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People around the world are generally disgruntled about the state of their economy, but levels of dissatisfaction vary widely by region, according to a new Pew Research Center report. And many of those who are dispirited about current economic conditions are also quite pessimistic about the financial prospects of the next generation.
Europeans are by far the most dissatisfied: A median of 70% in six countries say current economic conditions in their countries are bad. The Italians (88%), French (85%) and Spanish (81%) are the most downbeat. Only the Germans are particularly satisfied, with 75% believing their economy is in good shape.
In the Middle East, views are also negative. A median of two-thirds lament the state of their economy. Most concerned are Lebanese (89% say the economy is bad), Jordanians (73%) and Palestinians (67%).
Similarly, Latin Americans (median of 63%) say their economy is in bad shape. Brazilians (87%) and Venezuelans (83%) have particularly negative views.
Americans and publics in Africa are less dissatisfied, but they are hardly happy about the way things are going. More than half of Americans (56%) say the U.S. economy is doing poorly. In the nine African nations surveyed, a median of 51% believe economic conditions are bad. Within Africa there is a particularly wide divergence of opinion. More than seven-in-ten Ghanaians (73%) judge their economy to be performing poorly, while nearly nine-in-ten Ethiopians (89%) believe their economy is in good condition.
Only in the Asia-Pacific region do about half (51%) regard their economy as good, yet almost as many (47%) say conditions are bad. Again, there is a diversity of views. Chinese (90%) and Vietnamese (86%) overwhelmingly voice the opinion that economic conditions are good. But 83% of South Koreans believe their economy is in bad shape.
The differences between regions extend to how people see the financial prospects for the next generation, the Pew Research survey of 40 nations found.
Europeans are not only the most negative about the present, but also the most pessimistic about the future: A median of 64% believe that today’s children, when they grow up, will be worse off financially than their parents. The French (85%) are particularly concerned about the future. Americans (60%) are almost as worried as the Europeans about prospects for the next generation.
More than four-in-ten (median of 44%) in the Middle East think the next generation will be worse off. This includes 52% of Turks, 47% of Lebanese and 44% of Palestinians. But 51% of Israelis think today’s children will be better off than their parents.
Publics in the Asia-Pacific region have a relatively bright view of the future. By nearly two-to-one, they are optimistic about financial prospects for the next generation: A median of 51% say today’s kids will be better off, while just 24% believe they will be worse off. The Vietnamese (91%) and Chinese (88%) are particularly hopeful. The Asians with the greatest doubts are the Japanese: Just 18% are hopeful for the next generation.
A majority in Africa (median of 56%) also see a better financial future for their children. In fact, half or more in six of the nine African nations surveyed feel that way. Optimism is particularly prevalent in Ethiopia and Nigeria (both 84%). But publics are more pessimistic than optimistic in Kenya (47% to 43%) and Tanzania (45% to 33%).
Latin Americans are the most hopeful for the next generation. More than six-in-ten Chileans (67%), Peruvians (65%) and Brazilians (61%) think that today’s children will be better off financially when they grow up than are their parents. Venezuelans (48% say the next generation will be worse off) and Mexicans (43%) are the least optimistic.


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Welcome to our website. You will find lots of useful information about the yacht club and sailing resources for our local waters. We are based in Beaumaris, Anglesey, North Wales.
Our 2021 Sailing Programme can now be found under Events.
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- Tribord LJ 150N lifejacket recalledby Katy Stickland on 1st December 2021 at 11:49 am
French sailing brand Tribord is recalling its Tribord LJ 150N lifejacket due to a safety defect on the harness. Customers will be given a full refundThere is a risk that the lifejacket's harness may fail if the wearer falls overboard. Credit: Tribord/Decathlon French sailing brand Tribord is recalling its Tribord LJ 150N lifejacket due to a safety defect on the harness. Customers will be given a full refund The post Tribord LJ 150N lifejacket recalled appeared first on Yachting Monthly.
- Black Friday magazine deals: More than 50% off YM subscriptionsby Chris Jefferies on 18th November 2021 at 2:32 pm
There’s no better time to pick up a subscription to your favourite sailing magazine. Grab our Black Friday magazine deals before November 30 and save at least 50%. The Black Friday shopping extravaganza seems to get bigger every year, and this year you can get even better Black …Continue reading » The post Black Friday magazine deals: More than 50% off YM subscriptions appeared first on Yachting Monthly.
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- Channel Hopping: Lee Shores, Lazy Jacks and Lunches is back, and better than everby Kass Schmitt on 6th December 2021 at 1:51 pm
Our resident YouTube addict Kass Schmitt hails the return of YouTube favourite Lee Shores, Lazy Jacks and Lunches.Flying home to France after a week in London on business, I was treated to lovely views of the Solent. …Continue reading »
- “Incroyable!” First ARC+ boats arrive in Grenadaby Alison Wood on 3rd December 2021 at 2:42 am
French Outremer 51 Piment Rouge takes line honours in ARC+ with multihulls BigBird and Helios in second and third placePierre De Saint-Vincent, together with Serge Milliard (l) and Vincent Henry (r) celebrate a great achievement.“Incroyable!” says skipper Pierre De Saint-Vincent as he celebrates line honours in the second leg of the ARC+ rally from …Continue reading »
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Mobaro, a provider of online maintenance and safety solutions, has launched a new feature package to help attractions professionals safeguard quality in their safety, maintenance and operations processes.
Mobaro is pleased to announce the launch of its new feature, Advanced Compliance Management (ACM), which will assist operators in increasing the accuracy and assurance of their safety, maintenance and operations processes. The company has been uniting these processes into one software platform since 2015 and now has over 100 attraction clients using its system.
“These days, all eyes are on safety,” says Henrik F. Have, CEO at Mobaro. “Now more than ever, it is necessary to be attentive to details and behaviour on all levels of your business. That’s why we are particularly excited to present the industry with this new set of features.
“Attractions will be able to reach unprecedented levels of compliance and certainty that all aspects of are being tended to, from ride maintenance to health and cleaning protocols.”
Bringing managers into the loop
Mobaro’s self-service content-building and easy distribution of inspection and work orders make it an ideal digital tool for handling safety, maintenance and operations routines in attractions. Now, the company’s latest package takes the system to the next level.
ACM gives operators an overview of available jobs. It can prompt when a user is too far from the site inspected, using GPS, as well as alerting operators to missed deadlines or when they are working too fast. This update also gives managers a way to ‘inspect the inspection’, supporting a ‘Four-eyes principle’ or ‘Two-man rule’.
“In order to improve and ensure the quality of inspections, we realized that we needed to create a whole new workflow that starts when the inspection ends,” says Morten Kristensen, Senior Developer at Mobaro.
Thanks to ACM, managers can review inspections, and also have the ability to approve, disapprove, invalidate or re-schedule entire inspection runs.
In addition, Mobaro’s system offers detailed documentation for inspection bodies or in the event of a liability claim. Operators can access high levels of detail from the built-in archive of reports, which holds all entries from every inspection.
Earlier this year, the company also announced that it has been selected by Hersheypark to digitise the park’s safety, maintenance and operations routines.


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By Xinhua - Global Times Source:Xinhua-Global Times Published: 2019/9/4 17:43:40 Video app Vskit is addictive, and "I cannot stop using it," said Kenyan Claire Fenty, referring to a Chinese-developed app specializing in African, short-video sharing.
The app, designed by Transsnet, is a joint venture between two Chinese tech giants and has attracted more than 12 million subscribers since its launch in 2018, most of whom are in sub-Saharan Africa.
Like many active, young users, Fenty said she uses Vskit for hours every day. "When there is a good location, there is enough light and I see something interesting," she said, "I want to upload to my Vskit at that time."
According to the app's developer, the name is composed of "V," meaning video and victory, and "skit," meaning a short dramatic piece made by amateurs.
Lin Minqi, Vskit's head of overseas business, said he believes an innate musical talent is widespread in Africa.
"Many people here like to express themselves in front of the camera by singing and dancing, which is an ideal cultural foundation for creating short videos in Africa," he added.
According to him, the company attaches great importance to "content localization," and has set up a creative team composed of local employees to localize the content of short videos.
"Our team discusses interesting ways of short-video shooting, then we reinterpret them in local languages and perspectives, to finally produce interesting clips that are specific to the local taste," Lin added.
The team's efforts have proven effective.
"I like Vskit," Fenty said, "because it gives you a chance to showcase your creativity and you also get to learn from the people there."
Kenhillary Owuor, a 24-year-old Vskit celebrity, said that Vskit is an amazing app because of a lot of things that it involves, like a range of ages and a range of talent.
In recent years, cooperation between China and Africa has boomed, with an increasing number of Chinese companies setting up shop in Africa, bolstering people-to-people ties.
African experts have said that platforms such as Vskit can not only help the Chinese to better understand African customs, but can give African culture an opportunity to shine around the world.
"When I'm tired, I'll check comedy videos [on Vskit], which are good for entertainment and relaxing," Owuor said. "I think people should use Vskit."
By Xinhua - Global Times Source:Xinhua-Global Times Published: 2019/9/4 17:43:40
Video app Vskit is addictive, and "I cannot stop using it," said Kenyan Claire Fenty, referring to a Chinese-developed app specializing in African, short-video sharing.


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Norco to join dairy industry giant
NORCO is set to team up with one of the world's largest dairy companies.
The Lismore-based dairy co-operative yesterday signed a heads of agreement to align itself with global dairy business Fonterra.
The proposed alliance will follow Norco's acquisition of Parmalat Australia's half share in the Norco/Paul's Milk joint venture in July.
Norco chief executive officer Murray Richardson said the alliance with Fonterra would give Norco 100 per cent ownership of the business, allowing it to access processing margins and increase milk volumes for suppliers.
"The proposed alliance has the potential to enable Norco to expand its business beyond the geographical restrictions inherent in its joint venture agreement with Parmalat," he said.
Mr Richardson said the alliance would see Norco providing manufacturing facilities and supplying milk to Fonterra on a preferred basis. In turn, Fonterra would provide sales, marketing and distribution support to Norco.
"Our franchisees are one of our biggest assets and we've spoken to all of them. We expect they will all maintain, and maybe even grow their business, through the new alliance," he said.
Lismore dairy farmer Alan Graham supported the union.
"Hopefully we'll get a price increase for our milk," he said. "Norco hasn't got any brand names now, so using somebody else's brand names will give us the opportunity to get a better return for our milk."
Mr Graham said he was pleased the new player was Fonterra.
"It's a co-operative which is good," he said. "It means all the money will go back to the farmers rather than those who don't own farms. Plus it's a global player so there's more opportunities."
Fonterra brands managing director Aidan Coleman said the agreement represented tangible support from Fonterra to Norco. He said it provided Fonterra with opportunities to expand its branded milk business in Australia.
The alliance should fill the gap when Norco loses exclusive rights to use Parmalat Australia's Paul's brands for its Paul's milk joint venture next month. While Norco won the initial legal battle for the rights, Parmalat had the decision overturned in a court of appeal.
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Wednesday, September 13, 2017
MEMPHIS, Tenn., Sept. 8, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Evolve Bank & Trust, ("Evolve"), today announced Michelle Latham as its new Assistant Vice President and Operations Manager of the Payment Processing Solutions Division. Ms. Latham has more than 12 years' experience in the payment and banking industries. One of her most noted efforts in the mobile payments space directly led to the creation of a successful corporate subsidiary with a concentration on product development and revenue growth.
Ms. Latham brings her experience, tenure and enthusiasm to join Senior Vice President Betsy Bohlen who is leading the expansion of Evolve's Payment Processing Solutions Division. "We are thrilled to have Michelle join Evolve," said Bohlen. "As we continue to expand our product offerings to our clients, Michelle's vast knowledge of the payment processing marketplace will be an invaluable asset to Evolve," Bohlen added.
"I am pleased to welcome Michelle to Evolve," said Scott Stafford, President/CEO, Evolve Bank & Trust.
"With their more than 35 years of combined experience, Betsy and Michelle have unique skillsets that will have an incredible impact on our Payment Processing Solutions Division and our customers."
Ms. Latham, who has held leadership roles at Palm Desert National Bank, Switch Commerce and First American Payment Systems, most recently served as the Vice President of Sales and Service for Lone Star Capital Bank in San Antonio, TX. During her tenure, she directed the implementation of a new retail product line that increased low-cost core deposits by 15% and acquired new high-value accounts by 5%. Ms. Latham is a 16-year veteran of the United States Air Force and a graduate of Southern Methodist University.
About Evolve Bank & Trust:
Headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee, Evolve Bank & Trust currently operates three bank loan production offices and four full-service retail bank branches in Arkansas and Tennessee as well as over 25 mortgage production offices across the country. In addition to banking and mortgage banking services, Evolve is a nationwide Preferred SBA Lender and also offers trust and fiduciary services, equipment finance and leasing, and physicians lending to its customers throughout the United States.
For more information about Evolve, please visit www.getevolved.com.
For more information contact:
Thomas Holmes Jr.
Director of Marketing and Communications
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In a software update Monday, the iPhone maker will issue a fix for the vulnerability, discovered by security researchers.
Want to read a message without it being marked as read by your iPhone? Here's how.
In a win for Apple, a judge reportedly rules the lawsuit alleging the company's messaging service holds onto texts once a user switches to an Android device does not merit group status.
iMessage is a convenient platform so long as you remain within Apple's walled garden. The following tips help you stay connected after leaving.
A new feature in iOS 8.3 can help you identify and deal with iMessage spam. Here's what you need to know.
And why you may prefer to stick with one color or the other.
Apps like iMessage or Netflix which only run on certain operating systems "must be prohibited from discriminating," BlackBerry CEO John Chen has said.
US District Judge Lucy Koh greenlights a lawsuit filed in May about disappearing iMessages when switching from an iPhone to an Android device.
New option helps former iPhone users remove their phone numbers from Apple's messaging system to fix a vanishing text message issue.
Text message spam is best ignored, but when a security researcher followed a trail of deception laid out on Apple's iMessage he became the proud owner of cheap designer accessories from China.


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Toshiba backs Japanese group for memory business sale
The proposal with the Innovation Network Corporation includes Bain Capital and the Development Bank of Japan who are offering 2 trillion yen (£14.3bn, $16bn). THe consoritum also includes Hynix of South Korea. The deal is less than the 2.2 trillion yen offered by Broadcom with private equity partner Silver Lake. Contract manufacturer Foxconn also bid along with Apple and Dell.
In its statement Toshiba cites sensitive technology that has to stay in Japan as well as concerns over staffinf and closures for its choice.
Western Digital had a joint venture for NAND chip manufacturing and launched an injunction in the US six days ago.
The deal will be put to shareholders on June 28th with completion by March 2018.
Update: Western Digital has re-submitted its bid with private equity group KKR ahead of the shareholder deadline.


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As carmakers amp up production of electric vehicles, many suppliers are not quite as excited.
A recent survey from the Automotive Aftermarket Suppliers Association found that a lot of its members are expecting that the electrification trend for vehicles will have an effect on their business in the next 10 years – and much of that effect will be negative, according to the Q3 2017 Supplier Barometer survey from the association.
But that doesn’t mean suppliers are sitting idly by.
“Although the majority of AASA Barometer survey respondents are concerned about the impact from electrified vehicles, the majority also report preparations are underway to respond to new market demands,” said Bill Long, the AASA’s president and chief operating officer.
“About one-quarter of those expecting an impact report having the products needed to capture sales as EV takes hold,” said Paul McCarthy, executive vice president at the AASA.
For example, he added, almost half have started or are planning to start research and development initiatives to be part of electrification.
“Although it is too soon to say that the age of the electric vehicle is upon us, it is safe to say that suppliers have begun EV preparations,” added Philip Atkins, the AASA’s director of strategic research and planning.
The survey of supplier members is conducted quarterly to gauge insights on market outlook, pricing, gross margins, inventories and capacity, and includes questions about current trends and topics.


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For 18 years, Richard Gruber and his family have traveled to Summerville every Saturday morning , starting in spring, to sell the fruits of their labor. Literally, Gruber is a farmer and his family sells the fruits and vegetables they raise on their farm in St. George at the Summerville Farmer's Market.
Every Saturday morning beginning in early March, farmers and vendors sell their produce and wares along W. Doty Avenue in Summerville. Yet the event is much more than a market to sell but a gathering of friends and neighbors who find time to chat between picking ripe cantaloupes and eating boiled peanuts.
On this particular morning, some vendors are busy lining tables with various fruits and vegetables as others unload crates filled with crafts and various merchandise. While booths are setup, everyone chats and catches up with each other before customers begin to arrive.
Everyone at the Flower Arrangements by Claudia booth say they come back every year because they enjoy seeing the friends they have made at the market. Though many of the farmers come from a small town throughout the area, they all know each other after spending many Saturdays throughout the years at the farmer's market selling together.
And still others, like Richard Stroble of Stroble Produce Farms in Harleyville, say they come back because the Summerville Farmer's Market is the best farmer's market around.
Just after 8 a.m. the streets start filling as the early risers make their way through the tables of produce. Families with strollers, kids with shaved ice and couples walking their dogs line up at the tables as farmers, like Gruber who hands out free bananas to customers, tell them about their newest items and best deals.
Before long the street is alive with chatter as friends and neighbors stop to talk and kids chase each other around with new toys. Everyone knows someone at the farmer's market and usually many stop and gather to socialize between booths. Others stop to chat with the vendors they have been buying from for many years.
Those who shop at the market know exactly what they want -- fresh organic produce. As customers walk by, farmers drop buzz words in their ear like farm fresh and organic. Stephanie Vezina and her daughter Ellaina like the quality of produce sold and they do their weekly grocery shopping on Saturdays at the market. They buy so much, each carries a set of reusable bags to carry all the groceries home.
Some visit the market to pick up a few items and browse the different booths. From lawn ornaments to floral arrangements and cute cards made by a little girl named McKenzie Howard, there are many items to occupy the time of those not into serious produce buying.
The morning proved quite busy for the vendors as a steady stream of customers walked along W. Doty Avenue.
By mid-morning, a band of musicians had gathered at one end and began playing bluegrass music.
Finally I met the peanut philosopher, my name for him, as I ventured from booth to booth. The Rev. Samuel Campbell sat there watching from his seat as his grandsons manned store. While seated with him next to a large pot filled with boiled peanuts, we discussed life, family and God.
Campbell was happy to sit and spin tales and impart the wisdom gathered throughout his life. And I was happy to sit and listen.
That is what the Summerville Farmer's Market is all about -- stopping and talking to old friends or making new friends.
The market is different than most in the Lowcountry given its small-intimate setting in downtown Summerville. That is why many return every weekend, a casual meeting place where those buying and those selling see their friends while shopping.
Paul Zoeller is a freelance photographer new to the area. Do you have an idea for a new blog or a question about a current blog? If you do contact Zoeller at firstname.lastname@example.org.


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The Customs and Council of Saudi Chambers are expected to discuss in a meeting on Tuesday initiatives to facilitate the movement of trade and develop logistical services and air freight procedures.
The meeting is organized by the Jizan Chamber of Commerce and Industry and aims at increasing the flow of global trade among Asia, Europe, and Africa in order to enhance the Kingdom's economic gains.
This comes at a time when Saudi Arabia continues its plans to invest its geographical location by converting it into an international logistic hub.
This goal is an implementation of one of the most important pillars of its strategy aimed at facilitating trade exchange in line with objectives of the “Kingdom's Vision 2030.”
The meeting aims to showcase the Kingdom as an attractive environment for investment and a global platform for customs and logistic services.
It also targets enhancing the Kingdom's position to become the first choice as a logistic hub at the regional level for linking the three continents.
The Kingdom also plans to assume the first position regionally in providing distinguished customs services to become a global logistics platform.
Dr. Abdul Rahman Baeshen, member of Jizan Chamber, told Asharq Al-Awsat that this meeting will address eight main subjects to enhance cooperation among the customs, the Council of Chambers, and Jizan Chamber.
It targets maximizing the benefit from the Kingdom's distinguished logistical location close to energy sources as a catalyst for a new start towards industry, export, and re-export to all world countries.
According to Baeshen, Saudi Arabia has invested heavily in the construction of ports, railways, roads, and airports.
It has also bolstered its customs partnership with the private sector to complete infrastructure projects, develop and link them to its regional environment, and increase its gains by boosting effective governance and active procedures and a highly efficient and advanced customs system.


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SOME 2,200 staff at JJB Sports were made redundant today after administrator KPMG closed 133 stores and sold the remaining 20 to rival Sports Direct International.
The Sports World parent bought the stores, the brand and its website for £23.8 million in a deal that will protect 550 jobs in the UK, including its warehouse.
One of JJB’s Liverpool stores is being transferred to Sports Direct, saving 34 jobs.
But eight jobs are going in Bootle, 20 in Chester, and 16 in Prescot, with another 19 are going at its other Liverpool store.
But the agreement is a worse-than-expected outcome for JJB staff as Sports Direct was reportedly hoping to safeguard up to 1,500 jobs and buy up to 60 stores.
However, David McCorquodale, corporate finance partner at KPMG, who led the sales process, said the level of cash and further operational restructuring required to rescue a more substantial part of the business was too much risk for most interested parties.
Administrators KPMG say the Sports Direct deal will secure around 550 jobs in the UK, including staff at JJB’s warehouse.
But the remaining stores are closing today with the loss of 2,200 jobs. Some 167 employees have been kept on to assist the administrators.
Richard Fleming, UK Head of Restructuring at KPMG, said: “Successive attempts to restructure the business, both financially and operationally, have not been enough to prevent the company falling into administration.
“Unfortunately a buyer could only be found for 20 stores on a going concern basis. All staff made redundant as a result of store closures have had their arrears of wages and holiday entitlements paid in full.
“Our team of employment specialists will be supporting staff on completing redundancy forms and putting them in touch with job seeker services. We will now be reviewing what options are available for the remainder of the business, such as selling leasehold interests.”


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| Apr 11, 2014
| 9:01 AM
Amazon warehouse workers who hate their job and are eyeing the exit now have a lucrative payout offer.
Online retail giant Amazon.com is offering its employees up to $5,000 if they quit, Chief Executive Jeffrey Bezos wrote in a letter to shareholders....
| Apr 11, 2014
| 5:35 PM
Quitters wanted: Unhappy with your job? Feeling unproductive? Take $5,000 and go.
At least, that's what Amazon.com Inc. is offering its warehouse employees.
In a letter to shareholders this week, Chief Executive Jeffrey Bezos outlined the details of a...
| Mar 12, 2014
Particle Fever" review: A review of the documentary film "Particle Fever" in the March 7 Calendar section said that the Large Hadron Collider was constructed near Lucerne, Switzerland. The location is near Geneva.
Downtown Las Vegas: An article in the...
| Feb 27, 2014
| 6:26 PM
LAS VEGAS — He's a painfully private entrepreneur with very public dreams for this city's decaying downtown core.
Around Sin City, giddy officials are heralding online shoe retailer Tony Hsieh as a visionary, the latest in a line of moneyed Las...
| Mar 4, 2014
| 12:38 PM
Top tech executives, including BlackBerry Chief Executive John Chen and Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt are in town this week for a two-day technology and media conference.
Oasis: The Montgomery Summit -- for a decade known as the Montgomery...
| Feb 19, 2014
| 1:06 PM
While Bryan Voltaggio was making headlines with plans to open a restaurant in Baltimore, his brother Michael was kicking around some news himself.
The Frederick native and Top Chef winner has teamed up with OTZ shoes to create a line of footwear for...
| Feb 7, 2014
| 1:10 PM
Micheal Voltaggio, chef at Ink and Ink.sack, is trying his hand at shoe design. The "Top Chef" alum has teamed up with Malibu-based shoe company OTZ for a collaboration they're calling Culinary Brigade.
Voltaggio designed two pairs of shoes for the...
| Feb 12, 2014
| 10:30 AM
When the almighty MBA degree is bestowed, you may think your career path woes will be solved forever. An MBA (supposedly) puts you on the fast track to wealth and business success.
But before you get ahead of yourself and start dreaming...
| Dec 19, 2013
| 11:41 AM
The announcement by Target on Thursday that 40 million credit and debit card accounts may have been breached by cyber-crooks is just one in a string of notable consumer-data breaches in recent years.
The Minneapolis-based retailer said the unauthorized...
| Jul 9, 2013
| 4:00 AM
Hoping that the best years are not in the rear-view mirror for its Acura luxury line, American Honda Motor Co. is shifting into high gear for the introduction of its redesigned 2014 MDX sport utility vehicle.
The U.S. sales arm of the Japanese automaker...
| Dec 17, 2012
| 8:54 AM
Thousands of retailers are offering free shipping today, with delivery guaranteed by Christmas Eve.
But which retailers are the most reliable when it comes to shipping during one of the busiest weeks of the year?
One survey, based on shipping...


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When it involves Apple and audio, the company’s recent history points to at least one massive success, the really wireless Apple AirPods, further collectively major disappointment, the Apple HomePod. But regardless of how well each has done sales-wise, both products are headed for a significant refresh in the coming months, according to a report from Bloomberg.
According to Bloomberg, Apple is working on a cheaper HomePod. It’ll undercut the present HomePod’s damage of $299 by providing simply 2 tweeters rather than the seven found within the original once it’s discharged. It’s not clear precisely once it’ll arrive, however, Bloomberg says we have a tendency to might doubtless see this new HomePod “as early as next year.” Apple’s HomePod, that reportedly hasn’t sold-out as well as the company had hoped, was priced at $349 at launch. Rumors of a cheaper version priced between $150 and $200 have swirled since 2018.
Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman says that a more basic model will be out “as early as next year.” This will supposedly include two tweeters instead of the six in the current model.
Gurman doesn’t predict what this stripped-down HomePod will sell for. An unconfirmed report from 2018 said the price could be between $150 and $200.
Currently, the HomePod costs $299, which has proven a tough sell for Apple despite a price drop from the speaker’s launch price of $349. The HomePod’s chief competitor is the $199 Sonos One, a smart speaker that is compatible with both Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant and can be used with a variety of music services together with Apple Music, Spotify, Google Play, Amazon Music, and many others.
A $199 HomePod would likely be very popular, but we suspect that at this price, Apple will introduce it as a separate type of HomePod — perhaps a HomePod Mini — instead of eliminating the current HomePod design. Both Amazon and Google have had success with a multi tiered approach to their smart speakers, the Echo and the Google Home, respectively.
We’re additionally obtaining an Associate in a Nursing update on the oft-rumored noise-canceling AirPods. Once slated for 2019 by Bloomberg’s own reporting, it now says to expect them in 2020. The buds are rumored to be priced higher than the current $159 model, but they’re also said to include water resistance which would be a welcome addition for gym or vacation use. Apple introduced second-generation AirPods earlier this year, with comparatively minor enhancements to battery life and “Hey Siri” support.
The third-generation AirPods will also supposedly be water-resistant. This is more likely to make them better able to deal with wearers’ sweat rather than allowing these earbuds to be used in a pool.
These improvements will increase the cost, according to Gurman. The current version starts at $159, but what the price for AirPods 3 will be is not yet known.


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Washington, January 15: The US customs and border protection said on Wednesday that it will detain all tomato and cotton products that are produced in Xinjiang province, China.
The Blame- Consequences Suffered
The customs and border protection (CBP) issued the Withhold Release Order (WRO) that pretty judiciously designated the use of labour within China’s supposed “re-education” camps. The organization also alleges that China is tyrannizing the Muslim population residing in the region.
At a press meet held on Wednesday regarding the development, acting DHS Deputy Secretary Ken Cuccinelli told the reporters that the main objective of issuing the ban is not just to interdict shipments, but actually is to ensure that they stop and never arrive – the ultimate goal is that China forsakes these dreadful practices.
In fact, this is the fourth time in 2021 itself that the CBP has issued a WRO and the second on goods initiating in the Chinese province of Xinjiang. Interestingly, this very province received issuance of eight WROs of the total 13 shelled out in 2020 – all of which stemmed from allegations pertaining to forced labour.
Evidence of Forced Act in Xinjiang province
CBP officials along with human rights authorities assess that a large number of Uighurs, Kazakhs, and several thousands of Muslims are being incarcerated in what has been dubbed as “internment camps” by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, throughout China’s Xinjiang province.
According to a recent report published by the Center for Global Policy, confirmation through evidence from the government of China via official papers and media reports specify that hundreds of thousands of Uighurs in the province of Xinjiang are forced to hand-pick cotton by means of state-mandated labour.
A report published last month by the Center for Global Policy stated that certain evidence from Chinese government documents as well as media reports do indicate that several Uighurs Muslims in Xinjiang are compelled to pick cotton with their hands via state-mandated labour.
Cotton happens to be Xinjiang’s principal export; cotton exports from China roughly amount to $9 billion industry. In the month gone by, CBP issued a WRO on Xinjian Production and Construction Corps that accounted for 17 per cent of those cotton exports.
While CBP is yet to quantify the tomato export output of Xinjiang province, according to 2019 export data, China’s overall output of tomatoes is a $10 million industry.


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Arcadia’s Topshop has teamed up with animal rights campaign group Peta to encourage shoppers to pledge never to wear fur.
The retailer unveiled a new window display at its London Oxford Street flagship, designed to urge customers to join the battle against killing exotic animals for their furs and skins.
The display, which will sit in the shop’s main window until Monday, shows a wardrobe bursting with many stuffed endangered and exotic animals. A caption says ‘Keep Wildlife Out of Your Wardrobe’.
Peta’s senior programme manager Yvonne Taylor said: “Through the years, Topshop has set the industry standard for promoting animal welfare, and its latest high-profile display at the heart of London’s busiest shopping street will help save many snakes, alligators and other animal victims of the fashion industry from an excruciatingly painful death.”
Topshop recently picked up a gong at Peta’s Vegan Fashion Awards.


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A man driving a stolen vehicle led officers on a car chase that reached 84 mph and started on Mayfair Road last week, but escaped.
According to the Wauwatosa police report:
The man was wanted for a retail theft at a West Allis liquor store and Wauwatosa police spotted his vehicle on Mayfair Road near Mayfair mall at 12:05 p.m. March 24. A pursuit covered 2.5 miles before it was terminated out of concern for the safety of other drivers.
The vehicle had been stolen on St. Patrick's Day, when the owner gave his friend a ride home from a bar. When they stopped at a gas station, the friend took the car while the owner was in the store.
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Idea Factory has confirmed that it plans to bring Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth1 and Re;Birth2: Sisters Generation to PC via Steam in 2015.
Compile Heart has announced that sequel to PlayStation 3 title Hyperdimension Neptunia Victory is in development for PlayStation 4.
NIS America has announced that they'll be bringing over Hyperdimension Neptunia PP, a new Vita title that takes the world and characters of Hyperdimension Neptunia into a whole new genre: music/rhythm ...
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Disney is reportedly planning to buy streaming giant Netflix, which would represent the biggest entertainment merger of all time.
As Tech Crunch reports, the movie conglomerate is looking to compete with AT&T, which recently completed a massive $85b deal to buy Time Warner.
Netflix boasts a larger subscriber base than Amazon, Hulu, and HBO Go, but the service wouldn’t be able to match the content output made available to others from the AT&T deal.
A deal could help Netflix on the way to producing more original content. The service recently announced a plan to make 50% of its content exclusive and original.
Disney had bought up many companies over the last ten years, including Pixar in 2006, Marvel in 2009, and LucasFilm for $4.05 billion in 2012.
Netflix and Disney have worked together in the past, after teaming up for Marvel series The Defenders series.
The two companies also struck a deal back in 2012. Netflix is the exclusive US subscription service for first-run Disney movies – meaning films will be available on the platform during the first pay TV time period, just after the Digital, Blu-ray, and DVD releases.


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Another Galaxy phone is about to be unveiled. A Samsung Galaxy A01 Core is said to have received Bluetooth SIG certification recently. The phone is a budget-friendly device that features a removable battery and only 1GB RAM. Some of you may no longer care about low-cost smartphones but this one still has a market. There is still a demand for cheap devices that can do decent jobs. It will be the most affordable phone offering from the South Korean tech giant today.
If you may remember, a Galaxy A budget phone with removable battery was sighted on Geekbench last week, listed as the Samsung SM-A013F. It could be the removable battery phone as an earlier leak suggested.
The Galaxy A01e could also be the Samsung Galaxy A01 Core according to a Bluetooth SIG listing. The SM-A013F_DS and Galaxy A01 Core were mentioned there. The Galaxy A01 Core could be the final and official product name. The SM-A013F_DS could be just one carrier or regional variant.
We’re expecting the Samsung Galaxy A01 Core will only be an entry-level Android phone. We find it interesting it will already come with Bluetooth v5.0 connectivity and MT6739 SoC.
The Samsung Galaxy A01 Core is expected to join other Galaxy A Android phones introduced recently. We remember the Galaxy A51, Galaxy A31, Samsung Galaxy A71, and Samsung Galaxy A21s in Germany. Other Galaxy A phones may get wireless charging from Samsung but we highly doubt the Galaxy A01 Core will. Its specs are really entry-level.


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| Apr 14, 2014
| 12:15 PM
Sound familiar? Your normally cheerful spouse has suddenly, and inexplicably, turned cranky and an otherwise pleasant day is fast becoming a scene from "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf."
When you see those storm clouds gathering in your significant...
| Jan 9, 2014
| 7:18 AM
American author Ridley Pearson met with Teenlink at the 30th annual Miami Book Fair International to talk about his young reader adventure novels “The Kingdom Keepers” and “Peter and the Starcatchers,” as well as his newest novel,...
| Feb 5, 2014
| 10:15 AM
"You cannot buy the big one so you buy 1,000 of the small ones," says Billy Karam, a Lebanese toy car collector and amateur rally driver who has over 30,000 model cars and 400 dioramas, making it the Guinness Book of World Records largest collection of...
| Dec 11, 2013
| 10:22 AM
TSA agents disarmed a sock monkey a passenger was carrying, saying the toy gun in the monkey's miniature holster was too realistic looking, according to KING5.com.
The sock monkey was dressed as a cowboy and named "Rooster Monkburn" after the...
| Mar 7, 2014
| 8:06 AM
A recent study out of Oregon State University says that girls who chose to play with Barbie dolls over alternatives had a limited view on future career choices.
The study of girls ages 4 to 7 indicated that there might be a link between girls who...
| Nov 22, 2013
| 11:34 AM
A consumer group dedicated to reclaiming childhood from corporate marketers has released its annual list of toys that are 'oppressive and destructive to young children.'
The Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood has released five nominees for its...
| Nov 15, 2013
| 3:10 AM
Freebie Friday morphs into Shopping Saturday! Our fabulous freebie free-for-all goes coupon crazy so you can save at your all fave stores. Today, snag a $10 off $50 grocery purchase coupon inside the Target flier inserted into this weekend's Sun...
| Nov 23, 2013
| 3:52 AM
It's Freebie Friday magically morphs into Shopping Saturday! I've put together a coupon-friendly edition of pre-Black Friday deals so you can get a head start on holiday shopping without the hassle of standing in line on Thanksgiving or Black Friday. I've...
| Dec 11, 2013
| 5:45 AM
Save $10 on $50 gift cards at Publix.
Bring a new or transferred prescription and the coupon on Page 13 in this week's flyer to the pharmacy to get a stamp. Then, choose iTunes, Macy's, Outback Steakhouse, Lowe's or Toys R Us gift cards. You can buy one...
| Oct 10, 2013
| 4:03 AM
Hanukkah, known this year as Thanksgivukkah because it arrives just one day before Thanksgiving, and Christmas are around the corner.
So now's the time to make a mad grab for hot toys to save the trouble of running around. I asked Jodi Furman, who...
| Nov 29, 2013
| 1:21 AM
Happy Freebie Black Friday!
It's the biggest shopping day of the year and I'm here to help you save more with freebies, retail coupons and dining deals good right through Cyber Monday.
If you're out and about today, on Twitter, tweet your deals, best...


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Noida Woman Robbed Of Rs 9.5 Lakh While Upgrading 3G To 4G SIM; Fake Customer Service Rep Did This
Another online fraud has come to notice, which shows the extent to which scamsters can go to rob people of their money.
A woman from Noida, Uttar Pradesh, has reported a robbery of Rs. 9.52 lakh. The entire amount was robbed from her while she attempted to upgrade her phone’s sim card from 3G to 4G.
Find out the whole story right here!
Noida Woman Duped Of Rs. 9.52 Lakhs While Upgrading SIM
The victim in the fraud is Varsha Agarwal, a resident of Noida sector 108, who was robbed by a fake customer service executive. The scamsters called up the victim posing as customer care executives of a telecom company. They informed her that her phone would stop working if she doesn’t upgrade her sim card from 3G to 4G.
She agreed to upgrade her sim, unaware of the caller’s intentions to rob her money. The callers asked her to put in a sim swap request with the telecom operator. The scamsters also told her that her sim card would stop functioning for the next 72 hours after the upgrade process was begun.
However, the victim grew suspicious when she realized that her sim card hadn’t been functioning for more than 6 days.
Victim’s Savings Account Accessed By Unknown Person; Fixed Deposit Account Liquidated
She then went to the bank and learned that her savings account was accessed by an unknown person. Apparently, a total of Rs 9.52 lakh was transferred from her account to an unknown account based off of Jharkhand through 22 transactions between the dates of May 8 and 11. Also, the fraudster liquidated a fixed deposit to transfer the money from Agarwal’s account to their own.
Baljeet Singh, who is in charge of cyber cell in Noida, said, “The accused stole the money in a legitimate way after swapping the SIM of the victim. We will soon arrest them.”
Also, an FIR has been registered against the accused under section 420 (cheating) and section 66 of the IT Act by the Cyber cell.
Online frauds and scams are happening all around us, and it is advised to be cautious against unknown phone calls and scams caused therefore.


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Lotus claims its recent models are among the fastest street-legal cars available in their engine-size class. The companyâ??s Europa S features a 2.0-liter engine with 200 horsepower and can accelerate from zero to 60 mph in 5.5 seconds. Compared to the Porsche 911 Turbo, the car will retail for the equivalent of about $60,000 when it goes on sale in Europe, which is over twice as less compared to $122,900 for the Porsche. View Slideshow GENEVA – New designs introduced here at the Geneva Motor Show are pushing small engines further than ever, allowing street-legal vehicles to rival race cars in performance for a fraction of the price.
The trend was already visible last year with the introduction of the Lotus Elise, which is capable of zipping from zero to 60 mph in 4.9 seconds on the strength of a 1.8 liter, 189 horsepower engine.
Models debuting this month set an even higher standard. The Lotus Europa S harnesses 200 hp in a 2.0-liter engine for a zero to 60 mph acceleration of 5.5 seconds. And then there's Porsche's new 911 Turbo: Packing 480 hp into a 3.6-liter engine, it can rip from zero to 60 mph in just 3.4 seconds.
"The (911 Turbo's) speed was only possible to achieve with race cars before," Wolfgang Durheimer, executive vice president, research and development for Porsche, bragged in an interview with Wired News.
In fact, it's true. In the past, zero to 60 mph in under four seconds was the kind of performance mostly reserved for top-of-the-line sports cars from the likes of Ferrari, Lamborghini and Maserati. (The Lotus and Porsche models compare to the new Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano, which goes from 0 to 62 mph in 3.7 seconds, but relies on a 6.0-liter engine.)
Since prices for high-end sports cars can hit $350,000 or more, the new Porsche could be considered a bargain at "just" $122,900. Lotus is even more affordable. The Europa S is expected to retail for about $60,000, while the Elise is priced at $49,000.
But there's more to the magic than price. These cars represent new feats in engineering to back the manufacturers' claims that their cars offer the best performance in their street-legal, engine size class.
Drawing from engine designs and engineering know-how from the companies' racing car divisions, the Lotus and Porsche engines largely owe their performance boosts to pressure chargers, as they have in years past. While Porsche calls it turbo technology and Lotus says "super charger," both systems serve to pump extra air into the engine.
"You have to think in terms of horsepower per liter," says Jamie Turner, chief engineer of powertrain Research for Lotus Engineering, which also offers engine design consulting services for major, yet undisclosed carmakers. "You really need to go to a pressure charging system to get (certain) levels of performance (in certain small engine sizes)."
But the aspirated engine designs are just a starting point. Porsche's new 911 Turbo features what it calls variable turbine geometry, which allows the engine's turbine to crank up more rapidly.
The system works by relying on a small turbo charger turbine, which revs up first during initial acceleration and is then replaced by a larger charger to deliver the requisite power for the Porsche's 911 Turbo's 480 horsepower engine.
"Normally, when you push the throttle in with a big turbine, you can count one, two or three (seconds) and then the boost comes, but with this new turbine technology, you push the throttle in and you immediately have the response of the engine power," Durheimer said.
This technology hasn't been introduced in the automotive market in engines up until now due to the 1,000 degrees Celsius temperatures the turbine blades generate, Durheimer said.
"We worked very closely with the aerospace industry and we applied material technologies that are used with high performance airplanes and missiles to get the maximum boost," Durheimer said.
Lotus representatives said the Europa S engine came from the collective efforts of as many as 15 engineers, who carefully tweaked existing Lotus engine designs using computer simulation techniques.
"If you raise the compression ratio too much, then you raise the (number of cylinders) and if you raise the number of cylinders too much, then you lose efficiency … and ultimately performance," said Geraint Castleton-White, general manager of Lotus' powertrain advanced concepts unit. "There is a very small window of opportunity."
Don't expect further engine improvements to lead to drastic new speed jumps, such as a 2.0-liter engine, street-legal sport car that could accelerate from zero to 60 mph in less than 3.0 seconds, Turner said. Instead, he said he sees advances providing better gas mileage and reduced carbon dioxide emission levels.
Already, the Porsche 911 Turbo and Lotus Europa S purportedly offer gas consumptions of 22.1 mpg and 38.9 mpg, respectively.
Lotus Europa S C02 emissions have been reduced to 220 g/km. That's enough to qualify the car for a mild greenhouse gas tax break in the United Kingdom, where Lotus is based. But, with 145 g/km tipping the lower end of the tax benefit scale, that's still relatively high. Turner said future models will show further CO2 emissions improvements.
Don't expect performance cars to become any slower if and when alternative fuels such as hydrogen or ethanol, which are more energy-efficient than gasoline, become prevalent. In fact, cars could get even faster when engineers can harness the power of new fuel technologies, Turner said.
"All we are waiting for now is for the politicians to get their acts together," Turner said.


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(Source: PhoenixBusinessJournal) By Hayley Ringle
Lyft Inc. is elevating its ride-sharing services and driver earnings with two new luxurious services for passengers who want to ride in a higher-end vehicle.
Lyft Lux and Lyft Lux SUV launches today in 16 cities, including Phoenix, for the passenger who doesn’t mind spending extra money to arrive in a fancier, black car, said Drena Kusari, Lyft’s general manager of the southwest region. “We’ve heard from passengers they want to have the option to have a luxurious ride,” Kusari said. “This is about a guaranteed high-end experience. This is our answer to the black car experience.”
When passengers request a Lyft Lux service from the app, they can expect a vehicle in great condition, with a black exterior, high-end leather interior and a model that is 2011 or newer. Drivers also must keep their driver rating at 4.7 stars or above to offer Lux requests.
The Lyft Lux SUV service is available for vehicles that can comfortably seat six riders or more.
“This is for the busy business traveler who wants to show up to a meeting in a black car, or who is taking a client out to dinner and wants a consistent top-notch ride,” she said. “The Lux service is also for special occasions where you’re willing to spend extra and want to be picked up in a fancy black car.”
Lyft Lux services are also rolling out in Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Las Vegas, Miami, Minneapolis, Orange County, New Jersey, Philadelphia, San Diego, Seattle, and Washington D.C.
Passengers can expect to pay three to five times the price of a regular Lyft Classic service, or 1.5 to two times the price of Lyft Premiere. The premiere service launched in Phoenix in January and offers a slightly higher-end service than the typical classic service, Kusari said.
“Phoenix was chosen as one of the markets because it is growing really fast,” she said. “We’ve been a really well-performing market.”
San Francisco-based Lyft opened a Phoenix hub office earlier this month. Lyft service has tripled in the Valley in the past year.
Competitor Uber Technologies Inc. has been offering its UberBlack service since 2008. Uber has also offered its UberSUV service for years.
When asked how Lyft is different than Uber’s luxury service, Kusari said Lyft’s service has “always been differentiated from the way we treat our passengers and drivers.”
With the extra cost to passengers comes extra earnings for drivers, who have also been asking if Lyft was going to offer a high-end service, Kusari said.
“This is a fantastic opportunity for drivers who have these newer, black cars that qualify for the Lux service,” she said. “This will be a way to offer a ton of extra money for our drivers.”
Lyft drivers who qualify can choose to only drive for Lux requests, or they can choose to offer both classic and Lux rides.
“We’re expecting a large amount of demand, and expect drivers to give more Lyft Lux rides than classic,” Kusari said.
Lyft drivers can sign up now for the Lux service if they have one of the eligible makes and models. Click here for the list of cars, which includes the Bentley, Jaguar, Maserati, Porsche, Rolls Royce and Tesla.


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Rapid Recall Exchange is the most fully featured recall service available, and we would like even more manufacturers to use it
Lawrenceville, NJ (Vocus) September 23, 2010
More than 500 food retailers, wholesalers and manufacturers have subscribed to Rapid Recall Exchange, an online service introduced by major grocery associations and a standards organization one year ago this week.
The Food Marketing Institute (FMI) and GS1 US developed the service to improve on recall notification methods such as e-mail and faxes, which have limited capabilities and are inconsistent and labor-intensive. The service is also supported by the Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA) and the National Grocers Association (N.G.A.).
Rapid Recall Exchange enables retailers, wholesalers and suppliers to quickly and efficiently exchange information about food and product recalls and withdrawals.
Publix Super Markets, Inc., is one of 100 major retailers that have adopted Rapid Recall Exchange as an integral part of their product-recall strategies and processes. The Florida-based chain has been encouraging its suppliers to join since the service was first developed.
“Rapid Recall Exchange is the most fully featured recall service available, and we would like even more manufacturers to use it,” said Michael Roberson, director of Corporate Quality Assurance for Publix. “Ideally it should be the industry’s primary source for recall communications, so we want and need adoption by the vast majority of our suppliers.”
Rapid Recall Exchange complies with the requirements of the FDA Reportable Food Registry, and features: secure user-authentication; two-way messaging between trading partners; anywhere, anytime Internet access; e-mail and text alerts; comprehensive information on recalled products, with product images for easy identification; and verification of notification, so recalling firms can be sure their trading partners have critical information.
“The fast and wide adoption of Rapid Recall Exchange demonstrates that companies need a standardized, more efficient process for handling product recalls,” said Leslie G. Sarasin, FMI president and chief executive officer. “We welcome additional subscribers, so they too will benefit from industry collaboration. In the end, it’s all about retailers and suppliers improving the recall process and keeping the food supply safe for our customers.”
The four not-for-profit organizations operate the service on a cost-recovery basis, enabling nominal subscription fees that are tiered for companies of all sizes.
“With food safety a priority issue for both consumers and the industry, we are working to make product recalls faster and more comprehensive while making sure the information reaches all retailers regardless of their size," said Bob Carpenter, president and CEO of GS1 US. “Five hundred subscribers in a year is a great start, and we’ll continue to increase this number and enhance the service in the interest of business efficiency and consumer safety.”
“Consumer safety is the number one priority of food and consumer product manufacturers,” said GMA President and CEO Pamela G. Bailey. “The growth of Rapid Recall Exchange demonstrates that GMA member companies are embracing it as a valuable tool in their vast portfolio to better serve consumers and protect public health.”
More information is available at http://www.rapidrecallexchange.org.
About GS1 US™
GS1 US is a not-for-profit organization that brings industry communities together to solve supply-chain problems through the adoption and implementation of GS1 standards. More than 200,000 businesses in 25 industries rely on GS1 US for trading-partner collaboration and for maximizing the cost effectiveness, speed, visibility, security and sustainability of their business processes. They achieve these benefits through GS1 US solutions based on GS1 global unique numbering and identification systems, barcodes, Electronic Product Code-based RFID, data synchronization, and electronic information exchange. GS1 US also manages the United Nations Standard Products and Services Code® (UNSPSC®). http://www.GS1US.org
Food Marketing Institute (FMI) conducts programs in public affairs, food safety, research, education and industry relations on behalf of its 1,500 member companies - food retailers and wholesalers - in the United States and around the world. FMI's U.S. members operate approximately 26,000 retail food stores and 14,000 pharmacies. Their combined annual sales volume of $680 billion represents three-quarters of all retail food store sales in the United States. FMI's retail membership is composed of large multi-store chains, regional firms and independent supermarkets. Its international membership includes 200 companies from more than 50 countries. FMI's associate members include the supplier partners of its retail and wholesale members. For more information, please visit the FMI website: http://www.FMI.org
Based in Washington, D.C., the Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA) is the voice of more than 300 leading food, beverage and consumer product companies that sustain and enhance the quality of life for hundreds of millions of people in the United States and around the globe. Founded in 1908, GMA is an active, vocal advocate for its member companies and a trusted source of information about the industry and the products consumers rely on and enjoy every day. The association and its member companies are committed to meeting the needs of consumers through product innovation, responsible business practices and effective public policy solutions developed through a genuine partnership with policymakers and other stakeholders. In keeping with its founding principles, GMA helps its members produce safe products through a strong and ongoing commitment to scientific research, testing and evaluation and to providing consumers with the products, tools and information they need to achieve a healthy diet and an active lifestyle. The food, beverage and consumer packaged goods industry in the United States generates sales of $2.1 trillion annually, employs 14 million workers and contributes $1 trillion in added value to the economy every year. For more information please visit http://www.gmaonline.org.
National Grocers Association (N.G.A.) is the national trade association representing the retail and wholesale grocers that comprise the independent sector of the food distribution industry. An independent retailer is a privately owned or controlled food retail company operating a variety of formats. Most independent operators are serviced by wholesale distributors, while others may be partially or fully self-distributing. Some are publicly traded but with controlling shares held by the family and others are employee owned. Independents are the true “entrepreneurs” of the grocery industry and dedicated to their customers, associates, and communities. N.G.A. members include retail and wholesale grocers, state grocers associations, as well as manufacturers and service suppliers. For more information about N.G.A. and the independent sector of the industry, see the N.G.A. website: http://www.NationalGrocers.org.
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HUNDREDS of FLOW cable customers, throughout the country, were left fuming mad over the long Eid holiday weekend when their analog cable boxes inexplicably shut down, putting to an end their ability to watch cable television programmes.
The angry customers gathered outside FLOW offices in Chaguanas, San Fernando and Port-of-Spain yesterday with the non-functioning cable boxes demanding answers and new cable boxes. After investigating the shutdown which affected only analog users across the country, FLOW engineers concluded that hundreds of these analog cable boxes had according to a FLOW official, “come to the end of their lives” and shut down.
About 40 percent of FLOW’s thousands of customers still use analog cable boxes. In a show of good faith, FLOW has decided to offer a four-day rebate to all affected customers.
Affected customers since Saturday, demanded immediate action from the cable network umbrella company Columbus Communications Trinidad Limited to restore their service. The multitude of calls forced the company to open its four payment offices in the country — Port-of-Spain, Tacarigua, San Fernando and Chaguanas yesterday to allow customers to exchange the dead analog boxes for new ones.
However, the officers were only scheduled to open for three hours, from 10 am to 1 pm. Hundreds of customers waited in long lines to exchange their boxes. In San Fernando, customer Sunita Goopie from Gasparillo, said that although FLOW changed her cable box earlier yesterday, she had to return to the office when the new box also did not work. Goopie was waiting in line to return the new box when Newsday spoke to her.
Several disgruntled customers were very upset over missing their favourite shows over the weekend and not being able to view the many Eid specials on cable television. Further, they expressed total disgust at having to sacrifice the public holiday to stand in line waiting for a new cable box.
Some believe that the cable company should have known that the boxes were going to shut down within a certain time and taken steps to phase out these “old” boxes taking into consideration, the customers’ convenience.
Basdeo Maharaj, 50, of Rousillac, said the analog box left a “L01” or “L07” message on his television screen when he attempted to access different channels. “No one told us that the boxes would expire, they just shut down and I am not being credited by FLOW when I don’t get cable service, I have to pay the same fee,” Maharaj claimed.
At FLOW’s San Fernando office on Keate Street, dissatisfied customers complained that only two customer service representatives were on duty to serve the burgeoning crowd which managed to squeez into the office before the doors were shut at 1 pm.
FLOW communications officer Shelly Ann Hee Chung said that batches of analog boxes had come to “the end of their life span and this is the reason why they shut down.” She explained that when reports of the shut down started to flow, technicians were dispatched immediately to investigate and they concluded that the boxes life span had come to an end. She said the old analog boxes must be replaced, but that affected customers can look forward to the four-day rebate.
Questioned as to whether the company was not aware that these boxes would expire or had an expiry date, Hee Chung made it clear that FLOW had no idea the boxes had shut down until customers called the company’s customer service department.
However she said that as the company moved to constantly upgrade the quality of its service, refreshed data may have caused the boxes to expire.
“I would like to thank FLOW customers for their patience and say that we are working feverishly to rectify all our customer complaints,” said Hee Chung.
In Port-of-Spain, scores of angry customers yesterday clashed with employees and security officers of Columbus Communications Limited (Flow) after many were denied new cable boxes.
From 11 am, the customers who all brought their cable boxes, stormed the company’s headquarters at Shop 13, Nicholas Towers, corner Independence Square and Abercromby Street, demanding new boxes.
By noon, the disgruntled customers had crammed Flow’s office with long lines of angry customers spilling onto Independence Square.
Customers complained that they had received no cable service for the entire long weekend and had not been told by officials of the company that the boxes needed to be changed.
“These people sick in this place, yes,” one angry woman said as she left without a new cable box.


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Local father-son entrepreneurs Jim Busby and Jimmy Busby, original founders of Mobile-based Centralite Systems, announced in a press release the formation of a new startup company to service, support and upgrade Centralite legacy products that include Ambiance, Elegance, JetStream, LiteJet and Entrexx components.
Their new venture is called Dragon Technologies Inc.
With a history of spawning startups spanning decades, Busby Sr. is perhaps best known for founding Quality Micro Systems (QMS) in 1977. It became the Port City’s first (and only) publicly traded firm, eventually carving out a niche on the NASDAQ.
Established in Mobile around 1997, the Centralite trademark, name and brand most recently changed hands this past July when acquired by Clifton, New Jersey-based Ezlo Innovation LLC. The company provides smart solutions to homes and businesses across such industries as wellness, insurance and property management. Busby has been out of Centralite for almost three years since it was bought out.
“The company was taken over by a large investor, a cable company in December 2016. We had grown sales to $35 million a year in 2015, 2016 and were slightly profitable when the company was taken over in December 2016,” Busby said.
“We were summarily removed from office the day after the takeover. Sales then dropped from $35 million to $7 million in 2017, and they lost $5 million. Sales dropped further in 2018 to $4 million and they lost $2 million more, whereupon they declared Chapter 7 liquidation bankruptcy in February 2019,” he said.
He went on to say that Dragon Technologies bought the portion of assets they wanted and negotiated the rights to move back into their former Centralite HQ property located at 1701 Industrial Park Drive in West Mobile. In the deal, existing finished goods inventory, raw materials in stock and production machines were picked up.
Moving forward, the new company will produce Centralite legacy products, supply parts, stock circuit board inventory and provide telephone/on-site support for installation and repair troubleshooting
Per Busby, the new venture has aggressive growth plans.
“We have made a lot of progress in the three weeks since the acquisition. Although Dragon Technologies Inc. is a brand-new company, there are many thousands of homes, businesses and hotels throughout the U.S. and internationally that have Centralite systems installed,” he said.
Within three months plans are in place to release new internet- and phone app-enabled products. In six months, expectations are to upgrade the existing legacy systems to include Alexa connectivity, more Wi-Fi capabilities and new phone apps.
Long-term goals include the manufacturing of upgraded plug-compatible boards and a new hardwired system focused on LED lighting. Commercial product development for restaurants, small office buildings and other commercial Internet of Things (IoT) applications will be addressed.
More information about the company can be found at dragontechinc.com.
Business moves, transactions
Carlsbad, California-based The Good Feet Store is anticipated to open a store to join the tenant lineup, in early 2020, inside the Panera Bread-anchored shopping center located at the southeast corner of Airport Boulevard and Montlimar Drive.
The 2,000-square-foot retail space will be the first site for The Good Feet Store in Mobile. The franchise has more than 100 units in the U.S. and abroad. David Dexter and Brandon Broadus with NAI Mobile brokered the lease transaction.
Lewis H. Golden of Hamilton & Company recently represented an out-of-state investor in purchasing approximately 16 acres of improved industrial property for $1.5 million and located at 4077 Hamilton Blvd. in Theodore. The property is currently occupied by WillScot, a modular office space company. John Peebles and Allan Cameron with NAI Mobile represented the seller.
Your CBD Store of West Mobile recently opened at 1218 Hillcrest Road, Suite F, near the intersection of Grelot Road. The new business is locally owned by Joe Brown. Hours of operation are Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Shoe Station kicks off year-long donation campaign
Mobile-based Shoe Station recently announced the launching of its “Every Step, Every Community” initiative starting on Friday, Sept. 20, for all of its 21 stores in five Southeastern states.
The year-long program will include a $10,000 charitable donation, as well as collection bins in each location, where consumers can donate new and gently used shoes to United Way organizations in their communities. Consumers will also have an opportunity to register to win a $10,000 cash prize.
“As a regional chain, our brick-and-mortar locations in Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Georgia have benefited from strong communities and this is our chance to give back,” Shoe Station president and CEO Brent Barkin said.
The initiative is expected to collect thousands of pairs of shoes for children heading back to school, as well as for women and men.
“This endeavor enables United Way to benefit from the high traffic in our large, open-shelf stores,” Barkin said.
For the fall, Shoe Station has also expanded their “Free Shoes for Life” campaign. This year, not only will one family win $10,000, but numerous other families will receive shoe donations. Shoe Station is also donating $10,000 to various nonprofit organizations to support other disadvantaged groups.
United Way of Southwest Alabama is coordinating both the donation of cash and shoes collected in the region. The funds and footwear will be distributed to charitable organizations in the chain’s five states.
According to Barkin, Shoe Station is also taking additional steps to promote donations.
First, for each pair of new or lightly worn shoes a customer brings in, Shoe Station will give them a $1 voucher to be used toward in-store purchases.
“Shoe Station offers selection for all consumers, and the ‘Every Step, Every Community’ initiative reinforces our brand promise,” Barkin said.
In addition, if the $10,000 cash prize winner decides to donate their $10,000 prize to United Way, Shoe Station will match their contribution with an additional $10,000 donation of its own.
“Shoe Station is poised to donate $20,000 overall, with the further goal of coordinating the donation of 1,000 pairs of shoes for every year we have been in business — as many as 35,000 pairs of shoes,” he said.
“We want to help put shoes on the feet of everyone in our community, be they traditional customers or those who cannot afford them on their own. This is the biggest charitable initiative we have had in our company’s 35 years,” Barkin said.
For more information about United Way or the United Way of Southwest Alabama, visit unitedway.org.
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NEW YORK John Silva has joined Upstate Shredding LLC-Ben Weitsman & Son Inc. as vice president of port operations.
A 20-year industry veteran, Silva comes to the company from New York-based Sims Metal Management Ltd., where most recently he was vice president of Northeast operations.
Silva will be based at the companys Ben Weitsman of Buffalo retail scrap operation, which is under construction, until his noncompete contract with Sims expires, Owego, N.Y.-based Upstate Shredding said Thursday.
After that, Silva will help run the companys proposed 18-acre Port of Albany export terminal and full-service scrap business (amm.com, Sept. 12), the company said.
Upstate Shredding expects to process more than 1 million tons of ferrous scrap metal and 200 million pounds of nonferrous scrap metal in 2013, it said.


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How Affordable Smartphones Help Emerging Markets like Africa
Africa as a Key Emerging Market
Africa is one of the largest emerging markets today. Poverty and unemployment are critical issues in the region, which serve as barriers to many development touchpoints like education and health. But at the same time, the growth rate of its major economies, including South Africa, Kenya and Nigeria have been consistently high in the past few years. The continent itself is experiencing rapid industrialisation, and its people are becoming more interconnected through the introduction of new technologies which help the people overcome logistical and infrastructural challenges native to the region.
Mobile Phone Adoption in Africa
Mobile phones account for the dramatic boom of the telecom industry in recent years. Landlines or fixed-line phones have never really caught up with widespread use in Africa for many reasons, one being the infrastructure required for fixed-line telephones is expensive for the region, and extraneous factors like warfare, failed states, and natural disasters complicate the setup process. Mobile phones, however, need only minimal infrastructure for broad coverage and see use even in politically unstable areas like Somalia.
Smartphone sales in Africa have spiked up in recent years due to massive adoption, seeing a 65% year-on-year growth rate for the past five years. And unlike traditional phone lines, its adoption isn’t merely motivated by the need for communication services. For many Africans, smartphones bring more than just a means to communicate more efficiently, but also give access to “emerging technologies that bring Internet access to phones, thereby bypassing the need for a computer for connecting to the World Wide Web”.
Smartphone Ownership as Gateway to Digital Economy
At present, the only mode of access most Africans have to the internet is through their mobile phones, mainly through feature phones and smartphones. A recent GSMA survey into smartphone ownership in Africa noted remarked that the current “increase in smartphone ownership has been fundamental for enabling many people’s first internet experiences, and has offered them a gateway to enter the digital economy and benefit from life-enhancing opportunities.” The survey proceeded to highlight how internet access had helped many local individuals and entrepreneurs find jobs much quicker or advertise with a more significant reach than before they used smartphones. This is an essential benefit for the majority of low to middle-income people in emerging economies, who continuously struggle with perennial poverty due primarily to unemployment.
Potential Educational Benefits of Smartphone Ownership
In addition to enhancing employment and business opportunities for African locals through web access, smartphones have also been proposed as a tool to enrich the repertoire of Africa’s educational systems. A recent master study from Jonkoping University assessed the viability of mobile phones as educational tools for secondary school pupils. One of its key findings was that, given that mobile phones already see widespread use in Africa, they are effectively the most efficient means through which students and teachers gain access to advanced or better learning materials. They also act as platforms where students can expand their cultural milieu and “learn about diverse countries and attitudes.” The study concludes: “mobile phones can enhance academic outcomes of secondary school pupils and consequently increase their educational performances that in turn leads to the alleviation of destitution because poverty reduction is tightly connected to education”.
Affordability: The Primary Barrier to Smartphone Adoption
Emerging markets like Africa are characterised by low to middle-income populations, high unemployment rates, and lower industrial and business activities relative to major Western economies like the US. Many people in these regions live in multidimensional poverty, don’t have as much disposable income as their counterparts in developed countries, and find cost to be a significant, if not the largest hurdle to most decisions on goods purchases. This, in turn, becomes a substantial barrier to internet access for many people in emerging markets.
For perspective, smartphones have become significantly cheaper in recent years, and this has been especially felt in emerging markets. The GSMA report mentions that the average selling price (ASP) for smartphones have fallen markedly since 2008, going down as much as 20% in Africa. However, the ASPs of the most sought-out brands still fall in the 100 to 200 USD range in emerging markets, mostly due to inefficiencies in supply and demand factors.
The report noted that market pressures alone are not enough to bring prices down to a level affordable for low-income groups. It cites modern market trends to illustrate: “For example, the 2017 average smartphone cost in Kenya of around $118 is expected to drop to $109 in 2020. In India, the equivalent cost of $115 is projected to decrease to $97 within the same timeline”.
Refurbished Phones: A Better Alternative
The GSMA article recommends partnerships between local mobile network operators, state governments and OEMs to iron out some of these inefficiencies and lower prices to facilitate for greater smartphone adoption in the region. However, this comes at a significant expense for the parties involved, especially the OEMs, which are expected to shoulder the costs for facilitating such partnerships in addition to overhead fees and import duties.
Refurbished phones, however, have much lower baseline values than their brand-new counterparts, and could be resold at more affordable rates, even with all costs considered. As mobile telecom infrastructure grows, online refurbished phone retailers can have a greater platform to sell their wares at extremely competitive rates, at prices that are more in line with the purchasing power of low to middle-income groups. They also have leverage over OEMs in the following ways:
· As price continues to dominate purchase considerations, demand for cheaper but feature-rich GSM alternatives will continue to rise;
· Refurbished iPhone retailers can cater to the current gap in Apple product sales, and could compete with ASPs of other online retailers selling brand-new OEM products;
· Used phone retailers can also sell refurbished versions of popular brands in the region, like Samsung, which currently ranks first as the most traded phone in Africa;
· Africa’s secondhand market is virtually untapped despite the demand and the infrastructure being present, meaning immense revenue potential for initial traders in the market.
Unique Opportunities for Galaxy eSolutions
Galaxy eSolutions (GES) is an emergent Global Cross-border E-commerce business aiming to be the Market Leader in the Pre-owned and Refurbished Consumer Electronics Sector. With 26 online stores worldwide and counting, GES is set to have a significant portion of the global market share of refurbished phones and consumer electronics in the near future. Our goal is to create a global marketplace for refurbished, pre-owned smartphones and other consumer electronics.
Unlike many players in the secondhand retail ecosystem, GES is in a unique position due to its ownership and control of the entire business process: we source, refurbish, and distribute. This, in turn, creates efficiencies in cost along the way, which can be passed on to customers as savings. Watch this video and learn how you can partner with us today through our ICO program and be part of our success as we take emerging markets like Africa by storm.


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The global state of ad blocking
Ad blocking remains a clear and present danger to the digital advertising ecosystem. But digital media’s key players all have very different agendas when it comes to the practice.
Here’s a look at the latest in ad blocking, with data and insights compiled from various sources:
• In the past month, Google and Apple have both announced that future versions of Chrome and Safari, their respective web browsers, are going to have certain kinds of advertisements automatically blocked.
• Those moves, in turn, have unnerved many publishers, who say they welcome a move toward good user experience, but privately worry about losing control of their monetization.
• Several parallel attempts to create more user-friendly advertising standards have sprung up, including the Coalition for Better Ads and Adblock Plus’s Acceptable Ads Committee. But these are moving slowly and many publishers think the whitelist committee is simply cosmetic.
• At the beginning of June, Google announced it would allow publishers to ask readers with ad-blockers to make micropayments in exchange for seeing their sites’ content.
The key numbers:
• 615 million, or how many devices have ad-blocking software on them, worldwide. That’s up 30 percent year over year, according to PageFair.
• 90 percent: The overwhelming majority of the mobile devices equipped with an ad blocker – all 380 million of them – are located in Asia, where limited, expensive bandwidth plays just as big a role in the adblocking wars as user experience.
• 1 percent: For a time, publishers could take solace in the fact that very few any mobile devices in the U.S. had adblocking apps installed, according to eMarketer research. With Safari and Chrome both poised to begin blocking ads on mobile, this number is going to change a lot in the coming year.
• 17 percent, 22 percent, 27 percent: Adblocking might be surging in Asia, but in many advanced digital media markets, it’s either stabilized or declining. These three numbers represent the adblocking rates in Canada, the UK and Germany.
• $75 billion. That’s how much money ad-blocking is projected to cost publishers by 2020, if it does nothing to curb user adoption, according to research published last year by Ovum. Even if everything goes well for publishers, ad-blocking is still expected to cost upwards of $16 billion.
The publishers’ view:
“Since putting up the hard wall, we’ve been a bit surprised by how aggressive ad blockers are in attempting to circumvent [it],” Atlantic president Bob Cohn told Digiday+ subscribers.
In theory, adblocking is the sort of existential threat that should be able to unite an every member of an industry ecosystem. But the early returns suggest that publishers as well as platforms are looking for a solution that benefits them most.
“The responsibility for guarding consumer experience should really lie with a third-party that has no monetary bias,” said James Collier, the chief revenue officer of Rainbow.
‘None of this is celebrity for celebrity’s sake’: How publishers are trying to scale virtual events with high-profile star power
Scale "matters when making a media buy" for virtual events, according to Barry Lowenthal, CEO of media agency the MediaKitchen, and celebrity appearances help to achieve that.
‘An unprecedented period of Darwinian experimentation’: As sports return, Twitter eyes ad boost
The lack of match-day revenue has forced clubs to better understand the commercial value of platforms like Twitter.
‘The more culture you own’: Condé Nast pursues more revenue growth with new brand-strength metric
Condé Nast is hoping its new advertising measurement framework can drive growth for its digital ad and commerce businesses.
SponsoredThe race to frictionless consumer journeys is expanding beyond marketplaces
Compressing consumers’ path-to-purchase is the holy grail of advertising and marketing. When Jeff Bezos authored 1-Click in 2011, advertisers began to realize that in some cases — especially for consumables — awareness, consideration and purchase can all happen in seconds. Since then the rise of e-commerce marketplaces has forced a major shift in the design […]
‘Permission to think long term’: The Atlantic digs for deeper, smarter client partnerships
Atlantic Brand Partners will account for all The Atlantic’s business-to-business revenue, which is currently two-thirds of The Atlantic's overall revenues.
‘Re-architecting the entire process’: How Vice is preparing for life after the third-party cookie
Vice is working to bolster its first-party data strategy, improve its registration process and double down on contextual ads.


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The Touch Book, which first showed its pretty little face at the DEMO 09 conference back in March of this year, is just about to ship. But who cares, right? It’s just another netbook, after all.
Well, no. The company behind the little computer, Always Innovating, actually lives up to its name. The standout feature is the detachable touch display, an 8.9-inch presure sensitive tablet which can live separately from the keyboard section. When joined to the keyboard (95% full-size) it acts much like a regular netbook.


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- UWB Brings Mapping Services Indoors
HERE is partnering with Decawave to enable its mapping services to identify the locations of individuals and things within 10 centimeters inside buildings. Several manufacturing companies are now testing the technology for tracking forklifts and monitoring work-in-progress.
- Stora Enso to Be Cornerstone Sponsor of RFID Journal LIVE! Europe 2018
RFID Journal announced today that Stora Enso Intelligent Packaging will be the cornerstone sponsor for its 14th annual conference and exhibition in Europe, to be held on Nov. 7, in London, England.
- Zebra Releases Enterprise MotionWorks Platform and New Reader Hardware
The company is offering its Savanna Location Engine with a portfolio of MotionWorks solutions so that large enterprises can integrate location data from multiple systems on a single platform, while Zebra's new fixed readers aim at manufacturing and retail point-of-sale use cases.
- RFID Brings Visibility, Analytics to Conditions and Status of Electronics Under Assembly
DAIHEN Corp. is already saving approximately 1,800 hours annually with an IoT-based system that employs RFID and sensor data to understand conditions and work-in-progress for each product being built.
- Thermocouple Solution Tracks Location, Status of Temperature Sensors
The TE Wire & Cable Smart Thermocouple solution, using technology from Plataine, will enable aerospace companies to better manage not only where the devices they use for autoclave temperature management are located, but when they need to be replaced.
- RFID News Roundup
Smartrac expands NFC portfolio for challenging applications ••• Arm acquires Stream Technologies, releases IoT device-management platform ••• Stanley Healthcare, Extronics forge multi-year partnership agreement ••• STMicroelectronics unveils IoT firmware-development tool ••• IoT software provider People Power achieves GDPR compliance ••• Homerton University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust deploys asset-tracking technology from Idox Health ••• Techstars, BHS announce mentorship-driven IoT accelerator for Europe.
- RFID4U Sees Growth in Field Inventory Tracking
During a recent webinar, the company described several applications in health care, oil and gas, and other industries that are using its cloud-based TagMatiks FI solution to understand where goods are located, as well as their status, and to thereby gain intelligence regarding expiration dates, how well products are selling and when operational changes are needed.
- NFC Payment Solution Links NXP Technology With Visa, Mastercard
The technology company has joined the two finance firms to offer a single service for device manufacturers to provide contactless payment functions in their products, ranging from wristbands and jewelry to mobile devices.
- Pinnpoint, Smartrac Team Up With Lexmark for RFID Printing
The resultant on-demand printing solutions allow shippers to automatically view the status of returned goods via RFID tag reads, enabling the growing reverse logistics model for online shopping.
- Drone RFID Read Rate Hovers Near 100 Percent in Oil Fields
Researchers at Cal Poly, using RFID technology from technology company Process Expert, confirmed in three pipe-tracking applications that passive RFID tags could be read at near-perfect rates while in flight around 12 feet above those pipes.
- Super-Slim RFID Tags for Linen Tracking
The latest linen tag from Fujitsu Frontech North America can be inserted into a standard seam in linens, uniforms and scrubs, making RFID technology deployments easier for those who manufacture such products.
- RFID Pilot Brings Intelligence to Solid Tires
Camso is investigating a new RFID tag, known as a plug, that could be built into its forklift tires to enable performance, maintenance and service improvements for its customers, as well as provide manufacturing and supply chain visibility.
- Mühlbauer's Tag Manufacturing Machines Aim to Be Greener, Lower-Cost
Inlay manufacturers are testing a new flip-chip machine from the German technology company that promises a 40,000-unit-per-hour rate, as well as an antenna cutter to eliminate the need for etching chemicals.
- Petrochemical Company Launches Refinery of the Future With IoT
Texmark Chemicals is using technology from Hewlett Packard Enterprise and Aruba to automatically collect real-time data regarding the function of critical pumps on the plant floor, with long-term goals of managing assets, as well as employee safety and access, via video and other wireless technologies.
- RFMicron Now Axzon as Part of Company's Rebranding Efforts
The company's new trade name is intended to reflect its growing focus on wireless sensing products and solutions that measure and transmit sensor data without requiring batteries.


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DigiTimes reports that MSI is claiming AMD will play a major role in the company's 2H motherboard sales. With the vast majority of the industry focusing on Intel's new Conroe desktop processor due to some exceptional performance gains, it is somewhat surprising to hear MSI giving AMD so much attention. Then again, the widely publicized price cuts AMD plans for the launch of Conroe could very well drive a great deal of traffic towards AMD's side.
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|$179 ASUS Chromebox Up For Preorder||12|


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First Coast fashion in 2012 features a bold color palette
Hot look will be blocks of color in 1 outfit, including unexpected combinations.
Expect a bold palette of tangerine, orange, turquoise, royal blue and purple in jeans, jackets, dresses, skirts and tops in Jacksonville stores this year.
"Definitely, the season appears to be all about color," said Glori Katz, senior vice president of marketing and advertising at Stein Mart. "White too is important. You'll see head-to-toe white as well as head-to-toe color."
The hot look is blocks of color in one outfit, such as a bright blue jacket, lavender pants and a coral belt, said designer Sandra Alford, regional director of the Fashion Group International of North Florida. You'll find unexpected combinations, such as aqua, olive and black or tangerine, brown and red, she said. Conversely, softer shades such as coral, buttery yellow, tan, aqua and pink also are in vogue, Alford said.
Here are other top trends that will be seen in Jacksonville in 2012:
- Sportswear with contrast color binding on garment edges, color inserts and a closer fabric fit combining comfort with durability, Alford said.
- Glitz, sequins and beading for day and night.
- Soft silhouettes - think pajamas in soft dressy fabrics, Alford said.
- Wide shoulders and batman-style dolman sleeves, said Linda Cunningham, designer and owner of Linda Cunningham Boutique. Lots of draping with folded and ruched fabrics.
- Maxi dresses, any-where from mid-calf to the floor.
- Woven treatments in bags and shoes with the platform shoe still standing tall, Alford said.
- Bohemian-type attire in bold prints.
- Drop earrings, large bangle bracelets, often stacked in multiple mat-erials, such as wood, plastic and metal. White jewelry also is de rigueur this season.
- Floral, geometric, animal, abstract and digital imaging prints.
- The safari look in loose jackets, shorts, skirts and pants in soft lightweight fabrics, Alford said.
- Leather pants, jackets and skirts, a treatment usually seen in the fall that has carried over into spring. For instance, Peggy Johnson, owner of the Petunia Patch, has embellished leggings with faux leather inserts.
- Finally, there's a trend toward ignoring trends, Cunningham said. "People are doing their own thing and not caring whether it's in style or not in style."
In the 1990s, designers made radical changes in shoes and skirt lengths, and merchandise languished on the racks, Alford said. "That era started a shift in the confidence of the female shopper that has gained momentum. She wears what she likes, not what she is told to like. This new attitude has resulted in stylishly creative looks that are here to stay."
email@example.com, (904) 359-4128


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Many aspects of 3d technology have burst forward and is out pacing any rival technologies, taking the lead at the forefront of cutting-edge advancements. There is no denying that its time has come and laser-scanning technology will continue to be the frontrunner.
Newer products like three-dimensional handheld scanner devices and desktop 3d printers now available at reasonable prices has allowed more and more people the opportunity to explore it at their own pace. This has opened the door for hobbyists to get their hands on the equipment and learn all the ins and outs of 3d scanning and printing and the most efficient way to go about it.
The work of laser scanners is accurate and fast at collecting vital details of any object placed in front of it. Depending on the type of scanner, some have the ability to scan entire geographical locations, as well as, smaller items of historical importance like Abraham Lincolns head, or rebuilding historic places of importance. It can even rebuild the faces of car crash victims.
The demand for a technology that can outshine all other competitors is here and in the form of 3d scanning and printing equipment. The modification of these items has made it incredibly easy to use and operate. It is forecasted this type of technology will become as popular to have in the home as many of your current household items.
The future looks bright as this technology leads the way and breaks new ground; it excites even the most laid back of minds. It is difficult to know what exactly it will be capable of in another 5-10 years. The latest improvements to 3d scanning and printing can easily be stated to be the most effective technology as of late, which has made the most of impacting the quality of product production and bettering lives.


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You may have noticed that FT Alphaville over the past month or so has been referring to an electric vehicle bubble brewing in the US. Propelled by the runaway success of Tesla’s stock over the past year, a fleet of electric vehicle — and related technology — businesses have seen their share prices switch to ludicrous mode as a speculative fervour has grabbed the attention of investors looking to bet on an emission-free future.In some cases, they’ve done so via a merger with a cash shell known as a Spac, or Special Purpose Acquisition Vehicle or via a vanilla IPO. In others, they’ve simply languished for years on the market waiting to be discovered. In nearly every case however, they’ve outperformed the wider market by some distance over the past 6 months, even if the company is as
FT Alphaville considers the following as important:
This could be interesting, too:
Global Economic Intersection Analysis Blog Feed writes Everything Is Broken
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You may have noticed that FT Alphaville over the past month or so has been referring to...