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Andrew SadauskasFollow on twitter Follow on Google+
Google now accepting third-party apps for Android TV via Google Play
Google has opened up its Android TV streaming video platform to third-party app developers through its Google Play app store, as it begins shipping its Nexus Player device to selected markets.
Android TV apps, as with other Google Play apps, are submitted through the Developer Console.
However, in a post on its official Android developer blog, Google’s Android TV developer advocates Tarjei Vassbotn and Dan Galpin warn the tech giant will maintain high standards for apps on the platform.
“Even if you have already uploaded your app to the Google Play Developer Console, you will need to add TV graphics and screenshots, and opt-in to distribution on TV on the Pricing & Distribution page,” Vassbotn and Galpin say.
Google has also published detailed guidelines for app developers on creating TV quality apps, including details such as navigation, controller layout, advertising, web content, games and media playback for Android TV apps.
For example, the company insists TV apps are to be primarily accessed through the use a remote control, five-way direction pad or game controller rather than a touch interface, and developers need to include this information in their app manifest.
This story originally appeared on SmartCompany.


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Police officials in Peru have made a vowed to arrest three thieves who broke into a shoe shop and stole 200 sneakers worth $13,400 not knowing they were all for the right foot.
According to reports, the interesting incident occurred on Sunday, April 30, in the central Peruvian city of Huancayo.
According to Business Insider, the crime was captured on video by the store’s security cameras. It shows the thieves breaking the padlock on their third attempt at 3:30 a.m on Sunday and fleeing on a tricycle carrying boxes of shoes.
The thieves stole sneakers from well-known global brands but did not double check that if they hadpicked both right and left foot.
According to the BBC, local police chief Eduan Daz told Peruvian media that attempts were underway to arrest the criminals.
“We have gathered evidence at the scene. The unusual thing about this robbery is that shoes from only the right foot have been stolen.
“With the footage and the fingerprints, we will be able to locate those individuals,” Eduan Daz said.
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Here’s their report. It’s a very large sum… $10 million overall.. they’ll be looking for payback
Florida-based cannabis giant Trulieve recently doubled its contribution to the Smart & Safe Florida political committee with another $5 million toward a 2024 ballot initiative to legalize adult-use cannabis.
Now with $10 million invested in the reform effort, Trulieve’s second financial input came less than a month after the multistate operator contributed its original $5 million to the ballot campaign. So far, the committee has not received any other monetary contributions as of a Sept. 2 filing period, according to the Florida Division of Elections.
Smart & Safe Florida, chaired by David Bellamy of the music duo the Bellamy Brothers, filed its campaign measure Aug. 8 with the Division of Elections and received approval Aug. 23 to circulate the petition.
The Adult Personal Use of Marijuana—the ballot measure’s title—will need 891,589 valid signatures by early 2024: The deadline for signature verification is Feb. 1, 2024, with election officials needing 30 days to check signatures before that deadline.
The measure aims to legalize the possession, purchase and use of cannabis products and accessories for adults 21 and older, including up to 1 ounce of dried flower or 5 grams of concentrate. The measure would allow Medical Marijuana Treatment Centers (MMTCs) and other state-licensed entities to acquire, cultivate, process, manufacture, sell, and distribute such products and accessories.
In addition, the Florida Legislature would be able to enact legislation for the licensure of entities that are not currently MMTCs—the overarching term for vertically integrated businesses as defined in the state’s medical cannabis program—to participate in the state-legal market for adults.
Currently, there are 22 MMTCs serving Florida’s roughly 750,000 registered patients through 474 retail facilities, according to the Office of Medical Marijuana Use’s weekly update from Sept. 9. Trulieve is the state’s largest MMTC with 120 dispensaries, more than doubling any other operator. Verano has 59 MÜV dispensaries, Curaleaf has 51 dispensaries, Ayr Wellness has 51 Liberty Health Sciences dispensaries and Parallel has 45 Surterra Wellness dispensaries.
“It’s all about improving access,” Trulieve CEO Kim Rivers told the South Florida Sun-Sentinel about her company’s contribution when Smart & Safe Florida launched last month.
“We came into this with a mission to provide access to high-quality products that are safe and have an appropriate value proposition to give folks control over their—in the original days—medical journey,” she said. “I don’t think that changes here. I mean, in effect we are, at our core, about expanding the opportunity for access to safe, legal product, which is what this would allow us to continue to do.”
With the $10 million in contributions so far, Smart & Safe Florida has sent $5 million to Missouri-based Axiom Strategies and $1.5 million to Arizona-based Vanguard Field Strategies of Arizona—to assist with the signature-gathering campaign—Florida Politics reported.
Read more at https://www.cannabisbusinesstimes.com/article/trulieve-florida-2024-ballot-contribution-legalization/


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By Denna Bowman
Continental have reported higher than anticipated sales for 2010 on the back of ‘better-than-expected’ demand for winter tyres in the last quarter of the year.
The latest annual results released by the German tyres and vehicle components manufacturer highlight signs of a much-needed rebound in the automotive industry following the the worldwide recession.
While final figures for the fourth quarter and the 2010 fiscal year will not be announced until Continental’s annual financial press conference on 3rd March, the global company revealed that its Continental’s Passenger and Light Truck Tyres division set a new record for winter tyre unit sales in 2010, with more than 20 million units sold.
The company achieved actual revenue exceeding 25.5 billion euros, surpassing the 25 billion euros it had earlier forecast in November.
Elmar Degenhart, Continental Executive Board chairman, revealed at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit: “On the wings of better-than-expected business in the last three months of the year, we realised sales of over 25.5 billion euros in 2010.”


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Kenya is facing cases at International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) with claims amounting to Sh334 billion.
Global mining firms want Kenya compelled to pay Sh334 billion as compensation for cancelling their licences.
Kenya has initiated informal bilateral talks with Britain as it seeks to establish a new trade deal to protect its exports to the European market now that Brexit will likely affect duty free access of Kenyan goods to the country.
Indonesia seeks to initiate negotiations on trade agreements under both bilateral and regional schemes this year to help jack up the country’s exports.
Kenya will take its case to the European Union in Brussels in a last-ditch effort to garner support for the Economic Partnership Agreement deal.
Japan intends to conclude new bilateral investment treaties with 13 countries, including Algeria and Morocco.
Kenya is currently reviewing all its bilateral trade agreements it has signed with other countries with a view to enhancing exports, officials said.
Plans to establish a single market for the 26 African countries in the Eastern and Southern African region – known as the tripartite free trade area (TFTA) – could be overly ambitious.
Jordan and Kenya are expected to sign a free trade agreement (FTA) before the end of the year, Minister of Industry, Trade and Supply Yarub Qudah said.
The East African Community is once again facing a delicate diplomatic situation as it seems now more than ever that, after protracted negotiations, member states may have to just agree to disagree on the Economic Partnership Agreement.
Kenya’s quest to close an economic partnership agreement (EPA) with the European Union ahead of next year’s deadline has run into fresh head winds after a Tanzanian lodged a civil suit in the East African Court of Justice, seeking to stop it.
Countries in East Africa are ready to sign on a poorly understood trade agreement with the EU whose overall impact will be disastrous for years to come.
Kenya has embarked on another round of diplomatic talks with her least-developed East African Community peers in a fresh bid to convince them to sign a trade deal with 28-member European Union.
Kenya will continue enjoying duty-free and quota-free access for its goods to the European Union even if neighbouring countries fail to approve the Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs).
Just a week after the National Assembly unanimously endorsed the Economic Partnership Agreement, the government deposited the same instruments with the EU.
The six African countries threatened with losing access to the European single market have finally agreed to sign the EU’s Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs). But the continent’s regional integration may suffer as a result. EurActiv France reports.
Parliament unanimously endorsed Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA), sending yet another strong signal of Kenya’s resolve to conclude the decade-old negotiations with Europe.
Kenya’s umbrella body of trade unions has criticised the Government for its persistent stand on the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with the European Union.
Divisions in the EAC over the EU EPA highlights problems in the bloc and competing developmental strategies; if the EAC cannot act as one, can it survive?
Kenya will have to lobby for its own duty-free market access to Europe to shield its exports to the European Union from taxes.


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One local business and two from the area are formally being honored by the state of Kansas.
Emporia's Radius Brewing Company and owners Justin Bays, Jeremy Johns and Chad Swift are being honored by the Kansas Small Business Development Center as one of the top Existing Businesses of the Year. Radius has been in business now for nearly four years, and Bays says internal communication and consistency with both food and drink have been pivotal to the brewery's success. He tells KVOE News his crew is looking ahead to meet the ongoing increase in traffic.
Radius is among eight businesses statewide to get that honor, including the Wabaunsee County Signal-Enterprise located in Alma and owned by Lori Daniel.
Meanwhile, Bella Rose Boutique and Tanning Salon of Burlington has been noted as an Emerging Business of the Year. Bella Rose joins six other new businesses for that honor. The business is owned by Lindsey Beyer.
Each of the eight Kansas Small Business Development Centers picked one emerging and one existing business of the year for this award cycle. Two exporting businesses were also chosen.
Award winners will be honored at a special banquet March 13 in Topeka.


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A new step of engine famous search and technology giant, Google, is to launch a service Project Fi network in order to support iPhone and most Android devices to the internet, but after you modify the name of the service to officially become a Google Fi.
Google and the internet
Since about 3 years ago, the company announced the Google world, the latest service by then, which allows the opportunity to connect via the internet and make phone calls both local and international, under the name “Project Fi”, where it seems that it took some time, in order to give the opportunity for iPhone and Android, to take advantage of that service as is currently happening.
Explained to Google that the service Project Fi now in her new dress under the name of Google Fi, fully ready to support phones Evo, a sign of most electronic devices that are powered by system Android the most popular among smart phones, where they are supposed to submit to Google through its latest service amended, the speed of the internet a lot better than the previous in favor of phones and electronic devices, through the opportunity to take advantage either of the networks, regular internet or smart phones, according to what is most appropriate from among them.
The service is not for everyone
In the time in which the company Google through the web pages, a tribute to the women, mostly from customers with Google Fi modern, with released officially, that fact does not deny the existence of a real crisis have others, lies in the lack of access to a good number of phones that service, because they are not equipped to receive.
On the other side a group of other phones, such as phones Pixel 3, 3XL, 2, 2XL, LG G7, LG V35, Moto G6, Moto X4, to breathe smoothly between Wi-Fi networks regular, or networks to mobile internet, which is better, but with the situation in mind that it is necessary for the Android devices specifically, to be supported by a system of Nougat or newer, and also iPhone that supported بـIOS 11 or later, in order to ensure the independence of the later service, which still to this day subject of the pilot phase.
This topic “Google Fi”.. Internet Service latest phones iPhone and Android appeared first on say Delta Technology.


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Wine & Water Watch and our sister organization, Preserve Rural Sonoma County, are signatories in this group. The “sustainable” wine industry uses close to 90,000 pounds of highly concentrated glyphosate in the vineyards a year with no signs of letting up.
‘Time to Put People Above Profits’: 65+ Advocacy Groups Call on Home Depot and Lowe’s to Take Cancer-Causing Roundup Off Shelves/ Common Dreams
“Lowe’s and Home Depot can continue to contribute to the poisoning of people and environment, or they can help their customers take on the existential crises of pesticide-induced diseases.”
Appealing to Home Depot and Lowe’s to be part of the solution to environmental and public health hazards, rather than a contributor to them, more than 65 advocacy groups on Wednesday called on the home improvement giants to take the herbicide Roundup off their shelves and online stores, citing numerous concerns about the product.
Glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup, has been classified by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a probable human carcinogen since 2015. While 10 countries have imposed outright bans on the weedkiller since then, and 15 have placed restrictions on its use, the U.S. continues to allow stores to sell Roundup and other products containing glyphosate. The Environmental Protection Agency maintains that glyphosate does not cause cancer in humans, despite WHO’s finding.
“Regulatory agencies have failed to protect us,” Mackenzie Feldman, executive director at Herbicide-Free Campus, said in a statement. “Young people are taking their health into their own hands and demanding that Home Depot and Lowe’s remove glyphosate-based herbicides from the shelves. We have sufficient scientific evidence to know the adverse effects these products have on our own bodies, as well as on the environment. It is Home Depot and Lowe’s responsibility to protect the many people who still use these products and are unaware of the risks.”
“Regulatory agencies have failed to protect us… It is Home Depot and Lowe’s responsibility to protect the many people who still use these products and are unaware of the risks.”
—Mackenzie Feldman, Herbicide-Free Campus
Costco and the British home and garden store B&Q have committed to phasing out Roundup, and the groups called on Home Depot and Lowe’s to take responsibility for the safety of their customers as well, as they have previously by committing to ending sales of pesticides containing neonicotinoids.
“Home and garden stores can make a significant difference in reducing the use of this toxic product,” said Kendra Klein, senior staff scientist at Friends of the Earth. “Research shows that homeowners use up to 10 times more chemical pesticides per acre on their lawns than farmers use on crops. It’s reckless to sell consumers products linked to cancer when safer organic alternatives exist.”
The groups called on the companies to expand sales of organic weed killers that they already sell.
In addition to being linked to cancer, exposure to glyphosate has been connected to high rates of kidney disease, pregnancy complications, endocrine disruption, and Parkinson’s disease.
The chemical has also been identified as a primary driver of declines in monarch butterfly and honeybee populations, potentially threatening one in three bites of food for humans.
In 2018, a California jury found agrochemical giant Monsanto, the maker of Roundup, liable in the case of Dewayne Johnson, a groundskeeper who blamed years of direct exposure to the product for his cancer diagnosis. Monsanto was ordered to pay $39 million in compensation and $250 million in punitive damages to Johnson. A judge later reduced Johnson’s compensation to $78 million.
Bayer AG, which acquired Monsanto in 2018, has so far agreed to pay $10 billion to settle 95,000 cases out of court.
With their letter to Home Depot and Lowe’s, the advocacy groups said Wednesday, they offered the stores a choice.
“As leading retailers of garden pesticides, supplies, and equipment, Lowe’s and Home Depot can continue to contribute to the poisoning of people and environment, or they can help their customers take on the existential crises of pesticide-induced diseases, like cancer, climate change, and biodiversity decline through the sale of products compatible with organic land management,” said Jay Feldman, executive director of Beyond Pesticides.
In recent days, advocates have circulated a petition, urging individuals concerned with public health and biodiversity to join the call directed at the two companies.


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Graphene is a potential new super material. With super strength, flexibility and conductivity there is not much graphene cannot potentially […]
It is harder than diamond but more elastic than rubber, it’s tougher than steel but lighter than aluminium. Made from […]
Most investors don’t yet understand the tsunami of electric car demand that is just around the corner. Bloomberg New Energy […]
ZEN Graphene Solutions Ltd. is an emerging graphene technology solutions company with a focus on development of the unique Albany Graphite Project as a precursor graphene material product opportunity and product market development. The Albany Graphite Project provides the company with a competitive advantage in the potential graphene market as independent labs in Japan, UK, Israel, USA and Canada have demonstrated that ZEN’s Albany Graphite/Naturally PureTM easily converts (exfoliates) to graphene, using a variety of simple mechanical and chemical methods.


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Like many publishers, the BBC wants to prove native advertising works. But instead of just relying on awareness and brand lift surveys, the BBC is turning to facial-recognition technology.
In the fall, the BBC used software from CrowdEmotion to measure 5,000 people’s conscious and subconscious emotional responses to content marketing campaigns on BBC.com from clients like HSBC, Dassault and Hainan Island Tourism. Now, the BBC is rolling out the capability broadly to clients of its StoryWorks content studio.
The facial-recognition software uses webcam tests with each participant activating the tech via their desktop. For the unconscious measurement, facial movements were recorded on a second-by-second basis and then divided into six possible emotions: sadness, puzzlement, happiness, fear, rejection and surprise.
“CMOs often talk about difficulties around internal buy-in and appreciation of [content marketing],” said Richard Pattinson, head of BBC StoryWorks. “Audience appreciation indexes have been bread and butter for broadcasters for decades for testing response to their shows, but it’s a newer area for brands. It can give us more metrics beyond the usual dwell time and pageviews.”
BBC Advertising may have been later than other publishers to launch a content-marketing shop, having hung up a shingle only last June. But it hasn’t wasted time catching up. Currently, revenue that come through StoryWorks is at 30 percent of overall ad sales, and Pattinson expects that to rise to 50 percent in the next few years.
“Early attempts to use digital actions such as clicks, likes and comments as a proxy for true mental ‘engagement’ have a lot of drawbacks, and there’s little evidence that they will correlate with business results,” said Jerry Daykin, global digital partner at Carat. “Facial recognition may prove to be a more encapsulating measure of how consumers are relating to content because they help capture more of the passive reaction that we know most consumers have.”
During the test, the BBC examined a sponsor-content campaign with HSBC. The facial-image recognition tech showed that the emotional involvement with the campaign was heightened when the brand labeling was made clear.
BuzzFeed, Hearst, other publishers, replace lavish holiday parties with more subdued celebrations
BDG, BuzzFeed, Hearst and The Washington Post will host in-person holiday parties this year, though they will not be the stereotypical soirées.
Member ExclusiveMedia Buying Briefing: The latest media agency estimates for 2023 revenue are out and they remain, well, upbeat
Two holding company media agency analysts continue to hold a more positive, if slightly tempered outlook on 2023 given strong results for 2022.
The case for and against publishers continuing holiday-specific commerce coverage post-Black Friday weekend
Black Friday is over but publishers are up in the air about whether or not to continue covering holiday sales in the lead up to the holidays.
SponsoredHow premium programmatic video is evolving
Leo O’Connor, senior vice president, advertising, Paramount Change in the advertising and media industry often feels slow and chaotic — but when viewed with perspective, change happens relatively fast and follows a logical path. This is certainly the case with programmatic advertising and the rise of streaming. Audiences want the freedom to watch content however […]
Why PMG’s Nike win doesn’t seem all that unusual for the indie media agency
The Texas-based independent agency continues to grow its roster of clients after landing Nike's media AOR business for North America.
Media Briefing: Publishers see a bump in commerce sales during Black Friday weekend despite economic downturn
Publishers' commerce businesses show positive signs that consumers are still shopping despite the economic downturn.


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NeoGames SA, a provider of end-to-end ilottery solutions, has launched its portfolio of einstant games with Austrian Lotteries (Österreichische Lotterien) on its win2day online gaming site.
NeoGames will grant Austrian Lotteries full access to its NeoGames Studio portfolio of einstant games as part of a deal that will provide the lottery’s players with a steady, ongoing stream of new titles.
Rebecca Völkl, Product Manager Lotteries Online Gaming/win2day at Austrian Lotteries, said: “The philosophy of the Austrian Lotteries is to act responsibly and innovatively and maintain a spirit of partnership. With NeoGames, we have found an experienced and innovative iLottery provider and partner.
“We welcome the addition of NeoGames’ quality portfolio of diverse and innovative games and the opportunity to add a new level of entertainment to our online instant lottery players.
NeoGames CEO Moti Malul added: “We are delighted to have been selected by the successful Austrian Lotteries to provide them with our newest and most successful games portfolio.
“This marks further expansion of NeoGames Studio to more lotteries in Europe, and we hope that the addition of our market-proven games will enrich the offerings of the Austrian Lottery, widen the circle of players, and enhance their gaming experience.”
Back in January, NeoGames appointed Lisbeth McNabb to its Board of Directors as a Non-Executive Director.


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techno.rentetan.com – What will the OnePlus 10 Pro be like when it debuts in the near future? Comparatively to other Android phone producers, such as Google with its excellent Pixel 6, OnePlus may have lost some of its luster this year, but it is planning a new smartphone launch.
On Weibo, OnePlus co-founder and CEO Pete Lau hinted about the OnePlus 10 series. A hashtag of “OnePlus 10 Pro” was used, followed by the message “see you in January.” It’s safe to say that supporters are ecstatic.
There is something noteworthy about Lau mentioning just the Pro version of the OnePlus 3. There have been rumblings from the OnePlus 10 rumor mill, according to a well-known source on Twitter. Regular and Pro models are often launched at the same time, followed by a “T” model aimed for more power users, however this time around there was just one “T.” Although the 9T was axed by OnePlus this year,
It’s also worth mentioning that this is a little early for OnePlus to introduce a new flagship product. Now that Samsung’s Galaxy showcase is over, the firm launches its new items in the months of March and April.
This is the first OnePlus device to be released under the Oppo brand, and it will be called the OnePlus 10 Pro. “Deeper integration” with parent firm Oppo was revealed this year by OnePlus, which has been tied to Oppo from its founding.
Oppo, China’s largest smartphone maker, is helping to fund OnePlus, which is excellent news for the company’s business, but Android aficionados have expressed concern about the imminent changes to the OnePlus Oxygen OS interface as it attempts to combine it with ColorOS, which is based on Android 6.0. Whether we witness the demise of OnePlus as the Android device of choice for “enthusiasts,” I wonder if this is the end of Google’s Nexus.
If the OnePlus 10 Pro can beat Google’s improved Pixel 6 Pro in terms of camera performance, then that’s the last question. As far as we know, the speculated specifications are exciting.
On top of the stove-top camera array with three lenses and a flash that we’ve seen in leaked renderings, OnePlus’ next smartphone is expected to bring back its Hasselblad alliance, which it first launched with the OnePlus 9. In terms of screen size, the OnePlus 10 Pro’s display is 6.7 inches with a resolution of 2160 x 1080 pixels and 120 Hz refresh rate. Possibly 80W rapid charging, and Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 processor, according to CEO.
This spring, the OnePlus 10 Pro may be available for purchase in the United States for the first time.


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Banbury-based mobile phone business hopes for new accolade
A Banbury-based mobile phone accessories provider has been recognised for its enterprising spirit.
Juice, which is located in Haslemere Way, has just been shortlisted for the Small Business Entrepreneur of the Year category at the 2019 NatWest Great British Entrepreneur Awards (GBEA).
The awards for the London and South East seek to recognise the enterprise and the achievements of businesses.
Juice founder Jolyon Bennett, said: “When starting Juice, I had a clear vision to produce mobile phone accessories that were both attractive to consumers and of superior technical quality – something I really felt the market lacked at the time.
He added: “As this award shortlist recognises, Juice has achieved both, and we are excited for what is to come.
“This award nomination is another accomplishment for the business to add to an exciting 2019 so far we keep our fingers crossed.”
If Juice, which has 35 members of staff, is successful in the regional heats, the business will be invited to attend the national finals in London on November 21.
Juice was originally launched as Gusto Telecom Solutions nine years ago and was rebranded just weeks ago as Juice.
The company has about 100,000 customers and says it has transformed the mobile phone accessories sector.
Juice states that it has consistently introduced a series of quality, vibrant and consumer-focused products to the market and these range from portable power banks through to super-fast chargers.
Mr Bennett said: “We are currently out-selling Apple for lightning and USB cables, and as the market leader we decided to synonymise the company name to reflect its range.”
The NatWest Great British Entrepreneur Awards aim to acknowledge the journey of entrepreneurs and businesses across the UK, providing opportunities for winners and finalists to connect.
Founded in 2013, the programme has continued to celebrate the stories that have taken individuals to where they are today, regardless of size or turnover.


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MV Sports has signed for wheeled toys and HTI is ready to launch role-play toys for preschool property.
BBC Studios has struck a deal with MV Sports to produce a range of Hey Duggee branded scooters, ride-ons and bikes.
The first wave of product will launch at retail this autumn.
In addition, existing Hey Duggee toy partner HTI will launch a new role-play range in 2022. Both deals mark a growing range of toy licensees for Hey Duggee.
HTI was brought on board earlier this year to create a range of licensed Hey Duggee outdoor toys including The Bubble Flurry, Bubble Bucket and Patio Chairs. Other Hey Duggee categories due to launch later this year courtesy of HTI include character shaped cases, which include a medical set and stampers of key character and a range of musical instruments.
HTI will continue to invest in its Hey Duggee role-play toy range, with more tooled products set to launch in 2022 and beyond.
“I am thrilled to have MV Sports and HTI on board,” commented Julie Kekwick, senior licensing manager at BBC Studios. “Their products reflect Hey Duggee’s core brand essence of encouraging imaginative play and fun outdoor adventure and I’m in no doubt fans will love them. The ever increasing popularity of the show is reflected in sales of licensed consumer products.
“NPD recently reported Hey Duggee toy sales doubling year on year in the first three months of 2021. This success can be attributed to our master toy partner Golden Bear seeing UK trade sales grow by 97% in 2020 and an order book showing an increase of 70% so far in 2021.”
Phil Ratcliff, joint md at MV Sports, added: “Loved by both parents and children alike, Hey Duggee has the perfect awareness profile for strong and sustained wheeled and outdoor toy sales.”


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This hardly seems in the Christmas spirit.
Officials in Milan have ordered the removal of a public Christmas tree which was decorated with sex toys.
A sex shop had erected the "Tree of Pleasure" for the holidays outside its store on a busy shopping street in the northern Italian city.
Instead of being decorated with the normal Christmas baubles, the tree was adorned with vibrators, reports Metro newspaper.
Offiials said that the Christmas season "qualified as a holiday for children and families" and so required "sobriety in urban decorations."
Sex shop owner, Norma Rossetti, said she had removed the tree but had initially put it up to try and make sex toys "completely normal everyday objects." said Metro.


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Sanoma Corporation, Press Release, 3 July 2018 at 12:00 CET+1
Sanoma will publish its 2018 Half-year Report on 24 July 2018
Sanoma will publish its Half-year Report for 1 January–30 June 2018 on Tuesday 24 July 2018 approx. at 8:30 Finnish time (6:30 UK time). The report and related materials will be available on www.sanoma.com/investors after publishing.
An analyst and investor conference will be held in English by the President and CEO Susan Duinhoven and CFO and COO Markus Holm at 11:00 Finnish time (9:00 UK time) at Sanomatalo, Töölönlahdenkatu 2, Helsinki. To join the event, please register via email to email@example.com by 20 July 2018.
Live audio webcast of the conference can be followed via www.sanoma.com/investors. To ask questions by phone during the live audio webcast, please register by email to firstname.lastname@example.org by 20.7.2018. Dial-in details will be sent for registered participants. An on-demand replay of the audio webcast will be available shortly after the end of the conference at www.sanoma.com/investors.
Interview opportunities for media are available after the conference. Media representatives are asked to book interviews via Communications Director Marcus Wiklund, email@example.com.
Kaisa Uurasmaa, Head of Investor Relations and CSR, tel. +358 40 560 5601
Sanoma is a front running media and learning company impacting the lives of millions every day. We provide consumers with engaging content, offer unique marketing solutions to business partners and enable teachers to excel at developing the talents of every child.
With operations in Finland, the Netherlands, Poland, Belgium and Sweden, our net sales totalled EUR 1.4 billion and we employed more than 4,400 professionals in 2017. Sanoma shares are listed on Nasdaq Helsinki. More information is available at www.sanoma.com.


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Jones Apparel Group
posted a higher second-quarter profit Tuesday that topped analysts' estimates by 2 cents, boosted by new product introductions and inventory management.
But the company also provided mostly negative guidance for the next two quarters, helping to send its shares down 83 cents, or 2.2%, at $36.42 in Tuesday trading.
New York-based Jones, which recently acquired
Maxwell Shoe Company
after roughly five months of heavy negotiations, earned $77.6 million, or 61 cents a share, in the quarter ended July 3, up from $71.1 million, or 54 cents a share, in the year-ago period. The analyst consensus was for 59 cents a share. Revenue increased 7.4% to $1.05 billion.
The company, which owns the Nine West and Bandolino footwear lines as well as the Energie, Gloria Vanderbilt and Jones New York Collection clothing lines, said the quarter's results were helped by its acquisition of Kasper, which was completed in the fourth quarter of 2003, as well as its introduction of the Jones New York Signature clothing line.
"Our diversified and balanced business model performed admirably against a cautious backdrop of consumer sentiment and conflicting reports regarding employment," Jones said in a statement.
However, the company's enthusiasm was more muted for the upcoming quarters. "Overall, we remain cautious due to the numerous factors creating uncertainty in the marketplace yet optimistic in our business model and our ability to manage through this environment."
Excluding results from Maxwell Shoe, the company expects third-quarter earnings of 84 cents to 87 cents a share on revenue of $1.23 billion to $1.24 billion. Analysts had been calling for 97 cents a share.
In the fourth quarter, Jones expects to earn 57 cents to 60 cents a share, within range to above analysts' consensus for 57 cents a share. Jones sees revenue at $1.02 billion to $1.03 billion.
Full-year EPS is thus seen at $2.75 to $2.80, up from a prior guidance of $2.68 to $2.80 a share, on sales of $4.52 billion to $4.54 billion. The Wall Street consensus had been $2.86 a share.
Jones noted that Maxwell Shoe, which it formally acquired on July 8, should have net income of $70 million in the third quarter and $45 million in the fourth quarter. The acquisition, however, should hurt Jones' overall earnings by 3 cent to 4 cents a share in the third quarter and by a penny to 2 cents a share in the fourth quarter.
As a result, full-year 2004 earnings should be $2.70 to $2.76 a share, after 4 cents to 5 cents a share in dilutive affects from Maxwell. Revenue is expected at $4.635 billion to $4.655 billion, including Maxwell.
Meanwhile in 2005, the Maxwell acquisition should add 10 cents a share to consolidated earnings. The consensus is for $3.22 a share.


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SPANISH FOOD TECH IN ASIA
Yolé, the Spanish ice cream and frozen yogurt franchise company, already manufactures its revolutionary recipe for frozen yogurt and soft ice cream without added sugar in different parts of the world.
SINGAPORE, November 11th 2020. It has been some years of hard work and firm commitment to get to the photo that accompanies this article: the first box that contains powder for the production of "soft" ice cream and frozen yogurt without adding a gram of sugar and low in calories.
Yolé was born from the experience in ice cream franchises of its founders, the Díaz brothers. As in their other restaurant products, the Díaz wanted to go a step further and start a Spanish food tech with a clear objective: to create an ice cream as good as those existing in the market, or better, but reducing the added sugar from traditional ice creams.
The company set up two laboratories, in Spain and Singapore, to work in parallel and invited a team of ice cream experts, nutritionists and biochemists from different parts of the world, to develop a new product. A product not seen before. A frozen dessert so flavorful that doesn’t seem a "light" product.
“We wanted to compete with the flavor leaders like Haagen Dazs or Ben & Jerry, without all the sugar that conventional ice creams add. An ice cream, that when you try it, you will not know that it is low in calories", a Yolé representative says.
This is how at the beginning of 2020, after many months of research and many tests, Yolé achieved a milestone in the ice cream field: launching the world's first frozen yogurt without added sugar and with 55 calories (per 100 ml). The industry has not seen something like this before.
"We are very proud to have achieved a unique healthy product preserving the traditional flavor of ice cream, applying state of the art technology in frozen food" the brand declares.
Yolé began to do blind tests, changing the frozen yogurt with sugar for the new Yolé without added sugar and low in calories. The result surprised inside and outside the company. "Not one of the more than ten thousand customers who have tried our frozen yogurt noticed the difference," affirms the Yolé representative.
Since then, and despite COVID, many companies from different countries around the world have been interested in Yolé franchises, to set up the first stores and kiosks and see the first boxes with this "magic" powder arrive in their countries.
At the beginning of last October, Yolé opened its first unit in the Iberian territory at the Alegro-Montijo shopping center, in Lisbon. Portugal thus opened the European path of an ambitious project to expand the brand that began in Southeast Asia, where Yolé has a strong presence with its own stores in Singapore and franchises in Singapore, Indonesia, Taiwan, and Cambodia. In addition, Yolé has also entered the retail channel in more than 600 supermarkets where the brand distributes its frozen products in tub format and bars.


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Modern phones are fragile, and some say it’s our own fault! These glass and metal sandwiches can’t survive outside a case, and their slippery surfaces are a disaster waiting to happen. This is a whole other can of worms to open, but the end result is a chain of expensive repairs.
Now, the problem is that manufacturers have started to make phones sealed and very hard to repair on your own, kinda monopolizing the repair business with questionable practices. The charges for repairs also went through the roof in the past couple of years, and even though this has to do with the modern and quite expensive OLED displays, there’s an argument to be made.
Thankfully, the EU and other organizations have been pushing for the so-called “right to repair,” basically forcing companies to make their product more repairable and giving consumers a chance to make these repairs themselves, saving money and time.
Both Apple and Samsung have their own self-repair programs where you can order parts and borrow tools to try and change your phone’s display or battery. Things are moving in the right direction. Would you try to do these repairs yourself, though? That is the big question!
I tried to change the battery on a Nokia that’s been specifically designed to be repairable, and it wasn’t a walk in the park. I can only imagine trying to install a new display or fix a faulty USB port. It could easily go south. We did this poll last year, and people were very enthusiastic about repairing their own phones. Let’s see how things are in 2023. Vote and comment, as always.


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India’s July 20th ban on non-basmati rice exports has resulted in basmati prices soaring. The decision comes amid growing concern over late rice sowings and reduced production as well as inflation, ahead of key state elections and next year’s Lok Sabha elections. Non-basmati white rice accounts for approximately one quarter of total rice shipped out of the country and the ban could hit large farmers in Punjab, Telangana and Uttar Pradesh.
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Mar 15, 2021
Paysafe payments technology supports new Michigan sportsbook brand’s growth as deal with global operator extends into sixth U.S. state
Houston, Texas. March 15th, 2021 – Paysafe, a leading specialized payments platform, today announced the expansion of its partnership with PointsBet, the premier global sportsbook operator that recently launched its online sports-betting brand in Michigan. PointsBet, which already uses Paysafe’s payment processing services in five other regulated U.S. states, adds Michigan to the list of markets supported through the deal.
Founded in Australia, PointsBet made its U.S. debut in 2019 after receiving approval from the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement (DGE) and partnering with the state’s Meadowlands Racetrack in East Rutherford. As a byproduct of PointsBet’s best-in-class technology infrastructure, the sportsbook operator offers unique features in addition to traditional fixed odds wagering, such as a spread betting model dubbed “PointsBetting”. PointsBet is currently live in six states – Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, and New Jersey. The operator’s partnership with Paysafe extends across all these jurisdictions.
Through its latest integration with Paysafe, PointsBet allows Michigan-based customers to easily deposit funds using credit and debit cards, processed through Paysafe’s best-in-breed payment network, as well as ACH bank transfer via checking and savings accounts. Similar depositing methods are also available across the other five states in which PointsBet is active.
The deal also sees Paysafe expand its role in the U.S. iGaming space, where the provider has announced several recent partnerships and is focused on sustained growth as more states continue to regulate. Michigan is the most recent of these states, having launched its online market on January 22nd, following authorization from its Gaming Control Board, and bringing in $115.2 million in online wagers during its first 10 days, according to the regulator.
PointsBet has already cemented its leadership role in the U.S. market, becoming an official sports betting partner of all four major U.S. leagues (NFL, NBA, MLB, & NHL), in addition to groundbreaking deals with NBC Sports and Kroenke Sports and Entertainment, to highlight a few. The cutting-edge sportsbook operator also won three 2020 EGR North America Awards for Sports Betting Operator, Socially Responsible Operator and U.S. Rising Star, respectively.
Gregory Kirstein, Director of Business Development for iGaming at Paysafe, said: “With its innovative mindset and dedication to providing a high-quality sports-betting experience, PointsBet has established a frontrunner status in the rapidly expanding U.S. iGaming market. We look forward to building on an already fruitful relationship by supporting the Michigan launch through our payment processing services, which streamline the customer payments journey and drive long-term loyalty.”
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Paysafe Group (Paysafe) is a leading specialized payments platform. Its core purpose is to enable businesses and consumers to connect and transact seamlessly through industry-leading capabilities in payment processing, digital wallet, and online cash solutions. With over 20 years of online payment experience, an annualized transactional volume of over US $98 billion in 2019, and approximately 3,000 employees located in 12+ global locations, Paysafe connects businesses and consumers across 70 payment types in over 40 currencies around the world. Delivered through an integrated platform, Paysafe solutions are geared toward mobile-initiated transactions, real-time analytics and the convergence between brick-and-mortar and online payments.
Further information is available at www.paysafe.com .
PointsBet is one of the fastest growing sportsbooks in the country and is rapidly expanding its U.S. footprint, currently bringing its best-in-class proprietary technology, modernized and premium brand mentality, expert trading practices, and proven growth marketing strategies to the burgeoning sports betting markets of Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, and New Jersey. Originally founded in Australia, PointsBet is a cutting-edge bookmaker that prides itself on having the quickest and most user-friendly app (iOS and Android) while also providing the best content and experience for sports bettors. PointsBet is the only U.S. online bookmaker to offer PointsBetting – a unique and innovative way to bet – and has also introduced a slew of well-received, bettor-first initiatives, including: Good Karma Payouts, which provides bettors relief in the event of unlikely circumstances that sway the fate of the game, and Early Payouts. PointsBet offers the most markets on all four major U.S. sports (NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL) and PointsBetting in the world.
For more information, visit www.PointsBet.com.
For further information about Paysafe, please contact:
Nick Say, Manager, Corporate Communications for North America, Paysafe
Tel. +1 514 452-8747; E: [email protected]
For further information about PointsBet, please contact:
Patrick Eichner, Communications Director for PointsBet USA
Tel. +1 908 723-4341; E: [email protected]
Follow PointsBet on Facebook/Twitter/Instagram/LinkedIn


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By implementing policy changes, utilising its strategic location and capitalising on growing demand, India’s largest port, Jawaharlal Nehru Port, aims to become one of the top 10 global ports within the next five years.
According to The Dollar Business, the Indian government has recently announced the establishment of a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) at Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) at a cost of around $US645 million.
The aim of the project is to develop free-trade warehousing zones for sectors that include engineering and textiles.
Chairman of Jawaharlal Nehru Port, N. N. Kumar, said: “The proposed SEZ, apart from having a huge socio-economic advantage, shall ensure promotion of export-based industries leading to assured throughput for the Port.”
Jawaharlal Nehru Port currently has a market share of almost 56%, with a recorded TEU throughput of 4.16 million for the financial year of 2013-2014.
The port aims to expand on this capacity to 10 million TEU by building a fourth container terminal by 2020-2021.
Kumar said that the current capacity constraints are causing the port to tranship containers from countries such as China and Singapore, saying “…this is why it is necessary to have a big world-class container port so that we can save on transhipment cost as well as attract mother vessels to India.”
The port is currently ranked thirty-fourth in the World Shipping Council’s list of top ports, with Colombo Port in Sri Lanka ahead by one place at number 33.
Jawaharlal Eyes Top 10 Position. (Source: Live Mint)


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Why do big companies have so much trouble changing? The answer could be that they listen to the advice of disruption guru, Clayton Christensen.
I own shares of
As a result, Adobe Systems -- whose stock has climbed 114% in the last five years -- is a case study of how to adapt to so-called disruptive technologies -- products that give customers comparable benefits at much lower prices and require incumbents to change their strategy and business processes to sustain their market leadership.
Before getting into the details of what Adobe did, let's review the advice that Christensen gave to big companies seeking to manage such disruption -- hive off the disruptive technology in a separate subsidiary and task it with killing the parent.
Since 2000, I have been arguing that this advice is ineffective -- and I am still interested in anyone who can cite an example where it worked. To wit, Barron's wrote about the rise of dot-com spinoffs that followed Christensen's advice in the 1990s only to admit defeat and spin them back in in 2001.
Meanwhile, I have written extensively about the success of
Rather than hiving off Online Streaming to compete with the parent, CEO Reid Hastings took the lead in reinventing Netflix -- adding new capabilities such as the ability to produce its own popular content and partnering with broadband suppliers so that consumers could view that content without too much buffering.
Adobe -- which started in 2011 to change itself from a provider of "shrink-wrapped CD software to a cloud-based subscription model," according to the Wall Street Journal -- seems to have followed a similar playbook.
It is this model that Christensen should be advocating -- and I look forward to evidence that he can admit that he's wrong.
Here are the five key steps to Adobe's self-disruption journey between 2011 and 2014.
1. Solve the right problem
The first step in reinventing a big company is for top management to focus on solving the right problem. For Netflix, the problem was that more of its customers were watching videos on handheld devices. And for Adobe, it was the high cost of finding new customers each time it introduced a new version of its software.
As Mark Garrett, Adobe's chief financial officer, told the Journal, "First is you can read the tea leaves, understand a problem you are trying to solve. Our problem was, if you go back to the 2008 recession, we only had 5% of recurring revenue in 2007."
Following its change to a software as a service strategy, Adobe seems to be getting customers to renew more frequently. Explained Garrett, "Now we are well over 60%. That is a huge, positive change for us."
2. Rethink the entire business
In order to solve the right problem, top management must follow the advice of my former MIT professor, Michael Hammer, and start with a clean sheet of paper to rethink the entire business.
Adobe did this when it changed to a subscription-based offering. As Garrett said, "Start with a clean slate. Rethink the whole business. What’s the whole new strategy? What’s the product line? It’s not, ‘Do I buy the car or lease the car?’ That’s just math. We had a completely [different] offering. That’s the only way this works."
3. Transform operations
A new strategy requires a change in operations. Netflix added new capabilities to implement its new strategy. And so did Adobe -- building up its back office to give customers constant access to its service and changing how it measured those operations.
As Garrett described the transformation, "A subscription-based business model needs to be up 24/7. It needs to be built up. It’s different from shipping a shrink-wrapped CD. That requires a lot of back office work."
In so doing, Adobe change its systems, engineering, and key financial indicators. Noted Garrett, We needed to "rethink how [we ran] IT, how [we ran] engineering, [and] the metrics of the business from a traditional [profit and loss] business to whole new metrics to explain to Wall Street what the health of the business was."
4. Burn the boats
As a self-disrupter implements the new strategy, the company must do a good job of explaining the change to its customers and employees. And if the employees do not agree with the change, they must go elsewhere.
As Garrett argued, companies that self-disrupt must "burn the boats. At some point along the way, you have to say this is the right answer and a new strategy. You can’t go back."
Adobe educated its customers about the change, offered them the new service, and then began to withdraw the old product. To educate customers, Adobe recognized that they would resist the change.
Argued Garrett, "From a customer perspective, they are like anybody. They like doing things the way they’ve always been done. At first, you give them a choice of buying the old and new way. A lot will fall back and not move to a subscription model. But you have got to get to the point where you say to the customer, we’re not updating a perpetual product. It’s a major milestone."
With employees, Adobe was more direct in requiring them to get on board. "From an employee point of view, there will be some who resist change. They have to get on board or leave, because frankly we are focused on this and this is the new direction," said Garrett.
5. Be transparent
Finally, Wall Street will be willing to give a publicly-traded company a chance to reinvent itself if the company discloses the transformation clearly and then exceeds new performance targets.
Adobe did this -- describing how the new strategy would hurt its income statement in the short-run and boost it in the longer-run. As Garrett said, "It was complicated for Wall Street to understand that you’ve got a perpetual model that’s going to fall off. The faster the P&L goes down, the better you are as an investor because more people [were becoming] subscribers and over the long term" Adobe would be better off.
Adobe gave Wall Street a new set of performance targets and exceeded them. "Give them some long-term benchmarks to see if you are doing what you said you were going to do. Knocking these things as you go builds up credibility," advised Garrett.
Netflix and Adobe have pointed the way for big companies who choose to self-reinvent. Can Christensen do the same?


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Dark forces are on the rise and your quest is the defeat them with the power of… pinball. OK, high fantasy this is not. Instead, Zombie Rollerz: Pinball Heroes fuses pinball and tower defense into a deliberately wacky game that launched Friday on Apple Arcade.
And the in-app purchases that plagued the original version are gone!
Players choose a hero, then wield their mighty Pinball Ballista to fight off waves of adorkable zombies in a cartoon world. And each horde is lead by a unique zombie boss that also must be defeated.
FireFly Games, the developer, points out that Zombie Rollerz: Pinball Heroes changes every runthrough for maximum replayability. And there are hundreds of combinations of heroes and powers to discover.
Watch a trailer from FireFly Games to preview the action.
Zombie Rollerz: Pinball Heroes now on Apple Arcade
This single-player pinball/tower defense mashup launched Friday, and is available now in the App Store. There are versions for iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple TV.
But playing requires a subscription to Apple Arcade. The cost is $4.99 a month, but that one fee brings access over 100 other titles. That includes Roundguard, a role-playing game mixed with a pinball machine. And the service doesn’t hit users with other costs — Apple Arcade bans in-app purchases, ads and loot boxes.


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Apple Store Customers Satisfied Even If They Don’t Buy Anything
“I give [Apple] two years before they’re turning out the lights on a very painful and expensive mistake.”
—A 2001 prediction by David Goldstein, president of Channel Marketing, about Apple’s then newly launched retail stores
In Apple’s history, there are many come-from-behind, or out of nowhere, success stories–the iMac, the iPod, the iPhone and the iPad. And then there’s the Apple Store, which though lacking that iconic “i” prefix, is no less remarkable.
Ten years after Apple opened its first two retail stores, there are 323 more, 91 of them overseas, and together they are generating upwards of $3 billion per quarter ($3.19 billion last quarter–up 90 percent year over year). According to Yankee Group analyst Carl Howe, who’s done the math, that means Apple Stores pull in about $5,000 per square foot in revenue per year, which far exceed not only Best Buy’s $1,000 per square foot, but Tiffany’s roughly $2,700 per square foot as well.
Little wonder Apple Stores are the fourth fastest growing retail business in the world, according to the National Retail Federation. Their patrons are among the most satisfied around–even if they don’t actually buy anything, a fact Howe noted in his recent survey of Apple Store customers.
“72 percent of consumers [said they] are highly satisfied with Apple products and services,” Howe explained. “Intriguingly, 84 percent of consumers who shop in an Apple Store say they are highly satisfied with its products and services, even if they don’t own any Apple products.”
It’s clear then that the Apple Store shopping experience does much to bolster the Apple brand. Which is why the company’s recent retail store upgrades–which include a new “Personal Setup” service and iPad 2-based Smart Signs–is so important.
With the Apple Store, Apple leapfrogged other retailers years ago and now it’s poised to do it again with an improved level of customer service and product signage that gives it unparalleled messaging and collateral consistency. As Howe notes, the company can change in-store product marketing at a moment’s notice or reinforce a new ad campaign the minute it runs.
“I think the bottom line is that the changes just set Apple’s already best-in-class shopping experience even farther ahead of its competitors,” Howe said. “And that type of differentiated shopping experience just drives customer brand loyalty up.”
[Image credits: AllAboutSteveJobs.com, Yankee Group]


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Tesla Model Y Performance Vehicles Spotted on Transport at Giga Berlin [VIDEO]
YouTube channel and drone pilot, the_wolfpack_berlin, has shared a new construction update for the Tesla Gigafactory in Berlin, Brandenburg, with drone footage from Saturday, January 22.
We can see Gigafactory Berlin-Brandenburg’s parking lot teeming with fully assembled Model Y Performance units throughout the video, but we’ve seen dozens of those parked outside the production facility already.
The highlight of this flyover comes at the 14:18 mark when several Model Y Performance units can be seen loaded onto a transport, ready to be wheeled off somewhere.
You can tell they are Performance trims of the Model Y by their 21-inch Uberturbine wheels and red-painted calipers.
One possible assumption would be that these Model Ys are destined for a crash test facility. Other possibilities include weather toughness and water tightness testing, among other forms of vehicle validation. It’s unclear at this point but seeing so many Model Y vehicles outside Giga Berlin is definitely exciting.
According to recent reports from Tesla insider @SawyerMerritt, Giga Berlin will kick off production with the Model Y Performance in black and white colors.
An internal email from Tesla to its employees confirmed that the company expects the first Berlin-made Model Y Performance units to start shipping in March. Tesla’s website has also been updated to note that the Performance Model Y will now be shipping in March 2022, instead of the previously listed “early 2022” delivery date.
Tesla is yet to officially start production at Giga Berlin since the company is still waiting on final approval of operations at the factory from the local government, which Brandenburg Minister-President Dietmar Woidke said last month would come in early 2022.
The drone flyover also gives us a good look at the “awesome graffiti art” at Gigafactory Berlin, which features a cyberpunk theme and a reference to Frank Herbert’s classic science fiction novel, Dune, and its subsequent film adaptation.


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EEC Online - the event, for the first time organised remotely and 100% accessible on the Internet, will take place on the originally planned 18-20 May. The online version of the Congress will be filled with live broadcasts, presentations, interviews, webinars and online debates on the economy, which, having found itself in a completely new situation, is looking for answers to basic questions.
A continuation of the format tested in recent months: conversations with opinion-forming business representatives, decision-makers and experts about the development trends of key importance to the future of the Polish and European economy.
How do we define financial freedom?
Guilty and had to face the music. My six years in the Polish government


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You ever look up at the Freedom Tower at night and wish that you could control the color of its spire? On August 22, you’ll get that chance at a centennial celebration for the National Park Service in Brooklyn Bridge Park, when the NPS teams up with One World Trade Center. Participants, including “science guy” Bill Nye, will use interactive movements on a giant digital circuit board to control the color of the lights.MB
World Changing Ideas
New workplaces, new food sources, new medicine--even an entirely new economic system.
The major tech ecosystems that battle for our attention and dollars.
What’s next for hardware, software, and services.
The brave new world of automation, from AI to drones.
How our urban centers are building toward the future.
Most Creative People
See members of our Most Creative People in Business community: leaders who are shaping the future of business in creative ways.
An award-winning team of journalists, designers, and videographers who tell brand stories through Fast Company's distinctive lens.


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WASHINGTON, May 1, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- https://cpsc.gov/Newsroom/News-Releases/2017/following-fatal-house-fire-cpsc-warns-consumers-to-stop-using-layz-board-hoverboards-0
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is urging consumers to immediately stop using LayZ Board self-balancing scooters (known as hoverboards). CPSC has evidence that LayZ Board was the hoverboard involved in the tragic fire on March 10, 2017, in Harrisburg, Pa., which took the lives of two young girls.
These hoverboards were manufactured in Shenzhen, China, and more than 3,000 units were imported into the United States.
Due to the fire hazard posed to consumers of all ages by these hoverboards, CPSC is urging the public to stop charging and stop using their LayZ Board. Consumers who choose to dispose of their hoverboards should take them to a local recycling center for safe handling of the lithium-ion battery. CPSC is also asking the public to share this warning with friends and family so that no one else is injured by them.
The LayZ Board is a two-wheeled, battery-powered, self-balancing scooter that has a pivoting platform intended for the rider's feet and does not have a handlebar. The name LayZ Board appears on the front of the product.
The Commission thanks the Harrisburg Fire Department and the families affected by this deadly fire for their time and cooperation with our investigation.
Note: The safety warning to stop use applies to LayZ Boards hoverboards, which is a different product from Lazyboard hoverboards.
CPSC Consumer Information Hotline
Contact us at this toll-free number if you have questions about a recall:
800-638-2772 (TTY 301-595-7054)
Times: 8 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. ET; Messages can be left anytime
Call to get product safety and other agency information and to report unsafe products.
Please use the phone numbers below for all media requests.
To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/following-fatal-house-fire-cpsc-warns-consumers-to-stop-using-layz-board-hoverboards-300449029.html
SOURCE U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission


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Games and eSports to fuel sluggish smartphone market
Chinese smartphone vendors expect mobile games to stimulate a sluggish market, thanks to improved imaging and calculating features, faster networks and rich mobile game portfolios.
Nubia, a startup Chinese smartphone brand, expects the mobile player user base in China to hit 776 million.
“With good performance by Chinese eSports players and recognition by Asian and Olympic events, eSports and mobile games represent a trend,” said Ni Fei, general manager of Nubia.
It has launched its latest MARS-brand game in Shanghai.
Besides Nubia, firms like Xiaomi, 360 and ASUS have all launched game models.
In the fourth quarter, global smartphone sales will reach 380 million units, unchanged compared with the third quarter, said researcher TrendForce.
Nubia said game fans will bring “fresh air” to the market by buying the latest smartphones.
Its new phone, which will be released on December 7 with prices from 2,699 yuan (US$391), features Qualcomm’s latest processor, 10 Gigabyte memory, a cooling system and headphones specifically for mobile game fans.
On a broader level, Shanghai is going to establish itself as a center for eSports.


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The Adventure Travel Trade Association (ATTA) will hold its first AdventureNEXT event in Asia 3-5 December 2018 in Bhopal, the capital city of Madhya Pradesh, India. Previous AdventureNEXT events have been held in Ohrid, Macedonia; San Luis Potosi, Mexico; and in Jordan. AdventureNEXT events combine marketplace meetings, networking opportunities, inspirational speakers and discourse, and educational sessions. They also unite countries and destinations in a region with a singular objective, increasing awareness about the abundance of adventure travel opportunities.
AdventureNEXT India will include adventure trips throughout India for buyers and media, but there will be a special focus on activities in Madhya Pradesh, a state with a rich variety of adventure travel options, natural features, and urban attractions including diverse wildlife, nature trails in the Vindhyachal and Satpura mountain ranges, lakes, bustling markets, forts, and palaces.
Following the pre-adventures, the entire delegation will meet in Bhopal at Minto Hall, which is reminiscent of Old World charm in the midst of a vibrant city. “Madhya Pradesh Tourism is thrilled to host AdventureNEXT in Bhopal, the beautiful lake city located in the heart of India, in December 2018. The friendly people of Madhya Pradesh will be eagerly looking forward to showcasing their exquisite traditional culture, rich heritage, architecture, textiles, handicrafts, cuisine, and Indian hospitality,” said Hari Ranjan Rao, commissioner of tourism and managing director of the Madhya Pradesh Tourism Board.
“The partnership with ATTA will enable major stakeholders in India and Madhya Pradesh Tourism to connect with the best and most discerning connoisseurs of the progressive tourism industry,” he added.
“India has been on our radar for a long time as a strong contender to hold an AdventureNEXT event,” said Shannon Stowell, CEO of the ATTA. “There are many dedicated and talented Indian members of the ATTA and we’re so thrilled to put on this event to partner with and support them.” Stowell, who just returned from speaking at Adventure Sports Expo Asia in India, had a chance to participate in some of the experiences delegates will have during AdventureNEXT India. “We were able to sample three different parts of the country, including Madhya Pradesh,” he said. “It was amazing — rafting in the Ganges, on safari looking for tigers in a teak forest, and experiencing the cities of Bhopal and Delhi.”
The Adventure Tourism Operators Association of India (ATOAI) will be a key partner with the ATTA for this event and has committed its unreserved support. Adventure travel sits at the intersection of commerce, conservation, and community, which will be a driving ethos for the event.
“After experiencing ATTA events around the world, we realized there was a huge potential to showcase Indian adventure products to the ATTA’s members. Delegates at the event will have a plethora of opportunities to experience what the Indian adventure industry has to offer,” said Capt. Swadesh Kumar, ATOAI’s president. “Madhya Pradesh is a well-known destination for tiger tourism, and it has five national parks of international repute, a rich cultural heritage, and a variety of opportunities to meet and interact with members of the local communities.
“ATOAI feels privileged and honoured to be associated with the ATTA, the leading voice of the international adventure community. We look forward to the event as a fantastic networking and business opportunity not just for the delegates but also for the media, bloggers, and explorers and adventurers who will be participating in the event,” Kumar said.


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By Nichole Guthrie
The sales, which exclude petrol and new stores, are said to be have risen thanks to 700,000 new shoppers visiting the chain every week.
Its ‘Price Crunch’ deals and the ‘Market Street’ fresh food line sold at low prices are luring in customers.
Morrisons’ Chief executive Marc Boland said in a statement: “In this challenging economic environment more customers than ever before are choosing Morrisons.”
The chain has also seen more of a rise that its rivals. Tesco reported a 2% rise, 6.9% for Asda and 4.3% for Sainsbury’s.
The future plans to purchase 38 Co-operative Group stores for £223 million shows the chain isn’t phased by the economic crisis.
The purchase will go through once Co-op’s aquisition of Somerfield is complete. Morrisons’ said in a statement: “The acquisition is conditional upon a successful completion of the Co-operative Group’s acquisition of Somerfield and certain competition approvals.”
Morrisons could not comment.


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We know that covid-19 changes the hotel industry for a longer period of time because everything is slow-down.
Or completely shut-down to save the lives of people from this deadly virus.
The impact of COVID-19 on the hotel industry is global concern.
The number of travelers travelling has decreases dramatically.
Trips cancel and significant public events have been cancel or postpone putting many jobs at risk.
Ultimately, leading to less generation or no revenue at all.
According to the World Travel and Hotel Industry Council (2020), up to 75 million jobs are at risk.
And this figure could change as the virus evolves which would cause huge loss to the world economy.
The rapid spread of COVID-19 has resulted in the shutting down of the hotel industry around the world.
With many world countries continuing their quarantine.
Airlines are warning of bankruptcy, hotels are closed and tourist buses remain empty.
Social distancing has emptied destinations which for many years have suffered from over hotel industry.
The number of cases of COVID-19 in December 2020 is more than 84 million worldwide.
And many people are working from home and not travelling.
We know that the pandemic will control at some point in time but we do not know when.
Slowly many things will change in the hospitality industry in the future.
First, technology affects business travellers.
The emergence of new technologies and their increased uses has lead to different air travel behaviour in the future.
Because social distancing forces many people around the world to work remotely.
Microsoft’s Teams software has surged in popularity with the addition of 12 million new customers in a single week in March 2020.
Further, video conferencing will reduce expenses and save time.
Videoconferencing facilities will continue to use in the long term based on their proven effectiveness during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Second, the rise in virtual tourism will continue after the pandemic.
Popular destinations are moving to virtual tourism, allowing people to visit different attractions in a virtual way from their homes.
Even after the outbreak is declared to be over, many people will be reluctant to travel and the recovery is likely to come slow.
The major effects of COVID-19 on the global economy include many businesses asking people to work part-time or firing staff.
Many people will be unable to afford to travel and will choose domestic rather than international destinations.
People may be nervous about travelling for a long time to come and may prefer the experience offered by virtual tourism.
Those airline companies that survive will cut their routes to small regional destinations.
Eventually, it will result in fewer tourists requiring accommodation in these destinations.
So hoteliers must be prepared to welcome their local visitors and not feel dishearted if a fewer number of international travellers are visiting.
Further, there is likely to be more demand for longer-term stays.
To reduce the number of travel and exposure at large airport hubs and on aeroplanes.
To mitigate COVID 19, a series of actions for hotel owners and managers, including using fewer rooms (reducing hotel capacity).
Emphasizing take-out or delivery options to reduce public dining, implementing deep cleaning and sanitizing.
Making use of personal protective equipment (PPE) for workers and increasing attention to personal hygiene.
Communicating new COVID-19 policies to guests and employees.
Moreover, implementing physical distancing practices in public areas, and protocols for guests expose to COVID-19.
Hence, to increase awareness among people the World Health Organization (WHO) produces a guide.
Of the title “Operational Considerations for COVID-19 Management in the Accommodations Sector”.
This is to provide practical assistance to the hospitality sector in particular.
Primary steps include implementing widespread COVID-19 testing, having enough PPE supply, lifting social distancing.
And mobility restrictions, using electronic surveillance and implementing strategies to decrease transmission in the hotel.
Emphasis was placed on the daily screening of the hospitality sector employees and guests visiting the hotel.
In this aspect, another study uses primary and secondary data and applied the descriptive analysis method.
To explore revitalization strategies for small and medium-size hotels.
All these to reduce risk of getting affected.
It becomes important to redesigning and transforming the hotel industry and hospitality industry after COVID-19 pandemic.
The proposed suggestions include increasing the resilience and protection of the post-COVID-19 hotel and hospitality workers.
By cross-training and educating staff various skills exploiting the unique opportunity presented by COVID-19.
To transform and refocus the hotel industry and hospitality industry towards local attractions.
Rather than global destinations, and redesigning spaces to assure a 6-foot distance between tourists.
The anti-pandemic process adopted the six phases of disaster management, including
- The pre-event phase (taking prerequisite actions),
- The prodromal phase (observing the warning signs),
- The emergency phase (taking urgent actions),
- The intermediate phase (bringing back essential community services),
- The recovery phase (taking self-healing measures),
- The resolution phase (restoring the routine).
It is too early to draw any conclusions about the impact of COVID-19 on the international hotel industry.
The effects of COVID-19 on hotel industry so far are not sufficient to allow firm conclusions.
From above we can see it affects everything changes the hotel industry for longer period of time.
Since the impact of the virus will depend on how the pandemic evolves and how long it lasts.
With the dramatic fall in flights, potential bankruptcy of airlines, hotel closures and cancellations of international events.
Affects the hospitality industry in the short run.
Further, demand for jet fuel decreases and is to continue to decrease.
In the long term, hospitality will be characterized by a change in consumer behaviour and a rise in the use of technologies.
Hence, we can expect less travel in the future.
Please share views in the comment box.
If you want to learn about the functionality of QloApps then you can visit this link: QLO Reservation System – Free Open-Source Hotel Booking & Reservation System
In case of any query, issue or requirement please feel free to raise it on QloApps Forum


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Fashion and lifestyle luxury brand SHANG XIA teamed up with Chinese contemporary artist Ding Yi in December, launching a limited-edition carbon fibre furniture collection.
Jiang Qionger, CEO and Artistic Director of SHANG XIA, said Ding Yi’s abstract art transcends Chinese visual elements, explores and displays a way of thinking and philosophical spirit from the East, which is in line with the pursuit of SHANG XIA.
The limited-edition carbon fibre furniture collection takes inspiration from Ding Yi’s iconic artwork “Appearance of Crosses (十示)” which infuses SHANG XIA’s Da Tian Di furniture. The collection includes a carbon fiber table, a carbon fiber console table, and a wall shelf.
SHANG XIA and Ding Yi showcase their collaboration at the “Ding Yi X Shang Xia, Artist Collaboration Carbon Fiber Furniture” exhibition from 9th December 2021 to 17th February 2022 in Shanghai, China.


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The Sony PlayStation users in India can now enjoy Amazon Prime Video on their console, Amazon and Sony said on Thursday, giving them yet another feature that Xbox One users in the country don’t have. Prior to the official support, several PlayStation user had resorted to using US PSN accounts to avail Prime Video on their gaming console.
The Amazon Prime Video app is available on Xbox One, but only in certain markets. Xbox One users in India, however, don’t have the on-demand streaming service available on their console.
PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4 users can install the Amazon Prime Video app on their consoles, the companies said. Older versions of the console won’t be getting the support. Amazon also recently made its app available to PlayStation customers in Canada and Australia.
PS3 and PS4 users in India will be able to enjoy all Prime Video features, including access to exclusive original series from Amazon including The Tick, The Grand Tour, The Man in the High Castle, and Inside Edge. New customers will need to sign-up for a Prime membership, which is available at an introductory price of Rs. 499 a year.
Amazon Prime Video’s availability is limited to a handful of consoles and streaming services. Earlier this year, Apple announced that it will be bringing Prime Video to Apple TV. Amazon Prime Video is still now available for most smart TVs models. Those who want to watch Prime Video on their TV are suggested to purchase the Fire TV Stick, a streaming device which costs under Rs. 4,000. It features Netflix, Hotstar, and several other services.


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Dec 7, 2017, 9:00 am598 ptsIt's easy to find celebrity info if you're determined to look for it, but wouldn't you rather hear it straight from the source? You just might. Google is adding a feature to mobile searches in the US that has celebrities answering questions in self...
New Tesla batteries likely have small amounts of illegal cobalt Ars Technica 149
Why high-performance computing has moved to the cloud InfoWorld 124
Microsoft Store gets a new look and remote app installs MSPoweruser 122
Huawei aims to ship 200 million smartphones in 2018 Digitimes 117
Alien sun has smashing time sucking up planets The Register 116


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To master sound design, no technology can top your own hearing. That’s the message from Francis Preve, who gave a gripping talk at Ableton Loop. Now we’ve got video – and more discussion. Nothing is sacred – not even the vaunted TB-303 filter.Read more
SuperCollider? Lua? Huh? The latest creation from the makers of monome, norns, looks great. Here’s where to start learning the powerful sound engine underneath – which you can use on your PC or Mac right now, for free.
brings together the latest breaking news on music, technology, gear, and live visuals. Got a project, found a news tip, or want to share your product? Submit to us directly.


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The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) announced this Wednesday that it has seen an uptick in the number of investment scam reports from consumers and investors within Australia during the coronavirus pandemic.
In particular, the Australian regulator said that the number of reports of misconduct it has received from March to May this year has increased by 20 per cent when measured against the same period of the previous year.
Commenting on the rising trend, ASIC Executive Director for Assessment and Intelligence Warren Day said in the statement that economic uncertainty due to COVID-19 has created a perfect storm.
“Australians are at risk of being scammed and losing money, and scammers are using age-old tactics in new and sophisticated ways to target people,” Day outlined. “We are seeing a spike in reports of scams related to fake crypto-assets (or crypto currencies), term deposits, investments and scams that start via romance sites.”
“ASIC is particularly concerned about the risk to consumers and investors losing money when buying into fake crypto-assets. Most crypto-asset investment opportunities reported to ASIC appear to be outright scams and there is no actual underlying investment.”
According to the Australian watchdog, scammers often:
- present a range of investment offers – from modest returns to high returns – that sound safer than they are;
- make persistent requests to continue investing despite no evidence of actual returns on initial investments;
- display fake endorsements from celebrities or government agencies, including ASIC;
- request money be paid to a person or company into multiple or constantly changing bank accounts;
- lure someone via a romance site and direct them to send money or invest in crypto-assets or forex trading.
The report from ASIC follows on the heels of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) publishing a report on Monday that Aussies lost more than AU$634 million (US$435.2 million) to scams during the year – AU$126 million of which was lost to investment scams.


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YouTube is reportedly planning to release YouTube Kids app to avoid suggesting conspiracy theories and other questionable content to children
According to a report from BuzzFeed, YouTube plans to release a non-algorithmic, whitelisted version of YouTube Kids app in the near future to avoid unintentionally suggesting questionable or graphic content to children. The updated version of the app will restrict access of kids to videos from hand-selected channels that a team of human curators at YouTube will approve.
In March 2018, a report from Business Insider illustrated how YouTube Kids app was suggesting children watch videos filled with misinformation and conspiracy theories about the shape of the Earth, the Moon landing, and whether aliens exist. However, the company has not disclosed the decision officially, it comes longstanding concerns over YouTube’s suggestion algorithm inherently steers viewers toward increasingly extremist content.
Moreover, YouTube has struggled to deal with the people behind the channels that peddle questionable content, including conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, who had his channel stripped of ads, and influencer Logan Paul, who remains on a 90-day suspension for running afoul of YouTube’s policies. The company is constantly taking efforts to remove contact specifically on child exploitation by removing advertising from millions of videos, imposing age restrictions on flagged content, and increasing the number of human moderators that scan platform.


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You might envy the charm of brownstone life, but apparently one pitfall is that the some mail carriers don't like to deliver the mail to them. The NY Sun examines the situation after some Brooklyn residents realized their mail wasn't coming. Mail carriers feel stoops are dangerous especially in winter weather, and lately some residents' mail has been "rained upon, blown away, and destroyed." You'd think the mail would have to be delivered at the house, but:
The U.S. Postal Service wants the ongoing tiffs between brownstone residents and their letter carriers to soon be a thing of the past. The Postal Service is attempting to phase out door delivery in Brooklyn and other cities across the country.
Mr. Gaynor said door delivery service is costly and inefficient. Instead, he said, the Postal Service is pushing for group mailboxes, known as "cluster boxes," that catch the mail for multiple tenants...
...As part of the move to phase out stoop service, when new residents move in to a brownstone they are not guaranteed mail delivery to the top of the stoop, according to a customer service agent at the Postal Service.
Chew on that as you go to your brownstone open houses! This makes Gothamist think of two things: 1) Online bill paying has never sounded better; and 2) Will NYC become like a college campus, with a central mail facility where you pick up your mail and packages?
And do you remember Harvey Kneeslapper on Sesame Street?


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SANTA ANA, CA. – (May 18, 2017) – Tough just got a lot tougher with Yokohama Tire Corporation’s all-new GEOLANDAR M/T G003™ mud-terrain tire.
Designed for hardcore off-roaders, outdoor enthusiasts and pick-up truck/SUV owners, the M/T is the latest member of Yokohama’s rugged GEOLANDAR® line of durable, light truck tires and is initially available in 37 sizes, ranging from 15- to 20-inch rim diameters. New features on the M/T, which goes on sale in the U.S. July 1, include aggressive sidewall styling, GEO-SHIELD™ technology and a special triple-polymer compound.
“‘GO STRONG!’ is the battle cry for GEOLANDAR, and that’s really what the new, incredibly tough M/T tire is all about,” said Andrew Briggs, Yokohama Tire senior director of tire business and product planning. “The M/T was built to dominate…and it does.”
Briggs added that “The M/T has it all: intimidating good looks, superior strength, proven performance and excellent traction in all on- and off-road terrains, from everyday highway driving to attacking steep, jagged rocks; muddy trails and desert sand.”
According to Fardad Niknam, Yokohama Tire director of LTR segment development, independent test results show that the M/T outperforms leading competitors in several important areas, including longer lasting tread life (eight percent longer) and shorter stopping distance on wet roads (51 feet shorter). Plus, testing reveals the M/T is 2.3 decibels quieter on the road.
“With the launch of the GEOLANDAR M/T G003, Yokohama now owns the youngest line of light truck tires with extensive market coverage,” said Briggs. “This is an exciting time for Yokohama, our GEOLANDAR brand and our customers. Plus, it’s only the start – we have more to come. Much more.”
GEOLANDAR M/T G003 benefits include:
-- Yokohama’s new GEO-SHIELD construction incorporating multiple sidewall plies, steel belts, a full nylon cap and a high turn-up carcass – creates a stronger tire that provides strength and protection, even in the harshest off-road conditions.
-- Longer-lasting tread is the result of a new, high-density compound and a wider, flatter profile that creates exceptional wear performance.
-- Outstanding traction – a must for off-roaders – comes from a triple-polymer tread compound combined with optimized sipes and an ideal block to void ratio, which provide outstanding grip and significantly shorter stopping distances on wet roads.
-- A quieter ride on the road is due to the advanced variable pitch tread on the M/T, which assures a quiet, on-highway ride while maintaining off-road performance.
-- An aggressive sidewall armor creates a bold, new look while delivering off-road traction and protection from damage.
-- Satisfaction guaranteed via Yokohama’s 30-day money-back trial pledge.
GEOLANDAR M/T G003 applications include a wide variety of popular pick-ups and SUVs, including the Dodge Ram 1500, Jeep Wrangler, Chevy Silverado 2500, Ford F-150 Raptor, Nissan Titan, Toyota FJ Cruiser, Land Rover Discovery, GMC Yukon XL 3500 and many more.
Yokohama has launched two new sponsorships to fit with the audience for the M/T and the entire GEOLANDAR line. Reinforcing the toughness and strength of the M/T, Yokohama has become the Official Tire of the U.S Spartan Race series, the original and largest obstacle race series. Yokohama is also the Official Tire of the Nitro Circus Live US Tour and Nitro World Games. Nitro Circus is the premier adrenaline-fueled action sports tour.
Yokohama Tire Corporation is the North American manufacturing and marketing arm of Tokyo, Japan-based The Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd., a global manufacturing and sales company of premium tires that’s celebrating its 100th anniversary in 2017. Servicing an extensive sales network throughout the U.S., Yokohama Tire Corporation is a leader in technology and innovation. The company’s complete product line includes tires for off-road and light truck, high-performance, passenger car, commercial truck and bus, and off-the-road mining and construction applications. For more information on Yokohama’s broad product line, visit www.yokohamatire.com.
Connect with Yokohama Tire Corporation:
Yokohama is a strong supporter of the tire care and safety guidelines established by the Rubber Manufacturers Association and the National Highway Transportation and Safety Administration. Details can be found at the “Tire Care & Safety” section at www.yokohamatire.com.


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Labelexpo Southeast Asia, the newest addition to the Labelexpo Global Series calendar, launched earlier this month with almost 8,000 attendees from 62 countries attending the event in Bangkok. Exhibitor rebookings for the next edition in 2020 already stand at 42 percent – the highest following a Labelexpo event launch to date.
Attracting 7,934 attendees to BITEC, Labelexpo Southeast Asia 2018 was supported by the Thai Department of Industrial Promotion (DIP) under the Minister of Industry, and the Thailand Screen Print and Graphic Imaging Association (TSGA). It attracted delegations from across Thailand, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Vietnam and Australasia.
The first edition of Labelexpo Southeast Asia covered over 4,100 sqm and hosted exhibitors from 174 companies, including Bobst, Epson, Flint Group, GEW, HP, Konica Minolta, Lintec, Mark Andy, Nilpeter, Omet, RotoMetrics, UPM Raflatac, Xeikon, Yupo Corporation and Zhejiang Weigang Machinery. Almost a quarter of these were exhibiting at a Labelexpo event for the first time, including Berli Jucker, Flying Man Assembly Automation, IGS Asia Pacific, Navitas Vision Solution, Ojitac, PMC Label Materials, Press Systems, Techno Global Graphics and Tsukatani Hamono Manufacturing.
Machinery on display included: HP Indigo’s recently launched 6900 digital press; Omet’s iFlex press with 10 UV flexo colors and a 370mm web width; Nilpeter’s FA; Nagase Thailand’s AWP-DEW water washable flexo plate system featuring clean transfer technology; BST eltromat Southeast Asia showcasing systems from the TubeScan range; and Zhejiang Weigang Machinery’s flexo press, ZJR-330. Other demonstrations included Xeikon’s 3300 roll-to-roll press, a ThermoFlexX 30 supporting plate sizes up to 635 x 762mm and 3.94mm thick, Siegwerk’s latest range of inks, the Konica Minolta AccurioLabel 190, Tokyo Ink Group’s new line of UV inks and UV flexo inks, and AVT’s 100 percent print inspection products Helios S Turbo+ and Helios Turbo HD+, which include in-line and off-line inspection, color monitoring and barcode verification.
Running alongside the main exhibition was a two-day conference program, developed in line with feedback from printers in Southeast Asia. The opening session on May 10 was delivered by Harit Hiranyaphinant, deputy managing director of Copack and TSGA member, who gave an overview of the label printing industry in Thailand and how to capture the future of the industry. Later sessions featured presentations from Brenton Barrett, president, Asia-Pacific at Multi-Color Corporation, who looked at market trends in Southeast Asia and globally; and Ryan Shaw, creative director, Southeast Asia at Landor, who examined business models and 360-degree design thinking. A CEO printer panel moderated by James Quirk, group managing editor of Labels & Labeling, featured panelists including: Piyapong Wongvorakul, managing director at Trisan Printing (Thailand); Peter Woods, director and COO, Southeast Asia at QLM Label Makers (Malaysia); Adrian Pratiwhiharja, president and director at PT Interflex Sejahtera Perdana; and Brenton Barrett.
Another show highlight was the sold-out Label Academy workshop covering shrink sleeve technology, which took place on the final day of the show. Moderated by Andy Thomas-Emans, Labelexpo and Labels & Labeling strategic director, topics included design and origination, inks, substrates, and converting and application technology. The workshop ended with a presentation on quality control and fault finding by one of the global industry’s leading shrink sleeve experts, Dr Séamus Lafferty, president of Barry-Wehmiller company Accraply.
Jade Grace, project director for Labelexpo Southeast Asia. said: ‘We are delighted with the success of our first Labelexpo Southeast Asia, which, as our most successful show launch to date, has exceeded all expectations. Visitor feedback has been excellent, with major sales deals being closed on-site and the high caliber of buyers at the show highlighted as invaluable for sourcing new contacts and partners who will be able to help printers improve profitability, quality and efficiency.’
Dr Kittichote Supakumnerd, engineer at the Division of Innovation and Industrial Technology Development, Ministry of Industry in Thailand, added: ‘The Ministry of Industry extends their congratulations to the success of Labelexpo Southeast Asia in Bangkok and recognize the great benefits this trade exhibition can bring to Thailand with the introduction of new technologies, materials and other innovations for labeling, printing and packaging applications. It is estimated that over one billion Baht of trade will be conducted as a result of the event in Bangkok. The exhibition and conferences also help develop all areas of industry from SMEs to large scale export driven manufacturers. We look forward to supporting and welcoming the return of Labelexpo Southeast Asia in May 2020.’
Chaiwat Hansomwong, chairman of Thai SMEs Council, agreed: ‘Labelexpo is the international printing trade fair which gathers printing technology and innovation under one roof of the label industry. That’s why almost all the leading products and brand suppliers as well as printing machine producers are interested in showcasing their new technologies at the event. This success was demonstrated by the number of visitors from across Thailand and Southeast Asia. I hope that Labelexpo Southeast Asia in Bangkok in 2020 will continue to present new innovations and technology, and successfully build up this region as a label printing technology hub.’
Grace concluded: ‘This success bodes extremely well for future editions of the show. Thailand has proved to be the perfect location, in a region that is emerging as one of the world’s fastest growing manufacturing hubs and consumer markets, and we are grateful for the Thai Government’s and TSGA’s unwavering support in getting Labelexpo Southeast Asia off the ground.
‘Given the success of this launch edition, it is poised to be a game changer for the region’s printers and has great potential to become one of our largest Labelexpo events. We look forward to returning to Bangkok in two years’ time.’
Labelexpo Southeast Asia will return in 2020. More than 40 percent of stand space has been rebooked for the next instalment.