text:
Save. Share. Connect.
Monday, November 20, 2017
VOLUME -23 NUMBER 2
Publication Date: 02/1/2008
Front Page News
People in the News
Electronic Mfg. Services
Electronic Mfg. Products
Special Feature: Components and Distribution
Product Preview: APEX
February 2008 Issue
Front Page News
Innovations Reap Huge Savings for Semiconductors
Gaithersburg, MD — A new report from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) shows that investment in measurement science has and will continue to have a dramatic effect on innovation, productivity, growth and competitiveness in and among high technology sectors. The report, "Economic
Impact of Measurement...
MEMS Heart of New Military Ordnance
By John Toon, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA
Atlanta, GA — MEMS technology is playing an important role in developing tomorrow's military ordnance. Tiny copper structures with pores at both the nanometer and micron size scales could play a key role in the next generation of detonators used to improve the reliability, reduce the size and lower ...
Importers Share Responsibility for Unsafe Products
Milwaukee, WI — Tainted pet food. Lead paint on toys. While Chinese product recalls have dominated recent headlines, much of the responsibility for these quality problems lies with inadequate oversight by U.S. importers, say product experts in the latest quarterly report
SEMICON Southeast Asia 2018: Premier Electronics Industry Conference to Debut in Kuala Lumpur; Exhibition Opportunities Available
KUALA LUMPUR - For the first time ever,
SEMICON Southeast Asia
(SEMICON SEA), the region's premier gathering of the industry connecting people, products, technologies and solutions across the electronics manufacturing supply chain, will be held in Kuala Lumpur. Taking place 8 to 10 May 2018, the conference will debut in the newly constructed Malaysia International Trade and Exhibition Centre (MITEC). With more than 85 percent of the exhibition space already sold, SEMICON SEA 2018 will represent companies from Southeast Asia, China, Taiwan, Europe and the U.S.
© 2015 USTECH. All Rights Reserved. |
Contact Us: 610-783-6100 |
powered by GIM


text:
Nascar, once thought of as bullet-proof in any economic climate, is showing signs of weakness. Its race attendance is starting to decline, ratings are slipping, and most frighting, its sponsors are starting to drop out. Out of Nascar’s 42 full-time drivers, 12 don’t have primary sponsors for the 2009 season, which is only 10 weeks away.
The primary sponsors are the companies with the most prominently displayed logo – on the hood of the car among other places. They pay around $20 million dollars for the whole season. Having one third of its drivers without primary sponsors is a huge problem to say the least, since around 75% of the budget comes from sponsorship.
And on top of the sponsor trouble, Nascar’s losing fans. This is the third season in a row with declining TV ratings and dropping race attendance, the latter of which is down almost 9% from last season.
Despite the recent economic troubles, Nascar itself is flush with cash from previous years. Still, just recently, at Nascar’s marketing extravaganza “Champions Week“, company president Mike Helton directly asked the fans there to purchase more products of Nascar’s sponsors, “I want to ask you, in the time that we’re going through right now, that when you’re out shopping and you’re on a mission to purchase something, consider the sponsors that are involved in the sport if you would, because they’re here because of you and they also play a huge roll in supporting our sport.”
Nascar is the number one sport in the country in terms of sponsorship revenue. Their $3 billion dollars a year is twice the amount that the entire NFL brings in. That’s pretty big, but what happens if the Detroit automakers go under, despite a bailout? It doesn’t matter how much sponsorship revenue Nascar brings in if there are no cars to slap stickers on. In 2009, 32 of the 42 full-time teams drive Chevys, Fords or Dodges. If they go, will Nascar just start racing a field of Toyotas? Will the fans turn to Formula 1 or Rally racing?
Stock car racing is a uniquely American sport, with an American heritage and American cars, so it’d be a kick in the groin to see an oval full of Hondas at the Sprint Cup.

domain: news


text:
Two long-dormant brands are set to be revived in the Australian market, with news the Polly Waffle chocolate bar is coming back to supermarket shelves and drivers will soon see Ampol back at the petrol bowser. But is the nostalgia both represent enough to win back consumers?
- Free Budweisers for the vaccinated, and ‘Vax Tee’ from Miller Lite: Trending
- Samsung’s reality show looks to capture more than pictures and Dentsu hires a DE&I executive: Agency Brief
- Opinion: How tall Is Benjamin King, and does it matter?
- Hershey awards main media account to Horizon Media
- KFC’s US marketing chief, who helped modernize brand with off-the-wall creative, departs


text:
Companies from emerging markets, armed with piles of cash from rising commodity prices and abundant financing, are snapping up targets in Europe and the U.S., a trend that could shift the global economic balance of power in some industries.
Bankers and executives say the latest wave is being driven by a host of new factors. One is an excess of cash, generated in part from the soaring price of oil and other commodities in recent months. Many buyers are backed by national governments that are looking to invest their newfound riches in other industries that will help diversify their economic base or provide new distribution outlets for their exports.
Economic conditions have changed, too. At the same time that once closed countries like China and India have opened up their economies, hedge funds are controlling ever-wider stakes of public companies in Europe and the U.S., and generally are neutral about who buys their holdings.


text:
Building great content is like building a house. Your content strategy is your blueprint, and content marketing and creation are the tools that bring those plans to life. Unfortunately, just like a real house, if you don’t build it according to plan, it can all come crashing down.
Facebook has announced a new ad unit for the mobile news feed called Canvas.
The landscape of social media is littered with companies and organizations that have entered the arena knowing the importance of a strong online presence, but are wandering around aimlessly without a clear direction or strategy. Whether you have a dedicated social media manager or not, real success online depends on how committed you are in creating


text:
Your Adversary Has A Face Privacy International
Talking at the crunchie awards in san francisco this weekend, the 25 year old chief executive of the world's most popular social network said that privacy was no longer a "social norm". In a recent interview with techcrunch, facebook founder mark zuckerberg revealed that he had taken an “about face” on privacy and argued that privacy is no longer a “social norm.”. zuckerberg’s stance on privacy resonates with recent controversial changes to facebook’s privacy settings, which not only reduced the control users have. The financial addressing a gathering at the ‘crunchies’ awards in san francisco on friday, facebook founder mark zuckerberg, 25, dotcom chief executive of the world's most popular social. Recently, a considerable amount of controversy ensued when mark zuckerberg, head of the world’s most popular online social network, facebook, was misquoted as saying, “privacy is no longer a social norm.”. If you want to protect your privacy online then a vpn is critical. visit nordvpn afterskool to get 77% off a 3 year plan and use code: afterskool.
M Zuckerberg Privacy No Longer A Social Norm Facebook
But few appear to recall his exact words the take away (erroneous though it may be) was that mr. zuckerberg no longer considered privacy to be a social norm (reflected in the many calls i. Facebook's mark zuckerberg says privacy is no longer a 'social norm' facebook founder mark zuckerberg has denounced privacy as a ‘social norm’ of the past as social networking's popularity. Facebook no longer regards itself as social media. after arguing that privacy is no longer a "social norm", mark zuckerberg has suddenly changed his tune to mimic snapchat's.
Social Norms Vetoviolence
Do You Agree That Privacy Is Still A Social Norm The
Pdf Social Norms And Supply Chains A Focus On Child
Privacy Is No Longer A Social Norm
if you want to protect your privacy online then a vpn is critical. visit nordvpn afterskool to get 77% off a 3 year plan and use code: afterskool mark zuckerberg may have declared that privacy is no longer a social norm, but alasdair allan believes a backlash is coming. in this talk, he explores how the americans for tax reform president discusses the biden's economic agenda on 'fox business tonight' #foxbusiness subscribe to fox business! i tried to write a more honest vpn commercial. the sponsor wasn't happy about it. • get ·· days of ··· vpn free at ······ honest the asa this is a video of me breaking a social norm, which is invading personal privacy by hugging strangers on the street. who really gets harmed when social media says “share everything”? chief business and legal officer at mozilla denelle dixon spearheads mozilla's business, in the latest interview on joe rogan experience, elon musk expressed his lack of concern for privacy. musk even suggested that most average people don't learning and understanding social skills “the social norm” is a video visual introduction to the concept that there are rules, or "social norms" for social facebook ceo mark zuckerberg faces a second a day of testimony in front of the house energy and commerce committee amid concerns over privacy on the patch adams movie clips: j.mp 1uuzqn3 buy the movie: amzn.to uhjb7y don't miss the hottest new trailers: bit.ly 1u2y6pr clip


text:
© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: The Apple Inc logo is seen hanging at the entrance to the Apple store on 5th Avenue in New York
By Stephen Nellis
(Reuters) – Apple Inc is expected to unveil a new podcast subscription service and finally may show off tiny tags meant to locate lost items at a virtual event Tuesday that likely will feature new iPads and Mac computers.
Apple shares (NASDAQ:) have risen nearly 95% over the past year, faster than the 64% rise in the Index, thanks to a record $274.5 billion in sales for fiscal 2020 as consumers stocked up on electronics during the pandemic.
Macs and iPads accounted for $52.3 billion during its fiscal 2020, and analysts expect updates to the top-end iPad Pro models on Tuesday, including better display and processing technology.
“The Pro iPads are not the volume sellers, but they blur the line between Mac and iPad. How Apple differentiates between the iPad Pro and the Mac will be very interesting to watch,” Ben Bajarin, principal analyst for consumer market intelligence at Creative Strategies.
Analysts also expect Apple to take aim at podcasts, which have become a focus for its streaming music rival Spotify Technology SA (NYSE:), with a subscription service.
Apple may also release tracking devices called AirTags that would use the same technology that helps Apple customers locate lost phones and ear buds to locate lost wallets or keys.
The release could result in a new round of complaints to lawmakers that Apple is hurting smaller rivals. Tile, a startup that has sold a competing tracker for nearly a decade, last year testified before the U.S. House of Representatives that Apple’s App Store rules had made it harder to use Tile’s products and will be called before the U.S. Senate to testify on Wednesday.
Apple has said it subjects all apps, including its own, to the same App Store review rules.
Bob O’Donnell, head of TECHnalysis Research, said he does not believe the trackers will become a big business on their own. “Because they are so late to this, it might not be that much different than when Apple got into set top boxes like Apple TV. They’re a player. They’re there, but they’re not huge,” he said.
But Bajarin said the trackers could keep people tied to their iPhones if they rely on them to find items like keys and wallets.
“The more you buy into just one hardware product, the less likely it is you’ll ever leave,” Bajarin said.
O’Donnell said other announcements could include Apple moving some of its iMac models to its own processors from Intel Corp (NASDAQ:)’s chips; and a consumer computer monitor in a lineup that recently has only had a high-priced screen for video professionals.
Fusion Media or anyone involved with Fusion Media will not accept any liability for loss or damage as a result of reliance on the information including data, quotes, charts and buy/sell signals contained within this website. Please be fully informed regarding the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, it is one of the riskiest investment forms possible.


text:
Talking with a few up and coming global automakers in Pakistan, they told me that all their decisions and plans for Pakistan solely rely on what the Auto Industry Development Program (AIDP), that is our policy which governs the auto-industry. But it seems that the AIDP isn’t no where in the priority list of Minister of Finance, Ishaq Dar as he moved ahead and increased the duty through publishing of an SRO. Before today, such changes in duties were announced at the end of fiscal year, but now its done through an SRO announced on 1st of December.
The new duties are as followed, effective from December 1, 2015:
Duty on all cars above 1000cc were increased by 10 percent while duties on hybrid vehicles were untouched. After the announcement, duties of cars increased by as reported by BR:
1300cc: Rs 95,942
1500 CC: Rs 135118
1600 CC: Rs 163902
1800 CC: Rs 203078
Above 1800 CC: Rs 400,000-500,000
3000 CC and above: Rs 800,000-12000,000.
In this over-priced market, one thing is to mention that even used car importers/dealers are in it for profit as well and this increase means even most of the cars imported before 1st December 2015 will be sold after adding this duty increase probably so if you feel like, do ask for the clearing documents so you can be sure what duties did the dealer had to pay.
But sources within the automotive industry are quoted as saying that the local assemblers will also be increasing their prices owing to the duty increase, and the depreciation of Pak rupees that has perhaps prompted a statement by the Minister of Finance himself, ‘No tax will be imposed on locally manufactured items which have been produced from the imported goods’, and that the tax is imposed on imported items only.
While a lot of automotive companies are waiting it out for the automobile policy, now expected early in January next year or by December end this year, BR also says that they have seen the auto policy and Ministry of Industries termed it ‘discriminator against the local assemblers’, in addition to the fact that Japanese ambassador to Pakistan has said that Japan will not accept any discrimination against its auto companies.
Still, priority should be a steady policy in stead of these custom duty raises without any policy which is rather just to accumulate the next installment of the IMF loan.
Nevertheless, government in stead of enabling its nationals to invent and create while giving room to global companies to do business here; won’t happen, and as always, we’ll look for outside help to solve our problems.


text:
Right now, Donald Trump is cashing in on an anti-new age sentiment that has made a lot of Americans fed up with the present and scared about the future. These people want Donald to build walls against Mexicans, Chinese and the establishment that has taken away jobs and the way of life these guys and gals miss.
If you want a simple picture of what I’m talking about, just think about a New York taxi driver whose life has been made more difficult because of Uber. Taxi drivers here in Australia, in France, Spain and everywhere that Uber has gone would share this New Yorker’s pain and AOL founder, Steve Case says this is the second wave of the Internet.
He was a major builder of the first wave which was getting people connected and the appeal of what was on the Internet was brought to the general public by the likes of AOL in the US and Telstra and the PM’s old firm, Ozemail. These companies not only connected consumers to consumers via email, businesses got connected to each other and productivity followed. However, it also connected businesses to consumers and sales resulted. Price competition also started and I remembered an antique seller in Queen St. Woollahra told me he sold an old Dunhill Lighter for thousands of dollars to a buyer in the US, on something he experimented with called eBay!
Not long after that, a mate had a barbecue, during which he kept running to his desktop computer to see what bids he was getting for his old golf clubs.
I recall thinking: “That’s going to catch on — not!”
How wrong was that future call, with 11 million people in Australia going to eBay once a month, including hundreds of thousands of small business owners, who are now exporting via this service.
And a majority of the buying is now being done via smartphones, which is what surfed into our lives with the second wave, according to Steve Case in his New York Times bestselling book The Third Wave: An Entrepreneur’s Vision of the Future.
The second wave also saw companies like Google and Facebook leverage off the Internet to create search and social networking capabilities, while apps like Snapchat and Instagram were born and grew out of the smartphone revolution.
More than 10 years ago, I warned of a certain irony of how many disenfranchised workers hate the likes of Uber and Airbnb, which have made life hard for lots of workers in transport and hospitality. However, these same complaining people use the Internet to buy cheap clothes from China online that take retail jobs from real people in the non-online world.
We hate the Internet when it takes our jobs or lowers our wages or our profits but we love it when we’re on Facebook, Instagram or buying a suit $300 cheaper than in the shops.
You can see why some older Americans are relating to Trumps promise to stop the new world and help them get off.
Brexit was about that, with a pile of Poms unhappy with the EU, globalisation and digitisation of their worlds. They want Old Dart back but they weren’t really aware of how their lives would be affected.
For many, Brexit means it’s back to Blackpool for holidays and it will no longer be that cheap flight to the island of Lemnos in Greece, with a two-week holiday with a valuable pound compared to the struggling euro. Since Brexit, the pound has fallen 22% in a year and if you’re a Pom who lives in Europe on what was once a valuable UK pension when it converted to euros, you’re 22% poorer, thanks to Brexit!
So, what’s the third wave? Will it be a better ride on a slow forming gentle wave all the way to an inviting shore? Or will it be another dumper, like the second one?
The Third Wave will see entrepreneurs vastly transform major “real world” sectors like health, education, transportation, energy and food. The second wave took jobs off taxi drivers, retail shop assistants and the like but white collar jobs are going to be under pressure. If you want example, then just think who might lose from that new age term — robo-advice? Accountants, lawyers, financial planners are all going to be challenged by this concept and it’s already here in its infancy. It will create business but it will also be a new paradigm for many professionals and there will be goods and bads.
Who knows, if Donald loses this election on November 8, he might ride again with more disenchanted supporters — victims of the third wave dumping.
Another third wave take on the future will probably be the proliferation of drones delivering stuff, but I only hope we can say no to this potential threat to our peace. I suspect this is a forlorn hope!
Steven Case neatly explains what tech-heads call the "Internet of Everything", where every part of our lives will rely on an internet connection. “He sees this new wave defined not by hardware or software but by partnerships—especially between business and government. New partnerships, Case believes, will be able to change the way our institutions, like healthcare, education, and agriculture, integrate the internet into our lives,” wrote Hope Reese on TechRepublic recently.
In an interview with Reese, Case shows us what lies ahead with the Third Wave: “I'm still struck how many big parts of our lives haven't changed all that much. Those are some of the things I talk about for this third wave.
“How do you really change classroom learning so it is more personalised and adaptive? How do you really change healthcare so there's more convenience, better outcome, and more precision? There have been some changes in those sectors, but the way we teach has remained about the same. The way most doctors practice and the way most patients are treated is about the same.”
The third wave ahead looks threatening like the second wave and the recent Nobel Prizewinner, Bob Dylan once prophetically said in his classic, The Times They Are a-Changin’ song:
“Come gather around people
Wherever you roam
And admit that the waters
Around you have grown
And accept it that soon
You'll be drenched to the bone
And if your breath to you is worth saving
Then you better start swimming or you'll sink like a stone
For the times they are a-changing.”
And for final measure, let me remind you what else he warned the people who think Trump looks like a good idea:
“Come mothers and fathers
Throughout the land
And don't criticize
What you can't understand
Your sons and your daughters
Are beyond your command
Your old road is rapidly aging
Please get out of the new one if you can't lend your hand
Cause the times they are a-changing.”
It’s pretty profound forever, and for Dylan-haters out there, who think he can’t sing, it was words like these that made him such a legend that respected people in Sweden and Norway thought he deserved a Nobel Prize.
Click here to subscribe to the Switzer TV channel on YouTube and keep up to date with all of our shows.


text:
As an alternative plastic, this new product could be a game-changer.
A new technology has been introduced that might be a real, viable alternative to single-use plastics in food packaging. The product was featured in a recent issue of Environment & Energy Leader magazine. This new material is called “Janus,” and it’s a coated paper from Miami start-up J&J Green Paper.
Janus is a coated paper that can be custom-shaped, and its moisture resistance is reported to be equal to petroleum-coated products. It’s both recyclable and compostable, and because it’s made with no petroleum, it leaves no chemical footprint in composting.
As we’ve talked about in the blog previously, food companies in virtually every sector are focusing on their packaging in an effort to reduce their use of plastic. Consumer brands like Kellogg’s and Kraft, as well as fast food chains like McDonald’s and Burger King, have found that being able to demonstrate leadership in developing green solutions is beneficial for their brands—but many alternatives to plastic are expensive, hard to produce, or are rejected by consumers as inconvenient or undesirable. This new environmentally friendly coated paper is a promising alternative for many kinds of food packaging, perhaps most promising as a substitute material for wasteful and abundant now-plastic coffee pods.
According to the article, J&J Green Paper says it is in talks with several companies regarding the use of Janus for packaging. Last summer, the company licensed the formula to CST Green Resources Limited (CST) of Hong Kong, which plans to manufacture paper products in Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore, with plans for eventual distribution throughout the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) region. The CST licensing deal is projected to replace 50,000 tons of polyethylene during the first year with the expectation of reaching 300,000 tons by year three.
The full article about this great new product can be found here.
Flexible packaging is the smart choice for a wide variety of food manufacturers, and the technology used in producing flexible packages is advancing at an amazing rate. At AMGRAPH, we’re committed to staying ahead of the curve! Talk to us about the materials and package designs that are available for products like yours, and you might be surprised at the many benefits we can offer. From cutting costs up front to reducing your shipping and logistics costs—all while creating greener, more sustainable products—AMGRAPH is a great partner to have on your side.


text:
Microsoft Taking 'Careful Approach' to Xbox 360 in China
Microsoft Corp. is is no hurry as it evaluates China for a possible launch of the Xbox 360, the company official in charge of the game console for the region said Thursday.
"We're working with the government pretty actively in trying to understand what it is we need to do," said Alan Bowman, general manager of entertainment and devices for Asia Pacific and Greater China. "We're taking a very careful approach in China."
He was speaking ahead of the launch Friday of the Xbox 360 in South Korea. Similar launches are planned for Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore on March 16.
Japanese gamers got the Xbox 360 in December, while the product went on sale in the U.S. in late November.
Bowman would offer no timeframe for a possible debut in China.
"It's a very controlled environment," Bowman said. "We're going to make sure that we make the right moves, develop the right content, have the right partnerships in place. It's not something you want to rush in and do."
Bowman vowed that Redmond, Wash.-based Microsoft will avoid any missteps.
"About two years ago Sony tried to do something there and stumbled and it'll take them a long time to repatriate that with the government," he said. "I don't intend to let that happen to us."
Sony Corp. said in December 2003 that it was postponing the launch in China of the new version of its PlayStation 2 console, blaming an "unfavorable environment" for the delay, without elaborating.
Makers of popular console games such as Sony and Nintendo Co. have been wary of launching products in mainland China, largely because of fears of piracy.
Bowman said Microsoft expects to sell 5 million units of the Xbox 360 worldwide by the end of June and has already reached about half that.
The company provides no breakdown for individual regions or countries.


text:
Danish inflation has hit a 37-year high and economists are warning it will rise further, impacting millennials and young adults the most.
Denmark’s largest bank, the Danske Bank, published a report on general market conditions and says that the future is highly uncertain.
Denmark is experiencing inflation levels that have not been seen since the mid-1980s. The inflation rate is currently at 5.4%, which could have an impact on the crypto market as well.
The report covers the economic outlook for four Nordic countries: Denmark, Sweden, Norway, and Finland.
The rise in inflation is partly risen because of the conflict in Ukraine, which has led to an increase in food and commodity prices. And limited access to oil and gas from Russia could further impact inflation in the near future.
Danish millennials impacted the most
The young and less wealthy people will be impacted the most and will probably have to get used to worse, Bjorn Tangaa Sillemann, senior analyst at Danske Ba told Bloomberg.
Many will have to learn to get by with less discretionary spending, such as vacations, cars, and fine dining since prices on food products are rising as well, said Helge Pedersen, chief economist at Nordea Bank Abp.
Other countries are also experiencing high inflation rates, and there is some concern in the United States that the country will experience an inflation shock, or that the country is on the road to a recession.
As a result of these larger economic trends, the crypto market could benefit. The asset class could see a surge in market cap, and bitcoin’s price could rise as a consequence of high inflation rates.
Inflation is increasingly becoming a matter of concern for investors across the world. Nigerian investors are ditching the Naira in favor of crypto, and with inflation rates reaching 7%, some believe the U.S. could follow suit.
Cryptocurrencies have long been considered a solution to inflation despite bitcoin dropping significantly from its high last year.


text:
At the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) convention in Las Vegas, new gadgets are everywhere you look. You have no choice but to come to terms with the fact that there’s no way you can check out every new tech goodie on display. But so you don’t feel left out, we’ve highlighted some of the newest and best indie filmmaking tools that were unveiled this week during NAB, which wrapped yesterday.
With the FAA loosening regulations regarding drones for filmmaking, it’s no surprise that this year NAB introduced an Aerial Robotics and Drone Pavilion, featuring a fully enclosed “flying cage” that enabled attendees to get a close-up look at the technology in action. You might say the flying cameras were all the buzz this year at NAB.
Though the company started out in aerial cinematography, Firefly is perhaps best known for its MoVI camera stabilizers. But that could change now that it’s introducing the Freefly Alta, which it’s billing as “the definitive aerial platform.” Guided by a state-of-the-art Synapse Flight Controller, it unpacks and is ready to shoot in under five minutes. But the biggest plus is that it allows cinematographers to mount their cameras on the top. The catch? It’s priced at $8,495. Check out the demo video below:
If the Freefly Alta is too rich for your blood, you might consider this new more affordable drone, 3DR’s Solo Smart Drone, which is the first drone made exclusively for GoPro. It is easy to use and features video game-style controls. Best of all, it’s priced at $999. Find out more here and watch the video below, which details its specifications:
The biggest news in lighting is that ARRI unveiled the Sky Panel LED series of soft lights, which come in color tunable models from 2800-10000 kelvin. They’re capable of vivid colors and non-color tuneable models that have 10% more light output than its counterparts. They also come in two sizes, the S-60 series and the more compact S-30 series. Because they’re only five inches thick, they can fit where other soft lights can’t. Alas, they aren’t cheap. Depending on the model, they’ll range from just over $3,000 to more than $6,000. Find out more here.
Cooke released its new anamorphic zoom lens which transmits lens metadata directly to the camera. This means that the camera will record lens information along with your footage. The camera will remember the focal length you were on when you shot the footage even if you don’t. “In the storied tradition of Cooke 5:1 and 10:1 zooms, this is the first in a series of front anamorphic zoom lenses that will complement Cooke’s set of Anamorphic/i primes lenses,” Les Zellan, Chairman and Owner, Cooke Optics, said in a statement.
RED introduced its new RED Weapon brain, which will start at $49,500 for the 6K carbon fiber version. For an optional $10,000 upgrade fee you can get an 8K Vista Vision (full frame) version of the camera. Unfortunately, the $10,000 upgrade fee will jump up to $20,000 after NAB, meaning that the new flagship 8K RED Weapon will retail for nearly $70,000 for the brain only so probably not in the indie filmmaker’s tool box.
A couple of more affordable options:
Blackmagic unveiled the URSA MINI, which is basically a smaller and lighter version of the URSA. The Super 35 digital film camera features a 4.6K image sensor, switchable global or rolling shutter, up to 15 stops of dynamic range, a large 5 inch fold out viewfinder and dual RAW and ProRes recorders. Blackmagic URSA Mini will be available in July starting from $2,995. At that price point, we expect it will sell big. Blackmagic also announced its Blackmagic Micro Cinema Camera, a miniaturized Super 16mm professional digital film camera; and the Blackmagic Micro Cinema Camera, a tiny Ultra HD and HD studio camera for live production.
Meanwhile, just before NAB kicked off, Canon introduced the new C300 Mark II, a 4K version of its predecessor with some much needed functionality including: 15 stops of dynamic range, RAW ability (to an external recorder), a better codec, 120fps slow motion and much more. It will retail for $15,999.


text:
A collection of news and information related to Submarine Sandwiches published by this site and its partners.
Top Submarine Sandwiches Articles
Displaying items 12-13
Story | Jan 5, 2012 | 6:00 AMTwo restaurants have announced plans to open up at Peninsula Town Center in the spring. Monsoon Eclectic Modern Indian will move into the space formely occupied by Frank Beamer’s American Grill, which recently closed. Opening is scheduled for...


text:
Published on : Friday, November 9, 2018
The SICAM in Pordenone, Italy, is a firm date in the international furniture industry’s diary of events. This year, Vauth-Sagel showed the trade audience a cross section of its entire collection. The main focus was on one area: the corner, and how to use it most efficiently. Both the trade show and Vauth- Sagel had a reason to celebrate: when the SICAM was held for the first time ten years ago, the company was one of its first exhibitors.
Spotlight on the corner: the Vauth-Sagel stand concept dedicated an entire island to the corner solutions. The highlight here was the corner solution CORNERSTONE MAXX, which has already won several awards for the particularly efficient way it makes use of space. “In the furniture industry, comfortable space solutions are an important competit ive aspect,” says Claus Sagel, Vauth-Sagel’s CEO. “This has been conf irmed once again
by the particularly high visitor frequency at our stand at this year’s SICAM.” The trade audience was not only impressed by the corner solutions – the cross section of Vauth-Sagel’s collection also received maximum attention. The response to the new Planero design version, for example, was extremely positive. The steel-finish closed shelf extends the modern look to the kitchen cabinet interior. Its tasteful lava grey colour represents timeless design. With Planero, Vauth-Sagel now offers its customers five shelf versions.
Alongside Planero, the company also showed its classic steel basket version Classic and the open design shelf Premea in Pordenone. The visitors were also impressed by the new runner system in the company’s tall pull out larder units VS TAL Larder and VS TAL Gate. The now fully-synchronised runners and optional PAM dampers make the pull out units even more comfortable to use as the movement sequence has become smoother; the entire unit therefore offers customers the perfect user experience. The company’s latest products VS EN VI Single and VS SUB Basket in the Planero design completed the presentation.
Ten years – that also brings us to the second reason for celebrations: VS ADD T. O.M., Vauth-Sagel’s innovative storage solution for small odds and ends, was also developed ten years ago and celebrated its anniversary at the SICAM 2018 with a competition that runs until 30 November 2018.


text:
NCDA&CS food business specialist Annette Dunlap offers resources that agribusiness owners and food entrepreneurs can use to grow and manage their business. Annette is available for free one-on-one consultations and can assist business owners with financial and market planning through the agribusiness development section. She can be reached at firstname.lastname@example.org.
In this interview, Annette talks with Kissie Stroup, owner of Little Black Dressing Co. The company, based in High Point, produces four flavors of salad dressings using recipes from Stroup’s grandmother. In the video, Stroup talks about launching her company and the challenges of being in a competitive food-business category.
When Stroup started Little Black Dressing Co. in 2010, she visited restaurants and specialty stores to sell her product. In 2014, Little Black Dressing Co. was one of a selected group of N.C. companies to be featured at the U.S. Open in Pinehurst. Stroup said that opportunity gave her product validity with larger grocery stores.
“I think most grocery stores may like your product, like the taste, but they don’t know whether to pick you up because they don’t know your longevity. For them to put you in their SKU and set you up in their store, they want to make sure you’re here forever,” said Stroup.
Since the tournament, Little Black Dressing Co. has continued to add stores to its lineup. This year, the company plans to expand slowly into other markets. But, Stroup doesn’t want to lose sight of providing a quality product to her existing customers.
“If they give me a chance to go in their grocery store, I feel like I’m an employee of theirs, and that I have to give back as much or more to make them proud of picking me,” she said.
You can learn more about Little Black Dressing Co. at littleblackdressingco.com. And, if you’re interested in learning how to get your product to market, check out the upcoming Food Business Conference in Burlington on April 7. The conference offers workshops and panel discussions from food-business professionals. Registration is due March 26.


text:
The booming port growth in Hampton Roads -- spurred by increases in Asian trade in recent years -- comes with a stubborn downside: Delays at the port are on the rise, too.
Truck drivers who carry the 40-foot containers from the marine terminals to warehouses, stores and manufacturing plants have seen the time it takes to get in and out of the terminal more than double in the past five years. According to officials, it now takes an average of 90 minutes, up from about 40 minutes, causing some truck drivers to leave the business and making it harder to recruit new ones.
Trucking companies contend the average turnarounds are even higher, asserting that it can often take a trucker more than three hours to get in and out of the Portsmouth terminal.
"Time is the key to a truck driver making money," explained Shirley Roebuck, president of Portsmouth's Gilco Trucking. "The hours involved waiting around mean that the money is just not there for them to eke out a living. We have truck drivers who have been here for years who are quitting, selling their trucks and getting out of the business completely."
An operator once could haul four containers a day -- two in the morning and two in the afternoon -- to Canon's manufacturing plant in Newport News from the Portsmouth Marine Terminal, Roebuck said. That would amount to $96 a trip, or $384 total, before expenses. But because of all the delays now, she said, a trucker now can count on completing only two trips a day.
The upshot, Roebuck said, is that she has only 29 truck drivers, even though she's been trying to get to 40 for months. Keith Munn, at the Bridge Terminal Transport in Norfolk, agrees, saying that in part because of the congestion he's had a hard time bringing up the number of truckers from his current 148 to the 200 he wants.
But Virginia International Terminals, the nonprofit company the state created to run the three local marine terminals -- the Norfolk International Terminals, the Portsmouth
Marine Terminal and the Newport News Marine Terminal -- said it's working hard to fight the delays.
Local port traffic is up 15 percent in the past year and about 25 percent in the past five years. But the port is now spending $13 million on improvements to smooth the flow.
"The increase in business is definitely causing things to slow down," said Joe Dorto, general manager of Virginia International Terminals. "But it's my job to fix the problem, and we're doing it. Some of what we're about to do will I think become a blueprint that will be followed by other ports."
The biggest of those changes is a new port-owned company, set to start in March, to run and maintain the 18,000 truck chassis at the port.
Chassis -- the frames that the containers sit on and are attached to -- are a big problem at port terminals here and elsewhere. Most shipping lines' chassis are not interchangeable with other lines. Truckers dropping off a container from one line and picking up a box from a different shipping line often have to wait to get the chassis changed. Making matters worse, the shipping lines also often do a poor job maintaining their chassis, leading to more delays.
Roebuck said two of her drivers -- after a long drive the night before -- arrived at the Portsmouth terminal first thing one recent morning, planning to be out of there by 8:45 a.m. But the shipping line had no chassis.
"All they wanted to do was to drop off their shipment, pick up the next day's load and go home and go to bed," Roebuck said. "They came back here at 11:15, and they were tired and disgusted and cold. They said they were going to give their two-week notice if the shipping line couldn't get its chassis. Finally the company found some chassis. Thank God, because I can't afford to lose any more drivers."
Dorto said the new terminal-owned company, to employ about 15 people, will help. That will ensure that when a trucker comes to get a chassis, one will be ready. Shipping lines will be required to participate in the pool.
The port is also spending about $2 million to establish new off-site container depots to handle the influx of empty containers clogging up the port.
Such empty containers -- a by-product of America's trade deficit as containers come in but don't leave -- hog space at the terminal and make it harder to access the new containers. A site on Constitution Avenue in Portsmouth opened Monday with a capacity to handle 2,000 empty containers, to be followed by another site adjacent to the Norfolk terminal to handle up to 4,000 boxes.
The terminals also are continuing a recent policy of charging shipping lines for leaving their empty containers at the terminal rather than sending them back overseas.
Virginia International Terminals also are spending another $10.5 million on 14 new straddle carriers, machines used to lift, stack and transport containers around the terminal, bringing the total number at the port to 68. In the next few years the port plans to buy 32 more, which would bring the total to 100. There's been a shortage of those machines of late, particularly when two ships are calling on the port and off-loading containers.
Many truck company officials also say they think the ports should be open later, past the normal 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. operating hours. But Dorto said he has little faith in that approach. For one thing, he said, having the longshoremen work late is too expensive: The master contract the longshoremen have with all ports around the country requires that they be paid overtime for their night shifts.
For another thing, he said, late last year a trial period to keep the terminals open late was little used. Some trucking companies, however, say they were given short notice on the change and would have used it had they known about it sooner.
In the long term, port officials hope to relieve the delays at the port by adding more space.
Maersk Sealand is planning to decide soon on building a 576-acre, $500 million terminal on the Elizabeth River that could open within five years. Further out, port officials are hoping to double terminal capacity with proposals to use Craney Island, a man-made site built up with dredged material, as a fourth state-owned terminal.
In the short term, though, Dorto said the initiatives the port is undertaking should help relieve the problems truckers are encountering. "With the chassis pool and the other things we're doing, we should buy enough time to get us to the Maersk Sealand terminal," he said.
Then, of course, there are the congestion problems with roads, tunnels and bridges in Hampton Roads, the areas that Dorto and port terminal operators have no control over but that also hurt the truckers' ability to get their cargo delivered on time.
"With the base traffic and the tourist traffic, it can be just bumper to bumper out there," Roebuck said.
Peter Dujardin can be reached at 247-4749 or by e-mail at firstname.lastname@example.org


text:
My personal style, as well as my everyday lifestyle, has always been about individuality and being open minded,” said Lil Wayne. “I was drawn to wize&ope because of their amazing design, fresh packaging and their support of individuality. I’m excited to bring wize&ope watches stateside and inspire their future collections.
Wize comes from another planet, he is not a human being. He came on earth to discover our cutlure, our music and history, and tries to bring it back to his planet. Wayne is one of the most interesting person I met on earth so far, cause of his creativity, his unique style and vision.
Lil Wayne, has officially announced the launch of his partnership with wize&ope. Lil Wayne celebrated the announcement by making an appearance at the wize&ope flagship concept store in Paris, France on October 15th, the evening before his sold-out arena show at the Palais Omnisports de Paris Bercy.
When Paris-based graphic artist Victor Louzon created his Wize & Ope characters five years ago for a comic book, he had no idea it would have the potential to become a global brand name fronted by one of the world’s biggest hip-hop stars. By 2012, Louzon had already surpassed his own expectations by using the…
LIL WAYNE BECOMES MAJOR SHAREHOLDER IN PARISIAN ACCESSORY BRAND WIZE&OPE; CELEBRATES PARTNERSHIP WITH SPECIAL APPEARANCE AT WIZE&OPE FLAGSHIP STORE IN PARIS, FRANCE


text:
June 25, 2015 - The new lineup of Sine Wave filters from Schaffner eliminate premature motor damage caused by high dv/dt, overvoltages, cable ringing, motor overheating and eddy current losses caused by Variable Frequency Drives (VFD), says Schaffner.
June 22, 2015 - Fluke Corp. has introduced the 805 FC vibration meter, a portable multifunction vibration screening tool that provides quantifiable information on the bearing and overall health of motors and other rotating equipment. It also shares that data in real time via Fluke Connect.
June 18, 2015 - Carlo Gavazzi has launched a new range of miniature circuit breakers for up to 480Y/277VAC systems: GMB series UL489 MCBs for branch circuit protection, and GSB series UL1077 MCBs for supplementary circuit protection.
April 17, 2015 - Hammond Power Solutions’ (HPS) Centurion R reactor now features an enclosed option, providing customers with a “complete reactor solution.”
March 9, 2015 – ABB recently launched its Symphony Plus SD Series of flexible control and input/output (I/O) products, which offer “total plant automation across application types.”
November 23, 2014 - Siemens says it has developed industry-specific motors for steel plants, which are based on the Simotics 1LE1 platform.
July 3, 2015 - Hubbell Lighting has launched what it’s calling the “first fully customizable light distribution outdoor LED luminaires”—Kim Lighting’s ArcheType X series. Available in a flood, wall or site/area luminaires, the ArcheType X has independently adjustable LED emitters—providing “limitless lighting distributions from one product family,” Hubbell said.
July 2, 2015 - Beghelli says its new Acciaio Eco LED is the “evolution of a luminaire class.”
June 30, 2015 - MaxLite has introduced the 8-in. ECO Series, LED recessed retrofit downlights, as an energy-efficient replacement for fluorescent, incandescent and HID lighting in architectural and commercial applications.
June 24, 2015 - The new LiniLED lighting strips from Organic Lighting Systems comes in 2700K and 3000K, providing warm white lighting for interior uses—counters, coves, retail displays—as well as exterior ones.
June 23, 2015 - Lux Technology Group Inc. says it introduced the first line of dimmable filament LED Edison light bulbs, boasting they are the “perfect energy-efficient replacements” for 25W, 40W and 60W incandescents.
June 22, 2015 - Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. demonstrated the company’s new open, secure, and connected platform for smart lighting, which is designed for integration with LED lighting systems to transform luminaires into digital nodes.
May 14, 2015 - The D2x series of compact alarm horns and combination signals from E2S Warning Signals is new for 2015.
April 28, 2015 - The E2x series of non-sparking alarm horn sounders, Xenon strobe beacons and combined devices from E2S have gained approval for Zone 2, 22 applications to the latest IECEx and ATEX standards for gas and dust applications, says E2S. These approvals complement its existing Class I & II Division 2 UL and cULs approvals.
November 14, 2014 - Desigo Mass Notification from Siemens Industry Inc. (Building Technologies Division) is a new, fully integrated multi-modal communication system that can be used in a single building or across a large campus for communicating a series of emergency and non-emergency messages.
October 22, 2014 - Eaton’s Cooper Notification business has expanded its Wheelock Exceder LED series to include ceiling models for horns, horn strobes, strobes, speakers and speaker strobes, describing it as the industry’s first line of notification appliances to use high-efficiency LEDs.
July 3, 2014 - Siemens has debuted intelligent voice communication panels boasting full-featured protection for everyday and emergency life safety and communication needs in small and medium-size facilities.
June 19, 2014 - Eaton’s Cooper Notification business has announced the Wheelock Exceder LED low frequency sounder line, designed to meet both the National Fire Protection Association’s (NFPA) fire alarm and carbon monoxide 520 Hz code requirements for sleeping areas.
July 3, 2015 - Milwaukee Tool continues to expand their M18 cordless system with the introduction of the new jobsite fan. The fan delivers the “most powerful airflow on the market to circulate air over 40 ft,” Milwaukee claims.
June 26, 2015 - The new Hilti self-leveling line laser PM 2-LG features green beam technology, which offers up to "four times higher visibility compared to a standard red beam," according to Hilti.
June 24, 2015 - When it’s time for a cart on the jobsite, “bigger is better” still applies, according to Bosch. The company’s XL cart sports a large cargo platform to move big boxes and odd-size materials from work trucks and small vehicles.
June 22, 2015 - Klein Tools has expanded its “Tough Meter” test & measurement product line with the NCVT-3 non-contact voltage tester, which comes with a flashlight. It identifies AC voltage in cables, cords, circuit breakers, outlets, wires, doorbells, thermostats, low voltage lighting systems, irrigation systems, etc.
June 19, 2015 - Capital Safety announced it has acquired Python Safety Inc., a Woodstock, Ga.-based company that provides “dropped-object prevention solutions” for tools and equipment.
June 17, 2015 - Milwaukee Tool’s new M12 four bay sequential charger accepts up to four M12 battery packs, charging them sequentially—giving users the ability to spend less time swapping out batteries.
June 29, 2015 - With a 180-degree articulating lens and 5.7 in. touchscreen, the new Fluke TiX560 and TiX520 infrared cameras allow thermographers to navigate over, under, and around objects to preview and capture images, according to Fluke. The cameras are ideal for predictive maintenance, R&D, oil and gas, and utility applications where flexibility and higher resolution are essential, the company says.
June 22, 2015 - Shermco Industries is offering a free insulating oil sampling kit.
June 18, 2015 - Fluke says its Connect Assets, a cloud-based wireless system of software and test tools, changes the way equipment maintenance is documented, reported, and managed.
June 9, 2015 - Ideal Networks, the networking solutions and testing subsidiary of Ideal Industries, is now offering a data cable transmission tester, verifying copper cabling has been installed correctly. It is also capable of supporting Gigabit Ethernet applications to the international standard IEEE802.3ab.
May 26, 2015 - The handheld ClearTest transformer tester from HD Electric Company provides tests of de-energized power distribution system transformers.
May 19, 2015 - The “attitude” of the pocket-size GLM 15 from Bosch is now available in the company’s newest laser measure products: the GLM 30, 35 and 40. These laser measures offer greater range of 100 ft, 120 ft and 135 ft, with accuracy of 1/16 in.
June 30, 2015 - Legrand has introduced the Q-Series cabinet, a UL 2416 listed, 19-in. EIA solution. The company says Q-Series cabinets are ideal for a wide range of applications, from single racks to small computer rooms to data centers of all sizes.
June 12, 2015 - Greenlee says its new AirScout “goes beyond simple test and measurement by validating a home for Wi-Fi readiness and identifying solutions to solve potential problems”. AirScout is designed to characterize the Wi-Fi environment, optimize the wireless network setup, and produce an on-screen report, the company added.
February 4, 2015 - AFL has introduced the Fujikura 21S, a mid-range fusion splicer that uses “active cladding alignment” to provide low loss splice results, the company said.
January 29, 2015 - WOW Insites LLC has announced its WOWClowd product will soon integrate with certification level testers; fully supporting the import of 3rd party certified test results.
December 16, 2014 - Greenlee says the newest additions to its Communications line (which includes fiber optic installation and maintenance tools) are small and light, and designed to be used in demanding environments.
November 28, 2014 - Hammond Manufacturing says its datacom division has been busy developing a number of video overviews for “feature-rich” products, like the HLP Series low-profile network/security wallmount cabinet.
June 25, 2015 - Legrand has introduced Intuity, a new home automation platform that gives production homebuilders and installers serving the mainstream housing market a “modular, and repeatable solution for controlling entertainment, security, and comfort within a home.”
June 15, 2014 - At the 5th edition of Futur en Seine, Legrand presented a family of conceptual products that create “a new relationship between home controls and end users, and offers a simple and intuitive experience through gentle gestures”.
February 5, 2014 - Leviton says it has combined line voltage occupancy sensor, power pack and photocell technology into a self-contained energy management solution.
November 19, 2013 – Acuity Brands has launched its LSXR fixture-mount sensor from Sensor Switch, offering up to four interchangeable lenses and an integrated, adjustable mounting bracket suitable for both high-mount and low-mount lighting control applications.
July 18, 2012 - GE released the Multilin EPM 6010, a power meter that can communicate using both BACnet/IP and Modbus TCP protocols. GE says the EPM 6010 provides accurate and timely energy use data, allowing a building automation system (BAS) to better respond to changes in demand. The meter gives building management systems access to 40 predefined BACnet objects, which allows the meter to integrate into the automation system. In addition to BACnet, the meter’s web interface allows users to track energy usage remotely with a standard browser, and the Modbus TCP interface permits interoperability with HMI software such as Multilin EnerVista Viewpoint Monitoring. The EPM 6010 provides true RMS multifunction measurements, including voltage, current, power, frequency and 0.2% energy accuracy in compliance with modern IEC and ANSI accuracy standards.
April 10, 2012 - GE has added the Whole-Home Sensor to its suite of Brillion home energy solutions which, according to the company, provides continuous energy consumption data without needing a smart meter. The sensor sends consumption data from large 240-volt applications, such as a panel box or pool pump, to the home’s Nucleus energy manager, which then communicates that data to a consumer’s existing smartphones or personal computers. The company has also added smart-plug controls, which enable consumers to track electrical usage by the outlet for most 120-volt appliances and devices, and Brillion-enabled thermostats.GE APPLIANCES
July 3, 2015 - A new Pass & Seymour plug load RF receptacle is now available from Legrand.
June 30, 2015 - Arlington has released new non-metallic NM cable connectors, which the company says exceed UL and CSA pullout requirements.
June 24, 2015 - Eaton recently introduced its new 316 stainless junction box from its Crouse-Hinds business. The new 316 stainless junction box has four drilled and tapped conduit entries and pendant fixture cover or flat blank cover.
June 23, 2015 - AFC Cable Systems says its metal-clad cable Barrel Pack system is ideal for contractors who need a large volume of the same cable on one project. Available in a range of cable types with steel or aluminum armour and lengths from 1000 to 2500 ft, Barrel Pack reduces scrap and handling, AFC says, compared to using individual coils in lengths that may not match the project requirement.
June 19, 2015 - The Hilti Firestop speed sleeve 653 is a ready-to-use cable management device that “maximizes productivity while minimizing smoke migration”, according to the company.
June 17, 2015 - The PM8000 series power meter is the newest addition to Schneider Electric’s PowerLogic portfolio of power and energy meters.
June 30, 2015 - Peterbilt Motors Company says it hosted dozens of medium-duty fleet owners and managers at the PACCAR manufacturing facility in Sainte-Thérèse, Quebec earlier this month, giving tours of the plant, educational seminars and test drives of the company’s Class 6-7 lineup in various configurations.
June 9, 2015 - Buyers Products has a new line of heavy-duty underbody aluminum tool boxes.
May 21, 2015 - Sortimo by Knapheide has new van interior vocational packages and accessories.
May 19, 2015 - Buyers Products has added to its line of LED truck and trailer lighting options. New products include strobe lights, marker/strobe lights and a strip light.
May 15, 2015 - New commercial truck caps from Knapheide Manufacturing Company have hit the market. The “KnapKap” line features fiberglass, aluminum, and steel models suited for jobs in telecommunications, utilities, pest control, construction, and more.
May 14, 2015 - Stahl has partnered with United Plastic Fabricating (UPF) to offer the Razorback, what the company claims is the first polymer composite service body for the work truck industry.
Ontario Energy Industry Sunnybrook Foundation Golf Tournament 2015Thu Jul 16, 2015 @ 7:30am - 06:00pm
Utility Contractors Association of Ontario 2015 ConventionSun Jul 26, 2015
International Utility Locate Rodeo & Expo 2015Thu Jul 30, 2015
WorldSkills Sao Paulo 2015Tue Aug 11, 2015
18th Annual OEL Industry Golf TournamentWed Aug 12, 2015


text:
The Journal Sentinel business department follows developments in the local retail industry
Mattress Firm opens West Allis location
Mattress Firm, the new national chain in town, will open its fourth area location Thursday, April 15 at 3020 S. 108th St. in West Allis.
The Houston-based chain plans to open ten stores in the state this year. Mattress Firm sells national brands and private label mattresses that are made in Watertown for Wisconsin stores.


text:
In an effort to make visits to its theme parks a little more magical, Walt Disney (News - Alert) World Resorts has invested $1 billion to roll out its MyMagic+ program, which combines wearable tech with crowd control and data collection technology.
The program, introduced late last year, is still in its infancy, with interested visitors volunteering to test it out. If they sign up, they’ll receive a MagicBand bracelet that contains their admission tickets, hotel keys, and credit or debit card information.
With a quick tap of the MagicBand on a sensor, visitors can pay for food or gift items, open their hotel doors and gain access to the parks themselves. Disney’s overall goal is to improve the theme park experience for their guests, which means people will spend less time waiting for service and more time spending their money.
"When you make [the logistics] easier, people tend to spend more time on entertainment and more time on consumables—be that food and beverage, merchandise, etc.," said Jay Rasulo, Disney chief financial officer, in a November investor call. "We do expect this to be a . . . growingly positive impact on our business in the years to come."
In addition to the financial rewards, data collection technology is set to help Disney manage its park operations. MagicBands also monitor the visitor’s location via radio frequency identification (RFID) chips, which the company says will help them determine staffing levels at rides and character photography spots as well as inventory control levels at stores and restaurants.
Disney’s MagicBands bracelets encompass admission tickets, hotel keys, and credit or debit card information. (Source (News - Alert): Disney)
In exchange, Disney offers customers alerts on restaurant menu changes or last-minute openings for reservations at popular attractions. It also allows Disney employees to personalize the experience for visitors, perhaps wishing a child a happy birthday or addressing a guest by name.
"The implications for big data and for personalization are extraordinary," said Douglas Quinby, vice president for research at PhoCusWright, a travel consulting firm, in an interview with Bloomberg (News - Alert) BusinessWeek. "It could radically change interaction between customers and the company."
Another one of the appeals of the new program for visitors is the FastPass+ program, which allows MyMagic+ users to reserve the park’s FastPass tickets to popular rides as many as 60 days in advance of their visit. Guest can also change these FastPass+ selections on the go.
This part of the program is an extension of Disney’s original FastPass system, introduced in 1999, which allowed visitors to insert their admission passes to get a timed ticket. Again, this alternative ticketing system helped visitors avoid long lines at popular attractions, thereby freeing up their time to shop and eat.
Last, but certainly not least, the MyMagic+ program will help Disney accommodate more people during its busiest times. The new system reportedly helped the Magic Kingdom accommodate 3,000 additional daily guests during the Christmas holiday season by reducing congestion around the most popular attractions, according to Robert Iger, Disney chief executive officer.
"I'd say the biggest impact is, one, being able to accommodate more people because it's just more efficient," Iger told analysts in February. "And second, enabling guests to have a substantially better experience than they've had before because they're doing more."
Edited by Cassandra Tucker
Wearable Tech World Home


text:
Most affected by the proliferation of counterfeit electronic products are producers from the US, according to a study of the global market for IT equipment. China is considered a major source of counterfeits in computers and consumer electronics. The share of electronic devices imitating models of famous brands is impressively large, according to research by the Organization for Economic Development (OECD), heralded this week. For example, every fifth smartphone is an imitation. Even more dramatic is the situation with game consoles, where almost every fourth device (24%) is a clone. In computing this figure is significantly lower - about 6.5%, while trade generally does not exceed 2.5%. Аlmost 15% of memory cards, 8% of music and video players, 6 percent from remote consoles and up to 5% of the batteries, according to the OECD. Furthermore, the market present 4% false printing devices, cables, chargers and cameras. Imitation is even in hard drives within 2%. But at Audio proportion of counterfeits reaching 19%.
China is considered a major source of counterfeits in computers and consumer electronics. Most affected by counterfeiting are US producers who lose income and image of their brands deteriorate. Almost 43% of the seized devices from global IT market infringe intellectual property rights of US firms, 25% are imitations of Finnish products and 12% - in Japanese, says the study. OECD draws attention to possible risks of flooding the market with fake products. According to the organization, they are not safe and can cause health problems to consumers and do not work well.
The false technique may be, for example, harmful substances such as lead and cadmium. Are also possible problems with charging and battery leading to ignition or electric shocks, the report warns. The total volume of trade in fake communication equipment is estimated by the OECD to 143 bln. Dollars. Two-thirds of these products are delivered by mail and express delivery, making them difficult to detect.


text:
Plan your dream vaction in advance to get bargains
In fact, with year-end vacations round the corner, airlines are vying with each other to launch special packages and promotional fares, particularly seeing the new demand for offbeat destinations.
These new or off-beat destinations include places such as Europe, Germany, Austria, South Africa, New Zealand and even China where tourists are planning their year-end holidays.
Says Rajji Rai, secretary general, Travel Agent Association of India (TAAI): “Air travel has increased by 18 to 20% in the past year. We expect at least the same rise this time, particularly in next three months.
But off-beat is where the interesting action lies. People are coming to us looking for something different, from Innsbruck in Austria to Auckland in New Zealand. Advance bookings have already started. We hope to make as much in next three months as we do in the rest of the year.”
Another reason why people are opting for these off-beat destinations is attractive packages. A five-night-six days trip to Austria will cost you Rs 60,000 per person, while the same package to Germany will cost you Rs 65,000 per person.
A five-night package to Europe and South Africa will cost anything between Rs 80,000 and Rs 85,000. For China, the cost per person will be Rs 50,000.
There has been a steady increase in the number of people who’re flying to China. China Eastern, China’s official national airlines, is already offering a discount from November onwards, wherein on buying a full-fledged economy class ticket, the passenger will be upgraded to business class.
“There has been an increase of around 20% in the number of people flying through our airline. People are not any more bogged down because of weather conditions.
Earlier there was a trend that people planned their trip as per season, but not anymore,” says a China Eastern spokesperson.
The number of those travelling to China has also seen a surge as the coming Olympic games are going to be held there.
Austrian airlines is also optimistic that the coming festive season will see a new wave of tourists coming to Austria.
“We expect an increase of around 20-25% this year in the people choosing Austrian airways for flying to different destinations in coming festive season,” says Ramesh Marwah, deputy country manager, India, Austrian Airlines.
The airlines has already announced some attractive fares, including a very special offer on the eve of 10th anniversary of operations to Delhi — ‘Fly Austrian and win fin free tickets for three consecutive years’.
KLM, which operates up to Amsterdam, is also introducing new flights to cater to the increasing traffic.
“This winter we will be introducing an additional flight out of Hyderabad to meet the growing demand,” says a KLM spokesperson.
The airline is offering special promotional fares in economy class to select destinations and has also introduced The “Bring Music Home” limited period offer for passenger who book their tickets on the airline website.
“It’s a dynamic market anywhere, and no less in India,” says Kavi Ghei, director, TRAC, which represents international tourism boards and airlines. “Travel agents can no longer afford to sit back and let customers come to them.
They have to be on their feet. In fact, people are looking for something unique, something they haven’t experienced before. A relatively new phenomenon in many places is that tourism boards of countries tying up with travel agents.”
“There’s much more potential for growth in air travel in the Indian market. The small towns are also growing at the same rate as the other metros, but they’re still behind cities like Delhi and Mumbai. Also, more families are booking the individual holidays rather than the package tours,” adds Rai.
(This article was originally published in The Times of India)


text:
One more sign of the kind of company doing well these days: The first stock to double in price on its first day of trading in 2013 isn’t a cloud-based data analytics service or a genetic medicine lab — it is Noodles & Company, a restaurant chain out of Colorado.
Noodles & Co. is in the “fast casual” sweet spot in the food business that others like Chipotle and Panera Bread have found to be highly lucrative: In both quality and price, a step above straight-up fast food but a step below traditional table-service restaurants.
The noodle-heavy menu is a matrix of styles (pasta bowls, soups sandiwches and salads) and ethnic cuisines (Italian, Asian and American. Apparently they do a mean Mac & Cheese.
The company has 343 restaurants open in the U.S. today, 53 of which are franchises and the rest company owned. In its prospectus for the IPO, it estimated it could have up to 2,500 outlets open across the country within 15-20 years. Right now, its presence is biggest in its home state of Colorado, with another cluster in the Midwest, as shown in this image from the prospectus:
As we’re mentioned here before, fast casual restaurants have done well through tough economic times, picking up traditional restaurant customers looking for a cheaper option, while also appealing to fast food customers who might want something fresher or healthier. The fast casual style of food has even been mimicked by big fast food chains like Taco Bell and McDonalds, which have both launched more expensive and upmarket offerings.
And targeting Americans with healthier or more upmarket food preferences looks to be a winner with public markets this year: Niche supermarket group Fairway is up 38% since its IPO in April, and another upmarket chain, Sprouts Farmers Markets, announced its own IPO plans in May.
2013: Year of the High-End Supermarket IPO – Corporate Intelligence


text:
The dining car building on the lot beside the Carl’s Jr. Highway 160 location is again open for business. The novel structure has been a coffee express drive-thru twice, once occupied by Chuck Lytle’s Java Xpress and once by Wendy and Mike King and partners Michael and Cassandra Selbach as The Sweet Corner Express.
Both businesses closed the doors on the location in the past year.
New resident Claudia Rhoten moved here from Twin Falls, Idaho in the first part of 2013 and Rhoten said, “I always thought it was the cutest building.”
She was thrilled when it became available. “I’m retired,” Rhoten said, “but I wanted to start a small business here.”
She launched Alien Fire & Ice Aug. 6. “Hawaiian shaved ice is so popular in Hawaii,” Rhoten said, “and it’s so good.”
She said her product is different from a snow cone in that “it’s smoother, like ice cream. Snow cones are crunchy.”
While snow cones are crushed ice with flavorings poured over the top, Rhoten said the texture of shaved ice is much smoother.
Another difference is the addition of sweetened condensed milk over the top to give the treat an ice cream-like texture and sweetness.
“It’s so good, and what’s left in the bottom is just an added treat.”
Rhoten said there are 24 flavors currently available, plus another nine in sugar-free varieties.
“We carry the usual flavors and customers can combine up to three flavors in one cup.”
Some of those flavors are already combined and on the available menu. “We have a lot of requests for the Tiger’s Blood,” she said. “It’s a combination of watermelon, coconut and strawberry.”
The frozen treats have become very popular. Rhoten said she has people making the trip from Las Vegas because that area doesn’t offer shaved ice.
“We also have people from Hawaii come to get the shaved ice,” Rhoten said. “They have even offered to give me recipes from their mothers and grandmothers for additional flavors found in the Hawaiian Islands.”
While it’s warm outside, frozen treats are definitely on the menu but Rhoten said when the weather turns cooler, she plans to add coffee drinks and “something to go with it” as well.
“We’re going to be serving Kona coffee — good quality coffee and espresso.”
Rhoten said she expects to introduce the “fire” part of the menu in the next 30 days if possible.
She is looking at pastries, bagels or waffles to go with the hot coffee but said a selection is “to be determined.”
Alien Fire & Ice is open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., seven days a week.
3-D Excavating is
back in town
Patrick Rily, owner of 3-D Excavating, said after working in Elko and Round Mountain for a year, he has returned his business to Pahrump.
The business has been licensed since 2006 but Rily has 20 years experience in what he calls “moving dirt.” He services both residential and commercial customers.
“We prepare for water and sewer installations, phone lines and other utilities,” he said.
Not all of his work is pre-construction as he services customers wanting to upgrade or change services as well. “I’d say it’s about 50/50,” he said.
Currently he is working on the “corvette building” for Spring Mountain Motorsports, and said he is doing some earth-moving for William Lyons Homes in Mountain Falls.
He said it’s important to him that scheduling one job not interfere with another. “I do most of the work myself, so I can set my own schedule and get the work done.”
Rily has four boys participating in some kind of sport. He said when he isn’t working, he volunteers to help with the sports activities.


text:
Experts on all aspects of battery, electric and hybrid vehicle, and stationary power technologies are invited to submit their proposals to speak at The Battery Show conference, happening September 14-17. Submission deadline is April 3.
These black-owned companies are breaking new ground in AI, robotics, medtech, battery tech, and more.
Researchers at Stanford University have developed a thumbnail-sized, flexible lithium-ion device that could power sensors and other small devices.
General Motors is getting lithium-ion battery packs ready for the GMC Hummer and other future battery-electric models.
The maker of PlayStation and inventor of Betamax video introduced a rolling chassis developed jointly with Magna that showcased safety and interior technology.
Researchers eye the design — which can power a smartphone for five days straight — for grid-scale energy and EVs, among other applications.
Augmented reality contact lenses sound like something straight out of science fiction. The engineers at Mojo Vision think its possible, and they're well on their way there.


text:
German Auto giant Volkswagen is planning to roll out a India specific sedan soon from Its Pune plant .The company is also planning to invest Ra 720 crore in R& D in this sector. It also plans to add more product in its protfolio of cars in India . In a statement given by Andreas Lauermann Volkswagen India Pvt Ltd, President and Managing Director , ” We are following a long-term investment plan in India and with our latest investment we have reaffirmed our confidence in this growing automotive market. With the ramp-up of the new model, we will add more manpower and also create more jobs at our suppliers’ end”.
The investment will be made towards setting up equipments and ramping up the production of new compact sedan in the near future. This is the second step of investment after the engine assembly plant a year ago. Additionally, we will continue to invest further in increasing our productivity and efficiency,” Lauermann added. The new sedan is set to launch in Auto Expo in February next year. The company has so far invested more than 5500 crore in India at the Pune plant since the start of its operation in 2007.


text:
We hear about it on the news every day. What is more, we experience it for ourselves whenever we go to the supermarket, get an energy bill or fill our cars up at the pump. Prices are skyrocketing. The cost of living crisis is real.
According to research company Kantar, grocery prices were 5.9 per cent higher in April than they were a year earlier, the largest increase since December 2011. This means the average food bill could increase by £271 per year, as prices continue to rise.
As Fraser McKevitt, head of retail and consumer insight at Kantar, explains: “A lot of this is going on non-discretionary, everyday essentials which will prove difficult to cut back on as budgets are squeezed.”
As a result, shoppers are carefully watching their spending, and making savings wherever they can. They are choosing supermarket own brand products and turning to discount retailers, such as Aldi and Lidl to ease the pressure on their household budget.
Research shows, that while the number of times people are visiting the supermarket remains steady, they are not buying as much when they are there, and the average basket size has dropped by 4.5 per cent to £22.39.
When you consider that inflation is at seven per cent, the highest rate for 30 years, with the Bank of England warning it may reach ten per cent within months, this is inevitably having an impact on people’s wallets.
The soaring food prices have been caused by a combination of factors, including supply chain issues, the Ukraine war and rising raw material costs. Firms are increasingly passing on the higher costs they are facing to customers.
However, it is not just food prices that are being affected. Budget fashion chain Primark, has warned it will have to introduce selective price increases across its new clothing ranges, and retailer Next, has warned that its homeware items will jump up in price by thirteen per cent.
In addition, fuel costs, household bills, the rate of VAT, air passenger duty, car tax, heating bills, cost of postage, rail fares and higher interest rate of mortgages, are all on the increase.
The one item that is not increasing in parallel are wages. Figures from the Office for National Statistics show, that although wages rose by 3.8 per cent between November and January, when taking rising prices into account, regular pay showed a one per cent fall from a year earlier. This means people can buy fewer goods and services than a year ago.
With the cost of living crisis being described as the single biggest domestic issue, what steps can you take to ease the financial pressure?
It is vital that your money is working as hard as it can. Make sure any spare cash is not left open to the ravages of inflation. As saving accounts have been offering poor returns for some time now, consider investing in the stock market long term. A natural alternative if you are trying to beat inflation, this will give you the opportunity to invest in a range of different asset classes, which enables you to mitigate risk. By investing over a period of time, you are more likely to ride out the waves.
If you are wondering how best to tackle rising inflation, and make the most of your savings, do get in touch for some practical financial advice. Be aware that the value of investments can fall as well as rise, and that you may not get back what you invest.


text:
16:01 | 20/11/2018 Trade
A wide range of craft products are being placed on display at the ongoing “One Commune One Product” (OCOP) fair, which opened in Hanoi on November 17.
|At the OCOP fair - Photo: nhandan.com.vn|
The 150-pavilion event, held by the Trade Promotion Center for Agriculture under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, is organised to honor traditional craft villages which make jewelry, ceramic, glass and rattan products, among others.
A special area has been zoned off for excellent artisans to show off their skills in making conical leaf hats and weaving.
Joining the fair, businesses and localities have a chance to introduce their staples.
According to Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Hoang Van Thang, the country is currently home to 5,407 operating craft villages, 1,748 of them recognized by the Government and generating jobs for 10 million laborers. The villages have improved rural livelihood, preserved traditional cultural values and contributed to the building of new-style rural areas.
Thang expressed his hope that through the fair, artisans, villages and enterprises will have opportunities to popularise their products while joining in traditional craft value chain in accordance with socio-economic development trend.
An international OCOP conference is scheduled for November 20, one day before the fair closes.


text:
New ferry service from Davao City to Indonesia to boost EAGA trade
DAVAO CITY – Mindanao businessmen are expected to save on time and cost in shipping their products to Indonesia when a new ferry service from here to North Sulawesi launches on Sunday.
The launching of the new ferry service is also seen to further boost trade within the East Asian Growth Area (EAGA).
President Duterte and his Indonesian counterpart, President Joko Widodo, are scheduled to lead the launching of the shipping route that would link the cities of Davao and General Santos to the Indonesian city of Bitung.
The route, which will be serviced weekly by the M/V Super Shuttle RoRo (Roll-on, Roll-off) 12, is expected to shorten travel time from Davao to the largest city of Indonesia’s North Sulawesi province to one and a half days, excluding port stay.
Operated by the Asian Marine Transport Corp., the vessel can load up to 500 twenty-footer containers of cargo.
The usual circuitous route that runs from Manila to the Indonesian capital of Jakarta and Bitung takes three to five weeks.
The new route will also lower freight costs to P35,000 ($700) per twenty-foot container, from the P100,000 ($2, 000) of the Davao-Manila-Jakarta route.
Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) chair Abul Khayr Alonto said the new sea route would be crucial in strengthening trade relations between Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines, the countries comprising the so-called BIMP-EAGA, as “it supports the achievement of other goals of the sub-region’s pillars like agribusiness, tourism, socio-cultural and education.”
Alonto said the new route would open greater access for local businesses to exploit international trade, as well as stimulate other areas of development such as joint tourism promotion, establish direct linkages and increase investment inflows.
Arturo Boncato Jr., Department of Trade and Industry assistant secretary, said the ferry service was among the priority projects of the sub-region’s connectivity group.
Boncato said the route has been beneficial due to the substantial cost savings “that would result in improved competitiveness for our Mindanao products which have been gaining interest within BIMP-EAGA.”
“The route will provide an efficient access for local businessmen to trade with their Indonesian counterparts,” Boncato, a senior BIMP-EAGA official, said.
Among the Mindanao products that will be shipped to Indonesia using the new shipping route are animal feeds, fertilizer, construction materials, ice cream products, poultry (halal), fresh fruits and synthetics. SFM
Subscribe to our global nation newsletter
Subscribe to INQUIRER PLUS to get access to The Philippine Daily Inquirer & other 70+ titles, share up to 5 gadgets, listen to the news, download as early as 4am & share articles on social media. Call 896 6000.


text:
The Best Game Award at the British Academy of Film and Television Arts game-oriented ceremony has been picked up by Mass Effect 2, the BioWare developed and Electronic Arts published science fiction mix between role-playing and action.
Heavy Rain, developed by Quantic Dream and published by Sony only on the PS3, has been the only game that managed to pick up more than one prize, going home with awards for story, technical innovation and best original music.
The Chief Executive Officer of the awards organization has awarded the BAFTA Fellowship to Peter Molyneux, the designer that heads the Lionhead studio, saying he is “one of the leading figures in the development of video games as an art form and an inspiration to the next generation of creative minds.”
The developers at Rockstar that worked on Red Dead Redemption
, another 2010 launch that managed to get quite a few end-of-the-year awards, have said that they have not entered their game for the BAFTA ceremony because they did not believe they would win, with the organizers saying that they are unable to nominate a game without a request from an outside party.
The BAFTA awards are one of the last occasions to look back at the video games that made headlines in 2010 and asses the importance of last year's releases for gaming in general before beginning to focus on this year's launches and the games that might take home Game of the Year awards next year.
Here's is the full list of BAFTA winners:
Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood
God of War III
Mass Effect 2
Super Mario Galaxy 2
Cut the Rope
Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit
Social Network Game
Use of Audio
Battlefield: Bad Company: 2
Ones To Watch Award
Call of Duty: Black Ops


text:
Socialfly Sessions featuring Steve Carbone from RealitySteve.com. Tune in on Thursday, April 24th at 12pm EST. You can watch live from our website or logi..Read More
Facebook’s newest platform, Business manager, is a way to help businesses and agencies manage their Facebook pages, ad accounts and payment methods in one place.
Business Manager allows for every..Read More
Facebook announces the news reader application called ‘Paper,’ which became available to iPhone users on February 3. Paper is a free stand-alone news reader mobile app that has been in the works f..Read More
After a disappointing start to Socialfly’s inaugural fantasy football season, we are thrilled to declare victory in our week 2 matchup. Propelled by strong production from Doug Martin (a.k.a. The Mu..Read More
I can’t begin to tell you the frustration I feel when a friend sneaks a screen shot of an embarrassing snapchat! Even worse then the overwhelming sense of privacy invasion felt after an inopportune ..Read More
The innumerable functions of Facebook seem to be continuously and inevitably growing on an unprecedented scale, and Wednesday’s arrival of the “Pipe App” will only add to the ease and capability..Read More


text:
For More Press Information Contact:
2400 Sand Hill Road
Menlo Park, California 94025
(650)529-0700 fax: (650)529-0777
***For Immediate Release***
Technology Fundamentals Are Still Key, Suggests Onset Partner as Web 2.0 Increasingly Infatuates Entrepreneurs
MENLO PARK, CA May 30, 2006 Onset Ventures partner Mark Hilderbrand posited today that the accelerating infatuation among entrepreneurs and investors for "Web 2.0" companies may cause many to once again lose sight of fundamental technology as an indispensable, even key factor for success in startup companies.
"Quite a few companies that currently fashion themselves as 'Web 2.0' plays indeed have very interesting market opportunities," said Hilderbrand, "and the accelerating pace of investment in Web 2.0 startups shows that many agree. But, does it make sense?"
According to Hilderbrand, Web 2.0 stresses the organic, collaborative and social nature of the Internet, and its efficacy depends upon scale. "Web 2.0 is the poster child for the 'network effect', and the winners are going to have vast data and subscriber assets, and a long reach," he maintained. These are not typically the stuff of startups."
As a case in point, Hilderbrand cites Web 2.0 darlings Flickr, MySpace, and Gmail. "Like during the 'bubble', there are an alarming number of entrepreneurs who appear to be seduced by the ease at which a Flickr's business model may be replicated and its market entered with something just a 'little more cool.' But it's a seduction, nonetheless; the chance of a young, privately-funded company being able to muster the vast marketing resources of a Yahoo, News Corp, or Google are diminishingly small." The latter, as many know, are the deep-pocket parent companies of these high-profile ventures. "For every 'collaborative environment' or 'photo sharing' site that makes it, there will be a thousand that fail," he said.
Instead, Hilderbrand encourages entrepreneurs to look to start companies that are, in fact, founded based on significant technology leaps that can fuel or take advantage of market disruptions. "Startups have a significant advantage when it comes to exploiting new technologies, particularly those based upon deep intellectual property assets. If there is any post-mortem to be had from Web 1.0, it's that lesson."
Hilderbrand believes this prescription is particularly important for those entrepreneurs who cannot resist attacking what are generally held to be "mature" markets. "Companies like Oracle and SAP are increasingly becoming weighted down by their legacy architectures," said Hilderbrand. "There are now opportunities in enterprise software based upon orthogonal approaches and new algorithms."
Hilderbrand and his partners work hard to take their own advice; areas that continue to interest ONSET include sensor networks, mobility, video, and "algorithmically rigorous" enterprise software. They are also attracted to ideas originating in basic or academic research that may be ready for commercialization. Although not all such research is yet at such a stage, said Hilderbrand, there are some very interesting opportunities that with the proper business model and a clear, milestone-driven business plan can turn into market winners.
As examples, Hilderbrand cited three recent ONSET investments: Blue Vector Systems, Syndera, and Securent.
"Blue Vector Systems excited us because they bring unique, new technology to RFID and other sensor-based automation of physical business processes," said Hilderbrand. "This puts them in a very strong position to be an enabling technology in the growing array of sensor networks. And it's a market that rewards innovation.
"Syndera has pioneered a new software architecture that enables real-time analytics across multiple departments and systems; thereby empowering front-line business operations to make better decisions, faster. This is a real market need that has been waiting for the proper technology.
"And finally, Securent has made breakthroughs in enforcing rights and privileges in complex enterprise computing environments. With the n-squared complexity of software, this has become an increasingly intractable problem."
Concludes Hilderbrand: "These are not companies that have just mashed up or evolved existing businesses to create their own revenue. They have invented something new and can defend it both with technology breakthroughs and great marketing. These are significantly more interesting investments than 'Bubble 2.0'."
About Onset Ventures
ONSET Ventures specializes in providing an ideal mix of start-up, follow-on, and intellectual capital to entrepreneurs and early-stage technology ventures, to help transform world-class ideas into sustainable and valuable businesses. The firm has backed over 100 companies since 1984 and now has more than $700 million under management.
ONSET pioneered, and has refined over 20 years, a highly-optimized tool set for risk and capital management, and a shirt-sleeves style of active collaboration with entrepreneurs that leverages the firm's substantial operating experience. That collaboration frequently begins before the closing of any financing, and typically continues throughout the life of the venture. The combined process, which has become the hallmark of the firm, has resulted in ventures that have consistently met their operational and financing milestones. In addition, it has resulted in a franchise that not only brings successful, serial entrepreneurs back to ONSET Ventures time and again, but also attracts investors who want the increasingly rare opportunity to participate in very early stage venture investing.
ONSET Ventures focuses exclusively on information and medical technology-based start-ups, and has a long history of successful ventures in each of these sectors.


text:
The U.S. anime market may be headed toward a dangerous level of consolidation.
That’s the thinking of the U.S. Justice Department at least, which is now examining whether Sony’s $1.2 billion December acquisition of Crunchyroll would give it dominance in the anime streaming market, The Information reported last week.
The DOJ’s scrutiny could delay Crunchyroll’s sale to Sony, which already owns another major U.S. anime streamer called Funimation, by several months and may even kill the deal completely.
A main concern with the Sony-Crunchyroll deal is that overseas anime studios will be at a disadvantage with fewer distinct platforms to choose from for distribution.
Yet this type of thinking seems unsound given how other video streamers, with reaches that surely dwarf those of Funimation and Crunchyroll, are placing greater emphasis on growing their anime libraries.
For example, Netflix (which The Information estimates is over 16x bigger than Crunchyroll by U.S. subs), will release 25 live-action and anime titles from Japan in 2021. Between October 2019 and September 2020, over 100 million households globally watched anime, up 50% year-over-year, according to Netflix.
Meanwhile, Amazon may not have been historically as active with anime originals, but it told the Financial Times in January that it’s “fully committed” to anime and global fans “will see more coming from us in that genre.” From 2017 to 2019, anime titles such as “Made in Abyss,” “Dororo” and “Vinland Saga” have debuted on Prime Video.
This growing anime appetite should help ensure there remain attractive distribution alternatives to the would-be Crunchyroll-and-Funimation-controlling entity as the Japanese anime industry potentially expands by as much as 40% between 2019 and 2026.
While it’s true that many U.S.-based anime diehards might lean toward streaming their favorites on Crunchyroll and Funimation, the ubiquity of services like Netflix and Prime Video could still make them appeal to anime distributors that prioritize reaching as many eyeballs as possible, not to mention distributors that prize the pretty payouts deep-pocketed tech giants can provide.
Seeing as how anime initiatives by SVOD giants are ongoing anyway, shouldn’t the DOJ want Funimation and Crunchyroll to be able to join forces, so as to not keep Netflix and Amazon’s reach advantage over other services so glaring?
Meanwhile, original content ambitions from smaller video streaming platforms, notably those in the AVOD space like Roku and Tubi, are growing. And these platforms could also present new attractive anime distribution channel alternatives as Funimation and Crunchyroll join forces.
Fox’s Tubi has discussed spending as much as $4 million an episode on new TV series, Bloomberg reported in early March.
We may not hear more on the DOJ’s examination of Sony’s Crunchyroll acquisition for a while, but it seems clear that blocking the deal would be counterproductive to promoting video streaming competition, especially as the viability of niche SVODs come into question.
If acquisition becomes less of a viable exit path, some would-be streaming founders might start to become even more intimidated by the thought of starting their own OTT ventures.