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Mermaid Cove expands from carryout classics to casual pub fare
For several years, locals have headed to Mermaid Cove for carryout lunches. And now, Tina Littleton, owner of the restaurant in Williamsville, has expanded. With a sit-down pub added to the carryout spot, the restaurant can now seat more than 60 people, for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
“The pub was added to Mermaid Cove Carryout after customer demand prompted a liquor license,” explained Littleton.
The pub features four large flat-screen televisions, booth seating and a full bar.
“Our pub features many specialty martinis, like Sticky Fingers, made with real cotton candy and watermelon,” said Littleton. “Orange and peach crushes are our customers’ favorites, too.”
Along with their martini specialty drinks, Mermaid Cove also features $3.99 wine Sundays and has a number of ice cream drinks available, including Chunky Monkey and Vanilla Rum Chatta.
Mermaid Cove first opened in October of 2010, mostly serving local workers with their “Working Man’s Lunch” for $5.99.
“We have had good support of our carryout lunches with local workers,” said Littleton. “With the expansion, we hope to continue to cater to the local crowd and try to keep them coming back.”
On Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from 9 a.m. to noon, Mermaid Cove serves a Candle Lite Breakfast, with $3.94 Bloody Mary and Mimosa specials.
“We also get a nice crowd for our football specials,” she said.
Littleton credits her good customer base to offering tasty food at reasonable prices.
“We’re very economical — we’re worth the five-mile drive. We’ve had a good turnout even though the economy is down,” she said. “We always try to do a gourmet twist. In our tomato soup, we have grilled cheese croutons. We serve real Smith Island Cake that comes across on the ferry!”
Mermaid Cove even prints out a monthly calendar of specials for patrons, to make sure everyone knows what’s going on each month.
“We hope to build our local clientele and make it good place for them to come. We want our customers to feel like family.”
In the “upscale casual” pub atmosphere, there are high ceilings with chandelier lighting and plenty of mermaid-themed décor.
“I love my mermaids,” said Littleton, of why she named the establishment Mermaid Cove.
Mermaids can be found on the votive candles, paintings, figurines — you-name-it. Littleton said she’s unsure how many mermaids decorate the store, but she welcomes the community to stop by and find out for themselves.
I don’t know,” she said with a laugh. “Come in and count them!”


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How does an agency balance sustainability with their task of spurring consumption? How do agencies make a change without losing market share? Tug’s Hannah Thompson sets out what needs to be done to move the industry forward.
The past year has rightly seen environmental issues take centre stage and greater interest in responsible action, especially since the IPCC declared code red for humanity. Leading forces signing up to Amazon’s Climate Pledge and Ad Net Zero have multiplied fast – including the likes of P&G, HP, Selfridges, and ASOS – while the requirement for large corporations to report on their climate impact has officially made its way into UK law.
Industry players are pulling towards the shared goal of working sustainably and encouraging each other to do better. But while this shift is clearly positive, it begs the question: is anyone truly considering the practicalities for brands, and especially the agencies serving them?
Ultimately, we need to take a more realistic look at what’s going on with sustainability in adland.
How to balance environmental issues with the inherent purpose of ads: to fuel consumption?
Ideals versus reality: consumer considerations
Brands are acutely aware of the need to be not just environmentally conscious, but also eco-active – driven by increasing consumer expectations. Several studies have highlighted growing demand for brands to help tackle climate change and a rising swing towards those with green principles.
In fact, our research shows 67% of UK consumers closely scrutinise retailer practices and 78% say decisions are influenced by clear sustainable values.
At the same time, however, there is often a gap between how consumers aim to use spending power and the reality. While nearly three-quarters (73%) try to weave sustainability into buys, they ultimately make most of their choices based largely on cost; with 80% opting to save money over the planet. This pragmatism isn’t surprising given that many eco-friendly products are priced to reflect their sustainable, and expensive, production. For brands, it creates the risk that going green may put their offerings outside the reach of some consumers; especially as the global cost of living soars and UK shoppers experience the worst financial squeeze in a decade.
Moreover, brands also have their own cost factors to consider. Even as marketing spend hits an eight-year high, economic and global uncertainty could soon see belts tighten again, with sustainability initiatives possibly among the first budget cuts. Amid limited evidence about the performance impact of sustainable messaging – bar a handful of academic studies – the business take on eco-focused marketing is extremely convoluted, to say the least.
A difficult juggling act for agencies
What matters to brands is important to agencies, so all of the above also applies. But added to these complications are the difficulties involved in meeting client requirements and keeping an eye on sustainability. At the higher level, that includes fathoming how to balance environmental issues with the inherent purpose of ads: to fuel consumption.
Brands such as Patagonia, known for championing re-use and provocative anti-Black Friday campaigns, are part of an inspiring yet still small group living by circular economy values, with many of these companies built around sustainability and prepared to take a strong stance. For most firms, advertising needs to carefully blend promotion and planetary good where possible; and that’s before getting into the details of delivery and media planning.
There are no easy switches. See, for instance, long-running discussions about whether digital out-of-home (DOOH) is more eco-friendly than billboards. For those sticking with print, curbing impact means using recycled paper, installing posters with non-toxic glue, and finding ways to avoid waste when campaigns end.
Moving to digital, however, brings different but equally complex challenges. Global greenhouse gases generated by digital technologies are double those of the aviation sector, accounting for 4% of emissions, while the data centres used to power ads guzzle almost 200 terawatt hours (TWh) of energy and are due to generate 14% of CO2e by 2040.
Ad pollution isn’t news to the industry; hence the creation of Ad Net Zero and its recently launched carbon calculator. But while seeking to understand and reduce environmental harms is a step in the right direction, popular methods aren’t entirely positive, particularly offsetting. In Scotland, for example, tree planting has helped counteract emissions, but also increased the elitism of land ownership and has driven social inequality. Where agencies can be confident in using digital to power vast and effective reach, making it sustainable isn’t as simple.
Can agencies find a better way forward?
Ultimately, there is only so far agencies can lead brands down the green path. On the media placement side, there are echoes of previous issues around brand safety. Any agencies that dissuade clients from serving ads on certain sites and platforms will likely find themselves in the position of making blanket judgments about what’s appropriate from the sustainability perspective, as well as potentially limiting engagement scope and free speech.
There are useful lessons we can take from past mistakes. So far, among the best solutions for improving brand safety approaches have been the Global Alliance for Responsible Media’s (GARM) universal harmful content categories. Creating a similar approach could help buyers make more informed decisions about which opportunities will suit their specific sustainability goals, but this will call for collaboration from more than just agencies.
When it comes to driving change through more discerning client selection, capacity is even more restricted. Although they are under increasing pressure to be choosier, few agencies have the ability to dictate business terms. Looking at recent surveys, findings that 60% of agencies hope to filter clients on sustainability criteria in future – versus the 21% already doing so – are what speaks loudest.
Where major players such as Havas have been able to launch their own sustainable marketplaces with strict eco-friendly entry criteria, this route isn’t viable for the majority of agencies, especially the independents. For smaller agencies, introducing sustainability specifications or surcharges would mean they face the very real prospect of losing market share to rivals willing to form partnerships without conditions.
So, while there are multiple challenges that make green progress for agencies harder than most realise, these are not insurmountable. Together, agencies can act as a formidable force in addressing issues and setting sustainable practices as the new standard across the advertising industry, but before they can achieve that, two big changes are needed.
Firstly, all agencies need to work collectively on establishing eco-centric principles as an essential partnership requirement, for everyone.
Secondly, industry leaders who have already built the tools for operating with a purpose-driven approach need to broaden their focus and start thinking about how they can future-proof the wider industry, as well as their own profits and reputations. A key action they can take is sharing their frameworks so that agencies of every size can stay successful and competitive, while putting sustainability first. After all, when the planet wins, we all win.

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Acer unveiled two new gaming monitors and two home projectors featuring high refresh rates, AMD FreeSync Premium support, and HDR10 format.
Acer Unveils Two New Gaming Monitors and Home Projectors
Computer manufacturer Acer has recently announced the launch of two new gaming monitors under its Nitro series, as well as two home projectors. The latest releases boast impressive features that cater to both gamers and movie enthusiasts alike.
The Nitro Series
The new additions to the Nitro series are designed for gaming with a 144Hz refresh rate, AMD FreeSync Premium technology which reduces screen tearing when playing games at high frame rates, and support for HDR10 format which enhances color contrast in images.
The first monitor is called Acer Nitro XV282K KV that boasts a 4K UHD resolution display on a 28-inch IPS panel while also featuring HDMI 2.1 connectivity – this allows it to work seamlessly with next-gen consoles such as Xbox Series X/S or PS5 without any lagging issues.
Meanwhile, the second model called Acer Nitro XV272U KV is equipped with WQHD (2560 x1440) resolution display on an ultra-fast IPS panel delivering up to an overclocked refresh rate of up to165 Hz making it suitable for serious gamers who demand high performance from their displays.
New Home Projectors
In addition to these exciting news products under its nitroseries acer has also launched two home projectors- one being Lumos A100B Smart LED projector another one named C250i portable LED projector.
Overall,Acer’s latest offerings continue showing how they’re pushing forward in developing innovative technologies geared towards improving user experience across different markets be it PC-gaming space or entertainment needs within homes . With these four new launches customers now have more options than ever before!


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Hezekiah Allen is a third-generation marijuana farmer in this Northern California county, where the cool coastal fog pours off the Pacific Ocean, coaxing pot plants to heights of 20 feet.
The executive director of the California Growers Association trade group, Allen has long sought an end to what he calls “prohibition” and has looked forward to a day when he and the thousands of pot farmers here would no longer be outlaws.
But he said he can’t bring himself to vote for Proposition 64, a referendum on California’s November ballot that would legalize cultivation, sale and recreational use of marijuana.
While pot purveyors might seem to be likely Prop. 64 supporters, Allen’s ambivalence is widespread within the industry.
The California Growers Association took a neutral stance after a recent poll among its 750 farmers, distributors and retailers found a split: 31 percent supported, 31 percent opposed, and 38 percent were undecided.


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The FDA has issued a warning about oysters from a certain harvest area in Connecticut that were distributed to other states. Testing has shown the oysters to be contaminated.
The warning and related recall posted today by the Food and Drug Administration did not indicate a specific contaminant.
Restaurants and food retailers in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania and Virginia that have recently purchased raw oysters from Groton Approved area in Connecticut harvested from Aug. 28 through Aug. 30 should not sell the oysters.
The oysters were directly distributed to retailers and distributors in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania and Virginia. The oysters may have been distributed further from these states.
The implicated oysters are from Groton Approved area in Connecticut harvested by dealers CT-393-SS, AQ, CT-004-SS, AQ, and CT-020-SS, AQ with lots, L-30 and L-26B1.
On Aug. 31 the Connecticut Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Aquaculture initiated an emergency precautionary closure of two approved harvest areas and a recall of the implicated oysters because sample results showed potential contamination.
All impacted commercial harvesters agreed to recall the implicated oysters. The affected harvest area will remain closed until the source of contamination is identified and corrected, and the CT Department of Agriculture has collected acceptable sample results to reopen the area.
Contaminated oysters can cause illness, especially if eaten raw, particularly in people with compromised immune systems. Food contaminated with pathogens may look, smell, and taste normal. Consumers of these products who are experiencing food poisoning symptoms such as diarrhea, stomach pain or cramps, nausea, vomiting, or fever should contact their healthcare provider, who should report their symptoms to their local health department.
(To sign up for a free subscription to Food Safety News,click here)


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MacBook teardown highlights improved battery tech, new SSD controller
A teardown of Apple's 2016 12-inch MacBook suggests that the computer's better battery life stems from a mix of optimizations and a slightly larger battery, while its improved SSD speeds are linked to an updated proprietary controller.
The new MacBook has a 4 percent greater battery capacity, rated 41.41 watt-hours at 7.56 volts, repair firm iFixit said on Monday. The rest of the computer's improved battery life — an hour longer than the 2015 model — is allegedly tied to the latest power-efficient Intel Core M processors, and possibly some hidden changes on Apple's part.
The system's SSD speeds, which include 80 to 90 percent faster writes, are said to originate from a new generation of Apple controller (manufactured by TSMC). This is distinguishable by a new model number, 338S00066, and the fact that the updated part sits separately instead of under SDRAM, as in the 2015 design. Apple has promoted the use of PCIe in the computer, but not offered any direct claims of its own about performance.
Separately, iFixit noted that the MacBook is about as difficult to repair as ever, with many core components soldered, glued, or otherwise fused together. The one improvement is the replacement of tri-wing screws with standard Phillips screws, but there are also "tamper-evident" hinge screws that will make it obvious if someone had unofficial repairs done, voiding Apple's warranty.
The new MacBook launched last week in a surprise announcement. Benchmarks put CPU performance about 20 percent faster, and graphics some 25 percent faster. RAM is likewise clocked higher at 1,866 megahertz.


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In a unique collaboration to safeguard the misuse of location-tracking devices, Apple and Google on Tuesday said they have jointly submitted an industry specification to help combat the misuse of Bluetooth location-tracking devices for unwanted tracking.
The first-of-its-kind specification will allow Bluetooth location-tracking devices to be compatible with unauthorised tracking detection and alerts across iOS and Android platforms.
Samsung, Tile, Chipolo, eufy Security, and Pebblebee have expressed support for the draft specification, which offers best practices and instructions for manufacturers.
“Apple launched AirTag to give users the peace of mind knowing where to find their most important items,” said Ron Huang, Apple’s vice president of Sensing and Connectivity.
“This new industry specification builds upon the AirTag protections, and through collaboration with Google results in a critical step forward to help combat unwanted tracking across iOS and Android,” Huang added.
The specification has been submitted via theAInternet Engineering Task Force (IETF), a leading standards development organisation for review and comment over the next three months.A
“Bluetooth trackers have created tremendous user benefits, but they also bring the potential of unwanted tracking, which requires industrywide action to solve,” said Dave Burke, Google’s vice president of Engineering for Android.
“Android has an unwavering commitment to protecting users, and will continue to develop strong safeguards and collaborate with the industry to help combat the misuse of Bluetooth tracking devices,” he added.
In addition to incorporating feedback from device manufacturers, input from various safety and advocacy groups has been integrated into the development of the specification, said Apple and Google.


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Lesbury author’s books are selling out across Northumberland
A local author is thrilled that her books have garnered worldwide interest, but even more excited to see her books popping up in the actual places where they are set.
By Lauren Coulson
Published 7th Jul 2023, 18:43 BST
, who is from Lesbury
, writes crime thrillers that are set across the Northumberland
region. The books have been selling well locally and she has had people message her about going to visit the locations in the books.
She said: “I’ve had messages from readers who, having read the books, then have visited some of the locations featured, whilst in Northumberland. It’s great fun to see them posing in a photo by one spot or another than they have searched out.”
Over the past few months, the local Running Fox cafe outlets have been selling hundreds of copies of Marrisse’s signed books amongst foodie treats and creations made by other by local crafts people.
Now Whickham Cottage Crafts has also taken an interest in Marrisse’s crime thriller and owner Sam McDine, who has been stocking Marrisse’s books for only a couple of weeks, has already taken a second delivery due to selling out.
Sam works with over 75 independent suppliers in the North East
and supplies to holiday lets, corporate clients and people looking for special locally created gifts.
She said: “My customers just can’t get enough of them.
“Marrisse is a fabulous author,” she added. “They love her local connections and familiar places she mentions in her books, that have us on the edge of our seats wanting more.”
“It was really exciting to get a call from Sam, asking to stock my books in her outlets and especially in her bespoke picnic hampers,” Marrisse adds.
“I can’t think of anything nicer than my books being snuggled next to all of those artisan, chocolates, chutneys, candles, tailor-made board games and cakes.”
Sam is currently working with the Alnwick Playhouse and has created a picnic hamper, which is part of a competition in the run up to the opening of The Wind and The Willows production coming soon to Alnwick Garden. A second hamper will be raffled during the production.


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Mega-Hefa Emission Technologies, which is set to start operations at Manesar in June 2018, will make BS IV-compatible canisters and valves, and BS VI electronic purge valves
The Mumbai-based Sujan Group, which operates in seven industry verticals and has 15 production facilities, launched several new products for the auto sector at the Auto Expo – Components Show last week. These include fuel hoses and quick connectors, brake hoses and oil seals, canisters, valves and fuel assembly, among others.
Group company, Mega Rubber Technologies, set up in 1995, showcased products from its upcoming joint venture with Hefa Science & Technology of China, and will introduce canisters and valves for BS IV emission norms, and electronic purge valves for BS VI emission norms. A new JV – Mega-Hefa Emission Technologies – is set to start operations at Manesar in June 2018. These products will target both two- and four- wheelers.
Another Group company, Polyrub Extrusions, established in 1982, will also be inaugurating a new plant at Vitthalapur, 80km from Ahmedabad, Gujarat, around the same time. Polyrub Extrusions makes a variety of automotive hoses and fuel tubes for two- and four-wheelers.
The Sujan Group also displayed products from other group companies such as Polyrub Plastics and its first plant, Sujan Industries as well as its JVs with Cooper Standard Automotive of the US. Sujan CooperStandard AVS which has a state-of-the-art plant at Chakan, supplies anti-vibration products including engine mounts, dampers, bushes, torque rods, struts and suspension parts for Mahindra & Mahindra, Maruti Suzuki India, Renault-Nissan, Ford, Munjal Showa and Tenneco. In 2017, it inaugurated its second plant near Chennai for supplies of AVS for the Renault Kwid.
The Group’s second JV with Cooper Standard, Polyrub CooperStandard FTS, which also has a plant at Chakan, makes fluid transfer systems that includes a variety of hoses such as coolant hoses, breather hoses, sunroof draining hoses, turbo-charger hoses, and others. Its customer base includes BMW, Fiat Chrysler, Jaguar Land Rover (via Lander), GM and Tesla , among others. The Group has an R&D centre at Chakan.
Commenting on the Group’s participation at the 2018 Auto Expo, Neel Sujan, chairman, Sujan Group, said, “We wanted to talk about our strengths as a group. With our partnerships and alliances, and local insight, we have developed products and solutions that have met our customers’ expectations in India and overseas. Our product range has been globally benchmarked and caters not just to automotive but to railways, tractors and defence.”


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It is not clear how ambitious the draft free trade agreement will be and whether it will significantly reduce barriers to trade. The Bangladeshi government has proposed a reduction in the export duty to 5 percent from the current 13.5 percent, according to Bangladeshi Trade Minister Tofail Ahmed. This is in line with Bangladesh`s SAFTA commitment to reduce tariffs to 5% by the end of 2015. Ahmed also called on Sri Lanka to remove non-tariff barriers for Bangladeshi products, especially medicines. The signing of a bilateral free trade agreement could still be years away. While both countries have an interest in developing bilateral trade, countries are also competing in labor-intensive manufacturing, especially in the apparel sector. Bangladesh is facing a slowdown in exports. It will continue to try to diversify trade outside its traditional export markets, the EU and the US. In the past, many discussions have taken place with many countries on this issue, but a free trade agreement has remained elusive. If this free trade agreement is signed, Sri Lanka will be the only South Asian country to have access to 3 major South Asian economies, which are worth about $1.7 billion for Sri Lankan exports. It would also mean that Sri Lanka will be able to expand its activities to many other countries that also use the FTA agreements. The BCIM Economic Corridor (Bangladesh, China, India and Myanmar Corridor) is also fully realized through this free trade agreement.
The FTA is an international agreement between two or more countries aimed at reducing or reducing barriers to trade and moving closer to economic integration. FTA offers lower or zero tariffs (tariff concessions) on exports and imports of goods and components allocated under the Free Trade Agreement. This makes products more competitive with exports and imports from non-FTA partner countries. . . .


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The federal government’s move to import tomatoes, onions and other commodities in an effort to offset the impact of rising petroleum product prices and the disruption of commodity supplies due to flooding had a minor positive impact on weekly inflation.
According to the Sensitive Price Index report for the week ended September 8 released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics on Friday, inflation fell by 0.58% but remained at 42.70% on an annual basis. .
The prices of 26 products increased, nine decreased and that of 16 remained stable during the said period. According to the PBS report, the domestic LPG cylinder of 11.67 kg has become more expensive by 297 rupees to reach 3,084 rupees.
He said the price of a 20 kilogram bag of flour had risen from Rs51.75 to Rs1,298.49, eggs from Rs8.98 to Rs235.85 per dozen, mong lentils from Rs6.41 at Rs240.49 per kilo, dal gram at Rs4 at Rs244.93 per kilo and dal mash at Rs3.29 at Rs378.50 per kilo.
The PBS said in its report that rates of tea leaves, curds, milk, bread, potatoes, garlic, beef, mutton and rice also increased. However, he said the prices of nine key commodities fell from September 1 to 8, with the price of onion falling from Rs 73 to Rs 100.75 per kilo.
Additionally, the price of tomato also fell from Rs 14.46 to Rs 163.87 per kilo, banana from Rs 2.46 to Rs 95.46 per dozen and ghee from Rs 2.98 to Rs 542.07. Rs per kilo.
The PBS report said prices for 16 essential commodities were unchanged over the week.
Statistics show that last week the inflation rate on an annual basis was 34.47% for the group with an income of up to Rs17,732 per month, the group with an income of Rs17,733 to Rs22,888 per month had an inflation rate of 40.37%, 39.36% was the inflation rate for the group with an income of Rs22,889 to Rs29,517 per month, 23.59% was the inflation rate for the group with an income of Rs29,518 to Rs44,175 per month.
While the inflation rate was 44.01% for the group with an income above 44 thousand 176 rupees per month.


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Beiersdorf Plans To Reboot Coppertone, Strengthen China Position With Anti-Dark Spot Innovations
The Germany-based firm exceeded pre-pandemic sales levels in the fiscal 2021 second half, but rising costs could slow its momentum. Coppertone was a key growth driver in the second quarter, and Beiersdorf aims to capitalize with fresh innovation, new packaging and other updates to the brand.
You may also be interested in...
The latest EU business news: Germany's Beiersdorf promotes Vincent Warnery to CEO; Sweden's Probi posts solid gains in Q1; and Spain's Reig Jofre opens subsidiary in Poland.
Meeting virtually on 13-14 September, Cosmetic Ingredient Review's independent expert panel issued final safety assessments for red algae, tea tree and three other ingredients/groups, as well as eight tentative reports and five insufficient data announcements. The group also finalized its review priorities for 2022.
CIR’s work is far from done, says executive director Bart Heldreth, citing the cosmetics industry's vibrant innovation tradition and ingredient re-review needs that should keep the program sufficiently busy.


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To help bring a fresh baked taste from the bakery section to center store, BOBO’s, a producer of oat bars, announced today the closing an $8 million round of capital. Boulder Investment Group Reprise (BIGR) lead the round with additional funding provided by investment firm Range Light LLC.
Founded in 2003, Bobo’s has had a busy year, bringing on CPG veteran TJ McIntyre as CEO and rebranding and reformulating its entire line. Bobo’s also doubled its retail distribution from 2,500 stores to more than 6,000 over the course of the year and expanded distribution for its multipack offering.
The result of these changes, said McIntyre, is a brand ready to scale up. “We felt the brand, the team and the [in-house] bakery is well prepared for bringing on some capital, and for the ensuing fast break we’re going to put in motion with this $8 million round with BIGR and Range Light,” McIntyre told NOSH.
To help accelerate this growth, Bobo’s also announced the addition of three senior level hires to the team. Joining the Bobo’s family is Cheryl Christianson, formerly at Vosges chocolates, as VP of Sales, Mark Boden as VP of Finance and Colin Berry, formerly of Clif Bar, as Director of Foodservice Sales.
The additions to the team were, in part, made possible by this round of fundraising, said McIntyre. Additional capital will go towards quadrupling this year’s marketing budget to over $2 million and building a “small army” of sales team members. At Expo West this year, the brand will launch a new product that already has been accepted by several national retailers. The new SKU will be in over 600 stores by late spring.
Over the past year, Bobo’s spoke to over 15 private equity groups to find the right partners, according to McIntyre, but in the end, the company elected to partner with the familiar faces at BIGR. McIntyre has known BIGR Managing Partner Duane Primozich for over 15 years. The two previously worked together at Boulder Brands and founded mate brand Pixie Mate together. Carole Buyers, one of BIGR’s other founders, also worked at Boulder Brands.
“We know exactly what to expect from each other. I’ve got a ton of respect not just for Duane but for all of BIGR and I want someone looking over my shoulder that knows how to call plays,” McIntyre noted.
Primozich echoed McIntyre’s mutual admiration.
“Early in my career I’d characterize TJ as the best marketer that I knew. As our careers evolved I characterized him as the best general manager that I knew and I really do have the highest opinion of TJ’s abilities to scale businesses. I’ve seen him do it and I’ve seen how he does it,” Primozich told NOSH. “[BIGR wants] to make sure the next generation of folks have the benefit of an industry that is focused on values and both TJ and Beryl do represent this.”
According to McIntyre, Bobo’s model only has one round of funding in it. He believes that because the business has such a strong foundation, and is used to operating lean, the capital will go farther.
As to what the future holds, McIntyre says given founder Beryl Stafford’s already 14 years with the business, there likely will be an exit of some sort in the next five years. Whether this sale is to a strategic or an individual buying out current shareholders remains to be seen.
“It has to be part of the consideration set,” McIntyre said. “It’s not our absolute driver…but I can’t look private equity in the eye and say ‘this is now and forever.’”


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Once upon a time there was high quality cooked ham made with artisan processing using pork from Italian pigs bred
in a traditional way … and still is!
The Cav. Umberto Boschi Salami Felino is among the best Italian products presented in the Top Italian Food 2023 guide by Gambero Rosso.
A video tribute in celebration of Cav. Umberto Boschi’s centenary to relive key moments of the company history
To celebrate Christmas of the centennial year, Cav. Umberto Boschi chooses to make a concrete gesture aimed at the territory and the new generations
Cavalier Umberto Boschi at the 2022 edition of SANA, the organic product fair in Bologna.
Cavalier Umberto Boschi was live on the tv show “The Perfect Ingredient” on La7 channel
On the occasion of the exhibition, our new line will be presented
A special party for an important goal
Meetings, tastings and news at the international food exhibition
Celebrate with us at Cibus 2022!


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Microsoft's previous operating system might stick around just a little bit longer on pre-built PCs. According to ChannelWeb, Microsoft plans to let distributors take delivery of Windows XP licenses as late as May 30, 2009.
The previous deadline for shipments was January 31—a date that's still listed on the official Windows Life-Cycle Policy page. ChannelWeb says the May 30 reprieve stems from a "flexible inventory program" for distributors buying so-called OEM licenses. Those distributors will still have to submit "XP license demand forecasts" before December 31, however.
Of course, these deadlines only apply to distributors and smaller system builders. Microsoft revealed earlier this year that it would keep offering XP for netbooks "at least through June 2010," and it also extended the deadline for Windows XP downgrades until July 31, 2009.
|Gigabyte has two A320 boards for bread-and-butter Ryzen builds||15|
|MSI GTX 1080 Ti Armor 11G is the first custom card on e-tail shelves||8|
|Google points deep-learning machines at audio effect subtitles||5|
|Throw a Quadro card on Gigabyte's Z270X-Designare||11|
|Deals of the week: an RX 480 4GB for $150 and more||26|
|Dell UltraSharp 32 8K embarrasses 4K monitors||68|
|EVGA readies a Hybrid Waterblock for Nvidia GP102 cards||10|
|Elgato Stream Deck lets streamers play news desk||7|
|Puppy Day Shortbread||27|
|Well, so much for Common Courtesy Day...||+29|


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HyperX Predator DDR4-4600 module
HyperX, still part of Kingston Technology Company, has announced that its HyperX Predator DDR4-4600 module has set a world record at 7156MHz.
Zen 3-based Ryzen 3 5300G, Ryzen 5 5600G, Ryzen 7 5700G
It appears that AMD's upcoming Ryzen 5000G series desktop APUs based on Zen 3 architecture are coming soon, as the first details about the lineup have leaked online.
Foldable phone with two screen
Xiaomi has brought back its Mix series with the new Mi Mix Fold, Xiaomi's first foldable smartphone which comes with cutting-edge features like the flexible and foldable AMOLED screens, Qualcomm's latest Snapdragon 888 SoC, triple-sensor main camera with 108MP main sensor, and more.
High speed DDR4 kits ranging from DDR4-4600 to DDR4-5333
G.Skill has released a series of new high speed DDR4 kits aimed to be used on Intel's new Z590 platform. These kits will be a part of G.Skill's Trident Z Royal, Trident Z RGB, and Ripjaws V series and reach speeds of up to DDR4-5333.
Brings Resizable BAR support for RTX 30 series and more
Nvidia has released its latest graphics card driver, the Geforce 465.89 Game Ready, which brings optimizations for multiple games, adds new features and changes, as well as brings support for Resizable BAR on Geforce RTX 30-series desktop and mobile graphics cards.
Keeping the fabs, IFS, and more
During its presentation, Intel's new CEO, Pat Gelsinger, shared his vision of Intel in the future, including details about the 7nm manufacturing process and next-generation Meteor Lake CPUs.
Follows in the footsteps of the RTX 3080
While it was previously rumored for an April launch, it appears that Nvidia might have delayed the upcoming Geforce RTX 3080 Ti for mid-May.
Same 192-bit memory interface
With the Radeon RX 6700 XT launched, it was just a matter of time before some details about the Radeon RX 6700 (non-XT) have emerged, and it appears it will come with 6GB of GDDR6 memory.
RTX 3070 Ti with 8GB GDDR6X and RTX 3080 Ti with 12GB GDDR6X memory
Fresh rumors regarding Nvidia's new RTX 30 series graphics cards have started to appear, suggesting we will see a GA102-based RTX 3080 Ti with 12GB of GDDR6X memory in mid-April, and GA104-based RTX 3070 Ti with 8GB of GDDR6X memory in late May.
10nm SuperFin, DDR5, and PCIe 5.0
While Rocket Lake-S has just been announced, we now have new rumors about Intel's 12th gen Core Alder Lake-S CPUs, which could bring as high as 20 percent higher single-thread IPC improvement, support for both PCIe 4.0 and PCIe 5.0, as well as DDR5 memory support.


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Lilly Pulitzer in 2005. (Photo: Jennifer Graylock/AP)
- Designer Lilly Pulitzer, famously known for her cheerful bold prints of pink and green died Sunday at the age of 81 at her home in Palm Beach. “Style isn’t just about what you wear, it’s about how you live,” Pulitzer once said. “We focus on the best, fun and happy things, and people want that. Being happy never goes out of style.” (The Daily Beast)
Beyonce Knowles will join Anna Wintour, Rooney Mara and Riccardo Tisci as honorary chair for the Costume Institute Gala. (WWD)
Nicola Formichetti just landed a gig at Diesel as artistic director.(WWD)
- Yikes: Sheree Waterson, chief product officer for Lululemon, will depart April 15th after 5 years with the company. (Racked)
- Ever wonder what Barbie would look like minus all that perfection? Well, wonder no more, thanks to Mexican artist Eddi Aguirre, who created an image of Barbs without her makeup, undereye circles, yellowed teeth, blemishes, braces, grown out roots and hair frizz (gotta love his attention to detail). So, in other words, she how looks like the rest of us! (Behance)
- Watch: Nordstrom featured Seattle native Macklemore and Ryan Lewis in its latest bridal video.


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A shady customer stole some sunglasses at gunpoint from a store on San Francisco’s Market Street on Monday evening, police said today.
The robbery was reported at about 7:20 p.m. Monday in the 800 block of Market Street between Fourth and Fifth streets.
The suspect came into the business, pointed a handgun at an employee, grabbed the shades from a display case and fled, according to police.
The suspect, a man in his mid-20s, had not been found as of this morning.
No one was injured in the robbery.
Anyone with information about the case is encouraged to call the Police Department’s anonymous tip line at (415) 575-4444 or send a tip by text message to TIP411.
Dan McMenamin, Bay City News


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Wal-Mart studying India's investment conditions
NEW DELHI (Reuters) - U.S. retailer Wal-Mart Stores Inc (WMT.N) is studying the conditions attached to India's decision to open its supermarket sector to foreign investors before finalizing a decision to invest, a government statement said on Thursday.
India threw its doors open to foreign supermarket chains last year in the teeth of fierce domestic opposition, but attached strict conditions, including on sourcing, in the policy.
The CEO of Wal-Mart International, Doug McMillon, told Trade Minister Anand Sharma at a meeting in Davos that the firm was "excited about India" but studying the conditions before making an investment announcement, the statement said.
Sharma said the firm should not be "unduly concerned" about the prospect of a policy reversal.
(Reporting by Arup Roychoudhury)
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India threatened on Friday to block a worldwide reform of custom rules, which some estimates say could add $1 trillion to the global economy and create 21 million jobs, prompting a U.S. warning that its demands could kill global trade reform efforts. Full Article


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San Francisco Chronicle
Apple iPhones may be coming to a Wal-Mart near you, according to various reports.
The discount retailer is preparing to sell a version of the mobile device for as low as $99, some suggest, or maybe $197. Who knows?
Every step Apple makes is fodder for its legions of fanatics. Potentially teaming up with a powerhouse like Wal-Mart, plus the possibility of a low cost iPhone, makes this Apple rumor an especially hot topic.
The contention that Wal-Mart will start selling iPhone appears to be pretty strong. MacRumors, a blog focused on Apple, published a photo of some advertising materials that show Wal-Mart selling an 8GB iPhone for $197 – just $2 less than the current price at Apple retail stores.
Wal-Mart is supposed to start selling the phone Dec. 28.
Less concrete are separate reports that Wal-Mart may offer a new 4GB iPhone for $99. By offering a cheaper model, Apple would be appealing to a broader slice of shoppers in a tough economic environment.
But Wal-Mart sources interviewed by various publications gave conflicting accounts about whether such a phone will be made available. Some said that the $99 iPhone was coming, while others denied any knowledge.


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The new DATAPAQ® TP3 data logger provides more measurement channels, connectivity options, and ease of use for profiling and surveying in high-temperature heat treatment applications.
It’s love at first sight between ChatSim, the world’s first instant messaging SIM, and Opera Max, Opera’s app that helps save precious kB when using your smartphone.
Gemalto (Euronext NL0000400653 GTO), the world leader in digital security, announced the release of its new SafeNet Multi-Link High Speed Encryptor (HSE) solution that provides the equivalent of 10 by 10 Gbps high-speed encryptors in one unit.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) has stated that 387,820 musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) were reported in 2011, which accounted for 33% of all worker injury and illness cases that year. This staggering number brings to light the importance of preventing MSDs in the workplace through the science of ergonomics.
Mineral exploration worldwide is in crisis, according to a new report by The Boston Consulting Group (BCG). The report, Tackling the Crisis in Mineral Exploration , is being released today.
Toshiba Corporation (Tokyo: 6502) today announced that the company and the International Research Institute for Nuclear Decommissioning (IRID) have developed a small robot to investigate the interior of the primary containment vessel (PCV) of Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station Unit 2.
Mitsubishi Electric Corporation announced today that Mitsubishi Electric Consumer Products (Thailand) Co., Ltd., a Thai-based subsidiary for air-conditioning systems, will expand its manufacturing and logistics capabilities with a new facility in Chonburi Province, aiming to support Mitsubishi Electric’s growing air-conditioning systems business in Asia and other regions.
Brightstar, the world’s largest specialized wireless distributor and leader in innovation and diversified services for the wireless industry, has inked an exclusive deal to bring Xiaomi’s Mi 4 to Thailand.
Boston Logic (http://www.bostonlogic.com), a software and online marketing provider for real estate brokerages, announced two significant partnerships in the past thirty days, demonstrating accelerated adoption among market leading real estate companies ready for better, more innovative technology solutions.
From extra perks to value add-ons, Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts invites guests to take a summer trip and “ Escape the Ordinary ” at more than 80 Shangri-La, Kerry and Traders hotels worldwide through 31 August 2015.


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At first glance, Intel doesn’t look like a beleaguered company. Last year, sales were $ 77.8 billion and profits were $ 20 billion. The market capitalization is $ 220 billion as of mid-September 2021.
Still. If you are a leader, all of your competition is on you. Intel is working to lose the lead in manufacturing and process nodes, to lose market share to the resurrected AMD, Nvidia relentlessly challenges Intel for AI advantage, Atom processor arm in the mobile market three years later CEO who failed brilliantly and the third became.
But Intel wins the competition. Lisa Spellman, Corporate Vice President and General Manager of the Xeon and Memory Group, said: “So it’s no wonder that there are competitors who want something from it.”
âI’m not saying Intel is ‘under siege’, but it is certainly being attacked from various angles, including internal unrest. Glenn O’Donnell, vice president and director of research, Forrester Research said:
Other factors are difficult to fix.
As AMD gains momentum, Nvidia GPUs collapse, ARM architecture is now a great alternative, and countless other chips like communication interfaces, microcontrollers, and DSPs are all on the battlefield, the competition is unprecedented. It is not an exaggeration to say that it is going to be violent.
Intel got the much-needed shots with Gelsinger’s return to CEO in February. Gelsinger has long been considered one of the most important engineers in the company’s history and was considered a top candidate for the top spot when he was in exile in 2009.
Upon returning to Japan, Gelsinger started running hard and took a number of steps to mend Intel’s lost luster.
âI think he’s doing the right thing. And you know he’s a new guy. He is licensed to take brave steps, and they have been brave. IDC Computing and Shane Lau, Research Vice President of Semiconductors, said:
Some of Gelsinger’s advocacy projects actually began under his predecessor, Bob Swan. Bob Swan couldn’t get the recognition he deserved as he was the company’s former CFO and was more wealthy than an engineer. “Bob survived many difficult times,” said Spellman.
Gelsinger has gained extensive experience since leaving Intel in 2009 and now supports him in changing company guidelines. He was COO of EMC, took over as CEO of VMware, tripled sales and expanded well beyond core hypervisor technology. “It not only gave him the opportunity to run a large technology company, it gave him a non-Intel perspective,” said O’Donnell. This will help the gelsinger figure out what to do. “I think it was very valuable.”
IDM 2.0 shakes production
In 2008, AMD split into two companies, one developing chips and the other called GlobalFoundries, which made them. Fought to compete with Intel and could not afford to have manufacturing facilities in New York and Dresden, Germany, the company sold the fabs to two Abu Dhabi government mutual funds. The concept of a chip company called “Fabless” that outsources manufacturing to third parties just by developing the chip became popular, and Nvidia proved that the concept worked.
Wall Street and other analysts have started whispering that Intel should probably do the same thing since Intel was behind manufacturing. Instead, Intel introduced a strategy called Integrated Device Management 2.0 or IDM 2.0. First, IDM 2.0 includes a $ 20 billion investment in two new chip fabs at its Chandler, Arizona facility. In addition, IDM consists of three components:
- Intel’s global internal factory network. Intel has fabless in the US, Europe, Central America and Asia, and IDM 2.0 promises to develop its own chips to avoid fabless.
- Extended use of third-party foundry capacities. Intel plans to manufacture some chips in collaboration with other foundries, including Taiwan’s giant TSMC.
- Build a world-class foundry company called Intel Foundry Services. Intel will make chips for other companies, including competing companies. This is new for Intel and already has two customers side by side. Both are competitors. Amazon Web Services and Qualcomm. AWS makes its own arm-based server processor called Graviton, but Qualcomm is competing for 5G chip space.
Spellman said Intel had previously manufactured for other parties. IDM 2.0 makes it more strategic to discuss products, solutions and ways to develop solutions. “
IDM 2.0 also includes additional technology elements such as management software and foundry business, said Rau. In his opinion, these are likely to be the most difficult components of the IDM 2.0 strategy.
âThere is a need for leadership and manufacturing across the industry,â he said. âThe connection has to be made between Intel’s foundry company and its customers, not Intel itself, which means that it has different capabilities, different IP portfolios, different designs and thus foundries. Can enable customer success. “
Spelman explains that IDM is more than just a business alliance between chip manufacturers, it benefits end users as well. âCustomers who offer Infrastructure as a Service may have their own IP, their own customizations, or simply control other data flows that are best for their environment,â she says. This potentially means lower latency, more computational density that can be provided, and greater sustainability of computational performance. All of this is beneficial to the end user.
Until the last decade, Intel was the only x86 show when it comes to computers. I haven’t used x86 for communications, networking chips, etc, but I’ve used it elsewhere (Itanium Processor of Destiny Intolerable). The Atom was an attempt by a mobile processor that essentially removed the x86 core. The first two GPU attempts, Larrabee and Xeon Phi, were x86-based. They all failed.
Then the current changed. In 2014, Intel acquired the FPGA vendor Altera, the AI ââchip manufacturers Nervana and Habana, and the network experts Barefoot Networks, and invited the best AMD GPU experts to finally build the right GPU.
The multi-architecture approach is not just attributable to Intel. AMD takes over the FPGA manufacturer Xilinx. Nvidia has taken over network specialist Mellanox and is about to take over Arm Holdings. Marvell has also moved from making hard drive controllers to arm server processors and intelligent network adapters. Nobody offers a single architecture anymore.
âIt’s a religious debate for a company like Intel, but as I said, Gelsinger has to eat his youth so to speak in order to steer Intel in a different direction. It doesn’t mean getting away from x86, but you should consider x86plus, âsays O’Donnell.
Recently, Intel added a new RISC architecture to its family. In June, we plan to sign a contract with RISC-V manufacturer SiFive to develop a new development platform called Horse Creek using SiFive’s new Performance P550 core. Intel has also registered SiFive with the Foundry Service. That same month, Bloomberg reported that Intel was trying to buy SiFive for $ 2 billion. However, Intel remained silent on the matter and refused to comment except to confirm its partnership with SiFive.
According to O’Donnell, the mobile computing ship has set sail, but Intel still has great opportunities in edge computing with RISC-based chips. âOne of the biggest criticisms of x86 is its power consumption,â he said. âBut IoT devices and edge computing devices will be huge. It’s a huge growth market. And power consumption is important there. And now it is everyone’s market to be won. “
Introduction of IPU
In addition to the SmartNICs already on offer, Intel has also introduced a new line of intelligent network controllers called Infrastructure Processing Units (IPUs). The idea behind SmartNIC is to take the burden off the CPU from routing network traffic and free up the CPU to run jobs that process data. Unlike traditional network controllers, SmartNICs have some programming power to perform tasks that traditional Dam NICs cannot, such as packet processing...
IPU is a Smart NIC that takes you to the next step. In the past, SmartNICs were local, but IPUs were designed specifically for data movement in the cloud and for communication services. The IPU was developed to separate the cloud infrastructure from the tenant or guest software so that guests have full control over the CPU with the software and service providers to maintain control over the infrastructure and trust paths.
The two IPUs have Intel Xeon-D and Agilex FPGA cores for processing. The third code name, MountEvans, is the first type of Intel. Mount Evans was developed in cooperation with leading cloud service partners and is based on Intel’s packet processing engine and has up to 16 ARM Neoverse N1 cores with a dedicated compute cache and up to 3 memory channels. The ASIC can support up to four hosts, Xeon, with a full dual bandwidth of 200 Gb / s in between.
XPU and oneAPI connect them all
Each processor architecture has its strengths and weaknesses, all of which are suitable for a specific application. The Intel XPU project announced last year aims to provide a programming model that is integrated into all types of processor architectures and to adapt all applications to the optimal architecture. XPU lets you integrate x86, FPGAs, AI, machine language processors, and GPUs into your network, which means your app will be compiled with the best processor for your task.
This is done via a oneAPI project that works with XPU. XPU is the silicon part and oneAPI is the software that connects everything. oneAPI is a heterogeneous programming model that uses common languages ââsuch as C, C ++, Fortran and Python and uses code written in standards such as MPI and OpenMP.
The oneAPI Base Toolkit includes compilers, performance libraries, analysis and debugging tools for general purpose computing, HPC and AI. It also provides compatibility tools to migrate code written in Nvidia’s CUDA to Intel’s GPU language Data Parallel C ++ (DPC ++).
“This is a branded version of the trend that is well established with semiconductor manufacturers,” says Rau. âThat means you can no longer be CPU-centric or GPU-centric. You can’t have one big chip in your portfolio. And to be successful, you can connect multiple types of processors. Requires processing and connection. “
Spelman has confirmed that the jury is still in development, so oneAPI is still being examined.
And she says never say anything about the ability to add architecture. âWe never say it ended there. The industry is moving too fast and too dynamic, so we don’t know where to invest next, âshe said.
Copyright Â© 2021 IDG Communications, Inc.


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Starting in 2006, the government will require nutrition labels on food to also list trans-fats. That’s pushing companies to look at changing how they grow some crops. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Lester Graham reports:
Starting in 2006, the government will require nutrition labels on food to also list trans-fats.
That’s pushing companies to look at changing how they grow some crops. The Great Lakes
Radio Consortium’s Lester Graham reports:
Products containing hydrogenated soybean oil are high in trans-fats. So, Monsanto is designing a
new lower-fat, healthier soybean. Using conventional plant breeding, Monsanto will first do two
thing. One: reduce trans-fats and two: increase healthy monounsaturated fats. Shannon
Troughton is a spokesperson for Monsanto. She says a final step requires genetically altering the
“The third phase will take biotechnology techniques and make it completely free or as free as
possilbe of saturated fats.”
Except for a more nutritious rice given to the developing world for free, this is the first time a
grain has been genetically modified for reasons other than economic gain for farmers. Monsanto
indicates the new soy oil will be in products on the grocers’ shelves in about eight years if it’s
approved by government regulators.
For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, this is Lester Graham.
Bill Erwin and a number of other Michigan apple growers are involved in a huge project to reduce pesticide use in orchards. Erwin says he's among those who will continue the practice.
No one likes the idea of pesticides in baby food. But nobody likes the idea of a worm in an apple either. So apple growers have been involved in a three year project to reduce pesticides, but still turn out a crop that’s not plagued by insects. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Lester Graham reports:
No one likes the idea of pesticides in baby food. But nobody likes the idea of a worm in
an apple either. Apple growers have been involved in a three year project to reduce
pesticides, but still turn out a crop that’s not plagued by insects. The Great Lakes Radio
Consortium’s Lester Graham reports:
Gerber makes baby food. A lot of those little jars of fruit use apples in the mix. A few
years ago the Consumers Union, an arm of the magazine Consumer reports, called for the
end of the use of many of the pesticides that end up in children’s food. And the
Environmental Working Group issued a scathing report on pesticides in kid’s food. Like
other baby food makers, Gerber knew it had to do something. It started with improving
methods to wash off or peel off pesticide residue on apples. But, there was only so much
that could be done in the plant.
Todd DeKryger is with Gerber Baby Foods. He says Gerber’s plants did what they could
to get rid of pesticide residue, but it wasn’t enough.
“Our customers were telling us, ‘We don’t want residues in the products we buy from
Gerbers.’ We turn around and tell our growers ‘We need a product without pesticide
residues.’ And it’s really been amazing how they have really bought into that whole idea
of providing a product. You know, and they say ‘Hey, look. We fed our kids Gerber and,
uh, yeah, okay, this makes sense. Now, how can I help?'”
Gerber got some help from a firm based in North Carolina. The Center for Agricultural
Partnerships contacted Gerber at its main plant in Michigan as well as Michigan State
University’s Extension Service and apple growers. They had money to pay for
publications and free consultants for three years for growers who wanted to try a way to
control bugs in the orchards called ‘Integrated Pest Management’ or IPM.
Larry Elworth is with the Center. He says IPM. has worked for other types of fruit
growers, but expertise was needed for the particular climates and growing conditions in
Michigan’s apple orchards to make IPM effective.
“It’s become a way of managing pests that gives growers way more information to use so
they can actually outsmart the insects rather than always relying on a chemical as the way
to control them.”
(apple picking sound)
That all sounded good, but no one had tried it in the apple orchards on a large scale.
“Well, our main concern was whether it was going to work or not.”
Bill Erwin operates Erwin Orchards and Cider Mill.
(sound of rolling apples)
Apple pickers are plucking fruit and gently rolling the apples into a big wooden crate for
shipping to retailers. Erwin says it seemed risky to change farming methods in the
“We’ve been used to the chemistries. We’ve been used to the program and, uh, we
weren’t sure that using lighter chemistries was going to work and we weren’t sure that we
were going to be able to control the bugs.”
Erwin says pesticides are reliable. They kill bugs. The fruit looks good. And the orchard
is nice looking in that there’s no wildlife, bugs, birds or otherwise in the area for very
long. But Erwin says all the beneficial insects, such as ladybugs and spiders that eat bugs
that ruin fruit were also gone. Erwin says he noticed something else that bothered him –
humming bird nests – but no baby humming birds.
So, Erwin and a lot of other Michigan apple growers gave Integrated Pest Management a
shot. Erwin says they found using tactics such as mating disruption of pests works. The
worm in the apple is actually the coddling moth’s larvae which burrow into the fruit.
Apple growers used the female coddling moth’s pheremones against the insect. By
saturating the orchard with pheremones, males didn’t know which way to turn to find a
mate. No mate, no eggs. No eggs, no worm in the apple. And Erwin says he noticed
“Now we find humming birds. We find little baby humming bird nests everywhere in this
orchard. We see bluebirds out here. You never used to see those. And, so, we know we’re
doing something good with the environment and that makes us feel good about this
program. They’ve taught us something and it’s gonna be something we’re going to keep
And it appears the results are good.
The Center for Agricultural Partnership’s Larry Elworth says the three year project was a
“Growers had at least as good if not better quality apple crops than they had before. Fewer bites
from insects chewing on the surface. A lot fewer worms that had burrowed inside the
apples which gave them a higher quality crop and they actually got more revenue for
their crop than they’d been getting before. And they were also able to reduce their overall
costs for controlling insects.”
Gerber Baby Foods is relieved. By getting orchards closer to its plant to reduce pesticide
use, it’s ensured a local supply of apples. Otherwise, it meant trucking in fruit from
farther away and paying more for fruit that met consumers’ demands for pesticide free
For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, this is Lester Graham.
Milk production is big business in the upper Midwest. Now, the president of a biotech company in Wisconsin is milking a herd of cloned cows that he says could give the Great Lakes dairy industry a boost, but there are still questions about the health of cloned cows, and whether the milk they produce is safe for human consumption. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Gil Halsted has the story:
Milk production is big business in the upper Midwest. Now the president of a biotech company in Wisconsin is milking a herd of cloned cows that he says could give the Great Lakes dairy industry a boost. But there are still questions about the health of cloned cows and whether the milk they produce is safe for human consumption. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Gil Halsted reports:
(Sound of milk splashing into a sink)
Just outside the milking parlor at the Infigen Dairy a steady stream of milk is flowing from a pipe into a sink. It gurgles down the drain into another pipe that leads to a holding tank. Infigen president Michael Bishop says the milk is perfectly safe and nutritious but when the day’s milking is done he’ll get rid of it.
“Right now that milk is worth 15, 16 dollars a hundredweight and we’re dumpin’ it.”
The milk Bishop is dumping comes from 23 cloned cows. He produced them by removing the genetic material from an unfertilized cow egg and then inserting the DNA from the ear of a cow he wanted to reproduce. The result is a herd of cows that looks uncannily identical. There are no regulations requiring Bishop to dump the milk from his herd. But the FDA has asked all owners of cloned livestock to keep food products from their animals off the market until the agency decides whether or not to regulate them. The FDA is waiting for a National Academy of Sciences report on animal cloning due out later this spring before it makes a decision.
FDA spokesperson Stephen Sundlof says even if the report includes no red flags on food products from clones, the agency may require tests on the milk from cloned cows before it goes on the market.
“That would be to look compositionally at milk from cloned animals and compare that to milk from non-cloned animals to see if there was any substantial differences. But other than that we would likely find that those products were in fact identical to normal milk produced by uncloned animals.”
Michael Bishop is confident the milk his cloned cows are producing is perfectly safe for human consumption. In fact he says he’s already run the kind of test Sundlof is talking about comparing the milk of his cloned cows with the milk from cows at a neighboring dairy.
“Nothing new in the cloned cows… but there were variants in the bulk tank of a neighbor dairy, so it really turns out that the food product is more predictable. It’s gonna be the same in a cloned animal.”
But critics of cloning food say there are still lots of unanswered questions. Infigen isn’t the only company cloning dairy cows and several consumer groups are lobbying the FDA to put some strong regulations in place before milk from any of the diaries using the procedure is allowed on supermarket shelves. Joseph Mendelsen is with the Washington-based Center for Food Safety. He says there are a number of potential health problems for cloned cows. For instance they may be more susceptible to mastitis, and may require more use of antibiotics.
“Are there possibly subtle genetic differences that may affect the nutritional quality of the milk? I don’t think those issues have been looked at and they’re certainly not gonna be looked at with the scrutiny I think that consumers expect if we don’t have a mandatory regulatory system looking at cloned animals and the products derived from them.”
Infigen’s Michael Bishop agrees that regulations to insure the quality of the milk may be necessary, and he’s in favor of labeling the milk from cloned cows so consumers can make an informed choice.
“Americans are used to having choices and I believe they should have this choice. Let’s let science prove one way or the other if there’s a difference and then let’s let the marketplace decide if that product is going to be acceptable.”
Critics of cloning all say labeling should be required for food from cloned animals. But they’re even more concerned about the affect clones will have on genetic diversity. John Peck is the executive director of the Wisconsin-based Family Farm Defenders. He says an increase in the number of cows with identical genes will reduce the range of genetic diversity. And that means, he says, that herds of cloned cattle will be even more likely to face problems from disease and viruses.
“If you’re basically engineering in this uniformity, you’re also engineering susceptibility to catastrophic events, which we’ve seen that with other crops that are genetically engineered or hybrids that are vulnerable to one form of blight or rust or something that comes in from afar. The big question then is, who’s gonna pay for that? You know are the consumers gonna foot the bill when a factory farm of two thousand dairy cows all gets wiped out by one virus?”
But Michael Bishop says his cloned cows will not be any more at risk for disease than the original healthy cows they were cloned from. He predicts that once cloning catches on, farmers running large commercial dairies will begin adding clones to their herds to increase their efficiency.
“Because they’ll actually be able to create a more uniform consistent product from cow to cow to cow, and be able to predict how much hay, how much feed, and exactly what the outcome’s gonna be. Is it gonna be thirty thousand, thirty one thousand, thirty two thousand pounds of milk from the inputs they put in.”
how quickly large dairies turn to cloning for economic advantage though depends a lot on whether the FDA decides to impose restrictions on the milk the cloned cows produce.
For Great Lakes Radio Consortium, I’m Gil Halsted.


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Police are banking on an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) to prevent bursting of banned firecrackers during Kali Puja and Diwali, police commissioner Surajit Kar Purkayastha said at a meeting with representatives of 3,000-odd puja organisers on Friday.
The UAV can hover at a height of up to 250m and capture images within a radius of 5km. “The device worked successfully during Puja. So we are planning to use it during Kali Puja and Diwali to monitor bursting of crackers, especially on terraces of highrises,” an officer said. The police had bought the DRDO-made drone, fitted with a night-vision camera, for Rs 38 lakh.
Agriculture minister Arup Roy said the retail price of potato in the state would be Rs 14 per kg from Saturday. Some people were hoarding potato to manipulate its price, he said. “The wholesale price of potato will be Rs 1,090 per quintal,” Roy added.


text:
TFWA World Exhibition visitor numbers slip 2%By Kristiane Sherry
Industry challenges hit visitor numbers at this year’s TFWA World Exhibition & Conference (TFWA WE), however the organisation has declared the 2% decline a “healthy figure under the circumstances”.
TFWA WE took place in Cannes, France, from 2-7 October. A total of 6,443 (6,558 in 2015) attended representing 2,948 companies (down 3% from 3,026).
The drop in numbers follows a challenging 2015 for the duty free and travel retail industry, with value sales contracting 2.3% overall in the calendar year, and wine and spirits falling 2.7%.
Despite the overall declines, the number of visitors from “key” categories – including travel retail operators, landlords and agents – increased 0.9% from 4,584 in 2015 to 4,625 this year. This figure represented 1,811 companies, a 1.2% increase on the 1,788 attendees in 2015.
The exhibition itself also grew in size, occupying 2.9% more floor space at 22,475.5sqm. In total, 492 brands were exhibited across 472 stands, including 10 official boats moored in the Harbour Village, and two marquees in the Beach Village.
Although foot traffic to the exhibition waned, attendance at the Opening Conference reached record levels. A total of 1,634 delegates – up 8.6% on 2015 numbers, gathered at the Palais des Festivals to hear from Juul-Mortensen, Dufry CEO Julián Díaz, tech expert Randi Zuckerberg, and International Rescue Committee CEO David Miliband.
The popularity of the conference programme continued throughout the week, with 153 early risers (+5.5% on 2015) joining the Russia Market Watch workshop on Tuesday morning, 174 delegates (+ 9.4%) attending the Inflight Workshop on Wednesday morning, and 89 (+2.3%) attending a Wednesday evening session outlining TFWA’s latest research findings.
“The success of this week, and the colour of the mood around the exhibition halls and in the conference, goes to show that we have much to feel good about in the coming months and year,” commented Juul-Mortensen on the week’s activities.
While 2015 proved to be a challenging year, Generation Research figures released at the Opening Conference showed TR wine and spirits sales rebounded 4% in the first quarter of 2016.


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The beaches of Puerto Peñasco have seen a 5% growth in tourism from the U.S. during the month of July, which could close out with nearly 280,000 visitors.
According to info provided by the local Convention and Visitors Bureau (OCV), July has had 70 to 75% occupancy rates at beachfront hotels, with many weekends reporting to be completely full. This represents a 5% increase over the same period last year.
OCV President Héctor Vázquez del Mercado notes this coming weekend is important for tourism in Puerto Peñasco, with thousands of visitors from the U.S. enjoying their remaining vacation weeks, along with numerous Mexican tourists principally from Baja California, Chihuahua, and Sonora.
Vázquez del Mercado indicated July numbers show about 75% of tourists coming from abroad, with the remaining coming directly from Mexico. He added the percentage of national tourism will begin to grow this coming week as Mexican families recover from graduation costs.
During August, the majority of tourists to the area tend to be from Mexicali and Tijuana in Baja California, as well as from the state of Chihuahua and areas across Sonora, with an expected 50% hotel occupancy rate which represents about 200,000 visitors for the month.


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U.S. TikTok Hysteria Teeters Toward The Idiotic
from the do-as-we-say,-not-as-we-do dept
Last Friday, the internet exploded with the news that Amazon was banning its employees from installing TikTok, the hugely popular social media app by Chinese company ByteDance. An entire day’s news cycle was dedicated to Amazon’s decision, with an ocean of press reports implying that the Chinese social networking platform was a privacy nightmare directly tethered to the Chinese government. The story came on the heels of months of allegations by the Trump administration that the app was doing things so vile and atrocious that the only solution was to ban the popular app from the United States entirely.
But then, at the end of the day, something odd happened. Amazon suddenly backtracked, stating that its announcement to employees urging them to uninstall TikTok was a mistake. An entire day’s news cycle, filled with allegations that TikTok was a privacy nightmare, was based on little more than an administrative brain fart.
It was just the latest example of how, upon closer inspection, much of the hysteria surrounding TikTok isn’t based on much of anything… substantive. There’s been no limit of pearl clutching from the Trump administration and its allies about the app, but when it comes to actual supporting evidence to justify an outright ban, there’s just not much of it beyond “it’s from China.” Case in point: Senator Ken Buck penned one of a flood of editorials over at Newsweek, declaring that TikTok was aggressively nefarious and a diabolical threat to US consumers:
There are a few problems there.
Three, numerous security experts have taken a very close look at the app and found absolutely nothing out of the ordinary. Four, the data Buck hyperventilates over is collected and shared by an absolute universe of companies and services thanks in large part to lax US privacy oversight and sloppy security practices. Given the endless security hacks, leaks, and data just left stupidly unsecured in the cloud, it’s not hard for Chinese intelligence — or anybody else with unlimited time and resources — to get a hold of this kind of data if it wants access to it. Banning TikTok without addressing a myriad of other issues doesn’t thwart that.
As such, if you’re genuinely concerned about US consumer privacy, banning TikTok isn’t going to do you much good. Chinese hardware is in literally everything, from your shitty router and “smart” fridge, to the millions of crappy internet of broken things devices Americans attach to their home and business networks with reckless abandon. Like the NSA, Chinese intelligence really doesn’t need TikTok to spy on Americans. There’s a million other attack vectors to choose from, most of which (like the IOT) we’re not actually doing much about, yet likely provide the Chinese government with far more data than TikTok ever could:
If you dropped a penny from the top of our list of legitimate cybersecurity concerns, it would hit TikTok sometime around 2023. Anyone making noise about this is telling you they?re a clown. https://t.co/ardPIuKY1h
— Julian Sanchez (@normative) July 16, 2020
The reality is that most of these lawmakers making such a heated stink about TikTok couldn’t give any less of a shit about US consumer privacy, rampant data collection, or ensuring US integrity from foreign operators with malicious intent (see: Mr. Putin). In fact, most have gone well out of their way to ensure privacy regulators like the FTC lack the resources or authority to police privacy. Most have worked tirelessly to kill any and every attempt at even the most modest of privacy laws, oppose improving election security, and were utterly absent during the biggest scandals of the era (see: wireless industry’s location data fracas).
Either you care about consumer privacy or you don’t, and the majority of those making the biggest noise about TikTok have made it clear, repeatedly, that they don’t. If we actually cared about US consumer privacy, we’d pass some baseline privacy protections, craft holistic strategies to tackle the IOT dumpster fire, heavily fund election security reform, stop tearing down and defunding our privacy regulators, and actually impose more than theatrical wrist slaps against companies–foreign and domestic–that are provably incompetent or downright malicious when it comes to data privacy and security.
Many of these lawmakers had nothing to say when it was revealed that US wireless carriers were selling access to sensitive location information to every nitwit with a nickel, including stalkers and those pretending to be law enforcement. Many (like Pompeo) cry endlessly about China’s hacking efforts, but do nothing to help fund election security. Many refuse to condone our failures to secure SS7 wireless network vulnerabilities likely exploited by most foreign intelligence agencies for the better part of the last decade.
DC’s hysteria over TikTok is oddly disconnected from our broader privacy and security failures, and intellectual consistency is utterly lacking. It’s also hard to imagine that DC in its current state is capable of separating our obvious domestic financial and competitive motivations from genuine national security concerns.
Yes, the Chinese government is a brutal authoritarian mess, and its treatment of Uighurs Muslims is utterly repugnant. But the idea that you can somehow fix Chinese authoritarianism or US privacy issues just by banning an app rife with dancing teens is laughable to the extreme.


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by Staff Writers
Havana (AFP) Aug 15, 2014
Cuba has been hit by a severe beer shortage during one of its hottest summers on record, sparking hoarding and driving thirsty drinkers to pay greatly inflated prices.
A sharp fall in production at the island's main brewery, Bucanero, at the beginning of the year has trickled its way down the supply chain at the worst possible time: the third-hottest summer since 1951.
That has caused many consumers and the communist country's newly legalized private restaurants, or "paladares," to stock all they can.
Bucanero makes four brands of beer: Bucanero, Cristal, Cacique and Mayabe. The company has a virtual monopoly in Cuba, though some imported beers are also available, albeit at a large mark-up.
"It was an odyssey to find beers for a going-away party Tuesday," one Chilean expatriate told AFP.
"I covered half of Havana going to supermarkets, gas stations and liquor stores before I finally had to buy them at a restaurant" -- where he had to pay 15 percent higher prices, he said.
Cuban media said the problem was caused by delayed imports of malted barley in the first four months of the year.
That hit production at Bucanero, a joint venture between the Cuban state and brewing giant Anheuser-Busch InBev, and reached consumers just as summer set in.
"Now in the summer more than ever, you go to look for a cold beer at this moment when you needed it the most, and you can't find any," said an agonizing islander interviewed on local TV.
Cuba has registered average temperatures of 28 degrees Celsius (82 Fahrenheit) this summer, according to the national meteorological institute.
Media reports said the beer problem had been exacerbated by hoarding by consumers and the "paladares" that have flourished since the introduction of economic reforms by President Raul Castro, who took over from his 88-year-old brother Fidel, the father of the Cuban Revolution, eight years ago.
Weather News at TerraDaily.com
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Latin America OTT revenues to climb by $4 billion
U.K.(09 Aug 2018)
Revenues from OTT TV episodes and moviesfor 19 Latin American countries will grow by $4 billion to $6.43 billion in 2023; up from the $2.47 billion recorded in 2017.
According to the Latin America OTT TV & Video Forecastsreport, the top five countries will generate $5.32 billion in revenues by 2023 – or 83% of the regional total. SVOD will remain the region’s largest OTT revenue source; contributing $4.42 billion by 2023.
Simon Murray, Principal Analyst at Digital TV Research, said: “We forecast 48.24 millionSVOD subscribersby 2023; more than double from the 21.14 million recorded at end-2017. By 2023, 28.4% of the region’s TV households will payfor an SVOD package, up from 13.2% by end-2017.”
Murray continued: “Puerto Rico (53.5%) and Mexico (51.8%) will have the highest penetration by 2023. These two countries are the only ones in the region where Amazon Prime operates.”
Benefiting from the availability of Amazon Prime, Mexico will become the SVOD subscriber leader in 2019 despite having 60% of the population of Brazil. Mexico will account for 36% of the region’s SVOD subs by 2023, with Brazil bringing in a further 27%.
Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Blim, Movistar Play, Claro Video, Crackle and HBO will together account for 91% of the region’s payingSVOD subscribers by end-2023. Netflix will remain the largest pan-regional SVOD platform by some distance, with an expected 23.99 million paying subscribers in 2023 – or half the region’s total (down from a two-thirds share in 2017).


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Organic Farming Bumps up Profit for West Bengal Women Farmers
Women farmers sell their produce in an organic bazaar, set up by the Bengal government to promote organic farming.
Pratima Pradhan is happy nowadays. She not only contributes to her family’s income but has also been able to ensure her five-year-old son is healthy, who suffered from frequent bouts of acidity till a few months ago. The 33-year-old farmer resides at Dakshin Gopalnagar village in Sundarbans area of South 24 Parganas district of West Bengal.
She thanks organic farming for changing her life and keeping her family healthy. “The traditional method of farming has given a new lease of life to me. It has not only increased my income but has also helped to keep my family healthy,” she said.
“My son doesn’t suffer from acidity anymore as he did while consuming vegetables from the market. The lockdown came as a boon for me as it changed my life for good.”Pratima Pradhan
The pandemic-induced lockdown has proved to be a blessing for 1,160 women residing in 11 villages spread across three panchayats – Durbachoti, Gopalnagar, Rishibomkin – of the Sundarbans, known for its vast mangrove cover and Royal Bengal tiger.
A majority of the women in Sundarbans are involved in farming, as men migrate to other states for livelihood. The archipelago faces severe natural calamities often, forcing men to venture outside, which leaves the women with the responsibility of farming and running their household.
“My husband works in a private firm at Siliguri. I was alone and also had to look after my parents. I was growing paddy and other crops with chemical fertilizers and pesticides,” Manjushree Das (48) of Dakshin Gopalnagar told VillageSquare.in.
“A woman farmer told me about organic farming. Initially, I was reluctant, but later decided to give it a try,” Das added.
“Surprisingly, the production has increased and the profit too. Traditional farming has saved my expenditure on chemical fertilizers that also prove to be bad for health. The decision to switch to organic farming has been helpful as it is offering better food to my family.”Manjushree Das
There are many women who feel the same about switching to organic farming.
The credit for motivating the women into organic method of agriculture goes to Sudhanshu Shekhar Dey (54), a local homeopathy doctor in Durbachoti, who has been inspiring farmers since 2012, to take up organic cultivation.
Dey claimed that he was on a mission to offer healthy food on every plate. “It was difficult to convince these women to adopt traditional farming practices, as they had been using chemicals for many years,” Dey told VillageSquare.in.
“Working since 2012, we could manage to bring around 400 women into our fold,” said Dey.
Dey, who also runs Society for Durbachoti Social Action and Transformation, a non-profit organisation, said that he managed to convince nearly 800 women into organic farming in a span of few months after the announcement of the lockdown last year.
“The women didn’t have enough money to buy fertilizers as there was severe cash crunch during the lockdown. We convinced them to attend our training programmes on organic farming and invited them in small groups of 10, keeping in mind the social distancing protocols,” he said.
“We faced reluctance initially but they came after being cajoled by those who were already into organic farming,” Dey added.
Dey gave the women 115 indigenous varieties of climate resilient seeds that could sustain the vagaries of climate change. His organisation offered them support during the sowing of seeds. Several women became part of the initiative. “We also have a seed bank containing indigenous varieties,” he said.
Society for Socio Economic and Ecological Development (), a non-profit working for the livelihood of coastal communities affected by climate change, played a major role by providing financial and technical support to the homeopath to carry on his work.
“We joined the initiative during the lockdown, realising the economic hardships these women were facing while their men were stuck in other states. We found that the women were too poor to buy fertilizers and so we provided climate resilient indigenous varieties of seeds as there had already been severe damage because of Cyclone Amphan,” said Ratna Mazumdar, general secretary of SEED.
“We offered seeds to 69 agriculture groups, each having 18 to 20 women. We gave priority to those who had been affected when shoddy embankments collapsed during the cyclone as well as by the lockdown,” Mazumdar told VillageSquare.in.
No Input Expenditure
Saleya Bibi (37), a resident of Durbachoti village, has been practicing organic farming for the past nine years. Having become a trainer now, she said that she and other trainers visited villages and constantly monitored the farms to ensure good productivity.
“We asked the women about the issues they faced. We trained them in making natural fertilizers that helped them increase their income as it saved their expenditure on buying fertilizers from the market.”Bibi told VillageSquare.in
“The women saved roughly Rs 3,000 per bigha, which they earlier used to spend on buying fertilizers. With increased savings, women began to bring more land into farming. They didn’t have the headache of buying fertilizers as everything was available in the house,” she said.
Women farmers sell their produce in the local market christened as organic bazaar that was inaugurated by the state government to promote organic farming in 2019. The women sell their produce in the bi-weekly market that is open on Wednesdays and Thursdays.
“Consumers wait keenly for us and the entire produce gets sold within a few hours. The number of women selling the farm produce in the market has increased post-lockdown as more women have changed to organic farming,” pointed out Ashtami Karak (34), a farmer in Dakshin Gopalnagar, to VillageSquare.in.
The traditional farming has not only improved their livelihood but has helped them consume healthy food. “We have stopped buying vegetables from the market as it doesn’t suit our taste anymore. We grow organic food and also sell the same to our consumers. We do not want them to consume poison,” said Madhabi Jana (33), of Durbachoti village.
The traditional farming has also led to a revival of certain species, which had almost disappeared. “We can now spot house sparrows, snakes, insects, and other species that were not visible due to increasing use of pesticides in the fields. Our shift to organic farming has also helped us to save biodiversity,” Jana told VillageSquare.in.
(Gurvinder Singh is a journalist based in Kolkata. This article was first published in Village Square and has been republished with permission)
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The methodology covers only Premium game sales and does not include IAP.
- In 2021 the Steam games sales were $6.5B. It’s 74% growth in 3 years.
- In the first half of 2022 Steam sales are outrunning 2021 benchmarks – $3.1B versus $3B. But since April the pace of 2022 sales started to lose to 2021. There are various reasons for this: significant releases postponed, decrease in disposable income in developed countries, increasing availability of consoles, and isolation of the Russian PC market.
- However, there are positive signals. There is a large probability, that in 2023 Steam will reach a new record in sales. Graphic cards are becoming more accessible to the crypto market crash, games prices went a little bit higher. Plus, some major ex-console exclusives will be released on PC (thanks to PlayStation).


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Commodity prices take another knock
Commodity prices have fallen for the fifth month in a row, with a 2.4 per cent drop in ANZ’s latest measure of key exports, with milk powder taking the biggest knock in July.
But world prices for beef were up 11.3 per cent last month.
Overall, the ANZ Commodity Price Index is now down 9.8 per cent from its peak in February.
The index measures a basket of key exports in world price terms. Because of a stronger New Zealand currency in July, the New Zealand dollar index for commodities was down 3.5 per cent, and showing a fall of 11.6 per cent for the year.
In July, prices for ten commodities fell, while five commodity prices went up and two were unchanged in world price terms.
The biggest drop was for whole milk powder which dropped 12 per cent and is now down 53 per cent on a year ago.
That was mainly because of an overhang of inventory in China and a good production year in New Zealand.
The index also showed drops for butter, down 6.8 per cent, cheese down almost 3 per cent and skim milk powder down just as much.
Apple prices fell 4.3 per cent because of lower demand in Europe, though that was offset somewhat by better returns in Asia.
In contrast to lower dairy product prices, beef was up 11.3 per cent in the month, driven by a shortage of domestic manufacturing beef in the United States during a period of peak demand over the northern summer.
Demand from the US food service sector had also bounced back with better economic growth, ANZ said.
Overall meat prices are up 21 per cent on a year ago.
Aluminium prices were up 5.5 per cent in July as the market expected further capacity cuts in China and the rest of the world. Aluminium prices are now up almost 10 per cent in the past year.


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When you’re gluten free, the holiday season can be a minefield of potential disaster. So much focus is placed on food, and when a lot of that food is off limits it can get really stressful. It gets even worse if you’re not familiar with the diet and attempting to accommodate a gluten-free guest! Here are some great resources on the iPad to help you navigate the season with ease.
Author Archive for Jenni
Jenni is a healthy-living food blogger who rarely lets her iPad leave her side. Find her on Twitter @spoonfulatatime.
Vers Inc. has announced the new 2Q hand-crafted wood Bluetooth stereo, offering natural acoustic sound quality in a portable package that fits in the palm of your hand.
The wood cabinet-style housing is designed to offer warmer, more natural sound and an eco-friendly look.
According to an Apple source, they have begun testing iOS 6.0.1 with its carrier partners in the U.S. in preparation for a release in a few weeks. The update reportedly will address some of the issues users have been experiencing with the new software.
iOS 6.0.1 should fix both the horizontal flickering lines bug on the keyboard in portrait mode reported by some iPhone 5 users and the issue with the camera flash not going off consistently. No mention of the purple halo issue with the iPhone 5 was made, however, so apparently Apple is still claiming that particular issue is due to how users are framing their photos.
One analyst believes that the rumored new iPad Mini may actually cause the iPad 2 to get phased out of Apple’s product line entirely in an effort to preserve their overall vision for streamlined, clearly defined product tiers.
Rob Cihra with Evercore Partners said that the iPad 2, which dropped to $399 retail after the release of the new iPad, will likely be removed from the lineup as the iPad Mini joins the ranks to provide a more affordable entry level price into the iPad lineup. Phasing out the iPad 2 could potentially drive higher unit sales of the iPad Mini.
According to industry analyst estimates, the upcoming iPad Mini is expected to cannibalize sales of the full-size iPad by 20 percent, assuming the projected November 2 release date is true.
Analyst Gene Munster with Piper Jaffray believes Apple will sell 25 million iPads during the 4th quarter, and 5 million of those units will be iPad Minis. He had previously forecast sales of 21 million units total before the iPad Mini announcement, so his new estimate lowers the full-size iPad sales number by 1 million units.
It was originally reported that Apple was possibly planning to hold an event to announce the new iPad Mini on October 17th, but the latest rumors leaked by people familiar with Apple’s plans now suggest that the event is scheduled for October 23rd.
As usual, it will be an invitation-only event, and invites will likely be sent out early next week. The location is unconfirmed, but it is expected to be held at the Apple’s Town Hall auditorium at its headquarters in Cupertino, California.
Today a Chinese company introduced the first-ever fully functional cloned Lightning cable, proving that it is possible to knock off Apple’s new connector. It even goes a step beyond Apple by adding a funky glowing feature and providing a dock.
The Flash Lightning Dock is capable of charging and syncing an iPhone 5 or new iPod to a Mac or Windows PC, just like Apple’s cable, and it can be used either independently or with the dock. When docked, the iPhone is displayed at an 8-degree angle, perfect for video chatting.
According to an analyst at Barclays, manufacturers may be preparing to build over 10 million units of the upcoming iPad mini during the fourth quarter of 2012 alone, indicating that Apple is expecting a high demand for their more budget-friendly iPad over the holiday season.
Most of them are expected to be produced by Foxconn, a veteran Apple manufacturer. Pegatron is also reportedly contracted to produce 3 million units.


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Remember when HTC promised us eight new handsets this year? Well, that promise is gradually being lived up to and a new fleet of phones has blipped our gadget radar. First up is the Gingerbread-packing Explorer, formerly known as the Pico, which has has just been glimpsed by the eagle-eyed gadgeteers over at Pocketnow.
The phone itself has just a 600MHz processor, 3.2in screen and 5MP cam, but this first glimpse also shows us a neat new take on HTC's Sense UI (check out those icon-based folders stacked up on the left-hand side of the screen). What other secrets does HTC's Explorer hold. Surely it won't be long until we know?