21, May 2024
Bvlgari Unveils Aeterna, Extraordinary High-end Collection, in Rome

Rome, May 21st Bvlgari chooses the Eternal city of Rome, its hometown and everlasting source of inspiration, to unveil Aeterna, its new High-End Collection, presenting for the occasion a precious assortment of over 500 creations, including High Jewelry and High Jewelry Watches, High-End Bags and Very High-End Fragrances. An occasion to celebrate, with a breathtaking event, its 140th anniversary, a major milestone for the Roman Maison.

jewel rome

Highlighting the uniqueness of the event, Bvlgari staged its sophisticated extravaganza in a location, made accessible exclusively to the Maison for this momentous occasion, Rome’s Terme di Diocleziano, one of the world’s most extraordinary antique architectural complexes and beautiful open-air museums in the Eternal City, part of the Museo Nazionale Romano,

Considered the largest Baths of ancient Rome, spanning a surface of 13 hectares that was able to accommodate up to 3,000 people at once, the breathtaking complex, built between 298 and 306 AD, is adorned with splendid sculptures and fascinating ruins.

International guests, including Bvlgari’s Brand Ambassadors Anne Hathaway, Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Liu Yifei, Shu Qi, Hikari Mori and Alessandro Gassman, enjoyed a journey into eternity where the layered beauty of the Terme di Diocleziano, the timelessness of Bvlgari’s High Jewelry creations and the state-of-the-art spirit of the event’s performances overcome the boundaries of time.

To celebrate the special anniversary, Bvlgari Brand Ambassador Priyanka Chopra Jonas wore the Serpenti Aeterna necklace, the most precious High Jewelry piece ever crafted by the Roman Maison. Featuring seven D flawless diamond drops totaling 140.00 carats, one for each year of the brand’s history, and 698 baguette diamonds weighting 61.81 carats, this incredible necklace required over 2,800 to complete, revealing an outstanding combination of creativity, expertise and audacity, values that have always defined the brand’s vision.

During the evening, the Terme di Diocleziano, that recently reopened to the public after long restoration works, hosted a spectacular jewelry show that took place in the Chiostro Ludovisi, an intimate space built over the Terme’s large outdoor pool. Styled by Carine Roitfeld, the show featured an iconic casting, including Mariacarla Boscono, Blesnya Minher, Elisabetta Dessy, Isabella Rossellini, Carla Bruni and Giacomo Cavalli.

Before the show started, guests had the chance to assist to a special, poetic duet by choreographer and dancer Sadeck Berrabah and ballet dancer Eleonora Abbagnato, the director of Teatro dell’Opera di Roma. Mixing classic and contemporary dance, they celebrated Bvlgari’s ability to fuse past, present and future giving life to eternal works of art.

Their performance was followed by a fascinating choreography by Sadeck Berrabah and 80 dancers, who moved synchronously, perfectly embodying his signature artistic direction.

At the Baths’ Chiostro di Michelangelo, named after the famous painter and sculptor to who it is traditionally attributed, Bvlgari delighted its guest with a gala dinner conceived by Italian Michelin-starred chef Massimiliano Alajmo, who developed a menu specifically designed for the event.

The dinner was followed by a live performance by internationally acclaimed artist and songwriter Elisa.

For the occasion, “Vista Aeterna” an immersive installation created by Dutch designer Sabine Marcelis, has been gifted to the city of Rome under the patronage of the Fondazione Bvlgari. The artwork will be at iconic Piazza di Spagna from May, 19th to June, 15th, and offers a contemporary interpretation of Rome’s urban landscape. It consists of twelve travertine-based pillars adorned with reflective colored mirrors that continuously rotate throughout the day, tracing the path of the sun from dawn to dusk. As they move, they capture and refract sunlight, projecting a spectrum of warm, sun-inspired tones onto the surroundings. Providing an ever-changing vista, it is a perpetual celebration of the luminosity of the eternal city and its architectural heritage.

Continuing its pioneering spirit and unwavering commitment to innovation in luxury, the Maison has also introduced the Bvlgari Digital Passport. This immutable digital record stores the unique characteristics and certificates of each High Jewelry creation on the Aura private blockchain, which safeguards product data indefinitely with the highest standards of transparency and security.

21, May 2024
AAEON Releases the RICO-3568: An Agile, Rockchip-Powered Industrial Solution

Taipei, Taiwan, May 21, 2024 — AAEON, an award-winning developer of AI hardware and a leader in industrial embedded solutions, has announced the launch of the RICO-3568, a Rockchip RK3568-powered RISC single-board built on the Pico-ITX Plus form factor.

Designed to appeal to customers seeking a robust, industrial-grade solution for markets such as automation, digital signage, and edge computing, the RICO-3568 provides a wide range of interfaces and expansion options to leverage the high-performance, low-power capabilities of the Rockchip RK3568 platform. The RICO-3568 features up to 4GB of onboard LPDDR4, paired with 16GB of eMMC storage, a Micro-SD card slot, and a mini-PCIe slot that supports mSATA as storage.

Equipped with a Quad-Core Arm® Cortex®-A55 CPU, an integrated NPU, and an Arm® Mali™-G52 GPU, the RICO-3568 supports a wide array of video encoding and decoding formats. This is particularly useful for digital signage, given the board’s fanless design and HDMI 2.0 and eDP 1.3 display outputs (4K and 2560 x 1600 resolution at 60Hz, respectively). A versatile solution, the RICO-3568 also provides an LVDS connector, which will appeal to AAEON’s industrial automation customer base because of its suitability for human-machine interface (HMI) use.

Its small form factor of 100mm x 80mm makes it ideal for space-constrained environments without compromising on performance. Despite its small size, the RICO-3568 offers an extensive range of connectivity options for integrating peripheral devices, including both USB Type-A (USB 3.2 Gen 1/USB 2.0 signal) and Type-C along with GbE LAN.

For industrial communication, the RICO-3568 demonstrates exceptional versatility. It features a serial port connector for RS-232/422/485, a pin wafer for either debugging or an additional RS-232 function, and configurable options such as UART and I2C. The board also boasts a GPIO wafer, which gives access to a variety of industrial communication protocols. For longer distance, wireless connectivity, the RICO-3568 offers both onboard Wi-Fi 6 and LTE support via its mPCIe slot.

The board supports both Android™ 12 and Debian® 10 operating systems, providing developers with the freedom to choose the platform that best suits their needs.

“Our team has worked tirelessly to create a product that pushes the boundaries of embedded computing,” said Peter Yang, Product Manager for AAEON’s Rugged Mobile Devices division. “The RICO-3568 represents a new standard in performance and versatility using RISC architecture.”

21, May 2024
Texas A&M University System Joins Texas Nuclear Alliance

Texas A&M University System Joins Texas Nuclear Alliance

Austin, TX, May 20, 2024 –The Texas Nuclear Alliance and The Texas A&M University System (TAMUS) today announced that the System has joined the Texas Nuclear Alliance as a Founding Member and the Alliance’s first university system member.

“The Alliance’s vision for the nuclear industry in Texas is a bold one, and we are proud to partner with the visionaries at the Texas A&M System and welcome their leadership in the enormous future potential of the nuclear industry in Texas,” said Texas Nuclear Alliance President Reed Clay. “For decades Texas A&M and the Texas A&M System have served as a trailblazer in nuclear, and their leadership and vision are critical for Texas to become the home of the nuclear industry’s resurgence in the United States and around the world.”

“We at the Texas A&M System realize the important role nuclear energy can play in Texas’ future,” John Sharp, chancellor of the Texas A&M System, said. “Texas A&M University and the Texas A&M System are eager to work with the Texas Nuclear Alliance, the leading voice for nuclear in Texas. And we stand ready to offer our expertise and enthusiasm to make sure Texas has the power it needs.”

The Texas Nuclear Alliance is the only industry association in Texas dedicated to the advancement of nuclear technology in the state. The Alliance was formed with a singular mission: to make Texas the Nuclear Capital of the World. Formed in 2022 in the aftermath of Winter Storm Uri, which revealed Texas’ overreliance on intermittent energy sources, the Alliance is based on the fundamental premise that if Texas and the world want low-carbon, reliable energy, it can no longer turn its back on nuclear energy. Nuclear is clean, safe, reliable and secure.

The Texas A&M University System is one of the largest systems of higher education in the nation, with a budget of $7.3 billion. Through a statewide network of 11 universities, a comprehensive health science center, eight state agencies, and the Texas A&M-RELLIS campus, the Texas A&M System educates more than 157,000 students and makes more than 21 million additional educational contacts through service and outreach programs each year. System-wide, research and development expenditures exceed $1 billion and help drive the state’s economy.

21, May 2024
Principled Technologies Deploys GenAI solution in Less than 2 hours with Dell APEX Cloud Platform

Principled Technologies Deploys GenAI solution in Less than 2 hours with Dell APEX Cloud Platform

Durham, NC, May 20, 2024 — Generative AI (GenAI) offers a host of benefits for organizations to explore. But given the shifting hardware and software landscape, finding an efficient solution for an LLM workload or application can seem daunting. PT examined the benefits of using Dell APEX Cloud Platform for Red Hat OpenShift, powered by 4th Gen Intel Xeon Scalable processors, for a GenAI solution. Following a Dell Validated Design at the start, then making modifications as necessary, they were able to completely deploy the solution for the LLM use case in 1 hour and 51 minutes.

PT states in the report, “The Dell APEX Cloud Platform for Red Hat OpenShift solution worked well for our LLM, and by using this deployment guide in conjunction with numerous Dell documents and some flexibility, you could be well on your way to innovating your next GenAI breakthrough.”

21, May 2024
Kinstak’s AI Platform to Transform Family Memories on LG Smart TVs

Kinstak’s AI Platform to Transform Family Memories on LG Smart TVs

Tampa, FL, May 20, 2024 –Kinstak, a trailblazer in AI-powered asset management solutions, is thrilled to announce its availability on the LG Content Store for smart TVs running webOS. With this announcement, Kinstak’s AI-driven platform redefines how families across North America can preserve and celebrate their digital memories, directly on certain LG smart TVs, in over 28 million homes across North America.

Selected as one of 15 global innovators to join LG NOVA’s hackathon at its annual Innovation Festival in San Francisco, Kinstak views this latest development as a milestone in digital legacy management.

As LG webOS smart TVs continue to evolve as entertainment hub, the inclusion of Kinstak in the LG NOVA hack-a-thon showcases a mutual enhancement the user experience through innovation and convenience.

Key Highlights:

Seamless Integration: Kinstak’s app will be available directly on LG TVs running webOS, providing users with unparalleled access to their digital assets through their LG smart TVs.
Enhanced User Experience: With Kinstak, LG TV users can now enjoy a more organized and accessible way to manage and experience their online and offline picture assets, including photos, graphics, and video content, all optimized for the big screen.
Expanding Reach: The integration significantly expands Kinstak’s audience, bringing its revolutionary asset management solution to over 28 million households in North America.

“Integrating with LG webOS smart TVs is a monumental step for Kinstak,” said Carolyn Eagen, Founder/CEO of Kinstak. “It’s a testament to our vision of making asset management as accessible and intuitive as possible. We’re proud to join LG in transforming how families interact with their digital content at home, bringing a new level of personalization, convenience and efficiency to their everyday lives.”

This collaboration is expected to, for digital asset management, highlight the importance of accessibility and user experience in the evolving digital landscape. Kinstak’s integration into LG webOS smart TVs is not just a leap towards innovative home entertainment solutions; it’s a move towards making life’s moments more memorable and accessible.

21, May 2024
MICRODIA Returns to Qatar

Doha, Qatar, May 20, 2024 –MICRODIA is extremely pleased to announce its re-entry into the Qatari market after a short hiatus due to the unfortunate COVID-19 pandemic, which temporarily halted operations in FNAC, Virgin Megastores, Apple APR, Apple AAR, Doha Airport Duty-Free, and a number of independent retailers.

While geographically small, Qatar is an exceedingly important market. As the wealthiest country on the planet with the highest GDP per capita of any nation, Qatar is mission-critical for MICRODIA. As such, their local office and local distributors have been given the mandate to reenter all market channels more wholly and vigorously than ever before.

In partnership with preeminent local market leaders Darwish Holding and Ali Bin Ali, MICRODIA intends to reenter, recapture, and reinvigorate the retail landscape with cutting-edge products and customer service exceeding the expectations of the highly selective Qatari clientele.

MICRODIA’s dedication to endless innovation, as well as the needs of its customers and the discerning taste of the Qatari consumer, means that this is only the beginning of the next leg of what is to be a memorable, lifelong partnership between MICRODIA and Qatar.

21, May 2024
RX Japan Wraps Up FaW TOKYO April Edition with Impressive Turnout

Tokyo, Japan, May 20, 2024 — FaW TOKYO (FASHION WORLD TOKYO) recently concluded its April edition with resounding success, solidifying its position as Japan’s largest fashion trade show with a total of 22,901 visitors from 47 countries/regions, all eager to explore what’s new and trending in the fashion industry, making it a 360-degree fashion exploration from textiles to renowned brands and offering attendees an extraordinary experience, held from April 17-19, 2024, at Tokyo Big Sight.

FaW TOKYO’s April edition was a truly international event, featuring 689 exhibitors from 23 countries. Fashion enthusiasts from countries/regions such as Japan, Australia, Indonesia, and many others gathered to experience the diverse range of exhibits and more exciting finds. The event provided a platform for attendees to discover new fashion trends, exchange ideas, and network with industry professionals, making it a truly immersive and enriching experience for all.

FaW TOKYO consisted of seven shows, each offering a unique perspective on the world of fashion. In addition to the BRANDS & DESIGNERS EXPO, which showcased international brands such as MIRAMIRA Jewelry and YeoMama Batik, the event featured the SUSTAINABLE FASHION EXPO, highlighting eco-friendly and sustainable fashion trends. The WELLNESS & SPORTS EXPO showcased the latest in athletic and leisurewear, catering to the growing demand for functional and stylish sportswear.

The TEXTILE EXPO showcased a wide range of fabrics and materials, providing insights into the craftsmanship and innovation behind the fashion industry. The FASHION SOURCING EXPO offered a platform for sourcing materials and production partners, facilitating connections between designers and suppliers. The JAPAN FASHION EXPO celebrated Japanese fashion, showcasing the country’s rich heritage and modern design aesthetics. Another experience was the DESIGNER’S GATE, which provided a space for emerging designers to showcase their talent and creativity, offering a glimpse into the future of fashion.

Additionally, the FASHION TECH EXPO explored the intersection of fashion and technology, featuring innovative solutions and cutting-edge technologies shaping the future of fashion. Together, these shows offered attendees a comprehensive and immersive experience, highlighting the diversity and creativity in the global fashion industry.

Upcoming October 2024 and March 2025 Editions
The October edition of FaW TOKYO, scheduled for October 15-17, 2024, at Tokyo Big Sight, is set to be even more spectacular. The event will introduce the MADE IN JAPAN EXPORT FAIR, offering Japanese exhibitors a dedicated platform to expand into the global market. All exhibitors at the show will be available for meetings in English. Additionally, the Gender Neutral and Inclusive Zone will debut, offering a space that celebrates diversity and inclusivity in fashion. Looking forward, the next Spring Edition happening on March 2025 will also mark the celebration of the 60th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic relations between Japan and South Korea, with a special focus on Korean fashion.

FaW TOKYO continues to lead the way in showcasing the latest trends, innovations, and talents in the fashion industry, attracting fashion enthusiasts and industry professionals from around the globe.

21, May 2024
GCCA India re-elects Chair and Co-chair for 2024- 2026

Mumbai 21st May 2024: The Global Cement & Concrete Association (GCCA) India has announced the re-election of Parth Jindal, who is Managing Director of JSW Cement, as its Chair, and Deepak Khetrapal, Managing Director of Orient Cement, as Co-Chair. Both have been unanimously re-elected for the next two years and will serve until 2026.

The decision to re-elect them both was made during a recent meeting of GCCA India member company CEOs. Their re-election marks an essential milestone in the journey towards sustainability and decarbonization in the country’s cement industry, as GCCA India, in collaboration with TERI, is in the process of developing the Net Zero CO2 Roadmap for the Indian cement industry and its value chain.

Speaking after the election, Parth Jindal applauded the progress being made by cement companies to decarbonize one of the hard-to-abate sectors and said:

“The eyes of the world are on India, as we are the second largest producer of cement in the world. GCCA India, along with TERI, has done a tremendous amount of work on the development of the Net Zero CO2 Roadmap for Indian Cement and its value chain.

“It is really important to have a sectoral roadmap to align with the Indian government’s net zero 2070 targets and to hopefully deliver on our commitments sooner. Those commitments include decarbonisation levers like expanding the use of alternative fuels and raw materials, waste heat recovery from process gases for power generation, and increasing use of renewable energy in our Industry”

Also speaking after his re-election, Mr Deepak Khetrapal said:

“I am thankful to GCCA-India and its member companies for placing their trust in me and re-nominating me to be the Co-Chair for GCCA-India. I look forward to working with industry colleagues to take forward and collectively deliver on the ambitious agenda that GCCA India has set out to achieve, with a particular focus on reducing emissions, achieving the SDGs and improving overall sustainability.”

Thomas Guillot, who is Chief Executive of the Global Cement and Concrete Association, which works closely with GCCA India, congratulated Parth Jindal and Deepak Khetrapal on their re-elections:

“India plays a significant role in our global industry’s decarbonization journey, in line with our 2050 Net Zero Concrete Roadmap. Delivering on the net zero aspirations of India’s cement industry needs supportive policies from its government, as well as the inclusion of the cement value chain.”

GCCA-India focuses on driving forward the critical sustainability work underway within the Indian cement sector, the second-largest cement-producing industry and the most energy-efficient in the world.

It has also signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) to facilitate and accelerate the sustainable development of cement and its value chain across India.

21, May 2024
Uncaged Capital Funded a $45.5 Million Non-Recourse Factoring Transaction

San Francisco, CA, May 20, 2024 — Uncaged Capital funded a $45.5 million non-recourse factoring transaction to a tech company which sells hardware and software to major media companies around the world.

This tech company required a rapid infusion of capital to meet its cash needs through the end of the third quarter of 2024. Uncaged Capital was able to facilitate the loan without delay, which helped the company to hit their target.

“Uncaged Capital offering was an excellent match for this business in need of bridge financing,” according to James McDonough, Managing Director for Uncaged Capital, and originator of this financing opportunity. “Because our approach to factoring focuses solely on the quality of accounts receivable and does not require an underwriting of our client, we were able to fund this large, complexly organized business faster than any traditional funding source could.”

“The financing gives us additional flexibility as we continue our turnaround strategy and focus on delivering extreme bargains and unmistakable value to our customers,” said Tom Sim, Executive Vice President of the tech company.

When you need to close faster, Uncaged Capital is the way out. We are here to help when the bank says “No” We say “Yes.”

21, May 2024
Protect and License Mac or Windows Apps with AppProtect 6.0

Henderson, NV, May 21, 2024 — Excel Software announced AppProtect 6.0 to protect and license Mac or Windows software. AppProtect wraps a compiled application without programming to apply an offline or automated online activation process. On macOS, generate x86 64-bit, ARM 64-bit or Universal binary for Intel or Apple Silicon computers. On Windows, generate both 32-bit and 64-bit EXEs. AppProtect 6.0 now supports time-limited licenses, allows the expiration date of a license to be securely modified or enables the reset of an activated license.

AppProtect works with the companion OfficeProtect product to generate a protected EXE (Windows) or APP (macOS) from an Excel workbook. Once activated to a computer, the workbook runs within 32 or 64-bit Excel on Windows 10 or 11. On macOS 10.14 or newer, the computer requires Mac Excel 2016 or later.

AppProtect 6.0 adds the ability to apply a time limited license that expires on a specified date or time period after activation. Timed licenses can be securely reset or extended with codes entered by the user. Expiration or Reset Codes can be generated by the developer from AppProtect or online from an associated Safe Activation account.

AppProtect can apply licensing to many application runtime environments including Microsoft Excel, Access or ExcelRT. The wrapping process allows a license to be applied to an EXE on Windows or APP on macOS that was created with virtually any type of development environment.

AppProtect can embed static data files into the executable. For an application constructed from an interpreted language or that requires external data files, the unprotected files are no longer visible to the user. Apps created with Unity3D, MAX MSP, Adobe Air or Xojo are wrapped into a single, licensed EXE for Windows or APP for macOS. AppProtect can code sign the application during the build process.

AppProtect wraps an application with an activation process to require a computer unique password or Serial Number on first launch. The software vendor can generate passwords from AppProtect or automate the process with an online activation server. Excel Software offers vendor accounts on the Safe Activation service to automate the Serial Number activation process, manage licenses or automate the payment and delivery process for online orders.

A vendor can self-host an activation server with Desktop License Server running on their Linux or Windows website. In addition to manual or online activation, AppProtect can generate dongle enabled applications. Desktop applications can require that a USB dongle be present in the computer to run. Developers create their own USB dongles with the MakeDongle product.

AppProtect is $495 on either Windows or Mac. AppProtect and generated applications run on all Windows 10 or 11 computers or macOS 10.14 or later. It includes a user guide, online demonstration videos plus royalty-free distribution rights for any number of licensed applications.