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When Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago opened its new $580 million facility in May 1999, the cafeteria could seat nearly double the number of patrons than the old place. The hospital's food service staff was concerned about filling the 13,000-square-foot seating area, which is more than triple the square footage of the previous eatery.
"There was so much extra space that to look at it empty was a little intimidating," recalls Josh Hasson, the hospital's catering manager.
Hasson and his colleagues didn't worry for long: Fueled by new fare featuring gourmet pizza and pastas, sushi, turkey and wild rice soup, and stir-fried bok choy, Northwestern's cafeteria sales are up 35%, compared with before the renovation. On most days, the facility's 655 seats are packed during the lunch rush.
"We have people coming here from the Michigan Avenue retail shops, from Oak Street and even all the way from the Loop," says Sonia Alexander, Northwestern's director of food and nutrition.
Northwestern is by no means alone in upgrading eating areas.
Hospitals throughout the country, big and small, are spending hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of dollars to revamp their food facilities and fare:
* Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles spent nearly $1 million to remodel its cafeteria. The 846-bed hospital's new eating space brims with brushed metal decor and buffet-style serving stations.
* Jewish Hospital in Louisville, Ky., spent $200,000 to redo its cafeteria and menu two years ago. Demand is so high at the 539-bed hospital that patrons can fax in their orders.
* Gila Regional Medical Center, a 59-bed facility in Silver City, N.M., has redecorated and started offering more authentic regional cuisine and gourmet coffees.
Others are in the midst of cafeteria remodeling, including 356-bed Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian in Newport Beach, Calif.; 669-bed University of Massachusetts Memorial Health Care--Memorial Campus in Worcester, Mass.; 149-bed Bi-County Community Hospital in Warren, Mich.; and 1,072-bed Baptist Memorial Hospital in Memphis, Tenn.
Variety of goals. Hospital officials say a new cafeteria can accomplish a myriad of objectives, including boosting employee morale, improving the hospital's bottom line and creating a more pleasant atmosphere for hospital visitors.
"Hospital stays are shorter than they used to be, and revenue streams are less consistent," says Isidore Kharasch, president of Hospitality Works, a restaurant consulting firm in Lincolnwood, Ill. "The best thing they can do in that instance is to find new ways to bring people in."
Food and beverage sales in healthcare settings totaled $17 billion in 1999, a 1% increase from 1998, according to the National Restaurant Association, a Washington-based trade group. Another trade group, the Washington-based National Society for Healthcare Food Management, notes that 62% of meals served in a typical hospital are to nonpatients. That's a major switch from as recently as the early 1990s, when only 25% of hospital meals were served to nonpatients. The association attributes the change to a more business-like approach among hospitals about their food service operations.
Food service executives say managed care plays a significant role in the shifts now taking place. The enormous increase in outpatient procedures means recipients of care are more likely to patronize the cafeteria than in the past.
Such was the case with Northwestern. Along with the increased outpatient foot traffic, its rebuilt hospital combined 22 buildings into just two. "That's vastly increased the customer count," Hasson says.
Moreover, the whittling of margins accompanying managed-care contracts means hospitals have to find every way possible to fatten margins and cut expenses. They can do both by increasing business at the cafeteria, where the economies of scale rapidly decrease operating expenses.
At Gila Regional, where the cafeteria has traditionally lost money, the makeover and new vendor arrangements are projected to cut its food service costs by $25,000 a year, even as revenue has increased nearly 50% from $106,000 to about $156,000 a year.
"There's a desire to be more cost-effective," says Jared Flayer, regional vice president of development at HDS, a Farmington Hills, Mich.-based food service and hospitality company that spearheaded the Gila makeover. HDS has about 100 hospital clients nationwide.
Competition. Hospitals are also coping with the rise of fast food and instant communication. Whereas going to the cafeteria was once the most convenient way of obtaining a meal, a hospital staff laden with cell phones may now painlessly order takeout.
"Cafeterias have to be able to compete with other (food possibilities) out on the street," says Ray Welch, president of the healthcare division of Aramark, the giant Philadelphia-based food service company.
As a result, many cafeteria makeovers boast "demonstration cooking," where patrons can often see the food being prepared in front of them, Welch says. Usually a food service firm such as Aramark, HDS, Gaithersburg, Md.-based Sodexho Marriott Services or Atlanta-based Morrison Healthcare Food Services undertakes the remodeling, often in exchange for 10% to 15% of the projected increase in cafeteria receipts.
The new atmosphere is reminiscent of a shopping mall food court. That's the case with Cedars-Sinai's cafeteria, based on Sodexho Marriott's "Crossroads" branding concept. Under that concept, customers can receive service from various stations that provide theme-based fare, such as Mexican, Italian or vegetarian dishes.
Although Cedars' fare isn't as varied as Northwestern's (which is part of Morrison's "Spice of Life" concept), the daily menu offers a list of solid comfort foods such as fried chicken, pizza, macaroni and cheese, soups and vegetarian dishes such as lasagna and garden burgers. And even though a popular celebrity-packed delicatessen across the street from Cedars beckons customers with rooftop advertising visible from many patient rooms, Cedars' cafeteria sales are up 35% since the remodeling was completed last June.
"It's almost like a fine dining environment," remarks Al Jimenez, a Sodexho Marriott general manager. Indeed, the Cedars dining area is a place so colorful, it's difficult to believe it's in a hospital.
Makeover. Another Sodexho Marriott customer is University of Massachusetts Memorial Health Care, which is undergoing a $750,000 cafeteria remodeling and adding a coffee shop near the main lobby. For years the hospital had offered minimal food service, but it got rave reviews recently when it began offering a full-time breakfast for the first time in nearly a decade. Partly on the basis of that response, the hospital decided to go ahead with a full makeover.
"We give our employees maybe 40 minutes to grab a meal during a workday when they're normally getting flogged," says Robert Freitas, the hospital's senior director of operations. "For those 40 minutes they should have an enjoyable experience."
But for the moment, Freitas is the one getting flogged: The hospital has fallen behind on construction of the coffee shop, which will feature Starbucks coffee and light meals when it opens later this year. It seems the arrival of gourmet coffee can't come quickly enough for the hospital's staff, which is deluging Freitas with inquiries. "I'm getting killed," he says.


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Aurora Algae today announced the appointment of two new executives to help drive commercialization of its algae-based platform for sustainable nutraceutical, pharmaceutical, aquaculture and renewable-energy products. Connie Sandusky joins the Company as senior vice president of sales, responsible for developing sales and marketing strategy, while Thomas Willardson will serve as chief financial officer, overseeing Aurora Algae’s finance and accounting functions.
“With our demonstration facility in full operation, successfully producing tons of biomass per month, we now need to quickly scale our financial, operations and sales teams to meet the growing demand for algae-based products,” said Greg Bafalis, CEO of Aurora Algae. “Tom and Connie are key strategic additions to our executive team as we prepare to break ground on our new commercial production facilities, and intensify our focus on high-value market segments for our algae-based products.”
With an extensive track record of growing successful companies and guiding them through private and public fundraising activities, Tom Willardson will oversee Aurora Algae’s finance and accounting operations as the Company raises capital to scale its operations to meet market demand. Prior to Aurora Algae, Willardson held CFO positions at Energy Recovery, Inc., Cost Plus, WebSideStory and Archimedes Technology Group Holdings. His fundraising experience includes successful initial public offerings with Energy Recovery, WebSideStory and Leap Wireless. Willardson earned a bachelor’s degree in Finance from Brigham Young University and an MBA from the University of Southern California.
Connie Sandusky joins Aurora Algae with 18 years of experience driving growth in B2B food ingredient businesses. She previously served as director of sales, Americas, at D.D. Williamson, a global leader in natural food colorings. Prior to that, Sandusky spent 10 years in sales and marketing leadership roles at Kalsec, a producer of natural colors, flavor extracts, antioxidants and nutritional ingredients for the food, beverage and pharmaceutical industries. As senior vice president of sales, Sandusky will lead sales and marketing to further develop cornerstone commercial relationships and sales commitments in the pharmaceutical, nutraceutical, food and beverage, and consumer markets for the Aurora Algae A2 product line. Sandusky earned an MS and a PhD in Food Science from the University of Maryland.
Sandusky and Willardson will be based in the Company’s Hayward, Calif. headquarters, reporting directly to CEO Greg Bafalis. For more information, please contact [email protected].
About Aurora Algae
Aurora Algae is a producer of high-performance, premium algae-based products for the pharmaceutical, nutrition, aquaculture and fuels markets. The Company has developed the industry’s first commercial-scale photosynthetic platform for sustainable, algae-based product development. Aurora Algae’s proprietary algae strains and production process uses arid land, seawater and captured carbon pollution from industrial emitters, resulting in more capitally efficient and more environmentally sustainable algae farming. Aurora Algae enables its customers and partners to improve the diversity and sustainability of their product portfolios, while addressing consumer demand for natural products. For more information, please visit www.aurorainc.com.

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According to the Christmas TV guides, the brand new ThunderCats cartoon is due to make it’s terrestrial television debut on Sunday 18th December at 10.05am on Channel 5!
The full schedule is as follows:
Sunday 18th December 10.05am – 11.05am (Omens parts 1&2)
Monday 19th December 10.00am – 10.35am (Ramlak Rising)
Tuesday 20th December 10.00am – 10.35am (Song of […]


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MIAMI–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Today, Heru Inc. announced it has been named an honoree in the Virtual & Augmented Reality category of the CES Innovation Awards for a second consecutive year. The company is being recognized after a year of rapid innovation that delivered five new vision exams, bringing the total available on the platform to nine.
The CES Innovation Awards, owned and produced by the Consumer Technology Association (CTA), is an annual competition honoring outstanding design and engineering in 28 consumer technology product categories. Submissions are reviewed by an elite panel of industry expert judges based on innovation, engineering and functionality, aesthetics, and design. This year’s CES Innovation Awards program received a record number of submissions — over 2,100.
“We are thrilled to be recognized by CES as an innovator for the second year in a row,” said Mohamed Abou Shousha, MD, PhD, Heru’s founder, and CEO. “The Heru team is grateful for the support and enthusiasm we continue to receive from the technology and medical communities.”
Heru’s cloud-based, wearable platform allows physicians to perform nine vision exams – visual fields, dark adaptation, contrast sensitivity, and color vision testing – using a lightweight, portable AR/VR headset.
The platform’s newest modality, dark adaptation, measures the eye’s ability to adjust from light to dark environments, and studies have shown that impaired dark adaptation function may be an early indicator of age-related macular degeneration (AMD). AMD is the leading cause of vision loss and accounts for 8.7% of visual impairment worldwide – an estimated 170 million people.1 With the development of dark adaptation, the company has created a market-leading AMD portfolio which includes contrast sensitivity testing and the 10-2 visual field.
“Heru’s rate of innovation is unparalleled, and the growth potential is limitless,” said Fred Drasner, Chairman of Three Seasons Capital, and Heru’s Chairman of the Board of Directors. “The company’s technology has expanded access to health and wellness exams while creating value for their shareholders and unique revenue streams for eye care providers across the country.”
The CES 2023 Innovation Awards honorees, including product descriptions and photos, can be found at CES.tech/innovation.
Heru Inc. (www.seeheru.com) is a medical software company focused on the development of next-generation vision exams leveraging commercially available AR/VR head-mounted displays. The company pioneered the first multi-modal wearable solution, which has revolutionized healthcare by introducing several vision exams within a single platform. The platform’s dark adaptation and contrast sensitivity exams establish a market-leading AMD portfolio that may aid physicians in detecting subclinical AMD and monitoring disease progression. Heru is leveraging its award-winning platform to build a comprehensive solution that is strongly correlated to the current standard of care and exceeds traditional standards of care in usability, cost, size, and portability. Future development includes therapeutic applications for personalized augmented vision correction.
Chief Marketing Officer


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Justin Bieber did it once again. His latest album “Purpose” is ahead of One Direction’s “Made in the A.M.” for the No.1 rank on the Billboard 200 albums next week chart.
From the recent trends and industry forecasters, it seems that Bieber will soon have his 6th No. 1 album. According to several sources, “Purpose”, his new album that was released on November 13, could top the Billboard 200 chart on December 5. The rank would be for the week ending on this month’s 19th.
About 450,000 units will be from Justin Bieber’s album sales. If the sales from Bieber’s latest album is as per expectations, it can be his biggest sales week to date. This will then surpass even the figure of 374,000 from “Believe”, that was released in 2012. Nielson Music has given these figures.
“Made in the A.M.”, the 5th studio album from One Direction is aiming for the No. 2 spot in the same chart. About 425,000 units will be coming from only album sales for them.
There are still several days left for tracking week and things may change. For instance, Beyonce may suddenly release her new album or 1D could always march ahead, and so on.
“Made in the A.M.” and “Purpose” have both been performing much better than forecasts made before their release. Both these albums from industry stalwarts have made around 300,000–only from their album sales.
If both these albums (“Made in the A.M.” and “Purpose”) progress according to the forecasts being made, this would be the first instance in about six years that sales of above 400,000 for two different albums by two artists took place during the same week.
The last time it happened was on December 20, 2009, when Alicia Keys and Susan Boyle both sold above 400,000 in the same week for their respective albums.
Team MNG wishes Justin Bieber all the best for his new album’s magnificent success.
Picture Source: Wikimedia Commons/Justin Bieber


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MTN Group Limited plans to gauge investor interest in a possible bond offering as Africa’s biggest mobile-phone company by sales seeks funds to pay for dividends, capital expenditure and a record N330 billion ($1 billion) fine in Nigeria.
The wireless operator has mandated Barclays Bank Plc, Bank of America Corp.’s Merrill Lynch, Citigroup Inc. and Standard Bank Group Limited to arrange a series of fixed-income investor meetings in the U.S. and the U.K. starting September 9, the Johannesburg-based company said in a statement on Wednesday.
The dollar-denominated bond offering “is expected to follow subject to market conditions,” Bloomberg quoted the carrier said. MTN’s move to attract funding comes after the company reported its first-ever half-year loss this month, partly caused by an agreement to settle the fine with Nigerian regulators and government. The subscriber base of 233 million didn’t grow during the six months through June, while MTN is struggling to repatriate 15.4 billion rand ($1.1 billion) tied up in its Iran unit.
“Pre-dividend free cash flow won’t cover payments of dividends and the fine in Nigeria this year and in 2017,” an emerging-markets credit analyst at Gimme Credit LLC in Tel Aviv, Alexandre Dray, said in e-mailed comments. “Therefore, the company needs to raise new debt or equity to keep a comfortable liquidity position.”
MTN issued a $750 million note in 2014 that matures in 2024, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The company sold a 1.25 billion rand bond in 2010, which matures in July next year.
After reaching a record high in February, the yield on MTN’s dollar-denominated note has fallen as the carrier negotiated and finally successfully settled talks over its Nigerian fine. Having peaked at 7.11 percent on Feb. 19, the note’s yield is now 4.81 percent and its spread to a similarly dated Treasury Bill has narrowed.
MTN is due to pay an outstanding N280 billion of the Nigerian fine in six installments over the next three years. The first payment, which MTN Nigeria says it has already settled, was due on July 8.
Mastercard And OPay Announce Partenership Deal
Fintech giants, Mastercard and Opay have announced a partnership deal to foster a global payment ecosystem to boost digital commerce in Middle East Africa and Africa at large.
This comes on the heels of the partnership deal Mastercard signed with Coinbase a couple of months ago to enable payments in the NFT marketplace.
Investors King gathered that the partnership with Mastercard is to simplify users’ experience in the NFT marketplace by allowing millions of people access the Coinbase to mint, purchase, showcase, and discover NFTs. Mastercard has said all the NFT-related transactions would be classified as ‘digital goods’.
This collaboration is the latest step in Mastercard’s emerging market strategy, which involves the technology company collaborating with fast-growing Fintechs like OPay to broaden access to digital transactions, encourage a variety of leisure amenities, develop new financial inclusion trajectories, and endorse the next formation of apps.
Customers are actively asking for a single platform that allows them to do numerous daily tasks more easily, such as sending and receiving money, ordering meals and groceries, scheduling transportation, lending, investing, and putting products for sale.
Customers of OPay will be able to pay on worldwide web platforms using Mastercard’s secure virtual payment system, which is linked to the OPay wallet.
With or without a bank account, OPay customers will benefit from a superior digital experience for a variety of lifestyle services and new digital commerce options.
In addition to enabling digital commerce, the two companies will collaborate to develop solutions that will position OPay at the forefront of financial services in the areas they serve.
Executive Vice President for Market Development, Mastercard EEMEA, Amnah Ajmal, said: “At Mastercard, our innovation strategy is rooted in partnerships to support inclusion at scale. Our partnership with OPay demonstrates our commitment to supporting payments providers across the world to create an interconnected global payments ecosystem that benefits an array of consumers with unique needs.”
CEO of OPay, Yahui Zhou, said: “As the leading fintech in the Middle East and Africa, we are delighted to be partnering with Mastercard as we continue on our journey to promote financial inclusion, helping to open up the global economy to more consumers and businesses across Middle East and Africa.”
Skaleet and Mobiblanc Announce Partnership for a Cutting-edge Technology to Serve Banks Across Africa
Skaleet, an international fintech providing a next-generation Core Banking Platform (CBP), has partnered today with Mobiblanc, an Agile Digital Services Entreprise (ESN), to offer turnkey solutions to financial institutions across Africa. The partnership will ensure that financial institutions have the capacities to launch new digital and innovative financial solutions that they can provide to their customers, whether businesses or individuals.
Mobiblanc, based in Morocco and Tunisia, is a leading player in North and West African markets entirely devoted to digital solutions. With a talented and dynamic team, Mobiblanc delivers an efficient and effective consulting and integration service for a wide range of clients.
Skaleet enables retail banks and financial institutions to launch new banking products and services for their customers at a competitive price. Through its open, modular, and flexible Core banking Platform, Skaleet offers innovative and scalable banking solutions that are built end-to-end and tailored to each customer.
The digital marketplace is continually, and rapidly, developing and evolving and the partnership between Skaleet and Mobiblanc enables financial institutions to ensure clients stay at the forefront with innovative and cutting-edge technology. Providing the best service and advice to clients, Skaleet and Mobiblanc are able to respond quickly to the digital evolution of banking and financial services with innovative and agile solutions that are competitively priced.
Yves Eonnet, chairman and co-founder of Skaleet said, “Today, it is essential for financial institutions to be able to innovate quickly and adapt to change. The ecosystem we have built relies on expert partners who are aware of this challenge and can find solutions. We quickly saw a cultural, technological and business fit between our two organizations and are delighted to have partnered with Mobiblanc. The partnership will enable us to further expand our offering and add value to our customers across Africa.”
Youssef El Alaoui, co-founder of Mobiblanc, added, “This partnership confirms our strategic orientation to support the digital transformation of the financial sector. We share the ambition with Skaleet to offer integration of innovative solutions with cutting-edge, technological expertise in order to bring added value to our partners and respond to the new business requirement of the sector.”
Both Skaleet and Mobiblanc are committed to continue innovating and creating new modules and functionalities to reshape the banking and financial ecosystem in favour of a formal, inclusive and sustainable development of the African continent.
Skaleet and Mobiblanc will participate at Africa Pay & ID Expo 2022 (APIDE), 26-28 May 2022, Marrakech, Morocco.
“We Suspend Over Half A Million Spam Accounts Every day” – Twitter CEO Reveals
Twitter CEO, Parag Agrawal has revealed that Twitter suspends over half a million spam accounts on the site every day.
In a series of tweets, the tech guru discussed extensively on the issue of Spam, how the impacts have affected human work, and how the company works extensively to solve them.
This comes barely three days after Investors King reported the reasons Parag sacked top Twitter officers.
“First, let me state the obvious: spam harms the experience for real people on Twitter, and therefore can harm our business. As such, we are strongly incentivized to detect and remove as much spam as we possibly can, every single day. Anyone who suggests otherwise is just wrong.
“Next, spam isn’t just ‘binary’ (human / not human). The most advanced spam campaigns use combinations of coordinated humans + automation. They also compromise real accounts, and then use them to advance their campaign. So – they are sophisticated and hard to catch.
“Some final context: fighting spam is incredibly *dynamic*. The adversaries, their goals, and tactics evolve constantly – often in response to our work! You can’t build a set of rules to detect spam today, and hope they will still work tomorrow. They will not
“We suspend over half a million spam accounts every day, usually before any of you even see them on Twitter. We also lock millions of accounts each week that we suspect may be spam – if they can’t pass human verification challenges (captchas, phone verification, etc),” he tweeted.
Further emphasizing on the challenge the team encounters, Parag said: “many accounts that seem like spam are real accounts and they cause the most damage to other users. In retrospect to that, the team updates the systems and rules constantly to remove as much spam as possible, without inadvertently suspending real people or adding unnecessary friction for real people when they use Twitter”.
He added that the use of private data is particularly important to avoid misclassifying users who are actually real.
“FirstnameBunchOfNumbers with no profile pic and odd tweets might seem like a bot or spam to you, but behind the scenes we often see multiple indicators that it’s a real person”, he said.
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Australia’s central bank slashed rates and pumped A$100bn (£53bn) into its economy on Tuesday to fight the Covid-19 slump amid rising trade tensions with China.
The Reserve Bank of Australia cut rates to a record low of 0.1pc and ramped up bond-buying plans as the nation struggles in its first recession for 30 years.
It has also pledged to keep interest rates on hold for at least three years to support the recovery of the A$2 trillion economy.
Philip Lowe, the Reserve Bank governor, edged up growth forecasts but warned that “we need to recognise that the pandemic has inflicted significant damage on our economy”.
Unemployment has jumped from 5pc to 6.9pc since the pandemic erupted and the Reserve Bank predicts the jobless rate will still be as high as 6pc by the end of 2022. The economy contracted by 7pc in the three months to June.
“We face the prospect of a long period of higher unemployment and underemployment than we have become used to,” Mr Lowe added.
Without the Australian version of the furlough scheme, which Prime Minister Scott Morrison has extended until March, economists warn unemployment would be higher still.
Mr Lowe insisted that the central bank was not out of firepower but said a move to negative rates was “extraordinarily unlikely” because it could prompt people to save rather than spend.
Australia’s economic headaches mounted on Tuesday as China imposed import bans on a host of products in the latest escalation of an ongoing political row over the origins of coronavirus.
China has suspended imports of some timber and barley and delayed clearance for a $1.4m shipment of live lobsters as Beijing puts pressure on the Australian government to drop its support for an investigation into the origin of the pandemic, which began in Wuhan in December.
Beijing has also blocked or limited imports of Australian coal, beef and other goods and announced an investigation into whether wine was being sold at improperly low prices.
China is Australia’s most important trading partner, with agricultural shipments alone totalling about A$16bn in 2018-19. The nation sealed a comprehensive free-trade agreement with Beijing in 2015 but a ban on controversial telecoms firm Huawei and anti-foreign interference laws have cooled relations.
Australian wine exporters, which sell A$1.2bn of wine to China every year, have been notified by Chinese importers that their wine will not be cleared through Chinese customs from Friday.
Agriculture minister David Littleproud said he would “work with the Chinese authorities to investigate and resolve these issues".
A Chinese foreign ministry spokesman said: "We hope Australia can do more things conducive to mutual trust, bilateral cooperation and the spirit of China-Australia comprehensive strategic partnership and bring the bilateral relations back to the right track as early as possible.”


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Box Takes Aim at Legacy ECM, More News
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has been called a lot of things, but this has got to be a first:
“[Trump] is like your legacy content management and collaboration technology. Lots of vague promises that don’t seem to be fulfilled … Really it’s about building walls to make it hard to share the best ideas and to collaborate. And he seems to be successful even though he has a crazy user interface. I don’t understand how this works.”
Box CEO Aaron Levie made the joke at the Redwood City, Calif.-based company’s annual customer conference, which finished yesterday in San Francisco.
This wasn’t the first time Levie has taken a swipe at Trump, but in this case he was supporting the conference’s broader message — the “all new Box” wants to take on legacy enterprise content management systems.
The company revealed a number of new partnerships and capabilities to support this goal.
‘All New Box’ Takes Shape
Among them was Box Relay for automated workflow creation, the first release from its year old partnership with IBM. The company also announced a partnership with Google, which will integrate Box’s file storage with Google’s Docs, Sheets and Slides as well as the Google Springboard search engine.
Those were the marquee moments at the conference, but other announcements added to the sense that this was, as Rand Wacker, vice president of Enterprise Products at Box described it, a “watershed” moment for the company.
Jeetu Patel, senior vice president of platform and Chief Strategy Officer at Box, wrote about some of the less glamorous releases aimed at helping developers and customers transform business processes. Beyond the Relay and Google announcements, releases included:
- Support for new content types: Support for several new file types including HD video, 360 images and videos, 3-D models and VR files. These new file types are available today for web applications and will be available for mobile in the coming months.
Box also introduced a redesigned developer console, overhauling the user experience and including a new user interface which offers guided walkthroughs for configuring applications, easy access to support, documentation and notifications.
Xerox Launches New Line of Printers
Norwalk, Conn.-based Xerox Corp. continues to develop and push out new releases in spite of being in the middle of a restructuring which will see the company split into two companies: a document technology company and a business process outsourcing company.
Like others in the productivity space, Xerox is focused on increasing its products efficiency. Slow print speeds, poor image quality and complicated set ups are a few of the factors that impact productivity when it comes to printers and other document-related software and hardware.
Xerox today introduced the Xerox WorkCentre Multifunction Printers (MFPs) and Xerox Phaser 3330, a set of new black-and-white printers that it claims anyone — even the least tech-savvy person in the office — can operate.
The printers simplify set up and connect readily to mobile devices. Internal Wi-Fi connectivity and Near Field Communication tap-to-pair allow mobile workers to link their phones and tablets to print from any location.
The new features aim to improve productivity and print quality, no matter the device used to send the job.
PDsurF Smart PDF Platform
Finally this week, Toronto-based PDsurF announced the beta launch of its smart, seamless PDF document and e-book management platform.
The PDsurF platform uses machine learning and machine intelligence to help improve storage, search and findability of pdfs and e-books for those in the educational, professional, commercial and non-profit sectors. It also organizes online document libraries.
The platform includes an online PDF document viewer and collaboration tools for users to view, highlight and annotate PDF content, as well as share documents and comments with teammates.
PDsurF offers three different editions, including a free basic package. The Premium Edition costs $4.99 per user per month, and the enterprise edition adds substantial capabilities at an unknown cost.
Title image Aaron Levie


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By Scott Carlson
In a time when staying healthy has been more on people’s minds because of the COVID-19 pandemic, wellness and fitness businesses have been challenged to stay afloat.
From yoga and fitness centers to community block nurse programs for seniors, wellness providers have suffered big drops in serving customers and clients and have had to reach people in new ways during these socially distanced times.
Take Healing Elements, a yoga studio in St. Anthony Park. Owner Samantha Shvetzoff reported, “We’ve been operating at about 40 percent revenue compared to 2019 and previous years through 2020. Things are looking a little brighter in 2021.
“However, there is still an incredible amount of uncertainty and weariness in the wellness industry as to how to proceed with returning to business as we once knew it,” Shvetzoff noted. “We are seeing clients for massage therapy, and our yoga classes have been virtual since March 2020.
“While we had a great holiday season with retail, I attribute that to our quick implementation and creation on an e-commerce site where we have been selling all of our merchandise,” she continued. “Gift card sales were down nearly 80 percent this past holiday season compared with previous years. We’ve had to make some pretty difficult decisions over this past year in terms of how we operate our business, the positions we employ and seeking out federal and county financial aid to keep our doors open.”
Shvetzoff said the pandemic was “the unexpected push” her business needed to open its e-commerce store and create an on-demand virtual yoga studio. “We now have what we call our ‘member portal’ which houses recorded yoga, fitness and meditation classes as well as bodywork tutorials and spiritual content,” she continued. “We currently have 60 virtual members and we’re very proud of that adaptation we implemented! It has been a great opportunity to connect with teachers and practitioners virtually who we may not have had the opportunity to partner with otherwise.”
Meanwhile, wellness businesses have had to implement a myriad of health and safety protocols to resume in-person classes and services. For example, Healing Elements has a COVID-19 preparedness plan that includes increased cleaning and sanitized practices, mandatory mask wearing and physical distancing, germ guards and making personal protective equipment easily available for all staff and clients.
At Defining You Pilates & Fitness, owner Suzy Levi has installed a commercial grade, clean-air filtration unit in her space, 550 Vandalia Tower, in south St. Anthony Park, to safeguard the health of club members and instructors. Her studio space is about 3,200 square feet in a building that has 14-foot ceilings.
Levi said her new air filtration system recirculates air, greatly minimizing the possible presence of the COVID virus. As a result, she is able to hold small in-person classes. That’s a start for Levi in rebuilding her class participation numbers. “We had to be creative to keep revenue going.”
She added, “We have seen an increase in one-on-one classes.” But even if the COVID pandemic eases, Levi said she believes that a portion of her studio’s class offerings will remain online.
At the Como/Falcon Heights Block Nurse program, executive director Lisa Kane said her group is offering senior exercise classes virtually. But that switch has come at a cost with total participation down more than 50 percent from when the program offered in-person exercise classes at various senior facilities and town halls.
Meanwhile, the story of wellness and fitness centers in St. Anthony Park mirrors the trend across the Twin Cities, according to Dawn Bryant of Sweat United Inc., a loose collaborative of fitness and wellness operators she founded a year ago following first pandemic-related business closings.
“I just wanted to create a bridge for people to find ways to get healthy and keep a pipeline of clients open for all the businesses,” Bryant said. “What started as simply sharing information ended up being a host of five huge live virtual events with fitness professionals, all of the Twin Cities.”
Bryant said that while some fitness operators have quietly gone out of business, “most businesses have been able to successfully pivot.”
“The tone early on in the pandemic was one of fear and scrambling, and as everyone got their arms around everything, the attitude shifted to one of determination.
“Initially, many fitness businesses offered classes online for free just to keep their clients moving and engaged—everything from launching virtual classes, to on-demand programming, to sourcing, selling and renting exercise equipment for home workouts,” Bryant said.
“Now, most places have business models that can be executed in-studio (or in-gym) and virtually,” she noted. “In theory, it makes their reaches so much broader. And they’re embracing it.’’
Going forward, Shvetzoff, of Healing Elements, said her personal business goals include slowly resuming in-person yoga classes. “I think the most realistic thing we can do is plan for a year similar to 2020 and hope for the best.”
In the end, Bryant predicts, “The businesses that can bring their communities beyond the walls of their gyms and studios will do best. And there will always be a place for gyms and studios because nothing can take the place of a room full of equipment and experts that can help you, educate you, motivate you and inspire you.”
Scott Carlson is managing editor of the Bugle.


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Without access to basic financial services, poor and minority communities are more likely to use dangerous and expensive options.
A neighborhood saturated with fast food restaurants and bodegas but without a grocery store would make it difficult to respect a healthy diet. It would be just as difficult to manage finances and build wealth without a bank branch nearby. Unfortunately, that’s exactly what a growing percentage of American households are being asked to do: manage their finances and build wealth without having access to a traditional bank branch nearby.
New York Fed economists recently investigation increasing “banking deserts”, or communities with little or no access to traditional banking services, in their Economy of the Liberty Street Blog. They merged the locations of FDIC-insured bank branches with US Census Bureau data on household income and race to determine whether low-income communities and communities of color disproportionately bore the burden of the closures. bank branches after the recession. To be completely clear: the most important takeaway from the New York Fed investigation is that low-income communities and communities of color have historically and disproportionately limited access to traditional banking services. These trends have implications for the opportunities for households and communities to leverage financial products and services to their advantage.
That doesn’t mean, however, that the evidence couldn’t be used to draw mixed conclusions. The New York Fed reports that low-income communities and communities of color have been less affected than high-income, predominantly white communities by bank branch closures in the shadow of the Great Recession. However, these communities had less to lose initially. Low-income communities and communities of color have experienced bank branch closures for almost two decades—devolve in “banking deserts” for a while.
Federal deregulation in the 1990s enabled banks to shift from primarily serving local communities to serving larger and more profitable geographic areas. Banks withdrew from local communities, closing their less profitable branches that were often in low-income communities and communities of color. High cost alternative financial services began to occupy communities once served by traditional banking services, growing at a rate of 15 percent per year since the 1990s.
When alternative financial services like payday lenders and check cashing stores – the equivalent of fast food chains and convenience stores in this scenario – infiltrate neighborhoods left behind by traditional banks, residents pay a high price to meet their financial needs: the average borrower spends more $ 500 per year in interest just on payday loans. Residents end up diverting money that could have been used otherwise to pay for irregular expenses or to build wealth, instead of paying to use the basic financial products they desperately need to manage their financial lives. Because like convenience stores in food deserts that don’t sell nutritious foods that promote physical health, alternative financial services don’t sell products that boost long-term financial health.
Technology like mobile banking and fintech innovations help reduce the geographic distance between households and traditional bank branches, thereby increasing access to basic financial products. Yet technology alone cannot repair the negative impact that bank branch closures have had on mortgages and small business lending. Simply put, traditional bank branches are still important for accessing credit to build wealth. Without a bank branch in their community, households have limited access to safer and more affordable products, such as a savings account that could be used to pay for irregular expenses or to invest in the future. And, as the New York Fed study shows, residents lose access to small business loans and mortgages when bank branches close, hampering the investment and entrepreneurship needed to stimulate local economic growth.
The consequences of these trends are what makes the type of research undertaken by the New York Fed so important. It’s a time when households live unprecedented inequalities and limited economic mobility, and these experiences are probably exacerbated in part by variations in communities‘resources and opportunities. In other words, some communities are deserts while others are oases – and these banking habitats are divided based on income and race.
Mapping and comparing the locations of traditional banking and alternative financial services can help shed light on the quality of services to which communities have access, and perhaps the extent to which communities are being left behind. Over time, experts can better understand the impact that the changing landscapes of financial services have on communities, and which communities need more investment and innovation. They can also better understand the regulatory reforms needed. With these understandings, investments can be made in existing innovations such as Federal mutual aid credit unionthe micro-agencies division of, CT Prospera, and the Community development financial institutions (CDFI) that provide safe, affordable and wealth-generating financial products and services to low-income communities and communities of color across the country. It would also open the door to imagine and invest in new innovations.
Just as convenient access to grocery stores that sell affordable and nutritious foods helps us maintain healthy diets, convenient access to safe and affordable financial products and services helps us establish and maintain good financial health. . When this is not the case for low-income communities and communities of color, economic growth suffers and households struggle financially. Research should continue to locate communities across the country that are more affected than others, helping to establish evidence for where and how investments and innovations can be made to reverse these trends. In this way, the United States can invest in the communities and households whose financial health will benefit the most.
This message appears courtesy of New America.


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A brand new UK event for developers will be held in London next month, sharing expert advice on Agile development.
The New Developers Conference London will run from Wednesday, December 4th to Friday, December 6th at the ExCeL centre. There will also be pre-event workshops on Monday, December 2nd and Tuesday, December 3rd at ExCeL’s International Convention Centre.
NDC is being organised by the company behind the Norwegian Developers Conference, which has been running since 2008. This year’s iteration attracted more than 1,800 and the organisers hope to build on this success with the UK event.
"New Developers Conference is one of the world’s largest independent conferences in .NET and Agile development," said NDC London director Jakob Bradford.
"The inaugural London event will expand on the success of the Norwegian Developers Conference in Oslo and aims to transform the UK developer conference scene, boosting the industry like a vitamin injection.
"The conference will offer an arena for developers to share, gain and celebrate expert knowledge, and the perfect ‘feel good’ boost to the ever-evolving developer community.
"Attendees can expect access to expert knowledge, fantastic networking and social events and a truly unforgettable experience, with a host of exclusive talks by leading international experts on .NET and Agile."
You can find out more information and book tickets at the official NDC London website.


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Dubai gears up for big IT shopper event
Dubai, April 2, 2013
More than 30,000 products - from touch-screen laptops to tablets to the latest tech products, gadgets and accessories - will be on sale at the inaugural 'Gitex Shopper Spring 2013,' which opens in Dubai tomorrow (April 3).
To be held at the Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC), the four-day shopper event takes place during school spring break to offer students, parents and educators the best opportunity to stock up on the learning tools of today.
Exhibitors will be offering unbeatable deals on the latest tech products, gadgets and accessories now becoming as common in the classroom as pencil cases and rulers used to be, said the event organisers DWTC in a statement.
With computers and tech in general an accepted part of life in today’s world, keeping pace with the fast changing tech world is increasingly important for students to thrive in the modern education system and in the jobs of the future. From touch-screen laptops to tablets, interactivity and connectivity bring a new dimension to the learning process and everyday life, the statement added.
Governments across the region are driving initiatives in the education sector that are revolutionising the traditional classroom and learning approach.
One example is the Dh1 billion “Mohammed bin Rashid Smart Learning Initiative” launched last year as part of the UAE Vision 2021 that will transform classrooms as well as integrate teachers, students, parents and administrators into a single e-platform, said the DWTC statement.
“Technology has now become an integral part of education and learning, whether in or out of the classroom, and with tech products that are both specialised and general parts of our everyday lives. Gitex Shopper Spring offers students and parents the chance to find the best products and great prices, and enjoy some great entertainment at the same time from our power retailers and brands,” said Trixee Loh, senior VP of DWTC.
Particular trends being recognised by power retailers in the region include the use of tablets in classrooms and at home.
Ashish Panjabi, COO of Jacky’s Electronics said the use of tablets in K12 education has enabled more interactivity in the learning process using tools that are readily accepted by kids today.
The introduction of Windows 8 in November last year has also encouraged the use of touch-screen laptops and hybrid devices, with education apps relying on tools most instinctive for the youth of today.
“From our stand at Gitex Shopper Spring next week we will showcase a wide range of tablets from established brands such as Apple, Samsung, Lenovo, Asus and Microsoft, as well as OEM brands in the budget segment like HCL, Prestigio, Eurostar and Touchmate. In terms of touch-screen Windows 8 laptops and PCs, visitors can also scoop up special deals on products from HP, Acer, Lenovo, Dell, Asus, Toshiba and Samsung,” said Panjabi.
Nadeem Khanzadah, the head of retail at Jumbo Electronics said, “Books have been replaced with tablets in the classrooms, and many training institutes and higher education providers make it absolutely compulsory to include technology in the classroom. Students are also now connected via smartphones both socially and academically.”
The power retailer will also showcase a comprehensive range of tablets at the uipcoming shew in addition to a wide choice of the latest tech products at the best possible prices.
According to Saiju KP, the retail manager at One Mobile, the company has seen strong demand for cutting-edge educational products in the UAE and will showcase the latest tablets from top companies such as Apple and Samsung.
"These are exciting times for students and teachers keen on embracing technology in the classroom. This is a youthful country with one of the most tech-savvy populations in the world," remarked Saiju.
"Products such as tablets offer almost unlimited educational potential, and while Apple has historically dominated the Middle Eastern tablet scene, Android-based devices are quickly gaining in popularity. The market is continually evolving, and its sheer competitiveness is pushing technology providers to innovate like never before," he added.
In addition to the bonanza of bargains, the show offers a myriad of fun entertainment, feature activities and Big Bang prizes to be won. These include a sporty Mini Cooper to be won every day of the show, Visit & Win raffle prizes, and gift vouchers.
The organiser DWTC boasts of its own dedicated metro station just steps away from the door to the show, and a great choice of food and beverage options on site, to make the Gitex Shopper Spring a great day out for the family.
The tickets have been priced at Dh15 per person for the big shopping event which runs from 11am to11pm. Entry is free for children under the age of five.-TradeArabia News Service


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Alibaba's new CEO Zhang faces challenges in e-commerce
TOKYO — If youth and a wide range of experience are what's needed to restore some of Alibaba Group's lost luster, new Chief Executive Officer Daniel Zhang may be the right person for the job.
Zhang, 42, stepped into the No. 2 post at China's largest e-commerce vendor on Sunday. He was named to the job on May 7.
He replaces Jonathan Lu, who presided over the Alibaba Group's record-setting, $25 billion initial public offering in September 2014. Shares dropped dramatically after peaking in November, however, and the company lost about $70 billion in market value.
Lu will remain as vice chairman of Alibaba Group's board of directors.
Zhang joined Alibaba in 2007 and has held a variety of top management jobs, according to his company profile. He became Alibaba Group's chief operating officer in September 2013, overseeing the group's domestic and overseas business operations.
Zhang is credited as the key architect of the November 11 "Shopping Festival," a promotion that Alibaba claims as the world's largest online shopping event.
"Daniel is a proven international business leader and innovator with a strong track record of delivering results. He has the confidence of our entire management team, and there is no better person to lead Alibaba Group as we embark on the next stage of our growth on top of the strong foundation that Jonathan helped build," Executive Chairman Jack Ma said in a statement Thursday.
In a letter to employees Thursday, Ma said the change was part of a broader effort to bring younger leaders into the company. "This marks a future where the post-(19)70 generation will command the troops at Alibaba Group!" Ma wrote, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal.
That's a good idea, said Joel Backaler, author of China Goes West, a book that looks at how Chinese companies like Alibaba are expanding internationally.
"Industries like high tech, Internet, bio tech — these firms are typically run by a younger generation of leaders, often referred to as haigui or sea turtles — Chinese who study abroad and then come home to work for Chinese firms. Alibaba operates in one of these industries, an industry that is relatively young globally, and therefore the executives in Silicon Valley and Hangzhou are on a more equal playing field," Backaler told USA TODAY on Friday.
Zhang's immediate challenge will be to bolster cross-border e-commerce and fend off competitors to Alibaba's Tmall Global platform, Backaler said.
"Chinese consumers are demanding authentic foreign products…. There's a lot of market share up for grabs at this stage, so I expect this to be a key area of focus for Zhang," Backaler said.
In a rare public rebuke, China's powerful State Administration for Industry and Commerce in January charged that Alibaba's e-commerce platforms were rife with fake merchandise and transactions. The report was later removed from the agency's website, a move the company claimed as vindication.
Zhang was named in 2008 as general manager of Taobao Marketplace, the predecessor to Alibaba Group's Tmall.com e-commerce site.
"Under Daniel's leadership, Taobao Mall rapidly became one of Alibaba's most important businesses and was highly recognized by consumers and brands in China and around the world," the company said in a statement Thursday.
Before joining Alibaba Group, Zhang was chief financial officer of Shanda Interactive Entertainment Limited, an online game developer and operator listed on the NASDAQ Stock Market.
Zhang received a bachelor's degree in finance from Shanghai University of Finance and Economics. Before joining Alibaba Group, he served as senior manager of PricewaterhouseCoopers' Audit and Business Advisory Division in Shanghai, and also worked in the Shanghai office of Arthur Andersen.
Zhang serves on the boards of directors of CITIC 21 and of Haier, both listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. He has been a board member of Weibo, a leading micro-blogging site, since May 2014.


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Philip Morris USA and R.J. Reynolds Tobacco have sued New York over the anti-smoking ads that businesses selling tobacco products are required to display. The two cigarette manufacturers claim that the measure violates First Amendment rights. The ads carry graphic health warnings showing decaying teeth, brain damage caused by strokes and other images that don’t exactly encourage spending at the point of sale.
According to Bloomberg BusinessWeek:
“Through words and imagery, the signs urge consumers not to purchase plaintiffs products,” the cigarette makers said. “The mandated signs also restrict plaintiffs’ ability to communicate about lawful products with their adult customers.”
The tobacco manufacturers claim that the state’s law “contravenes more than four decades of exclusive federal regulation of cigarette health warnings” and violates the U.S. and New York state constitutions by “compelling them to undertake graphic advocacy on behalf of the City.”


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By Christopher Reynolds in Montreal
Air Canada more than tripled its revenues last quarter as demand for travel revved back up, though a net loss of nearly $1 billion signalled the pandemic recovery is far from complete.
After the Omicron variant of COVID-19 slowed bookings in January, the airline’s sales then spiked in March as travel restrictions eased, pushing bookings to 90 per cent of 2019 levels.
“We are very positive on the rest of the year and continued growth over the next several years,” CEO Michael Rousseau told analysts on a conference call Tuesday.
The country’s largest airline maintained full-year forecasts that capacity will average out at roughly three-quarters of 2019 and its earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization as a percentage of operating revenue or EBITDA margin will be between eight and 11 per cent.
However, Air Canada’s capacity continues to lag U.S. airlines and business travel remains at half the volume it did three years ago, said chief commercial officer Lucie Guillemette.
“International might take a little bit longer,” she said, referring to overseas business bookings, even as domestic and leisure travel ramps up.
Air Canada hopes to take advantage of a renewed appetite for corporate travel in the United States as Air Canada shores up U.S. flight schedule, she added.
Meanwhile, rising fuel costs, inflation and uncertainty stemming from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine add more headwinds to a buffeted industry.
“We believe that much of this increase can be recovered in fares,” chief financial officer Amos Kazzaz said of jet fuel prices, which were up nearly 119 per cent year over year as of April 22, according to the International Air Transport Association. Spiking in March amid the war in Ukraine, the price has nudged down by 5.5 per cent over the past month.
RBC analyst Walter Spracklin said fuel costs have “eaten into the otherwise positive benefit of higher ticket fares,” while the prolonged plunge in business travel remains a “key risk” for Air Canada.
The Montreal-based airline reported a first-quarter loss of $974 million or $2.72 per diluted for its first quarter compared with a loss of $1.30 billion or $3.90 per diluted share a year earlier.
Revenue totalled $2.57 billion for the three months ended March 31, compared with $729 million in the first three months of 2021.
Analysts on average had predicted a loss of $1.49 per share, according to financial data firm Refinitiv.
First-quarter cost per available seat mile, or CASM — a key industry metric — was 21.8 cents, compared with 42.2 cents a year earlier. Its adjusted CASM was 15.6 cents, compared with 40.4 cents in the first quarter of 2021.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 26, 2022.
Feature image via The Canadian Press


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Rolls-Royce wins £1bn nuclear-armed submarines contract
New contract: Rolls-Royce
Rolls-Royce has won a £1billion contract to build reactors for the next generation of the UK’s nuclear-armed submarines.
The deal is part of the Government’s plans to replace the Vanguard fleet, which carries the Trident nuclear deterrent.
The work will be carried out at the Rolls-Royce factory at Raynesway, Derby, creating 300 jobs.
The Ministry of Defence has already set aside £3billion to begin work on the new submarines to replace the Royal Navy’s four Vanguard class boats.
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Samsung is gearing up for the launch of a new M-series smartphone. The company recently launched the Galaxy M33 5G and the Galaxy M53 5G as its new mid-range smartphones under the M-series. It looks like the company will launch an affordable smartphone in the M-series. Samsung Galaxy M13 5G could see a launch soon.
The company has not yet confirmed the launch date of its upcoming 5G smartphone. While we wait for that, some details of the upcoming Galaxy M13 5G have surfaced online. The phone has been spotted on the FCC website ahead of its launch. Let’s take a look at the Samsung Galaxy M13 5G specifications, features and other details known so far.
Samsung Galaxy M13 5G FCC
Samsung is likely to launch the Galaxy M13 5G very soon. The smartphone has been spotted on the FCC website ahead of its official launch. As per the listing, the phone has the model number SM-M135M.
In addition to this, the listing reveals the charging adapter details of the phone as well. Samsung has tested the phone with a charging adapter that has the model number EP-TA200. The charging adapter supports 15W fast charging out. Going by recent trends, it is unknown if Samsung will provide the charger in the box.
The phone was recently spotted on the Bluetooth SIG certification website. It revealed that the Galaxy M13 5G will support Bluetooth 5.0.
Other details of the phone have leaked in the past. The Galaxy M13 5G is likely to sport a dual-camera setup on the back, according to the live images leaked in the past. It could feature a 50MP main camera and a 2MP depth sensor.
The phone is also likely to sport a 6.5-inch IPS LCD. There is no word on whether the screen will support a high refresh rate. We can expect the device to sport a waterdrop notch at the top for the front camera. Other details of the Samsung smartphone remain unknown. We will share more details as and when available.


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At this time in November, 34-year-old Serrah Russell would normally be fielding a tonne of text messages as her family plotted out kitchen logistics and contributions for the Thanksgiving feast.
But Covid concerns have cancelled the big gathering for her. So this year the artist is skipping cooking altogether, opting instead for a takeaway Thanksgiving meal.
She, her husband, two friends and toddler will be dining on a 10-dish spread prepared by Canlis, a high-end Seattle restaurant with an award-winning chef, who is offering a video tutorial to coach customers through the final steps of turkey roasting.
“It feels like it’s been such a year,” says Serrah, who has relied on Canlis takeaway to mark other special occasions this year. “It’s sort of nice to take away that stress and just be present with people and enjoy that aspect of it.”
Table of Contents
As officials warn against travel and in some places bar gatherings of more than 10 people due to the pandemic, the limits have raised questions about the impact on Thanksgiving, normally one of the biggest holidays in the US and a generator of billions of dollars in travel and food sales.
Among poultry producers, the likelihood that smaller gatherings this year could loosen loyalty to the traditional turkey dinner has raised fears of a surplus of the fowl, especially of larger birds.
But some restaurants, which have been hammered by social distancing restrictions and a drop in dining out, the situation has produced a possible silver lining, as smaller numbers make it more feasible for families to splurge on a professionally prepared meal – even if it ends up being eaten at home.
Thanksgiving takeaway packages are popping up at restaurants across the country, as chefs from Michelin-starred establishments to highway standbys like Cracker Barrel look to reinvent themselves for the Covid era.
Parachute, a Michelin-starred Korean-American restaurant in Chicago, would typically close on the holiday, enjoying the brief respite from what is one of its busiest months.
The restaurant is shut this year too, but families can pick up a Thanksgiving spread the day before, which draws on memories of what owner Beverly Kim’s mother cooked for the celebration, with dishes like crab meat gratin and parsley and butter Korean rice.
“We want to make it easy and a way to celebrate,” Ms Kim says.
Ms Kim says a Mother’s Day package she offered earlier this year proved a hit, and with business still about 30% down on what it was before the pandemic, she’s hoping to build on that success.
“People don’t skimp on holidays or on birthdays. They still want to celebrate those major milestones,” she says. “Restaurants like mine are banking on that – that people will support us at least with event kits and we can hopefully make it a memorable experience.”
‘The world has changed’
Less than 10% of Americans typically eat Thanksgiving dinner at a restaurant, according to polls by the National Restaurant Association.
But this year, what is usually a quiet day for the industry has already generated millions of dollars in sales, says Bryan Ferschinger, marketing chief at Tock, a restaurant reservation system that has morphed into an online order platform during the pandemic.
Roughly 1,000 restaurants – about a fifth of the businesses on the platform – are offering “Thanksgiving To Go” menus, with more launching every day, he says.
“The world has changed. Restaurants have gotten creative this year as they strive to make the best of the situation by offering a range of Thanksgiving dinner options for carryout and delivery.”
It’s too soon to say how sales will compare with last year, but specialty shops and grocery stores have also reported boosting their meal kits and ready-to-eat options, betting that people tired of Covid cooking will seek out convenience – if only for parts of the meal – to celebrate.
“People are just getting burned out of cooking,” says butcher Jake Dickson, owner of Dickson’s Farmstand Meats in New York, which scaled back its order of raw turkeys by 30% but is doing brisk business in ready-made turkey confit legs. “We wanted delicious things that were celebratory without as much effort.”
At some of the most popular restaurants, Thanksgiving packages have disappeared as fast as reservations did in pre-Covid times.
The Liholiho Yacht Club in San Francisco, known for its multicultural fare and the scarcity of its tables, sold out its $200 (£150) four-person Thanksgiving-to-go meal in roughly a week.
Chef and co-owner Ravi Kapur says the big appetite for the feast, which includes sausage-stuffed turkey roulade, sticky rice stuffing and confit garlic mashed potatoes, means he’s considering Christmas and New Year’s kits too.
But Mr Kapur, who opened the restaurant in 2015, is not quite celebrating.
Since California entered its first lockdown in March, he’s slashed his staff from more than 60 to about five. His dining room remains closed and sales this year are at about 20% of what they were, he estimates.
“If there’s any way to kind of explore these new revenue streams and have a good time doing it, we will,” he says. “But there’s a lot more days of the year that we’ve got to get through. It’s by no means an ultimate victory.
“If we were in a hospital, we’d be in critical condition,” he adds.
Since March, about 100,000 restaurants in the US have closed – roughly one in six, according to the National Restaurant Association. Some two million jobs have yet to return.
As of September, about 40% of those still in business said they expected to close, unless Washington approved additional aid.
The industry’s woes were on Lindsey O’Connor’s mind as she considered her Thanksgiving options this year.
Lindsey, who lives in Minneapolis, may end up dining solo since Covid has made the prospect of travelling home to family or joining friends’ celebrations more complicated.
But she’s still planning a feast – even knowing some of it is destined for the freezer. She’s ordered a half-turkey from barbecue food truck Animales BBQ, sweet potato and other sides from Union Hmong Kitchen and turned to the upscale Spoon and Stable restaurant for stuffing and pumpkin chiffon pie.
Lindsey plans to make her grandmother’s dinner rolls, as she does every year, but the decision to outsource the rest of the cooking was deliberate – a way to make the holiday not only special and less stressful, but also to support the local restaurant scene.
“I feel like I’m in a position with having a steady paycheque to make sure I’m paying it forward and in my mind that means supporting local restaurants,” says the 31-year-old, who researches retail trends.
“This winter is going to be super difficult,” she adds. “I find it in some strange way a way to give back and ensure that other people can have a Thanksgiving meal themselves.”


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US grocery retailer and distributor Supervalu has announced that it has formed a specialty produce distribution company, W. Newell & Co., designed to meet the growing demands of retailers for higher quality, wider variety and faster delivery of produce.
The new company will be a specialty distribution company exclusively focused on fresh produce and will be operated separately from Supervalu’s full-line general distribution business. The company’s headquarters will be based at a regional produce centre currently under construction in Champaign, Illinois.
Supervalu’s vice president of produce, Gary Gionnette, will head the new company as chief operating officer. Gionnette reports to David Boehnen, executive vice president of Supervalu.


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Russia: economic situation continues to worsen
The Economic situation in Russia continues to worsen, declared the Prime-Minister of Russia Dmitry Medvedev on April 15, 2014.
The Head of the Government stated according to the preliminary data, in the first quarter the economic growth rate shifts into low gear to the level of nearly 1%.
Remind, that previously the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade of Russia presented a forecast of the stated rate at the level of 0.8% in January-March.
You should be authorized to post comment
Russia: in 2016, buckwheat production to exceed its consumption level – Russian Grain Union
On October 26, Russia purchased over 44 thsd tonnes of grains to the intervention fund
Crimea: appointment of a new Minister of Agriculture
Russia: in January-September NCSP Group reduced grain shipment for exports
On October 25, Russia purchased over 45 thsd tonnes of grains to the intervention fund
October 25, 17:10
For 20 recent years, Russia increased rice production in 2.5 times
October 25, 15:50


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Denny's Corp. is set to launch a June TV advertising campaign that executives hope will build on first-quarter profits.
The campaign's slogan, "Denny's Always Works," is meant to signal that the restaurant chain is a good dining option for everyone at any meal.
Executives were upbeat at the company's annual stockholder meeting Wednesday, emphasizing the chain's 10 consecutive quarters of same-store sales growth.
However, Denny's $712,000 first quarter was only the second profitable quarter for the company since 2002.
It is also functioning under a heavy debt of more than $500 million.
The chain, which has long specialized in breakfasts, recently rolled out a host of dinner options.
"We will always be breakfast at Denny's," said company Chief Executive Officer Nelson Marchioli.
However, only one of the four new advertisements shown to investors was related to traditional breakfast.
The spots featured an elderly couple going to Denny's for dinner, a middle-aged man who likes the price and size of the chain's breakfasts, a mother who likes Denny's so much she is considering selling her stove, and a young man who likes to visit Denny's after a night on the town.
The Publicis Mid America marketing firm in Dallas is managing the campaign.
Denny's had been emphasizing the quality and personalities of its employees in its previous advertising.
The restaurant chain is also marketing itself through its sponsorship of the Professional Bowlers Association.
Denny's plans to roll out gift cards in October and to open at least 25 new restaurants in 2006, Marchioli said.
Chicago stockholder Dennis Whildin inquired about the restaurant's sizable debt at the shareholder meeting and what the company was doing to reduce it. He was told that, among other things, the chain is considering selling some of its real estate.
Such measures would reduce, not eliminate, the company's debt.
"I don't see Denny's to be a debt-free company," Marchioli said.
The company's stock closed unchanged from the previous day's trading, holding at $4.60 per share.
Three of the five analysts following the company rate it a strong buy while the two others rate the chain as a buy.
The company's board of directors also named Debra Smithart-Oglesby as board chairwoman.
She has served on the board since 2003 and is president of O/S Partners, an investment capital and consulting services firm.
Alexander Morrison can be reached at 562-7215 or firstname.lastname@example.org.


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Target CEO discusses possible expansion in Chicago
In a speech hosted by the Economic Club of Chicago, Target CEO Brian Cornell said the company would be looking to add new locations throughout the city.
Target CEO Brian Cornell said Tuesday he wants to expand the corporation’s presence in Chicago, but whether or not these plans will involve physical expansion throughout the city is still unclear.
In a speech to the Economic Club of Chicago, Cornell called the city a “critically important market,” and said the company has “an opportunity to expand and serve different neighborhoods across Chicago.”
Target has 86 stores in the Chicago area, including 20 downtown, according to Cornell. Since 2016, he added, the company has opened 12 new stores in Chicago.
“We’re also really excited about the fact that we are opening up this summer a new distribution center in Little Village,” Cornell said.
That facility is on the site of now-demolished power plant. Hilco Redevelopment Partners, which developed the new facility, also handled demolition, and ran into controversy when the implosion of a smokestack last April filled the air with a thick cloud of dust that coated the surrounding neighborhood.
Cornell said the distribution center would employ 2,000 people earning about $18 per hour.
Members of the club addressed questions to Cornell, which were presented by the Club’s President David Snyder. One member asked if Target had plans to open in the Water Tower Place space being vacated by Macy’s; that department store had announced earlier this year it was closing the Water Tower store.
Although Target inquired about the location earlier this year, Cornell said they had nothing to announce regarding a new location there or anywhere else in Chicago, just that “we are actively looking for new opportunities to invest in the city.”


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Current reports suggest the model could be named LTS, a name which Cadillac reportedly trademarked last year.
The large model will be roughly similar in size to the new Mercedes-Benz S-Class and is based on an all-new platform. The new Cadillac is likely to replace today’s front-drive XTS, which is based on the long-wheelbase version of GM’s Epsilon platform.
Dubbed Omega, the new architecture will be natively rear-wheel drive and also offer a four-wheel-drive option. Omega is also stretchable, meaning a long-wheelbase version of the new flagship is also likely. Such a model would be ideal for the brand’s assault on the booming Chinese market for premium cars.
The styling of the new model was previewed last summer by the extravagant Elmiraj coupé and the Ciel concept, an executive-sized four-seater convertible.
Although this test mule wears heavy camouflage, visible styling elements include its thin, vertical headlights and large front grille.
The Ciel was powered by a turbocharged V6 engine coupled with a hybrid electric drivetrain and a lithium-ion battery pack.
As well as offering a range of downsized turbocharged V6 engines to power the model, Cadillac will also offer a hybrid drivetrain with an electric-only mode, as expected by modern executive buyers.
The car will likely come to market in 2015, after a reveal at the Detroit motor show in January next year.
Cadillac sales are currently staging a revival in the US, with its 2013 sales totals making substantial percentage gains over 2012. Cadillac is also currently building a new factory in China, where it wants to shift 100,000 cars per year by 2016.


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January 26, 2015 - Industry News
The American Truck Dealers named the Kenworth T880 Vocational Truck as the 2015 Truck of the Year at the ATD convention and Expo in San Francisco.
Tags: Kenworth, ATD, Commercial Truck of the Year, Kenworth T880
January 23, 2015 - Industry News
Several motor vehicle industry associations including the Heavy Duty Manufacturers Association and Truck and Engine Manufacturers Association pledged to reduce the amount of copper in brake pads.
Tags: EPA, HDMA, Truck and Engine Manufacturers Association, Environmental Regulations, Air Disc Brake Pads
January 22, 2015 - Industry News
Grote Industries has hired Michael R. Henderson as its vice president of engineering. Henderson will be responsible for all Grote Engineering and be tasked with implementing the company’s new product development process.
Tags: Leadership, Lighting, Grote, People
American Truck Dealers will announce its annual Commercial Truck of the Year Saturday. Senior Editor Tom Berg offers a behind-the-scenes look at this week's judging process.
Tags: American Truck Dealers, Vocational, Commercial Truck of the Year
Class 8 truck orders in 2014 were up 42% over 2013, with 380,200 net orders being placed last year, according to data from ACT Research. Class 5-7 truck orders also performed well, selling 223,250 units.
Tags: Class 8, Medium-Duty Trucks, ACT Research, Truck Orders
December trailer orders were second only to October 2014 in volume, and trailer orders for the year hit an all-time high.
Tags: Dry Vans, FTR, Manufacturing, Trailer Orders, Trailers
January 21, 2015 - Press Release
Allison Transmission Holdings Inc. has announced that it will celebrate its centennial throughout 2015 with a variety of special events and activities.
Tags: India, Allison Transmission, Hungary, Corporate Anniversaries
January 21, 2015 - Industry News
The 2015 Ford F-150 has been rated to have the lowest impact on the environment, lowest cost of ownership, and the top-rated production chain in terms of social justice among full-size pickup trucks, according to an automotive research firm.
Tags: Ford F-150, Ford, 2015-MY, Large Pickups, Fuel Economy, TCO, Lifecycle Costs
January 20, 2015 - Industry News
Mercedes-Benz will debut its 2016 Metris mid-size van at the Work Truck Show on March 4, prior to offering the commercial vehicle for sale in the U.S. in the fall, show producer NTEA has announced.
Tags: Cargo Vans, Mercedes-Benz, Work Truck Show, Mercedes-Benz Metris
Take 19 of the country's safest, most professional drivers and have them walk onto the truck factory floor and see their brand-new ride waiting, and they turn into a bunch of excited teenagers taking selfies.
Tags: American Trucking Associations, Volvo Trucks, America's Road Team, Image
January 16, 2015 - Product News
Mack Trucks expanded its customer and body builder support by creating a body builder order manager position along with a support team.
Tags: Leadership, customer service, Mack Trucks, Dump Trucks
January 14, 2015 - Industry News
The trailer manufacturer Wabash National Corp. on Wednesday updated and raised guidance it previously provided ahead of releasing its fourth quarter and 2014 earnings.
Tags: Earnings, Wabash National
January 14, 2015 - Product News
Meritor’ OnTrac Customer Service Center is now open seven days a week with expanded hours Monday through Friday.
Tags: customer service, Call Center, Meritor, Product Support
Strengthening commercial trucking safety is one of four new issues on the National Transportation Safety Board's Most Wanted List for 2015, including active safety systems and underride guard improvements, while distracted driving returns to the list.
Tags: Regulations, Distracted Driving, NTSB, Driver Health, Underride Guard, Medical Examiners
January 13, 2015 - Industry News
Ram Truck has improved the fuel efficiency of its 1500 EcoDiesel pickup with a model that edges highway fuel economy for full-size pickups closer to 30 mpg highway — a bar once thought unattainable.
Tags: Diesel Engines, Fuel Economy, Ram 1500, 2015-MY, Ram Truck, Large Pickups
East Manufacturing named Waters Truck & Tractor and Waters International Trucks as authorized East dealers. Waters will offer East’s full line of flatbed, drop deck and dump trailers.
Tags: Trailers, Dealers, East Manufacturing, Dropdeck Trailers, Flatbed Trailers, Dump Trailers
The parent to truck component manufacturer Dana Spicer, Dana Holding Corp., on Tuesday announced President and CEO Roger J. Wood has told the company's board of directors he plans to retire in April 2016, after five years of leadership at the company.
Tags: Dana Holding Corp., Earnings, Dana Spicer
January 12, 2015 - Product News
KLLM-Frozen Food Express announced that it would be installing Truck-Lite LED forward lighting on all of its new trucks. It will begin installing the lighting on all 2016 Freightliner and Volvo models, nearly 700 trucks.
Tags: Truck-Lite, LED Lighting, Frozen Food Express, Lighting
January 12, 2015 - Industry News
Swift Transportation announced that it would partner with Spireon to bring GPS-based trailer tracking and management to dry van trailers added in 2015.
Tags: Telematics, Information Technology, Spireon, Trailer Tracking, Swift Transportation, Trailers
Nissan is offering a 5.0-liter Cummins turbo diesel with its 2016 Titan pickup for the first time that will give work truck buyers greater capability for towing and payload, Nissan has announced.
Tags: Nissan, Diesel Engines, Nissan Titan, 2016-MY, Detroit Auto Show, Large Pickups
Sales of new-model full-size commercial vans rose more than 11 percent in 2014 as several manufacturers transitioned to European-style vans and phased out less fuel-efficient models.
Tags: Full-Size Vans, Ford Transit, Ram ProMaster, Fleet Sales
January 9, 2015 - Industry News
Mary Petrovich, a former CEO of AxleTech from 2002-2011, will rejoin the firm as executive chairman. Joe Mejaly, who joined the company in May 2014 as general manager, will serve as AxleTech International’s CEO.
Tags: Leadership, People, Mergers & Acquisitions, AxleTech International, Carlyle Group
January 9, 2015 - Product News
Webb Wheel OEM launched its new Specialty Truck Business Unit focused on dedicated sales and service support for specialty and vocational equipment operators and OEMs.
Tags: OEM, Webb Wheel, Specialty, Vocational Trucks, Wheel Ends
Ford's Transit Connect paced a 28 percent increase in sales of compact vans in 2014 in a segment that saw the introduction of one new model with a second model debuting in early 2015.
Tags: Ford Transit Connect, Compact Vans, Trends, Ford, Nissan NV200
The Holman Automotive Group, parent company of 25 businesses ranging from auto dealerships to truck upfitting and ARI fleet management, named Steve Holman manager of community affairs.
Tags: Charity, Fleet Leasing, Upfitter, People, Holman Automotive
We offer e-newsletters that deliver targeted news and information for the entire fleet industry.
The expert, Mark Betner from CITGO, will answer your questions
The expert, Rence Oliphant from Hendrickson, will answer your questions
Waste-Haul Tire Designed for Retreadability
Webasto HVAC System Adds Heating, Cooling Capacity for Vans
Hold Open Door Keeper Holds Roll-Up Door Open
Premium Seats for Class 7 and 8 Trucks


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Are you planning an upcoming remodel for your home? Going green and using sustainable building materials continues to be a top trend in home improvement. Remodeling green isn't just about using products with recycled content, it's also about using superior products that will stand the test of time and reduce energy costs.
Short sales - and not bank foreclosures - is where the largest chunk of the action is today in the Manteca housing market.
Garages may have started out as a place to store cars, but gradually they've become a place to store almost everything else, from sports equipment to dog food to holiday decorations.
Tiny houses are going mainstream. Just look at the Katrina Cottage, originally designed by architects Andres Duany and Marianne Cusato as a dignified alternative to the FEMA trailer for flood-ravaged New Orleans. The tiny charmers with pitched roofs, nostalgic front porches and 300 to 1,800 square feet are becoming popular elsewhere; Lowe's home stores sell the blueprints and materials. The cottages are being used as affordable housing, guesthouses and vacation cottages. It's part of a ...
A trend toward creating "outdoor rooms" has dramatically increased lighting options for homeowners who want to extend their time outside.
Gardeners react no differently than anyone else when times are tough: They tighten spending and try to squeeze more from their budgets. Some turn to close cropping - crowding plants as a cheap and easy way to maximize yields from minimal space.
There is a 3.4-month supply of available resale homes in the Manteca market based on available property on the Multiple Listing Service.
K. Hovnanian Homes has initiated a sales promotion urging potential homebuyers to make the most of their tax refunds by applying them toward the purchase of a new K. Hovnanian High Performance Home.
Lory Ayon has joined the sales team at Medallion in Manteca by K. Hovnanian Homes. In the new position, she will utilize her extensive experience in real estate sales and loan origination to assist prospective buyers with their new home purchases.
DEAR BENNY: My friend and I would appreciate knowing how to go about initiating a "deed-in-lieu of foreclosure."
Everyone, it seems, is eager for 3-D. It's a fad that's had its heyday more than once in pop culture, but this time all signs point to 3-D finding staying power in American theaters and homes. If you have any doubt that 3-D is hot, consider the fact that more than 100 movies - from children's animated films to big-budget sci-fi offerings - were released in 3-D in theaters and on DVD in 2009 and ...
Spanish explorer Ponce de Leon spent many years and covered many miles searching for the fabled "fountain of youth." Fortunately, you don't have to go to those lengths to find a special fountain that will transform your backyard into a private oasis. You only need to make a trip to the local garden store.
Home Depot for close to a month became my home away from home. It's what happens when you decide to remodel your kitchen, bathroom, laundry room and make other assorted improvements throughout your home all at the same time. The decision to remodel was easy. Just like with buying a home, this is an opportune time to remodel. Contractors - well most anyway - are extremely competitive and reasonable and aren't so buried with work ...
Manteca is bucking the national trend ever so slightly when it comes to housing affordability. Housing affordability did not drop in Manteca during 2010 as it did nationally. It actually went up. Economists determine housing affordability based on the ratio of annual household income to home prices. That made Manteca's affordability index 2.78 in 2010 when the median selling price of an existing home was $185,000. In 2009, the affordability index was 2.68 when the ...
Manteca is on pace for a fourth straight year of 1,000-plus existing homes exchanging hands. Thirty-two days into 2011, there have been 90 resales that have closed escrow for a daily pace of just over 2.8 homes. If the rate continues there will be 1,026 home sold by year's end. Existing homes sales for the previous three years in Manteca are as follows: •1,193 homes in 2010 with a median selling price of $185,000. •1,211 ...
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Sales of bank-owned homes have plunged to a five-year low, the latest evidence that the nation's foreclosure woes are easing as the U.S. housing market recovery gains momentum.
Real Estate Boys: I keep reading that the real estate market is booming again. Time magazine, the newspaper from our north, TV and radio news are all reporting to get "in now, the market is heating up across the nation." Wasn't it just a short year ago you Boys, and it seemed everyone else, was reporting that maybe we haven't seen the bottom yet? Then in late in 2012, "Well, we've bottomed out, but the ...
WASHINGTON (AP) - The average U.S. household has a long way to go to recover the wealth it lost to the Great Recession, a report by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis concluded Thursday.
WASHINGTON (AP) - U.S. home prices jumped 10.9 percent in March compared with a year ago, the most since April 2006. A growing number of buyers are bidding on a tight supply of homes, driving prices higher and helping the housing market recover.
Most Americans over 50 want to stay in their home as they age, but few are making the renovations they need to ensure easy and comfortable living for years to come.
The bath serves a variety of uses, from a functional room to a serene sanctuary, a storage facility to a salon. And, whether you enjoy it yourself or share with the family, every bathroom is in need of one major thing - organization. To help keep your bath feeling more serene and less insane, follow these eight ideas to help improve your organization, maximize space and even add a bit of style.
Everyone knows spring and summer are the best months in which to sell a home. If your house has lingered on the market, you may be eager to find ways to freshen its appeal for potential buyers. Perhaps you're even ready to go big and invest in upgrades that will improve the home's value, curb appeal and interior allure so much that potential buyers just won't be able to walk away from it.
FORECLOSURE SALES: Foreclosure tracker RealtyTrac Inc. says 190,121 U.S. bank-owned homes or properties in some stage of the foreclosure process were sold in the first quarter. That's down 18 percent from the previous three months and 22 percent from a year earlier.


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Mozilla have certainly been busy this year, with smartphones being announced, and some already being released, but it seems that Mozilla want to corner even more of the market as there are a number of rumours floating around regarding a tablet running the infant Firefox OS.
The software for smartphones is entirely HTML-5 based, with apps coming straight from the internet and being updated and slightly modified to be placed on the Firefox app store.
This results in a unique selling point for the Firefox OS as it lends itself to ‘one-use’ apps, which really excited me and I’ve talked about in previous posts about the operating system, however there is still no word how many features from the mobile system will be transferred to the rumoured tablet release.
The reason for this is the fact that the Mozilla Firefox OS tablet is still just a rumour, it has been since the phone operating system was announced and someone over at Mozilla claimed they were keen to place the Firefox OS on a large number of products.
A press conference has been announced by manufacturers Foxconn, who you might recognise as manufacturers of a whole bunch of Apple products, in partnership with Mozilla for next week and it is expected that a tablet running Firefox OS will be top of the subject list.
What is interesting is that it is rumoured that Foxconn want to start shifting their own product, instead of just making bits of tech for a variety of giants around the world. This has led to an expectation that the product will be independently made and branded by Foxconn and supported by Mozilla’s software.
The announcement of the conference this week makes Foxconn Mozilla’s 19th partner in their quest to enter the mobile market, which could be interpreted as a sign for how excited manufacturers are for the Firefox OS.
If we continue to assume that it will be a tablet that will be announced next week, as one of those lovely “industry insider” told a news source in Taiwan (where the press conference is
being held), and continue to draw things we have learnt from the mobile releases it can be assumed that the tablet will be aimed at low-end products, as Mozilla try to establish their new products in emerging economies.
What should be noted is the positive reaction that the first two low-end smartphones that have been released running Firefox OS, they are almost impossible to get a hold of and sold-out pretty quickly.
Another interesting fact behind these developments is the speed of which this rumour has emerged, coming so quickly off the back of the release of the first two Firefox OS smartphones. The system is still to reach a number of it’s destinations, and there is still no word of how long the UK can expect a Firefox OS product.
It was assumed that Mozilla would wait to see how the mobile software was received across their first round of releases before possibly moving it to more established economies and from there look at other products such as tablets, the announcementcoming this quickly shows the speed in which Mozilla want to start making up ground on the big boys of the mobile world.
It may be because I like an underdog but I am rooting for the Firefox OS to take off, especially as some of the features announced so far have impressed me, but Mozilla will have their work cut out trying to infiltrate the tablet market, which has already been cornered by other big names in the game.
As always I’d love to hear what you think of Mozilla releasing a Firefox OS, is the HTML-5 format something that appeals to you and would you avoid the attraction to a more established tablet software like Android or iOS in favour of trying something new like the Firefox OS?


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Yesterday we had our Grand Opening here at 16 Depot Street, and we had a great turnout.
We were joined by the Wolfeboro Area Chamber of Commerce for our ribbon cutting ceremony around 11:00 a.m. and then we were able to meet many members of the community who stopped in to visit.
Although we have been operating on some level as we've brought everything online over the last few months, it is great to have our official launch day behind us.
We are thankful to everyone who has helped us get to this point, and we thank everyone who was able to make it out yesterday. May this be the start of a very long endeavor, and may we be of service to Wolfeboro and the Lakes Region for years to come.


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Some smartphones are definitely worth looking into – as they offer a fair amount of bang for your hard earned buck. However, you would need to be smart in looking for a model that offers such characteristics as you look for different ways to stretch that dollar. 2014 saw a target of a million handsets sold by OnePlus where their OnePlus One is concerned, and although the company did not manage to hit that particular target, they did come close – which ain’t too shabby actually, especially when you take into consideration how the company has just a single device on sale – albeit in a couple of variants, of course.
One can only wonder just how many more units of the OnePlus One that could have been sold if the company did not decide to stick to the invitation system, not to mention drawing some flak early on in some of its marketing campaigns.
Well, I am quite sure that OnePlus is looking forward to 2015 already, and we have already heard that they they have the OnePlus Two in tow – and that will not be the only handset that OnePlus intends to roll out for the year. What do you think the other handset will be like from OnePlus?