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Apparel decorators print and decorate finished apparel blanks using screen printing, dye sublimation, direct-to-apparel, cut-and-sew, embroidery and other decoration techniques. Explore content and resources designed specifically with the apparel decoration community in mind.
Find the latest news and headlines for the Apparel Decoration community.
STAHLS’ Offers New Video Taking a Deeper Dive into Sublimation Printing
The 25-minute show starts off discussing all the advantages sublimation offers and why apparel businesses should be considering it.
Lawson Releases Latest Digi-Star Elite Conveyor Dryer
Designed for curing digital, water-based, and plastisol inks, the newest model adds smart technology and touch screen controls.
DesignAShirt Responds Quickly With Fundraiser for Nashville Tornado Disaster
DesignAShirt uses InkSoft Stores to build products and publish pages to raise funds for Nashville relief efforts.
WildSide Offers 20% Off Special Effects in April
During the month of April, WildSide is offering 20% off three of its most popular finishes.
Stahls’ Announces May 2019 "Workshop Wednesday" Events
Classes focus on heat printing team uniforms, with advice from the experts on using your heat press to the greatest advantage in this key apparel decorating market.
Jack Noonan Joins SGIA as Vice President of Business Development
Noonan will oversee PRINTING United exposition exhibitor and sponsorship partnerships for SGIA while strengthening existing communities.
Break Free from Plastic Pollution Act
Due to the continued challenges with the implosion of the plastic recycling market caused by many countries, led by China, refusing to accept many waste streams, action by the US Congress has been initiated. Inside, you'll find a brief review of the key provisions of this pending legislation from …
SGIA Urges EPA to Only Add Necessary PFAS Chemicals to New Reporting Requirements
The comments submitted by the US Chamber of Commerce, that were cosigned by SGIA, urged EPA to only add any more PFAS chemicals on an individual basis and not add them as a category. The comments also requested EPA to review the 160 PFAS chemicals added as a result of the 2020 National Defense Authorization …
EPA/US Army Corps of Engineers Revises Definition of Waters of the United States
EPA/Corps issued their final rule revising the definition of the “Waters of the United States,” (WOTUS). The January 2020 rule establishes which bodies of water that are subject to federal jurisdiction under the Clean Water Act. The regulation of WOTUS has long been the subject of debate, …
PRINTING United is Bigger. Better. Together… in 2020
The event has already eclipsed the total square footage sold in 2019 and is on track to sell out again in 2020.
Transfer Express Offers Heat Transfer Foil
The foil adhesive is a specialty transfer that allows for adding shine to any transfer area.
EPA Eases Requirements for Aerosol Cans
In December 2019, EPA issued a new rule that reduces the regulatory requirements for waste aerosol cans. The new rule is aimed at improving recycling and reducing the cost and burden of aerosol can management by imposing less stringent regulatory requirements on the cans.
President Trump Signs USMCA
On Wednesday, January 29, 2020, President Trump signed into law the United States Mexico Canada Agreement (USMCA). The USMCA is an updated version of the of the nearly 25-year-old North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). The USMCA won’t be finalized until Canada ratifies it. Read more for a dive …


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Spend the waning days of summer at a car show.
Events being held this weekend include Goodguys 26th West Coast Nationals and Corvettes at Carlisle. Information on these and eight additional shows is detailed below. More shows and events will be posted on the Hotrod & Restoration Twitter feed throughout the week.
Goodguys presents the 26th West Coast Nationals Friday, Saturday and Sunday at the Alameda County Fairgrounds in Pleasanton, California. The event will feature over 3,000 rods, customs and classics through 1972 competing for awards including America’s Most Beautiful Street Rod, Muscle Car of the Year Finalist and Truck of the Year Early Finalist. The event will also include vendor and manufacturer exhibits, a model and pedal car show, a mini engines, display, valve cover races, tether car races, a pinstripers’ brush bash and auction, entertainment, and nightly parties. For more information, visit www.good-guys.com.
Corvettes at Carlisle takes place Friday, Saturday and Sunday at the Carlisle Fairgrounds in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. The event will feature more than 5,000 Corvettes representing all generations, according to organizers. The event will include parades, a manufacturers’ midway, a swap meet, a car corral, test drives, autocross, seminars, autograph sessions and entertainment. For more information, visit www.carlisleevents.com.
The 2012 Trans Am Nationals takes place Friday, Saturday and Sunday at the Dayton Marriott Hotel in Dayton, Ohio. Hosted by the Trans Am Club of America, Dayton, Ohio Chapter, the event will feature a show-and-shine, vendors, a swap meet, a cruise and a 50/50 drawing. Trophies will be given in all classes and for Best of Show. For more information, visit www.78ta.com.
The 28th Street Metro Cruise takes place Friday and Saturday in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The annual event will celebrate West Michigan’s 100-year-old love affair with the automobile with an open cruise, car shows, a dyno challenge, swap meet, car corral, DJ and a sock hop. For more information, visit www.28thstreetmetrocruise.com.
The 29th Annual All Oldsmobile Car Show and Swap Meet takes place Sunday at Carnation Mall in Alliance, Ohio. Presented by the Northern Ohio Chapter of the Oldsmobile Club of America, the event is open to all Oldsmobiles and will feature a judged car show, swap meet, 50/50 drawing and door prizes. Participants are invited to bring any literature or memorabilia that talks about their Oldsmobile. For more information, visit www.northernohiooldsclub.com.
The 1st Annual “Rev’ved Up 4 Hunger” Car Show/Food Drive takes place Saturday in Irvine, California. The event will showcase one-of-a-kind custom and vintage cars from private collections throughout California. Food trucks will be on hand. A Casino Night displaying luxury and exotic vehicles will be held Saturday evening. Canned food collected at the event will be donated to the Second Harvest Food Bank of Orange County. For more information, visit www.feedoc.org.
Wheels for Wags takes place Saturday at the Avon United Methodist Church in Avon, Ohio. Awards will be presented at the event, which will feature a 50/50 drawing, raffles, door prizes, concessions, a bake sale and live music. A rain date has been set for Sept. 1. Proceeds will benefit the Friendship Animal Protective League of Lorain County. For more information, visit www.friendshipapl.org.
The Gilmore Car Museum is hosting a Pierce-Arrow Gathering Sunday in Hickory Corners, Michigan. The ninth annual car show is expected to draw Pierce-Arrow vehicles from around the country. In addition to hosting the event, the Gilmore is also home to The Pierce-Arrow Museum. For more information, visit www.gilmorecarmuseum.org.
Galpin Ford and Galpin Auto Sports host the All-Shelby Car Show Sunday in North Hills, California. The event, celebrating 50 years of Shelby, will feature a display of Shelby cars, including the first-ever Shelby-built 1962 Shelby CSX2000. The event will include barbecue, music, an outdoor go kart track and kids’ entertainment. For more information, visit www.galpinautosports.com.
The 4th Annual Surf City Garage Car Show takes place Sunday in Huntington Beach, California. The event is open to all makes and models of American-made muscle cars, trucks, sports cars, hot rods, customs and classics. It will feature tours of the Surf City Garage headquarters, vendors, raffles, a 50/50 drawing, concessions, a DJ and entertainment. Best of Show trophies will be presented. For more information, visit www.ocmustangclub.org.

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Unease over genetically modified (GM) food continues to rise among Canadians, with three out of five saying such foods provide more risks than benefits, according to government poll.
According to the poll, about 53% of adult Canadians were uncomfortable buying foods with genetically modified ingredients.
Only 31% gave the same answer in the first such survey five years ago.
Three in four Canadians indicated support for mandatory labeling if foodstuffs contain any GM ingredients, a move the federal government has consistently rejected as unnecessary.
The country's food industry estimates that between two thirds and three quarters of processed foods already contain GM ingredients.
"Canadians are not yet at a point where they feel comfortable with GM food. In fact, comfort levels have continually declined," said a summary of the results prepared for federal officials.


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WASHINGTON—Domestic and foreign producers of emulsion styrene-butadiene rubber gave opposing portraits of the domestic ESBR industry at a hearing before the U.S. International Trade Commission.
The June 29 hearing was the final one before the ITC votes whether the domestic ESBR industry is suffering from or threatened by material injury because of ESBR imports at less than fair value.
Consistent underpricing by suppliers from Mexico, South Korea, Brazil and Poland is causing severe harm to the U.S. ESBR industry, said representatives of Port Neches, Texas-based Lion Copolymer L.L.C. at the hearing.
The bankruptcy earlier this year of East West Copolymer L.L.C. in Baton Rouge, La., underscored the desperate straits of U.S. ESBR producers against foreign competition, Lion said.
But representatives of foreign SBR manufacturers—including Industrias Negromex S.A. de CV, Arlanxeo U.S.A. L.L.C., and Kumho Petrochemical Co. Ltd.—insisted that ESBR is not a price-driven industry. Backed by a purchasing executive of Cooper Tire & Rubber Co., the foreign ESBR suppliers said they offered consistency of supply during the 2014-16 period of investigation that Lion and East West did not.
The key issue in this investigation is the fixed conversion cost of the price calculation in negotiating an ESBR supply contract, according to Jesse Zeringue, Lion CEO and president.
This conversion fee is expressed in cents per pound of ESBR, and does not increase or decrease with fluctuations in the price of styrene or butadiene, Zeringue said at the hearing.
"A buyer with sufficient volume requirements can and does negotiate deeper cuts in the fixed conversion cost portion of the price calculation, which is intended to cover the ESBR manufacturers' other material costs (of which there are several), fixed overhead costs, and a profit margin, if any," he said.
Since 2012, Lion's conversion price has declined by approximately 35 percent across all of its ESBR contract customers, according to Zeringue.
"Virtually every large customer now can try to dictate our conversion price each year by leveraging producers from these four countries against Lion," he said.
Zeringue's testimony was seconded by Robert Rikhoff, a consultant to the polymer and elastomer industry. Before the closure of East West, Rikhoff was a co-owner of the company and its vice president of operations.
"In the period since 2013, at least during the part of it when East West and its predecessors were still producing ESBR, imports gained a permanently increased market share at permanently reduced pricing and margins," Rikhoff said.
"We were seeing diminishing returns even during the brief period we had been able to recover lost sales at much lower prices," he said.
But Mary Pauken, Cooper vice president of global purchasing, said that stability of ESBR supply is more important to tire makers than price.
"Securing supply is our No. 1 objective," Pauken said. "Without ESBR, we do not make tires.
"That is why we contract with three or four suppliers each year, and we must import ESBR to obtain the volume we need," she said. "There are now only two ESBR suppliers in the U.S. (Goodyear and Lion), and we don't see that number increasing."
Cooper actually signed an ESBR contract with East West earlier this year, according to Pauken.
"This is a relationship-based industry," she said. "We want suppliers we trust who will work with us to achieve our goals."
Lion does not have global production, and also does not provide the new products or technical support that Negromex, Kumho or Arlanxeo provide, she said.
Negromex Commercial Director Tomas Acevedo said his company has maintained a steady presence in the U.S. through research and development investment and strategic partnerships with customers.
One of its most important partnerships is the one it made with Cooper in 2013 to file jointly for a patent for a new process to produce hydrophobated silica, silica masterbatch and rubber products, Acevedo said.
"Since the early nineties, we have diversified our raw material supply chain by investing in our own petrochemical terminal and storage facilities," he said. "By investing in those types of assets, we have become owners of our destiny and turn our company into one of the most reliable suppliers to the U.S. market."
Opponents of the ESBR investigation said Goodyear was the only stable ESBR producer in the U.S., but also that they couldn't count on Goodyear for supply because Goodyear's production is mostly for internal use.
The ITC set a deadline of July 7 for post-hearing briefs. The agency said it would make additional information on the ESBR investigation available on July 28, and would accept final comments on that information through Aug. 1.


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Coffee chain plans to double sales again within five years as owner Whitbread reports pre-tax profits up by 11.4%
Margaret Hodge is on the warpath. This week alone she called MPs lazy, criticised a £1bn overspend on academies and raged against tax avoidance. So who's next in her sights?
Coffee giant's revenue climbs 11% in first quarter as reports circulate it is trying to expand US tax breaks on foreign profits
Coffee chain says £1 cups will encourage customers to cut waste and save them money on every order
Times are hard and coffee culture is on the rise, but does the story of this Nottingham branch of Costa Coffee point to bigger changes in British society?
Polly Toynbee: Accountancy giants are paid huge sums by the state while helping firms strip it of desperately needed tax revenue
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Health and education officials across the country are raising alarms over wide underage use of e-cigarettes and other vaping products. The devices heat liquid into an inhalable vapor that’s sold in sugary flavors like mango and mint — and often with the addictive drug nicotine. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
What to look for on Smart Talk Wednesday, September 26, 2018:
The FDA put the vaping industry on notice in September, issuing warning letters and fines to five major manufacturers and more than 1,300 retailers who have illegally sold e-cigarette products to minors. Their actions are in response to what they say is an epidemic among youth.
FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, M.D., says they are seeing clear signs that youth use of electronic cigarettes has reached an epidemic proportion, and a strategy to stem this “clear and present danger” starts with cracking down on retail sales of e-cigarettes to minors.
There are different names for vapes or e-cigarettes, but products do this same thing; turning a liquid chemical mixture of flavoring and nicotine into an aerosol that is inhaled. Vaping and e-cigarettes use started as an alternative to cigarette smoking to help people kick that habit.
Cigarette smoke contains around 7,000 measurable chemicals, many of which are known carcinogens. E-cigarette aerosols measure only 10 to 15. However, there are many unknown risks because there have been no long-term studies.
The American Lung Association expressed concern about the possible health consequences of e-cigarettes and lack of government oversite of the products. A statement on their website says that absent Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulation, there is no way for the public health and medical community or consumers to know what chemicals are contained in e-cigarettes or what the short and long-term health implications might be.
Joining Smart Talk on Wednesday to discuss e-cigarette use among youth and the public is Erika Sward, assistant vice president of national advocacy for the American Lung Association, Jennifer Hobbs Folkenroth, national senior director, tobacco, American Lung Association, and Dr. Jonathan Foulds, professor of public health sciences and psychiatry at Penn State College of Medicine. Foulds is also the project leader and principal investigator at Penn State Tobacco Center of Regulatory Science. Also joining the conversation is Dionne Baylor, supervisor and prevention specialist with Dauphin County Department of Drug & Alcohol Services.
Dionne Baylor, Jennifer Hobbs Folkenroth and Dr. Jonathan Foulds


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Throughout the years, Preston’s Market has seen huge changes, improving the aesthetics of the City centre. Almost a year ago, in February 2018, the new Market Hall opened to the Preston public. It had gone from the indoors, near Preston Bus Station, to the outdoors on Earl Street.
It didn’t take long for residents to adapt to the huge change. The glass and timber steel structure of the new Market Hall provides a modern and contemporary feel, improving the shopping experience for customers.
There are more improvements to come for Preston’s Market Hall, as work continues to further winter-proof the Market Hall. At the start of December, a new porch was added which will now be completed by a roof to further insulate the area, improving conditions for both workers and customers.
Environment councillor Brian Rollo has said ‘’initial feedback indicates the porch, which is not yet fully complete, is already doing the job it was designed for – creating a much-needed windbreak and decreasing air movement through the Market Hall. It will be monitored over the coming weeks and months to determine the extent of its success.’’
It comes after complaints from traders and shoppers of the chilly conditions. Preston City Council has now started a second stage of work to prevent people being affected by these windy conditions.


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U.S. Hispanics are 58 percent more likely to click on search ads than the general population, says a new study from Google and global research firm OTX.
In general, U.S Hispanics are more likely to remember online ads—especially video ads—when shopping. And three out of five bought something after seeing online ads while they did research—22 percent more than the national average.
The research comes on the heels of a separate study in December from consumer and media research firm Scarborough Research, which found mobile phone usage is increasing faster among U.S. Hispanics than the total population.
Scarborough found the percentage of Hispanic adults who use a cell phone has jumped 26 percent since 2005, versus 18 percent for all adults. Smartphone growth among Hispanics is also outpacing that of the general population: 19 percent of Hispanic adults live in a household that owns one or more smartphones, versus 5 percent in 2005. Just under a quarter (23 percent) of the general population live in households with smartphones, up from 9 percent in 2005.
U.S. Hispanics also are more likely to use their mobile phones for more than just making calls. They text at greater rates than average: 64 percent compared to 56 percent. They're also more likely to use their phones to download music (22 percent compared to 15 percent); play games (19 percent versus 15 percent), and tap into social networks (12 percent compared to 10 percent).
The U.S. Hispanic market is so important that Google has put a special team in place to help advertisers connect with the market, one of Google's fastest growing.
"There are 46 million U.S. Hispanics, 30 million of who are online," Google Mexico general manager John Farrell told MediaPost. "They have about a trillion dollars in purchasing power, making it a customer segment marketers can't ignore."
"We've discovered that the digital world is the one that influences Latinos most at the time they make buying decisions and it's something that advertisers should take more into account," Mark Lopez, head of Google's new U.S. Hispanic unit, told Spanish news agency Efe last week.
He added: "It's true that we Latinos have a broader family nucleus and group of friends and perhaps that's why we make more use of the social alternatives offered by the Web."
According to U.S. Census Bureau figures released in December, Hispanics under 20 years old make up a quarter of the total youth in the U.S. Hispanics are expected to make up a quarter of the total U.S. population by 2050.


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For sectors such as aviation, hospitality and retail the COVID-19 pandemic hit hard and few could have anticipated the effects on business operations. For some, the pandemic meant restructuring the organisation and working from home until further notice whilst navigating the uncertainties of advising a business on a surge of new queries. For others, the pandemic resulted in almost total loss of business, with few customers and little revenue. Exacerbated by the disparities in governmental guidelines and the countries that are safe to visit, this presentation will talk you through the turbulent journey of a GC in the aviation sector, who dealt with advising a healthy business one day and managed the legal pitfalls of a global crisis the next. Watch this case study from an industry greatly impacted by the current pandemic, for which the “new normal” is far from what we know as “normal”.
Latest news and analysis from Litigation Tracker, including In Court this Week and Judgments of Note.


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October 30/Los Angeles -- Energy-X has introduced The Juice, which the company claims is a "neutral-tasting energy supplement mixer" to add to juices, sodas, sports drinks, water, cocktails or even oatmeal.
“We’ve taken a multitude of precautions in producing The Juice, including a red flyer in the packaging which states clearly, ‘do not consume more than four shots during any 24-hour period.’”
One 0.25oz. pour of The Juice delivers caffeine from green coffee beans, which has received the endorsements of TV’s Dr. Oz as well as Starbucks, which is using an innovative process to pull the naturally occurring caffeine and other good stuff from 100% green arabica coffee beans before they are roasted. The result is Green Coffee Extract -- the natural energy from coffee.
The team at Energy-X created The Juice for the new generation of energy drink and shot consumers that are looking for an alternative which is healthier and safer. According to Matthew Mills, founder of Pacific Shore Holdings, the parent company of Energy-X, “We’ve taken a multitude of precautions in producing The Juice, including a red flyer in the packaging which states clearly, 'do not consume more than four shots during any 24-hour period.’”


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GUWAHATI: The world’s hottest chillies, Nagaland
’s famous ‘Bhoot Zolokia
’ or the king chillies, have made its way to London via Guwahati by air. The Scoville Heat Units
(SHUs) has given the chillies the status of being the hottest in the world.
The export gave a major thurst to business, especially to products with Geographical Indications
(GI), from the northeastern region. The Naga chillies consignment was procured from Kohima and other parts of Nagaland. It consisted of 250kg chillies as a sample shipment along with 500kg of betel leaf.
"Exporting fresh king chillies posed a challenge because of its highly perishable nature. The Nagaland chillies belongs to the genus Capsicum of the family Solanaceae. This variety has been considered the world’s hottest chilli and is constantly on the top five in the list of the world's hottest chilies based on the SHUs," said a statement from the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA).
The consignment was sourced from Tening, a part of Peren district, Nagaland, and was packed at an APEDA-assisted facility here. The chillies from Nagaland is also referred to as Bhoot Jolokia or ghost pepper and got a GI certification in 2008.
APEDA in collaboration with the Nagaland State Agricultural Marketing Board (NSAMB), coordinated the first export consignment of fresh king chilli. APEDA had coordinated with NSAMB
in sending samples for laboratory testing in June and July 2021 and the results were encouraging as it is grown organically.
In 2021, APEDA facilitated exports of jackfruits from Tripura to London and Germany, Assamese lemons to London, Assamese red rice to the United States and Leteku ‘Burmese Grape’ to Dubai.
Under the Krishi UDAN scheme of the Centre, NE airports have airlifted near about 2,000 MT perishable cargo to mainland India and as extended legs, have exported more than 25 items to various foreign destinations by offering 50% subsidy on freight and storage charges under Operation Green
The consignment on Wednesday was shipped from Guwahati airport in the presence of chief guest S Sasikumar, joint director general of foreign trade and Ravi Kant, regional executive director, Airports Authority of India's NE Region, and other dignitaries. Ravi Kant termed the occasion as special because of the GI of ‘Bhoot Zolokia’- the unique product of the Northeast getting exported to the global market. "We are very enthusiastic that the cargo export potential of the northeastern airports will grow and this will benefit local food producing organizations and farmers," he said.
Airport officials insisted on the need to upgrade facilities in the logistics space to cater to the growing needs of trade and the air cargo industry. Vageesh Pandey
, assistant director at Plant Quarantine Station, Guwahati, was pleased to issue a phytosanitary certificate for the chillies which is going for the first time from Assam to the United Kingdom. This certificate is globally accepted for plant and plant products from India to any foreign country. He said that on Saturday, there is a plan to send colocasia to the United Kingdom. "From next week we would be certifying daily one or two shipments from the NE region to all European countries,” Pandey
The Guwahati airport cargo terminal has exported local agri-products and fruits, including lemon, ginger, betel leaves and vegetables to various parts of the country and foreign destinations. These are mostly organic in nature with a high demand in domestic and international markets.


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AMD Live! to be announced tomorrow
DailyTech reports that AMD plans to
its Live! media center PC brand tomorrow. AMD Live! will compete against Intel's Viiv platform
desktop and in the living room. The specification for Live! systems was already revealed
nearly three months ago,
but DailyTech claims it has been updated in the meantime. The site says
Live! desktop machines will now be required to feature at least an
Athlon 64 X2 4800+ processor—a chip that currently
upwards of $620. AMD will also restrict hard drives to
models with fluid dynamic bearings in an effort to limit noise output.
Additionally, the report says support for Microsoft's Away Mode will be
included, requiring input devices and displays to be able to switch off
when a Live! system is left unused.
In contrast with AMD Live!, Intel's Viiv is much less demanding. The platform
requirements for a Viiv PC only list a Pentium D, Pentium
Extreme Edition, or Core Duo processor, a supporting Intel 945, 955, or
975 chipset and ICH7-DH south bridge, an Intel PRO network adapter, and
a copy of Windows XP Media Center Edition.


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For several months, fans of Infinite Halo have been quite hungry for new content. While many players enjoyed the single-player campaign and the various multiplayer modes that were included at launch, there weren’t a lot of additional modes or content to offer. Infinite Halo from the exit. However, according to the latest update from 343 Industries via Halo Waypoint, that could all change pretty quickly.
When first launched, Infinite Halo lacked a number of expected features and modes that had appeared in many entries in the Halo series. This included Forge mode, co-op mode for Halo Infinite campaign, and additional multiplayer modes that were also present in previous installments, such as King of the Hill. Fortunately, 343 Industries has since provided fans with a better idea of when and what to expect from Infinite Halo In the coming months.
On Twitter, the official Halo account revealed that a new roadmap for Infinite Halo Season 2, along with new details regarding fan-requested content, has been released on Halo Waypoint. The roadmap explains that the co-op campaign is set to release in August 2022, with the Forge mode open beta having a targeted release date of September 2022.
In addition to campaign co-op and Forge mode, the roadmap also introduced new game modes for Infinite Halo, which included King of the Hill, Land Grab, and Last Spartan Standing. It looks like these modes, along with two new maps, will be the most immediate elements of new content releasing next month.
A number of fans might be upset that the most requested features like co-op mode and Forge mode are releasing so late in the year, but it’s important to keep in mind that, at the very least , 343 Industries is also as transparent as it can be with its audience. It would be much more problematic if that roadmap didn’t exist at all and fans wondered and speculated when these modes would come out, if at all.
In retrospect, it might have been better had 343 Industries launched Infinite Halo with more content, given the level of fan outcry at the moment. Although, given this new roadmap, as well as ongoing rumors of a battle royale mode for Infinite Haloit looks like there will be a greater influx of content for Infinite Halo at some point in the future. Hopefully the content listed on this roadmap lives up to expectations when it finally arrives.
Infinite Halo is available now on PC, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S.
MORE: Halo Infinite: Black Eye Skull LocationSource: Halo waypoint
Lightyear producer explains why Chris Evans replaced Tim Allen as Buzz
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- Processor Fiserv Inc. said it will open a new office building in New Jersey that will include 428,000 square feet of space and accommodate approximately 3,000 employees.
- In related news, Visa Inc. said it will open a new office in Atlanta next year. The company expects the new space to accommodate approximately 1,000 employees over the next few years.
- IRIS CRM, a provider of software for independent sales organizations to monitor merchant data, announced an enhancement enabling ISOs working with Total System Services to manage merchant disputes through the IRIS CRM Dispute Responder product.
- Envestnet|Yodlee, a data aggregation and analytics provider, said Navy Federal Credit Union will use its service to make it easier for its customers to use financial applications requiring access to their accounts.
- TicketNetwork, which specializes in the secondary ticket market, said it now offers Affirm Inc.’s point-of-sale financing option for transactions.
- MyChargeBack, a New York City-based company specializing in card-not-present transaction disputes, said it has launched a Scandinavian Web site.
- Payments provider Checkout.com made several executive appointments.
- Former GoDaddy Inc. chief executive Scott Wagner has joined Bill.com’s board of directors.
The global shortage of semiconductor chips that’s plaguing the makers of point-of-sale terminals and other …


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Is Google pressuring manufacturers to launch with the newest Android?
Ever since Sundar Pichai took over as head of Android, Google has been exerting more and more control over the ecosystem. It started with the Google Experience device roster, and moved on to rumors that Google has made deals with Samsung to provide a more Googley experience in TouchWiz. Now, there is a rumor that Google is pressuring manufacturers to launch devices with the newest version of Android.
According to a leaked document, Google has instituted a policy stating that if a manufacturer wants to release a device with Google Mobile Services (GMS), which includes Google Apps and Google Play services, the manufacturer will have to have a newer version of Android installed on that device. If the leak is accurate, Google effectively killed Android 4.1 and lower at the beginning of February. Any device planned to launch with Android 4.1 or lower will no longer meet the requirements for GMS. After April 24th 2014, Android 4.2 won't be allowed; and, as of July 31st 2014, the window for Android 4.3 will close.
It is unclear what the plan will be moving forward, but the rumor states that the previous version of Android will see its window close 9 months after a newer version is released. As you see in the chart below, because Android 4.4 was released on October 31st 2013, 9 months later (July 31st 2014) the window closes on Android 4.3. Once you combine this with the requirement to update device software to the newest version released in the 18-month window after the device is released, we could see a very different look to the Android distribution charts going forward.
source: Android Police


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State motor service bodies and insurers are throwing their financial and political clout behind electric vehicle charging stations, in a move aimed at accelerating Australia’s anaemic rollout of EVs.
A company owned by a group of motoring service bodies and insurers has bought electric vehicle charging infrastructure company Chargefox in a deal that values it at $56 million, powering ambitions to roll out 5000 new charging plugs by 2025.
Chargefox chief executive Marty Andrews said the buyout recognised Australia was at a “tipping point” in its electric vehicle take-up and more favourable policies under the Albanese government are expected to boost sales, which currently number only tens of thousands annually.
“We’re now on an exponential growth curve,” Mr Andrews said. “So we need to keep up with infrastructure to support EV uptake and to achieve that we needed a big capital injection.”
Chargefox has built a network of 1000 plugs in Australia and New Zealand – a handful of which are rapid chargers – since Mr Andrews and co-founders Tim Washington and Mark Wells set up the company in 2017.
But he said it was getting harder to expand the network fast enough to keep up with demand, hence the takeover and capital injection from Australian Motoring Services.
AMS is owned by motoring clubs and insurers across the nation, including NRMA and the Royal Automobile Clubs of Queensland, Victoria, Tasmania and Western Australia.
AMS was already a shareholder in Chargefox, and has bought out the rest of the company it did not own.
AMS chief executive Micheal Reed said it had a mutual goal with Chargefox to “reduce road transport emissions to zero and support the growing community of EV drivers”.
“We continue to see a large number of EV’s on the road and the number of Australians who are considering purchasing an EV in the future is growing year-on-year,” Mr Reed said.
“Combined, we’ll have greater power and opportunity to deliver infrastructure that Australians need to increase the uptake of EVs and therefore reduce road transport emissions.“
Mr Andrews believed the clout and lobbying power of AMS and its shareholders would also help convince governments to subsidise charging stations in rural and remote areas where it is not commercially viable to build currently.
“You need that to get the regional places going with EVs too.“
He stressed state governments were supportive of the EV market and that the new federal Labor government had some more forward-thinking policies aimed at boosting electric vehicle take-up, some of which came into effect on July 1.
The Albanese government has exempted some EVs from overseas import tariffs and fringe benefits taxes, which apply to vehicles provided to staff by their employers. These exemptions will apply only to EVs sold below the luxury car tax threshold – $79,659 this financial year – for fuel-efficient cars.
The former Coalition government campaigned against Labor’s pro-EV policies in 2019, claiming they would wreck the weekend.
A report from online asset finance broker Savvy found local EVs made up just 1.6 per cent of all new vehicle registrations last year. Although this was well up on 2020, it was still far below the global average of 9 per cent.
Mr Andrews said the expansion of the Chargefox network would help ease the psychological barrier for consumers concerned about how they would charge their EV if they were to purchase one.
“You need to keep the balance between the EVs and the infrastructure right because we can’t be successful if there aren’t any EVs on the road and there won’t be any EVs on the road if there aren’t many charging stations,” he said.
Mr Andrews was “very positive and confident” about the future of EVs in Australia, saying the election of climate-focused teal independents and more supportive policy settings would drive demand.
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India Post has received payments bank licence from the Reserve Bank of India, and is looking to start the rollout of banking operations commercially under the permit.
India Post Payments Bank is the third entity to receive payments bank permit after Bharti Airtel and Paytm. Payments banks can accept deposits up to INR 1 lakh per account from individuals and small businesses. It will be set up as a differentiated bank and will confine its activities to acceptance of demand deposits, remittance services, Internet banking and other specified services.
That said, Tech Mahindra, a consortium of Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd promoter Dilip Shanghvi, IDFC Bank Ltd and Telenor Financial Services and Cholamandalam Investment and Finance Co. backed have dropped their plan to roll out payments bank.
The others looking to setup payments bank are – Aditya Birla Nuvo, Fino PayTech, National Securities Depository, Reliance Industries Ltd and Vodafone m-pesa.


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Grinteq, a certified Salesforce partner, is excited to declare that it has been named one of the top Salesforce Marketing Cloud consulting firms according to Forcetalks, a well-known portal for identifying the best Salesforce digital agencies and technology companies.
This award is a testament to the company's unwavering commitment to excellence, relentless pursuit of customer success, and commitment to delivering world-class Salesforce solutions to businesses. Grinteq provides a variety of Salesforce Marketing Cloud services, including setup, modification, and maintenance, to create an omnichannel experience for their clients' end-users.
Grinteq's inclusion on Forcetalks' list shows its unmatched competence in using Salesforce's powerful capabilities to change organizations, simplify operations, and create unprecedented growth. Their highly skilled and qualified Salesforce consultants and developers bring a wealth of expertise and experience to every project, setting them apart.
This Forcetalks award has inspired Grinteq to continue offering excellent Salesforce consulting services and helping organizations thrive in the digital era.
Phone :-+1 (347) 305-10-85
Url :- https://grinteq.com/


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In case you haven’t heard: H Mart opens its first location in San Francisco on Wednesday, April 21. Located conveniently just off 280, this H Mart is a thrilling 48,200 square feet that contains not only a grocery store, but a combined market and food hall. Originally founded in Queens, New York in 1982, the market has immense resonance with both the AAPI and chef communities, and now has more than 90 locations across the country, with 12 of those in California — including a couple in San Jose.
This is a big deal for fans who may have already shopped H Mart elsewhere, as well as San Francisco residents who have been craving a Korean-American supermarket for a long time. Take Chef Chris Oh, who grew up in the city where Pac Heights meets Japantown, and now owns restaurants in both San Francisco and Los Angeles. When his mom went grocery shopping, “there were no specific Korean supermarkets, so we had to go to Ranch 99, you know?” Oh says. “We were going to Oakland for sure.”
The first H Mart Oh ever experienced was as a young chef in Los Angeles. “It was like Disneyland for Koreans ... Ranch 99 was a Chinese market, sprinkled in with a little Korean product here and there. So to go to a really large chain Korean supermarket was kind of jaw-dropping,” he says. Oh recommends taking it all in, “the decor, the ambiance,” the colorful packaging, and the giant crabs scuttling around in the seafood department’s tanks. And whether you have shopped H Mart elsewhere, or are just stepping into the glow of the fluorescent lights for the first time, he’s got some hot shopping tips. Here’s what to know before falling down the noodle aisle, according to a San Francisco chef with LA shopping cred.
Holy whole mackerel
H Mart is known for a fresh seafood selection, from live tanks in the back to tidily sliced sushi up front. For his weekly shop, Oh likes to grab a mackerel, either whole or as fillets, which he recommends grilling or pan-frying, and serving with rice and kimchi for a weeknight dinner.
Marinated meats for backyard barbecues
Okay, a chef that owns a Korean barbecue restaurant really doesn’t need to buy meat, but Oh says respects must be paid to the H Mart meat department, which features not just many beautiful cuts of pork belly, but also pre-marinated meats for all your grilling needs. He would tell a buddy to grab the kalbi short ribs for a weekend barbecue.
A full on snack attack
The snack aisle alone “is dope, it’s insane.” Oh is partial to the corn-flavored almonds, but recommends the honey-butter chips. But really, he says, with so many flavors of chips, crackers, and candies, “Just go with open mind. Try it all.”
The aisle of noodle insanity
The noodle aisle is also an experience. Oh says that if you want to try the Jjapaguri noodle dish (aka Ram-Don) that went viral after its appearance in the Oscar-winning movie Parasite, you need to grab both JJapaghetti black bean noodles and Neoguri spicy noodles, cook them together, and then add (ideally medium-rare) steak.
The banchan fridges have all of the side dishes, including a wide selection of kimchi. “Don’t just get regular cabbage,” Oh says. “Most people think kimchi is just cabbage, but you can kimchi anything,” such as different types of radishes, and other root vegetables.
Kimbap for car snacking
Also in the prepared foods section, the chef always grabs a box of kimbap or Korean sushi, stuffed with bulgogi or tuna and pickled vegetables. “That’s like, while you’re doing your shopping, you grab one of those, and once you get in the car, you pop one in your mouth while you’re driving back home,” he explains. He likes to wash it down with Pocari Sweat, the iconic Japanese sport soda.
Never forget the frozen dumplings
And finally, the freezer aisle is fully stocked with everything from Korean corn dogs to wild ice cream flavors. Oh would grab a bag of the Bibigo pork dumplings for last-minute lunches.
Of course, this location of H Mart is a combined supermarket and food hall, so once you’re done with groceries, it’s time for lunch. The San Francisco H Mart is opening with six vendors, most notably Daeho, the Japantown favorite known for its bubbling beef stew, as well as Left Wing for Korean fried chicken and Paris Baguette bakery for cake and pastries. For its grand opening day, there will be a VIP tea time and ribbon-cutting ceremony at 9:30 a.m., before the doors open to the public at 10 a.m. H Mart will be located at 3995 Alemany Boulevard in the Oceanview Village Shopping Center, near the SF Golf Club (read: almost Daly City).


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ASUS is releasing a 17-inch Foldable OLED Laptop
Foldable screens are the trendy new thing every tech company is trying out these days. When it comes to PCs and Laptops, the results are pretty much mixed. However, when it comes to funky experiments with screens, ASUS doesn’t hold itself back. Therefore, it has announced the release of Zenbook 17 Fold OLED, a 17.3inch foldable OLED laptop this year.
The main advantage of foldable screen is that it makes it easier to carry your gadget around. No matter if its ultra -thin and ultra-light, carrying a 17-inch laptop is still a pain for many. With the new ASUS foldable laptop, you can easily fit it into your bags or purses.
The Zenbook Fold will come with a 12 Gen Intel Core i7 U-Series processors, 16 GB of RAM and a storage of 1 TB.
It will also incorporate Asus’ ScreenXpert 2 software for an easy screen split feature. Not only this, but it also comes with 75W battery which is a promising spec.
The Zenbook Fold is expected to launch in the second quarter of 2022 and the price is yet to be announced by Asus.


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TikTok launches $200 mn Creator Fund to pay people to post
TikTok today announced a $200 million fund, aimed at helping top creators in the U.S. supplement their earnings. Called the TikTok Creator Fund, the money is aimed at helping “eligible” creators on the platform earn a livelihood. The platform will begin accepting applications from U.S.-based creators starting next month and distribute the capital over the coming year.
“As our community continues to flourish, we’re committed to fostering even more ways for our creators to earn livelihoods by inspiring joy and creativity,” said Vanessa Pappas, general manager for TikTok U.S


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Once again cooler weather for this time of year has led to increased potato consumption over the last week. Prices in the peeling market, particularly for Rooster, are holding strong. The old crop appears to be in balance with current demand. Anything that is available to sell finds a market. Recent stock survey shows that […]
Cooler weather has led to a slight increase in potato consumption over the last week. All ambient store materials are finished here, in the UK there are reports that store material quality is degrading at a faster rate as the weather becomes warmer.
IFA President Joe Healy said the EU Commission’s announcement on greater price transparency as part of bringing greater fairness to the food chain is another important step in the campaign to give farmers a bigger share of the final consumer price.
Consumption of potatoes is down this week due to the warm weather conditions. In the UK, trade in the bag market was subdued over the week however prices for top quality are increasing as supplies become harder to find.


text: Jaipur: The textile traders of Rajasthan have called for a 4-day long shut down over 5 per cent Goods and Service Tax (GST) on textile. The shops have brought down their shutter since June 27. On June 29, our photojournalist Chandra Mohan Aloria visited the most important textile business area of Jaipur, which is better known as Pink City, and saw that all the shops were closed. A day before the implementation of GST in India, on June 30, all kinds of business will be closed in Rajasthan as all traders have called for a shut down. See here the pictures of the Pink City to know the impact of the bandh.


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Solution: Unique, complex passwords that are changed often. A look at digital password managers to securely store your codes.
By Sachin Shenolikar
The online world was rattled in April by the latest security alert: The Heartbleed bug had left several major sites, including Yahoo and Instagram, vulnerable to password theft. The companies’ recommendation to users was short and pointed: Change your passwords. Immediately.
Since then, companies have banded together to try to prevent a similar security breach to their servers in the future. Still, Heartbleed hammered home the point that, in a constantly evolving tech world, it is crucial to have unique passwords for every site, change those passwords on a regular basis, and make sure they are hack-proofed with a strong combination of uppercase and lowercase letters, as well as numbers and symbols.
But here’s the problem: How do you remember all those complex passwords? The good news is that you no longer have to, thanks to digital password managers that securely store your private codes.
There are two types of password managers: 1) apps on your computer, smartphone, or tablet; and 2) providers that keep your passwords stored in their secure cloud.
Within the next two to three years, many people will have their own public key certificate that can be used for everything from identity to electronic signatures, says Mark Leary, vice president and chief information security officer of Xerox.
“Because the cryptographic qualities of that certificate are so much stronger than just a password, we’ll be identified to those and that will effectively be our identity — not our password or user name,” he says. “It will become something that’s associated with us as a person, much like a driver’s license.”
In the meantime, here are five password managers to try:
1. eWallet. Using 256-bit AES encryption, this app works on Apple, Android, and Windows devices.
2. Microsoft Single-Use Code. This feature text-messages a code to a user’s mobile phone for simultaneous login to all Microsoft applications.
3. LastPass. LastPass’s free version prompts users to save passwords for new sites as they are browsing.
4. Dashlane. Dashlane has an auto-login feature so you don’t have to type in your passwords.
5. Norton Identity Safe. A pioneer in Internet security, Norton’s manager has a password generator that will create secure codes for you.
(This article was excerpted from Real Business, a website from Xerox that provides ideas and information for decision makers in business and government. Read the complete article here.)


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The track-only McLaren 570S Sprint will take on the classic Goodwood Hill Run! The reason McLaren are making a return at this year Goodwood Festival of Speed is to celebrate many motosport milestones. The brand new track-only McLaren Sprint will make its world debut together with the 570`s Coupe paddock supercar!
This is far from everything that will be on display at the Goodwood 2016! The sold out P1 GTR and 675LT Spider will both make an appearance! So many more exciting cars will be present together with the McLaren 570S Sprint! According to McLaren, this year’s Goodwood Festival will have the most ample display ever made by the company!


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Herman Narula didn’t hold back in his criticism of Mark Zuckerberg’s metauniverse ambitions at last week’s Sifted Summit.
The CEO and co-founder of gaming company Improbable had a spring in his step when he took the stage, having just started promoting a $100 million round at a $3 billion valuation earlier in the week. And when asked if his company — which builds technology to create large-scale, simulated virtual worlds — benefited from Facebook’s name change to Meta and the subsequent surge in interest in the metaverse, he took the opportunity to throw shade at Zuck.
“It was not so much the renaming of the company that was helpful. It was a completely disastrous strategy that followed,” Narula said. “Every company and enterprise that wants to build services related to the metaverse has a deep fear [about Facebook owning the metaverse].”
Those companies are worried, he said, because they think Meta will do to the metaverse what it did to our current version of the Internet: monopolize user data and social media revenue.
“Companies that have massive communities — whether in sports, fashion or music — are seen as underutilizing, under-monetizing and under-engaging those communities,” Narula said. “They understand how they were removed from them [social media] communities online and they want to change that.”
The dawn of the metaverse could change their fate.
Narula said Improbable is now seeing huge interest from companies looking to build experiences in the metaverse. He said they see his company’s metaverse platform — M² — as a more democratic and decentralized metaverse system than Meta’s.
This democratization and decentralization, he argues, will be ensured by the fact that Improbable will be owned by its users.
The M² metauniverse will have its own currency to pay for the exchange of virtual goods and services on the platform. Narula said Improbable will own no more than 10% of that currency. He claims that this will mean that Improbable will not be the master of its own metauniverse and the community that uses the network will have a greater say in how it is run.
Metaverse optimists hope that this decentralization of power in Web3 will mean that creators who publish content online will be able to earn a larger share of revenue than those using, say, YouTube or Instagram in the Web2 world. That’s because less money will go to powerful platforms like Google and Meta that act as ad gatekeepers.
Narula also said that Meta is not fit to run a responsible metaverse where issues like abuse and harassment are taken seriously.
Meets account by a Londoner named Nina Jane Patel — who said she was sexually harassed “within 60 seconds of joining” the Meta’s Venues platform — Narula called the story “horrifying.”
He said that Meta could have prevented such an incident from happening “in 100 different ways that I’m sure the audience could list as well” and said that Improbable’s metauniverse would “impose rules” on how users operate .
Narula added that Facebook cannot be trusted when it comes to responsibly moderating online communities, saying its track record in controlling misinformation speaks for itself.
“Facebook has consistently claimed they cannot provide data to police disinformation,” he said. “Then you look at something like Wikipedia – it has a fraction of the funding and manpower of Facebook and yet, consistently, we use it every day to find facts and we can be confident in their accuracy.”
Narula said hiring moderators to police behavior in the metaverse will be vital to its success, adding that Facebook’s reputation is already having a negative impact on public perception of this new phase of the online world.
“We’re in this strange world where the disaster that is Facebook’s influence on our culture is seen by many as a vision of the metaverse,” he said. “I think what we’re learning is that Facebook probably shouldn’t be building the metaverse.”
Sifted reached out to Meta for a response to Narula’s points.
Tim Smith is Sifted’s Iberia correspondent. He tweets from @timmpsmith


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The Range Rover Evoque has always looked a hair bigger than it actually is. That's a testament to strong design, and it's an aesthetic that carries over into the newly redesigned model. The footprint is generally the same, as are the vertical dimensions, so it's still a wee little bugger. You start to notice it inside—the rear cargo area isn't massive, and the passenger space just kisses the far edge of comfort and usability. Yet it all still works. It looks harmonious and proportioned inside and out, and fits like glove. In fact, interior space is actually up a bit over the previous model, which is itself no small achievement.
As tricky as it was making the occupants feel good, though, making the hidden parts all play nice was even trickier. In fact. chief engineer Pete Simkin says it was absolutely the hardest part of the program. "Packaging was the greatest challenge—fitting all the new stuff into the car without making it any bigger," he said. The new Evoque is a mild hybrid, which means it now has to accommodate a battery and generator in the engine compartment, and it has to fit in more sensors, cameras, and assorted other hardware throughout the cabin, frame, and body than the previous model.
Engineers have been confronting this ever-growing list of technical demands more and more as electrification, safety technologies, and self-driving hardware infiltrate their marching orders—and just making the car bigger is no longer an option. "Seventy percent of our customers for the Evoque live in urban areas, and they said don’t make it any bigger," Simkin said.
There's also the fact that everything about a new model has to be better than its predecessor—better room, better safety, better performance, better capability. So how do they do it? It's a combination of pinching and pulling here, there, and everywhere, of course, but also, it turns out, spending a lot of time wearing virtual-reality headsets.
First, Simkin's team had to confront the mild hybrid situation. They chose to locate the battery pack under the floor, which risked intruding on cabin space or impacting the car's off-road capability—which for a British brand who's reputation rests as much on that element as it does its vibe of luxury, just wouldn't do. "We managed to fit it in without compromising breakover angle or ground clearance, which is actually improved in the new model," he said. Part of the solution was a new, more compact rear suspension, and moving the rear axle back by 21mm. That may not sound like a lot, but stretched over the width and height of a car, it's legitimately usable space. It boosted leg room in the rear seat, made the rear doors slightly larger, and created more flexibility for how and where to place the battery pack.
The generator, which pumps electricity into the battery pack, replaces the alternator, but is a larger piece of hardware. Simkin's team located that on top of the engine, directly beneath the engine cover. The engine is transversely mounted, as it was in its predecessor, which creates a more natural fit in the tight engine bay. Squeezing in the other stuff called for extreme attention to detail. That took time and a fair amount of new technology itself. "That really was the better part of a year where we spend every day, week, and hour just working through the minutiae of where everything say, and what the routing was for all the components," Simkin said. "We got everything very tightly packaged."
Much of the team's time was spend working in virtual reality, using 3D computer-aided design programs to explore the inner workings of the systems in order to optimize every component's place in the design. That happened every Tuesday afternoon, stretching to six hours for each session.
Simkin says the painstaking attention to detail paid off for the model. "We managed to put more and more in, and still have more room inside," he said. "It's got a ten percent bigger boot!"


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Thanksgiving dinners can be a time of reflection and gratitude, but in the case of Dylan Finger and his wife, Angela Fernandez, Thanksgiving 2017 sparked a business idea.
“We went to a family Thanksgiving, where my wife, who is a Le Cordon Bleu-trained chef, brought a vegan chocolate mousse; she was vegan at the time,” says Finger, Angie’s Epicurean’s Co-Founder. “We were looking for something we could do together.”
Although Finger is a real estate developer by trade, with a history in franchising, he was interested in starting another food venture. “The main reason I came to the U.S. was to bring Sweets From Heaven, which is a
South African candy company we made public, to the United States,” Finger explains. “We used soft-serve machines in the stores
back in the ’90s that were rented.”
It was around 2017 when the couple visited a market in the U.S. that was selling plant-based
soft-serve ice cream made with almond milk. “There was a huge line of customers, but Angie and I tried the ice cream, and it was
just okay,” Finger says. “We came back weeks later and saw the same long line, so I told her we should try to make ice cream. My wife is very talented, and when I see her creating food, she is in her element.”
Finger and Fernandez officially launched Angie’s Epicurean in January 2018. The couple then started testing and reading up on the science of ice cream: binders, fat and emulsifiers. The challenge was replacing dairy with plant- based ingredients without using sugar. “We basically turned our dining room into a lab,” Finger says. “It was a lot of trial and error. We tried different options, like date syrup, and much of it was a disaster. Angie had all these superfoods and ingredients; some were good, some turned the product icy. Then she got better and better.”
As Finger and Fernandez learned more about the industry and suppliers, they continued with R&D until they perfected the product. “She refined the recipe, and we decided to create [not just a business] but a brand,” Finger says.
The result was a plant-based ice cream brand that could accommodate kosher, vegan, dairy-free, gluten-free, soy-free and non-GMO diets. Flavors include the traditional vanilla, chocolate and strawberry, then veer off into the signature mango lassi, passion fruit and basil, and cappuccino. Sauce options vary by location and range from the quintessential caramel and strawberry to condensed milk, guava and date syrup. Toppings range from sprinkles to cacao nibs to gummy bears and even rose petals.
The couple found a boutique marketing firm that had worked on another vegan concept to assist with their story, message and artwork. “It was expensive but important,” Finger says. “While testing and creating the brand, we needed to figure out how to bring it to market.”
Finger, having been involved with many brick-and-mortar stores throughout his real estate career, was wary of spending thousands of dollars on a store, hoping it would work. “I didn’t want to take the risk,” he says. It turned out he didn’t have to. Finger leveraged his relationship with a successful fellow real estate developer in Miami who owned a quarter of the city’s Wynwood Arts District. The formerly dangerous, industrial neighborhood had been transformed into some of the priciest real estate in the country. Part of the property included the Mana Wynwood Convention Center, which was formerly an industrial warehouse.
Finger saw opportunity with the venue’s shows and events but wanted to start with a mobile concept. “We needed something we could move around to take advantage of events and capitalize on access,” he says.
The couple felt that traditional food trucks didn’t match the upscale brand
they sought to create. They also considered building out a restaurant in a shipping container, but didn’t like that option, either. “Because our brand was European, we looked at what that continent was doing with mobile ice cream,” Finger says.
Finger and Fernandez came upon vintage trucks from France that were being used for fast food in the United Kingdom. With further research, he discovered a British company that restored old trucks for exactly the use the couple was planning.
“So we planned a trip and drove from London to seven different places, including Wales and the border of Scotland,” Finger recalls. “The last place we found outside London was the one that worked. They had done an incredible job restoring vintage trucks.”
The couple ordered a restored vintage box truck and had it shipped to the U.S. They then found a company in the States that could build it out with electrical connections, windows, lights, air conditioning and equipment. “I did my rounds to check out food truck builders in south Florida and found a place to do it really well,” Finger says. “This company worked on trucks for the military. They were not cheap but were really good. They designed the entire truck, building it out in six months.”
As the truck was being imported and built out, the couple started researching different ice cream equipment. Due to the very compact footprint, this was easier said than done. “It was when I was looking for dipping cabinets that would fit that I met John McCabe of Carpigiani,” Finger says. “He educated us on the company’s many equipment options.”
McCabe, Executive Sales Consultant at Carpigiani North America, an Ali Group company, met with the couple about developing the business. As the truck was being built out, he helped Finger and Fernandez create the display case and provided insight on equipment that would work best for the brand.
Later on, the company would find new production space.
“We found the [production] space from someone I worked with who owned 70 properties in downtown Miami; one was an old food hall from the ’80s that used to be a sandwich shop,” Finger says. “It was a 250-square-foot space with a counter and tiny back of house. We renovated the electrical and plumbing in order to put the Carpigiani Maestro machine there.”
Angie’s Epicurean integrated Carpigiani’s Maestro batch freezer, which provides more than 40 programs for creating gelato, pastry, ice cream and chocolate. The machine’s compact size was ideal for the mobile operation. Available in three sizes, the machine’s high-efficiency technology provides up to 30% water consumption and electricity savings compared with other batch freezers. It also has Hot-Cold-Dynamic Adaptive technology to automatically recognize the quantity and type of mixture. This modulates the cold and hot gas, which optimizes the heat exchange during the freezing cycle. This technology also avoids potentially burning the product during the processing cycle.
“This is a very efficient batch freezer that efficiently heat treats base mixes, which extends the shelf life of ice cream when it’s displayed,” McCabe explains.
For making its mixes, Angie’s Epicurean also chose Carpigiani’s Pastomaster pasteurizer, which is not only easy to use and manage but also comes with an exchanger pump for high micronization of fat globules. This ensures a creamy and stable product. The equipment provides easily managed minimum filling levels with no risk of mix burning. It also has pastry functions for producing toppings and inclusions.
When Angie’s Epicurean opened in December 2019 with the food truck and small production space, it was an immediate success. “The minute we opened, sales were booming,” Finger says. “Because I knew from prior experience with Sweets From Heaven that toppings were a great profit margin, we offered superfood toppings with the vegan, gluten-free and plant-based ice cream. Our challenge was that if we blindfolded you, you wouldn’t know it was vegan, and we achieved that.”
Unfortunately, a short time after the brand launched, COVID reared its ugly head. “We thankfully didn’t have a brick-and-mortar store at that time, so when the pandemic hit, we looked at the big picture,” Finger says. “We were focused on building the brand and creating local awareness.”
When things began opening up in October 2020, the couple was approached to operate a six-month pop-up store at a mall. Then a real estate developer friend suggested a truck location in a West Palm Beach, Fla., spot. “It was a prime location in a square, and we were so successful there that we ordered another truck so we could park one there permanently, with another mobile truck designated for event requests,” Finger says.
Because they were dealing with vintage trucks, there were issues along the way. For example, due to the strong power requirements for refrigeration, a bigger generator was needed. “It was a bit of a logistical nightmare, with trucks breaking down and tow trucks involved,” Finger says.
The couple took a trip to South Africa, where they came upon an ornate Italian ice cream cart outside a restaurant.
“It was super busy, but we did some sleuthing to see who the equipment manufacturer was, and it was Carpigiani,” Finger says. “We ended up buying one of the carts, rebranding it and incorporating a topping station that is also a freezer from the company.”
“He is using Carpigiani’s customized Il Carrettino Classic ISA display cart for several locations and special events,” McCabe explains.
The couple also incorporated Carpigiani’s compact ISA OneShow Free Gelato Case on the side of the truck.
After debuting the rebranded carts, the concept began taking off. This led to Finger and Fernandez being approached by hospitality service provider Centerplate, a Sodexo company, which handles foodservice for the Miami Beach Convention Center and a number of U.S. stadiums, including Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium.
This in turn led to Angie’s Epicurean’s mobile activation at the Miami Open, 2022 Miami Grand Prix, annual Miami Swim Week, Latin Grammy Awards and other events. Its other mobile cart was available for weddings, showers and corporate events.
Angie’s Epicurean has since worked with such established brands as Hublot, Breitling and Instagram. It was also selected by the University of Florida’s MBA program for its graduate students to perform an entrepreneurial growth study as part of their final exam. “We received so many inquiries for events, so we ordered more Carpigiani machines to keep up,” Finger says. “We were getting double booked on weekends, doing pop-ups at malls and activations. We’d spend six to eight months at some locations.”
The business eventually outgrew its 250-square-foot production space, so the couple began looking for something bigger, preferably a commercial kitchen that needed minimal changes. “Luckily, we found a 2,000-square-foot bakery that received a $1 million renovation in 2017,” Finger says. “It had similar branding to Angie’s; the company made vegan cupcakes for Whole Foods and was moving to a bigger facility.”
Finger and Fernandez instantly fell in love with the space, but it had already been leased to a taco company. When this business had issues with the zoning codes, the couple was able to negotiate a lease with favorable terms.
This enabled the business to expand into wholesale. In addition to three Florida locations in Miami, West Palm Beach and Aventura, it will now provide distribution to supermarkets from Orlando to south Florida. “This brand is innovative and growing. The product is fantastic, and they do a great job marketing,” McCabe says. “It’s an ongoing partnership working together as they continue to grow.”
At press time, Angie’s Epicurean was in the process of opening its main kitchen to expand production to hotels, resorts, supermarkets and restaurants.
“Dylan and Angie will be purchasing the large Carpigiani LB 1002 G RTX Batch Freezer to expand their production in their new production facility,” McCabe says. “Angie’s Epicurean goes all out; they know how to market and spend a lot of time on the branding and promotion of their premium products, and it shows.


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COVID-19 outbreak and travel to Italy
Updated 30/03/2020 – NEW FORMAT: Following the latest developments of the COVID 19 pandemic and because the safety of our delegates is extremely important to us, we have decided to turn this year’s edition of the Technology Workshop into an online event around the same dates. We are getting ready for this technological shift and will give you more details as soon as possible. Thank you for your trust and support.
This year, the workshop will take place online from your offices or sofas. We’ll have to wait until the next edition to visit beautiful Napoli. Indicative dates for 2021 will be announced soon.


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Research by hotel booking platform, hoo, has found that promises of quarantine-free travel for those who have received both their COVID-19 vaccinations has failed to boost holidaymaker confidence for a trip abroad this summer.
hoo’s foreign holiday intent tracker found that back in January, 88% of UK holidaymakers had no plans of heading abroad this summer. With talk of the travel ban lifting, this did fall to 65% in March, however, the latest results show that 90% of us will stick to our staycations in 2021.
Just 10% of us are now planning a trip abroad despite the latest announcements that those with both COVID jabs will not have to quarantine even after visiting an amber list destination.
Despite this latest reassurance from the government, hoo also found that 72% of those contemplating a foreign holiday will still stick to green list destinations when they do travel.
However, the promise of a quarantine-free holiday has had one positive impact. A third (28%) of those asked stated that the ability to skip quarantine when they return home has made them more likely to get their COVID vaccinations sorted.
hoo Co-founder, Adrian Murdock, commented: “There’s no doubt that last week’s announcement will have helped boost the hopes of the travel and tourism industry that some form of stability may return this summer.
However, it seems as though more UK holidaymakers are sticking with their plans for another summer of staycations than they were in January, despite the removal of quarantine measures for those who have received both doses of their COVID vaccination.
You can’t really blame them, to be honest, with many falling foul of an ever-changing traffic light list while on holiday, not to mention the additional hoops that need to be jumped through and the continued risk of catching COVID itself.
While we’re all desperate to get away it seems as though the predominant choice will be to sit tight and enjoy the fantastic offerings on our doorstep for one more summer, at least.”
Survey of 1,282 UK population carried out by hoo (13th July 2021)
Do you plan to holiday abroad this summer now that restrictions have been relaxed for those who have had a double dose vaccination against COVID?
28th January 2021
4th March 2021
13th May 2021
If restrictions are actually lifted
Will you still stick to green list destinations despite this relaxation in restrictions?
Has the ability to travel without quarantine (if vaccinated) made you more likely to get your COVID vaccines?


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Paper straw maker Hoffmaster is adding capacity and hiring as it expects the switch away from plastic to greatly boost business
Demand for paper straws has surged as awareness about plastic ocean pollution has grown
With some of the world’s biggest companies and entire cities banning plastic straws, Hoffmaster Group Inc. and Aardvark Straws, makers of paper straws, are ramping up for a surge in demand and sales.
Plastic straw bans have been declared in places like Seattle and Vancouver and at global companies like Starbucks Corp. SBUX, -2.19% McDonald’s Corp. MCD, -0.30% Hyatt Hotels Corp. H, -0.30% and Ikea, opening the door for alternatives.
On August 6, Hoffmaster, a company that makes paper tableware, announced that it had acquired Aardvark Straws, “the sole U.S. producer of paper straws,” according to the release. By the time MarketWatch spoke with Andy Romjue, president of Hoffmaster, a little more than a week later, the company had already begun taking steps to meet a flood of orders. Media reports have already put the surge in demand at 5,000% in recent months.


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Delhi-based software-as-a-service (SaaS) startup Squad (earlier known as SquadRun) has raised $2.1 million in a fresh funding round led by early-stage investor Blume Ventures, a company statement said.
Angel investors Gokul Rajaram (Product Engineering Lead at Square) and Shamik Sharma (Senior Technology Advisor at Myntra) also participated in the funding round.
The company said it will use the funds to scale its platform by expanding the technology, product and data teams in India and the sales team in the US.
Squad helps businesses crowdsource operational problems from mobile workforce (college students, young professionals, housewives, etc.). So far it claims to have connected more than 75,000 people across India, the Philippines, Malaysia, Uganda, and Kenya to meaningful work opportunities through Internet-enabled smart devices.
SquadRun Inc was founded in 2014 by engineers Apurv Agrawal and Vikas Gulati, and commerce graduate Kanika Jain. Agrawal and Jain previously worked at 91springboard while Gulati worked as a software developer at Josh Technology.
SD Shibulal, co-founder of Infosys and Axilor Ventures said, “We are excited by the disruption Squad is bringing to the outsourcing industry with its distributed workforce model. Their AI-powered digital platform which can manage customer workflows at large scale will help global services companies improve responsiveness and bring down costs.”
In February 2015, Squad had raised an undisclosed amount of seed funding. The angel investors included Amit Ranjan of SlideShare, Deepinder Goyal of Zomato, Girish Khera of Scientific Animations, and Zishaan Hayath of ed-tech startup Toppr.


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A source that spoke to Bloomberg has revealed that the iPad and the MacBook have not been included on the Chinese government's procurement list that was distributed back in July. A total of ten Apple devices were left off, and as a result they cannot be used by government agencies or otherwise purchased with public money.
MacBook-to-tablet convertor Modbook is back with a new model, the Modbook Pro X, turning the latest MacBook Pro into a pen-enabled graphics powerhouse for designers and artists. Building on the 15.4-inch Pro which Apple updated yesterday, the new Modbook slate repositions the 2880 x 1800 Retina display into a new form-factor complete with shortcut keys on the back.
Apple has finally rolled out the its refresh of its MacBook Pro with Retina Display line. The slightly revamped specs match what was leaked from China yesterday, with the absence of a new super-powered model. This time, however, we also get to see what has changed with the 13-inch models as well.
MacBook finagler ModBook is back, teasing what looks to be a new tablet based on Apple's notebook but reworked to suit artists and pen lovers. The unnamed project has been teased in portions over the past week or so, with ModBook promising a full reveal this week. One thing's for sure: there's a stylus involved.
A refresh of Apple's 15-inch Retina MacBook Pro models might be on its way, boasting of beefier specs at almost no extra cost. The Cupertino-based company will also be expanding that line with a total of four models to choose from. That is, if this leaked photo from the company's store in Chongqing, China is to be given credence.
Apple's promotional machine is pretty much legendary, but it's often when the company sticks to the simple messages that it's most effective. Latest to air is a new MacBook Air commercial, dubbed "Stickers", inspired by the various ways in which owners of the ultraportable customize their lids.
Apple's new MacBook Air with Retina display is headed to production with an expected release in October, reports out of Taiwan suggest, though the rumored 12-inch refresh may well have been pushed back. Chatter of a higher-resolution MacBook Air has circulated for some time, bringing the ultraportable's screen in-line with the sort of pixel-dense panels Apple uses in the MacBook Pro, but a revamp earlier this year failed to deliver it.
Microsoft has revealed the Surface Pro 3, and the new Windows tablet's main rival is clear: Apple's 13-inch MacBook Air. The OS X ultraportable was brought up on-stage during Panos Panay's presentation announcing the Surface Pro 3, and promptly slapped on a scale to show how the two hold up in terms of what you'll feel in your bag.


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Bulgaria Industrial PPI Growth Eases in October
Image by Pixabay
Bulgaria's general industrial producer price index (PPI) increased by 41.7% year-on-year in October after surging 56.8% in September, the National Statistical Institute (NSI) said on Wednesday.
Producer prices on the domestic market grew by an annual 55.4% in October after jumping 78.1% in September. Last month's increase was mostly due to a 94.1% rise in the prices of electricity, gas, steam, and air conditioning supply.
At the same time, producer prices on the non-domestic market climbed by 19.6% on the year in October.
Compared to September, the PPI declined by 6.2% in October, mostly due to a 15.3% drop in prices in the electricity, gas, steam, and air conditioning supply category, the Sofia-based institute said.
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MINI has apparently realized what we’ve known for a while now.
In a conversion with British publication Autocar, MINI CEO Bernd Körber acknowledged that some parts of MINI are no longer mini. The fourth-generation Cooper is currently in development and some within the company are looking to bring back the compact design and feel of past models.
It’s no secret that MINI has built its reputation on its pinpoint precision and agility. When MINI was reborn under BMW in 2002, the Cooper was a lot bigger than the first MINI, but still tiny by the period’s standards. Today, the MINI Cooper has grown with the rest of the industry to the point where it’s the same size as any other subcompact out there, sometimes even bigger.
Unfortunately, the desire to shrink the MINI doesn’t appear to extend to the actual footprint of the vehicle, only the design. In other words, the next-generation MINI Cooper won’t necessarily be smaller, it will just look smaller.
The next MINI Cooper is still a ways off with Körber saying it is planned for 2023 or 2024. MINI is currently in the design phase of the project and bouncing around ideas to rekindle the brand’s former glory which has been fading in recent years as MINI tried to reach more people and in the process alienated its core following.


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Suspended sales of textured breast implants in international markets dented Allergan’s financial performance in the fourth quarter and the company reported tepid sales for other devices.
Fallout from the scrutiny drove quarterly international sales of breast implants to tumble 74% year over year, falling from $40.1 million to $10.5 million.
Allergan stopped selling its textured breast implants and tissue expanders in the European Union late last year. The action followed the expiration of the device’s CE mark and a recall request from French regulators. Authorities around the world are monitoring the safety of the implants following cases of adverse events including a rare form of lymphoma implicated in patient deaths.
That drop was big enough to affect Allergan’s entire international operation. Excluding the impact of the breast implant problems and a separate recall, Allergan calculated international sales would have grown 8.5% on a constant-currency basis. When the recalls were factored in, sales grew 1%. Allergan also blamed the recalls for a two percentage point dip in its international gross margin.
There is scope for the situation to get worse. FDA plans to hold an advisory committee on breast implant safety in March but has so far had a more favorable view of the devices than its peers in Europe. Still, the fallout from events in Europe may be affecting Allergan’s U.S. operation. U.S. sales of the breast implants dipped 1.2% in the fourth quarter.
The international market remains the big problem, though. In estimating the headwinds it will face in 2019, Allergan originally ascribed a negative impact of $60 million to the international breast implant problems. However, Allergan CFO Matthew Walsh thinks that may have been optimistic, leading to the recalculation of the negative impact.
“We've expanded that a bit to include some knock on effects in other ex-U.S. markets, so that’s about a $100 million relative to what our normalized expectation for 2019 would have been,” Walsh said on a conference call with investors. Brazil recalled the implants days after European authorities took action and the Australian regulator is still considering how to respond to events in Europe.
The wave of regulatory actions could benefit Establishment Labs, which markets breast implants that are yet to be linked to cases of lymphoma and elicit a lower immunologic response. Analysts at Jefferies think Establishment Labs has a significant opportunity.
“Action by regulators worldwide against textured implants is creating an unprecedented opening for the company. An incremental $10-20m seems achievable over time—and could prove conservative considering the fall off in [Allergan] sales,” the analysts wrote in a note to investors.
Some of Allergan’s other key devices also had weak quarters. Net sales of CoolSculpting systems and consumables fell 13.9%. Sales of CoolSculpting systems, which are used in a fat reduction procedure, fell 36.9% in the U.S. Sluggish revenues in the U.S. were partly offset by performance internationally, where Allergan grew system sales by 83.8% in the quarter. Going into 2019, Allergan thinks U.S. sales of consumables and the continued international resurgence will drive CoolSculpting growth.


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Navdy projects transparent image in driver's field of view
GM says almost-driverless cars coming by 2020
Sometime before the end of this decade, General Motors will put a car on the road that can almost drive itself.
Innate behavior determines how we steer our car
Researchers at Chalmers University of Technology have solved a 70 year old mystery in traffic research: an until now inexplicable jerkiness when we steer a vehicle. The discovery may lead to safety systems ...
Ford, Intel Project Mobii explores driver and car connections
Nokia's map data reveals flow of highway life
Audi shows TLA solution to make those green lights (w/ Video)
The end of traffic jams? Dutch test new system
Researchers in the Netherlands will next year test a GPS navigation system aimed at preventing the international curse of motorway traffic jams by telling drivers which lane to move to.
Hyundai Motor offers Google Android Auto system (Update)
South Korea's Hyundai Motor said Wednesday it has become the first carmaker to offer Google's Android Auto system in its Sonata model sold in the US market.
How will Google, Apple shake up car insurance industry?
Car insurance industry, meet potential disrupters Google and Apple. Currently, nearly all mainstream insurers that offer driver-monitoring programs use relatively expensive devices that plug into a portal under the dashboard. ...
Land Rover demos invisible bonnet / car hood (w/ video)
Toyota unveils cars with auto pilot
Toyota on Friday unveiled the next generation of cars featuring an auto pilot system that will swerve to avoid collisions and also keep to the middle of the road, all without drivers touching the wheel.
Emotion detectors could make driving safer
Irritation, in particular, can make drivers more aggressive and less attentive. EPFL researchers, in collaboration with PSA Peugeot Citroen, have developed an on-board emotion detector based on the analysis ...
Self-driving cars and autonomous robots: Where to now?
There isn't a radio-control handset in sight as a nimble robot briskly weaves itself in and out of the confined tunnels of an underground mine.


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Amazon Web Services User Group Bangladesh, the official community of AWS users and developers of Bangladesh recently organized the First AWS Developers meetup of Bangladesh
Tag: Brain Station 23 Limited
Brain Station 23 recently attended Japan IT Week 2019, a world-class B2B tech exhibition event. Our CEO Raisul Kabir and COO MJ Ferdous represented Brain
E-commerce business is booming in Bangladesh recently. With better access, inclusion and a consistently developing web population, the prospect for e-Commerce is splendidly growing for the last couple of years.
nopStation, the eCommerce entity of Brain Station 23 organized the very first meetup for the nopCommerce developers of Bangladesh which recently took place in Dhaka on 10th December 2018. The event was very special not only because it was the first of its kind but the event was glorified by the presence of nopCommerce platform founder and CEO Andrei Mazulnitsyn…
Technologies like augmented reality, virtual reality & mix reality are now the talk of every tech event taking place around the world. I have heard people debating on which one is better than the other when the comparison doesn’t actually justify the points that they have been debating on with. But the important question is do we really understand the proper definitions of these tech terms? Let’s find out…
For the technology driven leading-edge companies in Bangladesh, when it comes to becoming a global brand considering both conventional and unconventional ways, meeting the service


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2 local small businesses get $50,000 grants2 local small businesses get $50,000 grantsThe U.S. Small Business Administration announced the 68 winners of the third annual Growth Accelerator Fund Competition.
Former senator, businessman Vicente 'Ben' Ada dies at 84Former senator, businessman Vicente 'Ben' Ada dies at 84Editor's note: This story has been updated to include funeral information.
Rampell: Don't blame feds for hurting small businessRampell: Don't blame feds for hurting small businessIt's often state and local bureaucrats who get all up in your business if you're starting a business.
Flood impact weighs on local businessesFlood impact weighs on local businessesFor Garth Swallow, the recent flood’s impact was felt most keenly at the corner lot at Aris and Carmel drives, where he sells used cars.
WNC Minority Enterprise Development Week scheduledWNC Minority Enterprise Development Week scheduledWestern North Carolina’s Minority Enterprise Development Week 2016 is scheduled to occur Sept. 26-30.
SBA, AARP present 'franchising at 50' at RutgersSBA, AARP present 'franchising at 50' at RutgersOn Aug. 23, SBA, AARP & NJ Small Business Development Centers will present “Encore Entrepreneurship: Franchising at 50”
Background helps new business network leaderBackground helps new business network leaderTara Carr, director of the Small Business Development Center at UWGB, is an entrepreneur.
- SANDY RECOVERY
5 mistakes the SBA made on Sandy loans5 mistakes the SBA made on Sandy loansSuperstorm Sandy disaster loans were granted to people with bad credit, little income and at least one non-U.S. citizen, according to an internal review by the U.S. Small Business Administration.


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Unilever is attempting to buy Hollywood actor Jessica Alba’s household goods company Honest for more than $1bn (£760m), according to reports.
The London-listed Unilever, which owns Dove soap, Lynx body sprays and Ben & Jerry’s ice cream, is on an acquisition spree buying up new and innovative companies that appeal to younger people to help maintain its stronghold on the global consumer goods market.
The planned-purchase of Honest, which the Golden Globe-nominated actorco-founded in 2011, comes hot on the heels of Unilever’s $1bn purchase of Dollar Shave Club.
Both Unilever and Honest declined to comment on the proposed sale, which was first reported by the Wall Street Journal. Honest, which has built up a loyal customer base of young mothers who buy its diapers (nappies), household cleaners and beauty products via online subscription, is also exploring the possibility of floating on the stock market.
The speculated $1bn sale price is significantly lower than the $1.7bn Honest was reportedly valued at in its most recent fundraising drive last year.
Honest is attractive to Unilever for its “natural” and “green” household cleaning goods, which are a booming market in the US and overseas. But, Honest has been hit with class-action lawsuits by customers claiming that its products have been deceptively labeled as “organic” and “natural” when they contain non-natural ingredients.
Alba, 35, who has been acting since she was 13 and starred in Fantastic Four and Dark Angel, has dismissed the lawsuits as baseless. “If an organization wants to bring awareness to their cause, I’m an easy target and our brand is an easy target obviously, because I get a different kind of attention than other brands would,” she said on the Today show last month. “We stand by our ingredients, the effectiveness of the products and we’re pretty optimistic that we’re going to win every case.”
Paul Polman, Unilever’s chief executive, said Unilever was seeking to buy up fresh ideas rather than attempting to come up with new products and business models in house. “An innovative company has to go outside as much as inside. The main incubators for our future innovation capabilities are more likely to be outside than inside,” he said in an interview with Bloomberg earlier this week.
Polman, who was paid €10.4m (£8.9m) last year, described Dollar Shave Club – which has shaken up the razor market by posting grooming products to subscribers for as little as $1 a month – as a “disruptor”.
Alba is not the first Hollywood star to swap the silver screen for the product development and the boardroom. Paul Newman created Newman’s Own in 1982, it has expanded to more than 200 products including pizza, cookies and pet food and donated more than $450m of profits to charity.


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Mark Your Calendars for the Next SRT InterOp Plugfest with YouTube
We’ve recently announced that YouTube has joined the SRT Alliance and that it will be our special guest at this year’s SRT InterOp Plugfest, taking place on Tuesday, May 9th at 10am ET.
Keep reading this post to learn the details about this year’s Plugfest and webinar, including how SRT Alliance members can establish vendor interoperability for live video contribution into the world’s most popular live streaming platform.
SRT: Widespread Industry Adoption
YouTube’s support for SRT is an important milestone for the open-source protocol, reaching widespread industry adoption and ubiquity for low latency video. As Haivision’s Chairman and CEO, Mirko Wich remarks, “Seeing the adoption of our SRT technology by YouTube and other industry leaders has shown how ubiquitous the protocol has become for low latency end-to-end video transport. From contribution to distribution, with YouTube now a member of the SRT Alliance, some of the most influential global media and entertainment organizations are now leveraging SRT in their workflows. We’re looking forward to future industry innovations and collaborations.”
SRT InterOp Plugfest
Join us as we kick off the event with a special webinar featuring the latest news and updates on the SRT open source protocol and the SRT Alliance with special guest, Callum Plunkett, Live Solutions Consultant at Google. The webinar will also provide those participating in the Plugfest with a detailed overview of how the event will be conducted, including the rules of engagement for testing SRT operability with other vendors.
Following the webinar, SRT Alliance members will be able to participate in this year’s InterOp Plugfest. Hosted by Haivision, the virtual event offers vendors the special opportunity to engage and collaborate in testing with other solution providers across the industry to confirm SRT compatibility. This year, SRT Alliance members participating in the Plugfest will have the unique opportunity to test their technology’s interoperability and compatibility for live video contribution into YouTube with SRT infrastructure provided by Haivision.
The last SRT InterOp Plugfest was held in the summer of 2021 saw over 1,400 successful tests conducted by some of the industry’s leading vendors including Sony, Panasonic, Avid, and Telestream, doubling the amount from the previous edition. The event also set a new record of successfully completed device-to-device tests.
Haivision originally developed SRT in 2013 to enable low latency video connectivity over the public internet between its products, specifically the Makito low latency series of video encoders and decoders. In April 2017, Haivision made the SRT protocol and supporting technology stack open source and freely available and formed the SRT Alliance to support its adoption. During the past six years, almost every major streaming service, cloud platform, and broadcast solution provider has supported and adopted SRT. The video streaming protocol is now used across every element in broadcast and streaming workflows to provide low-latency, secure video transport.


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BT claims Game of Thrones buy-to-keep first
May 21, 2015
By Colin Mann
BT TV says it has stolen a march on its rivals by becoming the first pay-TV provider in the UK to offer customers the chance to buy-to-keep the box set of Game of Thrones and other premium programmes through a partnership with HBO Home Entertainment.
BT’s new deal with HBO Home Entertainment means customers can download to own critically-acclaimed HBO programmes including the global phenomenon Game of Thrones (starting with seasons 1-4, season 5 to follow), the complete box set of hit comedy Entourage and the first season of crime drama True Detective. All the titles are available immediately in time for the UK public holiday weekend. Additional HBO programmes will be added throughout the year.
All episodes can be viewed on BT TV’s set top boxes and are automatically available for customers to watch on their smartphones, tablets or PCs at no extra cost, for watching instantly or downloading for viewing on the move.
Alex Green, director of BT TV, described the deal as “yet another fantastic first” for its customers. “We are committed to offering the widest choice of on demand and live content, with pricing and flexibility to suit all our customers. The new deal with HBO comes at the perfect time for people who want to catch up with world-class TV shows over the long Bank Holiday weekend. But of course you get to keep them so you can watch over and over again,” he noted
Sofia Chang, executive vice president and general manager, HBO Home Entertainment, said the company was excited to extend its digital footprint in the UK by making its content available to BT TV customers. “More and more fans are looking to own their favourite programmes digitally and this is another step for HBO Home Entertainment to expand its reach in this important market.”