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1st > February > 2011 Archive
Mozilla slips 'Do Not Track' header into Firefox nightlies
Mozilla has uploaded a working prototype of its "Do Not Track" http header into the Firefox nightly builds.
School reinstates Facebooker who called teacher 'douche bag'
A California high school student who was suspended for calling a teacher “a douche bag” on Facebook has been reinstated, following a legal showdown involving the American Civil Liberties Union.
The future is analog (at least part of it)
Open...and ShutThe times they are a' changing for digital media and software, but perhaps not always for the better, as recent reports suggest, and not always as completely or as fast as the Silicon Valley set would expect.
Home Office crime maps go to street-level detail
The Home Office has announced the rollout of a new online crime-map service for England and Wales that ministers describe as "more comprehensive than any other scheme" in the world. The new mapping service offers crimes arranged by street, rather than merely by ward or subdistrict as before.
Virgin Media kills 20Mb broadband service
Virgin Media is urging existing customers on its 20Mbit/s broadband service to splurge a one-off payment of £30 to upgrade to its 30Mbit/s offering, which launched today.
Archos 101 8GB Android tablet
ReviewThe Archos 101 – that's 'ten-one' – sits at the top of company's range of Android devices that also includes the 43 personal media player, reviewed here. So now, Archos can offer you an Android device with a screen anywhere between 2.8 and 10.1 inches – from a pocket media player to a fully-fledged iPad-esque tablet.
Assange traveled in drag to evade gov spooks
Julian Assange's wariness of government spooks ran so high that the WikiLeaks founder resorted to disguising himself as a woman when traveling, according to a profile published Monday by The Guardian.
Government put brakes on Bribery Act
The Government has delayed the implementation of the Bribery Act. It will not now come into force in April as planned, but will be put on hold while the Government rewrites guidance for businesses on how to comply with the 2010 law.
Amazon to sell Kindle through Currys, PC World
Dixons' stores are to sell Amazon's popular Kindle e-book reader.
LG touts glasses-free 3D smartphone
LG will show off a 3D-capable mobile phone at this month's Mobile World Congress show, the Korean company has teased.
Egypt loses last vestiges of connectivity
Thousands of Egyptians ignored the government curfew and camped out overnight ahead of today's "million-man march" protests.
Openistas question UK.gov's £300k crime-mapping website
Open data advocates are questioning why the Home Office splurged £300,000 on its shiny new police.uk crime-mapping website, which launched this morning. Sort of.
Samsung Android tablet sales smaller than thought
A Samsung executive has admitted that the Korean giant hasn't put quite as many Android tablets in the hands of punters as its recent claim that it has shipped 2m of the things suggests.
Alternative security conferences plot European editions
Organisers are putting together plans to stage two alternative security conferences in Europe this spring that aim to provide an alternative to vendor-driven events.
Apple tosses Sony iBooks rival from iTunes
Sony's plans to release a virtual version of its e-book reader on the iPhone and iPad have been dashed by Apple.
Boots punts over-the-counter paternity test
Boots is offering an over-the-counter paternity test kit, to the delight of some and the horror of others.
Wanted: 1 solution architect to fist bankers' asses
It's a cordial tip of the hat this morning to reader Simon Stahn, who has just been favoured with this employment opportunity by Jobserve:
DDoS bot infests food processing firms
A new family of malware agents is attacking the websites of firms involved in the industrial food processing industry.
Yahoo! mail servers blamed for WinPho 7 data spew bug
Microsoft's own Mail app and Yahoo! Mail have been implicated by the software giant as the cause of the Windows Phone 7 bug that has caused some handsets to rack up users' data transfer tallies.
Kaspersky plays down source-code leak
Leaked versions of source code for older versions of Kaspersky Lab's security software have been released through file-sharing networks over the last few days.
Apple clips publishers' wings
Apple is cracking down on applications that provide access to paid content, rejecting anything that looks as though its trying to bypass handing over 30 per cent to Cupertino.
Filth dominates net – shock survey
Pornography is the most popular genre of internet traffic, a new survey shows. The research also suggests that music business may have overestimated the exchange of P2P trackers and underestimated other forms of unlicensed music acquisition.
China drafts in parent army to battle internet addiction
China has sought to battle the scourge of internet addiction among the youth by giving parents the right to monitor their offspring's online meanderings.
IEEE releases next-gen powerline spec to gadget makers
Standards organisation the IEEE has published the final version of its 1901 ethernet-over-mains specification.
LG comes to the NFC party
LG Electronics plans to launch proximity payments in Europe before the end of next year, putting it into competition with just about everyone else.
Ofcom to review Digital Economy Act site-blocking measures
Communications watchdog Ofcom is to review sections of the Digital Economy Act to see if they are workable.
Oracle coughs $46m for bribe claims
Oracle is paying $46m to the Department of Justice to end an investigation into allegations that Sun Microsystems, now owned by Oracle, bribed resellers.
Discovery crawls to launch pad
Space shuttle Discovery reached Kennedy Space Center's launch pad 39A this morning after a seven-hour, 3.4 mile crawl from the Vehicle Assembly Building.
iPhone crashes car stereos, Toyota warns
Motor maker Toyota has warned Australian car dealers that iOS 4.1 devices can crash certain vehicles' sound systems.
Boffins hope for dimensional portal event at LHC by 2013!
Top boffins at international science alliance CERN have decided to postpone a planned upgrade and keep the Large Hadron Collider - arse-kickingest particle-punisher and largest machine of any kind built by the human race - running at current power levels to the end of 2012.
Baidu slurps up Google's leavings, pockets $1bn
Chinese search giant Baidu has almost doubled its income over the last year and made more than half a billion dollars in profit.
Intel 'Sandy Bridge' mobile platform
ReviewSandy Bridge is the codename for Intel's second generation of Core processors that covers Core i3, i5 and i7 for both side of the desktop-mobile divide. If you've been following the news lately, you'll know that Dell has discovered flaws in the Cougar Point chipset that, while not revealing a fault in the actual Sandy Bridge CPU, has implications for Sata devices used in this new generation of silicon. In the process of reviewing this whitebook sample, issues affecting storage did come to light as, you'll discover.
Cisco promises half a billion dollars for Cameron's BIG idea
Cisco chairman and CEO John Chambers met UK Prime minister David Cameron yesterday, pledging half a billion dollars over five years to help the UK private sector solve the unemployment problem, and avoid the Olympic legacy being more about white elephants than east London renewal.
The lowdown on storage and data protection
Deep diveEl Reg has teamed up with the Storage Networking Industry Association (SNIA) for a series of deep dive articles. Each month, the SNIA will deliver a comprehensive introduction to basic storage networking concepts. The first article explores data protection.
Elon Musk looking to get into 'black' spy sat market
Upstart startup rocket company SpaceX, helmed and bankrolled by renowned internet nerdwealth tycoon Elon Musk, is already taking NASA business away from the established American rocketry industry. Musk now appears to be targeting the potentially much bigger market for launching secret US spy satellites.
Google boss preps seriously 'wonky' book
Eric Schmidt has made sure he won't be hanging around cluttering up the house when he finishes his stint as Google CEO, by immediately seeking to have someone jot down his words of wisdom for a book. A real one, apparently on paper.
Japan plans space debris fishing trip
The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) has a cunning plan to tackle the menace of orbiting space debris - a really big metal net.
China bets on thorium
China has committed itself to establishing an entirely new nuclear energy programme using thorium as a fuel, within 20 years. The LFTR (Liquid Fluoride Thorium Reactor) is a 4G reactor that uses liquid salt as both fuel and coolant. China uses the more general term TMSR (Thorium Molten-Salt Reactor).
Public Wi-Fi is a dog's dinner, says Cloud founder
Britain's Wi-Fi networks need masses more investment if they're to fulfill their potential, says the founder of The Cloud. George Polk founded the network in 2003 and left in 2007. BSkyB snapped it up last week.
Dating site and hacker in online spat over security breach
The founder of Canadian dating website PlentyOfFish.com has become embroiled in an online spat with a white-hat hacker who found security bugs on the site and a reporter who began asking questions about the flaw.
Embrace your outsourced future
The impact of outsourcing and the internet means people in the UK will need to create their own jobs, rather than hope to walk into a job as in the past.
PS3 to float into cloud
Sony has popped its head in the cloud and informed developers of a feature to store saved game data online.
Second Samsung Wave smartphone slaps UK
Samsung today said its second-generation Bada based smartphone is now available to Britons.
Speedlink goes gold for Competition Pro silver jubilee
Speedlink is celebrating 25 years of joystick jubilation, with the release of a limited edition gold Competition Pro - the ultimate home arcade accessory.
eSilo does dashing damp dedupe
Cloud backup and archive supplier eSilo has a novel twist on deduplicating backup data at source before sending it to the cloud - rehydrating it at the source as well so restore time from the cloud is cut.
Microsoft Bing man puts self up for auction at eBay
Microsoft's principal development manager for its Bing search engine has quit the role in favour of a job at online tat bazaar eBay.
ARM Holdings eager for PC and server expansion
RISC chip designer ARM Holding has closed out a record Q4 and 2010, and is laying the foundations to expand into desktop PCs and servers through the aggressive and enlightened self-interest of its growing licensee base.
Netgear CEO sorry for 'when Steve Jobs goes away' bit
Netgear chairman and CEO Patrick Lo has apologized for comments he made on Monday that, as he put it, "have been construed by some to be references to Steve Jobs' health."
Newest PS3 firmware hacked in less than 24 hours
Hackers say they unlocked the latest firmware for the PlayStation 3 game console, less than 24 hours after Sony released it in a desperate attempt to stuff the jailbreaking genie back in the bottle.
Open-source forkers declare Oracle independence
Opensourcers running a popular code management project have declared independence from Oracle by voting to fork rather than leave the giant in charge.
Cisco: Mobile web grows 26X by 2015
In 2015, over 5.6 billion mobile devices will stuff the interwebs with 75 exabytes of data, according to a new report by Cisco Systems. That's a 26X bigger load than currently burdens today's already-overcrowded networks.
M2 acquires Clear Telecoms
M2 Telecommunications yesterday announced to the Australian Stock Exchange that it had acquired Clear Telecoms.
Google to Microsoft: You're stealing our search results!
Google has accused Microsoft of copying its search results, after running a "sting operation" that indicates Redmond's Internet Explorer software is tracking what searchers find on Google and using this data to tweak results on Bing.
Intel, Google, Facebook back Obama startup love
Intel, IBM, HP, Google, and Facebook are putting their money where the mouths are in support of the Obama administration's new business-boosting initiative, the Startup America Partnership. Well, some are giving more mouth than money.
VMware: Attack of the co-presidents
Server virtualization behemoth VMware has announced that it has named four co-presidents and removed the president job from Paul Maritz, the hot-shot Microsoftie brought in by EMC to battle his old employer in the virtualization racket.
EMC lets go of Greenplum Community Edition
EMC's Greenplum data warehousing appliance and database division has a new Community Edition of its eponymous parallel database. The Community Edition replaces the single-node edition of the database, which was not as useful for companies trying to create parallel databases for warehouses and business analytics.


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First Gov’t to Accept Tax Payments in USDC Stablecoin!!!
Today I have four trending pieces to share with you, so let’s get started. First and foremost, Karma Automotive, the luxury electric car producers are now accepting crypto payment for its products at a store in Newport Beach. Next, as you guys remember just a few days ago, many major payment giants withdrew from the Libra Association. Today, the head of Facebook’s Calibra David Marcus reassured the general public that they are ‘absolutely not’ in jeopardy with these major players declining to join. Moving on, Bermuda, a British island territory in the North Atlantic Ocean, is now the first government in the world to accept crypto payment for tax duties. Lastly, according to an article from the Wall Street Journal, two former CFTC heads are offering up a plan for a government-sanctioned, blockchain-based digital dollar.
The Market Today
Today, unfortunately, guys, we have a market full of reds. Bitcoin is once again falling back to less than $8,000 with a 2.21% drop. Likewise, ETH and XRP are losing their value by 3.58% and 1.99% respectively. You can see other altcoins follow the plummeting trend as well.
Karma Automotive has begun accepting Bitcoin
Karma Automotive, a luxury electric car manufacturer has recently begun accepting digital currency as a means of payment at one of its stores in Newport Beach. If you buy a car at this store, you can pay for new vehicle purchases and related services with Bitcoin tokens. Karma CEO Lance Zhou said:
“We are opening our platform to serve as a test bed to help convert theoretical blockchain applications to practical use. Karma’s flagship store will support our efforts to prove emerging technology and provide the latest VVIP customer treatment offerings by accepting Bitcoin cryptocurrency.”
For those who are not aware, blockchain technology and now cryptocurrencies have entered the automotive industry. When it comes to blockchain, Ford Motor Company is developing the blockchain and geofencing technology to accurately track the distance driven by its energy-efficient vehicles. Meanwhile, BMW, General Motors, Ford, Renault, and Honda have initiated projects utilizing the blockchain to determine cars’ identification and facilitate payment system.
David Marcus: Libra is not in jeopardy
In a recent interview with Yahoo Finance on Oct. 15, the Calibra head David Marcus believed that the Libra project is absolutely not in jeopardy after the exit of seven giants. For those who are not aware, the giants include PayPal, Visa, Mastercard, Stripe, eBay, Mercado Pago, and Booking, who announced their withdrawal just ahead of the signing ceremony of the official agreement. David Marcus commented,
“One thing that is not well understood is that you don’t need to be a member of the Libra Association to build services and products. So if Visa and Mastercard want to issue cards for Libra wallet at a later stage, they can still do it without being members of the association.”
Marcus further expressed his respect to the seven companies’ decision to leave the project and thanked the firms for gaining the courage to look at potentially disrupting themselves. He understood that the companies have a responsibility to their shareholders.
Bermudian government is the first to accept crypto tax payment
According to a report on Cointelegraph, the British island territory in the North Atlantic Ocean, Bermuda has just become the very first government in the world to accept cryptocurrency for tax duty payments. This is part of a broader initiative, with the aim to support “the use of USD-dollar backed stablecoins and decentralized finance protocols and services.” According to Circle co-founder and CEO Jeremy Allaire, Bermuda is currently using a US dollar-backed currency, called the Bermudian dollar. Since Bermuda’s economy already relies on a United States dollar-backed currency (the Bermudian Dollar), it’s only natural they would embrace USD-backed stablecoins for their own government services. Allaire also claimed that Bermuda’s initiative highlights that the world is currently its way into mainstream acceptance of stablecoins for everyday payments and commerce. Allaire said:
“Through the DABA, Bermuda is one of the first countries in the world to create a comprehensive regulatory framework for digital currency and digital asset-based products and services, including licensing of firms operating payment systems using stablecoins. It will be interesting to see how other governments will respond to this fundamental innovation.”
Ex-CFTC heads proposed digital USD
In an article released by the Wall Street Journal on Oct. 15, two CFTC former heads Christopher Giancarlo and Daniel Gorfine mentioned that they need a blockchain protocol that can digitize cash, helping the dollar to compete “in the new digital era.” Giancarlo and Gorfine are concerned that with the current development of cryptocurrencies by central banks and corporate actors, it could soon “erode the dollar’s status as the most popular currency for international exchange.” In their vision, the new USD-backed coin will be government-sanctioned, blockchain-based and traded both domestically and abroad. Furthermore, the cash exchanged will be guaranteed by the Fed. They also pointed out the advantages of the proposed stablecoin, including the ability to make micropayments, as well as increased security and transparency enabled by cryptocurrencies.
And there you have it guys! So what are your thoughts regarding all the news?
Do you think that other industries will be leverage cryptocurrency payments?
Do you think the Libra token is in jeopardy?
How do you think other governments will respond to Bermuda’s innovation?
Is it a good idea to digitize the US dollar?
Please leave a comment right below to let me know what you guys are thinking.
It’s your girl Cindy with CryptoPig, I’ll see you guys soon.
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Disclaimer: Cryptopig content is written by a team of blockchain passionate people. We are not registered as investment advisors. Don’t take the information in this post as investment advice and make sure you do your own research before investing. Cryptocurrencies are a very risky investment, never invest more money than you can afford to lose.

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Orbotech Ltd. (NASDAQ:ORBK) had its target price lifted by Stifel Nicolaus from $52.00 to $62.00 in a report released on Tuesday, November 7th, Marketbeat.com reports. They currently have a buy rating on the electronics maker’s stock.
Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Jefferies Group LLC reissued a buy rating and set a $42.00 target price on shares of Orbotech in a research report on Tuesday, September 12th. BidaskClub raised shares of Orbotech from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report on Saturday, August 12th. Zacks Investment Research raised shares of Orbotech from a hold rating to a buy rating and set a $41.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 9th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a buy rating and issued a $40.00 price objective (up from $38.00) on shares of Orbotech in a report on Thursday, August 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Orbotech has an average rating of Buy and a consensus price target of $51.00.
Shares of Orbotech (ORBK) opened at $56.28 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $2,700.00, a P/E ratio of 21.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 0.76. Orbotech has a 12-month low of $28.01 and a 12-month high of $56.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 2.71 and a current ratio of 3.37.
Orbotech Company Profile
Orbotech Ltd. is a supplier of yield-enhancing and process-enabling solutions for the manufacture of electronics products. The Company provides cutting-edge solutions for use in the manufacture of printed circuit boards (PCBs), flat panel displays (FPDs) and semiconductor devices (SDs). The Company’s segments include Production Solutions for the Electronics Industry, Solar Energy and Recognition Software.
Receive News & Ratings for Orbotech Ltd. Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Orbotech Ltd. and related companies with our FREE daily email newsletter.


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4 Romanian people were charged with pocketing huge amount of money by hacking into the credit card processing systems of over 200 businesses.
Hackers remotely utilized point-of-sale systems of 150 Subway sandwich stores and 50 un-named retailers and robbing credit card data for over 80,000 clients, as per a federal indictment unsealed earlier this week.
They utilized the stolen account details to make illegal purchases worth huge amounts of money, prosecutors says. Hackers allegedly scanned the internet to recognize POS terminals that utilized certain remote desktop applications and then received illegal entry to them by speculating or brute forcing security passwords.
The indictment, submitted in US District Court in New Hampshire, known as Adrian-Tiberiu Oprea, 27, Iulian Dolan, 27, Cezar Iulian Butu, 26, and Florin Radu, 23. They’re each charged with 4 counts, including conspiracy to commit computer scams, wire scams, and two counts of conspiracy to commit scam in link with access system.


text: The Pop! Vinyl will want to head to Walt Disney World on Sept. 8. Disney is set to released a new Disney Parks Exclusive Orange Bird Pop! Vinyl at Pin Traders at Disney Springs Marketplace and Pirate’s Bazaar at the Magic Kingdom. Just like the previously released Disney Parks Exclusives, we are sure this one will be just as popular. Below is a look at the new Pop as well as a look at the Pop in its packaging.


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StoneLock Brings Speed and Agility Through Innovation
StoneLock, an innovative designer, and manufacturer of secure facial-recognition access control solutions, marked 2016 as a pivotal year for the company. The year was characterized by their entry into new markets, including government, and the forging of new partnerships and integrations with nearly all the leading physical access control manufacturers.
“The success we have gained in the commercial space is really starting to bleed over into the government space as well. Not only at the federal level but trickling down to the state level also,” Jeff Sebek, Vice President, Business Development at StoneLock, told the Security Industry Association (SIA).
StoneLock now has integrations in place with almost all leading access control manufacturers, many of which will be making their debut at ISC West, and the company has brought on new staff members to meet the growing demand, including a Vice President for Government and Regulatory Affairs.
The story of StoneLock’s success begins with the launch of its products in 2013. Soon after, StoneLock joined SIA and began growing its customer base. Now, more than a third of Fortune 100 companies have installed StoneLock technology. And one of the factors that excite clients most is something that StoneLock Pro doesn’t do. Although StoneLock offers facial recognition technology, the tech doesn’t utilize photos.
“Some people tend to shy away from biometrics because they think that once their biometric is captured, then it can be used against them,” Sebek explained. “And in some cases, this concern is well-founded.”
“In our case, StoneLock is not image-based, like most examples of facial recognition you might be familiar with. We’re not comparing pictures. We’re not attempting to match live video to faces. And we are a bit unique in that StoneLock protects a person’s identity, leaving no personally identifiable information [PII] behind whatsoever,” he added.
This feature, or lack of a feature perhaps, has spurred interest among companies and agencies concerned about protecting privacy. Customers applaud the fact that StoneLock retains no PII but still verifies identity through facial recognition.
Commercial and government prospects alike also have been impressed by StoneLock’s uniquely scalable solution. “StoneLock Pro is also unique in that it can be used as a standalone device or integrated with the vast majority of the leading physical access control companies. Because of StoneLock’s ability to scale, organizations can seamlessly secure their entire enterprise now, along with their most critical locations, while managing permissions across the entire network,” Sebek said.
Many large companies maintain servers in their IT departments, and security staff must “buy” space on those servers to host services and support.
“It becomes somewhat of a bureaucratic struggle. Often you see things come to a halt when changes are made because the IT infrastructure as it exists today in many organizations aren’t capable of supporting security upgrade development paths,” Sebek said. By contrast, StoneLock allows customers to manage their network independent of such red tape while enforcing strong security measures.
StoneLock has taken extraordinary care also to make its services accessible and secure.
“From a fundamental technology perspective, the summer of 2013 was when we released the current version of this product as it is today when we added the HID iClass reader. But in this space and with cybersecurity concerns, you never stop developing your product or making modifications to it to make sure that you meet and exceed your customer’s needs,” Sebek said.
StoneLock will display its StoneLock Pro facial recognition technology at ISC West, exhibiting in Booth 040. Representatives of the company nearly locked up their entire schedules with meetings at ISC West very early (although still encourage you to stop by to see it for yourself). In addition to StoneLock Pro, those reps also will talk about the company’s backend technology.
“We also are showcasing our backend infrastructure, where we have the ability to hand off an identity in real time as we interface and integrate to large access control manufacturers. Now we have positioned ourselves to integrate in a scalable fashion with ERP systems and various types of cloud-based systems,” Sebek said.
Although the backend may seem “less sexy” than the impressive demo of the StoneLock Pro unit in action, the tech is truly critical to differentiating StoneLock in the marketplace as a biometric edge reader.
Based just outside Kansas City, Kansas, StoneLock has been growing at a rapid pace under CEO Colleen Dunlap. Not only is StoneLock the face of recognition, as its slogan says, but the company strives to be a responsible corporate contributor to its local economy.
“We are a small business that is doing big things,” Sebek said. “And we have the personal touch of a small business that cares about taking care of its employees but also about delivering a great product that’s changing the market and meeting the challenge of clients’ security needs today.”
The views and opinions expressed in guest posts and/or profiles are those of the authors or sources and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Security Industry Association (SIA).


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For those in the soccer industry, the process of popularizing soccer in America has been a long and at times fruitless undertaking. For the past 11 years, the massive project has ever so slowly been
building momentum through the growth of MLS. Following that big announcement in January, league officials are now hoping we can refer to all that came before as "the before time"-before David
Beckham, that is.
However-and we've heard this before- the Wall Street Journal reminds us that the glitz isn't worth a thing without a strong foundation. To a certain extent, we're talking
about the product here, but MLS and many MLS supporters believe the product is actually quite good. What's needed an overhaul, and what's every bit as important as a good product, are the financial
underpinnings. In the last few years, the league has implemented substantial changes to help bring more money, and thus, influence, to MLS. The three biggest moves were securing TV deals with ESPN,
Fox Soccer Channel, Univision and HDNet, mandating that each franchise acquire its own stadium, and allowing each team to sell its jersey rights to a sponsor.
On Friday, Beckham's L.A. Galaxy
became the latest MLS team to sell those rights, partnering with the nutrition supplement company Herbalife in a deal worth between $3.5 and $5 million per year. Why the Galaxy? Because the
L.A.-based company is looking to expand into Asia, and with Beckham's huge visibility there, CEO Michael Johnson believes the sponsorship will open those doors. And that's good business for
Read the whole story at The Wall Street Journal »


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Archives for Architecture
The developer of famed Artlantis Studio and Render have now launched a public beta of Render[in] for SketchUp. The rendering software plugin works entirely within SketchUp.
Senior Associate Editor Pete Evans, AIA, recaps Autodesk University 2015 in all its many facets, and details many of the larger themes that were pervasive at the show this year. Chief among them were this blurring of lines disciplines, fields, tool chains and the boundaries between design, manufacture and product use. What we saw at AU 2015 was the emergence of a CAD company transforming into a company that will service industries far and wide across the full spectrum from initial concept to end-user and configuration and optimization based on performance and use data. It is a brave new world and Autodesk is at its leading edge.
While Apple may in fact have exciting virtual reality (VR) plans of its own, the Oculus Rift termination of OS X is going to sting Apple’s Mac professional customers at a time when in some industries, like AEC, the growth of the Mac is booming. Sadly, it affects developers who are creating key and exciting tools that cut across both platforms…and they are creating these tools on Mac hardware.
Lumion a visualization software for architects has been taken to a new level in Lumion 6 with improved features for materials, reflections, shadows and lighting. The results are now more compelling and realistic than ever.
In our first tablets in Architectural practice research survey, we aim to study how tablet computers may impact the architectural process with a particular emphasis on design and pre-design phases. Of particular note, the new iPad Pro with Pencil ushers in the potential for revolutionary change.
In this Viewpoint feature Architosh editor-in-chief discusses the future of tablets in architectural practice, what technologies are doing behind the scenes to drive adoption and workflow transformation and just as importantly, offers a forward-looking perspective regarding the fusion of the power of analog tools that have not been usurped by the desktop but may be imitated in devices like the Apple iPad Pro with Pencil.
Hungary’s A4 Studio has won the World Architecture Community’s Award for its design of the Casablanca Market in Morocco.
In this news featurette, associated editor Akiko Ashley talks to Lucas Goettsche about his work with Eric Lloyd Wright, grandson of Frank Lloyd Wright (FLW) and, in particular, the use of ArchiCAD on some key Lloyd Wright projects and notably on a unique “skate-able” house called the PAS project Skate House.
This latest update, which comes less than two months after the latest release of Renga Architecture, allows users to open projects and create new ones with an added feature of printing drafts. However, files cannot be saved.
Vectorworks, Inc. bestows an additional 15 scholarships to architecture, landscape and entertainment design students to help them reach their educational and professional goals.
Professionals and students across the AEC landscape are invited to join a global community of visionaries with keynote presentations by Vectorworks executives and industry leaders at the 2016 Vectorworks Design Summit in Chicago on April 25-27, 2016 to give an inside look into Vectorworks software’s future development cycle and networking opportunities.
In this interview Vectorworks Inc. CEO Sean Flaherty discusses his software company’s latest developments—including a new “brand name”, an exciting annual conference in the US and the latest Vectorworks release’s signature feature
Graphisoft Russia recently organized a successful architectural student competition in collaboration with Moscow State University of Civil Engineering (MGSU) and CPS Ltd.
GRAPHISOFT ArchiCAD contest inspires students to design a coffee shop of their own style, which is Thailand’s most popular businesses. The winner of the contest was awarded a MacBook Air for his outstanding coffee shop design.
The agreement binds the two companies BIM technology support for each other to accommodate and support the AEC industry. In addition BIMobject and Nemetschek Vectorworks will collaboratively assist manufacturers with developing BIM objects for Vectorworks software users worldwide.


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Almost 1 / 2 of Millennials surveyed utilized services that are financial of banks.
Millennials fork out for convenience.
That is what a survey that is new be released Friday and given solely to United States Of America TODAY implies with regards to the generation’s utilization of alternate financial loans very often come with a high fees.
The study in excess of 1,000 individuals many years 18 to 34 by alternate lending options business Think Finance discovered that while 92% currently work with a bank, almost half, or 45%, say they usually have additionally utilized outside services including prepaid cards, check always cashing, pawn stores and pay day loans.
For a generation for which most are finding on titlemax loans payday loans their own cash-strapped, with debt from figuratively speaking and underemployed, convenience seems to trump getting stuck with additional fees in terms of access that is quick money and credit.
“It really is freedom and controllability that is actually essential for Millennials,” says Ken Rees, president and CEO of Think Finance. “Banking institutions don’t possess great services and products for individuals who require short-term credit. They are not create for that.”
In which he highlights that a lot more than 80percent of study participants stated crisis credit choices are at the very least significantly vital that you them.
They are choices which were historically understood for billing charges — check cashing can price as much as 3% of this level of the check, and more based on the ongoing business and simply how much you are cashing. Many debit that is prepaid include at the least a month-to-month cost, and much more fees for checking the balance, ATM withdrawal or activation amongst others, discovered a study of prepaid cards by Bankrate in April.
The Think Finance study unveiled that Millennials don’t appear in your thoughts. Almost one fourth cited fewer charges and 13% cited more predictable charges as good reasons for utilizing alternate items, though convenience and better hours than banking institutions won down over each of the since the main reasons.
“With non-bank items. the charges are extremely, super easy to comprehend,” Rees claims. “The reputations that banking institutions have actually is the fact that it is a gotcha.”
The products can be winning due to advertising techniques, states Mitch Weiss, a teacher in individual finance at the University of Hartford in Hartford, Conn., and a factor to customer site Credit .
“The way they approach the company is, we are perhaps maybe maybe not billing you interest we just charge a cost a fee,” he states. “When you believe cost, your effect could it be’s a one-time thing.”
A lot of companies that provide alternate services and products are suffering from an on-line savvy and cool factor Millennials appreciate, Weiss states.
“The banking industry to an extremely extent that is largen’t get free from its very own method,” he claims. “These smaller businesses which have popped up all around us, they may be clearing up since they can quickly move really. and so they just look more youthful and much more along with it compared to the banking institutions do.”
Banking institutions are attempting to get up. The Bankrate survey points out that five major banking institutions started offering prepaid cards into the previous 12 months — Wells Fargo, PNC, areas Bank, JP Morgan Chase and U.S. Bank — together with cards are needs to be much more mainstream as free checking records are more scarce. The Bankrate study unearthed that simply 39% of banking institutions provide free checking, down from 76% during 2009.
Austin Cook, 19, desired to avoid accumulating charges for making use of their bank debit card on a holiday summer that is abroad last bought a prepaid credit card at Target to make use of rather.
“we simply thought this is far more convenient and incredibly dependable,” states Cook, of Lancaster, Pa. “I’d gone and talked with my bank. And genuinely it had been confusing, and you also could subscribe to various policies. And I also did not desire to make use of any one of that.”


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As the global banking crisis knocked billions off stock exchanges around the world, PC giant Dell said it had seen a “further softening” in global end user demand for IT products in its current quarter.
Meanwhile, Ingram - the world’s largest IT distributor - posted a gloomy revised financial outlook for its third quarter ending 27 September. Both firms are seen as bellwethers for the hardware channel.
Gregory Spierkel, chief executive of Ingram Micro, said: “In Europe, we are not seeing the typical September bounce-back from the summer holidays. North America seemed to be relatively stable in the summer months, but we're experiencing broad-based softness in September.
“We are exiting low-return businesses and categories, particularly in our largest operations, which dampens results during this challenging economic period but will create a more profitable operation in the future."
In a statement, Dell said: “Dell expects to incur costs as it realigns its
business to improve competitiveness, reduce headcount and invest in
infrastructure and acquisitions, but is committed to working aggressively on
cost initiatives that will benefit its P&L over time with improved growth,
profitability and cash flow.”
Dell is due to report third quarter fiscal year 2009 results on 20 November.
With just a day to go until the 25th annual Channel Awards, we catch up with the SMB Reseller of the Year category sponsor Exertis, to find out why the sector is such a vital part of its business strategy
Joe Macri says the vendor saw 20 per cent of its UK growth come from its Cloud Solution Provider programme last year
Pure set for further acquisitions, with a focus on the south-east


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As an owner of a property that has solar PV installed or even a provider of solar PV, you may have heard the term SEG being ‘thrown around’ since the closure of the feed-in tariff in April 2019. So, what is it and how does it affect you?
SEG, otherwise known as the Smart Export Guarantee, is a new government scheme that pays people for the excess electricity that they export to the national grid. This scheme will be implemented in January 2020 however some energy providers have been trialling the scheme in recent months.
The overall aim of the SEG plan is to reduce the strain on the national grid by buying excess green solar energy off solar PV owners. Additionally, it encourages people to earn money by going green with renewable energy solutions such as solar PV.
As of January 2020, it is a requirement for energy suppliers with over 150,00 domestics customers to offer the SEG scheme. Some energy suppliers offering trials of the SEG scheme have developed two tariffs. A fixed tariff e.g. 5.5 kWh of electricity exported per hour or an agile tariff that differs based on the time the electricity is exported. While the government has yet to deem if stored energy from battery storage will qualify under the SEG scheme, some energy providers have allowed users to export stored electricity to the grid making the scheme open to people with ‘any available means to export electricity back to the grid’.
There are some downfalls to the scheme which is expected as it is in the early stages of implementation. Currently, the scheme relies on the use of smart meters which aren’t in every UK home. Additionally, the government have yet to confirm whether or not electricity exported to the grid from a battery store will be accepted under the scheme. And lastly, the lack of regulation of tariff prices remains a concern for solar PV owners looking to earn for exporting electricity. As of now, the government hasn’t set a minimum export tariff, instead stating that energy suppliers have to pay ‘more than zero’.
It is expected that once some ground rules have been set for the scheme that it will be taken up by more solar PV owners and lead to an increase in solar PV installations due to the SEG scheme incentive.
The feed-in tariff remains unaffected and active to owners of solar PV who received this scheme before its closure in April 2019.
You can view current tariffs for the SEG scheme here:
UCS Renewables offer the installation of solar PV for commercial and domestic clients.
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9:09 AM - 1st April 2020
The Worldwide Fund (WWF) held the Earth Hour on the 28th March 2020. As with previous years, this year saw millions of lights switched off around the globe in a stand against climate change. The 13-year-old demonstration faced a dilemma this year as many countries have enforced lockdowns to limit the spread of COVID-19. In previous years
9:09 AM - 18th March 2020
For the first time in over half a century, Glasgow has added two electric buses to its commercial fleet since the de-commissioning of the electric trolley bus in 1967. The buses are part of larger projects to assist the city’s net-zero plans. The new electric public transport has been funded through...
8:08 AM - 4th March 2020
If you own or have looked into purchasing an electric vehicle (EV) you are well aware of the expenses that are associated with purchasing your electric vehicle and charging point. You may even be aware of the various government grants for home and workplace charging that aim to reduce costs and encourage the uptake of EV’s.


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Glacier FarmMedia – Demand for farm equipment should remain high through 2023 despite higher interest rates and projected price increases, according to a new report from Farm Credit Canada (FCC).
Much of the demand stems from relatively high commodity prices and strong farm cash receipts, but the COVID-era supply chain hangover is also a factor.
“Inventory is hampered by the supply chain disruptions we saw over the past two years,” said FCC’s chief economist J.P. Gervais.
Why it matters: The farm equipment market is still seeing high demand despite lower than average inventory, and it will not likely improve until 2024 according to FCC.
Tractor inventory levels are down 42 per cent and combines are down 47 per cent from the five-year average, he noted. Inventory will remain low through 2024, the report predicts.
Buyers can also expect continuing sticker shock.
“Most new tractors and combines sold in Canada are manufactured south of the border, so an expected depreciation of the loonie through 2023 should lead to price increases,” Gervais said.
While demand for equipment will remain high, sales projections are mixed.
Higher horsepower tractor, combine and implement sales are expected to see year-over-year growth, but lower horsepower tractor sales, which are more closely tied to the economy, are expected to decline because of slowing economic growth.
“We’re seeing a lot of robust activity in the market for a variety of reasons,” said John Schmeiser, president of the North American Equipment Dealers Association-Canada.
Buying patterns come down to three factors: weather, commodity prices and interest rates, he said.
“If the weather co-operates, we’re going to have a crop in the field,” he said. “If there’s a crop in the field, obviously customers are going to reinvest in their equipment.”
But if commodity prices soften, some will postpone equipment upgrades, he added.
In terms of interest rates, Schmeiser said farmers have cash on hand, which helps offset higher rates.
And while rates have been edging up recently, they’re not at the crisis level of the late 1970s and early ‘80s when lending rates were as high as 20 per cent.
Nevertheless, rising interest rates are a growing concern with customers.
“It’s not a factor that we really had to look at very much recently, but I know our customers are watching as interest rates start to creep up,” said Schmeiser.
The Bank of Canada has been steadily increasing its key lending rate, which now stands at 3.75 per cent. More hikes are expected, albeit smaller ones.
Schmeiser also said dealers need to catch up on inventory.
“The good news on that front is with parts availability,” he said. “When the pandemic started in March of 2020, the first impact that we saw was on parts availability. Although it’s not where it needs to be, the manufacturers are telling us that their fill rates are improving month over month. So the worst of that is behind us.”
But new equipment is a different story.
“The manufacturers are telling our dealers that they’re having issues with their providers, their vendors and their suppliers. Whether that’s raw materials or components, all of those things have been problematic. Everyone is in the same boat here.”
He also predicted it will take until 2024 for things to return to normal.
“We’re not forecasting that we’ll return to pre-COVID conditions until the fourth quarter of 2023 as a best-case scenario,” said Schmeiser. “And with that comes uncertainty in terms of delivery times.”
– This article was originally published at the Manitoba Co-operator.


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Indian chemical industry – Building a ‘climate’ of confidence
India’s chemical industry has benefitted from a gradual shift from China over the past few years due to the latter’s stricter environment norms. The current post-COVID paradigm has further given India headroom for growth, particularly in the area of specialty chemicals. However, the industry at large must learn from the experience of other chemical hubs, including China, US and Europe, and embrace sustainability as an integral part of business strategy.
Image Credit: https://bit.ly/35BCC3I
India’s chemical industry is currently ranked 6th globally and 3rd in Asia when it comes to production. According to 2017 estimate, its contribution to India’s GDP stand at 2.1%. The industry is a base for agriculture and industrial development of India. Also, the industry is greatly diversified with producing around 80,000 products which includes the basic chemicals and their products, petrochemicals, paints, fertilizers, gases, varnishes, perfumes and toiletry, soaps and pharmaceuticals.
India is a dominant global dye supplier, with around 16% share of global production of dyestuffs and dye intermediates. In 2019-20, India became a net exporter of chemicals for the first time in the past ten years. According to D V Sadananda Gowda, Minister of Chemical and Fertilizers, GoI, the chemical industry has the potential to contribute US$ 300 billion to India’s GDP by 2025.
The share of chemical products in total merchandise exports of India has seen a rise from 9.21% in FY 2010-11 to 14.4% in FY 2019-20. This has been driven, in part, by government polices including a cut in in GST rates for fertilizer to 5% from the decided rate of 12%. Also, 100% FDI has been allowed by the government in Indian chemical sector under the automatic route.
Source: Statista, figures in 1000 metric tons for period 2015-2020
The production of basic major chemicals and pharmaceuticals increased to 27.85 million metric tons in 2019 from 23.11 million metric tons in 2015, growing at a CAGR of 4.78%. The specialty chemicals segment accounts for around 18% share in the chemicals and petrochemicals market. Growth has been driven by increasing disposable incomes, urbanisation, significant share of median age people in the population and growing demand in rural markets. Other factors include shift in production and consumption toward Asian countries; change in consumer preferences with inclination toward healthier life styles and opportunity to meet domestic demand of around US$ 111 billion worth of chemical products by 2023.
Source: Annual Report 2018-19, CAPEXIL, figures in Rs. billion
As per the CAPEXCIL annual report for 2018-19, exports of chemicals & allied products have risen from Rs. 870.49 billion in 2014-15 to Rs. 1,555.56 billion in 2018-19, growing at a CAGR of 15.61%. India’s ability to manufacture products at lower cost and capitalise on rising demand in the export market are major factors driving growth in demand. MNCs from across the world are shifting their focus to India from China, which is presently the largest producer of chemical products in the world.
This is happening largely due to much stricter environmental norms in China. The Chinese government in its 13th 5-year plan has focused on addressing the environmental degradation in the country. These strict environment norms have resulted in a disruption in the chemical value chain, with shutting down of companies that are not following the prescribed norms. During 2017-18, 40% of the total production capacity of monosodium glutamate and dyestuffs and pesticides was shut down, which also drove up prices by 50% in the global market.
Also, looking at Total Shareholder Return (TSR) statistics, India’s chemical industry has emerged as an attractive hub for chemical companies. Outperforming global benchmarks as well as trends in India’s overall market, the Indian chemical industry has achieved a CAGR of 15% in terms of Total Shareholder Returns between 2006 and 2019.
|Market||TRS CAGR (Dec 2006-19)|
Source: The Indian chemical industry: Unleashing the next wave of growth, McKinsey & Co., figures in % for period December 2006-2019
Region wise exports
When we look at the geographical spread, India’s top import markets in 2018-19 were US (11.05%), China (9.78%), UAE (5.76%), Malaysia (5.19%) and South Korea (3.9%).
Source: Annual Report 2018-19, CAPEXIL, figures in %
Major export destinations for the Indian chemical industry are North East Asia, EU countries, North America, West Asia-GCC and ASEAN, with each regions’ share in total chemical exports exceeding 10%.
A leading export market
The industry’s leading segment is specialty chemicals with a share of 55% in India’s total chemical products exports in 2018. Still, India’s share in this segment is just around 3% with China, Germany and Japan being the leading exporters. China corners around 15% of the global US$ 700-750 billion chemical market. Given the intensified US-China trade war and the post-COVID movement to shift demand from China, India has a lot of scope to emerge as an alternative source.
Source: The Indian chemical industry: Unleashing the next wave of growth, McKinsey & Co., figures in %
For intermediates for APIs, agrochemicals and dyes and pigments, India has shares of 11%, 17% and 12% respectively, while the share of China is 2.7 times higher. Given the current base of specialty chemicals, India can increase its exports by expanding its capabilities. Also, an added advantage to Indian specialty chemical manufacturers is the fall in crude oil prices. Derivatives of crude oil are used as raw materials in specialty chemicals production.
Another opportunity for the Indian chemicals industry is to lower its import in petrochemicals and build self-sufficiency. Petrochemicals have the largest share (44%) in India’s total chemical imports. A pathway to reduce imports is addressing the constraints the industry is facing in the value chain.
One critical constraint is access to feedstock, which can be addressed by forming partnerships with local refineries. Currently, domestic supply is short of 52% of the volume demand of petrochemicals intermediates. The Indian government is focusing on development of Petroleum, Chemicals, Petrochemicals and Investment Regions (PCPIRs), which will help boost domestic production and exports.
The upside potential is high, but the industry must not ignore the sustainability challenges that have faced other chemical hubs like US, Europe and China. Climate change remains a pressing and existential threat for chemical companies across the globe, and Indian players must be proactive towards addressing it.
On the positive side, the industry has developed technologies such as microbial de-colorization and degradation procedures for textiles, biodiversity for natural dyes and eco-friendly methodology for synthetic dyes. Public sector refiner Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) is planning to introduce green lubricants developed from renewable feedstock. Gujarat Fluorochemicals Ltd has stopped using refrigerants that are a major cause of pollution and ventured into new generation 400 series blends.
Some of the major issues of sustainability faced by the industry include supply of water, air and ground water pollution and energy consumption. On the positive side, they are recognising sustainability as both a business driver and business outcome. Innovation goals of various companies are centred on growing sales from existing products that have become more sustainable as well as new products based on green chemistry. But this needs to be inculcated across the industry at large.
Given the large share of SMEs, a supportive ecosystem needs to be ensured so that they can upgrade their technologies, adhere to global standards like REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals) and yet stay competitive in a tough global marketplace. There is a need to ensure better infrastructure for safe storage and transportation, provide adequate raw materials/sustainable power and incentivise SMEs to be compliant with best practices and invest in innovation.


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Taipei, Nov. 29 (CNA) Taiwan's Chinese National Federation of Industries signed six memorandums of understanding (MOU) with Filipino industry associations in Taipei Thursday and is looking for further opportunities for cooperation in the electronics, electric motorbike and plastics industries.
In an annual Taiwan-Philippines Industrial Collaboration Summit, Deputy Economics Minister Wang Mei-hua (王美花) said the MOUs will increase the willingness of Taiwanese businesses to invest in the Philippines, where the two countries have long cooperated in the electronics industry.
Read more: Focus Taiwan
ABOUT PTIC TAIPEI
The Philippine Trade & Investment Center in Taipei is the Commercial Affairs Section of the Manila Economic and Cultural Office and the representative office of the Philippine Department of Trade & Industry in Taiwan


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KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 12 -- The cooperative (co-op) sector, with a membership of 6.5 million people, has the potential of becoming the country’s economic stronghold by venturing into a wide range of large-scale activities, the Cooperative Commission of Malaysia (SKM) said.
Its executive chairman, Datuk Nordin Salleh said currently, co-op activities in Malaysia were more focused on the financial, wholesale and retail sectors, with 70-80 per cent of its revenues contributed by the financial sector.
“SKM will continue to empower the co-op movement and drive its activities nationwide by playing a bigger role in shaping its large-scale businesses.
"In the near future, we will also focus on new sectors such as manufacturing, real estate, bio-technology, health, and agriculture," he told a media briefing in conjunction with the launch of the countdown to the 100 years of the co-op movement in the country on Sept 21, here today.
On the performance of the two co-op banks, namely Bank Bank Kerjasama Rakyat Malaysia Bhd dan Co-opbank Pertama Malaysia Bhd, Nordin said almost 90 per cent of their financing scheme was directed towards personal loans while the rest business financing.
He hoped the ratio could be reduced to 70:30 in the near future where more funding would be provided to the productive sectors.
Nordin said the co-op concept based on the values of "self help and common needs" and mutual help devoid of any exploitation are more just and humane than that of companies.
Based on the socioeconomic system, he said the concept is not easy to fall apart even though the current capitalist system were to fail.
Besides reducing the cost of living of the people, he said SKM is developing various strategies to prevent cartels which is one of the leading causes of rising prices of goods.
“Over the last six months, the retail network under SKM increased sharply to 25,000 retailers compared to 2,500 previously. We will continue to strengthen the network to enable them to compete well,” he said.
On the co-op countdown event from 10am to 6pm on Sept 21, he said it is scheduled to be officiated by Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad at the Tamarind Square, Cyberjaya and expected to be attended by about 20,000 cooperators.
It will feature 47 exhibition booths from the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs and its agencies, as well as 15 booths put up by high-impact co-op sectors.
On the co-op movement in the country, he said it will be 100 years old on July 21, 2022, transcending eras, staying relevant and sustainable, and capable of becoming playing a major role in the economy.
"Today there are 14,000 co-ops in the country, boasting a membership of 6.5 million, RM15 billion in capital and RM140 billion in assets, and generating RM42 billion in revenue annually," he added.


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Diamond Fields International Ltd
In 10 years' time, everything will have the responsible factor integrated
Customised t-shirts is not a fad
Technical textiles industry moving back to Europe
Sushila International, a well established textile organisation established ...
J Korin started as a partnership firm with four powerlooms in the textiles ...
Intex Consulting GmbH is a completely integrated enterprise resource...
Suominen Corporation is a manufacturer of nonwovens as roll goods for...
University of Texas -Dallas
<div>A team of scientists and researchers have discovered twistrons,...
Larry L Kinn
Larry L Kinn, Senior Vice President - Operations Americas of Suominen...


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The Margaret River Gourmet Escape will take on a new look and a new identity next year thanks to a 3 year deal with international events management company, IMG.
The event will be rebranded as the Western Australia Gourmet Escape, and will include events and marketing across three locations – Perth, Swan Valley and Margaret River.
In Margaret River to announce the deal alongside Tourism WA chairman Nathan Harding, Mr Papalia said he did not believe the changes to the annual food and wine festival would dilute the promotion of the South West.
“IMG has been selected to deliver the new, bigger, boosted, expanded Gourmet event that will be happening from next year,” Mr Papalia said.
“This event will be longer in duration and have multiple components to it – it will give our little premium producers of food and wine the opportunity that they’ve never had before to sell their wares.
“We are very happy that IMG – the trusted operators of the Margaret River Gourmet Escape – have embraced the opportunity to run the Western Australia Gourmet Escape.”
The festival will also be extended to 10 days, starting with a weekend in the Swan Valley and events in Perth during the week before concluding in the Margaret River region the following weekend.
“Expanding the festival allows people from overseas and from the Eastern States to make the journey to WA for longer, and gives them more flexibility to experience a range of locations while they are here,” Mr Papalia said.
“Being a larger event, we now have the interest of a wider audience and we also have more people keen to sell the festival to that audience, with hotels, transport companies and others potentially coming on board.”
Mr Harding said the decision to expand the event sprang from a desire to leverage the growing food and wine tourism sector.
“One in ten visitors comes to WA for our premium food and wine,” Mr Harding said.
“We really believe WA has the potential to become a food and wine hotspot on a global level – so to help us do that, we think that if we can build an event that is the world’s best food and wine festival anywhere, that will really put us on the map as a food and wine hotspot.
“Expanding this event will mean we have much bigger scale, a much bigger marketing budget...and will really help drive the message home that WA is a premium food and wine tourism hotspot and we invite the world to come here and sample what we have.”
A trade-oriented event will also take place in Perth during the festival week. The World’s Gourmet Symposium will aim to attract industry leaders, chefs, restaurateurs and hospitality businesses to the State from Australia and overseas.
Despite a veil of secrecy over the announcement, which is believed to have been signed this week, the news soon spread around the state on Friday afternoon.
Shadow Tourism Minister Libby Mettam lashed the decision, saying the Margaret River Gourmet Escape brand had taken seven years to develop.
“The McGowan Government has wasted an opportunity to develop three separate tourism events spread over the year to highlight and capitalise on the three unique destinations,” Ms Mettam said.
“Instead, the Tourism Minister has trashed an internationally recognised brand, that underpins the region’s significant wine export industry, in favour of a cobbled together, watered-down metro-centric event that completely short sells the State’s tourism offering.
This isn’t creating additional spend, it’s just spreading existing spend thinly over three regions.Shadow Tourism Minister Libby Mettam
“This isn’t creating additional spend, it’s just spreading existing spend thinly over three regions.”
Ms Mettam said the installation of a dedicated chief executive at the Department of Tourism was clearly needed at the “rudderless” agency.
“Making this decision at a time when international visitor spend is down 8 per cent and interstate visitor spend is down $140 million, against growth in every other state, highlights this Minister’s incompetence,” she said.
“It’s well known that when you encourage international visitors to the regions, they stay longer and spend more.”
“[The announcement is] yet another blow to the Margaret River region which is still trying to deal with the impact of the cancellation of the Margaret River Pro and the uncertainty around that event’s future.
“I also believe tourism operators in the Swan Valley would also prefer the Government support a standalone event that celebrates the region’s reputation as one of the State’s oldest wine regions.”
The final Margaret River Gourmet Escape will be held in November this year, before the new festival is launched in 2019.


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Entries in 'kinect' (446)
Up-and-coming Israeli firm PrimeSense has received $50 milling in funding.
A popular German publisher will see a number of its games hit UK shelves via Koch Media.
A compatibility software engineer has managed to port an image taken from Kinect into the PC world-building game Minecraft.
With the new breed of motion control filling the stop-gap left by where we would once expect a new console cycle, analysts have expressed their delight at the festive performance ...
Global games retail giant GameStop has reported a 3.4 per cent like-for-like sales boost for the nine weeks ending January 1st.
Innovative camera-based game Yoostar 2 has the potential to match the success of Activision’s Guitar Hero franchise.
The release of movie game Yoostar 2 – billed as ‘the next Guitar Hero’ – will be handled by Namco Bandai in the UK and Europe.
At its CES 2011 keynote last night, platform holder Microsoft revealed that in its first 60 days on the market Xbox 360 motion camera Kinect has sold a very impressive ...
Harmonix’s acclaimed Kinect title Dance Central is sponsoring Sky 1’s Got To Dance.
A leaked photo from the set of Microsoft's CES presentation scheduled for 2:30am tomorrow UK time suggests that the platform holder is to unveil a brand new Kinect feature.
US researchers have managed to adapt Kinect and use it to control Blizzard’s MMO behemoth World of Warcraft.
It's a New Year and we have a new UK Number One. Activision's Call of Duty: Black Ops has seen its reign at the top of the listings disrupted for ...
Kinect creators PrimeSense Immersive Natural Interaction has revealed a new Kinect-like motion camera for the PC.
Reports suggest that Microsoft is working on a downloadable update for its motion camera Kinect that would effectively quadruple its level of accuracy.
Having yesterday been crowned as the fastest grossing release of all time on the Apple app store, Epic-owned developer Chair Entertainment has admitted that Infinity Blade began life as ...
Owners of Kinect Sports and Kinect Joy Ride have been granted free access to new DLC packs.
Ultimate Fighting Championship owner Zuffa LLC is taking Ubisoft to court over the marketing of Kinect game Fighters Uncaged.
SCEE chief Andrew House claims Microsoft will ‘hit a wall’ when creating new games for Kinect.
Microsoft has confirmed that Kinect support is still part of the plan for Forza Motorsport 4, which was shown at Saturday nights VGAs.
Zumba Fitness will be released for PS3 and Wii in February next year.
The general manager for Xbox in the UK has denied claims that his company is deliberately managing Kinect stock shortages in an effort to drum up hype in the key ...
It’s the latest exercise craze sweeping the country, and 505 Games believes now is the perfect time to launch a Zumba video game.


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BROMMA, SWEDEN -- NCAB Group today announced its acquisition of M-Wave International's PCB division. The deal between the two printed circuit board distributors creates a single company with revenues of more than $130 million per year.
The purchase of Chicago-based M-Wave is NCAB's second major deal in three years. In 2012 it acquired PD Circuits, another US-based board broker.
Privately held M-Wave has annual revenues estimated between $15 and $25 million a year. Including M-Wave, NCAB Group now has 13 locations around the world and 250 employees, including 70 in China.
“This is a great opportunity for all of us," said Bob Duke, former president of M-Wave's PCB division. "As the PCB supply market continues to evolve, I felt that this was an excellent time for M-Wave to expand its resources. Joining with NCAB will give us even more leverage to support our customers’ requirements."
Duke has been named managing director of NCAB. He copurchased the company in 2008. The companies did not indicate whether M-Wave founder Joe Turek would remain.
“The US is a huge market, bigger than Europe and very much quality drive," said Hans Ståhl CEO at NCAB Group. "I´m extremely happy for this acquisition as the next major step in NCAB’s effort to expand their ever growing presence in the US market. M-Wave has same business concept and customer driven organization with the same way of thinking regarding quality, the foundation of all PCB production.”
NCAB was founded in 1993 in Sweden and also has operations in Norway, Finland, Denmark, Russia, Germany, Poland, UK, Spain, France, Macedonia, China and the US.


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South Korean battery manufacturer LG Energy Solution (LGES) has started building two nickel processing plants in Indonesia, as reported by Reuters.
The work forms part of the company’s wider $9.8bn investment plan to produce electric vehicle batteries in the country.
LGES officials said that the company will invest $3.5bn to build a smelter, which will be equipped to produce 150,000t of nickel sulfate a year.
The company will also build a $2.4bn factory in Batang industrial park in Central Java, which will produce precursor and cathode.
These materials will serve as the main raw material for a planned 200GWh battery cell plant.
The facility will have an annual production capacity of 220,000t of precursor and 42,000t of cathode.
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The battery cell plant is planned to be built with a $3.6bn investment in the industrial town of Karawang in West Java.
Reuters quoted LGES President Lee Bang-Soo as saying that the company would sign an agreement with Indonesian state miner Aneka Tambang (Antam) in September this year.
Under this agreement, the two companies will jointly invest in a nickel mine in the eastern island of Halmahera.
The $300m mine is expected to produce 16 million tonnes of nickel ore.
Indonesian President Joko Widodo said that Indonesia aims to become a producer of major nickel-based products and already has the world’s biggest nickel reserves.
In 2020, the country ceased nickel ore exports in an effort to attract foreign investment to develop its downstream industry.
Last year, LGES and Hyundai Motor Group began building a $1.1bn electric vehicle (EV) battery plant in Bekasi, West Java.
President Widodo said the plant was the first EV battery facility in South-East Asia and highlighted the government’s commitment to using its nickel resources to develop downstream industries.


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CHANDLER, AZ — Lucky Lou's American Grill has been serving people American comforts for more than a decade.
"Great place to get together [and] watch a game," said Kyle Daniels, general manager at the restaurant's Chandler location, which sits near the Loop 101 and Ray Road. "Get some good American food -- cheeseburgers, sandwiches, chicken sandwiches. Just your everyday good, local hangout."
The Mesa location has been open for at least 16 years, the Chandler location nearly 11, and three years for Queen Creek.
Like a lot of restaurants open right now, sales are not what they were a few weeks ago, but, still, Daniels said the community's support of his restaurant and team have been nothing short of incredible.
"Every day people calling asking how we’re doing, how the employees are doing. Just the outpour of love has been amazing. They’re keeping the business going and its getting better every day," he said.
The restaurant also receive a significant boost in sales and support from Mark and Alexis Breyer, whom people will likely recognize as the faces behind those Husband and Wife Law Team TV commercials.
Their law firm recently launched its "HEART" campaign -- Helping Excellent Arizona Restaurants Together -- where people can recommend local restaurants in their communities to receive up to $2,000 in support from them.
Here is how it works:
- People can nominate a restaurant or two at www.breyerlaw.com/heart.
- The law firm will select a few restaurant each week to highlight and on the day of the restaurant's choosing, the law firm will cover 50% of all to-go orders for that day up to $2,000.
"We were trying to think how we can help restaurants. There is no easy answer because its such a massive problem, and then we tried to figure out, what is the way that we could help people who maybe also down on money and can’t eat out as much because of their employee, help out these restaurants and keep them employed, and also do something fun," said Mark Breyer.
Lucky Lou's was the first restaurant to be recognized by the Brewery law firm.
"I mean, it’s huge. It’s a number, that would otherwise be almost untenable for us to hit doing to-go orders," Daniels said of the support. "From 12-3, that phone was ringing off the hook. We got a small breather, then from 4-8, every line was a red light. We had people taking phone calls from the front of the house, back in the office. Every phone we had accessible, people were answering. For us to do that amount, and surpass that amount, was unbelievable. The turnout was great."
Since then, other restaurants that have been highlighted include Kimmyz Tatum Point, Aioli Gourmet Burgers, Shorty and Wags Original Chicken Wings, and Florencia Pizza Bistro.
Next on the list are Detroit Coney Grill in Scottsdale on April 27 and Indigo Grill in Buckeye on April 28.
Breyer said they will continue to feature restaurants until the COVID-19 restrictions are lifted and potentially even longer.
We're Open, Arizona: We know this is a tough time for a lot of people in our community, including local restaurants and businesses. As local spots continue to serve takeout, look for ways to safely do business, and give back to our community, we want to share their stories. Visit abc15.com/open or email us at email@example.com.


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With the PlayStation Network up and running once again, gamers jonesing for some “Call of Duty: Black Ops” multiplayer action or the chance to truly break in their copy of “Socom 4” are finally able to scratch that itch.
But the relaunch of the system is only a partial one – and there are still plenty of questions floating around about what’s next. Here’s where things stand:
Is the PSN fully available? – Not entirely. While partial service, letting people play online and use third party services, such as Netflix and Hulu Plus, has been restored, some functionality, like the PlayStation Store, has not. That means independent developers, who rely on the service to sell games, are still taking a hit.
And while PSN service is now available in the United States and Europe, officials in Japan are not allowing the company to relaunch the system due to security concerns.
“As of May 13, Sony was incomplete in exercising measures that they said they will do on the May 1 press conference,” Kazushige Nobutani, Japan’s director of media and content in the country’s Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry told Dow Jones.
Sony’s working to assure government officials there that the security enhancements it has made in rebuilding the system are more than sufficient.
What’s the company doing to protect my data? – As you might expect, Sony’s not giving a lot of details about what sort of back-end changes it made in its rebuilding of the Network. (Doing so may only invite another attack.) However, users will be required to update their operating system and change their password before they’re able to go back online.
Sony has talked about a “Welcome Back” package for users. What’s the latest on that? – Users in different worldwide regions will receive different incentives, but there are a few things everyone will get. These include 30 free days of PlayStation Plus service (or 30 days added to existing accounts) and 30 free days the Music Unlimited service for Qriocity subscribers. Officials at Sony Europe have announced users there will get free games as well, something Sony Computer Entertainment America is likely to match. The company says it will detail the “Welcome Back” package in the coming days.
Are they any closer to knowing who did it? – Sony hasn’t offered any update on this, since its finger pointing at the decentralized hacker group Anonymous on May 4. Again, the lack of information is not surprising, since this is an ongoing federal investigation. To date, though, there have been no arrests.
Can I play EverQuest or DC Universe again? – Yup! Sony Online Entertainment is back online as well now. Users of that service are also required to change their password before they’ll be allowed to play.
What took so long? – Because the data breach was so severe and so sophisticated, Sony had to essentially rewrite the code for the PlayStation Network, Qriocity music service and Sony Online Entertainment servers. While users were certainly clamoring for the services to get back up and running, Sony wanted to carefully test the system before reopening it, since if another breach occurs, it could be devastating to consumer confidence in the company.
“We felt that we owed it you to fully verify the security of the networks before restoring our services,” said Kazuo Hirai, Sony’ executive deputy president in a video message to users.


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Kim will promote Korean food giant’s product
South Korean food company Ottogi announced on May 30 that the outfit had tapped actor Kim Woo-bin as a new ads model to promote its instant noodle products.
In a TV commercial, Kim will introduce Ottogi’s black bean sauce noodles, named Jjasyullaeng, which boasts of a chewy taste and fragrance of green onion.
Earlier this month, Ottogi came up with a teaser, which has already arrested big attention.
Ottogi said that Kim’s image of being from an upper-class rich family would be a perfect fit for the instant noodle product with a unique recipe.
To cook most conventional black bean sauce instant noodles, people typically cook through them on high heat and drain the noodles to mix them with the sauce together.
In comparison, eaters of Jjasyullaeng do not have to throw away water. And that’s why the new product wins the hearts and minds of instant noodle lovers, according to Ottogi.
Since its debut last May, some eaters even commented that Jjasyullaeng had made a paradigm shift in the instant noodle industry.
“Kim is an actor with a luxurious image, which is good to differentiate the uniqueness and advantages of Jjasyullaeng,” an Ottogi official said. “We hope more and more people will be able to enjoy it.”


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Mast Kalandar for Gaurav Jain and his wife Pallavi Gupta has been a once in a life time opportunity. The dream of successfully establishing an Indian QSR (quick service restaurant) brand with a ‘freshness’ was what the couple turned to reality. And in the process, they have received a resounding thumbs up from customers.
Incorporated in 2005 as a part of Spring Leaf Retail Pvt. Ltd., Mast Kalandar currently has 22 branches (18 in Bengaluru, 1 in Chennai and 3 in Hyderabad) across south India. According to Jain, founder and chief-executive officer, “We would have faltered if we were not so passionate about the vision.” The company’s single mindedness to deliver on the promise of authentic, tasty and healthy north Indian food has made Mast Kalandar customers happy eaters who often come back for more. Most interestingly, the duo had no background in the restaurant business when they started off.
Filling the gap
“We were happy with our respective careers, but, always aspired to start something on our own,” shares Jain. The core idea came up during an India-Pakistan day and night match held in Bengaluru in 2002. “After the match a bunch of us wanted to eat dinner, but could not find a single north Indian restaurant serving home cooked food at a reasonable price point,” he says. Infact, this incident triggered Jain to watch this specific market space. He kept looking for new entrants, but, never found any one addressing this need.
“Employees are encouraged to bring in new ideas for process improvements. We have introduced a unique flag system suggested by an employee that has cut down the average service time by five to six minutes”
In 2004, the founders quit their respective jobs with the best brands in the information technology (IT) industry, and took the plunge into the food retail business. Their conviction to focus on the retail segment was strengthened with their collective, but diverse competencies acquired through their previous jobs. “We took the plunge with the belief that QSR as a format with north Indian cuisine was a winning combination,” says Jain. The couple invested their personal savings of Rs. 18 lakh to get started. “In our mind the target audience for Mast Kalandar was anyone, especially working professionals (immigrants or locals), who wanted to experience authentic north Indian home cooked food at affordable prices,” explains Jain.
Learning and unlearning has been an integral part of the journey for the husband-wife team. With their management background they could easily focus on the analytical side of the business – be it the decisions on the price point or making flawless business plans. “We have institutionalised processes and systems to ensure that there is constant emphasis on repeatability, scalability and standardisation,” says Jain. The focus on training, continuous formal audits with emphasis on process and system adherence ensures that Mast Kalandar delivers consistency in food, service and ambience across the board.
Their ignorance about the food retailing sector did not deter them either. Infact, it helped them question the existing norms in the industry and think differently. The concept of fresh food and home-made is counter intuitive for a veteran in this field.
They built on their idea with a combination of scientific market research, best practices from the existing international fast food chains and thinking on their feet for breakthrough strategies.
Keeping the customer happy is and will remain Mast Kalandar’s success mantra. Jain says, “I keep reinforcing to my employees that we are in this business to serve our customers.” He spends a significant part of each day understanding the pulse of the customer via formal feedback or by meeting with customers at the outlet. Jain, personally gets involved in handling negative feedback. According to him, if the customer has taken the pain to speak out honestly about something he did not like, it is because he truly cares for the brand. It is this attention to detail, be it customer satisfaction or other processes that has helped Mast Kalandar innovate on different fronts.
From new offerings on the menu, interesting promotions, implementation of the hot chain transportation process, building a company-owned store format (vs. the more popular franchisee model) or leveraging social media for brand building, efforts have been taken to keep up with changing trends while not diluting the core of the brand. Employees, too, contribute to the process of change by bringing in fresh ideas. Says Jain, “Employees are encouraged to bring in new ideas for process improvements. We have introduced a unique flag system suggested by an employee that has cut down the average service time by five to six minutes.”
Recently, Mast Kalandar has raised its Series B round of funding from Helion Venture Partners, Series A backer Footprint Ventures and Salarpuria Group, an angel investor in the company. The company plans to use this investment to aggresively expand to over 100 stores by the end of 2012. Jain says, “As the head of the organisation I need to constantly reskill myself, else the job will outgrow me. I am currently focussed on building IT systems that will help change the face of the organisation to take it to the 100 store level.”


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Individuals usually gravitate towards popular stocks that are mentioned online. Facebook, Apple, Amazon, and Tesla are companies that come to mind. However, many people do not realize that these companies usually have competitors in the same field that are also making awesome gains. Let’s take the example of one company favoured by Millennials.
One often-discussed company in the S&P 500 stock is Tesla (TSLA), however, the millennial generation is also making money on five other, popular stocks within the same.
Here Are 5 Most Popular Stocks Among Millennials that aren’t Tesla
Stocks like Industrials Plug Power (PLUG), FuelCell Energy (FCEL), consumer discretionary NIO (NIO) outperformed Tesla in the last year according to an analysis done at custody and stock clearing firm Apex Clearing. That’s pretty big considering Tesla shares are up over 640% in the last year, beating every other popular stocks in the S&P 500.
Only two stocks in the S&P 500 are up more than 500%, and those are Tesla and Enphase Energy (ENPH). Enphase is the 93rd most popular holding amongst millennials. Millennial investors have been making big gains in the stock market, as account balances in the fourth quarter grew by 24% among this age group (more than any other age group). Tesla makes up more than 20% of holdings for the age group and has been a big win for them. However, it’s actually not their best.
Nio, a Chinese maker of electric vehicles, is the fourth largest stock in millennials’ portfolios. Nio’s shares have gone up by almost 1200% in the last year, which is about double Tesla’s gain in the same amount of time. Nio’s revenue doubled in 2020 to nearly $16 billion. And is expected to increase tremendously this year as well.
Millennials are also investing heavily in green energy, in companies such as Plug Power and Fuel Cell Energy. Plug Power is a company that makes electric mobility power stations and is currently the 43rd most popular stock among millennials. Plug Power’s competitor, Fuel Cell, is the 66th most popular stock.
Shares of Plug Power are up by roughly 1500% in the past year, and shares of Fuel Cell are up by roughly 700%. Fuel Cell’s stock is expected to rise by more than 25% this year as well.
Judging by how Tesla and Nio have worked out for millennials, other generations should follow their lead in investing. However, as we always indicate with all stock investing that you should first perform your own due diligence before making any investment decisions.


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Two news items today provided conflicting stories on the returns available for investors in China’s emerging cities. First CBRE issued a new research report showing high vacancy levels for office developments in China’s second and third-tier cities, while on the… Read More>>
According to media reports on March 22nd, floors 69, 70, and 71 of the Shanghai World Financial Centre (SWFC), the tallest building in Shanghai, were sold for a total of RMB 769 million. Given the size of floors sold, the… Read More>>
An HSBC Specialist Investments-managed fund has teamed up with Tesco and the Singapore-listed Metro Holdings to buy three shopping malls in China for $280m.
The second joint-venture investment between the HSBC NF China Real Estate Fund, Metro and Tesco, has… Read More>>
Treasury Holdings today announced that a 10 year lease pre-commitment for 3,768 square metres of retail space has been secured from global retail chain Marks & Spencer as an anchor tenant of its City Center property in Shanghai.
Marks &… Read More>>
Treasury Holdings Real Estate Pte Ltd, Trustee Manager of Treasury China Trust (“TCT”) and one of China’s leading commercial property players, today announced that it has entered into a binding contract to acquire 100% of the Huai Hai Mall in… Read More>>
According to a report in the Oriental Morning Post, Best Buy will close its own-branded shops in China, effective February 22nd.
As reported here earlier this month, the US retail electronics giant has been struggling to compete in the Chinese… Read More>>
Apple continued its rapid expansion into China’s retail sector by announcing last week the opening of its third outlet in Shanghai.
In a statement from Ron Johnson, the company’s senior vice president of retail operations that was reported in the… Read More>>
Reason #573 Why I Am Living in China
America continues to cheer the decay of its infrastructure under the guise of tax reduction, while China invests in better transportation. The kind of transportation that once upon a time fueled America’s… Read More>>
Two stories published this week about Best Buy’s operations in China paint disparate pictures of the company’s future in the market. The US electronics retail giant opened its first store in China in 2006, but apparently has fallen well short… Read More>>
As was widely expected, on Tuesday China’s central bank used the Lunar New Year holiday as an occasion to raise interest rates for the third time since October. The measure is the latest in a series of moves to tame… Read More>>


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the iPhone SE 3 (or iPhone SE 2022, as it’s often known) might be beginning trial production shortly, with a release date in the first half of 2022.
Apple’s low-cost iPhone SE (2020) sold 24 million devices in its first year, prompting the corporation to shorten the launch window for its successor. Apple took four years to release a follow-up to the initial iPhone SE, but the next model might arrive in 2022, most likely in the first part of the year.
It also stated that a number of component manufacturers were prepared to launch the iPhone SE 3, implying that things are moving quickly. For what it’s worth, a prior leak stated that the iPhone SE 3 will be released in March, which coincides with what we’re hearing now.
This report also adds some claims about the iPhone SE 3’s specs, largely echoing earlier leaks in saying that much like its predecessor, the device is likely to sport a 4.7-inch Retina HD LCD display, with a fingerprint sensor embedded in the home button.
Similar specs to the current model
In other words, there would be no Face ID on the upcoming device, with Apple seeming keen to offer this only on the flagship range.
The report additionally points to an improved 12MP rear camera, possibly using a new sensor, along with an A15 Bionic chipset (much like the iPhone 13 range) paired with an external X60M 5G baseband chip. Finally, there might be 3GB of RAM, much like the last model.
Interestingly though, the report also mentions that there could be a larger-screen iPhone SE Plus with 4GB of RAM. There are aren’t any additional details on this phone here, but it’s something we’ve heard rumored before, though details remain thin on the ground.
the iPhone SE 3 could be a popular choice While recent claims that the iPhone SE 3 could tempt 1.4 billion Android users are massively overblown, this could still prove a big seller for Apple.
It’s largely expected that there won’t be an iPhone 14 mini (or indeed any new ‘mini’ iPhones), so the iPhone SE 3 could be the next best thing for fans of smaller phones – especially if and when Apple discontinues the iPhone 13 mini. Beyond that, it’s also likely to have all the advantages offered by the iPhone SE (2020), including an affordable price (for an iPhone), but with upgrades such as 5G and a top-end chipset.
Being stuck with an old-fashioned design (with a home button and no Face ID) as has been rumored could hold it back though. This is a design that makes phones bigger than they could otherwise be, thanks to the need for large bezels, and with Apple rumored to be moving beyond the notch for the iPhone 14 Pro, it seems high time that the home button was ditched from all new models.


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Suppose Apple and other tech companies have their way with third-party phone repair companies. Then It will be nearly impossible to have our iPhones, MacBooks repaired by third-party service providers.
Apple iPhone and other companies frequently change their design to make it challenging to repair or replace individual components by
- soldering the processor and flash memory to the motherboard
- gluing components together
- using non-standard pentalobe screws, making repairs challenging.
Does anyone care about the future of phone repair?
The right to repair refers to consumers’ ability to have their goods fixed at a competitive price. And be able to choose who will improve their phone.
Apple is enforcing its position as the dominant choice for iPhone and MacBook repair.
Opposition against the right to repair from tech companies is typical.
Cornering consumers into using their service centres increases their revenue and extends their market share.
In its defence, Apple has said third-party repair shops could use lower quality parts and make devices vulnerable to hackers.
And that the battery warning indicator is a safety feature. It is there to alert the users that an Apple repair centre or partners have replaced their phone battery.
The Independent repair provider program by apple in the u.s grants access to the parts and resources needed to fix devices.
Independent phone repair service shops in 32 countries can now apply, but the scheme has yet to extend outside the US.
Impact on users
Apple is making it hard for third-party phone repair shops to fix the device, extending users’ reliance on its help.
Apple has raised the repair prices for iPhone 12 by 40%, compared with the iPhone 11.
The Company charges about $359 for an iPhone 12 screen repair outside of warranty and $109 for the battery replacement.
Historically, third-party repair shops have been a cheaper option. But using a third-party phone repair company for an iPhone 12 will cause the camera to disfunction.
According to reports, fixing the iPhone 12’s camera requires Apple’s App available only to the company’s authorized technicians.
Samsung’s flagship phones are also quite tricky to fix for a third-party phone repair company.
Impact on environment
When certain parts for repairs aren’t available, manufacturers will produce new phones instead, consuming more energy and resources. Manufacturing one smartphone consumes as much power as using it for ten years. The cost of smartphones and computers is on the rise.
And more complex to fix, consumers may be more likely to dispose of their devices when something goes wrong.
As smartphones become harder to repair, electronic waste will grow. Apple and Samsung both cited environmental benefits when they announced they would no longer ship chargers with their phones.
Yet, they’ve turned a blind eye to the environmental damage that would arise from ultimately cornering the repair market.
The average Australian home has 6.7 devices, including televisions, personal computers, laptops, tablets and smartphones. With diminishing opportunities for repair, the environmental burden from disposing of these devices will increase.
future of phone repair, What Are We Doing About It?
Phone giants make it challenging for third-party repair professionals to do their job in a variety of ways. Such as changing designs, adding hurdles to the repair process. And restricting access to parts, diagnostic software and repair documentation.
Meanwhile, consumers continue to foot the hefty bill.
Third-party cell phone repair services make less or no money at all.
France has introduced a Repairability Index requiring electrical and electronic companies to inform consumers about their products and repairability.
It reflects the ease of repairability, availability and price of spare parts and availability of technical repair documents.
France’s Repairability Index tool helps consumers make informed choices about which device they purchase. France Ministry of Ecological Transition
The path is moving forward.
Until the push for the right to repair legislative reform gathers pace globally. Consumers will have little choice but to pay up to big companies to access their authorized repair services.
They will lose their warranty and end up with a non-functional device and even infringing upon the manufacturers’ software copyrights.
Ideally, phone companies would assist customers and third-party professionals with the repair process in 2 ways.
- Provide replacement parts for the user.
- Provide Repair documentation and diagnostic tools to third-party repair shops.
Although the way things are going, it’s unlikely tech companies will be able to escape their self-inflicted repair obligations.
Apple CEO Jeff Williams has said we believe the safest and most reliable repair is by a trained technician. Using genuine parts that have been properly engineered and rigorously tested.
But with only so much workforce available to Apple, sharing the load with smaller repair shops will help.
Must take a right to repair seriously by implementing consistent repairability scores across the globe.