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AVON, Connecticut — Black Friday marked the unofficial kick-off of the giving season for cities and towns across Connecticut. From donation boxes popping up at libraries, senior centers, and town halls in East Hartford to collections at firehouses in Southington. Municipalities across the state are taking up collections for families in need.
In Avon, police and fire joined forces outside Walmart Friday in the hopes of hooking Black Friday shoppers. Kids enjoyed exclusive access to the fire apparatus while police stuffed a cruiser.
“Every year I love to come out here and get these kids anything I can get them. That’s why I filled the entire carriage," said Donna Pritchard of Simsbury.
The unwrapped toys will go to Avon-based Gifts of Love where they will provide inventory for a Christmas shop.
“We take the toys, we give them out to Gifts of Love and they set up a Christmas store so the families can come in, they can pick out gifts for their kids just as if they were coming to a store but totally free of charge," said Officer Jason Reardon of the Avon Police Department.
“They usually go through their social workers, and they come in and they shop. We have a clothing area, a housewares area, and we have a food area. This past week they all got turkeys," said Pritchard, also a volunteer with Gifts of Love.
"You can’t help but feel good, especially when the little kids come up and they hand you their toys—even though we know mom and dad bought it," said Avon Fire Prevention Officer Dennis Bianchi.
Officials from Avon and Farmington will be back in front of the Avon Walmart on December 15th from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. to collect donations. People can also have toys mailed directly to the Avon Police Department at 60 West Main Street., Avon. Attention: Officer Reardon.
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The other day, I was speaking with the CEO of an emerging software company focused on the next generation of AI platforms. It is an exciting opportunity to upend the current batch of AI-based tools. I was confused when this CEO suddenly sent me a new positioning for his technology based on how it fits into the metaverse. I started thinking about this newest shiny object and what it means in the short term and long term. In fact, Wikipedia defines this as ‘Shiny Object Syndrome’: “A situation where people focus all [their] attention on something that is new, current or trendy, yet drop this as soon as something new takes its place.”
Clearly, Facebook (or, should I say, Meta) is grabbing onto this idea in hopes of changing the conversation about what its Metaverse platform can become. We are also seeing vendors like Microsoft jumping on the bandwagon, as well. While there is considerable skepticism regarding Facebook and its approach to the Metaverse, it is much more telling to see how Microsoft is positioning the Metaverse. Microsoft is using the Metaverse concept to enhance its Teams collaboration offering by “enhancing” the virtual experience. Microsoft is hoping that the Metaverse will allow it to monetize its acquisitions of Hololens and AltspaceVR. Can Microsoft expect customers to adapt avatars in meetings and create virtual spaces that transform the online experience? For both Facebook and Microsoft, there is no easy path to Metaverse revenue growth. The big question is: What can either company do to create a compelling offering that will entice customers to sign on?
I am reminded of Second Life, founded in 2003, which was also intended to allow teams to create virtual rooms and personal avatars. For a short while, Second Life had huge momentum in the market. Large businesses thought they could use Second Life as a training platform and as a way to hold large employee meetings online. While Second Life still exists as a company, it is now just a shadow of its initial promise. Wookey Search Technologies, the company that now owns Second Life, is hoping to capitalize on the emergence of the Metaverse to regain market momentum.
Clearly, there will be a market today for the Metaverse for gamers; I am skeptical, however, that the market has longevity as it is being positioned today. It isn’t surprising that venture capitalists are pouring millions into emerging companies that promise to create Metaverse platforms. Existing technology companies will begin to reposition their existing software and hardware as Metaverse platforms.
So, is there anything that is real here? Instead of talking about avatars and virtual worlds, what if we look at the potential of Web 3.0? Now the conversation gets a lot more interesting. The real innovation is the next generation of the distributed cloud that leverages edge computing based on a distributed ledger, such as blockchain. Combine this technology transition with the potential to update the customer experience, and there is revolution brewing. What do I mean? The distributed cloud provides faster and more reliable performance. Using the idea of a transformed user experience is precisely what is needed to support business outcomes. Imagine using a Metaverse-like experience to support drug discovery or to help teams navigate through complex data? Could the idea of a metaverse transform the user experience with applications that are otherwise overly complex to navigate? While these ideas aren’t as thrilling as creating avatars in space, the next-generation web experience could potentially transform computing as we know it.
Copyright (c) 2023. Techstrong Research, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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Researchers from the University of Strathclyde have created a disposable wristband that changes color when the wearer has been exposed to too much UV (ultra violet) light and acts as a warning signal to let people know when it’s time to get out of the sun.
Professor Andrew Mills and Dr Michael McFarlane from the University’s Department of Pure and Applied chemistry were responsible for creating the ingenious device which changes from yellow to pink as the risk of sunburn increases.
The wristband is such a useful invention that Swedish company Intellego Technologies has signed a deal with the University to commercialize the wristbands and they should be widely available by 2013.
The bands are even tailored to suit specific skin types, so that one worn by someone with fair skin and eyes would change color quicker than one being worn by someone with a darker natural coloring.
Because they bands only last a day, they are expected to cost less than 10p each so that people will be encouraged to wear one whenever they are exposed to long periods of sunshine.
They work via an acid-release agent which registers ultraviolet light and a dye which responds to PH levels in the indictor. Sunlight causes the agent to decompose, which in turn leads to the bracelet changing color.
Professor Andrew Mills and Dr Michael McFarlane have been taken on by Intellego Technologies as consultants. The Swedish entrepreneur Claes Lindahl, who started the firm said:
“We are very excited about the UV dosimeter technology and we look forward to developing it further and commercializing it…There is a substantial need out in the market for a functional UV dosimeter and we look forward to continuing the process.”
We have known for quite some time now that prolonged exposure to the sun can cause skin cancer, the most virulent strain being malignant melanoma. It is hoped that these bracelets will let people have fun in the sun, whilst at the same time protecting them from the dangers.
University of Strathclyde’s Commercialization manager Fiona Strang said:
“The sunburn monitor will make a significant contribution to public health as an affordable, fashionable device which enables people to enjoy the benefits of the sun while at the same time keeping them alert to the risks of over- exposure.”
(Via Daily Mail)


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HOOFDDORP, the Netherlands, Jun 2 (FAM) – CEVA Logistics, a leading supply chain management company, has appointed Ching Guo to the position of Senior Vice President Global Contract Logistics – Technology Operations and he will be based in Seattle, USA reporting to Chief Operating Officer Contract Logistics, Brett Bissell. 110 more words
Tags » Ceva
GCTL18.com – GREATER CHINA TRANSPORT LOGISTICS
MADRID, Spain, Dec 4 (GCTL18) – CEVA Logistics, a leading supply chain management companies, has appointed Oriol Bartol to the position of Director Contract Logistics for Iberia, also well as one of the company’s Board of Directors in the country. 163 more words
HOOFDDORP, the Netherlands, Nov 11 (GCTL18) – CEVA Holdings LLC, one of the world’s leading non-asset based supply chain management companies, reported Q3 revenue of $1.7 billion, a fall of 13.1% in the same quarter last year. 360 more words
SAO PAULO, Brazil, Oct 27 (GCTL18) – CEVA Logistics, a leading supply chain company, announced an exciting expansion into the beauty industry in Brazil with the signing of a new agreement with Sephora, a cosmetics retailer owned by LVMH, (Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton) the world’s leading luxury goods group. 231 more words
Willamette Valley Christian was awarded the OSAA Sportsmanship Award at it match Oct. 13 against Falls City and given a $1,000 check.
The award is based on behavior by students, coaches, administrators and fans at OSAA events. 332 more words


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Sales expected to begin this month.
The 2016 Mitsubishi Outlander (facelift) was unveiled to the world at the 2015 New York Auto Show, followed by a reveal in Brazil. Customer deliveries of the new Outlander is expected to start this month in the country, and will finally be available with a diesel variant, as listed by the official Mitsubishi website.
The new variant is powered by 2.2-liter turbo diesel producing 165 hp and 360 Nm of peak torque from 1,500-2,750 rpm. It is paired to a six speed automatic transmission INVECS-II and a full-time electronic 4WD system, enabling it to do 0-100 km/h in 10 seconds, before hitting a top speed of 190 km/h.
The petrol variants are a base 2.0L variant featuring a 2.0-liter engine with 160 hp and 197 Nm of torque, and two GT variants packing a 3.0-liter V6 delivering 240 hp and 304 Nm of torque. The 2.0L variant is paired to a CVT gearbox (which has been retuned for better acceleration), while the two GT variants are mated to a six-speed INVECS-II automatic transmission.
The new Outlander's exterior is more up market thanks to the new “Dynamic Shield” X-shaped front bumper, which is part of Mitsubishi's new design language. The front end gets a generous helping of chrome and gloss black plastic, as well as new Xenon headlamps with LED DRLs, complimenting the premium look. The rear of the 2016 Outlander gets larger taillight enclosures with LED elements, and a new bumper.
Inside, the steering wheel, interior trim, and the audio and navigation display have undergone a redesign. A new windshield, rear door glass and increased sound-deadening material make the cabin quieter, Mitsubishi claims. It comes equipped with a dual-zone HVAC system, heated front seats, steering-mounted paddle shifters, a Mitsubishi infotainment system with GPS navigation, support for Bluetooth pairing, and audio streaming.
Also See: Next Generation Mitsubishi Pajero (Montero) - Rendering
The 2.0L Mitsubishi Outlander is priced from BRL 114,990 (INR 23.03 lakhs), while the GT and GT Full Technology Pack cost BRL 141,990 (INR 28.44 lakhs) and BRL 151,990 (INR 30.44 lakhs). The 2.2-liter turbo diesel model will come with a price tag of BRL 173.990 (INR 34.85 lakhs).
[Image Source: Auto Segredos]


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Without a doubt, the past few weeks have been all about sugar. Both the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN) and Public Health England (PHE) have brought out instrumental documents which are set to shake up the lives of the food industry and consumers in equal measure.
In this issue we discuss these reports, along with some new products, which are taking the ‘health food’ market by storm.
SACN is an advisory committee of independent experts that provides advice to PHE as well as other government agencies and departments. Following seven years of work, their draft report on Carbohydrate and Health was released on Thursday 26th June. The report is now open for consultation until September, with the final report being published at the end of 2014/early 2015. Following official sign-off, the report then goes to PHE who will be able to put forward potential policy changes to UK health ministers.
Work by SACN into the effect of carbohydrates on health began long before the media frenzy on sugar but the report covers many of the aspects that have recently gained such huge media coverage. The key aims of the report were to:
1. Review the evidence on dietary carbohydrates and colorectal, cardio-metabolic and oral health
2. Review the definitions of carbohydrates in the diet
3. To review current Daily Reference Intakes (DRVs) for carbohydrates
Following a lengthy review of the evidence, collected from hundreds of systematic reviews, SACN has put forward the following suggestions:
1. The DRVs for total carbohydrates should be maintained at a population average of approximately 50% dietary energy.
2. The definition ’free sugars’ should be adopted in the UK and this should replace the currently used term of Non Milk Extrinsic Sugars (NMES). The definition of free sugars should be, “All mono and disaccharides added to foods by manufacturers, cooks or the consumer plus sugars naturally present in honey, syrups or fruit juices.” Milk sugar and sugars intrinsically present within fruit and vegetables DO NOT count.
3. The DRV for free sugars should be at a population average of approximately 5% dietary energy. This equates to around 25g of free sugars per day (or approximately one can of coke).
4. Consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages by children and adults should be minimised.
5. Fibre consumption should be increased from 24g to 30g per day.
These conclusions by SACN, although not final, have certainly caused shock throughout the food industry. Their fear will now turn to whether PHE act on these suggestions and advise ministers to make fundamental changes to key public health messages, such as altering the 5 A DAY criteria or adjusting the eatwell plate. Will tighter regulations be enforced to help the public meet this 25g per day target or will there be a call for a new Responsibility Deal pledge, focused specifically on sugar reduction? The answer to some of these questions is undoubtedly yes. With regards to voluntary pledges, let us not forget that the food industry are already awash with them via the Responsibility Deal— is there room, appetite or indeed need for a pledge specific to sugar reduction? Currently sugar reduction is addressed within the larger umbrella of the calorie reduction pledge, to which many companies are signed.
No amount of tighter regulation or changes to public health programmes will improve public health if consumers are firstly not educated on what is changing, and secondly, if they are not given the tools to make these informed decisions when they shop. For example, currently on food labels, total sugars but not free sugars are displayed, making it hard for consumers to assess how much free sugar they are actually eating. Also, whilst fibre can be voluntarily included on back of pack it does not need to be mandatorily provided and it cannot be provided on front of pack. This means that consumers unaware of which foods are rich sources of fibre will struggle to use food labels to help them pick higher fibre products.
This is a confusing and concerning time for certain sectors of the food industry and particularly some brands. However, the premise should be taken that things will change and the sooner brands are aware of and react to these changes, the sooner they will be able to satisfy both governmental and consumer needs.
PHE sugar reduction pledge
PHE is an operationally autonomous executive agency of the Department of Health who is currently putting together draft recommendations to help inform the government’s thinking on sugar in the diet. This work is being carried out in light of the SACN report on carbohydrates (please refer to story above).
The SACN report shows that high sugar diets not only lead to excess calorie consumption and therefore weight gain, but they also make it harder for individuals to control their energy intake.
It is perhaps worrying then, if not at all surprising, that intakes of sugar for all population groups exceeds current recommendations. The implication of this, in conjunction with other poor dietary decisions, is that diet and obesity related diseases, including cardiovascular diseases and some cancers cost the NHS at least £11 billion of tax payer’s money each year.
It is for these reasons that SACN, PHE and the government are working hard to review the evidence and, more importantly, look at how government, the food industry and consumers can work together to help reduce our overall sugar consumption to within reasonable limits.
To help the process, PHE has recently released a report titled: ‘Sugar reduction, responding to the challenge’. The document highlights the work currently being undertaken by PHE/government and the food industry as well as actions for the future to help reduce sugar intake, including:
1. Launching a digital marketing package to help families and individuals reduce their sugar intakes followed by a focused national behaviour change campaign on sugar reduction in January 2015.
2. A refresh of the 5 A DAY campaign, including reconsideration of advice on fruit juice and smoothies and an assessment of how the 5 A DAY message might apply to dishes such as ready meals.
3. Advising on any changes to nutritional messaging following the finalised advice from SACN on carbohydrates and health. This may involve changes to long established education tools such as the eatwell plate.
4. Evidence reviews and further analysis to allow in-depth consideration of possible key areas for future discussions. These include advertising of foods to children, taxation on sugar-sweetened drinks, the role of the food industry, food procurement across the public sector and education and training.
5. Supporting the Department of Health in its work with the food and drink industry.
These actions, if moved forward, would have serious implications for the food industry and consumers alike. However, such changes will be needed if consumers are to achieve the recommendation of limiting free sugars to no more than 5% of daily energy intake, as proposed by SACN.
Sugar quota restrictions set to lift
Last year it was announced that the European Union’s ‘Common Agricultural Policy’ (CAP) was in for a series of reforms.
Of particular relevance, in light of SACNs and PHEs reports, is the plan to lift sugar production quotas in 2017. Under the current system, production of sugar within the EU is restricted to 13.3 million tonnes a year. Lifting this quota will undoubtedly make sugar cheaper for food and drink manufacturers.
PHE, among others, has expressed concern about the change, saying that, “It may influence sugar intakes and public health”. This is of no surprise considering the amount of work that is currently being undertaken by PHE and SACN to review the impact of carbohydrates on health, along with the recent announcement recommending that daily sugar intakes should be reduced from current recommendations, in order to curb obesity rates and the rise of diet-related diseases.
The fear is that if sugar is made even cheaper, then manufacturers will have little incentive to reduce sugar levels within products, especially if reduction is only based on voluntary action (i.e. via the government’s Responsibility Deal pledges).
However, on the other side of the coin, the food and drink industry has insisted that the causes of obesity are, “far wider” than sugar. From a non-diet related perspective, Gavin Partington, Director General of the British Soft Drinks Association has said, “this is a great step forward for the competitiveness of the British manufacturing industry and the tens of thousands of jobs that it supports.”
This reform will certainly ensure that sugar remains front page news and highlights to us the competing priorities that exist between economy, industry and public health.
‘Superfoods’ used to push functional food sales
Increasingly, brands are using ‘superfoods’ to boost their products functional credentials with the aim of increasing sales.
For example, Tropicana has trialled an ‘energising’ juice with Guarana (an apparent ‘superfood’ that contains caffeine) whilst Innocent has launched a range of functional smoothies that contain an array of ingredients ranging from flax seeds to Echinacea.
How these products sit with the strict health claim rules of European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) is an interesting topic. Under the new rules, only 228 health claims have been approved and major brands such as Yakult and Actimel have had to change their whole brand positioning when EFSA did not authorise probiotics to be included in the approved list of health claims. Under current guidance the ‘superfoods’ term is not permitted under EU rules unless it is accompanied by an authorised health claim that explains to consumers why the product is good for their health.
This is an interesting if not rather muddy area and one where brands must tread carefully in order to remain within the regulatory framework protecting the use of nutrition and health claims.
Lentil-based bagged snacks from Burt’s
Consumer research shows a strong demand for healthy snacking alternatives that are tasty, satisfying and ‘different’. Achieving this is not an easy task, but premium crisp brand Burt’s has come up with a lentil-based bagged ‘crisp’, which seems to be hitting the spot. Each bag contains 99kcal (that magical one calorie off 100 has huge consumer sway) and is free from hydrogenated fat, colourings and preservatives.
New product developments within this emerging ‘healthy snacking sector’ are exciting but they do throw up the difficult balance of meeting consumer demand whilst not misleading them, through clever advertising, into buying products that may be healthier alternatives but are not entirely guilt free.
Interestingly however, Burt’s marketing director commented that, “Whilst 83% of consumers considered the health and nutritional content of food important, taste and quality remained most important for 96% of consumers”.
Protein drinks steal probiotic shelf space
Protein drinks are big business and the market area is booming, particularly with regards to ‘whey protein’ based products.
With sales on the up, retailers are quick off the mark to give their customers more of what they fancy. Indeed, Tesco has boosted the amount of space given to protein drinks in its ‘active health’ dairy section and perhaps somewhat controversially, reduced the facings for probiotic drinks. Surprising when you consider that the European probiotic market is set to grow by 6.7% by 2018. This highlights the current popularity in protein, which has long been the forgotten nutrient.
Under Tesco’s new layout, brands such as For Goodness Shakes and Upbeat now take up nearly one of two bays, having previously been on just two shelves.
The changes are being rolled out to 500 Tesco stores, with a spokesperson for Tesco saying, “We are delighted to offer a wide range of products to help customers make healthy choices, and protein drinks are an important area for our health-conscious shoppers.”


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After job cuts this week at food tech startup City Storage Systems, an executive discussed challenges and rallied staff with bullish comments about a relatively under-the-radar part of the sprawling business.
CSS is the latest company run by Travis Kalanick. It’s a multifaceted effort to reinvent food production, just as he upended the taxi industry by founding Uber. The CloudKitchens unit provides ghost kitchen facilities, while the Otter division sells restaurant software.
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After raising $850 million at a $15 billion valuation in 2021, business has been tougher for the startup lately. Tech and real-estate businesses like CSS are facing challenges including inflation and higher interest rates.
In a meeting on Wednesday following the latest job cuts, Otter general manager Guido Gabrielli addressed his staff, according to audio obtained by Insider.
He said days like Wednesday are not fun for anyone, and added that the cuts were the responsibility of managers and the result of market headwinds. Gabrielli also discussed how higher interest rates impact startups generally.
He had several positive messages, too. A particular focus was an Otter business called Future Foods. This operation licenses virtual food brands, such as “Saint Pita” and “Don’t Grill My Cheese,” to ghost kitchens and restaurants, which helps them sell a wider range of items beyond their exist menus via DoorDash and other delivery platforms.
Gabrielli highlighted that in the past, Future Foods’ business was uncertain. “We asked a lot of questions for a very long time in terms of do we want to be there? Is that sustainable? Would it ever be a real business?” he said during the meeting.
But now, Future Foods is generating healthy revenue, relative to the cost of customer acquisition.”In terms of profitability versus growth targets, it’s probably the most-performing business of the entire Otter portfolio,” Gabrielli said.
He did not disclose revenue for Future Foods or other businesses on the call. A CSS spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.
Gabrielli did admit there’s a “healthy tension” with the Future Foods team, saying that they “tend to sandbag a little bit their capabilities.” But he also highlighted that Future Foods has helped Otter build better relationships with delivery platforms like UberEats.
The praise comes amidst a more difficult market for virtual brands across the industry. Order delivery platforms including DoorDash and Uber Eats have cracked down on virtual brands to decrease clutter and increase accountability for fly-by-night brands.
Insider previously reported that in July, Uber Eats cut 8,000 virtual brands from its app. The company now requires a virtual restaurant’s menu to be at least 60% different from the “parent” restaurant where the food is prepared.
Future Foods also asks would-be customers if they maintain at least a four-star rating on one delivery app.
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Lotus Notes Domino Administration Tools
- July 08, 2004
Over the years, the IBM/Lotus product strategy has undergone a roller coaster worth of twists and turns (remember Rnext, May 07, 2004 07 May'04
Experts claim that firms large and small can benefit from e-mail outsourcing, but one user said managed e-mail services have caused him nothing but trouble.
- April 23, 2004
Here's a roundup of some of the month's Notes-related announcements.
- April 21, 2004
IBM Lotus is disputing an analyst's assertion that its Workplace product line will cause Big Blue's messaging market share to tumble.
- December 18, 2003
Lotus Award winners for improvements in collaboration and productivity were announced today. The coveted Best in Lotusphere Showcase award will be named at next month's conference.
- May 19, 2003
IBM Lotus' new low-end messaging product is out of the gate. Released today, Workplace Messaging is the company's first e-mail system built on WebSphere and DB2.
- May 15, 2003
Here are more answers to your questions from SearchDomino.com's recent Lotus Live! Series webcast with IBM/Lotus' Maureen Leland on Domino Designer 6. To view the webcast archive, click here.
- April 09, 2003
Just because thousands of factory, construction and airline workers don't have a desk doesn't mean they should do without e-mail. IBM Lotus will soon have an option for them.
- March 18, 2003
According to a Lotus executive, the enhancements to DB2 Content Manager that were announced last week will allow Domino shops to federate their databases and present Domino-based content more easily. It's also possible to present objects stored in ...
- March 18, 2003
There aren't many opportunities for Domino/Notes administrators to get together these days. The upcoming Admin2003 conference puts hundreds of them under a single roof and will cover some of the most pressing issues on administrators' agendas.
- March 14, 2003
Last month's SearchDomino.com Lotus Live Series webcast featuring Barbara Bowen, Lotus' worldwide certification program manager, was a huge success, so we've asked her to return to answer more of your questions about the world of Lotus certification.
- February 18, 2003
Thanks to a shopkeeper and his snappy new cell phone, a Kodak moment became a Maalox moment for a pair of wanted crooks. When Catherine Zeta-Jones says "Get more" for a cell phone firm, surely this isn't what she means!
- February 14, 2003
Teamstudio gets with Domino 6, ObjectVenture spruces up its J2EE tools, PistolStar adds password synchronization, Antepo solves IM incompatibility and Captaris adds a telephone user interface to its unified messaging offering.
- February 13, 2003
This Domino project leader got him self in a pickle when the mail storage monitoring project that his team was working on told users in no uncertain terms what to do with their overstuffed inboxes. As it turns out, not everyone likes barking dialog ...
- February 10, 2003
Many companies realize that they'll need a corporate tool in place before internal messages wind up in the wrong hands. And that's what makes the time right Lotus' Sametime and partners offering add-ons.


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August 28, 2013 Marina Obrazkova, RBTH
Gifts given to President Putin and Prime Minister Medvedev will be exhibited online.
A variety of gifts — from a crystal crocodile to a real elephant — have been presented at different times to the heads of the Russian state. There have been occasions when expensive Swiss watches were given as gifts, as well as a jar of jam. It will soon be possible to see all of these gifts in a virtual museum, which is being set up by the Office of the President.
The Electronic Gift Foundation (EGF) of the Government of the Russian Federation will be created in the near future. In line with the bid recently presented by the Office of the President of the Russian Federation, nearly 7.5 million rubles ($226,000) will be spent on developing the EGF.
According to the document, the EGF will consist of two parts — a system accounting for the gifts presented to top officials and souvenirs presented in the name of the Russian government.
Each gift presented to an official will have its own registration card, on which will be written its size, weight, value, origination and the date and circumstances of its receipt, reports the newspaper Moskovsky Komsomolets. The gift itself will be described and photographed in detail. Thus, it will be possible to rotate it in your hands virtually, as well as zoom in for a closer look.
More: Virtual museum of presidential gifts to go online | Russia Beyond The Headlines


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Farming, family and community are three words which sum up the 2009 Ontario Outstanding Young Farmers, Jason and Christina Pyke. The Pykes of Pykeview Meadows www.pykeviewmeadows.com,a bison and field crop operation on Wolfe Island, received the top honour at the provincial awards ceremony held in London earlier this year.
Jason and Christina Pyke, who were selected from a group of six finalists, became interested in bison, in part because of their hardiness and need for minimal care, and in part due to their lean meat quality. From the purchase of 30 animals in 1996, their herd has now grown to more than 130 with another 40 calves expected this spring. Along with the help of Jason’s father and brother, the farm also grows soybeans, wheat and corn on approximately 1,000 acres. The Pikes have recently invested in wind energy with four 2.3 megawatt turbines currently being erected on their land.
The judges selected The Pykes, in part because of their hard work they have invested in developing a market for their animals. In just five years, they have increased from selling 10 animals to selling 50 and Jason now has to buy additional yearlings just to keep up with demand. Products are sold at the Kingston and Ottawa Farmers’ Market, to health-food stores, meat shops and restaurants. Products sold include traditional cuts of meat including steaks, roasts, and burgers, but also novelty items such as pepperettes, jerky, sausages and smokies, as well as a wide range of fine leather products made from the hides.
Both Christina and Jason are heavily involved with many local and provincial organizations including the Ontario Bison Association, the Wolfe Island Early Year’s Centre, the Ottawa Rideau Regional Soil & Crop Improvement Association, and the Frontenac Environmental Farm Plan Peer Review Committee. Jason was also heavily involved with the Hay West project in 2002, when he coordinated the donation, transportation and loading of 1104 round bales of hay from Wolfe Island Farmers, to drought stricken farms in Western Canada.
With all of this going on in their lives, family remains their priority and they appreciate the opportunity farming gives them to spend quality time with their two children, Jack, 8 and Chloe, 6.
EXPANDING THEIR REACH
Increasing public exposure and accessibility to their wide range of bison products has been the biggest change in helping to build a thriving business, says Jason Pyke. Joining a regular weekly farmers market at Ottawa’s Landsdowne Park and then opening an on-farm store late this summer has significantly increased sales of fresh and frozen meat products.
“We do go to other markets, but joining the producer-only market in Ottawa in 2006 has made the biggest difference,” he says. “We probably sell about 50 per cent of our production through that one market which is only one day per week, May through October. And now with a proper year-round store on the farm, we hope to provide customers with not only our own meat and other bison products, but also plan to offer other locally produced farm products.”
The bison have a natural fit on the Wolfe Island farm, near Kingston. The bison are low-maintenance animals that do well on developed pasture on land not well suited to corn and soybean production.
The Pykes process two 18-to 30-month old bison per week at a local abattoir, with all meat from the average 500-lb. carcasses cut and wrapped into retail-sized servings. All trim is further processed into ground meat for burgers or made into pepperettes or sausage. Hides are also tanned and made into leather products such as handbags and gloves.
While Christina focuses more on the marketing end of the business, Jason focuses on production, although both enjoy the direct contact with customers.
The grass-finished bison is marketed as a premium meat product, compared to beef for example, with ground meat selling for about $6 per pound, while prime cuts such as tenderloin retail for up to $32 per pound.
“Direct sales to consumers has several benefits,” says Pyke. “For us it is good to get positive feedback from customers on how they like the product, and what type of cuts they prefer. For the customer, they like knowing where the meat is produced and being able to talk directly with the farmer about how it was raised and fed. Our bison meat appeals to consumers because it is a good healthy product, it is lean, flavourful, and raised naturally. Price isn’t as much an issue as much as they like quality and like to know where it is produced.”
The on-farm store, which they opened in late summer, will give them not only a proper facility for on-farm sales, but also provide a more professional image for the business. The new building includes about 500 square feet of retail space as well as a 30 x 35 foot shop/garage area for storing materials and loading product for delivery.
From a business perspective, the bison produce about one-third of the farm income with cash crops accounting for about two-thirds of revenue. “There is certainly potential for the bison meat business to grow, and we could probably sell more right now, but the limiting factor is having the number of animals,” says Pyke. “We have about 130 to 150 head of bison but we need to expand the herd base as sales increase.”
Another recent farm diversification involved leasing land to an Alberta-based windpower company— Canadian Hydro Developers. The company has established 86 power generating wind turbines on Wolfe Island, with Pykeview Meadows leasing land for four of the 2.3 megawatt towers.
Lee Hart is a field editor for Grainews based in Calgary, AB


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When will consumers feel safe to travel again? How can hoteliers enhance operations to better protect employees and guests? What technology solutions not only can help increase cleanliness but improve service?
Answers to such questions are exactly what hoteliers need to map a route to recovery. But they've been in exasperating short supply.
During Day 2 of Innovation Week, Oracle Hospitality provided an exclusive preview of its soon-to-be-released global study, developed in partnership with Skift Research. The project involved surveying more than 1,800 hotel operators and 4,600 consumers to gain insights from their attitudes and actions that are shaping the new marketplace. The results shed light on economic trends fueling the rebound, emerging best practices in areas such as guest and employee health safety, contactless operations, and technology innovations that will be needed to satisfy rapidly evolving consumer demands.
The research study focused on key topics to help industry leaders navigate the challenges ahead as well as identify and seize opportunities that change inevitably will bring.


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Nikkei Japan how the company managed the cost of maintaining the free PlayStation Network, Sony Computer Entertainment executive VP Masayuki Chatani highlighted the possibility of new revenue streams, saying, "In addition to single-payment packaged software, there are also schemes like monthly fees or per-item charges."
As GameIndustry.biz points out, Chatani could be talking about any number of different items and monthly-charged services delivered via PSN -- as was vaguely referenced in a presentation last month. Viewed together, the comments may seem troubling, but additional services don't necessarily equate to PSN itself becoming a subscription service. If Sony wanted to lose the biggest advantage of its online service just as the PS3 builds up a good head of steam, a funeral service might become more appropriate.Sony considering monthly fees for PSN content, services originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 15 Dec 2009 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Towards the end of January 2021, the Office for National Statistics published a report on the social impact of Covid-19 in Great Britain. It found that 25% of adults felt it will be more than a year before life returns to normal, while 22% think it’ll be six months or less. However long it takes, sooner or later the shops will reopen, holidays will be back on the agenda and maybe we’ll even be able return to large-scale events and festivals. But we’ll go back as different post-Covid consumers in a changed world. How have our priorities, behaviours and buying habits shifted in three key areas of our lives: retail, travel and work?
The great online shopping shift
Rolling lockdowns have meant disaster for UK high streets and consumers have, by necessity, had to switch most of their purchasing online for months at a time. When physical stores re-open they’re sure to find pent-up demand with many shoppers will return in droves to the likes of Primark, but the increase in online sales is likely to stick, especially given the almost undoubtedly permanent shift towards more home working.
Lockdown has also driven big changes in what people are buying and how often. Shopping baskets got bigger as we made efforts to bulk-buy, either for convenience or just to reduce the impact of delivery charges. Gym equipment, gaming consoles, DIY, hobby and cookery supplies have been on everyone’s minds as they tried to alleviate boredom. Fashion retailers are responding to changing needs by changing their offerings, creating smaller collections, making loungewear the hero, and of course sometimes trying to convince us to dress up at home, both for work and for the inevitable kitchen disco.
Experimentation has also been a big part of lockdown for both consumers and businesses. Consumers needed to find online sources for things usually bought in person and have also searched for new things to do inside their four walls. Businesses have developed new products and services to suit changing needs. None of us could have anticipated ordering meal-at-home kits from top restaurants or high-end groceries that would be biked over from neighbourhood cafés.
In terms of customer experience, when you’re stuck at home with few distractions you soon notice which digital retailers are the most efficient and easy to use, have the best product information and are the most consistent with supply and delivery. 4 out of 5 global consumers have said they’ll stick with new brands discovered in lockdown according to BazaarVoice; meanwhile GlobalWebIndex found that ‘what they did during Covid’ will be a driver for 40% of future consumer choices. Retailers who’ve adapted quickly to surges in demand and new challenges may find in return that customers post-Covid reward them with that most rare of commodities – loyalty. Nevertheless, no online provider can afford to be complacent because when things do get back to whatever the new normal is, competition for consumers’ attention will increase. Businesses who continue to listen to their customers and build services around their needs will be the ones that are still thriving in five- or ten-years’ time.
Traditional office workers see a more flexible, home-based future
For those whose jobs make it possible, working at home for at least part of the week is here to stay. Old-fashioned attitudes in favour of the office-based nine-to-five have gone out of the window now that it’s been proved that people can successfully work remotely. Perhaps presenteeism – clocking up the hours while under the weather or unengaged might become a thing of the past, replaced by demonstrations of productivity that are less to do with hours worked than focus on the task in hand. Of course, what companies have also realised is that more home working allows the business to make savings by downsizing office space or seeking more local and flexible options.
With fewer office workers streaming out for their lunchbreak, what’ll happen to all those businesses clustered around city centre offices – the artisan coffee shops and street food stalls, the boutiques, gift and card shops? Do we miss them? Will we start to see them re-opening in residential neighbourhoods instead? It’s a bit too early to tell at the moment, but while holed up at home many of us must have wished to be able to pop out at lunchtime to somewhere a bit more satisfying than the corner shop. There might be opportunities there, but meanwhile the big high street retailers who were already in trouble, for instance Peacocks, the Arcadia group and Debenhams, have seen the quickening of their demise. City centre gyms may also suffer long-term effects from repeated lockdowns and a shift to home working. Many people can’t wait to get back to them, but may choose to move to a gym close to home rather than close to the office, or switch to remote fitness classes and exercising in the local park for good.
Less movement, longer trips abroad and the rise and the rise of the staycation
Travel has always been about escapism but now the focus is on risk in all its aspects – financial, health, logistical. In the last few decades consumers became used to grabbing a flight and hopping off to Barcelona, Rome or Berlin for the weekend, especially as it often worked out cheaper than taking a break in the UK. But as long as Covid is around, even at levels lower than they are today, it’s going to feel riskier and involve more red tape and expense. It seems likely that people will decide to take longer holidays when they go overseas, staying for more time in one place to save on hassle and provide more peace of mind. If there are future waves of Covid, maybe our casual attitude to travel will have gone for ever, replaced by a new focus on special occasion holidays, perhaps with larger groups of the friends and family we’ve all missed so much over the last year.
There could also mean a renewed focus on package holidays. Some airlines refused to issue refunds to customers who were unable to travel, with others losing the cost of their Airbnb bookings, sometimes running into thousands. People are going to be looking for flexibility and reassurance, translating in experience design terms into clear, upfront information on safety measures and company policies and easier journeys for amending and cancelling bookings.
Necessarily there’s been a huge rise in people taking holidays within the UK, and although many of us can’t wait to return to the city and beach breaks we’re used to, it seems likely that this renewed interest in holidaying around our own coastline and countryside will stay with us for a couple of years at least. It may be inconvenient but if there’s a sudden need to get home because of changing infection rates it’s a lot easier to drive back from Devon than join hundreds of others trying to catch the last flight out of Portugal.
The necessities of life during a pandemic has accelerated the trend towards digital retail and services and broken down barriers for some consumers who may have been nervous about online security. It’s also meant a shift towards remote and flexible working for those who can, a change that could have a significant effect on our everyday lives, our cities and neighbourhoods and transport systems.
In terms of travel many of us can’t wait for the time when we have the freedom to go wherever we want, whenever we want again, but as long as Covid is around consumers will have to approach it in a different way. As has been the case throughout the pandemic it’s likely that younger consumers will be more likely to quickly return to holidaying abroad, wanting to make up for lost time and knowing that they have a much lower risk of serious consequences than older generations. Let’s hope that this time next year we’ll all be in a different, better place.


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Air China will launch a new service between Beijing and Hanoi on June 1st.
The non-stop route will enable passengers to travel from Beijing to Vietnam’s capital in just four hours.
Founded over 1,000 years ago, Hanoi has a long and complex history reflected in its eclectic range of architectural styles, including its French colonial buildings, the Neo-Gothic Hanoi Cathedral and the countless Chinese temples and pagodas that can be spotted throughout the city.
In 2017, bilateral trade between China and Vietnam surpassed US$100 billion for the first time, while China remained Vietnam’s largest trade partner for the 13th consecutive year.
According to the General Statistics Office of Vietnam, Chinese holidaymakers made over four million trips to Vietnam in 2017, an increase of 48.6 per cent over the previous year.
In recent years, Air China has opened routes between Beijing and Ho Chi Minh, Hangzhou and Nha Trang, and Chongqing and Nha Trang.
This latest link between Beijing and Hanoi will strengthen trade, investment, tourism and cultural ties between China and Vietnam, while offering a convenient new travel option for Chinese passengers keen to explore Vietnam and neighbouring countries in south-east Asia.
Conversely, the new Air China route will also make it easier for passengers from Vietnam and Southeast Asia to fly to Beijing, from where they can choose from an extensive range of international destinations.
The new route between Beijing and Hanoi will be operated under flight numbers CA741/742 four times a week, on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays.
Outbound flights will depart from Beijing at 01:25 and arrive in Hanoi at 04:15; inbound flights will depart from Hanoi at 05:45 and arrive in Beijing at 10:25.


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Undervalued large-cap stocks present a particular opportunity here. Markets are rebounding from their September doldrums, but all three major indices in the U.S. remain down significantly on the year with both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq in a bear market.
The latest data out of the U.S. showed that inflation rose 8.2% in September from a year ago, its highest level in 40 years and still well above the U.S. Federal Reserve’s 2% target. This raises the likelihood that the central bank will continue raising its benchmark interest rate into 2023.
As rates continue climbing, stocks are likely to remain volatile. Stocks climbed significantly higher in October, but the pulldown over the first three quarters has left many large-cap stocks deeply undervalued. This presents an opportunity for investors who can tolerate the near-term ups and downs of the market and keep their eyes fixed on the long-term.
InvestorPlace – Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading Tips
Here are seven seriously undervalued large-cap stocks to buy now.
Undervalued Large-Cap Stocks: Amazon (AMZN)
Source: Sundry Photography / Shutterstock.com
Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) stock is now trading under $100 a share. Consider that an early Christmas gift.
Following disappointing third-quarter earnings and lowered guidance, AMZN stock is down 44% on the year. Even a 20-for-1 stock split undertaken at the beginning of June hasn’t helped the share price.
Having given up most of the gains it achieved during the pandemic when consumers were forced to shop online, investors seem to have given up on AMZN stock. Yet analysts say that is a mistake, and the company is poised for a rebound.
For its part, Amazon is doing what it can to try and get the share price up. The company earlier this year announced a $10 billion stock buyback program.
Amazon also just completed its second Prime sales event of the year in October, which should give its fourth-quarter earnings a boost. The company has also increased wages and salaries for both employees and executives, and continues to grow its operations around the world.
While Amazon’s price-earnings (P/E) ratio is hefty at 94 times, it is not that high when one considers the company’s $1 trillion market capitalization or that it generates more than $100 billion in revenue each quarter. Take advantage and buy the dip.
Source: fotomak / Shutterstock.com
You’d think that with the essential nature of most of the products it sells, Walmart’s (NYSE:WMT) stock would be holding up this year. But no.
So far in 2022, WMT stock has come down 2%. While the decline is much less than the broader indices, it is a poor showing for a company that is supposedly built for troubled economic times.
Much of the blame for this year’s decline can be ascribed to rising fuel costs and higher inventory levels. It also has been unable to raise prices fast enough to keep up with inflation.
WMT stock fell sharply after it issued first-quarter results in May that missed Wall Street expectations. Walmart earned $1.30 a share, which was lower than the $1.48 expected among analysts.
The retail giant redeemed itself somewhat with its second-quarter print delivered in August. Earnings per share during Q2 came in at $1.77 versus the forecasted $1.62. Revenue in the second quarter totaled $152.86 billion compared to $150.81 billion expected.
The company’s e-commerce sales rose 12% compared with the year-earlier period and were up 18% over the past two years during Q2. Looking ahead, Walmart reaffirmed its outlook for the remainder of this year.
The elevated inventory levels that were a problem earlier in the year appear to be working themselves out. This is one of the undervalued large-cap stocks investors should be keeping an eye on, especially if the share prices softens further.
Undervalued Large-Cap Stocks: Nvidia (NVDA)
Source: Michael Vi / Shutterstock.com
Few large-cap technology stocks have been beaten down as much as semiconductor company Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA). NVDA stock is down 54% year to date. Last November, the company was trading above $300, and that was after a 4-for-1 stock split.
The share price has been hurt by mounting fears that demand for Nvidia’s chips and semiconductors will slow along with the global economy. To be sure, the company’s earnings for the second quarter were a disaster and didn’t help the share price any.
Nvidia reported Q2 earnings per share of 51 cents, which was 60% lower than the $1.26 per share in earnings that Wall Street was looking for. Revenues for the April through June quarter amounted to $6.7 billion, which was also well below the $8.10 billion analysts had called for.
Nvidia also lowered its forward guidance, saying it now expects revenue for the just-completed third quarter to come in at about $5.9 billion, which is below consensus estimates of $6.95 billion.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has stressed that the company is grappling with a “challenging macro environment” this year. Still, Nvidia, whose chips are used in everything from supercomputers to artificial intelligence applications, remains a solid long-term buy.
The P/E ratio is a little high at 44 times, but it has come down this year with the share price. And, unlike many tech stocks, Nvidia pays a dividend that yields 0.12%. It’s not the most generous dividend, but it makes NVDA one of the more reliable undervalued large-cap stocks to buy.
Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-A, BRK-B)
Source: Jonathan Weiss / Shutterstock.com
As is usually the case, legendary investor Warren Buffett is riding out the current market downturn just fine.
In addition to many of the stocks he holds in Berkshire Hathaway’s (NYSE:BRK-A, NYSE:BRK-B) portfolio, Buffett has been taking advantage of the drop in shares price to buy several new stocks, including Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PARA), Citigroup (NYSE:C), Chevron (NYSE:CVX) and Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY).
He is spending more money on equities than he has in the last decade. While BRK-B stock has not been immune to the market downturn this year, its share price has declined only 2% compared to a 20% drop in the benchmark S&P 500 index.
However, Berkshire Hathaway has an extremely low price-earnings ratio. Investor and analyst Whitney Tilson of Empire Financial Research has calculated Berkshire Hathaway’s intrinsic value to be $351 per share, which is nearly 20% higher than the $294 that it is currently trading at.
The median price target on BRK-B stock is currently $340, implying 16% upside from current levels. As if to acknowledge how undervalued it feels its share price is right now, Berkshire Hathaway bought back a record amount of its stock last year totaling $27 billion.
Undervalued Large-Cap Stocks: Apple (AAPL)
Source: Eric Broder Van Dyke / Shutterstock.com
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) stock is trading at around $150. The median price target on AAPL stock is currently $180 a share, with a high estimate of $200. The P/E ratio of 24 times is the lowest it has been in years and the stock pays a dividend that yields 0.61%.
With Apple, investors also get a company that buys back more of its own stock than any other publicly traded concern and is increasingly diversified, venturing into new areas ranging from streaming to buy now, pay later. Apple also remains the world’s leading consumer electronics company with its iPhones and Mac computers.
As with many companies, Apple is dealing with issues that include supply chain constraints, wage inflation and slowing consumer spending in the face of rising interest rates.
AAPL stock took it on the chin after the company announced that it was scaling back production of its new iPhone 14 due to weaker consumer demand than initially forecast. The company’s most-recent earnings report was mixed but managed to beat Wall Street expectations.
Despite a rocky road this year, Apple’s lower share price should make the stock more appealing to value investors.
Additionally, Apple announced its board of directors greenlit a $90 billion share buyback program, which is on top of $85.5 billion in share repurchases last year. Long-term, AAPL stock remains a winner.
Source: ilzesgimene / Shutterstock.com
Shares of big box grocery retailer Costco (NASDAQ:COST) are down 13% year-to-date. At one point this year, the stock was down more than 30% but has managed to recover by demonstrating its sales remain strong despite high inflation and rising interest rates.
The company’s latest quarterly results showed revenue of $72.09 billion, which was above the $72.04 billion that analysts had expected. Earnings per share of $4.20 beat analyst estimates of $4.17 a share.
Perhaps best of all, Costco announced as part of its quarterly print that it will not raise its membership fees this year, holding them at $60 for a regular annual membership and $120 for an executive membership.
A P/E ratio of 39 times looks high at first glance, but investors need to keep in mind that Costco is on track to surpass $200 billion in sales this year, making this one of the more impressive undervalued large-cap stocks to consider.
The company’s stock pays a dividend that yields 0.72%, but Costco has a history of paying out special, one-time dividends as well.
Undervalued Large-Cap Stocks to Buy: American Express (AXP)
Source: First Class Photography / Shutterstock.com
Shares of credit card giant American Express (NYSE:AXP) are fresh off a 52-week low and currently trading right around $146 apiece. Down 13% this year, AXP stock is at its most affordable level since the pandemic struck in March 2020.
The stock’s price-to-earnings ratio of 15 times is right around the average of companies listed in the S&P 500 index. It pays a 1.4% quarterly dividend.
With people all over the world traveling and vacationing again, there’s every reason to be bullish on AXP stock and the company’s future earnings.
But don’t take our word for it. Consider that American Express is one of legendary investor Warren Buffett’s favorite stocks. The Oracle of Omaha has held his current position in AXP stock for more than 30 years and never sold a single share.
Besides its traditional credit card loans, American Express also operates an end-to-end payment system that facilitates transactions between consumers and businesses. Revenue from those transactions is today the company’s biggest source of revenue.
On the date of publication, Joel Baglole held long positions in NVDA and AAPL. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.
Joel Baglole has been a business journalist for 20 years. He spent five years as a staff reporter at The Wall Street Journal, and has also written for The Washington Post and Toronto Star newspapers, as well as financial websites such as The Motley Fool and Investopedia.
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Most mail delivery in the United States is back to normal eight days after the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon.
For virtually all carriers, it's business as usual, except for several New York City ZIP codes where access is restricted.
The terrorist attacks will cause stricter regulations at airports, which could slow speed of delivery and increase costs. In general, no carrier anticipates that the measures will have a major effect on its ability to process air parcels in the future.
“While we can't discuss our security network,” UPS spokesman Norman Black said, “I can assure you that everything is back to normal and we are continuing at full capacity.”
Mailers are also hitting their in-home mail dates.
Ben Saukko, a spokesman for Fingerhut Cos. Inc., the direct retailer in Minnetonka, MN, said that during the first few days after the attack there was some disruption in service to customers who had requested expedited delivery. However, he said, “These weren't major problems, just a part of doing business. And now everything is back to normal.”
Though Saukko lacked specifics, he said that only a small fraction of Fingerhut's customers use expedited services. Fingerhut uses all major air express services, including those from UPS, FedEx and USPS.
Saukko said Fingerhut's catalog mailings are going smoothly as well.
“We haven't seen any delivery problems, and we are making our in-home
dates,” he said. Fingerhut moves most of its Standard Mail via its own trucks to USPS Bulk Mail Centers or Sectional Center Facilities, where it is sorted for delivery.
Michael Bonts, a spokesman for Cox Target Media, Largo, FL, known for its blue Val-Pak co-op mailings, said, “Everything is back to normal all over the country and in Manhattan.” Cox uses its own trucks and the USPS to deliver its mail via ground transportation.
Though their deliveries were in order, mailers said they were unsure how the attacks would affect response rates. One small mailer, who sent a direct mail piece into Manhattan a few days before the attack promoting a hands-free car kit for cell phones, said his mailing was wiped out as far as response was concerned.


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Dubbed Many-core Integrated Accelerator of Wisconsin (MIAOW) the GPGPU is still in its kitten stage and needs a few developers and a couple of months on a newspaper before it is properly toilet trained.
Karu Sankaralingam, an associate professor of computer science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison led the team that designed MIAOW. He can see a day when big companies will be built using open source hardware, just as multi-billion-dollar Web giants owe their existence to open source software.
Sankaralingam added: “We really need more people contributing to open source hardware to improve the platform layer so there’s enough for entrepreneurs to build from it,” he said.
It all started when one of Sankaralingam’s students was working on an out-of-order processor design when AMD released as the instruction set architecture of one its graphics chips. That sparked the idea to build an open-source GPU.
It took 12-people 36 months to develop the MIAOW core. The idea was to create a functional GPGPU without setting any specific area, frequency, power or performance goals.
MIAOW uses just 95 instructions and 32 compute units in its current design. It only supports single-precision operations. Students are now adding a graphics pipeline to the design.
An in depth paper on MIAOW is available online but requires special access.
MIAOW compares favourably on several benchmarks to AMD’s latest high-end chip, Tahiti although obviously not all of them. Apparently AMD did look at the design and said it was not completely crazy.
However there is a small matter of potential for patent infringement law suits for anyone using MIAOW and it will be up to any open source community to sort that out.


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VIA BEETCAM — COVID-19 has come as a black swan the communication industry could have done without, one that has sent companies of all kinds worrying and scurrying for answers.
Amongst the questions brands are asking Forrester principal analyst Jim Nail – “What is everyone else doing?” and “Should I be cutting my advertising?”
In this video interview with Beet.TV, Nail says there are no historic models to look to for help – a coronavirus playbook cannot be found in 9/11 nor in the 2008 economic crash.
But Nail knows one thing. “I think the answer is pretty obvious,” he says. “In any sort of industry that requires gathering of people, sports, live entertainment, restaurants, travel, all of those things, you either pull it completely or you dial it back and you change your messaging.”
Amid the crisis, many marketers are frantically trying to figure out how best to retain sales.
But Nail has another idea.
“Don’t even waste your time thinking about how can you stimulate demand in the short-term,” he says. “It’s just not going to happen, For people who were laid off, until they know how long they’re out of work, they are not going to spend a dime.
“Even those of us who are fortunate enough to still be getting a paycheck, it’s like we’re all going to be real cautious because we just have no idea. Rather than do that, you need to make decisions based on, how do you want your brand to be perceived when this is over and when we come out of it?”
The virus has prompted many brands to reconsider the creative they have out in the market.
Certain companies have pulled ads that depict hugging, hand-shaking or, in KFC’s case, finger-lickin’.
Coors Light has abandoned a campaign which would have depicted it as “the official beer of working remotely”, fearing being seen to make light of people self-isolating.
Forrester’s Nail thinks brands need to think beyond the current virus crisis, and tread carefully.
“Do you want your brand to be perceived as a brand that was helpful, that was empathetic, that understood and tried to support its customers and the community?,” he asks. “Or do you want to come across as a brand that was being very opportunistic and still trying to squeeze money out of people?
“Take that longer-term view and accept the idea that we’re going to go through this revenue chasm for the next number of weeks. Just don’t worry about that, but try to position yourself to be ready to capitalise when this is over. I expect there to be significant pent-up demand, and be there, be the kind of brand people will turn to when they’re ready to start spending again.”
Nail was interviewed remotely at home via the BeetCam.


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Exports to China increased by nearly US$ 2.7 billionWednesday, May 16,2018
AsemconnectVietnam - Vietnam’s exports of goods to China reached US$ 10.979 billion in the first four months of this year, increased by $ 2.685 billion compared with the same period of 2017, showed the latest statistics figures of the General Department of Customs.
The country’s exports of fruits and vegetables to China also increased to $ 989 million in the first four months, compared with $ 760 million in the first four months of 2017.
The other items exported by the country to China in the period were fibers of all kinds - $ 646 million; cameras, camcorders and components - $ 592.6 million; machines, equipment and spare parts -$ 449 million.
Viet Nam’s GDP could grow more than 6.9% in 2019-20: NCIF
Vietnam domestic market commodity prices - Dec 14
Vietnam dong, gold and interbank rates - Dec 14
Decree 163/2018 / ND-CP: An important legal corridor to develop the bond market
Vietnam’ pepper exports decreased in November
Realty market has opportunities from trade war
Vietnamese goods fair opens in An Giang province
Hanoi aims to become national logistics hub
Vietnam’s seafood exports reached US$8.03 billion
Vietnam's shipment to Cambodia sets new record
Exports of electric wires and cables reached nearly US$1.42 billion
Vietnam domestic prices near three-month low; output seen lower
Vietnam dong, gold and interbank rates - Dec 13
Vietnam runs biggest trade surplus with US, EU in 11 months


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The pancake-products brand known for 130 years as Aunt Jemima—and criticized for that name for almost as long—has announced a name change. Beginning in June, the brand will be called Pearl Milling Co.
This is a back-to-the-future choice in all the best ways. Pearl Milling Co. of St. Joseph, Missouri, was the name of the company that invented the first self-rising pancake mix, in 1889. A year later, the company was sold, and in 1893 the new owners changed the name of the product from “Pearl Milling self-rising pancake mix” to “Aunt Jemima pancake flour” and embarked on an extensive advertising and publicity campaign, complete with a living mascot portrayed by Nancy Green, a woman who had been born into slavery. Quaker Oats bought the company in 1926, and Quaker was gobbled up in turn by PepsiCo in 2001.
PepsiCo announced the change in a press release that leads with this paragraph:
We are committed to progress, which includes both removing the image of Aunt Jemima and changing our name. Aunt Jemima has existed for more than 130 years, and we acknowledge that our origins were based on a racial stereotype. While work has been done over the years to evolve our brand in a manner intended to be appropriate and respectful, we realize that those changes are not enough.
By reaching back into brand history for the new name, PepsiCo is honoring the brand’s heritage while allowing space for growth and change. It’s an added benefit that “Pearl,” like “Jemima,” is a woman’s name that’s just as old-fashioned but not freighted with racist overtones. (I’m imagining that consumers will eventually start referring to Pearl Milling Co. products simply as “Pearl.” The alliteration of pearl and pancake? Another bonus.)
Naturally—inevitably—there has been some protest. There is always protest when a brand name is changed, because most people don’t like change, and some people are especially prickly about any change that appears to represent yielding to pressure. (Check out the replies to this Wall Street Journal tweet if you want a sense of how that’s going.)
I have two responses to the protests: 1) You’ll get used to it. The more we’re exposed to something new, the more we’re inclined to like it—even if we hated it at first. 2) This is a correct, long-overdue move on PepsiCo’s part.
Read my June 2020 post about Aunt Jemima, which includes a more detailed history of the brand and its imagery.


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Mumbai: The Maharashtra authorities on Tuesday authorized house supply of liquor to curb congestion at outlets. A senior official stated, nevertheless, the order issued by the Home Department shall be efficient provided that the rules on this regard are finalized. Only those that are allowed to drink can order for house supply. Liquor outlets may be ordered by cellphone. Liquor outlets had been allowed to open from May 5. After the comfort of the lockdown guidelines, there was a crowd outdoors the open liquor outlets.
The official stated that the aim of house supply is to cut back congestion at liquor outlets and forestall the unfold of corona virus. <! –
He stated, "The order was issued today, but it will not be effective until detailed guidelines are set. The government will issue guidelines in the next two days."
He stated, "A person can order up to 12 bottles of foreign liquor manufactured in India." The official stated that details about the principles of maintaining various kinds of liquor at house is out there on the web site of the Excise Department and the client can see them from there earlier than putting an order.
When requested about how lengthy this provision will proceed within the state, an Indian Administrative Service (IAS) official stated, "Today's order is in effect as long as the lockdown is in force because there is a ban on crowd gathering during this time." He stated, "People who are going out of the house to buy liquor can now place their order and get it at their house."
Another IAS officer stated that the service will proceed like e-commerce platforms like Amazon the place some further fees are levied on the utmost retail worth printed on the bottle.
He stated that the rules approaching Thursday will make the method extra clear to clear up any confusion. It would be the duty of the liquor shopkeepers to maintain the folks for this work and make sure the provide of liquor to the folks home. Another IAS officer stated that the shopkeeper must take cleanliness and different precautionary measures for his worker.
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Qualcomm Inc., the largest seller of semiconductors for mobile phones, said it’s about to crack the tablet market, further distancing itself from rival Intel Corp. in wireless computing.
The company has begun selling upgraded versions of its Snapdragon processor line and anticipates the new chips will appear in 200 phones and tablets, said Raj Talluri, a senior vice president at San Diego-based Qualcomm (Nasdaq: QCOM). He didn’t provide a timeframe.
“You’ll see a whole bunch of tablets based on Snapdragon 800 in the market this year,” said Talluri. “There’s a lot of talk about Intel and tablets. Clearly we see them still being far behind in mobile.”
The two U.S. chipmakers are vying to win customers in wireless as the computing market, historically dominated by Intel, shifts to handheld devices where Qualcomm’s technology has become the industry standard.
In tablets, both companies are chasing Samsung Electronics Co. and Nvidia Corp. (Nasdaq: NVDA). Intel (Nasdaq: INTC) is ahead of Qualcomm, capturing the fifth spot with 6 percent market share, according to research firm Strategy Analytics.
Texas Instruments Inc. (Nasdaq: TXN) is bigger than both, though the company said last year that it’s leaving the market for smartphone and tablet processors.
Intel, the world’s largest chipmaker, said in May that it revised the fundamental design of its processors for mobile devices, to better cater to smaller gadgets. It’s also focused on more energy-efficient chips to save battery life.
“We’ve noticed many of our competitors talking more and more about performance, which is ironic now that Intel is competitive on power,” said Bill Calder, a spokesman for Santa Clara-based Intel. As computing capability comes to phones and tablets, “a balance of overall platform power and performance becomes increasingly important. This is an area of Intel’s strength,” he said.
Qualcomm, meanwhile, is adding processing power to make the phones and tablets it runs more like laptops.
Neither company has made a dent in the other’s main business. Intel had less than 1 percent of the market for smartphone processors at the end of the first quarter, according to Strategy Analytics. Qualcomm-powered computers from Dell Inc. (Nasdaq: DELL) and Samsung have suffered price cuts or been removed from shelves.
Qualcomm’s advantage in tablets is that its technology combines processing, communications, video, graphics and other functionality onto a single chip without killing the battery, Talluri said. Intel doesn’t have that capability, while tablets like Apple Inc.’s (Nasdaq: AAPL) iPad, powered by Samsung-made processors, split those functions among a number of chips.
“The only one that’s doing that out there today is Qualcomm,” said Alex Gauna, an analyst at JMP Securities in San Francisco, who has the equivalent of “hold” ratings on Intel, Nvidia and Apple and a “buy” recommendation on Qualcomm. “It’s got the full suite of solutions.”
Qualcomm rose 1.3 percent to close Wednesday at $62.65, while Intel declined less than 1 percent to $24.15.
Qualcomm, also on Wednesday, announced a quarterly cash dividend of 35 cents per common share, payable on Sept. 25 to stockholders of record at the close of business on Sept. 4, 2013.
Intel reported second-quarter earnings Wednesday and Qualcomm is scheduled to report next week.
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Aug. 10, 2015 -- Reporter Katherine Connor speaks with Andrew Newton, a patent counsel at Qualcomm Inc. and a 2015 Top Attorney, about his work in the ever-changing world of patent law.
June 12, 2013 -- Reporter Tierney Plumb speaks with Tim McDonough, vice president of marketing for Qualcomm CDMA Technologies, about the latest technologies at the E3 Expo at the Los Angeles Convention Center on Wednesday.
Nov. 30, 2010 -- Executive Editor George Chamberlin speaks with Don Jones, VP of Health & Life Sciences for Qualcomm, about the wireless health industry in San Diego.


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Jan. 28, 2005 -- Is green tea the secret to Mighty Mouse's amazing power?
Probably not. But green tea extract does make mice stronger swimmers, Japanese researchers report. Ten weeks of green tea supplements plus strenuous exercise made mice swim longer and stronger than mice that swam their laps without performance enhancement.
"We have shown that green tea extracts are beneficial for improving endurance capacity, and that this effect is accompanied by a stimulation of [fat] metabolism," Takatoshi Murase, PhD, writes. "Although the clinical efficacy of green tea extract has not yet been confirmed in human studies, our results suggest that green tea extract may be a useful tool for improving endurance capacity."
Even better news: The mice got stronger because the green tea made them burn fat more efficiently, suggests Murase and colleagues at the Biological Sciences Laboratories of Kao Corp., Tochigi, Japan. Kao Corp. is a maker of green tea products.
The findings appear in the online edition of the American Journal of Physiology: Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology, published by the American Physiology Society.
Mice -- even mighty mice -- are not men. But Murase calculates that the amount of green tea eaten by the mice would work out to about 4 cups of green tea a day for a 165-pound human athlete. That's a little less than a liter of tea a day.
Green tea does contain caffeine. But evidence indicates that the performance enhancement comes from green tea chemicals called catechins and not caffeine. The main catechin in green tea is called EGCG. Taken by itself, EGCG did enhance mouse performance. But this effect is "weak," Murase says, compared with the effect of whole green tea extract.


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The GDP numbers for the first quarter of 2013 were a welcome surprise. The market consensus was for 0.1 per cent growth and we got 0.3 per cent. The production industries grew by 0.2 per cent, private services by 0.6 per cent and public services by 0.5 per cent. The big pulldown once again was construction, which was down 2.5 per cent on the quarter. Construction of course was decimated by the Coalition's idiotic decision to slash public investment, which everyone now seems to recognise was a huge mistake. No public construction, no private construction.
This little bit of growth is hardly evidence though that the economy is “healing”, as the Chancellor claimed, given that it simply cancelled out the minus 0.3 per cent in the previous quarter, so no growth for six months is not exactly worth celebrating. The best that can be said is the economy is still flatlining. But a positive number is better than a negative one.
An ONS spokesman has confirmed to me that “the average revision to initial GDP data releases is 0.1 per cent since 2000 and since Q1 2006 the average revision between the first and the latest estimate is minus 0.03 per cent of GDP”. Most of the revisions were driven by methods changes such as the switch from RPI to CPI and updating annual weights. So they may not be a good guide to the size of potential future revisions. But on average the revisions tend to be small, although not at turning points.
The big problem in the Great Recession was the huge downward revisions to the data at the start of the recession – Q2 2008, Q3 2008 and Q4 2008 – the first estimates of 0.2 per cent and minus 0.5 per cent and minus 1.5 per cent respectively have now been revised downwards to minus 0.9 per cent, minus 1.8 per cent and minus 2.1 per cent. This is a total downgrade amounting to a 3 per cent drop in GDP. Over the last ten quarters the economy has grown 1.1 per cent, of which 0.9 per cent was accounted for by the Olympics. Five of the quarters were negative. The US, by contrast has grown by 4.9 per cent.
GDP is still 2.6 per cent below what it was at the start of the recession in Q2 2008, making this the slowest recovery in over 100 years. If the economy was to continue to grow at a pace of 0.3 per cent per quarter, by the time the election comes in 2015, we will have had data on an additional eight quarters, so output will still be below its starting level and well below the pre-crisis trend rate of growth would have left it. The Funding for Lending scheme has been extended to try to boost lending to firms, especially SMEs, which is still falling. It is hard to be optimistic that this time they have fixed it. The prospects are that the IMF will be highly critical of the UK’s economic strategy when it makes its regular visit to the UK in May.
It is hard to see where growth is going to come from other than government spending, which is likely to be cut further in June in the next spending round, given that the other three components of demand – investment, consumption and net trade – still show no sign of taking off. It also appears that there has been no transformation in business or consumer confidence. The Bank of England’s agents’ scores on business investment and employment intentions have shown no sign of picking up. The CBI Distributive Trades Survey for April reported a drop in sales on average for the first time in eight months in April, and the outlook for sales in the coming month was the gloomiest for 15 months. The squeeze on household finances intensified in April for the first time this year, according to Markit’s monthly Household Finance Survey. Households, according to the survey, “remain all too aware of the fragility of the economy and the lack of recovery”.
It also seems that there is little or no evidence that business or consumer spending is turning around – far from it. The table above illustrates using data from the European Commission’s monthly surveys of business and consumer confidence for the UK. The data are reported as balances – a higher number suggests improving conditions. I report five confidence measures for production industries; services, retail, construction plus a consumer confidence index. In addition I report the Economic Sentiment Index, which is a combination of the five scores, with the long run average set equal to 100. Data are presented from the date the coalition was formed in May 2010 along with the past three months of data. The overall ESI along with consumer confidence, industry and retail confidence are lower than they were when the coalition was formed. The services balance was lower last month than the starting value but picked up this month; the construction sector balance is above what it was in 2010 but is still abysmal. It certainly does look that George Osborne was right in his February 2010 Mais lecture when he said: “For it is the lack of a credible plan to deal with the deficit that is…undermining the monetary stimulus that is supporting the economy, and sapping the confidence of investors and consumers.”
Plus the news on the deficit reduction plan last week wasn’t good. Public sector current budget deficit was £10.6bn in March 2013. This is a £0.9bn higher deficit than in March 2012. After removing the effects of the transfer of the Royal Mail Pension Plan and the transfers from the Bank of England Asset Purchase Facility the first 2012/13 estimate of public sector net borrowing is similar in level to last year’s borrowing at £120.6bn, £0.3bn lower net borrowing than in 2011/12.
As Chris Leslie, Labour’s shadow financial secretary to the Treasury, colourfully noted: “Underlying borrowing was essentially the same last year as the year before and the OBR forecasts it will be around the same this year. And the lack of economic growth means the government is now set to borrow £245bn more than planned simply to pay for the costs of their economic failure. George Osborne no longer has a deficit reduction plan. In fact, at this rate, it will take 400 years to balance the books.”
So a little bit of good news for a change. But I certainly wouldn’t get carried away. The patient is still in intensive care and likely to stay there for a while.


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Posts tagged: Potlatch Corp.
Spokane-based Potlatch Corp. has named Lorrie D. Scott vice president and general counsel for the company.
Scott, notably, holds a doctor of law degree from Harvard and a master’s degree in Old World Archaeology from the University of Chicago, plus a B.A. in anthropology from the University of California at Berkeley.
Yes, here’s where we would normally add some clever comments about how Scott can really dig up solid information.
She replaces Pamela A. Mull who retired in March.
Scott joins Potlatch after working at Weyerhaeuser Company where she was most recently senior vp and general counsel for Weyerhaeuser Realty Investors, a land management subsidiary.
Potlatch Corp. posted lower first quarter earnings of $1.2 million today, compared to $24.8 million during the first quarter of 2009.
Last year’s earnings included $43 million in revenues from the sale of timber land in Arkansas.
Highlights from this quarter included a strengthening in the Spokane-based company’s timber and wood products divisions. Sales of sawlogs increased slighly and prices were also higher. Lumber shipments and lumber prices also increased. During the first quarter, Potlatch sold 2,435 parcels of rural recreational land for approximately $3.1 million.
Potlatch is a real estate investment trust with 1.6 million acres of timberland in Idaho, Arkansas, Minnesota and Wisconsin.
Spokane-based Potlatch Corp. has sold its Post Falls particleboard plant to Todd Brinkmeyer, a former sawmill operator.
The particleboard plant employs about two dozen people, most of whom will keep their jobs. The sale closed on March 12. The purchase price was not disclosed.
The small-scale plant no longer fit into Potlatch’s core mission, which is tied to forestland and lumber production, said Mark Benson, the company’s vice president for public affairs.
“Potlatch will continue to own 840,000 acres of forestland in Idaho, and operate a lumber mill and plywood plant in St. Maries,” he said.
Brinkmeyer could not be reached for comment. He’s the former owner of a sawmill in Plummer that specialized in processing small-diameter logs. Brinkmeyer sold that sawmill in 2006.


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The Galaxy A22 5G has just been introduced, but has shown it will be Samsung’s cheapest 5G phone for its price. Here is the curious price of the phone …
Samsung Galaxy A22 5G has not been introduced yet, but unknowns about the phone are emerging day by day. The European price of the phone, which will be Samsung’s most important trump card in the affordable 5G smartphone market, has been announced. Let’s see how Samsung’s cheapest 5G phone will be available for sale.
Galaxy A22 5G Price and Features
A retailer in Europe announced the price of the phone as € 185 tax-free. Although the tax system varies by country, we can say that the phone will be sold for the cheapest 199 € in Europe. At this point, let’s take a look at the European prices of the major competitors of the A22 5G.
Introduced the other day, the POCO M3 PRO 5G is available for sale in Europe for €179. In the same category, Realme 8 5G also carries a price tag of 199 €. We see that the phone with the highest price among these three is the A22 5G.
As for the technical features of the phone; The A22 5G will feature a 6.4-inch Full HD + resolution LCD screen. The screen is expected to have a scanning rate of 90Hz. The phone, which will be powered by MediaTek’s Dimensity 700 processor, has a triple rear camera. The main camera will have a 48-megapixel sensor, as well as 5-megapixel macro and 2-megapixel depth cameras.
Coming with a side-mounted fingerprint scanner for security, the phone has a 5,000mAh battery with 15-watt fast charging support. The A22 5G, which will debut in white, black, purple and green, is expected to be introduced in early June. In the same period, the 4G version of the phone will also be released.


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ZUMBA FITNESS RUSH ARTICLES
May 15, 2014 - A number of developers have shared their thoughts on Microsoft's decision to remove Kinect from Xbox One bundles, and it seems it was a shock.
January 15, 2013 - Majesco reports low profits year-over-year due to weaker than expected sales of NBA Baller Beats, leading to studio closures and layoffs.
February 22, 2012 - House Party continues this week with the release of Alan Wake's American Nightmare. Check out all the deals, sales, and specials inside.


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In a shock announcement earlier this week, wee Jimmy and his Dad turned their back on their punk roots. "Yep, from now on, our beers are sweeter, weaker and less bitter", said a spokesdog.
Industry sources suggest that being told "what was good for them" and "your only chance of getting your bottles anywhere near the eyeline" has led to the pair betraying their fans and doing just what the man says.
"It's been great", said an insider penguin, "when the suits told us to jump, we had a jumping competition. I won!"
Let's Brew - 1973 Whitbread Mackeson Stout - Still not wrung the last drop from Milk Stout. Yet another Mackeson recipe. But quite a sad one, in a way. Because it’s the last one I have from Chiswell ...
4 hours ago


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Google’s New AI Feature May Be Giving Your Clients False Information
Over the next few months, Google will apply a new AI system that aims to detect and make changes to local business opening hours.
Experts argue that this will impact around twenty-million Google Business Profiles. But, unfortunately, this feature could mean the wrong information is being shown to clients.
Ensuring your business information is displayed correctly is vital. Following news of Google’s new features, we are running down a list of what you can do to protect the validity of your company’s Google profile.
Why This Has Happened
Google saw a disruption to the accuracy of their local business index following the COVID-19 pandemic. With such changes to local business operations following Covid lockdowns, updating opening hours on google may be a low priority for owners. Therefore, Google is introducing a system that aims to do this for them.
Yet, as we all can agree, technology can sometimes fail us. For example, although Google has seen success with its AI technology, there is a risk of incorrect opening hours being shared alongside company addresses.
Google’s AI technology has caused alarm among business owners due to Google’s methods of deriving information. The internet giant aims to predict an organisation’s opening hours based on the hours of businesses similar to them. So, for example, if you are running a pet shop which runs 9-5, Google’s AI may detect this to be incorrect as the pet shop down the road runs from 8-4.
Another proposed feature is using street view to locate any signs displaying opening hours. But, again, this feels like a risky move considering many of the photographs taken by Google may be old. In many cases, they can date back over a decade.
This is not totally new. Since the beginning of local search history, Google has relied on crowdsourced information to optimise its local business index. Throughout this time, local businesses have expressed concern over this method, seeing as false information could quickly be supplied. What separates this new development from Google’s previous methods of crowdsourcing, is that they are sourcing information online.
How to Protect Your Google Business Profile
To ensure your Google Business Profile stays accurate, you need to signal to Google that you are keeping up with it. This will prevent any potential unwanted changes and inaccurate information from being displayed.
It’s also vital that your company’s website displays the correct opening hours and address, as this is one of the first places that Google will check.
If there are any updates to your hours of operation, whether changes within the Christmas period or in the event another pandemic descends onto the world, again, please make sure these are put on your website.
Taking the time to edit your site will signify to Google that you are up to date. This will prevent Google from stepping in and making unwanted changes.
You never know when a Google Maps car may be in the area, so it may be beneficial to make sure opening hours are displayed in the window.
Ultimately, it is always a good idea to regularly check how your company appears on Google, to ensure that everything is correct and up to date. Puddle Agency can help keep your website up to date and provide all online information is accurate.
Call us today on 0113 8561930 or email us at firstname.lastname@example.org to find out how we can help.


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Paytm will handhold them through support services
Digital payments company Paytm, founded by Vijay Shekhar Sharma, is handholding small and medium enterprises to come online.
It hopes to expand the network of merchants on its e-commerce marketplace from the existing 60,000 to 100,000 by the end of this year and, eventually, to a million.
Through its GoBig platform, the Alibaba-backed firm is not only providing tech tools such as content writers, web marketers and photographers but has also created a directory of service providers that extend loans to SMEs along with finance and accounting firms.
Paytm has 300 employees who are tasked with helping SMEs sell online, but the company can only scale up to a certain limit through this way, said Renu Satti, vice-president (business).
“If Paytm has to bring a million merchants on is platform, we need to provide them with a complete ecosystem,” she added.
Though Paytm, which forayed into e-commerce only recently, competes with the likes of Flipkart and Snapdeal, the company has publicly stated that its focus is more on unstructured or unorganised trade.
Satti said since the company aims to become a true marketplace by connecting buyers and sellers through its platform, Paytm will not own any warehouses in the future but will rope in warehouse firms as partners, which can help merchants with logistics. Similar is its strategy on courier or delivery companies.
“We want to play the role of a facilitator at each level,” said Satti.
Ant Financial Services, part of the Jack Ma-owned Alibaba Group, has a 25 per cent stake in Paytm.
The company is modelling its many ventures on the businesses of Alibaba in China.
Its e-commerce foray is a reflection of Alibaba-owned TaoBao, an e-commerce site in China.
Alibaba first invested in Paytm in February and there is speculation of more investment. According to a recent report in The Times of India, Alibaba will increase its stake in Paytm from 25 per cent to 40 per cent.
“However, it will be capped at 40 per cent, since the company doesn't want to become a subsidiary of Alibaba in India,” Paytm founder was quoted as saying in the report.
In another report last month, Sharma said the company’s gross merchandise value increased from Rs 2,500 crore in 2014 to around Rs 9,500 crore and hoped to touch Rs 10,000 crore (Rs 100 billion) by the end of July.
According to Sharma, the mobile marketplace will push Paytm's total transaction value to $4 billion by the end of 2015.
Half of this will come from mobile commerce, while the rest will come from its existing e-commerce wallet business.
On the other hand, according to various media reports, Snapdeal touched an annualised GMV of roughly $2 billion in March and is hoping to increase it to between $8 billion and $10 billion by March.
Flipkart, the oldest player in the market, has set a target of generating a GMV of $8 billion by December.
Despite it being a relatively newer player, what works in Paytm's favour is the fact that it doesn't charge merchants a commission on their sales, making money instead on fees charged when they transfer money earned out of the site.
On the flip side, the platform might suffer in comparison due to the fact that its logistics are not directly under its control.
Satti argued that Paytm is different since it believes in being a 'true marketplace' and the self support it is offering through the GoBig platform will go a long way in building India’s online commerce.
A vast majority of the SMEs do not know where and how to get their items photographed or even how to get soft loans for their businesses, they can just look up the directory and find the right partners, she said.
“There are eight to nine million small businesses in India, even if we manage to get a million online, it will be big,” she added.


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WASHINGTON—President Barack Obama, citing conflicting comments in the past week from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, predicted Tuesday that there would be no peace agreement between the Israelis and Palestinians during the remainder of his time in office.
In his starkest assessment yet of U.S.-Israel relations, Mr. Obama, speaking at a news conference, put a firm end to one of the top foreign-policy goals of his second term: a Middle East peace deal that includes the creation a Palestinian state.
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