Archive for September, 2009
G.L. Mezzetta Announces Winner of America’s Best Sandwich Recipe
by admin on Sep.30, 2009, under Uncategorized
PR Newswire, Sept 24, 2009
Ninette Holbrook, of Orlando, Florida wins $25,000 and a trip to Napa Valley.
NAPA VALLEY, Calif., Sept. 24 /PRNewswire/ — G.L. Mezzetta, Inc., America’s number one producer of imported and domestic peppers and olives, today announced Ninette Holbrook, of Orlando, Florida as the Grand Prize Winner of the Second Annual Mezzetta Make That Sandwich Contest. Holbrook’s recipe for her vegetarian Open Faced Wine Braised Fig and Caramelized Onion Sandwich earned her $25,000 and wine tours a culinary trip and tour of the Napa Valley, home to Mezzetta.
“We were extremely impressed with the level of creativity among the thousands of entries, and there were some fantastic combinations of Mezzetta products. We weren’t sure about an open-faced sandwich, but the exquisite flavor combinations couldn’t be denied and with every bite the flavor gets better and better,” explains Jeff Mezzetta, President
Cookware of the Earth
by admin on Sep.28, 2009, under Uncategorized
Green Guide, The, October, 2005 by Joanna Howard
Living in southern France last winter and spring gave me a taste for the regional cuisine and the way food arrives at the table in the lovely earthenware pots it was cooked in. Emile Henry’s extensive line of hand-made bakeware uses local Burgundy clay. Their beautiful glazes are lead- and cadmium-free, and the clay conducts heat evenly and retains heat at lower temperatures, for energy-efficient cooking. Moroccan clay tagines, which trap steam in their cone-shaped lids, are great for slow-cooking vegetables or meats at low temperatures. With their glazed, slick surfaces, both products offer healthy alternatives to Teflon, which, when overheated, releases the suspected carcinogen PFOA
Baby Lotion
by admin on Sep.28, 2009, under Uncategorized
Chain Drug Review, Jan 1, 2001
BABY LOTION volume rose a less-than-spectacular 3.3% in 2000, reflecting its position as a mature category lacking dramatic product launches. The good news for chain drug retailers was that their archrival for O-T-C sales, namely discounters, lost a point of market share. Drug chains, however, also saw their share slip one point, while food/drug combos and supermarkets each gained ground.
Johnson & Johnson dominated the market with its No. 1 and No. 3 Johnson’s and Johnson’s Baby brands, which combined for almost three-fifths of overall volume. The second-place brand, Mennen Baby Magic from Playtex Products Inc., commanded more than 30% of category sales.
Baby lotion
Sales by trade class
2000 volume: $47.8 mil
Strategy Analytics: Emerging Gaming Services Will Damage Console Market
by admin on Sep.28, 2009, under Uncategorized
Business Wire, Sept 08, 2009
Gaming-as-a-Service Offerings on Horizon for Hardcore Gamers
BOSTON — Emerging gaming services currently in beta will have a significant,
long-term impact on the gaming market, expanding the large, hardcore
gamer base previously addressed exclusively by the key console vendors, according
to the latest Strategy Analytics Gaming Strategies and Opportunities
(GSO) report, âGaming-as-a-Service
(GaaS) â Could Hardcore Gamers Soon Have an Option?â This report
identifies emerging players currently in beta tests with gaming services
provisioned via broadband and cable systems which will impact console
gaming long-term.
Barry Gilbert, vice president of gaming at Strategy Analytics, says,
âGaming services have the potential to be a major disruptive force in
the entertainment industry and could have a significant expansionary
effect on the size of the global hardcore gaming base.â
As the number of gaming service options increase for hardcore
gamersâthose who typically own a console and play a minimum of one hour
weeklyâthe market is likely to witness a large growth spurt over the
next five years. Console manufacturers are at risk to lose those gamers
who would opt for service offerings in lieu of upgrading their own
gaming infrastructure with new consoles, games, and accessories,
provided that these services offer an equivalent gaming experience.â
Of the nearly 115 million gaming consoles expected to be installed
worldwide by year end, along with an additional 125 million portable
consoles, the market is poised for a next generation service that lowers
the cost of entry and that provides additional benefits which will
ultimately extend to the mobile market. Companies, such as OnLive, Otoy,
Gaikai, and Playcast Media, among others, are developing capabilities to
provision console-class games via broadband and cable networks,
according to this Strategy
Analytics report. At the same time, wireless networks and handset
OEMs are improving their capabilities with lower latency data
transmission and handset devices that support gaming functions.
Long-term, gamers could play console-class games on smart phones and
other handheld devices without needing the console.
Strategy Analytics is currently launching a multi-client study that
measures interest in adopting Gaming-as-a-Service (GaaS) offerings and
the current use and satisfaction with mobile gaming.
About Strategy Analytics
Strategy Analytics, Inc. provides timely and actionable market
intelligence
Yoga Benefits Back-Pain Patients
by admin on Sep.26, 2009, under Uncategorized
U.S. Newswire, September, 2009
To: MEDICAL EDITORS
Contact: Andrea Brunais, West Virginia University Health Sciences
Center News Service, 1-304-293-7087, brunaisa@wvuh.com
MORGANTON, W.Va., Sept. 4 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — People with
chronic low-back problems who do yoga also do better at overcoming
pain and depression than people treated conventionally for back
pain, a West Virginia University study funded by the National
Institutes of Health shows.
The lousiville massage therapy three-year, $400,000 study, published in the September issue
of the journal Spine, showed lifted mood, less pain and improved
function in the group that did yoga postures compared with a control
group who received standard medical therapy
Divorce for Deco
by admin on Sep.23, 2009, under Uncategorized
0 Comments | Sunday Mirror, Mar 1, 2009
CHELSEA star Deco has divorced estranged wife Jaciara Diaz.
The ex-model split from the pounds 92,000-a-week midfielder last March after allegations he cheated on her with a prostitute.
Jaciara told a Portuguese newspaper the divorce has now been finalised.
She added: “My heart is open to love again.”
Deco, 31, is thought to have agreed to give her pounds 9,000 a month, buy her a house and pay maintenance for their children Yasmin, five, and David, one – who needs a bone marrow transplant
Sinking appraisals drag down home building industry
by admin on Sep.21, 2009, under Uncategorized
Daily Reporter (Milwaukee), Dec 26, 2008 by Sean Ryan
Home builders will continue to malibu contractor lose projects if the appraised value of houses continues to dip below the cost of construction.
Lenders use appraisals to determine how much to give homebuyers for new home construction. But the declining housing market is dropping the appraised values of homes on the drawing board below the cost of building them, forcing owners to either give up or pay the difference out of pocket, said Joe Panico, state director with the South Central Wisconsin Builders Association and Wisconsin Builders Association.
“If this doesn’t get corrected, there is a real problem, and there’s going to be a lot of builders going out of business,” said Panico, owner of Blackhawk Homecare LLC, Janesville. “It’s like we’re in a tailspin now.”
When assigning a value to a house, appraisers put more weight on the conditions of the housing market than the cost of bricks and sticks, said Rebecca Wehrwein, a licensed appraiser with Rock Valley Appraisal Service, Janesville. So, as the market slows, home values drop regardless of construction costs, she said.
“Things that are impacting values in our area — a big thing is the GM (General Motors) closing and the associated companies that have closed because of them,” Wehrwein said. “Generally, I think everybody is afraid to spend money to purchase homes.”
Panico said the announcement of layoffs at the GM plant spooked local appraisers, prompting him to wonder why the values assigned to homes are not based on a more long-term view of the market.
Wehrwein said appraisers adhere to the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice, which are set by The Appraisal Foundation, a national nonprofit organization. Appraisers cannot deviate from the standards, which call for a review of the current market, to increase the appraised cost of a home, she said.
“We could lose our license for that,” she said.
That might be reason enough to rewrite the standards, said Jason Steen, president of Steen Construction of Osseo Inc., which lost projects because of the appraisal problem.
He said his company primarily builds custom homes for buyers willing to accept the price of construction. But low appraisals stemming from the sagging housing market are dragging down custom projects
Wrench sales are a-turnin'
by admin on Sep.19, 2009, under Uncategorized
Professional Distributor, Oct 2007 by Schreiber, Sara
Keep techs well-stocked in hand tools, and they’ll remember you for the big stuff
Screwdrivers, wrenches and ratchets are no small sale. In fact, they make up a technician’s fundamental arsenal – much like an artist’s brushes or a chef’s knives.
And while the cost of hand tools can be significantly smaller than, say, leak detection equipment, power tools and toolboxes, they are usually purchased more often and in greater bulk.
Here’s what shop owners and technicians had to say about how they purchase their hand tools, and what you as a distributor can do to win their business.
Lending a wrench
Brian Symons, a technician at Bonfe’s Auto Service & Body Repair in St. Paul, Minn., likes to try before he buys. Sometimes he gets his inspiration from a neighboring bay.
“I buy a lot of sockets and wrenches, and usually purchase once a month,” said Symons. “It kind of depends. If I come across something that I’ve needed to borrow from a coworker a couple times, more than twice, then I write myself a note to buy it. If I don’t think I’d ever use it again I wouldn’t even think about buying it.”
Technician Jimmy Bielarz of Chicago’s Nortown Automotive also adheres to the borrow/buy philosophy.
“If I get a car in where I need to borrow a tool from somebody, and I borrow it more than two times, I buy it. That means that I’m definitely using it,” said Bielarz.
And distributors shouldn’t back away from the seasoned vet who seems to have everything.
“I’ve been in this profession for about 35 years or more, and I almost have everything out there, especially when it comes to hand tools,” said Dan Walker, owner of Dan’s Auto Center in Oakhurst, Calif. “But if there’s a specialty tool that can really do a super job, and make my job easier and faster and more profitable, I’d be really interested.”
Any tool that makes their job a little less harried qualifies as a good purchase.
Like Walker, Bielarz is particularly in the market for any kind of specialty tools, ratcheting wrenches, hard-toreach area tools and anything special that will accommodate today’s range of vehicles.
“We use a lot of specialty tools [in our shop], mostly for Asian, European and domestic cars,” said Bielarz “Anything to make the job easier, more accurate. If you don’t have special tools, you can’t get the job done.”
Judging a tool by its cover
As with many tools in a technician’s toolbox, it’s true some techs will consistently buy the same brand of hand tools. But they say that’s not the most important thing.
Walker said that when it comes to buying his hand tools, for the most part he’s brand-loyal. But he added, “What also really means a lot to me is the way a piece of equipment looks. It may seem unusual, but I’ve seen some equipment that looks kind of hokey … and it may be the world’s best equipment. I’ve also seen tools that look good but don’t work well. But if it looks good it will grab my attention.
“Part of the reason for this is that some of our equipment sits right out here in our shop, and can usually be seen from the waiting area.” said Walker. “And if it looks like a cheap piece of equipment, customers notice that. I like a good-looking piece of equipment, as well as the quality and offerings it has.”
Get their feet on the truck
What’s the best way to initiate hand tool sales?
Successful mobile distributors carry lots of tools on their truck and are always ready to field questions about what they carry. The key is: don’t wait for them to come to you. Show them what you can offer by carrying in tools and flyers – they’ll appreciate the extra effort.
“When [distributors] come in, they give us flyers and we look at the flyers, and they let us know well, This one’s on special,’ etc.,” said Bielarz. “Flyers, bulletins, emails … things like that.”
Also valuable is a distributor’s knowledge about “special sockets, or something very particular to certain vehicle models,” said Bielarz. “It helps if he generally knows which one to get, what’s going to help you.”
After techs know what’s available, it’s time to get them to the show floor
New Hitachi ”CinemaStar” Hard Drive Targets Digital Video Recorders, Set-Top Boxes; Popularity of Hitachi 3.5-inch Hard Drives, Growth of Digital Video Offer Ideal Backdrop for CinemaStar Introduction
by admin on Sep.19, 2009, under Uncategorized
Business Wire, April 4, 2006
SAN JOSE, Calif. — With 2006 representing the start of accelerated growth for hard-drive-based digital video applications, Hitachi Global Storage Technologies (Hitachi) is announcing a new product line that gives DVR and set-top box customers a dedicated high storage capacity solution that’s optimized for consumer electronics: the 3.5-inch CinemaStar(TM) hard disk drive.
Industry analyst TrendFOCUS predicts an 80-percent growth for digital video applications that rely on hard drive storage in 2006. Against this backdrop, the Hitachi CinemaStar hard drive is designed to harness features that make it especially receptive to storing and retrieving digital video content, while also enriching the viewer experience.
The new products, called CinemaStar 7K500 and CinemaStar 7K160, are based off Hitachi’s award-winning 3.5-inch Deskstar platform. The CinemaStar family, which is expected to be available in early third quarter, brings together the following CE-specific features and benefits:
–Silent seek acoustics for “bedroom-quiet” operation
–Low power idle for cooler system operation and greater host-product reliability
–Wider temperature range to support warmer operating environments, especially in confined spaces like entertainment centers
–Smart Command Transport and adaptive error recovery for optimized video streaming and picture quality
–Thermal fly height control for improved error rates in varied temperature conditions
“We believe the CinemaStar is the capstone of Hitachi’s efforts thus far in developing hard drives for CE applications,” said Jose Antelo, vice president & general manager, Business Management, Hitachi Global Storage Technologies. “The CinemaStar not only integrates focused CE functionality, but it also offers a logical branding scheme, which makes it easily recognizable to customers looking for a digital-video-based or other CE-specific storage solution.”
The CinemaStar 7K500 will be made available in two- and three-disk designs with 250, 320, 400 and 500 GB of storage capacity, while the CinemaStar 7K160’s one-disk design offers 80 and 160 GB of capacity. The new CE-focused drives meet the Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) compliance directive issued last year by the European Union. CinemaStar hard drives are ideal for use in standard and high-definition DVRs, DVD/HDD recorders, DVR-enabled televisions, set-top boxes and media center PCs.
Complete 3.5-inch Offering
Hitachi will offer the 3.5-inch CinemaStar product line as a companion product to the Deskstar. The Deskstar line will be targeted at mainstream PCs, workstations and lower-cost/low-duty cycle server applications. To address nearline applications within the 3.5-inch segment, Hitachi will also introduce a new brand of products to be announced at a later date. Together, the Deskstar, CinemaStar and a nearline-specific offering will represent Hitachi’s comprehensive strategy for servicing the differing application needs within the 3.5-inch ATA/SATA segment.
Technical Specifications:
CinemaStar 7K500
500/400/320/250 GB (GB = 1 billion bytes, accessible capacity may
be less)
998 Mb/s max. media transfer rate
14 ms silent seek time
7,200 RPM, 4.17 ms average latency
ATA-133/Serial ATA 3.0 Gb/s
8 MB data buffer
26.1 mm in height (max)
118 billion bits per square inch maximum areal density
3/2 platter(s)
6/4 recording heads
350 G (2ms) non-operating shock (2 disk)
300 G (2ms) non-operating shock (3 disk)
6.0 (3 disk)/5.0 (2 disk) watt idle power (Parallel ATA)*
7.0 (3 disk)/6.0 (2 disk) watt idle power (Serial ATA)*
3.0 (3 disk)/ 2.8 (2 disk) Bels typical idle acoustics
0-60 degrees C operating temperature
Fluid Dynamic Bearing (FDB) spindle motor
CinemaStar 7K160
160/80 GB (GB = 1 billion bytes, accessible capacity may be less)
966 Mb/s max. media transfer rate
14.0 ms silent seek time
7,200 RPM, 4.17 ms average latency
ATA-133/Serial ATA 3.0 Gb/s
8 MB data buffer
26.1 mm in height (max)
120 billion bits per square inch maximum areal density
1 platter
2/1 recording heads
350 G (2ms) non-operating shock
4.9 watt idle power (Parallel ATA)*
5.9 watt idle power (Serial ATA)*
2.5 Bels typical idle acoustics
0-60 degrees C operating temperature
Fluid Dynamic Bearing (FDB) spindle motor
* When low power is enabled, power consumption can reduced by up
to 51 percent.
About Hitachi Global Storage Technologies
Hitachi Global Storage Technologies is a storage technology leader, founded in 2003 through the combination of Hitachi’s and IBM’s hard disk drive businesses. Hitachi GST enables users to fully engage in the digital lifestyle by providing high-value hard drives in formats suitable for the office, on the road and in the home.
With its legacy in hard drive invention, Hitachi GST will lead the industry in celebrating the hard drive’s golden anniversary in 2006. After five decades of innovation, the hard drive has had a profound effect on the computing and consumer electronics industries
Examine the Portable Media Devices – US
by admin on Sep.19, 2009, under Uncategorized
Business Wire, Feb 22, 2008
NEW YORK — Reportlinker.com announces that a new market research report related to the industry is available in its catalogue.
Portable Media Devices – US
To order this report:
www.reportlinker.com/p078298/2008/02/Portable-Media- Devices—US.html
The consumer intelligence series of reports published from 2001 displays Mintel’s commitment to the US market, providing market intelligence based on original and unique data, as well as years of experience.
This research is supported by our dedicated US editorial team and industry experts with proven experience to answer the needs of our clients. The US reports consist of 12 sectors including Travel, Food, Beauty and Internet. With a growing catalogue of over 170 published titles, Mintel is now producing more than 100 reports each year, covering pre-researched titles ranging from Vitamins and Minerals to Movie Theaters.
Throughout the reports, exclusive, original and quantitative current user data is combined with market analysis of each category. As with all Mintel reports, there is one primary objective–to increase your profitability.
The Mintel brand is your guarantee of quality research and impeccable customer service. With all reports available electronically, you are able to download this essential information in seconds.
More detailed information about this report will be provided during the month of publication.
Portable Media Devices – US
To order this report:
www.reportlinker.com/p078298/2008/02/Portable-Media- Devices—US.html
(Long URLs in this release may need to be copied/pasted into your Internet browser’s address field
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