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Stacey Vanek Smith
Jun 25, 2013 The iconic '80s hairstyle, the hi-top fade, is making a comeback. Part of the reason: It's good for business.
Jun 25, 2013 Designer Ying Gao has created dresses that are embedded with eye-tracking technology.
Jun 19, 2013 Fast-fashion retailer H&M took a long time to start online sales in the U.S. When you start late, you have to get it right.
Jun 10, 2013 Business bankruptcies are down overall, but companies still make mistakes. And some entire industries are in trouble.
Jun 7, 2013 Jefferson County, Ala., has reached a deal to get out of bankruptcy. But what does that mean for the county and its citizens?
Jun 4, 2013 Somehow, Jamie Dimon and company are winning in the story of a mess of sewer bonds.
May 27, 2013 A fight over city jewels brews as the emergency manager of Detroit wants to appraise masterpieces from the Detroit Institute of Arts.
Apr 22, 2013 Chinese manufacturers have moved to Italy and set up garment factories. They excel at making garments fast and cheaply, but some Italian manufacturers are unhappy with their presence.
Apr 5, 2013 Trendsetters, take note: sales of men's pajamas bottoms have jumped 15 percent in the last year.


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Event of the Week for Sybarites: amfAR New York Gala 2016
The amfAR New York Gala marks the official kick-off to New York Fashion Week and aims to raise awareness and money for HIV/AIDS research.
This year’s star-studded black-tie event took place at Cipriani Wall Street and ‘everyone’ was there. From actors such as Blake Lively and models like Adriana Lima to our very own brand ambassador Hofit Golan – take a look at what the striking attendees wore on the red carpet.
Photo courtesy of Getty Images

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(WKOW) — The cryptocurrency Bitcoin sets a new, all-time high of $19,920.53.
Its year-to-date rise is 170%.
Bitcoin is a decentralized digital currency, meaning there’s no central bank.
The rise largely happened because the pandemic has investors concerned with government currency.
“The pandemic has really pushed everybody into a digital existence,” said Steve Noll, a Madison College professor.
Some financial analysts think the value could jump to $50,000 sometime next year, but it’s a gamble.
“The future of bitcoin, it’s hard to say,” said Noll. “That’s the thing about cryptocurrency. It’s kind of like playing the stock market. You don’t know if it’s going to go up or down.”
As bitcoin is getting bigger, more companies are accepting it as legitimate. More countries are starting to recognize it, and there’s growing pressure for the U.S. to do the same.


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HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. – The Marine Design Resource Alliance will host the first “The Business of Color” conference Oct. 26 during the 2004 International Boatbuilders’ Exhibition & Conference, the MDRA said this morning in a release.
The event will be moderated by MRDA members, in conjunction with a nationally recognized design professional from outside the recreational marine industry, and is part of the MDRA’s ongoing effort to educate the marine industry about the importance of interior and exterior design and styling in driving marine product sales.
“We’re excited to be partnering with the National Marine Manufacturers Association and the producers of IBEX for what we believe will be a highly informative and dynamic presentation,” said Peter Granata, MDRA president. “We are confident that attendees will walk away with important information and insights into how styling and design can excite boating consumers and drive sales.”
Discussion topics include color and design trends, buying and market trends, outside influences and more. An examination of three consumer industries that impact marine design – home fashion, apparel fashion and automotive, will also be conducted. Presenters from each of these industries will outline the importance of styling and design in exciting customers.
“We see design as an integral part of the selling process” said Paige Mullis, MDRA’s Color Waves program director.
Attendance is by invitation only and will be limited to 75 participants. Reporters and editors from boating and non-boating publications also will be invited.
For more information, contact Wayne Mapes, director of membership services, at 847-639-2465, or visit the MDRA Web site at http://www.mdra.biz/index.html.


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John Pawsey – Healthy food that’s rewarding for farmers and for nature: Shaping the future of UK farm policy
Date Published: 11/04/2018
As Defra consults on the future of UK food and farming outside the European Union, OF&G — together with other leading organic organisations — is urging government to recognise the opportunities organic offers to deliver a green Brexit.
As part of building our own response to the consultation, OF&G is asking leaders in food and farming about what the next steps should be to ensure the country’s environment and economy are properly protected, and that our farmers have the support they need to produce safe, quality and nutritious food.
In this blog post, prominent organic farmer John Pawsey describes his vision for farming with nature and the economy in balance to produce safe, affordable and nutritious food.
John Pawsey, organic farmer, Shimpling Park Farm
Michael Gove suggests public money should support the delivery of public goods. What do you see as public goods?
I think public goods is about how to protect the long term value of our natural world by producing safe, nutritious, affordable food with the highest welfare standards whilst protecting our soils, farmland birds and landscape features.
As a country we need to produce safe food, but it’s important that we also ensure the protection of natural capital. I believe that organic farming offers these benefits, and it’s these farmers who need to be properly rewarded for the protection of our landscape and food production.
If you were Michael Gove, what would your priorities be delivering a fairer, more environmentally sustainable food and farming system?
If I were Michael Gove I would start with soil health, if we don’t protect and restore our soils they will be too depleted to produce good quality food. We need to identify the negative impacts of recent agricultural practices, such as the degradation of soil health and the decline in farmland birds, and then work with farmers to reverse these impacts.
Secondly, I would reward farmers who engage in a form of agriculture which restores our landscape and delivers public goods.
The difficulty is that not all past agricultural practices have been negative. But nutritious food and the quality of our food has decreased, which is partly due to changes in our agricultural practices. We need to have an idea of how to farm with a natural balance and the actions we need to take to produce nutritious, affordable food.
I would also look to address the imported protein that’s coming to the UK, encourage diverse cropping ecosystems, and drive the biological and organic farming agenda rather than farming based on nitrogen fertiliser and chemical inputs.
What’s your vision for food and farming in the next 20 years?
In 20 years time I want to see a future with improved soil health, increased numbers of farmland birds and the protection of our natural landscape.
My vision would be that farmers who produce safe, affordable and nutritious food are properly rewarded so that we can compete with imports post-Brexit. This would also enable us to have higher animal welfare standards and a sustainable farming system.
The motivating thing is that all of this is possible if we get food and farming policy right, at this critical point in our history. Michael Gove is beginning to see the advantages of a future farming policy that balances producing healthy food with nature.
We are in exciting times, but farmers need more clarification from the Government on how they plan to shape our agricultural landscape.
– OF&G is publishing a series of interviews with leading figures in food and farming to find out how we can protect our environment and produce good food post-Brexit. To read more in the series, follow the OF&G blog here.


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As I sit munching on a decadent brownie that came straight from Google’s renowned cafeteria (don’t be evil? ha!), I’m mulling the company’s status in the eyes of U.S. and European lawmakers and regulators.
Two regulation-related instances have occurred recently. Officially, Google has responded to concerns voiced by EU regulators by slashing in half the amount of time it stores user search data to nine months.
Certainly potentially more significant, but not confirmed by ClickZ News, is the Wall Street Journal’s report that the Department of Justice has hired an outside litigator to look into Google goings-on. In particular, the U.S. Department of Justice is investigating the stalled Google/Yahoo search ad deal.
However, it’s unknown whether the new DOJ hire, Sanford Litvack — “one of the nation’s best-known litigators” according to the WSJ — will focus only on the that deal, or inspect other aspects of Google’s business (or Yahoo’s business for that matter).
Let’s not forget previous government scrutiny of the partnership by the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Surely, the heightened inspections of Google are reminding observers more and more of Microsoft’s longtime antitrust troubles. Indeed, the WSJ reports, “It is relatively rare for the Justice Department to hire a special counsel from outside the department. David Boies was brought in as a special counsel to build the landmark antitrust case against Microsoft in 1998.”
Despite the fact that it faces growing competition from Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat, Google-owned YouTube is still one of the most popular ... read more
Amazon prides itself on being the most “customer-centric” company in the world, but according to investigative journalism non-profit ProPublica, Amazon’s algorithms are often anything but ... read more


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FRANCE – French dairy giant Danone and US beverage company Coca Cola have released their Q1 results, reporting mixing results as the pandemic continues to impact business operations across the globe.
For the French dairy, sales declined 3.3% on a like-for-like (LFL) basis to €5.66 billion (about US$6.80 billion), affected largely by a 7.7% drop in its Specialized Nutrition unit and an 11.6% decline in water sales.
Its noteworthy to mention that the company’s Essential Dairy and Plant-based (EDP) division managed to record a 1.5% LFL growth in sales to €3.15 billion (about US$3.78 billion).
Within its EDP unit, Europe and North America delivered solid growth thanks to probiotics, protein and plant-based.
Danone’s plant-based portfolio grew well into double digits in Europe; while essential dairy saw broad-based market share gains led by Actimel, Danette and YoPro.
The company’s Waters division howeve, continued to be impacted by out-of-home trends, but showed sequential improvement compared to previous quarters, especially in Europe.
Despite the less than satisfactory results, the company has reiterated its goal of returning to growth in Q2, betting its recovery on the gradual reopening of economies as vaccination programmes are rolled out.
While a search is underway for a replacement to Emmanuel Faber , Véronique Penchienati-Bosetta and Shane Grant continue to perform their role of interim co-CEOs.
Coca-Cola sees slight recovery from pandemic
Meanwhile, leading US beverage company Coca-Cola has reported 5% growth in net revenue for its first quarter, as coronavirus-related uncertainty eases in some markets.
The owner of Coke and Fanta beverage brands reported net revenue of US$9.0 billion in the Quarter ending March, boosted by 5% growth in concentrate sales, and a 14% rise in operating income.
According to Coca-Cola, volume trends steadily improved each month, driven by recovery in markets where coronavirus-related uncertainty has diminished, and volumes returned to 2019 levels in March.
In Q1, nutrition, juice, dairy and plant-based beverages grew 3%, while sparkling soft drinks grew 4%, with growth for both trademark Coca-Cola (4%) and sparkling flavours (2%).
Meawhile, Coca-Cola’s hydration, sports, coffee and tea category declined 11%, with coffee witnessing a 21% drop driven by coronavirus-related pressure on Costa retail stores, while hydration declined 12%.
Unit case volume declined 2% in Europe, the Middle East & Africa, primarily due to coronavirus-related pressure in away-from-home channels in Europe, while North America saw a 6% decline.
These case declines in EMEA and North AMerica were offset by a 9% growth in the Asia Pacific region, driven by strong growth in China and India. In Latin America, unit case volume was flat.
“We remain focused on emerging stronger and executing against our growth accelerators during the recovery phase. We are pleased with the progress we are making,” said James Quincey, chairman and CEO of The Coca-Cola Company.
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Although some Rejoiners have criticised Brexit for creating shortages across the UK, one industry insider has revealed Britain’s departure from the EU has given the country instant benefits. Speaking to Express.co.uk, Alex Veitch of Logistics UK praised what he called a “brilliant story” of how the UK has transformed its supply chains so quickly thanks to Brexit. Indeed, he also claimed the UK had been “brilliant” in adapting its supply chains with the EU in such a short time.
He added: “You know, we have moved from our busy partner having reasonably light controls at the border to by next time, our biggest trade partner having the kind of trade procedures that we’ve had with the rest of the world forever, you know, we’ve done that with the government in what will be five years.
“So we and the Government delivered a sort of almost a high speed, miniaturised version of all the trade procedures that we have to do to trade with China in about two years. It’s incredible.
“It’s a brilliant story.
“You know, I think we’ll, we’ll leave this situation with a bigger, more valued, stable, more resilient workforce than we had in the past.
“And we’ll be good to go.”
Despite the doom and gloom from Remainers over the UK’s exit, Mr Veitch was emphatic in his belief that Brexit had delivered for the UK.
Asked whether voting to Leave had been proven right, he said: “In terms of the change to the way that drivers are perceived and valued in society and the economy.
“And the whole logistics community in general, yes.”
JUST IN: Brexit LIVE: Brussels surrenders to Britain! Lord Frost ‘vindicated’
Sir David will work closely with the Prime Minister, No10 and the Treasury, and will be based in the Cabinet Office.
The Prime Minister said: “I’m pleased that Sir David Lewis is joining the team who have been working on future-proofing our supply chains across the United Kingdom as we recover from the pandemic.
“There are currently global supply issues which we are working with industry to mitigate and Dave brings a wealth of experience which will help us continue to protect our businesses and supply chains.”
Despite the issues seen around the country, Transport Secretary, Grant Shapps has revealed supply chains are beginning to stabilise.
Last week, he claimed queues for petrol around the country would soon begin to ease.
He added: “A lot of petrol is now being transferred into people’s cars and there are now the first very tentative signs of stabilisation in the forecourt storage which won’t be reflected in the queues as yet, but it’s the first time we’ve seen more petrol in the petrol stations itself.


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The cartridge, still in its original packaging, sold to an anonymous bidder.
And the US auctioneer said demand "was extremely high", partly because this particular packaging had been used for a short while only.
The previous record for an auctioned game was $100,000 - for a different copy of Super Mario.
"If any lot in the sale could hit a number like that, it was going to be that one," Heritage Auctions video games director Valarie McLeckie said.
"We knew this would be a strong live session.


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More than 100 MPs have backed a campaign to end the sale of cosmetics developed with the help of animal experiments.
Animal testing of cosmetics is outlawed in the UK and EU, but continues outside Europe.
Many UK consumers unwittingly buy beauty items and toiletries that contain ingredients tested on animals.
An EU-wide ban on the sale of such products is due to come into force in 2013, but there is mounting concern that the deadline might be moved back as much as 10 years.
The issue is said to be over a lack of adequate alternative methods of testing cosmetics chemicals.
Both the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and the British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection (BUAV) have urged the European Commission not to bow to industry pressure.
They argue that if the ban is delayed, it will lead to hundreds of thousands more animals being killed or maimed in beauty product tests.
More than 10,000 supporters have signed the BUAV's No Cruel Cosmetics petition, and the campaign is backed by celebrities including supermodel Jodie Kidd, actress Jenny Seagrove and designer Meg Mathews.
More than 100 MPs have now signed an Early Day Motion (EDM), tabled by Caroline Lucas MP, calling on the UK Government to press for a 2013 ban to be upheld.
BUAV chief executive Michelle Thew said: "We are delighted that so many MPs have signed the EDM to end cruel tests on animals for beauty products sold in the EU. Testing on animals is cruel and unnecessary."
Consumers can be sure of buying cruelty-free cosmetic products by looking for the BUAV's "leaping bunny" logo, said Ms Thew. They can also sign the petition at http://www.nocruelcosmetics.org.
Common animal tests for cosmetics products include placing caustic chemicals in the eyes of restrained rabbits.
Animal tests are used to determine levels of skin irritancy, eye tissue damage and toxicity caused by cosmetics ingredients.
In the Draize test, caustic substances are placed in the eyes of restrained rabbits to see how damaging they are to sensitive tissue.
Lethal Dosage (LD) tests are used to find out out much of a substance it takes to kill a predetermined fraction of animals.
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“It’s a mobile-first, cloud-first world.”
But Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) has serious competition in the cloud, and it’s right across the floating bridge. Microsoft employs roughly 1,000 workers at its offices in Irving.
Amazon Web Services is considered the “800-pound gorilla” of cloud. The company consistently cuts its prices to stay competitive, and has been making a big push into enterprise cloud services, something many thought would be Microsoft’s bread and butter. Amazon has a large North Texas presence, with fulfillment centers in Haslet and Coppell.
Today, though, Microsoft has brought in a partner that could help it take on Amazon for those enterprise-size accounts. Microsoft announced Monday that many of SAP’s popular business applications will now be available on Azure, and that later this year, SAP’s Gateway system will be available through Microsoft Office 365, an important software integration likely to be popular with large businesses.
In a blog post Monday, Takeshi Numoto, a corporate vice president for Microsoft cloud and enterprise marketing department, specifically mentioned the banking and retail sectors as targets for this partnership.
Considering that North American banks are expected to spend approximately $60 billion on IT services this year, including even more cloud services than ever before, it shouldn’t be surprising the big cloud companies are scrambling to serve them.
As Microsoft increases its partnerships and brings the software that businesses use to its Azure platform, the system will resemble more and more an operating system in the cloud. And if that operating system is targeting big business sectors, like banking, that could quickly become one of Microsoft’s biggest businesses.
And give AWS a run for its money.
No matter what happens, the Puget Sound region, which we really need to start calling "Cloud City," will be the big winner.


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We’ve already told you that December 16th will bring new DLC and a new playthrough to Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel, but it’ll also bring the release of another new surprise: a brand new mission that offers some insight into Tales from the Borderlands!
Once you’ve downloaded the newest update for The Pre-Sequel, head to the Hyperion Hub of Heroism and talk to Nakayama to receive the Handsome AI mission, a quick errand that sheds some light on Nakayama’s plans to immortalize everybody’s favorite Hyperion CEO using high-tech artificial intelligence that could change things on Pandora!
For those of you who have played Tales from the Borderlands (or watched the trailer above), this idea may sound familiar. It’s safe to say you’ll understand a fair bit more about Nakayama’s tech once you’ve played through the mission.
We’ll have full patch notes for the newest Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel update in the days to come, and be sure to read about Ultimate Vault Hunter mode if you haven’t already!


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Whilst a certain magazine is currently in stores and showcasing Chris Carter’s famed X-Files (that’d be the last issue of STARBURST, in case you needed a further hint), a perfectly-timed video featurette has been released to give a preview of the show’s return in just a matter of weeks.
FOX has released a 21-minute look at The X-Files, which returns to US screens on January 24th. A second episode will follow on January 25th and these will be part of the show’s new six-episode season. David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson will be back as Agents Mulder and Scully, respectively, not to mention a return for William B. Davis as the Cigarette Smoking Man and new additions in the form of Joel McHale, Robbie Amell, Lauren Ambrose, Annabeth Gish, Annet Mahendru, Rhys Darby, and Kumail Nanjiani.
Now let’s get to that video we were talking about:
The X-Files will air on Channel 5 in the UK at some point in early 2016, although no exact date has been released at this stage. Additionally, you can pick up the latest issue of STARBURST Magazine here.SHARE YOUR COMMENTS BELOW OR ON TWITTER @STARBURST_MAG
Find your local STARBURST stockist HERE, or buy direct from us HERE. For our digital edition (available to read on your iOS, Android, Amazon, Windows 8, Samsung and/or Huawei device - all for just £1.99), visit MAGZTER DIGITAL NEWSSTAND.
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Tokyo-based crypto change Coincheck has launched a program that can permit customers to pay for fuel utilizing bitcoin (BTC).
Coincheck Debuts Bitcoin Rebate Promo
The Japanese crypto buying and selling big introduced the transfer in a press statement issued on Friday (October 4, 2019). This system is a results of a partnership between Coincheck and a few fuel corporations in Tokyo.
Dubbed “Coincheck Gas,” customers of the platform pays their home fuel payments in bitcoin. In line with the press launch, BTC funds for fuel underneath this system will entice a 3% low cost.
Additionally, the corporate says it’s going to reward customers 3% of their month-to-month fuel payments in bitcoin despatched to their Coincheck wallets. Coincheck Fuel is a follow-up to “Coincheck Electricity” which the corporate rolled out again in 2016.
These companies are a part of efforts by Monex — Coincheck’s guardian firm to spice up mainstream BTC adoption. The corporate additionally has different applications that permit prospects to swap loyalty factors for cryptocurrencies akin to bitcoin.
Monex has additionally prolonged its bitcoin utilization drive to shareholders. As beforehand reported by Bitcoinist, the corporate says it’s going to award BTC to its shareholders who personal greater than 100 shares and has a Coincheck pockets.
Crypto Rebates Can Enhance Adoption
Coincheck is the newest firm to roll out a bitcoin rewards program as crypto rebates start to realize in recognition.
Again in July, Bitcoinist reported that Lolli — a browser extension service, had inked a cope with Resorts.com to supply useful BTC rebates to prospects.
Crypto rebates doubtless type an avenue to encourage better cryptocurrency adoption. The strategy arguably gives better penetration for digital currencies within the mainstream retail enviornment.
Non-crypto house owners can simply purchase bitcoin and different digital currencies whereas purchasing on their favourite service provider web sites on-line. Crypto rebates additionally represent one of many few cryptocurrency adoption avenues that concentrate on customers as an alternative of outlets.
The expectation is that these new BTC house owners that emerge from crypto rebate promos will probably be incentivized to spend their earnings creating extra utility for digital currencies.
Retailers will, in flip, look to simply accept crypto funds to the advantage of the rising digital financial system.
Ought to different crypto corporations launch comparable bitcoin rebate applications to spice up total cryptocurrency adoption? Tell us within the feedback beneath.
Photos through Bitcoinist Picture Library


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Tastemakers 2017: Dara Schwartz of Darista Dips
Why She's a Tastemaker
Darista Dips is a local favorite that's about to go big. Chef and owner Dara Schwartz has already worked her way into 46 grocery stores, including Whole Foods and Giant Eagle Market District. Now after three years, her curated line of all-natural dips with inspired flavors like Hip Hoppin' Morockin' Carrot dip, Zah-Mazing Za'atar hummus and Sweet Po-Thai-To hummus is expanding into more markets, including Cleveland, Cincinnati and Pittsburgh.
Starting Over at 30
After a life-altering trip to Thailand, Schwartz walked away from a successful career in marketing to forge a new path in the food business. She got jobs at respected restaurants like Barcelona and Spagio to learn both the culinary and operational side. (Chef Hubert Seifert at Spagio continues to be a mentor.) Schwartz learned she had a flair for dips a few years ago when she was running a pop-up café of global cuisine at The Hills Market. The store asked if she'd consider selling her popular dips on shelves. She went for it, and customers grabbed them up.
Will People Eat Pink Hummus?
Yes they will. The roasted beet hummus, Step It Up a Beet, is a beautiful bright fuchsia and Schwartz's bestseller. It's an homage to her Russian heritage and the borscht her ancestors surely loved. Every dip has a backstory. Darista's sweet potato coconut curry hummus, for instance, is inspired by her “Thai mom,” a 70-year-old woman Schwartz grew close to during her travels. “That's why we don't have 20 products,” Schwartz says. “Every flavor has to represent something.”
New Flavor Alert
Look for a chocolate espresso hummus called Girl Boss—perfect for pretzels, strawberries and, OMG, s'mores—later this year. The decadent spread is an ode to the strong women Schwartz has known—and to her own experience becoming a working mom. All ingredients in this one are sourced from female-owned businesses such as Soom, an artisan tahini company founded by three sisters in Philadelphia.
Schwartz keeps raising the bar on her business plan. She's currently working to expand into more markets, such as Indianapolis. She also just struck a deal with another 2017 Tastemaker,Bake Me Happy, to sell Darista Dips at the gluten-free concession stand inside the 'Shoe.
PREVIOUS GIGS Creative director at Prism Marketing, line cook at Barcelona, barista at Stauf's
MUST-HAVE INGREDIENT Cumin
PREFERRED DIP VEHICLE “Anything crunchy, like Shagbark Seed & Mill corn tortilla chips”
DREAM DINNER DATE ?“My great-grandfather Eli, who fled Eastern Europe to make a better life for his family. He brought his family to Chicago and opened up a delicatessen. Maybe I was destined to work in food.”


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Eating rice once a day can increase arsenic levels in the body by at least 44%, according to a new study from Consumer Reports.
The study surveyed more than 60 different rice products ranging from infant cereals to rice pasta and rice drinks and found “worrisome” levels of inorganic arsenic in most of the products. Others suggest, however, the levels are not cause for concern.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, inorganic arsenic has been linked to liver, bladder, and lung cancer.
Urvashi Rangan, Consumer Reports lead scientist on the study, said the study isn’t meant to scare people from eating rice, rather “our investigation of arsenic in rice is supposed to inform consumers.”
Rangan said, “We wanted to help consumers at least be able to take action for themselves in terms of moderating themselves. We asked the government to set standards.”
Read - Report: 'Worrisome' levels of arsenic in rice
Dropping off like rats. After all they are what they eat. Lol;)
Yeah, Asians all over the world are dying from eating rice. Uh huh, they're just dropping like flies ...
I am extremely inspired along with your writing abilities as neatly as with the layout in your weblog. Is that this a paid subject or did you customize it your self? Anyway keep up the nice high quality writing, it's uncommon to look a nice weblog like this one nowadays..
not too worried, if it was that dangerous, why isnt everyone in china collapsing by now
Arsenic in my rice??
I'm much more concerned with the ricenic in my a r s e!!!
but it is organic arsenic...
Yeah but a 44% increase may still be so miniscule that it doesn't matter. Still scary though. I wonder if rinsing the rice helps or if its imbedded in the grain itself.
So why aren't they doing something about it ?
Such as finding a way to REMOVE the arsenic from the rice before releasing it out into the public or better yet, growing new arsenic-free rice and removing all the tainted rice on the shelves.
But that would take effort, and freedom... I mean money.
Yes, clearly everyone should panic despite that there is something to be concerned about.
Gahhh! Sarcasm works so much better when you don't omit key phrases. That was supposed to be: "Yes, clearly everyone should panic despite that there's not enough information in the article to judge whether there is something to be concerned about."
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Blumenthal, Tong Align Over Concerns About Vaping Giant Juul
A former and current Connecticut Attorney General are calling for stepped-up FDA scrutiny after a Yale University study was released July 30 tying the hugely popular Juul tobacco vaping system to new health concerns.
US Senator and former Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal tweeted the following message after reviewing the Yale study: “If the health risks of vaping & nicotine addiction weren’t clear before, researchers at Yale confirm puffing away on a Juul can harm your health. Flavored pods must be pulled from the shelves. FDA, the time is now to take definitive action.”
On the day of the study’s release, William Weir at Yale News reported that researchers found chemical reactions in flavored liquids of the popular Juul e-cigarette create unexpected chemicals that can irritate users’ airways.
The Yale News report related that researchers focused on acetals, which are chemicals that form when the common flavorant vanillin interacts with alcohols that carry the nicotine and flavors in e-cigarettes. The study focused on various flavors of the Juul refill cartridges, including Crème Brulée, Fruit Medley, and Cool Cucumber.
Led by the lab of Julie Zimmerman, professor of chemical and environmental engineering at Yale, the study was published July 30 in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.
Study co-author Sven-Eric Jordt at Duke University told Yale News that the research team didn’t expect to find so many additional chemicals formed from vanillin, a compound used for vanilla flavoring. The chemical is banned in traditional cigarettes but allowed in e-cigarettes.
Within 24 hours of the study’s publication, Connecticut launched an investigation into the marketing practices of Juul Labs, becoming the latest state to probe the vaping product manufacturer’s health claims and appeal to young people.
Joining Against Juul
Current State Attorney General William Tong said his probe is part of a national effort to curb youth vaping, which has included congressional hearings, a lawsuit in North Carolina over Juul’s marketing practices, and similar investigations in states such as Massachusetts.
Juul, which launched in 2015, now controls nearly three-quarters of the $3.7 billion-dollar retail market for e-cigarettes. There has been concern about the soaring number of young people taking up vaping.
Last year, one of every five high school students reported vaping in the previous month, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Many states, including Connecticut, want to determine if Juul has properly limited its marketing to adults, AG Tong said. But Connecticut’s investigation will focus on whether the company is illegally selling its products as smoking-cessation devices.
Juul’s products have never been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration to help people quit smoking, and marketing them as cessation devices would be illegal, Mr Tong said.
“They are making the claim that they are helping people quit smoking, and so we are testing that claim,” Connecticut’s AG said. “If that’s your main explanation or excuse, we’d like to know whether it is true or not.”
Juul spokesman Theodore Kwong said the company’s products are not intended to be used to quit nicotine. Instead, he said they are marketed to help adults switch from cigarettes to “an alternative nicotine delivery.”
But during congressional hearings in the days before the Yale study was published — focusing on Juul’s marketing, technology, and business practices — Juul’s co-founder James Monsees testified that his company developed its device and flavor pods for adults who want to stop smoking and “eliminate cigarettes for good.”
AG Tong was joined announcing the latest state action by Consumer Protection Commissioner Michelle Seagull, who opened the investigation into the company’s health claims. Both said those claims are largely unfounded and that there is mounting evidence to the contrary.
The investigation will build upon a complaint brought by six organizations, including the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Heart and Lung Associations, calling on the FDA to investigate Juul’s health claims and promotional practices.
“They’re asking the FDA to take action. We’re not waiting on the federal government. Connecticut is taking action today,” AG Tong said. “We are launching civil investigative demands, essentially subpoenas asking for information from Juul about these claims and marketing efforts so we can get to the bottom of this and protect Connecticut’s children and our families.”
The state is demanding that Juul, which is headquartered in San Francisco, respond to questions and turn over documents no later than September 3.
PROTECT Act Proposed
Earlier this year, Sen Blumenthal and US Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz (FL-23) announced the introduction of the bicameral Preventing Opportunities for Teen E-Cigarette and Tobacco Addiction (PROTECT) Act to address the alarming rise in e-cigarette use among youths.
More than 3.6 million youths report using e-cigarettes, including one in five high school students — and one in 20 middle school students, according to the National Youth Tobacco Survey. The rate of e-cigarette use among teens has grown dramatically, with up to 37 percent of 12th graders reporting use in the past year, compared to 28 percent in 2017.
This dramatic surge has alarmed public health officials, leading the US Surgeon General, Sen Blumenthal, and Connecticut AG Tong to call the rise in e-cigarette use an “epidemic.”
Sen Blumenthal’s PROTECT Act authorizes $100 million in funding each year for five years for a proactive Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) initiative to address this alarming trend through funding for enhanced research, grants for states and localities to address this issue in their communities, the development of evidence-based policies, and other critical activities to combat the rise in e-cigarette use among youth.
“Juul and e-cigarette manufacturers are aggressively targeting our nation’s youth, hooking yet another generation on deadly products. Everywhere I go in Connecticut, I hear about the need for more resources to combat and stop this growing epidemic — and for the administration to get serious,” Blumenthal said. “By giving those on the front lines of this fight the tools to prevent teen e-cigarette addiction, we can stop Big Tobacco from stealing the health and well-being of our teens.”
In part to combat the escalating use of e-cigarettes by younger consumers, Connecticut recently raised the legal age to smoke or vape from 18 to 21.
At presstime, Juul had not issued any official response to the Yale study nor included any type of reaction or release in the company's online 'press room.'
Associated Press and Connecticut Mirror content was used in this report.


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The improvement seen in the economy over the last several years has come to small businesses in particular somewhat slowly, but there has been an amelioration of many bottom lines that were hurt badly during the recession. However, even those small steps forward leave problematic situations for owners, and as a result a large number say they still have no plans to significantly increase hiring.
Today, only 3 in 10 small business owners say they plan to hire in the next three to six months, according to the latest Small Business Authority Market Sentiment Survey from Newtek Business Services. This could serve as a major impediment for many companies not only when it comes to growth for many such companies, but also with respect to what could be the entire U.S. economy.
“Our May survey depicts a lack of intention in our small business clientele to hire over the next two quarters and that the trend of a jobless economic recovery may continue,” said Barry Sloane, chairman, president and CEO of the Small Business Authority. “Although we have seen the United States unemployment rate fall from about 10 percent to 6.3 percent, the historic measurement of employment trends in the U.S. has proven to be misleading. The labor department’s U-6 measure, currently at 12.3 percent, which essentially identifies the amount of workers that are eligible to work but are not working, including people who have left the labor force, is a more useful measure. In order for the economy to recover there need to be more workers in the total population that are earning a wage and who can be clients of small businesses. Once this begins, we anticipate the small business economy picking up.”
One potential good sign
However, it appears as though at least part of the problem with hiring is the amount it will cost companies to find affordable candidates, and as such many owners seem to be turning to those who have recently joined the workforce in earnest for the first time, the report said. In all, 51 percent of small businesses hire job candidates who have recently graduated from college, and these workers often have lower salaries, which could be good for smaller businesses in general.
Owners who are trying to keep their expenses as low as possible might also want to consider the ways in which finding more affordable small business insurance, such as coverage for general liability insurance. Doing so can save thousands annually.


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Cryoto.Ai Auto Blog Engine
Promises of unlimited money-printing lead the world’s largest crypto asset manager to sound the alarm to investors, promoting Bitcoin as a solution.
Libra Association’s vice chair Dante Disparte expects Libra network to launch in Q4 2020
FXCoin announced XRP remittance testing, one company began its security token initiative, and more headlined news from Japan this past week.
Following an earlier introduction of Visa onramps for residents in the U.K. Germany, France, and the Netherlands, Bittrex Global has significantly expanded global support
Can crypto actually take on USD’s role around the world?
The crypto app expands its operations and services by allowing users to convert fiat money into BABB’s token throughout Europe


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Mobilink and OLX bring sponsored internet to Pakistan
Mobilink in collaboration with OLX (olx.com.pk) has launched Pakistan’s first sponsored internet offer. Mobilink and OLX bring sponsored internet to Pakistan. This initiative will provide 24 hours of free Internet to Mobilink customers using the Opera Mini Browser.
Also Read: Find a Job Through OLX Job Search Portal
Aamer Manzoor, Head of Data Mobilink, said:
[pull_quote_center]Mobilink believes in bringing innovation as we continue to enhance our bouquet of mobile internet offers. Sponsored internet is one such initiative and will play an integral role in opening new avenues for Mobilink to partner with some of the leading global brands in Pakistan and provide them with a platform for promoting their products and services. I am sure that Mobilink mobile data users will also make the most out of this promotion and enjoy high-speed internet on the country’s largest 3G ready network.[/pull_quote_center]
Sponsored Internet provides instant access to high speed Internet to the customers using Opera Mini browser. Customers simply have to visit webpass.opera.com and become a part of this limited time offer. The campaign, sponsored by OLX, will provide free internet to the first 100,000 subscribers.


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While Diablo 2: Resurrected launches next week, a leading developer on the title has told fans to “do what they feel is right” when deciding whether to purchase the game or leave it due to Activision Blizzard‘s ongoing lawsuit.
Rob Gallerani – Design Director at Vicarious Visions, the Activision-owned studio handling the upcoming Diablo 2 remake – has spoken to Axios (spotted by VCG) about the “very troubling” issues surrounding Activision Blizzard and how it has affected Diablo 2.
Activision Blizzard is currently embroiled in an ongoing lawsuit over allegations of “constant sexual harassment” and a “frat boy workplace culture”, though Vicarious Visions was not mentioned in the suit.
Addressing fans who are reluctant to support Activision Blizzard by purchasing Diablo 2: Resurrected, Gallerani has advised that people “do what they feel is right”. He adds that Vicarious Visions “really wanted to support our colleagues and our co-workers” upon hearing of an allegedly toxic culture at Activision-Blizzard.
To do so, management at Vicarious Visions reached out to employees at the studio to ask what could be done better. Gallerani stated that while they heard “a lot of really positive things” from feedback, it was crucial that “we always need to keep asking” if there’s anything that can be improved.
Vicarious Visions also launched a “scrub” of Diablo 2: Resurrected to make sure there were no controversial or problematic references within, as Blizzard has similarly cut juvenile sex jokes – and the names of three developers who left the company in August – from World Of Warcraft.
While the scrub itself did not pick up any issues, wider changes within Diablo 2: Resurrected mean that Amazon warriors within the game will launch with a less sexualized look.
In other news, a new data pack has added The Four Horsemen Of The Apocalypse to Minecraft.


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In a recent article from The New York Times, researchers guesstimate “it would take about a month for Internet users to read the privacy policies of all the websites they visit in a year.” To help protect yourself and your privacy there are a few things you can do to “muddy your tracks on the Internet.”
As most of us know, the Internet can be a dangerous place. While you might think your emails, chats and Google searches are private, there is a real possibility all this information is being stored, analyzed and used to create a profile about you that is then sold to data brokers, advertisers, employers, etc.
While hackers are an ever-present threat, security experts and privacy advocates believe “more worrisome” are Internet service providers, search engine operators, e-mail suppliers and website administrators.
Here are a few tips you can take to better protect your privacy:
- Log off sites like Google and Facebook as soon as possible and do not use the same provider for multiple functions.
- Consider lesser-known email providers or register your own domain with an associated e-mail address. Or taking it a step further set up your own mail server.
- Turn on your browser’s “private mode.”
Read the full article here.
BBB also eminds consumers to :
- Avoid suspicious links contained in any email communication from unknown senders
- Limit where and to whom you give personal information online
- Ensure all websites visited are secure by checking for “s” in https:// and in the lower-right corner for the “lock” symbol


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Dubai Chamber, Emirates NBD sign MoU on Digital Silk Road initiative
The Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry has announced that it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Emirates NBD, under which the bank will provide trade finance solutions for the Digital Silk Road - a Dubai 10X initiative using blockchain technology to digitise and simplify trade processes.
The agreement was signed by Hamad Buamim, president and CEO of the Dubai Chamber and Hesham Abdulla Al Qassim, vice chairman and managing director of Emirates NBD. The Digital Silk Road initiative, currently being developed by the Dubai Chamber in cooperation with DP World - UAE Region and Dubai Customs along with Emirates NBD, is expected to go live in 2020. The smart platform aims to improve the transparency and efficiency of supply chains through a comprehensive automation process.
Buamim described the agreement with Emirates NBD as a major step forward for the Digital Silk Road, which is designed to streamline procedures, remove trade barriers and the improve ease of doing business in Dubai. Trade finance, he explained, remains one of the most important tools used today to facilitate international trade and commerce as it simplifies transactions for importers and exporters.
Buamim also added that the Digital Silk Road platform supports Dubai Chamber's efforts to diversify the economy, stimulate economic growth and boost Dubai's attractiveness as a world-class business hub.
For his part, Al Qassim said: "Emirates NBD is pleased to partner with Dubai Chamber as part of our shared commitment to harness innovation to enhance and boost trade finance in the UAE. Emirates NBD was the first in the region to successfully pilot a blockchain use case for trade finance and we look forward to lending our expertise and support to the Digital Silk Road initiative. We are working on a shared vision of a seamless trade finance experience across stakeholders that would help in further consolidating Dubai's position as a leading and efficient trade hub in the world."


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The team at Mr Fothergill’s Seeds have donned their finest ties to help raise money for BBC Children in Need
Once again, the team at Mr Fothergill’s Seeds have donned their finest ties to help raise money for BBC Children in Need – an idea which came about as Tim Jeffries, Mr Fothergill’s Commercial Director is the last and only person to ever wear a tie in the office! And this year their colleagues in Australia have done exactly the same. Tim again donated £1 for each person wearing a tie with the company’s joint Managing Directors John Fothergill and David Carey matching his donation.
‘Ties for Tim’ is part of a week of fund-raising activity at the Mr Fothergill’s offices in Newmarket, with staff also taking on the challenge to ‘Be the Masterchef’, the Children in Need annual duck race and coming dressed up in their Pudsey inspired yellow or spotty outfits, with all proceeds going to BBC Children in Need.
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The money raised during the week will be added to sales of Mr Fothergill’s Sunflower Pudsey and Pumpkin Pudsey seed packets, with 30p from each going directly to BBC Children in Need. To date this donation has reached over £24,000.
Tim commented “It’s fantastic that everyone at Mr Fothergill’s gets behind such an important cause, having fun in the process. If only everyone came to work looking as smart as they did on Monday! But it’s just as important that our retail customers and their customers are engaged and we have seen that, through sales of our Sunflower Pudsey and Pumpkin Pudsey seed packets.”
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Kyong Lucas enjoys bringing a taste of her home country to Hampton Roads through her food truck business, Seoul 757.
“A lot of people have been to Korea and they can connect back through my food,” she said.
Lucas is one of the newest vendors to join Norfolk’s growing food truck program. The city began to allow food trucks on public property in 2013, when it created six areas in downtown for vendors to park and serve meals, mainly during lunch hours. The number of food trucks has increased since then, and they haven’t all survived.
“Many food trucks have not been successful,” said Deputy City Manager Ron Williams, “It is a very challenging business.”
Lucas has been around food since she was a little girl, but it wasn’t until recently that she opened up Seoul 757, which serves Korean/Asian cuisine. She once owned a restaurant but said it struggled because of its location. So she took a leap of faith and tried a food truck.
Lucas also works as a yoga instructor and as a substitute teacher, so the freedom and flexibility of a mobile food business was attractive to her, she said. She said she also loves interacting with her customers and bringing her culture to them.
All the competition requires food trucks to stand out above the rest to succeed. While serving food, Lucas takes the time to describe her ingredients if a customer is curious.
“I am very personal with each person,” she said.
The extra time she takes with customers has added to her success. She said she believes almost 98 percent of her customers return because of the service and cuisine.
It doesn’t just take customer satisfaction to run a food truck. To open one, the vendor has to acquire several permits and licenses and meet code requirements that are enforced by the police and fire departments.


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Teens and Technology: Live Discussion Transcript
Pew Research Center’s Amanda Lenhart and Lee Rainie took questions from readers about our “Teens and Tech” report in a Facebook chat conducted March 14, 2013.
Teens’ Tech Habits
Smartphone adoption among American teens has increased substantially and mobile access to the internet is pervasive. One-in-four teens now mostly go online using their phone.
Latinos Closing the Digital Divide
Latinos own smartphones, go online from a mobile device and use social networking sites at similar — and sometimes higher — rates than do other groups of Americans.
How Teachers Are Using Technology
A survey of select middle and high school teachers shows digital tools are widely used in their classrooms, yet many teachers worry about digital divides when it comes to their students’ access to technology.
Who’s Using Social Media?
A late 2012 survey by the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project shows that young adults are more likely than others to use major social media. At the same time, other groups are interested in different sites and services.
Infographic: The Internet and Health
An infographic summing up key findings from the Internet and health report.
China and Cyber Attacks: A Top Concern of U.S. Experts
China’s alleged cyber-espionage campaigns against other governments, major corporations and, most recently, the media, have increasingly become a focus of U.S. officials and news reports.
Q & A: Facebook ’Breaks’ and User Behavior
Our new report, “Coming and Going on Facebook,” explores the phenomenon of people taking breaks from the sites and their reasons. On Feb. 5, 2013, Pew Research’s Aaron Smith answered questions about the report on Facebook.
Coming and Going on Facebook
About six-in-ten of current Facebook users say at one time or another they have voluntarily taken a break from using Facebook for a period of several weeks or more.
Mobile Phones Assist More Holiday Shoppers In Stores
Nearly six in ten cell owners used their phone inside a physical store for assistance or guidance on a purchasing decision this holiday season.


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Toronto, Canada, September 18, 2021 –(PR.com)– Over the last few months, there has been a massive shift of employees pivoting to working from home, with this comes the high prioritization for companies to build secure digital infrastructures to scale. Organizations, therefore, have prioritized processes, technologies, and new security infrastructures to ensure their business remain competitive amidst the disruption in the workplace.
Before the onset of the pandemic in 2020, over one-fifth (21%) of the Canadian corporate population said they had been impacted by cybersecurity issues. By the end of 2021, cybercrime will have cost the globe more than $6 trillion, and demand for cybersecurity continues to rise as the technological landscape continues to change.
Along with the growing demand for cybersecurity, Canada’s leader in cybersecurity systems, Sterling Information Technologies announces the appointment of Arianne Garcia to their leadership team. She joins as the Director for Marketing and Business Development, leading the company’s direction to bring cybersecurity to more businesses across the globe. Her wealth of experience working for companies in the Asia Pacific will bring a fresh perspective on the Sterling brand, with key responsibilities on building awareness and developing creative direction, conceptualizing and executing multi-channel campaigns, and identifying opportunities for growth that is critical to the company’s vision in the next 5 years.
Arianne joins Sterling Information Technologies with a well-renowned career in sales and marketing of over 10 years, having worked in the Philippines, Singapore, and the US. She has most recently worked as the Project Director for WBR Asia in Singapore where she led the company’s finance and e-commerce portfolio of senior-level conferences. She also fostered brand partnerships, led marketing campaigns, and helped create the foundation of two e-commerce start-ups in the Philippines: Metromart.com and Ensogo.
About the current demand on cybersecurity and Arianne’s transition to this industry, she said, “The pandemic has forced most of us to work from home and this comes with the new responsibility that we cannot trust everything that accesses our systems – every day, we see news of companies being victims of a data breach. All the more that we need to continuously verify, authenticate, and guard ourselves against cyber attacks. I am excited to work with Sterling in bringing awareness to more organizations on the importance of cybersecurity, tackling the threat, and preventing cyberattacks in the future.”
“Arianne has demonstrated a track record of successfully transforming marketing operations and enabling brands to communicate in the digital space,” said Neil Cesario, CISO. Sterling Information Technologies Inc. “Arianne will play a pivotal role as we shape the company’s future and look to elevate our continued focus on Sterling 360 Cybersuite.”
Founded in 1993, Sterling has built its name protecting and defending organizations against some of the most sophisticated cyber security attacks around the globe, Sterling has defined and amplified market awareness for our broad portfolio of world class consulting, innovative SaaS solutions and managed security services. Today, Sterling Information Technologies is known for its holistic cybersecurity approach and has been busy expanding its cybersecurity offerings through partnerships with EC Council, Cynet, and Cyolo. Most recently, it deployed Cyrisq, an AI-powered Vulnerability Risk Management platform.


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V Consumer Electronics Fair in Las Vegas, CES, Several companies advertise their devices more and more sophisticated, which allows you to talk in different languages only with a small device that fits your hands or wireless headphones that are barely noticeable.
Waverly Labs headphones "Pilot" (red, white and black with elegant design) They translate into 15 languages and cost between $ 180 and $ 250. If both devices have a device, it is possible to speak directly.
During a short presentation in Las Vegas, AFP, a French-speaking journalist, was properly translated with headphones by Andrewa Ochoa, head of Waverly Labs, set up in New York in 2014.
On the smartphone Ochoa, the application also provided words in writing, in case it would be useful.
The handset listens through the smartphone, listens to the voice, sends it to the "cloud", overwrites, translates and synthesizes voice, explains Ochoa. Consequently, it has a few seconds of delay. "This is a" sequential "translation and not exactly simultaneous.
The voice synthesis translation and interpretation equipment and programs have recently reached the market because the technology was not sufficiently developed for at least two years.
"We use the latest artificial intelligence functionality, such as machine learning or a" neural network "(a computer system inspired by human brain links) with translation models," he explains, while at the same time pointing to a significant improvement in voice recognition.
"These technologies are mature enough to do this," says Ochoa, who says he sold 35,000 pairs of headphones in less than a year, especially to hotels that must obviously communicate with their customers in many languages.
Less discreet, WT2 headphones from the Chinese company TimeKettle They work similarly and will also be presented this week at CES.
Instead, you do not need a smartphone Pocketalk, from the Japanese Sourcenext, which has its sights on the Olympic Games in Tokyo in 2020 because "many Japanese people speak only Japanese," says Richard Gallagher, Communications Officer.
In his opinion, a small device that looks like a cell phone old can translate 74 languages for $ 299.
"Thanks to automatic learning you understand better and better than you use" and "adjusts to the user's pronunciation", the user continues, while doing the demonstration.
"It's a great way to interact with artificial intelligence," says it has already sold 200,000 units. The hotel owners were also very interested, as well as traders and taxi drivers.
Chinese iFlytex, heavy artificial intelligence and voice recognition in Asia, is also at CES Translator 2.0, which translates Chinese into thirty languages and vice versa. The latest model costs about $ 400.
Dutch Travis, who now handles 100 languages, says he has already sold 120,000 pocket translators. They cost from 200 to 250 dollars.
Powerful Google, very present in the field of translation with its renowned Translate software, opened the dance in 2017 with the launch of "Pixel Buds", voice-overwriting voice recognition devices.
At CES, the US giant introduced a new translation function on Tuesday via its virtual voice assistant, which is present in many products, smartphones or connected speakers, which now can also listen to one language and translate it orally into another.
The next phase, according to Andrew Ochoa, from Waverly Labs, is a truly simultaneous translation that technology still does not allow.


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The hikes will mean some average annual charges are likely to exceed £500 for the first time. Ofwat will set water and sewerage bills for England and Wales on Friday, with new prices taking effect from April.
The average annual charge across the 10 major companies are expected to jump by £20 from £364 to £384.
The increases come on top of recent surges in gas and electricity bills as well as the cost of food and drink, and at a time when many household incomes are stagnating as a result of wage freezes.
South West Water bills – already the highest – are likely to see the biggest increase, from an average of £487 to an £527, while Northumbrian Water bills are expected to rise by 8.5 per cent, adding an £27 to the average bill of £311.
The sharp rises are driven by high inflation. Ofwat set five-year limits to price increases in 2009, but these allow for annual April increases based on the Retail Price Index (RPI) inflation rate the preceding November.
"This will be a bitter pill for consumers to swallow," said Ann Robinson, from price comparison website uSwitch. "With the added blow of increased inflation, households are facing an extra threat."
The estimated rises were calculated by The Sunday Telegraph using Ofwat price limits, but the regulator said final figures would vary because of adjustments in each utility area to take into account future population movement, industrial demand and households switching to metered supply.
Tony Smith, chief executive of the Consumer Council for Water, said: "It could mean customers receiving bigger bills than they thought.
"We recognise that there are 'swings and roundabouts' on this issue for water companies but this could mean an unexpected windfall for many water companies and their shareholders.
"We would urge the companies to demonstrate to customers what they are getting for their money, and start to think how they can share the benefits with their customers."
Last year, the inflationary increase was only 0.3 per cent and many saw a drop in bills.
Uswitch urged customers to consider installing a water meter. On average, those on a meter pay £56 a year less and meters are most likely to save money in households with more bedrooms than occupants.
South West Water said its bills were highest because it served only three per cent of the households in England and Wales, but had to clean up 30 per cent of the coastline.
It claimed bills might not reach the projected £527 because of a recent high number of households switching to water meters, but would not reveal its own estimates.
Elaine Coveney, a utilities analyst for Brewin Dolphin, said: "There is no doubt bills will increase because the inflation increase is the most significant factor.
"When Ofwat set prices for the current review period, in November 2009, it estimated that average RPI for the period 2010-2015 would be 2.5 per cent but actual inflation has risen considerably since then."
In October, Ofwat said one quarter of water companies are missing their targets on stopping leaks after two cold winters led to more cracked pipes.
Rob Wesley, policy adviser with industry group Water UK, said rises would be used to pay for investment in infrastructure such as fixing leaks.
He added that the consequences of lack of investment were demonstrated in northern Ireland over Christmas, when thousands of residents had to use bottled water when freezing temperatures caused broken pipes.
Estimated new water bills (10 major water and sewerage utilities)
|| Max % increase
|| Max £ increase
|| Average bill for 2011/12
| Anglian Water
| Dwr Cymru
| Northumbrian Water
| Severn Trent Water
| South West Water
| Southern Water
| Thames Water
| United Utilities
| Wessex Water
| Yorkshire Water


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Those of you that have used and appreciated Apple’s Aperture photo editing and management software on the Mac may be interested to note that Apple may be planning to make an iOS version of the app.
Mike Beasley notes that Apple has posted a very interesting job opening that suggests a possible mobile version of Aperture coming in the future:
Apple has listed a job opening for a Senior Apps UI Engineer with requirements including experience in programming for iOS, but with exactly zero mentions of Mac OS on the entire page. What makes this listing interesting is that it specifically states that the opening is on the Aperture team. This isn’t the first time Apple has posted a listing for an Aperture developer with iOS experience, but it is the first time that iOS development skills have been listed as a requirement, rather than a preferred skill.
Could Apple be planning a spiffy new mobile version of Aperture to take advantage of the iPad 3’s rumored high-resolution Retina display? Apple has already brought GarageBand and iMovie to the iPad, so it’s not too far fetched to suggest that Aperture might be next.
We pointed out in May of 2011 that Apple had been awarded some patents detailing Aperture running on a tablet-like device, so the fact that the company has posted an official job listing seems to reinforce the idea.
This is far from a confirmation, and could be years down the road (or not happen at all), but it nevertheless brings up some very exciting possibilities.


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beat Wall Street's earnings expectations for the third quarter.
The company, which operates an electronic business-to-business marketplace, reported income, excluding the amortization of intangibles and nonrecurring charges, of $28.8 million, or 12 cents a diluted share, compared with $10 million, or 6 cents a share, for the same period a year ago. According to a
First Call/Thomson Financial
survey, 34 analysts expected the company to earn 10 cents a share for the quarter.
Revenue for the quarter totaled $319.5 million, a 32% increase from the second quarter, when revenue totaled $242.6 million. The company reported revenue of $146.3 million in the year-ago third quarter.
Additionally, the company's board approved a 2-for-1 stock split, payable around Dec. 4.


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Latest victims of the great oil rout: Weir Group and Petrofac post tumbling profits and further cost cutting
Profits from the oil industry continued to be hammered by the ‘unprecedented’ commodities rout.
Oil services firms Weir Group (up 0.5p to 902p) and Petrofac (up 35.5p to 777.5p) were the latest victims of the slump with both posting tumbling profits and further cost cutting.
Scotland-based engineer Weir Group’s full-year pre-tax profit nearly halved to £220million. The maker of the pumps and valves used in oil rigs said revenue fell 21 per cent to £1.92billion.
Profits halved: Scottish based engineer Weir Group, which makes pumps and valves used in oil rigs, said revenue fell 21 per cent to £1.92bn
Chief executive Keith Cochrane described the industry’s challenges as ‘unprecedented’ but that its costs were ‘aggressively reduced’ during the year. It trimmed annual costs by £110million and launched a plan to cut another £40million this year.
The price of oil has fallen 70pc since a recent high of $115 a barrel in summer 2014. The price of brent crude oil picked up yesterday but is still below $35 a barrel.
Oilfield services company Petrofac revealed a profit of just £6.5million after recording a £310million loss on its Laggan Tormore project in the North Sea. Finance boss Tim Weller admitted it ‘underestimated’ the challenges.
Excluding the loss from the project the services firm revealed a 2015 profit of £316million, down nearly 25 per cent on the previous year.
The group has cut about 160 jobs in the UK and several hundred more around the world.
However full-year revenue grew 10 per cent and it said its order book was at record levels – boosted by demand in the Middle East.
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Coca-Cola Park of Allentown said it would be the first sports venue in the world to feature a urinal gaming system, presented by Lehigh Valley Health Network.
The game allows fans to interact with a hands-free urinal game controller, when the Lehigh Valley IronPigs open their 2013 season this April. The video game systems will be featured within all men's restrooms at Coca-Cola Park.
"I think we are always looking for new and creative ways to entertain our fans," said Jon Schaeffer, director of new media for Lehigh Valley IronPigs. "We think in partnering with Lehigh Valley Health Network, it just made sense from a marketing approach."
When a user approaches the urinal, the video console flips into gaming mode, using patented technology that detects both the user's presence and stream. Algorithms then allow the user to engage with the screen by aiming in different directions to test agility and knowledge.
A U.K.-based company, Captive Media, created and developed the games.
Upon completion (an average of over 55 seconds according to published research) users will receive their score and a code to enter. They can then view their position on the leader board or check the website to see how they stack up with the rest of that night's competition.
High scores will be displayed in real-time across various videoboard displays within Coca-Cola Park.
LVHN sees the gaming system as a way to increase awareness about men's health issues that's different from traditional messages.
"It's an awareness campaign to make men more aware of their prostate health," said Brian Downs, spokesman for LVHN. "The idea is to always try to keep it in the back of your mind."


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Netgear CEO criticizes Apple and Steve Jobs
By Kim Zalewski
- 2/1/2011 14:12
Netgear Chief Executive Officer, Patrick Lo was speaking about Apple's closed ecosystem and the ego of Steve Jobs, mentioning that at a lunch in Sydney Australia, Patrick Lo asked the future of Apple's closed system. 'Once Steve Jobs goes away, which is probably not far away, then Apple will have to make a strategic decision on whether to open up the platform. Ultimately a closed system just can't go that far … If they continue to close it and let Android continue to creep up then it's pretty difficult as I see it.' In addition, Netgear CEO went on to criticize Steve Jobs over his thoughts on Flash, as well: 'What's the reason for him to trash Flash? There's no reason other than ego.' On the question to CEO whether hw had spoken to Jobs over his concerns Lo replied that 'Steve Jobs doesn't give me a minute!' By the way, Lo did not stop with Apple. Additionally, he said that 'Microsoft had fallen too far behind with the Windows Phone 7 platform' and that now the game is over.
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Chan Chao and its subsidiary in Vietnam, Yorkers, is an experienced trade fair organiser in diverse fields including automotive, electronics and machineries industries. The companies tapped into the Vietnamese exhibition market over a decade ago and are well-known for their professionalism. Automechanika Ho Chi Minh City is the 16th show under Messe Frankfurt’s worldwide Automechanika brand exhibition. With an extensive network on all continents, the debut is catching the eyes of all industry players around the globe. The strong alliance leads to the success of Automechanika Ho Chi Minh City.
Vietnam’s automotive market has great potential and is full of opportunities. There are currently 2 million automobiles in the country. The trade volume of auto parts and accessories recorded a 43 percent increase between 2010 and 2014. This figure is prosperous, compared to six percent throughout the world in the identical period.
Commenting on the new show, Ms Fiona Chiew, Deputy General Manager of Messe Frankfurt (Shanghai) Co Ltd, said: “Automobile production in Vietnam is expected to reach 227,000 units in 2020. Stated in the Vietnam Automobile Industry Development Master Plan, the government will regulate policies and mechanisms to boost the domestic automobile industry. The measures were taken due to various Free Trade Agreements, especially the ASEAN Trade In Goods Agreement, to reduce import taxes on cars and products in the range of zero to five percent. In addition to the fact that the country is the second most popular country of Foreign Direct Investment in the Asia-Pacific region, we predict there will be more manufacturers entering Vietnam. Automechanika Ho Chi Minh City can definitely accelerate the development.”
Mr Akai Lin, Project Manager of Chan Chao International Co Ltd, is also optimistic about the Vietnamese automotive market. “By the end of 2016, Vietnam is estimated to have 92.6 million inhabitants. The trade volume reached USD2.36 billion in 2014, which represented a CAGR growth of 9.7 percent. The population and trade reflect a huge market for the automotive industry,” said Mr Lin.
Special showcase, Motorcycle Expo, to meet the local market’s needs
Motorcycle Expo will be a special showcase at Automechanika Ho Chi Minh City, to cater to the needs of the local market. There are currently 37 million motorcycles in the country. According to the Vietnam Association of Motorcycle Manufacturers, in the first six months of 2016, the sales of motorcycles reached 1.4 million units, an eight percent increase compared to the same period last year. This reveals that the motorcycle industry is booming in Vietnam. The expo is expected to attract major manufacturers, dealers and distributors to showcase the latest products and accessories to the entire motorcycle industry.
Automechanika Ho Chi Minh City provides the industry players with a platform to expand their sales network and make personal contacts. Exhibiting categories will include Parts & Components, Electronics & Systems, Accessories & Customising, Repair & Maintenance, Management & Digital Solutions, as well as Car Wash, Care & Reconditioning.
- End -
Background information on Messe Frankfurt
Messe Frankfurt is one of the world’s leading trade fair organisers, generating around €648 million in sales and employing 2,244 people. The Messe Frankfurt Group has a global network of 30 subsidiaries and 55 international Sales Partners, allowing it to serve its customers on location in 175 countries. Messe Frankfurt events take place at approx. 50 locations around the globe. In 2015, Messe Frankfurt organised a total of 133 trade fairs, of which more than half took place outside Germany.
Comprising an area of 592,127 square metres, Messe Frankfurt’s exhibition grounds are home to 10 exhibition halls. The company also operates two congress centres. The historic Festhalle, one of the most popular venues in Germany, plays host to events of all kinds. Messe Frankfurt is publicly owned, with the City of Frankfurt holding 60 percent and the State of Hesse 40 percent.
For more information, please visit our website at www.messefrankfurt.com.
Background information on Chan Chao International Co Ltd and Yorkers Exhibition Service Vietnam
Chan Chao is the leading Taiwan-based international exhibition organiser, has achieved outstanding feat in organising high-technology, machineries as well as consumer-oriented exhibitions. Over three decades, Chan Chao has extended flagship brands into Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, Myanmar and Vietnam with their professionalism. Yorkers is the subsidiary office of Chan Chao in Vietnam.
- Automechanika Ho Chi Minh City 2017 PR1 (English) (pdf, 56 KB)


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Google has just announced that it will be holding its Made by Google 2019 event on October 15. The company will announce the Pixel 4 series along with other new hardware products.
Google teased the Pixel 4 way back in mid-June itself. The company has also detailed that the Pixel 4 series will come with its new Soli hardware that will be used for face unlock and gesture purposes. This time around, the Made by Google event will be hosted at 10AM ET on October 15th in New York City.
Almost everything about the Pixel 4 has already been detailed thanks to plenty of leaks over the last month. The phones will come with a Snapdragon 855 chip, 6GB RAM, Titan M security chip, and 90Hz OLED display. The bigger Pixel 4 XL will come with a 6.3-inch QHD+ panel while the Pixel 4 will feature a 5.7-inch FHD+ display. The Pixel 4 XL will feature a 3,700mAh battery, with the regular Pixel 4 featuring a 2800mAh battery.
The phones will feature a dual-camera setup. This will include a new 16MP telephoto sensor that will seemingly offer up to 8x optical zoom. Disappointingly, the Pixel 4 series will lack an ultra-wide angle camera which has become all the rage these days in smartphones.
Are you looking forward to the Google Pixel 4 and the Google Pixel 4 XL?


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|By Business Wire||
|February 7, 2013 04:00 AM EST||
The Cambridge Satchel Company engaged MarkMonitor®, the leader in online brand protection, to address the myriad risks of counterfeits, copyright infringement and cybersquatting that have plagued the brand since its rapid success as one of the latest global fashion obsessions.
The Cambridge Satchel Company has grown from an initial 600 pound investment in 2008 to over eight million in turnaround in 2012. The business was built by Julie Deane, a British mum of two, to earn school fees to send her daughter to a new school after having been bullied. The story of the brand’s growth is featured in the latest Google Chrome advertisement series “The Web is What You Make of It”.
“The web’s tremendous reach and economies of scale have revolutionised the way brands engage customers and drive their business. But the very qualities that make the web so attractive for business growth, can make it easy and lucrative for online brand abusers to hijack powerful brands like the Cambridge Satchel Company,” said Frederick Felman, chief marketing officer of MarkMonitor. “Fast-growing and forward-thinking brands like Cambridge Satchel understand that their brand protection strategy deserves the highest level of attention in order to protect their customers and their revenues.”
Julie Deane has put these additional brand protection efforts in place to protect the consumer. “It is a real shame that these counterfeits and fraudulent sites are preying on the innocent consumer. We have had letters and emails from customers, wanting to return a poor quality satchel, or to find out why their orders were not filled. When we check the order numbers, we find that they were not ordered from the official Cambridge Satchel Company, but from one of the fraudulent sites. We have worked with our lawyers to take these sites down, but they come back with new names and new approaches,” said Deane. “Using our photographs and copyrighted materials, the sites look like they are carrying the real thing. We needed a new approach that reflected a deep understanding of the web and digital channels and turned to MarkMonitor for help.
“These sites are trading on our name, our brand and our promotion and are not only taking sales away from us, but also forcing us to incur additional costs for increased customer service programmes and legal fees. These sites are hurting the consumer and diverting our attentions from positive marketing programmes to support our customers.”
Since MarkMonitor began working with Cambridge Satchel, in just a few months, the company has detected and carried out enforcement for over 1,000 counterfeit product listings on exchange sites, with some listings advertising the availability of thousands of units. The brand protection programme has detected 29 e-commerce sites selling counterfeits and 76 sites cybersquatting on the Cambridge Satchels brand by using the brand in the domain name.
Cambridge Satchel Company diligently works to protect its assets and this past year won a settlement for infringement of intellectual property rights against former manufacturer Leicester Remedials and Sewing (Now trading as Zatchels). The legal proceedings have been settled on terms that include Zatchels paying an undisclosed sum to the Cambridge Satchel Company.
“The best brand protection,” says Julie Deane, “is a strong and healthy brand that is delivering a great product and experience to the consumer. Our focus is to continually innovate with fresh styles and designs, delight our customers and work with top partners globally. This year we have had successful design collaborations with top names including Comme des Garcons, Basso and Brooke, Christopher Shannon and Chris Benz, as well as programmes with Pantone, Disney, Google and more to come. We are proud of what we have built and will continue to invest in building and protecting the Cambridge Satchel Company brand, designs and trademarks.”
Notes to Editors
About Cambridge Satchel
The Cambridge Satchel Company was founded in 2008 by Julie Deane and her mother Freda Thomas at Julie’s kitchen table just outside Cambridge. Having invested just £600 to get the idea off the ground, the company is now a pioneering enterprise employing more than 50 people and experiencing phenomenally fast growth around the world. Their colourful bags and inspiring business story recently resulted in them starring in an advert for Google Chrome: www.youtube.com/watch?v=E0qDrRJT4zE&feature=youtu.be
The company is committed to preserving British manufacturing and is proud to be employing many locally skilled craftsmen and women in her own Leicester based workshop whilst also supporting independent UK craftsmen.
The Cambridge Satchel Co’s success has been recognized through a number of awards including:
- Red Hot Women Awards: Start-Up 2011 award winner 2011
- WGSN: Footwear & Accessories Design Team, winner 2012
- Drapers: Fashion & Retail Personnel Smaller Etaielr of the Year, winner 2012
- Natwest everywoman Woman Awards: The Athena Award for female business owners aged 36, winner 2012
- European Business Awards: Ruban d’Honneur status, awaiting next step of the process.
The brand continues to collaborate with prestigious designers and retailers including Comme des Garcons and Christopher Shannon, further securing its role and international acclaim as the ‘Brit It Bag’.
The bags can be bought online at www.cambridgesatchel.co.uk and in the company’s store at 15 Shorts Gardens, Seven Dials, WC2H 9AT.
Internet-of-Things discussions can end up either going down the consumer gadget rabbit hole or focused on the sort of data logging that industrial manufacturers have been doing forever. However, in fact, companies today are already using IoT data both to optimize their operational technology and to improve the experience of customer interactions in novel ways. In his session at @ThingsExpo, Gordon Haff, Red Hat Technology Evangelist, will share examples from a wide range of industries – includin...
Dec. 5, 2016 04:15 AM EST Reads: 1,607
We're entering the post-smartphone era, where wearable gadgets from watches and fitness bands to glasses and health aids will power the next technological revolution. With mass adoption of wearable devices comes a new data ecosystem that must be protected. Wearables open new pathways that facilitate the tracking, sharing and storing of consumers’ personal health, location and daily activity data. Consumers have some idea of the data these devices capture, but most don’t realize how revealing and...
Dec. 5, 2016 04:00 AM EST Reads: 5,086
Unless your company can spend a lot of money on new technology, re-engineering your environment and hiring a comprehensive cybersecurity team, you will most likely move to the cloud or seek external service partnerships. In his session at 18th Cloud Expo, Darren Guccione, CEO of Keeper Security, revealed what you need to know when it comes to encryption in the cloud.
Dec. 5, 2016 04:00 AM EST Reads: 4,676
"We build IoT infrastructure products - when you have to integrate different devices, different systems and cloud you have to build an application to do that but we eliminate the need to build an application. Our products can integrate any device, any system, any cloud regardless of protocol," explained Peter Jung, Chief Product Officer at Pulzze Systems, in this SYS-CON.tv interview at @ThingsExpo, held November 1-3, 2016, at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, CA.
Dec. 5, 2016 03:30 AM EST Reads: 934
In his general session at 19th Cloud Expo, Manish Dixit, VP of Product and Engineering at Dice, discussed how Dice leverages data insights and tools to help both tech professionals and recruiters better understand how skills relate to each other and which skills are in high demand using interactive visualizations and salary indicator tools to maximize earning potential. Manish Dixit is VP of Product and Engineering at Dice. As the leader of the Product, Engineering and Data Sciences team at D...
Dec. 5, 2016 01:30 AM EST Reads: 745
Data is the fuel that drives the machine learning algorithmic engines and ultimately provides the business value. In his session at 20th Cloud Expo, Ed Featherston, director/senior enterprise architect at Collaborative Consulting, will discuss the key considerations around quality, volume, timeliness, and pedigree that must be dealt with in order to properly fuel that engine.
Dec. 5, 2016 12:45 AM EST Reads: 1,569
In addition to all the benefits, IoT is also bringing new kind of customer experience challenges - cars that unlock themselves, thermostats turning houses into saunas and baby video monitors broadcasting over the internet. This list can only increase because while IoT services should be intuitive and simple to use, the delivery ecosystem is a myriad of potential problems as IoT explodes complexity. So finding a performance issue is like finding the proverbial needle in the haystack.
Dec. 5, 2016 12:30 AM EST Reads: 6,083
According to Forrester Research, every business will become either a digital predator or digital prey by 2020. To avoid demise, organizations must rapidly create new sources of value in their end-to-end customer experiences. True digital predators also must break down information and process silos and extend digital transformation initiatives to empower employees with the digital resources needed to win, serve, and retain customers.
Dec. 5, 2016 12:15 AM EST Reads: 1,159
Fact is, enterprises have significant legacy voice infrastructure that’s costly to replace with pure IP solutions. How can we bring this analog infrastructure into our shiny new cloud applications? There are proven methods to bind both legacy voice applications and traditional PSTN audio into cloud-based applications and services at a carrier scale. Some of the most successful implementations leverage WebRTC, WebSockets, SIP and other open source technologies. In his session at @ThingsExpo, Da...
Dec. 4, 2016 10:45 PM EST Reads: 1,672
"Once customers get a year into their IoT deployments, they start to realize that they may have been shortsighted in the ways they built out their deployment and the key thing I see a lot of people looking at is - how can I take equipment data, pull it back in an IoT solution and show it in a dashboard," stated Dave McCarthy, Director of Products at Bsquare Corporation, in this SYS-CON.tv interview at @ThingsExpo, held November 1-3, 2016, at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, CA.
Dec. 4, 2016 10:45 PM EST Reads: 1,000
Today we can collect lots and lots of performance data. We build beautiful dashboards and even have fancy query languages to access and transform the data. Still performance data is a secret language only a couple of people understand. The more business becomes digital the more stakeholders are interested in this data including how it relates to business. Some of these people have never used a monitoring tool before. They have a question on their mind like “How is my application doing” but no id...
Dec. 4, 2016 06:30 PM EST Reads: 2,177
@GonzalezCarmen has been ranked the Number One Influencer and @ThingsExpo has been named the Number One Brand in the “M2M 2016: Top 100 Influencers and Brands” by Onalytica. Onalytica analyzed tweets over the last 6 months mentioning the keywords M2M OR “Machine to Machine.” They then identified the top 100 most influential brands and individuals leading the discussion on Twitter.
Dec. 4, 2016 06:30 PM EST Reads: 2,035
As data explodes in quantity, importance and from new sources, the need for managing and protecting data residing across physical, virtual, and cloud environments grow with it. Managing data includes protecting it, indexing and classifying it for true, long-term management, compliance and E-Discovery. Commvault can ensure this with a single pane of glass solution – whether in a private cloud, a Service Provider delivered public cloud or a hybrid cloud environment – across the heterogeneous enter...
Dec. 4, 2016 06:00 PM EST Reads: 1,545
"IoT is going to be a huge industry with a lot of value for end users, for industries, for consumers, for manufacturers. How can we use cloud to effectively manage IoT applications," stated Ian Khan, Innovation & Marketing Manager at Solgeniakhela, in this SYS-CON.tv interview at @ThingsExpo, held November 3-5, 2015, at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, CA.
Dec. 4, 2016 04:15 PM EST Reads: 4,210
"We're a cybersecurity firm that specializes in engineering security solutions both at the software and hardware level. Security cannot be an after-the-fact afterthought, which is what it's become," stated Richard Blech, Chief Executive Officer at Secure Channels, in this SYS-CON.tv interview at @ThingsExpo, held November 1-3, 2016, at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, CA.
Dec. 4, 2016 04:15 PM EST Reads: 626
Information technology is an industry that has always experienced change, and the dramatic change sweeping across the industry today could not be truthfully described as the first time we've seen such widespread change impacting customer investments. However, the rate of the change, and the potential outcomes from today's digital transformation has the distinct potential to separate the industry into two camps: Organizations that see the change coming, embrace it, and successful leverage it; and...
Dec. 4, 2016 03:00 PM EST Reads: 3,262
Data is the fuel that drives the machine learning algorithmic engines and ultimately provides the business value. In his session at Cloud Expo, Ed Featherston, a director and senior enterprise architect at Collaborative Consulting, discussed the key considerations around quality, volume, timeliness, and pedigree that must be dealt with in order to properly fuel that engine.
Dec. 4, 2016 02:15 PM EST Reads: 2,015
Internet of @ThingsExpo, taking place June 6-8, 2017 at the Javits Center in New York City, New York, is co-located with the 20th International Cloud Expo and will feature technical sessions from a rock star conference faculty and the leading industry players in the world. @ThingsExpo New York Call for Papers is now open.
Dec. 4, 2016 02:00 PM EST Reads: 1,911
What happens when the different parts of a vehicle become smarter than the vehicle itself? As we move toward the era of smart everything, hundreds of entities in a vehicle that communicate with each other, the vehicle and external systems create a need for identity orchestration so that all entities work as a conglomerate. Much like an orchestra without a conductor, without the ability to secure, control, and connect the link between a vehicle’s head unit, devices, and systems and to manage the ...
Dec. 4, 2016 02:00 PM EST Reads: 617
We are always online. We access our data, our finances, work, and various services on the Internet. But we live in a congested world of information in which the roads were built two decades ago. The quest for better, faster Internet routing has been around for a decade, but nobody solved this problem. We’ve seen band-aid approaches like CDNs that attack a niche's slice of static content part of the Internet, but that’s it. It does not address the dynamic services-based Internet of today. It does...
Dec. 4, 2016 02:00 PM EST Reads: 945


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Japan’s current account surplus shrank 8 percent from a year earlier to 7.24 trillion yen in the first half of 2003, marking the first decline in three half-year periods, the Finance Ministry said Friday in a preliminary report.
The smaller surplus mainly came from a jump in imports, the value of which was affected by higher oil prices amid worries over the onset of the war in Iraq.
The import surge resulted in a smaller trade surplus. The current account surplus is the broadest gauge of trade in goods and services, including cross-border income.
Imports for the January-June period hit a record high 19.69 trillion yen, up 7.6 percent from a year earlier. The average oil price for the period was 22,094 yen per kiloliter, up 21.2 percent from the same period last year.
Exports for the same period rose 4.2 percent to 25.05 trillion yen, supported by growth in exports to other parts of Asia and to Europe.
Japan’s exports of automobiles to the United States have declined since February as automakers shifted their production overseas, the ministry said.
As a result, the trade surplus — exports minus imports — fell by 6.7 percent to 5.36 trillion yen.
The cross-border income surplus was also down, contributing to the smaller current account surplus for the half-year period. The income surplus stood at 4.17 trillion yen, down 8.7 percent from a year earlier, affected by slowdown in the overseas economy.
As for cross-border services, the deficit dropped 22.3 percent to 1.83 trillion yen, as the number of Japanese tourists going overseas declined by more than 20 percent.
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Apple is officially acquiring Intel’s smartphone modem business for $1 billion, the two companies announced today. As rumored earlier this week, the move “would jump-start the iPhone maker’s push to take control of developing the critical components powering its devices.” The Verge reports: The acquisition means that Apple is now well on the way to producing its own 5G modems for its smartphones, rather than having to rely on Qualcomm for the hardware. Developing its own modems has the potential to deliver big benefits for Apple. In particular, it would no longer be subject to the patent licensing terms of Qualcomm, which were the source of the two companies’ lengthy legal dispute. In the past, Apple has accused Qualcomm for charging “disproportionately high” fees in patent royalties, which it was accused of forcing companies to agree to if they want access to its hardware as part of a “no license — no chips” policy.
The talks with Intel to acquire its modem business are understood to have started last summer, according to the WSJ, when Intel’s new CEO Bob Swan arrived with a focus on cleaning up the company and addressing its loss-making segments. Acquiring another business to develop an in-house competitor is a tactic Apple has used at least once before when it spent $300 million to acquire part of Dialog, a company that previously supplied Apple with power management chips for its phones. The time of the acquisition, which included 300 employees, was Apple’s biggest ever in terms of headcount.


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The connection between dog grooming and the Gulf of Mexico oil spill might seem, at first blush, a tenuous one at best — but thanks to a charity called Matter of Trust, the two seemingly incongruous things are linked in a great way.
The San Francisco-based organization has advocated environmental education and the repurposing of surplus materials for eco-friendly projects since its inception in 1998.
A few years later, the group began using both human hair and pet fur to create mats that are oil-adsorbent — a term that means that oil clings to the mats, rather than being absorbed into them — and can be used to help contain oil spills.
“You shampoo your hair because it gets greasy,” hairstylist and oil spill hair mat inventor Phil McCrory explains on Matter of Trust’s website. “Hair is very efficient at collecting oil out of the air, off surfaces like your skin and out of the water, even petroleum oil.”
Hair and fur can also be piled, sausage-style, into nylon stockings to create tubes called booms that also help to contain oil. Toward that end, the Hanes company recently donated 50,000 remainder pairs of nylons to be stuffed with hair and fur by volunteers. Volunteers like Alabama resident Amanda Richardson-Bacon have begun hosting “Boom-B-Que” boom-stuffing parties — a modern twist on an old-school barn raising.
When complete, Richardson-Bacon told the New York Times, a hair boom “looks like a giant hair sausage. It’s very nasty-looking.” Unattractive, perhaps, but functional.
Dog boarding kennel and grooming parlor chain Camp Bow Wow is one business that’s harnessing the formidable power of pet fur to help in the oil-spill cleanup effort. The company has reached out to its 200-some franchisees in the U.S. and Canada to collect fur, which will then be shipped to Matter of Trust warehouses. Pet owners interested in participating can visit Camp Bow Wow’s website to find the nearest location. (Here in Southern California, there are four Camp Bow Wow facilities located in Agoura Hills, Anaheim, San Diego and San Clemente.)
Donors can also sign up online to receive an e-mail from Matter of Trust with information on where to send a shipment of pet fur, wool, horse hair, feathers, human hair and washed nylons. (For more information on how to prepare your shipment, check out Matter of Trust’s Hair for Oil Spills program information page.) Since the oil spill is moving and the organization’s warehouses are small, there isn’t one catch-all shipment location for donations. Instead, donors are e-mailed an address near a location where hair mats are needed.
Matter of Trust offers a primer on how hair mats and booms work in the video below: