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UA graduate turns roasting hobby into business
UA grad turns hobby into business with help from degreeBy Maria Beddingfield | 07/02/2014 12:17am
Owners of the Atlanta Coffee Company and recent UA grads, Todd Johnson and Ryan Harlan. (Photo Courtesy of Todd Johnson)
While the idea of starting a company did not become a reality until after the church event, their passion for serving quality coffee and their fulfillment in the home-roasting process encouraged them to take it a step further.
“We decided, ‘Well, let’s roast some coffee, and sell it there and brew it for some people and see what happens.’ We were just going to do it for fun,” said Johnson, who graduated from The University of Alabama in spring 2012 with a degree in management information systems. “It kind of blew up. Everyone really liked it, so we just decided to go a little bigger.”
Johnson, an IT analyst at Ernst and Young, and Harlan, a senior analyst at Home Depot, met two years ago at Grace-Midtown Church in Atlanta, Georgia, after Johnson relocated from Tuscaloosa. Johnson was already roasting his own coffee before he met Harlan, who graduated from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 2011, but after they became friends, Harlan’s desire to start his own business mixed with Johnson’s roasting hobby.
“We’re both pretty passionate about coffee, and that’s why I started roasting in the first place,” Johnson said. “I had the gear and I was brewing it correctly, so it’s like, ‘What’s the next step? It’s to roast it ourselves, have it fresh.’ It’s been good.”
Amber Johnson, a UA alumna, accounting assistant at RSUI and Todd Johnson’s wife, said Johnson and Harlan discussed partnering for a long time before making it official.
“[They] talked a lot about having a coffee business together, and they just didn’t know exactly what that looked like. Whether it was roasting or actually having a coffee shop or that kind of thing,” she said. “That artist market really sealed the deal that they wanted to roast.”
Since Atlanta is home to many local cafés and because the two roasters still work full-time jobs, sticking to roasting and selling coffee beans wholesale and made-to-order is currently more feasible.
“You really jump into it full-time when you open a coffee shop,” Harlan said. “But the artist market showed how easy it is to get into the [roasting] market.”
After upgrading from popcorn poppers, which only roast a few ounces of beans at a time, to one-pound roasters, the two launched an IndieGoGo campaign to raise money for a much larger roaster. The new roaster, which is currently on order, can roast up to 11 pounds of beans at a time and has a computing system that will allow Johnson and Harlan to roast more specialized batches and to tweak their processes.
“Since we want to do the online model, we want to roast to order,” Johnson said. “So whenever someone orders something, we’ll roast it for them specifically in a small batch and then ship it out the same day or as soon as possible, so that when they get it, it’ll be really, really fresh.”
Atlanta’s spacious coffee roasting market, coupled with an increasing café count, means more opportunities for the young co-founders to sell their coffee. Since so few roasting companies exist in Atlanta, the community is more about camaraderie than competition.
“Other roasters in town are like Octane and Batdorf & Bronson, and we all go to the same events together,” he said. “It’s really close-knit, and everyone’s super nice. Everyone’s willing to help each other out, so you won’t hear us saying bad things about anyone else’s coffee.”
They plan on selling at local farmers’ markets to spread their presence and reputation, and they eventually hope to sell to specialty grocery stores, similar to Whole Foods.
With backgrounds in MIS, industrial engineering and entrepreneurship between them, Johnson and Harlan agreed they never would have started a company on their own without the knowledge and experience they gained in college. College propelled Johnson into the corporate world and showed him what running a business would be like, and for Harlan, it prepared him for problem-solving and innovative thinking. By marrying their skill sets, Amber Johnson said, they balance each other out.
“Things that Todd is stronger in, he’s able to handle and then same with Ryan. So the IT side, Todd’s got, and Ryan’s good at client-basing and making sales, so I think he’s pretty charismatic,” Amber Johnson said. “I think these two really complement each other too. I think that they’re pretty much the perfect team.”
On August 1, the two hope to officially launch their website and be in the full swing of things with the new roaster, selling both wholesale and by-the-pound orders to anyone who is interested. All of the beans they sell are organic, fair trade certified and in-season because they said they care about serving quality products that come from ethical means.
“We’re working with the other roasters to increase the market share of the city. We want more people to drink better coffee,” Harlan said. “I love giving someone a fresh bag of coffee and saying, ‘This is going to blow you away.’”
To check out the campaign or to get updates on the company’s progress, go to atlcoffeeco.com, or find them on Facebook at Atlanta Coffee Company.


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Retailers, consumers and prices
Check Out Line: March sales slip
The results coming in show that things might not be so bleak after all. Sure, some retailers still disappointed with March same-store sales down more than expected. Take a look at American Eagle, whose same-store sales fell 16 percent, while analysts expected a 10.4 percent drop. Still, the company raised the low end of its profit forecast since it marked down less merchandise.
Over on the discount side, Wal-Mart’s same-store sales were only up 1.4 percent, while the Street expected them to rise 3.2 percent. Still, they were up. And they should be up again in April. The CEO of smaller discounter Target, meanwhile, had this to say:
“Our guests continue to be cautious, but we have begun to see encouraging signs in the operating results of both of our business segments. In light of the Easter shift and recent trends, we expect our April reported comparable-store sales results to be essentially flat to last year.”
Are consumers finally out shopping again, and for more than just the basics?
Also in the basket:
Beauty on a Budget (NYT)

domain: news


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Computerworld has an article on how Amazon and Google scale up their massive IT infrastructure. What interests me are the tips from top-notch engineers that run contrary to conventional enterprise approach to their computing infrastructure.
A new worm is on the loose, and it is targeting computers running on Linux and PHP. While only machines based on Intel are targeted at the moment, the nature of the malware means that it could be easily modified to pose a threat to devices such as home routers and set-top boxes that use other processor architectures, too.
You must know about cloud storage provider Nirvanix abruptly announcing that it was closing shop, leaving customers with just weeks to find a new provider and move their data off its cloud storage service. Ultimately, it is evident that while the cloud offers many advantages, it can fail, too.
There is an increasing trend for malware authors to surreptitiously incorporate the ability to mine more of the virtual currency into their malware, likely fueled by an incredible price that has topped US$1,200 per Bitcoin at one stage.
Some cloud vendors have attributed Symantec's impending closure of its Backup Exec.cloud service as evidence that the company does not understand the needs of businesses. Though this is debatable, it should be evident that businesses are no longer satisfied with a pure backup-to-the-clouds service.
The Doxie Flip is a portable flatbed scanner that you can actually take out of the house. It's ideal for bringing along on road trips or even for use on the couch.
Wiring up their TV is not an issue for IT professionals, just don't expect your typically employee to know what to do.
The NSA has infected more than 50,000 computer networks around the world with malware designed to steal sensitive information, reports Dutch paper NRC. Citing documents provided by NSA leaker Edward Snowden, the newspaper also furnished a screenshot in its report that shows the "Computer Network Exploitation" (CNE) initiative spanning five continents around the world.
LG Electronics admit that its smart televisions track what consumers are watching, and that an option to deactivate this tracking does not work.
Google is making good on its earlier promises to enhance support for Android tablets. As of last Friday, users logging onto the Google Play store will be able to tell from a glance whether an app is optimized for their tablet devices.
On the surface, the WD Black Dual Drive is a 2.5-inch storage drive equipped with a SATA interface; under the hood, it essentially offers two stand-alone drives in the form of a standard 9mm thick laptop storage drive.
A new $89 HP Android tablet looks set to go on sale this Friday in the United States. The HP Mesquite tablet has a 7-inch screen and will come with the Medfield Atom processor under the hood, according to Computerworld.
A new variant of the well-known Shiz remote access trojan has been tweaked to search for the existence of SAP client applications.
Microsoft plans to deliver Service Pack (SP) 1 for Office 2013, SharePoint 2013 and Exchange 2013 in the early part of 2014, or about 13 months after the debut of Office 2013 in January 2013.
Six more were arrested as part of an investigation into a sophisticated cyber bank heist that spanned more than 20 countries, and involved the theft of a staggering $45 million in a matter of hours.
Google upgraded its SSL certificates to new ones that use the stronger 2048-bit RSA keys. This comes in the wake of the company's announcement in May that it would be upgrading its 1024-bit Secure Socket Layer (SSL) certificates to more robust 2048-bit certificates before the end of 2013.
The TYLT Energi Sliding Power Case for the iPhone 5/5S is a slim-line case that fits right into a custom battery pack that comes as part of the package.
We posed questions to Jay Botelho, director of product management at WildPackets, a well-regarded provider of various network monitoring equipment and application performance monitoring solutions. As a bonus, Botelho also gave us his take on why Apple decided not to include 802.11ac in the new iPad Air--whether you should roll out 802.11ac Wi-Fi today.
If the doomsayers are to be believed, we are heading towards a massive digital Pearl Harbor where devices ill-equipped or designed with inadequate security are broken into and personal information stolen.
With over 50 percent of server workloads running in virtual machines today, it is inevitable that traditional server administration tactics may need some tweaking to maintain their relevance.


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The FDA has approved a new generic equivalent to Levitra for erectile dysfunction.
Officials with the FDA have approved the Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) for Alembic’s Vardenafil Hydrochloride Tablets, 2.5 mg, 5 mg, 10 mg, and 20 mg. The drug is indicated for the treatment of erectile dysfunction.1
According to Alembic, the approved ANDA is therapeutically equivalent to Bayer’s vardenafil hydrochloride (Levitra) tablets, 2.5 mg, 5 mg, 10 mg, and 20 mg.1 Vardenafil hydrochloride tablets were developed by GlaxoSmithKline and Bayer, and approved by the FDA in 2003.2
Vardenafil hydrochloride tablet have an estimated market size of $35 billion for 12 months ending June 2020, according to data obtained by Alembic.1


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- Daily Zen
Asia’s technology market may be taking a new course as experts forecast over 150% market growth for wearable tech by 2021.
The explosive growth in wearable tech and other innovative gadgets such as smart home appliances has been linked with shrinking of the smartphone market, a situation that has dinged Asia growth; affecting tech manufactures.
A senior official in Asia Pacific Department, Koshy Mathia told Bloomberg that the market must balance in one way or the other, saying that some areas even in Asia will increase its demand for a smartphone while the market dwindles in some areas. Mathias said there would be “upcoming demand from a vast middle class in China, India and other frontier markets.”
While this sounds like good news to the world economy, what could be stopping the middle class now if they can afford the current market price? Through technology supply chain, the Asia Pacific alone contributes to 60% of global economic growth.
According to Bloomberg, analysts from Morgan Stanley reported that the world is facing the early stages of a technology shift to data-based computing era from an ending mobile internet era. That coincides with technology forecasts by the International Monetary Fund; a rise of new tech cycle.
Since the web was launched in 1990, this era marks the first time that multiple technologies would be emerging at once. These techs include virtual reality, internet of things and artificial intelligence, Morgan Stanley analysts added.
For wearable tech, Asian market would pride over 20% of the entire sales which is about $36.27b. Body-worn cameras are tipped to hit global sales of 1.6 million units this year. Gartner Inc forecasts that this figure would triple in the next three years to reach about 5.6 million by 2021. Over the same period, smartwatch sales have been marked to hit 81 million units from 48 million. And head-mounted devices would record 67 million units.
In 2018, spending on drones and robotic solutions would reach $103.1 b. That’s about 22% rise compared to the previous year. The value is estimated to hit $218.4 b (about double) by 2021, according to International Data Corporation as reported by Bloomberg.
A senior researcher at International Data Corporation, Kenneth Liew noted that manufacturers are catching up with the tech shift. For instance, Sony Corp is reported to be developing 3D sensors which would be used in gaming consoles, drones, etc.
“Manufacturers have always been able to shift their production line to cater to the newest trend in the market,” said Liew. “We are now seeing products like wearables, smart home devices as some of the key products for future growth.”
In 2017, smartphone market contributed about 6% of the estimated trade growth, with a total of about 1.5 billion units sold, that’s one-fifth of the world’s population, according to the IMF. But the demand is making a plunge, with many people owning a smartphone. This has affected the chip manufacturers, forcing most of them to reduce projected revenue for 2018.


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Google Pixel and Google Pixel XL seem like relatively great all-rounders. Google’s latest smartphones are slim, powered by impressive hardware, and are packing truly fantastic cameras which push the boundaries of what smartphones are capable of when it comes to shooting photos and videos. Of course, nothing is perfect and Pixel phones are no exception to that rule. One of the most common complaints about these devices has to do with the fact that they aren’t completely water resistant. Sure, they sport an IP53 rating which means they’re somewhat protected from dust and spraying water but that can’t really compare to a lot of other modern flagships which are boasting complete water resistance.
Interestingly enough, this probably wouldn’t be a problem a few years back but ever since Samsung popularized water resistance back in 2014 with the Galax S5, we’ve kind of grown accustomed to this feature, at least when it comes to high-end devices which Google Pixel and Google Pixel XL certainly are. Well, there is some good news to report in that regard. As it turns out, Google probably underplayed its devices’ ability to resist liquids. Despite an IP53 rating, one brave YouTube user decided to spray his Google Pixel, put it in a puddle, and finally submerge it in a bowl of water for half an hour. Surprisingly enough, the device demonstrated no visible signs of damage after getting the water torture treatment.
So, it’s possible that Google did exactly what Sony opted to do with the Xperia Z5 Premium. That phone was definitely resistant to water but Sony insisted that it isn’t and that letting it get wet wasn’t a great idea. It’s likely that Google Pixel and Google Pixel XL aren’t fully protected from water in all scenarios which would explain why they don’t boast a higher Ingress Protection rating but the video below still shows that dropping your Google-branded device in a bathtub probably won’t be the end of the world. Of course, a sample size of one isn’t exactly sufficient to proclaim this conclusion as the absolute truth but it’s likely that more underwater tests of Google Pixel and Google Pixel XL are just around the corner.


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The City of Cold Lake is still working out its bylaws around the sale of Cannabis. The city recently hosted an open house for the public to hear information around sale and consumption of the drug. Cold Lake Mayor Craig Copeland says one of the topics discussed is distance between shops and areas like schools.
“If you want to get into this, how far back your setbacks are gonna be. We don’t want to have a cannabis shop right next to a school or park.”
Copeland says Cold Lake council is working on making the transition of cannabis from illegal to legal as safe and efficient as possible. He says stigmas have to be forgotten as they move ahead with work.
“We’re not objecting to it. We’re gonna try to work as best we can. We know there’s interest in the business community to open up shops.”
The federal government had said that Cannabis sales will be legalized in the country by April of 2018. That date has been pushed back to the summer.


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Pull Bigot Barilla Pasta from your shelves!
Barilla Pasta won't put gay families in ads, says critics can "eat another brand of pasta":
The chairman of Barilla Group says his company will not feature gay families in advertisements for his products because he likes the "traditional" family. If someone disagrees, well, they can go "eat another brand of pasta." - CAVAN SIECZKOWSKI - HUFFPOST GAY VOICES


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Reliance Jio Infocomm, the telecom venture of Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) on Sunday, launched its 4G services for its employees, ahead of the full commercial roll-out in March 2016.
Reliance Jio offers 4G LTE connectivity for data and voice, currently the fastest and latest generation of cellphone network coverage. Reliance Jio’s full-scale commercial launch will be a pan-India one, offering only 4G LTE connectivity. Jio will not revert to older technologies like 3G or 2G unlike other players in the market.
Here are five things you need to know about Reliance Jio’s 4G internet.
1) Reliance holds the 2300 Mhz spectrum across the country, 800 Mhz spectrum in 10 circles and 1800 MHz spectrum in 6 circles. Reliance’s total investment is nearly Rs 34,000 crores.
Airtel and Aircel also use the 2300 Mhz spectrum for deploying their 4G services in India. Vodafone and Idea are on the 1800 Mhz spectrum. However Reliance has the largest spectrum bank in the country, compared to any other operator in India and this puts Jio at a considerable advantage compared to other players.
2) Reliance plans to offer its services through an all-LTE (Long Term Evolution) network. Voice services on Jio will be through VoLTE (voice over LTE), which allows for calls over the faster LTE network instead of regular voice networks. VoLTE promises higher call quality, along with faster video and multimedia services.
3) Reliance Jio won’t just offer high-speed Internet with 4G LTE, but also look at 4G-enabled devices and creating an app ecosystem around its services. Smartphone-maker Intex and Huawei have tied-up with Reliance to launch Jio compatible devices.
Reliance also launched , ‘Jio Chat’ that integrates chat, voice, video calling, conferencing, file sharing, photo sharing among others. The company claims to have 1 million users already for Jio Chat.
In an earlier interview with Indian Express New Media Director and head, Anant Goenka, Reliance Industries’ President (technology) Jyotindra Thacker, had also said that the company plans to create a whole ecosystem of apps, devices with Reliance Jio.
He had said in the interview, “Devices will be at affordable prices. We did not want to just create a dump pipe for others to ride on it. We wanted to basically create some intelligence into the network, and apps and an economy around it. Apps and bandwidth typically go together and that’s when it becomes a viable proposition for the end user also.”
Additionally PTI had reported that Jio plans to offer high speed data, digital commerce, media and payment services for about Rs 300 to Rs 500 per month.
4) Reliance Jio has also laid more than 2.5 lakh kilometres of fibre-optic cables, covering 18,000 cities and over one lakh villages. The service claims to have an initial end-to-end capacity to serve in excess of 100 million wireless broadband and 20 million Fibre-to-Home customers.
5) Reliance Jio will has also partner with State Bank of India to apply for the Payment Bank licence. The company is working on its digital money and digital payment business strategy and Jio Money will try and provide secure, digital payments in India.
6) According to a recent report by brokerage firm Credit Suisse, download speed on 4G network of Reliance Jio during its beta-test phase peaked at 70 MB per second but remained in 15-30 mbps range on most occasions. At 70 mbps speed, a full movie can be downloaded in about half a minute, while at 15-30 mbps the download time is about three minutes.
The report said download speed of Reliance Jio 4G service was impressive and found urban coverage of RJio network at par with incumbents but remarked that rural coverage remains “poor”. “We experienced peak download speed of 70 Mbps during our trials, and on most occasions in the 15-30 Mbps range, even on the move,” a report by Credit Suisse Research Analysts Sunil Tirumalai and Chunky Shah said.
📣 The Indian Express is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@indianexpress) and stay updated with the latest headlines


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Visa Inc., the world’s largest payments network, introduced a mobile-phone application to enable cashless transactions in Kenya, where the majority of wireless payments are being done through the nation’s biggest telecommunications company, Safaricom Ltd.
The mVisa app will initially facilitate transactions for people with accounts at four banks, including KCB Group Ltd. and Co-operative Bank of Kenya Ltd., according to Visa Emerging Markets Senior Vice President Uttam Nayak.
Africa had 557 million mobile-phone users at the end of 2015, according to the GSM Association, an industry group. The company estimates 84 million of them still pay by cash.
“Those can be converted overnight,” Nayak said in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi. “We are very proud that it is inter-operable and not dependent on a bank and not dependent on a mobile operator. It democratizes payments,” he said of the system.
Users of mVisa make payments by scanning a unique merchant Quick Response, or QR, code using their smart phones. About 1,500 merchants have signed up already and Kenyan lenders with units in the region want to introduce the system in neighboring nations.
Visa is in talks to roll out the product in Uganda, Tanzania and Rwanda within two months and expects to have the first Nigerian bank signing up by end-2016. It has also held “a number of conversations” in South Africa, according to Visa’s head for sub-Saharan Africa, Andrew Torre.
The company hasn’t been able to penetrate the African merchant base with its traditional card payments system, he said.
“One of the reasons is we haven’t had as many cards as we’d like, the other reason is we haven’t been able to engage the hundreds millions of merchants where people shop,” Torre said.
The company launched the mobile phone-payments application in India in 2015 in partnership with seven banks, including the State Bank of India, and 30,000 merchants have signed up so far. The nation has 600 million bank accounts out of a population of 1 billion people, according to Nayak.
Safaricom, Vodafone Plc’s Kenyan unit, facilitated mobile-phone transactions valued at 5.29 trillion shillings ($52.3 billion) in the year through March 2015. The company had 49,413 active merchants and companies on its payment-collection service that settled trades worth 11.6 billion shillings in the same year.
“There is a lot of learning from Kenya,” Torre said. “Nigeria doesn’t even have any rising tide at the moment,” he said, referring to mobile-based transactions.


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Apple tablet coming in March?
Apple will release its highly anticipated tablet in March, according to reports.
The company is expected to announce a 10in or 11in tablet later this month, but according to the Wall Street Journal it won’t be released until March.
The newspaper reports that Apple is currently debating two different finishes for the device, and suggests that when it eventually emerges it will be priced at around $1,000.
There’s a suggestion that this could also include free browsing over a 3G network, as happens with the Kindle.
As with the Kindle, it’s being reported that Apple has signed content deals to allow people to download books, magazines and newspapers through subscription services to the tablet – possibly called the iSlate.
Unlike the Kindle, however, it could also be used to watch films and television, and download games through the iTunes App Store.
Apple is expected to announce the tablet on 27 January.


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About the business:
For Coyote Logistics, a transportation and logistics provider in Chicago, timing is everything. Founder and CEO Jeff Silver, who launched Coyote with his own money and some private equity dollars, refers to his firm as a trucking company without the trucks. A struggling economy has contributed to Coyote's success: Silver started the company just as shippers and carriers were looking for ways to make operations more efficient. Coyote has a customer base of both big and small clients, but their employees -- most of them inner city residents -- are perhaps the company's strongest advocates. Coyote Logistics was recently named one of the best places to work in Chicago by the Chicago Tribune.
This year's Inner City 100 companies have fought off a sluggish economy through a combination of smart investment and savvy strategy. Here's how they are doing it.
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It appears Canadians aren’t welcoming the bullseye brand with open arms as much as hoped. Target’s profits for the second quarter of 2013 were $611 million, down from $704 million just a year ago. The retail firm’s expansion into the great white north has led to softness in earnings. The Target in Canada expansion is only half over – although it has already opened 68 stores, it hopes to open another 56 stores by the end of 2013. Will Target be able to turn it around before it’s too late?
Investors Are Not Impressed
The third quarter of 2013 isn’t looking so rosy either. Target estimates its third quarter adjusted earnings per share (EPS) will be between 80 and 90 cents U.S. and net income will be between 55 cents and 65 cents. That doesn’t include adjusted EPS of 22 cents related to Canadian expansion. Target now forecasts its 2013 adjust earnings fall between $4.70 and $4.90 per share. How does this translate to Target’s balance sheet? It has worried some investors, as the stock fell more than three per cent.
Customer Satisfaction Down
When Target first opened its door in March, Canadians waited in line in the cold to be the first ones to dash down the aisles. The honeymoon appears to be short-lived. Only 27 per cent of shoppers said they were “very satisfied” with their shopping experience at Target, down from 32 per cent just a few months ago, according to a survey from Forum Research. It doesn’t bode well when compared to retailers like Costco and Hudson’s Bay Co., who scored 62 per cent and 40 per cent respectively in customer satisfaction.
What is behind the customer dissatisfaction? Complaints of higher prices, limited selection, and even bare shelves have plagued the U.S. retailer. “We know there is a gap in guest awareness of how low our prices really are,” says chief executive and chairman Gregg Steinhafel. “We are deploying multiple tactics to help our guests better understand the great value and convenience we provide in these categories.”
Sears Canada Feeling the Pinch
Target isn’t the only major retailer having difficulties competing in the Canadian market. Sears Canada recently announced it was cutting 245 white collar jobs from its head office. It is outsourcing the majority of the work to India and the Philippines, where it can pay workers lower wages. “We can be more efficient and be able to serve our customers better by letting [IBM and Wipro] invest in things they are good at and letting us invest in our core retail business,” says Vince Power, Sear Canada’s vice-president of corporate affairs and communications.
Sears Canada is trying to turn its fortunes around, after suffering seven consecutive years of falling sales revenue. Earlier this year it closed four of its prime locations and laid-off 700 employees, to prepare for the new entrant Target and remain the black.
It’s not going to get any easier for retailers like Target and Sears Canada. After the recent bombshell announcement of the merger of Shoppers Drug Mart and Loblaw, it’s only going to be more of an uphill battle. Target will have to be at the top of its game if it hopes to retain its customers and attract new ones.


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It seems like only a couple of months since Boundary Layer announced its $5 million-ish round of financing, but the company hasn’t been resting on its laurels. Today, its founders told me it signed up some beefy launch partners and is gearing up for a large-scale roll-out as early as 2025.
The company is planning to operate high-speed, hydrogen-powered cargo ships called ARGO — the menacing-looking beast at the top of this article. The ships offer zero-emission transit alternatives. The company hopes that its solutions can compete with regional air freight.
The company’s flagship ARGO will be powered by green liquid hydrogen and fuel cells, emitting zero CO2 during operation. That’s an attractive feature for companies trying to cut into their climate impact. Reducing reliance on air freight is a key aspect of that.
“We recognize that new technologies like ARGO play an important role in reducing our carbon emissions, especially in hard-to-abate sectors like air transportation,” said Marcus LeMaster, global director of Logistics Sustainability at Schneider Electric of part Boundary Layer’s press briefing. “As launch partners, we look forward to supporting [Boundary Layer] as they bring this product to market.”
Ed Kearney, CEO of Boundary Layer Technologies, bets the future of the company on a huge vision — he believes nearly every Fortune 500 company using air freight in Asia will eventually need the company’s high-speed container transport.
“Our recent partnerships mark a significant step towards realizing our vision of launching the world’s first high-speed, zero-emissions freight service using hydrofoil container ships. From here, we are singularly focused on getting our first vessel ready to load containers for our launch partners by Q1 2025,” said Kearney. “In addition to these launch partners, we are also in advanced discussions with many other large corporations spanning the verticals of computer manufacturers, medical equipment suppliers, consumer electronics, and automotive OEMs. This really demonstrates the breadth of problems ARGO is already solving around the world.”
The first vessel will be launched into operation in Asia by 2025 and will have a gross payload capacity of 200 tons. It will operate at a cruising speed of 40 knots, enabled by the company’s proprietary hydrofoil technology. The exact routes for service will be selected with their launch partners over the coming months, but key port cities under consideration include Singapore, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Tokyo and several Southeast Asian cities.


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Kraft Foods Inc, North America's largest packaged food maker, is betting big on the Indian consumer's rising spending power as it firms up plans to become one of the top 5 food companies in the country in the coming years, in an effort to offset sluggish growth in the developed markets.
The global buy of Cadbury has added popular brands such as Dairy Milk and Bournvita to Kraft's India portfolio helping it propel growth in the world's second fastest growing major economy.
It retails brands like Oreo biscuits and fruit flavoured drink Tang from its own portfolio in the Indian market.
"In India, in particular we have witnessed exceptional growth … Year-to-date we are up almost 40 per cent in this country," chairman and chief executive Irene Rosenfeld told reporters on Tuesday.
"The growth rates that we have seen have been well in excess of what Cadbury had been generating primarily because we have chosen to invest in a lot of critical areas such as sales, marketing..," Rosenfeld added.
The company, however, stated that the current growth rate might be difficult to sustain in the long-term.
Kraft Foods has increased its investment in India in the areas of advertising & promotion, sales, capex by over 70 per cent since it acquired Cadbury India's operations, Rosenfeld added, without giving an absolute investment number for the year-ago period.
The consumer goods maker, which plans to focus on the biscuits, chocolates, gum and candy categories in India, competes with consumer giants such as Nestle and Hindustan Unilever among others.
The company which is heavily focusing on the emerging markets of India, Brazil, Russia, China and Indonesia has seen developing markets contributing 14 per cent revenue growth and an operating income growth of 34 per cent on a compounded annual rate for over the past couple of years.
Kraft Foods, which acquired Cadbury 21 months ago, for $18.5 billion, said it was open to acquisitions in emerging markets and stated that it does not immediately plan to get more of its international brands into India.
"Over time we will get more brands...But there is so much untapped opportunity for our base businesses, we will look to focus on that first," Rosenfeld said.
On the integration, post the Cadbury acquisition, Rosenfeld also said that the firm was on track also to achieve $750 million of cost savings from its integration with Cadbury and will achieve 70 per cent of that by the end of 2011.
Recently, Kraft announced its plans to split its business and give its investors a chance to bet on a snacks business which is growing fast in emerging markets, or opt for stable dividends offered by a slower growing grocery business that includes Oscar Mayer lunch meat and Kraft cheese.
Earlier this month, it is posted a third quarter net revenue of $13.23 billion , up from $11.86 billion and raised its full year outlook.


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Organic farming may be on the rise, but — at the same time — farmers say they aren’t planning to expand their organic production. Why the disconnect? According to Dennis Fugate, Agriculture Industry Manager for our Agriculture and Specialty Pesticide practice, “Farmers, in general, feel that demand for organics may have leveled off.” Consistent with this statement, a USDA survey of organic growers indicated that only 29% of organic farmers expected to expand their production, with 8% stating that they would discontinue or decrease their production.”
Going “natural” isn’t as simple as it used to be in the world of cosmetics: In the past, brands only needed to claim that their products were natural and perhaps promote their packaging as environmentally friendly. And, at the time, that was enough for consumers to literally buy into their claims.
According to Contact Lens Spectrum, there were an estimated 2.5 billion daily-wear contact lenses, weighing approximately 44,000 pounds, entering United States wastewater in 2019. While this volume is low compared to waste generated from plastic bottles, contact lenses nevertheless have a negative impact on our water systems and oceans. Because lenses are denser than water and soft, they sink and break down into fine particles. In turn, they are consumed by aquatic creatures and ultimately end up in the human food chain. Most consumers are not aware of the impact of disposing of lenses in their sink.
If Joe Biden’s ambitious wind-turbine goals are realized, “thar’ she blows” could be shouted throughout the land. After all, the President’s initiative seems to be quite the bonanza for lubricants demand in the wind energy sector. Alas, if only that were true.
The plan is to develop large-scale wind farms along nearly the entire coastline of the United States, with Biden pledging to build 30,000 megawatts of offshore wind in the United States by 2030. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland has stated that her agency will formally begin the process of identifying federal waters to lease to wind developers by 2025.
Unlike that old nursery rhyme, the farmer may actually no longer be in the dell. Between an aging population — today’s farmers are 60 years old on average — and unprecedented labor shortages, a growing number of farmers are climbing off their John Deeres and calling it a day. As crops lie unharvested and agricultural products from the U.S. become increasingly uncompetitive globally, hopes are turning to autonomous tractors.
Beauty Forum Munich — touted as the largest autumn professional beauty fair in the DACH region — returned this year, to much fanfare. After a two-year absence due to the COVID-19 pandemic, much had changed — including the fact that the more than 1,460 exhibitors and 15,000 visitors were wearing face masks.
“On the heels of an extremely difficult year, the event provided an especially wonderful opportunity for in-person interactions with industry players in the professional skin care and nail care segments,” says Marina Drobnjak, a senior analyst at Kline & Company. It also gave those players an opportunity to unveil their latest beauty devices. Continue reading
Seemingly overnight, the pandemic forced the professional cleaning industry to jump from “normal” clean to COVID clean, where hygiene and safety were of critical importance. As a result, several cutting-edge cleaning trends such as “smart” sensors and robots (think R2D2 with a mop) began to rise in popularity. Continue reading
When the world shifted to e-commerce during the COVID-19 pandemic, manufacturers of counterfeit lubricants similarly took to the electronic superhighway. Along the way, they began appreciating both the many “rest stops” — giants like Amazon and eBay are lined with scenic unregulated third-party vendors — and their ability to reach a wider clientele.Continue reading
Consumption of food-grade lubricants could hit new highs in China and India, according to research from our first-ever dive into the industry.
“Rapid growth in consumption of food-grade lubricants is expected to occur over the next five years,” says Sushmita Dutta, Project Manager of our Energy sector. “Increasing consumer awareness, strengthening supervision and enforcement of regulations by the governments in these countries, and the rise in the number of food and beverage processing plants in 2020 represent only a few of the factors driving growth in these two markets.”
Sustainability is a critical global initiative, currently representing one of the key business drivers within the energy sector. Environment, Social, and Governance (ESG) standards are expected to have a profound impact on the operations and business practices of enterprises worldwide. To achieve their sustainability goals, companies across a wide range of industries will institute operational measures and decarbonization technologies.


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Ford recalls hybrid SUVs to fix stalling problem
DETROIT (AP) - Ford is recalling about 74,000 older-model gas-electric hybrid SUVs in the U.S. and Canada to fix a stalling problem.
The recall covers Ford Escapes from the 2005 through 2008 model years and Mercury Mariners from 2006 through 2008.
The company says the coolant pump for the hybrid system could fail, causing electronics to overheat. That can shut down the engine, increasing the risk of a crash.
Ford says in documents filed with government safety regulators that it has no reports of crashes or injuries from the problem.
Ford is expected to start the recall on Oct. 27. Dealers will replace the coolant pump for free.


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Credit Card Loyalty: Time To Shop Around?
(NBC News) A new report from CreditCards.com Says hanging onto your old credit card is probably not a good idea.
“We found that about 50 million people said that they have never changed their credit card,” says CreditCards.com senior analyst Matt Schulz.
Another 20 million say it’s been at least 10 years since they changed. That means they’re probably missing out, because cash-back or reward cards are so much more popular and generous now.
Schulz says millennials are one group that’s already figured out.
“Chances are that they were changing it from their training wheel card which might have had crummy rewards, high fees and high interest rate to a card that fits their life better,” he says.
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Here's a selection of our favourite Christmas cards and movies we've received this year, including this one by photographer Luke Hayes, taken in Sheffield, UK (above). More »
A Tube train will appear on the back of Britain's £2 coins next year, designed by British studio BarberOsgerby for the Royal Mint to celebrate the 150th anniversary of London Underground. More »
Random snippets of news headlines are harvested from the internet, muddled up and printed using a traditional wooden letterpress in this movie by the Out of Print team. More »
Graphic designer Neville Brody has reworked the Royal College of Art's house font by Margaret Calvert as part of the London institution's rebrand. More »
Competition: we're giving readers the chance to win one of five calendars for 2013 featuring illustrations of modern superstitions. More »
Dezeen Wire: the all-caps text on New York's street signs is being replaced by upper and lower case letters in a different font, called Clearview - New York Times.
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Illegal imports of F-gas exceeded 10m tonnes
Refrigerant F-gases being illegally imported into the EU, claims two US manufacturers
A leading US manufacturer of the man-made F-gases has said that illegal imports of the gas exceeded 10 million tonnes in Europe in 2015.
The European Union’s F-gas regulations stipulate that only 182.5 million tonnes of F-gases can be placed on the European market per year, however, according to refrigerant manufacturer, Honeywell, illegal imports of F-gas exceeded 10 million tonnes in 2015, thus exceeding the annual market allowance.
Any manufacturer of fluorinated gases which wants to import its products into the EU must first register. It will then receive an allocation stating the maximum amount of F-gas it can import into the EU. Any company who is found to have imported more than its quota will find itself hit with a hefty import limit for the following year.
Honeywell, and another US refrigerant manufacturer, Chemours, have both carried out individual research using available import and export data and EFCTC (Cefic) data and have come to the conclusion that more F-gas is finding its way into the EU market than the allowed 182.5m tonnes.
Dr Patrick Amrhein, a marketing director at Honeywell, told the Cooling Post that the estimation of 10m illegal tonnes of imported F-gas is “a conservative figure”, and that it is probably much larger.
In an attempt to reduce illegal imports, Honeywell has set up a Authorised Dealers scheme which enables F-gas buyers to purchase refrigerant products that have been imported into the EU by registered companies.
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Apple iOS 15 is loaded with new components that assist you with associating with others, be more present and at the time, investigate the world, and utilize amazing knowledge to accomplish more with iPhone than any time in recent memory.
After the iPhone 13 promotional event, Apple announced that it will release the new version of the iOS operating system, iOS 15, on Monday, September 20. We have brought together a list of iOS 15 features under 12 titles shortly before the release of the iOS 15 update.
FaceTime has become much more functional
Being able to share the screen during the call and listen to music and watch movies with the people in the call.
Blur the background.
Ability to schedule meetings in advance like Zoom and Google Meet.
The spatial sound element makes the inclination that the voices of individuals in the call come from where they are on the screen during the call.
Filtering unwanted sounds in the environment.
Android and Windows users can now join FaceTime calls via the browser.
Updated the design of notification cards
Larger app icons and avatars in notification tabs.
Ability to receive a collective summary of all notifications at specified hours.
Ability to filter notifications according to focus modes.
Ability to parse texts in photos (OCR)
To be able to use functions such as scanning the texts in the photo, copy-pasting, and searching.
New Safari design
New “tab bar” view that moves the URL bar down.
Ability to group tabs like Google Chrome.
Refreshing the web page by pulling the screen from top to bottom.
New grid view to see all open tabs.
Ability to identify ID and driver’s license to Apple Wallet
Ability to add driver’s license and identity card to the Wallet application.
Tags to categorize notes
Ability to add Google Keep-like tags to easily categorize notes.
Interactive view for Apple Maps
New 3D design for Apple maps so users can better see details like turn lanes and medians.
Redesigned weather app
New background animations and new higher resolution map modules
iOS 15 Ability to choose between software versions
Ability to choose between two different software update versions. For example, you can upgrade to the latest version of iOS 15 for the latest features, or continue using iOS 14 and still receive important security updates.
iOS 15 Privacy
App privacy report showing what data apps have accessed in the last seven days.
Mail Privacy Protection feature that prevents mail senders from learning whether a mail has been opened and prevents senders from learning the location of users or creating a profile of the user based on their IP address.
11. Apple iOS 15 Upgraded network on 5G
More application and framework encounters are upgraded by quicker 5G network, including backing to rear up to iCloud and reestablish from an iCloud reinforcement, transfer sound and video on Apple and third‑party applications, download higher‑quality Apple TV+ content, sync photographs to iCloud Photographs, download Apple News+ magazine issues for disconnected perusing, and download AI models.16
12. Apple iOS 15 Declare Messages in CarPlay
Siri can declare approaching messages in CarPlay. You can turn declarations on or off when a message is perused and Siri will recall your inclination. Or on the other hand, you can set declarations off or consistently on through Settings.
iPhone clients will get iOS 15 updates today: Full rundown of viable iPhones, new features.
Close by iOS 15, Apple will likewise be dispatching the iPadOS 15 programming update. (AP)
Close by iOS 15 update for iPhone clients, Apple will likewise be dispatching the iPadOS 15 programming update
Tech monster Apple is good to go to deliver the most recent form of its working framework, iOS 15, today. iPhone clients will actually want to refresh to iOS 15 from today. The organization initially divulged iOS 15 recently at its Worldwide Developers Conference. “iOS 15 brings astonishing new provisions that assist you with interfacing, center, investigate and do significantly more with iPhone,” Apple referenced on its site.
As of late, the tech monster had delivered a basic programming patch to fix a security weakness that specialists say could permit programmers to straightforwardly taint iPhones and other Apple gadgets with no association of the proprietor. In this way, that load of iPhone clients who have still not refreshed their gadget with iOS 14.8, ought to do at the soonest.


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‘Made in India’ Mercedes-Benz GLC launches at Rs 47.90 lakh
Making it’s debut just four months back in India, German car maker Mercedes-Benz announced the launch of its locally made GLC on Thursday. With this launch, India is now the only country outside the US to locally produce the SUV.
Making its debut just four months back in India, German car maker Mercedes-Benz announced the launch of its locally made GLC on Thursday. With this launch, India is now the only country outside the US to locally produce the SUV.
Speaking at the launch, Roland Folger, Managing Director and CEO, Mercedes-Benz India, said that the company has India on its priority. He also emphasised the momentum that the brand has seen in the country in the last decade. "We began local production of our cars in 1995 with the E-Class. From then on, it has been a wonderful journey for us and I can proudly say that our cars produced here give us immense satisfaction. Localisation has helped us in cutting costs and has helped us in cutting costs and deliver on boosting local resources. We now have nine models which have been produced from our plant here in Pune,"
The new locally-made GLC will be available in three variants: GLC 220d 4MATIC Style – priced at Rs 47.90 lakh, GLC 220d 4MATIC Sport – priced at Rs 51.5 lakh and the GLC 300 4MATIC Sport at Rs 51.9 lakh.
The GLC features permanent 4MATIC all-wheel drive and a Dynamic Select Controller with five driving modes – Comfort, Eco, Sport+ and Individual. It also features the lightest body-shell in its segment and is 80kg lighter than its global predecessor, the GLK Class. With the GLC, Mercedes-Benz now has nine products rolling out from its plant in Chakan located on the outskirts of Pune.
Grand Theft Auto 6: Rockstar Games drops major update on GTA 6, here’s what it will cost
Rockstar Games' parent organisation Take-Two Interactive may have accidentally revealed when the next Grand Theft Auto game is going to release. The GTA6 is set for a 2024 launch and will be the most expensive GTA game ever, costing between $80-100.
Bengaluru auto driver knocks down techie for refusing to pay high fare and opting for Rapido bike
The footage shows that the software engineer tried to speak to the auto driver for a few minutes. Later, the auto driver all of a sudden hit the techie with his vehicle and ran away
Paw-dorable video of dog sitting on auto driver's lap goes viral
Bangalore is infamous for its traffic trails and long queues. During one such traffic queues, a woman captured a short clip of a dog relaxing on an auto driver’s lap. The clip gained views after it went viral on the Internet.


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Start Licensing’s Ian Downes is reminded this week of the buoyant wall art category w
How is business continuing for the industry now working from home is the new norm
Colour It! Aardman: Get Crafty magazine marks the first time all the company’s characters w
Start Licensing’s Ian Downes on how licensing can come alive at retail in the l
Start Licensing’s Ian Downes takes a trip to Autumn Fair at Birmingham’s NEC this week.
Including Rocket Licensing, Penguin Kids and Joester Loria Group leading industry tributes to Eric Ca
“We are constantly recruiting new generations of fans.”
Start Licensing’s Ian Downes picks his six of the best from this week’s show.
Start Licensing’s Ian Downes gets some green fingered licensing tips at Glee.


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Manish Dugar quits InMobi to join healthcare services provider Practo
The exit of Dugar is a reflection of the mobile advertising network's struggle to survive fierce competition from the likes of Google and Facebook.
BENGALURU: Manish Dugar, chief financial officer at mobile ad network InMobi, has quit the startup to join Bengaluru-based healthcare services provider Practo Technologies, several people familiar with the development told ET.
The exit of Dugar is a reflection of the mobile advertising network's struggle to survive fierce competition from the likes of Google and Facebook. According to these people, InMobi has lost some of its key mid management talent over the past six months, with Dugar being one of the more prominent high profile exits.
While Inmobi confirmed that Dugar has quit the company, Practo declined to confirm the move. When contacted, Dugar confirmed his move to Practo.
Dugar’s exit and shift to another fast growing startup is another example of growth hungry technology companies raiding peers, consultancies, startups and consumer goods companies for strategy experts as they build a strong operations team and scale faster.
In August, Practo raised $90 million from a clutch of investors led by China’s Tencent with the participation of Belgian venture capital firm Sofina, Sequoia Capital Global Equities, Google Capital, and Yuri Milner, founder of Russian venture capital firm DST Global.
Inmobi, on the other hand, last raised $200 million in 2011 from Japan's SoftBank, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and Ram Shriram's Sherpalo Ventures. At that time, it was India’s first “unicorn” to hit a valuation of $1 billion.
Inmobi’s latest product offering Miip, which was launched last year, and aimed at showing users contextual advertisements with the option to buy right from the advertisement has also not got the desired traction from stakeholders, putting the company under immense pressure to cut costs and figure out a new plan of action, said people aware of the situation.
Dugar joined InMobi in 2013 from RPG Enterprises, an Indian industrial conglomerate, where he served as group chief financial officer. Prior to that, he was the chief executive of the BPO business (globally) at Wipro Technologies, a company where he served in various senior roles over a span of 10 years. Earlier, he worked at companies such as Reckitt Benckiser, Coca Cola India, Marico and Larsen & Toubro. Dugar holds an MBA degree from IIM, Calcutta.


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Google allowed herself to remove applications from smartphones and tablets Android-users
Google has made changes to the “Agreement on Google Play distributing software products.” Under the new rules, the company has the right to remotely remove mobile applications with the smartphone and tablet users.
“If your product contains elements that can cause serious harm user devices or personal data, Google has the discretion to disable or remove the product from the device on which it was installed,” – quoted Roem new rules Google.
Creators paid applications are required to provide support to users and respond to their requests within three days. If Google decides treatment urgent need to provide assistance for 24 hours. For failure to comply with this rule, applications can reduce the rating to return payments or exclude from Google Play.
Google also took off part of the obligations to inform the development of future changes in the agreement Google Play on the distribution of software products.
Google has changed the rules after the recent Google Play incident Secret Annex in Brazil. According to the court, Apple and Google obliged not only to remove the messenger of their stores App Store and Google Play, but also remotely wipe their smartphones with users.
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Home Judiciary Committee chair Jim Jordan on Wednesday issued subpoenas to prime executives on the greatest tech companies as Republicans on the committee categorical considerations over restrictions of customers’ speech.
The subpoena letters demand that Google CEO Sundar Pichai, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy, Apple CEO Tim Cook dinner, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella flip over all paperwork the committee is requesting by March 23. Jordan and different Home Republicans wish to analyze communications between the Biden administration and the highest tech corporations to find out whether or not they censored legit speech, significantly on topics like COVID-19 coverage.
CBS Information has reviewed copies of the subpoenas, which demand communications between or amongst every firm and the manager department “referring or referring to the moderation, deletion, suppression, restriction, or lowered circulation of content material,” in addition to paperwork associated to these subjects.
“To develop efficient laws, such because the potential enactment of recent statutory limits on the manager department’s capacity to work with large tech to limit the circulation of content material and deplatform customers, the Committee on the Judiciary should first perceive how and to what extent the manager department coerced and colluded with corporations and different intermediaries to censor speech,” mentioned the letters from Jordan to the CEOs.
Home Republicans have tried repeatedly to glean the data they’re requesting since earlier than they took management of the Home, and the subpoena energy that comes with it. Jordan would not consider the businesses have sufficiently complied with their requests.
“We have now began producing paperwork, are engaged with the committee, and dedicated to working in good religion,” a Microsoft spokesperson informed CBS Information on Wednesday.
Meta had an identical response.
“We have now already begun producing paperwork in response to the committee’s requests and can proceed to take action shifting ahead,” a spokesperson for Meta mentioned.
Jordan grew to become chairman of the committee final month, and has made policing large tech companies’ censorship practices a prime precedence.
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The leaked images of the Vivo X Fold+ have given new hints about the design and specifications of the upcoming phone. The Vivo X Fold+ was reportedly spotted on the TENAA certification database earlier this week with a 4600mAh dual-cell battery. The latest images give us a detailed look at Vivo’s upcoming foldable smartphone. The phone is expected to be introduced in China soon. The Vivo X Fold+ phone is said to support multiple 5G bands and can run Funtouch OS 12 based on Android 12 out of the box.
A recent leak of whistleblower Mukul Sharma (Twitter: @stufflistings) via Twitter gives us detailed view in Vivo’s upcoming foldable smartphone. The Vivo X Fold+ may come with a camera island on the back that houses a circular camera module. The Zeiss logo is displayed in the upper right corner of the smartphone. Meanwhile, an LED flash is displayed in the lower right corner of the island.
In addition, there is a vertical strip with the Vivo logo on the back of the Vivo X Fold+. On the sides there is an alert slider, a power button and a volume rocker. A hole-punch cutout aligned in the center can be seen on the right side of the future smartphone. The curved lid screen on the outside also has another hole punch cutout.
As previously mentioned, the Vivo X Fold+ was reportedly spotted on the TENAA certification database with a 4600mAh dual-cell battery earlier this week. The foldable phone is rumored to be introduced in China soon. It is said to support multiple 5G bands and can run Android 12 based Funtouch OS 12 out of the box.
Vivo X Fold+ was also recently spotted on the list of Google Play supported devices. The phone is said to have quad rear cameras with LED flash. It will reportedly be powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 SoC.


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In the last big rollout before the holidays, publishers have pushed out a ton of new drink books.
So, so many drink books are coming out this fall. Here are the latest covering everything from Hollywood to Cuba to Manhattan to Paris; a photo book on bourbon and a scratch and sniff guide to the same; Prohibition liquor and two books on cocktails of the silver screen.
A post-WWII quote reminds me of drinking in 2005.
Twelve new books out on beer, vermouth, bourbon, modern and mob-related history, gin, and jars.
I'll be a panelist at an event at the National Archives in Washington, DC. You know, the place where they keep the Declaration of Independence? That place. No big deal.
A ton of information about the history of vermouth (both sweet and dry kind of come from the same place) and its legal definitions in the European Union.
Notes from a talk about the History of Australian Bartending.
Here are a whole bunch of new drinking books already on shelves or available for pre-order online.


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|By Business Wire||
|November 7, 2012 07:22 AM EST||
SPIRIT DSP, the world's #1 voice and video over IP engines provider serving more than 1 billion users in 100+ countries, has announced today that Korean service provider, LG U+, a subsidiary of LG Group, has selected SPIRIT’s TeamSpirit® Voice&Video Engine Mobile to power a new video calling service. LG U+ is the third largest carrier in South Korea.
The new LG U+ service enables subscribers to make voice and video calls using Samsung Galaxy Player. LG U+ offers its subscribers media players with special preinstalled application. It includes a telephone number that allows Samsung Galaxy Player users to throw their landline phones overboard. Calls between Galaxy Players are free, and LG U+ expects the main source of revenue will be calls between Galaxy Player and mobile and landline phones. Video calls from media player to another Galaxy Player or cell phones are powered by TeamSpirit Voice & Video Engine Mobile, which allows LG U+ to provide crystal-clear HD video quality. The new service based on Samsung Galaxy Player has become popular among LG U+ subscribers. SPIRIT experts expect that LG U+, which serves millions of landline phone users, will soon have 500,000 subscribers of its new service.
"LG U+, with its core approach of differentiation in technology innovative, is a long-standing SPIRIT customer who has come to rely on our technology to provide high quality VVoIP services to its subscribers,” said SPIRIT's VP Alex Kravchenko. “This well-timed launch of this new service will help LG U+ bring in new subscribers and avoid loss of revenue resulting from subscribers switching to OTT providers like Skype and Google. We’re pleased that SPIRIT products allow our operator customers to offer competitive solutions and hold their leadership positions in this rapidly changing telecommunications market.”
LG U+ already uses SPIRIT's TeamSpirit Voice&Video Engine to provide top quality voice and video communication in its U+070 Mobile service. SPIRIT engine technology can also be found in many other VVoIP services and VVoIP-enabled devices in the Korean market, which is known for pioneering breakthrough innovation in IP communications. SPIRIT software is used by Korea Telecom, KT Tech, Acromate, iRiver, Samsung, LG-Dacom, Seoul Commtech, Hyundai, LIG Nex1, Core Logic etc.
TeamSpirit Voice&Video Engine is compatible with RCS-e and VoLTE specifications. It includes resource-efficient voice and video codecs, echo and noise suppression, advanced tools for stream protection and adaptation to changes in network, execution and physical environments. Apart from standard IMS codecs, SPIRIT offers industry leading IP-MR™ (IETF RFC 6262) adaptive and error-resilient HD voice coding technology that has been selected by Tier1 service providers to deliver HD voice communications to dozens of millions of users of their mobile VVoIP services.
About LG U+
The three LG Telecommunication companies make a new start under the name "LG U+". The company was founded on the back of the successful commercialization of the world's first CDMA technology in July 1996. Since beginning the PCS service around the country in October 1997, the company has continued to grow together with the customers and today, LG Telecom, LG Dacom, and LG Powercom have combined to make a new start as LG U+.
SPIRIT DSP is the world's #1 voice and video over IP engines provider, serving more VoIP users than Skype. SPIRIT's innovative carrier-grade voice and video software platform allows carriers, OEMs and software developers to deliver superior quality and integrated VVoIP services for telcos, cable and mobile service providers, enterprises, internet portals and social networks. SPIRIT software platforms serve more than 1 billion users in over 100 countries, powering popular products from Apple, Adobe, ARM, AT&T, Avaya, Blizzard, BT, China Mobile, Cisco, Dialogic, Ericsson, HP, HTC, Huawei, KT, Kyocera, LG U+, Microsoft, NEC, Oracle, Polycom, Samsung, Skype, Texas Instruments, Toshiba, Viber, ZTE, among 250+ others. SPIRIT's direct OEM customers jointly exceed 60 percent of the global smartphone market share. VideoMost.com is the SPIRIT multi-point video-web-conferencing software, competing against US-based Vidyo. For more information, visit www.spiritdsp.com.
TeamSpirit is a registered trademark and IP-MR is a trademark of SPIRIT DSP. All other marks are the property of their respective owners.
Cognitive Computing is becoming the foundation for a new generation of solutions that have the potential to transform business. Unlike traditional approaches to building solutions, a cognitive computing approach allows the data to help determine the way applications are designed. This contrasts with conventional software development that begins with defining logic based on the current way a business operates. In her session at 18th Cloud Expo, Judith S. Hurwitz, President and CEO of Hurwitz & ...
Oct. 23, 2016 02:00 PM EDT Reads: 4,422
Major trends and emerging technologies – from virtual reality and IoT, to Big Data and algorithms – are helping organizations innovate in the digital era. However, to create real business value, IT must think beyond the ‘what’ of digital transformation to the ‘how’ to harness emerging trends, innovation and disruption. Architecture is the key that underpins and ties all these efforts together. In the digital age, it’s important to invest in architecture, extend the enterprise footprint to the cl...
Oct. 23, 2016 01:00 PM EDT Reads: 1,773
SYS-CON Events announced today that MathFreeOn will exhibit at the 19th International Cloud Expo, which will take place on November 1–3, 2016, at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, CA. MathFreeOn is Software as a Service (SaaS) used in Engineering and Math education. Write scripts and solve math problems online. MathFreeOn provides online courses for beginners or amateurs who have difficulties in writing scripts. In accordance with various mathematical topics, there are more tha...
Oct. 23, 2016 12:45 PM EDT Reads: 965
The best way to leverage your Cloud Expo presence as a sponsor and exhibitor is to plan your news announcements around our events. The press covering Cloud Expo and @ThingsExpo will have access to these releases and will amplify your news announcements. More than two dozen Cloud companies either set deals at our shows or have announced their mergers and acquisitions at Cloud Expo. Product announcements during our show provide your company with the most reach through our targeted audiences.
Oct. 23, 2016 12:30 PM EDT Reads: 4,486
@ThingsExpo has been named the Top 5 Most Influential Internet of Things Brand by Onalytica in the ‘The Internet of Things Landscape 2015: Top 100 Individuals and Brands.' Onalytica analyzed Twitter conversations around the #IoT debate to uncover the most influential brands and individuals driving the conversation. Onalytica captured data from 56,224 users. The PageRank based methodology they use to extract influencers on a particular topic (tweets mentioning #InternetofThings or #IoT in this ...
Oct. 23, 2016 12:00 PM EDT Reads: 8,341
@ThingsExpo has been named the Top 5 Most Influential M2M Brand by Onalytica in the ‘Machine to Machine: Top 100 Influencers and Brands.' Onalytica analyzed the online debate on M2M by looking at over 85,000 tweets to provide the most influential individuals and brands that drive the discussion. According to Onalytica the "analysis showed a very engaged community with a lot of interactive tweets. The M2M discussion seems to be more fragmented and driven by some of the major brands present in the...
Oct. 23, 2016 11:30 AM EDT Reads: 11,317
In the next forty months – just over three years – businesses will undergo extraordinary changes. The exponential growth of digitization and machine learning will see a step function change in how businesses create value, satisfy customers, and outperform their competition. In the next forty months companies will take the actions that will see them get to the next level of the game called Capitalism. Or they won’t – game over. The winners of today and tomorrow think differently, follow different...
Oct. 23, 2016 11:00 AM EDT Reads: 933
In an era of historic innovation fueled by unprecedented access to data and technology, the low cost and risk of entering new markets has leveled the playing field for business. Today, any ambitious innovator can easily introduce a new application or product that can reinvent business models and transform the client experience. In their Day 2 Keynote at 19th Cloud Expo, Mercer Rowe, IBM Vice President of Strategic Alliances, and Raejeanne Skillern, Intel Vice President of Data Center Group and ...
Oct. 23, 2016 10:30 AM EDT Reads: 1,455
Virgil consists of an open-source encryption library, which implements Cryptographic Message Syntax (CMS) and Elliptic Curve Integrated Encryption Scheme (ECIES) (including RSA schema), a Key Management API, and a cloud-based Key Management Service (Virgil Keys). The Virgil Keys Service consists of a public key service and a private key escrow service.
Oct. 23, 2016 09:45 AM EDT Reads: 1,021
The Internet of Things (IoT), in all its myriad manifestations, has great potential. Much of that potential comes from the evolving data management and analytic (DMA) technologies and processes that allow us to gain insight from all of the IoT data that can be generated and gathered. This potential may never be met as those data sets are tied to specific industry verticals and single markets, with no clear way to use IoT data and sensor analytics to fulfill the hype being given the IoT today.
Oct. 23, 2016 09:45 AM EDT Reads: 2,505
More and more brands have jumped on the IoT bandwagon. We have an excess of wearables – activity trackers, smartwatches, smart glasses and sneakers, and more that track seemingly endless datapoints. However, most consumers have no idea what “IoT” means. Creating more wearables that track data shouldn't be the aim of brands; delivering meaningful, tangible relevance to their users should be. We're in a period in which the IoT pendulum is still swinging. Initially, it swung toward "smart for smar...
Oct. 23, 2016 09:45 AM EDT Reads: 791
Data is the fuel that drives the machine learning algorithmic engines and ultimately provides the business value. In his session at Cloud Expo, Ed Featherston, a director and senior enterprise architect at Collaborative Consulting, will discuss the key considerations around quality, volume, timeliness, and pedigree that must be dealt with in order to properly fuel that engine.
Oct. 23, 2016 09:30 AM EDT Reads: 3,823
What happens when the different parts of a vehicle become smarter than the vehicle itself? As we move toward the era of smart everything, hundreds of entities in a vehicle that communicate with each other, the vehicle and external systems create a need for identity orchestration so that all entities work as a conglomerate. Much like an orchestra without a conductor, without the ability to secure, control, and connect the link between a vehicle’s head unit, devices, and systems and to manage the ...
Oct. 23, 2016 08:30 AM EDT Reads: 1,342
Machine Learning helps make complex systems more efficient. By applying advanced Machine Learning techniques such as Cognitive Fingerprinting, wind project operators can utilize these tools to learn from collected data, detect regular patterns, and optimize their own operations. In his session at 18th Cloud Expo, Stuart Gillen, Director of Business Development at SparkCognition, discussed how research has demonstrated the value of Machine Learning in delivering next generation analytics to impr...
Oct. 23, 2016 08:00 AM EDT Reads: 5,687
For basic one-to-one voice or video calling solutions, WebRTC has proven to be a very powerful technology. Although WebRTC’s core functionality is to provide secure, real-time p2p media streaming, leveraging native platform features and server-side components brings up new communication capabilities for web and native mobile applications, allowing for advanced multi-user use cases such as video broadcasting, conferencing, and media recording.
Oct. 23, 2016 07:00 AM EDT Reads: 4,110
Amazon has gradually rolled out parts of its IoT offerings, but these are just the tip of the iceberg. In addition to optimizing their backend AWS offerings, Amazon is laying the ground work to be a major force in IoT - especially in the connected home and office. In his session at @ThingsExpo, Chris Kocher, founder and managing director of Grey Heron, explained how Amazon is extending its reach to become a major force in IoT by building on its dominant cloud IoT platform, its Dash Button strat...
Oct. 23, 2016 06:30 AM EDT Reads: 4,753
SYS-CON Events announced today that SoftNet Solutions will exhibit at the 19th International Cloud Expo, which will take place on November 1–3, 2016, at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, CA. SoftNet Solutions specializes in Enterprise Solutions for Hadoop and Big Data. It offers customers the most open, robust, and value-conscious portfolio of solutions, services, and tools for the shortest route to success with Big Data. The unique differentiator is the ability to architect and ...
Oct. 23, 2016 06:00 AM EDT Reads: 713
A critical component of any IoT project is what to do with all the data being generated. This data needs to be captured, processed, structured, and stored in a way to facilitate different kinds of queries. Traditional data warehouse and analytical systems are mature technologies that can be used to handle certain kinds of queries, but they are not always well suited to many problems, particularly when there is a need for real-time insights.
Oct. 23, 2016 05:30 AM EDT Reads: 3,930
DevOps is being widely accepted (if not fully adopted) as essential in enterprise IT. But as Enterprise DevOps gains maturity, expands scope, and increases velocity, the need for data-driven decisions across teams becomes more acute. DevOps teams in any modern business must wrangle the ‘digital exhaust’ from the delivery toolchain, "pervasive" and "cognitive" computing, APIs and services, mobile devices and applications, the Internet of Things, and now even blockchain. In this power panel at @...
Oct. 23, 2016 05:15 AM EDT Reads: 1,846
One of biggest questions about Big Data is “How do we harness all that information for business use quickly and effectively?” Geographic Information Systems (GIS) or spatial technology is about more than making maps, but adding critical context and meaning to data of all types, coming from all different channels – even sensors. In his session at @ThingsExpo, William (Bill) Meehan, director of utility solutions for Esri, will take a closer look at the current state of spatial technology and ar...
Oct. 23, 2016 03:45 AM EDT Reads: 1,704


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The privately held Canadian media company Stingray Digital Group just announced a strategic partnership with Singapore-based media company Multi Channels Asia.
The pact will give the Canadian music provider an expanded foothold in the Asian region in exchange for growth capital over a multi-year term.
“We are proud to partner with Multi Channels Asia,” said Eric Boyko, President, co-founder and CEO of Stingray.
“We have had the pleasure of working with them over the past year and the experience has confirmed that MCA is at the top of its field with a comprehensive product portfolio and expert knowledge of regional and local television ecosystems. We believe that MCA is a perfect fit for our expansion plans in Asia. This alliance opens up exciting opportunities for Stingray to rapidly reach new markets.”
Gregg Creevey, Managing Director, Multi Channels Asia said:
“We are delighted to partner with Stingray Digital. They are a great partner for us since their exciting digital music portfolio has massive appeal and complements our existing line-up of channels and digital properties. Thanks to the terrific technology underpinning their products, their relationships within the industry and their digital know-how, we are looking to quickly expand MCA’s digital-first initiatives region-wide.”
Stingray plans on opening an office in Singapore to learn more about the market, which has approximately 500 million TV subscribers.
The partnership represents the latest move global move for the company. Stingray is a leading business-to-business multi-platform music and in-store media solutions provider operating on a global scale, reaching an estimated 135 million Pay-TV subscribers (or households) in 127 countries.
Multi Channels Asia (MCA) is a Singapore-based media company, which owns, represents and distributes a number of thematic Pay TV networks serving Asia and the Pacific.


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Adding to the long list of recent fashion label controversies, megabrand Dior has been accused of cultural appropriation (again) for their use of Native American imagery in advertisements promoting the new Sauvage fragrance.
It’s been a big year for scandals in the fashion industry. From the many woes of Victoria’s Secret to Versace’s recent angering of China, 2019 is shaping up to be a doozy for fashion PR. The latest controversy involves Dior’s fragrance Sauvage and their use of Native American imagery. And their use of the term “oriental” in the product’s description compounds the problem.
To start off, the promotional video for Sauvage Parfum features the brand’s spokesperson Johnny Depp, who has been a problematic face for the brand after he was accused of domestic violence by ex-wife Amber Heard. Dior’s continued use of him as their spokesperson has been a subject of heated discussion even before this latest row.
The new Sauvage fragrance called We are the Land is marketed as: “an authentic journey deep into the Native American soul in a sacred, founding and secular territory”.
Depp was adopted into the Comanche Nation before he played Tonto in The Lone Ranger back in 2012. However, some have questioned his true connection to Native American culture.
— MadDepphead (@maddepphead) August 28, 2019
It seems pretty distasteful for a huge, French multinational luxury brand to be making money off the cultural imagery of a persecuted group. This is particularly jarring when acknowledging that the perfume’s name “Sauvage” translates literally to “savage”, “wild” or “heathen”. Its clear to see why Native Americans might find this association offensive.
Dior describes the fragrance as, “a new, highly concentrated interpretation of Sauvage, melding extreme freshness with warm oriental tones and wild beauty that comes to life on the skin.”
Journalist Jeff Yang pointed out in a series of tweets that while “oriental” is commonly used as a name in scent making,
“the continued association of “oriental” sensory aesthetics with wildness, otherness, savagery and the alien exotic is, itself, rife with problems.”
Dior has responded to the controversy with a press release from Indigenous advocacy organisation Americans for Indian Opportunity (AIO), stating that the brand conducted research with the organisation before beginning the campaign. Dior reportedly made sure that the dancer in the film, Canku Thomas One Star, has proven ties to Native American heritage.
Where the issues lie, however, are with the way in which the product is being marketed. The language used in the advertising for the perfume, from the title of the product to its descriptions and blurbs on social media posts, reeks of colonial fetishisation of Indigenous peoples.
In an Instagram post for the product, Dior captioned an image of Johnny Depp sitting beside a fire,
“Even wilder than before, Johnny Depp is at one with nature, reconnecting with a land where boundaries are made to be pushed.”
Clearly the brand is evoking negative well-worn stereotypes of Native American “wildness” in its marketing.
All of this comes after consumers accused Dior of cultural appropriation last year. In 2018 the brand cast known white person Jennifer Lawrence in a campaign that supposedly celebrated Mexican culture. Yikes.
Check out what Twitter users had to say about this latest controversy:
I cannot with @Dior exploiting native culture for their fragrance #sauvage… and yes that’s SAVAGE! What the FUCK?!? Y’all are disgusting! You mean to tell me that NOT ONE person in your company saw this as an issue through the tiresome ideation process?!?
— Shuga Cain (@MissShugaCain) August 30, 2019
#Dior is using a Native American dancing in traditional regalia to promote their "Sauvage" cologne. It's 2019.
We must ask ourselves. Why are there still so many ads using Anti-Native Slurs and exploiting Native Americans? pic.twitter.com/7XPOihVUa9
— Lucas Brown Eyes (@LucasBrownEyes) August 30, 2019
White ppl need to understand that it doesn’t matter if Native Americans participated in the ad. Dior is using our culture next to the word sauvage, profiting on our people and I guarantee you not a dime is going to us.
— BLM (@guccirights) August 31, 2019
"unspoiled expanses of wilderness"
$150 of parfum to smell like a settler asshole pic.twitter.com/wyx6bTrgqv
— حفظ المراتع (@PasturesPolitic) August 30, 2019
— ijotiKak (@ijotiKak) August 31, 2019
SInce the online backlash, Dior has pulled the campaign.
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Most of the iPhone controller hacks I’ve seen tend to use the accelerometer along with on on-board camera. Walky is a bipedal walking robot that’s controlled using a natural gestural interface. [via GeekyGadgets]
Yuta Sugiura and his colleagues at the Graduate School of Media Design, Keio University, have developed a new control scheme for robots and virtual characters called Walky for the iPhone. Rather than using a cumbersome game controller or keyboard, which may pose a problem for novice users, they can use Walky to control walking, turning, jumping, kicking, and other actions through simple finger gestures on the iPhone’s touch screen.


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Yamaha Motor Pakistan had launched its YB125Z DX couple of years back. It was launched as a more premium variant over the common YB125Z. The company was initially hoping to increase the sales of DX variant and discontinue the spoke rims based YB125Z. Recently Yamaha had launched its YBR125 in new color scheme. The new variants of other models are also due. The 2024 Yamaha YB125Z DX leaked images are being shared and that’s probably going to be the new graphic.
Though its not official but as per previously leaked images, this can be the 2024 Yamaha YB125Z DX. The modern minimalistic look is being followed by the companies, Yamaha YB125Z DX is also coming up with a minamilistic strobe design. The gold leaf pin striping styled graphics are looking sober but its too much empty space and Pakistani’s do not like minimilistic graphics.
Yamaha has officially revealed that the price of the Yamaha YB125Z-DX model has increased. With effect from November 23, 2023, the new price is Rs. 440,500, an increase of Rs. 17,000 over the previous price of Rs. 423,500. Insider sources indicate that this raise is being made in anticipation of a new “model,” which is simply a new sticker design for the Yamaha 125Z-DX, even though the official notification did not state why it was made.
Yamaha Motor Pakistan has been on a different path from its launch, introducing return shift variants and much more against the norms.This has costed the company a lot in terms of sales. Company could have achieved more sales as compared to its competition. The increasing motorcycle prices , failing quality and minimalistic changes are not appreciated by the end consumers at all.
The current graphic on Yamaha YB125Z (the previous variant) seems more bold and stylish as compared to this new one. However a new graphic is considered new variant.


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Marissa Mayer’s increasing campaign to strengthen Yahoo’s presence on mobile technology continues with the acquisition of messaging app Blink.
The app, a rival to Snapchat and Telegram, enables users to exchange messages, record audio, send doodles and photos, and make videos to send to friends. All messages are encrypted for privacy and users are identified only by a Blink ID. Users of Blink can send ‘self destruct’ messages and control the amount of time recipients have to view the content.
It has not been disclosed how much Yahoo paid for Blink. The app will be closing down on both iOS and Android platforms in the next few weeks, so that Blink’s team can concentrate on working for Yahoo’s “smart communication” products.
Since Mayer became Chief Executive Officer at Yahoo the company has focused their attention on their mobile products, acquiring several small mobile start-ups. Yahoo’s aim is to build its online services on its tablets and smartphones. The company counts 430 million monthly users of its mobile products, while the number of online video streams consumers watched increased by 30% from the fourth quarter.
Blink announced the news on their website, saying they “look forward to the possibilities that will come from bringing the Blink vision to Yahoo.”
“We built Blink because we believe everyone should be free to show the same honesty and spontaneity in their online conversations as they can in person.”
Messaging apps are becoming popular acquisitions for large internet companies. Earlier this year Facebook acquired WhatsApp for a whopping $19 billion. Yahoo is obviously keen to keep up with the trend.


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Consumer Reports: Seen on TV Exercisers
NEW YORK (WABC) -- If getting into shape is high on your list of New Year's resolutions (AGAIN!) and you're wondering if some infomercial exercise products can get you there, you're in luck! Consumer Reports just put three to the test.
Consumer Reports tested three infomercial products:Jay Glazer's Perfect Punch Rhythm Rocker by Kymaro The CoreBody Reformer for women. "We rounded up staffers to try out each product. We called on a fitness industry expert to evaluate each one. We even had our nutrition expert take a look at the diets that came with two of the products" said Kim Kleman, Consumer Reports' panelist. "Just glove up, strap in, and start punching!" The $30 Perfect Punch uses mixed martial arts techniques to get you in shape. But Consumer Reports found you can burn roughly the same amount of calories jogging 4.5 miles per hour for 16 minutes. And it was far from perfect. "It kept rubbing against my shoulder" said product tester Eugene Chin. Another tester Erin Gudeux said "one more time those bands come snapping up and hit me in the ears, I was going to rip it in half." Next up, the $99 Rhythm Rocker by Kymaro comes with several different workouts and a nutrition guide. Consumer Reports' panelists tried out the 11.5 minute dance blast video. Turns out you burn the equivalent of walking only 2 miles per hour on a treadmill. "As for the 7 day diet, it's pretty strict so you could probably lose weight, but our nutrition expert said it offered limited food options and no maintenance program" said Kim Kleman. And finally the $250 Nautilus CoreBody Reformer for women. It combines yoga, Pilates, and dance in one workout. Panelists found some of the balance exercise tricky but overall this machine did well in Consumer Reports tests. Kim Kleman said "the workouts are well-rounded, and if you're somewhat fit and are looking to improve your strength and flexibility, it might be one to consider." Consumer Reports says the CoreBody Reformer can also help you improve your balance. And another advantage is the diet. Consumer Reports says it's easy to follow, and you can lose a slow and steady one to two pounds a week.
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The biggest consumer electronics event of the year is around the corner, and by that we of course mean CES 2010. We'll all be there in Vegas scouting out the best of what's new, but you may find yourself asking: after Windows 7 and the launch of Core i7 laptops, what else is there to look forward to? Plenty, by our measure. Here are the trends we're expecting to see.
New Atom processors, new Netbooks
The star of the show will likely be Intel's new line of Atom processors for Netbooks. , these new CPUs will give the Netbooks platform a performance push, we hope, making these popular laptops even more ubiquitous. Currently, Netbooks are great for some tasks, but can be frustrating to use if you need them for all-around computing. Look for added graphics and HD video performance in particular.
On a related note, hardware manufacturers will continue to try to "upscale" Netbooks, by adding features such as discrete graphics, touch screens, and HD displays--all in an effort to move prices past the low-margin $299 mark. We'll see increased stratification in Netbooks--a category previously notable for its commodity nature.
Here come the Smartbooks
If you don't know the term already, get ready to know it, as this will be one of the hot product trends of 2010. Consider them toting smartphone-level processors and a pared-down OS. Small CPUs such as the Nvidia Tegra and the Qualcomm Snapdragon are what will power this next generation of devices, and almost none of them will have an operating system that will be Windows or Mac.
Expect to see most of these hybrid devices with 3G antennas, sold in cellphone stores, and subsidized by mobile phone providers, much like some Netbooks already are. Economic realities have pushed computer makers to favor value over flash in designing new systems, and at CES 2010, we're likely to see a bigger focus on Netbooks and other low-cost PCs over the extravagant showstoppers of previous years. Smartbooks could help define a new low-end pricing zone, but it remains to be seen whether they'll.
Seeing in 3D
Among the few high-end themes, look for greater integration of 3D technology. with Nvidia's 3D Vision technology built in, and other PC brands are sure to follow, even if these expensive machines remain more proof-of-concept than actual products consumers are likely to buy. While it's likely only a matter of time before many high-end gaming laptops with Nvidia GPUs have 3D capabilities built right in, will it be a feature you'll want to use? That all depends on the content that becomes available, and how well the mandatory 3D glasses fit on your face.
Google Chrome and other OS concepts
Windows 7's launch has come and gone, but still looms on the horizon. While a browser-based OS seems like an awkward fit for more full-powered notebooks, it could be ideal for the growing smartbook and tablet world. Which brings us to...
Rise of the tablets
As if and the Microsoft Courier project weren't already harbingers, we've seen the emergence of the (formerly CrunchPad), the , and many rumors of other devices including a Dell tablet/MID, all of which suggest a very tablet-focused CES. In fact, tablets could be the other side of smartbooks--keyboard-free devices with tiny processors that aim to do what smartphones like the iPhone already do, but on a larger scale. As an added bonus, tablets might be able to replicate or even subsume the widespread e-reader market.
The successor to the ubiquitous USB 2.0 format has data speeds that eclipse most other formats, making it a tempting all-in-one port solution in PCs of the future. That depends on manufacturers and peripherals coming to agreement, of course. USB 3.0 devices, such as external hard drives, are already hitting the market, and we can expect PCs to start throwing in 3.0 ports at CES.
So far, SSDs haven't taken over the hard drive market like they once were expected to, hampered mostly by price. This year could be the start of the shift, with affordable SSD conversion kits and external drives becoming more widely available.
Expanding the Core i7 family
earlier this year, and Intel added a midrange Core i5 variation for desktops. Intel is slated to add even more members of its Core i7 family for both laptops and desktops in Q1 2010. As it has in the past, we expect Intel will share information on its new CPUs at the show.


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As a reminder to kickstart the week, we wanted to make sure you all realized that OnePlus is going to unveil the OnePlus 2 tonight via streamed event that will also be done in VR through a companion Android app. But also, don’t forget that Motorola has goodies to unveil tomorrow morning.
Here are the details.
OnePlus 2 Event (Today)
Motorola Event (Tuesday, July 28)
- Live streamed event starts at 6AM Pacific (9AM Eastern).
- We will be on the scene with a liveblog and livestream as well.
- We are fully expecting to see the new Moto G (3rd gen). The new Moto X (3rd gen) could arrive as well, just don’t be shocked if it isn’t. Who knows about a new Moto 360 or new DROIDs.
- To read up on the latest of the new Moto X (3rd gen) hit up this link.
- To read up on the latest of the new Moto G (3rd gen) hit up this link.
Any last minute predictions?


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Supreme Court takes skeptical look at Aereo's copyright-free TV technology (Video)
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The future of television was on trial at the U.S. Supreme Court Tuesday, as broadcasters squared off against an upstart, Aereo, that allows users to watch television shows over the Internet.
Broadcasters accused Aereo of violating copyright law by streaming their content to thousands of customers without paying for it. If Aereo prevails, it's "a threat to broadcasting as we know it," said attorney Paul Clement, who argued the case for the television networks.
Aereo, however, contends its service doesn't constitute a public performance -- it's just providing individual antennas for people to use to watch whatever they want in their own homes. It's an extension, it argued, of consumers' right to get programming through remote-storage digital video recorders, a right upheld by the court in 2008 in a case involving Cablevision.
Some justices didn't seem to buy Aereo's argument -- they said it appeared the company's individual antenna technology was simply a way to skirt the law.
"You are the only player so far that pays no royalties whatsoever," said Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
Justices, however, also were concerned about what effect a ruling in this case could have on other technologies, such as cloud computing.
CCIA, a technology association that filed an amicus brief in favor of Aereo's position, said many cloud-based products operate similarly to Aereo.
"Many companies connect consumers to legal content stored on cloud servers on an ongoing basis," said CCIA President and CEO Ed Black.
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