Need a scooter?

If you are looking for a good commuting option within a campus, then electric two wheel scooter that runs on battery is the way to go. The educational or residential campuses and institutes are always well maintained, and therefore it becomes a problem when everybody begins to use vehicles within these; especially if, the vehicle causes a lot of pollution and eats up road space.

Self balancing scooters that are battery operated in that way are much better. These are sleek looking, trendy and take very less space on the roads and needs little space for parking. The self balancing scooters provided by Free Feet Technology Co. Ltd., are known for their unique designs and superior quality. These self balancing scooters are loved by one and all for their user friendliness and amazing features. These are lightweight scooters can be used anywhere and everywhere. If you are looking for vehicles that take less amount of space, are easy to carry and allows you to be close to the nature then these self balancing scooters manufactured by Free Feet Technology Co. Ltd., are the best grade electric scooters you can opt for in China.

Electric scooter is now in rage; all nature friendly people are now switching from the conventional bicycles to these self balancing scooters. Since, these are considered as the best electric scooters in terms of space consumption, eco friendliness, trend and ease of use for people belonging to all ages.

You can take these self balancing scooter wherever you go and do not have to worry about commuting. With the invention in technology you no longer have to ask people around you to reach a particular place during tours and travels. If you are going out on a long drive, or if you want to go visit some place in the outskirts of the city then carry these self balancing scooters with you in your luggage or in the trunk of your car, this way you will not have to worry about taking a cab or other means of transports and paying them extra for sightseeing. All you will need is a GPS in your phone and yourself balancing scooter.

Xinli is the leading manufacturer of segway style scooter. Visit website: escooterchina.

Tips and Advice for Safely Using a Scooter

Scooters are a fun way for kids to get from point A to point B and can also help promote skills such as balancing, spatial awareness and risk management. They are also an exciting way for little ones to get their recommended daily exercise.

Like other wheeled toys though, they can be dangerous without the property safety precautions. When riding a scooter, children should always wear an approved helmet and additionally should consider wearing elbow and knee pads as well as wrist guards or mouth guards. Goggles can help to keep debris out of youngsters' eyes at higher speeds, especially on electric-powered scooters. So a 2 wheel scooter electric balance will be a better choice.

It's advisable to ride scooters on smooth, paved surfaces away from the danger of motor vehicles. Whenever possible, avoid gravel and sandy surfaces, as well as sharp bumps, drainage grates, and riding in wet weather.

Wear clothes that will ensure you are easily seen and avoid riding at night. Parents should help their children until they become operating the scooter on their own. Replace broken or worn parts at the first sign of damage.

Always be sure to check your state and city's local bylaws for permitted use of scooters and obey all applicable traffic and scooter riding laws.

Price of segway scooter.

Ever since the Segway came out, it has been the subject of many geeky lunchtime conversations. They were always just too cool.

Now I'm actually considering buying one. I would mostly use it to get back and forth to work. I live only 1.5 miles away, but it takes too long to walk and it seems silly to drive. Today I tried biking to work. It took only a little longer to bike (10 minutes) vs driving (7 minutes) so time is not a consideration.

What I don't like about the bike is that it's just slightly too large of a vehicle. You need to store it somewhere at either end. You're not supposed to ride on the sidewalk, but it's way too scary to ride in the lanes crossing the "intersection of death" at 101, 237 & Mathlilda. I'm also not looking forward to the day when I get a flat tire. With a Segway, I'd be able to legally and justifibly ride on the sidewalk.

The new Segways just came out and they have some cool new stuff. For one, you turn by leaning, just like you accelerated and decelerated before by leaning. I found the twisting of the grip unintuitive when I rode one a few years ago. It has a new wireless key device and a security alarm.

It certainly wouldn't save me money vs. driving. A Segway scooter price is over $5,000. If I drive 3 miles a day and pay $3.00/gallon, I'll save approximately $100 in gas plus whatever 675 miles is in terms of maintenance over a year. It's better for the environment I suppose, but then again, I'm not sure 3 miles is going to make a difference over people driving in each day from San Francisco.

Neither a bike nor Segway would be great in the rain. The Segway would probably be better in cold and hot weather. I'd be going slower in cold weather, so there's be less of a wind chill, and in hot weather I wouldn't work up a sweat.

South Bay Segway in Campbell offers 2.5 hour tours of the Los Gatos Creek trail for $75. I'm thinking about taking one of those to see if I like it. Anne thinks it might be enough time to "get it out of my system". Perhaps.

It might just be too geeky, even in Silicon Valley. I'm not sure I want to be known as "the Segway Guy" at work or deal with people who want rides all the time. Still, I think the technology is damn cool, and I lust for cool technology. That coolness always wears off after a while though and you're left with the practicalities of if and how it improves your life.

Would a Segway improve my life by $5,000 worth? Would something else that costs $5,000 make me happier? I don't know. Do you?

 

Why many people are choosing e balance scooter

With the continuously rising cost of fuel, more people are taking a keen interest in commuting by scooter. While this practice is very effective at cutting back on expenses the idea of coming to work drenched in sweat is not appealing. For those people it may be a good idea to consider choosing an e balance scooter for the trek. Still, the e-balance scooter is not for everyone so before you make the choice to switch to this type of transportation here are some things you might want to think about.


Why Choose e balance scooter?

There is a certain type of person that would choose to use an e balance scooter. If you're the kind of person who would rather not drive around several thousand pounds of metal just to go to the neighborhood market then you might want to consider this type of scooter. Or if you're someone who is struggling to keep your gas tank above the E every time you walk out of your door it may be a good option. However, if you're someone who is already driving around town the old-fashioned way you'll probably be bored with an electric scooter. These scooters are meant for those people who would prefer to be behind the wheel of a car and know very little about scooters.


Battery Options.

Batteries are an important factor in your scooter choice. You not only need to consider the amount of energy they will produce but also the amount of weight they will add to your ride. Lead batteries tend to be very heavy but cost less whereas lithium ion batteries are about a third of the weight but can be quite expensive. Outside of the initial purchase of your electric scooter the battery will be the single most expensive part of choosing an electric scooter. You need to factor in the cost of the purchase and recharging over the life the battery and how much you plan to use it.


The Motor.

E balance scooter come with several different types of motors. Some of these can reach speeds up to 20 miles per hour. Wattages can range anywhere from a low 250 all the way up to an 4000 watt scooter. Don't assume that the higher wattage means more power; it is advisable that you test drive your scooter to see how well it will perform. Whatever you decide in choosing an electric scooter, your best bet is to get a "brushless, gearless" motor since these are more likely to require less maintenance.

While e-balance scooter have turned out to be the ideal solution for many in these tight economic times, they are not suited for everyone. Those who have extremely long commutes or those who have families and such will not see the benefits of such a purchase. But, if you're one of those who can see the true value of choosing an electric scooter you will soon see the benefits of cutting fuel costs and keeping the environment clean at the same time.

 

Verify and evaluate suppliers in China!

In an earlier video, we talked about how to narrow down a list of potential suppliers to a select group of highly qualified candidates.

Now go ahead and contact this short list. This starts the RFQ (request for quotation) phase. The feedback from this initial contact should allow you to further narrow down the list to the top 2 or 3 based on pricing and non-price attributes.

The next step is to validate if the suppliers are legit. In my opinion there are two essential types of verification.

Type One is the Factory Audit. This is to verify that the supplier has a quality control system in place and they have the production experience to supply you with the goods they say they can make for you.

Type Two is an Operational Audit or Due Diligence. This is to confirm that the supplier has a good reputation and is financially strong enough to stay in business long enough to complete your order. In other words, they are not likely to disappear with your initial payment.

There are professional service providers available who conduct these types of verification at very reasonable prices. I highly recommend you engage professional support if you don't have the skill set in-house to audit factories in China on your own. Contact me and I would be happy to recommend the 3rd parties I use for verification. But for your reference, here are some other tools you can use on your own or in conjunction with those 3rd parties.

    It doesn't cost you anything to ask for references. If a supplier can't give you a few happy clients to visit with…this is a big red flag.

    Confirm that you have the right to visit the production line and check on your order. If they come up with a bunch of excuses why you can't visit, it either means they don't have the ability to produce your product and are scared that you won't like what you see if you visit or it could be as simple as that they are a trading company and worried you will cut them out of the supply chain once you realize they provide little value. Speaking of trading companies, sometimes, especially if your order is small, it makes sense to use them, but I hate trading companies that say they are the factory when really they are just brokers.

    Ask to see the suppliers Quality Control Manual. If they don't have an ISO compliant, written quality management system…run away. If you want to see what a Product Quality Manual looks like, you can check out china company verification at the link below:http://www.cnbizsearch.com/search/cc/

Having verified that your suppliers are legit, the next step, and our next video, deals with negotiating the price and then moving into production.On that note, as always, I sign off-wishing you successful sourcing in China! And if you found the information in this video useful, consider returning the favor: subscribe to my YouTube channel, hit the "like it" button and post some comments. Or check out my blogs and monthly newsletter. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out via Linkedin, find me at the China Sourcing Academy or visit my company's website.

 

Credit risk in China

Credit risk in China means the country will find it very hard to grow. Global credit ratings agency Fitch Ratings has warned that the extent of china credit could make it very difficult for the country to grow its way out of excesses as it has in the past. The comments suggest tougher times ahead, which could impact on businesses.

Over the last decade China has grown at an impressive rate making it an attractive prospect for firms worldwide. However, the report from Fitch Ratings found that the ratio of credit to GDP now stands at 200 per cent, leading to the agency predicting muted growth.

Speaking to the Telegraph, Charlene Chu, Fitch Rating's senior director in Beijing, said, "The credit-driven growth model is clearly falling apart. This could feed into a massive over-capacity problem, and potentially into a Japanese-style deflation.

"There is no transparency in the shadow banking system, and systemic risk is rising. We have no idea who the borrowers are, who the lenders are, and what the quality of assets is, and this undermines signalling."

China's credit bubble could affect British businesses operating in the region. Ensuring that suppliers and customers are regularly checked for stability and creditworthiness is key for maintaining a strong supply chain.

Graydon's International Credit Risk Assessment Monitoring services enables businesses to keep up to date with trading partners'current situations. The latest credit information is automatically added to a client’s database allowing them to monitor critical events and rating changes. Additionally, email alerts are sent the second new occurs so businesses can rest assured they will be well informed should risk emerge.

Many UK businesses have offset European losses due to increasing demand in China and other fast-growth nations but it is vital for them to remain cautious and alert for changing market conditions. 

Reports in China: Progress or Greenwashing?

"Corporate Social Responsibility" Reports in China: Progress or Greenwashing?

Over the past decade, an increasing number of Chinese companies have begun to produce corporate social responsibility (CSR) reports. Whether that's led to more sustainable business practices is an open question.

In 2006, State Grid was the only company in China to file a CSR report. In 2012, 1,722 Chinese companies filed CSR reports, according to a study by Syntao, a sustainability consultant. Indeed, almost a quarter of large state-owned enterprises in China filed CSR reports last year.

In theory, the purpose of CSR reports is to share information about a business's social and environmental impact with the public. Ideally, the publication of such china credit report leads to enhanced awareness, better monitoring practices, and action to curb detrimental occurrences.

Yet while some Chinese companies have received international recognition for enhanced CSR reporting, it's not clear the trend has translated broadly into more socially and environmentally sound policies. As Chris Marquis, an associate professor at Harvard Business School, and Yang Chen, an associate professor at Shanghai Maritime University, wrote on Dec. 5 in the online magazine Chinadialogue, "some of the same companies that were lauded for their reporting work were not necessarily following through with more responsible actions in the rest of their enterprises."

Marquis and Yang pointed to several examples, including Baogang Group, a steel company in Inner Mongolia. The company "claims to have invested tens of millions of dollars a year in environmental protection and waste processing, and has also been recognised for its CSR and sustainability activities," the researchers write. However, earlier this year pollution from Baogang's facilities near the village of Dalahai was linked to "unusually high rates of cancer, along with high rates of osteoporosis and skin and respiratory diseases, and the radiation levels are ten times higher than in the surrounding countryside." Obviously, not a sign of its commitment to principle.

At the very least, some Chinese authorities appear to have embraced the concept of corporate responsibility. In November, the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences released a blue book, or official report, on the state of CSR in China, which recommended improved reporting guidelines. Currently, the Shenzhen Stock Exchange offers training on data collection and corporate reporting methods. That makes smart business sense, as unsustainable practices may prove a future liability to growth. Even smog-choked China is looking for ways to clean up.

 

Advantages of using an electric scooter

This article provides information about mobility scooters, and the health benefits they can provide. By getting an electric scooter, you can open many doors that have been previously closed, perhaps because of a disability or illness - such as going shopping, going out for the day, going for a "walk" with the children or grandchildren. Anyone who struggles to walk or gets tired after walking a short distance could benefit from using a mobility scooter. Using an electric scooter is not an admission of defeat and can make a great deal of difference to your quality of life, and can even provide a new lease of life and a new found independence.

If you are thinking about getting a mobility scooter, it is probably past time to do it. However, the sooner you start using an electric scooter, the longer you might retain the ability to walk.

A disabled scooter can give you more energy because you won't be using all your energy in trying to walk, or push a traditional wheelchair. Using an electric scooter will help to relieve the strain on shoulder muscles and wrist and elbow joints that are used when pushing yourself in a self propelled wheelchair or someone else in a traditional transit wheelchair. An electric scooter can help to provide you with the freedom to go where ever you want, whenever you want. Some models are capable of travelling up to 35 miles between charges, so the distance you can cover is much greater than in a traditional wheelchair.

A large number of supermarkets and DIY stores as well as other shops offer customers the use of a mobility scooter whilst shopping. If you are not sure if you would benefit from one, why not try one and see if it makes shopping any easier. Some places such as large shopping centres or town centres offer Shopmobility, which is a scheme that lends or hires mobility equipment based on the user's requirements, and then provides brief training on using the equipment. If you go on holiday why not arrange to hire a mobility scooter instead of taking your wheelchair, and see if it makes a difference.

By getting an electric scooter, you can open many doors that have been previously closed, perhaps because of a disability or illness - such as going shopping, going out for the day, going for a "walk" with the children or grandchildren. You can go up and down steep hills in comfort and without fear of rolling down the hill, and without being worn out for days afterwards. You can visit friends and relatives at your convenience, without needing to rely on public transport. Most mobility scooters have a key to start them, and so if the key is removed the scooter cannot be driven. This means that the scooter can be left outside a shop, for example, and it can be "locked" like a car.

If you think that you, a friend or relative could benefit from a mobility scooter or a powerchair, why not try some and find one that you like. If you know somebody with a mobility scooter, ask them about it, and what improvements it has brought them. Mobility scooters can mean the difference between managing to live at home independently, and having to rely on others.

Practical guide on how to verify chinese company

Thanks to ecommerce, companies in US are able to sell products/service to China, a country you have not yet visited, you don't speak the language, you are not aware if the legal systems are similar, you don't know and don't have the resource to know if the counterpart Chinese companies are real.

So we face a question: How can I check Chinese company? How to check the legitimacy of your Chinese buyers/partners? Are they a real company.

Some facts:

China don't have a organization like BBB(Better Business Bureau) in US, where you could check the legitimacy and background of a Chinese company.

Chinese administration of industry and commerce is the governing body that in charge of company registration. However, they don't have a nationwide website or database system that open to public to inquiry the authentication of Chinese companies.

Sourcing China blog recently published an excellent article, sharing how to make china company verification without visiting their premise. Here are some tips on their blog:

1) Do they have company bank account

Only legally incorporated companies can have business bank account. If the Chinese company insist you to pay their personal account only, be cautious.

2) Visit local AIC websites

Even though the national AIC don't have a nationwide system allow you to check the legitimacy of Chinese company. However, some(not a lot) local AIC do allow you to use their websites to check the legitimacy of Chinese company.

3) Websites and Email

If they don't have websites, use public email account like 163, sohu, sina, it is negative.

4) Hongkong offshore company

Be cautions doing business with Hongkong company, but operates only in mainland China. They are shell company. Read this article to learn the risk.

China Checkup offers a wide range of convenient and affordable company verification and certificate verification services that greatly simplifies the process of verifying a Chinese company.Do you have other tips for verifying a Chinese company's legitimacy?

Switched on yet?

Are you starting to get scared every time you visit the fuel station? If so maybe now is the time to start thinking about swapping your gas guzzler for an eco friendly and cheap to run electric vehicle.

Electric scooters have come on in leaps and bounds over the last five years and although they’re still comparatively expensive to buy they can still work out as a cost effective long term solution.

The Plug In Sprint is one of the latest electric scooters to arrive in the UK, it’s built in China and is imported by Emissions Free Solutions. It costs ￡3,800 which is quite a lot compared to the price of a similar spec Chinese built 125cc petrol scooter which could be had for less than ￡1,800. With electric you’re paying a premium for the expensive batteries, motor and electronics.

It is a lot of money but when you think about the long term running costs compared to a petrol scooter/car or public transport that extra cost can soon be clawed back. A full charge on your Plug In will cost around 57 pence and you get a range of over 40 miles on average and road tax is free, so within three years you’ll recoup the extra outlay.

The main downside with an electric vehicle is the range; Plug In claim the Sprint can cover as much as 67 miles at 25mph, or 35 miles at 63mph, more than enough for most commuters. It takes four hours to fully charge and it uses a conventional three pin plug which is attached to a three metre long lead under the seat, so depending on where you work you could charge it whilst you’re there.

Before riding the Plug In you’ll need to take a one day CBT test and have insurance, just like you would for a petrol scooter. Everything else is just like riding a convention machine. You turn the ignition key, take it off the stand, press the starter button, twist the throttle and you’re away. I was impressed at how smooth the scooter felt and at how well it accelerated. The first thing you notice is how silent the world around you seems, the only sound is the road noise from the tyres and the wind.

Are you starting to get scared every time you visit the fuel station? If so maybe now is the time to start thinking about swapping your gas guzzler for an eco friendly and cheap to run electric vehicle.

Electric scooters have come on in leaps and bounds over the last five years and although they’re still comparatively expensive to buy they can still work out as a cost effective long term solution.

The Plug In Sprint is one of the latest 72v electric scooter to arrive in the UK, it’s built in China and is imported by Emissions Free Solutions. It costs ￡3,800 which is quite a lot compared to the price of a similar spec Chinese built 125cc petrol scooter which could be had for less than ￡1,800. With electric you’re paying a premium for the expensive batteries, motor and electronics.

It is a lot of money but when you think about the long term running costs compared to a petrol scooter/car or public transport that extra cost can soon be clawed back. A full charge on your Plug In will cost around 57 pence and you get a range of over 40 miles on average and road tax is free, so within three years you’ll recoup the extra outlay.

The main downside with an electric vehicle is the range; Plug In claim the Sprint can cover as much as 67 miles at 25mph, or 35 miles at 63mph, more than enough for most commuters. It takes four hours to fully charge and it uses a conventional three pin plug which is attached to a three metre long lead under the seat, so depending on where you work you could charge it whilst you’re there.

Before riding the Plug In you’ll need to take a one day CBT test and have insurance, just like you would for a petrol scooter. Everything else is just like riding a convention machine. You turn the ignition key, take it off the stand, press the starter button, twist the throttle and you’re away. I was impressed at how smooth the scooter felt and at how well it accelerated. The first thing you notice is how silent the world around you seems, the only sound is the road noise from the tyres and the wind.

 

China credit rating

Just as consumers check to make sure a business is legitimate before they buy, you likely do the same before your business has dealings with someone new. Whether you're looking to buy from a supplier, donate to a non-profit organization, or collaborate with another business on a project, you want to make sure you aren't taking unnecessary risks.

If you're dealing with a federally incorporated business, your search should be straightforward as those businesses are listed in Corporations Canada online database. Generally, all businesses — even federally incorporated ones — have to register in the province or territory in which they do business. This includes corporations, partnerships, and sole proprietorships (except those operating under a person's name). You may wish to seek information from the provincial registrars, some of which are available online, particularly when dealing with smaller businesses.

There are several ways you can investigate a business:

    Look it up. Do an Internet search using whatever information you have (name, address, phone number) and visit or call to see if it is what it claims to be.
    Put the word out on social media and look for online reviews. If the business has a presence there, someone will likely be talking about it or to its representatives.
    Ask for references from suppliers or clients (this option may not work for a very new business with few or no previous clients).
    Check with industry or trade organizations in your province or territory.
    Check with the Better Business Bureau; it provides reports on businesses and charities in both China and the United States.
    Search the china credit rating database; it's a voluntary registry, but many small Canadian businesses are listed.

Once you've verified to your own satisfaction that a business exists, it is wise to proceed with caution. If you decide to do business with someone you haven't dealt with before, you may want to start with a smaller, less risky transaction (if possible) to see how things go, until you feel comfortable that this is a business you can trust. This will also allow you to see how the business operates in terms of deadlines and customer service. If you are not satisfied, or something still doesn't seem right, you may decide not to proceed.

Verifying information is important to protecting your business. Find out about other ways to keep your business secure and to minimize risk.

Segway scooter price

Ever since the Segway came out, it has been the subject of many geeky lunchtime conversations. They were always just too cool.

Now I’m actually considering buying one. I would mostly use it to get back and forth to work. I live only 1.5 miles away, but it takes too long to walk and it seems silly to drive. Today I tried biking to work. It took only a little longer to bike (10 minutes) vs driving (7 minutes) so time is not a consideration.

What I don’t like about the bike is that it’s just slightly too large of a vehicle. You need to store it somewhere at either end. You’re not supposed to ride on the sidewalk, but it’s way too scary to ride in the lanes crossing the “intersection of death” at 101, 237 & Mathlilda. I’m also not looking forward to the day when I get a flat tire. With a Segway, I’d be able to legally and justifibly ride on the sidewalk.

The new Segways just came out and they have some cool new stuff. For one, you turn by leaning, just like you accelerated and decelerated before by leaning. I found the twisting of the grip unintuitive when I rode one a few years ago. It has a new wireless key device and a security alarm.

It certainly wouldn’t save me money vs. driving. A Segway scooter price is over $5,000. If I drive 3 miles a day and pay $3.00/gallon, I’ll save approximately $100 in gas plus whatever 675 miles is in terms of maintenance over a year. It’s better for the environment I suppose, but then again, I’m not sure 3 miles is going to make a difference over people driving in each day from San Francisco.

Neither a bike nor Segway would be great in the rain. The Segway would probably be better in cold and hot weather. I’d be going slower in cold weather, so there’s be less of a wind chill, and in hot weather I wouldn’t work up a sweat.

South Bay Segway in Campbell offers 2.5 hour tours of the Los Gatos Creek trail for $75. I’m thinking about taking one of those to see if I like it. Anne thinks it might be enough time to “get it out of my system”. Perhaps.

It might just be too geeky, even in Silicon Valley. I’m not sure I want to be known as “the Segway Guy” at work or deal with people who want rides all the time. Still, I think the technology is damn cool, and I lust for cool technology. That coolness always wears off after a while though and you’re left with the practicalities of if and how it improves your life.

Would a Segway improve my life by $5,000 worth? Would something else that costs $5,000 make me happier? I don’t know. Do you?

The Moment I Knew

At 5 a.m., I knew I wouldn't be going in to work that day. This was the first time I woke up still drunk from the night before. Usually my hands shook, but my mind remained clear. Now back on anti-depressants however, I spent my days and nights in a hazy stupor spotted with terrifying blackouts never before experienced in my drinking. Plopping in front of the TV and putting on a movie, I grabbed my jug of cheap vodka for company. When my mother stopped by my apartment and found me at ten in the morning babbling about how I might be schizophrenic when clearly I was just drunk, I knew I had reached my breaking point. The jig was up.

I was two years into a three-year Master's program. I smattered together a livable income with two low-wage jobs, and had been laid off twice since moving out of my parent's house at 23. During the times spent with only half an income, I racked up enough RFID tag debt to make interest payments suck up any money I could have saved, creating a cycle of fruitless frustration. After the last layoff, I spent four months underemployed until I settled for a job as a barista at half the wage I had previously earned. A month after accepting the job, I remember putting out the papers the day the stock market crashed and the world fell apart. Prospects of better work seemed hopeless. As the recession wore on, it became evident that the career for which I had been killing myself would all but disappear in the next few years, and my hopes of finding a job in my field shrunk to nil.

In the meantime, I started having a nightly drink to quell the anxiety. The nightly drink became two, then four. Once I started working the four AM shift at the coffee shop, my internal clock went haywire, my body no longer knowing an acceptable hour to start drinking. Why would it? I began my day at 3:30 a.m., rolled out of bed and powered through work on fumes and caffeine until 9:30. I would have a few hours off to nap or do homework until my next job started around one. Then, I would work some more until dashing off to my evening classes, getting home anywhere between 8 and 9 p.m., only to study or write papers until I fell asleep with books on my chest and my laptop on the floor by the bed.

After several months, I started my drinking before work, simply to stop the shaking. I didn't recognize this as a symptom of withdrawal, slating me into the category of alcoholic, because I still functioned at a remarkably high level. I continued to get all A's and show up to work and school without exception.

However, I was miserable beyond description. I didn't have insurance to go to the doctor or receive any psychiatric help, but I finally managed to scrape together enough for one doctor visit and a prescription for generic anti-depressants. Little did I know, this signified the beginning of the end. For those unfamiliar with anti-depressants, drinking alcohol while on them causes severe drug interaction. This did not stop me, and I soon discovered why the two don't mix.

When my roommate told me she was moving out, I knew I had to find another, and fast. I couldn't swing the rent alone because the amount exceeded my entire paycheck. The days zoomed by, the new roommate never materialized, and I was frantic. Another drink would ease my anxiety, but then I would black out, calling people and not remembering or calling in sick to work. Within a few weeks, I called myself defeated, asking my parents if I could move back in with them.

On that first morning of missing work, when someone saw me as the mess on the couch with my plastic gallon bottle of liquor, I couldn't hide my alcoholism anymore, even from the hardest person to convince: myself. Though I didn't understand what I needed to do next, I did know that I could not figure it out while keeping up the same mad pace. Quitting one of my jobs and taking a leave of absence from the other, I hoped that by eliminating some of the stress, I wouldn't need to drink as much.

It was too late for that, though. I had become a full-blown alcoholic without realizing it. I didn't know how to quit. Not long after moving back home, I poisoned myself, desperate for a drink and half-crazy.

After hospitalization and the darkest, loneliest night of my life, my parents asked me to leave. They told me I needed treatment, and that they would help me get it, but I couldn't stay with them. For the first time, I started to agree. Though the idea of dropping everything seemed insurmountable and irresponsible, I did it. I had to. I had nowhere to live, no way to support myself, and no way to stop drinking on my own. I quit my other job, took a sabbatical from school, and started the business of starting over.

After a rocky beginning with nights spent crashing at friends and my boyfriend's house, I landed in a nine-month long inpatient program. I went from a 150 miles an hour to zero. I had nothing but time: time to reflect, time to heal, time to learn my limitations and time to understand that imperfection is not a character flaw. Honestly, rehab was the best thing that could have happened to me. It was where I learned to be human, where I learned just how toxically stressful my life had become. I could have a fulfilling life without alcohol, and rehab taught me how to recognize overload warning signs.

When I exited the program three years ago, I eased back into life, trying to be kind to myself. Living off of other people's generosity until I could get full-time work was a blow to my pride, but I accepted it as graciously as I could until I found work. I went back to school and finished my final year and a thesis. I learned to put my health -- physical, mental and spiritual -- first.

Today, I don't try to tackle superhuman feats of endurance. I make time for exercise, for downtime, for activities with friends and family. When I feel the stress creep back in, instead of reaching for something to numb me, I step back, remove an unnecessary obligation, and take time for what I need, whether that is journaling, painting, reading, jogging or even crying. It takes strength to release control and find another way to live, strength to let yourself be weak, be vulnerable, be helped. I learned the hard way that stress can destroy your life if you let it, but I also learned you can rebuild, and what I am building now is far more satisfying.

Now, you may be wondering exactly why a black-and-green laptop made by a gaming company is being compared to a silver-and-black laptop made by a company that is specifically avoided by gaming enthusiasts. Once you get your hands on the new Blade though, it becomes instantly clear — it looks like Razer made its own version of a MacBook Pro with Retina display. From the slim form-factor and curved edges, to the backlit chiclet keyboard and smooth touchpad, the Blade looks like the MacBook Pro’s Windows sibling that started listening to death metal and wearing black nail polish.

Click on their website http://www.smartcardfactory.com/.

Inside Chicago library’s new “pop-up maker lab”

If you've ever had a hankering to try out a 3D printer, a laser cutter, or a milling machine without dropping thousands of your own hard-earned dollars, the Harold Washington Library in Chicago is the place to be. Starting today, July 8, Harold Washington has become the first major urban library to open a pop-up "maker lab," allowing members of the general public the opportunity to experiment with the cutting-edge technologies. And while there are still a few wrinkles to iron out before the public can use all the machines, the Chicago Public Library (CPL) system is already looking forward to where this project will go next.

"There's more buzz about this on social media than anything we've ever done," CPL's First Deputy Commissioner Andrea Sáenz told Ars.

What exactly is the pop-up maker lab? CPL partnered up with Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry—which is offering its own maker lab to museum visitors—in order to put together the program. Unlike the museum's lab, however, the maker space at Harold Washington is completely free and open to the plastic card. Chicago residents will be prompted to use a library card to gain access, but Sáenz told Ars that out-of-town visitors won't be turned away if they don't have a card of their own.

Visitors will eventually be able to make use of three MakerBot 2 3D printers, two laser cutters from Inventables, and one milling machine, in addition to open source software on a fleet of computers so that people can design their own projects. In the weeks leading up to the public opening, members of the CPL and American Library Association staff have been using the machines to make wooden iPhone docks with the milling machine, craft their own custom keychains with the laser cutters, and even print an entire chess set with the 3D printers, though they're eager to see what the public will come up with following the launch.

"We have our own pre-set ideas of what people are going to make and what will draw people in, but we also just want them to be exposed to new tools and technology," Sáenz said. "If the lab is super popular, there is a possibility for a larger space in this building, or we could take it to another branch where folks in that neighborhood would be able to use that kind of thing."

Harold Washington's maker lab is in just one room on one floor of the massive downtown library, and it's not permanent. The current grant that allows the library to run the space goes through the end of the year, meaning the staff will then need to evaluate the success of the project.

"We can decide if the maker space makes sense for the library, period. We'll ask ourselves: does it fit nicely into this whole informal learning environment that we're trying to create?" Sáenz said.

Some of those lessons have already come from smaller communities that have installed similar maker spaces into their libraries. "They tend to be a little smaller scale, as most of those libraries just jumped right in," Sáenz said, "but we really took our time so we could figure out what it is about this whole maker thing that fits into a library setting."

One such lesson is that the machines are loud when being used—not exactly ideal for a library. Additionally, since some of these machines are relatively new technology (3D printers, we're looking at you), they tend to break down easily. In fact, that's why the Harold Washington library decided not to make its three MakerBot printers available for public use just yet, despite the buzz around today's launch. "That will be coming very soon, but on launch day, we'll probably just have the MakerBots printing our own projects to give people a feel for how they work," the library's head of business, science, and technology, Mark Andersen, told Ars.

"Our goal was to make our staff comfortable enough with them to fix them," Sáenz said as she described some of the hacks the staff came up with in order to keep the machines running smoothly. "I'm pretty sure they've become experts at re-threading the machines." (Indeed, as someone who has had access to a MakerBot 2 in recent months, I can attest to their occasional flakiness.)

Despite these setbacks, Sáenz and Andersen believe it was a good decision to use consumer-grade machines for the lab—and not just because the grant limited their ability to spend too much money on individual technologies. "We couldn't buy super expensive equipment, but it turned out well because we have equipment that's a little more likely to be in someone's home one day," Andersen said. "These are things that a family could buy today if they wanted to spend the money on it, and we want to teach them how to use it."

So far, it seems the public is dying to jump into the lab—teachers, instructors, and even business owners have reportedly been e-mailing nonstop to find out how they can get involved. "When school gets back in, we have a few high school teachers and principals who want to use that space as a hands-on lab for a class," Sáenz said. She then told a story about an instructor who asked about the output capacity of the maker lab's machines. "If you're asking me about capacity, you're already thinking too big!"

Perhaps the pop-up maker lab isn't quite ready to start churning out custom chess sets with all your friends' faces on the pawns. But the interest in doing so is there, and the library wants to tap into it. Said Sáenz, "We really designed it as an introduction to maker tools, culture, and economies with the hope that people will continue on their own."

An economist at IHS Global Insight, Leslie Levesque, observed that households had increased credit card balances in May by the most in 12 months. The improved outlook on the economy and finances appeared to have made consumers more comfortable with purchasing on plastic. In addition, auto and student loan balances continued to grow.

Better job numbers, higher property values and rising equity prices, Levesque said, continue to support this. Retailers reported a decent 0.6 percent increase in sales in May and are expected to have had another strong month in June. Overall sales for the month, he added, will once again be propped up by autos, as light-vehicle sales were the highest since November 2007.

The category that includes IC card use rose $6.6 billion, also the largest gain in a year. Credit card debt reached $847.1 billion, the most since September 2010. Credit card debt remains about 16 percent below its high of $1.02 trillion in July 2008 -- just before the financial crisis erupted.

Borrowing for autos and student loans rose $13 billion in May. That was the sharpest increase since February. This category of borrowing has been rising especially fast, driven by loans to pay for college.

The Federal Reserve's consumer credit report does not separate student loans from auto loans. But data from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York show that student loan debt has been the biggest driver of borrowing since the Great Recession officially ended. In part, that's because some unemployed Americans have returned to school for training in hopes of landing a job.

More credit card borrowing could help boost consumer spending, which accounts for 70 percent of economic activity. But some consumers have been hesitant to run up high-interest debt since the recession ended. Some economists say many Americans remain cautious because higher Social Security taxes this year have reduced paychecks for most.

Despite the jump in credit card debt in May, consumers aren't likely to increase their card use to pre-recession levels, said Cooper Howes, an economist at Barclays Research. Credit card debt is known as revolving credit."We expect the trends of student loan-driven expansion ... and only small changes in revolving credit to continue in coming months," Howes said.

The measure of card debt in the Fed's report has risen $15.8 billion this year. That compares with annual increases of $25 billion to $50 billion in credit card debt before the Great Recession, which officially began in December 2007 and ended in June 2009.Rising home prices and steady job growth have helped offset any damage to the U.S. economy from the higher Social Security tax.

Employers added 195,000 jobs in June and many more in April and May than previously thought, the government said Friday. Pay was also up sharply. Over the past 12 months, pay has risen 2.2 percent while consumer prices have increased 1.4 percent.Consumers boosted their spending from January through March but reduced the pace of their savings to finance it. After-tax income dropped in the first quarter.

That decline reflected, in part, the increased Social Security tax that took effect Jan. 1. A person earning $50,000 a year has about $1,000 less to spend this year. A household with two highly paid workers has up to $4,500 less.

The economy grew at an annual rate of only 1.8 percent in the January-March quarter. Many economists have forecast that growth in the April-June quarter will weaken further to around 1.5 percent. But they think the economy will rebound somewhat in the second half of this year as stronger employment growth fuels more consumer spending.

Dubai eGovernment ready for smart government

Dubai eGovernment Department (DeG), has announced its readiness for transformation into a smart government in line with the initiative of His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.

Ahmad bin Humaidan, Director-General of Dubai eGovernment, announced the department's commitment to the instructions of Shaikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of the Executive Council.

He said: “Shaikh Mohammed’s initiative is based on the leadership’s keenness on customer satisfaction through round-the-clock government services using the latest technologies based on a clear understanding of their needs, while leveraging the mobile phone; which has become one of the most widespread devices in the RFID tag.”

According to the latest Google study, he said the UAE is in the lead worldwide with 62 per cent smartphone penetration rate and 18 per cent growth rate annually.

Bin Humaidan added: “We hereby confirm our full readiness to respond to the requirements of the new stage, which is an extension to the eTransformation of eGovernment that we began 13 years ago. Together, with our government partners, we have already developed many applications that represent a starting point for the provision of more creative applications, thanks to our unique experience of leading the first eGovernment in the region.

We will support our partners with a modern infrastructure, a secure unified government information network, sophisticated platforms and government resources planning systems that are currently being used by 42 Dubai government entities for managing their internal resources in a highly efficient manner. In addition, we have shared services that are optimised by these entities for providing their services to the public. These services are enablers that will inevitably integrate with the requirements of achieving the smart government’s objectives.”

The coming stage will witness a creative competition for providing smartphone applications, Bin Humaidan continued, noting that the most successful of these applications would be those which provide integrated and easy to use eServices to customers, enabling them to implement these services via their mobile phones without the need to visit the concerned government entities, thereby easing their daily transactions with the government.

Customers will be satisfied only if these apps provide integrated services so this will require further coordination between government entities and the private sector.

Bin Humaidan urged the government entities to provide applications that have easy to use features and to focus on meeting customers’ needs by arranging homogenous services in one application instead of focusing on increasing the number of applications and repeating the information contained in them.

As for implementing the transformation into smart government, he said: “We have recently launched My ID initiative, which will allow customers a unified access to all the eServices provided by Dubai government entities via smartphones or the Internet by means of only one identification that eliminates the need for customers to register with each government entity separately. The initiative, which makes use of the ID card issued by the Emirates Identity Authority, will actually be put into operation in October this year.”

Dubai eGovernment has begun to implement Sheikh Mohammed’s initiative using three major tracks; namely: activating all eServices via smartphone apps; creating new mGovernment services and finally inviting government entities to devise unified mobile strategies for transformation into smart government.

Dubai eGovernment currently has a package of smartphone apps and mobile services including mPay for mobile payment of government services and fees; mDubai for most used government services, eComplain tracking, government news and information; and SMS Dubai for SMS based services between customers and Dubai government.

From web-connected TVs, child-monitoring systems and medical gear to smart cars, clothes and store sensors that track customers, billions of gizmos -- collectively dubbed "the Internet of things" -- already routinely gather and share information on people, often without their knowledge.

Some experts fear we are fast approaching a technological tipping point, where it's becoming impossible to hide from snooping devices. Essentially we are being watched all the smart card, by everyone from the corner coffee shop to retailers to insurers to Internet companies. And they can use that data to stitch together a detailed portrait of you.

"Consumers already are able to use their mobile phones to open their car doors, turn off their home lights, adjust their thermostats, and have their vital signs, such as blood pressure, EKG, and blood sugar levels, remotely monitored by their physicians," the agency noted in a news release.

The transmission of that data, or for example, electronic banking and credit card statements, could easily be intercepted or monitored, many experts say. Hackers, who can rifle through the data on other people's computers and turn on their computer cameras to spy inside their homes, are another concern.

The Washington Post and Guardian newspapers disclosed last week that the National Security Agency has been collecting Internet data under a top-secret program dubbed PRISM. While federal officials insist it wasn't aimed at anyone in the U.S., others fear that information from people in this country could have been scooped up in the surveillance effort.

One of the biggest worries is what happens to the massive amount of data retailers clandestinely gather on customers, through devices that monitor everything from their buying habits to their movements in stores. Some of that information can be highly personal. The New York Times reported last year that Target assigns women shoppers "a pregnancy prediction" score based on their purchases, which is used to guess if they're expecting and how far along their pregnancy is, so that appropriate products can be marketed to them.

Readers enhance Operational Efficiency of Public and Private Sectors

In a scientific research under the title "Triggering the Smart Card Readers Supply Chain", EIDA stressed that governments that will adopt advanced biometric systems to verify the identity of their residents will excel in their customer service capabilities over the few coming years.

The research asserted that the e-readers will naturally demonstrate stronger authentication capabilities, a matter that would support higher levels of trust and plastic card. This may also have a significant impact on the progress and development of e-government and e-commerce business models and support the development of digital economy.

EIDA called on governments, public and private entities around the globe to collaborate to put in place clear strategies as to how they intend to support the identification and authentication requirements both in the public and private sectors, and thus enhance their customer services.

The research highlighted UAE's prudent leadership vision in this regard and its support to the e-government initiatives. It observed EIDA's efforts to facilitate government services through developing a sophisticated delivery system, and its initiative to distribute more than one million ID e-reader in space of the next two years across the different local and federal government authorities and private sector.

The research has noted that distributing the e-readers would enable public and private organizations to provide innovative services using the features of the ID card.

It emphasized that the readers along with the high tech features and applications of the ID card would result in a secure environment which would contribute to containing fraud on account of identity theft and electronic transaction fraud, and thus instill the "Secure Digital Economy" concept.

EIDA explained that many governments around the world have launched, during the past two decades, modern identity management systems to provide identification and authentication capabilities. The major output of such systems was smart identity cards or electronic passports. The field of government practice has been focusing on the enrolment capabilities and infrastructure rollout, with little focus on smart card applications in the public service domain.

The research envisioned that the rapid technological pace in the smart identity card industry will not only revolutionize the future of identification and authentication, but will also open up new business opportunities and create new economy niches.

The research, which was also published on EIDA's website, envisaged that governments across the world will show increasing interest in different systems and technologies to support the adoption of "smart identity cards" through smart phones and online portals; noting that smart cards have the potential to reshape service delivery and the way in which services are provided, and hence widen the availability of services to customers anywhere and anytime.

WHEN I was in Silicon Valley in May 2013, I met some incredible entrepreneurs and made excellent business connections with people from some of the leading tech companies in the world such as Facebook, Linkedin, Cisco, Eventbrite and more.

Naturally, I was keen to obtain the details of the people that I met, and would request their business card when appropriate with the intention of remaining in contact to explore both immediate and potential business synergies.

I was amazed however at the number of people who seemed genuinely happy to connect, but who did not have any business cards on them and confessed to not really carry them any longer.

It appears you see, that business cards are a thing of the past in the US, most certainly in San Francisco and Silicon Valley, which was where I spent the majority of my time.

The reaction to a request for a business card was often met with, "just look me up on LinkedIn".

This made it extra important to take a good mental note of their name, and where possible the spelling of it, and even their roles at the companies so I could go ahead and look them up on LinkedIn, particularly, if their name was a common one.

This phenomena really made me sit up and take notice of how powerful LinkedIn has become to have even taken over the world of chip card.

In my LinkedIn presentations that I regularly take, for the visual people in the room, I often use the image of a rolodex and explain how LinkedIn is effectively a global rolodex.  Now it is even more so.

Even though my company offers graphic design services, and has access to excellent trade printers, I must admit that I find my cards date quickly too, and moving in this direction actually makes a lot of sense. Whether it would be another social network I wish to include, or a new award we've won, or even job title changes as staff progress in the company, it doesn't always seem worthwhile to chop down a few more trees in the quest of getting another business card run.

Another technology I must point you towards on this topic, if you do ever get handed a business card (though unlikely in Silicon Valley!) is a fantastic app you can download from any smart phone called Card Munch.

When you get handed a business card, open up the Card Munch app on your phone and using the scan feature, allow your phone to scan the details of the business card. The app will conveniently give you the option to save their details direct to your phone, and will also connect to the internet and retrieve information on whether the person is on LinkedIn or not. If they are, a little blue "in" icon will display indicating they are on LinkedIn, and it will give you the option to connect with them on the network.

Using Card Munch you can therefore request a connection on LinkedIn and then throw away their business card. You have them on LinkedIn now - so why do you still need their business card which will simply date and take up valuable office or drawer space?

Looxcie HD review

Wearable technology is growing rapidly as we move into a life full of smart devices. We are trying to simplify our lives and improve our performance with these products, but we are not willing to become cyborgs. This is why it is important for technology to also improve our human side. We can say a device is successful (in this aspect) when it can give us experiences that focus on what we can do, instead of what the gadget can do for us. The Looxcie HD Explore is one of these devices.

I had a chance to review the Looxcie 2 in the past, which brought great features and functionality but had its defects. It doubled as a bluetooth headset, making you more productive, but its camera and companion apps also allowed us to record and share video on the go. It was portable, sleek and simple, but many complained about the lack of HD video recording capabilities.

The Looxcie HD Explore moves into the portable video camera market by bringing us full HD videos while sacrificing bluetooth capabilities. It is not a replacement to the Looxcie 2, but an enticing option for another market… a competitor to wearable cameras like the smart card.

The Looxcie HD Explore is not only a better camera for sports and personal events, but it has also been designed to survive. While we won’t say it is a “rugged” device, it is night and day compared to the Looxcie 2. The Explore features a much more solid build quality, built with rubber, durable plastic and what looks like some form of metal.

Everything feels very sturdy and in place. I never felt like it was going to break on me or like I was being overly rough with it. The device does have a bit of ruggedness to it – Looxcie is calling it “weather-resistant”. A waterproof case is said to be coming, though, making this a great wearable camera for adventure-seekers.

Two buttons are placed on the top of the device, one for initiating/stopping a recording and one for creating Instant Clips (30-second videos meant for quick sharing). These buttons feel pretty solid, but I do wish they provided more feedback.

It’s hard to tell if one has really pressed the buttons, which usually results in one turning the camera around to see if the red light between the lens and the microphone is lit (it indicates the camera is recording). This results in all your videos starting with your face!

The power switch and the microUSB port are placed in the back, covered by a rubber layer that comes completely off. The battery covers the whole side and is made of a rubberized material. It fits very tight into place, and a small latch keeps the battery solidly in place. I am more than sure the battery will never come out when in use, which is always a plus.

Below the battery you can also find a microSD card slot. The fact that it is housed inside keeps it very safe… again, that’s very convenient for active users. The unit accepts cards as low as class 4 and with a capacity as high as 64 GB. No card is included and the device has no internal storage, so make sure to keep that in mind and have one ready.

I find the conjunction of the camera’s design and its new accessories very convenient. In a sense, the camera is a standalone block. If you want to wear it, it has to be put in its casing, which then gets installed in different accessories. The camera and its adapter get “docked” into accessories like the helmet mount, ball cap clip, handlebar mount and the windshield mount (some of these are included with the Looxcie HD Explore package).

Of course, the device comes with a microUSB port you can use for charging and transferring files. The Looxcie HD’s most important features are its smartphone controls, though. The Looxcie HD uses WiFi to connect to smartphones, unlike the Looxcie 2, which used bluetooth. This makes the connection much faster and reliable, even if it may use more battery.

One can simply connect to the camera via WiFi, but this will force you to stay out of your regular WiFi connection (which is no huge problem considering you probably won’t be using this at home). Don’t worry, the app allows you to keep your smartphone’s data connection while you use the WiFi with the camera, so you won’t be left stranded out there.

There is a bit of a delay when you start the camera. It seems like it stutters for a couple seconds before it starts recording. This can be noticed after the video is reviewed – the video will not start exactly where you thought it would. Also, it can be noticed when using the live view in the Looxcie app. It is definitely an issue, but one can simply anticipate it. All in all, I wouldn’t say it’s a deal breaker.

After looking at the test footage, we can see the video quality is still not quite up-to-par with the competition. The picture can be a bit grainy and the colors don’t pop as much (especially during low-light conditions), but we must also realize what separates the Looxcie HD from cameras like GoPro’s. It is meant to be a plastic card.

While the Looxcie 2 used multiple apps, the company has managed to put it all into a single app for the Looxcie HD. The app is rather simple and straight-forward. One can easily record, stream or buffer with the Looxcie HD. Also, you can even stream to your Facebook account and you don’t even need a Looxcie camera to do this. Your device’s cameras can be used to stream via the Looxcie app, so you can go ahead and use it even if you don’t have your Looxcie HD around (or if you don’t plan on buying one at all).

One can also watch videos other users have made public, or check the footage you have in the cloud. Watching the video on your Looxcie HD’s microSD card is currently not possible, but the section is in the app and the feature should be coming in a future update. This would probably be my biggest gripe about the app, but according to the Looxcie team an update is coming “within a couple weeks”. Let’s hope the ability to watch content saved in the camera is included.

How One Company Built the 3-D Printer Market Layer by Layer

Upstart 3-D printer companies have captured the attention of makers, but a 30 year old company called 3D Systems is having a record year on Wall Street. The company just announced an 81 percent increase in sales of their 3-D printers, catapulting their market capitalization over $4 billion. Their Cube 3-D printer is the first of its kind for sale at a big box store like Staples. And while MakerBot might have snagged the sweet brand name “Replicator” from Star Trek, 3D Systems got the exclusive license to print personalized 3-D figurines of Starship Enterprise crew members coinciding with the new movie’s premiere.

This success is especially impressive since it seemed like science fiction on March 9, 1983, when Antoinette Hull got a late night phone call from her husband, Chuck, who was busy tinkering with a “3-D printer” prototype at his lab. After hundreds of failed experiments that looked like plastic spaghetti, he had finally gotten his machine to work. Dressed in her pajamas, she got in the car and drove to the lab where she saw the first 3-D print — a little plastic cup she carries in her purse thirty years later.

According 3D Systems’ current CEO, Avi Reichental, the fact that Hull was able to get his first rapid-prototyping machine up and running at all was impressive considering how limited and expensive the computers of the time were. Remember, at that point, the world was still a year away from the launch of the now-iconic Apple Macintosh, CAD tools were underpowered and out of reach financially, and standards that modern 3-D printing entrepreneurs take for granted, like a file format to communicate between computers and RFID tag, didn’t exist.

Undaunted, Hull got to work building out the technical and commercial infrastructure, all of which needed to be created from scratch. While 3D Systems has taken a lot of heat in the maker community for suing upstart Formlabs, Reichental points out that they invented and opensourced the .STL file format, providing a tool now used by the entire CAD/CAM industry.

Despite Hull’s passion for rapid prototyping, the path to commercial success was treacherous, and in the late 1990s, the company was on the brink of collapse. When Reichental was asked to join 3D Systems as CEO, he didn’t have a clear idea about how to fix the company, but the enormity of the opportunity and the potential for 3-D printing to change the world was too big to pass up.

The company stabilized under Reichental’s leadership, but the rise of low-cost 3-D printers transformed the organization. “Our democratization effort, the focus on the consumer, changed everything,” says Reichental. “We’ve pushed every part of our culture to develop more functional, more powerful, more affordable, but simpler to use products.”

Sharing an in-depth roadmap can be dangerous, since it can tip off more nimble startup competitors, so to help limit the danger, 3D Systems seems intent on acquiring every 3-D printing company in the market. Since 2011, 3D Systems has acquired 16 different companies that do everything from core R&D to fun app experiences  “A third of our acquisitions are not revenue generating,” says Reichental. “We’re buying technology building blocks that will allow us to offer new services in the IC card.”

Healthcare is an important growing segment of the business that touches a diverse range of product categories including hearing aids, surgical tools and dental products. While it may sound dry, medical applications account for 14 percent, or about $50 million dollars a year, of 3D Systems’ revenue, and it has huge growth potential. Invisalign uses 3D Systems printers to produce its custom orthodontic braces and generates half a billion dollars in annual revenue, making even a well-funded Kickstarter project seem a bit inconsequential.

And while medical applications can generate a lot of revenue, 3D Systems isn’t ignoring their entry level systems either. Their low cost systems are repackaged versions of pre-existing printers, but the company is spending a lot of resources to buff them with user-friendly software. The company is also attempting to establish a marketplace along the lines of Thingiverse. An acquisition called MyRobotNation made it possible for kids to access high-end printers and create a robot army with a simple web app and a credit card.

These pieces provide plenty of interesting touchpoints for newbies, but are still far from being fully integrated. For instance, there is no way to export a robot designed on the web to a personal 3-D printer, a weakness Reichental recognizes and is working on improving. “We’re systematically and passionately removing the friction between our technology and the 99 percent of the population that is mesmerized by the concept of 3-D printing,” says Reichental. “We’re trying to develop technology that turns complex machines into ‘coloring book simple’ apps and portals to create an end-to-end capability.”

Still, Reichental and his team are taking a long view towards the market and not ignoring any facet of it. “We’re beneficiaries of the convergence robotics, sensing, mobile, cloud computing, and AI,” he says. ”It’s one of the most exciting periods in human history — we’re on the verge of renaissance that will impact manufacturing, healthcare, and education.”

Playing host to a physical QWERTY keyboard similar to the BlackBerry Q10, the newly unveiled BlackBerry Q5 is aimed at the youth market, and acts as a replacement of sorts to the likes of the BlackBerry Curve 9320. With the handset coming in four varying hues, black, white, red and pink, the youth market is further targeted by heavy focus on the BBM messaging service that took BlackBerry to non-business market success in a previous life.

One area in which BlackBerry has saved pennies on the BlackBerry Q10, is in its build quality. Whereas the BlackBerry Q10 feels like a solid, well manufactured handset, the budget BlackBerry Q5 features a predominantly plastic construction.

Lining up at 10.8mm thick and 120g in weight, the BlackBerry Q5 looks and feels notably cheaper than its BB10 siblings, but this does not mean it is a poorly designed handset. Adopting a familiar form, the QWERTY keyboard and touchscreen display share the space on the handset’s face well, with a spattering of open, unused space around the handset’s lower and side edges the only signs of a reduced effort in the device’s aesthetic.

Friendly Living this Sunday at the Wilton Go Green Festival

If bicycling is more your sport, join Sound Cyclists on guided rides of varying lengths and ability levels. Advanced registration is not required, but participants should dress appropriately and bring their bikes and helmets. (See the box, below, for more information.) Later in the day, riders should venture over to the silent auction for a chance to take home a new bike courtesy of Outdoor Sports. While you're there, why not bid on a summer membership at the Wilton Y, tickets to the Westport County Playhouse, a Gift Card to Bon Appetit or Cactus Rose, or a variety of specialty gift baskets?

The festival officially opens at 11:00am with live music, a wide array of creative children's crafts using recycled materials, fabulous "green" shopping, and more than 80 exhibitors eager to share best practices on energy conservation, building, transportation, recycling and waste management, and responsible stewardship of our air, land, water, wildlife and other natural resources.

At noon in the library courtyard, the Wilton Tree Committee will recognize the 2013 Steward of the Year at its annual ceremony. First Selectman Bill Brennen will open the ceremony, which will honor Young's Nursery for its long history of service, volunteerism and generous donations of plant material to many Wilton High School graduations, the Wilton Library and the town as a whole. Mr. Brennan will also attend the Neighbor to Neighbor Ribbon Cutting during which Wilton will be awarded a new plastic card charging station as a result of the many Home Energy Solutions Audits and other upgrades undertaken by residents.

The festival will sprawl between Town Green and the Wilton Library presenting everything from the latest electric and hybrid cars to a huge, interactive Earth Balloon sponsored by Deloitte and 17-foot tall Farmer created by student artists at Wilton High School. Live music will fill the air while organic and locally grown foods promise to satisfy hungry eco-enthusiasts. Back by popular demand, Skinny Pines Pizza will bring their mobile wood-fired brick oven and create deliciously original pies reflecting our local landscape using seasonally sourced ingredients. This year, the pizza gourmet is unveiling a special Wilton Go Green pesto pie created especially for the festival.

Wilton's own Green Leaf Organic Cafe will be on hand to quench your yearning for something sweet with a delicious sampling of their decadent and savory desserts and pastries. In addition to their traditional French bakery goods, this European-style cafe --known for their freshly baked breads and organic soups -- will offer turkey, veggie and ham sandwiches as well as salmon, chicken Caesar, and fruit and nut salads.

Want to take whip up delicious, healthy food at home? Grow your own vegetables, herbs and berries with a backyard garden. Wilton High School teacher Jim Hunter and students will offer a wide variety of young vegetable plants from their impressive organic garden to help you get started. (The WHS Recycling Club can show you what to do with those plastic pots once your new plants are happily in the garden.) And don't miss cooking demonstrations with Jonathan Mathias of A Dash of Salt Catering and fellow chefs at 11:30am, noon, 12:30pm and 1:00pm.

Renovating your kitchen, adding on, or building on new home? Get the answers you need to ensure your project takes full advantage of green building and remodeling practices at the building and energy exhibitors' area where you'll find pros from Next Step Living, Rings End and BPC Builders talking about clean energy options you'll want to include.

The light-weight tablet measuring 197.4 and 128.5 millimeters and weighing only 320g, is made up of plastic sporting a big black bezel on its front though which the screen is visible, giving the impression of a digital photo-frame. The top sports the Acer branding in the middle and right side has 0.3-megapixel front-facing camera.

The camera, though usable for making video calls, does not produce effective results when it comes to clicking the pictures or taking IC card. The back of the tablet is done up with black coloured plastic. The back, apart from the Acer branding, is equipped with a small speaker grill and certification labels.

A Micro-USB port is located at the bottom with a slot for a micro-SD card that is covered with an insert, while the 3.5 mm headset jack sits at the top of the device. The volume rocker and the power/sleep button, also done in black plastic material, have been placed at the right side of the tablet.

As far as the display is concerned, the tablet sports a 7-inch (diagonal) WSVGA capacitive multi-touch screen having a resolution of 1024×600 pixels have a density of about 170 ppi. Though the screen is quite bright but is reflective at the same time there hampering the visibility under sunlight. Even as the text do not appear to be very sharp, the screen is good enough to read the e-books and magazines. The tablet provides a excellent touch sensitivity to its users.

The current offering from Acer runs on Google’s Android 4.1.2 or Jelly Bean. As compared to the Ice Cream Sandwich version that is usually available for the lower priced devices, Jelly Bean is a much more polished thereby enabling a smooth work. The menu responds quickly and reliably and jerks while scrolling through long lists are rare. Apps also open agreeably fast although more sophisticated apps like games need a bit longer to load. Though internet browsing migh be bit slow as opening websites take slightly longer.

Prepaid Profitability Soars

Prepaid cards can be tied to financial services such as remittance and bill payments, but that may mean competing with stores offering the same services. Does carrying such cards make sense for every convenience store operator?

No one questions their soaring popularity. Maynard, Mass.-based Mercator Advisory Group, for instance, has estimated that by 2016 the amount of money added to prepaid plastic card will soar to nearly $685 billion, a 50% increase over 2011. Still, the decision of whether or not to get into financial services must go deeper than that.

“It’s one of those things, if you don’t do it you get left behind,” said Tom Pirko, president of BEVMARK LLC, a retail consultancy based in Buellton, Calif. “The premise that underlies the convenience store business is the ability to get people in and out of the stores quickly and to offer them the things that make their lives easier. Prepaid cards are in essence convenience items. So, as a convenience store operator, would you rather handle these items and enhance your convenience factor or have the sales go to Walmart?”

Ben Jackson, senior analyst for Mercator, suggested that retailers must decide whether or not financial services are part of their mission and, if so, to bolster it with prepaid cards.

“If a c-store operator has a lot of financial services business coming in by acting as a bill payment center and they are just selling prepaid cards off of a J-hook, then they’re not going to want to promote cards too much because it’s a strategic conflict,” Jackson noted. “But if their longer-term strategy is to build card-based services then they really need to make an effort create an environment where employees are well trained and customers are educated about the many uses of the cards and how to load money on them quickly to maintain the convenience element.”

Those operators might find it profitable to join a reload network, such as Western Union, Green Dot or MoneyGram, Jackson said. “When they become the anchor point for that card relationship they can drive more foot traffic and potentially increase sales of those cards.”

For those c-stores that develop a strategy around financial service, it can be a strong profit driver. “But for those who say, ‘You know what, it’s another product like anything else that I sell,’ it’s going to be very ordinary and never realize its full potential.”

The market being served by a given location will dictate how operators should proceed. “If I’m operating a c-store at a travel center on a main highway, then I probably have less of a need to sell financial services,” Jackson said. “But if I’m operating in a neighborhood where there are lots of customers from diverse economic backgrounds, then it becomes more important for me to become a financial services provider because I really am providing convenience of a different kind at that point.”

Knowing the customer is key. “This category is often thought of as a service for the underbanked, or code for lower-income consumers. But that isn’t always the case,” Jackson said “Sometimes it’s people who think, ‘I need to pay a bill right now because for whatever reason I didn’t get a notification.’ Or, ‘I was traveling and the electricity is going to be shut off if I don’t pay it right away.’ Or, ‘I need to send money to somebody right away.’ It becomes very much a convenience model that extends beyond just goods and into services.”

Amer Hawatmeh, president of St. George Oil in St. Louis, which operates four Coast to Coast convenience stores, said his success with prepaid cards and financial services overall depends on the community and its demographics.

“I find that those work really well in stores near colleges and universities in addition to urban areas,” he said.
Allowing customers the chance to reload card balances quickly and easily gives them the opportunity to carry a debit card. “These days you really can’t do anything without a number,” said Hawatmeh. “The old saying was, cash is king. Well, cash is no longer even existent in this country with younger customers anymore. Everything is mobile. Even plastic is an antiquated concept to some college kids these days. They’re looking to pay with their phones.”

Nor are the cards especially profitable anymore, Hawatmeh pointed out. “In the old days, when it was a newer idea, we could charge for the service and get a premium for it. Now everybody is doing it, so it’s not as much of a destination,” he said. “But again, my old philosophy is to try to be all things to all people. We’ve got to keep people walking in the door. Any time you say ‘no’ to a customer you risk losing his loyalty for all your other destinations.”

The profit margin generated by prepaid financial services is also shrinking as the technology continues to develop. “Nowadays you can get a phone app and pay your bills right on the phone,” Hawatmeh said. “You have to adjust your pricing accordingly to avoid losing these customers altogether.”

“They should also be bringing ideas about how to market that card and encourage people to come back and do the reloads in his stores,” Jackson said.
Marketing will play a role in how successful this category is as well.

“The first thing chains need to do is train their clerks, so that when somebody brings that card up to the register the clerk knows exactly what that is,” Jackson said. “I know there is a lot of turnover at c-stores, and I know that is a challenging aspect to these types of programs, but they need to let people know, ‘This is what this card does. It’s not a chip card, it’s a reloadable card.’”

The second thing retailers should do is devote space and signage to the products. “Tell customers, ‘Here is what this card is and here’s how you can reload it,’” Jackson said. Depending on the size and scope of the store, they should be working with the provider to do media buys or otherwise trumpet their addition.