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From my talks with several CEOs of large 3D printing companies, one topic always comes up, one that many of these companies are very passionate about. That topic is 3D printing in schools. It is inevitable that 3D printing will make its way into schools all around the world, but the question that remains is, “when?” Many schools in the United States, Europe, and Asia are already implementing 3D printing into the classroom environment, but the one major obstacle that still remains is that of utilization. How do educators build lesson plans and curricula around the technology in a way that will benefit students not only today, but in the future as well?
Pakistan is an up-and-coming nation when it comes to education. The country still maintains a very high illiteracy rate, but those numbers are tarnished by the older generations. School-aged children have a literacy rate almost twice that of their parents and grandparents.
Many schools in Pakistan are really beginning to do an excellent job at modernizing the education system. Schools are beginning to focus more on STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics) curricula, and in doing so, technology has become a big part of education. One research company in particular, called LearnOBots, seems to be at the forefront of introducing technology into the classroom environment, and 3D printing is a big part of their ideology.
“LearnOBots was founded to inspire Pakistani kids towards STEAM education,” explained LearnOBots’ co-founder Shamyl Bin Mansoor to 3DPrint.com. “We use open source software and open source hardware to create products that we use to teach kids about STEAM. In Pakistan buying toys, tools and electronics that are usually imported is very difficult for most people as it is usually expensive due to additional import costs and tax. Our goal is to make technology and tools accessible locally so that we can inspire kids through Maker Education. 3D printing is helping us build these tools locally instead of mass manufacturing or importing from China.”
3D printing is huge for LearnOBots, and is increasingly so for Pakistan as a country. LearnOBots has teamed with schools to offer interesting workshops for educating children using 3D printing technology. While LearnOBots offers five different workshops for schools, including construction of LEGO Mindstorm Robot kits, the assembly of electronic snapcircuits, and the creation of solar houses, 3D printing also plays a major role. Two workshops in particular are based around 3D printing, one being a workshop on creating 3D printed mobile robots.
Using a RepRap Prusa i3 FFF-based 3D printer, LearnOBots 3D prints a mobile robot from Thingiverse. Then they add Arduino to it, as well as several sensors. This goes along with a curriculum that they developed which teaches kids the basics about robotics and electronics.
“We also teach kids 3D modeling, using TinkerCad from AutoDesk,” Mansoor told us. “There are a number of useful tutorials that help the kids in quickly grasping concepts like creating basic shapes, moving around in the 3D environment, handling the camera, etc. The kids then design their own model which they 3D print on the printer. Our goal is to promote a local maker community that not only uses 3D printing, but [also] learns to make stuff, and as a result learns all about STEAM.”
The latest project was the aforementioned 3D printed mobile robots which are constructed to work their way around obstacles. After building and programming their robots, students race them to see whose can get to the finish line first. See video below:
What do you think? Should more schools around the world be utilizing 3D printing technology like LearnOBots is doing in Pakistan? Discuss in the 3D Printed Mobile Obstacle Avoidance Robot forum thread on 3DPB.com.
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Walmart said Friday that it is scaling back its advertising on X, the social media company formerly known as Twitter, because “we’ve found some other platforms better for reaching our customers.”
Walmart’s decision has been in the works for a while, according to a person familiar with the move. Yet it comes as X faces anfollowing billionaire owner Elon Musk’s support for an antisemitic post on the platform.
The retailer spends about $2.7 billion on advertising each year, according to MarketingDive. In an email to CBS MoneyWatch, X’s head of operations, Joe Benarroch, said Walmart still has a large presence on X. He added that the company stopped advertising on X in October, “so this is not a recent pausing.”
“Walmart has a wonderful community of more than a million people on X, and with a half a billion people on X, every year the platform experiences 15 billion impressions about the holidays alone with more than 50% of X users doing most or all of their shopping online,” Benarroch said.
Musk struck a defiant pose earlier this week at the New York Times’ Dealbook Summit, where hethat had distanced themselves from X, telling them to “go f— yourself.” He also complained that companies are trying to “blackmail me with advertising” by with the platform, and cautioned that the loss of big advertisers could “kill” X.
“And the whole world will know that those advertisers killed the company,” Musk added.
Dozens of advertisers — including players such as Apple, Coca Cola and Disney — have bailed on X since Muskon the platform that claimed Jews fomented hatred against White people, echoing antisemitic stereotypes, was “the actual truth.”
Advertisers generally shy away from placing their brands and marketing messages next to controversial material, for fear that their image with consumers could get tarnished by incendiary content.
The loss of major advertisers could deprive X of up to $75 million in revenue, according to a New York Times report.
Musk said Wednesday his support of the antisemitic post was “one of the most foolish” he’d ever posted on X.
“I am quite sorry,” he said, adding “I should in retrospect not have replied to that particular post.”

domain: news


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- In the first phase, 30 electric buses will be brought into service in the capital.
The Ministry of Science and Technology has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Capital Development Authority (CDA) to launch the electric bus service in Islamabad.
In the first phase, 30 electric buses will be brought into service in the capital. Islamabad will have fully electric buses in the next three to four years. By 2023, 40 percent of transport will go electric.
In August, an MoU was signed between the ride-hailing Pakistani startup Airlift and the ministry. “We are excited to put forth our plan of adding electric vehicles on our fleet, we are also extremely grateful for the support that we have received from all relevant government bodies,” said Airlift in a statement.


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Enhanced due diligence of MSMEs is key to better credit access
MSMEs have come to be known as the growth engines of the Indian economy and rightly so, given that they generate nearly 30% of India's GDP and employ a large number of people. MSMEs in India are growing rapidly, with FY21 witnessing a 21% surge in the incorporation of new companies. This momentum has continued in FY22 despite the odds.
However, MSMEs are also having to deal with the increasing burden of compliance like GST filing and limited access to credit. Nevertheless, amid the pandemic, the one thing that has picked up pace among MSMEs is their rapid adoption of digitization and automation. More enterprises are seeking to automate most of their operations to keep up with the new regulations and go digital for invoicing, transactions, and even loans and insurance. There has been visible proof of this in the widespread use of QR codes and POS terminals now present at almost every mom-and-pop store in the country.
Another trend arising from the demand for automation is the emergence of SMB-focused B2B service providers. These enterprise tech providers are offering cost-effective solutions for automating/digitizing various functions of MSMEs. We are already seeing an increasing number of businesses such as Udaan and other e-commerce marketplaces focusing on SMB enablement. This has led to the springing up of more players in the lending space, with even large corporates entering the market.
Yet, historically, there is the challenge of conducting thorough due diligence of MSMEs for financial institutions as they seek reliable data around companies as a basis for lending. So, despite the rapid surge in MSMEs, access to credit remains restricted to those companies that can furnish robust data to portray their genuineness, even as the lending market expands to service more MSMEs. To add to this, some of these loans have also been troublesome for lenders owing to rising defaults. India Ratings & Research expects gross NPAs from this segment to climb to 13.1% by FY22 from 9.9% in FY21, which has led to hesitation on the part of many lenders.
Funding is definitely a major hurdle for MSME growth. Understanding how we can ensure that credit-worthy MSMEs receive the funding they need, with lenders developing comfort around these kind of loans remains key. Eventually, it all boils down to how lenders can verify the credibility of the MSME.
Clearly, there is need for reliable intelligence of any business that lenders are dealing with. Today, solutions like K:Scan that are leveraging big data and AI algorithms to enable access to credible data points that can be used for better targeting and developing sharper go-to-market strategies for lenders. FIs can smoothen their due diligence process and figure out whether the MSME is real or a shell/hawala entity, is the money going into right accounts, is the SME selling genuine products or is it indulging in online swindling, are their goods as promised or of substandard quality, is there solid customer support available, etc-all using existing AI/ML and big data solutions.
Lenders can also verify the entity's genuineness by skimming through hundreds of databases including GST and ITR filings, while checking for any details around shareholding, management, red flags, litigation and negative news around millions of MSMEs in India, who are otherwise not required to make their records or information public.
In addition, solutions like Video KYC are allowing for quick onboarding. This is not only simplifying the lending journey but also allowing financial service providers to extend offerings such as small business credit cards, credit limits, insurance to SMBs, thus allowing them to capitalize on the growth in this segment. More corporates are entering the B2B lending space as micro enterprises expand into medium and large ones.
Emerging and existing technology is allowing lenders to conduct robust due diligence on smaller entities like MSMEs. This can significantly enhance credit access to MSMEs and better the overall financial inclusion rate in the country, surpassing gigantic hurdles that MSMEs and FIs face while driving growth.


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Virginia-based textile recycling company, Circ, has raised US$25 million in funding with support from European online fashion platform Zalando and global materials science and digital identification solutions company Avery Dennison.
Specifically, any mixture of polyester and cotton can be separated and recovered from waste clothing using a technology created by Circ. In July of last year, the company raised an initial $30 billion through a Series B funding round, with Marubeni and Milliken & Company as sponsors.
Zalando, Avery Dennison, Youngone, the owner of a number of well-known outdoor brands in South Korea, and more investors have now contributed an additional $25 million.
With this most recent financing, Circ will be able to develop industrial-scale facilities more quickly and bring its first consumer items to market.
Peter Majeranowski, CEO of Circ, said that leadership from significant stakeholders in the textile sector, the financial community, as well as technology pioneers, is required to transform the fashion economy. The Circ team is made up of a broad set of industry leaders from the US, Europe, and Asia in the fields of engineering, manufacturing, and retail, in addition to their workers. They both agree that the fashion business needs to move toward a more sustainable future. They improve their capacity to break the expensive and avoidable cycle of clothing waste with each fundraising round and growth in their partner network.
David Schneider, Co-CEO of Zalando, said that with the investment in Circ, they are contributing to an emerging infrastructure for circularity that will eventually help Zalando, and the fashion industry at large, to move away from a take-make-waste model. They are excited about the potential of Circ to contribute to this vision. They want to be a sustainable fashion platform with a net-positive impact on people and the world.
Avery Dennison is collaborating with Circ and other supply chain partners to develop a solution for the take-back and sorting of garbage at scale using intelligent labeling in clothing.
A report that is issued every week covers price statistics and objective analysis of the market trends on various textile value chains
A crisp report that is issued every month covers analysis of the price and market trends on various textile value chains
A weekly report covering market and price information on the entire chain of polyester along with online access to daily polyester chain prices.
One-time reports that are issued annually cover the demand and supply trends in individual products including polyester, nylon, acrylic, viscose, and cotton.
One-time reports that are issued annually cover the demand and supply trends in the individual country's natural and manmade fiber/filament industries.
Countries Served Worldwide


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The beauty and wellness industry has experienced a dramatic transformation since the pandemic's start back in March of 2020. With the masses cooped up in their homes for months, the beauty and wellness industry suffered since no one was getting ready to go anywhere. Tiktok’s unprecedented success and subsequent rapid growth during the pandemic contributed to the current boom in product innovation and sales. Is this too much of a good thing? Has the market become oversaturated? Will small brands get the same chance to thrive?
Social media companies have been conjuring up “social commerce” for years, boasting large advertising budgets and constantly propositioning consumers to buy and sell, all to get a coveted chunk of the social media mega-market.
Enter TikTok. The company saw its base increase exponentially since the spring of 2020. At the beginning of 2020, the platform had around 500 million users worldwide. The company then surpassed a billion by the fall of that year and continues to grow rapidly.
Brands have begun to utilize the app’s commerce tools, and TikTok’s influencer economy is growing at an astronomical pace. Many products appear in users’ feeds in a manner that feels organic, setting it apart from other social commerce platforms that feel less authentic. As YouTubers have done since the early 2010s, people use TikTok to talk about the things they buy. But TikTok’s influence and reach have surpassed, and innovated beyond its predecessors.
The reach that TikTok has amassed is hard to fathom. For example, the hashtag #TikTokMadeMeBuyIt has over five billion views globally and an endless scroll of videos showing off every possible purchase, from makeup primers to levitating lamps. It’s no wonder that beauty brands both big and small are tapping into the selling power of TikTok.
When Maybelline New York launched its Sky High Mascara stateside in November 2020, it partnered with TikTokers, asking them to give a simple review of their first impressions. The tube sold out at American cosmetics retailer Ulta on four separate occasions. When it launched in Canada two months later, it was sold out online at Shoppers Drug Mart and Walmart within 72 hours. That’s just the tip of the iceberg.
A Fashion Magazine recalls, Before that, Elf Cosmetics was one of the first beauty brands to drum up buzz on TikTok. The affordable drugstore makeup brand made an original song called “Eyes. Lips. Face. (e.l.f.)” and released it on the app, coupled with a contest to engage users. In the blink of an eye, there were roughly one million posts using the sound, including authentic submissions from A-listers like Lizzo and Reese Witherspoon.
Isle of Paradise, a self-tanning brand, and affordable drugstore skincare brand CeraVe found themselves out of stock for months after TikTokers boasted about the beloved products. While this is great for brand revenue, as a consumer…it’s a bit frustrating. If anyone enjoyed a certain product for years as a staple in their routine, and that product went viral on TikTok, you better start looking for new staples.
As of early January 2022, TikTok’s base continues to climb, and rapidly. According to a recent report by Pathmatics, people watch 1.2 billion videos per day on TikTok alone and overall watch more than 3 billion videos daily across all platforms. It’s hard to fully comprehend the way this could affect eCommerce.
TikTok’s young, media-raised demographic, coupled with the app’s remarkably curated algorithm allows users to elevate brands into the stratosphere. And it’s not only new exciting products either – TikTok users have even revived classic brands.
For example, Bissell’s iconic portable carpet cleaner, The Little Green Machine has been on the market since 1997, which might as well be a century ago. Americans born between 1970 and 1990, can probably remember commercials for its predecessors as the New York Times puts it: “the suspiciously miraculous lifting of dirt through a translucent nozzle, the reservoir of revolting extracted liquid.”
Thanks to TikTok, its sales have more than doubled as hundreds of videos featuring the device have spread across “CleanTok” and amassed millions of views.
So what’s the secret sauce? The TikTok algorithm’s proficiency embarrasses every other social media platform (looking at you, Instagram). TikTok’s “For You” feed is so expertly curated, that it’s entirely possible a commercial from the year 1972 is likely to appear on the timeline of a user from that era. It’s a constant-discovery loop, providing instant satisfaction with every scroll. The content is audience-informed, and not the other way around.
According to Seth Kean, CEO of ROI Influencer, a New York City company that measures engagement and sell-through across social media platforms, “For every million dollars that brands spend on influencer marketing on TikTok, they’re seeing $7.2 million in sales over the first 90 days.”
It doesn’t stop there. A 15-year-old student opened a store in his local mall called “Viral Trends NY,” which carries TikTok mainstays like viral beauty products, and the coveted Squishmallow. The student told Rebecca Jennings at Vox, “Everything in this store is in super high demand and you really can’t find it anywhere else except on eBay fully marked up.” There’s also the “TikTok Block,” in Manhattan, where two big TikTokers have opened shops with curated vintage clothing. Jennings continues, “There is now so much stuff that’s gone viral on TikTok that the factories producing those products have gotten on TikTok and now have a hand in making them go viral in the first place.”
Another major factor in TikTok’s uncanny ability to sell a product is its quick, eye-catching 15-60 second formula. A 3-minute option was later added, but for the purposes of eCommerce, the 15-60 second range is the sweet spot. People can watch dozens and dozens of short TikToks selling 25 different products in the time it takes to watch a single YouTube video selling one product. That also makes it easy for newbies to get in on the action if they’re convincing enough, welcoming more creators onto the platform. To lead a successful YouTube channel in which you can capitalize, you need equipment and a bit of expertise. On TikTok, all you need is your phone, and not even a particularly good one at that. Moreover, its duet, stitch, and share sound capabilities enhance TikTok’s boisterous remix culture, allowing videos to capitalize off of other videos.
But overconsumption in a time where sustainability is crucial has created some issues.
As mentioned before, it becomes a slippery slope when consumers are unable to come across their favorite products that they’ve been using for a long time because that product went viral on social media. And according to an Insider Intelligence report, people are spending more of their money on social platforms; the number of shoppers buying via social commerce grew by 25 percent from just 2019 to 2020. This means that more products are selling out, quicker than ever.
This issue is exacerbated by the ongoing logistics crisis the global economy is experiencing. At the end of August of ‘21, there were around 40 vessels awaiting entry to the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, CA, both of which are the busiest container ports in North America. The blockage was born due to 18 months of COVID disruptions to shipping, transportation, warehousing, and labor.
And according to leadership at the Independent Beauty Association. mid-September, the number of ships anchored off California’s shores had exceeded 70.
Overconsumption is clearly at play here. When 6 different affordable moisturizers stocked at the local target go viral in two weeks, curious minds are bound to test out a few. Soon, after a few months, these products begin to build up. Then comes hundreds of dollars of wasted product because a new influencer came out and said that one of the moisturizers that went viral two weeks ago is actually harmful to your skin, and so on and so forth. Beauty microtrends are just as harmful as fashion microtrends are for the environment. Plastic packaging that houses many viral beauty products builds up, and rests in landfills for many years, contributing to the global climate crisis.
According to the latest reports from Zero Waste Week, beauty packaging amounts to roughly 120 billion units every year. That includes plastic, paper, glass, and metals, all of which will end up polluting the environment in landfills.
Although consumers can help by separating recyclable pieces themselves, it is not convenient, or realistic to expect consumers to take this responsibility. Furthermore, 8 million tons of plastic find its way into the ocean each year, and cosmetic containers contribute in no small measure. Plastic pollution has devastating consequences. The UN Environmental Program has warned that if the waste trend continues, there will be more plastic in the oceans than fish by 2050.
It’s crucial for consumers to develop a more critical understanding of their consumption, especially since TikTok shows no signs of slowing down. The app will undoubtedly continue to see massive upward eCommerce growth, and it’s unfortunately up to consumers to be more discerning about what they purchase. For now, we’ll keep an eye on the staggering revenues of the beauty industry, and how social commerce continues to contribute.
If you’d like to learn more about SUMO Heavy, drop us a line, give us a call or contact us on social media.


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Fédération Française de Rugby, the governing body for rugby union in France, has named ORECA as its official online store partner, in a deal brokered by the federation’s licensing agency, IMG.
Under the new partnership, ORECA will operate the online Fédération Française de Rugby shop, sales promotion and marketing, using the re-branded France Rugby logo and identity. The launch of the new website last week coincides with the intoduction of the new France Rugby jersey developed by Le Coq sportif.
Serge Simon, vice president of Fédération Française de Rugby, said: “The different rugby teams are at the dawning of big challenges for the years to come, during which the Fédération Française de Rugby is also pursuing its digital transformation.
“The French Rugby Federation is therefore proud to launch its new eCommerce shop, where all supporters and rugby fans will be able to embrace products that bear our famous rooster. This new platform will provide the opportunity to showcase the new jersey of the French rugby teams.”
Raphaël de Chaunac, vice president of ORECA, added: “We are delighted with this collaboration, which represents a business diversification for our company and we would like to thank FFR and IMG. Becoming the official online store operator of France Rugby highlights that we are at the service of the fans and the people practicing this sport.”
Mickael Andreo, vice president of licensing, IMG, added: “We are entering a highly strategic period for rugby in France with last month marking three years to go until France hosts Rugby World Cup 2023. Working with specialists in each area of the licensing ecosystem, we will allow the FFR to reach out to the fans with a compelling, qualitative and adapted product offer and services. We are delighted to welcome ORECA as part of our licensee family.”
Rugby World Cup 2023 will be played across nine cities in France and will take place September, 8th 2023 – October, 21 2023.


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Dallas Market Center has announced that it will offer new resources, special events and appearances during its Western Market starting Aug. 14 and running through Saturday, Aug. 17.
Dallas Western Market includes The Territory, a permanent western crossover apparel & accessories neighborhood located on the World Trade Center (WTC) 14th floor, temporaries on WTC 12 as well as crossover buying opportunities in The Range, a neighborhood of western home accents located on the WTC 6th floor including mirrors and frames, rugs, pillows and throws, furniture, leather, hides and more.
The Territory is fully-leased with the addition of Vail Trading Post, a new exhibitor located in WTC 14-14395. The neighborhood also includes exhibitors such as Corral, WTC 14-14335; Cripple Creek, WTC 14-14349; Miller International, WTC 14-14121; M & F Western Products, WTC 14-14185; and Panhandle Slim, WTC 14-14294. New lines include Carl Carr hats, an American-made line in Rhonda Stark Designs, WTC 14-14159.
New exhibitors debuting in The Range during Market include Always Unique, WTC 6-6670; Cripple Creek Creations, WTC 6-6658; Green Blue Heron, WTC 6-6670; Moon Rein, WTC 6-6848; and Rustiques Gallery, WTC 6-6694.
Female Texas country singer, songwriter, guitarist and TV host Ali Dee will exhibit her fashion collection for the first time in Temps on 12, WTC 12-1214. Krystal Campbell from the A&E television show “American Hoggers” will be signing autographs at Bandera Style located in Temps on 12, WTC 12-1004.
Additional new temporary lines to the Dallas Western Market include Affliction Clothing, Denver Mountain Boots – Calzado Denver, Ethos Custom Brands, Fashion Reminder, Free Bird by Steve Madden, Old Frontier Clothing Co., Peekaboo Lace, Safari Exotic Leather, Urban Thistle, Walls Industries and Karman lines including Roper Apparel, Roper Boots, Stetson Apparel, Stetson Boots and Tin Haul.


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Quibi places free episodes on YouTube as streamer looks to grow subscribers
After months of positioning itself as a premium subscription platform, Hollywood streaming service Quibi is now making some of its shows available for free on YouTube.
The company confirmed Thursday that the first episodes of programs including thrillers “The Stranger” and “Most Dangerous Game,” and the comedy “Dummy,” will be on YouTube.
The move comes as the Hollywood start-up, which specializes in “bite-sized” shows targeting mobile phone users, is trying to grow its audience while people are sheltering in place at home.
The Times confirmed on Wednesday that at least one episode of “The Stranger” would be made available on YouTube. CNET reported Thursday that the first episodes of “Most Dangerous Game” and “Dummy” would also be posted.
Quibi is turning to YouTube to attract subscribers even though its executives have previously emphasized that their content is of more premium quality than that offered by user-generated video sites such as YouTube and TikTok.
Quibi had a strong debut when it launched earlier this month. Unlike many other streaming services, it is charging a subscription for shows with episodes of 10 minutes or less. That has brought some skepticism among analysts because there are other platforms, like YouTube and TikTok, that rely on short-form video but are free and supported with ads. Quibi charges $4.99 a month for a subscription with ads and $7.99 a month without ads.
Quibi is set to launch Monday -- amid the coronavirus lockdown.
The company has had to tweak its strategy as COVID-19 has significantly changed the way people consume entertainment. Quibi originally marketed itself as entertainment for people on the go. The idea was that consumers would watch shows when they are commuting on the subway or waiting for their table at a restaurant.
But the coronavirus crisis changed that as many people are staying at home and streamers like Netflix are seeing their subscriber base skyrocket.
Quibi Chairman Jeffrey Katzenberg has said that he believes consumers will still find Quibi helpful for their in-between moments, such as between Zoom calls.
The company had also designed its shows to be consumed on mobile phones. Already, the company said it is working on a way to stream Quibi’s service onto TVs.
Ross Benes, an analyst with research firm EMarketer, noted that Quibi already is promoting its service on YouTube with ads, so making first episodes available could be an extension of that.
“It’s interesting how they clearly see YouTube as a way to gain users, even though many people view YouTube as a close competitor,” Benes said.
Quibi, led by Katzenberg and tech veteran Meg Whitman, has raised $1.75 billion in financing.
Last year, Quibi told The Times that it is different than YouTube.
“What we say internally is we’d like to be the quality of HBO and offer customers the convenience of Spotify,” Whitman said. “We’re not Facebook Watch. We’re not Snapchat. We’re not Instagram TV. We’re not YouTube. We’re Quibi, and it’s not denigrating those platforms at all ... but we’re staking out a premium position relative to those.”
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I shopped at the smallest Trader Joe's in the world. It was chaotically crowded but full of character.
The world's smallest Trader Joe's is in a basement in Boston. It's difficult to navigate the tight aisles, but the unique experience is worth it.
I travel 6 months of the year. Here's my best strategy to save money on food, no matter where I am in the world.
She saves money on food by combining credit-card cash back on groceries and dining with meal delivery services and store-specific loyalty programs.
"Up to 200 million people hear my music choices each month, so I spend most of my time searching for music," Libby Zabriskie-Farr of Vibenomics said.
Gorillas, the ultra-fast delivery operator from Germany, plans to make its US debut in New York City this month
The year-old startup delivers goods to consumers in under 10 minutes from micro warehouses. Delivery by its cycling fleet will cost less than $2.
You can sign up to be an Instacart shopper by creating an account and downloading the app for a background check.
Trader Joe's sells more than double its grocery competitors like Whole Foods. A psychologist explains why it's easy to spend money at Trader Joe's.
My grocery spending got out of control during lockdown, but 3 new habits are helping me save $300 a month
When grocery shopping became a form of retail therapy during lockdown, she suddenly found herself hoarding food and buying items she'd only use once.
Thanks to a grocery store rewards system that offers 20% off after a certain threshold, she's been able to stock her cabinets throughout the pandemic.
In July 2019, the author and her husband were spending upwards of $750 a month on groceries, so they had to make a change.
Ocado's stock market rose as high as £21.80 billion ($28 billion) – but it only sells 1.7% of UK groceries.
Our grocery bill is almost unchanged from before the pandemic, yet we're eating 3 meals a day, 7 days a week at home — here's how
By meal planning, getting creative, and freezing leftovers, this couple has kept their spending low while their income is down.
Making a few simple changes to the way I shop for groceries saves me $1,200 a year, enough to help pay off my mortgage early
By meal planning before she shops, shopping on a schedule, taking advantage of sales, and using ingredients more than once, she saves $1,200 a year.
She bought a $10 whiteboard from Target that she uses for weekly meal planning, and it's helped her cut back on her spending and waste.
When pandemic grocery shopping more than doubled her weekly grocery bill, she had to get creative with her spending.
Shopping for a family of five is expensive no matter what, but shopping multiple times a day without a plan was costing the author a fortune.
I used to shop for groceries the way I shop at Target, spending way too much money. But 6 steps help me cut my spending nearly in half.
The author didn't want to sacrifice much to cut her grocery spending, since "I'm one of those people who live to eat," she writes.
Grocery shopping with cash helped me shave 25% off my monthly bill, but I'm not sticking to the strategy
Her grocery bill skyrocketed at the start of the pandemic and hasn't come back down. To shave 25% off, she gave herself a strict cash budget.
I slash my weekly grocery bill by up to 20% by shopping at the farmers market — here are my 4 top tricks
By taking advantage of the deals that farmers market vendors offer on "ugly" produce, bulk buys, and end-of-market deals, she saves a fortune.
About a year ago, she started tracking her expenses to save more money and discovered a few ways to save on food costs.
The author discovered she could save over 50% of her grocery cost just by implementing a few simple tweaks to her shopping routine.


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Thread: Sony PAL to shut on 13 February?
01-30-2015, 01:11 AM #1
Sony PAL to shut on 13 February?
Sony PAL, the new GEC from MSM, which went on air from 1 September 2014, as per sources, is all set to shut shop on 13 February 2015.
The channel launched with a bouquet of new shows but never managed to gain momentum in the TRP race.
Shows were pulled off air in a jiffy and since quite some time there have been speculations of the channel being pulled off air.
Now, the inevitable has finally happened and as per our credible sources, the channel will shut on 13 February.
The makers of current ongoing shows have been informed about the development and they have been asked to air their last episode on the above mentioned date.
When we buzzed channel head Anooj Kapoor, he said, “Currently, I am drafting a press release and you all will come to know about it tomorrow morning.”
We will soon come up with more updates.


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A Slimmer Daimler
Three weeks after becoming CEO of Daimler Benz, Germany's largest industrial company, Jurgen E. Schrempp pounced. Starting on July 1, he will downsize Daimler's corporate headquarters in Stuttgart radically, axing 200 of its 500 top executive jobs. Headquarters' role in the four operating divisions, including Mercedes-Benz, is likely to be reduced. Zurich-based ABB, often considered the model European company, has already made similar moves.
Schrempp wants to instill an entrepreneurial culture at the $74 billion group as well as cut costs. He has ordered Daimler's 1,700-strong central research and development staff to hike their productivity by 30% in the next three years. Another 1,150 in-house professionals, from lawyers to tax experts, may have to compete with outside providers to sell their services within the company.


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There are some weird chip flavors out there. We even once made Anthony test taste some of them made by pringles. But today on The Anthony Gargano show, they found out about a new flavor of chip, that derailed nearly an entire segment of the show while they reacted to it. What kind of chip flavor could garner that reaction? Well, these chips are vagina flavored.
Yes, you read that right. Chazz Chips in Lithuania is selling chips, that they claim tastes like a vagina. Why release this flavor? Well, the company claims that research shows that millennials are having less sex than their parents did at the same age. And Chazz says they are a sex-positive company. So they hope releasing this chip will inspire more 30-year-olds to have a more casual approach to sex. So if you haven’t had any “Lays” in a while, Chazz chips could soon be alternative to satisfy your hunger for “chips.”
And Chazz took getting the flavor of this chip right seriously. They apparently sent several people out to do “research” on what exactly it tastes like. And they joked on their site that “P.S. For girls and women: if this or previous year you were pleased by someone, it is very likely that you have directly contributed to the creation of this taste.”
What ingredients went into getting that taste right? The website listed sour cream, and also “natural flavoring.” If you want to buy them, they are available on their site for 9.99 Euros. Though they are only available in Europe, getting them shipped to the States may add some extra shipping costs.


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AKRON, Ohio, January 29, 2009 – The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company today said it will webcast its presentation at the JP Morgan High Yield Conference in Miami Beach, Fla. on February 3.
Darren R. Wells, executive vice president and chief financial officer, will provide a business overview and discuss other related matters. A live webcast of the presentation will be available at 11:15 a.m. on the company’s investor relations Web site: http://corporate.goodyear.com/en-US/investors.html.
Goodyear is one of the world’s largest tire companies. Fortune magazine named Goodyear the World’s Most Admired Motor Vehicle Parts Company in its 2008 list of the World’s Most Admired Companies. The publication ranked Goodyear No. 1 in innovation, people management, use of assets and global orientation. The company is also listed on Forbes magazine’s list of the Most Respected Companies in America and its list of the Most Trustworthy Companies in America and CRO magazine’s ranking of the 100 Best Corporate Citizens. Goodyear employs about 70,000 people and manufactures its products in more than 60 facilities in 25 countries around the world. For more information about Goodyear, go to http://corporate.goodyear.com.


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Japanese companies across China are reeling from the effects of demonstrations and boycotts over the disputed Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands, temporarily shuttering their storefronts. As the scale and animosity of Chinese protests shows no signs of abating, it appears increasingly uncertain when many will be able to open again.
That embattled group includes some of Japan’s best-known brand names and national champions, long favored in China for quality and status, ranging across a wide breadth of industries, from automotive to electronics to retail.
Japanese automobile companies, which have relied on th China in past years both for new assembly plants and as a major boost to sales, have been some of the most visibly targeted.
Honda (NYSE:HMC, Tokyo:7267) will temporarily close down all of its five major assembly plants in China for Tuesday and Wednesday. Toyota (NYSE:TM, Tokyo:7203) is leaving temporary closure decisions to subsidiaries to decide on their own based on local conditions. Nissan (Tokyo:7201) will close temporarily two of its three factories in the country. Mazda (Toyko:7261) has decided to suspend production at its Nanjing plant for the next four days. Concerns about safety, attacks and internal sabotage are no doubt at the top of rational for the decisions.
Honda, Toyota and Nissan dealerships in China have all been attacked and set fire to over the past week. According to the Associated Press, China sales represent 20 percent of Honda’s global sales, 10 percent of Toyota’s and more than 25 percent of Nissan’s.
Sony (NYSE:SNE, Tokyo:6758) has also decided to suspend two of its seven factories in China on short terms. Two Panasonic (NYSE:PC, Tokyo:6752) factories in China, variously in Qingdao and Suzhou, have been damaged by attacks in the past week. Canon (NYSE:CAJ, Tokyo:7751) will temporarily close down three of its factories in China, giving 20,000 employees leave for two days.
Kobe Steel (Tokyo:5406), one of Japan’s largest steel manufacturer, will suspend operations at four factories by Wednesday, including those that produce machinery and steel products.
Fast Retailing (Tokyo:9983), the owner of popular clothing retailer Uniqlo, will suspend operations at 19 of its outlets in China, nearly half of its 42 total locations in the country. The company has said that it did not condone the posting of Chinese nationalist signs on its storefronts, which employees may have decided to do on their own to ward off attackers, saying it takes no stance on political issues.
China Daily, a state-owned newspaper, noted that 13 Ito Yokado supermarkets and 198 7-Eleven convenience stores were closing down over the midweek due to operating concerns. Ito Yokado and 7-Eleven are the two major components of Seven & I Holdings (Tokyo:3382), the fifth-largest retailer in the world. The company had already shuttered 40 7-Eleven stories in Chengdu.
Mitsumi Electric Co. (Tokyo:6767), which produces controllers for leading video game consoles like Nintendo and Playstation, has suspended work at two of four factories it operates in China on Tuesday.
“Japanese companies play an important role in the Chinese economy and employment," Osama Fujimura, the Japanese chief cabinet secretary, said to reporters in Tokyo. "We believe we should be calm and make rational judgments from a broad perspective.”
The Japan External Trade Organization said that China-Japan trade amounted to some $344.9 billion over 2011, a record high. Whether that historic peak in economic relations will eventually work to constrain tensions from expanding further or simply heighten the ability to threaten economic damage from one side to the other remains a major point of contention between regional analysts.
Sharp (Tokyo:6753) and Kawasaki Heavy Industries (Tokyo:7012) mentioned no intention to suspend operations and said it would continue operating as usual throughout the week.
According to Bloomberg, Japan Airlines (Tokyo:9201) said that 5,000 passengers have already canceled trips between the two countries over the September to October period. The vast majority, some 4,000 cancellations, are for trips from Japan to China, an indication that Japanese travelers may be prone to concern of their safety. But for All Nippon Airways (Tokyo:9202), Japan's largest airline, some 3,800 seats from Japan were canceled through to the month of November, compared to 15,000 from China. Japan’s National Tourism Organization told the news organization that it expects as much as a 20 percent drop in Chinese tourists due to the territorial dispute.
The Japan Times, citing the Japan External Trade Organization, says that more than 22,000 Japanese companies operate in China. The Japanese Finance Ministry says Japanese companies pay nearly $6 billion in China every year in corporate taxes and are a major contributor to job growth.


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Mergers & Acquisitions News
Acquisition-leaseback will facilitate deal with Couche-Tard, which is divesting sites to acquire CST
Oil-company brands dominate among convenience-related companies on the...
Awards recognize female leaders in the payments industry
Operations task force, loyalty program, third distribution center in...
Five “shining stars” that are driving traffic and profits
Preliminary data from NACS State of the Industry Summit
Why the Northeast is most lucrative in terms of total sales, and how the West topped fuel sales.
Lower prices, clean stores and healthy food options top consumers’ c-store wish list
Burrito chain’s data breach spotlights the struggle to convert to chip readers


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Benelli is celebrating its 110th birthday this year with a commemorative logo and a slew of events in its home country of Italy.
The Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride is on its tenth year this year, and is scheduled for May.
The California Superbike School is returning to the Philippines on March 27 to 28 at Clark International Speedway.
BMW Motorrad is opting out of large trade shows and events in favor of virtual events held on the digital sphere.
CFMoto is one of the most popular brands on the MotoDeal platform, beating the likes of Kawasaki in terms of inquiries.
Angkas announces on its Facebook site that it will now accept credit card payments as it starts its transition to going cashless.
The 41st Bangkok Motor Show is scheduled to push through this month from July 15 to July 26, 2020, which would also have a virtual show for all the event’s highlights.
A four-stroke motorcycle engine generates power through a series of events involving air-fuel mixture entering the engine’s cylinders called the four-stroke cycle.
KTM’s concerns over the COVID-19 pandemic prompts their cancelation over EICMA and Intermot and urges showrunners to move the events to later dates instead.


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It does not allow region free however it allows New Super Mario Bros. Wii which previoulsly wont work because of the BCA protection to now work.
After a solid week of beta testing (thanks to our distributors and Xavbox) we are pleased to announce the release of v1.3 ('Odyssey') of the Wiikey 2 firmware. This is a DVD update which can be downloaded and applied immediately. This fix includes a hardcoded BCA for NSMB which will allow owners of original copies of this game to play their backups without any issues. There is no need to apply a patch to the .iso.


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Quality Custom Distribution (QCD), part of the Golden State Foods (GSF) family of companies, has acquired four distribution centers from Dedicated Logistics Inc. (DPI) in Chicago, Indianapolis, Boston and Washington, D.C., as well as a satellite depot in St. Louis. This acquisition expands QCD’s national footprint to 30 locations across the U.S.
“This growth enables QCD to better service all of our customers by optimizing our total distribution network throughout the United States,” said Mark Wetterau, chairman and chief executive offcer, Golden State Foods. “We will continue to build upon the relationships established by DPI in the Midwest and Northeast, as we deepen our partnership with Starbucks’ operators and suppliers in these regions.”
Since its start in 2006, Frisco, Texas-based QCD has grown with Starbucks from just one route and a few stores in the Northwest to serving thousands of locations across the country. These acquisitions allow QCD to service an additional 2,100 Starbucks stores—more than 7,500 in total—across 20 states. Serving a variety of foodservice industry icons, QCD drives more than 35 million miles each year, distributing a half billion products and making more than a million deliveries annually from its distribution centers strategically located throughout the United States.
“With excellent customer collaboration and a dedicated team, all of us here at QCD strive to support Starbucks’ growth in the markets where they need us, and our growth is a reflection of their continued success and our longstanding partnership,” said QCD president Ryan Hammer. “As we go forward, we have the privilege of welcoming new associates to our QCD family and maintaining the highest standards with their valued expertise in the Midwest and Northeast markets.”
QCD’s new Midwest and Northeast locations collectively employ more than 600 associates, which increases GSF’s total associate count to more than 6,000 worldwide.


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The victory of HTML5 as the dominant mobile platform became inevitable last year or even earlier, but still looked as though it would be a gradual process. However, its progress has accelerated, despite lingering battles (such as the Google-Apple dispute over codecs), and now even Adobe has waved the white flag. The Flash company has been investing in HTML5 and preparing itself to coexist with the newer system all year, but its new restructuring ditches mobile Flash altogether after the forthcoming new release. That changes the battle lines once more when it comes to the all-important area of cross-platform development. A powerful, if ageing, contender is removed, confined to the desktop henceforward. Java, Silverlight and others still hang on, but of course all the attention is on HTML5 ‘ and that in itself intensifies the fight among the web players to grab the steering wheel and shape exactly how that standard underpins the future mobile cloud experience, and the competitive dynamics of its providers.
Adobe’s complete conversion to Flash is not surprising in itself, but the rapid timing would have been unthinkable until only recently. Even when it started to build its HTML5 arsenal, with moves like the acquisition of Nitobi, Adobe was still talking in terms of many years of life for mobile Flash, despite the high profile hostility of Apple. However, the shift to the new platform has been ongoing for months, for instance with the summer’s unveiling of Adobe Edge, which incorporated HTML 5 to let developers create simple animations for viewing oniOS and Android.
Adobe says it will stop providing updates to its Flash software for mobile devices and will use HTML5 for its mobile activities after the current release. The company said in a statement: ‘Our future work with Flash on mobile devices will be focused on enabling Flash developers to package native apps with Adobe AIR for all the major app stores. We will no longer adapt Flash Player for mobile devices to new browser, OS version or device configurations. Some of our sourcecode licensees may opt to continue working on and releasing their own implementations.’
As Adobe put it: “HTML5 is now universally supported on major mobile devices, in some cases exclusively. This makes HTML5 the best solution for creating and deploying content in the browser across mobile platforms.” The new browser standard has clear advantages over Flash, allowing web applications to look and behave almost like native apps, and without plug-ins, though it does not yet approach the functionality of full-blown Flash.
But it has many huge companies and millions of developers working to improve that situation, and Adobe could not compete with that level of resource. While Flash was a huge force on PCs, it never achieved the same dominance in the mobile world, where its Lite version was excluded from the iPhone and accused of being a power hog, while the promise to bring the fully fledged version to handsets was beset by many delays. Thus the company has been forced to reverse its previous position that it alone could bring the ‘PC web experience’ to small screens, and most crucially, has abandoned the cross-platform ambitions of Flash forever. Instead, it will have to play out its cross-OS strategies via its tools, adapting them for HTML5.
After Adobe releases Flash Player 11.1 for Android and BlackBerry PlayBook in the near future, it will “no longer continue to develop Flash Player in the browser to work with new mobile device configurations’, though it will keep issuing bug fixes and security updates for existing users. The change of direction does not affect PCs, and the firm is already working on Flash Player 12 to increase desktop functionality as well as enabling “a smooth transition to HTML 5″.
On PCs and Macs, Flash still has the scale to justify the continuing commitment, but this was never true in the mobile world once there was a credible alternative for delivering video and rich web experiences. The fragmented state of the smartphone market requires huge amounts of time and money to be spent on maintaining a variant for each operating system and chipset, especially as these change so frequently. This is a major challenge for any company bringing software to mobile platforms, and of course one of the greatest advantages of HTML5 is that it supports, theoretically at least, ‘write once deploy anywhere’.
Of course, there are downsides to this promise, and not just for Adobe ‘ Apple, though a big supporter of HTML5, also has to face the erosion of its tight control over its applications base and user experience, as developers start to deploy web apps accessed via the browser, instead of native downloads optimized for a specific OS. HTML5 will be a big adjustment for all the players, but at least Adobe is not clinging to its old norms after they are already dead, a mistake it has made before.
One of Adobe’s missteps with Flash was to take too long to bring full functionality to mobile devices. Instead it gave Apple its weapon by relying on the stripped-down Flash Lite, which ‘ as the iPhone maker always claims ‘ became increasingly inadequate as smartphones became capable of PC-class video. Full Flash Mobile did appear, but only after industry attention was drifting to HTML5 ‘ as shown by the failure of Adobe’s own app store, which was meant to make Flash the main instrument to span the conflicting mobile operating systems. By contrast, the new wave of HTML5-friendly Adobe tools ‘ notably the cloud-based Touch Apps, released in October – has been designed primarily with mobile devices in mind, and with equivalent functionality across desktop and handset from day one.
Nitobi’s mission has been to increase the number and usability of web-based products for mobile platforms, by making development easier and cheaper, and over time it believes the functions of PhoneGap, and many other cloud-based platforms, will be folded into the browser. The fact that this thinking has landed up inside Adobe shows how rapidly the larger company is evolving to cope with a post-Flash world. But Adobe’s competitive edge will remain in highly functional tools, more suited than open frameworks like PhoneGap to deliver heavy duty apps, such as games, across different browsers and OSs. While PhoneGap will be the heart of mobile specific and low end media activity, at the high end Adobe will still need key products like DreamWeaver, and will have the challenge of running them across PC and mobile environments, and bridging them with PhoneGap.
Analyst Jack Gold of J Gold Associates believes Flash remains superior to HTML5 for mobile content delivery, but agrees that the resources required to preserve it had become too high and the chances of beating HTML5 too niche. ‘Adobe is making a calculated decision that even with superior technology, betting on mobile content delivery for Flash enabled devices is beyond their ability to generate enough profit for the amount of commitment of resources needed,’ he wrote in a research note. ‘It’s like more popular VHS (or BluRay) winning over technically superior Beta all over again’. Adobe may ultimately gain revenue from the popularity of HTML5 development, but we believe this move signals the slow decline of Flash from the overall market.’
Other rich media platforms may cling on a little longer, though there are question marks over both Microsoft Silverlight and Oracle JavaFX. Microsoft has already placed HTML5 at the heart of its cross-platform strategy and reduced the role of Silverlight, from premier cross-platform runtime to a toolset for creating rich media apps, especially for WP7. The company is about to release Silverlight 5 to manufacturing but there are reports that there will never be a Silverlight 6. Even release 5 may support only Internet Explorer, and Microsoft is said to have reduced the team working on the platform, scaling back the once-ambitious plans to incorporate it as a unifying factor across all its media systems, (Windows Phone, Zune, Xbox 360).
Like Flash, Silverlight will have contributed to more open technologies which will have a longer term role in the web, such as the XAML mark-up language, a de facto standard, and its concepts underpin the Metro user interface for Windows 8, which promises to be a major shift in cross-platform experiences. Andrew Brust, a Microsoft regional director, told ZDnet: ‘It’s pretty clear to me that the principles of Silverlight – including the use of XAML as a mark-up language, C# and VB .Net as programming languages, a streamlined .NET Common Language Runtime profile, packaged deployment over HTTP and a sandboxed security environment – are alive and well in the native XAML/.Net approach to developing Metro-style apps on Windows 8. It may not be not Silverlight to the letter, but it’s Silverlight in spirit and natively supported by the OS to boot.”
Another platform which has heard many death sentences pronounced is Sun’s JavaFX, now owned by Oracle. Released in early 2009, the technology was Sun’s biggest effort to make a serious commercial mobile business based on its Java crown jewels, though a long gestation period, and then a degree of sidelining by Oracle, reduced its impact. The system provides a runtime for deploying rich internet applications on mobile devices and at launch was positioned as a competitor for Flash and various Android and Symbian toolsets. At the time, Sun’s then-head of software, Rich Green (later a Nokia CTO), said that, by releasing a full cellphone software stack, the firm was going head-to-head with the mobile majors.
The most interesting aspect was Sun’s attempt to reunify Java, which had suffered a particularly serious split when Google chose to develop its own virtual machine, Dalvik, for Android, and adopting the Apache open source process which had long been a thorn in Sun’s side. Oracle has now taken up the baton on that attempt with its legal attacks on Google, alleging that the search giant committed Java patent and copyright infringement in creating its own fork.
JavaFX has been a less successful threat to Android’s power than the lawyers, but recent indications are that Oracle is not going to forget the system quietly, but could give it one last chance at powering a serious mobile software push. The database company gave the technology, and plans to open source it, far higher billing than expected at a recent developer event and has also been linked with a possible bid for HP’s webOS (see inset). The latter may be fantasy, but it actually makes sense ‘ the two platforms could be combined to create a full stack well adapted to two key trends, the evolution of featurephones (most of which support Java) into full webphones; and the incorporation of cloud connectivity and web capabilities into vast numbers of devices well beyond the handset.
The dominant software to power these two important developments is still undecided, with Google taking the lead with Chrome OS and other tools, but many other cloud-oriented candidates emerging ‘ Mozilla Boot to Gecko, Facebook’s putative browser/OS, Baidu from China with its ‘box computing’, the Intel/Samsung Tizen effort, a possible full platform from Amazon, and whatever may evolve from Microsoft’s embedded and Metro initiatives, and from the labs of Apple.
So can Oracle give Java a starring role in these developments, a role for which it looks well suited by virtue of its massive installed base, developer support and cross-platform nature. Sitting on top of a thin Linux cloud OS (such as webOS) and surrounded by a full web toolset and mobile stack, Java could provide all the elements which Google, Facebook and the others are racing to assemble.
Hence why JavaFX could make a comeback. It provides an integrated platform combining basic OS, browser, user interface and other key elements, all delivered in ‘pure’ Java and underpinned by the FX scripting language. At launch, this held out the promise of building a rich media platform suited to the midrange, low cost handsets where Java still holds the fort as an apps standard (it lives on 1.8bn handsets, increasingly using at least rudimentary app stores and interactive content). However, almost three years later, Android may have got there first on conventional phones, with traditional Java under pressure from Android’s move into the mass market. However, Android has its limitations when it comes to embedded and ultra-low cost devices, which may see a new push by Oracle to make JavaFX relevant.
The key promise of JavaFX when it was mooted in 2007 is now a familiar one, but was more radical then – to remove the need for a fat, resource hungry OS from low end handsets, while still supporting rich media and web apps, which underpin mobile usage growth in emerging markets just as elsewhere. This was Sun’s big chance to turn Java into a strategic mobile platform, at a time when the major smartphone OSs were ignoring the mass market and battling for the premium users. The world has changed now and all the majors know they will need a slimline OS, probably Linux-based, which can be embedded in the tiniest devices and access the cloud constantly and efficiently. Hence Google Chrome OS, Tizen effort, and HP’s tortured webOS. JavaFX can sit on top of Linux as well as native Java alone.
The past week has seen Oracle named as an interested party for webOS, and outlining its plans for JavaFX. Seeking a broader base, it will open source the platform and replace any closed code with open code, the firm promised. This will make JavaFX into a stepping stone for the next generation Java client toolkit, geared to an ever-widening range of web client devices. Richard Bair, chief architect for client Java, said: “Our basic motivation for wanting to open source JFX is to build community and ecosystem support and adoption around JavaFX by increasing transparency.’ This will make the broader open source Java project, OpenJDK, “bigger and richer’, according to analyst Al Hilwa of IDC. “This shows signs of investment from Oracle and ‘ also has the potential to broaden the client Java technology if contributors come on board and improve the code.”
The most symbolic gesture that Oracle aims to give JavaFX a new role in the limelight came last month when it demonstrated the technology running on an iPad, an apparent provocation to Apple, which has not permitted Java to run on its iOS products. This raised the specter of a rerun of the Apple-Adobe stand-off, this time concerning Java ‘ which would certainly give the latter a new prominence in the minds of developers and mobile planners. And if JavaFX is seen gaining a strategic position in the new wave of cloud/browser computing, Apple could have a tougher fight this time, especially if Oracle succeeds in its bid to gain broad acceptance for FX across Windows, Android and other platforms, not just basic Linux. As with Flash, Apple’s argument for excluding JVMs from iOS is that it would end up with a ‘lowest common denominator’ performance, with interpreted languages unable to deliver the level of functionality Apple demands for its user experience. Oracle argues that a rising number of App Store products are getting round Apple’s mandate on its Objective-C language by linking the JVM into the program, as it did with its FX demo. It has also worked on other ways to connect Java and iOS, notably its Project Avatar for dynamic rich clients, which links HTML5 and Java to the Apple system. Avatar enables hybrid apps where HTML5-based UIs share content between Java clients and Java EE servers, in data centers or the cloud.
There will be many such attempts coming from the web players, which may lack the installed developer toolkits and APIs of Oracle or Microsoft, but have alternative power bases in the browser or key web services. Another example is Mozilla, one of the open source players which is seeking to replicate PC-based success by creating a mobile platform. Earlier this year, the Foundation talked about its plan to develop one of the new breed of browser operating systems, rather like Google’s Chrome OS, with its ‘Boot to Gecko’ project. Now it has published a timeline and published the first images of its planned user interface, with developers able to test the new system as early as December.
Boot to Gecko (B2G) initially combines the browser UI with a stripped-down Android but is likely to move away from the Google system in future and target even thinner Linux variants (the system platform is called Gonk, and comprises the Linux kernel and some low level userspace libraries derived from Android, but will not include any of Android’s Java libraries or stacks). The project’s eventual goal is to build a framework that will let apps run from the web on any OS which supports the B2G technology. The mobile OS will reach developers before year end, with product demonstrations planned for the first quarter of 2012 and full release around mid-year, according to the project’s web site. Tasks include the development of an ereader, media player and browser, all tailored for the new platform but open to all kinds of web content and services.
This is a far ‘purer’ web approach than those of companies living with native apps legacies, like Oracle or Adobe, and that could be its downfall ‘ Google would instinctively like to push harder to move away from native code altogether, but as its Android strategy shows, has acknowledged it needs to be more pragmatic and accept that local, fat OSs and apps will survive for many years to come, especially on mobile devices with unreliable connectivity. However, a key role for the open source community is often to show the way the world could or should go, and set a high ‘ if idealistic ‘ bar. Such visions are already creating major repositioning by the old guard, as seen in the Adobe U-turn. So far, Google still looks like the giant with a foot reasonably firmly balanced between all camps, but it cannot ignore the web-focused upstarts ‘ nor, less sexily, a resurgence by the old dinosaurs of enterprise software, as represented by Oracle/Java. Perhaps we should not forget that Oracle and Sun were the first major vendors to challenge the Microsoft ‘fat PC’ model, back in 1996, with the concept of a slim, always-on ‘network computer’, now reborn as a cloudbook. That vision was stillborn at the time, but it led to 15 years of intensive R&D at Oracle. Riding the wave of ubiquitous connectivity, that investment may finally bear fruit now.
Oracle could bid in webOS fire sale, says report
Hewlett-Packard still hopes to offload webOS and regain at least part of the $1.2bn it paid for Palm, though the process is starting to look like a fire sale. According to a Reuters report, HP is now looking for a price in the “hundreds of millions of dollars’, and we can be sure that will fall in the low hundreds, a very poor return on the Palm buy and the investment put into developing the failed TouchPad tablet. Oracle and Amazon are said to be among the interested parties.
A long list of potential buyers has been linked to webOS since former CEO Leo Apotheker decided to spin or sell off HP’s PC and mobile device activities, but no bids have materialized. They have included , at various times, Facebook, Samsung, HTC, Qualcomm and LG. The current candidates are said to be Oracle, Amazon, IBM, Intel and RIM.
The platform has seen a dizzying flipflop of changing directions this year ‘ first placed at the heart of an ambitious strategy to dominate the cloud, with webOS embedded in a huge array of connected devices; then apparently axed along with the Pre and TouchPad hardware. Since then, different executives have, at different times, hinted that the former Palm platform would be retained for printers or cloud devices; closed down, or sold. New CEO Meg Whitman has reversed the decision to get out of PCs, but has remained silent on webOS, except to say its fate would be decided in the next few months.
She told investors that HP ‘needs to be in the tablet business’ but indicated that Windows 8 would be the primary platform for that. The Reuters report, which cites four unnamed sources, says HP is being advised by Bank of America Merrill Lynch on the transaction, and an HP spokesperson said: “We are exploring ways to optimize the webOS software.”
Of the rumored interested parties, Amazon is the most long standing and the one with the clearest motive to acquire its own operating system, and one focused on the kind of web/cloud services environment which will underpin the retailer’s growth. It has adopted Android for its Kindle Fire tablet, but a version so heavily customized as to be almost unrecognizable, so its own OS, more naturally geared to online behaviour, would be only a small step further.
Of the other firms mentioned in the report, both RIM and Intel have surely had enough of trying to establish their own cloud-oriented operating systems for connected devices. RIM is struggling to come up with a convincing story for how it will build a bridge between the ageing BlackBerry OS and the new QNX, while Intel has stepped back from its MeeGo Linux-based slimline platform and merged it with LiMO to form Tizen. Another OS with virtually no device or developer base would hardly help matters for either firm.
IBM and Oracle would presumably want webOS for strategies more similar to the ubiquitous cloud vision briefly espoused by Apotheker, incorporating it into any kind of end product in order to create a huge developer base, and an embedded device platform optimized for the vendor’s cloud platform and services. Oracle might have the added interest of boosting its patent portfolio, as it pursues Google over alleged infringements of Java IPR, and even of combining webOS with Java technologies to give it a more modern mobile platform.


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Through an email, the internet company Starlink has informed its users about the decrease in prices.
Feedback 25 August 2022. Elon Musk’s internet company, Starlink is reducing its rates in Mexico and some regions of Europe.
Through an email, the Starlink company has informed its users about the price decrease.
According to the messages, Space X explained that the price reduction has to do with local market conditions to reflect the purchasing power parity of consumers.
So now the prices will be as follows:
8,300 pesos will be paid for the equipment, shipping and management is now free of charge, while for the monthly plan (service), the price drops to 1,100 pesos.
While users who have already purchased the service at some point will see a reduction in rates since last Wednesday, August 24.
In the case of the RV service that allows you to use the internet in a portable way at a price of 14,300 pesos per device at 8,300 pesos. Shipping and handling is free.
Regarding the service, it was 1,350 pesos.
It should be noted that Starlink Business, the maritime version and the Premium version are not yet available in Mexico.
Elon Musk’s company has long sought to compete with other internet services in the area. That is why I am sure that the service is much better than any other.


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Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) set a record for iPhone sales in its first weekend, producing more than 5 million iPhone 5 sales – though still under many analysts’ lofty expectations of 6 to 10 million units – and many retail stores ran out of their on-hand supply before the weekend was even finished. Was the company not prepared for such a demand?
Well, yes and no. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) as a company might have been ready enough to announce Sept. 21 as the launch date of the iPhone, but it seems that a couple of companies in the supply chain may not have been ready. There is a report that the main source of the shortage of iPhones comes from the two companies contracted to make the new touch-cell display – where the display and touchscreen are innovatively combined into a single layer – with one, Sharp, having so much trouble mitigating defective displays that it delayed producing the displays until after the iPhone launched. That has seemed to put the onus of production on one company, LG Display.
At this point, there is no mention of any other supply issues, but possible supply limitations had been described by some analysts in the weeks leading up to the launch, and at least in one aspect that seemed to come true. Despite those rumblings, many analysts predicted as many as 10 million units would be sold on the first weekend, with 6 million being a “worst-case scenario.” Despite setting sales records, posting a number that was below the “worst-case,” Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) stock fell more than 1.3 percent Monday and began Tuesday’ trading day at about $690 a share, down from more than $700 just before the launch.
Despite the initial-weekend disappointment, there are still high expectations in general for Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), especially with the iPhone 5 due to launch in 22 more countries this Friday. While investors may have bought into the initial “disappointment,” many long-term holders of the stock – like hedge-fund manager Julian Robertson of Tiger Management – will likely be expecting strong returns over the next several months.


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With tariff increases delayed for the foreseeable future and the busy summer season approaching, imports at the nation’s major retail container ports are beginning to climb again, according to the monthly Global Port Tracker report released by the National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates.
US ports covered by Global Port Tracker handled 1.62 million Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units in February, the latest month for which after-the-fact numbers are available. That was down 14.3 per cent from January and down four per cent year-over-year.
February is traditionally the slowest month of the year because of Lunar New Year factory shutdowns in Asia and the lull between retailers’ holiday and summer seasons. March was estimated at 1.63 million TEU, up 5.9 per cent year-over-year. April is forecast at 1.75 million TEU, up 6.9 per cent.
The upcoming forecast is as follows:
- May at 1.9 million TEU, up four per cent
- June at 1.89 million TEU, up two per cent
- July at 1.96 million TEU, up 2.9 per cent
- August at 1.97 million TEU, up 4.3 per cent. The August number would be the highest since the record 2 million TEU set last October as retailers brought holiday merchandise into the country ahead of expected tariff increases.
The first half of 2019 is expected to total 10.7 million TEU, up 3.7 per cent over the first half of 2018.


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JPMorgan analysts downgraded Conagra Brands Inc. and upgraded Hormel Foods Corp., moving all of the large food companies that analysts say have “limited long-term growth potential” into the same neutral stock rating category.
“The rationale for being neutral across the board is simple: We do not see sufficient variances in longer-term prospects to warrant a confident stand in either direction,” analysts wrote in the Conagra
downgrade published Friday. JPMorgan cut its rating from overweight, and lowered its price target on Conagra to $38 from $41.
price target was maintained at $42.
“Over time, this likely will change as unique opportunities emerge, but for now we see a bunch of reasonably similar stories ahead: strong top lines paired with soft gross margins,” the analysts wrote. “These names tend to work best, in our experience, when investors are fearful in general and seeking safety; it’s hard to feel safe in traditional packaged food when inflation continues to worsen.”
Conagra reported a sales decline in the fiscal first quarter, but beat analyst expectations.
Hormel was upgraded from underweight based on valuation, the Planters acquisition, and “turkey fundamentals.” Hormel bought the Planters nut brand from Kraft Heinz Co.
in a $3.35 billion deal announced earlier this year.
Turkey brand Jennie-O is also part of the Hormel portfolio. Over the past few years, the company has faced headwinds from oversupply, competition in ground turkey, COVID-19 and feed cost inflation.
JPMorgan says the cost for whole birds, which is part of the Jennie-O lineup, is strong and will likely be reflected in fiscal 2022 results.
JPMorgan is more upbeat on Kraft Heinz and Kellogg Co.
in this large-cap food producer category, though Kellogg workers are now on strike and there could be more labor issues ahead for the category.
On the other hand, JPMorgan is bullish on food producers that it says have more sales potential, like Lamb Weston Holdings Inc.
which reported an earnings miss and warned on gross margins Thursday, and Oatly Group AB
which JPMorgan upgraded to overweight from neutral. JPMorgan has a $21 price target for Oatly.
The big issue facing Conagra, and many other companies, is inflation.
“[W]e worry about [cost of goods sold] inflation worsening – not just for Conagra for but most of our companies – and that our management teams aren’t necessarily baking in enough of a cushion,” JPMorgan said.
Conagra stock has tumbled 6.5% for the year to date. Hormel shares are down 10.7%. And the benchmark S&P 500 index
has gained 17.2% for the period.


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After the constitutional amendment necessary to make the goods and services tax (GST) into a law and the four acts that were passed last week the fight to establish a new tax regime under GST has yet to enter the most crucial stage. This will happen when the Centre and the states go about fixing the tax rates that will be apply to the range of manufactured goods and delivered services at each point of sale. This will be the sticking point that will determine the possible level of agreement between the states and the Centre, whether the proposals favour the rich or the poor, or if the tax base of the government is increased and at whose cost. Arvind Subramaniam, the chief economic adviser to the Government of India, in an article explaining GST, observed that the “GST has entered its last and critical phase” and “now is the moment of truth when items will be assigned to the different GST slabs and the exact amounts of the cesses will be decided”. He had earlier referred to the GST as “fiendishly, mind-bogglingly complex to administer”, but also called it a “game-changing reform”.
P. Chidambaram, former finance minister, said in an interview that “this is not a one-rate bill. There are multiple rates that will eventually require to be converged from five to three, to finally one.” Currently five slabs are proposed — 0 per cent (the exempted category), 5, 12, 18 and 28 per cent. Most goods are currently taxed at much lower than the highest GST slab. There are indications that this high slab will be used for the bulk of consumer goods. As a rule of thumb, if the 28 per cent slab contains items that comprise more than say five to seven per cent of the value of all GST taxable products, India will be seen as a high tax country and compliance will be difficult to enforce and resistance to the new system would increase. The four laws that gave the GST substance required a constitutional amendment as the new system changed the tax structure defining the relative tax powers of the Centre and the states, the distribution of centrally mobilised taxes between the two and the distribution of the states’ share among them. It has been a rocky journey with many in the Opposition questioning its many proposals like the sharing the right to administer the law. The Narendra Modi government contends that it will mean “one country, one market”, as it will unify tax rates across the country, push up the GDP by one to two percentage points, make goods made in the northern states more competitive than in the southern states than imports from Southeast Asia, the needless fragmentation of supply chains be minimised and generally lead to greater efficiencies in the economy. It will also take away powers to tax from the states to the Centre in a federal country, and the loss of revenue this would entail would mean that states would have to be compensated for five years.
After the demonetisation of high-value currency notes last November, West Bengal finance minister Amit Mitra said the introduction of the GST would put a burden on state economies and with demonetisation India’s federal structure may not be prepared for a “double whammy”, as implementation of the GST could further hurt state finances. There is also no clear policy to tax luxury goods such as gold and jewellery, or expensive cars at a higher rate to curb consumption. At the moment, gold is taxed at only two per cent on imports of roughly $20 billion. Gold and jewellery being luxury items of conspicuous consumption, the total tax on them should be raised to a minimum of 18 per cent, despite the canards being spread that it would only increase smuggling. Good governance would require that the government come down heavily on any possible increase in smuggling so that the annual consumption of gold is fully taxed. Unless this is done, the pro-rich nature of the taxes is bound to be noted. Also, petroleum products, alcoholic beverages and tobacco have been kept outside GST to be taxed separately by the state and Central governments. Duties on petroleum are the main sources of government revenue. By keeping them outside the GST system, where the tax is fixed, is a way for the Central government to keep revenue constant by keeping taxes inversely proportional to oil prices.
For the state governments, taxes on liquor and tobacco are often a source of corruption as the state excise is often removed at the time of elections to help barons fund elections. Indirect taxes are regressive because they are based not on income or wealth but on consumption. In a country where nearly 70 per cent of the GDP is from services, the axe is likely to fall more on the poor as they largely don’t pay taxes on the services they consume. Unless the GST is linked to protecting the consumption basket of the poor, while imposing a greater burden where consumption is disproportionately by the rich, it will be a regressive tax. All this will only be known once the slabs are fixed for all the items. Being a variation of the value added tax (VAT), which was already prevalent, there seems to be little reason to introduce the more complicated and disruptive GST. Like the GST, VAT does away with cascading taxes, which push up prices, is easier to implement and has been used in several countries. The GST, in contrast, has been more problematic, and in the few countries it has been tried it has often led to inflation and job disruption besides hitting the poor. Also, by taxing services equally with manufacturing, it attempts to bring in new people, mainly the poor, into the indirect tax net.


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A few days ago, Chevrolet confirmed what we already knew, namely that the Chevrolet Bolt EV would return with the Ultium platform as its structure, in 2025. The current model’s retirement had been announced in the spring, but the company had a change of heart, likely propelled by strong sales this year.
We’ve now had a clarification regarding the EV’s return, Insideevs spoke to company officials and reports that it will be the Bolt EUV coming back, not the regular Bolt EV.
There’s not a massive difference between the two models. When the first generation launched in 2017, there was only the Bolt EV. The 2022 redesign added a slightly larger variant, the EUV. One is considered a car, the other a small SUV.
There’s no real mystery behind the decision to pick one and not the other for revival. The Bolt EUV model is more popular than the Bolt EV, outselling it two-to-one. Buyers want more space, and in this respect, the choice is easy.
As mentioned, sales of the two Bolts have rebounded this year. As we’ve previously reported, in the first three quarters of 2023, Chevrolet sold 49,494 units of the two Bolts, a significant 125-percent jump compared to the same period in 2022.
The price cuts in effect with both models have certainly helped sales. That might have some influence on the company’s strategy with the revived 2025 Bolt EUV. The model's future success likely rides on it being the most affordable electric options; this is now one of its key selling points. In the U.S., the Bolt EV can be purchased for just over $20,000, once credits have been applied.
We shouldn’t expect the 2025 Bolt EUV to get much bigger than the current version; Chevrolet won't want to cannibalize sales of the upcoming Equinox EV. In fact, the company has already confirmed that the vehicle won’t be dramatically different, visually. What will change is its architecture and batteries, mainly, as well as safety and technological updates.


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Liege loses as FedEx boosts Paris CDG hub with 1,000 new jobs
The completion of the integration of TNT’s air network sees FedEx Express reinforcing the role ...
TNT has successfully completed a five-year €600m multicurrency revolving credit facility, including two one-year extension options, replacing a former €570m multicurrency revolving credit facility.
Container freight rates: 'collapse' is the word, says Xeneta
Worker no-shows force US west coast port terminal shutdowns
Cargo shifts back to US west coast ports, but some has gone for good
'Alarming signals' as airfreight capacity rises and rates fall
Digital forwarders back in the spotlight: can they compete?
Major box lines still fighting over diminishing supply of smaller ships
Evergreen and Wan Hai face up to bearish market as profits tumble
FedEx pilots win ‘tentative agreement’ on new contract after strike threat
'Keep 'em peeled' alert as drug smuggling into Europe's ports increases
Slower demand, but US warehouse rents rise in 'tight and expensive' market
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Student gets sent home for being too 'busty' as girls around US fight 'sexist' school dress codes
There have been numerous cases around the country of female students being sent home or asked to change their wardrobe based on what faculty and school districts deem inappropriate attire.
Recently in a Joplin, Mo. high school, a girl was kicked out of class for apparently being too "busty" and not wearing clothes made for "plus-sized women."
This year in a California high school, one student was asked to leave class because the teacher thought her shirt straps were too thin.
Another student in that district allegedly violated the dress code because her bra strap could be seen under a sheer cardigan she was wearing.
These actions by the Burbank school's staff led to eight students speaking up about being treated unfairly during a comment period at a board meeting, according to The Burbank Leader.
Those students now want to have a discussion with parents, teachers and students, hopefully leading to an update to the dress code of Burbank Unified, whose clothing policies, they say, are sexist against girls.
Many of the alleged dress code violations affect girls and young women, bringing into question if female students are being treated equally or being punished for their biology.
More:As American kids pour across the border, Mexican schools struggle to keep up
In the Coachella Valley, there haven't been any major, publicized instances of standard dress code violations although many girls are pulled aside and asked to change to meet shoulder strap rules or rules about skirt length. The only publicized clashes in the Coachella Valley have been over offensive clothing images, not style or body coverage.
The lack of major incidents in the valley, Palm Springs Unified School District in particular, could be because "staff in these (other) schools are not addressing inappropriate dress with tact and sensitivity," said Dr. Anne Kalisek, director of secondary curriculum and instruction at Palm Springs Unified. She responded to a question by email.
If a student at PSUSD is wearing something inappropriate, the staff has appropriate clothes on site, so they don't have to miss class time. "Mostly, our past dress code violations have been shirts advertising gun violence, drugs, alcohol, etc.," Dr. Kalisek added.
According to PSUSD's dress code, "Students should come to school properly prepared for participation in the education process."
Students must wear shoes at all times. Attire that is not tolerated are, "short shorts, bathing suits, tube tops, bare midriffs or revealing top (sic)."
More:CVUSD board member Frank Becerra ordered to resign after pleading guilty for filing false election papers
Other objectionable clothing includes, anything with "obscene or offensive" words or logos, clothing promoting violence or drugs and accessories that "pose a threat to the physical or psychological well-being and safety of the student or others."
Another reason why PSUSD in particular hasn't seen a major instance of a dress code violation is because the school has the right, on the spot, to determine if the clothing in question is actually disruptive because "styles of clothing may vary from school to school, and may change from year to year."
This caveat allows school districts like PSUSD to have more leeway when figuring out what works and what doesn't. Other zero-tolerance dress codes don't allow for the constantly-changing style of dress and can result in tempers boiling over into lawsuits and other drastic actions.
Desert Sands and Coachella Valley school districts were not available for comment at the time of this article.
For more on PSUSD's dress code, click here.


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I was offering a fact that supports FA4UA position that cruise ships can help increase seat capacity by block purchasing seats in the Hawaii market. Here is a example quote from NCL
"In addition, the company announced that it would offer a Maui embarkation/disembarkation option on the Honolulu-based Pride of Aloha, resulting in a seven-day round-trip cruise from Maui as well as the current seven-day round-trip cruise from Honolulu on Pride of Aloha. NCL
’s third Hawai`i-based ship, Norwegian Wind, will continue her popular 10- and 11-day Hawai`i and Fanning Island itineraries from Honolulu. Norwegian Wind sails under the Norwegian Cruise Line brand....
Maui embarkations supported by new United flight
Today’s announcement coincides with the introduction of United Airlines’ new non-stop Chicago-Maui-Kona service, which complements its recently introduced daily non-stop flight from Chicago to Honolulu.
'United’s new direct route from Chicago to Maui-Kona supports our Hawai`i deployment, especially as we introduce new Maui embarkations for Pride of Aloha and Pride of America,' Veitch added."
--Since these cruises are taking more seats from previously paying HNL
connections, airlines can increase their direct city pairings to increase sales and competitive advantage.
While this is not why DEN-KOA seasonal service is in existance, it hopefully expands on my point that Cruise/Tour Operators increase in port embarkment dates during the winter season indirectly helps expand nearby markets.
[Edited 2004-08-11 08:13:22]