retail stores, NPD said the figures show that Apple has found the right formula for rolling out new versions of Mac operating systems.
Leopard is the sixth version in as many years, a fact the Cupertino, California-based concern is quick to contrast with Microsoft Corp, which went more than five years between new versions of its Windows operating system.
Microsofts Windows Vista became broadly available early this year and comes in several versions that cost between $100 and $260, according to the companys Web site.
(Reporting by Duncan Martell, editing by Gerald E. McCormick)


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We reported in detail when the new Yamaha R25 concept was unveiled at last year’s Tokyo Motor Show in November 2013. The latest concept from Yamaha basically previews the production spec model of the Japanese bike maker’s upcoming production spec 250cc contender.
While it is true that the R25 concept is in the process of spawning the production model, the manufacturer has so far refrained from revealing any details of its soon to be launched model. However, it seems like Yamaha hasn’t been very successful with hiding its upcoming baby from the prying eyes of auto hacks and bike aficionados and if a Japanese two-wheeler magazine, Young Machine, is to be believed, the pics you see here could very well be of the real deal!
The upcoming bike, which would go on sale under the YZF-R25 moniker, could look much like the concept we saw earlier, with the only major difference being the inclusion of a pair of headlights and of course, a typical Yamaha red, white and black livery.
Powering the upcoming Yamaha YZF-R25 coudl be an all new liquid-cooled, four-stroke, 250cc, in-line two-cylinder, fuel-injected motor that is expected to have segment leading performance figures. The engine is likely to come mated to a 6-speed manual gearbox.
Quite obviously, the upcoming Yamaha YZF-R25 will battle it out with the Kawasaki Ninja 250 and even the Kawasaki Ninja 300 in markets like that of our country.
It may be noted that Yamaha have left many of us with high hopes by previewing the Yamaha YZF-R25 concept. However, it would be interesting if the Japanese bike maker will be a tad too late with coming up with an entry level 250cc contender. What do you feel? Do share your thoughts by penning them down in the comments section below.
Also, watch out for this space for more updates on the upcoming Yamaha YZF-R25.
Pics courtesy: Dapur Pacu


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School return leads to shopping bonanza
As back to school shopping is officially underway, tens of millions of college students have become the driving force in the expanding shopping market, especially the online one.
Liu Yang, a senior at Hunan University of Chinese Medicine, recently bought a new iPhone 6s from JD.com Inc’s e-shop, China’s second largest B2C online platform.
“I need to be better prepared for the new semester. And a brand new smartphone will be a perfect bonus for my next journey, like looking for jobs.” said the 22-year-old Liu.
For Liu Yujing, a 20-year-old junior at the North China University of Technology, back to school season is one of the best times for shopping.
“My parents gave me more money for the new semester. So, I bought coats, T-shirts, trousers, shoes, make-up and other personal stuff, totaling nearly 11,000 yuan ($1650).
As an integral participant in the back to school shopping season, e-commerce platforms have become the “main battlefield” for online shopping. JD.com launched a onemonth promotional festival, from Aug 11 to Sept 12, for the back-to-school season, including cellphones, digital products, computer office supplies, books, audio and video products, plus items for travel and daily life
China’s biggest e-commerce platform, Taobao, andother online platforms also offer various promotional activities, such as providing discounts or free maintenance for the purchased goods.
“Compared to previous years, college students’ current online spending has increased a lot, and there will be a peak of consumption before the ‘Double Eleven’ online shopping festival,” said Chu Shiyuan, marketing general manager of 3C (computer, communications and consumer electronics) business department at JD.com Inc.
Chu added that, among the 3C category of commodities, students usually bought computer office supplies, mobile phones, digital products and books.
According to JD’s statistics, during its “618” online shopping festival, the number of purchased goods by college students on JD’s e-shop grew 300 percent from last year, with the sales value up by 500 percent. The data also show that college students prefer to purchase commodities in the categories of beauty & health, food & drinks, computer office supplies, books and mobile phones.
Xiang Ligang, telecom expert and CEO of the industry website cctime.com, said that September and October are peak seasons for sales, and the total sales for cellphones and computers will grow significantly higher during that time, due to the back to school spending.


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BETHLEHEM, Pa. -- Square One Markets, a convenience store in Bethlehem, Pa., has launched a pilot for a new dinner kit that allows time-starved customers to quickly prepare nourishing family meals in less than 30 minutes.
The all-in-one kits provide healthy options to consumers and eliminate three significant downsides to many popular meal-delivery kits: cost, packaging waste and the need to plan a day or more in advance to order them.
Square One Markets is selling The Six O’Clock Scramble Fresh & Fast Family Dinner Kits, developed by The Six O’Clock Scramble, a company that offers fresh and fast family dinner solutions. The dinner kits provide all-in-one meal ingredients and recipe cards that contain everything time-stressed families need to prepare a meal. They sell for around $20 and are designed to feed a family of four. At $5 per person, the dinner kits are less than half the price of meal-delivery services and without the packaging waste and carbon footprint from shipping.
The kits also will feature some locally grown and produced ingredients from the Bethlehem area.
Click here to view sample menus.
Square One Markets and The Six O’Clock Scramble worked with the Project on Nutrition & Wellness (PNW) and the National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS) to develop the family dinner kits.
The September 30 launch at the Square One Markets store features cooking demonstrations and recipe sampling from noon to 6:30 p.m. featuring the creator of the dinner kits, cookbook author, Today show contributor and The Six O’Clock Scramble CEO Aviva Goldfarb.
Square One Markets will offer the dinner meal solutions for the next 10 weeks as part of the pilot. It will offer a new meal each week, and the groups will survey customers to determine which meals worked best and why.
“Our customers are excited to be part of this pilot test and look forward to redefining convenience with these meal solutions,” said Square One Markets CEO Lisa Dell’Alba. “It makes so much sense to create this program for drivers already fueling up.”
“The evening hours are when families stress about dinner preparation plans. This evening rush is also the most popular time to buy gasoline. This is a great way to combine two trips into one,” said Jeff Lenard, vice president of strategic industry initiatives for NACS.
“Square One Markets, with nine convenience stores selling fuel in and around Bethlehem, Pa., is a perfect test for the national concept, especially with its full-service fueling and curbside delivery service at select stores,” said Julie Garel, director of the Project on Nutrition & Wellness
“As more families have two working parents and busy schedules, it can be a challenge to plan for healthy meals, let alone make an extra stop to purchase the ingredients. The Six O’Clock Scramble Fresh & Fast Dinner Kits provide a convenient and affordable solution for busy families, and gets them on their way quickly to a healthy family meal,” said Aviva Goldfarb, CEO of The Six O’Clock Scramble.
Families that want to cook more meals together but can’t say that the main reasons are busy schedules (43%) and they are too tired after school or work (31%), according to a new NACS consumer study conducted by Penn Schoen Berland. This dinner kit addresses both obstacles, the group said.
More than three in four consumers (77%) say that they would be interested in purchasing an all-in-one meal kit from a store. Convenience store customers are especially receptive: 85% of weekly convenience-store customers would purchase a dinner meal kit, according to the survey results.
The Project on Nutrition & Wellness (PNW), a program of the Convergence Center for Policy Resolution, leverages the knowledge, influence and resources of the public interest and private sectors to improve the nutritional health of the nation. PNW brings together individuals and groups--with expertise in consumer behavior, marketing, public health, nutrition education and public policy--to create a major, unified shift in demand for healthier foods and put market forces to work to address obesity, diabetes and other nutrition-related conditions.
Members help make our journalism possible. Become a CSP member today and unlock exclusive benefits, including unlimited access to all of our content. Sign up here.


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First there was Uber and Airbnb. Now, there's car2go.
A pile of parking tickets is usually an unsettling sight because it suggests that someone is repeatedly breaking the law. And in this case someone is but, somehow, hardly anyone is complaining.
With 1.9 million members, car2go is the world’s largest car-sharing service, offering one-way, by-the-minute car rental service. Drivers can use their smartphones to locate an available car, drive it, and leave it parked when they’re done with it. Gas and insurance are not the drivers’ worry.
Toronto City Hall recently rejected car2go’s application for a city-wide on-street parking permit. But when you are backed by the automotive giant Daimler AG, you can afford to simply go ahead and offer the service anyway, come hell, fines, or high water. The company is paying for all the parking tickets it incurred—19,849 of them since March. That makes more than a $650,000 haul for the City.
By now it has become clear that businesses in the sharing economy, such as car2go, Airbnb, and Uber, are constantly challenging our existing municipal regulations and pushing us toward a new future. Uber took on both Toronto’s taxi industry as well as City Hall and did not flinch when more than 2,000 bylaw infractions were levelled against it. Smart money–courtesy of venture capitalists—bet on Uber. And Uber won. So will many others. So will car2go and other major car-sharing companies. Customers will demand these services.
What is more, the old familiar economy is currently on life support, and the new hipster kid in town is the unapologetic bastard child of the sharing, on-demand, collaborative, disruption, and gig economies. By 2020, 40 per cent of us in the workforce are likely to be “freelancers,” hustling and hawking our wares in the ever-changing “marketplace of ideas.”
Here is another example of how economy disrupters collide with regulators: Rover has an app that allows homeowners to rent out their private driveways. But Toronto municipal bylaws make running this type of unlicensed business in a residential area illegal. It seems that any entrepreneurial property-sharing, money-making endeavour runs up against some antiquated law.
Every minute of every day, money is exchanged for the use of every imaginable human and physical resource. There are ride-sharing apps, meal- and kitchen-sharing apps, space-sharing, pet-sharing services, hug-sharing, clothe-sharing, home fitness studio-sharing, and solar energy-sharing services. So what’s the problem with letting everyone share everything and letting everyone make a buck in the process?
There are some considerations that warrant government officials to be cautious. Would you be terribly happy if your neighbours ran a busy hostel out of their house? Imagine all the cars and hordes of strangers coming and going at odd hours next to your window. Well, tough luck. Just consider that Airbnb is now in 190 countries and that 67 per cent of millennials report a preference to travel and live “like locals.”
Can’t beat them? Join them. There is no escaping this economic paradigm shift—the reality on the ground is forcing all of us to adjust. It will be far less painful if we could get ourselves ahead of the trend.
We can admire our officials for fighting to protect public good against the usurpation of private interest. Councillor Gord Perks (Ward 14, Parkdale-High Park) has told this author that “car2go is a private for-profit corporation that wants the public to subsidize its business by allowing it to rent a public asset.” He is opposed to the company’s request.
It’s easy to understand why Councillor Perks is against it. In 2015, full-time jobs in Toronto grew only by 1.4 per cent, whereas part-time jobs increased by 7.3 per cent. He laments rising inequality, defends fair labour practices, and wants to ensure the public gets a good deal from the lease of a scarce public resource.
Councillor Stephen Holyday (Ward 3, Etobicoke Centre), a member of the City’s Public Works and Infrastructure Committee, has stated that the decision to reject car2go’s application was mainly based on the concern that there were not enough parking spots available in the city. According to the City’s general manager of transportation services, Stephen Buckley, Toronto has a well-regulated inventoried and zoned parking system that other cities have considered emulating.
We all get why a profit-driven, capitalist-minded company wants as few regulations as it can get away with. Yet, at the same time, we should not be afraid of such upstarts taking over. Car2go executives are desperate to quickly expand the company’s service because they are afraid of competition—of an emergence of an even more powerful capitalist and profit-driven idea.
Turo is the Airbnb of car rentals. It is already in 2,500 cities (car2go is only in 30). Imagine a world where all people can safely rent out their vehicles. That world is here now: Turo launched in Canada in April. Now you can rent a Tesla, a tricked-out 1960s VW hippie camper, and everything in between—from your neighbours.
Imagine the headaches at City Hall—licensing, taxes—when everyone and their grandfather is making money renting out vehicles. This is a massive disruption in the making. This is coming to your neighbourhood.
It stands to reason that a pilot program in Toronto that grants on-street parking permits for car2go’s 440 vehicles will not put undue stress on the roads of a city that annually issues 300,000 temporary parking permits. The de facto arrangement is already in place, since car2go launched the program in March.
The inexorable march of progress puts citizens of Toronto face-to-face with complex choices. This city can handle the challenges posed by this new, untamed economy. We will adjust along the way if we must. The alternative is an uninspiring defence of the old that is simply bad for our economy.
We’ve corrected the total value of the parking tickets assessed. It is over $650,000, not $350,000.


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The weekly Retail Tech Roundup compiles technology news across the supply chain, manufacturing, retail, e-commerce, logistics and fulfillment sectors.
Walmart has acquired select technology assets from Botmock, a developer of tools for designing, prototyping, testing and deploying conversational applications across platforms, for an undisclosed sum.
The deal advances Walmart’s conversational capabilities in the customer experience, and gives it the technology to build and deploy natural voice and chat interfaces for customers and associates.
Botmock’s no-code platform features a drag-and-drop interface that automatically develops code in the background as conversation flows are created.
By giving designers, merchants, customer service and other non-technical teams access to these tools, Walmart can empower its own business and third-party business owners to create voice, chat and intelligent assistant experiences.
“Building seamless interactions for voice or chat is a fairly difficult design problem that requires us to consider all possible conversational flows, which depend on customers’ unique situation and needs,” Cheryl Ainoa, senior vice president, core retail services and emerging technology at Walmart, wrote in a LinkedIn post.
Walmart has already built a robust conversational platform across its ecosystem, enabling voice shopping through Google and Siri and allowing customers to check-in for contactless pickup orders by just using their voice. Additionally, the retailer’s “Ask Sam” app for Sam’s Club customers enables associates to find the location of products in stores simply by saying phrases like, “Where is almond butter?” or access their work schedule by texting, “What’s my schedule tomorrow?”
A beta test of a “Walmart Text to Shop experience allows customers to text to make purchases, a year-and-a-half after the retailer ended its Jet black SMS shopping service piloted in New York City.
U.K.-based high street fashion retailer New Look is reinforcing its commitment to circularity with its first venture into the resale market, partnering with secondhand platform provider Re-Fashion.
New Look x Re-Fashion will allow customers to request a free clothing donation bag holding up to 12 items. From there, they can drop off the bag at the nearest Collect+ returns kiosk for free. Re-Fashion will then repair or upcycle the clothes before being put up for sale on its site.
“We recognize that, as a broad-appeal fashion retailer, we have an important responsibility to both our customers and to wider society, to consider the lifecycle of the products we sell, from design stage to end of life,” said Sue Fairley, head of sustainability at New Look. “As part of our ongoing commitment to reduce the environmental impacts of shopping for clothes and to promote circularity within the industry, we are excited to partner with Re-Fashion and offer our customers an easy and convenient way for them to get involved.”
Customers will receive 30 percent off any purchase on Re-Fashion without having to wait for their item to sell.
The new venture is part of New Look’s “Kind to the Core” initiative, a key pillar in the brand’s transformation strategy to become a more sustainable and responsible retailer. The retailer will also plant a tree for every bag donated in partnership with the charity Tree-Nation.
Pinterest has unveiled Pinterest TV, a series of live, original and shoppable episodes featuring creators that already use the social media platform. Pinterest TV episodes are refreshed each weekday and will be recorded and available for “Pinners” to view on demand, or save and rewatch later.
Each Friday, products will drop in a live shopping setting where Pinners can take advantage of discounts from brands including Allbirds, beauty brand Crown Affair, jewelry and apparel brand Melody Ehsani, Outdoor Voices, Mented Cosmetics and more.
Beginning Nov. 8, episodes will air Monday-Friday at 3 p.m. PT/6 p.m. ET in the U.S. on iOS and Android.
Some Pinterest creators and on the feature include “Christian On,” the program from American fashion designer and “Project Runway” alum Christian Siriano focused on the most-searched fashion terms on Pinterest; and “Buy This” featuring host and comedian Robyn Schall, along with creators who will show how products from brands like Melody Ehsani and Crown Affair look and feel in real time.
On Pinterest TV, creators can showcase and tag products so Pinners can shop and purchase on the retailer’s site. Hosts will have a shopping toolbox to enable live shopping experiences including a product drawer with prices and product details, product drops and brand collaborations, a display of how much is left and a limited-time-offer module to offer discounts.
New from post-purchase experience platform Narvar, Monitor gives retailers visibility and actionable intelligence across their entire delivery network in a single place.
Monitor helps brands proactively detect and address supply chain issues early to meet customer expectations, communicate effectively and build brand loyalty. For the first time, Narvar will process real-time data from UPS and combine it with their retail customers’ fulfillment details so that brands have a holistic, up-to-date view of their supply chain network.
Available starting this month, Monitor combines real-time delivery data from carriers with machine learning models across Narvar’s Post-Purchase Platform, which powers customer experiences for more than 1,100 brands including Gap, Urban Outfitters, Patagonia, Levi Strauss and Cole Haan.
With Monitor, brands can gain a 360-degree view of their package logistics, personalized insights and actionable intelligence, all in a unified dashboard. This data is critical for brands to respond to logistics disruptions early to mitigate customer experience problems.
The launch comes as supply chain disruptions cause widespread delays in order fulfillment. Adding to the delays is that as many as 81 percent of businesses say they still don’t have full visibility into their supply chain, according to an MIT study cited by Narvar.
In particular, Monitor provides real-time visibility into shipment status and carrier network performance, as well as intelligence to uncover early signals of delivery disruptions that can be proactively communicated with customers, thus preventing poor experiences. The platform also provides personalized insights through customized dashboards, reporting and emails. Also, it offers category benchmarks to help brands understand how their fulfillment performance stacks up against the market.
GK Software/My Size
GK Software has integrated My Size, Inc. (MySize) into its Innovation Partners Ecosystem. MySize’s plug-in to the open Cloud4Retail platform enables sellers to support consumers finding the correct-sized fit in real time.
MySize, a developer of a sensor-based measurement technology and the owner of several patented algorithms that are designed to capture and calculate body measurements, built its algorithm so that it could fit to different markets and verticals.
The partnership helps retailers reduce the number of garments consumers need to try on, and increase the time spent shopping for additional items, potentially increasing consumer satisfaction, basket size and brand loyalty, while reducing returns.
Cloud4Retail is GK’s open commerce platform that provides services enabling retailers to integrate unified commerce environments from in-store and online touch points through to mobile devices. The platform is enriched by AI-based dynamic pricing, personalization, fraud detection and mobile applications.
Now available with various cloud providers such as Microsoft Azure, SAP Cloud and IBM, the expansion and customization options of Cloud4Retail services can be used on a wide range of devices.
GK Software partners with retailers in more than 65 countries, giving them access to the MySize platform.
Lightspeed Commerce Inc., a point-of-sale (POS) and e-commerce software provider, has launched a new flagship e-commerce product built on the integration of its $500 million acquisition of Ecwid. Additionally, the company has expanded its Lightspeed Payments platform into Australia as well as to U.S. merchants who joined via the $350 million Vend acquisition.
The flagship platform, called Lightspeed eCommerce, is built to offer a new starting point for merchants to join the software provider’s ecosystem and grow their businesses with the help of sophisticated in-store and online commerce tools, advanced data, simple product ordering functionality and streamlined access to suppliers.
Lightspeed eCommerce is designed for easy setup, particularly for retailers that have minimal to no e-commerce experience. Enabling merchants to sell directly on social media, online marketplaces, and search engines, Lightspeed also offers a direct partnership with TikTok, allowing merchants to access core functions of TikTok For Business Ads Manager without leaving the platform.
Additionally, merchants can manage inventory, orders and product details via the platform, and access customer communication features to help with abandoned cart recovery.
The solution is now available to all of Lightspeed’s global retail merchants.
Lightspeed Payments is tailored for each global region and vertical, to ensure legal and tax concerns, languages and consumer payment preferences are localized for each region.
The software provider also provides merchants with a fully integrated omnichannel experience, in an effort to reduce the typical friction of a third-party provider with a single solution for online, offline, and curbside or tableside payments.
This integration helps merchants process payments more efficiently and streamline their business operations all from a single commerce platform, with added features including analytics, reporting, reconciliation and resources all built to win chargeback disputes and recover lost sales.
Cart.com, an “e-commerce-as-a-service” (EcaaS) provider equipping merchants with critical marketing, technology, and fulfillment capabilities, has partnered with Google Cloud to advance deliver robust, unified analytics for its more than 2,500 brands.
The service aims to fuse all commerce and marketing data into a single source of truth accessed via a unified interface, with the goal to empower brands to drive better decisions and accelerate growth through data automation.
The partnership with Google Cloud enables Cart.com to deliver its product suite while providing multiple pathways for offering expansion. Brands using Cart.com access a single platform of unified analytics across warehouse operations, storefront volume and digital campaigns including Facebook, Google, and Amazon advertising.
Ideally, since these cross-functional data assets are now under one roof via Cart.com, brands could better identify root causes of trends and anomalies in campaigns, cart abandonment, sales, inventory and returns. The partnership is aimed at accelerating the speed-to-value this data will provide across a brand’s ecosystem, equipping them with actionable intelligence to adjust procurement spend, modify promotional campaigns or optimize revenue opportunities.
Additionally, the partnership with Google Cloud will streamline the development and monitoring of Cart.com’s machine learning and AI pipelines. This will generate richer experiences targeted to dynamic shopper needs, while brands will benefit from enhanced profit recommendations and Google Cloud’s global scalability with near-zero downtime. The partnership will leverage each organization’s core capabilities to strengthen existing relationships and open new customer opportunities.
Ultra Commerce/Slatwall Commerce
Ultra Commerce has acquired fellow B2B and B2B e-commerce platform Slatwall Commerce for an undisclosed sum. This is the second major deal Ultra has made to bolster its offerings this year, already acquiring product data management solutions provider Vesta eCommerce earlier this year.
The combination aims to fill critical gaps inhibiting enterprise growth, according to a statement from Ultra Commerce. With Slatwall in tow, Ultra Commerce says it is now positioned to serve a wide range of businesses, from fast-growing smaller businesses up to complex global enterprises, all within one platform and license.
The company says it seeks to mainly assist businesses that have had limited e-commerce platform options, typically either by combining their back end with supplemental solutions, or adopting a fuller platform ridden with cost and implementation risk. Ultra Commerce feels it can deliver customers ready-to-use enterprise capabilities and features to scale their business without these costs and risks attached.
In particular, Ultra Commerce wants to fill a niche within manufacturing digitization by meeting what can be complex B2B product and order management processes. These can include marketplace and multi-site/storefront capabilities servicing B2B, B2C and DTC from a single back end.
To illustrate the growth opportunity at hand, Ultra cited a Gartner report, “Manufacturing Digitalization Roadmap for Agility and Revenue Generation,” that said manufacturers will double digital revenue between 2020 and 2023.
09 Solutions/Google Cloud
o9 Solutions, an enterprise AI software platform provider for transforming planning and decision-making, has launched Vertex AI Forecast integration with Google Cloud as part of their ongoing partnership.
The new machine learning-powered solution helps the world’s largest and most complex retail and consumer goods companies create highly accurate demand forecasts that drive greater supply chain efficiencies and lead to increased market share and profits.
Introduced at Google Cloud Next ‘21, Vertex AI Forecast leverages machine learning models and vast data sets to understand the relationship between product demand and demand drivers such as promotions, pricing, competitive actions and external data such as weather, social sentiment, or Google Search trends. It then translates these signals into more accurate demand forecasts, allowing supply chain teams to make better planning decisions that minimize excess stock, avoid lost sales and reduce administrative and logistics costs.
“Shifting trends and consumer buying behaviors are pushing brands to rethink the way they do demand planning. Yet, many global retail companies and consumer brands continue to rely on historical sales information and manual adjustments rather than data-based science to forecast future demand. Vertex AI Forecast’s machine learning models integrate with supply chain workflows and connect diverse demand signals, making it easy for companies to generate accurate, highly scalable demand predictions – leading to better planning decisions and ultimately higher service levels,” said Chakri Gottemukkala, CEO of o9 Solutions.
Vertex AI Forecast integrates with o9’s AI-powered planning and decision-making platform through the company’s open architecture framework and leverages Google Cloud’s proprietary machine learning algorithms for demand forecasting. Vertex AI Forecast is the first of several solutions that o9 is jointly developing with Google Cloud as an application partner of Google Cloud’s recently launched digital Supply Chain Twin.
“For more than 10 years, Google Cloud has created cutting-edge technologies that learn from large data sets – recognizing patterns, conducting what-if scenarios, and weighing the pros and cons of tradeoffs,” said Carrie Tharp, VP, Retail, Google Cloud. “Our new Vertex AI Forecast solution, built on the Google Cloud’s Vertex AI platform, applies our deep experience with these machine learning technologies to help retail and CPG companies quickly and easily scale their ability to generate and adjust forecasts based on real-time demand sensing.”


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RadioShack has announced that come fall it will no longer offer T-Mobile wireless products and services. Instead, they’ll be providing customers with a selection of Verizon Wireless smartphones.
After entering an agreement with Verizon, the nation’s largest wireless carrier, RadioShack decided to cease all sales of T-Mobile merchandise as of September 14. The technology retailer will stock its 4,300 of its U.S. company-operated stores with post-paid and pre-paid wireless products and services from Verizon beginning September 15.
This decision comes less than six months after RadioShack claimed that T-Mobile USA had “materially breached” their contract. The retailer also cites the nation’s fourth largest carrier had been a drag on profits, stating T-Mobile product offerings were not competitive with those of other carriers.
RadioShack also reported a dip in quarterly profit, where net income fell to $24.9 million, in the second quarter, from $53.0 million a year ago.
Though the carrier recently launched a new line of Value plans for customers, this undoubtedly comes as an economic blow. With this loss of presence in the mobile community, T-Mobile’s buy out by AT&T is considered by some analysts as the best option for the carrier at this time. However, the acquisition still faces approval by the FTC.


text:
Firearms, ammunition and hunting gear exempt from both state and local sales tax
For the fifth consecutive year, hunters and outdoor enthusiasts across the state can participate in the Louisiana Second Amendment Sales Tax Holiday this Friday through Sunday, Sept. 6-8.
Byron Henderson, press secretary for the Louisiana Department of Revenue, said the three-day event provides an exemption from both the 4-percent state sales tax as well as all local sales taxes on individual consumer purchases of firearms, ammunition and hunting supplies.
According to the revenue department’s Web site, there is no limit on the amount of purchases that qualify for the exemption. For a detailed list of both eligible and ineligible items for this weekend, click here.
“We bring in extra people and we’re open on Sunday, which is something we don’t normally do,” said Jim Brown, the buying director and purchasing agent for Bowie Outfitters on Perkins Road in Baton Rouge. “It’s a really big weekend for us. It saves the consumers some money and allows us to get a jump start on fourth quarter sales.”
Unlike the Hurricane Preparedness Sales Tax Holiday in May and the General Sales Tax Holiday in August, which only apply to the 4-percent state sales tax, Henderson said all local sales taxes also will be exempted this weekend.
“That is the main distinction between this one and the other two sales tax holidays we have throughout the year,” he said. “The savings will vary depending on where you shop because different local taxing authorities have different percentages of taxes.”
The Second Amendment Sales Tax Holiday was created by the Louisiana Legislature in 2009, and always occurs on the first consecutive Friday through Sunday in September, Henderson said.
Brown said at Bowie Outfitters, every item in the store will be exempt from both state and local sales tax, even if it’s not covered by the tax holiday legislation.
“We do everything in the store. The hunting and fishing, the whole shooting match,” Brown said. “It’s easier for us, because we can set our registers for no tax. On the items not specifically covered by the law, we cover it ourselves”


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Last week, Oxfam posted on its social channels that Australian cult fashion brand Gorman has released the information of its manufacturers.
What they’re talking about is a recent campaign by Oxfam called #whatshemakes – a consumer-led movement to encourage brands to pay a living wage to the women who make their clothes. The campaign came after a study that revealed that the wage women are making in textile factories is putting them below poverty line. The Deloitte study found that “On average, just 4% of the price of a piece of clothing sold in Australia goes toward workers’ wages in garment factories”
The post goes on to say: “Without this information it is extremely difficult to independently confirm whether workers are being treated fairly, safely, or how much they are paid. This is good news if you love Gorman’s clothes. It’s even better news for the women who make them.”
So what’s the big deal? They haven’t actually said they’ll pay a fair wage, have they?
Correct, but Gorman has taken the first step in the right direction. By publishing the names and locations of their factories they are allowing organisations like Greenpeace and Oxfam to walk in the doors and see what’s really going on. So while this information may not seem like a huge deal and we don’t know yet what’s going on behind closed doors, I can assure you that the work they’ve done to get this far is far far more than their less-than-sustainable competitors.
The fact is that most clothing manufacturers know that what’s going on in their factories is no good. That staff are forced to work overtime daily just to meet their quotas, that they’re not paid a living wage and that the conditions of the factories are substandard. So to actually release this information is a huge risk for a brand, unless they’ve made the bare minimum changes to their operations, and I’d say this is what Gorman has done.
Another reason it’s important is because it shows that Gorman has actually responded to the pressure put on the brand by organisations and consumers who are really pushing to make a difference in the fashion industry. It’s so easy for brands to ignore these pressures when people are still buying their clothes. And that’s the worst thing, most people aren’t actually willing to stop spending their money at retailers doing the wrong thing, so what’s their incentive? A couple of annoying activists posting on their Facebook pages?
Gorman has said yes, we know we’re doing the wrong thing, and we’re going to right our wrongs. Transparency is the first step, the second is to make sure everyone’s physically and mentally safe in their working environment, and the third is to make a public commitment to pay everyone in their supply chain a living wage.
This is no easy step, but it’s the first one, and it deserves rewarding. Let’s keep it going.
You can let big brands know loud and clear that the women working in their factories making your clothes must be paid a living wage.


text:
Wal-Mart Gives Amazon Kindle Products the Boot
September 20, 2012 11:55 PM
comment(s) - last by
Competition between the two has come to this
Wal-Mart reported that it will no longer sell Amazon's e-readers and tablets online or at its brick-and-mortar stores.
Amazon, which makes Kindle e-readers and Kindle Fire tablets, had its products booted from Wal-Mart due to the fact that Amazon is a strong competitive force against brick-and-mortar stores.
Physical retail stores like Wal-Mart and Target have faced tough competition against Amazon in recent years. The huge e-tailer has offered the same products at lower prices, (often) no sales tax and for fast, cheap delivery.
This obviously made it hard for the brick-and-mortars to compete. Stores like Best Buy, Wal-Mart and Target complained that Amazon's lack of
sales tax collection
in most U.S. states was unfair, leading to more and more states demanding that Amazon start collecting (mainly to cover the states' own budget crisis').
At long last, Wal-Mart and friends got their wish when Amazon agreed to start including sales tax in customer orders; however, the e-tailer did so in exchange for more distribution centers throughout the U.S. so that it could
launch a same-day shipping feature
-- a whole new competitive edge in favor of Amazon.
To top it all off, Amazon's e-readers and tablets have been a hit. In fact, Amazon's Kindle Fire tablet has been the only other tab to take a chunk out of the iPad's market share.
Amazon just announced a whole
new generation of Kindle Fire tablets
(Kindle Fire HD), including an updated $199 7-inch Fire; an 8.9-inch version for $299, and a 4G LTE model for $499. On top of that, Amazon is offering 250MB of bandwidth per month, 20GB of cloud storage space, and a $10 in Appstore credit for only $50 per year.
It's easy to see why Wal-Mart is a little upset. It's competition is growing and offering even better offers all the time, leaving the brick-and-mortars in the dust. But there is another side to this -- the Kindle Fire was the hottest holiday gift in Q4 2011, racking up tons of sales for not only Amazon, but the physical stores like Wal-Mart too. With the Kindle Fire HD line launching either September 14 or November 20, Wal-Mart could lose out on
the huge sales
that these tablets could potentially draw.
Target stopped selling the Amazon Kindle line this past Spring as well.
This article is over a month old, voting and posting comments is disabled
9/21/2012 12:33:53 AM
I am 5 clicks away from a kindle
I am 5 miles away from walmart. + gas.
RE: numbers game
9/21/2012 12:43:51 AM
Plus you can always find what you looking for on amazon with way more choices in a product type. I buy staples from Walmart but tend to buy other stuff especially electronics online.
"Can anyone tell me what MobileMe is supposed to do?... So why the f*** doesn't it do that?" -- Steve Jobs
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The newly appointed chairman of Japan’s automaker group has voiced concern over prospects for a full-fledged recovery in global auto sales due to economic uncertainties stemming from Europe’s sovereign debt crisis.
”About a month ago, I was a bit optimistic…and was talking about a full-fledged recovery at the end of this fiscal year or the first half of next fiscal year, but honestly (now) I have a slightly cautious view” due to the debt woes, Toshiyuki Shiga, the new chairman of the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association (JAMA), said at a news conference.
Global car sales have not yet returned to levels before the US financial meltdown occurred in 2008, said Shiga, who is also chief operating officer of Nissan Motor, adding that notable growth has been limited to emerging markets such as China.
Shiga’s appointment as head of the auto body was approved at its general meeting on Thursday, according to Kyodo News.
The association, meanwhile, announced that the Tokyo motor show in 2011 will be held at the Tokyo Big Sight convention hall in Tokyo, switching from Makuhari Messe convention centre in Chiba, Chiba Prefecture.
Shiga said, ”Overseas manufacturers will find it easier to participate if it is held in Tokyo.”
Makuhari Messe has been the venue for the Tokyo show since 1989.
”It’s hard to compete in terms of scale with the Beijing and Shanghai motor shows, but we’d like to make the Tokyo Motor Show an important event by showcasing the technology we have,” Shiga said.
JAMA, which will organise the event for 10 days from 2 December next year, will feature environment-friendly technology, into which Japanese automakers have been putting effort in recent years, as seen in the emergence and popularity of hybrid cars.
Toyota Motor president Akio Toyoda and Honda Motor’s Takanobu Ito took the posts of vice chairmen of the group.